Seriously Seeking Something
Christian Community Presbyterian Church
Bowie, Maryland
April 28, 2024
After briefly flirting with church attendance, one television sitcom character chalked up her experience as generally beneficial because “I finally learned what that guy in the end zone is talking about when he holds up the big sign that says ‘John 3:16’!
Long-time
churchgoers know what ‘John 3:16’ is about. We are accustomed to religious
words and symbols. It’s our operating system, to use a computer term. That’s
why we are shocked to find out that church affiliation in the United States is
approaching less than half the population. There are more people who have no
clue what the end zone sign means than those who do. Some scholars of religion
and society call our culture ‘post-Christian.’ Others call it ‘pre-Christian’
because our world is like the world of Peter, Paul, and the other apostles. The
word “God” is used but there are many meanings of “God.”
A
pre-Christian culture does not mean that there is no spiritual hunger. On the
contrary our age is spiritually starving – and the hunger pains are leading to
a frantic feeding frenzy. Spiritual seekers are sampling a smorgasbord of what
they hope will be soul-satisfying entrees.
There
is a renewed interest in prayer and the role of the spirit in healing and
health issues. All manner of non-Christian practices are being grafted onto
American culture. People are seeking new depth and meaning in their daily
existence. For some God is clothed in red, white and blue and snaps to
attention when political code words are bandied in uncompromising stentorian
oratory. For others an eco-spirituality is a path to reconnect the human beings
to the environment. Astrophysicists, genetic researchers, and computer
scientists coding artificial intelligence are increasingly asking spiritual
questions of their disciplines.
The Pew Foundation and other polling organizations all confirm that the fastest growing sector of religious affiliation is the “Nones.” No, not black-and-white-habited religious women, but “None” as in “none of the above.” These people don’t think of themselves as atheists. Many believe in God but are averse to institutional traditions which they perceive as moribund or to hypocritical postures promoting antiquated social norms. They are “spiritual but not religious.”
Philip is a role-model for us in these
pre-Christian times. His evangelical style and enthusiasm is vital for our
social interaction today. And the Ethiopian secretary of the treasury is a
model spiritual seeker. Philip operates on a set of rules of engagement. His
steps can help us reach out to pre-Christian but “desperately-seeking-God”
people.
The
first reality Philip accepted was that no matter how spiritually hungry people
may be, they are not going to come to Christ by themselves. They need an escort
or a guide. The Great Commission, “Go an make disciples of all nations,” is a
mandate for all believers, not just religious professionals. Each of us is
called to “be an evangelist” carrying the Good News wherever we may be.
Faith
in Jesus is not innate, it’s not coded in our DNA. The story of Christ’s life
and ministry, his crucifixion for our sakes, and his resurrection from the dead
cannot be discerned simply by gazing at mountain tops or praying at a river’s
edge. Christ requires the excited retelling of the story from one generation to
the next. One of the great truths of Christianity is its “scandal of
particularity.” Christians dare to declare that one man, one event, one time,
one place made a difference for all eternity. That is why every Christian must
be a voice telling the story. We are escorts for a culture that has lost its
sense of spiritual direction. In museums a docent helps to open up artwork to
the uninitiated. We can be faith docents for seekers. We don’t need a Ph.D. in
Christian studies to help someone get started. We can tutor them for a while
and then connect them with someone with more experience or knowledge.
Philip willingly wandered out into the middle of a barren desert roadway in order to offer the greatest words of guidance any spiritual traveler could ever hope to hear — that Jesus Christ is the Way. When Philip saw the Ethiopian official’s chariot, he ran after it. He didn’t expect the Ethiopian to stop and ask him if he wanted a lift nor did Philip lament the lack of a horse. He did what he could with what he had. He used his own two legs to come alongside the Ethiopian.
Change is changing. It is no longer
incrementally slow but exponentially fast. The technology of life is doubling
every five years. The invention of the microchip is having a greater impact on
this planet than the discovery of fire. The industrial age is long gone and the
service industry world has been supplanted by the information world, where
anyone who is connected can be an information entrepreneur.
We
either move along at the speed of technology or we become roadkill on the
highway of life. If we want to reach out and capture the attention of the
spiritual seekers in this age, then Christians need to “run alongside” the
fast-paced chariot of contemporary life.
After
Philip catches up to the Ethiopian’s chariot, he doesn’t insist that the man
stop so that they can have a quiet talk. Instead, he earns himself a seat
aboard that fast-moving vehicle by speaking to the man about his most immediate
concern. The official is reading from Isaiah and is trying to figure it out.
Philip doesn’t begin by asking the man about the state of his soul or what kind
of life he is living. Instead he focuses on the matter squarely before this man
— the contents of the scroll: “Do you understand what you are reading?”
Pre-Christian
people today need to be met at the places they find themselves on their
spiritual quests. Church people, like Philip, must move alongside today’s
seekers in order to engage them in conversation. Otherwise our witness is
irrelevant. For some, this may mean feeding their stomachs before attempting to
feed their souls. For others, this could be offering a safe space before
revealing to them the peace of Christ. And for some, it will be the simple
offering of human warmth before sharing Christ’s saving love. The early
apostles entered unfamiliar territories and adapted the message to those
places. A variety of evangelisms are needed: for individuals or small groups;
through social media; in defined groups based on ethnicity, age, economics, or
physical capabilities; or in settings focusing on personal or community justice
issues.
No matter what tack Philip might have considered the best in order to address the Isaiah text the Ethiopian was reading, he let him ask his own questions and answered those first. The man asks about whom the prophet was speaking, himself or someone else. That question might not point to a personal lesson on salvation, but it helped Philip direct the course of the conversation so that the answer the Ethiopian receives is genuinely directed toward him.
A 21st-century Christian needs to deal
with the agendas spiritual seekers bring to the table. Christian tradition in
an earlier, more confident age declared that “all roads lead to Christ.” But
those roads may not be paved, straight, or high-speed. No matter how
theologically challenging or scientifically stated, eventually most all
questions can find their resolution in the gospel news. We can have confidence
and patience in our faith.
Many
“stars” or “celebs” have added a new hire to their entourage. Along with the
requisite agent, accountant, lawyer, dietician, personal trainer, chauffeur,
and bodyguard, they now have a spiritual guide.
The
quest for a “spiritual” life is like a gold rush. But like earlier “gold
rushes” in history, there is a lot of “fool’s gold” out there. Counterfeit
spiritualities abound. While all questions can lead to Christ, all roads don’t
lead to God. When Philip shared “the good news about Jesus,” Philip helped the
man know that the only real gold in the hills and vales of his own life
was the God of Israel, who revealed grace, mercy, and peace in Jesus, the
Christ.
If
we encountered someone at a rest stop, perhaps tattooed, pierced, and clad in
torn jeans or nattily attired in Tommy Hilfiger or Lacoste, poring over some
text on their smart phone, and muttering aloud, “What does this mean?” could we
— would we — be a messenger who moves alongside finding out where they are and
opening Christ to them?
The
world is seriously seeking something, something that we already have, something
that we too often take for granted, something that changes lives. It’s called
salvation, but we don’t have to make that the first word out of our mouths.
Loving the person enough to come alongside them will be more than enough to
start with.
To God be the glory. Amen.
Comments
Post a Comment