Reflections on "Grab-bag: Belief -- Risk or Reward" Mark 1: 16-20; Galatians 1: 10-24

Another sermon based on a question from a member.  I have discovered that I have a little fear and trepidation when preaching on a sermon with the person whose idea it was is sitting in the pews listening to the sermon!

I have not figured out why exactly, but so far I have found that the sermons generated by the questions also generate lots of reflections for me, so it has been hard to keep the sermons focused and not ramble.

Mario, our Youth Pastor who has been taking the recorded sermons and formatting them for use on our web-site, taught me how to do that process since he has stopped working for the church as he seeks a call.  As he showed me the process, he noted how patterned I am in my preaching (he can basically look at the sound waves of the sermon and tell me with fairly good accuracy what part of the sermon is being shown).  That has me thinking about how to vary my preaching pattern, instead of getting into a rut.  With that in mind, I intentionally began this sermon with an illustration, instead of some introductory remarks about the sermon series.  In fact, it led to three straight examples before announcing what the question was that prompted this sermon topic.  Mario commented after the sermon that the first illustration might have been too long and included info unnecessary to the point I was making.  As I evaluate the sermon, he might be right!

I also had the challenge in the sanctuary sermon of getting to page 6 of my sermon notes only to discover that page 6 had not made it to the pulpit.  As I preached, I quickly looked through my notes to confirm that page 6 was not there, and then free-lanced that portion of the sermon before finishing up with page 7.  Fortunately, I knew the sermon fairly well, so there was not a major issue at that point in the sermon.

As I prepared this sermon, I recognized that the theme of having a checklist of beliefs vs. following Christ has been a frequent visitor to my thoughts in recent years.  I did have an added insight this week that it might be easier to find common ground with other Christian traditions when we focus on following Christ, instead of on the checklist of beliefs.  That might be an interesting topic for another sermon.

“Grab Bag:  Belief – Risk or Reward” 6/2/13; FPC, Troy; Mark 1: 16-20; Galatians 1: 10-24

Move 1: Perhaps you have heard of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the 20^th century German theologian.  Maybe you have even read is book, Cost of Discipleship. 

Bonhoeffer was a Christian pacifist who lived in pre-World War II Germany during the rise and rule of Adolph Hitler.  When the German Lutheran church aligned itself with Hitler and the German state, Bonhoeffer was one of the theologians who spoke out against the church’s willingness to partner with Hitler.  He joined with others in forming the Confessing Church that spoke out against the church being aligned with any state government, but particularly the German government.

His outspoken criticism and his pacifism that opposed the military rule of Hitler led to his being in trouble with the German government.

In June, 1939, Bonhoeffer left for the United States at the invitation of Union Theological Seminary in New York.  His friends had helped arrange this trip so that Bonhoeffer could be removed from the threat of living in Germany.

He soon regretted his decision.  IN fact, he wrote to American theologian “I have come to the conclusion that I made a mistake in coming to America. I must live through this difficult period in our national history with the people of Germany. I will have no right to participate in the reconstruction of Christian life in Germany after the war if I do not share the trials of this time with my people... Christians in Germany will have to face the terrible alternative of either willing the defeat of their nation in order that Christian civilization may survive or willing the victory of their nation and thereby destroying civilization. I know which of these alternatives I must choose but I cannot make that choice from security." 

He returned to Germany on the last scheduled steamer to cross the Atlantic. Soon thereafter he was imprisoned, and was killed by a judge’s order in April, 1945.

Bonhoeffer once described his life of like this:  “Being a Christian is less about cautiously avoiding sin than about courageously and actively doing God's will.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/29333.Dietrich_Bonhoeffer

Bonhoeffer found it risky being a follower of Christ.

Peter and Andrew were in their boats going about their business.  I suspect fishing was not the safest occupation in their time, but they knew what they were doing.  There was safety in their daily routines of catching fish.

Then Jesus calls them to leave their nets and follow him.  Peter and Andrew follow, and their life gets rather exciting.  Not only did they endure the challenges of being with Jesus as he moved through the countryside teaching, healing, and performing miracles, but they felt first-hand the loss of Jesus’ death, and then the exhilaration of his resurrection.

Early Christian writings tell us that both Peter and Andrew eventually were killed for their faith.

Peter and Andrew found it risky being a follower of Christ.

We read Paul’s letter to the Galatians and are reminded of his story.  A devout Jew who persecuted followers of Christ until he was struck blind on the road to Damascus and sees the risen Lord.  That begins his journey as a great leader of the early church.

He was imprisoned, lost at sea, faced arguments and anger form some of the church communities, and he dealt with the unknown thorn in his side.  Church tradition has it that Paul ultimately was killed for his faith.

Being a follower of Christ was risky for Paul.

In the context of those stories, I share with you the question raised by one of you:  “If I am following Jesus, why am I such a good insurance risk?”

Do not miss the irony, that I preach and you listen in an air-conditioned sanctuary in a country where the only threat to our being in worship together is that it might interfere with our Strawberry Festival plans or our schedule of athletic events our kids have.

Move 2:  Why is it that being a disciple of Christ does not feel very risky for most of us?

            a.  Context

1. We live in a time and place where the world around us accepts the fact that we are followers of Christ and there are measures in place to safeguard our ability to follow Christ.

2.    In fact, in many instances, people applaud us for our faithfulness.

3. Even in our context of declining church membership and polls that indicate people are less involved in church life, there is still a general acceptance of people who of faith. 

4.  And we certainly live in a country where we are free to practice our faith without fear of retribution from the government.

5. Our context is pre-disposed to risk averse faith.

                        6. Some church historians argue that the worst day for the church was the day long ago when Constantine, the Roman emperor, became a Christian and decided to give special  privileges to the Christian church.   That created a world where faith did not require any risk because the church was supporting it.

b. We also create a faith that focuses on the risk averse aspects of our faith.

1. We tend to turn to God for comfort and support, not for guidance on where to go to put our faith on the line.

2.  Part of this risk aversion is found in our focus on making faith a checklist of beliefs.

3.  Do you believe in Jesus?  Absolutely.  Check that one off.

4. Do you believe in the resurrection? You bet, so check that one off.

5. Do you believe that God loves you?  Yep. Check that one off.

6. Do you believe in predestination?  Wait, I’m not even sure that is, but I probably do, so check that on off.

c.   Believing a series of theological concepts about God is easier than following Jesus.

1. Barbara Brown Taylor describes how this kind of faith works:   “If I am not careful, I can decide that I am really much happier reading my Bible than I am entering into what God is doing in my own time and place, since shutting the book to go outside will involve the very great risk of taking part in stories that are still taking shape.” (107)Barbara Brown Taylor, Leaving Church

2.      That is not say that thinking about what we believe or being theological is wrong. 

3.      But it reminds us that what we believe matters most when it shapes how we act

4.      I am fascinated by what N. T. Wright and Marcus Borg share in their book :“There was a spectrum of belief about life after death in first-century Judaism. The Sadducees, the ruling elite, denied a future life of any sort. This may be because those who believe strongly in the future life were the more ready to risk death in seeking political or religious reform. One can well imagine that existing rulers would not wish to encourage such attitudes. (The Meaning of Jesus:  Two Visions, Marcus J. Borg and N. T. Wright, 112)

5.      Our belief should not serve to keep us from following Christ, but should instead propel us to serving Christ in the world.

Move 3:  how do we become disciples who take risks?

            a.  Force ourselves into new situations.

1.  Maybe one of the reasons that international mission trips have such appeal is that deep down within us we like the idea of feeling as if we are risking something (not too much, mind you, as the trips are generally fairly safe).

            2.  Whether it be the inner city of Lexington, KY or Haiti, or Africa, being in a very different context helps us see things differently.

3. It challenges us to give up what we come to think as the norm of Christian faith and asks us to come to new understanding.

4. do not have to travel – come to the Breakfast Club and engage someone.

5.  Work at Partner in Hope – engage the people.

6. discover how the world looks from the context of someone who is barely making it from day to day.

7. listen to how your beliefs sound in that context.  I bet you will be challenged to rethink your faith.

b. risk by continually challenging yourself to see if how what you believe is impacting how you live. 

1. Bonhoeffer got in trouble first because he was a pacifist.

2.  If you believe God calls people into discipleship, examine your life and see where you can identify God’s calling. 

            3. Work at making what you believe more than just something you learn; make your beliefs something you believe.

Conclusion:  Instead of leaving church family members with the well-meaning wish "Take care," we should depart from each other with the urging, “Take risks.”

Or as Jesus put it, “Follow me.”