Sermon 12th September 2010 RACIAL JUSTICE SUNDAY
Today, our Curate, Gill Tayleur, preaches based on Acts 13.
A man was walking along a beach and stumbled across an old lamp. He picked it up, rubbed it and out popped a genie. The genie said "Thank you for releasing me from the lamp after all these years. I must reward you. I can grant you one wish!”
The man thought about it for a while and said, "I've always wanted to go to Jamaica but I'm scared to fly and I get very seasick. Could you build me a bridge to Jamaica so I can drive over there?"
The genie laughed and said, "That's impossible! It’s four and a half thousand miles! Think of the logistics of that! How would the supports ever reach the bottom of the ocean? Think of how much concrete! How much steel! You're going to have to think of another wish."
The man agreed, and tried to think of a really good wish. Finally, he said, "Well there is one thing I’ve always wanted to know. So, I wish that I could understand women. I want to know how they feel inside and what are they thinking. I want to figure out why they laugh and cry so much, know what they really want when they say 'nothing', and know how to make them truly happy."
The genie paused for a while and said, "How many lanes do you want on that bridge?"
Building bridges; we’re going to come to building bridges in a few minutes.
But first, back to that Bible reading we’ve just heard.
It was the 2nd instalment in the story of Paul’s adventurous journeys to spread the news about Jesus far and wide. Last week Cameron started us off, with Paul and Barnabas starting out from Antioch in Syria – see the map, Paul’s 1st miss journey, over on the right, the east. They sailed to the island of Cyprus, where they confronted a magician who stood against them declaring the truth about Jesus.
In this morning’s reading, we heard they left Cyprus, got in a boat to Perga, and then went inland to Pisidian Antioch, here on map. Obviously, that’s a different Antioch from the one they started off from. Pisidian Antioch was on a plateau about 3600ft above sea level, that’s the height of Snowdon, and to reach it, they had to cross the Taurus Mountains, on poor roads, which were notorious for robbers. Not an easy journey, but to an important city. Pisidian Antioch was a centre of trade, with lots of people coming and going, and an unstable mix of Greeks, Jews, Romans and local people.
Anyway, it was to this city Pisidian Antioch that Paul & Barnabas came; and on the Sabbath they went and joined in the worship at the Jewish synagogue. As we read more of Paul’s missionary journeys, we’ll see that they nearly always went first to the synagogue, as the natural place to start telling people about Jesus. Because at the synagogue were people who already believed in God, and who carefully studied the Scriptures. And Paul & Barnabas were asked to come to the front to speak. Visiting rabbis were often invited like that.
And so Paul preached. I didn’t read out loud the long sermon, there in verses 16 to 41, but Paul started with what they were familiar with, the God of Israel, and the long history of God at work in the Jewish people, leading up to King David. Then he introduced Jesus as David’s descendant, and explained how Jesus was the promised Saviour, the one the prophets had foretold and the one the Jews had been longing for. Paul tells them about Jesus’ death on the cross, and his resurrection from the dead. And he tells them (in verse 38) it is through Jesus that sins can be forgiven, and that everyone who believes in Jesus can be set free from sin.
What did the people make of all this? Well many were interested. We read that Paul & Barnabas were invited to return and preach again the next Sabbath. And lots of people followed them out when they left, wanting to talk more. Imagine being so keen to hear more of the message you’ve heard, that you follow the preacher out of the building! And the next week on the Sabbath, half the city turned up to hear “the word of the Lord”, the truth about God and his son Jesus.
So the synagogue was crowded out, and what happened?
The Jewish leaders got jealous that Paul & Barnabas had pulled in so many people to listen. And in their jealousy, they started to argue against what they said, and insulted them.
So Paul & Barnabas spoke out even more boldly! Even more boldly, how brave is that?! And brave is a good description for what they said next:
verse 46 “It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken first to you (Jews). But since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we will leave you and go to the Gentiles.”
Go to the Gentiles? To the non Jews? Well that was shocking! And outrageous! The Jews were God’s chosen people thank you very much! As Paul had recognised in his first sermon at that synagogue the previous week, God chose the nation of Israel, the Jews, to be his special people. They were his people, and he was their God, in a unique relationship. God had made a covenant, or pact with them long ago, that meant he would show them the best way to live and He would love and bless them, and they were to love, worship and obey him.
And out of this special relationship, God’s plan all along was to reach out to all the other peoples of the world with his love, through the Jewish people, and in particular through Jesus.
But many of the Jews didn’t understand this. All they could see was that they were God’s special chosen people, and everyone else, all the Gentiles, were inferior and to be despised. Jews looked down on Gentiles with utter contempt, and indeed their hard heartedness toward them led to a massive gulf of hatred, suspicion and enmity between Jew and Gentile.
Hatred, suspicion and enmity between peoples, is a pretty topical subject on Racial Justice Sunday.
And it’s a pretty topical subject in a week when a Christian pastor in Florida, Terry Jones, has been calling for an International Koran Burning Day, to coincide with 9/11 yesterday. There has rightly been outrage at the prospect of such an act, and it would certainly fuel hatred, suspicion and enmity.
Racial Justice Sunday has the slogan, “One race, the human race”.
“One race, the human race”.
And this year’s Racial Justice Sunday asks the question, do we build bridges or barriers? Bridges or barriers? Not bridges to Jamaica, but bridges to other members of the one race, the human race.
Within our own church family, look around – literally, look around! (me) – and see that we’re a mix of nationalities, cultures and backgrounds. How strong are the bridges between us?... How honest is the openness between us?... How deep the understanding between us?... How practical our loving care for one another?...
Are there bridges between us? What can we do to strengthen them?...
What will you and I do to strengthen them?... ...
In our community, there are similar questions to ask:
Are there parts of our community and parish that we don’t relate to, where there are barriers of misunderstanding or suspicion, (if not actually hatred or enmity), that we need to break down and build bridges instead?... I think there may well be...
How do we build bridges there? How do we take and share and live the good news of God’s love and forgiveness on offer, to every part of our community? That’s a big question that we’re going to keep coming back to in this series of sermons as we learn from Paul’s missionary adventures.
Paul & Barnabas knew that God’s love and forgiveness was on offer not just to the Jews, but to the Gentiles too. And they preached that everyone could receive God’s forgiveness and freedom from sin if they believed in Jesus. And not surprisingly, the Gentiles who heard this message loved it. Their response was immediate and whole hearted.
We read in verse 48, “When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and praised the Lord’s message, and became believers.” And the word of the Lord, that is the truth about Jesus, about believing in him and the forgiveness of sins, spread everywhere in that region.
But many of the Jews didn’t like this ‘success’ one little bit. They stirred up trouble for Paul & Barnabas and had them thrown out of the city. So Paul & Barnabas left town, and headed for Iconium. And the believers they left behind in Pisidian Antioch were full of joy and the HS.
So at the end of this episode in Antioch, there were 3 distinct groups of people.
1st there were the people who refused to accept the message Paul & Barnabas brought and pushed them away.
2nd there were joyful and Spirit filled people who had believed the good news about Jesus.
And 3rd, there were Paul & Barnabas themselves, who had escaped persecution and scampered off to the next place to spread the good news.
Who are we like? And who do we want to be like?
Are we like the Jews? They thought they knew what the truth was about God, they had grown up with it. And when they heard the new and troubling message about God and his son Jesus, they turned away and refused to listen. They didn’t want to hear that Jesus was the promised Saviour. They expected a Saviour who would be a military ruler to save them from the Roman Empire. This idea that Jesus’ death on the cross saved them from their sin, and his resurrection saved them from the power of death – that’s not what they wanted to hear. That was a new and disturbing idea. It didn’t fit with what they thought they knew about God, and they didn’t like it. They didn’t want to know.
Are we like that?
We may think we know what the Christian faith is all about. Maybe you’ve come here today thinking that the Christian faith is about loving your neighbour and treating others as you want them to treat you. But here in church you hear there’s more to it than that; that’s not enough. It’s about believing in Jesus, in an active way, recognising your sin, your self centredness, and turning to him for forgiveness, and living with him and his wonderful love at the centre of your life. This is a deeply challenging message – do you hear it?! Or do you block it out? Or slide it to the edge of your mind until it’s forgotten?
Or it may not be the message about faith & forgiveness that you don’t want to hear, you may accept that readily. But when you sense God saying something really challenging or disturbing, about how you need to change, or take a difficult decision, or reach out building bridges to other people, then you just don’t want to hear it, and turn away and refuse to listen. Harden your heart to what God’s saying.
Are we like that? Like the Jews who didn’t want to hear the truth or its challenges?
Or are we like the Gentiles who heard the word of God and accepted it? Who believed the truth about Jesus, his death and resurrection for us? Who recognised the truth about themselves and their need for forgiveness?
They were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit! There is no better place to be, than receptive and obedient to what God is saying. However challenging and unexpected. Bring it on! Are we like that?
And finally, are we like the disciples Paul & Barnabas, willing to trek over mountains to share the good news, the best ever news of God’s love and forgiveness? Are we brave enough to speak and live the truth, knowing that, like in Pisidian Antioch, to some people our life and our message won’t be popular? (But it’s still true!) Do we want to be people who live and share God’s love with anyone and everyone, aware that we’re “one race the human race”? Then let’s listen out for how God wants us to do that, today and as we continue through Paul’s adventures in Acts. And now let’s pray...
A man was walking along a beach and stumbled across an old lamp. He picked it up, rubbed it and out popped a genie. The genie said "Thank you for releasing me from the lamp after all these years. I must reward you. I can grant you one wish!”
The man thought about it for a while and said, "I've always wanted to go to Jamaica but I'm scared to fly and I get very seasick. Could you build me a bridge to Jamaica so I can drive over there?"
The genie laughed and said, "That's impossible! It’s four and a half thousand miles! Think of the logistics of that! How would the supports ever reach the bottom of the ocean? Think of how much concrete! How much steel! You're going to have to think of another wish."
The man agreed, and tried to think of a really good wish. Finally, he said, "Well there is one thing I’ve always wanted to know. So, I wish that I could understand women. I want to know how they feel inside and what are they thinking. I want to figure out why they laugh and cry so much, know what they really want when they say 'nothing', and know how to make them truly happy."
The genie paused for a while and said, "How many lanes do you want on that bridge?"
Building bridges; we’re going to come to building bridges in a few minutes.
But first, back to that Bible reading we’ve just heard.
It was the 2nd instalment in the story of Paul’s adventurous journeys to spread the news about Jesus far and wide. Last week Cameron started us off, with Paul and Barnabas starting out from Antioch in Syria – see the map, Paul’s 1st miss journey, over on the right, the east. They sailed to the island of Cyprus, where they confronted a magician who stood against them declaring the truth about Jesus.
In this morning’s reading, we heard they left Cyprus, got in a boat to Perga, and then went inland to Pisidian Antioch, here on map. Obviously, that’s a different Antioch from the one they started off from. Pisidian Antioch was on a plateau about 3600ft above sea level, that’s the height of Snowdon, and to reach it, they had to cross the Taurus Mountains, on poor roads, which were notorious for robbers. Not an easy journey, but to an important city. Pisidian Antioch was a centre of trade, with lots of people coming and going, and an unstable mix of Greeks, Jews, Romans and local people.
Anyway, it was to this city Pisidian Antioch that Paul & Barnabas came; and on the Sabbath they went and joined in the worship at the Jewish synagogue. As we read more of Paul’s missionary journeys, we’ll see that they nearly always went first to the synagogue, as the natural place to start telling people about Jesus. Because at the synagogue were people who already believed in God, and who carefully studied the Scriptures. And Paul & Barnabas were asked to come to the front to speak. Visiting rabbis were often invited like that.
And so Paul preached. I didn’t read out loud the long sermon, there in verses 16 to 41, but Paul started with what they were familiar with, the God of Israel, and the long history of God at work in the Jewish people, leading up to King David. Then he introduced Jesus as David’s descendant, and explained how Jesus was the promised Saviour, the one the prophets had foretold and the one the Jews had been longing for. Paul tells them about Jesus’ death on the cross, and his resurrection from the dead. And he tells them (in verse 38) it is through Jesus that sins can be forgiven, and that everyone who believes in Jesus can be set free from sin.
What did the people make of all this? Well many were interested. We read that Paul & Barnabas were invited to return and preach again the next Sabbath. And lots of people followed them out when they left, wanting to talk more. Imagine being so keen to hear more of the message you’ve heard, that you follow the preacher out of the building! And the next week on the Sabbath, half the city turned up to hear “the word of the Lord”, the truth about God and his son Jesus.
So the synagogue was crowded out, and what happened?
The Jewish leaders got jealous that Paul & Barnabas had pulled in so many people to listen. And in their jealousy, they started to argue against what they said, and insulted them.
So Paul & Barnabas spoke out even more boldly! Even more boldly, how brave is that?! And brave is a good description for what they said next:
verse 46 “It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken first to you (Jews). But since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we will leave you and go to the Gentiles.”
Go to the Gentiles? To the non Jews? Well that was shocking! And outrageous! The Jews were God’s chosen people thank you very much! As Paul had recognised in his first sermon at that synagogue the previous week, God chose the nation of Israel, the Jews, to be his special people. They were his people, and he was their God, in a unique relationship. God had made a covenant, or pact with them long ago, that meant he would show them the best way to live and He would love and bless them, and they were to love, worship and obey him.
And out of this special relationship, God’s plan all along was to reach out to all the other peoples of the world with his love, through the Jewish people, and in particular through Jesus.
But many of the Jews didn’t understand this. All they could see was that they were God’s special chosen people, and everyone else, all the Gentiles, were inferior and to be despised. Jews looked down on Gentiles with utter contempt, and indeed their hard heartedness toward them led to a massive gulf of hatred, suspicion and enmity between Jew and Gentile.
Hatred, suspicion and enmity between peoples, is a pretty topical subject on Racial Justice Sunday.
And it’s a pretty topical subject in a week when a Christian pastor in Florida, Terry Jones, has been calling for an International Koran Burning Day, to coincide with 9/11 yesterday. There has rightly been outrage at the prospect of such an act, and it would certainly fuel hatred, suspicion and enmity.
Racial Justice Sunday has the slogan, “One race, the human race”.
“One race, the human race”.
And this year’s Racial Justice Sunday asks the question, do we build bridges or barriers? Bridges or barriers? Not bridges to Jamaica, but bridges to other members of the one race, the human race.
Within our own church family, look around – literally, look around! (me) – and see that we’re a mix of nationalities, cultures and backgrounds. How strong are the bridges between us?... How honest is the openness between us?... How deep the understanding between us?... How practical our loving care for one another?...
Are there bridges between us? What can we do to strengthen them?...
What will you and I do to strengthen them?... ...
In our community, there are similar questions to ask:
Are there parts of our community and parish that we don’t relate to, where there are barriers of misunderstanding or suspicion, (if not actually hatred or enmity), that we need to break down and build bridges instead?... I think there may well be...
How do we build bridges there? How do we take and share and live the good news of God’s love and forgiveness on offer, to every part of our community? That’s a big question that we’re going to keep coming back to in this series of sermons as we learn from Paul’s missionary adventures.
Paul & Barnabas knew that God’s love and forgiveness was on offer not just to the Jews, but to the Gentiles too. And they preached that everyone could receive God’s forgiveness and freedom from sin if they believed in Jesus. And not surprisingly, the Gentiles who heard this message loved it. Their response was immediate and whole hearted.
We read in verse 48, “When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and praised the Lord’s message, and became believers.” And the word of the Lord, that is the truth about Jesus, about believing in him and the forgiveness of sins, spread everywhere in that region.
But many of the Jews didn’t like this ‘success’ one little bit. They stirred up trouble for Paul & Barnabas and had them thrown out of the city. So Paul & Barnabas left town, and headed for Iconium. And the believers they left behind in Pisidian Antioch were full of joy and the HS.
So at the end of this episode in Antioch, there were 3 distinct groups of people.
1st there were the people who refused to accept the message Paul & Barnabas brought and pushed them away.
2nd there were joyful and Spirit filled people who had believed the good news about Jesus.
And 3rd, there were Paul & Barnabas themselves, who had escaped persecution and scampered off to the next place to spread the good news.
Who are we like? And who do we want to be like?
Are we like the Jews? They thought they knew what the truth was about God, they had grown up with it. And when they heard the new and troubling message about God and his son Jesus, they turned away and refused to listen. They didn’t want to hear that Jesus was the promised Saviour. They expected a Saviour who would be a military ruler to save them from the Roman Empire. This idea that Jesus’ death on the cross saved them from their sin, and his resurrection saved them from the power of death – that’s not what they wanted to hear. That was a new and disturbing idea. It didn’t fit with what they thought they knew about God, and they didn’t like it. They didn’t want to know.
Are we like that?
We may think we know what the Christian faith is all about. Maybe you’ve come here today thinking that the Christian faith is about loving your neighbour and treating others as you want them to treat you. But here in church you hear there’s more to it than that; that’s not enough. It’s about believing in Jesus, in an active way, recognising your sin, your self centredness, and turning to him for forgiveness, and living with him and his wonderful love at the centre of your life. This is a deeply challenging message – do you hear it?! Or do you block it out? Or slide it to the edge of your mind until it’s forgotten?
Or it may not be the message about faith & forgiveness that you don’t want to hear, you may accept that readily. But when you sense God saying something really challenging or disturbing, about how you need to change, or take a difficult decision, or reach out building bridges to other people, then you just don’t want to hear it, and turn away and refuse to listen. Harden your heart to what God’s saying.
Are we like that? Like the Jews who didn’t want to hear the truth or its challenges?
Or are we like the Gentiles who heard the word of God and accepted it? Who believed the truth about Jesus, his death and resurrection for us? Who recognised the truth about themselves and their need for forgiveness?
They were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit! There is no better place to be, than receptive and obedient to what God is saying. However challenging and unexpected. Bring it on! Are we like that?
And finally, are we like the disciples Paul & Barnabas, willing to trek over mountains to share the good news, the best ever news of God’s love and forgiveness? Are we brave enough to speak and live the truth, knowing that, like in Pisidian Antioch, to some people our life and our message won’t be popular? (But it’s still true!) Do we want to be people who live and share God’s love with anyone and everyone, aware that we’re “one race the human race”? Then let’s listen out for how God wants us to do that, today and as we continue through Paul’s adventures in Acts. And now let’s pray...
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