The House where God lives

Rev. Harriette Cross First United Methodist Church of Wilmington July 18, 2021 Ephesians 2:11-22 8th Sunday after Pentecost Year B Opening Song Welcome Call to Worship (from Ephesians 2) One: We gather, eager to worship the God who brings us together. Many: We once were strangers to God’s covenant. One: Remember: once we had no hope. Many: Yet now, in Christ, we’re brought together. One: Here, there’s no room for rancor or hostility. Many: Here, we join with the whole household of God! All: Let us worship the Lord, our God! Song It is Well with my soul UMH 377 Stewardship Moment In countless surveys, we are asked “how many people live in your household?” For most of us, that’s a pretty easy question to answer. We’d find it difficult, however, to come up with a number if someone asked “how many members are in the household of God?” Yet that’s the way we’re described by the author of Ephesians. Since Jesus’ life, death and resurrection, all believers are no longer “strangers and aliens”, but are members of God’s household. And, as such, we have certain privileges and certain responsibilities. (use this, or tell your own: While I wouldn’t want this to happen, I’m confident if I were driving out of state and my car broke down, I could call on a minister or elder in that place to ask for a recommendation of a mechanic or repair shop.) Just as each of us contribute for our home, so we recognize the expectation we will contribute here. Our morning offering is one place where ALL can participate. Whether you brought a check, will give on-line, or will dip into your wallet, you live into your identity as part of God’s household when you offer back a portion of your finances. If your giving were posted on the screen (or in the bulletin) week by week, how would those numbers indicate your identity as a member of God’s household? Let us receive our morning tithes, gifts and offerings. Prayer of Thanksgiving Bind us together, Lord, bind us together, with cords that cannot be broken, for you have brought us all near in Jesus Christ. Now, receive these gifts as our offering of resources, talents and treasure, to build up your household. Use them, and use us, to continue breaking down dividing walls of hostility. In the Spirit, we pray, AMEN Scripture Ephesians 2:11-22 Ephesians 2:11-22 Common English Bible The reconciliation of God’s people 11 So remember that once you were Gentiles by physical descent, who were called “uncircumcised” by Jews who are physically circumcised. 12 At that time you were without Christ. You were aliens rather than citizens of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of God’s promise. In this world you had no hope and no God. 13 But now, thanks to Christ Jesus, you who once were so far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 Christ is our peace. He made both Jews and Gentiles into one group. With his body, he broke down the barrier of hatred that divided us. 15 He canceled the detailed rules of the Law so that he could create one new person out of the two groups, making peace. 16 He reconciled them both as one body to God by the cross, which ended the hostility to God. 17 When he came, he announced the good news of peace to you who were far away from God and to those who were near. 18 We both have access to the Father through Christ by the one Spirit. 19 So now you are no longer strangers and aliens. Rather, you are fellow citizens with God’s people, and you belong to God’s household. 20 As God’s household, you are built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. 21 The whole building is joined together in him, and it grows up into a temple that is dedicated to the Lord. Sermon The House where God lives You know I was particularly encouraged by annual conference yesterday. As I told Debbie, the lay leader to annual conference, a virtual conferencing event only mimics the real thing of the whole conference getting together under one roof to worship and to make decisions. But I left yesterday much more hopeful than usual. The Bishop from the Indiana annual conference, Julius Trimble gave the Bible study. Bishop Trimble and I served a common appointment. My first Church in North Chicago. The church invited him to come back for a homecoming to be the preacher, so we have been friends since. He gave a message on what seemed to be the theme of the conference – Jesus is a waymaker. The conference site is down, so I couldn’t review his message. But basically he talked about how Jesus throughout the life of the church, opens doors that we weren’t expecting. Makes difficult situations more doable. Basically, Jesus is the source of all of our faith, and the bible demonstrates that fact time and again. That is the theme of our scripture today. Jesus is the source of our faith Jesus is the reason of our faith. That is actually the theme of our scripture today. The book of Ephesians explains to communities that Jesus is the source of everything in our faith. Jesus is a waymaker and so much more. I actually was also encouraged by the sermon of our current bishop, Bishop John Hopkins. The theme of his message was unity, power and mission. Once again all things that Jesus us for us. He talked about how the conference has some challenges ahead. But I was impressed, because I was left feeling hopeful. That all churches have some work to do ahead. He talked about the financial difficulties of the church not being able to pay our apportionment to the national church. Most conference pay at least 85% of their apportionment, the northern Illinois conference only paid 69% - and that we have to have a plan to pay more. He talked about how across the conference morale is low between churches an clergy, which results in decreased giving. His message – to remember our unity, power and mission lie in Jesus Christ. The writer of Ephesians gives that same message. Who we are as a church lies in Jesus Christ. In chapter two he says that not only is jesus a way maker – Jesus is also a wall breaker. Have you heard about the young man who was an All-American football player in college? He went on to play professional football for a few years and then came back to his alma mater as an assistant coach. One of his main responsibilities in his new job would be to go out and scout and recruit players for his college team. Before he made his first recruiting trip, he went in to visit with the head coach, the same coach for whom he had played when he was there in college some years before. The head coach was a crusty old veteran. He had held that position as head coach for many years, was widely known and highly respected all across the country. The new young coach said to him, “Coach, I’m about to head out on my first recruiting trip, but before I go I want to be sure that we are on the same page. Tell me, Coach, what kind of player do you want me to recruit?” The crusty old head coach leaned back in his chair. He looked the young coach straight in the eyes and said: “Son, I’ve been at this job a long time and over the years I have noticed that there are several different kinds of players. For example,” he said, “you will find some players who get knocked down and they stay down. That’s not the kind we want!” And he said, “You will find some players who get knocked down and they will get right back up and get knocked down again and then they stay down. That’s not the kind we want!” And then the old coach said, “But you will also find some other players who get knocked down and knocked down and knocked down, and every time they get knocked down, they get right back up!” At this point, the young coach got excited and he said, “Now, that’s the kind of player we want, isn’t it, Coach?” “No!” said the old head coach. “We want the one doing all that knocking down!!” That’s what we need on our church team: Players who will do some knocking down Players who will knock down not other people, but walls! Players who will knock down walls of hostility! Players who will knock down walls that divide and estrange… walls that separate or alienate. We in the church are called to knock down walls of hate and hostility and to build bridges of love and reconciliation. That is what this powerful passage in Ephesians 2 is all about. It is one of the greatest statements in all of the Bible. Listen to this: “For (Christ Jesus) he is our peace, who has made us both one, and had broken down the dividing walls of hostility.” [[The following may be added for a longer sermon—or skip down to the two brackets below to shorten: There is a gospel song that has these words: “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus There is something about that name.” Indeed there is. The name “Jesus” of course means “Savior” or “The Lord’s helper,” but also notice (don’t miss this now)… that the name “Jesus” is the Greek form of the Hebrew name “Joshua.” And we remember, of course, who Joshua was… he was the one who caused “the walls to come tumbling down!” Remember how the spiritual sings it: “Joshua fit the battle of Jericho… And the walls come a-tumblin’ down.” So Jesus is well named, because He also is a wall-breaker. He breaks down the dividing walls of hostility. This passage in Ephesians 2 can be better understood when we see it against the backdrop of the physical make-up of the Temple in the time of Jesus. The Temple was a parable in stone, exposing the prejudices… the walls that existed in society during Bible times; walls that included a few privileged people, but excluded and shut out most. As you moved through the Temple toward the High Altar (the Holy of Holies), there was a series of walls designed to hold people back from God. The first wall held back foreigners…people of other races and nations. They could go inside the Temple but only to this first wall. The point of Ephesians is that sometimes the walls that need to be knocked down are in our own understanding of life. All of us naturally build walls of exclusion for other people – not because we are mean, but because we are human – we want to be safe, we want to be comfortable, we want to make sure that we understand what it going on, so we tend to limit ourselves and our environment. But the point of the church is to be a place were we come together not just in what we agree and understand, but also in what we don’t. It is the place where all people have a seat at the table, where all people are welcome. Jesus is a wall breaker because he makes sure that we are open. In order to do that, Jesus breaks down walls, but Jesus is also the glue to hold us together. One of the major themes of the book of ephesians is the household of God. The church is the house that God built. Not just the walls around us, but also the people in the church. Each of us come from a family -and every family has some organizing principle. Usually there is someone who kind of calls us together, and even though we may not like each other, or we may not agree with one another- when that person calls us together we come and participate. For the church that person is Jesus Christ. Christ is the meeting place for a divided family of all people. And it is our unity that gets rid of the walls of hostility that sometimes keep us apart otherwise. One of my favorite stories of what the church should be comes from a television documentary about a kindergarten teacher, she was concerned because on the playground groups of kids would get together and if someone new came along and want to play – the would say no you cant play with us. So she made a rule that no group could shut out anyone. If someone came and wanted to play with your group, you automatically let them in. at first the kindergarteners were stunned by the new rule. They were upset, but it started to catch on. Eventually the kindergarteners in her class passed it on to all of the other classes as they grew older. But that first year it was hard. The did not want to change. But all of them remembered a time when they were excluded from a game and decided to try it. And it worked. Many years later- the kids still played that game wherever they went in life. and they practiced it whereever they went. That is what jesus calls us to do in the church. We learn about us and them very early in life, but we are called to unlearn everything we knew and to be different. Different in the name of Christ. Years ago, beloved actor Dick Van Dyke wrote a little book titled Faith, Hope, and Hilarity. In it he told about a Sunday School teacher who asked her class, “What do you think about when you see the church doors open to everyone who wants to worship God here?” An African-American student answered, “It’s like walking into the heart of God.” (6) Both sad and happy experiences have been shared with my brothers and sisters of Christ Church. Welcome to the family." As we remember who Jesus is and who Jesus calls us to be in the ritual of baptism Baby …..As you come to this holy table, I bid you welcome to this family reunion! THIRD AND FINALLY, THERE IS VENGEANCE. Vengeance… the angry, bitter spirit that will not forgive, that nurses its wrath to keep it warm, that broods and festers and looks for a chance to get ‘em back… what a dividing wall of hostility that is! There was a sign in a business window that read like this: “To err is human. To forgive is not our policy.” Some people live by that policy and it is so sad. Vengeance is a dividing wall and a spiritual poison. Think about it like this. If you put a plastic covering over a plant, the rain and sun can’t get to it and the plant will wither and wilt and ultimately die. Vengeance is like that plastic covering. We can’t be spiritually healthy until that plastic covering is removed. Let me ask you something: Has someone hurt you? Do you feel estranged or alienated or crossways with anybody? Do you have bitterness in your heart toward any other person? If so, go fix that! Don’t wait around any more. Don’t put it off any longer. For your sake, for their sake, for God’s sake – go fix it! Ask God to go with you… and with his help… go set it right, go break down that dividing wall of hostility! Harry Emerson Fosdick once said, “Christianity is like beautiful music. It doesn’t require defense or explanation. It requires rendition.” If we want to serve Christ, if we want to do his work, if we want to live in his spirit, then our calling is to join forces with him in knocking sown the dividing walls of pride and prejudice and vengeance, and in building bridges of love and forgiveness. Writer Frederick Buechner was driving in Manhattan. He saw a building covered with graffiti. Scratched in the middle of that graffiti was the familiar phrase, “Jesus Saves!” Buechner was embarrassed. It offended him. It made him angry. But the more he thought of it, Buechner said, the more he realized what bothered him the most was the whole point of the gospel: having to admit he needed saving, and that some guy named “Jesus” was the only one who could do it . . . (6) It does make us uncomfortable talking about our need for Christ. This is more the language of the tent evangelist hitting the sawdust trail calling people to give their hearts to Jesus. But without the tent and without the sawdust, I need to say to you, we do need Jesus. We will never be reconciled to one another until first we are reconciled to God. In an article in the Yale Alumni magazine, Professor Robert Sternberg points out that IQs are rising worldwide, as much as three points per decade on average. “We’re getting smarter,” he says in the article, “but that doesn’t mean we’re becoming better people.” Unfortunately a rise in IQs is not linked to a rise in our capacity to love one another. In the 20th century alone, between 100 million and 160 million civilians lost their lives in massacres of some kind. That’s an average of more than 3,000 innocent deaths per day, and the pace has not slackened in the 21st century. Statistically speaking, the fact is the world is full of hate. Sternberg argues, “No problem facing us today is of more importance.” (7) With the advent of global terrorism hanging over us, no problem is of greater importance. But how shall we be reconciled to one another without first being reconciled to God? And how are we reconciled with God? St. Paul says it is by the cross of Jesus Christ. [I understand] there is an amazing video clip on You Tube by an evangelist named Louie Giglio. Some of our young people might want to look it up online. Go to Google and simply type in laminin l-a-m-i-n-i-n. What is laminin? Here is the scientific explanation: “Laminins are a family of proteins that are an integral part of the structural scaffolding of basement membranes in almost every animal tissue.” Did you get that? In plain language, laminins are what hold us together . . . literally. They are cell adhesion molecules. They are what hold one cell of our bodies to the next cell. Without them, we would literally fall apart. For the peacemakers there is one reward and one title. God calls the peacemakers his own children. And that is their reward. Peacemakers seldom have statues and tributes and parades in their honor. The reward is being called God's child. To be called a child of God means we bear God's very nature. The nature of God, as we know that through Jesus, is love, forgiveness and reconciliation. It is our God who is the creator of this peace. When the great Swiss theologian Karl Barth visited the United Nations, he said, "The international organization could be an earthly parable of the heavenly kingdom, but real peace will not be made here although it might seem as an approach. Peace will be made by God himself." To go out making peace we go out bearing the nature of God and living as members of God's kingdom. While war may seem to be the most terrible reality, for the children of God, the kingdom of God is the ultimate reality. Ebbie Smith tells the story about his two sons, one born into their family and the other adopted. They were about the same age, and in the same grade in school. They were introducing themselves in the first grade. One said, "He and I are brothers. One of us is adopted, but I can't remember which one." In order to fully appreciate how connected we are, we need two things: a class or other small group and a ministry task. If you don't have either of these, I give you permission to use one of the offering envelopes as a note. Write your name and phone number on it, and this message: I need a small group, or I need a ministry task. Then as you leave today, give it to an usher or a pastor. We can help you feel more connected, more a part of the Body of Christ. My immediate invitation to you today is to savor the joy of being connected to Christ and all these other wonderfully diverse children of God. Feel the unity! Rejoice in the fact that you have a family that will stand with you in good times and bad. When we were preparing to move to Memphis, we received many gracious letters of welcome from you. I can never adequately thank you for giving us the benefit of the doubt, for reaching out and welcoming people you knew so little about. One of those letters came from a lady I have grown to love. With her permission I read it to you: "Dear Bill, as you probably already know, Christ Church is a praying, loving, and caring church. It stands as a beacon of spiritual growth not only for us, its members, but for the entire city as well. During the six years since I became a member, I lost my beloved husband of fifty-four years and a precious grandson, age 25, in a tragic automobile accident. The love and concern shown me during this tragic period was completely overwhelming. We are still in the season of Pentecost, and this is a story of Pentecost. At Babel, everyone stood divided by their single focused arrogance, their selfishness, their desire to be independent from God, to be incommunicado from God, to be out of relationship with God, to be “as” God. But at Pentecost….. people of all races, tongues, cultures spoke with one another and understood one another. The lines of communication –and relationship—were opened and enabled, and new relationships were forged that day –with Jesus …and with each other! Now listen, the scripture doesn’t say, they all became alike! It doesn’t say, they all melded into a Stepford Disciple, who talks the same, walks the same, thinks the same, worships the same, or even likes the same music! Gasp! It doesn’t even say, they liked each other! But they understood each other, they communicated with each other, and they found a common Creator in the breath of the Holy Spirit! Prayer of the Day God of aliens and strangers: make the doors of this church wide enough so that all find a welcome, a home, a haven, a heart. Christ of the near and those who are far off: make our hearts wide enough so that all might find a place in this household of faith. Welcoming Spirit of saints and sinners: open our arms wide enough so that all - the guest, the neighbor, the child, the widow, the politician, the homeless, the brother, the sister - may be embraced by your love and grace. God in Community, Holy in One, open your arms wide enough to enfold us in your heart, as we pray as Jesus has taught us, saying, (The Lord's Prayer) Song Just a Closer Walk with Thee TFWS 2158 Announcements Benediction Now go, to greet stranger and dear friend equally. We will share God’s steadfast love as we seek to live in faithfulness. Now go, to share Christ’s compassion with everyone. We will tear down dividing walls and build bridges of hope. Now go, to live as one as the Spirit gathers you with others. We will build communities that welcome all, especially the outsiders. Children’s Sermon Additional Illustrations