Practices of Disciples: Witness Boldly
Gettysburg Presbyterian Church
Matt. 5:13-16
March 27, 2011
In the 2000 Olympics, 19 year-old Laura Wilkinson was competing in the ten meter diving finals. It wasn’t going well. She was in last place after the first two rounds. That was understandable because she was competing with a broken foot, obviously painful and wrapped for these last dives.
However, she nailed her third dive, receiving scores of 8.5 and 9.0. She moved up into fourth place. She continued to move up on every dive until she reached first place and held on to first through the last two dives tp earn the gold medal!. After her victory, an NBC reporter who was interviewing her stated, “You are the most enthusiastic athlete I have every met. How did you maintain your smile in spite of the pain? How did you come from behind?”
Through tears of joy, Laura looked directly into the camera and said, “Because I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.” On national TV! Laura had the courage to take advantage of an opportunity to talk about her faith, and she did it!
Every Christian has a mandate to share the Good News of God’s love in Jesus Christ with others. We’re not permitted to selfishly keep it for ourselves! In this morning’s Scripture lesson Jesus speaks with his first disciples about how to do this very thing in Matthew 5:13-16 .
13 "You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot.
14 "You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid.
15 No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house.
16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.
Here Jesus uses two metaphors to talk about being a witness in the world. We’re going to look at how they can help us find a winsome and effective way to share our faith. But let’s admit up front that there are real challenges to sharing our faith in the 21st century. To begin with, many people have negative images of Christianity, maybe based on the many negative portrayals of Christians in the movies and on TV, or based on their own experience with some kind of toxic religion! Some of us fear that sharing our faith with someone might make them uncomfortable, or even angry with us. We should also admit that the Presbyterian Church has been ambivalent about the matter of faith-sharing in recent years and has done a poor job of preparing us to witness to our faith. As a result of all these factors, many of us don’t even try to share our faith any more. But, as we reflect on these words of Jesus, we know that refusing to share our faith isn’t an option for anyone who would follow him.
First, Jesus describes us Christians as salt. “You are the salt of the earth.” What does that mean? Salt had a couple of uses in the ancient world. Like today, it was used to flavor food. But it was also widely used as a preservative to prevent meat from spoiling and decaying in a time before refrigeration. I think that is the use that Jesus has in mind here. Jesus knows that the world around us is in moral decay and that the results of that decay are destructive to us. We’ve all seen the painful results of moral decay. We’ve seen people in great pain as they refuse to forgive wrongs done to them, resulting in continued estrangement from others they care about. Or, their pain as they pick up the pieces after an ill-advised sexual encounter. Or, as they are caught in a lie. And the current recession we’re suffering through is due, in part, to corporate greed, lying, and deception.
Jesus says we are to be salt, slowing the decay that evil is bringing to our world.
How do we do that? First, by keeping our distinctiveness as Christians. Recall Jesus’ warning, “But if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot.” (Matt. 5:13) Our first job is to maintain our distinctive character. Paul warns us in Romans 12, “Don’t let the world squeeze you into its mold.” And that’s the natural tendency- to lose our distinctive character and become ever more like the world around us. But if we are to have any effect on the world, we must maintain our distinctiveness. We do that by continuing or developing those tried-and-true practices of disciples that we’ve been talking about- the study of God’s Word, prayer, and regular worship. In fellowship with other believers we can talk about the subtle pressures to be conformed to the values of the world, and we can support each other in resisting those pressures. These disciplines remind us of who we are and what we are called to do. The first step in being salt is to maintain our distinctive character.
Then we need to be a distinctive presence wherever we are. A Presbyterian elder in Atlanta put it this way, “I feel like I’m an advertisement for Christianity. Any professed Christian is. So, I don’t want people to be able to say of me, ‘Oh, there’s another person who walks around talking about God, but look at the way he treats his workers.’ To be a Christian means I must comport myself in certain ways, and that does not include bad behavior, either personally or professionally.” (end quote) Our distinctive presence involves being people of integrity, honesty, and compassion wherever we are.
When the Bishop of Uganda was asked how he witnessed for his faith during the murderous reign of Idi Amin, he stated that he was able to say very little during those times. “But,” he said, “the way to show a stick is crooked is to lay a straight stick alongside it. Then it becomes apparent to everyone how crooked the bent stick is.” We are called to be that straight stick wherever we are. A distinctive presence.
And by doing so we can sometimes make a significant difference in the lives of those around us. In his book, A Prophetic Vision for the 21st Century, Rich Joyner tells about how he once observed a long line at an airport ticket counter after a day filled with travel delays. It quickly became clear to everyone that many people would not make their flight. There were just too many people in that line to be processed by the few available agents before the flight in question was to leave. People were becoming impatient and angry to the point that Joyner feared it might get out of control.
At the worst possible moment, just after more bad news had been announced, two large, boisterous women, each carrying two huge suitcases, started pushing their way through the line, demanding to go to the front. Their obnoxiousness was appalling. Even though they were women, Joyner fully expected someone to deck them. Then, to his dismay, they headed right toward his friend who was near the front of the line for that flight.
Other people were actually beginning to jostle the women around when his friend raced to their assistance! He helped them with their bags and offered them his own position in the line. This action was so contrary to the prevailing spirit that everyone was stunned. A great quiet descended on the scene. As his friend picked up his own bags and moved to the back of the line, every eye in the place was on him. The two women were also astounded by what had transpired. The ticket agents, who witnessed this improbable event, suddenly became agreeable and managed to delay the flight so everyone could get on. Joyner’s Christian friend had been a distinctive presence in that situation and it had changed the entire atmosphere of that place. He was salt. And so are we.
But there is a second metaphor that Jesus uses in Matthew 5. We are salt, and we are also light. “You are the light of the world,” Jesus said.What is that light? It’s the presence of Jesus Christ in our lives. And we are to let that light shine. We do that by our deeds, as the passage explicitly tells us, and we do that with our words. I admire the sentiment in a quote attributed to Francis of Assisi which says, “Preach the gospel always; if necessary, use words.” It emphasizes the importance of our actions in communicating the Good News of Jesus Christ. But sometimes people have misused the quote to indicate that we don’t need to use words at all to share the light of Christ! Francis of Assisi certainly used words! Without words, our good actions are ambiguous. “My, what a good person Joe is,” someone might think, rather than, “Oh, so that’s how Christians act!” We are light in word and deed. Both are necessary! Again, this is hard. Talking about your personal religious faith is one of the last remaining taboos in our culture. But we’re commanded to do it. To be lights that are clearly seen by all. So how do we do it?
You begin by being taking advantage of opportunities to witness to your faith, like Laura Wilkinson did at the Olympics. You can also identify yourself as a Christian by wearing symbols of your faith or by setting them around your place of work. You can play Christian music in your car or home. You may wish to open the door for faith-sharing by being sensitive to opportunities in conversations. For example, when you go to work tomorrow, someone is likely to ask you how your weekend was. You could say, “It was pretty ordinary until Sunday. And then I heard a phenomenal sermon from my pastor...” OK. Maybe that’s a stretch! But you get the point. You can talk about faith-related activities in your own life and that may open conversations about faith.
You can also be alert for opportunities to invite people to church activities that may meet their needs. Maybe a young parent would like their children to get some moral instruction through our children or youth programs. Maybe someone is interested in music and would enjoy coming to a choir program, or even singing in our choir! One young woman I know became a Christian after a friend at work invited her to participate in a service project through her church. Many young adults who don’t attend church are very interested in serving others in hands-on ways. Let’s invite them to join us!
And some of the people in our lives are hurting. Because of the normal set-backs of life, because of poor choices they have made, or because they have no connection with their Creator. Speaking words of hope and compassion and grace to them can be a very effective witness for Jesus Christ. We Presbyterians have always emphasized that the Spirit of God is already at work in the hearts of people all around us. Look for opportunities to join the work of the Spirit in their lives by the words you speak!
Coventry Cathedral in England was rebuilt in the 1950's after being bombed during the war. On the front wall, there is a huge hanging picture of Christ, seated as a carpenter. The back wall is made of glass, on which are etched the names of the saints. It looks out over the bombed out remains of the previous building. This is a wonderful picture of God’s work in the world. A bombed-out, wrecked, hurting world looks through the lives of transparent saints to see God’s love for them through Jesus Christ. There’s still a bombed-out, wrecked, and hurting world out there. People still need to see and hear about the love of Jesus Christ for them through living followers of Jesus like you and me. Who could you reach out to this week with the Good News of God’s love in Jesus Christ?
Return to the Sermons Menu