Reclaim Christianity: August 27, 202

 Year A, Pentecost 12                              Matthew 16:13-20                                                                 

            I was recently talking to a friend who is not Christian, but is considering becoming a Christian.  While she believes in Jesus and gets a great deal from Christian worship, she is reticent to convert because of how her peers perceive Christianity.  She said, “People think Christians are judgmental and hypocritical.  I am just not sure I want to be associated with what people perceive as Christianity.”  Unfortunately this didn’t surprise me.  I have had Christians tell me that they no longer label themselves as Christian because they don’t want to be associated with Christians as a whole.  I even had a pastor tell me that recently.  What is interesting to me is that none of these people who don’t want to be labelled as Christian have a problem with Jesus, but they do feel the need to disassociate themselves from Christianity as a whole. 

            I get it. There have been many times when I have read an article or seen a post from a Christian that made me absolutely crazy.   It’s always the craziest Christians who get the most press or tend to project their message the loudest.  And this isn’t a recent phenomena.  People have done horrific things in the name of the Christian faith for almost as long as people have gone by the name Christian.  So what do we do about it? Do we find a new name? Do we just give up on organized religion?  Of course not.  Instead, let’s stop letting the minority define what Christianity is for the rest of us.  We also have to realign ourselves with the core aspects of our faith.  It’s so easy to get lost in the details or the things that we disagree on. You know the saying that the devil is in the details, I think that is absolutely true when it comes to organized religion. 

            Our Gospel reading tells us the very core, the essence of Christianity.  Jesus was in Caesarea Philippi when he asked the disciples who people said that he was. There were many theories—mostly that he was either a new prophet, or a legendary prophet like Elijah who had returned.  Then Jesus asked them—but who do you say that I am?  Peter, who always liked to have the right answer said, “You are the Messiah, the Son of living God.”  Clearly that was the right answer because Jesus replied to Peter, “Blessed are you…For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven…you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church.”

 It’s easy to read these words and assume that Jesus has just proclaimed Peter to be the rock…which can be problematic given that only a few verses later Peter contradicts Jesus and Jesus calls him Satan.  What might make more sense is that it’s not Peter who is the rock…but the declaration that Peter made.  Peter had confessed Jesus to be the Messiah. That’s what we say in our creed every Sunday.  That is what we say in many parts of our liturgy. It is the foundation on which Christianity is built.  Jesus is the Messiah.   Do you know the word often used in place of Messiah---the Christ.  That is why we are called Christians---because we believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ.  Are we really ready to give that up because a few people have made us look bad?

There are only two places in the Gospels where the word church is used, here and two chapters later in the same gospel.  It’s interesting that the place that Jesus first mentions the church is when Peter has acknowledged him for who he truly is.  The church carries the truth about who Jesus is.  At our best, we represent Christ to the world.  At our worst, we deviate so much from the message and identity of Jesus that we actually scare people away from using the word Christian. And in some ways that’s unfair.  The weight of the Christian identity should not be on our shoulders.

 It isn’t.  Peter’s proclamation that Jesus was the Messiah was declared to be the foundation of the church.  But look at all the ways that Peter messed up. He contradicted Jesus.  He denied him. He abandoned him.  Jesus never told him, “The church will only succeed if you can be a good example Peter.”  No, even when Peter confessed him to be the Christ, Jesus acknowledged that he didn’t get there by human wisdom or understanding.  He was able to see Jesus as the Messiah because his Father in heaven revealed it to him.  The Church and the Christian faith has survived thus far not because of the humans who are trying to follow Jesus, but because God wills it to be so.  We should always endeavor to be good Christians, to be the hands and feet of Jesus in this world.  But we can stop thinking that we have to save the church or that we have to defend Christianity.  We have a savior and it’s Jesus, not us.

Do you know why it matters that this interaction with Peter happened in Caesarea Philippi?  Because this was the place where the Greek god Pan reigned.  The idea of the church was first introduced in hostile territory.   At that time and place, they were not surrounded by fellow Jews who were open to the message of Jesus. They were surrounded by idol worshippers.  Conflict was all around.  And it still is.  Yet neither Jesus or the early church tried to create culture wars.  Instead of focusing on who they were up against, they focused on spreading the Christian message, but not because they were trying to crush some else’s message.   They felt that they held a story that was filled with love and compassion, a story that would transform the lives of so many.  So through conflict and persecution, they held on to the message of Jesus Christ---not because he was a good guy—not because he was a prophet.  But because he was and is the Messiah, the son of the living God.

And that is what I hope you at St. John’s can focus on in the coming months.  You are not defined by the clergy.  You aren’t even defined by the Episcopal Church or the long history of St. John’s.  You are defined by Jesus, the son of the living God.  It’s going to be tempting to get lost in the details of the transition and feel anxious about what may or may not be.  But remember that each one of you is equipped with the message of Jesus Christ.  Don’t stop spreading that message because you don’t have a rector.  This is your time to be the church.  Remind yourselves of how amazing it is to be Christian and be louder and more persistent than the people who are distorting the message of Jesus Christ.   Don’t ever be ashamed of being a Christian. Just keep your focus on the love of God in Christ Jesus. If we can do that, the gates of Hades will not prevail against us.  That means, not even death can defeat our faith and our church.  Who are we?  We are Christians.

Be the Fire: August 13, 2023

Year A, Pentecost 11                         1 Kings 19:9-18  

        Elijah was depressed. There is no way to get around it. Our reading begins in verse 9 of chapter 18. Just a few verses before, Elijah, wearied by a long journey, collapsed under a broom tree, which is really a bush and asked God if he could die. He said, “It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life, for I am no better than my ancestors.” He then fell asleep under that bush. If you had read the previous chapter, this might surprise you. It would seem he should been flying high. In the last chapter he had won an epic show down where he defeated 450 prophets of Baal. Elijah was trying to prove that his God was more powerful than this fake god Baal. 

        So they had a little contest, who could set the altar on fire. Baal had 450 prophets trying to make it happen and they failed. Elijah was alone, but God rained down fire, thus allowing Elijah to win the contest. One would think this would have been a shining moment in his career. He had not just won, he had proved a point. He could say I told you so. I mean really, how often do we ask for a sign and not get it? Wouldn’t it be nice if just once God could rain down some fire to prove we are right? I don’t want anyone to get hurt, I just want it to be clear that God has my back and now everyone can see the proof. Elijah got that clear sign…why was he so depressed? 

         What happened between that astounding accomplishment and Elijah collapsing under a bush and wanting to die? The only thing we know for sure is that King Ahab told his wife Jezebel about Elijah’s defeat of the prophets of Baal and she was very upset. She threatened Elijah. While no one likes to be threatened, Elijah had been through worse at this point. It doesn’t seem like that would be the thing that would drive him to despair. 

         Some have hypothesized that it was burn out. While Elijah had performed some incredible miracles and provided powerful prophesies, the hearts and the minds of people had not changed. King Ahab and Jezebel were still leading the country in the entirely wrong direction and not taking the warnings or advice of Elijah seriously. King Ahab had abandoned the one true God and not even Elijah’s showdown could convince him to return. Elijah was tired. God responded to his weariness and despair. First God provided some food and water, which is always a good thing. Then Elijah journeyed for 40 days to a cave. At this point God decided to engage him in conversation by simply asking him what he was doing there. 

         Elijah responded, “I have been very zealous for the LORD; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.” Not only did he not answer the question, but what he was saying wasn’t entirely true. The Israelites hadn’t all forsaken God. Many had, but not all. And they hadn’t killed all the prophets. Elijah was the one who defeated the prophets of Baal. Things were not nearly as bad as Elijah was describing. But that’s how it is when you are depressed…you focus on the worst things that are happening and you can’t see past those things. God knew he needed to shake him up a bit. 

         So he threw powerful signs his way. First there was a great wind, and then an earthquake and finally fire. The text says that the Lord wasn’t in any of those things. Of course he wasn’t. God sent those things, but God wasn’t in those things. Then there was sheer silence. When Elijah heard the silence, he left the cave. Now there are a lot of different interpretations of the Hebrew phrase that was translated to sheer silence. Many have translated that Hebrew phrase to a still small voice and then gone on to explain that God wasn’t in the big displays of power, but the quiet, the small voice, the voice you have to really work to hear. 

         But notice, the text doesn’t say God was in the silence. It simply says that Elijah left the cave after the silence, which makes sense. Who leaves the safety of a cave when there is a fierce storm? It would appear that Elijah is not changed at all by this experience. God asked again what he’s doing there and Elijah gives the exact same non answer as before. Elijah didn’t hear the still small voice of God. Or if he did, it had no major impact on his thinking. But he did leave the cave. God got him out of the cave. And often, that is the most important and hardest step, leaving the safe confines of our own despair and self-loathing. 

         Since Elijah remained unchanged, God changed tactics again---no more wind, fire, earthquakes or silence, God gave Elijah a new purpose. God told him to anoint a new king and also a new prophet. God knew what Elijah needed. He didn’t need a pep talk or even a display of God’s power and majesty. Elijah had been the very tool of God’s displays of terrific power. No, Elijah needed direction and help. He needed a reminder that not only was he not alone, but there was someone who needed his guidance and support. It’s true, his role as a prophet was coming to an end, but it was not yet over. He had more work to do. 

         My friends, there are times in all our lives when we would do almost anything for the kind of signs that God displayed to Elijah. We would do anything for a direct conversation that would give us an epiphany. But that didn’t work with Elijah. It didn’t work when Elijah tried it with others and it didn’t work when God tried it on him. What worked for Elijah, was discovering his purpose by finding someone else to guide and help. We will find very few earthquakes in our lives, but there will be no shortage of people who need us. There is always plenty of work to be done. The harvest is plentiful. If you find yourself in a cave, don’t wait for a magnificent sign. Don’t even wait for the sheer silence. Instead, get some food, get some sleep and then get out of the cave. I don’t care how spacious and comfy that cave is. God needs us, each one of us---to get out of that cave and find someone else who needs help getting out of their cave. I promise you, there are all kinds of people stuck in caves and you might be the person who will be the fire, or the wind, or the earthquake that they need. We can’t wait for the fire or the wind or even the silence. Instead, let’s stop waiting for a sign because God is already here. God is with us. Stop waiting for the fire. Be the fire.

*This idea of burn out and God’s prescription for burnout comes from: Interpretation Commentary: First and Second Kings by Richard Nelson   p. 123-129