What Is Your Good News?
I grew up in a church where we were encouraged to practice our ‘elevator speech’, so that we would be ready at a moment’s notice to tell someone succinctly that Jesus died for them and they would be saved if they believed. Many Episcopalians wouldn’t take quite the same theological angle, but the idea itself of being able to articulate your faith is a valuable one. So if, for some reason, someone asked you why you believe in God, or why you come to church, do you know what you’d say? Can you articulate it to yourself, never mind someone else? Why do you go to church? Why do you hold onto faith?
For some, this is an easy question to answer, for others it is much harder to put into words. Some might not even know why they are here at all, other than it’s something that they do, part of the rhythm of the week. But a common thread in our collect and readings this morning is the idea of salvation, and telling others. It also connects nicely with last week, where the disciple Andrew met Jesus, then went to tell his brother Simon Peter. There’s a cause and response, an event and consequence. Then in today’s collect we have the phrase, ‘give us grace… to proclaim to all people the good news’. Now, for many, the prospect of proclaiming is a bit alarming. It sounds like standing on the street corners waving a placard around. It sounds embarrassing. It sounds vulnerable. But does it need to be those things? I don’t think so.
In the new testament reading from 1 Corinthians, Paul gives us this lovely description of how Christ did send him to proclaim, but not with eloquent wisdom. It doesn’t have to be fancy, or formal, or pre-planned. Not only does it not need to be eloquent, but it’s even preferable if it’s not, because that leaves more space for the Holy Spirit to be at work, doing its powerful thing. WE are never the ones who cause others to turn to God, we just tell our own stories in our own ways and the Spirit does the rest. Hopefully that is something of a relief! So that brings us back to the question, what is it to proclaim the good news? What is it for you?
One of the joys of the Episcopal church is that we are home to folks from so many different church upbringings, with a wide variety of ways of understanding the bible and different theological viewpoints. When we say the Creed together, some of us might believe every line. Some will not. Some might say it as a way of participating in the liturgical journey, without thinking any of it needs to be taken literally. Some will see it as a description of the vital tenets of faith. Similarly, we’ll have a variety of understandings of what exactly the good news is.
Is it that Jesus died to save us from our sins, without which we are condemned to hell? For some episcopalians, yes, for others, no. Is the good news simply that God loves us in all our messy complexity, always has and always will? For some, yes, for others, that is not the whole story. If you’ve never thought it through for yourself before, I encourage you to take some time to reflect. If you had to give your ‘elevator pitch’ of faith, what would it be? What would it look like? And how do you ‘proclaim’? Do you proclaim through conversation? Through action? Through worship? Through invitation? Through social involvement? Through teaching your children or grandchildren? Through your friendships?
There are a myriad of ways we can tell or show others our faith. It can be unique to each of us, but the important thing is that we do it. We asked, when we prayed the collect, for the grace to proclaim, and whatever kind of Episcopalian you are, it’s important to know why you have a faith in the first place, and to be excited enough about it that it moves and shapes you. Because what is the end goal? That the whole world may perceive the glory of God’s marvellous works! As Jesus said, the kingdom of God has come near. But we just sometimes need a prompt to perceive it.
And the prompt? Often, it’s us. Our proclaiming is what makes God’s glory visible, obvious, shining into the darkness. Our proclaiming draws others in (hopefully!). Our proclaiming is how we too become fishers of men, following in the footsteps of the first disciples, who along with Paul didn’t speak with eloquence, but were just themselves, opening the way for the Spirit to be at work.
So what’s your elevator pitch? What is your faith? How do you proclaim? We all have a part to play, and together the Church is a powerful beacon of God’s love. Let’s make it shine! Amen.
1 Corinthians 1:10-18; Matthew 4:12-23
