It's Urgent!

Can you sense the urgency of the crowd in the Gospel for today? Jesus and the disciples set out in a boat to go to a deserted place for a while because they have been too busy even to eat. But people recognize them and hurry ahead of them on foot. By the time they go ashore, a huge crowd is waiting for them. Despite his fatigue and hunger, Jesus had compassion on them because they were "like sheep without a shepherd." He began to teach them many things.

Then we skip over about 18 verses-the feeding of the 5000 and Jesus walking on water. We read those stories on other Sundays. This Sunday, we go straight to another story of Jesus and the disciples being mobbed. They come ashore, the crowd recognizes Jesus, and they rush around gathering up the sick and bringing them on mats so they can be healed. They beg Jesus to let them just touch the fringe of his cloak, and those who touch it are healed.

Both of these segments of text highlight the urgent need of the crowd-they recognized something in Jesus that they desperately wanted and needed. And so they pursued him with great determination.

Sometimes I lose sight of how urgently I need what Jesus offers all of us. I become complacent and start taking Jesus for granted, like a loving family member who is always there for me. I forget what an unspeakable joy and blessing it is to have Christ in your life, just as it is to have family or friends who love you.

This week, I heard two stories that caught me up short and reminded me of how urgently people need what Jesus is offering us.

One story is about a young man who has been through a lot of struggles in his young life. As a kid, he had health problems and was accident prone-he seemed always to be dealing with some illness or injury. As a teenager, he started drinking and got into trouble, to the point of being expelled from school, and arrested for driving under the influence. As a young adult, he was diagnosed as bipolar. Not an easy life.

One day recently, he was on the beach with his friends, and two young men came up to him and said they were from a college Christian group and asked if he was a Christian. He said he was. Then the young men asked him if he would be willing to talk about his faith and his life story with them. So he agreed. He told them that he had always felt the presence of God in his life. He said he wouldn't be here without God. The young men were moved by his story and asked him if he would like to join them in talking to people on the beach about their faith. He surprised himself by saying yes.

He walked along until he saw another young man, sitting on the beach. He went up to him and said, I would like to talk to you about Christ and what Christ has done for me if you would like to hear it. If not, I'll go away. Again to his surprise, the young man said, yes, I would like to hear what you have to say. I've never been to church, my family doesn't go to church, and I don't know anything about Christ. But I know there is something missing in my life, and I would like to hear your story. So he told him his story. They spent several hours talking, and they prayed together. And the young man decided to become a Christian.

The other story is about a 68 year old woman. Her family did take her to church when she was young, but she was very alienated by the experience and left the church as soon as she left home. But later in life, she too felt that something was missing. She and her partner joined a Bible study a few years ago and she went every week and listened carefully to everything that was said. But she did not yet believe.

A few months ago, she became very ill and was in and out of the hospital. One night in the hospital, she had a dream. In the dream, she was outside in the cold and dark, looking in the window of a warm, lighted house. As she stood there, she asked herself, why would I want to be out here in the cold, when I could be in that warm house full of light? So she walked in, and felt a tremendous sense of peace and joy. When she woke up, she realized she had found God-she knew she was no longer alone.

These stories reminded me of what a tremendous gift it is to have Christ in our lives. Just like the crowds rushing to get to Jesus, we need what Jesus has to offer. We need his compassion, his guidance, his healing.

Ephesians describes what life is like without faith-we are like strangers or aliens, without hope and without God. Living without faith is indeed like living in the cold and dark, isolated from God and our fellow human beings. But Christ breaks down the walls that separate us from God and from each other. Christ leads us out of the cold and dark, into the warm, lighted house that is God. We are no longer strangers and aliens, but citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.

Christ makes all the difference in our lives. We need him with the same urgency as the crowds that walked for miles to catch a glimpse of him, hear him speak or touch his clothes. The world also needs him-all the people who feel isolated, or adrift, who wonder why they're here, who wonder if they can be healed or loved or forgiven.

The church's mission-our mission-is to bring Christ to the world. That is why we are here. The church at its best breaks down the walls that divide people, and offers hope, healing, acceptance and love to all people in the name of Christ. Last week, our General Convention (our national governing body) reaffirmed the decision to include all people into the life and worship of the Church, regardless of sexual orientation. Not everyone in the Episcopal Church or the Anglican Communion agrees with that decision, but it was made in the spirit of breaking down the walls between people, and welcoming all people into the household of God.

Let that spirit be in each of you as well as you go about your lives. Look for the walls that need to be broken down, look for the people who are out in the cold, who are lonely, and lost and looking for God. Remember your own urgent need for Christ, and what a difference Christ has made to you, and be prepared to share that with others.

I often assume that people have already heard about Christ, or that they have already made up their minds about faith. And I usually don't offer my own story unless someone asks me. But the story of the young man on the beach and the woman in the hospital reminds me of how urgently people are seeking and how much they need Christ's love and guidance and healing. May God help us to be bold in sharing our own stories of Christ's love.