Why Worship God?
September 13, 2015Why Follow a God Who Lets Bad Things Happen?
September 27, 201520
Sep.
2015
Why Be a Christian?
“Why Be a Christian?”
There is a lot of focus on Rome coming to D.C. ahead of Pope Francis’ visit this coming week. This is causing many to look at the spiritual dimension of their lives. One interesting note, according to Christian Century magazine and the Post, Pope Francis said recently that the church should be open to baptizing extraterrestrials should they be encountered. This led several journalists to ask Jose Funes, head of the Vatican’s astronomy program, about how life on other planets would line up with church teachings. What if they turn out to house life similar to ours? Funes said just as there are many creatures on Earth there could be other beings elsewhere, even intelligent beings, created by God. However, when asked about Jesus, the Vatican spokesmen said he does not believe that “the discovery of extraterrestrial life would mean there could be another Jesus.” Saying “the incarnation of the son of God is a unique event in the universe.”
In our own tradition John Calvin believed that justification and regeneration were only possible through unity with Christ. Jesus was unique.
Why be a Christian? Because there is only one Jesus, and he shows us things about God no one else can. Let us pray.
Our boys are quite into mythology these days. Most nights we read some mythology book. The other day one asked me to draw a picture of some of the Greek Gods and characters and he would guess who I was drawing. Now I am not much of an artist, but I tried my hand at drawing some characters. Cyclops, pretty distinguishing facial characteristic. Medusa, really bad hair day. Poseidon, carries a trident. My Zeus, and most others, were hard to distinguish from the rest of the characters I drew.
With my artistic ability you can’t really tell what the Gods look like.
There has been a universal question throughout history, what does God look like?
That was part of the question Jesus was driving at in our second lesson. Matthew 16 is only five chapters from Palm Sunday. Jesus knew he is near the end of his life. He needed to know if his disciples understood him and would carry on his work. [i]
Jesus took disciples to the city of Caesarea Philippi, about 25 miles northeast of the Sea of Galilee, near the Golan Heights, and the diversity of Syria, to talk.
When we hear about the war in Syria and the possible destruction of artifacts, commentators often talk about how ISIS is getting close to destroying some ancient temples, like the temple of Palmyra, which reflect the incredible religious diversity of that part of the world.
Theologian William Barclay points out that in Jesus’ time, Syrians worshiped there. In Jesus time the area had 14 temples dedicated to Baal.[ii]
Greeks worshiped there. This region was thought to be the birthplace of Pan and it was believed many of the Greek Gods gathered in this place.
There was a cave in Caesarea Philippi where they say the river Jordan sprang to life, critical for ancient Jews, and for Christians in baptism.
As the name implies, Caesarea Philippi was important for Romans. It had a great white marble temple with a godhead of Caesar and Rome encouraged people to worship Caesar there.
Jesus took his disciples to a place surrounded by reminders of Syrian and Greek Gods, Jewish history and Roman idols and basically asked them, what does God look like?[iii]
Jesus asked it in this way, “Who do people say that I am?” They responded, “Some say” you are John the Baptist, who we celebrate at Advent as the forerunner of the messiah. Some said Elijah, whom the Bible taught would come before the Messiah. Some said Jeremiah who had supposedly taken the ark before the exile and would return it before the messiah came.[iv]
These were high complements to be compared to the forerunners of the Messiah. Yet not high enough for Jesus. He asked, “Who do people say that I am?” Some historians argue that Jesus was an ordinary man whose reputation grew over time to be thought of as divine. Yet early Christians staked their lives on the belief that Jesus was in fact God. They stayed with their belief even when Jesus was put to death. That has always impacted my own view.
Why be a Christian? What is unique about Christianity?
There are many principles, ethics and ideas of Christianity. At the center of them all is a person. The person of Jesus Christ. There is no religion which has a person more in the center of its faith than ours.
We know from significant historical data that Jesus lived. Several Roman and other writers who were not Christians and had no motivation to make it up, mention Jesus.
Our scriptures tell of the uniqueness of Jesus. Jesus fed the crowd of 5,000. The disciples could see the amazement in each other’s faces. Jesus allowed the paralytic to walk. “Wow,” they said. The storm blew forcefully, and he said, “Stop.” It stopped. “What sort of man is this, that even the wind and waves obey him?” They asked. On the cross, his arms stretched out Jesus asked God to forgive them and the people said, “Surely this is the son of God.” Then after his death Jesus came back.
My father went to a memorial service last Saturday and said he learned so much he didn’t know about the person who died.
That is one of the truest parts of going to many memorial services, we often learn so much about the person at their death which we didn’t know in life.
We hear, “I didn’t know she was into scuba diving. Or had been a national sailing champion in 1944. Or that Dad nearly got married in Vietnam.” My grandmother is pretty mild mannered. Not a fiery Bobby knight type. I found out after her death that she coached the Versailles High School girls’ basketball team to the 1936 Ohio state basketball championship.
Some things never shared in life are brought out in death. There are some things that you can’t learn unless someone shares them.
It is also true with God. There are many things we don’t know about God unless God shares them.
It is impossible to really know God unless God chooses to reveal God’s self. Donald McKim would say we cannot climb up to heaven and pull back the clouds and see God. We need God to tell us. For God to reveal God’s self is an act of grace. A choice to be known is an act of love.
In Jesus’ death we learned that Jesus was truly God. As if the other accounts of his actions in life weren’t startling enough, in Jesus’ death and resurrection God is revealed in a new way.
We learn that God is not finished with us. That God came back for us. That God is committed to us.
This is what the letter to the Hebrew tells us, that Jesus is the representation of God; that through Christ God speaks to us. Mark explains that at the transfiguration God declared of Jesus, “This is my son, listen to him.”
God has chosen to reveal Godself in the person of Jesus. Christianity is a faith that offers direct knowledge of God through that person.
It’s a case of do as I do not just as I say. Parenting experts tell us that our role modeling as parents it more important than what we say. Christianity is a faith where we have a role model to follow, not only a series of commands. That ultimately makes a powerful difference in our ability to understand and relate.
We could be in any number of other faiths. They all have particular characteristics.
Christianity is not about a cultural nor ethnic affinity. It is more a personal call and response. God reveals Godself in a personal way. God asks us to respond personally.
Matthew tells us Jesus asks, “Who do you say that I am?” He is less interested in what the crowd says than what we individually feel.
Peter identified Jesus as the Christ. He answers that Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ in the Greek. God builds God’s church on the rock of his faith.
One thing I love about being a Christian is that it is ultimately about a relationship. In a real sense being Christ-ian means Christ is in us. We could be members of other faiths where the focus is on achieving a state of leaving the self and transcending the world. Or on specific rules which put the focus on one’s behavior.
One the unique part of Christianity is the focus is on the relationship. Rather than leaving the human form, Jesus returned to it. God loves each of us so much that God wants to be with us in our world and gave this Spirit to us. Most other faiths encourage humans to try and reach up to God through their own effort. Christianity is a faith where God reaches down to us. Such grace is worth celebrating. Rather than focusing on rules, Jesus’s grace treats us as a loving friend.
We could be atheists. Then we go through life without enough spiritual sustenance. Jesus stands between us and spiritual and emotional starvation.
Jesus said he was bread for the world. Jesus fills a unique void in our lives. When we get to know Jesus we know life. He takes us from starvation to full. From death to life.
Like all of us, I lose my way at times. I feel overwhelmed. I need a beacon, a leader, a hope, a hand to hold. I have found that beacon, that leader, that hope, that hand in Jesus.
When our congregational vitality task force began meeting in January, Bonnie brought Joan Gray to us. A wise pastor from Atlanta, former moderator of the PCUSA, Joan spent an inspiring part of a day with our group. She began by talking about her own journey and stated that at this point in her life, the question she asks herself every day and uses as the filter for all decisions is “How can I become more like Jesus?” How can I become more like Jesus?
In the early church Irenaeus and Athanasius both said of Christ that “in his love he became what we are in order that he might make us more like him.”
He is, because God’s love was fully in him, our Savior.
Long before there was Bradley Hills there was a group who decided to follow Jesus. To figure out who he was, how to follow him and how to be his body, his church in the spirit.
They knew they could not do it alone. To follow him they needed one another. We can’t follow him by ourselves. We need the church to make his love, our vocation in his name.
The call for discipleship is what our congregational vitality task force is inspiring us to do. To do the very Presbyterian thing of being involved in the body of Christ and to build an even more vital church.
Being a Christian means worshiping a God who cares about us. Who calls us into the world to show Christ’s love. Who chooses to connect with us through the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Picture in your mind the person Christ is calling you to be. The church Christ is calling us to have. Your life as a process of becoming more and more like Christ each day.
We have a religion that offers the revelation of God. A faith focused on the centrality of the person of Jesus Christ. A revelation we can related to. He was out of this world, but also very much in the world. A personal God who came for you and for me. Who frees us, feeds us and helps us understand God better. Let us study him, listen to him, and find our meaning in him.
May it be so. Amen.