Sermon for 5 Lent B; March 21, 2021
Good Shepherd, Acton
May the words of my mouth, and the meditation of all our hearts, be acceptable in your sight, O God, our Strength and our Redeemer. Amen.
My kids once got into a debate about whether J-walking really is illegal. One of them argued it was dangerous- and that’s why you shouldn’t do it- especially in Boston, she noted. Her sister didn’t see it as a big deal either way. And my third was most concerned about what the fine would be if you were caught.
My husband and I humored them for a while and then jumped in to make the parental point that just because you might not get a ticket for something doesn’t mean you should get away with doing something dangerous or wrong. This applies to all sorts of things. There may not be a specific ordinance against skate boarding along the edge of our deck, or walking across a frozen pond in 40-degree weather, but that doesn’t mean it’s a smart thing to do. And there are lots of things that are right to do that don’t have laws to enforce them, like holding the door for someone, saying please and thank you. And not using your cell phone in church!
Those of you who have parented children know it is a long process of maturation to help our kids develop a sense of right and wrong. And rules and laws are helpful teachers because there is always the threat of punishment when they are not obeyed. Yet, eventually, hopefully, as we mature, we come to trust our own judgement more and more. Our inner moral compass guides our behavior as much as the law does. We realize that the reason to return the library book on time is so someone else can enjoy the book too— and that should motivate us as much as fear of the fine.
Much the same principle applies to God’s parenting of us. Back in the days of Moses, the people were given the Law to help them understand the moral behavior that was expected of them. God entered into a Covenant with the Israelites and gave them rules- the Ten Commandments among them- to help them govern their behavior. God attached a series of covenantal blessings and curses. If the people followed the Law and met the conditions of the Covenant established by God, they would flourish. If they strayed, they would be cursed. The Law was meant to help the people mature into right relationship with God and with one another. But that didn’t mean it was always followed. Like we do today, the rules were pushed and ignored and violated.
And for a time, that was the pattern that occurred: faithfulness and infidelity. Blessing and curse. Then Israel fell and later Judah. Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians. The site of the holy Temple, the home of the Arc of the Covenant, was in ruins. The last king of Judah was overthrown, tortured and died in captivity. And it was wondered: is this God’s ultimate curse? Has God finally broken God’s end of the Covenant? Have the people been so unfaithful that God no longer desires a relationship?
And out of the midst of this chaos and the destruction of Jerusalem, the prophet Jeremiah warns the people that God’s judgment is real. Yet, in our first lesson for today, and mid-way through his long prophesy, Jeremiah’s message turns from fear to hope. He prophesies the word of the Lord: “The days are surely coming when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors… a covenant that they broke.”
Instead, God will lay aside his anger, his judgment, his punishment and try again. And this time, the law will be written on their heart, rather than on stone. This time the people will not have rules about God, but will instead know God. It’s an extraordinarily generous promise. And it acknowledges God’s trust and love for God’s people. Despite their past unfaithfulness, God’s desire is for them to do the right thing— not out of fear of punishment, but because God has written the law on their heart. It is the difference between doing the right thing because you’ll get into trouble if you don’t, and maturing into knowing what is best regardless.
As we near the end of Lent, and approach the shadows of Holy Week which lie ahead, it is a comfort to be reminded of how much God loves us and desires relationship with us, in spite of ourselves.
And indeed this desire of God for relationship with humanity is seen over and over in Scripture. From the moment of Adam and Eve’s creation, when God pronounced it very good, to the call of the patriarchs and matriarchs, to the exodus from Egypt and arrival in the Promised Land, to the judgment and blessing of the prophets, and to the incarnation of Jesus and his resurrection we will celebrate on Easter, over and over again in Scripture, God goes to extraordinary lengths to establish, maintain and bless a relationship with us.
That’s the reason for the covenants in the first place, of course. The law is given not simply to provide a list of do’s and don’ts- but to help establish a relationship between us and God and between us and other people. Why are we to remember the Sabbath? -Because it is a way to honor God and draw closer to him. Why are we not to covet our neighbor’s things? -Because doing so has the potential to damage the relationship between us. Indeed, violation of God’s rules, of the Covenant or the Law, is a sin not because we fail to do what God says, but because doing so harms the relationship we have with God and with other people.
In our Lenten Adult Ed class a few weeks ago, we discussed the definition of sin found in our Prayer Book: sin, it says in the Catechism, 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.” (BCP, p. 848). Rules and guidelines and laws are given to help us form and maintain right relationships. When we break them, we sin, because they damage the relationships God is trying to create for us and with us.
This has been a particularly difficult week for our Asian-American and LGBTQ families and friends. Recent events have exposed wounds that run deep in both communities- the dramatic increase in violence and racism toward Asians in this country since the pandemic began- and the pain borne by the LGBTQ community whenever they are wrongly judged not worthy of God’s blessing. We have a long way to go to overcome the prejudices and burdens of racism and homophobia - in the church as well as in the public square. We have strayed far from the Scriptural ideal of being in right relationship with God and loving all our neighbors. And when the pain is especially raw, as it is for our Asian and LGBTQ beloved, we might be tempted to see our own times superimposed upon those of Jeremiah’s. God distant and uninvolved- fed up with our prejudice and lack of faith. Church irrelevant at best; or part of the problem at worst. People irreverent and unwilling to reach out to know or honor those who do not look or love like them.
Yet as I read Jeremiah’s prophesy for today, it occurs to me that perhaps God makes the task of reconciliation a bit easier than we might realize. God desires relationship- perhaps more than anything else. God wants us to be in right relationship with other people and to be free of the violence and prejudice which corrupts our hearts. And there is ample evidence that God goes to great, extraordinary, miraculous lengths to help this happen.
What if it is not as hard as we think it is to know God and do God’s will? -To restore our relationship with God, other people, and all creation? What if the impediments to knowing God are our own? What if God is closer than we realize and more accessible than we imagine?
Can you hear God’s promise to us? I will put my law within you, and I will write it on your hearts; and I will be your God, and you will be my people. No longer shall you teach one another, or say to each other, ‘Know the Lord,’ for you shall all know me, from the least to the greatest’, says the Lord.
Why shouldn’t this be true? Why shouldn’t the promise of the ages, that God desires relationship with his people, not be for us as much as for Jeremiah’s unfaithful rabble? What if, unlike human love, God’s love comes easy? God’s forgiveness is eternally generous? God’s commitment unwavering?
What if this were true?
It might look like Christmas- when God becomes incarnate to show us the way. It might look like Easter, when death is no longer the end of the story. It might look like Lent, when we repent and are assured of God’s forgiveness. It might be that peacefulness that steals into our hearts every now and then. Or that comfort we discover when we know we are loved for who we authentically are. Or that feeling that encourages us when all other hope seems lost.
Perhaps God’s will for us has been written on our hearts. If so, then we have work to do, my beloved. There is much to heal in our hurting world. May God show us the way.
Amen.