"Relating to People of Other Faiths" Ash Wednesday Sermon

Relating to People of Other Faiths
Ash Wednesday (NL3)
February 13, 2013
Luke 9.51-62

 “Are you born again,” she said, and I cringed, fearing what was about to come next. “Do you know Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior,” was the most likely follow-up, and there it came. I had encountered “gunslinger evangelism” before, “Christians” who seemed to care about where I was going to spend their vision of eternity and were prepared to shoot holes in any resistance I might have to offer. I appreciated her passion and her willingness to share Christ with me, but I cringed because I sensed that she didn’t really care where I was on my faith journey. She only wished to put another notch on her Jesus belt because I was just another conquest, another person who believed as she did. I also sensed that if I didn’t come around, she’d shake the dust from her feet and leave me to burn, saying that at least she wasn’t going to be to blame for my eternal damnation.

It seems as that kind of attitude toward people of differing beliefs was one held by Jesus’ disciples James and John. From their point of view, Samaritans were Jews who weren’t really Jews, and therefore repulsive. Frankly, the Samaritans thought the same thing, and there were some pretty intense conflicts. It’s important that we understand how much Jews and Samaritans hated each other. They make the division between Democrats and Republicans look like a small difference of opinion. So, when a particular Samaritan village does not extend a welcome to Jesus, his disciples react with an over-the-top solution: they want to impose their version on judgment and damnation

Fortunately, a cooler head prevails. Jesus rebukes his disciples and they continue their journey to Jerusalem. Unfortunately, this attitude of the disciples persists and not just between Jews or Christians; it happens between people of other faiths. In fact, we need to acknowledge that most of Christian history is filled with Christians persecuting people of other faiths. There have been forced conversions, mass killings, and acts too horrific to mention. The fact that people of other faiths have done the same is irrelevant. We have to admit that, in the course of trying to “get it right” we have gotten it wrong, often terribly wrong. As Mahatma Gandhi has famously said, “I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”

This Lenten season, beginning with today, Ash Wednesday, we are going to explore the topic, “When Christians Get It Wrong,” based on the book by Adam Hamilton. It’s a provocative title and we use it intentionally. We are doing so because when people, especially young adults, talk about problems they have with Christianity and the church, they name attitudes and behaviors practiced by Christians, including condemning people of other faiths. This may seem like an odd topic for Ash Wednesday, but I think a good share of today as well as this season means coming clean about how we get it wrong and reflect on ways to get it “right”

First, getting it right doesn’t mean abandoning our deeply held and cherished beliefs. Nor does getting it right mean having to say that it doesn’t matter what you believe as long as you are sincere. Our experience of Nazi Germany and Hitler disabused us of that notion. Getting it right respects the fact that the bulk of the scripture stands witness to the fact that God loves the whole world and that Jesus’ mission was not to condemn the world, but to save it. Second, we are to realize that where someone spends eternity is not our concern, nor is it even and important question. It is God’s concern. Our concern is simply to share our faith in Christ with others.

Third, it’s important that, before we share our faith with the Other, we listen carefully and thoughtfully to their faith stories, looking where we see God working in their life. People of other faiths are as much child of God as we are. When we do so, I think it will be like learning a foreign language. I learned far more about English when I studied French and Greek than I ever did in an English class. The same is true for other faiths. By listening and learning we’ll discover more about what it means for us to live and authentic Christian life.

By the way, we must do this sincerely and not pretending to be interested in order to contradict what the Other says. About a year ago I was contacted by a young man who was attending a conservative Christian college. Apparently they did not teach trinitarian theology, about God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and he said he wanted to know more about it. However, after about a half hour of his debate and rebuttal of everything I was sharing, I finally called him out and told him that I wasn’t interested in a debate. He had expressed interest and I was trying to accommodate. In other words, he didn’t really want to understand; he wanted to be able to prove he was right and I was wrong.

Finally, as followers of Jesus we are to walk the way of the cross, setting our faces toward Jerusalem as he and those first disciples did. Our call to follow Jesus means serving others as signs of God’s self-giving love to the world. In other words, preach the gospel and, if necessary, use words. God be with on your journey this Lent as you follow Jesus, trusting him to help you “get it right” as we related to people of other faiths. Amen