First Presbyterian Church
One for All and All for One
Sermon for January 21, 2007
by Pastor Susan Barnes

We'll be reading from my translation.

Listen for the word of God as it is found Luke 4:14-21.

14 Then Jesus, returned in the power of the spirit into the Galilee, and a report went out about him around all the surrounding country. 15 He was teaching in their synagogues and was praised by everyone. 16 When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, 17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:

18 "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to announce release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, 19 to announce the year of the Lord's favor." 20 And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. 21 Then he began to say to them, “ Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."

This ends our reading from the gospel.

Jesus' ministry will be good news for the poor. In those times, the poor were supposed to defer to the rich.

Earlier in that first century, the historian Livy wrote about Menenius Agrippa, a Roman consul in the fifth century. Menenius was talking to the peasant soldiers who had lift the city in protest of injustice on the part of the senators. Apparently the debt laws were too oppressive. So he told them

“In the days when man's members did not all agree amongst themselves…the other parts thought it unfair that they should have the worry and trouble and the labor of providing everything for the belly, while the belly remained quietly in their midst with nothing to do but to enjoy the good things which they bestowed upon it; they therefore conspired together that the hands should carry no food to the mouth, nor the mouth accept anything that was given it, nor the teeth grind up what they received. While they sought in this angry spirit to starve the belly into submission, the members themselves and the whole body were reduced to the utmost weakness. Hence it had become clear that even the belly had no idle task to perform and was no more nourished than it nourished the rest, by [enriching the body with digested food.] 1

And so the troublesome soldiers returned, realizing that after all, the patrician senators only had their best interests at heart, and what was good for the senators was good for everyone.

The apostle Paul also used the metaphor of the body, but he used it to speak of the body of Christ. Throughout the letter to the Corinthians, he has warned them to not be so self-important; don't boast or think more of yourselves than you ought. Here, Paul addresses low self-estimation. He warns them about devaluing themselves, and thinking less highly of themselves than they ought. He encourages them not to let anyone put them down; recognize that they are a part of the body of Christ. And the spirit works through them also. When enough people in Corinth recognize that they too have something to contribute, the bullies will lose some of their power.

Listen for the word of God as it is found in1 Corinthians 12:12-31.

12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body-- Jews or Greeks, slaves or free-- and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.

14 Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many.

15 If the foot would say,"Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," that would not make it any less a part of the body.

16 And if the ear would say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," that would not make it any less a part of the body.

17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be?

18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. 19 If all were a single member, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many members, yet one body.

21 The eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you," nor again the head to the feet, "I have no need of you."

22 On the contrary, the members of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and those members of the body that we think less honorable we clothe with greater honor, and our less respectable members are treated with greater respect; 24 whereas our more respectable members do not need this. But God has so arranged the body, giving the greater honor to the inferior member, 25 that there may be no dissension within the body, but the members may have the same care for one another. 26 If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it.

27 Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. 28 And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers; then deeds of power, then gifts of healing, forms of assistance, forms of leadership, various kinds of tongues.

29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30 Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret?

31 But strive for the greater gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way.

This ends our reading of God's word.

Anthem.

Today is the Sunday ending the week of Prayer for Christian unity. A week and a half ago, at the Ministerial Association, Father Julian suggested that the churches in town send a family to another church this Sunday. So this morning, the confirmation class and some of the PYGs are attending worship at St. Francis de Sales, with Charlie.

Christian Unity is hard to come by. Last week, I was chit-chatting in a store with a woman who said that denominations don't matter, just believing in God does. My response is that some denominations are less helpful than others.

I think a church should allow free inquiry, without threatening people with hell if they disagree. Churches should offer a word of comfort in times of grief. Churches should be a place where injustices can be named and discussed. The abolition and the civil rights movements started in churches. I hope our church is a place that nourishes you to go out into the world and do God's work, following Christ.

But some Christians disagree with me.

Last week I learned that a Southern Baptist Seminary is getting rid of their pastoral counseling program. They are substituting a biblical counseling program. I was sorry to hear that. It means they will no longer participate in the Clinical Pastoral Education program, which trains chaplains. I remember being helped in particular by a southern Baptist chaplain at a hospital. I am sorry to see the program go. The seminary was home to Wayne Oates, a pioneer in pastoral counseling. He wanted pastors to understand personality theory, family system theory and integrate it with sound biblical theological scholarship. The seminary president said that counselors should seek the wisdom that can come only from God and God's word. One pastoral counselor at the seminary said that this movement away from science reveals …a fear that somehow science is outside the realm of God's creation and domain.” 2 His fear is that biblical counselors will keep marriages intact by convincing abused women to stay with their abusive husbands. Years ago, I talked to one biblical counselor who mentioned to me how important it was for a victim to forgive a perpetrator immediately. In my experience, that immediate forgiveness keeps the victim in further danger.

I heard this week that Thomas Nelson Publishers has announced it will only work with writers who adhere to the Nicene Creed. That means that they would exclude Unitarians, Mormons, and Jews. They want authors who say, “I am Christian, and who seek to live according to Christian morality.” The publishers have a right to say who they will or will not publish. I read what the CEO said, and it seems that he doesn't trust information unless it comes from a Christian. 3

I remember years ago, my husband had taken a class on communication, and he loved a particular book he read. A friend of his was having difficulty in this exact area, and so he recommended this book. She refused to read it because Mike didn't know whether or not the author was a Christian.

I am a Christian. I love God, and I love Jesus. I believe the Nicene Creed. But I don't think there is just one Christian world view. I think there are many. I think the Bible speaks to us in beautiful authentic truthful language. I believe it is the word of God, and all of us could benefit from reading it daily. The Bible is full of challenge and comfort. But one of the things I like about our church is that it encourages us to question and deepen our faith.

That's not true about some churches.

But it's a little too easy for us to get angry at other churches that we think are ignorant. It's easy for us to vilify fundamentalist denominations.

I just read an accusation that “employees at Grand Canyon National Park are not permitted to give an official estimate of the age of the canyon, due to pressure from the Bush administration.” I found it hard to believe that park rangers can't tell people how old the Grand Canyon is, so I spent a few minutes at a few websites. It turns out that the executive director of the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility is angry that the Grand Canyon gift shop is still selling a book that claims the Grand Canyon was formed at the time of Noah's flood and is less than 6,000 years old.

Materials in national park bookstores are supposed to reflect the highest quality science, and this book doesn't. Before it can be pulled from the shelves, it is supposed to be reviewed, and the review has been postponed for three years. That is a problem.

But you know, that's a far cry from forbidding park rangers to tell tourists the age of the Grand Canyon. I just went on the Grand Canyon National Park's official website, and I found an explanation of the canyon's formation starting 1,200 million years ago. So it seems unlikely that rangers are officially forbidden from saying how old the canyon is.

Saying that “fear of fundamentalists is suppressing geology” lets us puff ourselves up at the expense of fundamentalist Christians. Saying “there's a book that shouldn't be in the bookstore” doesn't.

Sometimes people's faith does impair their ability to understand facts. Sometimes poor theology has a detrimental impact on public policy. But this is not one of those times.

As a teenager, I worked in a restaurant with a woman who lamented that her church didn't treat women as equals. Later I knew a woman who left her church because she was divorced and was considered a permanent sinner, never to be made right with God. Just because I think some churches are less helpful doesn't mean I think they're bad, or that people shouldn't belong to them. On my best days, instead of being angry at their churches, I am sad for the people.

I've come to the conclusion that all we can do is be there for friends who are in spiritual crisis. When someone tells us “I just can't believe this anymore. How do you believe this?” You can say “There are other ways to believe in Jesus. You get to keep what you know about science. You don't have to condemn all Muslims, Buddhists, and Jews. If you are divorced, you can still serve in a church. You don't have to pretend not to know anything. You get to be a part of the body of Christ and serve a savior who brings good news to the poor, announces release to the captives, sight to the blind, and frees the oppressed. and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free. That is good news.

Amen.

1Hellenistic Commentary to the New Testament, p. 431 and http://www.hermetic.com/sabazius/agrippa.htm

2 Winfrey, David, “Biblical Therapy,” Christian Century, 24.

3 /www.michaelhyatt.com/fromwhereisit/2006/12/editorial_stand.html