The Great Parade

Question: Where can you find a parade in the New Testament? Answer: in 2 Corinthians; and we're all a part of it! In this sermon, I consider this parade and some of the people who are in it. Were you surprised to find yourself there?

I love parades! There is nothing like a good parade to lift your spirits! I love Memorial Day parades, Fourth of July parades, Thanksgiving Day parades, and of course – my all-time favorite – the Tournament of Roses parade on New Year’s Day! It boasts elegantly-decorated floats; the best of the best college and even high school bands; and skillful riders astride beautifully groomed, matched horses. I watch as much as I can on TV as I’m getting lunch ready on that first day of the year; and I always wish that I could watch just a little bit longer.

But the parade in Paul’s second letter to the church at Corinth – the “triumphal procession” that he talks about – that parade is nothing like the Tournament of Roses! No, the parade that Paul references is a victory parade sanctioned by the Roman senate to honor a conquering hero. Instead of floats and bands, such a parade would have contained the spoils of victory – slaves bound with chains to present to the emperor, exotic animals from conquered territories, and piles of gold, silver, and jewels. A procession such as this one was intended to fill onlookers with awe at the power of Rome, and with resolve that they would never, ever try to revolt against that power.

And Paul – skillful writer that he is – turns this image of conquering power on its head! He changes the whole parade, substituting Jesus Christ for the war hero, and replacing the smell of fear and sweat with the sweet scent of incense. In less time than it takes to tell about it, the victory procession is changed from one of war to one of worship, with Jesus Christ leading the way. And we are no longer onlookers, suitably impressed with the power of Rome; no, we are participants in that parade, helping to spread the knowledge of Jesus Christ and his power of love like the scent of incense is spread around the alter during a service of worship. Who, then, are the onlookers? Why, they are the ones who have never heard the Christian message and are invited to join in the parade! “We are… the aroma of Christ,” says Paul, “among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. [And] we do not peddle the word of God for profit.” There are no greedy televangelists in this parade who invite onlookers to send in $50 if they want Aunt Mary healed of her cancer. On the contrary, says Paul, “in Christ we speak… with sincerity.” The only purpose of this parade is to invite others to join in the worship of Jesus Christ and praise to God.

It’s a very long parade! Of course, it wasn’t very long in Paul’s day. It was made up only of the apostles and of the very earliest Christian believers. But today, it has grown to immense proportions! It’s like the white-robed multitude described in the book of Revelation that “no man could count.” It contains men and women, rich people and poor people, educated people and those who can’t read a word, saints and sinners and everybody in between. Some of them, like Paul, are great thinkers: men and women who understand their faith in new ways and offer those insights to us. But not all of them are thinkers.

Some of the people in the parade are mystics, people who see visions of a reality that most of us can only imagine. One of those is Hildegard of Bingen, who lived in Germany in the early 12^th century. Hildegard began having visions when she was a middle-aged nun. She tells about it in her own words: “And it happened… that the heavens were opened and a blinding light of exceptional brilliance flowed through my entire brain. ...It kindled my whole heart and breast like a flame, not burning but warming… and suddenly, I understood [many things].” She began writing down her visions so that other people could benefit from them too, spreading the insights that had blessed her. And she became convinced that secular rulers needed to be reminded of their responsibility to Jesus Christ, too. She wrote to Henry II of England, the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, and even to Pope Eugenius himself. Like Paul, she didn’t “peddle the word of God for profit,” but proclaimed the Christian message as she understood it.

Still others are practical men and women who are more ready to pick up a hammer than a book. Father Damien, for example, went to Hawaii as a missionary in 1863 when he was 23. He built churches for 9 years; and then, he volunteered to minister to the lepers on the island of Molokai. In those days, leprosy was seen as God’s punishment, just as some people understand AIDS today. Lepers were sent to die on the tiny island of Molokai where they lived without family, without medical attention, and without hope. Father Damien went to Molokai knowing that he could never leave. He built homes for the lepers, and churches where they prayed and sang together. He personally dug graves for them when they died. He shared their lives; and when he himself contracted leprosy, he wrote to his bishop, “I am calm and resigned, and very happy in the midst of my people.” Damien spread the fragrance of Christ to some of those who needed it most, offering up his own life in the process.

And there are lots of people in the parade whose names we don’t know – and we might be very surprised to find them there. Some of them might not even claim the name “Christian,” although the spirit of Christ shines through them as bright as the sun shines through a stained-glass window. One of these people is Sandy. Let me tell you about Sandy. Sandy was a street kid who had been abused and abandoned by her own mother. As a child, she had been beaten and told that she was worthless. When she finally ran away to escape the abuse, she was suspicious of everyone, and her first response to problems was frequently violence. One morning, years after Sandy had taken to the streets, she told her friend Edwina that it was her mother’s birthday, and that she wanted to visit her and take a gift. Sandy had bought a single red rose in a glass vase. When Edwina protested that her mother had offered her nothing but abuse, Sandy responded, “She’s still my mom.” But when they arrived at the run-down apartment, no one answered the doorbell. A neighbor, roused from a drunken hangover, growled, “She don’t live here no more. Been gone about six months.” Sandy cried like a baby. Over the years, Sandy got a steady job, rented a small apartment, bought a used car, and even acquired a GED. One day Sandy told her friend Edwina, “Now, I’m going to adopt three kids from group homes.” When Edwina protested, that it would be too difficult for her, Sandy replied, “I can do it. It’s what I want to do because if somebody had done that for me – if somebody had given me a home and loved me – I would never have gone to the streets.” Edwina was astounded. “Sandy, who had never been loved or nurtured, drew from a reservoir of compassion deep within herself which left me astounded and awed by the power of God’s grace. Sandy, the runaway, homeless street girl – Sandy, who was never mothered, never loved – gave the homeless a home, and she loved them.”

Sandy is a part of the great parade, too, even though she would probably laugh at the very idea. But I can smell the fragrance of incense around her. She has forgiven her abusive mother and given three children a stable, loving home because she never experienced that herself. Who but Christ can bring about a transformation like that? The Great Parade has all kinds of people in it: thinkers, mystics, poets, builders, writers, teachers, parents… maybe even some pastors! And it is less like the Tournament of Roses parade than it is like the parade of athletes into the Olympic stadium. Those of you who watched the Olympic opening ceremony on Friday evening saw that parade. Into the stadium they came, waving their country’s flag proudly as they proclaimed who they were and whose they were. They may not have met each other until that evening. They come from a variety of places and specialize in a variety of sports. But all of them are proud to represent their country as they perform as best they can. And we do the very same thing for Jesus Christ. From a variety of places, with a variety of gifts and talents, we represent Jesus Christ as we spread his love to everyone we meet and invite them to join in the parade!

I hope that you are proud to be a part of that parade! I hope that you are proud to join a group of saints that stretches back in time over two thousand years! I hope that you are proud to represent the one who lived for us, died for us, and rose again so that we might be transformed into his image! And then, I hope that you are the very best Christian that you can be, so that everyone you meet will want to join the parade, too.