The Rev. Carol S. Wedell
June 1, 2008

A man whose name I can't remember made his way to one of the many microphones scattered around the room.  What he said silenced the large gathering of Presbyterian ministers and elders.  "What we need," he said, "is to be less Christian (you could almost hear an audible gasp) and more Christ-like."  Sit with that for a minute. "Less Christian; more Christ-like."   I don't think it's merely about semantics.   I think he caught the essence of the gospel lesson I just read.

Texts like this one from Matthew provide rich material for exploring the unique demands of following Jesus.  It is less about a particular set of beliefs, than it is a willingness to live as Jesus lived.  How are our lives different because of Jesus? In what ways does our faith bring us into conflict with the dominant culture? Is a disciple of Christ any different from anyone else? The earliest Christians asked these questions and addressed them in stories, letters, sermons, and other writings that eventually became sacred scripture. The same questions remain relevant today.

As many of you know this past Wednesday evening our Presbytery met for its May meeting to deal with a very challenging piece of business:  the request of the largest church in the Presbytery to be dismissed to a transitional unit of another, more theologically conservative Presbyterian denomination. 

For those of you who need a quick "Presbyterian primer," the Presbytery is a geographic area of churches - in our case, most of greater Cleveland, from the PA border to Lorain, but only as far south as Solon, Brecksville and Medina.  There are approximately 50 churches in our Presbytery - the Presbytery of the Western Reserve.  Like me, all Presbyterian clergy are members of a Presbytery - not a local church.  In addition, every meeting includes an equal number of elders:  those who have been elected at the congregational level to serve on our governing board, the Session.  Barb Ramage Thornton was elected as our elder commissioner for this meeting.

Without going into details --  many of which I don't really know, the process of Bay Presbyterian Church deciding to leave the Presbyterian Church (USA) began years ago.  The General Assembly (that's the national level of Presbyterians - a different group of   clergy and elders elected by each Presbytery each time the General Assembly meets) met last in 2006.  That General Assembly approved a long-awaited report from the task force on the Peace, Unity and Purity of the Church.  While open to a broad range of interpretations, some in the denomination felt it to be the so-called, "last straw," and began movement to distance themselves from the Presbyterian Church, USA.  Bay was among those churches.

After a period of discernment, and attempting to work with the Presbytery to reach a conclusion that would honor Christ and be fair to all involved, the two sides reached an impasse.  In March, a motion was brought to the Presbytery from the Session of Bay Presbyterian Church that in my opinion had no possibility of a positive vote in the Presbytery.  Our Presbytery ordinarily does not vote on controversial issues without time for individuals to educate themselves on all of the issues involved, so no vote was taken.

At the March meeting we heard from members of the Bay Session, we heard from members of the negotiating team, and we heard from countless pastors and elders within the Presbytery of wildly differing views.  For the first time in years, I actually found myself at the microphone - more than once. This meeting was one of the most unsettling, disturbing meetings I have ever witnessed in the church. The tension was palpable.  Anger was the most dominant emotion.  It seemed that most folks were intent on being "right" and making sure that the opposing side understood why they were "wrong" particularly about what they believed to be true.

By the end, I had simply given up that there was any hope of a positive outcome.  I had long ago resigned myself to the fact that Bay would be splitting from the Presbyterian Church USA.  I had hoped that the process would be less divisive and hurtful to so many.

Both Barb and I returned home that evening depressed. I feared that the only option was for the case to be taken to the civil courts, something which has occurred recently as nearby as Hudson.  If that occurred, truly no one would "win," and the Church (capital "C") of Jesus Christ would indeed be wounded.  We didn't look very different than any other group of people experiencing deep differences of opinion.  The fact that we were disciples of Christ seemed to make no difference in our actions.  So as Barb and I anticipated the meeting this past Wednesday, it was with little joy.

Why would I choose to walk you through this rather painful part of the ministry of our Presbytery?  Why bring up what some would call "church politics"?  I've heard many of you - old and new members alike - indicate your distaste for such nastiness in the church.  Indeed, many would indicate it's the reason they have left the church. 

I am sharing this rather long and drawn out process with you, because somewhere in the middle of the whole thing, being "Christ-like" took precedence over being "Christian."   Following Jesus became more important than believing the so-called "right" thing. And that's exactly what I believe Jesus is calling his disciples to do in this familiar passage from Matthew.   It's also what I believe you and I are called to do.  Hang in there with me for "the rest of the story."

As I shared with you last Sunday, an email arrived from the Presbytery office about a week before the meeting.    Attached was a replacement motion for the one presented in March.  Somehow (I would give credit to the Spirit of God here), the negotiations reopened between a smaller group of individuals and the outcome was a means of dismissing the Bay church that was unanimously approved by the Bay Session and by the Mission Council of the Presbytery - in other words, the folks most closely involved stood behind it.  Both sides listened.  Both sides began to hear what the other was saying.  Both sides compromised.

Suddenly, my view of the upcoming meeting was dramatically changed.  Where I saw no human possibility, God moved and called and people followed.

As Barb and I entered the church where the meeting was being held, there were large signs indicating no photography or recording of the proceedings was to occur (apparently the press had suggested they might come.  In fact there was an article in the Plain Dealer this week).  Those of us with the right to vote were given special name tags.  Other guests were invited to sit outside of the main sanctuary.  Every microphone had signs indicated "for" "against" "point of order" "question." for individuals to raise when they came to the microphone to speak.  It was the most organized, formal Presbytery meeting I've attended in 25 years.

After gathering around scripture and some opening pieces of business, the Session of Bay Presbyterian Church, the Mission Council of Presbytery, and the group initially assigned to negotiate a settlement lined up across the entire front of the sanctuary and shared how they had come to a unanimous replacement motion.  Person after person, from both "sides" talked about the sleepless nights they had endured and their sense that God was calling them to do more, to go the second mile, to live through this process in a Christ-like manner.  It was a spirit-filled time.

Now being good Presbyterians, we did have to open the floor to debate.  It was rather interesting.  Only one person spoke directly against it.  Virtually everyone else came to the microphone and ended up raising both the "for" and "against" signs.  All in all, they were saddened that the division was going to take place, but felt that this was about as good as we could do.  Unlike the March meeting, few people seemed to feel the need to convince others about what they needed to believe.  More spoke of what we needed to do.

The feeling in the room was totally different than two months before.  No one was happy - after all, who can feel good about the equivalent of a church divorce?  Some were still frustrated with Bay and others with the Presbytery.  Long before the allotted amount of time was up, the question was called for and a vote was taken by secret ballot.  It was apparent that the motion would pass.  It was time for us to move on with the real business of the church - serving the world in Jesus' name. 

Knowing that it would pass, I chose to abstain.  I still had many concerns.  My vote was not intended as a devaluing of the process - not at all.  If I have ever sensed the Spirit of God moving within a diverse body, this was it.  Rather, my vote was my way of saying, "this isn't without pain."  And I surprised myself by choking up while we sang hymns while the ballots were counted. 

Yet through my tears (I was glad Barb had tissues in her purse!) I was proud to be a Presbyterian.  Those of us who gathered - somber though it was, offered a valuable witness that even in the process of separating, all of us, regardless of our differing viewpoints, could act as followers of Jesus - Christ-like, instead of merely Christian.  If you want to know what you truly believe, look at your actions.

And that is what Jesus is saying at the conclusion of Matthew's Sermon on the Mount, which I read today.  Simply calling Jesus "Lord" isn't what it's about.  It's about making sure that we listen - really listen to what Jesus has to say - and act on it.

If we look at the whole Sermon on the Mount, following Jesus is a counter-cultural event - taking us far beyond a list of do's and don'ts, far beyond the rules of the law, to the law of love - the most demanding law of all.  We're told not to judge, to rid ourselves of the love of money, to pray for our enemies!  Anyone who ever told you that following Jesus would not be costly was not telling the truth.  As all of us witnessed Wednesday evening, following Jesus is challenging - and costly.

You know how easy it is to hear something and think, "Yeah - that's right!"   It's also amazingly easy to go out and not do one thing about it. Jesus told this story, because hearing - which is important - is not enough.  We're asked to take all that Jesus gives us and put it into the very structure of our lives.

Beloved author C.S. Lewis once wrote that when you lose your temper, you are tempted to excuse yourself by saying, "I'm sorry about that outburst, but I was really provoked! That situation just made me angry all of a sudden!" Alas, Lewis writes, the truth is probably more dire. For most people anyway the situation did not suddenly make you an angry person so much as it merely became the occasion that revealed what an angry person you just generally are.

Our challenge is to look at who Jesus calls us to be, and how he calls us to act, and seek to align the behavior of our work-a-day lives with our deepest beliefs.  If you're like me, that may look like a pretty stiff challenge.  I know how often I am more interested in looking "Christian," than in the costly effort of following Jesus.  Living a life that is more than lip service to being a disciple of Christ is tough going.

Here's the reality.  On our own, we can't do it.  Just like the groups in the Presbytery that reached an impasse in March, it took the grace of God, the Spirit of God working among and between them to come to a solution that all could live with, even if it wasn't perfect.  Instead of an unnecessary and expensive lawsuit, God found another way.

Today as we come to the table, let's open ourselves to the Spirit of God in our lives - in all the places where we may have given up, where we find it hard to be Christ-like.  That's where it all begins, when our words are translated into action.