May 22, 2011

Text: "Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures;

A sermon preached by Rev. David Handley

at the First Presbyterian Church of Kilgore

May 22, 2011

It happened to me on a flight to Chicago. It could happen to you at just about any time, in an unexpected conversation when attention has been drawn to the fact that you are a disciple of Jesus Christ. It could be through a cross you wear around your neck, a book you carry to the office, or a deed that you have done. Someone notices, and asks you a question.

For me such a conversation often arises because of what I do for a living. In this case it began innocently enough as I was crawling over the people on the aisle and middle seats because I had reserved the window seat and am always late getting to the gate. "Headed home?", he asked. These last two and a half years, that has always been a complicated question to answer. "No, just a visit." "Business?," he asked. "No, visiting my family." "What do you do in Texas?"

Then comes what I have conveyed to you before as the classic conversation stopper, or starter. In this case it was a starter, like a match to a campfire of dry wood. "I’m a pastor of a church over in Kilgore." "Really?!", he replied. "Well, you are just the person I need to talk to." Uh-oh, I thought. With a well-hidden sigh, I put away the book I had looked forward to reading for the next two hours. The man said, "My wife is all over me about never going to church. I tell her I can be a Christian in my own way. She never looks convinced, just exasperated…So can you tell me, what do Christians believe?...I mean, what’s the basic ground-floor belief that makes one a Christian?" I felt strangely like I had stepped up to the plate with the bases loaded, and I’d been thrown a soft curve ball. I’d sure better not blow it.

Now lest you think this could never happen to you, think again. It’s all about what fills your heart and occupies your mind. "Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speak," that’s what Jesus said (Luke 6:45). It could happen as you stand in line at the grocery store. Someone looks at the cross around your neck. "What a pretty cross," she says. "Thank you," you say; "It means a lot to me." "A gift from someone?" "No, I got it for myself just because I liked the design…and it reminds me of what I believe." "That’s a good idea…I wish I had a stronger faith." "Me too," you say; "that’s why I wear this cross;…it reminds me I have help." You both chuckle…And just maybe the person in front of you is curious about more. Maybe not. But one thing is for sure: suddenly into a mind filled with broccoli and carrots, pot roast and potatoes, her mind is infused with another thought…a thought about God and about her life.

It could happen in your office, or classroom, or lunch room where you brought with you a book with a provocative title: The Purpose Driven Life, perhaps. A colleague asks you, "So what is ‘the purpose driven life’?..." Or you bring a book to work, When God Interrupts. A colleague sees it laying on your desk, and with a wry smile says, "That’s a great title; it seems that my day is one interruption after another. What’s it about?..." The Apostle Peter wrote in his first letter to believers in the first century, "Always be ready to give a reason for the hope you have within you." (I Peter 3:15)

So there I was. What to say? What would you say to the question, "What is the basic ground-floor belief that makes one a Christian?" Do not say, "This is way out of my league! This is a job for preachers." Let us not forget that the first "fishers of men" were not preachers at all, but businessmen in the middle of their workday…and a Stranger came onto the beach and gave them a whole new vision for their lives.

This basic ground floor belief is what the tentmaker, Paul of Tarsus, was writing to the Christians of Corinth about. They were people who lived in a very decadent culture, and who had recently found a "more excellent way"¹ to live, but were pretty confused as to what that Way was. So Paul takes them to the "ground floor": "Remember that I handed on to you as of first importance what I had received, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and was buried; He was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures; then He appeared to Cephas and then to the Twelve; then to more than 500 witnesses at one, most of whom are still alive today. Then He appeared to James [that’s the brother of Jesus] and to all the apostles; and last of all He appeared to me…" Ground floor belief, three things: Christ died for our sins; Christ was raised for our life; Christ appeared to a whole lot of people.

So I said to my flight mate next to me, "Well, it basically comes down to two things,"

(I gave him the Readers’ Digest version for starters.) "Jesus’ death and His resurrection… Christians say His death was ‘for our sins.’ So it gives me hope that, no matter how badly I’ve messed up in life, I can be forgiven and have a fresh start." "Wow," he said, "that would be great." There was a long pause; then he smiled and said, "I think I can believe that Jesus could forgive me; I’m not so sure about my wife." "Yes," I said, "that takes a little longer…I’m sure my wife is still working on it." We chuckled; there was a pause. I thought maybe it was reading time. But then he said, "And the resurrection?...How can anyone really believe it?!

"Well," I said, "how to believe the impossible is another story. I mean, I’m a product of a scientific, Enlightenment culture just like you. But why believe it in the first place? There’s the question. What’s at stake here?.... For me, Christians were saying, way back then and now, that this Jesus is alive in some sense, and I can find a Power greater than myself at work when I try to live as He lived." "And how is that?," he asked. "Well, it helps to read the Gospels in the Bible. When you start reading them, they really are interesting; and following Jesus around in the Gospels gives specific footnotes to your question. People He runs into and how He treats them…The odd thing about it is, when you read the Gospels, you begin running into people in your own life who look a lot like these people. It changes things." "Sounds interesting," he said. "But," I said, "it all seems to come down to…Love: giving ourselves up for the well-being of another." "Ah, the cross," he said. "Bingo." Now, let me get you off the plane for a moment, and just talk to you about this ground-floor Christianity the Apostle Paul is summing up in three bullet points:

* Jesus died for our sins.

* Jesus was raised for our life.

* Jesus appeared to a whole lot of witnesses.

The reason the "appearances" are so important to this summary of the Gospel is because the claim of the first Christians was that this really happened, in real time. The claim of the first Christians was not like the myths of dying and rising gods that filled the ancient world.² It happened "on the third day" at a known location of a tomb outside Jerusalem, in a specific year during the reign of Pontius Pilate. And, as Paul makes his point, a whole lot of people who knew Jesus had their lives totally scrambled because He appeared to them. They saw him, spoke with Him, touched Him, and heard Him teaching them about what all of this meant. Those many

who saw Him were so convinced it was indeed Him, they were willing to go to death rather than

recant an experience they knew they had.

What’s more, with all the de-stabilization that was caused by the testimony of these many who had experienced the same thing…Jesus alive again!…neither the Jewish leaders nor the Roman rulers could produce the body. That would have stopped this whole Jesus hysteria dead in its tracks. And now 20 centuries later, despite threats, persecutions, intellectual and scientific challenges, not to mention the extreme inconvenience of following Jesus today…the Church thrives and grows and produces new generations of believers in each age…against all odds.

So, when my travel partner on that plane made the statement, "How can anyone believe that?!", I was not dodging his question by saying first, "It’s the why that comes first."  The "appearances" that Paul goes to great length here to make the third major point of his ground-floor Gospel--Christ died for our sins; Christ was raised for our life; Christ appeared to a whole lot of witnesses--this is Paul’s point that there is evidence. This is not a take-it-on-blind-faith mythological religion. If it didn’t truly happen in history, at a certain place and time…then Christianity would never have gotten off the ground, and we would not be here today.

 The fact is, my conversation did go on for some time on the question "How can anyone believe such a thing?", until we both needed a break. He took a nap, or maybe pretended to J. I read a book. I wish I could tell you that my friend accepted Christ and returned to his wife a brand new convert. The fact is, I don’t know what happened after we parted. But this much I do know: God set up that conversation. It was not by accident. He had been prepared. I planted the seed of the historic Good News in three simple truths; and I trust the Holy Spirit took over from there. The three simple truths?...I love the way the Roman Catholic mass and the Episcopal liturgy plant these three truths in the minds of their worshippers by repetition at each worship service. The priest gives the cue, "Let us declare the mystery of our Faith." The people respond with one voice: "Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again!" Alleluia! Amen.