Words for Worship

Ministry Today

Christ & religion

 

A number of years back

I was our

presbytery’s representative

on

the Dundee Interfaith Group.

 

Now, this is a body

that promotes tolerance

and dialogue

between

the world’s faith groupings.  

 

Well, there was a meeting

at the Sikh temple

called a Gudwara.

 

As I arrived,

one of the group’s ladies warned me

we had to change

out of our outdoor shoes.

 

Unfortunately, I entered

the women’s

footwear changing area

by mistake.

 

The result was I then

had to fight

to retain the Kirk’s dignity

clad in dark suit,

dog collar

and bright pink fluffy slippers.

 

But at the end

of our discussions,

we were shown

their temple area.

 

And if you can imagine

a space slightly smaller

than our main hall

entirely covered

in a white sheet

you will know what it was like.

 

Yet our host pointed out

that Sikhs

were very welcoming

of other’s beliefs.

 

He went on to say

that in the end

that all religions

are about

looking after your neighbour

as yourself.

 

And I thought –

hey that’s my boss’s line.

 

Then immediately after –

well it’s a pretty good idea

so why not share it

with people of other faiths!

 

Why not accept

that what divides us

is often less

that what unites us.

 

For all religions surely aspire

to lead human beings

to what is beyond them –

to a power greater

than themselves –

to discovering the sacred

that can offer them comfort, vision and hope.

 

Yet despite that,

it is strange how religion

is so often

the cause of pain,

violence and sorrow.

 

It is meant

to make better people

but can breed

almost unbelievable brutality.

 

So I thought

as our last sermon

in the ‘religion and’ series

we would look at

what Christ said

about religion in general.

 

How Christianity relates

to other religions.

 

And how indeed Christ

can be the light

for all humans

who search for God?

 

It as amazing how little

I can recall

of the various lectures

I have sat through

in my life.

 

But one comment

at least remains

fresh in my mind

and it is this.

 

If by time travel

we had the privilege

of meeting Jesus

when he walked

on the earth

and talked to him

of Christians –

he would have been bemused.

 

What’s a Christian

he would have queried?

If we talked of the church –

he would have been flummoxed

and wonder – what’s a church.

 

Now the reason would be

these words

did not exist 20 centuries ago.

 

But, more profoundly,

the historical Jesus

may have been

slightly shocked

that they needed to exist.

 

And the reason is

Jesus was born a Jew,

practiced his faith

as a Jew

and died as a Jew.

 

Indeed, if we read

our New Testament gospels carefully,

we see

he came not to create

a new religion

but to fulfil an old one.

 

He came to complete

the Jewish faith

and make it universal.

 

And the key point

to take out of this is

Jesus was not against organised religion.

 

Because he worshiped God

at the Jewish temple,

preached

the kingdom coming

in Palestine’s synagogues

and was nourished

by Hebrew scripture.

 

Even more fundamentally,

he affirmed

what most organised religions believe.

 

For, he proclaimed

that there is a supreme deity;

a God

who is both good

and created a good world. More importantly,

a God who is interested

in his creation

and is in communication

with all who search for him.

 

Yet Jesus went further

since he did not turn his back on religious rituals either.

 

After all,

our holiest ritual –

Communion –

descends from his observance of the Jewish Passover feast.

 

Because a great deal

of our Lord’s teaching

seems to be saying –

by all means

have religious ceremonies

and practices.

 

They are a good way

to hunt for the sacred.

 

They can be a great way

to contain

the worries of this world.

 

In fact, they can be

wonderful methods

of making ready

to meet God.  

 

However, we know that

Jesus also had reservations too.

 

Because his words and actions also point out that

we need to mind

how religious practices

are used.  

 

For they can be bad

if they become an end

in themselves.

 

They can be harmful

if they become

hollow of meaning

and mean in spirit.

 

They can downright dangerous if they lead to human ends rather than godly beginnings.

 

So let all

who are religious

across the globe

hear Christ’s message.

 

Let us also take note

of his warning for the future.

 

And that is always

to make religious observance no more or nor less

than stepping stones to God.

 

It was the same too

for religious morality codes.

 

Now  Jesus made very clear

he came

to uphold the spirit

of the Jewish law at all costs.

 

Now, of course,

a set of rules

for wholesome behaviour

is essential

if religious people

are to be seen as good.

 

In addition,

a morality code

can be a way

of keeping clear

of those things

that disrupt

our openness  to God.

 

But then Jesus went on

to warn

that the hard-hearted, judgemental

and legalistic application

of these laws

is very wrong indeed.

 

For this lack of mercy

brings acrimony

on the perpetrator.

 

This failure to forgive

makes threadbare

the image

they have of the divine.  

 

Worst still,

the willing casting

of the first stone

is the not the way to heaven only perdition.

 

Because ultimately

for all religions,

the truth is

as Jesus puts it –

it is what is in your heart

that is crucial.

 

 

It had been a hard winter

in the Appalachian mountains

of america.

 

The snow had piled up

deeper and deeper,

thermometers had plundged

rivers had frozen

and people suffered.

 

The Red Cross used helicopters to fly in supplies.

 

Wel,,one crew

had been working

day after day

some very long hours.

 

It was when

they were on their way home late in the afternoon

when they saw

a little cabin submerged in the snow.

 

There was a thin whisper

of smoke

coming from the chimney.

 

The rescue team were sure

they were out of food fuel maybe even medicines.

 

And so they put

the helicopter down

in the nearest clearing

about a mile away.

 

 

They put on heavy packs

with emergency supplies, trudged through heavy snow

which was waist deep.

 

Eventually they reached

the cabin exhausted,

panting, perspiring.

 

They pounded on the door.

 

A gaunt pale woman

opened the door

and the lead man gasped, "We're from the Red Cross."

 

She was silent for a moment and then she said,

"It’s been a hard winter, Sonny, I just don't think

we can give anything

this year."

 

 

Well, that story

of searching

tells of probably

the greatest thing

Jesus had to say

to everyone searching

for the sacred;

to people of

all the planets belief systems and even to those

of no faith at all.

 

since he truly differs

from all other founders

of religions

in one huge respect.

 

For all his preaching

And all his actions say –

look for the sacred –

look for the way to God –

look for God

in any way you wish.

 

Doing so is OK.

In fact, it is better than OK.  

 

But then never ever forget

that God

is doing some searching too.

 

Never forget that God

Is looking for you now.

 

Never forget too

he is most likely

to find you first.

 

In fact, believe it or not

he has already found you.  

 

For, after all why else

was I born!

 

 

 

Now obviously

this realisation

that Jesus

is God with us

is also what separates us

from other faith groups.

 

So much so,

it is said that

only those

who fully acknowledge

Christ as saviour

can be taken on

that highway

to the vision

we heard of in Revelation.

 

But you know –

that does not seem

to what Jesus

made known

with the centurions servant.

 

For in that lesson

we see Jesus

as the universal saviour

to all of good heart.

 

In fact, come to think of it,

we have no right

to decide

who he will search out,

who he will  guide

and who he will protect.

 

Certainly

we have absolutely no right

to choose for him

who he will save.

 

That –

my friends –

is far far above our pay grade.

 

So instead let us

just be grateful

we know that God

in Christ

has found us

in the muddle of our lives.

 

Let us rejoice

that our religious

and moral observance

is in response

to being so discovered.  

 

And let us just sigh

with relief

that Jesus

will make sure

we keep on the sacred road

to heaven.

 

Then just let God

worry about

who else

is on that road with us.

 

Amen.

 

Offering

 

HYMN……………