Readings for Epiphany
7B:
Isaiah 43:18-25; Ps. 32; Mk.2:1-12
February 23, 2003
The Rev. Karen Siegfriedt
St. Jude the Apostle Episcopal Church, Cupertino,
CA
There has been a great deal of nonsense written about President Bush’s religious convictions. Much of it is coming from Europe where (for the most part) God has been relegated to the back pews. In last week’s issue of Time*, Joe Klein analyses Bush’s religious convictions. [He claims that Bush has never displayed the vaguest hint of dogmatism or sense of being a messianic messenger; quite the contrary. He claims that the president’s faith is humble and soft. For instance, Bush’s faith softens his cowboy-preppie heart, especially when he is in the presence of poverty and despair. He uses words like love and heart more than any other presidential candidate. However, his compassion is a very rudimentary form. It is more about feelings than actions. On the one hand, his faith enabled him to appreciate those who gave their lives to the poor. But on the other hand, his faith didn’t force him to struggle toward a deeper, detailed understanding of poverty or what could be done about it.
This inability to integrate the fullness of the Christian faith into his political life is evident by his budget cuts that help the rich and hurt the poor. Perhaps, this is what is most disturbing about Bush’s faith in this moment of national crises: His faith does not discomfort him enough. It does not impel him to have second thoughts. It does not motivate him to explore other intellectual possibilities or question the possible consequences of his actions. When asked if the President had struggled with his decision on Iraq, one of his closest advisors responded: ‘No. The president understands the enormity of it. He understands the nuances, but there has been no hand-wringing or existential angst along the way.’]
It is easy to throw stones at the president’s rudimentary faith. But it is a lot harder for us to honestly evaluate our own convictions of faith and notice how our faith informs (or does not inform) our own daily decision making. How conscious are we in being able to see our own sins? How responsive are we in facing our own failure to reach out to those in need? Do we turn the other cheek when someone threatens us? Do we give a generous portion of our money for the well being of those outside our own families? Do we anguish over difficult decision making, asking for God’s wisdom in order that we may promote justice and ensure mercy? If not, then perhaps our faith is too rudimentary.
Today’s readings from the Holy Scripture remind us about the universality of sin and the possibility of forgiveness. In the past, I have spoken a lot about forgiveness, which is at the core of the Christian faith. However, I (like many other main-line denomination preachers) have given short shrift to sin. It is not popular to talk about sin. It doesn’t fill up the pews. People don’t like to hear about it. But what possible sense can forgiveness make apart from the acknowledgement of sin? Let’s take a look at today’s reading from Isaiah the prophet who talks about corporate and national sin.
The time is 6th century BCE. The people of Israel have been conquered and exiled to Babylon. Being away from their homeland, separated from places and customs that gave them identity, they have forgotten their covenant with God. Lost in captivity, they feel that God has abandoned them. Isaiah recalls the sins of Israel: They have failed to live up to their covenant with God. They have failed to be faithful to God and to the commandments. They have failed to turn their hearts to God. They have failed to maintain their religious piety. They have failed to ensure justice and mercy in their daily lives. In a nutshell, they have sinned.
When I say the word sin, there is no telling what comes to your mind: the stolen candy bar, cruel words said to a friend or spouse, cheating on taxes, obnoxious pollutants coming from gas guzzling cars, a clutch of homeless people sitting around a fire built from trash in a vacant lot, an Iraqi mother standing in line with her children for extra food rations in preparation for war. The picture will be different for each one of you. What is important however, is to be aware of the insidious nature of sin, the ability we have to deceive ourselves, the necessity to examine our conscience on a daily basis, and finally to seek and offer forgiveness.
I am glad that I am not the president of the United States. I would never want to have the responsibility to decide whether to bring a nation to war or to face the consequences of responding too late. Making such far reaching decisions is usually very difficult. It is not as easy as making a choice between good and evil. Oftentimes, it is making a choice between the lesser of two evils. Choosing between the lesser of two evils includes things like going to war as a means of self-defense, leaving the poor out in the cold in order to first take care of one’s own family, and getting a divorce for one’s own sanity while putting the children at risk. Whenever we need to make a choice between the lesser of two evils, we ought to make such a choice with a pain in our heart. There ought to be a lot of hand wringing. There are thousands of ways to turn away from the light. The temptation to sin and the ignorance about sin are overwhelming. And so we come together each Sunday to hear the words of the prophets, to put on the mind of Christ, to learn the difference between the light and the darkness, and to recognize the pull of darkness when it comes.
There is a great deal of pain and suffering in the world that is preventable. Christians need to be in the forefront of being agents for healing. But in order for us Christians to have any impact in making this world a better place, our faith needs to make us uncomfortable. Our faith needs to impel us to have second thoughts. Our faith needs to motivate us to explore other intellectual possibilities or question the possible consequences of our actions. And if our faith doesn’t do this, then perhaps (like the president’s) it is too rudimentary.
Now let me say a few words about forgiveness. After all, today’s readings say a lot about the wideness of God’s mercy and its ability to make creation new. Unfortunately, some Christians have taken the principle of forgiveness out of its context. Some folks go on sinning and sinning, comforted by the knowledge that Jesus died on the cross for their sins. They believe that this forgiveness is granted simply by accepting the Lordship of Jesus Christ. I am not sure that Jesus would agree. He never explained forgiveness that way in the gospels. Instead, he showed us how to be different, how to be compassionate, how to be whole. Salvation means to become whole. This includes individual wholeness as well as national wholeness. Salvation includes recovery from illness and addiction, forgiveness of debts, peace between enemies, food for the poor, justice to the oppressed. These are all examples of outbreaks of healing and compassion. Jesus saves in that he showed us how to multiply such outbreaks of healing and compassion. We are saved when we follow in his steps.
As love is poured into our hearts, these outbreaks of healing and compassion become more frequent. That is why we began this service with the following prayer: “O Lord, you have taught us that without love, whatever we do is worth nothing; Send your Holy Spirit and pour into our hearts your greatest gift, which is love, the true bond of peace and all virtue, without which whoever lives is accounted dead before you...” This is my prayer for the president, for the leaders of all nations, for the people of Iraq, for this community of faith, and for myself. For without love, we are as good as dead. May God forgive us.
* Time Magazine, February 24, 2003, page 19.
| Updated 2/27/03 |
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