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Sermon delivered on July 6, 2008
by the Rev. Eugene C. Buie, DMin.
Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30
Psalm 145:8-14
A pastor is called to fulfill many roles during the performance of his ministry. This morning, I stand before you in the role of a prophet, not in the sense of foretelling the future but rather as one who speaks a word of caution, and perhaps a warning regarding the future of our nation.
Our nation was conceived and established on the belief that freedom is an endowment of God’s reign in our lives as Americans…..a gift from the Sovereign of the universe to those who love Him and follow His commands. The Founders of this nation wrote, in their great moment of inspiration,…
"We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."
The roots of these self-evident truths are to be found in the First Testament story of the Exodus, when God freed the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. Jehovah God remembered his promise to Abraham and commissioned these people to become a special nation, a nation set free from the rule of Egypt. God claimed them as his own people and endowed them with a culture and a rule of law, the foundation of which was the Ten Commandments Moses received from the hand of God.
Then, more recently, in the Second Testament account of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, these roots of truth grew deeper as God acted through Christ to free from sin, death, and the grave those who put their faith in the work of Christ. Thus, Julie Ward Howe was able to write in the "Battle Hymn of the Republic"…
"…as He died to make men holy, let us die to make men free;
His truth is marching on."
That truth of God was the legacy of freedom given to all who are His people.
In the past, I have hot been inclined to sing battle hymns in the church. Like many of my generation, I have seen and lived through enough wars and endured enough threats of war, such that I long for peace, especially in the church. But I will not become a "peace-monger." That is, I will not be someone who wants peace even if it means giving up my freedom and faith convictions, or tolerating the behavior of others who threaten the Christian way of life I hold dear. Rather, like most people, if pushed hard enough, the sword may be drawn and there can be war. This seems to be the way of it in the violent history of humankind. Liberty has a price, and it is usually human life. We recall that, in order for the Israelites to be freed from bondage in Egypt, the first born of every Egyptian family had to die. Freedom in this sinful world has always come at a price, and the greatest price was the life of the Son of God.
Since the founding of this nation, hundreds of thousands of men and women have given their lives in order for this nation’s people to live in freedom. This weekend we remember and give thanks for those who have suffered and died so that we may continue to live in freedom. Therefore, we must never forget that freedom is fragile. It must constantly be defended, or we can lose it.
A study of world civilizations reveals a pattern that is of interest to us this morning. Beginning in slavery and bondage, people develop spiritual faith which gives them courage and hope. Strengthened by courage and hope, they are able to throw off their slavery and achieve liberty. As free people, what follows is a period of abundance. After an extended period of abundance, people tend to fall into selfishness, which eventually leads them into complacency. Complacency leads to apathy, and apathy leads to dependency, that is, expecting their government to provide and care for them. Finally, dependency leads them back into slavery and bondage.
Note first that spiritual faith led people out of slavery, setting them on the road to liberty and a potential life of abundant happiness. The down-turn begins when spiritual faith and the life it fosters are superseded by selfishness and complacency. What should alarm us is that many Americans, including many Christians, have become complacent and apathetic, and a growing number of Americans are becoming more and more dependent on the government for their support. As more and more people want the government to subsidize and support them, the rule of law changes and personal freedoms become more restricted.
In this first decade of the twenty-first century, we can see our nation moving from abundance into selfishness and complacency and increasing dependency. As a people, who once possessed a specifically Christian culture, we are forgetting the spiritual faith that called this nation into being. We are abandoning the faith that gave us the benefits of freedom that once defined a life-style we Americans now seem to take for granted and, even worse, seem to believe we are entitled.
It is time for a reality check. Reading from Deuteronomy 28, the biblical verses on which George Washington placed his hand as he took the oath of office as the first president of this nation, we find these words.
"If you will only obey the LORD your God, by diligently observing all his commandments that I am commanding you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth; all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the LORD your God. Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of your womb, the fruit of your ground, and the fruit of your livestock, both the increase of your cattle and the issue of your flock. Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out. The LORD will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before you; they shall come out against you one way, and flee before you seven ways. The LORD will command the blessing upon you in your barns, and in all that you undertake; he will bless you in the land that the LORD your God is giving you. The LORD will establish you as his holy people, as he has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the LORD you God and walk in his ways. All the peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they shall be afraid of you." (Deuteronomy 28:1-10, NRSV)
"But if you will not obey the LORD your God by diligently observing all his commandments and decrees, which I am commanding you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you: Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the field. Cursed shall e your basket and your kneading bowl. Cursed shall be the fruit of your womb, the fruit of your ground, the increase of your cattle and the issue of your flock. Cursed shall you be when you come in, and when you go out. The LORD will send upon you disaster, panic, and frustration in every thing you attempt to do, until you are destroyed and perish quickly, on account of the evil of your deed, because you have forsaken me." (Deuteronomy 28:15-20)
Biblical history tells us the Israelites did not take these words of God seriously, and we can read about the severe consequences that followed. One might think we Christians would take this as a warning and learn from it. However, a recent poll of religious attitudes in North America reveals that most Americans profess more of a national secular religion than what is considered biblical Christianity, which was the source of the spiritual faith that inspired the Founders of our nation and the blessing of our nation’s abundance. However, for the past fifty years, Christian churches and church leaders have been denial, as the American culture has slipped away into a worship of the mundane.
In other words, the Judeo-Christian qualities of American culture, qualities that made this nation great even in the midst of our struggles for true equality, are no longer present. The religious and cultural influence of Christianity on the American way of life has declined to the point of being minimal and no longer recognizable in the public square. All of this has been accomplished by an aggressive anti-Christian minority, while Christians and their churches remained silent and complacent.
The result is that Christianity has been made into a "personal belief system," separate from modern culture constructs. Otherwise, why do we often find ourselves saying, "I do not recognize my country any more." So, we must ask, "Where will this take us?" All we need to do is look at Europe for the answer. Consider this. Islam is a religion with a now superior cultural underpinning. Therefore, its religious and cultural aspects are inescapable. Through the natural evolution of our multicultural society, don’t be surprised when someone says it is in the state’s compelling interest to promote "diversity" by assuring certain protections and freedoms to religious minorities whose faith is defined by their cultural norms.
The coup de grace, however, is that Christianity is no longer defined by cultural norms. Christians have given up these norms, and Christianity is being relegated to the realm of private individual belief structures that are no longer socially relevant. Meanwhile, Islam and other culturally based religions are given access to the public square, including the adoption of Shariah law into our legal system. It that happens, we can say goodbye to liberty and the freedom to worship as we choose.
Nevertheless, the point here is not the growing influence of Islam within Western culture, as much a threat to our freedom as that may be. Our primary concern should be the complacent attitude of mainline Christians while America’s once Christian culture fades into history, including its morals and gift of liberty for all.
In our gospel lesson this morning, Jesus likens the people of his time to children playing in the village square.
"But to what will I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not mourn.’" (Matthew 11:16-17)
These children are imitating the real-life situations of their parents. Imagine a dozen or so children chasing each other around the village fountain. One sits down and says, "I’m bored." A girl says, "I know, let’s have a wedding. We girls can make the music and the boys can dance." (That is what the men, and only the men, did in that culture.) "Nah!," respond the boys. "We don’t want to dance. Let’s have a funeral. We boys can sing a dirge and you girls can wail." (That’s what the women, and only the women, did in that culture.) "No way!," replied the girls, "We’re not going to do that." So they all sat down on the ground in a sulk. "I’m bored," someone says again.
John the Baptizer came on the scene like a funeral…a gaunt, austere figure, who proclaimed the coming judgment of God. The sophisticated religious of that generation didn’t want to play. Jesus, on the other hand, came on like a joyous wedding, proclaiming God’s unconditional love and forgiveness, celebrating the goodness of God’s grace toward sinners, even tax collectors. But he also was rejected and finally crucified. Thus, it mad no difference whether the gospel of Jesus Christ came as a funeral or a wedding, the religious of that generation rejected Jesus as God’s Messiah, behaving like children who cannot agree how to play together.
This analogy seems to apply also to us and our churches in this generation. While we are quarreling among ourselves about our beliefs and practices, the American culture has taken a new direction, abandoning its Christian roots. What is worse, we hardly notice. We have become so absorbed by selfish complacency, and filled with pride regarding our private belief systems, that we are no longer conscious of the church’s call and obligation to shape the culture in which we live. Indeed, many Christians no longer believe we should. Thus, Christianity is no longer part of the culture construct that shapes American society. We have given this work up to others, who will happily bring us into submission.
This weekend, we celebrate once again the birth of our nation. It should be a day that affirms our unity as a people. But we are deeply divided, even over our commitment to the God who is the author of our freedom and the inspiration of our democratic republic. If our Founders had been anything other than Christian in their thinking, would we have the Constitution that defines our nation. Probably not! But they were God-fearers, and seen from this perspective, the present struggle over church-state relations must be engaged by Christians with less anxiety and more clarity. Christianity must again take its original place as the dominant cultural influence in America. Christian denominations must stop competing with one another, and turn people’s hearts back to God.
The gospel of Jesus Christ is not just about "you and God." The gospel has consequences and those consequences can affect whole cities and nations. We Christians cannot continue to behave as children who cannot agree how to play together. Neither is this a game. The consequences are eternal, and God expects us to engage the challenges of our time with the maturity of the spiritual faith that is ours through Jesus Christ. Our response to this challenge rests not on us a individuals but on us as a faith community…the body of Christ. Amen.