Evangelism, a Dreaded Word Amongst Christians!

Why Christianity? Why do we choose to the Christian faith when there are so many more religions? Is it because we were simply born into a Christian household and automatically accept the Christian tradition and beliefs? Or are we one of those rare people who have explored and searched different religions only to find the values and teachings of Christianity exactly what we need to feed our spiritual lives?

I recently had a conversation with a young man who was raised in the Christian tradition, yet had valid questions on why he should remain a Christian. This particular young man found the Mormon Church appealing, meeting his spiritual needs. While I completely disagreed with his argument to convert to Mormonism, he had obviously done his research and was determined to convert to this religion. As the polemic went on, it became clear that nothing I said, no matter how convincing was going to change his mind. He was a thoughtful young man who was in search of a God that fed his soul in the manner he saw fit.

So what is it about Christianity that attracts people? Perhaps it is grace, freely given yet can’t be earned. Perhaps it is the teachings of Jesus that transcend our daily lives and provide us with a theology of hope. Or perhaps it is the atonement of our sins through Christ’s death and resurrection. There are many reasons why people chose to become Christian’s, these are only a few examples.

The problem today is that we live in a pluralistic world that teaches one God, many paths. As Christians we believe that we are on the right path, although some of our brothers and sisters utilize this pluralistic outlook. This only causes confusion and waters down our faith. Christ said, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father accept by me.” As Christian’s we are almost embarrassed by this claim, yet other religions are set in their beliefs. They are not embarrassed to discuss and defend what they believe. Why then do we as Christian’s struggle to defend our faith? Many people choose to walk in the light of Christ yet when it comes to defending the faith and actually evangelizing the Word, we become deafly silent.

What is it then that draws people to Christianity? The mainstream religions certainly do not evangelize very well. They are almost frightened of the word, evangelism. While other religions devoutly defend their beliefs we seem much more hesitant. I learned that during my conversation with the young man determined to convert to Mormonism. It is a frightening experience to defend ones faith and argue our points. It is most uncomfortable and almost as if we don’t wish to push our faith on anyone else. Is this what Jesus taught us to do? No, absolutely not. Christ commissioned his disciples to “go into the world and proclaim the faith to all nations.” Yet somehow in this post-modern age we as Christian’s have forgotten the significance of evangelism. We shy away from it and recoil from the word as if it were a hot, burning fire.  No wonder we lose people to other religions.

We have much to teach that is good and life saving. We are unique in the fact that we have a God who was willing to die for our sins and experience human suffering along the way. We have the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ that is absolutely free. So why then are we so hesitant to defend our faith? After all this is good news!

In their defense there are some Christian denominations that are very good at spreading God’s Word to others and they have a high conversion rate. However the Episcopal Church seems to lag behind on this evangelical front. Many of us are taught that if we simply build the church, then people will mysteriously come.

My conversation with the young man converting to Mormonism made me acutely aware that we as a denomination need to embrace evangelism and boldly proclaim Christ. I for one am guilty of the old school mentality and realize we must change if we want not only my parishes to grow, but the Episcopal Church as a whole as well. We must change for the sake of Christianity as a whole.

Running on Empty

I am a runner and some mornings I feel like I just don’t have the stamina to make it over one more hill. It’s difficult not only physically but mentally as well. I just want to give up and walk. I feel like the title to the old Jackson Brown album, Running on Empty. When I am in that place the more I try to push myself the more I just want to quit. It’s incredibly frustrating and a huge challenge.

After Jesus’ death the disciples surely must have felt the same way. After all, they had placed all of their hope and dreams in this man and his teachings. They witnessed his miracles and courage in the face of the Jewish leadership. They didn’t want him to die. They simply didn’t understand Jesus’ teachings and prophecy. Therefore these devout men wanted to quit. They were “running on empty.” Their spirits were crushed and lost. They had a gapping hole in their soul that Jesus had filled with the hope of glory. Now they were lost and confused. They had no spiritual stamina left, so they hid out in secret places for fear of the Jews. Gone was their confidence and spiritual life. Many returned to their old jobs as if nothing had ever happened. But the fact is, it did happen to them, they experienced God in Christ and that changed their lives forever. Yet still, the situation turned out to be far different than they anticipated. Their spirits were left running on empty.

Think about it for a moment. In our cars when we realize we have little gas and are running on empty, that creates anxiety. We ask ourselves, “Do I have enough gasoline in the tank to make it to the next service station? Or will I run out and become stranded?” The disciples felt spiritually stranded, as we often do as well.

There are times in our personal spiritual lives in which we feel like we are running on empty. Perhaps life has dealt us several serious set backs and we feel overwhelmed by the effects. Perhaps our prayer life has gone silent and we feel cut off from God. Or perhaps we just are spiritually weary due to living life on life’s terms and we feel like we can’t make it over one more hill.  

We’ve all been in this spiritually desolate place at one time or another. Life becomes a living chore and we trudge through our day. This is why prayer is so important to our spiritual lives, even when we don’t feel like we are accomplishing any thing. Like running, we just have to keep pushing and suddenly we find ourselves over that foreboding hill.

The spiritual life takes faith and stamina. It is not a race. It is often a slow methodical dance with God. We are going to experience those times of utter darkness, the Dark Night of the Soul. Is God there or has he taken leave of us? Of course God is in the emptiness of our spirits waiting to refuel our lives, but we must be patient in prayer. If we have to spiritually slow down and walk then that is all right. God is there. The important thing is that we not judge ourselves as failures and question God. We all have spiritual dry spells. Christ will come to us and bring us hope and renewal, just as he did the disciples. He will refill our tanks as we recognize him just as the disciples did in the breaking of the bread.

So it is important during those times when we feel like our spiritual lives are running on empty to slow down, and center ourselves. God is there waiting to fill us with joy, renewed faith and spiritual stamina. All we have to do is continue to have an open mind and heart. And out there on our spiritual Roads to Emmaus we will encounter that stranger who will tell us everything we have ever done. It is at that point we realize we have been in the living presence of the risen Lord. Our spirits will be refreshed and renewed. Just don’t give up before the miracle happens.

Deathly Silence

Deathly silence and disappointment reigned on the morning of this Holy Saturday. Our Lord was gone, crucified and buried. Three years of preaching, teaching and working miracles led to this bitter end. Now what? The disciples and women who followed Jesus were surely distraught. Their leader, the man they so believed, was dead. Where to go from here? After all they had all made sacrifices for Jesus, only to witness his human execution. But even more than followers, they were his friends and they loved him, just as Jesus loved them.  Deathly silence reigned.

Often in our spiritual lives there is a deafening silence that leads to disappointment and despair. We try to remain faithful and then something like a bad medical diagnosis or a tragedy strikes and we cannot feel God’s presence any longer. Perhaps we have faithfully followed Christ all of our lives, seeking his help in times of trouble, knowing he was always there for us. There is a sudden void in our spirits, like the disciples surely felt. Fear creeps in and we begin to grasp at straws, seeking something, anything to fill that vacated space. Unfortunately we often fill that hole with things that are unhealthy for us. God is gone. He has deserted us and left us vulnerable. How do we move on from this place of desolation?

We are a spiritually vulnerable people, often open to attack by the Enemy. In those silent and desperate places our faith is tested. Will we continue to believe in Christ’s presence or will we turn to other things to find relief? Fear creeps in and we become lost and easily influenced by things that are unhealthy for our bodies, minds and spirits. If we are not careful our lives become consumed with spiritual garbage and debris. We turn from our faith, often unintentionally to purse worldly desires in place of Christ.  We soon find ourselves in worse trouble and even more isolated than before.

Jesus told his disciples all along what he must face. He told them that he would be put to death and rise again. They either didn’t understand or simply didn’t listen. The same is true for us in those times of spiritual deserts. Christ has not abandoned us. He is present in the deafly silence. He will return to us in fully resurrected strength. We just have to continue with our prayers and pursue our faith. For it is in the silence and vulnerability that our faith and love for God grows stronger. It is an opportunity for us to be more trusting of Christ and less selfish. It is an opportunity for us to get outside of our self-absorption and minister to others in more need. Thus we suddenly find the risen Lord working quietly in our life. He never left.

Just as the disciples met the risen Lord and became stronger from their struggles, so will we. God has not deserted us. The faith of Jesus’ followers grew out of that silence and their lives took on a new meaning and purpose. So will our lives if we simply hang on and continue to believe, despite the silence. For silence is the language of God, anything else is a bad interpretation.

Dark Gethsemane

The intensity of the evening must have been over bearing. Knowing that death lurked just around the corner. How could Jesus not simply turn and run away? How could he endure such foreboding and heaviness of heart? After all this was life we are talking about. Jesus in his full humanity must have been terrified. He must have felt the weight of the world on his shoulders, trying to pray, but receiving no response. The Son of Man experienced complete abandonment from the Father. His three closest disciples couldn’t even stay awake with him for one hour. How frightened and lonely those dark hours before death must have felt. Jesus experienced fear, anxiety and loneliness like no one on this earth ever had felt. He knew what awaited him and the dread must have been awful to bear. The wooden beams of the cross already laid claim to the Messiah.

On that dark night before his crucifixion Jesus endured pain, suffering and fear. He shook with anxiety, but never once disobeyed the Father. He knew what was coming and accepted it, not because he wanted to, but because he was obedient and selfless.

How often do we experience the Dark Night of the Soul, where fear rages and beats us down? Where anxiety and depression rule our lives. We all find ourselves in dark Gethsemane at some point in our lives. It is a place of loneliness and dead silence. It is a place in which the darkness is so thick that we can see no light of help or hope. It feels eternal but that is a lie. It will pass! Jesus suffered and died for us so that the darkness would be temporary and dissipate.

The sun will always rise again just as it did on the morning of Jesus’ resurrection. The night can only last so long, even though it may feel like it can last forever. Remember Jesus’ words in the Gospel of John, “The darkness cannot stand the light.” And my friends, the light will come and penetrate the darkness that lays siege to our hearts.

Whatever Garden of Gethsemane we may find our self in at this hour, know this, Jesus is the Risen Lord, and he will come for us. He is light perpetual. He is the Morning Star that knows no setting. Turn over to God whatever it is that holds us captive in the silent dark, and we will be set free.

Jesus died for our sins so that we wouldn’t have to experience a life of misery and darkness. By his death he destroyed death and the power of the darkness. He has brought light and set all the captives free, that includes us. So embrace Christ in your heart. Let his light burn there and whatever it is in this world that holds us captive will lose its power.

The Irony of Palm Sunday

The liturgy for Palm Sunday begins up beat as Jesus makes his triumphant entry into the holy city of Jerusalem. The crowd gathers and wave palms, they lay their cloaks on the ground for him to ride over. Surely this must be the One sent by God to deliver his people. He rides in from the east as the prophets foretold. This man may not resemble David, but the Davidic Messiah he surely must be! His angelic army will follow him and overthrow the oppressive Romans.  Zion will be restored and God will reign over his Chosen People. All other nations will falter and fall in front of them as they will be restored to power and might.

The crowd shouts Hosanna in the Highest Heaven, and Jesus is exalted as their liberator and savior. Yet we all know that this same crowd of people in just a few days will be screaming Crucify him, Crucify him! What happened to change their tone? Why did they give up on Jesus and turn their hostility towards him? Even worse, what made Judas betray his master?

Jesus was not the military leader that they expected. He was not the Davidic Messiah come to restore Zion. In the face of the Roman leadership he was humble and he refused to call down his army of angels.

Judas we are told was a thief. He stole from the common purse all the time. Judas was probably a Zealot (Jewish Extremist). He wanted Jesus more than ever to crush the Romans and set up the Kingdom of God in Jerusalem. Judas was a radical extremist ready to do anything to return the Kingdom of Zion and defeat the Romans. When Jesus didn’t turn out to be that kind of Messiah he was not only disappointed but also distraught.

Perhaps the Jewish people who so lovingly welcomed Jesus into the city felt the same way. We have all been let down in our lives. We have all had great expectations of something, only to be let down and disappointed. We have all had delusions of grandeur, only to face reality. This happened to the Jews in Jerusalem and it happens to us.

There is the story of a young man who grew up with the world at his fingertips. Given everything he had ever asked for, he expected the same from the world. But once he got out in the world he was met with bitter disappointment and despair. The world didn’t care about him, just as it doesn’t care about any one. He thought it would be easy to find fame and fortune only to have his dreams stomped on and crushed. Angrily, he turned to alcohol for his escape. There he could dream about his grandeur and live out his delusions. Yet the alcohol turned on him too and robbed him even further of his dignity, self-worth and dreams. Betrayed and lost he cursed God and ended his own life.

While we chose not to identify with Judas, there are times that we certainly can identify with him. We probably can’t count the number of times that we have prayed to God for help, assistance or assurance only to be met by silence. The problem(s) may even have become worse than ever before, so where was God? Like Judas perhaps we have tried to provoke God into action by doing something to stimulate a response. Yet still no response only more hurt and pain.

It is important that we not so easily dismiss Judas and the Jews. In many ways we can identify with them whether we like it or not. There is a little Judas in each one of us. When we fall into sin and wickedness we sell out Jesus. We reject his commandments and choose to take our lives and wills into our own hands. Why? Because we think we know what is best for us and how to handle any situation. We couldn’t be more wrong.

God loves and cares for each and every one of us no matter how far off the path we have strayed. God has compassion on the Judas’ in each of us. God knows we were born into sin and that we will always struggle with its effect. God knows that we are selfish creatures that “want what we want when we want it!” God knows that throughout our lives we will consistently fall in and out of relationship with God.

Don’t be so quick to write Judas off. We can identify with him whether we like it or not. That is the reality of this life. But remember, we can always turn back to Christ and he will forgive us our sins. Too bad the young man in the story never gave this any consideration.

Jesus came into this world with compassionate love for the lost sheep. He is our loving Shepherd who will continue to meet us where we are in life. He is our Lord who died for our sins. He is our Great High Priest who will lift us up out of the bog of self-will run riot.