Luke 6:37-42 (NRSV)
“Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn,
and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it
will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running
over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure
you get back.”
He also told them a parable: “Can a blind person guide a
blind person? Will not both fall into a pit? A disciple is not above the teacher,
but everyone who is fully qualified will be like the teacher. Why do you see
the speck in your neighbor’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? Or
how can you say to your neighbor, ‘Friend, let me take out the speck in your
eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log in your own eye? You hypocrite,
first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take
the speck out of your neighbor’s eye.
This week saw two very controversial issues be adopted by
Annual General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) the largest
Presbyterian denomination in North America.
The Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) General Assembly is
the largest annual gathering of the denomination. Church leaders from across
the country gather to discuss matters important to the life of the church, make
decisions that affect the whole denomination and the progress of the gospel.
We in the United Methodist Church do a very similar thing,
but on a global scale every four years.
2016, will mark the General Conference of the United Methodist Church
which will be held in Portland Oregon.
In the United Methodist Church, the General Conference is
the top policy-making body. The conference can revise church law, as well as
adopt resolutions on current moral, social, public policy and economic issues.
It also approves plans and budgets for church-wide programs.
The General Conference is an international body of close to
1,000 delegates.
The delegates are elected by annual conferences (we will
elect our delegates at next may/June annual conference session).
They
represent all annual conferences around the world.
Half of the
delegates are laity (non-clergy members), half are clergy.
There is no doubt in my mind but that both of these issues
will be topics of discussion at our General Conference in two years.
Does anybody know what the Presbyterians did?
First, They voted to divest from three companies that they
argued do business with the Israeli Defense Force --- the Israeli military.
From the New York Times:
After passionate debate over how
best to help break the deadlock between Israel and the Palestinians, the
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) voted on Friday at its general convention to
divest from three companies that it says supply Israel with equipment used in
the occupation of Palestinian territory.
The vote, by a count of 310 to 303,
was watched closely in Washington and Jerusalem and by Palestinians as a sign
of momentum for a movement to pressure Israel to stop building settlements in
the West Bank and East Jerusalem and to end the occupation, with a campaign
known as B.D.S., for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions.
The measure that was passed not
only called for divestment but also reaffirmed Israel’s right to exist,
endorsed a two-state solution, encouraged interfaith dialogue and travel to the
Holy Land, and instructed the church to undertake “positive investment” in
endeavors that advance peace and improve the lives of Israelis and
Palestinians.
The companies the church has
targeted for divestment are Caterpillar, Hewlett-Packard and Motorola
Solutions. The church has about $21 million invested in them, a spokeswoman
said. The church says it has tried for many years to convey its concerns that
the companies are profiting from Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories
by selling it bulldozers, surveillance technology and other equipment.
As you can image --- there has been much reaction to this
news.
The American Jewish Committee said that the vote was
"driven by hatred of Israel."
And I am sure that much more rhetoric will follow in the
coming weeks.
And while that issue is seen as very controversial, the
second, for some, will be seen as even more controversial.
Again from the New York Times:
The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
voted at its General Assembly on Thursday to change its constitution’s
definition of marriage from “a man and a woman” to “two people,” and to allow
its ministers to perform same-sex marriages where it is legal.
Both measures, passed by large
majorities
The Presbyterians follow other
religious groups that have taken similar steps, including the United Church of
Christ, which affirmed “equal marriage rights for couples regardless of gender”
in 2005; Quakers; the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations; and
the Reform and Conservative movements in Judaism.
The vote giving discretion to
ministers to marry gay couples takes effect on Sunday, at the close of the
General Assembly.
That means, as of today, in 19 states and the District of
Columbia --- Presbyterian Pastors can officiate at same sex weddings. Indiana is not one of those states, but
Illinois is.
Now I just want to stop for a minute and let you ponder how
you react to either one of those issues.
Does it make you angry?
Are you screaming on the inside
·
it is about time?
·
how dare they?
·
???
I have to admit, I am conflicted about both issues.
And I could discuss either issue for hours.
I think I
could lay out both sides pretty well.
I have seen firsthand the failure of the peace process in
Israel.
·
I have seen the devastation done by a suicide
bomber
·
And I have seen the ghetto's that have been
created to keep the Palestinian people in check.
Neither side is innocent --- and there are no easy
solutions.
But what about the more pressing issue in our social
context.
I think that there is only one other issue that is even
close to being as divisive today in our society as human sexuality --- and that
has to do with gun restrictions --- but that is for another day . . .
If I am honest, for as long as I can remember, I have done
my best to sit on the fence on both the issue of Israel/Palestine and Human
sexuality.
I hate to say this: The Israelite --- Palestinian issue
would probably not be much more than a blip on my radar screen if I hadn't been
to Israel and Palestine so many times.
Even then, I was shielded from seeing the real issues for
the most part.
But visiting Yad Vashem, (the Holocaust Museum) and walking
out of an exhibit on the Warsaw Ghetto and seeing the (then) newly constructed
security wall, was a life altering moment.
A light bulb
really lite in my head.
The issue surrounding sexuality is totally different to me
--- but at the same time, I have done my best to sit on the fence.
What first brought the issue to my conscience was at
Christmas time of my freshman year of college.
The girl who I dated off and on in high school shared with
me that she was gay.
I was caught totally off guard.
We were not an "item" but
we were pretty close friends and I wasn't sure initially how to react.
I was forced to begin to examine
the whole issue of human sexuality
Later that year, I met a professor at Northern Illinois who
probably never knew what an influence he was on me. He became a mentor and a friend as I began
wrestling with my call to ministry.
But there was
NO DOUBT, but that he was gay.
And, it never
bothered me or made me question his value or advice.
And I am standing before you today
because of his encouragement
Three years ago today, my mother's brother died.
Roger never
married
And, to be honest, I always suspected --- but we never
talked about it, it was just "one of those things"
One day I decided to look up what Jesus had to say about
homosexuality.
Does anybody remember what he said?
NOTHING
Jesus says nothing.
Two weeks ago I preached about Kingdom Values.
Jesus, according to Luke offers three values of God's
kingdom.
1. Justice
Jesus tells us clearly an attitude that was
found in the Hebrew Scriptures --- and attitude that God is prejudicially cares
for the poor
Blessed are you who are poor
Blessed are you who are hungry now
Blessed are you who weep now
Jesus tells us this, but his actions also
demonstrate it
We find Jesus constantly associating with the outcasts of his day and
chastising those who were not peasants
2. Love
your enemies
Love your enemies, do good to those
who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. If
anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who
takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. Give to everyone who begs
from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. Do to
others as you would have them do to you.
What does that mean?
How are we to feel toward Vladimir Putin and Russia?
The
Taliban?
Al
Qaeda?
3. Love
everybody
We are to love, not only those who are like
us and who like us --- but all of God's children.
Jesus continues this theme this morning us by showing us
even more clearly how we are to live in community with one another.
He tells us to quit judging each other.
“Do
not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be
condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; . . . for the measure you give
will be the measure you get back.”
I don't know about you, but it is much easier for me to
judge other people's behavior than it is my own.
Sometimes when I read the bible I really get the sense that
it was written for a people who saw and understood the world very differently
than you and I do.
They believed that weather, and disease were caused by God
I don't think
many of you believe that
But Jesus seems to understand and remind us of timeless
principles
One of the reasons that the church has lost relevance in our
culture is we have forgotten what Jesus said;
Do
not judge, and you will not be judged;
Forgive,
and you will be forgiven;
We (the church) have judged people and told them they are
not welcome if:
·
they don't dress properly
·
they don't come from the "correct"
social class
·
if they are not of our own race
·
if their sexuality is different than ours
We are reaping exactly what Jesus told us:
for
the measure you give will be the measure you get back.”
And then Jesus decides he needs to move beyond just telling
us about judging and illustrate it for us with a visual story.
Why
do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye, but do not notice the log in your
own eye? Or how can you say to your neighbor, ‘Friend, let me take out the
speck in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log in your own eye? You
hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see
clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor’s eye.
I love how Peterson has translated this passage into modern
English:
“It’s
easy to see a smudge on your neighbor’s face and be oblivious to the ugly sneer
on your own. Do you have the nerve to say, ‘Let me wash your face for you,’
when your own face is distorted by contempt? It’s this I-know-better-than-you
mentality again, playing a holier-than-thou part instead of just living your
own part. Wipe that ugly sneer off your own face and you might be fit to offer
a washcloth to your neighbor.
I don't have easy or trite answers to the difficult issues
of peace in Israel/Palestine or human sexuality.
But as I have gotten older, I have TRIED (sometimes
successfully and sometimes not so successfully) to quit judging others.
This spring I was given a book that has had a huge impact on
me. I assigned it to the staff to read
and study and will probably use it this fall in a study group.
It is a short book of stories, written by Bob Goff, a
Washington DC lawyer. The book is simply
titled LOVE DOES.
The premise of the book is quite simple --- as Christians,
we need to be a people who are recognized because we love.
And I think my favorite phrase from the book and one that I
am TRYING to live by is love goes first
If we want to claim the title follower of Jesus we need to
quit judging and simply LOVE FIRST
Whatever the hot topic button in your life --- how would you
approach it if you took that attitude and loved first?
Jesus shows us what the kingdom is like and how we are to
live.
To put it quiet simply ---- It is a kingdom in which
everyone tries to out-love each other!
May that kingdom reign in our hearts and lives!
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