A FIRE AND BRIMSTONE SERMON

SERMON PREACHED BY FR. TONY NOBLE ON OCTOBER 28th, 2007

Luke 18: 10 "Two men went up into the Temple to pray."

There's been a lot of praying going on in San Diego this week, as we have confronted yet again, wild-fires wreaking devastation. It has been a repeat of exactly three years ago. But there was a difference - for this time our community was able to respond better and more efficiently, and swiftly. The good news is that the members of our parish whose homes were threatened are all safe and well, and their homes have not been destroyed. So we can be thankful even as we pray for those who have suffered.

In the context of prayer each day, as the daily Mass was offered here, the priests of this parish made a special intention for those affected by the fires, for safety, and for those who were helping in everyway in the disaster. At times like this sometimes the readings appointed for Mass each day seem rather ironical, or just jolt you. Who could reckon on today's first reading when the people of Israel were bemoaning their own natural disaster? Even more bizarre, on Thursday night as I came to read the Gospel appointed for the week (Luke 14: 49-53) it began with these words: "Jesus said to his disciples: I have come to bring fire on earth, and how I wish it was blazing already!"

Sometimes our faith is a puzzle, isn't it? Particularly when we are faced with natural disasters. Sometimes our faith challenges us, and sometimes it's hard for us to grasp. This came home to me on Monday, when I went to the gym. One of the professional trainers who knows that I'm the Rector of All Saints', pointing to the television news of the wild-fires said to me, "Where's your man in all this? Can’t he do something?"

That's exactly what we find in today's first reading (Jeremiah 14: 1-10, 19-22) and how relevant the reading is. The people of Israel had a drought. The cry went up, where was God? They did acknowledge that maybe their sins were at fault - but they were still very upset that God seemed to have deserted them. They thought he should solve their natural disaster.

So I suppose my friend at the gym was not far off from the people of Jeremiah's time. My reply to him on Monday was that God left us in charge of creation, and that we muck it up! That answer, of course, doesn't satisfy people who think that times should always be good, and that God should always prevent any bad thing happening, especially if you don't believe in sin.

Actually, the remark my friend at the gym is what I would expect in a gym. Because in a gym people go to improve themselves, to achieve something through their own effort, to affirm themselves, to make themselves look more appealing. (That's not what I go for of course!)

We live in a society where people want to improve themselves, want to achieve something through their own efforts and want to affirm themselves. It's also the sort of religion that you find in those mega-churches where they preach what is called the prosperity gospel. That is that if you believe, God will give you everything you need. To those who follow a mega-church vision of Christianity, or those who believe they can achieve anything they want, there is a problem with wild-fires - as also with hurricane Katrina, and even 9/11 several years ago.

Such disasters don't fit in with a prosperity Gospel, for those sort of things are not affirming, certainly not attractive, and they are hard to reconcile with the God of that philosophy. A faith which affirms you, and tells you that you can achieve whatever you want, and that life will always be wonderful and comfortable is positive stuff - but it's quite different to the faith we find in today's gospel.

In today's gospel we are taught there is such a thing as sin and it needs to be forgiven. That alone and unaided we cannot help ourselves. In God's Holy Catholic Church we have the sacraments of Jesus to assist us, to help us on our pilgrim way on this earth. And part of this pilgrimage is acknowledging our sin in order that we may receive the loving forgiveness of God.

In a recent sermon I referred to the hurricane Katrina, and reminded us how other nations around the world looked on in amazement at how we - the greatest and most prosperous nation in the world - appeared so helpless two years ago in New Orleans. And not just helpless - for who among us didn't see it all on television, and not think that there was something wrong with our society?

The "Iron Lady", British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, famously said that there is no such thing as society. If she was correct and there is no such thing as society, then it is individuals who are responsible for the wrongs of this world. That of course is what we call sin.

How wonderful then that the response this week from those in authority has been quite the opposite of what happened in New Orleans two years ago. We can be proud of our authorities and fire-fighting and other emergency services this week. We might even be tempted to echo the self praise and congratulation of the Pharisee in today's Gospel. But we dare not!

For a start, the areas affected by our fires were prosperous suburbs inhabited mainly by white Americans with good jobs and having nice homes - a vast contrast to New Orleans two years ago. Our response must be that of the tax-collector, who acknowledged that he was, after all, a sinner who was in need of God's mercy. And who of us can say with any certainty that both hurricane Katrina and our wild-fires are not part of a world-wide climate change caused by our society in its onward march for bigger and better things? If that is the case, then we do need to acknowledge that we have sinned.

Another Christian word parallel with "sin" is "sacrifice". When we come to the Mass we see sin being overtaken by sacrifice, as we offer the Holy Sacrifice. Sacrifice has been evident this week, and it makes sense of what happened. We saw people putting themselves in danger, putting themselves before others, serving their neighbors, people girding themselves and washing others’ feet, as Jesus did. In a self-affirming philosophy of life this makes no sense - for self affirmation in the end is only about self.

But in the Catholic faith we know that when we put another before ourselves we are blessed, when we sacrifice for the greater good we all benefit, and when we give away, we receive more than ever.

So, after a week of earnest prayer we came to the Friday morning Mass here, which as usual was a Mass of the Holy Cross. As the fog lifted and the blue skies returned to San Diego, Mass was offered in the commemoration of Jesus' death on the Cross - and it all made sense. For on the Cross, Jesus took all the pain and suffering of the world and sanctified it. Bore in His own body our sins and failings, so that we might have faith in a loving God.

Yes - our faith in a loving God is often challenged by natural disaster, and certainly when life is difficult. But our faith in Jesus will always get us through.

+ Through the ordinary challenges of life

+ Through the devastating force of nature in a hurricane or a wild-fire

+ Even in the mystery of evil which we saw on 9/11

+ And always in man’s inhumanity to man.

And usually when we endure such suffering with faith we find we come closer to God, and closer to each other. And in the end we are wiser, more compassionate, and more loving.

And that is why we are disciples of a Christ on a Cross.