THE TOP FIVE
MESSAGES OF CHRISTIANITY!
INTRODUCTION
The title of my homily for this 33 Saturday in Ordinary Time
is, “The Top Five Messages of Christianity!”
TODAY’S GOSPEL
Last night as I read today’s gospel [Luke 20:27-40] what hit me was this: The Resurrection is a key
Christian teaching.
Based on today’s gospel, different people in Judaism didn’t believe
in life after death. We heard the opening words in today’s gospel from Luke, “Some
Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection….”
Luke sets the stage with the Sadducees coming to Jesus to
challenge him about the resurrection. Then they hit him with a funny - but they
were deadly serious - example or imaginary story about the woman who had
married 7 brothers and all died without giving her children. “If there is a
resurrection, who will be her husband in the afterlife, if there is one?” That
was one of their ways of challenging Jesus on his message that there is
Resurrection.
As I began to think about that I realized and remembered the
difficulty at the time of a funeral in coming up with Jewish Scriptures that talk
about resurrection after death. There are texts - as we hear in today’s gospel
- that were used by those who taught there was life after death. Do I say based
on the fewness of those texts, the resurrection was not a central teaching in
Judaism? On the other hand it’s easy to prove that the Resurrection is central
to Christianity - based on the number of times this theme appears in the New
Testament.
Next I wondered if the Resurrection was the # 1 Christian
teaching. It’s certainly central, but is it the # 1 teaching - as Paul might be
indicating in 1 Corinthians 15 - when
he basically says if Christ did not rise from the dead, the whole enterprise is
a house of cards - that falls.
A NUMBERS’ TEST
However, as I thought about that, I concluded for the time
being, I couldn’t say for sure that the Resurrection is our #1 teaching. Could
I say it is one of the top 10 Christian teachings or beliefs? Then I asked:
could I say it is one of the top 5? How about one of the top 3?
Next I concluded that would be a practical question for a
Saturday morning homily.
I would frame the question this way. If someone came up to
us and said, “You’re a Christian. What would you say are the top 5 beliefs in
Christianity?”
THAT WOULD BE
CHALLENGING
The first step would be to make a tentative list and then
pick out the top five. It’s call the “Brainstorming Step.”
So that’s the homework I gave myself last night. I suggest
you try it.
For starters I would write down:
·
the Trinity,
·
Forgiveness,
·
the Resurrection,
·
Jesus is Lord,
·
the Eucharist, Salvation,
·
Love one another.
Then it hit me that using the number 5 would be a smart
step. By making it 5, I would be forced to think. I would be forced to talk to
others about this. I would be forced to understand better the five I picked and
those I didn’t. It also hit me to wonder if anyone else did listed the key Christian
teachings or beliefs.
MY TOP FIVE
My top 5 are:
·
The Trinity,
·
The Scriptures,
·
The Eucharist,
·
Forgiveness and
·
Caring for One Another.
Surprise! At first I had the Resurrection - but that bumped
out - one of my other beliefs.
It would be six on my
list. That’s on first thought. I have to keep on reflecting on this question. I have to wonder:
“How would our everyday life be if we didn’t know and didn’t believe in life
after death?” I have to wonder about
that. Perhaps - as I reflect upon the repercussions of not believing in the
resurrection - I’d put that up in the top 3.
Time and reflection with tell.
In the meanwhile I pray the old prayer that was dropped from
the Mass: “Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ will come again.”
