Sermon Text

“Yet know this: the kingdom of God has come near.' "Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me, and whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me." The seventy returned with joy…” The kingdom of God. I find this one of the more obtuse theological concepts in the New Testament. Each flavor of Christianity has a slightly different take on its definition. That said, I am an unabashed, lifelong Presbyterian. I revel in our unique language and liturgy, our ordered way of life and our polity. Our Presbyterian notion of the kingdom of God is for me most recognizable and alive first, in scripture, but second, in the language of our Book of Order: God was incarnate in Jesus Christ, who announced good news to the poor, proclaimed release for prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, let the broken victims go free, and proclaimed the year of the Lord’s favor. Jesus came to seek and to save the lost; in his life and death for others God’s redeeming love for all people was made visible; and in the resurrection of Jesus Christ there is the assurance of God’s victory over sin and death and the promise of God’s continuing presence in the world (G-3.0102). We are called to an active life of faith. Like the seventy in Luke’s gospel we are called to service. Jesus says, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me” (Lk 9:23). Discipleship, commitment. Joan Chittister, a Benedictine nun ... explains that in ancient times, to be a Christian community meant to defy Roman imperialism, to stretch Judaism, to counter pagan values with Christian ones. Real discipleship meant the rejection of emperor worship, the foreswearing of animal sacrifice, the inclusion of Gentiles, the elimination of dietary laws, the acceptance of women and the supplanting of law with love, of nationalism with universalism.

Being disciples in the world today is no less challenging. For Chittister, it implies a commitment to be in our world what Jesus was for his: healer and prophet, voice and heart, call and sign of the God whose design for this world is justice and love. It infers, implies, and requires of us the confirming love Jesus had for everyone, everywhere — regardless of who might try to draw limits around the love of God. Being a disciple means working to make life better for others, going beyond our lives to improve the lives of others. “To follow Jesus is to follow one who turns the world upside down,” says Chittister.

Why does it seem to be getting harder and harder for us to live out this biblical mandate? I find this intriguing, disturbing and challenging. Perhaps it’s because I have spent the majority of my career in ministry in the area of Christian education where there is and has been the expectation of the pastor or trained educational professional to bring in people—young and old—to God’s kingdom, to a life of discipleship. I do think there might be something to this idea. I want to invite you into my exploration of this question: why is it so hard for us to take up our cross and follow Jesus? The kingdom of God has been revealed in the life and death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. So why are we such reluctant believers? Why do we have such a hard time sharing this good news?

In 2009, Nurture Shock: New Thinking About Children, written by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman was published. The book explores the “premise that the fascinating new science of children reveals just how many of our bedrock assumptions about kids can no longer be counted on” (NS, 6). The book’s ideas are not limited to children and youth, but actually have far reaching implications for how we understand human development. This morning I want to discuss just one idea in the book with you all, but please be assured that we will be offering an adult education class in the fall on the entire book! In chapter three of the book “Why White Parents Don’t Talk About Race: Does teaching children about race and skin color make them better or worse?” the authors tackle the topic of race and our presumption that young children are “color-blind” when it comes to racial differences. In an increasingly multi-cultural world, most white parents (according to the research) ignore the subject of race, attempting to raise their children in a society in which people are judged not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. Parents, aware of our country’s history of racism, are careful not to pass that legacy down to their children. Apparently, they are being too careful. Several fascinating research studies are described, but one struck me as having profound implications for those of us in church communities—not for the commentary on racism, which is important, but for the ways we speak to our children. The author of the study, Birgitte Vittrup, from the University of Texas was interested in what effect, if any, conversations about racial differences between white parents and their children (ages 5 to 7) had on the children’s attitudes about people with different skin color. Parents and caregivers were asked in some cases to have conversations about race after they watched particular videos with their children. The parents in the conversation groups were given specific questions to guide their at home discussions. Some parents and children watched the videos without intentional conversation. The author assumed that the children who had conversations with parents and caregivers would change their racial attitudes. However, no changes were recorded. Attitudes remained the same. Surprised and disappointed, Vittrup pored over the data and discovered something amazing. When asked to rate the meaningfulness of their conversations, parents and caregivers reported that they had not in fact used the researcher’s specific statements and questions like “Some people on TV or at school have different skin color than [we do]” and “If a child of a different skin color lived in our neighborhood, would you like to be his friend?” Instead they spoke with their children more broadly with such statements as “everyone is equal” or “we can all be friends.”

The parents who participated in the study had good intentions: they thought if they didn’t point out differences in people’s skin color, their children would not develop biases against anyone belonging to a particular racial group. Uncomfortable talking openly about race, these parents figured their children would just figure it out – no one is better or worse because of the color of his/her skin. As Bronson and Merryman point out, children don’t simply soak up the racial equality message. We must engage them in conversations explicitly centered on racial and ethnic differences, guiding them to the understanding that while skin color does make us look different from each other, it doesn’t set us apart in ways that matter – thoughtfulness, kindness, compassion, and the desire for healthy, happy lives.

I mentioned earlier that this particular chapter engaged me thoroughly and really made me think about how we function as church communities attempting to live out God’s kingdom. Let me explain. Those of us who have been a part of Christian communities in the last 50 to 60 years are certainly aware that fewer people are attending church. Those of us in mainline protestant denominations like my beloved Presbyterian Church are under no illusion when it comes to the steep decline in church membership. As a denomination, we have lost a staggering number of people over the past several decades. Why is that? What can we do, the faithful who are still here, who still believe that the church is of value, what can we do to arrest this seemingly endless loss of members? And while we are at it, what can we do to bring more people into the fold?

Just like the parents and caregivers discussed in Nurture Shock who want to talk about race in general terms, I think that we have been reluctant to speak explicitly about our faith with our young children, adult children and family and friends. We bring our children to church and we sit in the pews with them and we assume that they will understand the significance of the kingdom of God. We hope and maybe pray that by osmosis our kids will come to know what we know—that the way to experience God’s grace is by loving and serving Jesus Christ. Would that it was so easy to bring all people into a committed relationship with God and church. But, my friends, the Bible doesn’t let us off the hook that easily! [Jesus] said to [the seventy], "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Go on your way…Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; cure the sick who are there, and say to them, 'The kingdom of God has come near to you.' Sometimes it’s like we respond to the message of the Bible like a quote attributed to Emperor Ferdinand of Austria after the first performance of “The Marriage of Figaro”: “Far too noisy, my dear Mozart. Far too many notes.” There is a lot going on in the biblical message, to be sure, but as we know, it is worth digging deeper, isn’t it?

Maybe we should do our own research project? Instead of nurture shock, what about a faith shock? Ask yourselves the challenging questions, make profound and important statements about the church and about your life of faith to your children, to your friends, to your family. Keep a journal, take notes. I would hope that if we put the same dedication and effort into our life of faith that we would see the kinds of results that were uncovered in Nurture Shock. Imagine the possibilities. When we skip church without explanation or we forgo taking part in some event or class at church, aren’t we also telling ourselves and our children that church is just not that important? I remember a conversation in my first or second year of ministry with a mother about her child’s lack of interest in confirmation class. She said that confirmation wasn’t challenging him. Didn’t I know that he was gifted. What was I going to do to make him want to come to church. It was our job as the church to make him believe, to make him want to become involved with his church family. I was speechless—her questions and statements surprised me. I took a few minutes to recover and tried to answer as sensitively as possible. I explained to her that I had only one hour of her son’s time a week. I tried my best to engage him and to stimulate his thinking and spark an interest in exploring his journey of faith, but it was only one hour. I reminded her that she lived with her child fulltime. She could have meaningful conversations about her faith and the church with her child whenever she wanted. This time they shared was a precious gift, but it needed to be used, and the conversations initiated by her. She needed to tell her son why church and faith was so important. Only then could they begin together their faith journey as parent and child. I had no idea how significant my exchange with that concerned mother would be for me in later years. I encourage each one of you to talk about your faith. Your children and your family and friends who might be outside the faith community really do want to know what you are doing here and why you keep coming back. Tell them! It’s a faith shock! Be bold in your replies! You are here in this place right now, and St. Philip Presbyterian Church is blessed that you have chosen to be a part of this community of faithful believers. We are called by God to share the news of God’s kingdom to those who have ears for hearing! Brothers and Sisters in Christ, now is the time to re-imagine, to re-charge, and to remember your baptisms! What an incredible time in the life of this particular congregation, this newly constituted St. Philip. God has called you to share the good news. Respond like the Benedictine nun who said, “To follow Jesus is to follow one who turns the world upside down.” It is my hope that you will indeed be willing to take up your cross and follow Christ. Amen.

*****************************************
Bibliography
Bronson, Po and Ashley Merryman. Nurture Shock: New Thinking About Children. New York: Twelve, 2009.
The New Oxford Annotated Bible: NRSV. New York: Oxford University Press, 1995.
http://dooverdecade.wordpress.com/category/childreneducation/nurture-shock/
Jeanne Morales, “The cost of discipleship,” St. Joan of Arc Web Site, Lenten Season 2003, Stjoan.com. This piece draws on and quotes from Joan Chittister’s speech “Discipleship for a Priestly People in a Priestless Period” from the Conference on Women’s Ordination, Dublin 2001.