Sermon 5th Sunday after Epiphany - 10th February 2019 -
Text – Isaiah 6:1-8 - Respecting authority
I’m not sure
how you feel about it – and maybe it’s just my age showing – but I get really
annoyed when I hear our Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, referred to as ScoMo.
To me it
seems like a lack of respect for the office he carries.
Even when he
is being interviewed and they refer to him as Scott – it really irks me as a
sign of disrespect.
The correct
way off addressing our current Prime Minister is The Honourable Scott Morrison
MP or Prime Minister Morrison or even Mr Morrison.
This lack of
respect for authority probably began back a generation or two when school
teachers started telling students to call them by their first name.
Today we see
a real lack of respect for authority, whether it be police, firefighters,
paramedics, teachers or Pastors.
I get shocked
when I watch a TV show, Highway Patrol, that follows real life police action in
Melbourne and the abuse they cop from people as they uphold the law.
We’ve even
seen a growing incidence of paramedics being bashed and abused while trying to
save the life of a person.
Teachers and
even parents are fearful of exercising the authority they have for fear that
they may be sued or prosecuted.
I also
wonder whether this lack of respect is a significant contributor to the decline
in the church in society today.
But I also
wonder whether it’s a lack of understanding of what authority is that has seen
a rejection of authority in society.
Let’s first
understand what authority is NOT.
Authority is
not a right to abuse people.
The
disciples were being given authority by Jesus and he explains to them:
“You know
that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials
exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become
great among you must be your servant. Just
as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life
as a ransom for many.”
A person who
is given authority is given authority to help and serve others.
Sadly we
don’t always see that, including in the church.
We see
people abuse their authority to put people down.
Like other
authorities we have seen the church use its authority to suppress people.
We have seen
a misinterpretation of the word “submit” when there is a call to submit to
authority.
And as a
result, instead of trying to understand authority and submission people have
rejected it and in a sense “outlawed” it.
Let’s have a
look at 2 examples that we have in our bible readings today of authority.
First we
have Isaiah:
I saw the
Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and the hem of his robe filled the
temple. Seraphs were in attendance above him. And one called to another and
said: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord
of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory." The pivots on the
thresholds shook at the voices of those who called, and the house filled with
smoke. And I said: "Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips,
and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the
Lord of hosts!"
Here we can
see that in the presence of authority there can be a response of fear, like
when you see a police car on the road and you immediately look how fast you’re
going.
God’s
response to fear is to remove it:
Then one of
the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar
with a pair of tongs. The seraph touched my mouth with it and said: "Now
that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is
blotted out."
Likewise in
our Gospel reading when Peter discovers that he is in the presence of the
promised Messiah of God: He says:
Go away from
me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!"
Jesus
responds to Peter’s fear: "Do not be afraid”
A submission
to authority allows that authority to protect you and in the case of God it
allows God to use you in service to him and others.
For both
Peter and Isaiah once their fear of God was removed then ALL fear of everything
was removed.
For Isaiah: Then
I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go
for us?" And I said, "Here am I; send me!"
For Peter: "Do
not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people." When they had
brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.
I think we
have a lot of work to do as church to re-educate the world around us of what
our authority means.
That it’s an
authority that wants to serve society for the betterment of society.
When Martin
Luther explains the 10 Commandments he begins each explanation with “we are to
fear, love and trust God so that …”
This is a
fear that loves and trusts God in whatever he calls us to do.
It is a fear
that actually removes all other fear from us as we live our daily lives.
We live in a
world where there is much to fear at times but as Jesus says - Do not be afraid
of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the
One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
Jesus is not
telling us to be afraid of God but to not be afraid of those who don’t have any
true authority over us.
When we go
out into the world knowing that God is the authority under which we live and
that his authority is to protect and serve us then we can live a life that is
of great benefit to the world we live in.
But it
begins with a respect for God – who God is – what God does – and how God acts
in the world.
God does not
want to supress us but he wants us to accept and understand his authority.
And we best
understand and accept his authority by showing that same servanthood and love
to others to regain the respect of the world around us.
But it
begins here and our respect of God.
If we can’t
respect God how can we respect one another created in God’s image.
In God’s
holy house we respect one another in the body of Christ.
If we can’t
respect one another here – our brothers and sisters in Christ – how can we
respect others.
From here we
respect our families.
If we can’t
respect the ones we love and who are closest to us, how can we love and respect
others?
God gifts us
with our church and families so we can exercise love and respect in a close and
safe environment.
We live out
in our church and families what God lives out with us.
We learn
from God and how he treats us to how we are to live our lives her in church and
in our families and then take that out into the world and treat others in the
same way.
As God has
forgiven us we forgive others.
As God loves
us we love others.
As God
serves us we serve others.
That’s true
God given authority.
As St Paul
says in our2nd reading:
For I handed
on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died
for our sins.
We hand on
to the world as of first importance what we received from God.
We have
received from God unconditional love that forgives rather than condemns.
We have
received from God unconditional love that serves us rather than judges us.
But what we
also received from God is the assurance that we don’t have to fear trusting
him.
Peter and
the other fisherman dropped their nets and followed Jesus.
They dropped
all their worldly trust and trusted in Jesus.
They
sacrificed their earthly livelihood, their earthly families, their earthly
securities to follow wherever Jesus was going to send them.
Jesus also
gives you the challenge to trust him when he calls you.
Maybe that
call takes you out of your comfort zone to serve him in an area you’ve never
served him before like Isaiah – here I am Lord, send me.
Maybe he is
calling you to let go of your earthly possessions and trust him with your
giving.
Maybe God is
challenging you to let go of some hurt and forgive and trust what God is doing.
It’s when we
let go of those fears that we think are giving us freedom that we are able to
find true freedom.
May God give
you the courage to let go of whatever is holding you back in fear and to trust God.
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