In, Not Of

He will transform the body of our humiliation that it may be conformed to the body of his glory, by the power that enables him to make all things subject to himself.

[Philippians 3:20]

And Jesus says in that great prayer that we hear as the Gospel today:

They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world.

Jesus is making a very bold claim for himself, and for us.

What is our status here?

The best way to describe us is as “resident aliens.”

That is not a new idea;

remember Abraham in Canaan.

He owned nothing but a grave, and kept on the move through the length and breadth of the land.

Remember the 400 years that the Hebrews spent in Egypt.

Remember Ruth fleeing to Moab to escape famine.

The idea that we are sometimes in places where we are visitors rather than belonging comes up many times in scripture.

And it applies to us as well, as we are

living, working, doing the best that we can in our circumstances,

but knowing that we do not own things here; this is temporary.

We are charged with the responsibilities of being a steward, a tenant, but we do not have ownership, no matter what a paper says in the courthouse.

Now and again the organizers of a parade will put two marching bands too close together in the line of march.

It can become quite difficult to continue when one can hear several different drum lines at the same time, with their competing rhythms.

Things will devolve into confusion.

The world around us is playing one tune, and here is its text:

Do what you want.

Grab as much as you can.

If you see it, you deserve to have it.

If you don't see it, it doesn't exist.

If it feels good, do it.

And the refrain is:

it's all about me, me, me.

And right down the street, the church is singing a different text:

Life begins with praise of the God who made us.

Life is a trust granted to us by God, and the question is one of how best to manage what has been given.

We are acknowledging that God gives good gifts, generously, to the righteous and to the unrighteous, and wants to entice us into the kind of life that he desires us to have.

And the refrain of the church's song is:

We are in the world, but not of it.

It is all about the praise of God and the care of our neighbor.

The two songs are mutually exclusive; if one tries to follow the rhythm of both, the situation devolves into confusion.

How so?

When we get into serious discussions, it doesn't take long before the world's song and the song of faith collide.

What one feels or what one wants is at odds with God's stated intentions.

We'd rather declare what is sinful as not really sinful.

The rules shouldn't apply to me.

I want to do what I want to do!

One of the most troublesome times this comes up is in matters of sex.

The world says, “Do whatever you want.”

The church has always said, “We honor God when we hear and heed God's intention for male and female, for chastity in singleness and faithfulness in marriage.”

The song of the church and the song of the world have different rhythms and different beats.

W either adopt one or the other, or fall into utter confusion if we try to follow both of them.

It is hard work to sort out which song is which in daily life.

Think of someone who is trying to be a good businessperson and a good Christian at the same time.

How do the daily decisions I must make honor God?

The decision that leads to the highest profit may or may not be the most God-honoring process or result.

They are very difficult matters to sort out.

Let's try another area.

Personal vacations are one thing, and let's leave them out for them moment, and focus on trips that are undertaken by church groups.

We need to be asking how such trips honor God and aid our neighbor as well as ourselves.

If we cannot come up with good answers, then we should not be doing those trips.

For example, this spring's trip to SE PA with catechetical families included learning about Henry Melchior Muhlenberg, patriarch of Lutheranism in the US.

We learned of his life and work,

his bravery and persistence,

his faith and one of the church buildings in which he proclaimed it.

I hope it will encourage us in our lives.

On the other hand, I would not lead a church trip to Atlantic City casinos.

I don't see any God-honoring activity there.

It is based on encouraging human greed and self-centeredness.

It leads to pain and sorrow for many, and enriches some whom I would rather not fund.

Carl's trips as an assistant in dental missions certainly honor God in their aid to persons in great need.

I hope that my adventure and conversations with Ibrahim in Jerusalem and Palestinian Bethlehem also were God-honoring, as I learned much from my Arab guide and supported by my purchases those who really need encouragement and support.

It is complicated decision-making we all face every day, since in Christ we are in the world, but not of the world.

One Monday morning a few years back, the college chaplain at Duke University got a call from a student who asked to see him at once.

In his fraternity house on Saturday night, he accidentally walked into a room where a couple were engaged in sex.

He shut the door and said nothing.

But on Sunday evening, at the frat's regular meeting, someone said,

“I hear that Mr. Christian got an eye-full last night.”

And they all laughed, a cold, hard, cruel laugh, and added other comments.

The student told the chaplain that he had never been treated like that before.

The chaplain replied,

“You don't consider yourself a particularly great Christian, do you?

And still, just having one person like you who can say NO is a threat to the world.

A person like you has to be ridiculed, put down, and silenced, because just by your being there, you call into question their self-centered, rebellious ways.

This campus may make make you into a much stronger Christian!

We're in the world, not of the world.

We sing a different song;

we walk a different path.

Exactly two weeks ago this afternoon,

I asked a man in Bethlehem to which of the various Christian groups living there he was a part.

He said that he had left one, and didn't think that he needed another.

I was sad to hear that, especially since he lives in a place that dangerous.

Folks at the edge or outside the church don't even realize that they are under attack by evil on every side.

They are under the illusion that they are doing OK by themselves.

And Satan smiles.

Christians know (as Peter says) that

“Satan prowls around like a ravenous lion, seeking someone to devour.”

Just when we think that we are safe, Satan pounces.

“I don't need worship or Sunday School or the bother of looking out for my neighbor. I've done my share...”

and Satan smiles and Jesus sighs.

So there are a number of good reasons for us to be here, not least of which is learning and singing the new song, and learning to recognize the world's song in whatever disguise it pops up.

In the hymn that we sing next, the last line of each of the four stanzas summarizes what we have been hearing this morning.

Fill us with your love and pity,

Heal our wrongs and help our need.

We but stewards of your bounty

Held in solemn trust will be.

Quench our fevered thirst of pleasure,

Stem our selfish greed of gain.

Grant, oh, grant our hope's fruition:

Here on earth your will be done.

In the world, but not of the world.

That is where we live. Amen.

Please note: The preceding sermon is provided as a resource for the thought, prayer, and meditation of the members and friends of St. Mark's. It is the residue of a verbal event, and thus it does not have academic footnotes and other details that would be expected in a written document. The writer gladly acknowledges the prior thought and work of many Christians before him.