August 28, 2005
Exodus 3:1-15
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Matthew 16:21-28
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Romans 12:9-21
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Non-Secret Agents
First Congregational Church, Wauwatosa, Wisconsin
August 28, 2005 – Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Rev. Carrie Kreps Wegenast
[Texts: Exodus 3:1-15, Matthew 16:21-28, Romans 12:9-21]
We all have an image of secret agents. Many of us grew up with James Bond, Sandra Bullock in Miss Congeniality or maybe, for our younger crowd, Agent Cody Banks. We see fast cars, death risking stunts, and excitement. As a teenager, I enjoyed reading Dorothy Gilman’s Mrs. Pollifax books. Mrs. Pollifax began her secret agent career at the age most people retire after answering an ad in the newspaper. With each new assignment her Garden Club responsibilities would be put on hold as she embarked on adventures in foreign lands. Of course, for best-seller purposes, the missions never went as planned and this secret agent, who looked like anything but a secret agent found her self escaping death time and again.
One does not need to go to far in the Bible to discover one of God’s secret agents. Moses, the son of wealth and a troubled past, is called upon for a dangerous mission. The voice of God booming through a fiery bush tells him to infiltrate Pharaoh’s kingdom and release the Israelite captives. God asks Moses, who is not trained for this type of work, to excel in negotiation, kidnapping, and distraction. In our reading from Exodus, we get the sense that Moses does not want this assignment. He offers excuse after excuse but God has called this agent and God does not accept ‘mission aborted’ as an answer.
I think it is somewhat easy to fantasy about being a secret agent. A career in the CIA may offer the thrills of adventure and danger. There is also the promise of foreign and exotic places, people, and foods. As a kid I would play secret agent with my siblings. Hiding behind a tree I would plan my strategy to save the helpless victim from the evil warlord. Of course, I was always the secret agent, my middle sister was the ‘bad guy’ and my younger brother the helpless victim. Maybe you can picture your own backyard adventures as a secret agent.
In preparation for the recent Boston Seminar, a history and polity course for ministers entering National Association churches, I was asked to read a healthy stack of books and papers. In more than one of the texts I came across the idea of ‘agent’ in Congregational theology. This concept begins with God. John Von Rohr writes, “God is agent as well as aid.” Let’s unpack this statement. To describe God as the ‘agent’ is to say that all things work through God. This describes “the divine role in human obedience.” In this statement we are told that God both works in us and through us and uses us in the work. God does not leave us there to do the work without help or aid. God is both the employer and the trainer, the agent and the aid. The relationship between humans and God is one of cooperation. Human faithfulness in God and God’s initiative and preeminence is required.
We then move to the visibleness of this relationship – the church. In a paper given at the 1998 symposium our Rev. Dr. Steve Peay offered words on being the ‘visible church.’ With language drawn from the Cambridge Platform (if you don’t know what this is see me after worship and I’ll sign you up for the Covenant class beginning in September – or maybe I’ll just give you a two minute explanation) but in this paper Steve Peay clarifies the differences between the invisible and visible churches. The invisible includes all believers, past, present and future. This invisible reality is most felt when we gather for worship. In this place we find ourselves united by the Holy Spirit to all who have professed a relationship with God through Christ. On the other hand, the visible church includes only those who have made a public profession of their faith. For example, all those who have a relationship with God are members of the invisible church. But, only those who have a relationship with God and join in a covenanted fellowship of other believers are of the visible church. The Savoy Declaration of 1658, also one of our church documents, describes the invisible church as including all of the elect, so all Christians. The visible church is the real church, called into existence by the covenant. The head of each the invisible and visible church is Christ alone.
The Puritans had a unique understanding of the visible and invisible church. In order to become a member of the visible church one had to engage in a period of deep spiritual reflection. This might take years. Records from the first congregational churches show that attendance (granted it was required to attend) greatly outnumbered membership. A gathered community may have 45 members, but 400 attending weekly. When one wished to join they were asked to give an example or statement of their conversion. This explanation was followed by questions directed at the prospective member by the fellowship. Only after the period of spiritual reflection, the giving of the statement of conversion and the examination was a person admitted into the visible church.
The visible church is recognized, in the Puritan tradition, as a gathering of the saints by calling. During my week in Boston I traveled with the class to Plymouth Plantation, a village recreated to look, feel, sound, and smell (thanks to the bull) like the first Plymouth colony in Massachusetts. Actors and actresses, dressed in period costumes and identified by the names of those from the first Mayflower voyage alive in 1627, engaged the 2005 visitors in conversation and explanations from their 1627 perspective. I asked one of the actresses if she was a member of the church of the saints. After giving me a dirty look she explained that they were a bunch of heretics and didn’t I think it was arrogant to call oneself a saint. Many have argued her position but we, as those of Puritan theological decedent, recognize the assurance of being ‘saints’. As Rev. Peay and Rev. Schaal have explained on more than one occasion, we are not saints because of our perfect faith or natures. Rather, we are saints because we have been called by God to walk in obedience to the word. It is our relationship with God through Christ and our united relationship with other believers in covenant that makes us both saints and members of the visible church.
It is as ‘saints’ that we are most like God’s agents and unlike James Bond, Triple X, Cody Banks, or the CIA we are not bound to secrecy. In fact, our work as God’s agents should be anything but secret. Paul captures the essence of ‘non-secret agents’ in his letter to the Romans. Probably written while Paul was in Corinth, the letter seeks to unify the Roman house churches so they can help with the mission Paul is planning in Spain. I would like to read Romans 12: 9-21 to you again. Listen to the poetry of Paul’s words as well as his advice for the visible church of saints in Rome.
Romans 12:9-21 - RSV
9 Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; 10 love one another with brotherly affection; outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Never flag in zeal, be aglow with the Spirit, serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in your hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints, practice hospitality. 14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; never be conceited. 17 Repay no one evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. 18 If possible, so far as it depends upon you, live peaceably with all. 19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God; for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord." 20 No, "if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals upon his head." 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
A community where Paul’s advice to the Romans is practiced could hardly be held secret. As one of God’s agents it would be difficult to do these things without someone catching on to your secret agent’s disguise. Try keeping these actions a secret: love one another, outdo each other in showing honor, be aglow in the Spirit, practice hospitality, bless those who persecute you, weep with those that weep, associate with the lowly, live peaceable with all, never avenge yourself, feed your enemy, give drink to your enemy, and overcome evil with good. As those called by God to be the saints we are to live out these words. We are saints called to love, to be aglow in the Spirit, and to live peaceablely with all. In my mind this lifestyle is not one that can be kept secret. Someone would surely notice us weeping with those who weep, feeding our enemy, or practicing hospitality. And, isn’t this what we want?
I recently heard a preacher tell the story of a memorial service he was asked to do. As one of the local clergy he was on the list of a funeral home and upon need could be called upon to minister to a family without church connections. On this particular occasion he was called to do the service for a young Jewish man who had died suddenly. The Rabbi was out of town and the family knew someone who knew someone in this minister’s church. He told us that he spoke with the family and did all he could to help them during the difficult time, including making arrangements for his church to host a luncheon following the service and finding people to deliver meals to the family. A few months later one of the man’s brothers came to see the preacher. He asked to speak about God and God’s son. He mentioned that he didn’t know much but that he wanted to be a part of the church where he had most experienced God’s love, incarnate.
I was incredibly touched by this story because it wasn’t words but actions that made this minister’s church non-secret agents of God’s love. They, as saints, walked in blameless obedience.
If you still hold the fantasy of being a Hollywood-like secret agent with the fast cars, death risking stunts and excitement, let me tell you one more thing about being one of God’s non-secret agents. It is never boring. Granted, I’m still waiting for my fast car, but God has sent me on more than one adventure – including the one that brought me here as your minister. I imagine that as you look back on God’s calling in your life you might also see the adventure of being one of God’s saints, a non-secret agent.
May we join in this work together. Amen.
John Von Rohr. The Covenant of Grace in Puritan Thought. [Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1986], 151.
Steven Peay, ed. A Past with a Future. [Wauwatosa: Congregational Press, 1998], chapter 4, 35-45.
Willison Walker. The Creeds and Platforms of Congregationalism. 4th ed. [Cleveland: United Church Press, 1991], 354-408.