Bill Stroop Sermon, "Lifting the Yoke of Sin," Seventh Sunday After Pentecost, Year A (Pr 9A), July 3, 2005

Gen 24:34-38, 42-49, 58-67
Psalm 45:10-1
Romans 7:15-25
Matthew 11:16-19; 25-30
Thd Collect of the Day
The Collect for Independence 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

I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good. But in fact it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me. So I find it to be a law that when I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self, but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! (Romans 7:15-25)

Lifting the Yoke of Sin
The Rev. Dr. Bill Stroop, Rector

Some people have described me as an imp. According to the dictionary, an imp is a mischievous child, or a small demon. My mother would probably have agreed. My impishness comes out when I see a sign like "wet paint." I can't help but touch it to see if the paint is indeed wet. One time when I was working in the lab someone made a "Do Not Touch" sign on some scientific apparatus. I immediately drew fingerprints all over it. "Don't Walk on the Grass," "No Parking," "Loading/Unloading Only" often evoke the same reaction. These signs aren't evil, but they bring out the imp in me.

Flip Wilson had a comedy show during the early 1970's in which he portrayed stereotypic characters like the money-laundering Reverend Leroy, and Freddy the Playboy. One of his most popular characters was Geraldine, who wore designer clothes along with garish chartreuse stockings. Her hair was perfect and she demanded respect from her listeners. Geraldine put out one-liners that became national household sayings. Lines like, "When you're hot, you're hot!" But the most famous one was the one she used to rationalize something bad she'd done. She'd look into the camera and quip, "The devil made me do it!"[1]

Mental Floss, is the trivia magazine to read if you want to impress your friends.[2] It is the magazine the New York Times says will promote good cranial hygiene. The current edition is their '10 Issue' in which they identify things like the ten most forgettable presidents, the ten most underrated spectator sports, and the ten countries you can't find on a map. Not too long ago they catalogued the "twenty five most important questions of the universe." These included such riddles like "why do snooze buttons only give you nine more minutes of sleep?' and "Why can't you tickle yourself?" and "Why are Grandfather clocks called 'Grandfather clocks'?" and "Why does Hawaii have interstate highways?"[3]

These questions are trivial, and we snicker at them and we don't care about the answers (except the one about the interstate highways in Hawaii!). But every now and then one of these will come along that provokes the "Hmmmm…." reaction parodied by the comedian and talk-show host Arsenio Hall.

Today's reading from Romans is a text that we can all identify with; it provokes our "Hmmm…." response. "I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate." "For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do."

Why do we do what we don't want to do? Why don't we do the good that we want to do? The answers to those questions deal with that religious term "sin." I think "sin" is a word that has lost much of its punch in these modern times. We don't like to talk about it, and we don't like to be reminded that we are sinful people. But that is just what Paul tells us about himself. Despite his best intentions, he does the very thing he hates.

Sin is not the bad deed itself. It is more than an evil action or a wrong decision. It is a power, a principle, a proclivity, a penchant, a predilection that dwells within us – right at the very center of our being. What we do is the outcome of the state of sin that lies within us. As the New Testament scholar Paul Meyer put it, it is the worm at the core of the apple.³

I think Paul got it right when he said "Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me." Paul realized that there was something in his DNA that made him act badly in some way.

And so do we. Sin is the imp in me that makes me draw fingerprints on a "Do Not Touch" sign, and drive down the interstate faster than the speed limit. Sin is what causes us to gossip about our friends when we know we shouldn't. It is what causes us to cheat in school; to waste time on the job when we know there are good things we could do; to mislead customers in order to make a sale, to snap at our friends and loved ones; to covet material things; to turn a blind eye to the needy in our community. Sin is what causes us to do all of this and more when we know full well what we should do, but don't.

Why? This is a question that has perplexed humankind ever since we stopped being hunters and gatherers and began to settle into communities. Socrates, who lived and died even before Alexander the Great, and is who is probably the best known of the ancient philosophers despite having left no written legacy of his own, proposed that human beings do not in fact choose evil, or choose to act in ignorance. Having a rather high anthropology of human beings, he felt that we in fact pursue what is good, but fail to attain it because we lack the knowledge of how to do what is right or to obtain what is good.

Aristotle, the intellectual grandchild of Socrates and student of Plato thought this was wrong. He believed that an individual might in fact know what is best, right, and true, and yet still do what is bad, wrong, and false. Aristotle also reasoned that if evil is never done deliberately, then evil is an involuntary act, and an act that one cannot therefore be held responsible for.

St. Paul, and I think you and me, would agree that Aristotle was right. The capacity to do wrong is something we are born with. It seems to be in our genes. We yield to all sorts of temptations that lurk inside of us, and we succumb to the delicious fun of just being wicked. In the late 6^th century, Pope Gregory the Great created a list of seven deadly sins – things that can separate us from God. From most serious to least, they were: pride, envy, anger, sadness, greed, gluttony, and lust. Whether all human sinfulness can be so categorized I do not know. What I do know is that St. Paul was right in that it is a very human thing to sometimes do wrong when we know what is right. There are numerous examples such as the abuses of power and the unchecked greed of former Enron CEO and chairman, Ken Lay and former CFO, Andrew Fastow. And think of the millions of people who cannot escape destructive behaviors brought on by addictions – even when help is available.

And so, we often do not do the good we want, but the evil we do not want is what we do. Even our good intentions can become stumbling blocks. How many times have we, for example, when we've completed a good work, hope we'll be recognized or rewarded for it. We work hard, and end up becoming workaholics because we are desperate to prove something to someone. We make a sacrifice for someone else, and then feel prideful when we are not recognized for our selflessness.

The evidence of sinfulness is everywhere. In many areas of our country we can see glittering prosperity standing right beside appalling poverty. Greedy corporate types raid pension plans of workers. There is conflict and bloodshed all over the world supposedly in the name of peace. Children remain undernourished when the world has the capacity to feed every human being.

Although there is evidence of our sinfulness, not everything in the world is sinful. Although sin gets the most press, with a little looking one can find examples of the cardinal virtues – prudence, temperance, courage, and justice – the human characteristics the Greeks valued and that the Christians adopted.

To these four virtues, St. Paul added three more: love, hope, and faith (1 Cor 13). The Church called these three the theological virtues because of the church's belief that they came from God. St. Paul would agree, for he can see no other solution to the problem of inherent human sinfulness than God's grace. He says, "Who will rescue me from this body of death?" Who will help us get out of the mess of doing the evil we do not want to do? Through Jesus Christ, he exclaims! "Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!"

Paul sees Jesus and the power of God's grace acting through our faith in Jesus as a rescue. Our own good intentions won't rescue us – we will probably only stumble over our pride fullness if we try that route. More education, more money, more discipline, more time, more second chances; none of that will rescue us. What Paul realized is that God acting through Jesus Christ – and through each one of us – is what rescues us.

And what that means is that we are to stop wallowing in our own sinfulness. We are to stop feeling that we are so sinful as to be beyond redemption. What we are to do is remember that we have been rescued by Jesus Christ and then act as though that were true. That is what Jesus meant when he said in today's Gospel, "Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Jesus offers to take from us the burden that is ourselves, and with it the tendency to focus on ourselves and forget that Jesus came so that we might live life more abundantly.

Faith in God's grace is our relief from burden and our rescue. There is no point in holding onto our fears, no matter how grounded they seem; there is no point in refusing to forgive; there is no value to cheating, lusting, carping, stealing, lying, or harping about how bad people have been to us.

This does not mean we are perfect. By no means. It means we are forgiven, not flawless. It means we are forgiven and loved despite our sinful tendencies.

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Gen 24:34-38, 42-49, 58-67

[The servant of Abraham who had traveled to the city of Nahor] said, "I am Abraham's servant. The LORD has greatly blessed my master, and he has become wealthy; he has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male and female slaves, camels and donkeys. And Sarah my master's wife bore a son to my master when she was old; and he has given him all that he has. My master made me swear, saying, 'You shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I live; but you shall go to my father's house, to my kindred, and get a wife for my son.' "I came today to the spring, and said, 'O LORD, the God of my master Abraham, if now you will only make successful the way I am going! I am standing here by the spring of water; let the young woman who comes out to draw, to whom I shall say, "Please give me a little water from your jar to drink," and who will say to me, "Drink, and I will draw for your camels also"--let her be the woman whom the LORD has appointed for my master's son.' "Before I had finished speaking in my heart, there was Rebekah coming out with her water jar on her shoulder; and she went down to the spring, and drew. I said to her, 'Please let me drink.' She quickly let down her jar from her shoulder, and said, 'Drink, and I will also water your camels.' So I drank, and she also watered the camels. Then I asked her, 'Whose daughter are you?' She said, 'The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor's son, whom Milcah bore to him.' So I put the ring on her nose, and the bracelets on her arms. Then I bowed my head and worshiped the LORD, and blessed the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me by the right way to obtain the daughter of my master's kinsman for his son. Now then, if you will deal loyally and truly with my master, tell me; and if not, tell me, so that I may turn either to the right hand or to the left." And they called Rebekah, and said to her, "Will you go with this man?" She said, "I will." So they sent away their sister Rebekah and her nurse along with Abraham's servant and his men. And they blessed Rebekah and said to her, "May you, our sister, become thousands of myriads; may your offspring gain possession of the gates of their foes." Then Rebekah and her maids rose up, mounted the camels, and followed the man; thus the servant took Rebekah, and went his way. Now Isaac had come from Beer-lahai-roi, and was settled in the Negeb. Isaac went out in the evening to walk in the field; and looking up, he saw camels coming. And Rebekah looked up, and when she saw Isaac, she slipped quickly from the camel, and said to the servant, "Who is the man over there, walking in the field to meet us?" The servant said, "It is my master." So she took her veil and covered herself. And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent. He took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother's death.

Romans 7:15-25

I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good. But in fact it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me. So I find it to be a law that when I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self, but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Psalm 45:10-17

10 Hear, O daughter, consider and incline your ear;
forget your people and your father's house,

11 and the king will desire your beauty.
Since he is your lord, bow to him;

12 the people of Tyre will seek your favor with gifts,
the richest of the people 13 with all kinds of wealth.
The princess is decked in her chamber with gold-woven robes;

14 in many-colored robes she is led to the king;
behind her the virgins, her companions, follow.

15 With joy and gladness they are led along
as they enter the palace of the king.

16 In the place of ancestors you, O king, shall have sons;
you will make them princes in all the earth.

17 I will cause your name to be celebrated in all generations;
therefore the peoples will praise you forever and ever.

Matthew 11:16-19; 25-30

"But to what will I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to one another, 'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not mourn.' For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon'; the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds." At that time Jesus said, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. "Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

The Collect of the Day

O God, you have taught us to keep all your commandments by loving you and our neighbor: Grant us the grace of your Holy Spirit, that we may be devoted to you with our whole heart, and united to one another with pure affection; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

The Collect for Independence Day

Lord God Almighty, in whose Name the founders of this country won liberty for themselves and for us, and lit the torch of freedom for nations then unborn: Grant that we and all the people of this land may have grace to maintain our liberties in righteousness and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.