{"id":21,"date":"2011-06-19T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2011-06-19T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/sermons\/2011\/06\/19\/as-you-go-make-of-all-disciples\/"},"modified":"2020-02-18T17:45:32","modified_gmt":"2020-02-18T22:45:32","slug":"as-you-go-make-of-all-disciples","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/sermons\/2011\/06\/19\/as-you-go-make-of-all-disciples\/","title":{"rendered":"As You Go, Make of All Disciples"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

\n

Click here to hear Sermon only<\/span><\/a>
\nMatthew 28:16-20 <\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

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One who hears a witness becomes a witness.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Professor Elie Wiesel has taught us this at Boston University over the years.<\/span>
\n <\/span>
\nTo hear a witness is to become a witness yourself.\u00a0 In that sense, every Sunday on which we stand to hear the witness of the Gospel, we again become witnesses.\u00a0 We stand up, and becoming upstanding, in bearing witness.<\/span><\/p>\n

Our Gospel today, the sacramental and hospitable conclusion to the First Gospel, that of St. Matthew, addresses us as a community about our witness.<\/span>
\n <\/span>
\nWhat then shall your witness be?\u00a0 To whom, to what, to whom shall you bear witness?<\/span><\/p>\n

Dime con quien andas, y te dire quien eres, say the Spanish:\u00a0 Tell me with whom you walk, and I will tell you who you are.<\/span><\/p>\n

Wiesel again spoke to us this past year, as he has for 34 years at Boston University.\u00a0 He spoke about Deborah, in the Book of Judges.\u00a0 He spoke that is about the Scripture and about the interpretation of the Scripture.\u00a0 He spoke about meaning, justice, and truth in our time and all time.\u00a0 He delivered his meditative lecture as a witness to an earlier witness, the witness of Deborah.<\/span><\/p>\n

Around us this past school year have swirled other such witnesses.\u00a0 Professors Prothero and Bacevich recalled and reflected, one evening, upon Jonathan Winthrop\u2019s famous sermon from the Massachusetts Bay in 1630, \u2018a city set on a hill\u2019.\u00a0 They were recalling earlier witnesses.\u00a0 Downtown, earlier in the year, during the meeting of a civic club, a woman remembered the sermon series on \u2018Darwin and Faith\u2019 which we provided here at Marsh Chapel two summers ago.\u00a0 She was recalling a form of witness.\u00a0 One evening in our Gottlieb center, four people who were children in Europe in the Second World War gave witness to the searing, tragic experiences of their childhoods, and those who helped save them.\u00a0 They were recalling the people who got them to where they are, who got them to whom they are.\u00a0 Various BU alumni have appeared to visit this year and have spent some time in reverie and reminiscence.\u00a0 They have been recalling those who made them the kind of disciples they are.\u00a0 Two visitors brought a video recollection of Howard Thurman, our predecessor here at Marsh Chapel.\u00a0 They recalled his witness.\u00a0 A man wrote from Oregon, not long ago remembering a sermon of Thurman\u2019s from that era:\u00a0 \u2018Fear not the Fallow\u2019.\u00a0 Did we have a copy?\u00a0 We have not discovered it yet, but, that title pretty much preaches the sermon, a good early summer reminder;\u00a0 \u2018Fear Not the Fallow\u2019.\u00a0 Our students and staff, including some from Marsh Chapel have remembered this year their experiences growing up gay, and the \u2018fightings without and fears within\u2019 which they experienced, including those who encouraged and sustained them.\u00a0 They were recalling witnesses.<\/span><\/p>\n

In our Gospel Lesson, St. Matthew too offers a word about bearing witness.\u00a0 The original frames the Matthean exhortation in the shape of a journey:\u00a0 \u201cAs you go, make\u2026\u201d We hear the Gospel and we are reminded, recalled to a rightful mind.\u00a0 We are reminded that we are children of God. The Gospel reminds us that the good news is for people, about people, within people.\u00a0 We have rehearsed before us today again the ethic of love in the teaching of the church, the ethic of Jesus in the teaching of the church.<\/span><\/p>\n

In a few minutes, we shall close our service, singing a familiar hymn, \u201cGo Make of All Disciples\u201d.\u00a0 Every hymn has a story, every hymn is itself a witness.\u00a0 This one was written and first used for a June Sunday service like ours today, back in 1955.\u00a0 It was composed by the minister of University Methodist Church, in Syracuse, NY (twenty years after Norman Vincent Peale had left that pulpit for Marble Collegiate Church in NYC).\u00a0 The hymn was lifted on a day of great celebration, with many hundreds of children, that Children\u2019s Sunday, singing their way into the summer, with a reminder:\u00a0 \u2018as you go, make\u2019.<\/span><\/p>\n

Our capacity to understand and then to embody such a gospel and such an ethic depends in a practical way upon those whom we know well enough and admire fully enough to choose as mentors.\u00a0 The church has recognized this need, over the years, by remembering, in particular, particular persons who have led, exemplary lives.\u00a0 One tradition may hallow and revere individuals, chosen and examined over time.\u00a0 Another tradition may emphasize in the communion of saints, the COMMUNION more than the individual saints.\u00a0 You may find that there is some wisdom in both.\u00a0 But when we are touched by the communion of SAINTS or by the COMMUNION of saints, we are influenced, shaped and changed.\u00a0 To hear a witness is to become a witness.<\/span><\/p>\n

Over this past year, you have perhaps experienced some loss.\u00a0 The cloud of witnesses to whom you turn in heaven for guidance on earth may have grown. One\u2014only one\u2014part of your work in grieving their loss will evolve through your own assessment of their helpful examples.\u00a0 You will want to find ways to hold up and to hold on to the gifts, graces and goodness of their lives, as time goes by.\u00a0 My family joined your grieving in the labors of love when our Dad died last June.\u00a0 The manifold, multiple kindnesses which were extended to us, through a season of bereavement, for which we are deeply thankful, have connected us to you, one to another, in a deep, and personal, way.\u00a0 Bereavement is a sacrament.\u00a0 Bereavement is a kind of sacrament.\u00a0 There is a grace, a deep river of grace, running through it all.\u00a0 In particular, this year, I have been impressed by the memories which men have shared, of their own fathers, memories which men have recalled and related, concerning the deaths of their dads, of your dads.\u00a0 They come to mind this Father\u2019s Day.<\/span><\/p>\n

A part of grace in bereavement arises from the communal capacity to remember.\u00a0 As a graduate of BUSTH in the class of 1953, my father could appreciate that communal capacity of memory.\u00a0 To hear a witness is to become one yourself.\u00a0 The ethic of love in the teaching of the church, the ethic of Jesus in the teaching of the church, becomes personal and real when we can identify persons who witness to that ethic and that teaching, and so teach us how to live.\u00a0 Another generation heard the witness of Earl Marlatt, then professor and Dean in our BU School of Theology, who asked a question:\u00a0 Are Ye Able\u2026said, to remember, when the shadows, still the master.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

In the spring of 1973 six freshmen from Ohio Wesleyan University (as we have noted before, a small Methodist college for small Methodists) drove a large Oldsmobile in the rain, across eastern Ohio and Central Pennsylvania, bound for a lake cottage in upstate New York.\u00a0 We had planned to meet my father there for a late dinner, and the beginning of a summer break.\u00a0 In the rain on route 80, the car went over an embankment.\u00a0 Passengers and luggage went in all directions.\u00a0 I had been bringing two white lab mice, in an open bucket equipped with a drip water dispenser, as some sort of gift for my sister Cynthia.\u00a0 After the crash the mice were gone, the car drivable but without windshield wipers, and the six freshmen rightly frightened.\u00a0 We inched along in the rain in silence.\u00a0 About an hour into the silence a roommate in the front seat started shouting and screaming at the top of his lungs.\u00a0 At least one of the mice had survived, and was crawling up his left leg.\u00a0 We inched along in the rain in further silence, one headlight, no wipers.\u00a0 Near dawn we turned down the camp road to see lights burning, and a little smoke coming from the chimney.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dad had paced all night, after we had called to tell him our delay, and greeted us with a fierce joy.\u00a0 He fixed us a lumberjack breakfast.\u00a0 As we went to sleep, I could see him stoking the fire, before going off to work, to meet the challenges of 1973, after a sleepless night.\u00a0 Just before dosing off I heard him singing:\u00a0 \u201cEvery time I feel the spirit moving in my heart I will pray.\u00a0 Every time I feel the spirit moving in my heart I will pray\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

That song at the hearth and from the heart still resounds, rings out, true of his life and faith.\u00a0 It is important for us, for the coming generations, the remember the witness of those who taught us how to bear witness.\u00a0\u00a0 Unhappy are those who lose access to their own best past.\u00a0 Happy are those who find access to their own best past.\u00a0 In that personal song of spirit, experience, and prayer were many of the cherished beliefs and values for which he lived, by which he lived.\u00a0 Let me name some of them.<\/span><\/p>\n

He and his companions in the ministry lived in the openness, the magnanimous freedom of grace, the freedom for which Christ sets us free, on which we are to stand fast, and not to be enslaved again.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

He lived convinced of the lasting worth, the ultimate value of persons and personality.<\/span><\/div>\n
He lived and taught that love means taking responsibility.<\/span><\/div>\n
He placed the highest premiums on marriage, family, children, and friends.<\/span><\/div>\n
\n

He had a rare, great capacity for friendship.<\/span><\/p>\n

He could be restless with and critical of those perspectives which narrow the wideness of God\u2019s mercy.\u00a0 And he could be restless with and critical of those practices in personal and institutional life which did not become the gospel, were not becoming to the gospel.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

He trusted that wherever there is a way, there is Christ, wherever there is truth, there is Christ, wherever there is life, there is Christ.<\/span><\/p>\n

He honored his own conscience and heart, and expected others to do the same.\u00a0 The conscience of the believer is inviolable.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Many of you remember today those who helped you become a disciple, with\u00a0 toughness in love and love in\u00a0 toughness.<\/span><\/p>\n

And as I heard him say, circa 1990,during a meeting in the Oneida church sanctuary, \u2018because I am loved, I can love\u2019.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Given Matthew 28:16, and given this particular Sunday, and given the venerable pulpit here the stewardship of which in these years is our shared responsibility, it is fitting to remember his poem about preaching:<\/span><\/div>\n
Preaching<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n
Preaching is not Bible study, but<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n
It does require Biblical understanding<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n
Preaching is not theology, but<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n
There must be theology in it.<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n
Preaching is not biography, but<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n
It does require an understanding of people.<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n
Preaching is not teaching, but<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n
It is instructional.<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n
Preaching is not social ethics, but<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n
It must point to social responsibility.<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n
Preaching is one vehicle God has chosen<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n
That can g
\nrow life.<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n
Preaching is humbling,<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n
Frightening,<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n
And Rewarding!<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n
\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
As you probably suspect, I believe these words fit more than preaching.\u00a0 They really ask us about our witness to what most matters, counts, lasts, and works.\u00a0 They ask us about our journey in faith.\u00a0 \u201cAs you go\u2026\u2019 What?<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
Does your way of living have some root and grounding in ancient, holy, inspired Scripture?\u00a0 Well then, as you go, read the Bible some and set an example for those growing up to become students, that is disciples, with you.<\/span><\/div>\n
Does your way of living, your going as you go, afford a place for thoughtful reflection, for putting things in the light of divine love?\u00a0 Well then, as you go, you might want to share your regard for thoughtful living, for theological reflection, and so set an example for those growing up to become students, that is disciples, with you.<\/span><\/div>\n
Does your path, your journey involve some other, interesting people?\u00a0 Some colorful characters?\u00a0 I hope so!\u00a0 Tell their stories to those you are making as disciples.<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
Does your own experience leave you with something to pass on to others, some life learning?\u00a0 Well then, as you go, find some creative ways to leave a trail of bread crumbs for others to follow.<\/span><\/div>\n
Does your way of living in faith bear the weight of responsibility we share for the common good?\u00a0 What about justice, and mercy, and humility?\u00a0 Do you have a cause or three?\u00a0 (Like refugee resettlement, or employment for all, or care for those in military service?)\u00a0 Well then, as you go, let us know.<\/span><\/div>\n
On this Father\u2019s day, to conclude, is your way of living a kind of living that grows life for others, and sets an example that is humbling, challenging and rewarding?\u00a0 My marine friend says this:\u00a0 \u2018Leadership is example. Period.\u2019\u00a0<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
\n
As you go, make of all disciples\u2026<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
\n
~ The Reverend Dr. Robert Allan Hill,<\/span><\/i><\/div>\n

Dean of Marsh Chapel<\/span><\/span><\/i> <\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Click here to hear Sermon only Matthew 28:16-20 One who hears a witness becomes a witness. Professor Elie Wiesel has taught us this at Boston University over the years. To hear a witness is to become a witness yourself.\u00a0 In that sense, every Sunday on which we stand to hear the witness of the Gospel, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2679,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[22],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2679"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2698,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21\/revisions\/2698"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}