On Having A Good Church Fight
Sermon
Sermons on the Second Readings
Series II, Cycle B
Today's scripture from 1 John is one of the treasures of all the New Testament. John writes, "This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you, that God is light and in him is no darkness at all. If we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin."
Worship leaders often use this passage for a scriptural call to worship. It is one of the superlative positive statements in the New Testament, affirming that God, the ultimate reality is like a light that illuminates our darkness; and if we follow in this light we find our waywardness swallowed up in the forgiveness that flows from Jesus. These words could only be received with glad and joyful hearts.
Interestingly, these comforting and strengthening words came out of a church fight somewhere late in the second century, C.E. Some separated themselves from the church because they held different views. These separatists were unable to accept the church's teaching that Jesus was divine as well as human. They could not believe that divinity could be resident in humans, since humans were transient and perishable. Others thought they were perfect and incapable of sin, because the Spirit made them above the temptations to sin. This second group went two different ways: one part of them believed that anything fleshly or bodily, was an invitation to the devil. Another part felt they were above any possibility of sin, even when they violated the law and commandments.
The church was in turmoil. Before they left they argued and fussed among themselves. When this occurs, the church becomes an unhappy place. In John's world, Christians experienced the brokenness of the loving fellowship of the church. Even more distressing, was the result that outsiders would form a very negative opinion of the church. A conflicted church forfeits its claim that the gospel of Jesus Christ is a reconciling reality for all humanity. People tentatively attracted to the church would become alienated from all that the church stood for.
Yet wonderfully, out of this mess came these great words of 1 John. We would not have John's rich testimony if the church had not fallen into distress. While this is no endorsement to provoke or sustain a serious church fight, we might think of other instances when some meaningful witness to the truth of Christ has come from a painful rupture of the peace and love in the church. We might even consider that division in the church does not enhance the attractiveness of the faith. Our scripture passage prompts us to do some wrestling with these considerations.
Some Wonderful Church Fusses
One example is not too far to find. Shortly after the death and resurrection of Jesus, those who believed Jesus was the fulfillment of Israel's hopes caused a disruption in the life of the synagogue. This conviction clashed with traditional Jewish beliefs and caused much dissension. Soon, the Jesus people were expelled from the synagogues and forced to become a separate religious tradition. At that time co-existence was impossible and thus the church was formed. The church was born out of a bitter struggle within the synagogue.
The church became a gift to the whole world out of this painful parting. Had this not happened, Israel's faith would be confined to the small minority. A fracture of the peace of the synagogue then gave the traditions of Israel's faith to the world through the story of Jesus. Out of such pain and disruption came the church.
The Protestant Reformation is another example of a blessed church spat. Long before Martin Luther unwittingly provoked an uproar in the church, by his 95 complaints about the state of the church, there were other disputes running through the church. Many of these were humble members of the church, sensing that the church was far from the Spirit of Jesus. Usually their voices were not heard. Others daringly shook the peace of the church. John Huss, many years before Luther, began calling for church reforms. He so threatened the church he was convicted of heresy and burned at the stake. John Ball was a Lollard priest in England; he felt compelled to join with English peasants who were protesting the oppression of the wealthy landowners. He was hung and quartered. William Tyndall challenged the church's ban on translating the scriptures into the vernacular languages, and like Huss, it cost him his life. Yet, in the cumulative force of these protests, something better in the life of the church was eventually born.
Luther's challenge to the church proved too much for the church, launching the Protestant Reformation. Even though we cannot be pleased with all that followed the disruption in the church caused by Luther, there has been much serving to strengthen and purify the witness of the church since. Out of the Reformation has come the church's insistence that risky faith, not comfortable certainty, is our basic response to the gospel. Out of the Reformation has come an insistence the scriptures are the primary witness to our faith. Out of the Reformation has come an objection to the claim of the clergy for prestige and unquestionable authority. Again, out of this disturbing struggle in the life of the church has come much that both Protestants and Roman Catholics now embrace as true and strengthening.
Likewise, in modern times, the church has been troubled by those who insist that we can discover even greater meanings in scripture through using our critical powers of literary and historical investigation. Today, before we can receive the Bible as the sacred word of God, moderns must first approach the Bible as a human work coming out of our struggle to be people of faith and hope. Many moderns are unable to consider the Bible as something coming directly from God, showing no trace of human input. This claim is troubling to many. To them it seems to make the scriptures a human book without holy or sacred meaning. For at least two centuries denominations and local churches continued to fight over this issue; the call to sort out the human elements of scripture before listening for its godly voice has seriously divided the church. New denominations, seminaries, and colleges have their origin in this church fight because some Christians think the modern approach to scripture is a denial of the scripture as the Word of God. In America, the classic example of this struggle came when Harry Emerson Fosdick was forced from the pulpit of the First Presbyterian Church in New York City, since he embraced the newer approaches to the Bible. About the same time, John Scopes, a high school biology teacher in Dayton, Tennessee, was tried for teaching evolution to his high school students. Publicity over the trial made this issue known to the entire nation.
But serious reflection suggests that if the Christian witness is going to have a serious engagement to the modern world, it will have to present the gospel in the historical-critical fashion disturbing to many in today's church. One church leader titles his book, Why the Church Must Change or Die, arguing that the sacredness of scripture's message is enhanced by this new disturbing approach to the Bible, not diminished. He also claims that the gospel presented in this modern, non-traditional way is the wave of the future for the church's witness. Otherwise, the church will soon cease to have a serious hearing in our modern world. So here again, a troubled, fractious church points the way toward a significant proclamation of the gospel in today's world. Franklin Littell once said that an indispensable atmosphere in the church was its cultivation of "raging dialogue." For out of this "rage" may come a more credible sense of the biblical faith.
Godly Tensions In The Church
If these considerations are close to the truth, then it follows that the peace of the church is not always a good indication that it is really being the church. A young pastor wrote to his bishop asking if his superior would offer a "Quiet Hour" in his congregation. The bishop replied that the pastor's congregation, needed a tornado not a Quiet Hour! The truth of Christ may often be judged by how disruptive the life is of the congregation. Methodist founder, John Wesley, gathered his preachers annually to hear reports on their work. First, he asked each one if he had led anyone to Christ. If the preacher answered, "No," Wesley's next question was, "Well, did you make anyone angry?"
Psychologist, Eric Berne, once classified the psychological games we play. These are "games" we use to manipulate others to our own advantage. He called one game, "Uproar." We play the game of "Uproar," bringing disruption into the family, or in a marriage, or at the office so that we can hide our shortcomings in the din of uproarious distraction. Teenagers are skilled at Uproar; however, many adults continue the game far into their mature years. No Christian engages in the "Uproar" game simply out one's personal agenda, but Christian witness could call for a little "Uproar" in the life of the church because it has become too comfortable and complacent. Without some positive "Uproar" the church loses its critical edge for challenging present ills and dangers.
A layperson played "Uproar" in his congregation in the 1930s. A woman of the congregation felt called to preach. However, the pastor resisted because he felt the scriptures prohibited such a practice. The layman along with another from the congregation believed Christian common sense trumped any Bible teaching to the contrary. So they drove to the district judicatory official's office and successfully pleaded her case. She was granted the privilege to preach the gospel, becoming a well-known evangelist in the judicatory. Of course, this caused serious tension between these two laypeople and their pastor and a few sided with the pastor. It was not a comfortable time for that congregation. Yet, they were making a strong statement about the equality Christ brings. This equality was stated by Paul in his famous passage from Galatians: "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" (3:28). Is this perhaps the meaning of Jesus' comment on his ministry, "I have not come to bring peace, but a sword"? (Matthew 10:34b).
A recent movie about the life and witness of Dietrich Bonhoeffer gives us another point. He and others disrupted the life of the German church when it opted for Adolf Hitler's agenda for a German-dominated Europe. Bonhoeffer joined with the minority of German Christians who understood that Hitler's goal for the church was to make it a baptism of plans for aggression against nearby nations and for the elimination of the Jews. Many German Christians objected to this challenge by Bonhoeffer and others to the peace of the church. But the witness of Bonhoeffer and his colleagues has blessed the church and the world by an example of gospel courage and a powerful clarity about the claims of Christ. Out of this painful moment of disruption in the church has come such a godly gift, agreeing with our morning scripture's context, that the love and mercy of God often rides in on the troubling times of conflict within the church. This witness surely applies to both our traditions, our denominations, and to our local congregations. It is well worth pondering that quiet, peaceful congregations and denominations may not be the places where one can hear and live out the gospel as in more turbulent, conflicted ones.
Worship leaders often use this passage for a scriptural call to worship. It is one of the superlative positive statements in the New Testament, affirming that God, the ultimate reality is like a light that illuminates our darkness; and if we follow in this light we find our waywardness swallowed up in the forgiveness that flows from Jesus. These words could only be received with glad and joyful hearts.
Interestingly, these comforting and strengthening words came out of a church fight somewhere late in the second century, C.E. Some separated themselves from the church because they held different views. These separatists were unable to accept the church's teaching that Jesus was divine as well as human. They could not believe that divinity could be resident in humans, since humans were transient and perishable. Others thought they were perfect and incapable of sin, because the Spirit made them above the temptations to sin. This second group went two different ways: one part of them believed that anything fleshly or bodily, was an invitation to the devil. Another part felt they were above any possibility of sin, even when they violated the law and commandments.
The church was in turmoil. Before they left they argued and fussed among themselves. When this occurs, the church becomes an unhappy place. In John's world, Christians experienced the brokenness of the loving fellowship of the church. Even more distressing, was the result that outsiders would form a very negative opinion of the church. A conflicted church forfeits its claim that the gospel of Jesus Christ is a reconciling reality for all humanity. People tentatively attracted to the church would become alienated from all that the church stood for.
Yet wonderfully, out of this mess came these great words of 1 John. We would not have John's rich testimony if the church had not fallen into distress. While this is no endorsement to provoke or sustain a serious church fight, we might think of other instances when some meaningful witness to the truth of Christ has come from a painful rupture of the peace and love in the church. We might even consider that division in the church does not enhance the attractiveness of the faith. Our scripture passage prompts us to do some wrestling with these considerations.
Some Wonderful Church Fusses
One example is not too far to find. Shortly after the death and resurrection of Jesus, those who believed Jesus was the fulfillment of Israel's hopes caused a disruption in the life of the synagogue. This conviction clashed with traditional Jewish beliefs and caused much dissension. Soon, the Jesus people were expelled from the synagogues and forced to become a separate religious tradition. At that time co-existence was impossible and thus the church was formed. The church was born out of a bitter struggle within the synagogue.
The church became a gift to the whole world out of this painful parting. Had this not happened, Israel's faith would be confined to the small minority. A fracture of the peace of the synagogue then gave the traditions of Israel's faith to the world through the story of Jesus. Out of such pain and disruption came the church.
The Protestant Reformation is another example of a blessed church spat. Long before Martin Luther unwittingly provoked an uproar in the church, by his 95 complaints about the state of the church, there were other disputes running through the church. Many of these were humble members of the church, sensing that the church was far from the Spirit of Jesus. Usually their voices were not heard. Others daringly shook the peace of the church. John Huss, many years before Luther, began calling for church reforms. He so threatened the church he was convicted of heresy and burned at the stake. John Ball was a Lollard priest in England; he felt compelled to join with English peasants who were protesting the oppression of the wealthy landowners. He was hung and quartered. William Tyndall challenged the church's ban on translating the scriptures into the vernacular languages, and like Huss, it cost him his life. Yet, in the cumulative force of these protests, something better in the life of the church was eventually born.
Luther's challenge to the church proved too much for the church, launching the Protestant Reformation. Even though we cannot be pleased with all that followed the disruption in the church caused by Luther, there has been much serving to strengthen and purify the witness of the church since. Out of the Reformation has come the church's insistence that risky faith, not comfortable certainty, is our basic response to the gospel. Out of the Reformation has come an insistence the scriptures are the primary witness to our faith. Out of the Reformation has come an objection to the claim of the clergy for prestige and unquestionable authority. Again, out of this disturbing struggle in the life of the church has come much that both Protestants and Roman Catholics now embrace as true and strengthening.
Likewise, in modern times, the church has been troubled by those who insist that we can discover even greater meanings in scripture through using our critical powers of literary and historical investigation. Today, before we can receive the Bible as the sacred word of God, moderns must first approach the Bible as a human work coming out of our struggle to be people of faith and hope. Many moderns are unable to consider the Bible as something coming directly from God, showing no trace of human input. This claim is troubling to many. To them it seems to make the scriptures a human book without holy or sacred meaning. For at least two centuries denominations and local churches continued to fight over this issue; the call to sort out the human elements of scripture before listening for its godly voice has seriously divided the church. New denominations, seminaries, and colleges have their origin in this church fight because some Christians think the modern approach to scripture is a denial of the scripture as the Word of God. In America, the classic example of this struggle came when Harry Emerson Fosdick was forced from the pulpit of the First Presbyterian Church in New York City, since he embraced the newer approaches to the Bible. About the same time, John Scopes, a high school biology teacher in Dayton, Tennessee, was tried for teaching evolution to his high school students. Publicity over the trial made this issue known to the entire nation.
But serious reflection suggests that if the Christian witness is going to have a serious engagement to the modern world, it will have to present the gospel in the historical-critical fashion disturbing to many in today's church. One church leader titles his book, Why the Church Must Change or Die, arguing that the sacredness of scripture's message is enhanced by this new disturbing approach to the Bible, not diminished. He also claims that the gospel presented in this modern, non-traditional way is the wave of the future for the church's witness. Otherwise, the church will soon cease to have a serious hearing in our modern world. So here again, a troubled, fractious church points the way toward a significant proclamation of the gospel in today's world. Franklin Littell once said that an indispensable atmosphere in the church was its cultivation of "raging dialogue." For out of this "rage" may come a more credible sense of the biblical faith.
Godly Tensions In The Church
If these considerations are close to the truth, then it follows that the peace of the church is not always a good indication that it is really being the church. A young pastor wrote to his bishop asking if his superior would offer a "Quiet Hour" in his congregation. The bishop replied that the pastor's congregation, needed a tornado not a Quiet Hour! The truth of Christ may often be judged by how disruptive the life is of the congregation. Methodist founder, John Wesley, gathered his preachers annually to hear reports on their work. First, he asked each one if he had led anyone to Christ. If the preacher answered, "No," Wesley's next question was, "Well, did you make anyone angry?"
Psychologist, Eric Berne, once classified the psychological games we play. These are "games" we use to manipulate others to our own advantage. He called one game, "Uproar." We play the game of "Uproar," bringing disruption into the family, or in a marriage, or at the office so that we can hide our shortcomings in the din of uproarious distraction. Teenagers are skilled at Uproar; however, many adults continue the game far into their mature years. No Christian engages in the "Uproar" game simply out one's personal agenda, but Christian witness could call for a little "Uproar" in the life of the church because it has become too comfortable and complacent. Without some positive "Uproar" the church loses its critical edge for challenging present ills and dangers.
A layperson played "Uproar" in his congregation in the 1930s. A woman of the congregation felt called to preach. However, the pastor resisted because he felt the scriptures prohibited such a practice. The layman along with another from the congregation believed Christian common sense trumped any Bible teaching to the contrary. So they drove to the district judicatory official's office and successfully pleaded her case. She was granted the privilege to preach the gospel, becoming a well-known evangelist in the judicatory. Of course, this caused serious tension between these two laypeople and their pastor and a few sided with the pastor. It was not a comfortable time for that congregation. Yet, they were making a strong statement about the equality Christ brings. This equality was stated by Paul in his famous passage from Galatians: "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" (3:28). Is this perhaps the meaning of Jesus' comment on his ministry, "I have not come to bring peace, but a sword"? (Matthew 10:34b).
A recent movie about the life and witness of Dietrich Bonhoeffer gives us another point. He and others disrupted the life of the German church when it opted for Adolf Hitler's agenda for a German-dominated Europe. Bonhoeffer joined with the minority of German Christians who understood that Hitler's goal for the church was to make it a baptism of plans for aggression against nearby nations and for the elimination of the Jews. Many German Christians objected to this challenge by Bonhoeffer and others to the peace of the church. But the witness of Bonhoeffer and his colleagues has blessed the church and the world by an example of gospel courage and a powerful clarity about the claims of Christ. Out of this painful moment of disruption in the church has come such a godly gift, agreeing with our morning scripture's context, that the love and mercy of God often rides in on the troubling times of conflict within the church. This witness surely applies to both our traditions, our denominations, and to our local congregations. It is well worth pondering that quiet, peaceful congregations and denominations may not be the places where one can hear and live out the gospel as in more turbulent, conflicted ones.
