Two
Rivers Pastoral Charge
Sunday March 30 – 4th Week in Lent
Scripture Readings: 2 Corinthians
5:16-21
Since the middle of January, international diplomacy has been a hot-button
issue. It has led the newscasts, it has
been all over social media, it has shaped our shopping habits, it has led to
some funny and thought-provoking comedy across the whole comedy spectrum, from
political cartoons to stand-up to memes.
We’ve also had some conversations about the international diplomatic situation
at our Wednesday morning bible study, as we’ve been reading the provoking words
of Jesus from the Sermon on the Mount.
That is a sermon for another Sunday, but what would Jesus, who once said
“if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also, and if anyone
wants to sue you and take your shirt, give your coat as well, and if anyone
forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile. Give to the one who asks of
you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you” – what would this
Jesus have to say about the current trade war?
Nationalism and national identity was a thing too, back in the days of Jesus
and the Apostle Paul, only then it was talked about in terms of Empire rather
than countries. Don’t worry – I’m not
going to stand here and lecture on the rise and fall of the Roman Empire – that
would put even the history buffs to sleep.
But the basic strategy of the Roman Empire was to expand their
territory, and with each tribe or city that they took over, rather than
enslaving the people who lived there, they offered them Roman Citizenship. It’s
quite a canny strategy if you think about it, because if you’re “one of us”
then you aren’t going to be fighting against us. And citizenship was passed from parent to
child, regardless of where you lived.
It wasn’t completely egalitarian. Slaves
were still slaves and therefore ineligible for citizenship. Women were able to be citizens, but their
citizenship came with different rights than them men – for example, they
weren’t allowed to vote or hold public office.
And citizenship came not only with rights but also with
responsibilities, and if you didn’t uphold your responsibilities, you could
lose your citizenship, even if you still lived in the land under Roman control.
So, turning to the Apostle Paul, the author of 2 Corinthians, a letter he wrote
to the very early church in the city of Corinth. Paul, originally named Saul, was not only a
devout Palestinian Jew, a religious leader of his time and place from the
Pharisee denomination, but he was also a Roman Citizen. There’s a story from towards the end of the
book of Acts where Paul is arrested, and when he mentions that he is a citizen,
his captors panic, as they realize that he is entitled to certain treatment as
a citizen.
But two weeks ago, when we read part of Paul’s letter to the Philippians, he
made reference to citizenship when he wrote that our citizenship is in
heaven. Even though Roman citizenship
was the most valued status in the world he was living in, he wrote that we have
an even more precious and valuable status, as citizens in God’s kingdom. That supersedes any earthly loyalties.
And then today, in another letter from Paul, this time to the Corinthians, he
takes it one step further. We aren’t
just citizens of God’s kingdom, but we are ambassadors of God’s kingdom. We represent God’s presence as we move about
in the world. It’s almost like we are
the literal body of Christ, or something!
Just for fun, this week I looked up the job description of an ambassador. If the government of Canada were to appoint
you to be the ambassador to, let’s say, The Republic of Lobestan, you would be
responsible for maintaining diplomatic relationships between Canada and the
Republic of Lobestan, you would lead political and economic negotiations
between the two countries, you would promote cooperation between our two
countries, you would safeguard and protect Canada’s interests, and you would
ensure the safety of any Canadians living in the Republic of Lobestan. Google also told me that strong
communication, negotiation, and interpersonal skills are essential to the job!
So if we were to take that metaphor of an ambassador to our own calling to be
ambassadors of Christ in the world, I think that there is a lot of truth to the
job description here. We are to promote
God’s interests here in the world where we are living. I guess that means that we are to live all of
those things that Jesus taught us about – the easier things like feeding hungry
people, and the harder things like turning the other cheek, or forgiving people
who have done us wrong. We are to live
these values that are often very different to the things that the world values,
and if someone happens to ask us why we do these things, well, as ambassadors
we then have an opportunity to tell them about the kingdom that we represent –
God’s kingdom.
I’m especially curious about the whole “engaging in economic negotiations” that
are part of an ambassador’s job description.
Most of you have probably heard me say this before, but no
human-developed economic system is perfect, and all human-developed economic
systems are vulnerable to the imperfections of humans. And God’s economy? It is very different than any human economy
because it is an economy based on grace and abundance. Just last week, we heard Isaiah proclaim,
“Hear, everyone who thirst, come to the waters; and you that have no money,
come, buy, and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without
price!” So we, as ambassadors of God’s
kingdom, living in the world today, might struggle because we know that the
economic system we are working in – for us, that tends to be capitalism – is
imperfect in so many ways, and we know that God has a better way of doing
things. So, as ambassadors, we are
called to engage in and promote our home economy. Which, in practice, means things like giving
away free pie on PIE Day, or putting food in Ida’s cupboard to be available for
anyone who needs it to take. We are
promoting God’s way of doing things.
And ambassadors are to protect the security of citizens of their home country
in the country they are appointed to.
And this, to me, gets at the heart of Jesus’s commandment to love our
neighbours. Not just the neighbours we
like. Not just the neighbours who look
like us and speak like us and pray like us.
All of our neighbours. And
because I take a very broad interpretation of who is a citizen of God’s kingdom
– after all, all humans were created in God’s image – then we are called to
protect anyone who is threatened or oppressed or in danger or vulnerable.
With that little throw-away phrase, “ambassadors for Christ,” Paul has placed
an enormous weight on our shoulders. But
this weight is the weight of discipleship.
We do this because when we choose to follow the way of Jesus, this is
the path we are choosing to follow.
But it is also a path of great joy. No,
we don’t get to live in the fancy mansions that most political ambassadors get
to live in, and attend glitzy parties in the countries where we’re stationed. But instead, we get to know that we are part
of a new creation. In our baptism, we
were baptized into Christ’s resurrection, and we get to be trailblazers,
bringing this new life to the world. It is exciting! We get to serve alongside each other,
bringing a message of love and hope to the world.
And when the weight of global politics tries to pull us down, when we are
surrounded by trade wars and tariffs and elbows up and rumblings of takeovers –
when all of this tries to pull us down, we can remember that our ultimate
citizenship, our ultimate allegiance doesn’t lie in any of these messes that
humans make. Our ultimate citizenship is
with God, and God’s kingdom – that kingdom that we pray for every day, “thy
kingdom come on earth, as it is in heaven” – this kingdom where our citizenship
lies is a place of joy and grace and reconciliation and healing and the
overwhelming, unconditional, limitless love of a God whose very nature is love.
And may we always remember, and keep this vision in our hearts as we move about
the world. Amen.
One of those political cartoons
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