June 12, 2005 (Jimmie Johnson)

Matthew 10: 7-10

As you go, proclaim the good news, "The Kingdom of heaven is near." Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment. Take no gold, or silver, or copper in your belts, no bag for your journey, or two tunics, or sandals, or a staff; for laborers deserve their food.
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I bet none of these verses from Matthew 10 end up on refrigerator magnets or on plaques sold in Christian book stores. Well, in all honesty they are not my favorites either. The truth is these kinds of instructions from Jesus are why I realize I only have a moment of Christianity in me at anytime. Just a tad, simply a smidgeon of Christianity, a mere whiff possesses me. Instructions like these from Jesus are why I don’t think of myself, in one sense, as a Christian.

Oh, don’t worry and don’t misunderstand. I am a Christian adherent. I believe the Christian doctrines. I am an orthodox believer in the sense of confessing the beliefs. But this doesn’t impress me with me much. The integrity of Christian love is always more important than the purity of Christian doctrine.

To follow Jesus is to do what Jesus did. So here you go: marching orders from Jesus. “Take no gold, or silver, or copper.” In other words, “forget about taking any cash with you, forget the money.” There’s no need for money on the journey. Next, take “no bag for your journey.” There’s no need for any luggage. Why? Because he says we are not to take anything we would need to pack. That’s nervy of him, don’t you think? “Just take what you are wearing on your back.” Actually, Jesus says no need even for shoes. No need for luggage if you travel that lightly, is there?

Remember all those “WWJD” bracelets? The “What Would Jesus Do?” bracelets that were popular a few years back? Well, here is what Jesus would do. Here is what Jesus even told us to do: travel lightly through this life. I hate it when Jesus gets specific. Don’t you? It is a lot easier being a Christian when we are dealing with lofty, large abstractions and generalities.

Jesus’ words in John 3:16 are so inspirational and comfy. It’s so much easier to hear Jesus say John 3:16. It’s so less stressful dealing with believing beliefs rather than detailed behavior. Because when Jesus gets specific, so concrete about behavior and life style, he doesn’t leave me any wiggle room. Let me say again, it is words like these contained in the gospel lesson for this morning that make me back off from thinking that the beautiful image of Christian, follower of Jesus, applies to my “gnat sized” soul.

If these verses are what Jesus would do, then they take my breath away both in terms of the beauty of their simplicity and the incredible lightness of being I have no doubt they would bring if lived. Yet they take my breath away too by their threatening severity and the sure knowledge that I will never be capable of such devotion.

Are beliefs important? Absolutely. Theology matters. But behavior is less easily faked. Being orthodox about a belief system doesn’t impress me. Life style choices leading to a Jesus kind of life impress me. Some of the rankest, meanest, most brutal in Christian history have been orthodox to the max. Some of the coldest of heart, most neurotic of mind, feeblest of joy have been and are straight as an arrow on doctrine. Many also turn out to be the most hypocritical of us all, perfect on doctrine but dwellers in the shadows with hidden behaviors until their darker side rears up and overcomes them, bringing huge embarrassment to themselves, their family, and their congregation or denomination or political party.

Yes, beliefs matter as far as they point beyond themselves to the great generosity of God and the absolute joy of God in loving. Beliefs matter as long as they stretch us, as long as they enable us to worship God and not a simply larger version of ourselves. However, behavior seems to be the more important. Beliefs are only important as they lead us to love God, to love one another as we love ourselves. Behavior rather than beliefs is where the pinch will be.

I think Jesus actually, literally meant things like “love your enemies,” “give away all your possessions and come and follow me.” I don’t think he was joking. I don’t think he was speaking symbolically. Why do I want to lessen the power of Jesus’ life and standards simply because I can’t follow them? Why make Jesus look less just to make Christianity more palatable to me? Why reduce Jesus down simply because I can’t measure up? There’s no need unless I am wanting a Christianity that simply looks more like me than Jesus and, therefore, an easy, convenient Christianity, effortless and very consumer friendly.

Jesus says his followers are to travel lightly in this life because they are on a mission larger than their personal horizons. That’s what these words convey. See, I get too caught up in the possessions, with the luggage, with the money, with the staff (the symbol of control and security). I get all side tracked and can’t keep up with Jesus. He travels too lightly.

Frankly, I don’t think I have ever traveled lightly for an hour of my life, much less a day. No, I travel through my day heavy, worried, carrying a burden of angst, packing as much control and certainty as I can load on and around me. Why? Why can’t I travel my life like Jesus instructs? There is a very simple reason. I don’t have the confidence in God. I don’t trust God enough. I am too possessed by fear and too lacking in trust. Is it truly any different for you?

I could talk for hours about where the fear and lack of trust originate and probably discover with the help of a good guide that after all my talking aloud, I really don’t know where they come from. I’d discover I just thought I knew. I could play countless victim cards that supposedly entitle me to be fearful and distrusting. Yet, to do so is meaningless and self-serving and after awhile very wearing on others.

So, what in the heck is this sermon saying? It is saying I am humbled by these instructions from our Lord. It is saying I am only a beginner, a 58-year-old beginner who suspects if I live to an old, old age, I will still be a beginner when it comes to Christianity. I will more than likely die with simply a moment of Christianity within me, just a whiff of it. My last breath will probably be nothing more than the breath of a spiritual pygmy.

So as long as you are willing to have me be one of your travel guides, we will basically be a church for beginners. Can you do better? Yes. But, perhaps it is not that bad in a sense, this being a church for beginners. There are plenty of churches in town that posture themselves as places where super Christians go. Suppose our calling, our mission, is less ambitious. Suppose we are to be a gathering of beginners, a collection of spiritual gnats who at the very least begin to stop pretending and in very small ways learn to overcome fear and in tiny ways learn to trust that God is loving and full of mercy even for us who are little in faith and not big on traveling lightly.

Hasn’t the sermon done enough if it simply gets close to stating the truth of who we are and also promises how much more we are because of God’s love? I think so. Sure, feel the tension of the words of Jesus. I don’t want to diminish their radicalness. I don’t want to reduce the call of Jesus simply because my soul is cowardly. Yet, I also know he doesn’t want to crush us. The strength and power of Jesus are not to crush; rather his strength is the gentleness that is determined to set us free so that in the end we travel lightly.

If you are going to be neurotic, overly scrupulous, or obsessive about the incredible demands of Jesus, you are still fixed on you and won’t be able to entertain his instructions as promises
as much as commands, but if you will take a breath, lighten up even for a moment, and for God’s sake, stop pretending you are not scared and phony as a Christian, well then you and I can see the radical hope and belief Jesus has to invite gnats like us to join him. And that takes my breath away and makes me feel a huge thank you down deep in this tiny soul of mine. If a sermon just does that, is that ok? Oh, yeah. What more could beginners need?