Ten in the Bed… the sinister version.

Sadly, one of the most hard-working members of my Parish died on Monday after a long battle with cancer. I couldn't preach according to the lectionary because of the nature of the material.
I therefore preached a more personal sermon today, and I publish what I would have said here.

Sermon preached at St Peter and St Paul’s Church, Swanscombe on the second Sunday after Trinity Sunday 17th June 2007, based on II Samuel xi.26—xii.15 and St Luke vii.36—viii.3.

Leo is desperate. It is now nearly three days since he last got his fix of Heroin. There is only one clear thought in his head: get the next dose as soon as possible. He searches his pockets, his coat, his room. No money. So he leaves his filthy squat lined with dirty newspapers and even filthier hypodermic needles, in a frantic search for money to stop the pain in his stomach.

On his way he meets Kyle. Kyle refuses to give him any money, so Leo stabs him dead with his rusty penknife. He takes from Kyle a grand total of £3.87. Not enough.

Of course, Leo is caught and convicted of Kyle’s murder.

How long do you think his sentence should be?

[PAUSE]

He is sentenced by the judge to 7 years. Too short?

In prison, Leo attempts to kick the habit. But he is always faced with the same symptoms. He sits in the centre of his cell with a gut-wrenching pain in his stomach, his hands shaking almost uncontrollably, dreading the return of his cell mate. Several times he succumbs and manages to get hold of some heroin from the underground trade. But still he must face the withdrawal symptoms, the same symptoms which cost Kyle his life in return for £3.87, the same symptoms which make Leo wish that he were dead.

Does the severe physical and psychological pain of Leo’s withdrawal symptoms change your mind about what his punishment should be?

For what is Leo being punished?

[PAUSE]

In the court, the obvious charge is murder, but killing Kyle was the result of Leo’s desperation for his next fix of heroin. Heroin is an addictive drug, so is Leo’s real sin getting hooked on it in the first place? But it was his girlfriend Britney at his sixteenth birthday party who persuaded him to take heroin in the first place because it felt good.

So what was the cause of the chain of events that resulted in Kyle’s death?

[PAUSE]

Sin begets sin. It’s like a sinister version of “There were ten in the bed.” When the little one says, “Roll over,” someone ends up falling out. Someone said “Roll over” and the result was that Leo fell out. It only has to be a little one.

There is always someone who shouts “roll over.”

Robert forgets to hold the door open for Nancy and it hits her, taking the skin off her elbow. This puts her in a bad mood so she shouts at her secretary Jean for being, in her words, “bone idle”. Jean takes Nancy’s criticisms seriously and tries to compensate by working harder. She spends more and more time at the office trying to sort out what to do, so much so that she forgets about the needs of her children Bradley and Britney who crave attention from their mother and, without her guidance, start to wander away from the straight and narrow. And then Britney gets invited to a sixteenth birthday party where she meets Leo…

So is Robert’s unthinking action the cause of Kyle’s death?

Not entirely, but his actions certainly contribute. The cause of Kyle’s death goes back further in many, many directions and things get more complicated and twisted and we lose track of who caused what.

[PAUSE]

“For by one man came death…” As Christians, we believe that all sin has its source from our very beginning as human beings and we can see that that very first sin has affected humanity all around us, and will continue to do so.

As Christians, we come here every week and say “we have sinned.” How often, though, do we think honestly of the consequences of our actions? A moment’s lack of thought can set the wheels in motion for a murder. This isn’t something we like to think about, but it’s true – each burst of bad temper, each incident of “oh it doesn’t matter, no-one will notice,” each “I wish I were married to his wife” adds to a stream of events which will end in catastrophe for someone.

How could we live with ourselves if we knew the full extent of our actions?

[PAUSE]

One woman knows.

It frightens her. She’s filled with remorse at her actions as she sees their effects on her life and the life of her community. It seems that everyone around her is pointing – sinner! They believe her to be fully responsible for some of the unpleasantness in this town. Her sin is always before her and she cannot shake off the guilt. So what can she do?

She sees Him at dinner in Simon the Pharisee’s house and she begins to weep for her sins, for what she’s done, washing His feet with her tears – and her sins are washed away by His love. She is free from the guilt.

She still has to live with the consequences of her sin. She is still called sinner and shunned by those who have not heard the message of the Son of God. In the eyes of this world, nothing changes. But through her encounter with the living Christ she finds out that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose.

[PAUSE]

Through the love of God the effects of our sins are cancelled out. They die with us in this frail and fleeting world. To be forgiven fully, we need to bring all that we have done to Him in honesty. This is why the confession at Mass is so important - we need to say “I have sinned”. We will only be forgiven as much as we are willing to confess. Christ shows us that in His parable.

How much was your confession worth today?