SERMON
St.
Simon’s on the Sound – February 19, 2016
The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: “Speak to all the congregation of Israel and
say to them: You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy. " (Lev
19:1-2)
In the face of the anger, anxiety
and divisiveness that has permeated the culture of our nation and our world
these days, some of my colleagues are experiencing a real challenge in
preaching their weekly sermon. Not any old sermon, but a Good News sermon, a
sermon that unequivocally asserts our faith in a loving and just god.
A Good News sermon proclaims the
Gospel – the good news of love, compassion, and healing so powerfully
demonstrated by Jesus as he journeyed from Galilee to Jerusalem.
Preaching a Good News sermon
should engage the listener with a "hook," and then move quickly on to
a brief interpretation of the reading. Finally, preaching a Good News sermon
should send congregation members forth with a message that is compelling and
energizing. One that keeps them connected to and working for God throughout the
week.
Walter Brueggemann, an Old
Testament scholar – one of my favorites, by the way, says: “Preaching makes
possible for something that has been closed, or hidden, to be powerfully
disclosed…preaching should assault our imagination and push away the presumed
world in which many of us live…The church on Sunday morning may be the last
place left in our society for imaginative speech that permits people to enter
into new worlds of faith and to participate in joyous, obedient life.” (Brueggemann:
Finally Comes the Poet- Introduction)
Walter Brueggemann’s words have,
and continue to, inspire many of us. Inspire us in the task of encouraging our
congregations to imagine - imagine new ways in which to move our world towards
God’s dream for us – a world filled with love and justice for all.
So it is, that in a world filled
with anger, filled with anxiety and divisive arguments, filled with daily
challenges of all sorts, and, I believe, filled with grief over the loss of a
far more loving and peaceful nation and world – it is into the bewilderment of
today’s world that as preachers we put on our clergy thinking caps each week, imagining
and putting to paper words that will convey the message of God's grace, God's
love, and God’s cry for justice.
“Speak to all the
congregation of Israel and say to them: You shall be holy, for I the Lord your
God am holy. "
(Lev 19:1-2)
One could not ask for a more
powerful hook for today’s message.
“You shall be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy.” These words
from the book of Leviticus are as powerful an invitation to a way of life as we
can find anywhere in the Bible. They are words intended to echo far and wide.
God commands Moses to proclaim these words not to a select few but to all – to
the entire congregation – to the entire Israelite community.
Holiness is no longer associated
only with the priests. Holiness is ascribed to the laity, as well. Holiness
pertains not only to some of us – but, to all of us. The Leviticus 19 command
makes clear that the gifts of all the people are to be used for ministry – for
maintaining the well-being of the community – for continually striving to work
for the good of the neighborhood; the common good.
The command also implies that Holiness
is much more than simple piety and keeping religious observances. Holiness is a
way of life – an acknowledgement that as God’s people we need to be continually
working, in partnership with God, to refresh and maintain our Holiness.
Leviticus chapter 19 is lengthy
and difficult to read, no doubt about that.
However, it is crucial that we understand its relevance to our lives
today. Today’s lectionary passage proclaims loudly and clearly our call to
Holiness. It sets forth a Holiness Code; God’s expected parameters for our holiness
behavior – the foundation of our holiness lives: devout worship, honesty,
integrity, justice, charity and love. These are the essential attributes that must
drive our lives if we are to be a holy community.
In the Hebrew Scriptures,
holiness has at least two meanings. In some passages the people of God are
considered holy simply because God has chosen them. Holiness in this sense
suggests a change in direction or orientation. It consists of allowing oneself
to be led by God, and to be taken by him on a new and, as yet, unknown way.
But, in Leviticus 19, holiness
takes on a very different meaning. Leviticus 19 speaks of how the various
interactions of our lives are to be carried out. Holiness is something to be reflected
in the character of our everyday lives. We are charged with the work of
ensuring that God’s commandments permeate the varied aspects of our existence.
Leviticus 19 is about letting
God’s presence, his holiness, shine into the ordinariness of our lives,
transforming our innate holiness into an everyday holiness reality – into our everyday
living.
God gives the task of healing the
world, to us. Powered by our holiness we are commanded to go forth into the
world and to make it holy. We should not expect to be led; we are commanded to
lead.
As we consider this passage from
Leviticus 19, a profound unity begins to emerge, as if holiness consists in
great part of seeing ourselves and our lives as a unified whole with God – as
seeing ourselves continually in relationship with God – listening and doing;
doing and listening.
Holiness is about living a life
transformed by God’s continual divine presence in our lives. Holiness is that
condition of human nature wherein the love of God rules – our lives, and
through us, the lives of others.
“You shall be holy” is both a command and a promise. And to trust
in that promise is to begin to be formed into the people God calls us to be, a
people living our day-to-day lives in genuine love for God and for our
neighbors.
So, what does this Holiness Code,
written most probably in the early 7th century BC, mean for us
today? Well, let’s fast forward from the
7th century BC to today and the hopes, dreams, and compelling words
of our Presiding Bishop Michael Curry whose mantra has become; “We are the Jesus Movement. We are the Episcopal
branch of the Jesus Movement.”
Bishop Curry preaches continually
about our role, as followers of Jesus, in bringing love, liberation and life to
those who are oppressed – to those who are suffering – to a world that is in
the throes of divisive conflicts – to a world that is deeply in need of a way
of life based on our holiness lived out and through the Holiness Code.
In proclaiming this moment in
time the Jesus Movement, Bishop Curry is continually, in all that he does and
all that he preaches, drawing our focus of attention to the commandments of
God. – He is calling us to live a life based on and in honesty, integrity,
justice, charity and love. A life that lives out the Holiness Code given to the
Israelites over 2500 years ago. A life that focuses on the great commandment
given to us by Jesus; “You shall love the
Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your
mind. This is the first a greatest commandment. And a second is like it, you
shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew
22:37–40).
A life based on God’s holiness
command to us…a life that is loving, liberating and life-giving.
As Bishop Curry says in almost
every sermon; “If it isn’t about love, it
isn’t about Jesus.”
This then is our Good News sermon
for today. Indeed, this is our good news – period, end of story. And, it is
good news – it is great news! God always with us; God always calling us to be
in continual and holy relationship with him.
God calling us to use ourselves
and our church as an interruption to the anger, divisiveness and anxiety that
surrounds us – a divine interruption that rises above anger, divisiveness and
anxiety; a divine interruption that is loving, life-giving, and liberating.
Our good news is that we have the
power to astonish our world at what happens when people are unafraid to act out
of love, seeking justice for all.
When I sit quietly and ponder the
words of Leviticus 19 – really think about them – I know in my mind, and I feel
in my heart and soul, the reality, the challenge, and the power of my holy
relationship with God. I experience a stunning realization that with prayer,
discernment, diligence, and bravery I can make a difference – I can be a
loving, liberating and life-giving force in my community.
I am unafraid to act out of love,
seeking justice for all.
And, I certainly have no difficulty
with the concept of a Good News sermon.
What about you? How do you hear
and experience this holiness good news?
Are you prepared to astonish the
world with love?
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. AMEN
