Sermon Proper 17 B

Rules, rules, rules - there seem to be so many rules.

Sermon for Proper 17 B

Given by Rev. Valerie Ann Hart

September 3, 2006

St. Alban’s Episcopal Church, Brentwood

Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

James 1:17-27

There is a story about a man who had the opportunity to visit hell. Upon entering he saw that people were divided up into groups. He asked Satan about the groups. Satan pointed to the first group and said that those were Jews that worked on the Sabbath. He pointed to the second group and said that they were Catholic (pre Vatican II) who ate meat on Fridays. The third group was made up of Methodists who danced and drank wine. Who is that last group that seems to try to keep themselves apart from the others? Oh, those are the Episcopalians who used their dinner fork to eat their salad.

I remember my mother carefully teaching me exactly were things were to go when I set the table. The forks on the left with one to be used first on the outside. The knife and spoon were to be put on the right with the knife blade pointed inward. The napkin on the left. The water glass above the knife, etc. etc.

Our acolytes are taught that the gospel candle, the one on the left of the altar, should never burn alone, so it is always the last to be lit and the first to be put out.

We stand when we listen to the Gospel, out of respect, but only during a Eucharist. We don’t stand for the Gospel during Morning Prayer. Is it that we don’t respect the Gospel as much during Morning Prayer?

Rules, rules, rules, there are lots and lots of rules. My mother used to sum it up by saying, “It just isn’t done.”

We all have an idea of how we are “supposed” to act. We can easily discover we are judging ourselves if we don’t live up to these various rules which in the gospel today would be described as the tradition of the elders.

It is not that there is no basis for many of these rules. Washing one’s hands before eating is a healthy thing to do. But some people take the rules to an extreme.

For example someone with a compulsive disorder will have an action, such as hand washing, which they will do over and over again. A person with compulsive hand washing may wash their hands, come out of the bathroom, and then go and wash them again. They are not doing it because their hands are dirty. In fact often their hands will get red and soar from too much washing.

They don’t do it to get clean, but to relieve their anxiety. When we are anxious, when we have that sort of generalized fear that doesn’t have a name, we look for something solid, stable, consistent. Rules provide a structure. They keep us safe. They make it easier to make decisions. They are predictable.

We tend to get particularly anxious during times of change. When our world is changing around us we want something, anything that is unchanging. We look for stability.

Often we look to the church for that stability. But now is a time of change in the church. General convention this summer has lots of people talking. There are questions about our relationship to the Anglican Communion, who should be ordained and the implications of a woman presiding bishop. The Episcopal Church is changing and that can be a source of anxiety.

And St. Alban’s is in a time of change. I will be leaving October 1. There is be an interim time while you look for a new Vicar, and then there will be a new priest to guide this congregation. Some of you now, or during the next few weeks, may find yourself anxious and unsure. The church you look to for stability is now anything but stable.

It is a temptation in times of anxiety to cling to the rules. To try to find the correct way to do things. We look for something solid, predictable. We want things to be done the way they always have or at least the way they are “supposed to”.

But that is not of Christ. He was constantly changing, stirring things up. There was nothing predictable about him.

And to those who would cling to a set of rules he says, “You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human precepts as doctrine.” He is saying that rather than focusing on what God wants – to love God and love our neighbor – we tend focus on less important, but more measurable, things.

Let me ask you, would you rather have a neighbor that does all the right things, mows his lawn, doesn’t make noise at night, etc. or one who has a good heart?

Would you rather have a friend who said and did all the right things, or one who had a good heart?

Would you rather have a spouse that did all the right things, he would open doors for you, she would cook great meals, or would you want one who had a good heart?

And would you want a son or daughter who always obeyed all the rules, or one who had a good heart?

Jesus said that there is nothing outside a person that can defile; rather it is what comes from the heart.

It is easy for us to look at the outside and judge based on whether someone is following the rules. Only God can judge the heart.

Let’s take a look at the end of the Gospel reading, Mark 7:21-22. This is one of the few lists of behavior from Jesus. Usually our behavioral lists come from Paul. But here Jesus spells it out, the evil intentions that come from a person’s heart.

I had one person, not from this congregation, use these verses as evidence that gays and lesbians should not be ordained because they don’t live up to Jesus’ standard. Well, let’s take a look at this list.

Fornication, theft, murder – ah – murder. Just what is murder? Some would say that abortion is murder and judge everyone who is involved with abortion as breaking Christ’s rules. Others would look at the heart of a young girl who struggles with the decision for an abortion. Some would say that capital punishment is murder and pass judgment on everyone involved, others would look at the heart of a governor trying to consider the concerns of the victims loved ones and honor the law. Some consider war to be murder and judge those involved while others would see a soldier with a good heart trying to do his duty and protect her fellow soldiers.

The rules look simple, but they never are. They always have to be considered with the heart.

But lets move on with the list – adultery – avarice. Oh, that’s getting a little close to home, wanting too much for ourselves. Then we have wickedness, deceit, licentiousness – okay – but then comes envy – guilty – slander, pride – guilty again – folly – I know that I am foolish sometimes.

Whenever we look at a list in the Bible and start using it to judge others, or ourselves, we can get into a lot of trouble. It looks so clear, so black and white, but Jesus never spoke of black and white. He spoke of mercy, compassion, forgiveness, and love.

Yet we are always judging others, and even more so ourselves. We see others as not doing it right, or we see ourselves as not doing it right. And we are often prone to do it at church – in spite of Christ’s continual message that we should not judge.

This is a time of change at St. Alban’s. There will be anxiety. It will be easy to get lost in the little rules. It will be tempting to judge one another. But remember what James said in the Epistle today:

“If any think they are religious, and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts, their religion is worthless.” Worthless. Think before you speak, pray before you judge.

He goes on to say “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.”

Compassion, self control, that is what religion is all about.

Remember, it doesn’t’ matter which candle is lit first. What does matter is that you love one another.

During this coming time of change, whenever there is change in your life, whenever there is anxiety, remember that there is only one adequate response – Love God with all your heart and mind and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. That will get you through the tough times, and that is the only rule that ever really matters.

Proper 14 B - Ephesians 4:25 - 5:2

You are invited to the greatest banquet ever. How should you behave?
The answer can be found in Paul's letter to the Ephesians.

Proper 14 B

Transcribed from a sermon given on

August 12, 2012

At St Barnabas Episcopal Church

By Rev Valerie Ann Hart, Ph.D.

Ephesians 4:25 - 5:2

Imagine that you are invited to the greatest banquet ever given by the richest person on the earth - the most powerful, most well respected, most famous. This person is giving a banquet and you are invited. He or she has picked out the most magnificent setting. It is a banquet hall that is filled with chandeliers and beautiful curtains and gorgeous tables. There are waiters and waitresses all dressed up and fancy. As you get there people are arriving in their limousines. Everyone is dressed to the T. It is the most magnificent banquet - and you have been invited.

Of course the first thing you do when you are invited is, if you are a woman, to get your hair cut and your nails done. And if you are a guy you might still get your hair cut. If you don’t buy new clothes, at least you pick out the best clothes that you have, and you make sure that they are clean. Of course you take a nice shower because you want to be your best at the banquet.

You go to this banquet and it lives up to be every thing you imagined it would be. There is beautiful music playing in the background, but not so intrusive that it gets in the way of conversation. There is food - oh there is food. If you feel like seafood you get your choice. You can have salmon or you can have crab, and there’s lobster You could have lobster tails in all kinds of different ways. If you are more of a red meat kind of a person there is steak that is cooked just the way you like it. And chicken, oh the chicken, all the different ways you can possibly imagine chicken. And there is rice, and there is pasta, and there are fruits, and there are vegetables. And of course there are deserts. Ah the deserts! And you know what is great about this feast, no matter how much you eat you don’t get uncomfortably full and it is all healthy for you. Even the deserts are healthy for you! This is the most magnificent banquet ever.

So how would you behave when you are at that banquet? How would you expect other people to behave? Well first of all you wouldn’t expect a whole lot of swearing to be going on. You would expect people to be fairly kind to each other and polite. You certainly wouldn’t expect to look around and see people taking the food and sticking it in their pockets to take home. You wouldn’t imagine a lot of arguments, but kind conversation and a lot of thankfulness. And a lot of joy. It would be sort of like the best Thanksgiving you can imagine at your grandmother’s.

You see this banquet, this banquet we are invited to, is Christ’s banquet. And just like our grandmothers when we went to the best most amazing possible Thanksgiving, it is from him. He is offering himself. He has prepared the banquet. He is the banquet. He wants us to be there, and he wants us to consume him. He wants us to eat him. He wants us to fill ourselves on his love and his grace. Just like Grandma spent days making pies and cooking food and giving of herself, of her time and of her love so that we can all be nurtured, not just by the food, but by the relationship, by her love and by the gathered family.

Of course one difference with Thanksgivings is if you are in a family that is like most families not all them live up to what they are supposed to be. We aren’t always kind to one another when we come together on Thanksgiving, but we’ll get to that.

Now imagine this wonderful feast, this perfect feast, this gift of Christ - and all we have to do is show up. It is the Kingdom of God. It is how Jesus described the Kingdom of God as a wedding feast that we are all invited to. And all you have to do is show up and be willing to receive it - to feel that love, and that joy, and that thankfulness.

Like I said not every Thanksgiving is perfect. We sometimes don’t live up to what we are called to be as family. We don’t always love each other, but we are invited to. If you take a look at the passage that Paul wrote in the letter to the Ephesians you will see that Paul is writing a description of how we are supposed to behave at the great banquet, how we are supposed to behave at the banquet of the Kingdom of God. He is saying to the people that they have been invited and have said yes and have chosen to become part of the family of Christ.

This passage begins with the words, “So, then.” So then since you have come to the banquet this is how you are supposed to behave. “So then, put away falsehood, let us speak the truth.” It doesn’t make any sense to lie at the banquet where everyone has more than enough. Why would you need to lie? “For we are members of one another.” It’s a family. We are all the family.

Then he ads, “Be angry, but do not sin”. This is interesting. In my family Thanksgivings were often uncomfortable because there was someone who was angry but didn’t think they should say anything about it in front of the family. You know what it is like when you walk into a room where everybody is angry, but no body is talking about it. They all pretend everything is just fine. Sometimes you wish they would just fight with each other because at least they would get it out. Paul is saying its okay to be angry. It’s okay to express your anger. If someone steps on your toe, tell them, “Hey, you stepped on my toe.” But then you let it go. Don’t go to sleep. “Don’t let the sun go down on your anger.” Don’t go you stepped on my toe three years ago at Thanksgiving. You stepped on my toe and I was too polite to tell you then but today I just can’t stand it any more and I have to tell you.” We have all been to those kind of Thanksgivings as well. At least if you had as dysfunctional a family as I did. So it is okay that we sometimes hurt one another and that we feel angry because we have to know what our anger is before we can forgive and then once we forgive we are starting all over again.

Paul adds what seems obvious, “Thieves must give up stealing.” If you are at the banquet and Christ has given you everything you possibly could need, the promise that you will never hunger or thirst, all the love you need, all the support you need, all the caring you need, why would you ever steal? Why would you have to hoard things? At this great banquet where there is more than enough for everyone, why would you keep stuff aside for yourself? Instead Paul says that we should get a job so we can make money to give to others. When we are at the banquet where there is more then enough our job is to give away to other people, not to hoard it for ourselves.

Paul continues, “Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up.” Who would want to be at a fancy banquet where everybody was trash talking everybody else. It would ruin the whole thing. Instead you would want to be at a place where people are encouraging one another, lifting one another up.

We don’t want to, as Paul puts it, “grieve the Holy Spirit” so we are encouraged to “Put aware all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another as God in Christ has forgiven you.” That’s how we are to live in the Kingdom. That’s how we are to behave at the great banquet of Christ.

Paul concludes, “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us.” This banquet is an offering from Christ. You see there is no greater delight for Christ than to feed us. That is his purpose. That is why he became incarnate - to feed us - to be the bread of life - to nurture us - to give us the love and forgiveness, the caring and the compassion, that we need to thrive, to grow. It is his delight to give the banquet, all we have to do is show up and then live lives as if we truly were receiving all that we need, all the love that we need, all the compassion that we need - to live lives that are fully alive and filled with hope and tenderness and compassion.