There is no one that can deny that there was something about Jesus that made people want more. People wanted to hear more about what he had to say, to see more of what he was able to do, to learn more about the beloved community he was building. And this wasn’t limited to when he was alive. Long after hundreds gathered to hear him preach and to witness his miracles, after thousands shared a feast of abundant bread and fish, after his stories were repeated millions of times, so many in times in fact that some of his words like “a good Samaritan” came to mean more than just some nice guy from Samaria. And LONG after the Bible became the book that has been printed more than any other on Earth came to be, people wanted, still want, to know him better. But there were a lot of steps along this road, things that happened in order to pave the way for the Jesus movement to take hold the way that it did.
All four of the gospels agree that before Jesus’ ministry really began, before he started teaching in parables and healing the sick, Jesus was baptized. After that, according to the three Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke), Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness. It was then, and only then, when, according to the three gospels, Jesus started inviting people in.
We read in Matthew chapter 4: “As Jesus walked alongside the Galilee Sea, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew, throwing fishing nets into the sea… ‘Come, follow me,’ he said, ‘and I’ll show you how to fish for people.’ Right away, they left their nets and followed him. Continuing on, he saw another set of brothers, James the son of Zebedee and his brother John… Jesus called them and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.”
“Follow me”… a simple, straightforward, respectful invitation. Jesus knew that he had something of value, something that would transform the lives of the people he encountered. More than anything, Jesus knew that he couldn’t keep the treasure of God’s love to himself. So he invited people to join him, to participate in his ministry, and to discover their own gifts, their own ministry, so that they too would come to know the treasure what they knew of the kingdom of God.
This morning, we wrap up our series on telling our own faith stories and we do so on the edge of Advent and Christmas. That’s right, Advent starts next week. But before we get there, we are going to take a moment to talk about invitation, specifically inviting people to church.
Did your stomach just turn over and your back get kind of … twitchy? Did you just give the person beside you a look of “see I told you we should have gone out for brunch instead!” Just the other day I had a conversation about inviting people to church with a long time United Church member and his body language immediately told me how uncomfortable he was even thinking about it. Talking about inviting people to church makes some of us deeply uneasy.
I am pretty sure I know what’s behind that uneasy feeling, but I’d like to hear what you have to say. Why is the very thought of inviting people to church so unsettling?
People are invited to share their reasons:
- We don’t need to – people know we’re here and that they’re welcome
- It’s objectionable and rude and we feel awkward and uncomfortable and fear we’ll offend someone
- We don’t want to be creepy or pushy
I have no problem admitting to feeling like this too. For many years, I told folk that I am a minister with some hesitation. I had learned that the Jesus thing can throw folks off if they aren’t expecting it and telling folks you’re a minister can make people feel self-conscious. Holding this today, we’re going to work through some of the discomfort together. We’re going to move through the twitchiness because I know that each one of us values what we have here.
Two of the most common assumptions church folk hold is that 1. Everyone knows we are here and 2. People know that they are welcome at any time. While WE know this to be true, the hard reality is that those outside our circle do not. People in the community might know there’s a church here if they drive past or have seen a poster for an event here. They might remember that their grandma’s funeral was here or they may have stopped in to check out Timeless Treasures. But they don’t really know what goes on inside this place. And they definitely do not know that should they walk in on a Sunday morning, they would be warmly welcomed.
If you ask someone who hasn’t been to church in a long time or someone who had a negative experience in the church they’ll likely have a specific idea of what goes on here. They might think they’d be judged, or that they would have to conform to a particular theology. They might think they have to keep their kids quiet, or that they have to dress up or donate a certain amount of money. I’ve heard folk joke about “bursting into flames” if they walk through the door, thinly masking their assumption that at best they won’t fit in here, at worst they’re not good enough to be here.
Over the last few weeks of our series we’ve been entering into this conversation in different ways. We’ve talked about questions like: what brought you here the first time? Why are you part of this community and what about this place and this faith do you treasure? Has your life been transformed by experience of being part of a faith community?
Today, we consider one more question… if you HAVE been transformed, if you DO find some value here, then why would you keep it to yourself? Why would not share it with others who are longing for a word of hope in their lives, at a time when life can be so challenging and so lonely?
Jesus said, “you are the salt of the earth, you are the light of the world” and then gives specific instructions that what we have learned in Christ, what we share in this space is not meant just for us but is to be shared with the world, Hiding our light under a bushel, he says, is not the idea. Jesus reminds us that we are called to be a light, trusting that we actually have good news that our neighbours would want to hear. Pointing the way to something greater than ourselves is what it means to be a disciple.
Sometimes, in the United Church of Canada, when we’re talking about our faith we don’t say quite enough. We may share with someone that we ATTEND church but when’s the last time you shared how much you value this place? Have you ever been so bold as to say you have been transformed, in the best sense, by the grace of an unconditionally loving God? That you come here not because everyone here is perfect but because we aren’t? That the community we have here, the Spirit that binds us to each other, has been a lifeline for some of us? How can we grow in our capacity, and our confidence, to share our faith with humility and enthusiasm in such a way that other would want to come and see it for themselves?
Which leads to another common, not to mention logical, objection to inviting people to church: we don’t want to be creepy or weird about it. We certainly don’t want to be rude or disrespectful. So, to be clear, when it comes to being invitation we aren’t talking about stopping random strangers on the street and asking them if they’ve heard about Jesus. We are not going door knocking or standing at a bus station with pamphlets. We are not spending time or energy trying to convince someone that our way of being church is superior to anyone else’s. This is not about saving souls, or padding our budget. Rather, we are talking about building a culture of invitation within our community, where we feel comfortable inviting SPECIFIC people that we know to SPECIFIC services or events because we think there’s something that they might connect with here.
There are a few services where this happens in a lovely and generic way. The first is any time kids are leading worship. We know that the service will bring joy and happiness to anyone lucky enough to find themselves here. Inviting grandparents, friends to a service is easy. The other service that we have where I believe we live the invitation well is the Longest Night service. We feel comfortable inviting our friends and neighbours because we believe that it will meaningfully touch them during a difficult time of loss. These invitations are soft, unpushy, and heartfelt, because we know that they hold something valuable that will make others feel better.
So my question to you this morning is this: do you believe that there’s something that happens in our church during the rest of the year that could meaningfully touch the lives of the people you care about? What is it that you want the people OUT THERE to know of what you have found IN here? If there is something of value here, if there is anything worth putting up on the lamp stand, then the next step is to look at some comfortable, natural ways of inviting people, people that we already know and love, to join us in a place that we find life giving and hope filled.
I would like you to ponder the following questions with your neighbours:
- What is it that you want the people out there to know about what you have found here?
- When you think about inviting someone to an advent or Christmas activity or service, who comes to mind for you as somebody who would find what you have experienced here meaningful?
Thank you for your willingness to engage with these conversations over the last few weeks. I appreciate that even though you are talking to people you might know the questions open a vulnerability that we are not necessarily used to. Before we end this time, I would like to offer a prayer:
Loving God, thank you for this time together. As we move out of this time of reflection we offer our prayers. Prayer for the people we have thought of who might be looking for something more in their lives. May they trust that You are already at work in their lives, and may they have the awareness to notice You. We pray for confidence in the good news that we have found here and the humility in sharing it with others. Remind us that we are not trying to convince them of anything. God, give us the courage and the understanding to recognize natural opportunities to talk about faith and to extend an invitation to someone and as we do, offer us the grace to accept the no as well as the yes when we ask. In all of this, Loving One, may we more deeply discover what You are doing in our lives and may we be grateful for that. This we pray. Amen.
