Saints and Sinners
Luke 6:20-31
October 23, 2016
Mark S. Bollwinkel
In the course of a normal week, a
pastor hears a lot of good reasons why one should not come to
church. When preachers run into
parishioners at the grocery store, or coming out of a movie or at the mall, we
hear all sorts of good reasons; “I can experience God best outdoors, at the
beach or in the mountains or while playing golf [I’m told that God’s name is
uttered quite often on the golf course!]”; “We’ve got to take the kids to
soccer, or T-ball little league, or dance lessons on Sunday mornings, it’s the
only time they offer these activities”; “You know Pastor, the church is full of
sinners and I just don’t want to associate with religious hypocrites.”
I usually hear this reason from someone
who has been slighted or hurt in the past by the insensitivity of a pastor or
parishioner. Someone who has seen a
congregation betray its ideals.
And of course, they are right. Each and every church is full of sinners far
more than saints.
Vance Havner writes about people
who come to church to be entertained. He
tells of a church that brought in a performing horse. They asked the horse how many commandments
there were in the Bible and he stomped ten times. How many apostles and he stomped twelve
times. Some nitwit in the crowd asked
how many hypocrites there are in this church and the horse went into a dance on
all fours.
Much has been written describing
the decline of the Protestant church in America. I’ve mentioned it in a variety of settings as
it affects the United Methodist Church. According to the Pew Religious Survey, the
single largest group to increase in the past decade is people who say they
don’t subscribe to any religious affiliation at all. Most aren’t atheists rather they believe in
God but prefer not to get involved in religious institutions. We call them “spiritual not religious”. One fifth of the US public and a third of
adults under the age of 30 are reportedly unaffiliated with any religion,
however they identify as being spiritual in some way. This is especially true of the “Millennial
Generation”; 35% of those between the ages of 18-29 identify themselves as
“spiritual not religious”.
Consider the public face of
Christianity today. TV evangelists blame
hurricanes and earthquakes on the people they condemn. Clergy sexual abuse scandals have alienated
millions from institutional churches. Our own denomination is on the brink of schism
over the full inclusion of the LGBTQ community. Is it any wonder that young people are
staying away?
Research suggests that Millennials
perceive that most church goers have little interest in actually living like
Jesus, rather they see the church as a social club for like-minded people (Pew
Research Forum, JANUARY 8, 2016, “Q&A: Why Millennials are less religious
than older Americans”).
In our gospel lesson this morning
from Luke the author edits Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount (chapters 5-7) juxtaposing
saints from sinners. He defines the
saints by the faith and hope of the marginalized in society over against the
privileged sinners who live indifferent to the claims of God on their lives.
The church
can be full of hypocritical, prideful and self-centered people. We don’t live up to our values. And I am the first among them! (I
Corinthians 15:9)
Someone
once asked Gandhi, “What is the greatest enemy of Jesus Christ in India
And yet,
here we are. Frail, fragile, often
confused people who come, many of us week in and week out, seeking something
more out of life than we can find without the church in our lives. The beauty of worship, the potential of
faith and the inspiration of those who indeed live saintly lives compels us to
be here still. If one need proof of
the power of God one need only consider that the message of the church and its
hope has lived for 2,000 years despite the shortcomings and failure of our
all-too human institution!
One of the
main things that keeps this sinner in the church is the example of the saints I
keep running into in places like this. I
won’t embarrass them by calling them out but you know who I am talking about.
A week from Tuesday we observe All
Saints Day, traditionally the first day of November, remembering the witness of
the saints who have gone before us, whose lives of grace, sacrifice and love
inspire us even today. On all Saints Day,
we look beyond the shadows of death to hold up that which is eternal and lasting
in lives well lived. We remember our
parents, our friends and our heroes who although no longer living, remain in
our hearts very much alive in God’s love.
Saints, it is said, are sinners who
go on trying.
And they have names.
Oseola
McCarty* was born in Marion County, Mississippi Mississippi
Oseola
McCarty never married. She did not have any children. She did not own a car.
Even with the extreme warmth of the Mississippi
She
began saving money when she was very young. Her habit of saving and investing a
portion of her earnings continued throughout her career. She lived simply and
never wastefully. She worked hard and bought only what she needed. Due to good work and saving habits McCarty
accumulated a great deal of money.
McCarty's
donation of $150,000 to the University of Southern Mississippi is the largest
gift given by an African-American to that university. Though she was unable to
complete her own education, it was her intention that her gift would make it
possible for many others in financial need to do so. Years ago,
African-American students were not allowed to attend the University of Southern
Mississippi. Now, with McCarty's support, and numerous matching gifts to her
scholarship fund, African-American students have an opportunity to fulfill
their dreams of a college education.
Rick Bragg, a New York Times correspondent
and a Southerner, won the Pulitzer Prize in 1996 for a package of stories he
wrote, including this one about Oseola McCarty. Before she died of liver cancer
he had the opportunity to meet her at her modest home.
"…here was this little biddy
woman in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, who had given away everything she had ever
worked for... She spent the better part of an afternoon with me and she turned
on her air conditioner for me, just to be nice," said Bragg. "She
didn't use it unless company was there.
"She was holding this Bible...
It was held together with Scotch tape. I think all of us who grow up in the
South have seen that. You know, you don't throw away a Bible just because the
cover wears out. It had Corinthians sticking out -- and practically every other
part of the Bible.
"We just talked about why she
did it (gave away her savings) and I think that's one reason why…In 1995, she
knew that her death, if not imminent, was coming. She made that wonderful gift
in anticipation of that. What really surprised people -- and what surprised her
-- was what that gift did during the interim.
"She gave the gift in
anticipation of dying and lived in a way in those four years after the gift
that most people couldn't imagine," Bragg said. "Shaking hands with
the President, being honored by the United Nations, being honored by people of
all colors everywhere around the country -- it just doesn't happen."
"They just don't make people
like that anymore," he added. "I mean, my mama's like that, but they
just don't make people like that anymore... I've always said if judgment day
came and I couldn't hide under my mama's porch -- because I know I'd be safe
there -- I'd try to hide under Miss McCarty's." (“Oseola McCarty’s Tattered Bible Was
Scotch-taped”, Phil Hearn, September 29, 1999)
I wonder what part of Corinthians
Ms. McCarty used so much over a lifetime that it would fall out of her Bible;
-“Love is patient; love is kind;
love is not envious or boastful, arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way;’ it is
not irritable or resentful. Love does
not rejoice in the wrong but rejoice in the right. Love bears all this, believes all things,
hopes all things, and endures all things. Love never ends…the greatest is
love.” (I Cor. 13:4-8, 13)
-“So we do not lose heart. Even though out outer nature is wasting away,
our inner nature is being renewed day by day.
For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight
of glory beyond all measure…” (II Cor.
4:16-17)
-“My grace is sufficient for you,
for power is made perfect in weakness. So I will boast all the more gladly of
my weakness so that the power of Christ may dwell in me…for whenever I am weak,
then I am strong.” (II Cor. 12:8-10)
All of these and more would be
recipes for saintly living; love, courage, hope. Saints aren’t perfect people. They are just forgiven people who to the
best of their ability put God at the center and then live like it.
Saints, it is said, are sinners who
go on trying.
And they have names.
Remember today those who have gone
before you and have left indelible marks in your life for good and beauty and
truth. Celebrate the memories of love
and grace from the people that have mattered most to you that continue to
inspire your living. And name them in
your hearts.
We all want
to see our church institutions grow and prosper. Let us pray that our own examples of faith are
so compelling that they invite people to come and join us on the journey rather
than keep them away.
Amen.
*(Adapted from a paper developed by a student taking a
Philanthropic Studies course taught at the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana
University. It is offered by “Learning To Give” of the Council of Michigan
Foundations and the Indiana University Center on Philanthropy. This page may be
reproduced for educational, noncommercial uses only, all other rights reserved.
© Council of Michigan
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