Thinking of Others: Last Sunday's Sermon

The Readings

Isaiah 1:1, 10-20

The vision of Isaiah son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.

Hear the word of the Lord,
you rulers of Sodom!

Listen to the teaching of our God,
you people of Gomorrah!

What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices?
says the Lord;

I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams
and the fat of fed beasts;

I do not delight in the blood of bulls,
or of lambs, or of goats.

When you come to appear before me,
who asked this from your hand?
Trample my courts no more;

bringing offerings is futile;
incense is an abomination to me.

New moon and sabbath and calling of convocation--
I cannot endure solemn assemblies with iniquity.

Your new moons and your appointed festivals
my soul hates;

they have become a burden to me,
I am weary of bearing them.

When you stretch out your hands,
I will hide my eyes from you;

even though you make many prayers,
I will not listen;
your hands are full of blood.

Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean;
remove the evil of your doings
from before my eyes;

cease to do evil,
learn to do good;

seek justice,
rescue the oppressed,

defend the orphan,
plead for the widow.

Come now, let us argue it out,
says the Lord:

though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be like snow;

though they are red like crimson,
they shall become like wool.

If you are willing and obedient,
you shall eat the good of the land;

but if you refuse and rebel,
you shall be devoured by the sword;
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

The Epistle

Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16


Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Indeed, by faith our ancestors received approval. By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible.

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to set out for a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; and he set out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he stayed for a time in the land he had been promised, as in a foreign land, living in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he looked forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God. By faith he received power of procreation, even though he was too old-- and Sarah herself was barren-- because he considered him faithful who had promised. Therefore from one person, and this one as good as dead, descendants were born, "as many as the stars of heaven and as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore."

All of these died in faith without having received the promises, but from a distance they saw and greeted them. They confessed that they were strangers and foreigners on the earth, for people who speak in this way make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of the land that they had left behind, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; indeed, he has prepared a city for them.

The Gospel

Luke 12:32-40


Jesus said to his disciples, "Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

"Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit; be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks. Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes; truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat, and he will come and serve them. If he comes during the middle of the night, or near dawn, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves.

"But know this: if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour."

The Sermon

In this reading from the book of Isaiah the prophet tells us that making all of these animal sacrifices is really pointless. It does not bring you any closer to God. After all, it makes no sense that by killing an animal you will remove the consequences of your past deeds. Isaiah says God wants us to make ourselves clean by ceasing to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow. He goes on in saying “though your sins are like scarlet, shey shall be like snow”.

Prophets, often told people what they did not want to hear. After all it would be much easier to go to the market, buy a lamb, have it slaughtered, and that would somehow be acceptable to God as a penance for your sins. Then of course, you could continue with your life until your sins had built up enough to where it was time to make another sin offering and the cycle would repeat itself. God does not work that way.

In today's reading from the letter to the Hebrews the author talks a lot about faith. This was a time when these Jewish followers of Jesus were being persecuted for their faith. They were afraid and some were leaving the faith. The writer assures these frightened people that God is preparing a place for them. A city for them.

In Lukes gospel Jesus gives a similar assurance. He says, “Do not be afraid little flock, for it is your father's good pleasure to give you a kingdom.” In the next sentence Jesus tells us, his followers, to 'not make purses that will wear out.” He is using a metaphor. Jesus wants us to live lives that will help us to grow spiritually. He wants us to not be attached to things that might give us a sense of security like money and luxuries and to have faith that these temporary pleasures are insignificant when compared to an eternity in heaven.

Jesus is basically telling us that the Father in heaven is watching. I firmly believe that Jesus wants us, expects us, to do good things in this world and do them for the right reasons. Jesus doesn't want us to give to the poor or any other kind act because in the back of our minds we are expecting some kind of Godly payback like a higher rung on the ladder to heaven.

Jesus wants us to think not about ourselves but to focus on the other person, the person who needs us. I went to an inter-church council meeting this week and while I was sitting in this very long meeting I saw at the bottom of the page the council's faith statement. It reads, “We are the hands and feet of Christ in the here and now.” We are here to do God's will and God's will is to put others ahead of ourselves just as Jesus did throughout his ministry on earth.

We shouldn't do good deeds for others so that it will benefit us. We should do them because we are not thinking of us. There is no benefit to me if I show kindness to someone if my motive is anything other than my love for that person.

Yes, the Son of Man may be coming at an unexpected hour but that day should not be a time for apprehension. God loves me and God loves you and he or she will know us by our love. When that day comes and we meet our maker we should not have fear. We should welcome that blessed time of experiencing His presence.