Easter – a faith for today
Next Sunday, we celebrate Pentecost and the coming of God the Holy Spirit.
Since Easter, we have tried to plant the Easter Operation in our down-toearth human existence.
We have seen that Jesus’time was no bed of roses.
Today, we conclude this series by considering‘Easter – a faith for today’.
James Denney was the professor of New Testament in the Free Church.
He wrote,‘The theology of a learned professor and the belief of a regular Christian is exactly the same. It is ‘Credo,‘I Believe’.
Karl Barth, that theological giant, was once asked about his own Christian belief.
He replied,‘Jesus loves me this I know for the Bible tells me so’.
In other words, an Easter faith for today will be relevant for the world and personal with Jesus.
This fundamental truth is revealed in the conversation Jesus had with one of the scribes (Mark 12.28-34).
He had asked Jesus what was the first commandment.
Jesus replied,‘The first commandment is to honour God’.
Then Jesus volunteered that the second commandment is to treat your fellow men and women decently.
Every religion exists in these two dimensions.
If you treat your fellows decently then your attitude is right for worshipping God. Again, if your attitude towards God is correct, then your treatment with your fellow men and women will be wholesome.
Today, we need a mature faith. That is a faith capable of dealing with the deep issues we encounter in science, politics and humanity’s wellbeing.
Johann Kepler is recognized as the father of modern astrophysics.
He had an‘intellectual faith’.
That means he had a faith that was able to explore new avenues of thought and accept their fresh insights, while discarding wrong ideas.
Such a mature and intellectual faith is already required in our post-covid church witness and structure.
A faith willing to explore the new forms of worship and bravely to dispense with the old.
We need a faith capable of accepting modern civilization’s exciting features.
Albert Einstein, probably the greatest scientist ever, spoke of his ‘cosmic religion’.
He was not a denominational church man.
But he was a deeply religious man in the sense that he was keenly aware of the wonder and mystery of his universe.
Our 21st century faith can delight in the Genesis creation account that inspires our worship and belief.
But we can also be excited by the 13.8 billion year history of our universe.
We can be encouraged by our incredible medical advances.
For instance, surgeons can now operate on the foetus within the womb, giving the unborn child every chance of a healthier existence.
Our faith can be thrilled by our technological achievements.
Imagine flying that miniature helicopter on Mars.
Our modern faith is continually challenged.
It is disturbed that the church’s significance is lost to the general public.
It is perturbed that the gospel message is no longer heeded and the Bible considered unimportant.
How do we make Jesus’gospel relevant for the workers on the building site, the guys in the pub, and the fans at the football match?
How can we speak to the Scottish people?
The challenge for us is deep, the solution must be radical.
As Hans Kung, wrote,‘We are in need of a totally new understanding of God’.
I am vainly trying to work out a