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"Is
Religion A Husk?" Sermon Delivered By Reverend Richard E. Stetler
– December 30, 2012 Centenary United
I Samuel 2:18-20, 26; Luke 2:41-52 Our lesson today
begins by providing some details from the only surviving story in the
Scriptures describing a brief episode from Jesus’ childhood.
As a young boy, Jesus had developed a curiosity about his
religion and more particularly about the spirit by which people lived.
He was so intrigued that he spent three days at the While on their way
home, Mary and Joseph soon discovered that Jesus was not among the other
children. They immediately returned to What would make
Jesus behave this way?
Could it be that he wanted to know why the religious heritage and
traditions around which many Hebrews claimed to fashion their lives did
not make any discernable difference from people that never darkened the
door of the Numerous times I
have had discussions with people that are distressed about Christmas.
Not only did they find fault with the virgin birth but they also
jokingly speculated what Jesus’ DNA would look like to genetic
scientists. Others wondered
how the Three Wise Men followed a star since it is the earth that moves.
Still others have been bothered by the commercialism of Santa
Claus, decorated trees, and the craziness of crowded shopping centers
and gift-giving. Most people in
spite of such criticisms go with the flow and observe all the customs of
Christmas because of their children. They do enjoy Christmas and all the
traditions, but many still have lingering doubts about how influential
all the celebrating is to the lifestyles and attitudes of believers.
Clearly something
is missing from the understanding of countless Christians.
As a 12-year old, Jesus may have arrived at the same doubts with
regard to his faith. He had just experienced the recital of the Passover
where God was represented as a murderer. (Exodus 12:26)
God sent the angel of death to kill the first born of the
Egyptians. Being a very
precocious child, Jesus would have had a problem with such a description
of God. He needed an
explanation from the brightest and best teachers and priests. We can almost hear
him asking, “Please tell me, is the quality of our lives really governed
by obedience to the Laws of Moses? Which is the higher value for our
lives – obedience to The Laws of Moses or to express our faithfulness
with attitudes that demonstrate our love for God and people?”
(Deuteronomy 6:5) Even as a young
boy, Jesus observed that the Jews went through the motions of
remembering their past during Holy Days, but their daily lives remained
more preoccupied with issues of self-interest than attitudes that
remained faithful to the guidance provided by the Law and the prophets. It was as though the Jewish religion was a husk, a cluster or grouping of time-honored definitions of how their faith should be practiced. Few people, however, were able to get beyond the husk to harvest the grain that would actually influence their attitudes and behavior. People knew the message but they lived according to their desires and needs. All these observations prepared
Jesus to abandon his religion as it was being practiced.
Instead, Jesus pointed to something no one could see or easily
understand -- an inner-world of spirit that lay within the
husk
that Judaism had become.
He called it,
the As we prepare
ourselves for the New Year, we might ask ourselves if we are as curious
about the transforming ability of spiritual knowledge as Jesus was at
the age of 12. Are we as
hungry to gain deeper insight into our nature as spirit-beings and as
eager as he was to display qualities that are becoming increasingly
difficult to find among people?
Are we that much
different from the Jews in Jesus’ day?
We have just traveled though Advent and the birth of Jesus.
We have discussed four major spiritual values:
Hope, Love, Joy and Peace.
In essence, we have been looking back on our faith heritage and
celebrating an event in our past just as the Jews did when they
rehearsed the Passover and their exodus from If Christianity has also become
our husk,
what would it take for us to passionately get to the
grain
that transforms our attitudes, renews our thoughts and motivates us to
serve others?
What would happen to us, if we
had an experience that took us beneath the
husk that Christianity is for
many people? Let me give you an
example of what such a transformation might look like.
A woman in my past came to me in desperation because her faith no
longer supported her journey. Betty Ann and her mother were inseparable.
Since Betty Ann’s husband was a basketball coach and was gone on
many weekends, his absence provided the opportunity for the pair to
embark on many adventures together. Suddenly and
without the slightest warning, her mother had a massive cerebral
hemorrhage and she never regained consciousness. There had been no
personal time to bring some closure or even say, “Good-bye.”
Since her mother was in her early 60s and was as energetic as a
35-year old, there appeared to be considerable time left for the two to
travel and pursue mutual interests.
Betty Ann’s vision of the future had vaporized just as it was
beginning to unfold. She
became inconsolable. The preparation for
the memorial service was difficult because she was angry with God.
She felt robbed of her best friend, confidant and life-companion.
Her entire future appeared to be shattered because she could not
move beyond the thought that her mother was gone from her life. One afternoon,
several weeks after the funeral, Betty Ann rushed into my office to see
if I had the time to visit. Even
though I had been unsuccessful in helping her manage her grieving,
something was different about her spirit. She came into my office
smiling and appeared eager to tell me something.
She told me that
her mother had awakened her from sleep during the night by shaking her
feet. Her mother was seated
at the edge of her bed radiating enough light to fill the room.
That is where she sat when she
read bedtime stories to Betty Ann when she was a little girl.
The two had a running conversation.
Her mother reassured her that she was fine.
She told Betty Ann that there was no pain during the process of
leaving her body. She
described it as going from one room into another.
She said, Here, if we wish,
we have the ability to appear in a form that is most familiar to us;
however, there are no words in any language that can describe where I
am. I came back to tell you
that I am fine and that you must let go of me. Besides, God is way
beyond everything we were taught in Sunday school.
And what came as a surprise to me is that Jesus was really just
one of us. After recovering
from being completely emotionally overwhelmed, she asked, “Why is it
that others who die do not come back and visit their families?
That would make going on with life much easier.”
Her mother smiled and said, You will have all
your questions answered when you leave your world.
What is important is that you have confidence that God’s presence
surrounds you no matter where you are or what you are doing.
Most people are unaware of this. Have confidence Betty Ann that
all is well because God is with you.
That confidence and sensitivity is how God guides us. I love you
Betty Ann. Good-bye for now. After that, she
said her mother’s image faded.
Her heart was still pounding rapidly as she realized that going
back to sleep would be impossible. Betty Ann went on
to tell me that she was the only one whose words were audible.
Her mother’s words entered her mind, not her ears.
Her mother’s lips never moved even though she smiled.
I told her to please write down everything she experienced while
it was still fresh in her mind. She had already done so and had brought
to me a copy from which I have just quoted. This glimpse of
the other side completely
transformed Betty Ann’s life.
The experience allowed her to penetrate the
husk that her faith once
represented. She was now able to
become energized by the transforming power that continued to come from
the grain.
She began living fearlessly
and with total confidence because her faith had been replaced by
first-hand knowledge. The New Year may
bring sudden changes to our lives and to the lives of our loved ones.
All changes are a natural outgrowth of being born into our world.
Reversals in life like the one experienced by Betty Ann can
provide us with an opportunity to descend beneath the
husk of Christianity, a
husk represented by daily
devotions, attending church, singing Christmas Carols, remembering
Jesus’ teachings and giving ourselves away in mission. Husks
are absolutely necessary.
A husk, by
design, protects the
grain under its canopy.
For
Christians, that husk also
houses our core beliefs, our understanding of the nature of God, our
traditions and practices, and the relevance of the Scriptures to our
daily lives. Without the husk that protected his religious heritage, Jesus would not have had the foundation upon which to build his message. He taught others that a transformed inner world would energize people to interpret creatively the changes in their material world. Zacchaeus was the
chief of all tax collectors.
Think of how quickly his life was transformed.
It was over lunch with Jesus that the life-changing moment
occurred. (Luke 19:8)
Going beneath the husk
of our faith can happen by having the passion to know more like Jesus as
a 12-year old boy. We all need the
husk that Christianity
provides. However, we are
all individuals. Each of us must find the
grain that works for us.
We are all completely different on how we process our lives.
Every thumb print is different.
The genetic code found in our DNA is different.
The process of mastering spirituality can be scary and may be
dramatically different from the way others interpret their experiences,
their faith and their unique orientation toward life.
Jesus built his
understanding on what he had inherited.
A number of his disciples walked away from Jesus.
(John 6:66) However, if
we want the power that comes from finding
the grain, we must take the
risks with fear and trembling as we seek it. (Philippians 2:12b)
In the New Year, there can be no greater calling than this. Remain open to God’s guidance. It may come in a form that only you can recognize. It takes courage to let go of the husk as Jesus did and allow the flow of God’s creative energy to carry us into tomorrow. |