Sermon for Lent 3B
Judy
Dear Friends,
This Sunday’s sermon is entitled “Let my Heart Be Broken by the Things that Break the Heart of God.” (Bob Pierce) and deals with all the lessons). Here it is:
So far this Lent, we’ve looked at what the Bible says to us about temptation- how vulnerable we are to wanting anything we’re not supposed to have or to doing anything we’re not supposed to do. In fact one of the Communion hymns that is very appropriate in Lent is “Yield Not to Temptation for Yielding is Sin.” We’ve also considered one of our chief temptations- to avoid the cross that Jesus expects us to carry. Remember, last week Jesus said, “Take up your cross and follow me”- and he wasn’t talking about jewelry on a gold chain; he was talking about a chosen sacrifice for him. Today I’d like us to look at where yielding to temptation leads us- SIN! Why do we yield? Because we choose to, we want to. Did you hear the story of the aged man who wanted to pass the family Bible on to his daughter? He wrapped it very carefully and took it to the post office. When the clerk took it from him and started filling out the form, she asked “Is there anything breakable in this package.” “No,” answered the man, “nothing except the Ten Commandments. We heard the Ten Commandments in the Old Testament Exodus Bible lesson- using God’s name in vain is not sin- it’s A sin. Not coming to church on Sunday is not sin- it’s A sin. Stealing is not sin- it’s A sin. What is the difference between SIN and SINS? Sins are the result of sin. We sin because we are sinners- poisoned inside by original sin. What’s original sin? Answer this question and you’ll know. What’s the middle letter of “SIN?” Sure- “I” is the middle letter; and “I” represents what’s poisoned about the whole human race. We care more about me, myself, and mine than we do about God and all of God’s other children. “I” reminds us that we’re by nature self-centered, and self-centeredness poisons everything we touch. Those precious children who try to sneak a candy bar from a store without paying for it---why do they do it? Because they want something. Are they thinking about anyone else? No. What about gossiping or committing adultery or being jealous of what someone else has? When we do those things, are we thinking about ourselves or someone else? What about speeding or parking in a “no-parking zone”- who are we thinking about? Sure- ourselves. Committing those sins doesn’t make us sinners. No- we come out of the womb as self-centered sinners and that’s why we sin. That’s exactly what St. Paul is talking about in the Romans- chapter 7 Bible lesson “15 In fact, I don't understand why I act the way I do. I don't do what I know is right. I do the things I hate...18 I know that my selfish desires won't let me do anything that is good. Even when I want to do right, I cannot. 19 Instead of doing what I know is right, I do wrong....23 But in every part of me I discover something fighting against my mind, and it makes me a prisoner of sin that controls everything I do....24 What a miserable person I am. Who will rescue me from this body that is doomed to die? 25 Thank God! Jesus Christ will rescue me.”
So, how can I tell if something is a sin? If it comes from my love of self at the expense of God and my neighbor, it’s a sin. Let me ask you a question: Anger is one of the seven deadly sins. Didn’t we just hear of Jesus being angry? Well, I thought Jesus didn’t sin because his center was pure- not poisoned by original self-centered sin? How is it possible for him to have been angry? Let’s look at the episode in today’s Gospel (John 2:13-22), and you’ll see. What happened? It was Passover, so Jews from all over the empire had traveled to Jerusalem to pay their temple tithe and offer sacrifices for their sins. Because they had traveled- mostly on foot- for days, they were exhausted by the time they got there. They had two problems. First, they were supposed to pay their temple tax, but they couldn’t pay it in defiled pagan Roman money. The temple authorities wouldn’t accept it. They had to pay their tithes in acceptable money. We face the same situation today when we go to Canada. What’s the first thing we usually do after we enter Canada? Sure, change our United States money to Canadian money. If we do it right at the border, we usually get a fair exchange; but if we travel some distance into Canada- some stores won’t give us a fair exchange at all. They know we’re stuck- it’s them or nobody. That’s what the money-changers on the temple porch did. They knew those travelers were stuck- so they made huge profits when they traded Roman coins for temple tax coins.
There was a second rip-off. Travelers coming all that distance couldn’t really bring the lamb or goat or cow they intended to offer as sacrifice, so they just assumed they could buy an animal when they got to Jerusalem, and they could- for a price- a huge price! Just like when we go to Cedar Point- we sometimes don’t want to be bothered carrying food, so we assume we’ll buy it there. When we get inside the gates, what do we find? How much does a simple hot dog and some pop cost? Maybe five dollars, maybe more! Why? Because they know we’re stuck! You want to make a guess how much the merchants charged for a lamb or goat or cow, so the traveler could make his sacrifice? A lot- because the traveler was stuck- they came all that way to sacrifice, so they had to have an animal.
There was one more problem. The temple porch where all this buying and selling was going on (can you imagine the noise and the smell?) was the Court of the Gentiles- the only place where Gentile converts could pray at the temple. Now, how were they supposed to enter into a spirit of prayer with all that noise and confusion?
Do you see why Jesus was angry? People, vulnerable people- exhausted travelers and Gentile worshippers- were being taking advantage of in God’s name- on God’s special property. “I” (self-centeredness) wasn’t at the center of Jesus’ anger. Injustice, lack of compassion, cold-heartedness, all done in the name of Almighty God- these were the things that made Jesus angry. It was his love for other people that made him angry. There are a few other instances when we hear of Jesus getting angry. He was furious at the Pharisees who didn’t want the man with the withered hand to be healed on the Sabbath Day. He was angry when the disciples didn’t want the children to be allowed to come to him. Both of these situations were similar- vulnerable people being taken advantage of in God’s name.
Now you see the message for us this Lent. We are tempted to sin because we are self-centered sinners. Taking anger as an example- when we are angry because of something that someone did to us or ours, it is sin because it is “I-focused.” When we are angry at things that break the heart of God (racism, sexism, abuse of all kinds, hunger, etc.), it is not sin- it is holy anger.
So, what breaks God’s heart in your family, your block, your neighborhood, city, country, world? Do you care, really care, about God- his hopes, goals, dreams, desires? If you really care, what are you going to do about it?
This Lent, may God grant us the wisdom to stand strong against temptation, to fight self-centeredness, and to be angry enough to begin to heal the things that break God’s heart. Amen.
For anyone who is interested, this sermon and updated African-American wisdom statements are posted on our parish’s web site under “Sermons & Stuff”. The address is: http://www.stpaulsepisag.org .
Blessed preaching,
Judy Boli
St. Paul's Episcopal Church
Saginaw, Michigan