The Living Christ
“A little while, now, and the world will no longer see me [said Jesus], but you will see me; because I live, you will live as well. On that day you will know that I am in God, and you in me, and I in you.” — John 14:19-20.
We are, as I am sure you know, in a new era when it comes to communication. Most of us are likely aware broadcast television, with its four network choices, has less and less of an audience share. Cable and satellite, while devouring more and more of the total number of those who watch television, at the same time fragments that audience.
By definition, the very number of competitors means each channel gets a small share. Therefore, less people are watching the same thing; less people are having the same experience.
This fragmentation is also happening in the medium called print— newspapers, magazines. Many well known outlets— The New York Times, Forbes Magazine to name one in each of those categories, are now using blogs, writings never seen in a paper and ink medium, writings which appear online only. Many of these blogs are by well known writers or staff, not part time or second tier personnel employed just to fill space on the web.
A recent online only blog post by a writer at Forbes caused a stir in Main Line Church circles. The piece contained a criticism of how things are done in the Seven Sisters of American Protestantism— American Baptists, Disciples of Christ, United Church of Christ, Episcopalians, Lutherans, Methodists and Presbyterians.
With minor exceptions, you see, Main Line churches are nearly universal in their requirement that Pastors be seminary graduates— seminary— a graduate school. That means most Pastors must have both undergraduate and graduate degrees.
One accusation the article made was Pastors with an upper education indulge in ideological tourism, stand not on theology but simply affirm political correctness. And, after all, churches with less formal educational requirements for Pastors, the article stated, churches who will ordain people with no theological education and only a High School diploma, sometimes less, are often larger, more successful.
Forbes, a magazine whose nickname is The Capitalist Tool, is, of course, a place where success with numbers is a high priority. But, while theology does have a lot to say about loving God and loving neighbor, the last time I looked theology has very little to say about efficacy— worldly success. Theology has, indeed, a lot to say about a relationship with God.
Now, many, many thousands of Main Line clergy who read this piece online disagreed with it and posted negative responses online. (I’ll bet you did not know that many clergy read Forbes.)
I, myself, had so many disagreements with the writer I don’t know where to begin. But let me cover only one item the author did not take into account.
As the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “The worship hour on a Sunday morning is the most segregated hour in America.” And Dr. King was addressing not just race but everything from class structure to taste in music. In short, Christians segregate themselves for all kinds of reasons and that segregation has little to do with theology.
Dr. King was also clear about this: segregation based on anything which separates Christians from Christians is theologically abhorrent. But the reality and the truth is such segregation exists. And the consequence is exactly what has happened in the media: fragmentation according to demographics, something which defeats even attempting a theologically unifying experience.
In fact, the problem with the argument being made by the blogger at Forbes is that, at heart, the issue raised was not just one of success. The argument being made is a dubious theological argument.
Indeed, I think the key premise in the blog, one with which I disagree, is this: fragmentation is good. And, if you have a theology which does not require work on your part, it is likely to be a successful theology.
Put another way, if you have a simple theology, life becomes both simple and successful. It seems to me this is a ‘best of all possible worlds’ ‘pie in the sky’ theology, but one that does not take the complexity of human life seriously.
You see, this blog post was a discussion about numbers and demographics— that’s all. It was not a discussion about the living God. Nor was it a discussion about the love offered by God. It is a recipe for a secular institution, devoid of mystery, devoid of spirituality. [1] (Slight pause.)
And Jesus said: “A little while, now, and the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you will live as well. On that day you will know that I am in God, and you in me, and I in you.” (Slight pause.)
I have said here a number of times I grew up in the Roman Catholic tradition. At the elementary school level, I attended a parochial school. Back then— in that place, at that time— the mothers of the students had what they called a “Mother’s Club.” Its purpose was to raise money for the needs of the school and to interact with the teachers. My late mother never tired of telling this story about that club. (Slight pause.)
Several times a year the women would raise money by having a Communion Breakfast. On assigned Saturdays parents would go to Mass, adjourn to the school cafeteria, pay a fee for entry— the fund raising part— and listen to the principal of the school (a Dominican nun) give an address. Then there would then be a question and answer session with the principal and teachers— a way to facilitate the interactive part.
Once, somehow, before one of these functions, word spread that, in an effort to save money, the eggs used for breakfast were of the powdered variety, not real eggs. After all, powdered eggs might taste a little pasty, but money not spent on real eggs meant more money for the school. Such rumors get around quickly in a tight knit community. The mothers got wind of it.
Before the principal spoke, seeking to bring some reality and some truth to the fore, the president of the club came to the podium with what appeared to be a very large brown paper bag. The bag was clearly filled with something and leaking.
“I’ve heard there is a rumor we use powdered eggs,” she said and then turned the bag upside down. Hundreds of cracked egg shells poured out on the head table and overflowed onto the floor. It was a mess.
“That rumor is false.” Then, without skipping a beat or cleaning anything up, just letting those egg shells sit there, letting that reality sit in front of everyone, she introduced the principal. (Slight pause.)
Let me ask a simple question: what makes us one in Christ? Do we believe this reality: Christ lives? Do we believe this reality: God offers salvation? Do we believe this reality: the Spirit is with us? (Slight pause.)
What makes us church? Do we recognize the reality of each other’s humanity? Do we recognize the reality of each other’s diversity and, therefore, also recognize our unity in Christ? (Long pause.)
Are we, each of us, willing to do the work that recognizes the truth of the living Christ. (Quote): “...because I live, you will live as well.” Does the reality of that sit in front of us like cracked egg shells. Or are we so fragmented that we ignore it and, like an audience seeking yet another cable outlet, do we not see the reality of the message of love already in front of us, the reality of the living Christ, as a unifying one? (Slight pause.)
Many things bring churches together. But unifying factors are, too often, sociological— race, music, class. These are, after all, simple— easy to deal with.
But to be church these factors cannot, must not be so central, so prime as to be the place in which we find unity. We must come to terms with a proclamation that Christ lives.
It is a messy concept, a theological concept, a concept not easy to understand. Indeed, a living Christ is not something to be understood but something with which each of us is called to grapple, something to live with, something to experience. (Slight pause.)
A couple of weeks ago we had an international forum with several speakers, all parishioners. One grew up in Argentina, one in Armenia, one in Mexico. And I know we also have parishioners who grew up in Canada, New York City, Indiana, Ohio, Jamaica, Wisconsin— the list goes on and on. We are diverse.
And for two millennia, the one thing which helps Christians be unified, be one— against all odds, against all the sociological factors which separate us— is that we can be one in Christ. Indeed, the logo of our denomination, the United Church... of Christ, clearly states these words of Jesus: “That they may all be one.”
Why? (quote): “...because I live, you will live as well.” (Long pause.) Amen.
ENDPIECE: It is the practice of the Pastor to speak after the Closing Hymn, but before the Choral Response and Benediction. This is an précis of what was said: “Each week, as we gather for worship, one thing stares at us like the cracked egg shells I mentioned in my comments. The reason we gather for worship should not be the music or the beauty of the building or even that we like the people we see here— even though the music is great, the building is amazing and the people are wonderful. The reason we gather for worship is and needs to be that we are one in Christ. The living God needs to be the unifying experience of worship.”
BENEDICTION
Let us never fear to seek the truth God reveals. Let us live as a resurrection people. Let us understand every day as a new adventure in faith as the Creator draws us into community. And may we love God so much, that we love nothing else too much. May we be so in awe of God, that we are in awe of no one else and nothing else. Amen.
[1] The Seminary Bubble ~ 04/20/2011 - Forbes.com ~ by Jerry Bowyer
http://blogs.forbes.com/jerrybowyer/2011/04/20/the-seminary-bubble/
No comments:
Post a Comment