When Did Christian’s Stop Being Christian?
April 14, 2024
Heath Mann
John 13:1-20
I think I know your current thought….How dare this guy tell me that I am no longer a Christian! You must know that I am not talking about anyone here today. I believe the real point of this statement is, are we living a life that Jesus would be proud of? Please note that this is mainly describing our personal/political/ professional lives. It is not directed at anyone in particular but to our society as a whole.
To begin with I think we need to understand what it means to be “Christ like” or Christians. I think to start this conversation, I would pose the question, what kind of Leader was Jesus? Did Jesus require the people to serve him, or did Jesus serve his people?
In today’s Gospel Lesson, Jesus used one of his last teaching moments to Wash the feet of his disciples stating, “You call me “Teacher”, you call me “lord”, and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your lord and teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. I tell you the truth no Servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent them. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.”
This is interesting language especially in this context. Jesus in being the teacher, in being the lord washes the feet of his followers, doing them a service, a kindness, a gesture, he is becoming the servant, becoming the messenger. Furthermore, he indicates that they should strive to do the same to their followers, to their students, to their servants. He is giving them the example that to teach, to lead, to be the lord, to be the master is to serve. I mean isn’t Jesus’ whole life in service to us. Giving us an example of servant leadership. Doesn’t love lead us to serve the ones we love, at times receiving their service, and at times serving them. Equal in Love!
In numerous parables and teachings in the New Testament Jesus shares his message by serving the people who follow him. Think feeding the five thousand, healing the blind, forgiving the sins, and most of all two weeks ago we celebrated his resurrection after receiving the death penalty so that your transgressions can be forgiven.
Jesus goes on to instruct the Disciples to “go out and do for others what I have done for you”, in essence commanding them, commanding us to be “Servants”.
Have we as Christians in considering the current state of our political, personal and professional affairs continued to be servants?
Could those of us professing to be Christians be recognized by our actions, our treatment of others to be Christians?
Now that we have seen through his teachings and in reading the New Testament, that Jesus was a Servant leader and that he commands us to live in that same fashion, and many of us know his words and his teachings, who are we? Are we leading the life of servitude that he has instructed us to?
It is much easier to speak the language than it is to put the words into motion, to live our lives in a Christ like fashion. To be a servant to those around us.
We are inundated with the manipulation of our Christian beliefs, teaching us to hate instead of to love. To dehumanize those who do not think the way we do. Our politicians, leaders, large corporations, businesses and sometime our neighbors, friends and family members use divisive tactics to gain power, profit, and influence over us.
Let’s look at a few examples, manufactured crisis’s that I believe are being used to manipulate us by today’s politicians.
Please try to place our own political beliefs aside, and please understand that at the end of these examples I will try to provide a connection to the teaching of Jesus, but also note the title of this message (when did Christians stop being Christian) and this message itself is provided in the hopes that we will look at these manipulations, and the pressures found in today’s society to find a solutions, and to answer the question about if we as a society, as a church, and then in a lesser fashion as individuals, have indeed lost our way.
Are we still living a life the way the teachings of Jesus asked us to?
The first issue that we are going to look at has been used for well over a hundred years to spur us to action.
Immigration is my first example, look at how this subject has changed or not changed, from the arguments in the late 19th and early 20th centuries when where we were told “they come to take our jobs”, this statement was used to talk about the Chinese, the polish, the Irish, and the Italians, describing how this influx of workers would displace us at our jobs. Since this did not happen and is no longer a “FEAR” in today’s society, this persuasive argument has now changed to the current manipulation about today’s immigrants stating that “they are rapists, murders, and thieves. Stoking the embers of Fear once again this time fear about our safety.
I know that we can find outliers, and show proof that some criminals have entered the country as immigrants, but don’t we have enough crime within our borders to prove that Crime has always been here?
Fear is the emotion that is most likely to move us to a course of action, so it is the most likely emotion to be used to get us to vote for one party or the other.
But let’s try to look at this issue through a different lens.
When reporting on the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore Camilo Montoya- Glavez a CBS reporter made this statement about the construction workers who perished in the catastrophe stating, "These jobs are essential, but they're also perilous...but many immigrants do them because they want to provide for their families." These jobs help our country move forward building the infrastructure that we rely on, and immigrants have filled these dangerous positions for the entirety of our country’s history.
Think of the Irish, the Polish, and the Chinese, what did this generation of immigrants do, nothing short of building the transcontinental railway, not to mention the bridges that we use currently today as well as the Francis Scott Key Bridge itself, the list continues today includes Mexicans, Columbians, Hattians, Nicaraguans, Panamanians, and Cubans to name just to name a few. They come to find hope, they build our country, provide health care to our citizens and work jobs most current Americans wouldn’t dream of.
I believe that the men who lost their lives on the bridge are a better representation of the average immigrants that are entering our country today, than what our political process is leading us to believe. But we allow our politicians to claim that these immigrants are a huge problem. Why so they can divide us and win our votes.
I ask you how would Jesus welcome an immigrant, how would Jesus receive a poor, hungry sick individual fleeing persecution in their country?
Did Jesus turn his back on the Poor, the immigrants, the elderly, the prostitutes, the taxpayers? What does the bible tell us?
I think he would welcome them, help them, nurture them.
And the lack of care and manipulation doesn’t stop with immigrants, it continues to our poor, our mentally ill, women, the LGBTQ community, and currently especially the trans community, and youth who want to simply participate in a game or use a restroom.
This example occurs much more closely to home when you consider the bills recently passed and signed into law in this state.
How would Jesus handle these current issues in our community. A life of service would indicate that the last thing he would do would be to alienate or push aside any of these marginalized groups. In fact, the reason his numbers grew at the rate and magnitude that they did, I would argue is because he would look to help them. “You can catch more flies with honey”.
If we allow our politicians, our community leaders and ourselves to use this type of manipulation, to move us in a course of action, it allows us to ignore the real problems we currently face. The hopelessness or mental illness that drives our own citizens to crime. If we deny or find a scape goat like the poor, mass of good people fleeing, fear, persecution, and “real crime” in order to find the American Dream, then aren’t we allowing our politicians to maintain the status quo. In essence it allows our politicians to stay inactive and leave unchanged the same rules of law that currently govern our situation, to maintain their power through inactivity. How many times throughout history have we allowed the people of power to blame the powerless?
These thoughts, and musings left me wondering when did Christian’s stop being Christian.
When did we start losing the path that Jesus laid for us? Would it make you feel better if I told you that it was during the Emperor Constantine’s rule.
The first time that Christianity was adopted by an empire (politicized), was in Armenia in 301 ad. Then it gained even more prominence rapidly with the conversion of the roman emperor Constantine, and later to be declared the official religion of the Roman empire by Emperor Theodosius. By the early 4th century Christianity was a powerful social and intellectual force. How long could the politicians of the era ignore this force.
The governors of the land saw the opportunity to accept this movement and therein gain power and the ability to manipulate its masses.
It is a bit Ironic, when you think that governments first sought to adopt religion in order to hold sway over the people, and our founding fathers sought to protect our government from any one religions power. They sought to protect our individual rights by keeping the government from forcing a belief system upon us. Would it surprise you to learn that the early Christian leaders fled fearing the bastardization of their religion, their teaching, their beliefs, seeing their most deeply held beliefs being used and manipulated in order to serve the state? It appears we have come full circle.
The Irony more plainly stated is that at first politicians, and governments pried into our personal belief systems by trying to control our religion, then they found that governments for the people needed to be protected from religion, and now once again our belief system is being used to manipulate us for money, power, and political gain.
So, my question is, have we forgotten to serve, forgotten to be servants in the manner Jesus instructed us to. Are we allowing these manipulations to spur on an attitude in our lives and in our country that is not Christian?
The previous issues I would argue we can justify our own actions by pointing to others at fault.
But let’s look a little closer into the mirror, look at possible actions or inactions in our recent history to give us individual accountability.
Look at the recent Covid pandemic, and I understand that we should have our rights but when we serve, do we, at times accept a position of discomfort, or delay in order to be kind, to help others, Jesus did. I mean who wants to touch other persons’ feet? I understand that wearing a mask is an inconvenience but isn’t it worth the minor inconvenience so that someone else, our neighbor, our friend, our fellow citizen, our family member stays healthy. Of course, we have the right to choose if we wear a mask but shouldn’t someone professing Christianity, professing to follow Jesus choose to wear a mask in order to helps others, in order to be a servant leader? OH. And mask wearers don’t be so self-righteous. Would it surprise you to know that several complaints, glares, thoughts, and arguments were leveled at our public servants and citizens in our community, by people that received the vaccine or where wearing masks. Did you ever glare at someone because they were not wearing a mask? I know I did.
Jesus showed compassion to everyone not just people that were a part of his socio-economic class or shared his beliefs, or wore similar clothes, or came from his hometown, he showed compassion to everyone.
I would argue that love, kindness, and compassion are essential in being part of a community, being part of a society, a country, and even our species.
I do feel like this is a lot to contemplate, but please note that we are not alone. Jesus taught us many lessons regarding this issue, so it was clearly an issue 2000 years ago as well.
In the book Connectable by Ryan Jenkins and Steven Van Cohen they discuss a study by behavioral scientists John Darly and Daniel Batson in the 1970s. The study was to try to determine if people in today’s society would stop to help someone in need if they were pressed for time. The findings were that 63% of people stopped to help if they had plenty of time to make it to their destination, 45% stopped to help if they were on time, and only 10% stopped when they were running late. The irony of this study is that the group being studied in their reactions, were college students, students attending Princeton Theological Seminary, and finally they had just been discussing with the researchers the parable of the good Samaritan, yet when faced with the exact same situation as the good Samaritan, the results indicated that these Seminarians were guilty of not being a good Samaritan.
What lessons can we learn from this?
1. Leave early enough to have time to help,
2. A life is always more important than our appointment/meeting/speech…
So, as you can see, Jesus addressed these issues 2000 years ago, the students at Princeton showed us in the 1970’s and the pandemic and current state of affairs have again given us proof that these problems still exist.
So yes we are not alone in dealing with these problems this lack of servitude, of compassion of love for our fellow Americans, Community members, Neighbors, and family members.
Finally, I want to look again at the teachings of Jesus.
I would ask you to show compassion to everyone, not just people that are a part of our own socio-economic class or share our beliefs, or wear similar clothes, or come from our hometown, but to show compassion and love to everyone. Jesus in his teachings shows us the way, the way to be stewards in our community, our society and for our species.
How different would our world look if we just used his teaching as a way to treat each other? How different would it look if we were all servant leaders?
Isn’t it time that we actually learn this lesson? If we can be the ones who learn this lesson, we can then begin to recognize when we are being manipulated, and I believe we can finally find our way back to Jesus’s path.
“The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace.