11 February 2007
I Corinthians 15:12-20
A shocking truth
From the website sermoncentrol.com I read this story:
Pastor Marilyn Murphree tells the story of a bishop who was invited to Sunday dinner. "During the meal," she said, "the bishop was astonished to hear the younger daughter state that a person must be very brave to go to church these days. 'Why do you say that?' asked the bishop.'
'Because,' she answered, 'I heard Dad tell Mom last Sunday that there was a big shot in the pulpit, the canon was in the vestry, the choir murdered the anthem, and the organist drowned everybody!'
Now, most of us would say that 'this young lady has a vivid imagination;' as if the organist could literally drown everyone at church. But, it also reminds us to be careful what we say in front of our children. Even though they might seem distracted, 9 out of 10 times they are listening. However, this story is a good introduction to the sermon today.
You see, most of us do NOT come to church expecting to be completely shocked. Most of us come to church to be comforted by the Holy Spirit through what we do, sing and hear. We come expecting to find peace and perhaps be challenged a little. But over all, we want to find tranquility and hope for our busy and chaotic lives.
Within the Mennonite world, in the last 50 years, two books have rocked the Church. One of those books was written by the late John Howard Yoder. The Politics of Jesus was a book that challenged the core values of the Mennonite Anabaptist congregations. You might be surprised to hear, but the book The Politics of Jesus was banned by many Anabaptist congregations and some conferences. John Howard Yoder, like many great minds, was ahead of his time. The book that put Anabaptist scholarship on the map was mostly rejected by the Church.
Today, we find another book having similar reactions. It is praised by the academic world, but is being rejected by the Church.
The book called The Nonviolent Atonement by J. Denny Weaver has been banned by some congregations and some Conferences are thinking of doing the same thing.
Now, why ban a book? Why is this book so threatening? It is threatening, because it challenges some of our Christian beliefs. It is threatening, because it is shocking the Church. The book The Nonviolent Atonement is asking the question if God is a God of love, if God is love, if God is calling us to be pacifists, why is God using violence to reconcile us to Himself? Nothing can be more violent than the beating and crucifixion (the execution) of an innocent person. Yet, the violent death of Jesus Christ on the cross seemed to be exactly what God wanted. After all, we read in Hebrews 10:10 'And it is by God's will that we have been sacrificed through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all' (Hebrews 10:10).
J. Denny Weaver understands that our pacifist beliefs, our desire for peaceful resolutions to conflicts come into question if our God used violent means to resolve the conflict, the separation, between Him and us. Perhaps God is not as pacifist as we think He is. Perhaps we Mennonites have got it wrong. The need for blood to appease a divine being (God) is called the Satisfaction Motif. Within this motif, God could not be in relationship with us because of the sins we carry. In order for God, a Holy and Pure God, to see past our sins (our impurities) and accept us, a sacrifice, blood, was needed. Just like in today's judicial system, our sins (the crime) must be paid in order to find justice. The death of a living being had to occur in order for us to be reconciled to Him, to pay the price for our sins. God's purity and integrity had to 'be satisfied,' the prices for our sins had to 'be satisfied' before a sinful person could be accepted and have communion with Him. This is why, according to the writer of Hebrews, the blood of the Son of God, of Jesus the Christ, was needed.
Yet, there is a second way to look at our reconciliation with God. J. Denny Weaver discovered that Christians throughout the ages have wrestled with accepting this 'Satisfaction Motif.' Part of the reasons we find this struggle is because the Bible gives us other options. Paul wrote to the believers in Corinth, 'If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain. If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins' (I Corinthians 15:13-14, 17). Do you hear what Paul is saying? Paul seems to argue that it is the resurrection of Jesus, not his crucifixion that will allow us to be resurrected and find forgiveness for our sins. Believing that we can be reconciled to God through the resurrection of Jesus is called the Christus Victor Motif. It is the victory of Jesus Christ over Death and Sin through his resurrection that warrantees our own salvation.
This Christus Victor Motif argues that our God did not necessarily need to be appeased through the violent death of the Messiah. Rather, God used the tragic death of Jesus Christ to overthrow the control Death and Sin had over humanity, by simply resurrecting him. God used the evil acts of the killing of an innocent man (Jesus the Christ), to show His mercy and grace, by not retaliating the death of His Son, but by offering grace and forgiveness- by bringing Him back to life. Do you follow me? The victory of Jesus Christ over Death and Sin through his resurrection becomes the ultimate proof that our God is not a God of punishment and death, but of forgiveness and life.
According to Paul we will spend eternity with God, because Jesus Christ rose from the dead. And, because Jesus Christ rose from the dead, those who are in Christ will also live again. The victorious power of Jesus over Death and Sin allow us to also be victorious over our death and sin and not necessarily the crucifixion of Jesus Christ on the cross.
You can easily see why J. Denny Weaver's book threatens the Church. It brings into question some of our core beliefs, like the belief that Jesus' sacrifice on the cross gives us salvation over our sins. I can see some of you already questioning what the book says.
You know? It is hard to do J. Denny Weaver any justice when you are preaching a sermon. The book is well written and it has a lot of 'ah ha' moments. It is a book worth reading. It will challenge you, but it will definitely help you understand your own faith. If you have a chance, please read the book for yourself.
Personally, the book has helped me to better understand the nature of God. Any serious Bible student will face the struggle to understand why a God that calls us to 'love our enemies,' to 'do good to those who persecute us' would demand the execution of an innocent man- the blood of the Messiah.
I wish I can tell you I have the answer. I wish I can tell you I have it all figured out, but I don't. But, this I know, we must believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ in order to make any sense of our Christian faith. We must believe in the resurrection of the Messiah, if we want to believe we will have life after death. We must believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, if we want to find salvation and reconciliation with our God. We must believe in the resurrection of the Son of God, if we want to believe in our own resurrection.
Yes, we live in a busy and chaotic world. The last thing we want is to have our faith questioned and challenged in church. What we seek is to be comforted, to find hope and tranquility. Yet, I believe that we do not wrestle with our faith as much as we should. We have allowed others to think for us, to tell us what we should believe, what our Christian faith is all about. In a time when Christianity seems to be more connected with political movements than with the Scriptures, we need to find the time to understand our own faith. I do not know about you, but every time my faith is stretched, I learn something new about my faith and about my self.
Yes, let us continue to ask questions. Let us continue seek to know better our faith. Let us continue to trust the Scriptures and perhaps find something new each day.