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What is This Christian Thing?

WHAT IS THIS CHRISTIAN THING?

Three questions: Who Am I? Who are We? What Should We Do"

TEXT: THE WHOLE BIBLE 

 

MY LAST SERMON AT PILGRIM ~ MY THREE FAVORITE THEMES
Whoa, the last sermon in this pulpit. ... I hope it will be reported more kindly that one I heard about. The newsletter read, "Pastor Fred preached his farewell sermon on Sunday after which the choir sang, 'Break Forth with Joy.'"
A lot of people, especially my clergy friends, had been asking, "What are you preaching for your last sermon?" It was beginning to feel stressful thinking that this would have to be the best, most memorable 12 minutes in my whole 17 years of ministry. But I finally decided that if, after 17 years, I hadn't gotten through with anything significant, I wasn't going to manage it today. Instead, I thought I'd recap what I regard as the basic themes of all my preaching. Every preacher has his or her particular biases about what the non-negotiables of faith might be; and these ideas surface again and again in their preaching, no matter what the lectionary text might be. I've organized mine around the three questions you see in your bulletin.

Who am I? Who are we? What should we do?
• WHO AM I? CHILD OF A GRACIOUS GOD
Who am I? To me, this question is entwined with the question: Who is God. If we've had any Christian formation, we've got textbook answers to these questions. We are children of the divine creator, made in God's image. A chip off the old block. This sounds dry and formulaic. But it is amazing how many people don't really believe it. They don't believe that they are loved unconditionally, they don't believe that they are intended for good, that God is for us. They don't believe that God pours out blessing on her people with reckless generosity.

ALL OF US, MADE IN GOD'S IMAGE, LOVED, AND FORGIVEN
So that has been one of my goals of preaching and teaching-to emphasize a God that is Love itself. And to remind us that every single person is an image of God. As you see, the text for today is the whole Bible. I find evidence for humans being God's beloved creation beginning in Genesis and continuing through Revelation. All humanity is in God's image; I'm a universalist. Our Jewish, Muslim, Hindu brothers and sisters are no less blessed of God than we are.

Who am I? One beloved child in God's enormous multi-hued family. I am loved and my default setting is not sin but blessing. I come into my true identity by claiming this relationship and living as though I am walking in love every minute.

Jesus really drives this home in what is my favorite parable, you know, that story about the son who is the most annoying, disrespectful, self-centered, wreck of a human being. He inflicts emotional wounds upon his father that no person of dignity should have to bear. But this wayward child is loved, even in his sin. And he is forgiven before he even asks for it. Have I preached this enough? Who am I? ... I am loved. I am forgiven.

• WHO ARE WE?
Who are we? In this second question, I become more Christian. Who are we, the Pilgrim Church community. We learn to walk in love every minute by the example of Jesus. Have I said enough about Jesus? Most definitely not. I'm only beginning to get a grasp on what Jesus is about myself. In study groups, church school, and in worship through the church year, we wrestle with the Gospels and let Jesus get under our skin. We confront the demands of this man from Galilee and judge our lives by his standard. We experience his passion and his immense love. We sit in stunned sorrow on Maundy Thursday mourning his death. Three days later, we are uplifted and mystified at the same time by the joyous proclamation, "He is risen." And all along, we ask, What does this story have to do with us?

THE BODY OF CHRIST
To me, St. Paul has the best answer to the question, who are we? We are the body of Christ. (Another favorite text from I Corinthians 12.) It is a brilliant, realistic, and helpful metaphor for the way the church should be in the world. Individually, we can't attain Jesus' holiness and miraculous works. But all together ... you be his hands, you his heart, you his knees in prayer, you his guts-yeah, maybe together we can raise Jesus up to walk the earth as he did 2000 years ago.

• WHAT SHOULD WE DO?
And finally, "What should we do?" What is Pilgrim Church supposed to be about-and each of us, as individual members? We go back to Jesus again. If we are the body of Christ, we'll need to become Christ-like-observe what he did and figure out how to do it too. Cultivate the same spiritual practices he did. His main teaching was about the kingdom of God. That perfect place where there is plenty for everyone, all people are valued, the widows and orphans are taken care of, the sick are healed, children and elders are respected, the nobodies are somebodies, and God sets the rules, not Caesar.

That was good news when Jesus proclaimed it among the oppressed masses of the Roman Empire. It's good news to us too when we are sick or feel like nobodies, when we don't feel valued or loved. But it comes with a tweak to our conscience as well since we are the Empire.

HONOR DIFFERENT LOYALTIES
Most of us, by virtue of our class, our citizenship, and our wealth, we are the people Jesus confronted. Calling us to different loyalties. Jesus is Lord, not Caesar. Our life must be devoted to good works, sharing, and justice; not to getting and spending.

WORKS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS AND JUSTICE, NOT SELF ABSORBTION
Friday night, Joe and I watched "Heavens Above," an old Peter Sellers movie about a naïve Church of England vicar who actually lives by Jesus' precepts and persuades a few of his parishioners to do the same. When the rich start sharing their wealth, the economy of the town collapses and riots and strikes ensue. The fat cats in the church hierarchy and parliament finally decide that the only place that this rector's message would be harmless is outer space. So they make him the Bishop of Outer Space and the final shot is of the rocket going into orbit with Sellers in it, warbling hymns.

THE MESSAGE WE'VE GOT IS DANGEROUS TO THE STATUS QUO ~ ARE WE READY?
In a way, they've got it right. Jesus was dangerous to the status quo of the Roman Empire and he just might be dangerous now. God only knows what would happen if the kingdom of God really did come to earth. But let's take our chances and work through the issues that might arise if too much loving kindness breaks out in the world. Somehow, I don't think it's a problem we'll have to deal with in our lifetime.

PILGRIM'S PILGRIMAGE TO THE KINGDOM ~ A COMMENDATION
Now, on this last point, I need to get personal. "What should we do?" Wendy, I commend to the care of the Association and the Conference, a congregation that I think is on the right track. The people in these pews care for each other in a remarkable way. This attitude goes back to their founding when 50 years ago, they had to be pretty cohesive and purposeful to make a church happen where there was only a field and an apple orchard. Faith and determination are in our DNA. And that has continued.



CHARACTERISTICS OF A HEALTHY CHURCH ~ PILGRIM HAS THEM
Pilgrim is special in another way too. They say that the 3 things that hold a congregation back from growing spiritually and numerically are fear of change, fear of change, and fear of change. Pilgrims welcome and support new ideas, they make mistakes, forgive each other, and move on. Right now we are dealing, effectively, I think, with one of the biggest changes we've in a long time-a change in pastoral leadership. I have deep peace in my own heart knowing that this is the right thing for me and the church. I'm ready to turn over the next phase of the church's development to a new pastor. I'm of retirement age-old enough to remember when the Dead Sea was just sick. It is time for new blood.

Wendy, the next person is going to be a very lucky pastor. Spread the word about that. Pilgrim is church of strong leaders, hard workers, spirited worshippers, loving friends, hearty laughers, good singers, children who know what it means to share, and people with a deep commitment to making life better for people who need a helping hand-from their neighbors in the pews and in the town to a soup kitchen in Waltham, from a clinic and water project in Honduras to a school in Zambia, and orphans in the Dominican Republic.

PILGRIM CHURCH, THE BODY OF CHRIST
Spread the word, Wendy, these are the hands, feet, knees, head, lungs, ears, and heart of Jesus-his body, his church, his beloved. Pilgrim United Church of Christ.

Prepared and presented with love,

Judy