"One Humanity"

II Samuel 7:1-14a; Ephesians 2:11-22; Mark 6:30-34, 53-56

One of the important things that Christians have often forgotten through history is the importance of our connection with those who are Jewish. In fact, the history of Christianity must include the history of Israel. It was, after all, through the faith of the Israelite people that the setting for Christ's presence in this world became possible. It was the struggles of the ancient Hebrews that eventually led to the formation of the Church. The mother and father, even the disciples of Jesus were Jewish persons whose ancesters that went back to Abraham.

What is interesting about the history of the Jewish people is that by necessity they were separated from the rest of the humanity. By necessity, and as a part of God's plan, they were called out to be "The People of God." They were given laws to live by that would make them look and act different from other people and cultures. And, unlike any other language, even their language was preserved in such a way that if a modern Hebrew speaking person could somehow meet another Hebrew speaking person from 2,500 years ago they would still be able to communicate with each other with little difficulty. No other living language can make such a claim, today. And this is only because people of the Jewish faith have been separated from the rest of the people of the world and have, therefore, been preserved as something special. And this is amazing, considering how often the Jewish people have been dispersed among the many nations of the world. Somehow, in spite of that, they have maintained their individuality as a people.

But, this was God's plan, done with a goal. And, surprisingly, that goal was not to separate people. God's goal was not to keep people apart and segregate one culture from another. Rather, God's ultimate goal in separating the Israelite people from the other nations was to make it possible to, one day, bring all people together through Jesus Christ.

Our Old Testament lesson for today shows us how God promised to David that he would make a great dynasty of the house of David. God promised to David that through his lineage the world would be blessed. God promised to David that the time would come when those who were God's people would have rest from their enemies. And, finally, and most important for we who are Christians to remember, God promised David that one of his descendents would build a Temple for God; a Temple that would not be destroyed; a Temple that would last forever. And God told David, "I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me."

Of course, in the short term the people believed that this descendent of David was David's son, Solomon. For, indeed, Solomon did build a Temple in Jerusalem. But, as we all know, that Temple was destroyed only a few generations later. And we know that there is no Temple in Jerusalem today. Solomon's Temple was not eternal, at all! So, the question is: "Does God not keep his promises?" Certainly, if God is faithful, and we believe God is, then God had to have kept his promise to David about having an eternal Temple. But how? And the answer to that question lies in the coming of Jesus Christ into the world. For in the life and death of Jesus Christ God's promise to David was fulfilled. For the cross of Christ became the altar of the supreme sacrifice. Christ, God's high priest, became, himself, the sacrifice: The Lamb of God. Thus, Christ became the very Temple, the eternal Temple of God, a Temple that would not be destroyed, a Temple that would last forever." And just as God promised David, inspite of the fact that Jesus' geneology could be traced all the way back to David, God was Christ's Father, and Christ was the Son of God. Jesus Christ was the fulfillment of God's promise to David. What seemed impossible in human terms, became possible through Christ.

Certainly, this tells us something about God. If anything, we learn that God's promises to us, God's plans for us, aren't always carried out in the ways that we think they will be. Our own understanding of God's activity may be too small, too limited, because of our own weaknesses. When we encounter God's workings in our lives, we may forget that what God is doing with us may be a part of an overall plan, involving many more persons than ourselves, alone. Unfortunately, many Christians have often forgotten this fact. There are many Christians whose religion is a "God and me" kind of a thing. So, they put an overemphasis on personal experience and not enough on the importance of the Community of Faith, The Body of Christ, known to us as the Church. They forget that God's personal activity with individuals is for the sake of the Body as well as for the sake of the individual. And that is why it is so important that we worship together, and do things together, and pray for each other, and work out our ministries together.

When God promised an eternal kingdom to David, David probably thought that God was speaking about events that would take place within his lifetime or in the lifetime of the next generation. But, instead, God was looking forward through time, through many generations, through the lives of hundreds and thousands of people who had not even been born, persons who individually would have to say "yes" to God but who would in their own way work with others to fulfill the promises of God. And that's the way it is with us. One at a time, encouraged by the Community of Faith, we open our lives to God's will, to God's activities, and then work together with others in the Community of Faith to bring forth God's eternal kingdom in this world.

Our Gospel lesson for today talks about how even Jesus' quest for solitude in order to have a personal and separate spiritual life often led him and his disciples into direct ministry with and for others. In Mark 6 Jesus tells his disciples, "Let's go to a deserted place all by ourselves and rest for a while." But, when they got to their destination, they were met by a great crowd of persons who recognized them. And Jesus and his disciples ministered to them, because (as the Gospel says) "they were like sheep without a shepherd."

Now, there is something important here. We learn that reserving time for one's personal spiritual life is very important. However, we also learn that ministry with and for others is every bit as important. Our quest for a personal spiritual life must lead us to ministry with and to others. In his quest for a personal spiritual life Jesus, yet, ministered to the people of Israel because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And whenever we use sheep-language like this we have to remember that where there are sheep and where there is a shepherd, there is a flock. The emphasis, then, is on the multitude. The sheep need each other for protection and look to their shepherd for guidance. Together, they are strong, able to ward off the wolves and those who would steal from the flock.

We who call ourselves United Methodists know the importance of having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. But this personal relationship with Jesus Christ, if it is real, leads us to fellowship with others; it leads us to the flock where there is protection and nuture. As our gospel lesson says, as Jesus ministered to his flock, "he began to teach them many things." Certainly, being taught is one of the most important things that we can do together. As we worship, as we join together in Church School, and as we have fellowship with one another, we are taught. But, in order to be taught we have got to have the humility to admit that we need to learn. If we're going to learn we need to submit to God and to the shepherd who God has sent to teach us. Without submission, the flock will, of course, begin to wander away where they will become vulnerable to predators and other dangers.

The writer of the book of Ephesians explains how Christ Jesus brought about God's ultimate goal, which was to bring together the individuals of the world into "one new humanity." Through Christ, Jews and Gentiles were and are brought together in the Body and Blood of Christ. Men and women, young and old, those who were once considered "strangers and aliens" are now full "citizens with the saints and members of the household of God" with all the duties and privileges thereof. As the scripture says, in Christ Jesus "the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are built together spiritually into a dwelling place for God."

For some time now we have been talking about building a sanctuary where we may worship God. But before we can possibly do that, God calls us all together not only to be his people, but to be his dwelling place. Let us clear the way, my friends. Let us remove the barriers and the obstacles of attitudes, and beliefs, and prejudices, and lifestyles that might exclude any of God's children from full ministry with us. Let us remove those hindrances which may keep us from being one humanity in Jesus Christ. For God shall have a Temple. Let us pray that, through Christ, God's Temple may be in us!

Amen.