|
The Sixth Sunday of Easter – May 1, 2005 1 Peter 3:13-22
Do you remember sitting in the Movie Theater and watching cartoons with the double feature? Or perhaps you remember watching the old cartoons on TV.
It was always entertaining to me that in many of the cartoons the lead character would have to make a moral decision; they would have to choose between good and evil. The cartoon creators would portray this difficult and challenging moment by having a little devil sit on one shoulder of the character while an angel sat on the other. Both the devil and the angel would talk into the nearest ear. Both the devil and the angel would present arguments for doing evil or doing good.
What you saw dramatically acted out for you in cartoons was the function of your conscience, that part of us that makes moral decisions. When we ask, “Will I do the right thing or give in to the dark side just this one time?” our conscience is at work. The conscience is your capacity to decide between right and wrong.
From 1st Peter this morning we have a lesson that talks about the conscience of the Christian and how it is different from a conscience of a non-believer. The conscience of a Christian is a gift from God that guides and molds your moral decisions.
So, this is a morning to consider the conscience, your conscience and mine, and how we are different because of the grace of God.
Let’s begin with the conscience of the non-believer. This is the person that grounds their conscience in something other than the cross. The foundation for their moral decision making may be something like “the greatest good for the greatest number.”
Let me illustrate what I mean: you may remember the days when we basically set the thermostat in our house to any comfortable temperature, say 75 or 76 degrees. It made for nice, warm winters.
Then came the energy shortage of the 1970’s: You were asked to lower your thermostat to a cool 68 degrees for the winter and conserve natural gas. After all, the greatest good for the greatest number was to save these resources so that everyone could have heat. Many of us did as was suggested. Down came our thermostats, on went sweaters and at night extra blankets.
Others chose to ignore the shortage. At this time I made a trip with a friend. Along the way we stopped at his aunt and uncle’s home. His uncle was a big time CEO of a drug company. I was shocked to find that not only was their thermostat at 75 degrees, but they continued to heat their indoor swimming pool with natural gas to about 80 degrees. They could care less about the greatest good for the greatest number. They had plenty of money, so their decision was not to conserve but to use and use liberally. When your conscience is informed by something like “the greatest good for the greatest number,” you can always selfishly decide you are an exception, you deserve to be treated special, and you are entitled. So it was with my friend’s relatives.
1st Peter tells us today that our conscience is made good by the cross. 1st Peter tells us that the Noah experience…you remember, the “Ark”, the rain, the flood, the animals two-by-two…was a preview of Holy Baptism. Through baptismal water God has saved you from sin and death. And it is precisely in Holy Baptism, the bath, the water in which you die, drown, and rise with Christ to new life.
Part of your new life in Holy Baptism is your conscience is formed by the gift of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. No longer do we have a conscience formed by cleverly designed systems that only serve our selfishness. In the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ you are unconditionally loved by God and forgiven all your sin. In 1st Peter’s word, you are “saved” by the cross. And the cross gives you a good conscience.
It is this unconditional love in the cross that forms your conscience. You are people of faith. Your question is not, “What is the greatest good for the greatest number?” or “What is in it for me?” Rather, unconditionally loved and forgiven by God, in thanksgiving you ask “How can I love God and my neighbor?” Now, choosing between right and wrong becomes a decision of how I am going to love God and love my neighbor. The gift of faith is a conscience that chooses the good by loving God and loving others.
Thus, on April 15, 1521, Martin Luther stood before the dignitaries at the “Diet of Worms” and said, “Unless I am convinced by the testimony of the Scriptures or by clear reason…I am bound by the Scriptures I have quoted and my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and I will not retract anything, since it is neither safe nor right to go against conscience. I cannot do otherwise, here I stand, may God help me, Amen.”
Luther, being faithful, made this bold statement. It was a statement of a good conscience that reached out in love to God and to his peers. This was a pivotal moment in Reformation history. It is a classic illustration of your conscience being captive to the cross, to the Word of God incarnate. It is a classic moment of a good conscience doing the faithful thing by loving God and neighbor.
In the days and weeks, months and years of our lives, may the resurrection of Jesus Christ continue to form in us a good conscience through faith so that we may make decisions that love God and love one another. Amen.
|
|
Copyright ©2004-2005 Christ Evangelical Lutheran
Church |