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Where Was God When Theme – Seeing Gray: Faith, Morality and Politics in a Black and White World “What Would Jesus Say to America?” th May 18 , 2008 at First United Methodist Church – Durango Jeremiah 9:24, Jeremiah 22:3-5 and Luke 12:48b 24 But those who wish to boast should boast in this alone: that they truly know me and understand that I am the Lord who demonstrates unfailing love and who brings justice and righteousness to the earth, and that I delight in these things. 3 This is what the Lord says: “Be fair-minded and just. Do what is right! Help those who have been robbed; rescue them from their oppressors. Quit your evil deeds! Do not mistreat foreigners, orphans, and widows. Stop murdering the innocent! 4 If you obey me, there will always be a descendant of David sitting on the throne here in Jerusalem. The king will ride through the palace gates in chariots and on horses, with his parade of attendants and subjects. 5 But if you refuse to pay attention to this warning, I swear by my own name,” says the Lord, “that this palace will become a pile of rubble.” 48b When someone has been given much, much will be required in return; and when someone has been entrusted with much, even more will be required. SLIDE “What Would Jesus Say to America?” Please take out of your bulletin your sermon notes and your study guide. The sermon notes are a chance for you to follow along in today's message and in particular I am going to be giving you definitions or three words that are in the outline. You will want to write down the definitions of those words and so I encourage you to have that out and to use a pen or pencil you find in the seat back or pew in front of you. The study guide is a chance for you to do some reading of the Bible on your own during the week ahead and I encourage you to take it home and use it in the coming days to build on what we are talking about this morning. Jim Wallis has written a book called, The Great Awakening. Towards the beginning of the book he tells a story about two senators, one is a Republican and one is a Democrat. They are talking about faith and politics while sitting in the Senate dining hall. As they are eating, the Republican turns to the Democrats and says, "You Democrats don't know Jeff Huber’s Sermon –May 18, 2008 – page 1 anything about religion." The Democrat was offended and said, "What is he talking about? We know a lot about religion." The Republican came back with, "No you don't! I am sure you don't know anything about religion. I will even bet you $20 that you cannot even recite the Lord's Prayer." The Democrat said, "I will take you up on that bet and then I will take your $20. Are you ready? Here it is. ‘Now I lay me down to sleep. I pray the Lord my soul to keep.’" The Republican reaches for his wallet and said, "Darn it! I didn't think there was any way you could do it." A lot of folks in politics talk about Jesus, but I wonder how much they are really familiar with his words? Today we conclude series of sermons we began almost 2 months ago entitled, "Seen Gray: Faith, Morality and Politics in a Black and White World." We have been using the book by the same title by the Reverend Adam Hamilton at the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection as our jumping off point. We have been doing this series of sermons because we live in a world where there is so much polarization, especially in the area of politics. Wait until we have for certain presidential nominees from each of the political parties. What happens when we have one Democrat and one Republican with very different ideologies about how you solve the world's problems, or what those problems even are? You know what this is like because every four years we walk through this where we find ourselves at odds with one another. We sometimes can't have civil conversations with our best friends if we don't agree when it comes to politics. The world seems to be shaped in black-and-white terms and part of the reason for this series was to challenge that and to ask, "Maybe the world is not always black and white. Maybe there is a way for us to focus on the things that we agree upon and work together and listen to one another to solve the problems facing our nation and our world." We talked about this in the area faith and in the area of morality and today we come back to talk about it once more an area politics, and in particular in the area of government. Jeff Huber’s Sermon –May 18, 2008 – page 2 SLIDE Three Hebrew Words Everyone Should Know. I want to begin by teaching you three Hebrew words. These words are very important and they dominate the Old Testament when it comes to discussion about how Israel was governed and what God expected of kings and leaders. In part, God expects these three things from them because they characterize or define who God is in the Hebrew Bible. SLIDE MISHPAT = Justice. The first word is mishpat. Can you say that with me? This word appears 421 times in the Hebrew Bible. The frequency tells you that this is a very important word in the Old Testament. It is typically translated as Justice. It has an even broader meaning than that however. It means that everyone is getting what is fair, right and equitable. It is doing the right things by all people. You don't talk about justice for the people who have plenty so typically this word comes up when God is speaking to the elders and leaders of Israel, those who are kings and who own land, about those who are disenfranchised, powerless or the workers or the children or the widows and orphans, the poor and the aliens in the midst of the Israelites. So many times God speaks to those in power and says, "You have got to pursue mishpat so that all the people are treated fairly and equitably." We see this in particular in the Law and then again with the Prophets. God raises up profits for certain times in Israel's history where the leaders of Israel were not ensuring that there was justice for all people. God warns them and says that, "If you don't pursue justice then I will. I will execute justice in the land and in the process, if you refuse to do it, then I will see that your own nation falls." These were harsh words of warning given to those who would not pursue mishpat. In Psalm 146: 7-9 we find just one example of this. SLIDE 7 He [the Lord] gives justice to the oppressed and food to the hungry. The Lord frees the prisoners. The Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are weighed down. The Lord loves the godly. 9 The Lord protects the foreigners among us. He cares for the orphans and widows, but he frustrates the plans of the wicked. Jeff Huber’s Sermon –May 18, 2008 – page 3 Mishpat is making sure there is equity and fairness and the right thing is done by all the people, especially those who are not in power. SLIDE TSEDEKA = Righteousness. The second important Hebrew word is tsedeka. The first two letters are one letter that sounds like “ss” in the word “hiss.” Can you say that word with me? Tsedeka is translated as righteousness and often is combined with mishpat or justice in the same passage of Scripture or at least in the same context. Righteousness is more than just not cussing or not drinking in excess. Generally when the Old Testament speaks about righteousness is speaking about doing the right thing, at the right time, in the right place and for the right reasons. God is the standard by which we determine what is right but righteousness is making sure that in each situation we are seeking the thing that would really please God. What is the thing that God would have us do? This is not just a personal idea that God would have us ask ourselves. In the Hebrew Bible this was a question that kings were meant to ask about their policies and their way of governing. It was a question that the leaders in the nation were meant to ask, and if they did not pursue righteousness and then judgment would come. This yoking together of justice and righteousness is seen in the greeting that the Queen of Sheba gives King Solomon and 1 Kings 10. The Queen comes to visit the wise King Solomon and she indicates what the King was set apart for by God when she says: SLIDE 9 Praise the Lord your God, who delights in you and has placed you on the throne of Israel. Because of the Lord’s eternal love for Israel, he has made you king so you can rule with justice and righteousness.” Another way of thinking about righteousness is that it is doing the good or caring thing even when the law does not obligate you to do so.
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