Since I Promised...

here is the text of the message I delivered at the UC College chapel two weeks ago. Like I addressed in an earlier posting, Christianity here (and in many other places) is troublingly one-dimensional, and I really tried to address and challenge that with this message. And, judging by the faces of the students in the chapel that night, I think I succeeded pretty well in challenging people. They looked as if I had gotten up in front of the altar, stripped naked, painted myself blue and punched a puppy in the face. With a screwdriver. They were horrified.

However, after the service, when I went over to the Principal and my advisor and asked, "So I'm never allowed to speak here again, am I?," they both said that it was a really good message and one the students really needed to hear.

I'll let you decide. Here it is:

I am a musician. It is through music that I make sense of the world I live in; it is with music that I tell stories; it is with music that I mark off the passage of time. Music is woven very deeply into the fabric of my life-- I take it seriously and love it deeply.

So I am very troubled by a type of music that Americans call "Pop," short for Popular, music. Pop music exists simply to make people feel good. It has no meaning and no message. It is nice to listen to because it is easy and safe-- neither the music nor the lyrics ask us to think or challenge our preconceptions. It makes us feel good and does not ask anything of us. And to people like me who value and love music, pop music cheapens and devalues the relationship between the listener, the artist, and the music.

There is an even more deeply troubling trend in Christianity in America, and I have seen it in India as well. This is a phenomenon that I will call Pop Theology, and the same terms I used to describe Pop music can be used to describe Pop theology.

Pop theology exists just to make us feel good. It has no meaning and no message. It is nice to listen to because it makes us feel good but doesn't challenge us or ask anything of us. It doesn't make us think and it doesn't challenge our beliefs, preconceptions, or lives.

Pop theology gives us a safe God and a safe Christ; a God who strengthens us when we are weak, forgives our sins, works everything out for our good, and answers our prayers in the affirmative. It gives us a Christ who sacrificed Himself so that we would not have to suffer, who offered up His life so that we could be sanctified, saved, and made clean, who rose from the dead to give us assurance of everlasting life. And these things are all important and true. But when we expect all these blessings and offer nothing in return-- when we accept the gift of Christ's sacrifice but ignore the message of His life-- we cheapen and devalue the grace that we are given.

Our God is NOT a safe God. Jesus is NOT a safe Christ. In Jesus' ministry on earth, He stood in direct opposition to the unjust power structures of His day. He challenged people's beliefs, preconceptions, and lives-- especially those who were considered particularly holy, pious, and devout. We can not accept the triumphant and risen Lord unless we also accept this living Christ and the messages of His life and the challenges He posed.

Jesus himself was very clear on this point. In John 12:26, He says, "whoever serves me must follow me." Every gospel tells us of Jesus' command to "take up your cross and follow me." In Matthew, His words are even stronger: "anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me." As Christians, we are constantly called to take up our crosses and follow Christ. Christianity is a call to action. Yes, we have to rely completely on God. Yes, we have to give Him praise, glory, and honour. But Christianity can not be just passive submission to the God we love. What it means to be a Christian is to follow the living Christ; to take up our crosses, follow the path that Christ walked, and live out the message of His life.

So what does this all mean for us? What is this cross we have to carry? What does it really mean to follow Christ? And why do we need to take this cross with us as we follow Him? If we closely look at Jesus' life, I think we will find that these questions, and thus their answers, are very closely bound to one another.

To begin to answer these questions, we need to look at the truth of the cross-- not the mystery or the symbol of the cross. So, what is a cross? Yes, it's a symbol of Jesus' death and triumph over death, it's a symbol of His sacrifice and our salvation. True. But that is the mystery, the symbol of the cross. What is a cross really? It is a torture device. It is a means of execution for (dramatic pause) criminals. Jesus was killed by hanging on a cross because he was considered a criminal. The life that He led, and the life that He calls us to, put Him in direct opposition to the secular and religious powers of His time. At a time when might was right, He taught non-violence and compassion. At a time when status and affluence went hand in hand, He told the rich and powerful to give up their riches and power. Jesus undermined social conventions and values by spending time with prostitutes, lepers, and tax collectors. He taught love and compassion for the marginalized in a highly stratified society. All of these teachings and practices threatened to unravel the fabric of society and start a political, social, and economic revolution. Jesus was a radical; a revolutionary. And as such, He was perceived as a challenge and a threat to those in power, and so was condemned to die a criminal's death on the cross. Jesus was not a safe Christ.

Jesus' message has not changed in the 2000 years since His death. Nor has society changed much either. These teachings, if put into practice, would still revolutionize the world. Christians who follow Christ's teachings (and what is a Christian if not someone who follows Christ's teachings?) would still be a threat to the people and institutions in power. So when we agree to take up our crosses and follow Christ, we agree to question, challenge, speak out against, and take action against unjust political, social, economic, and religious policies and institutions. We agree to let our lives be examples of a different way; a way of peace, of poverty, of humility, and compassion-- even if this puts us at odds with the powers and values of our time. We agree to live with and as those on the margins of our societies, and to be branded as outcast(e)s, radicals, and threats.

According to Jesus Himself, in the verse from Matthew, only if we live like this; only if we take up the cross and take on the role of the radical and the dissenter, and follow the dangerous teachings and example of His life; only then are we worthy of him. Only then are we deserving of His sacrifice and all its attendant blessings. No, ours is not a safe Christ.