To Make The Crooked Straight
Psalm 77; Galatians 5:1:7-25
Rev. Tiare L. Mathison, Pastor & Soul-Tender
We are heading into the weeds a bit this morning. I am compelled to take you there by an interview from the New York Times last Sunday between Tish Harrison Warren and Rachel Denhollander. It is not often that a secular newspaper has such a powerful and direct testimony to the presence of God in the midst of the evils of our world. Denhollander is a stellar example of Christian faith for me and for all of us. She is someone I would love to have dinner with or have her come preach! She is so clear about her faith in Christ, her commitment to Biblical Justice and why she has hope.
Quote: To paraphrase C.S. Lewis, ‘You can’t know a line is crooked unless you have some idea of a straight line.’ This is a linchpin for me. Unquote.
In case you don’t know this, Ms. Denhollander is the first woman to come forward publicly and accuse Larry Nassar, the now convicted felon, who was the doctor for the US Olympics gymnastics team and the university of Michigan. He abused over 400 women. She is a fierce advocate for survivors of sexual abuse within religious institutions, particularly the Southern Baptist Convention. She has been called an agent of the devil by the leadership of the SBC Executive Committee. And she is rock solid in her theology that underpins her faith to declare, This Is Not Right.
Listen to her voice:
Quote “…we have to start with understanding our theology and knowing how to apply it well to abuse and abusive dynamics. For a very long time Evangelicals have been incredibly sloppy in their exegesis of passages related to biblical justice. The gospel has to impact how we relate to those who have been wounded, who have been oppressed, who are victimized, who are vulnerable.” She says more: quote:
I think something that is really important to understand is that this presents an incredible opportunity to love others well and to show God’s glory well. When we respond in a way that calls evil what it is that undoes the concept of abuse, that restores agency, that restores voice, that restores dignity to those who have been harmed, when we treat them as they are made in God’s image, there is great hope in that. This is not a hopeless situation. It is an opportunity to love God and especially to love others well.” Unquote
And one more to help us really hear her voice of faith:
Quote: “The reason I remain a Christian is because my faith is what allows me to say that what I’m watching right now is broken. These institutions and these responses to survivors are not right. And I know they’re not right because I have a perfect picture of what these things are supposed to be. And so my allegiance is not to a church, a denomination, a country, a convention. My allegiance is to Christ. And when I look at the principles of Scripture, it gives me the ability to look at what’s happening and say, “This is not right.” And I know it’s not right because there really is a moral lawgiver and there really is absolute truth. Because every belief system outside of God leaves us essentially dependent on societal and cultural responses to define right and wrong.” Unquote
There is a moral lawgiver and there is absolute truth. So don’t put on a yoke of slavery! In whatever form it shows up! It is for freedom Christ died.
FOR FREEDOM CHRIST HAS SET US FREE…
Hold onto this. For freedom: What kind of freedom was Paul talking about and what does it have to do with us?
Circumcision - a practice and custom in ancient Israel. Now becomes additional requirements for faithful living.
NOTE: it is only for men.
The original kind of circumcision was an act of obedience - remember Abraham and Isaac, Genesis 12? Now in Galatia, a harsh debate ensues - Do Gentile men have to follow the ritual law of circumcision to be included in the Body of Christ? What's so interesting to me: most scholars don't talk about the fact that it's men only. What about the women?
This absolutely defeats Paul's previous writings of neither Greek nor Jew, slave or free, MALE OR FEMALE, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. The ritual of inclusion in the Christian Faith? Baptism. Who can be baptized?
Anyone who calls on the name of the Lord to be saved. Including the Ethiopian Eunuch, the tax collectors, the women, the Gentiles, the whole wide world!
To Make The Crooked Straight
We live in this in-between age - the final consummation of Christ's work on the cross is not yet done. Evil is still present, as well as lots of unpublished righteousness. Evil simply gets a lot more press and attention. It is evil when a pastor commits sexual abuse against a church member, child or adult. It is evil when a denomination covers up the sin so as to protect itself from lawsuits. It is evil to allow these abusers to move from one church to another, leaving more victims in their wake.
And believe me, the PCUSA is guilty too, it's not just the Southern Baptists or the Catholics. When institutions are built on patriarchy, that is male rule, where the power resides in a hierarchy,
rather than a shared rule, abuse will happen. And honestly? Men are often trained to look out for one another, the ‘bro culture’, as its called these days. We see it every where we look: churches, schools, work places, marriages, families. The gospel compels us to envision a different universe, one built on the witness of love in Jesus Christ.
St. Paul wants us to be slaves to one another, his language, encumbered by our commitment to love in the way Christ loved and gave up His life for the world. If you love me this way, you will not harm me. If I love you this way, I will not harm you. If our institutions are built on mutual regard and respect, they will not bring harm to individuals or groups of people.
To Make The Crooked Straight
This is a simple way to understand the moral universe: In the beginning God created a universe that was ordered. Humans brought disorder. Christ came to restore order, not simply to save each individual but also to re-order creation to its now marred yet original beauty. Individuals and institutions must be redeemed, made whole. It is through the deep work of repentance, an individual prayer - I was wrong, I sinned. And an institutional prayer - We were wrong, we sinned, our policies brought harm - a first step of redemption takes hold. It is sitting with the victims in their pain, listening carefully and quietly as the stories are told. There is no immediate fix, believe me. The effects of abuse and oppression are life long, yet can yield to the compassionate embrace of individuals and communities that simply say, “we see you, we hear you, we believe you.” We must exam if we have been faithful with what God has given us. We must be vocal advocates for policies that bring Biblical justice and light, even reparations, for awful situations. It is the best way to enact Christ’s love, to right what is wrong, to make the crooked straight. Amen