July 27th

It Takes Every Kind of People

Ephesians 2:11-22



If you were at church last Sunday, you know it was my birthday—thanks to our illustrious Treasurer, Diane Creson—who, by the way, will be the subject of a sermon in the near future. If you were not at church, we’re glad you’re here this week, and if you are a member of the church and you weren’t here, please remember to double your giving this week to atone for your sin of last week.

I want you to know that I did appreciate the song. You see, when the phone rang, I was attempting to check us out of our room at conference by using the so-called “Express Checkout” via our room’s television. I am here to tell you that Express Checkout is a lie of the Devil! So, when the church called to sing “Happy Birthday,” I was in less than a pastoral mood. But your song and the thought behind it brought me back to what is really important—people—every kind of people.

One thing I have learned as I have gotten ever so slightly older is that I tend to relate to a particular era of music better than others. That era spans the late 70’s through the early 90’s. Now there has been wonderful music made throughout history. But there is just something about Janet Jackson’s “Miss You Much,” Boy George’s “Miss Me Blind, “ and Jane Child’s “Don’t Wanna Fall in Love” that gets my body moving—which is a strange spectacle in itself that NOW takes place ONLY in the privacy of our home. This music takes me back in time, brings memories flooding back, and—most of the time—those memories make me smile.

There is a song from that era that does not have near the glitter, makeup, and nose ring appeal of Janet, George, and Jane; but it has a extremely powerful message nonetheless—a message that we need to hear today. That song is “Every Kinda People,” by A. Fraser, and adapted by Robert Palmer on his 1989 CD, “Addictions—Volume 1.” Listen to the words of the chorus:

“It takes every kinda people
To make what life’s about
Every kind of people
To make the world go round”

Those words sum up a large portion of today’s passage from Ephesians. You see, church unity—a major theme in Ephesians—was just as important in the first century as it is today. And while there was no major drama going on in the church at Ephesus—at least none that we know of—the question of who was “in,” and who was “out” was always a topic for discussion in the early church.

Some things never change, do they?

The challenge of who was “in” and who was “out” in the first century was based primarily along the lines of race and religious tradition. In the old tradition, there was a wall in the temple of Jerusalem that divided the court of Jewish women from the court of the Gentiles. Since God was thought to reside only in the innermost court, this wall reminded the Gentiles that they did not have access to God. It’s like being put in the “nosebleed section” of a stadium where you might be able to hear a little of what is going on; but you can’t see a thing, and if you try to move closer to the action, you risk being tossed out on your behind. Of course in the first century, they just killed you. No fuss, no muss, no appeals to the congregation or Regional Elder, no long, drawn out lawsuits.

Now the writer of Ephesians acknowledges this unfortunate situation as part of the past. But then he goes on to say that Jesus Christ broke down those dividing walls of hostility so these people could be united into one group.

And we’ve been doing our darndest to rebuild those walls ever since!

Some churches build walls that exclude the full participation of women, people of color, people who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender, people who aren’t members of particular denominations—and in some cases, even those people who aren’t members of particular congregations within those denominations. For example, growing up in my Pentecostal tradition, a person had to be a member of an apostolic, oneness, Pentecostal church in order to be a real Pentecostal.

And as members of the dominant religious and government structures of ancient times killed the prophets, the apostles, and Jesus Christ for tearing down their precious walls of cultural and religious exclusion, some churches today are still killing people who are trying to tear down these divisive walls of hostility! The only difference is the killing of the 21st century prophets of inclusion takes different form. For some churches today are killing the “Gentiles” in their midst spiritually through divisive church politics and more church bylaw red tape than any department in the United States government! This death is a slow, painful, process that has turned many people away from Christianity altogether.

Now, as MCC clergy, it is easy for me to rip on churches and governments that practice blatant exclusion. But even denominations like ours’ have walls, sometimes. Last week, 6 people from this church attended a wonderful conference at the Fairmont Princess Resort in Scottsdale, AZ. The place was amazing! But it was also a stark reminder of the walls that we sometimes build between the have’s and the have not’s.

Like the synagogues of the 1st century—and many of our sister denominations today— in MCC, we too, have different sections for “evangelicals” and “progressives;” Americans and non-Americans, clergy and laity; women and men. These walls may be invisible to the physical eye; but they are all too evident to the spiritual eye.

And do you know what I really find amazing? We actually build some of these walls using our versions of Jesus Christ! You know the Jesus I’m talking about, right? The Jesus who wouldn’t want women in leadership positions in the church because all the apostles were male. The blonde-haired blue-eyed Jesus who favors the United States because we are, of course, a Christian nation. Now how are these versions anything like the Jesus who tears down walls of hostility and brings peace?

I have to tell you, I am with Bishop Yvette Flunder on this one. Last week at the Clergy Conference she told us that maybe it is time we forgot about designing “Jesus Saves” campaigns, and come up with a “Save Jesus” campaign! We could go door to door. Better yet, we could go to church doors! “Hi! We’re with MCC of Corpus Christi. We’ve heard you’re trying to hold Jesus hostage in an exclusive, narrow-minded, racist, sexist, homophobic theology. So, we’re here to roll away the stone from that tomb, because it’s resurrection time!

Of course, Jesus doesn’t need our help. But, boy do we need his! Amen?

You see, folks, in the church of Jesus Christ, there should be no wall between the rich and the poor! In the church of Jesus Christ, there should be no wall between the races! In the church of Jesus Christ, there should be no wall between the gay and straight! In the church of Jesus Christ, there is only one humanity, one body, and one peace.

Easier said than done, right? I mean, how do we even attempt such radical unity in our communities without killing each other in the process? Well, like anything else we attempt in life, we have to focus if we hope to have any measure of success at all. We need a cornerstone on which to build our community of inclusion.

We need the cornerstone that is Jesus Christ.

Scripture tells us that it is in Jesus Christ that the whole structure, that is, the church, is joined together and grows into the holy temple of God. Please note that the scripture says, “grows into the holy temple of God.” What that means is we aren’t there yet, folks. It’s a process. So when things go wrong, as they definitely will in this growth process, remember these words: It is through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ that we can have peace with one another. That is, if we choose to have peace with one another.

Now, I want everyone to stand as you are comfortable and take the hand of the person next to you. If you can, reach across the aisle, too! Now, repeat after me:

“It takes every kinda people
To make what life’s about
Every kind of people
To make the world go round”

Let’s try to remember that the next time we start building walls. Amen?

God bless you and amen.