WALLS THAT DIVIDE

July 19, 2015

Pentecost 8

Mark 6:53-56

Ephesians 2:11-22

(prayer)

This past week, I enjoyed some time with the 30 or so children who were part of the Peace Lutheran - St. David’s United joint Vacation Bible School.

Primarily, I looked after programming the last 45 minutes of each day: some singing, some games or videos - and winding up the theme for the day.

I have to say that these young VBSers absolutely loved the collection of rhythm instruments we have here at St. David’s.  By day three, I started wearing a mic and plugging in my guitar so that I could be heard above the symphony of sounds.

One of the songs I led for them was “All God’s Critters Got a Place in the Choir”

All God's critters got a place in the choir
Some sing low, some sing higher,
Some sing out loud on the telephone wire,
And some just clap their hands,

or paws, or anything they got now

It’s a fun song - with a simple but profound message:  we are all welcome to see ourselves as people of God - as children of our maker.

And more so, we help make the music of God's mission.

It is a theme that grew out of the experience of the early Christian church.

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The movement that grew out of the original followers of Jesus expanded far further than the original disciples could have imagined.

As we read through the narratives of the Gospels and the book of Acts, we can see the progression of inclusion.

Jesus grew up in Galilee and focused his ministry on the northern tip of Lake Capernaum (aka Sea of Galilee, Lake of Gennesaret, Sea of Chinnereth or the Sea of Tiberias - on modern maps it is Lake Kinneret).

The bible tells us that some of Jesus’ first followers fished for a living.  Jesus and his followers seemed to make their way back to Capernaum from time to time  - sort of like a home base.

We also can guess that Jesus may have made annual trips south - perhaps around passover time - as part of his ministry - to Jerusalem and the Judean hill country east of the capital.  The bible tells us that he had friends in Bethany.

In spite of his travels, for the most part those who Jesus sought out - those he taught - were (like him): followers of the Hebrew faith.  To Jesus’ disciples, he was a great teacher, a mentor and a master (rabbi).  Sometimes, they even dared to imagine that he might just be God’s anointed saviour: The Messiah hoped for by the pharisaic Jews.

Even though Jesus’ ministry was (as he once said) to the lost sheep of Israel, he did evolve his thinking to believe that the Grace of God - which he shared in his teachings and healings - could also be experienced by people outside of his own religious tradition.

Most famously is a story told in the gospels of Mark and Matthew, where a gentile woman seeks Jesus’ healing for her sick daughter (non-jewish - in Hebrew "nations" = i.e. other nations).

In the story that Jesus rejects the request (at first) by comparing the gentiles to dogs: “It isn't right to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs.”  The desperate mother retorted: “even the dogs under the table eat the children's leftovers!”

“You are a woman of great faith!” And at that very moment her daughter was healed.

This encounter seems to be the first crack in the hard outer shell of the Jesus Movement - the Grace of the Hebrew God began to extend beyond the Hebrews. 

Now, within the lifetime of Jesus, there were only sporadic examples of a hope beyond Galilee and Judea, perhaps most well known was a parable where a Samaritan was the protagonist.

As we move beyond Jesus' lifetime, into the stories in Acts, the expansion continues.  First was actually an expansion within Judaism - to include those who lived beyond the Holy Land - the so-called Hellenistic (or Greek-speaking) Jews.  As the numbers of people in the movement swelled, it became clear that managing the needs of the group was too much for the twelve apostles. So, seven new leaders were named - and they all were from the Hellenists.

Later one of these new leaders, Phillip found himself on the road to Gaza where he met a man from Ethiopia who was a recent convert to Judaism.  After sharing stories about Jesus, Phillip agreed to baptise this man.

So being from the traditional lands of Israel was not the limit, nor was the edge at those who were born Jewish but lived in other lands - the Jesus Movement would also be open to all those who covenanted to follow the God of Israel - even coverts.

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But the expansion was not over. 

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At this point, the early Christians were all Jewish (either by birth or conversion) - we can assume that all of the male Christians had been circumcised as per Hebrew custom.

Then Peter had his dream about being hungry and only finding foods prohibited by the Torah.  In spite of that, God told him to eat and be filled - what God makes clean, Peter must not see as profane.  The dream was broken by an invitation for Peter to visit Cornelius - a centurian in the Roman army stationed in Caesarea, which was on the Mediterranean coast, southwest of Nazareth.  Cornelius was apparently enthralled by the Hebrew religious practices - he is said to have been a God-fearing man, who prayed and gave alms and did other good works - but he never converted - he remained, for all practical purposes, an uncircumcised gentile.

But like in his dream, Peter felt that God was calling him to share the Good News with Cornelius - God had declared this gentile good, who was Peter to ignore him.  So when Cornelius desired baptism as a follower of Jesus, Peter agreed and the deed was done.

As Peter said: “I am learning that God doesn’t show partiality to one group of people over another.  Rather, in every nation, whoever worships him and does what is right is acceptable to him”

Cornelius was not expected to convert to Judaism first before coming part of Jesus’ church.  This opened the door of the faith to a whole world full of people.

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All God’s critters got a place in the choir.

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Easier said than done.  Old loyalties are hard to release.

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The expectations of those within the diverse early churches were constant issues that people like the Apostle Paul had to try and work out.  In his letter writing, Paul came down on the side that it was a person's inner faith that mattered more than rituals or religious practices.  Paul would phrase it as "faith over the law".

He was clear in his letter to the Galatians that Gentiles did not need to be circumcised to follow Jesus.  In the Roman letter, Paul discouraged people judging each other over what foods they ate.  In 1st Corinthians, he refused to rank various spiritual gifts.

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It is normal - when we have spiritual experiences that are enriching and meaningful to us - we expect them to translate well to others as well.

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In my life as a UCC minister, I have had many opportunities to work with people from other denominations - I like to spend the occasional Sunday off worshipping at churches quite different from my own.  I am quite open to learning how things are done differently - I try to not assume that every church does things they was we do things here.  And so, I am always floored when I run into other pastors who seem to have no idea how diverse the practice of Christianity is.  Some seem so isolated in their own tradition, that they think their way is The (only) Way.

I cringe every time I read an article or blog post by someone claiming to promote the “Christian Perspective” as if anyone can truly speak for all of Christianity - Christianity has many perspectives.  It depends who you talk to.

When I do Confirmation Classes, I usually invite the people to learn a little church history beginning and ending with assumed facts:

1.      Jesus started with a relatively small group of disciples who all learned and grew in faith together.

2.      In 2015, there are tens of thousands of distinct expressions of Christianity (denominations).  It has grown exponentially in the last 100 years.

There are reasons (there is history) behind the diversity of the modern church.

More than a few of these varied denominations are utterly convinced that they are the only ones who have got it right.

[old joke about various denominations in heaven]

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From the book of Acts and from Paul's letters, we have evidence that this disagreement over what constitutes the beliefs and practices of Authentic Christianity was already a current topic in the mid to late first century.  We see signs of that in the part of the Ephesians letter we heard today.

Authored in the first part of the last half of the second century, it may orginially have been a form letter - a general letter not just for the church at Ephesus: the oldest manuscripts that archeologists have found are missing the reference Ephesus from the verse one - instead of To the saints who are in Ephesus and are faithful.  Some old versions simply say To the saints who are faithful.

Ephesus and other early church locations were filled with gentile Christians - many of whom were invited to believe through the ministry of the Apostle Paul and his partners, who focused their work on sharing the Good News with the wider world beyond Israel.

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In the part of the letter we read today it said remember that you were at that time without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise ... you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus - himself - as the cornerstone.

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The letter that went to Ephesus (and maybe other communities) seems to trying to move beyond the language of Hebrew and Greek, Jew and Gentile, circumcised and uncircumcised.  The focus is on  being "citizens with the saints" and "members of the household (family) of God".

There was a time when the divisions mattered - when people were far off from each other.  But Jesus has brought the different groups together - in a way, Jesus has provided an atmosphere of peace, where those who were once divided can become one.

Ephesians says: [Christ Jesus] created in himself one new humanity... [he reconciled] both groups to God in one body through the cross thus putting to death that hostility... You are no longer strangers... but ... members of the household of God... [Together] you are built spiritually into a dwelling place for God.

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There are some wonderful images in those words that really resonate with me.  When we think of the crucifixion of Jesus, we think of the peaceful nature of Jesus in the face of oppressive rule of empire.  In retrospect, some Christians focus the cross on the atonement for sin.  Others see it was a necessary pre-step to resurrection.  In Ephesians 2, we are given another metaphor for instrument of death that the cross is - while Jesus is executed, so are the divisions between the Jews and the Gentiles.  In the empires fight against Jesus, peace (not conflict) emerges.

Gospel writers called Jesus a guiding light.  For the diverse churches in Ephesus and elsewhere, the truth of this coming together was being lived out.

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It is ironic that the churches that knew unity through teachings like Ephesians 2, divided themselves along new lines over the centuries and millenia that followed.

I am thrilled to have been brought up in the United Church of Canada, which was born out of the desire to buck the trend of increasing denominanilzation - to find a basis of union rather than division.

It was exciting to learn that the United Church of Christ in the USA has agreed to be in "full communion" with the United Church of Canada - which means that ministers and members will be able to move between the two denominations as easily as they can within their denomination.  The UCCan will (almost certainly) approve the same thing in a few weeks when the 42nd General Council meets in Cornerbrook.

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Even in the shadow of these hopeful acts, there is still a lot of division within the Body of Christ.  And for good reason.  We interpret the themes of the bible differently; we enjoy different rituals; some of us look at those outside and are fearful, others are hopeful.

For me, I try to ground myself in the promise of the message of Ephesians 2 - that the basic essence of the Jesus experience is to break down walls rather than erect them.

Rather that looking at someone different from me and retreating in fear or readying myself to evangelize that person to be just like me, I try to see them as a fellow occupant of the vast household of God - the mansion with many rooms.

Ephesians says that each one of us is a dwelling-place for God.  That means that I can learn more about God by experiencing and embracing the fullness of God's family.

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I hope that each of us will find glimpses of God in those we might see as strangers.

Let us pray:

Merciful God, through Christ walls that divide are broken. Forgive us for times when we have failed to live as a faithful community. May we in unity support our life together, and may we may know the depths of your love and grace. Amen.

***offering***