Closer by Grace. Sept 1 2012.

Texts: James 1:17-27. Mark 7:1-8

By Rev. James Murray at Dominion-Chalmers United Church.

It has been an interesting summer in the world of sports. At the London Olympics, Nadzeya Ostapchuk of Belarus was the only athlete to lose their medal after failing a drug test. Another twenty athletes were also caught and sent home for cheating with drugs. The Olympic Committee says they will hang on to everyone’s samples for eight more years, and if better tests can prove someone was cheating, they will be punished.

The American cyclist Lance Armstrong has had his seven Tour de France wins taken away over his alleged drug use. The sport of cycling has long been tainted by such scandals. Of all the top ten finishers of those seven Tours, 47 out of the 70 have already been caught using illegal drugs to enhance their performance. Critics joke that there is no one clean left to award those seven victories to.

Both the Cycling Federation and the Olympics have been slow to react to the rapidly changing face of cheating in their sports. It is hard to change the rules of the game. Sometimes the rules are so entrenched in the culture of the sport, that they don’t feel they can change the rules without hurting the sport. It took many years before professional hockey here in Canada finally required all players to wear a helmet. While most people feel helmets are necessary, there are still critics like Don Cherry who feel helmets have ruined the sport. It often takes pressure from outside to make the rules change.

You and I are a lot like the world of sports. We live by rules. We also don’t like the rules of the game being changed on us. We especially don’t like someone else telling us how we should be playing our game. If change does come, it will come by grace rather than by force. It will come when we are given the gift of a better way.

This is also true of the world of politics. We don’t like someone else telling us how to run our own political situation. One of the most politically charged situations in the world today continues to be the dispute between Israel and Palestine. The Jewish and Muslim faiths have been locked in a battle for almost 70 years which has had a profound impact on world politics. But the situation in Israel and Palestine is not just a conflict between Jews and Muslims. There is a third group caught in the middle. About ten percent of the Arab population are Palestinian Christians. While they are ethnic Palestinians, they are much more moderate than their Muslim neighbours.

During the seventy years of conflict, they have long been a voice calling for peace and understanding. Many Palestinian Christians have been forced out of the region over the years because they have refused to buy in to the polarizing rhetoric which has come to define the Middle East today.

The United Church’s recent document on Israel –Palestine was a response from the Palestinian Christians to gain support for peace. They want all sides to stop promoting hatred and using violence. They want a recognition of both Israel and Palestine’s right to exist. Both sides need to be held accountable for their actions which have hurt others.

In this politically charged situation, some feel that any criticism of Israel is anti-semitic. It is hard to get someone else to change the rules they live by, even when it is said in love. No one likes criticism. No one likes someone else changing the rules of the game on them.

The most controversial part of the United Church’s statement on Israel-Palestine is the call to 'encourage members of the United Church to avoid any and all products produced in the settlements.' Many people are saying such a boycott is unacceptable. I do think it is an unnecessary distraction. Our goal is to work for peace for all the Muslims, Christians and Jews who live in the region. It is not going to be accomplished by boycotting a handful of products, most of which are not available for purchase here in Canada.

In the Christendom era, we acted like we ruled the nation. The nation existed to serve our purposes. In the Christendom era, we judged an idea by how much it would benefit our members. We didn't really care about the consequences of our actions on those outside the church. In the pluralistic age, a religion is judged by how its actions benefits or harms others.

Boycotts are powerful political tools. They should not be used lightly. As a Christian church in a pluralistic age, we need to be very careful. There have been many boycotts of Jews by Christians over the centuries. Those boycotts were motivated out of hatred, jealousy and fear. They were not motivated out of a sense of justice or love. Boycotts belong to the Christendom model.

If we want to change the rules in something as complex as Israel and Palestine, we are going to have to offer a different message than boycotts which come with so much negative baggage. So what sort of message should we be giving this world?

 I think we would be much farther ahead if we promoted the products produced by Israelis and Palestinians who are working for peace. Instead of trying to change things by punishing or taking away business, why can’t we be a blessing by spending our dollars on products that are working for positive change.

 I think we need to remember what our core message is as Christians. We need to be both hearers and doers of God’s word.

This summer I picked up some cool new t-shirts as souvenirs from my travels. There is one I haven’t worn yet, because it is so hard to wear in public. The message on my new t-shirt says “Love thy neighbour.” Now you may be wondering what’s so hard about that? That’s what Jesus said, right? We do it all the time, right?

The t-shirt does say “love thy neighbour”. It goes on to say Love thy homeless neighbour. Love thy Muslim neighbour. Love thy black neighbour. Love thy Gay neighbour. Love thy immigrant neighbour. Love thy Jewish neighbour. Love thy Christian neighbour. Love thy Atheist neighbour. Love thy disabled neighbour. Love thy addicted neighbour.

And there are many more neighbours we can add to that list. It is hard to live out such a love. But if we want to be heard in this world today, we will need to live such a love every day. May we be hearers and doers of God’s words of grace this day and always. Amen.