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Proper 21 – Year A

Preached on September 25

At St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Brookline, MA

The Reverend Jeffrey W. Mello

Ezekiel 18:1-4, 25-32; Philippians 2:1-13; Matthew 21:23-32

And you call yourself a Christian?

I find myself yelling this question over and over again at my television, and at clips on youtube friends send me. “You call yourself a Christian?”

The targets of my anger are men and woman who proudly hold up their identity as Christians, but who seem to act in ways I can’t ever imagine Jesus acting.

These men and women, of every political stripe – blue, red and purple – reference their religious beliefs right up front. They use the title “Christian” as though it answers a million questions they hope we never ask. “As a Christian…” they begin, as though the rest of that sentence should be self-evident.

Under this banner, they continue to act in whatever way their self-interests dictate. They continue to use fear to marginalize, they use fear to drive us apart from one another. They use fear to keep us distracted from the real issues facing this world, and even more dangerous is that they keep us distracted from being able to do anything about it.

They use fear. And they call themselves Christians. Even though Jesus told his followers over and over again “Don’t be afraid.”

I have felt, as perhaps many of you have, that the title “Christian” has not only ceased to be a title that bears any resemblance to what it is I believe as a follower of Christ, but has come to mean something almost the opposite. Somehow, the title “Christian” has come to mean, at least in this part of the world, somebody who would probably condemn me for about as many reasons I believe Christ calls me to love them.

Recently, a friend of mine asked this question on Facebook:

“How do you react when someone tells you they’re Christian?”

The responses were plentiful, and none too kind.

“So many Christians, so few lions.” Wrote one reply.

“I know you are, but what am I?” replied another.

But among the many quips, most of which I can’t repeat from the pulpit, there was this one:

“Forget about being Christian, "What have you done today that you are proud of..." Being Christian doesn't make you a better person. You might get something out of being religous (totally personal thing) but end of the day, what have you gotten done.

Me, nothing. I'm wasting time on FB but that has nothing to do with me shunning church.”

As much as these words stung, I couldn’t escape the truth in them.

Because, ultimately, the question that matters most to God is the writer’s question, “At the end of the day, what have you gotten done.”

It’s easy to call myself Christian. It’s an all-together different and much more difficult thing to act in such a way that would make it perfectly clear to the world that I am a Christian, without me ever having to open my mouth.

That’s the lesson Jesus tries to teach to the crowd gathered around him as he is challenged by the religious authorities. It is easy for them to claim their place as religious leaders, but then do nothing to bring about the Kingdom of God in this world. They are the son in Jesus’ parable who said yes initially, but who did not go to work in the vineyard. The religious leaders are faithful to their relationship with God in name only.

But the outcasts who surrounded Jesus on every side? The prostitutes and tax-collectors? They are the other son in the story. They are the son who initially said “no” to their father, but then turned and went to work in the vineyard. They are the ones, Jesus said, who have done the will of God. They might not claim the title, but they are doing the work.

It doesn’t matter, ultimately, what you say about your life of faith and your relationship with God. What matters, ultimately, is what you do in response to your life of faith.

It is all well and good to stand in front of a crowd or a television camera and claim God’s love for you. But what matters to God, more than anything else, is how we respond to the fact that we we are God’s beloved.

Jesus calls to us today from the story and says to us, “So, you are a Christian, fantastic. What are you going to do about it?”

How are you going to respond, in your everyday life, to the fact that God’s love for you is unceasing? What are you going to do today because Jesus came and lived among us to show us a glimpse of the Kingdom of God in this world?

Many of us shy away from using the word “Christian” as a way to describe ourselves at all. Perhaps you answer the question “what religion are you” by saying that you are Episcopalian, in hopes that it communicates that you might be Christian, but you are not one of those kinds of Christians. To that, I would respond “So, you are Episcopalian. What are you going to do about it?”

Maybe you simply say “Oh, I go to St. Paul’s in Brookline,” hoping this gives even more context for your confession of a life of faith at all. To that, I would respond again, “So, you go to St. Paul’s. Excellent. What are you going to do about it?”

Though it makes me often uncomfortable, I am someone who wants to reclaim the word “Christian.” I think it’s been hijacked and co-opted and I think the media uses as short hand for something very far away from the life of our faith’s namesake. I try to come out as Christian as often as I can. It helps to wear a collar when you do it.

I hope that by claiming that adjective, those who see me and know my actions might be challenged to change their thinking about what being a Christian means. I hope that by telling my story, by talking about my life as a Christian, a different image might emerge.

The person who posted that remark on Facebook makes the claim that “Being Christian doesn’t make you a better person.” I agree. But I think acting like one sure does. Whatever the faith; Jewish, Muslim or Christian. There is a world of difference between just being, and doing. In every path toward God, it is the doing whereby we life out the faith we claim as our own.

Claiming our identities as Christians, as Episcopalians, as part of the community that is Saint Paul’s is important. It’s a part of how we witness to the world that the dominant narrative out there isn’t all there is. That there are people in the world who are striving to live their lives with intentionality and purpose towards the bringing of God’s Hope for the world to reality.

So let folks know that when they talk about people of faith, when they claim to know all of what being a “Christian” means, let them know that they are talking about you. And let’s see if we can help bring the image of a Christian a little closer to the image of Christ.

Ultimately, however, what will change people’s minds, what will give people hope, what will challenge people to join in the work God has given us to do will not be who we tell them we are. It will be who we show them we are.

So, what are you going to do about it?

AMEN.

© 2011 The Reverend Jeffrey W. Mello