You
probably don’t notice it so much down here, but up in Owen Sound where I live
the number of Newcomers or refugees who have come to the area is quite
noticeable. I am an immigrant to Canada myself
but coming here from the States isn’t all that much of an adjustment. These Newcomers are refugees from some pretty
bad situations. They don’t speak
English. Our houses are different. Our bathrooms and kitchens are different. We don’t haggle over prices in the market
place. All the basic needs and routines
for daily life are different. We, a
little arrogantly, think we’re giving these Newcomers a world of opportunity
here but we fail to realize how traumatic simply coming here is for them.
Then there
are the unspoken prejudices they face. Yes,
there are a handful of really nice people who are helpful to them. But, most people are noticeably trying
politely not to stare and think it’s all a novelty. But then, there’s those who indignantly think
our tax dollars should be spent on Canadians first and those who think these
Newcomers are terrorists here covertly to destabilize our way of life. Ignorance is not bliss, my friends. It can hurt others.
Most of
the Newcomers have a different faith system than we do; not that religion means
anything for most Canadians anymore. The
most noticable thing about these Newcomers and probably what most Canadians get
prejudiced about is that “they treat their women different.” Like Old Order Mennonites they have very “traditional”
faith and cultural values with respect to how women should dress and their role
in the family and the wider community. Not
to deny that abuse against women happens in their cultures – as well l as our
own – we should be careful not to judge them according to our arrogant
assumption that we Westerners have a monopoly on what it is to be “civilized”. Civilization began in their corner of the
world long before there was such a things Western Liberal Democracy. We must be careful that due to our ignorance
of their ways we don’t mistake modesty for repression.
When we
take the time to get to know our Newcomers, we find them to be extremely
hospitable, remarkably generous with what little they have, and they have a
strong sense of honour. Their faith
plays a key role in their lives, more so than our own. They are quite willing to discuss their faith. Yet, they are also quite vulnerable, grieving
what they’ve had to leave behind, and have suffered trauma. They are overwhelmed by our culture and its
materialism. They notice our general
lack of faith, lack of devotion. They
especially notice our immodesty. They
notice our worship of money, sex, and power.
We indeed do look and act Pagan.
They can feel persecuted by us simply because they don’t know or
understand our ways and because they are just trying to be as good and faithful
as they can be according to their ways. And, they are very good at smiling and going
on. If they look sad…,maybe they are.
The
situation of Newcomers coming to Western countries is much like that of the
early Christians to whom Peter wrote this letter. Exiles he calls them. They were new Christians living in a very
pagan world where idolatry abounded. For
many of them, they were driven by persecution from their homelands due to their
faith in God through Christ. In the new
lands to which these early Christians fled they still faced persecution because
they would not participate in idol worship.
The
early Christians were also very morally upstanding. Roman culture was full of sex, indulgent
feasting, violence, and power abuse. Christians
wanted to live pure and holy lives.
The
early Christians were also known for their way of accepting everyone as equals;
slaves and masters, men and women, different races and ethnicities. They looked out after each other’s material
needs sharing what they had. They were known for generosity, hospitality, and
even touching lepers. Several Ancient
historians remarked on the quality of community and love the early Christians
shared.
They
thought of themselves as family, the family of God. They regarded each other as beloved children
of God the Father adopted into the family in Christ Jesus and sharing the
family bond of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. They were born anew, rebirthed, a new humanity indwelt
by God.
Like the Newcomers coming into our culture, these ancient
Christians were strickingly different than their surrounding culture and were
being persecuted for it either subtly or overtly. So, Peter writes to encourage them and give
them guidance on how to live faithfully as exiles in a pagan land where they
were not welcome. He rather
long-windedly with much theological wording and imagery reminds them that the
evidence that they are reborn, rebirthed anew as children of God is the
distinctive love they have for one another.
The Holy Spirit indwelt them and the proof of this was that they loved one another deeply from the heart.
Two weeks ago we talked about being cut to the heart, meaning
the way we feel when we realize we’ve put our own ideas about who God is and
what God is up in our lives before who God actually is and is actually doing in
our midst. Last week we talked about
hearts burning with fire, the sort thing that comes upon us when Jesus gets a
hold of us in the power and presence of the Holy Spirit and warms our
hearts. He causes us to be impassioned
with respect to him and Christian fellowship.
Burning hearts are most effectively felt in small group fellowships
based in Bible study, sharing our burdens, and praying with one another. We also become impassioned for being in mission,
reaching out, being Good (with a capitol G) neighbours. Finally, a deeply loving heart is the
meringue on the pie. Christian
fellowship distinguished by unconditional, non-judgemental, and sacrificial
love is what Christian faith matures into.
This forces us to think of church in a completely different
way. Our primary focus as a body of
believers in Christ must be the quality of relationships that we have in our
fellowship. How are we at loving one
another?
This is where I pat you folks on the back. Small churches in general are and this small
church in particular is living proof that Jesus lives and he has poured his
Spirit into our hearts. You genuinely
love one another and do your best to share that love with anyone who walks
through the door. Moreover, this past
year you gave I think it was about $16,000 to flood relief in
Williamsford. You could have kept that
money believing you needed it for your institutional survival, but you
didn’t. You are a light in this
world.
The fowl supper is more than just a fundraiser for this church
it is a way for us to feed the community with community. The Corn Roast is more than just a good
time. When we get together, there is a
warm, warm fellowship in our midst. We
are indeed the body of Christ, bread to the world. Yet, even though I’ve stroked your ego, there
is still room to grow even deeper in love and I meant what I said last week
about getting together in small groups.
I would encourage that greatly. Amen.
