FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, ATLANTA, GEORGIA

Sermon by Dr. George Bryant Wirth

The Second Sunday in Lent

February 17, 2008

THE APOSTLES’ CREED:

I BELIEVE IN JESUS CHRIST

Scripture: Mark 8:27-37

INTRODUCTION

Not long ago, I heard a story about Jesus that was new to me. It was told by Dr. John Galloway, one of my close friends, who preached here for our FOCUS Weekend back in the late 1990’s and recently retired from the ministry.

The story described a cartoon depicting two archaeologists standing beside the so-called “Jesus Family Tomb” in Jerusalem. They are holding an ossuary, that is, a box containing some old bones. And as one archaeologist looks at the other with surprise in his eyes, this is what the caption reads: “It’s got to be Jesus, because here’s his bracelet that says ‘What Would I Do?’”

I

Now as you know, there are a lot of Jesus stories circulating around these days. Some are intended to be humorous, while others are far more serious, such as the story from last Lenten Season about the claim to have found the bones of Jesus, His family and Mary Magdalene in a cemetery plot just outside Jerusalem. As it turned out, that story was much ado about nothing.

But did you know that there was a book written more than 35 years entitled “The Jesus Story”? It was published by Harper and Row in 1971 during my senior year in seminary, and I bought a copy and read it from cover to cover. Here’s the book, with a photograph of the author on the flyleaf, saying that he was a journalist who had been an editorial writer for Newsweek and then rose to become editor-in-chief of The Saturday Evening Post. Little did I know back then that someday I would be his preacher and pastor here at the First Presbyterian Church of Atlanta – Mr. Bill Emerson!

I commend this book to all of you, and want to quote a few paragraphs from the description of Jesus written by our church member and good friend:

“Jesus of Nazareth is not some mythic figure from a lost civilization. If you see Him conjured up out of heat waves from the magic of the Mediterranean cradle, you are overlooking some good, solid information on His identity and background.

A Dun and Bradstreet search on Jesus’ family would have produced a conservative…low-risk profile of a …lower middle-class family with half a dozen children…But Jesus of Nazareth, living in the first century under Roman rule, was not a mild, manageable sort of person.

He consorted with wild fire-eaters who got beheaded, like John the Baptizer. At first everybody though He was a bush-league rabble-rouser with a real gift of gab and a lot of magic tricks. Later events corrected that impression…

His life was almost entirely public, and He had no possessions, no property, no wife or children to draw Him on or hold Him back. He had the privacy of the wilderness and the road, but more and more it became impossible for Him to go anywhere without being recognized. He drew vast crowds like the celebrities of his day, which both harassed and pleased Him. He lived in the flux of the mob with the constant threat of being trampled or crushed to death… And on His first trip back to preach in (His hometown of) Nazareth, Jesus was almost lynched, which was not much a welcome, even in those days. At first they thought He was a smart aleck, and then they condemned Him for being blasphemous…

Paradoxically, we have an image of Jesus trapped in the stained-glass window down at the church. And in the filtered light we see a delicate…figure with doe-eyes and a reddish beard. This image is elusive…and unreal…somehow the pungency has been sweetened and the fire banked…

This filtered Jesus isn’t the only one we have. In the aggregate there have likely been a whole troop of Jesuses – some marching as to war and some dawdling in the flowers with little children…but which is the real Jesus?”

From “The Jesus Story” by William A. Emerson Jr., Harper and Row Publishers, 1971, quoted from the prologue, pages 1-4)

I find Bill Emerson’s description of Jesus both fascinating and challenging, and in this book, the author has asked the right question. Because as we stand to confess The Apostles’ Creed Sunday after Sunday, saying “I believe in Jesus Christ,” what does that mean to us? Which is, what is, who is the real Jesus?

II

Our text today from the Gospel of Mark, chapter 8, offers a clear and compelling answer for the first disciples, and for every Christian who has lived since then. The Bible says that as Jesus and those closest to Him were traveling through the villages of Caesarea Philippi, He stopped to ask them: Who do the people say that I am?

Some said “John the Baptist,” while others replied “Elijah,” and a few more said “one of the prophets.” Then Jesus put it straight to them: But who do you say that I am? And Peter spoke up for everyone: “You are the Messiah” (that’s the Hebrew translation – in the Greek it reads “Christos” – the Christ, both meaning “the anointed one”), and Matthew adds in his gospel, “You are the Messiah (the Christ, the anointed one), the Son of the living God!” (Matthew 16:16, Luke 9:20)

Remembering that the Jewish name “Jesus” (Jeshua) means “Savior” (“He will save the people from their sins” – Matthew 1:21), when we put it all together in The Apostles’ Creed, saying “I believe in Jesus Christ His (God’s) only Son our Lord,” that takes us to the core of “the real Jesus.”

In fact, during the first three hundred years of church tradition and history, that was the one confession those early believers made before their baptism: “Jesus Christ is Lord!” But during the 4^th century, as Constantine was converted to the faith and the Roman Empire officially adopted the Christian religion, complications and controversies developed, including theological heresies about the humanity and divinity of Jesus.

So in the midst of all the confusion and increasing division, church leaders met together in ecumenical councils, beginning with Nicaea in 325 A.D., then Constantinople, Ephesus, Carthage, Chalcedon and Rome (See “A Short History of Christianity” by Martin E. Marty, pages 87-88), to study and to pray, to discern and debate, to explore and eventually say “These are the core components of what we believe.” That was the process which produced the creeds we affirm today, including these words about the real Jesus:

“I believe in Jesus Christ His (God’s) only Son our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost (divinity), born of the Virgin Mary (humanity), suffered under Pontius Pilate (humility), was crucified, dead and buried (saving us from our sin and depravity, quoting old John Calvin). He descended into hell (meaning, He really died); the third day He rose again from the dead (meaning He really was and is alive); He ascended into heaven (promising us eternal life), and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the quick (the living) and the dead.”

We will come back to some of those affirmations as we draw closer to Good Friday and to Easter. But let’s acknowledge here and now, that what we believe about how “the real Jesus” died to set us free, how He came back to life and promised us eternity, and is alive and at work in this world today through His Spirit and in His Church – that’s what we mean when we say The Apostles’ Creed every Sunday!

III

You say “Preacher, that’s a lot of church history and theology about “the real Jesus” and the Creed, and what you’ve said has been helpful. But here’s my question: “How can I believe that Jesus is real to me?”

Well, I’m glad you asked that question, and with the time we have left in this sermon, let me offer you these three insights and then we’ll head home.

The first is from the Dutch priest Henri Nouwen, whom I met in Toronto in 1993 and whose personal witness and inspiring words have helped me to come closer to Christ. In his book “Making All Things New,” this is what Fr. Nouwen writes:

“Without solitude, it is virtually impossible to live a spiritual life. Solitude begins with a time and a place for the Lord, and Him alone…We need to set aside a time and a space to give Him our undivided attention. Jesus says Go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in that secret place.” (Matthew 6:6) (From “Making All Things New” by Henri J.M. Nouwen, page 69)

It is as simple and as difficult as that, my friends: to make the time and take the time for solitude and quiet meditation, to know that Jesus is real, to feel His presence and to hear His voice speaking to us in prayer. That’s one of the reasons for this Lenten Season you know – to be still before the Lord, and to draw closer to Him than ever before. So as we make our way toward Jerusalem, let’s set aside the time each day to be still, to read the Bible and to pray…and to listen to what Jesus wants to say to us.

The second insight comes from a retired history professor who is also a Pulitzer Prize winning author named Garry Wills. He’s speaking on Monday evening, February 25^th at the Decatur Presbyterian Church and I hope you will go over there to hear him.

In his book “What Jesus Meant,” Wills describes how Jesus becomes real to us in another way – through caring and having compassion for others. He quotes Jesus’ familiar parable from Matthew 25, which concludes saying: I was hungry and you gave me food. I was thirsty and you gave me drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, sick and you took care of me, in prison and you visited me…in as much as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you did it unto me. Matthew 25:35-40)

And Wills concludes: “The test is this: did you treat everyone, high and low, as if dealing with Jesus Himself, with His own inclusive and gracious love, whose sunshine is shed on all? Love is the test. (That’s what Jesus meant.) And in the gospel of Jesus, love is everything.” (From “What Jesus Meant” by Garry Wills, Viking Press, 2006, pages 56-57)

I have often heard Rev. Charles Black say that as he meets and greets a homeless man or woman who comes into our church, he prays “Lord, let me see you in this person today.” And so can we, Christians, so can we, including those who are closest to us and those who are completely different from us. Jesus said in so many words: As we reach out to touch them, we are in touch with Him. And that is a second way that we can know He is real and feel His presence among us.

CONCLUSION

The final insight comes from Kathleen Norris, a Presbyterian author living out in South Dakota, who was looking for a closer walk with Jesus and found Him in the worship and fellowship of the church. This is how she describes her experience in one of my favorite books, “Amazing Grace”:

“My Christianity seemed to be missing its center. When I confessed this to a monk, he reassured me, saying ‘Oh, most of us feel that way at one time or another. Jesus is the hardest part of the religion to grasp, to keep alive.’ I told him I probably felt Jesus’ hand in things most during worship in my church at home or at the monastery. Just a look around at the motley crew assembled in His name, myself among them, lets me know how unlikely it all is. The whole lot of us, warts and all, just seems so improbable, that I figure only Jesus would be so foolish, or so powerful, to have brought us together.” (From “Amazing Grace: A Vocabulary of Faith” by Kathleen Norris, Riverhead Books, 1998, page 162)

If you came here today looking for the real Jesus, the One whom we confess to believe in The Apostles’ Creed, then know this: His bones are not in some ossuary in a graveyard in Jerusalem. He got up out of that grave a long time ago, and He is here today in this sacred place, alive and at work. In fact, I can see Him right now as I look at all of you – the Body of Christ called the Church.

That’s what Mother Teresa discovered in the streets of Calcutta for all those years. She said “You are the Body of Christ. Yours are the eyes through which He sees the world now. Yours are the hands with which He reaches out to touch. Yours are the feet with which He goes about doing good. You are the Body of Christ now.

Look around my friends and you will see the real Jesus today. And if you believe that you are the Body of Christ, then as you leave this sanctuary to go into the world, claim your identity!

In the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The sermon distribution fund has been established by the Session of First Presbyterian Church to enable friends and groups to make contributions for the printing of the Sunday sermons. Sermon leaflets will be printed from time to time, as they are requested and as funds are available. Please designate your gift for Sermon Distribution Fund. Thank you for your support.