February 13, 2011 [Green] Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany
Deuteronomy 30:15-20 Psalm 119:1-8 I Corinthians 3:1-9 Matthew 5:21-37
I’ve been reminded, this week, about the Star Wars movie episodes and how they point out to us the battle, not just between the good and evil out there, but the battle between the good and evil that war within us. Our readings for this week also call to mind the choices placed before us, to chose good or evil, life or death.
Deuteronomy 30:15-18 “15 See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. 16 For I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in obedience to him, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess.
17 But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them, 18 I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess.”
Yoda may have put the same thing to the young Luke Skywalker, “Life you have when true to the force you are, but death you will see if choose the dark side you will. A choice to make have you.”
It all seems quite simple when you watch the story as an outsider, not so when it is you in that position, but to simplify, let’s take the example of Anakin Skywalker – who becomes Darth Vader. Anakin was very passionate man who was very, very much in love with the Princess. There is nothing wrong with that, but when he discovers the Princess is dying Anakin turns to the dark side, thinking that in this way he can control the outcome and in some way keep his beloved.
What would you do if confronted with the same temptation? The immature would turn to the dark side and even the mature would find it hard to resist. But what do I mean by “immature” and “mature”?
To be mature enough to resist the “dark side”, in this case has nothing to do with age, but everything to do with trust and faith. Unfortunately we can be mature in this way aged 8 and totally blow it when we are 38. We’d generally consider the Bible writers to be mature in their faith and trust in God and yet we read this telling line in the Psalm.
Psalm119:5,6 “ Oh, that my ways were steadfast in obeying your decrees! Then I would not be put to shame when I consider all your commands.”
The struggle to obey God’s law is common to all! And I’ll say it again: The struggle to obey God’s law is common to all. Sometimes we might find ourselves in a position where we feel that we are keeping the law. Usually this will be when everything in our lives is going along swimmingly and we are achieving all that we want to achieve.
A good friend recently told me something that has great truth contained in it and it is something that I wish everyone understood. She said that when someone is very thirsty they will drink dirty water. If we take the example of Anakin Skywalker we can see that while everything was going well he had no trouble being true to the “light”, but when he became desperate, though he knew it was not good, he drank the dirty water of hope from the “dark side”.
While Anakin’s actions were very clear to all that he had chosen evil, there are many times that we choose evil and others do not see it. Indeed, we do not even realize that we’ve chosen evil.... the classic example of this kind of thinking comes from the words of a friend of mine who gambles, “I’m not hurting anyone. I don’t have a wife and kids, so it doesn’t matter....” . We justify our actions, such that it is no longer SO bad.
I would have to say that I know of people and situations where sin is actually understandable and justifiable, but we do ourselves a disservice if we fail to see that we are falling short of God’s perfect plan. The more we compromise – not so much in our actions- but more importantly in our belief, the more danger we are in of turning to the “dark side”. We will all fail at times, but it is vital we recognise it and call it as it is.... that is “Sin”.
Jesus made it very clear that the bar of perfection is very high:
Matthew 5:21,22 “ “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.””
It gets even harder.....
Matthew 5:27-30 ““You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.”
We, of course don’t take these things literally, yet we often fail to realize the reason for such extreme sentiment in the writings is so that we will take the issue of sin very seriously. Another great movie /book series is the Lord of the Rings. At the climax of the final episode, Froddo’s finger which bares the ring (of sin) is bitten off and thrown into the fires of Mordor.
We have the amazing knowledge of the Good News. We know that we will fail and sin, but we know that Jesus died to atone for our sin. We make the mistake of dismissing the gravity of our sin – especially these little ones, like angry words – which actually can cause a lot of damage. How many have had their identity as a person damaged by school bullies, or put downs at home?
Our sin is dealt with. Our relationship with God is renewed, but Jesus makes it clear to us just what sin is, so that we can understand the gravity of our actions and the magnitude of the gift he has given us. So, here we are on this side of the cross and resurrection, but still as able as ever to be tempted.
1 Corinthians 3:1-3 “Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarrelling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans?”
And there we have the clue as to how to stand firm against the temptation of the “dark side”. St. Paul expresses his inability to speak to the people as those who live by the Spirit. Notice Spirit has a capital, referring to God’s Spirit, not the human spirit or team spirit or anything like that. In order to be standing firm we need to live by the Spirit of God. It is that intangible thing that many of us don’t quite get a handle on.... but we can understand this more easily when we look to the example of our fictional Sci-fi.
When Luke Skywalker and other Jedi knights fought their battles they relied on an inner knowledge and understanding that came from outside of them. The “force” is an excellent example of the way that a Christian needs to rely on the Holy Spirit.
There is also harmony when we are being led by the Spirit. There is no one person that is meant to do everything and no one needs to feel redundant either:
1 Corinthians 3: 5-9 “ 5What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.”
I think there is only one thing left to say: “May the Force be with you!”
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