Shattered Beliefs
If you have been following the news, you will be aware that the Australian community is in some turmoil with regards to its leaders. This week the Parliament of Australia led by the new Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, made an unconditional apology to the indigenous 'Stolen Generation' people in particular. He was applauded and cheered and many people wept with gratitude. Then the Leader of the Opposition spoke ostensibly to support the motion but his speech sparked controversy so much so that he was slow hand clapped and many crowds stood and turned their backs to the screens that broadcast him.
Passions were high and I read this response not so much as political – of course it is political – but more from a sense of moral anger – that people were reacting to their sense that the leadership required at this time from the government and opposition was to be above party lines or culture wars or historical correctness but that the Leader of the Opposition didn't get there.
Now this somewhat surprises me when we consider that opinion polls suggest that Australians are quite cynical about their political leaders. Of course Aussies are not alone in this regard! Here in the UK it seems to me that society doesn't seem to really trust the words politicians say either. Its not that there are outright lies – though sadly these can be found – but more "we're not told the whole story". The social research institute Ipsos MORI recently printed in its 2007 end of year review with figures of 46% of the population trusting the government to act in the best interests of the country and only 26% of people trusting the government to tell the truth![1]
And so it seems to me that there is an ambivalence about leadership and the words that they say. We want to believe them; would prefer to believe them; yet many of us are cynical about believing them so that when evidence comes to light that further shatters and erodes our belief in our leaders, our belief (our hope?) that people – even those with authority – actually do try to do the right thing, then we are further shattered and distrusting. When we don't believe the words, beliefs are shattered.
I don't know why Nicodemus went to see Jesus but it seems that he recognised that Jesus was a special teacher from God. We can only guess but I think Jesus' teachings were already suspect in the minds of the Jewish leaders. So Nicodemus goes along to see and hear for himself. He gets a lesson in theology – you must be born of water and the Spirit to enter the kingdom of God – rescuing people has always been part of God's plan – look back to Moses and the passing through the Sea of Reeds or the bronze serpent when the people just had to look at the serpent and they were healed – and then Jesus said that God hadn't finished with the rescue operation – because soon God was going to lift up the Son of Man and then the world would finally see the most powerful evidence that God loves the world – he was going to sacrifice his son so that all of humanity might live with God, now and forever.
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. (John 3:16,17)
Jesus taught this message to Nicodemus. Some time later Jesus was nailed up on a cross and he died and it was Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea would took the body of Jesus and buried it. End of story? The teacher died. Is Jesus just another leader who failed? Another cause of shattered beliefs?
Many people think so – about Jesus and about God. Life has hardships that don't go away; God if you're there, why don't you help? People who have thought deeply about life can wonder why God – if he exists – would make a world like this and why was it so important for Jesus to die. Where is the love? What sort of God is he that would do such a thing to his own Son? And how can we be certain about anything? After all, when we look to our earthly leaders – we know how words are manipulated – so why should the divine really be any different?
I think there are times when we all have our beliefs rocked, challenged, maybe even shattered one way or the other by events in our lives. We might think of tragedies involving illness or sudden death; or there is the devastation of betrayal when relationships previously thought secure are attacked or crumble; or there is the deadening effect of boredom and monotony of life with no aspirations that corrodes us from the inside out; or there is the guilt and sense of failure of constantly struggling with problems and people and lurching from crisis to crisis and the deep acknowledgement that "I'm flawed or useless or …". At some point things, people, beliefs we thought secure are challenged, some with devastating consequences. Whom can we trust?
"No one."
"Only yourself."
Such are often answers the world – or so called 'wise' people in this world – give. Its also part of the movie world where heroes seize the day and accomplish their heroics because of some sort of self belief. But we've just said that people are not reliable. Naturally other people would want to say 'God'. "We can trust God", they say. Can we? Isn't it presumptuous to speak for God? I think the ultimate questions are not whether there is a God but how does God regard us. And on what basis does he do so? Our goodness? Our enlightenment? Our behaviour? (If so, we're in big trouble!)
Christianity proclaims that God loves the world – us included – and has gone to incredible lengths to restore, rebuild, recreate relationships with us. He doesn't use our senses and stand in front us – many would ignore him or argue him away – instead he gives us faith in him. The message of Jesus – died and risen again – creates hope and new life in people. No matter what the day brings – suffering or joy – God loves me! We are never alone and our beliefs may go through all sorts of tough times but Jesus will never abandon people. Jesus provides the reason for living and the glue even for shattered beliefs.
Christianity keeps on and on about Jesus – the Gospel is only good news because Christians make an unbroken link between God and Jesus. If Jesus is not God, we are simply in big trouble! If Jesus is not God then there is no certainty of God's love. Seriously. Imagine if Jesus is not God and we trust Jesus and then when we get before God and he turns around and says 'Well Jesus was phase 1 but to be with me you also had follow … or do this or that'. We'd be in big trouble! That is why Christians insist on Jesus' divinity and his humanity – there will no surprises when we reach heaven for we already know God and how he feels about us – we have heard his Word of forgiveness and we have looked into the face of God in the person of Jesus – seen most clearly dying on the cross.
That is why the Christian's unshakeable belief – unshatterable – is that God loves me! Of course we don't deserve such love but God graciously in Christ chooses to do so nonetheless and makes it possible to love him in return. Paul wrote to the Corinthians: For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God … Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God (1 Cor 1:18,22-24).
The laser beam brilliance of this truth is seared into our hearts when we see again and again the One who was lifted up – Jesus on the cross – drawing all of us to him so that we may live – drawing us to him in the waters of baptism – drawing us to his table to feed us with his body and blood – and this truth – reality – proclamation – never changes. It is God's "I love you" that will never shatter or be destroyed.
In this love, we live.