I open with two powerful stories today demonstrating conflict.
"Two main roads swept out of Jericho--one north, the other south. At the moment, Jesus was standing at the outskirts of the town. From St. Mark''s simple record, we gather that some big emotion seemed to grip and possess him...He looked this way and He looked that. His soul was plainly in a great torment.
"Which of these two ways would he take?...
"One road, sloping gently to the north, recalled to Jesus many gracious memories of his distant home in Galilee, friendship and tested love, a sure prospect of continuing happiness, a ripe old age in growing honor and respect.
"Should he choose to take it, this north road would bring him again to the good hearts that loved him, where he could continue his ministry with deepening appreciation. There, among his own loyal folk, with increasing honor, he might live as God''s great prophet until the rich years took their toll of him, silvered with age and service. Might he not build a great Kingdom in the years to be?
"The other road struck south, up the stony ways to Jerusalem. But this time, that city, the magnet of all pilgrim hearts, was a thing of omen for Jesus. He understood very plainly that this city meant danger and death. There--whispering behind walls and conferring at the corners of the streets--hatred and bigotry were clubbing together...One might hear their whispered queries, `Will he come? Will he risk coming? And if he comes, can we lay hands on him, and end his mischievous work?''
"As he glanced down that south road, Jesus understood very plainly what its prospect held for him. As his own words show, he could discern that the end of the road was blocked by a cross. `The son of Man must die.''
"The road north and home! The road south and Calvary!" This description of Jesus at the Jericho crossroads was offered thirty-five years ago by a Scotch preacher, James Black, in a little book called THE DILEMMAS OF JESUS. That very title, THE DILEMMAS OF JESUS, says a whole lot about our Lord. It suggests that Jesus did not march calmly and unfeelingly through the events of his life without conflict, but that he continually faced hard human choices, that he was again and again tempted by easier alternatives, that there was an agony of mind greater than any physical suffering, and that there was a torture of soul in the making of every great decision. To Black, the Jericho crossroads is the real Gethsemane, not the garden. This conflict was extraordinary!
A colleague, Dr. John Fellers, shares a story about a young woman in Seattle, Washington, who also came to a crossroad in her life. One road would lead to despair, cynicism and a mere acceptance of what others had decided about the quality of her life. Her name is Carolyn Martin. Carolyn has cerebral palsy. A friend of Carolyn shared that "the tragedy of her condition is that most people think she is retarded. Actually, her mind works perfectly."
Nevertheless, she lived for fifteen years in a home for the mentally handicapped because that was the only place she could go.
Eventually, she moved out on her on. She went to high school and then to a community college, where it took her seven years to earn her Associate of Arts Degree. The time lag was not because Carolyn could not learn, but because it took so long to prepare assignments and complete tests. Next, she enrolled in a small Lutheran college to study the Bible. Again, long grueling hours of work.
During her second year at the college, Carolyn was asked to share her faith message in Chapel. She labored for hours, typing several drafts of her address, taking forty-five minutes a page.
On the day of the Chapel service, she sat in her wheel chair in the chancel, next to the pulpit. A friend, Josee, read the message, which was a magnificent affirmation of faith based on Paul''s words to the Corinthians. "We have this treasure in earthen vessels to show that the transcendent power belongs to God." As everyone sat mesmerized by Carolyn''s graceful, inspiring prose, her head lolled to one side, her limbs occasionally spasmed, and little streams of saliva dropped on her blouse. Nevertheless, an aura of victory enveloped the Chapel. The conflict is who will define her life--Christ or a cruel, dispassionate culture.
FIRST, THERE ARE ALWAYS CONFLICTS IN THE CHRISTIAN''S LIFE BECAUSE THE FIRST CONFLICT BEGAN IN HEAVEN ITSELF.
Dr. Calvin Miller, who is one of Christianity''s most creative writers in the modern era, shares this thought in his book, An Overture Of Light. Writing on this subject of conflict, he shares:
From a mind, light years wide, came men.
From narrower minds came soldiers forth
From soldiers, war
From wars, decaying silence.
What hope can our earth hold of peace?
For battlefields came first in Heaven. (1)
Then Dr. Miller shares:
They say
That when the war in Heaven ended
God sat a million years
And stared out into space.
"I must never make a man," He wept,
"unless I create GRACE." (2)
I believe that day when the human race found itself outside the Gates of Paradise was the day the number-one sickness afflicted the human spirit: "homesickness." There is an old story that says when Lucifer (the fallen angel) is asked, "What is it that he/she misses most about the life he/she had in Heaven?" the fallen angel responds, "The joyous sound of trumpets in Heaven." The great theologians all agree that in the final analysis there is only human sickness. It is the pull and desire of Heaven. St. Augustine perhaps said it best of all when he wrote in the CONFESSION, Book One, Chapter One, "Awaken us to delight in praising thee; for thou hast made us for thyself, and our hearts are restless till they find rest in thee." Yes, the noise of the Battle began in Heaven, but the enemy has been forever left to stand outside the gates. That is the Good News--that in Heaven all conflict has faded away and we will be the recipient of an everlasting Joy.
SECONDLY, THERE WILL ALWAYS BE A CONFLICT IN THE VALUES THAT OUR CULTURE PERPETUATES AND THE VALUES THAT CHRIST COMMANDS.
I was recently reminded of the witness of a devoted Christian in the South that produced conflict in the very church he was trying to live the commands of Christ. Clarence Jordan was a Baptist preacher who tried during the fifties and sixties to live out the Sermon on the Mount in south Georgia. One day the church there in Americus to which Clarence belonged decided--like too many of our churches reflecting our culture rather than Christ--to have a meeting with him and "church" him--meaning kick him out of the membership--for all the racial stirring up and mixing up he was causing. So they met with Clarence. As they sat there, their chairs in a circle, Clarence handed them his Bible and said he would be glad to correct his ways and quietly remove his membership from the church if anyone could show him from the Book where he was twisting or misinterpreting any doctrine or teaching of Christ. The Bible was silently handed from one man to the next without comment. Finally, one of them angrily responded, "Aw, don''t give us that Bible stuff!" (3)
In verse 27 of Chapter One, Paul has shifted the focus on the conflict he is having with the Roman government and the primarily religious authorities to the conflicts that will arise in every church and every Christian that attempts to live out the claims of the Gospel. To live a life worthy of the Gospel is to imply that our understanding of worth is a far different thing from the world''s understanding.
I personally believe that conflict can be a positive sign in a Christian fellowship if it demonstrates that its people have not capitulated to cultural norms and values but have stood firm in the values they have received from Christ. I remember an old Methodist lay preacher who once said, "The problem with church today is that you can''t tell the difference from it and other worldly organizations." When the church is not worthy to be crucified, it has adopted other values and norms. Jesus Christ was not placed on the cross because he went along with the status quo! "Aw, don''t give us that Bible stuff, Pastor."
THE CHRISTIAN FAITH WILL ALWAYS PRODUCE A CONFLICT IN THE PURPOSE OF LIVE FOR A CHRISTIAN.
I always had a high regard for the preaching and writing ministry of Dr. William Willimon, a United Methodist minister and a Chaplain at the historic Duke Chapel. He tells the story of a young Christian woman, Anne, who just happened to hear one sermon William had preached that produced great conflict in the future direction and purpose of her life.
Well, Pastor Willimon received an anxious call from Anne''s Daddy. The father, with great excitement, exclaimed:
"Do you know what''s happened?" he asked.
"Anne just called us to say that she has decided to drop out of pharmacy school."
"Really?" Dr. Willimon replied, "What on earth is leading her to do a thing like that?"
"Well, we''re not sure, preacher," he said.
"You know how much Anne likes you. We thought that maybe you could call her up and talk some sense into her."
Dr. Willimon told the distraught father that he would be glad to do whatever he could. He called Anne, reminding her of all her hard work and her achievements. He urged her to think carefully before throwing all this away. "How in the world did you come to this decision?" he asked.
"Well," she said, "it was your sermon yesterday that started me thinking. You said that God has something important for each of us to do in our own way. I thought to myself, `I''m not here because I want to serve God. I''m here to get a job, to make money, to look out for myself. I''m going to get out of here and get into the same meaningless rat race as everyone else.'' Then I remembered that good summer I spent working with the church literacy program among the migrant workers'' kids. I really think I was serving God then. I decided after your sermon to go back there and give my life to helping those kids have a chance at life." (4)
I believe it is poetic justice that this story is found in Dr. Willimon''s book, WHAT''S RIGHT WITH THE CHURCH.
Anne knew that the word of God, not the Wall Street Journal was to be the defining "word" and orientation in her life. She would not be frightened, as Paul shares in this portion of the Philippian letter, from making her life a worthy witness of the Lord Jesus Christ. Anne was not only willing to believe in Christ, but also willing to suffer for Him. This was positive proof that her "salvation" was from God.
I hope you can see and feel from all the illustrative materials I have shared with you today that being a Christian is not easy. It will bring conflict into your life. However, the Good News is that in doing so, you so transfer your citizenship from this world to the next. As C. S.Lewis says, "If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another." While the noise of battle is heard for a season, so is the eternal victory song as we go forward in the battle for the grand and glorious coronation of King Jesus, waving palms of victory and shouting the words of sacred scripture, "For whosoever is born of God overcometh the world."
In this land, the sun never sets, and we join our voices to those of the everlasting song. In the Black church, there is a tradition of singing a song of victory that I wish to close with today:
King Jesus rides on a milk white horse.
No man shall hinder thee.
The River of Jordan he did cross.
No man shall hinder thee.
Ride on, King Jesus,
No man shall hinder thee.
Ride on, King Jesus,
No man shall hinder thee.
1. Calvin Miller, AN OVERTURE OF LIGHT (Word Publishing, 1991), p. 64.
2. IBID, p. 136.
3. Earl C. Davis, First Baptist Church pulpit, 8/30/92.
4. Dr. William H. Willimon, WHAT'S RIGHT WITH THE CHURCH (Harper & Row, 1985), p. 112.