Why I'm Going to Eat at the Belfry

Isaiah 49:1-7

John 1:29-42

Today’s sermon title will rank as one of the least promising in recent memory.  There are a whole variety of reasons and motivations that bring people to worship services.  Finding out which restaurants the pastor plans to visit is likely not one of them!

But I do want you to know WHY I’m going to eat at this particular restaurant.  I’m going to eat there because it was enthusiastically recommended to me by good friends.  Here’s how it all happened.

 

At a holiday party last month, a conversation with Jeff Sweetser veered towards food and beer.  He told me about a place they love in downtown KC called Collection, whose chef, Celina Tio, they’ve gotten to know.  And it turns out this same chef is opening a new restaurant in the same building called the Belfry.  This new place is focused on offering amazing craft beers and pairing them with great food.  (In fact, Tio has gotten so into craft beers that she’s become licensed as a “cicerone” – a beer expert, like a “sommelier” for wine).

Jeff knew this was right up my alley.  And he said, “Let’s get together and go after the first of the year.”  Last weekend, Steph noticed on Facebook that Jeff and Kate were at the Belfry, which had just opened.  And they posted pictures and a rave review.  Steph posted that I was jealous.  And I was.

Now I need to admit to you that I went to the Belfry yesterday.  I couldn’t wait.  We tried an English Strong Ale from Odell brewery in Colorado, a Belgian style ale from Tallgrass Brewing in Manhattan, KS, and a new beer from our favorite brewery, Ommegang in Cooperstown, NY. 

Now let’s think a little bit about how this all came about.  How did Jeff come to make this recommendation to me?  What was it about our relationship and his invitation that made me excited to try this new restaurant?

Well, we’ve gotten to know one another over the past year and a half or so.  And so they both know that Stephanie and I love new restaurants and craft beer. Jeff and Kate had eaten at Chef Tio’s other restaurant several times, and were enthusiastic recommenders of the food.  And so they were able to share with us their very real, very personal excitement in a way that was compelling to us.

Here’s my point.  Most of us are pretty good at recommending restaurants, movies, websites, blogs, and apps to our family, friends, and neighbors.  But we sometimes lose track of our enthusiasm when recommending the joy we’ve found in Jesus Christ, or the help and encouragement we’ve found in our congregation.

Let’s take a look at this episode from John’s gospel to see how we might recover a lively sense of how to recommend our joy to others.  What I’m talking about today is the practice of evangelism.  Some of you may have no idea what that means.  Others have heard the word used but might have a number of squirrely ideas floating around in your head.  The word “evangelism” just refers to the practice of bearing (and being) good news to others.  What I want you to realize today is that evangelism is a lot like enthusiastically recommending a good restaurant.

In today’s reading from John’s gospel, John the Baptist points two of his disciples – Andrew and another unnamed disciple – to Jesus.  These two spend a day with Jesus.  And then Andrew went and found his brother Simon Peter, and excitedly told him what he’d found.

The details of this scene are important.  The first three we meet are friends – John, Andrew, and the anonymous disciple.  And though John is clearly the mentor and teacher, they were in relationship.  So this is not a story about an individual named Andrew who goes on a religious quest by himself.  He and the unnamed disciple follow Jesus together, and then Andrew very quickly adds to their group his brother Simon Peter. 

What attracts most of us to a congregation of others following Jesus Christ is the fact that there are others.  We worship and learn together.  We pray and work together.  And it’s that sense of belonging - and those relationships - that make this kind of life meaningful. 

Now here’s what I want to bring to your attention today: there are other people who are looking for this very thing.  Looking for a community of people struggling to solve problems, to care for each other, to challenge and inspire each other.  If you’ve found Jesus Christ – his light and life and joy - in this congregation, then recommend it to your friends and neighbors who might want the very same things you do.

When John pointed Andrew and the other disciple to Jesus, what is it that they found?  A celebrity?  An authority figure?  A scary, terrorizing god who made them feel ashamed?  No, they saw a Rabbi, a teacher.  They found him approachable.  And when they approached him to follow him, he said to them, “What do you want?”  Other translations say, “What is it you’re seeking?”

So many of our friends and neighbors mistakenly assume that the religious life primarily concerns knowing stuff about God.  God is out there or up there and we’re supposed to know a few facts about this God.  It might surprise them that Jesus is still asking people – through the life of the congregation – “What do you want?”  Jesus doesn’t first demand some act of allegiance.  Jesus asks us to look into our own hearts and lives.  What kind of journey are you on?  What problems are you trying to solve?  What is it that you’re trying to find that keeps eluding your grasp?  What kind of discovery do we hope to make?  It’s really wonderful that Jesus meets us in this way. 

Jesus asks them what they want.  And they don’t answer very directly.  They respond with a question of their own, “Where are you staying?”  I guess what they most wanted was simply to tag along.  Spend the rest of the day with Jesus. 

To their request, Jesus responds simply, “Come along, and you’ll see.”  And so they did.  It was 4pm in the afternoon, John’s gospel tells us - I suppose to convey that they spent the latter half of a day with Jesus.

I love the simplicity and directness of Jesus’ response.  “Come and see.”  He doesn’t demand that they acknowledge him as Messiah right away.  He doesn’t test them or even begin teaching them right away.  He says, “Well, I’m headed this way, just come along.”  He knows that the life he has to offer is a good life.  He knows that these two will find what they most want in him.  But they will need time.  And so he gives it to them. 

This language of “come and see” provides for us a good tone when we recommend the life of faith to others, or when we simply invite them to church.  It’s a tone that says, “I’m glad to have found something life-giving.  But don’t take my word for it.  Just come see it and experience it for yourself.”

The practice of evangelism – bearing and being good news – is at the very heart of our lives together.  And yet it’s very simple.  We do what John did – pointing others to the goodness of Jesus Christ.  We don’t point to ourselves.  There is no need to be stressed or worried or anxious.  We recommend and invite others to an experience that has been life-giving for us.  And we do it with the full trust that God is beautiful and persuasive enough to draw them further and deeper into God’s amazing love.

Jesus’ words – “come and see” - were simply an invitation to spend time getting to know both him and the community of his other followers.  And that’s what we do.  We don’t set ourselves up as experts.  We don’t promise any kind of one on one mentorship program for the next five years.  We say, I belong to a community of people following Jesus, and I’d love for you to come spend time with us and experience what goes on.

Jeff and Kate made an enthusiastic restaurant recommendation to me because they knew that this was right up my alley.  These close relationships of friendship and familiarity are where we make most of our recommendations.  John pointed two of his disciples to Jesus.  They were Jews, and so he could use Jewish language, “Look the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”  Andrew went and found his brother.  And he could use shared Jewish language too, “We have found the Messiah (that is, the Christ).”

Both John and Andrew were careful to choose language that would resonate with and make sense for their friends.  It would be good for us to learn to put our faith into our own simple language.  That’s likely what’s going to connect best with our family and friends. 

If I can find ways to talk about why the life we share has been good for me, then I’ll be recommending something with enthusiasm.

So what is it for you?  Why are you here?  Why is it you would recommend this congregation to family and friends?  What kind of language would you use?

At the heart of evangelism is NOT any tactic or strategy or gimmick or a special outreach event.  At the heart of evangelism is the experience of getting in touch with what’s going on in our own hearts.  When that happens, you won’t be able to contain your enthusiasm.  You won’t be able to keep from talking about what you’re discovering and learning as we live out our faith together.

Inviting others to find what you’ve already found is part of the life of faith.  You and I have finally found a place where we don’t have to pretend to be someone we’re not.  We’re here together as the flawed, sometimes frustrated people we are, yet amazingly loved, forgiven, and blessed by God in Jesus Christ.  May this good news take our breath away, and leave us overwhelmed and laughing at the surprise of it all.  May it fill us with an infectious joy that says to others, “You’ll love this new restaurant I’ve found!”