5 Easter

May 10, 2009

John 15.1-8

You’ve no doubt heard me say it before, and you will hear me say it again: there is one book that has been very influential for me in helping me understand what it means to be a Christian. This book—A Generous Orthodoxy by Brian McLaren—was a book that blew me away the first time I read it. Now, the title alone might turn some people off.

A Generous Orthodoxy.

Many of us—especially those of us with a more liberal thinking—might find our defenses coming up when we hear a word like “orthodoxy.” Certainly, many people have been using orthodoxy as a catchphrase—a litmus test of sorts to find out if you’re one of “us”—people who think and believe one way—or one of “them”—people who think different than “us.” Certainly a phrase like orthodoxy seems to perpetuate the polarization of the Church. We find terms like “liberal,” “conservative,” “Moderate,” “Windsor-compliant,” or what have you being thrown around without much serious thought about what those terms mean.

But I think many of us—especially Episcopalians and Anglicans—find ourselves square pegs in the round holes of those terms. A lot of us might be so-called “”liberals” on some issues, such a women’s ordinations, or the place of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people in the Church, and yet, we are aren’t so comfortable with some of the theology that other so-called “liberals” profess. Others of us might consider ourselves “conservative” when it comes to issues of Scripture, liturgy, the Church, but when it comes to social issues, we find our selves a bit outside what is normally expected of us as “conservatives.”

That’s what I love about the Episcopal Church and Anglicanism. Here, in its purest sense, one can’t really “peg” anyone clearly. My good friend, Brother Benet Tvetden, a Roman Catholic Benedictine monk, shared this insight with me the other day in an email:

At the end of the month I'm accompanying some dissident Episcopalians on a Benedictine tour of Stearns County Minnesota. They are oblates [lay members] who belong to the now Anglican Church of the Good Shepherd in Sioux Falls. I like them a lot. I wish right wing Catholics could be as nice as they are.

Sometimes we Episcopalians need a perspective like this. Just when we think we’ve pegged someone as “conservative” or “liberal,” we find areas of commonality with them that surprise us. Or sometimes, we find that when we have demonized a group of people, we are disarmed when they are welcoming to us and or just plain nice to us.

In Anglicanism, we find that no one can be easily pegged. McLaren explores Christianity from a perspective similar to this. For him, he says there is no reason why one can’t be “orthodox”—a person who believes in Jesus, who believes in things like the Incarnation, the belief that Jesus is truly God and truly human, in things like the Resurrection or the Real Presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament—and still be someone who accepts gay and lesbian people in the church without judgment. We can, in other words, be orthodox, without being fundamentalist.

McLaren writes: “For me the ‘fundamentals of the faith’ boil down to those given by Jesus: to love God and to love our neighbors.”

He goes on to say: “…the way [of God for Christians] is by embarking on an adventure of faith, hope and love, even if you don’t know where your path will lead…The way to know God is by following Jesus on that venture. One doesn’t learn what God is like in the library or pew and then begin to love God in real life. One begins to love God and others in real life. In the process one learns what God is like—and one might be driven to the library and pew to learn more. Anyone who doesn’t embark on the adventure of love doesn’t know God at all,…for God is love.”

See why I love this book so much! It is filled with insights such as this. Again and again, McLean shows the way forward in our journey of following Jesus in love.

And in today’s Gospel, we find Jesus giving us a glimpse as well of what it means to follow him.

“I am the vine, you are the branches,” Jesus tells us.

The effective branch bears fruit. Our job as Christians is do just that. It is to bear fruit. It is to be effective as Christians. Being a Christian doesn’t mean just feeling warm and fuzzy all the time. Being a Christian isn’t only about following private devotions. Being a Christian isn’t about our own private faith. Being a Christian means living out our faith.

I think so many people have confused exactly what Christianity is. Most people seem to think it is exclusively a set of beliefs that one needs to follow to get into heaven, so to speak. But being a Christian also involves a certain way of living one’s life. It involves living our lives a certain way. It involves seeing our lives and the lives around us a certain way. It means seeing the world a certain way. Being a Christian means following Jesus—not just believing in Jesus. And following Jesus means letting Jesus lead the way. It means allowing the vine to sustain us so we in turn can bear fruit.

Today we, as Christians, get to remind ourselves once again why we are Christian. Today, as we baptize Michael O’Connell, we get to reaffirm our Baptismal Covenant—that covenant that is formed in the waters of baptism, that remind us each time we profess it what it means to be a follower of Jesus, what it means to be a fruitful vine, well nourished and well-fed by those waters of baptism. Today, in our Baptismal Covenant, we say remind ourselves and each other that we will strive to be followers of Jesus and that being followers of Jesus means heeding those commandments of loving God and loving our neighbor as ourselves. When we do this—when we live into our baptisms—when we recognize that our baptism was not just some christening service when we were babies, but an actual revolutionary event in our lives that changed us and transformed us and continues to change us and transform us—when we do that, we are producing good fruit. When we take our baptism and live out this amazing and life-changing event in our lives and in the world and not just here in church on Sundays, we are bearing good fruit. When we live out that command of Jesus to love God and love our neighbors as we love our selves, then we are bearing the greatest fruits of all in the world.

Because when we do those things—when we live out our baptismal covenant in our lives, in all that we do—we are making a difference in the world. We are doing positive and effective things in the world. We are transforming the world, bit by bit, increment by increment, baby step by baby step. We are the conduits through which Christ works in our lives and in the lives of those around us.

This is what it means to follow Jesus. This is what means to be a positive Christian example in the world. And when we do this, we realize that we are evangelizing. We are sharing our faith, not only with what we say, but in what we do.

Brian McLaren in A Generous Orthodoxy reminds us that our job as Christian is not be arrogant and conceited. We cannot take our Christian faith and force it on others. We cannot be obnoxious in our faith. Rather, McLaren writes: “We share the good news of Jesus, seeking to make disciples of all people—always inviting, never coercing.”

“Always inviting, never coercing.”

That is what it means to be a Christian—to be a true follower of Jesus in the world. That is what it means to bear good fruit.

As we celebrate this morning this baptism, as we remember our own baptisms, let us do so with joy and gladness. Let us do so knowing that what we celebrate and what we remember is more than just a reminder of what we believe. Let us also be reminded that our baptism was the catalyst in our lives. We were transformed at that moment, in those waters. We were set on our way to live our lives, following Jesus wherever Jesus leads. Our Christian faith, formed at our baptism, is more than just another religion. It is more than just a series of beliefs and traditions and rituals. Our Christianity is a way of living. It is a way of perception—a way of looking at the world around us and seeing it with eyes of love. Our Christianity is about loving—always and everywhere, even in those moments when we think we might not have any more love to give.

So, like Michael, who is about to set out this morning on that wonderful journey of love in following Jesus, let us reaffirm what we have promised in our baptism. Let us also be rejuvenated and strengthened once again to continue our journey of love in following Jesus wherever he leads us. Let us, in the words of our collect for today, always recognize Jesus “to be the way, the truth and the life, that we may steadfastly follow his steps in the way that leads to eternal life…”