Homily Recap 1.11.09

This Sunday we celebrated Epiphany at Grace Chicago. We took up the traditional readings of Scripture and included, as we often do, T.S Eliot's, Journey of the Magi. Epiphany marks the transition between the seasons of Advent/Christmas and the time of the Christian year when we reflect on how we, the Church, are to join with Christ in the fulfillment of his mission. During Advent we reflected on our need for a redeemer, during Christmas we marveled that God comes to redeem humans as a human, and at Epiphany we come to know Jesus as the sovereign one who will redeem us through the establishment of his kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.

During our time of teaching and preaching this Sunday we reflected on the theological meaning of the visit of the wise men. First, we noted that Paul taught that the mystery revealed in the gospel is that God's promise of salvation is as much for Gentiles as it is for Jews (Ephesians 3:6). This is what is pictured in the visitation of these strange men from the East. Likely astrologers and advisers from the Persian royal court these royal Gentiles honor Jesus as King and so fit into Matthew's overall message - God's salvation is meant for all peoples.

We spent the rest of our time thinking about what it means to reflect God's love in words and deeds to the whole world. Bringing the gospel to others raises the question of how we are to go about this mission in the context of our cultural setting. In this regard we urged that we ought first to consider what the gospel teaches us to think about other faiths. Here, we found Rowan Williams' comments helpful:

"Christian identity is to belong in a place that Jesus defines for us. By living in that place, we come in some degree to share his identity, to bear his name and to be in the same relationships he has with God and with the world. Forget ‘Christianity’ for a moment – Christianity as a system of ideas competing with others in the market: concentrate on the place in the world that is the place of Jesus the anointed, and what it is that becomes possible in that place.

There is a difference between seeing the world as basically a territory where systems compete, where groups with different allegiances live at each other’s expense, where rivalry is inescapable, and seeing the world as a territory where being in a particular place makes it possible for you to see, to say and to do certain things that aren’t possible elsewhere. The claim of Christian belief is not first and foremost that it offers the only accurate system of thought, as against all other competitors; it is that, by standing in the place of Christ, it is possible to live in such intimacy with God that no fear or failure can ever break God’s commitment to us, and to live in such a degree of mutual gift and understanding that no human conflict or division need bring us to uncontrollable violence and mutual damage. From here, you can see what you need to see to be at peace with God and with God’s creation; and also what you need to be at peace with yourself, acknowledging your need of mercy and re-creation." http://www.wcc-assembly.info/po/tema-questoes/documentos-de-la-assembleia/2-plenary-presentations/christian-identity-religious-plurality/rowan-williams-presentation.html


If I read Williams right, then what he is suggesting is quite profound - the gospel tells us how and what we should think about views of God and Christ that differ profoundly from our own. While remaining Jesus' loyal disciples we are not to seek power, manipulation, or control over those who see things differently; nor are we to insult, belittle, or antagonize the "other". It would be tragic indeed to act violently to others in the name of the one who, to paraphrase Luther, took his cross as his pulpit.

We continued the homily by cautioning against treating Jesus as a brand to be marketed. Tyler Wigg-Stevenson, writing in Christianity Today, observes that many approaches to bearing witness to the gospel have been adversely influenced by the cultural values of individualism on the one hand and consumerism on the other:

"The de-churched nature of our theology makes evangelism hard to do without seeming salesy, because churchless evangelism unavoidably promotes a consumerist soteriology. When it's just you and Jesus, you (the consumer) "invite him" (the product) "into your heart" (brand adoption) and "get saved" (consumer gratification).... So, given this cultural setting, any salvation that needs a sophisticated sales pitch is a salvation that won't really do anything. It will make you holy the same way a new pair of Nikes makes you athletic—which is to say, not at all. It only changes your religious brand. Yet this is the only kind of evangelism possible when we separate salvation from life in the redeemed community, because it's in the redeemed community that God has ordained the enduring demonstration of his power, against which nothing can prevail." http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2009/january/10.20.html?start=1

So, we concluded our time of teaching on Sunday by asking God to enable us to faithfully bear witness to Jesus as a church community. We asked God to enable us to be loyal to Jesus, invite others to come into our community to hear and witness the gospel at work, pray for our conversion and the conversion of the world, and be respectful of those with other faiths.

Questions for discussion:

1. What does Williams mean (see above) when he says that we should not see the world as a territory where systems compete?

2. We noted that Epiphany is the time of year when we think a great deal of what it means to bear witness to Jesus as king and redeemer of the whole world. As one who follows Jesus in faith and repentance, how do you bear witness to Jesus as king and redeemer of the whole world? What does the summons to bear witness to Christ to others look like in your mundane life? How does the thought of being in a Christian community help you think about what your responsibility to bear witness to Christ looks like?