Wednesday, March 23, 2011
There’s nothing like the church. It is a place where strangers are welcomed, the hungry are fed, a holy community is formed, and where Jesus promises to be present. There’s nothing like the church. It’s a place where Christians shun strangers, hold onto to self-preserving resources, bicker and argue about the insignificant, and where Christians seem to forget that Christ promises to be present. There’s nothing like the church. Sam Wells, Dean of the Duke Chapel, offered a sermon about the relationship between Jesus and the church titled, “Following One Lord.” He writes, “The Jesus we create without the church is a fantasy. The church we create without Jesus is a monster. Thank God that Peter knew who Jesus was and that he found out the way the church finds out, by following Jesus. And thank God that Jesus knew who Peter was and founded the church on him anyway, so we can never fool ourselves that the church doesn’t ever get beyond Jesus. No Church without Jesus. No Jesus without the Church. Thank God” (Samuel Wells, Speaking the Truth: Preaching in a Pluralistic Culture, 119).
The truth is we cannot be Jesus’ disciples without the church. We also cannot be the church without Jesus. In our reading for today (Day 13 of Living the Jesus Creed), Scot McKnight recalls Mark 3:33-35, when Jesus’ family comes to “collect” Jesus because they feel he is out of his mind—associating with sinners and all. This interaction between Jesus’ family and . . . Jesus’ family, cuts to the heart of what we call “Church.” Those who are knocking at the door (Jesus’ mother, brothers, and sisters) want Jesus without the church. They want to hold on to Jesus’ teachings, miracles, and salvific hope, yet they want nothing to do with those who Jesus came to save—the outcasts, sinners, and undesirables. Those on the inside want the church without Jesus. They feel welcomed in the community, and they have found a place to call home, yet these followers who eat and pray with Jesus eventually call for his crucifixion when Jesus refuses to take up the sword against Rome.
As Christians we are called to follow the Jesus Creed, to love God and love each other. This means that we are to hold onto Christ and the promise of God, even when we are thrown into challenging acts of love with those whom Jesus invites to the table. This also means that we are to create places of hospitality in which all feel welcome, even when following Jesus means letting go of self in order to carry a cross. There’s nothing like the church. It sure isn’t perfect, but it is where imperfect people can develop a perfect love for God and each other. McKnight concludes by saying, “The only way to participate in the church with sanity is to realize that God’s love and Jesus’ love empower us to love others—whether they are ‘out of their mind’ or not!” Thank God.