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Palmberg Challenges Church to Reach Out With Mercy

CHICAGO (January 30, 2001) -

In a stirring message to a capacity audience gathered for Monday evening's opening Midwinter 2001 worship service, President Glenn R. Palmberg called for the Evangelical Covenant Church to embrace Christ's message of mercy and compassion and move boldly in efforts to reach out to those around us.

Using the New Testament account of Jesus' baptism as a central reference point, Palmberg challenged the church to examine afresh the account and see the fundamental contrast Christ draws to the difference between how church leaders of that day viewed their responsibility to God, and how Christ sees it.

The Pharisees' perspective was firmly rooted in what Palmberg described as the "holiness" code, a phrase drawn from author Marcus Borg who argues that Christ replaced the "holiness" code with the "mercy" code.

"This is hyperbole," Palmberg clarified. "Jesus is opposed to holiness as the Pharisees lived it out. Jesus redefines holiness as showing mercy."

To establish a clearer context for his message, Palmberg drew on his recent experiences during a World Mission trip to Asia, paying special attention to one particular event that occurred in Thailand.

Covenant ministry in Thailand is well-known for its effort to assist individuals to become economically self-reliant through development of fish ponds, where a particular species of fish is raised as part of a commercial venture. That work was started nearly 30 years ago by Jim Gustafson while serving as a Covenant missionary in Thailand. Gustafson now serves as executive director of the Department of World Mission.

The species of fish raised in the ponds are unique in that they feed on garbage and other waste materials. Adjacent to the ponds Palmberg visited are hog-raising operations that wash the waste into the fish ponds to provide a source of food for the fish.

"After visiting the ponds, we went to worship on Sunday," Palmberg related. There he learned that a baptismal service had been planned. "I got to the service and there was no (baptismal) font," Palmberg said. "I asked Jim where the baptism would take place, and he said we're going to a fish pond. Fortunately, the pond that was used had been freshly dug."

The water was muddy and filthy, Palmberg recalled. "As I watched those joyful believers go under that muddy water, I realized that, figuratively, the water of my own baptism was no less dirty than the water of that pond in Thailand. Because, both were the waters in which sin had been washed away. The water made dirty by human sin is the same for all."

Returning to his text, Palmberg places Jesus as the muddy riverbank of the Jordan River where He has instructed John to baptize Him. "Jesus comes to the Jordan along with a large group of sinners," Palmberg notes. "He stands on the bank of the river waiting his turn, indistinguishable from the others who came. Just like one of the sinners, Jesus lines up to be baptized. Just like all the others, Jesus enters the dirty water of the Jordan, water made figuratively filthy by the washing away of sin. And, He goes under the water just like everyone else. And He does it in the company of sinners."

Palmberg delayed no longer in delivering the core theme of his message. By identifying with human sinners, "Christ moved toward us sinners in a most dramatic way. And, as He emerges from these dirty waters, God declares His approval." Palmberg pointed out that God did not wait until some great miracle had been performed to declare that approval, "but after Jesus' identification with sinners. What a powerful way for God to tell us that our sins do not separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus," he declared.

Returning to the example of the Pharisees, Palmberg noted that to be holy for them meant to separate one's self from that which is unclean, including people who are sinners. "You do not touch them, you do not eat with them, you do not have fellowship with them, you do not associate with them.

"But, for Jesus, to be holy is to show mercy," he continued. "It is to move towards sinners with compassion." Palmberg shared some of the ancient Jewish culture in helping listeners to better understand the significance of association with sinners. "Sitting at a table with another human being was an expression of intimacy and fellowship - it implied that you accepted that person. So, what is Jesus doing at a table with sinners and tax collectors? That's what the Pharisees want to know. How could a person who is holy eat a meal with these people? How can you be holy and ignore the holiness code?

"Jesus responds by quoting from Hosea 6:6 - I desire mercy, not sacrifice. Keeping the Sabbath was an expression of holiness for the Pharisees." Jesus healed the paralytic on the Sabbath. "When the Pharisees object, Jesus says, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' Purity is what is important to the Pharisees. Mercy is what counts with Jesus."

Palmberg drew another contrast between holiness and mercy in terms of the power each wields. "For the Pharisee and those who follow the holiness code, uncleanness has the power," Palmberg observed. "It can defile. Uncleanness can contaminate. It can make that which is clean, unclean, just by touching it. But, for Jesus, power resides in mercy," he continued. "Mercy can transform and make clean that which is unclean. The need for protection through separation is gone."

To emphasize his point, Palmberg recalled the cleansing of the leper, excluded from the community because that person was considered unclean. "What did Jesus do? He stretched out His hand and touched the leper - the untouchable leper - and said, 'be clean.' It was not Jesus who became unclean, but the leper was made clean."

Looking at today's world, Palmberg called for an understanding that followers of Jesus do not need protection through separation from the world, "for we bring the mercy that can transform the world. To imitate God is not to go through life maintaining separation, it is to go in mercy toward others. All others, not just those who are our neighbors, but even those who are our enemies - even sinners and tax collectors."

Palmberg challenged the notion some hold that Christians are to separate themselves from sinners. "If we think we will draw near to God by separating ourselves from sinners, we have it wrong," he declared. "Such an understanding denies the incarnation and baptism of Jesus. And it denies all that Jesus taught us about the power of mercy."

In a call for Covenanters to reach out and move towards other people in ways reflective of mercy and compassion, Palmberg reminded his audience that "following Jesus is more than words, more than proclamation, more than telling people about Jesus. It involves imitating Jesus. It involves compassion and moving towards others."

Contrasting "affinity evangelism" with what he terms "affiliate" evangelism, Palmberg urged caution. "Affinity refers to people with whom we have something in common," he noted, "a natural connection or kinship. In that context the Gospel is shared . . . and is an appropriate thing to do. We should share our faith with people with whom we have so much in common. But, affinity is a passive word.

"There is a related word that is far move active - affiliate," he continued. "It is not based on something we have in common. It involves moving towards others. To affiliate with someone means to adopt - to receive into a family, to actively move into a relationship. Maybe we ought to also have affiliate evangelism, where we move towards people with whom we have no affinity."

There are two kinds of evangelicals, in Palmberg's opinion: those willing to stand up for justice, and those who avoid real issues of justice at all cost. "I know which kind of evangelical the Covenant is," Palmberg said, "and I know what kind of evangelical church I hope we will always be: evangelicals who care about evangelism, compassion, mercy and even justice, as controversial as it sometimes gets.

"It is a part of our call," he continued. "It is part of being righteous. It is part of bearing the fruit worthy of repentance."

Palmberg noted the influx of ethnic pastors in the Covenant. "I believe that for many of them, they have chosen to join the Covenant because they have been led to believe that here is a biblical, evangelical denomination in which when they stand up for issues of justice, they will not stand alone."

Addressing another issue of deep personal importance, Palmberg noted "a number of women who have sought credentialing in the Covenant church, because here is a denomination that concluded 25 years ago that God gifts and calls both men and women for all levels of ministry. And they have been led to believe that when they stand up for justice on this issue, they will not stand alone.

"Can we be a people who speak to issues of justice?" he asked his listeners. "Can we be a voice . . . for those who experience real injustice and have no access to power? It takes a mature church to discuss issues of injustice and respond, without dividing and fighting and threatening."

In his concluding remarks, he called upon Covenanters to be people of evangelism, compassion, mercy and justice and to intentionally move towards others in response to Christ's call and to carry His grace to our world.

(Editor's note: video of President Palmberg's sermon is available in RealPlayer format, and may be viewed on line or downloaded. To download a free copy of RealPlayer, visit www.real.com)

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