Resolving Conflict for the Sake of Mission
- davidwperk
- Jan 24, 2023
- 7 min read
Daily Office Devotional, Tuesday, January 24, 2023
The week of the third Sunday after the Epiphany
The Rev. David W. Perkins, Th.D.
Key phrases for reflection from today’s epistle reading.
2Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along with me. 2I went up in response to a revelation. Then I laid before them (though only in a private meeting with the acknowledged leaders) the gospel that I proclaim among the Gentiles, in order to make sure that I was not running, or had not run, in vain. . . .
7On the contrary, when they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel for the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel for the circumcised 8(for he who worked through Peter making him an apostle to the circumcised also worked through me in sending me to the Gentiles), 9and when James and Cephas and John, who were acknowledged pillars, recognized the grace that had been given to me, they gave to Barnabas and me the right hand of fellowship, agreeing that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. 10They asked only one thing, that we remember the poor, which was actually what I was* eager to do.
(You will find the full text of today’s epistle reading at the end of this reflection.)
Daily Office Lectionary Readings (BCP, 944)
AM Psalm 45; PM Psalm 47, 48
Isa. 48:12-21; Gal. 1:18-2:10; Mark 6:1-13
Today we celebrate the Feast of Florence Li Tim-Oi. (See below.)
David's Reflections
German theologian Jürgen Moltmann writes of the unity of the church
with these words: "In the community of Christ and in the energies of
the life-giving Spirit we experience God as the broad place which
surrounds us from every side and brings us into the free unfolding of
new life. In the love which affirms life we exist in God and God in
us. The church is not just the space for the indwelling of the Holy
Spirit. It is the place indwelt by the whole Trinity. The whole
Trinity is the living space of the church, not just the Holy Spirit." *
In today's epistle, the earliest Christian leaders were wrestling
with a divisive issue that threatened to splinter this nascent
missionary effort. Should those who were not Jewish be required to
accept circumcision and Jewish ritual law to share in the salvation
wrought by a Jewish savior? Paul said “no,” but his opponents, some of the conservative Jewish Christians, vigorously affirmed the reverse. How could Jewish and nonJewish believers share table in a house church if the nonJews were not living kosher and were viewed as unclean by their Jewish brothers and sisters?
The matter went before the leading Apostles, including Peter and John and Jesus' brother James in Jerusalem. The result—all parties involved
resolved the issue in a fashion that furthered the mission of the church
to share the good news of Jesus in the world. Gentiles would not be
compelled to accept Jewish ritual law. Paul and his associates would
take the Christian message to Gentiles and Peter and his, to the
Jewish people.
Unfortunately, Peter later lost confidence in that consensus when traditionalist Jewish Christians appeared and he withdrew from the house church fellowship that included nonJews, evidently to preserve his relationship with those traditionalists. Paul rebuked him before the assembly for that action, which inadvertently had pressured nonJewish Christians to become Jewish to preserve their relationship with Peter and the Jewish Christian community. (See Galatians 2:11-14.)
Our church now finds itself being tormented by questions regarding
the place of women (the rejection of our former Presiding Bishop, a
woman, by some) and the place of homosexuals in the ordained ministry
and larger life of the church. Both sides in these issues have made recourse to Scripture, buttressing their arguments with proof texts and interpretive strategies. My perspective, hammered out during and immediately after seminary in the late 70's, calls for full inclusion of all persons; and, I mistrust any use of Scripture that leads to the oppression or exclusion of any group (a tactic being employed by Paul's opponents).
However, my complaint against those on both sides arises out of my
reading of this text. Imagine that both sides in our current debates had made the mission of the church in the world with the Christian message their number one priority. What would have happened had we made our most basic question, "How can we resolve these issues in a way that furthers the mission of the church in the world with the Good News of Jesus Christ?" Both sides would immediately claim that they have done so. I would respond that the splintering we’ve experienced and the hostility expressed have resulted in the weakening of mission of the church in the world.
Without claiming that I know the answer to my own question, I
maintain that Paul, Peter, James, and John showed an amazing lack of
parochial narrowness in their discussions. Some within the church
rejected their solution and continued their divisive behaviors. Yet,
these missionary pioneers named above got it right.
Would be to God that our energies could be directed more to the core value of mission and less to who is right or wrong about the Bible on sexuality
and women (I consistently stand opposed to any demeaning of a person on the basis of sexual orientation or gender.) Would that we would allow the Spirit to knit us together. Would that we would refuse any solutions that leave us alienated and mistrustful of others engaged in bringing the freshly baked bread of Christ's redeeming love to a starving world.
In those ways we would be more responsive to God “as the broad place which surrounds us from every side.” (Moltmann)
The late President Gerald Ford had it right. According to his Episcopal
priest rector, Ford spoke with him often of the fractious controversies in our
church. Robert G. Certain, Ford's rector summarized Ford's sentiment.
"He said he did not think they should be divisive for anyone who
lived by the Great Commandments and the Great Commission to love God
and neighbor." +
Former President Jimmy Carter captured Ford's spirit in a eulogy
delivered at Ford's final service in Michigan. "We (Ford and I) took
to heart the admonition of the apostle Paul that Christians should not
be divided over seemingly important but tangential issues, including
sexual preferences and the role of women in the church." #
*Jürgen Moltmann, Experiences in Theology: Ways and Forms of
Christian Theology, trans. Margaret Kohl (Minneapolis: Fortress,
2000), p. 330.
+ Robert G. Service, cited in "A healing president and devoted
Episcopalian." The Christian Century, January 23, 2007, p. 10.
# Jimmy Carter, cited in "A healing president and devoted
Episcopalian." The Christian Century, January 23, 2007, p. 10.
Collect of the Day, Third Sunday after the Epiphany
Give us grace, O Lord, to answer readily the call of our Savior Jesus
Christ and proclaim to all people the Good News of his salvation, that
we and the whole world may perceive the glory of his marvelous works;
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever
and ever. Amen. (BCP, 216)
Today we celebrate the Feast of Florence Li Tim-Oi, first woman ordained in The Anglican Communion (died 26 Feb 1992 CE).
Collect of the Feast of Florence Li Tim-Oi
Almighty God, who pours out your Spirit upon your sons and daughters: Grant that we, following the example of your servant Florence Li Tim-Oi, chosen priest in your church, may with faithfulness, patience, and tenacity proclaim your holy gospel to all the nations, through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.
A Collect for Peace
Most holy God, the source of all good desires, all right judgments,
and all just works: Give to us, your servants, that peace which the
world cannot give, so that our minds may be fixed on the doing of your
will, and that we, being delivered from the fear of all enemies, may
live in peace and quietness; through the mercies of Christ Jesus our
Savior. Amen. (BCP, 123)
For Young Persons
God our Father, you see your children growing up in an unsteady and
confusing world: Show them that your ways give more life than the ways
of the world, and that following you is better than chasing after
selfish goals. Help them to take failure, not as a measure of their
worth, but as a chance for a new start. Give them strength to hold
their faith in you, and to keep alive their joy in your creation;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP, 829)
A Prayer for Light
Grant us, Lord, the lamp of charity which never fails, that it may
burn in us and shed its light on those around us, and that by its
brightness we may have a vision of that holy City, where dwells the
true and never-failing Light, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP, 110)
A Collect for Mission
Almighty and everlasting God, by whose Spirit the whole body of your
faithful people is governed and sanctified: Receive our supplications
and prayers which we offer before you for all members of your holy
Church, that in their vocation and ministry they may truly and
devoutly serve you; through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
(BCP, 100)
Daily Office Epistle, Galatians 1:18-2:10
18 Then after three years I did go up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and
stayed with him for fifteen days; 19but I did not see any other
apostle except James the Lord's brother. 20In what I am writing to
you, before God, I do not lie! 21Then I went into the regions of Syria
and Cilicia, 22and I was still unknown by sight to the churches of
Judea that are in Christ; 23they only heard it said, `The one who
formerly was persecuting us is now proclaiming the faith he once tried
to destroy.' 24And they glorified God because of me.
2Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas,
taking Titus along with me. 2I went up in response to a revelation.
Then I laid before them (though only in a private meeting with the
acknowledged leaders) the gospel that I proclaim among the Gentiles,
in order to make sure that I was not running, or had not run, in vain.
3But even Titus, who was with me, was not compelled to be circumcised,
though he was a Greek. 4But because of false believers* secretly
brought in, who slipped in to spy on the freedom we have in Christ
Jesus, so that they might enslave us— 5we did not submit to them even
for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might always remain with
you. 6And from those who were supposed to be acknowledged leaders
(what they actually were makes no difference to me; God shows no
partiality)—those leaders contributed nothing to me. 7On the contrary,
when they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel for the
uncircumcised, just as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel for
the circumcised 8(for he who worked through Peter making him an
apostle to the circumcised also worked through me in sending me to the
Gentiles), 9and when James and Cephas and John, who were acknowledged
pillars, recognized the grace that had been given to me, they gave to
Barnabas and me the right hand of fellowship, agreeing that we should
go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. 10They asked only one
thing, that we remember the poor, which was actually what I was* eager
to do.
Daily Prayer Offices in The Book of Common Prayer Morning Prayer, Rite 2, page 75, Book of Common Prayer Noonday Prayer, p. 103, Book of Common Prayer Order of Worship for Evening (Vespers), p. 109, Book of Common Prayer Evening Prayer, Rite 2, page 115, Book of Common Prayer Compline (Night Prayer), Page 127, Book of Common Prayer Daily Devotionals, page 136, Book of Common Prayer
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