So who wants to be an evangelist?
In the name...
So when I was in high school, a group of friends and I used to love going to watch professional wrestling. Now this was before it got really, REALLY popular. This was before Randy Savage was the Macho Man, or Dusty Rhodes was the American Dream, or Jerry Lawler was the King. This was even before Ric Flair was the Nature Boy.
But they were cool, and it was still fun. And when they came to town, they would always wrestle at the Memorial Auditorium. So, you knew it was a big deal. And given that it was a big deal also meant that standing outside, rain or shine, holding some sign or another, would be our local street evangelist, Dan Martino.
Dan was also a big deal. He even got himself on CNN later in life, holding up signs at both the Republican and Democratic conventions. But it was mainly his sharp wit and command of both the Bible and politics that made him both loathed and loved, depending on whether your side was being attacked or not.
He was also a profoundly angry and sad man.
But when I first met Dan, it was at the beginning of his career, standing on the steps of the Memorial Auditorium as we lined up to see our favorite wrestlers. He was holding a sign condemning everyone who drinks beer. This was probably a good sign to choose at this time, because a lot of people there were already drunk and ready to rumble.
And that was when one of those eternally doomed drunkards confronted the "evangelist." I don't remember the exchange precisely, but I do remember that both men were loudly quoting the Bible and poking each other.
It started out funny, but then I think everybody there realized that it wasn't funny at all. It was intense. It was sad. It was disturbing. Two people treating each other with contempt, hurling Bible verses like verbal grenades.
One of my Jewish friends, Steve Lebovitz, looked at me, and with a smile, laughed and said, "You see why I'm not Christian." I don't recall replying to that, I probably couldn't come up with anything anyway. And the line started moving, so we went in. And I wondered, as we made our way to our seats, if the confrontation had eventually erupted into a fight.
Evangelists.
They come in all sorts of flavors, don't they? And not all of them are street preachers, waving signs and thumping bibles. Sometimes you might encounter them on, say, an airplane, where they hold you captive for as long as the plane is in the air. Or sometimes, you see them on TV telling you that the more you have, the more God loves you...now prove how much you have by sending some into me.
Or sometimes they are like, say, the country club lady, who, upon hearing about some sudden misfortune of yours, will say, “I'm praying for you.” But you can tell that what she's thinking is your faith isn't quite as real as hers. She'll say “Bless your heart” while at the same time doubting that you're ever going to be worth that blessing.
As quiet, polite Episcopalians, this sort of thing seems to rub us the wrong way, and when people like me stand up and say we should all be evangelists, like, say, the Apostle Andrew, we all get a little nervous. But what if being an evangelist is not about being self-righteous or being pushy or being a religious know-it-all or standing on street corners or quoting Bible verses?
Maybe that's what we are being shown in today's readings. John the Baptist has paid attention to this new phenomenon in the world and has experienced Jesus as the one who takes away sin. And now he has a story to tell. Andrew has seen this man at work and says we have found the anointed one...the chosen one. And now HE has a story to tell. And the psalmist in our passage today describes God as the one who has lifted him up from the pit and put a new song in his heart. And now he has a story to tell.
Paying attention to the way God shows up in your life is where evangelism starts. That's what this season of Epiphany is all about...noticing God in our lives. And telling that story.
Maybe like John the Baptist, in a moment of epiphany, you too have come to know Jesus as the one who takes away, …...takes away guilt or shame or burdens too heavy to carry, too deep to undo, takes away despair or cynicism. Maybe like Andrew and Phillip you have come to know Jesus through religious teachings and to know yourself to be called into the sacred, on-going story where God continues to love and transform the world. Maybe like the psalmist, you have endured unspeakable grief and times of unbelief and have felt a strength, a power beyond your own, sustain you and lift you up.
These are all moments worthy of telling, worthy of sharing. Don't keep them to yourself. Because that is evangelism. The words you share are simply the words that tell your honest story--nothing more, nothing less--the words of an evangelist are not threats but testimony. The words of the evangelist are not answers but authenticity. The words of the evangelist are not doctrine but discipleship. The words of the evangelists are not quotes, but questions, heart-to-heart questions.
But most important, I think, evangelism begins with a genuine attentiveness to the other. This is what Jesus shows us. In this story, Jesus is just walking along, minding his own business until these other guys run up to him. The passage tells us he turned around and he LOOKED at them. Or in the King James Version, he BEHELD them. He didn't give them a test or worthiness, he didn't give them a plan. He simply BEHELD them.
He beheld them. He pays full attention to them. He sees them. He contemplates them. And then he asks a probing question. What are you seeking? What do you want? You see, true evangelism is an invitation to walk together, to come and see. Come and See. True evangelism is invitation, not intimidation.
So I wonder about your story. How did you get here today? Why are you here today? What are you seeking? Who in your life has paid attention to you and seen you and asked you the questions that go below the surface of our lives? Who has taken the time in a busy life and turned around and beheld you? Who in your life has asked the questions beyond: What do you do? Where do you live? Where did you go to school? Where did you grow up?
Who BEHELD you and asked what are you seeking? Who invited you to COME and SEE? Who invited you into this community of faith where God is at work and people are asking and learning and serving and growing and worshiping together?
Whoever those people are they are the EVANGELISTS of the world. They are the bearers of Good News, and the world needs more of them. Those who love because they have been loved. Those who welcome because they have been welcomed. Those who take the time to turn around and see another because they have been seen. Those who invite because they have received an invitation.
If that's what it means to be an evangelist, I wonder how many of you already are evangelists? If that's what it means to be an evangelist, let me ask you again. Who wants to be an evangelist?
Amen.