A Whole New World

What does it mean to be a Christian? What difference does it make in your life? In the Presbyterian church, our Book of Order says that:

A faithful member bears witness to God’s love and grace and promises to be involved responsibly in the ministry of Christ’s Church …
~proclaiming the good news in word and deed, What does that mean? someone who has known you or worked with you for years should not be surprised to learn that you’re a member of a church,
~taking part in the common life and worship of a congregation, the fellowship and worship times of the church are important on your calendar,
~lifting one another up in prayer, mutual concern, and active support, I love when I get an email asking how someone on the prayer list is doing or a call asking if I know any particular ways someone could use support,
~studying Scripture and the issues of Christian faith and life, Bible study, Presbyterian women and men’s studies, Wednesday night studies, devotions like reading Luke one chapter per week (we are on chapter 7 this week…it is not too late to catch up or even just jump into chapter 7, where Jesus is healing and forgiving and John sends two of his followers to Jesus to ask whether he is the long-awaited Savior.)
~supporting the ministry of the church through the giving of money, time, and talents, we are at a critical point as we emerge from a year of what felt like being in a cocoon, and we need your leadership and participation,
~demonstrating a new quality of life within and through the church, just about every week in the assurance of pardon, I say “the old life has gone and a new life has begun” – how is your new life different from your old life?
~responding to God’s activity in the world through service to others, living responsibly in the personal, family, vocational, political, cultural, and social relationships of life, working in the world for peace, justice, freedom, and human fulfillment, caring for God’s creation,
~participating in the governing responsibilities of the church, and
~reviewing and evaluating regularly the integrity of one’s membership, and considering ways in which one’s participation in the worship and service of the church may be increased and made more meaningful.

The whole section on what it means to be a member is all just a different way of saying what Paul says to the Christians in and around Ephesus, “you must no longer live as the Gentiles do….Put off your old nature..and put on the new nature, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.”

The Gentile culture of Ephesus was woven into the fabric of their society. Ephesus was a port city, with all the excitements that arrival on land after a long time at sea one might expect sailors to be looking for. At the center of the city was the library, a beautiful multi-story stone building filled with scrolls – it was like our National Archives – they tried to have a copy of every book. When the library burned, it was a tragic loss. Not least of which, for the upright men of Ephesus, was that there was a passageway from the library, under the street, to the brothel. And the shops along the streets were there for the tourists. Ephesus’ economy was based in tourism, artisans shaped silver into pendants and statues, of the goddess Artemis, a fertility goddess and goddess of the hunt. The Temple of Artemis was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, and worship of Artemis involved ritual prostitution. It was big business. Paul says, “you must no longer live as the Gentiles do.”

And while it may be easy to point to the ways the Ephesian Christians might have been tempted to hesitate or vacillate about breaking with the local culture and easy to point to the ways they may have been conforming to the local culture, it is harder to point to the same things in ourselves. Surely we don’t have idols we worship or sinful goods we sell. Surely we don’t take advantage of the weak at the pleasure of the wealthy. Surely we don’t hide in plain sight opportunities to succumb to temptation. Surely we don’t allow our economy to drive our morality.

Paul says, “Speak the truth.” Truth is foundational for all relationships. Without truth, there is no trust and therefore, no relationship. Speak the truth to one another, and then let it go. Don’t let the sun go down on your anger; don’t hold a grudge. Don’t let words that tear down fester and brew until they come out, instead, go ahead and address falsehood directly. Speak the truth and the result will be a community of kindness, compassion, and forgiveness.

It’s a whole new world – a whole new way of relating to one another. The community that results is unlike anything you will find outside the church; it is a community of grace, an outpost of heaven, God’s kingdom, or a term coined by theologian Ada María Isasi-Díaz God’s kin-dom, because we are all brothers and sisters in Christ, equally invited to gather at his table and feast, no one is excluded or marginalized.

When Paul says put away falsehood, he is calling for a comprehensive transformation. He is telling them that becoming members of the Way of Christ is going to mean learning a whole new way of life. Membership in the church today is no less a commitment to a whole new world.

The closest similar transition I can think of is the transition that occurs when you become a parent. After we had been married about 3 years, and about 4 years before we had our first child, Chris and I got a dog. People asked us if we were practicing for parenthood. The dog did require some adjustments. We had to let her outside when she sat by the back door. We had to feed her and give her water. We had to put her in the bathroom before we left to go somewhere. We had to board her when we went out of town. But, let me assure you, she was no preparation for caring for a new baby. Before our son was born, I read books about what to expect; I read articles about what not to do; I talked with friends who were moms; I looked into mommy and me classes and groups for enrichment and stimulation and learning. And still, there is nothing like that moment when you are holding your newborn, and all the grandparents and aunts and uncles and friends have gone home, and you realize you are now a parent. It is a membership like no other membership. A whole new world.

Church membership requires a life change every bit as complete – a whole new world. It isn’t like adopting a puppy. It is receiving a whole new identity: taking off your old nature, and put on the new nature, created after the likeness of God.” A whole new world of relationships based in truth, with compassion, forgiveness, and grace.