2023 06 18 Sermon
Christ must increase; we must decrease
Pentecost 3A
Matthew 9:35-10:8; Romans 5:1-18
Rev. Karl-John N. Stone
There’s a tradition in many northern European countries—it’s in other countries, as well, but it's prevalent in northern Europe—known as Midsummer. This begins on the evening of June 23rd, and continues through June 24th. Midsummer is especially big in Sweden, where it is second only to Christmas in terms of people having big celebrations. And it falls around the time of year when daylight lasts the longest. In a country as far north as Sweden, the sun may only set for a couple of hours at this time of year (or not at all, if you’re above the arctic circle). The key part of the Midsummer’s Eve celebration is to light a big bonfire to burn through the night. The light of the bonfire bridges the gap between sunset and sunrise. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midsummer]
You might be wondering why the Midsummer celebration isn’t scheduled for June 21st—after all, June21st is the summer solstice and the actual longest day of the year. But there is a reason why it falls on June 23rd and 24th, and that is because June 24th is the Nativity of John the Baptist. You may recall from the gospel of Luke that John the Baptist was born six months before Jesus, and so June 24th is six months before Christmas Eve. Lighting a bonfire is a way to commemorate John the Baptist and his ministry of “preparing the way of the Lord”, because John pointed people away from himself and towards the light of Christ.
The gospel of John described John the Baptist by saying, “he himself was not the light, but he came to give witness to the light.” John the Baptist himself described his relationship to Jesus by saying, “He must increase, but I must decrease”. And so John’s birthday (being at this time of the year) has the added symbolism of the daylight having reached its longest length, and it will keep decreasing in length from now until Christmas, when we celebrate the incarnation and birth of Christ, and the light begins to increase again.
It just so happens, this year at House of Prayer, that we will be having a bonfire this Wednesday, June 21st—just three days before the Nativity of John the Baptist. While we did not intentionally schedule our bonfire to coincide with Midsummer celebrations elsewhere in the world, let’s just say that it’s a happy coincidence, and a great reminder to take to heart the words of John the Baptist: “Christ must increase, and we must decrease.”
To put it another way, our purpose as a church, and our calling as God’s people, is not about pointing to ourselves! It is about pointing to Christ. Pointing to the light of Christ. It is to be on the lookout for wherever God is at work, and then to follow the example of John the Baptist and say “Look! God is doing something there! God is loose in the world—let’s follow God and see where he leads us!”
John the Baptist modeled this way of being a follower of Jesus—and Jesus himself taught it, as well. We see this in today’s gospel reading. Now, up to this point, Jesus had been traveling to cities and villages all around Galilee and the surrounding areas. He taught about God; he preached the good news of God’s kingdom; he cured disease and sickness. But as we see in today’s story, Jesus was getting to the point where it was too much for one person to handle. Jesus saw the crowds who kept coming to him; they were looking for hope and healing in body, mind, and spirit—and he had compassion for them. Compassion that caused him to ask himself: What would be the best way to reach out to so many?
“The harvest is plentiful,” he told his disciples—just look at all of these people who’ve come needing help and hope. “But the laborers are few”—I’m just one person, and it’s too much for me to handle alone. “Therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest”—guess what? God has already answered my prayers and given me you twelve disciples to share the load!
So Jesus gave them authority to go out and do the same kinds of things he was doing; to be messengers of healing and hope in the world; to be sharers of the good news that “the kingdom of heaven has come near.” Jesus was giving them a “John the Baptist kind of ministry”, sending them out not to call attention to themselves, but point to the light of Christ; to help people realize that the kingdom of heaven is near.
If the disciples had gone out and said to the crowds, “Look at us! We’re disciples of this Jesus whom you admire so much. You should be like us!” I think the crowds would have quietly turned around and gone home. They didn’t need the disciples’ egos—what they needed was the hope and healing of Jesus, as mediated through the disciples. The people in the crowd needed to be themselves with the presence of Christ in their lives. Thankfully, the disciples did go out among the crowds, and to the cities and villages, and they did point to the presence of God in the world; they did freely share the healing and hope of Jesus with people. They did this, not for their own sakes or for their own egos, but (like the light from a bonfire burning on Midsummer’s Eve) they helped people see God more clearly in their lives.
From the earliest days of following Jesus which we hear described in the gospels, the purpose of being a disciple is not to point to ourselves, but to point to Christ. To point to the light of Christ. It’s to help people realize that God is always at work, and that we always have the option to join God in the things he is doing. The future of the church has never been up to us; it has always been up to God. What we can do, as God’s people, is hitch our wagons to the Holy Spirit, and then take that leap of faith to follow Jesus out into the world, out into the community, and see where God wants to take us!
When we follow where God wants to take us, the church will always be in good hands, even if where God takes us might be a little different than in years past. And where might God take us? Maybe to build handicap ramps? To pack or serve meals? Offer comfort or support for the struggling? Speak words of encouragement and hope? Look for examples of how God is pouring his love into people’s hearts? Look for how faith in God gets put into action for the wellbeing of others? Promote healing, forgiveness, community-building, friendship? God is at work in these, and so many other ways.
As church-going Christians, we know that we meet Christ wherever we gather together in his name, and whenever we gather around God’s Word and Sacraments. And that is such a blessing to recognize this gift, that—yes!—God is present and active in our church! And to keep growing as followers of Jesus, following the pattern of John the Baptist and the twelve disciples, we also need to recognize that—yes!—God is present and active outside of church, too. And we can kind of “bridge that gap” (like the bonfire burning from sunset to sunrise). We can “HOP outside the box” and look for God’s presence in our community, and among our neighbors, whether or not they are in church.
Like those first disciples, Jesus sends us as laborers into the harvest, as he calls us to offer the healing and hope that he has already secured for all people by going to the cross and rising again. “Christ must increase; we must decrease.” While we get to do some pretty amazing things by following Jesus—and while it is helpful for us to share the stories of the things we get to do in Jesus’ name—this calling is not about glorifying ourselves or our own egos. It is about glorifying God; it’s about pointing to the light of Christ, wherever he is present and active in the world. Amen.