Today I want to start with a famous picture—one you probably all recognize. It’s a picture of the Earth—taken from space. It’s called “The Blue Marble”—for obvious reasons. The original version of this picture was taken by astronauts Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins—during the Apollo 11 Moon Mission in July, 1969. On their way to the Moon—the three astronauts were struck by the sight of the Earth from their spaceship. They said it looked like a “beautiful blue marble—an island of light and life—floating in the midst of a sea of darkness.” When the photo was published—it grabbed the attention of the entire world. It was the first time human beings had seen their home planet—from a “God’s-eye” point of view. It brought home in a powerful way the fact that we really are inhabitants of one world. It also brought home the realization that the Earth is not as large as we once thought. It’s only a tiny planet in a vast universe. The Earth is not “infinite”—as we once thought—but limited. And it has limited resources. When our Book of Common Prayer was revised in 1979—this new perspective inspired a poetic phrase that found its way into Eucharistic Prayer C: “This fragile Earth—our island home.” We now understand—in a way that we never could before—that God has indeed blessed us with the Earth’s resources—but that those resources are not inexhaustible. For Christians—this picture brings to mind any number of different scriptures. The first one I think of is Genesis 1:31: “And God saw everything he had made—and behold, it was very good.” The Earth and its resources are a gift from God. And what God has given us is “very good.” As today’s Epistle reading from First Timothy says: “God has richly provided us with everything good for our enjoyment.” Another scripture evoked by this picture is Genesis 1:1—the first verse of the Bible: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the Earth.” That verse defines once and for all our relationship to the world around us: The Earth is God’s creation—and it belongs to God! All that we have—and all that we are—is a gift from God. It all comes from God—and someday it will all return to God. We are not the “owners.” We are merely “stewards”--caretakers of God’s bounty. For a brief period—we are entrusted with the gift of time, energy, and resources. What we do with them will ultimately determine our character—and our destiny. That brings us to today’s Gospel reading. This reading is part of an entire section of Luke that is dedicated to Jesus’ teachings about money and material possessions. In today’s reading, Jesus tells a parable about a “rich man”—who wore fine clothing—and dined on fine food every day. Just outside the rich man’s door—lived a “poor beggar” named Lazarus. In stark contrast to the rich man—Lazarus had nothing. He dressed in rags—and was covered with sores. His only hope was to get some left-overs from the rich man’s table. The two men eventually die--and their fortunes are reversed! The beggar finds comfort in Paradise—in the company of the Old Testament Patriarch Abraham. But the rich man is tormented—in the flames of Hades. Ironically—it is now the rich man’s turn to beg. He begs that Lazarus be sent to cool his tongue with a drop of water. But this cannot happen. Just as—on Earth—the rich man ignored the beggar’s plea for help—so now, his own plea for help will be ignored. The rich man’s failure to act with basic human compassion has sealed his own fate! This parable is one of Jesus’ most pointed stories—and the point he was making is clear: As “stewards” of God’s bounty—we are expected to use God’s resources wisely and compassionately—not only to meet our own needs—but the needs of God’s world—and God’s people. The rich man in the parable chose to use his resources only for himself—even though he was blessed with wealth. He didn’t even help a starving beggar—who lived right outside his door. Going back to today’s Epistle reading from First Timothy—St. Paul gives clear instructions to those who are blessed with worldly wealth. First of all—he reminds us that “we brought nothing into this world—and we can take nothing out of it.” What part of “You can’t take it with you” do we still not understand?! Paul goes on to say that we should all be “content” if we have food and clothing. “But those who want to be rich will fall into temptation”—and ultimately into spiritual “ruin and destruction.” “For the love of money is the root of all evil.” Men and women of God must “shun” entanglement with wealth and worldly possessions—and instead—“pursue righteousness, godliness, faith and love.” Finally—Paul commands the wealthy to be “rich in good works—generous, and ready to share.” They are not to trust in riches—“but in God, the Giver of all good things.” In this way they will build up for themselves “a good foundation” for the future—so that they may “take hold” of Eternal Life. Since those instructions are addressed to the “wealthy”—we may not think they apply to us. But they do! We may not think of ourselves as “rich.” But we are! Every one of us is rich. We have all been blessed in countless ways by God’s bounty. We have each been given an abundance of time, energy, and resources—to use as God’s Stewards—not just for our own enjoyment and good—but for the good of God’s world—and God’s people. Let me close with a story. Three persons happened to die—and arrived at the Pearly Gates at the same time. St. Peter asked them what they had done on Earth to show that they were worthy of Heaven. The first was a wealthy businessman. He began to list his accomplishments as CEO of his own company—leader of many civic organizations—and member of many social clubs. St. Peter quickly cut him off—and sent him packing. The second was a highly educated woman. She began to explain how she had advanced herself academically—becoming a Department Head at a prestigious university—a respected consultant—and an acclaimed author. St. Peter turned her away as well. The third was a man of no particular distinction or accomplishment. “I don’t know,” he said hesitantly. “I’ve never had very much—or done very much. “But there were my birds. “I loved my beautiful wild birds. “I fed them every day—all winter long. “I made sure they had plenty of food—and fresh water—all the time.” To his surprise—the Pearly Gates swung wide open—and he heard a Voice say: “Well done, good and faithful servant. “Enter into the joy of your Lord. “For I was hungry—and you fed me. “I was thirsty—and you gave me water to drink.” Now don’t take my story too literally. There is more to “good stewardship” than feeding the birds. But it’s a start! God loves his entire Creation—including this “beautiful blue marble floating in a sea of darkness.” God loves everything he has made—even the “birds of the air.” But God is most concerned for the poor—those who have no resources of their own--those who live right outside our door. Here is what we need to understand today: The Earth is God’s creation—and it belongs to God! All that we have—and all that we are—is a gift from God. It all comes from God—and someday it will all return to God. We are not the “owners.” We are merely “stewards”--caretakers of God’s bounty. For a brief period—we are entrusted with the gift of time, energy and resources. What we do with them will ultimately determine our character—and our eternal destiny! Now let us pray. (BCP p. 827, “For the Right Use of God’s Gifts.”) Today’s sermon was inspired by the memory of the first book I was required to read in seminary. But before I get to that—I need to remind us all of another memory. It was on this date—September 11th—in the year of Our Lord 2001—that Islamic militants hijacked three airliners—and attacked the World Trade Center in New York City, and the Pentagon in Washington, DC. A fourth plane was probably intended for the White House or the Capitol building—but crashed before it was able to get there—apparently due to resistance by the passengers. Almost three thousand died that day—and the world-as-we-know-it was forever changed. Today—on the 15th anniversary of that event—I ask us each to renew our commitment--not to getting revenge—but to proclaiming the Gospel—the Good News of Jesus Christ—to all people. Let us re-dedicate ourselves to working and praying and giving for Justice, Peace, and Reconciliation—in this community—in our state and nation—and around the world. As I was saying—this sermon was inspired by the first book I was required to read in seminary—called Hunting the Divine Fox—by Robert Farrar Capon. Perhaps some of you have read it. As you might guess—“Hunting the Divine Fox” is about the search for God. Father Capon suggests that—throughout our history—human beings have always been searching for God. He portrays mankind as a relentless hunter—who is constantly engaged in tracking down his prey. This human “hunter” is always searching for meaning—always trying to unravel the mysteries of Creation--always “Hunting the Divine Fox.” God—on the other hand—is portrayed as the wily fox—the unwilling prey—who is always eluding mankind. God has hidden himself from our view—only leaving obscure clues to his existence. Try as we may to track God down—he cleverly foils our every effort. Pursue him as we might—“The Divine Fox” always remains just beyond our grasp. According to this way of looking at things—life is a game of Divine Hide-and-Seek—with God doing the hiding—and us doing the seeking. “Hunting the Divine Fox” is a flattering metaphor. It makes the human race sound noble and good. That’s the way we like to think of ourselves—isn’t it? That’s the way we like to portray ourselves—in our own minds—and in our history books: As pilgrims on a Great Spiritual Quest; Explorers who are always seeking out new frontiers; Philosophers who are always searching for the Truth. It all fits in with Capon’s thesis that human beings are restless hunters—always in pursuit of an elusive God. But there is a twist. At the end of the book—Capon turns the tables on the reader. It turns out that we have it all wrong. We are not the ones who are pursuing God. The truth is just the opposite. God is the One who is pursuing us! “The Divine Fox” is the Relentless Hunter—and we are the unwilling prey. The truth is that—throughout human history—and throughout our individual lives—it is God who has always come in search of us—and not vice versa. We human beings—for our part—are always running away from God—running away as fast and as hard as we can! This view of the “Divine Hunt” is much more in line with Scripture—and with the rest of the Christian literary tradition. An earlier work that is based on the same idea is The Hound of Heaven—by English poet Francis Thompson. Thompson portrays God—not as the hunter—but as the “Hound”—the relentless hunting dog. God is the “Hound of Heaven”—and God’s prey is the human Soul. The Hound never gives up—but always runs its prey to exhaustion--and always catches it in the end! The Hound of Heaven is autobiographical in nature—based on Francis Thompson’s own struggle to evade God. But as he learned—there is no escaping the “Hound of Heaven.” Thompson’s story—like all genuine spiritual autobiographies—is the story of God’s unrelenting “pursuit of the human Soul.” All of this brings us to our Gospel reading for today. The Scribes and the Pharisees—the religious leaders of Jesus’ day—are upset with Jesus once again. They are “grumbling” and complaining about his unorthodox behavior. Jesus was attracting crowds of people—made up of “tax collectors” and other low-lifes—who were regarded by good religious folk as “sinners.” But Jesus had no problem associating with these outcasts. He was even willing to sit at table—and eat with them. When the Pharisees “grumbled” about this—Jesus told them two short parables. One is about a shepherd who has a hundred sheep. When one is lost—the shepherd leaves the rest and goes looking for it—until he finds it and brings it home. The other is about a woman who has ten silver coins. When one is lost—she turns the house upside down until she finds it. In both parables the emphasis is on searching for the one that is lost—and rejoicing greatly when it is found. Jesus says that God is like that. God always goes searching for the one that is lost. God never gives up until the lost one is found. God always makes sure that the lost one is brought safely home. And then—there is great rejoicing! God is the shepherd who goes looking for the lost sheep. God is the woman who goes looking for the lost coin. God is the “Hound of Heaven” who goes looking for every human soul. God is relentless in his pursuit of every soul that is lost! One of the points I want to make today is this: God always takes the initiative to save us. Despite what we like to think—it is not we who go looking for God. It is God who comes looking for us. God is the One who always takes the initiative in saving us. That is why the Church has always practiced infant baptism—and why Episcopalians continue to practice it. Some Christians say that a person needs to accept Christ as Savior and Lord before they can be baptized—and an infant is incapable of doing that. But that is precisely the point! Jesus once said “You have not chosen me. “Rather, I have chosen you.” Infants are incapable of choosing to accept Christ--and that is precisely the point of baptizing them. We baptize infants to show that it is Christ who chooses us—and not we who choose him. Even if we are adults when we are baptized—it’s the same thing. Christ has already chosen us—long before we could ever choose him. A careful reading of the Acts of the Apostles shows that infant baptism has always been practiced by the Church—because it proclaims an important truth: It is God who always takes the initiative in our salvation. The other point I would like to make today is this: God never gives up on us—even when we give up on God. God will “hound” us till the end of our days. God will be relentless in tracking us down. God will never give up the pursuit—until our souls are safely in his possession. And yet—how difficult it is for us to believe that! Most of you are aware that—several summers ago, at about this time—my younger brother John took his own life. It was an event our family will never forget—and never get over. It’s ironic that the name “John” is Hebrew for “God is Gracious.” “God is Gracious” was the name my parents gave him--and yet my brother couldn’t really believe that. He thought that God was punishing him. He said that God didn’t answer his prayers. He told me that even God couldn’t help him straighten out his life. My brother couldn’t see how many people were trying to help him in God’s Name. He couldn’t see how many were reaching out to him with God’s Love. And in the end—he gave up on God. Even so—I believe that God never gave up on John. God never gives up on any of us—even when we give up on God! Like the “Divine Fox”—God is indeed elusive. God’s ways are hidden and mysterious. Sometimes it seems that God must not care. But the truth is that “God is Gracious.” God is the Good Shepherd—who goes looking for every lost sheep. God is the woman—who turns the house upside down looking for every lost coin. God is the “Hound of Heaven”—who relentlessly pursues every human soul. And when God finds even one of us—and brings us home—there is great rejoicing! AMEN. I’m sure some of you will remember the story about a couple who were visiting the Episcopal Church for the first time. They came in a bit late—just as the congregation was saying the confession. When the man heard the line “We have left undone those things which we ought to have done—and we have done those things which we ought not to have done”—he turned to his wife and said: “You see, my dear, it’s just as I told you--this is the right place for us!” How true it is! The Episcopal Church is the right place for all of us—for we have all “left undone those things which we ought to have done—and done those things which we ought not to have done!” As William Temple—the late Archbishop of Canterbury said: “The Church is a hospital for sinners—not a showcase for saints.” But--how do we really know what things we ought to do—and what things we ought not to do? That’s the question for today. Of course—there are many possible answers. Many would say “follow your heart—and you can’t go wrong.” Others would say “listen to reason—think things through—and you will know what to do.” Others would point to the teachings of various human philosophers. Still others—a growing number today—are saying “do whatever you want—for there is no such thing as right or wrong.” But for Christians—and for other Ethical Monotheists--none of these answers is adequate. People disagree about what is reasonable. Opinions vary about what is good. And the human heart can certainly lead us astray. There has to be a Higher Way. There has to be a Higher Law. For us—morality has to be rooted in the Will of a Righteous and Loving God. And that’s where the Ten Commandments come in! The Ten Commandments is another topic that is rarely mentioned—or (at least) rarely dwelt upon—in sermons. Maybe that’s because today’s preachers are afraid of being called “Legalists”—which is considered a bad thing in the modern world. But the Ten Commandments are fundamental for all Christians—and used to be posted next to the altar (along with the Lord’s Prayer and the Creed)—in every Episcopal parish. So here are a few things all Christians should know about the Ten Commandments. First of all—the Ten Commandments—also known as the Decalogue—are found in slightly different versions in two places in Scripture: Exodus, chapter 20—and Deuteronomy, chapter 5. The version in Exodus 20 is considered to be the definitive one. According to the familiar Biblical narrative, God gave the Commandments to Moses—during a face-to-face meeting on Mount Sinai. Moses then came down the mountain with the commandments inscribed on tablets of stone. (This is where the expression “written in stone” comes from—to describe a decree that cannot be changed.) Before Moses could give the commandments to the Israelites—he discovered that they had already broken the first two—by making a graven image (“the Golden Calf”) and worshipping other gods. In anger, Moses threw the stone tablets on the ground and smashed them—showing that God’s Law had already been broken—even before it was given. That is the first thing we have to grasp about the Ten Commandments. Like the Israelites--all human beings have broken God’s Law. You and I have broken God’s Law—even before we were old enough to have any idea what God’s Law is. This means that we cannot be saved by obeying the Law—because we have already broken it! And—as Jesus himself pointed out—if we are guilty of breaking even one provision of the Law, we are guilty of it all. The only way we can be saved is by God’s Grace—through Faith. If we trust God—and accept what God’s Son has done for us on the Cross—we will be forgiven. But back to the Commandments themselves. The way the Commandments are arranged teaches us about priorities. The first four Commandments—You shall have no other gods—you shall not worship any idols—you shall not take the Name of the LORD in vain—and remember the Sabbath Day--these first four teach us to put God first. God is to be the first priority in our lives—and we must not let other things—no matter how important—take God’s place. The other six Commandments—honor your father and mother—you shall not commit murder—you shall not commit adultery—you shall not steal—you shall not bear false witness—you shall not covet--these six teach us how to treat our fellow human beings. So our first priority is God. Our second priority is our neighbor. It’s just as Jesus said in his Summary of the Law: “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. “This is the first and great Commandment, and the second is like unto it. “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love of God and Love of Neighbor—together they sum up God’s Law—and constitute God’s priorities for human behavior! It’s also worth noting that some of the Commandments are stated as positives—“You Shall”—and some are stated as negatives—“You Shall Not.” Thereby we are taught “those things which we ought to do”—as well as “those things which we ought not to do.” And while the Ten Commandments were addressed specifically to the Hebrew people—they are actually universal in scope. They are widely believed to apply to all people—in all times and all places. Finally—there is “Good News,” and there is “Bad News.” (Some of you may remember that I recently preached a sermon about “Good News” and “Bad News.”) The “Good News” is that God has given us the Ten Commandments as divine guidance. We aren’t left to determine what is right on the basis of our own fickle feelings. We aren’t left to figure out what is reasonable on the basis of our own feeble intellect. We aren’t left to depend on the teachings of fallible human philosophers. God has clearly told us “what we ought to do”—and “what we ought not to do.” There is a Higher Way—and a Higher Law. The Ten Commandments offer us standards of human behavior—rooted in the Will of a righteous and loving God. Striving to live by them can make the world a better place. That’s the “Good News!” The “Bad News” is that God’s standards are too high for fallen creatures like ourselves! We have already missed the mark. Each of us has already fallen short. That’s why—whenever we recite the Ten Commandments in the Prayer Book service—each Commandment is followed by the response “Lord have mercy.” The Ten Commandments teach us that we are sinners in God’s sight. And we need to learn that lesson. But they also remind us of the “Gospel”—the “Good News” of God’s Grace. By showing us our imperfections—the Ten Commandments draw us to Jesus Christ—the one human being who perfectly obeyed the Commandments—and the one person who has the power to forgive sins. By obeying the Commandments, Jesus fulfilled them on our behalf--as our representative and our surrogate—making it possible for us to be saved. Therefore—“Whoever believes in Him shall not perish—but have Everlasting Life.” That is the ultimate “Good News!” AMEN. |
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