Christ Alone

You might be surprised to know that Christianity has nothing to do with Christians. It has nothing to do with how much money they have in their pockets, how many people they influence, or how good looking they are. It has nothing to do with how loudly they sing, how fervently they pray, or how often they attend Sunday worship. It has nothing to do with how many promises they keep or how friendly they are. None of that.

Christianity is about Christ. Christ alone.

Which brings up the issue of Sunday worship. It is not a time to cut deals, compare clothing, or impress people. It is the time when, for at least one hour, we gather corporately to listen to God speak in the various parts of the divine service--liturgy, hymnody, and preaching. Since Christianity is about Christ, Christianity's worship is about Christ. Christ alone. That's why it's called "divine" service and not "my" service. Christianity has nothing to do with Christians. In fact, it has nothing to do with anybody. Not even you.

A possible retort to the above could be, "If it's not about me, then why bother?" I understand that. That's the kind of culture in which we live. The great "me, myself, and I" is sovereign. We spend most of our lives maintaining the appearances of our supposed superiority over others. It's all about "me" all week long.

And that's precisely the reason why one should "bother"-- one finally is invited to participate in something that is not of themselves, but is a gift from God. We come with nothing except our failure to do what ought to have been done. We come with only the confession that we have failed; that we have lived our lives as if "me, myself, and I" mattered more than anything else. We do this, not to bludgeon ourselves into oblivion, but just as an act of sheer honesty that the great "me, myself, and I" isn't as great as I make it out to be. There's absolutely no self-help book, self-improvement program or Mike Ditka motivational seminar that can help me out of this predicament.

The only one who can release me is Christ. Christ alone. One might consider this to be disempowering to the self. But the problem is that the self has claimed too much power and is not willing to concede it. The self then becomes enslaved to itself. It's a vicious circle that no one can end. It's when we are led to realize that we can't fix ourselves, because it's not about ourselves, that grace comes pouring in like a flood. The chains come off, the old is put off, and we are made anew in the Kingdom of God.