Atom“In a Time of Divisiveness…Live in Love, Live in Christ”
Ephesians 5:15-20
I, therefore, a prisoner of the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Sprit in the bond of peace (4:1-3)
My heart has been full this week…full of the time spent at the Churchwide Assembly last week and the effect of its decisions on the Church – the Church across the nation and the Church here in Detroit Lakes. I have heard joy and relief; I have heard pain and disbelief…and we, as pastors of the whole body of Christ here at First Lutheran, have felt the joy and pain and also a great weight descending upon the church and its leadership as to how to live with these decisions. At the same time as we have been coming to terms with this vote, however, we have also been immersing ourselves in Ephesians – a letter to Christ’s church. As I sought help from the Lord in sorting all this out, I was also reading the chapter for this week… and then the whole letter again. I hope you did the same. I recommend it to you.
As you have been reading, you have no doubt noticed in these last chapters that we are called to live in newness of life – as those transformed by life in Christ. We are to walk as “children of the light” – with integrity and truthfulness and with honesty and faithfulness. It is indeed fitting that we should behave with different moral standards than those who do not know the deep and encompassing love of God in Christ Jesus. But there is another theme in this letter that keeps repeating itself over and over…listen to a sampling:
I, therefore, a prisoner of the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Sprit in the bond of peace (4:1-3)…And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption. Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you. Be imitators of God as beloved children, and live in love as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us (4:31-5:2)… Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts and giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. (5:19-20)
Even as the Paul here exhorts the faithful to live into a new way in following Jesus, he repeats over and over again, “Make peace…be one…be kind to one another and forgiving…be angry, but do not sin…remember how Christ sacrificed for you.” Why so insistent on peace and reconciliation and oneness unless he is writing to a church that is fractured – ready to divide itself? Paul is in fact so insistent on how Christ has made the Gentiles and Jews into one body that it seems pretty clear that this “oneness” is a great bone of contention. In Chapter 3 verse 1, he writes, “I am in prison for the sake of you Gentiles.” In other words, what Pastor Dave told you about that little conference in Jerusalem is reflected here. In the Book of Acts when Peter showed up and said, “Hey guys, God has given me a new revelation. God has made the unclean clean and wants us to welcome those degenerate, sinful Gentiles into the community,” it didn’t sit so well with many Jewish Christians. What we think should have been a slam dunk – “Of course God welcomes the outsider!” didn’t exactly fit their understanding of God’s Word. I dare say that a good many of Paul’s beatings and imprisonments were because he proclaimed something that not everyone wanted to believe was from God.
So, he knew there was fracture and disagreement in the body of Christ as he wrote to the Ephesians and he counseled, in the name of Jesus, “anger without sin… compassion and patience…and oneness in Jesus Christ.”
With that in mind, let me tell you what I saw and experienced at the Church Wide Assembly last week. I had the privilege – and I yet say privilege, even though the actions of that gathering have caused such uneasiness – of joining with Lutheran Christians gathered from all across these United States. The participants were rural and urban, young and old, male and female, rostered leaders and lay persons and, as far as I could discern, all loving Jesus and seeking to be led by his Word. Even though the assembly often disagreed strongly on issues, and brought scripture and reason to bear on all sides, they did so while “speaking the truth in love.”
I would like to tell you of our celebration of some amazing ministries that we do ELCA churches do together in response to Jesus’ call to discipleship. In response to Jesus call to “abide in my Word,” we celebrated the “Book of Faith” initiative in the ELCA, and new Bible Studies making their way through the Church that we might be a people more grounded in the Word. In response to Jesus’ command to “make disciples of all nations,” we heard of new Church plants among immigrant populations coming to the United States. We listened to the witness of members of a Chinese church that has grown to five new churches and already sent 7 of its own on to become pastors of the Church. In response to Jesus’ admonition that “when we have fed the hungry and clothed the naked and visited the sick, we have done it unto him,” we celebrated the tremendous work we have by Lutheran Disaster Response here in the U. S. and around the globe. People know that when the Lutherans show up in a crisis that “something is going to get done.” The Lutheran Malaria Initiative and the HIV/Aids Initiatives are done in partnership with other Church bodies working not only to prevent the spread of these killer diseases in the poorest nations of the world, but also to care for thousands of children orphaned by them. I could also tell you of leaders from our Church intervening to try and bring a peaceful resolution to the conflict in the Holy Land that our Missionaries, the Holmans told us about in July. “Blessed are the Peacemakers,” says Jesus. Our Church is trying to live out that word. In other words, what I saw in Minneapolis was the Holy Spirit doing good work through a larger church that reaches out with arms longer than our own.
Of course that did not make the news and is not what is making this church anxious. What has your attention and the attention of the larger Christian Community are decisions made with regard to sexuality and particularly homosexuality. Some of you are wondering and your neighbors who don’t go to this church are asking you, “What is the Lutheran Church doing - when the Bible seems so clear? Indeed…
Let me remind you before I go further that this gathering was covered in prayer. You prayed. I prayed. We prayed. Lutherans across our country and around the world prayed. Every session before we started we prayed and sang a hymn. We listened to God’s Word in Bible Study. At noon we worshipped, 1000 people together every day around God’s Word and Holy Communion. We prayed before every vote…and after many…and…we didn’t all get what we prayed for. Which, when we don’t get what we want – as I many times did not – makes it tempting to think that we didn’t pray right or the assembly wasn’t listening to God’s word in the right way. “The Holy Spirit couldn’t have been working,” we say, “Or has left the building!” I fear that has always been the case when the Church disagrees – not over faith in Jesus as the crucified and risen Lord – but over how we then live faithfully with our neighbors according to God’s Word. We are tempted in such matters to say, “We’re not reading the same Bible!”
It started all the way back with Luther (well, before that if Ephesians is any indicator!). When Luther challenged the Roman Catholic Church, they wondered if he was reading a different Bible. They still wonder about our reading of the Bible when it comes to calling women to pastoral leadership…as do our brothers and sisters in the Missouri Synod Lutheran Church, who are sure we are reading the Bible wrong in this matter. Our Baptist brothers and sisters wonder if we read the same Bible when it comes to the baptism of our infant children or the second coming of Jesus; the Assemblies of God are sure we haven’t read the book of Acts when it comes to receiving the gifts of the Spirit; the Mennonites wonder if we know the words of Jesus that say, “Love your enemy and turn the other cheek,” because of the support we give to our military folks, and the chaplains we provide for our service men and women. And, it may go without saying, that our third world sisters and brothers in impoverished nations wonder if we have heard the words of Jesus when he bids us “to not build bigger barns and houses to store up earthly treasures, but rather to store up treasures in heaven; and give to the poor.”
“But,” you say, “That’s all well and good, but this one, Pastor – this word against homosexuality – seems so simple and clear.” I have always tended to agree…but I wrestle with it…as you do…when we try to apply it to a homosexuality that is not “weird” or “out there,” or in some Gay Pride Parade, but is being lived out among our children and grandchildren and our sisters and brothers, the ones we baptize and give third grade Bibles to and confirm in their faith in Jesus.
Many of you know that my first call was in Nebraska – a small rural congregation south of Lincoln. I had been there about six years when Mark asked if he could come and see me. Mark belonged to a country church – another denomination north of town – but he often worshipped at our church with his sister and her family. He came into my office and we sat and it all spilled out with a rush of tears. “Pastor, he said, “I’m gay. I’ve tried not to be. My church told me I shouldn’t be and I have prayed not to be. I’ve gone to counseling and I’ve been prayed for again and again. My church has tried to change me and I’ve asked Jesus to change me and I’m still the same. I don’t know what to do. I was hoping maybe you Lutherans had a different take on this.” “I don’t know, Mark.” I said. “You know God loves you, Mark. I believe that. And God forgives you whatever your sin in Jesus.” “Yes,” said Mark. “I’ve know that. And I believe, it, but I have been told that even so, God doesn’t like the way I am and that I can’t ever love and be loved with a life partner. Is that true?”
And because that is the way I had always learned that it was and believed it was, I said, “Yes…that’s what God’s word says…and the only option I can see is singleness…but I believe God can help you to live with this. I too will pray with you, Mark!” And so we prayed…and Mark went away as sad as he had come.
A year and a half later, Mark took his own life in his sister’s garage, just across the alley from our home. I presided at Mark’s funeral in his home church because their pastor could not. It wasn’t about homosexuality. It was about another reading of the scripture. That church’s reading of scripture said that suicide was the unforgiveable sin against the Holy Spirit, and as such his funeral could not be led by their pastor. They did relent in allowing the funeral in the church and the burial in the church cemetery. Some churches do not.
Christians, believers in Jesus, wrestling with the meaning of the words from Scripture, have asked - have asked me, “What if the homosexuality we are talking about is not that prison gang kind of Sodom and Gomorrah?” or the “Older men and young boys” kind practiced of Corinth?” Or, that temple prostitution kind practiced in some of the temples to Pagan gods? What if it is an “orientation” thing that comes at birth that one can’t choose? Then how do love and truth interact and then how do we see with the eyes of Jesus?” Can we faithfully read scripture any other way?
Friends in Christ, Christians have from the beginning disagreed about the weight of certain scriptures in the life of the community and have divorced themselves from one another in their disagreements. It is why we have so many denominations in the Christian church…and why our divisions can be so confusing to those who know nothing of Christ. If you came today hoping that perhaps our leadership would call for an immediate disconnect from the ELCA you will be disappointed…but not surprised. Those of you who know me know that I am more pastor than prophet and that even though I preach too long sometimes, more a listener to sides than one to take sides. I am more marriage counselor than divorce lawyer. I guess that is why I am not ready to leave the Church that I still believe faithfully witnesses the love of Christ to the world even though I disagreed with its decision on ministry policies. I did not vote with the majority because even though I believe those policies will not directly affect this congregation – we will choose our own pastors and leaders – I believed the were not right for our larger Church.
What I see in the decisions of the church (please read them for yourselves, we have made a few copies and the links are available on the internet) and what makes them unacceptable to some – is a willingness to say that ELCA Lutheran Christians “agree to disagree” on this matter. Some, bound to the scriptures in good conscience see homosexuality as sin and homosexual behavior as always unacceptable. Others bound to the scriptures in good conscience see heterosexuality as the intentional design of God, but homosexual orientation as a minority for which provision can be made and guidelines established in the body of Christ. And the statement offers that both are Christian and biblical…which, I understand, is not agreeable to everyone.
So, where to from here? I believe that the council of Luther on finding God’s will in your life might also be helpful here. When writing to a friend wondering what God’s will was for his life, Luther counseled, “Pray…study the scripture (even passages you don’t normally turn to)…pray again…talk with wise sisters and brothers in the faith…pray again…and when you have done all that, the way still may not be crystal clear, but you will have to do something, to act…so step forth, not knowing if in so doing you may inadvertently sin…but knowing that you might, “sin boldly”…and trust just as boldly in the forgiveness of that sustains us always.”
I have to believe, friends, that this is where the ELCA finds itself at the moment and where we, too as individuals and as a congregation find ourselves. We will pray and study and talk…and act…and we may sin…but we will also trust just as boldly in the forgiveness of God that is ours in Christ Jesus and be ever mindful of the word that guides us from Ephesians….
Lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Sprit in the bond of peace (4:1-3)…And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption. Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you. Be imitators of God as beloved children, and live in love as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us (4:31-5:2)
May it be so with us…as we follow Jesus…together…let us pray…
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