Proclaiming the Good News in Word and Deed
Be the Church 1
Welcome to the first edition of my “Be the Church” Summer Sermon Series. The basis of the series is the section on the ministry of membership from the Presbyterian Church (USA)’s Book of order, which says:
G-1.0304 The Ministry of Members
Membership in the Church of Jesus Christ is a joy and a privilege. It is also a commitment to participate in Christ’s mission. A faithful member bears witness to God’s love and grace and promises to be involved responsibly in the ministry of Christ’s Church.
Such involvement includes:
proclaiming the good news in word and deed,
taking part in the common life and worship of a congregation,
lifting one another up in prayer, mutual concern, and active support,
studying Scripture and the issues of Christian faith and life,
supporting the ministry of the church through the giving of money, time, and talents,
demonstrating a new quality of life within and through the church,
responding to God’s activity in the world through service to others,
living responsibly in the personal, family, vocational, political, cultural, and social relationships of life,
working in the world for peace, justice, freedom, and human fulfillment,
caring for God’s creation,
participating in the governing responsibilities of the church, and
reviewing and evaluating regularly the integrity of one’s membership, and considering ways in which one’s participation in the worship and service of the church may be increased and made more meaningful.
For each, I have selected a number of scriptures, and will attempt to explain them.
Proclaiming the Good News in Word and Deed
First, and very broadly, we need to look at the idea of ‘Good News.’ Here are a couple of great resources from the Bible Project which have helped me to understand this idea better.
https://bibleproject.com/podcast/what-does-word-gospel-mean/
The big picture is that the word ‘gospel’ (euangelion in Greek) means good news, but in the context of the 1st Century that meant something very different. Today we are bombarded with news, we get notifications on our phones constantly with ‘breaking news,’ very little of which actually directly effects our life. Occasionally we get truly shocking and world-changing news, but it is so surrounded by the ocean of other news, it doesn’t seem to ‘stick’ for very long.
In the first Century; however, news was infrequent. There might be a lot of gossip around the watering hole, but as for truly big news, it did not come in too often. Euangelion was reserved for truly big news, the death of a Caesar or King and coronation of a new one, the occupation of a new Kingdom or Empire, etc. This was truly world-changing, life-changing news. This is the word that Christian authors use to describe the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. They saw it as on the same level as those other kinds of ‘good news.’
This good news of God’s liberating work in Jesus Christ is core to God’s very being, as well as being experienced and understood in a new way.
Isaiah 52:3-12
“How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news”
Isaiah (more likely 2nd or 3rd Isaiah) writes near the end of the Babylonian Exile, speaking words of comfort and hope to people who have been town from their land. Sitting some seventy years after the initial exile, they are writing to a people who most likely have grown up in Exile, away from the land promised to their ancestors. The writer speaks words of comfort and deliverance to a people held in captivity for so long. And in doing so, they reference God’s redemptive work in the past, namely the Exodus from Egypt. Just as in that great redemptive act, God is going to lead the people out of their enslavement, but this time it will not be ‘in haste’ but with purpose and dignity.
‘Isaiah’ considers liberation as an essential part of God’s being, and while we do not necessarily have control over the timing, God will always work for the freedom of God’s people.
This passage through much of the history of the church has served to inspire mission, and continues to do so, especially in Liberation circles. Our call as the people of God is to seek freedom, liberation, redemption for ourselves and for others. We are called to co-create with God as we seek and build the liberation of others, no matter the force that may enslave them.
Matthew 28:16-20
This is the so called “Great Commission’ Jesus’ final words to his disciples (followers), effectively making them apostles (those who are sent). The ‘good news' of the gospel is that “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to” him, he is the King of kings, the Emperor of Emperors, the true Caesar. The apostles are then sent out into the world to share this euangelion this good news. They are to participate in the coming of the Kingdom/Kindom of heaven, not as a far off place that will come about in the far-future, but as a lived existence in the here and now.
The border of this Kindom is not the expected one either, the apostles are to go and make disciples “of all nations.” This liberating act of God is no longer limited to those who have a particular lineage or converts to a religious practice, but disciples are to made from every nation. They are not longer to be circumcised, but baptized into a great family, the ‘true children of Abraham’ (Romans 4). They are to instruct these disciples in the things that Jesus said (Which is why ‘Matthew’ is writing this account).
Initiates into this Kindom are to see clear parallels between Jesus the Messiah and any other who might claim to be the final authority (Caesar in the first century, but any number of would-be-Caesars who would later rise). This one who is also called Son of God, and King of kings is also the Lord of Life, and rules a Kindom of Heaven that is not established on the violent powers of hegemony, but is a peaceable kindom where all are cared for and respected.
Juneteenth
Speaking of oppressive hegemonic powers, June 19th marks the anniversary of ‘Juneteenth,’ when 2,000 Union soldiers brought the news of Emancipation to enslaved people to Galveston, TX in 1865, two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed, and several months after the 14th Amendment was ratified. Juneteenth has been celebrated, especially in Black cultures of Texas and Louisiana, ever since. It is a bitter-sweet remembrance, celebrating the liberation from enslavement, but also the continued reminder of continued inequality. Much discussion around the holiday has happened over the last few years, as wider (white) culture has discovered it. Juneteenth was made a National Holiday in 2021 under President Biden. For those of us with white bodies, Juneteenth is a call to repentance, a recognition that we have not lived up to the liberative nature of God, we have constructed hegemonic powers built on the backs and blood and work of our fellow human beings. We continue to hold up oppressive structures built on racism. Juneteenth is a celebration of freedom for more (though women would still not be able to vote for sixty years), and also a reminder of how far we still have to go. In addition to the systemic racism we see around us targeted at our black and brown skinned siblings, we are seeing the continued and rising discrimination of our sisters and the control over their bodies, our Queer siblings and their right to be who they are (or even ‘be’ in the first place), Our Jewish siblings, our Muslim siblings, our Asian siblings, and anyone else who faces oppression or discrimination.
Our call as the people of God is to reflect God’s liberative nature, and proclaim the good news of freedom for all.