I had one of those sermon prep weeks I
hate. A few weeks ago, when I say that
Amanda would be joining us from Room in the Inn, I figured this would be a
super easy week to preach. Oliver always
likes to gently remind me to give quicker sermons when we have an Outreach
group attending, so I knew I would have brevity on my side. And, given the readings so far this summer, I
had every reason to assume that at least one of the readings would deal with
feeding the hungry, clothing the poor, showing hospitality to those less
fortunate or something along those lines.
My goal on Outreach Sunday’s is to provide a bit of a lead-in for the
speaker from the group that has been chosen by the Outreach Committee. Given those expectations, you might now
understand why I was disappointed in our readings. Look at them again. Which one ties into the work of RitI? Now you see my problem.
The problem was exacerbated because I
really felt a need to keep you guessing about my sermon. Hey, if you know what I am likely to preach,
you may feel you can skip! Lol I had a couple “Will you be preaching on the
late spring/early summer difficulties at church, Father? I mean, that’s an easy sermon illustration,
right?” I also had a couple “Will you be
sticking to Romans? You and Holly both
have been focused there the last couple weeks.”
Nobody, and I mean not one soul, asked me whether I would consider
preaching on Ezekiel this week. In fact,
when I asked some probing questions, I learned we rather avoid that difficult
passage and that our movie knowledge is less than extensive.
What is a sentinel? I had one brilliant younger member of the
congregation rightly guess it was Shane Falco’s team. For those of you who do not get the reference,
there was a great football movie called The
Replacements that starred Gene Hackman as the coach and Keanu Reeves as the
college-star-quarterback-gone-bust who fill in as strike replacements. And while there are redemptive elements to
that movie, I do not believe they speak to the message from Ezekiel today. So I ask again, what is a sentinel? Why did the writer choose the word sentinel
over the word for watchman? What is the
difference conveyed by the word choice?
To take us back in history again, let’s
consider when the two were used.
Watchman describes the ongoing monitoring, particularly at night, to see
if any threats present themselves.
Watchmen were deployed in all times, even peace time. Think of men stationed along a city or
village wall at night peering and listening in the darkness for sounds of
raiders or other threats to the well-being of the community. It was a job of tremendous
responsibility. If the watchmen missed
the warning signs or, worse, fell asleep while on duty, the community could be
harmed or even destroyed. Great trust
was placed in the watchmen by the community.
True, walls helped make up for human frailties, but many communities did
not have the walls. Imagine their
vulnerability in a time when there was no electricity, no cell phones, no 24
hour news service warning them of imminent dangers. Why, do you think, did the watchmen long for
the morning? Imagine the responsibility
of being charged with the safety of your friends, family, and community and
possibly failing. That was the
challenging aspect for a watchman. That’s
why they longed for the light of day and its accompanying safety.
Sentinels, on the other hand, were
deployed primarily in times of threat, particularly the threat of an invading
army or large band of outlaws. Their job
was to assume the threat was real and challenge everyone. A watchman might see Otis the drunk heading
out to sleep off the binge and think nothing of it. A sentinel would perceive that Otis might be
a threat, a traitor, or be walking into danger and so challenge his presence
and intention. The distinction may seem
fine to us, but it was a difference in expectation in the Ancient Near
East. One worked under a presumed time
of peace with only occasional threats; the other worked under a presumed threat
with rare times or actions of peace.
The distinction ought to make us wonder a
bit more at this passage, if we understand the history of Israel in
Ezekiel. The first 32 chapters of
Ezekiel deal with God’s judgment of Israel, and chapters 34 to the end deal with
the restoration of Israel. Our passage,
as you’ve no doubt noted, is from chapter 33.
It stands between the judgments of God and His restoration of His
people. If we read just a few verses
more, we discover that Jerusalem has already fallen. If Jerusalem has already fallen, what need is
there of a sentinel? Who is to be
warned? From whom do they need to be
protected? The invading army has conquered
and, in this case, did so as God’s instrument of judgement. So, why the need for a sentinel? It seems akin to closing the barn door after the
horses have gotten out.
Our struggle with the passage is likely
complicated by the address. Our
translators render the Hebrew ben adam as
“mortal.”
It is hard to read that phrase and not be reminded of God’s inquiry
of Cain and Cain’s response that he is not his brother’s keeper in Genesis
4. I think that intentional on the part
of the writer. In one sense, God’s
address of the writer and prophet as mortal serves as a direct contrast to His
own infinite and transcendent glory. But
in another sense, the address is used to remind the prophet that he is linked
to all humanity just as you and I are linked to all humanity. In a real sense, we are all sons and
daughters of Adam. We are all mortal and
finite. By virtue of our baptism, we are
all on the receiving end of this address.
And that complicates things a bit further.
We live in a culture that has forgotten
community. We live in a culture that
encourages individuals to cut themselves off from one another. Think I am overstating the problem? How many of us grew up knowing our
neighbors? How many of us knew that some
of our friends’ parents were as likely to thump us if we got lippy or sassy as
our parents were to thump our friends if they did the same? How many of us lived in fear that the teacher
or principal would call mom or dad to complain about our lack of effort or
respect? Loneliness might be our
greatest fear or enemy now. I don’t mean
to oversimplify things, but we are a culture that is far more isolated. Now we connect via smart phones, sometimes
even when we are together, rather than face to face and eye to eye
conversations. Social media has replaced
chairs and swings on porches. And
loneliness is now a greater threat than nearly everything else to our longevity,
at least that is what health professionals and sociologists are beginning to
teach us.
And the Church has been infected with that
loss of community and increase in loneliness.
How many members of churches like to pretend they have their act
together? How many churches really allow
people to be themselves, to really admit their failure, their impotence, their
sense of unworth? And heaven help us now
with respect to sentinel work in our midst.
We are so “me, me, me” that we forget the “us, us, us” and we far more
timid about calling out sins. We don’t
want to appear judgmental. We live in a
mind your own business culture; who wants to be responsible for someone else’s
business? Yet here is God in Ezekiel, as
He does in other places in Scripture, reminding us that we are our brothers’
keeper. While it is true that Jesus
instructs us not to judge the salvation of another soul, He also instructs us
how to deal with sin in our midst in a loving, sentinel fashion. Those who doubt what I say need look no
further than Matthew’s Gospel lesson today from chapter 18!
There is a phrase in Spiderman which
evangelists picked up in the 1990’s – with
great power comes great responsibility.
Adoption into God’s kingdom is a wonderful, glorious thought. But it comes with tremendous
responsibility. His adopted sons and
daughters, His princes and princesses, serve rather than be served. His adopted sons and daughters practice
humility rather than pride. And his
adopted sons and daughters are tasked with naming sin. Now, I get the aversion. We are Episcopalians, not Baptists or Church
of Christ. Nobody here wants to be on a
street corner proclaiming “repent or die” or “know Jesus or know hell.” And, I
think as we see in Matthew 18 today, we do not need to be on a street
corner. But neither are we called to
accept anything He declares a sin as acceptable in the lives of those around
us. Worse, failing to address the sin
means their blood is on our hands. If we
gently and winsomely and lovingly wrestle with sin in our community, the guilt
is on those who reject God. But if we
ignore it, it’s our guilt. Tough words,
no?
Think of the damage that sin does to a
community of faithful Christians or to the honor of God. When we cheat on our taxes, we are
stealing. How does the world view tax
cheats who claim to be Christian? How do
they view God? Who wants to join a
community of thieves? When we Christians
ignore the plight of homeless or immigrants or whatever marginalized group you
want to name, when we work to ostracize them rather than draw them into the
loving embrace of our Lord and Savior, how does the world view us and the Lord
we serve? Who really wants to join a
community of the hard-hearted? Such
communities are plentiful in the world around us! When we encourage gossip, how does the world
view us and the Lord we serve?
I have been here nearly three years now,
so I think I can name how it impacts us at Advent more specifically in love,
not in judgment. Look around us again
this morning. Where is the next
generation? And the one after that? One of our greatest gifts we are gathered to
steward are our children, our youth? Why
are they not here worshiping with us today?
When did we decide that it was ok to miss church for soccer games? To use Sundays for sleeping in and ignoring
worship that day or any other day of the week?
Why were we ok with lukewarm responses to God’s love with those whom we
most treasure, most love? And, for those
of you thinking “whew, I get a pass, my kids moved away,” are they active in a
Christian faith community where they live?
Have you shared with them the importance of your faith in God and
Christ? And, where are those their age
who moved to Nashville even as yours left.
We add 4800 people a month to our population in the city. Are none of them between the ages of 25 and
60? Are none of them visiting us? Are none of them looking for community among
us?
It is tough being a son or daughter of
God. That’s part of why He calls it a
cross and not a martini glass. That’s
why He calls us sentinels. Our work is
dangerous, often thankless or even rejected, but incredibly important! We want so much to believe that how a person
acts and speaks is between only them and God.
We want to believe that, but this passage reminds us that such is not
true. So does our life together. Loving someone fully means desiring they
share in that intimate relationship offered by God. When we sit by silently, not challenging,
fearful that they might think us too religious, we are failing them as much as
sentinels failed when they refused to challenge those who went about. And what happens when we fail in our jobs as
sentinels?
True, our communities may not be attacked
in the same was as Ezekiel would have understood such language, but one cannot
escape the comparison. Friends and
neighbors have drifted away in the darkness.
Why? Where have they gone? Has it been clergy failure? Has it been busy lives? Has it been a question of faith? Family members have drifted away, forgetting
that the worship of God is THE most important thing we do. Why? The
people that you and I claim to hold most dear have, in many instances, turned
away from God? Why do we remain silent
if we truly care about them? What is it
that keeps us from being sentinels?
But in these tough words also is the
wonderful reminder of the heart of God.
What if the mortal realizes his or her sin? What if the other son or daughter to whom we
speak, to whom we love, to whom we strive to be in relationship and community
with realizes their sin, what hope do we have for them? Even in this hard passage God reminds us that
He takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked. God is not sitting up on His throne
sharpening a lightning bolt excited at the prospect that He gets to smite
someone. No, indeed. What gives Him pleasure is that the wicked
turn back to Him. What causes rejoicing
in heaven is the repentance of a sinner and not the destruction of a
sinner! Can you imagine! Of course you can! You are here!
Each and everyone of us who is gathered here this day is here to give
thanks to God for making it possible for us to serve Him, for us to choose life
over death! And we recognize each and
every time we come before that altar or table that God gave us that possibility
of choosing life through His own life and death and resurrection. That is our primary purpose. That is why it is called a Eucharist – I give
good thanks!
This sermon today has been a bit
challenging. I have noticed the
squirming; I have seen the elbow nudging and the eyes. This is an inherently dangerous passage if we
forget that the sentinels not only warn about danger but that they also point
the way to safety and security. To you,
brothers and sisters, has been given the greatest treasure and greatest responsibility
in the universe. Each of you gathered
here this day understands the need for a Savior. Each of you gathered here this day
understands why so many choose to reject God, to scoff at His warnings, and to
chase death. That means you are uniquely
equipped to speak to and to serve others, lovingly and winsomely, just as
others once spoke and served you and drew you into His saving embrace. We call it a Gospel, in part, because it is
not dependent upon you or upon me. It is
dependent solely upon God. And in His
gracious heart, He has not demanded perfection from us or from those to whom we
reach in His name. No indeed. When we fail, we need only to repent. We need only to redirect ourselves to Him and
to His purposes. And that Lord who
reminds us that we are mere mortals forgives us, restores us, and empowers us
to be fit sentinels in His kingdom, pointing others to Him and to life. Yes, we name the sins, we do not pretend they
are anything other than those things which separate us from God’s love. Of equal importance, however, is the
certainty that God has made it possible for all to come into His saving embrace,
not just in this life, but for eternity.
Peace,
Brian†
