Sunday, June 17, 2007
Acts 15:22-29
Senior Pastor
A couple of weeks ago I spent all week at what we call, within United Methodist circles, Annual Conference. It is the time, once a year, that all of our ministers and an equal number of lay representatives come together to hear reports about ministry and make decisions about how we should proceed. On many things we agree, and yet there are a number of matters that come up in any given year where there is a good deal of disagreement. Sometimes the matter will be sent to one of our ongoing working groups, sometimes it will be tabled, yet other times we take a vote and the majority rules.
The story we read this morning is part of the report about
the first conference within the life of the church. There is a matter before them about which there is considerable
disagreement. Their decision marks a
major turning point in the life of the early church. The specific issue concerns who is included in the church and
under what criteria.
Now remember with me that Jesus was a Jew and all the first disciples were Jews. But, the good news of the Gospel began to spread and Gentiles also began to follow Jesus. Now within the Jews there is a group called the Pharisees who uphold strict following of the rules of Judaism. In fact through their fervent commitment to these commandments, they have kept Judaism alive through many difficult years. Now the conflict comes because they are proposing that even Gentiles must follow these Jewish rules, in particular, that male converts must be circumcised. Others are contending that the rules of Judaism need not be followed because through Jesus Christ one is saved by grace.
We picked up the story in our reading today after they have debated and discussed this for a while, and they are ready to make a decision. I want to point out one thing here that applies especially to our church and our decision-making. We have particularly drawn on verse 28 to guide us in our practices. Where it says, “For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us…” – we use that as a basis for our spiritual discernment model of decision-making, in that, we work to discern God’s leading in our midst as we make important decisions for this church. We want to follow this practice of the early church because it is an important biblical model of leadership for the church.
So, now they decide to send a letter telling the believers in Antioch that they are sorry for the misunderstanding and the disturbance. They tell them that they do not have to be circumcised, but that they do want them to follow four commandments that still seem important from the Jewish holiness code. This is the code of conduct found in the book of Leviticus in the Hebrew Scriptures. It is an extension or elaboration of the Ten Commandments.
Without taking the time to go into all the details of the holiness codes, let me simply say that these rules help the people of God stay cohesive as a community and connected to God. The rules about blood and idol meat and strangled meat are all important in keeping the commandment that we should have no other gods and only worship one God. Of course, the commandment about fornication has to do with a distinct sexual morality of the people of God and not coveting what belongs to one’s neighbor.
For us I find the most important insight in this story to be the style in which these early Christians took into account both sides of the conflict. They ask both sides to work on this. They ask the Gentile Christians to observe a few basic rules to join this family of Christ and they ask the Jewish Christians to forego some of their notions about the rules of faith so that they can include these new converts.
The ongoing temptation in conflicted situations is to take an either/or stance – to include one group and exclude another. Rather than looking for a solution for all, we too often decide one group doesn’t meet the criteria, so they fall outside of the church, which translates you fall outside of the love of God.
I read a story recently about a woman who retired after a
successful business career and became a community service volunteer. One day some local Navajo children
knocked on Elaine Borgen’s door to ask for money to buy tickets to go to
the movies. She said, "I can't lend you all money, but come
back tomorrow and we'll try to figure out a way for you to make your own
money."
The children
returned the next day and they began to brainstorm with her ideas of how they
might make some money. Now understand
that these children are growing up in a county where thirty percent of the
residents live below the poverty line.
Less than one percent of the businesses in that area are owned by Native
Americans. They have little hope – they
have few models of success. But with
her inspiration and guidance Lickity Split Chocolate company was born in
Blanding, Utah.
Fifteen children, ages 8 to 16, are managers of
the chocolate factory. Roles are assigned from CEO and President right on down
the line to vice president and managers of production, shipping and handling,
information technology, sales and marketing.
The children must exceed a 2.5 grade point average. Elaine sees to it
that the children are learning what it takes to run a business, from how to do
the books to how to put a quality control system in place and how to cost and
market the products. Over the last
three years they have earned nearly $30,000.00.
The company's flagship product is a chocolate lollipop decorated like a
traditional Navajo basket. The kids
admit they enjoy their work - maybe too much. One states in a businesslike
manner, "Our waste is about 30 percent, which is higher than at other
chocolate factories, but it's hard for us to keep our hands off the
chocolate!" (May 2007
Rural Entrepreneurship Newsletter).
Isn’t that a great story? But, what I want us to particularly notice
is that Elaine could have scolded the children for asking or told them to stay
off her property or any number of negative responses, which would have
reinforced a message they have heard before: you don’t measure up, you are
trouble, you don’t deserve our help. Rather
she gave a positive response - an invitation to come back. An invitation that said, you are valuable,
you are worth my time, let me help you develop your skills and talents.
I think it is a
contemporary example of what the early church did in working to include the
Gentiles. Instead of saying you don’t
meet the criteria to be included, they looked for a way to help them come into
the church and become part of the family of God. This can function as a model for us today. The Good News is that there are rules and
guidelines for living as a Christian but they are not to be a burden,
they are to free us to love and expand the circle of love to others.
Last spring some of
us dealt with these same issues in the study called Open Hearts, Open Minds,
Open Doors. We looked at how any
church, but especially how our church, could become more open and hospitable in
the name of Christ. It was a great
study and a wonderful experience as we studied and prayed and talked
together.
One of the stories
included in that study told of a woman whose father had abandoned her as a
child and her mother fell into a cycle of unhealthy relationships trying to
make ends meet. But the result was a
series of relationships that brought abuse and harm to her children. Unfortunately this woman had repeated her
mother’s choices and she too had fallen into one destructive relationship after
another.
Now she had six
children, no education, not many skills, no partner to help her parent her
children or provide for them and she was facing the death of the only person
who had really ever loved her – her grandmother. As she drove toward the small farming community where her mother
used to drop her off from time to time, she felt the sense of dread growing
within her. Not only did she dread her
grandmother’s funeral but also the disapproval she anticipated from the lawyer
and the pastor and the church folk.
During the funeral
she actually found comfort in the words the pastor shared about faith and the
glowing stories she told about knowing her grandmother. After the funeral many of the people from
the church warmly greeted her and expressed their love for her grandmother and
to her surprise, for her as well. After
the crowd had cleared the pastor came over to her carrying a book. She said, “This was your grandmother’s
Bible. She wanted you to have it. I was with her toward the end and she asked
me to help her write you a letter that is enclosed. Know that she loved you very much and prayed for you right up
until the end.”
The letter explained
that Grandma wanted her to stay and run the farm so that she could start a new
life away from the pain and the abuse.
The end of the letter said, “I know that you might decide to sell
everything, take the money and leave. I
would want you to have it anyway, so do what you think is right. Just remember that this is your home and
that the house, the farm and this book will always be full of love for
you. Now, dear, please read Romans
8:28-39. It’s marked just for you. Love always, Grandma.”
That Grandma,
that pastor and that church expanded the circle of love to include that woman. As followers of Christ should we do any
less?
…who is included in the church and under
what ________________.
We have particularly drawn on verse ____…
…these rules help the people of God stay cohesive as a
community and connected to ______.
…these early Christians took into account both __________
of the conflict.
…some local Navajo children knocked on Elaine
Borgen’s ________…
Rather she gave a positive response;
an ____________________ to come back.
…rules and
guidelines for living as a Christian… not to be a
burden, they are to free us to love and expand
the circle of
________ to
others.
…a woman whose
father had abandoned her as
a __________…
That Grandma,
that pastor and that church expanded the
____________ of
________…
As followers of
Christ should we do any ________?
Kid’s Question:
What do Christian rules free us to do?