"Beyond Divisions" - Isaiah 65:17 - 25; Galatians 3:23 - 29
A Sermon by Alex Evans, Pastor
Second Presbyterian Church, Richmond, VA
Sunday, June 19, 2022
Texts: Isaiah 65:17-25; Galatians 3:23-29
“Beyond Divisions”
There are a number of lines in our first lesson today that really get my attention and greatly increase my hope. That passage from Isaiah the prophet envisions a new reality for God’s people and God’s beloved world. One line really stands out – verse 19 – “I will rejoice in Jerusalem and delight in my people; no more shall the sound of weeping be heard in it, or the cry of distress.”
Oh, how we long for that day – when God indeed rejoices in the city and delights in God’s people – no more sounds of weeping or distress.
So many images of the past week point to weeping and distress –
- houses falling into the raging river in Yellowstone National Park, another manifestation of the devastating effects of the climate crisis;
- more indicting videos and testimony from Washington that point to turmoil in our democracy;
- another shooting – in another church – and another reminder that guns are out of control in our society;
- continuing suffering in Ukraine, . . in our cities with poverty and unrest on the rise, . . . worrisome economic woes, . . . . and more.
Isaiah’s wonderful depiction of what God plans is out there – we keep hoping for it, longing for it, and working that it might become reality . . but we seem to have a long way to go.
On Wednesday of this past week, I was invited to Quantico, VA to participate in the graduation ceremony of the newest class of FBI agents. Some of you know that my connections with police across the years have also connected me with the Richmond Division of the FBI. So - the invitation – “come and do the Invocation and the Benediction” for this recent class of new FBI agents. On Wednesday, I battled the traffic and on I-95 and drove to the massive FBI training academy.
There were a number of memorable moments in this short excursion. But the pertinent point came from the brief speech of a graduating agent selected by his classmates to make some remarks at their graduation. He spoke just before the main speaker, Christopher Wray, the head of the FBI. This young man was a former teacher of Bible and ethics at an Episcopal school in Houston. He also went to divinity school and earned a doctorate in theology at Vanderbilt; he then applied to the FBI and made it all the way through to this week’s graduation. His assignment will be cybersecurity in the Washington office for the FBI.
When this graduating agent spoke to his classmates, his emphasis was on how he and his fellow trainees came from every part of the nation, with varied experiences and levels of training, all so different, so representative of the nation. He said, “you would think that would become a great challenge.” Could they get along? Could they work together? Or was it every person for himself/herself?
But what they learned in the 18-week intense FBI academy training – a) while all different, they each have something unique and important to offer, b) while so distinct in skills and experience, this only made them work harder and be better, and c) this is absolutely what they have to take forward: work together, stronger together, help each other get further, and the nation is far better!
This seems such an important message for all of us. And it is not a new message. Jesus teaches us to love one another – and that means everyone. Jesus says love – and that means the people who look like us and the people who do not look like us; the people who think like us but who think un-like us too; the people near us, and not near; the people we like and do not like. Actually, Jesus goes further than that! Jesus says, “love your enemies;” and Frances will help us think about that in the moments after worship. How might those words of Jesus really help us, re-frame us in these challenging times? Working together, striving together, helping each other, getting further together – this is ancient teaching. Wisdom. And it is so pertinent for our times.
Our second lesson is profound, and consistent - words from Galatians 3:
23Now before faith came, we were imprisoned and guarded under the law until faith would be revealed. 24Therefore the law was our disciplinarian until Christ came, so that we might be justified by faith. 25But now that faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian, 26for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. 27As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28There 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. 29And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise.
This is the Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
As we re-affirm often, God’s grace comes freely and covers us, claims us, renews us, and intends to re-frame the way we live. We cannot live in the old ways. We are called to a new way. Jesus’ way.
This passage uses the language of being “clothed with Christ.” We have a new orientation for our living. We have new garments that are to be worn in the world. And in other letters, Paul, the writer of Galatians, names those new garments, given by the Spirit, as compassion, kindness, patience, humility, meekness, forgiveness. In this passage, the emphasis is on how we relate to one another – there are no longer divisions, but unity; no longer alienation, but affection; we may have distinctions, but primary we have oneness. And that oneness is Christ Jesus.
I am reminded of the great hymn of the church, “In Christ there is no east or west, in him no north or south, but one great fellowship of love throughout the whole wide earth. . . . Join hands, disciples of the faith, whate’er your race may be, All children of the living God are surely kin to me.”
Friends, this is not what is showing forth most boldly in our city and our culture in these days. The extreme polarization, the hatred that separate and divide. God hopes to “rejoice in Jerusalem, and delight in the people.”
I wonder if God might be growing in anger and sadness with God’s people.
I have mentioned the name Brian McLaren often. He is a former pastor, a prolific writer and speaker, who also has a very wonderful podcast. In the ever-evolving journey of what it means to be a faithful Christian, in the ever-changing challenge of how to live by faith in trying times, Brian McLaren has been a helpful partner to me.
Brian’s podcast is entitled, “Learning How to See.” He is trying, in this third season, to help us – especially as Christians – to see the essence of Christianity. Actually, McLaren makes the comment that perhaps Jesus might actually be embarrassed about what we’ve made of the movement he started. McLaren wonders - would Jesus actually be part of Christian faith today?
Jesus came on the scene and proclaimed a message of hope, especially to struggling and disadvantaged people living under the empire. Jesus proclaimed a message of compassion and peace, so appealing in a time of oppression and violence. Jesus proclaimed a message of radical inclusion, of upsetting social pyramids, toppling prejudices, biases, and bigotry. It was truly good news that tore down dividing walls and made divisions fall away.
But in the intervening years since Jesus, Christianity has been used as a weapon, not medicine. Christianity has been used to divide people, not bring them together. It has been used to justify so many evils and political positions – like the oppression of women, slavery, the taking of land from native people, the abuse of the planet, and so much more. I have even seen some suggestions recently that Jesus would have carried a gun!?!
McLaren also has a new book – Do I Stay Christian? – it’s a good question given what we know, given the tensions and barriers Christianity can create.
To be Christian can mean many things. It can be understood as something historical or cultural – we inhabit a certain cultural norm. Christian can be defined institutionally – we are part of the PCUSA and live under that expression. It can mean something you believe – certain doctrines. But we know those vary greatly. To be Christian too often gets interpreted to mean we share certain moral precepts – but we know those can vary too. To be Christian has always been a big and complex term – and especially lately - Christian issues have been tied to various problematic and political issues – like white supremacy, or white nationalism (as in carrying the cross into the US Capitol on January 6), or certain narrow political subjects - sexuality, marriage, abortion, or other social areas.
It is fair to ask – “Do I stay Christian?” Brian McLaren’s book is filled with chapters – “maybe not,” if Christianity means lots of things that Jesus would NOT stand for – and more chapters, “maybe so,” because there is so much about the Christian faith that is actually good and helpful to our lives and to our world. But we have to keep evolving, keep rooted in Jesus’ ways, and keep faithful to those beautiful and hopeful images – like Isaiah 65 – where God rejoices and delights and “they shall not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain.”
In one section of his book, McLaren goes deeply into human development. Lots of theologians and psychologist have written on human development. In one stage of life, we are each pre-occupied with ME. We focus on our own well-being, in this life and, if we believe in it, the next. We think in terms of my needs, my freedoms, my power, my grievances, my ambitions, my salvation, my wealth, my future. Some of us never leave this stage – we remain there – “ME.”
But some of us can move beyond that first stage to the “WE” stage. We become concerned for our group, our tribe, our race, our denomination, our religion, or our nation. Social virtues like duty, responsibility, and sacrifice can emerge and become increasingly important in this second stage.
Eventually, we may even – and we hope - expand our WE to include EVERYBODY and EVERYTHING. At this third stage, we begin to see how all human beings and all living things and non-living things are related and inter-dependent. And certainly, the sooner we can recognize our inter-relatedness, the better chances we have to survive and thrive, and the planet survives. (see Do I Stay Christian? pp. 160-168)
And I think this is frankly what Paul in urging in his letter to a struggling church community in Galatia. He is trying to help us out of the ME-ism, and even beyond the WE-ism, to find a way of life that is more human, more hopeful, and actually more wholesome for the world. He is affirming – it is not about rules, it is not about divisions, it is not about partitions among people – all the things that divide us. It is about our beloved-ness as God’s people, sustained by God’s love and grace, and all the things that Jesus shows us:
- we have been given life and blessings so we seek to be about life and blessings;
- we have been loved and forgiven so we seek to be about love and forgiveness;
- we have been helped and healed along the way, so we seek to be about helping and healing;
- we are part of the promise – whether we live or die, we belong to God.
Friends, we live in a time of deep divisions. Yet as people seeking to live by faith, as people seeking to follow Jesus, we are called to move beyond divisions – toward wholeness, toward unity, toward fresh possibilities. “One in Christ” calls forth the very best from us. I love the way Paul expresses this calling in another letter – “let love be genuine; hate what is evil; hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor, . . .bless those who persecute you; . . . rejoice in hope; . . live in harmony with one another.” How much does our world need this from us? May it be so. Amen.
Prayer of Commitment: Fill us with your presence and peace, and your Oneness. Amen
Alex Evans, Pastor, Second Presbyterian Church, Richmond, VA preached this sermon during Sunday morning worship on June 19, 2022. This is a rough manuscript.