Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners

 Fourteenth After Pentecost - Year C YOU CAME FOR ME!

 

In Arabia and the Sahara there is a particular wind condition they call Samum.  There is a different kind of wind that they utilise to separate the wheat from the chaff, but when the Samum blows it destroys, and human life becomes intolerable.  The temperature of this wind condition often reaches 55 °C and the humidity of the air sometimes falls below 10 percent.

The prophet, Jeremiah, uses this image to describe the army that is to come against God’s people where the good and the bad will be swept away together.  It is an extreme picture that he paints when he says, “I looked on the earth, and lo, it was waste and void; and to the heavens, and they had no light”. Etc..

What’s more upsetting is that this event is described as being sent by God because of his fierce anger.  It is from readings like this that people, understanding superficially, may come to know God as a wrathful God and not one of love.

 

It is important to understand more deeply, just what is going on here.  It is written for our benefit and it is written because of God’s grace and love.  It is never God’s intention to destroy or harm us, but sin is not tolerated. It separates us from God, causes harm and destroys relationships.  

 

Often it seems that we shape God to fit our own convenient image.  This reading from Jeremiah reminds us that there are times when God says, “enough”.  It is much like a parent who will warn and warn and warn children and finally follow through with consequence.  Jeremiah speaks of God’s judgement.  God has a right to judge and he is the only one really qualified to do so. 

Jeremiah speaks God’s words and says, ‘For my people are foolish, they do not know me; they are stupid children, they have no understanding. They are skilled in doing evil, but do not know how to do good.’ 

Understand what is happening here.  This is not a wrathful God.  This is a patient and loving God who has warned and warned and guided, but the people refused direction.  The people were doing evil.  When evil is done, people are hurt.  Imagine someone harming your own children.  Would you not also make a judgement, put your foot down and demand a consequence?  God’s actions, even his judgements, are because of love.

 

How do you see the nature of God?

 

In many ancient cultures the gods were wrathful and needed sacrifices to appease them.  In the Israelite culture sacrifices were all pointed to repairing relationships.  There were the sacrifices to atone for sin and also offerings of thanksgiving… an acknowledgment of giving to God that which he had given to them.  All in all, it was a way of staying in right relationship with each other and God.  Most importantly the sacrifice of the Lamb of God at the time of the Passover was a foreshadow of the sacrifice of Jesus.  Involved in the annual Passover ceremony is an interesting part, where drops of wine are taken from the cup and placed on a plate.  It is to symbolize the plagues experienced by the Egyptians and an acknowledgement of the pain and suffering of those people who were the enemies of the people of God.  Do we have such empathy for our enemies?

 

God is God.  He is beyond our understanding and, though he has all power and authority, He treats us with so much mercy and grace, beyond what we deserve and so much so that he willing came as the son of God, suffered and died for us.

Saint Paul was someone who hurt God’s people.  Not only did he hurt them, he was instrumental in their death.  It was Paul who petitioned to chase down the Christians and at whose feet, those who stoned the martyr, Stephen, laid their cloaks. Paul was surprised that God accepted him and amazed at the grace he received.

 

It truly is beyond our comprehension.  Perhaps it is true that our own experiences of human interactions colour our understanding.  How can we believe in such a merciful and gracious God if we have not experienced mercy and grace from others?  Mostly we expect God to be wrathful because mercy and grace are beyond our normal experience with authority figures. 

 

I do not know what experiences St. Paul had before surrendering his life to God, but we do know that he was from an influential family, a free citizen of Rome, a zealous Pharisee, and he was an eloquent and very well-educated man.  Paul thought he was doing God’s work when he was persecuting Christians, and his conversion was possibly the most dramatic in the Bible.  God spoke directly to Paul and a strong light from God blinded him.  Paul became immediately aware of his sin.  It was sin done in ignorance, but still sin.  Paul says that God’s acceptance of him shows us the extend of God’s love, grace and mercy, as he describes himself as a foremost sinner.  A similar sentiment shared by the writer of Amazing Grace, John Newton (former slave trader).  Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, and as a sinner, I am most grateful.

 

The sinners of Jesus time accepted the grace and mercy of God most readily, yet those who claimed to be working at promoting God’s kingdom often rejected him, sometimes simply because he seemed to be accepting the sinners.  I am wondering if these people also had an innate sense that God was a God of wrath.  They had been taught that God was all good and only the good could enter the kingdom of God, so it stands to reason that their image of God was such, that he would exclude people.  Surely, those who were not perfect could not enter the kingdom of God, and those who could be easily named as sinners were, pretty obviously, those who would be excluded.

 

I hope we know that none of us is perfect.

 

I suspect that deep down we all know this.  Those of us belonging to the church, also deeply believe in the truth of God and that God being perfect only accepts the perfect into his kingdom, and we have a fear that we don’t measure up.  We believe that Jesus came to save us and we believe that God loves us.  Or do we?

 

I ask this and bring this to our attention because I personally have struggled to believe that the God of the universe could personally love this one single person here – me!  And when things in my life go wrong, I immediately use it as proof to myself that I’m not good enough and God is punishing me.  Maybe I’m an oddity and I’m the only one like this, but I suspect I’m not, and that others feel this way too.

 

You know, I’m actually not afraid to look at these uncomfortable feelings and fears, because I do know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God is gracious and merciful, and he does love and accepts me, and he does love and accept you.

 

Saint Paul personally experienced the surprising mercy of God.  He knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that God accepts us.  In our Gospel story Jesus tells a parable about leaving the 99 sheep to find the lost one.  The point of the story was to explain to the pharisees that those so called sinners, were the precious ones that God was going after, to look for, to find and to save.  Who, in the story, do you relate to?  Who are you in this story?  Are you the pharisee – one of the 99 sheep, drifting along, feeling invisible in the crowd? or are you the lost one?

 

We need to understand that each of us is meant to read this story, putting ourselves into the position of the lost sheep.  We are not invisible to God… we are the “ONE”.  Jesus searches for us… he not only finds and saves us, but he is the author and perfector of our faith…  he teaches us and guides us and keeps us.

None of us is perfect, but that is why Jesus came, suffered, died and rose again.  It was a plan for God to have us so united with Jesus through our baptism, that our identity is Christ.  We are clothed in Christ and therefore, in him, we are perfect.  We are accepted.  Love, grace and mercy is all ours.  We need not fear or feel invisible or not good enough.  We need not be afraid and wonder if we are good enough to be accepted by God….  It isn’t about being good enough, but the fact that our identity is in Christ.

 

As Christians we strive to do what is right, but not because we are expecting judgement, but because what is right is what is loving and we, through our baptism, have the nature of Jesus.  The Holy Spirit in us is the Spirit of Jesus, influencing, teaching and encouraging us to be Christ like. 

 

As a singer, I was once told that the art of good singing was to “get out of the way” and let our natural voice out.  In other words, our inhibitions, bad posture etc, can get in the way of letting our voice naturally flow out.  In the same way, we as Christians have the Holy Spirit… God within us.  We also need to learn to “get out of the way” and let the Holy Spirit work and flow naturally through us.  That might be as simple as adding to our morning prayer, “Christ, work through me this day”.  God gave us free will and we will always have it, but if we want God to work through us, we need to give him permission.

 

Jesus came into the world to save the sinners.  Note also that the lost sheep was part of the flock….  Jesus welcomed the worst of sinners, but he deliberately uses this parable to show that he came for you and for me.  We are Jesus hands and feet… we are the body of Christ…  Will you give Christ permission to work through you and continue his saving grace and mercy, seeking out the lost and bringing them back to the fold?   Lord Jesus, live through me this day and always.  AMEN.