To invite you into the context, let me fill you in on what I preached on.
I talked about Paul’s manifesto, where he says in Gal. that "in Christ there is neither Jew, nor Greek, Slave nor free, male or female, all are equal in Christ.” This is where I get the saying, we all stand on level ground at the foot of the cross. So in this context, Paul is addressing that there were, in the early church (as there are today) all sorts of barriers up between slave and free, jews and gentiles and men and women. But in Christ, he has broken down the wall of hostility (Gal, Eph. and Col).
This is where I poked a bit, saying that if there remained barriers and walls between these groups, Paul would have considered that to be a deal breaker. He goes on to say that it would have been like him running the race in vain. This is why he spoke so passionately about this - if there remain walls, then the gospel is discounted, watered down, made to be powerless - a non-event in many people’s lives / and many countries.
So when I mentioned Wall, most of our minds go to Trump and his proposed wall between Mexico and the southern states. As well, the wall between Palestinians and Jews, so I know this can be seen as a charged political statement. So I apologize if by using “wall” in this way, as I can see that it possibly created more division then desired.
But we must keep in mind the context…
I am not saying that walls are not at times necessary - all through the Old Testament we see walled cities, used to protect. In fact, from these images we are given the reminder to pray walls of protection for people (hedge of protection (Job), Watchman on the wall (Ezekiel). But we must remember that in Christ, we don’t see Him endorsing walls, in fact Jesus walked through the “wall” into Samaria, just to talk with the woman at the well (jn 4). Most often, walls are erected out of fear, not love. And if they are necessary, walls are there purely because the world has failed to embrace Jesus’ Kingdom of Love and Grace. In heaven there will be no need for Walls.
I must also say that if at any point, a government’s decision to erect a wall (or policies), now creates a wall of prejudice or racism or arrogance in my own heart, where I can no longer love someone as Christ loves, then I must give pause, and discern where might be the trajectory of the Spirit in my own life.
I also used a quote, on purpose from Oprah. I quoted Oprah’s speech at the Golden Globes, for a reason.
I used Oprah, to make a point. I know she is a controversial leader in our culture, much of whom I don’t endorse or recommend. In fact, I don’t think I have ever quoted Oprah, ever before, in my 13 years here in Squamish or otherwise. But I just talked about how, as followers of Jesus, we need to learn to discern the trajectory of God’s Spirit, in the life of people all around us. To put it another way, we are called to look for the space of grace in one another, and our neighbours. You want to pray for your neighbour, look for the space of grace in their lives - those areas of their lives that seem to model something of Jesus. Rather then try to create it, look for where the Father is already at work.
In Oprah’s case, all I was saying is that he speech at the golden globes, however she got there, was in line with Paul’s manifesto - “neither slave nor free, male or female…”. It was a statement God seems to be using to empower women to stand up against abuse and harassment, all over the world.
Now do I agree with everything Oprah says or stands for? Not a chance. But in this case, I see evidence of God’s grace.
Not quoting Oprah, and not acknowledging that there is a space of grace in her life, on the basis that she might be wrong in other instances, would be like choosing to never quote TRUMP, or believe that there is no chance that he too has a space of grace in his life, because he too is at times off base. If I am going to at times endorse Trump, whereby acknowledging that there are spaces of grace in his life, then I have to be able to see the same thing in others, including Oprah…and my neighbour, for that matter.
I guess what I was trying to get at, is that God only knows our hearts. God knows who might be “in the Kingdom” and who might be “out”, but most often I don’t. Even if I see all kinds of evidence that someone is “out”, I still don’t know their heart and motivations, and ultimately the trajectory of their heart. Only God knows that. My job, is to model Jesus, who was full of truth and grace, and learn to discern the trajectory of God’s Spirit in each and every situation. To learn to discern the space of grace in someone, even the most unlikely, because at one point you and I too were just as unlikely. Unlikely, but in need of God’s grace.
I do hope that didn’t create more of a stir. If it did, please listen to last Sunday’s message, and if you have questions come talk to me. Let’s believe the best of one another, and work it out.