Christianity United

1 Corinthians 1:10-18

 “Christianity United”

24 April 2016 St. Andrew’s Military Chapel Singapore

            If anyone ever mentions that Paul only wrote for those in the first century, all you really need to do is just ask them to look around at our churches today and see that this first letter to the church at Cornith could just as easily been written to the church in the 21^st century.

            While I don’t think Paul is against a difference of opinion on the Gospel and how we interpret Christ’s life and resurrection, I do think he would have a problem as to how acrimonius and petty we become over words and phrases. Let’s take a small tour of church history and how we went from one apostolic church to a world of thousands of denominations, not to mention the thousands of interpretations of Scripture within each of those denominations.

            The first major split occurred in 1054 in what has now become known as the Great Schism. Schismata is the word used in verse 10 to describe the division of the church and we can translate it as tear, divide, disunite, split, or opposing group. Back then there were differences in the Eastern (Greek) and Western (Latin) theology. But it all came to a head over how much authority the Pope held and the insertion of the words “and from the Son” into the Nicene Creed in 1014. That left us with the Orthodox and Catholic churches we know today.

            Things were calm for a few hundred years. Then in 1517, a guy you may have heard of named Martin Luther sought to reform the church and posted his 95 Theses on the door of the church in Wittenberg, Germany. The powers that be didn’t like his ideas and excommunicated him four years later. From that we ended up with the Protestants.

            Because most Protestants believe in Sola Scriptura or that the Bible is the supreme authority in all matters of doctrine or practice and not a person, we tend to divide over interpretation more readily than the Orthodox or Catholic churches. Frequently our divisions are over how literally we interpret certain portions of Scripture.

            We have split denominations over ordination of women, how much we will accept same sex persons into our community, if there will be a great tribulation, the type of baptism one undergoes, what the elements of communion represent, the age at which one can accept Christ, and the list goes on.

Is this the type of division about which Paul wrote? Have we so thoroughly shredded the fabric of the Body of Christ so that we are forever split on this side of eternity? Possibly. Personally I don’t think so.

I read this passage as Paul speaking out against the intent behind divisions. He specifically calls out people for following specific people and putting their interpretation as the end all be all above all others. He doesn’t chide Corinth for having a difference of opinion, but rather for allowing cults of personality to develop and using their specific belief or status as a weapon against someone else.

Does that still happen today? Of course. We don’t have to go very far to see people using their beliefs as a club against others. Westboro Baptist comes immediately to mind. We also see many cults of personality where the church finds it identity from the pastor not Christ. Mark Driscoll and Mars Hill comes to mind.

Paul has heard rumblings that Corinth is headed in a direction towards one or both of those ends and he is determined to stop it early, hence a letter of such length. In verse 10 Paul seems to tip his hand about the intent of this letter, gracious reconciliation. Keep that in the front of your mind as we step through this letter over the next few weeks.

There is nothing wrong in having a difference of theological opinion, rather the problem occurs when we define others by that difference rather than as another person in Christ.

Every single one of us in here today will read Scripture and come to different interpretations on what God is trying to convey. We all have different experiences that form us and shape our world view. We have a wide variety of people that have taught us over the years and shared different viewpoints. Hopefully we have all experienced two people that radiate Christ to the world that have diametrically opposed ways of living out the Gospel. Personally, I have found that seeing Christ radiate from people that seem such polar opposites is a great way to learn theology.

Paul knows that when we divide over Christ in the way in which Corinth was headed, it’s not a theological fight. When there isn’t grace and reconciliation in the disagreement, it’s a fight over who has power. It’s a group of people trying to figure out the hierarchy regarding who Saint Peter lets pass through the pearly gates. It’s about us, not Christ. That’s when it gets so bad that people say, “I thank God that I baptized none of you.”

If we are truly following the Gospel, then we never get to the point where we look at someone with disgust and say, “They go to that church.” The Gospel of the cross is self-sacrifice. Not meaning that we subsume our beliefs to make someone happy, rather that we’re ok with people thinking we are different because we’re fine not agreeing with people and yet we still love them and continue to seek common ground.

Christianity has always been and will always be a counter cultural phenomenon. Just because culture may become hostile to Christ, doesn’t mean we should become hostile to culture. After all, culture has shaped us in ways we may not realize. This isn’t to say that we should jump into culture without thought, something we discussed last week. Rather we should approach culture with a posture of graceful reconciliation.

Because that is harder than it sounds, we have to practice somewhere. And that somewhere is the church. This is another reason I think Paul opens up on Corinth so harshly. We need a place to figure out what reconciliation looks like. Some of the greatest works of reconciliation began under the watchful eye of Christ. Two years after becoming a Christian, William Wilberforce focused his life’s work on abolishing the slave trade. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the civil rights movement in the US arose out of the church. Compassion International, World Vision, and International Justice Ministry are products of the church looking to spread reconciliation to the poor of the world. 

Lest we think that the concept of gracious reconciliation is too big for us, we are ideally suited to practice what Paul advocates in 1 Corinthians here in Singapore. I daresay we are all on the same theological page. Yet for some reason we stick together and when we have differences of opinion we talk it out in love.

To quote the astute theologian and first pastor I worked for, Jim Hodge describing the diversity of the congregation. “I’ve got tree hugging, gay loving liberals and Bible thumping conservatives here and we make it work.” That’s exactly what Paul is asking of us. Not to agree on everything, but to disagree in love and keep the focus on Christ not ourselves. For then we are one Body of Christ with all the parts doing the work of Christ in the world.

Evangelizing In Culture

Acts 17:16-34

 “Evangelizing the Culture”

17 April 2106 St. Andrew’s Military Chapel Singapore

            Sometimes I think there are idols in our lives that we aren’t even aware are idols. There is a particular individual in the command that frequents my office. He isn’t here today nor are these frequent visits due to a need of counseling. He just comes by to chat and harass your poor innocent chaplain. Usually these conversations will include some kind of comment about how my office needs some things on the walls, specifically my college diplomas.

            I’d love to tell you that I respond with the theological dexterity of Paul in this passage and mention that I don’t want to place those in my office for fear of them becoming a modern idol that I use to gain status, or even worse, as something that I worship. I’m just blunt and tell him the reason I don’t have anything on my office wall is the same reason the only books in my office are those that have come in from Amazon: I don’t want the hassle of bringing everything here via multiple taxi rides.

            Maybe one day I’ll ask my fellow sailor about if education has become an idol in his mind. Something that is so important that he’s more prone to comment on the absence of proof of education rather than the fact I don’t have any crosses or other Christian symbols in the office (again, I’m too lazy or cheap to pack everything into taxis). For if I did engage him following that opening, I might just be a bit like Paul in this passage.

            We rightfully give Paul credit for spreading the Gospel throughout Asia and Europe. While most of the disciples stayed local, Paul did his best to spread the Good News to the ends of the earth. Yet, sometimes I think we focus more on his results rather than on his method of spreading the Gospel. Even today we tend to measure the worth of a church on the attendance rather than the quality of disciples a given congregation sends into the world. Wikipedia has a list of the largest congregations in the country and the world, but no listing of the congregations that produced the most missionaries, pastors, etc.

            So how was Paul such an effective evangelist? Let’s not make his results an idol, but rather let’s see if there are some techniques we can use in our pluralistic post-Christian world.

            When I hear this story, I envision someone heading to testify to Congress. They walk into the Capitol with it’s statues, dare I say idols, of the religion of America. You walk past Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, Kennedy, beautiful murals of the country’s history, amazing and majestic architecture to show off the might and wealth of America, all while walking on polished marble flooring. You then head into a cramped room where before you the exalted members of Congress sit on elevated benches while you are at a simple table with a microphone and a pitcher of water.

            All of the pomp and circumstance are there to make you cower at the power of Congress, to make you understand who is in charge of the country, who matters. Then sometimes, Paul walks in, sees all of the idols, reads what each one stands for and how important those idols are for the culture, and notices the crying out for something greater than the surroundings of the most powerful city in the world. (Play Colbert Video).  

            Stephen Colbert routinely uses his TV platform to talk theologically with America and many times we don’t even realize what he is doing, much like the Biblical quotes in his testimony to Congress over migrant workers were missed. He is actually a devout Catholic and teaches Sunday School. This clip wasn’t just a publicity stunt because his character is constantly calling out our idols. He once said, “If this is going to be a Christian nation that doesn't help the poor, either we have to pretend that Jesus was just as selfish as we are, or we've got to acknowledge that He commanded us to love the poor and serve the needy without condition and then admit that we just don't want to do it.” Sounds like a modern day Paul.

            Paul read culture well. Paul looked at his surroundings and paid close attention to both what was being said and left unsaid or unknown. As we engage with the culture, before lashing out in a stereotypical culture war posture, let us pay attention to see how culture is telling us its searching for God.

We can see the show Breaking Bad as a tale of how meth destroys lives. Or, we can also see it as a case study in how through small decisions one can alienate themselves from God, but that even to the end there is always hope in reconciliation. We can venture into an online comment section and say that society has lost all hope, or we can look past the vitriol and vile comments and see that people have lost a sense of something greater than themselves upon which to ground their actions. We can watch The Walking Dead for the blood and gore or we can look for how it explores fear and what it means to be human.

Paul chose the latter option and showed spiritual hospitality to those whom were in a much different place spiritually and quite possibly, morally. By showing grace and hospitality through his acknowledgement of their worshipping many idols and gods, he opened the door to a bold proclamation. Had he come in guns blazing telling them they were wrong from the outset, the opportunity to speak the truth of Christ risen may have never occurred. And that would have prevented the truth of the resurrection from being presented in a humble, Christ like manner to the intellectual capital of the empire.

Paul’s example of grace-filled evangelism in a secular context gives us a wonderful example of how to be in the world, yet not of the world. But, I do need to offer a word of caution. Engaging in this way has a danger of us adapting our message so much that we adopt the patterns of power and privilege that Christ wants us to work against. Sometimes, we may become the culture to which we are called to speak to. That is why having a community of faith around us is vital to keep us in check.

I am one that seeks to speak from within culture and watch a wide variety of shows and read books that Sailors and Marines recommend. It gives me a starting point to discuss larger topics with people that may never darken the door of this chapel. But, I can engage topics such as sin, grace, resurrection, forgiveness, repentance, and many other theological topics using culture as the starting point. I even make references to those books, movies, and shows here in this space.

And sometimes, those in this space come and ask me about why I make those references and engage in a certain part of our culture. Keep doing that. I may not change my viewing habits, but questioning those habits keeps me honest about why I watch shows and forces me to keep looking for the theological images and language that should be gleaned from culture. None of us will do it as well as Paul. But, we should try. Together.

I’ll close our time together with a clip from a television icon who was able to use the new cultural phenomenon of television with amazing results for over 30 years. He saw a potential idol and used it to preach Christ directly into our homes without us knowing that was what he was doing. During his spare time before he became famous, he went to Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and was ordained by the Presbyterian Church into television ministry. Mister Roger’s Neighborhood was the ministry into which Fred Rogers was ordained. (Play Fred Rogers Clip)

If a show on pubic television can demonstrate how to evangelize within culture, we can all be a modern day Paul and speak to the truth our cultural idols are seeking to discover. Mister Rogers knew TV could be a dangerous idol and slyly bucked culture and used it as a force for good.

There are many cultural idols that need a graceful, humble presence of Christ spoken into them and we are called to be that voice. We are called to evangelize with grace into our context like Paul.  We are called to use culture as a starting point of engaging people so that we can point out idols and shift our collective gaze to Christ at work in the world.

We All Need Healing

Acts 3:1-10

 “We All Need Healing”

10 April 2106 St. Andrew’s Military Chapel Singapore

            I really didn’t know what to make of this passage at first. I’ve never really heard a sermon on this passage. Most of the churches I’ve attended, even if they are doing a sermon series on Acts will jump this passage and focus on the next section where Peter is preaching in Solomon’s Portico.

            Maybe it’s because this passage sounds too much like the healing of the lame man at the pool of Bethzatha in John or where friends brought a paralytic man to Jesus for healing. We tend to gloss over stories that sound familiar because we already know the highlights. The danger in that is that we sometimes miss the slight change in details that can open up a new meaning to what we expected to be a familiar retelling.

            That is what happens here. The story sounds familiar so we, or at least I, glanced over a few items on the first time around. My initial run had just one question, Man By Pool? Good thing I read through passages multiple times before starting the message or I may have jumped on the similarities between Luke’s writing here and the John passage.

            A few themes stand out to me today. First, the location of this man changes in the passage from outside to inside. Second, Peter does the healing. A few verses before this passage, Luke states, “many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles.” Did any of them involve direct healing from an apostle or is this his first?

            Let’s look at this passage from two perspectives. First, from that of Peter and John. They are walking along to the temple for daily prayers. This means our apostles are devout and pious men who are still worshipping at the temple.

They are able to follow Christ from their context and within the system that was available. Even after the ascension of Christ and Pentecost where they were gifted with the Holy Spirit, they continue to practice their faith in a way that matches their context. Peter and John are interfaith leaders way before that becomes a buzzword proving that Church isn’t a building, but rather all of those following of our risen savior no matter their location.

So, Peter and John are following their daily routine and see someone they have most likely seen many times previously. I’m confident that this man has asked for alms from our duo before if he was there every day. For some reason, Peter and John stop this day and look at him with an intensity that must have made the man a bit uncomfortable. I just picture an unwanted staring contest filled with awkward silence.

At some point, this poor man who’s just trying to get some food on the table has enough and looks away prompting Peter to say, “Look at us.” The silence broken, this man begging for scraps is expecting something because that’s the expectation when you make eye contact. Similar to the expectation of the kids selling bracelets in Cambodia or the men selling sunglasses in Thailand.

So as the man is readying his hands to humbly accept the money he is about to receive, Peter says, “I have no money but I will give you all you have. In the name of Jesus stand up and walk.” What took Peter so long to get the courage to try out his faith? Why this man? We’ll probably never know. I wonder if Peter worried it wouldn’t work. Regardless of if he had doubts about this action, it worked. What they experienced at Pentecost was real, the Holy Spirit had given them specific gifts, and Peter could heal people.

Peter had given up all that he had for this man. He had no money, no power, he wasn’t yet famous as the rock of the Christian movement. All he had was Christ and he gave Christ to this man who needed hope and a second chance. Peter just did what Christ would have done for this man. This man was a nothing in society, and that’s the kind of people to which Christ was drawn.

There is no requirement for the man to receive healing from Peter. Peter doesn’t look at him before receiving the ultimate gift of inclusion into the family asking anything of him or imposing a religious test on his worthiness. The man wasn’t required to believe in Christ to enter the temple, to come inside and shake off the label of outsider. All that was necessary Peter to believe for the man and for Peter to show the courage necessary to invite this unclean man into Christ.

Where are the places where our belief and courage are needed to invite the outsider in today? Refugees? Illegal Immigrants? Differing sexual orientations? Differing religions? Homeless? Trafficked persons? It takes a great deal of belief and courage to step outside our comfort zones and bring someone inside. It is a God sized quantity of belief and courage so much so that everyone knows God is at work when that happens.

So as the man is readying his hands to humbly accept the money he is about to receive, Peter says, “I have no money but I will give you all you have. In the name of Jesus stand up and walk.” And the man wants to stand up and punch him. He’s probably thinking, “You stop to talk to me only to get my hopes raised to take the rug out from under me. Get out of my face.”

For some unknown reason, maybe because he has nothing to lose, he takes Peter’s outstretched hand and is standing on his own. He stands there for a moment with no one holding him up. He looks around to make sure he isn’t having his nightly dream of walking. Then he takes a first tentative step of just a few inches because he isn’t yet so sure. Then he takes a larger step, then another. Before he realizes it, he is walking just like he dreamed but knew would never occur.

And then an amazing thing happens. His location changes from outside the temple to walking inside the gate for the first time. Not only did Peter heal the man physically, but he healed the man’s dignity and showed not only the man, but the entire crowd that he mattered.

We never learn the man’s name, but I think in this moment like Peter before him and Paul afterwards, when his location changes so will his name. For his new name describes his new location, deep healing that only comes in a worshipping community.

This man represents the change we all experience when we move from outside the church to inside, where someone stopped for a moment to notice our need, looked deep in our eyes, and proclaimed Christ saved. The movement where we nervously and cautiously stood on our own in Christ wondering how to walk and gingerly took our first steps on the way. Where we are still taking baby steps to figure this whole thing out.

Remember that feeling when you knew you were no longer on the outside looking in, when the rock of the church stopped, pulled you up, and helped you unsteadily wobble into a worshipping community that loved you as you are, a beloved child of God. That moment where grace knelt down and lifted you up. Remember that feeling and then leave these walls and be the one who offers that moment to another ragamuffin outsider that has been overlooked so long they just don’t bother asking anymore.