The holiness of this mixed multitude, seeking shared goodness for each other instead of competing with each other and creating community out of shared need is found in Acts 2 as well. We normally only focus on Acts 2 on Pentecost, but it is another example that when God’s Spirit is at work, people are bonded together across boundaries that might otherwise seem too impossible to cross.<\/p>\n
God seems particularly committed to mixed multitudes.<\/p>\n
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<\/figure>\n<\/div>\nNow this is funny thing to say right now I think. This week I’ve watched the incredible power of God’s spirit move in the intractable-until-now United Methodist Church and all of a sudden there is hope abundant! And, truthfully, that hope abundant comes BECAUSE of disaffiliation, it comes because we split. It comes because we BROKE bonds.<\/p>\n
Part of me – ok, a really large part of me \u2013 wants to simply say that those who left identified with the oppressor and oppressed God’s beloveds and we are better off without them. But God has said to love our enemies, and I’m pretty sure being that petty isn’t appropriate for a preacher… while preaching at least \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n
We who value the wide diversity of God’s creation may find it easy to hear about the mixed multitudes and the amazing ways God’s work to overturn oppression pulls people together. But I also know that we who value the wide diversity of God’s creation sometimes find it really hard to deal with those who… don’t.<\/p>\n
Right?<\/p>\n
It’s OK, I know I’m right.<\/p>\n
It turns out to be easier to be in a mixed multitude where people agree mixed multitudes are awesome than it is to be in a mixed multitude where there is a diversity of opinions about the value of diversity.<\/p>\n
Or, maybe there is a bigger truth here. God’s amazing work to overcome oppression and pull people together is REAL. But it is hard to live in community \u2013 there are ALWAYS differences. I think often of the story a little later in Acts when the incredibly diverse Body of Christ in its infancy already had issues with food distribution being fairly managed. Humans come into community with differences. There is no community without conflict. There is no community without bias. There is no community in prefect agreement \u2013 except maybe those who all defer to a strong-man leader.<\/p>\n
The truth is that God binds us together. And, I think sometimes we get to the point when the best choice is to let some bonds go. Because not everything is now as it should be. We know this about marriage itself \u2013 there are times when two people have hurt each other enough that the best, most loving way forward, is apart. This week showed very clearly that all the dreams I’ve ever heard God dreaming for The United Methodist Church are possible \u2013 now that we’re broken. And, to be fair, I hear from those in the Global Methodist Church that they think all the dreams they ever heard God dreaming are now possible there. The issue has ALWAYS been that we hear God differently.<\/p>\n
So I’ve been thinking about what the moral, Christ-like response is to those with whom we have fundamental-values-level-differences. And I hear the echos of Jesus on the cross, \u201cFather, forgive them for they know not what they do\u201d and I think that’s the actual start of it. I hear it in Martin Luther King teaching about the goal of his work being to bring everyone together, not to bring down the oppressor. Let’s hear him:<\/p>\n
Now there is a final reason I think that Jesus says, \u201cLove your enemies.\u201d It is this: that love has within it a redemptive power. And there is a power there that eventually transforms individuals. That\u2019s why Jesus says, \u201cLove your enemies.\u201d Because if you hate your enemies, you have no way to redeem and to transform your enemies. But if you love your enemies, you will discover that at the very root of love is the power of redemption. You just keep loving people and keep loving them, even though they\u2019re mistreating you. Here\u2019s the person who is a neighbor, and this person is doing something wrong to you and all of that. Just keep being friendly to that person. Keep loving them. Don\u2019t do anything to embarrass them. Just keep loving them, and they can\u2019t stand it too long. Oh, they react in many ways in the beginning. They react with bitterness because they\u2019re mad because you love them like that. They react with guilt feelings, and sometimes they\u2019ll hate you a little more at that transition period, but just keep loving them. And by the power of your love they will break down under the load. That\u2019s love, you see. It is redemptive, and this is why Jesus says love. There\u2019s something about love that builds up and is creative. There is something about hate that tears down and is destructive. \u201clove your enemies.\u201d2<\/a><\/p>\n So, dear ones, I’m going to keep on loving the Global Methodist Church, because I deeply believe God asks me to. Further, I believe there are people in that church who need it, and others who will need it. And, apparently, we are supposed to love Christian Nationalists too \u2013 even when they misrepresent our tradition. (Pulling no punches today.)<\/p>\n I guess no one every said being a follower of Jesus was easy, huh? But, friends, it is the season of Easter and we are told over and over again that God is Love and Love wins and NOTHING, not even death, can stop God’s power of love. So, dear mixed multitude, let’s keep on loving on EVERYONE even when they don’t seem to know how broad God’s love is yet. Let’s be accused of being naive with our love. Let’s be radical, and a little too broad with it. Let’s be like God. Amen<\/p>\n 1<\/a>We Cry Justice #25, page 110.<\/p>\n 2<\/a>https:\/\/kinginstitute.stanford.edu\/king-papers\/documents\/loving-your-enemies-sermon-delivered-dexter-avenue-baptist-church<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"