Bridging the Divide

Sermon given at Sydenstricker UMC 2/17/19

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^NRS 1 Corinthians 9:16 If I proclaim the gospel, this gives me no ground for boasting, for an obligation is laid on me, and woe to me if I do not proclaim the gospel! ¹⁷ For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward; but if not of my own will, I am entrusted with a commission. ¹⁸ What then is my reward? Just this: that in my proclamation I may make the gospel free of charge, so as not to make full use of my rights in the gospel. ¹⁹ For though I am free with respect to all, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I might win more of them. ²⁰ To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though I myself am not under the law) so that I might win those under the law. ²¹ To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law) so that I might win those outside the law. ²² To the weak I became weak, so that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that I might by all means save some. ²³ I do it all for the sake of the gospel, so that I may share in its blessings.

Many years ago, I was asked to do my first confirmation class. I had no idea how to reach these young people in their language or with their understanding. I remembered reading a great book, Christianity Rediscovered by Father Vincent Donovan. He was sent as a missionary over to Africa to promote the growth of Christianity in the 1950’s. He failed. I remember reading that and thinking of John Wesley’s mission to America in Georgia where he converted zero people to Christ. Father Donovan learned what Paul is teaching us today. We cannot understand the other side until we stop trying to convince them they are wrong and learn what they are saying. Therefore, I had to learn a lesson in the language of youth that told me they could not make the connection between the cross and God’s grace. That is, until I build them a bridge that spanned the great divide with the cross as the bridge.

There is so much wrong with our world today. We have people angry because they recognize that we are not making great progress in race relations. Mind you, we are making progress, but the latest blow-up shows us that we have a long ways to go. We have arguments about abortion and the church stands somewhat silent on when life begins and when we as human beings can choose to be God and end it. The same could be said for capital punishment. We argue over gun control using the victims of senseless acts of evil as if they are punching bags for our pleasure to get the other side to see it our way. We argue that global warming is real or is not real, meanwhile not doing anything significant to change our world for the better. In the 70’s in North Dakota, farmers were already using 100 % Ethanol to fuel their equipment and windmills to generate power and here we are 50 years later still not getting closer to being more effective stewards or our world.  

I could talk about immigration by invoking the scripture that God said to the Israelites in the wilderness about loving the alien in their lands because they were aliens in Egypt but that might fuel the anger even more. Rather we should ask ourselves, do any of us have anything special on anyone today wanting to come here? Using Doctor Phil’s language, we could ask a true Native American how a welcoming posture of immigration is working for them. I hope that I have you all steamed up as I have equally attacked Democrat and Republican’s today. The truth is when we get right down to it; we are so polarized that we cannot even agree on much of anything. We spend our time in angry rhetoric that leaves us nowhere. Father Donovan learned quickly that he could not explain Jesus in terms the people did not understand. So he immersed himself in their culture to learn how to explain love in their language.

I often think about the world that Jesus knew. His world was full of political corruption, infighting among those in the Sanhedrin and constant clashes between Romans and Jews. Poverty was a huge problem with 50-60 % taxation on people, far beyond their ability to live comfortably. Nations were at war with each other over territorial rights, trading issues and greed was rampant. In His own country, racism, sexism and gender issues were a daily issue to be dealt with. Into this world, Jesus walked with love and peace.

Jesus in Matthew 5 reminds us that we are to be the seasoning of life for the world. We are to be salt, which adds taste and preserves. We are to be a light forcing darkness to be abated. That is what Jesus is calling us to be. Salt left out in the cold and the damp loses its taste if not spread over the food. We see that in the winter where salt put on the roads is easily washed away and needs to be replenished when the snow and ice come. How many of us understand that salt is the preservative that allows meat to last and not spoil. We are called by God to be that life force for all the world.

I love the story of the woman at the well.  Jesus talked with a Samaritan woman. Now to understand this picture well, we have to understand what it means to be a Jew and a Samaritan in Jesus day. Samaritans were the Jewish people left behind during the conquest of the Babylonians and Assyrians. When the Jewish people were scattered to the ends of the earth, some did not leave. Those that stayed adopted the lifestyle of the people around them, married and had children. When the Jews returned, they deemed these folks half-breeds. Both Jew and Arab alike left them alone and shunned them. So for a Jewish man to walk into a Samaritan town, much less talk with one, much less a woman at that was against every moral fiber of their culture. In other words, it would be like you and me going into places in Washington DC where people we think are inferior and socializing with them. What would we be thinking?

I also love the story of the adulterous woman. Of course, the Jewish leadership was trying to set Him up. However, what does He do, He does not acknowledge her crime, her failure or her faults. Rather He turns it back on the rest of us. You! I am talking to you over there. You, who believes you are better than this woman, let you reflect for a moment and if you can find no sin within you, go ahead and shun her, better than that, go-ahead and be the first to strike a killing blow. He shows her grace and mercy even though she has done wrong. So what is that saying to you and me? Is grace real or are we just going to let is spoil because we refuse to be the salt that preserves it?  

We are told in Titus; avoid foolishness, genealogies, dissensions and quarrels about the law. There is no profit in doing these things. So what are we supposed to do? We are called to follow Jesus. Simple, right? No, truth is it is difficult and challenging. But we are called to build bridges of love and grace where there is hate. We are called to serve a meal and invite to the table those who are divided so that we can share conversation with one another. In Ephesians, we are reminded that we were once those who were angry, divided and polarized. But Jesus came for us and the blood of Jesus washed us clean. ^ESVEphesians 2: 14 “For He Himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in His flesh the dividing wall of hostility.” Jesus gave all that He had to give so that you and I can be the bridge builders today.

Paul says it well in today’s scripture. He says to us, become the people we hate, become the people we are angry at and become, even if just for a moment, the people we disagree with. Walk for a moment in their shoes and listen to what they are saying. Does not mean you have to agree with them but for a moment, try to see it their way. He said to us in the scripture today, “I have become all things to all people, that I might by all means save some. ²³ I do it all for the sake of the gospel, so that I may share in its blessings.” What he means by that is what is important is not the prevailing issue but whether or not we can share grace and love together.

Bridge builders spend a great deal of time searching for the best foundations for the piers that will hold the span for long periods. They work hard at not fighting the elements as much as they find ways of using them to work to their advantage. We are called to do the same thing. What if we began to show love in the face of anger and grace in the face of hate and reminded each other how important it is to be loved? What if we spent our time witnessing to the power of a God who loves us so much that God came into the world to share with us for a while how to be in relationship, true relationship. What if we spent our time wading into the argument not for the sake of arguing, but for the sake of bringing conversation, compromise and understanding?

Our role today is not to join the ranks of the polarized, but to bring positive and negative magnets together to be a strong bonding bridge. We are called to be the light of the world. How do I know? A small group of brace men and women began to do just that two thousand years ago and their efforts changed the world. What if we stopped taking sides and stand in the middle with the cross on our back…..