The
readings on
which this
sermon is
based can be
found at:
http://frsparky.net/a/r155.htm
s155g16
Third Sunday
in
Lent
28/2/2016
(I note that
the Australian
version of the
RCL has this
gospel for
Lent 3 and the
gospel for
Lent 3
today.
Hence I have
done two
shorter
sermons this
week.
Bosco Peters
describes us
as ‘The
Anglican
Church Of
Or’ (1)
:-)
‘For three
years I have
come looking
for fruit on
this fig tree,
and still I
find
none.
Cut it
down!’
Luke 13:7
We should not
blithely
overlook the
fact that we
have an
impatient
God.
As Martin
Luther King
said: ‘justice
delayed is
justice
denied’ (2)
which I
reinterpret as
‘love delayed
is love
denied’.
God is
impatient for
us to love,
because
otherwise,
other people
are
hurt.
And when other
people are
hurt, it
cannot be
‘love’; it
cannot be done
in God’s
name.
We readily
recognise that
suicide
bombers and
terrorists are
operating
under a
travesty of an
interpretation
of Islam, but
fail to
recognise that
any theology
which serves
to
marginalise,
alienate and
ultimately
condemn
another person
in the name of
the Christian
God is equally
a
travesty.
‘The wages of
sin is death’
(3) so the
death of
another either
by our
commission or
by our
omission is
sinful - and
we cannot
escape this by
quoting either
scripture or
tradition.
Recently we
heard the
account of the
Transfiguration
and the
healing of the
boy with
epilepsy read
on the Sunday
before
Lent.
Jesus said:
‘You faithless
and perverse
generation,
how much
longer must I
be with you
and bear with
you?
Bring your son
here.’
(4) The
words are so
bleak and
uncompromising.
No doubt Jesus
felt the
relentless
pressure to
fix every
situation.
It seems he
regained his
composure when
he said: ‘You
always have
the poor with
you, but you
do not always
have
me.’ (5)
So often our
religion is
about
imploring God
to fix the
universe,
whereas the
divine
preoccupation
is with
hoping,
praying and
dying that
humanity will
treat one
another
humanely.
The Cross is
the ultimate
expression of
what an
exclusive
puritanical
religion does
to those who
defend the
simple
doctrine of
treating
others with
dignity - they
kill them!
The Cross is
nothing about
forgiving the
sins of those
who believe;
it is about
God forgiving
the sins of
those who
treat others
humanely, and
we have Peter
to thank for
putting this
so succinctly:
‘love covers a
multitude of
sins’. (6)
The faith we
have is not a
faith that God
will fix all
situations but
that we are
called not to
claim a divine
prerogative to
exclude,
marginalise,
alienate and
condemn anyone
else.
Inclusion and
acceptance may
not fix the
world, but
embracing
others will
make life a
lot more
bearable for
all.
And it strikes
me that this
is good news,
for the
kingdom of God
no longer
depends on the
masses in the
pews
successfully
being whipped
into shape and
spurred into
action by the
leaders, but
when the
church
corporate
begins to
empty herself
of the
pretense to
superiority
and treats all
people with
respect.
But as Jesus
says: ‘no one
after drinking
old wine
desires new
wine, but
says, 'The old
is good.’’
(7)
No one lets go
of personal
power and
authority
easily ..
1.
http://liturgy.co.nz/the-anglican-church-of-or-2
2.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justice_delayed_is_justice_denied
3.
Romans 6:23
4. Luke
9:41
5.
Matthew 26:11
6. 1
Peter 4:8
7. Luke
5:38