Not tenants in the vineyard!

 

Ten Commandments this morning, I hope you enjoyed it! For me, like riding in a 1935 Chevrolet again, first time in recent memory. Maybe for some of you the first time ever. In Episcopal tradition, the Decalogue was always read as part of the eucharistic liturgy. In MY Time, we heard it one Sunday a month, chanting the response to each commandment, “Lord, have mercy upon us, and incline our hearts to keep this law”.

Those days are gone, no requirement ever to read or hear them. In Rite One, we say the Summary of the Law instead. I wonder if we are better or worse off, or does it matter whether we even know the Ten Commandments exist as a foundation of common human decency holding civilizations together.

Moses was besieged by near-mutiny in the wilderness: the Commandments were his resort to the authority of God to establish order and standards for an unruly mob! Sometimes, America seems almost there: we are not of one mind on anything, not even basic standards of life and morality. We suspect anything that seems laid on by religious or political authority - - 

If it’s Jewish we hate it. 

If it’s Christian we hate it. 

If it’s Muslim we hate it. 

If it comes from patriarchal tradition we hate it. 

We are no longer (if indeed we ever were) a religious society, we are secular, we tolerate nothing that smacks of religion; though since humans began living in groups and tribes and cities and nations, laws have been based on a sense of what a righteous God would expect of us.

The Commandments forbid sins, an old fashioned concept that we don’t want to hear about in church. We no longer see ourselves as sinners on our way to hell, as the Christian church cast humanity from the Dark Ages right through my own 20th century. In my lifetime, church prayers kept us mindful of our sinful and selfish nature, but emphasizing “sin” and instilling fear of hell as a basis of religious manipulation and control drives people away -> ->

"We have left undone those things which we ought to have done, and We have done those things which we ought not to have done, and there is no health in us. But thou, O Lord, have mercy upon us miserable offenders."

"Spare us good Lord, spare thy people whom thou has redeemed with thy most precious blood, and be not angry with us forever." 

Society and church evolve. We no longer wallow in the sackcloth and ashes of self-abasing prayer. We preach and teach NOT the damnation of sinners, but the love of God, and Jesus’ summary of the Law, Love God, Love Neighbor - -

- - although in Rite One there’s a medieval remnant that’s a theological paradox. It happens this way (maybe you’ve noticed):

 

We open worship with the Collect for Purity, a rite of cleansing in which we pray and therefore (lex orandi lex credendi) believe that God makes us clean to come before God in worship - -

Later, we pray the Confession of Sin in which we assure God “We are truly sorry and we humbly repent”, and the priest pronounces God’s Absolution. - -

Yet then, redundant and theologically disavowing faith in the Collect for Purity and the Confession and Absolution, before coming up for Communion, along with the church of the Middle Ages, we beat our breasts with the Prayer of Humble Access: “We do not presume to come to this thy table trusting in our own righteousness. We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under thy table”. That’s not so, and it’s bad theology. Creatures of habit who are not always mindful of what we say and do, we may not notice; but praying that Prayer of Humble Access manifests theologically that we do not really believe God Purifies us and Forgives us!   

In the course of liturgical worship, God makes me ritually clean and forgives my sins. I am NOT unworthy. In Jesus, God who loves me raises me up and makes me worthy.

How do you feel about yourself? 

How do you think God feels about you?

More to the point, How do you feel about God? (because that’s what worship is about)

In his sermon a few Sundays ago, Father Steve talked about what God expects of us, and then he turned it around and challenged us to ask what We expect of God. So, What DO you expect of God? 

You expect God to love you. 

You expect God to hear you when you pray. 

You expect God to be present in your pain, trouble, sorrow, need, sickness, or any other adversity; and in the hour of death. 

You expect God to forgive your sins, of course you do, that's the promise, isn't it!

I’m here to tell you this morning, that God is not obsessed with your sins, your mistakes and wrong decisions in life. The things you think and say and do that diminish yourself and hurt others, God is not hanging over you, watching and counting. The Creator of the Universe is not making a list and checking it twice. God is not waiting for an opportunity to be offended and angry with you. God is not counting sins and keeping score so God can damn you to Hell. Yes, God is the Landlord, but you are not the wicked tenants in the Vineyard. 

God the Landlord invites you to step into his kingdom vineyard here and now. The kingdom of God is not a place of selfishness, greed, hatred and evil, as the parable tenants make it; but a way of love, of agapé that means lovingkindness, thoughtfulness, generosity, patience, helpfulness, self-sacrifice and consideration of yourself and others.

Yes, we have the Ten Commandments, a cornerstone of the kingdom. Never obsolete, they will be current and up to date as long as civilized people strive for human decency. You’ve heard them this morning; count them and do your best -> ->

Continue in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of the bread, and in the prayers.

Persevere in resisting evil, and, whenever you fall into sin, repent and return to the Lord.

Proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ.

Seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself.

Strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being.

Hear what our Lord Jesus Christ saith: you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength. This is the first and great commandment, and the second is its equal in every way: you shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these. 

All the rest is detail, and you are doing fine.

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Homily or sermon by the Rev Tom Weller, in Holy Nativity Episcopal Church, Panama City, Florida. Proper 22A, Sunday, 4 October 2020. Exodus 20 and Matthew 21:33-46. Moses' Ten Commandments and Jesus' parable of the wicked tenants in the vineyard. This is about what I said in the pulpit, I'm not sure, as I kept improvising and changing it.

Pic pinched online, with insincere apologies.

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