Love Punch

Proper 16, Year A, August 27, 2017

The Apostle, 1997

There’s a scene in Robert Duvall’s film The Apostle. Duvall plays an evangelical preacher in the Deep South. In the beginning of the film he drives up on a horrible car crash. The car is upside down and the radio is still blaring music. He scrambles from his car to the site of the wreck. He crouches down and realizes that one passenger is already dead and the other is moments away from dying. Duval takes their hand and implores them to accept Jesus Christ as their personal savior so that they do not enter eternal damnation in a few minutes. On the one hand Duvall’s preacher wants to comfort this dying young man, on the other, he just wants to sign up another member to the club before his time is up. It’s a very complex dramatic scene. And it highlights some of the theological shortcomings we have in the Church today. In particular, as Brian McLaren points out, with the rise of the “alt-right” we’re getting a better view of “alt-Christianity”.[1] This is a Christianity that offers desperate people identity, community, and a sense of purpose with the approval of violence and extremism. It tells them it’s ok to hate your neighbor because if you say the magic words, Jesus will meet you on the other side for your reward in heaven.

As the Rev. Bill Lamar observes “By and large, Christian faith in America is a sentimentalized expression of personal piety. Jesus has become a doorman who opens the portals of eternity.”[2]

Is this who Jesus is? A doorman?

In Matthew’s Gospel we hear about the only time Jesus asks his followers if they know who he actually is. Is he a prophet? Is he a doorman? Is he the messiah? What is he here to show us?

This event is in all of the synoptic Gospels so I’m banking that it must be pretty important.

It’s also the turning point in Jesus’ ministry. From here on out he talks about his impending death in earnest. This faith these guys are involved in is real and not without challenges. It’s a word of caution about what we’re getting into as Christians. And true faith cannot be rushed.

Let’s be careful about rushing into confessing faith when we have only walked with Jesus for a short time. This path of following Jesus is wonderful. It’s radical, it’s truly amazing. And sometimes people who confess to being lifelong Christians still don’t get what it’s about.

Becoming a Christian takes but a moment of God’s grace to enter our hearts. Living into the Christian faith requires a lifetime.

Peter’s declaration of Jesus as the messiah comes after a few years of discipleship — it took him a while to figure this out. It’s Jesus response that reminds him that faith is a divine gift and not an intellectual exercise or an emotional response. And with it comes a duty.

Jesus says “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

Jesus is giving his followers the tasks of binding and loosing.” What does this even mean?

We are called to loosen those who are bound and oppressed, those who are trafficked, or regarded as less because of their race, or nationality, or gender or sexuality. Just turn on the news to see this happening all over our country this week. We see it in the streets of Charlottesville and Boston and Phoenix. We see it in parking lots of shopping complexes in our own communities. We’re seeing it painted on church signs and minority owned businesses across the country. Oh, but perhaps those of us in positions of privilege don’t see the full impact until it finally affects us? Jesus tells us otherwise. We are called to take action to liberate those in need and empower them. To take up Christ’s ministry in the world.

And yes, we are also called to bind; to bind those that use their positions of power to affect with violence, to oppress others. Individuals, corporations, bodies of government. We are charged through Christ to guide correction of one another’s behaviors, to offer forgiveness of one another’s sins, and even exert authority over the presence of evil among us. We are called to get involved.

How do we bind?

I hear a lot about punching Nazis today. We’ve seen the video of white supremacist Richard Spencer getting cold-cocked at a rally and I’d be dishonest to deny that a part of me found this satisfying when I first saw it. I’m ashamed of that. But I’m a broken human being. There’s a great image of Captain America punching Hitler. Maybe you’ve seen it. Also very satisfying. Now, as a follower of Jesus I’m trying to imagine Jesus in Captain America’s place. It’s not happening. Not my image of Jesus. Jesus used other tools to bind and to loosen. True, it cost him his life. And it gave us life as well.

How do we push back against the rise of fascism without alienating people who have gravitated toward violence and oppression as a place of comfort in times of confusion? On the one hand we are called to loosen. On the other, we are called to do so with love for our enemies. When your world view gets challenged you better look out. Cognitive dissonance sets in: that state of having inconsistent thoughts, beliefs, or attitudes, especially as relating to behavioral decisions and attitude change.

If we honestly desire restorative justice the it is essential that we engage in the seemingly impossible task of loving our neighbors, not punching them in the face. That’s not going to change hearts and attitudes.

What repentance can result from a strategy of blaming or shaming people publicly for their brokenness? When attacked we dig in our heels and counter attack.

The results of loving our neighbors are often not immediate but our call to do so is imperative.

I’m not speaking of tactical party politics here. Ours are the politics of Jesus, and when this nation’s politics are at odds with our politics, we are called to speak and act boldly and without fear.[3]

In his letter to the Romans Paul reminds us not to be conformed by the world. He calls us to total commitment — to offer our lives as living sacrifices, not dying to please God but turning ourselves over to God’s purpose so we become fully alive.

As we approach the table this evening let us remember that God dwells among us. God walked among us incarnate in the person of Christ Jesus offering himself a most perfect sacrifice for us and for all the world. This Eucharist becomes a memorial for a new covenant to be practiced, to shape and energize imaginations and actions. You are welcome at this table. You are invited to participate in Christ’s calling to a new life. How will you respond with love?

[1] http://time.com/4915161/charlottesville-alt-right-alt-christianity/

[2] https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/social-issues/us-political-climate-results-from-theological-malpractice-dc-pastor-says/2017/08/25/2b96d668-8991-11e7-a50f-e0d4e6ec070a_story.html?utm_term=.b46d35a8b621

[3] https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/social-issues/us-political-climate-results-from-theological-malpractice-dc-pastor-says/2017/08/25/2b96d668-8991-11e7-a50f-e0d4e6ec070a_story.html?utm_term=.b46d35a8b621

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Michael Jackson Chaney

Written by

Filmmaker, artist, educator, and Episcopal priest. You can find my homilies here. (What’s the difference between a homily and a sermon? Oh, about ten minutes.)

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