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First Lesson: Jeremiah 31: 7-14 Responsive Reading: Psalm 147: 12-20 Second Lesson: Ephesians 1: 3-14 Gospel Lesson: John 1: 1-18 Grace and Peace from Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God[1].” How did this world come into existence? Who was in the room when the button was pushed creating light from the darkness[2]? The who pushed or helped push the button is the question that defines all religious discussion. Were there many Gods in the room as many ancient religions believe? Or was there just one God, the Father almighty who created light out of the darkness. Who was involved in the creation of the world is the question that defines all religion. Many people don’t get the Christian answer to this question. In the words of G.K. Chesterton, our God was not a “lonely” god[3]. This week in The Scroll, I wrote about the question of whether Christians and Muslims worship the same God? Why is this question an issue? Last week at Christmas Eve supper, I was asked my opinion about a Christian College Professor down at Wheaton in Illinois who was suspended for saying that Christians and Muslims worship the same God. This professor Larycia Hawkins defended her position by stating that Pope Francis said the same thing. The following discussion sparked a huge debate about religious tolerance, which I would like to reflect upon today. I believe as we reflect, we can begin by acknowledging some similarities between our faiths: Christians, Muslims, and Jews all believe God to be all-powerful, all-present, and all-knowing. We believe that God, in theory, can hear the prayers of believers from within any faith tradition. These three religions draw their family trees back to Abraham. All three religions believe that God is ultimately a God of mercy, who on the last day will judge all mankind[4]. The Christian God is different though because he does not stand alone at the dawn of creation. The Christian God does not only live in heaven separated from his creation. The Christian God lived as an ordinary man. For Islam, the idea of God living as a person would be impossible. For Islam, the idea of God dying on a cross would be the epitome of weakness and foolishness, they would consider such a belief to be blasphemy. Islam does not believe in the Trinity of God in three (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), which is the fundamental defining belief of the entire Christian faith. I believe the discussion of the differences between religions should not stop here. All religions and cultures contain a degree of beauty. There are positive practices that we can acknowledge from all faiths. I would never say that all religions do not contain good and kind people who make excellent neighbors. When we say Christianity is unique, we don’t’ say it because we don’t take the calling to love our neighbor seriously no matter who they are or what they ultimately believe. One tendency that we often have in the world is to resort to a tribal mentality. We only wish to associate with those who think like us and believe like us. As I’ve talked about before I used to be quite heavy, probably weighing nearly 100 pounds more than I did today. I knew a woman in Seminary who one time joked that “If Stew only ate with people who agreed with me, then he would be skinny.” The truth is though I’d probably also be less wise. My fear is not that America becomes overwhelmed with followers of other religions, my fear is that we lose the conviction that our Gospel to matters to all who believe or who don’t believe. The Gospel ultimately saves. In the words of Chad Bird, when we say all religions, worship the same thing? Such a statement that expresses the idea that we don’t care what other religions believe[5]. When we seek to minimize or downplay our beliefs, this can be troublesome. A few years ago, I was on vacation in Las Vegas. I had some time to kill on a Friday, so I decided to drive up to Utah a state where I had never been. I go to Saint George, Utah. I figure being in Utah I should go to some Mormon sites just because that’s what you’re supposed to in Utah. So I visit the summer home of Brigham Young, who brought the Mormon people out to Utah. So I show up at this house and begin talking to the guide who asks me what faith that I am. To which I told her “Lutheran”, and she described us as “Brothers and Sisters in the faith.” So we start the tour, I was the only non-Mormon on the tour of about ten people. The sales job then begins to start. Pretty soon everyone else on the tour gets involved in the sales job. You might figure I would be annoyed by this; only I wasn’t. If the friendly Mormons believe that they have a spiritual truth that I need to hear as a way of fixing the problems in my life, I admire them for trying to share it with me. As we consider how we as Christians should respond to other religions all around us. We want to declare the uniqueness of our beliefs as an example of how far we are willing to go to preach the grace of a radical God. Perhaps the central question in distinguishing between religions has to do with the direction of God[6]. In all other world religions, people seek to bring forth their best efforts as a way of ascending into God’s presence. Muslims have very strict rules about eating pork or drinking alcohol. Following these observances would be mandatory for all believers. Whether one should eat pork or drink alcohol as a matter of health is not the issue, the issue is rather what we believe about the nature of God. The way the Christian interacts with the world is going to look different than the way that Islam interacts with the world. The reasons and motivations for a Christian interacting with the world around them are very different. As Christian people, we are called to action. The reason for this calling is very particular. In Christianity, we begin with the premise of freedom. Within Christianity you’re calling to be a banker, bus-driver, or beautician belongs to you and you alone. We are not required to do anything because it’s the way that we’ve done it before. Your path to God’s presence might not necessarily be Charlie’s path. There is no such thing as the uniquely Christian life. In Christianity, we act because we believe that Jesus’ words on the cross “It is finished[7]” to be real and effecting every moment of our existence. We are an imperfect faith made for imperfect people. Our Good Friend and my frequent supply preacher Dan Tabor works as a claim adjuster for State Farm Insurance. Dan says whenever he’s talking to people there’s always a certain phrase that makes him a bit nervous that phrase is “I’m a Christian”. The only scarier phrase according to Dan is “But I’m a pastor.” Dan’s point is people will often play the religion card as a way to run from all responsibilities for their actions. Mainly since Joe never goes to Church, but Bill does go to church then Bill must always be right. Being a Christian does not prevent Bill being wrong. Bill being wrong doesn’t make him a hypocrite though it makes him an imperfect Christian who is probably stubborn. I’m sure there are people here that know stubborn Christians. I’m sure there are even stubborn Christians within this church. The type of Christians who need to keep hearing about God’s grace and mercy again and again and again. The central Christian belief is the idea that Jesus Christ has come down from heaven to save the whole world from those in bondage to sin. “I have not come to condemn the world but rather save the world.”-John 3:17 Too often we get distracted by debates of which no certain resolution can come. Our energies should rather be focused out God’s grace and mercy upon a world that longs for it. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”- John 1:1 Everything that we believe as Christian people brings us back to the beginning itself. Today’s Gospel lesson comes to us from the start of the Gospel of John. John’s Gospel doesn’t begin with a claim of a virgin birth. John’s Gospel rather begins with a more dramatic claim! Jesus was there at the beginning. Jesus was present at the creation of the world itself. Our whole salvation story centers on what we believe about creation. Creation is essential to the world. Creation is essential to God’s plan to make the world whole once again[8]. This Sunday morning, we are “In the beginning” of 2016. A few of you have probably set goals or resolutions for the year ahead. Chances are the best of intentions to lose 20 pounds will quickly fall by the wayside. Our motivation to exercise will probably wane as it gets windier and colder outside. As I begin my 37th year on Earth, I’m getting ready to abandon the resolution of growing taller. The problem with all New Year’s resolutions is the people will often lack the will to carry them out because of what we cannot escape. The one prediction that I can make for the upcoming year ahead is that we will stumble an fall as people. The truth is that we will never be able to escape the events of the past year[9]. For some of these events, might be relationships that didn’t develop quite as hoped for or even came to end. For others, you face a time of uncertainty because of the mines. Many of us live in fear at the threat of terrorism. As we enter the Presidential year of 2016, there are probably very few politicians that people actually trust. The birth of 2016 does not change the reality of the previous year just as the Birth of Jesus was not going to change the realities of sin and death. Adam’s curse still reigns supreme. What every person in this room longs for on some level is a new beginning. Every person here probably has their hopes that they have for 2016. Our hope lies with Jesus being at the beginning with God. Jesus’ presence within our world will create new life within the year ahead. The good news of the Virgin Birth is that just as Christ Jesus came from heaven to earth, we too shall ascend from the grave to heaven. Our proof of this is the Resurrection. To realize how amazing the Resurrection that is to come will be, we need to go back to the beginning. We leave this place this morning with a promise. God is remaking our world[10]. God’s work is not determined by the journey from January 1st to December 31st though. Our hope instead centers about being born again in the waters of baptism and reborn as inheritors of eternal life. Our rebirth is taking what is dead in sin and making it alive, once again. The story we are in the process of living out on this day, all comes back to who is in control of the button. Our God has not stepped away from it. Our Lord remains present in this place as we receive his body and blood for the forgiveness of our sins on this day. Our Lord was there at the beginning, our Lord was there on the cross, and our Lord shall be present on the day of our resurrection that is to come. Amen [1] John 1:1 [2] Genesis 1:4 [3] Aglialoro, Todd. “Christians, Muslims, and the ‘One God’. Catholic Answers. 25. Mar.2013. Web. Dec.30.2015. [4] Aglialoro, Todd. “Christians, Muslims, and the ‘One God’. [5] Bird, Chad. “Most Religions Do Lead to the Same God”. Chad Bird. 28.Dec.2015. Web. Dec.29.2015. [6] Rivera, Juan. “Christianity and the other religions.” The Christian Nation.org 8. Dec.2015. Web. Dec.29.2015. [7] John 19:30 [8] Lewis, Karoline. “A New Genesis”. Working Preacher. Luther Seminary. Saint Paul, MN, 27.Dec.2015. Web. Dec.30.2015 [9] Lewis, Karoline. “A New Genesis”. [10] Lewis, Karoline. “A New Genesis”. First Lesson: Jeremiah 31: 7-14 Responsive Reading: Psalm 147: 12-20 Second Lesson: Ephesians 1: 3-14 Gospel Lesson: John 1: 1-18 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”- John 1:1
Grace and Peace from Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, When I was at Luther Seminary, I took a class where the goal was to help us articulate our beliefs about Jesus. The professor of this course proceeded to announce that he didn’t believe the story of the Virgin Birth. He continued to try to explain the Virgin Birth story a few different ways. He believed that the scriptures possess this story merely to indicate that Jesus’ birth was unique. He believed that one didn’t have to believe in the Virgin Birth as a matter of salvation. He believed that we can’t minimize Joseph’s role in Jesus’ life as a Jesus’ father. My radar immediately went off after he said these words. I can’t explain my visceral reaction. Someone questioning the Virgin Birth was not the first time during college or seminary that I heard the teachings of the historic Church questioned. I honestly believe that was set me off was an innate understanding that we can't separate the Virgin Birth from the uniqueness of Jesus’ being. How Jesus was not merely a man, how in the words of our Gospel lesson for today the Word became flesh and dwelt among us1. The Virgin Birth is the means by which the one who was present at the creation of the world assumes human form. So I proceeded to write a paper trying to set out why I needed to prove my professor wrong. Any student going for a grade knows this is a terrible idea. I get the paper back; this is a long paper (longer than any sermon). As I read the paper, the Professor’s response was unusual. The Professor would respond to every point of argument that I made on this paper in depth in red ink. The side margins of the paper contain hundreds of words of red ink. The back of the pages possess nothing but red ink. My essay produced other essays in response. I get my professor’s angle. He attended Harvard. He wanted to be taken seriously as an intellectual when he attended cocktail parties. Serious thinkers don’t hold to such impossible events as the Virgin Birth. What I say about the topic this morning is the Virgin Birth is that we must always defend it. Apart from the Resurrection there is arguably no more critical belief in the entire Christian faith. One can quibble with how we can interpret certain Bible verses? One can debate the relationship between religion and science? The discussion over the Virgin Birth touches on the question of whether “Jesus is really God?” So how would I respond to my Professor’s arguments about the Virgin Birth? Argument A: The Virgin Birth merely meant to show that Jesus was special. Special in what way, I don’t get. If Jesus comes into the world like every other human being born before and after him, then he is really not special in any unique way. The specialness of Jesus comes from the Virgin Birth. Jesus could have come to Earth as a fully formed adult, but then he would not be one of us, if he lived a life without diapers. Jesus could have been born as billions of people before or after him as a byproduct of the normal birds and bees, yet this doesn’t make him God. Argument B: Belief in the Virgin Birth is not necessary for salvation. The Professor was right, yet wrong at the same time. The Professor was right that because of sin, none of us is ever able to believe rightly. We don’t want to claim that we are the only true church or pure church. I will freely admit that there are beliefs I hold that might be proven wrong at the gates of Heaven. Saying something is unnecessary for salvation shouldn’t cause us to just casually dismiss it. Grace says that we will not always believe rightly; grace does not give us carte blanche permission to dismiss Biblical ideas that do not mesh with our “world views”. We must also state that the Virgin Birth has been a part of the faith of the church since its earliest days. A while back, the Jehovah Witnesses stop by me house. They proceed to tell me for 20 minutes how all Christian churches have been led astray over the years. My response to all this ranting was to ask them about the Holy Spirit? What I said is “Why would the Holy Spirit abandon his church to damnation?” The Jehovah Witnesses were not arguing with me on this day; they were rather arguing against the Holy Spirit when they denounce all Christian churches as holding false beliefs. Since the Church does not belong to us, we will never have permission to assume ownership casually over it. Argument C: We can’t minimize the importance of a Father within Jesus’ life. A number of years ago, Basketball player Shaquille O’ Neal made rap music on the side. Shaquille O’ Neal never knew his father. Shaq’s dad had been imprisoned for drug possession when Shaq was an infant. Shaq’s mom marries a guy named Phil. Phil raises Shaq. The biological father wants no role in Shaq’s life until seeing him dominate in a high school all star game. Shaq gets mad; Shaq eventually writes a rap about how Phil is his father, because his biological didn’t bother2. We should not assume fatherhood in such black and white terms. Joseph had a significant role in Jesus’ life because he was placed in such a role. Joseph’s role is no different then the important role that Phil enters into in Shaq’s life despite providing nothing to Shaq’s conception. Joseph was not a typical father, as there are plenty of non-typical fathers out there. Fatherhood is not merely about a father’s role in conception. Fatherhood is rather about the role that a father plays in influencing their children, no matter how fathers enter into these lives. Understanding Joseph in this way seems to be a much more meaningful understanding of the role of Joseph than purely thinking about it in terms of his role in the conception. Blogger Nadia Bolz-Weber made a good point in regards to this whole Virgin Birth that “Christians must admit that our faith is going to sound preposterous to those who don’t believe3?” This guy rose from the dead after three days seriously? We will always fight a losing battle when we engage with people who try to make the Virgin Birth a matter of biological probability. Yes, we know that children do not get made without sperm. We admit that science questions only lead to science answers4. Instead, what we believe is that the Virgin Birth is a unique act of God coming into our world. The thing about the Virgin Birth is that we cannot separate it from the mystery of how God could ever come into our world; we cannot and will not ever be able to explain this. We merely say how a Virgin Birth happens is God’s doing, and not for us to know ultimately. Our Gospel lesson today is the beginning of the Gospel of John5. John’s Gospel doesn’t begin with the tale of the Virgin Birth. Instead what John’s Gospel communicates in its beginning is that Jesus’ birth was not his beginning. Jesus has been here since the beginning of time itself. Our lesson ties in the Virgin Birth with the story of creation. To understand our lesson for today from John 1 think in terms of what we do know about Adam, Eve, and the Garden of Eden, how they fell into sin, eating some rotten fruit. The whole of creation falls apart after that. One of the most popular Christian funerals hymns that we all know is “In the Garden”. People like this romantic image of the Kingdom of Heaven being compared to a garden. What you maybe don’t know is the whole meaning behind the famous scene from Luke 23 where Jesus talks to the Thief on the Cross to mouth his famous words ‘Today you will be with me in Paradise6”. Paradise comes from the Persian word for “garden”. If you think of what Jesus is saying as ‘Today you shall be with me in the “garden’, what Jesus is saying “the Thief” shall be with him on the day of humanity’s restoration. Jesus is referring to the day that sin and death shall be wiped from the face of the earth forever. How this ties into the Virgin Birth is the Virgin Birth’s purpose is God saying that although sin came into this world, I am going to reverse it by bringing forth forgiveness. The Virgin Birth is God taking a do-over for the sake of a fallen world7. As we talk about the Virgin Birth, I should also make brief mention of the Immaculate Conception. The Immaculate Conception is the idea that Mary’s birth comes as a result of a virgin mother. The Immaculate Conception says that Mary’s birth came without sin. I think the problem with Mary being born of a virgin is that it probably requires her mother Saint Anne also experience birth from a virgin, and so and so on until the beginning of time. My intention is not to bad-mouth Catholic devotion to Mary. I believe that we should honor Mary as we do all other mothers. Mary was called forth by God with a particular, unique purpose. The issue with the Immaculate Conception is that it makes Mary almost more God-like than human. Mary’s unique from all women because of her role in Jesus’ life; Mary is not unique from all women because she possesses any additional super-powers in child-bearing that other women do not own8. During the Virgin Birth debate period that took place during my second year of Seminary. There was a lawyer in this class named Roger. Roger wasn’t just a run of the mill lawyer though. Roger would frequently appear on the Twin Cities “best lawyers” lists. Roger knew how to frame an argument and also how to respond to an argument. Roger would take the opportunity to denigrate the Virgin Birth at every chance he got. I remember asking Roger the lawyer one day the following question “If you believe that there is a God up there who created the Heavens and the Earth? Why don’t you believe that this God is capable of intervening in his creation as he sees necessary even in the form of a Virgin Birth?” Roger sits there for a couple moments thinking; when Roger finally admits that he had no counterpoint to the argument? This breaks down the whole question of the Virgin Birth of whether our faith possess a God worth following that can resolve the problems of sin in our daily life? The Virgin Birth is a debate over whether our God is a worthless being? The reason that the Virgin Birth is so essential to defining the Christian religion is because Christianity centers on the issues of life and death or death and resurrection. If we believe that Jesus couldn’t have come into this life in miraculous fashion then why should we possess any confidence that Jesus could overcome death in extraordinary fashion? A God that cannot intervene in Life and Death we should abandon. Take miracles away from Christianity then Christianity is merely a system of moral beliefs from people who might know or not know about what they are talking. Christianity then is just one of many options claiming to have discovered the truth on Oprah Winfrey’s couch. The Virgin Birth illustrates that Christianity centers upon God coming down to Earth for the sake of our own salvation. God doesn’t do his part, and then we do ours. God did it all for our sake upon a cross. We are merely mortal, we march towards death like the sheep before the slaughter9, yet the Lamb of God came forth to this earth to die and rise again. The Virgin Birth shows that there is a way forward for even if it might seem to be biologically impossible. Christianity is a religion of miracles; it’s a religion that claims that this life is not always going to be how we see it today. Amen 1 John 1:14 2 “Biological Didn’t Bother” rapped by Shaq in 1994 can be found on You Tube. 3 Bolz-Weber, Nadia. “The Virgin Birth: Fact, Fiction, or Truth?”. Sarcastic Lutheran: The Cranky, Beautiful Faith of a Sinner&Saint. Patheos. 17.Dec.2014. Web. Dec.24.2014 4 M. James Sawyer.“The Virgin Birth: Why It is Important”. Parchment and Pen: Credo House Blog. 12. Dec.2011. Web. Dec.24.2014 5 John 1:1-18 6 Luke 23:43 7 M. James Sawyer.“The Virgin Birth: Why It is Important”. 8 Bolz-Weber’s article provides excellent commentary also on the Immaculate Conception. 9 Romans 8:36 |
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