Reflection
The early church could be just as divided over issues of justice as our churches are today. We hear from Paul that in the Corinthian community richer church members were having dinner parties in the church while poorer church members were left out in the cold. People were judging each other based on their perceived gifts, valuing some more than others. Sin was rampant and people were suffering. As conflict was coming to a head, Paul urges that individual members be reconciled to each other, just as Christ reconciled humanity to God.
Reconciliation is much needed in our divided and broken world. There are some differences born out of injustice. There are others that are God given gifts and worthy of honor. It seems impossible that human beings can find a way to come together, until Jesus shows us how. If heaven and earth can be reconciled through the power of the cross, then nothing is impossible.
An excerpt From Redeemer’s Welcome Statement which was adopted January 2018 says,
"You are welcome regardless of age, gender, color or culture; citizenship; religious or spiritual background; sexual orientation, gender identity or expression; relationship status or family structure; physical, emotional, or cognitive abilities; addictions; physical or mental health; incarceration or institutionalization; socio-economic status; housing situation; political views or affiliations; or any other point of distinction, which too often divides us in the world."
Reconciliation isn’t just a return to the old. Paul reminds us that in Christ all things are made new. Indeed, New Testament scholars argue that a more appropriate translation would include a sense of initiation: “in Christ God was initiating new relationship between the world and himself.” This perhaps more accurately captures the call of the baptized. It is not enough to simply try to return things to a prior state (as if the past were somehow more perfect than the present). Rather by Christ’s call we are enabled to initiate new relationship with our neighbors, striving toward a world where each and every person is valued as a beloved child of God.
