Never
Invited Back
|
|
William
Willimon visited his mother in California over a Fourth of July holiday.That
Sunday they attended a worship service at a large nearby church.The
architectural design of the building featured a rather impressive array
of glass panels and the church broadcast its worship service throughout
the world.During the service,
the congregation sang several patriotic songs including America the
Beautiful and My Country Tis of Thee.The
children’s message was delivered by the Associate Pastor and followed the
patriotic theme of the weekend.The
preacher at the church was spreading the gospel in Hawaii so a guest speaker
was invited to deliver the message—Chuck Colson.Some
of you may not be old enough to remember Colson’s involvement in the Watergate
scandal and President Nixon’s reelection campaign.For
his illegal transgressions, one of the most trusted Presidential advisors
and ex-Marine officer was convicted of several counts of felony, stripped
of his license to practice law, and serve time in a federal prison.
|
|
Willimon’s
mother lean over to her son and whispered rather loudly, “I haven’t come
here to church to listen to a some jailbird preach.”The
Chaplain of Duke University responded, “ But he has had a conversion experience,
he has given his life to Christ.”
|
|
“That’s
what they all do when they come before the Parole Board,” she said.
|
|
Colson
began his sermon by telling the congregation about how different it was
for him to be preaching before such a magnificent congregation knowing
that millions were also watching on TV.The
congregation he typically preached to consisted of murderers, rapists,
and thieves.Then he shocked them
by asking, “Do you know which group Jesus was more at home?”He
went on to attack the congregation for their materialism, greed, and insensitivity
to the poor.
|
William
Willimon’s mother turned to her son at the conclusion of the sermon and
said, “I hope that he is having a good time preaching here because he will
never be invited back.”[1]
|
|
I
do not know if Colson was ever invited back to preach to that congregation.His
message was rather controversial, so was the message Jesus delivered at
his hometown synagogue.Jesus was
so controversial that he also was probably never invited back to preach.
|
The
Gospel Setting
|
|
The
story is found in three gospel accounts, Matthew, Mark, and Luke.Matthew
and Mark tell their story much differently than Luke causing scholars to
suggest thatMatthew may have borrowed
heavily from Mark.Mark and Matthew
are more concerned about chronology than Luke and so place the story later
in Jesus, ministry.They also appear
interested the contrast the different reactions of two groups of people—the
religious Jews and the disciples.The
latter follow the traditions of their ancestors.They
study the Scripture.They wait
for the Messiah. They are good religious people but they reject Jesus because
he is not a learned scholar, he is just a carpenter.They
also reject him because they are not quite certain who was his father.The
events surrounding Mary’s pregnancy raise too many questions with too few
answers.
|
|
Matthew
and Mark then follow this story with calling of the Twelve disciples. By
the juxtaposition of the two stories, Matthew and Mark are telling us that
the religious community rejects Jesus because he is too controversial,
however, the disciples follow him faithfully and are even willing to go
into the community and preach his message.They
skillfully show us the difference between good religious behavior and faithful
obedience.The first story also
serves as a warning to the disciples.If
the hometown crowd rejects their favorite son, do not expect perfect strangers
to receive you.
|
|
Luke
is more theological than the nephew of Peter.Luke
puts the scene at the beginning of Jesus ministry just after his temptation
in the wilderness.Jesus has not
healed anyone or performed any miracles.He
is giving his hometown the opportunity to hear his message.He
announces to them that he is the fulfillment of the ancient prophecies
about the messiah.This theological
proclamation startles and even offends the people of Nazareth.They
are shocked, bewildered, offended.They
grab Jesus and drag him to the edge of a cliff and threaten to throw him
down and stone but miraculously he walks through the crowd.
|
|
Regardless
of which account you read, Jesus learns quickly that controversial messages
tend to get a preacher into trouble but Jesus was never shy of controversy.
It seemed to follow him wherever he went.His
teaching was constantly against the grain of the established cultural norms.His
message was like fingernails on a blackboard.He
constantly challenged the common sense and values of his day.He
told the people that the way to the Kingdom of God is along a narrow path.I
wonder if we understand just how controversial that path can become.
|
The
Controversial Path
|
|
The
typical churchgoer tends to shy away from controversy.The
mega churches understand this.Most
if not all have a policy that everyone who preaches is not allowed to bring
up controversial topics.At one rather
large Presbyterian Church, the Pastor instructed all the Associate Pastors
to avoid the topic of abortion.Only
he would address the controversial subject from the pulpit, ironically,
it never came up in his sermons either.
|
|
This
anti-controversial campaign tends to produce sermons that comfort the comfortable.They
reinforce that values, beliefs, and mores of the congregation.The
church becomes the cheerleader for the status quo.The
church-shopping crowd searches for a church that reinforces their own perspective
on life and faith.Such churches
have truly created a theological climate that is nothing more than what
Karl Marx called the opium of the people.The
elegant, elocution of these preachers lures their parishioners into a spiritually
induce state of tranquility.
|
|
I
wonder how different things might have been throughout history if more
preachers were willing to constantly bring the prophet message of the gospel
to bear upon the cultural norms that were contrary to the biblical mandates.Often
the story of the German church succumbing to Nazism is used to illustrate
the danger that exists when a church neglects its prophetic calling.Unfortunately,
such post-facto situations are easy to discern.The
threat of persecution even death is now removed and the finger pointing,
second-guessing and self-righteous condemnation flows easily during Sunday
school discussion groups.But I wonder
if there are not controversies within our own culture, that another generation
may wonder why we allowed such issues to linger unchallenged and thereby
undermine witness of the church.
|
The
Gospel and the American Flag
|
|
The
conference had included many seminars on a wide range of issues facing
the church.The pastors attentively
listened to various speakers outline the problems in ministry and offer
possible solutions.After the lectures
were over a young pastor from South Africa stood before the gathered clergy
to prepare them for worship.He handed
out bulletins and walked them through the order of worship.At
the end of his instructions, he quietly said,
|
One
more thing, as we begin our service. Could I just say, as a visitor to
your country from another place, that I wish you would consider removing
the American flag from your sanctuary?I
was shocked when I entered this church today and found your country’s flag
so prominently positioned near the altar.That
would not happen in my church.My
church law forbids us to have flags and other secular political paraphernalia
in our services.I wish you would
think about this and how this flag clashes with the symbols of our faith.Of
course, I am from South Africa. And we’ve learned the hard way, about the
difference between the ways of God and the ways of the world.[2]
|
|
The
pastor’s sat in stunned silence.They
had difficulty processing the humble but challenging word.Some
considered his words and the meaning of the symbols of their faith.
|
|
Symbols
are objects shrouded in meaning.We
take symbols seriously.They represent
are beliefs and values.The pastors
asked themselves what messages do our symbols of faith and patriotism convey
not only to us but to others.
|
They
Symbols of Faith and State
|
|
The
symbols of faith and the symbols of the secular state are not always consistent
with one another.The flag declares
our independence but independence is not a biblical word, it is a secular
promise offered only by the government.Jesus
called his disciples to dependence on the will of God and unswerving obedience.We
gather each Sunday not to learn how to celebrate our independence but to
enjoy our dependency on a gracious God.Our
government offers us the freedom to worship but we gather to learn the
meaning of sacrificial obedience.We
should be grateful for the opportunity to worship without the fear of persecution
and so pledge our loyalty and service to our country but the flag and the
cross should never stand side by side.
|
|
We
have forgotten that throughout Scripture, the greatest competitor for our
allegiance to God is
our allegiance to the nation.The
Hebrew prophets condemned the idolatry of the Jewish people because they
put their trust in kings, armies, and political treaties.The
book of Revelation warns of a coming Anti-Christ that persecutes the Church
in behalf of the state.Caesar
and Christ will always be at odds even if a president prays.
|
The
Goodness of America
|
|
Some
may want to dismiss the South African speaker by saying“Well
he is from South Africa. We’re
different. We’re Americans.
We live in a democracy.Our country
is good.Our country defends liberty
and justice for all.”
|
|
We
must be cautious about expressing those sentiments because they are a distortion
of both the history of our country and the current climate.Our
nation has many sterling moments but its history is also scared by vile
atrocities, unwarranted violence, and unmitigated greed.We
also have a warped view of ourselves.
|
|
Phillip
Yancy writes,
|
We
think of ourselves as generous, compassionate, good-natured, slow to anger,
and committed to justice. Some overseas see us as arrogant, selfish, decadent,
and uncaring.…They know that the U.S. military possesses more weapons of
mass destruction than all other armies combined. And they note that the
world's wealthiest nation contributes only half as much foreign aid as
Europe.[3]
|
|
The
people of the world have a much different perspective of America than our
own.Where is reality? I am not
sure but we should be cautious about trumpeting our own virtues lest we
find ourselves playing solo.
|
Will
God Bless America
|
|
Some
of you know that I have been reluctant to include such songs as God
Bless America in our worship services.It
is not because I do not want God to bless America, I just do not expect
him to at the moment.We as a nation
have strayed many miles from the ideals of our founders and even those
ideals had only a quasi Christian heritage.
|
|
The
humility of past generations has succumbed to chest pounding superiority.The
philanthropic generosity that gave life to so many great museums, libraries,
hospitals, institutions of learning, funded medical research and sent missionaries
throughout the world is dying up under the scorching sun materialistic
indulgence.I simply do not see how
or why God would want to bless a nation that is so driven by values, beliefs
and morals that contradict his revealed word.From
my reading of Scripture, until the people of God are willing to humble
themselves and turn from their wicked ways, we should not expect God to
heal our land.
|
|
That
does minimize the service that many of you have given to our country.Some
of you fought on the battlefield risking your very lives to defend our
nation.Countless generations will
be in your debt.Faithful citizens
should always be willing to fight against tyranny and oppression. But we
should remember during our patriotic celebrations that the greatest service
the Church has to offer is not unquestionable allegiance but prophetic
warning.We are to be visible reminders
that God and God alone rules all nations and that this God calls us to
have one loyalty that qualifies every other loyalty.For
one day all the people of the world will bend a knee in allegiance to Lord
and Savior of all.
|
