St. Matthew’s Sermon 07-09-2017

Dare We Rethink?

Genesis 24:34-38, 42-49, 58-67, Romans 7:15-25a, Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O God. Amen

I’ll start, today, by asking you a few questions to get your thoughts working. I don’t expect you to answer out loud (although that is acceptable if you are so moved) but I do hope you will answer each question to yourself in the moment I allow between each one.

Question #1: Is God changeless? Does God act the same today as God did in the time of the writing of each scripture that speaks of God’s will, God’s commands, and God’s actions?

#2: Are the scriptures we have in the Bible certain and not open to interpretation?

#3: Are all of the Bible scriptures applicable to life in our modern age as they were in the times they were written?

And, finally, question #4: Does contemplating questions 1 through 3 make you uncomfortable?

These are questions I’ve wrestled with all my adult life after being taught, in my youth, that the answer to each one should be “YES” with an exclamation mark. I’ve been quoted ancient scripture to explain why I should do one thing and why I should not do another complete with a dissertation that could be easily summarized; “The Bible say’s it, I believe it, and you better believe it too”!

Such thinking pretty much covers questions 1-3 requiring one to believe that God is changeless, scripture is certain and all scripture is applicable in our modern age. As for question 4 “Does contemplating questions 1 through 3 make you uncomfortable”? That too, as I was taught, should be a resounding “YES” for asking questions about the meaning of scripture and another’s interpretation of it was equated with “doubt” and, as I would often hear, the Epistle of James tells us…

“…the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind; for the doubter, being double-minded and unstable in every way, must not expect to receive anything from the Lord”. (James 1:6-7NRSV)

These questions and my responses to them were brought to my mind this week as I studied our Gospel reading for this day. In it is the part where Jesus say’s “For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon’; the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’

The little phrase “Look, a glutton and a drunkard…” is a quote from the Law, found in Deuteronomy chapter 21 verses 18-21. With its use, Jesus brings that reading into his conversation. That reading is…

If someone has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey his father and mother, who does not heed them when they discipline him, then his father and his mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of his town at the gate of that place. They shall say to the elders of his town, “This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious. He will not obey us. He is a glutton and a drunkard.” Then all the men of the town shall stone him to death. So you shall purge the evil from your midst; and all Israel will hear, and be afraid. (NRSV)

This is the Law of God as it is written in the Bible! I ask you again: Is God changeless? Are the scriptures certain? Are all of the scriptures applicable to life in our modern age? Are you uncomfortable?

And, now, one more question; could you fulfill this law? Could you drag your child to court, and insist that your relatives, friends and neighbors participate in his or her brutal –  public – execution?

One more thing comes out in that reading; perhaps what Jesus really wanted us to pay attention to. It’s in the very last line that reads “So you shall purge the evil from your midst; and all Israel will hear, and be afraid”. …and be afraid.

So, are we to live in fear under the Law of the Old Testament? Or-are-we-to live in the grace of God as revealed to us by God’s Son Jesus Christ who says; “All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him”.

It’s not all cut-and-dry; not all black-and-white. We can’t just pick-and-choose according to our own whim and will. But with this example I think we can agree that, like little children growing up, we must constantly rethink what we know about God and leave open the possibility that God can change God’s will, commands, and actions. “…because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants”.

We must recognize that it is not only impossible to live 100% by the Law of the ancient scriptures but also inappropriate to do so in some cases. “For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

And we must accept that questioning, contemplating what is still valid and what is not, through the lens of Christ’s teaching should make us uncomfortable; but it is a necessity as followers of the Son who constantly challenges his disciples to rethink what they already know. “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me”.

Then, when we’ve learned from Him, we can be certain, beyond any doubt, that his way of love, and peace, and grace is the way for all to live and can be the reality of his world long ago, and our world today, as it was, and is, in heaven. “For I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls”.

Amen.

Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30
11:16 “But to what will I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to one another,
11:17 ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not mourn.’
11:18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon’;
11:19 the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.”
11:25 At that time Jesus said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants;
11:26 yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.
11:27 All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
11:28 “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.
11:29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
11:30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Genesis 24:34-38, 42-49, 58-67
24:34 So he said, “I am Abraham’s servant.
24:35 The LORD has greatly blessed my master, and he has become wealthy; he has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male and female slaves, camels and donkeys.
24:36 And Sarah my master’s wife bore a son to my master when she was old; and he has given him all that he has.
24:37 My master made me swear, saying, ‘You shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I live;
24:38 but you shall go to my father’s house, to my kindred, and get a wife for my son.’
24:42 “I came today to the spring, and said, ‘O LORD, the God of my master Abraham, if now you will only make successful the way I am going!
24:43 I am standing here by the spring of water; let the young woman who comes out to draw, to whom I shall say, “Please give me a little water from your jar to drink,”
24:44 and who will say to me, “Drink, and I will draw for your camels also” –let her be the woman whom the LORD has appointed for my master’s son.’
24:45 “Before I had finished speaking in my heart, there was Rebekah coming out with her water jar on her shoulder; and she went down to the spring, and drew. I said to her, ‘Please let me drink.’
24:46 She quickly let down her jar from her shoulder, and said, ‘Drink, and I will also water your camels.’ So I drank, and she also watered the camels.
24:47 Then I asked her, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ She said, ‘The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor’s son, whom Milcah bore to him.’ So I put the ring on her nose, and the bracelets on her arms.
24:48 Then I bowed my head and worshiped the LORD, and blessed the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me by the right way to obtain the daughter of my master’s kinsman for his son.
24:49 Now then, if you will deal loyally and truly with my master, tell me; and if not, tell me, so that I may turn either to the right hand or to the left.”
24:58 And they called Rebekah, and said to her, “Will you go with this man?” She said, “I will.”
24:59 So they sent away their sister Rebekah and her nurse along with Abraham’s servant and his men.
24:60 And they blessed Rebekah and said to her, “May you, our sister, become thousands of myriads; may your offspring gain possession of the gates of their foes.”
24:61 Then Rebekah and her maids rose up, mounted the camels, and followed the man; thus the servant took Rebekah, and went his way.
24:62 Now Isaac had come from Beer-lahai-roi, and was settled in the Negeb.
24:63 Isaac went out in the evening to walk in the field; and looking up, he saw camels coming.
24:64 And Rebekah looked up, and when she saw Isaac, she slipped quickly from the camel,
24:65 and said to the servant, “Who is the man over there, walking in the field to meet us?” The servant said, “It is my master.” So she took her veil and covered herself.
24:66 And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done.
24:67 Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent. He took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.

Romans 7:15-25a
7:15 I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.
7:16 Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good.
7:17 But in fact it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me.
7:18 For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it.
7:19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do.
7:20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me.
7:21 So I find it to be a law that when I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand.
7:22 For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self,
7:23 but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.
7:24 Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?
7:25a Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!