Other Scriptural passages:
Isaiah 66:10-16
Galatians 6:(1-10)14-18
Psalm 66 or 66:1-8
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, Lord, my rock and my redeemer. Amen. (Psalm 19:14)
In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus mentions authority. He mentions it in the context of delegating authority to others, to us. The authority to spread the Gospel is evangelism. But evangelism is not just standing on a street corner with a bullhorn telling people to “turn or burn” and “get right or get left.” Verse 14 of our Psalm for today, Psalm 66, says, “Come and listen, all you who fear God, and I will tell you what he has done for me.”
Evangelism has been defined as “one beggar telling another where he found bread.” Doesn’t that sound like the absolute substance of the Gospel, the Bread of Life? Yet we refuse to share it. We don’t believe we know enough about the Bible, or behave like good enough Christians to lead others to the Lord.
From what the Psalmist tells us in verse 9, that’s hogwash — which is a pretty loaded term theologically, considering the prohibition against pork. He says, “For you, O God, have proved us; you have tried us just as silver is tried.” The words “proved” and “tried” might be better understood in that context as “refined” or “completed.”
The Bible has many passages that describe our Lord as a refiner of silver. Malachi 3:3 says: “He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.”
An email that’s been going around mentions a woman who heard that particular verse in a Bible study. She decided to find out more about the process to tell the others the following week, since they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God.
So she called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn’t mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver.
As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, you need to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities.
The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot then she thought again about the verse that says: “He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver.”
She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined.
The man answered that he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he also had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.
The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, “How do you know when the silver is fully refined?”
He smiled at her and answered, “Oh, that’s easy — when I see my image in it.”
So when the Psalmist tells us in verse 9 that God has tried us just as silver is tried, he is reminding us that we have been made in the image of God — that all our difficult moments in life, our trials and tribulations, refine us so that we bear the image of God for others to see as well.
In biblical times, emissaries from the emperor would arrive in the nation they were sent to with large banners bearing the image of the emperor on them. They understood that anyone bearing the image of the emperor acted on his behalf, and had the emperor’s authority.
They were ambassadors of their emperor. Today, we don’t use banners with God’s image on them, but we are his ambassadors nonetheless. When I was training for my credentials in Pastoral Crisis Intervention, the chaplain who was teaching us said that when we arrive at a disaster scene with our crucifix, or clerical collar, or chaplain’s shirt, many people there don’t see a person. They see God reaching out to them in their distress. The embodiment of God’s promise of hope has arrived. That chaplain on the scene is an ambassador of God.
Part of our country’s naval tradition includes announcing the arrival of important visitors aboard Navy ships. When they arrive, what they represent is what is announced. When the President of the United States of America boards a U.S. Navy ship, the announcement is “United States of America arriving.” The president is the embodiment of the entire United States of America.
When we as Christians go forth under the authority of Jesus Christ, to the people who accept us and our message, we are the embodiment of Christ himself. That is why miracles are happening all over Africa and Asia and South America today — because the Ambassadors of Christ there are going forth under his authority instead of their own.
David Fisher, in his book The 21st Century Pastor, writes about an experience he had while serving on the board of a Christian college:
“During that time, the government of Swaziland wanted to recruit Christian school teachers to come to their country and help them set up a Christian school system. Swaziland is a monarchy, and this was the desire of the king.
“Swaziland’s ambassador to the United Nations, Nelson Malinga, came to the college to interview students. (Fisher) was privileged, along with another board member, to serve as his host for two days. It was an eye-opening experience.
“(Fisher’s) lifetime in a democracy had not prepared (him) for the power of a monarchy. (He) had never before met a government official, and (he) discovered that ambassadors are a very special type of governmental official. Ambassadors of a king are even more unusual.
“(Fisher said), “The first thing I noticed was Mr. Malinga’s sense of dignity. It was quickly apparent that he was the personal representative of a king. His office bore an inherent power that gave the ambassador great confidence. From his behavior it was clear that he was well aware that he spoke for a king. He was quick to say, ‘Well, the king says, …’
“If anyone had questioned his authority or his word, he could simply have replied, “Call the king!” Mr. Malinga’s dignified confidence rested in his assurance that he spoke for a monarch who had nearly absolute power.
“Because the ambassador spoke for the king, a certain authority accompanied everything he did or said. At the same time, however, the ambassador was quite reserved. At all times he deferred to the king, from whom his confidence and power came, for neither the message he spoke nor the mission he was on were his own.
“At night when the meetings were over and we went back to the hotel, Mr. Malinga had one last task. He called home to talk to the king. He had known the king all his life and represented a king he loved and respected. I think that much of the ambassador’s dignity and quiet sense of authority came not just from his high office but also from his relationship with the king. He knew what the king thought and desired. He lived to make the king’s wishes come into being.
“Jesus came to earth to do the same thing for his Father that Mr. Malinga did for the King of Swaziland. He came to make the wishes of the Father come true.”(David Fisher, The 21st Century Pastor: A Vision Based on the Ministry of Paul (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Pub. House, 1996), 238-239.)
And Jesus has given us his authority as his ambassadors on earth.
Funny thing about authority — not everyone respects it. We hire police officers to enforce our laws, and give them the authority to do so, yet many people refuse to obey the laws or the police officers.
Some countries don’t have diplomatic relations with others and therefore reject any ambassadors sent by them. If we act that way toward ambassadors of other nations, why are we surprised that people who follow the prince of this world — Satan — would reject ambassadors of Jesus Christ?
The creators of the lectionary had the authority to leave out verses 13 through 15 of Luke’s Gospel in today’s reading, and chose to do so. But I want to share them with you because I think there’s a significance in them that we overlook when we hear the names of some first-century towns and villages.
In the preceding verses of Luke’s Gospel, Jesus says:
“But whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say, ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet know this: the kingdom of God has come near.’ I tell you, on that day it will be more tolerable for Sodom than for that town.”
Then in verses 13 through 15 Jesus says:
“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the deeds of power done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But at the judgment it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? No, you will be brought down to Hades.
Sodom was considered the epitome of evil in Jewish culture. And Sodom was destroyed by fire and brimstone from the sky way back in the Book of Genesis. So for Jesus to say that Sodom will be better off than the towns that reject the messengers acting on his authority is a very powerful statement.
Jesus then states in verses 13 through 15 his warning of the judgment that awaits the Jewish towns that had refused his message. Chorazin was a town just north of Capernaum. In both those towns and Bethasaida, Jesus performed many miracles. Yet they refused to accept him.
Additionally, they regarded the Pagan towns such as Tyre and Sidon as absolutely godless. For Jesus to say that Tyre and Sidon, which had not seen Jesus, would have given a warmer response to the gospel than these Jewish towns that had seen Jesus is a powerful way of saying just how blind they were to the gospel; their pride would experience a swift downfall.
If the Gospel message was not received, the messengers were told to warn the town about the divine judgment that was waiting for them. And then the messengers were to disclaim further responsibility after they had clearly presented the message. But they were still told to deliver the message, even if it would not be received, because they were his personal representatives.
Christians are persecuted all over the world just for being Christians, with the highest numbers of death and torture in communist and Islamic nations. They are routinely beaten, imprisoned, or killed for no other crime than being Christians.
Every once in a while, I ask myself a question: If being a Christian became illegal in this country, would there be enough evidence to convict me? It’s a tough question that we all should ask ourselves. The authority that comes from following Jesus brings with it a responsibility to act. An ambassador who stays at home is worthless. The whole purpose of an ambassador is to bring the king’s message to others.
Imagine an ambassador at the United Nations refusing to meet with anyone because he’s afraid that people won’t agree with the message he has to deliver. He stays in his office reading the memos coming in from his home country, and even pins some of them up on his walls. He reads and re-reads books about the history of his country, and stories about the heroes of the many battles they’ve won. And then he puts the books away each day and never tells anyone about the stories he’s read or the history he’s learned.
Day after day, the General Assembly meets and the ambassador remains in his office, afraid to speak about what his king sent him there to proclaim. That ambassador is deliberately going against his king’s wishes, doing what he feels comfortable doing instead of what his king expects him to do.
At some point, the king will call his ambassador home and ask for a report. The king will be pretty angry that his ambassador chose to stay in the quiet comfort of his office, refusing to pass the king’s messages to the rest of the assembly. And that anger will be justifiable.
By the way, the Book of Common Prayer defines sin on Page 848 as seeking our own will instead of the will of God. So if we’re behaving like the ambassador in my example, we’re sinning against God.
Jesus wants us to live up to the responsibility that goes with our authority. We each have different levels of authority and responsibility, and he expects us to meet those levels.
When Christian Herter was governor of Massachusetts, he was running hard for a second term in office. One day, after a busy morning chasing votes (and no lunch) he arrived at a church barbecue. It was late afternoon and Herter was famished. As the Governor moved down the serving line, he held out his plate to the woman serving chicken. She put a piece on his plate and turned to the next person in line.
“Excuse me,” Governor Herter said, “do you mind if I have another piece of chicken?”
“Sorry,” the woman told him. “I’m supposed to give one piece of chicken to each person.”
“But I’m starved,” the governor said.
“Sorry,” the woman said again. “Only one to a customer.”
Governor Herter was a modest and unassuming man, but he decided that this time he would throw a little weight around. “Do you know who I am?” he said. “I am the governor of this state.”
“Do you know who I am?” the woman said.
“No I don’t know who you are,” he said.
“Well, I’m the lady in charge of the chicken and it’s one piece of chicken per customer. Now move on down the line.”
We should all be as comfortable with our authority as this woman was. As ambassadors of Jesus, we carry his authority. But we usually avoid showing it because we’re afraid of what people may think of us for taking a stand for Christ’s Gospel message.
As a preacher, I have a somewhat captive audience to whom God expects me to deliver and interpret his Good News. Most of you don’t have that same opportunity.
But you may have a friend in the hospital you could visit; or a relative you haven’t spoken to in years; or some extra clothes and food you could bring to a shelter downtown. The possibilities, like the need, are endless.
Saint Francis of Assisi reportedly said, “Preach the Gospel at all times; use words when necessary.”
When we do these things, we are showing the love of Jesus Christ to others. We become beggars who are showing other beggars where to find bread. And we become true ambassadors of Christ.
God bless you all.
