Gracious and loving God, may only your Truth be spoken and only your Truth be heard ☩ in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
What is Christianity? Certainly, that's a big question and one that I will not be able to fully answer in this sermon. But that question really is an important one, as another way of asking the same thing is to ask "What is this all about? Why are we gathered here? Why do we invest time, money, and energy into the Church? So what is Christianity?
Some will say that it is a philosophy - a way of understanding the world. In this approach, Christianity helps us to navigate the world by reframing disappointments as opportunities for something new to develop or by recasting humility and lowliness as places of power. As a philosophy, Christianity helps us think through problems like human sinfulness or anxiety about death. Now, this is not to say that Christianity does not shape our philosophical approach to the world, but Christianity is not merely a philosophy; faith is about more than how we see the world.
Others will say that Christianity is a religion, which is somewhat similar to philosophy. If philosophy is about how we think about the world, then religion is about how we think of that which is beyond this world. So, in this sense of being a religion, some would say that Christianity provides answers to questions that sciences can never fully or adequately answer - questions like what is the meaning of life, what is the essence of a human life, what constitutes ethical behavior. And, again, I'm not saying that Christianity does not address such questions, but our faith is much more than an answer key to the universe.
Another option is to see Christianity as a way of life, and this is perhaps the most common way of viewing the faith - as a set of rules and practices. So this would be spiritual disciplines such as prayer, charitable giving, worship attendance, or rules to live by. As one Jewish scholar has said, any decent religion tells you what to do with your pots, pans, and private parts. To be clear, Christianity is more about what God has done for us than what we are to do, but it is still right to speak of "practicing our faith.” But if Christianity was only about giving us moral instructions then the prophets of God would have been sufficient - there would be no need for Jesus, Good Friday, or Easter. But the name sort of gives it away: Christianity - so Jesus Christ is foundational. Anytime we turn Christianity into something more about us instead of something about God, then we've gone too far down the road of narcissism.
So what's left? If Christianity is not best understood as a philosophy, a religion, or a set of practices, then what is faith all about? This is what the letter to the Ephesians has been helping us to see. Over the past three Sundays, we've considered portions of the first three chapters of this letter. And we've seen that Christianity is about the inheritance of grace that has been given to us in Christ. And this grace is our peace with God and makes unity with others possible. The keystone verse for this came in the first chapter: "With all wisdom and insight God has made known to us the mystery of his will: a plan for the fullness of time to gather up all things in Christ."
Right there, we are given an insight into what Christianity is all about, at least from the viewpoint of Ephesians. Christianity is about the gathering up of all things in Christ. The word there for "gather up" can also mean for things to be "summed up," "brought together," or most literally, "brought to a head." The idea is that all things, our lives, our actions, our thoughts, our world, all of space and time will find their ultimate meaning, purpose, and destiny under the Lordship of Christ. So, with this mind, we can say that Christianity is more than a philosophy, it is more than a religion, it is more than an ethic - it is reality.
Christianity is a description of everything that is true and the means by which we participate in that truth. Another way of saying this is that Christianity is life itself, it is the sum of all Creation. And with this being the case, faith then has philosophical aspects because our best thinking is done in alignment with reality. Faith has religious aspects because the all, encompassing story of God is larger than our minds can fathom. Faith has implications for how we live our lives in the same way that the reality of gravity pervades every aspect of how our world functions.
It is these implications for our lives that are the focus of chapters 4 6 of Ephesians. Hence, today's passage begins with "Therefore/' which links the reality described in the first three chapters to how faith is manifest in our lives in the final three chapters. And so we heard "I beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love." The reality that God is bringing all things together in Christ has an impact on how we function.
But the text then reminds us again of the reality of our faith, which scholars believe was an early Baptismal Creed, and you might recognize it from the opening of our own Baptismal liturgy: "There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all.'' Did you catch the theme there? Oneness. Another way of putting it is that there is one reality, one truth, one story, one purpose of all things - Christ.
The way that Christianity is often reduced into a philosophy, a religion, a code of ethics, or sadly, a political party, is a fatal move. Thankfully, we know that when God encounters fatality that Resurrection life follows, so we don't need to worry too much or think that it is our job to save Christianity because it is not. But it does remain an issue because when Christianity is viewed as anything less than the entirety of all things - as our source, purpose, and destination - then the Oneness that we heard about becomes fractured.
The admonition in today's reading is for us to grow into the full stature of Christ, being mature in our faith. We heard "We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people's trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. But we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ." This is my real concern - in our society and in our lives, believers are being tossed to and fro on account of an immature faith.
When we think about things that are mature, we often mean that they have been developed, refined, and aged so that the rough edges have been taken off and they are ready to be used for their intended purpose. Here in the summertime, we can think about the perfect tomato sandwich, which is only possible when the tomato has had time to mature on the vine and receive sufficient nutrients and growth. Faith is the same. Jesus says that he is the vine and we are the branches. We have heard that all things are being summed in Christ, so a mature faith is about a connection to Christ.
Now, the danger here is that we develop immaturely in thinking that this means developing a personal relationship with Jesus. To be clear, I'm not against a personal relationship with Jesus - he's a great person to know and spend time with. But, as I've said before, faith is always in the plural, never the singular. It would be like having a tomato plant and only focusing on one tomato while ignoring the stems, leaves, roots, and other fruits. It's about the whole plant, even the whole ecosystem.
The end of what we heard in Ephesians points us in this direction, noting that a mature faith is about "being joined and knit together to promote the body's growth in building itself up in love." Mature faith focuses on this oneness - the Oneness of the Holy Trinity, which still includes the blessed and mysterious diversity of Father, Son, and Spirit. Mature faith is about the Oneness of all believers - that whether we like it or not, we are a part of the one body of Christ. If you're on the right side of the body, you might think the left side is horrible, and vice versa; but mature faith is found in being a part of the one body. Mature faith is found in the one story that is being summed up in Christ - which means that the story of our personal lives and preferences is always subservient to the one story of Christ.
I’ve been so struck, and honestly frustrated, by the number of Christians who rejected the miracle of our answered prayers to end this pandemic: a vaccine. Some are saying that they are concerned about the possibility of very rare and mostly minor side effects, and so they are choosing not to be vaccinated, and the cost of this has been a surge in cases and thousands of preventable new cases and deaths. This is the result of an immature faith where thinking is happening on an individual instead of a bodily level. A mature faith, one rooted in the oneness of Christ, would have us accept significant risks for the sake of others. As Jesus tells us, "No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends." Well, we're not asking for lives to be laid down, just to roll up some sleeves.
Truly, my goal here is not to stir up controversy about vaccines, rather it is a timely example of what the cost of an immature faith is. And we could apply this to so many topics - public education, criminal justice, healthcare, the environment, the tax code, interpreting Scripture. What causes us to be tossed to and fro is when we are not properly anchored in Christ and to one another. When we make decisions through the lens of what is best or preferable for ourselves, we are not focused on the Oneness of our faith and we end up doing great harm to ourselves and one another.
There is an idea, a theology, that is rooted in the culture of South Africa, but similar ways of understanding the faith are found around the world. In the Xhosa language it is called ubuntu, and how I wish it were a word that every Christian knew because it points us towards the Oneness of God, the Oneness of our faith, and Oneness of reality in Christ. It can be translated as something like "I am because you are." It is about seeing the oneness of reality. And this stands in contrast to the non Christian worldview that has most influenced our political, economic, and philosophical systems, which are all rooted in the supremacy of the individual. You've probably heard that infamous statement from Rene Descartes - "I think, therefore I am." Simply put, that is immature heresy and it has done so much harm to the world.
The faith that has been gifted to us in Jesus Christ is different - it is not about our own being or thinking, rather it is about the reality that all things are being brought together in Christ. And so we confess that are part of the Oneness that is grander than we can imagine: one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all.
This, I realize is a profound paradigm shift for us - it means seeing everything differently, it means making new habits, it means unlearning most of what we have been taught and taught others. But how exciting this is! God has not given us something as simple as a philosophy to study and think about. God has not given us some interesting religious facts to satisfy our curiosity. God has not given us a rulebook to follow and go about on our merry way. No! We've been given the truth of reality, an adventure to be a part of, a Oneness to constantly grow into and be challenged by. Thanks be to God for letting us be a part of the most beautiful and true reality there is: the Oneness of Christ.
