WESTMINSTER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
September 7th 2008
Communion Meditation
Rev. Mark R. Bradshaw-Miller
“Living Together”
Psalm 149, Romans 13:8-14, Matthew 18:15-20
“Love is a revolutionary force with can change the world.” For Christians, this is not something which is open to debate. Love, the love we know embodied in Jesus Christ, has already fundamentally altered the world. In the resurrection of Jesus, the revolution has already begun. Because of that event we are invited to participate in the coming new reality. Divisions along race, class, gender, and sexual orientation no longer keep us from being members in the household of God. This is revolutionary news.
But for all the grand rhetoric: “There is no longer Jew or Greek, slave or free, male and female,” the apostle Paul knows that living out this reality is not so easy. To a group of urbanite Romans, living together was clearly easier said than done. Despite living in the great cosmopolitan city of Rome social divisions were not easy to overcome. While it is true that in Rome you would encounter people from all walks of life, it was unheard of to socialize or share anything on a more intimate level, let alone live in Christian community. So, when this Roman fellowship is formed, daily life together became a struggle.
It is clear from Paul’s letter that the followers of Jesus were imitating the social life of Rome. Instead of living out the new reality people began to fall back into familiar patterns of power sharing, worship style, and other customs. Instead of being a living and transformed witness they were a microcosm of a divided Roman society. While they could boast of their diversity, they were not really living out God’s radically inclusive household. In order to address this, Paul, who had yet to visit the community, simply reminds the community that: “Love, fulfills the law.”
Do not owe anyone anything other than love. These familiar words from Paul have lost some of their revolutionary character over the ages. The entire social fabric of Roman society was held together through a system of reciprocity and honor and shame. The reason people would serve others was so they would be indebted to you. In our own culture it similar to when someone invites you over to their house. The social expectation is that you will invite them to yours to pay back the debt. Now you might like the person and enjoy doing it but if they do not eventually offer most of us might be a little angry and felt that we were owed something. This is what Paul is talking about but on a larger scale. Paul simply says that in a community which follows Jesus, you do things for others out of love without expecting something in return. Now you can see how this could be revolutionary. The community of faith is not to be built upon the system of reciprocity but instead doing for others because of what God has done for us in Jesus. This is what it means to be called into community.
Jesus too knew the perils of authentic communal life together. In fact, the most amazing thing about the gospel reading is that Jesus teaches us to expect conflict. And instead of ignoring the reality Jesus jumps right into teaching us how to handle conflict with an eye toward reconciliation. The driving force behind all of Jesus teaching is about reconciliation. How, in the midst of conflict, can we bring healing and wholeness, is Jesus prime concern for the community of faith. Jesus plan for reconciliation is extremely detailed. Begin by going to the person directly, then bring in others, then the church leadership, and finally bring it before the assembly. When this does not bring about reconciliation finally Jesus says treat them as tax collectors and Gentiles. This is hard work and calls for a willingness to stick it out but this is what it means to be in a community that follows Jesus.
Even to that end, what sounds like a rejection is not. When Jesus finally says: “let such a one be to you as a Gentile or tax collector,” it is not rejection. These words are simply a change of focus. While the person may no longer be considered a member of the community they are still objects of mission. In other words, it means the community must work to bring reconciliation and welcome to them. The community is never called to be judgmental but always called offer God’s radical welcome for all people.
Jesus ends this passage with: “For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.” I have often heard, and believed it might have been better for Jesus to say: “Where two or three are gathered in my name, there is going to be conflict.” This is not a condemnation of the reality but an affirmation that people who are passionate in the life serving God are bound to disagree with one another. But the good news is that Jesus expected this and promised to be present with us.
As followers of Jesus there can be no more powerful witness to the strength of a community than its willingness to share pain and anger. When we are able to share the places of our pain and anger, not just our joys, we are saying to one another: “I trust you and I love you.” But this is not easy, authentic community never is. And while it is not always the case, historically it has not been safe for black folks to share their pain and anger with white folks. As a result, as a survival technique, black folks are taught to make white folks feel comfortable, safe, by swallowing the anger and pain and putting on a happy face. And while this is not universally true, it is true enough to impact our work and witness.
While we know that the revolution of love found in Jesus Christ has begun it is easy to get discouraged when the way get rough. It is particularly hard when we find ourselves in conflict with those us in our own community of faith. But the simple adage is still true: Love is a revolutionary force. When we hold that close to our hearts, and hold close to it when times get tough, we will live into the call to become a community which shows that the dividing walls of hostility have been broken down. Amen.
September 7th 2008
Communion Meditation
Rev. Mark R. Bradshaw-Miller
“Living Together”
Psalm 149, Romans 13:8-14, Matthew 18:15-20
“Love is a revolutionary force with can change the world.” For Christians, this is not something which is open to debate. Love, the love we know embodied in Jesus Christ, has already fundamentally altered the world. In the resurrection of Jesus, the revolution has already begun. Because of that event we are invited to participate in the coming new reality. Divisions along race, class, gender, and sexual orientation no longer keep us from being members in the household of God. This is revolutionary news.
But for all the grand rhetoric: “There is no longer Jew or Greek, slave or free, male and female,” the apostle Paul knows that living out this reality is not so easy. To a group of urbanite Romans, living together was clearly easier said than done. Despite living in the great cosmopolitan city of Rome social divisions were not easy to overcome. While it is true that in Rome you would encounter people from all walks of life, it was unheard of to socialize or share anything on a more intimate level, let alone live in Christian community. So, when this Roman fellowship is formed, daily life together became a struggle.
It is clear from Paul’s letter that the followers of Jesus were imitating the social life of Rome. Instead of living out the new reality people began to fall back into familiar patterns of power sharing, worship style, and other customs. Instead of being a living and transformed witness they were a microcosm of a divided Roman society. While they could boast of their diversity, they were not really living out God’s radically inclusive household. In order to address this, Paul, who had yet to visit the community, simply reminds the community that: “Love, fulfills the law.”
Do not owe anyone anything other than love. These familiar words from Paul have lost some of their revolutionary character over the ages. The entire social fabric of Roman society was held together through a system of reciprocity and honor and shame. The reason people would serve others was so they would be indebted to you. In our own culture it similar to when someone invites you over to their house. The social expectation is that you will invite them to yours to pay back the debt. Now you might like the person and enjoy doing it but if they do not eventually offer most of us might be a little angry and felt that we were owed something. This is what Paul is talking about but on a larger scale. Paul simply says that in a community which follows Jesus, you do things for others out of love without expecting something in return. Now you can see how this could be revolutionary. The community of faith is not to be built upon the system of reciprocity but instead doing for others because of what God has done for us in Jesus. This is what it means to be called into community.
Jesus too knew the perils of authentic communal life together. In fact, the most amazing thing about the gospel reading is that Jesus teaches us to expect conflict. And instead of ignoring the reality Jesus jumps right into teaching us how to handle conflict with an eye toward reconciliation. The driving force behind all of Jesus teaching is about reconciliation. How, in the midst of conflict, can we bring healing and wholeness, is Jesus prime concern for the community of faith. Jesus plan for reconciliation is extremely detailed. Begin by going to the person directly, then bring in others, then the church leadership, and finally bring it before the assembly. When this does not bring about reconciliation finally Jesus says treat them as tax collectors and Gentiles. This is hard work and calls for a willingness to stick it out but this is what it means to be in a community that follows Jesus.
Even to that end, what sounds like a rejection is not. When Jesus finally says: “let such a one be to you as a Gentile or tax collector,” it is not rejection. These words are simply a change of focus. While the person may no longer be considered a member of the community they are still objects of mission. In other words, it means the community must work to bring reconciliation and welcome to them. The community is never called to be judgmental but always called offer God’s radical welcome for all people.
Jesus ends this passage with: “For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.” I have often heard, and believed it might have been better for Jesus to say: “Where two or three are gathered in my name, there is going to be conflict.” This is not a condemnation of the reality but an affirmation that people who are passionate in the life serving God are bound to disagree with one another. But the good news is that Jesus expected this and promised to be present with us.
As followers of Jesus there can be no more powerful witness to the strength of a community than its willingness to share pain and anger. When we are able to share the places of our pain and anger, not just our joys, we are saying to one another: “I trust you and I love you.” But this is not easy, authentic community never is. And while it is not always the case, historically it has not been safe for black folks to share their pain and anger with white folks. As a result, as a survival technique, black folks are taught to make white folks feel comfortable, safe, by swallowing the anger and pain and putting on a happy face. And while this is not universally true, it is true enough to impact our work and witness.
While we know that the revolution of love found in Jesus Christ has begun it is easy to get discouraged when the way get rough. It is particularly hard when we find ourselves in conflict with those us in our own community of faith. But the simple adage is still true: Love is a revolutionary force. When we hold that close to our hearts, and hold close to it when times get tough, we will live into the call to become a community which shows that the dividing walls of hostility have been broken down. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment