Exodus 34:29-35

Psalm 99

2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2

Luke 9:28-43a

Mt. Zion UMC, Stokesdale, NC

18 February 2007

To Be Bold

Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you thought that you should say something, but were not sure what to say? There are really two options to take: the first is to say nothing, the second is to say something. I’m not sure if there is a right answer. If you say nothing, you are sure not to say something stupid or inappropriate. However, you risk missing an opportunity to say the right thing, to possibly say the very thing that was needed in that situation. To boldly say something is to take the risk of saying the wrong thing. By saying nothing, you’re sure not to say the wrong thing, but you risk missing the opportunity to say the very thing that needs to be said in that situation. No, there’s no right answer, there’s no easy formula. There’s risk in either decision.

In our Gospel reading from Luke, we find Peter, James, and John with Jesus on a mountain on a prayer retreat. While here, Moses and Elijah appear with Jesus and speak of Jesus’ mission – to die for our salvation in Jerusalem. And with this mysterious appearance, Peter finds himself in the position of feeling like something should be said. So he boldly suggests that he, James, and John build shelters for Moses, Elijah, and Jesus. It sounds pretty funny at first, but this suggestion is actually making the claim that that Jesus is at least equal to Moses and Elijah. In other words, Peter was not simply suggesting building tabernacles to shelter Jesus, Moses, and Elijah from the environment, but was more importantly making a theological statement about the importance of Jesus. Peter’s suggestion may have been delivered at the wrong time or not exactly nuanced right, but it was boldly done and was at the very least suggestive of his understanding of who Jesus was. At least he was bold.

Where Peter was bold where he really didn’t need to be, the disciples were not bold where they should have been. As we read later in our passage from Luke, we find that Jesus, Peter, James, and John return from their prayer retreat on the mountain only to return to the daily grind of their ministry. A man in particular came to Jesus seeking healing for his child. He reports that he first went to Jesus’ “disciples to cast [the demon] out,” but the disciples were of no help. Jesus’ response initially seems surprising. He says, “You faithless and perverse generation, how much longer must I be with you and bear with you?” This rebuke was definitely directed at his disciples. You see, healing and casting out demons were some of the disciples’ ministries. Earlier in the ninth chapter of Luke, Jesus “gave [the twelve] power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases.” The disciples were given these gifts and graces to use in their ministries. The disciples did not act boldly in the ministries they were called to. Jesus called into question their faith because they did not use the authority granted them for their ministries.

This year as a congregation, we are to discern God’s vision for Mt. Zion. We are to seek God’s call on our congregation so that we may be the ministers that we are called to be. Yet even though we are in the discernment process to discover our vision, we still have some standing calls, just as the disciples were called to cast out demons and heal diseases. One of the primary calls is to proclaim the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ to the world. This is a primary call for the Church universal of which Mt. Zion United Methodist Church is most definitely a part. But do we truly believe the good news that we are to proclaim? In order to act boldly, we must have confidence.

The Apostle Paul calls our attention to the source of our confidence when he says, “Since, then, we have such a hope, we act with great boldness.” This hope is life through Jesus Christ. Yet, it’s more than simply life; it’s about our transformation from a fallen creation to perfection. Through the Holy Spirit, “there is freedom”; the freedom to see God unobstructed. And in seeing God’s glory, we “are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.” With this transformation comes vision and call. We are empowered by the Holy Spirit in this transformation. This is what Paul means when he says “Therefore, since it is by God’s mercy that we are engaged in this ministry, we do not lose heart.” We not only can act with great boldness in our ministries, but we should act with great boldness in our ministries because not only do we have the promise of life through Jesus Christ, we are also empowered by the Holy Spirit in order to act.

This is not unlike playing euchre with my family. Euchre is a card game that is often played in Michigan. My family is comprised of avid euchre players. Euchre is a team game, kind of like bridge. You and a partner play for what are called “tricks.” Tricks are simply winning a round of cards. There are a few unwritten rules in my family concerning how to play any particular hand of euchre. One of these rules is that when your team is behind in points, you should take control and play boldly – to start taking some risks. You’re already empowered by the cards you and your partner hold in your hands as well as with a brain to develop strategies. Of course with euchre, there’s no guarantee of victory even when you start to play boldly. For Christians, there’s already guarantee of victory. The only risks are worldly. We’re gifted with the power of the Holy Spirit as well as the guarantee of victory. This is the foundation for Christian boldness.

So, what does this boldness look like? We have hundreds of examples. The Christian martyrs have for centuries been examples of such faith inspired boldness; the same with the stories of the saints. We even have recent stories of faith and martyrdom from within our lifetimes. These stories are of people who were given the choice between renouncing Christ or death. These saints and martyrs boldly chose death because of their confidence in Christ’s promise.

But where we live in the United States, well, the chances that we will ever face a situation where we will have to choose between renouncing Christ or death is slim. So how can we act with great boldness? There are very few situations where we live that we can think of as challenging us to act with great boldness. This can be very dangerous. It can be dangerous because we can very easily be lured into a false sense of security. We can start to focus on little and insignificant things and start to neglect our very calling to minister to the world. We can very easily stop seeing the world through the eyes of faith and start seeing the world through the world’s understanding. We can very easily become that “faithless and perverse generation” that Jesus rebuked the disciples as. We can easily turn forgiveness and grace into accusation and punishment. We can easily cease to follow our call faithfully and instead start to follow the ways of the world.

So, how can we act boldly in our faith here at Mt. Zion? What does it mean for us to be bold? One way is to take up our call to ministry and to minister to the world around us; to see Sunday not as a day to come to church to be ministered to, but as a day to gather at the church building as the Church so that we can organize ourselves for ministry in the world throughout the week. Just as Jesus “gave [the disciples] power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases,” the Holy Spirit has empowered us for ministry in the world around us. It’s up to each of us to not be a “faithless and perverse generation” but to accept the power entrusted to us to seek God’s vision for Mt. Zion and to fulfill our call by God.

SDG