How truly wonderful and delightful to see brothers
and sisters living together in sweet unity!
—Psalm 133:1 (TPT)
This morning
we begin a 4-part series of messages title Living
In A Divided World. These
messages have proven to be the most difficult I have ever written. I was initially excited about this
series, but in recent days I have thought it might be better to consign them to
the it seemed like a good idea at the
time file, and I seriously considered dropping the series altogether.
Obviously, if I had a “magic bullet” type of answer to the difficulty of
living in our divided world I would be writing bestselling books and speaking
at conferences around the world.
As it is quite evident I am doing neither of those things, maybe I don’t
have any helpful answers. Or,
perhaps, the answers are overlooked, even though they are right in front of
us. Sometimes, even when the truth
is directly in front of us, we are unable to perceive it or comprehend it.
It is an oft-repeated phrase that Americans are more divided than ever,
but is it true? Are we more divided than at any other time in our national
history? I don’t suppose there is any objective way to test the truth of that
statement, but I am a bit of a skeptic when it comes to believing that we are
at our highest-ever level of division. Certainly, we have not surpassed the
level of contentiousness that gave us the Civil War, so we can say that,
however divided we might be, it has not come to the point of taking up arms
against one another.
While I am rather hesitant to claim those
divisions are deeper and greater than ever before, I would say there are
several social forces unique to our day and time that give us the sense that
they are greater than at any previous point in our history. I believe, for one, that the rise of
social media and other digital platforms have made us much more aware of the
existence of the vast number of viewpoints in our society, and the digital
world has provided those many viewpoints with a platform and a voice that
heretofore did not exist. In previous generations we were spoon-fed information
from the gatekeepers of traditional media, the members of which decided what
news we would receive and what information would come our way. Any alternative
forms of media were so small, and faced such great obstacles to sharing their
message with the masses, that it was next to impossible to receive much in the
way of news and information beyond what we were offered by the three major television
networks and major newspapers. With the arrival of the digital era, however –
especially the advent of social media – we have witnessed a radical reshaping
of our world. Could, for instance, the #metoo movement have existed without
social media? It is hard to imagine that it could have, and likewise so many
other social movements that have either started because of – or benefitted from
– the power of social media. In a relatively brief time we have witnessed the
lessening of the influence – or outright demise – of many traditional media
outlets while new media voices have exploded in both number and influence.
There are, of course, downsides to social media and the rise of the information
age – such as the ability to customize your news to the point that one can live
inside of a giant echo chamber, the frightening disappearance of privacy, and
the anonymity of social media that breeds a disturbing level of ugliness – but
it is now possible for anyone with a phone or other digital device to gain a
worldwide platform.
There is, secondly, a rise in the social
influence and power of groups who have long held a minority status in our
culture, a rise that has corresponded with the dawning of the digital age. For
much of our history there has been one dominant social group that held sway
over all others, and that group determined the direction of our country’s
culture, politics, and just about every other facet of what was then a
seemingly united America. I say seemingly
because underneath the appearance of unity – which was not so much unity as it
was the power of one group to possess an almost absolute sense of cultural
hegemony – was a collection of many disparate subcultures that were mostly
unnoticed or, perhaps more accurately, ignored. The digital age has allowed
those minority groups – groups based on ethnicity, economics, beliefs,
politics, sexuality, and other points of commonality – to not only increase
their visibility, but also their power and influence, as digital connectivity
meant their voices could no longer be ignored.
We have, thirdly, settled into our divisions in
a way that seems to be much more intractable than in the past. Whereas in
previous eras we seemed to have possessed a greater tolerance for points of
view that were different from our own, we have now arrived at a point where we
allow little or no room for differences. We more often tend to associate with
people who believe and vote as we do, and we seem to have less patience or
interest in those who think, vote, believe, or live differently from ourselves.
There is even research which has revealed people are more and more likely to
move into communities of like-minded people, and away from people with whom
they disagree. Increasingly, it seems as though we are required to correctly
check every box of orthodoxy before we find acceptance by other groups or
individuals. Do you support the right political candidate? What political party
do you belong to? Are you a Republican? What kind of Republican? A Republican
more in the mold of Donald Trump or one who longs for the era of Ronald Reagan?
Are you a Democrat? Are you a Democrat who supported Hillary Clinton or Bernie
Sanders (even though Bernie Sanders is not a Democrat)? What are your specific
political positions? Are you prolife? If so, do you accept any instances in
which abortion is acceptable? Are you prochoice? If so, do you accept any
limits on abortion? Are you religious? Well, that’s an entirely other set of
orthodoxies to manage.
We love to stereotype and categorize others, and
perhaps we do so because stereotypes and categories are much easier to deal
with than the real-world nuances and complexities of individuals. If we label
our neighbor as that crazy, left-wing socialist who voted for Bernie Sanders,
then we have placed them in a convenient category, allowing us to write them
off as some kook who lives down the street and with whom we can never associate
because of their objectionable politics. If we label our coworker as a
right-wing religious zealot because they have a Make America Great Again bumper sticker on their truck, we can then
ignore the fuller picture of who they are as a person.
The larger question becomes, then, not one of
how divided we are, but can we – or will we – reach across those divisions in
order to better understand one another?
This morning, we will look at the larger
picture of division – on a worldwide scale and on a national scale. We will work backwards from there to
the divisions in and among churches, to the divisions in a family, and the
division in individual relationships.
In the process, I hope I have some helpful things to say to you.
As I considered different Scripture
passages for this week’s message I was drawn to the prophet Jeremiah, who was
one of the major prophets of the Old Testament and who lived and prophesied in
a very difficult time in the history of God’s people. Jeremiah saw answers and truths that were right in front of
the people, but they were unable – or unwilling – to hear or accept those
truths because they were not what they wanted to hear.
Jeremiah
was a prophet who bore testimony to the coming of an event we now call the
Babylonian Exile. Taking place in
597 BC, the Exile was arguably the most traumatic event in the history of God’s
people. By this time in history,
the nation of Israel had split into two kingdoms – Israel in the north and
Judah in the south. Judah was home
to Jerusalem and the Temple, the holiest place in the history of God’s people. Because of a series of events that is
too long to recount here, the people of Judah were defeated by the kingdom of
Babylon and most were taken there into exile, where they lived for 70 years
before being allowed to return to their homeland. Not all the people were taken into captivity into Babylon,
but most of the political, religious, and business leaders were taken. Besides the loss of their leaders,
those who remained in Judah had to contend with the destruction of the Temple
and much of their civilization. It
was a very dark and difficult time for the people.
And yet,
in spite of the difficulties of the time, there were some lessons that came
from that era as well, lessons that strengthened and gave hope to the
people.
Jeremiah 29:1-2, 4-12 –
1 This is the text of the
letter that the prophet Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem to the surviving elders
among the exiles and to the priests, the prophets and all the other people
Nebuchadnezzar had carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.
2 (This was after
King Jehoiachin and the queen mother, the court officials and the leaders of
Judah and Jerusalem, the skilled workers and the artisans had gone into exile
from Jerusalem.)
4 This is what the
Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from
Jerusalem to Babylon:
5 “Build houses and
settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce.
6 Marry and have
sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in
marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number
there; do not decrease.
7 Also, seek the peace and prosperity of
the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it,
because if it prospers, you too will prosper.”
8 Yes, this is what
the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “Do not let the prophets and diviners
among you deceive you. Do not listen to the dreams you encourage them to have.
9 They are
prophesying lies to you in my name. I have not sent them,” declares the Lord.
10 This is what the
Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you
and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place.
11 For I know the
plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm
you, plans to give you hope and a future.
12 Then you will
call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.
What I found in the process of working on these
messages is the massive scale of this topic. Each week could become its own series of messages or even a
book, so I will do my best to condense down to the core truths of what I have
to say. I will also say that the
written version of this message is a good deal longer than what I am presenting
to you this morning, as I do not have the time available to drop all that
information on you.
The first truth I want to share is –
1. In
our divided world, pray and work for the prosperity, blessing, and good of all
people.
This was a very hard truth for Jeremiah’s
audience to hear, as they had been taken by their enemies into exile in a
foreign land. They were ridiculed
and reminded that they had been defeated, that they had been taken away as
captives, and that their God could not help them in Babylon. And then Jeremiah had the audacity to
tell the people to seek the peace
and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the
Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper. Can you imagine the response Jeremiah
must have received. Are you kidding me? Jeremiah, are you crazy? You know what these people have done to
us! They have destroyed our
Temple, they have destroyed the city of Jerusalem, they have destroyed much of
our land, and they have carried us into exile in this strange land. And you want us to do what? Pray for and seek the peace and
prosperity of this land and these people?
No, no way. Not after what
they have done to us! Jeremiah
was telling the people to patronize the businesses of the Babylonians and to
treat them well when they came into the businesses that they would eventually
build in their new land. Be nice
to them. Help them to be
successful. Do good to them. Call one of their contractors when you
are building a house or business.
Shop in their clothes and shoe shops. Bake a cake for them if they ask for one. Jeremiah said it was not a violation of
their faith to do good for others and to work and pray for their prosperity; in
fact it was an affirmation of their faith to do so. Jeremiah absolutely does away with any supposed
justification to separate people, to treat them inhospitably, or to not serve
them because of religious reasons.
He reminded the people, in words that we very much need to hear today,
that we are not to pray and work only for our own prosperity and blessing, but
to pray and work for the prosperity and blessing of everyone.
Sounds to me like a message that is very much
needed today, especially when there are so many in the religious and political
realm that would tell us different.
One of the reasons why I think that message is so needed today is
because there is so much cynicism, especially cynicism that is directed at
institutions. We live in a time
when institutions have used and abused the trust of people, and it is every
institution – government, colleges and universities, the military, business, and,
as we have so painfully seen again in recent weeks, the church. It is time, as people, that we rise up
and say enough! Enough of the use and abuse of people! Enough of the manipulation of the
divisions among us! We have
seen movements – such as the #metoo movement – rise up from among us to say enough! It is my hope that in churches – in particular the Catholic
Church – that people will rise up and say enough!
to the terrible scourge of abuse that has taken place. We must work to restore the trust in
our institutions – including the church – and by doing so, it will be a
much-needed step in working for the prosperity, blessing, and good of all
people.
2.
We live in a political kingdom, but our allegiance is ultimately with
God’s kingdom.
We are all familiar with the story in which
Jesus is asked if it is lawful to pay tax to Caesar (Matthew 22:15-21 – 15 Then the Pharisees went out and laid
plans to trap him in his words. 16 They sent their disciples to him along
with the Herodians. “Teacher,” they said, “we know that you are a man of
integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You
aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are. 17 Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is
it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not?” 18 But Jesus, knowing their evil intent,
said, “You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? 19 Show me the coin used for paying the
tax.” They brought him a denarius, 20 and he asked them, “Whose image is this?
And whose inscription?” 21 “Caesar’s,”
they replied. Then he said to them, “So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s,
and to God what is God’s.”).
When we read that passage, however, we often misinterpret what Jesus has
to say. When Jesus says we are to
give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s, we often hear his
words to indicate there is a nice, neat, easy division between the two kingdoms
that seek our allegiance. This is
not at all, however, what Jesus is saying. Caesar would not accept the fact that a person would offer
their allegiance or resources to anyone else, and certainly not God. Caesar, after all, portrayed himself as
God, so Caesar, in his view, owned everything and was due everything. But Jesus tells us we are citizens also
of a heavenly kingdom and God – the true God, not a false god such as Caesar –
also claims our allegiance and does not want to share that allegiance with any
other. What Jesus is presenting
then, is a very difficult dilemma – choose
the kingdom to which you will give your ultimate allegiance; it cannot be both.
As citizens of two kingdoms, those kingdoms are
often in conflict with one another as they both seek our ultimate
allegiance. I find an example of
this conflict every time I drive to Frankfort, where, just before the first
Frankfort exit from I64, are two large flags, on the right, just off the
interstate. The top one is a very
large American flag and beneath it, subjugated to it I would say, is a smaller
Christian flag. Every time I see
those flags I am bothered by the symbolism of what their placement
represents. To me, when I see
those flags, it seems as though someone is telling me my allegiance ought
ultimately belong to an earthly kingdom, but I give my ultimate allegiance to
God’s kingdom. Now, that does not
mean I am not grateful to live in this country, and after listening to Pastor
Pau (Bow) two weeks ago, as he told of being imprisoned simply because of
preaching, I am very grateful for the freedom we have as American citizens. I believe, however, that my ultimate
allegiance is not to a nation or government or political ideology, but to God
and his kingdom.
When the people were taken into exile in
Babylon there was a common belief that they were beyond the reach of God. The belief ran strong that God was
contained within the borders of their political kingdom, and that was a reason
why they were in such despair, as they wondered how can we survive here, apart from God? We are now under the domination of not only another kingdom
but also that kingdom’s gods. But the kingdom of God supersedes all boundaries that
humanity erects, and that is certainly true when it comes to national
boundaries. The borders and
boundaries that exist are ones that are created and delineated by humanity, and
just because we bump into a border or boundary does not mean that our love, our
ministry, our care, and our concern ends at that point. Borders are too often a defining mark
of where and whether we will do ministry and love. It is easy to say, based on borders, that that is a Simpsonville problem, not a
Shelbyville problem. That is an
Anderson County, or Oldham County, or Jefferson County problem, not a Shelby
County problem. That is an Ohio
problem or Tennessee problem, not a Kentucky problem. That is a Mexico or Canada problem, not a United States
problem. It is tempting to say
that our responsibilities end at the borders of our community, or county, or
our southern or northern border, or at the east coast or west coast, but we
must remember those borders are human creations that are not recognized by God,
certainly not when it comes to the responsibility of loving and ministering to
others.
God was with the people as they settled into a
strange, new land. God was with
the people for the seven decades that they lived in Babylon and they learned
that there was no place on this earth where they could go and be away from God. No border or boundary would stop the
love and care of God. Whatever
actions were taken by earthly kingdoms, God was with the people, and God would
do what God planned to do, and nothing could change that reality and nothing
could change God’s promise.
They also learned, I believe, that among the
many differences between God’s kingdom and earthly kingdoms is this – earthly
kingdoms enforce an outward morality and behavior while God’s kingdom seeks a
change of heart. Earthly kingdoms
can use force if they deem it necessary to get what they want but God does
not. The change of heart that God
brings will always rise above the use of force. I will certainly affirm the need for an earthly kingdom to
bring order, but I will recognize in a greater way that the real measure of
change and working for the good comes from the change of heart that comes from
God’s spirit.
3.
Know that God has a plan, and know this when times are at their most
difficult.
One of
the most powerful lessons learned by the people comes from verse 11. You might have this verse on a plaque,
a bookmark, a poster, or a shirt.
It is a beautiful verse that has for years encouraged many of us – “For I know the plans I have for you,”
declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you
hope and a future.” While many
people are familiar with that beloved verse, the context of it is not commonly
known, but the context, I believe, brings even more power to the verse. It was a difficult time for the people
of God, but God was still with the people, and God still had a plan. Yes, it would be seventy years before
they would return to their homeland, which meant that very few of them would
ever again see their homes. Some
would be born in Babylon, live in Babylon all their days, and die in Babylon,
never setting foot in or seeing their homeland. The generation that would return to the homeland would be a
generation that had only heard stories of their homeland, and upon setting foot
in that land would find it to be a strange, unknown land. Seventy years is a long time, but it is
a very small moment in the span of God’s plan. It can be easy to forget, in the midst of difficulty, that
God’s plan is always at work. We
can be overwhelmed by difficulty to the point that we cannot see beyond our
difficulty, and that must certainly have been true during the time of captivity. God was, however, faithful to the
people, and even as they were in captivity there were important lessons they
learned and blessings they received.
When the late Fred Craddock was the acting dean for a brief time at
Phillips Theological Seminary, a woman from the community came to see him. She
asked him to come out to the parking lot, which made him a bit nervous, but he
went. She opened the back door of her automobile, and slumped in the back seat
was her brother. He had been a senior at the University of Oklahoma, but a
tragic car accident had left him in a coma for eight months. She had quit her
job as a school teacher to take care of him.
At this point almost all of their resources
were exhausted. She said to Dr. Craddock, I
would like for you to heal him. Can you imagine? What would you say? Dr.
Craddock responded, Well, I can pray for
him. And I can pray with you. But I do not have the gift of healing. The
woman got behind the wheel and said, before driving off, then what in the world do you do?
I share that story because of the question the
woman asked Dr. Craddock – what in the
world do you do? I want to put
a different emphasis, however, on those words. What will we do, in
this world? Whether or not we
have the gift of physical healing, we have the gift of spiritual healing we can
bring to the world. What in the world do we do? What, in this world, will we do in
relation to the divisions?
Will we help to heal them?
God does indeed have a plan, and however much it might seem that everything
is falling apart, however bad things might appear, God is the one who is not
only the creator of this world but also the one who will decide its ultimate
destiny and asks us to be part of the process of healing those divisions.
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