Two thousand years ago a thirty-year-old rabbi went up a hill in northern Galilee to declare to his disciples a “higher righteousness” than the Law of Moses. You have heard that it was said, “You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.” But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. The overwhelming human response … in his time and ours … is predictable. “No chance!”
Two-hundred-thirty-eight years ago a 33-year-old delegate from Virginia to the Continental Congress in Philadelphia gathered with his peers to hear a public declaration, penned by his hand, assert that “all men are created equal”, and that government exists to secure the happiness of the people, and derives its just powers from the consent of the people. The overwhelming response from governments … in his time and ours … is also predictable. “No chance.”
What do the proclamations of these two men … separated by millenniums and continents … have in common? Both aspire to a vision of perfection … of man and government … that lie just beyond mortal grasp. And so, predictably, many of us lose faith. The author of the Book of Hebrews writes: Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1)
“The assurance of things hoped for” … that’s what Moses had, and Jesus … and Jefferson. Others did too, of course, in every age. All exhibited assurance in a reality greater than themselves.
It makes a difference where you entrust your faith … and in whom. Be sure you reach high enough. Don’t stunt your growth. Remember, according to the author of Hebrews, God has made you “little lower than the angels.” (Hebrews 2:7) You are meant to soar in God’s service, not shuffle.
If you place your faith first and foremost in God, then all human disciplines will reflect His loving providence … be you painter, plumber, preacher, or pauper.
Faith’s best reward is a “conviction of things not seen.” After his resurrection, Jesus confronts his disciples and Thomas, meeting behind locked doors: Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe. (John 20:29)
All skill, all wisdom, all faith … of any value … is difficult. Otherwise everyone would be skilled, wise, and faithful. There are no shortcuts. You have to put in your time. It doesn’t matter how smart you are … how gifted, how privileged. It may take a lifetime … often does!
The English writer G. K. Chesterton quipped, “Christianity has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult; and left untried.” That’s been true of God’s path from the beginning.
Yet be of good courage! There is nothing broken that cannot be healed by God in his own time. Jesus chastises the Pharisees: I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. (Matthew 3:9) Can I be raised up, Lord, even me? I imagine God smiles: “Yes, Read, even you.” You too!
The Bible of Old and New Testament is replete with men and women of uneducated station or dubious character, who stubbornly pursued God’s path, and wrought great change … even when deeply blemished by moral failures … like Moses who killed a fellow Hebrew, or King David who took another man’s wife, or Paul who persecuted Christians and watched while Stephen was stoned to death.
As Jesus himself said to his disciples: With God, all things are possible. (Matt. 19:26)
Through baptism, every Christian is adopted by God the Father, and his Son Jesus Christ. God’s grace is sufficient; man is made perfect by faith in Christ, no matter the betrayal. Jesus said to his disciples: Let not your hearts be troubled; believe in God, believe also in me. (John 14:1) I will not leave you comfortless; I will come to you. (John 14:18)
Jesus commands: But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven … You must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matthew 5:44,48) With God’s grace, you will (be perfect).
It doesn’t mean you agree with your enemy’s claim, or approve what he’s done.
But, praying for your enemy can begin to “clean up the neighborhood”, set a tone that temporarily puts at bay reciprocal words and acts of revenge, and allows each combatant a safe and respectful place to stand. No man, no cause, no nation, enjoys a moral monopoly. All are in need of reconciliation to God’s perfect purpose.
First we clean up our own moral neighborhood, and then in God’s grace we are prepared to be His agents of reconciliation to others. It is always difficult and frustrating work … sometimes dangerous … occasionally sacrificial. That’s why
a peacemaker is so rare. Pick up your cross and follow me.
But reconciling the world to God’s loving purpose is what we are called to in our baptismal covenant: Will you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being? Our response: I will, with God’s help.
This weekend Americans celebrate the proposition that government exists to secure the welfare of its people through consent of the governed. Like Christianity, its promise is utopian, rarely tried, and imperfectly lived out. Yet its allure, like Christianity, is universal.
The pen can be greater than the sword. Jefferson’s was! Two-hundred-and-thirty-eight-years ago 56 delegates to the Continental Congress met in the sticky heat of Philadelphia to declare by resolution what had already begun in deed … independence of the thirteen colonial states from His Majesty King George III of Great Britain.
With only minor changes to Jefferson’s draft, Congress unanimously passed the Declaration of Independence, and made it public July 4th. The bond of colony and crown in North America was severed. This was unprecedented, and most thought the new republic could not long endure … even Americans!
Fifty-six representatives signed the document. With a firm reliance on the protection of divine providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor. Among them was an ancestor of mine, I’m told … George Read of Delaware. Before the signing, Benjamin Franklin famously quipped: We must all hang together or, most assuredly, we will all hang separately. Some indeed lost their lives and fortunes.
On this July 4th weekend, let us pause … breath deeply of our liberties … treasure innocence wherever it is revealed … build our character, and discipline our passions … count our blessings, and admit our sins … so that we, our children, and our nation remain vigilant in the cause of liberty and true to the faith of our fathers.
As inspiring a document as is the Declaration of Independence, it cannot save us. Jesus saves. None other! We are here to implore God’s rich blessing upon our flag and country … not to make flag and country our God. We do not need a civic religion. What we do need is an enlightened civic polity, informed by God’s gracious and perfect purpose.
John Adams and Benjamin Franklin inserted into Jefferson’s draft the provision for “a firm reliance on divine providence.” Jefferson himself admitted this truth to be self-evident, “that all men are created … and endowed by their Creator.” On our nation’s coin are imprinted, “In God we trust.”
The young colonies numbered thirteen. The world thought their cause lost. General Washington, a devout Anglican, prayed for the survival of his child, “one nation under God.”
Let us be clear “in whom we trust.” We trust in God the Father, and in his Son Jesus Christ. Washington did. So did Adams and Franklin. So must we! So must our sons and daughters!
And all God’s children cry, “Amen!”
Sermon preached by the Rev. C. Read Heydt
The Church of the Redeemer
Sarasota, Florida
4th Sunday after Pentecost
6 July 2014