OK everyone. The kids are back in school, and I know the rest of you are feeling left out. So: Listen up! Class is in session! Spit your gum out! Eyes on me! And get ready for today’s lesson, which is about our Disciples of Christ history and beliefs.
Because Peter’s declaration—You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God—is a central (perhaps the central) affirmation for we who are a part of the denomination known as the CC(DoC).
Over 200 years ago, the founders of our movement decided that all who wish to join our movement should affirm this one statement.
Which is why, when people come forward to join our church, they are asked: “Do you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, Lord and Savior of the world?”
BTW, “Christ” and “messiah” are interchangeable words. “Christ” is the Greek version, and “messiah” is the Hebrew version.
“Do you believe that Jesus is the Christ [or, messiah], the Son of the living God, Lord and Savior of the world?”
It’s an echo of the statement of faith Peter made when Jesus asked: “Who do you say I am?”
We don’t ask you anything else! There is no other list of beliefs that we require you to agree with or abide by. We don’t even have a formal list of beliefs on our church website.
******
If you go to our church website, and click where it says “Beliefs,” you’ll get some general statements about what “most Christians believe,” and a list of a few “beliefs and practices,” but there aren’t a whole lot of specifics, and most of the statements that do appear are just rephrasing Peter’s confession, often with a caveat that each person has freedom, and that not all Disciples agree with or practice things the same way.
Many other churches, if you go to their website, you’ll find a section titled “What we believe.” And it will have a much more formal list of specific beliefs. There will likely be subsections under that… “What we believe about God… What we believe about Jesus… What we believe about the Holy Spirit… What we believe about the Bible… What we believe about salvation…
We don’t have that.
******
What we do have, from the early days of our movement, are mottos. And some of these mottos explain why we don’t have a more formal list of beliefs that all members are expected to adhere to…
One of those early mottos is “No creed but Christ.”
Ancient Christians developed creeds: statements of faith that define the beliefs of a “true believer.” You may have heard of the Apostles' Creed, or the Nicene Creed…
[If you’re a visual person and you want to see these creeds, grab a hymnal and open it up to pages 358 & 359, and you’ll find them printed there… although the editors who put the hymnal together titled them “affirmations of faith” rather than creeds. Perhaps by the end of this sermon you’ll know why.]
So, early Christian leaders developed these creeds in ancient times; and they usually did so in response to ideas that they considered heretical.
For example, one thing early Christians argued about was the nature of Jesus. Some said that he was in a sort-of second place to God, while others said no, he was equal to God.
******
And so the Nicene Creed spends a lot of time explaining how Jesus was and is
“Eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father…”
And yes, this was written specifically to exclude those who didn’t agree, who had other ideas about Jesus’ nature. It was written to keep those who thought differently—those who had the “wrong ideas”—out of the church.
Well, the founders of our movement didn’t like how creeds had been used in this way, to exclude people. So they decided that, for us, there would be no creeds. No creed but Christ. Creeds, they felt, only divided Christians from one another… and their goal was to unite Christians.
“Unity is our polar star.” (That’s another one of our early mottos.)
So they said that we Disciples won’t recite creeds in worship the way other Christian movements do, and we won’t use creeds as a test of fellowship.
No; the only test of fellowship for us would be whether or not one confesses that Jesus is the messiah, the Son of the living God… (... and “Lord and Savior,” we did add that part.)
******
One of our early founders, Alexander Campbell, was once asked who he considered to be a true Christian. How could you tell a true Christian, if you didn’t have a creed or list of beliefs they had to agree to?
Campbell’s response can be found at #338 in your hymnal.
“Who is a Christian? I answer, every one that believes in one’s heart that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah, the Son of God; repents of one’s sins, and obeys him in all things according to one’s measure of knowledge of his will.”
******
But what about when there are differences of opinions? What if, for example, we don’t agree on what exactly it means to call Jesus “messiah” or “Christ?”
In this, our early leaders encouraged believers to study the scriptures, and to engage in conversation with one another, respecting each other’s differences, yet working together for a greater understanding.
And believe me, those early leaders had lots of conversations… and debates… which often took place on the pages of different journals they published. There, they would often debate various theological points with each other, making points and counterpoints and rebuttals, arguing passionately for one theological interpretation or another…
Yet, generally speaking, they remained in fellowship with one another, defending each other’s right to be a part of the church…
After all, they all agreed on one thing: that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.
Every couple of years, our denomination gets together for a General Assembly, where resolutions are presented, debated, and voted on. I remember one year, arguments for and against a certain resolution were made passionately, until the time for debate was up, and we voted.
And what I remember most—what I will never forget—is that, afterward, as people were leaving, I saw just outside the door to the main hall, two people who had spoken during the debate. One had spoken passionately in favor, and one had spoken passionately against.
Yet there they were, shaking hands, with smiles of friendship on their faces, thanking each other for their passionate contributions to the debate, and assuring each other of their common commitment to the church…and when they were done, before they parted, they embraced each other with a hug.
And I think that, more than anything, shows who we are as Disciples.
We are united in our belief that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God.
We are committed to following and obeying Jesus in all things according to the measure of our knowledge of his will…
And we are committed to each other, to engaging in conversation and even debate, trusting in God to use such experiences to move us forward in understanding, and not letting our differences divide us or deny anyone a place at Christ’s table.
Some years back, I remember a Catholic bishop made news when he announced that he would not serve communion to a certain politician because of that politician’s views on a certain issue.
To a Disciple like me, that was shocking. Because we don’t believe that any person has any right to say to someone: “You aren’t welcome at Christ’s table.”
It doesn’t matter if we disagree on certain issues. This isn’t our table. It doesn’t belong to me or anyone else. It belongs to Jesus. And all those who look to Jesus as the Christ, the son of the living God, are welcome here.
And I’ve seen this here at First Christian Church.
I remember a conversation I had with one member who is now deceased, who told me that he didn’t agree with a decision that the congregation had made, and that he still didn’t agree with that decision, but (he said), that’s who we are as Disciples. We don’t always agree. Yet we do gather for worship and gather at the Lord’s Table and work together for the ministry of the church, because we DO agree that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, and we are committed to learning what that means and engaging in conversation, and even debate, with one another and being the best followers of Christ we can be. Together.
Which is why, when I preach, I don’t expect you to blindly agree with everything I say. Some pastors do have that attitude, but not me, and not most of the Disciples pastors I know.
My word is not the final word on anything. Rather, I think of my preaching as the first word, a word meant to inspire your own thinking, and perhaps start a conversation.
I remember one time in California, I attended an event sponsored by Chapman University, which is a Disciples-related school just like Eureka College. The speaker was Amy-Jill Levine, who is a practicing Jew, but who is also a biblical scholar focused on the New Testament. This gives her the unique ability to remind us Christians of the Jewish background of Jesus and the early church.
Anyway, the evening of the event, she was guest preaching at a local Jewish place of worship, and all of us who heard her speak during the day were invited.
So there we were that evening, a bunch of Christians attending the Jewish shabbat service. And while Amy-Jill Levine was preaching, several of the Christians—hearing something they liked—would shout “Amen!”
This made Amy-Jill Levine laugh. She said: “I love hearing all the ‘amens’ from the Christians. But I gotta tell you, Jews don’t usually shout ‘amen’ during the sermon. What Jews do is that they will come up to the preacher afterward and say, ‘So that’s how you see things, huh? Well, let me tell you how I see things…”
And a conversation would begin.
I like that. The sermon is the first word. Not the last word. It starts the conversation or moves the conversation along. It doesn’t end the conversation.
Getting back to my main point, and today’s scripture: We Disciples are united in our belief that Jesus is the Christ (the messiah), the Son of the living God, Lord and Savior of the world.
And we work together to understand what that means, and to follow and obey Jesus in our lives.
And even though we aren’t always successful, we do try to stay united despite our differences of theological understanding.
And since creeds have historically been used to divide and exclude people from the church, we do not recite creeds in worship.
So why are they in our hymnal?
Well, many churches who recite creeds today do not do so with the intention of dividing or excluding.
And many see in the creeds statements of faith that are still beautiful and inspiring.
But because of how creeds have been used, the editors of the hymnal chose to call them affirmations of faith rather than creeds. They wanted to make sure that if any congregation did use these creeds, that they didn’t use them in a way that would divide or exclude.
******
And we Disciples have our own affirmation of faith. A statement that isn’t meant to exclude anyone, but provides a summary of what most Disciples believe.
And you’ll find our Disciples statement in the hymnal on page 355.
Every once in a while you will find a Disciples congregation that recites this statement during worship, perhaps on a special occasion, though most are reluctant to include in worship anything that even looks like or resembles a creed.
I’d like for us to recite it today. The first sentence of the affirmation should sound very familiar to you.
As for the rest…
Well, think of it not as a final word on anything, but as a first word. These are things most Disciples believe or practice, but let’s talk about what it all means, and how well we do follow what it says.
Our General Minister and President Terri Hord Owens keeps reminding us to be the church we say we are.
This affirmation is a statement of who we say we are as a denomination. It is a document meant to unite, not divide, and to encourage conversation and reflection.
So with that in mind, let’s recite it together…
As members of the Christian Church,
We confess that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, and proclaim him Lord and Savior of the world.
In Christ’s name and by his grace we accept our mission of witness and service to all people.
We rejoice in God, maker of heaven and earth, and in God’s covenant of love which binds us to God and to one another.
No comments:
Post a Comment