I was once with the late Senator Conrad Burns of Montana. He said, “Do you know the greatest question ever asked? ‘Who do you say that I am?’” (Matthew 16:15). That question was in last Sunday’s Gospel. Jesus asked His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” That ancient version of modern polling drew various answers, and then Jesus zeroed in, “But who do you say that I am?”
Preaching several years ago in North Carolina, my theme was, “It’s a great time to be the Church.” After the service, an older woman asked, “How can you say that?” She had a point. Older people have seen “Christian” America disappear. Decades ago, people knew they should go to church on Sunday mornings; whether they went or not is another question. Decades ago, people knew the main characters in the Bible; today they don’t know key biblical persons, including Jesus. Decades ago, public morality followed the Ten Commandments; today not. That was “Christian” America, when the messages of the Church and public culture were largely complementary to one another. “Christian” America is gone and it ain’t coming back.
There’s a silver lining in this cloud, a sliver of light so bright it changes Church people’s attitudes. We are learning anew, or for the first time, that the Church is about Jesus Christ. It’s not about having privilege in society because of who we are. It’s not about public morality. It’s not about Martin Luther or John Wesley or the Pope, or whatever person your denomination holds up. It’s about Jesus Christ. Oh, in “Christian” America Jesus was known. Most people knew the church’s message about Jesus. Again, whether they believed it or not is another question. What’s so great about today, and I’m saying this out of my own faith struggles, is realizing anew that Church life is all about Jesus. His light illuminates all the corners of personal and public life. It doesn’t go the other way, Jesus being defined by whatever personal or public things are dominating our thoughts and media.
We who are older grieve what’s been lost in American and church life, but we should not grieve as people who have no hope. If we truly believe that Jesus is raised, exalted, and with us in today’s profound changes, then it is a great time to be the Church. “Who do you say that I am?”
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