It's About the Relationship

It is Not About the Law, It Is About the Relationship  

Isaiah 58:9b-14

Luke 13:10-17 

In my reading for this week’s sermon, I have bumped into several admonitions to be aware of how prone we all are at judging against others, and taking joy in feeling superior. I have already detailed for you my history of sarcasm, which is rooted in self pride and disdain for others. 

It takes work to recognize snap judgments as sin, it is hard to call it sin when it feels so good and so natural. I have excused it pretending that it demonstrates intellectual awareness. I have tried to justify it, as an exercise of artistic expression. I know at least a hundred ways to try to fool myself, but sin is sin. 

Why is it a sin to aim fun at those who have different opinions, especially if those opinions seem dangerous and offensive? Each of these souls, misguided or not, are children of God. I am wholly unable to positively influence those who are astray, if I put them down and put them on the defensive. I cannot begin to understand the anxiety that drove them to their fear/hate of immigrants, or blacks, or gays, if I dismiss them out of hand. 

The book of the prophet Isaiah, is generally regarded as the work of at least three different preachers. Isaiah One, warned the people of the coming doom and defeat at the hands of Babylon if they refused to change their ways and behave more faithfully. Isaiah Two, reassured the community during the protracted Exile, that God was Still God, and they would one day be restored. Isaiah Three, offered a word of hope to the returning community. In amidst the piles of destruction, and decades of abandonment, the city of Jerusalem could rise from the ashes to praise God. 

Today we read from Isaiah Three, preaching to the community who is seeking to restore the city of Jerusalem. But the prophet is not patting them on the back, and telling them that they are brave and virtuous. No, the prophet is telling them that they must find their sense of identity in serving God by feeding the hungry, caring for the ailing. Success in this endeavor depends on their success as the people of God, not their position as the people of Jerusalem. 

In what might be a simplification for oratorical purposes, Isaiah says to quit using the Sabbath to further your own interests, and give God what God is due. These pressures have existed forever. 

We remember a time before cell phones, when a person was off for the weekend, and the boss would never call. Don’t you feel sorry for the folks who are trying to run a business today? The temptation to let the business consume the bulk of your attention 24/7 has to be overwhelming. Even this pastor with a part-time position, always has a part of his brain focused on those in need of prayer, and how can I use any passing idea as a sermon illustration. 

Do you remember a time when Sunday was a time for large family gatherings? Do you remember visiting parents and grandparents on a Sunday afternoon? Wasn’t it almost always on a Sunday when you saw the out of town cousins? It is far less common today, and we are the poorer for it. 

Bev Anderson recalled her mother teaching her not to pick up a needle and thread to make a repair, or restore a button on a Sunday. We never went quite that far in my house. But we never missed church. We dressed up for church and had to change right away when we got home so the good clothes would last. In my house, as the oldest boy, my clothes were destined to be passed down to Joe, then Terry and then Pat. Since the girls were born next, only a few of my clothes were left for Peter, 16 years my junior. 

I am not longing for the good old days. But I am saying that times change, and expectations change. What used to be normal and usual in the community, is not honored in the same way today. 

So how does a faithful person honor the Sabbath today? In the gospel of Luke, we find Jesus in the synagogue on the Sabbath. He is moved to pity for the ailing woman, and cures her. In doing so, he receives the wrath of the leader of the synagogue. 

In Luke’s gospel, we know the he is writing to a predominantly Gentile community. They are struggling with the relationship between the Christians and Jews. What is the right balance? In this part of the gospel, Jesus has turned his attention to helping the disciples to be responsible for their faith. He wants them to seek the spirit of the Sabbath, and avoid getting stuck in the many laws about the Sabbath. 

While this is not the first time Jesus causes a stir by his behavior in the synagogue on the Sabbath, this is the last time in Luke’s gospel that we see Jesus teaching in the synagogue. For Luke’s congregation, this marks a turn in their understanding. Being a follower of Christ, extends the tradition of the Jews, but it is not bounded by the Jewish expression of faith. 

The point then, is that expressions of mercy and justice - marks of the community - are acceptable for the Sabbath. Take time away from pursuing your own interests, and make your relationship with God the centerpiece of the day is how to do the Sabbath. 

But many people work on Sunday. I get it. I worked many years at the power plant. Our customers were so selfish, they wanted the lights to work and air conditioners to run on Sunday. Heck, they even wanted their Christmas tree lights to work on Christmas. Some people have to work on Sunday. 

So what day is your Sabbath? When do you take time off, to think about God, and be attentive to your family? And why would we even bother? 

Isaiah says, that we would be a success as the people of God, we would behave in the ways God has instructed us. We would stop judging the poor, and feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the sick.  

If we would honor the Sabbath, we would be attentive to God. You see, prayer is two way communication. We tell God what is on our hearts, and God directs us as to what God imagines for us to do. We need to leave some brain space, some heart space, some energy, to listen for God and to respond to what God has in mind. 

Our relationship with God is measured in how we relate to each other, and represent our faith in the community. The greatest gift we can share with our wider community is care and attentiveness. The greatest gift we can give the world in anxious times, is the peace of Christ. 

So I want to insert a song, titled “The Pastor Chuck Theme Song,” that addresses the function of relationship within the faith community. This was at the heart of my work at the United Church of Christ in Spring Valley. 

The heart of today’s passage is not that the laws of the Sabbath do not matter. We need the Sabbath. It nourishes and strengthens us. It acts as a compass, helping us to keep aligned. But the Sabbath is not made to test obedience. The Sabbath is about the relationship. 

A principle of community life is to honor the relationship above the task. The carry over from the business world that sneaks into the church, is to become so oriented to the task at hand, we neglect the people we do it with. A sober and dutiful choir may have great discipline, but if they neglect each other, the music lacks the power to change lives and build love. Changing lives requires relationship.