Sermon for ordination application

Matthew 5:1-12

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak and taught them saying: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called children of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

I’ve struggled with the beatitudes for a long time. I’ve never really liked them, actually, because I’ve always heard them in a negative light. They’ve sounded like an endorsement of suffering and for me that was illogical in light of who God is. Blessed are the poor in spirit, the hungry, the bereaved. Blessed? That doesn’t make sense. I wouldn’t consider those blessings. When I mourn or hunger or am in a spiritual desert, my first thought is not: “Boy! Look how God has blessed me!” Those are the times I pray God would bless me. I pray for something different, not for suffering.

To state it simply: the beatitudes aggravate me!

The beatitudes have always seemed to promote oppression and push for complacency about undesirable things. If the poor are blessed, then they should want to stay poor, and the rich should want to be poor. If the hungry are blessed, then we have no need to give them food. The beatitudes seem to subjugate the weak and free the strong from any responsibility in making a difference. I’m not ok with that. That’s not the Gospel I know. That’s not the freedom and equality I’ve heard Jesus preach.

So, as you can imagine, the thought of preaching them didn’t exactly thrill me. I’ve never heard this as a Gospel text of hope. But, as is often the case, as I dug into the passage—I was pleasantly surprised that I was wrong. As I studied and read, I realized the beatitudes don’t promote oppression

Now there’s a quirky thing about the Beatitudes. While I’ve learned they aren’t advocating oppression, as I’ve read into them, I’ve seen that those who live the beatitudes may be oppressed by society. To understand why, first we need a little background. Jesus’ culture was one of honor and shame. Everyone wanted honor and no one wanted shame. People fought for honor, and were cut off if they brought shame to their family. Your level of honor was an expression of worth. The more honor people showed you, the more important you were. Keeping honor was about maintaining, or improving status.

Honor/shame culture leads to a type of one for one. You hit me, I hit you back. Hitting back evens the score. An eye for an eye. Tooth for a tooth. “For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.” If you did not respond in kind, you lost honor and brought shame upon yourself and your family. For offenses greater than a slap in the face, there were harsher consequences. The thief lost his hand. The adulteress was stoned. These were the norms and rules of the culture. Promote honor and shun shame.

And then Jesus came along and taught something radically different. Jesus said, “You hit me, I turn the other cheek.” You throw the first stone only if you are without sin. You forgive as you are forgiven. All of these notions were new and unthinkable in Jesus’ day. The Gospel responses didn’t restore honor, in some cases they even brought about more shame.

We may have heard these phrases and teachings 1000 times, but they were novel in Jesus’ day. We may be tempted to think that hearing them 1000 times means we actually live them, but don’t be so sure! How many times have we heard “Don’t get mad, get even”? Or returned in kind when somebody upset us? You leave the dishes in the sink? Fine. I won’t do the laundry. You were late for dinner with the Smith’s last week? I’ll just doddle a bit before we head out to the baseball game. Or the notorious cries from fighting children…. “She hit me first!!” “He started it!” They claim innocence since they didn’t instigate the fight, they only responded in kind. An eye for an eye. A tooth for a tooth. After all, it was only fair.

So what does honor/shame culture have to do with the beatitudes? Well, the blessings in the beatitudes are not those that would have brought honor. These virtues and values Jesus blesses didn’t fit with what people expected. It’d be like a football coach rallying the team before the big game with phrases like “Don’t hit ‘em hard, we don’t want anyone to get hurt. If they call a penalty against the other team we’re not going to take it. Guys, just play a nice slow easy game today and I’ll be proud of you.” Every player in the room would be dumbstruck and confused. “Is he kidding?” “Is he okay?” “He’s not serious, right?” “We can’t win like that.”

In a culture that promotes courage, strength, honor and pride, Jesus’ words cause a similar type of confusion. “Wait…what’d he say? He’s kidding, right? Blessed are the merciful? The meek? The pure in heart? No one’s going to respect us for that?! They’re going to think we’re a bunch of pansies.” God may bless the peacemakers and the poor in spirit, but the rest of us aren’t so sure.

Do you remember looking at Psalm 1—the righteous are like trees planted by the river? The righteous were those with their hand on their heart, aware that they are needy and dependent on God. Does that ring a bell? Those are the poor in spirit—the ones who recognize they need God.[1] Poverty of spirit is about our human brokenness—and when we recognize how poor we are—we need to seek God—just like the righteous planted by the river. But for many of us we didn’t want to be needy and dependent. Right? We raised our hands of independence and self-reliance high. We’re proud of our accomplishments and self-sufficiency. We too struggle to understand why God blesses the needy ones, it was independence we were supposed to achieve, wasn’t it? Not in God’s book. Jesus says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit”—blessed are the needy ones.

The merciful weren’t honored and beloved either. The merciful were “tenderhearted and loved all [people] as themselves”.[2] We may think that’s all well and good, but the people of the day didn’t want to love all people. They didn’t want to be associated with the tax collectors, the prostitutes, the sinners. Sound familiar? Jesus broke the box here too. He was criticized for loving those who weren’t “worthy”. And, like I said, we may think that’s all well and good, but we all fall victim to this. It’s fine to be inclusive and loving and warm, unless it’s to “those illegals”, or “that whore”, or “that pervert”. We steer clear of skateboarders and gang members. We still create in-groups and out-groups and we still criticize those who “don’t get it” –those who insist on bringing “them” near to us. We liked the idea of the merciful, but not when the practice imposes on us.

We also like the idea of the peacemakers. We want peace. In theory anyway. I know I sound a little cynical here, but you’ve heard of “the bleeding hearts,” right? Those crazy do-gooders who think we should help every bum, crook, and thief? They’re just the spineless liberals who take up every cause as their own…Yeah, blessed are the peacemakers—they don’t have any standards or require discipline and they’re left penniless because they give it all away to help others.

Do you see how the beatitudes weren’t so agreeable? They challenge us, and we often resist those who live them fully. It’s not that God dis-honors these kingdom followers. It’s that we do. We like the sound of God’s kingdom—lions and lambs, peace and justice, love and happiness. I mean, who doesn’t want that?! But practically, culture still has different values than the Gospel. Culture promotes achievement, status, courage, honor, and clear separation of the “good” from the “bad”, the right and the wrong. On the other hand, the Gospel begs for peace, compassion, forgiveness, humility and second chances. There’s regularly a rub between these two. Cultural notions of independence and self-reliance stand against biblical notions of dependence on God and others. There’s a tension here and, as Christians, we choose to live in it.

Living by Christ’s rules remains essential if we want to live in God’s kingdom—living compassion, mercy, humility, and peace is the way we see glimpses of the kingdom here and now. And you should know that while the blessings for a life that follows the Beatitudes are countless and priceless, such a life still stands in stark contrast to what’s expected and desired by others around us. There’s a reason the Beatitudes end with: “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me” (verse 11).

Living the life that God has called us to is not always popular. Loving our enemies is no easy feat. Including those who are felons is uncomfortable. Sharing a meal with those who are loud and obnoxious is trying. Forgiving the unforgivable is almost impossible. Living the Gospel is tough. But, despite the rejection or the scorn of others, God blesses those who live for peace and thirst for holiness, those who empathize and love all persons regardless of their background, their language, their sexuality, their habits, or their vices, and those who risk living a life radically different from the culture around us. Living for the kingdom comes at a cost. It may cost us our reputation. It may cost us our pride. But the reward far outweighs the cost—the reward is God’s blessings. The reward of joy, love, and grace is far greater than the battle for honor, status, and notoriety. May we be so bold as to live God’s principles and risk the reputation of the spineless bleeding hearts who include even the strangest of characters and give time and again so that all may know the abundance of God’s kingdom. Amen.

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[1] www.sermonsfromseattle.com/series_a_beatitudesGA.htm

[2] www.ccel.org/ccel/wesley/notes.i.ii.vii.html#i.ii.vii-p0.2

Wedding homily

Rob and Jeannie are an example of how opposites attract. Early on, Jeannie stereotyped Rob as a full-of-himself, conservative southerner and didn’t give it much of a second thought. And somehow, from that Rob got the idea that she didn’t really like him, and while normally confident in all things dating, Rob shied away from pursuing his attraction to Jeannie. But overtime, the stars collided, or rather, ethics class was scheduled, and they began learning about each other not for their stereotypes and reputations, but for who they actually were. As they spent more and more time together, momentum grew and they fell in love.

For me, Rob and Jeannie are also a great example of how love changes the shape of how we believe and who we are as we grow, make concessions, and submit. I have seen Rob and Jeannie change as they have grown in love together. I am grateful because it means they are truly listening to the other, conceding their point for the sake of their partnership, and are willing to live into the challenge of being more Christ-like in their love. I am inspired because their relationship has shown that we don't have to always be right, but that there is a give and take in their relationship that honors the “us” before it honors the individual.

Sometimes after years of marriage we hear, "you're not the man I married." or "you're not the woman I made my vows to." In entering the compact of marriage, you have to be aware that you are not entering in to be married to the same person with all the same beliefs, mannerisms, and habits as either has today. To make it to your 50th anniversary, you have to be marrying the person you love, who you believe God has named as your partner, and know that he/she will grow, and change throughout the years. You may think, "but I don't want her to change." and, in many ways, that's wonderful, because it means you love her wholly as she is, but, at the same time, if she didn't change, it would mean she wasn't willing to listen, wasn't willing to hear your side or perspective, wasn’t willing to submit for the sake of your covenant together. And likewise, if Rob is the same person in 50 years, then it wouldn't be love that the two of you share, because love changes us, love draws us in, makes us better, challenges us to be more passionate, more forgiving, more understanding, and if we don't become any of those things in a way that more resembles Christ in the years of marriage, then we have failed to truly love.

The words of Romans 12 help us to focus on what’s needed in a successful relationship. The words are so appropriate. Let love be genuine: be authentic in who you are and be drawn in by the authentic character of your partner. Hate what is evil—reject petty methods, don’t resort to name calling, undermining your partner, belittling the failures, or returning one wrong with another. Love one another with mutual affection: offer care and encouragement, take time out, especially in the busy high holy season, to affirm one another, spend time together, and to revel in each other’s happiness and love. Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer: know that there will be tough and trying times in your years of marriage. There will be conflicts that seem intolerable, illnesses that are unbearable, financial ups and downs, conflict with other family members, and quirky habits that drive you nuts!

Do not give up. Do not walk away. Keep your faith focused on love and the hope God promises through God’s Son Jesus Christ. Be patient. Refuse to throw in the towel. And persevere in prayer: stay focused on God, listen for God’s word to you, and trust that things will get better.

Share with one another. This is a journey you have committed to take together. Rejoice when Jeannie rejoices, weep when Rob weeps, be present with each other. Be as intentional with your partner as you are with your parishioners. Listen well and attentively. Expect the best from one another and assume good intentions. Reflect on your own self before engaging in a gift, and always return the focus to God as the source of all things good and the author of humble, self-giving, life-changing, ever-present love. And return to the sage words of this passage as a reminder, a challenge, and a call to continue growing in love.

I hope that at your 50th wedding anniversary you look back at who you were today and see how much you have each grown in agape love—love that forgives the unforgiveable, offers hope for the hopeless, humility to the proud, strength to the weary, and joy to the sorrowful. As you grow in love, I pray that you continue to be changed and transformed by exposing your vulnerability, risking to overcome your fears, and drawing courage and strength from one another’s gifts. I pray that you are overwhelmed by the love of your partner and wrapped in peace and assurance by their love all the days of your life.

Amen.

2 Corinthians 5:16-21

From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view, even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way. So, if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; that is in Christ. God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteous of God.

This is such an amazing and empowering message to me. We are God’s ambassadors—God’s representatives to carry the message out into the world. I’ve heard thousands of times that we are to preach the good news, but somehow this passage strikes me differently. Somehow the notion of ambassador conveys a different tone than evangelist, and I’m eager to do it.

Being an ambassador is a responsibility. It involves understanding 2 cultures and being able to bridge the communication and ideological gap between them. It means being a representative through your actions—which may mean forfeiting some of your habits for the sake of the relationship. Practically for cultural ambassadors it may mean forsaking a fork for chop sticks, or covering your legs, arms or head so as not to insult another. It may mean kissing cheeks instead of shaking hands, or looking at the ground instead of directly into someone’s eyes. Being an ambassador means understanding customs and traditions and being able to adapt to them to fully engage the “other.”

These adaptations go both ways for us as Christians. We must be able to adapt to secular culture without forsaking our own values as well as educate about Christian ideals in a way that is relevant and sensible to secular culture. It’s our role to bridge the gap between religious and secular in a way that is clear and meaningful. Starting with monastic asceticism might not be the best way to reach today’s youth. We may do better to start with the global impact of Christian actions as today’s youth are already aware of concepts of global awareness and responsibility. But whatever our approach, we have to recognize that we can’t simply hold to all of our traditions and hope others will join in. Being an ambassador requires adaptability to assure the “other” that they can truly trust you and that you understand who they are and what they are about.

As an ambassador, we have to look for the points of contact and correlation between the 2 cultures and help both sides to make the connection and be drawn into appreciation. We must also remain rooted in the Christian message and its importance in defining who we are, making adaptations does not mean forsaking who we are. While living abroad I came to understand myself as an ambassador of sorts. I was a representative of America and Americans and that meant I needed to act in way that reflected well on me and on my country. It was my role to show the best hospitality, graciousness, and cultural awareness in my interactions with Spaniards, Moroccans, Cubans, Costa Ricans, Syrians, Palestinians, and others. And, when I returned, it was my role to share my learnings and experiences with other Americans. I helped explain the ways burkas can actually promote the role and status of women, or how communism has served to educate the people of Cuba, or how the siesta isn’t really about the nap, but about time with family in the middle of the day.

Being an ambassador meant I had to invest myself in learning about other cultures and traditions. I came to appreciate the richness of other countries, as well as gain a greater appreciation for the riches of my own traditions. I was the “go between” to help people get cultural values and customs.

Now, ambassador is just one of the key words in this passage. The other is reconciliation.

Reconciliation with God is about connecting with God. It involves healing the brokenness in our relationship, the ways we have neglected, denied, and ignored God. It involves drawing nearer to God to have a deeper and more meaningful relationship.

I don’t know how many of you know about your use Facebook.com but it’s a website that helps reconnect people with old friends and classmates and even helps forge new relationships for some folks. I’ve never gotten into it, but in the last two weeks I’ve had almost a dozen people urge me to sign up. On the surface, it seems like it will only take up more of my time and will become yet another profile I have to manage. Can you tell I’m real eager to jump on the bandwagon? Yet, I’ve heard of more and more people who are on it and know it’d be an easy way to stay in touch, but I continue to fear it will simply consume my time and energy and not be very fruitful.

In some odd way, that’s how I hear the response to God’s reconciliation. I see us, the ambassadors, as God’s Facebook promoters. We are encouraging people to get connected, to experience God’s reconciliation-God’s redemptive work in relationships and many respond to God’s plea for reconciliation like I respond to Facebook: “Oh I know it sounds cool and would help me be close to God again, but it’s gonna take too much time and energy for me to do. Having a relationship with God sounds nice, but I really have a lot going on and I’m pretty satisfied with life as it is. I don’t need another obligation. I don’t want another responsibility. I’ve got too much on my plate as it is.”

And they walk away. Reconnecting isn’t enough for a lot of people. It takes time, effort, and intentionality to restore a forgotten friendship and sometimes it just doesn’t seem worth it after years apart. I’m afraid that’s how some people see their relationship with God—it’s a nice bonus, if you have time for it. But it’ll take work and it may not be worth it after all these years apart. So, if you choose to walk away, you probably won’t miss too much.

That’s where the true test of our role begins. You see, if we’re truly convicted about the importance of reconnecting with God and the amazing blessings it will bring to someone’s life, then we don’t simply let them walk away. We don’t hog tie them and force them to reconnect either. But if reconciliation with God is something we merely promote on occasion or in passing or as something that “might be fun to do,” then we’re really not serving as effective ambassadors. As God’s agents, we have to work at making the connections and believe strongly in what we do.

I don’t know if you remember the affirmations we did two weeks ago, where we partnered up and told one another “You are important. You are worthy. You are precious. You are a child of God. You are beloved.” That exercise was meant not just to make you feel good, but to help convict you about the power of God’s affirmation in our lives. And it’s only when you really believe, when you’ve felt it in the depths of your soul that you become the most effective ambassador for Christ. Sure, you can preach the message and share the stories and some will be drawn into it, but just like with Facebook, many of us won’t sign up unless we are totally convinced, hook, line, and sinker, that it’s not going to be some other burden weighing us down, but will be a gift and a blessing in our lives. Convincing people about God’s love isn’t simply something they should do, it’s something that will change their lives. Forging a relationship with God is not just another responsibility to be checked off the list, or profile to be maintained, it’s a life changing event that transforms the way you see and live in the world.

Psalm 1

Happy are those who do not follow the counsel of the wicked, nor go the way of sinners, nor sit in the company of scoffers. Rather, the law of the Lord is their joy; God’s law they study day and night. They are like a tree planted near streams of water, that yields its fruit in season; its leaves never wither; whatever they do prospers. But not the wicked! They are like chaff driven by the wind. Therefore the wicked will not survive judgment, nor will sinners in the assembly of the just. The Lord watches over the way of the just, but the way of the wicked leads to ruin.

Many of the words in this passage have various meanings. I've rewritten the psalm with some of those words so that hopefully it will be easier to follow. Let's listen again to the words of the psalmist:

Blessed are those who do not follow the counsel of the guilty, nor go the way of the corrupt, nor sit in the company of the arrogant who have no regard for God. Rather, the instruction of God is their focus. They pore over God’s instruction day and night. They are like a tree deeply rooted by streams of water, which yield fruit in their season, it never goes dry, or barren, it is prosperous. But not the self-absorbed! They are like chaff driven by the wind. They are dispensable waste, without roots, without grounding, they have nothing to hold on to. Therefore the wicked will not survive God’s verdict, nor will sinners fit in when the followers of God gather. The Lord watches over and gains intimacy with the way of the just, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction, they are void of blessing, they lose themselves as they seek only their own interests.

When reading the psalms, and even many of the prophets, it’s important to know that often they speak in terms of judgment and when they do they are not necessarily referring to the final judgment, to judgment day, they are speaking of judgment like you would find in a trial court—where there’s a judge who looks at the facts of a case and decides a verdict of innocence or guilt. We saw something like this when we read the passage in Micah—the one that says, “What does the Lord require of you but to seek justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.” Do you remember that passage? First we read that God had a complaint against the people—oppressing the poor, unequal distribution of wealth, and social injustice. And then the words, “Sons and daughters of Israel, you have heard the charges brought against you, how do you plead?” Okay, maybe not exactly those words, but something to that effect. And then the judge paused, “Wait, before you make your case, let me remind you of a few things, you sit in the court of the one who saved you from slavery, the one who brought you to the promised land, the one who has provided leaders to show you the way time and time again. Now, tell me again what can you say for yourself?”

Do you remember this? The people of Israel were in a situation of judgment, one where there was a wrong committed and facts to be heard and a verdict to be delivered. That court scenario is common to the language of the Old Testament, and particularly the psalms and prophets.

So, today, when we hear the words of verse 5 that say the wicked will not survive judgment, we need to hear them in context—they will not do well on their day in court! As in any court, there are the innocent and there are the guilty. Those who are innocent will be set free, and those who are guilty will be punished. So, then, what are the charges we’re looking at? The charge is a lack of reverence for scripture and a closed heart to God’s action in our lives; in other words, self-sufficient arrogance that negates a need for God. If you deny God and believe solely in your own powers and capabilities, if you believe you don’t need any help from anyone, including God, then today, you are among the wicked—the guilty standing before the judge. If, however, you delight in God’s teachings, if you find your meaning from God, if you know you are dependent upon God for all that you are, then you will be counted among the just, among the righteous.

So, let’s do a little exercise, if you stand among the wicked then you should come stand over here to the left and if you stand among the righteous, then you should come stand on the right. (Pause) No? Okay, how about this….if you’re strong and independent raise your hand. Ok. And if you’re dependent on others put your hand on your heart. Good. Now, those of you with your hand in the air, according to today’s passage, you are the wicked. And if you have your hand on your heart, you are the righteous. Don’t blame me, I didn’t make it up. Blame the psalmist.

To be sure, it’s a challenging passage to hear because it goes against a lot of what we believe. In American culture, we’re taught self-sufficiency and individuality. You’re a better person, a greater success story if you do it yourself without the help of anyone. Think about it, as we age, or if we get sick, we become more dependent on others, and most of us loathe that part of life. We hate not being able to do things for ourselves. We hate having to ask someone else for help, to rely on someone else to go somewhere, or get something done. That’s a cultural more. That’s a cultural value, not a godly one. So on one side we have culture, proclaiming loud and clear that we should not rely on anyone because it makes us weak. And on the other side, we have scripture proclaiming that if we become self-absorbed and arrogant about our abilities, then we will number among the wicked. That’s not a very comforting thought. Are we good Americans or are we good Christians? Having to choose one over the other probably makes us a bit uncomfortable. It certainly makes me uncomfortable. I’m as bull-headed and independent as the best of them, and normally, I’m fairly proud of that, but in reading this passage, I had to take a step back and see that the cultural values are not what God seeks from us. God wants us to be dependent—primarily on God. Because if I can do all things by myself and don’t need any help from anyone, then I won’t need or want help from God either. And if I don’t need God, then I won’t seek God. And if I don’t seek God, then I will perish—maybe not literally, not yet anyway, but spiritually, my soul will dry up and wither away if I don’t stay connected to the life source.

So now that we know the definition of righteous versus the wicked, how do we change that from head knowledge to heart knowledge? How do we live the psalmist’s advice? Through verse 2. “But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law he meditates day and night.” To move from being counted among the “wicked” to living among the righteous, we must delight in God’s instruction, we must meditate on it day and night. I say instruction and not law because when we think of law we think of rules, but the law here isn’t just the ten commandments or the rules found in Leviticus, it is God’s story—the story of Israel and the ways God has been faithful, it is God’s word through the poetry of the psalms, and yes, God’s law—God’s instructions for holy living. To become righteous, to become God-centered, we have to focus on God’s story. And we find that story in the Bible.

Meditating on God’s word is really about being in right relationship with God, about God being the center of your life and purpose. If we spend time in the Word, then we’re spending time learning about God, who God was, what God’s true character is like, what God hopes and dreams—and in listening to the Word, we’re practicing listening to God.

Spending daily or even weekly time in God’s work is how we listen to God. In prayer it’s easy for us to talk, and talk, and talk. But when are we taking time to listen? We listen through scripture and meditation. Spending time listening is what keeps us planted near the waters, it’s what keeps us giving fruit. We all know that a tree planted by a constant source of water will bear fruit. It’s a natural consequence. Being in the word is like being planted by water and being near the source of life means we will bear fruit—we will be blessed. It’s a natural consequence. It’s not rocket science. It’s nature. If we starve a tree of water, it will dry up and wither away. Without its life source, it cannot bear fruit. The same is true for us—if we’re robbed of our life source, or simply choose to be planted elsewhere, we won’t be able to bear fruit—we’ll wither away—like the chaff of wheat blown away in the wind.

For the psalmist, there are two ways to live: 1) centered on God and rooted in God’s instruction—namely the Word; 2) centered on ourselves. To be centered on God is to be deeply rooted in that which provides life—which offers joy and sustains us even in difficult times. To be centered on ourselves gives only shallow roots that are easily lifted and cast into the wind. On its surface, the choice seems simple and clear. I want to be righteous, I want to bear fruit and be blessed. Let’s call it a day. The difficulty comes in challenging the culture’s blow-horn that tells me to be independent, hard-working, and reliant on no one. Our challenge is not in choosing God, but in rejecting what the culture teaches us about success

Romans 3:21-31

Paul’s letter to the Romans has some of the clearest explanations of who Christ was and what his life, death, and resurrection mean to each of us. It also addresses some of the community issues—issues that were also true for Corinth and other cities in the region. One of those issues was who was better, who was more righteous than whom. The gentiles or the Jews? The circumcised or the uncircumcised? Those who knew the law or those who simply believed? Those who had been part of God’s community forever or the new kids on the block?

From Paul’s letter it is clear that there was dissention in the church. There were arguments about who had a firmer foundation, whose way was the *right* way, and who actually was justified by God. These things took place in the first century soon after Christ’s death. Now, we 21^st century Christians, having all the benefits of modernity, technology, and 2000 years of faith ancestry—we certainly don’t have any of these disputes amongst ourselves, right?

We don’t quibble about whose music draws us closer to God, or whose clothes are more appropriate, or whose baptism is more legitimate. Not us! We aren’t concerned with worship that is unfamiliar or biblical teachings that call upon feminism, the black perspective, or social oppression to find a new reading of the Gospel. We aren’t threatened by different. We aren’t tempted to proclaim our faith as more righteous than that of those who attend the big church down the street. Right?!

This definitely was a first century problem and is not an issue we deal with today.

But, for the sake of argument, let’s pretend we too struggle with conflict in the church. Let’s assume, just for a moment, that we’ve made the mistake of claiming our way or the highway and see what God’s message for us would be.

First, we hear a reminder that righteousness comes by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Righteousness—in other words, godliness, holiness, uprightness, our sanctification, comes from God as a gift. We don’t earn it; we can’t buy it—the only way we have a possibility at righteousness is because of God’s goodness. And the way we receive that gift, the way we open it, is by faith in Jesus Christ. Paul reminds us that none of us is holy or righteous by our own doings, but only through God’s gift of grace through Jesus.

Now, why aren’t we righteous in our own right? I mean, I’m a pretty good person….how am I so unrighteous?

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

Oh. Yeah. That. Sin. It gets us every time! But, I only sin a little—so doesn’t that mean I only fall a little but short of the glory of God?! I mean, I’m not one of those BIG sinners—so I have to be closer to God than they are, right?! Wrong. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. No class system of sin. No lesser sin or greater sin. Just the simple fact that we have turned away from God; we have disobeyed the rules; we have sinned. Period. And because we have sinned, we are all equally unrighteous. We are all broken. We are all imperfect. We are all sinners on equal footing, down at the bottom of the pit in the mire of sin. No distinction. No privilege. No hierarchy. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

And the only way we get up out of that miry pit is through grace. God’s grace pulls us up. And whether we accepted that grace through our faith 70 years ago, or 25 years ago, last year, or today—we remain equal. We are undistinguished in our sinfulness and we are undistinguished in our righteousness.

So those arguments we, of course, don’t have about whose way is better, or whose prayer is more holy, or whose worship service more God-inspired, they’re all irrelevant. There’s no room for them. We can’t boast about being better because we aren’t. We are equally sinful and we’re equally saved. No more, no less. Not the pastor. Not the elder. Not the child. Not the missionary. Not the Sunday School teacher. Not this section or that section. We all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and we are all saved by God’s grace alone.

Turn to your neighbor and say: “I’m a sinner. You’re a sinner. It’s nice to meet an equal.” Now say: “God saved me. God saved you. It’s nice to meet an equal.”

Regardless of how many people are in worship, the language we speak, the missions we complete, the music we use—we all sin and we are all saved by the grace of God. So let us not be caught up in proving righteousness or disputing traditions, but let us be bonded as sisters and brothers by the same faith in the same God who offers the same grace in the same way in the same amount to each and every one of us. The same grace, offered to the same sinners, so that we might be justified in the same way, through the same faith, in the same man—Jesus Christ. All on equal footing, equally saved, equally righteous, equally loved.

May God be glorified by the reading and hearing of the Holy Word. Amen.