Selfishness or Selflessness?

To Tell the Truth: Will the Real Christianity Please Stand Up!

Sermon by lay speaker Bill Peche - Bradford Community Church UU - Kenosha, WI - 2/13/2011

          When I was a boy in the early 1960’s, I enjoyed watching a game show on television called “To Tell the Truth.”  You can still see some of the episodes on YouTube today.  Some of you may remember it; others here are too young to have seen it.

          Wikipedia gives a good synopsis of the show: Three challengers are introduced, all claiming to be the central character. The announcer typically asks the challengers, who stand side by side, "What is your name, please?" Each challenger then states, "My name is [so-and-so]." The celebrity panelists then read along as the host, Bud Collyer, reads aloud a signed affidavit about the central character.

          The panelists are each given a period of time to question the challengers. Questions are directed to the challengers by number (Number One, Number Two and Number Three), with the central character sworn to give truthful answers, and the impostors permitted to lie and pretend to be the central character.

          After questioning is complete, each member of the panel votes on which of the challengers they believe to be the central character by writing the number on a card without consulting the other panelists.

          Once the votes are cast, the host asks, "Will the real [so-and-so] please stand up?" The central character then stands, often after some brief playful false starts among all three challengers. The two impostors then reveal their real names and their actual occupations. Prize money is awarded to the challengers based on the number of incorrect votes the impostors draw.

          One day in mid-January this year, while taking my daily walk, I was contemplating today’s church service and what I could say to explain all of Christianity in roughly one hour.  The task seemed truly daunting, considering the number of Christian denominations, from Roman Catholic to Eastern Orthodox to Fundamentalist Christian to Evangelical Christian—not to mention anything of other smaller groups such as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, or Mormons; Jehovah’s Witnesses, Unification Church, Christian Science, Mennonites, and the list goes on.

          At that moment during my walk, in my mind’s eye, I viewed all of these denominations as challengers on the game show, “To Tell the Truth,” since each of them purports to be the “Real Christianity.”  How could I ever attempt to address all these disparities in a talk to you this morning?  There was no way.

          So, inspired by an idea I found in Greg Boyd’s Letters from a Skeptic, I believed that there was a central core of beliefs or practices that comprise true or “Real” Christianity, and I sought to identify them from my research and from my past experiences so as to include them in my talk today.

          Of course, you must understand that this is all very subjective, and my beliefs are clouded by my own experiences and readings.  In light of this, you probably should know that I was raised Lutheran and went to a Lutheran parochial grade school where I memorized Bible passages and hymns.  During high school, I started to question baptism and holy communion and indeed even the necessity to attend church.  I reasoned that I could read the Bible and pray at home and didn’t need to go to church to do so.

          In college I continued my quest to find the Christian denomination that matched up with my beliefs as well as to determine if church attendance was really necessary.  I discovered that Christians should attend church for fellowship with other believers.  But that concept didn’t really resonate with me because in the church where I grew up, people entered church quietly, sat down in the pews and only spoke in whispers, and left almost immediately after the worship service ended.  Was that fellowship??!

          It wasn’t until a friend invited me to attend Elmbrook Church in Waukesha, a non-denominational megachurch, that I finally began to understand what fellowship was all about.  The first Sunday I attended there, I saw people talking…out loud, mind you, and not whispering…and laughing and smiling and generally enjoying each other’s company…and in church, of all places!

          This, by the way, is much the same atmosphere that I find here at Bradford.  As our pastor Georgette mentioned in this month’s Quilt newsletter, a recent study reported by USA TODAY states that attending religious services regularly and having close friends in the congregation are key to having a happier, more satisfying life.  This active type of fellowship is what I view as essential in the ideal “Real Christianity.”

          During my research these last few days, I came across a Web site entitled “What is Christianity?” written by Charles Hedrick of Rutgers University.  On one of his Web pages, he states that Christianity is at least 3 things:  a set of beliefs, a way of life, and a community of people.  The community of people, or fellowship, is an integral part of “Real Christianity,” since it is where Christians can interact with each other, encourage each other, and show God’s love to each other in practical ways.

          While at my new church during the 1980’s and 90’s, I began attending Bible studies and discovered parts of the Bible that I hadn’t known existed or hadn’t fully analyzed while I was attending Lutheran grade school.  From my youth, I remember more of an emphasis being put on believing in Jesus as my Savior so that I would go to heaven—in other words, on preparing for what would happen to me in the afterlife.  But now I became more aware that the Christian life was more than just going to heaven, and that God wanted me to essentially have heaven on earth, as it were. 

          Two Bible verses especially stick out in my mind in this regard.  First, in John Chapter 10 verse 10, Jesus claims that he came that men might have life and might have it more abundantly.  Now, clearly, when Jesus talks about “life” here, he is referring to “eternal life.”  But, based on my experience, and considering that he added “have it more abundantly,” I believe that this abundant life is also meant for the here and now. 

The question now is how does this abundant life play out?  Whereas some have used this verse to preach a gospel of wealth, espousing a “Prosperity Gospel” message, I’ve come to understand this not as a promise of financial security, but rather a fullness of life portrayed by a feeling of joy, contentment, and peace of mind.

This idea is further amplified by the Bible verse from Philippians chapter 4 verse 6 which states: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”  So, I would submit to you that “Real Christianity” is one that provides this assurance to its followers.

          As we continue, let me remind you that Charles Hedrick had said that Christianity is, in part, a set of beliefs.  One of those central beliefs is the idea of sin and the need to be saved or rescued from it and from the separation it causes between God and humankind.  I have come to view sin as an expression of one’s selfishness in life towards God and others.  Our basic nature is that of selfishness and not of selflessness.

          From early on, we think of ourselves first.  To do otherwise is a learned behavior.  Our love for ourselves is displayed in the selfish things we do to satisfy our own desires, and not God’s or other people’s.  As we read earlier, God is love.  His love is a selfless love and was manifested in the person of Jesus on earth.  First Timothy Chapter 2 verse 5 teaches: “For there is only one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus.”

          In accepting Jesus into one’s life through faith, a Christian is no longer separated from God and ideally choses to emulate the unselfish love that Jesus exhibited.  This is the basis of what Jesus termed the two greatest commandments, found in Matthew chapter 22 verses 37 through 39: 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'

          By the way, one of the ways Christians are to show that love is through forgiveness...by forgiving others as well as forgiving themselves.  Christians pray in the Lord’s Prayer “Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.”  Let me read two Bible passages that further illustrate this point.   First, Matthew chapter 18 verses 21 through 22: Then Peter came and said to him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Until seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I don’t tell you until seven times, but, until seventy times seven.”

          Also, Romans chapter 12, verses 19 through 21: Don’t seek revenge yourselves, but give place to God’s wrath. For it is written, “Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay, says the Lord.” Therefore “If your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in doing so, you will heap coals of fire on his head. Don’t be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good.”

          “Real” Christianity preaches forgiveness, and its followers put it into practice in their daily living.

          To continue, I further reflected on what Jesus said on the cross to the repentant criminal who was next to him:  "I promise that today you will be with me in paradise [or heaven]."  He did not say that the criminal first needed to be baptized or to do penance or any number of other things beforehand.  Instead, Jesus recognized that the criminal was truly remorseful when he had told the other malefactor on the cross: “We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve.  But this man has done nothing wrong.”  Then he said to Jesus, “Remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

          In my way of thinking, then, how God views all people is determined not by any ritual or formalistic actions that they perform, but rather, by what they believe and the attitude of their heart.  As verse 7 from Chapter 16 of the Book of First Samuel states: “Man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”  

          Jesus especially exemplifies this point in the story from Luke Chapter 7 about him and a prostitute at a Pharisee’s house.  First of all, just so you understand, the Pharisees were a Jewish religious group which vigorously adhered to the Scriptures and to much oral tradition that applied the Law of God to the details of every-day life.  So, the story goes like this:

          “Then one of the Pharisees asked [Jesus] to eat with him. And He went to the Pharisee’s house and sat down to eat.  And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil, and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil. Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he spoke to himself, saying, “This Man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner.”

          And Jesus answered and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head. You gave Me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in. You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil. Therefore, I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. Then He said to her, “Your sins are forgiven. Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”

          The Pharisee Simon was so quick to judge based upon the appearance and past deeds of this woman.  Jesus saw her heart.  And this, in turn, brings up another important aspect that I consider a necessary part of “Real Christianity”:  not judging others.  As Matthew Chapter 7 states: "Do not judge, or you too will be judged.  For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.  Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?  How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' while all the time there is a plank in your eye?  You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.

          Finally, I’d like to come back to this idea from Charles Hedrick that Christianity is, in part, a way of life.  We’ve already considered some of how this is played out in that “real” Christians have an underlying feeling of joy, contentment, and peace of mind knowing that they need not be anxious about their present needs.  Matthew Chapter 6 verse 26 reassures them by saying “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not much more valuable than they?”

          But this underlying feeling of security is also about how “real” Christians view the end of their life.  A fear of death, or lack thereof, will definitely affect one’s peace of mind.  Many years ago, I discovered a booklet that especially addresses this point very well.  The booklet is entitled “Religion or Christ?” and was written by the late Dr. M. R. De Haan, founder of the Radio Bible Class in Michigan.

          Dr. De Haan wrote the following: “Christianity is not a religion; it is a life.  Religion consists in a set of formalistic rules and ceremonial observances, but Christianity stands by itself.  The genius of Christianity is that it alone has a living Author and Head; for the Author of our salvation is Christ Jesus.  No one else dares claim this distinction.  None of the many religions in the world can say that their author and founder is alive.  All the originators of the world’s religions are dead, and only the teaching and tenets remain.”

          Dr. De Haan goes on to say: “Christianity is far more than a religion.  I repeat—it is a life—while mere religion is composed of dead works and ceremonial observances.  Ask a man who has religion, “Are you saved?” and he will answer “I hope so.”  Ask a man who has salvation the same question, and he will answer, “Yes, thank God.”   Religion leaves the sinner hoping, but never knowing; wishing, but never sure.  The true believer does not fear death.  He may fear dying; that is, the suffering and the agony which precedes death; but death itself, the leaving of the spirit to be with the Lord, has no dread for him.”  I would suggest that the “Real Christianity” must be one that affords Christians that same reassurance.

          So now, as in the game show “To Tell the Truth,” the time has come for the Real Christianity to please stand up.  Today I’ve shared with you part of my perspective on this topic, and now you’re left to mark your ballot, so to speak, to identify the Christianity that is not the impostor, as you see it.  Whether your personal belief system is Christian-based or not, your view of the heart of Christianity may very well affect how well you apply the first and third UU Principles to those who call themselves Christian: “We affirm and promote the inherent worth and dignity of every person and the acceptance of one another….”

          This is my challenge to you today.  Amen!