God Has Welcomed Them

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September 14, 2014

Romans 14:1-12

1Welcome those who are weak in faith, but not for the purpose of quarreling over opinions. 2Some believe in eating anything, while the weak eat only vegetables. 3Those who eat must not despise those who abstain, and those who abstain must not pass judgment on those who eat; for God has welcomed them. 4Who are you to pass judgment on servants of another? It is before their own lord that they stand or fall. And they will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make them stand.

5Some judge one day to be better than another, while others judge all days to be alike. Let all be fully convinced in their own minds. 6Those who observe the day, observe it in honor of the Lord. Also those who eat, eat in honor of the Lord, since they give thanks to God; while those who abstain, abstain in honor of the Lord and give thanks to God.

7We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. 8If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. 9For to this end Christ died and lived again, so that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.

10Why do you pass judgment on your brother or sister? Or you, why do you despise your brother or sister? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. 11For it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, 
and every tongue shall give praise to God.”  12So then, each of us will be accountable to God.

 

Sermon: “God Has Welcomed Them”

It was a warm summer Sunday morning, a couple of years ago. I was doing all the little things I do right before worship begins (make sure the candle is lit, sound system on, jot down announcements to make, print out sermon copies) and as I rushed though that routine, I noticed there was a man sitting in a pew, all by himself, except for the large Bible he had with him. Worship was to start in about twenty minutes.

I walked up to him and greeted him, “Hello, welcome to our church!” “Thank you!” he replied cheerfully. “I’m the pastor here, my name is Whitney,” I said as I extended a hand. The smile froze on his face. He did not shake my hand, but did look me up and down like I’d just announced I was from Mars. “But this, this is a Presbyterian Church, right?” he asked. “Yes it is, Presbyterian Church USA.” “Ah,” he said, like one might say “ah” after learning your favorite athlete was on enhancing drugs or your favorite musician was lip-synching. He clearly thought we were a Presbyterian Church of America church, which is the sort of Presbyterian that does not ordain women as elders or ministers. I know this because of what he said next.

“Well,” he said as he squared his shoulders, “I’m a 1 Timothy man.” I assumed he did not mean, “let no one despise you because of your youth,” but instead the, “let a woman learn in silence with full submission” bit.

Here’s what I wanted to do:

I wanted to explain that this particular letter was written to address a particular situation in a particular church in a particular time, and was never meant to be the blanket statement so many have made it to mean, after all, Jesus had female followers. Paul referenced other female leaders in the church like Phoebe in his same letters. (Presbyterian Women, you’ll hear more about that tonight at 6!)

But that’s not what I did. I took a deep breath, smiled at him and said, “I understand. Well, I know you may not feel comfortable here, but please know you are welcome to stay.” I did not add “you just might change your mind,” though, I confess I wanted to.

Without a word, he picked up his large Bible, got up and left. And he hasn’t been back, nor do I really expect that he will (though I wish he would).

I’ve felt a call to the ministry since I was a little girl. I spent years in discernment before even beginning the process of ordination, and then dutifully went through hoop after hoop to take that call seriously. I took ordination exams, was examined again and again by the Committee on Preparation for Ministry of my presbytery. I answered God’s call to me, and try my darndest to keep answering that call everyday.

And this man, well, in five words, citing scripture no less, he negated all of that. In five words, he judged me as being unbibilical, unfaithful to God, and unfit to lead this community. Not that I ever would, but if I had asked him to leave the church, that might have been within my right to do so. Instead, I welcomed him. (through gritted teeth perhaps)

Because what else can we do? What else are we called to do? Scripture, not just 1 Timothy but all of it, is pretty clear. Love God. Love your neighbor. And unfortunately there’s not a footnote that says “love your neighbor if they agree with you on theology, politics and social issues, or if they show love to you first.” Nope, just love. Period.

Our text in Romans today calls us to be a people of radical welcome. And it seems to give special emphasis to vegetarians. At first glance, it sounds like Paul was just getting hungry when he wrote this, drifting off into some obscure speech about meat and vegetables. But there’s something deeper going on.

You see, in Paul’s day, it was understood that the meat people would eat had first been sacrificed to a god. Some Christians decided that eating such meat was, in a way, worshipping that god. (In other words, idolatry.) Other Christians said that there is only one true God, so you can eat all the steak you want, guilt-free, because you can’t be worshipping a god that doesn’t exist.

His point was this: you two groups (meat-eaters and vegetarians) are getting carried away with this issue of meat, and letting it divide you. The question isn’t whether or not you eat meat. The question is whether you do all things for the glory of God or not. The question is whether you welcome someone without trying to trap them into an argument. The point is we are all accountable to God, the one and only judge. So get a veggie or steak burger already and get over it! Just eat together, be the body of Christ you are supposed to be.

Now, take “eating meat” out of the equation and fill that spot with any number of contentious issues in the church of our time and the message is the same. The church has, since its very beginning, become confused in what our role is. We have, from the very start, tried to stand in the place of Judge.  And time and time again, that has torn the church apart.

This letter in Romans tells us -- in ways that will make many of you crave a steakburger from Davidsons after -- something essential. Are you ready? Here it is: our opinions are not nearly as important as we think they are. Even those opinions having to do with faith, scripture and church.

What is important is that we welcome…the idea that Sarah Chase is awesome. (Sarah helped me write my sermon this week, in case you were wondering.)

Since I was catching up with Sarah the same afternoon I usually write sermons, she wanted to help. Sarah’s awesome that way. So, listen now to the Gospel According to Sarah, y’all:

What is equally as important as welcoming people, is that we need to “chill and live and let live. Don’t stress about others so much, focus on being the kind of person you want to be. You can’t change anyone else, only yourself. You can’t force your beliefs on someone because it doesn’t make them change, it pushes them away.”

I’m going to have Sarah help me write my sermons a lot more often!

God is our judge, and God is the only one really qualified for that job. We’ve been given plenty else to do – the welcoming bit, the figuring out how to eat together bit. Don’t let differences – be they theology, politics, opinions or even eating meat – keep us from coming to a table together, especially to this Table.

Here, we come, vegetarians and meat-eaters. Here, we come, conservatives and liberals, Democrats, Republicans and Others. Here, we come, women, men, young, not-so-young. Here, we come, retired, working, looking for more or better work. Here, we come, changing, all of us, by the grace of God.

Here, we come, not because we’ve figured out how to be good and kind and forgiving to one another, but because we want to. Here, we come, because Jesus Christ has already welcomed us. Here, we come. Amen.