Why Faith is better than Religion.
Micah 6: 1 – 8; 1 Corinthians 1: 18 – 31; Matthew 5: 1 – 5
Is what we do the litmus test of our faith?
Micah 6: 1 – 8; 1 Corinthians 1: 18 – 31; Matthew 5: 1 – 5
Is what we do the litmus test of our faith?
These texts mark the difference between religion and faith. The prophet Micah distinguishes between religious practices, such as sacrifices, and faith practices, such as living the values of faith.
It is important to distinguish between religion and faith, and yet understand their relationship. People think you are religious for coming here this morning. In fact they are right. They are wrong if they think we are just religious. Religion refers to the organisation and systemisation of faith. For example, the ancient religious practice of Israel involved sacrifices. Faith on the other hand is trust in something or someone. For the Christian, faith is trusting in God and God’s self-revelation in Christ Jesus. People of faith come together and develop a way of worshipping and a way of being a community. This organisation of their faith is religion. Faith leads to religion and religion helps us keep our faith.
Now people both in a religion and those who claim not to be religious take religion as a negative term. Basically this negative attitude sees religion as something meaningless. So we get people claiming not to be religious. This is a false distinction. It isn’t helpful. It is best to understand that faith leads to the development of a religion and religion helps us maintain and grow our faith. But here lies a bigger problem. We can mistake our practices as faith. We can let our regular religious practices take the place of our faith. I think we do this when we make certain practices so important that they can’t be changed or challenged. Though religion and faith are inter-dependent they also must be distinguished. We should always be checking whether our rituals and liturgy have replaced our faith. It is our faith that gives rise to religion.
The prophet Micah, not using our language and concepts, is making the same point. He sees people being religious. They come and offer sacrifices. They even offer the extreme sacrifice of a firstborn child. The size and cost of the sacrifice is mistaken for the depth of loyalty to God. This happens even today. We honour people who give much. We name buildings, rooms and put plaques on walls in honour of people’s faith, or is it their religion. I know I might be close to offending some, but do we really think through such naming. In one sense it is right and noble, in another unhelpful if we think the gift marks the true quality of their faith. What marks their faith is the spirit in which the gift is given. But Micah goes further. He says that the true litmus test is whether we practise justice, kindness and humility. The reason for justice, kindness and humility being the litmus test is that they arise out of faith and not religion.
The prophet is not unique in his thinking. He merely captures very succinctly the essence of the teaching of the Law, Jesus’ teaching and that of the followers of God. The keystone of the whole Leviticus law is love your neighbour [Lev 19:18]. Jesus reinforced this. Jesus made it clear that to love others, to give to the poor, to do the right thing was an essential part of following God. It was more important than conforming to and practising the rituals of religion. Jesus said that seeking reconciliation with others first was more important than religious practice. As the writer of 1 John says; Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. [1 John 4: 7,8] There it is. It’s in black and white. Love is the true expression of our faith and love will be expressed through justice, kindness and humility.
Justice is the expression of love we show the wider community. When I became the CEO of an organisation I asked God, how can I love these people? At the time I had 60 staff and 4000 volunteers. I knew that loving was not liking. I knew I could not be a friend with all of them. I knew that being friends was not even the answer. It became clear to me that I had to offer justice to all. That’s what I did. That’s what some remembered me for. The way I was going to love them was by being just. That meant I showed no favours. There was equal access to all resources and to me. Even those I found painful and those who were painful, I made sure they had the same access to resources and my office. It wasn’t about the likeability of each individual, but that the individual was part of the whole. Justice is that. We should ensure that all have justice regardless of whether they are likeable or not; or whether they are part of our group or not; or, whether they are worthy or not.
I ponder what justice means in our society. I think of the homeless and wonder, what proportion of those in the city are using the system and what proportion are just homeless? Then I wonder about all our enterprising commercial and professional opportunists who milk the system for their own ends. What’s wrong with the poor taking advantage of systems when the rich do it?
I ponder about the police pursuing that driver and the saddening deaths of people. I think if the police had forcibly stopped that car after 30 minutes and in so doing shot the driver, would there not be a hue and cry about the police’s hastiness? But now they took their time and five have died. Where’s justice here. I know what I want. I want a police force that can act. But I don’t want a shoot-first-ask-questions-afterward policy. Some of us have hamstrung our police.
I am saddened by the imprisonment of desperate migrants driven from their homes by politics and violence; of the destabilising of other countries which we have contributed to by our action or inaction. Where is justice?
I think of this planet ruined by our greed for more wealth. We take and use resources at will adversely affecting the environment and then deny we have any responsibility for ‘climate change’. I don’t know the degree of responsibility we have, but the 7-fold increase in human population over the past 100 years and the increasing wealth of the wealthy, which incidentally we are part of, must have a bearing on the use of our resources and their effect on our planet. Where is justice?
I ponder about the police pursuing that driver and the saddening deaths of people. I think if the police had forcibly stopped that car after 30 minutes and in so doing shot the driver, would there not be a hue and cry about the police’s hastiness? But now they took their time and five have died. Where’s justice here. I know what I want. I want a police force that can act. But I don’t want a shoot-first-ask-questions-afterward policy. Some of us have hamstrung our police.
I am saddened by the imprisonment of desperate migrants driven from their homes by politics and violence; of the destabilising of other countries which we have contributed to by our action or inaction. Where is justice?
I think of this planet ruined by our greed for more wealth. We take and use resources at will adversely affecting the environment and then deny we have any responsibility for ‘climate change’. I don’t know the degree of responsibility we have, but the 7-fold increase in human population over the past 100 years and the increasing wealth of the wealthy, which incidentally we are part of, must have a bearing on the use of our resources and their effect on our planet. Where is justice?
Let us not think God is not angry. Let us not think that God does not expect more from us. Let us not think that God doesn’t need us all to be actively involved in seeking justice.
Kindness is the expression of love to the individual. When I was a CEO there were rules that applied to all. I occasionally set them aside when the individual’s need exceeded the general need of the organisation. Kindness is love expressed to an individual. It is hard. The decisions are not easy, but we are expected to be kind. Jesus’ story of the Good Samaritan is an example of love expressed through kindness, and the kindness bringing justice to the victim. Kindness is the companion of justice. We need more than justice; justice needs to be blended with kindness.
We have faith in God who has been extremely just and kind to us. We are not worthy of God’s love. However, God was comes to us in Christ Jesus and invites us into a relationship of love. God’s gift of love to us is an extreme act of kindness. God’s love, we generally call it grace, comes freely and undeservedly to us. We don’t deserve God’s love. As much as God’s love comes to us freely it does come with an expectation that we love others in return. And we show that love through practising justice and kindness: justice to all and kindness to those in need. We don’t need to spell out what kindness is, but we should recognise that kindness arises out of a deep sense of being loved by God.
So we come to the third aspect of what Micah recognises as a true expression of faith – humility. Humility is the recognition that one is dependent upon a transcendent power. Humility is the recognition that it is not the ‘I’ in the ‘me’ that makes me what I am, but all the other people and things that have contributed to my life. Above all else, there is the Creator God whose image we bear and who has touched our lives in this person, Jesus. Submission to God is one of the most important paradoxes of life. To submit to God is the beginning of strength and freedom. Surrendering to God is the most difficult thing to do, but it is the beginning of a new freedom. In contras, trying to remain in charge of one’s life is a subtle form of slavery to the things of this world. That is why the words of Jesus are so true.
Deny yourself, take up your cross, and you will have life. [Mark 8: 34]
Seek ye first the kingdom and all else will be yours. [Matthew 6: 33 ]
Some questions:
Do you see yourself as religious or a person of faith?
What questions does this sermon raise for you about being a Christian?
When you hear the Church speak about justice what is your reaction?
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Peter C Whitaker, Leighmoor UC: 29/01/2017
pgwhitaker@tpg.com.au
/ www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au
pgwhitaker@tpg.com.au
/ www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au
