Sermon preached by the Rev. Joseph Scalisi
The Church of the Redeemer / Sarasota, Florida
Pentecost 17 / 7 September, 2008
I’m going to let you in on a little secret, in case you didn’t already know… on a scale of 1 to 10, I’m about a 9 ½ on how introverted anyone can possibly be. I would also consider myself quite shy, which is not necessarily the same thing. So…being an introverted, shy person, climbing into this pulpit in front of hundreds of people on any given Sunday is not exactly something that I ever thought I would be doing. So, why do I do it? That is a question that I ask myself sometime.
Our first reading speaks of a watchman. Someone who stands on top of the city walls and keeps watch for anything out of the ordinary…for something that might cause damage to the city or its inhabitants. The idea is that if there is enough warning, the people of the city can prepare themselves to fight, or brace themselves against what’s coming, or run for safety. Having enough warning can make all the difference, as anyone concerned about hurricane season can tell you.
We read about the prophet who is called a watchman that the people can be given enough divine warning so that there is time to turn away from the path of destruction before it is too late. If the people who hear the warning pay attention to it and take action they will save themselves. If they hear the warning but do nothing to make ready then they bear the sole responsibility for the consequences. However, if the watchman sees the sword coming but does not sound the alarm the people will be harmed but the watchman will be held responsible for the harm that comes to them.
Being a watchman is a great responsibility knowing that the safety of so many is depending on you. I would imagine that it is also a great burden because the watchman must take care to stay alert for trouble and that vision remains clear enough that it can be recognized when it appears.
Because as we all know, there is no shortage of trouble to be found in this world, and it takes so many different forms. This watchman is responsible for alerting everyone that the sword is coming.
So, getting back to my earlier question about “why do I do this” when my personality would much rather read a book or have a conversation with a very small group…or sometimes even hide under a rock?
It is because I am supposed to be a watchman…for that matter, every preacher is supposed to be a watchman. You can see it in the way pulpits are built. In addition to the very practical reasons to allow the preachers voice to carry more easily in the days before microphones, they also give the impression of a watchman’s post. Symbolically, the preacher can see what’s out there and then tell the people what he sees…to give them warning if necessary.
Today, I am here to give warning. There is a sword coming. This is not something that we are used to hearing in our comfortable church building, but I must speak it. There is a sword coming. Now, I would not be so bold as to presume that I know what form that sword will take. I am not a supermarket tabloid looking for sales by flashing a sensational headline. I am simply here to speak the truth. And, although I am not here to predict what might happen to us in our personal, communal, national, or international life I can with great certainty say that at some point in time, you…and I…and everyone will die…a sword is coming to carry you away.
It is, of course, something that we all know, at least on some level, but how we live our daily lives often does not give that impression. The reason I say this is because we seem to spend so much time living for ourselves that we are caught living a double life. On the one side we spend our time and money, our thoughts and our plans on ourselves – how we will get ahead, how we will protect our interests. On the other side, once the party is over, we are looking to be received by the one who says “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” And whether we like it or not, those are two very different attitudes.
So, with this in mind, I’d like to look now at this Gospel passage that we often hear, seldom understand, and rarely practice. Jesus tells us the steps to take when there is a problem between Christians. First, would everyone agree that there are problems between Christians? Of course there are, because we have all done things wrong, every one of us has done something to cause someone to be upset with us. Sometimes we have done it intentionally, but often we have done something completely by accident and without even realizing it. The bottom line is that it is not whether or not you have hurt someone in the past or in the present that determines if you are living the life of a Christian…it is what you choose to do about it that determines if you are truly following him.
Taking my two earlier points about living for yourself, your advancement, and your interests and living for the one who says deny yourself and take up your cross will produce two very different ways of handling the inevitable conflicts that come up. When the one who lives for him or herself gets offended or is sinned against, the reaction becomes an exercise in insulating the self.
There is anger, that then becomes resentment. Because it is about the self, the person is occupied in proving to themselves and others that they are right and the other person is wrong. This type of behavior often involves talking behind the other person’s back often to justify one’s own position.
In contrast, Jesus tells us that the object of conflict resolution is not to justify ourselves but to seek the others good. Notice that he says that if your brother sins against you…go to him…not to justify yourself to your brother…but in hopes of gaining your brother back. The focus is not on you as much as it is on the relationship you have with those around you. To this end, there is nothing behind the back. It is all up front. Ideally, the conflict will be addressed at this first level, but we know all too well that it doesn’t always work this way. Jesus then tells us to get other people involved…again, not to prove our rightness to others… but so that the community can help you gain your brother back.
I think we would all agree that there are enough problems in the world without adding to them. We often add to them by carrying around our hurts, our pains, our resentments, our broken relationships. We spend a lot of time convincing ourselves and others that we are the one that is right and the other is wrong. You or I may, in fact, have been right, but when you die and the one who slighted or offended or hurt you dies who will know the difference?
By Jesus words, we are all watchmen. It is not simply reserved for the one standing up high in the pulpit. We are all supposed to be looking out for one another. As I said, a sword is coming, we will all die. Don’t let the sword catch you unprepared in your relationships. We’ve been warned…we have time to prepare…now the choice is ours to make.