Believe or Belove? Preached at Wollaston Congregational Church On March 11th, 2018 Scripture: John 3:14-21 I was precocious child when it came to church and faith, and so I was confirmed at the age of eleven at my local parish church. Following my confirmation I was committed to rising early on Sunday mornings and going with my dad to pre-breakfast communion. I loved the fact that I could now share this quiet time with him. The liturgy was mostly constant, spoken rather than sung. The Nicene creed, which I learned by heart, was central to the liturgy. I loved the rhythm of the words, and the weekly affirmation of the creed’s claims. Looking back I can see why the creed has been recited and sung like a hymn since the fourth century. Here is what the Nicene creed says about belief in Jesus: “We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, … “For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, and was made man.” I came to the United Church of Christ as an adult, attracted by the community spirit of the church in our small town. I was convinced to stay by the pastor’s thought provoking and heart-touching sermons. As I learned more about the UCC’s early inclusion of women and LGBTQ people, as well as its commitment to social justice, the attraction grew deeper. But I was perplexed by one thing: there was no creed. I wondered if this was a simple omission by our pastor, or something peculiar to our local church. Then I learned that the UCC does not have a creed, but has what is known as a “Statement of Faith.” The UCC sees that some churches use creeds as “tests of faith.” Instead, they say: “We seek a balance between freedom of conscience and accountability to the apostolic faith. The UCC therefore receives the historic creeds and confessions of our ancestors as testimonies, but not tests of the faith.” Here is what the UCC Statement of Faith has to say about belief in God and Jesus. This is from the doxology format and so it is addressed to God, like a prayer: “We believe in you, O God, Eternal Spirit, God of our Savior Jesus Christ and our God, and to your deeds we testify: …. In Jesus Christ, the man of Nazareth, our crucified and risen Savior, you have come to us and shared our common lot, conquering sin and death and reconciling the world to yourself.” In our gospel passage today, we hear of Nicodemus, a member of the religious leadership, coming to Jesus. He comes to Jesus while it is dark, at night. Nicodemus is deferential, honoring Jesus with the title “teacher.” He has heard Jesus’ teachings. He has observed the signs that show the presence of God in Jesus. But Nicodemus’ mind is not open to what Jesus has to teach him. In spite of the fact that he commands respect as a teacher of Israel, he cannot grasp Jesus’ teaching. His mind seems fixed on concrete facts and boundaries. Just as he has come to Jesus in the night, Nicodemus is still in the dark: he cannot see the light. In the discourse that follows this episode, Jesus makes a statement that contains one of the most frequently quoted - many would say misquoted - verses in North American Christianity, today. It is John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only (begotten) Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” You heard the slightly different translation today: “in this way, God loved the world, that he gave his only Son…” We hear this verse so often, plucked out of context, as though it holds the keys to the kingdom. College football quarterback Tim Tebow painted the biblical reference under his eyes, to be seen during National Championship games. He was successful in attracting attention. During a one game, Google reported that John 3:16 became their top query. Perhaps the player hoped that simply displaying the Bible reference would bring those watching the game to belief in Jesus Christ. And so, with thoughts of creeds and statements of faith, along with this verse, its use and misuses … I wonder, what does it mean “to believe (in Jesus)”? In the book “Christianity After Religion”, Diana Butler Bass writes of the “belief gap” among American Christians today. The “belief gap” plagues our culture and our churches. Some Christians use what they describe as belief in “Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior” as a gate to who is “in” and who is “out.” This “test” of faith is widely understood, in our culture, as applying to all Christians. And it seems, for those who love to quote this verse, it is all that matters. There is no need to follow Jesus’ teachings, or study the gospel any further. “Belief” in Jesus Christ seals the deal. On the other hand, there are those (such as members of the United Church of Christ) who cannot imagine that God would determine who is “in” and who is “out” by doctrinal tests. They cannot imagine that Jesus would say “the Bible says it, so you must believe it.” These people examine Jesus’ teachings and actions in the gospel. They see him lifting up the poor, including those who have been excluded and marginalized by oppressive religion. They see him healing the sick who have been cast aside by society. They hear Jesus’ call to love neighbor and enemy, and understand that is what is needed to follow him. In her writing, Diana Butler Bass explores the history of the word “belief” in Christianity, and how our understanding has changed through the ages. She explains that the Latin word “credo” was used for religious belief, as opposed to the word opinor, or opinion. Credo means “to set my heart upon” or “I give my loyalty to.” You can see that the word creed comes from credo. Butler Bass goes on to say that “In medieval English, the concept of credo was translated as ‘believe,’ derived from the German belieben meaning ‘to prize, treasure or hold dear.’ This word comes from the root Liebe, or love.” And so, “in early English, to ‘believe’ was to ‘belove’ something or someone …” It had “nothing to do with one’s weighing of evidence or intellectual choice.” [1] Diana Butler Bass’s explanation helps us to understand John 3:16 in a deeper way. As she says, “If we think that ‘believe’ means doctrinal truth, then the John 3:16 means ‘everyone who agrees that Jesus is the Son of God won’t perish’” But, learning the origins of the word ‘belief’ leads to a change our interpretation. “It would be more accurate to say that ‘everyone who trusts in Jesus’ or ‘everyone who directs [their] heart towards Jesus’ will not perish.” [2] I have discovered, over the years, that many people are curious and hungry to know the love of God, as expressed in Jesus. They are hungry to belove, to direct their heart toward One who will give meaning to their lives. I regret that sometimes I have tried to offer a “quick fix” for this hunger. Before I left High School, I knew very few people who were atheists, or had never belonged to a church. Most children in my home community had been baptized and given some basic religious education. In fact, religious education was a required part of our schooling. When I first went away to college, I was surprised to meet people who had not been raised into some kind of religion or belief. Some of these students had talked with missionaries on campus and had been attracted to Christianity. But, they wanted to confirm their attraction with someone who appeared to be a regular student, who was versed in the faith. For a couple of them, I fit the bill, and I began to feel quite proud of being the one who “sealed the deal” for their coming to Christ. But I regret that, in those moments of pride, I fell into the trap of claiming to know Jesus. I claimed that my privatized relationship with Jesus was a good reason for them “to believe” as well. But I remained ignorant of much of Jesus’ cultural setting, his Jewishness, and even some of his teachings. Looking back, it would have been better for me to admit my ignorance and offer to study the scriptures, and other writings, with these hungry people. Recently while I was traveling I got into conversation with a young European man. He told me that the religion he had been raised in had not brought him close to God. But, he felt driven to learn more. One day he had simply sat and read the gospel from beginning to end. He had gotten to know Jesus of Nazareth, through his teachings and actions, and through that experience he “believed.” Our conversation was different from the ones I had in college. We could share our different experiences of getting to know Jesus. Imagining how Jesus looks from our different cultural experiences made the conversation all the richer. In view of her exploration of the word “believe” Diana Butler Bass returns to the creeds with a new perspective. She offers a creed written by the Maasai people of East Africa with the help of Catholic Missionaries in the 1960’s. I learned of this creed during my theological studies. I was attracted to it because of its understanding of Jesus from the perspective of the Maasai culture. Here is what the Maasai creed says about Jesus: “We believe that God made good His promise by sending His Son, Jesus Christ, a man in the flesh, a Jew by tribe, born poor in a little village, who left His home and was always on safari doing good, curing people by the power of God, teaching about God and man, showing the meaning of religion is love.” [3] Whether I believe or I belove, I think can testify to this creed. May all God’s people say “Amen.” [1] Diana Butler Bass, “Christianity After Religion: The End of Church and the Birth of a New Spiritual Awakening”, (New York, Harper Collins, 2012), 117 [2] Ibid., 118 [3] Ibid., 134
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