Sunday, February 17, 2019

What Being a Christian Really Means

Acts 11:19-30 by Rev. Susan Lukey
Series:Winter 2019 - Called to be the Church

Christians. Disciples. Believers. Followers of the Way. Saints. These are all terms that were used by the followers of Jesus in the first century, terms that we still use to this day. But what does it mean to be a Christian, a disciple of Jesus, a follower of the Way or even one of the saints? When you think of your faith, how do you name yourself?... So whether we call ourselves Christians, believers, disciples, followers of the Way or saints, the attributes that people should most notice in us are these two: radical inclusiveness and radical generousity. The sad thing is that Christian has come to be associated with something other than inclusiveness. The term Christian has become linked with judgement, with exclusion of certain groups of people, with moral pronouncements that lack compassion and understanding. I am not sure that non-Christians would look at Christians, in general, today and immediately say, “Those are the people who are radically inclusive and radically generous. They welcome everyone and they are always ready to share what they have with anyone in need.” I’m not sure that that is how others would define those of us who call ourselves Christian today. I tend to hear words such as hypocrites, judgmental, old-fashioned, and irrelevant. Or perhaps worse is that we aren’t seen as any different than anyone else in our society – nothing makes us stand out as Christians. Yes, we are to be humble, and not make a show of being Christian. But how do we, with our words and actions, show radical inclusiveness and radical generousity?
Duration:16 mins 41 secs