“Gentile Lives Matter”
Wayne McLaughlin
January 3, 2021 – Epiphany Sunday
Leeds Presbyterian Church
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Isaiah 60.1-6 Common English Bible
Arise! Shine! Your light has come;
the Lord’s glory has shone upon you.
2 Though darkness covers the earth
and gloom the nations,
the Lord will shine upon you;
God’s glory will appear over you.
3 Nations will come to your light
and kings to your dawning radiance.
4 Lift up your eyes and look all around:
they are all gathered; they have come to you.
Your sons will come from far away,
and your daughters on caregivers’ hips.
5 Then you will see and be radiant;
your heart will tremble and open wide,
because the sea’s abundance will be turned over to you;
the nations’ wealth will come to you.
6 Countless camels will cover your land,
young camels from Midian and Ephah.
They will all come from Sheba,
carrying gold and [frankincense],
proclaiming the Lord’s praises.
Ephesians 3.1-12 NRSV
3 This is the reason that I Paul am a prisoner for Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles— 2 for surely you have already heard of the commission of God’s grace that was given me for you, 3 and how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I wrote above in a few words, 4 a reading of which will enable you to perceive my understanding of the mystery of Christ. 5 In former generations this mystery was not made known to humankind, as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit: 6 that is, the Gentiles have become fellow heirs, members of the same body, and sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.
7 Of this gospel I have become a servant according to the gift of God’s grace that was given me by the working of his power. 8 Although I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given to me to bring to the Gentiles the news of the boundless riches of Christ, 9 and to make everyone see what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things; 10 so that through the church the wisdom of God in its rich variety might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. 11 This was in accordance with the eternal purpose that he has carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have access to God in boldness and confidence through faith in him.
Matthew 2.1-11
2 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in the territory of Judea during the rule of King Herod, magi came from the east to Jerusalem. 2 They asked, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We’ve seen his star in the east, and we’ve come to honor him.”
3 When King Herod heard this, he was troubled, and everyone in Jerusalem was troubled with him. 4 He gathered all the chief priests and the legal experts and asked them where the Christ was to be born. 5 They said, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for this is what the prophet wrote:
6 You, Bethlehem, land of Judah,
by no means are you least among the rulers of Judah,
because from you will come one who governs,
who will shepherd my people Israel.”
7 Then Herod secretly called for the magi and found out from them the time when the star had first appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search carefully for the child. When you’ve found him, report to me so that I too may go and honor him.” 9 When they heard the king, they went; and look, the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stood over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were filled with joy. 11 They entered the house and saw the child with Mary his mother. Falling to their knees, they honored him. Then they opened their treasure chests and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 Because they were warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they went back to their own country by another route.
SERMON TEXT:
I
Bible & Race
I grew up going to church three times a week and studying the Bible constantly—even memorizing important passages. But I never heard any sermons or had any Bible studies dealing with race. It wasn’t until I was in a New Testament class in college that I learned that the Bible is concerned a great deal with racial issues.
My New Testament professor, Dr. Glen Stassen, took us through Paul’s epistles and showed us the importance of the “collection” that the Gentile congregations were contributing to—a sum of money that was to be taken back to the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem. Dr. Stassen emphasized how significant this tangible gift from Gentiles to Jews was in Paul’s ministry. It was a visible and practical sign of reconciliation between the two races—the Jews and the Gentiles. It was a sign of solidarity. From then on, I understood that racial issues were Biblical issues related to the gospel.
II
Epiphany: Jews & Persians
The Epiphany story about the Wise Men coming from the East to find the new infant King is a “racial” story. The four Gospel writers are each addressing a slightly different audience. Matthew’s audience is mostly Jewish. Matthew is the most Jewish of the four Gospels.
So it is significant that the first major story in Matthew—in the second chapter—is one about foreigners. The Magi came from the East; scholars agree that they were Persians. The Wise Men were of a different religion and a different race.
The Epiphany story implicitly brings up racial issues. It’s strange that foreigners—Persians—are the ones who find the new Jewish King before the Jewish scholars do. The epiphany—the manifestation—of Jesus comes by way of outsiders! By way of Gentiles!
Matthew not only begins that way, it ends the same way, that is, centered on Gentiles. The last verses of Matthew (the Great Commission) say: Go and make disciples of ALL NATIONS [ethnos], baptizing them and teaching them…
The Greek word for “nations” is ethnos. It is also translated as “Gentiles.” Of course from ethnos we get the word “ethnic” and “ethnicity.” We could also translate it as, Go and make disciples of all ethnicities… or, Go and make disciples of all races…
Matthew bookends his Gospel with foreigners, people of different races. First, the Wise Men (the Persians), then all nation, that is, all races. I believe Matthew is trying to make a point to his Jewish audience; something about the importance of the gospel that reaches across racial lines. The Epiphany story is an epiphany of God’s racially inclusive love.
III
The Mystery
In our epistle reading from Ephesians 3, Paul speaks of a “mystery.” Four times in our passage he mentions the mystery. He writes:
…how the mystery was made known to me by revelation – v 3
my writings will… enable you to perceive my understanding of the mystery of Christ – v 4
…In former generations this mystery was not made known to humankind – v 5
my mission is… to make everyone see what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God – v 9
Well, what is this mystery? And what does it have to do with Epiphany? Paul says the mystery is this:
the Gentiles have become fellow heirs, members of the same body, and sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. – v 6
The mystery is about the Gentiles. Paul might have said: Gentile Lives Matter. Non-Jews have been let in on the Covenant God made with the Jews. This is the Secret that has been revealed. This is an Epiphany! And Paul’s mission in life now is to spread the Secret. He is to go everywhere and “gossip the gospel.”
It’s not just Jews anymore—it’s people of all races! Arabs, Syrians, Egyptians, Romans, Ephesians, Africans—all races are part of the Covenant. They are all part of the inheritance. They are all members of the same body. They all share in the Promise of God made known through Jesus the Christ. The Good News, the Gospel, is about how God includes everyone—all races—in God’s inclusive love.
I think we have to say that God is not into exclusivism; God is into inclusivism.
It’s true that God started out with a small, exclusive group—the Israelites, who became known as the Jews. God had to prepare a small group first. God chose them, taught them, disciplined them, tested them, guided them, and formed their identity as God’s people. The Jews were “the opening act.” But all people are eventually invited onto the stage. The division into Jew and Gentile was temporary. God’s plan all along was a mystery, a secret, until the birth of Jesus. From then on, the Good News about the Gentiles being integrated into the Jewish Covenant was to be proclaimed in all the world.
IV
Context and Translation
When I study Scripture I like to compare various English translations. I own quite a few different versions of the Bible in my own library at home. But it’s easy these days to go online and compare. You simply go to https://www.biblegateway.com/, and there with a few clicks you can look at the same verse or passage in various translations.
But there are a couple of translations that you won’t find there that I have at home. These two versions of the New Testament do what they call “cultural and contextual” translations. They don’t simply translate the words; they translate the culture. Now, these translations use some quirky terminology sometimes. One of these is called The Cotton Patch Version. It was translated from the Greek text by a New Testament Greek scholar, Clarence Jordan. He was a Baptist radical. Here is the way Ephesians 3 begins in The Cotton Patch Version:[1]
It is for this reason—my own Christian convictions on race—that I, Paul, am now in jail.
A few verses later it reads:
The secret is that the Negroes are fellow partners and equal members… in the privileges of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Clarence Jordan has brought the message of Ephesians forward to our own day. Instead of speaking of the Gentiles, Jordan speaks of Blacks, using the terminology of the day: Negroes. He clearly sees that Paul’s message was about racial matters.
The other unusual translation I checked is called Good As New: A Radical Retelling of the Scriptures. [2] This translation is by another Baptist, John Henson. Here is his version of Ephesians 3:
This is a testimony from Paul himself, in prison for being a friend of Jesus, and for taking a stand against prejudice. God gave me a special care for those excluded on racial grounds…
A few verses later:
The truth is quite simply this: God’s promises are for every race; all are members of God’s family. That’s the Good News of Jesus!
V
Integration
Maybe we have been reading the words of Scripture for so long that we have forgotten the radical nature of the Biblical message.
The Bible is about love. And love is about relationships. Jesus didn’t go around teaching doctrines. His teaching was about how to treat each other. How to relate.
We Gentiles ought to be grateful every day that God has integrated us into the Covenant God made with the Jewish people. God chose the Jews to show us that we are chosen too.
The good news is that we Gentiles can drink from the same fountain of salvation as the Jews.
The mystery has been revealed. The secret is out of the bag. The gossip is true. Gentile lives matter. Thanks be to God.
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NOTES
1. Clarence Jordan, The Cotton Patch Version of Paul’s Epistles (New York: Association Press; A Koinonia Publication, 1968.)
2. John Henson, Good As New: A Radical Retelling of the Scriptures (New York: O Books, 2004).
