The Evangelists
I had a conversation with an Jason yesterday. Jason is an evangelist.
We met in Starbucks, the modern day equivalent of the outer courtyard of the Temple, perhaps, and we talked about talking about Jesus.
He works for Young Life, an organization that builds community programs where young people, teenagers, go to share their joys and fears, and learn that Christ loves them.
After the people of that place recognized him, they sent word throughout the region and brought all who were sick to him, and begged him that they might touch even the fringe of his cloak; and all who touched it were healed. - Matthew 14;35-36
Why do we come to Christ?
In the Gospel of Matthew, many come to be healed. They hear of his powers and want to have some of that for themselves. They come with such faith that all they need to do is touch his cloak and they are cured of all sorts of ills.
But they wouldn't have known about him if it wasn't for the word sent by the people who recognized him. They are the evangelists.
In the Episcopal Church, we tend to shy away from that word, as though it has evil connotations. We tend to keep our faith to ourselves, making it hard for people to recognize Him in us, other than through our actions.
But we have a new leader of our church, a new Presiding Bishop, who wants to change that. He wants us to goo out and share what we know about our Lord and Savior, to be part of the Jesus Movement. (See the video above)
One way I believe we can do that is to look at those organizations and individuals who are out there already and join them, learn from them, tap into the energy that already exists and ride the wave.
We don't have to reinvent the movement. All we have to do is be a part of it.
We can go out looking for opportunities to share our faith, or we can grab a friend and take a walk, sit in a park, share a story or two from the Gospel of Matthew, or Luke, or John, or Mark. Talk about it. Ask each other questions. Seek answers in the whisper of the wind, the call of the birds, the laughter of the children.
As Presiding Bishop Michael Curry says in the video, He is out there working in the world, and it is our job to go out and meet Him, meet those He wants us to meet, and help.
My new friend Jason told me the first step in venturing out is to create a prayer group, to meet and pray together. We can do that. We do that already.
What he suggests is to invite others in and then to take the healing presence of God out with us.
The beauty is, we don't have to be fully healed ourselves. We can be troubled, sick, filled with our own despair and anxiety. We can be the incomplete souls we are and still share the love.
It is what the people who recognized Jesus did. They ran to tell others and they all came.
What are we waiting for?
You have His permission. Go.
More to come...