17 Apr 2011 ... In the course of 70 years being a Christian changed from being a liability, ...
There are still places in the world where being a Christian is not an ...
Change the World: Are We Disciples or Members? Luke 18:18-27 April 17, 2011 Palm Sunday GR FUMC Today is Palm Sunday! That odd, one-of-a-kind Sunday in Lent when we are encouraged to celebrate, to wave our palm branches and shout our acclamations. Gone is the Lenten solemnity and introspection; back for one day are the rousing music, the excited children, the sense of pomp and circumstance. But only for a day. After the parade is over, the heavy weight of Holy Week settles upon us. In front of us is the last supper Jesus will share with his disciples on Maundy Thursday; his betrayal, trial and crucifixion on Good Friday; and the death-ly silence of Holy Saturday.
It‟s a peculiar juxtaposition: the excitement of Palm Sunday followed by the sorrow of Holy Week. We do it in imitation of the events of Jesus‟ day. We become the crowds that welcomed Jesus into Jerusalem, shouting “Hosanna! Hosanna to the Son of David! Hail to the King of Kings!” as they waved branches and tossed their coats onto the road in front of him. Only a few days later the same crowd, so easily disappointed and willing to switch sides, demands the execution of this same Jesus. They are a fickle bunch, passionate about Jesus one day and calling for his crucifixion less than a week later. Their commitment is here one day, and gone the next.
As bad as that sounds, we‟re not much better. How many of us are willing to stick with Jesus all the way through his crucifixion and death that make up Holy Week? How many of us are planning to be here for the celebrations of Palm Sunday and Easter but would rather avoid the
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burdens of Maundy Thursday and Good Friday? We know the end of the story anyway, don‟t we? We‟d rather not go through the pain every year…which makes our behavior just as shocking as that of the mob that called for Jesus‟ execution. Our commitment is here on for Sunday celebrations, but gone for weekday suffering. We‟re willing to attend Sunday worship as members of a church, but not so eager to wait at the foot of the cross as disciples of Jesus.
Many of you are participating in our Lenten study of Mike Slaughter‟s book Change the World. So you know that Slaughter identifies the point in history at which the focus of the church shifted from discipleship to membership. It happened a long time ago! 310 AD.
For the first 200 years of its existence as an organization separate from Judaism, from the beginning of the second century to the beginning of the fourth, being a Christian was not an advantage. Not an advantage in the worldly sense, anyway. To worship God and profess Jesus as God‟s Son was to invite discrimination, persecution and even death. It did not lead to prosperity or success or an easier life. More often than not, it led to the opposite.
But in the year 310, the Roman Emperor Constantine declared that Christianity was an accepted, official religion – one of several acceptable, official religions. It was, therefore no longer a crime to be a Christian. 70 years later, Constantine declared that Christianity was not just one of several official religions, it was the official religion. It was the primary, better-than-the-rest, established state religion.
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In the course of 70 years being a Christian changed from being a liability, a hindrance to worldly success, to being an advantage, a prerequisite to worldly success. And in that same period of time, the focus of the church shifted from discipleship to membership. The question was no longer “Are you willing to follow Jesus?” Instead, it became “What church do you belong to?”
There are still places in the world where being a Christian is not an advantage. Cuba is one of them. Last Sunday I returned with the 15 other folks on our Cuba Mission Team from a weeklong visit to our sister church in Herradura, Cuba. What an inspiring week it was! Being in Cuba was as close as I think I‟ll ever get to experiencing the early, pre-Constantinian Christian movement. Because in Cuba, to follow the way of Jesus is not an advantage, it‟s a disadvantage. It means you cannot be a member of the Communist party, which means that the path to success – worldly success – is blocked. The lucrative jobs, the powerful connections, the access to the Internet, foreign media and travel – all of that is out.
You don‟t choose to be a Christian in Cuba because it‟s easy or expected or normal; you choose to be a Christian because you‟re called to it, because you cannot imagine making any other choice, because you are a disciple.
On the fifth of our seven days in Cuba, our team traveled about an hour out of Herradura to the city of Pinar del Rio, to visit with Rev. Alfredo Caballero, the District Superintendent whose jurisdiction includes our sister church. Here in the Grand Rapids District of the West Michigan Conference of United Methodist Church, the District Superintendent is the Rev. Laurie Haller. Not coincidentally, it was early in her tenure as co-pastor of this congregation that Laurie helped
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to lead the first trip to Cuba, to explore the idea of establishing a partnership with a Cuban congregation. That was about 15 years ago. Now I was part of the biggest group ever from our church, bringing greetings and a gift from District Superintendent Haller to her counterpart.
After the formalities, we sat down to share thoughts on the challenges facing our churches. For Superintendent Caballero and Pastor Omar of the Herradura church, of course, the challenge is the Cuban government, which regards religion as a nuisance, at best, and an enemy, at worst. Things are easier for Christians now than they were 10 or 15 years ago, but still one does not become a disciple of Jesus lightly. It is a big decision.
I explained to Rev. Caballero that our problem in the United States is the opposite. It is so easy to be a Christian that it requires almost no decision. You show up for worship once or twice a month – or maybe once or twice a year – and that‟s that. Your job need not be affected, your friendships need not be affected, your family need not be affected. I tried to explain the idea of “C & E Christians” – members of our churches who worship with us only on Christmas and Easter. Pastor Omar and Superintendent Caballero shook their heads in disbelief.
“In some ways,” the Superintendent said, “the Cuban government has done the Christian church a favor. They are like a fire, burning all the chaff away. Only the most dedicated of Christians remains.”
What we experience in the U.S. is what Mike Slaughter calls “the discipleship gap”: the gap between those who are attending church services and those who are practicing the discipline of
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the faith in their daily lives. Discipleship, he explains, is not about what we say; it‟s not about the assimilation of ideas. Discipleship is about what we do, how we live. Disciples model the message…which is much harder than showing up on an occasional Sunday morning.
The rich young ruler who confronted Jesus with his question about eternal life was looking for more than a casual relationship with his religion. It is tempting to think of him as selfish and proud, unwilling to hear anything that might ask him to part with his wealth. But lack of receptivity to faith is not this man‟s problem. His approach and words to Jesus are not arrogant or self-righteous: “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” He is a seeker, a deeply spiritual person, one who senses that there is more out there than what he has experienced so far.
Jesus begin by listing the biblical commandments: “You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; Honor your father and mother.” The rich young man enthusiastically declares his commitment to biblical morality. So Jesus continues: “You still lack one thing. Sell all that you own and distribute the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.‟
The man‟s question focused on what needs to be added; he is seeking the next step. But what he discovers is that eternal life entails the surrender of his whole self. It‟s a hard story to hear.
It‟s a hard story to hear. But then, it‟s a hard life to follow. Discipleship, as Mike Slaughter says, is way more than tossing a coin in the offering plate. It‟s a life of discipline and service
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and yes, even sacrifice. Slaughter quotes Mother Theresa: We must become holy not because we want to feel holy but because Christ must be able to live his life fully in us.
Mike Slaughter‟s church is called Ginghamsburg UMC, one of the largest United Methodist churches in the country. From a membership of fewer than 100 people it has grown over the last 3 decades to almost 5,000 people attending worship on three separate campuses on any given Sunday. In the middle of the last decade, though, Mike decided to stop concentrating on attendance and start focusing on discipleship.
These days, if you believe that you‟re ready to commit to following Jesus as a member of the Ginghamsburg UMC, you take a 12 week course called “A Follower‟s Life.” You do that whether you‟re a lifetime, show-up-every-Sunday, know-the-Book-of-Discipline-by-heart Methodist or brand new to the Christian faith. When you finish the 12 weeks, you have an interview with one of the course facilitators to ensure that you understand the commitment required of Christ‟s disciples: regular worship attendance, participation in a small group for accountability and spiritual growth, a place or program in which you will serve and a tithe of your income. To be a member, in other words, is to commit to growing as a disciple, not remaining as an attendee.
There are many ways to think about the disciplines of discipleship. At Ginghamsburg they talk about the practices of Celebration (worship and prayer), Cell (small group study, accountability and fellowship), and Call (service to the world). I have a list of six practices to offer you. You
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can remember them as W,P,C and the 3 S‟s: Worship, Prayer, Community, Scripture, Service Stewardship.
Worship -- regular, public worship. “Public” means in church, not on a golf course or in front of a television. And “regular” means weekly, or as close to it as you can get. We hold public worship twice on Sunday mornings, one Sunday afternoon/month in an informal service called “Sparks,” a monthly Jazz service, and a monthly service of Taize Sung Prayers. Even if you work on Sunday mornings, you can still commit to regular public worship. Only the homebound and hospitalized get a pass on this one.
Prayer – a regular time of quiet listening and sharing with God. No phone, no screens, no multitasking. The point is to release your burdens and to be receptive to God‟s Spirit. Trying to squeeze prayer time into time shared with any other activity is like trying to listen to your spouse or partner express their deepest feelings while surfing the „net. It‟s not going to go well.
Community – Everyone needs a small group of people who know them well and can speak the truth to them in love. This is especially in a church our size, where it‟s all too easy to remain anonymous. We all need other folks whom we know and trust who will walk with us in times of joy and sorrow, and be honest with us when we head down the wrong road. Everybody.
Scripture – It‟s an amazing book, this collection we call Holy Scripture. It‟s the record of thousands of years of the human search for God, and God‟s search for us. If all you can do is spend a few minutes with it each day, then buy start with the Gospel of Luke, a few verses at a
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time. Read them out loud, read them again in silence, and ask yourself “What is God saying to me?” Hopefully you will be so intrigued, or so confused, or both, that you‟ll get yourself into a Bible study as soon as you can!
Service – What gifts has God given you to share with the world? Yours are unique. No one else has your combination of skill and experience; no one else has your passion or life circumstances. The church is the body of Christ. Each member is needed and each member must do his or her work for the body to function.
Stewardship – You might have heard the well-known quote “Yours are the only hands and feet Christ has.” Here‟s how Mike Slaughter adapts it: You and I are the only bank account Jesus has. God doesn‟t let innocent children suffer or starve, he says, God‟s people do. A disciple chooses to follow Jesus in living more simply so that others may simply live.
Worship, Prayer, Community, Scripture, Service, Stewardship: W P C S S S.
To move from membership to discipleship is to move from a mindset of donation to a mindset of sacrifice; from agreeing to certain moral principles to adopting a lifestyle of self-denial; from pursuing success to pursuing true significance. If it were easy, we would not need Jesus…or the cross…or Holy Week.
So iIt‟s Palm Sunday! Hosanna! Hosanna to the Son of David!
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Tomorrow, the parade will be over, the celebration will be just a memory. On Thursday, Jesus will share his last meal with his disciples. On Friday, he will die on the cross. Will you be here with him?
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References Matt Skinner, Commentary on the Gospel, Mark 10:17-31 http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?lect_date=10/11/2009&tab=4 Mike Slaughter, Change the World: Recovering the Message and Mission of Jesus. Abingdon Press (February 2010)
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