Back in 2007 we began a shift in emphasis here at Keele as we felt God calling us to get intentional about celebrating and encouraging ethnic and cultural diversity in our congregation.
If you were at Keele at the time, you will remember that we asked various groups, both in the congregation and in the community, to come and share some of their cultural traditions with us. We also created a multicultural cookbook of recipes submitted by people in our congregation which we then gave away as a keepsake to everyone who attended the multicultural celebration.
On the Multicultural Sunday that accompanied our weekend long celebration, I made this statement: “Over the last few years, there has not only been a consensus, but also a focussed effort, to both celebrate our current level of diversity and move towards greater diversity in our fellowship and outreach. It is clear to me that God wants us to touch as many lives as we can from as many cultures as we can and I find that both challenging and exciting.”
We went on to have a Multicultural Christmas the next year, and from time to time I have preached on the topic of multiculturalism, but we haven’t had as much of a focussed emphasis on cultural diversity as we should have had, in my opinion, and I take responsibility for that. It is part of my job as a preacher to cast the vision on a regular basis so that we keep our God-given focus clear. I confess that have failed to consistently keep Keeles’ multicultural focus clear and present in the life of the church. And, a vision that isn’t consistently presented until it becomes part of our collective DNA isn’t a vision at all.
Ultimately, what I have learned as I have prayed and thought about this issue is that seeking cultural diversity takes much more effort, and it is much more challenging, than I first imagined.
I think part of the reason we were so focused on developing diversity at Keele was simply the recognition of the diversity we already had. We wanted to celebrate the wide range of people from the various cultural backgrounds that God had brought to Keele. But, what I have learned is that celebrating what we have is not the same as pursuing a vision of even greater diversity. Celebrating diversity and promoting a church culture that encourages diversity through creating a mood of acceptance and belonging for all peoples are two different things. Developing diversity requires the intentional sacrifice of getting out of our cultural and social comfort zones and making sure that we are connecting with people outside of our own ethnic and cultural backgrounds.
If we have learned anything in the last five years, I think it’s the fact that diversity doesn’t just happen—it must be pursued. It must become part of the DNA of our congregation. In fact, diversity won’t even be maintained without a focused effort. We know that to be true because today we are less culturally diverse than we were five years ago.
There are several reasons and factors that have contributed to this reality, but what I want to do today is to get back on track by giving you the reason why God is calling us to be culturally diverse. You see, I don’t believe it’s enough to want to be multicultural. The vision for Keele must come from God. We must be what He desires us to be. Our sense of cultural diversity must come from Him; and not from our Canadian culture, or any other source.
You see, multiculturalism in Canada isn’t really working as it should because multiculturalism promotes cultural tolerance and cultural tolerance isn’t enough. Tolerating someone is not the basis of a deep and lasting relationship is it? Neither is it a foundation for understanding.
If I get up tomorrow and greet Sheila with the phrase: “Hey dear, I tolerate you!” Something tells me I am going to have a bad day. Tolerance continues the “us and them” kind of scenario. It doesn’t promote understanding or acceptance.
So, as we return to our series in Revelation, I want us to consider what it is that God desires of His church here at Keele? What is His vision for the church?
Please turn with me to Revelation 5:9-10
As you turn there, let me give you a bit of a review of chapters 4 & 5. Both of these chapters are the key to understanding everything that happens in the book of Revelation. What we have in these chapters is a vision of heaven given to John. In chapters 2 & 3 of Revelation, the view has been earthly. And from the perspective of God’s people, things weren’t good. They were persecuted. Some were dying for their faith, others were suffering financially and socially, and others had lost their vision of what the church was to be. They had lost the vision of God’s plan for God’s people. They had compromised with their culture.
But in chapters 4 & 5, the perspective turns towards heaven. Remember that heaven is the place of God’s presence. It is the place where God acts and rules. And the message of these two chapters is that God is in control. He has a plan, not only for the church, but for all of creation and that plan is to completely restore all of creation to its intended order and glory.
Now last week, in chapter 5, we looked at a dilemma of sorts. In God’s hand there is a scroll with seven seals on it and we know from this description of the scroll that He was most likely holding His Last Will and Testament. The scroll, in other words, contains God’s final wishes for His possessions, and His possessions are all of Creation, including all of His people. Now the dilemma comes from the fact that no one is found in heaven or on earth, or even under the earth, who is worthy to open the scroll. That means that no one is worthy to, not only reveal God’s will, but as executor, ensure that God’s will would be accomplished.
What we find out, though, is that there is one and only one person, who is worthy to open the scroll and complete the will and the work of God on earth. That person is the one that John is told is the “Lion of Judah” and the “Root of David.” Both of these titles are Messianic. Every one of John’s readers, with a Jewish background, would have immediately thought of a powerful, warrior-king who would decisively do battle with the enemy and restore God’s rule on earth. But, when John turns around and sees the One who is worthy, what he sees, instead of a Lion, is a Lamb that appeared to be slain.
We spent a lot of time last week talking about this powerful image that John is given. He hears of a Lion but then sees a Lamb that was slain. If you wonder why God gives John a letter to the church in this unique form of a vision, you now have part of your answer. A vision can teach a truth with vivid power and clarity. Remember Revelation is a revelation. It isn’t designed to hide God’s truth—it is designed to reveal it, or at least aspects of it. It’s designed to reveal it in a way that teaching alone can’t.
That’s why I believe there is no clearer, more compelling image of Christ in the New Testament that what we find here in chapter 5 of Revelation. Immediately we understand that the Lion is the Lamb. The mighty Warrior-King won the battle by being a vulnerable, gentle, sacrificial lamb that ultimately died in submissive weakness. So, it isn’t that it was God’s plan that Jesus would come as a suffering servant the first time around and then return as a warrior to exact God’s justice the second time. No, the truth is that what has been accomplished by the lamb’s sacrifice is a lion-like victory. Jesus has conquered through the cross. The cross changed everything.
OK, let’s jump into the text. Beginning with verse 9 we read:
And they sang a new song: "You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. 10 You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth." (Revelation 5:9-10)
Notice that the “four living creatures” symbolic of all of creation and the “twenty-four” elders, symbolic of God’s people throughout the ages, sing a new song in response that the Lamb taking the scroll.
Greek has two words for “new.” One word is “new” in the sense of time. This is the word I would use if I wanted to say “I just bought a “new’ pair of socks and am I excited!” But then there is another word that describes “new in the sense of it never existing before. For example: “Researchers have just developed a ‘new’ cancer drug.” It is this type of “new” we are talking about in this verse. This is a new song that has never existed before because it speaks of a reality that had never existed before.
Now the content of this “new song” is that the Lamb is worthy, why is He worthy? He is worthy because He was slain. So this new song serves to explain to us exactly how the Lion of Judah conquers as the Lamb that was slain. The Lion conquers as the Lamb that was slain because, through His blood, people from every tribe and language and people and nation were purchased and that purchase changed everything.
The Greek word translated as “purchased” is a rich New Testament word for redemption that pictures slaves purchased in the marketplace and then set free. At the cross, the Lord Jesus Christ paid the purchase price to set us free, not only from our own sin, but from the sinful, rebellious systems of this world under the influence of the evil one.
Peter puts it this way in his first letter: 18 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed [purchased] from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. (1 Peter 1:18-19)
Christ purchased us with His own blood. Specifically He purchased us from the slave market of sin and then freed us to be part of something completely new—His Kingdom.
And notice who He purchased? He purchased people from every tribe (ancestry) and tongue (language) and people (race) and nation (culture). These four terms appear together also in Revelation 7:9; 11:9; 13:7; and 14:6 and they include humanity in totality. And why did He purchase us? To make a kingdom and priests—He made us part of His new work. Though we are diverse, we have now become one kingdom, under His rule. And we have one role: to be priests, to intercede between God and man. To actively move into every part of the world and rescue others who need to be purchased—just like we were.
So how can Jesus be the Warrior Messiah—“the Root of David” and “the Lion of the tribe of Judah”—and be a little sacrificial Lamb at the same time? This hymn says it all: Jesus is the Messiah who makes war, who conquers, who “overcomes” by dying. The Lamb conquers by dying on the cross as the sacrifice that cancels sin. To put it on a cosmic scale, Jesus is the Messiah who, through His own death, makes war, conquers, and overcomes the enemy that has held us captive. It is Christ, then, who is able to open the scroll with seven seals and put into effect God’s plan of redemption for His creation, because, by His blood, He won the victory that made God’s plan a possibility. You see, without the cross is there is no payment for sin and without a payment for our sins, we remain in bondage, unable to enter into God’s New Work.
So this new song is about initiating God’s final plan of redemption, not just for humanity, but for all of creation. Revelation ends with the completion of that plan. But, what I want you to notice is this—God’s ultimate plan begins by taking people from all walks of life, from every language, from every ethnic group, and every culture, in order to make them one people, under His authority. He does this, so that they can act as intercessors in this world: connecting, rescuing, and reconciling people to God through helping them to see their need to be purchased and set free through the blood of Christ.
This is the very same purpose that Jesus gives His disciples just before He ascended into Heaven. In Matthew 28 we read that Jesus came to His disciples and said: "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." (Matthew 28:18-20)
Jesus says, “Now that I have conquered the enemy through my death and resurrection, I have authority over everything. My reign, my rule, my kingdom has begun, so go and start making disciples, of all nation, by bringing them into my kingdom through baptizing them and help them to grow by teaching them to live lives surrendered to my will. And, by the way, don’t just stay with your own people: cross boundaries, reach out, go to the nations.”
Then in Acts, Luke records these final words of Jesus just before He ascended. He told them: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." (Acts 1:8)
There are so many more examples of God desiring the Church reach beyond their own ethnic and cultural backgrounds. For example, on the day the church was born, the disciple’s miraculously were enabled to speak in the languages of everyone assembled in Jerusalem from throughout the Roman Empire. So the Church was born by crossing boundaries of language. God wanted the Good News of Jesus to reach everyone.
Then in Acts 8, as the result of persecution, the church that was stuck together ethnically and socially finally makes it to Samaria, ten years after Jesus’ command to go into all the earth.
Next we have in Acts 9, the conversion of Saul into Paul who is specifically called into a ministry of preaching to the Gentiles. Then in Acts 10 you have Peter’s vision in which God deals with all of his pride and prejudice. God gives Peter a vision in which he makes it clear that God has opened up the church to all peoples. But, in order for the gospel to extend beyond the Jews, Peter’s heart had to be changed. Peter’s heart became a barrier to the gospel reaching a greater diversity of people so God changes Peter’s limited perspective.
Here is an important question for you and me. What vision does God have to give us so that we can get past whatever it is that keeps us together in our own little groups? What separates us? Is it shyness, pride, differences, prejudice?
Think about Jesus for a moment. In John 1 we read of Jesus, as the Word: “The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood. We saw the glory with our own eyes, the one-of-a-kind glory, like Father, like Son, Generous inside and out, true from start to finish.” (John 1:14, MSG).
God, the Son, became flesh and blood and moved into the neighbourhood. That is what Jesus did. He moved out of His comfort zone. He moved out of what was familiar and what was rightfully His.
Paul in Philippians tells the church: “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death-- even death on a cross!” (Philippians 2:5-8)
Jesus moved into the neighbourhood and instead of moving into a gated community with a compound and a guard to protect Him, He humbled Himself to the point of going to the cross so that we might know God. He sacrificed so that He could become our neighbour. He came to us as a priest, as a mediator, to show us God’s love and He wants us to do the same thing for others.
Someone once called Christians, a “so that people”. What they meant by that is that we are blessed “so that” we can bless others. We have been made a kingdom of priests to intercede on behalf of those who have yet to be blessed.
The thing is that all we often do, as Christians, with this command to reach out to every tribe, language, people and nation is send missionaries out into the world. Of course there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. The importance of missions can’t be overstated, but I recently came across a quote that slapped me in the head, so I thought I would do the Christian thing and slap you with it too.
Gary Parrett in his book, “A Many Colour Kingdom” writes: "It often seems that it is easier for people in our church communities to cross an ocean for a brief 'missionary' visit than to cross the street to build lasting relationships with neighbours who are near us but unlike us. It is also apparent that many learn how to navigate their entire lives without ever truly passing through the world of such neighbours.”
Now, I want you to think about something for a moment: How is it that you are at Keele? More importantly how is it that you are in a church, any church in Toronto? Toronto has one of the most, if not the most, ethnically and culturally diverse population in the world and that diversity continues to grow.
In fact, according to government statistics, by 2031 Visible Minorities in Toronto will account for 63% of the population. That’s an amazing statistic and an amazing opportunity!
Now you may have come to Toronto for a better life, or you may be in Toronto because of your personal preference, or as in my case, a call from God, but whatever other reason you have for being here, as a Christian, you have to come to terms with the fact that you are now part of a Kingdom of Priests that God desires to make from every tribe, language, people and nation.
God has put you and me in a place where we can’t help but rub shoulders with people different than ourselves. God has put you and me in gathering place. He has brought the nations to us. A church in rural PEI or Manitoba, or Kansas, or Africa, or the Philippines doesn’t have the same opportunities that we do. If they want to impact other cultures, they have to send missionaries out. We can impact the world in the very neighbourhoods we live!
Here is something else to consider:The relationships we make in the first year of immigration are the relationships that are the most meaningful and they are the relationships we tend to keep.
What this tells me is that we have an amazing opportunity to help new comers to Canada. We can help them get settled and learn what they need to learn about Canada. We can make a practical and powerful impact in their lives but loving and serving them, and in so doing, I believe that Christ will call them into the Kingdom.
Five years ago, I stood here and said: “Over the last few years, there has not only been a consensus, but also a focussed effort, to both celebrate our current level of diversity and move towards greater diversity in our fellowship and outreach. It is clear to me that God wants us to touch as many lives as we can from as many cultures as we can and I find that both challenging and exciting.”
I still believe that is our calling. I actually believe it more today than I did five years ago, but I also believe that we haven’t kept our focus and as a result, we haven’t been as intentional as we should have been in crossing boundaries—even in our own congregation.
We need to refocus and move forward together. We need to break down cultural barriers. We need to celebrate our unity in Christ. And we need to sing a new song of worship because Christ is worthy to open the scroll and execute God’s Will because His victory has forever changed the world.
There is no more “us” and “them” if we are in Christ. We may be from different tribes, we may speak different languages, we may have different national and ethnic backgrounds, but we are now part of one kingdom, with Christ as our head. And we are a “so that people.” We have been purchased so that we can intercede between God and this world by how we love, by how well we move into other people’s neighbourhoods, by how intentional we are in purposely seeking to move out of our own cultural comfort zones to connect with people different than ourselves who have the very same need for Christ.
When I spoke on that Multicultural Sunday five years ago, I proposed a new vision statement for Keele. It was something like: “Growing in diversity to the glory of Christ.” I like the sentiment, but the wording was a bit lame. Recently I came across another vision statement. A vision statement I believe that speaks to what God wants us to be. In case you don’t know what a vision statement is, it is a statement should inform everything we do. Here is the statement that has resonated with me ever since I first heard it: “Embracing the Jesus Who Has Embraced the World.” When I think of that statement I get excited. What do you think? Is this your vision for Keele? Is God prompting you with the same message?
Regardless, we all have to come to terms with the fact that Jesus has purchased us to be a kingdom of priests. We have a job to do. We have a role to play. We have been called to represent Christ to our world and we have also been called to Toronto: a place where people from every tribe, language, people and nation gather and live. We live in an exciting time, in an exciting world and we have been given a tremendous opportunity. What are we going to do with it?
How welcoming are we? How intentional are we about understanding, and connecting with, and accepting a wide variety of people? If you were visiting Keele for the first time, what would you see? Would you see people from every tribe and language and people and nation worshipping together and loving on one another, or would you see something that could be interpreted as “us” and “them”? This is such an important question for every one of us to ask ourselves because I firmly believe that we can only grow in our diversity as we grow in our unity.
We should never be happy with just being a tolerant church. We need to be a loving, interacting, giving church so that we can carry out our duty as God’s intercessors with the world that lives in our neighbourhoods.
