Has anyone else found this summer to be especially depressing in the news? We have this horrible situation in East Africa, which is heartbreaking. Even seeing a quick picture of the ongoing suffering and famine can bring a lump to the throat or raise significant questions. There were the UK riots, and the response to the UK riots. The ideological squabbles in the US that brought the nation (and the rest of the world with it) to the brink of economic catastrophe. And there was that horrible day in Norway where a man, on ideological principle thought it would be best to kill a bunch of people from an opposing political party, (a party that has advocated against the exclusion of people from society based on ethnicity or religion), and his murderous rampage included children affiliated with this idea.
I found my heart being wrenched wide open practically every time I opened the newspaper. We live in a divided world. A world that is drawing more and more lines. White and black, Christian and Muslim, Conservative and Liberal, Rural and Urban, the human world and the natural world, the economy and the environment. There are so many that it is exhausting just to think about.
Divisions. Divisions. Divisions. We live in a bitterly divided world, and this is not a new phenomenon.
This theme of division runs throughout our scripture readings for today. In our Genesis reading, a division exists between Joseph and his brothers. A division brought about by jealousy, Joseph’s brothers having sold him into slavery. In the Gospel, there is a division between the Jews and the Gentiles, a division which Jesus initially advocates. In Paul’s letter to the Romans, he describes a division between the Jews and the burgeoning church.
This divisive nature has continued on through the history of religion, certainly through the history of Christianity. The church has often emphasized who is on the inside, and who is on the outside. Who is saved and who is damned. What is holy, what is unholy. We have survived and thrived on the idea that we are the gatekeepers and none shall pass but those we deem fit.
We live in a divided world. Divided on grounds of race, religion, ideology, gender, sexuality, wealth, nationality, even species. Does anyone else find this tragic?
All of our scripture readings for today describe, not just divisions, but reconciliation. Through forgiveness, Joseph is reunited with his family. Paul explains that Jews and followers of Christ are bound within the Grace of God. Even Jesus, has his mind changed. He is taught a tremendous lesson from a Canaanite woman, as she reminds him that even Gentiles are not excluded from God’s love. This is Jesus, remember! Our Psalm for the day caps it off beautifully, “How lovely it is when kindred live together in unity.”
Every reading for today is a quite simple call to unity, a call to reconciliation. And this is a call that resonates throughout the bible, throughout the gospels, embodied in the life of Christ, and the call which is made to the church throughout the epistles. We are a reconciling church. We are called to embody Christ who came to reconcile the world. We are called to reconcile the world.
The church has not done well in its mission. Rather than ending divisions, rather than ending hatred, oppression, ostracization and various bigotries, we have throughout our history advocated for them. No wonder people are starting to question the legitimacy of the church when we don’t stand by our founding principles! In many ways I’m surprised it took people so long to start saying, “Wait a minute!” Because unity, bringing everyone together, seeing the whole world as the family of God, as one creation, is what defines us!
The life that Jesus lived, the life of God is the life that goes out and sees all people, all things in their fullness. It is the life that says “Anyone who thinks they are morally superior, or better than someone else, MUST… MUST see that God is present in the other.” He argued to the Pharisees that God was present in the unclean of the day. He showed to the zealots that God was present in the tax collectors. And in the lesson from the Canaanite woman, he showed that God is present even outside of Judaism. This was radical, and it remains radical today!
If there is anyone in the world we think we are better than, the life of Christ invites us to know them intimately and see that God is present. This is the Torah, the prophets, this is Paul, this is Christ. If I think I am better than someone because I am able bodied, and they are disabled, I need to see that God is present in disability. If I think I am better than someone because I am straight and they are gay, I need to see that God is present the LGBT community. If I think I am better than somebody because I am white and they are first nations, or I have never committed a crime and they are in prison, or because I have one political view and they have another, the life of Christ invites me to see that God is present in them.
Here’s a pop quiz. Does anyone know what words are written on the United Church of Canada crest? Ut Omnes Unum Sint. Does anyone know what that means? That all may be one. It’s a line taken from John. That all may be one.
This vision, held up as the United Church of Canada’s mission in 1925 when the Methodists, the Congregationalists and a large portion of the Presbyterians joined together, today is so important! And it goes beyond the vision of all denominations coming together. That all may be one, should be the rallying cry of Christians everywhere, it is a call that we need to embody in our daily lives.
Paul said in his letter to the Galatians that “There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.” And that message continues today: In Christ there is no liberal or conservative. In Christ there is no sinner or saint. In Christ there is no Muslim or Christian, white or first nations, old or young, wise or stupid, cool or uncool, criminal or citizen, able bodied or disabled, human or animal. All of us are sisters and brothers before God, all of us are of one creation before God.
As we move forward in an ever more interconnected and globalised world, this message of unity must be preached loudly, and must be embodied with great courage. This is where the church must be present. This is our tremendous opportunity to shine the light of Christ into a divided world, a world that is struggling with encountering new cultures and different ideas, a world that is trembling under the weight of division and fear. Now is our time to claim our glorious heritage, to see the union of all things under one holy creation, and to declare that union with tremendous love in our hearts. Thanks be to God. Amen.
I was quite happy with this sermon. It felt good writing, it felt good preaching.
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