The Super Spreading Power of the Gospel

June 28, 2020 Pentecost 4 The Rev. Mark Pendleton Christ Church, Exeter The Super Spreading Power of the Gospel My goal for the sermon today was to convey the message of the gospel reading without making one reference to the state of the world around us - especially the ongoing impact of the global pandemic. I thought: how hard could that be to stay in the ancient text without bringing in our post-modern world? I must be able to do this one simple thing. Stay in my self-imposed preaching lane, take us on a spiritual journey and hopefully provide an uplifting and inspiring word that would allow us all, just for a few minutes at least, to take a break from the heaviness of the moment -- with its drumbeat of updates and advisories. Did I succeed? Absolutely not! Here's why. I started thinking: there may be some common ground between how viruses spread with how the gospel can be spread. What is contagious about our faith that pushes us beyond our fears and boundaries and compels us to share what we feel and know with others? How do quiet Christians speak out about what we often hold close to our heart. Jesus reminded all who would have ears to listen: I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. (John 10:10) And abundance is about over-flowing generosity and sharing what we have. Since March there have been many words or phrases that have entered into our new shared vocabulary. I'm fairly certain that I've used the term 'pandemic' more than I have, well, ever. Mitigation is another. What do we even call this virus? Do we say 'the novel coronavirus, Covid-19, or simply 'the Covid.' We are now reflecting on what our lives were like B.C. i.e., Before Covid and longing for a world after Covid. As a consumer of news and information, I find that I can easily start sharing my newly minted medical knowledge and advice to anyone who is in earshot -- whether they ask for it or not -- as if I were Dr. Fauci or Dr. Sanjay Gupta. I'll add on another term that in is wide circulation. A 'superspreadering event.' The C.D.C. refers to these as S.S.E.'s. These events, such as sporting events, concerts, and yes campaign rallies, can bring about explosive growth of the virus. Part of the reason we have been taking our time in deciding when and how to return to limited in-person worship - even as we keep our Zoom worship offering well into the future - is because what we do in worship can be labeled, sadly, as a potential superspreading event if precautions are not taken. Singing by choirs and parishioners will have to be forfeited for a time. We point to the now infamous gathering in early March of the community chorus in Mount Vernon, Washington State that infected 52 people. My question for this morning is this: how do we live out, share and spread the message we have received? Our gospel reading this morning comes at the end of series of warnings that Jesus makes to those apostles being sent out into the world. Learners and followers (disciples) are becoming agents of change (apostles) - those sent to transform the world. Jesus did now sugarcoat the way ahead. The future would not be easy, peaceful or easy. They would be walking beggars, depending on the hospitality of those they would meet for food and a roof over their heads. They would not be received with red carpet treatment either - far from it. Trials and persecution would be their fate. They would be sent out "like sheep into the midst of wolves" (Matthew 10:16). It is a way of being a Christian that is hard for you and I to know. But the promise for this holy wandering was worth it, for Jesus promises, "those who lose their life for my sake will find it" (10:39). The gospel this morning presents us with an example of how God's kingdom spreads. And it begins by being open. It begins with welcoming those who are sent. Jesus says: "Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet's reward; and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous. (Matthew 10:40-42) We see how welcoming and opening can has a cascading event in one's life. If they welcome you, believer, then they welcome Jesus, and if Jesus then the God who sent him. As we receive the Gospel message - about life and light and love -- and make room for God in our hearts and in our lives, the next question might be: how well do we know the Christian story? Enough to share and spread it to others? If we encounter another person who had never heard of word about what a Christian believes, where might we start and what would we include and what would we leave out? What are the essentials? We all have stake on this effort, we are invested. After all, you and I logged into a Zoom worship this morning for a service of Morning Prayer inspired and shaped by monks in ancient monasteries who prayed through the many hours of the day. I have been reading a lot about pilgrimage since mid-March, partly because there are many moments I feel like I am walking a solitary path - missing the energy I receive from worshiping in community. I'm reading Timothy Egan's book "A Pilgrimage to Eternity" that allows the reader to travel with him without leaving home on the 1,000 miles journey from Canterbury to Rome. As the author trudged through the ruins of another time, he imagined and marveled how it all came to be. How did this small breakaway Jewish sect became the most populous religion on the planet. What made ordinary people believe? Believe enough to walk one thousand miles on pilgrimage. Egan writes: "What animated them was the story they told: a son of God who was also a man, a Jew born in Galilee who lived a short live preaching around Judea, was killed in Jerusalem by a Roman prefect, and then defied death itself. Many dozens of people saw the risen Christ; some chose death rather than decant. This Son of God spoke in the idiom of the people, using parables to make his points. If his message was easy to understand, it was even easier to embrace. Love is intoxicating. Hate is poison. Above all, take care of the least among you. Revere creation. He preached tolerance rather than condemnation, and liberation from rigid social norms of class and religion. He was a charismatic rebel --- defiant in the prime of his life, passive at his execution. He was called Christ from the Greek word Kristos, anointed one." (pg. 44 Timothy Egan "A Pilgrimage to Eternity") Even if we forget the conquests and Crusades and Inquisitions and scandals - and those dark stories cannot be ignored or erased, the story of Jesus Christ is why we continue to believe and gather. "Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. As we journey like pilgrims throughout our lives, there will be others we meet along the way. And they, like we, will need encouragement, rest, protection and simple kindness. Jesus also said in today's gospel reading, that "whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple-truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward." Matthew 10:42 Our world is beyond thirsty for a cup of cold water during this time of extended uncertainly. We are the ones to give. Starting his pilgrimage in Canterbury England, the spiritual home for Anglicans and Episcopalians, Egan visited Saint Martins, the oldest church in the English-speaking world. Outside this ancient church was sign of welcome that said: "We do not have all the answers. We are on a spiritual journey. We look to Scripture, reason and tradition to help us on our way. Whoever you are, we offer you a space to draw nearer to God and walk with us." You and I are on a journey. We are being tested in ways we may never have imagined. And we are finding new ways to be the church even when we cannot gather in person right now. I hope this virtual space we make each week is a place where we can draw nearer to God and invite others to walk with us to the Good News will spread far and wide. 3