“…we, who valued above everything else
acquiring wealth and possessions, now bring what we have into a common fund, and
share with everyone in need; we, who hated and killed other people, and refused
to live with people of another tribe because of their different customs, now live
intimately with them.”
(from The
Apology of Justin the Martyr, ca AD 150; quoted by Elaine Pagels in Beyond Belief: Random House, 2005)
Happy Birthday, Christian Church! If we
are to believe the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ age and the length of his
ministry, and trust that the guys who cooked up our current calendar got it
right, Christianity turns 1,985 years old on Pentecost Sunday.
The Gospel appointed for the Day of
Pentecost in Year B in the Revised Common Lectionary (John 15: 26-27, 4b-15) is
Jesus’ promise to the disciples that the Advocate—that would be the Holy Ghost—would
surely come and reveal everything to them and give them everything they needed
to carry on Jesus’ mission here on earth. In the Pentecost story (Acts 2:1-21),
we see just what the old girl does when she shows up: She empowers the apostles
to reach beyond the divisions of class and nationality and culture and proclaim
God’s deeds of power—power which pulls all people together. In doing this, the
Christian Church is born.
(Again,
please note my habit of referring to the Third Person of the Trinity with feminine
pronouns. So, okay, it’s a little PC of me, but it also reflects that in
Biblical Greek and Hebrew, the words for “spirit” are feminine nouns.)
Through the Spirit’s intervention, the
early Christian Church must’ve been a pretty darn exciting enterprise. It was
actually looked at as being subversive in that those first believers considered
themselves to be a family, a designation which often insulted their own nuclear
or biological clans. They called one another “brother” and “sister.” They didn’t
make any distinction between rich or poor or slave or free. They practiced
radical generosity and radical hospitality (See the quote from Justin Martyr
above). They renounced wealth, tribal identity, and the institutional religion
of the Roman Empire which honored the emperor as a god.
People hated them.
But others flocked to be part of this
special family of individuals who had this wonderful sense of love and belonging.
Martin Luther, in the Small Catechism, reminds us that the Spirit of God calls and
gathers us together. I think she’s still doing that, but I often wonder if we
in the American Church have stopped heeding that call. Togetherness doesn’t
seem to be too high on our priority list these days, even if our souls hunger
for a sense of belonging and a need to be welcomed and understood. I think the
emphasis which has been placed on individual salvation has made the Church more
about “me” than about “us.” And that’s a cryin’ shame. If it’s just, “Confess
Jesus and be saved,” what do we really need the Church for?
There’s some stuff which makes the Church
the Church. I’ve been watching this cool TV show on NBC called Rise. It’s the story of a Rust Belt town
and the high school drama teacher who’s trying to reach his students by having
them perform a production of the 2006 musical Spring Awakening. The play is controversial, but it speaks honestly
to the emotional needs of the students. By inviting the kids into this venture,
this common goal of creating something beautiful and meaningful, the teacher
also creates a safe space for the students to be themselves and unites them in
a common purpose. This is something which should describe the Church at its
best—a place of safety where we are united in a common mission for the healing
of the world through our willingness to be servants to the worlds’ needs. This
is what our early Christian ancestors did.
A few weeks ago, if you’ve followed my
blog, you’ll know that some members of Faith Lutheran of Philadelphia accepted
the invitation of our Muslim neighbors to dine with them and share a little
about our faith traditions. The spirit of welcome and hospitality was
overwhelming. Everyone who attended the event knew that the strangers we would
be meeting where people who believed that God calls all of us to love and
respect our neighbors. The spirit of love was palpable in the air at the Muslim
Youth Center of Philadelphia, and it felt like the safest place in town. Here
is also an example of the Spirit’s power in the Church: the ability to love
people who are outside of the Church and to be grateful to have the opportunity
to do so.
Another example of what the Church is
called to be I find in the seven Alcoholics Anonymous meetings held in our church
building each week. The people who come to these meetings all know they have
problems. They don’t pretend to be perfect. All they want to do is support one
another in a spirit of forgiveness.
Here’s my point: I believe the Holy
Spirit, the glue which holds the Church together, calls us to the same sense of
family and mutual purpose found by people in a theater troupe or a chorus or a
sports team. She gives us a call to servanthood which also unites us as a
family. I believe she calls us to a sense of openness and forbearance of all
people, similar to that which we experienced when we dined with our Muslim
neighbors. I believe the Spirit wants us to acknowledge our own brokenness and
be there for each other humbly, just as those who attend 12-step meetings are
called to do. When we live these ideals and believe in the Spirit’s call, we
are truly the Church. If we focus only on our own salvation, institutional
survival, and a vague sense of “correctness,” we become leftovers left in the
back of the refrigerator too long.
On this birthday of the Church, let’s all
of us dream and vision about what our Church is called to be, and what we can
do to be a part of it. God's peace to you all.
No comments:
Post a Comment