Which came first?

Sermon for the thirteenth Sunday after Trinity

We seem to be living at a time

in which laws themselves

are being called into question,

especially laws which are 

literally

a matter of life and death.

Is it ever right

to end someone's life?

If the Law can decide

whether we live or die

then it is truly powerful.

Except it isn't.

[PAUSE]

The Law decides nothing.

We make the decision

based on what the Law tells us.

The Law tells us that 

killing an innocent person is wrong.

If we kill an innocent person

then we know that we have 

broken the Law

and it is the court

who will ensure that

we are convicted and jailed.

It is Man who judges

not the Law. 

The Law shows us 

when what we do is wrong.

But that's all it does.

It's something that we've got used to

since we decided 

to eat from the fruit of the Tree

of Knowledge of Good and Evil.

What did we have before the Fall?

What did we have before

forbidden fruit?

[PAUSE]

We had God.

We had a relationship,

a way of living together,

a covenant of love

in which we saw 

the goodness of God

shining gloriously

throughout Creation.

There was no Law

because it was just us and God.

Since we have fallen

and now have knowledge of 

Good and Evil,

we are obsessed with 

doing the right thing

and living in a society

which would rather prevent us from 

killing one another

than enable us to love one another

as we love ourselves 

and walk with God.

Ironically, 

having a written Law

makes us forget about 

loving God,

because we just 

do what we want

as long as we do

what the Law says.

[PAUSE]

This is the whole point

of St Paul's letter to the Galatians.

The love of God comes first

before any law.

Love Him and love neighbour

and we do more than just

obey the Law.

We go beyond it

back to God

and open ourselves up 

to seeing Him again

just as we did before

we chose to disobey Him.

Our reason for obeying the Law

must be only to turn ourselves

back to God,

not for just merely existing 

in a society

which does not see the worship of God

as important.

If we love God and

if we love our neighbour

then there is absolutely nothing

for us to worry about

and the lawyer is out of a job.

[PAUSE]

Our duty and our joy

is to love God

as fully as we can.

We will not find happiness 

in codes of law

and books of statutes.

The Law cannot pick us up.

The Law cannot bind our wounds.

The Law cannot restore our health.

The Law sees us lying fallen

and can only pass by

on the other side of the road.

But, we can go back before the Law 

for, before the Law,

there is Love.

[PAUSE]

Christianity is not about 

doing the right thing

or avoiding sin.

It is about focusing on God

and living His life

and loving.

But loving does not mean

love according to

the lusts of the flesh

but according to 

our perfection,

and the perfection of others,

in God.

Knowing the Law 

Is crucial

because it shows us

what sin is,

and how it works.

Knowing what sin is

is vital for knowing our imperfections

and addressing them 

in God.

It means we avoid sin

by turning to God

in Whom all laws

have their fulfilment

and we have

true joy.