Romans 12:3-21
“Inviting To: A Relationship with Christians”
Preached Sunday, August 14, 2022
We’re in our second week of our sermon series surrounding our new vision goal which is “In order to build, strengthen, and renew connections with Grace, we will extend 500 invitations with the hope that 50 or more will be accepted.” And so we’re laying the foundation for that goal to be a success with a sermon series on “Inviting To: A Relationship with…” Last week we talked about “Inviting To: A Relationship with Jesus.”
And we started off talking about how, to some people, they may have some baggage surrounding the phrase “Relationship with Jesus” therefore we need to show and tell with our actions and words how having a relationship with Jesus is not about passing some litmus test but about abiding in God’s love. Abiding in God’s love means always having a home in and with God where you are deeply known and loved, no matter what. And that moves us to live out Jesus’s commandment to love one another as he loves us.
And I hate to break it to you, but if “A Relationship with Jesus” carried some baggage for people based on their age or experiences ....”A Relationship with Christians”!? Oh boy. This is like the conveyor belt at an airport after several fully booked lights just came in: full of baggage.
There is a reason so many know that infamous quote attributed to Gandhi: “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.” I do know that some people question if this quote really is from Gandhi but the fact that it’s so prevalent and quoted so often means that it resonates with people, it strikes a chord as true within them.
Now, this quote is coming from someone outside of Christianity so it is often dismissed by critics as such. But isn’t that, uh….kind of the point? If Christians only looked good to Christians…there would be no new Christians. The thing is, Christianity and Christians don’t even always look good to other Christians.
The Rev. E. Heath talks about this in the book “Glorify: Reclaiming the Heart of Progressive Christianity.” Heath says that Christians “have a bit of a public relations problem.” I would likely say, it’s more than a bit. To sum up this problem Heath says, “It’s no wonder that many people think Christians are judgmental, antigay, anti-women, antichoice, antiscience extremists. So much of that they have experienced in church has been just that.
Even if people have not experienced it themselves, they have heard about it on the news. When talk shows want someone to offer ‘the Christian perspective’ they far too often call up someone with extremist views who will make for good television.”
And it is often the most extreme that defines the Christian narrative, our public relations if you will, to the rest of the world and non-Christians.
And I know good, God-loving, neighbor-loving Christians, followers of Jesus, filled with love for God and love for the Church and love for the world…who no longer want to claim the name Christians. Multiple people like this. And it’s not that they want to leave the faith or even necessarily leave the church, although people do both because of our PR problem - or beyond the PR, really just how other people, claiming the same God and same title as them, Christians, act toward others. And these Christians are asking: Do I really want to be lumped in with people who call themselves Christians but are not Christlike? Christlike meaning showing love of God and love of neighbor. And so they question, how much can I really be a part of this whole Christian and Christianity thing? How much can I call myself a Christian? And how much do I want to be in relationships with other Christians? And I do think these are valid questions to be asking and discerning, given the current state of the perception of Christians and Christianity.
Heath continues, however, to say that the PR problem with Christianity doesn’t just come from those with extremist views that aren’t Christlike and lacking love of neighbor, our PR problem comes from Christians who are striving to live out God’s commands to love God and to love neighbor but hide their light under a bushel.
Y'all know what I mean by that phrase? Matthew 5:14-16: “‘You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. People do not light a lamp and put it under the bushel basket; rather, they put it on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.’” Or, you may know it from “This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine. This little light of mine. I’m gonna let it shine. This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine, let it shine, let it shine, let it shine. Hide it under a bushel? No! I’m gonna let it shine. Hide it under a bushel? No! I’m gonna let it shine! Hid it under a bushel? No! I’m gonna let it shine, let it shine, let it shine, let it shine!”
But as Heath says, “We may also be asked to explain our beliefs to incredulous others, and sometimes we find the questioner already believes they know what we will say. Explaining the nuances of faith to a critical acquaintance at a dinner party can be a losing proposition from the start. Sometimes it feels much easier to keep quiet, and ask someone to pass the potatoes.”
Or, moreover, when we do talk about our faith, we do so with apologetics. “Yes, I am Christian BUT NOT LIKE THAT” or “I’m Christian but not THAT kind of Christian.” Talking about our identity in Christ this way actually still lets that less-than tolerant, judgmental and extremist version of Christianity to have center stage because we define ourselves as NOT them. Now, if people are looking for meaning-making in their life, if they’re looking for something to fill a void within themselves, there are plenty of options that are NOT that. Take your pick. And no one is gonna pick something that has the same name as that but hasn’t defined itself in any positive way apart from that.
Do you follow me? Saying “I am a Christian but not /that/ kind of Christian” doesn’t tell others what kind of Christian you actually are and why YOUR Christianity is worth being a part of. And why YOUR Christ is worth following.
It’s time that Christians who strive to be Christlike, to love God and to love neighbor as themselves, started defining ourselves in a positive way. To say: I am a Christian because I love God and ever strive to love my neighbor as myself. To say: I am a Christian because I believe that Love is greater than any force in this world, including death. And even to say, I am a Christian because of my relationships with other Christians who have shown me the love of Christ. Romans 12 is a great example of what it means to BE a Christian.
Romans 12 says that Christians:
Love genuinely
Hate what is evil
Hold fast to what is good
Love one another with mutual affection
Out-do one another in honor
Are enthusiastic about serving the Lord together
Have hope
Practice patience
Care for our neighbors, strangers, ALL
Don’t curse those who are against us
Actually, BLESS those who against us
Rejoice with those who are rejoicing
Weep with those who weep
Live in harmony
Aren’t haughty
Hang out with the least of these
Don’t think you’re smarter than you are
Show respect for the common good
Don’t repay evil with evil
And as best as we can, live peacefully with all others
Living in that way is the mark of Christians who follow Jesus. It is our light that we cannot hide under a bushel but need to share with the world. So that others will see the light and want to be in relationship not only with Jesus who invites us to abide in his love, but with other Christians who seek to love God and love neighbor together.
Cause the fact is, it’s not just about a relationship with Jesus - although that’s obviously central, it’s also about a relationship with other Christians. We aren’t meant to do this alone. As Paul says in today’s reading: “we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another.” The more famous explanation of being the body of Christ together comes from 1 Corinthians 12:
“For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ…Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot would say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,’ that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear would say, ‘Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,’ that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many members yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no need of you,’ nor again the head to the feet, ‘I have no need of you.’”
We need each other to be the full body of Christ. We cannot do it alone. “It” being living out the love of Christ in this world for the whole world. This is why last Sunday I brought up the phrase, “it’s about a relationship, not a religion” and said it doesn’t paint the whole picture, cause it’s both. A relationship with Jesus is necessitates a relationship with other Christians, i.e. religion.
The Rev. Lillian Daniel, author of “When ‘Spiritual But Not Religious’ Isn’t Enough” says, “Being privately spiritual but not religious just doesn't interest me. There is nothing challenging about having deep thoughts all by oneself. What is interesting is doing this work in community, where other people might call you on stuff or, heaven forbid, disagree with you. When life with God gets rich and provocative is when you dig deeply into a tradition that you did not invent all for yourself.”
She also says - and her words, not mine, not calling anyone an idiot here but she says, “Any idiot can find God alone in the sunset. It takes a certain maturity to find God in the person sitting next to you who not only voted for the wrong political party but has a baby who is crying while you’re trying to listen to the sermon.”
And that’s really, the miracle that happens when you are a part of a religious community, a church, in relationship with other Christians, we begin to see God in each other, in messy, flawed humans who don’t always get it right and we may not always agree with but we’re still trying our best to love God and to love neighbor, together.
And at Grace, I believe, we have found that to be true. We do know that God is here and we find God in each other - wherever two or three are gathered, God is there! And we have all experienced God in one another. We see God in how we come together to offer support to each other, love and service to the world…and yes, even in how we challenge one another and propel each other on to better love of neighbor.
We are striving to live out those marks of a Christian from Romans 12 - to let our light shine to the world by loving genuinely, holding fast to what is good, blessing all, weeping with those who weep and rejoicing with those who rejoice. And through doing that, boldly and positively claiming the name of Christian in this world and inviting others to be in relationship with the God who is Love and with us, Christians who strive to live out that love.
If we have a PR problem, it's up to us to change that. Here at Grace we are "a joyous and caring Christian community.” It is not just part of our mission statement, it’s truly who we are. And we need to show that to the world, to tell others how we love genuinely, how we care for each other and care for the least of these, and let our light shine… and invite others, invite all, to be a part of it - and they might just be surprised at how loving and how good it is to be part of the church, to be in relationship with Jesus and with Christians.
Amen.
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