A homily on 1 Corinthians 10. 1 -13, and Luke 13. 1 - 9. Stern warnings from Paul and Luke.
In nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti. Amen.
Here we are, at the Vigil of the third Sunday in Lent, halfway through Lent. Holy Week is only three weeks away. Appropriately, it seems, as we approach the week of the Passion, we have some rather stern texts from Paul and Luke, containing severe warnings. The message is: repent or perish! Death is presented in these readings as punishments for misdeeds of one kind or another. In Paul's letter, the misdeeds are idolatry, sexual immorality, putting the Lord to the test, and, finally, complaining.
In the reading from Luke's Gospel, the message is also: repent or perish! In this short section, particular offenses are not listed, but the message is the same. The text appears to say that the people who died in these incidents (whose background we don't know) were no worse than anyone else, but still, their fate will be ours if we don't repent. In other words, we are no better than they were, so watch out!
What is a nice, easygoing San Francisco liberal like myself going to do with a message like this? It is so apparently uncompromising, its message so inescapable, that there is only one possible response: repent!
The epistle reading ends too soon, it seems to me. It really ought to go on to include verses 14 to 22, which are about the cup of blessing which we bless, and the bread which we break. These lines balance the opening lines of the reading, which are about the spiritual food and drink of the people of the Exodus, which was Christ, Paul says, as he is food and drink in verses 14 through 22.
We remember what is in between these two descriptions of spiritual food and drink, these two meals which are meant to bring us closer to God. Idolatry, immorality, putting Christ to the test, and, last but not least, complaining. Complaining! A friend told me just the other day that Bette Midler is supposed to have said that "God gave us language so we could kvetch!" At least, that's the gist of it. Perhaps some of you can tell me what the exact quote really is. And Jane Wagner, Lily Tomlin's partner and writer and collaborator, said, "I personally think that we developed language because of our deep inner need to complain." There is a warning here -- that we can forget how well off we are, spiritually and materially, and we can reinforce that forgetting by verbalizing it. I know that this is easy to say, coming from someone who is secure, healthy, and well-fed. All the more reason for those of us who are blessed in every way, not to sound ungrateful before God.
Now our text says that the people who did these things were either struck down, or fell, or were destroyed by serpents, or were destroyed by the destroyer. It is not clear who or what that is. The Devil, probably. The consistent element in all these deaths is that they are presented as the work of an external agent, God, or the perhaps the Devil, or snakes, brought about by the behavior, the evil acts of those who died.
This is a dramatic, emphatic way of saying that certain behaviors can lead to spiritual death. There is a tendency in our time, when the Christian religion appears to be in retreat or decline, at least in this part of the world, to separate our Christian commitment from the rest of our lives, as a way of navigating through an uncertain non-Christian environment. Then, perhaps, we find ourselves drifting into situations in which our Christian commitment is not evident and we risk weakening or even losing our connection to our spiritual life. We risk, in other words, spiritual death.
What helps are available to us in this situation? For starters, there were the spiritual food and drink which were available to the people of the Exodus, which Paul says came from Christ. And Paul mentions our Christian spiritual food and drink, the cup of blessing which we bless, and the bread which we break. These help us to do what we pray for in today's Collect: "keep us both outwardly in our bodies, and inwardly in our souls, that we may be defended from all adversities which may happen to the body, and from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul."
Furthermore, Paul says, "God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength." So the spiritual perils which Paul lists can be overcome, since we are not tempted beyond our powers, and those powers are strengthened by spiritual food.
In tonight's Gospel, Our Lord is telling us, in effect, that no one is better than anyone else. We're all in this together. We don't know much about the incidents that Jesus is talking about, but we do know that he is using the same emphatic storytelling technique that Paul is using in his letter. The message is the same: we all risk spiritual death by letting ourselves forget what our real relationship to God is.
It took me a while to understand why the parable of the barren fig tree is where it is in tonight's Gospel. It seems to be an oddly truncated item, dropped into this spot for no particular reason. It appears to end before its real ending -- it's missing a conclusion, and an explanation of its meaning.
Perhaps we are in danger of becoming the barren fig trees in the garden, in danger of being cut down. And who is the gardener? Our Lord, of course, who is giving us another chance, another year, to make good use of the nourishment he is providing us, so that we will bear fruit, fruits of faith and good works. So, we have a year's reprieve! The parable reinforces the teaching of the first few lines of tonight's reading. Let us heed the warnings, and make good use of the opportunities we have been given!
In nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti. Amen.
In nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti. Amen.
Here we are, at the Vigil of the third Sunday in Lent, halfway through Lent. Holy Week is only three weeks away. Appropriately, it seems, as we approach the week of the Passion, we have some rather stern texts from Paul and Luke, containing severe warnings. The message is: repent or perish! Death is presented in these readings as punishments for misdeeds of one kind or another. In Paul's letter, the misdeeds are idolatry, sexual immorality, putting the Lord to the test, and, finally, complaining.
In the reading from Luke's Gospel, the message is also: repent or perish! In this short section, particular offenses are not listed, but the message is the same. The text appears to say that the people who died in these incidents (whose background we don't know) were no worse than anyone else, but still, their fate will be ours if we don't repent. In other words, we are no better than they were, so watch out!
What is a nice, easygoing San Francisco liberal like myself going to do with a message like this? It is so apparently uncompromising, its message so inescapable, that there is only one possible response: repent!
The epistle reading ends too soon, it seems to me. It really ought to go on to include verses 14 to 22, which are about the cup of blessing which we bless, and the bread which we break. These lines balance the opening lines of the reading, which are about the spiritual food and drink of the people of the Exodus, which was Christ, Paul says, as he is food and drink in verses 14 through 22.
We remember what is in between these two descriptions of spiritual food and drink, these two meals which are meant to bring us closer to God. Idolatry, immorality, putting Christ to the test, and, last but not least, complaining. Complaining! A friend told me just the other day that Bette Midler is supposed to have said that "God gave us language so we could kvetch!" At least, that's the gist of it. Perhaps some of you can tell me what the exact quote really is. And Jane Wagner, Lily Tomlin's partner and writer and collaborator, said, "I personally think that we developed language because of our deep inner need to complain." There is a warning here -- that we can forget how well off we are, spiritually and materially, and we can reinforce that forgetting by verbalizing it. I know that this is easy to say, coming from someone who is secure, healthy, and well-fed. All the more reason for those of us who are blessed in every way, not to sound ungrateful before God.
Now our text says that the people who did these things were either struck down, or fell, or were destroyed by serpents, or were destroyed by the destroyer. It is not clear who or what that is. The Devil, probably. The consistent element in all these deaths is that they are presented as the work of an external agent, God, or the perhaps the Devil, or snakes, brought about by the behavior, the evil acts of those who died.
This is a dramatic, emphatic way of saying that certain behaviors can lead to spiritual death. There is a tendency in our time, when the Christian religion appears to be in retreat or decline, at least in this part of the world, to separate our Christian commitment from the rest of our lives, as a way of navigating through an uncertain non-Christian environment. Then, perhaps, we find ourselves drifting into situations in which our Christian commitment is not evident and we risk weakening or even losing our connection to our spiritual life. We risk, in other words, spiritual death.
What helps are available to us in this situation? For starters, there were the spiritual food and drink which were available to the people of the Exodus, which Paul says came from Christ. And Paul mentions our Christian spiritual food and drink, the cup of blessing which we bless, and the bread which we break. These help us to do what we pray for in today's Collect: "keep us both outwardly in our bodies, and inwardly in our souls, that we may be defended from all adversities which may happen to the body, and from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul."
Furthermore, Paul says, "God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength." So the spiritual perils which Paul lists can be overcome, since we are not tempted beyond our powers, and those powers are strengthened by spiritual food.
In tonight's Gospel, Our Lord is telling us, in effect, that no one is better than anyone else. We're all in this together. We don't know much about the incidents that Jesus is talking about, but we do know that he is using the same emphatic storytelling technique that Paul is using in his letter. The message is the same: we all risk spiritual death by letting ourselves forget what our real relationship to God is.
It took me a while to understand why the parable of the barren fig tree is where it is in tonight's Gospel. It seems to be an oddly truncated item, dropped into this spot for no particular reason. It appears to end before its real ending -- it's missing a conclusion, and an explanation of its meaning.
Perhaps we are in danger of becoming the barren fig trees in the garden, in danger of being cut down. And who is the gardener? Our Lord, of course, who is giving us another chance, another year, to make good use of the nourishment he is providing us, so that we will bear fruit, fruits of faith and good works. So, we have a year's reprieve! The parable reinforces the teaching of the first few lines of tonight's reading. Let us heed the warnings, and make good use of the opportunities we have been given!
In nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti. Amen.
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