Monday, May 16, 2011

Bi-Lingual Gatekeepers

Sermon from May 15, 2011
(Easter 4 – Year A)
John 10:1-10
St. Alban’s Episcopal Church, Waco, Texas

In 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act was enacted by Congress.
This act was designed to make buildings and other public places accessible to all.
At the time that the Americans with Disabilities Act was passed, I was working in the business world.
And one of my job duties was functioning as the manager of the 75,000 square foot office building that our company owned and occupied.

Looking out for the economic concerns of our financial partners, I was disturbed that the Americans with Disabilities Act would cost our real estate partnership thousands and thousands of dollars to comply with the new regulations.
However, in order to understand the Act better, I was sent to a training seminar.
At this training seminar, I learned a whole new language.
In managing our office building up to that point, I only knew the language of dollars and cents.
Yet this seminar taught me the language of those people who live with disabilities.

I learned that our office building was filled with gates, gates for people with sight disabilities.
Therefore, our elevators needed buttons on them in Braille.
Our building was filled with gates, gates for people with hearing disabilities.
Therefore, our fire alarms needed visible flashing strobe lights, in addition to audible alarms.
Our building was filled with gates, gates for people with mobile disabilities.
Therefore, ramps were installed and bathroom stalls widened to facilitate those in wheelchairs.

At this training seminar about the Americans with Disabilities Act, I learned that I was a gatekeeper, a gatekeeper who must learn to be bi-lingual.
In order to be a good gatekeeper of our office building, I had to know two languages:
The language of finance - and the language of the disabled.

In John’s Gospel, Jesus proclaims:
“I am the gate for the sheep.
And the gatekeeper opens the gate.”

Jesus is the gate, the way that leads eternal life in his sheepfold.
Jesus is the gate, the open access to the loving embrace of our heavenly Father.
And we are the gatekeepers, the gatekeepers who make Jesus accessible to everyone.

And at the training seminar that we know as St. Alban’s Episcopal Church, we learn that we must be gatekeepers who are bi-lingual.
In order to be a good gatekeeper of Jesus’ sheepfold, we must speak two languages:
The language of God - and the language of our culture.
As good gatekeepers, we must bust open the gate to Jesus Christ, by becoming bi-lingual translators of his good news.

As a priest, I believe that one of my primary duties is to be bi-lingual.
One of my primary duties is to be a translator of the Gospel.
Therefore, I learn the language of God’s good news by studying my Bible and praying about what the words of scripture mean in my own life.
Then I step into this pulpit and I strive to be a good gatekeeper, translating the good news of Jesus using the language and the images of our culture.
This is why I have stood in this pulpit in the past - and impersonated Oprah Winfrey and Ricky Bobby.
This is why I have used images of an unopened bottle of Cabernet and packets of fake honey at Bush’s Chicken.
This is why, on Easter Day, I sang the song that doesn’t end, as if I was Lamb Chop, the children’s puppet.
I do all these silly and foolish things as your preacher, because I want to be bi-lingual.
I want to be a good gatekeeper, making the good news of Jesus completely accessible for everyone.

And Jesus teaches us how to be gatekeepers.
For Jesus himself was bi-lingual.
Jesus did not drone on in a monotone, like some boring theology professor.
But Jesus knew how to translate his message to the culture around him.

To people who were farmers in an agrarian culture, Jesus translates his message by saying:
“The kingdom of God is like a tiny, tiny mustard seed that a farmer plants in the ground.
And from that tiny, tiny seed grows a giant tree.”

To desperate housewives, Jesus translates by saying:
“The kingdom of God is like a valuable coin that gets lost on the floor.
And the woman sweeps and sweeps the floor with her broom until she finally finds it.”

And Jesus translates the wideness of his Father’s love, by opening wide his arms on the hard wood of the cross, to draw the whole world into the saving embrace of his gate.

This morning, Jesus proclaims to us:
“I am the gate.
And the gatekeeper opens the gate.”

And Jesus teaches us how to be bi-lingual gatekeepers of his good news.
Jesus teaches us how to translate his message to the culture around us.

If you speak the language of cooking, you can translate a passage from the First Letter to the Corinthians.
Using the language of cooking, you can translate by saying:
“Knowledge puffs up, like a soufflé that comes out of the oven and falls.
But love builds up, like a tall wedding cake that is built with upon layers and layers of love for others.”

If you speak the language of NASCAR, you can translate the story of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came down with a roar from heaven.
Using the language of NASCAR, you can translate by saying:
“The roar of the engines at the Texas Motor Speedway makes my heart pound in my chest.
And the Holy Spirit roaring through the people in this church makes my heart pound with excitement, as well.”

If you speak the language of gardening or facebook or baseball or American Idol,
If you speak the language of teachers or bloggers or lawyers or plumbers,
Then you, too, can translate the good news of Jesus and be a bi-lingual gatekeeper.

However, we are not good gatekeepers when our faith and our churches are inaccessible to others.

We are not good gatekeepers when we use our faith to alienate others.
Therefore, we should not alienate others by asking:
“Have you been saved?”
Instead, we should translate our faith, using the language of God - and the language of our culture - to invite others by saying:
“Come and see.”
And our own authentic faith will light the way to the gate, like a pulsating strobe light on a fire alarm.

We are not good gatekeepers when our churches are filled with gates, gates of Episcopalian code words, words such as “narthex” and “eucharistic visitors.”
Therefore, we don’t need to get rid of the unique words of our rich tradition.
But we make our church accessible for all when we install Braille buttons in the elevator, to translate and patiently explain our funky Episcopalian language.

We are not good gatekeepers when our churches are filled with gates, gates designed to keep people out.
Therefore, we make our church accessible for all, installing wide ramps of welcome that enable everyone to come into Jesus’ sheepfold.
And we open our mouths to spread the great news that it doesn’t matter if you are bi-polar - or have been in prison - or have a drinking problem - or are divorced - or don’t own a necktie:
All, all, are welcome at God’s Table.

Jesus proclaims today:
“I am the gate.
And the gatekeeper opens the gate.”

And in this coming week, you will have an opportunity to be a good gatekeeper.
Using the language of God - and the language of your missionary context, you will have an opportunity to use your bi-lingual skills.
By translating the best news in the world, you will have an opportunity to make Jesus fully accessible.

So hold open the door to Jesus,
And be a bi-lingual gatekeeper.

AMEN.

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