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Legend has it that one day Socrates and Plato were walking down the beach, deep in conversation and Plato had expressed to Socrates his desire to gain the wisdom and knowledge that Socrates had.  Socrates didn’t answer him, but instead said, “Walk with me into the ocean.”  So, they turned and walked into the sea together.

Now, in your imagination, picture that happening: Student and teacher, two of the greatest philosophers of history, striding into the surf side by side.

The water started out around their ankles, then rose up to their knees. As the water got higher Plato wondered to himself, “What is the lesson my master is trying to teach me?”

When the water was shoulder height, Socrates asked Plato, “What is it exactly you want from me?” “Knowledge,” Plato answered, at which point Socrates abruptly grabbed Plato’s head and pushed him down under the water. After a half a minute or so Socrates let Plato up and asked him again, “What is it you want?” “Knowledge,” was again Plato’s answer, at which point Socrates shoved him back down under the water.

After a time, when Plato ran out of air, he began to struggle to get his head above the surface. He punched and kicked and grabbed to get free, but Socrates was a strong man and held him down. At the last moment before Plato blacked out, Socrates let him up and asked that same simple question, “What is it you want?” Plato coughed and spluttered finally responding, “Air! I need air!” Socrates calmly stated, “When you desire knowledge as much as you desired a breath of air, then you shall have it.”

Another story. This one has built up around the life of Blind Bartimaeus.

He was very young when he lost his sight and although his life was difficult, he was able to get married, have a daughter, and support them through begging. He had a small lamb that was very much like a seeing eye dog that would lead him to the city gates of Jericho where he would spend the day begging for coins. Like so many others who were unable to earn a living, he found a gimmick that would at least provide some entertainment to those who supported him through their generosity. He had two turtledoves that would remain with him and on command, perform summersaults on the small patch of ground in front of him.

One evening, after spending the day at the city gates, Bartimaeus came home to find his wife quite ill. They said she was dying, so Bartimaeus prayed to the Lord, “If you will spare my wife, I will take the two turtledoves and give them to the priest at the temple for a sacrifice.” The following day, his wife fully recovered and Bartimaeus did not hesitate. He took the two doves and had them sacrificed as a thanksgiving to the Lord.

However, only a few weeks later, Bartimaeus’ daughter also became very ill. And again Bartimaeus prayed to God, this time offering God the only thing he had left, the lamb. As he approached the temple, a priest asked where he was going and when Bartimaeus told him, the priest said he could do no such thing, the lamb was his eyes, so the priest offered Bartimaeus money to go and buy another lamb to sacrifice to God, but Bartimaeus told the priest, “I did not promise the Lord just any lamb. I promised the Lord this lamb. Also,” Bartimaeus said, “if I keep my promise to God, God will provide a lamb for Bartimaeus’ eyes.”

Jesus and his disciples came to Jericho. As he and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the roadside. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

The people told him to hush, but Bartimaeus was persistent, and called even more loudly, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

When Jesus heard his cries, he had Bartimaeus brought to him and asked, “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man said to him, “My teacher, let me see again.” Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith has made you well.” Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way.

In the midst of so many troubles, so many obstacles, Bartimaeus persevered and remained faithful to God, offering all he had including his little lamb, firmly believing that God would send another lamb to help him. And behold, the Lamb of God spoke, and Bartimaeus, through faith was made well.

These past weeks we have been reading about Job. We know his troubles. He has lost everything except his life. Yet, Job remained faithful and never cursed God. He persevered in the face of so many troubles. His only complaint was that he wanted to ask God why all these things had happened. In last week’s reading, God answered him, “Who do you think you are in questioning me?” A hard answer, but we’ve come to understand that there is mystery surrounding the actions of God, and in today’s reading, so did Job. He says to the Lord, “I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you.” In the end, the Lord restored all Job’s fortunes and blessed his days. He ended up with vast wealth, handsome sons and the most beautiful daughters.

During a Monday night football game between the Chicago Bears and the New York Giants, one of the announcers observed that Walter Payton, the Bears’ running back, had accumulated over nine miles in career rushing yardage. The other announcer remarked, “Yeah, and that’s with somebody knocking him down every 4.6 yards!”

Plato persevered, wanting knowledge as much as he needed air and became one of the greatest philosophers. Bartimaeus persevered in faith and in calling on Jesus regained his sight. Job persevered, never cursing God and ended up living in Garrison Keillor’s Lake Wobegone “Where all the women are strong, all the men are good-looking, and all the children are above average.” And Walter Payton persevered, 4.6 yards at a time, to become one of the greatest running backs of all time.

What do those examples say to you? What do they prove? Answer: Absolutely nothing. I played football all through grade school and when I got to the eighth grade I tried out. I persevered and did fair right up until they weighed us in. I weighed 99 pounds. They laughed. I made water boy.

I know of many who have persevered in faith and after overcoming some great trial end up experiencing an even greater trial. I’ve known people who have persevered in faith all their lives and who have also been blind all their lives. And I know some folks who think they are wise, but will turn to you and say, “Hold my beer” and go do something incredibly stupid.

Perseverance does not imply success. Perseverance has more to do with a state of mind. It means standing in the face of adversity and continuing forward – or maybe even backwards – but continuing. And that is our goal as a Christian people. Contrary to popular belief, life is not a game that you set out to win. Life is about following Jesus as his disciples, seeking not our greatest good, but instead seeking His. In Mere Christianity, C. S. Lewis wrote, ”God knows our situation; He will not judge us as if we had no difficulties to overcome. What matters is the sincerity and perseverance of our will to overcome them.”

There will be trials, obstacles, or in the case of Bartimaeus, blindness, and we are not going to overcome them all. There will be times when we fail. Lewis is saying we will not be judged based on whether or not we overcame those obstacles, whether or not we were able to see when we were physically blind. We will not be judged on whether we win or fail, but we will be judged on whether or not we were passionate and persevered in faith.

Job and Bartimaeus, these are not examples of winning some temporary prize. These are examples of perseverance. Of what it means to stand in faith in good times and bad and from the heart of your being, to call on God – in full expectation that he will hear you and answer you – but regardless of the outcome, loving him and knowing that you are loved as only God can, for the “prize” we seek is not temporary, but eternal life with him.

Let us Pray: Father, keep us from vain strife of words. Grant to us constant profession of the Truth! Preserve us in a true and undefiled Faith so that we may hold fast to that which we professed when we were baptized in the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit — that we may have Thee for our Father, that we may abide in Thy Son and in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. Through Jesus Christ, Our Lord. Amen.

Trevor Huddleston was a white man living in South Africa during the times of apartheid. A black South African tells of the time, when he was only nine years old, that he encountered Huddleston for the first time.

The young boy and his mother were walking down a foot path when they encountered a tall white man dressed in a black suit. In the days of apartheid, when a black person and a white person met while walking on a footpath, the black person was expected to step into the gutter to allow the white person to pass and nod their head as a gesture of respect. But this day, before the young boy and his mother could step off the sidewalk the white man stepped off the sidewalk and, as he and his mother passed, the white man tipped his hat in a gesture of respect to the mother.

The white man was Trevor Huddleston, an Anglican priest who was bitterly opposed to apartheid. The nine year old boy was Desmond Tutu and that event changed his life. When his mother told him that Trevor Huddleston had stepped off the sidewalk because he was a man of God, Tutu found his calling. Many years later during an interview, Tutu says that when my mother, “told me that he was an Anglican priest I decided there and then that I wanted to be an Anglican priest too. And what is more, I wanted to be a man of God.”

I suppose, at one time or another, we’ve all got the wrong impression about a person or group. Sometimes it turns out that they are not the sort we should have anything to do with, but at other times, they turn out to be quite remarkable. For whatever reason, those first impressions lead us to make mistakes about a person’s character and if we are unwilling to investigate further we may miss out on some extraordinary opportunities.
Not only do we make those mistakes about people, but we can fall into the same error when it comes to God. We get to thinking He is defined by certain actions or inactions and use those events to define his character. Consider Job, who we were discussing last week.

You’ll recall that the devil came prancing before God and more or less challenged God regarding Job. Job was a righteous man and served God, but the devil said that if God would remove his protection from Job, then Job would end up cursing God. Therefore, God said, “Very well, he is in your power; only spare his life.” From that, we know of all the trouble that befell Job. He lost everything, but did not curse God.

Last week, we had reached the point in the narrative where Job’s three friends had come to him and were pointing out what they believed were his faults, yet Job continued to protest his innocence and stated all he wanted was to be able to lay his case of innocence before the Lord:

“I would lay my case before him,
and fill my mouth with arguments.
I would learn what he would answer me,
and understand what he would say to me.”

Today, the Lord answered Job:

“Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?
Gird up your loins like a man,
I will question you, and you shall declare to me.

“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?

“Who has the wisdom to number the clouds? Or who can tilt the waterskins of the heavens.”

God’s response to Job’s complaint, “Who are you to question me?”

God turned him over to the devil’s control and allowed the devil to inflict all sorts of harm on Job, but when Job said that all he wanted was to ask God “Why?”, God said, “Who do you think you are?”

Some read that and want to say to God, “Who do you think you are?”

Ever see the movie Bruce Almighty? Jim Carrey. Very funny. Bruce gets fired from his job and complains to his girlfriend. She tells him everything happens for a reason and Bruce responds, “That I don’t need. That is a cliché. That is not helpful to me. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. I have no bird. I have no bush. God has taken my bird and my bush.” Finally getting frustrated she tells him to stop playing the martyr and he fires back, “I am not being a martyr. I’m a victim. God is a mean kid sitting on an anthill with a magnifying glass, and I’m the ant. He could fix my life in five minutes if he wanted to, but he’d rather burn off my feelers and watch me squirm!”

God responds to Job’s questioning by asking, “Who are you to question me?” In that one response, we think we’ve got this God of ours all figured out. Like Desmond Tutu and the white man, we see God coming and we know we had better step off the path and bow our heads or he will knock us off the path and crush our heads. He’s just that mean little kid who likes to wind us up and watch us squirm. But is He really?

Jesus stretched out his hand, touched the leper, and healed him.
Jesus took the bread and fish, blessed it and they all had enough to eat.

Jesus called, out “Lazarus!” And the dead man walked out of the tomb alive.

Jesus wrapped a towel around his waist, knelt down before them, and washed their feet.

Jesus said, “This is my body. This is my blood.” And gave it to them for the life of the world.

James and John came to Jesus and asked for the seats at his left and right when he came into his Kingdom, and Jesus said to them that those were not his to give, and went on to say to them, “You know that among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.”

We hear God ask Job, “Who do you think you are?” and we get this idea that we’ve got God all figured out as a mean little kid, but then Jesus tells us he has come to serve. He offers his life, so that we might live. And we must reconsider everything we think we know about God, because we know that they are both one in the same, for it is Jesus who says to us, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father… Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me.” Even so, how are the two reconciled? How can the God that allowed those things to happen to Job be the same God that died upon the cross for the salvation of the world?

We ask these questions and God responds:

“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding.
Who determined its measurements– surely you know!”

I’m afraid that this will leave you less than satisfied, but the answer is not for us to know. In this, we are like Job. God did not answer him and God will not answer us. However, we are different than Job, because we have what he did not.

Job was not allowed to stand before God and question him, but we have a high priest who can, for Jesus stands before the throne of grace on our behalf and intercedes for us, just as the priest stood in the temple and interceded on behalf of the people. As Paul wrote in his letter to the Hebrews:

“In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered; and having been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him, having been designated by God a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.”

We cannot stand alone before God and live; therefore, we must stand with and in God’s Son. Jesus. As our Great High Priest, Jesus alone – God Incarnate – stands before the the Father on our behalf and through his sacrifice we are made worthy.

The ways of God are mystery, but at the center of the mystery is Truth, is Jesus. We don’t have understand all the mysteries in order to receive the reward. We must only know the truth, which is Jesus.

A lady of society was gazing upon an image she had never seen before in the city’s art museum. “My dear fellow,” she said condescendingly to the Curator, “I have never seen this painting before. I find the image shallow, lacking in imagination, portraying a mean countenance, and rather crude in appearance. What do you call it?” The curator answered without giving the slightest expression, “That madam, is a mirror.”

You’ll remember from last week that the angels, both good and evil, came before God, Satan being one of them. God asked him, “Where have you come from?” Satan answered, “From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it.” Going back and forth tormenting those who lived there, causing them great pain and enticing them to turn from God. So God says, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man who fears God and turns away from evil.” Satan says to God, “Well of course he’s holy and righteous, you protect him. You give him everything he wants, but if you take your protection away, he will curse you.” God says, “Fine, I will remove my protection, but you can’t kill him.” Well, Satan doesn’t kill Job, but he does kill everything and everyone around him.

The oxen and the donkeys were stolen, and the servants killed. Fire came from heaven and killed all the sheep and the shepherds. The camels were also stolen and those servants were put to the sword. All of Job’s children and their family were in a house together, when a strong wind came up destroying the house and killing everyone inside. Job loses everything. But did Job shake his fist at heaven and curse God because of all this? Scripture says:

At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship and said:

“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
and naked I will depart.
The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away;
may the name of the Lord be praised.”

In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.

But Satan was not done with Job. Job is cursed with a skin disease, so he breaks a pot and uses one of the sharp edges to scratch himself. His wife then came to him and said, “Are you still maintaining your integrity? Curse God and die!” Job replied, “You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?” Job continues to hold strong.

Into this mess strolls Job’s three friends. At first, they only sit with him, for seven days, not saying anything, but giving him fellowship in his misery, but then the advice begins. Each taking his turn, they tell him what he has done wrong and what it is he needs to do in order to be made right with God. His friend Elphaz says to him:

“Is it for your piety that he rebukes you
and brings charges against you?
Is not your wickedness great?
Are not your sins endless?

Therefore, he tells Job to repent, but as scripture has said, Job is a righteous man, he has not sinned. His only problem is that he can’t understand why God is doing this to him. And that is where we find him in our reading today. He is saying to his friends that if he could only speak to God, reason with God, he could prove to God that he was indeed a faithful servant, but because he can’t he makes his lament to God:

“If I go forward, he is not there;
or backward, I cannot perceive him;
on the left he hides, and I cannot behold him;
I turn to the right, but I cannot see him.
God has made my heart faint;
the Almighty has terrified me;
If only I could vanish in darkness,
and thick darkness would cover my face!”

Like Job, there are days and seasons when the world or the devil comes against us. These trials can be physical, emotional, spiritual, or a combination of them all. Regarding God, we say with Job, “I cannot perceive Him. He is not there. I’m doing as He asked me to, but he is nowhere to be found.” And it is in the midst of these times and trials that our friends come to us. They too sit quietly for awhile, keeping us company in our misery, but when things near the bottom, they speak.

One of those friends will remind you of something you did decades before and say, “It is because of that incident that the Lord has abandoned you.” And another will say, “If you had only tried harder, prayed more, gone to church twice a week, this would not have happened.” And another friend comes along and says, “It really has nothing to do with any of that, the problem is, you’re just not good enough. You’re just a hypocrite and you know it.”

“If only I could vanish in darkness,
and thick darkness would cover my face!”

We all have friends like these. They are with us everywhere we go. These friends are like the wild bulls of Bashan that we read about in Psalm 22, circling us and waiting to destroy or the ravaging lions or the wild dogs that wait to feed on us. I call them friends, but they are not our friends. But I call them friends, because we allow them to remain so close to us. We let them speak to us when we refuse to hear anyone else, including God, but these are not our friends.

These are our own personal “demons.” And we let them hang around when we feel abandoned by God and those around us. Why? Because we have looked in the mirror and we know the reality of the person reflected back at us. They are shallow, lacking in imagination, portraying a mean countenance, and rather crude. That person in the mirror fully deserves all the misery that befalls them. They’ve earned it and it is no wonder that God has abandoned them. You see, these friends of our have a very specific purpose, they cannot steal our salvation, that was a victory that Christ won once and for all, but they can rob us of our joy and of our peace. They cause us to doubt Our Father and even question His love. And you know what? We let them. Instead of rebuking them, we allow them to whisper in our ears, and by listening, we forget the promises of God. What are we to do? The solution is not found by vanishing into darkness.

Hear again those words from Paul’s letter to the Hebrews, “We have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

Will you experience weakness in your life? Yes. Will you stumble along the way? Yes. Will you be sinful. Oh, yes. Will you be tested in trials both great and small? Guaranteed. But during these times, do not sink into darkness or step in front of that mirror and listen to your friends as they spout their lies and deceive you into agreeing with with them. Instead, boldly come before the throne of Grace, before the throne of the living God and receive mercy and grace.

The state of our soul can be very much like Oklahoma weather. Hot and dry, beautiful and sunny, cold, windy, damp, pouring rain, and the occasional tornado thrown in to keep you on your toes, but even in the worst of it, we can find mercy and grace. We can find joy in and through the Resurrected Lord.

Hear this: You are loved by God. You are loved by God. Rebuke these so called friends of yours and remind them that you are a friend – a child! – of God Most High. Come before His Throne of Grace and know that you are loved by God.

Let us pray:
Gracious and Holy Father,
Please give us:
intellect to understand you,
reason to discern you,
diligence to seek you,
wisdom to find you,
a spirit to know you,
a heart to meditate upon you,
ears to hear you,
eyes to see you,
a tongue to proclaim you,
a way of life pleasing to you,
patience to wait for you
and perseverance to look for you.
Grant us a perfect end,
your holy presence,
a blessed resurrection
and life everlasting. Amen.

To begin with today I would like to give you a quiz based on some old sayings. I’ll give you the first half of the line and we’ll see if you can complete it. However, in order to get these right you’ll need the wisdom of a first grader. Ready?

It’s better to be safe than… “Sorry”… Punch a 5th grader.
Strike while the… “iron is hot”… Bug is close.
Don’t bite the hand… “that feeds you”… that looks dirty.
A penny saved… “is a penny earned”… is not much.
If at first you don’t succeed… “try again”… get new batteries.

You have failed! I wonder how you would do against a fifth grader?

The Good Lord probably knew what he was doing by not giving me any children, but that does not mean I do not think they are wonderful. We are also fond to say in the Church, “The children are our future.” That may be a cliché to some, but it is true. When there are no children here on a Sunday morning, then we are in real trouble.

Jesus often spoke of children in his messages to the people. Last week, for Heritage Sunday, we read the lessons for the Feast of St. Matthew, but in the lessons appointed for that Sunday, the disciples had been arguing over who was the greatest, and Jesus said to them, “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.” Then he took a little child and put it among them; and taking it in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.”
Our reading for today picked up from there when Jesus said, “If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea.”

Jesus greatly elevated the importance of a child and placed a significant responsibility, not just on biological parents, but all of us who are responsible for the care of children. Consider the question we will all answer in a few minutes at the baptism: “Will you who witness these vows do all in your power to support this child in her life in Christ?” The response, “We will.” We, not only the parents and Godparents, but all of us as the Body of Christ, are making a vow to support the child as they grow in the Christian faith and life. But do we always live up to that or do we sometimes throw stumbling blocks before them?

A woman invited some people over for dinner. At the table she turned to her six-year-old daughter and said, “Would you like to say the blessing?” The girl replied, “I wouldn’t know what to say.” “Just say what you heard Mommy say,” the mother answered. The daughter thought for a moment, bowed her head, and said, “Lord, why on earth did I invite all these idiots to dinner?”

Do we put stumbling blocks before the children God has called on us to support? Unfortunately, yes. Sometimes it is unintentional, but other times blatant. There are the little things like cursing in front of them or at them to the more hurtful cases of abuse. By doing these things, we are placing stumbling blocks before them, because not only are they confronted with poor behavior, but they are also learning and may go onto commit the same offenses. You all know these things.
So did Jesus, but we also know that the teachings of Jesus often applied to many areas and not just the obvious and the same is true in this case. In this instance, the “little ones” we cause to stumble are not always young children, they can also be young Christians, those that are new to the faith or those who may only be asking questions about it.

Paul provides a perfect example of this works in is first letter to the Corinthians. He begins, Hence, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that “an idol has no real existence,” and that “there is no God but one… However, not all possess this knowledge. But some, through being hitherto accustomed to idols, eat food as really offered to an idol; and their conscience, being weak, is defiled.  Food will not commend us to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do. Only take care lest this liberty of yours somehow become a stumbling block to the weak.

What was the issue? Throughout the city of Corinth, there were all these pagan idols that the people would give offerings to. Sometimes, those offerings came in the form of meat that was placed on the fire. After it was there for a while, the pagan priest would remove it and the then cooked meat was sold.

Paul was saying that some look on that meat as evil, because it was offered to a false god, while others look on it as a tasty ribeye. In his view, there was no harm in eating it, it was just a tasty bit of meat, but he also understood that someone who was new to the faith might look at eating that meat as being sinful, because they did not fully understand the nature of the One True God. Therefore, he said to the people, “Don’t eat it. Not because it’s bad, but because it may hurt a fellow Christian who does not understand. Don’t eat it, because you may throw a stumbling block before them and harm their soul,” just as you and I today may harm the soul of a child by our behavior. Paul concludes, “Therefore, if food is a cause of my brother’s falling, I will never eat meat, lest I cause my brother to fall.” He is truly asking members of the church to make a sacrifice and set aside their own personal views and opinions for the greater good, so that others will not stumble.

That is a lesson that very much applies to us today. We are The Episcopal Church and are considered a broad church, that is, we hold a wide range of beliefs within our church. There are all sorts of ways to categorize those beliefs – liberal, conservative, orthodox, progressive, etc., etc., etc. – but it is often those categories that are stumbling blocks to many. If you throw down one of those stumbling blocks before someone and they fall, that is, if they walk away, then I can guarantee you, you will never have the opportunity to share with them the Gospel message. You will never have the opportunity to share with them the love of God. They will not listen to you and they will not hear the message that leads to eternal life in Christ Jesus, and to that Jesus says, “It would be better for you if a great millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea.”

I know that is a pretty hard message – for all of us – but those categories do no justice as to who we are. They do not define what we believe.

We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.

Descartes was one of those philosophers that if you think too hard about what he wrote, he’ll make your brain hurt: I don’t claim to fully understand everything he said, but at one point he describes how we as human-beings are caught in a kind of middle ground between God and nothingness.  Meaning we lack the absolute truth of God, yet because we are made in the image of God we can still catch glimpses of truth.  St. Paul put it into words I can more fully understand, “Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face.  Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.”

None can claim perfect clarity on the things of God (if they do, run fast and far); therefore, instead of being instructed by our limited and often fuzzy knowledge of what we believe to be God’s truth, we should instead be guided by what our Savior has commanded: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”  To that I’ll add, until you figure out how to do those two things, leave the details alone. On the last day, God will sort out the sheep from the goats, the wheat from the chaff, the righteous from the unrighteous. That is His job, not ours. Our job is to follow his commands.

Embrace the “little ones” in our midst, supporting them with all your power in their life in Christ.

Let us pray: We pray You, O almighty and eternal God! Who through Jesus Christ hast revealed Your glory to all nations, to preserve the works of Your mercy, that Your Church, being spread through the whole world, may continue with unchanging faith in the confession of your name. Amen.

Mildred, the church gossip, and self-appointed monitor of the church’s morals, kept sticking her nose into other people’s business. Several members did not approve of her extra curricular activities, but feared her enough to maintain their silence.

She made a mistake, however, when she accused George, a new member, of being an alcoholic after she saw his old pickup parked in front of the town’s only bar one afternoon. She emphatically told George and several others that everyone seeing it there would know what he was a drunk.

George, a man of few words, stared at her for a moment and just turned and walked away. He didn’t explain, defend, or deny. He said nothing.

On an evening later in the week, when Mildred’s husband was out of town on business, George quietly parked his pickup in front of Mildred’s house, walked home, and left it there all night.

There will always be the Mildred’s of the world. Those who are quick to point out the moral faults of others, tear them down (many times using the Holy Scripture to do it), turn their noses up in disgust, and dismiss them as unfit to associate with.

Unfortunately Mildred’s behavior is not limited to individuals. Have you ever known a church to behave in such a way? Have you ever known a church that was quick to point out the moral faults of others, tear them down (many times using the Holy Scripture to do it), turn their noses up in disgust, and dismiss them as unfit to associate with; categorizing them as degenerates. Immoral. Unclean. Scandalous. Say it ain’t so! Of course you have. We all have. And our Patron Saint, Matthew, was on the receiving end of such behavior.

“As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, ‘Follow me.’” In the eyes of the people, Matthew had three strikes against him. First, he worked for the IRS – no explanation needed. Second, he was a Jew working for the IRS, collecting money from other Jews and probably cheating his own people by collecting a bit extra for himself. Third, he was a Jew, working for the IRS, and the IRS was an agency of the of the Romans, the oppressive regime that was occupying the land. Three strikes, you’re out. He was collecting money for the enemy and stealing from his own people. The Pharisees asked the disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” In effect they looked at Matthew and the others Jesus was associating with and declared them degenerates. Immoral. Unclean. Scandalous. My goodness.

Sometimes, it would seem, that not much has changed in the last 2,000 years, but whether Jesus likes it or not, it really does have to be that way. Doesn’t it? After all, we can’t have any sinners in church. That just will not do, we must send them packing. The degenerates, immoral, and unclean must go. For the likes of them to remain in the church would be scandalous. Last one out, please turn off the lights and lock the door! We’ll call a realtor and put the church property up for sale tomorrow.

This is too long of a quote to read to you in a sermon, but its too good of a quote not to. From the 100th Archbishop of Canterbury, Michael Ramsey, “History shows that attempts to be rid of the scandal of the Church, by puritanically turning out people who don’t conform to certain moral standards, cause more evils than they cure… Attempts to purge the Church like that break down because it is so easy to turn out those who by their actions have failed to uphold those standards, while leaving inside the Church the smug people, the proud people, the prigs and the hypocrites. The Christian Church was never meant to be a Society of the Moral, but rather a Society of the Forgiven, and of those who put themselves in the way of divine forgiveness; a society ready to carry within its embrace many who have fatally compromised, and all who are unworthy—for all of us are unworthy: the mixed society of those called to be saints.”

A story. In the past, it was just that, a story, but these days the beginning is almost a bit too real.

There is a two thousand member church and on one Sunday it is filled to overflowing capacity. The preacher was ready to start the sermon when several men, dressed in long black coats and black hats entered through the rear of the church.

One of the two men walked to the middle of the church while the others stayed at the back. At once, they all reached under their coats and withdrew automatic weapons.

The one in the middle announced, “Everyone willing to take a bullet for Jesus stay in your seats!”

Naturally, the pews emptied, followed by most of the choir. The deacons ran out the door, followed by the assistant pastor.

After a few moments, there were about twenty people left sitting in the church. The preacher was holding steady in the pulpit.

When it was quiet, the men put their weapons away and said, gently, to the preacher, “All right, pastor, the hypocrites are gone now. You may begin the service.”

On one level I want to like that story. It speaks about standing firm for your faith, but on another level, I’m not so sure. Twenty out of two thousand remained and the 1,980 that left are called hypocrites. But what if we rephrase that in the terms of our Gospel reading. Jesus said, “For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.” What if those twenty that remained were the righteous and those 1,980 that fled were in fact degenerates? Immoral. Unclean. Scandalous. What if they were the sinners? Would Jesus have condemned them has “Hypocrites” and turned his back on them? Would he have shouted, “Let them go! We’re better off without them.” No. Instead he would have gone in search of each and everyone of them and when he found them, he would have sat down with them, eaten with them, and spoken to them of the salvation he was offering.

Jesus says, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, `I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’” Jesus would not have seen those 1,980 as hypocrites. He would have seen them as those in need of a physician. In need of a healer of souls. He would have withheld judgment in favor of extending mercy. I believe Jesus expects the same from His Church.

In Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice, Portia says:

“The quality of mercy is not strained.
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath. It is twice blessed:
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.
‘Tis mightiest in the mightiest. It becomes
The thronèd monarch better than his crown.
His scepter shows the force of temporal power,
The attribute to awe and majesty
Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings,
But mercy is above this sceptered sway.
It is enthronèd in the hearts of kings.
It is an attribute to God himself.

Mercy is in the heart of kings, it is an attribute of God, and it is the responsibility of the Church to extend it to all – saints and sinners alike. When the Lord calls us all home and we are walking the golden streets of that Heavenly Jerusalem, there will be more than enough time to rub shoulders with the Saints of God, but for now we are the ones God calls upon to bring the Good News to those who would hear it.

Today is our Heritage Sunday, when we celebrate the rich history of our church. That heritage began back in September 1893 when “a large and respectable number of” sinners gathered around a wagon and listened to Bishop Frances Brooke preach and celebrate the Eucharist. Today, we sinners gather in the place those sinners built. Our history is not one of glowing saints – especially with you lot! Lord have mercy! – but we are Archbishop Ramsey’s “mixed society of those called to be saints,” and by the grace of God we will be in Enid for years to come acting as agents of His mercy and proclaiming the Good News of Christ Jesus to all who would come and hear it.

The Mildred’s of this world and the churches that would respond to sinners as she did will continue to exist. In the end, they may be the ones proven to be right, but I would rather err on the side of mercy and grace, for Jesus condemned many for judging, but he condemned none for loving. If we are that church, the one that chooses to love, we will continue to have a beautiful heritage.

Let us pray: God of eternity, in your Son Jesus Christ you redeemed all of human history and called your church to proclaim the Good News of his death and resurrection to the ends of the earth and to the end of the age: pour out your Spirit afresh upon your people in this place, with grace to remember and rejoice in your blessings in the past and courage to trust your power to shape our future, through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.