Meditation: To Be A Christian

 

The following is a mediation I gave at my church this March.

First Reading:  Matthew 25: 31- 45 31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’

Second Reading: Luke 10: 25-37  25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”

27 He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’[a]; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b]”

28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”

29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii[c] and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’

36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”

Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.

Meditation:  To Be A Christian

This year, and I realize we’re still in the first quarter of 2025, and  this is only the second Sunday in Lent, seems to me to be filled with more chaos and crazy than ever before.  It’s difficult to stay calm on a daily basis.  To bring myself a little peace of mind,  when a friend of mine asked if anyone would like a copy of the devotional, Jesus Listens, that she had completed I said yes.  Apparently quite a few of her friends said yes and as a result, instead of sending me what I thought would be a copy of something she had used over the past year, she gifted me a brand new copy.  Every morning I try to read and reflect on that day’s devotion, as a way to start my day in a serene way, before I delve into the daily tumult.

Then in late January, I heard Bishop Mariann Budde speak at the Inauguration Prayer Service.  Her full sermon, which is less than 15 minutes long, is available on line and is very much worth listening to in its entirety.  Her words were inspiring to me, especially her closing words:  “Our God teaches us that we are to be merciful to the stranger for we were all once strangers in this land. May God grant us the strength and courage to honor the dignity of every human being, to speak the truth to one another in love and walk humbly with each other and our God for the good of all people.”  Inspired, I purchased her book, Receiving Jesus:  The Way of Love,  a relatively short one, which I am slowly, thoughtfully and purposely reading.

These two events, in addition to  other things that have happened in my life and in the world, have gotten me thinking about what makes me a Christian.  What makes US Christians?  

If I’d hazard a guess, I’d say everyone here would say they are a Christian.  Or at least 99% of us.   But what does that truly mean?   Am I a Christian because I own a Bible?  Am I a Christian because I wear a cross?  Am I a Christian because I come to church?  Which of those things “make” us Christians?  Is there just one thing that “defines” us as Christian?  You may disagree with me, but I don’t think so.

Furthermore, it seems to me that the word “Christian” is being bandied around these days.  It’s not that word, but how it’s being used. It bothers me a bit because to me it’s not a “title” like King of the Prom or Queen for a day. It’s not something that should be boasted about.  It’s not something that makes us “better” than anyone else. 

Simply put, being a Christian is not one and done, but something to strive to be.   To be a Christian is to BE.  To be a Christian is to ACT.  Christianity is not static and to be a Christian requires  active participation.  A person’s Christian journey may start with baptism, but it doesn’t end with confirmation. It doesn’t end.  It is a commitment.  It is work. Maybe I’m over simplifying it but it is my belief that  as Christians we must take that commitment seriously and LIVE it.

 I am of the mind that sitting in a church pew for an hour or so on a regular basis does not make you a Christian.  It may be a part of a person's practice,  it is a part of MY practice, but that alone does not constitute being a Christian. 

As a practicing Christian (and yes, it takes PRACTICE), in an oversimplified and nutshell kind of way, I'd say a Christian is someone who follows the teachings and examples of Christ.  That's what I TRY to do.  I'm not always successful.   Is any one of us?  But I DO practice and mostly do so on a daily basis.   Or again, I try to.  

I fully admit that I am NOT a scholar when it comes to Christianity.  I fully admit that I haven't read the Bible cover to cover.  I admit that  there are verses in both the Old and New Testaments that I just don't "get" completely. (Maybe someday   the book of Revelations will make sense to me, but most likely not.)  With that said, as your "average" person (if there such a thing), I do (or try to) follow what I DO understand.  And there are some basics that I believe Christians should try to follow and act on, such as the 10 Commandments and Jesus' "New commandment found in John 13: 34:  "A new commandment I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”

 We may fail in following t he above (and I know I continually "fail"' when it comes to commandment 3), but we must keep TRYING and STRIVING to learn from the teachings of Christ and act accordingly.

So what does that mean?  It’s simple to understand, yet not so simple to always do.   It is easy to love the neighbor that is your friend, but how about the one who isn’t?  The one who parks his truck in front of your house and revs it loudly before the sun comes up?  Why would you want to show love, compassion and mercy to someone who lies or treats others with disrespect?  But that is what Jesus tells us to do.   The command is simple to understand, yet not so easy to do.  It goes against our instincts to treat those who might be cruel or even just different then us with kindness.  But that is exactly what Jesus did do.  

The second scripture reading, the story of the good Samaritan is one that I think of often.  When I commute to my office in Newark, I take public transportation and walk through Newark Penn Station to get to my building.  I am surrounded by and pass by people who are very different than me.  They may look different.  They may sound different.  They may act differently.  Yet they are all my neighbors.  I should treat them all with the love, kindness and respect that Jesus commands.  Do I?  Not always.  I am imperfect.  We all are.  There are times that instead of offering a smile, I turn away.  I fail to act as Christ has taught me to.  Instead I act as the priest did in the parable, ignoring what is right in front of my eyes. But if I fail, I must try again.  We all have the ability to be that good Samaritan.

I have encountered good Samaritans on my commute.  The man who spoke very little English, but who guided me out of the light rail station when the trains stopped running, back to the bus stop and onto a bus that would take me to Penn Station.  Or the grandfather, who made his grandson wait so that I could get on the bus first and extended his hand as I climbed over a pile of ice and snow so that I could get on safely.  I don’t know if these two individuals were Christian, but they certainly acted as Christ would have us act. 

 In the years that I have made this trek to Newark, I have made a conscious effort to be more like Christ.  I often encounter the homeless.  I carry change in my coat pocket and offer it, even if it is not asked for.  If I have no change, I might say hello, tell them to stay safe or be well.  My actions may not change their situation, but I know that Jesus would want me to acknowledge them, to see them.  Because they are my neighbor.  They are OUR neighbors. 

If we are to be “true” Christians, we need heed the call to love all our neighbors.  To care for all of humankind.  To give that neighbor food, drink, clothing and care.  To do so whether it may be easy or difficult.  To do so always.  And when we fail, because as humans we will fail sometimes, to recommit ourselves.  To commit ourselves to thoughtfully act as Christ showed us, is what makes us Christians.