5 Pentecost 2007 Zion, Washington

This is the first time since Lent that we get to look at a list of potential sins; except, this time, instead of being the Ten Commandments, we get one of St. Paul's lists of the "works of the flesh". Lists of sins always makes for exciting reading.

(James Michner, in his book Hawaii, wrote that the Congregationalist missionaries from New England were not only horrified to see the way that the Hawaiians dressed - or didn't dress, to be more precise, and they were stunned and appalled by all the various sexual sins that were common practice among the Hawaiians. The problem was: How did they deal with the situation? On one hand, if they only listed a few, the Hawaiians would say, "Well, I'm not doing that, so I guess I'm OK." On the other hand, if they wrote out all of the possibilities, they were afraid that the Hawaiians would say, "Aha! I never thought of that before. Sounds like fun." So they came up with the phrase, "No mischievous sleeping"; a phrase that still brings a smile to a Hawaiian's face.)

Every culture is a lot more fascinated with lists of what we can't do than we are with lists of things we can do. All you have to do is to contrast St. Paul's list of the "works of the flesh" with his list of the "fruits of the Spirit". The former is titillating. The latter is sobering. Mark Twain once wrote, "I'd rather be in heaven for the climate and in hell for the company." and I believe that it was Oscar Wilde who said, "I can resist anything but temptation." All of which is to say, when it comes to the naughty or selfish or edgy, or dangerous things in life, we can hardly resist testing the waters, or at least sneaking a peek. Sometimes, we stride on into those "works of the flesh" with a sense of determination and entitlement, bound to do harm. After all, St. Paul did write, "Sin boldly, that the grace of God may abound all the more." It's a lot less titillating if you take that sentence in context, though; because, by definition, a sin is a sin because it does do harm. It does damage. It has the potential to destroy not only the victim, but also the perpetrator, the sinner; as well as all sorts of innocent by-standers.

Look at the daily column of stories of arrests in the newspaper. The criminals are as harmed and damaged and destroyed as the victims. No one wins. What looks fascinating is, in fact, destructive and it's also self-destructive. And hardly anyone thinks about the pain and anguish and suffering of the families and the friends of the victims and of the sinners.

One of my ideas that Stephen King found compelling and intriguing when we were working on his book Desperation, was that evil is like a self-destructive parasite. When if finally overwhelms its host, it also has to die. Or to quote John Donne's meditation, "Any man's death diminishes me." We are all affected by the deaths that sins cause. Taken lightly, the Ten Commandments and St. Paul's list, here in the 5th chapter of his Letter to the Galatians, are a springboard for some exciting fantasies. But, put into practice, they are truly harmful and they are truly destructive for everyone involved, whether actively or as a spectator. No one is left undamaged. So we Christians always step in and offer people the opportunity to repent, to confess, to be forgiven - if not pardoned, and to launch into a new way of life that his healthy and good, and even holy and godly.

 St. Paul's list of the "fruits of the Spirit" are a lot less interesting to read, but they are the only thing that we should leave in the wake of our lives as we trundle along this mortal coil. As St. Paul rightly wrote, There is no law against generous :love, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, or self-control."

The First Reading and the Gospel are stories of people like you and me becoming the disciples of, on one hand, Elijah, and on the other hand, our Lord Jesus Christ. In the first case, Elisha was allowed to go back and bid his parents farewell, destroy his means of a livelihood, hold a banquet, and then dash after Elijah. Jesus was less lenient. If you expressed a willingness to follow Him, He was insistent that you follow Him immediately, without any going back. Famously, He said, "Let the dead bury the dead." and "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God."

At the same time, He did not condemn the people to whom He went, but who would not receive Him. He once said, "Many are called, but few are chosen." And He rebuked His disciples for offering to call down fire from heaven to consume the Samaritan villages that didn't want anything to do with Him and His disciples because He was headed to Jerusalem, to people who hated the Samaritans with a perfect hatred; a perfect racial prejudice.

My point being, that we have chosen a demanding Lord and Master, who has very specific expectations of us, that show themselves in lives that are defined by things like generous love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control; because if we build our lives upon the foundation of the Holy Virtue; then we cannot escape the continuous inspirations of God for our lives.

Yes. To say that "God has a Plan for our lives" feels a bit constricting; as though there were only one way to go, so most Christians don't find that a compelling or attractive phrase, except as an excuse when something really disastrous happens, as a futile attempt at the consolation of some other person. Most of us are more drawn to God, continuously inspiring us to make wise decisions and right actions; as a collaboration of good and holy life. Regardless of our age or our "life experience" (to coin a phrase), we always have the opportunity to start building our lives on that foundation of Holy Virtue; and to continue to build our lives in such ways that work for good and integrity and charity and liberty for all.

As a nation, we are starting to turn the corner, away from music and the other forms of entertainment that degrade women and hold people up to ridicule. Belligerent, outrageous "talking heads" on radio and television are being reigned in, and limits are being set on just how appalling and cheaply inflammatory they can be.

Our nation is starting to discover that our lives - politically, socially, or professionally - are not enhanced by a culture that encourages anger, selfishness, dissension, party spirit, envy, drunkenness, carousing or any of those other things on St. Paul's list. All three branches of our national government are experiencing their lowest public approval ratings in decades. And this has nothing to do with political parties, the general dissatisfaction of the American people cuts right across party lines.

So we are starting to demand - politically, socially, and professionally - that American life be more characterized by goodness and integrity and charity and liberty for all. We are starting to recognize that one of the ways that we will regain those things is to build upon a strong and sure spiritual foundation, relying on God, being more open to inspiration than we are to temptation, and demanding that our official and unofficial leaders be men and women of good character and of integrity, who have the best interest of their followers at heart.

On this Fourth of July week-end, we may well cherish the separation of Church and State, in ways that have prevented any one denomination from being the official state Church of the USA - even though we Episcopalians had first shot at it. But we must never forget that all of the governments of this earth rise and fall under the Hand of God.

This coming Wednesday, there'll be a raft race, a watermelon eating context, a watermelon seed spitting contest and a jalapeno eating contest. But in the evening, at 7 o'clock, there'll be a Gospel music concert in the Civic Center. So far as I can tell, it's the only official religious event on that day. However, St. Peter's Church will have Eucharists at 7am and 11am, so that the greater Washington community can begin and end the Fourth of July with some time with God and with godly people.

Especially this week, it is well worth remembering that, even if our political, professional and social leaders lack character or integrity, one of the mottos of our nation is still, "In God we trust." And, with only a little reflection, we can see that we have tons of things in this country for which to thank God.

I still shudder when I remember the chaos that was running rampant in New Orleans in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina until the United States military intervened and cut through all of the galloping stupidity and ineptitude of the national, state and local governmental agencies who were supposed to have been prepared for just such a huge disaster - being after "9-11" and all that.

It became very clear to me that it would have been perfectly simple - in the midst of all that civilian confusion - for our nation's military to have toppled our government and installed a military dictatorship, backed by the best weapons and most highly trained soldiers in the world and cut through all of the politics in order to create an efficient, effective national government, in ways that the natural clumsiness of a representative democracy can never do.

But they did not. Our nation's military leaders exercised incredible restraint and used only those tactics necessary to bring order out of the chaos in New Orleans and elsewhere along the Gulf Coast, and then they stepped back and submitted to the civilian authority whom they are sworn to serve. Thank God.

This is the week to reflect on our blessings and to repent of our sins as a nation, a state, a county, a city, and as a household; and to set about to reorient ourselves away from those things we ought not do to those things that we ought to do, and to do them.

Our natural tendency is to deny that we have any responsibility for taking an interest in those things for which we have elected officials. But all you have to do is spend a few minutes watching our elected County Commissioners meetings to see that it is not so much our elected officials who keep this county moving forward, but that paid employee who serves both as an inexhaustible resource and a guiding rudder for our elected county officials. Every time I see Paul Spruill, I tell him I think he's under-paid, regardless of what he makes.

In fact, we do have a responsibility for taking an interest in those things for which we have elected, hired or appointed officials, in our government, in our church, and in our social organizations. And Fourth of July Week is an excellent time to reflect on those responsibilities; with the goal of supporting the good that those people do, and helping those who do less well either to improve on their deficiencies or mobilize other people to do for those leaders what they cannot do for themselves.

At Christmas, we remembered that "God is with us", "Emmanuel". And in our lives, we have discovered that nothing can separate us from the love of God. Given these assurances, how can we not do our part to make our nation and our community, better and better, more honorable, with character, integrity, and with liberty and justice for all?

Independence Day is a holy day in the Episcopal Church. I invite you to observe it with