June 17, 2007 Sermon
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Proper 6- C
June 17, 2007 Allan Conkling
Today is Father’s Day. On this day we remember and say ‘Thank You’ to our dads, husbands and granddads. We have all heard the “mixed reviews” that fathers sometimes get. But I want to hold before us the ideal. On this day I want to affirm the good parenting that is taking place and say to all dads, keep up the good work. I cherish the memories of my Father, and give thanks for the man who, in spite of his faults, loved his children dearly. I also see how in many ways I have become like my dad. This is both disturbing and comforting as I always thought of myself as smarter and wiser than he was. In some ways I am smarter and wiser. My dad never went to college. I make more money than he ever did and have had more opportunities. But as a product of the Depression era, the WWII and Korea generation, Dad was rich in different ways. He grew up with a whole different set of issues than I could ever imagine. Also, with what he had to work with (that is my sister and me) I think he did the best he could! In the end Dad and I are alike in a big way: We are alike in that we are both very human.
Lessons in our common humanity and in our need for humility abound in all three of our readings this morning. The readings are not about Father’s Day, but they are about the humanness in all people. The thread running throughout them all is that of our smallness in contrast to God’s bigness. The Old Testament opens with the tragic tale of the great King David. This has been called “one of the most ironic and sordid narratives in the whole of the Old Testament.” In Bible study this past week we watched Gregory Peck and Susan Hayward as David and Bathsheba falling in forbidden love. This was a man to whom God had promised everything: an empire, riches, and a kingdom forever. He commits adultery with the wife of one of his military men Uriah, and then arranges to have him killed in battle. This story demonstrates what happens when humans forget who they are and whose they are - when power, arrogance and pride take the upper hand.
Sadly, this is nothing new. In our day this seems to happen all the time. We have grown accustomed to the dark side of our public figures being exposed for the entire world to see. In fact, we cynically expect bad things to happen. Not so many years ago we had a president who acted much like David. These days with the click of a mouse we can find out the intimate details and blemishes of just about any congressman, TV evangelist, CEO, Catholic priest, rock star, or sports hero. We can follow the frivolous antics of Paris Hilton going to jail and Britney Spears going to rehab.
So why then does all this surprise us? What intrigues us so about their fall from grace? The answer I suppose - or at least what is so amazing to me - is not that even the most super of the superstars have feet of clay, rather that anyone would be so arrogant as to think they don’t. The fact is, as Christians, we should find these things kind of boring. Of anyone, we should know that humans are so…so human! The world looks at Christians as being “goody two shoes” or “holy Joe’s” and doubtless some try to pretend they are. However of all people, we are the most aware of the limits of our abilities and our tendency to fall short of what we have been created to be. As people on a journey of faith we know that life is full of pitfalls, traps and wrong turns - and most are caused by us alone. All of us in this room have experienced the (painful) reality of having made bad decisions and having to live with our decisions. Those who have not, just wait!
At the same time we also know, that in spite of the many mistakes and false starts we make in this life, forgiveness and grace can always follow. Paul reminds us (in the NT reading today), that a person is not justified by works, but through a humble and contrite heart. Even Peter and Barnabas had to be reminded of their need for humility. In Jesus Christ we are “made right” with God; and in turning to God, Christ is made alive in us. As Paul says:
“I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. nd the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
Author Joan Chittester says,
“Human limitation is the gift that relates us to God, to the world, to the self and to others. Pride drives a wedge between us and reality; humility is its glue.”
The Good news of these readings today, and in fact the message of the entire Bible itself is that in spite of our humanness; in spite of ourselves, and everything we do - or don’t do - in spite of all “that we have done or left undone,” there is a God who loves us and who always stands ready to forgive. In Christ, through Christ and with Christ the wall of separation between ourselves and our humanity is broken down, and we are restored to wholeness and peace summed up in that wonderful Jewish word, “Shalom.”
The actions of King David, Peter, Barnabas, and of the “sinful woman” are remembered and treasured because they are in way our story too. There is always work to be done. We will never be perfect. The line between saint and sinner is often very thin. Thank God we have a God who loves us, and calls us, and brings us peace. As one commentator says,
“Too often in an effort to be morally upright, the church has forgotten that it is a community for sinners only; those who are not sinners need not apply for membership.”
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Quotes taken from Selected Sermons, 4/24/1983
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Revised: 07/10/07