TRINITY I

June 6, 2010

St. Augustine Anglican Church

“Neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.”

The Rev. Gerald Parks +

          This past week has seen the opening of an exhibit at Grace Cathedral called “A Walk through Jerusalem,” co-sponsored by Grace Cathedral, the Islamic Center of Topeka and Temple Beth-Shalom.  It is touted as an ecumenical endeavor, combining the efforts of representatives of the three great Abrahamic religions in Topeka, who (it is said) all worship the same single God, although in different traditions and understandings.

          That sounds pretty noble, doesn’t it?  Imagine a world so full of understanding that all the ills of mankind are suddenly and completely eradicated.  But then reality sets in: Which God are we talking about?  Is it the stern and unbending God of the Old Testament?  Is it the petulant and vengeful, almost maniacal God of Islam?  Or is it the warm and fuzzy, permissive and worldly God of the Episcopalians?  Maybe that is too harsh, but it makes you wonder!

          I have been accused of, and readily admit to, a strong bias when it comes to matters of religion and politics, especially when an attempt is made, as I believe was done in this case, to lump them together in some sort of design for a new world religion.  It takes more, in my mind, than tracing ones’ religious lineage back to Father Abraham to declare to the world that Judaism, Islam and Christianity are really basically the same, with only minor differences in expression and usage separating them.  To do so ignores one very important figure who must be considered and, in this case, rejected, if such a claim is to be seriously made, no matter what the motivation is.

          The historical Jesus is unique to the history of the world.  And those who follow Him must also be unique.  Our Lord understood, as we must also understand, that the world would not – then or now – welcome either the uniqueness of His message or the identity of His person.  But He knew the world could be overcome, as He surely did Himself in His Resurrection; and He charged His disciples, “Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.” (Matt. 28:19-20)  By His own words, then, our Lord commanded that we go out and convert the world, not be converted by it.  Any similarities (real or imagined) Christianity may have with other religions is not the issue: His uniqueness is.

          The story of Lazarus the beggar and the rich man of today’s Gospel (Luke 16:19-31) was a popular one among the Jews of our Lord’s time, meant to show the truth that future rewards and punishments in the next world in no way correspond to earthly fortunes in this one.  But our Lord gave it a different twist with a moral of His own: signs and miracles will not lead men to repentance if they have closed their eyes and blinded their hearts to the light of God’s revelation already available to them in the Scriptures: “Neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.” (Luke 16:31)

          Dialog with other religions is not a bad thing, but it must always be approached with a view to expanding our Lord’s kingdom, as He commanded.  Traditional Anglicans are especially wary of those to whom religious principles are too easily surrendered for political reasons, or expendable if the price is right.  To us, that is much like losing a war to win a battle; it makes a lie of everything and makes no sense at all.  To leave Christ out of any discussion about religion is patently impossible.  Yet, to include Him is also impossible for those who try to equate classical Christianity with all the other world religions, because Jesus Christ cannot be equated with anyone or anything: He is God, the Son of the Everlasting Father.

          It could be said that each of the world’s great religions expresses a part of the Truth of God as they understand it, or as it has been revealed to them.  But it must also be said that there is only one religion to which the complete truth, the fullness of God, has been revealed – by God.  If we allow ourselves to become infatuated with the idea of the universality and equality of all faiths, we not only lose sight of the uniqueness of Jesus as God and man, we also call Him a liar.  In spite of what we hear from some very noisy and wrong-headed Christians, our Lord cannot be seen as only one of many.  To do so negates the absolute and complete Truth revealed in and by Him, and allows the world He overcame to, in the end, overcome Him.

          In today’s Epistle (1 John 4:7-21), we read, “And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.” (1 John 4: 14)  But the word of eyewitnesses to the truth of Jesus isn’t enough for some people, oddly enough some of them Christians.  If it is nothing else, the story of Lazarus and the rich man should be a reminder that there is little, perhaps nothing, that will change a hardened heart or open eyes, blinded by willful arrogance and worldly excess, to the Truth of God.

          The exhibit called “A Walk through Jerusalem” will be a success, I am sure.  Many people will come to experience and revel in the novelty of so great an example of ecumenical solidarity, and will congratulate themselves on their open-minded approach to inclusion for all, no matter what.  Some of them may even notice that the exhibit is being held in what was once a great Christian church, but it is unlikely that most of them will: one would not want to spoil their enjoyment of the moment in this “house of prayer for all people” by actually praying there.  And that is a great shame.

          There has never been a shortage of those who deny Christ, of those who will not “be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.”  And it seems their number grows daily, while the numbers of the faithful decline.  Most of the reason for that can be laid directly at the doors of His Church, which seems to have lost its way.  And that seems regrettable – some would say catastrophic – until we remember that His purpose for coming among us was not just to found a Church.  He came among men to announce His Kingdom, and to invite all of us to His banquet among the Saints in light.

          He knew that men would kill Him for His efforts, and that He would rise again on the third day.  And he knows that men of all ages will continually crucify Him through His Church, and will not “be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.”  But Christ’s Church will survive and prosper through Him, because He lives; and our obligation to preach His word and to reveal His Kingdom, to announce the invitation to His great banquet, is not lessened in any degree by the acts of faithless men.

          To me, it is a far greater thing to faithfully preach the Word of God, and celebrate the mystery of His Eucharist in this (to some) insignificant place, than it is to wrap myself in the magnificence of stone and mortar that is Grace Cathedral, and to walk in a way that denies that Jesus is Lord.  It may feel good for the moment to walk with those others who don’t know Christ, and don’t care to know Him, but it has to be the loneliest and most pathetically pointless walk of all.