EASTER IV

May 2, 2010

St. Augustine Anglican Church

“Lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness.”

The Rev. Gerald Parks +

          I can never read today’s Epistle (James 1:17-21) without becoming amused by its quaint use of language.  Certainly, “filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness” (whatever they may be) are bad things that we really should “lay apart,” but long before I can come to terms with what they are, I become fixated on how silly they sound, and the message they try to convey is lost.  That may be a personal failing on my part (and I am convinced it is) but I wonder how many of us often miss the point of the Truth being given to us, not because we don’t want to hear it, but because of the way in which it is presented.

          Truth is a word about which there is much controversy today.  Theologians question it, politicians debate it and the rest of us are left to try to sort out which, if any of them, to believe.  Some people think that if I believe one thing and you believe something quite different and contradictory, they are still both true for each of us, because we believe them.  Others hold the opinion that believing two separate and contradictory ideas about the same subject is not problematical, since both (again, because we believe them) must contain an element of truth.  “Double-think,” some people call that schizophrenic kind of reasoning; others of us just call it “Gobbledygook.”  We know there is only one Truth, just as there is only one God, as revealed in Jesus Christ.  The whole issue of Truth has long been settled, and we believe we do a disservice to both God and to ourselves when we try to invent new ones.

          Still, there are some who have convinced themselves that the Truth of God is not to be trusted by modern man, and needs to be “tweaked” from time to time to bring it in line with more enlightened thought.  But St. James wrote, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” (James 1:17)  We may question and argue about what is true all we want, seeking to disprove what God has shown us, and try to find a more agreeable reality for ourselves.  But as St. James tells us, there is no “variableness” with God, “no shadow of turning.”  We cannot change God’s Truth to suit ourselves; we must, however, change our lives in obedience to His Will.

          The greatest revelation of God’s Truth was given to us in the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Our Lord lived and died as a man, taking upon Himself our sins and making atonement for us, suffering in a particularly brutal and horrible way.  His agony on the Cross settled a great score between God and men, and made it possible for man’s reconciliation with God, and to replace the certainty of eternal damnation with the possibility of eternal life.  Yet, this greatest of all gifts, rather than receiving the awe and respect it deserves, is made light of by many Christians today, treating it as more curiosity and folk-lore than the awesome and sacred event that it was.  The question is, why do people, especially those who identify themselves with Christ’s holy Name, act that way?  William F. Buckley, writing in the National Review, asked the question, “Is it somehow bad manners to suggest that Christian claims about what happened to Jesus are, in fact, true?” (“Notes and Asides,” July 7, 1978)  Is it “bad manners” or is it something far worse - a product of the evil present in our day, which we seem so unable or so unwilling to resist?

          Despite all our claims to the contrary, there still is much we have yet to learn about Truth.  Fortunately, the answer to all our questions can be easily found in a book that mostly all of us have but seldom open or read: The Holy Bible.  We call it “the inspired Word of God,” believing that God has revealed Himself to us throughout all the ages of man.  At least that is what we say with our lips.  But our behavior tells quite a different story, showing what is really present in our hearts.  There seems to be a disconnect between what we say we believe and what we practice in our lives.  Still, there is no shortage of Truth in our world: it is readily available in Holy Scripture for those who seek it.  And there seems not to be a shortage of faith either, as is witnessed by the growing number of houses of worship. What there is a shortage of, though, should be abundantly obvious: there is a severe and great shortage in our society of faith that is based on the Truth of God, as revealed in Jesus Christ.

          Contrary to popular opinion, it is very important what we believe.  People today choose a particular church for some very peculiar reasons: pretty buildings, child care, Sunday school programs, up to date music, electronics and visual aids, charismatic preaching, people they can feel comfortable with, and many other things.  But the one particularly important thing – the first thing they should consider – is often overlooked: what do they believe and what do they teach?  Each of the other considerations in choosing a church may (or may not) be important in its own way, but unless God’s Truth is faithfully preached and practiced by a church, our time would be better spent elsewhere on Sunday mornings: maybe the golf course or the Moose Lodge.

          St. James wrote, “Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first-fruits of his creatures.” (James 1:18)  It is a revealing and illuminating statement of what God intended for mankind to be and to achieve.  First, God is our Creator and Father; and second, He gave us the ability to seek and to understand the eternal Truth of our relation to Him.  No other creatures are so honored by His loving kindness, nor so responsible to Him to believe Him and to worship Him.  It is a true statement, but it is a Truth that often eludes us.

          The deceits of the devil are constantly with us.  They are seductive and sometimes seem irresistible, often blotting out God’s Word with lies posing as truth.  They can and must be resisted and defeated, and will be if we bear always the Truth of God in our Hearts: “Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.” (James 1:21)