A Whole New World
Sermon
Sermons On The Second Readings
Series I, Cycle C
I knew that it was wrong. I was young at the time, but I knew that there was something wrong with what I had overheard. I was sitting in the general foreman's office in the steel mill when I heard him literally cuss out one of his subordinates because he had given a higher paying job to an African-American over a young white summer college student like myself, even though the black man had seniority. I was not abreast of current labor relations, but I knew something was wrong with that.
I was young at the time but I knew that there was something wrong with what he said. My paternal grandfather was born into poverty, his mother died young, and he was forced to work on the farm just to survive. Formal education was not an option. "Gary," he said, "everywhere I have been in my life I have had to walk through the back door. If you get an education, you can walk through the front door!" Needless to say, his words have motivated me, but I knew at the time that the way he had been treated was not right.
I knew that it was wrong when I heard about it. She was gifted, well-educated, and a devout Christian who firmly felt that God had called her into the ministry. But the denomination, of which she was a member, said that God did not call women to be pastors. So, she joined the mass exodus of so many gifted others who found a denomination with a larger vision. I knew nothing about religious political maneuvers, but I knew there was something wrong with that.
I think that I am not too far from wrong when I say that my reaction was something of what William Willimon and others term "sighing for Eden." It is a distant memory in the back of our minds for the way things used to be. I think that it is a longing for that Eden-perfect world before ethnic, social, and sexual barriers and injustices came to be. Our sense of "oughtness" stems from our faint recollection of how it used to be. It also can stem from our knowledge of how things are going to be in that glorious future when Christ will come again and create a new heaven and a new earth (Revelation 21). In this Christ-created whole new world, the sins of ethnic, social, and sexual injustice will be no more. We know how things are going to be! But what about the meantime? What about the in-between-time world of reality in which we live?
Many have sighed, longed for, dreamed of, and worked hard to narrow the gap between the way things used to be and the way things are going to be. Many have lived and died for the vision of a whole new world. Was it not this vision that caused Martin Luther King, Jr., to fight and die for ethnic and racial freedom? Was it not this vision that motivated Mahatma Gandhi to live and die for freedom from political and social oppression? Was it not this vision that activated Susan B. Anthony and others to march for the rights of women to vote? Was it not this vision that challenged Jesus to live and die to create a whole new world where there would be no Jew or Gentile, bond or free, male or female, that all would be one in him? Was it not this vision which gave inpetus to Paul's preaching about a world where ethnic, social, and sexual prejudice did not exist, contrary to his world where Jewish males thanked God every morning that they were not born a Gentile, a slave, or a woman?
God had tried to create such a new world with Adam. It did not last. He sought to call forth such a new world through Abraham. Limited success. Now God would try again -- with his Son. Now God would send forth his only son to create a whole new world. This world would be a new solidarity where the old ethnic, social, and sexual divisions which had almost destroyed his creation would not exist. This new creation would be a new community where adjectives would not be turned into nouns and people would not be seen as black or white, rich or poor, male or female, but as persons, human beings, brothers and sisters in Christ. Jesus had a vision of a new fellowship where people were drawn together by what they had in common rather than being pulled apart by what they had in difference. Christ lived and died for an alternative community where competition and brute force would not dominate but one in which love and compassion for all would reign.
It was the way things used to be. It is the way things are going to be. Christ came to initiate a new order of things where everyone is treated equally.
Doris Jones was an elementary school teacher and a member of the church I served in Huntsville, Alabama. With laughter in her voice, she related to me an experience that she had. After a long summer, she was talking with one of her best friends with whom she had taught for years. "I want you to meet my son," her friend stated. "This is his first day at school. Oh, there he is -- over there with those other boys at the bicycle rack."
"Which one?" Doris questioned.
Her African-American friend responded, "Well, Doris! There are five white boys over there and one black boy. Which one do you think is mine?"
Doris laughed more heartily in telling me the story. "I just saw children."
I just saw children -- people -- human beings -- no Jew or Gentile, bond or free, male or female -- just children. Good for you, Doris!
Paul was consistent, as was Doris, in his inclusiveness. In each category, people had no choice: they were born Jew or Gentile, male or female. However, whether bond or free was usually a matter of circumstance or even geography if one happened to be living in a land conquered by Rome. Paul is saying that it does not matter; if you were born what you are or made what you are by happenstance, differences fade and you are one in Christ.
Now, admittedly, there are dangers and perils afoot in the creation of a whole new world, not the least of which is the tendency to revert to the patterns of the old one. Why is it such a strong temptation to fall back and duplicate, sometimes for others, the conditions of oppression from which we have been freed? Why is it that the oppressed, once they have been freed from their oppression, in the new world often become the oppressor? It is the sad history of the politically and religiously oppressed that when they find freedom, if they are not careful, they become the oppressor in the same way they were formerly oppressed. Did it not happen with John Calvin and the Puritans? Does it not happen with any and every new world, even our own, where religious and political oppression came down heavily upon Roger Williams and others?
Why? How could the formerly oppressed betray their previous gift of freedom and deny it to others? I don't know. I am only guessing here, but possibly could it be that prejudice, injustice, and hatred can so easily find their way into an insecure and fearful heart? We are threatened. We have a gnawing fear that we do not deserve our cherished gift and live in mortal fear that someone will come and take it away. So, we become self-centered and protective of that which we have. We hoard that which we have accumulated.
I remember a minister friend relating to me a statement made by a businessman. The businessman had inherited a very profitable company from his father and lived in the most exclusive part of town. He openly made the statement that he did not see anything wrong with being exclusive. I wondered if he would have said that if the shoe had been on the other foot, if he had been the one being excluded instead of the one doing the excluding. I wonder if he would have said that if he had been the one knocking on locked doors with bloody knuckles for endless years instead of the one who refused to open up. I wonder why often the hardest word in the English language to pronounce is "we"! I have no problem saying "I." It often is very difficult if not impossible to pronounce "we"!
So, you have already deduced that my next statement is that this whole new world is not a present reality. The vision of the world that Jesus lived and died for, that Paul lived and died for, was not a reality in their day nor is it in ours. Many will say that this is the fault of the church. To some extent, they are right. They will say that the real religion of our day is not God-focused but is, in fact, militant consumerism. To some extent, they are right. They will contend that the church is only one version of the truth, certainly not the most dominant version of the truth, vying for the attention and loyalties of men and women. To some extent, they are correct. They will claim that the church is only one of many voices in the witness box clamoring for a hearing and no longer on the bench of the court declaring the order of things. That is absolutely true.
So, we have to admit that there is no one to blame but ourselves. We have not created the whole new world for which Christ died. We have met the enemy and "they" is us. Sad, but true. But entertain another perspective on the truth. Have you ever thought what the world would be like without the church? With all our shortcomings, have you ever thought what chaos would reign, what good would go undone, if not for the church?
When television personality Phil Donahue first came into prominence, it was from a television station in Cincinnati, Ohio. Since I lived in southern Indiana, I often caught the show. On one particular episode he was interviewing representatives from a group called "Freedom From Religion." Oh, how they complained! They bemoaned all the atrocities created in the name of religion down through the ages. Embarrassingly, the list was not a short one. They complained about how they were forced to be subjected to religious views not their own, some even in the market place. They did have a point. Then a caller phoned in and remarked, "You are right. The church has made many mistakes and often is wrong. But, I am sure that you are aware that the church has founded dozens of orphanages, hundreds of schools, countless hospitals, fed millions, and has sent thousands of missionaries to give medical and agricultural assistance to unchurched people in need." The caller went on and on in an unlimited litany of good that had been accomplished. She then stated, "Now, what have you folks ever done besides bellyache?" The "Freedom From Religion" group was dumbfounded. They even got into a huddle of discussion only to emerge with the remark, "We are working on that!" Sure they are!
So we have failed to obey our Lord's command to make his vision of a whole new world a reality in our time. We live in a secular society that is becoming more so every day. We are resident aliens in a land not our own. So, undaunted, we seek to be creative leaven to infiltrate and change society through Christ's redemptive love. That is the tension in which we live.
But, whether Christ's new world becomes a reality in the world or not, it can become a reality in the church. The new world can begin in his "called out ones." The church can become that alternative community where all are treated the same, where everyone is loved equally as persons, as brothers and sisters in Christ.
Now, agreed, it may not be as structured and orderly as some would prefer. In fact, it can get a little messy when the church truly opens its doors and everyone feels the freedom to enter therein. It is a true story they say. Almost thirty years ago a group of activists interrupted a Sunday morning worship service in a midwestern Methodist church in an attempt to "blackmail" the congregation. Their demands were read to the congregation and the warning given that if the demands were not met the following week, they would see to it that the church was filled with thieves, prostitutes, drug addicts, and alcoholics.1 When I first read Bill Turner's story, I thought, "Oh, if only that would happen to our church!" We would be one step closer to creating Christ's new world. We must not be defeated in our purpose, no matter the result.
Paul was not defeated. Just the opposite! In fact, he goes on to reveal the secret of achieving this whole new world, which really is no secret at all! It is Christ! We have faith "in" Christ (v. 26). We are baptized "into" Christ (v. 27). We are clothed "with" Christ (v. 27). We are "one in" Christ (v. 28). We "belong to Christ, then we are Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise" (v. 29). So, we can begin to make this new world "in Christ" a reality "in us"! Whether it becomes a reality in the world or not, whether it becomes a reality in the church or not, it can become a reality in me! I can live like a citizen of the new world. I can live like a person of the newly-created order. I can bring about the reality of how it used to be and how it is going to be in me, right now, whether anyone else does or not. We all live our lives according to our own chosen perception of the truth, our own version of reality. Then why not this one? Why not live our lives according to the truth as embodied in Jesus of Nazareth? Why not let his truth be embodied in us? I cannot control what happens in the world, much less the church, but I can choose to control what happens in me. I am free to choose to let Christ live in me.
On June 19, our nation marks Juneteenth, the oldest known celebration of the ending of slavery. Even though Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation more than two years earlier, because of poor communication, it wasn't until June 19, 1865, that Union soldiers brought word to Galveston, Texas, that the war was over and that the slaves were free. Can you imagine living in slavery for over two years when your freedom had already been proclaimed? In a commentary on National Public Radio's All Things Considered, culinary anthropologist Vertamae Grosvenor states, "Imagine planting, harvesting, cooking, curing, canning, smelling, serving foods that were not for you." And then because of Juneteenth, "Imagine freedom -- after centuries of stirring the pot for others, you could do it for yourself." Christ has signed our Emancipation Proclamation through the living of his life. Easter is our Juneteenth. We already are free. May we choose to accept it. May we live like the free children of God that we are, that others may see.
John Claypool told the story of the father babysitting his rambunctious young son. The father was dead set on reading his newspaper only to be continually interrupted by his active offspring demanding his attention. The boy kept asking questions, playing the television too loud, wanting to play games, all in an effort to disturb this occupied parent. It was then that the father noticed a map of the world on the back page of the paper. He took a pair of scissors, cut the map into pieces, and handed them to his son with the instructions to put the map together. That will occupy him for a while, he thought. Wrong! In an amazingly short period of time the young lad presented to his father the map completely assembled.
"Wow! That is unbelievable. How did you put the map together so quickly?" the father asked.
"It was easy, Daddy. There was a picture of a man on the other side. You put the man together. You put the world together."
Now, who is that man? Who is that Man? You know! You know! One day all people will believe as one, and Jesus Christ will reign over a whole new world.
____________
1. William Turner, The Struggle to Believe (Macon: Smyth & Helwys Publishing, Inc., 1993), p. 99.
I was young at the time but I knew that there was something wrong with what he said. My paternal grandfather was born into poverty, his mother died young, and he was forced to work on the farm just to survive. Formal education was not an option. "Gary," he said, "everywhere I have been in my life I have had to walk through the back door. If you get an education, you can walk through the front door!" Needless to say, his words have motivated me, but I knew at the time that the way he had been treated was not right.
I knew that it was wrong when I heard about it. She was gifted, well-educated, and a devout Christian who firmly felt that God had called her into the ministry. But the denomination, of which she was a member, said that God did not call women to be pastors. So, she joined the mass exodus of so many gifted others who found a denomination with a larger vision. I knew nothing about religious political maneuvers, but I knew there was something wrong with that.
I think that I am not too far from wrong when I say that my reaction was something of what William Willimon and others term "sighing for Eden." It is a distant memory in the back of our minds for the way things used to be. I think that it is a longing for that Eden-perfect world before ethnic, social, and sexual barriers and injustices came to be. Our sense of "oughtness" stems from our faint recollection of how it used to be. It also can stem from our knowledge of how things are going to be in that glorious future when Christ will come again and create a new heaven and a new earth (Revelation 21). In this Christ-created whole new world, the sins of ethnic, social, and sexual injustice will be no more. We know how things are going to be! But what about the meantime? What about the in-between-time world of reality in which we live?
Many have sighed, longed for, dreamed of, and worked hard to narrow the gap between the way things used to be and the way things are going to be. Many have lived and died for the vision of a whole new world. Was it not this vision that caused Martin Luther King, Jr., to fight and die for ethnic and racial freedom? Was it not this vision that motivated Mahatma Gandhi to live and die for freedom from political and social oppression? Was it not this vision that activated Susan B. Anthony and others to march for the rights of women to vote? Was it not this vision that challenged Jesus to live and die to create a whole new world where there would be no Jew or Gentile, bond or free, male or female, that all would be one in him? Was it not this vision which gave inpetus to Paul's preaching about a world where ethnic, social, and sexual prejudice did not exist, contrary to his world where Jewish males thanked God every morning that they were not born a Gentile, a slave, or a woman?
God had tried to create such a new world with Adam. It did not last. He sought to call forth such a new world through Abraham. Limited success. Now God would try again -- with his Son. Now God would send forth his only son to create a whole new world. This world would be a new solidarity where the old ethnic, social, and sexual divisions which had almost destroyed his creation would not exist. This new creation would be a new community where adjectives would not be turned into nouns and people would not be seen as black or white, rich or poor, male or female, but as persons, human beings, brothers and sisters in Christ. Jesus had a vision of a new fellowship where people were drawn together by what they had in common rather than being pulled apart by what they had in difference. Christ lived and died for an alternative community where competition and brute force would not dominate but one in which love and compassion for all would reign.
It was the way things used to be. It is the way things are going to be. Christ came to initiate a new order of things where everyone is treated equally.
Doris Jones was an elementary school teacher and a member of the church I served in Huntsville, Alabama. With laughter in her voice, she related to me an experience that she had. After a long summer, she was talking with one of her best friends with whom she had taught for years. "I want you to meet my son," her friend stated. "This is his first day at school. Oh, there he is -- over there with those other boys at the bicycle rack."
"Which one?" Doris questioned.
Her African-American friend responded, "Well, Doris! There are five white boys over there and one black boy. Which one do you think is mine?"
Doris laughed more heartily in telling me the story. "I just saw children."
I just saw children -- people -- human beings -- no Jew or Gentile, bond or free, male or female -- just children. Good for you, Doris!
Paul was consistent, as was Doris, in his inclusiveness. In each category, people had no choice: they were born Jew or Gentile, male or female. However, whether bond or free was usually a matter of circumstance or even geography if one happened to be living in a land conquered by Rome. Paul is saying that it does not matter; if you were born what you are or made what you are by happenstance, differences fade and you are one in Christ.
Now, admittedly, there are dangers and perils afoot in the creation of a whole new world, not the least of which is the tendency to revert to the patterns of the old one. Why is it such a strong temptation to fall back and duplicate, sometimes for others, the conditions of oppression from which we have been freed? Why is it that the oppressed, once they have been freed from their oppression, in the new world often become the oppressor? It is the sad history of the politically and religiously oppressed that when they find freedom, if they are not careful, they become the oppressor in the same way they were formerly oppressed. Did it not happen with John Calvin and the Puritans? Does it not happen with any and every new world, even our own, where religious and political oppression came down heavily upon Roger Williams and others?
Why? How could the formerly oppressed betray their previous gift of freedom and deny it to others? I don't know. I am only guessing here, but possibly could it be that prejudice, injustice, and hatred can so easily find their way into an insecure and fearful heart? We are threatened. We have a gnawing fear that we do not deserve our cherished gift and live in mortal fear that someone will come and take it away. So, we become self-centered and protective of that which we have. We hoard that which we have accumulated.
I remember a minister friend relating to me a statement made by a businessman. The businessman had inherited a very profitable company from his father and lived in the most exclusive part of town. He openly made the statement that he did not see anything wrong with being exclusive. I wondered if he would have said that if the shoe had been on the other foot, if he had been the one being excluded instead of the one doing the excluding. I wonder if he would have said that if he had been the one knocking on locked doors with bloody knuckles for endless years instead of the one who refused to open up. I wonder why often the hardest word in the English language to pronounce is "we"! I have no problem saying "I." It often is very difficult if not impossible to pronounce "we"!
So, you have already deduced that my next statement is that this whole new world is not a present reality. The vision of the world that Jesus lived and died for, that Paul lived and died for, was not a reality in their day nor is it in ours. Many will say that this is the fault of the church. To some extent, they are right. They will say that the real religion of our day is not God-focused but is, in fact, militant consumerism. To some extent, they are right. They will contend that the church is only one version of the truth, certainly not the most dominant version of the truth, vying for the attention and loyalties of men and women. To some extent, they are correct. They will claim that the church is only one of many voices in the witness box clamoring for a hearing and no longer on the bench of the court declaring the order of things. That is absolutely true.
So, we have to admit that there is no one to blame but ourselves. We have not created the whole new world for which Christ died. We have met the enemy and "they" is us. Sad, but true. But entertain another perspective on the truth. Have you ever thought what the world would be like without the church? With all our shortcomings, have you ever thought what chaos would reign, what good would go undone, if not for the church?
When television personality Phil Donahue first came into prominence, it was from a television station in Cincinnati, Ohio. Since I lived in southern Indiana, I often caught the show. On one particular episode he was interviewing representatives from a group called "Freedom From Religion." Oh, how they complained! They bemoaned all the atrocities created in the name of religion down through the ages. Embarrassingly, the list was not a short one. They complained about how they were forced to be subjected to religious views not their own, some even in the market place. They did have a point. Then a caller phoned in and remarked, "You are right. The church has made many mistakes and often is wrong. But, I am sure that you are aware that the church has founded dozens of orphanages, hundreds of schools, countless hospitals, fed millions, and has sent thousands of missionaries to give medical and agricultural assistance to unchurched people in need." The caller went on and on in an unlimited litany of good that had been accomplished. She then stated, "Now, what have you folks ever done besides bellyache?" The "Freedom From Religion" group was dumbfounded. They even got into a huddle of discussion only to emerge with the remark, "We are working on that!" Sure they are!
So we have failed to obey our Lord's command to make his vision of a whole new world a reality in our time. We live in a secular society that is becoming more so every day. We are resident aliens in a land not our own. So, undaunted, we seek to be creative leaven to infiltrate and change society through Christ's redemptive love. That is the tension in which we live.
But, whether Christ's new world becomes a reality in the world or not, it can become a reality in the church. The new world can begin in his "called out ones." The church can become that alternative community where all are treated the same, where everyone is loved equally as persons, as brothers and sisters in Christ.
Now, agreed, it may not be as structured and orderly as some would prefer. In fact, it can get a little messy when the church truly opens its doors and everyone feels the freedom to enter therein. It is a true story they say. Almost thirty years ago a group of activists interrupted a Sunday morning worship service in a midwestern Methodist church in an attempt to "blackmail" the congregation. Their demands were read to the congregation and the warning given that if the demands were not met the following week, they would see to it that the church was filled with thieves, prostitutes, drug addicts, and alcoholics.1 When I first read Bill Turner's story, I thought, "Oh, if only that would happen to our church!" We would be one step closer to creating Christ's new world. We must not be defeated in our purpose, no matter the result.
Paul was not defeated. Just the opposite! In fact, he goes on to reveal the secret of achieving this whole new world, which really is no secret at all! It is Christ! We have faith "in" Christ (v. 26). We are baptized "into" Christ (v. 27). We are clothed "with" Christ (v. 27). We are "one in" Christ (v. 28). We "belong to Christ, then we are Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise" (v. 29). So, we can begin to make this new world "in Christ" a reality "in us"! Whether it becomes a reality in the world or not, whether it becomes a reality in the church or not, it can become a reality in me! I can live like a citizen of the new world. I can live like a person of the newly-created order. I can bring about the reality of how it used to be and how it is going to be in me, right now, whether anyone else does or not. We all live our lives according to our own chosen perception of the truth, our own version of reality. Then why not this one? Why not live our lives according to the truth as embodied in Jesus of Nazareth? Why not let his truth be embodied in us? I cannot control what happens in the world, much less the church, but I can choose to control what happens in me. I am free to choose to let Christ live in me.
On June 19, our nation marks Juneteenth, the oldest known celebration of the ending of slavery. Even though Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation more than two years earlier, because of poor communication, it wasn't until June 19, 1865, that Union soldiers brought word to Galveston, Texas, that the war was over and that the slaves were free. Can you imagine living in slavery for over two years when your freedom had already been proclaimed? In a commentary on National Public Radio's All Things Considered, culinary anthropologist Vertamae Grosvenor states, "Imagine planting, harvesting, cooking, curing, canning, smelling, serving foods that were not for you." And then because of Juneteenth, "Imagine freedom -- after centuries of stirring the pot for others, you could do it for yourself." Christ has signed our Emancipation Proclamation through the living of his life. Easter is our Juneteenth. We already are free. May we choose to accept it. May we live like the free children of God that we are, that others may see.
John Claypool told the story of the father babysitting his rambunctious young son. The father was dead set on reading his newspaper only to be continually interrupted by his active offspring demanding his attention. The boy kept asking questions, playing the television too loud, wanting to play games, all in an effort to disturb this occupied parent. It was then that the father noticed a map of the world on the back page of the paper. He took a pair of scissors, cut the map into pieces, and handed them to his son with the instructions to put the map together. That will occupy him for a while, he thought. Wrong! In an amazingly short period of time the young lad presented to his father the map completely assembled.
"Wow! That is unbelievable. How did you put the map together so quickly?" the father asked.
"It was easy, Daddy. There was a picture of a man on the other side. You put the man together. You put the world together."
Now, who is that man? Who is that Man? You know! You know! One day all people will believe as one, and Jesus Christ will reign over a whole new world.
____________
1. William Turner, The Struggle to Believe (Macon: Smyth & Helwys Publishing, Inc., 1993), p. 99.
