It’s been a long time since I posted a written sermon. Among all the other things, COVID completely changed how I share what I preach. But today I’m going old school.
I live and serve in Wilmington, NC now where my congregation and community, The Anchor United Methodist Church, gathers outdoors on Sunday mornings. Many of the folks who are a part of this ministry are experiencing homelessness and live outdoors. The owner of a barge, which is also home to a restaurant called Anne Bonny’s Bar And Grill, graciously allows us to worship early on Sunday mornings. Today, it was a brisk 30 degrees with a pretty steady wind.
I am still navigating what it looks like to plan and lead worship, shape liturgy, serve communion, and preach in such a unique setting. The “congregation” includes people coming from warm homes and steady incomes and people who have slept on concrete, shivered through cold nights, and come to the barge needing the most basic of necessities like a warm coat and a blanket.
This morning, I stood up to preach this sermon and I almost immediately closed my notebook, put away my notes, and gave some boiled-down, clunky summary of what I was trying to say. People were cold, distracted, and I could feel a strong sense of dissonance. I wrapped it up fast and moved to communion.
I have often wondered if my sermon was the most appropriate word on any given day- I have never had the same doubt about communion. Breaking bread and pouring juice and reminding the people that this meal heals the world and mends our hearts simply never feels wrong.
I did not get a chance to record this sermon today, so I decided to post the manuscript.
May it find the ones who need to hear it.
John 1:35-39
35 The next day John was standing again with two of his disciples.36 When he saw Jesus walking along he said, “Look! The Lamb of God!” 37 The two disciples heard what he said, and they followed Jesus. 38 When Jesus turned and saw them following, he asked, “What are you looking for?” They said, “Rabbi (which is translated Teacher), where are you staying?” 39 He replied, “Come and see.” So they went and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon.
Come and see. We’ve heard it, we’ve said it.
“You’ll love this movie” – just come and see.
“These people are cool” – come and see.
“It’s gonna be so fun” – just come and see.
We’ve heard it and we’ve said it. Because we know that sometimes, people just have to experience it for themselves. Whether it’s deep sea fishing, pickle ball, poetry readings, comedy clubs, spartan races, bunco, bridge club, or ballroom dancing.
We can explain it all we want, we can hype it up all day long, but they won’t know until they actually try it.
When I find something that I think is fun or cool or meaningful, I am wired up to want to share it. If I read a good book, I immediately tell my family, my friends about it. I want everyone around me to read it so we can talk about it together.
I will teach jiu-jitsu techniques on the spot! I am so fascinated about what the human body is capable of accomplishing by bending a joint in just the right way that someone 100 pounds heavier and stronger could be neutralized. I want everyone to know how cool this is!!
Come and see.
So Jesus is walking along and passes a couple of John the Baptist followers. They’ve been listening to John’s preaching so they’ve heard of Jesus, they know of Jesus, and when they see him they flag him down and speak.
The disciples want to know where Jesus is staying. The invitation Jesus gives these future disciples is this, “Come and see.” They wind up going with Jesus and spending the rest of the day together.
There’s so much we could unpack here, but today we’re going to linger over these words.
I think these words are pretty much the defining invitation of Jesus’ life and ministry.
Come and see.
Listen to what a favorite spiritual writer of mine says:
The longer I have tried to follow Jesus, the more I can really say that I no longer believe in Jesus. I know Jesus. I know him because I have often taken his advice, taken his risks, and it always proves itself to be true! Afterward, we do not believe, we know.
Jesus is not telling us to believe unbelievable things, as if that would somehow please God. He is much more saying to us, “Try this,” and you will see for yourself that it is true (Richard Rohr, Preparing for Christmas: Daily Meditations for Advent, 61-62).Somewhere along the way, the gospel that Jesus preached, the message Jesus lived, what came to be Christianity, became all about doctrine- instead of practice.
The invitation Jesus gives to his followers is not to “believe these things,” the invitation is to “Come and see.” The invitation is, “Try this.”
Come and see if this is true:
Try this- Make friends quickly with your opponents on the way to court and see what happens.
Try this- let your yes be yes and your no be no.
Try this- do not fight back because violence will not be defeated by more violence.
Try this- treat your enemies with love and respect and send good prayers for the ones who cause you trouble.
Try this- don’t blow your trumpet when you give to the poor so everyone will praise you, but when you help those in need, do it secretly, so that God will honor you.
Try this- instead of worrying, go out into creation and look at the birds in sky, consider the lilies in the field and remember that God provides and cares.
Try this- if you do not want to be judged, then do not judge others.
Try this. . . Come and see.
I’m not real concerned about whether you believe in Jesus or not.
I care about whether or not you know him. I care about if you’ve spent time with Jesus.
Enough time to know what he actually said, enough time to know what he taught.
Enough time to know how he lived. And who he cared about.
I care about whether or not you’ve tried it.
Tried the risks, the responses, the practices, the posture, the prayer, and the faith that Jesus lived.
I’m less and less concerned about whether you have faith in Jesus and more and more concerned about whether you know the faith of Jesus (consider the difference).
Do you know the God that Jesus revealed?
Have you experienced the presence and love and way of that God?
The invitation Jesus gives to those seekers that he meets on the road, those fellow travelers walking along the way. . . the first invitation was this, Come and see.
Try this. . . and you’ll find out if it is true.
Try this. . . and then you tell me, whether you’re a believer or not.