Sunday Homily - February 16, 2020 - Sin, Death, Mercy, and Grace

Sermon on the Mount

Deuteronomy 30:15-20

Psalm 119:1-8

1 Corinthians 3:1-9

Matthew 5:21-37

I.

There comes times in our reading through the Bible
 when we have to eat our vegetables.
  Because if you heard the Gospel this morning,
   Scriptures are no cake walk.

Because they deal with a cluster of related things that are very uncomfortable subjects:
 sin, final judgment, and hell.

But we as faithful inheritors of the Christian tradition
 cannot look away from these things and pretend that they aren't there.
  Rather, instead, our journey with Jesus Christ brings us directly through their path
   as things that are not only necessary things we must consider
    but as an essential piece of Christian doctrine that we must dive into.

But before we even begin to read the Holy Scriptures,
 we have to have to do a little bit of work on our definitions:
  1) What do we mean when we use the word "sin"
  2) What does it mean for us to be under final judgment of God
  and 3) where in the midst of this is Grace and Mercy?

Alright, so here we go.

1) What do we mean when we use the word "sin?"

It might be of no surprise to you that this is much more complicated
 than it might sound at first glance.
  This has been a subject of inquiry for Christians throughout the ages,
   but perhaps most especially pertinent to our 21st century U.S. context.

After all, you can't really go too far down the road on Highway 67/167 toward Little Rock,
 until you see that "wonderful" billboard
  that has Romans 3:23 on it:
   "...all have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God..."
    Which I will gently remind you
     is a verse that isn't even a full sentence,
      because the actual sentence stretches from Romans 3:21-24.
       Please please don't just quote Romans 3:23, quote the whole sentence Paul uses.

But of course Romans 3:23 sums it up:
 we all have sinned.
  But what does that mean?

Well, we as Episcopalians actually have a couple of things we can point to
 as it comes to our worship and doctrine found in the Book of Common Prayer. 
  There is a section of it called "The Catechism,"
   which, unfortunately, doesn't have to do with cats,
    but is instead a word that describes the doctrine that we believe as Episcopalian Christians.

And there is indeed a section on Sin and Redemption,
 and we even get a definition for sin.
  And it is the following:
   "Sin is the seeking of our own will instead of the will of God,
    thus distorting our relationship with God, with other people, and with all creation."
     [The Book of Common Prayer 1979: Pg. 848]

As you might have noticed,
 sin is a thing that primarily distorts our relationships.
  Our relationship with God,
   our relationship with other people,
    and our relationship with the created world.

But it is something that is intensely internal,
 having to do with our very wills.
  We actually place our own will,
    our own independence,
     selfishly above even God's own will.
      We think we know how to run our lives, the lives of others,
        and even the created world,
         better than God does.
          That, my friends, is the deadly sin of Pride.

But, friends, sin is not just an interior bent will.
 Sin also assails us in another form from the exterior.
  And the culmination of the exterior form of sin
   is death.
    [James 1:15]

Death, the malevolent force that actively assails us,
 in the forms of physical death,
  the great and tragic breaking of relationship by our loved ones passing,
   and also in the form of everyday deaths,
    such as getting laid off from work,
     moving to a new city,
      moving away from home for the first time,
       or the unjust systems and structures of the world
        oppressing and killing innocent people in the social machines we have created.

Sin and death are not just concepts:
 they are mortally dangerous and very real.

Which is why we have
 2) the judgment of God.

Now, you might be thinking you know what judgment means,
 but I assure you,
  having looked at how the wider culture uses the word judgement,
   I don't know if people really know what the concept of judgement
    for us as Christians actually is anymore.

Because here is a paradox for you:
 we as Christians long for the judgment of God!

We as believers in Jesus Christ
 actually get excited about the judgment of God!

And if that strikes you as weird,
 you have a conception of judgment that is not Christian.

So what do we mean by judgment?

Well, let's go back to the Catechism in the prayer book:
"We believe that Christ will come in glory and judge the living and the dead."
  [Book of Common Prayer 1979: Pg. 862]

Who will come to give final judgment?
 Jesus Christ.

You know,
 Jesus Christ our Lord,
  who died for us,
   offering himself as a sacrifice for us,
    to defeat the powers of,
     you guessed it,
      sin and death for us.

That Jesus.

Judgment,
 final judgment,
  is an act of perfect justice of God
   that sets everything in the world back right again,
    on all sides,
     for all people,
      once and for all.

You see, the reason why we as Christians long for God's justice
 is because God is perfectly just.

And I hope you understand that the reason why interiorly we recoil at the idea
 of final justice
  is because our wider culture,
   for all the talk about justice we do,
    don't have a clue what we mean when we say the word "justice."

But guess what:
 God, who is perfectly righteous and the loving creator of all,
  is also perfectly just,
   and will set everything aright in the end,
    through Jesus Christ our Lord.

II.

Which now brings us finally to the Holy Scriptures this morning.

Because now we have to recognize where Mercy and Grace fit into this picture.

Jesus Christ our Lord is giving the Sermon on the Mount
 in the Gospel of Matthew this morning.

And Jesus raises the bar so high
 that it becomes really apparent to us sitting here today
  how sin and death have really affected us so deeply.

We know we aren't supposed to murder.
 But goodness knows we have been angry with someone.
  In fact, we may be sitting here with anger burning in someone's direction
   even right now.

Christians get angry,
 sinfully angry,
  with each other a lot.
   And sometimes it is with good reason.

We of course can get angry because we don't get our way.
 The sinful Pride that arises within us is strong, isn't it?

But we also get angry because of the hurt we have been through
 because of someone else's actions.
  Death assails us from the outside,
   and death comes in all shapes and sizes,
    ultimately trying to break relationship and put bitterness of soul into your life,
     bitterness into the lives of those around you,
      and bitterness into the world.

Sin and death are powerful,
 and anger can be their tool to enslave you.

That's why Jesus says something really practical this morning:
 don't even be angry with someone else.
  In fact, Jesus even says,
   If YOU go to church in the morning,
    and YOU remember that someone else has something against YOU,
     go and be reconciled first.

That's a high bar.

What about Jesus's teaching about marriage and adultery?

Sin: the distortion of our wills and the breaking of marriage relationships
 by our own doing and by the doing of others.
  Relationships that, for anyone who has gone through divorce,
   it's absolutely tragic.

Death: the assailing of our marriage relationships by outside forces
 that  destroy our own sense of self within that destructive vortex of soul.

And therefore Jesus wishes to protect those relationships by a high bar
 of moral living:
  Jesus says to not even give yourself the opportunity for temptation,
   so that you can live in right relationship.

Swearing.
 And no, not the curse word swearing,
  and not the judicial swearing in of witnesses and the such,
   but the more colloquial swearing up and down that I'm actually going to do something.

"I swear upon my mothers grave..."
 "I swear, and God is my witness..."

Jesus Christ basically says that if you have to swear upon something,
 that means that in other contexts, your word might not mean very much.
  It is a disconnect of truth-telling.
   And as we all know, lying is a sin.
    And death is always close to keep you from honesty.

But now, of course, we get to Grace and Mercy.
 Because guess what?
  Jesus Christ didn't come to be a pain in the nether regions about living correctly.
   Jesus Christ came to save your soul from the powers of sin and death.

And here is where Mercy and Grace come in.
 Mercy is not receiving something that we deserve:
  having mercy on someone and not punishing them as they deserve.

Grace is receiving something that we didn't deserve:
 giving grace to someone and giving them help that they didn't deserve.

And, if you are steeped in the Bible,
 you will find a balance of justice, mercy, and grace constantly active
  in God's relationship with the world.

But even in Jesus's own ministry,
 we see it in action.

The criminals on the crosses next to Jesus's own cross
 were people that were very likely murders.
  And yet Jesus pardons and promises to the faithful criminal
   that he would be with him in Paradise even as they were dying together.
    Jesus is gracious, giving life to those who don't deserve it.

The woman caught in adultery
 in John 7,
  that was dragged before Jesus by the keepers of the Law of God
   that rightfully said she should be stoned for her sin.
    And yet Jesus says, "He who is without sin cast the first stone at her."
     Jesus is merciful and full of compassion.

Peter, who swore up and down that he didn't know Jesus
 when questioned outside the gates as Jesus was being tried and condemned to crucifixion,
  was restored by Jesus after Jesus's bodily resurrection
   near the sea of Galilee.
    Jesus never gives up on people,
     even on people who deny even knowing Jesus.

Because Jesus didn't just come to call us to a higher standard of living:
 Jesus Christ came to show us how God operates:
  perfectly just, perfectly merciful, perfectly gracious.
   Perfectly loving.

III.

Jesus's message of a high standard of living must be coupled with the ultimate remedy for sin:
 the free gift of God's own self,
  Jesus Christ the Son of God himself,
   who came to earth to break the power of sin and hell forever.

Jesus, Our gracious Savior,
 is the ultimate defeater of the power of sin and death:
  those evil powers that enslave us
   all of us
    without exception.

And thank God Almighty that this is true,
 because trust me, if that wasn't true,
  I need to go home,
   because I'm already condemned.

I hope it is okay to admit that.
 I'm a priest, and I have a holy calling to proclaim the Gospel.
  But please don't think that I don't sin,
   because God knows I do.
    I'm often a hypocrite.
     But, I sure hope that I can also say that I'm a hypocrite in recovery.

Friends, through the grace of God,
 the freely, lovingly, sacrificially given grace of God,
  all of us have been given the gift of redemption.
 
And Jesus did this even though we were still ENEMIES of him,
 because God demonstrated his love for us, even though we could not,
  would not except Jesus's love for us that we crucified him.
   [Romans 5:8]

And that is where the intense hope is for us Christians.
 No matter what you have done,
  or what has been done to you,
   Jesus's victory over sin and death is always and ever will be
    for you.

We are all hypocrites in recovery:
 we know the good we must do,
  and yet so often we fall short.
   And Jesus came to save us anyway.

We as Church aren't a resort for the perfect.
 We are a hospital for sinners,
  who have come to the Great Physician for healing.

Part of our healing comes in accepting and sharing
 the grace and mercy that God has shown toward you.
  And that means to also accept and share mercy and grace with each other.

And the ultimate truth for us is this:
 sin and death have no power over us any longer
  by virtue of the death and bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

That is the Gospel,
 that is the Good News that we carry into a hurting world,
  a world that searches for remedies to the pain and sorrow that can be found in Jesus.

Jesus came and saved all of us from sin,
 and extends redemption to anyone willing to receive it!
  Isn't that a Gospel worth proclaiming?

Even in the depths of our darkest days,
 that you can have confidence that God will raise you up in the end.
  Isn't that a Good News worth sharing?

And no matter what,
 Jesus's love for you and his desire for your continued growth in holiness
  will never change, no matter what happens.