Are You A “Luke 6-er”?

The Rev. Whitworth Ferguson III
Manassas Presbyterian Church
Manassas, Virginia
June 1, 2008

Are You A “Luke 6-er”?
Amos 7:7-8
Luke 6:27-38

There is something percolating out there,
bubbling, simmering…
Something’s happening, right before our eyes.
It may still be off to the side, out of our main focus,
but it’s there.
It is exciting, yet at the same time unnerving:
Exciting because of the energy and possibilities,
yet unnerving because challenges, uncertainty, and change
are all part of the mix.

What I am talking about is what is happening
among our younger Christians throughout this country
and in fact throughout the world.
These younger Christians are peers
of those young men and women
we recognized and honored today,
young men and women ages 18 to 29.
They come from all denominations, all ethnicities,
all backgrounds, from every corner of the globe.

This is a group that is hard to categorize,
precisely because they don’t want to be categorized.
This is a group whose focus is not on religion and church
as much as it is on faith and Jesus Christ.

They have little interest in what they see as
dated teachings, such as what Bishop John Robinson
of the Church of England
has called the “three-decker” model
that’s preached from most pulpits,
with heaven above, hell below
and a woefully earthy earth in between.
(Robinson, Honest to God)
They have a deep awareness that,
as we talked about last week,
God is not some deity beyond our reach,
sitting high above the clouds,
or off in some far distant galaxy,
but a living God, with us,
breathing his Spirit in and through us;
A God who revealed himself
and reveals himself still in the risen and living Jesus Christ.

They have no interest in coming to church
as a way to purchase fire insurance,
to keep themselves from being dropped into the lowest level.
They come to church to grow in faith and discipleship,
to do more than learn about Christ,
but instead learn Christ:
learn what he teaches so they can follow more faithfully .
The only word that begins with “h” that concerns them
is hypocrisy,
for what these younger Christians seek
is authenticity in their faith.
As a result, they are turning from ideology,
rejecting labels, such as conservative or liberal,
and even denominational labels if necessary.

This emerging movement is vastly different
from the last major change
we’ve seen in the church,
the one that began about 20 years ago
with the rise of the mega-churches,
those churches that draw thousands and thousands
to worship services each Sunday in cavernous auditoriums.
The halcyon days of the mega-church may in fact be in the past
as seekers look for something
that is more than just a visceral experience.
The effort to be more “contemporary”
too often dropped substance and depth in the process.
The loud, throbbing beat,
the flashing lights,
the pastor kitted out in Hawaiian shirt and headset,
have grown stale for many.
Interestingly, there has been a significant growth in
“house churches”, small, non-denominational groups
that take us back to Christianity’s first 300 years,
before Constantine turned the Christian church
into an institution.

We always look for terms to define groups;
it makes life easier for the sociologists and writers,
but it automatically categorizes and limits the group.
Still, we might call these younger Christians “Luke 6-ers”.
“Luke 6-ers” because Jesus’ message in this chapter of the gospel
is foundational for how they live their faith.

Did you hear what Jesus was saying in Luke 6,
what he is teaching us?
Love even your enemies.
Yes, love even your enemies.
And Jesus pushes the point so we don’t miss it:
“I am not impressed when you love those you like;
Find a way to reach out in love to even those you don’t like,
those you consider your enemies,
even those you fear.
But don’t do it in a patronizing, condescending way.
Be authentic; make it genuine.
That’s what I am looking for in my disciples.
Remember: it won’t be by your religion
that you will be known as my followers,
but by your love.
And, of course, Do good.
Do good through church,
but do good in the work you do, too.
You are my disciples Monday through Friday, 9 to 5,
just as much as you are on Sunday morning.
Do good because that is loving faithfully and fearlessly.

“And whatever you do,
Don’t judge.
And when I say don’t judge,
you know what I mean:
don’t criticize; don’t gossip;
don’t talk down; don’t talk about;
don’t sneer, don’t sniff:
‘he’s so lame,
she’s like, so not cool.’
How is that kind of talk loving?
And if your talk isn’t grounded in love,
then neither are you.”

Luke 6 is known as Jesus’ Sermon on the Plain.
It is similar, but not identical to,
the Sermon on the Mount
we find in Matthew’s gospel.
Matthew’s version of the sermon has more to it
than what we find in Luke,
but Luke ends with Jesus asking a question
Matthew did not record:
“Why do you call me Lord and not do what I tell you?”
"If you hear my words and don’t do what I tell you,
don’t live your life by my words,
you’ve built your spiritual house
on a foundation that’s sure to collapse."
Eugene Peterson imagines Jesus saying,
“These words I speak to you are not mere additions to your life,
homeowner improvements in your standard of living.
They are foundation words,
words to build a life on. …
Work these words into your life.”
(Eugene Peterson, The Message).

And that’s what "Luke 6-ers" are trying to do.
Jim Wallis, the editor of Sojourners magazine
sees this cohort as part of a Great Awakening,
as faith in America shifts from culture wars,
from ideology, from partisanship,
from right versus left,
even from denominationalism
to a new spirituality
deeply rooted in Christ.

This new Great Awakening,
which these young folks are part of,
perhaps even driving,
brings a new plumb-line to how we measure
our faithfulness.
It is not a plumb-line that someone else
uses to measure you;
and certainly not a plumb line for you to use
to measure the faith of another.
It is a plumb line for you to use yourself
to help you to true yourself,
and right yourself
as you build a strong foundation on Christ.

“Luke 6-ers” are not just limited, of course,
to young folks –
we should all be “Luke 6-ers”,
and “Matthew 25-ers”
and “John 13-ers”.

As you come to this table this morning
to share in this meal
which our Lord has prepared for us
and to which our Lord invites us,
think about the words we heard our Lord speak to us
in his Sermon on the Plain:
Love your enemies,
Do to others as you would have them do to you,
Do good,
Do not judge,
Do not condemn,
Forgive and you will be forgiven.

Take the words in,
Drink the words in,
work these words into your life,
make them your plumb-line.

Come to this table and be fed,
and then, regardless of your age,
go out, pledged anew to Christ,
that you too will be a “Luke 6-er”.
AMEN