Strangers Or Neighbours?
Sermon
A week or two ago I received an unexpected registered package through the post. It was a manuscript and turned out to be the memoirs of an elderly relative, Mary, who was a cousin of my mother's, and who had died a couple of years previously. She had lived miles away and I'd never met her, although we had corresponded occasionally and spoken on the phone once or twice.
It seemed she had wanted me to have this manuscript, which had only just come to light. It was a fascinating story of someone who had grown up around the time of the first world war, but whose life had been almost ruined by religion. Her family had belonged to an exclusive religious sect and the children had been taught that they were not of this world and therefore should never associate with ordinary people, for to do so would be sinful.
Hence Mary grew up unable to make satisfactory relationships with anyone, and terrified to even speak to anyone of the opposite sex. None of the three girls in the family married or ever had a boyfriend, and although their younger brother married, his marriage ended in divorce and there were no children.
Mary herself became a very successful teacher, teaching children with behavioural problems, but she struggled for the whole of her life to come to terms with her own unhappy childhood experiences. When she found the courage to leave the religious sect, she was forbidden by them to have any further contact with her own family, and this remained a great tragedy for her throughout her life.
Yet our reading today from Peter's first letter exhorts readers to live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear." That was exactly how my elderly relative's family lived their lives, and it created such terrible trauma that all the children of that family grew up with dysfunctional personalities.
How is it possible to reconcile being a Christian in a confusing world where Christians are strangers?
Some Christians manage it only by doing what Mary's family did, and removing themselves from the world as far as possible. But this didn't seem to be Jesus' solution. Jesus' feet were firmly planted within this imperfect world of ours and he made very strong friendships with people who were way outside religion. It seems he genuinely preferred the company of those who could be considered the more disreputable element of society - tax collectors, prostitutes and sinners.
Tax collectors in first century Judea were a very different breed to today's tax collectors, who are upright members of our society. But in those days long ago, when the country was ruled despotically by an alien power, tax collectors were collaborators who consorted with the enemy power in order to feather their own nest. They were utterly despised by all decent Jews and were excluded from the synagogue, yet Jesus sought them out and one of them, Matthew, became a close friend.
Prostitutes have probably been around since the birth of humanity, and are seen by many people as a necessary evil. They are still despised by decent society, and although their services may be used by all different types of people, few of those people would dream of marrying a prostitute. Many prostitutes today are on drugs and risk becoming HIV positive, and the whole seedy prostitution scene is one which is avoided by most church people. Yet Jesus spoke up for prostitutes and shielded a woman taken in adultery when society was baying for her blood. Some people still believe that Mary Magdalene was a prostitute, although there's no real evidence to support that view, other than the tradition of the Church. If she was, she was also the first person to whom the resurrected Jesus appeared, so she was clearly held in high regard by Jesus. And it's noticeable that in his resurrected state, Jesus never appeared to any of the conventionally religious people, such as Caiaphas the High Priest or Annas his nephew, but only to his friends and followers, who amongst others, were tax collectors, prostitutes and sinners.
The danger of taking a phrase or a verse or a word out of its scriptural context is that by so doing it can distort the whole picture. It may be that my relative's family took these words of Peter - live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear - and applied them so zealously that their world became distorted and their children grew up damaged. If they had put the phrase in its context, they would also have read: "Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart."
It isn't possible to love one another deeply from the heart without having any contact with other people. We can only begin to love as Jesus loves us, by making strong and genuine and lasting relationships with each other, just as he made strong and lasting and genuine relationships with all sorts of people. In fact, the only people Jesus failed to make good relationships with were those he found to be hypocrites, people who said and acted in one way, but whose hearts were cold and false.
Although Christians may often feel like aliens in the world (and perhaps this is what Peter meant by his phrase), we must never stand aloof from the world but be very much within it. Nobody ever learned of the good news of Jesus Christ from those who stand afar off and hand it down like sweets to children. People hear about the good news of Jesus and respond to it when they're brought along by their friends and neighbours, or when they're supported through a tough time by church people, or when they see how their friend's life has changed. If the good news of Jesus is to be kept alive in the world today, it can only be kept alive by those who are willing to be part of the world, and who actually enjoy being part of the world.
And it's worth remembering that we may not always recognise Jesus when we meet him. When the two friends walked back to Emmaus on that first Easter Sunday, they had a companion for the whole of their seven miles, at least a two hour walk. They had been very close to Jesus in his lifetime, yet although he spoke to them at length, they failed to recognise him. And Jesus himself told us that when we offer as little as a glass of water to someone in need, we offer it to him. And conversely, whenever we fail to offer as little as a glass of water to someone in need, we fail to offer it to him.
How often do we fail to spot Jesus because we don't mix in his company? When do we see him in the tramp sleeping in the doorway, or the Big Issue seller on the city street, or the prostitute in the Red Light district? Christians can't afford to be snobs. We must accept all people, because if we reject just one person, we may be rejecting Jesus. In his risen state, he isn't easy to recognise. Almost none of his disciples recognised him after he had risen, until he revealed himself to them.
Christians must never stand aloof from the world, but be very much within it. So perhaps I can paraphrase Peter's words, and suggest to you today that you live your lives not as strangers here, but as neighbours here, in reverent fear. That way, you're sure to meet Jesus eventually.
It seemed she had wanted me to have this manuscript, which had only just come to light. It was a fascinating story of someone who had grown up around the time of the first world war, but whose life had been almost ruined by religion. Her family had belonged to an exclusive religious sect and the children had been taught that they were not of this world and therefore should never associate with ordinary people, for to do so would be sinful.
Hence Mary grew up unable to make satisfactory relationships with anyone, and terrified to even speak to anyone of the opposite sex. None of the three girls in the family married or ever had a boyfriend, and although their younger brother married, his marriage ended in divorce and there were no children.
Mary herself became a very successful teacher, teaching children with behavioural problems, but she struggled for the whole of her life to come to terms with her own unhappy childhood experiences. When she found the courage to leave the religious sect, she was forbidden by them to have any further contact with her own family, and this remained a great tragedy for her throughout her life.
Yet our reading today from Peter's first letter exhorts readers to live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear." That was exactly how my elderly relative's family lived their lives, and it created such terrible trauma that all the children of that family grew up with dysfunctional personalities.
How is it possible to reconcile being a Christian in a confusing world where Christians are strangers?
Some Christians manage it only by doing what Mary's family did, and removing themselves from the world as far as possible. But this didn't seem to be Jesus' solution. Jesus' feet were firmly planted within this imperfect world of ours and he made very strong friendships with people who were way outside religion. It seems he genuinely preferred the company of those who could be considered the more disreputable element of society - tax collectors, prostitutes and sinners.
Tax collectors in first century Judea were a very different breed to today's tax collectors, who are upright members of our society. But in those days long ago, when the country was ruled despotically by an alien power, tax collectors were collaborators who consorted with the enemy power in order to feather their own nest. They were utterly despised by all decent Jews and were excluded from the synagogue, yet Jesus sought them out and one of them, Matthew, became a close friend.
Prostitutes have probably been around since the birth of humanity, and are seen by many people as a necessary evil. They are still despised by decent society, and although their services may be used by all different types of people, few of those people would dream of marrying a prostitute. Many prostitutes today are on drugs and risk becoming HIV positive, and the whole seedy prostitution scene is one which is avoided by most church people. Yet Jesus spoke up for prostitutes and shielded a woman taken in adultery when society was baying for her blood. Some people still believe that Mary Magdalene was a prostitute, although there's no real evidence to support that view, other than the tradition of the Church. If she was, she was also the first person to whom the resurrected Jesus appeared, so she was clearly held in high regard by Jesus. And it's noticeable that in his resurrected state, Jesus never appeared to any of the conventionally religious people, such as Caiaphas the High Priest or Annas his nephew, but only to his friends and followers, who amongst others, were tax collectors, prostitutes and sinners.
The danger of taking a phrase or a verse or a word out of its scriptural context is that by so doing it can distort the whole picture. It may be that my relative's family took these words of Peter - live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear - and applied them so zealously that their world became distorted and their children grew up damaged. If they had put the phrase in its context, they would also have read: "Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart."
It isn't possible to love one another deeply from the heart without having any contact with other people. We can only begin to love as Jesus loves us, by making strong and genuine and lasting relationships with each other, just as he made strong and lasting and genuine relationships with all sorts of people. In fact, the only people Jesus failed to make good relationships with were those he found to be hypocrites, people who said and acted in one way, but whose hearts were cold and false.
Although Christians may often feel like aliens in the world (and perhaps this is what Peter meant by his phrase), we must never stand aloof from the world but be very much within it. Nobody ever learned of the good news of Jesus Christ from those who stand afar off and hand it down like sweets to children. People hear about the good news of Jesus and respond to it when they're brought along by their friends and neighbours, or when they're supported through a tough time by church people, or when they see how their friend's life has changed. If the good news of Jesus is to be kept alive in the world today, it can only be kept alive by those who are willing to be part of the world, and who actually enjoy being part of the world.
And it's worth remembering that we may not always recognise Jesus when we meet him. When the two friends walked back to Emmaus on that first Easter Sunday, they had a companion for the whole of their seven miles, at least a two hour walk. They had been very close to Jesus in his lifetime, yet although he spoke to them at length, they failed to recognise him. And Jesus himself told us that when we offer as little as a glass of water to someone in need, we offer it to him. And conversely, whenever we fail to offer as little as a glass of water to someone in need, we fail to offer it to him.
How often do we fail to spot Jesus because we don't mix in his company? When do we see him in the tramp sleeping in the doorway, or the Big Issue seller on the city street, or the prostitute in the Red Light district? Christians can't afford to be snobs. We must accept all people, because if we reject just one person, we may be rejecting Jesus. In his risen state, he isn't easy to recognise. Almost none of his disciples recognised him after he had risen, until he revealed himself to them.
Christians must never stand aloof from the world, but be very much within it. So perhaps I can paraphrase Peter's words, and suggest to you today that you live your lives not as strangers here, but as neighbours here, in reverent fear. That way, you're sure to meet Jesus eventually.
