Failure of the Reformation
I’ve been thinking about all of the fighting that goes on among our churches and the splitting of the Body of Christ into various factions, each one claiming to be more pure than the last. I once heard a prominent Protestant church historian say that if we are honest with ourselves, we have to admit that the Reformation was a failure. It’s intent was to reform the church, and instead it began a process of splitting up the Body of Christ into numerous factions.
Crucifying Jesus Body Again
It got me to thinking about how, in our various debates that lead to church and denominational splits, we participate in the crucifixion of the Body of Christ again and again. We do it with the best of intentions but in the process we lie to ourselves. If you just looked at the Sermon on the Mount, notice how we have to tell ourselves the lie that this doesn’t apply to how we behave as churches to justify our behavior.
Offering Worship or Seeking Reconciliation
Begin with the question of whether our worship has any validity. “So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift.” (Mt. 5:23-24) Can your church or denomination claim that there are not other church groups that have something against you? Yet we expend far more energy offering worship than in seeking reconciliation. If we took Jesus seriously, we might have to close our doors on Sunday until we had done some serious work reaching out.
Make Love Not War
“Do not resist an evildoer, But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also;. . .” (Mt 5 38). How many churches justify splitting off from their denomination because that denomination has done something wrong or they are theologically apostate? How many in the denomination from which they are splitting treat the dissenters as self-righteous enemies? In the midst of these church fights, some parties do really nasty things. These aren’t even Gentiles we are dealing with. Where do we see much turning of the other cheek within the Body?
Jesus Just Doesn’t Understand
Sometimes you wonder if we have lied to ourselves so often that we have finally concluded that Jesus is just being unreasonable or naive. He has the audacity to suggest in Mt. 5:46 that “if (we) love those who love (us), what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same.” If we took that seriously, we might have to stay together as a Christian family. If we stopped putting all our energy into debates and negotiating the distribution of property, what would we do with all that left over energy?
What the World Needs Now is Love Sweet Love
Can you believe what Jesus said in John 13:35? “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” If Christians actually behaved that way, the world would think they were being unrealistic.Isn’t it important not to allow anyone who differs from us to force us to go the “extra mile,” and certainly it is the heights of lunacy to “give to everyone who begs . . .and not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you.” After all for churches to “not worry about our life, what (we) shall eat or what (we) shall drink” or about budgets and property is just not practical in the REAL WORLD. Who really believes that when we pray “Give us this day our daily bread,” that if God answers that prayer, we should be satisfied?
Don’t Call Me Satan
After all, if you don’t look out for yourself first, who do you think is going to protect you against all those who want to hurt you? Maybe Peter was right when he urged Jesus to think first of himself and avoid going to Jerusalem. (Mt 16:21-23)
And Jesus had the nerve to declare that Peter was acting like Satan. Clearly we of the more enlightened world understand that Peter was just being reasonable. How many pastors would survive in their position if they started telling their congregation and themselves that their life is based on a pack of lies?
