Who Are We?

Matthew 5:1-16

So who are we?  We claim to be Christians and we attend worship at Christian churches (most of the time), but does this simple proclamation say anything that matters to our Lord?  Or to those outside the Covenant, outside the Church?  It doesn't seem to, judging by an overall and steady decline in worship attendance, Bible study, and church membership.  This is not always to say that the absence of so many is a direct testimony of our own imperfections, but we must always be willing to look more deeply within to determine whether we are truly being and doing all we are called and equipped to be and to do regardless of what "others" are being or doing. 

This inward reflection has nothing to do with those who choose not to attend worship - just as Divine Love is not predicated or conditional upon whether or not someone may respond in kind.  This necessary inward reflection is about us; "us" as individuals as well as "us" as the Body of Christ, individuals within a community of faith; disciples called forth and set apart for the mission of Christ's Holy Church.  This inward reflection is about breaking through the facade of our being, overcoming what we choose to be in public, and being honest with what is really there.  It is only by such efforts that the faithful are brought into that necessary period of repentance - when we find our profound need for the Lord in our lives as we come face-to-face with our shortcomings and our failures.

So who are we?  Some say we are what we eat.  If this is true, I would suggest maybe we don't eat enough cake; you know, the "sweet" stuff!  If it is true that we are what we eat, this concept may be disturbing according to the rules of Jewish Kosher law and the Law of Moses both of which, in simple terms, command that the Lord's people are NOT to eat animals that consume waste of any kind.  If we truly are what we eat, this should not sit well with Southerners whose diet consists substantially of "bottom dwelling", waste-consuming river critters or pigs that will eat what we would not dream of eating on our worst day!

Others say we are defined by our check book registers and bank statements that reflect our wasteful spending and hoarding habits.  Still others say who we really are is defined by how we act when we think no one is looking, or when we share gossip but "only" with a trusted friend who will in turn pass this malicious gossip on to their own trusted friend until we soon discover that our trusted friends can no more be trusted with good gossip than we!

Many of us tend to believe ourselves to be defined by our careers and vocations.  We are teachers and preachers, doctors and lawyers, contractors and laborers, wholesalers and retailers.  Our nation's economy continues to struggle as millions have not only lost jobs but seem unable to find new jobs.  While it may be easy to dismiss so many as just plain "lazy", we are not looking deeply enough to see that many who have lost jobs lost much more than just a pay-check; they lost a substantial part of who they came to believe themselves to be.  I am convinced through personal experience that what many are suffering has more to do with a crisis of identity than with a crisis of finance.

We may also be tempted to define ourselves according to the so-called "Great Commission" in which the Church is called forth to teach, to preach, and to baptize; that is, we are defined by what we are called to do as an institution.  This is a contributing factor to the whole of who we are, but there again is also that temptation to define ourselves strictly according to our vocations, what we do.  The downside of such a temptation, even with the best of intentions, is that what we do is still only a small part of who we truly are. 

The struggle for identity and purpose is not always a bad thing, however, lest we become a little too comfortable, complacent, and soon find ourselves running on "auto pilot"; "doing" what we do only because it is what we've always done.  A little discomfort can go a long way in helping us to finally find the ONE and ONLY foundation upon which we can stand with confidence.  Sometimes we have to get kicked in the head more than once before we finally realize there is a profound difference between who we truly are ... and what we do - just as there is a profound difference between being simply "Christian" by profession of faith and doing "discipleship" by continuing the journey of faith; "sanctifying grace" as we Methodists understand "going on to perfection", becoming more and more Christ-like as we grow in faith and in love.

In the Marine Corps, every recruit in boot camp must undergo an initial strength test before being assigned to a training platoon.  Each recruit must be able to do AT LEAST a bare minimum of pull-ups, stomach crunches, and run a certain distance within a specified time to ensure their bodies are up to the rigors of recruit training.  If they cannot pass the initial strength test, they are sent to a physical conditioning platoon where they will stay until they pass the initial strength test.  Once they pass the test, they are recycled to a training platoon - and then the real work of becoming Marines begins!

It has become necessary, I think, for the Church to undergo an "initial strength" test of its own because while we can make any number of claims about who we think we are or who we hope others believe us to be, the reality of who we are will be revealed only if we are willing to be honest with ourselves, with one another, and with our Holy Father.  If we continue to hide behind cheesy religious slogans that look good on a bumper sticker but fall short of biblical truth, we may soon discover that who we think we are can be as easily torn away as a cheap bumper sticker that never quite fully becomes an integral part of the car. 

So we must measure ourselves against the many who have gone before us, those blatantly imperfect men and women whom we read about in Scripture as well as those whom we read about in the newspapers and online and in books and magazines; prophets and martyrs, apostles and disciples, those who gave all they had for something much greater than they would ever become; at least, in this life.  It is this "cloud of witnesses" that has perfected the standards by which discipleship is truly measured, those who faltered in their humanity and yet never seemed to waver in their faith.    

The world calls us "old school" or "old fashioned", "out of touch" or "from another time", "living in the past", "backward", and "stone age prophets" (and these are just the terms I can say out loud in church!), but our Lord calls us "salt" and "light".  In spite of the challenges we face and the persecutions we endure (or maybe because of them), Jesus calls us "blessed" in our struggles - not in our possessions.  When we are "poor in spirit", we are rich in the Kingdom of Heaven.  When we "hunger and thirst for righteousness", we are filled with the goodness of the Kingdom of Heaven.  When we are merciful, we are shown mercy.  When we are "pure in heart", we are in the presence of the Almighty!  And when we seek and speak peace, we become children of the Most High God!

We are all these things and so much more NOT because we have earned these things, NOT because we think we are entitled to these things, NOT because we have laid claim to these things, NOT because we submitted ourselves to a single moment of intense emotional weakness. 

No, dear friends, we are these things and so much more by decree of our Lord purely by His mercy and His grace.  We respond out of profound gratitude EVERY - SINGLE - DAY - OF - OUR - BREATHING - LIFE.  We endure the trials of life because we see the "pillar of fire" in the darkness of our persecutions, and we persevere because we see the "cover of cloud" in the heat of our despair.  We do not always understand the challenges of the Journey that is faith, but we confront these challenges head-on NOT on a personal level to see if we can do better than the next guy - BUT - we endure these challenges because we have one another to help us to endure. 

This is the Church, the Body of Christ.  And others will join us on our compelling Journey because even though they can see right through our imperfections and our less-than-honest facades, they can also see the "light" that is within us and they can taste the "salt" that is of us.  They can see the love that shines forth from a community that cares for one another and, yes, sometimes fusses and fights but always comes out the better for it because we are willing to hold one another accountable for the Journey that is just too much for any one person.  Impossible, actually.

We are United Methodist Christians following in a long, rich tradition; a tradition whose sole purpose was to call dead, lifeless, "almost"-Christians from a dead, lifeless church and affirm - and live - the "pure and undefiled" religion St. James called forth from the church in Jerusalem: "to care for the widow and the orphan (that is, the "oppressed" of our society) and to remain unspotted from the world".  We are not called to "over-theologize" doctrine and develop new rituals that make us feel good about ourselves and what we do but have little to do with the mission of Christ's Holy Church. 

We are called to welcome the stranger, feed the hungry, clothe the naked, give comfort to those who are hurting, and provide salve for the wounds this world will thrust upon the innocent and the weak.  We are the conscience of a world gone mad, and we are the Light of Life which comes from the Gospel of our Lord.  We are the Lamp on the Table who refuses to be covered up!  We are the Reality of Grace itself when we forgive those who have harmed us.

WE - ARE - THE - CHURCH.  WE - ARE - THE - BODY - OF - CHRIST, redeemed by the Blood of the Everlasting Covenant.  Today in this world - and in the world to come.  AMEN.