Mtr Kelli Joyce

Dear Friends in Christ,

I've heard the phrase "it's not a religion, it's a relationship" used in reference to Christian faith all my life. Mostly, it frustrates me. Christianity is obviously a religion, by almost any definition of the word. And "it's a relationship" is often used in ways that make faith a purely personal and private matter, with no essential role for community, and no clear place for accountability to others. It's an oversimplification, and those get my hackles up in general. It's not a phrase I like very much.

(Perhaps you can sense that there's a "however" coming.)

However, I think that today's readings invite us to reflect on how we have, in our own generation and across history, misunderstood what God wants from us. In Jeremiah, God says "on the day that I brought your ancestors out of the land of Egypt, I did not speak to them or command them concerning burnt-offerings and sacrifices. But this command I gave them, 'Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people.'" In Romans, Paul emphasizes over and over that God counted Abraham as just, not because of good works or obedience to the law (which had not yet even been given!), but because Abraham believed God. And in John we see that many people were unable to recognize God when he was right in front of them, because he did not fit with their understanding of how God would choose to act in the world. Their understanding of the "rules of the game," as it were, kept them from recognizing the new and unprecedented thing that God had chosen to do.

Christianity is a religion, yes. It has tenets and practices and institutions. But the God that we proclaim, as Christians, is not a God who asks us for rote worship and adherence to a strict checklist of dos and don'ts. We serve and proclaim a God who, in fact, deeply longs to be in relationship with all of creation and all of humanity at every level - individuals, families, churches, towns, cities, and nations. We serve a God who says "Heed my voice, and I will be your God, and you will be my people." A God whose grace is powerful enough to make up for our shortcomings, crediting our trust as righteousness. A God who chose to walk among us, and who, at the last, chose the cross because he would rather die than lose us. Would rather die than lose you.

It's a religion, yes. But it is, at its core, a religion based on the Good News of a God who yearns to be in right relationship with every one of us, which has been made possible through the life, death, and resurrection of God the Son - Jesus of Nazareth. He really does love you, personally. He cares for you, and knows you by name. This week, consider how you might deepen your relationship with Jesus, who is alive and reigns on high, and intercedes for you and for me.

In peace,
Mtr Kelli