Sermon from July 15th

Before we begin I'd like you to fill out this form, and hand it back to me.  [Before worship began on Sunday I asked everyone to fill out a form with the following printed on it.  During the prelude, they did so and at the end of the prelude I collected them.]

Which of These Are Sins?

• Abortion
• Women's Ordination
• Homosexuality
• Racism
• War
• Evolution
• Divorce
• Gambling
• Drinking Alcohol
• Birth Control
• Euthanasia
• Capital Punishment
• None of the above
• All the above

Ephesians 1:3-14 in its original language, Greek, is known as the longest single sentence in the Bible.  So, what can we glean from such a long sentence, certainly more than a grammar exercise, I hope.  Well, what nearly jumps off the page...12 times actually... are the first person plural pronouns.  Clearly the object of this long sentence is none other than US.  So, this begs the questions for us today...Who is "us"?  

Unfortunately, most often when we hear or use the language of the first person plural "us" it is in opposition to third person plural "them".   "We" always think of ourselves as better than "Them".  And, "We" never want to be like "Them".  So, what is wrong with "Them"?  have you ever wondered?  It seems as though it is usually something to do with a decision or a question that is thought to be exceedingly important...a decision that must be answered correctly or....well, God help us all.   History proves that because of the importance of various decisions in various desperate times "We" are often willing to divide and part company with "Them" in order to make sure that things are done right, and that questions are answered rightly.  Unfortunately, this often leads to "Us" being divided from "Them".   But, then again, usually that's not such a bad thing since "We" don't usually want to be around "Them" any way.  

For example, let's take a look at how you answered the questions on the form.  [On Sunday, prior to the sermon, I quickly separated the papers into three stacks.  Those who answered "None of the above", those who answered "All the above" and the rest were the stack of "Some of the above".]  [Holding up the stack of those who answered "All the above"] These, about 25% of you, said that "All the above" are sins.  Now, those of you who answered the form this way, I'm sure you're surprised right about now to realize that only about 25% of the people in the room agree with you.....[Holding up the stack of those who answered "None of the above"] These are the people, again about 25% of you, who said that "None of the above" are sins.  Right about now, I'm guessing those of you who checked the box that all of these are sins are probably expecting that the preacher before you should take advantage of this opportunity to hammer the scriptural truth home to those who had the audacity to check that none of these are sins.  On the other hand, those of you who checked that none of these are sins are hoping that right about now I preach away at the gospel message of not judging our neighbor.  Well, my friends, I'm afraid you'll both be disappointed today because the text from Ephesians doesn't go in either of those directions.  :-)  The last group of us are those who split the difference, you didn't check either of the "all the above" options and your answers are all over the map. At a glance there is absolutely no consistency to your answers whatsoever.  


So, there you have it.  Right here, within our congregation there is all the potential necessary for great division.  We might as well just draw a line down the middle of our church and start asking to people to choose sides.  


The list of sins/not sins that I put before you was actually a list of issues that have been debated over and have caused division in our church, some in small ways and others in large ways, over the last century.  The most current one, of course, is homosexuality.  But, before this issue, there was abortion, and then women's ordination and the others pop their head up from time to time as life and the times dictates.  And, long ago, there were issues such as whether or not the world is flat.  Of course, if I had put that on your list it would have skewed the results because I would hope that none of us would say "All of the above" with that one listed.  But, it is worth keeping in mind that for the first 1500 years of Christianity it was indeed a sin to suggest that the world was anything but flat.  And, it is also worth mentioning that this belief was supported by the scriptural description of creation.  

So, who is right?
Who is wrong?

Better yet, who is the US that is the recipient of the blessings and grace of the promises mentioned in that long sentence from Ephesians?  
Could it be that those who are diametrically opposed to our view are actually part of the US to God, and we are THEM to God?  

To answer that question we need to be able to take a glimpse into the great cosmic story the author of  Ephesians describes.  In verse 9-10, the author writes, "he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth."    God's plan is to gather up all of us...ALL OF US!!!!  IN GOD'S PLAN THERE IS NO THEM!!!!  THERE IS ONLY US...ALL OF US!!!
This is not Universalism, for the great cosmic plan of God is that all of us would come to know and love Jesus.  But, the reason is not so that we all learn to get the answers right.  The reason is because of God's great love for us.

This is why He sent Jesus.  Jesus didn't die for those who get the right answers to the questions of sin.   And, Jesus didn't die for those who get some sort of theological final exam right.  And finally, Jesus didn't die for those who get life's questions and challenges right.  Jesus died for US!  ALL OF US!!


Why?  Because we are not the only ones who matter to God.  All of us matter to God.

You see, we aren't saved by our right answers, or our ability to get things right in life.
No amount of our righteousness can save us.
We are saved by the righteousness of God through faith. (Rom. 3:21)

So, what is it that we can say to each other today as we come to difficult discussions on topics such as homosexuality in the church?
We can say that we are one church, we share one faith, we are baptized into one Holy Baptism, and we receive one body and blood of Christ.  These things, and these alone, bind us eternally together.
It's OK if we disagree about all sorts of things, so long as our faith in Christ still binds us together.

We may never be one in any of our answers to difficult questions.
But the result of of our divisions is worse than the result of our struggles to remain together.   The world around us sees our division and they don't care about our theological answers.  The part of "US" that God calls us to reach out to sees only hypocrisy by our apparent inability to forgive each other and live freely within the good news we preach.

Instead of division, let the world around us see that we are able to remain one in our faith, one in the righteousness of Jesus.
Let the world around us see that we are one in the Spirit of love and life that first gave us breath and hope.

May our Christian witness to the world not be in our ability to get the right theological answers, or our alignment with the right denominational division, but rather in our deep desire to forgive and love and welcome all, trusting in God's righteousness and not ours.

Amen.