A pastor in South Bend saw me in the grocery store checkout line a few weeks ago. He saw the collar and explained that he was a local pastor and wanted to say “Hi.” We spoke briefly about the fields of the Lord. Finally he got to the point. “So what are you preaching this Sunday?” he asked. “Well it is going to be duty or grace,” I replied. He laughed and said “I was hoping you were going to give me some ideas.”
The truth is that really every sermon is about duty or grace OR it is about duty AND grace. I tend mostly to preach grace. Today is duty – just warning you. Duty is not a popular sermon topic.
Abraham Lincoln quoted Jesus in his famous “House Divided” speech. Lincoln said:
“A house divided against itself cannot stand.”
“I believe this government cannot endure permanently
half-slave and half-free.”
Jesus in our reading has been accused of being possessed, and He points out
“How can Satan cast out Satan?
If a kingdom is divided against itself,
that kingdom cannot stand.
If a house is divided against itself,
that house cannot stand.”
What exactly is this “house divided”? I think we tend to think of institutions like the church or the trustees of a corporation who are divided on some issue, and when this verse is quoted, it is usually when someone is really saying, “You are wrong and need to come around to my way of thinking or everything you like will be ruined.” I have a different reading here.
I am going to claim that each of us is a “house divided.” Paul in Romans 7:15 writes that “I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.” I claim we can all identify with Paul here. We are often in conflict with ourselves. We are tempted and have choices. Often enough we make bad ones and then have to decide if we should repent or write it off as a lesson learned. There are lots of ways we can be divided.
It is also possible to have a division or conflict about two options that are value neutral. Not every decision comes down to punching someone in the nose or turning the other cheek. So what do I major in at college? Which job offer do I take? When do I retire? I don’t want to discount the personal turmoil you go through making a decision of this sort. It is a a division that does not seem to align itself with good and evil. It is still not easy to decide. So what do you do? Division is division. You don’t want to be the “house divided.”
Time for a story.
Carl Weaver used to manage the Baltimore Orioles. Reggie Jackson was his star player. Weaver had a rule. Nobody one could steal a base unless given the steal sign. That upset Jackson, who felt that he could read the situation as well as anyone.
One day, Jackson decided to steal a base––sign or no sign. He got a good jump off the pitcher, and beat the throw to second base. He stood up, shook the dirt from his uniform and smiled. He had taken a chance, and had won.
After the game, Weaver called Jackson aside. He didn’t say, “Good job, Reggie.” He also did not shout at him. He just explained some facts.
- Fact one: The batter following Jackson was Lee May, a great power hitter. When Jackson stole second, he left first base open. That allowed the other team to walk May, robbing him of the opportunity for a hit.
- Fact two: The next batter was not a good hitter, so Weaver had to use a pinch hitter to drive in the men on base. That deprived him of strength later––when he needed it.
Jackson and Weaver had not been solving the same problem. Jackson had been trying to get to second base. Weaver had been trying to win the game.
Back to the “house divided.”
I claim the problem when we have a house divided is that we are not looking at the big picture. We are looking at trees and need to see forest. We are at ground level and need the view from 10000 feet. Use the image you like, but one way or another, we don’t have the right perspective. We don’t have the long view.
Like Reggie Jackson we only see only a bit of the game. Christ sees forever. He is happy to include us on the team, but he demands obedience. He says:
“Whoever does the will of God
The same is my brother and my sister and mother.”
It boils down to obedience. I am not talking about obedience to the nutcase preacher who is a bad shepherd and twists scriptures to control or manipulate. I am not talking about obedience to an abusive spouse. I am not talking about obedience to an authority figure who tells you to falsify some reports to hide wrongdoing. I am talking about obedience to God.
So how do you know? Sometimes the nutcase preacher can seem pretty compelling and throw a lot of Bible verses around. Sometimes it may seem that the spouse is abusive because you are a bad person. Sometimes you want to keep your job and don’t think anyone will notice. We are back to the house divided.
In the church we are always talking about discerning God’s will. I annually take public vows of obedience to the bishop. I repeat the ones I made when I was ordained. Every now and then the bishop will just tell you something. This will be an administrative matter of some sort and is not really open for discussion. Most of the time though the bishop will ask you to prayerfully consider that you might be called to do something. Any answer is correct, and he really does intend for you to consider prayerfully before you reply.
The bishop asked me to prayerfully consider that I might be called to preach the sermon for the Chrism Mass at the Cathedral a couple of years ago. As it happened, I had had a dream the night before that I was preaching at the Cathedral. I remembered the Gospel reading and two of my three preaching points. When he asked, it seemed obvious enough that I should say yes and ask if I could use the Scripture from my dream. Instead I told him I would pray about it and get back to him in a couple of days.
The difference is subtle but it is distinct. I want to be obedient to God’s will. The bishop also wants me to be obedient to God’s will. He does not want me to agree to preach a sermon of this sort unless I honestly feel called to do so. Discerning God’s call is often not a knee jerk reaction. Sometimes there is no opportunity to think much. Call is complex. If it were all about doing what we felt like doing we might very well be running for second because we can and not paying much attention to the game.
In the church we talk a lot about discernment. People who think they may be called to ordained ministry are admitted to discernment. This process helps them decide with others what God’s will really is. A disadvantage of this system I think is that it is a formal process for only some people. The truth is that all should be constantly discerning God’s will for us.
So – we don’t have a discernment committee, and we want to be obedient to God’s will. What should we do to help discern what that will might be?
We need to stay in fellowship with the brother’s and sisters here at church. There is a lot of wisdom in the various groups here at St. Thomas. Get feedback from people – and not just the ones you know will agree with you.
Stay active in the faith. We are not going to recognize God’s voice over all the noise in our lives if we only hear or read Scripture once a week. We need to stay in prayer and develop a relationship with God. Our faith is a muscle that needs exercise.
Finally, we need to wait for the manager to give us the sign. If you have a great idea for Sunday School tell Barb about it. Just doing it because you can is ignoring what she has planned or forgetting that it may not really fit with the curriculum.
We want to be obedient to God’s will.
The house divided can not stand.
God is the one with the long view. He sees where the pieces of the puzzle fit together.
To obey God we have to discern His will first. This is done in community and in prayer and the study of Scripture. The Holy Spirit is moving in decisions that seem value neutral. Look for it and ask for help. Watch for the sign.
I have said these words in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Sermon preached by Fr. Tom at St. Thomas, Plymouth
June 7, 2015; Second Sunday after Pentecost
1 Samuel 8:4-11, (12-15), 16-20, (11:14-15)
Psalm 138
2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1
Mark 3:20-35