Second Sunday after Pentecost June 14, 2020
Rev. Kristian Bjornstad, vacancy pastor, Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd
Send in the clowns?
Grace, Mercy and Peace be unto you from God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ. Amen.
This is the way it is sometimes for me as I work out the sermon... I just have to let God do His thing.
This past week I was thinking on the Gospel verses about how it is that Jesus has compassion on the people. Listen to our Gospel again:
35Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. 36When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest."
The concept of Jesus having compassion - in the Greek text it is that Jesus' gut was moved - is SUCH an incredible thought and important teaching of scripture. Oh how sweet it is! He most definitely has true compassion upon His poor people... who are harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
So I was thinking about this...
As well, I was thinking all week on how it is that God sends we poor sinners into the world to be his hands and feet and mouth to bring salvation to the world. He prays for laborers - and then enlists his bumbling disciples:
1And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction.
I was thinking on what I could possibly say in a sermon concerning these truths and actions of Jesus. How could I make these truths come alive? How can these truths be applied to our lives in a way that opens our hearts and minds and imagination to what God is calling us?
So then on Thursday somewhere on the internet I hear the old broadway song called "Send in the Clowns." Sung by Judy Collins. If you are an old timer, you will remember this song. I have always loved the tune - but it was always a mystery to me what the song was about. Many years ago I had studied the lyrics but had been completely stumped by them. "Send in the clowns?" I just had no clue! But now we live in the 21st century and the age of google.com. Maybe Google had an idea of what "send in the clowns" was all about. Hello google.com!
It turns out there really is a story behind those words! Today when we go to the circus everything is so carefully done that only rarely does anything ever go wrong. But in the old days when the circus put up the big tent on the lawn, there were times when things didn't work out the way they were supposed to during the show. Maybe the trapeze artist would miss the bar, or perhaps the lion trainer would get eaten, or something... But, whatever the catastrophe, the circus director didn't want anyone knowing that something bad had happened. And if it was really serious, he didn't want the crowds upset. Something would have to be done when misfortune struck. And what was the trick that he had up his sleeve? Invariably, in the catastrophic moment, the circus director would shout out "send in the clowns"... and the clowns, who would always be at the ready, would come trotting out to distract and entertain the crowd while the mess was being cleaned up in the center ring.
Send in the clowns! In the midst of the catastrophe that we are in... Is God sending in the clowns? Hmmm... I wonder if I would get into trouble if I accused everyone at Good Shepherd of being a clown? Doesn't St. Paul consider himself to be a fool for Christ? If you talked to any clown, they would defend their profession with vigor and tell you straight up that being a clown is honorable and actually a meaningful profession. Maybe it isn't so bad! My old Concordia College St. Paul roommate does Christian clowning. He lives in New Ulm and teaches at the Immanuel, Courtland, school. I invited him to join us this morning. It is so sad that he had responsibilities at Immanuel's worship and couldn't come.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, the analogy doesn't pan out all the way, but I was just bowled over by the thought of God sending in the clowns! I do love clowns, and they always make me smile. And if you ask me, the world would definitely be a better place if we had more clowns - especially Christian clowns.
Will you come join me in exploring the call of Christ to Christian clowning?
Let me take you back to beginning... all the way back to the beginning... Of course the tent of our existence that God set up on his lawn is certainly a spectacular place. The great shout went up from above and the center pole was raised. Then the rest of the poles went up and the tent took shape. The triune rings were formed in its center and everything in the tent was focused around it. Finally animals and creatures of all kinds were ushered into its great expanse. It is a place of amazing miracles and full of beauty and majesty of every kind. The drama was real and the spectacle of God's design, purpose, and plan was specific and glorious!
And indeed, there was even a beautiful script of creation that the Lord God gave to humankind. The program notes were there, the commands of God for all the participants were well explained.
But somehow Adam and Eve didn't follow that script. They decided that the beautiful discipline of the circus life was not for them. They decided they wanted to do things their own way. They tried something they hadn't practice before. They disobeyed. They rebelled.
Catastrophe struck! Our Epistle lesson from Romans spells it out clearly. Sin and death came through Adam. And Adam's sin and death encompass all of humankind and even the whole tent of creation. It struck us right through the heart - every one of us!
Now, it has to be said that the catastrophe recounted in the scriptures is different than that of any circus. The disaster of the circus usually happens only to one or perhaps a few performers: the poor lion trainer or the trapeze artist. But the catastrophe recorded in scripture encompasses the whole tent and everyone in it! The tent rips! The ropes are pulled up from their stakes! The lights come crashing down on everyone. The bleachers buckle under the weight and people are falling, falling, falling, to their deaths. But there, in the midst of all this death and dying, you can see such sad things. Factions are protesting angrily at the injustices of the disaster. They see some people falling farther than others to their deaths. They think this is wrong. Everyone, they say, should fall to their deaths in an equal way. Others are screaming for someone - or anyone - to lead them out of this mess. "We need to vote! Register your vote!" they campaign with their loud megaphones, trying to be heard over riotous masses. Then others are blaming all their problems on people who are of a different color skin, while others shout that it is the circus ushers who caused this catastrophe. They should be sued and jailed. Maybe even defunded.
But there, towering up from the midst of all the chaos, confusion, the smoke of hatred and ill will, above all those lost lambs and sheep, the center pole of the circus tent somehow continued to stand. And its top crossbeam also remained. And if you cared to look, you could see, through the smoke of disaster, the circus director climbing to that cross point, injured and near death as he was... And as He looked down in great distress and with great compassion, He raised his voice in a final act and shouted: "Send in the clowns!"
The cry "send in the clowns" went out, and it was caught by a terrific wind of fire. It was blown around and around through the chaos. And by God's grace, there were a few individuals who recognized that spiritual fire. They recognized it as a fire that leads not to death but to life. They recognized this fire as the fire that spoke to Moses out of the bush, the fire that lead the Israelites in the desert, the fire on Mr. Sinai at the giving of the 10 commandments. They recognized that spiritual fire as that which burns in believer's hearts, and the fire that will eventually consume the earth on the last day. It is from the ashes of that Godly fire the earth and all of heaven will be reborn - even each of our hearts.
And those that see the fire and hear the command from that dying man on the crossbeam are the clowns. They were hiding in fear of all the terror around them. But the fire of the Holy Spirit has overcome them. They see the cross is now empty! They see their Savior now risen from the dead.
These Clowns of Jesus now rise from their sloth and despair! Their sins and burdens have been burned away by the fire.
Let us take a moment now to consider these Christian clowns. They are in many ways like the clowns you and I know at the circus. But they are different in some ways as well.
Usually, when we think of a clown, what would you say is their character? You know it! Are they mean or angry? No of course not! Clowns are always kind. They are always bent down listening to the smallest child. They always have a smile and maybe a colorful balloon to share! We would say that the character of a clown is blissful innocence. They are truly good and gentle. And so what of Christian clowns? As Jesus commands them in our Gospel today, Christian clowns are innocent as doves. But as well we can tell that the clowns we see are well versed and sly as foxes! They have rehearsed their routines and studied their craft diligently! They practice day in and day out. In other words, the Word of God indwells in their hearts and they meditate on God's laws day in and day out!
And just think of any clown you know. Wherever they are you will be able to recognize them as a clown. In everything they are distinctive. They stick out from the crowds! They have big ears so they can listen to the lost sheep and know their struggles. And they certainly wear different clothing as well. What kind of clothing do Christian clowns wear? They wear the righteous robes of Christ that are washed in the blood of the Lamb! They received these clothes at their baptism - and they rejoice day in and day out!
Another striking attribute of clowns, both circus and Christian, is that their character is humble and they often can't get anything right. haha! We love circus clowns because they remind us of ourselves. They can't get anything right. They have to try the same thing 5 times before they get it right, and then when they finally get it right, it turns out backward or something. But this is the glorious truth: being a bumbling sinner is actually part of the job description of the Christian clown. It is in our weaknesses that we can best do our ministry.
Of course the most amazing thing about clowns are all the miracles they do. When we go to the circus we are amazed at the clowns as they pedal a unicycle or walk around on stilts or juggle 10 different objects. But that is nothing compared to the Christian clown who performs true miracles according to God's power. As Christian clowns, you and I are commanded by our Lord to go out and make disciples by baptizing and teaching all that He has commanded. We are to go into every town, even North Mankato, preaching the kingdom of heaven, healing and casting out every evil spirit through the forgiveness of sins!
We could go on here... but I will leave the rest of the sermon to go on in your hearts and minds for the rest of the week. That is the way sermons are supposed to be. They don't ever really have an end except in your hearts and lives through the week and even for eternity.
Perhaps you know the ending of the song "send in the clowns"... We look around us and we cry to the Lord of Hosts... Send in the clowns! The world needs clowns! Christian clowns!
But there is truth to the end of the broadway song:
Send in the clowns...
Don't bother... they're here!
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