Personal from Joseph Tkach

Looking forward--to Christ

The ancient Israelite was to recite history as a reminder of who he was in the world, what his relationship with God was, and how he was supposed to respond to the God of his salvation. His confession expressed who he was, and how he was to live (Deut. 26:5-10).

Remembering our history is part of our worship. It is part of our confession and part of our understanding of who we are before God and how we are to respond to him in the world. That is one reason most Christians celebrate Advent, Easter and other commemorations of our Savior. These say something about who we are, because they rehearse the story that is central to our lives and our identity. Jesus the Christ is the Person who defines who we are in the world.

The exact time of the beginning of our story is shrouded in mystery. The creation story starts simply "in the beginning." We do not know when Adam was created, nor do we know exactly when Jesus Christ became flesh. But the incarnation of the Son of God, whenever it may have been, happened at a definite point in history as recorded by the Gospel writers Matthew and Luke.

The story is unparalleled good news, and because it is, we celebrate. It is good news for us, and good news for the entire world.

The Christian church has a history, too. In one way, we could say that it began before Moses, with the call of Abraham. In another way, we could say it began with Jesus' birth, or with his calling of his disciples, or with his death and resurrection.

From any viewpoint, of course, we could say that the Pentecost recorded in Acts 2 was a significant beginning point for the church. The rest of Acts expands the story, helping us see our connection to the Jesus who died and rose again, and how the church spread from Jerusalem into a worldwide mission. Rehearsing the story, we are reminded of who we are and our call to be about our Father's business.

Church history marches onward, though most of it did not become part of Scripture, as Acts did. The martyrdom of Polycarp and of Perpetua help us glimpse the faith of the early believers.

The rise of Constantine, the council of Nicea, the writings of Augustine, the rivalry between Rome and Constantinople, were major developments that helped shape the future of the church for centuries to come.

Sometimes everyone did what was right in their own eyes. Sometimes powerful leaders ruled well, and sometimes leaders abused the people with their powers. There were times of sin, of captivity, of exile, and of restoration.

A significant moment came in 1517, when Martin Luther challenged the authority of the Roman pontiff on doctrinal grounds, resting his case on the Word of God. Significant milestones took place in Geneva, in Holland, in England and in America. And people remember these milestones, for they helped shape our identity.

Though we are not Lutherans, we can identify with the stand of Luther. Though we are not Methodists, we can identify with the Aldersgate experience of John Wesley, when he found his heart strangely warmed when some of Luther's work about the grace of God was read.

A significant moment in our own history came five years ago in December, when my dad preached a sermon about the new covenant and the Sabbath. Although other doctrinal changes had been announced before this, and a few others came after this, this was the change that affected our church the most. Some of us could not accept the change, but for many others, it was the change that caused the greatest spiritual growth.

Some even suggested we establish a new church celebration for our fellowship, commemorating this rebirth of the WCG.

Would it be appropriate to celebrate this momentous event in our denominational history? Could we commemorate our reformation, as a regular reminder of where we have come from, who we are, and what Christ wants us to be?

Reformation Day was the suggested name. Dec. 24 was the suggested date, the date of the sermon in Big Sandy, Texas, which was videotaped and sent worldwide. Would this be helpful for us?

We do not want to forget where we have come from, how Christ has led us toward himself, and how grace liberates us from legalism. Even many people not in our fellowship can benefit from our story, just as we benefit from Martin Luther's.

Many can identify with our struggle with works, with seeing our relationship with God in terms of what we do. Many well-meaning Christians still need to be liberated with a new reformation.

But perhaps we do not need a new holiday on our church calendar, and especially not in December. There is something more important to think about, and that is Jesus Christ. He is where our salvation begins, where our reformation begins, where our identity is centered and where our response is given.

Our identity and our life are based on God made flesh, on God so humble as to freely choose to be born in poverty and oppression as one of us.

What ironies! Jesus, a Jew, was persecuted by Herod, king of the Jews, but Jesus found a safe place among the gentiles, in Egypt. But he did not remain in safety--he returned to his people, to be rejected by them in his home town and in the capital city.

He was killed by religious leaders who prided themselves on their superior ethics, and by political leaders who prided themselves on the administration of justice. The Holy One died a cursed death, the Righteous One became sin for us.

The Author of Life died--all because we humans could not be saved in any other way. We could not save ourselves. Our only hope was that God himself would come to us as one of us, that he would be without sin and be a sin offering for us.

This is where our identity is--in humility, in suffering, in trusting God from birth to death. Jesus set that example and calls us to follow him.

Our story begins, as Matthew tells it, with Abraham. Our story includes gentile ancestors, a prostitute and an adulterer, and a woman who became pregnant before marriage. The glory of God was hidden in Mary's womb in what was, as far as everyone else could see, scandalous circumstances. The glory of God is often hidden today, too, isn't it?

That is our identity--humility and sometimes shame. We don't look like much, even though the glory of God is living within us. Our story begins in shame, in sin, in God seeking us.

We have nothing to boast about; we must simply admit our inability and look to God for mercy, mercy he has already shown to us and guaranteed for us in Jesus Christ. Our story becomes merged with his, a story that includes shame and a glory that is hidden until the resurrection.

Jesus is not only our point of identity, he also shapes the response we give to God. The formula, "Be holy, for I am holy," is given shape by the saying, "Be merciful, for I am merciful" (Luke 6:36). Or, "Forgive, as I have forgiven you" (Col. 3:13).

God's graciousness toward us, shown most tangibly in Jesus Christ, carries with it the power to be gracious toward others. In him, we can do for them what he has done for us. This is how ethics is built in the new covenant; this is how grace teaches us to have godly lives. As he has loved us, we are freed to love others--tangibly, not just in pious sentiments.

We trust our lives to Jesus and know that our salvation is secure in him. We are freed from the fear of death, freed from the fear of persecution, freed from the fear of ridicule, freed from feelings of insecurity.

Because we are secure in Christ, we are free to do good works despite the negative consequences that sometimes come with good works in this fallen world--and we are free not to withhold forgiveness--we do not have to wait until the other person has been punished enough or is sorry enough.

We are also free in Christ to worship any time, any place. We are free not to judge or condemn one another over such things, and we are free never again to allow worship days to become a work of righteousness.

We are free to cut each other some slack over when we choose to meet and how we choose to celebrate, and free to come together in the joy of salvation and mutual love for the sake of him who died for us and rose again.

We are free in Christ to meet when it is most expedient for the congregation and the mission field, rather than when it is most comfortable for us personally.

In short, we are free humbly to join one another in the stable and make the feed trough our bed, to serve one another in the love of our Savior, to be harmless as doves, wise as owls and always willing to learn.

Five years ago, we turned a major corner in our journey toward Christ. In some ways it seems long ago, in other ways so recent. It was stressful--and in certain ways still is. Our income drastically fell. Some members still sit on the fence, some to the left, some to the right. Others attend worship services only sporadically, neither contributing to nor benefiting from regular fellowship.

But time cannot stand still. We can reminisce about and reflect on our journey, but our gaze must not stay there. We must move on, for our journey is not yet done. Christ has commanded us, "Go, make disciples, baptize them and teach them to do what I have commanded."

We know where we were five years ago. Many of us remember a specific place and time when we heard the sermon. This will long be a landmark for us, I think--even after most of us have died, this denomination may well look back upon that formative moment as a landmark of divine grace that helped shape the denomination's identity.

Our spiritual descendants may look back to this doctrinal change in several ways. It illustrates the need to distinguish the old covenant from the new. It illustrates the difference between legalism and grace. And it illustrates how the Holy Spirit works in the people of God to guide them continually closer to Jesus Christ.

But a doctrinal change will never take the place of Jesus. It will never be more important than the story of Jesus himself. His birth and death and resurrection are the touchstone of Scripture.

Our story is important to us as a story of Jesus at work in his church to redeem, to correct, to teach and to bless. Our story is also a lesson of the pain that doctrinal errors can cause. We do not want to tread that path again, and we hope that our story can help others to stay off that path of pain.

Our understanding is shaped by our history, but our future is in Christ. Our vision is informed by the past, but it exists for the future. Any attention we give to our history is pointless unless we also ask how it shapes what we do right now, and how it affects our ultimate destination. So where we were five years ago may not be as important as where we plan to be five years from now. What kind of people do we want to be--rather, what do we believe Christ wants us to be?

With that in mind, I want to refer you "The New Worldwide Church of God," on pages 17 to 20 that I believe you will find helpful and inspiring. Keep in mind that this article by James Henderson, regional director of our African churches, does not paint a picture of what the church is now, but, as Christ works in us, what we are continually striving to become.

His comments for the African context are applicable to other continents as well, and I think we can all learn much from what he writes.

Whether we look backward or look forward, let's make sure that we look to Jesus. It is to him that we owe our lives, it is in him and for him that we live and move and have our being. It is his kingdom that we belong to and serve. Christ the King, born in a manger, pleased to dwell with the humble who admit their need for him.