sermons

Summer at Reservoir

The Great Commandment Christian

Ed Gaskin

Aug 03, 2025

1 Kings 19: 14, 18 New International Version

14 He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.” . . . “

18 “I reserved seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him.”

Matthew 22:36-40 New International Version

36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’[a]

38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 

39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b] 

40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

My talk won’t be so much of a sermon and more of a reflection of how I got to where I am this morning.  I invite you to come along for the journey. 

Elijah witnesses the apostasy of Israel; realizes that his faithfulness will be in vain as he believes he is the only one left, and if they succeed in killing him, the religion will be destroyed. 

Like Elijah, who watched Israel abandon its covenant and felt utterly alone in his faithfulness, I too found myself grieving what I saw in the church. As I watched much of white Evangelicalism in America align itself with the positions of the political right and conflate Christianity with the MAGA movement—to the point that it looked and felt like a cult—I remember seeing a poll on the demographics of President Trump’s base: whites without a college degree, white supremacists, and white evangelicals.  Why would anyone want to be in the same group as white supremacists?

For the Christians who are strong supporters of Project 2025, and the Big Beautiful Bill, which calls for cuts to WIC, e.g. food for women, infants and children, SNAPP, Food Stamps ($186 billion) and school lunches, I like Rev. Jesse Jackson come from a faith tradition where

“We pray for the food we are about to receive, not the food that just left.”

For me it was further affirmation that I didn’t fit into the faith tradition that I had been a part of for so long.  My faith journey started in an Independent Fundamentalist Churches of America.  Or (I fight Christians anywhere).

When I shared with a Christian leader my trouble with Evangelical positions on some issues, his response was of course, I belong to that liberal church referring to Reservoir.  But are my positions liberal or conservative as I still believe in the fundamentals of the faith, the Trinity, deity of Christ, bodily resurrection.  I believe I am conserving the gospel and the traditional Christian message. 

In missions, we are taught the dangers of syncretism. In this case Christianity and Maga ideology.

And what’s wrong with being liberal or progressive anyway. Remember, it was Pharoah who was the conservative and Moses who was the liberal. 

When I began to question why Christians were always on the wrong side of every issue, I learned that it was not a “bug” but a feature. Those who are rich or part of the elite controlled the interpretation of scriptures and their interpretation was always the preservation of the status quo, because that’s what keeps them in control. 

Evangelicalism as a movement was a middle path between liberalism and fundamentalism. A movement that was 100 years old, perhaps it had run its course. Now there was: Neo-Evangelical, Post-Evangelical, Ex-Evangelical, or Deconstructionist.  My friend Chris, who is a Black Christian, said he refuses to call himself as Christian, because he doesn’t know what the other person who hears that term thinks—-it means.  He refers to himself as the hopes and dreams of his ancestors. 

All I knew was that I had to step away from something that increasingly resembled Christian Nationalism—whether white, Christian, or both, white Christian Nationalism—and toward something uncertain, something without a clear name or tribe.

For a while, I wanted to describe it as being a Lausanne Covenant Christian, but that was a little obscure; or an Evangelical Refugee, but that seemed a little negative. Then one day, I decided I was just a Great Commandment Christian.

What I really believed was Jesus’s call to love the Lord your God with all of your heart, mind, and soul—and to love your neighbor as yourself. That is how I would define myself.

What follows is my journey.

• The Plagues – The People who left Egypt were not just Hebrews, but anyone who wanted to leave.  The Bible says,

(Exodus 12:37–38)

“600,000 men, besides women and children,” and a mixed multitude also went up with them.

According to Exodus 12:38, when God gave the Torah at Mount Sinai, a

“mixed multitude” 

converts, slaves, prisoners of war, fugitives, Egyptians who had married Hebrews and their families? 

Cairo and Alexandria lie along a major trade route, and this route saw travelers from many nations. Some settled in Egypt. The “mixed multitudes” likely included Egyptians who saw the God of the Hebrews lay waste to the gods of Egypt—and to Egypt itself—through the plagues. Because of the plagues, there were those who thought Egypt was cursed or that God was showing favor to the Israelites. Undoubtedly, they were there, along with those who simply wanted to follow the winner.

The mixed multitudes also included other Semites, those who trace their heritage back to Noah’s son Shem—Arabs, Assyrians, Akkadians, Canaanites, and certain groups in Ethiopia. These people all ended up at Mount Sinai.

• The Israelite Community consisted of more than the Israelite bloodline. Diversity was part of God’s plan from the beginning. 

The tests along the way e.g.

• Crossing the Red Sea, Ex. 14,
• The bitter water Ex. 15,
• Mana and Quail in the Wilderness 16,
• Water from the rock Ex. 17,
• at Mt. Sinai Ex. 20,

were all part of turning this diverse people into a nation. 

The History of Biblical Inclusivity and Diversity

Joseph was sold into slavery, but through God’s favor, he rose to the top—he became second-in-command of Egypt. Eventually, Joseph married Asenath, an aristocratic Egyptian woman and

“the daughter of Potiphera, priest from the city of On”

—an interracial, if not interfaith, marriage. Asenath would go on to have two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, of the 12 tribes. Joseph, being from a nomadic, shepherding culture, married up. This tells us that diversity included social class.

Jacob’s other sons went to Egypt for food during the Hyksos (foreigner) period. During that time, the pharaohs were all non-Egyptian Asiatics. There were many Asiatics and others going to Egypt. Many settled there, as did Jacob, his sons, and their families. The fact that Moses married a Cushite (Ethiopian and/or Sudanese, but definitely Black) woman is just one of many pieces of evidence showing how the Israelite people were being joined by and welcoming non-Israelites into their community.

So, Moses was bicultural, if not tricultural—a Hebrew raised as an Egyptian and married to an Ethiopian woman. When Miriam (his sister) complained that Moses had married a Black woman, God basically said,

“Since you like being white so much, I’m going to turn you white (with leprosy).”

Their diverse backgrounds of Hebrew, Egyptian, and Ethiopian made them the perfect couple for leading a diverse group of people. God chose an interracial couple—a visible sign of diversity—to lead the people of God.

Throughout the Torah, there is evidence of assimilation. Moses had an Egyptian, not Israelite, name—as did Miriam and Aaron. Many proper names from the tribe of Levi are Egyptian in origin, such as Phinehas (Aaron’s grandson). This name, in particular, appears to be from an Egyptian root meaning a dark- or bronze-colored person.

And so, God builds the nation of Israel upon this diversity.

Honoring God Through Diversity

Everyone at Mount Sinai would have expressed some faith in God to cross the Red Sea—that’s what they had in common. God takes this diverse mass of over 600,000, with different cultural practices, values, and beliefs, and builds a beautiful, diverse nation. To do that, God gives the Torah, the Decalogue, the Ten Commandments—because the people of God need some common rules to live by.

God deals with privilege right away so that the Hebrew followers of God and converts don’t receive special or better treatment than the aliens, foreigners, strangers, resident aliens, and righteous gentiles.

Exodus 12:49 (English Standard Version)

“There shall be one law for the native and for the stranger who sojourns among you.”

“The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God.”
—Leviticus 19:34

Neighbors are often very similar in terms of ethnicity and social class. We usually think of our neighbors as nice people, but a better translation is to treat the “other” as yourself—don’t make people into “others.” Treat the other person, even if they are an immigrant, refugee, poor, a widow, or stranger—whatever the “other” is for you—treat that person as yourself.

The nation of Israel consisted of God-fearing Jews, gentile converts to Judaism, and God-fearing gentiles—not converts, but willing to follow the rules of the Ten Commandments. And God continues to express the desire for diversity throughout the Hebrew Bible:

“My House will be called a house of prayer for ALL nations.”
—Isaiah 56:7

“Let ALL the peoples of the earth praise you.”
—Psalm 67:5

Part I

1. For me, I saw diversity as a fundamental part of God’s plan from the beginning.
2. It took me a while to realize that it was never about the law of God, as in law versus grace, but the love of God.  

I was taught that the answers to all of life’s questions were in the Bible.

“God said it, I believe it, that settles it.”

Whether it was God says, Scripture says, or the Bible says—it was all the same thing. The Bible was the Word of God: authoritative and without error. Therefore, if you could prove that the Bible supported your position, you couldn’t be challenged.

But over time, I began to realize that focusing on the Bible’s authority wasn’t enough—it became a red herring. We were focused on the wrong thing. It wasn’t as important to learn what the Bible said as it was to understand what it meant—how to go from text to context and from context to text. While the Bible might be inerrant or infallible, our interpretation of it isn’t. As sinful human beings, we’ll use anything to gain advantage—including Scripture. No one should be surprised that people “weaponize Scripture.”

We should have been debating how to interpret and apply Scripture.  There are literally hundreds of bad examples doctrines that theologians have created. 

• Flat-earth belief from Isaiah 40:22

• Young Earth Genesis 1:1-31, Ex. 20:11

• Polygenism – Blacks and whites had different creation origins. 

• Opposition to Copernicus based on Psalm 104:5 and Joshua 10:13

• Opposition to anesthesia in childbirth, citing Genesis 3:16

• Strict dress codes, the Bible seemed to have a lot to say about what you could wear, no tattoos (Leviticus 19:28), especially if you were a woman—such as no pants (Deuteronomy 22:5), , no jewelry (1 Timothy 2:9), no makeup (Jeremiah 4:30), no short hair, and required head coverings. 

I remember going to a church where they handed me a list of 89 things I couldn’t do, each “backed” by a Bible verse. Smoking, drinking, listening to rock music (including Christian rock), dancing, and even speeding—because it violated Romans 13—were all on the list.

Once, I was at dinner when a woman asked if it was okay to have a glass of wine. Another time, a friend asked if I’d mind if he ordered a beer. While I appreciated their consideration, I had to wonder what kind of Christianity they were taught. One of them said that’s why she didn’t go to church—too many rules.

In seminary, I was asked about predestination or free will, my baptismal view (pouring, sprinkling, immersion), and my eschatology. I said predestination felt too anthropomorphic. As for baptism, I didn’t care—just get wet. When it came to  my eschatology, all I could say was: “unknowable.” Unfortunately, I was asked that question on a theology exam! All I know is we’ll face judgment, and the good guys win in the end. Meanwhile, I was wrestling with weightier questions—like whether the just war theory applied in an age of nuclear weapons.

Some scriptural interpretations have had major societal consequences:

• Support for the Inquisition, Crusades, divine right of kings, the Doctrine of Discovery, Manifest Destiny, and American Exceptionalism
• Justification for antisemitism, slavery, segregation, apartheid, Japanese internment, and discrimination against Native Americans , Chinese, other Asian Americans, Central and South Americans, and Arab Americans. Basically anyone non-white
• Support by ~90% of German Christians for the German Christian Movement aligned with the Nazis

Again, these views were rooted in what people believed was a “plain reading” of the text. But is dispensationalism really a plain reading? Or the so-called biblical basis for the inferiority of women? Clement of Alexandria once said,

“Every woman should be filled with shame by the thought that she is a woman.”

One day, a friend and I were doing street ministry and met a woman who may have been struggling with addiction—I can’t recall. What I do remember is her claiming the Bible supported getting high. Surprised, we asked where she got that from. She said:

“Why do you think the Bible says over and over again, ‘To the most high God’?”

Her interpretation might sound silly—but is it really any stranger than some of the ones I’ve just mentioned?

So when someone claims that God or the Bible clearly opposes all things LGBTQ, or supports something, I’m skeptical. Especially since claims were made to justify the Confederacy, the Vietnam War, the nuclear arms race, and even the right to own assault rifles—all supposedly supported by Scripture (like Jesus saying,

“If you don’t have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one”).

That’s how I became a Great Commandment Christian. I don’t claim to know the mind of God on every issue with certainty. But I believe that with the Great Commandment as a guide—loving God with heart, soul, and mind, and loving neighbor as self—and with spiritual discipline, I can walk in the right direction.

When I reflect on 2,000 years of Christian interpretation, I see a pattern: when Scripture is used against Jews, Blacks, Asians, Native Americans, and  LGBTQ+ individuals, any marginalized group, it’s eventually and I mean eventually recognized as the wrong interpretation.

And when someone insists,

we must obey earthly rulers,

as in Romans 13, the government has lawful authority —used to justify Apartheid, the Confederacy, or Nazi Germany—it time, it will be viewed as the wrong interpretation. 

Part III: Jesus and the Law

Jesus not only embodies the law rightly understood, but also confronts those who misinterpreted and misapplied it—most notably, the Pharisees.

The challenge of interpreting Scripture correctly did not begin in modern times. It stretches back to Jesus’ day. And to be honest, I’m not sure we understand Jesus and the Law any better today than the Pharisees did.

Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount: Fulfilling and Deepening the Law

Jesus takes the law and intensifies it, moving beyond external behavior to address inward righteousness:

• Not just “Do not murder,” but “Do not even be angry”

• Not just “Do not commit adultery,” but “Do not even look with lust”

He raises the bar—but re-centers the law on love, mercy, and intent, rather than legalism and loopholes.  Jesus demands that we go beyond being performative e.g. go to church, read the Bible, have a quiet time and tithe. 

His concern isn’t rule-keeping for its own sake, but the motivation of the heart. In doing so, Jesus directly challenges the Pharisaic approach to the law—one that had turned the Torah into a burden rather than a gift.

I think a current example is Jesus and divorce. A woman told me how her father was physically abusive to her mother. One time her father broke her mother’s nose. Her mother went to the priest who told her Jesus hates divorce and she had to keep her vow. In such a case the law or scripture was a burden, not a blessing. 

Jesus and the Sabbath: Reclaiming God’s Intent

When the Pharisees saw Jesus do things such as healing on the Sabbath, they looked at Jesus’s actions through a legalistic lens accused Jesus of breaking the law. But the right way to look at Jesus’s actions is through the lens of the great commandment. When Jesus healed on the Sabbath, he wasn’t breaking the law—he was restoring it to its true purpose. The Sabbath was meant for rest, healing, and liberation—not rigidity. As Jesus said in Mark 2:27:

“The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.”

When it comes to correctly interpreting scripture Jesus gave us guidance. 

Jesus summarized the entire law with two commands:

1. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind.

2. Love your neighbor as yourself.

Whoever you’re most tempted to exclude—that is the person God is commanding you to love.

Just remember what you learned in Sunday School 

“Red, yellow, brown, black, and white—they are precious in His sight.”

Or, as that other great theologian Dr. Seuss once put it:

“Don’t give up! I believe in you all.
A person’s a person, no matter how small!
And you very small persons will not have to die
If you make yourselves heard! So come on now—TRY!”

And as David wrote in Psalm 8, marveling at God’s care for humanity:

3 When I consider your heavens,
 the work of your fingers,
 the moon and the stars,
 which you have set in place,

4 what are we that you are mindful of us,
 human beings that you care for us?

5 You have made us a little lower than the angels
 and crowned us with glory and honor.

When the writer refers to the fingers of God versus the hands or arm of God, it refers to detailed, intricate work, like needlepoint.  Or think of hanging the stars like one hangs Christmas tree ornaments.  There is a passage in Isaiah that says God can look at the heavens and tell if a star is out of place.  The writer is trying to point out how small people are in the universe. The writer reminds us we are but dust. 

It is those same people who God gives His Spirit. And that is what occurs at Pentecost. 

God Gives People the Spirit of God

No longer do we have to look to the laws of God, for God’s laws would no longer be written on tablets of stone but on our hearts. 

Jeremiah 31:33 (English Standard Version)
“I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.”

Once again, we see a mixed multitude, similar to what we see at Mt. Saini. 

Acts 2:5–11 describes a crowd in Jerusalem made up of Jews from every nation under heaven, including converts to Judaism (proselytes) and possibly God-fearers (non-Jews who worshiped the God of Israel but hadn’t fully converted).

While it’s not labeled as a “mixed multitude,” Pentecost absolutely includes people of diverse ethnic, linguistic, and cultural backgrounds, much like the mixed multitude that left Egypt. It reflects a multiethnic, multinational, multilingual gathering, gathered for a Jewish feast—and it becomes the birthplace of the Church.

Acts 2:5, 8 says: 

“Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. Parthians, Medes, and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt, and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!”

Looking for an explanation, Peter says,

Acts 2:17: “In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on ALL people.”

This is the vision Jesus invites us into:
A community that goes beyond bloodline and borders, beyond legalism, toward a kingdom of mercy, justice, and love, where the law is no longer a weapon, but a way of life grounded in grace.

The message was clear: The spirit of God is for everyone!

It’s not Jews or gentiles, it’s both Jews and gentiles.

It’s not Blacks or whites but Blacks and whites, rich and poor, gay and straight. God’s kingdom is a rainbow, a mosaic, a quilt where every piece fits and belongs. These are the people of God that God has loved—with unfailing, everlasting love. These are the people of God to which God has been faithful.

Which brings us back to 1 Kings

In First Kings 19 Elijah says

he is the only one left and they are trying to kill him. 

But God says,

No I have reserved 7,000 who have not bowed the knee to Baal.

Look at Reservoir Church. The Kingdom of God is at hand. Look at the diversity in the congregation! 

Reservoir Church, like what happened at Mt. Sinai or Pentecost, Everyone without exception is invited to discover the Love of God, the joy of living and the gift of community. 

 Reservoir Church is a small taste of what heaven will look like. 

John’s vision in Revelation: A Multiethnic Vision

When the future is unveiled and the apostle John sees the future, what does he see?

Revelation 7:9–10 (English Standard Version)

“I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people, and language.”
—Revelation 7:9.

Diversity was, is, and will always be God’s plan A.

This “great multitude” is clearly a diverse, redeemed people, unified in worship of the (Jesus). This is the fulfillment of what was foreshadowed at Sinai and begun at Pentecost.

In the Black Church we might say, 

When all God’s children get together, what a time, what a time, what a time!

I’ve never been to Heaven, but I’ve been told that the gates are pearl and the streets are gold. 

Or oh I want to see Him, look upon his face there to sing forever of his saving grace, cares all past home at last ever to rejoice. 

When we have been there 10,000 years shining as the sun, we will have no less days to sing God’s praise than when we first began.