Sermon for July 26, 2020 - The Eighth Sunday after Pentecost - Proper 12A - The Ven Pat Zifcak
The Gospel reading today marks the end of a series of parables that Jesus tells to his disciples to describe the Kingdom of Heaven. Many thanks to Elise and Isaac who so ably shared the parable of the sower and the parable of the wheat and weeds in the last two weeks. Three Sundays of “The Kingdom of Heaven is like….” Do we think we understand? It is certain that Jesus used the images common in the lives of his hearers to describe the uncommon, unknowable, and extraordinary. The words of one commentary drew all six parables together for me: the Kingdom of Heaven is many-splendored but we see glimpses through the parables. “Jesus held the Kingdom up to the light, turned it as a prism, and, in parables, told us what he saw. Listen, enjoy, ponder”, the writer encourages. Let the parables do their work in us as they did in Jesus’ followers.
Although I love the parables, I have given more thought to the passage from Romans and the psalm this week. Every September on the first day of school, the Headmaster spoke to the children about rules. The school’s motto was “simplicity and sincerity” and, as you might guess, the rules were simple and few and meant to encourage our community of learners to strive for personal responsibility, excellence in learning, and care for one another. The example of the importance of rules was always a traffic light. We all know what it feels like to come to an intersection where the traffic lights are out or malfunctioning. The sense of danger makes us anxious and we are uncertain what to do and when to do it. No child could argue against the importance of rules that were necessary for our safety and for the preservation of community.
In the psalm and in this passage from Romans, the law is intended not as a burden, not as an obligation but as a gift. God’s law is revealed to us in both the old and the new testaments and we have been given examples to live by. As the hymn says, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.” God’s love for us should make our desire to persevere in obedience to God’s laws easier for us. But life gets in the way. If we are fighting to survive, there is very little, if any, energy to contemplate what is the right way to provide for our most basic needs. How can we protect our relationship with God who loves us when every day might bring the threat of food insecurity or health threats, worry that overwhelms us, persecution, a society at odds over government and creation care, natural disasters, death, and so much in the world as it is that we cannot control.
Even when life is hard, living outside the law, God’s law, is not in our best interest. I think that is what St. Paul was telling us. The Law is an ordering principle. There is freedom in knowing the rules. I have had so many conversations with parents over my teaching career, explaining the need for children to have clear boundaries. They are going to test, that is their job but when they push against the rules, they need a firm, immovable wall that tells them quickly that they have made a mistake. I think that is what Paul is suggesting about our relationship with God. We test and we repent and God in God’s immovable, changeless, loving response encourages us to do better. Living our lives in accordance with God’s law as expressed most perfectly in Jesus, is to love God with all our heart, and mind, and soul and to love one another as we are loved. We make mistakes; we are human. It is when our mistakes cause pain or suffering, when our decisions disrupt God’s intention for good, that we must turn back and try again. God will never abandon us. We know that through our salvation history. But how many times must we break God’s heart? How many times can we repent and continue to hurt those whom God loves?
We are in a moment of transformation. We have been here before. We have been moved by the moments that shock us, that terrify us, that bring us face to face with our privilege, that confront our sense of well-being or our security or our blindness. We are here again. Could this time be different? Are we angry enough to stand up, to reach higher, to listen more deeply without speaking, to ask for help from those who have been on the road longer, to pray?
God has created us to be partners in God’s work in the world. Jesus is our example and the Holy Spirit offers us the invitation to say “yes” to the work. Solomon asked God for a hearing heart and an understanding mind. What more do we need? We are not rulers of empires but we do have spheres of influence. Who are we talking to, who are we listening to?
There are many who question in moments like these when so many people are suffering, “Where is God”? But for any who have even the tiniest seed of faith and are willing to nurture it through prayer and intention, God will create what is good and bring it to expression even when life leaves us speechless.