Did I forget to tell you?
Today, January 12, 2022, I sent in my official notification to the conference that I intend to retire at Annual Conference, June 2022.
Truth-teller that I try to be, I did not say I wanted to retire in giving notice to the Bishop and the Conference of my impending retirement.
I said that, in conformity with the mandatory age limit for retirement at age 72, I would be retiring this June.
Although I will be able (health allowing) to continue to serve in the retired status, the prospect of retiring this year brings back a flood of memories—memories of accepting the call to preach when the idea of women preachers was very new and few in our denomination; memories of the hard times, memories of the truly extraordinary work of God in open human hearts; memories of each of the churches I have served in the last 47 years. I am overwhelmed –absolutely overwhelmed-- with love for the church.
As I look at the state of the church now, the common conversation and attitudes of Christians and the many life-giving things the church taught me, I am really struggling. What did I – and other pastors—do to make the gulf between the life of Christ and our public “Christianity” so wide? When I hear people talk, watch their actions and attitudes and see their profound vulnerability to anything that claims to be Christian, I feel like quite a failure.
It’s more than an individual questioning.
As I give notification for the retired status, I am grieving about how ill equipped our church people are for the challenges before us. Over and over, I see them vulnerable to all kinds of appeals that do not resemble the values or teaching or life of Christ. Almost every day, when I think of the people I have served, I have been asking myself the question: “Did I forget to tell you?”
I have just 6 months in the “active” ministry. Maybe I have some time to make it right. Once a week, I will try to get in the things that worry me. Maybe I left these things out. I don’t think so. But, just in case:
Did I forget to tell you that Christians always….always…always put a priority on the truth?
Sometimes the truth is hard to say and often it is hard to hear. But Christians can’t – don’t- mustn’t trade in lies. At the core of who we are, we reject all lies and falsehoods. It is not okay to tell a lie. It is not okay to encourage others to lie. It is not okay to support people who lie. Christians are people who always have a primary, bedrock commitment to truth.
It is okay to make a mistake in what you say and correct it. That is common to being the imperfect human beings that we are. Saying something incorrect, learning different and correcting it is a human experience common to us all. People – including Christians—are not perfect.
But believing a lie, supporting a lie, promoting a lie even after it is proven wrong is not compatible with Christian faith. The biblical references are too many to list. They are everywhere. In essence, this matter is covered by the Golden Rule which shows up first in Leviticus 19:18. “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” That is repeated again by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5) and again in Mark 12 and Matthew 22) as one of the two most important of the commandments. Jesus said the Golden Rule was as important as loving God with heart, mind, soul and strength. Obedience here “fulfills the law and the prophets.” No healthy person wants to be lied about. John’s gospel makes it clearer: (John 15:12) “This is my commandment: that you love one another as I have loved you.” Said by Jesus who is the way, the truth and the life.
Then there are scores of brutally direct prohibitions against lying. Like the 9th commandment (Exodus 20); Thou shalt not bear false witness against your neighbor. Proverbs states the dangers of lying repeatedly and makes it clear “the Lord hates a lying tongue” (Proverbs 6:16, 17). The letters to the early church are full of admonitions directly about lying: “Putting away all falsehood, let us speak the truth to our neighbors…” (Ephesians 4:25); warning against “evil talk”, putting away all bitterness and wrath and anger and slander and malice” (Ephesians 4:31) The whole armor of God in Ephesians 6 begins with the belt of truth.(6:14) Philippians 4 talks about what to think on – the first thing listed is “whatever is true” (v.8) Colossians says it plainly” “Do not lie to one another….” (Colossians 3:9) I Corinthians 13 tells us that a characteristic of love is that it “rejoices in the truth” (I Corinthians 13: 6.) I John warns us about self deceit (I John1:8) and the great spiritual danger we are in when the truth is not in us. And how we must love “in truth and in action”. (I John 3: 18)
I am pretty sure I have preached all of these passages. Multiple times. And there are many, many others.
Do you see why I am so confused and disheartened when I see Christians – people in our pews—who soak in misinformation and outright lies readily? It is so painful to watch.
So, in case I forgot to tell you, let me be crystal clear now:
It is okay to make mistakes which you correct.
It is okay (and normal) for any human to not be perfect. Grace abounds.
It is okay for people to have different opinions and to disagree
(as long as they are respectful, avoid slander and malice).
It is not okay to tell a lie about others.
It is not ok to repeat lies about others.
It is not consistent with Christian faith to stubbornly support lies
which are contrary to facts.
The Christian faith is steadfast and consistent on insisting on the primacy of truth.
Any other allegiance that compromises an unwavering commitment to truth is contradictory to Christian faith. I am pretty sure I have said this before. With the way the world is going, we dare not forget to make this clear.
There are stories that Jesus told that indicate that somehow, people who got to eternity did not realize what was most important (See Luke 16:19-31 and Matthew 25:31-45). I can’t take responsibility for whether or not people believe or follow what I say. But as I know I have told my people, don’t get to heaven (or hell) and say you didn’t know. You can say, “Mary John told us.”
That’s the faithfulness on my part. Let me be sure I have shared what needs to be said for people to know the heart and soul of Christian faith: beloved, we have a bedrock, unrelentingcommitment to truth. You may forget it or ignore it or be faithful to it. But I have told you.
From the tombstone of John Wesley Hughes
