It was a joy and privilege to visit and preach at Desert Hills Lutheran Church in Green Valley, Arizona on February 27, 2011 . Desert Hills was one of my sponsoring congregations during my tenure as a missionary in Japan. Below is a written copy of my sermon. The congregation also made an audio copy of the sermon which can be found on their Sermon web site. As always the written and spoken sermon are not the same. If you are ever in the area, I encourage you to visit.
Matthew 6: 24-34; 1 Corinthians 4: 1-5
The story goes that there was a monastery in Europe where one of the young brothers in training lived with mortal fear of being called upon to preach at the chapel service. This brother in training thought he would cut this off at the pass. He went to his prior, the chief monk, and he said to him, “Look, I will do any job that you ask me to do. I will go out into the fields and I will scrub floors, just please do not ask me to preach at the chapel service!"
Well, the prior said to himself, this is exactly how this guy needs to grow. So he said, “Tomorrow you are going to preach at the chapel service.” So, the novice went back to his cell filled with dread. He got up the next morning, prepared for chapel, and then it came time for his message. He looked into the eyes of his peers, and began asking, “Brothers, do you know what I am going to say?” And they all shook their heads in the negative. And he continued, “Well, neither do I, let’s stand for the benediction.”
Immediately after chapel service the prior came to him and said, “Look, this is for your own good. You are going to preach tomorrow.” So the next day came. The scene was the same. And the young brother stood and began as he had the day before. “Brothers, do you know what I am going to say?” This time, remembering yesterday, they all nodded yes. Then he said, “Since you already know, there is no point in my saying it, let's stand for the benediction.” By now the prior was angry and once again he says, “I want you to preach or you will go to solitary for confession and prayer.”
On the third day the same thing happened. The novice stood before his peers and began, “Brothers, do you know what I am going to say?” At this point, remembering the last two days, the audience was really confused. So some hesitantly nodded “yes” and others shook their head “no.” To which the young brother said, “Okay, let those who know … tell those who don't. Let's stand for the benediction.”[1]
I share that story as a way of introduction because I believe we may be able to see a bit of ourselves in the story. One similarity is that preaching is never easy. Another is that, like the brothers listening to the novice, some of you here today could be shaking your heads no; I do not have a clue as to what an ELCA missionary in the 21st century does or why missionaries still exist. Or others of you may be shaking your heads “no” because you may be opposed to the notion of spending thousands of dollars to send someone to accompany another church and their ministry in another country.
Others among you may be shaking your heads “yes,” I already know what a former missionary is going to say. You may not know my exact words, but you may assume that I will continue using the time honored traditional verses of Matthew 28: 19 “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Or you may take for granted that I will simply retell the classic story of mission, proclaiming the gospel message outside of our culture, and that it persists unchanged.
With that in mind as I prepared for this day, I happened to read our lectionary and realized that today’s gospel and portion of the letter to the people in Corinth may be the best Word for all of us. Today’s gospel and portion of Paul’s letter remind us that we are to live in such a way that we can face tomorrow confident that God will sustain us as much in the future as God does today. On this Global Mission Sunday, I understand this to mean, that mission is to be sustainable.
At first glance, Jesus’ words do not seem to be about sustainability. Rather, they seem to be an admonition against worrying, an instruction about trust and getting one’s priorities straight, and seeking first the kingdom of God. But when Jesus says life is more than food and body, more than clothing, more than retirement in a casita in Green Valley, we realize that Jesus is talking about something larger than how we function in the moment. Jesus is talking about seeing beyond the present and its anxieties.
Of course, we hear that word --- sustainable --- more often these days, as consciousness of our impact on the natural world has increased. Yet, by itself, the word sustainable means “the capacity to endure.” As applied to how we live in the world, it refers to interacting in a way that yields long-term continuation. But when applied to our Christian life, it has a much deeper meaning.
We are to live faithfully as disciples sharing the gospel in this nation and around the world, in such a way that we can face tomorrow confident that God will sustain us as much then as God does now.
It’s good for us to hear that. Perhaps you can understand why as I share this story with you. I remember talking to a one of the pastors I worked with in Japan about a convert to the Christian faith. You see in Japan, many people’s journey to the Christian faith, begins in adulthood rather than with baptism and Sunday school in childhood and then the rite of confirmation as a teenager. Furthermore, before becoming a Christian in Japan, many of those same adults may study the Bible and attend worship for years before making a commitment. In this case we were discussing the fact that after a year or two, this Christian had stopped coming to worship regularly. The pastor indicated that after years of study, making the difficult decision to become a Christian, and the high of Baptism, this person was struggling with now flatter emotional plain.
How about you? Do you see why it is good to hear of the need for ongoing trust in God’s sustaining love? Although we may continue to show up in worship, it may be more out of routine than anticipation. And if pushed about it, we might even confess that the faith we perhaps experienced as fire we now experience as dust. That’s not an uncommon state of being for Christians who have been on the way for a while.
Conceivably as disciples our ministries may have become dried as well. Mission is the same way, although there are countless stories from many parts of the world particularly with our brothers and sisters in African churches where the faith is growing exponentially, there are places that are having more difficulty. The Japanese Evangelical Lutheran church for example, is struggling. There are many reasons for that. Not only is Japan one of the fastest ageing societies in the world with one of the lowest birth rates, but mission and ministry are difficult in a wealthy, largely indifferent culture for example.
So, although I could give you more stories as I did in my quarterly reports that would lift up some of the joys, the problem with that approach alone, are that it may only result in a flare up, not a sustainable burn in your support of global mission. As you notice Jesus himself simply points to what is around him to highlight trust in God. Can we do the same when we are anxious? But the point is the same; sustain trust today so we can trust in tomorrow.
It is not always easy. Although we Lutherans have accompanied the Japanese Lutheran Church for over 150 years, we are now struggling with our Japanese Lutheran brothers and sisters in how we can continue to accompany each other. The reasons for that are many, including the fact that congregations in the ELCA increasingly view giving for mission and ministry as something to be limited to their communities. I am very thankful for your support over the years that I was in Japan, and I am sure I can speak for the Global Mission staff of the ELCA who would express their gratitude as well; however, sustainable mission does not exist in isolation. We know that from our lives. If our social life is askew, our financial life in ruins, our emotional life in turmoil or our physical life weakened, we should not be surprised if sustainable mission as disciples of Jesus is in a downturn as well. If those other aspects of our lives are out of kilter, we do not usually assume we can be healed, made whole or find renewal without working at it. As Paul described it, “My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me.”[2]
In those times sustainable mission needs constant upkeep, like this yearly event, like active interest in the work of your church, the ELCA, and the missionaries your support because healthy sustainable mission is not necessarily filled with drama and excitement. This is because sustainable mission growth is lived out daily, more like the tending of a garden than the fireworks of the 4th of July.
Yes, it is a fine balance between shaking our heads no in discouragement and nodding our heads as if we know it all. As you may know, congregations have found a variety of ways for example, doing “mission trips.” Besides providing a boost of assistance to others in need for a week or two to ministries and congregations and denominations in this nation and around the world, mission trips can be like what some long-distance runners call a “runner’s high,” an exhilarating feeling that occurs when strenuous activity takes the individual over a threshold that activates a release of endorphins. The runner’s high makes the athlete feel as if he or she could run on for miles without tiring, though in reality, that may not be possible.
The same is with mission. Some congregations have mission highs and some do not. There is nothing wrong with either, but the challenge for Desert Hills, or for any Christian, is not today, but the day after and the day after that, especially in times of anxiety.
I challenge you to see how you can continue to sustain mission so that we can respond to mission and ministry not only in your community of Green Valley but so that we can work with our Christian brothers and sisters around the world. The term the ELCA Global Mission uses is the word “accompany.” Not unilateral action but in partnership with those who know ministry best in their particular culture. The image used by some is from music when a musician accompanies a soloist.
In that regard, I would invite you to consider the possibility in how Desert Hills could be fed. This church has been so good in giving perhaps you may be willing to receive? What about hosting a mission trip of Christians from Senegal or Japan to come and work with you in sustainable mission? Author Eugene C. Kennedy put it this way: “The renewal of ourselves, the restoration of our trust, is mediated by our relationship with others. Faith doesn’t fall from the skies; it comes to life in our human experience. It is in sharing with others that we sense the meaning of the church as a people, the supporting community of those strengthened by the Spirit.”[3]
In closing, we all must struggle in faithful discipleship because if we invest ourselves primarily in things that do not matter, we will miss God’s will for us. There is a difference between planning for tomorrow and worrying about tomorrow. Let us join together in planning sustainable mission not only for Green Valley but together with other congregations in the ELCA, the church in Japan and the church in Senegal and all the churches in mission for tomorrow.
Just as Jesus told his disciples he would not leave them orphaned at the Last Supper, but that the Holy Spirit would “abide” with them and would remind them of what Jesus had said to them.[4] When we’re honest in the church about the state of our faith, the church has the opportunity to be the people of God together, and the Holy Spirit has room enough to refill our almost empty faith buckets — and to sustain us for more miles on the journey. So I come to you today honest and truthful, thankful for sustainable mission, in which the trust and faith in Green Valley and the trust and faith in Nagoya, Japan are pieced together into the mosaic of faith that can nourish us to continue on the way. Thank you. Amen.
[1] http://www.centralpc.org/sermons/2003/s030525.htm
[3] Kennedy, Eugene C. The Pain of Being Human. Garden City, N.Y.: Image Books, 1974.
