It is a delicate and painful thing to stand between two friends, both of whom feel they have been done wrong by the other.

With his letter to Philemon, St. Paul places himself between an escaped slave and his aggrieved master. He attempts to arrange something that is nearly impossible: genuine reconciliation. He aches for the two parties – both dear friends of his – to move from distrust and anger to equity, brotherhood and reconciliation.

Part of what is so intriguing about Paul’s letter is that this is no private correspondence between himself and the slave owner. He addresses his letter to the gathered church of which the slave owner is a member. This question of relationship and reconciliation, of inequality and the hope for equality, of past hurts and future behaviors, is no private matter. These are public affairs.

Members and friends of Old South in Boston, just as Paul found himself standing between two friends – both of whom felt aggrieved, both of whom were sure they were in the right –  so too, do we.

As Paul’s letter served as a briefing to the congregation on the situation between Philemon and Onesimus, so may my words this morning serve as a briefing to this congregation on the circumstances in which we find ourselves.

Last February Old South was approached by a group called Sabeel. Sabeel is a Christian Palestinian organization advocating on behalf of the human rights of Palestinians. Sabeel is a partner organization of our denomination, the United Church of Christ, working in and among Palestinians, both Christian and Jewish. Sabeel’s international patron is the Most Reverend Doctor Desmond Tutu, former Archbishop of Cape Town, Nobel Peace Laureate and chairman of South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Old South has been asked to host a Sabeel conference, scheduled for late October, in which Archbishop Tutu will be the key-note speaker.

Knowing this would cause significant consternation among our Jewish friends and place Old South in the midst of a controversy, I brought this request to Council in March and briefed them on what we could expect. Having hosted Sabeel and Archbishop Tutu four years ago, many members of Council had already experienced the fallout from this sort of decision. Council members agreed to host Sabeel and to give welcome to Archbishop Tutu.

I want you to know – and I want you to hear it from me before you hear it from others – that the fallout has begun and we are right in the middle between two friends, our Jewish friends on one side and Palestinian Christians and their advocates on the other.

A columnist in The Jewish Advocate, a local Jewish paper, has publicly accused me and Old South of hosting, “an anti-Jewish hate fest” and has demanded that we “do the right thing” and bar Sabeel and the Archbishop from speaking here. Some of you have received materials from a man who stationed himself outside the church on recent Sundays … whose materials run along the same lines as the column in The Jewish Advocate.

We know for a fact that this is just the beginning, that things are heating up and that there will be more public attacks and that we will be picketed by angry people bearing ugly signs and slogans.

Now, that is the worst of it. I have delivered the bad news. Let me share some good news.

The columnist who wrote those things in The Jewish Advocate represents an extreme, angry hard right side of the Jewish community. While he is busy writing in his own style of colorful and incendiary language, I have, for months, been in quiet, respectful and meaningful communication with leaders in the Jewish community.

Last week I met with the executives of the Jewish Community Relations Council and the American Jewish Committee. Andy Tarsy of the Anti-defamation League had planned to be there … but he has been pre-occupied lately and could not make it.

These leaders are not happy with our decision to host Sabeel and the Archbishop. They express concern, disappointment and fear. Why? Because the Archbishop and Sabeel use the language of apartheid to describe the situation of Palestinians and because they promote a program of selective investment in Israel as a means of applying pressure. Our Jewish friends experience these as a threat to the security, and as an affront to the dignity, of the state of Israel.

I regret causing a rift between Old South and our friends and allies in the Jewish community. Nevertheless, the position of our Church Council – and my position –  is that, as one of a handful of great world leaders of our time, Archbishop Tutu has earned the right to express his views on this most painfully contested part of the world.

Old South, the church of the open door, will not close its doors to this holy and courageous man … this man who, despite every reason not to, embarked upon a truly impossible dream: his truth and reconciliation commission. Due in no small measure to his own spiritual genius, his humility and his love for God, he was able to achieve what others scoffed and laughed at.

In addition to the presence of the Archbishop, we have designed a series of speakers and events to enable us to encounter different perspectives and to meet and hear from Jews, Muslims and Christians. As a part of this, I have invited the leaders in the Jewish community to identify a speaker of their choosing as a part of this program. They have agreed to do so.

You should also know that I have a conversation scheduled for next week with the religion reporter for The Boston Globe. I am scheduled to write my own guest column for The Jewish Advocate. And, our own Bob Brown, ministerial intern and former TV and film director and producer, has offered his expertise to guide us as we wend our way through this very public controversy.

Finally, Old South has arranged for a coach/trainer to be here on Saturday, October 13 to provide a morning of non-violent conflict training. We will invite those Old South members who attend this training, to serve on peace teams during the Sabeel conference. Throughout the Sabeel Conference we will schedule two-hour shifts of three or four volunteers per shift, to stand inside and outside the church to help keep the peace and to keep things from escalating. A police detail will also be present.

In entering this conversation – in standing between two friends – we enter the international conversation about one of the most painfully contested places on earth. It is because so much is at stake, because it matters so very much, because sides are drawn and passions are exercised, that we need to be here, right here, like St. Paul, managing and facilitating a middle way … the way of peace … and, God help us, the way of reconciliation.

The columnist who wrote so colorfully for The Jewish Advocate demanded that Old South bar the door and keep Sabeel out of this “holy church.” What this gentleman does not know is that we Congregationalists do not regard buildings as holy. In fact, we believe our meeting houses can and should be used for both holy and secular purposes.

Sometime ago, back in 1773, Old South hosted a series of meetings that led to the Boston Tea Party. Gathered in our Meeting House were British loyalists and the Sons of Liberty. They spoke, argued, threatened, cried, laughed, cajoled and held forth … some with eloquence, many with passion, all with conviction and emotion. Because so much was at stake, because the outcome mattered dearly, it brought out both best and the worst in those who gathered.

May it be our ministry to reach into the best of ourselves and, as ambassadors of Christ, to facilitate conversations that are both perilous and holy.

God grant us both wisdom and courage in the facing of this hour.