IN THE NAME OF CHRIST?
Colossians 3:12-17
Mark 9:38-41
Whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the
Lord Jesus Christ.
It has been our delight to have
the Moderators of the South African Synod of the United Congregational Church
here at Volmoed this week. The use of
the term moderator for a church leader may be unfamiliar to some of you, so let
me clarify. Moderators are not
necessarily moderate fellows, though usually they are, and they are not in the
business of moderating examinations for clergy!
They can be compared to bishops, but they are not, and their functions
vary from one Reformed church to the next.
In the United Congregational Church, moderators are ministers elected by
their colleagues to serve for several years as "pastors to the
pastors." Whatever else they do,
they are primarily ministerial caregivers.
This is a critical task, for being an ordained minister is often a very
lonely and demanding one in which you are always giving yourself to
others. So it is vital that there are
people who are their caregivers. How good it is, then, that we here at Volmoed
have been able, for a few days at least, to care for ministerial caregivers and to share with them in this service of Holy
Communion as they bring their sessions to an end.
The text chosen by them for
reflection today is Paul's injunction to the Colossians that we Christians
should do everything we do in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. But, of course, we know only too well that not
everything done by Christians in the name of Jesus Christ is always good or
praiseworthy. It is often quite the
contrary. In fact, not everything done
in the name of God or religion, not to mention Jesus Christ, is good or
praiseworthy. We have only to think
about Christian crusades and inquisitions, about going to war under the banner
of the cross, about the persecution of so-called heretics, about witch hunts,
the subjugation of women, the abuse of children by priests, and homophobia, of
the conflicts of the centuries between Protestants and Catholics, or between Hindus and Muslims, or Shiite and
Sunni Muslims, to know that this is so.
Yes, we must surely agree with modern-day critics that Christianity and
religion more generally has a lot to answer for. There are too many things done in the name of
Jesus and God that are out of character.
So when St. Paul tells the Christians at Colossae that whatever they do,
whether in word or deed, they should do it in the name of the Lord Jesus
Christ, we must pause and think again about what he means. For not everything done in the name of Christ
is worthy of him.
The word "name" is often used in the Bible to
describe the character of someone. So
when we pray "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name," we are
not just praising the name "God" -- we are praising and therefore
expressing gratitude for who God is, for the character of God as loving,
compassionate, or to use Jesus' metaphor, as our "Father." So doing everything "in the name of the
Lord Jesus Christ" means that we seek to express the character of Jesus
through our actions. In other words, we
seek to represent Christ in terms of who he is, rather than using his name to
justify our own attitudes and actions. Everything
we do is meant to express the character of Christ, not to abuse his name. And we should only use his name when we do
so.
I mentioned at the beginning,
that the task of moderators is above all to be care-givers for ministers and
pastors. The word "care" comes
from the Latin "caritas" from which, in turn, comes our word
"charity," and charity properly understood means self-giving love. Such love, expressed in truly caring for
others, is above all other virtues, and lies at the heart of Christian faith in
action. So to do everything in the name
of the Lord Jesus Christ means caring for others, especially those in need, the
poor, the oppressed, the victims and vulnerable. Read again the words that come before our
text and you will soon get the message of what Paul meant. And, of course, in his first letter to the
Corinthians he tells us categorically that though we speak like angels, or have
prophetic powers, understand all mysteries and have all knowledge, or be be
able to move mountains, if we do not truly care about and for others, we are
nothing. So we do well to recall the
words of Jesus:
On that day many will say to me, "Lord,
Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many deeds of power in
your name? Then I will declare to them, "I never knew you; go away from me
you evildoers." (Matthew 7:22)
We must also acknowledge that
many things that are not done specifically in the name of Jesus Christ, many
things done by people of other faiths or none at all, sometimes put us Christians
to shame in expressing the character of Jesus. Consider the work of the South Africa Muslim
organisation "Gift of the Givers," or "Medicine without Frontiers," or Aids
carers and hospice workers who do not
claim to be Christian though many are. Christians
don't have a monopoly on good deeds worthy of Jesus whether we use his name or
not! Recall some other words of Jesus, this
time in response to John the disciple:
Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons
in your name, and we tried to stop him, because
he was not following us. But Jesus said,
"do not stop him, for no one who does a deed
of power in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. Whoever is not against us if for us. (9:38-41)
Yes, indeed, there are many
people who do not belong to our circle, our church, our denomination, our
religion, who are for Christ not against him.
They may not use the name of Christ but they do what he commanded us all
to do.
At the end of every Eucharist
here at Volmoed and elsewhere, the minister says: "Go in peace to love and
serve the Lord." And the
congregation responds: "We go in the name of Christ. Amen!"
This is not just a formula we use to conclude our worship. It is a renewal of our commitment to love and
serve Christ through so in caring for and loving others.
John de Gruchy
Volmoed 19 June 2014
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