Imagine with me, a group of men crowded in a room, some sitting at the central table, some leaning against the wall, multiple sidebar conversations occurring while the main debate ensues…
Perhaps there is food on the table, wine in the glasses; smells of incense in the air… This is a council meeting; but, more importantly, it is a meeting of brothers, meant to be familiar...and yet, a tension so tight it could be cut with a knife mixes with the incense; tension caused by the question “Who is allowed to seek the Lord?” Though a question of policy regarding Gentile converts, this question was really a question of worth. A value statement. Answered one way, this council would decide that only a chosen few were worthy of relationship with God. Answered another way, the precedence would be set that God’s Kingdom is for all people – regardless of identity. So, the tension builds. Three of the council members plead their case. Silence.[1] Then, James stands. The sound of his chair scraping across the floor breaks the silence. The elders and apostles wait in anticipation for what the first bishop of Jerusalem, the brother of Christ, has to say.[2] “My brothers, listen to me. Simeon has related how God first looked favorably on the Gentiles, to take from among them a people for his name. This agrees with the words of the prophets, as it is written, ‘After this I will return, and I will rebuild the dwelling of David, which has fallen; from its ruins I will rebuild it, and I will set it up, so that all other peoples may seek the Lord-- even all the Gentiles over whom my name has been called. Thus says the Lord, who has been making these things known from long ago.’ Therefore I have reached the decision that we should not trouble those Gentiles who are turning to God, but we should write to them to abstain only from things polluted by idols and from fornication and from whatever has been strangled and from blood. For in every city, for generations past, Moses has had those who proclaim him, for he has been read aloud every sabbath in the synagogues.”[3] A reading from the Book of Acts chapter 15 verses 12-22. Pray with me: God of Inclusion who brought us Gentiles into your fold, we ask your Spirit upon us today as we learn from the Saints who came before. May each generation live further into your vision of a multitude of every nation, standing before you and praising you, in unity and harmony. Amen. Our reading today from Acts gives us insight into one of the earliest debates of the Christian Church on church policy pertaining to identity. St. James proved to be a maverick in this movement, drawing on the words of the prophet Amos to settle his contemporary debate on which ethnicities – in this case, Jews or Gentiles – could be in relationship with God. His response? Both, all… All that mattered was that hearts and minds were focused on God in accordance with the tradition of ancestors passed. [PAUSE] Gentiles had been a part of God’s vision from the beginning.[4] His response is echoed in the chorus of the old spiritual, “Twelve Gates to the City.” The spiritual rejoices: Rich and the poor welcome to the city Young and the old welcome to the city Weak and the strong welcome to the city There are twelve gates to the city Hallelujah This spiritual captures the joy found in the realization that, through Christ, there is a place for everyone in God’s Kingdom, the New Jerusalem. But this question of “Who is allowed to seek the Lord” is not dead. Rather, it is alive today, especially in our context, as we question who is given earthly authority in the church. This jump can be made because the Gentiles, once deemed worthy of seeking God, were the ones who led the church – were eventually given authority. I know this is a controversial question; but consider it an invitation for conversation as we consider the legacy of the Council of Jerusalem and of St. James, the just. We needn’t look past the 20th century to realize how alive this question is for us today. In 1989, Barbara C. Harris was consecrated a bishop in the Episcopal Church. This made her the first woman bishop in the Anglican Communion. One can only imagine the conversations had about Bishop Harris. In myriad forums, men likely sat around a table and leaned up against a wall, multiple sidebar conversations occurring while the main debate ensued. Who is allowed to seek the Lord? Some may have asked. Do we let this woman – this black, divorced woman – lead our church? Silence. Like the Gentiles, Bishop Harris would not have been in that room. She was the subject of deliberation, but not brought in for her consultation. She received death threats, jeers, ridicule… and yet… Her life broke the silence of the room. Her advocacy for African Americans, women, and other minorities; ministry as a prison chaplain, spoke for itself.Like the Gentiles, Bishop Harris spoke a prophetic word for her time, serving as living proof the answer to the question “Who is allowed to seek the Lord.” Bishop Harris, through her life and leadership, showed us that race, gender, or marital status do not determine worth. Through Christ, Rich and the poor welcome to the city Young and the old welcome to the city Weak and the strong welcome to the city There are twelve gates to the city Hallelujah Or, let’s look to the example set by Gene Robinson’s life – an even more recent answer to the question of who is welcomed through the gates of the New Jerusalem. Consecrated bishop of New Hampshire in 2004, Bishop Robinson was the first openly gay bishop in the Anglican Communion. I recognize that this decision resulted in real pain and continued division for our community. The outcome of which is still debated today throughout the Communion. Bishop Robinson’s life, therefore, allows us to ask the living question, “Who can seek the Lord?” Tense conversations followed this cry. Like the Gentiles and Bishop Harris, Gene wouldn’t have been in the room. Others would have decided if he was worthy of relationship with God in this way. Would he be allowed to serve the Church, to enter into – and bring – the New Jerusalem to the people? Silence. Then, the silence was broken. This mental health advocate, AIDS educator, and civil rights fighter was welcomed into the rebuilt dwelling of David and the contemporary debate on if LGBTQ+ persons could serve as bishops was decided for the Episcopal Church. They, too, could serve. Bishop Robinson’s life answered who is allowed to be in relationship with God. Like St. James and Bishop Harris, Bishop Robinson put his life on the line to expand God’s kingdom to all persons – of all sexual orientations. He sang the spiritual’s refrain that all are welcome through the twelve gates of the city. Bishops Harris and Robinson are not the only contemporary trailblazers expanding God’s kingdom to all persons through their lives and vocations. Priests like Pauli Murray showed us that descendants of enslaved persons can lead God’s church; the Reverend Nancy Lane continues to fight to make church accessible to differently abled persons while battling cerebral palsy herself; and here at Duke Divinity School we worship across denominations, striving to make space for all. The New Jerusalem is for rich and poor, young and old, and weak and strong. Perhaps, today, more lines could be added: The women and the men welcome to the city The black and the white welcome to the city The gay and the straight welcome to the city The physically abled and differently abled welcome to the city And everyone in between, welcome to the city This living debate around church authority all started with an image of a group of men in a room, some sitting at the central table, some leaning against the wall, multiple sidebar conversations occurring while the main debate ensues… Perhaps there is food on the table, wine in the glasses; there are probably rich smells of incense in the air… This was a council meeting; but, more importantly, it was a meeting of brothers, meant to be familiar...and yet, a tension so tight, it could be cut with a knife mixes with the incense; tension caused by the question “Who is allowed to seek the Lord?” This council of Jerusalem occurs today. Who are you in this setting? Are you, like St. James, in the room? If so, what do you do? What do you say? …Would you even speak? How are you working to bring the underrepresented into the room? If you’re like the Gentiles, excluded from the conversation, what story does your life tell? Which group will you bring into God’s fold through your life and vocation? How are you breaking the silence through your life which shines the light of Christ? May we be the movement who, like St. James, has these hard conversations to welcome all through the twelve gates to the city. Hallelujah. Amen. [1] Acts 15:12 [2] Acts 15:13-21 [3] Acts 15:22 [4] Acts 15:17 |