Sermon by Reverend Dr. John W. Mann | May 5, 2024

Romans 7:15-25

Traveling through an airport is for me akin to attending the theater. One never knows what drama, or comedy, suspense or tragedy may be acted out at any moment. There are many stories playing out and one is reminded that at the airport it is better to be in the audience than on the stage.

One time, after coming home from a long journey, we waited to pick up our luggage in the baggage claim area. You know how it is at that point. Travelers are in a kind of daze, weary but happy to be home. Among the crowd waiting for the luggage to appear was one family made up of a mother, two children and the grandmother. One of the children was a boy of about six years old. The lad was completely out of control.

You expect kids at that stage of a long journey to be tired or crying. But this boy was energized; he was running around the baggage claim area, not looking where he was careening among the baggage carts of other travelers. When the bags started through on the conveyor belt, he jumped up on it and rode it along while trying to pull a bag off, shouting at the top of his voice, “Here’s our bag.”

Meanwhile, his mother and grandmother stood by in silent witness, in an attitude of witless disregard for the actions of their child. One realizes that if one were to approach people in those situations and point out the obvious, that one would most likely be met with a tirade of aggrieved profanity, if not violence. And one also realizes that if the boy had injured himself on his carefree escapade, that it would have been the airport authorities who would have been blamed and held responsible for not erecting adequate safety barriers or posting sufficient warnings.       

We sometimes witness these everyday stories and they serve as a kind of microcosm or nutshell version of what we think is wrong with the world. One of the main courses on the current cultural buffet is the erosion of our culture and society because of a weakening of the values of personal accountability, obligation, duty, responsibility and trust. The stories we hear on the subject have a tendency to inflame our passions. We shake our heads in wonder and react in flashes of anger.

It seems like an attitude has taken hold of popular consciousness requiring that for every tragedy, pain, mishap or disaster, there must be compensation. Somebody somewhere must be to blame. Somebody has to pay. The end game of that philosophy is that ultimately no one is responsible for anything.

In reality, what comes into our lives, be it good or bad, may not be our fault, but whatever is in our lives is most certainly our responsibility. Every thought, attitude, word and action is an opportunity to exercise of God’s gift to humankind: the ability to choose.

When we look into the stories and teachings of the bible, we find out two things about responsibility. One, we are responsible for our choices; and two, God holds us accountable for our choices. We can take some comfort in what the bible stories reveal. What we think of as our current state of affairs in society is not so much a portent of doom, as it is a reflection of human nature. What we see in our world today is the same human nature that was on full display thousands of years ago.

The stories of the bible are not so much the literal record of our beginnings, but the mythologies that came about as a way of explaining why things are the way they are, and why people act the way they do.

In the garden of Eden Adam and Eve lived in paradise. They had it made. Everything they needed was at their fingertips. Once in a while God would come around to see how things were going. He tended to treat his children like children. And like children, Adam and Eve wanted to grow up.

God gave them full run of the garden, except for one tree. “Stay away from that,” he said, “That’s only for grown-ups.” One day a friend of theirs came over. The serpent. He was a sneaky devil. He was always trying to get them into trouble. Parents can spot this kid from a mile away. Those of my generation tend to say, “He’s a real Eddie Haskell.”

One day they were out playing in the garden when the serpent spotted the tree they weren’t supposed to play around. Since it was forbidden, then it was the one thing he thought they should do. When Adam and Eve said, “No, our parents told us not to,” the serpent said, “Oh come on. Do you believe that stuff? They just don’t want you to have any fun.” So they picked some of the fruit and ate it.

When God came home that night, Adam and Eve were hiding. God knew right away that something was wrong because his children seemed to know a little more than they did before, like they had gotten into the secret closet and found some things. Besides, the fig leaves they were wearing were like crumbs from the cookie jar.

When God said, “What have you done? Did you eat off that tree I told you not to touch?” The two children started blaming everyone but themselves for their mistake. The serpent was the only one who didn’t offer an excuse. It wasn’t until Adam and Eve started making excuses, trying to avoid responsibility, that God said, “You know what, you two need to grow up. I think it’s time you leave home and learn how to live on your own. Get rid of those fig leaves. The first thing we need to do is teach you how to make some decent clothes. From now on, no more living off your parents. You’re going to get a job.

It didn’t take long for humankind to learn the value of making excuses. Cain murdered his brother Abel. When God asked him where his brother was, Abel tried to weasel his way out of it. “I don’t know,” he said, which in a technical sense may have been true. “Am I my brother’s keeper?” As if he didn’t already know, God said, “What have you done? Your brother’s blood cries out from the ground where you spilled it.” God punished Cain by sending him away. We get the impression that God punished him not only for the crime, but also for trying to cover it up.

The excuse developed by Adam and Eve and their son Cain was a simple one of two parts. Not my fault and not my responsibility. The best way to make that excuse work is to place the blame on someone else. “The devil made me do it,” was so full of holes it has never stood the test. But as the religion of Israel developed, they came up with what seemed like a fine solution.

The solution was called the “scapegoat.” The practice involved selecting a goat once a year for a ceremony on what was called the “Day of Atonement.” The high priest would place his hands on the goat and confess the sins of the people. Then the goat would be sent out into the wilderness.

The only problem with the scapegoat is that after a while, you need another one. As long as people are willing to make the scapegoat pay for their mistakes, they avoid taking full responsibility for them, which means they have a tendency to keep making the same mistakes. Eventually you run out of goats.

Even though they are ineffective, scapegoats are still quite popular. You notice though that when you send the scapegoat into the wilderness, the sins that were laid upon it have a tendency to find their way back into the village. That’s because those sins never really went away. Think of the people who have been made into scapegoats at work, in the family, at school or in church. It’s funny how when those problem people go away, the problems remain. That’s where we go back to the garden. We can’t blame the serpent for our poor choices. We have to face the reality that, yes, I am my brother’s keeper. I am my sister’s keeper. I am responsible to keep myself and them accountable to God and to one another.

Jesus met many people in need of his mercy. Sometimes people needed physical healing; sometimes the barriers to wellness were a heart and soul matter. Some people cried out to him for help; some people had to be convinced they needed help. In every encounter, Jesus tapped into the faith and the hope of the people and when they were made well, he reminded them, that it was by power of their own doing that it happened.

Basically, what he told people was:

You are capable of living the life God makes possible.

         You are capable of love.

         You are capable of mercy.

         You are capable of being your brother’s or your sister’s keeper.

         You are capable justice, peace and goodness.

And always with the implied challenge, “it’s up to you.” When people met the challenge, he always told them, “Your faith has made this happen.” Whatever God wants you to do, you are capable of doing. Think of your life, your situations and listen for how God might be reminding you of that truth. As a church, bound together in love, it’s always a challenge to reach beyond our current grasp. We are capable of doing what God wants us to do. Amen.