Jerusalem and Gaza are only about eighty miles apart, but in some ways they're two different worlds. Many Israelis in and around Jerusalem support their army's brutal and all too regular incursions with tanks and armored vehicles into the Gaza Strip, and at the same time many Palestinians in Gaza rejoice over the deaths of Israelis by Palestinian rockets or suicide bombers. A recent poll of Israelis found that 55% of Israeli Jews believe that Israeli Arabs--not Palestinians, but Israeli citizens of Arab descent--should have fewer civil rights than Israeli Jews. Of course, few Palestinians in the West Bank or Gaza have anything good to say about the Jewish "settlers" who have set up towns or enclaves in Palestine. Is all this animosity--whether based on ethnicity, language, nationality, religion, or historical factors--inevitable? Is there any chance at all for peace in the Middle East? When Philip found himself on the road from Jerusalem to Gaza in the fourth decade of the first century, rivalry and hatred among the various inhabitants of Judea and the neighboring Roman provinces was common. Jews, Samaritans, Romans, Greeks, and others inhabited the land, and they were constantly at odds with one another. As Philip was contemplating his recent successes at preaching the gospel in Samaria, a chariot carrying an important Ethiopian official approached him, stopped, and gave him a ride. Apparently the Ethiopian eunuch was a worshiper of the God of the Jews. Ethiopian tradition tells of the migration of Jews south through Egypt into Ethiopia centuries before. One important tradition even says that the original ark of the covenant rests in Ethiopia today. Even though Philip was in a chariot with a man from another country, who spoke a different native language, and whose skin was a different color, he had something in common that was more important than these differences: he worshiped the same God. As the eunuch read from the book of Isaiah, Philip explained the Christian understanding of Jesus as the fulfillment of the passages concerning the suffering servant. After they had conversed for awhile, the eunuch was convinced that Philip's explanation of the passage, as well as his testimony concerning Jesus, was something he wanted to adopt as his own, and he submitted to baptism in a roadside pool of water. What became of the eunuch is a matter of conjecture, but tradition says that the eunuch returned to Ethiopia and converted the royal court, and in time the whole country became Christian. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church remains one of the oldest continuous church traditions in existence. Several important points can be drawn from this story, including the power of the gospel message in the mouth of a willing preacher and the miraculous providence of God. Another important truth that can be gleaned, and one that is especially relevant today, is that when we encounter strangers, if we want to make a positive impact on them in the name of Christ, it is best to start with what we have in common. Rather than focus on the differences among people--your doctrines are wrong, your founder is a false prophet, your group doesn't have a valid claim to the land they occupy--we need to identify our commonalities, because they will provide the basis for future relationships. That's what Philip did, that's what Jesus did, and that's what followers of God today need to do as well. Only then will Israeli and Palestinian, or black and white, or rich and poor, or Christian and Muslim be able to build a better world together.
If you could imagine a perfect world, what would it be like? Thomas More's Utopia was a classless society where the sick were cared for, everyone had food and clothing, and warfare was shunned. In Shangri-la no one was sick, and people never grew old. In Dr. Seuss's Solla Sallew, the inhabitants never have troubles, at least very few. One of the most interesting visions of a perfect world is captured in John Lennon's song "Imagine." In this song, Lennon imagines a peaceful world void of greed, national boundaries, and even religion. Though many religious people would contest the absence of religion in a perfect world, there is no doubt that religion has been at the root of many, many conflicts throughout history, right down to the present day. The psalmist begins Psalm 22 by crying in despair that God had deserted him (a cry echoed by Jesus on the cross, according to the first two gospels), but after God rescues him, he sings a different song. He promises to fulfill the vows he made when he was presenting his case before God. Interestingly, he foresees great results from the fulfillment of his vow, almost a localized utopia. First, the poor (or afflicted) will have enough to eat. This implies that the resources necessary for life will be redistributed, if necessary, from those who have an excess to those who don't have enough. The psalmist puts himself in the category of those who have more than they need, and he is happy to share what he has with those in need. Second, all nations will worship God together. For this to happen, no nation can be at war with any other nation. In addition, the inhabitants of all nations must have the freedom to worship God according to the dictates of their consciences. Finally, those who worship must show respect for those who worship differently Third, posterity will serve God. Many in the present day are turning away from God, perhaps agreeing with Lennon's assessment of the danger of religion, though at the same time people's interest in spirituality is increasing. Those who worship God must show those who don't that there is value in faith. The psalmist sees himself as someone whose testimony concerning God's goodness will persuade future generations to follow God. Though the psalmists view of an ideal world is fairly limited in scope, what would happen if everyone who had received a blessing from God shared his or her resources, love, and testimony with those most in need of each of these commodities? Imagine . . . .
Innumerable words have been written about love. The Song of Solomon in the Bible is representative of a vast number of ancient love songs. The medieval correspondence between Abelard and Heloise testifies to a love that could not be quenched by calamity or custom. Shakespeare wrote sonnets, and poets too numerous to count have written poems on the subject of love. "All You Need is Love," "Can't Help Falling in Love," "Lost in Love," and "Groovy Kind of Love" are just a few of hundreds of contemporary songs that deal with love. Church hymnals and chorus books are also full of songs about love, though the focus is usually on the love of the church for God, or God for the church. In the former category are songs such as "Oh, How I Love Jesus" and "I Love You, Lord." Just as secular love lyrics can be intoned without conviction, so can sacred songs proclaiming the worshiper's love for God be sung without any real understanding of what loving God means. 1 John says a lot about what it means to love God and to love one another, particularly in the reading selected for today. After exhorting believers to love God and each other, the author goes on not to define love but to give a concrete example of how true love can be recognized. "Those who say 'I love God,' and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen." This negative description of loving God should be a cause of great concern to many, perhaps everyone, in the world today. According to 1 John, it is impossible to love God and at the same time hate people of a different ethnic group. Those who hate people of other nationalities (or love them less) do not love God. Those who discriminate against people on the basis of sexual orientation, or social status, or residency status do not love God. Those who see less tragedy in the death of a Muslim child than in the death of a Jewish or Christian child, do not love God. To paraphrase the author, "Talk is cheap; show your love through action."
David Koresh and his Branch Davidian followers lived in an isolated compound outside Waco, Texas, and as time went by, their beliefs got weirder and weirder. Jim Jones moved his followers to Guyana in South America, and before long they were engaged in bizarre behavior that included murder and mass suicide. The people in those congregations were caught up in the popularity of a charismatic leader and in the excitement of the moment. None of them knew when they joined that members in the group might cost them their lives. Those outside these groups could easily recognize the bizarre doctrines and behaviors of those on the inside. The difference was that the people in these fringe groups were cut off from the larger institutional church, so there was no check on either the doctrine or the behavior of their leaders. Jesus tells his disciples that, like the branches on a vine, they must remain attached to the vine if they expect to bear fruit. That is, in order to live lives characterized by Christian behavior, they needed to remain closely associated with Jesus himself. Why? From a metaphysical perspective, regular communion with Christ is necessary to feed the soul and guide the spirit. From a more mundane perspective, though, it's too easy to forget the teachings of Jesus and to abandon the example of Jesus without constantly being reminded of these things. Here association with an established church is no guarantee that one is "abiding in Christ," for it is possible for whole churches, or even entire denominations, to drift away from the center of Jesus' teaching. When Christians (or their churches) transform Jesus' blessing of peacemakers into advocacy of war without end, they've cut themselves off from the vine. When Christians (or their churches) support tax systems that favor the rich and middle class and disproportionately harm the poor, they've cut themselves off from the vine. When Christians (or their churches) mix adoration of Caesar, or the nation, with their worship, they've cut themselves off from the vine. It's time to move beyond the simplistic, "spiritual" cliches that many of us have identified with "abiding in Christ" and re-read the gospels. Jesus' teachings on a number of areas related to life in the modern western world are pretty obvious when read without the blinders of patriotism, church tradition, sexism, and capitalism. As Christians, we must avoid the pitfalls of David Koresh and Jim Jones by assuring that we remain associated with other believers. Just as important, we must examine our own denomination's traditions, and our personal beliefs, and compare them with the model put forth by Jesus. If we find that we're not abiding in him, then we need to abandon everything in order to follow him.