Christ and the Church
“I like your Christ, I do not like
your Christians.” These famous words are attributed to Mahatma Gandhi. He was
deeply inspired by the life and teachings of Jesus. But he never seriously
considered becoming a Christian, not because of Christ, but because of
Christians. While living in South Africa for 21 years, he was not welcomed
and accepted. He was asked to leave a church service, and he was routinely denied
rooms and tables at Christian-owned hotels and restaurants because he was a
person of color.
Around that time E. Stanley Jones, a Methodist missionary to India, was a good friend of Gandhi. Stanley Jones realized that Christianity was not well accepted in India, so he asked Gandhi for advice. His first advice was this: “All of you Christians, missionaries, and all, must begin to live more like Jesus Christ.” What does it mean to live more like Christ? How can we be a real Christian? We can find the answer from today’s scripture, Jesus’ most important teaching, often called the Sermon on the Mount.
Jesus said, “You are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world.” During his own boyhood Jesus must have watched his mother use salt in the kitchen and light the lamps when the sun went down all the time. In Jesus’ days, even more than today, salt and light were indispensable. This past week Lydia and Abe were not at home, attending the youth camp. The following is Grace’s welcome card for Abe:
“Dear Abe, I missed you so much, because at Baxter Park there were frogs and I couldn’t catch them, and we played monsters but I couldn’t be that scary.” - Love, Grace H.
Salt
Now we will explore further what it
means to live a life of salt and light one by one.
First, salt or saltiness. In Jesus’ time, salt was mainly used for two purposes: a condiment and a preservative. Before refrigeration, salt was used to keep meat wholesome and prevent decay. It was also used to enrich the flavor of food, and still today. Spiritually speaking, being a salt means being an alternative community different from the world, not conformed to the world. Pastor Martin Lloyd-Jones rightly said, “The glory of the gospel is that when the Church is absolutely different from the world, she invariably attracts it. It is then that the world is made to listen to her message, though it may hate it at first.”
We Christians are called to be different. If we are indistinguishable from non-Christians (“the world” in this context), we are useless. Christian saltiness is Christian character as described in the Sermon on the Mount. When someone gives us a hard time, we respond with prayer and blessings. When someone takes unfair advantage of us, we use that occasion to practice the servant life. When everyone else takes to the path to the left (wide and comfortable path), we choose to walk to the other side of the road – narrow and risky – no matter what, if that path leads to a righteous way.
Recently, I was deeply inspired by the life of Eric Liddell, Olympic champion and missionary to China. About a year after the Olympic Games, he returned to China to do missionary work with his father. A few years later, World War II broke out, and he was sent to the Internment Camp with other foreigners in China. The conditions of the camp were horrible – unrefrigerated meat, clogged cesspools, no privacy, only five square feet per person, and just 23 toilets for 1,800 people. The dorms became so congested that the foot of one bed often touched the head of another. These extreme conditions created a perfect space for “the worst in people.” There were constant arguments and fist fights over almost everything – privacy, meal portions, personal habits, hygiene as well as selfishness. Liddell was different. He was considered the camp’s “conscience” without ever being pious or judgmental. He forced his religion on no one. He didn’t expect others to share his beliefs, let alone live up to them. With calm presence and patience he was always doing something for others – especially for the young. He was called, “Uncle Eric.” He played chess with them. He taught them sports and science. He was always fair. So every time there were problems, they said, “Let’s go to Uncle Eric, and see what he has to say.” Liddell prayed for everyone, even for his Japanese guards. His presence made an enduring impression on everyone who got to know him. Liddell is a shining example of what it means to live a life of salt.
Light
Second, light. We are called to live a life of light.
In today’s scripture Jesus clarifies that this light is our “good works,”
saying, “Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your
good works and give glory to your Father in heaven” (v. 16).
In Jesus’ time, on its western side of the mountain where Jesus was preaching, there was a group called a Dead Sea Community. They were a monastic community of people who had withdrawn from the wicked world. They called themselves ‘the sons of light’, but they kept the light themselves in the closed community. But Jesus said to his disciples, “I’m putting you on a light stand – shine! Open up your life to others. Be generous with your life.” (cf. v. 15, MSG)
How can we rise and shine, and bring out the God-colors in this world? I don’t know about you, but for me, I often don’t feel like I am a light-bearer. I have lived in Aroostook county for 10 years and love this place. But I still feel like I’m adjusting. At times I don’t feel I would have much to offer to the church and community. At times I am tempted to isolate myself and to keep the light myself. This past week I was greatly encouraged by the life of Horace Underwood who was one of the first missionaries to Korea. About 140 years ago, in 1885 he brought God’s light to Korea and offered this prayer:
Lord, nothing is
visible at this moment.
Lord, you have
planted us on this barren and poor land,
where not even a
single tree can grow tall enough.
It is such a
miracle
that we could come
to this land across the wide, wide Pacific Ocean.
Nothing is
visible, though, in this land
on which we seem
to have been dropped off by your hand.
Only stubbornly
stained darkness can be seen.
Only Korean people
chained with poverty and superstition can be seen.
They don't even
know why they are chained, what suffering is.
They just distrust
us and express anger to us
as we tell them
how to take away their suffering, which is not suffering to them.
The thoughts of
Korean men are not visible.
The mind of this
government is not visible.
We are afraid that
we may not have any more opportunity to see the women
commuting on Kamas
(-a cart carried by men).
And we do not see
what to do.
Yet, Lord! We will
obey.
We believe that
you begin your work as we humbly obey,
And that the day
will come when our spiritual eyes will see your work,
According to your
Words,
"Faith is
being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see..."
We believe that we
will see the future of the faith of Korea.
Although we are as
if standing on a desert with bare hands,
Although we are
condemned to be Western devils,
We believe that
the day will come when they will rejoice with tears
realizing that
they are one with our spirit in Christ,
and that we all
have one Kingdom and one Father in Heaven.
Although there is
no church to worship you, no school to study,
Although this land
is filled with doubt of suspicion, contempt, and disdain,
We believe that in
the near future this land will become a land of blessing.
Glorify God in Your Life
Daniel 12:3 says, “Those who are
wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to
righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever.” As I close, let me ask you, “How
do you want to be remembered?” At the end of Eric Liddell’s biographical movie,
Chariots of Fire, Liddell’s life is summed up in this way: “Eric
Liddell, missionary, died in occupied China at the end of World War II. All of
Scotland mourned.” Indeed, all of his family mourned, all of the internees at
the camp mourned, all of Scotland mourned. Later the Chinese authorities erected
a monument in memory of Eric Liddell. The inscription on the monument reads: "Eric
Liddell, born in Tianjin on January 16, 1902, and passed away in Weixian on
February 21, 1945. Olympic gold medalist, Scottish missionary. In 1925, he came
to Weixian to preach and served the local people wholeheartedly. His spirit of
devotion and self-sacrifice will forever be remembered.". Liddell did bring
out the God-flavors and the God-colors in the world. His legacy continues to
shine like stars.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, we must be what we are. We are salt. We are called to be different – godly, kind, patient, forgiving. We are light. We are called to be radiant – do no harm, and do good to all people. With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible. As we live out our Christian calling by the power of the Holy Spirit, taking one day at a time, loving one person at a time, people around us will see it and say, “I like your Christ, and I like your Church.” By this, our heavenly Father will get the glory. Praise be to God.
*A Monument and statue of Olympic gold medalist Eric Liddell
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