As many of you know I once lived in Scotland. My husband was studying at the University of Edinburgh, and I volunteered as a chaplain at the Royal Edinburgh psychiatric hospital. We lived in Milne’s Court built in 1690 which were penthouse apartments in their day, now turned student housing. It was the perfect location just down from the majestic Edinburgh Castle, right on the Royal Mile. Everywhere you turned there was history and tradition. Just down the street is St. Giles Cathedral where reformer John Knox ministered and preached. A wee bit farther down the road is Holyrood Palace which still houses the royals when they are in the Capital. Living there one has a sense of permanence and stability. Change is gradual, in a place so steeped in history. Yet some tourists did not quite understand this. I overheard one woman say, “It is so convenient they built the castle so close to the train station.”
I imagine the Jews living a similar sense of history. They had been waiting for the Messiah for centuries, and were still waiting. They had lived through two nations, the Assyrians and the Babylonians, conquering them and yet they sing praise to God. They continue to wait for the Messiah. Hearing Isaiah’s words seven centuries before Christ, reminds us how long they had been waiting. Sort of like how long the Cubs had been waiting to win the World Series. 108 years, the fans have hoped and watched and cheered. And finally their day came with the fabulous 10 innings, seventh game in Cleveland. The Cubs are now World Champions; their long wait is over. The Jews had been waiting for centuries.
The Jews had a problem. They trusted God, but the Messiah had not yet come. When I first read this passage from John I instantly saw it in new light. Maybe it is from living so close to Silicon Valley, or having a boyfriend who lives over the hill. But as I was looking at Andrew, the disciple we are celebrating this day, the one for whom our church is named, I viewed him as part of a startup. Andrew was on the ground floor. Andrew was part of the startup we now know as Christianity. Let me show you why.
In its most basic form a startup can be defined as “The action or process of setting something in motion.”
Before Bill Gates started Microsoft we were using typewriters.
Before Google we went to the library to get our information.
Before Amazon we shopped in stores rather than online.
These startup companies set in motion the computer age, instant access to information, and convenient home delivery. God through Jesus certainly set something amazing in motion. But I am getting ahead of myself. Let’s look at a current startup company. Larrson and Jennings is an online only startup watch company who in only four years has become a $10,000,000 enterprise. Two British young men with only their hard work and own resources have built this startup company from design and manufacturing to marketing and sales. They have put something in motion. Already Larrson has moved on and Andrew Jennings is now the sole owner. He is quoted as saying, “We are continually looking to re-invest in growing and developing our team” (http://startups.co.uk/the-entrepreneur-andrew-jennings-larsson-jennings/).
Here is where I see the parallels. Two young men, John the Baptist and Jesus, start out to set God’s kingdom in motion. They are together for only a couple years. Larrson is like John the Baptist. He is the visionary. He is one who sees, or in marketing lingo bands, Jesus as “the Lamb of God.” He is the one who does the advanced planning. The first one to say Jesus is something new: Jesus is the Son of God. He is the one who has followers who then start following Jesus. Anyone on social media would see this as great marketing – just like we follow on Facebook and Twitter. John the Baptist came first, set the stage, worked really hard and then exited. Jesus, like Jennings in this startup company, has connections to John the Baptist, but soon becomes the one in charge, always looking to build his team, to extend God’s mission. That is where Andrew comes in. When he sees Jesus, Andrew leaves one startup visionary and joins Team Jesus. Andrew was a follower of John, still hoping and waiting for the Messiah. But the Messiah had not come.
Forbes Magazine defines a startup as “a company or movement working to solve a problem where the solution is not obvious and success is not guaranteed” (Natalie Robehmed, Oct. 16, 13). Jesus was the solution to the Jews problem of waiting for the Messiah. But to many that solution was not obvious and the mission certainly not guaranteed.
Yet Andrew sees what others do not. He accepts Jesus’ invitation to “Come and see.” He spends the day with God’s beloved Son and he believes. He becomes part of the inner circle of this startup known as the Way. He is called to be one of the first board of directors -also known as Jesus’ disciples. Andrew spent the rest of his life dedicated to sharing the love of God, and Christ’s saving work with any and all who would listen. Even after Jesus’ death he continued sharing the love of God that Christ had set in motion. He preached all around the Black Sea in Russia, Greece and Turkey. Then in 345 Emperor Constantine a convert to Christianity had Andrew’s bones taken north to Scotland – hence the founding of St. Andrew and the Scottish flag bearing a St. Andrew cross in honor of their patron saint.
So often in startup companies it is a chance meeting or visionary friendship that makes something happen. Andrew, a follower of John, meets Jesus and instantly sees him as the long awaited for Messiah. In his excitement he seeks out his brother Simon and brings him to Jesus. Andrew is the bridge between Jesus and Simon. In their first meeting Jesus transforms Simon, renames Simon, to be called Cephas, or Peter. One name is Aramaic, the other Greek, but they both mean “rock.” Andrew connects our Lord and Savior with the man who will be the rock on which Christ will build his church. That is startup networking at it s best!!! Not only that, but Peter goes on to be first CEO of this new church, this new movement this new way of Christianity. Of course rather than CEO we called him the Pope, but I think you get the idea.
St. Andrew Church is really a franchise of this original movement, we are charged with carrying the message, sharing the benefits of our precious relationship with Jesus. Every generation gets to reinvent itself holding true to the light and love of Christ, but speaking to the needs and people of the day. St. Andrew Day is simpler this year, because we are trying something new. We celebrate our heritage but we also want to reach out to our community. Each and every one of you is invited to our Blue Christmas service on Thursday Dec. 1, at 7 pm. It is a way of reaching out to our Aptos community, to your neighbors and friends, to offer them a way of honoring those we miss during the holidays. It has been almost 25 years since my mother died, but I still miss her terribly especially around the holidays. My guess is that we all miss someone. We want to celebrate the joy of Christmas, but sometimes our grief can dampen that celebration. So St. Andrew is reaching out to meet that need, address that hurt. We are offering this space, this service of worship on Dec. 1, to honor those we love and miss, in light of God’s love so that we might be better able to sense the deep joy of Christ’s birth. So please invite your friends and neighbors; those with a new loss and those who simply mourn a dearly departed.
May we all be like Andrew, inviting people we know to come and see, to share in Blue Christmas, or Christmas Eve, continually sharing God’s love with the people we meet. Who knows what God will start up right here at St. Andrew Church? Amen.
