Christianity: Not Just for the Religious

This is Father Jared Cramer from St. John’s Episcopal Church in Grand Haven, Michigan, here with today’s edition of Christian Mythbusters, a regular segment I offer to counter some common misconceptions about the Christian faith. I am excited to be back with you for this series. I originally started airing these short segments in 2020, during the COVID-19 Pandemic and they continued through 2022. After taking a couple years off—and hearing so much kind feedback from many of you regular listeners who missed them, our parish worked to build funding back in the budget for the series to start up again. So here I am with you for episode 89! I’m recording this segment on the Feast of the Epiphany, a feast in the church that falls each year on January 6. And, as I reflected on this feast in preparation for my own parish’s celebration tonight, I found myself thinking about how this Feast actually breaks a myth—the idea that Christianity is only for religious people. Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m a Christian priest and so clearly I’m a pretty religious person. And I’m not one of those people who thinks religion is a bad thing or a dirty word. The word itself comes from the Latin ligare which means to bind or connect to something. So anyone who adopts practices, customs, or ways of living that seek to bind you or connect you to something is practicing some form of religion—for good or ill. In my own life, both as a priest but also just as a Christian, I have found binding myself to the teachings of Jesus, teachings of love, compassion, and mercy to be an important part of who I am. I keeps me from focusing on my own perspective or desire too much , it helps me grow as a person. But, not everyone’s as religious as a priest and that’s OK! And, as I said, the Feast of the Epiphany reminds us of that. If you know the story of the Epiphany, it’s the story of the magi from the East who came to worship the Christ child, bringing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrhh. Depending on how the Greek is translated, you may have heard them descried as the Three Wise Men, the Three King, or the Three Magi. The word in Greek, though, is magos and that was the same word used to refer to the Iranian priestly caste of Zoroastrianism, a group who gained an international reputation for the ancient science of astrology. A few things here are essential. First, unlike the Jewish shepherd who visited the Holy Family after the birth of Christ, the magi were certainly not Jewish. They were from another nation entirely and practiced another religion entirely. And yet, something in their own religion drew them to Jesus, leading them to offer their own gifts. Second, though it says that they worshipped the child Jesus, it doesn’t actually specify that the converted to Judaism. It’s even less likely that they would have converted to Christianity—that religion wouldn’t be founded for another thirty-some years, after Jesus died and rose again. And yet, their witness and presence is honored, both in the Biblical text and the tradition of the church. To put it another way, when Jesus was born some Persian astrologers showed up and brought gifts. They weren’t told to change their beliefs and they weren’t turned away. Their gifts were accepted and God even protected them on the way home so that Herod wouldn’t come after them. So, when I say that this day reminds us that Christianity is not just for religious people, what I mean is that one of the fundamental points of Christian belief is that the child whose birth we just celebrated, Jesus of Nazareth, came to earth for all people, to offer all people God’s transforming and merciful love. Some people respond to that love by binding themselves to it, being baptized and becoming practitioners of the Christian religion. Others, though, don’t... but theat doesn’t mean they don’t have gifts to bring. That doesn’t mean you don’t have gifts to bring to bear when it comes to the cause of God’s love and justice in the world. And whether or not other people appreciate your gifts, know that this Christian priest does. Thanks for being with me. To find out more about my parish, you can go to sjegh.com. Until next time, remember, protest like Jesus, love recklessly, and live your faith out in a community that accepts you but also challenges you to be better tomorrow than you are today.