Sermon

Sunday, October 4, 2009

A Winning Formula—Luke 6: 31-36; II Corinthians 6: 16-18; 17:1

Lots of football fans in Tampa are disappointed with the 0-3 start of our team. After listening to multiple diatribes on the local talk radio shows, it would lead one to wonder what it must be like to be a Tampa Bay Buccaneer right about now. After getting shut out last Sunday, what do you do on Monday? Former Bucs coach Tony Dungy gives some insight in his book “Quiet Strength”, when he writes about what it is like to lose the Super Bowl, to come to the pinnacle of the ultimate victory in the National Football League only to be defeated. What do you do that next day? His answer is very simple, do what you do, follow the formula that got you there and try again—work hard, practice, prepare, focus, execute, do the little things right, and do them day in and day out—and you’ve got a formula for success.

In both the Gospel and Epistle Lessons of this morning, the winning formula for a successful Christian life is addressed. In the Gospel Lesson, Jesus tells us, “And as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise.” This verse of scripture is commonly called “The Golden Rule.” The rule is very simple—treat others as you wish to be treated. The rule is positive, in that it tells us to DO something, rather than to NOT DO something. The Ten Commandments, the moral code of God’s first covenant with His people, included 9 commandments that begin, “Thou shalt NOT.” The New Covenant, personified by Jesus Christ, included but one commandment—to love. And love is always spoken about by the Lord in a positive manner.

The nature of the loving attitude that we are to have is brought out with three illustrations of the way Christians must surpass sinners. Even people who own no allegiance to God practice some virtues. They love those who love them. They repay good deeds done to them. They lend to those in need if they can be sure of getting their money back or perhaps rely on getting loans in return when they themselves are in need. If Christians do these things they are doing no more than the world does. It is easy for believers to congratulate themselves on some virtue they fancy they detect in themselves. But before they can claim that they are obeying Christ’s commandments, they should ask whether they are doing anything more than sinners do in similar circumstances. (Tyndalls Commentary, Gospel of Luke, p. 144)

Again, in verse 34, there is a positive attitude in the commandments to love your enemies, do good and lend. When His followers live like this, Jesus tells us, “Your reward will be great and you will be sons of the Most High.”

Why the statement, “For He is kind to the ungrateful and the selfish”? Because God’s good gifts of sunshine and rain, food, and other gifts, are sent to all, saint and sinner alike. Therefore, we are to bestow gifts of goodness upon all, just as God bestows His gifts upon all. And we should do this cheerfully, sacrificially, positively and consistently—this is a winning formula if you want the heavenly reward.

In Saint Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians, this morning’s Epistle reading, he also provides a winning formula in our journey to salvation. God has put Himself in each of us. That is why He calls us temples of the living God. God has said, “I will dwell in them and move among them.” God dwells in us because His Holy Spirit resides in us—The Holy Spirit is present in our souls from the moment we are conceived in the womb. The Spirit continually bestows His grace upon us in the sacramental life of the church—first at baptism and Chrismation, and continually through our regular participation in the sacraments of Holy Communion, Holy Unction and Confession. St. Paul continues, quoting the Word of God from the Old Testament books of Isaiah and Second Samuel: “Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you. I will be a Father to you and you shall be My Sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.” This reiterates what we learned in the Gospel lesson, that as God’s children, we are called to be MORE than those who do not believe. We are called to love those who hate us, and to do good and lend expecting nothing in return. To go back to the football analogy, the goal of the Christian is not merely to put a team on the field—anyone can put on a uniform, run through a tunnel and have fans cheer for them. The goal of the Christian life is to win the contest.

Football players talk about their game often in military terms—they call their weekly contest “going to war,” or “going to battle”. They call their opponent their “enemy”. They talk about “fighting” for yardage. Orthodox Christianity speaks of Spiritual Warfare. The contest, if you will is against both the unchristian influences of the secular world, as well as a personal struggle against temptation. In other words, we fight against forces outside of ourselves as well as forces within ourselves. St. Paul concludes this morning’s brief Epistle lesson by giving us a winning formula for spiritual warfare—let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

An escape from filthiness requires more than thinking repentant thoughts. It requires action, it requires vigilance, it requires consistency. As human beings, living in a secular and sinful world, we are enmeshed in a spiritual war zone, entrenched in patterns of sin which often become habitual. Just look at a few examples, like profanity, gossip, and gluttony. Often, darkness becomes imprinted in our souls and bodies, so that it seems that our wills are bypassed and we seem to sin automatically, without even thinking. How easy it is to overeat, over speak, or speak badly of someone—we do these things almost habitually. To cleanse ourselves means that by the promises of God, we embark on a sustained struggle for holiness. I mean, to give up gossiping, or even to cut down on it, as an example, requires a struggle for most people.

The cleansing St. Paul refers to includes genuine sorrow for our sins, confession and repentance. It means a willful avoidance of sin-arousing situations, reconciliation with those we have wronged, the resolute practice of Christian virtue and clinging to God through faith and prayer. It calls us to participation in the Holy Sacraments. Because participation in the sacraments is an ongoing process—i.e. fasting in preparation for Communion, knowledge that we must own up for our sins in confession—and this process is very helpful in not only keeping us on the path to God, but in giving us the reward of joy and blessings for doing so.

Is this cleansing ourselves of all filthiness of the flesh and spirit and perfecting holiness too difficult a task for us as humans being? Yes. Absolutely it is. Just like no athletic team, no matter how good it is never loses or has a bad game, not even the most devout Christian can perfect holiness. He can only give his or her best effort. Thus, we rely on the Holy Spirit, who cleanses us from every stain and heals our infirmities, to help empower us to live this life of peace with God and repentance before Him, through prayer and through the sacramental life of the Orthodox Church. And the pursuit of perfection is something that is a lifelong journey—that’s why we continually do the same things—pray the same prayers, offer the same liturgy—because it will take a lifetime of these same prayers and services to approach holiness, the same way a football team does the same drills over and over again on the way to Superbowl glory. (some thoughts in the previous three paragraphs come from Orthodox Study Bible, notes, 414)

So, on an individual level, we know what the winning formula is—love others, do good expecting nothing in return, cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit and perfect holiness in the fear of God. And we know that we put a winning formula together in our spiritual lives through prayer, worship, the sacraments, moral living and acts of charity. Again, to refer to Tony Dungy’s book, his teams followed their formula win or lose—work hard, practice, prepare, focus, execute, do the little things right and do them day in and day out. So, when the team won a game on a Sunday, they went back to work on Monday with the same goals—work hard, practice, prepare, focus execute. And if the team lost a game, or when they lost the Superbowl one year, they went right back to work—working hard, practicing, preparing, focusing executing and doing the little things right.

If your spiritual life is going well right now, thank God. And continuing loving others, praying, worshipping and being a good steward. Continue following the same good habits, the same winning formula. If your spiritual life is not going well, don’t despair—just get back in the game by following the winning formula—love others, do good expecting nothing in return (that is hard, but very rewarding), cleanse yourself from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit (look at some of your bad habits, and think about ways to get control of them), and perfect holiness—make a concerted effort to make your life more holy.

Let me bring the football analogy now to the parish level. Because even though this community is comprised of many individuals, and our respective talents, we are one body, with Christ as our head, with the spreading of the Gospel as our goal. In a football game, when a play begins, the five men on the offensive line surge forward together in a display of united force and power and attempt to move aside the defensive line so they can run a play. They all move in the same direction and all begin at the exact same time. When one moves early, that's a false start--a 10 yard penalty. When they don't start the play fast enough, that's a delay of game penalty, 5 yards. When the quarterback says "We're going on '2'", they all go on "2". One doesn't decide, "I'll wait an extra count and go on three." It doesn't work that way. To keep the analogy going, imagine a team gets the ball on the 50 yard line--that's good field position. But they don't get to the line fast enough and get a delay of game penalty. Now it's 1st and 15. They line up for the next play, and an offensive lineman moves too quickly. False start, back to the 35 yard line, now 1st and 25. Now, the other team's defense doesn't have to wonder whether the play will be a pass play or a run play--obviously, with 25 yards to go, it's going to be a pass play. The element of surprise is gone. So, the defense prepares for a pass play, and intercepts the quarterback--why? Because 1st and 10 became 1st and 25 unnecessarily. And because of the delay of game and false start, the offense doesn't get beat by a better team--they pretty much beat themselves.

The best teams are not necessarily the most talented. Lots of times, the best team is the team that makes the fewest mistakes. The winning formula for a football team includes avoiding penalties and turnovers. It involves unity of all the players around a common goal of winning. The offensive tackle doesn’t want to be quarterback, he knows his role and isn’t upset that the quarterback is calling the plays. The offensive team knows the team can’t win without some defensive plays and the defense knows the team can’t win if the offense doesn’t put up points. So there is mutual respect and unity all the way around. The quarterback may call the play, the coach may run the team, but all of the pieces must come together in unity for the team to win—this is the winning formula for a football team.

In our church community, who the festival chairman is, or who is in charge of pastries, or who runs the food line is not as important as rallying behind that person to get the job done and have a successful festival. Even though we have many ministries, like the choir, the Philoptochos and the youth groups, we can’t see ourselves ever as a collection of special interest groups, but rather as a cohesive whole, a united team, with one goal—living out the Gospel of Jesus Christ—perfecting holiness in the fear of God. And even though some of us have strong feelings when it comes to our ministries, the language used in the church, or our opinion on how things should be done, we must be united and consistent in our unity and in our effort, so each year is a winning season and we don’t have to suffer through the rebuilding year, or years that our football team is going to endure in Tampa.

Work hard, practice, prepare, focus, execute, do the little things right, and do them day in and day out—and you’ve got a formula for success on the football field. Work together, be a team, unify behind one goal, behind one leader, give sacrificially for the good of the whole and you’ve got a formula for a successful parish. Love, do good, cleanse all filthiness and perfect holiness in the fear of God, and you’ve got a formula for a successful journey to salvation. And just like the football team, every week is a battle, but every day is a new day and a new chance to prepare for the ultimate victory. Amen.