Following Jesus Today I: "It Gets a Bit Confusing"
For Jesus of against Him?
Sermon Preached by
The Rev. Dr. Andrew Stirling
Sunday, September 15, 2002
Text: Luke 9:46-50 and 11:17-23
In The Times of London on June 25th, 1915 there was a provocative headline. It simply said: Spiritual Neutrality. The article went on to give an account of how the then-pope, Benedict XV, had decided in his own heart and in his own wisdom that he was not going to make any comment about the war. He had decided to do so in spite of clear German atrocities in Belgium and in France and the very recent sinking of the Lusitania.
The Pope's argument in this interview with The Times revolved around one simple comment. He said: "I am God's representative and therefore I am not going to make a comment."
A few days later, he was interviewed in a German-American newspaper. In that newspaper he was warm and friendly and involved. He was willing to share his own views and ideas, though never condemning the Kaiser and what had happened. He was very willing to take the questions that were posed of him in this German newspaper.
A few days later he was re-interviewed by La Liberté in Paris. In La Liberté he was cool and detached, non-committal and neutral, once again not prepared to give his opinion on anything, no matter how provocative and insightful the questions might be. Again he went back to that regular, old refrain: "I am the representative of God and I must at all times protect the interests of the Church first, and therefore not make any comment."
I cannot help but contrast this with the words of Jesus in one of our texts this morning, that "he who is not for me is against me." Jesus leaves little room for spiritual neutrality.
I want to bring your mind ahead now to 2002, to an entirely different context, namely the arrival of Pope John Paul II in Toronto. If any of you have had a chance to read The Reverend John Harries' article in Church News, you will know the Pope's visit clearly had a profound effect on John, as he was there amongst those pilgrims on that wet and steamy day in July. I must confess that as I turned on the television and watched thousands of young people on a night like we have just had, unpacking their bags and getting out of their wet tents and gathering and praising and worshipping God, I was moved and I was impressed.
When I ran into some of the young people in the malls, or on the subway, or walking the streets with their badges on and their back-packs I sensed there was a vibrancy to them; there was an enthusiasm to them; there was a commitment to them; and there was a willingness on the part of so many of them to engage people like myself in talking about the faith and about Jesus Christ.
I was all the more impressed with this, because although I do not agree with the Pope on many things and, as John said in his article, there are encyclicals and there are statements and there are doctrines with which I do not agree and probably never will agree, there was in this city, even for a few days, a passion for the cross, a passion for the faith.
What has brought this all back to me even more, though, is that immediately after the Pope's visit I received some pamphlets full of anti-Catholic invective. Most recently, after the article in the United Church Observer this past week in which The Reverend Dr. Barry Day and I were photographed, looking most handsome, I thought, I have received subsequently phone calls wondering what on earth we are doing participating in such ventures with the Roman Catholics.
I cannot help but think of the words of Jesus in the other text that we had this morning: "He who is not against us is for us."
Now, these two texts seem contradictory; in fact, I have heard people use these two texts to suggest that Jesus couldn't make up his mind, or that the writers of the Gospel were confused in their usage and that there is a discrepancy within the biblical text. In fact, Renal once said "tout à fait opposé." These two are opposing things. But that is not the case.
In fact, whether it is in the case of Benedict XV or in the case of what we witnessed here in Toronto this summer, it seems to me that the words of Jesus of Nazareth in these two passages speak volumes about the nature of Christian discipleship. Jesus said them in different contexts and at different times to send a message to disciples as to how we should live our lives and in what way we should follow Christ.
The sermon this morning is the first of a series about following Jesus Christ today, and I think that the words of Jesus speak with a clarity to us and set the stage for everything else we are going to discuss in the next few weeks, for on both occasions Jesus is saying something prophetic: On the one, he is saying there is a need for tolerance, a need for an openness, a need for a passion for that which is good and a willingness to see it when it occurs; and on the other, there is a need for a commitment, a need to be on a strong foundation and a need to stand up against evil when it rears its ugly head. These are not contradictory. On the contrary, they are complementary and they speak to us about discipleship in the age in which we live.
Let me deal with the second story first, because it seems to me that it is talking about a large-hearted comprehensiveness. The context is very clear. The disciples had witnessed a man driving out evil spirits and healing people in Jesus' name.
Now, this was a common activity in Palestine at the time of Jesus. There were others who were going around doing the same thing, but in this particular case John takes great exception. He had already talked to Jesus about being the first in the Kingdom of Heaven. He had already talked about the exclusiveness of Christian discipleship and its calling; but now he sees this man driving out demons in Jesus' name and realizes that this man is not part of the discipleship band, that he hasn't been formally called or appointed, that he is not one of the 12 who are following Jesus around and he takes grave exception to this man. He says to Jesus, therefore: "Aren't you going to do something about it?"
Jesus turns on John and he rebukes him. Oh, John might have been right in his sentiments. He might have wanted to protect what he had with Jesus, but he was wrong. Jesus says to him, and thereby to all the other disciples: "John, who is not against us is for us." Jesus understood and appreciated that even apart from the band of disciples themselves, there were others who in his name were following his spirit; that there were others who in his name were driving out evil. All Jesus was concerned about was that they were doing good and doing the right thing, and that they were doing it in his name.
Very often, my friends, the church of Jesus Christ has been like John in this particular story. It has been absorbed with itself, absorbed with our own traditions, or our own mantles that we build up as if somehow these are the things that define what truly is the Kingdom. In many ways we turn, do we not, as Christians and have done for 2,000 years, particularly since the schism between the Eastern and the Western church, and we have pointed fingers and we have divided one another on the basis of things in which we are wrapped up and which are important to us. We have done this, I believe, at the expense of the Gospel, because we have become so introspective.
I am reminded of a delightful story I heard of a minister who, in the United States, had survived the great Johnstown Flood. Many people had lost their lives and their homes as a result of this flood, but he had survived. Everywhere he went and every time he gave a public speech he referred to it.
When he spoke to a women's group he said: "I survived the Johnstown Flood." That's all he talked about. He would go and speak in other churches as a guest preacher and the only subject he talked about was the fact that he had survived the Johnstown Flood. Even in his own church, nearly every Sunday, he made some reference to the Johnstown Flood. So much so that the members of the church just covered their ears, it became so aggravating. They got the message: He had survived the Johnstown Flood. I think some of them wished otherwise, but that's another point. Everywhere he went, he was absorbed with the fact that he had survived the Johnstown Flood.
Eventually this man died and went to Heaven. When he got there he was informed that there was going to be a night of sharing by all the saints of the great things that they had done in their lives.
Well, you can imagine how eager he was. He ran up to St. Peter and said: "St. Peter, St. Peter, I survived the Johnstown Flood. Can I tell everyone about it tonight?"
St. Peter said: "By all means, you can. But just remember, tonight Noah is in the audience."
Sometimes, my friends, we get so wrapped up in ourselves, in our own experiences, in our own traditions, that we are like John or that preacher, and we miss the big picture. We forget that God is doing things in other places and amongst other people we cannot even imagine.
But sometimes we are intolerant and in our intolerance we forget the words of Jesus, that he who is not against us is for us. After all, if John, who had followed Jesus throughout his ministry, who had been a disciple and had seen so much of what Jesus had done, could feel that exclusivity and that pride and be that self-absorbed, is it any surprise that we, 2,000 years later, do the same thing? I think not.
It's inevitable that these things happen; that when people of a certain type or form gather together, or enjoy a particular way in which to worship, they in fact will hold on to that more dearly than they will, in fact, the broader truth.
When the World Youth Day cross was brought down this aisle at the end of June and placed here by these young pilgrims who had carried it throughout the streets of Toronto, I made a distinction in the message that I gave. The distinction I made was this: There is a difference between what is known in Latin as the fides qua creditur and the fides quae creditur, and it's a distinction we need to keep in our minds.
The fides qua creditur simply means "the faith that brings us to belief." We come to faith in so many varied and different ways that the way in which we express our faith, the way in which we express our sacraments, our liturgy, our worship, even our church government, is different. That is the fides qua creditur.
But the fides quae creditur is "the faith in which we believe." It is the faith of the cross. It is the faith that has been revealed in Jesus Christ. It is the faith that is the cornerstone of our lives. I think a distinction often needs to be made on these grounds because so often we differ in our fides qua creditur. We are very different as human beings. Even within the same confessional bounds there is a profound difference in the way that we worship, let alone outside our confessional bounds.
But what needs to be central is in fact our faith, that is, the faith. I think when we reflect on that we understand what Jesus meant when he said: "Who is not against us is for us." There is a need for tolerance and appreciation and understanding.
Oh, we all have our different standards. We look at things in so many different ways. Whether it is art, or design, or music, we all have different tastes.
There is a delightful story of a sketch artist called A.H. Livingstone. He made his living by selling prints of his art to hotel chains, and if you've ever wondered who painted those things in your hotel room it might have been A.H. Livingstone himself.
A.H. Livingstone was getting quite upset that his art wasn't getting the credibility that he desired and so one day (and this is a true story) he went to the manager of a very prestigious hotel in Los Angeles and said: "Have you no standards for the art that you put up on your walls? Don't you appreciate good art? Aren't you interested in making sure that the people who stay in your lovely rooms are able to wake up in the morning and see something gorgeous? Have you no standards?"
The hotel manager said: "I certainly do have standards. My standard is that every painting on the wall must be bigger than anyone's suitcase." He understood, you see, that there are dangers even in lovely art that can be stolen or taken away.
Oh, we all look at things differently and we get mad at each other often on the grounds of our different tastes in art and style and form, and we forget the substance of our faith.
I believe, my friends, and I have said this before, that we are entering a new era in the church, an era where I believe that denominations as such are mattering less and less to people in our society. I believe even denominational allegiance is becoming less and less important, even to people within the pews. Not that denominations aren't important, not that there aren't things that we can do for one another in a community of faith to build one another up; but that in terms of the structure and the function and the way in which the church is governed or seen in society, I believe most people really don't care about denominational stripes. They are looking for authenticity, integrity, commitment, charity, fidelity to the faith and love. These are the things that people are concerned about.
I believe that there is a new era dawning and it's an exciting era, a new way in which ecumenism is developing which, when young pilgrims bring a cross and place it right here in the church, inspires me as much or more than even colleagues within my own tradition who might not have the same passion that those young people have for the cross. For Jesus said: "Who is not against me is for me." This I believe is a powerful message to Christ's followers today.
But there's a second message and the message is that we also need to have a strong-hearted constancy. Jesus said: "He who is not with me is against me," and the context makes it clear again.
In this case, Jesus had been driving our demons, and some of the religious leaders took exception to it and said: "You are driving out these demons in Beelzebub's name, in the devil's name."
Jesus said: "How can, or why would, the devil drive out the devil? How could I possibly be on the side of evil if that is what I am doing?"
But still they wouldn't believe and still they wanted more evidence, and even the disciples were quiet when Jesus was being criticized and condemned. And what was he doing? He was doing good. He was bringing about healing and restoration in the lives of people and those that looked on couldn't stand the fact that he was doing good and right.
And so Jesus took his disciples to one side and he reminded them: "If you are not for me, you are against me."
There is a time, my friends, when spiritual neutrality is as bad as evil itself, when not standing for the good, not standing for the right is as destructive as being a perpetrator of that which is evil. An open-mindedness, or a desire for more and more evidence, or proof, or whatever it might be, before you do the good is in fact a cop-out, just like Pope Benedict XV.
The cross that Jesus of Nazareth bore was the exact opposite. It was, a symbol, a sign of a wholehearted commitment, of a wholehearted constancy. Jesus wanted his disciples to bear that very same commitment and to have that very same courage in their lives, because Jesus understood that this particular moment, when others were condemning him for doing good, was a power struggle between good and evil. Sometimes, my friends, within society there are powerful forces that demand our allegiance and demand our attention and our commitment.
There is the powerful allegiance of our culture. There is the powerful allegiance of the political realm, which draws us in and asks for our obedience and commitment. There is the powerful call of materialism and its hold upon us. There is the pull, there is the attraction of power and might. But when these forces are pulling us, the word of Jesus Christ goes forward: "he who is not with me is against me." There comes a time in a person's life, and a people's life, to determine where one's ultimate allegiance lies. The ultimate allegiance Jesus is declaring, must be with him and not with those other powers.
Recently I have read one of the most moving of all stories. It is the story of a man that many of you will have heard of, called Pastor Niemöller. Pastor Niemöller was a leading German pastor in Germany in the 1930s. Because he was such an influential character Adolf Hitler, who at that time was on the rise, asked for a meeting with Niemöller. He sat him down and he said to him: "Now then, Pastor Niemöller, you are an important man. You take care of the church and of Christians and I'll take care of Germany."
In hearing this from, at that time, Mr. Hitler, Pastor Niemöller said: "Oh, just a minute. The moment that I care as a pastor for Christians, I care for Germany. The moment that I care for my people, then I care for my nation."
Immediately a conflict ensued between Hitler and Niemöller. It reached its height in 1937, when the Nazis attempted to silence him and Pastor Niemöller stood up and said: "If I am going to following anything, I am going to be obedient to the word of God and not the word of man, not the word of humanity. If it is a matter of allegiance, then I as a pastor stand only on one side, and that is on the side of my God."
With that, Niemöller was arrested and imprisoned for the next year. He was tortured along with many of his followers, and on February 7th, 1938 he was taken down some very dark stairs in a Gestapo dungeon to be tormented. As he was going between those stone walls and down those stone steps he heard a whisper along the corridor:
"The name of the Lord is a strong tower. The righteous run to it and are safe."
It is from Proverbs 18:10. The whisper, Niemöller found out later, had come from a guard who wanted to send him the word of God when he was in conflict with the word of man.
Later, in a concentration camp, and in the years to come, every day Niemöller said he dwelt on the words of Proverbs 18:10: The Lord is my strong tower. He remained determined, constant and faithful. He did because he understood in this life there is no room for spiritual neutrality.
"He that is not for me is against me," said Jesus.
But if we follow that we must be tolerant too, for he who is not against us is for us. What a challenge for Christian discipleship in our day! Amen.
This is a verbatim transcription of the original sermon.