Matthew 20:25-28
Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
A couple of weeks ago I was in the locker room at the fitness center I belong to when I overheard what was obviously the tail-end of a conversation. Two men about my age were evidently talking about religion as they were getting dressed. This is the part of the conversation that I heard:
First man: “....well, you have to remember that all religions are evil by definition.”
Second man: “I guess it depends how seriously you take it.”
That’s all I heard, but it was enough to both make me mad and cause me to think about what response I would have given to the first guy if I had been part of the conversation.
I would have wanted to ask the man how he defined “religion?” If by “religion” he meant human systems of beliefs, rituals and laws that have been responsible for everything from crusades to jihads to “ethnic cleansing” I would have probably agreed with him to at least some degree.
But if, by “religion,” he meant faith in Jesus Christ or participation in his church, I would have told him he couldn’t be more wrong.
I would say that because Christianity, properly understood, is not a religion at all; but rather, a relationship. Jesus didn’t call us to form or join a “religion,” he called us to follow him.
He called us to love our neighbor as ourselves; to love and pray for our enemies; and to serve others as he served us.
Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
I don’t know what prompted that man to say, “all religions are evil by definition,” but I would suspect he has had some negative personal experiences with the church or with those who represented the church. I know for sure it wasn’t a clear understanding of genuine Christianity because I can’t fathom that anyone in their right mind would find love, forgiveness, and humble service to be evil.
Since overhearing that brief bit of conversation I have moved from anger to a kind of sadness. It makes me sad that there are people who have experienced too much religion and not enough Jesus. It makes me wonder what I can do, what we can do as a church, to help people move from “religion” to a relationship with Jesus.
I think Jesus would say that it begins with understanding and being willing to demonstrate what he means when he says,
whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Pastor Brian Coffey
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