Majoring in Christianity

Majoring in Christianity
Rev. Mark Schaefer
Kay Spiritual Life Center
April 29, 2007
Deuteronomy 8:11-20; Galatians 6:7-10; Luke 12:16-20

Deut. 8:11 Take care that you do not forget the LORD your God, by failing to keep his commandments, his ordinances, and his statutes, which I am commanding you today. 12 When you have eaten your fill and have built fine houses and live in them, 13 and when your herds and flocks have multiplied, and your silver and gold is multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied, 14 then do not exalt yourself, forgetting the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, 15 who led you through the great and terrible wilderness, an arid wasteland with poisonous snakes and scorpions. He made water flow for you from flint rock, 16 and fed you in the wilderness with manna that your ancestors did not know, to humble you and to test you, and in the end to do you good. 17 Do not say to yourself, "My power and the might of my own hand have gotten me this wealth." 18 But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, so that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your ancestors, as he is doing today. 19 If you do forget the LORD your God and follow other gods to serve and worship them, I solemnly warn you today that you shall surely perish. 20 Like the nations that the LORD is destroying before you, so shall you perish, because you would not obey the voice of the LORD your God.

Gal. 6:7 Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow. 8 If you sow to your own flesh, you will reap corruption from the flesh; but if you sow to the Spirit, you will reap eternal life from the Spirit. 9 So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest-time, if we do not give up. 10 So then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all, and especially for those of the family of faith.

Luke 12:16 Then he told them a parable: "The land of a rich man produced abundantly. 17 And he thought to himself, 'What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?' 18 Then he said, 'I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, 'Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.' 20 But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?'

I. BEGINNING

Our former University President used to mention in nearly every speech to the University that AU has a culture of service. That we as an institution send more people off to serve in the Peace Corps than most others. That our students volunteer all across the city and spend their first week as freshmen participating in the Freshman Service Experience. He would frequently point out that SIS is a school not of International Studies but rather is the School of International Service, befitting the values of the institution. Values, I was always constrained to point out, did not come out of a vacuum, but were instilled by the Methodist Church (Dean Goodman of SIS is always happy to talk about the vision of Bishop Oxnam, who founded SIS).

And so if we were to explore how students in the School of International Service were about to embark on careers that were Christian vocations, we would probably have a relatively easy time of making those connections. Now, I know it's hard to believe, but there are other schools here at American other than SIS. I have actually met people who are majoring in fields other than International Relations.

Now, it turns out that two of the largest non-SIS schools are the School of Public Affairs and the Kogod School of Business. And we have to confess, that if we were to look for ways in which business and government could be Christian vocations, we would com up against a number of stumbling blocks. For it seems that our daily lives do not confirm those things to be true.

II. THE PROBLEM WITH GOVERNMENT

Especially for those of us who live here in Washington. Washington where the business of the city is Government. We have city government and federal government. And politics is a way of life here. I bet, more people watch C-SPAN in this town than in the rest of the country combined. But the politics are not always about seeking the public good.

A. Corruption

We have seen recent lobby scandals, in fact a constant series of scandals with the -gate suffix. It seems every day we are confronted by stories of corruption or scandal. It seems that a certain attitude begins to arise in most elected leaders that they are entitled to the privileges that they enjoy, they work hard and the power that they receive as a result is but compensation for their dedicated labor. Politics and government do not seem to be the sources of much moral inspiration and example.

B. Power

Likely, it is because of power. Power is a very seductive force. The old saw that "power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely" can be seen everywhere. Much of the political strategizing in this country seems to have nothing to do with achieving legislative aims or policy goals as it does with keeping one's own group in power. As a result, there is less of a focus on the good of the people as there is on ensuring one's political viability. Power, not the public good, becomes the central value.

III. THE PROBLEM WITH BUSINESS

And if there is trouble finding the "Christian" nature of government, then certainly business gives us even more pause.

A. Exploitation of workers

When we think of big business, images of soulless corporations, exploited and underpaid workers, and frustrated customers. We remember scandals where corporate leaders have raided pension plans to balance their books and then when their companies fail their employees are left without any financial protection, while the leaders retire with millions.

We think of large retail chains that come into small towns and drive all the small businesses out, replacing community oriented jobs with jobs that do not pay benefits to their workers.

We think of underpaid foreign workers hired to produce goods so as to avoid paying higher wages here in the U.S. We think of massive multinational corporations who are more powerful than some nation states.

B. Accumulation of Wealth

And we think of the mind-numbing accumulation of wealth. The sheer amount of money that is in the hands of the wealthiest in business. The growing gap between the rich and the poor. When we think of business we do not think of something allied with the poor and the needy, but with the wealthy and the powerful. We think not of those whom Jesus ministered to as of the rich young ruler who could not heed Jesus' instruction to give away everything that he owned to the poor and follow him.

We think of the parable from the Gospel of Luke that talks about the accumulation of wealth by a man who will die the next day, whose wealth will come to nothing and will not have served anyone.

When we look at business and government as opportunities for Christian vocation, we are not encouraged.

IV. THE CITY OF GOD AND THE CITY OF MAN

A. Augustine and the City of God

In the early fifth century, the Eternal City of Rome was sacked by raiding barbarian tribes. It was a devastating occurrence for those in the Roman Empire. It was like Pearl Harbor and September 11 th --a devastating and incomprehensible occurrence in the heart of the mightiest empire the world had ever known. Many Romans began to wonder whether this was a consequence of having failed to worship the pagan gods of antiquity--perhaps Christianity had caused this travesty.

Augustine of Hippo wrote his masterpierce City of God in response to this crisis. In it, he noted that it was not the City of God that had been sacked by the barbarians, but the City of Man. He made a distinction between the two:

The City of Man, he wrote, was what Babylon and Rome were. They were cities founded by Cain, wherein their citizens strive for earthly success, for security, and ordered life. He wrote: "In the city of the world both the rulers themselves and the people they dominate are dominated by the lust for domination."

That certainly sounds like the world of government and business that we are familiar with. Certainly they don't sound like the description that Augustine gives of the City of God.

The City of God is equated with Israel and the Church. It was founded by Abel, it is the community of the elect, transcendent over the things of this world out of love for God. The citizens of the City of God live by faith and hope as pilgrims in the world. He wrote: "Whereas in the City of God all citizens serve one another in charity, whether they serve by the responsibilities of office or by duties of obedience."

Certainly few people look at government or business as charitable enterprises in the business of service.

But it is important to note something else Augustine said about the City of God. The City of God was not an identifiable community. One could not look at a group of people and say, "There is the city of God." The city of God and the City of Man overlapped. While later Christian thought would begin to equate the City of God more and more with the Church, this was not necessarily Augustine's original understanding. The two were not as separate. In fact, the citizen of the City of God was meant to be a part of the city of the world. One could use the things of the world as they pertain to things here below, but do not make this earthly life their ultimate end.

What that means is that a Christian can run for office. A Christian can be in business. A Christian can be involved in all aspects of life. But their end is not the same as those of the City of Man. A Christian does not go into politics in order to amass power and domination. The lust for domination does not dominate the Christian. A Christian does not go into business in order to amass wealth. Christians do these things in order to serve God and the City of God--that is: to serve others.

B. Jesus' Instruction

This is, after all, the heart of Jesus' teaching to his disciples about the kinds of leaders they are called to be.

Mark 10:42 So Jesus called them and said to them, "You know that among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. 43 But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. 45 For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many."

Jesus does not tell his disciples to avoid leadership, but rather redefines leadership. It is defined not by lording it over others in power, but by serving others.

C. The Wesleyan Understanding

John Wesley was a believer in the radical equality that the Gospel meant for all people. That being said, he was not a radical in the commonly understood "get rid of all the institutions" way of being a radical.

(1) Government

With regard to government, Wesley was a Tory. He opposed the American Revolution. He was a monarchist, through and through. And yet, he understood that the role of that government was to serve the common good and to serve those in need. He championed prison reform through the political institutions. He corresponded with William Wilberforce, the British legislator who ultimately banned the slave trade. Wesley was a firm believer that the power of government could be used for good ends.

(2) Business

In terms of business, Wesley did not insist on poverty for the Methodists. Rather, he preferred that they live modestly. But not ascetically: he enjoyed his sherry that he would purchase from abroad. He enjoined the Methodists to "Earn all you can, save all you can, give all you can."

By this Wesley affirmed that business and making money were not antithetical to Christian living, they were to be used to serve Christian values. The accumulation of wealth through trade was not meant for its own sake, but for the sake of others.

• END

Can government and business be Christian vocations? Absolutely they can. For there is nothing inherently un-Christian about either. There are pitfalls, but there are pitfalls in the arts and in journalism, too--so you College of Arts and Sciences and School of Communications folks, don't get too self-righteous. Systems can be problematic, even rife with temptation. It may seem that service in government or business is the epitome of the City of Man.

But there is no reason that government and business cannot also reflect the heart of the city of God.

When government leaders become less concerned with political gain and with serving others in humility, when politics becomes once again about compromise and community rather than victory, when power is exercised not for its own sake but for the sake of those who have no power, then something of the City of God can be seen.

When businesses focus not only on the bottom line, but on the welfare of their workers, when the wealth that is generated is given back into the community, when those who are engaged in trade do so not for their own enrichment but for the enrichment of those who lack means, then something of the City of God can be seen.

Those of you who are going into government or to business have a remarkable opportunity. You will enter realms that are not often seen as places in which the love of God can be seen. There is no reason they cannot be.

The love and grace of God are available to everyone, everywhere. We are called by Christ to be witnesses to this love and grace with the entirety of our lives. Whether we are off saving the world in the Peace Corps or whether we are managing a business, we have the opportunity to be ambassadors for the City of God. To show the world that you majored not only in public administration or in business, but that you majored in Christianity as well.

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*Majoring in Christianity* Rev. Mark Schaefer Kay Spiritual Life Center April 29, 2007 Deuteronomy 8:11-20; Galatians 6:7-10; Luke 12:16-20 Deut. 8:11 Take care that you do not forget the LORD your God, by failing to keep his commandments, his ordinances, and his statutes, which I am commanding you today. 12 When you have eaten your fill and have built fine houses and live in them, 13 and when your herds and flocks have multiplied, and your silver and gold is multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied, 14 then do not exalt yourself, forgetting the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, 15 who led you through the great and terrible wilderness, an arid wasteland with poisonous snakes and scorpions. He made water flow for you from flint rock, 16 and fed you in the wilderness with manna that your ancestors did not know, to humble you and to test you, and in the end to do you good. 17 Do not say to yourself, "My power and the might of my own hand have gotten me this wealth." 18 But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, so that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your ancestors, as he is doing today. 19 If you do forget the LORD your God and follow other gods to serve and worship them, I solemnly warn you today that you shall surely perish. 20 Like the nations that the LORD is destroying before you, so shall you perish, because you would not obey the voice of the LORD your God. Gal. 6:7 Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow. 8 If you sow to your own flesh, you will reap corruption from the flesh; but if you sow to the Spirit, you will reap eternal life from the Spirit. 9 So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest-time, if we do not give up. 10 So then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all, and especially for those of the family of faith. Luke 12:16 Then he told them a parable: "The land of a rich man produced abundantly. 17 And he thought to himself, 'What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?' 18 Then he said, 'I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, 'Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.' 20 But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?' I. BEGINNING Our former University President used to mention in nearly every speech to the University that AU has a culture of service. That we as an institution send more people off to serve in the Peace Corps than most others. That our students volunteer all across the city and spend their first week as freshmen participating in the Freshman Service Experience. He would frequently point out that SIS is a school not of International Studies but rather is the School of International Service, befitting the values of the institution. Values, I was always constrained to point out, did not come out of a vacuum, but were instilled by the Methodist Church (Dean Goodman of SIS is always happy to talk about the vision of Bishop Oxnam, who founded SIS). And so if we were to explore how students in the School of International Service were about to embark on careers that were Christian vocations, we would probably have a relatively easy time of making those connections. Now, I know it's hard to believe, but there are other schools here at American other than SIS. I have actually met people who are majoring in fields other than International Relations. Now, it turns out that two of the largest non-SIS schools are the School of Public Affairs and the Kogod School of Business. And we have to confess, that if we were to look for ways in which business and government could be Christian vocations, we would com up against a number of stumbling blocks. For it seems that our daily lives do not confirm those things to be true. II. THE PROBLEM WITH GOVERNMENT Especially for those of us who live here in Washington. Washington where the business of the city is Government. We have city government and federal government. And politics is a way of life here. I bet, more people watch C-SPAN in this town than in the rest of the country combined. But the politics are not always about seeking the public good. A. Corruption We have seen recent lobby scandals, in fact a constant series of scandals with the -gate suffix. It seems every day we are confronted by stories of corruption or scandal. It seems that a certain attitude begins to arise in most elected leaders that they are entitled to the privileges that they enjoy, they work hard and the power that they receive as a result is but compensation for their dedicated labor. Politics and government do not seem to be the sources of much moral inspiration and example. B. Power Likely, it is because of power. Power is a very seductive force. The old saw that "power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely" can be seen everywhere. Much of the political strategizing in this country seems to have nothing to do with achieving legislative aims or policy goals as it does with keeping one's own group in power. As a result, there is less of a focus on the good of the people as there is on ensuring one's political viability. Power, not the public good, becomes the central value. III. THE PROBLEM WITH BUSINESS And if there is trouble finding the "Christian" nature of government, then certainly business gives us even more pause. A. Exploitation of workers When we think of big business, images of soulless corporations, exploited and underpaid workers, and frustrated customers. We remember scandals where corporate leaders have raided pension plans to balance their books and then when their companies fail their employees are left without any financial protection, while the leaders retire with millions. We think of large retail chains that come into small towns and drive all the small businesses out, replacing community oriented jobs with jobs that do not pay benefits to their workers. We think of underpaid foreign workers hired to produce goods so as to avoid paying higher wages here in the U.S. We think of massive multinational corporations who are more powerful than some nation states. B. Accumulation of Wealth And we think of the mind-numbing accumulation of wealth. The sheer amount of money that is in the hands of the wealthiest in business. The growing gap between the rich and the poor. When we think of business we do not think of something allied with the poor and the needy, but with the wealthy and the powerful. We think not of those whom Jesus ministered to as of the rich young ruler who could not heed Jesus' instruction to give away everything that he owned to the poor and follow him. We think of the parable from the Gospel of Luke that talks about the accumulation of wealth by a man who will die the next day, whose wealth will come to nothing and will not have served anyone. When we look at business and government as opportunities for Christian vocation, we are not encouraged. IV. THE CITY OF GOD AND THE CITY OF MAN A. Augustine and the City of God In the early fifth century, the Eternal City of Rome was sacked by raiding barbarian tribes. It was a devastating occurrence for those in the Roman Empire. It was like Pearl Harbor and September 11 th --a devastating and incomprehensible occurrence in the heart of the mightiest empire the world had ever known. Many Romans began to wonder whether this was a consequence of having failed to worship the pagan gods of antiquity--perhaps Christianity had caused this travesty. Augustine of Hippo wrote his masterpierce City of God in response to this crisis. In it, he noted that it was not the City of God that had been sacked by the barbarians, but the City of Man. He made a distinction between the two: The City of Man, he wrote, was what Babylon and Rome were. They were cities founded by Cain, wherein their citizens strive for earthly success, for security, and ordered life. He wrote: "In the city of the world both the rulers themselves and the people they dominate are dominated by the lust for domination." That certainly sounds like the world of government and business that we are familiar with. Certainly they don't sound like the description that Augustine gives of the City of God. The City of God is equated with Israel and the Church. It was founded by Abel, it is the community of the elect, transcendent over the things of this world out of love for God. The citizens of the City of God live by faith and hope as pilgrims in the world. He wrote: "Whereas in the City of God all citizens serve one another in charity, whether they serve by the responsibilities of office or by duties of obedience." Certainly few people look at government or business as charitable enterprises in the business of service. But it is important to note something else Augustine said about the City of God. The City of God was not an identifiable community. One could not look at a group of people and say, "There is the city of God." The city of God and the City of Man overlapped. While later Christian thought would begin to equate the City of God more and more with the Church, this was not necessarily Augustine's original understanding. The two were not as separate. In fact, the citizen of the City of God was meant to be a part of the city of the world. One could use the things of the world as they pertain to things here below, but do not make this earthly life their ultimate end. What that means is that a Christian can run for office. A Christian can be in business. A Christian can be involved in all aspects of life. But their end is not the same as those of the City of Man. A Christian does not go into politics in order to amass power and domination. The lust for domination does not dominate the Christian. A Christian does not go into business in order to amass wealth. Christians do these things in order to serve God and the City of God--that is: to serve others. B. Jesus' Instruction This is, after all, the heart of Jesus' teaching to his disciples about the kinds of leaders they are called to be. Mark 10:42 So Jesus called them and said to them, "You know that among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. 43 But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. 45 For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many." Jesus does not tell his disciples to avoid leadership, but rather redefines leadership. It is defined not by lording it over others in power, but by serving others. C. The Wesleyan Understanding John Wesley was a believer in the radical equality that the Gospel meant for all people. That being said, he was not a radical in the commonly understood "get rid of all the institutions" way of being a radical. (1) Government With regard to government, Wesley was a Tory. He opposed the American Revolution. He was a monarchist, through and through. And yet, he understood that the role of that government was to serve the common good and to serve those in need. He championed prison reform through the political institutions. He corresponded with William Wilberforce, the British legislator who ultimately banned the slave trade. Wesley was a firm believer that the power of government could be used for good ends. (2) Business In terms of business, Wesley did not insist on poverty for the Methodists. Rather, he preferred that they live modestly. But not ascetically: he enjoyed his sherry that he would purchase from abroad. He enjoined the Methodists to "Earn all you can, save all you can, give all you can." By this Wesley affirmed that business and making money were not antithetical to Christian living, they were to be used to serve Christian values. The accumulation of wealth through trade was not meant for its own sake, but for the sake of others. • END Can government and business be Christian vocations? Absolutely they can. For there is nothing inherently un-Christian about either. There are pitfalls, but there are pitfalls in the arts and in journalism, too--so you College of Arts and Sciences and School of Communications folks, don't get too self-righteous. Systems can be problematic, even rife with temptation. It may seem that service in government or business is the epitome of the City of Man. But there is no reason that government and business cannot also reflect the heart of the city of God. When government leaders become less concerned with political gain and with serving others in humility, when politics becomes once again about compromise and community rather than victory, when power is exercised not for its own sake but for the sake of those who have no power, then something of the City of God can be seen. When businesses focus not only on the bottom line, but on the welfare of their workers, when the wealth that is generated is given back into the community, when those who are engaged in trade do so not for their own enrichment but for the enrichment of those who lack means, then something of the City of God can be seen. Those of you who are going into government or to business have a remarkable opportunity. You will enter realms that are not often seen as places in which the love of God can be seen. There is no reason they cannot be. The love and grace of God are available to everyone, everywhere. We are called by Christ to be witnesses to this love and grace with the entirety of our lives. Whether we are off saving the world in the Peace Corps or whether we are managing a business, we have the opportunity to be ambassadors for the City of God. To show the world that you majored not only in public administration or in business, but that you majored in Christianity as well. Back to Sermons page Back to AU UMC Home Copyright © 2007. Mark A. Schaefer. No part of this text may be reproduced or otherwise disseminated without the express written consent of the author.

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