No Recorded Sermon This Week

Coffee.

It’s an incredibly valuable commodity — second only to oil. Americans drink 2.3 billion pounds of the stuff, more than any other country. And Nancy Stevens, our Youth Director, is responsible for about half of this consumption.

Nancy loves her Starbucks.

With the stakes so high, a federation of coffee growers in Colombia thought long and hard about what to do with Juan Valdez. I know you’ve seen Juan on television — he’s the fictional coffee-grower who has been featured in ads for decades now, helping to establish “100 percent Colombian coffee” as an international brand.

Problem is, Juan is getting old. According to Fast Company magazine (May 2007), he has become a bit of a joke, with recent ads showing him on a surfboard. The Columbian coffee growers saw this, and were very close to sending him into retirement.

Then a consultant from Portland, Oregon, advised them to hold on to Juan. “Juan Valdez taps into a fundamental human truth,” said the consultant — “the things we savor the most are the hardest earned.” Maybe Juan still had value, as someone who is dedicated to the hard work of raising coffee by hand.

So the federation of coffee growers decided to introduce a new younger Juan, instead of retiring him. They learned that people emotionally connect with Juan because he seems authentic, and authenticity is a priceless quality.

It is important to be authentic. Even if you are a fictional coffee grower.

Of course, coffee federations are not alone in seeing the appeal of authenticity. Companies everywhere are sensing that consumers gravitate toward brands that appear to be true and genuine. Starbucks is popular because it imitates authentic Italian espresso bars. BMW’s Mini taps into people’s natural desire for joy on the road. Organic foods are flying off the shelves because consumers sense that they are connected to farming practices that are healthy and good.

So authenticity is hot. But how do you tell the difference between what is “really real” and what is “fake real”? How do you differentiate between a true espresso bar and a Starbucks?

That was the question that John the Baptist asked, while he was locked up in prison for offending King Herod. John sent his disciples to Jesus, and they asked him, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” (Matthew 11:3). John needed to know if Jesus was a really real Messiah, or a fake real Messiah.

Remember that there were lots of false Messiahs running around the region, claiming to be God’s one and only king. A man named Judas of Galilee led a bloody revolt against Rome in the year 6. Simon was a slave of Herod who became a messianic figure when he rebelled in the year 4. Theudus attempted a revolt against the Romans in the 40s, and was killed.

There was no shortage of fake Messiahs claiming to be authentic. This is why John asked, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?”

The answer Jesus gives is fascinating. He doesn’t say “yes” or “no,” but instead suggests that they look around and make up their own minds. “Go and tell John what you hear and see,” says Jesus: “the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me” (vv. 4-6).

Look at what I am doing, Jesus suggests — then decide for yourself whether I am a really real Messiah. This is like a coffee federation saying, “Don’t listen to Juan Valdez. Just drink the coffee.” Or a car company saying, “Ignore our ads. Just drive the car.” Authenticity is to be found in actions, not words — but rarely are people completely confident in the performance of their product.

Fortunately, Jesus wasn’t struggling with any performance issues. Everywhere he went, the blind were receiving their sight (9:27), the lame were walking (9:6), the lepers were being cleansed (8:2), the deaf were regaining their hearing (Mark 7:31-37), the dead were being raised (Matthew 9:25), and the poor were having good news preached to them — “Blessed are you who are poor,” said Jesus, “for yours is the kingdom of God” (Luke 6:20).

Look at what Jesus is doing, not at what he is saying. He is not just talking the talk, he is walking the walk. His actions are proving that he is really real, not fake real — he is authentic espresso bar, not Starbucks.

He is the Authentic Messiah.

Jesus also gives credit to John the Baptist for his authenticity. John is the messenger foretold by the Old Testament’s Malachi, the one who will prepare the way for the Messiah. John is not a royal yes-man in soft robes, but is “like a refiner’s fire and like a fuller’s soap … he will purify [the people]” (Malachi 3:1-3). John accomplishes this mission by calling people to repentance, and baptizing them to cleanse them of their sins.

So Jesus is not the only really real person in this passage of Scripture. John the Baptist is authentic as well — he is an Authentic Messenger. We all need Authentic Messengers in our lives, people who can tell us an uncomfortable truth about ourselves. Like John, they can get under our skin and annoy us. But it is important for us to hear what they have to say.

Over the course of my life, I’ve learned that there are some lessons that only my opponents can teach me. For instance, I recently wrote an essay for USA TODAY about the danger of independent churches. In response, I got a letter that said, “I totally disagree with your conclusions.” Well, you know that such a letter is going to get my attention. I’m going to read it carefully. Someone who totally disagrees with me is going to stretch my thinking in a way that a person who agrees with me cannot. So I’m grateful for these messengers, because they offer me a point of view that I wouldn’t normally see.

But Authentic Messengers are not the end of the story. Notice the surprising comment that Jesus makes next. “Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he” (Matthew 11:11). John is great, but those who follow him will be even greater. Jesus predicts that he will have some Authentic Disciples that will surpass even John the Baptist in their faithfulness and effectiveness.

So what does it take to be an Authentic Disciple of an Authentic Messiah? According to Fast Company magazine, authenticity comes from a sense of place, a larger purpose, a strong point of view, and a quality called integrity.

First, a sense of place. If you want to drink authentic champagne, then you have to open a bottle from the Champagne region of France. Anything else is just sparkling wine. Here at FPC, if we want to be “a house of prayer for all peoples” (Isaiah 56:7), then we are going to have to work hard to be a true Meeting Ground. We’re going to have to find ways to encourage all kinds of people to worship, debate, learn, and share insights and experiences. We’re going to have to figure out how to make this a place of reconciliation, a place of coming together, a place of union and reunion. Authentic Disciples of Jesus are always rooted in the life of a real community of faith. As Nancy Stevens has stressed with her young people and advisors, we have to make an effort to be “intentional community.”

Second, authenticity demands a larger purpose. A number of FPC members have been working hard to create a new interfaith organization called VOICE, which stands for Virginians Organized for Interfaith Community Engagement. VOICE. This group is going to be a multi-race, multi-faith, multi-issue power organization, one that will speak out on issues of common concern in our community. If you want to be an Authentic Disciple of Jesus, you have to look beyond your own narrow interests and focus on the interests of Jesus — interests such as bringing good news to the poor (Matthew 11:5). VOICE is committed to being an interfaith organization working on behalf of the poor and the working poor, so that Northern Virginia will be a better place for us all.

Third, authenticity requires a strong point of view. Martha Stewart is perceived to be authentic because she has a deep passion for what she is doing, and her ambitious recipes stand apart from a world of quick-fix dinners. If you want to be an Authentic Disciple, you need to take a stand for Jesus and his distinctive way of life. In just a few minutes, our new church officers will answer the question, “Will you in your own life seek to follow the Lord Jesus Christ, love your neighbors, and work for the reconciliation of the world?” And then we, as a congregation, will answer the question, “Do we agree to encourage them, to respect their decisions, and to follow as they guide us, serving Jesus Christ who alone is Head of the Church?” This is a strong point of view — taking a stand for Jesus and his distinctive way of life.

Fourth, authenticity involves integrity. I think you all know how important this one is. In order for a person to be authentic, there has to be a match between words and actions — there has to be integrity. If you want to be an Authentic Disciple, you are challenged to create a match between your talk and your walk. Spreading gossip simply doesn’t line up with the Golden Rule, “do to others as you would have them do to you” (7:12). Being greedy doesn’t match the advice of Jesus to “store up for yourselves treasure in heaven” (6:20). And retaliating against someone who has hurt you does not meet the Christian standard of turning the other cheek (5:39).

Authenticity — it’s a priceless quality. Especially for those who want to be followers of Jesus Christ, the Authentic Messiah. Amen.


Sources:
Buoye, Hannah. “The contents of your cup: coffee, CAN, and a commodity’s crisis.” City on a Hill Press. May 31, 2007. http://cityonahillpress.com.
Breen, Bill. “Who do you love?” Fast Company magazine, May 2007, 82-89.