Sermonstudio

"For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing," asserts Paul in First Corinthians. "But to us who are being saved, it is the power of God." The word of the cross ... folly to those who are perishing.
To those who are being saved by it -- to us -- it is the Power of God. Imagine, if you will, the scene in Jerusalem: devout Jews gathered from every nation under heaven. There is a sound of mighty wind, tongues of fire light upon each of the disciples, who begin to speak as the Spirit gives them utterance. At the sound the multitude comes together, and they are bewildered because each one hears them speaking in his own language. "These are Galileans! How is it we understand?" (Acts 2:5-13).

When a word is spoken, it is accomplishment enough to understand when the word comes in our own language. We are told that most Americans use about 400 words of the English language about eighty percent of the time. Which is to say that the remaining 400,000 words to be found in the standard English language dictionary remain mostly unused. Carolyn Davidson helps us make our point with this short quiz. (Quiz answers may be found in footnotes.)

1) Tolerate the batologist!

a) a baseball team's incompetent batting instructor

b) a person who repeats without necessity the same thing

c) a bramble studying scientist.

2) Whoosh, a williwaw.

a) a ride on a Ferris wheel

b) a turn of the century Appalachian folk dance

c) a surprise, powerful gust of cold air.

3) No one needs a criticaster.

a) a large stick used by veterinarians to move zoo animals

b) the plant from which castor oil is made

c) an ineffective or inexperienced critic.

4) I've read about the splacknuc.

a) a tool used to apply mortar to bricks

b) a device used to attach climbers to the face of a mountain

c) Jonathan Swift mentions this unusual animal in Gulliver's Travels.

5) What a big herfuffle!

a) the shoulder harness used on a draft horse

b) a fuss, commotion

c) a woman's headdress or hat usually with feathers.

6) osculate --Romeo said to Juliet, "Let's osculate."

a) skip rope

b) dance using repeating oscillating motion

c) kiss.1

If you were among the disciples in Jerusalem that day, what Word would you say to those who had come from every nation under heaven? "For the word of the Cross is folly to those who are perishing; to us who are being saved, it is the Power of God." To speak a word and to be understood in our own language is accomplishment enough, but to speak a word which is known by those who come from afar is astonishing. "Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome," those who come from the land of wisdom and those from the hallways of earthly power. Paul continues: "For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, the cleverness of the clever I will thwart." So to those who come from afar, what would you say?

Omni magazine asks the question: "If an alien landed in your backyard, what would you say?" The question was asked to the governors of our fifty states, to the U.S. President and Vice President, to business leaders and luminaries in various fields of endeavor.
A research vice president at AT&T Bell Labs responded, "Hopefully, [their advanced intelligence] would give them enough insight to avoid triggering a social calamity when one of them gets on a talk show...." George Carlin, the comedian, answered: "Get out! Save yourselves! You don't know what you're getting into. Prolonged contact with our species can only degrade your present standards, whatever they are." Brereton C. Jones, Kentucky governor, said, "I would want to give them two items ... The U.S. Constitution and a copy of the Bible. The Constitution is the compilation of rules that we as a people have chosen to follow. The Bible ... is the compilation of rules that our Creator has chosen for us to follow. I would explain that we do not always abide by all of these, but we are striving to do so, and that is our ultimate goal." 2 If you were one of the disciples in Jerusalem on that day of rushing wind and tongues of fire, speaking to those who came from afar, what Word would you say?

Our words change with time, sometimes suddenly. Back in the summer of '97 when NASA landed a mission on Mars, how quickly did the meaning of sojourner, Sagen Memorial Station, Barnacle Bill, and Yogi change. "For consider your call, brethren; not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth; but God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong."

The devout Jews had gathered in Jerusalem from every nation under heaven. So what would you say to them in that time long ago -- of God, of Jesus, of the church? What will you say to them now?

William Willimon in his book Resident Aliens suggests that we in the church live as a colony within an alien culture. In part the mission is to sustain and to protect the values, knowledge, and traditions which are uniquely ours as Christian men and women. We live in the midst of a culture which would overcome and consume us, trivialize us, tame and trample us, and yet we not only protect and defend our faith and traditions, we launch out from this place to bring the precious Word which has been entrusted to us.3 So what Word will you say? And how will you say it? Some will be inclined to defer. "I need several more months of Bible Study; I think I will wait until I've read the latest book by Rabbi Kushner or Leo Buscaglia or Billy Graham's autobiography."

But there isn't time. The one who has come from afar is in your backyard or very nearby. What Word will you bring?
Some will say, "I want them to know that I am a Christian and who is my master by the way that I live. My actions speak for me." Recently I was chatting with a friend about a man we both know.
It surprised us to realize that we had both been a part of Alfred's life for some time. My friend had known Alfred for nearly two decades while I had known Al for a mere six years. "Well, the Al you know is not the same person he was twenty years ago. Then he was harsh and crude, quick to judge, a real terror. But lately something has changed. He seems kinder, more compassionate; he thinks of others more than himself." What I know and my friend doesn't know is that the change in Al is due to more than the process of aging and that within the last five or six years Al's life in the colony -- the "church" colony -- has taken on new importance and meaning. With secret pride, I am filled with thanks that God is doing something important in Alfred's life. But it is a tempered joy because to his friends and close business associates, Alfred has yet to reveal to whom the glory belongs.

So when you launch out, what Word will you say? And how will you say it? You don't have to be an expert in biblical archeology or ancient languages. You don't have time to read more books before you begin or to attend more classes. The time is now. What Word will you say and how will you say it?

Charles Kuralt, one of America's fine journalists, didn't cover the news. He said he stepped out of the way, never covering, blanketing, or obscuring the story with himself. A professor of journalism at the time of Kuralt's death wrote, "His preferred beat was America's heartland. Kuralt saw the special people all around us, and he told their stories in a way that journalism rarely takes the time to do.

"Some people have said that Kuralt likely wouldn't be hired for an on camera reporting job in today's news environment. Overweight, rumpled, and balding, he was the antithesis of modern broadcast news. Still, he was a news storyteller I could hold up as a model for my students."4 What Word will you bring; what story will you tell?

Near my childhood home when it rained hard, a drainage ditch always turned into a raging torrent. All of the children in the neighborhood were instructed by frightened parents to stay away . One day when it was running fast, I sneaked away to play with my trucks near the torrent's edge. A great erosion had occurred, revealing a sloping mud bank. To retrieve a truck which had fallen to the edge of the water, I got out my black rubber snow boots.
Stepping carefully into the mud, I quickly sank several inches. Frightened and stuck in the mud, I pulled my feet out of the boots sliding back up onto the top of the bank. Back to the house I went returning with my brother's snow boots -- same result. Stuck in the mud. I had the same misfortune with my other brother's and my father's snow boots: four sets of boots stuck in the mud, where I shouldn't have been to begin with. I rehearsed the story I would tell my father upon his return home from work. What story would I tell and how would I tell it? I constructed and reconstructed, asked for editorial advice, prayed for Divine revelation. Finally, I told the story.

In sensitive times we think about how we will tell the story. Recently a pastor was visiting a parishioner in a hospital waiting room. He sat down next to her and as she spoke, her words caught. "The news about Mother is not good," she said, gathering herself. "I'll be better in a minute. The doctor was just here. It's hard saying it for the first time."

How will we tell the children; how will we tell our employer; what will we say to the neighbors?

In sensitive times we plan how we will tell the story. Likewise, let us plan how we will share the Greatest Story: that we have been visited by Someone sent here, that he assumed human form, the Word incarnate, and lived for 33 years. After his arrest, he was executed, but death's power was broken by God and he was raised to life. He met with his disciples after his resurrection and left them with a message for everyone on this planet. "I love you. That is why I died. Go now and tell the story." We need not be biblical archeologists, theologians, journalists, or entertainers. Simply speak the Word and to those who by the Word are being saved, it will be the Power of God.

Some might be asking, "Why is this so hard for me?" Because the story is precious, because its meaning for us is life, because our telling of it can never add to its glory -- and that's the beauty of it. In its telling, we never cover, blanket, or obscure the Story. Instead we simply set it free to let it work as it will in our own lives and in the lives of those who hear. So, tell the Story as you see it unfolding in the special people all around us. Unfolding even in ourselves and we will be amazed -- they will hear and understand.

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1. Carolyn Davidson, WORD-A-HOLIC QUIZ BOOK, www.intex.net/faxes/awfta.htm

Quiz answers: 1: b, 2: c, 3: c, 4: c, 5: b, 6: c.

2. David Sisler, "What Would You Say to an Alien?" The Augusta Chronicle, March 4,1995.

3. Stanley Hauerwas and William H.Willimon, Resident Aliens (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1989).

4. John Weispfenning, "Kuralt Was Model of Good Journalism," The Columbus Dispatch, July 11, 1997, p. 11 A.