"Going Beyond Our Comfort Zone," the senior sermon of Phillip Hefner, of the Southwest Texas Conference of the United Methodist Church, given in Christ Chapel on March 6, 2007

Luke 13: 22 – 31

I entered the 4 th floor psychiatric ward where I was to perform the Sunday service and made my way back to the room where the patients were gathering. That’s when I saw her – dirty blond hair, shallow eyes, and marks up and down her arms. She looked at my black clerical shirt and asked me, “Are you a Christian?” “Yes” I said with a smile. She looked a little harder at me and replied, “Am I a Christian?” The question took me a little by surprise… and I explained to her that that was something that was purely up to her. She looked deep into my eyes and said, “I tried to kill myself… I’ve turned my back on God.” I told her that even when we turn our backs on God, He doesn’t turn His back on us.

She listened intently to my sermon on hope and afterward came up to me and she said, “How do I find God?” The anguish in her face is still blazoned in my mind, but more than that was the image of her standing in the hall after I told her about the relationship that our Lord Jesus Christ wanted to have with her, tears streaming down her eyes, as she talked to her mother. This young woman found God that day and was on the phone reconciling herself to her family – she was saved.

In our scripture today, someone asks Jesus a very interesting question – “How many people will be saved?” We don’t know anything about who that asked the question – a curious person in the crowd, an enemy trying to trap Jesus, a disciple…, but we do know how Jesus answered it. Jesus, in a way that He did many times, changes the question. He shows us that the question that we ought to be asking is not “How many will be saved,” but “How can we be among those that are saved?”

The question is not about numbers… but about sin. The topic of sin reoccurs throughout the bulk of Luke’s 13 th chapter. It begins with the 2nd verse when Jesus poses the question to His followers concerning a group of Galileans whom Pilate had killed while they were making their sacrifices…. He asked them, "Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans?” And then His answer sets the tone for the rest of the chapter, “No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as they did.” He asks again in verse 4, “Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them, do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem?” And again His answer, “No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did." Jesus then a parable about a woman suffering from a spirit that binds her and bends her over – just as sin holds us captive and weighs us down. Jesus frees her from that spirit just as he frees us from our sin. And then we come to our verse today…. Lord, how many will be saved? No… How can I be saved?

This is not a topic that is talked about much in institutions of higher learning nor unfortunately is it a subject addressed very much in our churches either. Let me ask you a question… Have you been saved? Have you accepted the gift of salvation that Jesus Christ gives all of us through His death and resurrection? Have you been saved? I ask this not so much to find the answer, but to ask you yet another question. How did you feel when I asked you that question? Just the asking of this question makes us uneasy… uncomfortable. We think we sound silly. We wonder what people will think of us if we were to ask them such a question. But it was a topic that was of interest to our Lord Jesus Christ, and so it should be of interest to us as well.

The Book of Common Prayer in its Catechisms tell us that Christ promised to bring us into the kingdom of God and give us life in all its fullness if we only believe in him and keep his commandments (p. 851). This sounds very similar to that great summary of the Gospel we see in the end zone of every Super bowl – John 3:16: “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.” But where is that message in today’s church? Where are the voices that like modern day John the Baptists echo throughout our sanctuaries, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near?”

The church today has lost its focus. We have stopped asking the tough questions in favor of promoting the social gospel and social justice. These are critical aspects of the Christian way of life and areas that I don’t want to deemphasize, but when we limit our focus only to these areas we ignore one of Christ’s greatest messages and we ignore Christ’s greatest gift – His death and resurrection.

The foundational message of Jesus Christ is repentance and forgiveness of sin and the works are the results of being justified (saved). Article XII (12) in the Book of Common Prayer states, “Albeit that Good Works, which are the fruits of Faith, and follow after Justification, can not put away our sins and endure the severity of God’s judgment; yet are they pleasing and acceptable to God in Christ…” In fact, the Book of Common Prayer goes so far as to say that “Works done before the grace of Christ, and the Inspiration of His Spirit, are not pleasant to God…” (p. 870). A tree is known by the fruit it produces, and the church is known by its works to include acts of social justice, but the roots of that fruit is salvation. James 2:14 tells us, “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works?” The problem of the church today is NOT “faith without works,” but works without faith

We must ask ourselves, “How did the church lose the vital message of salvation that was the underpinning of Christ’s ministry here on earth?” I think the answer is simple. Promoting the social gospel and issues of social justice are areas where we are comfortable and areas where we can see immediate results. But again, in today’s Gospel, Jesus doesn’t say that our jobs will be easy. He says, “Strive to enter….” The Greek word used here for strive brings forth imagery of entering a contest; to contend with adversaries; to fight; to contend and struggle with difficulties and dangers; to endeavor with strenuous zeal to obtain something. Jesus is telling us that to be saved is work. For those about to enter the ministry and who are called to lead God’s people it is even more work and even more critical that we do not lose the message. We are called to move beyond our comfort zones into areas were we groan and strain to lead others to and through the narrow gate.

As I initially wrestled with this passage I thought that the picture of having to “strive” to be saved or to lead others to salvation was almost contrary to what we understand as God’s gift of salvation – For God so loved the world that He sent His only Son that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. Salvation is a gift which requires us only “to believe”. We must only struggle with humbling ourselves enough to accept this gift. But this can be a difficult struggle.

I was at a crusade at a local prison in San Antonio where I watched as the evening’s speaker invited those who would like to accept the gift of God’s salvation to stand. The room was silent and no one moved. But, then a lone man in the 3rd row slowly stood, and after him the two men on each side of him then another and another. Later that evening I had a chance to talk to this man and asked him about this new change in his life. I will never forget what he told me. “I wanted to stand, but I was afraid. There were many voices going on inside my head… voices that told me to keep seated. Voices telling me that everyone will make fun of me. Voices telling me that I will look like a fool, but the loneliness I felt inside and the voice of Jesus were louder and I knew I had to stand.” This man struggled to accept the gift but he overcame and made it through the narrow gate… and brought quite a few others with him.

But we as future priest and ministers in God’s church will also struggle to bring the message to those in our care. During that crusade, even as I stood off to the side as a minor player, I felt uneasy and embarrassed – what if no one stood… what if we failed… we must really look stupid right now. And I have struggled with the words many times as I take the leap of faith to preach in a way that presents the message of repentance to those in my congregation. I feel uneasy right now. But as leaders of God’s people we are called to struggle with our feelings and our fears in order to bring Christ’s message of repentance to others.

Bringing the message of salvation is not about us staying in the confines of our comfort zone. In order to save a drowning person, a lifeguard must leave the stand and get wet. In order to save a sinking ship, the Coast Guard must leave the safety and warmth of the harbor. It if was about being comfortable, Jesus would have NEVER left heaven to come here to suffer and die for us.

Another reason that causes us to be uncomfortable with this message is our fear of not being inclusive. The church today has come to a point where we are all to ready to accept the sincerity of another’s beliefs as opposed to the quality of those beliefs. I am reminded of a story I was told of an ice fisherman who was going out on a nice spring day to do some fishing. The sign on the lake said, “Danger… Thin Ice,” but he sincerely believed that the ice would hold him. Needless to say, he got cold and wet that day.

How long are we going to let people stand on the thin ice of beliefs that take them in directions other than the foot of the cross and salvation through Jesus Christ. We should never let the sincerity of another’s beliefs lead us to sit apathetically by and watch them fail to find salvation. The Pharisees were sincere in their beliefs. The other pagans of Jesus’ day were sincere in their beliefs, but Jesus’ message remained the same – “Repent!”

Lastly, Jesus tells us that there are those both inside and outside the church who will be surprised when the Day of Judgment comes. As you listen to the text, you can note a certain degree of familiarity between the owner of the house and those who are left outside – “We ate and drank with you… you taught in our streets.” These are NOT people who are unfamiliar with the owner of the house. In terms of today, these are people who know of Christ and have heard the Gospel message. But Jesus tells us that simply being a “member of the club” is not enough – it will not save you.

The creeds that we recite – both the Nicene and Apostles, tell us that Christ will come again in glory and judge the living and the dead. Jesus gives us a sneak peak of that day in today’s scripture. “When once the owner of the house has got up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, "Lord, open to us,' then in reply he will say to you, "I do not know where you come from.' And even to those who say, "We ate and drank with you,” the reply will come, "I do not know where you come from.”

Salvation, justification… being saved is not about membership – it is about relationship – a personal relationship with Christ. In Matthew, when Jesus is asked what the greatest commandment is He replies, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind” – a personal relationship. He then goes on to say, “And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’” – Social justice. We must no longer focus totally on one to the detriment of the other.

In a few minutes we are all going to gather up here at the Communion rail and share the bread and the wine just as we, and thousands others, do each Sunday. When we graduate from this seminary we will be given the responsibility of leading God’s people – to teach them the foundational messages of Christ – social justice, but also salvation. Weekly, we will lead the members of our parish in celebration of the Eucharist. God help us if on that judgment day, we stand before our Lord Jesus Christ and are forced to look into the faces and eyes of our families, our friends and our parishioners as Jesus turns to them and says, “You might have eaten the bread, and shared the wine with me, but I do not know where you come from… go away from me, all you evildoers!”