What would you say? – 1 Peter 3:13-22

I find it interesting that in the course of history lessons are learned and knowledge is gained and then for some curious reason we forget what we have learned.  Into this apparent gap in our knowledge come people who appear to have reinvented the wheel. They package their ideas with new words and present them to us as something new and innovative – something that the world has never seen before.

Now I would agree that my memory is not as sharp as it used to be and that I have forgotten many things over the course of my life. I admit to being surprised by the things that other people remember – even events that involved me but for which I have no recollection.

But when people present programs or concepts and tell us that they are new, I am expecting to hear about something that has never been imagined before.  But is there anything new under the sun? The reality is that rather than being new or innovative, most of the ideas touted as new are simply a repackaging of ideas that have existed for centuries but have either been forgotten or ignored in the pursuit of other ideas.

Now don’t get me wrong. I am not an old fuddy duddy who has no interest in new ideas but I find it deceptive when people repackage something in order to give the impression that it is new when it is nothing more than a reawakening of an idea that has been around for a long time.

One of these ideas that is capturing the imagination of people today is missional.  Missional is about encouraging each of us to be a witness for God in the world where we live. Each of us is encouraged to live our faith wherever we work or socialize.  It is about seeing our faith as not just a part of our life but as our life.  Our faith in God is to be the motivating factor behind the decisions we make in business, in our social contacts and in our homes.

Each one of us has a life in and with God and each one of us needs to be able to express what that life is.  I am sure that if we were asked to explain to people what we used to do in our working life, we would have no problem. We could point to a number of tasks that were involved and probably even give a rationale for why our occupation was important and why we were committed to it; and if we were asked to explain to people why we are part of certain social groups or activities, I am sure we could give a number of reasons for our involvement.  But when it comes to our faith, many of us skirt the issue or stumble to come up with an answer.  The reasons for this may be many but I am sure one of the simplest is that we are often asked what we do and what activities we are involved in but seldom ever asked why we believe in God.  Faith is seen as such a personal thing that the thought of asking another person why they believe in God seems to be too much of an intrusion into their personal life. We may feel that we have no right to ask such a question and – more than likely – we are glad that no one asks us that question because we may know within ourselves that we would have difficulty answering that question.

But the question about why we have made the conscious choice to believe in God and to commit our lives to loving and following this God is one which needs to have an answer.

One of the reasons why we need to be able to answer that question is that we are living in a time when the memory of why people would choose to believe has faded.  Our industrial world has brought with it great advances to our way of life but it has also disrupted the patterns of life that previous generations knew and cherished. We are challenged to practice our faith in a world that is indifferent, even potentially hostile to Christians and increasingly unwilling to make accommodations for those who still have made the choice and commitment to believe.  We live in a world where the interaction between cultures and religions of the world is at a level not known since the time of the New Testament writings.  As a consequence we are being challenged by other religious groups and even those who avow no faith to give reasons for why we believe. They are not afraid to declare who they are and why they believe.  For them the principles of their convictions are what guide them in their daily life and decisions. They operate from those principles and they are looking at us to do likewise.

Our faith can no longer be isolated from the rest of our life.  We will not be able to avert the questions about why we believe and we will not be able to depend on religious leaders to answer for us.  We need to take responsibility for our faith and be ready to give our answer as to why we believe.  It need not be polished or couched in all the seeming appropriate language of our faith.  It needs to be an honest reflection of who God is to us.

Now you will notice that I have not given you one thing in this sermon that can help you give an account of why you believe.  That is because  your answer needs to be your words.

Being the people of God is not something that magically happens within these walls. Being the people of God is something that we are to be no matter where we go and no matter what we do.

We are living in a brave new world and we need to recapture that same spirit that permeated the early church. We need to be able to give an account for the hope that is in us in an open and honest way and live that faith not just in the places and times where it is safe and comfortable but in all places and times of our lives.

So I encourage you all this day to go from this place of worship to those places where you live and think on what you believe and let that permeate all you say and do.

AMEN.