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St. George's Episcopal Church Roseburg, Oregon The Twentieth Sunday After Pentecost, Proper 22A 2 October 2005 Go To St. George's Home Page

Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20
Psalm 19:1-14
Philippians 3:4b-14
Matthew 21:33-46
The Collect of the Day
From the Revised Common Lectionary as Adapted for Use by the Episcopal Church
and Authorized by the 74 th General Convention of the ECUSA

Then God spoke all these words: I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not acquit anyone who misuses his name. Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work. Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor. When all the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking, they were afraid and trembled and stood at a distance, and said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, or we will die.” Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid; for God has come only to test you and to put the fear of him upon you so that you do not sin.”(Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20)

Diamonds and God are Both Forever: You Choose
The Rev. Dr. Bill Stroop, Rector

      This is a question for the guys. Do you remember when you went to the jewelry store to buy that engagement ring for your intended? If you were like me, you still pretty naive about love, not terribly savvy about women (like any of us are now), and absolutely clueless about diamond rings. That’s when we learned about the four C’s of diamond selection: cut, clarity, color, and of course the C that was really etched into our memory: carats.

     I recently ran across the fifth C: cremains. There is company called LifeGem®, in Elkgrove, Illinois that can create a diamond from the carbon remains of your cremated loved one. It takes eighteen weeks to turn the cremains into a diamond in a process that is the same used to produce cubic zirconium. LifeGem® offers “a way to embrace the memory of your deceased loved one through your fashion accessorizing. After all, ‘a diamond is forever,’ and shouldn’t our memorial of the deceased be of the same timeless quality?”[1] “LifeGem® … Because love lives on.”[2]

     The mother of a friend of mine had collection of diamonds on a ring of which she was very proud. My friend told me that his mother took the stones from the rings of her mother and her mother-in-law and had them put together with the diamonds given to her by her husband in a whole new setting. This was a wonderful way for my friend’s mother to honor the memory of her loved ones.

     But imagine what is would have been like if the stones were from LifeGem®. When someone complimented her, instead of saying, “Why thank you – it was my mother’s stone,” she might have replied, “Thanks – it’s my mother!” Although this may to some of you seem like the sixth C of diamond selection – creepy – to others it might seem like a very legitimate attempt to create a loving keepsake of a passed loved one.

     I don’t know about you, but I would be fearful carrying around a carat or two of my loved one. I would be afraid that the stone might get lost. I am not sure that I would want to carry my loved one around in a state that could be stolen and pawned. Call me old fashioned, but I think I would prefer something more safe and secure.

     In today’s Old Testament lesson, we heard the story from Exodus when Moses and the Israelites were first given the ten commandments at the top of Mount Sinai (Ex 19:11). At the sight of the golden calf Aaron had made (Ex 32:4), Moses broke the stone tablets (Ex 32:19) on which the commandments had been written on stone by the finger of God (Ex 31:18). On a subsequent trip to the top of the mountain where he communed with Yahweh, Moses then wrote the commandments (Ex 34:27) himself upon two stone tablets he had hewn (Ex 34:4). Deuteronomy records that the tablets were kept in the ark of the covenant (Deut 10:4).

     After Moses’ death (Dt 34:5), Moses’ book of the law (Dt 31:26) as well as the tablets became cherished possessions like the ashes of a beloved deceased family member. They were transported from place to place in or next to the ark of the covenant as it was carried in front of the people with Moses’ successor Joshua, as the Israelites entered the promised land (Josh 3:6-17).

     Like grandma’s diamonds that are heirlooms to be passed down from generation to generation– or, thanks to LifeGem®, perhaps Grandma herself – the ten commandments and all traditions associated with the law were passed down through countless generations to the present day.

     But like all cherished possessions, even religious laws and traditions can become spoken or unspoken credentials to define cultural identity or to condemn those who don’t believe the same way. In other words religion and objects of religious belief – even Jesus himself – can become idols, or tools of oppression, or lightening rods of controversy. The legal wrangling over a display of the ten commandments in a McCreary County, Kentucky courtroom shows this to be the case.

     In his letter to the Philippians, Paul cites his own impressive credentials that fall directly from his Jewish heritage: He was circumcised on the eighth day; was a member of the tribe of Benjamin; and he was a zealous Pharisee who vigorously defended Jewish law. His list of credentials is impressive. Like a flashy diamond ring.

     We do the same thing, don’t we? Our car bumpers announce that our kids are honor role students. Diplomas on my walls tell what I’ve accomplished. Many of us can cite our Christian credentials as well: faithful Sunday Church attendance; regular tithing; active ministry and service; attending Cursillo; serving on the vestry.

     Sometimes the flashy diamonds we Christians wear can seem like rocks to throw at people who don’t think like us. In a late August article written to The Living Church, Robert Cromey, a retired Episcopal priest living in San Francisco, wrote “we should stop trying to convert people of other faiths. We need to stop being offensive to the religion of others.”[3] Fr. Cromey believes that it is insulting for Christians to try to convert people of other beliefs and religions because he thinks that “the thrust of scripture is love, acceptance, freedom from the law, and new life for us all [because] God loves all the people of his [sic] creation and saves them to rest in his [sic] presence after we die.”

     Needless to say, there are those who felt the sparkle of their Christian jewelry a bit besmirched by Fr. Cromey’s position. In a rebuttal to The Living Church, Fr. Philip Bottomley suggested that it was not possible to be saved by being a good Muslim or Buddhist. Similarly, Fr. Charles Mann said that God loves his [sic] creation … and that he [sic] desires all to be reunited to him [sic], but that happens only through one person – Jesus” referring to John 14:6. In discussing the Gospel for today, The Living Church stated that the message was clear: either we tell the good news, or the kingdom of God will be taken away from us and given to a people who will produce its fruit.”[4]

     Is there a way out of this? Is there a way we can follow the call to proclaim the Gospel as the Bible commands us and as Frs. Bottomley and Mann demand and not be insulting, as Fr. Cromey fears?

     I have preached many times that there is one such way, and that is by showing our faith by what we do and how we live. And today, I have another opportunity to do preach this, and that is by reflecting on the life of St. Francis, who’s feast we also celebrate this day. Francis was a man who simply lived the gospel life. As a young man, he was a zealous soldier who sought fame and glory on the battlefield. During the Assissi-Perugia War of the thirteenth century, he was captured and imprisoned and became seriously ill. When he returned home, he was listless and had no ambition to engage in his familiy’s lucrative clothing business. He spurned his father’s wealth and embraced a life of poverty caring for beggars and the poorest of the poor.

     While at mass one day, he felt touched by Christ as the Gospel of Matthew was read, “As you go, proclaim the good news, ‘The kingdom has come near.’ Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment.” By the grace of God, Francis discovered what was truly important: knowing God and caring for the little ones of life – including all of the animals of God’s creation.

     Francis is among the most popular and beloved of the Saints of the Church, but probably the least imitated; few have attained the depth of identity with Christ that he achieved. On September 14, not long before his death, Francis received the marks of the Lord’s wounds, the stigmata, in his own hands and feet and side.

     I think the success of Francis’ evangelistic success was in his understanding of the incarnation. Francis understood that when Jesus became human he truly gave up all of himself to become human and then he left this earth in a final act of self-giving and obedient love. Francis did not objectify Jesus or the Bible and he did not turn them into idols. Francis understood that to do that would be like trying to own Jesus, or trying to possess God. Even when he became involved in the Crusades, his preaching to the Muslims emphasized care and indulgent treatment for Christian captives.

     I think that first and foremost, Francis understood that possessiveness and self-righteousness can quite easily go hand in hand. Consequentially, he gave up that which caused him anxiety and feelings of possessiveness and superiority. He gave up the things that owned him so that he could simply live his faith by loving all creatures big and small, human or not.

     Is that not what Christ did?

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Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20

Then God spoke all these words: I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not acquit anyone who misuses his name. Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work. Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor. When all the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking, they were afraid and trembled and stood at a distance, and said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, or we will die.” Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid; for God has come only to test you and to put the fear of him upon you so that you do not sin.”

Psalm 19:1-14

1 The heavens are telling the glory of God;
and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.

2 Day to day pours forth speech,
and night to night declares knowledge.

3 There is no speech, nor are there words;
their voice is not heard;

4 yet their voice goes out through all the earth,
and their words to the end of the world.
In the heavens he has set a tent for the sun,
making wise the simple;

5 which comes out like a bridegroom from his wedding canopy,
and like a strong man runs its course with joy.

6 Its rising is from the end of the heavens,
and its circuit to the end of them;
and nothing is hid from its heat.

7 The law of the LORD is perfect,
reviving the soul;
the decrees of the LORD are sure,

8 the precepts of the LORD are right,
rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the LORD is clear,
enlightening the eyes;

9 the fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever;
the ordinances of the LORD are true
and righteous altogether.

10 More to be desired are they than gold,
even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey,
and drippings of the honeycomb.

11 Moreover by them is your servant warned;
in keeping them there is great reward.

12 But who can detect their errors?
Clear me from hidden faults.

13 Keep back your servant also from the insolent;
do not let them have dominion over me.
Then I shall be blameless,
and innocent of great transgression.

14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable to you,
O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.

Philippians 3:4b-14

If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.

Matthew 21:33-46

“Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenants and went to another country. When the harvest time had come, he sent his slaves to the tenants to collect his produce. But the tenants seized his slaves and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. Again he sent other slaves, more than the first; and they treated them in the same way. Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him and get his inheritance.” So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” They said to him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death, and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the harvest time.” Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the scriptures: ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is amazing in our eyes’? Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that produces the fruits of the kingdom. The one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and it will crush anyone on whom it falls.” When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they realized that he was speaking about them. They wanted to arrest him, but they feared the crowds, because they regarded him as a prophet.

The Collect of the Day

Almighty and everlasting God, you are always more ready to hear than we to pray, and to give more than we either desire or deserve: Pour upon us the abundance of your mercy, forgiving us those things of which our conscience is afraid, and giving us those good things for which we are not worthy to ask, except through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ our Savior; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

[1] Timothy Merrill, Exec. Ed. “Diamonds from Ashes.” Homiletics 17(5):42-49, September-October, 2005.
[2] Advertisement copied from the web site for LifeGem: http://www.lifegem.com.
[3] Robert Warren Cromey. “An Insulting Practice.” The Living Church. 231(9):12-13, August 28, 2005.
[4] David A. Kalvelage, Exec. Editor. The Living Church. 231(14), October 2, 2005.

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Copyright © 2005, William G. Stroop - All Rights Reserved.
16 September 2005

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