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| SERMON 13th Sunday of Pentecost August 30, 2009 The Rev. Charles W. Messer |
| 667 Mount Road, Aston, PA 19014 610-459-2013 |
| Small Parish - Big Heart The little church you've been looking for! All are welcome! |
| Our Mission: To worship the Lord To serve the community To grow the church |
| Song of Solomon 2:8-13 Psalm 45:1-2, 7-10 or Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-9 Psalm 15 James 1:17-27 Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23 |
To contact us: Calvary Episcopal Church 667 Mount Road Aston, PA 19014 610-459-2013 OFFICE The Rev. Charles Messer, Rector Fr. Chuck: frmesser@calvaryepiscopalrockdale.org Website: mail@calvaryepiscopalrockdale.org Office: calvaryoffice1@verizon.net |
This morning’s lessons are what we could call, ‘religion for dummies.’ This is one
of those rare opportunities the lectionary presents us with lessons that are fairly
straight forward. And it should be. What is the difference between religion and a life
of faith?
First, in the gospel of Mark, Jesus is fed up with the sanctimonious criticism of
religious leaders, “‘This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far
from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching human precepts as doctrines.’ You
abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition.’ The epistle of
James’ let’s us know that not much has changed, despite what Jesus had to say.
He warns that “If any think they are religious, and do not bridle their tongues but
deceive their hearts, their religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled
before God is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep
oneself unstained by the world”
Now, I’m sure there are none of these types of people in the room this morning, but
no one likes a ‘holier-than-thou;’ someone who thinks their self-righteous piety
don’t stink, someone who believes they’ve got it all figured out and none of us do.
Of all the issues Jesus had to deal with, his most troublesome was dealing with
people who think they’ve got God all figured out. He couldn’t stand to see faith in
God reduced to a series of do’s and don’ts, a measuring stick that determine one’s
worth in the sight of God. “Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites,” Jesus
says confirming the fact that this isn’t a new problem that has been with us from
the very beginning.
Christian history is rife with examples of how well meaning people, who do love
God, impose rules and doctrines that have nothing to do with the teachings of
Jesus. Jesus told us to go out into the world and spread the gospel, but did that
mean sharing the good news by coercion and violence? Jesus told us to love our
enemies and practice forgiveness when others do harm to us, but how many wars
throughout our history that have been waged in his name? How often have we
used Jesus and Christianity to divide and conquer, alienate and exploit others who
don’t fall in line with our desire to be right.
What’s at issue here is religion vs. faith. Religion is the first to condemn and the last
to forgive. Faith, on the other hand, is the first to forgive and never condemns.
Religion needs to be right, you are either in or out, saved or damned. Faith in God
is neither right nor wrong, it just is. Religion is what we do for God, that by our own
efforts we’ll earn salvation. Faith is what God has already done for us. Faith is a life
lived in gratitude of grace that is neither earned nor deserved. Religion is duty.
Faith is obedience.
Jesus and James make clear that it is the attitude with which we approach one
another and the world—pride or love, mercy or judgment, exclusion or
acceptance—that betrays our true hearts. We can either be devoted to our own
egos and self-promotion, or to the gospel of Jesus Christ. For Christians, these
attitudes are mutually exclusive, and discipleship means choosing one over the
other. Both Jesus and James give us the tools to determine if our own religion is
“pure and undefiled before God” or “worthless.”
Amen
of those rare opportunities the lectionary presents us with lessons that are fairly
straight forward. And it should be. What is the difference between religion and a life
of faith?
First, in the gospel of Mark, Jesus is fed up with the sanctimonious criticism of
religious leaders, “‘This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far
from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching human precepts as doctrines.’ You
abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition.’ The epistle of
James’ let’s us know that not much has changed, despite what Jesus had to say.
He warns that “If any think they are religious, and do not bridle their tongues but
deceive their hearts, their religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled
before God is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep
oneself unstained by the world”
Now, I’m sure there are none of these types of people in the room this morning, but
no one likes a ‘holier-than-thou;’ someone who thinks their self-righteous piety
don’t stink, someone who believes they’ve got it all figured out and none of us do.
Of all the issues Jesus had to deal with, his most troublesome was dealing with
people who think they’ve got God all figured out. He couldn’t stand to see faith in
God reduced to a series of do’s and don’ts, a measuring stick that determine one’s
worth in the sight of God. “Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites,” Jesus
says confirming the fact that this isn’t a new problem that has been with us from
the very beginning.
Christian history is rife with examples of how well meaning people, who do love
God, impose rules and doctrines that have nothing to do with the teachings of
Jesus. Jesus told us to go out into the world and spread the gospel, but did that
mean sharing the good news by coercion and violence? Jesus told us to love our
enemies and practice forgiveness when others do harm to us, but how many wars
throughout our history that have been waged in his name? How often have we
used Jesus and Christianity to divide and conquer, alienate and exploit others who
don’t fall in line with our desire to be right.
What’s at issue here is religion vs. faith. Religion is the first to condemn and the last
to forgive. Faith, on the other hand, is the first to forgive and never condemns.
Religion needs to be right, you are either in or out, saved or damned. Faith in God
is neither right nor wrong, it just is. Religion is what we do for God, that by our own
efforts we’ll earn salvation. Faith is what God has already done for us. Faith is a life
lived in gratitude of grace that is neither earned nor deserved. Religion is duty.
Faith is obedience.
Jesus and James make clear that it is the attitude with which we approach one
another and the world—pride or love, mercy or judgment, exclusion or
acceptance—that betrays our true hearts. We can either be devoted to our own
egos and self-promotion, or to the gospel of Jesus Christ. For Christians, these
attitudes are mutually exclusive, and discipleship means choosing one over the
other. Both Jesus and James give us the tools to determine if our own religion is
“pure and undefiled before God” or “worthless.”
Amen
