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Many people have heard the word, "Presbyterian" in the list of the names of churches. But there is a good chance that large numbers of people could not spell it, much less say what it means. In fact, "Presbyterian" has two main meanings, one is about our faith and the other is about how we do things. Let's talk first about what "Presbyterian" means when it comes to faith. Presbyterian Churches--at our best!--focus on entrusting ourselves to God's grace in every aspect of life. Like many other churches, our history goes back to the Reformation with its ringing proclamation of "salvation by Christ alone, by faith alone, by grace alone." So that is why Presbyterian Churches talk about "Reformed Theology," pointing back to that message that we believe reflects the mercy that God announced and embodied in Jesus, above all. "Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous but sinners.” This is what Jesus said in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 9, verse 13. Jesus gave his life in order to prove just how much we can trust God, in life and in death, and to show how God is calling everyone together into a new community of faith and love centered in God's amazing grace to all of us. We hear this astonishing Good News echoed throughout all of the books in the New Testament, with the apostle Paul having a particular importance because his ministry is the one that is focused on people who may have had no relationship with God before hearing about Jesus. It's Paul's writings that give us the specific language of being reconciled to God by Jesus' death and resurrection and that no one can or will be saved by how good we try to be. Instead, we are saved by God's surprising grace which we accept by faith or trust that God really will save us, despite all our sins and weaknesses. It is Paul who insists that God's gift of the Holy Spirit will accomplish in us what we can never do on our own. That's a brief summary of the primary emphasis of the message we hope the world hears from us as "Presbyterians." On a far less important level, "Presbyterian" is a way of letting people know how we do things as a church. Strictly speaking, this is where the word, "presbyterian" comes from. It means that local people make the most important decisions about the life of the church in partnership with other Presbyterian Churches. "Presbyterian" comes from the Greek word in the New Testament that means "elder." So we are churches led by "elders" elected by the congregations, who meet locally for "session meetings" and periodically meet with elders from other local churches for "presbytery meetings." Every two years, elders elected by the presbytery meet for "General Assembly" meetings to talk about how to live out the Good News more and more faithfully. There are more things that "being Presbyterian" means when it comes to supporting people's lives, sharing our blessings with others and worshiping God together. At our best, we respect the human dignity of all people, uphold everyone's right to listen to their own consciences and hold their own faith in Jesus as they understand it. We do not see ourselves as "the only church" but as a community of people grateful to be included in the one world-wide church of Jesus and the vast circle of God's love and mercy for all people and God's creation. |
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"Go and Learn...Mercy"
"Why does your Teacher eat with tax-collectors and sinners?" the religious leaders asked Jesus' disciples. When Jesus heard this, he said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a doctor, but those who are sick. God and learn what this means, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' I have come to not the righteous but sinners." -- The Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 9, verses 11-13.
For many people, just to mention, "God" or "church" brings up a set of feelings tied to worthiness and goodness. And it is true that God is holy, but God has a big surprise for us all. And that is found in all the ways that God reaches out to us with this: Mercy.
For reasons that only God has chosen to be the holy God who shows mercy. In fact, for God, to be holy is to be merciful. Obviously, if God had wanted to judge the world and all of us based strictly on our degree of holiness and worthiness, God could quickly, and easily, condemn and reject every single one of us. It would just be a question of how and when God would do it.
But the God of all holiness has chosen mercy as the basis of God's dealings with us, and it is in how merciful we become to one another that we know if we are growing in God's ways and in genuine holiness. That's because for us to show genuine mercy is often hard, asking us to replace our wills with God's will, calling on us to do some very hard work in our own hearts, which frankly are
For many people, just to mention, "God" or "church" brings up a set of feelings tied to worthiness and goodness. And it is true that God is holy, but God has a big surprise for us all. And that is found in all the ways that God reaches out to us with this: Mercy.
For reasons that only God has chosen to be the holy God who shows mercy. In fact, for God, to be holy is to be merciful. Obviously, if God had wanted to judge the world and all of us based strictly on our degree of holiness and worthiness, God could quickly, and easily, condemn and reject every single one of us. It would just be a question of how and when God would do it.
But the God of all holiness has chosen mercy as the basis of God's dealings with us, and it is in how merciful we become to one another that we know if we are growing in God's ways and in genuine holiness. That's because for us to show genuine mercy is often hard, asking us to replace our wills with God's will, calling on us to do some very hard work in our own hearts, which frankly are
Who Belongs?
In some groups and some churches, you know you belong because there is a precise list of beliefs that everyone is required to believe. There is an undeniable power in that approach of uniformity, but there is also a great fear of any kind of change.
Change for the sake of novelty is of no value, but as disciples of Jesus, we are always "learners." (That's what the word, "disciple" means.) So, we must always be prepared to make changes as individuals and as congregations when we realize we have limited God, failed to treat others as we should, or put our own prejudices and preferences in the place of God's call and purposes.
While most Presbyterians share many beliefs in common, we are charged to remember that the basis of our belonging together is not anchored in exact agreement on a list of doctrines and beliefs. In fact, one of the foundations of the Presbyterian tradition is that "only God is lord of the conscience." We must each live out the convictions we have as Christians and respect one another's faith in Christ, even when if differs from each other's. To put it in the classic terms of the Reformed tradition, we belong to Christ and to each other "by Christ alone, by grace alone, through faith alone."
What unites us as a church - and we would say, as Christians around the world - is not anything about us or our ability to understand and explain every Christian belief, but rather our trust that God has united us through the grace of Jesus Christ and our reliance on him alone as the basis of all our hope and lives. This grants us the freedom to examine our beliefs and our practices as fearlessly as we can and making changes to respond to what we sense God is showing us in our lives as Christians.
The good news is that Christ alone is lord of the church and not any of us. So, we trust that anyone who puts their trust in Jesus Christ will be led by God's Spirit into all that we will need to know and do in order to accomplish, not our wills, but God's.
Change for the sake of novelty is of no value, but as disciples of Jesus, we are always "learners." (That's what the word, "disciple" means.) So, we must always be prepared to make changes as individuals and as congregations when we realize we have limited God, failed to treat others as we should, or put our own prejudices and preferences in the place of God's call and purposes.
While most Presbyterians share many beliefs in common, we are charged to remember that the basis of our belonging together is not anchored in exact agreement on a list of doctrines and beliefs. In fact, one of the foundations of the Presbyterian tradition is that "only God is lord of the conscience." We must each live out the convictions we have as Christians and respect one another's faith in Christ, even when if differs from each other's. To put it in the classic terms of the Reformed tradition, we belong to Christ and to each other "by Christ alone, by grace alone, through faith alone."
What unites us as a church - and we would say, as Christians around the world - is not anything about us or our ability to understand and explain every Christian belief, but rather our trust that God has united us through the grace of Jesus Christ and our reliance on him alone as the basis of all our hope and lives. This grants us the freedom to examine our beliefs and our practices as fearlessly as we can and making changes to respond to what we sense God is showing us in our lives as Christians.
The good news is that Christ alone is lord of the church and not any of us. So, we trust that anyone who puts their trust in Jesus Christ will be led by God's Spirit into all that we will need to know and do in order to accomplish, not our wills, but God's.