Making Christ Known

The Rev. Dan Rondeau

Isaiah 66:10-16 | Psalm 66:1-8 | Galatians 6:(1-10) 14-18 | Luke 10:1-12, 16-20
 

Bless our God ... Who holds our souls in life, *and will not allow our feet to slip. (Psalm 66:7-8)

Phillips Brooks¹ was the Bishop of Massachusetts when he died in 1893. He was considered a great preacher in his day. One day the Bishop was asked why he was Christian. Brooks pondered the question for a moment and then replied, "I think I am a Christian because of my aunt who lives in Teaneck, New Jersey."²

One of my favorite authors is Madeline L'Engle. A woman of faith, who tells wonderful stories, and lives a life full of Christ. She writes, "If I have faith it is because I have met faith; I have seen it in action. And this faith is never a vague, pie-in-the-sky kind of thing but made real in a person of faith."³

For the next few moments let us consider the Gospel story. As we begin today's story, Jesus has asked the commitment of heart, mind, soul, and strength of his disciples. Now he sends them out.

"The seventy are never mentioned by name, and there is no hint that they were especially gifted, trained, educated, noble, pious, or exceedingly moral as examples to the people. There [is] no indication that they were great preachers or communicators. They are referred to not as the `seventy best' but simply the `seventy others.' Jesus gave these seventy, as he did the disciples before them, very little to go on. They were told simply to disperse themselves out over the territory, armed with two `tools': the authority Jesus bequeathed them, and the support of a partner—traveling `in pairs.'"⁴

"The effectiveness of the `sent seventy' lies in the fact that they applied the compassionate power of God to those afflicted by evil in the world. Healing was essential to their proclamation, and proclamation was a consequence of healing. To do one was, in effect, to do both."⁵

I am convinced that any success the seventy had was because of God's grace, and their willingness to be ambassadors of God's grace. I am convinced of this because it is the truth of my life. I am convinced it is the pattern ordained by God from the beginning. Faith is caught in the company and in the fellowship of a person of faith. With Bishop Brooks I can point to a living, breathing, person (actually two persons) and tell you I am a Christian today because of my mother and father who live in Chase, KS. With Madeline L'Engle I can say that if I have faith today it is because I have met faith...faith made real in a person of faith.

Continuing the pattern of last week of looking for and finding joy, of seeing what is good, of celebrating and giving thanks for what we are doing with God's help, I want to share with you how this Gospel story is alive here in Palm Desert, in St. Margaret's. We have set ourselves on a mission to make Christ known. And, by the grace of God we are doing that.

We are not perfect. We may not be the most innovative or daring of congregations in making Christ known. But, we are faithful. We gather this morning knowing our own failings all too well, we'll confess this in a moment. And we are probably more ready to chastise or condemn ourselves, our neighbors, our church, our community, our nation for our failures than we are ready to acknowledge the grace of God at work within us, within our neighbors, our church, our community, and our nation; but, we have come, we are here. That is why I want to share the names of people of faith that have made real the faith to which I am called. These people of faith bring joy to me and bring the knowledge that all things are possible with God, even—working with people like you and me—to bring the Kingdom of God closer, and to bring others into the joy of God's rule and fellowship with Jesus.

Long ago, Jesus began to share his ministry, first with the Twelve, then with the Seventy. The world began to change, one person at a time. I have faith because I have met faith. In the next few minutes I will share the names of some of the persons of faith who have helped me to faith. I do this not to embarrass anyone or any family; I do this not to heap praise and honor on anyone nor to offend anyone, but to say as powerfully as I can, this story of the Gospel is happening here, now, with people we know. It is our heritage.

My list is long; this morning I offer only a partial list. It is my hope that as you begin to hear my list you will look in your own life for the persons of faith who have helped you to faith. I offer real names, real people, not because they are ready to be made saints, but because they have taken seriously their call to be holy as our Father in heaven is holy; and, flawed as they are, weak as they are, timid and tepid as they may be, they have tried and given their best and God has made up the difference.

Like the seventy of the Gospel, they have heard the voice of Jesus sending them into the world and they have responded. They have made a difference in at least one life. They have touched my life. I am grateful. I have met faith made real in a person of faith. I believe you are here today because you, too, have met faith made real in persons of faith.

Beyond my own family, beyond Carol and Chris and Nick, in whom I have met faith made real, I treasure my time and experiences with two very fine priests, Rectors of St. Margaret's: Brad Hall and Robert Certain; faith made real in different ways by God's call and grace. Gethin Hughes, man of faith, Bishop of the Church is another person of faith inspiring my faith.

Like Brad Hall, there are men and women who now revel in the glorious company of the saints in light, but who touched my life while here; among these I am grateful for the faith of Steve Snider, Carrie Cameron, Donna Norman, Lee Karns, Allyn Simmons, Belva Baker, Lois Hart, Betty Jo Emery, John Brower, and most recently, Harry Kavanaugh.

I have been blessed to know men and women of faith; I have encountered faith in children and teens; I have been shaped well by the hand of God and the witness of many. I have found encouragement in so many along the way, and I know you have, too. (I encourage you to pause and think, and give thanks for the persons of faith who have shaped you.) The first pastor I worked for, Ray Moore, spent years in Peru and then in Mexico serving the very poor and brought that heart for ministry to Lemon Grove, CA and to me. Other persons of faith who have helped me catch the faith are Gordon and Louise Buck, Joe Stidman, Vi Sargent, Chris Timmins, Lisa Kimball, Sean Cox (as a teen, and as an adult, a priest of God), Rachel Nyback, and Brian Prior.

Everyday I am privileged to work with and among people who make the faith real: Jean Smith, Renate Knoblauch, Stan Hirsch, Loyd Muckey, Spike Hunter, Don and Lovelace McNelley, Frank and Coralyn Marshall, Peter and Vicki Bergstrom, Polly Aldige, Marty Thompson, Mel Carr, Louise Kuenzel, Tom Williams, Amanda Aberg, Andy Duvall, Suzanne Elliott, Loren Rice, Pamela Salinas, and John Wright.

Add in the children and teens who bring the faith alive for me—Thomas Johnson, Mikael Holm (a kindergartner who dropped everything to pray for me when he discovered that my cat had died), Grace Flemer, Harrison and Cameron Sands, Kyleigh Roberts, Amelia Bode, Maggie Remboldt, Parker Bray, Darren Hilles, and Ashley Schroeder—and you know that I do not exaggerate when I say that I am well and truly blessed.

What excites me about this is that what Jesus started so long ago, sending us out in order to share the faith within us (even with all our faults and failings and weaknesses); sending us out to allow the grace of God to work through us, continues today with the same light, healing, blessing and joy that the disciples reported to Jesus in the Gospel story.

It is tempting to focus on what ails us, our church, our world—there is plenty of material there. By the grace of God we can as easily focus on what that grace is doing within us, and what God is doing among us to expand the kingdom, to bring healing, to share God's peace.

As I have over the last several weeks, I will tell you again, I consider it an honor to be among you, to work beside you, to worship with you and give thanks with you that God is doing within us far better things than we can ask or imagine. You are persons of faith, blessed by God, a blessing to me, for sure, and to others as well.

Let our prayer after communion continue to be heartfelt: "send us out to do the work you have given us to do, to love and serve you as faithful witnesses of Christ our Lord;" and, let us recognize how wonderfully God has answered us; let us recognize how wonderfully God continues to answer us. Amen.

1 1835_93, American Episcopal bishop, b. Boston. In 1869 he began his ministry at Trinity Church, Boston, where he became one of the most influential ministers of his time. In 1891 he was consecrated bishop of Massachusetts. His lectures at Yale were published as Lectures on Preaching (1877), and his Bohlen lectures in Philadelphia as The Influence of Jesus (1879). The Christmas hymn "O Little Town of Bethlehem" was included in his Christmas Songs and Easter Carols (1903). Retrieved 07/03/2004 from http://www.bartleby.com/65/br/BrooksP.html

2 Quoted in Synthesis, July 5, 1992.

3 Madeline L'Engle And It Was Good: Reflections on Beginnings (Wheaton: Harold Shaw, 1983) quoted in Synthesis, July 5, 1992.

4 Synthesis, July 4, 2004

5 Ibid.