A Facebook friend asked this question in her status.
It made me think.
Hard.
I mean, at one level, the definition of a Christian would seem to be very simple: one who follows Christ. But is that the sum and substance of what it means to be a Christian? I mean, I know of quite a few folks who follow Jesus, but they are not professing Christians. There are may who profess to be Christians--they say they follow Jesus, but they do not worship or receive the sacraments.
And it goes further.
In the intramural debates within Christianity, there are many who point fingers accusingly in our culture. Those on the "right" hand side of the squabble point to those on the "left" hand side and say, "You aren't following Jesus because your morals are out of whack! You support gay marriage; the ordination of practicing homosexuals; legalized abortion; the legalization of marijuana; banning prayer from schools; the promotion of safe sex; and so on and so forth. You are not true Christians!!!"
Those on the "left" are just as vociferous toward those on the "right." "You aren't following Jesus because you don't care about justice. You care more about your pocket book and supporting the rich and do not want to fight for health care; to ensure those in poverty are not kept there; to end racism, sexism, ageism, and whatever other ism is out there! You don't care about the environment! You don't care about the structures that cause poverty! You are not true Christians!!!"
The truth of the matter is--no one follows Jesus correctly. No one. None live up to His standard, and the self-righteous finger pointing that we do only serves as an illustration of this fact. When we, as Christians, act in such a fashion, are we no different than the disciples who argued about who should sit at Jesus' right and left hand as they walked along the road? Jesus had a few words of chastisement for such behavior. Yet, we cannot seem to escape it. We cannot seem to get passed arguing about who follows Jesus "better."
And so when we try to say a Christian is one who follows Jesus, we inevitably find ourselves in a conundrum. For who really follows Jesus by Jesus' standards?
But that is just the tip of the proverbial ice berg. There is even more to this because there are quite a few doctrinal concerns to deal with as well when it comes to defining what it means to be a Christian which are not tied to simply following the commands Jesus offers.
Can a person be defined as a follower of Jesus--strictly speaking--who does not believe in the Trinity?
Can a person be defined as a follower of Jesus--strictly speaking--who does not believe in Jesus' divinity?
Can a person be defined as a follower of Jesus--strictly speaking--who does not believe the Bible is inerrant or infallible?
Can a person be defined as a follower of Jesus--strictly speaking--who does not believe in the resurrection?
Can a person be defined as a follower of Jesus--strictly speaking--who is not baptized?
Can a person be defined as a follower of Jesus--strictly speaking--who rejects the miraculous?
Can a person be defined as a follower of Jesus--strictly speaking--who rejects substitutionary atonement?
Oh, and there could be quite a bit more things added to this short list.
As I reflected upon such things, I realized how much emphasis was placed on how WE acted and what WE believed. The definition of a Christian centered on us, but Christianity isn't about us, is it? Christianity isn't about our actions and our beliefs. It's about God's action through Jesus Christ. It's about God's grace bestowed upon the world through the death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth.
Shouldn't the definition of a Christian center upon God and His work and not our own?
Using this as the starting point, I propose the following:
A Christian is one whom God views as redeemed by what Jesus has done.
(Trying the video thing once again. For those who wish to simply read, continue below.)
During my senior year of college, my roommate and I went camping in Perdernales Falls State Park. We enjoyed a couple of days of hiking around and enjoying the hill country scenery. On the second morning of our stay, we hiked around one of the “mountain” trails–actually, it was more of a hill. As we hiked along the main trail, I saw a narrow pathway heading toward the woods. On a whim, I took this branch. My roommate wasn’t exactly thrilled about getting off the main trail, but I said, “Let’s just see where this leads.”
We walked around a few cedar trees and came upon a small creek. As this creek made its way down the hill, it had eroded into three small waterfalls. The falls had eaten into the rock and formed three pools a couple of feet deep each. The clear, cold, spring water had turned various shades of green, blue, and dark blue. The red and white of the rock added further color to this sight. The color and chuckling of the water made the place overwhelmingly peaceful, and we sat there for several minutes before carrying on. We actually traveled up the creek, and in about 75 yards, we intersected the main trail once again.
At this point, I wondered to myself, “Why is it the main trail diverges so far away from this little piece of heaven? Why isn’t that little side trail marked on the map? Aren’t people being deprived of seeing this little piece of beauty–especially if they simply stick to the main path?”
I mean, I know there is something to be said for staying on the main path–taking the same road everyone takes–following where the crowd has gone before. For the most part, it’s safe. For the most part, there are others traveling along the way who can help you out if you get in trouble. For the most part, the path is usually the easiest to follow as it is well marked and generally avoids the most troublesome spots. There is nothing necessarily wrong with following the well marked path.
But the marked path does not always lead you to the places of utmost beauty. The marked path does not always lead you to the places of tranquility and peace. The marked path may get you to the end faster, but it does not always guarantee you arriving in the state which is best for you.
Jesus makes no bones about the fact that Christians are not called to walk on the main path. We are not called to go through the wide door. We are to intentionally seek out and find the more narrow paths–the more narrow doors as we grow in faith and seek to serve God.
In our Gospel lesson, Jesus is asked, “Will just a few be saved?”
Jesus responds, “24‘Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able. 25When once the owner of the house has got up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, “Lord, open to us”, then in reply he will say to you, “I do not know where you come from.” 26Then you will begin to say, “We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.” 27But he will say, “I do not know where you come from; go away from me, all you evildoers!” 28There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrown out. 29Then people will come from east and west, from north and south, and will eat in the kingdom of God. 30Indeed, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.’”
In some ways, this teaching is very troublesome for certain people. Jesus here makes no bones about the fact that some people will be left outside the door knocking and begging to come in. There will be some people seeing the great saints in the Kingdom of God, and they will weep and gnash their teeth while seeing them. Even more frustrating to those who are left outside is the fact that they knew the Lord. “We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets!”
And the Lord’s reply is curt and cuts to the bone, “I do not know where you come from; go away from me, all you evildoers!”
Now, the temptation here is to try and label those who are the evildoers. The temptation here is to find a group that fits that description. And of course, when we label that group, it will not include us. It will be them and those people who have the problem. It will be that group that has to worry about what Jesus is saying. It certainly can’t be us–no, not at all.
I would caution us very strongly against doing such a thing. Because whenever we label ourselves as the “in” group and those others as the “out” group, we find ourselves butting up against Jesus’ next statement, “Then people will come from east and west, from north and south, and will eat in the kingdom of God.” And listen to this, “Indeed some who are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”
Some are last who will be first and some are first who will be last. Whenever we start labeling such things and putting ourselves first, we might just find ourselves bringing up the rear. We might just find ourselves on the outside looking in. We might just find ourselves weeping and gnashing our teeth. It’s not a pleasant thought. Not at all.
At this point, at least with me, the question then becomes–what is the narrow door? What does it mean to seek out the narrow door? How is it possible to enter through that door, and where is grace in this whole process?
I believe the concept of grace is important here–very important. I think we must remember that Jesus didn’t speak these words in a vacuum. In fact, these words are surrounded by others which I think help shed some important light on this teaching and help us understand it much, much better.
I would like to invite you to turn in your Bibles again this morning to Luke chapter 14. In our gospel lesson, Jesus ends with those who will be eating in the Kingdom of God, and just a few verses later, He fleshes that out more fully. Let’s begin reading Luke 14 verse 7
7 When he noticed how the guests chose the places of honor, he told them a parable. 8‘When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit down at the place of honor, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by your host; 9and the host who invited both of you may come and say to you, “Give this person your place”, and then in disgrace you would start to take the lowest place. 10But when you are invited, go and sit down at the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, “Friend, move up higher”; then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at the table with you. 11For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.’
12 He said also to the one who had invited him, ‘When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. 13But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. 14And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.’
Notice the humility Jesus calls his followers to display. Notice the narrow door He sends them through. No one would have thought to act in this manner during the time Jesus spoke these words. Everyone wanted prestige and self-aggrandizement, but Jesus says, don’t seek it. Instead, be humble.
This is a consequence of grace. For if we believe that God is responsible for our salvation–that it does not come from anything we do–then we do not become self-righteous. We do not think that we have all the answers. We do not think we are above everyone else. We do not think we have any sort of special privilege because we know Jesus. Because Christianity isn’t necessarily about knowing Jesus–those left out of the door knew Jesus–Christianity is about being known by Jesus. And those who are known by Jesus do not point to themselves and the way they act or behave. Instead, they point to Jesus. Because it is in Jesus that we find Grace. It is in Jesus that we find mercy. It is in Jesus that we find the narrow path and the narrow door. Amen.
Thanks to Edward Snowden and the Guardian (British newspaper), those of us in the U.S. have now been informed that tons of internet (email, Facebook, Google, etc.) data is being collected by the U.S. government. We also know that Verizon Wireless customers have had their metadata collected by the U.S. government. It's a pretty safe bet other phone companies are being required to hand over their metadata as well--even though we don't have those news stories at this point.
I remember reading 1984. Anyone else having flashbacks?
But here is the thing for me: I refuse to unplug. I refuse to watch what I say. I refuse to code my language or cease and desist from saying certain things on this blog or on my Facebook account. I refuse to get rid of my cell phone. Was there a desire to do so? Yep.
Unplug.
Get away!
Don't let them look at you.
Now, I like my privacy. Don't get me wrong. I'm not exactly thrilled with the knowledge that someone is monitoring every word I type or put out there. I'm not exactly thrilled that there are those who might try to use what I say as fodder for coming after me in one fashion or another.
But if I give into those fears, then I've truly lost my freedom.
If I give into those fears, then my voice gets lost because of a perceived or real threat.
If I give into those fears, then I have to run into a field to hide and find just a little bit of escape. (Remember that from the book?)
I refuse to do that.
There were those in early Judea who tried to silence Christians. Thankfully, the early disciples and followers refused to keep silent. What would the world look like if they had kept their mouths' shut?
There were those in the Roman Empire who tried to silence Christians. They even went so far as to kill and feed Christians to wild animals in arenas. What would have happened if such tactics would have silenced those Christians?
Where would the Church be if those souls had ceased speaking about Christ and His death and resurrection? What if they would have succumbed to the pressures of government and the authorities? History would be vastly different, that is for sure.
In many ways, we as Christians shouldn't have to worry about such matters. St. Paul instructed us in Romans 13:
Do you wish to have no fear of the authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive its approval;
4for it is God’s servant for your good. But if you do what is wrong, you should be afraid, for the authority does not bear the sword in vain! It is the servant of God to execute wrath on the wrongdoer.
5Therefore one must be subject, not only because of wrath but also because of conscience.
6For the same reason you also pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, busy with this very thing.
7Pay to all what is due
to them—taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due,
respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due.
This is not rocket science.
Of course, we are to remember who the ultimate authority is:
But Peter and the apostles answered, ‘We must obey God rather than any human authority. --Acts 5:29
So, if we are commanded to do something against the will of God, we are to disregard any rules which would force us to do this; otherwise, we are to go about our business--doing good; proclaiming Christ; being responsible; working to make the world a better place.
The world includes the internet and the technology of cell phones these days. I don't believe in running away from this. I believe in being courageous--and not living in fear.
Paul was no friend of the early church. He freely admits this. In fact, Paul admits that he violently persecuted the church. We have further witness of this from Luke’s account in the book of Acts when Luke tells us about the first martyr of the church, Stephen.
Stephen proclaimed the gospel, and he upset quite a few folks. Rather than backtrack on what he proclaimed, he pushed the envelope, and he was stoned. There was a young man who looked after the cloaks of those who were stoning Stephen, and that young man was named Saul, who would later become Paul. This same Saul had obtained permission to head to Damascus and arrest Christians there when an extraordinary event took place that changed his life, but more about that later.
Paul grew up as a Pharisee, and by his own account, he was a very good one. He was the modern day equivalent of the churchman who went to church every Sunday rain or shine; who gave 10% of his offering to the church; who went to Bible study on Sunday and Wednesday night; who contributed to every fund-raiser and who served on the church council. But I think perhaps it went even further than that because Paul calls himself blameless according to the law. This means, Paul ate the right foods, washed his hands at the right times, wore the right clothing, prayed at the right times and associated with the right people. The Jewish faith was not something Paul simply talked about and practiced when it suited him; no. The Jewish faith was something he lived to the nth degree.
Paul was so absorbed into the Jewish faith that it literally was his life. And he was not happy about anything that would threaten his beloved faith. When word started being spread that a group of people dared to say that Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah who was raised from the dead, Paul knew this posed a threat. It was obvious to him this was a lie. The Jewish people were not free from their enemies. Rome still occupied Israel. God had not reestablished the Jewish monarchy as no descendant of David sat on the throne. And indeed, no one could be raised from the dead. Once a person was dead, that person was dead–no return from that state. Despite all the evidence, this movement was attracting followers. His fellow Jews were converting and becoming Christian, and this was troubling. How could people follow this lie? How could people desert the truth of the Jewish faith and say Jesus is the resurrected Lord and Messiah? It did not make sense to him. It was obviously false...and a threat. The movement had to be countered.
And Paul was all to happy to oblige. The same drive that made him work to perfection drove him to persecute the early church. He strove to find followers of Jesus and have them arrested. His zealous pursuit and defense of the Jewish faith won admirers in high places, so when Paul heard about the church taking root in Damascus, he asked for and received permission to persecute the church there. Armed with arrest warrants, he headed out.
And that is when his life was changed. In an instant. In the blink of an eye. A light appeared, and a voice spoke, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”
“Who are you?” Saul responded.
“I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.”
Paul had encountered the Living Lord, and it was a life-changing event. I spoke not to long ago how this event completely shattered his worldview and forced him to rethink everything he thought he knew. It turned Paul’s world upside down, and after all was said and done, he went from zealous persecutor of the Church to ardent missionary and proclaimer of the Gospel to the Gentiles.
Most agreed, the transformation was amazing. The one who persecuted the Church with zeal now became one of its strongest supporters and one of the most obsessed evangelists that ever existed. Paul says as much in our second lesson this morning as he recounts all of these episodes in his life.
He says, “20In what I am writing to you, before God, I do not lie! 21Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia, 22and I was still unknown by sight to the churches of Judea that are in Christ; 23they only heard it said, ‘The one who formerly was persecuting us is now proclaiming the faith he once tried to destroy.’”
And then we come to a very fascinating statement in verse 24, “And they glorified God because of me.”
Think about that statement for just a minute. “They glorified God because of me.”
I began to wonder if I had heard such a statement in the entire time I’ve been serving as a pastor. I began thinking about all the thank you notes I have received. I began thinking about all the thank you notes I have seen published in church newsletters. I began thinking about all the correspondence I’ve received from other religious institutions and such. I began to think about all the comments I’ve received on my sermons and the comments I have given to others who have preached. And to the best of my recollection, I cannot ever think of hearing anything similar.
Usually, the things churches and pastors get say this or something similar:
Thank you for your words of comfort at the funeral. Thank you for sending a donation to help us in our mission and ministry. Thank you for officiating at our wedding and helping us enjoy our special day. Thank you for helping our family out during this financial crisis.
Now, these words aren’t bad. There is nothing wrong with them, so if you are in the process of writing a thank you letter or what have you, please do not think that I am somehow slamming you. I’m not. But contrast these words with what Paul says:
They glorified God because of me.
While many people thank us, the early Christians were glorifying God because of Paul. This leads me to ask why are people focusing on us instead of giving God the glory?
I have to ask that question because I think it gets to the heart and soul of the purpose of the Church in society. I think it gets to the heart and soul of what our mission and our purpose as Christians is in this world in which we live.
Let me try to be as clear as possible without being too offensive: it is not the church’s job to call attention to itself. It is not the church’s job to simply do good things and get recognized for that. It is not the church’s job to get as many people to join as possible so that we can keep the lights on, the building air conditioned, run a few programs that keep kids entertained, hold a few fund raisers and benefits for those in need, and other such things. It is not a pastor’s job to work hard to get compliments on what he or she preaches or teaches or does at a funeral or wedding. Now, we certainly do all of those things, but this is not our primary purpose. It is not our primary job.
Please listen closely: our primary job is to introduce people to and point the way to the God who makes all of these things possible. Our primary job is to lift up the awesomeness of our God and what He did in taking on flesh, dwelling among us, and reconciling the world unto himself. It is our primary job to keep God as the focus, as the center, as that which our lives revolve around. We do not want people to see us! I know that may be hard to get your head around, but I assure you, I think it is absolutely true. We do not want people to see us; we want them to see God.
And so, we must ask ourselves: are people seeing us or are they seeing God? Are they thanking us or are they thanking God? Are others glorifying us or are they glorifying God? And if they are focusing on us instead of God, why is that the case?
Let us pray. Heavenly Father, the early church glorified you because of your work. Sometimes we get things backward today and strive to lift up ourselves instead of you. Give us the strength, courage, and desire to set ourselves aside so that others may see you and give glory to you because of us. Amen.
The more I have contemplated Jesus' teaching on becoming like a child, the more I am convinced of the Church's need to embrace it more fully.
I know some may disagree.
"Are you saying we need to be immature?"
"Are you saying we should accept things without question?"
"Are you saying we should just have a blind faith?"
Do you really know children?
Perhaps this is a bit strange for my readers to hear, but I do not just parent my children, I study them. Yes, I study them. I watch what they do; how they interact with the world; how they act with one another. Here are some things I think I have learned.
Immaturity: I am not suggesting that we adults should be immature. Lord knows, there is enough immaturity in society today. Just a cursory read of the news shows this unequivocally. There is a time to grow up and take responsibility. But taking responsibility does not mean leaving behind some very important things that I believe adults need: a sense of humor, a sense of playfulness, a bit of a mischievous streak, a willingness to laugh even at the simplest things.
Children are playful. They turn all sorts of things into games. They use their imaginations--at least they do if you are willing to force them to turn off their games and televisions. They can instantly go from doing schoolwork to playing in a matter of seconds.
Why is it that we as adults oftentimes have to plan our fun? Why is it that we have to schedule our down times? When is the last time you played at work? When is the last time you enjoyed a belly laugh for no reason? I don't think such things are immature.
Accepting without question: I haven't met a child like this. Nearly every kid I've come across rebels. Nearly every kid I come across and have given a command has either told me, "No." or "I don't want to." or has said, "O.K." but then gone and done the opposite. Children don't accept things without question. Even at an early state they begin forming their own minds and opinions about things. This is not a bad thing, but it must be tempered with a respect for authority and obedience to the authority's wishes--especially when the authority is acting in a just manner.
In our day and age, all sorts of authorities try to tell us what we should and should not believe. I am one such authority. I do try to tell people what to and not to believe. However, I am willing to argue and offer reasons for my belief, and I am also willing to give you space to accept or reject what I have to say. You can tell me, "No." Yet, if you decide to become a Lutheran Christian and member of my congregation, when it comes to matters of theological doctrine, you are also submitting to obedience. So, if I were to confront you in a particular sin in accordance with Matthew 18, you would have to be obedient and repent. Yet, you also have the ability to check and make sure I am on the right track. If I am wrong in my assessment, you can and should question me. Perhaps I am being unjust.
Kids question authority. We should too. Yet, kids must be obedient. We must too.
Blind faith: Nearly every kid I know has insatiable curiosity. They ask questions. All the time. And they don't necessarily accept every answer you tell them. Oftentimes an answer begets another question.
Is this the sign of blind faith? Hardly.
How many of us as adults are insatiable in our curiosity? How many of us continue to ask life's hard questions even after college or grad school? I'd submit that many of us are quite content to bask in what we have learned and engage in activities that do not stretch our minds. Kids don't have this problem. They want to learn. They engage in learning. Not always book learning, mind you, but the world is an open book to them, and they want to know about it. I think as adults we need to do likewise.
I am sure there will be more thoughts on this as time passes, but enough for now.
