“SELECTIVE HEARING”

(A Sermon by Co-Pastor Lon Weaver)

Texts: Psalm 23; John 10:1-10

GAPC—5/15/2011

The most beloved psalm of scripture (Psalm 23) reassures us that God is one who is like a good shepherd, leading and supporting us through the good times and hard times of life. The gospel of John (chapter 10) speaks about the sheep and their trust of the voice of the Good Shepherd rather than their trust of thieves threatening them. They choose to hear the Good Shepherd. In this, they engage in good and important selective hearing.

For decades, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has been seeking to hear the voice of the Good Shepherd regarding church leadership. Recently, it voted to change wording about ordination in our constitution. To make such a change, the national governing body (the General Assembly) must approve it. After this, a majority of the presbyteries have to approve it. It turned out that the vote taken by the Presbytery of the Twin Cities in early May created the majority in favor of the amendment. Robyn and I were interviewed on channel 6 about this, because Glen Avon is the largest church in our particular presbytery.

In 1996, we changed the Book of Order to include the following:

Those who are called to office in the church are to lead a life in obedience to Scripture and in conformity to the historic confessional standards of the church. Among these standards is the requirement to live either in fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman (W-4.9001), or chastity in singleness. Persons refusing to repent of any self-acknowledged practice which the confessions call sin shall not be ordained and/or installed as deacons, elders, or ministers of the Word and Sacrament.

Thus, in 1996, our church made sexual behavior “an explicit standard for ordained office in the church”¹.

In May, the 1996 wording was replaced with this one:

Standards for ordained service reflect the church’s desire to submit joyfully to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in all aspects of life (G-1.0000). The governing body responsible for ordination and/or installation (G.14.0240; G-14.0450) shall examine each candidate’s calling, gifts, preparation, and suitability for the responsibilities of office. The examination shall include, but not be limited to, a determination of the candidate’s ability and commitment to fulfill all requirements as expressed in the constitutional questions for ordination and installation (W-4.4003). Governing bodies shall be guided by Scripture and the confessions in applying standards to individual candidates.

Please note this fact: this is not a change that says that there are to be no standards. Everyone considered for election and ordination as elders, deacons, and ministers will continue to be examined regarding their sense of call and gifts for ministry, their preparation and suitability for leadership. Rather, this change says that out of all the different areas of human behavior, we’re not going to select sexual behavior as the one that we’ll give special attention to.

At the same time, please note that each governing body that examines people for ordination—that means a presbytery for ministers or a session for elders and deacons—is to do the work of discernment guided by our scriptures and confessions. In our tradition, that guidance is sought through the intervention of the Holy Spirit. It’s possible that different presbyteries and different sessions will interpret the Spirit to be guiding them in different directions. Without a doubt, it means that there will be some presbyteries and some church sessions that will find people suitable for office who gay or lesbian. That, for most people, is the whole point of the issue, whether they agree with the new stand or oppose it. For most people who oppose it, the Bible stands against such a change. For people who are in favor of the new stand, the Bible does not completely do so.

The Bible is explicit about homosexuality in three places: Leviticus 18, Leviticus 20, and Romans 1. Jesus is silent about this behavior. What is troubling to those who oppose the ordination of gays and lesbians is that it contradicts these three texts.

Just about every Christian I know believes we can fully affirm most of the specific details of the biblical message, that these details seem fully inspired: God created the universe; God offers matchless grace to all; human beings freely choose to receive or reject God’s grace; Jesus of Nazareth bore the healing and saving grace to all and showed salvation to be about cosmic healing; the Holy Spirit is God’s living presence in our time; and God will bring history to a close in God’s good time. These are things that few if any that I know in the church would challenge. What’s very important to note—and what we rarely learn and, therefore, affirm—is that one biblical teaching is that change is sometimes necessary. Therefore, faithful people must constantly discern what God’s will may be for their time. I say may be and I use the word “discern” because we’re human beings, and that means this process is always full of risk. Discernment means to “sift” and “separate out”. We’ve been doing that in earnest here for the past several years. Everyone I know who’s been here during this past 4 years would say that while it’s sometimes gratifying, it’s frequently been painful work, something none of us are attracted to. Nonetheless, the scriptures seem to tell us that part of faithfulness is pursuing discernment, as risky as it sometimes is.

In biblical times, there were many voices competing for the loyalty of the people. In our time, we too are sheep seeking to hear the voice of the Good Shepherd in an age filled with a range of voices. Where is there counsel in the Bible that can give us some confidence in deciding whether change is necessary? There is one important example of this in the Old Testament as well as one classic example given by Jesus in the New Testament. Together, they seem to model this for us.

The Old Testament example involves three passages: one from the Ten Commandments which is related to two from the prophets. The second commandment reads this way:

You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. ⁵You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me, ⁶but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments. (Exodus 20:4-6)

On the face of it consequences of sin and faithfulness come across as merely poetic. But ancient Israel didn’t come to see it that way. To them, when a person was faithful, it seemed strange that simply because of their one action, their thousandth generation—their heirs living 12,000 to 20,000 years later—would be considered faithful. Worse, it seemed intolerably unjust that for one person’s act of idolatry, not only would that person be seen as guilty, but his or her child, grandchild, and great-grandchild would be deemed guilty. Thus, a proverb arose in ancient Israel that went like this: “The parents have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.”

In the face of the downfall of Israel and, therefore, a great sensitivity to justice, both Jeremiah and Ezekiel were moved to reject the punishment dictated in the second commandment, referring to that very proverb. In Jeremiah we read this:

In those days they shall no longer say: “The parents have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.” ³⁰But all shall die for their own sins; the teeth of everyone who eats sour grapes shall be set on edge. (Jeremiah 31:29-30)

In Ezekiel it’s even edgier:

The word of the Lord came to me: ²What do you mean by repeating this proverb concerning the land of Israel, “The parents have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge”? ³As I live, says the Lord God, this proverb shall no more be used by you in Israel. ⁴Know that all lives are mine; the life of the parent as well as the life of the child is mine: it is only the person who sins that shall die. (Ezekiel 18:1-4)

On those very rare occasions when a teaching seemed no longer to work, the Old Testament prophets modeled a path to find a new way.

Now, we turn to Jesus. In chapter 5 of Matthew’s gospel, the first chapter of the Sermon on the Mount, there are a series of verses in which Jesus begins a thought with, “You have heard it said…” or “It has been said,” from which he moves on to a “But I tell you…” statement. If I’m correct, there are six of these in Matthew chapter 5. In every one of them, Jesus is challenging an earlier biblical teaching. In some cases, Jesus deepens a teaching. In other cases, he teaches a small change in teaching. But in other cases, he offers an outright, 180-degree change in a teaching that is in the Bible. The most startling are the last two:

“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ ³⁹But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also….” (5:38-39)

and

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you….” (5:43-44)

Both of them should challenge those of us—and I admit to being one who went there, briefly, as well—who took joy in the killing of Osama bin Laden. When I felt satisfaction in his capture and his being brought to justice, I was within the gospel. The moments when I felt joy in his death as an “eye-for-an eye and a tooth for a tooth”: I was with Leviticus and I was against Jesus.

So, we’re brought to the present moment. Ever since I was a teen, the Presbyterian Church (USA) has been wrestling with the issue of a person’s sexual orientation and its place in deciding whether that person should be ordained as a church leader. That’s at least 35 years that there’s been discussion. As I’ve weighed it, prayed about it, changed sides regarding it, and, now, am called to presently decide about it, I reflect upon my experience. I think of observing friends and colleagues, both gay and straight. I’ve seen deep commitment in relationships and irresponsibility in relationships among both. This experience has led me to believe that sexuality is a part of a person that shouldn’t be used against them. When I’m put into the position of determining whether a person possesses the necessary

call, gifts, preparation, and suitability for ministry, I’m going to look at the full person.

I know that this is a relief to some who have wondered why it has taken so long. I know that this is troubling to others of you who believe the change should’ve never been considered. I know that this is me—a finite, limited human being—seeking to be faithful, trying to sift out the ways of the Spirit. I hope that you’ll be willing to continue in ministry with me, with Robyn, and with this church, whether you agree or disagree. I hope that continuing conversation can draw us closer together. I hope you’ll continue in Glen Avon’s marvelous ministry here and beyond the bounds of Duluth. In this spirit, I close with this statement from a Jewish book of prayer:

May the door to this [church] be wide enough to receive all who hunger for love, 

     all who are lonely for fellowship.
May it welcome all who have cares to unburden, thanks to express,

     hopes to nurture.
May the door of this [church] be narrow enough to shut out pettiness

     and pride, envy and enmity.
May its threshold be no stumbling block to young or straying feet.
May it be too high to admit complacency, selfishness and harshness.
May this [church] be, for all who enter, the doorway to a richer and

     more meaningful life.²

Amen.

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