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Rev Doug Horner
May 20, 2008
Sermon
Archive
I’d rather see a sermon than
to hear one, any day.
I am tired of hearing about how the church is failing these
days. Numbers are down. The UCC is losing members. People no
longer believe that we should worship together. There is distrust
of the clergy. The Pope met with the victims of priest abuse.
I am tired of hearing how dysfunctional we are.
But, let’s live in to that dysfunction for a moment. Aren’t
we all coming to church claiming to need help. We are in need
of healing, in need of prayer, in need of community support.
We make no claims of perfection, and can only sing praises to
God, to ask for forgiveness, to shout the name of the Lord from
the highest rafters.
Author Jane Smiley in her novel A Thousand Acres
describes the condition of most Christian churches – they’re
people who are part of a highly dysfunctional family. They have
many problems. Still, they are faithful in their attendance
each Sunday. Sure, they have their own problems; sure, they
can’t agree on the color of the new carpet; sure, they
argue about how to put on a raffle; but these things don’t
make them dysfunctional. Here is how the novel’s narrator
sums up the viewpoint of the member’s religious commitment:
“We came to church to pay our respects, not to give thanks.”
That’s how many people regard the church. They pay their
respects, but they have no real consciousness that God is alive
in our world. They come to pay their respects, but not to give
thanks. It grieves me that many church people feel that way.
No wonder the church has so little impact on our world. No wonder
people find the church to be irrelevant. We need to show them
who we are: “a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy
nation, a people belonging to God . . .”
The power of attraction is what separates us from the dysfunctional
parts of the church. Loving each other; loving our neighbors,
our neighborhood, our city, our nation, loving our world enough
to work to bring the kingdom of God here, now, so that we and
all of God’s children can enjoy the blessings that God
meant for all of us to enjoy.
Recently, we had some discussion around here on the topic of
what the Bible has to say about being a homosexual, lesbian,
transgendered person. Now, I am very familiar with the discussion.
I have been in many discussions about it and have my own opinions.
You and I are not likely to have the same opinion about everything,
we don’t need to, nor would that be required in order
to stay here as a member. That is what makes this an interesting
community of believers; we may not believe exactly the same
things, but we are called to be in partnership with each other
in this place and time, until God calls us into some other form
of partnership.
The UCC has been very open and affirming of all people, and
this particular church, St. Paul’s Community Church, in
this particular neighborhood has always be accepting of people
from all walks of life, from many places on the journey.
I am going to tell you what I think. I am a big promoter of
family values. I have a great family – significant other,
two girls, dogs which my kids would say are part of the family.
I also know in my heart that not everyone has a family like
mine. Some people will never have a family like mine, and there
is absolutely nothing wrong with that. God did not make us all
the same and who am I to say that everyone should look for that
perfect spouse of the opposite sex who will fit their lifestyle
and soul like a glove. Who am I to say that Mr. Jones is supposed
to get married again? Who am I to say that Ms. Wilson cannot
date another man after her husband has passed on? Who am I to
say that Adam and Steve are not supposed to live the rest of
their lives together under the same roof? Who am I to judge
anyone; let God be the judge. That is not my role, that is not
my calling, and that is not what we need to focus on. Let me
take the log out of my own eye before I even consider pointing
out that so and so has a speck in theirs.
Now, back to the Bible: Holy Scriptures are very clear about
laws against fornication, sodomy, laying with men and such things
as alternatives to the traditional family unit. The Old Testament
has some pretty strict guidelines about this. St. Paul in some
of his writings also is pretty strong in his writings. You cannot
deny these things. You can read the words in any translation.
What I want to do is take out the moral teachings of the Biblical
writings and apply them in my world. I want to focus on the
teachings of Jesus, first and foremost, and then see what Jesus
did with the rest of Scriptures. And today’s lesson is
perfect.
"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe
also in me. In my Father's house there are many dwelling places.
If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare
a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I
will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I
am, there you may be also. And you know the way to the place
where I am going." Thomas said to him, "Lord, we do
not know where you are going. How can we know the way?"
Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the
life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know
me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him
and have seen him."
Hardship has a way of getting our attention. Pain slows us down.
It can even soften us. Very few us, after facing a trial, come
out the same way we entered in. Jesus understood this and attempted
to prepare his disciples for the road ahead. He wanted them
to know three things.
First of all:
If you have faith in me you will overcome your worries, fears
and troubles. If Jesus had any concerns it was that his disciples
would do exactly that. Let's look at the story. Jesus has just
finished having dinner with his disciples. It's early Thursday
evening. Jesus has approximately 24 more hours to be with his
disciples. He will be crucified the next day after an exhausting
evening of arrest, interrogation, and torture. If anyone had
reason to worry it was he. But what does he do? He introduces
peace. He brings calm to the situation.
He looks at his disciples, who have just watched Judas leave
the dinner table on a mission of betrayal, and he says, "Where
I am going, you cannot come; but don't let your hearts be troubled."
He tells them don't be afraid. At this moment when the tension
was so thick you could cut it with a knife, he says there is
a haven for troubled hearts within my Father's home. And there
is a room for you there.
I love what happens next in John. Look at how Jesus spends the
last few minutes he has with his disciples. He calms their fears.
Chapters 14, 15, 16, 17 record an after dinner conversation
which strengthens their souls. Listen to our Lords promises:
He says: Yes I am leaving but don't let your hearts be troubled.
I am sending the Holy Spirit to help you remember what I have
taught you. Second, he says, don't have troubled hearts because
I leave my peace with you. Not the peace of this world but "my
peace." Then he says, don't let your hearts be troubled
because I am the vine and you are the branches. You will bear
fruit as long as you remain in me. Make me the source. And,
then he says, I love you. Let me ask you: Have you heard your
Lord say that to you? If you have not I want you to hear it
this morning. Fifth, he is frank with them, he tells them, the
world is going to hate you, but don't have troubled hearts about
it, you don't belong to the world. Remember they persecuted
me first and no servant is greater than his master. Next he
is honest. He tells them they will grieve when he leaves. But
one day? Oh, one day, he tells them, your grief will turn to
joy! And finally he prays. He prays for himself. He prays for
his disciples. And then he prays for you. (Respectively: 14:26,
14:27, 15:5, 15:9, 15:18, 16:20, 17:1, 6, 20)
Isn't that a remarkable after dinner conversation? The gospel
of John has 21 chapters and five of them record the events of
Thursday night around the dinner table the day before his death.
Jesus wants them to be ready, to be calm, to be free of a troubled
heart.
II
He wanted them to know: If you have faith in me you will overcome
your worry and, secondly, you will have direction in life.
Now, there are many ways to find direction in life: knowing
whom we will marry, what profession we will choose, what monies
to put in the retirement plan. These are all important decisions
but none are more crucial than the spiritual decisions we make.
Who is going to help you make those kinds of decisions?
Karl Barth was lecturing to a group of students at Princeton.
One student asked the German theologian "Sir, don't you
think that God has revealed himself in other religions and not
only in Christianity?" Barth's answer stunned the crowd.
With a modest thunder he answered, "No, God has not revealed
himself in any religion, including Christianity. God has revealed
God’s self in the Son." There is only one Son of
God; only One through whom God has revealed himself and only
One whose teachings stand above all others. He is the way the
truth and the life for all men and women. That is what I believe
and that is why I am a Christian. I am not a Jew, or a Muslim,
or a Buddhist or Hindu, although I have friends who do practice
these faiths. I am a father and a husband. I am not gay, lesbian,
transgendered or bisexual, although I have friends who have
these orientations. I am a person who tries to follow all laws,
whether created by God or my humans. I am not a criminal, a
drug addict, an alcoholic, a prostitute, a pimp, a sexual predator,
or a molester of children or anyone. But I am friends with people
who are.
I am not power hungry. I do not covet, lust after or desire
anyone’s body, job, wife, house, car, etc. But I know
people who do. I try not to judge people who have those thoughts,
desires, behaviors, activities happening in their lives. I cannot
change the way people act, think, believe. God can. Those people
are responsible for their own lives.
And furthermore, we will never return to the days of St. Paul,
or Genesis, Leviticus or Joshua for that matter. We are supposedly
much more advanced as a society. We have supposedly evolved
as a species. We may not necessarily have become wiser, but
we more sophisticated in that we have to deal with people from
a huge spectrum of backgrounds, cultures, orientations and traditions.
Let me give you a few examples.
We will never advocate for the types of violence that the early
Biblical writers say God caused. We will never ask God to rain
fire down on people. God promised never to destroy, kill, maim
or hurt people ever again. Remember the rainbow, that is God’s
sign and eternal covenant. We will never expect anyone to offer
animal or human sacrifices. We will never expect anyone to go
out and purchase slaves, slave boys for their own pleasure,
concubines, sex toys of the rich and famous. But these things
we talked about in Scriptures and we know today that human beings
need not participate in those activities any more. Again, in
the Gospel of John, Jesus says:
Philip said to him, "Lord, show us the Father, and we will
be satisfied." Jesus said to him, "Have I been with
you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever
has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the
Father'? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the
Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak
on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe
me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you
do not, then believe me because of the works themselves. Very
truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the
works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these,
because I am going to the Father. I will do whatever you ask
in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.
We are not called by Jesus to decide who enters those doors
and who stays away. We are called to love each other, all who
enter these sanctuary doors. We are called to be the sermon
that people see, because if we cannot do that people are not
going to want to come to hear what we have to say on a Sunday
morning.
And this is not a simple thing. There are different ways that
we show that love. Giving stuff away is only one way. And it
really is only a beginning. Involving ourselves in the creation
of new ways of helping is another. Education, empowerment, helping
people adjust to a changing world. Empowering youth to change
their school environment; these are way of involving ourselves
in the struggle for justice in our dysfunctional world. These
are some of the ways we show that we love Jesus and the ones
that Jesus loves.
Shane Claiborne came to Cleveland last Wed and spoke about following
Jesus. He is the servant leader of a group of people who are
returning to the roots of the Gospel message by sharing their
lives with people on the streets of Philadelphia. He had moved
out of the institutional church and was part of a street ministry
that became a community where people were most in need. In his
book the Irresistible Revolution, he writes this: We are not
just Good Samaritans. We practice hospitality, yes. And as we
practice hospitality there comes a point where the suffering
around us drives us to ask what it would take to reimagine the
world. We’ve all heard the saying “Give someone
a fish and they’ll eat for a day, but teach them to fish
and they’ll eat for the rest of their lives.” But
our friend John Perkins challenges us to go farther. He says:
“The problem is that nobody is asking who owns the pond.”
As we consider economics, some of us will give people fish.
Others will teach people to fish. But still others must be looking
at who owns the pond and who polluted it, for these are also
essential questions for our survival. We must storm the fence
that has been built around the pond and make sure everyone can
get in, for there are enough fish for all of us.
Detrich Bonhoeffer says: “We are not to simply bandage
the wounds of victims beneath the wheels of injustice, but we
are to drive a spoke into the wheel itself.” It’s
like in a house when the toilet floods. When the water starts
pouring out, you don’t start cleaning up the mess. You
also have to shut off the water that is causing the flood. That’s
the sort of thing that requires working together and the humility
of admitting that we can do together what we cannot do alone.
The most radical thing we can do for each other is love each
other, again and again and again. Billy Graham, the world's
greatest evangelist, spoke at Harvard's Memorial Church (to
a huge crowd of students who had slept out all night just to
get a seat), and then to the prestigious JFK Forum at the Kennedy
School of Government the next night. After giving a statesmanlike
address at the Kennedy School, he turned to the audience for
questions. All the Christian triumphalists had shown up for
their man and their night at Harvard. One young believer stood
up and asked Dr. Graham, "Since Jesus said 'I am the way,
the truth and the life, and no man cometh to the Father but
by me,' doesn't that mean people from other religions—Jews
and the rest—are going to hell?"
Billy replied, "I'm sure glad that God is the judge of
people's hearts and not me! And I trust God to decide those
questions justly and mercifully." The student was disappointed
and pressed further, "Well, what do you think God will
decide?" Graham demurred, "Well, God doesn't really
ask my advice on those matters."
Another questioner started again, "Well, what about those
who aren't even monotheists—like the Buddhists?"
Graham, replied, "You know, I've been to some Buddhist
countries, and so many of the people I met seem to live more
like Jesus than too many Christians I've seen."
Jim Wallis says this: Jesus being the Son of God does NOT mean
that Christians are better, more right, more righteous, more
moral, more blessed, more destined to win battles, or more suited
to govern and decide political matters than non-Christians.
Instead, believing that Jesus was the Son of God would better
mean that people who claim to believe it ought to then live
the way Jesus did and taught. And on that one, many of us Christians
(who believe the right way) are in serious trouble when it comes
to the way we live. Those who believe that Jesus was the Son
of God should be the most loving, compassionate, forgiving,
welcoming, peaceful, and hungry for justice people around—just
like Jesus, right? Well, it's not always exactly so.
John 14:1-14
"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe
also in me. In my Father's house there are many dwelling places.
If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare
a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I
will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I
am, there you may be also. And you know the way to the place
where I am going." Thomas said to him, "Lord, we do
not know where you are going. How can we know the way?"
Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the
life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know
me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him
and have seen him." Philip said to him, "Lord, show
us the Father, and we will be satisfied." Jesus said to
him, "Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you
still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.
How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? Do you not believe that
I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I
say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells
in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and
the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because
of the works themselves. Very truly, I tell you, the one who
believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact,
will do greater works than these, because I am going to the
Father. I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father
may be glorified in the Son. If in my name you ask me for anything,
I will do it.
1 Peter 2:2-10
2:2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure, spiritual milk,
so that by it you may grow into salvation-
2:3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.
2:4 Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals
yet chosen and precious in God's sight, and
2:5 like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual
house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices
acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
2:6 For it stands in scripture: "See, I am laying in Zion
a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious; and whoever believes
in him will not be put to shame."
2:7 To you then who believe, he is precious; but for those who
do not believe, "The stone that the builders rejected has
become the very head of the corner,"
2:8 and "A stone that makes them stumble, and a rock that
makes them fall." They stumble because they disobey the
word, as they were destined to do.
2:9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation,
God's own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty
acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous
light.
2:10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people;
once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
The Cost of Renewal by Wes Michaelson
For any church to begin to live a corporate life defined by
the kingdom of God means that its patterns, activities, and
ways of being will be fundamentally transformed and renewed.
This is not simply high-sounding rhetoric or idealistic vision.
Traditional churches, fellowship groups, chapters of religious
orders, house churches, and residential Christian communities
are tasting the radically new life which descends when they
are gripped by the vision of Christ's lordship, and are empowered
by the Spirit to live accordingly. An intense personal hunger
and thirst for God, and for his righteous reign to be extended
in the world, lies at the heart of genuine renewal. This knowledge
of our personal hunger is accompanied by the realization of
our brokenness. There is no need for that which we think is
whole to be transformed by God.Nor is it possible for a renewed
church to be the human product of leaders with exceptional skill,
talent, and intelligence. God's gift of community can never
be given as long as we self-sufficiently believe that it can
be manufactured.Renewal finds its roots in the sharing of our
weakness, and in the discovery of a common hunger. And that
remains the most steadfast basis for Christian community.Inevitably,
renewal brings pain. A friend said to me, "You expect a
whole army to stand up and follow. And it never happens. Perhaps
there are only one or two others." The transformation of
a people into a spiritual family, living as a sign of the kingdom
of God, never comes without cost. Those who experience this
hunger, and set forth this vision, never fully see the suffering,
the broken relationships, and the hurt which lie ahead of them.But
this is as it should be, for all is overshadowed by the longing
to experience life in the fullness which Christ promises, and
to know its joy. Through those times of pain, struggle, and
despair, these pilgrims find themselves sustained by the response
first uttered by Peter: "Lord, to whom shall we go? You
have the words of eternal life" (John 6:68).In church circles
today, various new forms and experiments embraced under the
label of renewal are basically no more than fads, programs to
attract new members, or injections of some creative excitement.
Continually, the temptation is to think that new vitality in
the church comes through gimmicks, via consultants with church
growth programs, from better preaching styles, or by replacing
small talk over coffee with encounter groups.All of these efforts
presume that renewal comes without cost, that what is necessary
is to discover the right formula. It's all reduced to a technique.
While new techniques may increase the number of people coming
through a church's doors, they have nothing to do with the renewal
of a people by God's Spirit.The sign of the Spirit's coming
is the emergence of a common life. An openness to one another
seems to be given by God, and sharing in each others' lives
becomes the normal pattern rather than the exceptional event.
Worship is redeemed from mere ritual—not by new experiments,
but because it comes to express the movements within the community's
life, and to celebrate what is known to be sustaining grace.Lives
are laid down for others. And in that environment, despite the
intensity and very real pain, each person knows a peace and
a security unlike that given by the world.I know of no story
of renewal in the body of believers which has not been accompanied
by disagreement and dissension. That includes the book of Acts.
Yet the paradox is that the work of God's Spirit is to create
unity, to bring about what the New Testament calls "one
mind in Christ."Such division is not created by the Spirit
of God. More often the coming of his Spirit and the openness
which it breeds unveils the existing barriers, differences,
and resentments within a fellowship. Further, the more those
entering into this shared life open themselves to one another,
the more likely it is that their own wounds will cause hurt
in others.To believe that the mere honest sharing of feelings
in a fellowship creates love is a myth. Rather, the foundation
of koinonia comes from the individual and corporate sense of
belonging to Christ, from finding our identity in his love for
us, and from being willing to extend his forgiveness to each
other seventy times seven. This sacrificial, costly loving,
a loving of others as Christ loved us, unleashes the power of
his Spirit wherever two or three are gathered.All of us fail
at points in extending this love, and live with individual wounds
requiring God's continuing healing. Thus, not all disagreements
and broken relationships which are brought to the surface in
the midst of renewal are reconciled. And God's call to some
in an existing fellowship may even lead them to places where
others seem unable, for whatever reasons, to go.Then it is crucial
that an emerging community of believers, especially its pastoral
leaders, are in authentic mutual submission. Together they must
undertake a corporate listening for the beckoning of God's Spirit,
rather than attempting to program the shape of renewal with
their own agendas or own needs for control. A prayerful listening
enables each person to set aside particular expectations and
securities.The risks then incurred are very real, and the price
often seems too high. But this abandoning of ourselves to God's
purposes is at the center of any authentic renewal of the church.Our
Lord taught us to pray for God's kingdom to come, and for his
will to be done on earth. In defining our corporate life according
to the kingdom of God, we experience the final cost of renewal.
God's family is called to lay down its life for the sake of
God's purposes in the world. This call presents a direct clash
with the world's system and values—a conflict based in
the sharp disparity between the values of God's kingdom and
the realities of society.
Christ's Divinity Should Inspire Humility, Not Arrogance
by Jim Wallis
In the continuing the Washington Post/Newsweek online discussion
“On Faith,” I was asked: Do you believe that Jesus
Christ was the son of God? If so, what exactly does that mean?
If not, who was he? My response follows:
Yes, as a historically orthodox Christian, I believe that Jesus
was the Son of God. But the second part of the question is more
interesting to me. "What, exactly, does that mean?"
I'm going to even add to it a bit, "and what does it not
mean."
I believe the things that Jesus says about himself in the New
Testament, and affirm what the later Scriptures and church creeds
say about Jesus being the Son of God. But, that doesn't mean
many of the things that Christians have too often concluded,
or how we have acted on the basis of our belief.
I'll never forget hearing how Billy Graham would clearly answer
the question this week, "Is Jesus the Son of God,"
in the strong affirmative. But the man who has arguably brought
more people to Christ than any other person of our time refused
to join in Christian triumphalism. To answer yes to the question
is to, at the same time, admit our human failings, stand under
judgment ourselves, and humbly seek to follow the one we say
we believe in. And that might open up a wonderful dialogue with
those who believe other things.
This article is reprinted from Godspolitics on Beliefnet.com.
Jim Wallis is editor-in-chief of Sojourners.
"WAR IS A RACKET--It
always has been. It is possibly the oldest, easily the most
profitable, surely the most vicious. It is the only International
in scope. It is the only one where the profits are reckoned
in dollars and the losses of lives.
A racket is best described, I believe, as something as something
that is not what it seems to the majority of people. Only a
small "inside" group knows what it is all about. It
is conducted for the benefit of the very few, at the expense
of the very many. Out of war, a few people make huge fortunes."
Major General
Smedley D. Butler, 1935
US Marine Corps
Two-time winner Congressional Medal of Honor
A well known preacher many years ago, by the name of Leslie
Weatherhead, tells a story on himself. When he was a high school
student, he had a very difficult examination and he was having
trouble studying. Then he had discovered one of our verses here
in John 14: "And whatever you ask in my name, I will do
it."
He believed the verse meant that all he had to do was ask and
he would pass the exam. He told God he believed God's promise,
and he wanted a good grade. The next day young Weatherhead took
the examination, but when the grades were in, he had failed.
He was disillusioned. He rebelled and almost lost his faith.
He came to the conclusion that the promises of the Bible were
not good - all because God had not granted his wish for a good
grade.
The next year he repeated that course. He worked hard, and
he passed. This time he decided that he did not need God, that
he could get along by himself.
After some years had passed, Dr Weatherhead came to understand
that his own powers and abilities were in reality the power
that God had given to him. He began to realize that God had
already given him the power to pass the examination, but he
had not used that power the first go around.
The power is there for us to use. Not the kind of power that
bails us out but the kind of help that shapes our lives. The
kind of help that says I will strengthen your soul so you learn
not to worry when times are tough. The kind of help that doesn't
show us the way but rather becomes our way: He is our way; He
is our truth; He is our life. The kind of help that doesn't
do the good works for us but rather teaches us and strengthens
us to use our gifts and talents to do good in the world. Amen.
Who Are We, Really?
by King Duncan
1 Peter 1 : 2-20
Item 1 of 14
There’s an old story about a small church out in a rural
area that needed a pastor to fill in for a time. So they contacted
a nearby seminary. The seminary sent a student who had never
been outside of the city. When he arrived at the church, the
student preacher was shocked to see a hound dog seated on the
second row next to the church’s lay leader, a crotchety
older man who was known to run off young student pastors.
In a heat of righteous indignation the young preacher headed
straight toward the dog. He screamed at it and drove it out
of the church. The startled congregation held its breath, to
see what the lay leader would do, but nothing happened.
After the sermon everyone quickly scooted out the side door
and waited for the older man to come out. When he graciously
greeted the young pastor at the front door, everyone was taken
aback. They had never seen him be that courteous to a student
pastor before. The old lay leader extended his hand and said,
“I want to thank you for kicking my dog out of church.”
The pastor was also shocked, “You want to thank me?”
“Yep,” said the older man, “I wouldn’t
had my dog hear that sermon for nothin’.”
Churches are sometimes funny places. Sometimes things happen
in churches that aren’t so funny. Sometimes they’re
downright tragic. Churches can be a disappointment to God.
Some of our older members may remember a radio program years
ago called “The Back To God Hour.” In one city “The
Back to God Hour” was broadcast in the time slot immediately
following the weekly broadcast of a local church. The pastor
of that church recalls that each week at the end of his church’s
broadcast the announcer would come on the air and say these
words? ? “You have been listening to the service of worship
at Chalmers United Church, now ‘Back to God.’”
(1)
I don’t want to sound judgmental, but that could probably
be said in all honesty after some church services, “Now,
back to God.” The church does not always measure up to
God’s call.
A man named Bruce journeyed to Rwanda as a short?term missionary.
He worked for several weeks doing refugee relief. One day he
was traveling along the road with his driver, Winston, when
the jeep made a sudden stop by a large open field which had
been recently bulldozed. As Winston departed the vehicle, he
asked Bruce to come with him. They walked to the edge of the
field and stood silently for some time. As Bruce studied the
field, it soon became apparent that this was not just any field.
It was a mass grave for hundreds who had been slain in the nightmare
of tribal violence.
Winston stared out upon the open field and quietly spoke: “This
is the place,” he said with tears in his eyes, “where
I learned to hate God. I would often come and stand and look
out over the hundreds of bodies, the bodies of my people, the
bodies of my friends and my family. I would stand here and I
would scream out at God saying, ‘Why, why have you not
done anything to prevent this? Why have you abandoned us?’
“And for many, many weeks God remained silent. But as
I stood here, day after day, hating God, this is also the place
where I again learned to love God. For one day, as I stood here
cursing God, God answered me. He said, ‘Winston, I never
abandoned you. I was here all along . . . suffering with you.’
“And on that day,” Winston continued, “I realized
that I had directed my question to the wrong person. My question
should not have been put to God. My question should have been
put . . . to the church.” (2) “Why do you not do
something?”
And it is true. There are many times when the church has remained
silent in the face of unspeakable evil. I’m certain that
many times in our history the world has directed that question
to us: “Why do you not do something?” I’m
equally certain that God directs that question to us as well.
“Why do you not do something?”
I love the church of Jesus Christ. I believe in the church.
But let’s face it. We are not having the impact on the
world that Christ has called us to have. It may be that we have
not understood who or what Christ has called us to be. Listen
to these words from today’s lesson from I Peter and ask
yourself what it is you believe Christ asks of us: “But
you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation,
a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises
of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God;
once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”
Who are we? “A chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy
nation, a people belonging to God . . .” I am convinced
there are many people who do not understand who we are and what
we are about.
Many people--even many on our roll--look at the church as a
chapel, a temple, a shrine--even, God help us, a museum, perhaps.
That is, to many people the church is a place you go . . . to
pay homage to God. Some go weekly, some go every month or so,
some perhaps twice a year. Once they’ve done that, they
feel they have fulfilled their religious obligation. These are
nice people. However, they don’t have a clue about what
it means to be a church.
The church is not a place we go--the church is who we are! We
are “a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation,
a people belonging to God . . .” This building is not
the church. It is where the church meets. When you leave this
building you are still the church. When you go to your civic
club, you are still the church. When you dine with your family,
when you have recreation, when you go to the office, when you
fulfill your civic responsibility and cast your ballot on election
day, you are still the church. And if you do any of these things
with no thought to God, you are betraying your calling as a
follower of Jesus Christ.
Around 125 A.D. Aristides, the philosopher, described the early
Christian community to the Roman Emperor Hadrian like this:
“They love one another. They never fail to help widows;
they save orphans from those who hurt them. If they have something,
they give freely to the person who has nothing; if they see
a stranger, they take him home as a brother or sister in the
spirit, the Spirit of God.” That’s who we are--or
at least, that’s who we’ve been called to be. Church
is not a place we go; church is who we are!
I am convinced that is a picture of many modern Christians,
not just Unitarians. Many of us are nice people, religious people,
but we are confused about who we are and what we are supposed
to do.
It would be helpful, I believe, to think of ourselves as priests.
[The priesthood of all believers, after all, is supposed to
be the rock upon which Protestant faith is based, but it is
a doctrine which has been nearly forgotten.]
When I say that we are to think of ourselves as priests, I don’t
mean that in a religious sense, serving the sacraments, hearing
confessions, etc. However, we are all called to be representatives
of God, just as a priest represents God.
We are to be priests to one another. Christian believers have
a responsibility for one another. The New Testament is clear
about that.
Dr. Jim Standiford, a prominent pastor in San Diego tells about
his father, a devoted churchman. His father loved the church
but he was a frequent and severe critic of those with whom he
disagreed on church matters. Standiford recalls times when his
father “chewed out” the Administrative Board of
his home congregation. His father could be a difficult man at
times. Then his father’s mother died.
Dr. Standiford’s grandmother was one of the matriarchs
of the congregation. She was affectionately known to all as
“Mother Standiford.” At the end of her funeral service,
as Standiford’s dad was beginning to walk down the aisle
out of the church behind her casket, he collapsed. Two of the
very persons he had so recently publicly criticized came to
his side, lifted him, and walked down the aisle one on each
side supporting him. It was in that moment, as a high school
junior, that the younger Standiford saw the church in a whole
new light. Suddenly he understood what the church was. Those
two men’s demonstration of their love for his father became
Jim Standiford’s call to ministry. (3)
Who are we? Priests to one another. Regardless of whether we
see eye-to-eye on things, we have a responsibility for one another.
There is a Zulu proverb that goes like this: “When a thorn
pierces the foot, the whole body bends over to pull it out.”
When one person in a community experiences pain, the rest of
the community shares its strength with that person in order
to ease the pain. That’s who we are. Priests to one another.
We are also called to be priests to the world. That is, we are
God’s representatives to our neighbors, our friends, our
co-workers, and to the wider world for whom Christ died.
A leader at a church conference told about his young son, who
one day came home from school with something he wanted to show
to his Mom. “Mom, we are studying dinosaurs, look what
I have!” he said enthusiastically. He showed her a picture
of a gigantic dinosaur towering over a two?story house. Then
he asked his mother a difficult question, “When did we
kill off all the dinosaurs,” he asked, “so that
it would be safe for houses to be built and kids to play outside?”
“Well,” replied his mother, “we didn’t
kill off the dinosaurs, and we don’t know exactly how
they were eliminated. Many scientists believe that it was a
result of an ice age when the plants the dinosaurs ate were
frozen out and the dinosaurs starved. Others suggest it was
a giant meteorite that caused a great change in the temperature
and dinosaurs could not adapt and survive in the cold. Nonetheless,”
explained his mother, “it was the result of tremendous
climate change that humans were able to build cities and children
were able to play outside, not the result of a successful hunting
campaign.”
This leader went on to suggest that in similar fashion the task
of the church is not necessarily to slay giant dragons, as much
as it is to change the climate so that the Gospel may flourish.
(4)
That’s a wonderful metaphor. The purpose of the church
is to change the spiritual, social, moral and political climate
of our world so that the kingdoms of this world bear a more
striking resemblance to the kingdom of our God. We do this by
ministry to individual persons in need, and we do this by the
witness of our lives to the world.
The church is not a place we go--the church is who we are! We
are “a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation,
a people belonging to God . . .” We are to be priests
to one another. We are to be priests to the world.
We are people who have a strong sense of God’s presence
in our lives.
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