I. BEGINNING

When I was in seminary, I had the great privilege of studying liturgy, sacraments, and preaching with one of the giants of the contemporary United Methodist Church. Before he died a few years ago, Laurence Hull Stookey was one of the renown experts in the denomination in the field of liturgics and worship. (Take a look at the hymnal, his name is all over it.) Needless to say, in those courses I learned a ton about how to put together a coherent worship service, about the nature of the Christian year, about how to write a sound congregational prayer, about the structure of a good sermon, and about our theology of the sacraments.

But it was something that he said to me outside of those classes that has stuck with me for a long time. He said, “It’s almost gotten to the point where I get put off by the word Christian. One of my parishioners said, ‘Oh, we’ve put our child in a Christian school,’ and I thought to myself, Good God, why would you do that?!?”

Now, as I said, this was a giant in our denomination, a lifelong churchman, and a committed Christian himself. So, it’s not as if he were some outsider hostile to Christianity—he was the consummate insider. And yet, there was something about that word that made him uncomfortable. He is not alone.

In recent years, the word Christian hasn’t always elicited the most Christian of responses either by those who hear it, or frequently by those who use it.

In fact, if there’s a problem with our brand, it’s with the way so many of us use the brand. 

We keep focusing on things that don’t matter. 

II.  WHAT CHRISTIANITY ISN’T

Like, having the right beliefs:

A.   The Right Beliefs

Christianity is sometimes defined as a set of things to believe. You’re a Christian if you believe the right things. There’s a lot I could say on this, and I lot I have said already. But I’ll let John Wesley say it for me:

For neither does religion consist in Orthodoxy, or right opinions; which, although they are not properly outward things, are not in the heart, but the understanding. A man may be orthodox in every point; he may not only espouse right opinions, but zealously defend them against all opposers; he may think justly concerning the incarnation of our Lord, concerning the ever-blessed Trinity, and every other doctrine contained in the oracles of God; he may assent to all the three creeds, — that called the Apostles’, the Nicene, and the Athanasian; and yet it is possible he may have no religion at all…. He may be almost as orthodox — as the devil, (though, indeed, not altogether; for every man errs in something; whereas we can’t well conceive him to hold any erroneous opinion,) and may, all the while be as great a stranger as he to the religion of the heart.^[1]

Jesus, too, reminds us that it’s not all about our confessions or creeds: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but those who do the will of my Father…”

This idea is affirmed by martyred Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero—soon to be Saint Oscar—who said:

How I would like to engrave this great idea on each one’s heart: Christianity is not a collection of truths to be believed, of laws to be obeyed, of prohibitions. That makes it very distasteful. Christianity is a person, one who loved us so much, one who calls for our love. Christianity is Christ. November 6, 1977^[2]

Oscar Romero

B. Rule Followers

Romero points out another misconception about what it means to be Christian: Christianity is not “laws to be obeyed, of prohibitions…” This, too is so often cast as a religion of rules. A religion ofthou shalt nots.

Another thing that we focus on that doesn’t matter nearly as much as we think.

George Carlin once quipped that the Christian God was the all powerful, loving Creator of all things, who for some reason really cared where you put your hands.

I once had a conversation with the director of Methodist campus ministries in the United Kingdom. Curious to know what the reputation of Methodists was in the land that gave birth to the Wesleys and the Methodist movement, I asked, “What do British people think of Methodists?”

“Well,” he began, “Mostly they view us as against things.” I know that what that meant was that Methodists were probably opposed to things like gambling and other social ills. But it’s a fitting pattern. So many Christians today are not viewed as people who are for anything—justagainst things. We spend so much of our energies on not doing things: not baking cakes, not approving civil licenses, not doing x, y, or z that today, Christians are known more for being against things that we feel, rightly or wrongly, violate our rules, than we are known for being for something.

C. A Tribe

And then, there is the thing that matters perhaps least of all: tribalism.

One of the most troubling understandings of Christian has been the understanding in recent years that Christian is a kind of tribe. That is, Christian is a group identity, first and foremost. It’s a kind of cultural identitythat is lifted up and defended.

1. Christian Identity

There is a problem with Christianity as an identity—especially as a cultural identity—and that is this: what exactly is that identity? I mean that seriously. Christianity was started as a movement by a group of Palestinian Jews two thousand years ago in the eastern Mediterranean portion of the Roman Empire. It took root among Hellenistic Greeks and Romans of the region, before eventually being established as the official religion of that Roman Empire, but not before it had been exported into Syria, and Egypt, and Arabia, and throughout North Africa. It continued to spread among Eastern peoples all the way to Persia, India, and even China as it was spreading north to the Germanic tribes beyond the Empire’s boundaries and to the Celtic tribes of Western Europe and Britain. It would become the religion of the Slavs and eventually Moscow would become a great seat of the Christian church. It would be carried on ships to the New World and follow empires and colonizers wout of Europe where it would take root among the indigenous cultures of North, Central, and South America, Sub-Saharan Africa, Australia, the Korean Peninsula, and into Oceania. It was shared with enslaved Africans who despite their slaveowners’ intention to use the religion to make them docile, found in it a source of strength and resistence. It would be carried by Catholics, Orthodox Christians, Protestant missionaries, and Pentecostal preachers. It would be preached in Aramaic, Greek, Latin, Arabic, Hindi, Bantu, Zulu, Cherokee, Quechua, Spanish, German, English, French, Russian, Chinese, Tagalog, Korean, Chinese. It is a religion of Black, White, Brown, urban and rural.

So, if Christian is a cultural identity, what on earth does it look like? What does a “Christian” so defined look like, think like, talk like, dress like, act like, or believe like? Given the tremendous diversity of the Christian experience, what is “Christian identity” and how on earth do we define it?

And so, the real danger of Identity Christianity is that it is so easily conflated with other identities. It is too easily conflated with racial identity (usually White), political identity (usually conservative), or national identity (usually American). 

Folks, I have really good Bible software. I can search the text in multiple translations; compare ancient texts in Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, and Latin; drill down to the meaning of particular words and their roots. For the life of me, I cannot find the word “American” in the Bible. I can’t find the word “white person” in the Bible either. And the only significant mention of race I can find is in the Book of Revelation where it is written:

“After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands.”(Revelation 7:9 NRSV)

2.   Us & Them

Further , This tribal idea has to be lacking because at the heart of Christ’s message to us is a rejection of an us and them attitude. Christ reminds us that there is no us & them, there is only us. Lest you have any doubt, it is Jesus who speaks to the Samaritan woman at the well, who makes the Samaritan the hero of one of his greatest parables, who heals the daughter of a Syro-Phoenician woman, the servant of a Roman centurion, and who is proclaimed by a Roman at his crucifixion to be “God’s son.” There are an awful lot of “outsiders” that Jesus places close to the center of his ministry and message. When Jesus’ arms are stretched out on the cross, he—as John’s gospel says—is drawing “all people” to himself.

And so, if our primary understanding of our Christian faith is to be an identity that creates division between us and others, then we’re clearly doing it wrong.

So, it strikes me that these understandings of what it means to be Christian must be lacking. And they probably have less to do with authentic Christian faith than our own need to belong to something safe and familiar.

3. The Disconnect

We focus on the things that don’t matter to such a degree that we ignore the things that do. In addition, an identity Christianity can be focused less on living out the call to discipleship and more insistent on wanting to label things as Christian: on wanting to ensure that our symbols and language are dominant. In fact, sometimes we care more about people knowing that we’re Christian than about actually being Christian. 

Just yesterday, I saw someone post on Twitter, “Why is it that every time I look at the profile of someone who has just tweeted at me the most hateful thing, their profile description always seems to say, “I love my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ”? It’s not enough to say it, folks, if that’s all it is. It reminds me of Mark Twain’s quip that “There has been only one Christian. They caught him and crucified him—early.”

In addition, sometimes we care more about projecting a superficial presence of Christianity into the world rather than, I dunno, actually living out the Gospel. When a person dresses down a Wal-Mart clerk for, God forbid, wishing her “Happy Holidays,” where on earth is the Gospel in that? That seems to have more to do with planting a tribal flag than it has anything to do with authentically living out faith. It is entirely possible to be faithful Christians even if the retail industry doesn’t adopt our favorite language. (I might also add that if your Christian faith needs a retail clerk’s reminder of what liturgical season you’re in in order to be healthy, then perhaps it’s time to reconsider just how strong that faith actually is.)

D. Trivialities

And then of course there are the trivialities: the things that we even know on some level don’t matter but can’t help making them a big deal: the color of the carpet in the sanctuary, the style of the choir robes, whether a certain prayer comes before or after a hymn…

III. WHAT CHRISTIANITY IS

We focus on the things that don’t matter—beliefs, rules, identity—to such a degree that we ignore the things that do. 

Christianity isn’t a belief system, or a rule book, or an identity—it’s a way of life. The earliest name for Christianity was The Way, suggesting that being a Christian was less about claiming a label for ourselves than it was about following a certain pattern of living, following a journey. 

And what is that pattern? It is the pattern of Christ. And when we look into our traditions and at our scriptures, it’s surprising how plainly laid out it is.

A. What the Lord Requires

And so what is the pattern of Christian living? If it is not to be associated with particular beliefs, particular ideologies, ethnic or national identities, or particular rules?

Here, too, the answer is surprisingly simple. 

In the Eighth Century BC, the Prophet Micah was preaching in Judah and Jerusalem. In the midst of the social and political upheaval of that age, the prophet reminded the people that they were not doing what God wanted of them. He presented this objection in the form of a lawsuit in which God sues Israel for breach of contract:

Hear what the LORD says: Rise, plead your case before the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice. Hear, you mountains, the controversy of the LORD, and you enduring foundations of the earth; for the LORD has a controversy with his people, and he will contend with Israel.

Having properly named the court and the parties, God proceeds to outline the basic cause of action:

“O my people, what have I done to you? In what have I wearied you? Answer me! For I brought you up from the land of Egypt, and redeemed you from the house of slavery; and I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.”

God’s complaint: I have performed according to our contract. I got you out of Egypt and protected you. I sent prophets. Why aren’t you doing your side of the contract?

Israel responds, somewhat exasperatedly:

“With what shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”

What more do you want us to do, God? How many sacrifices do you want? How many worship services will satisfy you? How many hymn sings, committee meetings, Annual Conferences, and Candlelight services do you want, God?

The judgment is definitive and displays a frustration from the bench:

He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

Micah 6:8

In short: how hard is this, Israel? It’s easy: justice, faithful kindness, and humility. Do that! 

B. What the Law Is

And if we don’t listen to the prophets, perhaps Jesus himself can make this point clearer. 

When confronted with the criticism of the Pharisees that he and his disciples are not sufficiently attentive to the requirements of the law, Jesus is blunt in his condemnation of this attitude:

 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. It is these you ought to have practiced without neglecting the others. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel!

Then he accuses them of seeking to appear to be righteous without actually being righteous. Perhaps they were fond of their identity as faithful religious folks, but hadn’t actually internalized what that means.

These are the things that matter.

For these are the “weightier matters” of the law: justice, mercy, and faith. There’s nothing here about rigid adherence to orthodoxy—in fact, in other places Jesus rejects the idea that creed alone is sufficient (“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will see the kingdom of heaven…”). There’s nothing here about rejecting people who look different from you, think differently, vote differently, speak differently. There is only the constant emphasis on justice, mercy, and faith.

Now, it is important to point out that in this story, the Pharisees are not the rabbinic leadership of First Century Judaism; we’re the Pharisees. Lest we think that this is a story that speaks only to Jesus’ contemporaries, it is a story that speaks directly to us.

All of the things that we’re fond of—strict rules, clear statements of belief, clear definitions of insider and outsider, national, racial, and ethnic divisions, political loyalties—all of them are things that Jesus rejects in favor of the “weightier matters” of justice, mercy, and faith.

IV. END

Now, I know why rigid certainties of religious observance, rule following, and tribal identity are so often identified with what it means to be Christian—because they’re easier. It’s easier to follow rules, accept a list of 10 things we’re supposed to believe, or to sign on to membership of a club purporting to be God’s favorite people. That’s simple. That’s certain.

But faith is not about what’s certain or simple. Christian faith is not about loving those who love you—it’s about loving your enemies and praying for those who persecute you. It’s not about welcoming only those who are already on the inside, it’s about welcoming the Other; the immigrant and the stranger of that other group. It’s not about holding on to the status and position we’ve managed to secure, it’s about justice—ensuring equal access to the structures of power for all. It’s not about equating any cultural, racial, political, or national identity with what it means to be Christian, it’s about seeing in all people the image of God and acting like we actually believe it.

Justice, mercy, and faith are not easy, but the heart of faith is not about what’s easiest to do—it’s frequently about what’s hardest. This is true of most things—the most worthwhile, the most meaningful are rarely the easiest. In fact, I don’t know that it’s a coincidence that Jesus refers to these aspects of the law as the weightier matters—they are not just more substantial, they’re a burden.

But here’s the thing: we don’t have to lift that burden alone. We have each other, in loving community, to do that. And we have the one who has called us to live those lives of justice, mercy, and faith, to welcome the stranger, to provide for the poor, to love our enemies, and to transform the world through living out lives of grace. The One who said to us, “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest… .For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28, 30 NRSV)

^[1]https://www.umcmission.org/Find-Resources/John-Wesley-Sermons/Sermon-7-The-Way-to-the-Kingdom

^[2]Romero, Oscar A., and James R. Brockman. The Violence of Love. Farmington, PA: Plough Pub. House, 1998, 21–22.

The Texts

Micah 6:1–8

Hear what the LORD says: Rise, plead your case before the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice. Hear, you mountains, the controversy of the LORD, and you enduring foundations of the earth; for the LORD has a controversy with his people, and he will contend with Israel.   

“O my people, what have I done to you? In what have I wearied you? Answer me! For I brought you up from the land of Egypt, and redeemed you from the house of slavery; and I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. O my people, remember now what King Balak of Moab devised, what Balaam son of Beor answered him, and what happened from Shittim to Gilgal, that you may know the saving acts of the LORD.”   

“With what shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?” He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?  

Matthew 23:23–28

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. It is these you ought to have practiced without neglecting the others. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel!

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup, so that the outside also may become clean.“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which on the outside look beautiful, but inside they are full of the bones of the dead and of all kinds of filth. So you also on the outside look righteous to others, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.”