Easter 3, Yr. B, April 22,
2012
Acts 3:12-19; Psalm 4; 1
John 3:1-7; Luke 24:36b-48
Sermon preached at St.
Stephen’s Episcopal Church
While the kids
were snacking, the adults had a conversation about the parable. We talked about the seeds thrown
on the hard earth, and then on the shallow soil, and those seeds sown amongst
the thorns … and then the seeds that fell on good soil. What do you think about this story, I
asked them. One person said that
she didn’t think of herself as being only one kind of soil. There were days when her faith was as
strong as the wheat coming up in the good soil, and other days when she knew
her faith was troubled by the cares of the world. Things aren’t black and white. Then several others talked about how their faith was
challenged on an almost daily basis … by people in their work … people who were
intelligent thinking adults who couldn’t understand why anyone would believe
what Christians profess. We’re
challenged when school practices or dance recitals pop up on Sunday mornings
and we have to decide what to say.
Do I say we won’t be going because we go to church on Sunday
mornings? People don’t get it.
I wonder if people
don’t get it because they aren’t hearing what our Christianity means to
us. They hear a lot about beliefs,
but our faith isn’t about a system of beliefs. The only “belief” we really need to care about is whether or
not someone professes faith in Jesus.
Faith is really about our relationship with God. As Christians we often access that
relationship through Jesus. For
us, Jesus is the gateway … the revelation of God in the flesh … the one who
shows us a way to live that will open our lives to God’s work and witness. Jesus lived so that we
might know God better and learn to live lives that continue the revelation that
Jesus so courageously, and so lovingly began for us. Jesus embodied the Spirit of the law, and as we continue in
his Way, we do too. Our lives
become a proclamation … the kerygma of
our faith … repentance and forgiveness are incarnated. That’s the message that Jesus came to
spread throughout the world … do not be afraid to return to God. In relationship with God we will find
forgiveness. Not only for
ourselves, but for everyone. It
began in Jerusalem, but it’s meant to be spread to all nations.
It’s all about
relationship, not beliefs. If we
are in relationship with God … we will not be stuck in sin. Because relationship makes forgiveness
possible. I have a friend who had
a difficult relationship with her mother.
There was much that was unspoken between them, a lot they just chose not
to talk about. Wounds that seemed
to have scabbed over, but which were open and sore beneath the surface. Even though her mother was aging, my
friend never felt able to seek reconciliation with her mother … and then her
mother began to fail suddenly. She
hurried to be at her bedside before she died. When she arrived, her mother wasn’t awake, but she was
alive. My friend sat at her
bedside and spoke the words she had long held in her heart. Words of hurt and then forgiveness, of
loss and love.
When she returned
after her mother’s funeral, I asked if she had made her peace. She said, by the time I got there my
mother couldn’t talk to me … but I could talk to her. I don’t know if she heard me … but I have to believe that
what I needed her to hear made it through. I have to believe that what I offered was enough, and God
did the rest. God is always
seeking us … luring us into relationship … so that we might know the
unconditional love that only God can sustain. Even before we take that first step back in God’s
direction … God is stepping toward
us … arms held wide to wrap us in love’s embrace.
People just don’t
get it. I can understand why. The stories in our Bible don’t make a
lot of sense unless you spend time with them. The stories in our new testament use images that are foreign
to most of us. The letters there
are written to communities vastly different from ours today. Everything needs
interpretation. The real meaning
is often beneath the words on the surface. People hear so much about dos and don’ts in the media. They
hear so much about who’s in and who’s out. They hear so much about fighting within the church, and
between churches. They hear
vitriol and argument in the news.
They can’t imagine that the real Christian message is about love and
forgiveness. Let’s hear some of
that in the newspaper, because that’s our proclamation! That’s our message to the world as
Christians.
In Saturday’s
D&C, David Sirota wrote that in the United Kingdom a “new report from the
British think tank Demos found that in England 1) ‘religious people are more
active citizens (who) volunteer more, donate more to charity and are more
likely to campaign on political issues’ and 2) religious people are more likely
to be politically progressive (people who) put a greater value on equality than
the non-religious, are more likely to be welcoming of immigrants as neighbours
(and) more likely to put themselves on the left of the political spectrum.’” [1] I read a blurb in a recent Christian
Century that said that those who read the Bible tend to be more socially
progressive than those who don’t. That stands to reason, because caring for the foreigner, the
widowed, and the orphaned are big themes throughout both the Old and New
Testaments.
It’s surprising
that according to Sirota, the trends reported in the U.S. are just the opposite
of those in the U. K. Those who
self-identify as religious in the U. S. “tend to be exactly the opposite of
their British counterparts when it comes to politics”.[2] No wonder people just don’t get
it. Anyone who knows Jesus, anyone
who has really read the bible knows that Jesus stood up for the poor, the
outcast and the lonely. Anyone
who’s read the bible knows that the early Christian community was known for
it’s love, for the way they sold their belongings and lived in community …
giving to each what they needed.
Getting what they needed in their turn.
Notice that in
neither of the New Testament readings we heard today there is no mention of personal
salvation. There’s no mention of
heaven and hell. There’s nothing
about rewards or punishments.
That’s not what Jesus was about.
That’s not what the resurrection was about. Jesus came so that we would know God, and return. In that returning we would understand
and accept ourselves for the beloved creatures we are. That’s our message. That’s our proclamation … repentance
and forgiveness. Returning and
reconciliation.
In Christ there is
no separation from God. If we
abide in Christ, if we live in relationship with Christ … we are joined in God
… and that is our salvation as individuals and as a community … to be at one
with God and one another for all time.
If we live in Christ, we will be more generous with our time and our
treasure. We will be more
accepting of ambiguity. We will be
more open to difference. We will be more aware of forgiveness. We may still belong to different
political parties, but our goals will be the same … justice, peace, mutual respect and dignity
for all.
There are seeds to
be sown, and they will fall on all kinds of soil … that’s not our problem. That’s for God to work out. We just sow the seed, so that when we
meet Jesus face to face ourselves … and he sits down to eat with us … we will
recognize him … and our response will be one of welcome and
reconciliation. And when
people ask us why we are smiling, we can proclaim with confidence that we have
encountered the risen Christ in our midst … and we are thankful.
Amen.
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