The Mission Remains the Same
The Rev. Dr. John Judson
November 14, 2010
It was a night that was going to permanently change the political landscape of the United States for decades to come. States that had traditionally been a single color switched sides. Parties that had long been in power suddenly found themselves on the outside looking in. Long sitting senators and representatives were no longer employed. And above all the United States elected its first African American president. Oh, wait, you thought I was talking about last week? No I am thinking about two years ago. The election of 2008 was supposed to signal a permanent shift in American politics from which the Republican party was to never recover. I can still remember the pundits on that evening proclaiming that that congress would be Democratic for decades and that the Republicans would struggle to remain viable as a party. Even when a few long time political observers predicted that, as is almost always the case, by the first mid-term elections the Republicans would take back much of what they lost they were laughed at. It was an impossibility. It would never happen.
We might wonder if the disciples felt the same way about Jesus’ claims that within their lifetimes the Temple would be thrown down and not a stone would be left on top of another. If you will take a moment and look at the cover of your bulletin you can get an idea of what Herod’s Temple looked like. It was the largest and probably most magnificent building in all of the Roman Empire; even greater than those magnificent buildings in Rome such as the Pantheon. Gold covered much of its exterior so that when the sun shone on its way down the entire building seemed to glow. At night there were massive torches that lighted the sky for miles. Its construction had taken years and the efforts of thousands of skilled and unskilled workers. As the center of Judaic worship, and perhaps even the footstool of God, it was sacred in a way few of us could imagine. The thought then that such a magnificent building, whose tenants were supported by the most powerful empire on the earth, could fall would seem to be an impossibility. It would never happen.
Yet as we know, both of these events occurred. Just as there was a seismic shift in political power this past week there was a seismic shift in Judea in AD70 when Titus captured and destroyed the city of Jerusalem, including the Temple itself. I realize that you might be asking yourselves at this moment, “John these are interesting facts but what do these two events have to do with us?” Well, first, just as those people felt a seismic political and religious shift around them, there is a seismic shift going on within our church and society which is affecting us. Second when seismic shifts occur, human beings respond in two distinctive ways…both of which have the potential to impact our life together as First Presbyterian Church.
The first thing which occurs in seismic shifts is that friends become enemies. As most of us witnessed these past months Democrats were running against their own party almost as if they were Republicans. Though they had passed the measures they had been elected to pass they ran as far and fast as they could in order not to be swept away in the tide of dissatisfaction. In the same way Jesus makes it clear that those who would stood with him, even before the fall of the Temple, would find the ground shifting beneath their feet. “But before this occurs, they will arrest you and persecute you; they will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, you will be brought before kings…You will be betrayed by parents and brothers, by relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death.” Seismic shifts turn friends into enemies.
The second thing that happens in seismic shifts is that we question our mission. As I said a moment ago, we watched as Democrats either abandoned or were silent about the mission for which they had been elected in 2008. It was as if political survival was more important than faithfulness to the mission and vision that had gotten them there. This is not a critique but an observation. It is the struggle in which every human being engages when seismic shifts make us outsiders rather than insiders. The same was true for the early followers of Jesus. Even with Jesus having been raised from the dead when times became more and more difficult, persecution increased and their lives were at risk, the church had to ask itself it the mission was worth it. Was it worth risking everything for this Jesus centered mission or should they simply give it up and go back to their ordinary lives.
Where all of this comes home to us is that the church in America is undergoing just such a seismic shift. When this nation was founded it was a Protestant nation. People spoke of the mainline churches; Presbyterian, Methodist, Lutheran and Episcopalian. We were the dominant culture. But today we have become the sideline denominations. Since the early 1960s we have been in decline. The Presbyterian Church has lost almost half of its members and within this presbytery only five of eighty six churches have gained in worship attendance over the past five years. In fact right now there are more Mormons than Presbyterians in the United States. And in terms of the religious makeup of our nation the fastest growing segment of our population are those who believe nothing. The response of the church unfortunately is that it has engaged in the two very human responses which occur during seismic shifts. First we have turned on each other. Conservatives and liberals in the PCUSA are constantly arguing and fighting. Different denominations are attacking one another trying to lure people into their camp. Second we have questioned our mission. We have wondered if the mission of proclaiming and living into the Kingdom of God in this day and age is really worth it. And so rather than maintain that mission many churches have chosen one of two options. Either they have moved into a rigid fundamentalism which requires checking one’s brain at the door or they have moved into an escapist, pietistic spirituality. The question confronts us then, what ought we to do in the face of this shift?
The answer is that we ought to listen to Jesus as he speaks to his followers in the Temple. He knows what is coming…not only the destruction of the Temple but the seismic shifts which will put his followers at risk. So he lets them know that when seismic shifts come they are neither to turn on each other nor are they to run away. Instead they are to see the times of shift as opportunities to speak the truth about him and the good news he offers. Jesus reminds them that those seismic shifts will actually mean more opportunities to speak a word about the coming Kingdom of God possibilities that it offers to all persons. In addition Jesus promised that his followers will be given the wisdom with which to speak this truth. This wisdom will be such that those who stand opposed to them will not be able to contradict it. Jesus reminds them that in seismic shifts the mission remains the same….to proclaim and live into the Kingdom of God.
I believe that this is a critical reminder for us as we prepare to dedicate our pledges for the coming year. I believe you need to know to what kind of a church you are pledging your time, talent and treasure. You need to know if First Presbyterian Church is a place where the mission remains the same. And so this morning I want to offer you my take, and what I believe to be the take of our church leadership, on the nature of our mission…what it is we believe and live into as a community of faith so you can see if this is the place where you want offer your all that you are and all that you have. So here it is:
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We believe and we live that all human beings are created in the very image of God and deserve all of the love and support that this community of faith can give them.
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We believe and we live that we are called to be engaged in the wider world to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, house the homeless and visit the prisoner.
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We believe and we live that we are to help every child find a loving home and obtain a superior education.
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We believe and we live that our lives are not our own but that in life and in death we belong to God.
This is the mission which remains the same and the mission to which we are being challenged to give our lives and our gifts this morning. I hope that you will find it to be the mission to which you believe yourselves called to be a part of on behalf of Christ and the Kingdom he is bringing into the world.
