October 26, 2008
Matthew 22:34-40
“Back To Basics ”


There are basics in math: 1 + 1 = 2; an angle which is 90 degrees is called a right angle; Pi is the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter.

There are basics in science: The boiling point of water is 100 °C (212 °F) at standard pressure; body continues to maintain its state of rest or of uniform motion unless acted upon by an external unbalanced force; The cell is the fundamental unit of life and cells arise from other cells through cell division.

There are basics in sociology: individuals organize themselves into societies, organizations, cities, tribes, and nations in order to maximize benefits and protections for the majority of people

There are basics in history: the Magna Carta was written in 1215 and served as inspiration for many succeeding documents, including the Declaration of Independence.

There are basics of architecture: a building should succeed in three principle areas: durability, utility, and beauty.

And there are basics in the Christian faith: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with your soul, and with all your mind.” and “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

Back to the basics. Focus on the Fundamentals. Keep it simple, sweetie. Concentrate on the core. It sounds so easy and is, in fact, so difficult. One plus one does equal two, unless you are talking about two bowls of ice cream and a third friend comes along. Somehow two magically become three spoons and enough ice cream for all. The Magna Carta was written in 1215, but that does not nearly begin to communicate the fact that the right of the individual within the responsibilities of the community can be traced through every culture throughout history. And if the simple statement Jesus told the Pharisees was true, why do we have a much larger Bible built around so many other concepts, stories, personalities, and dreams?

Because we are human. Living out the simple basics of life are hard, and we seem to like to make it harder. Or at least more complicated.

The founders of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) are a testimony to this desire to keep the faith simple, but then spent their lives explaining, illuminating, clarifying, and amplifying the fundamentals of the faith.

We were prone to use an maxim of the day: “No creed but Christ. No book but the Bible. No law but love” and then Alexander Campbell spent his lifetime debating others and writing more articles on what that meant than you or I could imagine. Our founders talked about a “reformation of the New Testament church,” never really admitting that there was no single model for church in the New Testament and no universal language for how church’s should be organized. Barton Stone passionately lived out the belief that “unity is our Polar Star” but his work led to a church that would break apart into divisions far more than it would unite with other Christian communions.

So why do we even trouble ourselves with a reaffirmation of the basics? Why do we lift up the fundamentals of the faith if we will never realistically live up to them?

Why? Because, as the handwritten note on the marker board on my office door said a few weeks back, “Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars.” Reminding ourselves of our core beliefs may seem dull and sometimes fruitless, but it does keep us more on course than if we never referred to them at all.

Jesus was confronted time and time again by the religious leaders of his day in an attempt to get him “off message,” as the political pundits say. They tried to trick him into getting mired in the quagmire of the religious and political debates of his day. Brilliant as he was, he understood the power of simplicity, and always brought them back to the basics of his message. The quote he gave on this occasion was not something he’d dreamed up himself. “Love the Lord your God” was integral to the Torah and “love your neighbor as yourself,” while not one of the Ten Commandments, was part of their rich tradition. Both served as the fundamental building blocks of the life and the law of the People of God. Problems started when those in power began to forget from whence the law came.

Religion is not the only place we must go back to the basics. The inalienable rights of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” as the Declaration of Independence reminds us; “Government of the people, by the people, for the people” as Abraham Lincoln once observed, have been frequently forgotten by politicians. That is what elections are all about, reminding our elected officials of the core values of this nation, and not the petty arguments of the day. This is why your participation on Election Day is critical. You become your first grade teacher, reminding our elected officials why they are there, and who sent them.

The basics are why Robert Fulghum’s book, “All I Really Need To Know I Learned in Kindergarten” was a best seller and his statement has been put on posters and cards around the world. Fundamental ways of being in the world, like “share everything,” “play fair,” “don’t hit people,” and “put things back where you found them” are so obvious and compelling, and yet so incredibly difficult.

The founders of our church, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) understood both the power of going back to the basics AS WELL AS the importance of educating ourselves about how the fundamentals must be lived out in real time. Being “simple” is a far cry from being “simplistic.” As a matter of fact, anyone whose tried to write a short essay or tried to shorten a speech or a sermon knows that the more simple one gets, the harder it is and the more work goes into it. That is why Thomas and Alexander Campbell and Barton W. Stone, Disciples founders, began starting schools and seminaries, such as Bethany College in Bethany, West Virginia. It takes a lot of education and wisdom to get back to the basics, focus on the fundamentals, concentrate on the core.

Many of you may relate more to a cooking reference. I don’t watch the Food Network, but know that many of you do religiously, we might say. Rachel Ray and all the other chefs, with their various techniques of cooking, invariably will have to make what they call a “reduction.” It’s when you take a sauce or some other liquid and slowly and carefully boil it down until you get a concentrated “essence” of the taste for which you are striving. It may look like it is a quick and easy process. Through the magic of television Rachel is boiling the sauce over here and then instantly turns aside and starts pouring the reduction into her dish. No, no, no! In reality, it has been boiling for a long time, perhaps even hours, to get it just right.

That’s how it is with our faith. It looks easy to “make it simple,” but, in fact, it takes more work, more time, more care to “reduce” our faith to its “essence.” More Bible study, more conversations with our mentors and teachers, more prayer, more classes and reading, more experiences in the world… to get this faith thing reduced down to its essential qualities. Love God. Love Neighbor. Love Self. Man, that takes time!

I’m delighted that we have enhanced the mission statement of our church. It now says so very much who we are, what we are about, and who is welcome here. At first, I was a little concerned that it made it more complicated, harder to memorize, and less effective. Then, at the Board Meeting in September, a couple of changes were made before sending it to the congregation, and something miraculous happened. A line in the Mission Statement which has been there since it was written in 2000 was moved to the top and suddenly spoke to me like nothing had before. The entire Mission Statement is incredibly powerful, and will help this congregation spread the Gospel in so many new and wonderful ways, but the very first line now shines brightly forth in simplicity and wisdom.

“Our mission is to empower disciples to serve and glorify God.”

There it is. In plain and profound brilliance: Empower disciples to serve and glorify God.

I am deeply indebted to those whose work it is to put forth the fundamentals of life as well as to those whose work it is to expound on the fundamentals and make them real for a particular time and place and situation. Both are needed.

Let us as a congregation take delight in the words of Jesus about love, so effortless to say and yet so challenging to live. Let us take our new Mission Statement and rejoice in its opening call to discipleship and then spend the rest of our lives trying to embody it. Let us get back to the basics, for that will involve the rest of our lives.

May it be so,
Amen

Response: A Disciples Affirmation No. 355


 

Rev. Allen V. Harris
Franklin Circle Christian Church
www.FranklinCircleChurch.org


 

Copyright 2008 -- The Rev. Allen V. Harris

Franklin Circle Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

1688 Fulton Rd., Cleveland, OH 44113-3096