Year B Proper 14
Scripture Texts: Psalm 130; Ephesians 4:25 – 5:2
The early years of the church were not without their challenges. These little groups of followers come from a different context of life than the disciples, whose Jewish background set out a way of life that was natural to Jesus and which had values and rules that Jesus mostly lived within. These new, gentile believers came from a different world. Beyond that, the message of Jesus appealed to a wide range of backgrounds and livelihoods, from gentry to thieves. Beyond that, even, Jesus’ way was radical in all contexts. He called people to equality, to a common humanity before God that erased – or at least minimized – the differences of class, economic status, “purity,” and righteousness that were fundamental to both Jewish and Greek culture. As Paul knew well, the people would need one another in order to hold firm to their values in the midst of the world. Paul did not go around making individual disciples. He could have worked that way, I suppose, but he did not. Rather he sought to build up communities of faith, gatherings that would celebrate the words of Jesus, would strengthen one another and give them a safe place to affirm their faith and explore what that meant for their lives in the world.Here in this letter to Ephesus, is what Paul, or Paul’s surrogate, is trying to help the people do.
It is often remarked in writings about our current context, that our situation is more like the first and second centuries than like any other time since. We Christians, especially middle to progressive Christians, are not persecuted, nor are we illegal. But we dwell in a world that is mostly indifferent and with little understanding of our values and purposes. There were nearly as many varieties of Christians in those days as now. Some were closer to the cultural norms, others were intentionally peripheral – the desert mothers and fathers who retired to lonely and marginal lands to contemplate God and scratch a bare living from the soil and the generosity of others. Some, many perhaps, gained wisdom from their isolation. And ultimately they learned that community was necessary for sanity, faith, and survival. Later monastic communities took their cues from them.
We are in a constant negotiation with our world. We do not abandon it, nor do we condemn it. We recognize it as the object of God’s love. We are in and of this world. Yet, we are gifted (or cursed, depending on your perspective) to analyze, to test and, yes, even to judge our world. Although there is no absolutely objective stance, there is the ability to gain some relative distance, to compare events, values, and actions; to hold ideals and goals that call us out of the everyday and the masses to seek a different way. If we looked to great literature and philosophy and theology, we would find stand-out thinkers who have articulated ideals and values through inspiring language or prominent virtues. These are heros of faith and thought, our saints. But they have all had, in some way or another, a community of faith and support, people who led and who followed, who kept the words and stories and purposes alive and meaningful. No one thinks or lives in a vacuum. We build on the knowledge and reflection, technology and tools, wisdom and failure of those who go before and with whom we are in conversation.
In this way, we do make progress I believe. But, we are not all on the same path, so we as society go in a myriad of directions at once. Becoming an Open and Affirming Church is an example. In the UCC we have a history of rethinking the limitations that society has placed on classes and groups of people. African slaves, women, children. Our congregational ancestors opened their arms and stood up to strongly defend these groups, to raise their perception in society, and assure them a place within the community of faith. Our Evangelical and Reformed brothers and sisters created opportunities for women to serve as deacons in hospitals and schools, for people to get an education through founding colleges and seminaries. We have a history worthy of pride – with some missteps here and there to be sure. We have not invented abolition, but we recognized it as consistent with the God of Jesus and stood strong in support. Neither have we invented equal rights for GLBT persons, but we have recognized gifts for ministry and service and been willing to see real human beings rather than labels and affirmed their place in the community of faith and stood forth to support them in the society in which we live. This is part of our role as faithful people. To recognize the errors of society, to declare ourselves transformed, changed. And then to stand with our new friends and partners in their battles for wider recognition.
I’ve gotten ahead of Paul, of course. He was working on step one – recognizing and welcoming and transforming the people who believed, into a community of faith that could stand in the midst of the world and speak a word of truth. Here we are, in a very different world, but still one that is unsure of its roots, its connections. In Decorah, and elsewhere, we hear a lot about community. There is a lot of public dialogue that we can support: sustainability, energy conservation; working together for the betterment of others and ourselves. What we have to add is a foundation of faith, a way demonstrated by Jesus, a hope based in forgiveness, that yields conviction and purpose. We can seek to grasp the wholeness of God’s realm. To combine ecology with justice, poverty with a deep care for the effects on individual lives of the societal oppression that is offensive to God.
I hear again and again that people come here for the fellowship. That is good. At the same time, we are a unique fellowship; we are shaped and affected by a Word, a Gospel, a dream of a realm not ruled by humans, one over another, but by God alone. As we have opened our doors wider this year so far, let us be sure that they are open to all to enter, and also to all to go forth into the world, changed by the community within, to change the community without.
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