Two Churches

I see two churches.

I see a church fresh and new – a honeymoon between God and God’s people. Healing and wonders and signs are everywhere around them. It’s as if everyday, every moment together is a blessing. They hear the voice of God in everything they do, reminding them that they are chosen, beloved, important. They give to each other with abandon, trusting that their resources are going to the greater good. They pray together, eat together, study together, party together. They are excited about the future, inviting everyone around them to be a part of this amazing thing that’s happening to them – this great purpose to serve God and serve the world. This is a church with a mission.

And then I see another church – world-weary and at their breaking point. They have suffered unimaginable loss. Their neighbors ridicule them, the government actively seeks to destroy them, and, as a result, their membership is low. Most of their leaders are gone, and few are left who are willing to take up that responsibility. Their financial burden is too much to bear, and their purpose has been trampled by fear and anxiety. This is a church on the edge of extinction.

It may or may not surprise you to know that these churches are one in the same – only 100 years apart. And I’m not talking about St. Thomas.

The church we find in Acts is the brand new church born from the winds of the Pentecost. Miracles are happening every day. Thousands are being added to the church each week. Everyone shares everything so that no one is in need. There are no arguments, there are no power struggles, all the people get along with each other and they work together as one toward one purpose. It’s like a mini picture of the Kingdom of God.

The only problem is – that picture didn’t last long.

As time went on, and Jesus didn’t return, the honeymoon began to wane and the treasury began to tap out. The idealistic church of the Pentecost became more like George Orwell’s Animal Farm: All people are equal, but some people are more equal than others. Folks got left out. Power struggles ensued. Arguments over money, over distribution of resources, over leadership, over who sits at the table with whom created tensions in a church that had never before known tension.

Then came the Romans, angry that a tiny religious sect was opting out of its civic duties. Christians didn’t attend feast days, didn’t pay tributes, and were turning established social practices like slavery, and men’s & women’s roles upside down. Slaves were running away because they were free in Christ. Wives weren’t submitting to their husbands’ authority because they were equal in Christ. This did not go over well with the Romans, who based their culture and economy on a patriarchal system. As more and more Gentiles became Christians, the more threatened Rome became. Soon Rome feared they would lose a significant amount of money and power because of Christianity. So they started killing the leaders first, and then moved on to the rest of the church.

This is where we find the church in I Peter – suffering. They needed to make sense of their suffering. They needed to blend in for survival. So they made a lot of decisions out of fear: Slaves obey your masters, wives submit to your husbands, endure the suffering, don’t stand out. They needed their Roman neighbors to believe they were good citizens, good people, so they wouldn’t kill them – and yet, they still need to be the Church. The church in I Peter felt like a complete failure. They desperately needed to know that God still had a mission for them, that God still cared.

This reading in I Peter is not entirely complete. Our lectionary leaves out verse 18. It connects directly to verse 19. I will read them together. You will see the connection and you will understand why verse 18 was left out. It begins, “Slaves, accept the authority of your masters with all deference, not only those who are kind and gentle but also those who are harsh. For it is a credit to you if, being aware of God, you endure pain while suffering unjustly.”

These verses have been misused and abused for centuries. They were used in support of our nation’s dark practice of slavery, just as the verses directly following our text that say, “Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands” were used to support discriminatory practice against women. In fact the entire book of I Peter continues to give fuel to those who advise that all abuse should be endured, because we must suffer as Christ suffered. This is why our context of the church in I Peter is so important. A literal interpretation here leads to devastating consequences. We overlook a church scared senseless, trying keep Rome off its back and still keep the faith. They made these decisions in order to survive. And let me say that decisions made in fear are never good decisions.

So where is a good shepherd when you need one?

When a church is growing and has blossoming ministries and lots of young people, it’s easy to say that God is with them. After all, isn’t it evident? They must be doing something right or God wouldn’t be blessing them so much. After a while, even the members start believing that.

We have to be very careful when we begin to believe that success is evidence of God’s favor. Because what will it mean when we fail?

And fail we will. The pendulum always swings forward and backward, to and fro, moving from one extreme to the other. There will be power struggles, there will be arguments over resources, people will feel left out, Romans will come, and ultimately those remaining will wonder if God still has a purpose for them.

And rather than making bad decisions out of fear just so we can survive, we must remember God’s presence remains even in our failure. The Good Shepherd never abandons the flock under any circumstances.

This is the main difference between a prosperity gospel that links success to God’s favor and the actual Gospel that demonstrates God’s presence in times of trouble. Prosperity preachers will tell you that if we have faith in God, follow the instruction manual, then God will deliver on God’s promises of financial security, health, and success – abundant life for all who have enough faith and stick to the rules. And for those who don’t…well, you reap what you sow.

Remember, context is everything. Abundant life in this passage isn’t dependent upon our faith, it is dependent upon a faithful shepherd, a shepherd who doesn’t just lead us through green pastures and to still waters, but one who also leads through the valley of the shadow of death. This shepherd becomes the gate, to stand between us and the wolves. Because, my friends, there are indeed wolves in this world and there is no contract you can make with God to keep them away.

What the health and wealth preachers fail to address with their promises of abundant life to those who have enough faith and follow the rules, is the face of a child dying of leukemia. They fail to address the devastation brought on by tsunamis, tornadoes, and landslides. They fail to address foreclosures and job loss as a result of corporate greed in the pursuit of abundant life. There is no contract with God that keeps us safe from these things. And blaming innocent victims for lack of faith is a sin.

The abundant life that Jesus offers us has nothing to do with a second home in Boca Raton. It is not asking our Heavenly Grandfather for another piece of candy. It is asking our Heavenly Father for our daily bread. Our security is in knowing that when the wolves come, when the path is treacherous, when we find ourselves lost and in a patch of briars, we have a shepherd with us to guide us, to care for us, and to lead us through. Faith doesn’t mean we aren’t afraid or hurt. It means we can trust that our purpose is still true, God still cares for us, and we needn’t fear the future.

I see two churches.

I see a church with strong leaders, growing, with a large youth group and lots of families. They have over forty outreach ministries and everyone gives of their time and resources to support them. They have a weekly food pantry that serves hundreds of families each month. This church prays together, worships together, eats together, and parties together. They are excited about the future. They invite everyone around them to be a part of their community, serving God, their neighborhood, and the world. This is a church with a mission.

Then I see the other church – anxious and tired. They are in a time in-between, looking to a time when they will find new leadership. Even with a strong interim guiding them and encouraging new leaders from within the church, the pews aren’t as full as they used to be. Those who remain have taken extra responsibilities until they are worn out and burned out in a place that once brought them excitement and renewal. This is a church wondering when their shepherd will come.

My friends, the Shepherd has been here all along. You know the voice; if you stop listening to the fear and anxiety, you will hear it. Who knows where the path leads? All we are asked to do is put one foot in front of the other, follow the voice, love our neighbor, and know we are the hands of the one who loves us. That is our only mission. Thanks be to God.

Preached May 11, 2014 at The Hermitage on John 10:1-10, Acts 2:42-47, I Peter 2:19-25, and Psalm 23.