September 9th, 2007
Are you a Christian or a Follower of Jesus?
My intial thoughts (after hearing some recent teaching on this Matthew passage by Rev. Dr. Virstan Choy) was am I a Christian or am I a follower of Jesus? WHAT? What I mean is am I merely (and maybe you by extension) a Christian, someone possessing and professing a Christian WorldView and that's that, or am I a follower of Jesus, someone who is on the way, basing my life on the teachings of Jesus yet feeling far from the end of the journey or distant from "perfection" or "religious certitude" or "spiritual enlightment." That's not to say that I'm not passionate about my faith, and believe I've experienced life-transforming and life-giving experiences of the divine through Jesus the Christ. What I mean is this: is my faith simply a marker that I use as a qualifier, that I belong to the subset of the population claiming to be "Christian," committed to upholding a particular dogma, political perspective, or social consciousness? Or am I a follower of Jesus, a dicsiple, a fan of his teachings, seeking to integrate and apply his words of life and truth-giving wisdom to the way I live, spend my money, use my talents and gifts and relate to those around me in the world? I choose "follower."
Psalm 139 (the selections for this week - read the whole thing HERE if you like what you see) is mind-blowing. It's an affirmation, a universal proclamation that God not only loves us, but knows us intimately more than we could ever imagine, expect or understand. Some would focus on the notion that we can't hide from God, that God knows all our little sins, and keeps a list checking in twice before getting in his sliegh at Christmas (oops...wrong old guy). I think that the psalmist poet in 139 is trying to articulate a radical feeling of connection to God, to put into words some sort of out-of-body-&-mind experience of the mystery that God is beyond our knowing and yet chooses to not only be known to us, but to know us intimately, not from the point at which we deserve such relationship...but way before...while we're being made in the womb of our mother. It's not some pro-life abortion statement, rather pro-life in the sense that God is about life, about living and that being alive necessitates knowing and being known by God.
The passage from Matthew, the closing words of his account of who and what Jesus of Nazareth was and is, is often known as the Great Commission or the Last Gathering. Jesus reappears, and the disciples are transformed from fearful spectators into active participants it the emerging vision of the new community Jesus talked of. They are sent into all the world to share the good news of Jesus' death and resurrection and the great mystery of how his life and teachings can transform life, resurrecting all of us from fear to faith, from grief to grace. They are sent to baptize in the name of God, to not only talk of new life, but ot offer it through community with God and other followers of the teachings of Jesus. Simple. Isn't it? The teaching for us then is to go out, like the 11, to the ends of the world teaching, preaching, baptizing and loving in the name of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit.
But there's one word in there that's tricky, that turns the whole story upside down.
v. 17 When [the eleven] saw [Jesus], they worshipped him; but some doubted. WHAT? This story of the disciples being sent into the world on fire to change it by preaching and teaching, begins with the statement that some of the eleven doubted, were doubtful, or as one could translate "had many questions." Those that go out into the world in and for the name of Jesus do so not as master teachers, but more as interns, followers-in-training. They're sent not to tell everyone exactly how things are, and how to do them, but rather to testify to what they've experienced, how they've participated in what Jesus is doing in the world, to point to the way that knowning Jesus has changed not only them as people, but their connections and relationships in the world. Isn't that different than simply going out and preaching a particular dogma, doctrine or statement. It seems that Jesus is more about faithful living than lives of perfection, more about honesty and authenticity than polished-performance and unquestionable certitude.
Mother Theresa has been in the news this past week, the revelation about the shocking mystery that someone we conisdered for so long to be such a paragon of faith and religious fervor, actually had many questions, doubts and was doubtful. (Read onlines articles in Time and Newseek). I think she was actually continually searching for some sort of radical spiritual experience that she once knew in her life (it's what she writes about in her journal) - some sort of life-transforming experience of knowing and being known by God in a radically intimate way - like the poet speak of in Psalm 139. She was longing for that to be her every moment from waking to sleeping, and yet it wasn't. Was it because she doubted? Was it because it's just like that? Was it because it's all just some proletariat-duping dogma of the wealthy classes? Matthew 28 redirects my wondering. Mother Theresa isn't any different than some of the 11 disciples...some of those that actually encountered Jesus physically! So I guess she was in good company, as are we when we question or are doubtful.
That's the difference between being a Christian and being a follower of Jesus. One seems to imply that we are above-human, beyond-reproach, without doubts and questions, while the other implies that we're on a spiritual journey, seeking to share our experiences of faith while we are seeking to grow, discover and deepen our own spirituality and integration of life and faith 24/7. One implies that we have everything to teach, the other that we are teachers and learners, part of a community on the march. Personally I'd much rather be part of the group of mutual seekers and life-long learners, than someone who has to be perfect and all-knowing. I think it reduces who God is if we imagine him like Santa Claus, who is always checking his list to make sure that we're perfectly faithful, without doubts and questions, as opposed to a mentor/teacher who knows that our quesitons and doubts can lead us deeper into discovery and maturation.
I'd rather be a follower of Jesus than a Christian. It changes everything about faith when we look at it that way. When you think about sharing your faith with others it's not a question of having all the answers and subduing the unwilling to recieve all that you have to teach, but more of a dialogue, a discussion, a sharing in mutuality about the mystery of life, how we make meaning of it and how following the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth is not only life-giving, but life-affirming and life-transforming too.
EPIC Possibilities for Worship
Show pictures in worship of great saints...not just perfect, famous ones...but the saints that have testified to you and your community about beings followers of Jesus of Nazareth.
Do a Communal Confession of faith that affirms that we don't have to know it all, but simply be willing to show up and to follow Jesus' leading.
Have a time of confession when people can vocalize/articulate their doubts/questions. They could write them on a piece of paper, speak them aloud, associate them with some fabrics pieces that they then lay at the foot of a cross at the front of your worship space. How can you made an experiential and participatory ritual for letting go of our burdens/doubts/and sins? We need to actually move our bodies - with our minds - for it to feel real.
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