Tell The Story
John 1:29-42
You might have heard of St. Francis’ well known proverb: “Preach the Gospel, and, if necessary, use words.”
It’s such a potent reminder for us. For one thing, it reminds us that any witness of the Gospel is not something confined to how well we can write or speak. And another, it makes a bold statement that what we do, and how we live proclaims the Good News more effectively than words.
And I, as a preacher trained in all the ways one can proclaim the Gospel, who preaches a sermon each week, and writes something like this article each week, agree.
I also think that means that the story of the Gospel isn’t just limited to the pages of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, either! The story of the Gospel as it is unfolding today is now our story. And it has heartbreak and triumph, frustration and joy, rage and relief.
And in this time we are in, where a witness of Christianity and our faith that has integrity and rooted in truth is eroding, we must find the urgency again to tell our story. Because if we do not tell our story of Christ, Christ’s work in the world and Christ’s work in our lives… then other stories will win over.
Other stories, like the twisted evil perversion Christianity is contorted into becoming when it prioritizes white supremacy and nationalism over a Gospel of good news for ALL people (especially the poor and dispossessed!), begin to prevail. Those stories that perpetuate spiritual wickedness lead the broader public to believe that Christianity is a religion of lies that supports violent domination of the state, incarceration and deportation of people of color, and the continued disenfranchisement of the poor from needed access to healthcare, affordable housing, food, and security.
That story of Christianity has led to actual Departments of our Federal Government like the Department of Homeland Security to post things like a meme that says “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they are the son of God,” and a quotation of the Gospel of Matthew over an image of a military helicopter hovering over water. This “story” of Christianity seems to link the violence of our military industrial complex to the Beatitudes of Jesus, creating a blasphemous twisting of the words of scripture seemingly to support the military forays of the United States of America.
There are countless other examples I am sure you could think of. And while it might be tempting to think the response to this that will effect change is to accuse efforts like these as blasphemy, which they are, I think there is a better way forward. Slower, but more substantial.
We have to tell the story and proclaim Christ’s presence in the world—a story of justice for the downtrodden. A story of food for the hungry. A story of peace in the midst of violence. A story that rejects the powers that be as the ultimate authority and worships, instead, a poor itinerant and homeless rabbi as the Son of God.
When we do this, I think we build a more powerful narrative that shames and shrinks the other story at large in the world that claims to be Christian. And every single one of us can do it. And as we tell that story? We continue to write out the yet untold story of the Gospel: good news the world desperately needs.
