John 17:6-19
Sometime
between 1960 and 1980, the world changed. In that two decade span
of time, the theatre in Chilliwack opened on Sundays; Sunday sports
became more important than Church or family events, and for millions of
people, Sunday became the major shopping day of the week. It
coincided with the rise of both spouses in a family working, a
phenomenon that gained great speed as the baby boomers became the
majority of the working force, and they began to see accumulation
of "stuff" as the answer to life.
The boomers
were a generation who, in the main, rejected the values of their
parents and the society of which their parents were a part. They
refused to do things that people their parents' ages had done.
They resented the fact that their parents' generation had become
prosperous in military buildups, and seemingly lacked sensitivity
to environmental concerns. They disliked the fact that people
lost their jobs as businesses cut workers to maintain profit
margins for investors, and they felt that their parents, speaking
generically, were hypocritical in how they lived versus what they
said they believed.
The boomers
were a generation in rebellion. They rebelled against dressing up, and
opposed the government. They criticized the educational system,
revolted against war, experimented with drugs and sex, and in the
process of rebelling overthrew many established norms like
marriage, respect for elders, traditional educational approaches,
acceptance of social values and faith in anything beyond
themselves.
Instead of
saving for a future, they bought whatever they could, as they
sought satisfaction. Today, their lives are crowded with
cottages, ski mobiles, ATVs, new autos, electronic equipment and
an endless line of labour saving devices. They have almost
everything one would ever want, except money in the bank, a faith that
propels them into the future, and a value system that allows them
to relax with satisfaction and share their lives with others in
productive causes.
In that twenty year period, the Church changed from being the
conscience of a society where the values that it taught were
mirrored in social institutions, to being an organization of
choice. People who continued or chose to live and work in the
Church became Aliens within their own culture.
In their
book entitled "Resident Aliens", William Willimon and Stanley Hauerwas
wrote:
“we are a colony. A colony is a
beachhead, an outpost, an Island of one culture in the middle of
another., a place where the values of home are reiterated and
passed on to the young, a place where the distinctive language and
life-style of the resident aliens are lovingly nurtured and
reinforced." (page 12)
In this
chaotic world in which we live, Willimon and Hauerwas maintain that
"we have an opportunity
to discover what has and always is the case-that the Church, as
those called out by God, embodies a social alternative that the
world cannot, on its own terms, know." (pg17f)
The result
of all this, is that we in the Church are now coming to grips with
the truth that Christians are not `born', they are `made' by
Churches and church people who have learned to ask the right
questions to which Christ supplies the answers. No longer can we assume
that children born to members of Squamish United Church will
become members here. Children grow up, and have their own minds;
they often move away and if, and it's a large if, if they attend any
Church after they move away, there is absolutely NO guarantee that it
will be within a United Church of Canada congregation.
If what I have just proclaimed has any ring of truth to it, then we who
love the Church and feel it is important- important enough to be
the recipient of our time and our money- have a huge message to
proclaim.
Today, I
would like to make suggestions as to what our duty is as
Church participants. As Christians, Marcus Borg suggests, we hold to a
unique concept:
"We find the revelation of God
primarily in a person. For Judaism and Islam, though Moses and
Mohammad are receivers of revelation, God is not revealed in them
as persons but in the words of the Torah and the Qur'an. The Buddha as
a person, is not the revelation of God, rather, the Buddha's
teachings disclose the path to enlightenment and compassion." To
hold that God is primarily revealed in a person makes us
different- different, not better." (Borg- "The Heart of
Christianity" pg 80).
As Christians we know about the God of
Israel and about the person of Jesus primarily through the
witness of the Bible's writers, but we know most about the heart
of God: God's love, passion and acceptance through the person of
Jesus. For us, Jesus is what can be seen of God in human form.
Jesus is the revelation or the incarnation of God's character.
(Ibid 81).
All metaphorical allusions in the scriptures illustrate the
pervading importance and revelation of Jesus.
To believe
in Jesus is to proclaim that he was a mystic, a teacher, a social
prophet and a person who initiated a movement, and this movement ran
counter to the prevailing governing system of the land. While a
life with that emphasis may indeed reveal the heart and nature of
God, it is sure to get one in trouble with the governing
authorities ........... Jesus was killed.
When one
audits the lives of others to the extent of Jesus, either people
agree and join the movement, or they do away with the auditor.
Jesus was crucified! And while we wouldn't crucify him in our
day, we would do away with him in some manner. Thus, as members
of a Christian Church and people who see in Jesus the clearest
revelation of the nature of God, we are a counter-cultural movement.
We
are aliens who are trying to live lives that most of society
does not understand. We are Christ-ians because in Jesus, we
believe we see the fullest revelation of who God is and what God
is like.
If
our belief system is centred in Jesus, it will make a huge difference
in how we function in the colony we call the Church. Being out of
step with the majority of society means that it is VERY important
that we be a working part of a religious community. It is in this
community that we practice being a follower of Jesus. Here we
strive to pay attention to all of the things that point us to God, and
we do so in a colony of fellow believers who are sympathetic to
our pursuits.
Church is
where we practice what it means to be a Christian. Church is where
we learn a unique language that speaks to us of spirituality.
Church is where we can practice loving each other and forgiving each
other. Church is where we make errors in an accepting and
constructive environment, so that we can move on, having learned
from our mistakes and having experienced the love and forgiveness
of God's people. That is very different from most of society. Yet that
is how we “aliens” operate within the colony. Of course we are
not perfect, and yes there are probably others out there, not
part of a religious community who are just as spiritual as we
are. But here we can grow in an accepting atmosphere. Here, fellow
members are silently cheering for us to improve; to grow, as
Jesus grew, in wisdom, in stature and in favour with God and
humans.
Now, I don't know about you, but that is a community of which I want to
be a part, and I am willing to endure the disappointments and the
setbacks that are frustrating because I know we serve a gracious
God who accepts us as we are, and through each other stimulates
us to spiritual growth.
William
Willimon describes the Church experience in this manner:
"The Church asks people to
grow. It assumes that Christians are made not born and it
affirms, unlike the pop psychologies, that human growth is a long
difficult journey which doesn't take place in a weekend. It takes
a life time."......
The Church also demands things
of people. It challenges the popular notion that `you can't fight
city hall' or that we human beings are helpless and powerless sheep,
with nothing to do about our own destiny. The Church will tell you
every time it asks you to offer yourself and your gifts, to sing and
pray, to listen and act that you have a responsibility.
The
Church will ask you to feel some of the world's aches and pains along
with your own. It will challenge your cynicism and defeatism with
talk about Easter and all things being possible. It will tell you
that you are more competent and capable, more responsible for
yourself and others than you think you are.
To be part of a Church is not to suffer
from delusions of sainthood ( I have met a few who suffer from
that delusion); rather, it is to admit bravely that one has
needs, that one has weaknesses, and that one wishes to work these
things out in the presence of a gracious God and fellow sinners."
(Wm Willimon, The Gospel For The Person Who Has Everything"
Page 82f)
Part of
being a follower of Jesus is being a member of a Church community.
There are no solitary Christians We need each other as we work out the
kinks in our faith and grow more and more in a welcoming environment.
Lastly, if
we are people who believe God is primarily revealed in the life of
a person, and we have chosen to be a follower within the
fellowship of Squamish Church, with all of its strengths and
imperfections, then
we need to
articulate to the world why we are Christians.
We are
Christians because we believe the path that was seen in Jesus, the
path of dying to an old identity and a way of being born into a
new identity is both important and factual. IT IS "The Way"
expressed in Christian terms. It is the language of love and
gratitude. It is the poetry of the heart and the visible
revelation of a person so in touch with God that his way of life and
content of teaching put us in touch with God.
Marcus Borg
states the importance of being part of a religious community and a
tradition. It is here, in Church, where our relationship to God
is mediated and nourished:
"We are Christians because we
need a path. Without a path we are lost and the community of
faith and the traditions of worship articulate and nurture a path
for our lives. Furthermore, the religious community and the
Christian tradition put us in touch with the wisdom of the past.”
(M. Borg, The Heart of Christianity, Page 122f)
We see in
Christianity the revelation of God in a person rather than in words,
tradition or customs. That belief does not give us the right to
say that we are right and all other persuasions are wrong; but it does
give us the incredible insight that in Jesus we see the way of
God revealed. That is why we worship him and seek to have his
way
increasingly become our way.
We must
understand, having said this, that the world does not view life in
this manner. When countries and people see nations or ideas or
practices as not being beneficial to their welfare, their
interests or their business, they label such offenders as
enemies. Jesus said:
"love your enemies and pray for
those who despitefully use you."
People of
the world see might and power as tools of strength, Jesus said:
"Blessed are the meek, for
they shall inherit the earth."
When people of the world seek selfish ways to become more happy,
more proficient, more productive, or more wealthy, Jesus says: "Seek ye first the Kingdom of God."
People of
the world express there hatred of others who are different by
race, political persuasion, religious faith, sexual orientation
or possessors of needed materials. Jesus says: "Love one another as I have loved you."
People of
the world seek retribution and punishment for violators of their
ideals. Jesus said, "Let the
one who is without sin cast the first stone."
Now, IF we believe what Jesus said, and are seriously trying to live
that way, we are aliens in the world. Jesus presents a very
different way of thinking and believing, and as aliens, we need
the fellowship, love and strength of the colony or the Church to
survive and grow.
We are
aliens in a strange world that doesn't understand what we are about.
We are residents of a colony we call the Church, and we need each
other very much if we are to be followers of Jesus in a society
that does not understand and largely doesn't care.
That's why
we are Christians, and that is why you need the fellowship of
this colony called Squamish United Church.