Sermon Archive

In the reading from Mark's Gospel, the lectionary brings us to an event placed at the center of their writing by the three synoptic Gospel writers: Matthew, Mark, and Luke. All three make Jesus' question about how his followers see him and Peter's answer that Jesus is the Christ, the anointed one the turning point in their narrative.

In the three years I have been your interim pastor, I have returned frequently to the "Great Ends [or purposes] of the Church" as stated in the first chapter of the Presbyterian Form of Government:

The proclamation of the gospel for the salvation of humankind The shelter, nurture and spiritual fellowship of the children of God The continuing practice of worship The preservation of the truth The promotion of social righteousness—[peace with justice] And the exemplifying of God's intentions for the world.

Rutgers Presbyterian Church is very definitely in what is called the progressive wing of the Christian Church. I would not have come here were it otherwise. Part of what I have been trying to do in my time here is broaden the concept of what it means to be a progressive Christian congregation, with emphasis on Christian as well as progressive. What does it mean in a progressive contemporary Christian church to "proclaim the gospel for the salvation of humankind—or for the salvation of the world," which is more faithful to the Fourth Gospel's well-know statement that God so loved the world in the act of redemption or salvation? What does it mean to proclaim the good news of God's unconditional love?

There are many ways to answer that question. But I don't know of any way a Christian can proclaim the good news of God's love without at some point talking about Jesus. There are people in the progressive wing of the Christian Church who do not agree with me on that point. There may well be people in this congregation who do not agree with me on that point. And that's fine with me. You know my feeling about how to respond to my preaching: Take what you like and leave the rest. But I don't know of any way a Christian can proclaim the good news of God's love without at some point talking about Jesus.

If you were here a few months ago on the first Sunday of May, you know that I referred to a statement of the Apostle Peter in the Book of Acts that "there is no name other than the name of Jesus by which people can find salvation." I said then as I say now that I don't believe that. I am uncomfortable with such an exclusive approach to Jesus and his name—especially since Jesus himself stopped short of making a statement like Peter's. But I will go on to say that for me and for countless other people over centuries, getting to know about Jesus and getting to know Jesus in a spiritual way have made a huge difference.

Most of you know the broad outline of my faith journey. It's similar to that of a lot of Christians. I grew up in a family and in a church where Christianity was understood primarily as obeying a very definite list of rules and regulations. There was, of course, an emphasis on what was called "accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior," but the dominant theme was on conforming to the culture of law—law in the sense of Thou shalt not, and the shalt nots applied to many of the things that make life good, and pleasurable, and fulfilling.

It wasn't until I took the time to really read the Gospels, especially the Gospel According to Luke, that I came to a different understanding of what it means to be a Christian. When I read the Gospels, especially Luke's Gospel, I saw a Jesus different from the one I had been shown growing up in the church of my childhood and youth. In Luke's Gospel I saw a Jesus who went out of his way to violate the restrictive rules of religious leaders who had long lists of what godly people could do and could not do if they were to be in good standing with God. I saw a Jesus who elevated the status of women, going against the conventional precepts of his time. I saw a Jesus who gladly accepted the criticism that he mingled with disreputable people and broke bread with them.

In all the Gospels I saw a Jesus who put a higher value on helping people, healing people in mind and body, than on conforming to religious laws about things like keeping the Sabbath. I saw a Jesus who referred to God as a loving parent rather than as an angry judge, a Jesus who acted out that love by going to his death rather than denying the inclusive nature of God's grace. I saw a Jesus very different from the people who hold up hate-filled signs at Gay Pride marches and who vilify anyone who threatens the entitlement of the rich and powerful.

Because of what I see in Jesus, I've come to believe that there is a necessary connection among all six of the Great Ends of the Church, that any church is likely to be stronger in some of the six than in others, but that any congregation will be healthiest when it works consciously to keep the six tasks or ends of the Church in balance.

I thought about that when I read an August 31st article in Presbyterian Outlook on the brief and troubled pastorate of Brad Braxton at Riverside Church, our neighbor progressive church to the north. The article says:

When Brad Braxton was tapped last year as the next senior pastor of Riverside Church, he was billed as an energetic and dynamic preacher with the power to reinvigorate the flagship pulpit of progressive Protestantism.

Some parishioners found him a little too energetic. He talked a lot about Jesus, and perhaps a little too much about Scripture. Some critics even used the dreaded "f" word: fundamentalist.

Two months after his installation, Braxton, 40, resigned on June 29 after a bitter dispute over his leadership style and compensation package. And while his departure was shaped by Riverside's unique culture, some see it as a generational conflict over what constitutes progressive Christianity.

"It was persistent rancor that went on for weeks and weeks," Braxton said, acknowledging that he remains baffled that a minister who publicly championed gay marriage could be called a Biblical fundamentalist. "I take Scripture seriously, but I've tried to articulate what a progressive reading [of the Bible] looks like."

"If you're impassioned and use the name 'Jesus,' you're (seen as ) a right-wing Christian," said one Riverside parishioner, who asked not to be quoted by name because tensions are still high. Most "old-style" liberal Protestants, she said, are simply "not comfortable with zeal."
The challenge for Riverside and other pulpits, Braxton said, is to match a proud legacy of social activism with an authentic religious voice, one that's rooted in Scripture and unafraid to speak in religious terms.

The article talks about the fading out of the 1960 liberals in progressive churches and the emergence of new leaders like Braxton, who are unwilling to cede the religious spotlight to "conservatives and evangelicals." Those new leaders "understand that their alternative voice, if they want to be taken seriously, needs to be rooted in Scripture. As Braxton puts it, they must answer "the why" with as much fervor as their forebears preached "the what."

Another figure in the new progressive Christianity is Jim Wallis of Sojourners in Washington, D.C. His reflection on Senator Edward Kennedy's memorable funeral mass pointed out the connection between the man's strong commitment to social justice, especially justice for the poor and powerless, and his deep Christian faith. I find in Edward Kennedy's letter to the Pope and in his planning of his own funeral mass an expansion of what the once-blind man said in our second lesson: Once I was blind, and now I see. Once I was utterly broken, now I am becoming whole. Wallis writes,

Here was the divine irony. At the funeral of the nation's most liberal political leader of the last half-century, a nation was treated to a full Catholic Mass. And even more, the readings are what most struck me. When was the last time the whole country got to hear the 25th chapter of Matthew, with Jesus imploring us, "I was hungry...I was thirsty...I was a stranger...I was naked...I was sick…I was in prison...and you came to me." And then the song of Mary: "He will put down the mighty from their thrones, exalt those of low degree, fill the hungry with good things, and send the rich empty away." Ted and Vicki Kennedy carefully chose those readings for this solemn and special occasion, and the whole nation listened to them. (italics added)

What I take from that is that Ted Kennedy wanted all of us to know "the why" as Braxton puts it, as well as "the what." I have listened and read as church people and non-church people have marveled at the funeral Mass for Senator Kennedy. And at the heart of that Mass was faith, faith in God through the song of Mary and the person of Jesus.

What's YOUR opinion of Jesus? Speaking as a progressive Christian, I think he's worth getting to know and well worth talking about. For me, he is the way, the truth, and the life.

Thanks be to God.