If you have spent much time in or around
churches you know that conflict is often a part of congregational dynamics – at
all levels of church life – small churches, large congregations and great
cathedrals – conflict is always in the undercurrent milieu. Paul suggests in the letter to Christians in
Rome that conflict is not just about a difference in opinion or menu preference
– conflict is often rooted in power struggle.
Who is weak and who is strong? Who
is a charismatic speaker and who resides on the sidelines? Who is strong and committed in their faith
and who is more reticent and perhaps more easily swayed?
On Wednesday evenings we are discussing
Chris Yaw’s book, Jesus was an Episcopalian.
It is tongue in cheek for sure and our discussions are not really
concerned with denominational difference – but in fact all churches today are
just as vulnerable to power differentials as was the church in Rome. Then the struggle involved the observance of
dietary laws. Today our struggles are
more likely to be about use of space, the wording of the Lord’s prayer or the
creed or perhaps what our outreach should be in our community. Underneath the quarrel are often deeply held
beliefs or spiritual practices or opinions on how this community might best
serve others. If you listen at coffee
hour or in the parking lot you know that the fodder for conflict is always
present.
And I’ll be honest with you it festers in
clergy circles just as much or more that in the lay community. And that is not always a bad thing. Differing opinions and liturgical observances
are healthy for the church. It keeps us
from becoming stale and worn out. But problems
arise when differences in opinion result in judgment and the refusal to listen or
to consider the opinions of others.
Listening to each other, respecting the differences of opinion, and
honoring the value of each child of God can and will lay the groundwork for
spiritual growth and the richness of diversity.
At the time this letter was written there
was an ongoing influx of Jews – some Christian converts and some not - who had
returned from exile to live in Rome. The
converts often were ritually observant.
Paul is not trying to address some trivial matter in Romans 14. To observe or not to observe dietary
restrictions had the potential to divide and to disrupt the entire church in
Rome. Paul’s answer to this potential
schism and to the churches struggles today with homosexuality, abortion,
evolution, climate change, the authority of scripture – the list goes on and
on…. Paul’s answer is that the one loving
and forgiving God redeems all of humankind through the one man Jesus Christ and
that we all have access to that redemption – not through our own actions or
practices or whatever else we proclaim from our soapbox.., redemption Paul says is through faith. That is, in the end, what matters most are
not these particular piety practices, but rather the relationship of God with all
believers.
At its core,
the issue here is each sparring partner setting itself over and above the other,
claiming the high moral ground for its particular practices and opinions. From
the first century until now, it seems, people manage to develop self-righteous
attitudes toward those with whom they disagree.
If you or I have ever seen controversy of any kind dividing the church
as a reason to pull away from the community
- whatever side we might be on – if we see the controversy as a reason
to pull out of or even away from the fellowship of the community – then perhaps we should reread Paul's letter to the church in Rome.
If the only
community we are part of is the one where all are in agreement then we miss the
opportunity to be challenged by new ideas and the wonder of diversity. We become stuck and stagnate in our ways and
we miss the opportunity for vitality and growth. We limit the power of transformation that the
Gospel invites us to experience.
This reading
from Romans is not an easy one. Neither
is the Gospel lesson from Matthew. Peter’s
question “how often must I forgive the one who hurts me?” is one that plagues
us just about all of our lives.
Forgiveness is integral to the life of faithful Christians and to the
life of the church as we all seek ways to be faithful Jesus’ teachings and
welcoming to those with whom we are in conflict.
I think
Jesus’ talk of forgiveness comes from a place of love of all of creation and
the knowledge that unforgiveness is toxic to the individuals and to the
communities who hold onto the pain.
There are multitudes of situations in our world, our community,
churches, families, and our friends that can – if not talked out and forgiven –
can fester in bitterness and cause deep, purulent wounds.
That sounds
to me an awful lot like a Gospel truth, we are human, we turn away from God and
do some awful things, but it is the character of God to be merciful and
forgiving and since we are created in God’s image it is in our character
also. Without the gift of forgiveness,
we would not be able to maintain our relationships with each other.
But forgiveness
is not forgetting. Rather it is the
hospitality of receiving each other and ourselves as the beloved of God. The extraordinary hospitality of God - that
was so squandered by that servant in our lesson today who was unwilling to
forgive others, that hospitality is the mercy of God - being accepted and loved whether we’re right
or wrong. In this parable told in outrageous hyperbole, Jesus tells us that mercy
will always trump retribution. It may
not seem right. It may not agree with our sensibilities, but that’s the deal. And Jesus tells us we are to go and do
likewise. Forgiveness softens our hearts
and makes it possible for us not to forget but to move on and live.
To let our
hearts be full of God’s love is to recognize that each of us falls way short
most of the time and what we desperately need is to be accepted and loved, to
receive mercy and compassion. Here we are the broken and the blessed, the
fractured and the forgiven. Can we do anything less than to forgive the debts
of others just as God has forgiven ours?
Amen
