SERMON, PROPER 11B, ISAIAH 57:14B-21, EPHESIANS 2:11-22

It must be political season because the mud is flying and attack ads are starting to crop up. And it's only going to get worse as we move towards November. Have you ever wondered why there are so many attack ads during campaign season? I think it's because they are easy to produce and they are good at doing a couple of things.

First, if I, as a candidate, have a shady past or some less-than-honest business dealings, an attack ad draws attention away from me and throws shadows of doubt on the other candidate. The ads won't usually say anything about myself, but are very clear on why the other person isn't worth your vote.

Second, and closely related to the first, is that attack ads are based on fear. If you vote for the other guy, you will be to blame for the disintegration of society as we know it. The other person would allow dogs and cats to live together, is for the removal of all barriers that protect our way of life, is porbably an atheist, and says he's pro-American when, in fact, he's pro-U.N.

This is really another way of saying that it's "us" against "them." It pits us fine, upstanding, loyal Americans against suspect, sneaky, disloyal individuals intent on destroying our way of life. WE need to proect ourselves from THEM.

As Christians, though, we need to live and proclaim a life different from what is proclaimed in political attack ads. We need to live and proclaim a life of unity, not divisiveness. We can take our cue from Isaiah. Through Isaiah, God says to remove every obstruction from his people's way, peace to the far and the near, and that the wicked are like the tossing sea.

The wicked are like the tossing sea, tossing up mire and mud; sounds alot like a political ad. The candidate in question is only interested in tossing up mud, keeping people distracted, and creating waves in the political waters that he hopes will swamp his opponent. And this doesn't only happen in the political world, it happens in the Church, and is happening in the Church right now.

People seem bent on tossing up mud and stirring up the waves of discontent, building up walls between us and them, between loyal and disloyal.

I think, though, that God has other ideas. God says to remove every obstruction from his people's way, and to proclaim peace to the far off and the near. At first blush, Isaiah would appear to be writing to the Jews in captivity and those the Babylonians left behind. Those people who were far off, those in captivity, and those who were near, those left behind. If we widen our vision though, we might be able to see that God is talking about everyone.

Who are God's people? They aren't just the Jews. They are everyone; all of humanity is God's people. In the beginning, God created male and female. We are all God's people. And God is saying that we need to remove every obstruction. We need to offer THEM, the other, an opportunity to come close and get to know God.

And when he is talking about those far off and those near, it's not only about physical location, but it's about spiritual location. Peace to those who are near to God, and peace to those who are far from God.

During the time of the Temple, it was only the High Priest who was allowed into the Holy of Holies. Then there was an area for the other priests. Then there was the area for the Jewish men. Then there was an area for the women. Finally there was the area for the Gentiles; those who were not Jews and were thought to be removed, or far away, from God. God is offering peace to those near and far and he will heal them.

Paul picks up on this idea of peaceful unity when he says that in Christ those who were far off have been brought near. The Law, although intended to bring people to God, became a wall that separed rather than united. And the Law that was supposed to promote peace was used as a tool for hostility.

Now, through Jesus, all people are welcomed into the family. Jesus has removed every obstruction from the way of the people; and those who were relegated to the Court of the Gentiles are now brought near to stand as equals with those who had been close.

There is no "us" and "them" any longer; there is only us. We need to remember that Christ came to reconcile both groups, the far and the near, to God in one body, creating peace, and ending hostility. Whether we are Baptist, Catholic, Methodist, Episcopalian, Democrat or Republican, we need to break down the walls of hostility and division in an effort to create a unified temple for God.

Those who are different from us were not created to be fuel for the fires of hell. Those who are different from us were created, and God saw that it was good. If we focus on our differences, if we set up litmus tests, what Paul refers to as the "un-circumcision" and the "circumcision," then all we do is maintain the man-made barriers of "us" and "them."

If we see ourselves as better-than the other, being hostile to those different from us and looking to maintain that dividing wall to uphold our purity, then we aren't living our lives according to the wishes of God. We aren't striving for unity, we aren't working for peace and we sure aren't removing obstacles. What we are doing is simply living our lives as a political attack ad.

And attack ads, my friends, have no place in the kingdom of God.