Following is part two of an edited transcript of Bishop Jeremiah J. Park’s Opening Celebration address at the 2018 Susquehanna Annual Conference, held May 31 through June 2 in Hershey, Pennsylvania.
Scripture references:
John 17:20-26; Colossians 1:15-20; Philippians 2:5-11
Let me suggest a couple of pitches from Jesus ...
The pitch of His attitude
In the Colossians passage “The Supremacy of Christ” Paul makes it very clear that Jesus Christ is the ultimate in power, glory, authority, and significance in heaven and on the earth, and under the earth, before creation and after creation. Indeed, this passage puts Jesus Christ in the highest place above all whatsoever. Jesus Christ is supreme.At the same time, Paul includes in this passage the lowest place that Jesus was in: “For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.” (Colossians 1:19-20)
In Jesus Christ, the highest is connected to the lowest.
A similar passage is found in Philippians 2. It also tells us the supremacy of Christ: “God exalted him in the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is the Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:9-11)
But the same passage starts with these words: “Have the same mind or attitude that was in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 2:5) Then the passage continues, “Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and become obedient to death—even death on the cross.” (Philippians 2:6-8) Then it says, “Therefore, God exalted him in the highest place.” (Philippians 2:9a) Both passages are essentially saying the same things: this supreme Christ is also the One who became nothing for the redemption of the world.
The Philippians passage gives us the most convincing clue to what’s in Jesus’ mind: humility. That’s the most compelling pitch for us to hear to tune our attitude with the tuning fork of Christ. The theological framework that the Commission on a Way Forward and the Council of Bishops shared includes a section titled “A convicted humility.” Let me quote a few lines from it. “We pray the exaggeration of our differences will not divide us. We also recognize and affirm that as United Methodists we hold in common many more fundamental theological commitments, commitments which bind us together despite our real differences. These also have implications for how we understand and express our disagreements, and for what we do about them. Therefore, we seek to advocate a stance we have called convicted humility. This is an attitude which combines honesty about the differing convictions which divide us with humility about the way in which each of our views may stand in need of corrections. It also involves humble repentance for all the ways in which we have spoken and acted as those seeking to win a fight rather than those called to discern the shape of faithfulness together….”
I so deeply appreciate John Wesley’s attitude when it comes to difficult and divisive subjects. He would say, “This is what I believe. But I may be wrong. It will be fully known when we all get to heaven.” That’s the attitude in tune with Jesus’ pitch of humility. Let’s listen to the tuning fork of Christ. Do we hear Jesus’ pitch of humility?
The pitch of Jesus’ heart
One of the uplifting moments that the world watched recently was the wedding between Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. It was celebrated as the wedding of the year. The news media showed many fairy tale story-like elements of the wedding. It also reported some ground-breaking moments in the royal wedding tradition that is hundreds of years old. Among them was the preaching of Bishop Michael Curry, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church. It was a delightful delivery of a sermon for the occasion from the African-American tradition. The message was altogether profound, compelling, and transformative.Quoting Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., he said, “We must discover the power of love, the redemptive power of love, and when we do that we will make of this old world a new world….” And he invited the audience to imagine a world where love is the way. “Imagine this tired old world when love is the way — unselfish, sacrificial, redemptive…. When love is the way, there’s plenty good room for all of God’s children. Because when love is the way, we know that God is the source of us all and we are brothers and sisters, children of God. My brothers and sisters, that’s a new heaven, a new earth, a new world, a new human family,” he said. Indeed, he preached that there’s wonder working power in love. As I read his sermon in the New York Times and saw the words, “power of love” repeated again and again, I found myself singing, “There is power, power, wonder working power in the blood of the lamb. There is power, power, wonder working power in the precious blood of the lamb.”
If we look into His heart, what do we see? Love! There’s nothing else but love in His heart. Overflowing love. Do we hear Jesus’ pitch of love?
I would like you to hear the soul provoking point that Bishop Curry made. He spoke about the insight of French Jesuit Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, a priest, scientist, scholar, and mystic. He said that fire was one of the greatest discoveries in all of human history. And he then went on to say that if humanity ever harnesses the energy of fire again, if humanity ever captures the energy of love, it will be the second time in history that we have discovered fire.”
God’s people, the world has already discovered fire the second time. It’s the love of God in Jesus Christ! Proven on the cross, the love of God flows from Jesus’ heart. It’s the wonder-working power for redemption, salvation, and the transformation of the world. The pitches from Jesus’ mind and heart are crystal clear: Humility and Love.
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Watch for the next installment of Bishop Park’s Opening Celebration address in the November issue of Susquehanna LINK. You can view the 2018 Susquehanna Annual Conference Opening Celebration service, including Bishop Park’s address, at tinyurl.com/susumcAC2018video.
