One Body in Christ (Ephesians 2:13-22) 11/11/07

When I was in Korea two months ago, my husband Sam and I had lunch with Sook Hee Bae and K.J. Bae. KJ said, "The best thing about Korea is that I can understand all the TV shows and all the newspapers." "So do I!" I exclaimed. As you know, KJ worked for an American company called Kraft, for more than twenty years. Despite this long tenure in the U.S., he still had issues with English. I can imagine how stressful it was for him working in an English-speaking environment. English is forever a stress to non-native speakers. So if this is true, why do Korean members come to PCFL? What are some of the benefits that Korean members get out of their PCFL membership? At first I'd like to address this in today's message.

There are many things that Korean members enjoy at PCFL. The first thing is differences in worship and culture. Korean worship service is quite different with PCFL's. In terms of liturgy, Korean worship is pretty tense and fixed, no room for variety while PCFL's is informal, creative, and flexible. Most Korean worship services do not have a children's sermon. In case of my husband's church, children have their own separate services from two years of age. My husband's church, PCNJ has three different language services-Korean, English and Spanish. English speaking pastors lead English services. Elementary, junior high, senior high, and young adult group have their own English service according to their age. There are also Korean services for elementary, junior high, senior high and young adult groups who want to attend a Korean speaking service. A Spanish speaking pastor leads the service for Spanish. "How long will the Korean speaking church survive in the States?" is a very critical question to Koreans. Most Korean scholars predict that only multiethnic/multicultural church will remain unless Korean immigrants keep coming to the States. I think the children's sermon gives variation to the worship of PCFL because its style is different from time to time and it is done by many different people. Another component of the worship service that is differentiated is the prayer of the people. The prayer of the people that we have at PCFL is a unique way to corporately pray together as a congregation and share our joys and concerns. It is something that is very special.

And we really enjoy the cultural differences. It is a joy to experience diversity in thought, behavior and lifestyle and understanding differences helps foster growth. For example, Koreans have the cultural tradition of always cooking more food than necessary for guests while most Americans serve only the necessary amount. When I was invited to dinner by a Caucasian professor in my seminary years, I really wondered where all the food was. There was only one plate at the table. With respect to cooking, at times we envy American culture. We want to be free from the kitchen but at the same time we want to keep the tradition though it exhausts us. In terms of theology, the difference is pretty painful Jack and I collided countless times and I cried a lot but experiencing different ideas is enriching personally. Korean members also enjoy different ideas though we don't agree. Personally I feel honored to serve this church and I love PCFL very much. PCFL is my first love as a pastor.

Secondly, most Koreans feel alienated from mainstream society so we pray that our children would become naturally integrated with society. We know that joining an American church helps fill the gap but it is very difficult for us to be an active member of American church in a real sense. However, through a bridge, Esther at PCFL as one of pastors, Korean congregants do feel comfortable here. They are very proud to be a part of PCFL. PCFL has given us a lot. Almost all the members have ESL teachers. We hope we can give what we get from PCFL. We truly appreciate the spirit of inclusiveness, embracement and hospitality of PCFL. I believe the firm vision and commitment to multicultural church of Pastor Jack, session and congregation's support have shaped who PCFL is today.

However, the main reason that Korean congregants come to PCFL is for spiritual growth. Without this, they wouldn't come to church. Considering the Korean members' limited language, graciously the Christian education committee and session approved a Korean adult class as well as English speaking adult class after worship in the fall of 2006. In the Korean adult class, I usually talk about what is going on in the church. For example, I talk about pledging because the typical Korean church doesn't have a pledge system and explanation and encouragement is needed. I explain about greeting cards, spring's rebirth, heavenly Treasure and so on and I encourage participation. Newcomers need instruction for worship. They also don't know the regular members of the congregation so I invite members to the class frequently and introduce them for mutual get-to-know. The class typically shares our life stories for the week and afterwards we have a short Bible study focused on spiritual growth. The Korean class serves the needs of understanding who PCFL is and its activities, spiritual growth and intimate community. We don't meet nowadays because some may wonder what we are doing behind the closed door.

The other day Phil Baker asked me "Tell me ten benefits Korean members get from PCFL." I replied, "Tell me ten benefits you get from PCFL." He replied, "fellowship, judeo/Christian values, multicultural experiences, church is worthwhile for the town, joys and concerns, ESL, lunches and dinners to celebrate a church interest." So I said, "Find five more. Then I'll treat you lunch." What are the benefits that you get from PCFL? Anyone would like to share?

Jesus' followers are one of the most diverse groups imaginable. Jesus welcomed children, sinners, tax collectors, fishermen, women, thieves, Roman soldiers, lepers, the sick, the poor and the outcast. Jesus embodies the love of God for all peoples by healing Gentiles and Jews on earth and dying on the cross for all the peoples. When he called people, Jesus never issued a demand for uniformity. He enticed people to follow with a promise of healing, transformation, and love. He did not say that his followers would be alike. He said that despite their differences, they would be changed by love. "As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love." Love would open the way for people who were different to be a community and model the dream of God's shalom.

Jesus' earliest followers formed culturally diverse congregations where Jews, Gentiles, Samaritans, and Africans worshiped and served God together. Besides being racially and ethnically diverse, early Christians held a variety of theological views and created varied spiritual practices that shaped the new religion. Christianity thrived in the multicultural cities of the Roman Empire, and the faith reflected this environment. Yet, in the midst of this variety, the practice of love bound together the Christian community into a kind of oneness that honored diversity while, at the same time, fostered harmony and unity -creating a new kind of family, "an inclusive table fellowship that emulated the social practices of Jesus."

The apostle Paul would say, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.(Gal 3:28)" Paul did not simply imply some sort of spiritual flatness here. Instead, he would remind early Christians that "There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in everyone."(1Cor. 12:4-6) Paul is the greatest apostle of diversity. Paul said, "The body does not consist of one member but of many". Paul did not depict the Christian life as one of uniformity. Rather, he envisioned a community of unity-in-diversity." Christians pursue diversity because it models creation, aligns our lives with God's dream of harmony. Throughout the Scripture God is a God who delights in diversity. In the beginning, God created plants and animals of "every kind," and humans being in God's own diverse image: male and female. God looked out over this variety of creation and pronounced it "very good". A Christian practice of diversity is the active construction of a boundary-crossing community, a family not by blood but by love.

While theological and political diversity is common in American mainline churches, racial diversity is much less so. Much of the history of American Protestantism is a history of racial exclusion. As late as 1959, African-American theologian Howard Thurman commented, "There was not a single instance known to me in which a local church had a completely integrated membership. The color bar was honored in the practice of the Christian religion." The color bar in most Protestant churches is a sad commentary on the lack of faithfulness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

However, like the early Christians, some mainline churches embrace diversity as part of God's dream for the world. And they are actively constructing their communities. The church of Epiphany in downtown Washington is truly diverse racially. During the civil right era, Epiphany made strong public stands in favor of the movement. The congregation's support was rewarded, when, during the riots that destroyed their neighborhood in the 1960's, African -American activists protected the church building from mobs. Epiphany's early commitment to civil rights created a congregational passion for diversity as a sign of God's justice and opened the door for a truly inclusive parish. Today Epiphany is a 50 percent white, 50 percent black. Downtown Presbyterian Church in Nashville is pursuing the same kind of church. One of the members said, "The diversity of this congregation is one of the things I love most about this church. At one of our Christmas pageants, Joseph was played by one of the wealthiest man in Nashville while Mary was played by a homeless woman. Singing "In Christ there is no east or West,' I shared my hymnbook with a black woman with AIDS. It reminds me that in heaven, we will find such a diverse congregation gathered with the Lord."

Diversity is a foretaste of heaven. God's dream here and now. Amen.