HOOAH!

Mary Rogers, August 28, 2005
Scripture: Psalm 33: 1-9; Matthew 28: 16-20

Text: "Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous. Praise befits the upright. Praise the Lord with the lyre; make melody with the harp of ten strings. Sing to him a new song; play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts. For the word of the Lord is upright, and all his work is done in faithfulness. He loves righteousness and justice, the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord. By the word of the Lord the heavens were made and all their host by the breath of his mouth. He gathered the waters of the sea as in a bottle; he put the deeps into storehouses. Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him. For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm." (Psalm 33: 1-9) Meanwhile, the eleven disciples were on their way to Galilee headed for the mountain that Jesus had set for their reunion. The moment they saw him they worshipped him. Some, though held back, not sure about worship, about risking themselves totally. Jesus, undeterred, went right ahead and gave this charge: "God authorized and commanded me to commission you: Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you. I'll be with you as you do this, day after day, right up to the end of the age. (Matthew 28: 16-20)

The other day I was sitting in traffic eating a Hooah Energy Bar. Since I was sitting in traffic and not driving in traffic I began to read the Hooah Bar package. [Hold up bar] This I what it says: "Hooah is a cornerstone of military culture. It communicates energy, affirmation, can-do spirit, teamwork and fearlessness. It means anything and everything except no." I like that! Energy, affirmation, can-do spirit and fearlessness. I know that many of you are military and are familiar with Hooah but for those of us who are not, a demonstration might be in order so I've asked Major Gene Kaye to demonstrate a hooah for us. [Gene stands and demonstrates] Energy, affirmation, can-do spirit, teamwork and fearlessness. Hooah!

For the purposes of this sermon I want to borrow Hooah and engage it just for a moment as if it were a Christian term instead of a military term. Early Christians did this kind of borrowing or re-interpretation all the time. They would take non-Christian or Pagan rituals and reinterpret them in terms of and faith and theology. For instance in Pagan culture, the purpose of having bridesmaids at a wedding was to ward off evil spirits. Christians took this practice and reinterpreted it so that bridesmaids were meant to be a part of the blessing and witness to the covenant of promise made between a couple and God. So for now Hooah is: Energy, affirmation, can-do spirit and fearlessness for God!

It would have been a good tag line for Jesus to teach his disciples. It's easy to remember, and easy to call out to another team member when he or she is feeling less than enthusiastic. I don't know that this is the case but I suspect that the disciples might have needed a little Hooah reminder every now and then. Especially in the Matthew passage we read today. Here's the situation: It is after Jesus' death and resurrection and the disciples are dealing with the grief, and confusion about all that had happened. They're also dealing with the fact that they can no longer do ministry the way they did before. Jesus would no longer be with them, in the flesh, as they went about their daily ministry. In order to continue to give the gospel to those who did not have it they had to change the way they did ministry.

Now let's not underestimate or be judgmental about how hard this change was for them. We all know about the difficulty of changing, even when the change is good. I know that many of you think that middle name is change but when I was on sabbatical I heard the hymn Come Thou Font of Every Blessing sung to the electric guitar and drums and as much as I would have liked to have had some Hooah about the unique way the gospel was being shared I still had difficulty with it. All of us know how we feel when something we have done all our lives is done differently. So it is in that context that the disciples met Jesus on mountain When they saw him, most of them worshipped him wholeheartedly but some held back, they doubted, they were afraid to risk themselves, afraid of the impending change. Maybe a great big loud Hooah would have been all they needed, to be reminded about how one is to approach the task at hand: energy, affirmation, can-do spirit and fearlessness for God. But Jesus was not deterred by the doubt or the fearfulness. For the sake of giving the gospel to those who did not have it he commissioned and empowered the disciples to go, teach and baptized. He commissioned them to do ministry in a different way, without his physical human presence every day. It was a change in the way they did ministry but the focus was the same. With HOOAH energy, affirmation, can-do spirt, teamwork and fearlessness: Bring the gospel to those who do not have it.

When I was on sabbatical I saw a lot of Hooah. There are many churches who realize that they have to make some changes in the way they do ministry if they are going to bring the gospel to those who do not have it. As you might expect and have experienced some of the changes I liked and some of the them I struggled with. One of the most interesting and out of the ordinary churches was in Minneapolis. Picture a very large industrial looking warehouse sized room. It was filled with "youth group" couches, chairs, and recliners-- You know those pieces of furniture that people "donate" to the youth because they bought a new one for their homes. They all looked about 20 years old and they were set up in the round with a stool that could spin sitting in the middle of the circle. Later I found out it was for the Pastor so that he could spin around and look at everyone as he spoke. (I won't even comment about that). As odd as the worship space was to me, it is important to note that feel of the room was very inviting, safe, and comfortable.

As the worship started I was amazed to find that except for the worship space and the choice of instruments the service was very much like our own in almost every way except for communion. The pastor said the same words of institution as we do then after the prayers everyone got up and served each other. It was very loud but was I have to admit it was a joyful feast of the people of God. All around the room there were different stations set up for communion.

Imagine my shock when I realized that Entenmanns pound cake sitting beside the plastic cups on the table beside me was you guessed it…. the bread we used for communion. Now don't get me wrong the cake was very good. So good in fact that I wanted another big piece! But Entenann's for communion? I didn't like it. After the service I voiced my objection to the Pastor I was traveling with. And here's what she said: Yes well, it was a little odd but people who do not have the gospel are getting it aren't they? At that moment I was forced to ponder this question: in the big scheme of things what was more important: that they were serving Entennman's pound cake for communion or that people who did not have the gospel were getting it.

When Jesus said: Go therefore and make disciples baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit he meant: go and take the gospel to those who do not have it. There have been easier times to do ministry. 10, 20, 30 years ago we lived in a Christian culture where people sought out the church. And our church reflects that. Until very recently, even since my tenure here at Providence we haven't had to work that hard to get people to come to us. But here is something I've noticed about our membership classes. In seven years of doing new member classes there has been only one person in all of those classes who was not a Christian and had no idea who Jesus was. We should have rejoiced! But the reality was that even though Al and I we met with him we did not have the infrastructure to love and teach someone who did not have the gospel, who didn't even have the basic story. Almost all the people in our classes are people who have moved into the area and were looking to move their membership from one church to another. At the very least everyone in our classes have had some foundation of faith. Even the adults we have baptized have had a foundation. Maybe not a huge foundation but a foundation nevertheless. And our curriculum reflects this and expands on that knowledge.

A huge part of a church's ministry is to minister to those who are here. And there is a lot of HOOAH — Energy, affirmation, can-do spirit, and teamwork for this part of our ministry. What about the people who are not here. Are we as a church living out the great commission if we are not giving the gospel to those who don't have it at all? To those who don't even know they need it? Are some of our ministries designed to meet the needs of someone who is a non-Chrisitan who has no foundation in the faith?

I was talking to a child a few weeks ago and she told me that one of her relatives was sick and that they were going to die.

"That makes us very sad doesn't it?"
"Yes" she said.
"It makes me very sad too but at the same time I am glad she will be with Jesus aren't you?" and she said: "Who is Jesus?"

It is imperative that we are proactive about getting the gospel to those who do not have it.

I suspect that many of us are in the same place of uncertainty that the disciples were in when they were confronted with the reality that they had to make changes in the way they did ministry. I know I am at times. I suspect that there is doubt and fearfulness about the risks involved. And I suspect that each of us at some point is not going to be so sure about the changes that we are making. But here's what I know:

There are people out there who have no idea of the story, who do not have a foundation and will not seek us out.

I know that there are people who do not know that every day, no matter what has been done in the past, in their marriages, in their jobs, in their parenting, or in school that through Christ every single day is a day to begin again with a fresh start.

I know that there are people like my little friend who do not know that in Christ there are no good-byes that are forever, that in Christ there is no end.

I know there are people put there who have no hope.We must get the gospel to them in a way that they can hear it.

I hope that one day we will have to offer new member classes in two formats: One for those who have a foundation and one for those who don't. I hope that one day seating is an issue in all of our worship services because we understood the importance of being one church with many expressions of worship. I hope that one day someone says: I didn't know about Christ until I came to Providence or even better: I didn't know about Christ until Providence brought Christ to me. I want to challenge every committee that as they are planning future programming for those who are here, that they also spend time in prayer, and energy thinking how we can get the gospel to non-Christians. Here's the last thing I know: (at least for moment).

Collectively: this church has Hooah: Energy, affirmation, can-do spirit, teamwork and sometimes even fearlessness for God. The question is: Do You?

© Copyright, 2005, Rev. Mary Rodgers
All Rights Reserved.
Providence Presbyterian Church
Fairfax, Virginia