The Tierney children have never been ones to spring out of bed at the crack of dawn. Perhaps that’s true for all kids beyond a certain age, except on occasions like Christmas morning. But even the older ones – the ones in their 20’s -- still like to wear out their beds when there’s nothing that they have to do. That’s why my oldest son was flabbergasted, while visiting his sister and her husband in Houston, last week. By the time the rest had crept out of bed, on Saturday morning, my older daughter had already returned from a 15-mile cycling expedition. This was particularly mystifying because Jessie, besides not being known as an early riser, has never been what you’d call athletically inclined. And so I asked her what accounted for the change. She said, “Well a lot of the people at my new job are part of a cycling team. They’re going to participate in a 100-mile cycling event to raise money for charity, and my fellow workers have been after me to join in. I finally agreed, so I have to train, and now I’m kind of psyched for it.” Enthusiasm can be infectious.

I’ve always gotten a kick out of the way St. John describes Jesus’ call of the first disciples. Whereas the other gospel writers present it as something of a solemn, almost mesmerizing, series of isolated events, in which Jesus approaches the disciples, and they immediately follow along. In John’s recollection that call involved enthusiastic gossip. John the Baptist points Jesus out to some of his followers and, meeting Jesus for them selves, one them – Andrew – gets so enthused that he rushes off to get his brother, Peter. Jesus approaches Philip, and he rushes off to get Nathaniel. According to John enthusiastic gossip was very much part of people’s introduction to Jesus.

It reminds me of that old TV ad with Joe Namath. His face filled the screen and, whatever the product was, he said, “You tell two friends about it, and they tell two friends, and so on and so on.” Meanwhile, as he spoke those words the TV screen filled with other faces – demonstrating the multiplying effect of personal enthusiasm and gossip. The call to be part of Christ’s mission in the world – part of His team -- isn’t always some heavy-handed and deeply pious or solemn operation, but can be quite natural, casual, even playful, and often involves infectious enthusiasm, which expresses itself in unthreatening gossip.

That’s a lot more appealing – a lot more compelling -- to people than the kind of intense, heavy-handed or sanctimonious preaching that has usually become associated with the E word. You know what the E word is, don’t you. It’s that word that gives Episcopalians the willies more almost than any other – Evangelism. It’s an unsettling thought to many of us simply because of the approach used by those who try so hard to do it. Long gone are the days when it was associated with the self-appointed street corner preachers and tract distributors, who made others feel that a person had to be crazy to participate. And yet, realistically, people associate that E word with coercion, bossiness, judgmentalism, and bullying. I think this is what happens: Some people, especially those who’ve experienced a conversion, feel duty bound to convert others. Because they feel the weight of personal responsibility before God to save souls, they feel anxious. That anxiety makes them tense. The tension causes them to be rigid and to come across rigidly. All of that prompts such folks to initiate conversations that seem unnatural, very pointed, and intrusive. And so like people in any situation, who feel disapproved of, confronted or coerced – whether adolescents told what to do by their parents or spouses pressing each other – that causes those who are the objects of such well-intentioned efforts at conversion to feel uncomfortable, threatened, and to dig their heels in to resist. That’s not the impact Jesus seemed to have on others.

And that’s one of the reasons that I believe Episcopalians have such an important mission in this modern-day world. There’s been such a marked increase in all forms of Fundamentalism in our time – whether biblical, theological, social, legal, political or liturgical, whether in religions or nations, that rigidity, heavy-handedness, and bullying have become the order of the day – including in Christianity. Fanaticism puts people off; and it should. But enthusiasm – joyful enthusiasm of faith and love in community – is all too rare. And yet, God wants people to enjoy just that. It’s part of the Good News of Jesus Christ, and it can be awfully infectious. I believe that’s what God wants for us, here, at St. Paul’s – to be a joyfully enthusiastic Christian community – in which we can genuinely, casually, naturally gossip our enthusiasm about our live together and Christ’s Spirit among us.

That’s not something that we have to fabricate. After all, we have an awful lot to be joyful and enthusiastic about. We know that God is among us. We can sense it. We enjoy each other’s company in an accepting community, where we can be our selves. Our worship is spiritually uplifting and beautiful. We have all sorts of opportunities for spiritual growth and Christian formation through classes and small groups for all ages. We have fine programs for children and youth, and a wide variety of opportunities for people to become involved in ministry and outreach to those with needs in the wider community. We can, honestly share our enthusiasm about all these aspects of our life together, and more -- our profound enthusiasm for what God has done in our lives through Christ Jesus and the power of God’s Spirit among us. So we need not be afraid to express our enthusiasm when we’re together and when we’re out in your individual walks of life – among our friends, relations, neighbors and co-workers. There’s good news to let others in on – all God’s loving grace and our life together in Christ. Don’t be afraid to let others in on it and to invite them to come along with you. It’s part of our call as followers of Christ. In fact, our enthusiastic gossip and our friendly invitation of others to come along with us, as Philip did in the Gospel story, is actually a routine part of this Epiphany thing that this season emphasizes. This season that’s called Epiphany comes from the Greek word epifanaw, which meant manifestation – uncovering – like the “dah, dah” that magician might exclaim when he draws a rabbit out of his hat. But very rarely did God manifest Jesus with some sudden light as happened to St. Paul. Far more often each person’s epiphany began with the gossip of others, which triggered a gradual process of encountering God – encountering Christ. And we’re privileged to be allowed by God to be an instrumental part of that process.

This is what I mean. I had occasion to deliver a Christmas basket from the church to a single woman with 3 children. As I left their home, I wished her, “Merry Christmas!” As quite a number of people from the area have, she stopped by the office to ask for some assistance with her heating bill. We chatted, and it was clear that virtually all of her time is spent providing for the children and caring for them. It seemed natural in the context of that conversation to invite her to join us at Wednesday Night Live when it starts later this month – to share a meal with her children in the company of others and have a little time with other adults afterward to talk about how to deal with the stresses of life and spiritual matters. That’s the casual – the natural – kind of gossip that can eventually be instrumental in God’s process of manifesting Christ to people? as we cross their paths in the course of our daily lives. And that’s God’s call -- what today’s scripture readings are all about.