Excuse me!

This one was a bit hair-raising for me, as the first draft of it died with my computer yesterday afternoon. I spent a frantic few hours trying to write this again from scratch. Obviously God thought I'd written it wrongly the first time!

Sermon preached at St Peter and St Paul’s Church Swanscombe on 19th March 2006 basted on Exodus xx.1-17, 1 Cor I.8-25 and John ii:13-22

“George, don’t do that.”

Whatever it is that George is doing,
you can bet your boots
it’s not what you want.

“George, don’t paint the cat mauve”
What does George do?

That’s right,
a few moments later
a purple pussy cat is sitting
in front of the fire
looking exceedingly cross.

Why is it,
whenever you tell a child
“don’t do that”
they go and do it?

Well, child psychologists
reckon they’ve worked it out.

If you tell George
“don’t paint the cat mauve”,
George’s brain will hear
the word “don’t”
and say to itself,
“Right,
what mustn’t I do?”

Then it hears
“paint the cat mauve”
and forgets completely
about the “don’t” bit.

Thus Tiddles undergoes
an unwarranted redecoration!

In short,
saying “don’t paint the cat mauve”
puts the wrong ideas into little heads!

It’s better to say something like
“put the paint on the paper,
George,
Tiddles is happy
being a ginger cat.”

It works—most of the time.

It’s a shame then
that God knows nothing about
child psychology, isn’t it?

[PAUSE]

Look at the commandments.
“Don’t worship other gods.”
“Don’t make idols.”
“Don’t take the Lord’s name in vain.”
“Don’t murder.”
“Don’t commit adultery.”
“Don’t steal.”
“Don’t tell porkies to get your neighbour in trouble.”
“Don’t eye up what your neighbour’s got.”

Apart from
“keep the Sabbath holy”
and “Honour Mum and Dad”
they are all don’ts.


Is it any wonder then
that we all break these commandments?

Isn’t God at fault for not
phrasing these commandments better?

We now have an excuse to give
when we break the commandments,
don’t we?

“It’s not my fault,
God phrased the commandments
in the wrong way.”

Some criminals have asked
for their sentences to be reduced
on the grounds that
they are genetically programmed
to be thieves and robbers,
that it wasn’t natural
for them to leave
other people’s
property alone.

Scientists have discovered
that it is not natural for human males
to be married to just one partner.

If it’s natural for us
to be thieves and robbers,
then why did God say
“don’t steal”
and “don’t commit adultery”?

What do you think?
Is the idea of sin out-of-date?

[PAUSE]

The interesting thing
is that the world still has a concept of sin.
Did you know that?
Do you believe it?

Oh yes,
the idea of sin is alive and well
out there in modern society.
However, sin isn’t something that you commit,
it’s something that only other people do.

Frank has an affair
with Andy’s wife, Linda.

Why?
Because they fell in love.
They haven’t sinned
by committing adultery,
they have fallen in love.

If this were in a Jane Austen novel,
or on Coronation Street,
this would appear as
some dreadfully romantic tale.

Linda,
trapped in a loveless marriage with Andy,
at last saved by
the handsome and passionate
Frank.
We would be swept up in the drama of it
and come to sympathise
with Frank and Linda,
despite the fact
that one of them is actually committing adultery.

Of course,
only Andy sees this as committing adultery.
But wouldn’t Frank if he were in Andy’s shoes?

Frank and Linda
say they haven’t committed adultery,
they’ve fallen in love.

They compound this further:
Andy wasn’t a good husband,
Andy was cruel,
Andy was to blame.

Who’s right?

Is it fair that Frank and Linda
should have had an affair?

[PAUSE]

Look!
Where is the love in this situation?

How can the situation
be resolved by accusations
from Frank and Linda
being thrown at Andy,
and accusations thrown back at
Frank and Linda?

But these accusations
are nothing more than excuses.
Frank and Linda are trying
to excuse their affair
by accusing Andy.

Likewise
Andy is trying to excuse his failures
as a husband
by accusing Linda and Frank.

This situation cannot heal
until the excuses stop,
and Frank and Linda and Andy
recognise precisely the part
they alone have played
in the whole sorry situation.

When each one sees
where and how they have sinned
rather than look for
the blame elsewhere,
when each one accepts their responsibility,
then and only then,
with sincere apologies
will there be healing.

[PAUSE]

Excuses clutter situations like these.
They fill the heart with rights and laws,
just as the temple court was filled
with money changers
and market stalls
instead of making room
for people to come and pray to God.

No one can get through the crowds
and clutter to pray or to ask for forgiveness.

For a situation to heal
with the Love of God,
all the excuses have
to be driven out with whips
so that the truth alone remains.

Only then is room made
for God and person
to sit down and talk openly.
Only then is room made
for the sin to be brought out
and shown for what it is.
Only then,
by taking responsibility for that sin
and honestly repenting of it
can the cross of Christ remove
the stinking corruption
of sin.

[PAUSE]

God says
“don’t commit adultery.”

Science says, “that’s foolish!
It is not natural for a man
to be faithful to one wife.”
But the foolishness of God
is wiser than the wisdom of men.

God alone knows the full extent
and hurt that adultery
causes everyone involved.

Child Psychology says to God
“It is better not to use the word don’t.”
God says,
“how will my people know what sin is
if I don’t tell them?”

That phrase “Don’t steal”
does tell us that stealing
is clearly wrong.
God does credit His children
with some intelligence.

Unfortunately the World can’t see it.

The message of the Cross
is foolishness to those that are perishing.

[PAUSE]

In Lent,
we examine ourselves for the sins
that we regularly commit.
What excuses have you been making in your life?
How will you let the love of God drive them out?