Year A
Jeremiah 28:5-9
Psalm 89:1-4,15-18
Romans 6:12-23
Matthew 10:40-42 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
May the words of my mouth\u2026 O God\u2026 speak your Truth\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In today\u2019s passage from Romans\u2026 Paul writes\u2026 The wages of sin is death<\/em>\u2026 I’ve heard this shouted from the mouths and pulpits of TV evangelists\u2026 and I\u2019ve sometimes felt threatened by it\u2026 that it was said as a way to maintain power and control\u2026 perhaps imply that the one speaking had all the answers\u2026 and that we\u2019d better listen\u2026 but messages like this\u2026 seem to point us to questions about whether we’re saved\u2026 or not\u2026 whether we’re getting into Heaven\u2026 or not\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n But this is not the Jewish framework out of which Jesus spoke\u2026 about how the Kingdom of Heaven is here\u2026 now\u2026 a framework that embodied the words of God\u2019s prophets\u2026 to ease the suffering of others and enhance life\u2026 about how we are to do unto others\u2026 as we want them to do unto us\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n And remember that Paul was writing this letter to a group of people he never met\u2026 in a church he never visited\u2026 and by itself\u2026 this phrase sounds harsh\u2026 but we need to keep it in the context of what Paul has just said\u2026 and in the context of the lectionary over the last few weeks\u2026 we need to remember that Paul was shaped by Laws which exerted a significant influence on his theology\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n But in today\u2019s passage\u2026 he also wrote\u2026 For sin will have no dominion over you\u2026 since you are not under Law\u2026 but under Grace<\/em>\u2026 this was a major sea-change for Paul\u2026 because for observant Jews\u2026 the Law\u2026 which had been written during the Babylonian Exile\u2026 was everything\u2026 it was a significant distinction which set the Jewish people apart\u2026 so Paul was able to write that we’re not under the Law\u2026 only because he understood that salvation was an unearned gift\u2026 because he rejected works righteousness\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n In one of the Gospel options for Pentecost\u2026 Jesus tells the disciples\u2026 If you forgive the sins of any\u2026 they are forgiven them\u2026 if you retain the sins of any\u2026 they are retained<\/em>\u2026 but I think Jesus was also directing those words to all of us\u2026 to the whole community\u2026 as we continue the work that he started\u2026 and the verb that Paul uses to describe sin\u2026 is hamartia<\/em>\u2026 it\u2019s an archery term\u2026 it means missing the mark<\/em>\u2026 it’s a way of saying that we have fallen short of God\u2019s goal for us\u2026 and sin is not simply missing the right mark\u2026 but it\u2019s also hitting the wrong mark\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n The wages of sin is death<\/em>\u2026 it seems to me\u2026 that too many people understand this to mean\u2026 that we get paid back\u2026 for missing God\u2019s mark for us\u2026 with death\u2026 you sin\u2026 you die\u2026 but we don\u2019t pay enough attention to the part that says\u2026 the free gift of God is eternal life<\/em>\u2026 otherwise\u2026 how do we reconcile death\u2026 with the promise of God\u2019s free gift of eternal life\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n And then in John 10:10\u2026 in the reading from Good Shepherd Sunday\u2026 Jesus is talking about the sheep\u2026 about us\u2026 and he says\u2026 the thief comes only to steal\u2026 and kill\u2026 and destroy\u2026 I came that they\u2026 the sheep\u2026 may have life\u2026 and may have it abundantly<\/em>\u2026 so again\u2026 how do we reconcile death\u2026 with abundant life\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n So I propose two imaginings\u2026 If you forgive the sins of any\u2026 they are forgiven them\u2026 if you retain the sins of any\u2026 they are retained<\/em>\u2026 again\u2026 it seems to me\u2026 that too many people understand this to mean that Jesus\u2026 gave the disciples\u2026 Divine power of forgiveness\u2026 hoping perhaps that they wouldn\u2019t dole it out capriciously\u2026 but John Shea writes\u2026 Jesus has taken away the sin of the world\u2026 replaced the fundamental separation between God and the world with communion\u2026 and communion with God makes possible people forgiving one another and coming into unity\u2026 but people must realize and engage this responsibility\u2026 if they hold onto the sins that separate\u2026 then separation will continue\u2026 if they let go of\u2026 and forgive those sins\u2026 unity will develop<\/em>\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n And my second imagining\u2026 has to do with death\u2026 and abundant life\u2026 because if the wages of sin is death\u2026 and if sin means missing God\u2019s mark for us\u2026 then just where do we miss God\u2019s mark\u2026 in the Lord\u2019s Prayer\u2026 we invoke God\u2019s Kingdom come\u2026 and God\u2019s will be done\u2026 on Earth\u2026 God\u2019s will is already being done in Heaven\u2026 so we\u2019re invoking God\u2019s help\u2026 to hit God\u2019s mark for us\u2026 to do God\u2019s will\u2026 here on Earth\u2026 so the wages of sin may be death\u2026 but not death of the body\u2026 but the death of abundant life\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n And one of the most fundamental ways we don\u2019t forgive\u2026 one of the most fundamental ways we sin\u2026 one of the most fundamental ways we die\u2026 is by not welcoming\u2026 by not welcoming justly\u2026 And while there is nothing we can do that could make God love us any more\u2026 or any less\u2026 than God already does\u2026 we love some more than others\u2026 we welcome some more than others\u2026 by offering some water fountains with filtered and refrigerated water\u2026 and offering others tap water\u2026 we welcome some more than others\u2026 by applying one set of laws and penalties to some\u2026 and by applying another set of laws and penalties to others\u2026 we welcome some by making it easier for them to vote\u2026 than we make it for others\u2026 and we reject some by harboring subtle judgements and prejudices against them\u2026 but not against others\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n There was an earthquake on May 31\u2026 a volcano erupted\u2026 and many of us woke up enough to not only see the elephant in the room\u2026 but to see it with 3D glasses\u2026 so we could see the length\u2026 width\u2026 and height of its pain\u2026 maybe feel the texture of its wounds\u2026 and even put our hands in them\u2026 and feel the wetness of its tears\u2026 all making it more real to us\u2026 and if we knew it better\u2026 we\u2019d know how to effect more healing too\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n Few of us have ancestors who owned slaves\u2026 but many of us have benefitted from slavery\u2026 and what\u2019s ironic\u2026 is that across this country\u2026 many who benefit from white privilege\u2026 are still slaves to sin\u2026 because we miss God\u2019s mark\u2026 and we deny ourselves and each other\u2026 the abundant life that God desires to give us\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n But I heard something once\u2026 that has stuck with me\u2026 that God blesses what God can\u2026 and what God can’t bless\u2026 God redeems\u2026 and when we make mistakes\u2026 when we mess up\u2026 when we miss the mark\u2026 God continues to provide opportunities for us to grow\u2026 for us to learn\u2026 for us to repent\u2026 so that before long\u2026 there will be nothing for God to redeem\u2026 but only for God to bless\u2026 and I pray that we have the courage\u2026 and the strength\u2026 and the will\u2026 to hasten that day\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Year A Jeremiah 28:5-9 Psalm 89:1-4,15-18 Romans 6:12-23 Matthew 10:40-42 May the words of my mouth\u2026 O God\u2026 speak your Truth\u2026 In today\u2019s passage from Romans\u2026 Paul writes\u2026 The wages of sin is death\u2026 I’ve heard this shouted from the mouths and pulpits of TV evangelists\u2026 and I\u2019ve sometimes felt threatened by it\u2026 that it was said as a way to maintain power and control\u2026 perhaps imply that the one speaking had all the answers\u2026 and that we\u2019d better listen\u2026 but messages like this\u2026 seem to point us to questions about whether we’re saved\u2026 or not\u2026 whether we’re getting into Heaven\u2026 or not\u2026 But this is not the Jewish framework out of which Jesus spoke\u2026 about how the Kingdom of Heaven is here\u2026 now\u2026 a framework that embodied the words of God\u2019s prophets\u2026 to ease the suffering of others and enhance life\u2026 about how we are to do unto others\u2026 as we want them to do unto us\u2026 And remember that Paul was writing this letter to a group of people he never met\u2026 in a church he never visited\u2026 and by itself\u2026 this phrase sounds harsh\u2026 but we need to keep it in the context of what Paul has just said\u2026 and in the context of the lectionary over the last few weeks\u2026 we need to remember that Paul was shaped by Laws which exerted a significant influence on his theology\u2026 But in today\u2019s passage\u2026 he also wrote\u2026 For sin will have no dominion over you\u2026 since you are not under Law\u2026 but under Grace\u2026 this was a major sea-change for Paul\u2026 because for observant Jews\u2026 the Law\u2026 which had been written during the Babylonian Exile\u2026 was everything\u2026 it was a significant distinction which set the Jewish people apart\u2026 so Paul was able to write that we’re not under the Law\u2026 only because he understood that salvation was an unearned gift\u2026 because he rejected works righteousness\u2026 In one of the Gospel options for Pentecost\u2026 Jesus tells the disciples\u2026 If you forgive the sins of any\u2026 they are forgiven them\u2026 if you retain the sins of any\u2026 they are retained\u2026 but I think Jesus was also directing those words to all of us\u2026 to the whole community\u2026 as we continue the work that he started\u2026 and the verb that Paul uses to describe sin\u2026 is hamartia\u2026 it\u2019s an archery term\u2026 it means missing the mark\u2026 it’s a way of saying that we have fallen short of God\u2019s goal for us\u2026 and sin is not simply missing the right mark\u2026 but it\u2019s also hitting the wrong mark\u2026 The wages of sin is death\u2026 it seems to me\u2026 that too many people understand this to mean\u2026 that we get paid back\u2026 for missing God\u2019s mark for us\u2026 with death\u2026 you sin\u2026 you die\u2026 but we don\u2019t pay enough attention to the part that says\u2026 the free gift of God is eternal life\u2026 otherwise\u2026 how do we reconcile death\u2026 with the promise of God\u2019s free gift of eternal life\u2026 And then in John 10:10\u2026 in the reading from Good Shepherd Sunday\u2026 Jesus is talking about the sheep\u2026 about us\u2026 and he says\u2026 the thief comes only to steal\u2026 and kill\u2026 and destroy\u2026 I came that they\u2026 the sheep\u2026 may have life\u2026 and may have it abundantly\u2026 so again\u2026 how do we reconcile death\u2026 with abundant life\u2026 So I propose two imaginings\u2026 If you forgive the sins of any\u2026 they are forgiven them\u2026 if you retain the sins of any\u2026 they are retained\u2026 again\u2026 it seems to me\u2026 that too many people understand this to mean that Jesus\u2026 gave the disciples\u2026 Divine power of forgiveness\u2026 hoping perhaps that they wouldn\u2019t dole it out capriciously\u2026 but John Shea writes\u2026 Jesus has taken away the sin of the world\u2026 replaced the fundamental separation between God and the world with communion\u2026 and communion with God makes possible people forgiving one another and coming into unity\u2026 but people must realize and engage this responsibility\u2026 if they hold onto the sins that separate\u2026 then separation will continue\u2026 if they let go of\u2026 and forgive those sins\u2026 unity will develop\u2026 And my second imagining\u2026 has to do with death\u2026 and abundant life\u2026 because if the wages of sin is death\u2026 and if sin means missing God\u2019s mark for us\u2026 then just where do we miss God\u2019s mark\u2026 in the Lord\u2019s Prayer\u2026 we invoke God\u2019s Kingdom come\u2026 and God\u2019s will be done\u2026 on Earth\u2026 God\u2019s will is already being done in Heaven\u2026 so we\u2019re invoking God\u2019s help\u2026 to hit God\u2019s mark for us\u2026 to do God\u2019s will\u2026 here on Earth\u2026 so the wages of sin may be death\u2026 but not death of the body\u2026 but the death of abundant life\u2026 And one of the most fundamental ways we don\u2019t forgive\u2026 one of the most fundamental ways we sin\u2026 one of the most fundamental ways we die\u2026 is by not welcoming\u2026 by not welcoming justly\u2026 And while there is nothing we can do that could make God love us any more\u2026 or any less\u2026 than God already does\u2026 we love some more than others\u2026 we welcome some more than others\u2026 by offering some water fountains with filtered and refrigerated water\u2026 and offering others tap water\u2026 we welcome some more than others\u2026 by applying one set of laws and penalties to some\u2026 and by applying another set of laws and penalties to others\u2026 we welcome some by making it easier for them to vote\u2026 than we make it for others\u2026 and we reject some by harboring subtle judgements and prejudices against them\u2026 but not against others\u2026 There was an earthquake on May 31\u2026 a volcano erupted\u2026 and many of us woke up enough to not only see the elephant in the room\u2026 but to see it with 3D glasses\u2026 so we could see the length\u2026 width\u2026 and height of its pain\u2026 maybe feel the texture of its wounds\u2026 and even put our hands in them\u2026 and feel the wetness of its tears\u2026 all making it more real to us\u2026 and if we knew 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