Meditation: How did you become a Christian? From: The Reverend Nathanael Saint-Pierre Easter Sunday, April 20, 2014 We invite you to worship with us during our 10:30 AM Service of Holy Eucharist to hear the full sermon. ~~~~~ Some of us became Christian by automatic succession or assumption. Our parents were Christians, they got us to be baptized and weve been coming to church ever since. At the beginning, we came because they took us to church, then we came to please them or to avoid displeasing them. Some of us have never taken the time to question ourselves on the why, or what are the reasons we are Christians. Christianity has become our culture, a trend, and many will declare being Christian while never seeking to understand what it means to be one. Being Christian is to believe that Jesus is God incarnate. It is to believe that Jesus is God emptying Godself from his divine nature to come to the world as a human being so that he can restore the relationship between the creator and the creatures. It is to believe that Jesus died but was resurrected. That God cannot be killed. It took only three days for the nature of God to radically transform Jesus’ dead body. Being Christian is to believe that no matter our sins, redemption has come to us through Jesus Christ. That if we die with him, God’s nature will act in us and will radically transform who we are. I am sure you have noticed how hard I have tried this past season not to write meditations or preach sermons where I speak about you and I. Instead I have used “WE”. But today I have to make an exception of that knowing where I stand. I need to ask you to tell me how you know that you are Christian? Are you Christian by tradition (automatic assumption)? Or Christian because of the way you conduct your life, following the example of Jesus Christ? One is not exclusive of the other. In other words, the journey might be important: how have you got where you are now; but most important is the meaning. What does it mean for you and me to be Christian? Easter is an excellent opportunity for us not to be celebrating a tradition the way we do it every year but to dig deeper into ourselves. Instead of surfing on the water of baptism, why not immerse ourselves deeper into our faith to explore in a more meaningful way the room we have for Christ. 1.Being Christian is being open to radical transformation. Jesus wanted to make every one and every thing that came into his environment better than they were before. He went to a wedding where wine was missing and made the best wine ever from water. He cleansed the temple of traders who took control of it and made it a milch cow. He met a nobleman whose son was sick and healed the latter. He told Simon who was not able to catch any fish since the morning to Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught. Simon did and caught so many fish that he became a fisher of men. This last example is to teach us that we dont control the outcome, God does. Jesus healed a Demoniac, freeing him from the evil spirits who were in possession of his body. He healed Simons mother-in-law, he healed the centurions servant, he called Matthew, a tax collector, and made him an apostle. Jesus is not about condemnation, he is about radical transformation. To claim we are of his kingdom is to open ourselves up to the same transformation while we open ourselves to transform lives around us. 2.Being Christian is to open a door in ourselves for God to achieve his work of redemption. Following Jesus is to acknowledge our own sins and how we have been redeemed by Jesus. We should then open up to others so they can be rescued also. You know, sometimes we maintain churches like they were a social club or a family. They are neither. Churches are hospitals, emergency services where any who are seriously ill, with any incurable disease cannot be turned away. The tendency to be so afraid that someone can take our spot in heaven, and to push away any newcomer is insane. There is enough grace for all. We dont need to be the judge. It is not as though God is going to run out of grace so we need to only keep what is available within the family. The grace of God in Christ does not obey the rules of human politics. We cannot pile it, stock it, black market it, share it only with those we love, those who are like us, or those who are our friends. We need to go and teach all nations about the grace available in Jesus. 3.Being Christian is to believe that salvation is open to all and Christ paid with his life. Sometimes we see God as a tyrant always asking us to do the impossible to worship him. God is not a tyrant. Jesus helped us comprehend that the enemy we need to face is within ourselves. Jesus paid the ransom for our salvation. Instead of punishing us for our transgression of the law, God gave his only son so that anyone who believes in him may have eternal life. The Sacrament of the Body and Blood that we will partake in a moment should always be for us the outer and visible sign of our redemption but also the inner and invisible grace and means of our salvation. To God who created us, to Jesus who by his death and resurrection has redeemed us, to the Holy Spirit who has maintained us connected together and with God be the Glory. For being Christian has made us new beings. Alleluia! Christ is risen... The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia! + + + + + + + St Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church 286-290 Henry Street New York NY 10002
Posted on: Fri, 18 Apr 2014 04:17:59 +0000
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