SIN
SERMON PREACHED BY FR. TONY NOBLE ON September 12th, 2010
Luke 15:10 “There is joy before the angels of God
over one sinner who repents.”
Sin! One of the less romantic aspects of being a priest is that you have to deal with sin. Firstly, your own sin. Scripture says that it is an awful thing to put yourself in the hands of the living God. For a priest, it means acknowledgement of your unworthiness. You know that you’ll be judged by a higher standard, not only by God, but by your parishioners.
There’s an old saying, “To stand before the people for God; and stand before God for the people.” This describes the role of the priest. “To stand before the people for God, and stand before God for the people.” But who would dare to stand in the place of the only mediator and advocate, Jesus Christ?
It’s not only his unworthiness and sins that the priest must deal with; he also has to deal with the sins of others. In the confessional, he must give advice and counsel, as well as absolution.
Sometimes, the priest is called to deal with sinful situations within the parish. Perhaps, even confront people with their wrongdoings. The spiritual health of a parish and its’ people demands this – but it is never something a priest enjoys. Nor is it something he wants to do.
St. Gregory the great summed up the dilemma of a priest and sin when he spoke about the prophet Ezekiel being appointed a watchman – much like the shepherd that seeks the sheep. “A watchman,” St. Gregory says, “takes up his position on the heights so that he can see from a distance whatever approaches.”
He goes on to say about himself, “When I speak, it is myself that I am reproaching…….Since taking on my shoulders the burden of pastoral care, I’ve been unable to keep steadily recollected, because my mind is distracted by many responsibilities. How can I do justice to the sacred ministry of the Word?” exclaims Gregory. He goes on to bewail his manifold sins and weaknesses, and concludes, “Yet the Creator and Redeemer of mankind can give me, unworthy though I be, the grace to see life whole, and power to speak effectively of it. It is for love of him that I do not spare myself in preaching him.”
These words were spoken and written over 1400 years ago, but they could have been written by me, or any priest, yesterday.
That is why my text, Luke 15:10, is so important. All of us are sinners – but there is joy in heaven when we repent. As St. Paul said in his first Epistle to Timothy, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.”
Jesus came for that very purpose, because there are two things proper to God:
The honor we must pay him in confessing our sins, and the power of forgiveness, which he pours abundantly over us.
The words of Luke 15:10, where Jesus says that the angels rejoice over one sinner that repents, are quite profound. This verse is a fundamental link between the two parables – the lost sheep and the lost coin – and what follows. These are, probably, two of the best known parables. What follows is one of the most popular parables of all – the parable of the prodigal son. That parable concludes with the father welcoming back his son with joy and tears. The banquet that follows is surely an image of the joy of the angels of God when one sinner repents.
In Luke 15 Jesus begins with these two parables. They tell us that God will search us out, wants to bring back the lost. Then he concludes with the marvellous story of God’s overwhelming love and forgiveness as shown to the prodigal son. The link between these two sections is the note of joy in heaven.
Perhaps we aren’t great sinners? Most of us are just ordinary Christians, trying to do our best. In fact today, you rarely hear the word ‘sin’ mentioned in church at all!
qIf we are not great sinners, we are certainly like sheep. Most sheep don’t wander away on purpose. They just keep their heads down while munching on the grass. Their concern is only for the present moment, and what lies directly in front of them. When they look up, lo, the rest of the flock has vanished!
That’s how it is with many people. We don’t mean to get lost from God. We just get tied up in our own needs and what confronts us – our families, finances, health, time, and priorities. It all gets away from us, doesn’t it? And we get away from God in the process.
C.S. Lewis, the great Anglican theologian, said that it doesn’t take a big sin to take us out of orbit around God, just a little distraction will do.
Jesus is the Good Shepherd. We are like lost sheep, and he wants to bring us back. He came from heaven and gave his life on the cross to make it possible. But we have to go with him. We have to follow the Shepherd, and not be distracted.
He waits for us today, as he always does, on the altar, in the most holy sacrament of Holy Communion. After we’ve met him at the altar, we will say words that should be our continual response day-by-day:
So to assist us with thy grace that we may continue in that holy fellowship and do all such good works as thou hast prepared for us to walk in.