The communion of saints?
Rollins Chapel
November 11, 2004
Chaplain Richard Crocker
Matthew 12:30
Mark 9:38-41
Hebrews 11:32-39
"I believe in the Holy Ghost, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints…."
Last week I said that believing in the Holy Ghost was easy, because the spirit, even though it is invisible, is as close as our own breath. This week presents a harder task. Believing in the church is sometimes very hard, even though we see buildings alla round us.
Gandhi spoke for many of us today when he was asked, "What do you like most about Christianity?", and he replied, Jesus Christ. Then, he was asked, "What do you like least about Christianity?", and he replied, "Christians." Many people today have given up on the church. Some of these are people who say, "I am spiritual, but not religious." Such a statement, heard so frequently today, usually means, "I haven't given up on God, but I have given up on the church." Or, " I see no need for an institution to practice my spiritual life."
I well understand those sentiments. Being a clergyperson, I am often a target for peoples' projections. To some, I symbolize all the good experiences they have had in church - I am a reminder of a faith that they embrace and practice. For others, I symbolize all the bad experiences they have had in religious institutions. I sympathize. I understand. I truly do. But it becomes tiresome, being either idealized or despised. Especially when I am neither the embodiment of all that is good nor the epitome of hypocrisy. But it is not just me. All of you, if people know of your faith, may find yourselves carrying similar contradictory projections.
The church has been and is very annoying. From the very beginning, like all institutions, it has had a tendency to want to decide who is in and who is out. The tension is as old as the scripture. Witness the two scripture passages read today. The first quotes Jesus, in a dispute with religious authorities about his authority for healing, saying. "Whoever is not for me is against me." We have heard these words quoted rather recently. We hear them often. But in the gospel of Mark, when his disciples wanted to stop those who were not "with them", that is, those not part of their group, from casting out demons, Jesus told them - leave them alone. They are doing good. "Whoever is not against us is for us." Now perhaps Jesus said both things. But we know which attitude the church more often has embraced.
But my task today is not to criticize the church, but to praise it. We say that we believe in the holy catholic church, and I do. The key word is catholic. Catholic, in the creed, means simply universal - all embracing. It does not refer to the Roman Catholic Church, which is simply one church among many. I can understand why the Roman church, along with many others, wants to be recognized as the single group that got it right. But that is not what catholic means. Rather, to believe in the holy catholic church is to make an amazingly universalistic claim; it is to believe, as Jesus claimed in Mark, that everyone who claims the name of Jesus is part of the church. Now this doesn't mean that I agree with every church oe every church member. If I were drawing the boundaries, I would draw them to include just the people who agree with me. Most of us would. But that is precisely not catholic. It is particularistic. And it is what Jesus warned us not to do.
The analogy to me is family. Now I often talk to students who tell me how wonderful their families are, and I am glad you feel that way. But just wait till your family expands. Just wait until you have in-laws and ex-laws and cousins and great aunts who are less than ideal. Think of the coming Thanksgiving holiday. If you are fortunate enough to be able to gather with your family- your extended family - and if you are honest, there will be people there who disagree and who are disagreeable. Some disagreements may be so strong that you feel it best to avoid certain subjects. But no matter what your opinions are, and no matter how outrageous others' opinions are, you are family. Everyone belongs there. No one is ex-communicated.
That picture is what the truly catholic church is like. I have to accept the fact that people in the church disagree with me about many things. That's a pain. But you know what? They have to accept the fact that I disagree with them too. Our source of unity in the church is that all of us claim a relationship with Jesus Christ. Some people talk about this a lot; others are more reticent. But the stubborn, annoying fact is that it's Jesus alone who decides whose in and out - not me. And, as we have already said, the standards that Jesus uses have much more to do with how we act than with what we say.
The holy catholic church. It's a hard thing to believe in. I would rather believe in my own church - one which includes only enlightened people like me - and you, of course. But it would be, unfortunately, a pretty small church. The challenge is to believe that others are as loved as we are - no matter what.
And this brings us to the communion of saints. Saints are people known to be with God. Some churches have a process of certifying saints. Others do not. But when we gather around a table, whether it be a thanksgiving table or a communion table or a kitchen table, we are in a circle of holiness, a circle of inclusion, a circle of hope. That circle is never more real than when it is has been broken - when someone is missing because they have died or have gone away. The bond we feel with that person gives us a clue that physical presence is not the only kind. We feel a sense of communion that leads us to hope for a circle that will never be unbroken. And that whole circle is what we call the communion of saints. Among whom, thank God, are you. Amen.
Sermon © 2004 Richard R. Crocker. All rights reserved.
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