Isaiah 65:1-9 Psalm 22:18-27 Galatians 3:23-29 Luke 8:26-39
In Isaiah we hear the Lord speak saying, “I was ready to be sought out by those who did not ask, to be found by those who did not seek me.” The people of Israel are worshiping false idols and pagan gods. God called to the people saying, “Here I am, here I am,” but the people of the tribe of Israel did not hear God calling them. They were living their lives devoid of God. They were not faithful. Still God did not desert them, God says,
As the wine is found in the cluster, and they say, “Do not destroy it, for there is a blessing in it,” so I will do for my servant’s sake, and not destroy them all. I will bring forth descendants from Jacob, and from Judah inheritors of my mountains; my chosen shall inherit it, and my servants shall settle there.
To understand this passage, we must think as the people of Israel thought; we must recognize that the good of the people is more important than individual salvation. Wine is made from a cluster of grapes, not a single grape. God is not going to condemn the whole tribe of Israel, for within the tribe there a members, a remnant, who have remained faithful, like the good grapes in the cluster. Isaiah’s message is one of hope, for the entire tribe could be condemned for having broken the covenant – for having strayed so far from God. Yet, God has mercy and God has promised there will be a group that will survive the adversities to come.
We may have difficulty with the notion that God would destroy anyone – after all, every one of us is among those who, at one time or another, have turned our backs on God; we have ignored God’s presence in our lives and in the world. Therefore, we cling to Paul’s words of assurance that we are freed from the Law by faith. After all, who among us has not broken one or more of the Ten Commandments? In a world where consumerism is a sport – we take pride in finding great bargains or getting the latest and greatest. Our economy is dependent on people buying and selling and so “good deals” are everywhere – if you just look hard enough. In this world it is easy to start and finish our day coveting what others have. We need only turn on the television and see a few commercials to know there are good things we do not possess.
And, the sin of idolatry is far more prevalent than we might first imagine. I don’t know anyone that openly worships Baal, or Zeus or another of the other false gods. I don’t know anyone that performs rituals, offering incense to the gods of fertility, sunshine or rain – but I do know that most of us neglect God and Christ’s church at one point or another in our lives and place something ahead of our commitment to God. It is easy to do – in fact it takes very little effort to spend more than we have on a purchase, a vacation, eating out, or entertainment than our pledge to the church or support of charities. We spend our money for our own gratification first – and we get behind on our pledge. We place possessions – or obtaining them over everything else. We know the value of money, and forget the value of our relationship with God. Whether it’s a car, a boat, a piece of jewelry, or something for the house – our possessions have a way of possessing us. And when they do, we’re guilty of idolatry. Idolatry is not just the sin of worshiping a gold statue – it is the sin of placing anything ahead of God and it is perhaps the most common and subtle sin we commit – again and again.
I’m not pointing my finger here, because if I did I would have to begin by pointing it at myself. Once, my father said in one of his sermons that whenever he pointed a finger at someone else, he had four pointing back at himself. He counted his thumb which was double jointed and did point back at himself. So, now I want you to imagine a pew few of boys (I have five brothers) trying to get our thumbs to point back that ourselves – then at Sunday dinner after the service us making fun of our father. It was one of his more memorable sermons.
I don’t remember anything else about that sermon, but I have never forgotten his point. As Christians we are not to point fingers at others, to judge others, but we are to gather in fellowship and in worship that we might support each other when we fail, as we inevitably do.
Paul, in his letter to the Church in Galatia challenged those who believed that to be Christian, a convert must follow Jewish Law. Gentile Christians were being judged by Jewish Christian according to Jewish Law. Paul says in his letter that the Law was in place before Christ to guide us to make right decisions. But now, he says, through the Lord Jesus Christ we are no longer subject to the Law. Is Paul saying that we no longer need to follow the Ten Commandments? That the covenant between God and the people of Israel no longer applies? Yes and no.
Paul refers to the law as a disciplinarian – fulfilling the role of a parent for a young child who needs rules and boundaries. Rules and boundaries are what kept us safe as children and what kept us safe in our relationship with God. Now he says, it is faith in Jesus Christ that keeps us safe. Jesus taught us to follow two laws: to love God and our neighbors as we love ourselves. But if we instead, like the Jewish Christians, choose to blindly follow the church doctrine and hold everyone accountable to these doctrines – then we remain slaves to the Law and we fail to enjoy the freedom given to us by Christ – the freedom to love and be loved. God’s love is transforming, and if we have faith as our guide, we do not need the Laws. Paul said what he did because the people of Israel had placed adhering to the Law over their relationship with God. Arguing that Gentiles needed to become Jewish was missing the point of the Laws and the message of Christ. Relationships are more important than the Law. The Laws, for many, had become their false idol.
Several years ago there was a movement to remind people to do what God intended. People began wearing bracelets and putting bumper stickers on their cars that had only four letters: WWJD. These letters stood for “What Would Jesus Do?” I’ve personally never felt comfortable with that kind of evangelism. I have never wanted to be associated with the type of Christian that judges others – and a great deal of evangelism in our society is judgmental. For many years I simply did not talk about my faith with others. I believed my faith to be personal, but as my faith matured, I realized that faith should not be private – personal yes, but not private. To be a Christian is to live in community with others. It is hard to love others as ourselves when we avoid talking about what gives our live meaning. So, for Father’s Day, or some other gift giving occasion, I let Cathy know I would like this ring. It is a simply band with a cross cut out. It how serves as a daily reminder to me of who I am – or at least who I want to be and who I want to follow. Each morning when I put it on, I pray first that I will reflect the love of Christ to others, and then I pray for you and those who suffer from illness, grief, or any type of adversity.
We all represent this church in the community. We all represent Christ. The greatest challenge we face is to reflect God’s love to everyone – even the store clerk or service provider who makes a mistake, even the person re-stocking the shelves who seems irritated when we ask where an item is in the store.
In today’s Gospel reading it was the man who was possessed who recognized Jesus first. As soon as Jesus stepped out of the boat onto land, the man possessed by demons fell down before him and said, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?” It was the man called Legion who knew that Jesus was the Christ – everyone else from that area was afraid and they asked Jesus to leave. It is the “lazy good for nothing” that knows we are Christians and waits to see how we will respond. Do we respond with love, with kindness, or does our frustration come out? That’s the challenge – to love and serve the Lord in everyone we meet – even those who do us wrong.
Let us pray.
Almighty and eternal God, so draw our hearts to you, so guide our minds, so fill our imaginations, so control our wills, that we may be wholly yours, utterly dedicated to you, and then use us, we pray, as you will, and always to your glory and the welfare of your people; through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. (BCP)
