Monthly Archives: July 2015

Celebrating as a Community

Reading for Ninth Sunday after Pentecost: Ephesians 3:14-21

© Copyright 2015 The ADA Legacy Project

Peace be with you!

As we celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), people with disabilities come together to share stories of trials and triumphs. In the 1980s, people with disabilities did not have the rights as we have today. Children with disabilities were not mainstreamed in regular education classes. Buildings were not accessible to people in wheelchairs, because they had stairs and not ramps and elevators. People in wheelchairs were not able to ride buses because buses were not equipped with lifts and ramps.

People with disabilities and supporters spent years lobbying Congress and writing letters to representatives in the 1980s. Several protests were organized in which people in wheelchairs would chain themselves to buses. People with disabilities went to hearings to tell about physical obstacles and discrimination in their daily lives. For the first time, people with disabilities were seen as a minority who had been discriminated against. On March 12, 1990, people abandoned their wheelchairs and mobility devices to crawl up the eighty-three steps to the US Capitol Building while chanting:

“What do we want?”

“ADA!”

“When do we want it?”

“NOW!”

People with disabilities were willing to fight for what they believed in—rights for all people. The Americans with Disabilities Act was passed on July 26, 1990; it gives people with disabilities four categories of fundamental rights: equal opportunity, full participation, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency.[i] Advocates continue to work toward making the ADA a reality for all people with disabilities.

In the third chapter of Ephesians, Paul prays for the church. He prays the Holy Spirit will work in their hearts to strengthen their relationship with God the Father and will give them the strength to do his work in the world (Ephesians 3:16-17). The author prays the church will recognize the Holy Spirit working in their daily lives to strengthen them.

Likewise, the ADA strengthens the voices of people with disabilities, because it recognizes their past struggles and gives them the right to live independently. Before the ADA, people with disabilities could not go shopping for shoes alone, as fourteen-year-old Danette Crawford told Senator Tom Harkin in 1990.[ii] For people with disabilities, the ADA meant access and the ability to do ordinary things, just like everyone else—a game changer.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is a game charger because it evened the playing field between the Jews and the Gentiles. Jesus allows the Gentiles to be in a relationship with God the Father; before they were considered to be unclean. No longer was circumcision a requirement in order to know God (Ephesians 2:11). Jesus abolished the dividing wall—the law—between the Jews and the Gentiles and allowed them to live together in harmony (Ephesians 2:14-15).

Now, Jesus Christ dwells in our hearts to ground us in his love (Ephesians 3:17). With Christ we know God’s unconditional love for us, which he shows us through Jesus’s crucifixion, death, and resurrection. The more we allow Jesus to dwell in our hearts, the more we are able to live out our faith and be led by the Holy Spirit. We are able to change the world with Jesus by our side.

When we allow Jesus to lead us, he leads us to be in community with others who believe (Ephesians 3:18-19). We can share our stories with one another and work together to do God’s work. We become a part of the community of saints working together in the world. As we share our individual stories, we become a part of God’s bigger story.

In order to get the Americans with Disabilities Act passed, people with disabilities and other advocates came together in Washington DC to give endless hours of taped testimony in Congressional hearings. Their testimonies told stories of how obstacles kept them from entering public places and how they were discriminated against at school and in the workforce. Their individual stories put the bigger picture together. Their stories made it possible for future generations to be able live ordinary lives in community with one another. Just like Jesus’s death and resurrection, that was a game changer.

Thanks be to God!

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for allowing us the live in community with one another. Help us to come together to do your work in the world. Dwell in our hearts as we go into the world. Be with us as we gather together to share stories of your awesome power. Thank you for sharing your bigger story with us. Amen.

 

[i] Senator Tom Harkin, “Americans with Disabilities Act at 20: A Nation Transformed,” Huffington Post, 30 July 2015, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sen-tom-harkin/ada-at-20-a-nation-transf_b_659001.html.

[ii] Ibid.

Living in the Mystery

Reading for Seventh Sunday after Pentecost: Ephesians 1:3-14

Peace be with you!

Somehow I skipped the confirmation class where we signed the waiver advising us of the dangers that come with being an active Christian. No Sunday school teacher tells children about the dangers in the world.

With ISIS constantly in the news, it feels like a risk just walking out the door, let alone admitting you are a Christian. In America, Christians are not being persecuted as they are in the Middle East but watching your fellow brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ be killed for no reason but for being Christians evokes its own fear. Sometimes we bemoan the dangers of being a Christian, but mostly because we haven’t been taught that it comes with the territory.

We believe in a mystery that Biblical scholars spend their lifetime trying to explain, but it always boils down to not having the ability to fully understand it because of the unknown element, like an unsolvable algebra problem. How could God the Father adopt all of us as his children? How can all of us be marked with the Holy Spirit? How do we even deserve Jesus dying for our sins?

Over the next seven Sundays, we will be studying Ephesians and how Jesus unites everyone in the world as God’s adopted children. Ephesians lays the groundwork for what it means to be a child of God in the world. We take a risk when we proclaim the good news is for all people, not just a select few. Over the last few weeks, seven churches have experienced shootings and fires, though some of the fires were naturally caused. When we proclaim that all are welcome, it is always a risk that that grace might be used against us.

The author of Ephesians begins with the proclamation that through Jesus Christ God adopts everyone as his children (Ephesians 1:5). There are no more distinctions between Jew and Gentiles. There are no more distinctions based on race, nationality, abilities, etc. By sending Jesus to die for our sins, God draws all things to him (Ephesians 1:10). Jesus breaks down the barriers that previously separated us from God the Father and from one another in order to make a more inclusive community. God sends his only begotten son into the world to redeem us from all of our sins through his amazing grace (Ephesians 1:7). Through Jesus’s crucifixion, death, and resurrection, God the Father adopts us as his children and redeems us as his people, so we may worship and praise him all of our days (Ephesians 1:11-12).

It is difficult to explain why God the Father goes to great lengths to adopt us as his children by sending Jesus to redeem us from our sins (Ephesians 1:9-10). Nonbelievers struggle to understand how we, as Christians, can just accept and believe in the mystery of God’s love. These individuals feel it is a fairy tale rather than truth. As Christians, we believe in God’s amazing love, forgiveness, and grace, because we understand there is something more than ourselves. We recognize we cannot explain everything by science. ‘We are risk takers, because we believe in a mystery that cannot be explained, even if scholars spend their whole lives trying to do so.

For nonbelievers, it is difficult to believe in a mystery that no one is able to completely understand. There is no Sherlock Holmes who can solve the mystery of God’s amazing grace. As Christians, we live with the unknown mystery and believe it is true, even if we cannot explain it. We have the responsibility of spreading the good news that God redeems us all through Jesus Christ and by believing we inherit eternal life. We worship and praise the Triune God, because he promises us there is more to come after this life. God promises us light in the midst of the darkness. God promises us he will never leave our side, even when he has every right to do so. God promises forgiveness when we repent. God promises us all of it, even eternal life in his kingdom. And all that we have to do is to believe there is something more beyond this world. What do we have to lose?

Thanks be to God!

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for adopting us as your children. Help us to live within the mystery of your grace. Be with us as we go out into the world and proclaim your good news. Remind us that you are always with us, even in the darkness. Thank you for your forgiveness, love, and grace. Amen.

 

Breaking Down the Great Wall

Reading for Eighth Sunday after Pentecost: Ephesians 2:11-22

Peace be with you!

Emperors built different portions of the Great Wall of China, especially during the fourteenth century. These walls created a sense of security by keeping the people who lived there safe and keeping others out. In ancient times, Jews and Gentiles were two separate groups and were separated by a visible delineating marker—circumcision (Ephesians 2:11). The Jews lived and worshiped in Jerusalem, while the Gentiles lived and worshiped elsewhere. The Jews were defined by the clear marker of their God-given law as well. The wall marking who was in and who was out was always present.

Then God sent Jesus Christ into the world to break down the dividing wall (Ephesians 2:14). Metaphorically, God takes down the great dividing wall and welcomes all people—Jews and Gentiles alike—to be in a relationship with him. There is no longer a need to be circumcised or to keep the ceremonial law in order to be counted as God’s children.

God creates peace between the two groups and makes one in Jesus’s name through the cross; God becomes accessible to all people (Ephesians 2:15-18). Jesus gives us grace that tares down the wall of the law and gives us peace. The Jews have a difficult time accepting they are one with the Gentiles, because they are used to being special. The Jews have kept the law and the commandments, but now the game has changed. There are these new things called grace and forgiveness, which allows even the worst sinners and unclean to be loved by God and to enter the most holy places. This radical change is difficult for the Jews to accept and appreciate.

Jesus becomes the cornerstone of the faith system, which allows us to be in a relationship with God the Father (Ephesians 2:19-20). Jesus breaks down the great dividing wall in order to allow all people—Jews and Gentiles alike—to enter the holy temple to worship the Triune God. Everyone is made clean through the blood of Jesus and is welcomed into a relationship with God the Father. Nothing can keep us from God’s love.

This foundation supports the work of the apostles and prophets and brings together all of creation. It gives both Jews and Gentiles the assurance that anyone who believes in the Triune God will enter heaven where God dwells (Ephesians 2:21-22). With this assurance, we receive the promise of salvation and eternal life through God’s work in Jesus and in us as we continue his work in the world.

In a world where lines are drawn, God comes through Jesus Christ to redeem all people, regards of race, economical standing, ability or disability, political views, or religious beliefs. God gives us gifts of forgiveness, grace, and salvation through Jesus. God makes us whole and redeems us by knocking down the great dividing wall. He gives us a new foundation through Jesus and assures us a place together in heaven.

Thanks be to God!

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for knocking down the great dividing wall and welcoming all people—Jews and Gentiles alike—into your family. Continue to redeem us from our sinful nature and work within us to do your work in the world. Thank you for the assurance we will enter your kingdom. Amen.

 

Finding your Strength in Jesus

Reading for Sixth Sunday after Pentecost: 2 Corinthians 12:2-10

© Copyright 2013 Original Artwork by Erin M Diericx

© Copyright 2013 Original Artwork by Erin M Diericx

Peace be with you!

Individuals tend to boast about their strengths. People analyze their resumes and cover letters when applying for jobs in hopes to showcase their best selves. We boast when we accomplish a difficult task, like biking one hundred miles, finishing a home improvement project, or publishing a book. We are all guilty of boasting about our accomplishments to self-promote ourselves. I am guilty of telling people I am a New Testament scholar when I meet them. We boast about what we excel at doing.

In 2 Corinthians, Paul addresses the “super-apostles” who are claiming they have special authority from the Lord. Apostle Paul challenges the “super-apostles’” credentials: being born with the right religious, ethnic, or Christian heritage (2 Corinthians 11:22-29). Lois Malcolm writes, “The proclamation that ‘Christ is Lord’ makes us ‘slaves’ to one another ‘for Jesus’ sake’: it cannot be used — without enacting a contradiction — to deceive, control, or manipulate others (2 Corinthians 4:1-6).”[i] Paul reminds the Corinthians that they are not slaves to anyone, except the Lord. These “super-apostles” were boasting to the Corinthians about being more holy than them and were making the Corinthians feel like they were weak or were missing something. Paul says, “Yes, I have seen the Lord in a vision, but I do not boast that I have special authority or power, instead I boast about my weaknesses” (2 Corinthians 12:2-5).

Acknowledging your weaknesses is never a pleasant experience, because you have to admit you are broken and you cannot do something or you need help doing something. Sometimes people’s brokenness is caused by a physical limitation. Maybe you cannot walk and need a wheelchair to get around. Maybe you have weakness in your hands and need help opening jars. Other times, people’s brokenness is caused by psychosocial condition. Maybe you are a veteran and fireworks remind you of gunshots from the war zone caused by post-traumatic stress disorder. Maybe you were a victim of domestic violence, and anyone who behaves a certain way reminds you of that experience and can trigger anxiety or panic attacks, caused by post-traumatic stress disorder, in you. Maybe you are young or have little life experience and cannot relate to a friend who lost her father. It is difficult to admit you do not understand or are not able to do something.

Paul acknowledges his own weaknesses. Since becoming a Christian, Paul has been beaten, jailed, and torment. Malcolm writes, “In chapter four, Paul draws on imagery from psalms of lament to describe his apostolic life: being afflicted but not crushed, perplexed but not driven to despair, persecuted but not forsaken, struck down but not destroyed (2 Corinthians 4:8-9).”[ii] Here Paul explains that he does not write about his hardships to get sympathy but to illustrate how his weakness is the reason why he needs the Lord—the Lord is his strength.

In our society, weakness and limitations are viewed as negative. One is viewed as not being able to live a perceived normal life due to a physical limitation or not being able to handle certain situations due to a psychosocial condition. The man who runs for cover when he hears loud noises, like fireworks, is viewed as crazy, instead of being viewed as a veteran who protected our country under unimaginable situations. The woman who has experienced domestic violence is seen as not being able to handle life when she leaves her abusive spouse, instead of being strong enough to stand up to an abuser. The young man in an electric wheelchair is seen as weak and uneducated due to his speech impairments and his spastic movements, instead of being a brilliant businessman. We quickly judge people based on their weaknesses without knowing their back story.

Paul challenges us to see our weaknesses as strengths in Jesus Christ and the places where his power is made known (2 Corinthians 12:10). We can never brag about the miraculous ways God uses our weaknesses; those realities are clearly from God’s power alone.

And so, Jesus gives us inner strength when we are weak and persecuted by others. The veteran is always alert to protect others. The brilliant businessman in an electric wheelchair has a nonprofit that gives jobs to people with all abilities. The woman helps others get out of abusive relationships and start new lives, because someone did it for her. Jesus takes our weaknesses and turns them into inner strengths.

Thanks be to God!

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for giving the apostle Paul strength during his hardships. Help us to recognize our weaknesses as strength. Be with us during difficult times. Thank you for changing our weaknesses into inner strengths. Amen.

 

[i] Lois Malcolm, “Commentary on 2 Corinthians 12:2-10,” Working Preacher, 3 July 2015, http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=2483.

[ii] Ibid.