"When Beliefs Become Threatened"

Meditation Delivered By Reverend Richard E. Stetler – March 4, 2012

Centenary United Methodist Church

Psalm 22:23-31; Mark 8:31-38

 

    One of the aspects of Jesus’ life that has always intrigued millions of believers is how such a harmless, humble carpenter, could become so despised and hated by members of the most religious and righteous people in the ancient world. 

    Jesus taught that we should respond to others exactly as we want them to respond to us. He taught his listeners that they should love their neighbors and their enemies.  He taught his audiences that forgiveness can become an automatic response once each has learned not to personalize the use of poor judgment and the callous attitudes of others.  He taught his listeners that these responses reflect the nature of God’s love toward everyone including the Romans and the Samaritans.

    In our Gospel lesson today, Mark quotes Jesus as saying, “The Son of Man must suffer much and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the Law.”  This morning we are going to discuss why Jesus had such thoughts. How could anyone reject Jesus? 

    Several years ago, I was part of a forum that discussed the origins of humankind.  The group was brought together to help high school educators consider what should be included in the Science curriculum.    

    The panel included several Creationists.  These are people who believe that the world and its inhabitants were created in seven days just as it says in the Book of Genesis.  They were absolutely convinced that this portrayal of human history was true because the Bible said so.

    The panel also had a number of Evolutionists that had a very different understanding of creation. These were people whose conclusions were supported by scientific evidence from fossils, carbon dating, and the remains of humanoid creatures that dated back to millions of years ago.  Their understanding was that the Biblical traditions in Genesis were creation-mythologies like those found in all religions. They said that these stories were repeated for thousands of years among nomadic tribes before people could read or write.   

    The discussion between the panel members began with warm and gracious introductory comments.  It did not take long, however, before the conversation became emotionally charged. Soon, intelligent people were engaged in personal attacks on those whose opinions differed, even doubting the quality and integrity of their faith and mental acuity. 

    The discussion clearly illustrated how passionate people can become about their beliefs and the authority that supports those beliefs. What was considered sacred territory by each group was being threatened by the other. 

    Oil and water can be poured into a glass bottle and shaken for days but once the contents settle, a clear division separates the two liquids.  This is how beliefs can separate people into warring camps who otherwise are cordial and friendly. 

    The evolutionists pointed out that there were three different traditions in Genesis.  One tradition indicated that on the sixth day God created male and female human beings in his own image, invited them to have many children, to live all over the earth and to bring the earth under their control. (Genesis 1:27f) 

    The second tradition had a different sequence of events.   God had created the first man from dirt and placed him in a magnificent garden.  God then created the animals and birds and eventually made a woman from one of the man’s ribs.  There is no mention of seven days. (Genesis 2:5f).

    Finally, they mentioned a third tradition that is never mentioned from any pastor’s pulpit since it sounds as though the writer of Genesis had lifted the story right out of Greek mythology. It is quite possible that this tradition was also circulating at the time the others were.  The author of Genesis wrote:

When people had spread all over the world and daughters were being born, some of the sons of God saw that these young women were beautiful and so they took the ones they liked.  In those days, and even later, there were giants on the earth who were descendants of human women and these heavenly beings.  These descendants became the great heroes and famous men of long ago.  (Genesis 6:1-2, 4)

    The Evolutionists concluded their presentation with the comment that it would be ridiculous to teach such things to students when the evidence is overwhelming that humankind evolved over hundreds of thousands of years.  The Creationists, however, were adamant and unmovable from their position because their authority rested on their understanding that the Bible is the infallible Word of God.  

    It was eventually decided that both Creationism and Evolution should be taught and discussed in the Science classes of the school system.  The Creationists said they would be monitoring what is said. 

    The only contribution I can remember making to this group was asking both sides whether or not having accurate information concerning the origin of humankind made any significant difference to the quality of human life.  It did matter to both sides because something considered sacred was being threatened.  What happens to us when our beliefs are being shaken by a different point of view?

    In our lesson today, Jesus knew that he had become an enormous threat to the elders, chief priests and teachers of the Law.  For these religious authorities, discipline and obedience were required to follow the Laws given to Moses by God, tasks to which they had devoted their lives.  Jesus, however, was claiming that the requirements of the Law could be met by loving God and one another.  (Matthew 22:40)  

    The religious authorities were saying that the righteous life could be measured by acts of righteousness like tithing everything they earned and grew.  Jesus was saying that a person’s inner attitudes are the true measure of the quality of their spirits. (Matthew 7:12)

    What frightened them even more than what Jesus was teaching was the power that he exhibited to restore sight to the blind, mobility to the lame and healthy skin to those with leprosy.  The size of the crowds he attracted made the religious authorities very uncomfortable. 

    Jesus also began to disregard certain Laws. Jesus said, “You have heard it said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth,’ but I say, do not take revenge on someone who has wronged you.  You have heard it said, ‘Love your friends and hate your enemies,’ but I say that you must love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” (Matthew 5:38f)  Jesus was painting outside the lines that had been drawn for centuries.  The beliefs held by religious leaders were so strong that they concluded Jesus had to be stopped, even if that meant ending his life.

    Last year in November an Afghani Muslim, Mohammad Shafia, living in Ontario, Canada killed his three teenage daughters and his first wife to protect the honor of his family. He confessed that he would do it again if he had the opportunity.  We can hardly imagine such a ruthless, brutal response evoked by this man’s beliefs concerning the life-style changes of his daughters.  Equally it is difficult to imagine the crucifixion of Jesus inspired by those who bore the title of the chief priests. 

    Just recently we have learned of the passionate response by Muslims in Afghanistan due to the accidental burning of the Quran by the American military.  Nearly a dozen Americans have been killed since that incident became known.  

    The Taliban, however, never hesitated in their need to destroy large statues of Buddha that had been in place for 1,700 years in Afghanistan.  They were carved out of sandstone on the side of a mountain.  One of them stood 165 feet tall.  The Taliban blew them up with dynamite after their firing on them from their tanks failed to destroy them.

    Lent provides us an opportunity to reflect on our beliefs, values and attitudes that govern our responses to life.  Many of these that deeply influence us may go unrecognized.  Just because we have accepted Jesus Christ as our friend, guide and savior does not mean that our beliefs and attitudes are above reproach. 

    For example, after the meeting between the Creationists and the Evolutionists, mature, Christian men and women could hardly look at the Evolutionists as they were departing.  In fact, the Christians did not speak to them as they left the building.  The Evolutionists seemed frustrated by the closed minds of the Christians. What happens to us when our beliefs are challenged that we so easily set aside Jesus’ core value to love one another?

    Today many people are very concerned about Islamic extremists who not only preach terrorism but follow through on what they preach.  In these modern times, we would do well to remind ourselves of something Jesus said:  “First take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.” (Matthew 7:5)  We Christians have had our moments historically when there was no difference between today’s terrorists and those who claimed Christ as their Lord and Savior.

    For example, in the year 311, Emperor Constantine of the Roman Empire became a Christian.  He stopped the persecution of Christians and granted enormous favors to the Church. Yet, he ruthlessly suppressed non-Christians.  He even murdered some members of his own family.  So that there would be no less than a thorough cleansing, he postponed their baptism to the moments prior to their execution.

    In the year 800, on Christmas morning no less, the Pope crowned Charlemagne "King of the Romans" and declared that the creation of the Holy Roman Empire had been ordained by God. While trying to convert the "heathen" of northern Europe, Charlemagne beheaded 4,000 Saxons who would not submit to the yoke Christianity would have imposed.

    Martin Luther was the unintentional instigator of the Reformation. He praised God for God's loving grace, but when the Peasants' Rebellion broke out in 1525, Luther wrote a savage tract that was entitled, Against the Murderous and Thieving Hordes of Peasants. In this religious tract, Luther advised "Everyone who can, should smite, slay, and stab the rebels as they would a mad dog."

    On August 24, 1573, the Pope entered the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican and sang an exultant "Te Deum,” the Latin title for a piece that proclaims the magnificence of God’s love. The occasion for the Pope’s celebration was the Massacre of St. Bartholomew’s Day when fanatical Roman Catholics slaughtered 10,000 Protestants in the streets of Paris.

    Erasmus, who provided the world with the first translation of the New Testament in Greek in 1516, and a peer of Martin Luther, gave his life to liberating Christianity from the shackles imposed by theologians, intellectuals and politicians. He once wrote, “Truly the yoke of Christ would be sweet if petty human institutions added nothing more to what Jesus, himself, imposed.  He commanded us to do nothing more than to love one another.” 

     Erasmus truly believed that our discipleship must mirror God’s love toward all of us.  If believers cannot do that, he felt that the life, teachings, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ were meaningless to them.

    What does all this mean for our congregation at Centenary during these days of Lent?  Hopefully, we may become more reflective and observant of the beliefs that are operating in our lives.  Do our attitudes create a sense of community? Do our values encourage us to respect one another? Does the spirit, by which we live, invite others to feel comfortable with us?  

     We are the only ones who can answer these questions. The authentic answers are already known by God.  The truth we need to know this morning is that God still loves us in spite of ourselves.  God knows we are still a work in progress.