Opening our minds
This can be listened to here.
Gate Pa – Easter 3, 2105
Readings:
Psalm Psalm 4
First Reading: Acts 3:12-19
Second Reading: 1 John 3:1-7
Gospel: Luke 24:36-48
What I want to say:
How we understand the words “sin”
and “righteousness” shape our understanding of what Jesus was on about and what
we are about. So what did Jesus mean by it, what did the gospel writers mean?
What I want to happen:
what do you need to let go of this
morning?
what
ideas about sin and righteousness
how is your mind being opened by risen
Christ in love?
The Sermon
1. Introduction:
funeral during week
sang “How great thou art”
struck by one verses
When I think of God, His son not sparing
sent
him to die, I scarce can take it in
that
on the cross, my burden gladly bearing
he
bled and died, to take away my sin”
I wondered – what is my burden
we sing these words but what do we mean by
them
what
is my sin?
2. Pretty Important
Sin - it’s a pretty important concept
heart of every reading heard this morning
heart of a lot of what Jesus is on about
a
lot of his conflict with Jewish elite and Pharisees revolves around what is sin
this morning heard
·
John say that “4Everyone
who commits sin is guilty of lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. 5You
know that he was revealed to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. 6No
one who abides in him sins; no one who sins has either seen him or known him.
7Little children, let no one deceive you. Everyone who does what is right
is righteous, just as he is righteous.”
·
Peter
– invites hearers to repent of their sin
·
in Gospel Luke “45Then
he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, 46and he said to
them, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the
dead on the third day, 47and that repentance and forgiveness of sins
is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
48You are witnesses of these things.
Sin thing is pretty pivotal
3. What is sin?
So what is sin and what is righteousness? –
ask
plenary
4. So Confusing
we use the word a lot
actually a lot of debate about what they mean
Just read book on Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio
Pope Francis
fascinating own
right
learnt a lot about Argentinian
history
place of Peron over
last 50 or so years
recent history Roman Catholic church
second
Vatican council
confusion caused orders like Jesuits
loss of sense identity
importance that people like Bergoglio
rise
Roman curia under Pope John Paul II
reversal
that under Francis and council non Roman cardinals
rise
Latin American Roman Catholic church
½ Catholics world now live
now seen as source church for worldwide
church cf Europe
role
Benedict played in laying foundations reform and Francis election
Most us see Francis as great man
surprised hear number Roman Catholics not sure
about him
feel
spends too much time talking about social issues – like poverty
not enough time on morality
them sin is moral
about
sex – who can have sex with, who can’t, and when
sexuality
– being heterosexual, and only heterosexual
marriage
anti-
abortion
è His focus on poor – living and working among
poor just muddies that.
One of my frustrations with times in Polynesia
youth
work in church there
seemed
to me that Christianity had been simplified down to
no
swearing
not
drinking or drugs
no
sex outside of marriage.
Sin had become swearing, drinking and drugs,
and having sex out of marriage
– little ironic given how much of all of that
I saw happening
trouble is – often made sin too small
defined it in a way that makes us feel pretty
righteous and superior
I don’t swear, drink, do drugs sex outside of
marriage
so
I am all good –rightoues
that then colours how we read the passages we
heard this morning
what we understand by then
I wonder
is
that what it means
and
are we really righteous
5. What did Jesus and gospel writers mean
fair to say that same confusion and range understandings
also found in scriptures
see it clearly in gospels
one groups Jesus clashed with a lot over this
issue is Pharisees
currently reading book by Kenneth Bailey –
spend nearly all life living working in Middle East
sourced a lot translations and commentaries in
Syriac – one three main languages early church
people
come out same cultural setting as Jesus and gospel writers
says Pharisees not group like Anglican priests
for example
basically
anyone could call themselves one
no
entry requirements or test
basic
passion for adherence – obedience to Law of Moses
elite group within Pharisees – called friends /associates
clear
group involved entry requirements
for them they were righteous
nearly everyone else were sinners
in fact word used sinners meant – people of
the land
people
did not know law
could
not be expected obey law
therefore
by definition – sinners
important that they – friends or associates –
kept themselves ritually distant from these people
righteous – those kept letter law
ritually
clean
sinners everyone else
WE are in. You are out.
The Messiah was supposed to come for them –
the in crowd
but instead this man who claims to be the
messiah spent a lot of his time with those who did not keep the law
were not ritually clean
people of low honour
no
social standing
who were seen by some of the elite as essential
labour
used
when needed
discarded
and ignored when no
This Jesus honoured them
blessed
them
and in beatitudes named these people as the
people of honour in God’s eyes
6. Law
what does Jesus do in face of all that
offers new understanding of law
new yoke
light
inclusive
used Deuteronomy and Leviticus to summarise
law
(or used summary already at play)
Law was all about
loving Lord your God with all your heart and
soul and mind
by/and
loving your neighbour as yourself
For Pharisees, especially the friends/associated
neighbour
was other Pharisees/friends/associates
parable good Samaritan – Jesus redefines
neighbour as
….
everyone
including all people of land – sinners
all foreigners – including Romans
even Samaritans
it would seem that for Jesus
to be clear about this
to be righteous is not to be moral
not about being good
about loving everyone with same love and
passion Jesus displays on cross
when do that – righteous
when don’t – sinners
so
who here willing to say love Lord their God with
all heart and soul and mind by loving neighbour as themselves?
rest us are sinners
7. So what
so what do we do with this
firstly – need to let go of a lot of our ideas
about sin and righteousness
Invitation Easter - leave them at cross
in a sense – Jesus died to free us from those
ideas
hold us down
limit our vision
too small
actually prevent
us from loving God with all our heart and soul and mind
because they prevent us from loving
our neighbour as ourselves
gift of the Resurrection is that we are
offered chance to start again
see world afresh
see ourselves
afresh
understand sin
and righteousness afresh
We are invited by risen Christ to see
ourselves and world we live in anew
è
have our minds opened
to the mind of scripture
just
like disciples – as heard this morning
as
I say in pew sheet - have our imaginations shaped by God’s unfailing love.
We are made in love,
held in love,
restored by love.
truly
begin to love our neighbour
all our neighbours
as we ourselves are loved
what do you need to let go of this morning?
what
ideas about sin and righteousness hold you down
prevent you loving god with all your
being
by loving your neighbour
how is your mind being opened by risen Christ in love?
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