I Belong

January 27, 2008     Epiphany 3A

Isaiah 9:1-4             Psalm 27:1-7

1 Corinthians 1:10-18         St. Matthew 4:12-23

By Isaiah's account, "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shone. You have brought them abundant joy and great rejoicing." We Christians take that as a prophecy not only about Christ's coming, but also about his people.

And yet so often in the life of the church, Christ is divided into pieces, and the song of his people is cacophony. Divisions afflict the various Christian tribes. The rod of the taskmaster, which Jesus was foretold to smash, is wielded by factions who think they have cornered Christ.

In the first part of 1 Corinthians, Paul takes up several points that had been reported to him orally by Chloe's people. He is writing fromEphesus, and it appears that these emissaries of Chloe have given the Apostle a verbal report of what was happening at Corinth.

Other reports came in a letter sent by the congregation and delivered by Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus (1 Cor 7:1; 16:17). So it is interesting to note that some of the more painful questions were passed over in the letter in silence, and Paul got to know of them only through the oral report of Chloe's people.

The most damaging feature at Corinth was the dissension in the community. There is no indication that this was caused by doctrinal differences, for Paul does not take issue with them on that score. Rather, the Corinthians appear to have split into cliques, each claiming the patronage of one of the great leaders of the Church.

Paul meets their dissensions head-on by pointing out that they deny the baptismal reality. One is baptized in the name of Christ, not in the name of any human leader, however exalted.

Paul begs the Corinthians, in the name of Jesus, that there be no factions among them: "Rather be united in mind and judgment." But what unites them if they share no common ground? What unifies the formation of their judgment? It is evident that the reported  "quarreling" in the church at Corinth was based upon divergent commitments to someone or something other than Jesus. That's what was splitting them apart.

The factionalist, whether of Paul's time or our own, "belongs" to someone other than Jesus. Some think that Paul has the truth. Others cling to Apollos. Others pledge their allegiance to Peter. Yet Paul will have no room for this line of thought.

 "Has Christ, then, been divided into parts? Was it Paul who was crucified for you?" Our baptism is the sign of our salvation; but that salvation is found in Christ, no one, no thing else. Other voices that offer us another savior speak the worldly language of power and privilege, not the way of the cross, which to them seems inadequate and foolish.

In Matthew's Gospel Jesus leaves Nazareth for Capernaum to fulfill the promise of bringing light to the Jordan. He preached that the Kingdom of God requires reform. Indeed it does. So it was for the church of Peter and Paul. So it is for us today.

In the "always reforming" life of the church, at least two principles seem important. First, every one of us, from pope to pauper, from theologian to activist, from grandparent to child, stands humbly before God as a sinner called to conversion and salvation in Jesus Christ. There can be no other ground or principle from which we can approach our various gifts or deficiencies.

Second, it is good to recall the kinds of people Jesus chose for Apostles: from the fishermen brothers, Simon and Andrew, to Matthew and John, they were all flawed yet graced. They would go on to heal and preach a kingdom that would draw millions to Christ. And what always helped them overcome their differences was the sure knowledge that it was in Christ's name they were fishing, not their own.

Our baptism unites us with Christ and incorporates us into his body the Church. As we grow, we learn what that means in our faith and action. The Church has a way of dealing with this growth. It is called "catechesis". One of the oldest tools of catechesis still in use is the Heidelberg Catechism. Although this venerable book is held in low regard by many in our own country and denomination, it is printed in the latest edition of the  Evangelische  Gesangbuch.

The most remembered part, and in some circles, the only remembered part, is the first question. "What is your only comfort in life and in death?" Other teaching tools of the Church have focused on definitions of God as the starting point. The Heidelberger starts with comfort, "strength". The source of that comfort, that strength that endures through this life and the life to come is the reality that we belong to Jesus Christ.

To paraphrase St. Paul's words, we do not belong to the American Church. We do not belong to the United Church of Christ. We do not belong to the Church that has liturgy. We belong to Jesus Christ. No other belonging matters or can endure.

We have just completed the week of prayer for Christian unity. I think we here in Ephrata have made some impressions on many people. We have opened some eyes that we really are pained about the divisions that are in Christ's body the Church. We really do want to be closer to our brothers and sisters, not just for one week in the year, but every day.

What was true in St. Paul's day, is still true, we allow our human desires and understandings to cloud the issue of Jesus Christ. The issue of Jesus Christ is that there is only one of him. As St. Paul would say, "?one Lord, one faith, one baptism?"

Our lingering divisions, I think, are exacerbated in this election year. We hear in the political debates the speeches and rebuttals that attempt to show who has the greatest understanding of what will advance the nation, and how the candidates are different from one another. In a way, this hyperbolic sense of division and difference is foundational to our nation, but also antagonistic to our faith. Usually a sense of threat will bring us all together as a nation, but even in our present military and economic state, that does not seem able to unite us. Perhaps things have not become grave enough to get us out of our ruts of division into the plain of harmony.

One of the signposts of our national identity was a shift in the way the nation was described. I especially enjoy this because it involves grammar. Our country's name is "The United States Of America:" Originally focus was placed on the word "States" and thus it would be referred to in the plural, such as "The United States are moving toward developing a treaty with France." Eventually the shift of attention was moved to the word "United" and the nation was referred to in the singular, "The United States is developing a new foreign policy."

We have the same kind of understanding about the Body of Christ. We commonly refer to the "Churches", not giving any thought to the inherent meaning this requires. We might ask St Paul's own question again, "Is Christ divided?" Has Christ succumbed to MPD (Multiple Personality Disorder)?

I am not advocating any change to our National understanding or replacing any part of our national government. I am advocating that we begin to take more seriously the reality of the Church and its affect on our lives.

Our baptism has effected what Isaiah spoke of in moving the people who walked in darkness into light. All who are baptized into Christ belong to Jesus Christ. All are part of the same body. In a world longing for a sense of belonging, we already have it. I belong to Jesus Christ, and so do many, many others. In Jesus Christ, we are not divided, we are united.