“Preach the gospel always; if necessary, use words.” It’s a saying attributed to St. Francis of Assisi, although he almost certainly never said it. The saying was never quoted until 400 years after St. Francis’ death and St. Francis was a noted preacher who used words constantly and effectively. But there it is. The saying remains as popular as ever.

            Why? Well, I suppose that it’s because people don’t like the idea of having to verbally share their faith. After all, we hope, won’t people get the idea just as long as my actions are good? Don’t actions speak louder than words?

            That doesn’t seem to be how St. Paul understood things. In our passage today Paul is clear that an obligation had been laid on him, and woe to him if he didn’t proclaim the gospel. Now there’s a lot of other stuff in this passage about rewards and such that relates to Paul’s dispute with some of the Corinthians about his apostolic authority, but his main point is that he has a commission to proclaim the gospel.

            The phrase, ‘proclaim the gospel’, is one word in the original. It’s the Greek word euangelidzo from which we get evangelize. Paul is saying that he is obligated to evangelize for the sake of the gospel. He is required to share the good news that he has received and experienced. And he needs to do that with words, not just actions.

            And the truth is that it isn’t only Paul who has that obligation. It’s you and me as well. Paul didn’t come up with the idea – Jesus did. In our passage from Mark this morning he says that he came to proclaim, to preach, the good news. He sent his disciples out to do the same thing. He gave us the great commission, telling us to go and make disciples of all nations. He told the good news and he told us in John’s gospel that we will do greater things.

            Paul isn’t arguing that we need to share the gospel using words; that’s assumed. Of course we also need to demonstrate by our actions that we belong to Christ. We need to show Christ’s love to the world and not just use words. But those actions give force to our words and they are a witness that the gospel of Jesus Christ is true. It isn’t either words or deeds but both. The evangelism we’re called to is more than words, but it’s not less.

But again, that’s not really Paul’s point. He assumes that. The point he’s making is about how we share the gospel. Paul was being accused by some of being hypocritical and inconsistent. As we saw last week, Paul said he would eat meat at someone’s home, but he wouldn’t eat meat if it bothered someone’s conscience.

You hear that kind of thing today as well. I’ve heard people upset that anyone would use rap music in a Christian context. People take offense at the church elder or pastor who they heard using “salty” language with some folk at the bar.

But Paul is saying that that is focusing on the wrong issue. Paul says he is compelled to share the good news of Jesus Christ, and that means he needs to share it wherever and whenever he can. But Paul knew something that we also need to know, that when we assume that the gospel can only be conveyed in our own terms, we keep others from hearing it. Paul is determined not to let incidentals get in the way of sharing the faith.

So when he is with Jews he honors their traditions. When he is with those whose conscience is bound by the law, he follows suit. When he is with those who don’t know God’s law, he doesn’t throw that in their faces. For the sake of the gospel he is willing to do and be whatever it takes. His behavior may look inconsistent, but he is tenaciously consistent in his pursuit of telling people about Jesus.

            I am convinced that Paul would hang out with the piercing and tattoo crowd and talk about their body art with them. I am sure that he would be willing to learn about the latest pop music that the teens are listening too. He would wear a tie when addressing businesswomen and jeans and a t-shirt to talk to homeless folk. Paul won’t let the incidentals keep him from freely speaking the good news.

            In order to exercise free speech, to speak the gospel unhindered, Paul didn’t get caught up in incidentals. He didn’t allow them to inhibit his evangelism. Paul was willing to contextualize the gospel, to put it in terms that people could understand, and we need to be willing to do that as well.

Jaroslav Pelikan has collected statements of Christians’ belief from cultures around the world and across the ages. He says, “Judaism has its shema and Islam its shahadah, but Christians, responding to Jesus' question ‘Who do you say that I am?’ have produced literally thousands of statements of faith across the centuries.” Pelikan's collection includes several hundred of these, among them the Masai Creed. This creed Africanizes Christianity by declaring that Jesus "was always on safari doing good." It also declares that after Jesus had been "tortured and nailed hands and feet to a cross, and died, he lay buried in the grave, but the hyenas did not touch him, and on the third day, he rose from the grave. He ascended unto the skies. He is the Lord."

This creed was brought to Pelikan's attention by one of his students, a woman who had been a member of a religious order working in a hospital in East Nigeria. Pelikan commented on his reaction to this text: "And so she brought it to me, and I just got shivers. Just the thought, you know, the hyenas did not touch him, and the act of defiance—God lives even in spite of the hyenas."

            That’s the faith in an African context. But what is it in your context? What is it in the context of those you interact with? How can you share about Jesus in ways that you neighbors, your friends at school, your coworkers, and your family members can understand? How do you take the churchy language of the Apostles’ Creed, or the great prayer of thanksgiving we use in celebrating the Lord’s Supper, and help others understand it?

            I think that is the challenge that Paul gives us today. How are you going to share the gospel this week? Because words matter. As Mark Galli rephrased the famous saying we started with: Preach the gospel at all times; if necessary, use actions.

            In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.