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We've all seen him, often in places where crowds are walking by.

Foolish Faith Witnesses - I Corinthians 2: 1-10 - October 26, 2008 - Cicero United Methodist Church -- Everett J. Bassett

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We've all seen him, often in places where crowds are walking by. Some of the places I've run into him include street corners in Manhattan and San Francisco. He was at Syracuse airport once, but quickly asked to move along. I saw him once on the sidewalk before an S. U. basketball game, and another time in the parking lot at the mall during the Christmas rush. To my recollection, it has always been a he instead of a she, but sometimes there has been a woman and sometimes a child standing with him. People respond to him differently - some get angry, some mock, secretly or openly, a few do stop and listen -- most just walk by with a practiced look of indifference. Sometimes he has a microphone or a bullhorn. but usually just a loud, firm voice, declaring some form of warning - escape the judgment of God; turn to Jesus now.

We've all seen him someplace - the street preacher. We're walking along with something totally different on our mind, and there he is, breaking into our consciousness. I have a lot of respect for people who would do that; its got to be a candidate for that reality show about the world's toughest professions. But usually on those rare occasions when I have stopped to listen. I've been disappointed in the judgmentalism and harshness in the message. I heard someone say once that some Christians look like they were baptized in vinegar. Many times that street preacher has seemed like such a Christian.

That's one way to be a witness for faith in Jesus Christ. It's not for me, but I don't discount it. It may very well be what reaches some people. There are other ways.

A few years ago, in the middle of the winter, I needed to check something at the camp Shawn and I used to own up near Old Forge. They know how have winter up in Old Forge. and this was a cold, frosty don't-put-your-tongue-on-the-pump-handle day. Our house was by itself down a seasonal road that was just sort of plowed, and covered with ice, and I slowly made my way in with my little car, wondering how I would ever turn around to get back out, and what I would do in there by myself if I got stuck.  Then I got to the part that wasn't plowed, so I got out a trudged through the snow the rest of the way up the driveway. did whatever it was I was there to do, and then came out, and to my amazement, here's another little car coming down that road.  So they stopped behind my car, and watched for five or so minutes as I trudged my way back out.

There was a man, a woman, and two or three small kids in the back, and the man asked me some questions about the camp and the river and the area - and I thought they were looking for a place to buy, maybe, but why today?  And then, somewhat abruptly, he picked up an open Bible from beside him on the seat and said, "What do you think about this verse right here?"  and that was when I noticed the magazines beside him on the seat and I thought to myself, "Oh my goodness, right here in the middle of nowhere, down a dead-end road, in February in sub-zero weather in the coldest place in New York State, I have been visited by Jehovah's Witnesses!"

You can't help buy be impressed by that.  And that's another way to witness for faith.  But that's also not for me, and I daresay, not for most of us.

I've been preaching the last couple sermons from I Corinthians 1, where the apostle Paul writes about foolish faith - meaning professing things that appear foolish by worldly standards. And Paul lists Christian faith as one of those foolish things. Two weeks ago, talking about the movie Religulous, I talked about how a 'Foolish Faith Believes," in spite of logical arguments against it. Last week, talking about the crisis on Wall Street, I talked about how a "Foolish Faith Trusts," even when the tendency of the world is to seek security in other things - the stock market, the government, the military, and so on.

Today I want to look at one more point Paul makes, and it has to do with how 'Foolish Faith Witnesses:'  God wants us to be telling others about this foolish faith. And in today's scripture. Paul tells his readers how he witnessed about Jesus in Corinth. There is no doubt that Paul came to Corinth with one purpose in mind - he wanted to tell people about Jesus. He wanted to start a church, and continue the Christian movement. Did he stand on the street corner and shout. judgment at people walking by? Did he go door to door and ask people if they knew where they were going if they died right now? I guess we don't know that he didn't do those things, but it looks to me that his thoughts went in another direction. At the beginning of I Corinthians 2, Paul shares these words:

"When I came to you, brothers and sisters, I did not come proclaiming the mystery of God to you in lofty words or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified. And I came to you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling. My speech and my proclamation were not with plausible words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God."

So what is Paul saying here?  First of all it is not a matter of someone striding boldly and confidently into the middle of the town square and shouting at people. Paul came with fear and trembling. He was scared out of his mind.  One of the things I've heard and felt often in the church when we talk about faith-sharing, or telling others about our religious beliefs, is that it's scary.  We risk rejection; we risk misunderstanding; people will think of us as religious nuts, and group us with that screamer on the corner.  If we're nervous about sharing our faith, we're in good company.  So was the apostle Paul.  It's not easy to declare something that sounds so foolish as the Christian claim that the Son of God came into this world and died on a cross for our sins.  So fear is not a deal-breaker when it comes to faith-sharing.  In fact, I imagine it's a good thing.  When someone has shared faith with me, and I realized that they were stepping way out of their comfort zone to do it, that made me stop and listen, because I knew that to this person, this was something real and important. And I knew they were offering me a gift - their own discomfort - for my sake, and not theirs. And I knew that they were doing it humbly. Paul reminds the Corinthians that he came fearfully not arrogantly.

He also came using simple words.  We know quite a bit about Paul - we've got a lot of stories about him, and a lot of his own words, in the Bible.  He was an intellectual giant.  He could hold his own in a debate against anybody.  His language is lofty; he was the first great Christian theologian.  But he did not come to Corinth spouting ‘lofty words or wisdom.'  I think what Paul realized is that Christian faith stands up in intellectual debate pretty well, up to a point. For example, many of the teachings of Jesus rank with the wisest and most artistically beautiful teachings ever shared. You can talk intellectually about faith, bringing in all the scientific and philosophical thoughts of the greatest of thinkers - and great theologians and teachers have done that for centuries.

But only to a point. 'Lofty words and wisdom' only take you so far. There is, eventually, a leap of faith involved that goes beyond any logical arguments. After you've exhausted all the intellectual talk about faith, it comes down finally to something beyond proof. As the old song goes "I Have Decided to Follow Jesus." It's a decision to take the leap into what Paul called 'foolish faith.' So, he reminds the Corinthians, "I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified." The best things in our lives - things like beauty and love - cannot be explained logically. They are things of the heart. In the end, either you open your heart to the love of Jesus or you don't. And nobody knows better than I do about the intellectual struggle involved- most of the time I feel like the world's biggest doubter. But 1 have discovered in my life that living a purely logical life is not only impossible, it's undesirable. The best things are the things of the heart -- those are the things that make us human; those are the things that make us alive. And that's where the simple, loving message of Jesus on the cross touches me in ways I can't explain - but I wouldn't trade it for anything.

And along those lines, Paul says one more thing about his approach to the city of Corinth. If he didn't try to convince them with lifty words and wisdom, what did he do? In Paul's words, he offered them a 'demonstration of the Spirit.' And I think the most effective witness we have to help people understand the faith we follow is not in words at all - it's in demonstration.   What is the life we live beside others? The answer to that question is far more persuasive in this world than any words we say. And don't get me wrong, I do think there are times we have to be ready to talk about our faith, to put it into words. But the words are empty without the demonstration behind it.

Now, to be accurate, I'm probably applying the word "demonstration" in a wider way than Paul meant.  He may very well have been talking about some iracle that was demonstrated that god everybody's attention.  I'm talking more about simple, everyday living - but living with love and integrity and humble thanks for the gift of God's grace in this world.  And what I would say is that that, too, is a miracle, and it gets attention.

In case you missed it, we live in a hectic, conflicted, spiritually hungry world.  People are chasing every fad, every superstition, every idol that we could imagine.  In the middle of that, a person living out a life of love and integrity and humble thanks is a rare thing.  And people long for that kind of peace, and they'll want to know where it comes from.  I believe that genuine Christian witness demonstrated in the workplaces and marketplaces and classrooms and living rooms of this world bring more people to faith in Jesus than all the sermons, all the street preachers, and all the door-to-door evangelists combined.  .

I believe this is what Jesus had in mind. He didn't leave any writings: he didn't sit in the seat of government, or commerce, or in the halls of knowledge, He touched people, one by one, transforming their hearts. And he sent them out in fear and trembling, not to win arguments, but to live genuine lives of faith in a searching world. It must work, because 2000 years later you and I are here talking about it. May it be so 2000 years from now as well.

I close today with a reading called 'When You Thought I Wasn't Looking.' It is written from a child's perspective, but it could apply to all of us:

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you hang my first painting on the refrigerator,

and I immediately wanted to paint another one.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you feed a stray cat, and I learned that it was good to be kind to animals.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you make my favorite cake for me and I learned that little things can be the special things in life.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I heard you say a prayer, and I learned there is a God I can always talk to, and always trust.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you make a meal and take it to a friend who was sick, and I learned that we all have to help take care of each other.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you give of your time and your money to help people who had nothing and I learned that those who have something should give to those who don't.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I felt you kiss me good night and I felt loved and safe.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you take care of our house and everyone in it and I learned we have to take care of what we have been given.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw how you handled responsibilities, even when you didn't feel good and I learned that I would have to be responsible.

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw tears come from your eyes and I learned that sometimes things hurt but it's all right to cry

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw Jesus in your life and knew that with God's grace, peace and hope are possible, and I chose to live by this grace in every way possible.

Just in case somebody's looking.