Filipenses 2:1-15
¿Es posible que personas se queden juntas cuando están en desacuerdo sobre asuntos que consideran centrales a su vida? Hablo de parejas, familias, comunidades y naciones. Todos sabemos que sí pueden. Pero también sabemos que no siempre lo hacen. En mi familia daba susto pelear. Generalmente llevaba a una rotura temporal en la relación. Mi hermana y yo peleábamos mucho. Al principio nos costaba semanas reconciliar. Después costaba meses o años para volver a la relación. La familia con quien vivo ahora es diferente. Mis hijos pueden estar gritando, y 5 minutos después están abrazándose. Me ha tomado años darme cuenta que un pleito entre mis hijos o con mis hijos no iba a crear una alienación semi-permanente.
¿Cómo se manejaban los pleitos en tu familia? Pregunto porque creo que la respuesta dice mucho sobre como peleamos en la iglesia. Tras los años la gente ha discutido muchos asuntos en la iglesia. Todavía lo hacemos. Algunos parecen ridículos; otros todavía se toman en serio. ¿Pueden gente de color y gente blanca adorar a Dios en la misma iglesia? ¿Está bien que las mujeres usan pantalones en la iglesia? ¿Debemos callar a los niños en la iglesia? ¿Las mujeres pueden ser pastores? ¿Debemos permitir que gente divorciada sea ancianos y diáconos?
Hoy escuchamos muchas noticias sobre iglesias que se dividen o amenazan dividir sobre el asunto del sexo. En las últimas décadas el debate ha girado en torno al sexo entre personas del mismo género – hombres con hombres, mujeres con mujeres. Hace poco escuché a un obispo Luterano hacer una broma con la audiencia, señalando lo fácil que es para la gente heterosexual enfocar la atención sobre las prácticas sexuales de la gente homosexual para que no tenga que enfrentar todos los asuntos relacionados con su propia sexualidad. La verdad es que la mayoría de iglesias nunca hablan del sexo, a menos que sea para prohibirlo. Mucha gente preferiría que siguiera así, igual que preferiría que la iglesia nunca hablaría de la política, la economía o la guerra. La gente tiende a pelear sobre esos temas. ¿Quién quiere más razones para pelear en la iglesia?
¿Es cierto que tenemos que hablar sobre nuestros desacuerdos en la iglesia? La gente a veces me dice, “No vengo a la iglesia para escuchar sobre la política y el sexo. Voy para salir de todo esto.” Una vez a la semana quieren escapar la violencia y disgusto del resto del mundo para escuchar una palabra de esperanza y consuelo. ¿Alguna vez has sentido así? Yo sé que sí. Me simpatizo con ese sentir. Oigan: yo soy la persona que algunos quieren que hable más sobre el sexo y otros que hable menos. Y yo no lo encuentro fácil hablar del sexo. Cuando yo era niño no se hablaba del sexo en compañía mixta. Pero veo lo que está pasando a la iglesia y al mundo porque no estamos hablando del sexo, y no está bonito.
Apenas a noche me acordé. Estaba distribuyendo volantes cerca del Parque LaFayette sobre una vigilia que íbamos a tener para un hombre matado el jueves en la mañana al salir del Winchell’s en la Hoover y séptima. Tenía mi camisa clerical que uso para eventos públicos donde ayuda a la gente enfocarse en cosas espirituales fuera del templo. Entregué unos volantes a un grupo de hombres embriagados. Uno me miró y dijo, “¿Por qué debo ir con usted? ¿No es uno de los que abusan a los niños?”
Esto pasa porque la iglesia no ha sabido hablar sobre el sexo y tratar el tema en la iglesia. ¿Todos los sacerdotes abusan niños? Por supuesto que no. ¿Todos los que abusan niños son homosexuales? Tampoco. Hemos escuchado esto mucho desde el anuncio que hay una persona en nuestra comunidad que fue arrestado hace 22 años por abusar a un niño. Pero la verdad es que es mucho más probable que un niño sea abusado por una persona heterosexual. Es difícil cambiar los estereotipos cuando no hablamos del sexo.
En Immanuel hemos decidido que no podemos esperar más. El Consistorio se ha comprometido invitar a la congregación participar en conversaciones sobre el sexo durante este año. Tenemos que hablar sobre la orientación sexual porque es un tema tan controversial. Pero nunca entenderemos la orientación sexual si no ampliamos la conversación para incluir otros aspectos del sexo – incluyendo nuestras propias luchas en esa área de la vida. Por la mayoría de su historia la iglesia ha puesto el sexo en la categoría de prohibiciones en vez de cosas para celebrar. Es hora de cambiar esto.
Pero al preparar l conversación el Consistorio se dio cuenta que antes debemos invertir tiempo pensando en como mantener nuestra unidad mientras discutimos. El sexo no es el único tema que discutimos en Immanuel. Solo es uno que evoca mucha pasión. También tenemos diferencias de opinión sobre la inmigración. He tenido que responder a preguntas de miembros sobre por qué estamos hospedando a Yolanda en la iglesia cuando el gobierno le ha dado orden de deportación. Tenemos que hablar.
Pero mientras discutimos tenemos que vivir en una manera que tenga integridad. Immanuel se ha atrevido cuestionar la autoridad cuando la autoridad pide que actuemos en maneras que creemos que nos lleva a desobedecer la enseñanza de Jesús. Mucho antes de que yo empecé a ser pastor aquí, Immanuel estaba ordenando e instalando como diáconos y ancianos a personas de varias orientaciones sexuales. Algunos miembros todavía no están de acuerdo con esa práctica. La Iglesia Presbiteriana misma no ha resuelto la pregunta. Mientras tanto, en la mayoría de las iglesias, la gente gay, lesbiana, bisexual y transgénera son marginadas. Así no es como Jesús trataba a la gente. Por eso, tenemos una práctica diferente en Immanuel. Los miembros no tienen que estar de acuerdo con nuestras pólizas y prácticas. Tienen el derecho de luchar para cambiarlas. Pero en el camino tenemos que mantener el respeto mutuo para todos.
Lo mismo pasa con la inmigración. El Consistorio ha aprobado pólizas que apoyan a los indocumentados. Nos unimos al Movimiento de Santuario para poner esas pólizas en práctica. ¿Por qué? Porque en la misma manera que los líderes religiosos no han llegado a un acuerdo sobre la orientación sexual, los líderes políticos no encuentran un acuerdo sobre pólizas justas de inmigración. Mientras tanto, millones de inmigrantes viven situaciones degradantes y amenazadoras. Así no es como Jesús trataba a la gente. Entonces hospedamos a Yolanda porque creemos que hay una ley más alta de compasión, y algunos tenemos que experimentar con alternativas creativas.
A pesar de estas pólizas y prácticas radicales, la congregación no ha tenido mucha conversación ni sobre la sexualidad ni sobre la inmigración. Algunos ni están enterados. Otros están en desacuerdo. Tenemos que actuar aún cuando no hemos logrado un acuerdo. No podemos ordenar y no ordenar gays, lesbianas, bisexuales y personas transgéneras. Y no podemos tanto apoyar y no apoyar a los indocumentados. Entonces hemos implementado pólizas y prácticas sin discutirlas mucho en la congregación. Esto está a punto de cambiar.
Hoy estamos iniciando un proceso en tres partes para ayudarnos a manejar las diferencias mientras vivimos juntos. La primera parte va a llevarse a cabo este otoño, culminando en una reafirmación de nuestros votos bautismales en enero. Vamos a estar aprendiendo unos a otros como hemos manejado nuestras diferencias. Todos lo hacemos; no hay solo una manera correcta. Entonces vamos a aprender unos de otros. Luego, en la segunda parte de enero empezaremos una serie de conversaciones sobre el sexo, aplicando algo de lo que hemos aprendido unos de otros sobre como mantener la unidad mientras tenemos diferentes opiniones. Finalmente, en la primavera, el Consistorio tomará unas decisiones sobre la manera en que vamos a manejar nuestra identidad pública como una iglesia que da la bienvenida a gente de todas las orientaciones sexuales.
Quiero preparar el camino para las conversaciones en esta mañana. En el pasaje de Filipenses Pablo dijo que es posible tener el mismo sentir aún cuando la gente tiene diferentes opiniones sobre algo. Hubo algún conflicto serio en la iglesia en Filipos. Pablo parece estar diciendo que no tenían que estar de acuerdo sobre el asunto para mantener la unidad de la iglesia.
¿Qué significa esto? La mayoría de nosotros anhelamos una comunidad que nos ofrece ánimo, consolación, compasión y empatía.(vs. 1) Los pleitos amenazan eso. Entonces Pablo nos invita a tener el mismo sentir que Jesús. Con esa frase se refiere a unas actitudes y acciones específicas, que forman la base de las pólizas y prácticas de la comunidad. Primero (vs 3-4) nos anima buscar lo valioso en cada uno e interesarnos en lo que le interese al otro. Esto significa cambiar una perspectiva competita de la comunidad a una más cooperativa. Si honrar a otro al valorarlo/la más hace que yo sea menos honorado, no lo voy a hacer. Una perspectiva cooperativa permite que todos sean honrados.
El segundo paso es más arriesgado. Jesús soltó lo que parecía ser su recurso más valioso: la igualdad con Dios. Y no solo soltó un poco. No se convirtió en un rey humano en vez de divino. Se convirtió en un esclavo y criminal. Francamente, la mayoría de nosotros no vamos a entregar tanto. Pero sí podemos reconocer que el camino hacia ser más humano se dirige hacia abajo en vez de hacia arriba. Podemos empezar a arriesgar (vs. 6) soltar cosas que hemos valorado mucho – poder, reputación, riqueza y creencias. Podemos (vs. 7) vaciarnos de un sentido de superioridad moralista al darnos cuenta que ciertos aspectos de la moralidad son mas fáciles dependiendo de su trasfondo. Es más fácil entregar poder si ya has tenido poder. Es mas fácil arriesgar su reputación si nunca ha tenido que ganarla. Es más fácil cambiar de opinion si nunca fuiste rechazado por su familia por hacerlo. Es más fácil para algunos ver a inmigrantes sin papeles con una moralidad inferior, y para otros ver a la gente gay con una moralidad inferior. El sentir de Jesús no mira a la gente en términos de superioridad o inferioridad moral. Ese sentir es tanto valiente como paciente sobre este camino hacia ser más humano.
El tercer paso tiene que ver con como opera esto en la comunidad. Debemos ocuparnos de nuestra salvación (vs. 12) en vez de ponerlo en piloto automático. Por demasiado tiempo la iglesia ha enseñado que lo único que tenemos que hacer para ser salvos es convertirnos en cristianos, memorizar algunas doctrinas, seguir unas reglas y no cambiar de opinión una vez convertidos. Esto no vale para cristianos. Pablo urge a la gente a ocuparse de su salvación con temor y temblor. Da susto cambiar de creencias. Da ansiedad tener que tomar decisiones éticas en areas donde la Biblia no ofrece claridad. Pero no estamos solos. Dios está trabajando en nosotros. No dependemos solamente de un libro escrito hace miles de años. El Espíritu de Dios sigue guiándonos a la verdad. Claro, uno nunca sabe exactamente donde el Espíritu te va a llevar. Los libros son más seguros. Pero Jesús nunca prometió que el camino sería sin peligros.
Cuando tenemos esta perspectiva de la vida cristiana – que es más un camino que un destino – podermos empezar a discutir sin quejas ni contiendas. (vs. 14) Para Pablo eso es lo que nos hace “intachables y puros hijos de Dios que brillamos como estrellas en el mundo (vs. 15). No es la pureza moral que nos hace intachable e inocente. Es el rechazo a las quejas y contiendas. ¿No sería eso una correccion que ayudaría en un momento cuando los cristianos se conocen más por su juicio que por su amor; por oponerse a la legislación contra las crímenes de odio para poder seguir predicando contra ciertos grupos?
Quiero terminar esta mañana diciendo que he visto el sentir de Jesús en Immanuel. No cada parte del cuadro está en su lugar, pero hay miradas de como se ve. La gente que tiene fuertes desacuerdos sobre algo se tratan con compasión cuando haya una necesidad. Personas que chismosean o atacan por la espalda a otros demuestran lealtad cuando uno de ellos está en peligro. Parece que hay muchas maneras de “tener el mismo sentir.” Pero todos tiene que ver con poner el ejercicio de amor por encima de tener la misma opinión sobre algo. Les invito a tener el sentir de Jesús al caminar juntos a través de terreno que nos da miedo. Ocupémonos en nuestra salvación con temor y temblor.
Showing posts with label 070930. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 070930. Show all posts
October 2, 2007
September 30, 2007 - Same mind, different opinions - Frank Alton
Philippians 2:1-15
Can people stay together when they disagree on matters they believe are central to their life? I mean couples, families, communities and nations. We all know they can. But we also know they don’t always choose to. In my family of origin disagreement was scary. It usually led to a temporary break in the relationship. My sister and I used to fight a lot. At first it took weeks to reconcile. Later on it took us months, then years, to come back into relationship. The family I live in now is so different from that. My kids can scream at each other, and 5 minutes later they’re all “lovey duvy” again. It’s taken me years to realize that a disagreement among my children or with my children wasn’t going to create a semi-permanent alienation.
How were disagreements handled in your family? I ask that because I think the answer impacts the way we disagree in church. Over the years people have disagreed about a lot of things in church. We still do. Some look downright silly; others are still taken seriously. Can black people and white people worship in the same church? Should women wear pants to church? Is it okay for liturgists to come to church in jeans or shorts? Should children be allowed to make noise in church? Should women be allowed to be pastors? Should divorced people be allowed to be elders and deacons?
Today we hear a lot about churches splitting or threatening to split over the issue of sex. If you’ve been reading the newspaper you are aware of the tensions in the Anglican Church. Presbyterians are just as divided. It just hasn’t made the newspapers as much lately. For the last few decades the debate around sex has mostly been over the legitimacy of sex between people of the same gender. Recently a Lutheran bishop teased the audience by pointing out how easy it is for the majority heterosexual population to focus attention on the sexual practices of the minority homosexual population so it doesn’t have to face all the issues around its own sexual issues. Let’s face it: most churches never talk about sex except to prohibit it. A lot of people wish we’d keep it that way. Just as they wish the church would never talk about politics, economics or war. People tend to disagree strongly about those subjects. Who wants more reasons to disagree in church?
Do we have to talk about things we disagree over in church? People sometimes say, “I don’t come to church to deal with politics and sex. I go to church to get away from all that.” Once a week they want to get away from the violence and unpleasantness in the rest of the world to hear a word of hope and comfort. Have you ever felt like that? Come on, I know you have. I sympathize with that sentiment. Hey, I’m the guy some people wish would speak more about sex and others that I would speak less about it. I don’t find it that easy to talk about sex. When I was growing up you didn’t talk about sex in mixed company. But I see what’s happening to the church and to the world because we won’t talk about sex, and it’s not very pretty.
Just last night I had another reminder. I was over near LaFayette park handing out flyers for a vigil we were going to have for a man who had been killed Thursday morning as he came out of Winchell’s at Hoover and 7th. I was wearing a clerical collar, which I do at public events where it helps people focus on spiritual things outside church. I handed some flyers to some men who were intoxicated. One looked at me in my collar and said, “Why should I go with you? Don’t you and your kind molest little children?”
The church has asked for that because we haven’t known how to talk about or deal with sex in the church. Are all priests pedophiles? Of course not. Are most child abusers homosexuals? No. We’ve heard that assertion repeatedly since announcing the presence of a registered sex offender at Immanuel. It’s actually more likely for a child to be abuse by a heterosexual. It’s hard to change stereotypes when we don’t talk about sex.
At Immanuel we’ve decided we can’t wait any longer. The Session has committed to invite the congregation to engage in conversations about sex during the coming year. We have to talk about sexual orientation because it’s such a big issue for people. But we will never figure out sexual orientation if we don’t broaden the conversation to talk about other aspects of sex – including our own struggles in that area of our lives. For most of its history – at least since the time of St. Augustine – the church has put sex in the category of things to prohibit rather than things to celebrate. It’s time to change that.
But as Session prepared to take on the subject of sex we realized that we better spend some time thinking about how to stay together while we disagree. Sex isn’t the only subject we disagree about at Immanuel. It’s just one that evokes a lot of passion. We also disagree about immigration. I’ve had to respond to questions from members about why we are sheltering Yolanda in the church when the government has issued her an order of deportation that says she has to leave. We gotta “tawk”.
But while we talk and disagree we have to live in a way that has some integrity. Immanuel has dared to question authority when the authority asks us to act in ways that we believe lead us to disobey the teaching of Jesus. Long before I became pastor here, Immanuel was ordaining and installing people of various sexual orientations as deacons and elders. Some members are still not in agreement with that practice. The Presbyterian Church itself has not settled the matter of whether that is okay yet. Meanwhile, in most churches, people who are gay, lesbian, bisexual & transgender are marginalized. That’s simply not the way Jesus treated people. So we have a different practice at Immanuel. Members don’t have to agree with our policies and practices. They even have the right to work to change them. But we need to respect each other as we disagree.
The same has happened around immigration. The Session has approved policies that support undocumented immigrants. We joined the Sanctuary Movement to puts those policies into practice. Why? - Because just as church leaders don’t agree about sexual orientation, political leaders don’t agree on just immigration policies. Meanwhile, millions of immigrants face degrading situations and constant threats. That’s not how Jesus treated people either. So we shelter Yolanda because we believe there is a higher law of compassion, and some people have to experiment with creative alternatives.
Despite these radical policies and practices, the congregation hasn’t had much conversation either about our policies of sexuality or of immigration. Some members are not even aware of them. Others are in disagreement with them. We have to act one way or another even when we disagree. We can’t both ordain and not ordain gays, lesbians, bisexual and transgender people. And we can’t both support & not support undocumented immigrants. So we’ve implemented policies & practices without discussing them much in the congregation. That’s about to change.
Today we are launching a three part process to help us engage differences as we live together. Part one takes place this fall, culminating in a reaffirmation of our baptism vows in early January. We’ll be learning from each other the ways we’ve each figured out how to manage differences. We all do it; there is no one right way. So we’ll be learning from each other. Then, in late January we’ll engage in a series of conversations about sex, applying some of what we’ve learned from each other about how to disagree and stay together. Finally, in the spring, the Session will make some decisions about our public identity as a church that welcomes people of all sexual orientations.
I want to set up the conversations around dealing with differences this morning.. In the passage from Philippians Paul said it is possible to be of the same mind even when people have different opinions about something. There was some serious conflict in the church at Philippi. Paul seems to be saying they didn’t need to agree about the issue to maintain the unity of the church.
What does that mean? Most of us long for community that offers encouragement, consolation, sharing, compassion and sympathy (vs. 1). Disagreements threaten that. So Paul invites us to take on the mind of Jesus. By that he refers to some specific attitudes and actions, which are the foundation of our policies and practices. First, (vs. 3-4) he encourages us to look for what is valuable in each other & to be concerned for what the other is interested in. That means moving from a competitive view of community into a cooperative one. If honoring another by valuing him/her more makes me less honorable, I’m not going to do it. A cooperative view allows all to be honored.
Step two is even riskier. Jesus let go of what looked like the most valuable asset he had: equality with God. He didn’t just give up a little. He didn’t become a human king instead of a divine king. He became a slave and a criminal. Frankly, most of us aren’t going to go that far. But we can at least recognize that the human journey moves down rather than up. We can begin (vs. 6) to risk letting go of things we've held dear – power, reputation, wealth, and beliefs. We can (vs. 7) empty ourselves of moralistic superiority by realizing that certain aspects of morality come more easily to different ones of us. It’s easier to give up power if you’ve already had some. It’s easier to risk your reputation if you’ve never had to earn it. It’s easier to change your mind if you’ve never been rejected by your family for doing so. It’s easier for some to see immigrants without papers as morally inferior, and for others to see gays as morally inferior. The mind of Jesus doesn’t look at people as morally superior or inferior. And it is both courageous and patient about this journey toward humanness.
Step three has to do with how this gets worked out in community. We are (vs. 12) to work out our own salvation instead of putting it on auto pilot. For too long the church has made it look like all we have to do to be saved is to become Christians, memorize some doctrines, follow some rules and not change our mind once we’ve done so. That may be alright for the Energizer bunny, but not for Christians. Paul urges people to keep working out their salvation with fear and trembling. It’s scary to change our beliefs. It’s nerve wracking to have to make ethical decisions in areas that the “good book” hasn’t been clear about. But we’re not on our own. God is at work in us. We’re not dependent on a book that was written thousands of years ago. The Spirit of God continues to lead us into truth. Of course, you never know exactly where the Spirit is going to blow. Books are safer. But Jesus never promised the journey would be safe.
When we take on this perspective of the Christian life – that it is a journey rather than an arrival – we can begin to disagree without murmuring and arguing (vs. 14). That for Paul is what makes us “blameless and innocent children of God [who] shine like stars in the world.” (vs. 15) It’s not moral purity that makes us blameless and innocent. It is the refusal to murmur and argue. Wouldn’t that be a helpful corrective at a time when Christians are best known for their judgment rather than for their love; for opposing hate crime legislation so they can continue to preach against homosexuality?
I want to end this morning by saying that I have seen the mind of Jesus at work in Immanuel. And I’ve seen it in some pretty unlikely places. Not every piece of the picture is in place, but there are glimpses of what it looks like. People who disagree noisily about something go on to treat each other compassionately when there is a need. People who gossip and even talk behind each others’ backs show loyalty when one of them is in trouble. It seems that there are many ways to “have the same mind.” But all of them have to do with putting the exercise of love above having same opinion about something. I invite you to take on the mind of Jesus as we journey together through terrain that frightens us. Let us work out our salvation with fear and trembling.
Can people stay together when they disagree on matters they believe are central to their life? I mean couples, families, communities and nations. We all know they can. But we also know they don’t always choose to. In my family of origin disagreement was scary. It usually led to a temporary break in the relationship. My sister and I used to fight a lot. At first it took weeks to reconcile. Later on it took us months, then years, to come back into relationship. The family I live in now is so different from that. My kids can scream at each other, and 5 minutes later they’re all “lovey duvy” again. It’s taken me years to realize that a disagreement among my children or with my children wasn’t going to create a semi-permanent alienation.
How were disagreements handled in your family? I ask that because I think the answer impacts the way we disagree in church. Over the years people have disagreed about a lot of things in church. We still do. Some look downright silly; others are still taken seriously. Can black people and white people worship in the same church? Should women wear pants to church? Is it okay for liturgists to come to church in jeans or shorts? Should children be allowed to make noise in church? Should women be allowed to be pastors? Should divorced people be allowed to be elders and deacons?
Today we hear a lot about churches splitting or threatening to split over the issue of sex. If you’ve been reading the newspaper you are aware of the tensions in the Anglican Church. Presbyterians are just as divided. It just hasn’t made the newspapers as much lately. For the last few decades the debate around sex has mostly been over the legitimacy of sex between people of the same gender. Recently a Lutheran bishop teased the audience by pointing out how easy it is for the majority heterosexual population to focus attention on the sexual practices of the minority homosexual population so it doesn’t have to face all the issues around its own sexual issues. Let’s face it: most churches never talk about sex except to prohibit it. A lot of people wish we’d keep it that way. Just as they wish the church would never talk about politics, economics or war. People tend to disagree strongly about those subjects. Who wants more reasons to disagree in church?
Do we have to talk about things we disagree over in church? People sometimes say, “I don’t come to church to deal with politics and sex. I go to church to get away from all that.” Once a week they want to get away from the violence and unpleasantness in the rest of the world to hear a word of hope and comfort. Have you ever felt like that? Come on, I know you have. I sympathize with that sentiment. Hey, I’m the guy some people wish would speak more about sex and others that I would speak less about it. I don’t find it that easy to talk about sex. When I was growing up you didn’t talk about sex in mixed company. But I see what’s happening to the church and to the world because we won’t talk about sex, and it’s not very pretty.
Just last night I had another reminder. I was over near LaFayette park handing out flyers for a vigil we were going to have for a man who had been killed Thursday morning as he came out of Winchell’s at Hoover and 7th. I was wearing a clerical collar, which I do at public events where it helps people focus on spiritual things outside church. I handed some flyers to some men who were intoxicated. One looked at me in my collar and said, “Why should I go with you? Don’t you and your kind molest little children?”
The church has asked for that because we haven’t known how to talk about or deal with sex in the church. Are all priests pedophiles? Of course not. Are most child abusers homosexuals? No. We’ve heard that assertion repeatedly since announcing the presence of a registered sex offender at Immanuel. It’s actually more likely for a child to be abuse by a heterosexual. It’s hard to change stereotypes when we don’t talk about sex.
At Immanuel we’ve decided we can’t wait any longer. The Session has committed to invite the congregation to engage in conversations about sex during the coming year. We have to talk about sexual orientation because it’s such a big issue for people. But we will never figure out sexual orientation if we don’t broaden the conversation to talk about other aspects of sex – including our own struggles in that area of our lives. For most of its history – at least since the time of St. Augustine – the church has put sex in the category of things to prohibit rather than things to celebrate. It’s time to change that.
But as Session prepared to take on the subject of sex we realized that we better spend some time thinking about how to stay together while we disagree. Sex isn’t the only subject we disagree about at Immanuel. It’s just one that evokes a lot of passion. We also disagree about immigration. I’ve had to respond to questions from members about why we are sheltering Yolanda in the church when the government has issued her an order of deportation that says she has to leave. We gotta “tawk”.
But while we talk and disagree we have to live in a way that has some integrity. Immanuel has dared to question authority when the authority asks us to act in ways that we believe lead us to disobey the teaching of Jesus. Long before I became pastor here, Immanuel was ordaining and installing people of various sexual orientations as deacons and elders. Some members are still not in agreement with that practice. The Presbyterian Church itself has not settled the matter of whether that is okay yet. Meanwhile, in most churches, people who are gay, lesbian, bisexual & transgender are marginalized. That’s simply not the way Jesus treated people. So we have a different practice at Immanuel. Members don’t have to agree with our policies and practices. They even have the right to work to change them. But we need to respect each other as we disagree.
The same has happened around immigration. The Session has approved policies that support undocumented immigrants. We joined the Sanctuary Movement to puts those policies into practice. Why? - Because just as church leaders don’t agree about sexual orientation, political leaders don’t agree on just immigration policies. Meanwhile, millions of immigrants face degrading situations and constant threats. That’s not how Jesus treated people either. So we shelter Yolanda because we believe there is a higher law of compassion, and some people have to experiment with creative alternatives.
Despite these radical policies and practices, the congregation hasn’t had much conversation either about our policies of sexuality or of immigration. Some members are not even aware of them. Others are in disagreement with them. We have to act one way or another even when we disagree. We can’t both ordain and not ordain gays, lesbians, bisexual and transgender people. And we can’t both support & not support undocumented immigrants. So we’ve implemented policies & practices without discussing them much in the congregation. That’s about to change.
Today we are launching a three part process to help us engage differences as we live together. Part one takes place this fall, culminating in a reaffirmation of our baptism vows in early January. We’ll be learning from each other the ways we’ve each figured out how to manage differences. We all do it; there is no one right way. So we’ll be learning from each other. Then, in late January we’ll engage in a series of conversations about sex, applying some of what we’ve learned from each other about how to disagree and stay together. Finally, in the spring, the Session will make some decisions about our public identity as a church that welcomes people of all sexual orientations.
I want to set up the conversations around dealing with differences this morning.. In the passage from Philippians Paul said it is possible to be of the same mind even when people have different opinions about something. There was some serious conflict in the church at Philippi. Paul seems to be saying they didn’t need to agree about the issue to maintain the unity of the church.
What does that mean? Most of us long for community that offers encouragement, consolation, sharing, compassion and sympathy (vs. 1). Disagreements threaten that. So Paul invites us to take on the mind of Jesus. By that he refers to some specific attitudes and actions, which are the foundation of our policies and practices. First, (vs. 3-4) he encourages us to look for what is valuable in each other & to be concerned for what the other is interested in. That means moving from a competitive view of community into a cooperative one. If honoring another by valuing him/her more makes me less honorable, I’m not going to do it. A cooperative view allows all to be honored.
Step two is even riskier. Jesus let go of what looked like the most valuable asset he had: equality with God. He didn’t just give up a little. He didn’t become a human king instead of a divine king. He became a slave and a criminal. Frankly, most of us aren’t going to go that far. But we can at least recognize that the human journey moves down rather than up. We can begin (vs. 6) to risk letting go of things we've held dear – power, reputation, wealth, and beliefs. We can (vs. 7) empty ourselves of moralistic superiority by realizing that certain aspects of morality come more easily to different ones of us. It’s easier to give up power if you’ve already had some. It’s easier to risk your reputation if you’ve never had to earn it. It’s easier to change your mind if you’ve never been rejected by your family for doing so. It’s easier for some to see immigrants without papers as morally inferior, and for others to see gays as morally inferior. The mind of Jesus doesn’t look at people as morally superior or inferior. And it is both courageous and patient about this journey toward humanness.
Step three has to do with how this gets worked out in community. We are (vs. 12) to work out our own salvation instead of putting it on auto pilot. For too long the church has made it look like all we have to do to be saved is to become Christians, memorize some doctrines, follow some rules and not change our mind once we’ve done so. That may be alright for the Energizer bunny, but not for Christians. Paul urges people to keep working out their salvation with fear and trembling. It’s scary to change our beliefs. It’s nerve wracking to have to make ethical decisions in areas that the “good book” hasn’t been clear about. But we’re not on our own. God is at work in us. We’re not dependent on a book that was written thousands of years ago. The Spirit of God continues to lead us into truth. Of course, you never know exactly where the Spirit is going to blow. Books are safer. But Jesus never promised the journey would be safe.
When we take on this perspective of the Christian life – that it is a journey rather than an arrival – we can begin to disagree without murmuring and arguing (vs. 14). That for Paul is what makes us “blameless and innocent children of God [who] shine like stars in the world.” (vs. 15) It’s not moral purity that makes us blameless and innocent. It is the refusal to murmur and argue. Wouldn’t that be a helpful corrective at a time when Christians are best known for their judgment rather than for their love; for opposing hate crime legislation so they can continue to preach against homosexuality?
I want to end this morning by saying that I have seen the mind of Jesus at work in Immanuel. And I’ve seen it in some pretty unlikely places. Not every piece of the picture is in place, but there are glimpses of what it looks like. People who disagree noisily about something go on to treat each other compassionately when there is a need. People who gossip and even talk behind each others’ backs show loyalty when one of them is in trouble. It seems that there are many ways to “have the same mind.” But all of them have to do with putting the exercise of love above having same opinion about something. I invite you to take on the mind of Jesus as we journey together through terrain that frightens us. Let us work out our salvation with fear and trembling.
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