Culture, Christ and Refugees
Can be listened to here
Gate Pa – Pentecost 15, 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Readings:
Psalm
Psalm
125
First
Reading: Prov
22:1-2, 8-9, 22-23
Second
Reading: James
2:1-10, 11-13, 14-17
Gospel: Mark
7:24-37
What I want to say:
That as Christians we are to be both within our
culture, and outside it so that we can offer a vision of another way. And this
is not easy, as we can see from all our readings. The pull back is strong, and
often “The Church” is shaped by the values, fears, prejudices of our
surrounding culture the same as every other institution.
What I want to
happen:
To ask as a case in point – how do
we respond to the refugee crisis?
The Sermon
1. Introduction:
8 years ago lucky enough to be one our
churches representatives at IALC
actually doesn’t sound that lucky
great
one presentations on World Lutheran Churches
work on relationship between culture and worship
What Lutherans said was that worship engages
with culture in four distinct ways. It is transcultural, contextual,
counter-cultural and cross-cultural
-
talked about before number occasions
while that was about worship
I think applies
generally to understanding of and expression of our faith
one ways understand history Christianity
is tension between how faith engages with
culture
many sad examples throughout our history when
church has operated out of the same values, fears, prejudices as our
surrounding culture the same as every other institution.
worse – when Christianity has become main
support of some of those values, fears and prejudices
church
one last institutions stand against William Wilberforce in work outlaw slavery
churches
USA and South Africa supported apartheid and racial segregation
closer
to home – here silence of Anglican church 1950’s at decision by to burn of
Orakei Marae in – so that new queen not
have to see “eyesore” village as drove along Tamaki Drive
today debate around living wage reveals
tensions with Christianity around our relationship with values and world view
inherent in our cultures. –
the tension remains
too easily we adopt the stand point and
ideology surrounding culture
much
harder take counter cultural line – like Wilberforce able to
2. Readings
we can see that tension in each readings heard
this morning
writer Proverbs suggesting that good name far
better then wealth
his
context – fitted with dominant culture
clearly
number wealthier people pushing focus wealth
James – writing church once known focus on
poor
egalitarianism
now
slowly giving way to norms of the day
wealthy
treated preferentially
seated
first
fed
first
as
was common
had
once stood apart from wider society
way all
welcome - might call that radical hospitality
way
rich not treated any differently
way
early followers of Christ worked meet needs of poor
now
slowly being shaped by same attitudes poor as everyone else
3. Gospel reading
Where did James and his church get these crazy
ideas from?
– from Jesus
-
from stories like heard today
actually todays story really interesting story
many ways deeply disturbing story
Jesus – as heard last week
had
intense conversation with Pharisees about eating rules
not
mosaic law
cultural
rules around washing
favoured
rich – afford it all
contrast to prophets
and reading from proverbs for example
come see wealthy as favoured
developed practices continued to
favour rich
discriminated
against everyone else
especially
poor
Jesus
offers a counter cultural response
is that not what goes onto person –
culture said
makes
one unclean
but
what already there on inside…
affirms what poor
forced to do – due lack of resources
in doing so offers alternative to
predominant cultural practice - wealthy
è not
about food and washing
can describe Jesus being counter cultural
that counter cultural activity continues with
him entering part world gentile
Greek
descent
Syrophoenician
next couple chapters involve Jesus being very
counter-cultural
mixing
with people not supposed to
finishing
with second feeding story
this
time 400 gentiles
not start well
Jesus confronted with Syrophoenician woman
Jesus shows all prejudice you expect Jew of
his time
we are confronted with him humanity
with his bigotry
hard for us to know what to do with it?
how to make sense of his lack appreciation of
the global nature of what he is doing here
4. Refugees
A lot in news over last weeks about refugees
espeicaly
over last week picture of dead Syrian baby in Turkey
Duncan Garner and Heather Du Plessis Allan among
many others
have
both been writing and talking raising issue of Syrian refugees
suggesting
raising our quota
reaction been very mixed to their articles on
line mixed (at best)
actually – a lot reaction shown same bigotry
as Jesus showed
to the suggestion that we need to take Syrian
refugees.
No we don't, we a finite amount of resources
and there are an infinite amount of people wanting to come here... why bother
with immigration points....let the Muslim countries take them...we don't want
them
Let's call it as it is: Refugees of Islamic
faith are potential source of social unrest. If not them, then probably second
generation. Look at France, Belgium, Sweden, and the UK.
this
slightly positive one - How about we help them where they are now like other
countries like UAE, KSA, and Qatar do? build schools and clinics instead of
uprooting them and introduce them to a foreign culture that their religion is
incompatible with?
to be honest really hard find comment in support
pretty sure number those posting these
comments were good church going people
caught up in the same fears and prejudice as
everyone else
5. The Story continues
what happens in todays story
Jesus says food for children not be given to
dogs
attitude
to “others” see many comments about refugees
but woman confronts Jesus with his own words
shows
up all his bigotry
all
his cultures bigotry
all
his religious bigotry
she becomes the voice of God in this story
not
Jesus
in
fact she is voice God to Jesus
outside voice calling Jesus out boundaries
cultural understanding
for me raises really big question
why did Mark include this story
-
does not fit how
his or our culture thinks things like this work
o
Jesus is one with
the answers
-
not here
-
he is the one
being called to account.
-
let go cultural
assumptions and prejudice
important
for Mark and Marks community that this story was told
also raises big question for us
whose voices on outside calling us to account
today
whose voices highlight how we
like
Jesus
captured
by prevailing fears and prejudice of our day
in
what way have we become pillars supporting our cultures values, prejudices and
fears that allow people to be seen and treated as dogs?
6. Take home questions
History Christianity is one of struggle
between
being
shaped by our culture
all
its prejudice and fear
and being voice outside that culture – like the
woman in this story
offering
alternative way seeing world as James and Mark offer us
seeing
people live in that world
knowing
how to respond
we are caught in that same tension
that
same dilemma
Syrian refugee issue offers us a chance to reflect
how
response to that shaped by common fears and cultural prejudice
- that our jobs might be taken
- that our nation might change
- that our community might look different
- that resources will be spread more thinly
- that we will no longer be part of a demographic majority
- that Christians will no longer be a majority.
Invites us offer another view
based
on Jesus compassion and generosity
based
on Jesus radical hospitality
offering
example set by people like James and Wilberforce
what voice are we listening to today
whose
voice are we being invited to listen to
what
cultural assumptons are we being invited to let go of
what
new ways might we embrace
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