"So, Who Needs the Church?" - Matt 6:1-6, 16-21 - March 8, 2000

Recently I had an opportunity to see the film, "Patch Adams," starring Robin Williams. It is an extraordinary story about a man who wanted to become a doctor. He succeeded but it wasn’t without a real struggle. Patch Adams was a brilliant student but he had an unorthodox way of relating to patients. He was a clown who used humor to make his patients feel better. The established medical community didn’t appreciate the fact that he was not playing by their rules. But in the end, his passion to be a doctor, not to mention his high academic grades, helped him to reach his goal.

But, there is a lot more to this story. Patch Adams made a personal crusade to build a hospital that is free to all patients. So far, he has helped over 15,000 people. Patients help patients. Doctors are on the same level as their patients and humor is a vital part of the healing process. The philosophy of Adams is to give people the best quality of life he can rather than just try to prevent them from dying. For him, patients are persons, the highest priority is to relate to them and be compassionate.

Patch Adams was a doctor but cared nothing about all the prestige and status that are normally given to the professionals in the medical community. It was far more essential to him to make a young, dying, cancer patient laugh rather than be a member of the local country club. He was knowledgeable of medicine but love was his greatest source of healing.

So, why did Patch Adams go to medical school? Because he still needed to be granted permission to practice medicine through the American Medical Association. He still had to past the tests, be approved and graduate. He still had to work within the system no matter how flawed.

I believe that when it comes to practicing our faith, God wants us to be like Patch Adams. Jesus is pretty clear about our relationships with others and about being compassionate. What matters most is the condition of our heart, not the outward visible signs that we are somehow holier than others.

First, Jesus advocated a faith that is subtle and not pretentious. He warns us not to wear our Christianity on our sleeves. He cautions us about making a scene when it comes to being faithful. Faith is not a performance. Faith is living the love ethic. Second, our faith practices, such as fasting, are personal. I believe he said this since there is a danger of being hypocritical when our faith is not in harmony with the rest of the way we live our lives. Jesus says that fasting is a "secret" matter, not a practice that is to be seen by others. And third, what we treasure the most should only be an outward sign of an inward faith. "For where our treasure is, there is our heart also."

Given these instructions it would seem to give the appearance that one does not need the Church. It is as though Jesus advocates a faith that is private and personal. We have to remember that these instructions about fasting and almsgiving are in a series of other teachings as well. Jesus is speaking to a whole realm of issues that affected the life of the community of faith.

We must remember that this message is to the disciples. They are the ones he is teaching. They are the Church. While it is true that the crowds were gathered, Jesus went up into the mountain along with his disciples in order to make them the focus of his message. In other words, Jesus took the faithful community (the Church to be) apart from the masses who were seeking to be healed.

The Church is the one place where we receive instructions about what it means to be faithful. I suppose you could read the Bible for yourselves and ascertain what Jesus expects of you. That however eliminates the possibility of being nurtured from other members of the community of faith. There is a lot more going on here than just sitting in the pews, taking notes. There is the observation of the folks around us who are striving to adapt the teachings of Jesus for our lives. There is also the dynamic of "fellowship" which fosters a cross fertilization of faith within the community of faith. This you don’t experience in the secular world.

My mother and father are contemplating the concept of living in a retirement community. They will likely leave their home and be residents of a facility that has both independent living and long term medical assistance. However, they want to remain in the current area so that they can still be connected to their church. They have relished the experience of living in a community of faith and want that to continue throughout the remainder of their lives.

Besides targeting his disciples, Jesus also focused on interpersonal relationships, how we interact with the people around us. Forgiveness, love, acceptance and authenticity are at the very heart of his teachings. These teachings are not part of our school curriculum. No organization in society, aside from the Church, gives us guidelines about how to interact with others.

Where do people turn in a crisis? When all else fails they turn to the Church. When a loved one has died, when a relationship is struggling or when someone is in despair, the Church is sought after for hope.

Jesus also lifts up the golden rule in the following chapter. It is his teachings that promote responsibility for our neighbors. While the rest of the world models individual gratification, the Church models outreach and community. Patch Adams lived the ethic of the golden rule. He may have been against the establishment but he was compassionate and caring toward those who were sick and could not afford healthcare.

Unfortunately, all did not go well for Patch Adams. His girlfriend was murdered by a man who was mentally troubled. She was compassionate and reached out to a man in despair. And it cost her her life. Had he been refereed to the mental healthcare system she would very likely be practicing medicine today. Patch Adams experienced tremendous guilt and felt responsible for her death. Since they chose to work outside the system the risk was much higher.

The story reaches its climax when Patch Adams has a conversation with God about the tragedy. His burden is so intense he stands atop a cliff and wrestles with the thought of taking his own life. In the process he rationalizes that his call to medicine is very great, something he should not give up. He turns around and sees a butterfly, fluttering on his brief case. It reminds him of the time his girlfriend told him how she was so envious of the butterfly because they were transformed and free to fly away. The butterfly lands on Patch’s shirt, then flies away. Patch resolves that she got her wish and he returns to school and completes his medical degree.

Only in the Church do we hear the theme of death and resurrection. Jesus has already announced to his disciples that his own death is imminent. His ministry will also have a cost as he gives his life for the life of all others. So, who needs the Church?

Dr. Keith Wagner, St. Paul’s United Church of Christ, Sidney, Ohio