RonBlog

Sunday 12th September, 2010 Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Sentence
I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.
Luke 15:10
Collect
O God, without You we are not able to please You; mercifully grant that Your Holy Spirit may in all things direct and rule our hearts, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

Old Testament Lesson Jeremiah 4: 11 – 12 & 22 – 28

At that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem: A hot wind comes from me out of the bare heights in the desert toward my poor people, not to winnow or cleanse--a wind too strong for that. Now it is I who speak in judgment against them.

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. I looked on the earth, and lo, it was waste and void; and to the heavens, and they had no light. I looked on the mountains, and lo, they were quaking, and all the hills moved to and fro. I looked, and lo, there was no one at all, and all the birds of the air had fled. I looked, and lo, the fruitful land was a desert, and all its cities were laid in ruins before the LORD, before his fierce anger. For thus says the LORD: The whole land shall be a desolation; yet I will not make a full end. Because of this the earth shall mourn, and the heavens above grow black; for I have spoken, I have purposed; I have not relented nor will I turn back.

Psalm 14

Fools have said in their hearts ‘There is no God”: they have all become vile and abominable in their doings, there is not one that does good
The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of Adam: to see if there were any who would act wisely and seek after God
But they have all turned out of the way, they have all alike become corrupt: there is none that does good, no not one
Are all evildoers devoid of understanding: who eat up my people as they eat bread, and do not pray to the Lord?
They shall be struck with terror: for God is with the company of the righteous
Though they frustrate the poor in their hopes: surely the Lord is their refuge
O that deliverance for Israel might come forth from Zion: when the Lord turns again the fortunes of His people, then shall Jacob rejoice and Israel shall be glad.

Epistle 1 Timothy 1

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Saviour and of Christ Jesus our hope,
To Timothy, my loyal child in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
I urge you, as I did when I was on my way to Macedonia, to remain in Ephesus so that you may instruct certain people not to teach any different doctrine, and not to occupy themselves with myths and endless genealogies that promote speculations rather than the divine training that is known by faith. But the aim of such instruction is love that comes from a pure heart, a good conscience, and sincere faith. Some people have deviated from these and turned to meaningless talk, desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make assertions.
Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it legitimately. This means understanding that the law is laid down not for the innocent but for the lawless and disobedient, for the godless and sinful, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their father or mother, for murderers, fornicators, sodomites, slave traders, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to the sound teaching that conforms to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which he entrusted to me. I am grateful to Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because he judged me faithful and appointed me to his service, even though I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a man of violence. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners--of whom I am the foremost. But for that very reason I received mercy, so that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display the utmost patience, making me an example to those who would come to believe in him for eternal life. To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honour and glory forever and ever. Amen.
I am giving you these instructions, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies made earlier about you, so that by following them you may fight the good fight, having faith and a good conscience. By rejecting conscience, certain persons have suffered shipwreck in the faith; among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have turned over to Satan, so that they may learn not to blaspheme.

GOSPEL Luke 15: 1 – 10

Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to Jesus. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, "This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them." So he told them this parable: Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbours, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.' Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. "Or what woman having ten silver coins, if she loses one of them, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbours, saying, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.' Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."

NOTES ON THE READINGS

Old Testaments Lesson
It is rather sad that far too few people know their Bibles well enough to be aware of the history of Israel during the time of the Major Prophets. There was a most tragic but formative experience for the Southern Kingdom when Jerusalem and Judea was conquered by the Babylonians and anyone who was anyone was taken hostage to that far land. It was a most shattering experience for the nation, which had expected their God to keep them safe regardless of the threats around them.
As mentioned in previous notes, much of Israel’s theology and understanding of God came, not from mystics who spent time alone pondering the Divine, but ordinary people who watched and observed, and to draw their conclusions from life to understand Who God was. However, not all Jews operated at that level. As in all communities, there were the go-getters who gave not a damn about others. God’s response was not to punish and damn, but to step back and allow such folk to see the outcome of their courses of action. And it was that determination to be unjust, disloyal and disregarding of the important aspects of life that led to the collapse of the nation. It is tragic beyond words to see a nation or culture collapse from within, left spiritless and hopeless through their own choices.
Much of (Second) Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel cover this harsh time in Israel’s history.

Psalm
At another level, the ancient psalmist underlines the folly of the choice to turn one’s back on God, for that means turning one’s back on everyone else as a rule. Whilst it has to be said that this author overstates the case to some extent, sooner of later this disregard spreads, affecting the outlook, attitudes and actions of those who refuse the guarantor of truth, justice and compassion.

Epistle
There is often a fine line between truth and falsehood, and the Apostle was well aware of the danger of cutting fast and loose with important issues. Never forget that this period of the Church’s history was no easy one, for it was not as if Christianity was the only player on the stage of religions at the time. In fact, the situation then was as complex as the modern day, with all manner of competing isms and ideas and religions, most of which offered very little in the way of genuine guidance.
I confess to considerable concern in our own day and age when even among Christian Churches and sects there is a multitude of strange and foundation-less ideas and isms claiming to be Christian and in fact being nothing of the sort. ‘Test the spirits’ Paul used to encourage people and I endorse the words of that Apostle.

Gospel
You may well be aware that today’s Gospel continues with the story of the Prodigal Son (though this parable should emphasise the prodigal father actually. So there are three tales about lost things, and the important things to note are in the various items. But lost things call out to be found, and when they are, there is joy in heaven over one sinner who repents.
The sheep gets lost because, well, sheep are sheep and usually manage to lose themselves without a lot of effort. Why else were there shepherds in those days and fences in our own? And the coin was lost through no fault of its own. Someone else had to lose it, the coin being quite helpless. And in both cases, the ‘owner’ did the searching, exerting great effort in the search.
You will note that when the prodigal son was ‘lost,’ and that because he determined to be lost, no one but no one went looking for him.
One suspects that, in the culture of Jesus’ day, no one went after any lost person because the rest saw such a deserting action as a sign of their sin – and who would want to get their hands dirty looking for such outcasts anyway? You know the answer to that.

NOTES FOR A SERMON
I made comment elsewhere about the sad failure of many Christian people to think through the ramifications of the data given to us in the Scriptures. Perhaps the far-too-long emphasis on ‘believing the Word of God’ left a void when it came to understanding what was being conveyed. As I look back over Christian history, I am amazed at the capacity of people of the various times to grab hold of some aspect of the faith --- and quite simply avoid issues and matters for more significant and important. (No doubt, someone 50 or 100 years from now will wonder why we did not see important issues of faith.)

I wonder if you can find any clear link between the various readings for today? It is a strange amalgam of readings, don’t you think, and perhaps only the sentence and Collect offer any clue. You may well see something other than I offer, so don’t be limited to what follows.

In each of the readings, Psalm included, there seems to me to be a remarkable connection between human sin and evil, its outcomes, and the response of God to it all. Spend a few moments looking back on the readings, to see if you catch sight of what I am pointing to.

At the time that I am working on this material, the news broke in South Australia that the strong attempt on the part of the State Government to get on top of the bikie gangs and obliterate them has failed in the Supreme Court. That Government has long been hot and strong on Law and Order, and it has backfired. And I don’t think I am sorry that it has. Strong controls and punitive actions are hardly likely to produce much in the way of constructive relations with anyone, let alone such people. For anyone who thinks otherwise, may I point to the sorts of options that are available in this remarkable set of readings.

Stop me if you think this too complex, but .........
In that Old Testament Lesson, the prophet was concerned about any future for the People of God. Certainly God was about to act in judgement, but notice that even Jeremiah does not see this so much as punitive as it was a matter of God stepping back from stupid Israel and allowing nature to take its course. This is echoed in the New Testament constantly, and is a case of ‘if you wish to be silly or stupid, then “pay your money, take your chance, and see where it gets you.”’ The fascinating thing, from where I sit, is how do you get people to take responsibility for their actions? And this is how God has always worked with people, even wayward ones.

Then the Psalmist takes the ‘ungodly’ to task. The fool has said in his heart, ‘there is no God...’ I have a sneaky suspicion that there is a touch of hyperbole here, but there is the basis of truth of course. It is not all ‘ungodly’ who become evil, but as we continue in life these days, it becomes increasingly clear that – however you like to put it, ‘discarding God results in discarding our fellow humans and even the world in which we live.’ In any situation, the outcome becomes tenuous and shaky.
And Epistle and Gospel take us along the same path with slightly different inputs. The Epistle underlines the need for clear and precise ‘doctrine’ – one’s theology needs to be clear, for there are far too many people ready to take you off into the wide blue yonder. I am amazed constantly at the extent to which even our printed media is so full of utter baloney setting itself up as guides to truth about life. Recent items on TV news points up the same misleading and dangerous stuff in ‘health’ foods and so on.
You will be aware that the Gospel for today is part of a trilogy: the three lost things. Sheep, coin and – next week the prodigal son. Three separate items and three different ways of getting lost, and these first two are of items less capable of choosing to be lost. That prodigal son is wilfully different.
The whole point of this fascinating series of readings – seems to me – is that the Scriptures illustrate, from real life, the different responses of the Father to those who are His lost ones. Most of all I underline the complete lack of punitive, repressive punishment. We have a God Who yearns – and Who makes it rather more possible for the penitent to find their way home again. Mind you, there is one great requirement before that return happens: there is the need to be honest and fair dinkum on the part of the ‘sinner.’ God may be rather softer than most human beings, but He is not about to be taken for an idiot either. It is a lesson we all need to learn.