A sermon by Martha M. Shiverick
November 28, 2011 | Meeting of Presbytery of the Western Reserve
On her final meeting as Moderator of the Presbytery
Scripture: Luke 10: 1-12
This Fall I led a discussion on a book entitled Shalom, Salaam, Peace by Allison Stokes. The book discussed the common threads in the Abrahamic faiths in an effort to produce greater understanding of the core values of the three religions and led us into discussion as to why Christianity might be a hindrance to establishing world peace. Particularly after the 10th anniversary of 9/11 and the realization that we were no closer to peace and a global understanding than we were a decade ago, this discussion group felt relevant. Our group had lively discussions and although we did not create world peace, I do believe that any time we educate ourselves about the other’s views, we do come a little closer to creating God’s vision for Peace on Earth. And I am always so humbled by how much I need to learn about the others! I think that this is a life-long study that we all must do if we believe that we all are God’s children. Growing up in the Midwest and living the majority of my life here in Ohio has made me aware how little I know about those who are not like me. I can go a day or two without hearing another language spoken, where in other parts of our country and the world, the rich diversity of language and cultures are a part of others’ daily life. I confess my unsophistication and also know that it is my job to learn about others as our planet gets smaller and the need for living together in harmony becomes more acute. The class opened up many concerns for me that I will be wrestling wit in my personal faith and educated me on small issues as well. For example, I don’t know why I saw the word Allah as the Muslim word for God. Allah is the Arabic word for God, not the name of the Muslim God. If an Arabic Christian were praying he or she would use the word Allah just as an English speaking Muslim would pray to God. WOW! There goes another stereo type of mine by the wayside! Chalk it up to the Buckeye Syndrome again!
But other things we discussed from the book are troubling such as the difficulty for the Muslim and Jew to understand our Trinitarian Doctrine as being Monotheistic when we are told to have no other gods but Yahweh. And since many Christians trip over explaining just how God can be in three persons, blessed trinity, it is little wonder our Jewish and Muslim brothers and sisters have trouble understanding it too.
And, maybe most important, is how does the Christian become a peacemaker when we believe one must accept Christ as Lord and Savior to be saved. Where does that put our understanding and acceptance of people of other faiths? How can we be peacemakers if we believe all must come to God by Christ? If we hold fast that ours in the only way, can Christians become the peacemakers we are called to be? Can Christians embrace, respect, and accept as God’s child the people who hold differing beliefs as to how to achieve a close relationship with God? Perhaps we need to work on our own peacemaking skills of acceptance of the other and respect of differences, before we claim the title of a religion founded on principals of peace.
I thought about this as I read the Scripture passage for this evening. I thought about this troubling question as I listened for God’s word as it is written in the Gospel of Luke 10:1-12.
After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he intended to go. He said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Go on your way. See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of the wolves. Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals: and greet no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this house!’ And if anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you. Remain in that same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide, for the laborer deserves to be paid. Do not move about from house to house. Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you; cure the sick who are there, and say to them, “The Kingdom of God has come near to you.’ But whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say, ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet know this: the Kingdom of God has come near. I tell you, on that day it will be more tolerable for Sodom than for that town.”
OK – So what is happening here? Jesus has appointed seventy people to ministry. This ministry is not to sit in and be with other like thinkers of his synagogue. They are not to sit in beautiful sanctuaries like this one with Stained Glass Windows which block out the outside world. Jesus does not even want them to study scripture or minister to his needs. No Jesus sends them out in to the world. They are to go out into the world like lambs to the wolves without money, suitcases, of extra shoes. They are going out to be at the mercy of others’ generosity. And what are they sent out to do. Not keep to their strict dietary laws and rules about who they will associate with and who in unclean, but they are to go into strangers houses and send them greetings of peace. And these greetings include eating whatever is served to them, drinking whatever is poured, and accepting them on their level. The followers are not to move around to different houses until; they find one where people eat and drink like them. They are not to find the like- minded people who share the same views. No, they are to enter into people’s homes who welcome them and then they are to bless them, heal them, and tell them that God’s realm is near. Jesus asks us to meet with the person different than ourselves and to meet them on their level, to not force them to conform to us but that we become good guests and show respect and learn understanding.
So my next confession of this sermon after the one about not knowing that Allah was Arabic for God is a story about being a not to good host a few years ago. My first call after ordination was to serve as the Dean of the Chapel at Denison University. While there I was involved in a peacemaking group within the community of Granville and with the University students. A group of Buddhist Monks were walking across the country was a witness to peace and were going to spend the night in Granville. They were going to speak on the campus and leave the next morning as they moved to the east coast. I was renting a house from a professor on sabbatical so I had extra bedrooms to spare, so I invited the group to stay at my home, use my laundry facilities, and said I would make them a nice breakfast before they left in the morning. Now, I was not at all sure what Buddhist monks ate and we did not share a language so I thought I would serve a buffet and they could take what they liked. So, trying to be a good hostess, I made a huge breakfast with pancakes, eggs, bacon, sweet rolls, and muffins. The monks were very appreciative, kept on bowing to me and I would bow back, which of course meant that they had to bow again because they had to be the last ones to bow and they ate all the food. So I decided they must be very hungry, and since they had traveled all across the country and had a bit more to go, I should make them more breakfast. So, I whipped up more bacon, more eggs, more pancakes, more everything. And about the time they were finishing up this second breakfast, their translator from the sponsoring organization who was in charge of the monks arrived. When I told him how hungry the monks were he explained that out of respect, they were to eat all that was served to them. Then he asked what I had served them. And, of course in my ignorance, I told him how much the monks enjoyed the eggs, the bacon, and the sweet rolls. I believe he was horrified. And, so, I learned a lot that morning. Well let’s put it this way…. They might have eaten the bacon, the eggs, the pancakes and syrup, but it really was not in their diet. And well, my guess is that sometime shortly after they walked out of the Village of Granville, some real indigestion set in! Where I had not been a particularly good hostess, they had been exceptionally good guests. And they taught me a very important lesson on being a good host and being a good guest. The good host will learn about and respect their guest. And the good guest will forgive the host for their ignorance if they seem like they are trying.
The message in our scripture lesson is very relevant here. Christ saw the importance of being with people outside our faith traditions, outside our cultures, and outside the comfort of our known places. Christ saw the importance of us respecting and accepting the other, the person different than ourselves in order that those who are different than us might accept and learn about us. It seems that this might be the first step in peacemaking in our very scary world. If we don’t learn about each other and respect our differences, how are we going to create God’s peaceful kingdom. If we don’t accept the other we cannot expect them to accept us. Christian, Jew, Muslim, and Buddhist are all God’s children and a part of our family. In a post 9/11 world, in a world that is full of hatred and isolationist views, we have to learn to respect, to understand each other and to know each other.
Nice thought, yes? However my worry is that we are more a part of the problem preventing world peace than we are a part of the solution. We, who say we follow the Prince of Peace, have a lot of work to do. And we need to start at home. If we cannot live with the differences we feel between those who call themselves conservative and those who call themselves progressive within our own denomination, within our own Presbyterian family, how are we ever going bring about the peace for which this world cries out? If we cannot love and find mutuality within this Presbytery of the Western Reserve, how are we going to be a light to the world this holiday season?
Last week, we celebrated Thanksgiving and if your family is anything like mine, we joined with family members in sharing a meal and were thankful for each other and the love we shared as families… extended families, aunts and uncles, nieces and nephews, and children and parents. And if your family is anything like mine you are not all of the same mind on many issues. In my family we are Christian and Jew, republican and democrat, conservative and liberal. And we love each other and our differences are the mosaic of our family. We have a crazy aunt, a wild teenager, and a genius no one understands. We love each other and are interested in each other not because we are the same, but because we are from the same family.
And we here at the Presbytery of the Western Reserve are a family as well. This year as moderator, I have experienced the Presbytery as a family as we worshipped together, had a picnic together, grieved together, rejoiced together, we have gained members and lost others, argued our views on issues, voted on amendments and confessions, and lived the life of the church. We certainly did not agree on everything and well, some of us are like the crazy old aunt in my family, but we are a family. And as a family it is my hope that we appreciate our differences and know that they too are the mosaic of our church family. We are stronger together and stronger when we love and appreciate the other in our midst. So let’s start by sharing this meal tonight. As we the Presbytery of the Western Reserve commune at our Lord’s Table, let’s do so knowing that we are all not of one mind, we are not all on the same page as to the many changes that have taken part in our church this year. But just as we sat at table with our relatives this past week and loved them and claimed them in spite of our differences, we too love and claim each other. Once we realize our familial love, our familial respect, and our familial bond, we can begin to reach out and be peace makers in God’s good world!
Amen
