Features: February 2007

A Response and an Invitation by Casey Winfield Jones

Presbyterians and Conflict in Historical Perspective by James H. Moorhead

Bearing with One Another: The Pastoral Task in Times of Struggle by Sheldon Sorge

On Building Bridges by George Wirth

King’s Refusal and Ours by William Stacy Johnson

Inner Attitude by Conrad M. Rocha

Past Issues

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On Building Bridges

by George Wirth

A sermon preached at First Presbyterian Church, Atlanta, Georgia, on January 21, 2007, the day of Joan Gray’s installation as parish associate of the congregation. Gray is Moderator of the 217th General Assembly (2006) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

Scripture text: 2 Corinthians 5:16-21

Behold how good it is for the people of God to dwell together in unity (Ps. 133:1).

Introduction

After sixty years of political battles, financial hassles, and technical troubles, John Roebling’s plan to build the Brooklyn Bridge was finally approved in 1869, and once construction began, it took fourteen years to finish the project.

Sadly, John Roebling died during that time as the result of an accident on the bridge, and his son Washington who took over as chief engineer, suffered a crippling attack of the bends, which paralyzed him for the rest of his life.

After the massive towers were completed, one of the main cables ripped loose, killing two people and setting in motion a major lawsuit. All totaled, twenty-seven workers lost their lives on the job, and many more were seriously injured.

But on May 23, 1883, with all the schools and many of the businesses closed for the day in New York City, the Brooklyn Bridge – 1600 feet long, 85 feet wide, costing $15 million – was officially dedicated and opened to the public as John Roebling’s vision was ultimately realized: that “As a work of art and a successful specimen of advanced bridge (building), this structure will forever testify to the energy, enterprise and wealth of that community which shall secure its (construction).”

Nearly 125 years later, the Brooklyn Bridge still stands as a national monument, with its breathtaking beauty and elegant stature admired by New Yorkers and visitors from all over the world. Thousands of vehicles traverse back and forth across that bridge every day, and perhaps most unique of all, there is a pedestrian promenade above for people to walk from Manhattan to Brooklyn and back again, which is exactly what happened on September 11, 2001, as God only knows how many frightened and traumatized citizens found their way to safety on that tragic day of infamy. (Information source for Brooklyn Bridge from “The Great East River Bridge, 1883-1993, by the Brooklyn Museum, Harry N. Abrams, Inc.)

You see, building bridges requires vision and a plan, together with time, resources, and hard work in order to help people make the connection from one side of somewhere to the other.

I

Now I believe that building bridges is a profound image for the Christian church today, an image that can help us understand God’s purpose and plan for reconciliation among congregations, denominations, and between races, colors, creeds, and all the nations of this world.

Although the word “bridge” does not appear in the Bible, this concept of crossing over divisions and making connections is a recurring theme from Genesis to Revelation.

It begins as God builds a bridge with His chosen people, a covenant that forgives their sin and offers them a plan of salvation if they will be faithful and follow Him. In Exodus, God helps the Hebrews cross over into the Promised Land, guiding and providing them with all that they need.

Centuries later, as David is anointed king, God blesses the nation with prosperity and peace, which caused the Psalmist to declare with great joy, Behold how good and pleasant it is when brothers and sisters dwell together in unity! (Ps. 133)

Even during the time of exile when they are taken away into captivity, God assures His people through the prophets that someday they will be set free.

Then, when the time had fully come, God sends Jesus, His only begotten Son, to cross over the great divide of sin, and through His sacrificial death and life-saving resurrection, we now have been given the bridge that restores us to a right relationship with Him.

So based on the vast sweep of the entire biblical story, Paul writes to the Corinthian Christians and to all of us today, about the way that we can build bridges of reconciliation:

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to Himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their sins against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. So we are ambassadors for Christ, God making His appear through us. (2 Cor. 5:17-20)

Do you know what that means? It means that the Brooklyn Bridge and every other bridge built with concrete, stone, and steel, strong and as stable as they might be, they are not the greatest bridges of all. The greatest bridges in this world have not been built with human hands, but rather they are built within the hearts of men and women, connecting us, joining us to God Almighty and to one another – bridges of reconciliation between sisters and brothers in the church and in God’s whole human family on earth.

II

Now you would think that we as Christians, who believe that the Bible is true, and have promised to follow Jesus Christ in everything that we say and do – you would think that we would be the finest, most faithful, and productive bridge-builders of all. But that has not always been so.

Long ago, some of the church members in Corinth were fussing with each other over theology, arguing about the order of worship and liturgy, divided because of disagreements concerning ethical and sexual behavior, and trying to stop a small group of people from literally devouring the bread and wine at the communion table. Other than that, everything was just dandy.

So Paul wrote a letter to help those first-century Christians straighten things out. We don’t know for certain what happened to them, but when we visited Corinth in the summer of 2005, what we found were ruins and not a single Christian left on that ancient site. You see, divisions in the church can be deadly.

We know that’s true, because many churches and most of our Protestant denominations today are struggling with tough and troubling issues that just won’t go away.

In the early part of the twentieth century – in fact, on May 21, 1922, Dr. Harry Emerson Fosdick stood in the pulpit of the First Presbyterian Church of New York City and preached the sermon, a copy of which I have here, entitled “Shall the Fundamentalists Win?” Fosdick fired a shot across the bough at the fundamentalists who were led at that time by Dr. Clarence McCartney and William Jennings Bryan, and over the course of the next several years, they and many others fired back. The battle that ensued created divisions that were deep and painful and, sad to say, is still the case today. Many of those who were involved lost sight of Jesus Christ at the center of the church and became embroiled in a win-lose fight …a reality with which we are still struggling at the beginning of the 21 st century.

Karen Armstrong, in her book The Battle for God, writes about the deep divide between fundamentalists and mainline Christians, and she asks the question “What can we do to build bridges and avert the possibility of future battles?” (page 168). That’s a question waiting desperately for an answer, not only among Christians, but also between the three Abrahamic faith traditions, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

Robert Wuthnow, who teaches religion at Princeton University, adds this insight in his book, Christianity in the 21 st Century:

The current conflict between religious liberals and religious conservatives is…a challenge for the future. Will Christians increasingly embarrass themselves by fighting with each other in public? … Will they give over authority to secular institutions because they themselves can reach no agreement? Will core teachings about love, forgiveness, fellowship and redemption be the main casualties of the battles being waged over …public policies?” (page 10)

Those are also questions still waiting to be answered.

And one more book which I commend to you was written by two Presbyterians with differing points of view, Richard Hutcheson Jr. and Peggy Shriver, and these are the comments and questions with which they conclude:

Down through church history, it is evident that, despite the truth in Jesus’ plea for unity for the sake of witness, there have been issues deemed important enough to fracture the church again and again…different interpretations of the Bible and opinions about its authority have split Christians into many camps. The yearbook of American and Canadian churches keeps track of only 240 fragments of God’s community of faith!

(So) what are the limits of inclusiveness? What in God’s eyes is a legitimate breaking point with others who claim to be Christian? … (and) are there not some ways short of schism to accommodate different views within our churches?” (page 227)

Well there is a way, which two congregations discovered here in Atlanta many years ago. I’ve told you about it before – a rather well-known story – concerning a large Baptist church on one side of Peachtree Street and a struggling Methodist church on the other side – and the problem was that the Baptists were using the Methodist church parking lot on Sundays.

The Methodists didn’t like it, so the pastor tried to reach the Baptist preacher, but to no avail. The Board of the Methodist congregation sent an official letter to the Baptist deacons, and again, no response came back.

Do you know how they resolved it? On a Sunday morning, the Baptists left their worship service, crossed the street into the Methodist parking lot and found stickers on all of their bumpers that said, “I’M PROUD TO BE A METHODIST!” That really happened, and in that case, the problem was resolved. Unfortunately, many questions remain today about the deep and painful divisions in the Christian church.

Conclusion

My friends, all of those questions are valid and none of them has been answered decisively. But if we really believe what the Bible says and what the Christian faith proclaims: that all of us have been called to be bridge-builders and ambassadors of reconciliation in Jesus’ name, then the real question is this: How many of us are willing to stand up and speak out, to work and pray for the peace, unity, and purity of the church today as we seek to make our witness in this world?

Martin Luther King Jr. was willing to do it, and like those Brooklyn Bridge builders who died on the job, Dr. King gave his life trying to build bridges for the cause of Christ and the ministry of reconciliation.

Mother Teresa was willing to do it, and through her own non-political, humble form of ministry with the poor and dying people of Calcutta, the healing power of God’s Holy Spirit touched the lives of people across many nations.

Joan Gray, Moderator of the 217th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and parish associate of this congregation, she is willing to do it. And without any agenda, other than sharing the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, her ministry is focused on loving, listening to, and leading the wide diversity of hurting and hopeful people in our denomination.

In each of those lives, Dr. King, Mother Teresa, Joan Gray, and for so many other leaders, one thing is true – Christ is at the center of their lives. And the reality is, when He is at the center of our lives, forgiveness flows out of our hearts, understanding develops in our minds, reconciliation becomes possible between adversaries, and peace begins to prevail.

The question is: How about you? Are you willing to be a bridge-builder and an ambassador of reconciliation in your own family, in this church, in our community and city, and wherever God calls you to be? What better time than now, what better place than in this sanctuary to say “Here am I Lord – send me!” Because building bridges is the way that He wants it to be.

In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

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