1 Peter 2:21-25 (MSG)
This is the kind of life you’ve been invited into, the kind of life Christ lived. He suffered everything that came his way so you would know that it could be done, and also know how to do it, step-by-step. He never did one thing wrong, Not once said anything amiss. They called him every name in the book and he said nothing back. He suffered in silence, content to let God set things right. He used his servant body to carry our sins to the Cross so we could be rid of sin, free to live the right way. His wounds became your healing. You were lost sheep with no idea who you were or where you were going. Now you’re named and kept for good by the Shepherd of your souls.
We’ve been talking since Easter about “beginnings” and about being “changed” by our Easter encounter with Jesus. Today I want to move into the realm of what that “being changed” thing looks like. I want to begin by reading a piece out of my husband’s* poem-reflection for this week – because he says it really well:
If, through Christ, salvation is a given, and I believe it is,
then our work is not to get “saved,” or “better-saved,”
but to do what we are told.
And what are we told to do? Act like Jesus. Be like Christ.
AND, doing this is two-fold – it’s called “praxis.”
Taking action -- what we do,
and then reflection on that action – how we pray.
Do we care, really care for the outsider?
Do we pride ourselves on being better than the downtrodden,
or do we go out of our way to lift them up?
The question is not, what would Jesus do?
It’s what Jesus did do – what do we do in Jesus’ name?
We name ourselves “Christians” – followers in the footsteps of Jesus. So, just where do we follow him? Where exactly is it those footsteps lead us? There are a lot of people out there who take the name of Christian, and the paths they follow don’t seem anything at all like the path I think I see in front of me.
Now I’m not saying that I am better than they or that I know Jesus’ wishes better than they. I am saying there seems to be a lot of confusion out there about just where following Jesus is supposed to take us. How do I know I am on the right path?
Part of the answer to that lies in that word “praxis” that Hilary uses in his poem. The word praxis means action or application. A theory remains just an idea until it is put into action – to see if it works or not. At its most basic, this is praxis, but in the areas of education and spiritual growth, praxis is always paired with reflection. (All this really does have application to what we are talking about here – following Jesus – be patient.)
We have an idea of what following Jesus means – we put that idea into practice - and then we reflect on the experience, we pray about it. Not just a quickie, toss-off prayer, but one where we try our best to listen and to hear God’s response. We look for the benefit to others in what we have done. We ponder how well our action matches up with what scripture tells us Jesus did. We analyze our own feelings about what we did. Then, based on that reflection-slash-prayer, we act again – perhaps with some modifications. And then we reflect and then we act and then we reflect – around and around – all the while (hopefully) growing in clarity of vision and understanding.
No one ever said that following Jesus was going to be easy. We humans are complicated, and – unfortunately – very good at lying to ourselves. Without a lot of hard work we can so very easily become self-convinced that we are doing something because “Jesus says” when in reality Jesus never said any such thing and it’s simply what we want to do and that we are more comfortable with that particular “belief.” People continually quote scripture to back up arguments but do so using “quotes” that simply don’t exist in scripture. I can't tell you how many times I've heard arguments supposedly ended by someone quoting "Hate the sin but love the sinner" as being definitive scripture. Only problem is -- it isn't. It's just a saying.
Our reading from Peter’s letter open with this statement: This is the kind of life you’ve been invited into, the kind of life Christ lived – and then proceeds to list the many ways Jesus suffered, in spite of the fact he never did anything wrong. His chosen path conflicted with the comfortable path the world had chosen – that was his entire crime. He made them uncomfortable. This is the life we are invited into. Do we really want to go there?
When we say we follow Jesus do we really mean that we willingly follow him into possible suffering for ourselves? I’m not even talking about crucifixion here – although we have always been told that might turn out to be where it leads – but – we here, for instance, try to help feed the hungry. Did you know that cities all over this country are currently enacting laws forbidding people to feed the homeless – presumably in the hope that the homeless will then go “somewhere else”? It’s interesting that no one I’ve ever heard an interview with ever seems to have an idea about just where “somewhere else” might be – just as long as it isn’t in their town. Do you know that people, right now, today, are being arrested for the crime of continuing to feed the hungry? How would you feel about our bag-lunches if making and distributing them might get you arrested? Who do you listen to – the city council or Jesus?
One of my favorite stories this week concerns a chef in Texas who twice a week loads up a food truck and drives out to give away free meals to homeless people. She just got arrested. Bless her heart, she’s a successful chef and didn’t appear fazed by the fines - she just went out and did it again. And told them she was claiming her “religious exemption” right to do so – using a law designed to discriminate against those we don’t like, to justify feeding the hungry. She appears to know who she is listening to.
The point I’ve been working toward here is that when we undertake actions that we believe are part of “being a Christian” we need to know why we do what we do.
Is it because someone said it’s the right thing to do? Is it because we like looking good in the eyes of our fellow Christians? Because it makes us feel important? Are we trying to “buy” our way into heaven with good works? (And every one of these may have some small slice of the reality.) Or is it because we actually look into the faces of the ones we serve and love them as our brothers and sisters? Is it because we have met and know Jesus and want more than anything to follow in the path he laid out for us – however difficult or uncomfortable that path may be?
This scripture ends by reminding us, as Christians we have been called and we have been named – God knows my name – my most earnest hope is that my name will always be spoken on the side of love.
Amen.
*Hilary F. Marckx, pastor, Geyserville Christian Church
Now I’m not saying that I am better than they or that I know Jesus’ wishes better than they. I am saying there seems to be a lot of confusion out there about just where following Jesus is supposed to take us. How do I know I am on the right path?
Part of the answer to that lies in that word “praxis” that Hilary uses in his poem. The word praxis means action or application. A theory remains just an idea until it is put into action – to see if it works or not. At its most basic, this is praxis, but in the areas of education and spiritual growth, praxis is always paired with reflection. (All this really does have application to what we are talking about here – following Jesus – be patient.)
We have an idea of what following Jesus means – we put that idea into practice - and then we reflect on the experience, we pray about it. Not just a quickie, toss-off prayer, but one where we try our best to listen and to hear God’s response. We look for the benefit to others in what we have done. We ponder how well our action matches up with what scripture tells us Jesus did. We analyze our own feelings about what we did. Then, based on that reflection-slash-prayer, we act again – perhaps with some modifications. And then we reflect and then we act and then we reflect – around and around – all the while (hopefully) growing in clarity of vision and understanding.
No one ever said that following Jesus was going to be easy. We humans are complicated, and – unfortunately – very good at lying to ourselves. Without a lot of hard work we can so very easily become self-convinced that we are doing something because “Jesus says” when in reality Jesus never said any such thing and it’s simply what we want to do and that we are more comfortable with that particular “belief.” People continually quote scripture to back up arguments but do so using “quotes” that simply don’t exist in scripture. I can't tell you how many times I've heard arguments supposedly ended by someone quoting "Hate the sin but love the sinner" as being definitive scripture. Only problem is -- it isn't. It's just a saying.
Our reading from Peter’s letter open with this statement: This is the kind of life you’ve been invited into, the kind of life Christ lived – and then proceeds to list the many ways Jesus suffered, in spite of the fact he never did anything wrong. His chosen path conflicted with the comfortable path the world had chosen – that was his entire crime. He made them uncomfortable. This is the life we are invited into. Do we really want to go there?
When we say we follow Jesus do we really mean that we willingly follow him into possible suffering for ourselves? I’m not even talking about crucifixion here – although we have always been told that might turn out to be where it leads – but – we here, for instance, try to help feed the hungry. Did you know that cities all over this country are currently enacting laws forbidding people to feed the homeless – presumably in the hope that the homeless will then go “somewhere else”? It’s interesting that no one I’ve ever heard an interview with ever seems to have an idea about just where “somewhere else” might be – just as long as it isn’t in their town. Do you know that people, right now, today, are being arrested for the crime of continuing to feed the hungry? How would you feel about our bag-lunches if making and distributing them might get you arrested? Who do you listen to – the city council or Jesus?
One of my favorite stories this week concerns a chef in Texas who twice a week loads up a food truck and drives out to give away free meals to homeless people. She just got arrested. Bless her heart, she’s a successful chef and didn’t appear fazed by the fines - she just went out and did it again. And told them she was claiming her “religious exemption” right to do so – using a law designed to discriminate against those we don’t like, to justify feeding the hungry. She appears to know who she is listening to.
The point I’ve been working toward here is that when we undertake actions that we believe are part of “being a Christian” we need to know why we do what we do.
Is it because someone said it’s the right thing to do? Is it because we like looking good in the eyes of our fellow Christians? Because it makes us feel important? Are we trying to “buy” our way into heaven with good works? (And every one of these may have some small slice of the reality.) Or is it because we actually look into the faces of the ones we serve and love them as our brothers and sisters? Is it because we have met and know Jesus and want more than anything to follow in the path he laid out for us – however difficult or uncomfortable that path may be?
This scripture ends by reminding us, as Christians we have been called and we have been named – God knows my name – my most earnest hope is that my name will always be spoken on the side of love.
Amen.
*Hilary F. Marckx, pastor, Geyserville Christian Church
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