Making a Difference

This sermon was delivered at the First Presbyterian Church in Berryville, Arkansas on the 20th Sunday of Ordinary Time, August 19, 2007.

Isaiah 5:1-7
Psalm 80:1-2, 8-19
Hebrews 11:29-12:2
Luke 12:49-56

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen

After hearing this reading from Luke, one reaction comes to mind, “Is this the same Jesus we find in the Bible?” Yes, this is the same Jesus, and the same bible for that matter. But this surely isn’t the Jesus we’re used to reading about. Honestly, if it weren’t for the lectionary, the weekly schedule of readings for worship, I don’t think I would have chosen this one. That’s the reason for the lectionary, tough decisions need to be made, and the people who put together the lectionary chose to take this higher road.

This still leaves me with choices; I can always base this sermon on one of the other readings, or go off the board completely. Either way, there are choices to make. Fish or cut bait, it’s a moment of Truth, Truth with a capital “T.”

John’s gospel says Jesus is the crisis of the world.[1] By crisis he didn’t mean emergency, but a moment of truth where a decision has to be made.[2] Our reading today makes the point that where there are choices to make, Jesus makes a difference in what and how we choose. Luke’s reading is particularly focused on the fact that Jesus brings the crisis to the world, and the moment of truth can be very difficult.

First, Jesus makes a difference.

According to the Associated Press last week, Roman Catholic Bishop Tiny Muskens from the Netherlands suggested that “people of all faiths refer to God as Allah to foster understanding.”[3] Usually, I am a fan of compromise. In a time and place of agreements and disagreements compromise is a road which often makes navigating this whole wide world a lot easier. I can see where his point is coming from; this seems to be a case where the Bishop hopes to bring grease to the squeaky wheel. But I disagree with the Bishop.

Bishop Muskens says, “Allah is a very beautiful word for God.” I can’t argue with him if all that’s at stake is a matter of taste. If the only thing that matters here is language and the words we use to name the “Power greater than ourselves”, then why not call God “Allah?” It’s an Arabic word meaning God, so in that case it would be valid. But if all that’s important here is human language, why don’t we use “Dios” instead? Or “Dieu?” Perhaps “Dominus” or “Theos” would be an acceptable compromise? Why not Spanish or French or Latin or even Greek instead of English or Arabic? For the sake of argument, the Hebrew “Adonai” would be a lovely choice, but I don’t think millions of Muslims would agree with me. On top of that, I believe that the effect of using Adonai as a substitute word for God would very quickly be the opposite of what the Bishop is intending. Looking for words that would seem accurate yet inoffensive might be as easy as using an Alcoholics Anonymous term to describe “a Power greater than ourselves.” In the words of AA, we are “to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understand him.”[4]

Bishop Muskens then makes a point that God knows who he is and is emotionally secure about it. So “what does God care what we call him?” the Bishop asks, “It is our problem.” This too is true as far as it goes, but it doesn’t go nearly far enough for Christians. One of the oldest of Christian beliefs is that God always exists and continues to live as one God in three persons. This is as old as the church itself and affirmed by our oldest creeds and affirmations of the faith. Some of the oldest and most common words used to describe this Trinity are God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Believing this, simply calling God “Allah” is not enough.

Here’s what we know, here’s what we testify; Jesus is God. We say that Jesus is God. We testify God came to earth and walked amongst his good creation for over thirty years before he was executed. We testify that his executioners believed their motives were political; they were preserving the existing power structure for the good of the Empire, the Temple, and the people. Unknowingly, they put the finishing touches on a series of events as old as life itself, where death was conquered once and forever. Muslims don’t say that. They do not say Jesus is God. They believe Allah alone is God and Mohammed is his prophet. The Jews don’t believe the Messiah has yet to come, so they don’t say Jesus is God either.

So let me fully disagree with the Bishop. The names we use for God do make a difference. The most basic, fundamental, and important difference is that as Christians we believe Jesus is God. We do not say Jesus is Allah, or Allah is Jesus for that matter. In this way, Jesus makes a difference.

Worshipping Jesus makes a difference too. Many examples of these differences are found in what are called martyr stories. Martyr means witness, and witnesses of the faith to the world often face fates which make us shudder. One of the oldest collections of these martyr stories is “Foxe’s Book of Martyrs.” From the 1560’s, Foxe’s book contains stories of many who suffered for their faith and the church. Foxe’s book also has the distinction of being very anti-Roman Catholic. All of Foxe’s martyrs were Protestants fighting the Church of Rome. History teaches that many of these martyrs may just have been revolutionaries fighting the reign of Mary Tudor in England.[5]

The Voice of the Martyrs with the Christian Rock band dc Talk published a book called, “Jesus Freaks, Stories of Those Who Stood for Jesus: The Ultimate Jesus Freaks.”[6] Their stories deal with those who have spread the gospel through out the ages beginning with Stephen, the first martyr of the Christian faith,[7] to Cassie Bernall, the Columbine high school student whose assailant shot her after she said yes to his question, “Do you believe in God?” These martyrs have paid the heaviest price they could. They lost their lives before they denied their faith was in things unseen. This puts them in esteemed company, including the heroes of the faith mentioned in our reading from Hebrews.

But not all martyrs’ stories end in such a way, and others are still being written. About a month ago, the Carroll County News had an article from the Baptist Press about [name removed].[8] A foreign exchange student from Uzbekistan, [name removed]was a member of the Class of 2007 at the Jacksonville, Arkansas High School who was planning on staying in the United States to attend college. As is the case with 88% of Uzbek’s, he was Muslim. He prayed five times daily. He studied his Koran, keeping it with him all of the time. At a high school basketball game, he met a sixteen year old girl from Scott, Arkansas named [name removed] who told him about her pending baptism. The young man was put off. The article in the paper quotes him as saying, “I didn’t believe in Christianity. So I used to get mad all the time when she spoke about that.”

Over time, their friendship and her witness to Jesus Christ began to have an effect on [name removed] until he made the most important decision of his life, he accepted Christ as his Lord and savior. Under the guidance of Brother Jerry Terrell of Grace Baptist Church in Scott, [name removed] decided to make the second most important decision of his life, he told his family of his choice to leave Islam and follow Christ. He called his home, on his father’s birthday to share his decision. He began the conversation saying, “'Dad, I have to tell you, something very important. It's very important to me and it's a big change, and I hope you are not going to get mad or upset with me.” Have you ever heard that conversation introduction like that before? When you do, you know something is coming down the pike. His father told him he could never be angry at anything he did.

[name removed] told his father, “I accepted Christ and I'm getting ready to get baptized.” Then in a moment that came straight out of a cell phone ad, there were a couple of minutes of silence on the phone line. When [name removed] finally asked, “Dad, are you OK?” his father said, “[name removed], I don't think the thing you are doing is right, and I didn't really expect that from you. If you are sure the thing you are doing is right, and if you are not going to follow Islam, there is no hope for you to come to Uzbekistan. If you ever come to Uzbekistan, don't ever come to my house. I don't want you to talk to your brother or sister or to Mom or to any other relatives,” and with that [name removed] father hung up the phone.

[name removed] has come to know that Jesus has made a difference in his life. He has chosen to leave Islam. Islam is an Arabic word meaning “submission to God.” But he no longer submits to the faith of his fathers and chosen to submit himself to Jesus Christ. Doing so has cost him. [name removed] has been legally disowned by his father; the papers are being drawn up in Uzbekistan. His father emptied his US bank account, and arranged to cancel his son’s sponsorship and college scholarship. This may not be the stoning of Stephen, but cutting off family, legal status, and cash is close enough in 21st Century America.

Worshipping Jesus makes a difference, which begs the question how can we make a difference? Grace Baptist Church in Scott, Arkansas has chosen to make a difference by sponsoring [name removed]. [name removed] was accepted to the University of Central Arkansas in Conway, but without his Uzbek sponsorship and scholarship he would be unable to stay. The church estimates it will cost $20,000 per year to keep [name removed] in school. Grace Baptist took a special offering the day they chose to sponsor him. That day, they collected $2,000 toward that goal. They also calculate that if “100 other churches or individuals can put up $200 each they would collect $20,000,” enough to take care of him for one year.[9]

Your session has chosen to make a difference in the life of [name removed]. Next week and the following week, the Session has authorized the taking of a special offering to support the college education of [name removed]. With these offerings, the session will send a minimum of $200 to support his educational needs. On behalf of the Session, I ask you to donate to help meet the educational needs of [name removed]. Let us be one of the churches that supports [name removed].

Jesus has received a baptism of water, as have we. We are called to remember our baptism into life together as the body of Christ. Jesus tells his disciples he will be baptized again, we know that this baptism is one of rejection and pain and humiliation on the cross. We are told that his life and work will not bring peace, but division. And we see that this is true from what we read in scripture and what we see in our lives.

Because of this we are called to interpret the signs of the present time the same way we look to the skies to forecast the weather. Together we can interpret the signs while singing songs to the one who redeems us. And we can know that in life and in death we belong to God. And together we can testify that we trust in the one triune God, the Holy One of Israel, whom alone we worship and serve.

[1] John 12:31
[2] Craddock, Fred B., Interpretation, A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching. Louisville, KY: John Knox Press, 1990, page 166.
[3] The Associated Press, “Bishop: Call God ‘Allah’ to ease relations, Roman Catholic leader stokes already heated debate on religion.” http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20279326/?GTI=10252, accessed August 15, 2007.
[4] “A Brief Guide to Alcoholics Anonymous.” New York: AA World Service, Inc., 1972, page 13.
[5] Foxe’s Book of Martyrs, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foxe%27s_Book_of_Martyrs, accessed August
18, 2007
[6] The Voice of the Martyrs and dc Talk, Jesus Freaks, Stories of Those Who Stood for Jesus: The Ultimate Jesus Freaks. Tulsa, OK: Albury Publishing, 1999.
[7] Acts 6-7
[8] Warren, Charlie, “Uzbekistan Christian Stranded in Arkansas.” Carroll County News, Baptist Press, original source found at http://www.bpnews.net/printerfriendly.asp?ID=26048.
[9] Ibid.
If you care to contribute to the [name removed] Scholarship fund, contributions can be made to: Grace Baptist Church, 408 N. Walkers Corner Road, Scott, AR 72142. Please write “Scholarship Fund” in your check’s memo. I spoke with people from Grace Baptist and the University of Central Arkansas, this is a legitimate request.