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September 07, 2008

Authentic Christian Community

Sermon: September 7, 2008
Matthew 18:15-20 Authentic Christian Community

This morning’s scripture passage is a perfect example of why we look at the context surrounding verses of scripture. Matthew 18:15-20 could sound legalistic and harsh, especially if you are the one who has been ostracized. But if we pull back and take a look at the larger chapter of Matthew, we get a better idea of what Jesus is saying.

The chapter opens with the disciples debating greatness (many scholars believe they were debating their own greatness). And like they often do, the disciples turn to Jesus and ask a question, “Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.”

Only too happy to oblige, Jesus calls a child and placing his hands on the child, Jesus tells them, “Truly I tell you (i.e. listen carefully) unless you change, and become like children, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

The disciples asked Jesus about who was the greatest, and he turns the table on them. Become like a child, put your trust, your life, into the hands of God your parent. It is not greatness that gets a person into the Kingdom but humility.

Jesus continues his teachings and warns against keeping people from God or from developing their faith. “If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little one who believe in me (i.e. a new disciple), it would be better for you if a great millstone were fastened around your neck and you were drowned…Woe to the world because of stumbling blocks!”

The image that comes to mind for me is of David fighting Goliath. The Israelite army was in a battle with the Philistines army. A great bully by the name of Goliath had all of them afraid because many had faced Goliath and died. When David arrived at the army camp to deliver some food and provisions to his brothers, he saw the situation. David had defended his flock of sheep from bullies, wolves, bears, and a few thieves in his time. He was not afraid and so he went to King Saul and said he would fight Goliath. King Saul agreed, and proceeded to put all his battle armor on David.

But as David when to go fight Goliath, he could not move because of all the armor King Saul put on him. Meant to protect him, it actually hindered him. David shed the king’s armor. He took the tools he was very good with, a slingshot and five smooth stones. And we know the rest of the story…David prevailed. King Saul’s idea of what David needed turned out to be incorrect. God had given David what he needed for battle. If the king had made David wear his armor David surely would have died also. But the King allowed David to go into battle with his own tools.

Jesus acknowledges, “Occasions for stumbling are bound to come, but woe to the one by whom the stumbling block comes!” Don’t let man’s laws replace God’s laws. Don’t make everyone adhere to one person’s idea of what is required. God is the one who decides what is required.

Strongly worded, Jesus continues. “All humans fail. Be careful not to judge or despise those who fail, as it could just as easily be you. But do not worry or get upset when it happens.”

Then Jesus tells the story of the shepherd who has 100 sheep. One of them goes astray. What does the shepherd do? He leaves the 99 and goes off to find the one who wandered off. And if God finds this lost sheep, he rejoices over it more than the 99 who were not lost. To God, nobody is expendable; not one!

And so taking into account the following context of 1) being warned about making someone’s journey to God harder than it has to be; 2) to remain humble in all things as everyone has fallen short and sinned, and 3) God never gives up on us even if everyone else has turned their back on us, Jesus gives his us some guidelines for handling conflict while living in authentic Christian community.

But before we address how to handle conflict in Authentic Christian Community, we need to identify what it is. And maybe drilling down a little deeper, we might ask, Why? Why would we want to build this authentic Christian community? Don’t we have enough “community” with our families, our job, our neighborhood, and for some of us our cultural connections?

To embrace the life that Jesus offers us, we need a community that is made up of people with a similar heart desire to follow Jesus. Hear me now, not identical theology, politics, cultures, Christology, or family structure. We are talking about building a community with a heart-desire to follow Jesus. That’s all we need. The rest will work itself out. We need a place to be known and to know others who want to follow Jesus in a radical new way that is beyond cultural norms, beyond ourselves, our family, and dare I say it, our denomination.

Taking out your blue insert entitled, “Authentic Christian Community.” The community Jesus encourages us to embrace is Christ-Centered. All aspects we strive for in Authentic Christian Community are values we see in Jesus.

C—Centered on Christ: Our community life is centered on God through prayer both individual and corporate; through worship when we celebrate God’s presence in our lives and the world; through Bible study, what message does God have for us? The stumbling blocks Jesus referred to might be our human rules and regulations that are legalistic and small-minded rather than grace-filled and reconciliatory. Above all, our community needs to look to God for guidance and leadership, as expressed through all of us, not just a chosen few.

H—Humility: I’ve mentioned it a couple times this morning already. It’s the opposite of proud…Humility as Christ was humble. Paul’s passage from Philippians 2:5, “Your attitude should be the same that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not demand and cling to his rights as God. He laid aside his might and power; he took the humble position of a slave and appeared in human form.”
Christianity as a whole could be a lot more humble than it has been lately. We, as American Christians, could be more humble. I could be more humble in my life. This is not something that comes naturally. It takes practice.

I use the word practice intentionally. A couple years after my divorce, I was struggling yet again with another intimate relationship. A good friend I really respected celebrated his 25th wedding anniversary. I asked him, “Henry, how did you do it?” He replied that every morning he got up and “practiced being the best husband he could be.” That was a light bulb moment for me. I could do that. Each day, practice being the best I could be. We can do it with humility too. Practice humility on a daily basis being the best Christ-like person we can be.

R—Real Relationships: The second word is relationships. What kind do you think Jesus wants us to have? He wants us to “Get Real”…both with ourselves and with each other. Authentic Christian community requires Real Relationships. Can you see how this builds? If we center our life on God, and humbly seek God’s will for us, then it is easier for us to build real relationship.

Relationships that are not just like ships passing in the night—we have enough of those already. Authentic Christian Community is about being vulnerable with each other. It is about listening and loving. It is about being honest, even if the honestly is difficult or unpopular. It’s about being transparent—showing each other our good, our bad, and even our ugly! It’s accepting each other, warts and all.

We’re making some good strides in this area. There are a couple of you who have been honest with me about your feelings. I know it wasn’t easy or it felt scary afterwards. Here’s the good news church. These particular persons and I are still talking. In fact, I feel as if our relationship is even deeper for our honest sharing. For my part I’m working on my delivery of honest feelings.

Sometimes something needs to be said. However, my delivery is not always what it could be. Nevertheless, the important thing is for us to be real. If we have to go back and patch things up, we can.

This is where small groups are especially important. It’s hard to build Authentic Christian Community if we only worship together. We will miss out on this important aspect of having real relationships that are built over time and through deep, honest sharing. During the Fun Fest, check out the numerous opportunities for small group. We have four bible study opportunities and four small groups right now. If you don’t see anything that appeals to you or the times don’t work, come speak to me. We’ll see what we can do.

I—Invest In Others: In authentic Christian Community Who do we invest in ourselves or others? We invest in others. We encourage. We teach. We pray. We lead. We provide for the children, not just our own. We invest in each other to build up the body of Christ. An authentic Christian community is bursting with spiritual gifts enthusiastically shared and received. Simultaneously while strengthen our community of faith we also serve in the world. We invest our time and passion in the others that Jesus invested in, the sick, the immigrant, the hungry, the homeless, the ones without power.

S—Sacrificial. To be Christ-like is to make sacrifices. An authentic Christian community requires give and take from all involved. If we say we will do something, we follow up and do our best. We don’t want to let God and our community down. We may see something that needs to be done. While it’s not something we enjoy doing, we do it for God and the community because it needs to get done. We sacrifice for those we don’t even know, as Jesus did for those who were to come.

Sacrifice might include sacrificing our comfort, our resources, our church facility, or our personal agenda. I can’t begin to name what all the sacrifices will be but I can tell you this. When we need to make a sacrifice, it will feel uncomfortable and maybe even fearful. Our first reaction will most likely be to say No. But if we are centered on God, practicing humility, working on Real Relationship where honesty and transparency are the foundations, and if we are invested in others, we will say Yes to sacrifices that build community and make a better world.

Lastly, the T stands for Two or More are gathered. From the very beginning of his ministry, Jesus built community. And at the end of this morning’s passage he reminds them that it is not the size of the community that matters.

Authentic Christian community is an invitation to experience the presence of Jesus Christ in a way we could not on our own. Whether we gather to worship on Sunday morning, for Bible study, as a small group called Bad Girls of the Bible, or to meet for an hour over coffee or a meal, Christ is with us, if we invoke his name.

To be an authentic Christian community is to try and embody a Christ-like life. If we work at this, if we practice this in our time together, maybe, just maybe we will be able to handle those times of disagreement, hardship, and crisis when they come. Maybe we’ll be able to speak directly to a sister or brother about a situation that troubles us with humility and love.

Maybe we’ll be able to hear the pain from two members of our small group when we have not made the sacrifice we said we would. And maybe, we’ll be able to discern the Christian approach if it becomes a larger church matter. All the while remembering to ask Jesus to be with us--the one who will not let us go but neither will he tolerate hurting those who are innocent.

After these instructions on handling conflict in Matthew 18:21, Jesus teaches about forgiveness…maybe the hardest thing we are asked to do in this lifetime. Our ability to forgive, or not to forgive, impacts our community. But that’s next week’s sermon.

For now, let’s practice the art of authentic Christian living. A community Centered on God, practicing Humility, having transparent, honest, Real Relationships. A community where we Invests in Others, we make sacrifices for the common good, and we gather as often as possible in Jesus’ name. Maybe one day we will get it right…in the meantime, we’ll keep trying, loving and supporting each other on the way, knowing that God can do for us what we cannot do for ourselves. And when that happens, we can say what the kids say, “Yeah God!”

Posted by vickie at 10:00 AM