|
Sunday Sermon Readings: Psalm 119: 33 – 40
33
Teach me, O LORD, to follow your decrees; Lev 19: 1 – 2, 9 – 18 1 The LORD said to Moses, 2 “Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: ‘Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy. 9 “‘When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. 10 Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the alien. I am the LORD your God. 11 “‘Do not steal. “‘Do not lie. “‘Do not deceive one another. 12 “‘Do not swear falsely by my name and so profane the name of your God. I am the LORD. 13 “‘Do not defraud your neighbor or rob him. “‘Do not hold back the wages of a hired man overnight. 14 “‘Do not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block in front of the blind, but fear your God. I am the LORD. 15 “‘Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly. 16 “‘Do not go about spreading slander among your people. “‘Do not do anything that endangers your neighbor’s life. I am the LORD. 17 “‘Do not hate your brother in your heart. Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in his guilt.
18
“‘Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love
your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD. 1 Cor 3: 10 – 11, 16 – 23 10 By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. 11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. 16 Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? 17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is sacred, and you are that temple. 18 Do not deceive yourselves. If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a “fool” so that he may become wise. 19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness”[a]; 20 and again, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.”[b] 21 So then, no more boasting about men! All things are yours, 22 whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas[c] or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, 23 and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God. Matt 5: 38 – 48 An Eye for an Eye 38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’[g] 39 But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40 And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. 41 If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. 42 Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. Love for Enemies 43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor[h] and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you: Love your enemies[i] and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
· Thank you for the warm welcome. It’s great to finally be here. · Thank you especially to those of you who worked on preparing the vicarage. It was a tad strange arriving for a meeting with Charmaine and seeing Murray working on what was once his home for many years · These sorts of actions speak louder than words and Faith and I feel wonderfully welcomed by you all One of the joys of being Christian is that we don’t treat one another as expected. We can’t get away from the fact that one of the distinguishing marks of Christians is that we are different. Our Leviticus reading tells us that we are to be holy 1 The LORD said to Moses, 2 “Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: ‘Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy. “I’m different from the gods of Canaan, and you’re to be different from the people of Canaan. Eventually you, my people, are going to bring the light to the Gentiles. You’ve got to live like me.” is largely what God was saying to the Israelites. We’ve probably all been taught at some stage that the meaning of the word ‘holy’ is set apart – much as a vessel in the Old Testament temple was set apart for sacred use. We are set apart for God’s particular use and purposes. It’s important we understand that. It gives meaning to God’s selection policy. We’re on the team for a reason. Our 1 Corinthians reading tells us we’re God’s temple and it is sacred – for the use of God. for God’s temple is sacred, and you are that temple. It doesn’t mean we’re perfect in all we think and do, but it does mean we’ve enlisted. We bear the distinguishing characteristics. We are believers set apart for God’s purposes. And this being set apart refers not to being separated from people. Quite the reverse. We engage with people. It’s about being separated from the spirit of the age we live in, a spirit that so easily and languidly draws one in if one is not watchful! We also can’t escape the fact that somehow this difference is expressed in what one might call (and this is a most unfashionable term) holy living. Quite a lot is expected of us. Even a cursory reading of the gospel passage leaves us in no doubt that our lives don’t stack up. With the best will in the world we don’t: · When someone hits us on one cheek, turn the other for them to hit too · Give to ANYONE who asks for something, and MORE than they ask for · When someone forces us to do something, do twice as much as we’re commanded to do · Love our enemies We all, if we’re honest, read these verses and ignore them. I mean do you even TRY to follow these to the letter? I can’t say that I do. So what’s going on here? God knows how we respond and knows what we’re capable of. What’s the purpose of Jesus saying these things? There’s a wise saying which goes like this: “You need to seek the truth before you realise that the truth is seeking you.” And so it is with the holy life. The holy life seeks us. When we’re prepared to receive it, it comes in the form of a person: Jesus. It’s not all about us trying to please God. It’s about us receiving the God who seeks us. It’s about being set apart for his use. God is trying a lot harder than we are!
48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. For whom do you wish perfection? Who is it you would like to be perfect? (Aside from your husband or wife, that is!) :o) There’s a clue in the Gospel reading: 44 But I tell you: Love your enemies[i] and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. There’s “a parent-child thing happening here.” Surely the person/s you probably love more than anyone else, and for whom you wish all that is best, is your child! So let’s take hold of some hope when God commands us to be perfect. Let’s take that as a sign of God’s love towards us being of such a nature that he wishes for us nothing short of perfection. “Okay”, you might say, “so you say God wants the best for us. That’s hopeful. I’m on God’s team. But I still feel condemned by this reading. Jesus’ words are pretty plain. These are impossible standards to live up to.” Yes, they are. As one Jewish Rabbi reputedly said, “Oi vei, Lord! It’s not easy being the chosen people! Don’t You want to choose someone else for a while?” No, it’s not easy. And the reason for that is we have traditionally had 2 differing responses to the apparently impossible demands of God. We tend either to:
OR
Both responses attempt to appease our consciences without Christ. Both essentially say, I can carry on with my life as it is, a few tweaks here and there. I determine what and how I manage my life. I DON’T HAVE TO BE DIFFERENT!! We hate being different! You want to try wearing this collar around town! I don’t enjoy it, but I force myself to do so because it’s a constant reminder that as a Christian, I am called to be different. But it’s only a reminder. The real difference God is looking for is internal. So how do we internalize the Law? How do we live holy lives? You know Paul has some interesting perspectives on the Law. Here are 4 things he says about it:
And unsurprisingly he says
The demands of the Law may be good (it’s a good thing to love your neighbour) + the Law may be perfect but it’s a perfection we can’t attain on our own. We do that by living a life of faith in Christ. We are driven to relationship – and in order to relate with Christ we need to change (TO BE DIFFERENT) to be set apart from the multitude of things that claim our allegiance and let Him in. In the reading from the Psalm set for today (Psalm 119: 33-40) the psalmist reveals a desperate love of God’s ways and yet finally exclaims, “Renew my life in your righteousness!” It’s only by God renewing our lives in HIS righteousness that we can hope to approach anything like the good life. In surrendering our lives to Christ, His righteousness becomes ours. It’s God who imparts that righteousness to us (and it may or may not result in a so-called holy life) but it does mean being SET APART - being DIFFERENT from the world. For when we are worldly we either: IGNORE the demands of God – OR- we TRY to live them in our own strength. It’s not WHAT we are it’s WHERE we are. It’s not how holy we are it’s whether we’re in a position to be useful to God. God is less interested in ability than he is in availability. Now here’s the thing (and I want to conclude with this) : The scriptures tell us the Israelites could not enter the Promised Land because of their unbelief. Not their fear, not their laziness, not a preference for life in Egypt. UNBELIEF. Earlier I mentioned that a characteristic of the licentious life was a creeping compromise and spiritual inertia. The core reason why that happens is UNBELIEF. We begin to lose our belief that God cares about these things. We dislike being set apart because it means giving control to God. We dislike being different because we really aren’t that convinced that there is any tangible spiritual reward that goes hand in hand with the effort. In essence, OUR LOVE FOR CHRIST GROWS COLD. As we approach this time of Lent, let’s allow God’s word to challenge our lukewarmness. Let’s take advantage of the penitential practices and attitudes that go with Lent to allow the Holy Spirit to examine our spiritual condition. And let us take the appropriate steps to warm to the love of God. I’m going to put it right out there and tell it like it is. Satan’s smart weapon is to convince God’s people that life with God is unpleasant: that it’s far more pleasant to take a selfish approach to life. Let’s be prepared to examine ourselves as to what degree we’ve taken that lie on board. Jesus promises us abundant life: blessings “pressed down shaken together and running over”. Not an easy life. The cross kills our self-centredness. But an abundant life – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. DARE TO BE DIFFERENT! Dare to set yourself apart from the spirit of the age, and embrace all God has for you, for He rewards those who diligently seek Him. Amen. |
