August 7 - Proper 14, Year A (RCL)
The top story on the news last night
was the prayer rally
sponsored by potential Presidential candidate,
Governor Rick Perry of Texas.
It was a huge event - something like 30,000 people in a stadium,
with preaching, prayer and music.
Outside there were protestors,
arguing that it violated the separation of church and state.
But inside,
there were people praying,
some certainly hoping that this would propel Governor Perry to the White House,
but others
just putting their faith to work in prayer for our country.
But what stood out in the reports is that Rick Perry has a deep and abiding faith in God,
focused on, as he said, the living Christ.
On the other side of the aisle,
a few months ago at the National Prayer breakfast,
President Obama spoke of his own faith,
his daily practice of prayer, morning and evening,
and how he “came to know Jesus Christ for [himself] and [embraced] him as [his] Lord and Savior.”
Whether you agree with such public proclamations of faith
by our leaders,
or not,
one thing is very clear.
At the heart of their faith, and indeed the heart of their identities
is their faith in , their relationship with
Jesus Christ.
And it’s that kind of faith in Jesus
that is at the core of our reading from Romans today.
The apostle Paul begins
by describing the core of Jewish faith,
the law
given by God to Moses.
Being right with God
comes by keeping the law.
It’s as if God has drawn a circle and said,
stay within this
and you will be my people.
Go outside,
and you’re on your own.
But what’s different, says Paul, what’s different for followers of Jesus
is that the circle, the boundary,
has been erased.
It no longer exists.
Because what God discovered is
that when you draw a boundary
people are constantly pushing against it,
trying to work out
how far they can go
without violating it.
Which shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone here,
or at least, anyone whose been around a two year old.
That’s when it seems to begin,
that process of testing the boundaries, pushing the limits,
trying to work out
what is acceptable
and what not,
what is within the boundary of acceptable behavior
and what is not.
It’s a way of functioning
that seems to be perfected
in adolescence.
Eventually we learn
that there are limits;
that not all behavior is acceptable,
that sometimes our freedom as individual human beings
has to be limited
for the sake of all of us.
That’s what becoming an adult
is all about.
And that’s kind of what happened with God and the Israelites.
God drew the circle, the boundary, with the law.
The law, the Torah, said
what you should do
and what you shouldn’t.
And it was a good life
for those who kept it,
a life with justice and mercy and safety.
But, as is human nature,
people kept pressing against it,
testing it,
time and time again.
And God kept redrawing it, reminding them
that everyone within it
was safe and secure,
everyone within it
were God’s own people.
And the boundary was flexible;
from time to time
God bumped it out here,
or stretched it there,
including some people
who might have otherwise
have been excluded.
But still people kept pushing, kept testing.
And then there were the others,
who didn’t like the flexibility.
They wanted not just a line
but a stone wall,
high and solid,
and preferably enclosing
a smaller space
of the really obedient, the really pure, the really holy.
And for them, the law became everything,
and it was explained and interpreted and codified,
until the law that God first gave Moses
was almost buried
under all the explanations and interpretations and codifications.
And so on the one hand
you had people pushing against the boundary,
and on the other
you had people wanting to build a wall.
And in the middle God,
kind of wondering
what on earth had happened.
And so God decided
to redefine everything.
There would no longer
be a line.
Belonging
would not be defined
by what you did, whether you kept the law
or not.
Instead,
it would be defined
by being in a relationship
a relationship with God.
But of course, that’s pretty intangible.
So God sent his son, Jesus, to be incarnate,
to live life on earth,
and to begin once again that process
of inviting people to be his friends.
And even when Jesus died and was resurrected,
and was no longer physically here on earth,
he kept on inviting people to be his friends.
And that’s what defines us
as the people of God,
Paul says,
not a line
but a relationship.
And that relationship
would in turn define
how you live.
It’s not that the law would totally disappear;
instead
it would become the evidence
of inclusion,
rather than the criteria for it.
Because when you’re in a relationship with someone,
and when it’s someone you love, and admire,
you want to do what makes them happy.
You might even
want to be like them.
And so being in that relationship
shapes how you live.
But it’s the relationship that matters,
not the things you do.
Of course, that had always been the intention with God.
But it was too easy
to turn out,
to turn your back on God
and just focus on the line.
Because we like boundaries, we like lines.
It makes it easy, it makes it secure. We know exactly where we stand. We don’t have to think. Just do what we’re told. Except when we’re rebelling.
So God had to make it really, really clear.
Believe in Jesus. Invite him into your life. Make friends with him.
That’s all. Then you’ll belong.
It’s not what we do
that makes us Christian.
It’s who we have a relationship with.
And in practical terms
what having a relationship with Jesus means
is pretty much like any other relationship.
Spend time with him - that’s what we do Sunday mornings - time set apart with God, time to build that relationship.
Talk to him. That’s praying.
Do stuff alongside him - the same things Jesus did on earth,
reaching out to people who were lonely
and healing people and feeding them.
You might not see Jesus
literally there beside you, but he’ll be there through his spirit.
Pray. Worship. Live.
And tell other people.
Because God is generous. This relationship is for everyone. There is no outer limit
to the circle.
Everyone is welcome.
But they won’t know
unless someone invites them.
Because the easiest way to get know someone
is to be introduced.
Remember how it was at the beginning of the gospel of John.
Jesus met Andrew and another disciple, and said,
“Come and see.”
Philip met Jesus,
and then Philip found Nathanael and said,
“Come and see.”
The woman at the well, after meeting Jesus, went back to her town and said,
“Come and see.”
It’s simple
to belong to God.
Just get to know Jesus.
Spend time with him.
Pray. Worship. Live.
And then invite others to join you,
not to earn your own place by Jesus - because you’ve already got that. But because knowing him
is the best thing that could ever happen.
Come and see.
© Raewynne J. Whiteley 2010