Absurdity in Action: holy, catholic, Church
John 12:12-15 and Ephesians 4:1-6
“Hosanna!” “He
eats with sinners.” “Blessed is
he….” “He is leading the nation astray.”
“…Who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Crucify
him.” “Hosanna in the highest!” “CRUCIFY HIM!”
Today is Palm Sunday, entry into Holy Week, the week of contradictions. Today we remember how Jesus entered Jerusalem to the shouts of “Hosanna!” from the people; today we recall that those same people cried out “Crucify!” Today we recognize the truth once penned by Alexander Solzhenitzyn, who said, “the dividing line between good and evil runs down the middle of each human heart.” Perhaps it is appropriate, then, that today’s phrase from the Apostle’s Creed refers to the people of God. The same people who cry “Hosanna” one day and “Crucify” another day are the people who populate the Church of Jesus Christ.
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From the very beginning, the church has understood itself to be a holy, catholic, Church. This is today’s phrase from the Apostle’s Creed. The Nicene creed adds the phrases “one” and “apostolic” to the list of modifiers to describe the Church, so that we are the “one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.” My friends, this confession is at once both correct and true and the most absurd statement you will ever hear.
The Church is one? Oh, please, don’t even go there. There are hundreds upon hundreds of denominations. Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox. High church, low church. Mainline, Evangelical. With an organ, without an organ. We could go on and on and on; we could beat the energizer bunny in a contest describing church disunity. There is a reason why Sunday morning is called the most segregated hour in America.
I have a colleague who tells the story of one of his friend’s mom who had a way around church disunity. "It is either the Roman Catholics or the Mormons. It has to be one or the other." My colleague had been sitting at the table with the mother of one of his good friends. She was a Mormon as was her husband. The point she was trying to make with him was that God wanted one church, and one church only, a point with which they were both in agreement. But the mom went even further saying that the only way to have one church was for God to provide one person for the church to follow, hence her conclusion: either follow the Mormon prophet or the Roman Pope, a point on which they were not in agreement.
Rather than follow a certain man, or certain doctrines, or particular worship styles, or a common political agenda, it is better – and more biblical – to claim our oneness. Clearly we are not one because we all look, act, talk or walk the same. No, our unity in Christ is based upon nothing so shallow. Rather, it is based upon the claim of God upon our lives. We are one because God has made us one.
Others may choose to be angry at me because I believe differently from them; I choose to respect their faith even though I disagree with it; I choose one. Others may choose to make a big deal over the fact that they pray “trespasses” while I pray “debtors”; I choose to relish the diversity and difference in the Lord’s Prayer; I choose one. Others may claim that because I do not talk about Jesus in a particular way that I’m not really saved; I choose to love – and be loved by – Jesus anyway; I choose one.
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The Church is holy? Oh, please, don’t even go there? How many thousands of children have been injured by the priest scandal. And don’t think because we are Protestant we’re any better. In this very church many of you will remember the actions of one of our pastors from 25 years ago; his sexual sin was not as heinous because it did not involve children but it was anything but “holy.”. Indeed, crusades, inquisitions, pogroms, the Church’s dirty laundry is as dirty as it gets.
The Apostle's realized that they were to be holy. The word "holy" literally means "set apart for God's use." Holiness is not so much a description of who we are as much as it describes what we attempt to do. As the Church of Jesus Christ, we try to have our words and deeds set apart for God's use rather than have them co-opted by some other agenda. The Church exists not for government, nor for purely social purposes, nor for political manipulation. The Church is set apart for God's use; we are holy. Hopefully, as we live into this reality of being set apart for God's use, we will live into the reality that the character of our actions becomes qualitatively different from the values of secular society. Obviously, this doesn't always happen in real life, but it is our ideal.
And yet it is more than an ideal. That the Church of Jesus Christ has been set apart is a real, tangible truth. There are times when the Church lives out its calling to be set apart. The Red Cross was founded by the Church. The YMCA and YWCA were founded by the Church. Habitat for Humanity was founded by the Church. Now some of you might be thinking, “Wait a moment. Millard Fuller founded Habitat.” But is not Millard Fuller a Christian? Is not the Church merely the corporate extension of the people who claim the name of Christ? So it is that the Church, through its members, is set apart for God. So it is that Virginia prays for every child and youth in the Brenham Church. So it is that Neal has led worship for an entire generation in the Pueblo Church. So it is that God’s people truly are set apart, holy.
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The church is catholic? Uh, I don’t think so. If I wanted to be Catholic…that would make me a priest…I don’t want to be Catholic!
The word "catholic" literally means "universal and united." I have no problem being a member of the catholic Church. I don't necessarily want to be a member of the Roman Catholic Church, but only because that's not really my style, (especially that whole no marriage thing for clergy.) The Roman Catholics are one denomination of Christian religion just as the Presbyterian Church (USA) is one denomination of Christian religion. Our common, universal religion is called Christian; our denominations within that religion differ. We are a catholic – in the sense of universal and united – Church.
Think about it. Today, all over the world, in almost every language spoken by humankind, people are worshiping Jesus Christ. Even more, people are worshiping Jesus Christ as an expression of their fundamental unity in him. Black South Africans and White South Africans are worshiping together this very day in Johannesburg. In Belfast, Loyalists (to the Crown) and Unionists (with Ireland) are worshiping together through the peacemaking ministry of Corymeelia. Today, my friend Tihomir is in Croatia leading worship for university students from Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia – students of Catholic, Protestant and Muslim backgrounds. On any given Sunday, Malaysian Christians will break rice cakes, and Christians in parts of India will break pita bread, and Messianic Jews in Israel will break Matzo bread and Presbyterians in Pueblo will break Hawaiian bread, but we all will do so believing in our catholicity, that we are a part of the world-wide Body of Christ.
The church is apostolic? Now this I believe! I fully, absolutely, and without equivocation accept that we are apostolic. Like Peter who had a gift for putting his foot in his mouth and was once rebuked by Jesus, “Get behind me Satan,” I think to myself, “Hey, that’s me!” Like James and John who took Jesus aside to connive for positions of personal power and great glory, I think to myself, “I’ve seen that person in a church before.” And then when I get honest I think, “I’ve been that person in a church before.” Like the apostles we are full of fear when trouble comes and Jesus is arrested. Like the apostles we are slow to believe and are those whom Jesus called “ye of little faith.” Yeah, I’m good with calling the church apostolic.
And yet, let it also be said that the church, like the first apostles, has stood upon the rock of Jesus Christ. The Church, like the apostles, has proclaimed to the point of death the truth that salvation comes from Jesus Christ. In the same way the early apostles stayed true to its proclamation in the face of persecution at the hands of Romans, so the Church continues to stay true to its proclamation in the face of persecution at the hands of Muslims. In the same way the early apostles sought to minister to those discarded by Roman society, so the Church continues to minister to the “least of these” and be a voice calling for justice on their behalf. Yes, we are apostolic, both in the good and the bad and the ugly, as well as the bright and beautiful.
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The Church is the gathering of God’s people. The word "church" literally means "the gathered people of God." The church is not first a building, although the people of God often gather in such. The Church is first and foremost the people of God in our relationships with one another, in our support of each other, in our prayers for each other, in our worship and service together in the name of Christ. We believe in the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. There has been very little debate over these basics. The difficulty always has come when Christians tried to produce what we profess.
It's silly for me to stand here and say the Church is one in Christ, always set apart for God’s purposes, embracing its catholicity and focused without distraction on its apostolic calling. In fact, it's downright presumptuous because we all know it's not true, at least not on the surface. So how do we claim the truth that has been placed upon us? Thomas Merton once wrote:
The deepest level of communication is not communication, but communion. It is wordless. It is beyond words, and it is beyond speech, and it is beyond concept. Not that we discover a new unity. My dear sisters and brothers, we are already one. But we imagine that we are not. And what we have to recover is our original unity. What we have to be is what we are.
Be what we are; claim the
truth that has been placed upon us.
What does this mean? Perhaps a
couple of personal examples will make it clearer. On the second day of our marriage, Laura and I were in San
Francisco, walking to some tourist site.
Laura was walking a few steps ahead of me, and as I looked at her I
thought to myself, “Whoa! I’m married!!!” Now, I knew from the day before that I was
married; I was there; no drugs were involved; no one held a gun to my head. I
chose to be married. Yet the next day
the significance of this truth that had been placed upon me hit me with full
force: I was married. I was married, I
had to live into this truth in order
to be who I was. This is fairly common
among men; in fact, my personal belief is that it takes most men between three
to five years to live into the truth that they are married.
Or again. When I was ordained I was 25 years old. I remember the first time a little boy of
about six called me “Pastor Brad.” I
looked behind me, “You talking to me, kid?”
How could he be talking to me?
Pastors were old and had gray hair.
“I’m sorry, son,” I responded, “were you talking to me?” Yes, he was talking to me…because I was a
pastor. But I had yet to live into the truth that the church had
placed upon me.
Time and again the Church
must became what it is: the one, holy, catholic and apostolic gathering of the
people of God. Sure, there are
disagreements, there are differences, and there are dysfunctional people, but
disagreements and different need not lead to division. Hey, the church is a
hospital for sinners and some need more intensive care than others, which is
why an abundance of tolerance is always such a spiritual grace and practical
necessity in the life of a church. I could go on, but I don't think I have to
in order to make the point: the surface reality of the church does not tell the
whole story. We as Christian people never, never, never live solely by
the surface reality of our lives. As Christians, we always, always, always have
before us the deeper reality of our lives as they are found in Christ.
May we learn to be who we are.