Who wins?

Yesterday, the Sydney Swans came from 35 points down to beat the Richmond Tigers in a great Round 13 match at the MCG. I was cheering for Sydney, of course, but the real winner was footy. Anyone who likes the game will admit that the league came out the better, the winner.

Before 1989, the Berlin Wall was the Great Divide between East and West Germany. Many families were forced to be separated by the introduction of that divide when it was built in 1961. And although many submitted to its imposition, there were families that continued to meet and have reunions in Lake Ballaton, Hungary. Hungary was the winner; family was the winner.

I often speak in churches, from independent Baptist to messianic congregations to Catholic and ecumenical Pentecostal gatherings. It's such a joy to see the width of the expression of God's Kingdom. A friend of mine and I were speaking today about religion, and he's not yet convinced of the Bible's truths, about Jesus, about God's awesome love. Fair enough. When we spoke about the divides in the religions of Christendom, I suggested that he read the Gospel of John. There the words of the Messiah would be made clear. No one owns Jesus. Baptists and Presbyterians, Messianics and Penties.. none of us. That brought to mind these words of philosopher and Boston College professor Peter Kreeft.

"If the churches ever did reunite, it would have to be into something that was as sacramental and liturgical and authoritative as the Roman Catholic Church and as protesting against abuses and as much focused on the individual in his direct relationship with Christ as the Evangelicals, as charismatic as the Pentecostals, as missionary-minded as the old mainline denominations, as focused on holiness as the Methodists or the Quakers, as committed to the social aspects of the Gospel as the social activists, as Biblical as fundamentalists, and as mystical as the Eastern Orthodox."

I suppose to stay with my theme, the Church would be the winner. And maybe that's why I enjoy my preaching schedule. I so appreciate the width of the varied expressions of Messiah's life. Kreeft has it right. No one owns the messianic message. That is, none of us owns it. Yeshua Himself owns His own message. And when we stand together, we amplify His message to the waiting world. And then we become the winner. That's a classic win/ win. Who's with me?

To watch and listen to my sermon given today at an ecumenical gathering in Sydney, click here.