The Waking Dreamer: Unity

Showing posts with label Unity. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 25, 2025

The Love That Makes Us One

John 17:1-5, 20-26

Perhaps forty years ago I had an experience that, in my mind, demonstrates the bond among those who share faith in Jesus Christ. At least ideally. I was in seminary and living in a suburb of Fort Worth. I had visited the local Baptist church, and the pastor came to pay me a visit one evening when a neighbor was there. As we all chatted, my neighbor remarked that it seemed like the pastor and I were old friends, when in reality we had just met. Of course, we had more in common than our faith in Jesus Christ. He had also attended the seminary in Fort Worth. And we were working in the same denomination. So from the outset we had a lot in common. But my neighbor’s remark that it seemed like we were old friends even though we had just met has always stayed with me. I’d like to think that any time Christians come together, it’s like a reunion of old friends.

Of course, that’s not always the case. There are so many different approaches to living out the Christian faith that we don’t always have that much in common. Some Christians are traditional, some are not. Some are conservative, some are middle of the road, and some are very liberal. And those differences can make it hard for us to feel connected in any meaningful way to people who share our faith in Jesus Christ. In fact, some churches don’t want to be united with those who do things differently, even though they share the same faith in Jesus Christ. And while most of us may not believe that “difference” means “heresy,” practically speaking we know that we simply tend to divide ourselves into groups based on our cultural, political, and social views. Even when it comes to individual congregations, it’s hard to find a church where everyone is on the same page.

This situation is not for lack of trying to promote unity (or even enforce it). Many churches use agreement regarding what they believe to achieve unity. In fact, they can be pretty heavy-handed in the way they impose that “agreement.” Some of you may have had the experience I’ve had going to certain denominations that ask you not to take communion unless you believe just like they do. Other churches seek unity through organizational uniformity, through a ladder of authority that works from the top down. Again, depending on those who are in positions of authority, the situation can be healthy or not. In our context, we seek unity through what is essentially a policy manual, the Book of Order. As much as I love being Presbyterian and believe in our tradition, I would have to say that all these well-intentioned efforts at promoting (or enforcing) unity have in reality been ventures in missing the point. They really haven’t succeeded at producing unity in the church at all.

I think part of the problem is that we’re looking in the wrong direction for unity. We think somehow that we can find it through our own efforts. But in our Gospel lesson for today, Jesus pointed us toward a very different source for our unity with one another. Jesus called his disciples to a unity that’s grounded in the unity of love between the Father and the Son. Jesus prays, “Father, just as you are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us” (Jn. 17:21). He says it in several different ways, but basically Jesus prayed for the disciples, and all those who would believe in the future, “that they may be one as we are one” (Jn. 17:22-23). Clearly, what creates a real and lasting unity in the church is the love that unites Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We know that by experience. Real connection comes from building relationships and developing mutual trust and respect. And for us to have any real unity, we first have to have a relationship in which we feel connected to one another.

I think that all may be fairly straightforward. I guess the question, though, is how we promote the love of God among people like us, who hold very different opinions about what we deem important in life. How do we promote the love that unites Father, Son, and Holy Spirit among people like us who get very attached to our opinions, and who can at times be stubborn about holding onto differing viewpoints? I think what it takes is a unity that’s deeper and stronger than anything we can create ourselves. What really makes the church one is the unity that God creates—the church is the one people of the one God. It’s the unity that Jesus Christ creates—the church is the one people of the one Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It’s the unity that the Spirit of God creates—the church is the one people of the one Holy Spirit. That’s the unity that makes the church—all people who put their trust in Jesus Christ—live.

I don’t believe this kind of unity is about the absence of difference. All we have to do to verify that is to look around the room! As I’ve said before, I believe that one of the signs of the health of any human community is the ability to disagree agreeably. The bond created among us by the presence of the love of God in Christ through the Spirit doesn’t eliminate our differences. What it means is that the differences don’t divide us, they make us stronger. And I think the way that happens is when we respond to our differences by practicing acceptance, humility, and patience. These are ties that bind us together and help us to thrive in the love we share with one another, the love that originates in God’s love for us.

A lot of people have been asking for a long while the question of how the church can thrive in these difficult times. I believe that living out the unity we share in God’s love is one of the most important ways we can work to enhance the health, the strength, and the vitality of this or any other church. In our day and time, the church is divided by race, divided by class, divided by politics, divided by beliefs. In a very real sense, we in the church reflect the divisions of our society at large. I don’t think that’s a good thing, but I also don’t think we have any power to change that, because we’re all human beings. But all these divisions contradict what Jesus said should be our defining trait: “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (Jn. 13:35). Because we come from different perspectives and backgrounds, because we have differing opinions and viewpoints, the kind of love Jesus commanded us to show one another can be difficult at times, but I think we have to try.

Even in the best of times, loving others in the way that Jesus loves us takes all that we have to give. But in a world that seems increasingly lacking in love, it can be even more of a challenge. I would suggest that demonstrating the love that makes us one may be the most important way we can show the world that the church is a place to find new life. Perhaps the most meaningful way we can work to draw other people into the fellowship of this congregation is by working on the relationships we have with one another. When our relationships demonstrate a genuine concern and respect for one another, a heartfelt care, I think people cannot help but notice, and I think they’ll be drawn to join us. And they’ll be drawn by the love that makes us one.

Tuesday, August 06, 2024

Billboards

Ephesians 4:1-16[1]

I’m not a fan of billboards personally. I know they serve a purpose in our advertising-driven world. But I’ve been in places where people can’t just put up a billboard wherever they want, and I like the ability to appreciate the scenery without all the clutter. Many of us have experienced the evolution of billboards. These days we have LED screens for billboards. But some billboards are still simple hand-painted signs. For a long time, the sight of workers pasting up the printed strips of a billboard was a common one. In those days, it was also fairly common, at least where I lived, to see a billboard that had some of the strips peeled off. Apparently the contract ran out! The funny thing was that you could still make out the gist of the original ad. And sometimes you could also make out the one underneath it!

In a very real sense, we are all living and breathing billboards for faith in Jesus Christ. Whether we like it or not, and for better or for worse, our lives are all constantly “on display” for Christ. In the time when we were supposedly a “Christian” nation, everyone was assumed to be a person of faith, and perhaps it didn’t matter as much. To be quite honest, I’m not sure any nation can ever truly claim to be “Christian.” But now we live in a time when more people in our society explicitly reject any and every religion. In my mind, that makes it all the more important that we are aware that our lives are constantly “on display” for Christ. The language of the New Testament is that we are “witnesses” to what Christ has done for us and for all people. And one way in which we bear that “witness” is by the way we live.

This is an important part of our lesson from St. Paul in Ephesians for today. As in the case in some of his other letters, after laying out the message of the Gospel and what that means for our “hope of salvation,” he turns to the practical implications for how we live our lives. Here, he urges those who know Jesus Christ to “lead a life worthy of your calling” (Eph 4:1, NLT). If you asked ten people what it means to live in a manner “worthy” of the salvation we have been given through Jesus Christ, I think you might get ten different answers. Some would point to particular religious or spiritual practices you should do on a daily basis. Some would say that it’s about choosing a special “vocation” like devoting your entire life to Christ. Others would insist that you have to agree with certain very specific beliefs.

But St. Paul takes a very different direction in answering this question. To him, “leading a life worthy of your calling” means to “Always be humble and gentle.” It means being “patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.” It means making “every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace” (Eph 4:2-3, NLT). In other words, we demonstrate the quality of our faith in Jesus Christ by the way we treat one another. I would add that this applies to how we treat all people, whether or not they are one of “us”!

One of the things I have always found to be a bit surprising about this passage is that St. Paul says that we display the quality of our faith by the quality of our relationships! And the quality he was looking for is the ability to remain “united in the Spirit, binding ourselves together with peace.” He said we display the quality of our faith when we practice patience with one another, when we bear with one another, or “make allowance for each other’s faults” as the New Living Translation puts it. And we do so because of the love we have for one another. It reminds me of Jesus’ statement to those who followed him that “Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples” (Jn 13:35, NLT).[2]

There was a time when church “unity” was based on denominational structures—Presbyterian, Lutheran, Episcopalian, Methodist, or Baptist. There was a time when church unity was based on shared doctrinal convictions. Although many would have denied it, it was also based on being on the same side when it came to politics. That was the case for many centuries. But the kind of unity that makes the church truly live does not come from human institutions, or shared doctrinal convictions, or even from political agreement. It’s the unity that God creates.[3]

That’s why Paul adds the statement that “There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all, in all, and living through all” (Eph 4:5-6, NLT).[4] True unity in the church is the unity that God creates—the church is the one people of the one God. It’s the unity that Jesus Christ creates—the church is the one people of the one Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It’s the unity that the Spirit of God creates—the church is the one people of the one Holy Spirit. Here Paul places special emphasis on the unity created by the presence and powerful work of God’s Spirit in all our lives. That’s what makes the church really live. At least according to St. Paul!

So, how do we develop this unity in order to help our church thrive? For one thing, it’s something we have to “grow up” into. St. Paul sees the Christian life as a process by which we are all constantly “growing in every way more and more like Christ” until we “measure up” to “to the full and complete standard of Christ” (Eph 4:13, 15, NLT)! If you’re like me, and you’re aware of how often you fall short of that standard, you may be thinking that’s impossible. How can anyone every live up “to the full and complete standard of Christ”? That’s a natural response, I think. But St. Paul insists that this whole process is not something we do on our own. It’s the “new life” that the Spirit of God creates in us. It’s what God is doing in all of our lives through Jesus Christ.

If we’re all “billboards” meant to display this astounding work that God is doing in all of our lives, we may struggle with feeling like we can never live up to that kind of scrutiny. We may feel like those old billboards that have part of the “new” message, but there are some strips missing and some of the old underlying truth still visible. That’s an uncomfortable truth for us, but it may be reassuring to remember that it’s true for all of us. We all have a mixture of the new life and the old truths that make up who we are as real-life followers of Jesus Christ. That’s why we “grow up” into the “full stature of Christ” precisely by practicing gentleness, humility, patience, forbearance, and love in our relationships with one another and with all people. Those qualities don’t always come naturally to us, but the more we put them into practice, the more we will be able to practice them in our relationships. As we do so, even our flawed lives can be billboards bearing witness to the new life that God gives us all through Jesus Christ!

[2] Cf. Jürgen Moltmann, The Church in the Power of the Spirit, 345, where he insists that the church “is not ‘one’ for itself; it is one for the peace of divided [hu]mankind in the coming kingdom of God.”

[3] Cf. Moltmann, Church in the Power, 347: “Can political enemies ‘remain one under the gospel’? How long can they do this? And what does it mean for their conflict itself? Does this not make ‘the gospel’ an abstract and ineffective power?” His answer is that what counts in the midst of these conflicts is the “fellowship of Christ.” In other words, it is our mutual faith, and the presence of the living Christ among us through the Spirit, that creates unity in the real conflicts of human life.

[4] Cf. Karl Barth, Church Dogmatics 4.1:668: “In all the riches of His divine being the God who reconciled the world with Himself in Jesus Christ is One. Jesus Christ, elected the Head of all men and as such their Representative who includes them all in Himself in His risen and crucified body is One. The Holy Spirit in the fulness and diversity of His gifts is One. In the same way His community as the gathering of the men who know and confess Him can only be one.”

Thursday, June 02, 2022

How Will They Believe?

John 17:20-26[1]

I think it’s hard for those of us who grew up in church to witness its diminishing influence in our society. To some extent, it’s the result of cultural changes that have been in the works since long before any of us were born! The history of American Christianity bears witness to the way the influence of the church has waxed and waned from the very beginning until now. Many of us grew up in the wake of the most recent of several “great awakenings” that renewed the importance of the church in people’s lives. But that renewal has been fading for decades now.

The declining interest in church participation is not only due to these broader changes, however. I would say that there is a very real sense in which the cause of this decline lies at our feet. People have lost interest in church in many cases not in spite of what we’ve done, but because of what we’ve done. There are churches in our circle of influence that still publicly “shun” those they deem to be “sinful.” And there are a lot of churches who practice something similar to shunning by denying the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper to those who aren’t “deserving.” But perhaps the worst black eye of all is the way in which we who call ourselves members of the Body of Christ treat one another, sometimes over the most insignificant differences of opinion.

In our Gospel lesson for today, I think Jesus calls us to a different way. Jesus called his disciples to a unity that is grounded in the unity he shared with the Father based on the love between them. Jesus prays, “Father, just as you are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us” (Jn. 17:21). He says it in several different ways, but essentially Jesus prayed for the disciples “that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me” (Jn. 17:22-23). I would say Jesus understood that his disciples would experience this unity as they were connected to him, and therefore as they were connected to the Father. What creates true unity in the church is the fact that we have been enfolded into the relationship of love that unites Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Jesus says that the purpose of this unity among his disciples is “so that the world may believe that you have sent me” (Jn 17:21). The idea of “believing that you have sent me” may seem like a strange way to describe faith. We’re familiar with “believing in” Jesus, but it’s not so common to hear about “believe that” Jesus was sent by God. In John’s Gospel, however, this is one of the questions associated with Jesus, his mission, and the faith he calls people to have in him. The Jewish leaders continually debated his identity based on the question where Jesus came from. He tried to tell them in many different ways that he had come from the Father, and he called them to believe this. This is one of the important ways that John’s Gospel frames faith.

In fact, this is so important in John’s Gospel that Jesus repeats here it a little differently. It is his desire “that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me” (Jn 17:23). Here the idea of “believing” is replaced with “knowing,” which is not unusual in John’s Gospel. Not only does Jesus ask that his disciples share the relationship of love that he had with the Father, but he also wants the world to know that his disciples shared that relationship. I think at least one way in which the world would know this is by the way in which his disciples live out their unity with one another.

I guess the real question, though, is how we promote this kind of unity among people like us, who hold very different ideas about what we consider important in life. We can get very attached to our opinions, and we can be stubborn at times about holding onto our viewpoints. I think it takes a unity that is deeper and stronger than anything we can create ourselves. What really makes the church one is the unity that God creates—the church is the one people of the one God. It’s the unity that Jesus Christ creates—the church is the one people of the one Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It’s the unity that the Spirit of God creates—the church is the one people of the one Holy Spirit. This is the unity that enables the world to believe in Jesus through our witness.

I don’t believe this kind of unity is about the absence of difference. I believe that one of the signs of a healthy community is their ability to disagree. The bond created among us by the presence of God in Christ through the Spirit doesn’t eliminate the differences among us. It means that the differences don’t divide us, they make us stronger. That happens when we deal with differences by focusing on our agreements without engaging in “mud-slinging” or “name-calling” or in any other way tearing down brothers and sisters in Christ who hold different views about crucial issues. The ties that bind us together are stronger than our differences of opinion!

When I was serving in Houston, the PCUSA was dealing with some divisive issues. A friend of mine who was the pastor of a nearby church led an education session during a Presbytery meeting. In that meeting he shared that their church was not “of one mind, but we are not divided.” That has stuck with me for many years. Bearing witness to our unity in Christ doesn’t mean we have to agree on everything, but I think it does mean that our disagreements don’t divide us. When we can show our world this kind of unity, especially now, I think our witness can be a way for them to believe.

Monday, June 10, 2019

That They May Be One

John 17:20-26[1]

A few weeks ago I mentioned some of the ways in which the church is perceived by our culture—not necessarily positively. I think another problem with the perception of the church at large in our society is the idea that there’s supposed to be “one, holy, catholic, apostolic” church. Of course, we could spend a sermon on each one of those marks of the church, but I’m thinking about the first: we say we believe that the church is “one.” But the reality is that, despite our best efforts, if you look at the church today as a whole, you would be hard-pressed to say that we are “one.”^{^[2]} Even when it comes to individual congregations, it’s hard to find a church where everyone is on the same page.

There are so many different approaches to living out the Christian faith. Some are traditional, some are not. Some are conservative, some are middle of the road, and some are very liberal. There is so much “difference” out there, it can leave us wondering whether there is anything that unites the church in any meaningful way. Of course, some churches don’t want to be united with those who do things differently. And while most of us may not agree that “difference” means “heresy,” practically speaking we tend to divide ourselves into groups based on our cultural, political, and social views.

This situation is not for lack of efforts at promoting (or enforcing) unity. Many churches use agreement regarding what they believe to achieve unity. Other churches seek unity through organizational uniformity, through a ladder of authority that works from the top down. In our context, we seek unity through what is essentially a policy manual, the Book of Order. I would have to say that these well-intentioned but misguided efforts at promoting (or enforcing) unity have in reality been ventures in missing the point. They really haven’t succeeded at producing the intended result—a church that is one.

I think part of the problem is that we’re looking in the wrong direction for unity. We think somehow that we can find unity through our own efforts. But in our Gospel lesson for today, Jesus pointed us toward a very different source for unity. Jesus called his disciples to a unity that is grounded in the unity of love between the Father and the Son. Jesus prays, “Father, just as you are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us” (Jn. 17:21). He says it in several different ways, but essentially Jesus prayed for the disciples “that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me” (Jn. 17:22-23). Clearly, what creates a real and lasting unity in the church is the love that unites Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

I guess the real question, though, is how we promote the love of God among people like us, who hold very different opinions about what we deem important in life. How do we promote the love that unites Father, Son, and Holy Spirit among people like us who get very attached to our opinions, and who can be stubborn at times about holding onto differing viewpoints? I think what it takes is a unity that is deeper and stronger than anything we can create ourselves. What really makes the church one is the unity that God creates—the church is the one people of the one God. It is the unity that Jesus Christ creates—the church is the one people of the one Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It is the unity that the Spirit of God creates—the church is the one people of the one Holy Spirit. This is the unity that makes the church live.

I don’t believe this kind of unity is about the absence of difference. As I’ve said before, I believe that one of the signs of the health of any human community is that it has the ability to disagree. The bond created among us by the presence of the love of God in Christ through the Spirit doesn’t eliminate the differences among us. It means that the differences don’t divide us, they make us stronger. And I think that the way that happens is when we respond to our differences by practicing acceptance, gentleness, humility, and patience. These are ties that bind us together and help us to thrive in the love we share with one another, a love that originates in God’s love for us.

I believe that living out the unity we share in God’s love is one of the most important ways that we can bear witness to our new life in Jesus Christ.^{^[3]} In our day and time, the church is divided by race, divided by class, divided by politics, divided by dogma. All of these divisions contradict what Jesus said should be our defining trait: “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (Jn. 13:35). Because we come from different perspectives and backgrounds, the kind of love Jesus commanded us to show one another is difficult. It takes all that we have to give. But in a world that seems increasingly lacking in love, I would suggest that demonstrating the love that makes us one may be the most important way that we can show the world that the church is a place to find new life.

[2] Cf. Karl Barth, Church Dogmatics, 4.1:677: “The disunity of the Church is a scandal.”

[3] cf. Barth, Church Dogmatics 4.3:235-36, where he argues that the essential revelation in the Gospel of John is the mutual love between the Father and the Son which Jesus demonstrates as a love that draws the world into this fellowship.

Monday, January 28, 2019

Many Members, One Body

1 Corinthians 12:12-31[1]

Most of us typically like to spend our time with people with whom we have things in common. It’s a feature of life that is customary across all kinds of lines: race, religion, political affiliation, regional customs, and personal interests. This tendency is reflected in the saying, “birds of a feather flock together.” The history of that adage in the English language can be traced at least to the mid-16^th century. But almost 2000 years before that, the Greek philosopher Aristotle observed that “like cleaves to like.” It seems that our inclination to associate with those who are like us is one that has defined the human family for a very long time.

Unfortunately, in the church, that trait has led to the observation that Sunday morning is the most segregated hour of the week. Most of us prefer to go to church with people who look like us, who talk like us, who dress like us, who share our beliefs and values, and who practice the same lifestyles as we do. While this preference is understandable, it flies in the face of the biblical vision of what the church is meant to be. Despite the fact that the Bible can use the language of “chosen people” for a certain group, the intent of the church is clear from its founding on the day of Pentecost: it is to be a church of all nations, all races, all languages, all ethnic groups; in short, a church of all peoples.

As I mentioned last week, the church at Corinth was a church that was badly divided, not least by their differing views on spiritual gifts. And it would seem that they had a problem with people forming factions and cliques with others in the church who were like them. In fact, this problem showed up in their observance of the Lord’s Supper. It is likely that they shared a meal prior to the Lord’s Supper. But in the church at Corinth, this was not a time for the whole family of faith to gather and share their bonds of fellowship. At least not for them all. Paul chides them for the fact that the wealthy members of the congregation came early and enjoyed a feast, while those who were not so well off came later, very likely after work, and only had meager fare.

It’s hard to imagine a more blatant demonstration of the division in the church at Corinth than a meal at which some feasted and others were left to make do with bare necessities. And St. Paul tells them off quite plainly. He says, “it is not the Lord's supper that you eat” because they are despising the church as the body of Christ and “humiliating those who have nothing” (1 Cor. 11:20-22). In fact, he goes so far as to say that those who distort the Lord’s Supper in such a way “eat and drink judgment” on themselves (1 Cor. 11:29)! It is clear that Paul believed it should not be so among them!

The challenge was how to balance the differences between them with the unity they were meant to embody in Christ. As in any group, there were many differences among the church at Corinth: they came from different ethnic groups, they had different religious backgrounds, they practiced different customs, and they even represented different classes of society. While those differences affected their lives in practical ways outside the church, within the church, St. Paul insists that what united them in Christ was more significant. They had all received one and the same Spirit; they all placed their faith in one and the same Christ; they all belonged to one and the same body—regardless of what their lives outside the church may have looked like.

On the other hand, it’s not as if St. Paul was opposed to diversity in the church. In fact, he viewed the diversity among the members of the church at Corinth as a good thing. He recognizes that just as our bodies have many different parts, so it is a good thing for the church to have members who have different strengths and backgrounds. The members of the church are not all the same; in fact, they are not meant to be all the same. Difference is good; it can be healthy. It is necessary for our bodies to function properly, and it is necessary for the church to function properly. But that difference must never be allowed to invalidate the fact that all members of the body of Christ are one (1 Cor. 12:12-13).

Rather than granting different levels of honor to individuals in some kind of “spiritual” hierarchy within the church, Paul insists that all of the members are equally important. In fact, he says that, just as we show greater respect for “less respectable” parts of our own bodies, so also in the church “God has so arranged the body, giving the greater honor” to members that might seem to be “inferior” to others (1 Cor. 12:23-24). I think St. Paul has already made it clear that he doesn’t believe that anyone in the body of Christ is “inferior” in any way.

I think St. Paul’s comments also make it clear that, as the body of Christ with all its different parts, the church’s purpose is to function together as one. He says that the way that God has “arranged” the members of the church is so that “there may be no dissension within the body, but the members may have the same care for one another” (1 Cor. 12:25). While it may be a practical reality of life that people naturally associate with those who are like them, our lesson from St. Paul for today teaches us that this is not God’s purpose for the church. It is to be a church in which people from all races, nations, ethnic groups, political persuasions, and economic classes may join together as one. The fact that there are many different members in the church is a good thing. But while there are many members, we must always recognize that we are all part of the one body of Christ.

Wednesday, June 21, 2017

One and the Same Spirit

1 Corinthians 12:3-13[1]

When you take a good look at the many different ways in which Christians practice their faith, you may wonder what all of them have in common. There are so many different approaches to living out the Christian faith. You don’t have to go any farther than Lincoln to see that. Some are traditional, some are definitely not. Some are conservative, some are middle of the road, and some are very liberal. Some don’t even have the word “church” on their sign! And many have removed any identification with a denomination like “Presbyterian” or “Methodist” or “Baptist” altogether from their name.

When you go beyond the confines of our culture, it can be even more challenging. As we look at the diversity in the Body of Christ around the world, it can leave us wondering whether there is anything that unites them in any meaningful way. Of course, some churches don’t want to be united with those who do things differently. They think “difference” means “heresy.” However, I would say that while the way believers worship and their understanding of the faith differs from one culture to another, there is a common thread of faith in all of them. I’ve worshipped with churches in Germany, Romania, Switzerland, Nicaragua, The Philippines, and Cameroon. Wherever people are able to comprehend a larger body of Christ, I have felt right at home.

I think one of the most important reasons why this has been true is because the Spirit of God is working in their midst. That’s part of what St. Paul has to say in our New Testament lesson for today. He says, “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone” (1 Cor. 12:4-6). I think Paul makes it clear that different approaches to the faith are to be expected. These are the “varieties” he speaks of. Not everyone in every church everywhere is going to do everything exactly the same way. That’s not a problem, it’s a sign of health and vitality in the church!

Throughout his letters, the Apostle attributes all life in the church to the Spirit of God. When the church thrives, it is because the Spirit of God is working among us. When the church comes together in a way that unites believers from across cultural, political, national, and ethnic boundary lines, it is the work of the Spirit of God. When the members of a congregation like this one share in the serving one another and the world around us, it is because the Spirit of God has enabled us to do so. For St. Paul, every aspect of the church’s life and ministry comes from the Spirit of God.

The surprising element in all of this is the fact that God has chosen to accomplish this work through people like you and me. And to do this, he gives us the “gifts of the Spirit,” which St. Paul says are given to each person “for the common good” (1 Cor. 12:7). In other words, every single person has some “gift” from the Spirit that is to be used for the benefit of the whole church. What that means is that for the church to thrive all the members of the body have to share the gifts they have been given. We may have a variety of gifts, but all of them come from the same Spirit and are meant to build up the body of Christ.

I think one major mistake people make when they look at the “gifts of the Spirit” is that they try to see where they fit into the lists of gifts mentioned in the Bible. But I don’t believe St. Paul ever intended for the lists of gifts he mentioned to be taken as the only possibilities. They are examples of the ways that the Spirit of God was working through people in the churches of his day. To be sure, some of those gifts are timeless. There will always be a need for teaching. There will always be room for generosity. There will always be a place for leadership. But I would say that your “spiritual gift” may not even be in any of the biblical lists. That may make it a little harder to discern how you fit into the body of Christ, but it also gives you the freedom to be the person God made you to be.

When I look at the way we approach our life together, I’m afraid many may consider this “spiritual” model for the success of the enterprise we call “Church” too ambiguous. We’re much more comfortable with clearly laid out plans, exhaustive manuals of operations, and sound policies and procedures. As valuable as policies and procedures can be, they are not what gives life to the church of Jesus Christ! What gives life to the church is when we all put our “gifts of the Spirit” to work for “the common good” and “with the strength that God supplies” (1 Pet 4:11).

I think this is one of the lessons that the church has had to learn and re-learn over and over throughout the ages. We can accomplish nothing of lasting value if we try to do it in our own strength, by our own talent, through our own wisdom. It is only as we carry out our service through the empowering presence of the Spirit that we can hope to truly build up the body of Christ and offer our service to the world around us. I think if every individual in every church across this county took seriously the call to serve the body of Christ in this way, we would be astonished at the transformation that would result. To be sure, I believe it would look very different from anything we might imagine. And I’m also quite sure there would be far more diversity that we might like. But as we recognize the work of the Spirit in people putting their gifts into practice for the benefit of the church in wondrously varied ways, we will see that it is all the work of one and the same Spirit.

Friday, February 06, 2015

Choosing to Love

1 Corinthians 8:1-13[1]

I grew up in a family where it was very important to be smart. Like many families, education was seen as a means of advancement. The more education you could get, the more successful you were likely to be. Or so we thought. And since I wasn’t much of an athlete, and didn’t really see any prospects for myself outside “being smart,” I embraced that view with a vengeance. In High School, I was like a lot of my friends—I only did what I needed to do. But in college and in my graduate programs, I went the extra mile to perform at the top of my class. I used to spend hours looking up one little detail. To some extent, it was due to my curiosity. But underneath it was the conviction that in order to succeed I had to be “smart.”

Of course, in and of itself, there’s nothing wrong with being smart. The problem comes when “being smart” becomes your whole reason for being, that which gives you a sense of worth in life. And along with that temptation there’s another, more subtle temptation: the tendency to look down on those who aren’t as “smart” as you are. Being “in the know” can bring with it a tendency toward arrogance. Sometimes this is obvious—we’ve all known people who (at least in their own minds) are smarter that we are and don’t fail to remind us of that every chance they get! But even for those of us who work hard to better ourselves through education and don’t flaunt it, there can still be an underlying tendency to look down on others. It may be so subtle that we’re not even aware of it ourselves!

The problem is that when we look down on others, it’s difficult to be truly kind. It’s difficult to practice the kind of love that seeks what is best for others. That’s what was going on behind our lesson from St. Paul. There was a group in the church, possibly the wealthiest and most successful people,[2] who claimed that their knowledge allowed them to do what others found offensive. In this case, it had to do with taking part in meals that were held in the temples of local deities, eating food that had been dedicated to false gods. Well, this group, the ones who thought themselves to be “smarter” than others, insisted that from a biblical perspective there is only one true God. And that means that the idols that their friends worshipped had no real existence. The “intelligent” conclusion was that taking part in such meals, which may have been simply a part of their social calendar, would do them no real harm.

St. Paul must have found himself to some extent between a rock and a hard place on this one. I think that’s one reason why this passage is a bit complicated. The problem was that the “smart” people were right in what they claimed. And Paul affirms with them that “we know that ‘no idol in the world really exists,’ and that ‘there is no God but one’” (1 Cor. 8:4). Not to do so would be to go against the entire witness of the Hebrew Bible. It is a continual theme that idols are false and powerless and it is useless to worship them. And so, from their perspective, the “smart” people in Corinth had a valid claim that there was nothing wrong with attending these meals with their pagan friends.

But Paul wanted to make it clear to them that this wasn’t the only factor involved. It wasn’t just about them. There were others in the congregation who had some serious problems with the idea of a Christian participating in a meal in the temple of a pagan idol.[3] Very likely they were Gentile Christians who had been converted from worshipping those false gods. So the fact that the “smart” folks in the church were, from their point of view, essentially participating in idolatry might influence them to waver in their commitment to the Christian faith.[4] As a result, Paul says to the “smart” ones, “by your knowledge those weak believers for whom Christ died are destroyed” (1 Cor. 8:11).[5]

St. Paul insists that kindness is always more important than being “smart.” Love always trumps the arrogance that can come from knowledge. As St. Paul says it, “Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up” (1 Cor 8:1).[6] That is, when we define our lives by how much we know, it tends to make us “puffed up” with pride. But love “builds up” by influencing us to think not just about ourselves, but about what we can do to help others.[7] I like the way the Phillips translation puts it: “while knowledge may make a man look big, it is only love that can make him grow to his full stature” (1 Cor. 8:1, Phillips).

That brings up another factor. When we define our lives by how “smart” we are, it can very well stunt our own development. The pride and arrogance that go along with the quest for knowledge can block the kindness and love that enable us to truly reach our full potential as human beings. Now, of course, as a person with a Ph. D., I’m not advocating that education is a bad thing. I value my education and I know that it played a significant role in making me who I am today. I’m all for anybody who tries to improve themselves through education. But knowledge alone, being “smart” by itself, cannot truly fulfill our lives. As we engage in the quest for knowledge, we must do so not just to make ourselves “look big,” but rather so that we will have something to give to our world. St. Paul reminds us all of the love God poured out into our lives through Jesus Christ so that we can choose to love those around us, which is the true meaning of our lives.

[2] Cf. Richard B. Hays, First Corinthians, 137, where he discusses the possibility that there may have been a socio-economic distinction between the “strong” Christians who used their “knowledge” that there is only one God and that idols have no real existence to justify participating in idol feast and the “weak” Christians who were recent converts from paganism. He says, “The wealthier Corinthians would have been invited to meals in such places as a regular part of their social life, to celebrate birthdays, weddings, healings attributed to the god, or other important occasions.” He continues, “To eat the sacrificial meat served on such occasions was simple social courtesy; to refuse to share in the meal would be an affront to the host.” Cf. also David E. Garland, “The Dispute Over Food Sacrificed to Idols (1 Cor 8:1-11:1),” Perspectives in Religious Studies 30 (Summer 2003): 174-76.

[3] Cf. Garland, “Dispute Over Food,” 183-84, where he makes a convincing argument that Paul shared this conviction. He says, “For Paul, idolatry is the vice that leads to all vices (Rom 1:19-32) and prominent in the catalog of the works of the flesh (Gal 5:20). Idolaters (among others) will not inherit the kingdom of God ( 1 Cor 6:9). He conveys his disapproval of idol food by the very term he uses for it—είδωλόθυτον. Idol worshipers normally used Ίερόθυτον (10:28) to refer to something ‘offered in sacrifice to a deity,’ and the term είδωλόθυτον [something offered in sacrifice to an idol] does not appear in papyri or literature before 1 Corinthians. It has a caustic, polemical edge since the word είδωλα [idol] connoted to both Jews and most Christians something detestable (Deut 29:17), opposed to the living God (1 Thess 1:9; 2 Cor 6:16), lifeless and ‘dumb’ (1 Cor 12:2), and demonic (Rev 9:20).” Cf. similarly, E. Coye Still, Iii, “Paul's Aims Regarding Ειδωλοθυτα: A New Proposal For Interpreting 1 Corinthians 8:1-11:1,” Novum Testamentum 44 (no 4, 2002):333-43.

[4] Cf. Garland, “Dispute Over Food,” 188: “The Christian with a weak conscience does not have the knowledge to make correct moral judgments. Paul worries that this person's conscience might follow the example of those presumed to have knowledge and eat idol food as truly offered to an idol, that is, as a sacrificial act. He will be led astray in his moral judgment to think that it is permissible for Christians to pay homage to both Christ and pagan deities.” Cf. also Hays, First Corinthians, 141.

[5] Cf. Hays, First Corinthians, 142, where he says that Paul in effect confronts them with “biting irony”: “Christ died for this person, and you can’t even change your diet?” Cf. also Garland, “Dispute Over Food,” 187: “Christ died for them (8:11). This act of love that brought them into God's family requires that they respond to others in the family with love—putting others' needs and interests ahead of their own.”

[6] Cf. Hays, First Corinthians, 145: “The central message of this chapter is a simple one: Love is more important than knowledge. Paul calls for a shift from gnosis [knowledge] to agape [love] as the ordering principle for Christian discernment and conduct. Rather than asserting rights and privileges, we are to shape our actions toward edification of our brothers and sisters in the community of faith.”

[7] Cf. Hans Conzelmann, 1 Corinthians: A commentary on the First Epistle to the Corinthians, 141: “οἰκοδομεῖν [to build up] in Paul does not refer primarily to the “edification” of the individual … , but to the building up of the community.” Cf. also Karl Barth, Church Dogmatics 4.2:635-36: “It is love (for one’s neighbour) which builds the community. p 636 If this does not do it, the community will not be built.”

Saturday, September 27, 2014

A Credit to the Gospel

Philippians 1:20-30[1]

I think we all know people about whom we could say “He’s a credit to his school,” or “She’s a credit to her profession.” We usually talk that way about people who excel in their devotion and service to the community, or their school, or their profession. They are people you can count on to be there when others aren’t, and to do what they say they’ll do when others don’t. We think of them as role models--not only for the younger generation but also to some extent for ourselves. We all have our personal heroes. Desmond Tutu, who led South Africa from the violence of Apartheid to a peaceful Democracy, is one of my heroes. These are the people we look up to, and they seem to set the bar for what it means to fully realize our potential as human beings.

In our lesson from St. Paul for today, he uses an interesting phrase. He urges the Christians at Philippi to “live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ” (Phil. 1:27). Eugene Peterson, in his translation of the Bible called The Message, renders it this way: “Meanwhile, live in such a way that you are a credit to the Message of Christ.” But St. Paul didn’t imply that this kind of life was only for a few exceptional individuals. He called all Christians to live in a manner that is a “credit” to the Gospel.[2]

You see, Paul was in prison at the time he wrote this letter, which meant that he was separated from Church at Philippi. And apparently that was difficult for him, because this was one of his favorite congregations. They had helped him in some of his darkest times, and he was deeply grateful to them for their support of his ministry over the years. And now, St. Paul wants to make sure that the congregation at Philippi continued to thrive.

I find it interesting to compare what the Scriptures say about thriving congregations with the strategies people propose in our day for thriving congregations. Some take the approach that “if you build it they will come,” and so they believe that a new building is what it takes. Others think it takes the “perfect pastor,” whatever that is! If you look back over the last few decades, it’s almost amusing to see the fads that have come and gone in the “church growth” industry. In the 90’s, “small group ministry” became the rage, and in some places it still is. The assumption is that if it worked for Willow Creek and Saddleback churches, it should work anywhere. In the 80’s the “answer” was apartment bible studies. And in the 70’s it was bus ministry--finding all the kids you can and bringing them to church on a school bus.

But when you look at the kinds of things St. Paul points to as essential for the church to thrive, we find a very different approach. He urges the church to thrive by cultivating the unity that is found in Christ (Gal. 3:28). It is a unity that is the result of the Spirit’s presence (Eph. 4:3). And this perspective isn’t just something he mentions once in passing. It is found throughout his letters to the churches he served. Over and over again, Paul urges churches to thrive by cultivating their unity in the Body of Christ. In this context, he urges the Philippians to “stand firm in one spirit, striving side by side with one mind for the faith of the gospel” (Phil. 1:27).[3]

On the surface of things, it would seem that St. Paul urges churches to practice agreement in order to thrive. But the question in my mind is what kind of agreement he’s talking about. Many in our day assume that agreement equals sameness. In other words, we all agree because we all think the same things, we all hold the same opinions, we all take the same perspective on various matters facing the church. Or in other cases our agreement stems from an institutional uniformity that is guaranteed by an authoritative leadership or by a standardized organization.

But I don’t think that’s the kind of agreement St. Paul was talking about. In our lesson for today, the only content that Paul wants the church to agree on is “the faith of the Gospel.” The fact of the matter is that Paul has a very strong belief not only in the unity of the body of Christ, but also in the diversity of that body.[4] Elsewhere he insists that we cannot all be the same and do the same things, otherwise the Body of Christ would lack what it needs to thrive. He points out how hard it would be for the church to function if every part were the same (1 Cor. 12:14-21).

It seems to me that the agreement Paul calls for is a spiritual unity.[5] There is no doctrine or institution that can fabricate the unity the Spirit naturally produces in the body of Christ when we’re living our lives “in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.” I think we do that when we are all moving in the same direction, serving the Lord and the Body of Christ as faithfully as we can. That kind of unity is much more important than whether we hold the same opinions. Our unity is found in our common bond in Christ, not in whether or not we agree on every point of doctrine or practice. Our oneness is found in the presence of the Spirit, not in complete agreement on specific strategies for moving forward.

We’re going to have times when we disagree on what we need as a congregation in order to move forward. The important thing in my mind is that we don’t let any of those differences divide us. One pastor friend of mine described his church’s approach to a controversial issue: “we are not of the same mind, but we are not divided.” It seems to me that when we can live out our lives together in this Christian community with this kind of attitude, then we are promoting the unity of Body of Christ. Then we will be demonstrating the unity that can only be found in Christ through the Spirit. Then we will be living in such a way that we are a credit to the Gospel.

[2] Many scholars think that St. Paul’s use of the Greek verb politeuomai here indicates that he is talking about how the believers conduct themselves as citizens of Philippi. For example, cf. Gerald Hawthorne, Philippians, 69, 77. However, it seems to me that in this setting, the primary emphasis is on their life together as a community of faith, not their conduct as citizens of a particular city. So Morna Hooker, “The Letter to the Philippians,” New Interpreters Bible IX:496: “His meaning is, ‘Let your life as a community be worthy of the gospel of Christ.’”

[3] Cf. Jürgen Moltmann, The Church in the Power of the Spirit, 345: “unity is not merely an attribute of the church; it is the church’s task in the world as well.”

[4] Cf. Isam E. Ballenger, “Ephesians 4:1-16,” Interpretation : “Participation in the Oneness overcomes barriers of doctrine and practice, race and ethnicity, culture and nationality, economic and educational status. Note that diversity remains, but it has been integrated in the one Spirit, joined in the one hope.”

[5] Cf. Jürgen Moltmann, The Passion for Life: A Messianic Lifestyle, 38. He describes the unity of the Body of Christ that is very different from uniformity or sameness: “A life which is worthy of the gospel ... liberates us to be ourselves and fills us with the powers of the Spirit. We are enabled to give ourselves up and trust ourselves to the leading of the Spirit. Then we are able to accept ourselves just as we are, with our possibilities and limitations, and thereby gain a new spontaneity. We are freed to live with God in the covenant of freedom.”

Saturday, September 20, 2014

Quarreling over Opinions

Romans 14:1-12[1]

I don’t know about you guys, but when I take a look at our society, it seems to me that we’ve gotten really good at arguing with each other. I don’t mean that we have good and productive arguments by “fighting fairly.” It’s my impression that we’re quick to take offense, quick to get angry, and quick with a comeback that is demeaning or offensive. I guess I should really say that we’ve gotten really bad at arguing with each other! It seems that every significant issue facing our society at least potentially leads to a fight. In fact, as some have observed, our country may be more divided at this time than in any other part of our history--even the Civil War![2]

If you think that’s not the case, all you have to do is look at people’s opinions about the last two presidents. It seems there’s no middle ground: people despise one, insisting that he brought our country to ruin, and they respect the other, and think he took our the country in the right direction. But whichever side of that divide you’re on, all someone has to do to make your blood boil is mention a name and express an opinion different than yours. We’ve gotten to the point where we can’t even express different opinions without getting hostile toward one another.

I think part of the reason for this is fear. We’re more afraid now than perhaps ever before. We’re afraid because the things we used to count on for security in life seem to have evaporated. And we’re afraid because the forces that control our lives seem so much bigger than they once did. And all that fear converts into hostility. And as much of a “techie” as I am, I’m afraid social media like email and Facebook have only poured fuel on the fire. When you get on the internet, there’s a false feeling of anonymity that induces us to say things we’d never dream of saying in person. And so the divisiveness and the arguing continue, and they just make the hard feelings worse.

But in our lesson from St. Paul for today, the Apostle tells us that it ought not be so, especially in the Body of Christ. We might be tempted to think that the church in the days of the New Testament was much more spiritual, and didn’t have arguments like we do in our churches today. But that’s not the case. In fact, in just about every book of the New Testament the Apostles had to deal with some kind of dispute or another. But as St. Paul tells Timothy, “wrangling over words ... does no good but only ruins those who are listening” (2 Tim. 2:14). He goes on to tell Timothy to “have nothing to do with stupid and senseless controversies; you know that they breed quarrels” (2 Tim 2:23).

And so it should come as no surprise when St. Paul tells the Church at Rome that they are to avoid “quarreling over opinions.” But if you read between the lines, you might be surprised at the “opinions” about which he was urging them to practice tolerance. When he refers to some people having the faith to eat everything while the “weak” only eat vegetables, he’s referring to the way meat was processed and sold in that day.[3] A significant amount of the meat sold in the open-air market was left over from a sacrifice that was offered at a pagan temple that morning. So to eat meat in that context could be construed by some as participating in the worship of false gods! And yet others had a strong enough faith to recognize that all things come from God, and so they ate meat. And on an issue of this potential significance, Paul urges tolerance!

We might wonder how St. Paul could make such an apparently offensive compromise as to allow the eating of meat that had been used in the worship of a false god. To some in his day, he was essentially turning a blind eye to at least an indirect participation in idolatry.[4] How could he encourage behavior that some viewed as a violation of the command, “You shall have no other gods before me”? I think that at least part of the answer is that he realized that whether or not eating meat constituted the practice idolatry was a matter of interpretation, and therefore a matter of opinion. And St. Paul didn’t want the Body of Christ divided over matters of opinion. Rather, Paul urged that Christians take the attitude that, even when we disagree about significant issues, we all “belong to the Lord” (Rom. 14:8). And in case there is any doubt about whether we can all belong to the same Lord and disagree with one another, he makes it clear that we have no place passing judgment on other “servants of the Lord” (Rom. 14:4).[5]

So how do we translate this into our day and time, when we are debating matters like the Middle East, or gay marriage, or immigration policy. How are we who live together in the community of faith to relate to one another when we disagree over strongly held opinions? Part of the problem is that when we in the church are seen so visibly fighting with so much hostility toward one another, we invalidate the message of the Gospel in the eyes of those around us. It seems to me that in this community where we all “belong to the Lord,” we have to start with the conviction that our connection to one other in the Body of Christ supersedes all of our opinions.[6] Hopefully, we all seek to serve the Lord to the best of our ability. Ideally, we all strive to submit matters of conscience to God’s judgment.[7] It seems to me that means that there simply is no place for “quarreling over opinions” in the Body of Christ. Rather, this is a community in which mutual respect and love must always trump differences of opinion. [8]

[2] See Dave Bryan, “Jerry Brown: California, Country Facing ‘Regime Crisis’ Similar To The Civil War,” CBS Los Angeles 10 April 2010; accessed at http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2011/04/10/jerry-brown-gop-stalling-budget-reform/.

[3] Many scholars suggest that part of the problem here was an expulsion of the Jews from Rome which some ancient historians recount. After some years, the Jewish population began to trickle back into Rome. However, whatever accommodations there may have been before the expulsion for the proper processing of meat according to Jewish food laws would likely no longer have been in place. This would have created a crisis for Jewish Christians who felt obligated to follow those laws. See James D. G. Dunn, Romans 9-16, 801, 810-11; Robert Jewett, Romans: A Commentary, 838.

[4] Cf. B. B. Blue, “Food Offered to Idols and Jewish Food Laws,” in Dictionary of Paul and his letters, edited by G. F. Hawthorne, R. P. Martin & D. G. Reid, 306-310.

[5] Cf. Paul J. Achtemeier, Romans, 215, where he observes that “The danger of self-righteousness lies in its tendency to make one’s own convictions the measure of the validity of the convictions of all others.” He also says (p. 217) in connection with the temptation to “set oneself up as judge” in the place of God that “The danger of self-righteousness is therefore closely allied to the danger of self-idolatry.” Cf. also Edgar Krenz, “Relationships Count,” The Christian Century (Aug 28, 1996): 811. He says that St. Paul “is not a weak-kneed Christian who has no standards. But his concept of judgment is shaped by his knowledge of the judge. Christians are ultimately responsible to their Lord.” See further Karl Barth, Church Dogmatics 2.2:725: Christians holding different opinions cannot judge each other “Because both are servants, each serving the Lord with their better or less good faith, each finding in the Lord his own Judge and Saviour. They cannot exclude each other when God has accepted both and will judge their faithfulness or unfaithfulness by His mercy.” Cf. also Jewett, Romans, 843.

[6] Cf. Achtemeier, Romans, 216: “Paul does not take sides on whether the ‘weak’ or the ‘strong’ are more correct. He is intent rather on meeting the threat to Christian unity posed by the attempts of one of the groups to make its convictions about conduct the sole and exclusive measure of true and faithful response to God’s gift of his Son. The advice to both groups is the same: Respect the convictions of the other group.”

[7] Cf. Achtemeier, Romans, 218, where he points out that Paul urges both tolerance on differences of opinion as well as the intention to “do everything one does to the honor of God.”

[8] It would seem that Paul would endorse the maxim, “In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; and in all things, charity.” On the history of this often-quoted phrase which is erroneously attributed to St. Augustine, see James J. O’Donnell, “A Common Quotation from ‘Augustine’?” accessed at http://faculty.georgetown.edu/jod/augustine/ quote.html and Hans Rollman, “The Pre-History of a Restoration Movement Slogan,” in Restoration Quarterly 39.3, accessed at http://www.acu.edu/sponsored/restoration_quarterly/archives/1990s/vol_39_no_3_contents/ rollmann.html

The Waking Dreamer