Year C Proper 22 3 October 2010
Lamentations 1: 1-6 Lamentations 3: 19-26 OR Psalm 137 2 Timothy 1: 1-14 Luke 17: 5-10
I’m a long way from having a “green thumb”, but I do love to grow things. Unfortunately I seem to have more success with weeds – which I don’t even plant, but which come up all by themselves. I didn’t realize until today that I actually knew something more about one gardening aspect than my Mum. She gets her plants as seedlings and didn’t realize that she can grow a lot more from what she has by taking the dead flower of the marigolds, pulling it apart and scattering the seeds.
Our Gospel reading brings us to reflect on the mustard seed. I personally have no familiarity with mustard seeds, except that I know that to spread them in the paste form on meat makes for something wonderful. The mustard seed is what Jesus used to explain to his disciples about faith.
The apostles’ request to Jesus we find in Luke 17:5 “The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!"”
I’m sure we can relate to the request. We want to be walking in step with God and His ways, but often fall short. In fact, I think this is a dangerous request as it is easy to feel connected to God and walking in faith when all is going well, but if we are to really step out in faith it will be in the times when everything around us distracts us from walking in step with God and when things are not going so well and we are worn out and maybe even bitter.
The Israelites were given this opportunity to grow in faith when they were sent into exile. For many years they had neglected God’s ways, and then when they were taken into captivity they remembered the good things God had done for them and they mourned the loss.
A couple of weeks ago I spoke about our need to lament and this week our reading is from the book of Lamentations.
Lamentations 1:4-5 “The roads to Zion mourn, for no one comes to her appointed feasts. All her gateways are desolate, her priests groan, her maidens grieve, and she is in bitter anguish. 5 Her foes have become her masters; her enemies are at ease. The LORD has brought her grief because of her many sins. Her children have gone into exile, captive before the foe.”
Two things are important to note. One is that it is in these times of hardship that many of us remember God and turn back to him. Secondly, it is important to lament – because many of us, instead of turning to God, turn against him in bitterness of heart. Lamenting is being honest before God about how we feel. Sometimes we feel that we are being faithless if we are not putting on our “happy” faces and praising God in all our situations. We are exhorted to praise God in everything, but if we do this without ever taking the time to lament we will find ourselves becoming bitter actors – otherwise known as bitter hypocrites, and eventually the effort to continually put on an act will wear us out and we will give up all together.
We must lament and we must grieve. A whole book in the Bible is dedicated to lamenting.... surely this tells us something. However, in our grieving and lamenting we should remember to be in the presence of God and take note from the wisdom in the book of Lamentation:
Lamentation 3:19-22 “ I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. 20 I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. 21 Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: 22 Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.”
So, with all this in mind – the good times and the bad – the joy filled and the times of loss and bitterness - how do we “walk by faith”?
Faith is not gritting your teeth and telling yourself over and over, “I believe, I believe, I believe!” What we learn from the book of Lamentation is that it starts with honesty. Remember the story about the man who said to Jesus, “Lord, I believe, help my unbelief.” Be honest with God and yourself and in that simple act of connecting in truth to the God who created the universe, anything is possible!
Firstly we need to look at what Jesus says about faith. Luke 17:6 “He replied, "If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it will obey you.” ..... We do not need an increase in our faith, but we may be ignorant about the power of the faith we have.
A mustard seed has all the information contained in it to become a full grown tree. It is lacking in nothing, but simply needs to be put into action. Our faith is similar. Everything necessary for amazing things is contained in our little faith, as it is our faith in a very powerful God – but it remains a seed and nothing more until we put it into action.
Someone once explained it as a chair. You can look at the chair and say that you have faith that the chair will hold you and not collapse under your weight, but unless you are willing to sit in it your in-action betrays your lack of faith.
On the flip side; you may have total faith in a chair to support your weight, but if that chair has a broken leg, all the faith in the world is not going to make that chair more reliable. The reverse is also true. It you only have a tiny bit of faith that a chair will support your weight and yet the chair is totally reliable, then your tiny bit of faith is all that you will require. Therefore, because God is reliable, even if our faith is tiny, we can achieve amazing things.
Paul exhorted Timothy to guard the gift of faith in his life. 2 Timothy 1: 5-7 “I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also. For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.”
Remember that faith, like a seed, needs to be put into action. Through this faith there is a gift of God which Paul exhorted Timothy to fan into flame. Likewise we have similar gifts and challenges. We have to fan into flame the gift that lies dormant like a seed within us.
Sometimes there can be a kind of spiritual “snobbery”. When great things are happening around certain people or leaders, Christian people can easily fall into thinking that these people are those with great faith, and look up to and revere them. Perhaps you have met some of these people as well, who are very good self promoters. They speak fluent “Christianese” and it takes quite sometime to realize that the depth of their faith is really quite shallow. I think it is very likely that the apostles request for an increase in faith was linked to the temptation to show themselves to be “special” and this is the reason for Jesus following statement:
Luke 17: 7-10 “ "Suppose one of you had a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Would he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, 'Come along now and sit down to eat'? 8Would he not rather say, 'Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink'? 9Would he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? 10So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.' "
Taking the lesson from this we should remember that the most unassuming and unimpressive person that we know in the church has as much potential for greatness as the most impressive. It reminds me of a message I read from the Christian martyr, Watchman Nee, when he said that to those who are walking in the Spirit, things that others would see as extraordinary are viewed as quite normal and expected.
St. Paul also asks that Timothy guard the faith within him. We need to be told the same... and we achieve this in the same way – with the help of the Holy Spirit and by remaining connected. When we are not connected to sound teachings, teachings that are absolutely true and a proclamation of the Good News, then we are led astray and take on a theology of garbage.... and lies. If it were not a possibility then Paul would not have had to remind Timothy at all.
2 Timothy 1: 13-14 “13What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. 14Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.”
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Reflection 19 September 2010
Year C Proper 20 19 September 2010
Jeremiah 8:18 - 9:1 Psalm 79: 1-9 1 Timothy 2: 1-7 Luke 16: 1-13
From St. Paul’s letter to 1Timothy 2:4 we understand that God wants all people to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth.
The most common reasons that I hear for people not being Christian are that; science has disproved God, there are too many hypocrites in church, and God allows bad things to happen. The first reason is erroneous – science can prove many things, but regardless of what science does prove, it cannot disprove God.
The "hypocrite" reason that people state for not aligning themselves with Christianity is, in my opinion, a cop out. Let he who has never been a hypocrite throw the first stone! A hypocrite is actually an old term for an actor. However, in general, people see Christians as acting “good” but really being bad. As I said, this reason is invalid as there are many more people outside the church, who claim to be “good” people – but are not. Those in the church are the ones who acknowledge their failing, and therefore their need for a saviour.... the very fact that we are Christians shows our acknowledgment of failure, common to the human condition.
The final reason, "that God allows bad things to happen", is a more basic and important subject that we need to deal with. This reason isn’t really one that debates whether or not God is real, but more importantly begs the question, “does God care?”
Many of us within the Church need to carefully ponder this question, as it haunts us when life deals us a damaging blow. Does God really care? Does it matter to him that we are hurting? The answer, we know, is that God does care, but why is it then that he doesn’t intervene when there are terrible things that happen?
Jeremiah cries out to God with these words found in Jeremiah 8: 18 – 19a “O my Comforter in sorrow, my heart is faint within me. Listen to the cry of my people....”
Both the reading from Jeremiah and the Psalm are laments. Our modern Church seems to spend so much time saying “praise God”, that there is little or no room, for those who have suffered sorrow, to legitimately cry out to God, “why, O Lord? .... When will you rescue me?...” and generally just cry before God.
Is it possible that the lack of understanding about mourning, grieving, lamenting and repenting has crippled the church, leaving people feeling cut off as they grieve alone in silence?
As a Church we should be lamenting the lack of growth in our churches, the death of so many in ministries, without the rising up of others to take their place, and the decisions of our country when laws are passed that completely oppose the law of God. Surely as church we should be able to lament with each other the personal losses of our parish family, the emotional wounds that seem to be so prevalent within the Church and the soiled reputation of the Church by the sins of its representatives.
There are so many things that we should, as church, lament together. And when I say “Church” I am meaning the national and global church – as we know that when one part of the body is suffering all should feel it.... realistically this should mean that if one denomination is suffering some kind of loss – for example, diminished growth, then even those who are not momentarily experiencing the same, should still be lamenting with the rest of the body.
Psalm 79:8-9 “Do not hold against us the sins of the fathers; may your mercy come quickly to meet us, for we are in desperate need. Help us, O God our Saviour, for the glory of your name; deliver us and forgive our sins for your name's sake.”
St. Paul tells us that we need to prayer for the leaders of our country, as he tells us that it IS God’s will that all come to be saved and have a knowledge of the truth. In order for this to happen we can be assisted by the government of our country. It is true that where there is persecution that the Gospel often grows, but certainly even the Bible tells us that when the Gospel enjoyed a time of peace the believers were strengthened. It isn’t just a time of peace that we need, but we should pray for conditions that enable sound teachings about Christ.
At present we have a system where the government assists with funding for Christian Chaplains in state schools. I’ve been to a few state schools where their assembly includes a school prayer and I’ve witnessed the quality of volunteer religious education, and it is truly exceptional. This is something we can give thanks for, but beware, there are many who fight against this and they wait for opportunity to tear it away. Please pray for our representatives that all would see them as shinning lights bringing the gift of life.
God does want all to be saved! His care is for you and me, but he gives us free will. God does enter our lives, but he does so, on our invitation. Our prayers are the invitation for God to act. He may not intervene in the way we’d like, but we are like the children who do not understand and cannot comprehend the ways of the wise parent. We need to cry and cry to God so that we, when reassured of His love, can be comforted by Him. When God does intervene we can be assured that it will be for the ultimate good.
So far I’ve talked about all the readings except the Gospel. The Gospel reading is one that I find difficult. It is the story of the shrewd manager who is about to be fired for mis-handling his master’s affairs. The manager, when he realizes that he is in big trouble, then goes to the manager’s debtors and greatly reduces their debts, thus making a big impression on the debtors – in a good way. The parable goes on to say that the children of God are not as shrewd as the people of this world, but that we should use what we have to make friends with eternal rewards. The somewhat random punch line is that you cannot serve both God and money. You must choose who you will serve.
Not long ago we talked about counting the cost of following Jesus and now we are again confronted with the cost and the choice. Perhaps we are like the manager - we have been given a responsibility in the kingdom of God (every Christian has!), but have we been trustworthy with that responsibility?
If your personal reflection prompts you to think that you have not been responsible with God’s commission, you may find that your “master” might be unhappy with you..... what can you do to rectify the situation? Use what you can to make good the situation.... only you can know if you are serving God or serving the god of this world.
The god of this world will tell you that the kids sport is more important than going to church – and that your job is more important than a commitment to involvement in the things of God. The god of football is he who must be obeyed in this country – all ministers know not to put on a meeting that might clash with a game. And that is ridiculous!
I often feel that there is not much that I can do to affect God’s kingdom and perhaps you feel that way too, but we have to do whatever we can to use the gifts God has given us to proclaim his kingdom. Why? Because God really does want all to be saved and the truth is that He loves us so much that Jesus died for our sin so that nothing should separate us from the love of God. Even if we feel we’ve let God down in the past– don’t let that be a stumbling block to using your gifts in the future, as the sacrifice for that sin has already been made and the debt is paid.
Jeremiah 8:18 - 9:1 Psalm 79: 1-9 1 Timothy 2: 1-7 Luke 16: 1-13
From St. Paul’s letter to 1Timothy 2:4 we understand that God wants all people to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth.
The most common reasons that I hear for people not being Christian are that; science has disproved God, there are too many hypocrites in church, and God allows bad things to happen. The first reason is erroneous – science can prove many things, but regardless of what science does prove, it cannot disprove God.
The "hypocrite" reason that people state for not aligning themselves with Christianity is, in my opinion, a cop out. Let he who has never been a hypocrite throw the first stone! A hypocrite is actually an old term for an actor. However, in general, people see Christians as acting “good” but really being bad. As I said, this reason is invalid as there are many more people outside the church, who claim to be “good” people – but are not. Those in the church are the ones who acknowledge their failing, and therefore their need for a saviour.... the very fact that we are Christians shows our acknowledgment of failure, common to the human condition.
The final reason, "that God allows bad things to happen", is a more basic and important subject that we need to deal with. This reason isn’t really one that debates whether or not God is real, but more importantly begs the question, “does God care?”
Many of us within the Church need to carefully ponder this question, as it haunts us when life deals us a damaging blow. Does God really care? Does it matter to him that we are hurting? The answer, we know, is that God does care, but why is it then that he doesn’t intervene when there are terrible things that happen?
Jeremiah cries out to God with these words found in Jeremiah 8: 18 – 19a “O my Comforter in sorrow, my heart is faint within me. Listen to the cry of my people....”
Both the reading from Jeremiah and the Psalm are laments. Our modern Church seems to spend so much time saying “praise God”, that there is little or no room, for those who have suffered sorrow, to legitimately cry out to God, “why, O Lord? .... When will you rescue me?...” and generally just cry before God.
Is it possible that the lack of understanding about mourning, grieving, lamenting and repenting has crippled the church, leaving people feeling cut off as they grieve alone in silence?
As a Church we should be lamenting the lack of growth in our churches, the death of so many in ministries, without the rising up of others to take their place, and the decisions of our country when laws are passed that completely oppose the law of God. Surely as church we should be able to lament with each other the personal losses of our parish family, the emotional wounds that seem to be so prevalent within the Church and the soiled reputation of the Church by the sins of its representatives.
There are so many things that we should, as church, lament together. And when I say “Church” I am meaning the national and global church – as we know that when one part of the body is suffering all should feel it.... realistically this should mean that if one denomination is suffering some kind of loss – for example, diminished growth, then even those who are not momentarily experiencing the same, should still be lamenting with the rest of the body.
Psalm 79:8-9 “Do not hold against us the sins of the fathers; may your mercy come quickly to meet us, for we are in desperate need. Help us, O God our Saviour, for the glory of your name; deliver us and forgive our sins for your name's sake.”
St. Paul tells us that we need to prayer for the leaders of our country, as he tells us that it IS God’s will that all come to be saved and have a knowledge of the truth. In order for this to happen we can be assisted by the government of our country. It is true that where there is persecution that the Gospel often grows, but certainly even the Bible tells us that when the Gospel enjoyed a time of peace the believers were strengthened. It isn’t just a time of peace that we need, but we should pray for conditions that enable sound teachings about Christ.
At present we have a system where the government assists with funding for Christian Chaplains in state schools. I’ve been to a few state schools where their assembly includes a school prayer and I’ve witnessed the quality of volunteer religious education, and it is truly exceptional. This is something we can give thanks for, but beware, there are many who fight against this and they wait for opportunity to tear it away. Please pray for our representatives that all would see them as shinning lights bringing the gift of life.
God does want all to be saved! His care is for you and me, but he gives us free will. God does enter our lives, but he does so, on our invitation. Our prayers are the invitation for God to act. He may not intervene in the way we’d like, but we are like the children who do not understand and cannot comprehend the ways of the wise parent. We need to cry and cry to God so that we, when reassured of His love, can be comforted by Him. When God does intervene we can be assured that it will be for the ultimate good.
So far I’ve talked about all the readings except the Gospel. The Gospel reading is one that I find difficult. It is the story of the shrewd manager who is about to be fired for mis-handling his master’s affairs. The manager, when he realizes that he is in big trouble, then goes to the manager’s debtors and greatly reduces their debts, thus making a big impression on the debtors – in a good way. The parable goes on to say that the children of God are not as shrewd as the people of this world, but that we should use what we have to make friends with eternal rewards. The somewhat random punch line is that you cannot serve both God and money. You must choose who you will serve.
Not long ago we talked about counting the cost of following Jesus and now we are again confronted with the cost and the choice. Perhaps we are like the manager - we have been given a responsibility in the kingdom of God (every Christian has!), but have we been trustworthy with that responsibility?
If your personal reflection prompts you to think that you have not been responsible with God’s commission, you may find that your “master” might be unhappy with you..... what can you do to rectify the situation? Use what you can to make good the situation.... only you can know if you are serving God or serving the god of this world.
The god of this world will tell you that the kids sport is more important than going to church – and that your job is more important than a commitment to involvement in the things of God. The god of football is he who must be obeyed in this country – all ministers know not to put on a meeting that might clash with a game. And that is ridiculous!
I often feel that there is not much that I can do to affect God’s kingdom and perhaps you feel that way too, but we have to do whatever we can to use the gifts God has given us to proclaim his kingdom. Why? Because God really does want all to be saved and the truth is that He loves us so much that Jesus died for our sin so that nothing should separate us from the love of God. Even if we feel we’ve let God down in the past– don’t let that be a stumbling block to using your gifts in the future, as the sacrifice for that sin has already been made and the debt is paid.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Reflection 12 September 2010
Year C Proper 19 12 September 2010
Jeremiah 4: 11-12, 22-28 Psalm 14 1 Timothy 1: 12-17 Luke 15: 1-10
“Turn the beat around.... I love to hear percussion... turn it upside down... got to have percussion.”
The sermon that we heard last week from Fr. Don Ford contained the message that we are to be the salt of the earth preserving the goodness in life. It reminds me of the song I’ve quoted, “Turn the beat around”, as our purpose as Christians, is to be directly opposite the direction that the world seems to be going in.
Jeremiah 4:11-12 tells us: “At that time this people and Jerusalem will be told, "A scorching wind from the barren heights in the desert blows toward my people, but not to winnow or cleanse; a wind too strong for that comes from me. Now I pronounce my judgments against them."
The message of Jeremiah came to the people and to Jerusalem. Who are these people that God is warning?
Throughout the readings we find the messages from God are both for his people and those who harm his people. It was written in an ancient time and for that particular situation and time, but it has been handed down to us for a reason. We can be sure that if God was upset with his people in the time of Jeremiah then he has the potential to be upset with us if we fall into the same ways.
Jeremiah 4:22 tells us God judgment of His people in these words: "My people are fools; they do not know me. They are senseless children; they have no understanding. They are skilled in doing evil; they know not how to do good."
The Psalmist also tells the same in Psalm 14:1 “The fool says in his heart, “There is no God." They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good.”
Two aspects define the people that God pronounces judgment on, one is that they do not know or believe in God and they do not do good. We don’t have to look very far to see that we live in a world where most don’t believe in God, and on the whole there is a lot of corruption and evil. But what is most upsetting is that God is speaking to His people.
There are people who are saying “there is no God” and God is grieving because he calls them His people.
Psalm 14:3 “All have turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.”
We know that all of us have sinned and fall short of God’s glory. Yes... every single one of us. When God says that there is not one who does good he really does mean it and he is looking with a much greater vision than our own.
Once upon a time it was a given that we were all sinners, but now it is not “politically correct” to indicate any such thing. And so what happens is that we now have a generation of “good” people who think everyone else is “evil”. Citizens who live by a new set of standards, thinking that they are “tolerant”, “progressive” and showing God’s grace, but unaware that they have just swapped one set of rules for another.
When we examine our lives and attitudes we don’t have to look too long and hard to discover that we are not as “good” as we’d like everyone else to think we are. This could be a drastic situation, but it is in fact a relief to know that I don’t have to struggle and strive to be “as good as the Jones’s”, or struggle and strive to be good enough to make God’s grade.... I don’t make the grade – but neither does anyone else who has ever walked this earth – bar one. Jesus!
1Timothy 1:15,16 “Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.”
This little reminder from St. Paul’s letter to Timothy reminds me of the story behind the hymn Amazing Grace. Penned by the one time slave trader, John Newton, the songwriter knew well what it meant to be the worst of sinners and saved by God’s amazing grace, but do we have the same understanding of forgiveness and renewal or are we like the inspector, Javert, from Les Miserables, who believed that a person could no sooner change as a leopard change its spots.
We are sinners who live in a world of sinners, but some of us have been redeemed. God’s warning still stands for those who do not turn to him. Does this concern us? It should, because it grieves God.
Our Gospel reading is about the lost sheep and the lost coin. It explains to us how there is much rejoicing in Heaven over the sinner who repents. I want to turn this “upside down” and ask you to imagine that you are that lost sheep. How do you imagine it feels to be a lost sheep? Frightened, distraught and striving to find “home”, but with no ability to do so.
Then imagine that God finds and rescues you! Ah, yes.... some of us are remembering.....
My point is that God cares for a world that we, the Church, seem to have grown weary of trying to reach. There, but for the grace of God, go you and I, distraught and lost sheep – who are most likely putting on a brave face and pretending that they like being lost.... and maybe some are too stupid to realize that they are lost and may even have hurt us – but God is grieving.
Jesus brings us salvation and it becomes a done deal, but as we live this life we are on a journey to become the people that God purposed us to be. Sometimes in that journey even the saved and found sheep of God’s fold can wander. We can lose sight of our shepherd and become panicked, thinking that we are lost – though we really are not. This is a situation when we the Church need to be there for each other. We need to support, encourage and remind each other of who and what we are in Christ. When someone can’t see the face of Christ, we need to let them know that He is still there.
We walk to the beat of a different drum from that of the secular world. Where the secular world proclaims popular lies, we must proclaim the truth. The world will say that everyone is good (unless you are a criminal) and has no need of God. We proclaim the truth that we are all sinners who need God and he has provided the sacrifice to save us (and criminals).
Are we seeking the lost for Christ and proclaiming the good news? Are we supporting and encouraging each other in our Christian journey? We must ensure that there is mercy and forgiveness in our dealings with each other, because this is what God has shown us, and as His body on Earth, we follow the example that Jesus set when he welcomed sinners.
Jeremiah 4: 11-12, 22-28 Psalm 14 1 Timothy 1: 12-17 Luke 15: 1-10
“Turn the beat around.... I love to hear percussion... turn it upside down... got to have percussion.”
The sermon that we heard last week from Fr. Don Ford contained the message that we are to be the salt of the earth preserving the goodness in life. It reminds me of the song I’ve quoted, “Turn the beat around”, as our purpose as Christians, is to be directly opposite the direction that the world seems to be going in.
Jeremiah 4:11-12 tells us: “At that time this people and Jerusalem will be told, "A scorching wind from the barren heights in the desert blows toward my people, but not to winnow or cleanse; a wind too strong for that comes from me. Now I pronounce my judgments against them."
The message of Jeremiah came to the people and to Jerusalem. Who are these people that God is warning?
Throughout the readings we find the messages from God are both for his people and those who harm his people. It was written in an ancient time and for that particular situation and time, but it has been handed down to us for a reason. We can be sure that if God was upset with his people in the time of Jeremiah then he has the potential to be upset with us if we fall into the same ways.
Jeremiah 4:22 tells us God judgment of His people in these words: "My people are fools; they do not know me. They are senseless children; they have no understanding. They are skilled in doing evil; they know not how to do good."
The Psalmist also tells the same in Psalm 14:1 “The fool says in his heart, “There is no God." They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good.”
Two aspects define the people that God pronounces judgment on, one is that they do not know or believe in God and they do not do good. We don’t have to look very far to see that we live in a world where most don’t believe in God, and on the whole there is a lot of corruption and evil. But what is most upsetting is that God is speaking to His people.
There are people who are saying “there is no God” and God is grieving because he calls them His people.
Psalm 14:3 “All have turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.”
We know that all of us have sinned and fall short of God’s glory. Yes... every single one of us. When God says that there is not one who does good he really does mean it and he is looking with a much greater vision than our own.
Once upon a time it was a given that we were all sinners, but now it is not “politically correct” to indicate any such thing. And so what happens is that we now have a generation of “good” people who think everyone else is “evil”. Citizens who live by a new set of standards, thinking that they are “tolerant”, “progressive” and showing God’s grace, but unaware that they have just swapped one set of rules for another.
When we examine our lives and attitudes we don’t have to look too long and hard to discover that we are not as “good” as we’d like everyone else to think we are. This could be a drastic situation, but it is in fact a relief to know that I don’t have to struggle and strive to be “as good as the Jones’s”, or struggle and strive to be good enough to make God’s grade.... I don’t make the grade – but neither does anyone else who has ever walked this earth – bar one. Jesus!
1Timothy 1:15,16 “Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.”
This little reminder from St. Paul’s letter to Timothy reminds me of the story behind the hymn Amazing Grace. Penned by the one time slave trader, John Newton, the songwriter knew well what it meant to be the worst of sinners and saved by God’s amazing grace, but do we have the same understanding of forgiveness and renewal or are we like the inspector, Javert, from Les Miserables, who believed that a person could no sooner change as a leopard change its spots.
We are sinners who live in a world of sinners, but some of us have been redeemed. God’s warning still stands for those who do not turn to him. Does this concern us? It should, because it grieves God.
Our Gospel reading is about the lost sheep and the lost coin. It explains to us how there is much rejoicing in Heaven over the sinner who repents. I want to turn this “upside down” and ask you to imagine that you are that lost sheep. How do you imagine it feels to be a lost sheep? Frightened, distraught and striving to find “home”, but with no ability to do so.
Then imagine that God finds and rescues you! Ah, yes.... some of us are remembering.....
My point is that God cares for a world that we, the Church, seem to have grown weary of trying to reach. There, but for the grace of God, go you and I, distraught and lost sheep – who are most likely putting on a brave face and pretending that they like being lost.... and maybe some are too stupid to realize that they are lost and may even have hurt us – but God is grieving.
Jesus brings us salvation and it becomes a done deal, but as we live this life we are on a journey to become the people that God purposed us to be. Sometimes in that journey even the saved and found sheep of God’s fold can wander. We can lose sight of our shepherd and become panicked, thinking that we are lost – though we really are not. This is a situation when we the Church need to be there for each other. We need to support, encourage and remind each other of who and what we are in Christ. When someone can’t see the face of Christ, we need to let them know that He is still there.
We walk to the beat of a different drum from that of the secular world. Where the secular world proclaims popular lies, we must proclaim the truth. The world will say that everyone is good (unless you are a criminal) and has no need of God. We proclaim the truth that we are all sinners who need God and he has provided the sacrifice to save us (and criminals).
Are we seeking the lost for Christ and proclaiming the good news? Are we supporting and encouraging each other in our Christian journey? We must ensure that there is mercy and forgiveness in our dealings with each other, because this is what God has shown us, and as His body on Earth, we follow the example that Jesus set when he welcomed sinners.
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