What is Christianity?
(Another Experience in Scotland)
Luke 6:20-31
Well, it didn’t make the bulletin this week either, mostly because of space, but I have subtitled this morning’s message again. Last week’s sermon was titled “Mysteries Revealed: An Experience in Scotland.” And this week’s full title is “What is Christianity? Another Experience in Scotland.” How creative is that? Apparently, I’ve not yet fully returned from Edinburgh on the Firth of Forth in the Upper Lowlands. I’m stubbornly holding on to the end of summer, though the classroom bells have rung for all. Anyway …
The experience I would share with you this morning was a more personal one than last week’s. I was alone and purposefully so, having set out on my own on Wednesday afternoon, August 6th. We all had some free time, between shows of our own and the mandatory attendance at other High School performances on this day. Katie and I went to see a performance by the Chicago-basedReduced Shakespeare Company they called “The Complete History of Comedy.” (Which was pretty good. They had all just gotten new glasses and their observational humor had improved immensely. In any case …) That show ended at about two o’clock and we had nowhere to be until five o’clock when we were supposed to board a shuttle bus to an evening performance of As You Like It produced by a high school from Pflugerville, Texas.
Katie wanted to do some sightseeing and shopping in Old Town Edinburgh and I thought this would be a good opportunity for me to go see Rossyln Chapel about ten or so miles south of the city in the village of Roslin. I had checked out the city bus maps and iphone apps and it was about a thirty minute ride on the number forty-seven bus straight out of Old Town on South Bridge/Nicolson St. with only one transfer to the fifteen bus at Bilston Cottages for the two miles into Roslin. From there a short walk down Chapel Loan to the Chapel itself. So I set out. Bus forty-seven was one of the double decker buses and I went up top and got a front seat right up against the windshield. The city views turned to suburb and soon enough to rural scenes and I almost missed my stop, it was all so beautiful in its simplicity. As I hoped off bus fifteen alone at about three o’clock in the afternoon, the bus driver said, “Enjoy it,” knowing full well where I and my camera were headed.
Now before I go any further, let me tell you just a bit about Rossyln Chapel. It has been described as an “Architectural Wonder” and a “Library in Stone” because practically every surface is covered with carvings of individual figures and scenes.In 1446 Sir William St Clair, 3rd Prince of Orkney, founded Rosslyn Chapel. It was said of him: 'William, with his age creeping upon him... came into his mind to build a house for God's service, of most curious work . . . that it might be done with greater glory and splendour.'
The Chapel itself took some forty years to buildrequiring a large number of workmen and it is thought that the village of Roslin grew up to house them.What you see today is thought to be only one part of a larger building. Excavations in the 1800s uncovered foundations stretching a further thirty meters beyond the west end of the Chapel, suggesting that a cruciform building was intended. However, William died in 1484 and work on the Chapel seems to have ceased after this time. But nearly 600 years after it was built, the Chapel still stands as a testament to the fascinating mind whichconceived this extraordinary design scheme.
William’s plan for a building of ‘curiosity’ and ‘splendour’ has clearly been fulfilled. An air of mystery surrounds Rosslyn Chapel, emanating from stories about the St. Clair family, the meanings and interpretations of many of the carvings, and supposed connections with ancient legends. Any one who is a contemporary novel or movie buff will recall that chapel became the subject of much speculation regarding its supposed connection with the Knights Templar, entering mainstream pop culture with Dan Brown's novel The Da Vinci Code in 2003, and then the film of the same name in 2006, starring Tom Hanks. Brown’s’ work of fiction ends up at Rosslyn Chapel where one of the main characters, named Sophie, finds out that she is (spoiler alert) a descendant of Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene. All of these things, which make for fascinating reading and movie-viewing, have been debunked by historians and curators, but people continue to travel from all over the world to see the carvings, read the stories, and hear themany different interpretations of their meanings. So …
There I am … at Rosslyn Chapel … all alone. As it turns out (why was I surprised?) there was a modern gift shop and entrance built onto the chapel grounds and the only way to get to the Gothic structure was through it. Now, I’ve confessed this to Katie already, so now I will to you. I think I entered the grounds, and subsequently the Chapel, illegally. That is, I didn’t pay any money as I entered the gift shop and later the courtyard and finally the chapel, itself. My only defense is that there weren’t many people when I walked in, no one stopped me as I did, and it was only upon leaving the site that I saw a large tour group waiting in line to purchase nine pound (about $15) tickets. Later on the bus back into Edinburgh it occurred to me that I could have paid the fee retroactively. But I didn’t. Now you know, and while I feel better for confessing it, I know I have diminished my stature in many of your eyes. (That’s the true price of my visit, I suppose). Anyway …. (I really must get to the inspiration in this message, if indeed that’s possible anymore!)
There I stood in Rosslyn Chapel. I had several brochures that directed me to the many carvings and points of interest in the small space. I descended the stairs of the Lower Chapel to the crypt below, came back up and was finally moving out of the chapel through the baptistry when my eyes were caught by candles burning on a small table close to that exit/entrance. Next to the candles were a number of pamphlets including one that read “What is Christianity?” And here I confess for a second (and I think a final) time. My heart, that was soaring high in the clouds of history and legend, myth and tradition, sank. It did. As I read the title of this tri-fold pamphlet that blocked my exit, I thought, “Oh, no. After all the deep and meaningful history and the dense and provocative legend and mystery I have been experiencing, I am going to be face-to-face with the same tired exclusive and condemnatory message that the world’s newest religion so often has to offer.” I almost didn’t pick it up, this pamphlet, but knew that quickly that I had to. That same history and mystery compelled me to. So I did … pick it up. And opened it. The first “panel” reiterated the question: What is Christianity? And here’s what followed:
Christians take their name from a title given to Jesus of Nazareth, a Jewish teacher and healer who was executed by the Romans around the year 30 AD. Either before his death or shortly after it, Jesus was hailed by his followers as the Messiah, the one chosen by God to inaugurate a new kind of relationship between God and humankind. The Greek word for “Messiah” is “Christ.” Christians realized that in the life, teachings, death and resurrection of Jesus were revealed something uniquely significant about the God in whom they believe. They further believe that in following Jesus it is possible to come into a living, loving relationship with that God.
That’s what it said “Christianity is.” No mention of virgin births or cosmic beginnings; no mention of evil kings or wily devils; no mention of supernatural occurrences or posthumous sightings. And it went on.
The second panel, entitled What Christians Do, shared the following information:
Jesus taught his followers that the most important principles are to love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself. From these follow a particular way of life that emphasizes respect and tolerance for others, and that urges the active helping of those in any kind of need. From it also comes the awareness that there is an active power beyond ourselves of which we can come to know something through prayer and worship. Worship means acknowledging the reality of God and offering our thanks, our adoration, and our praise.
That’s what it said “Christians do.” No condemnation here, or exclusivism; no hellfire and brimstone; and no proselytizing beyond the way we’re supposed to live our lives. It went on.
The third panel was entitled The Bible:
Christians recognize the Bible as of particular importance in helping them live their lives. The Bible is a collection of writings, written over a period of nearly a millennium, and comprising theOld Testament – the writings which are common to Christians and Jews – and the New Testament, which contains the stories about Jesus … and reflections on his life and its meaning by some of his earliest followers. Christians vary in their approach to the Bible, but all acknowledge its fundamental importance to their faith.
No worries about infallibility or inerrancy; nothing about divine authorship or supernatural inspiration; no need of “main points” and “rulebook rhetoric.” And there was one more panel entitled The Church.
Their emphasis on social action means that Christians have, from earliest times, met together regularly to support each other and to make their joint action on behalf of others more effective. These gathering were called churches. In due course, buildings were set up for such gatherings to take place in, and the name “church” came to be used of these buildings.
No mention of conversions or soul-saving duties; no notes of superiority of self or shame of others; no guilt or fear or doctrinal purity requirements.
As I stood at the exit of the chapel, pamphlet in hand, I looked up. I was not expecting to read this about Christianity, about what Christians do, about their Bible and their Church. I thought I was going to be reading what most often makes the headlines of our newspapers and news hours. I didn’t immediately identify with the group of believers this pamphlet described, and not simply because the descriptions were written in the third person. “Who are these people,” Imarveled, “And where did they get this self-description?”
I kept the pamphlet, along with an ill-gotten brochure or two, knowing that I wasn’t done with it. And I’ve shared this experience with you this morning, because last week, as I asked my questions over again, I have rememberedwhere they found the words for and the descriptions of themselves … of us. It wasn’t from any tradition or practice. It wasn’t from any policy or doctrine. It wasn’t even from any confession or creed. It was from, among other places in our sacred scripture, the sixth chapter of Luke:
Jesus (looks) up at his disciples and (says): Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets. But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry. Woe to you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and weep. Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets. But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. Do unto others as you would have them do to you. Luke 6:20-31
That’s what Christianity is. That’s what Christians do. That’s what the Bible teaches. And that’s who the church should be.
On the back panel the community I visited, formally known as The Collegiate Church of St. Matthew, but commonly known as Rosslyn Chapel, shared a final Statement: Our mission is, as commanded by Jesus, changing curiosity into wonder at the loving purposes of God and caring for all God’s people through worship and service.”
Who are these people who would change curiosity into wonder? They are us … you and me. May it be so … Amen.
Reverend Joel Weible, Pastor
Pewee Valley Presbyterian Church / August 24, 2014