Past Sermon

Sermon Title: "Da Vinci Code Or Christ Code? "
Date: May 14, 2006
Minister: Rev. Charles E. Ensley, Jr.

Lesson:  John 15:1-8

I need to start with a congregational poll.  Don’t worry:  I’m not going to think any more or less of you because of your answer.  Just for a reference point as I begin my sermon, how many of you have read or are reading Dan Brown’s 2003 novel, The Da Vinci Code?  [Two-thirds of congregation raises hands.]

Second question:  how many of you are likely to see the movie, based on the novel, which opens this Friday? [At least half of congregation raises hands.]

Dan Brown’s popular page-turner soared to the top of The New York Times best-seller list, where it has remained for an incredible three years, and became the topic of heated conversations in book clubs and Bible studies across the country.  Some clergy, denominations and Christian groups are using it as an opportunity for discussion groups, while others have condemned its premise as blasphemy and heresy.  It also inspired an army of writers to crank up their word processors and fire back with books such as Da Vinci Code Decoded, The Truth Behind the Da Vinci Code, Secrets of the Code, Truth and Fiction in the Da Vinci Code, Breaking the Da Vinci Code, Exploring the Da Vinci Code, and Cracking Da Vinci’s Code.  That’s seven books, in case you lost count.  And I’m sure if you go to Barnes and Noble or Borders today, you will find a table near the door with most of them on display.

Now, beginning this Friday, May 19, we can see the movie version of The Da Vinci Code, starring Tom Hanks as religious symbology expert Robert Langdon.  The story begins with the murder of a historian at the Louvre in Paris, and the discovery of a chain of cryptic codes and puzzles.  At the heart of the mystery is a secret that goes back to Leonardo Da Vinci, and even earlier — to the days of Jesus Christ.

Langdon becomes a suspect in the murder of the historian, and is chased through the Louvre, across the city of Paris, and finally into England.  When I was in London last week, I saw tours to visit the sites mentioned in the book, such as the Temple Church.  I did not take the tour!

As Langdon runs from the law, he searches for the true killer, as well as for the ancient secret that the historian was trying to protect.  The secret, has ignited a controversy among readers, the Christian faithful, and Biblical scholars.  But first, a spoiler alert:  if you do not want to hear the secret, this is the time to either cover your ears, go check on your child in the nursery, or go out to see if the coffee is ready!  Brown alleges that Jesus was not the single, celibate man that most Christians assume he was.  No, in Brown’s novel, Jesus and Mary Magdalene had a child, and they began a bloodline that continues to the present day.

As if this allegation were not scandalous enough, a second fascinating question in The Da Vinci Code involves the identity of the disciple seated at the right hand of Jesus in Leonardo Da Vinci’s painting of the Last Supper.  Is the feminine-looking figure in this picture the disciple John — a youthful, clean-shaven man?  Or is it Mary Magdalene, the follower of Jesus who, the Gospels indicate, became the first person to see the risen Christ?  The Da Vinci Code wants you to believe that the figure in the Upper Room is Mary, and it encourages you to embrace the idea that she was not only a follower of Jesus, but also his wife.

If you look closely at Da Vinci’s painting of The Last Supper, you’ll see that there is no Holy Grail on the table.  That’s because, according to the Code, the Holy Grail is not the wine-filled cup that Jesus used at the Last Supper.  No, the Grail is actually Mary Magdalene herself, because she was the vessel that carried the child of Jesus.

So John is not John — he’s Mary.  And Mary is the Holy Grail . . . according to author Dan Brown.

Believe it . . . or not.  Both the movie’s director, Ron Howard, and its star, Tom Hanks, have repeatedly declared in interviews that they take the book and the screenplay to be a work of fiction.

I read the book about two years ago.  I didn’t read it right away, as I was skeptical about the story line.  It was an engaging read.  One of my doctors said he read it straight through one weekend.  I do have a concern about the reality of it:  in the period covered by the novel, no one ate, no one used the restroom, no one took a shower.  I would like to know what their blood sugar was if anyone was diabetic!

I do not choose to believe the premise that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene and had a child by her, and their offspring live to this day.  Most of us are fortunate if we can even trace our family lines back to when our ancestors first came to America, let alone believe that a family line can be traced down for two thousand years.  It would make me think no less of Jesus to know he was married, but frankly, I believe the notion to be preposterous. 

The Da Vinci Code raises a number of provocative questions, but unfortunately it fails to make a convincing case for most of its answers.  While the disciple John certainly does look feminine in Da Vinci’s Last Supper, the fact is that such representations were pretty typical for the time.  I have seen art historians in interviews attest to this, and show several paintings of the era which portray the beloved disciple John as long-haired and clean-shaven.  And the absence of the Holy Grail doesn’t make a case for Mary Magdalene as a human vessel.  Da Vinci based his painting on the Gospel of John, and John’s story of the Last Supper doesn’t include a cup.  The focus of the Last Supper in John’s Gospel is on washing feet, not drinking wine.

As it turns out, the best way to crack the Code and get the goods on the Grail is to go straight to Da Vinci’s source:  the Gospel of John.  In today’s passage of Scripture, we learn that Jesus is the True Vine, and that each and every one of us is a sign of his fruitfulness.  To be connected to Christ has nothing to do with a sexual relationship between Jesus and Mary, but everything to do with being a productive branch on the Jesus Vine.

Jesus did have a love child.  No doubt.  Love children, actually.  But it’s not the child, or children that Dan Brown talks about.  They are the persons sitting at the end of the third pew, or the one halfway to the back, trying to get comfortable in his seat, or the person near the back of the balcony.

You are the children of Jesus.  Each one of us is a child of Jesus, with a direct link to the True Vine.  This is no ancient and awesome secret, one that has been hidden by the church for far too long.  It’s very evident in our lesson today that Jesus is the vine, and we are connected to him as branches, just as tendrils of ivy are connected to the main plant.

If you are a branch on the Jesus Vine, you are productive because you are rooted in Jesus.  Just as a tree cannot thrive without a root system that extends deep into the soil, none of us can reach our potential without a strong connection to the Son of God.

•  Jesus is the one who keeps us from being blown away by the storms of job loss and personal failure and family conflict.

•  Jesus is the one who offers us “living water” when we are feeling dried out and lifeless (John 4:10), and who nourishes us with his teachings when we are wandering aimlessly along a dangerous path.

•  Jesus is the one who supports us when we fall, forgives us when we sin, and even breathes new life into us when we are feeling dead inside.

Our rootedness in Jesus is what gives us the ability to be truly productive, because no good can come from a branch that is broken, dried out, fallen or dead.

Keep connected, says Jesus, “because apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)

At the same time, branches on the Jesus Vine know that it is better to bunch together than to stand out.  The True Vine has always been healthiest when its branches have grown together instead of shooting off in a thousand different directions.  Brilliant loners like the character of Robert Langdon may serve as dashing heroes in novels like The Da Vinci Code, but they don’t make much of a contribution to a community that is trying to bring good news to the poor, release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind. (Luke 4:18)  To do the work of Christ requires commitment and coordination, not occasional flashes of brilliance and daring individual efforts.  To be true disciples, we need to love one another, just as Jesus has loved us. (John 15:12)

Keep together, says Jesus, “bear much fruit and become my disciples.” (John 15:8)  Being a fruitful disciple is always a team sport, not an individual activity.

In a surprising way, one of the characters in The Da Vinci Code actually serves as a warning to us about the danger of becoming disconnected from the Jesus Vine.  A man named Silas is orphaned as a young man, falls into a life of crime, and spends time in prison.  After escaping, he finds refuge with a young Spanish priest who goes on to become the head of a strict Catholic group called Opus Dei.  Under this priest’s guidance, Silas is given a mission that is said to be critical to saving the true Word of God — a mission that involves murdering four leaders of a group called the Priory of Sion, in pursuit of a secret “keystone.”  Silas commits these crimes reluctantly, knowing that murder is a sin, but he carries out his mission because he is told that his actions will save the Catholic Church.  In the end, he learns that he has been duped, and he goes from being a menacing character to a truly tragic figure.

So what might be the message for us in all of this, especially as we ponder Jesus’ words about the vine and the branches?

•  Keep connected to Jesus.  We have no other master whom we should serve.

•  Keep together, as part of the community of faith.  Don’t take off on an isolated, individualistic mission from God.

•  Stay productive.  Focus on fruitfulness, and on graceful, loving service.

That’s the Christ Code.  There’s nothing secret about it.

 

Sermon Resources:

O’Day, Gail. “The Gospel of John.” The New Interpreter’s Bible (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1995). 760-761.

“The Christ Code.”  Homiletics, Vol. 18, No. 3, May-June 2006.  21-25

The Da Vinci Code — Official Web site of Dan Brown.  danbrown.com

Welborn, Amy.  “The Da Vinci Code: The facts behind the fiction.”  Catholic Educator’s Resource Center.  catholiceducation.org