The other day I was leafing through the alumni magazine from the University of Waterloo. The theme of this issue is “happiness” – specifically exploring the things “that are helping to create a world where happiness and well-being are possible for everyone.” It’s a worthy goal for sure – who doesn’t want to make the world a better place? One article especially caught my eye. It was about a course called The Science of Happiness. Among the assignments is to test things that are designed to make us happy and evaluate them. It’s a first-year introduction to research and methodology. Students are encouraged to develop their own methods of increasing happiness. The focus is human activity, secular approaches to bringing about happiness. To be fair, there was one profile of the work of a chaplain who helped older adults find grounding in faith and spiritual practices. But it was only half a page out of 44. It seemed almost like a token or an afterthought.
After leafing through the magazine, I had to wonder why they devoted an entire issue to pursuit of happiness. The answer is fairly obvious: we aren’t happy. That’s probably an understatement. A significant number of people today are anxious, angry and depressed. I’m not awfulizing. Surveys back it up. Google it.
There are many reasons we’re not happy. In general, there’s the rising cost of living (especially for housing), politics and the weather. There are individual things such as whatever’s going on in our personal lives right now. Mental health is a big one. There’s a fear of the future, not just by younger gens. How many of us, having watched the first U.S. presidential debate, are genuinely concerned about the future for that great nation to the south? And then the attempted assassination yesterday. To say we live interesting times is an understatement. This is stressful.
These are all valid reasons to be concerned about life or to be anxious, angry or depressed. But I’m going to go a wee bit further and suggest that there is an underlying issue. You might think it’s spiritual, but hold onto that thought; I‘m just talking on a human level here. It’s this: the uncertainty in our lives created by exponential change.
Change is stressful. It’s an undisputed fact in the study of human behaviour.
Those who study psychology and leadership point out that change used to be linear – 1+1=2, 2+2=4. One small step at a time. For the vast amount of human history, in general, things happened very gradually, almost unnoticeably. Our ancestors lived entire lives with remarkable constancy – perhaps a new folk song or story, a slight improvement in methodology of agricultural production perhaps – but nothing that would require upheaval. One qualification here – I’m only talking about normal time, the absence of war and disaster. That’s a whole different matter. I’m talking about human experience in general. During the Industrial Revolution, change started to speed up to the point where it became exponential. Rather than 1+1=2, and increasing increments of one, it gradually became 2+2=4, 4+4=8 and so on. Rather than once in a while, change has become perpetual — occurring all the time in an ongoing way. And it became pervasive — unfolding in multiple areas of life at once, touching every aspect of life. We all know the frustration in discovering that a process or a piece of technology that we just got used to is suddenly outmoded and a new version awaits. On a more pedestrian level, what’s with everchanging grocery stores. A facelift is nice but why do they have to change the location or entire departments and sections?
Human brains were designed for linear change, not exponential. On top of this, our brains are wired to be sensitive to risks. It’s why we pay more attention to negativity than what’s positive. It’s about survival. Any change is automatically received as a negative. Yes, God in his wisdom made us this way – to be lineal and wary of change. We cannot change the way our brains and bodies were fearfully and wonderfully made. God the engineer knew all of this prior to creation when he designed the human operating system.
Which leads to the question: if we can’t change human nature and we cannot slow down the pace of change – short of moving to the forest and living off the grid – how do we cope? In all challenges, we turn to Christ. The solution, or at least an answer is found in this verse.
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” – Hebrews 13:8 (NLT).
This is a remarkably concise statement which packs a ton of meaning. The key word is “same.” In the face of uncertainty and upheaval, some things do not change.
We’ll unpack this verse briefly. But first, consider that this powerful verse is found in a letter that is consumed with one mission, which is to explain how we draw near to God and then come into communion with God. In this sense, Hebrews may be the best-suited book for the times in which we live.
First, “Jesus Christ.” Who is Jesus Christ? In our classical understanding, He is the Son of God, the second person of the Trinity, the “visible image of the invisible God” as Paul wrote in Colossians 1:15. As the author of Hebrews writes in the introduction (Hebrews 1:3) “The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command. When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down in the place of honour at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven.”
“Same” refers to what Christ stood for. Among other things, He came to set the record straight, put the people back on track and teach the truth. Truth is factual and actual. We attempt to capture truth in our doctrine – essential beliefs. Doctrine exists as that unmoving foundation against change. It is the safeguard against human nature, whose itching ears want something new. Satan has always known this and uses it to lure us away from God. “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?” the serpent asked the woman in Genesis 3. “Did God really say that?” is a powerful question. Too often, we believe what we want to believe.
God help us if a charismatic leader asks that question. In 1947, a preacher’s kid by the name of Louis H. Evans had a religious awakening at a revival meeting. Louis was an LA kid, born and raised in Hollywood. At First Presbyterian Church in Hollywood, his father was literally pastor to the stars. Louis knew all about show business and the power of personality. He actually married a young movie star – who made headlines by quitting her career to work as a ministry team with her husband. Louis and Colleen (who went by the nickname Coke) used their connections to form the “Hollywood Christian Group” whose members included Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, Jane Russell, Ronald Reagan and Billy Graham (before he hit the big time). Louis went on to get some advanced education. His commentary on the book of Hebrews is a classic. In regard to the word “same” he wrote: “Reality does not change. Do not follow after the transient and the false. Hold firm to Him, to the confession of your hope without wavering, for He (Christ) who has promised is faithful.” We are to resist the temptation to be wowed and amazed by the next great thing. . . . “Chameleon Christians” is what Louis called believers who were easily swayed. Changing our exteriors to fit in.
“Yesterday” is literally every moment from the beginning of time until the present. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.” (John 1:1) As some of our friends in more liturgical churches say: “As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end, Amen.” Yesterday is where we find evidence of the power of sameness which has provided a foundation, which allows us to be here today. Without sameness, the church would have died.
“Today.” On the one hand, I like changes in fashion, technology and music. (On that note, however, I could make an argument that the quality of music peaked sometime in the 1980s or early 90s, and everything today is derivative – but that’s a debate for another time.) Regarding technology, we live in amazing times. I love the fact that I can access vast resources online and don’t have to drive three hours to check out a dusty book or article from a university research library. But some things do not need to change. There’s something beautiful about a solid older home or public building that was built to stand for ages, but has updated windows, plumbing and a new kitchen. It’s important to know what should change and what shouldn’t. In the midst of anxiety, anger and depression, Jesus is first aid. Jesus is the pause button, the mute button, the foundation which keeps us anchored amidst the winds of change. Jesus is excellent therapy.
“Forever” is the future, the great and vast unknown. The future used to be bright. It still can be. We live ultimately for The Kingdom, where the sameness of Christ and his doctrine will be glorified. But we are also invited to strive for the same thing today. Not for ourselves but for our children’s children.
Put this together and we get this enduring truth:
healthy change is only possible if we are connected to an unchanging God.
The unchanging character of Christ was wholly submitted to the Father and the true meaning of scripture. It’s what allowed Christ not only to remain standing but to accomplish what He came to do. If we are the body of Christ, we are invited to do the same. And to this we add the suggestion that sameness is our lifeline to Christ in the storm. If it all sounds rather boring, it’s worth a reminder that the flesh wants change and excitement. We are tempted and pulled. The irony is that adhering to sameness in the long run will actually bring joy. This much more than just happiness, which is superficial. Happiness is human enterprise. Joy is from The Lord.
Sameness is our foundation amidst the storms of change. The Church is the platform on which that can happen. If we are to remain standing, it will be because we adhere to the sameness of Christ and unchanging Biblical doctrine.
Christ came so that we may have life to the full. Life is about being spiritually fused to Christ so that we can continue to carry out his mission – which is pretty simple: to believe and to submit to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It’s not about me.
One important caveat here. Sameness does not imply that we cannot work for justice. Solid, unchanging doctrine demands that we care for the least of these, that we see everyone as equal in the eyes of God – sinners all. Our mission as the church isn’t to change who we are. The mission of the church is to point to an unchanging Christ – who is the way, the truth and the life – and submit totally to Him. We are invited to grant Christ an all-areas backstage pass to our anxious and stressed-out lives.
If the church is to thrive once again in our lifetimes, it will only happen if we submit once again to the sameness of the immutable Christ who was totally submitted to the will of His father.
His ministry was hardly a vacation. It was a tough mission. It wasn’t comfortable for Him but it was His joy to do so. If we are truly the Body Christ it won’t be comfortable for us either – and it could be difficult. It could be painful. But it will also be our joy.
This is the challenge for church leadership as we advance in the 21st century. If this was a team and I was the coach I’d say, “no pain, no gain.” It takes discipline, individually and collectively, for the church to align and adhere with the sameness of Christ, to put Him before ourselves, to find and remain on the narrow path while always speaking the truth in love.
____________________
This essay is based on Rev. Andy Cornell’s message at the induction of Rev. Brian McGuffin to Lakeshore St. Andrew’s in Windsor, Ontario on July 14, 2024.
