letters to an unknown god/your god asks the impossible

Acts 17:22-31

John 14:15-21

Since Easter we have been in a sermon series entitled: "Letters to an Unknown God". That title comes from our first lesson today when Paul is speaking to the Athenians at the Areopagus and mentions an inscription on a statue he had seen. The inscription read: "to an Unknown God". Paul then tries to tell them about the God he knows speaking in that particular time and place. Following the example of Paul, we have tried in the past few weeks to engage in some modern conversations and questions. We have used a variety of formats to tell about the God we know in Jesus. Today you will hear another letter read that comes after this conversation:

Oh, Jim it has been so good getting to know you, but we are really running late. You are coming with us to worship tonight aren't you?

Me. Ha ha....yeah right...no, I don't think so. No offense, but that Christian religion of yours is just a bunch of rules to follow...and I don't need any more of that. Why would I want to believe in a God that asks the impossible?...that Christian religion of yours is just a bunch of rules to follow... but that Christian religion of yours is just a bunch of rules to follow...(fading out)

Dear Jim,

It has been a while since we really talked. I think back to one of the first conversations we had when we met two Christmases ago. Our family was on the way to church that Christmas Eve and I never really responded to what you said because we were running late. Now that we are family, I want to go back and continue that conversation. If I remember correctly you said that Christianity is just a lot of rules which are impossible to follow. And you asked: "Why would I want to believe in a God that asks the impossible?"

I have to admit, I was caught by surprise when you said this. There was so much to say and yet I didn't have the words, so I just busied myself with the kids. Since then it seems like we only talk on a superficial level and that saddens me. Although it is a bit late, I would like to respond now.

Unfortunately you are not alone in your question and in your assessment. There are many people who have become disillusioned with the church for precisely the reasons you mention. Perhaps you have developed this perception from hearing radio talk show hosts or from watching televangelists on T.V. who tell you how you must vote if you are a Christian and what stance you must take on certain social issues if you are a real Christian. When you listen to some of them there seem to be so many prerequisites to swallow before you can be a Christian.

Or maybe you had a personal experience at a church when you were growing up where there were certain spoken and unspoken rules you needed to follow if you were going to fit in and maybe those cultural/ societal norms took on more importance than the relationships you developed with God or your peers. I think a lot of us have had those kinds of experiences where we were in a church and we didn't feel like we fit in, so we sat there just waiting for someone to say hello, or anything that would communicate that we were welcome to stay.

By the way, just this week at work we were talking about the TV show Desperate Housewives. I don't know if you watched the show two weeks ago, but one of the church goers in this group of housewives invites her friend to go to church with her. Then when her friend raises her hand in church trying to get some real answers, the church go-er politely discourages her friend from ever coming back to her church again. She had broken one of the unspoken rules. So it is very possible that you developed your understanding of God from popular media that often portrays the church and Christianity as a bunch of laws or unwritten rules to be followed.

Or maybe you had a Christian friend, family member, maybe even me, who turned you off to Christianity at some point and made you feel like you just didn't measure up. I certainly hope that isn't the case. Or maybe it was all of the above reasons. I know those experiences of the church and Christianity are out there in real life and in TV land.

But the God I believe in isn't in heaven checking off lists of rules in the law books determining who is in and who is out. This is not what is at the core of what I and most Christians call the good news of Jesus. Jesus didn't come to live here on earth so that he could hand us a list. If the God I believed in was anything like that, I certainly would never measure up.

The God I know is most fully described in the stories about Jesus in the Bible. Here are some of my favorites: There is this one story where a woman is sneaking out to get some water in the middle of the day which is of course the hottest part of the day. She is going out at that time so she can avoid any shame and ridicule from others in town because she has quite the reputation. On this particular day, she runs into Jesus at the well and Jesus takes away all of the shame and stigma she lives with by naming it and then offering her a new life. When some of Jesus' own followers return, they are surprised that he is talking with her not only because of her reputation, not only because she is a woman, but because she is from an ethnic group they didn't usually associate with. Jesus throws out all social conventions of his time in order to care for this person, show her love, and give her a new joy-filled life.

Then there is another story about Jesus interacting with a guy who collected taxes. To put it mildly, he was not someone who was well-liked among people in the town. He had probably over-charged some people at one time or another and he was probably viewed as a traitor by many in his community. Then one day Jesus came to town, singled him out, and invited himself over for dinner. Can you imagine! Once again, Jesus looked past perceptions of those in the community and reached out to someone who most people wanted to exclude from their dinner plans that night. Whenever Jesus had a choice between following the societal norms and getting to know and care about someone, he chose the latter every time. The God I know through Jesus isn't so much about the rules, as he is about engaging in messy, personal relationships.

There are several other stories in the Bible where Jesus interacts with those who are quite proud about their ability to follow all the rules. Jesus listens to them, engages them in conversation, and then says something like "OK, what about this one: Have you sold all of your property yet and given it to the poor?" Once again in these interactions, Jesus is emphasizing that life is not about checking off all of the rules, it is about being in loving relationship and not in one upsmanship.

Eventually though, Jesus does say that there are two rules on which all the other rules hang....and they were both about our relationships. Those two rules are to Love God and Love our neighbors as ourselves. Both of these, he says, are the end goal of all the other rules. Some people in Jesus' day forgot that the rules they were following were for a purpose. They forgot that the things prescribed by law were there to help them in their relationship with God and others. Instead, the things that were meant to help them in this relationship became stumbling blocks that got in the way. The rules and commands in and of themselves were not the end goals. The relationship with God and neighbor was.

And Jesus demonstrated the lengths to which God shows that love to us when he died on the cross. I once heard someone say that we often come to God asking all kinds of questions like who, what, when, where, how? And God responds with one question: Who? Who gave you life? Who loves you? Who wants you to live an abundant life? Who wipes every tear from your eye? And who will break all the barriers in heaven and earth to show that love for you?

So Jim, the God I know loves you and extends that love to each one of us created in God's image. The God I know then takes away the barriers that keep us from loving each other: Barriers like having to prove ourselves to God and each other, barriers like feeling like we don't measure up, barriers like pride, prejudice, race, financial status, gender. Jesus strips all of these barriers away and simply says, "Love God and each other."

And is that impossible at times? Well, yes. In this way, God is asking something that is nearly impossible. Some relationships are very difficult to initiate...and some relationships are nearly impossible to manage. But one thing Jesus' death and resurrection means for me is that the biggest barrier of all has been removed. And as a follower of Jesus I am strengthened as I continue to remove the barriers that get in the way of loving my neighbor. God's love and our relationships, after all, are not only for our own sake, but for the sake of and for the transformation of the entire world.

You may have heard that I visited the Holy Land a few weeks ago. While there I saw the enormous wall that has been built between Palestinian territories and Israeli territories. Our group talked to many different Christians living in the area and they described what a hardship this wall created for so many people. As we heard about the day to day trials, however, one person mentioned that one of the saddest things about the wall is that it is becoming more and more difficult for both Israelis and Palestinians to see the humanity in one another. The wall has not only created a physical barrier, he said, but it has also impeded the ability for both sides to care for and get to know the human being on the other side. We asked, "How do you initiate relationships with such barriers?" His response was, "With every opportunity we get."

Just like this wall in the Holy Land, there are all kinds of human barriers and rules that have gotten in the way of us truly knowing God. But because of Jesus, we know that he is not far from each one of us. God is reaching past all of the insurmountable barriers that separate us from one another and radically choosing to be in relationship with you and me. God wants us to reach past the barriers we create and the barriers in our way and do the same. I truly believe that is one of the simple ways that God is using us to bring about God's vision for the future today: one caring relationship at a time. With God's help, what could be more possible than that?

Anyway, I know this letter has gotten a bit long, but I want to thank you for your question two years ago. As you can see, it has really stuck with me and given me some food for thought. I look forward to seeing you and really talking more next time....hopefully it will be before next Christmas!

Love,

Beth