Third Sabbath in Lent
March 11, 2007
Readings:
Readings:
Isaiah 55:1-9
1 Corinthians 10:1 - 13
Luke 13:1-9
This week, Pastor Johnson points out a valuable lesson that might have been earlier hinted at in George Orwell’s Animal Farm:
As sinners, part of our admission of this human frailty is that we hide behind pretenses that our sin is “not as bad” as that of others. From Newt Gingrich to Pope Benedict, even those charged with the public trust and the faith of the masses have slipped into that ugly world of pointing fingers, pointing fingers that only divert attention away from our sin. In the case of Pope Benedict, the finger pointed at a top shelf lyricist and baladeer, Bob Dylan, for provoking thought and insight in youthful churchgoers ….. a sin, even? Sometimes we will even point the finger at something good and useful and serving God’s purpose in the name of masking our own iniquities.
In the daily devotional from Rick Warren’s Purpose Driven Life, John Fischer writes this past week:
We judge common sinners, as Pastor Johnson points out, because repentance is a hard swallow. Like pride. In fact, pride is often the issue. Repentance is a tough sell as it causes us embarrassment and is a blow to our pride in self. We see repentance as suffering, but hiding from it is a worse suffering. The problem is it’s hard to be honest with ourselves, it’s hard to say you’re sorry and, often, even harder to forgive.
We allow ourselves to do the “less than honest thing, the half-hearted thing”, the non-denial denial, the apology that comes with the disclaimer that there are “worse than me” just around the corner; that my sin is “not what it appears to be” because that of others is more so. Well, as pastor points out, “If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, ……. Whether there’s a bigger duck around the corner is of little consequence.”
We don’t have the time to worry about other peoples’ sins. We each have a fig tree in dire need of pruning and fertilizing. We need to understand that notion that “God is not finished with us yet” just because we have not born fruit as yet. It is of little use to point to other trees that need “more pruning”, more manure. We’re fruitless enough that our time and effort would be better spent taking care of our own need for maintenance than pointing out the lacking in others, especially when it is expressly done to make us feel better about who we are.
My sin is equal to your sin. It is not for us to say that “some sin is more equal than others”. As N.T. Wright says in Simply Christian:
BUT here’s the good news. God isn’t finished with us yet!!! We get many chances, multiple bites at the apple. It’s another BIG reason not to judge others. God “isn’t done with them yet” either. If you hang it on the cross, and you proceed to open that door, you will be invited to the biggest party that ever was or will be – hosted by the Father of the prodigal son. A bountiful feast prepared for all transgressors who see the light, no matter how late, and return to the fold. God gives us way more than one chance to return to the road less traveled. God will give us more time, He will “provide you the way out” as Paul says in Corinthians, he will “let your fig tree alone one more year”. Lent is a time to realize that the tree needs pruning and upkeep AND that the clock is ticking. The cost feels too high at times, but the cost of neglect is even greater.
So Pastor Johnson tasks us this week to find someone we need to say sorry to … for when we’ve fallen short. Swallow that pride, self-serve up a dish of crow, give it up to Him, hang it on The Cross, then pass through that door to the party and the feast prepared expressly for you, by Him …. for choosing wisely.
Luke 13:1-9
This week, Pastor Johnson points out a valuable lesson that might have been earlier hinted at in George Orwell’s Animal Farm:
“All animals are created equal, but some are created more equal than others.”
As sinners, part of our admission of this human frailty is that we hide behind pretenses that our sin is “not as bad” as that of others. From Newt Gingrich to Pope Benedict, even those charged with the public trust and the faith of the masses have slipped into that ugly world of pointing fingers, pointing fingers that only divert attention away from our sin. In the case of Pope Benedict, the finger pointed at a top shelf lyricist and baladeer, Bob Dylan, for provoking thought and insight in youthful churchgoers ….. a sin, even? Sometimes we will even point the finger at something good and useful and serving God’s purpose in the name of masking our own iniquities.
In the daily devotional from Rick Warren’s Purpose Driven Life, John Fischer writes this past week:
"When it comes to dealing with “common sinners” we have a tendency to be more like the Pharisees than like Jesus. A Pharisee once judged Jesus for allowing a woman of the streets to bathe his feet in perfume mixed with the tears of her sorrowful life. The Pharisee had already distanced himself from the woman because of her sin and was shocked that Jesus, as a teacher, did not do the same. Why is it so hard for us to identify with sinners and so easy to judge them when we, too, are guilty? We must stop this distancing of ourselves from sinners and start looking for common ground like Eugene Debs,who ran for president of the United States as a third party candidate in 1912. I really do like his slogan from the 1912 campaign trail. We would all be more compassionate and more merciful if we would take it on:
“As long as there is a lower class, I am in it.
As long as there is a criminal element, I'm of it.
As long as there is a soul in prison, I am not free.”
Obviously he didn’t get elected since none of us has ever heard of him, but I believe there is a lot of truth in thinking this way about our place in the world."
We judge common sinners, as Pastor Johnson points out, because repentance is a hard swallow. Like pride. In fact, pride is often the issue. Repentance is a tough sell as it causes us embarrassment and is a blow to our pride in self. We see repentance as suffering, but hiding from it is a worse suffering. The problem is it’s hard to be honest with ourselves, it’s hard to say you’re sorry and, often, even harder to forgive.
We allow ourselves to do the “less than honest thing, the half-hearted thing”, the non-denial denial, the apology that comes with the disclaimer that there are “worse than me” just around the corner; that my sin is “not what it appears to be” because that of others is more so. Well, as pastor points out, “If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, ……. Whether there’s a bigger duck around the corner is of little consequence.”
We don’t have the time to worry about other peoples’ sins. We each have a fig tree in dire need of pruning and fertilizing. We need to understand that notion that “God is not finished with us yet” just because we have not born fruit as yet. It is of little use to point to other trees that need “more pruning”, more manure. We’re fruitless enough that our time and effort would be better spent taking care of our own need for maintenance than pointing out the lacking in others, especially when it is expressly done to make us feel better about who we are.
My sin is equal to your sin. It is not for us to say that “some sin is more equal than others”. As N.T. Wright says in Simply Christian:
“The line between things being right and things not being right, can’t be drawn between “us” and “them”. It runs right down through the middle of each of us.”
BUT here’s the good news. God isn’t finished with us yet!!! We get many chances, multiple bites at the apple. It’s another BIG reason not to judge others. God “isn’t done with them yet” either. If you hang it on the cross, and you proceed to open that door, you will be invited to the biggest party that ever was or will be – hosted by the Father of the prodigal son. A bountiful feast prepared for all transgressors who see the light, no matter how late, and return to the fold. God gives us way more than one chance to return to the road less traveled. God will give us more time, He will “provide you the way out” as Paul says in Corinthians, he will “let your fig tree alone one more year”. Lent is a time to realize that the tree needs pruning and upkeep AND that the clock is ticking. The cost feels too high at times, but the cost of neglect is even greater.
So Pastor Johnson tasks us this week to find someone we need to say sorry to … for when we’ve fallen short. Swallow that pride, self-serve up a dish of crow, give it up to Him, hang it on The Cross, then pass through that door to the party and the feast prepared expressly for you, by Him …. for choosing wisely.
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