|
|
|
After spending five weeks on a sermon series it feels good to be back with the lectionary. The lectionary is a systematic selection of scriptures for each Sunday on a three-year cycle and shared by several denominations. The great thing about the lectionary is that preachers are forced to deal with a wide range of issues raised by the scriptures. The central issue I would like to raise from today’s gospel lesson is conflict. Here’s the story. Jesus was marching toward Jerusalem while the disciples were lagging behind. In a short while he would be handed over to the authorities, condemned to death, and crucified on a cross. James and John, two brothers nicknamed "the sons of thunder," make an unusual request to Jesus: "Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory". Matthew’s version of this story has their mother making this ridiculous request. But they had no idea what they were asking. As he so often does Jesus employs his tactic of responding to a question with another question, "Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?" Still unable to comprehend that Jesus was speaking about his fast-approaching death, they answer quickly, "We are able." Notice that Jesus does not give James and John what they asked for. In spite of their enthusiasm, Jesus declined their request. Two men who lived in a small village got into a terrible dispute they could not resolve. So they decided to talk to the town sage. The first man went to the sage's home and told his version of what happened. When he finished, the sage said, "You're absolutely right." The next night, the second man called on the sage and told his side of the story. The sage responded, "You're absolutely right." Afterward, the sage's wife scolded her husband. "Those men told you two different stories and you told them they were absolutely right. That's impossible -- they can't both be absolutely right." The sage turned to his wife and said, "You're absolutely right." Sometimes we are not interested in resolving conflict. We are interested in being proved right. So we go to people we think will validate our feelings. But not so with Jesus. When we go to Jesus we will hear the truth and it may not be what we want to hear. Certainly what Jesus said to James and John was not what they wanted to hear. But neither were Jesus’ words to these guys. They were angry because James and John had beaten them to the punch. They were ticked off because the "sons of thunder" might get the glory they wanted. There was no way they were going to give up those top spots without a fight. Can you relate to these two guys wanting some kind of assurance that that they would get something that others would not? Do you find yourself wanting that parking space, that lane, that job, that privilege? Isn’t most conflict about wanting something we don’t have or not getting our needs met? People want land, money, and power. They want possessions, revenge, and love. If they want these things badly enough conflict is a likely outcome. I heard a story of three adults fighting over one parking space. Tempers flared. Violence ensued. Two were sent to hospital. What made this interesting was that all three were elderly women. The youngest was 67. The other two were 78 and 88 years old. No one is immune from conflict. Even pastors are subject to its power. In the seventeenth-century, there was a French explorer named Samuel de Champlain. Champlain reported back to the Old World on many of the wonders he encountered while journeying through the New World--especially Canada. In these writings, he told one story of a community in Nova Scotia that was served by both a Roman Catholic priest and a Protestant pastor. Champlain does not detail the doctrinal disputes that arose between these two servants of the Gospel, but he explains the means by which they sought resolution of their differences. At regular intervals, the priest and the pastor engaged in public fist-fights. According to his report, crowds of settlers, Native Americans, and voyagers who were passing through would gather at the center of the village to cheer on the combatants. What kind of witness are Christians making to a world we want to reach when we cannot deal with conflict in healthy ways? The image of Christian pastors duking it out in the village square is not what we want to portray to the world. Neither is the image of your pastor yelling at his family. I’m not proud of it but it does happen. I grew up believing that God did not like anger. I read it in the Bible. I heard it preached from the pulpit. I listened to it being taught in Sunday School. Somehow it was easy to move one step beyond this teaching. I had come to believe that not only did God dislike anger. God disliked me when I was angry. So when I was consumed with anger I always felt that I had pushed God out of my life, at least for the moment. And at some level I believed that God had left me because of my anger. But I have come to change my earlier view. I needed to learn that God can handle my anger. God does not abandon me when I become angry. God does love the angry person. So how does one change a teaching that has been imprinted on a soul? The seeds of a simple bit of wisdom do not easily take root in a life where the soil has rejected it for many years. How do people live out a changed view of God? In recent years many authors have been helping us to see that churches are systems. The application of family system theory to congregational life has been most beneficial. One of the best pieces of wisdom from this theory is the idea that tension is not only okay in a system such as a family or a church, it is necessary. Churches and families take a big step towards health when they acknowledge this tension and are not surprised when it happens. For example, how will a church exercise its authority? Will authority rest in a few persons or will it be shared by many persons? This polarity can create tension because not all members of a church will be happy with power residing with a few people. Not everyone will agree that power should be shared by all. The important thing is that this tension is okay and should be honored. One of the most basic polarities is order and chaos. It is the nature of life to seek order or balance. Order is often equated with safety and security. People need a sense of order to feel safe and secure. In the spiritual life we are creatures of order who need a God who helps us feel safe and secure. But safety and security are not to be totally found in the things of this world but in a relationship with God. So there exists a cycle of movement from order to chaos to order to chaos to order, etc. God's act of creation reflects this cycle. In Genesis we see movement from chaos to order. "In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep..." (Genesis 1:1) One might even argue that it is part of God's design that creation move from order to chaos. In Luke 12:51 Jesus is quoted as saying, "Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division!" How will we choose to live within this polarity? Will we surround ourselves with people who think and act like us in order to escape the tension? Will we grow and learn new ways of relating to God and each other? Jesus understood the tension between two world views. He called the disciples together and pointed out the sharp contrast between his philosophy and the philosophy of the world. There may be distinct levels of authority and privilege in the secular world, but when it comes to the kingdom of God, Jesus emphatically says, "It is not so among you." In God’s family, there is to be one great body of people, and we are all servants. The only way up is the way down: "Whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant." A true story is told of a man named Dale who led a tour to the Holy Land. On the second day their tour was in the Holy Land, their group was met by an Arab man selling maps as they disembarked their bus to tour one of the sights. When one of the American tourists returned to the bus to get money to buy a map, the man selling the maps followed the tourist onto the bus. Since this was a major violation of protocol, the Jewish tour guide began to berate the man. Having lost face by being forced to withdraw from the bus amidst the screaming of the tour guide, the man became hostile in response. He stood just outside the bus screaming at the young Jewish woman who was guiding the group. After all the tourists had boarded the bus and set off for the next destination, which was a short distance away, they began to remark to one another regarding their apprehension in the midst of the tension which arose from the argument between their guide and the map salesman. They became even more disturbed when they saw the map seller waiting for them as they stopped in front of the next site. Before all of the tourists could disembark, the map seller began to yell at the tour guide once again, alluding to his perception that he was reduced to this station in life because of the Jewish occupation of his homeland. The tour guide became equally caustic in her response to the map seller. Everyone on the tour began to wonder aloud whether they were wise to remain at the site with this feud escalating. Finally, Dale took the map seller aside to speak to him as one of the ministers on the tour attempted to speak with the tour guide. At first neither of them was very successful in calming the one with whom they spoke. Finally, Dale prayed to himself, "Lord, help me to diffuse this situation and bring your love into this conflict." As he finished praying to himself, he knew just what to do. He looked at the map seller and asked, "You are a Muslim, aren't you?" "Yes, I am a Muslim," the man replied warily. Dale said simply, "Let's pray." He began to pray the "El Fada," the sacred prayer of Islam which has the same significance the Lord's Prayer would have for a Christian. To the man's amazement, Dale prayed in Arabic! As he got half way through the prayer, the map seller joined Dale in prayer, his eyes welling with tears. When they finished the prayer, the man looked at Dale and asked, "You are a Christian?" Dale replied, "I am a Christian." As tears streamed down his face, the man sighed deeply, smiled, and turned away. The conflict was diffused. God’s people are called to cope with conflict in ways that bring peace and harmony. Do you want peace and harmony in your home? Remember three principles: 1. God still loves you when you are angry. 2. Tension is not only okay but necessary in our relationships. 3. Have the heart of a servant. May God grant us the strength and grace to change where we need to change, and grow where we need to grow.
|
The St. John Web Site needs your input! Click here to leave feedback Copyright © 1998-2004 Jon S. Dawson. Last modified: February 01, 2009
|
10/22/00 - Coping with Conflict
