Community Church Sermons
Year A
September 4, 2011
Pentecost 12
Paying Off the Debt
Romans
13:8-14
Rev. Martin
C. Singley, III
We’ve been hearing a lot these days about debt. There was the big debate in Washington this summer about raising the debt ceiling of our Federal Government. We are reminded daily of our mounting national debt which now amounts to 14.6 trillion dollars and works out to over $47,000 per citizen, or $131,000 per taxpayer.
We hear a lot about debt these days. In fact, back in July we honored our church members who hail from the Presbyterian tradition by using their formulation of the Lord’s Prayer. Presbyterians say “Forgive us our debts,” instead of “Forgive us our trespasses, or sins.” And – as was mentioned at the time – this is because Presbyterians would much rather be forgiven their debts than their sins.
Today’s reading from Paul’s letter to the Romans also takes up the issue of debt. If you were to go back a few verses from where our reading began, you’d hear the apostle Paul telling the Christians in Rome to settle their debts – if you owe taxes, pay up – if you owe revenue, pay up – and if you owe anyone respect and honor you should pay them respect and honor. Paul is big on people paying off their debts.
But then, in verse 8, the apostle brings up the one debt that can never be paid off.
Isn’t THAT interesting? A debt that can never be paid off! Sort of like your credit card if you make only the minimum payment. But…even credit cards CAN be settled.
But not this debt.
There IS a debt you can never pay in full. Listen to what Paul says:
“Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another…”
The verse goes on to say that all the commandments – about adultery, murder, stealing, and all the others – are summed up in in this one rule: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Why do you suppose that is? Why do you suppose the one rule – the one law of the Christian Faith – is to love?
Well we can come up with some trite answers to that question. I think about the song lyrics of my generation that describe the importance of love: “Love makes the world go ‘round” – “What the world needs now is love, sweet love” – the Beatles’ great hit “All You Need is Love.” We all have some ideas about why love is important.
But I dare say most of us have never really thought about love not for its importance to the world, or for what it does for us as individuals, or for the joy of what it feels like, but rather, as a debt – an obligation – an unpaid bill that we owe.
And if we could just shift our thinking in that direction for a moment – considering love as a debt we owe – perhaps we could dare ask the question, “To whom do we owe this debt called ‘love’?”
Who do you think we owe it to, to love?
If you have your Bible with you this morning, you might want to flip over to the little letter of 1st John – the 4th chapter – and verse 19: “We love because he first loved us.”
You see, the Christian call to love is more than just a calling to do something good. The call to love is to respond to something already done to US – it is a calling to look back – to remember who we are – and to anchor our lives in WHOSE we are.
We are loved people. We are people loved by God.
Sometimes life and all its experiences embitter us and keep us from knowing that we are loved people. We become calloused and unable to see beyond the wounds, illnesses and deprivations of our lives. Today in America, with 9.1% unemployment, an economy that is unable to produce enough jobs to get people back to work, a market that has declined and threatens the retirement funds of people, and a government that shows no ability to provide the leadership needed to overcome these challenges, it should not surprise us that people are focused on all these problems and have become fearful and discouraged. And this national wound has a ripple effect throughout society. I don’t know if you know this or not, but the economic downturn has had a profoundly negative impact upon churches across America and their ability to serve their communities. The Barna Research Group in May reported that 30% of the people who give to churches nationally have reduced their giving, and that churches are struggling to make ends meet and care for the needs of those they serve. Giving to churches in America is down over 10% in the past year. We are affected by this right here in our own church – by just about that percentage. It’s a very difficult time for us just to pay the bills, despite weekly attendance and membership being up. When you look over the proposed budget for 2012 you’ll see drastic cutbacks in both staff and program if we cannot increase giving. Times are hard. We’ll be dealing with all this at our upcoming Membership Meeting, and I hope you’ll come and help us find our way through. But don’t lose heart because we are a loved people!
But not only the nation, and the churches and other institutions are facing difficulty these days, but PEOPLE are hurting. I had a conversation the other day with a church member whose summer has been tragically unkind to her and her family. “I just want August to go away,” she said, “and never come back again.” Many of us know times like this. Many of us are facing personal struggles of health and life and relationship. And it’s no wonder that we feel afraid, and discouraged.
So how should we live in times like these? Well, here’s how our Christian Faith teaches us to live – by building our lives on the foundation of knowing WHO we are, and WHOSE we are.
We are loved people. We are God’s people.
Do you know that God’s love comes to you in tangible ways every day? Sometimes – while we focus our attention on all that’s wrong around us – we lose sight of the fact that God provides us each day with all the things we need to live. The Sun provides light – and heat – and the energy needed for photosynthesis to take place in plants that become trees and flowers and vegetables. Neither you, the government, nor the economy provided the Sun and all the good that comes to you from it today... God gave you the Sun and all its tangible blessings. You are a loved people.
When you awoke today, the rotation of the Earth was just right to give you the gift of morning, and with morning came purple mountains majesty, the singing of birds, the aroma of coffee brewing, and a new day for living. You had nothing to do with any of that except maybe turning the coffee pot on. It was not a program of either the President or Congress, although both will probably try to take credit for it. All those priceless things came from God’s good creation, simply because God loves you.
Today, God will give you 10,800 liters of air to breathe – free of charge! - and somewhere between 80,400 and 144,000 heartbeats – depending to a certain extent on how many bypasses, artificial valves, or stents you have - to keep your blood flowing and your life going.
Do you see what I’m getting at? This love that God has for you and me is more than just a feeling. It is love that comes to us in measurable and tangible ways every day – every moment – of our lives. God provides for free all the basic necessities for being able to take life by the horns and live it.
Most especially God’s love has been given to us through Jesus Christ. Through Jesus’ giving of himself, we have received forgiveness for our sins and for what we are not, and hope for what we can be. He also gave us the Church which is His body in the world, and our church right here today – with all the good it accomplishes among us and our neighbors - is an extension of that gift of Jesus Christ, freely given because we are loved people.
And most important of all, God’s gift to us through Jesus Christ is not a religion, but a way of life within which we are given power for dealing with and living through hard times like these.
Carl Burke used to say, “There ain’t nothin’ gonna happen today that you and God can’t handle together!” Those are great words because our faith teaches that we are not alone in dealing with the challenges we face. The Lord is with us and gives us strength beyond ourselves.
The apostle Paul put it this way: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
Do you see all the good, all the strength and all the blessing that comes to you when you see all the good, all the strength and all the blessing that has been given you?
You and I are indebted to God’s love.
So now we, too, must…love!
“Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another…”
And THAT, dear friends, is how you make it through times like these. When we spend our lives in acts of loving, we place our trust in God to give us what we need to make it through difficult times. And God will not let us down. We are loved people. We are God’s people.
So go this week…and pay down your debt.
Go and love – generously, freely, and as fully as you have been loved.