Sermon for March 3

Here is the sermon from March 3.

It happens in households pretty much every day, especially those with kids.  Preteens and teenagers play the game a lot.  It happens between spouses and between friends.  You’ll even find it at work with your coworkers.  What is this thing?  For today, we’re going to call it the Blame Game.

You know how the Blame Game works, right?  Something happens that wasn’t supposed to happen.  A lamp gets broken.  Someone’s stapler gets misplaced.  An important file isn’t on the right desk.  In each of these, someone is guilty of the crime.  But how easy is it to get that guilty person to own up to it?  That’s when we find ourselves once again playing yet another round of that most popular of games, the Blame Game.

Mary points the finger at Johnny. Johnny points it right back at Mary.  Neither of them wants to take the blame and the guilt for the broken lamp.  Mary blames Johnny for throwing the ball so she couldn’t catch it.  Johnny blames Mary for not catching what was so obviously a very catchable ball.  It’s not really the fault of either of them.  Or, at the office, Rick gave the file to James to go put on the desk.  James was running seven other errands at the time, so Rick should have just taken it himself.  It’s always someone else who bears the responsibility for the bad thing that happened.  

The Blame Game has been around for a while.  I’ll show you just how long it’s been around in a moment.  But we also have the accompanying expansion pack that goes along with the Blame Game.  Not only do you get to play it, but you can expand it out to include even more players.  For just a little more excitement to the game, you can add in the Tattle-Tale.  Not only do you get the mental challenge of trying to figure out how the blame falls on someone else, but you can also point the finger at the Tattle Tale, whose sole purpose is to get you into even more trouble by pointing out your faults and guilt. 

Anyone in here familiar with this game?  I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if a few of you found yourself already playing a round or two this morning.  It’s uncomfortable to find the finger pointed at you, and so you and I, in true sinful human fashion, try to deflect that finger by pointing it at someone else.  It makes us uncomfortable to be the one singled out.  We don’t like to think that it’s our fault, even if we know it really is.  And so we engage in this historical version of the Blame Game, and at times, even embrace the expansion pack of the Tattle Tale.

This game has been around for a while.  As long as there has been guilt in the world, the blame game has been played, and the role of the Tattle Tale has been there.  The first man and woman both did what they weren’t supposed to do, and God came walking along to talk to them.  He asks the man what he had done, and the Blame Game is created, along with the Tattle Tale.  “She did it.”  Oh, you did, did you?  “The serpent made me.”  Oh, really?

A pattern was set that day.  It’s a pattern that gets played out far too frequently in our lives and households and schools and workplaces.  Everyone wants to claim “it’s not my fault”, and so it has to be someone else’s fault.  No one likes to be the one at the end of the pointing finger, which is why we also don’t like it when other people play the role of the Tattle Tale.  Have you ever noticed how we vilify the person who actually points out that we did wrong?  We make it out to be a really bad thing that they are pointing out our faults and wrongs.  Being a Tattle Tale is almost worse than actually messing up in the first place in our versions of the Blame Game.

That means that we have a hard time with Jesus sometimes.  Let’s just say that Jesus is not a big fan of the Blame Game.  Today we heard the story about some people who came up to Jesus.  We’re not given the background of the story, but it seems that something had happened involving a few Galileans, their sacrifices, and Pilate having them killed along with their sacrifices.  And in the minds of the people, it seemed like a good time to play the Blame Game.  Think about their guilt, Jesus.  They must have done something really bad to deserve that.  And that’s where we find that Jesus isn’t really all that interested in playing the Blame Game.

“Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than other Galileans because they suffered in this way?  No, I tell you; but unless YOU repent, you will all likewise perish.”  Jesus doesn’t get caught up in trying to figure out who is more guilty.  He takes the pointing finger and directs it right back at the person who tries to do the pointing.  “You’re so worried about other people’s guilt that you forget that you also have guilt.  But you need to pay attention to the fact that you have guilt that you need to turn away from as well.”

Jesus really knows how to spoil the Blame Game.  He points the finger right back at us.  Sure, others may deserve a portion of the guilt, but Jesus wants to make sure that we know about our guilt.  He knows that it doesn’t do us any good to try to pass our guilt off onto someone else, or to point out the guilt that others have brought upon themselves.  He knows that we need to have our guilt pointed out to us.

When we find ourselves playing the Blame Game, we each also find ourselves playing the role of the Tattle Tale.  We point out the guilt of another.  And in a way, we see Jesus doing that here, too.  And that could give us a little bit of boldness in playing the role of the Tattle Tale.  Jesus did it, so why shouldn’t we?  But it’s also worthwhile to look at the reason that Jesus points to the guilt that His people find in their lives.

“Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”  Jesus isn’t concerned with deflecting guilt away from Himself when He directs us back to our guilt.  He’s not doing it in order to make Himself feel better about His role, or to take some of the sting of the guilt away from Himself.  Jesus points us back to our guilt in order to bring a couple of things to light.  He wants us to recognize that our hands are not clean.  We actually do have a part in the guilt, and He wants us to own up to our part.  And that part of our guilt brings us into a state of condemnation before God.  While it may not be really popular to tell people that their sin and guilt deserves God’s wrath and punishment, Jesus doesn’t hold back any punches.  He knows that it’s a reality, and that He Himself is the One who has to declare that reality if we don’t acknowledge our guilt, and the role we play in it.

So Jesus wants us to own up to our guilt.  He wants us to know that our guilt deserves a price.  But Jesus doesn’t want to leave us there.  He wants us to know that the wound needs to be exposed in order to be cleaned, so that healing can take place.  In other words, Jesus doesn’t take joy in pointing out our guilt to terrify us about condemnation, but in order to bring us to His healing, to the comfort that He alone can give.

One of Jesus’ disciples wrote about this very eloquently later on in his life.  John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, would later write a letter to some of his fellow Christians, and in that letter, he wrote these words.  “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”  Jesus points out our sin so that it can be healed by His forgiveness.

Jesus puts a stop to the Blame Game.  The Blame Game doesn’t bring about forgiveness, it just pushes guilt and condemnation on to someone else, and overlooks our own guilt and condemnation.  Jesus would remind us that He gave His own life up on the cross as He took the place that our guilt called for.  Jesus would remind us that He took the guilt that is rightfully ours onto His own body as He gave up His life on the cross.  Jesus would remind us that His gift to us is a new life, as our sin is removed from us, and the Holy Spirit brings us into connection with Jesus perfect, everlasting life.  Jesus stops the Blame Game to save you from condemnation, and to bring you into the reality of forgiveness and new life.

Now, you may have noticed that I’ve only touched on the first half of the words of Jesus that we heard from Luke.  I find it really interesting that Jesus moves from this talk of repentance from our sin and guilt into the parable of the fig tree that wasn’t bearing any fruit.  When we think about it for a moment, it actually makes a great deal of sense.  When we are playing the Blame Game, or being the Tattle Tale, we become very much like this fig tree.  It’s just kind of existing there.  It’s not really doing anyone any good.  It’s taking up the soil and the nutrients, but the fruit is missing.  

As we think about playing the Blame Game, let me ask you.  When does playing the game ever bear fruit that is pleasing to God?  What’s the kind of fruit that more often seems to crop up?  You point the finger at someone, and they are suddenly inspired to grow in their love for you and others, right?  Umm, maybe not.  It really serves to show that you love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and your neighbor as yourself, doesn’t it?  Yeah, not really.

As Jesus directs us back to the acknowledgement of our guilt, and the assurance of our forgiveness in His life, death, and resurrection, Jesus also fertilizes us to bear fruit.  That word of forgiveness that is so often spoken to us removes our sin, and brings the new creation in us to life, and that word of forgiveness is the fertilizer that nurtures us to live out that new creation life.  As our baptism daily washes us, we’re fed and nourished for the bearing of fruit.  As we receive the sustaining body and blood of Jesus, we’re fertilized to bear fruit, fruit that grows in our turning away from our sin and guilt, and toward the life that God newly creates in us.

My friends, we’re always eager to jump into the Blame Game.  Jesus reminds us that we need to look at our own guilt, and not focus on the guilt of others.  Condemnation is real, but so is the forgiveness of Jesus.  And as that new creation life springs up, Jesus waters it with that word of forgiveness, so that it can bear fruit in your life.  May that new life interrupt you when you find yourself playing the Blame Game, and instead guide you to the fruit that God is nourishing in your new creation life.  May it be so, for the sake of Christ our Lord, and for the good of our neighbor.  Amen.