Representatives of Christ
A Sermon for the Seventh Sunday of Easter – May 24, 2009 – RCL
The Rev. Diana Carroll – The Church of the Holy Trinity, Rittenhouse Square
Jesus prayed, “As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.”
In the name of God, the Holy and Undivided Trinity. Amen.
A few months ago, not long after I was ordained, I had a conversation with someone who told me they wanted to discuss some theological questions. As we talked, I sensed that my conversation partner was getting somewhat frustrated. I wasn’t offering very many clear, concrete answers for the questions he had posed. Finally, he said to me, “You ought to have the answers. You’re a minister. You are God’s representative on earth.”
Well, it took a little while for me to absorb that one. As for the first part, unfortunately, being ordained does not automatically imbue a person with “the answers.” Much though I might wish it did! But it was the second part of what he said that really stuck in my mind: “You’re a minister. You are God’s representative on earth.” Well yes, I thought, in one sense I am. But that doesn’t quite tell the whole story. In my understanding at least, the work of representing God is definitely not limited to those who are ordained. In a Christian community, we are all God’s representatives on earth. We are all sent into the world to represent Christ.
Chapter 17 of John’s gospel describes the final moments of the last supper, as Jesus prepares his disciples for his departure. He has been teaching them and instructing them, and now he ends by praying for them. This morning we heard just one part of the prayer, but even this one part can feel like a lot to digest. The language is difficult to get our minds around, with all of its repetitions and variations. But as the words and themes build on each other, a picture begins to emerge. In the prayer, Jesus says this about the disciples: “I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you.” Later, he says: “they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world.” And finally, “As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.”
The picture that arises from these statements is this: After Jesus is gone, his disciples will remain in the world in his place. They will continue in his mission. They will be his representatives.
As the prayer goes on from here, we find out that Jesus is praying not only for those disciples who were there with him, but also for those who would later become his followers through them. And so this prayer is also meant for us. Christ is no longer physically present in the world, but we are in the world in place of Christ. We have been sent into the world, just as Christ was sent.
We are Christ’s representatives in the world.
What does it mean for one person to represent another? At its most basic level, I suppose, representing someone simply means acting on their behalf. Many of our elected officials hold the title of “representative,” and their role, at least in theory, is to represent those who elected them: to work on their behalf. Employees are often seen as “representatives” of their employer, and with company logos appearing on every imaginable surface these days, we often find ourselves overwhelmed with visible reminders of who is representing whom. And on this Memorial Day weekend, I am reminded that those who serve in uniform in the armed forces bear a particular responsibility for representing the organization to which they belong.
A good friend of mine is married to an officer in the US Army, and I remember how intrigued I was when she first described to me all of the things that he was not allowed to do while in uniform – including publicly displaying affection for his wife! Every action he took had the power to reflect back on the army and on the country – either for good or for ill.
Being a representative is a weighty responsibility, and the weightiness of it increases with the importance of the person or group that you represent. That is probably why I was a bit taken aback to be identified so bluntly as “God’s representative on earth.” That’s a pretty big responsibility to bear, and I am glad that I share it with the whole community of faith.
In today’s reading from Acts, the disciples are just beginning to figure out what it means to be Christ’s representatives in the world. In liturgical terms, this story comes right between the Ascension (which we celebrated last Thursday) and the Day of Pentecost (which we will celebrate next Sunday.) Christ has gone up from among the disciples, no longer to be seen in person. They have been given instructions to go back to Jerusalem and wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit, which will enable them to begin their mission. The disciples don’t know what’s going to happen next, but they know that want to be ready for it. So what do they do to fill the time while they wait? They begin to get themselves organized.
The first order of business, as suggested by Peter, is to choose a replacement for Judas, a new leader to fill the position that he left empty. The disciples’ method for selecting a new apostle is probably not one that many churches are likely to use today. But regardless of the process, Matthias is chosen and added to the apostles.
It is easy to read this story and think, wow, Matthias must have felt really honored to be chosen for this special role. I mean, he was being asked to join the inner circle, the group with the greatest power and influence among the believers. And as for the “other guy,” Joseph called Barsabbas aka Justus, well, he might have been a little bit sore about losing out.
But becoming an apostle at that point in time was not just an honor. It was also a pretty risky thing to do. Christ had only recently been killed by the authorities. There was no telling how those same authorities would treat Christ’s followers, especially their leaders. When Peter lays out the job description for the new apostle, he says that they need someone to be a “witness” with them to the resurrection. That word, “witness,” is the same word that appears in the first letter of John as “testimony,” and it can also be translated in a third way: Martyr.
To become a witness to Christ, a representative of Christ, was to risk becoming a martyr. And according to tradition, that is eventually what happened to all of the 12 apostles. We could imagine that Joseph called Barsabbas aka Justus might actually have been a little bit relieved not to be chosen.
The disciples understood the risk involved in being representatives of Christ. They understood that part very well, much better, in fact, than most of us today. But it seems that Peter and the others hadn’t quite grasped the rest of the big picture yet: that being Christ’s representatives would not be a job for a select few. There was still a surprise in store for them at Pentecost: when the Holy Spirit would descend on all of the disciples, and the whole community of the faithful—not just the 12—would be commissioned as representatives of Christ.
This is a bit of a sneak preview of next week’s service: we are all commissioned to represent Christ in the very same way. The Holy Spirit descends on each one of us in baptism, and we are marked with what you might call the “logo” of Christ: the sign of the cross. Just as elected officials are charged to work on behalf of those they represent, so also we are called to work on behalf of Christ. And just as the actions of an employee or a person in uniform reflect on their organization, so also what we do—and what we don’t do—will inevitably say something about Christ to those around us.
Jesus prayed about us: “As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.” How will we choose to represent Christ in our daily lives? What will we risk in order to make God’s message known?
