May 8, 2011
Opening Up - Luke 24:13-35
Pastor: Luke Maybry
DownloadI’ll have to admit that the first thought that ran through my head when I heard that Osama Bin Laden was killed was, “good.” The second thought that ran through my head was actually a question that I have yet to answer. And the question is, “How should a Christian react to somebody’s death, even a person as evil as Osama Bin Laden?” I’m almost positive that that same exact sequence of thoughts went through your head, “good” followed by “But, we’re Christian.” Doesn’t the Bible tell us to love our enemies? Isn’t Bin Laden, evil as he is, still God’s beloved child? On and on it goes. It all comes down, actually, to a question that we ask in some form or fashion every day. How are we supposed to live as Christians? Or, even more specifically, how do we translate our faith into our present circumstances? That’s an even better question, isn’t it? It’s all about translation, about interpretation. How do we interpret God today? What is God doing? Where is God today and what is God calling us to do today? Those are all essentially the same question.
I can think of two examples of where people have completely blown that question. One, actually, is Osama Bin Laden himself. Now I didn’t know him, fortunately because if I did, I’d be dead. He wanted every non-Muslim, especially every Western Christian dead. That’s how he interpreted his faith, by killing as many people (especially people like us) as possible. Obviously, his interpretation of God was wrong, way wrong, and thousands of good people are dead now for it. All of which goes to prove that the stakes to that question could not be higher.
The other example is a little closer to home. I listened to a program this week about Anthony and Harriett Jinwright, the two pastors of Greater Salem Church here in Charlotte who went to prison this week on tax evasion and fraud convictions. I didn’t know them, either, but I was dumbstruck on this reporter’s opinion that they thought that what they did was not wrong. They interpreted their faith to mean that they should make lots and lots and lots of money, and have lots and lots and lots of stuff, even as their congregation was literally going broke. That’s how they interpreted their faith. It’s all about interpretation, you see. It’s all about opening yourself up to truth, which is literally what interpretation means. The Jinwrights, like Bin Laden, got it way wrong, and thousands upon thousands of people have been turned away from the Christian faith because of it, which again tells us that the stakes are high. Nothing could be more important than interpreting our faith. And nothing is more devastating that getting it wrong.
The Walk to Emmaus has a lot of interpretation in it. Two of Jesus’ followers, Cleopas and another one not even named, were walking back from Jerusalem to what we presume was their home in Emmaus. On their way, they met this man who walked with them. We think that it was around a six-mile hike, maybe an hour and a half walking. As they walked, they told this man about the big thing that had happened in Jerusalem. He hadn’t heard, he said, so they proceeded to tell him about it. They proceeded, unknowingly to tell Jesus about, well, Jesus. Now these guys knew their Bible really, really well, but had somehow misinterpreted the Bible. So this man started telling them about the Old Testament. For six miles, “beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the Scriptures.” Jesus interpreted the Scriptures. Jesus interpreted faith to them.
Jesus was revealed to them only after he interpreted faith to them. They saw the truth only after they heard the truth. And when they heard it, it changed them forever, and they recognized God. They saw God in an interpretation of faith. They believed, for the first time, in the Resurrection in an interpretation of faith. It’s all about interpreting the faith. If you interpret it right, God is very much, miraculously in that. If you interpret it wrong, it’s a total disaster. And whether we like it or not, we interpret our faith every day of our lives. Our interpretation, for good, bad, or naught, has very long reaching consequences.
I walked out to my car right before our Wealthy Wednesday program this past week to get something from my car. As I was walking, I noticed probably fifteen or so guys playing basketball on that back court. I also passed two of them on the sidewalk. I turned around said hello, and then I invited them to get some supper with us. They seemed surprised at that, like I had been representing something different than that. Had I possibly interpreted the faith to them to mean that God was only for people like me? Is that why they seemed surprised? We may be the only access they get to the Christian faith. And I wonder what they think the Christian faith is all about. And if they were surprised that I invited them to supper, then, well, maybe I’ve blown it with them.
Susan Hunter, Joe McGrath, Charles & Judy Creel, and Sharon Wilson have not blown it, though. I went back to the kitchen on Tuesday afternoon to see what ya’ll are eating. I feel that it is my duty as pastor to know what my sheep are eating. And I saw that ya’ll were eating cookies, in fact, bags and bags of them. Somebody had made a ton of them and I wasn’t sure what for. I found out, actually, that somebody bakes cookies for the community on Tuesday night as they play basketball. They don’t just show up and open the doors and lock up after it’s over. They really do show up, and they show them hospitality. That is one way that they have interpreted their faith. And I think they’re dead-on. I believe as sure as I am standing here that God is in that. When we interpret our faith well, then people see things that they never saw before. I firmly believe that we will not live long enough to see what God can do with just that, just a Tuesday night basketball program.
These two disciples of Jesus walked six miles with Jesus without even knowing it. Six miles. They finally figured out it was Jesus when he interpreted the faith to them. I wonder how many people are walking around out here, and God is with them, but they need somebody, they need us, to interpret that to them? I heard recently that as many as 60 thousand cars pass by the intersection of South Tryon and Westinghouse every day. What do they see when they see us? How are we interpreting the faith to them? However we interpret it will have long-term consequences. Will they see people who interpret faith in a way that makes us a club? Clubs exist solely for its members. That’s the whole point. The Church is the only club whose sole purpose is its non-members? Is that how we interpret the faith, though? Do those 60 thousand cars see a people who have a different set of rules and values, who have a different interpretation on life than the prevailing cultural myths? Will they see people who don’t make any sense at all outside of a belief in a good, living, and sovereign God?
However they see us, they also see God. That ought to make us think about it some. More and more of the world doesn’t want much to do with God. And while I do believe that culture is shifting in ways that we can neither predict nor control, much of the world doesn’t understand our faith because we haven’t interpreted it properly. I’m not asking you to stand on a soap box and jam God down people’s throats. But I am saying that our lives should give witness to the God who has given his life for us. When we get that right, and oftentimes we do, then God is rightly glorified and people’s lives are forever transformed. And when we get it wrong, and sometimes we do, then people get hurt, and their lives get cheapened, and there is hell to pay in many ways. The stakes are high, either way. So where is God and what is God up to these days? That’s pretty much what Jesus told those two disciples. So what you do you think? We need to know, and so do they.
In the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.
