JAN. 21, 2007 PASTOR SCOTT FULLER
NE 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10; PS 19; I COR 12:12-31a; LK 4:14-21
Prepare our hearts, Lord, to receive your Word. Silence in us any voice but your own that in hearing we may believe and in believing we may obey your will revealed to us in Jesus Christ. Amen.
Dear friends in Christ: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
The best defense is a good offense.
Now with that as the title of my sermon, you might think I’m a little too caught up in the march to the Super Bowl. But, since neither the Seahawks nor the Vikings will be in it, my interest is more casual this year. However, the game of football is where I first heard this popular proverb.
Anyone want to take a stab at what it means? It could mean that:
- if you can keep your offense on the field grinding out yards and winding down the clock, you increase your chances of winning.
- if you can score points early and often, you will force your opponent out of their game plan and cause them to make mistakes.
In short, it means to be proactive: in making decisions, devising plans and setting goals. The only other option is to be reactive – to let the plans and plays of the other team, the plans and plays of other people, define how you must live your life. And that’s rarely a good place to be.
I know, because I spent many of my young-adult years being reactive rather than proactive, defensive rather than offensive. I found myself tempted to avoid making decisions, to wait for others to make plans, to respond to someone else’s goals for me. Somehow that was less of a threat than if I were to make a decision on my own…and have it be the wrong one.
It’s called the fear of failure. I’m very thankful that God placed certain individuals and experiences in my life, including my Internship here at Gloria Dei, to help me shed that negative thinking.
So being proactive is pretty simple advice and we practice it in many avenues of life. For example, how do athletes prepare for a game or a meet? You’re proactive: you exercise; work on plays, strokes or skills; you eat, drink and sleep well; and you think positively. We prepare for tests the very same way. Again, we’re proactive: we study, we read, we practice; we eat, drink, and sleep well; and we think positively.
Now here’s a harder question: how are we to prepare for the challenges of Life…and Death? No surprise here: we’re called to be proactive spiritually as well. There’s a clue how to do it in our Gospel lesson. Take another look at those verses from Luke 4 and tell me something that’s proactive about Jesus?
Luke 4:16 He went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, as was his custom. In our terms? He went to worship on Sunday as usual.
The Messiah, the Christ, and still he worships weekly… Why? Well, first, I believe he’s being obedient to God. But also I think he’s being proactive for what’s to come. Betrayed by one friend, he’ll be denied by another, abandoned by the rest, beaten by soldiers, cursed by his people, and nailed to a cross to die. He will even feel abandoned by God, and truly need to trust the Spirit on his walk through the valley of death.
’Til now I’ve just talked about how being proactive will help you in life. But here everything changes for everyone. There’s much more to life than taking care of ourselves. As Jesus demonstrates on the cross, God is calling each of us to be proactive in sharing our faith and serving our neighbors in response to Jesus’ gifts of faith, hope and love.
Here’s a story about how one man felt led to be proactive in faith. Tony Campolo, a dynamic Christian personality, once flew into Hawaii to speak at a conference. With the time change and all, at 3:00 the next morning…he finds himself looking for an early breakfast. Most places are closed but he soon sits down at the counter of an all-nite diner for coffee and a donut.
Suddenly, in off the street walks a group of…prostitutes who have just finished their work for the night. The banter is loud and crude, and then one woman says to another, Hey, it’s my birthday tomorrow…I’m going to be 39! But no one seems too excited and they all drift off home.
Tony discovers from Harry, the man behind the counter, that the woman’s name is Agnes and that they are all regular customers. So Tony says, Let’s throw her a birthday party tomorrow night! His new friend agrees, both to pass the word and bake the cake. By 2:30 the next morning, the place is full of…prostitutes and decorations.
Finally, when Agnes walks in, they all shout HAPPY BIRTHDAY! She’s stunned, and when Harry brings out her cake, she starts to cry. Eventually, they get her to blow out the candles, but then she asks, Would it be alright if we didn’t eat it right now? I’d like to take it home for a while – no one’s ever made me a birthday cake before.
So she picks it up like a precious jewel and carries it home a few doors down the street. In the stunned silence that follows, Tony stands on a chair and says, How about we say a prayer together? Then he prays for Agnes, that her life would be changed and that God would be good to her.
Finishing the prayer, Tony steps down and is confronted by the wary cook. Harry grunts, You didn’t say you were a preacher – what kind of church do you belong to anyway? Tony responds with a smile, The kind that throws birthday parties for prostitutes at 3:30 in the morning.
But Harry answers, There ain’t no church like that. If there was, I’d join it. I’d join a church like that.
Think of the good Tony did that night. Think of how he was the Church, a little Christ to these: the little, the lost, the least…the lonely. He was proactive, I’m sure, because it was the right thing to do and because he has a good heart. But I also think it’s because he has grounded his life in worshiping God and serving his neighbors for Jesus’ sake.
As Jesus proactively prepared for the cross by going to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, as was his custom, so you and I are invited to prepare for the life that God presents us. Remember how you have been nurtured in and recognized by a family of faith. Use this foundation to be proactive as you are presented with moments to bless your neighbors and to worship our Lord and God, our Savior and Friend. Amen.