“Healing the Nation” by Rev. Cody Sandahl – November 19, 2017

Lay Reader = Jeremiah 29:4-7

⁴Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: ⁵Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat what they produce. ⁶Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. ⁷But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.

Abraham Lincoln’s Proclamation of Thanksgiving, 1863

The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequalled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.

Introduction

Thank you, Matt, for sharing Lincoln’s Thanksgiving Proclamation with us. I have long been a student of history. It helps me in several ways. First, it is comforting to know that many of the challenges we face today have been faced by previous generations. We’re still here, so I guess they figured something out. Second, I am a younger brother. And my older brother was the kind of person you could dare to do anything, and he would do it. That means I incorporated the value of learning from OTHER people’s mistakes early in my life. When I study history, it’s an opportunity to learn from the choices of the past before I make my choices in the present.

On this Sunday before Thanksgiving, I thought it would be wise to take a look at our long history of striving for unity in the midst of our divisions. And this isn’t just an American activity. The early Christians faced divisions of every kind. We’ll be looking at Paul’s letter to the church in Rome. That church faced pressure to be just like everyone else in the capital of Rome. They faced pressure from Jewish leaders in Rome. They faced internal pressure as they tried to figure out the best way to follow Jesus. And so Paul writes to them in Romans 12 to give them a pattern, a way forward, a foundation for unity in the midst of their divisions. Perhaps we need to hear this today, too.

Romans 12

¹I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. ²Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect. ³For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. ⁴For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, ⁵so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. ⁶We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; ⁷ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; ⁸the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness. ⁹Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; ¹⁰love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. ¹¹Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. ¹²Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. ¹³Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers. ¹⁴Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. ¹⁵Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.¹⁶Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. ¹⁷Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all.¹⁸If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.¹⁹Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”²⁰No, “if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.” ²¹Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

What Hump?

There are two movies I can quote almost in their entirety, and I can probably pick up the next line no matter where you want to start. Any guesses on the two movies? Star Wars is the obvious one. And another great classic of the English language – Monty Python and the Holy Grail. I’ll even give you the accents if you want, free of charge.

If you are a cultural luddite and don’t know this movie as well as I do, it is a sarcastic and hilarious take on King Arthur’s search for the Holy Grail – the cup Jesus drank from at the Last Supper. And one of the scenes features a sword duel between King Arthur and the fearsome black knight. The black knight blocks King Arthur’s way forward, declaring, “None shall pass!”

As the battle ensues, Arthur strikes first, and the black knight’s arm falls to the ground. The victorious Arthur shouts, “Now stand aside, worthy adversary!”

“Tis but a scratch,” the knight replies.

“A scratch?!? Your arm’s off!”

“No it isn’t!”

“Well what’s that, then?” Arthur demands.

“I’ve had worse! Come on you pansy!”

On it goes until the black knight is left with no arms and no legs. As King Arthur leaves him there and crosses the bridge, the black knight finally relents by saying, “All right…we’ll call it a draw.”

Or if you prefer a less violent example, what about another cultural classic – Young Frankenstein. Dr. Frankenstein, sorry Frank-en-steen, is approached by Egor, sorry I-gor, and the young doctor pats Igor on the back, accidentally touching the extruding hump. And he tells Igor, “I don’t mean to embarrass you, but I’m a rather brilliant surgeon. Perhaps I could help you with that hump.” A startled Igor replies, “What hump?”

In our text today, Paul tells the church in Rome, “do not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but think with sober judgment.” If your arm is sitting on the ground, it’s not just a scratch. If you have a hump the size of a beach ball on your back, don’t say “what hump?” One of the key ways we can find unity in our divisions, Paul says, is to reflect on ourselves with “sober judgment.”

This was one of Abraham Lincoln’s surprising strengths in the proclamation we heard today. He says about the country he’s leading in the midst of a civil war, that people should pray with “humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience.” He gives thanks for the “gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.” I haven’t heard too many speeches lately that mention our national disobedience to God or admitting that God is angry with us for our sins while ALSO granting us mercy. That’s some pretty sober judgment to use Paul’s phrase. That’s being willing to admit if your arm’s on the ground. That’s being willing to admit that you have a hump. That’s being willing to admit that you’re not perfect, you don’t have all the answers, you don’t know how it’s all going to turn out, and ultimately the future isn’t in your control. Sober judgment.

One of the ways we can have unity in the midst of our divisions is to have sober judgment about our limitations, and the limitations of our philosophies and ideas. Unless you have a time traveling DeLorean and you have an almanac from the future, you don’t know how any of this is going to turn out. If we can ALL admit that, we will have made some progress.

Unity in Christ

But Paul reminds us that our unity is based on something very specific. “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God.” Our unity is found in the surpassing value of our faith in Jesus Christ. A liberal Christian and a conservative Christian and a libertarian Christian and an independent or even politically apathetic Christian all have something in common: they’re Christians! Our unity is found in keeping the most important thing as the most important thing. Our shared faith in Jesus Christ is more important than anything else. And so the person who is more conservative than you isn’t being an idiot who forgot about Jesus’ compassion. They’re expressing their faithfulness to Jesus in a different way. And the person who is more liberal than you isn’t being an idiot who forgot about Jesus’ concern for righteousness. They are expressing their faithfulness to Jesus in a different way.

Our unity is in our shared faith in Jesus Christ. That’s why Paul says not to be conformed to this world. That’s why Paul says we should be transformed by the renewing of our minds. That’s why Paul says we should discern what is the will of God.

Lincoln put it this way after he rattled off the reasons the country had to be thankful: “No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God.”

But Paul goes even further. “For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another.”

Imagine a body that is just composed of a mass of eyeballs. Is that a pleasant thought? Or what about a body that is all hair. Largest cat hairball in the universe. Ready to give that body a kiss? How about two hundred pounds of arms connected to each other? Is that marriage material?

Paul is saying that we are all wired by God, gifted by God, commissioned by God, in different and unique ways. For example, given the rise in violence in our country and after the attack on the church in Texas, several people have asked me about our church’s security. We need people who are thinking about keeping everyone safe. But I have also had people approach me to make sure we’re still going to be open and welcoming to the least and the lost, because Jesus commands us to do that. We need people who are thinking about reaching the hurting people in our community. Our community is worse off – incomplete even – if we don’t have these two groups of people. Session’s going to talk about this today.

And so another way we can have unity in the midst of our divisions is to take a leap of faith and acknowledge that we are better when different body parts are doing their thing. We are better when someone is passionate about preventing government overreach. We are better when someone is passionate about social justice. We are better when someone is passionate about national defense. We are better when someone is passionate about caring for the poor. We are better when someone is passionate about healthcare quality, and we are better when someone is passionate about healthcare costs. If we don’t want to be the world’s largest hairball, we NEED all these different parts of our body.

This is a huge challenge, but Paul is admonishing us to have enough faith to say, “I disagree with almost everything you just said, but we are a better body because you’re passionate about it.” Remember what Jesus said in Matthew 5: “if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment! If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the court. And if you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell.” Instead of thinking that someone is a fool for seeing things differently than you, be grateful that they are being a different and needed part of our overall body. That’s a huge challenge, but Paul tells us, “If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.” That includes living peaceably with the pastor who’s asking you to live peaceably, I should add.

Agape

You know, I love how Lincoln ends his proclamation. He ends it with a plea for people to pray. To “commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.”

He’s asking people to pray for the whole nation – even the half that is rebelling. Even the half that is killing your sons and brothers and fathers. Even the half that is making you a widow, an orphan, a mourner, a sufferer. That’s a bold prayer.

It sounds a bit like what Jesus said, “But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!”

It sounds a bit like what Paul wrote in our text today: “if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

The final way we can find unity in the midst of our divisions is to pray for the very people you vehemently disagree with. And you’re NOT praying for heaps of burning coals on their heads, Paul says that feeding your enemy and giving your enemy a drink RESULTS in them feeling that burning shame. So no prayers for burning coals! That’s missing the point!

Pray for God’s blessing. Pray for God’s wisdom. Pray for God’s provision. And pray for those things even for the people you disagree with. Because they are dearly loved children of God, just like you. They are God’s sons and daughters, just like you. They are made in God’s image, just like you. Jesus died for their sins, just like you. And since there’s a good chance you’ll be spending eternity with them if they have faith in Jesus, you might as well get used to them now!

Thanksgiving Meal

As Thanksgiving approaches this week, let me tell you about some of the strange Thanksgiving meals I have experienced. I’ve had a Thanksgiving meal where my grandmother was to my right, and one of my brother’s hungover friends was to my left. And he wasn’t aware of it, but he still had a girl’s undergarments hanging around his neck. That was awkward, but we were at the same table together.

I’ve had a Thanksgiving meal where one family member suddenly started vomiting at the table. That wasn’t exactly pleasant, but we were at the same table together.

I’ve had a Thanksgiving meal where the person sitting across from me had just made some decisions that put about five people’s lives into a tailspin. I was seething, but we were at the same table together.

This Thanksgiving, no matter who is at your table. No matter who is making you mad or exasperated or confused. No matter who is in your life right now. Take a moment to be thankful for them. Take a moment to be thankful that you CAN be at the same table, literally or figuratively. Take a moment to be thankful that Jesus invited you AND them to eat at his table.

That’s a deeper level of thanksgiving. That’s a challenging level of thanksgiving. But it’s a thanksgiving that sees our true unity even in the midst of our divisions. That’s my prayer for all of us this week. Amen.