Reverend Ref +

SERMON
EPIPHANY 3B
ST. PAUL'S ANNUAL MEETING
1 COR. 7:17-23, MARK 1:14-20

The gospel for last week was tailor made for our five-point mission statement. And that means that it was tailor made for an annual meeting. You should've been at Christ Church last week. Even though this week's gospel doesn't fit quite so well, let's see what I can do with it.

The main focus of today's gospel is invitation. Jesus invited people to repent and believe in the good news. And he invited Simon and Andrew, and James and John to join him in his ministry.

Invitation is the first of our five-point mission statement. Invitation is at the core of this thing we call Christianity. People in Virginia City are not flocking to church simply because it is the only one in town; and VC is not exactly teeming with Episcopalians. We need to invite them to join us. And whether they come and make this a permanent home and join the vestry, or whether they come occassionally or only once, my point is that invitation is that first critical step that must be made.

Our website and the sign in front of Christ Church say, "You Are Welcome Here." The sign hanging on our door here says, "Welcome Visitors." I think we do a good job of welcoming visitors, but we need to move beyond simply welcoming those that visit us to actively inviting people in.

Why is that? Besides the obvious bit about following Jesus' example and command, we also need to overcome the stigma that you have to be perfectly good to come to church. Or the stigma that the church is a clique. Or that you have to be an Episcopalian to worship here. People are more apt to come to church if they have an invitation. And they are more apt to come back if the person who invited them is actually at church and welcomes them in.

Part of what we are doing when we invite people to church is helping to overcome the perception that only good people, or the right kinds of people, or wealthy people, or people who have passed some sort of litmus test, are the only people allowed in the doors. Jesus invited all sorts of people into his midst: fishermen and common laborers, tax collectors and prostitutes, the religious and the non-religious, the rich and the poor, the outsider and the other. Jesus invited and invites everyone.

Notice, though, that the people who tended to ignore the invitation or were upset with the types of people being invited were the rich and the pious. "Those" people didn't fit neatly into their tightly defined religious box. Or they understood worldy wealth to be more valuable than spiritual wealth.

What's funny about that today is that people think you have to be overly pious and/or wealthy to be a church member. But you know what? We are neither. We are riff raff. We make mistakes. We aren't perfect. We sin, sometimes even intentionally. But Jesus still calls us, he still invites us.

It is not our job to invite perfect people. It is not our job to invite only people with whom we agree. And it is certainly not our job to tell people they need to change before they can be invited.

I think this is what Paul was getting at in today's section of Corinthians. Paul is telling us that it is okay to lead the life you were leading when you entered into the church. Now, of course, neither Paul nor I are saying that it's okay to keep dealing drugs as long as you come to church on Sunday. What we are saying is that a person needs to be open to God changing their life, rather than trying to conform to human standards and expectations placed on you by those "better" than you.

It is God who changes people, not us. So if you are looking for the perfect person to invite to church, or a good prospect that will fit in with the group, stop. Just invite. Invite the less-than-perfect. Invite the sinner. Invite the person who doesn't fit into your little box of respectability.

Then, after the initial invitation, we can work on including them in the life of the church, and informing them about how the church shapes our lives. And hopefully the message will get through and God's grace can so infuse their life that they begin to proclaim the gospel and rejoice in their life in Christ.

This is a long process that doesn't happen overnight, but I think we are on our way. Our average Sunday attendance has gone up from 12 to 14 because we have made the effort to invite people to church. And don't forget, 14 people is 10 percent of the population of VC -- percentage wise, that's pretty darn good. Some of the people we have invited have stayed and become active members, and some have even been willing to accept a leadership position, as witnessed by our vestry elections earlier this morning.

One of the things that I've heard loud and clear since I've been here is, "We want to grow." Growth starts with invitation. Invite people to church. Invite people to Soup & Scripture. Invite people to the Pioneer Bar the first Thursday of a month. Invite someone to experience Holy Week. The desire for parish growth is there. Actual growth begins with invitation.

And finally two things. First, I challenge each and every person here to invite 12 people to church this year, that's one a month. Second, remember that the small band of apostles was not much bigger than our group here, and look at what they did through invitation.

I think it's going to be a very good year.