Year B — Proper 18

The Rev. Gerald W. Keucher

On September 12, 2001 people in Washington DC noticed a piece of graffiti. It read, “O God, save us from the people who believe in you.”

Five years after September 11 th the world seems to be engulfed in a vast religious conflict. I think we would do well to think about this a little.

Some people say that everything we call God or religion is a human invention. According to them it’s not that God created us in His image; rather people have invented the gods they’ve wanted to have. On the other hand, some religious people will argue strenuously — even violently — that every jot and tittle of their religious texts and religious practices are the direct revelation of the God Who created the universe.

I think both sides of that debate are partly right and partly wrong. I’d like to sketch out an idea I hope you’ll find useful as you examine your own life of faith and your practice of discipleship.

People do invent religions. The human need to create recognizable religious practices is overwhelming. We all do it in ways I’ll explain. Every religious system has elements of what I would call “the religion people invent.” Most religious systems also have at least something of what I’d call “God’s way.” I’d like to suggest that there are the “religions people invent” and God’s way.

OK. How can we tell which is which? What are the “religions people invent” like? What is God’s way like?

The “religions people invent” have some common threads. There’s always a bit of magic thinking, and there’s always a heavy emphasis on the efforts we must make to keep ourselves in good standing. But the main thing with the “religions people invent” is that they are always about maintaining the identity of the group in opposition to those who are not part of the group. The “religions people invent” are always about us knowing who we are because we’re not like those bad people over there.

In the “religions people invent” some magic elements are usually present. Say these prayers for so many days and you’ll get what you want. But if you don’t say the right prayers or have the right attitude, it won’t work. “Religions people invent” always have ways of manipulating the god. Wear these clothes; do the ceremony this way; recite these spells, and you’ll make the god do what you want.

“Religions people invent” are always big on works righteousness. We have to please the god by behaving correctly. In the “religions people invent” the god always has the power to reward and punish. Our task is to learn the rules and follow them so we can earn the god’s favor.

And most importantly, “religions people invent” are always about enforcing the purity of the group by making sure that everyone conforms. In “religions people invent” the identity of the group depends on us not being like them, so if one of us starts to act like one of them, they must be made to conform, or else they have to be eliminated from the group. Sometimes it’s enough to eliminate them from the group, but very often people think it’s necessary to eliminate them, period.

So the “religions people invent” are always coercive. The authorities have to enforce the dress codes and the codes of behavior. Outsiders and non-conformists are always a threat to the purity of our identity. We must change them or crush them.

The human need to establish and maintain a group identity in opposition to some other group is so strong and all of us are involved in one or more “religions people invent.” The “religions people invent” don’t need to look like what we commonly think of as religions. Some people — often in harmless ways — make politics, sports, or ideologies into “religions people invent.” Wear your lucky shirt on the day of the big game. Invoke the god’s blessing on the candidate you support. If anyone questions your actions, tell them they are giving aid and comfort to the enemy.

Two things are clear about what I’m calling “religions people invent.” First, the Bible and our tradition have elements of all that I’ve talked about so far. They’re not the essence of Christianity — in fact they’re mostly distortions of Jesus’ teachings — so we do well to be able to identify them.

Second, it’s clear that the “religions people invent” will always lead to violence. And all religious violence comes out of the “religions people invent.” In fact, all violence — not just what we call religious violence — grows from that poisonous way of establishing and maintaining the strength and identity of our group over against them. In that sense, all violence is religious violence. And there’s no exit from human violence; it’s a spiral of revenge that can end only with the complete subjugation or total elimination of the other.

So what characterizes God’s way? It’s the one word, the one concept that the “religions people invent” never have — God’s way is forgiveness. We know that forgiveness is from God because the idea of forgiveness is completely foreign to our way of maintaining our identity by scapegoating and persecuting the other. That’s why God had to become human to tell us about it and to show us how it works. God’s way of forgiveness couldn’t possibly get through our heads otherwise, and we Christians haven’t always been good about distinguishing God’s way from the religions people invent.

The “religions people invent” are about our actions of manipulating, appeasing and pleasing the god. The “religions people invent” are about taking revenge on others for past wrongs. In the words of today’s Collect, the “religions people invent” are about people who confide in their own strength. God’s way of forgiveness is about God’s action of rewriting the past so that revenge is unnecessary and we can have a future. The people who practice God’s way are making their boast only of God’s mercy.

About fifteen years ago, when the apartheid regime was ending after 40 years of brutal oppression, many predicted that South Africa would be consumed in a conflagration of violence and revenge. That would have been the normal way for people to act, right?

Right. But because Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu committed themselves to following God’s way, they spared South Africa almost all of that. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission Archbishop Tutu chaired allowed South Africa to follow the way of forgiveness rather than the spiral of revenge that has no end. A few years later Archbishop Tutu wrote a book whose title we would do well to ponder in our post-9/11 world. The title of the book is No Future without Forgiveness.

Other things flow from the way of forgiveness, things like 1) understanding that all people are equally human; 2) knowing that we aren’t always right about everything; and 3) wanting to give others the respect we want to receive from them.

God’s way of forgiveness is not weakness, though the bullies in charge of our public discourse today want to say that God’s way is weakness. What is weaker than people who incite real or rhetorical mob violence? What is weaker or more pathetic than a bully? What is weaker than people who allow their future to be closed off because they can’t get over the past?

What is stronger than people whose identities come as a gift from God rather than from the cycle of violence? Who was stronger — the peaceful civil rights protester or the angry policeman with the baton, the hose, and the tear gas? Who was stronger — the suicidal terrorists who flew the planes into the Trade Center, or the firefighters and responders who gave their lives when they rushed in to save others? God’s way of forgiveness is the only real strength. The “religions people invent” are weak crutches that cause much of the misery of the world but can never achieve what they say they want.

God’s way of forgiveness doesn’t mean that we don’t defend ourselves. But God’s way does mean
that we refuse to treat others the way we’ve been treated,
that we use no more force than is necessary,
that we respect the human dignity of those we are fighting, and
that we move to bind up the wounds and seek to correct the roots of economic injustice.

God’s way of forgiveness is the only path to a future that won’t be like the past. God’s way of forgiveness allows us to stop being part of the never-ending cycle of violence of the “religions people invent.”

God has given us fearsome freedom for great good and for horrific evil. We saw both horror and heroism five years ago. But I proclaim to you what you already know. In the words of the old hymn, “This is my Father’s world. O let me ne’er forget that tho’ the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the ruler yet.”

We can bring our sorrows and griefs to Him, because He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. We can bring Him our fears for tomorrow, because He holds all our times in His pierced hand. We can bring Him our broken hearts, because His Body is broken for us every week in the Sacrament of the Altar. Hold out your hands to receive the cleansing, forgiving, and strengthening love of God.