Gifts to Give and Receive (1 Corinthians 12)

 🌍On this World Communion Sunday, I want to tell you a little bit about the work of Global Ministries.

Global Ministries is the common witness of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) (our denomination) and the United Church of Christ. Our two denominations have a formal partnership, working together with a common staff, budget, programs/projects, and governance in our presence and witness with international partners throughout the global community.

Global Ministries currently works with about 250 partners in nearly 90 countries. We join hands with international partners and walk together in mutual love and respect with our siblings around the world.

Just by being part of First Christian Church, you are part of the work of Global Ministries. By being in covenant with other Disciples of Christ congregations, this is a part of our ministry.

In addition to the work of the Global Ministries office, some of our regional churches have their own Global Ministries committee. In 2018, in southern California, I was invited to be the chair of the regional Global Ministries committee in the Pacific Southwest Region.

I accepted, but there was just one problem: I knew very little about what that global ministries committee did.

Fortunately, most of the members of that committee had lots of experience. They had the knowledge. They just needed someone to keep them organized.

So I sent our reminders of our meeting dates, I made the agenda for each meeting and sent those out, I kept us focused on the agenda, and I followed up each meeting by sending out the minutes. These things, I could do.

And, little by little, I learned about the ministry that the committee did.

Over the years, the committee had developed partnerships with ministries in several different parts of the world. One of those places was Puerto Rico. 

🌍And a few months after I became chair of that committee, I found myself on an airplane bound for San Juan, with other members of our committee. Our purpose was to help communities in Puerto Rico in their recovery from Hurricane Maria, which had hit the island 18 months earlier, killing 3,000 people, and destroying the infrastructure of the island.

Mission work in the 21st century flows two ways. We were there to give and receive. We offered our labor and our presence, and we received from the people we worked with their gifts of faith, determination, and knowledge.

Once upon a time, mission work was seen as something that went only one-way. White Americans or Europeans believed that they had all the answers, and that “primitive” people in less developed countries were in need of guidance and direction. We went there, and we told them what they needed and what they needed to do. It was condescending and colonialistic.

But gradually, the church learned—and is still learning—to accept the gifts and the leadership of our partners in other countries, and to let them guide us.

The Disciples of Christ have a long history in Puerto Rico. 

Well over 100 years ago, we sent missionaries to Puerto Rico. I’m not sure whether those missionaries followed old patterns of missionary work, or were starting to embrace new ones, but they worked to establish the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Puerto Rico: a wholly separate denomination from the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada; but obviously, the two denominations have strong ties and historical roots.

And we have a lot to learn from one another.

While in Puerto Rico, we attended Sunday worship in one of their congregations. The preacher that day was a pastor who I had heard preach before in California; the only difference was that, in California, he preached in English. Here, in Puerto Rico, it was in Spanish.

I didn’t understand much. The sermon seemed to be about the paralyzed man who was lying on his mat next to the pool, hoping to be healed by Jesus. I heard the preacher say “Quieres ser sano,” and I understood that phrase:  “Do you want to be healed.”

Later in the sermon, another phrase caught my attention: “No es fácil, pero es posible.” 

It’s not easy, but it is possible.

To be honest, I wasn’t exactly sure what the preacher was talking about. Was he talking about the paralyzed man starting a new life after being healed by Jesus? Was he talking about the road ahead for Puerto Rico, as they continue recovering from the hurricane? Was he talking about something else?

I wasn’t sure.

But then I thought of how those of us from California were struggling to understand everything that was being said, not only during that worship service, but throughout our time in Puerto Rico. And I thought of how we are called to work together, for our mutual healing, and for the healing of this world, especially with people who are so very different from us. People who worship in other places, in other languages. 

No es fácil, pero es posible.

And I thought of the difficult task facing the church in so many places today, when so many are turning away from religion, while so many others are embracing a religion of judgment and condemnation and greed that is so far removed from the way of living Jesus taught. It’s become so hard for churches—churches like ours—just to exist, just to sustain their ministries, year after year.

It’s often so discouraging.

And yet: no es fácil, pero es posible.

The amazing thing is that it’s now been over seven years since I went on that trip… and, as you can see, I’m still influenced by it. I’m still reflecting on it, and the lessons I learned.

That’s one of the benefits of modern missionary work.

We have so much to learn, all of us. So many gifts to receive, and so many gifts to share. 

🌍World Communion Sunday reminds us of the gifts of Christians all over the world, who gather in unity around the Lord’s Table. It reminds us that there really is just one table around which we gather. In some places, it is smooth and polished, while in other places, it is rough and worn. But it is one table, and we are all united around it.

As we receive the gifts of Christ’s body and blood, we remember that we are just one part of the body of Christ, as our Disciples of Christ identity statement says; and we share with one another the unique gifts that each of us has to offer. 

 To help churches celebrate World Communion Sunday, the Global Ministries office offered up some reflections, including one by Michael Kalito, who is the executive director of Theological Education by Extension in Zambia.

His reflections focused on 1 Corinthians 12, our scripture for today; and I want to share, briefly, some of his reflections.

Michael Kalito notes that, in 1 Corinthians 12, the apostle Paul does several things. First, Paul celebrates unity in diversity.  

Paul states that just as the human body is one, though it has many parts, so is the body of Christ. He further points out that through baptism in one Spirit, all believers — Jew or Greek, slave or free — are made one. Thus, the mentioned diversity is not a threat but a gift for the unity of the church.

Secondly, Paul mentions the necessity of every member.

From Paul's perspective, no part of the body can claim it doesn’t belong (“Because I am not an eye, I do not belong…” No!). Inferiority complexes and exclusion have no place; every member is essential. 

Thirdly, Paul talks about interdependence and mutual care. The stronger cannot despise the weaker (“I don’t need you”). On the contrary, weaker or less "honorable" members receive greater honor and care, just as hidden but vital body parts are protected. Amazingly, in Paul’s language, when one member suffers, the whole body suffers; when one rejoices, all rejoice.

What an important lesson that is for us today, as we debate who deserves to have their rights protected and who doesn’t; who has the right to health care, who has the right to due process, who has the right to food or shelter, who has the right to even be part of the ongoing conversation taking place in our country…

Then Paul highlights Christ as the source of unity.

In this regard, the church is not just like a body; it is the body of Christ. Paul brings forth the reality that believers are individually members, yet collectively part of Christ’s living presence in the world.

One thing that American Christianity is lacking is a wider perspective; the type of perspective that one gains when exposed to ideas coming from contexts other than our own. It is so beneficial to be in relationship with Christians from other cultures and nations, to work with them, and to learn from them.

🌍Here in our sanctuary and in the centrum, there are flags from many nations. They were put in place last Sunday after worship, which means they were already in place when the youth met last Sunday evening…

And I asked the youth if any of them knew what countries the flags were from.

Boy did they surprise me! They were able to name almost all of them. They knew more than I did. 

Turns out we have some big soccer fans among our youth, and they recognize the flags from the uniforms the soccer teams wear.

We also have, here in our sanctuary, bread, representing the different types of bread that Christians all over the world eat. Bread made from wheat, corn, rice, and other grains. Bread in many shapes and sizes, with various textures and flavors.

And it’s all so beautiful, don’t you think? Just look at the arrangement of bread. It’s pleasant just to look at! It’s pleasing to the eye. It’s like a bouquet of flowers, with different, complementary colors, that just strikes us as beautiful.

Imagine how much more pleasant it is to God, to look upon humanity, with all our colors, shapes, textures, and all the different ways we dress, and the different languages we speak. What delight God takes in human diversity… and even more so, when we gather around a common table in peace and unity.

There are so many calls to build walls and fences that divide; but here, on this day, we are reminded that the way of Jesus isn’t about building walls and fences; the way of Jesus is about building a table… a table where everyone is welcome… a table of love and fellowship and unity… a table of peace and friendship… 

…a table where Christ shares with us gifts of love and life, and where we share with one another, giving and receiving the gifts each of us has to offer.

Sound the Trumpets (Numbers 10:1-7)

This month is our reconciliation offering. The reconciliation theme is “sound the trumpet,” based on the scripture. I’ll get to that shortly, but first, I want to tell you about an experience I had at science camp on Catalina..

The organization that runs this science camp is not faith-based, but most of the schools who come are Christian schools, and the camp facility is owned by an organization that runs its own Christian camps throughout much of the year.

One week, I was there on site the night before campers arrived, and was invited to attend a Bible study that the staff of the camp hold each week. The passage for that particular week was from the second chapter of James, which instructs believers to not show favoritism to the rich. It sounded pretty straightforward to me.

Part of it reads:  “If a person with gold rings and in fine clothes comes into your assembly, and if a poor person in dirty clothes also comes in, and if you take notice of the one wearing the fine clothes and say, ‘Have a seat here, please’, while to the one who is poor you say, ‘Stand there’, or, ‘Sit at my feet’, have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? … Has not God chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom? But you have dishonored the poor…If you show partiality, you commit sin.”

At the Bible study, we read the passage, and then everyone was invited to share their thoughts. Well, I had a whole sermon running through my head! I thought about all the Bible passages that talk about the poor. I thought about the prophets, and their calls for justice for the poor, and about how God only called prophets in times of great economic inequality. I thought about the beatitudes, and “Blessed are the poor…” I thought about Jesus’ statement that the Spirit anointed him to preach good news to the poor…

All this, and more, came to mind… 

But this was not the time for a sermon. So, instead of speaking, I listened.

Some of those in the group shared good thoughts. Some offered up questions. Some shared their experience working with the homeless. 

And then someone started talking about how they heard on Fox News (God help me!) that the poor live in poverty and the homeless live on the streets because they are lazy or addicted; and some others around the room nodded their heads in agreement.  

No one in that group mentioned that rent has tripled while wages have remained flat as a cause of poverty/homelessness; and no one mentioned that the disparity between CEOs and frontline workers has widened considerably in recent years; and no one mentioned that the U.S. tax code greatly favors the wealthy and places an unfair burden on the poor and working class.

So now, I felt called to speak up; yet I decided to wait, and listen a little more.

The conversation turned briefly into a defense of our status as not like them, and giving thanks to God for that. We are hard workers, and while we may not be rich, at least we’re not on the streets, or living in poverty. Thank you, Jesus!

At this point, as the conversation progressed, I was starting to wonder if anything I could say would even make a difference. I didn’t know how I could say what I felt God calling me to say without sounding self-righteous, or having it sound like I was attacking those around me. 

And I knew I needed to respond out of love, and they needed to know that my love was genuine, or it would be in vain. But at the moment, I couldn’t feel love, I could only feel judgment within me. And doesn’t this same scripture that we were studying condemn judging others?

So I knew that I was not yet ready to speak.

And I should point out that these are some truly wonderful people, extraordinarily kind, who had shown great friendship and hospitality to me, who remembered me from last spring and who enthusiastically greeted me by name when I arrived back at camp this fall. I really like these people, even if I did disagree with some of the points they were making.

So, still, I kept quiet.

Also, the more I listened, the more I learned. Really. The more I listened, the more I started to wonder if my own ideas about the poor were just as biased. I started mentally examining my own prejudices about the poor. I knew that if I judged those around me for their attitude toward the poor, I’d be condemning myself. 

At this point, I realized that this Bible passage, which had seemed so straightforward when we read it at the beginning of our Bible study, was anything but.

The conversation made me aware of my own biases and prejudices toward the poor, and this humbled me. It brought me away from that realm of judgment. And it helped me figure out what I wanted to say.

Finally, when I spoke, I said this:

I hear God speaking to me through this scripture and through our conversation. And God is first and foremost calling me to examine my own biases and assumptions concerning the poor. 

I want more money. I think if we’re honest, all of us will admit that. We may insist that we don’t need A LOT of money to be happy, but most of us are always finding ourselves wanting at least a little more money than we have now. 

So this scripture is challenging me to ask myself: how does my attitude toward money influence how I think of the poor, or how I judge the poor? How does it influence how I judge the rich? What assumptions am I making about WHY people are poor? 

And finally, I know Jesus says “blessed are the poor;” and Jesus says, “I have been anointed to bring good news to the poor.” Now, I believe that Jesus’ good news includes EVERYONE. But why does he mention ONLY the poor? 

“This is hard, and that’s how this scripture is challenging me today.” 

I stopped there, because I felt like I had said enough. But I’ll go a little further with you, here and now.

If the good news includes everyone, why does Jesus just mention the poor? (“I came to preach good news to the poor…”)

After thinking about that, I realized that’s the same as asking, if all lives matter, why do we say “Black lives matter”? Rich and poor, black and white; all lives matter to God. Why does the Bible specifically name poor lives? Why do we specifically name Black lives?

And of course, it’s because it’s poor lives that are being exploited. It’s Black lives that are endangered because of hate and injustice.

And God calls on us to look past our assumptions and biases and speak out on behalf of those who are being treated unfairly or unjustly, and to work to remove injustice and get rid of oppression.

And to do that, we need to speak out. We need to turn off the mute button and speak up. 

And that’s not always easy to do. 

It’s not always easy for me as an introvert. It’s hard for me to jump in to a conversation that’s going along. I guess that’s why I preach! It’s the only time I feel comfortable sharing my thoughts!

But sometimes, God calls on me to speak out at a time other than Sunday morning.

Injustice happens 24/7. The ongoing exploitation and oppression of the poor is happening 24/7. The ongoing injustice committed against those who are Black is happening 24/7.

And there are times when God calls on me to speak out, even in situations where that’s hard for me.

And there are times when God calls on you to speak out, even in situations where that’s hard for you.

I mean…

We want people to like us…

We’re shy…

We are afraid that if we stand with those who are being persecuted, that we will then be persecuted. (!)

So we keep quiet.

Yet God calls us to speak out for justice; to speak out for what is right; to sound the trumpet; to raise the alarm;...

…When people are being treated unfairly. When poverty is the result of exploitation and engineered economics… When racism is embedded in our society.

It’s what Jesus did.

And don’t we claim to be followers of Jesus? Don't we call ourselves Disciples of Christ?

We Disciples proclaim that we are a “pro-reconciling, anti-racism” church. God has put on our hearts the importance of doing this work. Systemic racism is real, and it pervades every sector of society; even the church.

As a “pro-reconciling, anti-racism” church, we are committed to examining the way we do church with an eye toward the ways we have perpetuated racism, so that we may work to overcome it.

We examine our own racism first, because that keeps us from being judgmental toward others. It keeps us humble. Just like when I examined my own attitude toward the poor before speaking out, we must begin by examining the ways racism affects us and manifests itself in our lives.

Once we do that, we are then equipped and ready to answer the call to address racism in the world, to speak out, to sound the trumpet, to bring racism to light, so that we may work to overcome it in the world.

I guess you could say that that inner work, examining ourselves first, can be compared to all the practice that a trumpet player must do, to learn how to properly play, to sound even one note on the trumpet. Practice first, then sound the trumpet. Examine your own racism and prejudice, and then sound the alarm.

We have a message to proclaim, a message given to us by God, a message the world desperately needs to hear. A message that leads to peace, and unity, and love for all humankind. 

Let’s share that message with the world.

An Honest Confession (Luke 17: 5-10)

 There is a really big assumption in today’s scripture reading that I’m not comfortable with. 

The reading assumes I have - or have had - a slave. “Who among you,” it says, “would say to your slave, ‘Come, take your place at the table…’”

Well, I wouldn’t tell my slave that, because I never have been, and never will be, a slaveowner. 

It’s an offensive assumption!

And I know that, in the scripture, Jesus is speaking to a specific group of people, but he’s telling a parable, and through Luke Jesus is also speaking to us…to all of us… which means that assumption is made to all of us…

Who among you (I ask), likes being compared to a slaveowner? 

I imagine that you are as offended by that assumption as I am. Or at least, I hope you are as offended by that assumption as I am.

I don’t even like it when someone suggests that my ancestors may have been slaveowners. I never heard any stories of any of my ancestors owning slaves. I’d like to think that they were against such evil, that my ancestors were morally opposed to slavery even when society at large was not.

But I really have no idea. It may be that my ancestors were just too poor to own slaves. Maybe they would have if they could have. 

Or, maybe there were slaveowners among my ancestors, but those stories have been erased.

Only the stories we want to remember get passed down.

Whether it’s family history or national history, we tend to erase ugly truths and highlight only the stories that present a perfect, pure, unblemished narrative.

So, forgive me for not liking this scripture that assumes I’m a slaveowner, or that I can relate to being a slaveowner. And forgive me for never having preached on this scripture before. 

The lectionary repeats every three years, which means I’ve had four or five opportunities to preach on this scripture since I first came here to Bixby Knolls Christian Church over fourteen years ago, but somehow I’ve always found one of the other lectionary scriptures to preach on, or a scripture from outside of the lectionary.

I always found something else to preach on, because I don’t like the assumption this scripture makes - the assumption that I, or that any of us, would know what it’s like to be a slaveowner.

But today, I am preaching on this scripture… because I’ve come to realize that maybe my focus shouldn’t be solely on the unpleasant assumptions this scripture makes about me. Maybe my focus should be on the unpleasant assumptions I make about others.

Assumptions that expose the racism that exists within me.

Yes, I confess: there is racism in me. 

That’s a hard confession to make, because I know how very evil and sinful racism is.

And no, it’s not the kind of racism that would turn people into slaves, or would burn a cross while wearing a white hood, or anything like that.

But there are different types of racism, and some are more subtle and hidden than others.

When I substitute teach, I know my main job is to maintain discipline and order in the classroom. Some days that’s easier than others.

And it involves a lot of split-second decisions…

For example: a student wads up a piece of paper and throws it across the room toward the wastebasket. Do I enforce the rule about no throwing things in class? Or do I laugh and maybe make a joke about whether the student should, or should not, try out for the basketball team?

It’s a difficult decision on my part, especially since the teachers I sub for all have different rules. Some are extremely strict, while others have gone as far as to put a tiny toy basketball hoop over their wastebasket.

What if, on one particular day, I harshly reprimand one student for wadding up and throwing his paper, but not another? I start to wonder: Why? Why did I enforce the rules differently for two different students?

• Was it the maturity level of the class? 

• Was it my assessment of how likely it was that things would get out of hand? 

• Was it how well the students were working in the moments leading up to the incident?

Often, those are things that affect my reaction, and all are reasonable. These or any number of other things might justify why I would react differently.

But a few times, I’ve found no justification for my reacting one way with one student, and another way with a different student.

Then I have to ask myself: Was it because of the students’ race that I reacted differently?

It is hard to know for sure, but there are times when I find it impossible to rule out racism as a reason. Somewhere deep within me, there is something that can lead me to treat one student differently than another student, because of how I perceived their race.

I made an assumption about one student, about their motives, their intentions - and I made a different assumption about another student - and I could not find any reason other than race to explain why my assumptions were different. 

Believe me, I tried. I’d tell myself, surely there must have been some reason, some good reason, why I treated this student differently than that student.

But sometimes, I can’t find any good reason.

And that’s how I know that I am still not yet completely free of racism and prejudice.

And that’s the kind of racism that still exists within many of us today - probably all of us, at least all of us who are white or who get perceived as being white. It’s the kind of racism that is widespread in our society. It’s the kind of racism that even exists within our church.

That’s why, in 1967, the Disciples of Christ established its reconciliation ministry.

And it’s why, in 1971, we established Reconciliation as a permanent office and fund for working to support racial reconciliation and anti-racist projects.

And then, in 1996, the General Board of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) approved the formation of a church-wide process to discern the nature of racism in North America and to develop ways of helping congregations address racism. Out of this process, an Anti-Racism/Pro-Reconciliation initiative was established in 1998. The initiative is based on several premises, including:

1. Racism is a spiritual and theological dilemma as well as a social evil;

2. Racist practice exists throughout the life of the church and needs to be addressed. The church needs to get its own “house” in order even as it looks toward being a transformational agent in the larger world;

3. Racism is a systemic problem with historical root causes.

(This month, BKCC supports this reconciliation ministry by sending a portion of the offering money received to the reconciliation office…)

Every five years, I’m required to complete an anti-racism/pro-reconciliation training, in order to maintain my standing as a minister in the church. I think these trainings deserve much of the credit for my ability to seriously ponder how racism affects my own actions.

Because learning to see the racism within oneself is not an easy thing. It’s not something that happens just on its own, without serious intention or effort.

I feel like we almost need a 12-step program, like the ones addicts use, where people can go and confess that there is racism at work within them.

“Hi, I’m Danny, and I’m a racist…”

We wouldn’t introduce ourselves that way because we think racism is good…

And it wouldn’t because we are overtly or intentionally racist in how we treat people…

And it wouldn’t be because we want to be racist…

But the racism of our history and our society is so pervasive, that it’s impossible to not be contaminated by it; it is a “systemic problem with historical root causes…”

…and it’s impossible to break free from it…

…unless you start examining your own motives and assumptions, and start questioning why you make the assumptions you do, and why you treat people the way you do…

…which is difficult work.

And most people aren’t up to that difficult work.

Most people, horrified at the thought of slavery and of being associated with KKK-style racism, insist, “I’m not racist.”

Some will expand on that; they’ll say, “I’m not racist, but…” and what follows next usually exposes how racism is at work within them, in ways they aren’t willing to admit, or in ways they themselves aren’t even aware of.

And in many school districts and communities and states, teachers are being prohibited from even talking about how race is embedded in society, or how racism continues to shape society today. This push to deny reality comes not only from white nationalists, but also from people who just haven’t been able to open their eyes to how pervasive racism actually is.

If we refuse to talk about racism in our history and racism in our society, then it becomes even harder to recognize how racism affects our own actions, how racism influences our policies and our laws, how racism prevents us from living in a society of peace and justice and equality for all.

Just like the addict who doesn’t want to admit that they don’t have a problem, we don’t want to admit that racism has shaped our history and continues to shape our society and our lives today. 

But God is calling us to open our eyes. God is calling us to see the truth. God is calling us, as a church, to be pro-reconciliation and anti-racism.

This is the path to healing.

This is how we achieve wholeness for our fragmented world. It’s how we unite with the entire human family and the one church of Christ which this day - World Communion Sunday - celebrates.

This is how we show love to our neighbor. It is impossible to fully love one’s neighbor if you do not at least question the assumptions you make about them. 

This is how we find freedom from sin.

As a church, we are committed to taking a good, hard look at our own assumptions and prejudices, confessing our sin, and repenting, so that - as Christ’s church - we can help transform the world and bring God’s vision of wholeness to fruition.

Then, and only then, will we be free from our bondage to sin; and the Spirit will lead us to freedom. And when we are free from the sin of racism, when our church is free from the sin of racism, when our nation is free from the sin of racism, we will be able to say: we once were lost, but now we are found; we were blind, but now we see.

Because we will have finally uncovered what it is that kept us from fully loving our neighbor as ourself; and we will be able to love more freely, more completely. And the kingdom of God - where there are no distinctions separating humans from one another, but where all are one in Christ - will become real on earth. The kingdom of God - where the full image and presence of God is seen in every person - will become present within us and among us.