Christ and Conflict

Acts 10:9-13

Galatians 2:11-16

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            No one comes to Church looking for a fight; or at least they shouldn’t.  We find enough conflict brewing about the office coffee pot, some encounter enough trouble sitting around strained and silent dinner tables; even a cursory glance at the daily newspaper can weary the soul as we wonder, “will the fighting ever cease?”.  So, we come to this room we call a “sanctuary” looking for just that - sanctuary.  Church is the place we come to find peace.  Peace of mind; peace with God - Peace!

            It is for this reason Church fights carry more strain and stress than your garden variety office brouhaha.  For we bring the deepest part of ourselves to God; and when those beliefs, ideals and values are challenged; battles can quickly escalate.  Iraq and Afghanistan all attest to the power of Jihad - of Holy War.  And any number of ordinary congregations bear the scars of battles fought over theology, morality, politics, and even what color the carpet should be.

            In the second Chapter of Paul’s letter to the Churches of Galatia he describes a conflict between the two great lions of the early Church;  Peter, the “rock” on whom Jesus promised to build his Church, (Matthew 16:18); and Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles.  There were not two personalities which loomed larger in this fledgling Church than these; and when they butted heads, the walls shook and people cowered; and I’m sure some looked for the door because no one likes to see Mom and Dad fight.

            But, sometimes forthright words need to be spoken.  Sometimes you have to fight for the “right”.  Sometimes you need to stand against the current which you feel is pushing you out to sea of endless storms and chaotic waves.

            Our scripture this morning is about just that.  It is about a “fight” that needed to happen.  The dust has long since settled on that conflict; Peter and Paul kissed and made up and resolved their differences; but as long as people breathe they will bump into each other, so maybe we can learn something about how we can handle our critical differences by exploring theirs.  First, let us pray:

            Lord, you have been called the Prince of Peace, yet you fought for righteousness at every turn.  You did not turn a blind eye to those who were oppressed. You stood against sin and injustice even at the cost of your own life. Yet, even your enemies recognized your compassion, your understanding, your forgiveness.

            Give us courage we pray to stand for righteousness; but to never be self-righteous.  Help us to “speak the truth, but to speak the truth in love.”  And even in the midst of conflict grant us “your peace which passeth all understanding.”  Amen.

           

            A couple of weeks ago I made the observation that it is difficult for any of us to see Jesus unfiltered by our own experience, by our own culture, and even by our own bias.  We look at him through the only eyes we have.  If our eyes are western, we look at him through western eyes; if our eyes are young we look at him through young eyes.  Our own perspective will show through.  We are who we are.

            The only solution to that dilemma is honesty and openness to others.  We must be open to criticism or we close ourselves off to any self-correction.  If someone in love points out the manner in which we might be diluting the gospel by our own culture, experience or bias; we need to have open ears and open minds and even open hearts.  If someone, in grace, calls us on some action or attitude we take which is contrary to God’s Word we need to be receptive or take the risk of living in hypocrisy.

            This, of course, is much easier said than done.  None of us wants to hear the answer to the question, “Do you want to know what’s wrong with you?”  Not one of us would claim to be perfect; yet few of us are eager to hear how we might improve.  It’s just part of human nature.  Since the time of Adam and Eve, we have all been looking for “fig-leaves” to hide our sin. (Genesis 3:8)  Since the time of David, we have all concocted schemes to cover-up indiscretion. (2 Samuel 11)

              So, when someone approaches us with the expressed purpose of telling us that we are wrong; Clang - the gate slams shut, our windows shuddered and the bridge is drawn up.  Then, we rifle through our file of defensive rebuttals which usually turn the question back around, “You want to know what’s wrong with you?”  With clenched jaws or maybe even with disarming smiles beneath steel eyes we listen but do not hear.  An enemy is made that day; and enemies are made to be destroyed.  The greater your authority; the greater your ability to fight the wrong battles and get away with it.  Because you win, you assume you’re right.

            The Apostle Peter was a man of authority.  Jesus had assigned him that power one day in the region of Caesarea Philippi.  In front of the twelve he placed is hands upon Peter’s shoulders and said in effect, “when I am gone - Peter is in charge.” (Matthew 16)

            Peter was a dynamic personality and a charismatic leader, and he took that responsibility very seriously. But, if he had a fault it was in his tendency to shoot first and ask questions later.  He was in a word, “spontaneous”.  Sometimes those quick decisions quickly stirred people and lead them to follow him into the streets of Jerusalem to proclaim God’s Good News (Acts 2); but sometimes we find him not in front, but behind the crowd.

            In this story he did the later.  Their battleground is hard for us to comprehend today; but in those early days the dinner table became the symbol for all that separated and divided these new born Christians.  For some early believers had been taught from childhood  that Virginia baked ham and Oysters Rockefeller were strictly forbidden; while others had grown up on pork chops and lobster.  Jewish believers kept kosher - Gentiles did not.  Since the Gentile believers were the new kids on the block; the Jewish disciples had already filled the Session and the Board of Trustees.  They were the ones who wrote the Church by-laws and chose the new pastors.  They had staked their claim first.

            Now Peter had been one of the old crowd.  He had been raised from a kosher kitchen.  But, one day the book of Acts records,  he had a vision, and in that vision he saw a “great sheet” descending from heaven, and in that great sheet he saw all manner of animals, both those whom Jewish law considered “clean” and those whom Jewish law considered “unclean”.    And a voice said, “What God has cleansed, you must not call common.” (Acts 10:15) In other words, the new covenant established in Jesus Christ brought with it a new dietary freedom.  The Church would not be divided at the supper table.

            Peter accepted the divine authenticity of this vision.  He believed its message reflected the Will of God; but, when he gathered together with his old friends, his old habits re-emerged.  He turned up his nose at the pot luck supper dishes that these new Galatian believers brought; and hunkered down with his own pals over their specially prepared food.  It would be hard for these new-born Galatian Christians not to take this as an insult.  I think Peter knew this.  I know I learned this long ago.  If someone brings their favorite dish to a Church dinner; you eat it - and like it. Still, peer pressure is a powerful force.  It is like the current of a strong current pushing you out to sea.

            Those of us who are parents are always fret about peer pressure.  We wonder about the crowd with whom our kids hang out; because we want them to be surrounded by those who would influence them in a positive direction.   If our kids hang out with kids who seem to have a negative attitude towards life and towards our rules we become concerned. We know “peer pressure” is the name of the game in the teenage years.

            So, we tell them how important it is to choose their friends carefully.  We encourage them to stand up against the current; and to do the right thing even if you might be criticized or even if you become the butt of a joke.  We teach them to have the courage of their convictions; that they don’t have to go-along to get-along.

            And that is right!  What we mistakenly assume though, is that when they or we have breached that twenty-first birthday we automatically become immune to the power of pressure from our peers.  But, you know and I know that this is often not true; that sometimes we also go-along in order to get-along.  We remain quiet when we hear someone gossip and destroy the reputation of someone else because we don’t want to “make a scene”.  We turn a blind eye to someone who acts dishonestly at the office because we don’t want to get involved.  We let some sexist or racist remark go un-challenged, because we don’t want to be considered some “goody-two-shoes” fuddy-duddy.

            To live in our world today does require some discretion.  No individual can fight every battle, nor should you have to die on every hill.  You do have to pick and choose your battles; but many are afraid to stand for what is right for fear of the consequences they might have to pay.

            I believe Paul knew there could be consequences.  He was preparing to brace the most popular leader in the Church.  He did not know what the response might be; but, he saw the hurt Peter’s action caused.  He realized that when this most respected leader caved in to the latest public opinion polls, he was betraying his responsibility to lead, and he was causing great spiritual harm among those whom he was charged to guide.  His apparent hypocrisy which said “Do as I say and not as I do” confused those young in the faith.  Further, it served as a kind of wall separating himself from these believers in the most social and sacred of occasions.  For, then Church suppers provided not only for fellowship, but for worship as well.  The Lord’s Supper was celebrated as part of the meal itself; and Peter was letting the menu create church division.

            So, Paul stood up to Peter; toe to toe and eye to eye.  He told him that leadership required integrity.  He told him leadership demands some sense of consistency and connection between “what you say” and “what you do”.  He told him that spiritual leadership must always place the “Will of God” over the latest public opinion polls.  If a leader forgets that; if a leader just wets his index finger and holds it up in the air to see which way the wind blows; he will forever be wandering around in aimless circles leaving a trail of bewildered and confused disciples

            Paul reminds Peter of what he has known all along..  We are justified by our faith in Jesus Christ; and not by our table manners. (Galatian 2:15)

            Now, I am sure Paul received no joy from this confrontation.  He may have even been a tad nervous about criticizing the one to whom Jesus gave the “keys of the kingdom”. (Matthew 16:19) He must have certainly known that such a public disagreement between the two most notable leaders of the Church could not be good for public relations.

            Yet, he also knew and later wrote that “Christ is our peace, who has made us both one. And that Christ has broken down the dividing wall of hostility.”  How?  “By abolishing in his flesh the law of commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of two, so making peace, and that he might reconcile us both to god in one body through the cross.”  (Ephesians 2:14-15)

            Paul knew that where there is “no justice - there is no peace.”  And long as Peter treated these brand new Galatian believers with contempt; there could be no peace.  As long as he treated them un-justly, they would remain divided.

            So, sometimes you stand against the powers-that-be because it is the right thing to do.  A small group of German Lutheran Pastors believed this and signed their own death warrant at the bottom of the Barmen Declaration which in 1934 declared that Adolph Hitler and his policies were wrong.  A small group of black pastor led by Martin Luther King believed this and stood against the fire hoses and tear gas and attack dogs to march on Selma to declare that “separate but equal” was not!  In South Africa, one man speaking from prison for decades finally broke the bars down, and over-turned apartheid, and now Nelson Mandella holds the office that once held he and his people down.

            What these men have taught us though, and what we always need to remember is that you don’t have to be disagreeable to disagree.  These heroes of great movements fought for their ideals without bomb or bayonet, without curse or epithet.   They followed the Apostle’s admonition to “speak the truth in love.” (Ephesians 4:15) Truth and love are tied together.  If you can’t do both; you shouldn’t do either.

            There is an old prayer which reads:

Lord, forgive me.

I have not always been wrong,

but I’ve often been very unpleasant about being right.

            That is a sin for which many of us stand condemned.  Reflecting upon some long ago conflict we may still see ourselves as being in the right; but we may also blush when we remember how unpleasant we were; and we may regret the casualties we left; we may stand convicted of tactics we used which treated our opponents not as a children of God, but as the Devil himself.

            The good news of the Gospel is that for believers there need not be such thing as “irreconcilable differences”.  Paul and Peter resolved this conflict.  Peter remembered his vision and recognized how old friends can rekindle old habits.