Proper 13 B + Swimming to the other side + 8.1.21

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Bonnell, Baptism of the Christ

M. Campbell-Langdell

All Santos, Oxnard

(2 Samuel 11:26–12:13ª; Ps. 51:1–13; Ephesians 4:1–16; St John 6:24–35)

 

We are living ‘neath the great big dipper
We are washed by the very same rain
We are swimming in this stream together
Some in power and some in pain
We can worship this ground we walk on
Cherishing the beings that we live beside
Loving spirits will live forever
We’re all swimming to the other side

This song, “Swimming to the Other Side,” by Pat Humphries, was our theme song at Camp Stevens this past week where I served as chaplain. It reminds me a lot of our reading from the Book of Ephesians today, and the invitation to both speak the truth and build each other up in love.

The word αχιοσ in the first verse in Greek in the section from Ephesians refers to being in equilibrium with God’s call. When we maintain unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, we are also finding a balance between what we feel like doing and what we trust God is calling us to do, both individually and as a community. It is very clear in this passage that Jesus has torn down the dividing wall between those who were insiders and outsiders, in their context, between the Jews and the Greeks. No one is superior. And diversity is a gift, meant to be celebrated. In this context, Christians are invited to grow less in numbers (although that is good) and more in spirit so they can be ready to welcome new believers with an openness of heart.[1]

All of this felt very present to me this week when I helped a group prepare communion bread. We first talked about the bread making process and secondly, we discussed the symbolism of the bread in communion. But the interesting thing at camp, is not everyone is Christian and so we must discuss things in a very open way. We say, “In our tradition, this is the case, but other traditions break bread too” and so forth. Reflecting on this passage, the more I began to think that this was not so different from the early church. Not everyone was from the same tradition. In order to truly welcome others who might wish to follow Christ, early believers had to be open to the different backgrounds and customs of their fellow community members. They were navigating new waters.

I love the concept of building each other up in love in this passage. Cheering each other on in community is so powerful, and as many of you know it is just about my favorite thing to do. However recently I have learned another important aspect of community building is creating safe spaces for speaking the truth in love. Because diversity is a gift. At one point this week, I witnessed two kids passionately arguing over whether Area 51 was a real UFO sighting and alien related site. We discussed with the counselor how we can all have different opinions and I pointed out that sometimes it is hard to determine what seems true.

As I prepared to come to Camp, we were asked to participate in an Anti-Racism training and read a book called This Book is Anti-Racist by Tiffany Jewell. In both the training and the book I heard a lot of good points about how we can combat racism in our society. But one point stuck with me. In the context of being anti-racist, sometimes uncomfortable truths need to be stated so that people can move beyond unconscious or conscious racist behaviors. In that context, one person or group’s safety takes precedence over another person or group’s comfort. I was challenged by that knowledge as I have been corrected in ways that helped me grow but also made me feel bad about myself. It was a good reminder that while I might have felt uncomfortable, another person might have felt unsafe. This is why in church we should try to speak the truth to each other, always in a loving way, but so that everyone can feel safe here.

Another place this has arisen for me recently has been in my choice to get vaccinated. Was I afraid of side effects? Yes, a little bit. But as someone who is not immuno-compromised I felt it was right for me to get vaccinated. I was willing to risk a few side effects and some discomfort to gain the benefit not only of protection from serious COVID-19 myself, but also to be a safer person to be around. What we are learning is that the more of us there are vaccinated, the fewer spaces in society there are for the virus to mutate. Thus, the more of us that get vaccinated (which is a longer-term protection than contracting and healing from COVID-19) the less likely it is that variants like Delta will develop and sicken or even kill our vulnerable siblings in Christ. This to me is building up the body of Christ in action.

One of the aspects of this Ephesians passage I find freeing is the fact that there is a focus on growth at the end, but it is about growth in spirit, not so much in numbers. As one commentator said, the church is one, so why focus on an individual church’s numbers? The pandemic has reminded us of the folly of just looking at numbers. Yes, we may have only 20 to 25 in a given service one Sunday, but how about the thirty more that watch just that service online? What about the 30 more that read my sermon on my blog and the ten more that read it by mail and email? Yes, there will be some crossover of numbers, but the point is that we are bigger than we think we are. And yes, some of you who might watch or listen to this belong to this body, even if we haven’t met. And that is the mystery of the church.

So how do we grow in other ways? We work on balancing our will with what we sense God is calling us to do, individually and as a community. We practice open dialogue in love as well as building each other up. This may sound hard. It is. But remember, captivity itself is captive! That means Jesus has held back all the restraints. There are no limits on what we can do. As long as we speak the truth in love and build each other up intentionally so we can welcome new members into our midst, no matter their background.

Let me close with some more words from “Swimming to the Other Side”:

I am alone and I am searching
Hungering for answers in my time
I am balanced at the brink of wisdom
I’m impatient to receive a sign
I move forward with my senses open
Imperfection, it be my crime
In humility I will listen
We’re all swimming to the other side.

Let us swim with our siblings in Christ mindfully. We may not always be comfortable but if we move forward in humility we can build a safe world for all. Amen


[1] Richard Carlson, “Commentary on Ephesians 4:1-16,” August 1, 2021, WorkingPreacher.org.

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