Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

January 26, 2017

Immanuel Lutheran Church, Evanston, Illinois
Compelled by Love
II Corinthians 5:14-20; Luke 15:11-24
Here we are between the thoughtful Christian seasons of Advent and Lent;
here we stand straddling two major celebrations of the Church, Christmas and
Easter. We hold in our hands the gifts of God given through Christ by his birth and
resurrection: the gifts of forgiveness and the ministry of reconciliation. In this in-
between time, we find ourselves at a loss with our hands full, wondering exactly
what we are supposed to do with these gifts, discerning what our motivations are
for using them, and how we might, in a good way, go about re-gifting them to
others. Think of these divine and mysterious gifts like soap on a rope. At first the
gift seems handy and good to have around. However, if you dont use it properly, it
may feel more like a burden.
I remember my brother getting soap on a rope for Christmas many years ago,
and hearing him explain to me how cool this gift was. (As the younger sister, I was
appropriately impressed.) Well, I should say I was impressed until he started
showing me how difficult it was to wash his feet. He tried to bring each foot up to
the bar of soap. I honestly dont know how long it took him to figure out the rope
was actually there to keep the soap handy for sudsing up a washcloth. He had
received this great a gift, but didnt know how to use it properly.
We have in and through Christ, the gifts of forgiveness and the ministry of
reconciliation weve had them for a long time! And yet, in many respects, we still
dont know what to do with them. Pope Francis preached yesterday about the gift

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of the ministry of reconciliation. He said that prior to being compelled toward
reconciliation, we first received the gifts of love and forgiveness. Unwarranted,
unmerited grace-filled gifts. This is the same message we heard 500 years ago
during the reformation, and 50 years ago at the conclusion of the Second Vatican
Council. Pope Francis said yesterday, As a result of this gift, each person, forgiven
and loved, is called in turn to proclaim the Gospel of reconciliation in word and
deed, to live and bear witness to a reconciled life. The question posed to us all,
then, is How will we utilize the gift of forgiveness, and the ministry of reconciliation?
How are you and I going to use this new soap on a rope?
Our most memorable example of forgiveness is the parable of the son who
takes his inheritance, spends it all, and then returns home where he is welcomed
and forgiven. The prodigal son. This story speaks to the process of how we can
Name the crisis, identify the love revealed, and then show forgiveness. Name the
crisis, identify the love revealed, show forgiveness.
The original crisis, it seems, was that the youngest son was not happy enough.
He lived at home and was simply dissatisfied with his life. He tried to solve the crisis
with money and freedom from home, and he ended at the bottom of the heap. The
next crisis he faced was famine in the land. Again, he tried to solve the crisis with
money and working for strangers. And again, he ended at the bottom of the heap.
His last crisis was isolation. // There was no one to help him. This was not a crisis
that money would fix. That was when he came to himself. // When he named his
transgression of arrogance and self-sufficiency, it was then that he was able to
remember the love he knew at home. Ultimately, it was that love that compelled
him to seek reconciliation through repentance and humility.

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 The father in the story it could have been a mother as well the head of the
household, had also experienced a crisis. The loss of a son. There was no solution
the family and village assumed the son was dead. When the child, compelled by the
love he remembered, returned home, the parent high tailed it to the edge of the
village. This was not so much an exuberant reception as it was a protective move.
By embracing and greeting the son with a kiss, the head of the house showed
forgiveness. That welcome showed everyone in the area that he was not to be
reviled or punished. The loving parent publicly forgave the son and released him
from the social consequences of his actions.
What is our crisis? We have an opportunity to name the crisis, reveal the love
and show forgiveness. What is the crisis that keeps us apart? Perhaps the crisis is
the violence and insult that came about as a result of the Reformation. Perhaps the
crisis is not knowing how Christ is present at the table of communion, or even at the
dinner table. Maybe the crisis is the racism that is interwoven in every system and
institution of which we are a part, including the Church. Maybe the crisis is fear of
change, or fear of the same, or fear of the stranger, or fear of what we are capable
of.

Suffice to say, in our litany of confession this evening (practically our first
words to each other), we named the multiple crises that we face. We carefully and
thoughtfully named hate, contempt, lying, discrimination, racism, persecution,
intolerance, broken communion, isolation, pride and division. Our common ground
as Christians is not that we are all on a better or higher or separate plain from other
faith groups. Our common ground as Christians is found in our human sinfulness
and the constant need for reconciliation, reparation and restoration. We are joined
by the stones in the walls. We see ourselves and each other in the wall. Then, when

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we name the barriers that are in the way, as we did figuratively with the bricks
tonight, the gift love we share is revealed, and we are compelled to work for
reconciliation.

To be clear, the stones are not compelling us to act. The reality of sin is not
compelling actually it prevents us from acting. Love is what compels us to do the
ministry work of reconciliation. Reconciliation is a reunion a coming together in
loving embrace. When the prodigal came back home, he did not become a different
person. He became more of who he was intended and raised to be. Coming
together as Christians does not mean abandoning belief, but it does mean seeking
more deliberately who we are becoming becoming more of who we were
intended to be as people who profess faith in Christ. This is not a call to sameness,
but to reconciliation/alignment.

If youve ever had a car aligned, or ridden in a vehicle that needs alignment,
you know the symptoms the car might pull hard to the left or right; there might be
a shake when you slow down; or there might be a drift when you speed up. The
process of alignment it is not a perfect science. Things may still shake and rattle
even after the suspension has been aligned, so a tune up will always be needed,
(especially considering some particularly nasty potholes in Evanston). Likewise, our
work of reconciliation is not a work of perfection, rather a work of faithfulness. It is
also a work of alignment, not agreement or sameness. Our denominations, dogmas,
doctrines and even our demands throughout the whole of the Christian church can
be more closely aligned. Often this is accomplished by working on a common task
together. As the group Consultation on Christian Unity (COCU) decided in 2002, it
was time to stop consulting and start acting. Their action was to align, not merge,

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its member denominations. There was affirmation of each others ministries and
sacraments, which then led to the united work of mission and anti-racism.

Here in Evanston we also have the common task of naming and dismantling
racism. The crisis we face is racism. Racism is a sin that crosses all institutional and
denominational lines. We are compelled to be bold in naming our sin so our work in
Christ is more effective. We are compelled, at the VERY least, to remove the stones
of racism from the Church. We are compelled to help and equip each other to
dismantle the systems of privilege, encourage the voices of our youth, and
transform our rattling misaligned institutional policies into just, equitable and fair
practices. Remember it is not the racism that compels us to work together! Once
the crisis or sin is named, the love of Christ is revealed and compels us to take the
gift of this ministry of reconciliation and use it properly.

And so, children of God -prodigal children of God like our brother in the
parable, we have come to ourselves tonight. We named before each other the
stones of sin we share, and brought down the wall piece by piece. We found
beyond those stones the empty cross of the risen Christ, whose love compels us to
come together// to align with a common ministry of reconciliation for the greater
good of all. As we share the peace tonight, let us continue the work that God has
given to us.

Amen.

The Rev. Dr. Ann L. Rosewall, Senior Minister

First Congregational Church of Evanston, UCC