About

“Shake it up”Rev. Kerri Parker, McFarland UCC______Reformation Sunday (October 30, 2011)Matthew 23:1-13I did a Google search on hypocrisy. Some truly ugly images came up, a decent number aboutpoliticians, but a lot of them about Christians.And Jesus said, “therefore, do whatever they teach you and follow it; but do not do as they do,for they do not practice what they teach.”Ouch.With images like that, is it any wonder that only 17% of people in the U.S. attend church?Really. Seventeen percent. While we’re here in worship, and our friends over at theLutheran church, and Christ the King parish, and the folks up the road at Crossroads Church areworshiping, 83% of the population is doing something else. Away at the cabin, attending roadgames for their kids’ sports, sleeping in, watching a movie on Netflix, having brunch with thefamily, working,…the list of opportunities for your Sunday morning are endless. Even amongour own faith community, our Sunday morning attendance is about half of our membership.We’d like to say we were in church more often than we actually end up in church. This is not aguilt trip. It’s a statement of fact.When I look at these things together – the photos, and the news stories, and the statistics –and then read Jesus’ words, I cringe. Is it any wonder people find better things to do with theirtime? When they don’t see faith making a difference in a person’s life. When they see obviousexamples of hypocrisy in the media. When people who say they are believers act in ways thatare contrary to the teachings of Jesus.Gandhi once said, “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlikeyour Christ.” Are you really making a God-space in your life if no one can see it makes anydifference?In today’s scripture, Jesus pointed out the behavior of the “religious” folks of his time – thestumbling blocks that made people cynical about religious faith. It was all about having super-wide fringes on a prayer shawl or getting seated at the head table during banquet. In ourtime, we might see these folks slapping Jesus fish magnets on their car, and carrying aroundbig Bibles (the bigger the Bible, the more Christian you are, of course). Claiming churchmembership, and rarely attending. Avoiding the homeless men at the top of State Street onthe way to a protest. Making a nice clean $25 online donation to a friend’s charity walk, andthen blowing $60 on a videogame.In other words, you’d see people like us. The early twenty-first century suburban Christianfor whom – most of the time - Christianity is a condiment, not the main course. One speakerI know puts it this way: Christians have become more comfortable wearing bibs than aprons.Christ’s church has become a place where individuals can come to consume – church dinners,pastoral care, programs, entertainment. We wear bibs; we are more used to waiting to beserved, than serving.Christ offered another vision: a community where people come to be transformed, wherethey learn to live as if God’s heavenly realm were already here, to spread the seeds of theKingdom of God. Christ’s vision was of lives transformed. Communities transformed. Theworld transformed.We follow a savior who shook things up. Who stood against the status quo. There was nothingof status quo in his ministry. Nothing about survival in his ministry. Not so much about goingin, but an awful lot about going out.One of our youth shared with me recently, “I’m not sure I have time for Jesus.” Preach, child.You are saying what we are all thinking. All of us here, and quite possibly, that 83% of peoplewho are doing something else this morning.If Jesus is just a condiment, a little added flavor into my day, he’s not worth my time. If I canfollow Jesus and not change anything else about my life, why follow in the first place? I haveplenty of other things I can do with a Sunday morning.I can give to charity on my own. I can volunteer with any number of organizations, from theHumane Society to the Red Cross to the AIDS Network, without it being one bit about faith.I can shake hands with my opponent on the tennis court and congratulate them on a goodmatch, be a good sport without Jesus entering into the equation. I can sing my heart out in thefall musical to wild applause, and God doesn’t have to be in the house.Hey, you can see all sorts of people claiming that they’re Christian, and it doesn’t make adifference in their life. They can lie, cheat, steal your boyfriend, then participate in the fooddrive; gossip, text message through the movie, leave the doggie doo on the path at the dogpark, and still show up for communion.So why bother?Why give to good causes through the church?Why get up and come here on Sunday morning?Why make time for Jesus?Because despite all the ways we prove ourselves unworthy, God loves us. God forgives us. Godimagines that the world can be different, and invites us to participate. God is on a mission,dragging the future into the present, and God wants us to be part of it.God made us – as imperfect as we are - to shake the world up. We follow Jesus Christ, a shake-it-up savior. We are descendants of the Protestant Reformers, who took on a church that hadgrown stagnant and inward-focused, out-of-touch with the real spiritual needs of those outsideits doors. We are not called to be Christians, following the model of the official religiouspeople, accepting the way things are as the way things will always be. We are called to beChrist-followers, dragging heaven into the world moment by messy moment.Why make time for Jesus?Because people need to hear the God-story over and over and over again. And you can bethe one to offer it. People hear so many terrible messages about themselves: lazy, selfish,technology-obsessed, overeaters, bullies, messed-up, damaged goods, undesirable…. Whenwhat they really need to experience is the simple idea: You are loved. You deserve respect.And I’m not just going to say something about it, I’m going to do something about it. I’m goingto give you the respect you deserve as a child of God.The world needs to see what Christ-followers really look like. Not for your own sense of pride,not for the best seat in the house, not so people can look at you and say, “what a super-religious-person she is.” Practice what Jesus taught. Because somebody needs to stand upand say, “things can be different” and start doing something to make it happen. Jesus said, “letyour light shine.” Put on your apron. Let God shine through you so the people who are facingtheir dark night see something different and reach for it.Make time for Jesus, because God is shaking it up, and that is where you’ll find heaven breakingin. Amen.http://ia700703.us.archive.org/18/items/MuccSermonOct30th2011/MUCC_Sermon_20111030.mp3