Readings
for Easter 5B:
Acts
8:26-40; 1John 3:14-24; John 14:15-21
May 14, 2006
The Rev. Karen Siegfriedt
St. Jude the Apostle Episcopal Church, Cupertino,
CA
What I would like to talk about today are the fundamentals of the faith as expressed in the First Letter of John that was read today. These fundamentals are:
The kind of love that is being called forth, is not an emotional love where one has warm and fuzzy feelings for all human beings. Rather, it is a sacrificial love based on will, the kind of love God has for creation (i.e. agape). These fundamentals of the faith are life-giving and transformative and offer hope to a world that is fractured and hurting. They are key to maintaining the unity within a family, a parish, and the Anglican Communion. Let’s take a closer look.
In order for Christianity to be transformative, there needs to be some fundamentals about how we make choices, how we arrange our lives, how we interact with one another, how we come up with a national budget, how we engage in international affairs, how we “do church.” Christianity is not a free-for-all that makes people feel psychologically better or prosperous. It is a way of life, based on the teachings and spirit of Jesus, that shows us how to be fully human and fully loving. It is a way of life that encourages us to move beyond our own needs and prejudices in order “to restore all people to unity with God and each other in Christ.” [The Mission of the Church, BCP 855]
However, the fundamentals of the faith as described in John’s Epistle (and the gospels), are very different from the fundamentals of Christian fundamentalism. Christian fundamentalism is a term popularly used to describe strict adherence to certain Christian doctrines based on a literal interpretation of the Bible. It is a Protestant movement that began in the early part of the 20th century that continues to be hostile to modern biblical criticism and scientific theory. It is an exclusive and legalistic way of living out the faith that lacks grace. It is a “belief centered” approach to religion where the focus is on getting one’s doctrinal beliefs in order. These folks believe that they will be saved by having certain “correct” doctrinal positions. These positions or “fundamentals” include: Biblical inerrancy, the divinity of Jesus, the Virgin Birth, the belief that Jesus died to redeem humankind, and the physical return of Jesus to initiate his thousand-year rule of the Earth (e.g. Left Behind Series). In more recent times in the United States, two additional fundamentals have been added: the rejection of abortion rights and the rejection of human rights for homosexuals.
Now contrast this doctrinal approach of the fundamentalists to the transformative approach of the early Christians. The early Christians were so transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit that they sacrificed their lives in order to be agents of hope and messengers of the Good News of Christ. Many of these early Christian disciples left behind “sacred doctrinal beliefs” in order to minister to a new population of gentiles. These disciples had to overcome their treasured Jewish purity codes of exclusivity in order to include more people at God’s table. They reinterpreted Scripture in light of the spirit of Jesus’ teachings. They came to a generous understanding of who is included in God’s kingdom, erring on the side of grace rather than law. Today’s reading from Acts tells the story of how the Philip the Evangelist, ignored the Jewish code of exclusivity, and baptized an Ethiopian Eunuch.
Eunuchs are men who cannot reproduce because they are born with deformed genitals or because their testicles have been removed. In ancient Israel, a eunuch was viewed as an abomination. Oftentimes, those in power would castrate choice prisoners-of-war or certain slaves and use them as servants in royal palaces. Castration was not only a method of humiliation but was also seen as a safe guard to protect the women in the palace. Such was the case of the Ethiopian eunuch in today’s reading from the book of Acts. His name is not even mentioned in the text. He is described as returning home from having worshiped in Jerusalem. Was he admitted to the temple in Jerusalem in order to worship? Probably not! Technically, his sexuality excluded him from the Assembly of God. Yet he continued to yearn to be in relationship with the God in whom we live and move and have our being. Perhaps this is why he was reading the scripture by the prophet Isaiah as he returned home.
Isaiah 53 speaks of a humiliated servant who was despised, rejected by others, and denied justice. It was at this point in the text, that Philip had the opportunity to enter into relationship with the eunuch and re-interpreted the text in light of the good news of Jesus Christ; the one who was full of grace and truth.
As Philip taught the eunuch the good news, he didn’t mention Deuteronomy 23 which excludes eunuchs from the Assembly of God. He didn’t focus on the passages of Scripture which labeled non-Jews as being unclean. No. Filled with the Spirit of Christ, he interpreted the Scriptures in a generous, inclusive, and life-giving way that was hopeful and transformative to an outcast of society. And in this moment of transformation, the Ethiopian committed his life to Christ and was baptized. What a wonderful example of moving beyond cherished doctrine into the arena of grace.
Last week, I returned from the monastery in Indiana where I heard a lecture by the Revs. Phil Gulley and James Mulholland. They are ministers who have written several books on grace and believe that all people are worthy of God’s love and salvation. The name of the conference was: Hell is Killing Us. The monastery received all sorts of hate mail from Christian fundamentalists for sponsoring such a conference. What did these men say that created so much hate mail? They spoke about grace and said: “The moral decline of a religion begins when it creates a hell; a place of punishment and torment where all those who are different from us must go.” Then they continued: “Before the planes were flown on 9/11, Islamic fundamentalists had to convince themselves that Americans were beyond God’s salvation. Before we went to war in Iraq, we had to convince ourselves that Iraqi lives were less valuable than ours. Hell kills our moral sensitivity and ends with the death of others.”
Today, in 2006, the unity of the Anglican Communion is at great risk. There are those on the conservative side, doctrinal based Christians, who feel that an inclusive interpretation of Scripture is not “true” to the fundamentals of the faith. There are others on the progressive side who believe that having a transformative relationship with Jesus is far more important than having right beliefs about doctrinal issues. Both groups are committed to their position. And yet there are those from other countries who threaten to excommunicate the Episcopal Church from the Anglican Communion if they continue their inclusive posture of electing gay bishops living in partnered relationships. What are we to do?
First of all, we need to listen to each other. Remember, fundamentalists are not just people on the right but rather people who are unwilling to listen. Next, we need to pray for the unity of the Church. Prayer means to communicate with God. No one person has the whole truth. It is God the Holy Spirit who will lead us into all truth and enable us to grow in the likeness of Christ. And finally, we need to turn to the fundamentals of 1 John 3: To follow Jesus as the way, the truth, and the light of God and to love one another as Christ loved us. How would Jesus treat the Ethiopian eunuch or the compassionate gay bishop of New Hampshire? Would he preach the Old Testament position of exclusivity and banishment? Absolutely not! Like Philip his follower, Jesus would err on side of grace, generosity, love, peace, and inclusivity. And if we are his followers, we are called to do the same even at the risk of leaving behind old traditions. Jesus said: “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” [Jn. 13] Please keep the Episcopal Church in your prayers as it prepares for the National Convention in June.
“ Gracious Father, we pray for thy holy Catholic Church. Fill it with all truth, in all truth and with peace. Where it is corrupt, purify it; where it is in error, direct it; where in any thing it is amiss, reform it. Where it is right, strengthen it; where it is in want, provide for it; where it is divided, reunite it; for the sake of Jesus Christ thy Son our Savior. Amen.” [BCP 816]
| Updated 5/20/06 |
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