I don’t
like the kind of press that Christianity has been getting in the media, nor the
reputation of Christianity among people who have quit going to church - or
never started, because our witness of Jesus as Messiah and Savior, and our
portrayal of life in the kindom of God, instead of drawing them to God, has put
them off from God. It makes me wonder if
we who DO follow Christ are not presenting the truth that Jesus taught, or are
presenting it in such a way that has belied the message of freedom, hope and
vision that Jesus brought.
Yes, there IS the fact that even
Jesus was rejected by the larger society, and even by the religious leaders of
his time - I mean, he was killed. And
it’s still true that the message of Christ and the love of God is often counter-cultural,
and may well be rejected by those invested in the ways of the world and
profiting by it.
The teachings of Christ and the
place of Christ’s church does not have the value that it once had here -
somehow God and Jesus have been made to look hateful, judgemental, legalistic,
racist, contentious, less than authentic, and no answer to issues people
face.
Yes, Christ-followers are just
humans, and will be fallible; we will be tempted and sometimes deceived; we may
be short-sighted about various ills of society that we aren’t conscious of yet,
that the Holy Spirit still is reforming us about. It’s not that Christ-followers are going to
be perfect examples, all the time, of love, peace, kindness, patience, &
steadfastness, for example. And yes, it
sells papers and draws viewers to reveal failings in dramatic ways.
Yet, do we need to give them so much
ammunition?
It bothers me that the name
“Christian” is linked with narrowness of thought, rejection of differences,
one-issue judgementalism, a freedom to make sexist and racist comments - and
behaviors; a covering up of blatant sin; a rejection of scientific exploration
and knowledge; and even a rejection of scholarship and good thinking. Christianity has a reputation nowadays that
is not attractive to thinking and caring people. Many of our own children, raised in our
congregations, don’t like what Christians have come to represent. Sometimes I don’t like saying that I’m a
Christian - not because I’m ashamed of my faith or of Jesus, but because I
don’t want to be lumped with those more extremist folks who make the news. Reporters and bloggers seem to think all
Christians are summed up in these limited views, and don’t see that there are
other Christians who reject that way of being Christian. Somehow, we are not communicating or living
the beauty and depth of Jesus’ truth,
and the transforming message that he taught.
I’ve found myself wishing there was
another name I could call myself, as the name “Christian” has become so
stereotyped, and in a negative way.
Episcopal Bishop Michael Curry likes to say he’s part of the Episcopal
branch of the Jesus Movement. You may have noticed that I often use the
descriptive phrase,
“Christ-follower.” Early converts to
following Christ called their new lifestyle of God’s kindom, “The Way,” ie the
Way of Jesus, the Jesus Way. I’ve heard
some believers in Christ talk about being on the Jesus Path. After all, the name “Christian” was coined in
the town of Ephesus, by that city’s population in talking about the gathering
of folks Paul converted in his missionary work there.
I admit that I do feel some shame in
wanting to distance myself from some who also claim to follow Christ - although
I don’t like the way Christ’s message is being presented by them. I’d like to feel a greater unity of purpose
with those who do theology differently; I almost feel more tolerance toward
those who don’t attend worship but are truly seeking a path to wholeness and
living in ways that treat people right and value the environment - than I do
with some other Christians who I feel are bringing our faith into disrepute,
and misrepresenting the life I feel Jesus calls us to.
Another problem I see in what is
called mainline Christianity is that of yet another stereotype - the well-dressed,
two-parent suburban family, middle
class, white, culturally conservative, nice people who attend worship pretty
regularly - - but who don’t seem to
carry what they hear over into their ways of doing business, or their respect
of people of different races or genders, who don’t feel the need to confront
their own angers, or sexual behaviors, or greed, or other ways of living that
are not according to what Jesus says about the kindom of God.
In fact, they may not even recognize these things as problems
in their lives. Not that we don’t all
have our blind spots, and not that we grow into a greater sensitivity as we
walk longer with God.
It’s more
that being a Christian has become a rather shallow stereotype - a nice person
who doesn’t rock the boat, is a good citizen, gives to charity, loves their
children, helps some neighbors - it’s like attending worship and being a nice
person has become what a Christian is… and which is NOT all that following
Christ means at all! Many of these good
folks were baptized and confirmed, and seem to think they’ve done the Christian
thing and don’t have to worry about it anymore - don’t need any more knowledge
of Scripture, don’t need any more wrestling with issues, don’t need to look
inside any more as to their values & behaviors, don’t need to question any
more, don’t need to be challenged any more, because “been there, done
that.”
I sometimes ask myself, where are
the elders in faith who have wrestled with life’s problems who have faced the
disorders of loss or grief or other challenges to faith, and have come out with
a deeper love and understanding, a stronger trust in God? Our children need to see that there’s more to
God than attending worship and being a nice American. Where are those who have done even what the
12-step groups see as basic to turning one’s life around -
- We admitted we were powerless over
alcohol—that our lives had become unmanageable.
- Came to believe
that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
- Made a decision
to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood
Him.
- Made a searching
and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
- Admitted to God,
to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
- Were entirely
ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
- Humbly asked Him
to remove our shortcomings.
- Made a list of
all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
- Made direct
amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure
them or others.
- Continued to take
personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
- Sought through
prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, as we
understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the
power to carry that out.
- Having had a
spiritual awakening as the result of these Steps, we tried to carry this
message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our
affairs.
Where are the Elders who are seeking
authenticity with God, who are seeking a vision of unity and peace and
justice? Who are following the Jesus Way
- letting God’s Spirit transform their hearts, heal their hurts - and resisting
being conformed to the world? Who are
cultivating a relationship with God through prayer and reflection, who are
working to let their life be that holy sacrifice to God, wholly submitted to
God?
So many seem to look at Christianity
as a box to be checked off, a creed learned, a set of precepts nodded to. Following Christ is actually a life-long
journey, a path with curves and stumbles and sometimes a wonderful vision - a
dynamic, unfolding path of Christ being formed in us, and bringing that inner
transformation out into the world not just in our personal life, but in our
living and seeking of justice and peace in the world. Christianity tells of who we are, how God
means for us to live for the world to be saved; and it tells the truth about
how difficult this is, struggling with how our inner nature wants to go its own
way; and how God continually reaches out in love so that this new life may
become a reality.
I have some hope that this covid-19
crisis might be a time when the church of Jesus Christ finds a new vision of
what it means to follow the Jesus Way; what it means to be Christ’s body - the
Church; that perhaps in the changes forced on us we don’t just settle for going
back to the way we’ve always done it, but that the Spirit uses this time of
upset to reorder our understandings, reorder our thinking, reorder our inner
and outer living of the kindom. AMEN.
No comments:
Post a Comment