“One
Anothering: Care for One Another” was preached at First Presbyterian Church of
Allentown, PA on January 19, 2020. This sermon was inspired by Scripture,
commentaries, intentional listening, a letter written by a pastor (see below),
and One Anothering by Richard C. Meyer.
You can watch this sermon at FPCA’s alternative sermon here, starting at
19:00. You can listen to this sermon FCPA’s traditional service here.
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1
Corinthians 12:24b-25
24b But
God has so arranged the body, giving the greater honor to the inferior member,
25 that there may be no dissension within the body, but the members may have
the same care for one another.
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In
the fall of 2014, I started my first field placement as part of Master of
Divinity degree through Princeton Theological Seminary. Master of Divinity
students were required to complete two field placements, also known as
internships, to graduate; one of which must be in a church. I was hired by
Lawrence Road Presbyterian Church in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, which is
directly in between Princeton and Trenton. There, I served under the
supervision of their pastor: The Reverend Doctor Nina Reeder. Every Wednesday,
before a community meal and Wednesday evening activities, I would have my
one-on-one “supervision time” with Nina. We would sit in her office and discuss
any and everything that were on our minds that week. And by that, I mean, I
would talk for an hour and Nina would listen, interjecting occasionally here
and there with questions and helpful points of clarification.
I’m
now a few years into ministry, but I’ll never forget how valuable it was to sit
with someone in ministry and to just be heard. To just sit with someone as you
named all the cares and concerns on your mind while they just listened.
I
had the opportunity to experience this valuable time for two years, because by
the grace of God, Lawrence Road hired me back for a second year. For one hour
each week, I sat with Pastor Nina from Fall 2014 to Spring 2016, as we just
listened to one another.
You
see, seminary and is an odd and wonderful and complicated time for Divinity
students. You’d start nearly every morning with classes, then chapel, then
lunch, then more classes, then dinner, and then homework. And you would so,
from morning until night, with your classmates. All day, nearly every day with
the same people… and because we were all experiencing the same thing, there was
usually one thing on our mind that we had to chat about any chance we could:
our faith.
And
you can do all the research and learning in the world, but so much of religious
and theological conversations, are based on one’s own experiences, beliefs, and
of course, opinions. And when our opinions of our faith were being shared,
there was always bound to be some disagreement. And that disagreement wasn’t
always so friendly.
You
don’t have to be a seminary student to know this: to know that conversations
about religion, our beliefs, and our faith can so often lead to disagreements.
Think about that. Think about a moment where you were talking about your
beliefs, your faith, your relationship with God, or how this relationship
influences your approach to social issues, politics, familial life, education,
etc. And when you’re thinking about that moment, think of a time when that
conversation led to a disagreement, whether it be a family member, friend,
colleague, fellow church member, or stranger.
How
many you have had a disagreement over your faith at a dinner table?
Or
over social media?
How
about during a bible study?
How
many of you have had a disagreement with someone else over your beliefs here,
at First Presbyterian?
It’s
more common than we think. I think we have all experienced it at some point.
There’s a reason religion is one of those taboo topics we are told to avoid talking about at family gatherings and social events with friends. It’s because this "taboo topic" so often it leads to disagreement, and for some reason we think disagreement is
an end-all negative moment in our relationships with one another.
And
honestly, sometimes it is, because in those disagreements, we race to
conclusions and we argue with each other and we overpower each other and we
dismiss each other because we want to make sure our voice is the one voice that
is heard.
So
often when we disagree, we do one of two things.
First,
we do everything we can to have that other person – the person we are
disagreeing with – to leave their side and join ours. We talk over them, we
raise our voice, we interrupt theirs because we want them to leave their
experience, their faith journey, their beliefs, their opinions, their story,
their life behind and have theirs – all of that – exactly like ours. We want to
fix their “wrong” opinion.
Or
we do the opposite. We dismiss their voice and then we ignore their voice. We
say, “Let’s not have this conversation.” I don’t want to hear about your
experience, your faith journey, your beliefs, your opinions, your story, your
life because it’s not the same as mine. And because I don’t want to hear yours,
I’m also not going to share any of my faith with you because you just won’t get
it and you just aren’t worth it. We want to silence their “wrong” opinion.
Do
either of those reactions sound familiar to you? Whether any of us want to
admit it or not…
Sometimes
it’s easier to admit our wrongdoings knowing we aren’t the only one. It’s
easier to admit we handled a disagreement poorly knowing we’re not the only one
in the room who has. Maybe even there’s someone in this room that you when in a
moment of disagreement, you tried to fix or to silence their side of the
conversation.
Because
even in the church there is disagreement.
Look
at the church in Corinth.
The
apostle Paul writes the first letter to the Corinthians because they are
ultimately the divided church. The Corinthians time and time again through
their conversations about faith further divided their church. And they thought
because they were having these conversations of faith, they were living out the
good news of Jesus Christ. But they failed to see that although they were
talking about Christ, they weren’t modeling his actions through their own
actions. Because they were talking about Christ, they believed it must be okay
if they pushed those who disagreed out of their church rather than giving them
a place to be heard in the church.
They
disagreed on five major infractions. See if any sound familiar to disagreements
we might have today.
The
church in Corinth disagreed and divided themselves by who their favorite
ministry leader is.
The
church in Corinth disagreed and divided themselves on sexual morality.
The
church in Corinth disagreed and divided themselves on what food they could eat.
The
church in Corinth disagreed and divided themselves by stating which gift in
ministry is the best.
And
the church in Corinth disagreed and divided themselves on their belief whether
or not the resurrection of Christ actually happened.
In
chapter twelve, in which we find our short verse and a half, Paul is addressing
the disagreement over which gifts in ministry are the best.
Paul
wrote to them, which you heard earlier, “But God has so arranged the body,
giving the greater honor to the inferior member, that there may be no
dissension within the body, but the members may have the same care for one
another.”
This
disagreement and division still happens today, over the topic of gifts in
ministry, and it’s in the moments when we fix or silence each other when our
beliefs on certain issues are the same. Because we believe that our beliefs
must be superior to another… and we don’t listen to the inferior.
Following
a heated congregational meeting at a small Lutheran church in Des Moines, Washington;
after divided conversations on topics such as same-sex relationships, nuclear
weapons, abortion, the inerrancy of the Bible, and evangelism verse mission.
Okay, first of all, woof, talk about a congregational meeting, ours in on
February 23rd. But second of all, that church left that meeting so
divided that they sent a letter to their favorite ministry leader (another
thing Paul warns which divides the church). But anyway, they send this letter
to their founding pastor and the founding pastor wrote back a modern
translation of 1 Corinthians 12. Listen to an excerpt of his letter:
There is one
Spirit, but a variety of gifts.
There is one Lord,
but a variety of ways that people serve.
There is one God
and Father, but a variety of ways that people work for the kingdom.
God gives different
gifts to different people.
Some, a passion
for peace;
Others, a passion
for political freedom.
Some, a passion
for life and its sacredness,
Others, a passion
for forgiveness and mercy.
Some, a passion
for a more closed interpretation of the Bible,
Others, a passion
for a more open interpretation of the Bible.
Some, a passion
for evangelism,
Others, a passion
for justice.
All of these
people who spoke to you this morning [at the congregational meeting] are
working for the common good.
Each and every one
of these people this morning are inspired by the one and same Spirit, the
Spirit who gives to each person their unique and different perspective.
The
pastor continues later in his letter:
If you have these
gifts, if you have these passions in your heart, these workings, these ways of
serving God’s kingdom; but if you don’t have love inside of you for your
brothers and sisters who think and feel differently than you, you are nothing.
The greatest gift that God has for you is love. Love for people who don’t think
like you. Love for people who do not share your point of view on specific
issues. You are to make love, your goal, your aim, your greatest purpose for
life.
That’s
how the pastor ended his letter. On the topic of loving one another, especially
when we disagree.
The
truth is: we will always have disagreements in the church.
It’s
not unique to First Presbyterian Church of Allentown.
It’s
not unique to the Presbytery Church (USA).
It’s
not unique to mainline protestants.
It’s
not even unique to this century.
And
time and time again, we are given the reminder that in our disagreements with
each other, we must not divide from each other. But rather, we must listen . We
need to talk about our disagreements but not to fix or silence each other, but
because it provides opportunities to care for one another. Because each person has a gift that is a
special, a home in the Church, and a place as a member of Christ’s body.
Friends,
you must care for one another; we must care for each other. Because the arm is
just as valued as the leg, the ear as the eye. The republican is just as valued
as the democrat, the old is just as valued as the young. The alternative
worshipper is just as valued as the traditional worshiper. The Pentecostal and
the Catholic are just as valued as the Presbyterian. The Muslim the Jew and the
atheist are just as valued as the Christian… And vice versa.
I’ll
never forget what that intentional time of listening with Pastor Nina meant to
me and how it helped shape me into the pastor that is before you today. I grew
more in my identity, authority, and faith in that one intentional hour of the
week than I did anywhere else. I was heard, and I was valued. I was lifted up
as an equal member as the body of Christ. And now I am given the opportunity to
do the same; to listen and to lift up. And so are you.
What
a gift it is to listen; to hear stories and experiences, because that’s what
draws us together as the body of Christ. And we are called to care for this
body, every member of this body. Thanks be to God. Amen.
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Picture
of Rev. Dr. Nina Reeder and I at my Service of Installation as Associate Pastor
at First Presbyterian Church of Allentown; January 19, 2020. Photo Credit:
Julie Klebe
