Un/Worthy

This sermon was heard at the Federated Church in Weatherford, Oklahoma on Sunday June 12, 2016, the 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

1Kings 21:1-21a
Psalm 5:1-8
Galatians 2:15-21
Luke 7:36-8:3

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen

Here’s a name baseball fans will remember, Al Hrabosky. “The Mad Hungarian” came up through the St. Louis Cardinal Minor League system to become one of the most influential relief pitchers of the Seventy’s. Was it his wicked delivery? His unrivaled intensity? His Fu Manchu mustache?

If you selected “All of the above” you got the Hrabosky effect.

In 1978 he left the Cards to sign a contract with the cross state rival Kansas City Royals. Two years later Hrabosky became a free agent and signed with the Atlanta Braves. When asked why the Royals did not choose to match the Braves’ offer, General Manager Joe Burke said he wasn’t worth it. Hrabosky countered, “The Braves are willing to pay me, so I must be worth it.”

This is today’s lesson in free market economics, something is worth as much as someone else is willing to pay for it. We’ll get back to this.

In our gospel reading, it’s getting along to be mealtime. It seems Luke’s gospel has Jesus going from one meal to the next, my kind of gospel. Jesus is invited to the home of Simon the Pharisee for a meal. Others are invited too.

Just a couple of things you may not be aware of that will be helpful. This isn’t a closed off banquet hall with high style chairs. This table is not very high at all and those who will eat lay on mats on their left elbows and eat with their right hands. Their legs will be splayed back and away from the table. Also, strangely to us, it is not uncommon for people to just drop in on the festivities seemingly for no good reason at all.

So Jesus goes with Simon to the festivities. Everyone was reclined at the table and the servants brought the food. Among the passersby is a local woman who has led a sinful life. As you see, anybody can just drop by a fancy dinner, even this sinful life leading woman! She breaks open an alabaster jar of perfume and anoints the feet of the Lord Jesus.

Can you imagine how good that felt after a long day on the road? The oils and the balm being rubbed lovingly into your feet. She’s weeping. She’s washing your feet with her long, long hair. Do you think he might have closed his eyes enjoying this tender care?

Well, she’s in his house, on his grounds, and Simon can’t keep quiet. He mumbles “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.”

This is Simon the Pharisee’s “Al Hrabosky” moment of human economics; and as far as he’s concerned she’s not worth all that and a bag of chips. Jesus on the other hand teaches that heavenly economics are not human economics.

Jesus engages Simon in a riddle, actually a common form of entertainment at get-togethers like this in the day before college football and TiVo. He offered the story of a moneylender who forgave two debts, one of fifty denarii and another of 500 denarii.

First though, a quick lesson in ancient finance. A denarius was a day’s living wage for the common worker. It was fair, it wasn’t extravagant, it was a living wage. So 50 denarii would amount to a healthy credit card bill and 500 would pay for a nice sedan.

Neither bill so high it can’t be incurred or repaid over time, but when bankruptcy comes, broke is broke.

Jesus asks, “The moneylender forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Isn’t it obvious? It is to Simon, the one with the larger debt.

Jesus tells him he made the right choice. Technically it’s not much of a riddle, but then again, I find the rest of the conversation has a bigger riddle.

Back in the day, hospitality rules said that when you invite someone over you provide water for them to wash their feet. When you wear sandals and share roads with beasts of burden, you’d want to wash your feet too. On a side note which will become a matter of no small importance, you wash your own feet. A slave can’t be compelled to wash someone else’s feet.

Well, Simon didn’t provide so much as a basin of water. Simon did not meet his guest with a kiss either. Nor did Simon give oil for washing. This sinful woman provided perfume, her kisses, her tears, and her hair for our Lord’s feet. She could not be compelled to wash his feet, yet she did she served him on her own accord out of love. Yes, she may have been a sinful woman, and we don’t know what her sins are, but by my count the score is Sinful Woman 5, Simon 0.

Jesus continues, “Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.” To her alone he says, “Your sins are forgiven. Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

This woman seemed to know what Paul tells the Galatians over and over. They are not saved by the Law, but by grace. Yes, she is a sinner, a sinner serving God. By accepting Jesus the Christ, by loving and serving Christ, she has found her way to forgiveness. She has found shalom. She has found peace.

Paul says what Christ shows, we who know God, we who know the Christ will find ourselves “among the sinners.” I find this ironic, I have always found that when we find ourselves around those who know God we find ourselves among those who sin too. People like Simon.

While we are on this earth, we sin. People sin. Some days we sin like we owe fifty day’s pay. Others like 500 day’s pay. Others we owe a government sized bailout. Who needs more love? Of course it’s the one who owes more.

But let’s ask this question, who’s more worthy?

The question of worth is always based on some scale. Some external scale that somebody sets up and interprets. Did you meet the scale? Did you exceed expectations? Did you earn this bonus? Are you worthy of this reward?

The Jews measure this through the law. The 613 Commandments, the 613 Mitzvoth. The 248 positive commandments and the 365 negative commandments; if you were going to be judged by a code, that was quite a code. There were people who would judge. There were courts and there were scribes and Pharisees. Paul knew all of this. Paul was raised in this and he was esteemed in all of this.

Then Paul received the revelation of the better way. “So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.”

By his interpretation of the law, Simon judged the woman a sinner. She was way down on his totem pole. He, a Pharisee, was having Jesus, the “next big thing,” the “Flavor of the Month,” over for dinner. Simon’s star was ascending. He was seeing and being seen by all the right people. He had kept the law since a young child. Simon was living right. He thought he was on top of the world and in all the right ways, he was.

But with Jesus at the table, everything had changed. Paul says it this way to the Galatians, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Jesus didn’t give himself for those with the best marks in the law. God in Christ knew the people who needed him most were those in the most difficulty, those who owed 500 denarii.

Those who owed fifty couldn’t save themselves though. It’s just that those who are in worse shape will love the redeemer more.

That’s the issue here. We have laws. We have lots of laws. They can be called benchmarks or standards or goals or outcome projections. They will end up as judgements. We face them every day and we will be judged worthy or unworthy.

In God’s law, we have all fallen short of the mark. We all sin. We are unworthy of the salvation freely offered through the life, work, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus. Yet, in God’s economics, as the children of God, though we are unworthy, we are saved. God loves us so much, that even if we think we have done enough, we haven’t, we can’t, and his grace is sufficient.

This takes me back to Simon and the sinful woman. Simon the Pharisee serves the Church and the Law, but he forgets the simplest principles of hospitality, water, oil, and greeting. The sinful woman brings these and the tears of shame knowing she’s not worthy, or is it tears of joy knowing that while she is not worthy, she is yet at the feet of her Lord.

Scripture doesn’t say. But this question makes me wonder this riddle, in our reading is Simon the fifty denarii sinner or is he the 500 denarii sinner? It also makes me wonder which I am. But in truth, all the answer to that riddle will show us is how grateful we should be when the moneylender forgives our debt.

In the end our response to this question must be to be like response of the sinful woman. Seek the feet of Christ and serve him where he is, for there is forgiveness. Not because we are worthy, because we are never going to be. Our human condition will forever keep us from that.

But here’s the Good News of Jesus Christ, like the sinful woman we seek and serve the Lord not because we are worthy, but because he is.

Setting the Table

This sermon was heard at the First Presbyterian Church in Marshall, Texas on Sunday December 9, 2012, the 2nd Sunday of Advent.

Malachi 3:1-4

Luke 1:68-79

Philippians 1:3-11

Luke 3:1-6

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer.  Amen.

In 1916, the Federal Road Act provided $75 million dollars over five years to begin building a nation wide network of roads across America. On an impromptu basis, the states provided matching funds to qualify for a piece of the Federal Road Act pie. When the 1916 law expired, the Federal Road Act of 1921 was instituted. This legislation had some additional benefits and additional requirements.

Like the 1916 law, it was a five year program to provide matching funds to the states for building highways. As the 1916 law provided $75 million over five years, the 1921 law provided $75 million dollars each year. Also, this law provided a greater partnership between the states and the federal government in road planning. One of the goals of this law was to begin to create a national highway grid. In 1922 General John J. Pershing, head of the American Expeditionary Force in Europe during World War I, was asked to submit a proposal to create a highway system based on national defense needs. He submitted a detailed network of 200,000 miles of interconnected primary highways—the so-called Pershing Map.

With additional state and federal road projects throughout the ‘20’s and ‘30’s, the table was set for the next major stage or road projects in America. In 1939, Bureau of Public Roads Division of Information chief Herbert S. Fairbank wrote a report called “Toll Roads and Free Roads,” the first formal description of what became the interstate highway system, and in 1944 the similarly themed “Interregional Highways.” The project gained an even more important ally when General Dwight D. Eisenhower was elected President.

After his 1919 experience moving with military assets across the country on what is known as the Lincoln Highway, the ever first series of highways connecting Lincoln Park in San Francisco to Times Square in New York City, Eisenhower recognized that a system of national highways would be able to provide key ground transport routes for military supplies and troop deployments in case of an emergency or foreign invasion. On June 29, 1956 the Interstate Highway System was authorized under the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956—some of you may remember it as the National Interstate and Defense Highways Act of 1956.

Beginning during the Presidency of Woodrow Wilson, the program was in its embryonic stages during the Harding administration. Coolidge, Hoover, and FDR had their roles in this great expansion, but they also had issues on their own plates including the Great Depression and World War II. After Truman, as I have noted, it was Eisenhower who spearheaded the connection of this great roads project.

There were even two generals, Pershing and Eisenhower, who championed these projects while they were still in the service. All told, this program set the table for not only national defense, but for significant commercial growth and development.

I did that last part intentionally because one of the great ways of measuring time is by the leaders of the day. Our reading begins with a list of the political leaders. Luke isn’t shy either, he begins at the top, we are in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip was tetrarch of Iturea, Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene and Traconitis was tetrarch over something or other. That pretty much does it, doesn’t it? In the day this would have set the stage not only in the time of the story, but the listener would also get a handle on the political climate too.

This isn’t so different from the books of the prophets either. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea, Amos, Micah, Zephaniah, Haggai, and Zechariah all begin the same way, “In the days of…” The books of Kings and Chronicles do the same thing. When the Kings of Israel are mentioned, the reign of the King of Judah is used as a reference date and vice versa. Using the names of the leader is a common way of marking dates, both civil and biblical.

Speaking of the biblical, in these days the leaders of the church were the heads of the state. “Separation of church and state” as we know it was unheard of until the 1700’s. When the leaders of Israel and Judah were mentioned, they were not just civil leaders but spiritual leaders as well. So it is no surprise that we are told these events happen during the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas.

Our scripture begins by listing all of the important people of the day, from the leaders of the empire to the leaders of the temple, and then there was John, poor lowly John. Who is he among all these powerful movers and shakers? He was nobody—and he was the prophet of the Lord. He came from the wilderness, the desert. He was a desert aesthetic, possibly an Essene, and he “went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”

There is a lot of talk about what that means, “repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” Since it is always best to let scripture interpret scripture Luke uses the words of Isaiah the prophet:

“A voice of one calling in the wilderness,

‘Prepare the way for the Lord,

make straight paths for him.

Every valley shall be filled in,

every mountain and hill made low.

The crooked roads shall become straight,

the rough ways smooth.

And all people will see God’s salvation.’”

The original Interstate Highway system wasn’t proclaimed completed until October 14, 1992, some 35 years after its conception, with the opening of I-70 through Glenwood Canyon in Colorado. This section is considered an engineering marvel with a 12-mile span featuring 40 bridges and numerous tunnels. It is also one of the most expensive rural highways per mile built in the United States.

Isaiah tells us that to prepare for the Lord by making straight paths for him. He tells us every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. He says the crooked roads shall become straight and the rough ways smooth. This was common for the coming of a king to the hinterlands of his kingdom. The way would be made straight so bandits would not have a place to ambush the convoy. It is also easier for a convoy to travel straight, level paths than rough terrain. It was a costly undertaking, but that’s just the cost of doing business in the empire.

In our way, was the completion of that last twelve miles of I-70 not unlike Isaiah’s prophecy? In the mountains of Colorado, bridges and tunnels are a modern way of filling in valleys and making mountains and hills low. It’s thinking out of the box; it’s not the way we would usually envision a scriptural way of preparing Isaiah’s road. Now, I’m not saying the completion of the interstate system is a fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy. What I am saying is that when it comes time to make straight the ways of the Lord, there’s more than one way to make the rough ways smooth.

Know though John’s prophecy was about a different kind of king’s entry into the arenas of church and state. John’s prophecy wasn’t about some human king; John spoke of the one who would bring salvation. Not only would he bring salvation, but all with eyes to see would see that he brings salvation.

Instead of “mankind” most other translations say “all flesh shall see the salvation of God.” This was intentional; not just the Jews but the gentiles will see the salvation. Not just the Israelites, but the Romans, Greeks, and all other nations will see the salvation of God. Everyone will see the salvation of God.

So we are called to prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him. I’m not one to usually talk about personal piety. I believe that it is important for us to consider the entire community. Beginning with the family, moving to the congregation, into the workplace and other places where relationships bloom, I want us to think about the community, but I want us to consider John’s plea to prepare the way within our own lives.

I have talked about the many ways we need to make the ways straight in our community. Just a few weeks ago I mentioned six ways including reading scripture, committing to worship, and (of course) financial giving. Yet if our internal ways are filled with hills that need to be made low and valleys that need to be filled, we need help.

I’m getting more than a little wordy here, but we find the prescription in Luke’s description of John’s ministry. He came proclaiming a baptism of repentance for forgiveness of sins. This is one place where we need to remember that John was talking about what we need to do personally. We need to begin by individually confessing our sins. We need to begin by individually repenting, turning away from our sin.

This is where we must beware (and while I am definitely talking about me and the mouse in my pocket, I believe this is real for more folks than just me and the mouse) we must beware that we are not called to confess anybody else’s sin. In our time when people put their worst sins on TV for ratings from the Maury Show to MTV, it is not for us to judge their sins. Yes, let’s judge some behavior and say, “By the grace of God may me and mine never behave like that,” but let’s leave eternal judgment to the one true judge.

Again, we must beware, it’s so easy to repent of someone else’s sins; and it is even easier to repent of sin we are not tempted to commit. But these are not the sins mentioned in John’s baptism.

John was concerned with the community, absolutely he was, but he knew this baptism was for the individual. In Presbyterian theology, we believe that the waters of our baptism represent the waters of the womb, the isolation of the tomb, and the waters of cleansing. We also believe that infant baptism is the sign that the Lord adopts us before we can choose to be adopted on our own. Shoot, in adoption what child ever gets to pick a family? The choice is made by our heavenly Father. In total, the baptism of repentance for forgiveness of sin must begin with the individual before it can move into the community.

It’s gotta happen in the private and public realm, and this is why we make confession of sin so that we may receive the assurance of pardon. In this we should rejoice loudly as we say “Friends, believe the Good News! In Jesus Christ we are forgiven!”

We have to make the way straight, and in our lives it’s not always as easy as those last 12 miles of Interstate Highway. Like plowing down mountains to fill valleys or bridges and tunnels, there’s more than one way to make the way straight. We have to do this for our Lord, ourselves, and others. We have to do this for all God’s good creation.

So John sets the table, with thanks and praise it isn’t John who invites us to the table. Like in our celebration of the Lord’s Supper, it is the Lord who invites those to share the meal which he has prepared. We are called to prepare the way of the Lord. We are called to prepare the way so that not only can the Lord travel the path, but so that we can travel that path too. We are called to prepare the path so that not only can we travel the path, but so that others may follow.

The Lord prepares the feast. John sets the table, the only question is are we going to take, eat, and see that the Lord is good.

High Wire

This sermon was heard at the ecumenical Ash Wednesday worship service sponsored by the Cumberland Presbyterian Church of Marshall and First Presbyterian Church [PC(USA)] in Marshall, Texas held at First Presbyterian on Wednesday February 22, 2012.

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Isaiah 58:1-12

Psalm 51:1-17

2Corinthians 5:20b-6:10

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer.  Amen.

Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent, the season of introspection, reflection, and repentance. Who says the season doesn’t need better PR? This is one of those days in the Christian calendar we Protestants really aren’t quite sure about. I find this especially true living in America, the Land of Opportunity, a season that begins with fire and ash representing death and penitence is pretty far from our cultural understanding.

We’re more familiar with Ash Wednesday’s naughty cousin, Mardi Gras. Given the choice between reveling like tomorrow won’t come and wearing ashes while someone in a black robe says, “Remember that you are dust and to dust you will return,” who wouldn’t take beads any day of the week? Of course, there’s more to the choice than that, which is why I’ll be the guy in the black robe holding the ashes this evening.

About ten months ago, the youth of the church came entering waving palm branches crying the words of the grand entry into Jerusalem, “Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” We get that. We understand that with no trouble. The triumphant entry into Jerusalem is a great and wonderful celebration of the church. And we know the trials of Holy Week that follows, but we may gloss over that as we look forward to the glorious resurrection, our chance to proclaim that other ancient liturgy of the church, “He is risen, He is risen indeed.”

Tonight, those same ashes play a crucial role in our liturgy. Dried, burned, and mixed with oil they will make the sign of the cross on our foreheads in just a few minutes. Last year’s joyful, triumphant entry is this year’s sign of death.

“Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return.” Frankly, given a choice of things to say in worship, I will always prefer “He is risen, He is risen indeed.” But you can’t have one without the other. Without death there cannot be resurrection. Without death there cannot be new life.

So what thanks do we get for sharing the Good News of the death and resurrection of the Lord? Let’s find our answer in our reading from 2Corinthians. The former Saul of Tarsus, the man who went from the most zealous persecutor of Christ to the one who took Christ to the gentiles, shows us the consequence of bringing the faith to the people of Corinth in specific and the world in general.

He’s met with troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger. He talks about the rewards of sharing the Good News of Christ Crucified.  He speaks of himself and his companions as servants of God commending themselves in every way by the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left.

Paul and his fellow travelers knew glory and dishonor, bad report and good report. They were genuine evangelists, yet regarded as impostors. The Lord and the people knew them, yet they were regarded as unknowns. In Christ they die yet, and yet they still live. They were beaten, and yet not killed. You know, I just don’t see our evangelism committees saying, “Yeah, sign me up for that!”

About twenty years ago, I was running a residence hall at a community college in rural southeast Colorado. The students were none too happy with me, and one of the reasons why is that I could catch them at their own tricks. If you were going to pull the wool over my eyes you had to bring your A-game, “good” wasn’t good enough. This was when my boss told me that in his opinion if the students hated me I must have been doing something right. I guess this letter to the Corinthians is an ancient example of what my boss said, if the people hated him he must have been doing something right.

But there is that last part; they were sorrowful, yet always rejoicing. While poor, they made many rich in the gospel. Having nothing, in the Lord they possessed everything.

I said that this liturgy of sorrow and joy is foreign to many Protestants, but I may have used too broad a brush to paint that picture. As true as that may be, it seems like Ash Wednesday would cause most Americans in general a lot of discomfort.

Living in the world today seems to be a high wire act and here we are, standing on the wire hundreds of feet above a surface that is more than likely quite hard, working without a net.

Did you know that? High Wire performers almost always work without a net. It’s true. It’s because there is nothing like falling to earth gaining tremendous speed while carrying what is tantamount to a huge spear. This actually makes bouncing on a net unsafe. Bouncing around gives the walker’s balance pole a couple more shots at a good skewering so most high wire acts don’t use a net.

So we seem to live in a high wire act, working without a net, standing high above the ground where one misstep can bring us to our death. As the old song goes, “I’m up on the tight wire, one side’s ice and one is fire,”[1] and it seems like as long as we stay on this small, small wire we are safe, safe in a place between fire and ice. But let me tell you something, this is a lie, it’s a bald faced lie.

The truth is that the wire isn’t so high. It’s more like a line painted on the ground. We can get off the wire at any time, but there’s a kicker. As Paul reminds us, living in Christ does not save us from the unsavory characters of this world. People who want to oppress and suppress and depress will be there to give it their best shot. There is prosecution and persecution and as much as it was a way of life in Paul’s time it is a way of life in ours.

Tonight we remember this with the mark of the cross with the ash from last Palm Sunday. Jesus did this by the agony of the cross. But in this agony there is mercy. And by the mercy of God, let us be marked as his, marked by the ash, and by his blood.

Worshiping Christ does not take us from the daily grind. What it does though is show us that when we face life with both feet on the ground, grounded in God’s peace and love, we are bathed in love that redeems the pain and suffering. Even death is redeemed in Christ, by Christ, and through Christ from the cross and the empty tomb.

Ashes to ashes, funk to funky.[2] It is true, we are dust, and to dust we shall return. But in Christ even the dust is restored to abundant life.

---

[1] Leon Russell, “Tight Rope”

[2] That’s right! “Ashes to Ashes” by David Bowie

The Proper Use of Authority

This sermon was heard at the First Presbyterian Church in Marshall, Texas on Sunday January 29, 2012, the 4th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

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Deuteronomy 18:15-20

Psalm 111

1 Corinthians 8:1-13

Mark 1:21-28

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer.  Amen

One of the things our passage today deals with is authority. You have no idea how many times my mind has rolled that little piece of truth around on the way to this message. In truth I’m still working that one out and I’m not getting very far as I do it. I don’t have any problem with Christ and his authority; I’m having a time with the scribes, the teachers of the law, and their authority.

Mark’s passage tells us that on the Sabbath Jesus came to the Synagogue and began to teach. By the way, I love the word “synagogue” because it means “gathering place.”[1] It comes from a verb that means “to cause to come together.”[2] As a building the synagogue was the place where the people were gathered, gathered together to be the Lord’s people.

So let’s imagine the people gathered together in the gathering place. They have come to worship. They’ll sing a hymn, hear scripture, hear interpretation, and thank God the Super Bowl is next week, not this one, because we aren’t ready for the party yet.

On a normal Sabbath Day the resident scribe would take the lead in interpreting the scripture. On this day Jesus went in and began to teach. This will eventually bring Jesus into conflict with the scribes and today looks like a good day for that to start in Mark’s gospel. This is the first time Jesus and the religious leaders meet in the synagogue.

The people declare in amazement that Jesus teaches like one who has authority, not like the teachers of the law. Looking at this a little deeper, the people see that Jesus has authority. The people recognize his authority in his presence, demeanor, and words.

For a moment though, I want to turn a sympathetic eye to the Scribes. The people say Jesus taught as one with authority, not like a teacher of the law; but the Scribes had authority too. They had the authority to teach the law. They had the authority to teach in the synagogue.

During the exile, when all the nation of Israel had was the Law, it was the Scribes who kept and interpreted the law.[3] They were also responsible for preserving the Old Testament scriptures along with the foundations of the Jewish religion and the some of the foundations of what would become the Christian religion. Note that I say religion and not faith. They were responsible not for the faith per se but how the faith was practiced.

For this, we need to give the Scribes credit where credit is due. By their authority, by their work, they helped maintain the foundations of the way the faith was celebrated.

Unfortunately one of the Scribes overriding interests was more about maintaining the legal and social structures of the temple and synagogue than it was about defending the text. At this point, it might be easy to say that they overstepped the bounds of their authority; but since one of the sources of their authority was from the temple elite, they did act within the bounds of their authority.

So again, Jesus comes into the synagogue and teaches with authority. The question is asked time and time again is “What is the source of your authority?” In Mark’s gospel when the Chief Priests, scribes, and elders ask Jesus this very question, he didn’t answer them.[4] If they wouldn’t tell him the source of John’s baptism he wasn’t going to tell them the source of his authority. The good news for us is that the text of Mark’s gospel begins by answering this question for us. It begins declaring Jesus the Christ, the Son of God.

What I’m getting at here, in a roundabout way, is that the Scribes taught with the authority that was theirs. Yes, they did overextend themselves when they put the law above the Word, but by their historical and social position they had that authority.

The authority Jesus brings into the synagogue is something no one had ever seen before. In Jesus, even though they really didn’t know what they were seeing, the gathered people of God saw the Lord’s Messiah at work. They saw someone with authority that they had never witnessed. They saw the Son of God teaching with all of his authority.

They had seen something special and they knew it. Even if they didn’t know exactly what they had seen, they did know they had seen something special. This is before the evil spirit was exercised from the man.

That too must have been a sight. The evil spirit bears witness to his authority and recognizes who Jesus is. “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us?” Then he drops the big bomb of truth in the synagogue. “I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”

Here’s something kind of scary; at this time, not everyone who recognized Jesus of Nazareth knew he was the Holy one of God, but the evil spirit did. Something even scarier is that in this world today where people do not recognize Jesus of Nazareth, the evil spirits can. Back to the gospel…

This is when Jesus exercises the spirit from the man. The people were so amazed they asked each other what just happened. They see yet another side of the word in action, the word taking a man from anguish to new life. The authority of Jesus over natural and supernatural forces is dramatic. His authority is seen and the news began to spread.

Let’s face it, the authority of the scribes, whether ancient or modern, pales next to the presence of the Lord. I want to say that one more time, the authority of the scribes, whether ancient or modern, pales next to the presence of the Lord.

So what does this mean for us who are disciples of the Triune God? What does this mean to us? The Presbyterian Church’s Book of Confessions[5] says quite a few things about us and authority.

The Scot’s Confession reminds the world that “empires, kingdoms, dominions, and cities are appointed and ordained by God; the powers and authorities in them, emperors in empires, kings in their realms, dukes and princes in their dominions, and magistrates in cities, are ordained by God’s holy ordinance for the manifestation of his own glory and for the good and well being of all men.”[6]

In short, God gives authority to governments to do the Lord’s work for the good and well being of everyone. The Westminster Confession of Faith also teaches governments are ordained by God to do this work on Earth.[7]

The Second Helvetic Confession also warns ministers “remembering the words of the Lord: ‘Let the leader among you become as one who serves’ (Luke 22:26), they kept themselves in humility, and by mutual services they helped one another in the governing and preserving of the Church.”[8]

In an English that makes a little better sense to us, this Confession affirms that ministers have an authority, but their authority is from the Christ who came to serve, not to be served.

The Confessions also remind us “the apostle [Paul] testifies that authority in the Church was given to him by the Lord for building up and not for destroying.”

This Confession also simply tells us Christ “has (as they say) all fulness [sic.] of power and sovereign authority in the Church.”[9]

This is just a handful of the forty-two[10] instances of the word “authority” among the confessions of the Presbyterian Church. In these uses whether it’s the magistrate’s authority over the city, Christ’s authority over the church, or a minister’s authority over the flock; Christ uses his authority to build up, not to destroy. As for the scribes, well, their point of view was more limited. Yes they defended the faith, but they defended their role in the society at the expense of the faith when the need arose.

Of course, this is the way of life. Unfortunately this is also the way of life in the church.

As I briefly mentioned last Sunday, the PC(USA) is currently facing another move toward schism. Within the “Fellowship of Presbyterians”[11] there are congregations that are actively seeking to leave the PC(USA) to join the Presbyterian Church in America or the Evangelical Presbyterian Church. There are others who are affiliating in a group called the Evangelical Covenant Order of Presbyterians. This order is trying to find its way how to organize into a non-geographical theology based presbytery or an order along the lines of Roman Catholic orders, or maybe even becoming a new Presbyterian denomination. There are other fellowship members that are waiting for what they are called to next.

While the conversations are still publically cordial, the Order and the PC(USA) have both budgeted to bring in legal help should schism happen. While both parties might say I am mistaken about schism talk, frankly to me it quacks like a duck.

We are also nationally in a political season. The Republican Candidates have come out swinging on the President and on one another. There is mud being slung that you won’t see at a tractor pull. Let me add, mud is being swung by and at both Republicans and Democrats. I pray from this we will find leaders and not as Shakespeare curses “a pox on both of our houses.”[12] As I have recently written on one of my weblogs, “It’s quit being about people and is more about power more than ever, and that has completely bored me to tears.”[13]

In his book “What Happened,” President George W Bush’s former Press Secretary Scott McClellan wrote that since the late 70’s American politics has grown to be less about use of power and more about obtaining power.[14] Our leaders have the authority to use their power, but do not because to offend any voter bloc is to risk losing power. It’s better to curl up like a porcupine than to risk doing anything at all.

Friends, here is what we have to remember. First, Christ’s authority founded in integrity and living truth is far beyond anything we could ever imagine. In this gospel reading alone Jesus teaches with authority that frees a man from bondage. Christ frees us from bondage too.

Second, Christ gives his authority to civil and faith leaders to do his work, to build up and not to destroy. Christ keeps sovereign power over his authority and what is given can be taken away; but this does not change the fact that Christ not only gives this power but wants to give this power to his people and to his church.

Finally, we should be amazed by what God is doing in this world. By that I mean we should be amazed of the great things God has done and is doing, not the mess created by the human hoarding of power and failing to exercise authority.

This is the proper use of authority, to build up not to tear down. Remember Paul’s words to the Corinthians, “Knowledge puffs up but love builds us. The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know.”

Now for the worst revelation: Like the scribes, people on this earth exercise authority in what they believe the best way they know how. I believe this is true of people in politics and in the church. I believe this is true of conservatives and liberals.

I do not believe Americans and Christians wake every morning, stretch, and say out loud “How can I make my opponent’s life miserable today? How can I make my fellow citizen’s and fellow Presbyterian’s way more difficult?” I think sociopaths think like this, but mentally healthy people do not. Unfortunately, when people exercise authority or don’t, there are some who believe this is exactly how we are acting, on purpose.

The time for “us and them” is gone. As the musician Kenny Loggins once said, “Ain’t no way we can ever be strong/Worrying about who’s right and who’s wrong.”[15] It is important for the church to know that only Christ is right, by the very nature of sin everybody else isn’t. We hold ourselves to be a Christian nation, and as such we must again acknowledge the way sin permeates everything. From there, we must not despair what Calvin calls our totally deprived nature; we must hold to our only hope in Christ. Not in the church, government, and social structures we create; even those we create in the name of Christ. Our only hope is in Christ.

As I was working on the beginning then, I’m still working on the ending now, but I’m alright with that. We have been gathered together, we have been assembled to do Christ’s work. It is up to us to know that he alone has the authority. It is up to us to know that he alone is our hope. It is up to us to seek his authority to continue his work in this world. When we do, the people will be amazed not by the rancor of our discourse, but by the power of our Lord.

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[1] sunagwgh,, “A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature.” Third Edition. Entry #7008. Revised and edited by Frederick William Danker based on Walter Bauer's Griechisch-deutsches Wörterbuch zu den Schriften des Neuen Testaments und der frühchristlichen Literatur, sixth edition, ed. Kurt Aland and Barbara Aland, with Viktor Reichmann and on previous English editions by W.F.Arndt, F.W.Gingrich, and F.W.Danker. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000.

[2] suna,gw, entry #7007

[3] Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible.

[4] Mark 11:27-33

[5] The Constitution of the PC(USA), Part I, Book of Confessions. Louisville, KY: Geneva Press, 1996. References to the Book of Confessions are in the Book’s notation format.

[6] BOC 3.24

[7] 6.130

[8] 5.160

[9] 5.131

[10] Honestly, didn’t make that number up. Douglas Adams fans are smiling widely.

[11] For more details see www.fellowship-pres.org/evangelical-covenant-order/

[12] Paraphrase from Romeo and Juliet

[13] Bored by Politicos, http://fatmaninthebathtub02.blogspot.com/2012/01/bored-by-politicos.html

[14] McClellan, Scott, “What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington's Culture of Deception” New York: Public Affairs Press, 2008.

[15] Loggins, Kenny and Page, Richard. “Who’s Right, Who’s Wrong.” From the album “This Is It!” Milk Money Music and Almo Music Corp and Pa-Giz Music, 1979.

This Sermon Is Not About You

This sermon was heard at the First Presbyterian Church in Marshall, Texas on Sunday September 4, 2011, the 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time.

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Exodus 12:1-14

Psalm 149

Romans 13:8-14

Matthew 18:15-20

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer.  Amen

When I started writing the sermon early last week, I had a beautiful illustration for how to make it look like two people were following 18:15-17 from our reading this morning, Christ’s directions to his disciples on conflict resolution. Now as I cryptically said, the illustration made it “look like” they were following Christ’s directions, but truly they weren’t.

After sharing the illustration I was going to say “But this sermon is not about them, and it’s not about you either.” As it would happen, on Wednesday Al told me that I needed to take a look at the web site he checks for children’s sermons. The next day at Lectio Divina, the group that meets on Thursday to study the gospel reading, I was given more food for thought. Then I read an article on line that asked the pastoral question “Are You a Preacher or a Motivational Speaker?” At that point, the old illustration was worthless.

The children’s sermon Al shared with me was wonderful. I won’t share the whole text with you, but here’s the Reader’s Digest condensed version:

Once upon a time there were two brothers. When their father died, they inherited and split their father’s farm and continued in the family business. One day, one of them offended the other over a slight that is now long forgotten.

Then one day, a carpenter visited one of the brothers and asked if there was any work for him. The farmer-brother said yes, there was work. He wanted the carpenter to build a fence along the stream that split their property so he didn’t have to see his brother again.

At the end of the day, the farmer came to check on the carpenter’s work only to discover that instead of building a wall, he built a bridge. Shocked at the work, he was even more amazed to see his brother on the other side. “After all the terrible things I’ve done to you over the years, I can't believe that you would build a bridge and welcome me back.”[1] He then reached out to his brother and gave him a big hug.

After the two men made amends, the brother that hired the carpenter went home. The farmer asked the carpenter to stay. The carpenter replied “No, I have more bridges to build.”

There are several ways to interpret scripture, among them are descriptive and prescriptive. The descriptive way of interpreting scripture interprets through explanation, a grand rephrasing of the word of God for the people of God. I tend to do a lot of this. My original illustration, the one I talked about at the beginning, would have made a wonderful segue into describing verses 15-17. I would have described how this biblical conflict resolution process works and how important it is to use it.

I would have said that those three verses show us how to make amends when a brother, fellow disciple, member of the church has sinned against you. It keeps it small and intimate until the whole church is involved and it does keep the sin within the church. What starts between the disciples should remain in the church.

It’s not bad as descriptions go; at least it wasn’t bad before I was reminded there’s something better.

The prescriptive interpretation of scripture does something different. The prescriptive interpretation doesn’t describe the text. Like a prescription helps make a sick body better, the prescriptive interpretation helps us use the text in our lives. It helps make us better disciples. A prescriptive interpretation of this scripture is the basis of that children’s sermon. The prescriptive interpretation reminds us that Christ makes amends for us and between us. Christ makes amends between us and our God.

Christ bridges the gap. Christ closes the chasms and schisms that are so old that we don’t remember their particulars anymore. Yes, we can remember broad brush strokes of the sins, but the details are gone like yesterday’s news.

The glory of this prescription is that while it is humanity’s first inclination to want to build walls between us, Christ will have nothing to do with that. When something comes between disciples, between brothers and sisters in Christ, our Lord is there building bridges instead of walls.

How wonderful is that? Our God saves! Even when we try to build walls God builds bridges and saves us from ourselves bringing us to reconciliation.

On Thursday, this was going through my mind as we were reading Matthew 18:15-20 in our study. On a side note, during the announcements Al always says that everyone is invited to join the study in the chapel at 10:00 Thursday mornings. As he has said, we read and we discuss, we listen and we pray. It’s not a lecture. Because of this, insights that are new (at least to me) and glorious are shared regularly.

One of the things that came up on Thursday was a wonderful and glorious interpretation that helps define church for all of us. One of the participants, Tom Malcolm, noted that in verse 20, Jesus says “For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.” Now, that’s nothing new, this is the kind of scripture that has helped define the church for nearly 2,000 years. What made this more special was how he related it to the first part of our reading.

He reminded us verse 15 begins, “If your brother sins against you…” and ends saying “between the two of you.” Friends, intelligence is often complex and complicated, but great wisdom often comes in the very simplest of words. Let me paraphrase the point made on Thursday. He told us verse 15 has two people, the sinner and the sinned against, when they come together in Jesus’ name, Christ is among them.

I love this insight. I absolutely love it. In verses 15-17, this is a particular brother member of the church, who was sinned against by another particular brother member of the church. They are disciples, but they are individuals.

In the last three verses, the “you” Jesus is talking about is the Church, his Church. The two in verse fifteen, by coming together in Jesus’ holy name come together as the Church, the capital “C” church. They don’t form a denomination or a congregation; they come together as members of the Body of Christ, they come together as the Church.

This is important for all of us; there are times when we do not agree with one another. There are times when people will be hurt by the actions of another member of the Body of Christ. There are times when members of the same denomination or congregation hurt one another.

So now not only do we have a scriptural conflict resolution process (and good, holy tools are never a bad thing), we have a savior who is the bridge between two in conflict. Even more so, when two parties are gathered in the name of the Lord, especially when it’s two members, one who has sinned against the other, Jesus promises he is there with them.

Then I read the article by Sherman Haywood Cox II on the difference between preaching and motivational speaking. He contends that a lot of preaching, popular preaching, what passes for relevant preaching, is nothing more than changing “the title from the latest pop-psychologist’s seminar from “how to succeed” to “how to fulfill God’s purpose” where God’s purpose is defined as “succeeding in this life.”[2]

He points out that hearing this kind of message may be helpful and useful, but it’s not the gospel. He laments that often this Gospel Lite is no more than learning “a skill or a mindset that will help [the listener] finally break the boundaries that keep them from that promotion.”[3] It’s nice, but it’s not the Good News.

He says that where good motivational speaking from the pulpit breaks down is that it lacks two things, the cross and the coming kingdom of God. He also tells preachers and other readers to beware. You have to beware of sticking Jesus on the end so that it sounds Christian. The cross is central, the cross is necessary.

This week’s edition of “Presbyterians Today” magazine includes an article called “Questions Muslims ask Christians.” One of the questions was “Why do you believe that Jesus suffered and died on the cross?”[4]

The answer begins reminding the reader that Muslims don’t consider Jesus the Son of God, though they consider him a great prophet and within their theology a Messiah. They also believe that God, the God of Abraham, would have never allowed the murder of such a great prophet. Another belief they don’t share is original sin, so they don’t share our concept of the sacrifice of the Lamb of God for the atonement of sin. No original sin, no need for the sacrifice.

From the pulpit I must proclaim and as disciples we must to live that through Christ’s death, even death on the cross, Jesus died for the sin of the world. Our Creator knew us so well that even before we were created there would have to be someone who would build bridges between us and God, between each of us and all of us. “Jesus humanity and suffering communicate the extraordinary lengths to which our Creator has gone to lavish extravagant love upon sinful humanity.”[5]

As I said, this sermon is not about you. One of the reasons I say this is because I remember when I was in my 20’s I began to wonder if my pastor wasn’t following me around all day so that he could say something from the pulpit on Sunday that was intended just for me. I knew this wasn’t true, but it was uncanny the way he seemed to fashion messages that directly convicted me.

I don’t want anyone to think that I am indicting someone about a particular situation. I’m not. But let me say this, this sermon is not about you but it is for all of us. It is for the church. It is for the disciples. It is for the people of God. If that convicts each of us and all of us, that’s as it should be.

We are called to remember it is our Lord who takes the wood of the cross and builds bridges so that we may be one as his Body, one in his Church. This is the coming of the kingdom on Earth. We are called to go across those bridges and seek those who have sinned against us, and those who we’ve sinned against. Once a bridge is built, we can’t make anyone walk across it, but Jesus knew that too. But we also know that when two or three come together, Christ is there with them, together in his name they are the Church. This is necessary because of our sin and this redemption is only possible through his life, death, and resurrection.

I could go on and describe this passage all day, but I would rather us use this as a prescription that brings the body together than share another description. Truly, this prescription for forgiveness is a tonic for the troops.

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[1] “Building Bridges,” http://sermons4kids.com/building_bridges.htm, retrieved August 31, 2011.

[2] “Are You a Preacher or a Motivational Speaker?” http://www.churchleaders.com/pastors/preaching-teaching/153625-are-you-a-preacher-or-motivational-speaker.html, retrieved September 1, 2011.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Perkins, Mitali, “Faith Seeking Understanding: Questions Muslims Ask Christians.” Presbyterians Today. Vol. 101, No. 7, September 2011, p 4.

[5] Ibid.

Go and Be Reconciled

This sermon was heard at the First Presbyterian Church in Marshall, Texas on Sunday February 13, 2011, the 6th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Deuteronomy 30:15-20
Psalm 119:1-8
1Corinthians 3:1-9
Matthew 5:21-37

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer.  Amen.

As many of you either saw or heard last Sunday, pop music diva Christina Aguilera “sang” the national anthem at Super Bowl XLV.  Well there were a lot of folks who were outraged by her rendition, wishing that singers of the anthem would just stick to the tune Francis Scott Key used when he put lyrics to melody in the first place.  It was reported by Us Weekly[1] that among the many Americans who felt this way, the most famous was former Alaska Governor and Vice Presidential Candidate Sarah Palin.

According to a source, Governor Palin reportedly blasted Christina Aguilera’s disastrous performance of the national anthem at Super Bowl XLV calling Aguilera a “demanding beauty queen who’s clearly in over her head.” The report also mentioned the Governor wanting to “deport” Aguilera, after having “to suffer through a performance by a foreigner with a poor grasp of the English language.” Palin also levied criticism on the Obama administration for allowing “spicy Latin princesses” to do the jobs of American pop divas.

The source reported a radio interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity where the Governor says “Quite frankly, Sean, public figures must be held accountable for what they say,” explained Palin.  “Here’s another case of an airhead diva going on TV, running her mouth off, sounding like a fool.  She doesn’t understand something so basic about America, yet we’re supposed to tolerate her diva behavior?  Americans can see through that, Sean.”

These are pretty heavy words.  She even used the “F” word, fool.  But there’s one more thing you need to know about this, none of it was true.  The story was created by a satirical “news organization” called SuperTuesdayNews.com.[2]

The real Governor Palin later responded to the false reports. “I had no interview with Sean [Hannity] and I have never bashed Christina.  In fact,” Palin adds in an on the record interview with Us Weekly, “I’ve defended her by telling folks to back off the criticism of her mistake.”

This spoof of Governor Palin has been blown way out of proportion after media reported the former vice presidential candidate’s fabricated comments as fact.  It was comedy, it was satire, and it was taken for fact by “real” news organizations.

Anyone who says Raca, an ancient Aramaic insult, is answerable to the Sanhedrin.  But anyone who says, “You fool” will be in danger of the fire of hell.  If there is a problem with the written word it’s that it’s hard to detect sarcasm and anyone who has accidently insulted somebody online knows this.  SuperTuesdayNews.com was telling a joke, a joke that got lost on Us Weekly and everyone else who picked up this item as gospel truth.

SuperTuesdayNews.com was being mean for the sake of the joke.  By our reading, this would place them in danger of the fire of hell.  The only people on a slipperier slope would be those who repeated this story as truth, without first finding that it was a joke.

There are two parts to our gospel reading today.  The first we have just touched upon, injuring another.  Jesus tells those who have just heard the beatitudes, those who had just heard that they are salt and light, that if they are angry with their brother they are as subject to judgment as they would be if they murdered.  Insult your brother and you’re answerable to the Sanhedrin, but calling someone a fool, well, that makes God your judge.  This is expanded in the rest of our reading.

It’s easy to understand the injunctions against taking vows.  This is the heart of the commandment that says thou shall not take the Lord’s name in vain.  Let your yes mean yes and your no mean no.  Don’t swear by anything because once your reputation is damaged all that is left is to try to earn back the trust you have lost.  Also taking oaths by greater things adds nothing to your word.  Demanding others take oaths by greater things simply means distrust.  So let your yes mean yes and your no mean no, anything else is either window dressing or a smoke screen.

As for the injunctions against adultery and divorce, these are landmines of our time.

Jesus tells us that anyone who looks lustfully at a woman has already committed adultery in his heart.  If this causes you to sin, it is better to eliminate the part of the body responsible than to allow the possibility of sin.

Well, this is one of those times when something gets lost in the translation.  Let me explain this by comparing two levels of lust.  Let’s call the first “Gee, she’s (or he’s-your choice) kinda cute” and the second “Gee, how can I go all King David on this Bathsheba?”  The first type, noting someone is attractive, is not the lust of the original Greek language.  Doing something about it, as David did with Bathsheba, that’s a sin.  On top of that, considering how to do “The David” is a sin.  That’s what this passage is talking about.

Oh, and scholars agree that the self mutilation of this passage is an exaggeration, it’s just an expression used by Jesus to make sure the people understood how important this teaching was.  I’m willing to agree with them, but then again, the vast majority of these scholars were men as am I.  Men probably aren’t the most unbiased of judges on the whole “pluck it out/chop it off” matter.

The divorce statutes are even more difficult to interpret for our day and time.  It’s because so many of us are either divorced or have friends and family who are divorced.  This includes my family where among the five of us, two parents, two siblings, and me, there are seven divorces, so finding an interpretation that is faithful and pastoral means cutting away a lot of things that aren’t necessary to the core of this teaching.

That ground is here.  Jesus is teaching faithfulness.  I look to our reading from Deuteronomy when interpreting this passage.  Deuteronomy tells us to be obedient, not to bow down and worship other gods.  The passage ends with Moses declaring to the congregation to choose life so that you and your children may live.  This is our call, to choose life so that we all may live.

Divorce and adultery are about the ancient legal status that someone bestows upon another by their actions.  Whether it’s by infidelity or by legal certificate, it is about what one person in a relationship does to another.  What the passage is saying is that we are not to behave in a way that would cause dishonor to another, particularly someone we love.

Jesus is talking about relationships.  Jesus is talking about faithfulness.  Jesus is talking about choosing life not just for yourself, but for your whole family.  It’s about life that is wonderful and glorious, a delight in the eyes of God.

What it’s not about is life lived in abuse.  It is not about life lived where you wonder where your partner is, and with whom.  It’s not about worrying if you are going to survive your partner’s viciousness or carelessness.  It’s not about staying in marriage because it’s what the law requires.  It’s about relationships grounded in God’s loving kindness given without reservation to those who have not earned it, but it’s not about tolerating infidelity and horror.

The common bond of all of these specifics, murder and anger and adultery and divorce, and even oath taking, the common bond between these is that there is a higher calling than what the law calls us to live.  That higher calling is the law made and embodied in the living Torah that is Jesus the Christ.  It is Christ who tells us that he did not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it.  It is about relationships lived in faithful gracious love with one another, and the truth that we often make this life more difficult than necessary.

The way we live into this new life is the second major part of our reading.

Earlier this week I got a facebook friend request from an elementary school buddy who I haven’t seen in thirty-five years.  He began, “Dear Paul, I’m sorry.”  Now, I expected the usual things someone says in a facebook friend request. I did not expect this and I had no idea the emotional impact that it would have on me.  A simple “Dear Paul, I’m sorry” made me reel.

He went on to say that after his family moved away, he had become messed up because of drugs.  He reminded me of a time at the old municipal swimming pool a few years later, we must have been about thirteen or so, and he said something about my weight. I said, “Thanks a lot.”

He wrote, “I never forgot how mean and wrong it was to say that and I still hurt really bad for having said it.”  He said he had tried to find me for the last few years on line and succeeded just last week.  He repeated his apology and asked me to forgive him.  He regretted that I was hurt and that he did not apologize then.

Jesus says “If you are offering your gift at the altar and remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there.  First go and be reconciled to your brother.”

This is what he did.  This is what God calls us to do.  But it is very important to note what he did and what Jesus says, “If you remember that your brother has something against you, you are to go and be reconciled.”  It doesn’t say we get to sit in self pity and wait for someone who has wronged us to come and make it right, it says to go out and seek who you have wronged, who we have wronged.  It says go and be reconciled.

Jesus does not call us to passively sit by waiting for the world to apologize for its injustices.  It calls us to go out and right the wrongs we have done against others.  Take my word for it, having been on both sides; these words can be difficult to say, but they are glorious to hear. It’s not easy, but it is glorious.

My response began, “Think nothing more of it.  I forgive you.”

This is something we do every week.  Every week we come together and pray a Confession of Sin.  Then we hear the Assurance of Pardon.

Today we prayed God’s compassion and mercy on us.  We prayed that we acknowledge God’s statutes and our way of replacing them with our own desires. We prayed God set us right in accord with his design for us.”

Then we heard the Assurance of Pardon, We boldly declare God will put the law within us, writing them on our hearts.  God will forgive our iniquity and remember our sin no more.[3]

We hear the Good News of the Gospel; through Jesus Christ we are forgiven.

The Rev. William Sloane Coffin preached that he is “stunned by people who… say, ‘I believe in the forgiveness of sins,’ as if it were a piece of cake.”  He continues “The Assurance of Pardon is what takes humility, because it means giving up your opinion of yourself and accepting someone else’s opinion of you.  It means allowing someone else to do for you what you cannot do for yourself.  It means that you recognize that finally your value is a gift, not an achievement.”[4]

Coffin says that he believes the Assurance of Pardon is the most exciting part of the worship service.  Yet there is another part of liturgy that I believe is just as exciting.

There is something called “Passing the Peace” which you may have participated in at another church or at Presbytery worship.  It isn’t a time to meet and greet one another; it is a time when after we confess our sin and receive the assurance of pardon people extend that same peace to one another.  People shake hands and hug, usually saying something like “Peace be with you” and are answered with something like “And also with you.”  It is a way that people in the church offer and share forgiveness received from God with each other.  It is a way people go and become reconciled one to another before coming to the altar.

The 2010 film “The Book of Eli”[5] ends with this prayer, this benediction if you will.  Denzel Washington’s Eli says:

“Dear Lord, thank you for giving me the strength and the conviction to complete the task you entrusted to me. Thank you for guiding me straight and true through the many obstacles in my path. And for keeping me resolute when all around seemed lost. Thank you for your protection and your many signs along the way. Thank you for any good that I may have done, I’m so sorry about the bad. Thank you for the friend I made. Please watch over her as you watched over me. Thank you for finally allowing me to rest. I’m so very tired, but I go now to my rest at peace knowing that I have done right with my time on this earth. I fought the good fight, I finished the race, I kept the faith.”

So be strong, be straight.  Lord, keep us on straight paths through the many obstacles life places in our way.  Thank you for keeping us when all seems lost.  Thank you for your protections and signs.  Thank you for new friends and watch over them as you have watched over us.  Be with us so that we may know the higher law that is your life and the good we do by it.  And when we stray, we are sorry about the bad and pray for your forgiveness and grace as you send us to go and be reconciled, to one another and to you.

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[1] Oops! Sarah Palin Didn’t Call Christina Aguilera an Airhead,” http://www.popeater.com/2011/02/10/sarah-palin-christina-aguilera-super-bowl/, retrieved February 10, 2011.

[2] “Palin Says She’d Deport Christina Aguilera for Botching National Anthem,”

 http://www.supertuesdaynews.com/1/post/2011/02/palin-says-shed-deport-christina-aguilera-for-botching-national-anthem.html, retrieved February 10, 2011.

[3] Kirk, James G. “When We Gather, A Book of Prayers for Worship.” Louisville, KY: Geneva Press, 2001, page 33-34.

[4] Coffin, William Sloane, “The Collected Sermons of William Sloane Coffin, The Riverside Years.” Volume 2. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2008, page 312

[5] “The Book of Eli.” A Warner Brothers Movie, 2010.  The quote comes from the Internet Movie Database, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1037705/quotes, retrieved February 11, 2011