Sermon for Advent 3B
Judy
Dear Friends,
This Sunday’s sermon is entitled “There’s a War Going On” or “Which Side Are You On?” and deals with the Gospel (Isaiah 65: 17-25). Here it is:
Did you notice the statement from our Old Testament lesson (Isaiah 65:25): “They won’t hurt or destroy anyone on my holy mountain”? I’ve always loved the lion and lamb image, although (as you can tell from today’s Old Testament reading) it really should be a wolf and a lamb. I’ve even got a collection of lion and lamb art works of various types. They may not hurt or destroy on God’s holy mountain or even in my art collection, but we surely do destroy each other in our homes, our relationships, our city, and our world. Saginaw is now the 2nd or 3rd most violent city of our size in our country, with 13 homicides this year! Isn’t that disgraceful!!! Now you can see from where I got the titles of this sermon. There is a war going on- a war between the forces of evil and the forces of good, more plainly between Satan and God, which leads to the second sermon title: “Which Side Are You On?”
It’s easy to say- “Oh, I’m on God’s side,” but actions speak louder than words. Remember how Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers” (Matthew 5)? Being a peacemaker is easier said than done, because it goes against much of our basic human nature. Remember that we are born with original sin- i.e. self-centeredness. That self-centeredness manifests itself in basically two ways- territoriality and pecking order. Along with “I’ll do it all by myself!” what else is a favorite statement by almost every two-year-old? Sure, “MINE!” That’s territoriality. Toddlers do it with toys, scientists do it with ideas, husbands and wives do it with money, gangs do it marking territory with spray paint (as do dogs with urine), and nations do it with war. Pecking order is the desire to be “top dog,” to be better than someone else. “He ‘dissed me!” or “How dare she?!” are examples of pecking order. When our territory or pecking order is dishonored, it’s easy to want revenge- and that’s where the violence comes in. In Romans (6:23), Paul says, “The wages of sin is death.” We’re not just talking about dying before our time, but also how to have a miserable, bitter existence that is death on earth. This rock (actually a geode) is really light. How much do you think it would weigh? (Take guesses.) (Ask for a volunteer.) What if the person held it for one minute? Not a problem. What if he held it for an hour? He’d have an ache in his arm. What if he held it for a day or a week or a year or a lifetime? God has a better way. That’s what revenge does to the human spirit.
The rest of Paul’s statement is: “But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord.” Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” God’s way is hard, but it results in a fulfilling life. Jesus way is the only way that works: forgive your enemies and pray for them. That doesn’t mean letting people walk all over you; it means speaking up, and finding peaceful ways of getting respect. Most of all, it means NO REVENGE! God says, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” When we get revenge, the devil wins because now two people have committed the same sin instead of one. When we get revenge, it means we don’t trust God to even the score.
Therefore: in terms of violence…
1) Don’t think it.
2) Don’t talk it.
3) Don’t play it.
4) Don’t plan it.
Don’t do it.
It’s easy to think- this problem is just too big. It can’t be done. I’m going to close with an anonymous poem:
I am not everyone,
But I am someone.
I cannot do everything,
But I can do something.
What I can do,
I ought to do.
What I ought to do,
I will do-
By the grace of God.
I ask your prayers that God will show us what to do to prevent the atrocious waste of the lives of our precious young people.
For anyone who is interested, this sermon and updated African-American wisdom statements are posted on our parish’s NEW WEB SITE under “Sermons & Stuff”. The address is: http://www.stpaulsepisag.org .
Blessed preaching,
Judy Boli
St. Paul's Episcopal Church
Saginaw, Michigan