February 5, 2006
1 Corinthians 9:16-23

"Get Out Of The Car, Please"

I have very strong memories of the first time I drove a car on my own. There was this incredible rush of emotions, and one of the most energizing was the new sense of freedom I experienced. I was able to go where I wanted to go, when I wanted to go, without having to wait on someone else or put up with their zany driving habits.

But at the same time, I also felt a new and profound sense of isolation from the world. I was hunkered down behind a good deal of metal and glass, separating me from the world around me. The image that came to my mind then, and has stuck with me, is that of a capsule. You know, medicine often comes in a capsule, where all those miniscule pellets of pain reliever are packed away nicely into a self-contained package - a capsule. Or you may better relate to a mission to space, where the astronauts return to earth in a space capsule, landing in the ocean safe and secure.

This paradox brought about by the automobile of being both radically free and yet profoundly isolated came into focus for me in 1997. That year, after seven years of full-time ministry, the church I served in New York City graced me with a three month sabbatical to be renewed and reinspired for ministry. I decided to go to Los Angeles for my three months of study and replenishment to study Disciples of Christ congregations which were intentionally multi-racial and multi-cultural.

There were many differences between the two cities, but the one that confronted me the most was the necessity of the car in Los Angeles, where miles and miles of freeways separated the churches I would study. In New York City I gloried in not having a car, and managed quite well to use public transportation to get virtually everywhere I needed to go. In LA, I rented a car immediately, and zipped around that marvelous, diverse, vibrant city in my metal and glass capsule.

This past weekend I was with about twenty other religious and spiritual leaders of Cleveland on a retreat. The focus of our time together was to explore the sin or racism, using as our guide the movie, "Crash."
The very first words the viewer hears are from a homicide detective whose car has just been rear-ended by another car. In a philosophical daze from the impact, he reflects:

"Unlike other cities, in LA nobody touches you. We're always behind this metal and glass. Nobody touches you. I think that people miss that touch so much that they crash into each other just so they can feel something." (L.A. Police Detective Graham Graham in the movie "Crash.")

Is isolation a necessary effect of freedom? In order for us to fully enjoy all that life has to give us, do we have to separate ourselves from others, build walls for privacy, stick with "our own kind," and leave the rest to fend for themselves? The elite gated communities of suburban fame are the quintessential example of such freedom and isolation. And yet, just as we revel in our freedoms, we also crave touch, the human connection. Will we always be forced to crash into one another in order to get the touch we need, the connections for which we long?

These are the questions presented by our scripture lesson from the first epistle to the Corinthian church today. Paul writes, "For though I am free with respect to all, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I might win more of them."  In the interpretation The Message, it says, "Even though I am free of the demands and expectations of everyone, I have voluntarily become a servant to any and all in order to reach a wide range of people"

Why would anyone give up some of their freedom in order to willingly become a servant to another? It is almost unheard of in this society in this day to speak of "giving up freedoms." To ask an American to give up some of her or his freedom would be as ludicrous as asking him to give up his car!

And as if we really didn't get the point, Paul reiterates it in a slightly different and even more shocking way: "I have become all things to all people, that I might by all means save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, so that I may share in its blessings."

Of course, what tends to come to mind when we hear "I have become all things to all people" is some sort of expectation to be wishy washy, or a chameleon of sorts. Surely Paul is not asking us to give up some of our freedom just to "fit in" with the crowd, or make someone "feel good" by looking or acting just like them!

No, not at all! Rather, Paul is asking us to simply get out of our cars and walk a while along the streets of the world. We all need touch. It is as important a human necessity as is air, water, food, and shelter. Study after study has proven children who are never held or touched grow up with terrible psychological abnormalities. God calls us to take the Good News of God so seriously that we give up a bit of our precious freedom, step out of the car, and meet our neighbors along the wayside.

Is not this what God in Jesus did? In Christ Jesus God stopped the car, got out, and walked with us, touching us with grace, compassion, mercy, and love.
Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though
he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as
something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of
a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human
form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of
death -- even death on a cross. (Phillipians 2)

This is why we take the time to explore the lives, loves, pains and passions, hopes and fears of people who are different from ourselves: To become all things to all people for the sake of the Gospel! If you have read my last two Messenger newsletter articles, then you have recognized that I'm pretty intent on inviting this congregation and this neighborhood to come together and explore various aspects of humanity - race, gender, orientation, class, education, physical and mental abilities, and more. Each month our church will offer to ourselves and our community a "Widening The Circle Forum" to broaden our horizons a bit. I don't do this to be politically correct, although I would vigorously debate the negative uses of that term. I have created these opportunities as a way for us to step out of our cars and walk with our neighbors for a while. Touch those around us and be touched in incredible ways. We may find more in common than we ever realized. We may even find our salvation tied up in them!

I am certain, however, that if we don't do something soon that intentionally brings us together, we risk crashing into one another and finding the touch we need in unhealthy and perhaps even horrific ways.

Patrick J. Willson, pastor of St. Stephen Presbyterian Church in Fort Worth, Texas has this figured out when he writes,

"Though we receive the freedom of the children of God, surely that freedom consists of more than accumulating the rights and privileges by which we may fulfill ourselves. To Jews and gentiles, to strong and weak, to those who anxiously cling to their rights and to those who must unceasingly struggle for them, Paul offers the emancipation of slavery: looking to the good of others for their sake."

It is a necessity of the Gospel, and, therefore, for our salvation to get out of our Freedom Cars and take on the identity of those who are radically different from and yet fundamentally the same as ourselves. God in Jesus Christ did no less for us. The truth is, giving up some
of our freedom will not be the end of the world. It may, in a very real way, be the beginning of it!

Rev. Allen V. Harris




Rev. Allen V. Harris
Franklin Circle Christian Church
www.FranklinCircleChurch.org


 

Copyright 2007 -- The Rev. Allen V. Harris

Franklin Circle Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

1688 Fulton Rd., Cleveland, OH 44113-3096