Delvered by Rev Dr John Evans
On Sunday 8 August, 2010
Isaiah 1:1, 10-20
Psalm 50:1-8, 22-23
Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16
Luke 12:32-40
If one was looking for a title to this sermon today, it could be “Purses and Sacrifices”, or if you were here last Sunday, you might also call it “Possessions: The Sequel”.
In the gospel, back at the beginning of Luke 12, Jesus had been asked to adjudicate on an inheritance dispute. He declines, but perceives that in this well known situation of “where there is a will there is a relative”, the real issue is greed and a fixation over money and possessions. This attitude derails a person from a fulfilled life. He tells the story of the rich fool, who despite his obvious wealth dies with nothing; a hollow sort of death. However, as we found last week our relationship with our possessions can be problematic and ambiguous. Our life has to be able to deal with the material, stuff and possessions. Their manufacture and sale are the very basis of our economy, and an equitable distribution of material things and services is indeed a critical measure of justice. Jesus’ teaching points to the idolatry we show towards possessions, our abundant vice of greed, and it is not about absenting ourselves from the materiality of the world.
Yes, there will be material things in our life, but it is getting that balance between things and our spiritual life which is important. As Jesus says, here in Luke 12:33 “make purses for yourself that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven.” In other words, your true treasure will be you spiritual life.
So today we will look at this other side of the spiritual material divide – what are these “purses that will never wear out”. What is the nature of our spiritual life? Is our spiritual life, or the profound questions of what we believe and what gives meaning, simply reduced to ritual and what I might call religious practice – like coming to church? Surely that cannot be what Jesus was concerned about?
In our reading from Isaiah, the prophet brings a word of the Lord at 1:11:
“What to me are the multitude of your sacrifices . . I have had enough of burnt offerings!”
In a strange sense, even though we have never remotely even contemplated offering a sacrifice, these words of the prophet are connected with this spiritual treasure we are to seek. As I said, “purses and sacrifices”.
Let us however, first look at sacrifices. What are they? Why are they relevant to our spiritual journey?
Today we usually just associate the word, “sacrifice”, with the idea of having to give up something. It was a sacrifice to come to this service today – I could have been snuggled up in bed keeping warm, or whatever. People make sacrifices for their children. It is what loving parents do. One has to sacrifice something to achieve a particular goal: a new education qualification, weight loss – whatever. Of course, this is not what Isaiah was talking about. His concern was about religious practice and ritual – which in a sense is also giving up something.
In Hebrew the word for sacrifice is zebah – meaning literally, a killing or a slaughter. A sacrifice was literally the killing of a living creature. Remember that amazing, and troubling story of Abraham being commanded to sacrifice, to kill, his son Isaac. That story, and sacrifices generally, are rightly today viewed as being barbaric and inhuman. However, in Old Testament times they were very important. Indeed much of the book of Leviticus is about sacrifices – the different sorts of sacrifice, who could offer them, and when and where they should take place. Some sacrifices were seen as being gifts to God; others were seen as a means of releasing life – whether for the benefit of God, or for the worshipper. You see, it was the Hebrew belief that it was blood which contained life. So a sacrifice, which obviously contained blood, was an offering of life, the very basis of life, to God. Any sacrifice – whether it be a burnt offering, or peace offering, a sin offering, or guilt offering was about the restoration of the relationship between the worshipper, or worshippers and God. “Here is life – our life – given over again to your life.” The sacrifice – the ritual act, would restore life. We are talking here of something profoundly deep and spiritual.
So, as an important aside, we can easily see how the first Christians, who were good Jews, could see that Jesus’ death on the cross was seen to be a sacrifice, the supreme sacrifice. And why there is so much talk of blood – certainly in the sacrament of Holy Communion. One of the great images of the Christian tradition is that Christ is the Good Shepherd; but the Good Shepherd, the shepherd of the sheep, becomes in fact the lamb – the lamb of God, the very creature sacrificed to restore the relationship between the worshipper and God. Jesus’ own blood – not the blood of a lamb – the creature sacrificed at the time of Passover – brings about reconciliation between God and each one of us.
However, back to Isaiah. The trouble with sacrifices, says the Lord – is that this ritual killing and burning of animals, is that they have become just that, rituals. Worse – empty, hollow rituals. Rituals that were to be performed on certain days of the years – without any particular enthusiasm or change in heart of the person who was making the sacrifice. This was the word of the Lord that the prophet uttered. I hate your empty sacrifices; I can’t stand your burnt offerings. The language is strong. In fact I defy you to think of stronger language. “They are an abomination” – there is no stronger word of hate than this. How can you possibly think that there could be reconciliation between yourself and myself, says God, just through a hollow ritual. If you like, a complete failure of the spiritual life.
God cannot stand such empty behaviour. Again and again the prophets rail against such ritualistic behaviour, empty and long prayers and the like. Jesus similarly reserves his greatest condemnation to the “hypocrite” – especially the scribes and Pharisees – who heap ritualistic requirements on people, and all along within their heart, there is no love, or grace or compassion. They are spiritually dead. They do not have purses which will never wear out.
Isaiah is quite clear – the outward signs of the religious life will not save you. Rather, it is within. Look at yourself, Isaiah says:
“Wash yourself clean
Cease to do evil
Learn to do good
Seek justice
Rescue the oppressed
Defend the orphan
Plead for the widow” (Is.1:16.17)
Forget your ritual; rather have integrity in your life, acknowledging the needs of the world around you. Show love and compassion. Today we might say –walk the talk.
And clearly this is where Jesus’ talk of purses fits in. He also wishes to challenge our behaviour – and calls us to strive for the kingdom; for the kingdom of God. It is not through hollow sacrifices, or false piety, or through our possessions; but through seeking the kingdom of God. This kingdom you seek, and which God wishes you to attain, does not have the same values as this world. It begins however, with your spiritual life and what you believe and why. . . and that bubbles out into how you live your life – in the world.
Last Thursday week we began our Cartlon Conversations@The Clare – a part of our Austrlia Dreaming project. Forty five were there. I knew about a third of the folk – which meant about two thirds of the folk had just come along. Our speaker was Michelle Foster, a human rights lawyer, spoke eloquently on refugee law and the current debate about asylum seekers. Yet even she acknowledged it was difficult to get behind why she was such a passionate advocate in this area. Was it her family up-bringing, was it her Catholic education? It did not seem to be a spiritual driver – or perhaps it was?It was hope and not fear.
We all are very poor at articulating what we believe and why. As Wes Campbell asked that evening, why are we able to put our feet on the floor each morning when we get out of bed? Why was Michelle able to do this?
Isaiah’s answer was – it is not because you just act religiously. It is much more than performing the sacrifices required at different times and places. You are actually to believe something and it shows. In the simple, powerful phrase
“You learn to do good.”
In the time of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah– people were suffering, people were oppressed, people were crying out for justice, and all that was done was that the leadership of the nations killed a few beasts. And that was it. What do we say – fiddling while Rome burns; shuffling the deckchairs on the Titanic; style over substance. They just didn’t ‘get it’ that this was not indeed the spiritual life; a restored relationship with God. This was not God’s will. The prophet did not necessarily criticise these people because they did not know what to do. They however had to stop and look around them, and out of their belief “learn to do good, seek justice” – for God’s sake, don’t be disconnected with the world round about you. . . even in matters of spirituality.
I am not saying, nor do I think Isaiah is saying, the observable religious life, rituals of themselves are bad, or in his terms, all sacrifices are all automatically bad; but our sacrifices, our worship, our very presence at a church needs to first be connected and grounded in our faith and conviction of who God is, and who Jesus is for us.
So do we believe that Christ, indeed reconciles us with God?
In the Great Prayer of Thanksgiving in our service of Holy Communion – which itself can perhaps be reduced to just a spiritual ritual, we remember and relive the fact that by Christ’s blood we are restored into relationship with God – we also pray
“Father – accept us, as we offer and present ourselves, our souls and bodies to be a holy and living sacrifice. . . .”
At the end of the day this is the challenge; this was the challenge of the prophet Isaiah: in our own lives are we a holy and living sacrifice? As Jesus might say do we have a purse which does not wear out – and because of that we show and share that treasure in heaven with others and here in Carlton.
We began with possessions and things of the world. They are not everything. A spiritual life is required. However, even a spiritual life can’t be lived disconnected from the people and things of this world. It needs to be shown in action.
“Learn to do good
Seek justice
Rescue the oppressed
Defend the orphan
Plead for the widow” (Is.1:16.17)
Somewhere in the midst of all of this you will have a purse that does not wear out. A treasure in heaven.
