“Blood, Sex and Idols: A Recipe for Diversity?”
By Shiao Chong
Sermon for All Nations Heritage Sunday, Sept. 23, 2007, 6PM
Text: Acts 14:27-15:21
Tonight we are not here to celebrate diversity. Well, we are but we aren’t. As with anything in life, when Christians celebrate something, whether it is a wedding, or a job promotion, or a birthday, a baptism, a grand opening of a church, whatever it is, when Christians celebrate something, we are actually celebrating God, and thanking God and praising God for his gracious gift to us. Same deal with diversity. We are celebrating not so much diversity in itself but we are celebrating God’s grace to us in how he has opened up the Christian Reformed Church to diversity. We are celebrating what God has done to unite people from different ethnicities, different cultures, together into one family in Christ Jesus. And that’s the big difference between Biblical Diversity and Secular Diversity. Because the secular diversity that the world celebrates has, I think, one major flaw – secular diversity does not know how to unify people in a meaningful way. Secular diversity does not know how to have unity without uniformity; it doesn’t know how to have diversity without division. So, what’s happening in our society is that diversity and multiculturalism are creating more divisions rather than community. But Biblical diversity is NOT secular diversity. Biblical diversity is a unified diversity, unified because all of us share the love of Christ and love for each other – a sacrificial, unconditional love. That’s something the world cannot give. Only God can bring about genuine diversity that is not simply division. Only God can bring about genuine unity that is not simply uniformity. And THAT is why we are here tonight – to celebrate this remarkable work of God.
However, you and I know we are still far behind in diversity. God is doing wonderful things in the Christian Reformed Church but are we too slow in following God’s lead? What is holding us back? I think part of it is that we know that diversity can be downright difficult, and sometimes, even scary. Why do I say that? Well, with diversity comes difference, and with difference comes the potential for conflict. Ethnic diversity might mean different styles of worship, different kinds of music, different ways of reading or understanding the Bible; ethnic diversity might bring different styles of church leadership or different expectations of church leaders; different ideas of being church, of having fellowship; ethnic diversity might also bring different views on tithing, or church spending. All these things are very real possibilities.
And truth be told, we are probably not sure how to deal with diversity when conflicts arise, or when we may need to change the way we have always done things. And if we are really honest, we might confess that we have fears. Some of us might be afraid that opening up to diversity might water down our Reformed heritage and identity. Others might fear that diversity will mean that their beloved church will never be the same again. I think some of these fears may be holding us back as a community from reflecting the diversity that God calls us to.
The early church, by the way, faced similar questions and problems. Tonight, I want to see how the example of the early church, as recorded in the book of Acts, can help us today with diversity. There are three main lessons that I learn from the early church. The first lesson is this:
The Early Church Chose a Mixed Salad Over a Head of Lettuce; They Chose Diversity Over Homogeneity
When my wife went to the Poconos in Pennsylvania for a conference, the hotel there served her for the salad part of her meal, a half a head of lettuce. A whole half head of lettuce, and that’s it. No cucumbers. No tomatoes. Apparently this is a popular thing in Pennsylvania. She would have preferred a little more variety in her salad!
I want to use the salad image as a way of helping us look at diversity in the church. Would you prefer simply a head of lettuce for your salad, or does salad for you mean a mixed salad of different kinds of vegetables? Is salad, by definition, mixed? What’s your definition of church?
Let us read Acts 14:27-28. I am reading from The Message, the paraphrase of the Bible, which you can follow along on the overhead. You can also follow along in your pew bibles, except the translation is different. If you are going to use your bibles, keep your bibles open, as I will be reading the rest later.
On arrival, they got the church together and reported on their trip, telling in detail how God had used them to throw the door of faith wide open so people of all nations could come streaming in. Then they settled down for a long, leisurely visit with the disciples. (Acts 14:27-28 The Message)
Paul and Barnabas arrived in Antioch and told the church there, which is a diverse church with lots of Gentile Christians, how God is opening the church up to people of all nations - opening up to diversity. Paul, Barnabas and the church in Antioch clearly chose diversity over homogeneity. Their definition of church is not a head of lettuce. Church for them is, by definition, a mixed salad. I don’t think the Antioch Christians asked themselves, “Should we split up into different ethnic churches? Should we have different ethnic churches for better outreach or ministry purposes? Should we have a Jewish congregation and a Gentile congregation that worships separately and sometimes get together?” They were one community of Jews and Gentiles – diversity that is united in their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. They chose ethnic diversity over ethnic homogeneity. They chose to become a mixed salad instead of being simply a head of lettuce. That’s the first lesson. The second lesson I learn is this:
The Early Church Chose to Cut Back on the Salad Dressing; They Chose to Avoid Assimilation
Now that the early church chose diversity over homogeneity, guess what happens? Conflict happens! Wouldn’t you know? Acts 15:1: It wasn't long before some Jews showed up from Judea insisting that everyone be circumcised: "If you're not circumcised in the Mosaic fashion, you can't be saved."
Have you ever went to a restaurant and you order a nice salad with lots of variety – tomatoes, cucumbers, different kinds of greens, maybe even mushrooms – and then they drench it, I mean flood it, with salad dressing. And all you can taste is the dressing!
Sometimes, a church can be like that. There’s color in the congregation, there’s diversity but everything taste the same! Everyone is pressured to act and behave the same! This is what’s happening in the early church too. Now that they have chosen to be a mixed salad, some of the Jewish Christians say, “Well, we need to pour on the Mosaic Circumcised Salad Dressing on the church!” In other words, we need to assimilate the Gentile Christians into our Jewish culture and our Jewish flavor. We need to taste the same. We need to have the same flavor.
But Paul and Barnabas were totally against this: Paul and Barnabas were up on their feet at once in fierce protest. The church decided to resolve the matter by sending Paul, Barnabas, and a few others to put it before the apostles and leaders in Jerusalem. (In CRC lingo, they decided to appeal to Synod!) After they were sent off and on their way, they told everyone they met as they traveled through Phoenicia and Samaria about the breakthrough to the Gentile outsiders. Everyone who heard the news cheered--it was terrific news!
When they got to Jerusalem, Paul and Barnabas were graciously received by the whole church, including the apostles and leaders. They reported on their recent journey and how God had used them to open things up to the outsiders. /
Some Pharisees stood up to say their piece. They had become believers, but continued to hold to the hard party line of the Pharisees. "You have to circumcise the pagan converts," they said. "You must make them keep the Law of Moses." The apostles and leaders called a special meeting to consider the matter. /
The arguments went on and on, back and forth, getting more and more heated. (Did I say diversity brings potential conflict?) Then Peter took the floor: (Now here’s somebody with influence and power speaking at the floor of Synod.)
"Friends, you well know that from early on God made it quite plain that he wanted the pagans to hear the Message of this good news and embrace it--and not in any secondhand or roundabout way, but firsthand, straight from my mouth. /
And God, who can't be fooled by any pretense on our part but always knows a person's thoughts, gave them the Holy Spirit exactly as he gave him to us. He treated the outsiders exactly as he treated us, beginning at the very center of who they were and working from that center outward, cleaning up their lives as they trusted and believed him. /
So why are you now trying to out-god God, loading these new believers down with rules that crushed our ancestors and crushed us, too? Don't we believe that we are saved because the Master Jesus amazingly and out of sheer generosity moved to save us just as he did those from beyond our nation? So what are we arguing about?" /
There was dead silence. No one said a word. With the room quiet, Barnabas and Paul reported matter-of-factly on the miracles and wonders God had done among the other nations through their ministry. The silence deepened; you could hear a pin drop. James (probably the chair of Synod) broke the silence. "Friends, listen. /
Simeon (a.k.a. Peter) has told us the story of how God at the very outset made sure that racial outsiders were included. This is in perfect agreement with the words of the prophets: (starts pulling out his Bible) /
“After this, I'm coming back; I'll rebuild David's ruined house; I'll put all the pieces together again; I'll make it look like new. So outsiders who seek will find, so they'll have a place to come to, All the pagan peoples included in what I'm doing.” God said it and now he's doing it. /
It's no afterthought; he's always known he would do this. So here is my decision: (Note: a synodical decision) We're not going to unnecessarily burden non-Jewish people who turn to the Master. (Act 15:1-19 MSG)
The early church chose not to assimilate the Gentiles into the Jewish culture. They chose to cut back on the Mosaic Salad Dressing for their salad. We can let the Gentiles have their own bit of flavor. We don’t have to all taste the same or do the same or behave the same because God didn’t require them to do so.
So the early church chose to be a mixed salad, and then, they chose to cut back on the salad dressing. But now what? Does this mean that anything goes with diversity? Are there no boundaries as to what Christians can or cannot do culturally? Where do we draw the line? How do we deal with conflicting cultural practices? How do we foster unity? Here’s where the early church chose three guidelines. This is my third lesson:
The Early Church Chose a Recipe for Diversity; They Chose Three Guidelines
This is where I got my sermon title: Blood, Sex and Idols. Acts 15:20: We'll write them a letter and tell them, 'Be careful to not get involved in activities connected with idols, to guard the morality of sex and marriage, to not serve food offensive to Jewish Christians--blood, for instance.' This is basic wisdom from Moses, preached and honored for centuries now in city after city as we have met and kept the Sabbath." (Act 15:20-21 MSG)
The first guideline is to avoid idolatry. Some cultural practices may be connected to idol worship – to some thing that takes the place of God. For instance, we need to really watch how we celebrate Christmas in North America. There is so much of what passes off as Christmas these days that are all about the worship of consumerism, of buying both grown up toys and kids’ toys. Similarly, a Chinese Christian will have to watch out with Chinese New Year and some of the materialism that is connected with that festival. You can’t simply participate in everything wholesale without thinking things carefully. Avoid idolatry.
The second ingredient in this recipe is “sex”. Well, more accurately, avoid sexual immorality. The general principle here is: avoid sin. With your freedom to practice your culture, do not sin – do not break God’s laws for sexual behavior or any other moral behavior. I think sex was singled out because it was a real temptation back then because people routinely have mistresses and prostitutes, even in some religious temples, in the ancient Roman Empire. I think the sexual sin becomes a focal point for the bigger principle of avoiding sin in general. For instance, some cultures may expect a man to “sow his wild oats” before getting married but as a Christian, that’s a no-no, even if it means you get ridiculed and mocked in that culture for it. “What? You are a 40-year old virgin? Are you a loser?” Well, if following Christ means you have to be a cultural loser, from time to time, so be it.
Finally, the third guideline is “blood”.
Different translations have “avoid strangled animals and blood” – but it comes down to the same thing. Animals that are strangled means their blood is not drained from their body. So eating strangled animals would entail eating the blood that is still in the animal’s flesh. Bottom line, it’s gross. Especially for Jews. There’s some theological stuff that I can go into but I don’t have time right now. The main principle here is this: Each cultural group should be sensitive to each other’s cultural tastes. We should try not to be overly offensive in our freedom. A little offensive is okay because sometimes, you can’t help but make other people a little uncomfortable simply by being different. I remember I was a little uncomfortable when I was first introduced to the Dutch sub-culture of the Christian Reformed Church. I wasn’t used to people teasing each other all the time as a sign of affection. In my culture, if you like someone you try not to embarrass her. Here, it’s the opposite! The more you like someone, the more you try to tease her and embarrass her. I really had to wrap my mind around that one. I adapted. But there was some mild offense initially, but nothing really serious.
So, some cultural practices are neither idolatrous nor sinful. So, they are okay. In Christ, you are free to practice that. But they might fall into a third category of being overly offensive. This is sort of the category of “everything is permissible but not everything is beneficial” type. The Jewish Christians in the early church seem to be saying, “If Gentile Christians want to keep eating their pork chops and bacon, that’s okay, we will allow them that freedom. But we draw the line with blood. That’s just too gross for us.”
Different cultures have different things where they draw the line. In order for different cultural Christians to have fellowship together, we need to be open with each other about where each other’s cultural lines are. For example, most Asian, African or Latin American cultures do not criticize or disagree with someone in front of others. That would be very humiliating and cause someone to lose face. But in Western North American culture, it is okay and sometimes expected to disagree openly, to be upfront and candid about what you think and feel, even to criticize in public. For instance, in a council meeting, or a congregational meeting talking about the budget or whatever. Westerners feel free to voice their opinions and disagree with someone, even with someone in authority. But Asians, for example, will find that highly offensive to challenge someone or to be challenged like that in public. Even if they disagree with you, they won’t say that in front of others. So if they are in council, you can imagine how this cultural difference, which is neither idolatrous nor sinful but just plain different, can be a potential conflict and problem.
I am not an expert and I don’t know all of the cultural lines and I have probably crossed some of them in the past without even knowing it, and make a lot of cultural mistakes. But that shouldn’t stop us from building relationships. We have to take risks. You always risk offending people whenever you try to make friends. Even when you are trying to make friends with someone from your own ethnic cultural group, you still risk creating offense. For example, true story – when I was a university student back in Alberta, I was in this senior History course. It was a small group of students. So on the first class, we were just getting to know each other and while we were waiting for the Professor to show up, we were introducing ourselves and getting acquainted. True story. I was sitting right across the table from two Caucasian students – a man and a woman. They don’t know each other. So, the guy introduced himself to the woman. He said, “My name is Christopher. But don’t ever, ever call me Chris! I hate that name. Christopher is a perfectly great name and I don’t for the life of me understand why anyone would want to be called Chris. Chris is a stupid name. It’s a name that has no character at all. So, don’t ever call me Chris. It’s a lousy name! It’s Christopher.” And after that, he normally asked the woman, “So, what’s your name?” And she said, “Chris.” True story. It all happened right in front of my eyes. And they are both from the same culture. You can still make major mistakes and offend each other.
But love covers a multitude of errors. Love covers a multitude of errors. From my experience, if we genuinely love people, people will sense that, and even when we make cultural mistakes, even offensive ones, we could be forgiven because they know that we love them. And we make up for it. And the best policy is always to be humble and ask outright – is it okay if I do this? Just ask and be students to each other.
In conclusion, then, let me repeat the main lessons for us. As a church community, choose to be the mixed salad. Don’t be the head of lettuce sitting on a plate. It is so much more interesting and tastier to be a mixed salad. But try to cut back on the salad dressing. Let’s not try to make everyone taste the same. It’s about unity in Christ, not uniformity in culture. It’s about transforming people into becoming disciples of Christ, not about assimilating people to become clones of the dominant group. And in giving freedom to practice different cultural practices, we have a recipe to help us decide what’s culturally kosher and what’s not: In our Christian freedom of diversity, do not (1) overly offend our neighbors, (2) do not sin, and (3) do not connect ourselves with the idols of our age – blood, sex and idols.
Let us pray.
