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A Lectionary Resource for April 27 to June 1 2003

May 25

CHOSEN AND INCLUSIVE

Acts 10:44-48 Gentiles are baptised

Psalm 98 ALL the earth praises, and is judged by, Yahweh

I John 5:1-6 Love is the fruit of faith

John 15:9-17 The commandment of sacrificial love

There is an ongoing tension between the exclusive and inclusive in Christian communities. In language, ritual, celebration, membership, creed and ethics, we keep wanting to say, "Yes, all are welcome here," and also, "There is a special place for those who believe this way, are ordained to these roles, or live like us."

Tension and paradox provide the creative space for the new to happen.

Psalm 98 celebrates this wonderfully, and many hymns have been written using the words of this Psalm (e.g. WOV 196). The Psalmist exhorts the people to sing a new song to Yahweh, who has shown his victory to every nation, and yet loves Israel. ALL the earth has seen this; ALL the earth should praise Yahweh; ALL the earth will be judged with righteousness and equity. This great vision of inclusiveness, celebration and justice is far beyond the narrow exclusiveness of the present state of Israel, the cultural hegemony of the USA, or the practice of the majority of Christian Churches. The" victory of our God" which is seen by "all the ends of the earth" (Verse3), can be interpreted as the final religious war, or as the victory of love and justice (Hymn 17 in Faith Forever Singing).

The discourse of Jesus in John 15:9-17 shapes obedience as a revolutionary, rather than a domesticated, response which leads to joy, love and sacrifice. Be prepared to die for others if you keep on the path of Jesus. But also become equal partners with Jesus, not servants but friends. With what sort of God can we become equal partners? With One who loves, gives, and empowers. The cost of discipleship is the loss of "worldly" privilege. The benefit is friendship with the Redeemer. And yet there is still verse 16: "You did not choose me but I chose you." This is the experience of those who are most passionate for the new. The more they initiate, the more they feel called forward towards the new which is already coming.

The other Johannine reading, I John 5:1-6, also stresses love and commandment. And it picks up the Psalm 98 theme of victory. "This is the victory that conquers the world, our faith." The mention of birth (verses 1 and 4) again brings the female image of God in to challenge gender exclusiveness. The new Christian community is like a bunch of children with a common parent. Therefore they need to love each other, and have a good reason to do so. What is your experience of being a sibling? What is it really like to love your brothers and sisters? How do siblings really behave - when pre-schoolers, when adolescents, when adult? Very often it is fighting at home and supporting each other when faced with an external threat. That's in the strong families. What parallels do you see with your church "family"?

Then there's the concept of the "world" (I John 5: 4,5). It has been used to talk about the secular vs the sacred, or the sinful vs the holy. It is hard in our global village, and our secular society in Aotearoa New Zealand, to see such strong polarisation. Most of us live in all the worlds that there are in our area, and most churches are penetrated by the values and systems of the larger society. In fact, if the "world" is seen as evil, we need to look closely at our own shadow.

Peter and Paul were confronted with the world outside Judaism. When Gentiles wanted to be part of the Church, what were they to do? What did God want them to do? In Acts 10:44-48 the good Jewish believers were astounded that the Gentiles also received the Holy Spirit and manifested some of the familiar ecstatic gifts. Peter's wonderfully pragmatic theology again responds with, "If it works, believe it".

When we are tempted to be exclusive in our attitudes it is good to reflect on the fact that our ancestors were not only Gentiles but also barbarians. None of the races in the Bible represent us. We are way beyond the pale, or even the imagination, of the Biblical writers. Yet the love of God which we have come to know through Jesus the Christ has enveloped us. As Chris Skinner so beautifully writes and sings:
"God of our Island Home,
Your love is like the sea,
Surrounding us completely,
Surrounding us completely,
Completely,
Surrounding us completely."

A fitting Psalm for Aoteroa.

A PRAYER

God of Aoteroa, we praise you for the jewel in the ocean which we call home.
God of the Universe, we ask to learn a new song to express our awe.
God of love, as your children we beg forgiveness for our failures to love each other in our church family, and our greater failure to love the strangers and enemies in our land.
Write your new songs in our hearts. Fill us with the joy of Jesus our friend.
For your love's sake. AMEN.