Diocesan
Life Columns
Bishop Paul V. Marshall
Bishop Paul's writes a monthly column for the Diocesan Newspaper, Diocesan
Life, edited by Communication
Minister, Bill Lewellis.
For more features from the life of our diocese, check Diocesanlife....ONLINE; and Bethlehem
News.
Business as Usual is Not Good Enough
Bishop Paul V. Marshall
Diocesan Life, October, 1997
She was in her late thirties, and so far had fit into the class
with no problems. I looked at her while lecturing one morning,
and was surprised to see her face red and puffy, tears running
down her cheeks. I waited a bit. When she seemed in better control,
I asked if there was something wrong.
Hurt and angry, she said, "Does this mean the early Christian
Church didn't include everybody?"
That day in class, we had been looking at the lists of forbidden
occupations: jobs Christians had to quit if they were to be baptized.
The jobs they were forbidden to hold involved idolatry, denial
of Christ, or direct violation of the commandments. Thus, people
who made their livings as trainers of gladiators, makers of idols,
owners of brothels, and so on, had to get new jobs before they
could be baptized. I went over this again, and asked her if she
disagreed with the ancient church. Her answer was yes.
The story suggests there is a great deal of misleading talk about "inclusion" and "unconditional
love" abroad in the church today.
"Unconditional positive regard" is not a biblical expression.
It is a 20th-century concept associated with psychologist Carl
Rogers. Nonetheless, it is fair to ask whether or not God loves
the human race "unconditionally." The answer, of course, is yes.
Anyone who can recite John 3:16 can testify to that. Similarly,
on the question of "inclusion," it is impossible to read Luke-Acts
and anything by St. Paul and not realize that Jesus brought a realm
of God where women, children and gentiles were on an equal footing
with Jewish men.
But God's love is not to be received in vain. Jesus' first sermon,
as recorded in the first of the gospels to be written, Mark, consisted
of one sentence: "Repent and believe the good news." The word "repent" means
to turn around, to change one's attitudes and behaviors.
Jesus looked for change in people. Jesus still looks for change
in people. The love of God is transforming and the Christian life
is the process of being formed into Christ, leaving old attitudes
and behaviors behind.
Some people repent of their sins and seek a savior. They already
know they need more than they have in life. For others, however,
love must seek them out before repentance and transformation are
possible. Thus Jesus saves the adulteress's life, adding, "Neither
do I condemn you" and finally, "Go and sin no more."
Even more radical was his announcement to mega-crook Zaccheus
that he would come to his house for a meal. The meals of the rich
were public events in those days. For Jesus even to be seen coming
to dine with Zaccheus, a man despised by good people, was earth-shaking
and counter-cultural in the extreme. Zacchaeus didn't miss the
point: Jesus' mere announcement - "Zacchaeus - I must stay at your
house today" - was immediately followed by Zacchaeus' repentance
and restitution to the victims of his legalized robbery.
The first Christians knew what they were doing when they told
those who had heard the gospel and knew the love of God in Christ
to work only at jobs that did not contradict their faith. New believers
were loved, included and accepted; their response to that love
was what the community looked for as a basic part of their preparation
for baptism.
Closer to our own day, Martin Luther, in the very first of the
Ninety-five Theses, wrote that Jesus intends the entire life of
the Christian to be one of repentance. He most definitely did not
mean that Christians were to go through life wearing sackcloth
and beating their breasts. He did mean that people who know God's
love have the courage to turn from all that is contrary to their
baptism.
Our Baptismal Covenant asks us "whenever you sin, [to] repent
and return to the Lord." As we continue to walk with the Lord,
we find new strengths - and we find parts of our lives that must
change.
Having received God's love as a gift, we can let go of the need
to be right - the need to defend defiantly our sub-Christian behaviors.
Having received God's love, we have received the courage to examine
our lives thoroughly. Because we know the love of God in Jesus
Christ, we have the courage to turn around, change, and grow into
the fullness of the stature of Christ.
Christianity is not a religion of "anything goes." It is a religion
for those who realize that business as usual is not good enough.
It is a religion for whose who, trusting in Christ's love, go,
like Abraham and Sarah, on a lifelong journey of discovery and
transformation.
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