Sermon - 7/21/24

Your Faith Journey

Last week I spoke about us being called as prophets. Now this week in our second lesson, Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, he talks about coming together. Paul is addressing his letter to Jewish and Gentile Christians. Each of them have their own idea about each other’s conduct. Paul is suggesting, well maybe telling them that they are called to reconcile with each other and create peace. Neither being a prophet nor being called to reconcile are easy things. It takes willing people.

Does this sound like the Christian church today? Through issues and politics, we do not all see things in the same way. We do not interpret the bible in the same way. Thus, how can we reconcile and bring peace to our different views on scripture and how it informs our lives as to how to live as God’s people?

I believe the first conclusion to come to is we will not agree on all things. As human beings we each process differently, have come from different places, have had different experiences and are at different places in our lives, even some come from different cultures. Yet, we are called to come together to celebrate the things that we have in common as well as our differences.

Unfortunately, differences often make us feel anxious and we can become defensive. Anxiety can shut us down or give us energy to want to understand what the differences are. When we let our anxiety make us defensive we sever and/or detour connection and unity.

Defensiveness can bring out the more legalistic approach to dealing with people and issues. It is a way that we can say that we are right. This stops our ability to hear and understand where people are coming from. Even if we don’t agree, listening can show respect to the other person. Because another person may come from a different place with different experiences it can cause them to see things differently than we do.

Paul is trying to tell the Jewish and Gentile Christians that Christ came to bring them to unity. This is not a unity that erases who they are but challenges them to celebrate their differences and what they have in common, Jesus. This is even when they view things differently.

Paul says Jesus has abolished the law. I don’t believe that he is talking about the 10 commandments. I believe he is talking more about using the law to control as opposed to bring a sense of order and safety to community. The problem becomes when we want to tell other people how we think it should be and then slip God in there to justify it.

Jesus boils down even the 10 commandments to two, Love God with your whole being and your neighbor as yourself. Love is not about controlling people. When we try and control someone we make them feel less than, like ‘The Other’, and that is not love. I would challenge all of us to think about and use this principle intentionally as we move through this political season.

Paul says all of us have access to God and we are all citizens with the saints and members of the household of God. I believe then that we are called to recognize that Christ is our cornerstone. In Christ the whole building is joined together and built on the apostles and prophets.

This is the foundation that we have for our faith. We are called to reach out and listen to understand where people are coming from, but we are not called to compromise how we interpret Loving God and neighbor. It may be the only thing that we can agree on is Jesus came to teach us, to die and rise on our behalf for our forgiveness, salvation and new life. This is the connection and a basis for unity.

For me the gospel lesson leads us out where to do ministry and the heart that we are called to have. Jesus gives us the model for the ministry that we are called to, and he is not in a building doing it. Jesus took his disciples away to a place without distractions. They had been on the road and ministering to people and were tired. We don’t know if Jesus was actually tired or just felt his disciples needed a rest.

People who needed healing were not about to take a break in pursuing Jesus. They found him and his disciples. Jesus felt their need for healing, he saw them as sheep without a shepherd. Jesus had compassion on them. This was not pity, but a feeling of love for them from deep inside.

The people felt that this man Jesus, had what they needed. There was an urgency as they could have been sick for some time. We don’t often see this in our country or where we may go to medical professionals. There are countries where people travel for hours to see a medical professional and then wait. I know some of you have had this experience when doing work in a third world country.

My point being this is where God shows up for people, where they are. In our gospel lesson in Jesus, and in medical professionals in third world countries. I believe this is where we are called to connect with people, where they are, to meet the needs of other people. This can only happen when we view all people as God’s people worthy of respect. It is not our place to judge. It is our place to allow people to see Jesus in us.

This is what Paul is telling the Jewish and Gentile Christians. Christ is the one who unifies the church to stand out as a loving, non-judgmental place in neighborhoods. Although, I believe for us today it extends past the Christian church into all religions. When we get down to it Love God and neighbor, neighbor being all people, is what God calls all of us to do.

Jesus did not make any divisions about the people seeking him. Paul talks about reconciling with each other in order that the church may be able to somehow get down to Love God and neighbor and not about telling others how to live their lives. It is about coming together out of love to listen and respect each other. This is the only way that we can bring unity and peace to the church.

In reality we will only be able to do what we can do. There will be some who will believe that they are right and will not want to listen and this is disrespectful. I know I find it difficult to work with someone who does not accept me for who I am. I am now experiencing this from the church that I grew up in. I praise God that here we are working on accepting people where they are at.

We are called to continue to do as we are doing, working into our welcome statement, working with those churches who work at respecting all people for who they are, who God created them to be. This then is a light to the community. It is how we together can be a prophetic church, first to ourselves and then to our community. This is doing what we can to bring peace and unity and the rest is up to the Holy Spirit/.

There are still people searching for love and acceptance, by working together to share this with all people is where Jesus will be.