5 th SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST The Very Rev. Steven J. Belonick 2017

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1 5 th SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST The Very Rev. Steven J. Belonick 2017 I. In today s epistle reading, St Paul brings up a topic that was a stumbling block for the Jews of his day. Sadly, it still remains a stumbling block for you and me. The question is: how are we made righteous before God? How are we saved? The Jews would typically answer by saying that we are made righteous by fulfilling the Law of God. Many of them were meticulous to satisfy every demand that the Law required, even to the point of tithing the smallest of seeds from their gardens. But this is where the dilemma was created. On the one hand they followed the Law in detail, but with the other hand they broke the Law because they condemned those who were not as scrupulous. The Law remained a puzzle because no one could satisfy it fully. II. Paul described such Jews as having great zeal for the Law, but their zeal was misguided and 1

2 misdirected. Paul spoke from experience. He once lived in this way himself. In his early years, he was so zealous for Judaism and the Law that he became blind to God and to His purposes. Paul began to feel that his vocation was to imprison Christians and to destroy the Church. Without even realizing it, he resisted the Holy Spirit deluding himself in thinking that he was doing God s work, while what he was doing to whole time was persecuting God. Misguided zeal has a way of doing that to people. III. History provides many examples of misguided zeal - the Pharisees aren t the only example. For instance, the Christian Crusaders in the Middle Ages, or the Jesuits who tried to evangelize the natives in Central and South America by force, or (yes) even the Orthodox all of them exploited others and used force and violence in the name of their religion. To give you an example of how misguided zeal can lead us away from God, let 2

3 me share with you a video I viewed the other day of a prominent Baptist Church celebrating the 4 th of July. The Church was filled with people. A large choir and orchestra performed a number of patriotic hymns. At the end of the service, when the American Flag was unfurled, one of those in attendance was heard saying: I couldn t deny my need any longer. I surrendered my life to the United States of America. May this great nation change my sinful heart and make me into a new person. That, my friends, is the definition of idolatry and misguided zeal. III. But Paul spoke about another path to salvation, which he called in our passage, God s righteousness. Paul was actually referring to a person, and not to a document, or a method, or a program. He was saying - Christ is the end of the Law. By that he meant that before Christ came, the Law was given to be our guardian, our schoolmaster, our tutor. It was given to point us 3

4 to Christ. But when Christ appeared, the Law was no longer necessary because a new law, God s righteousness was given to us in the person of Jesus Himself. In Jesus, God showed us not only what righteousness looks like. Through His life, death, resurrection, and ascension into heaven, Jesus accomplished what the Law could never do. But according to Paul, Jesus gift is more profound. In living in Him, with Him, for Him, and by Him, Jesus communicates His own life to those who look to Him as their only hope for salvation. This is what Paul meant when he used the words: God s righteousness. IV. Now, this is Paul s main point. An upheaval in our attitude has to take place. That upheaval is our willingness to cease relying on ourselves, or good works, or the Law, to be saved. That upheaval in our attitude is our willingness to rid ourselves of our selfdetermination, self-achievement, and independence of Him. This is 4

5 the meaning behind Paul s cryptic words: Do not say in your hearts who will ascend into heaven, or who will descend into the abyss? In other words, there is no need to journey far, no need to scale mountains, no need to take super human efforts to get to Christ. He is available to each person who calls upon Him with their heart and who is willing to HAND OVER their life to Him. Discerning this gift, wrestling with it, understanding it, accepting it, being convicted by it, embracing it, allowing it to change our heart s desire and our attitude toward Him, is the starting point for accepting God s righteousness. The inner upheaval is the shattering of selfreliance, and instead relying on Jesus. IV. And when the human heart is convicted in such a way, our behavior, our outlook changes. When Jesus takes up residence in us, we begin to see prayer, fasting, celebration of the feasts, reading the Scripture as opportunities for closeness to 5

6 Him, rather than items to check off to fulfill some obligation. Everything becomes new again. V. When the Church Fathers wrote about this way of life, they use the word easy. This life in God is not a burden; it is not heavy. Jesus said it Himself: Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Jesus was talking about the heavy weight of trying to fulfill every detail of Law and how arduous it is. VI. Let s be careful, then, of misguided zeal, which leads us away from God. And let us decide to make a decision to allow Jesus to take up His abode in us because He is the giver of God s righteousness, the carrier of God s love, and the pioneer of a new way of life for us. Amen. 6