by Rev. Dr John Evans
An oxymoron is an expression which is pointedly foolish; two contradictory terms are joined together – usually to make some witty, possibly insightful point. An oxymoron is not a mad welder.
For many today the term church member has become an oxymoron; a contradiction in terms. A member is a person who is part of an organisation, an institution – there are benefits, fees and attendant rights and responsibilities. Whereas church implies matters that are grand and noble - where Christianity is practiced or at least its shape and content are determined. It, church, is just there – as it has always been, and always will be; there is something vaguely spiritual about church; one just goes to church – you do not need to be a member.
Today we have received into membership of this congregation some of our friends; we will soon commission Emily into an order within the Church, the Order of St Stephen – an organisational structure within the Uniting Church in Australia that allows people to serve.
I want to suggest that being a church member is not a contradiction, but that the ideas of membership and church are complementary – indeed they need to go together.
Our readings today are about the church.
Last Thursday was Ascension Day – as determined by the evangelist Luke in his narrative of Luke-Acts concerning Jesus and the Church. Jesus – 40 days (that number again) after Ester, ascends into glory – is physically taken off the scene; and the focus turns, in a dramatic way, onto his followers. The story now becomes the story of the Church. The disciples would receive the Holy Spirit (at Pentecost – 50 days after Easter); they would be witnesses to Jesus to the ends of the earth. Life would not continue gazing at the ascended Christ, it would involve engagement in the world.
So immediately the disciples begin this new way of living back in Jerusalem – devoting themselves to prayer. Indeed this early church is idolized, nostalgically recalled. This is all we need to do, we hear – is get back to these halcyon days of no structures, no buildings to maintain or committees. And people do have a point. The disciples seemed to want a new power structure. However, they were rebuffed by Jesus when they asked just prior to his ascension, if this was “when the kingdom would be restored to Israel” – a very concrete, here and now political manifestation of God’s presence. They were effectively told ‘no’. Rather, their life would be far more spiritual; they were to rely on the presence of Holy Spirit.
Something similar is also happening in St John’s gospel. This time we have Jesus’ prayer to God at the last supper. The disciples are polite eavesdroppers on Jesus praying to the Father. Jesus simply prays for the disciples that they be one, and have a relationship like his own with God. Lesslie Newbiggin in commenting upon this passage says:
The work of Jesus is the communication of the name of God to a community. He does not bequeath to posterity a body of teaching preserved in a book. He does not leave behind an ideal or a program. He leaves behind a community – the Church.
This community exists not because of decisions which its members have made. It is not constituted by the faith, insight or moral excellence of its members. It exists because God has called its members out of the world, and given them to Jesus.
The church consists of who God has chosen – and Jesus prays for them. He prays that they may relate together and be one; just as Jesus and the Father are one. If you like – “the Church is a part of the gospel”. The Church has none other than Christ praying and interceding for it. It is not what members might do, plan, or strategise – its future, as the church, is in God’s hands.
So are we are left with the conclusion that membership – institutional membership would seem wrong. . . and membership is far too formal a category for such a God given thing – the church. And there is a dilemma here – we do need to be open to God’s calling and leading; and yet there needs to be a sense we do belong together – that we are one, as Christ prayed.
There are obvious dangers if we are far too institutional, and structured; the church’s organization becomes and end in itself; it only exists to be the church – and control its members. And often the Christian church in its history has been like this; a great violation of the vision of Christ and this free, spiritual, God given, early church. On the other hand, I would like to suggest we can become - so heavenly minded, the church is of no earthly use. The church’s presence becomes thoroughly dissipated within our community. Just as we speak of Jesus and being the incarnation of the divine; so also the body of Christ, the church needs to be discerned within the world – so that the world my know of God’s love and hope.
During the week I received my latest Christian Century magazine, and it contained this rather tongue-in-cheek article called “In defence of organized religion”. It notes that for most of the history of the church, it has, well, failed. But for all of that there are still virtues of organised religion if you like being a member. One has been, organised religion has given a basis for people to rebel – either against, or from within. This is another way of saying that when religious traditions can become ossified – and that is a very human thing, and actually having a structure can provide a way of bringing about change. Organised religion allows us – to use a phrase, to stand on the shoulders of giants; to be aware of our tradition and of our previous engagement within the world; to learn from the past and do things differently today. The author also points to the power of the collective – of doing things together, while at the same time notes the merits of deep diversity. Organised religion, the church can be a capable of the kind of mobilisation that can transform the world.
The story of Saint Benedict (after whom our current pope has taken his name) is a case in point. Around 500 of the common era, Benedict withdrew from the degradation and licentiousness of Rome to a cave in the valley of Subiaco, about 40 miles out of the city. Here he lived as a hermit, a holy man, a very spiritual existence – however, in time people gathered around him. Here was a very spiritual understanding of the Christian life – perhaps very much like the early church . . . but it needed organization. Along the way were some twists and turns, life I guess, however, he was able to put in lace his rule, the Rule of St Benedict, for the establishment of monasteries and religious communities. . . something you definitely were a member of. Here was the movement from the freedom of being a hermit, to being the leader of a movement which became the framework, structure in which the Christian faith was preserved during the long period of the Dark Ages in Europe. Membership, and organised religion, became a blessing.
The Church, the Uniting Church, the Church of All Nations, Carlton today is not perfect. However, I would suggest it is important still to be a member, a part of this imperfect institution as it endeavours to engage with the world and works to transform lives. At all times we need to be open to the movement of the spirit. We need to be aware that Christ prays for us - and that we have this “food for the journey” and the guidance of the holy spirit that we do not lose the way. Indeed it is this table, Christ’s table, which draws us together, members and non members, and reminds us of the mystery of God’s love for us in Christ. Dramatically it is where Christ prays that we be one, like he and the father are one. And it is from this table we ourselves offer our own sacrifice of service and praise. So this table is not just for well, paid up members. It is Christ’s invitation to all who love him a little, and would like to love him more – as our invitation often says.
