Dividing Opinions, Uniting Faith

When the Gospel of Matthew was written the church was under social, economic and political, as well as, religious pressure. Participants in this fledgling Christian church were held suspect by the world around them. The head of the household, the patriarch of the household, determined the religion for everyone in that household, including all family members, as well as, any servants or slaves. Becoming a Christian could bring one into conflict with one’s family. There are times today when our faith brings us into conflict with family members. Matthew was reminding the followers that they could not expect treatment any different from what Jesus had received. Yet this passage is full of words of comfort to the followers: do not fear, have no fear, do not be afraid. As the song goes “His eye is on the sparrow so I know he’s watching me.”

Today, as Christians, opposition comes less from outside the church and more from within the church, the universal household of Christian Faith. Dividing opinions threaten ecumenical partnerships and test the patience of all. I grow weary of those opinions that take on the arrogance of assuming the better Christian agrees with my position, claiming biblical authority for one’s opinion. If you were a better Christian you would agree with me. Well, that’s not biblical. Our understanding of faith and the ethics that evolve out of our faith come from struggles, congregational discussion, and is even forged in conflict. How many here have had no conflict within their families? I’m glad no one put their hand up. I would think that I am very abnormal or one of us is not telling the truth. I think we grow spiritually from conflict, when we summon the patience to listen and to try and understand what another person is saying.

Conflict regarding the church comes mostly from within. And so it was on our trip to Honduras. Our presence there created quite a few repercussions. The Hondurans are very, very hospitable people. We were welcomed warmly and we were hugged often. We were invited to eat at their tables and served meals that they don’t often have for themselves. But, when we began to talk about theology, divisions began to occur. A wise teacher once told me that doctrine divides but story unites.

First, the Hondurans were quite upset that four of the North Americans who had come to their country and were pastors had been divorced. In Honduras if you are divorced, you certainly cannot be a pastor and you cannot participate in the privileges of the church, which is the sacrament of Holy Communion and full membership. The Hondurans took great exception to the fact that four of our clergy had been divorced. They were shocked when it came time for us to serve communion and a clergy man and a clergy woman served together. Honduran women have roles in the church but they do not have pastoral authority and they cannot serve the sacraments.

In Honduras they have access to computers, and they probably know more about the General Synod and the eighteen resolutions that are going to come before the Synod than anyone in this congregation. I will be a delegate at the General Synod. They questioned us extensively on our positions regarding homosexuality. Now I have to tell you that there was not uniformity of opinions among the visitors in regard to many issues. In Honduras the doctrine is decided by the Synod, the pastors and they are required to carry out that doctrine.

For those of you going on the mission trip to Honduras in March of 2006, you will find that the pastor of that church was dismissed for not adhering to the doctrine. Within our church, our polity is very, very different. Resolutions come from congregations and go to Synod from there for discussion and vote. So what the UCC is doing is coming from a church, maybe not our church, but from people like you and me who are trying to do what they believe is right according to their faith. Conflicts happen when we assume with arrogance that only our position is right.

I learned something very, very important in Honduras. When we were in the meatiest part of the discussion and it was intense, we were hearing each other. We were really listening to each other. Then at the most intense part, when perhaps some common ground could have been found, the head of the Synod stood up and called an end to the discussion. As a result the Hondurans met themselves afterwards. Some of them wanted to dissolve the partnership because of the issues where we stood in different places.

This morning when we all sang Amazing Grace t there was no division among us, was there? What happens to us when we begin to speak from our heart about these difficult issues? Three of the most controversial resolutions coming before the General Synod that the Hondurans were concerned about address the definition of marriage and what marriage equality means. A sermon is no place to look at the sides that can be taken and no place to look at all the issues involved. It is no place for me to tell you what to think. That being said, this is one of the points of division and will be at General Synod, as it was with the Hondurans.

I want to tell you a story that has me struggling with this very issue that caused division with the Hondurans and among us. I was in my previous church serving as the pastor and was asked to officiate at the funeral for a church member’s brother who had been living in California for the previous forty years. At the funeral I noticed a man to whom I had not been introduced and he was openly weeping, obviously very affected by the death. I felt like I had no words to console him because I didn’t know his connection to the family or the man. I made a point to seek him out at the family home after the service because I wanted to offer him some comfort. I found that he had lived with the deceased as partners for thirty three years. Yet, no one in the family felt they should tell me about his existence, and he was not included in the planning of the service. That story changed my life, that experience impacted me. Wouldn’t it impact you if you were a pastor? If you did not know that two people had shared thirty three years of life together and had not been acknowledged him at the funeral wouldn’t that have bothered you? I will never do that again.

What unites us? If it is our opinions that divide us, what is it that unites us? I believe that it is experiences within the context of faith that are far more powerful than any way we define marriage. Experiences like that within the context of faith change us. So may it be.