Trinity III Fr. Forrest Burgett
Trinity Anglican Church Given: 07/10/11
“Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.” (St. Luke xv. 10.)
There are many ways to speed up communication in this spinning world of ours. It seems we don’t have time to fully express ourselves. Where we once wrote lengthy if infrequent letters, today we send emails that are usually delivered in a matter of seconds. They have the added advantage of copying many people with the same information without carbon paper. If that seems too laborious, you can text a short message from your phone to one or many people at the same time. These too are delivered in a matter of seconds, but they are delivered to the phone instead of a computer. This promotes rapid communication even when on the go. To insure consistent speedy delivery, these texts are limited to 160 characters. To allow more information to be transmitted in these messages, they have what is called internet acronyms. For example, TMI stands for “too much information.” LOL can stand for “laugh out loud” or “Lots of Love.” If that is not quick enough for you, there is an “instant message” mode that can connect you with the other person in “real” time.
Most of us can get tired just trying to keep up with the latest technology. I worked hard at it when my livelihood depended on it. I have not done so well since. In fact, I prefer to slow down and have a face to face conversation that insures understanding on both sides. If face to face is not possible, at least the phone allows us to repeat what we think we have heard and insure understanding. Even in these conversations, we use shortcuts in our language to express something we assume the other person understands completely. These shortcuts can be a valuable tool in our world of rapid communication. They can resurrect a whole symphony of feelings with just a few well-chosen words. They paint a picture of many colors with a single stroke of the brush. However, like all valuable tools, they can be misapplied.
If these shortcuts are overused, they become clichés whose meaning is often lost or changed over time. Our Gospel today illustrates the use of a cliché that was misapplied to Jesus. When the Pharisees complained about Jesus receiving and eating with sinners, they were saying, “We are judging you by the company you keep.” Today we would say, “You are known by the company you keep”. We all know that it means “I am judging you.” We just don’t want to be explicit about it. It is also handy if you don’t’ want to list all the undesirable companies we should not be keeping. It is politically correct to express ourselves in this manner. However, there is a danger involved in the process. When we use a shortcut expression, we may have also cut short our analysis of the situation. Perhaps we don’t understand what is happening.
If you don’t have time to express everything you want to say, use a shortcut or even a cliché to insure the meaning is comprehensive. But use them carefully. In the Gospel today, we have Jesus being judged by the company he kept. “The Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, this man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.” The implication is that Jesus is like the sinners around him. Jesus was simply doing His Father’s work and association with sinners was a requirement of the job. Every time we have a prostitution sting, people claim they did nothing wrong but were just in the vicinity of those who did. They were not arrested for their geographic location; they were arrested for their actions. So I propose a clearer cliché, if that is not an oxymoron. “You are known by your actions among the company you keep.” I realize we are not going to stop using shortcuts and clichés and we shouldn’t. They are a colorful and economic adjunct to communication. Just remember, a little serious contemplation about the depth of their meaning will make our use of them more effective.
We frequently use quotes from Holy Scripture in the same manner as clichés and we use them for the same purpose. And, likewise, if they are taken to the exclusion of all other considerations, they are misleading. I know a man who has been sober and drug free for over twenty years. He made that change with the help of Alcoholics Anonymous. He is a great supporter of that program and was particularly helped by their assignment of an individual sponsor to him. Another part of their program is to use a personal relationship with Christ as an unswerving guide to both sobriety and salvation. This is an important part of their support system and it is a very effective program. It is true that it doesn’t work for everyone but then not everyone is ready to be helped. We would certainly be in trouble if Christianity were judged on that same basis.
In spite of this success, the man’s problems were not over. He spent fifteen years reading, learning and memorizing the Holy Scriptures. He can indeed quote chapter and verse. He has confessed his own wretchedness and recognizes he can accomplish nothing without God. The problem is that he turned his life over to God and then was disappointed with what God had done with it. He was depressed that God hadn’t done more for him. He maintained the practice of prayers and scripture reading every morning. He attended church and even taught Sunday school. He felt he was doing his part, but the results were not what he expected.
In our Epistle today, St. Peter said, “cast all your care upon God for He careth for you.” The man I mentioned above heard that part of the scripture. He cast all his care upon God. He also remembered St. Peter’s words about, “after you have suffered a while, God will make you perfect, stablish, strengthen and settle you.” This man knew his scripture and figured he had suffered long enough and was ready to be made perfect, established, strengthened and settled. He had trouble understanding why God did not make his life heaven on earth. After all, he had been good for over fifteen years.
The problem is, of course, that he is taking one quote out of context. God made no promises with respect to time and certainly none about heaven on earth. Our life on earth is affected by the free will of others and God has chosen not to override that free will. Nonetheless, finding Jesus was the defining moment for this man and it has changed his life forever. But his initial understanding of Holy Scripture was expressed in quotes without bringing the full meaning to the surface. It is not at all uncommon. I would not like to confess all the misunderstandings I have grown through before I reached this stage of my life. It is even more depressing to think about how many are still waiting for me to grow into more understanding. What this man needed was to expand his scope beyond the initial understanding that sustained him during the very difficult early days of sobriety. That initial understanding was vital to get where he is today. But now he’s ready for more. He needs to move from living the cliché to a better understanding of the full meaning behind it.
A few moments ago you heard two very brief parables of Jesus about the joy that would be experienced in heaven over the return of one repentant sinner. As frequently happens, the two parables make the same point. However, beyond the basic understanding that Jesus will go to great lengths to find errant followers, lies a subtle lesson of personal importance. On the surface, business leaders today would dismiss this story as an example of bad risk management. No one should risk ninety-nine of anything to get one more. CEO’s have been fired over decisions like that. But Jesus is telling us that this is not business, as we know it. He is telling us that there is no risk in a personal dependence upon God. A subtle truth of this story is that the relationship we have with God is an individual relationship, “mano a mano”, “one-on-one.”
That thought can be a bit overwhelming. After all God created the whole world. He sent Jesus to save all of mankind. He deals with us as the whole body of Christ. And yet, when it comes to dealing with our personal redemption, he always does that one-on-one. He offers to each and every one of us the gift of grace, the gift of faith and the gift of salvation. We choose to respond or not, but it is always in terms of an individual relationship with God. We were baptized individually. Even if we were confirmed in a group, hands were laid on each and every one of us individually. We each receive the Eucharist as an expression of our individual communion with God in addition to communion with the one, Holy, catholic, Apostolic church. Each sacrament involves a relationship with Jesus, our Lord and Saviour, and that is very personal. Jesus created the church where our community can refresh and encourage those he saves. Although Jesus came to save all of mankind, he does it one at a time.
The next time we hear any cliché about lost sheep, I hope we remember the personal relationship of the sheep to our lord. At the last coming, we will not be anonymous in a large flock. Only Christ will stand with us at our judgment. It should and does give us pause and hope that after nearly two thousand years, Jesus is still redeeming us one at a time.
“While we have time, let us do good unto all men; and especially unto them that are of the household of faith.
(Galatians vi. 10.)