Thursday, March 22, 2018
Sunday, March 18, 2018
Sermon: Rejecting the System
John 12:20-33
Rejecting “The System”
James Sledge March
18, 2018
The
first church I served was in Raleigh, North Carolina, and a member happened to
be the clerk of the House of Representatives. Occasionally she would ask me to
offer the opening prayer when the House went into session. One of those times
was when then President Clinton addressed a joint session of the General
Assembly in the House chambers.
I
said my prayer and took my designated seat on the podium right up front. Then
members of the Senate came in, and the pastor who opened their session came and
set next to me. Guests and dignitaries then came in and were seated in extra
chairs added for occasion.
It
seemed a bit odd to be seated up front while important dignitaries sat far away
in folding chairs. I could look over the President Clinton’s shoulder and see
his notes. I wondered if someone had made a mistake seating us, but apparently
there is a designated place for the chaplain, right next to the Sergeant at
Arms, a vestige from an earlier time when religion played a more prominent role
in public life.
Even
as religion becomes less central, rituals such as my opening prayer persist.
Our culture still wants a bit of religion here and there. Governing bodies,
football games, and such still enjoy a hint of religious sanction, a little
like parents with no interest in church who still want their children baptized.
My
colleague and I both understood our role in this. We offered bland, generic,
prayers that offended no one. If either of us had decided to be prophetic and
speak truth to power, I don’t know that anyone would have stopped us, but I’m certain
we would have never been invited back. And we both behaved and did what was
expected of us.
From
the beginnings of society, the powers that be have wanted religion to play a
support role, to promote public morality, give divine sanction to rulers, and
generally support the status quo. In the modern version, pastors, rabbis, and
imams are supposed to provide chaplaincy services for their flocks, to care for
souls and stay out of politics.
To
make matters worse, American Christianity has become excessively personalized
and individualized. It’s about my getting into heaven, my personal relationship
with Jesus, my personal spirituality, or my salvation, things far removed from
a biblical faith.
In
the synoptic gospels – Matthew, Mark, and Luke – Jesus’ central proclamation is
about the coming of God’s kingdom, God’s new day where the world is set right. John’s
gospel rarely speaks of the kingdom, preferring to speak of the conflict
between Jesus and the world. But as
so often is the case in John, this term is symbolic, not literal. The world is not a place but rather a
situation or condition where creation is at odds with its creator. The world is a culture that prefers to live
in opposition to God’s ways, an outlook, a way of living, that draws us away
from God.
I
once read a commentary on John that suggested translating the world as the system. That might help understand what Jesus says in our gospel
reading. Jesus calls his followers to “hate their life in this (system).” Speaking
of his coming death on the cross, Jesus says, “Now is the judgment of this
(system); now the ruler of this (system) will be driven out.”
In John’s gospel, the cross is not a sacrifice
or Jesus taking our punishment on himself. Rather it is Jesus’ glorification, an
event that both judges the system and
breaks its power. To be a believer, to follow Jesus, is to recognize this, to
reject the ways of the system and embrace the way of Jesus. Oh but how hard
that can be.
Monday, March 5, 2018
Sunday, March 4, 2018
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