The Church and the Nations

CLOUDS Matthew 17:1-9 The purpose of this column is to highlight the mission theme throughout Scripture. Many times the theme is easily evident, lying on the surface. At other times we must do some deeper exploring. The Transfiguration gives the opportunity to exhibit mission only through digging. The "digging" is nothing more than looking at the Scriptures with the mind of the believer of that day. That means training ourselves to catch the images and references that are loaded with connections beyond their surface meaning. Clouds present such a reference that enlarges the mission theme embedded in the Transfiguration. If we look up clouds in the Old Testament, we find them in basically four contexts. First, there is the rainbow that appeared in the clouds, expressing God's eternal covenant. Secondly, clouds overshadowing the Tabernacle represent the presence of God with His people. Thirdly, as the cloud moved before the Hebrew people, they recognized the guidance of God. And fourthly, Daniel gives the picture of the "Ancient of Days" returning on clouds. Peter, James, and John knew their Bibles and knew these images. These were images from the past that enlightened them about the bright cloud that enveloped them. Additionally they also knew the references from many of the prophets about the Day of the Lord. These warned the people of Israel that this day would come "with clouds and thick darkness", meaning the doom that awaited unbelieving Israel. How does all this come together for Peter, James, and John? And what is the message for us? Does it carry the mission theme so prevalent in other parts of Scripture? The first connection we must make is the Day of the Lord with Jesus Christ as the judge of the living and the dead. To Him "all authority in heaven and earth has been given". The Day of the Lord will not be thick darkness for those who recognize that in Jesus are found the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophesies. The other texts elaborate this hope. He is the promise of the rainbow, the certainty that God will preserve His creation for its Lord. The presence of God is found in Jesus Christ - the meaning, the hope, the patience, the purposes of God's presence are all deciphered in Jesus. He is also the guidance of God, the way and the truth of heaven. He is also the purpose of God - that we should all find our relationship with the Father through Him. By the Transfiguration, with its very central image of the cloud overshadowing them, these images come to the surface, and with them their meaning. For us it may seem a laborious chore with doubtful connection. For them, the theme and the meaning were as clear as the sun that later emerged. THE LEAST EVANGELIZED .... THROUGH THE EYES OF ST. PAUL, APOSTLE TO THE NATIONS JUSTIFICATION AND MISSION Last week I referred to scholarship on the Judaism of Paul's day. The inquiry addressed the religious outlook of the Jew at the time of Paul. The prevailing assumption has been handed down by Martin Luther, whose interpretation hinged on the antithesis of Law and Gospel, of works and grace. The spokesman for a new perspective whom I read most, is James D. G. Dunn, professor of New Testament at the University of Durham, England. Dunn is very careful to state the implications of his views in cautious and conservative terms. He maintains that his view should be taken "in addition" to that of Luther, not discarding or replacing but adding to that of Luther. I will skip over some of the foundational scholarship, coming back to it next week. What I will do here is to lay out two very significant implications that Dunn sees as deriving from the truth of justification by faith. He would direct our attention to Ephesians 2 and Galatians 2. In each he sees the power of this truth drawing us to deeper unity in the church. In Ephesians Paul is addressing the wall that exists between Jew and Gentile, and that Christ has removed that wall. How? By setting aside the sin of Jew in the same way He sets aside the sin of the Gentile - by faith in Him. He needs to deal with each in the same way, so each is on equal footing before God and before each other. The human wall is torn down by divine grace, equally administered. In Galatians 2, the incident is Peter's refusal to sit with Gentile This practice had been drummed into him since his childhood in his Jewish home in the Roman town of Bethsaida. Paul argued to his face that Peter knew that Jew and Gentile had equal status before God because they were justified by the same cross. The sin of Jew was removed in the very same way that the sin of Gentile was removed. Any legitimate separation within the church has been removed. There can, therefore, be no division within the Body of Christ. Jew and Gentile must sit together, symbolically and literally. A second place where justification leads is actually missed by Dunn - and by most of the other scholars writing from this angle. That is the mission imperative that naturally and forcefully emerges from the logic of justification by faith. It goes like this. How did God deal with me, a Gentile sinner? In the same way He dealt with Jewish sinners - by forgiveness through faith in Jesus Christ and His atoning sacrifice. So what does that say about sinners who haven't heard of Christ? Does that set them apart for a different covenant or for no covenant? Why should it? Does the fact that they haven't heard mean that they are not intended for God's covenant? No, God wants them to have the same opportunity to receive forgiveness as He as given me, and for the same reason. Then what should be the response of the Church to them? We have a choice here. We can see us as special - heard, received, believing, growing, and obviously set apart. In that case we need do nothing. Or we can see us as no different from them - same degree of sin, same unworthiness of grace, same need of heaven's grace. The only difference is the opportunity to hear. And that is the missions imperative that comes with justification by faith. Rev. Tad de Bordenave Founding Director, Anglican Frontier Missions 101 Starboard Court Heathsville, VA 22473 USA tadpole@mac.com www.AFM-US.org