[Propertalk] Fwd: [propertalk.topic] Sermon for Proper 6A: "Jesus Died to Take Away Your Sins, Not Your Mind"

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-------- Original message --------From: Judy <judy_boli at ecunet.org> Date: 6/17/17  5:50 PM  (GMT-05:00) To: Propertalk <propertalk.topic at ecunet.org> Subject: [propertalk.topic] Sermon for Proper 6A: "Jesus Died to Take Away Your Sins, Not Your Mind" 


Dear
Friends,

 

This
Sunday’s sermon is entitled “He Died to Take Away Your Sins, Not Your Mind” and
deals with the epistle (Romans (5:1-8).  Here
it is:

 

This morning, I’d like us to
focus on sin and forgiveness. In the epistle, Paul reminds the Roman Church
that Christ’s death and resurrection makes us acceptable to God.  Problem- just because we start out acceptable
to God after we are baptized and accept Jesus as our Savior and Lord, what
happens when we become unacceptable because we sin?  In the early church, there were people who
put off being baptized because they worried what would happen to them if they
sinned after they had received the sacrament.  Did you hear the story of the vacuum cleaner
salesman?   A little old lady answered a
knock on the door one day, only to be confronted by a well-dressed young man
carrying a vacuum cleaner.  “Good morning,” said the young man. “If I
could take a few minutes of your time, I would like to demonstrate the very
latest in high-powered vacuum cleaners.” 
“Go away!” said the old lady. “I haven't got any money!” and she
proceeded to close the door.  Quick as a
flash, the young man wedged his foot in the door and pushed it wide open.
“Don't be too hasty!"” he said. “Not until you have at least seen my
demonstration.” And with that, he emptied a bucket of horse manure onto her
hallway carpet. “If this vacuum cleaner does not remove all traces of this
horse manure from your carpet, Madam, I will personally eat the
remainder.”  The old lady stepped back
and said, “Well I hope you've got a darn good appetite, because they cut off my
electricity this morning.”  His mouth
surely got him in LOTS of trouble, as did Sarah’s mouth when she laughed at
God.  

 

One of the biggest
mistakes we make these days is discounting the importance of sin.  We call it “making a mistake.” We tell
ourselves that God understands how weak we are and how we can’t help it- “after
all, we’re just human.”  Part of that is
true- we are human and weak, but God is like any good parent- he expects steady
improvement.  Not only that, he has given
us the tools to overcome: Bible study, prayer, Christian fellowship, and Holy
Communion and the other sacraments.  Not
to take sin seriously is to play with God.

 

All right- I’ve
convinced you to take sin seriously.  In
1st Timothy (1:15a), the author reminds us that “Christ Jesus came
into the world to save sinners.”  Exactly
what do we do to be forgiven when we sin? 
Three things:

 

FIRST- CONFESSION: tell God about your sin
and tell him you’re sorry.  Name the sin
in detail.  It isn’t enough to say “I’m
sorry that I stole something.”  Instead,
“I shoplifted a candy bar from the drug store because the check-out line was
too long and I was in a hurry.”  Be
specific.  If another person was hurt
mentally, physically, or emotionally- confess the sin to the person you
wronged.  Go to the drugstore, tell the
manager, and (while you’re at it) pay for the candy.  The only exception to this is if telling the
other person would not be a loving action. 
For example, if a husband cheats on his wife, telling her may
permanently damage the relationship- it just depends on the couple.  If this is the case, the husband should not
tell his wife, but might choose to tell his priest.  In serious matters, it is almost always best
to tell another person- usually the person wronged, as well as telling God.

 

SECOND- RESTITUTION: make it up to the person
or persons you wronged.  You know how
quickly children learn to spout- “I’m sorry” and then go on about their
business as if nothing happened.  That’s
not how to do it.  You noticed a bit ago-
after confessing the theft to the story manager, what did the sinner do?  (That word sounds strange- “sinner”- doesn’t
it.  We’re not talking about
mistakes.  We’re not talking about white
lies.  Our society downplays sin, but we
mustn’t.)  What did the sinner do?  Paid for the candy bar.  Remember Zacchaeus- the very short tax
collector who climbed up the sycamore tree to see Jesus, and then Jesus went to
his home for dinner?  After Zacchaeus
repented for cheating his fellow citizens, what did he say he would do?  ("I will give half of my property to the
poor. And I will now pay back four times as much to everyone I have ever
cheated."- Luke 19: 8b) Saying we’re sorry is not enough.  Now is pay-back time.  Problem: what if you don’t have the money to
pay it back?  Well, then you pay it back
in kind- clean the person’s house or wash their car or weed their garden.  Pay it back. 
Not all pay-backs are money or material things.  If you gossiped about someone, start telling
nice things about the person.  If you
snubbed someone, pay extra attention to them. 
What if the person won’t let you pay them back, or what if your sin
isn’t the kind that allows a pay-back, or what if the person has moved away or
is dead?  You may not be able to do
something nice for that person, but you surely can do something nice for
SOMEONE!  However, here’s a word of
caution: please be careful in your thinking. 
Pay-back is NOT a way to earn your forgiveness.  Forgiveness can’t be earned; it is a
gift.  Only Jesus’ blood covers sin.  Payback is to re-establish
relationships.  Remember, the cross has
two bars.  The vertical bar reminds us
that Jesus’ blood restores our relationship with God.  The horizontal bar reminds us that we have a
responsibility to God’s other children. 
Payback helps to heal the damage our sin did to human community so we
can continue to reach out and touch in Jesus’ name.

 

THIRD- AMENDMENT OF LIFE: make a firm
decision to stop committing that sin. 
Change your life.  Use the power
of your Holy Communion and the strength of the Holy Spirit to change.  If you still slip again and sin- no
problem.  Just repeat the three above
steps and make better plans this time.

 

FINAL THOUGHTS: Some sins need the special
sacramental help of confession.  Perhaps
you have a sin that you continue to commit. 
You’ve worked on it over and over again, but you seem to be getting
nowhere.  Or- if you’ve confessed and
confessed, but still feel guilty.  In
either of these cases, make an appointment to talk to your priest and make a
sacramental confession.  Anything like
that is totally confidential and there’s power in the sacraments of the Holy
Spirit, and confession is one of those sacraments.



So- when we sin:  confess it; make restitution of some kind;
and change your life.  May God give us
all the grace to live what we believe.  Amen.

 

 

For anyone who is interested, this sermon and updated
African-American wisdom statements are posted on our parish’s web site under
“Sermons & Stuff”. The address is: http://www.stpaulsepisag.org
.

 

Blessed
preaching,

Judy
Boli

St.
Paul's Episcopal Church

Saginaw,
Michigan





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