Episcopal Church of the Messiah
Worship Service Sermons
March 7 2010
The Reverend Doctor Ellen R. Hill
Lent 3C
The opening verses of this morning’s gospel were quoted by Thornton Wilder at the beginning of his best selling novel of 1927 The Bridge of San Luis Rey. Wilder used his novel to explore the theological issue of theodicy, in other words, the righteousness of God. Or why it is that bad things happen to ostensibly good people. You may remember that the novel tells the story of 5 people who plunged to their death when a bridge high in the Andes collapsed. The 5 people who died included an old Marquesa and her young servant, bereaved brother, the discoverer of a famous actress who was now fading and the actress’ illegitimate son. Their deaths cause a Spanish friar named Brother Juniper to have a crisis of faith. As a result, he becomes obsessively involved in investigating the lives of the five as he tries to come up with an explanation of why it was that those five particular people died such a senseless, random and tragic death.
And that’s essentially the same question Jesus asked some 20 centuries ago in regard to this morning’s gospel. Pilate had ordered the execution of some Galileans and we can’t help but wonder why they were condemned to death. Were they greater sinners than other people in Galilee? And what about those 18 people who died when the tower of Siloam fell? Or some of you might remember the story in John’s Gospel about the man who was blind from birth. "Why is he blind? the religious leaders asked Jesus. "Is it because of his sins or is it because of the sins of his parents?"
In all three of those cases Jesus denies that there’s any connection between their deaths and their sins. The Galileans weren’t the worst sinners in Galilee and those people who were killed by the falling tower weren’t the worst sinners in Jerusalem either. Nor did that man’s blindness have anything to do with either his sins or the sins of his parents. And if all of that is true, then why is it that these tragic things happen to people if it isn’t because of their sins or a punishment for something they’ve done?
Does that mean that God never punishes people for their sins? Well not necessarily, although some people would argue that a kind of retribution for human evil is built into the normal fabric of our lives. For example, if we build houses on flood plains then we shouldn’t be surprised if we’re flooded out. And if we insist on fighting wars then it follows that we’ll automatically suffer and God doesn’t lift a finger to affect any of those situations. But have you noticed in the gospels that Jesus doesn’t get into any explanation, definition or even rationalization. He simply denies that there’s any easy connection between what happens to people during the course of their lives and the punishment of God. It would probably be a healthy thing for all of us to take Jesus seriously and give up the notion that every bad thing that happens to people is an act of God designed to punish human beings for their actions because it’s just not that simple.
But what Jesus does say in today’s text is that "Unless you repent you will all likewise perish". In other words, the issue isn’t why those particular houses were wiped out in La Cresenta in that mudslide a couple of weeks ago. God didn’t single those people out and cause those things to happen. The only issue for us, or anyone for that matter, is whether or not you and I will repent. Now usually in sermons on topics like this, especially during Lent, it’s pretty routine for preachers to name a few things you might want to think about in terms of repentance. You know, sort of Lenten starters or clerical nudges. Like maybe you should examine your attitude towards your neighbor, or people of other ethnic backgrounds who’ve moved into your neighborhood if that bothers you, or your use of money, or alcohol or tobacco. And there’s no question that those issues are ones which many of us may need to address in our lives because we all have specific sins which unquestionably hurt us and separate us not only from God but often from those we love most. But I don’t want to talk about those today, or as the current slang goes, We won’t go there this morning. Today I’d like to get at the matter of repentance in a little different way. I’d like to suggest that beneath the specific sins which may trouble our individual consciences there’s a basic issue of loyalty.
Every year when I taught the Adult Confirmation class in my parish in Studio City we always had a fascinating discussion about evil in the context of the renunciations which are part of the baptism service. We talked a lot about the personification of evil in the form of Satan or the devil and how much easier it was for earlier centuries of Christians, with their pre-scientific world view, to think in terms of a person rather than an abstraction like the forces of evil loose in the universe. For there’s no question that it’s as true today as it was in the days when Jesus was among us actively pursuing his ministry that there’s a contest going on, an actual war within the human family which St. Paul described as a war between God and the hosts of darkness. And what that really means is that the issue for us is whether we’re willing to choose sides in that conflict. And if we are willing to choose whether we’ll be brave enough to make that choice a public one.
Those ancient baptismal questions ask a very simple and straightforward question: Who’s side are you on? On the one hand, there’s God and all that God demands, expects and promises. And on the other hand, there’s a host of other gods which also make claims upon our person and our substance. To be a Christian is to be willing to say publicly that in that particular conflict we’re on God’s side. Because the issue ultimately is simply one of loyalty. To whom or to what do you and I give our allegiance?.
To repent isn’t so much a matter of giving up certain practices or habits it’s really a matter of reaffirming our basic allegiance. It’s a matter of admitting that yesterday we really served other gods. We allowed claims to be made upon us which weren’t the claims of the God of Jesus Christ and we responded to expectations which weren’t the expectations of our God and we listened to promises which weren’t the promises of God. But even if all of those things are true there is still tomorrow. And on tomorrow you and I will have to choose again. And we’ll have to repeat that choice on every tomorrow after that!
You see repentance means that we start each tomorrow by renouncing the devil and all of his works and all of his ways and by reaffirming our commitment to God. But will we do any better tomorrow? Who knows for sure? And ultimately that’s not really as important as whether we understand that the real issue is whether we’ll be honest enough to admit that we always have a choice. And courageous enough to say once again, Tomorrow I will fight against the hosts of darkness and I will reaffirm my commitment to God.
Albert Camus wrote a story called The Plague which was set in a town called Oran in North Africa. Oran was a city suffering from a plague and people were dying every day in great numbers. A parish priest named Father Pancloux felt that it was his obligation to preach about what was happening to them. In his first sermon on the subject he told the people that the plague had come upon them because of their sins. "Calamity has come upon you my brethren and you my brethren deserve it. Plague is the flail of God and the world is God’s threshing floor and implacably God will thresh out the harvest until the wheat is separated from the chaff."
Well time passed and more people died including children and
so Father Pancloux entered the pulpit for a second time. But by this time he’d changed his tune a bit and he included himself and told the people that it was not just their sins but rather our sins. He had come to realize that the issue for all of them was whether in the face of the plague they would deny everything or affirm everything.
But when the plague continued its relentless onslaught on the city Father Pancloux returned to the pulpit for a third time. And the whole issue was recast yet again. For he realized that it wasn’t a question of a punishment for their sins nor a question of affirming or denying anything and so he told them, "My brothers and sisters each of us must be the one who stays." That’s what it finally comes down to; it comes down to the issue of whether or not we’ll stay.
The world in which you and I live is very much like a plague-struck city. Children are dying everywhere of malnutrition. Countless people have no access to health care. Houses are wiped out by mudslides. Almost daily people are shot in their cars while driving on the freeway. And there hasn’t been a day in the life of any of us in which men, women and children haven’t died violently somewhere in senseless warfare between nations, tribes and peoples who have different religions or ideologies.
&#And the same thing is true for the smaller world of our
personal lives as well. Each day you and I are exhausted by our own tiredness and the feeling that just supporting ourselves or our loved ones and keeping ourselves healthy seems to be a losing battle. And there is a sense of ennui which overwhelms us because every day we must remember to pay our bills or lose our credit. And we must be wary of being cheated, or mugged., or manipulated, or used in ways which are insulting. If only we could obliterate the plague struck city and that’s what we try to do.
And so we move from the city to the suburbs, and we retreat behind our burglar alarms. We buy insurance, and avoid listening to the evening news because it’s too depressing. We support the military in the hope that it will keep us safe. We isolate ourselves from the diseased, the troubled and the homeless people of the world. Some of us even retreat into a private world of personal piety and concentrate all of our efforts upon the small rhythms of personal prayer and the confession of our minor sins as if we had no connection to the larger world in which we live.
But finally, as Father Pancloux said to his parishioners, it does come down to this: "Each day the hosts of darkness gather around my bed and around your bed as well. And you and I have to decide whether to hide or throw back the covers and get up. For this is the day which the Lord has made. And I am the person and you are the persons who will either stay or run away."
We’re the ones who’ll have to decide once again whether you and I will renounce the devil and all of his works and all of his ways. And you and I are the ones who’ll have to get on with the task of cleaning, straightening, and healing. For each day is the day of repentance and re-affirmation. That day when we choose whether we’ll stand with God and lean into the future or whether we’ll succumb to all that is broken and sad. God will ultimately prevail!
And so the question for each of us is whether we’ll prevail WITH GOD. And that’s a question that can only be answered by determining which ones of us are going to be the ones who are brave enough to stay! Amen