Reading 1 1 COR 5:1-8
Brothers and sisters:
It is widely reported that there is immorality among you,
and immorality of a kind not found even among pagans–
a man living with his father’s wife.
And you are inflated with pride.
Should you not rather have been sorrowful?
The one who did this deed should be expelled from your midst.
I, for my part, although absent in body but present in spirit,
have already, as if present,
pronounced judgment on the one who has committed this deed,
in the name of our Lord Jesus:
when you have gathered together and I am with you in spirit
with the power of the Lord Jesus,
you are to deliver this man to Satan
for the destruction of his flesh,
so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord.
Your boasting is not appropriate.
Do you not know that a little yeast leavens all the dough?
Clear out the old yeast, so that you may become a fresh batch of dough,
inasmuch as you are unleavened.
For our Paschal Lamb, Christ has been sacrificed.
Therefore, let us celebrate the feast,
not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness,
but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
Gospel LK 6:6-11
On a certain Sabbath Jesus went into the synagogue and taught,
and there was a man there whose right hand was withered.
The scribes and the Pharisees watched him closely
to see if he would cure on the Sabbath
so that they might discover a reason to accuse him.
But he realized their intentions
and said to the man with the withered hand,
“Come up and stand before us.”
And he rose and stood there.
Then Jesus said to them,
“I ask you, is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath
rather than to do evil,
to save life rather than to destroy it?”
Looking around at them all, he then said to him,
“Stretch out your hand.”
He did so and his hand was restored.
But they became enraged
and discussed together what they might do to Jesus.Top of Form
Sometimes when we hear about some things in the Church, we are tempted to ask, “How can such happen in a Church?”
Some people left the Church because they think their priest/pastor is not holy enough or that some members are not living holy lives.
Dear friends, we must understand that the church is not just the home of saints but a spiritual refinery for sinners. However, it is not meant for sinners to come, relax and enjoy themselves but to be a place where they can open themselves to the grace of conversion.
As such, we should not be too dispirited when we see sinners in the church. In another vein, we should also not glory in sinfulness or be indifferent to it.
Today, St Paul brought our attention to what was happening in the Church of Corinth. A member of the community, perhaps a member of the church council, who shares in the body and blood of Christ was living an open scandalous life, he was living with his father’s wife while the father was still alive.
Hmmm! Does this mean the church in Corinth is not a Church of God? Should holy members depart the church because of this?
Should we also say the church is for sinners as well as saints and so keep quiet so as not to offend the person?
Three messages for us this morning;
- Do not be too scandalized to the point of losing faith in the church because of the observable sinful conducts of some people.
- Ask yourselves, am I among those bringing shame and disrepute to the church by my scandalous life.
There are ways we bring disrepute to the church- I will state a few- two members of a community who have refused to embrace peace and are living in open enmity, a member of the church engaging in a public immoral affair with impunity, a member of the Church who drinks habitually and messes himself up, a church member who is also known as a cultist or involved in idolatry.
- We must have courage as Christians in the community. You may ask “which kind of courage?” Then I will say;
- Courage to do what is right no matter those who will be offended.
The example of Jesus today is a good case study. He openly cured a man even when he knew some powerful people would be offended.
- Courage to refrain from what is unbefitting of a Christian.
- Courage to speak against what is wrong no matter who is involved.
Sermon preached by Reverend Father Emmanuel Okami on Monday, September 10, 2018