Sermon: 2 Corinthians 13:11-13 – Making Disciples of All Nations

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard
Sermon: 2 Corinthians 13:11-13 – Making Disciples of All Nations
Eagle Rock Presbyterian Church
May 15, 2008

This past Sunday an extraordinary event happened in our church. We had a multicultural concert as a lead in to our evening worship service. Singers and dancers from a variety of ethnic churches were invited. We had Native American, Hispanic and Jamaican Christians doing what they do in their own churches, performing here for us as part of an event that was designed to demonstrate to the community that we are a church that welcomes people from different cultures, nations and ethnicities. We wanted to show Eagle Rock that we celebrate the diversity of our community. This is part of our effort to build Eagle Rock Presbyterian Church into a multiethnic and multicultural church. Today I will be reflecting theologically on this event, and what it means for our church.

But first will you pray with me? Father in heaven, calm our fear of others and help to follow you into our multiethnic community here in Eagle Rock. Send your Spirit to fill us with love for you and for our neighbors. Help us to make disciples of people from every nation and ethnic group who live in our community. And send Jesus Christ to be with us always in worship. We pray this in the name of our triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, amen.

Our scripture reading today is from Matthew. It is the Great Commission that Christ gave to the church. This scripture is therefore our mission as the church of Jesus Christ. This is what Christ is calling us to do. So listen carefully to this familiar text.

Matthew 28: 16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

Matthew first tells us that the disciples of Jesus were obedient. After the crucifixion they could have fled. And they justifiably could have concluded that all the Jesus had said was a lie. A rumor was already circulating that Jesus had not been resurrected by God, but that his body had been stolen. The disciples could have believed this lie and continued their lives as if nothing had happened, as if they had never met Jesus. But as followers of Jesus they chose to follow him wherever he might lead. This is the calling of the church: to follow Jesus wherever he leads us. So we have to not only listen carefully to Jesus’ words, but we have to be willing to put those words into action. We have to turn understanding into obedience.

Once we have chosen to obey Christ we are led by him into worship. Worship is always directed at Jesus Christ because Jesus is God and therefore the only acceptable object of our worship. The important question is not how we worship but who we worship. Over the centuries there have been many different ways of worshiping but the direction of worship is always turned toward Christ. The earliest church worshiped in the Greek tongue in house churches. The medieval church built great cathedrals and worshiped in Latin. The reformed church translated the Word of God into the language of God’s people, and emphasized that the reading and proclamation of the Word of God was vital to legitimate worship. In the 20th and 21st centuries worship has included a wide variety of cultural expressions. The manner of worship is unimportant so long as the object of worship is Jesus Christ.

Worship is not limited to only those who believe. Even some of the 11 who had followed Jesus for years still doubted much of what he had to say. Even nonbelievers should be invited to worship because it is through the worship of Jesus Christ that we come to belief. In worship Jesus comes to us. So it does not matter where or when we worship as long as our worship is centered on Jesus. The authority to worship comes to us not from the state or even from the congregational leaders. Our authority to worship comes directly from Jesus himself who has unlimited power from God.

Jesus uses this authority to tell us that our mission as church is to make disciples, followers of Jesus, and baptized them in the name of our triune God. As we are going about our day to day lives we are to tell everyone we meet about the good news we have found in Christ. We are to proclaim this Good News to people of all nations. Jesus was not talking about modern nation states like we have today. Rather Jesus used the Greek word ethnos from which we get the word “ethnic”. In other words Jesus was telling us that we are to make disciples of all the different ethnic groups who live in Eagle Rock. To obey Jesus means that we must make disciples of all the people in Eagle Rock regardless of their ethnic background, nationality, language, dress, documentation or income level. Therefore, obedience to Jesus requires that we become a multiethnic church in this diverse community.

I grew up in a church just like this one. We had lots of families and the church was building classrooms and a larger sanctuary. We were all white and worshiped in a very traditional Presbyterian style. Our biggest fear was the blacks would move into our community and take away what we had. As an adult I was able to make enough money to live in the affluent suburbs far away from the poverty and crime of the city. I worshiped in traditional Presbyterian churches. Almost everyone in these churches was white.

Several years ago I joined a Masonic lodge in Washington DC. It was a great source of friendships that last to this day. Unlike the churches in Washington the Masonic lodges are very multiethnic. People from all over the world come to Washington to live and have joined Masonic lodges for activities and friendships. I was able to meet and establish friendships with people from many different nations. I loved this experience. So when I was looking at seminaries I wanted a place where I could study with people from all over the world. That is why I chose Fuller. And while at Fuller I lived in an extremely multinational apartment complex. My neighbor on one side was from Africa and on the other was from China. While at Fuller I met and married a woman from Korea. And my internship at Pasadena Presbyterian Church was with a ministry to international students from around the world. So when it came time to look for a church I wanted to find a call to a multiethnic community and a church that was willing to welcome into its fellowship people from many different nations and languages and cultures. That is why I came to this church because you offered me the opportunity to build a multiethnic church.

Christ wants us to build a multiethnic church because that is in the very nature of God. We believe that we have one God. This is the God of the Hebrews who created everything. But this one God exists in diversity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. So too must the church be united as one while existing in a diversity of ethnic worship all centered on Jesus Christ. Our triune God is held together as one by the bonds of mutual love. So too must the church be bound together by the love of God and our love for each other. A multiethnic church is tied together into one unified church by the bonds of genuine mutual love.

If we are going to build a multiethnic church here in Eagle Rock we must confess our fears to God. Only God can settle our hearts and fill us with love so that we can reach out into the community around us with offers of that love. We must confess the anger that prevents us from loving our neighbor as God love us. We must be obedient to Christ and reach out to our neighbors with worship that is sensitive to their cultural needs. We must accept changes, meals after worship, new musical and cultural styles that are sensitive to the desires of people in the community, and new hearts which allow us to love our neighbors in new ways. Change is always scary. But I urge you not to be afraid of the diverse people who now live in Eagle Rock. Ask God to calm your fears and fill your hearts with love. The promise of scripture is that if we love those who live in Eagle Rock and make disciples of all the different ethnic groups who live here then Jesus will be with us in worship until he returns at the end of time. So I hope you will attend and enjoy the multicultural events and worship which with God’s help will bring new people into our church. I pray that all of our hearts will be filled with love as we come into contact with people from other ethnic groups. I want us all to be as welcoming as we can to everyone who comes looking for Jesus in this place.

God in heaven, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, bind us together with your mutual love. Fill our hearts with desire to take this love into our diverse community. Bless us with a multiethnic church which can worship you in many different ways. And we pray this in name of the one with supreme authority and whom we will obey, amen.