Readings: Acts 1:15-17, 20-26 and I John 5:9-13
Sermon: What do other people see in us?
Why should anyone believe anything the Christian church has to say? Why should anyone want to be part of it?
Right from the start, the Christian church had a credibility problem.
First, there was Jesus who they believed to be the Son of God and the Saviour that the world needed: he was dead -- killed by the imperial powers of the day. Second, there was their own leadership: twelve disciples who kind of mimicked the twelve tribes of Israel, marking the Jesus movement as the new Israel the prophets had talked about -- but now those 12 were down to 11 because one of them -- Judas Iscariot, had betrayed Jesus to his enemies, and then died tragically, maybe by suicide.
So, to repeat ... why should anyone believe what that group had to say, and why would anyone want to join a movement like that?
We face much the same questions today, although for different reasons. And I wonder if we can learn something from the first church, and how they handled their crisis of credibility. Our readings suggest it has something to do with showing people new life (being a "witness to the resurrection") and actually living the life of Jesus to show people it works and it's worth it.
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