Good morning, everyone. My name's James. It's nice to see you this morning.
The hashtag MeToo movement began in 2017 to give voice to women bringing to light issues of sexual harassment and abuse.
In 2020, the Black Lives Matter marches rose to give voice to those who had been harassed and abused because of their ethnicity.
More recently, there has been a campaign to stop anti-Asian hate and abuse.
Even in the last week in Sydney, someone had carved into a footpath, Asians go home.
And so this sentiment is happening even here in Sydney.
In the last couple of weeks in Australia, tens of thousands of people marched against the abuse of women.
Those who don't have power and freedom, those who have been abused in their lives, have been responding.
They are calling for social issues to change.
Whilst the coronavirus pandemic hit many people very hard, hit people's...
They lost houses, people have lost jobs, people have been hit financially,
let alone those who have had their health damaged and lost their lives.
Yet, the richest in our society have also gotten richer.
The three richest men in the United States,
Mark Zuckerberg, who owns Facebook,
Elon Musk, who owns Tesla and, you know, spaceships,
and the third is Jeff Bezos, who owns most things, and Amazon.
All three of those in the last year have more than doubled their wealth.
We see social abuses.
We see racial inequality.
And we want to see a society that is changed.
I want to see a society that is changed.
In the Western culture that we live in,
there is unrest and dissatisfaction about relationships.
There is conflict between people at the workplace,
conflict at home, conflict between friends and marriages.
There is tension in the social fabric of who we are as people.
Each of us trying to get ahead, trying to earn more money,
trying to have shinier things.
There is tension economically between classes,
between those who would be considered working class
and middle class and upper class.
There is tension and unrest and dissatisfaction
between different ethnicities and nationalities.
And for me, personally, I can feel the pull to become a Twitter warrior
and to have arguments with people online.
I can feel the pull to go to marches.
And yet, I can feel another pull,
which is just to be totally passive.
Because these social issues seem so large
that they are just impossible to change.
So how are we to view these issues
that are not only around us, but we are also part of?
What does God have to say to this?
And how does a Christian respond to these issues?
Last week was Easter.
And we were reminded at Easter of God's goodness to us.
His love, His grace.
Not only that Jesus would die,
but that He would be raised
so that our death has been paid for
and we are promised new life.
The resurrection is such a wonderful,
world-changing event
that it not only changes our vertical relationship with God.
Not only do we have a relationship with God
that is restored, redeemed,
now we can know Him
and we can be made more like Him,
but it also impacts our horizontal relationships.
The resurrection changes how we relate to God,
but it also changes how we relate to other people.
And so only in the death and resurrection of Jesus
do we have the resources to see
the transformation of relationships,
the transformation of our society,
of the church being a powerful sign to the world,
of the people that God is making us to be.
And so today, over the next 20, 30 minutes,
I'm going to be touching on some large issues.
Racism, economic inequality.
Unfortunately, I can't preach for an hour and a half
to go into all of these very deeply,
but please come and speak with me after
if you'd like to talk more about these.
So we're going to speak about
the resurrection hope we have for relationships
before we look at the resurrection hope
for racism and different classes.
And as we do this,
we should be praying and asking God for help.
So let's pray.
Dear Heavenly Father,
Lord, I thank you so much for our last weekend
and for the reminder of Easter,
of your goodness to us at the cross
and in the resurrection.
Father, as we consider the implications
for us across our lives,
give us much understanding of ourself
and love of other people, Lord.
Amen.
Please have your Bibles open.
We're going to be spending time
in those three parts of the Bible that Anne read.
And we're going to start in 1 Corinthians.
In this letter, Paul is writing this letter
rebuking a church for many issues.
Most of their issues come down
to how they are relating between people.
You know, they might have the vertical relationship
with God sorted,
but their horizontal relationships with other people
are in a dire state.
So as he writes in chapter 6, verse 1,
if any of you has a dispute with another,
do you dare take it before the ungodly for judgment
instead of being the Lord's people?
It seems that the social relationships
between people of the church have broken down.
Those people who should be loving,
who should be forgiving each other
because they know how much they've been forgiven by Jesus,
they are not forgiving each other.
And so instead of dealing with this conflict,
they've been taking each other to court.
They've been suing each other
and they're being judged not by somebody else in the church,
not by a wise Christian brother,
but somebody that's totally unrelated.
And so chapter 6, verse 2,
do you not know that the Lord's people will judge the world?
And if you are to judge the world,
are you not competent to judge trivial cases?
Do you not know that we will judge angels?
And how much more the things of this life?
Paul is saying that at the resurrection,
there will be a final judgment
and Christians will have a role to judge the world.
And yet these Christians
couldn't even judge trivial cases amongst themselves.
You know, there's like a case of a hole between two neighbors
and a donkey fell down it.
And so instead of forgiving and reconciling their relationship,
they're taking each other to court.
You know, someone hasn't paid the right amount.
They've got unequal weights on their scales.
And so instead of talking amongst themselves,
they're taking each other to court.
And so many of these issues that they worried about
are trivial in comparison to the coming resurrection.
Now, Paul's not saying that there is no place for lawsuits.
There is a place for lawyers and lawsuits.
Seeking justice is important.
But it's the attitude of the vengeful,
you know, he said, she said, you owe me more.
You know, you owe me, you know, $13, $28.
It's the quickness to sue and litigate.
It's part of an unhealthy heart attitude.
It's the spirit of the age of the church in Corinth
where people wanted to get what they were owed.
And I also think it's the spirit of our age here in Sydney.
If the Christians in the church who were supposed to know forgiveness
and love from God at the cost of Jesus himself,
if these people couldn't even forgive each other,
what hope is there for people that aren't part of our church?
What hope is there for people in the rest of society
to deal with their relationships,
to have any hope of seeing reconciliation?
The call of the gospel is to lay down our desire to get what we are owed.
The beauty of the gospel can be seen when Christians forgive each other.
You know, think, you know, last week we saw Jesus on the cross.
He prays to God, Father, forgive them.
They don't know what they do.
The Abdullah family who had a person drive into their car
and saw four of their children of the family be killed
seeing that family forgive the driver.
The beauty of the gospel can be seen when Christians forgive.
And the resurrection is the key
to healing our relationships with each other
in two different ways.
Firstly, when we know how much we have been forgiven,
it helps us to lay down our judgment of others.
When we know how much we've been forgiven,
it helps us to lay down our judgment of others.
And secondly, knowing that God is a good judge
helps us not to feel that we need to judge.
Knowing that God has got the judgment.
It's not in the kind of way that it's like,
oh, I'm not going to judge because God's going to get you.
I'm going to leave it to him because he'll take care of you.
Don't worry.
You know, big brother, you know, my God,
he's going to get you.
Lightning bolts are coming for you.
No, when there's conflict, it's,
well, I know God is a good judge
and he will take care of this.
So I don't need to judge in his place.
Instead, I can forgive.
But I know personally
that when I seek to forgive,
there's often two other things
that can get in the way.
Two other things that my heart
wants to default to.
Imagine that I've been wronged.
Does anybody want to suggest a way
that I could have been wronged?
Nobody's, you know,
let's just say it's a car.
Let's just say James,
dear James, dear brother James,
I'll pick on him.
He's leading.
Thank you, James.
Thanks for putting your hand up there.
Let's say he's driven into my car.
Okay, let's say he's driven into my car.
Now, you know, when that happens,
I'm pumped up full of adrenaline
and I might want to respond
firstly by striking back.
I might be very angry
and I might want to go
and put my dear brother in a headlock.
Or maybe I won't respond physically.
I'll respond with words
and I will, you know, shout him.
What are you doing?
What are you looking?
You're looking at your phone.
What are you doing, James?
I might respond quickly
by trying to strike back.
Or in the case of the Corinthian church,
they were suing each other.
James, I'll tell you what,
I'm going straight to your insurance.
You are paying for every,
Dom, you're seeing my car fixed.
Or I might hold a grudge.
I might say to James' face,
don't worry, brother, it's fine.
I forgive you.
But I might actually hold onto a grudge.
Because what a grudge does,
it gives me power over someone else.
You owe me for hurting me,
for damaging my car.
And I'm going to bring this up
every now and then.
Oh, James, you know,
you remember that time
you smashed into my car?
It's okay, I forgive you.
But you know what,
I'd love a coffee right now.
And I'm going to remind other people,
Ash, you remember that time James
smashed into my car, you know?
And I could use that as a tool
to belittle you.
Maybe I'll actually just hold onto this grudge
for many years,
and then one day I'll just cut you off
and have nothing to do with you.
Neither of these options
are influenced by the resurrection of Jesus.
They're influenced by selfishness and pride.
They're the things that my heart quickly responds to.
I'm sure that your heart does the same.
Years of responding in conflict in our relationships
can leave us with destroyed families,
split churches,
damaged marriages,
and hurt friendships.
And so the resurrection calls us to forgive.
And this is really hard.
It actually means that we need to bear the cost.
Instead of recouping the cost,
I actually need to bear this cost.
And that's what God has done with our sin.
He has borne the cost in Jesus' death.
Now this might sound good in principle.
It might sound fine.
But it can be very difficult.
It's very difficult.
Because do you know what?
I like to hold onto a grudge.
Because I gain something out of that.
I've been wronged.
And if I need to let go of that,
it feels like I'm letting part of me die.
And it is.
But the beauty of the gospel
is that when we let our anger
and our grudges die,
we see life.
We see the resurrection life in us,
the Holy Spirit working in us
so that we can forgive
and we can show God's love
and life to other people.
So to have hope for relationships,
even before we get to
more difficult relationships
like ones across ethnicities and classes,
we need to be people
who practice forgiveness.
forgiveness.
So to have hope
for relationships,
our forgiveness has to come
from the resurrection.
We come now to a more complicated issue,
one of race and ethnicity.
Please turn with me to Galatians chapter 2
as we see the resurrection hope for racism.
In Galatians chapter 2, verse 11,
when Cephas came to Antioch,
Paul said that he,
I opposed him to his face
because he stood condemned.
For before certain men came from James,
he used to eat with Gentiles.
But when they arrived,
he began to draw back
and separate himself from the Gentiles
because he was afraid
of those who belong to the circumcision group.
So Paul corrects Peter,
Paul rebukes Peter
because he has separated himself
from the Gentiles.
Verse 15,
we who are Jews by birth
and not sinful Gentiles
know that a person
is not justified
by the works of the law
but by faith in Jesus Christ.
So we too
have put our faith in Jesus
that we may be justified
by faith in Christ
and not by works of the law
because by the works of the law
no one will be justified.
Paul had to go and remind Peter
of where salvation came from.
It did not come from the law
but it came from God's grace.
And what Paul does
is something really interesting here.
He connects God's love
and his grace
and his justification
to cultural identity.
And he actually says that
one is stronger than the other.
The identity that we have
as Christians
is far stronger
than our family heritage,
our cultural identity.
Now Paul himself
was a proud Hebrew.
He continues to refer
to himself as a Hebrew.
He doesn't say
I'm a Christian now
so everything that came before
doesn't matter.
He follows Jesus
and he also says
he's a Hebrew.
He's proud of his heritage.
And Paul is talking to Peter.
Peter is the guy
who had seen a vision
from God
that all people
were considered
to be clean.
This is the guy
who had had a vision
from God
that all people are clean
that there is no division
between Jew and Gentile.
And yet
the racial division
between Jews
and Gentiles
ran deep.
It was full
of mistrust,
disrespect
and suspicion.
His fear of the Jews
separated himself
from others.
It was just
racism in practice.
So Peter
stopped eating food
with the Gentiles
and food
is such a clear sign
of relationship.
It's such a wonderful thing
when we get to eat food together.
I'm looking forward
to eating food
with a whole bunch
of people
coming over to my house today.
But here
Peter's racial identity
became more important
than his spiritual identity.
And in effect
he may have said
one thing
with these words
God's love
is for all people.
God offers forgiveness
to all people
but in practice
he denied
the gospel of grace
because he was just
spending time
with the Jews.
Jesus didn't die
for just one ethnicity.
There is no one group
of people
that are more special.
He was the God
he is the God
of the Israelites
and a specific country
but he is also
the God
of the whole world.
At the end of Galatians
in chapter 6
Paul says
neither circumcision
nor uncircumcision
means anything.
What counts
is the new creation.
Paul says that
because of the resurrection
the ethnic
and cultural
differences
are no longer important.
In the new creation
cultural and ethnic
differences
don't create tension
but they are made pure.
They are just one
aspect of who we are.
And I love
Revelation chapter 7.
Revelation chapter 7
has this beautiful picture
of the new creation
where there will be
people from
every tribe
nation
people and language
praising God
together.
Ethnic and cultural
differences
are a good
part of creation
and they are
purified
and they endure
past the resurrection.
In the ancient world
religion was just
one aspect
of a culture's
identity.
If you were from
Athens
you worshipped
the god
Athena
thank you
Narlene.
If you were
a Delphian
your god
was Apollo
if you were
from Olympus
your god
was Zeus
if you were
from Corinth
a city
by the sea
your god
was Poseidon.
Christianity
fundamentally
changed
all of that.
Everyone
of every
city
every
ethnic group
every
nation
all people
were called
to worship
the same
god.
The implication
then is that
this god
relationship
with this god
unites us
far deeper
far stronger
than any
cultural bond
any place
that we've
come from.
And yet
following Jesus
putting off
the old self
and old way
of doing things
doesn't mean
that I can
actually put
off my
cultural
identity.
There is
no way
to be
culturally
neutral.
I will
forever be
someone who
is influenced
by being
an Aussie
male
growing up
in Wollongong
in the
1990s.
I'm a
90s child
that's just
that's who
I am
and I can't
actually change
that.
It's impossible
to change
that.
But what
I can seek
to do
is to have
my cultural
way of
doing things
changed
and made
pure.
No longer
can I blame
culture.
No longer
can I just
say that's
just what
people from
Sydney do.
That's just
what Aussies
do.
I can actually
choose to
stand apart
to put off
idolatrous
ways and
be a
Christian
with a
culture
shaped by
God.
What if
I as
a white
36 year
old male
was listening
to a
younger
Asian
Christian
sister
speak of
the
casual
and
deliberate
racism
she's
received
just
because
of
her
ethnicity?
How would
I respond
to that?
I think
my instinct
would be
to defend
my culture
to defend
the way
I grew
up and
the people
I grew
up with.
I probably
want to
default to
saying something
like oh
look it's
not real
racism
it's just
jokes.
That's just
what Aussies
do.
They're just
boys being
boys it's
one of
those type
of excuses
and just
dismiss her
concerns.
Maybe I'd
even push
it back to
victim blaming
oh look you're
actually not
able to
take a
joke.
It's
actually
your fault.
I might
even say
look racism
now isn't
as bad
as it
was 20
30 years
ago when
I was
growing up.
It's so
much better
now so
don't worry
about it.
or I
can remember
that my
old self
because of
my pride
in ethnicity
is an
idol and
what it
does is
it actually
blinds me
to actual
racism and
I need to
remember that
I'm a
Christian first
and a
white male
second and
I must
treat this
sister as
an equal
child of
God and
who God
is using
to speak
to me in
that moment
to work
on my
idolatry.
Each of
us needs
to be
aware of
our own
cultural
blindness
and not
believe that
our way
of being
a Christian
just because
it's the
way we've
grown up
is necessarily
the right
way.
Now what
I would
love to
do at
this point
is I
would love
to encourage
you to
go on a
holiday to
another
country.
A little
bit difficult
I don't
have money
to give
you to
fly
anywhere
we might
be able
to go to
New Zealand
in a week.
What I'd
love for you
to do is
to go to
another
culture
spend a
significant
amount of
time there
because what
that does
is it
actually makes
you realise
these Christians
do things
differently to
those Christians
back home.
I wonder
why.
When we
get out of
our own
culture it
helps us
to ask
questions
of our
own way
of doing
things.
We are
a multi-ethnic
church here
and we are
seeking to
have a
culture shaped
not by
racism
not by
ethnic
preference
not by
the culture
that I've
grown up
in
but shaped
by Jesus
and his
resurrection.
We can be
a voice
of love
to hurt
and broken
people in
our
polarised
neighbourhood
as we
hold out
God's
love.
Let me
encourage you
call out
racism
when you
see it.
Call out
racism
in the
workplace
even if
it means
you don't
get the
next
promotion.
Call out
racism
within
friendship
groups
even if
it means
you lose
friends.
Don't keep
quiet in
fear like
Peter.
Show active
love to
people of
all nations
and I
think most
importantly
we actually
need to
seek to
listen to
people who
are different
to us.
In the next
couple of
weeks I'm
hoping to
read a
book called
Reading
While
Black.
It's
written by
an African
American
called
Esau
Macaulay
and he
writes
about
what it
means to
be a
Christian
growing up
in the
South
of America
and I'm
looking forward
to reading
that because
it is such
a different
cultural
perspective
on what it
means to
be a
Christian
and he
has a
whole
different
voice on
what it
means to
be an
African
and insight
into the
Africans in
the Bible
so I'm
really looking
forward to
that.
Let me
encourage you
seek out
different
voices to
understand
people from
different
places.
I think
SBS is a
wonderful
channel because
it is so
multi-ethnic.
Watch documentaries,
learn about
people from
other places.
So let me
encourage you,
as we seek to
be influenced by
the resurrection,
to love people
who are different,
let me encourage
you to listen.
Listen to
people's stories.
We've looked at
relationships between
each other,
how we need to
forgive,
across ethnicities,
how important
it is to
listen,
and now we
come to the
resurrection hope
we have for
the classes,
for different
social groups.
Have a look
with me at
Luke chapter
14.
Jesus is at
a banquet.
I actually
wonder if this
is the first
type of banquet
like this Jesus
has gone to.
Growing up as a
tradie, I
wonder if this
is the first
time he's gone
to a meal like
this.
In chapter 14
it says,
when he noticed
how the guests
picked the places
of honour at
the table,
he told them
this parable.
When someone
invites you to
a wedding feast,
do not take
the place of
honour,
for a person
more distinguished
than you may
have been
invited.
Jesus is at
this banquet
and he is
watching the
social interactions
around him.
He's watching
how the class
based system
functions.
Those who
were closer to
the top of
the table,
they were
considered to
be more
important.
They sat
with the
more important
people and
they would
have conversations
to advance
themselves.
It was a
form of
ancient networking
before LinkedIn
or however
people do it
these days.
The purpose
of this
dinner was
to grow
social relationships
so that you
could climb
the ladder.
You know,
you wanted to
sit next to
a person who
could help
you to open
doors, to
invest in you
and you would
invest in them
and you
would buy
products.
So, you
know, you'd
sit next to
the property
developer and
you'd ask,
you know,
where's the
next land sale
going to be?
Where's the
next boom
suburb?
You tell me
where that is
and I'll buy
in there and
you'll get
more money.
And then if
you need me,
you do a
favour for
you, I'll
do that.
You know,
I'm going to
sit next to
the person who
works for the
government so I
can get my
DA through
quicker and
when it does
that I will
give your
political party
an extra kickback.
You scratch my
back, I scratch
your back.
Jesus says
into this
context,
don't try and
take the places
of honour and
power for
yourselves.
But that's a
crazy thought
into this
context.
That was the
whole point of
going to this
event.
You wanted the
place of honour
because you
want to talk to
those people
around you so
that you can
climb so you
can get ahead.
I didn't come
to this feast
to talk to
poor people.
They are not
going to help
me at all.
I came to
get an
advantage.
The whole
social system
was designed
to meet
people to
do favours
for each
other, to
try and get
control and
power and
influence and
money.
Jesus says
something radical.
Instead of
focusing on
yourself,
focus on
others.
You don't
need to gain
power and
control and
money because
you have a
God who
richly blesses
you and he
is in control
of all things.
And so Jesus
breaks free of
this system in
verse 12.
Jesus said to
his host,
when you give
a luncheon or
dinner, do not
invite your
friends, your
brothers or your
sisters, your
relatives or your
rich neighbours.
If you do, they
may invite you
back and so you
will be repaid.
But when you
give a banquet,
invite the
poor, the
crippled, the
lame, the
blind and you
will be blessed.
Although they
cannot repay you,
you will be
repaid at the
resurrection of
the righteous.
So the
resurrection
influences how
we view people
in different
social situations.
Now what Jesus
is talking to,
he's talking to a
culture of
reciprocity.
A culture where
if I do
something for you,
you have to
reciprocate.
You do
something for
me.
It's true of
other cultures
today, some
Asian cultures
are still very
reciprocal.
Gifts were
never free.
There was
always strings
attached.
And so you
would never
invite a poor
person to a
feast.
First of all,
it says something
about the
host.
Other people
would feel that
their time was
wasted.
Why is this
poor person
here?
I get nothing
out of them.
I'm not going
to talk to
them.
And then the
poor person
themselves would
be embarrassed
because they
can't offer
anything else
back to the
host.
They can't
invite the
host back
next week
for a feast
because they
can't do
that.
And so the
poor would
just be
excluded for
their sake and
for everybody
else's sake.
And so what
would happen is
the poor would
get poorer and
the rich would
get richer.
Jesus is
critical of this
system.
And so he
says, you
know what,
let's just
start a new
one.
Let's start
a new
system, not
based on
giving each
other gifts,
one based on
the resurrection
where God
values us
all equally
and has given
us the gift
of his son.
All richly
blessed.
Instead of
seeking people
to actively
gain a benefit
from them,
I'm going to
use this person
to get ahead.
I'm going to
befriend them
to open doors.
No, choosing
to love other
people just
to love them.
The resurrection,
salvation itself
is our
advantage and
not what we
gain from
each other.
Christians are
called to be in
relationships with
people from
other social
circles and
cultures as an
expression of
God's love,
of God's
generosity to
us.
It's a whole
new world view
of how people
are viewed not
as tools to
get ahead,
but as people
loved by God
to be loved.
Jesus has
blessed us,
he's brought
us out of
poverty and
given us life,
so we're
called to
imitate him
in generosity.
Belief in
the resurrection
should change
our relationships.
It should
change how we
calculate the
value of
people.
It should
end the
constant thoughts
in the back
of my mind,
I'll pick on
James again,
is this person
actually worth
my time?
Should I
spend time
with him?
Is he just
going to drag
me down?
He's going to
need a lot of
work.
Do I really
have time?
Is he actually
worth it?
And if I spend
time with him,
does he appreciate
it enough?
Does he thank
me enough?
What do I
actually get out
of this
relationship?
The resurrection
should actually
end our
stinginess with
our time and
our wealth and
our lives,
because the
resurrection calls
us to
generosity?
Today we've
spoken about
big social
change,
of
relationships,
of racism,
of resources,
and I want to
encourage you,
instead of
just seeing
the national
and international
conversations and
thinking, oh,
I need to engage
with that,
I need to talk
about these big
things,
just to engage
with the most
recent Black
Lives Matter
march or
these kinds of
things,
instead of just
engaging with
those things,
start with the
people around
you.
It is much
easier to
forgive, to
show generosity,
and to listen to
the people that
are in front of
you.
So look out for
opportunities of
social inequality
people around
you.
My community
group, we
got together a
whole heap of
food for the
asylum seeker
center in the
city to serve
people who are
in need.
Look out for
opportunities in
your community
around you to
show the influence
of the resurrection
and not just
see the big
national debates
and think it
is too hard.
The resurrection
calls us to
forgive each
other and to
see relationships
restored.
The resurrection
calls us to
listen so that
we see the
gospel that
binds us
together and
not cultural
differences.
The resurrection
calls us to be
generous because
we have a
generous God.
And so let's
be a church,
let's be a
people that do
these things,
that forgive,
that listen and
are generous.
Let me pray.
Dear Heavenly
Father, Lord I
thank you for
all of your
goodness to us.
Lord it is
easy for us to
forget how much
we have been
forgiven, how
generous you
have been and
how you
know our
condition because
Jesus became
one of us.
Heavenly Father
we ask that you
would remind us
of the impact
of the resurrection
on our daily
lives.
Lord give us
much patience
when we are
faced with
conflict that
we would be
quick to
forgive.
That when we
see cultural
differences we
would not be
quick to see the
differences between
us and others
but be quick to
see the gospel
that binds
us.
And Father
help us to be
generous to other
people Lord
knowing your love
for us.
We ask this in
your son's name.
Amen.