“THE TANGLES OF SIN – AND THE BEGINNING OF THEIR UNTANGLING”
Given Sunday, February 25th, 2007 at St. Mark’s Church, West Frankfort, IL; and at St. James’ Memorial Church, Marion, IL
Back when I was a young boy, I’d often get into a tough situation with my shoelaces. Many times, when I’d try to take my shoes off in the evening before bed, my laces would get tangled up in an awful mess….The more I tried to pull on an end here or there, the worse the tangled knot would get.
After I’d struggled with this mess for awhile, I’d call out to my mother, who would come in with a fork – the kind you eat with – and she’d take a tine of the fork and stick it into the tangled mass of laces, eventually working the knots out. (Did your mother ever do that with you? – It sure works!)
What had happened, of course, was that my shoe laces, instead of being joined together in a good knot, had gotten tangled into a bad sort of knot….In short, the good qualities of my laces (to be able to hold a knot) had turned into bad ones, and I was trapped in my shoes until my mother came and freed me from my predicament.
Shoelaces are like some of our basic human needs (let’s mention the ones that are central to our Gospel reading for today: food, and the ability to control our situation and to be safe from harm): they are necessary for holding things together…shoes (in the case of laces) and life itself (in the case of food and being able to be in control).
But each one can trap us, and each one can be an avenue through which their good qualities are turned into bad ones.
As I reflected this past week on today’s Gospel, Luke’s retelling of Jesus’ temptations in the wilderness, I was struck by the similarities between my being stuck inside my tangled shoelaces, and the sin that binds us….In each case, some way of getting free from the tangled mess is necessary to free us from the bondage we find ourselves in: we’ve just described how my mother freed me from my tangled laces, and in our Gospel reading today, Jesus begins the process of unraveling sin’s tangles that trap us, by overcoming the temptations that the devil presented to him.[1]
In order to see how Jesus’ victory over the devil frees us from the power of sin, let’s turn to Genesis 3:1–7 to see how the forces of evil got control over us human beings in the first place.
There are powerful connections between the appeals to human nature made by the serpent in Genesis, and the appeals the devil presented to Jesus in Luke 4.
Let’s look first at Genesis:
1. Food: In verse one, the serpent asks Eve, “did God really say, ‘ You must not eat of any tree in the garden?’” After an interchange with the serpent, we read that Eve “saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food, and pleasing to the eye” (verse six), and she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, and he ate it. Thus, the tangles of sin began their destructive reign over all the human race.
2. Power & control: Notice now in verse four, where the serpent says, “For God knows that when you eat of it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil”. And in the next verse, we are told that Eve “saw that the fruit of the tree was….also desirable for gaining wisdom.” (Wisdom and knowledge give us power, the power to control our lives and to avoid danger.)
3. Misuse of God’s word: Note also that the serpent misuses God’s words, casting doubt on the instructions about eating from the trees of the garden, and, in verse four, deliberately using God’s words to lead Eve to disobey God’s instructions.
Now, a remarkably similar pattern is used by the devil to tempt Jesus (Luke four):
1. Food: After 40 days in the wilderness (and, we might add, at the most vulnerable time for Jesus), the devil comes, tempting Jesus to turn a stone into a loaf of bread. (verse three)
2. Power and control: “To you I will give their (all the kingdoms of the world) glory and all this authority.” (verse five) and, a little later (verse nine), “Throw yourself down from here (the pinnacle of the Temple), for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you.’”
3. Misuse of God’s word: Having been rebuffed by Jesus twice, as Jesus uses Scripture to beat back the devil’s temptations,[2] the devil, on the third try, now uses the words of Holy Scripture to get his way,[3] misusing God’s word.
Jesus’ victory over the devil in the wilderness begins the process of freeing all humankind from the tangles of sin which have held all of us in their grip from Adam and Eve’s disobedience in the Garden of Eden until now. For Jesus turns back the devil’s power, like sticking a fork into a tangled mass of shoelaces, slowing but surely turning the tangled mess of our sins into freedom.
In order to free us from our sins, Jesus had to enter our human situation completely. Notice in our Gospel reading for today that He went into the wilderness, and ate nothing for 40 days. At the end of those 40 days, Luke tells us He was famished. Jesus entered our human situation, becoming vulnerable to the things that threaten us, like a lack of food and the dangers of the wilderness.
In so doing, Jesus is able to save us from the tangled effects of sin, for He completes the pattern that was established by Moses, and by the great prophets who would save God’s people again and again,[4] often doing so by going to the wilderness, where they would suffer from hunger and exposure to dangers of various kinds.
Jesus is able to free us because He inserted himself into our circumstances (like sticking the tine of a fork into a tangled mess of shoelaces in order to free up the tangles).
Jesus’ refutation of the devil’s temptations offers us an example to follow, and begins the process of freeing us from the devil’s power.
By His death and resurrection, Jesus completes the work of freeing us from our sins, by transferring us through the waters of Baptism into the kingdom of God.[5]
In their baptismal practices, the early Church dramatically demonstrated the process of dying to our old selves and the power of sin, and our rising to new life by the power of Jesus’ resurrection: Usually, baptisms were held outdoors near a stream or a body of water,[6] and those who were to be baptized would gather on one side of the water. Once they had entered the water, they were immersed completely, and then taken up out of the water, going to the other side. Once there, they were clothed in a white garment, which signified purity of life in Christ.[7] By going down into the water, rising up again, and leaving with a new identity (clothed in white) on the other side, they were dead to their former lives of sin, rising to new life in Christ.
But even though we’ve passed through the waters of baptism, we haven’t reached the other shore of life yet….we’re still living in this life. We haven’t passed over into life eternal, to be in God’s presence face-to-face, as yet.
So the forces of evil might still have some ways of getting us caught in their web….why? Because, oftentimes, our normal, human needs are the avenues that the forces of evil use to gain a foothold in our lives, to tangle us up in their power, things like: our need for friendship and human company, our natural desires for sexual expression, our need to be in control of our lives, and so forth.
Any of these and many more can be the avenues that allow access to our lives…the result can easily be very destructive.
So perhaps this Lent offers us the chance to take stock of our lives, to see the ways that our natural, normal, day-to-day activities, needs and desires can be used against us.
Maybe, this Lent, we can strengthen our defenses against the devil’s sneaky ways, by recognizing Jesus’ victorious example in His handling of the devil’s temptations, by claiming the power of Jesus’ death and resurrection, by reinforcing our devotion to Him through regular Bible study, more faithful church involvement and attendance, and by hanging around with other believers who claim that same sort of power for themselves.[8]
May God’s Holy Spirit grant us the ability to see and claim Jesus’ example for our own, and to live in the power of His death and resurrection, by which we are dead to the powers of sin.
AMEN.
[1] By the way, one good working definition of sin might be: “a good thing in our lives that the forces of evil use to gain entry into our lives, in order to gain control over us.”
[2] Jesus cites Deuteronomy 8:3, 6:13 and 6: 16 in His replies.
[3] The devil cites Psalm 91: 11 – 12.
[4] Luke’s portrayal of Jesus’ life and work is very much in the mold of Jesus as the great prophet, who completes the work of the long line of God’s prophets down through the ages.
[5] See Romans 6: 1 - 11 for St. Paul’s explanation of the effects of Baptism, through which we are buried with Christ in His death, and rise again, freed from sin and its effects.
[6] Remember, there were no church buildings as yet, with their baptismal fonts and so forth.
[7] From which we derive the white garment called an alb.
[8] One of the ways evil gains a foothold is to separate us one from another - notice how Eve was separated from Adam (who was with her during her temptation) by the serpent’s appeals – we become easier prey by being alone.
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Sunday, February 18, 2007
The Last Sunday after the Epiphany, Year C
"SNEAK PREVIEW"
Given at the Church of the Redeemer, Cairo, Illinois; Sunday, February 18th, 2007 (by Mrs. Deborah Tucker, Licensed Lay Worship Leader)
For seven years during my military career, it was my privilege to serve in an infantry unit of the 29th Division. At some of our reunion events, we would get the chance to meet some of the World War II veterans of the 29th, men who were in the first waves of troops to hit the shores of Omaha Beach on D Day, June 6th, 1944.
It was amazing to hear some of their stories of the events of that day…Oddly enough, among all the trials and troubles they endured that day in Normandy, some of those stories were funny ones: hard for me to fathom that men who lived through that “living hell” could remember anything funny about it at all.
But, of course, most of what they had endured was anything but funny: the task that was entrusted to them, and to which they were committed, was difficult, and frought with danger, death and personal sacrifice.
Often, when I would meet and chat with some of these folks, I used to wonder what difference it might have made if they had been able to watch a movie in their staging areas in England prior to making their way across the English Channel, a movie of the remainder of the war, and particularly of the conquering of the Third Reich and its eventual defeat just 11 months after D Day.
What difference would it have made to them as they got into the landing crafts to make their way toward the beach that June morning? What if they had known about the fall of Berlin, for example? Would that have made any difference to their confidence level, knowing “how it would all turn out?”
As I think about this morning’s Gospel reading, of Jesus’ Transfiguration on the mountain, there are strong parallels between the fictitious “sneak preview” I’ve outlined, and the Transfiguration….I suspect one reason that Jesus appeared to Peter, James and John that day, resplendent in bright light, was to give them a preview of His Resurrection.
Maybe Jesus wanted them to know “how it would all turn out”, when He would appear to them again, resplendent in bright light. Maybe He wanted to give them some assurance for the tough journey that lay ahead, to Jerusalem, to Good Friday and then to Easter Sunday.
Peter, James and John were in much the same boat as the World War II vets we met during our reunions….they were engaged in an enterprise that was far greater than their own personal interests. They were engaged in an enterprise that would present personal danger to them as they followed the roads that led them forward (remember that each of the original twelve disciples met a martyr’s death, all except one). And, there was probably a lot they didn’t understand at the time about their place in the cause for which they labored.
But, I suspect that each one looked back on the Transfiguration experience, once the Resurrection had taken place, to see the importance of Jesus’ appearance to them that day. And, once Jesus had been taken up into Heaven, and the victory that the Resurrection represents had been confirmed by the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the Disciples-now-become-Apostles, today’s Transfiguration experience probably served as a reference point for them, a time when they began to see the “bigger picture” for the first time.
But before we leave today’s event, let’s take a look at some of the important lessons Luke presents to us, and then we will apply those lessons to our situation today.
We should begin by remembering the setting of the Transfiguration….Luke tells us that Jesus had asked His Disciples, “who do the crowds say I am?” (Luke 9: 18). Following a summary of the responses that the Disciples had heard, Jesus then asks the Disciples directly, “but what about you, who do you say I am?” Peter blurts out, “you are the Christ of God!” (Luke 9: 20).
Peter’s affirmation is central to the next thing that Luke will narrate for us, for the Transfiguration is all about who Jesus is…..Notice that Jesus appears in a very similar state to His resurrected state, which Luke narrates by saying that the two men who stood next to the women who had come to the tomb on Easter morning shone “like lightening” (Luke 24: 4). Luke uses the same language to describe Jesus’ appearance on the holy mountain, that His clothes became like a flash of lightening.
Jesus’ identity is further underscored by the appearance of Moses, the great giver of the law (narrated in today’s reading from Exodus), and Elijah….In Malachi 4: 5, we read that God would send the great prophet Elijah “before the great and dreadful day of the Lord comes.” So, Moses and Elijah’s appearance seems to confirm two things: 1. that Jesus has come to inaugurate a new covenant, and 2. that the “day of the Lord” had arrived.
Furthermore, Jesus’ identity is confirmed by the voice that the Disciples heard that day, saying “this is my Son, whom I have chosen, listen to him.” That same confirmation was heard at Jesus’ baptism, as the voice came from heaven, saying, “You are my Son, whom I love, with you I am well pleased.”
Now, let’s look at the other side of the situation, that of the response of the Disciples, and particularly at Peter’s response….
“Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters, one for you one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” (Luke then goes on to say that Peter “did not know what he was saying”.)
Peter’s response, at first, might seem puzzling….But, the more I think about it, maybe what Peter was trying to do was to create a memorial, a monument, to the tremendous event that had occurred that day on the mountaintop.
But note that Jesus does not answer Peter’s suggestion, at least not directly…
For the voice from the cloud provides the answer: “this is my Son, whom I have chosen, listen to him.”…
If Peter’s monument represented the significance of the Transfiguration, then its significance would remain in the past, much like a battlefield monument, which points backward at the events it marks.
But the importance of the Transfiguration lies in its foreshadowing of the Resurrection, which is the supreme victory over death, sin and the forces of evil in the world.
Like the significance of D Day (returning to our opening example), the meaning and importance of D Day cannot be understood to be only in the past, June 6th, 1944, but in the victory over the forces of evil that were loose in that time, and for the freedoms that we enjoy as a result of the sacrifices that the men who hit the Normandy beaches made.
Jesus’ resurrection, of which the Disciples got a sneak preview at the Transfiguration, finds its importance not in the historical fact of His rising from the dead on Easter morning. No, it finds its importance in the victory over the forces of evil that allow us to have spiritual freedom today, and for all eternity.
The monument to Jesus’ Resurrection, and to the Transfiguration that preceeded it, is found in our lives, as we create shelter for Him in our hearts. For the battle is joined with evil principally in the hearts of people, individual people who need to know “how it’s all going to turn out” in order to have the strength to follow the Lord all the way to Jerusalem, to Good Friday, and to Easter morning.
AMEN.
Given at the Church of the Redeemer, Cairo, Illinois; Sunday, February 18th, 2007 (by Mrs. Deborah Tucker, Licensed Lay Worship Leader)
For seven years during my military career, it was my privilege to serve in an infantry unit of the 29th Division. At some of our reunion events, we would get the chance to meet some of the World War II veterans of the 29th, men who were in the first waves of troops to hit the shores of Omaha Beach on D Day, June 6th, 1944.
It was amazing to hear some of their stories of the events of that day…Oddly enough, among all the trials and troubles they endured that day in Normandy, some of those stories were funny ones: hard for me to fathom that men who lived through that “living hell” could remember anything funny about it at all.
But, of course, most of what they had endured was anything but funny: the task that was entrusted to them, and to which they were committed, was difficult, and frought with danger, death and personal sacrifice.
Often, when I would meet and chat with some of these folks, I used to wonder what difference it might have made if they had been able to watch a movie in their staging areas in England prior to making their way across the English Channel, a movie of the remainder of the war, and particularly of the conquering of the Third Reich and its eventual defeat just 11 months after D Day.
What difference would it have made to them as they got into the landing crafts to make their way toward the beach that June morning? What if they had known about the fall of Berlin, for example? Would that have made any difference to their confidence level, knowing “how it would all turn out?”
As I think about this morning’s Gospel reading, of Jesus’ Transfiguration on the mountain, there are strong parallels between the fictitious “sneak preview” I’ve outlined, and the Transfiguration….I suspect one reason that Jesus appeared to Peter, James and John that day, resplendent in bright light, was to give them a preview of His Resurrection.
Maybe Jesus wanted them to know “how it would all turn out”, when He would appear to them again, resplendent in bright light. Maybe He wanted to give them some assurance for the tough journey that lay ahead, to Jerusalem, to Good Friday and then to Easter Sunday.
Peter, James and John were in much the same boat as the World War II vets we met during our reunions….they were engaged in an enterprise that was far greater than their own personal interests. They were engaged in an enterprise that would present personal danger to them as they followed the roads that led them forward (remember that each of the original twelve disciples met a martyr’s death, all except one). And, there was probably a lot they didn’t understand at the time about their place in the cause for which they labored.
But, I suspect that each one looked back on the Transfiguration experience, once the Resurrection had taken place, to see the importance of Jesus’ appearance to them that day. And, once Jesus had been taken up into Heaven, and the victory that the Resurrection represents had been confirmed by the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the Disciples-now-become-Apostles, today’s Transfiguration experience probably served as a reference point for them, a time when they began to see the “bigger picture” for the first time.
But before we leave today’s event, let’s take a look at some of the important lessons Luke presents to us, and then we will apply those lessons to our situation today.
We should begin by remembering the setting of the Transfiguration….Luke tells us that Jesus had asked His Disciples, “who do the crowds say I am?” (Luke 9: 18). Following a summary of the responses that the Disciples had heard, Jesus then asks the Disciples directly, “but what about you, who do you say I am?” Peter blurts out, “you are the Christ of God!” (Luke 9: 20).
Peter’s affirmation is central to the next thing that Luke will narrate for us, for the Transfiguration is all about who Jesus is…..Notice that Jesus appears in a very similar state to His resurrected state, which Luke narrates by saying that the two men who stood next to the women who had come to the tomb on Easter morning shone “like lightening” (Luke 24: 4). Luke uses the same language to describe Jesus’ appearance on the holy mountain, that His clothes became like a flash of lightening.
Jesus’ identity is further underscored by the appearance of Moses, the great giver of the law (narrated in today’s reading from Exodus), and Elijah….In Malachi 4: 5, we read that God would send the great prophet Elijah “before the great and dreadful day of the Lord comes.” So, Moses and Elijah’s appearance seems to confirm two things: 1. that Jesus has come to inaugurate a new covenant, and 2. that the “day of the Lord” had arrived.
Furthermore, Jesus’ identity is confirmed by the voice that the Disciples heard that day, saying “this is my Son, whom I have chosen, listen to him.” That same confirmation was heard at Jesus’ baptism, as the voice came from heaven, saying, “You are my Son, whom I love, with you I am well pleased.”
Now, let’s look at the other side of the situation, that of the response of the Disciples, and particularly at Peter’s response….
“Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters, one for you one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” (Luke then goes on to say that Peter “did not know what he was saying”.)
Peter’s response, at first, might seem puzzling….But, the more I think about it, maybe what Peter was trying to do was to create a memorial, a monument, to the tremendous event that had occurred that day on the mountaintop.
But note that Jesus does not answer Peter’s suggestion, at least not directly…
For the voice from the cloud provides the answer: “this is my Son, whom I have chosen, listen to him.”…
If Peter’s monument represented the significance of the Transfiguration, then its significance would remain in the past, much like a battlefield monument, which points backward at the events it marks.
But the importance of the Transfiguration lies in its foreshadowing of the Resurrection, which is the supreme victory over death, sin and the forces of evil in the world.
Like the significance of D Day (returning to our opening example), the meaning and importance of D Day cannot be understood to be only in the past, June 6th, 1944, but in the victory over the forces of evil that were loose in that time, and for the freedoms that we enjoy as a result of the sacrifices that the men who hit the Normandy beaches made.
Jesus’ resurrection, of which the Disciples got a sneak preview at the Transfiguration, finds its importance not in the historical fact of His rising from the dead on Easter morning. No, it finds its importance in the victory over the forces of evil that allow us to have spiritual freedom today, and for all eternity.
The monument to Jesus’ Resurrection, and to the Transfiguration that preceeded it, is found in our lives, as we create shelter for Him in our hearts. For the battle is joined with evil principally in the hearts of people, individual people who need to know “how it’s all going to turn out” in order to have the strength to follow the Lord all the way to Jerusalem, to Good Friday, and to Easter morning.
AMEN.
Sunday, February 11, 2007
6 Epiphany, Year C
"LOOK AROUND"
Given at St. Mark’s Church, West Frankfort, IL; and at St. James’ Memorial Church, Marion, IL.
Our two Cocker Spaniels, Phoebe and Zoe, have been the source of many sermon illustrations….they are, after all, possessed of colorful personalities, and, they are all dog!
But beyond their “canine-ness”, they also exhibit some behavior that is remarkably like us human beings, and so, they are a good source for object lessons.
Today’s object lesson comes from the time when they have something afflicting them (like an itch), or when they are wallowing in pleasure (like when they’re taking a nap, or eating a Busy Bone).
Whenever they are afflicted with an itch, their little hind legs go 90 miles an hour, as they stretch their heads to one side, trying to get at that itch…Whenever this happens, it’s impossible for Deb or I to get their attention….impossible!
By the same token (and especially right after they’ve finished their morning walk), whenever their tummies are full, or they’ve just done of their favorite things, they will often lay down on the sofa, on their backs, all four paws going in four different directions, and for good measure, their tongues will hang out of their mouths as they snore the morning away. Trying to get their attention whenever they’re well fed or well exercised is also futile.
The point of both of these illustrations (and the thesis of this sermon) is to say that our circumstances can get the best of us, making it impossible to see anything else or anyone else, especially God.
For our worries and woes consume us, while our joys and pleasures blind us.
Hold those two themes in your minds for a moment, as we turn to the Gospel reading for today, Luke’s account of Jesus’ teaching often nicknamed the “Sermon on the Plain”. [1]
[1] Matthew’s Gospel account places Jesus’ teaching on a mountain, but Luke relates that Jesus went to a mountainside to pray (Luke 6: 12), but then descended to a level place to do his teaching. At the traditional site for this event, located on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee, there is a level place which is bounded on the north side by a sizeable hillside.
[2] Luke includes Matthew’s first, second, fourth and ninth Beatitude.
[3] Luke 16: 19 - 31
[4] By the way, in our Rite I Service of Holy Communion, we find an allusion to this parable in the Prayer of Humble Access (BCP, p. 337), “We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under thy table….”
Given at St. Mark’s Church, West Frankfort, IL; and at St. James’ Memorial Church, Marion, IL.
Our two Cocker Spaniels, Phoebe and Zoe, have been the source of many sermon illustrations….they are, after all, possessed of colorful personalities, and, they are all dog!
But beyond their “canine-ness”, they also exhibit some behavior that is remarkably like us human beings, and so, they are a good source for object lessons.
Today’s object lesson comes from the time when they have something afflicting them (like an itch), or when they are wallowing in pleasure (like when they’re taking a nap, or eating a Busy Bone).
Whenever they are afflicted with an itch, their little hind legs go 90 miles an hour, as they stretch their heads to one side, trying to get at that itch…Whenever this happens, it’s impossible for Deb or I to get their attention….impossible!
By the same token (and especially right after they’ve finished their morning walk), whenever their tummies are full, or they’ve just done of their favorite things, they will often lay down on the sofa, on their backs, all four paws going in four different directions, and for good measure, their tongues will hang out of their mouths as they snore the morning away. Trying to get their attention whenever they’re well fed or well exercised is also futile.
The point of both of these illustrations (and the thesis of this sermon) is to say that our circumstances can get the best of us, making it impossible to see anything else or anyone else, especially God.
For our worries and woes consume us, while our joys and pleasures blind us.
Hold those two themes in your minds for a moment, as we turn to the Gospel reading for today, Luke’s account of Jesus’ teaching often nicknamed the “Sermon on the Plain”. [1]
Luke’s report of the Beatitudes (also recorded in Matthew 5: 3 – 12) – so-called because they start with the word “blessed” - differs significantly from the list we find in Matthew, in the following ways:
- Luke's account contains only four of Matthew's nine Beatitudes. [2]
- Luke's account also contains corresponding "woes", which Matthew omits.
- Luke’s four “blessings” are matched exactly by the four “woes”.
- The first and last “blessing” and “woe” are in the present verb tense.
- The second and third “blessing” and “woe” are in the future verb tense.
- The “woes” reverse the situation described in the “blessings”.
Looking a little further, we also see that Luke’s concern isn’t spiritual, but physical, here and now….Note the changes from Matthew to Luke:
Matthew
Blessed are the poor in spirit ...
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness ...
Luke
Blessed are you who are poor ...
Blessed are you who hunger now ...
Luke’s concern is with the here and now, this present life, not with the realm of the spirit….that is Matthew’s concern.
Luke’s concern extends from the here and now into the future…I think that’s the importance of the present tense, leading into the future tense of the verbs….Luke is trying to tell us that God’s blessings (as well as the warnings that the woes represent) are present with us, here and now, but that they extend into the future time, into the coming of the Kingdom of God.
Let’s return now to the image we began with: our worries and woes consume us, while our joys and pleasures blind us…
Both our woes and our blessings isolate us from each other, and from God….
How did the early Church overcome this isolation? How were the poor enabled to inherit the Kingdom of God? How were the hungry fed, or those who wept enabled to laugh?
I think Luke provides and answer for us, as he records in the Book of Acts (4: 32 - 35) that the early Church pooled all of their resources, selling lands and good that they owned, and giving the proceeds to the Apostles to use in meeting the needs of the Church. Luke tells us that there were “no needy persons among them.”
And we know, from St. Paul’s description of the Church, that there were rich and poor, slave and free persons, in the Church. In I Corinthians 1: 26, he writes, “Brothers, think of what you were when you were called (into Christ’s fellowship). Not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were influential, not many were of noble birth.” Paul paints a picture of the early Church in which very few were wealthy or of high standing….Yet all sat, men and women, rich and poor, noble and slave, side-by-side in their worship, calling each other “brothers and sisters in the Lord”. To the stratified Greco-Roman world, this was a scandal, and it eventually led to trouble for the body of believers…The early Church’s behavior posed a threat to the established order, even as Jesus’ teaching poses a threat to the “way things are”. For their extreme egalitarianism, the early Church was cast out of society, bringing to reality the blessing that would rest upon those who were cast out “because of the Son of Man”.
Our worries and woes consume us, forcing our attention onto our problems and our predicaments….We find it impossible to focus on much else, at times (remember the illustration of the Cocker Spaniel, chasing that itch!). Our worries and our woes isolate us from other people, and often, also from God. We are alone, we believe, in our needs and in our misery.
By the same token, our need for material things, for food, for the ability to laugh and to be well-thought-of by others, can blind us to the needs of others, and to the presence of God. We may be tempted to think that we are “self-made” persons, forgetting God’s graciousness in the giving of the talents and gifts that enabled the joys we have to be ours in the first place.
Moreover (and this is a key concern of Luke’s, found throughout his Gospel account), the rich may neglect the needs of the poor: remember the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus
[3] … Lazarus longed to scrape up the scraps of food that fell from the rich man’s table, [4] but the rich man ignored the needs of Lazarus. So, in keeping with the Beatitudes we hear today, the rich man and Lazarus traded places once their lives on this earth had ended….their roles were reversed.
We in the Church today do not share all of our possessions in common….But how might we “live out” the Gospel in a way that honors the early Church’s example?
- Might we contribute to the feeding of the poor in our communities through soup kitchens (volunteering and donating food), or to food drives that benefit food pantries? That surely would help to alleviate the lack of food this is a concern for so many in our communities….In so doing, we might remind those we are helping that we are God’s hands “to do”.
- Perhaps we could comfort those who mourn…I think especially of those who mourn the loss of independence and freedom that living in a nursing home face….A visit from us, a little time spent chatting or reading the Bible, might cheer them up a lot and serve to break down their walls of isolation a little. Our hearts can be God’s heart “to love”.
In so doing, we might be reminded of the lessons that today’s “woes” represent to us: we could, by a change in circumstances, find ourselves in need, in deep emotional distress, or hungry.
May God’s Holy Spirit awaken us to see beyond our needs and our blessings, and, like the early Church, serve to put our blessings to work for meeting the needs of others.
AMEN.
[1] Matthew’s Gospel account places Jesus’ teaching on a mountain, but Luke relates that Jesus went to a mountainside to pray (Luke 6: 12), but then descended to a level place to do his teaching. At the traditional site for this event, located on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee, there is a level place which is bounded on the north side by a sizeable hillside.
[2] Luke includes Matthew’s first, second, fourth and ninth Beatitude.
[3] Luke 16: 19 - 31
[4] By the way, in our Rite I Service of Holy Communion, we find an allusion to this parable in the Prayer of Humble Access (BCP, p. 337), “We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under thy table….”
Sunday, February 04, 2007
5 Epiphany, Year C
“TESTING, TESTING, TESTING”
Given at St. Stephen’s Church, Harrisburg, Illinois
“Put out into the deep water, and let down the nets for a catch,” Jesus said to Simon Peter…
“Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything….” Simon answered.
If I were doing a modern (a very modern) paraphrase of this exchange between Our Lord and Simon Peter, or if I were giving this section a title, I’d probably say something like, “Simon Peter gets a test”.
Testing is a part of our lives…we test everything, whether we know it or not: we test the chair we’re about to sit in, glancing at it to see if the seat seems solid, not broken or sagging….Our mechanic, after he or she gets through installing a new water pump on our car, tests that new pump to make sure it isn’t leaking…..We wouldn’t make it through school without a whole bunch of tests, of one sort or another.
Tests have a definite purpose: for one thing, they ensure that something we are about to use meets a certain standard so that we can trust using it…..think of the example of the chair: we want to know that it meets a certain standard of construction and of good repair, so that we can sit in it.
Another purpose of a test is to see if a person is trustworthy, perhaps to see if they know enough, or have the right skills, to take a certain position (think of the old typing tests that people used to take in order to be a secretary, for example).
Tests can also be used to see if a person is willing to obey someone, as when an order is given to do something.
I suspect that our Gospel story for today is in this last category: Jesus is testing Simon Peter to see if he will obey the Lord, perhaps to see if he will be able to meet the tests that will come along as Simon becomes Peter, and Apostle of the Lord….
Today’s encounter, recorded by Luke, has a lot of similarities to two earlier incidents that Jesus cited in our reading for last Sunday, from Luke 4: 21 – 32….
To set the stage for today’s reading, let’s remember the two Old Testament stories that Jesus used to remind His hearers in the synagogue at Nazareth about tests, from last week:
The first story [1]was about the widow of Zaraphath, in the Gentile region of Sidon (located in modern Lebanon)….The widow was tested by the prophet Elijah, who asked her for a cake of bread. Remember that the widow told Elijah that she and her son had just enough meal left to make one cake, after which they were going to sit down and wait for death. Elijah then asked the widow a second time to bring him a cake, and she did so, in faith. The widow woman passed the test of her faith, which was posed to her by Elijah. As a result, the widow’s supply of meal did not run out all the time that Elijah stayed with her, until the end of the famine that plagued Israel.
The second story[2] involved a Syrian general named Naaman. Naaman, despite his success in battle, was plagued by leprosy. When a captured Israelite servant girl suggests that the prophet Elisha could heal him, Naaman seeks Elisha out. As Elisha tells Naaman that he must go and bathe in the Jordan River seven times, Naaman objects, asking Elisha, “don’t we have better rivers in Damascus than you do here in Israel?” The direction is repeated, and Naaman goes and does as Elisha has directed him, and is healed as a result.
These two stories have a similar pattern, each of which involves a test of the person’s faith. The pattern is:
“Put out into the deep water, and let down the nets for a catch,” Jesus said to Simon Peter…
“Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything….” Simon answered.
If I were doing a modern (a very modern) paraphrase of this exchange between Our Lord and Simon Peter, or if I were giving this section a title, I’d probably say something like, “Simon Peter gets a test”.
Testing is a part of our lives…we test everything, whether we know it or not: we test the chair we’re about to sit in, glancing at it to see if the seat seems solid, not broken or sagging….Our mechanic, after he or she gets through installing a new water pump on our car, tests that new pump to make sure it isn’t leaking…..We wouldn’t make it through school without a whole bunch of tests, of one sort or another.
Tests have a definite purpose: for one thing, they ensure that something we are about to use meets a certain standard so that we can trust using it…..think of the example of the chair: we want to know that it meets a certain standard of construction and of good repair, so that we can sit in it.
Another purpose of a test is to see if a person is trustworthy, perhaps to see if they know enough, or have the right skills, to take a certain position (think of the old typing tests that people used to take in order to be a secretary, for example).
Tests can also be used to see if a person is willing to obey someone, as when an order is given to do something.
I suspect that our Gospel story for today is in this last category: Jesus is testing Simon Peter to see if he will obey the Lord, perhaps to see if he will be able to meet the tests that will come along as Simon becomes Peter, and Apostle of the Lord….
Today’s encounter, recorded by Luke, has a lot of similarities to two earlier incidents that Jesus cited in our reading for last Sunday, from Luke 4: 21 – 32….
To set the stage for today’s reading, let’s remember the two Old Testament stories that Jesus used to remind His hearers in the synagogue at Nazareth about tests, from last week:
The first story [1]was about the widow of Zaraphath, in the Gentile region of Sidon (located in modern Lebanon)….The widow was tested by the prophet Elijah, who asked her for a cake of bread. Remember that the widow told Elijah that she and her son had just enough meal left to make one cake, after which they were going to sit down and wait for death. Elijah then asked the widow a second time to bring him a cake, and she did so, in faith. The widow woman passed the test of her faith, which was posed to her by Elijah. As a result, the widow’s supply of meal did not run out all the time that Elijah stayed with her, until the end of the famine that plagued Israel.
The second story[2] involved a Syrian general named Naaman. Naaman, despite his success in battle, was plagued by leprosy. When a captured Israelite servant girl suggests that the prophet Elisha could heal him, Naaman seeks Elisha out. As Elisha tells Naaman that he must go and bathe in the Jordan River seven times, Naaman objects, asking Elisha, “don’t we have better rivers in Damascus than you do here in Israel?” The direction is repeated, and Naaman goes and does as Elisha has directed him, and is healed as a result.
These two stories have a similar pattern, each of which involves a test of the person’s faith. The pattern is:
- A personal need
- A direction from the prophet
- An objection to the direction
- Obedience – and an answer to the need
The same pattern is present in today’s reading: Simon has a need (no fish) – Jesus offers a direction (“put out into the deep water and let down the nets for a catch”) – Simon objects (“Master, we’ve worked hard all night, and haven’t caught anything”) – obedience – an answer to the need (there were so many fish that Simon had to ask for additional help).
Now, it’s interesting to note that this test occurs immediately following the call of these first disciples, including Simon.
Testing was a part of the disciples’ training…Think about the many times Jesus would ask them, “have you understood all this?”, for example.
The tests would continue, and would intensify, once Jesus had been arrested (think of Simon Peter’s own response to Jesus’ arrest: he drew out a sword and cut off the ear of one of the High Priest’s servants).[3] A little later, Simon Peter would deny that he knew the Lord three times.
For each of the disciples, once they had become Apostles and had been sent out in the Lord’s name following Jesus’ Resurrection and His Ascension into heaven, testing would continue as they preached the Good News of salvation in Jesus Christ, ending in the ultimate test, their martyrdoms for the faith they proclaimed.[4]
Do we think that we will be tested by God? If so, how are we tested?
I think that the Scriptures make clear that testing is part of having faith, just as it was for Simon Peter in today’s Gospel reading….Consider what we read in James 1: 2 – 3: “consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.” And a few verses later (verse 12), we read, “Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.”
Testing is a part of faith.
How are we tested?
I think the answers to that are many and are varied…Whenever we’re asked to deviate from the standards that we know God has set for His faithful people to abide by, we are tested to see if we will stray from those precepts.
All testing involves meeting a standard….Think of the example we began with, that of the chair: there are certain standards for a chair, which, if we are going to make use of that chair, it will have to meet.
The same is true of Our Lord’s followers: there is a standard which God, in Christ, asks us to meet.
In order to meet that standard, it’s necessary for us to put ourselves alongside that standard, to see if we measure up (again, remember the example of the chair).
Just living life, being alive in the 21st century, will present many opportunities to make a choice to be cognizant of God’s will for us, or to respond to the world’s “siren song” of choices that the pagan culture around us offers.
But there are two specific standards which our weekly gathering for worship together offers us as opportunities to see God’s standards clearly, put ourselves alongside God’s standards:
Now, it’s interesting to note that this test occurs immediately following the call of these first disciples, including Simon.
Testing was a part of the disciples’ training…Think about the many times Jesus would ask them, “have you understood all this?”, for example.
The tests would continue, and would intensify, once Jesus had been arrested (think of Simon Peter’s own response to Jesus’ arrest: he drew out a sword and cut off the ear of one of the High Priest’s servants).[3] A little later, Simon Peter would deny that he knew the Lord three times.
For each of the disciples, once they had become Apostles and had been sent out in the Lord’s name following Jesus’ Resurrection and His Ascension into heaven, testing would continue as they preached the Good News of salvation in Jesus Christ, ending in the ultimate test, their martyrdoms for the faith they proclaimed.[4]
Do we think that we will be tested by God? If so, how are we tested?
I think that the Scriptures make clear that testing is part of having faith, just as it was for Simon Peter in today’s Gospel reading….Consider what we read in James 1: 2 – 3: “consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.” And a few verses later (verse 12), we read, “Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.”
Testing is a part of faith.
How are we tested?
I think the answers to that are many and are varied…Whenever we’re asked to deviate from the standards that we know God has set for His faithful people to abide by, we are tested to see if we will stray from those precepts.
All testing involves meeting a standard….Think of the example we began with, that of the chair: there are certain standards for a chair, which, if we are going to make use of that chair, it will have to meet.
The same is true of Our Lord’s followers: there is a standard which God, in Christ, asks us to meet.
In order to meet that standard, it’s necessary for us to put ourselves alongside that standard, to see if we measure up (again, remember the example of the chair).
Just living life, being alive in the 21st century, will present many opportunities to make a choice to be cognizant of God’s will for us, or to respond to the world’s “siren song” of choices that the pagan culture around us offers.
But there are two specific standards which our weekly gathering for worship together offers us as opportunities to see God’s standards clearly, put ourselves alongside God’s standards:
- Testament, and a Gospel reading, interspersed with a selection from the Psalms. “God’s word written”, Holy Scripture, offers us the chance to compare God’s revealed will for human beings, and in the hearing, offers us a chance to compare our faith, our behaviors, and our attitudes, to what we know about God….We set ourselves alongside the Divine standard that Holy Scripture presents us.
- The Holy Eucharist: Each week, as we approach this altar, we are brought face-to-face with the holiness of Jesus Christ, present in the Sacrament. Perhaps the contrast between Jesus’ holiness and our unholiness ought to make us more than a little uncomfortable….Maybe the confession that we say before the passing of The Peace and the Offertory ought to be taken a little more seriously….Perhaps our prayer might be more fervent that the holiness of Jesus Christ would become more and more a part of our bodies, our minds, and our spirits, as we feed upon him spiritually and actually, week by week.
“Put out into the deep water, and let down the nets for a catch”, Jesus said to Simon Peter.
“Put out into the deep waters of life, endure the test, and prepare for rich blessings” Jesus might be saying to us today.
“Master, we’ve worked hard all night, and haven’t caught anything”, Simon said in reply.
“But Lord, we’ve gotten nowhere fast to this point” we say, “and have little to show for our efforts.”
The Lord tests those He loves, proving them to be trustworthy for the blessings He bestows, provided we are faithful.
AMEN.
[1] This story is found in I Kings 17: 1 – 15.
[2] Found in II Kings 5: 1 - 14
[3] It is John who tells which one of the disciples it was who drew the sword (John 18: 10).
[4] Tradition tells us that all but one of the Apostles suffered a martyr’s death.
“Put out into the deep waters of life, endure the test, and prepare for rich blessings” Jesus might be saying to us today.
“Master, we’ve worked hard all night, and haven’t caught anything”, Simon said in reply.
“But Lord, we’ve gotten nowhere fast to this point” we say, “and have little to show for our efforts.”
The Lord tests those He loves, proving them to be trustworthy for the blessings He bestows, provided we are faithful.
AMEN.
[1] This story is found in I Kings 17: 1 – 15.
[2] Found in II Kings 5: 1 - 14
[3] It is John who tells which one of the disciples it was who drew the sword (John 18: 10).
[4] Tradition tells us that all but one of the Apostles suffered a martyr’s death.
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