Title: There Are No Strangers Here
OT Reading: Psalm 116:1-2, 12-19 NRSV
NT Reading: John 13:1-17, 31b-35 NRSV (Sermon Scripture)
Date: April 9, 2009, Maundy Thursday Meditation
Location: Crescent Hill Presbyterian Church, Louisville, KY
Preacher: Dave Bush
A year or so ago I was watching TV, flipping through channels, and landed on PBS. The station was airing a documentary based on a book, a business philosophy, by Jim Collins. His book - part of the business self-help genre - is called Good to Great and examines what makes some companies excel.
One key metaphor in the Good to Great philosophy concerns a bus. To be a successful organization, Collins maintains, one must get the right people on the bus and the wrong people off the bus. The right people are the ones who agree with you and have your same vision, and the wrong people are those with different perspectives, outlooks, or views.
I watched this documentary with mild interest and without much connection to the topic until the show shifted from profiling businesses to examining a church. I was sort of jolted by this unexpected shift. I was shocked, really, to actually hear a pastor say he used this philosophy in his church! I was so surprised to hear a pastor promote this business philosophy because it is so contrary to the gospels – so contrary to the example seen in the life of Jesus.
I invite you to think of the people who were sitting with Jesus at the Passover meal. There’s Peter, so not with the program that earlier Jesus called him Satan, and after Jesus is taken prisoner, Peter will deny even knowing him. Obviously he’s not with the program; off the bus Peter. Judas, so out of touch with the program of the Prince of Peace, he betrays Jesus – off the bus. Also reclining at the table is Thomas who will soon show his lack of faith by demanding proof of Jesus’ resurrection - off the bus. And then there are the brothers James and John who sought to sit one at the right side and the other at the left side of Jesus in heaven. This was not part of the mission statement calling for leaders to be servants. Gentlemen, thank you for your service, but it’s time for you to get off the bus.
As Jesus nears the end of his earthly ministry - tomorrow he will be killed - he takes part in the Passover meal. This night before his death, he gathers around him those who don’t understand his mission statement and those who don’t share his vision. Stay on the bus.
A couple weeks back Molly and I visited New Harmony, Indiana. We didn’t take a bus, we drove our Vibe, and there we found a beautiful little town. New Harmony began as a utopian community founded in the early 1800s, and the area has held onto those roots for almost two hundred years. We were surprised to find there a comparatively new and unique church building. Constructed in 1960, the Roofless Church, as it’s descriptively called, has walls with many big doors, grass for a floor with walking paths and benches to sit and think. Inside one of the doors is a plaque that reads, “This is God’s house. There are no strangers here.”
So here we have two very different views of community.
As people in community, the reality is that we will disagree. From how we should spend money on a particular church building, to the criteria for ordination, to how we refer to God there will always be disagreements where two or three are gathered in his name. The question for us then, as individuals, as a local faith community, as a national community of faith is, “What model best demonstrates the new commandment to love one another?” Is our goal to be like a narrow, closed, and, often, smelly bus or an open, welcoming place where light shines in?
Now, don’t dismiss the bus off hand. If I was ever in charge of something, I think I’d like this bus model. The bus has its advantages: we can control the temperature, we’re protected from the elements, and best of all we can decide who gets on and who is tossed off the bus. We have a lot of power on the bus. Whereas in the Roofless Church the rain and snow fall inside the building, just about anyone can walk inside, while we, might, want to sit quietly on a bench and think, someone else might want to chat with a friend while strolling the paths and so possibly interrupt our agenda – our vision.
In a moment, we’ll take the hands of the person next to us. As we do, will we look them in the eye and say, “You are not like us” – which is really saying, “You are not like me” – “so get off the bus”? Or will look at them, first washing and then drying their hands, and affirm, “This place, poor acoustics and all, this place is God’s house, and you are not a stranger here!”
And when we come to this table, should we see Jesus sitting in the driver’s seat pulling that metal lever to close the bus doors? Or should we see Jesus standing up after washing the feet of those who did not understand the vision statement and then inviting them, and now turning to us, looking at us, calling our name - inviting us – with welcoming arms to this table. Welcoming all of us, reminding each of us that this is God’s house, this is God’s table, and there are no strangers here!