Sermon - August 22, 2010

Pentecost 13 – Year C
Luke 13:10-29


What does it mean to be a Christian?


Sometimes it is the basic questions which go unanswered. I was reminded of this, over the summer, as our LCM Faith Formation Team worked to arrive at a theme for our fall retreat. Several ideas were kicked around, before finally deciding upon the question, “What does it mean to be a Christian?”

“What does it mean to be a Christian?” Doesn’t everyone know? Isn’t it clear; spelled out somewhere, in one of the Church’s manuals or hymnals? What does it mean? A basic question, but one that often goes unanswered.

There are attempts at finding an answer. And there are plenty of folks prepared to give us their answer. Today’s Gospel reading can be taken as one attempt at an answer – though its suggestion will leave some with a sour taste in their mouths.

The conflict in this reading is over the question of what it means to follow the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It exposes a difference of opinion as to what it means to be a faithful servant. The leader of the synagogue insists that following the books of Moses reveals ones devotion to God. Jesus seems to come down on the side of showing mercy and doing good as the prime indicators of what it means to be a child of God. We could take these verses as a final answer to the question of what it means to be a follower, but one encounter would certainly respond to the question with too simple of an answer.

I thought of four categories of answers to the question, “What does it mean to be a Christian.” There is 1 – Believe; 2 – Have faith; 3 – Do good; and 4 – Be pious.

I am sometimes guilty of belittling the importance of believing. I confess this to you; I apologize for it. My motivation is to encourage an understanding of “believing” as something more than accepting a thought, or proposition. I will continue to push for that, even as I acknowledge that the scriptures are full of instructions that we are to “believe.”

The bonus verses of Mark’s 16th chapter contain the clearest words from Jesus that being a Christian means believing. He says, “the one who believes and is baptized will be saved.”

John 11, Jesus says, “Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live.”

Believing is important.

Similar, but different enough that it bears mentioning, is answering the question “What does it mean to be a Christian?” with the reply, “To have faith.” But faith is never something we possess or obtain on our own. It is a gift from God. This is why I prefer the reference of “being a person of faith.” Being a person of faith differs from being a person accepts or believes a piece of information. “Faith” implies trust. The best example is from an ancient confirmation ministry booklet that retold the story of the tight-rope walker who traversed Niagara Falls. The crowd went wild. He asked if they believed he could cross the falls with another person riding on his shoulders. “Yes!” they screamed in reply. “I need a volunteer,” he answered. Having faith differs than believing. Having faith means placing one’s fate in the hands of that which we say we believe.

Again, the scriptures are full of references to faith. When the disciples become fearful, Jesus repeatedly asks them, “Where is your faith?” He reminds them that “faith the size of a mustard seed” would allow them to uproot the tree and be replanted in the sea.

Being a person of faith, having faith, surely this figures somewhere into what it means to be Christian.

One of the Clemson professors I recommend to students is Dr. Laura Olsen. She teaches in the Political Science Department. Her area is Church and state issues. She often invites me as a guest lecturer for one of her courses. She and I have an ongoing discussion as to the role of the Church. She has said, “The task of the Church is to instill a morale code.” The third answer given to what it means to be a Christian is to behave in a particular way, to do good.

This is the argument used by Jesus in today’s Gospel lesson. He insists it is okay for him to heal this woman. “Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or donkey from the manger, and lead it away to give it water?”

Doing good is important. Our LCM Bible Study last year covered the book of Hebrews. Hebrews 13:16, part of the summary verses, the instructions could not be more simple: Do not neglect to do good. The Book of Acts bears witness to the rapid growth of the early Church, in no small part due to the impression their behavior had on those around them.

I have already pointed out that this is the argument between Jesus and the leader of the synagogue. For the leader, doing good means following the accepted practices of the community; for Jesus it meant looking with mercy upon the woman stricken and bound. There will forever remain a disagreement with situational ethics, but this reading exposes how difficult it can be to know what is the best “good” one can do.

Wrapped into the leader’s agreement with Jesus are also questions of piety, the fourth of my suggested answers. Being a Christian certainly means expressing devotion to God. For the synagogue, this means Sabbath Day restrictions; it meant showing devotion by following the instructions in the Book.

Remember, when Jesus disappears as a young child, the response he gives is that he is in his Father’s house. “Where else would you expect me to be?” He asks.

Of course, being pious involves more than sitting in a pew on Sunday morning. Being pious also refers to one’s personal life of prayer. Talking to God – listening to God – is surely an important part of what it means to be a Christian. In giving the prayer referred to as the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus says “When you pray.” Not, “If you pray.” How can one be considered “Christian” if there isn’t attention given to one’s personal prayer habits.

So, how would you answer the question? What does it mean to be a “Christian”? The more basic the question, the more difficult it is to come up with a simple answer. And, depending upon the situation, we might emphasize one part of the answer over another. Jesus gets into trouble with the leaders of the synagogue because he minimized the importance of following the letter of the law. Some would rephrase that to say that he would only abide by the laws of God, and not the laws of human creation. But how are we to gain universal agreement on an irrefutable list laws which are directly from God?

In the end, I think being a Christian means living as best we can the kind of life that Christ lived. After all, being a Christian means following Jesus, right? Surely the final answer to the question involves a combination of each of the above, and maybe a few more thrown in for good measure. Above all, the answer must be a lived answer, and not one that we work out in our heads. It may be that we can never arrive at an answer, but we can make the answer obvious.

Amen.