The Gospel - Mark 1:4-11
Homily by the Rev. Dr. David Smith
New Year’s Resolutions - we have this built in reason to dramatically change behavior, to become something different and not have anyone think we are strange. “Why are you doing that?” we may be asked, and can simply reply, “It’s my new year’s resolution,” and that’s reason enough.
And there is no better Gospel lesson for today than what
Jesus had to say…."Repent”. Because
repentance and resolutions are the same thing.
They are both agreements to change. To take another road. Do a 180 and keep going. Repentance and resolutions are prompted by some sort of new understanding…An EPIPHANY… An “aha” moment that convinces us to turn about.
I love to read parish profiles from churches around the country – these documents that parishes must prepare to describe themselves as they begin the search for a new priest or minister. Churches want two things: More young people (since the typical Episcopalian is 55 years old, single and female) and more money…enough said.
But what’s interesting is that most churches have no idea how Christians and therefore Christian churches are perceived by people between the ages of 16 and 32, and if we did understand it, we would readily see why that age group, for the most part, is not here.
I have spent half my entire ordained career, including the last 7 years, teaching, coaching, advising, and listening to teenagers, and have come to some conclusions. And interestingly enough, these conclusions have been confirmed in a recent book by David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons titled “UnChristian”.
Kinnaman is the director of the Barna Group, a well-respected research organization that deals specifically with religious trends throughout the United States. Their recent research focused primarily on young people between the ages of 16-33 in order to determine their perspective of Christianity…her people and communities.
Their findings mirror my own experience.
This age group, 16-33 year olds are hostile toward Christianity and especially conservative Christianity. They are hostile not because of a theological position but rather because of our “swagger”…a sense of self-importance we project. We have bark and bite.
A very common response to extensive interviews went like this. “Most people I know assume that Christian means very conservative, entrenched in their thinking, anti-gay, anti-choice, angry, violent, illogical, empire builders; they want to convert everyone and they generally cannot live peacefully among themselves much less with anyone who doesn’t believe what they believe.
We are primarily perceived for what we oppose rather than what we are for. 16-33 year olds rarely see Christians as people who embody service, compassion, forgiveness, patience, kindness, peace, joy, goodness and love.
The people in this age group do not want a cheap, ordinary or insignificant life. They are intensely loyal to their peers and value their close interaction with them as profound and ultimately important. However, their vision of present day Christianity is that we are superficial, antagonistic, and depressing.
Here are the three most common perceptions of Christians:
First we are HYPOCRITICAL. The word hypocritical comes from the Greek word hypocritos – which means two faced - a play actor.
Hypocritical perception is most acute NOT when a religion is on the fringes of society, but rather when it has become a dominant part of the culture. In Jesus time, it was the religious people who were most likely to be perceived as hypocritical. Jesus said to the religious insiders of his day, “Outwardly you look righteous but inwardly your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness.”
So, how did this perception emerge? It’s pretty simple really, for young people - our lifestyles do not match our beliefs. Our lifestyles don’t look different from anyone else. We Christians fail to display any attitudinal or behavioral evidence of a transformed life.
We have effectively resisted the radical nature of Jesus’ teaching and sanitized the gospel to suit our lifestyles rather than adapting our lifestyle to Jesus demands.
This is a generation that desperately needs and values authenticity. They practice transparency, and value it in others. Just look at most Facebook pages. Sometimes the level of transparency practiced is ill advised, but their cry for it is clear. They are saying, “Do not pretend to be something you are not. Do not pretend to be a Christ follower when very little in your lifestyle reflects that. The characteristic 16-33 year olds most admire is people who do what they say they are going to do and people who live by the standards they openly profess.
The second most common perception of Christians by 16-33 year olds is that we are ANTI-HOMOSEXUAL.
For Christians, sexuality has become the litmus test for spirituality. One’s sexual preference defines the voracity, vitality and sincerity of one’s faith. 16-33 year olds perceive that Christians are against gays and lesbians…not only objecting to their lifestyles, but also harboring irrational fear and unmerited scorn toward them. We are perceived as bigoted, sheltered, insincere and uncaring right-wingers.
I had to laugh out loud when a student of mine recently arrived in my office fuming about some article she had read by a well known Christian leader on why the church must stand firmly against homosexuality, bisexuality and transgendered people. She asked if I had ever heard anyone say that HIV/AIDS was God’s judgment on gay people, or that Hurricane Katrina was God’s judgment on all the sin in New Orleans.
I told her I had heard those things said, to which she said, “Well you know what I think? I think our economic disaster is God’s judgment on fat Christian people. After all, 66% of Americans (most of whom are Christian) are overweight and 33% are clinically obese, and we know the Bible says gluttony is a sin and now God is sucking up all that Christian money so fat Christian people can’t go to McDonalds, or buy junk food, and will have to go to work doing low paying physical labor jobs and get back in shape and loose some weight! That’s what I think!”
I laughed ‘till I cried…and though she was being cynical, it was clear what she thought.
For this age group, our perceived disdain for gay people translates into a perceived disdain for all people who do not look, talk, act or live like we think they should. If someone has body piercings, vibrantly colored wildly fixed hair or tattoos (which by the way 1/3 of all people between 16 and 32 have a tattoo), then they too will be dismissed, disdained and disregarded.
Which leads us to the third leading perception of Christians and that is that we are JUDGMENTAL.
To be judgmental is to point out something in someone else’s life, that makes them feel put down, excluded and marginalized.
A typical comment from the age group in which we have great interest was, “Christians like to hear themselves talk. They are arrogant about their beliefs, but they never bother figuring out what other people actually think. They don’t seem to be very compassionate especially when they feel strongly about something.”
Fewer than half of all churchgoers feel strongly that their church demonstrates unconditional love.
The List goes on, but those are the top three perceptions of Christians held by people between 16 and 33…. hypocritical, anti-homosexual, and judgmental.
This is not an indictment against this church, or the three churches I serve, or the Episcopal Church in general, but rather the authentic perceptions of the very people we most desperately want to attract. Remember, we want more young people and more money.
So, what are we to do? Simple. REPENT. Personally and corporately. It is time for Christians to say, not only to this generation, but also to everyone…."I’m sorry”, and do everything humanly possible to change our church and ourselves.
Christianity is a radical shift in lifestyle, and the next generation has watched and continues to watch us closely. When the rich young man asked Jesus what he had to do to inherit eternal life, Jesus said, “Love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and love your neighbor as yourself.” And the man said he had done that all his life and Jesus said, “Fine, then go sell all you have and give it to the poor.”
That was not a metaphor!! And until Christians and the church recapture the radical nature of Jesus’ message, and become authentic friends to everyone unlike us….not to mention one another….then we don’t have a prayer of captivating the imaginations of young people with Jesus.
I saw a t-shirt once that said, “No one is crucified when they feed the hungry, only when they become one of them.”
Are we sure we want more young people?
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,