Introducing Nicodemus
I’ve added a new link to my blogroll (as well as cleaning out a few outdated ones). The name of the blog is “Nicodemus at Night.” It is written anonymously by a friend of mine as he explores some questions about religion, namely “Why am I a Christian?” It is a new project, so only a few posts are up so far, but I post a link here because I think it is an important question, one that I ask myself quite often, but that I think we as a Church do not ask ourselves enough.
Why is Christianity important? Why should anyone bother with faith? with worship? with prayer? It’s all well and good to engage in the practices of piety because one has been raised in a religious environment or because it makes us feel good, but what consequence does one’s personal faith journey have on the world that Jesus Christ came to save?
Especially as I prepare sermons, I often find myself wrestling with Nicodemus’ other question: “Why should anyone else be Christian?” Of course, Jesus commands us to “go and make disciples of all nations…” but why? Jesus was not one for blindly following (or giving) rules, so one can guess that he had a good reason for giving the command. However, our modern-day Christianity is too often about fire insurance and bus tickets. We believe and/or attend church so that we don’t condemn ourselves to hell (“fire insurance”) or so that we are assured of our seat on the bus bound for glory (“bus tickets”).
Is Chrisitan faith simply a 'bus ticket' to guarantee our trip to heaven?
As I preach, I consistently find myself faced with the question, “So what?” What difference do God’s love and grace and forgiveness and all that make in our lives, in the lives of those around us, in the life of the world? Aside from a few extra smiles and politeness, how is this world a better place because of the gospel? These are questions worth struggling with. If our faith as Christians is focused entirely on the apocalyptic and what happens after we die, then that faith is useless. How does that faith have concrete, meaningful presence in our lives today?
I continue to wrestle with this, along with Nicodemus. I invite you to wrestle with it, too. Doubt is not a bad thing; it clears out the cobwebs of neglect and complacency and makes room for living, vibrant faith. Whether you are a person of faith, somebody searching meaning, or even one who is happily areligious, please check out Nicodemus’ blog, leave comments and enter the conversation.
I had imagined a much nicer bus…maybe even a private jet.
You’d be surprised