The Things that Unite
Shabbat Teaching • Sermon • Submitted
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· 14 viewsIt is easy and natural to find the things that makes us different. While they are not many they do tend to be significant. We must be united in our common desires without losing our identity and mission.
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What Unites Us?
What Unites Us?
While learning about the tragedy of the synagogue shooting this week it was easy to sympathize with the Tree of Life congregation. We have a lot in common. They were doing exactly what we are doing right now, having a Shabbat service and enjoying the fellowship of their congregation.
Yet if we were to meet and discuss our beliefs and understandings we would seem very different. As I thought about this I found more and more strange. We would have very much more in common than not, yet the differences would be significant and to some it maybe more than they would tolerate.
So I wanted to explore this thought today and present what I think is a lesson for us as a congregation and as individuals as we interact with the myriad of communities around us.
To begin with let us think a moment about similarities and differences. I want to do this with an example. Think for a moment about a creature that walks on all fours, has fur, eats plants, likes to play, drinks water, enjoys swimming, people keep them around, they are very useful, and people have lived with them for ever. Obviously I am talking about a horse, or is it a dog, maybe an elephant, or aardvark, maybe a camel, definitely a hippo, or perhaps our favorite here at TFF a Llama. The point is all of these creatures are strikingly different at first site no one would confuse them for the other yet they have so much generally in common. So to say the details do not matter would not be true. Indeed it is the details of each of these creatures that set them all apart and gives them distinction. Their identity could be found in the details one might say.
So that is funny and I get your point, how does this relate to us you might be thinking? I am glad you asked. As we encountered any of those creatures we would give them so measure of respect or caution as required for safety and well being. So too should we take these things into consideration with other people and congregations.
How might we encounter them though? If you have similar experiences to me then as you have encountered people and had any kind of discussion with them or as others have observed your behavior and asked you why you do or do not do something, then you would have had discussions of beliefs and personal understandings about life. Life for us means interaction with our Heavenly Father.
How many of us have had a discussion with some of our friends and families that call themselves Christian and they said we are Jewish? You might have even encountered people who where not Christian and had no faith or some alien beliefs and they thought you where Jewish. Then we talk to a person that is Jewish either culturally, ethnically or any of the various branches of Judaism and they say you are Christian. Yet with both groups we hold very many things in common. Indeed this means that both groups hold very many things in common.
If we look at these 2 groups we have the Judaism that has the Law of Adonai and is hoping for the Messiah. We have the Christians that have the hope of the Messiah and are waiting on the Law of Adonai, that is the Kingdom of Zion. We are stuck in the middle the smaller of the groups trying to learn from both while not losing ourselves to distractions and misunderstandings of either.
It has always been this way. Even in ancient times the people that did not keep Torah but believed in a single God was the majority the people that kept Torah yet had the expectation of the Messiah was smaller and those that kept Torah and had the expectation of the Messiah was smallest. Event after the manifestation of Yeshua and the revelation of being the Messiah we see this pattern. The big group believes in a single God, the smaller groups believes and keeps his law, the smallest groups believes in him keeps his law and see his Messiah. Why should we expect anything different today? In fact Shu’al or Paul writes about this in
Holy Scriptures: Tree of Life Version Chapter 1
20Where is the wise one? Where is the Torah scholar? Where is the debater of this age? Hasn’t God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21For seeing that—in God’s wisdom—the world through its wisdom did not know God, God was pleased—through the foolishness of the message proclaimed—to save those who believe. 22For Jewish people ask for signs and Greek people seek after wisdom, 23but we proclaim Messiah crucified—a stumbling block to Jewish people and foolishness to Gentile people, 24but to those who are called (both Jewish and Greek people), Messiah, the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
26For you see your calling, brothers and sisters, that not many are wise according to human standards, not many are powerful, and not many are born well. 27Yet God chose the foolish things of the world so He might put to shame the wise; and God chose the weak things of the world so He might put to shame the strong; 28and God chose the lowly and despised things of the world, the things that are as nothing, so He might bring to nothing the things that are— 29so that no human might boast before God. 30But because of Him you are in Messiah Yeshua, who became to us wisdom from God and righteousness and holiness and redemption— 31so that, just as it is written, “Let him who boasts, boast in ADONAI.”
So as we read this maybe your thinking to yourself “Did he just call me weak and foolish?” If I did would it be good or bad? Let us look carefully at this “the weak”. Could this be referring weak not just in strength but also perhaps weak in numbers or popularity, perhaps weak influence or ability to direct they way people think, or perhaps weak in money or property. Now let us look at “the foolish”. Is this a foolishness of uneducated or could it be a foolishness as perceived by the “learned man’s” understanding. To put it another way it is the academia paradox that is the notion “I am correct and wise because other scholars agree I am correct and wise and they are correct and wise because I agree they are correct and wise. Ergo we are all correct and wise because we all agree we are correct and wise.”
So are we the weak? From the worlds measure yes. We have little numbers, we have nearly no influence, and we have hardly any property. Are we really foolish? Again from the worlds measure yes. We have little to none in the way of scholarship. According to what we have just read Adonai would have it no other way. We the Messianic Jewish community play on hard mode we start out giving everyone else a head start, because we would not dare let anyone think that it was our hard work that won the day but the very will and desire of Adonai Melek Ha Olam, that made it so. The intention is not the we boast as if we accomplished anything but that we turn everything in to praise before the King of Kings.
We will deliver this praise as we try to fulfill our role of uniting the family. Does anyone disagree the calling with in them? I mean how many of us would literally weep with joy if some how the Jew and Christian communities would be united in a true love and appreciation of Messiah and obedience to his law? It would be a day like no other it would be the most meaningful reconciliation between brothers and sisters ever. It would be as close to heaven on earth as has ever been or would ever be until the return of Messiach, Adonai willing may it be in our lifetime.
Now that we have this understanding of distinctions. We have this clear understanding of our role as Messianic Jews. What does this have to do with the Tree of Life shooting? It is simply this. They are our brothers and sisters. We should mourn with them. We should comfort them. We should do like wise for others. Both the Christian church and the Jewish people are under attack from the enemy of this world. We can look at that as something to fear or we can truly bless Adonai in all things even these attacks and use them as opportunities to bring healing and bridge the divide between us. As we do you can expect to be challenged by the very ones you are trying to comfort and help. The Jews will say you are a Christian. The Christians will say you are a Jew. Both will tell you that you do not need to keep Torah. Both might secretly be impressed that you do and both might become jealous of your steadfastness in Torah, especially as you return their ridicule with love and respect.
Shu’al or Paul was called to be a Jew to the Jew and a Greek to the Greek. Maybe we are called to be a Greek to the Jew and Jew to the Greek. Let them see our differences and let us reveal our similarities. As the Jews see that we are trying as hard as we can to keep Torah while having Messiah, our hope is they would want to know about this Messiah that we tell them encouraged the keeping of Torah. Maybe they would be come jealous of our keeping of Torah and desire to keep it more and better themselves. Like wise as we interact with the Christians and honor the Messiah together in thought, word and deed. They would want to learn more about some of these deeds and how obedience to the Father’s Law or Torah is an expression of love for our Father and they would do likewise.
This entire process is called reconciliation. It is our role or ministry in this world.
Holy Scriptures: Tree of Life Version Chapter 5
18Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Messiah and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. 19That is, in Messiah God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them; and He has entrusted the message of reconciliation to us. 20We are therefore ambassadors for Messiah, as though God were making His appeal through us. We beg you on behalf of Messiah, be reconciled to God.
Bringing the world to reconciliation to the Father must include bringing reconciliation of his children to each other in his Son Yeshua the Messiah. What honor and privilege have we been blessed with to be called as ambassadors of his kingdom. We have been given the ministry of reconciliation of his house hold.
