Second Sunday after the Epiphany

Isaiah 49:1-7

Psalm 40:1-11

1 Corinthians 1:1-9

John 1:29-42

I ran across some very disturbing statistics this week. A man called David Kinnaman of the Barnna Group did a three year study of the 16-29 year olds and their view of Christianity. 91% of this group views the church as being antihomosexual. 87% see the church as judgmental. %85 see the church as hypocritical. 72% view the church as being out of touch with reality. %70 see the church as being boring.

Wow. That is a whole bunch of negative impressions that these young people are holding. That is a lot of barriers to overcome when we try to invite this age group into the church. That is a lot of bad press and bad experience that young folks are growing up with. (The book is unChristian, published last year.)

I had no idea it was that bad. I know that church gets a bad rap, there are a lot of folks who have had damaging experiences in a church or have not been welcome in a congregation. Just mention church next time you are on a bus or an airplane and you will here a story of pain and hurt.

We all have a story of our own experience or the story of someone we know who has been shunned, offended, pushed out, or ignored. I can think of a lot. Some old, some new.

What do we do with this? All this negative impressions and bad taste religion leaves in so many people’s mouths?

Saying we are a “Reconciled Congregation” isn’t enough. Saying we welcome all people no matter their age, ability, function, sexual identity, education….isn’t enough.

First of all, the general public doesn’t know what it means to be a “reconciled congregation”. The UCC is “open and affirming.” It’s all insider language.

Secondly, we can write any number of things on paper, were badges, put the rainbow banner back in our sanctuary, and it isn’t going to have any sort of impact on someone who is leery of church and has never been in the building or read the paper.

And, after all, every single congregation I’ve served sees themselves as being a welcoming congregation. Maybe not “reconciled” but welcoming.

Like a little church I served a long time ago. An older member came up to me and said, “Pastor, be careful who you invite. We have a reputation to uphold.” Well, they certainly did have a reputation…

And it wasn’t, shall we say, conducive to growth.

So I grew to love Joanie. Joanie was a long time member of that congregation who had been in a motorcycle accident. She was left with a brain injury. This meant her children were in custody of her husband. The kids still attended this church, they were nurtured there. But Joanie, Joanie lived in a group home. And she was loud. Smiling happy loud.

This made some folks very uncomfortable, but what could they do? She was totally oblivious to the….looks. And there was some loyalty to her children.

I rather enjoyed seeing Joanie making people squirm…

And then, one day, she brought Charlie with her. Joanie, unlike the other members, wasn’t concerned with the churches reputation or “do not ask” list. Joanie just came in the door dragging Charlie in. He also lived at the group home. He was an older gentleman, quiet and shy, with a disarming smile.

Here is Jaonie, inviting people to church, not with explanations or apologies. She wasn’t able to expound on our programs (it was a small church so that wouldn’t have taken much anyway). She wasn’t explaining , well, we’re Lutheran and that means…

No. Joanie was simply saying “Come and See.” Persistently, I’m sure, until Charlie decided to see for himself. He started coming every week.

I’m sure some folks were very concerned, what next? Would they bus them in?

But by now they didn’t come to me with that.

Charlie and I talked about the basics of faith and it wasn’t long until he asked to be baptized. Joanie, of course, was the proud sponser.

Charlie, do you desire to be baptized? And with a huge grinned Charlie shouted “Yup!”

Come and see!

What can we do but say “Come and see”?

Because it is bringing people in the door, inviting them, driving them here…that breaks the stereotypes and changes the face of religion.

We can’t always talk someone into having faith, into believing. And you don’t need a theology degree or to have the small catechism memorized. We don’t need to engage in Scripture battles.

All we need to say is “come and see”. Come and see! With enthusiasm and joy…come and see what we have found in this place…

A welcome. A real welcome. Acceptance, affirmation, compassion…

All in the name of Jesus.

“What are you looking for?” Jesus says…

Notice that the disciples say nothing more than “Rabbi”---“teacher.”

Easy answer that. Because we never really know, do we, what we are looking for until we find it. And even then, we don’t always know until we look back and say “wow!”

Joanie would never have been able to articulate exactly what she had found at a rather unfriendly church. Enough love, enough acceptance, enough Jesus to give her faith. She found home.

And maybe that is the key. She found home not in a building but in the person of Jesus. A Jesus who welcomes fishermen and women and children and tax collectors and lepers.

Come home. Come and see the home we have found in Jesus.

There is a welcome here for all people. You don’t have to pass a test or write and essay. You don’t have to agree on all points with the person sitting next to you.

You don’t have to pray 2 hours a day or have the discipline of a saint (although it wouldn’t hurt any of us!).

You just need to come and see! And then once you are here you taste and touch and hear and are filled.

Joanie was one of the greatest blessing that congregation had been given. It made them uncomfortable…not a bad thing.

It made them aware of the gifts of people like Joanie. And it, well, should have put them to shame, just a bit, to see Joanie as the most powerful and successful evangelist the congregation had.

We all have different gifts. That is what makes this place so exciting!

We welcome all the new gifts that we can find, that God puts in front of us, and that we can pull into this room…saying simply, “Come and see!”

Yes, Come and See! Find a welcome here, and a rest for your souls.