Valois United Church

OCTOBER 5, 2008 - WORLD WIDE COMMUNION

Galations 3:26-28 & Ephesians 4:1-6

Paul was faced with churches in the Roman Empire where the membership was made up of Greeks and Jews and other non-Greek residents of the regions - people from all over the world as they knew it.  And there was dissent and bickering amongst the different language and cultural and ethnic groups.

There were divisions in Rome, in Galatia, in Ephesus.... in church after church there were tensions along those socio-ethic lines.  And the church was not unified.

It disturbed Paul greatly, and over and over he spoke to the divisions in the church.  As one who was Jewish, as one very literate in the Greek tradition, as one who was a Roman citizen, the problems disturbed him more than it might others.

And the problems could be addressed by him more strongly and clearly than by others.

And so he spoke.
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We are faced today with churches with various divisions.  Some of the divisions are along theological lines.  That’s an issue for another sermon.

But some of the divisions are along socio-linguistic, cultural and national lines.
Even within the United Church, there is often a gulf between what are known as ‘ethnic churches’ - churches in Montreal such as the Montreal Korean Church or Union United Church downtown - and churches that are not classified in that way.  And there is often a gulf between our native and non-native congregations.   There are frequent mis-communications, and mis-understandings -  - or just little contact at all.

And there are divisions within congregations, when people from other ethnic backgrounds and linguistic backgrounds do not feel completely welcome, or they are not welcome to express themselves in their own languages and in their own ways, when others do not give the clear message that every culture and every language is valued in a congregation.

Why is it a problem?  It was a problem for Paul.  And it is a problem for us.
Because Jesus did not call you and I to build anything else except communities of God - and community of God is not limited.
I remember many years ago the minister in Waterville, out in the Eastern Townships,  asking his congregation whether they were the United Church of English Waterville, or if they were the United Church of Waterville.

There is a question for us all, and it is a tough one.
Once, it seemed a safe assumption that the francophones went to the Catholic church, and the anglophones - well, some went to the Catholic church, and the rest to the protestant churches.  But it is not that way any more.

And I remember another community where the English Catholic church and the French Catholic church faced each other across the street - and it was seen to be a great ecumenical challenge, ten or fifteen years ago, to bring the two together!

Paul’s words of concern reached out to the church communities in Ephesus, Rome, Galatia and more.  He called them to recognize that their primary affiliation was not to an ethnic background.  Their primary affiliation was not to a linguistic background.  
Rather,
he called them to proclaim in action, in word, in attitude, that their primary affiliation was to Christ, was to Jesus, was to God.

(Cantonese:)
Sun tai, che yao yat go
Sing ling, che yao yat go.
Yat giu
yat sun
yat sai
yat go seulg tai, che see tsun yan dek fu....

Paul’s words ring out to us today in many languages, languages spoken by the people of the congregation, languages spoken by people of faith in different parts of the world

Today is World Wide Communion Sunday.  
On this day, we recall that we are all called to be one: all Christians, of every land, every language, every race, every culture.

“One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all”, Paul says.

Paul calls us to recognize that our primary affiliation is not to an ethnic background.  Our primary affiliation is not to a linguistic background.  
Rather,
he calls us to proclaim in action, in word, in attitude, that our primary affiliation is to Christ, is to Jesus, is to God.

The wonderful thing is that this message does break through.
Today, we will use a total of ten languages in worship,
    showing one measure of the richness and diversity of this congregation.
At meetings of our own Montreal and Ottawa Conference of the United Church, in the 1970's, there was hardly any use of any language except English.  Now many languages might be heard, and the work is carried on in English and French.
In the Montreal area, efforts are being made to open communications with the so-called ‘ethnic congregations’;
and in other places people are recognizing that the work of a church must reflect the community, and that ideally the face of the congregation would be the face of the community.

It is challenging.  But we are called to build communities of God.  And as God’s love transcends all barriers, so must our faith communities seek to transcend all barriers as well.

In our context, World-Wide Communion becomes community communion - as our Canadian communities becomes a rich tapestry of people from many backgrounds.

And in our context, as our community communion becomes broader and richer, so will our connection with the whole world-wide community of faith.

28.       il n'y a ni Juif ni Grec, il n'y a ni esclave ni homme libre, il n'y a ni homme ni femme ; car tous vous ne faites qu'un dans le Christ Jésus.

One in Christ in the congregation
One in Christ in the United Church
One in Christ in the whole world.