CHRISTIANITY 101: THE HEART OF THE MATTER
The season of Advent is certainly a hectic time of year around the office of a church. At the end of one particularly busy Advent season, a minister had had his fill of responsibility, so he headed off to the great white North to do some bow hunting the week after Christmas. He packed only the basic necessities, rented a cabin, and went off to spend some quality time alone.
The very next day he was out in the woods with his bow and arrows in search of that elusive trophy buck, when suddenly…he encountered a giant grizzly bear. Standing up on its hind legs, massive paws outstretched, the bear looked to be at least nine feet tall. The minister, realizing that his bow and arrows were useless against such a creature, simply tossed them aside. Then he dropped to his knees, folded his hands, and began to pray. “Dear Lord,” he cried, “you know I don’t ask you for much, but please…make this bear a Christian!”
At that, the bear dropped to all fours and began to charge. Then, right before he was upon the minister, the bear dropped to his knees, brought those massive paws together, and began to pray himself. “Dear Lord,” the bear said, “bless these gifts which we are about to receive.”
Ah, the minister got what he wanted, did he not? God answered that minister’s prayer, but it didn’t really solve his problem, did it? Yet the question I want to pose to you today is this: Was that bear really a Christian? Does the fact that one lifts a few desultory prayers, or worships God when one has the time, qualify one as a Christian? Or, if one is in fact, a Christian…is one’s behavior necessarily impacted as well? Keep that thought in mind as we move on.
Quite some time ago now, we postulated that our spiritual lives are shaped by three basic things: our narratives, our practices, and our communities. Our narratives frame our understanding of God and of ourselves. Our practices are the things we do on a regular basis that help to form who and what we are. Our communities are the places we go where we are surrounded by – and influenced by – other people…for better or for worse.
Then we worked very hard to establish a few new narratives about God. Looking at God through the lens of Jesus Christ we determined that God is good, God is trustworthy, God is generous, God is love, God is holy, God is self-sacrificing, and God transforms. Then we wrestled in turn with overcoming anger, lust, lying and the law of reciprocity. We took a stab at defeating vainglory, avarice, worry, and judgmentalism.
The theory behind such an endeavor is that abiding in the kingdom of God is different than abiding in the kingdom of this world. Those who abide in this world ask, “How can I get more?” Those who abide in the kingdom ask, “How can I give more?” Those who abide in this world ask, “How can I find myself?” Those who abide in the kingdom ask, “How can I lose myself?” Those who abide in this world ask, “How can I win friends and influence people?” Those who abide in the kingdom ask, “How can I truly serve God?” Ladies and gentlemen, there is a profound difference between abiding in the kingdom of this world…and abiding in the kingdom of God.
Today we begin the process of considering the communities that are meant to influence us from a spiritual standpoint. Yet before we get to that, perhaps we need to examine what our lives, as Christians, should really be. In the opening illustration of this sermon, we talked about a bear who said grace before a meal. Yet still, he planned to devour the man who was standing right in front of him. Is that kind of behavior consistent with one who professes faith in Jesus Christ?
To that you likely say, “But that was just a joke. A bear can’t really be a Christian!” And, of course, you would be right….but that does not change the point. As Christians, our behavior must be consistent with our profession of faith, or it’s all for naught. We are called to live the life of faith we claim to profess. The question now is: Do we?
For example, allow me to tell you about our dog, Zeke. Zeke is a 127-pound German Shepherd/Great Pyrenees mix. He is a big, intimidating dog. Now a dog instinctually has a pack mentality, so naturally – in his mind – there is a clear family hierarchy. From the time he was young, I honestly believe his hierarchy was this. First there was me, because I was the primary disciplinarian…then there was our son Rob, then there was my wife, then there was our son Travis, then there was Zeke…then there was our daughter, Mariah. Zeke truly believed he was higher on the pecking order than Mariah was, so he used to push her around a little bit. Oh, he never hurt her, but you could just tell that he thought he ranked above her in the family pecking order. Thus, he occasionally took advantage of the situation.
People can be a lot like that as well. When one person feels as though they outrank someone else in the grand scheme of things, they tend to take advantage of certain situations. For example, how would you fare if God judged you based upon the way you treat waiters and waitresses? How would you fare if God judged you based upon the way you treat telemarketers? How would you fare if God judged you based upon the way you treat the people who work for you? How would you fare if God judged you based upon the way you treat the policeman who just pulled you over for speeding? How would you fare if God judged you based upon the way you treat your husband or your wife? How would you fare if God judged you based upon the way you treat your children? The sad thing here is: sometimes we treat the people who are closest to us the worst. It’s true what they say, you know: “You only hurt the ones you love.”
You see, in our personal lives, we come into contact with the lives of a hundred people or more on a daily basis. Do we reflect the fact that we are a child of God, in whom Christ dwells, to each and every one of them? Or do we reflect the fact that we believe those people are somehow there to serve us? Ladies and gentlemen, people are the most important thing in the world to God…and it matters how we treat each and every one of them.
I think Jesus addresses this topic in the passage we read from the gospel according to Matthew. Jesus says, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles? In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Thus, you will know them by their fruits.”
Jesus begins his statement by saying, “Beware of false prophets.” Yet it’s a bit unclear as to exactly what he means by false prophets. The Greek word translated false prophet here is: pseudo-prophetone. Yet could we not conceivably say that a prophet is anyone who claims to represent, or to speak, for God? So in other words, we’re not just talking about misguided preachers here. We’re talking about anyone who claims to follow Jesus Christ, yet fails to adequately represent him. Thus, the false prophet can be anyone whose behavior is not consistent with their beliefs.
Here’s the problem, though. Jesus says a good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Perhaps from that analogy we could go so far as to say that sound and ethical Christian behavior cannot be faked. Sound and ethical Christian behavior flows from the inside. Thus, the heart of the matter…is the matter of the heart.
Malcolm Muggeridge was a journalist who referred to himself as an agnostic for much of his early adult life. Later, he was profoundly influenced by Mother Theresa while researching a book about her called, Something Beautiful for God. In the process, obviously, he spent a great deal of time with her. One day, as they were walking the streets of Calcutta, he saw her kneel beside a sickly leper, embrace him, and gently tend to his seeping wounds. Malcolm Muggeridge said to her, “I wouldn’t do that for a million dollars!” Mother Teresa looked right at him and said, “Neither would I.” The heart of the matter is the matter of the heart.
How do we develop a heart from which compassion naturally flows? How do we become the kind of tree that produces only good fruit? How do we become the kind of Christians where our actions are consistent with our beliefs? Join me over the course of the next few weeks as we explore exactly how that is done. The heart of the matter is the matter of the heart…and it does matter. Amen.
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