Scripture
Semicontinuous - Psalm 130; Genesis 43:1-34; Acts 15:1-21
Complementary - Psalm 87; 2 Kings 5:1-14; Acts 15:1-21
(What are semicontinuous and complementary readings?)
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Prayer
Almighty God, you have given your only Son to be for us a sacrifice for sin, and also an example of godly life: Give us grace to receive thankfully the fruits of his redeeming work, and to follow daily in the blessed steps of his most holy life; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer)
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Reflection
The Jerusalem council takes place in A.D. 49 and is a defining moment for the first Christians. The debate among Jewish Christians was of no small importance—what to do with the Gentiles once they come into the faith? There was no disagreement that everyone came into Christianity by virtue of trust in Jesus. But then the question was how should the Gentiles live and act as Christian believers?
For many Jewish Christians, their way of life in reference to the law of Moses, changed little. As good Jewish Christians, the law was to be upheld. The regulations of the law were identity markers that identified the people of God as the people of God and separated themselves off from their Gentile neighbors.
For some, the answer to the Gentile question was the same as for Jewish believers. Gentiles need to keep at least the boundary markers of the law, the essential identifying practices of Judaism—circumcision, food (kosher) laws, and Sabbath and other holy day observance. We know from Paul’s letters that he opposed forcing the Gentiles into these practices. The Jerusalem Council was called precisely to deal with these issues.
At the center of the debate was circumcision. We must understand what was at stake for many first century Jewish Christians. For at least a couple of centuries prior, possibly longer, circumcision was the defining mark of Israel as God’s people. To suggest that circumcision not be required of the Gentiles would be tantamount to suggesting to Catholics that the mass was not necessary for certain new converts. For those on the opposite side of Paul, there could be no compromise on this issue.
The Council sided with Paul; but yet in the letter they write to the Gentiles, the necessity of abstaining from four things: that which has been polluted by idols, that is eating meat that had been previously sacrificed to idols in pagan temples; from sexual immorality in general, which would cover the whole gamut of sexual relations outside of the covenant of marriage; from whatever had been strangled and from consuming blood, which in certain non-Jewish contexts was mixed in various dishes and eaten. The latter two continue the Old Testament prohibition against consuming blood, which was considered the life-force of humanity. Whether this had some connection to the blood of Christ shed on the cross is not known.
What are the things that are absolutely necessary for faithful Christians today? What are the practices that are central? What doctrines are nonnegotiable? There are always those matters for which there can be no compromise and there are those beliefs and practices on which, as John Wesley said, “we think and let think.”
If you’ve ever ridden on an airplane with a window seat overlooking one of the wings, you’ll notice that the end of the wing is very flexible moving up and down as the plane flies. This is necessary for the plane to remain in the air. If the end of the wing were brittle and fixed, the plane would crash. But where the wing attaches to the fuselage, there can be no give and take. That wing must be firmly fixed into the body of the plane or disaster will result.
That’s a good analogy for the practices and beliefs of the Christian faith. There are beliefs and practices at the center that are not negotiable. There are other things on which belief and practice may vary from congregation to congregation. Through the centuries, the church universal has given us guidance, but not all things are settled.
The church must maintain its unity in the midst of its diversity. Unity without diversity is oppressive. Diversity without unity is a free-for-all of individual anarchy. We need both, for without them, the church cannot be the people Christ calls it to be.
Some two thousand years later, the conversation that holds the two in tension continues.
PRAYER: Eternal God, you are present with us throughout our lives, even when others plot to do us harm. May we learn to live together in unity, that in all we do, we may sing your praises now and forever. Amen. (Revised Common Lectionary)
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