Sermon Tone Analysis

Gabriel and Jesus

Someone has imagined a story of the angel Gabriel meeting Jesus on the day of His ascension into heaven and asking: How did it go Master, how did it go?

It went poorly he said, they nailed me to a cross.

But I preached the love of God as long as I could.

Then said Gabriel, what did you do to see that it would be carried out.

I chose twelve said Jesus and I gave them the gospel of God's love for all mankind.

I told them to go and tell others.

But what if they don't do he asked.

And the story has it that the master said: then there is no other way.

Someone has imagined a story of the angel Gabriel meeting Jesus on the day of His ascension into heaven and asking: “How did it go Master, how did it go?”

“It went poorly,” he said, “they nailed me to a cross.

But I preached the love of God as long as I could.

“

Then said Gabriel, “What did you do to see that it would be carried out.”

“I chose twelve disciples...” Jesus said, “and I gave them the gospel of God's love for all mankind.

I told them to go and tell others.”

“But what if they don't do as you commanded?”

Gabriel asked.

And the story has it that the master said: “Then there would be no other way.

But I’m not too worried—for I am sending the Holy Spirit to them.

The word will spread.”

It is time that the church recaptures that purpose that was given it on Pentecost day.

The church today sometimes seems to be trying to hold on to dear life by holing up and preserving what it has left when it ought to be moving forward courageously and even at times recklessly into the communities around us—seeking to do too much ministry rather than just enough.

I am tired of seeing the church being paralyzed by a fear of death and pushed into a lethargic survivalist state of existence.

It is time that the church recaptures that purpose that was given it on Pentecost day.

The church today sometimes seems to be trying to hold on to dear life by holing up and preserving what it has left when it ought to be moving forward courageously and even at times recklessly into the communities around us—seeking to do too much ministry rather than just enough.

The church is not dead.

The church is not dying.

The church is in the midst of transformation—and even though transformation, or change if you prefer, can be downright terrifying—change is not a negative thing.

Yes, there can be fear during change--especially when we stand at the beginning of that transformation, not yet able to peer over the hill to see what might await the church on the other side of the mountain.

While we joke about Lutherans being afraid of change… we do have a tradition around that.

And that tradition extends far wider than just within Lutheran circles.

Disciples Afraid of Change

The fear of change is actually a tradition dating back to the disciples!

The disciples were afraid of what the change would be in their lives after Christ’s death.

They too had a hard time peering over the hill of the future to see the wonder that God had in store for them.

I am tired of seeing churches paralyzed by a fear of death and pushed into a lethargic survivalist state of existence.

And then I read articles that talk about the church being either dead or dying here in the United States.

Scripture speaks of the doubt and fear that the disciples had after Christ’s death.

We hear the story of how they locked themselves up in a room and tried to shut out the horror of the world around them.

Let me be clear: The church is not dead.

The church is not dying.

The church is in the midst of transformation—and even though transformation, or change if you prefer, can be downright terrifying—change is not a negative thing.

And when Christ returned to them from the realm of the dead, the gospel writers tell us that the disciples first reaction to Christ was not joy and excitement but rather that they were startled and frightened—they believed that they were seeing some ghost… likely an evil spirit.

It wasn’t until the disciples could touch and see his wounds and actually watched him eat that they began to believe that the man standing before them was indeed their brother and savior, Jesus the Son of God.

And yet, Jesus continued to dwell with them.

The author of the book of Acts tells us in the first chapter of the book that Jesus did not just appear that one time to the disciples.

After giving proof of identity the first time around, scripture tells us that he appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke with them about the kingdom of God.

Christ prepared them for the unleashing of the Holy Spirit amongst them.

Christ prepared them for what we are celebrating today—for Pentecost.

Preparing them to transform from fear into new life.

As we speak about Pentecost, we often think about it in terms of either something that just happened two-thousand years ago or perhaps something that is designed more for the world-wide church.

But I believe Pentecost is a very personal experience.

Fear comes during change--especially when we stand at the beginning of that transformation, not yet able to peer over the hill to see what might await the church on the other side of the mountain.

While we joke about Lutherans being afraid of change… we do have a tradition around being afraid of change.

And that tradition extends far wider than just within Lutheran circles.

First Year

Disciples Afraid of Change

As such, I’m going to share a rather personal story—and I’ll say in advance that I did get Ashley’s permission to tell this story.

The fear of change is actually a tradition dating back to the disciples!

The disciples were afraid of what the change would be in their lives after Christ’s death.

They too had a hard time peering over the hill of the future to see the wonder that God had in store for them.

Ashley and I have been married ten years now—and I could not imagine going through this journey without her.

But our first year of marriage made me wonder what that journey would be.