Sermon - June 22, 2008 - Ordinary Time: Sunday 12

Vicar Mark Niethammer

Don’t cry over spilt milk. Don’t use a lot where a little will do. These and hundreds, if not thousands of proverbs are in our culture, and give a nugget of wisdom about some part of life whether it be about winning, losing, mistakes, or family life. They guide us and some have had profound influence on our lives. One that I remember my brother saying to me all too frequently that has remained with me all these years is, “never miss a good chance to shut up.” These maxims are even relevant to our life and experiences of God. 

There is one old adage about God’s action in our lives that is somewhat helpful in our understanding of today’s texts, but is also criticized by them. The saying is, “God accepts us where we are.” I have no doubt that this phrase has helped many people throughout the years get through some difficult times, and probably even helped people discover God’s love for them even when they were trying to forget that there even is a God. But the saying has its limits.

Inherent in this phrase is another maxim that we Lutheran Christians hold near and dear, “Justification by grace alone through faith alone.” If God accept us where we are, then we are justified, freed, forgiven here, now, in our current place. There is nothing I can do to win my salvation, so God must accept me here, now, knee deep in my own issues and wrongdoings. 

But is there more?…does God accept me where I am…period? 

Paul’s first question to the hearers in Rome is similar to the question of whether there is more than just having God accept us where we are. He asks, “Should we continue in sin in order that grace may abound?” I see the maxim about God accepting us where we are and this question as the same thing; in that, if God accepts us where we are and that is the end of it, then isn’t that really allowing us to continue to sit in the festering pool of our own sin? Paul would say, yes.

We were all dead in sin, but because of the saving work of Christ, we have been moved past it, and are free from living in its bonds. This is where an addition to the maxim is necessary. No longer should the maxim say, “God accepts us where we are” but changed to, “God accepts us where we are and won’t leave us there.” 

Christ’s rescuing of humanity has happened, so our justification has been won. With that comes the next part of the new saying. God won’t leave us there, God didn’t leave us there. By grace we have been saved; by grace, God has met us where we are, and by grace, we are transformed. That is the key to understanding Paul’s text today and it is that key that can move us to what Jesus tells us in the Gospel reading.

Because of the grace we have received, we are transformed. At our baptisms we were transformed, made new…the same…and yet different. We were brought into the body of Christ and that cannot be reversed. With that, we have been baptized into the life of Jesus, into the death of Jesus, and into the resurrection of Jesus. We have been crucified with Jesus and live in sin no more. It is the transformation that allows us to be alive to God, in Christ Jesus, as Paul says.

All of this is truly is good news. It frees us to live lives not for ourselves, but because of our redemption on account of Christ, we can live for each other, serving our Lord. Through the transformation that happens to us through grace, we are made into the body of Christ. It happens at our baptisms, it happens when we partake of the Holy Meal where we actually eat and drink the body and blood of Christ. These things change us. We become one with Christ and are made to do his work in the world, a work that is rarely easy, but nobody said it would be.

Jesus tells us to proclaim what he says from the housetops, but don’t be surprised if it brings rifts in the family. He says that we are of more value than sparrows and all the hairs on our heads are counted, but remember that when it is our head on the line, we must profess Jesus as Lord of all, even if that means condemnation from this society.

This freedom that we receive on account of Christ can appear as if we are not free at all, but then again, true freedom is not simply the random, directionless life, but the genuine humanness that reflects the image of God. God’s grace transforms us into the image of God and empowers us to be a transforming force here, now in this time.

We are given the opportunity to be grace, to be transformation, to show others that God accepts them where they are, and through the liberating Word of our Lord, they too can be made whole. Helping others receive their daily bread is one way of being that transforming power in this world. Telling people of what God has done for them can allow someone to see that God is for them too. And, when we slip back into the pit of our own depressions, guilt, and the darkness of our lives, we can recall that because of the saving work of Christ, we are not alone. Christ is with us, guiding us, leading us to Himself to live in the kingdom of glory that has no end. God is light, God is with each of us, and God’s grace seeks us out, finds us exactly where we are, and moves us to God. 

Amen 

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