June 29, 2008 Sermon
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Proper 8 - A
June 29, 2008 Allan Conkling
Nothing divides Christians more than the way we read and interpret the Bible. Nothing it seems has caused greater heartache, bitter arguments, hurt feelings, and confusion especially among fellow Christians than how we read and interpret the Sacred Scriptures. "The Church’s one foundation is Jesus Christ the Lord..." Of course the only place to read about Jesus is in the pages of Scripture. What could be more obvious and easy to understand than Jesus saying, "Love thy neighbor as thyself"? or "Whoever gives a cup of cold water" to the least will receive eternal reward from God? It just seems that the Bible should be a "no-brainer". But that is not reality. What is reality is that Bible is difficult to understand. It can be read in many different ways, and used to justify almost any point of view. Anyone who tells you that the Bible has all the answers or that "the Bible is perfectly clear" on this or that issue is just not correct. The Bible is filled with laws and rules, but it is not a rule book: It is more of a love story. It's a heavenly book written by many down to earth people. The Bible is timeless, yet much of it is very time bound. We look to the Bible for answers, yet most of the time what we get are more questions.
Yesterday, I read with interest Terry Mattingly's article in the Standard Times about how churches--particularly mainline churches--have gotten away from talking about sin. The issue was that churches in the modern age have "evolved" away from traditional biblical values and are embracing things which only a few years ago would have been unheard of. To me Mattingly missed the point in his article. Evolving away from biblical values is not the issue. What is at issue is that fewer and fewer people in mainline or progressive churches feel comfortable engaging the sacred texts. Fewer and fewer of us actually read the Bible, so we really don't know what it says or means. We don't really want to do the hard work of searching and reflecting which is required of serious Bible study, so we leave in the hands the fundamentalists who tell us we have to take it with wooden literalism, but that doesn't work either. More than anything, when we do venture into the depths of scripture, we find it so out of touch as to be not helpful.
Take the Old Testament lesson for today: "The sacrifice of Isaac." Jews for centuries have read this passage as a liturgical text on Rosh Hashanah. It highlights Abraham's radical obedience and faith, and the reassuring Covenant between God and his Chosen people. But when we read it we are full of questions: Who would willingly sacrifice their child in that way? Was this some kind of evil test? Would a loving God demand such from us? These questions have led many to say, "If this is what God is like, then I want no part."
A better approach would be to see in this passage a description of God; not as a capricious, abusive authority figure, but as the ultimate provider. Abraham leaves his family and takes his son. He has nothing, no past...and all he has for a future is now in God's hands. This then, is not about killing one's child. It is about trusting in God. Do we dare trust God with everything we have? Abraham named the place, "The Lord will provide." When has the Lord provided for you? Do we trust the Lord will provide for this church? For our family? In our finances? In our marriage?
As read his article I disagreed with Terry Mattingly and his thesis that we have gotten away from talking about sin. Not here! Romans chapter six, the NT reading, is all about sin! Sin is that state of being separated from God. It is missing the mark. It is falling short of the glory of the God. On the contrary, Mr. Mattingly, I think we are very aware of sin. I think we worry, to a fault, about inadequacy. We fear loss of control, and separation from things that matter, and about being less than we could be. I daresay that none of us in this room would willingly want to offend God; and all of us want to do what is right. Yet we are Episcopalians, so we also know that sin is more than looking in judgment at the local reprobate. Sin isn't about the evils of drinkin', dancin', and playing cards.
But here again many of us lose sight of the importance of the Scripture. Paul sounds so, well Preachy! AND, he ignores one of the vilest sins in human history: slavery. Remember, Paul was a product of his own time--and very human, as are we all. On the other hand, Paul is writing about the freedom that one has in trusting in God with one's heart, soul, mind and strength. Paul is talking about new life, eternal life which comes through a committed relationship with Jesus Christ. Each one of us in this room could produce a list of faults as long as your arm. Yet by God's grace are we freed from our old nature, from our lesser selves, and alive in Jesus Christ. This is good news!
So, what is here for us today? I would like to think that these readings could stir us this summer to renew our dedication to explore our sacred stories. I am smart enough to know that you will probably not run out and get a Bible and start to read it from cover to cover. But might you be encouraged to pick up a copy of Marcus Borg's book, Reading the Bible Again for the First Time, or Kathleen Norris's book Amazing Grace: A Vocabulary of Faith? That’s a possibility.
Pray that we may grow deeper in the knowledge and love of the Lord.
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Revised: 07/14/08