CUPC
March
30, 2014
Fourth
Sunday in Lent
"A Little Bit of Heresy"
"A Little Bit of Heresy"
“Live as children of light— for the fruit of the light is
found in all that is good and right and true.”
The scripture lessons assigned for this Sunday are filled with
all sorts of theological meat. John 9 by
itself has enough theology in it to fill a year of sermons. The anointing of David – which actually means
literally that David became “the Messiah” – is a very complicated story filled
with subtlety and the model for the Jewish expectation of a new messiah that we
say was fulfilled by Jesus of Nazareth.
What can one say about the 23rd Psalm? And then there’s Paul’s letter to the
Christians in Ephesus.
“Live as children of light— for the fruit of the light is
found in all that is good and right and true.”
Since this is Lent, I tend to think in terms of journeys and
pilgrimages. For me it’s a time to think
upon and reflect upon and build up to what happens during Holy Week; what
happens on Good Friday.
How should we be acting or what should we be expecting during
the time from Good Friday until Easter morning?
We don’t pay a lot of attention to that Saturday, but the apostles and
the other close friends of Jesus were filled with doubt and shock and fear on
that day. Can we suspend our
anticipation of Easter just for that one-day and let the fear and anxiety that
filled the apostles’ hearts also fill our hearts?
Or are we so sure of our salvation that we are beyond fear and
anxiety – even if only for one day?
My journey has brought me to the edge of heresy. Did you know that Presbyterians can commit
heresy? I’m not talking about denying
the divinity of Christ or renouncing the Apostle’s Creed. I’m reasonably free
to say whatever I believe up here. If I
had said some of the things that I’ve been thinking about while being examined
for ordination, I might have had some problems.
Presbyterians are “Calvinists.”
Actually our entire Reformed theological tradition is much broader than
Calvin’s writings, but we call ourselves Calvinists. Because of the breadth of that theological
tradition, it’s a little harder to pin down heresy. That’s especially true if what we’re talking
about is that beloved Calvinist notion of “predestination.”
Paul says that we should live as children of the light. If we do that then we shall produce the fruit
of the light. “Live.” “Produce.”
Those are active verbs. My
problem with the doctrine of “predestination” is that too many people think
that if they are predestined to be saved – that God’s grace is the irrevocable
action by which we are saved and we can’t do anything about it – then they move
into a passive mode. They don’t want to
hear that Christianity requires action from us.
Let me say very clearly that the conclusion that we don’t have
to engage in an active form of Christian life is a misunderstanding - no,
it’s a corruption - of what Calvin had in mind. Nonetheless, all actions bring some
unintended consequences, and a great many people think that if they “believe”
that they are saved then they can do whatever they want with the rest of their
lives. That’s a falsehood. That’s a lie.
That’s a genuine heresy – but, traditionally we have been very slow to
teach people about the requirements of faith if they use certain key
phrases: “I’ve been saved; I’ve been
washed in the blood of the lamb; I believe in Jesus as my Savior,” etc.
Now I assume that everyone in here who has a friend that’s a
Methodist wouldn’t think to call their friend a heretic. Some of my best friends are Methodists.
The population of Methodists who could explain to you why the
Methodist theological tradition is different from the Reformed theological
tradition is probably about the same number as the number of Presbyterians who
could explain that to you. Nonetheless,
John Wesley – the founder of Methodism – had a theological perspective that
drew him away from both the Church of England and the Reformed tradition.
As distinct from Calvin’s irresistible grace and the
implications of predestination, Wesley embraced the notions of prevenient grace
and our ability to resist or accept a life of faithful discipleship. “Prevenient grace” simply means that God
offers us salvation through God’s grace and that grace is a predecessor to our
salvation BUT – said John Wesley – it’s ours’ to lose. It doesn’t matter what words we hide behind,
if we don’t live the life that reflects the changed heart that faith in Christ
demands then we can reject God’s grace and lose our salvation. The United Methodist Book of Discipline
(2004) defines prevenient grace as "...the divine love that surrounds all
humanity and precedes any and all of our conscious impulses. This grace prompts
our first wish to please God….”
It “…prompts our first wish to
please God….”
God’s grace “prompts” us to
please God. While our words are
important, the witness of scripture clearly is that it’s our actions that
please or displease God, not our words.
Now I’m not going to
knowingly commit heresy this morning – although I have a friend who’s a pastor
who says that we preachers commit heresy every Sunday morning – but I am going
to say this: Christian faith demands
that we change our hearts and live our lives as children of the light. I don’t care if you like Calvin’s words or
Wesley’s words: they would both have
told you that the words of scripture are pre-eminent. If your life hasn’t changed after you accept
Christ then you haven’t accepted Christ.
If you are unable to grasp, embrace and live out the mandate of the new
commandment – which we’ll hear again on Maundy Thursday –then you have no
faith.
Whether you read the words of
the prophets, the words of Paul, or the words of Jesus Himself, if we want to
embrace Christian faith then we must live out that faith. Christ makes it
pretty clear in Matthew 25. It was
people who considered themselves followers of Jesus who asked:
‘“Lord, when was it that we
saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did
not take care of you?’ Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just
as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And
these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal
life. [Matthew 25:44-46]”
Like Paul’s words to the
people in Ephesus, Christianity requires action verbs. It demands that we live as Christians first
and foremost. Faith is not a magical
formula in which we simply say the right words and God takes care of the
rest. Faith defines the way in which we
live as disciples of Christ in a world which rejected Him and still today may
reject His followers. Faith leads us to
a life of joy in which our first wish is to please God. Faith leads us to life with God today and
forever.
Amen.
Comments
Post a Comment