Sermon for Sunday, August 24, 2014
Sermon for Sunday, August 24, 2014
Lutheran Church of the Redeemer,
Jerusalem
English-speaking congregation
Pastor Carrie Smith
Grace and
peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Here again,
we have a Gospel text which finds itself in a collision with this week’s news
headlines.
In Matthew
16, verse 18, Jesus says, “On this rock I will build my church, and the gates
of Hades will not prevail against it.”
And the
Orthodox Christian Network says, “All 45 Christian Institutions in Mosul, Iraq,have been destroyed or occupied by ISIS.”
Jesus says,
“On this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail
against it.”
And the BBC
says, “Iraqi Christians reach France after fleeing Islamists.”
Jesus says,
“On this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail
against it.”
And
Christian Today says, “Syrian Christians facing extinction: ‘A tragedy ofhistoric proportions’”
Jesus says,
“On this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against
it.”
And my
hairdresser, Samer (a graduate of the ELCJHL’s Martin Luther School) tells me his
Orthodox congregation here in Jerusalem is very tiny, and getting smaller all
the time. Most of his relatives have left Palestine for the U.S. “It’s too hard
to find a future here,” Samer says.
Jesus built
his church upon a rock, but the very foundations of that church in the Middle
East are being threatened today.
Where I come
from, the biggest threats to the Christian church are thought to be Sunday morning
soccer, televised American football games scheduled to start before services
are over, and dramatically decreasing attention spans for people of all ages.
It’s humbling (and terrifying) to read of the treatment of Christians in Iraq
and Syria, coming from a context where Christians think they’re being persecuted
if a shopkeeper wishes them “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas.”
 |
| Church of the Holy Sepulcher, Jerusalem Photo by Carrie Smith |
Still, Jesus
did say, “On this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not
prevail against it.” Sitting here in this beautiful space, surrounded by 12th
century stones, it would be easy enough for us to hear these words and say (in
spite of the headlines), “That’s right! Jesus built it, and it can never be
destroyed!” Just look around this city! Everywhere we see buildings from the 6th,
the 5th, the 4th centuries. We can visit (and even touch)
stones that could (possibly) have been touched or walked upon by Jesus himself.
At the Holy Sepulcher, at St. George’s, at St. Anne’s, or here at Redeemer
Church, being in the presence of such ancient stones makes it easy to sing: “On
Christ the Solid Rock I Stand, A Mighty Fortress is Our God, and We Shall Not
Be Moved!” Amen!
But then we open
the newspaper and read, “Christian presence in the Middle East becoming shadow
of its former self”, and it’s hard to feel quite so mighty and invincible.
First, let’s
get this straight: I do have faith that the church of Jesus Christ will not be
destroyed. I believe the gates of Hades—otherwise known as hatred, violence,
evil, and death—will never ultimately prevail against it. But I think the powers and principalities of
this world will give their very best effort.
And it certainly
feels like the gates of Hades have opened up on Christians in the Middle East
today. This is a real crisis, playing out in real places among real people, and
so far, the world is doing little to help. It’s especially disheartening to see
how little our institutional churches are saying or doing for their fellow brothers
and sisters in Christ, in the places where Christianity had its beginnings.
But then, it’s
tough to start pointing fingers and complaining about how little “the church”
is doing, because we are the church, assembled here today, aren’t we? We are
the church, the faithful, gathered as one to pray, to hear the Word, and to
share bread and wine. We are the church that Jesus promised to build. We are
the church, founded on the rock of faith, against which the gates of Hades will
not prevail.
But what can
we do, in the face of such threats against our sisters and brothers in Christ?
What can this tiny handful of us here at Redeemer—a few expats and a few
permanent residents, some of us here for only a few months, and some of us who
have already lived through so much—possibly do against the mighty threats
facing the church in the Middle East?
I believe the
most important thing we can do is exactly what Peter did: Boldly testify, in
word and in deed, who we know Jesus to be.
Now, I’m not
talking about reciting the historic creeds, and I’m not looking to have us
stand on a Jerusalem corner in our white robe and sandals to testify to the
crowds (like “Detroit Jesus” who hangs out at the Holy Sepulcher). If we do
that, someone might diagnose us with “Jerusalem Syndrome” and take us over to Augusta
Victoria for a check-up!
No, what I’m
talking about is considering, as a community, how we today answer the question
posed to the disciples in today’s Gospel lesson. How are we a living witness to
who Jesus is?
And of
course, that must begin with: What is your
testimony? Who do you say Jesus is?
Today, at
the end of the service, we will bless students and teachers, from preschool age
all the way to graduate school. Among the teachers and students who will receive
a blessing are our Sunday school teachers and children. Christian education is a
vital part of the work that we do, but not because we want to indoctrinate our
kids or feed them all the right answers. It’s vital because we need to nurture
our children with prayer, and with Bible stories, and with love, so that one
day they will be able to offer their own testimony. We want to raise young
people who have not only experienced the history of the church here in
Jerusalem, but who have also known the love of God in Christ Jesus for
themselves, and therefore can proclaim, in word and in deed, “This is who I
know Jesus to be!”
So it begins
with each Christian, following Peter’s example, answering Jesus’ question, “Who
do you say that I am?”
“On this
rock, I will build my church,” promised Jesus. But Jesus promised to build a church,
not a group of individual testifiers, or an association of like-minded people. The
church is a community, together
testifying to the life-giving Gospel of Jesus Christ. The church is the center
of God’s kingdom on earth, Jesus’ plan for how the missio dei will continue after his ascension. We are, together, one
body, the Body of Christ, and a living witness that overcomes the power of
death and despair.
Sisters and brothers
of Redeemer: United with all believers, we are the church that Jesus built. So,
what does our witness as a church tell the world about who Jesus is? What is
our witness?
When AugustaVictoria sends doctors and nurses to Gaza, when the Lutheran World Federationsends a team into Iraq--and when we are bold enough to say "We will not forget our brothers and sisters, wherever they are"--we tell the world that Jesus stood in solidarity with
all who suffer, when he suffered death on a cross.
When the
World Council of Churches sends Ecumenical Accompaniers to be witnesses at
checkpoints, we tell the world that Jesus spoke truth to power by challenging
the ruling empire.
When the
ELCA and ELCJHL provide support for schools for children in the West Bank, we
tell the world that Jesus said, “Let the children come to me.”
When we here
in Jerusalem build relationships with our Jewish and Muslim neighbors, we tell
the world that Jesus is the Prince of Peace, the great reconciler and healer of
the nations.
And when RedeemerLutheran gathers as a community, to pray, to sing, and to share the bread and
wine—even (and perhaps especially) in the midst of violence and conflict—we
tell the world that Jesus is our morning star, raised from the dead, and alive
with us today.
Sisters and
brothers, Jesus built his church on a rock, the rock of Peter’s faithful
witness. The church continues to stand today, because of the witness of saints
of centuries past. It will continue to stand tomorrow, because of your faithful witness. Sin and death
will do their best to destroy it, but the church will prevail. These are words
of hope, for us, and for all Christians in the Middle East.
Let us pray:
Eternal God,
amid all the turmoil and changes of the world your love is steadfast and your
strength never fails. In this time of danger and trouble for our sisters and
brothers in Christ, be to them, and to us, a sure guardian and rock of defense.
Guide leaders of all nations, and of all churches, with your wisdom. Comfort
those in distress, and grant us all the courage and hope to face the future,
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
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