What's a Follower of Jesus to do?

On Monday mornings at 10:30, a service of holy communion is held at Point University in the beautiful sanctuary of West Point Presbyterian Church.  What follows below is the homily that was given in that service as a reflection on the horrific events in Paris over the weekend. 

What's a Follower of Jesus to Do?

Friday evening I took my family out to dinner at the Downtown Grill in metropolitan Tyrone, GA. It's really a very nice place to eat. On the way there – less than 2 miles from our house – my NBC newsfeed was reporting an incident in Paris, where up to 16 people might have been killed.

By the time we finished eating and were headed home, the number was above 60, and before Friday evening was over: 127. Lester Holt and the NBC news crew were in full crisis mode – replacing Dateline on the normal Friday night schedule with a special report.

All weekend long – every major news outlet has been inundating us with the horrific news of evil run amuck, a religion hijacked for political gain, and otherwise innocent people dying because, at least in the words of many of the “experts,” a Shia Muslim is ruling in predominantly Sunni Muslim Syria. 

One American presidential candidate summed it up by simply saying, “Either they die or we die.” That’s rather sobering. And even though way out here in the middle of nowhere along the banks of the peaceful Chattahoochee River the sounds of terrorists’ bombs are unlikely to be heard – we know in our heart of our hearts that ours is a deeply troubled world.

What’s a follower of Jesus to do?

I think it is interesting that the lectionary text from the Epistles for yesterday was from Hebrews 10. Hebrews is that rather densely worded, Hebrew scripture embedded, and often left unread epistle that truly does speak to that question: what’s a follower of Jesus to do? Especially in times of great struggle.

In verse one, the author reminds us of the temporal and unsatisfying nature of approaching life apart from Christ. Here is what the text says – and this is about the Law which came from God but which is viewed as temporal: “Since the law has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered year after year, make perfect those who approach.^”

If that is true of the Law, think how even more inadequate would be any human-created solution to sin. And this really is - like all issues of justice - an issue of sin.

Further down in the chapter, he says:

^"11 And every priest stands day after day at his service, offering again and again the same sacrifices that can never take away sins. ¹² But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, “he sat down at the right hand of God,” ¹³ and since then has been waiting “until his enemies would be made a footstool for his feet.” ¹⁴ For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified."

In contrast to repeated sacrifices that could never deal adequately with sin, Christ offered a single sacrifice – and through that sacrifice, has made complete for all time those who are being made holy. 

I really don’t know what the answer is to the trouble our world faces, but I do know that because of what Christ has done – each of us need not spend our days cowering in fear. He has made us complete for all time!

We come up to this table – like we have done many, many times – but perhaps today as we come we should thank God for what Christ has done for us – especially in giving us the kind of assurance that the geo-policcal realities of a troubled world cannot and will not define us.

(Scripture quotations from English Standard Version.)