RAMBLING RECTOR
Church buildings can open for public worship now, but I will continue to send a short reflection, for those of you who must continue to ‘shield’. It will be based on the topic of the Sunday Sermon, but not a transcript of it.
Let me know if you want a full transcript and I’ll get one to you.
SUNDAY 6 September 2020
Romans 13.8-end
8 Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. 9 The commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not covet,’ and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ 10 Love does no harm to a neighbour. Therefore love is the fulfilment of the law.
11 And do this, understanding the present time: the hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. 12 The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armour of light. 13 Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. 14 Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.
This is the Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Matthew 18.15-20
Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to MATTHEW
Glory to you, O Lord.
15 ‘If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. 16 But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that “every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.” 17 If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector. 18 ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. 19 ‘Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.’
This is the Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ.
Excuse a personal question, but are you in debt?
Both my grandmothers particularly hated the idea of being in debt – as was usual for their generation I think. They lived through very hard times, but they would never, ever have asked the man at the corner shop if they could ‘put it on the slate’. They did make one compromise however, because both had to take on a mortgage to purchase their homes, and when it was finally, after long years of struggle, actually Paid Off, one grandmother said ‘it was like a millstone lifted off my neck!’
I can remember credit cards being introduced in 1972, the old Access cards. One of the few rows that Steve and I have ever had was because he missed the deadline to make the monthly payment, and we had to pay interest on the overdue amount! I think that is probably the one and only time that our credit card bill hasn’t been settled straight away.
Debt can quickly escalate out of control, and it is an ongoing problem for many people. It has worsened considerably with the huge disruptions caused by the Pandemic and lockdown and the resulting reduced earnings and job losses.
(If this is a problem for you personally there are many Christian agencies that can support and advise, so talk to me so that I can point you in the right direction and help you thorough.)
Being in debt affects all of life and is always there, nagging at our peace of mind.
Some Christian groups may interpret the verse in our Romans reading this week (chapter 13 verse 8) to rule against Christians being in debt. (not sure if that applies to mortgages?) “8 Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law.” However, if we read the verse in its context, we can see that it does accept that money will be owed, because of the nature of human financial dealings, but that any debt should be repaid as soon as possible.
I would suggest that to focus on the financial dimension of verse 8 is to miss the point that Paul is making. You see, this verse is not primarily about the way we manage our finances, but about the way we manage our relationships. We owe a debt of love to each other because we are human and because that is the way God calls us to live in the world. Love is not computed or calculated, so that we could say to another person ‘I’ve loved you quite enough already, I’m going to stop now!’ As we read in the first letter to the church at Corinth – “Love never ends…” We can never cease from answering God’s call to love one another.
When all our interactions with others are governed by love, governed by the motive of ensuring the best for the other person, then EVERYTHING including our finances will be transformed. Perhaps then we will be able to approach every part of life with grateful positivity – even settling the bills!