10-22-95	God is Greater	Jeremiah 31:27-34

2 Timothy 3:14-4:5

Luke 18:1-8

Our Old Testament for this morning talks about a belief held among the people of the time of Jeremiah that might seem a bit strange to us, today. Back then it was believed that if a person sinned God would punish not only that person for their sin, but also their children. That is why there was the saying, "The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge." But, really, such a belief has a basis in fact. For if a person commits a sin or makes a terrible mistake in his or her life it is possible that the effects of that sin will be so great that even one's children may be affected by it.

We can see examples of such a thing in our own life. If, for instance, someone decided to drop out of high school and get married, we'd certainly think that was a big mistake. Most of us would be concerned for such a person's chances for getting a job that would enable that person to support a spouse and the inevitable children. We would be concerned that a person at such a young age would not be mature enough to handle the stress and other challenges that come with such responsibilities. We would be concerned about the greater possibilities for marital failure in such a marriage. We would be worried about the children of such persons who had made such a decision. For children following examples of their parents are likely to grow up to make the same mistake, or even worse mistakes. So, perhaps the saying of the people of Jeremiah's day has some truth in it: "The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge."

The fact of the matter is that the mistakes of one's parents and grand parents do have an effect upon a person's life. Indeed, the mistakes we make today may have a resounding effect upon the lives of future generations. For example, ecologists are only now beginning to warn us about the effects of burning fossil fuels. Already there has been a marked increase in the amount of carbon dioxide in the earth's atmosphere. We are being warned that if this continues within just a few decades the average temperature of our planet will increase to the point that the polar ice caps will melt, causing the seas to rise so high that many major population centers around the earth will be covered by water. In addition to this, major changes will take place in the climate of the earth. Desserts will form where there were once corn and wheat fields, and Tennessee will be as warm in the winter time as Florida is, today.

And all of this may come about because of our lifestyle, today. Certainly, our descendants may be able to quote Jeremiah, knowing full well the meaning of the words: "The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge."

But, certainly, this does not seem fair, does it? It doesn't seem fair that a person should have to pay for his or her parent's mistakes. But, that's the way life is. That is what all too often happens. And perhaps that is why it is so important for each of us to strive to make good decisions, to try to live lifestyles that our children won't have to pay for. Because it isn't fair that they should have to pay for our mistakes.

In Paul's second letter to Timothy he suggested ways for persons to keep from making the kind of mistakes their children would have to pay for. Paul told believers to trust in the wisdom of the Church as well as in the scriptures. "All Scripture," wrote Paul, "is God-breathed and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the believer in God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."

So, that is what we should be doing in our own lives to keep from making the mistakes that our children and their children will have to pay for. We need to live according to the wisdom of the Church, and live according to the teachings of Scripture. If we do this, the lives we live will glorify God and will not be such that anyone, including our children and grandchildren, will have to pay for what we have done.

We would do well, therefore, to encourage others to go to church, in any way we can. Our neighbors, the children living around us, the people we work with and see every day need the teachings of the church. In other words, if salvation is going to come to the lives of people we care about, the church is going to have to grow. And that means something about us is going to have to change.

I was talking with a fellow pastor the other day. We were talking about what it takes to make a church grow. And this pastor said to me – "Church growth is easy, Paul. Everyone makes church growth sound so complicated and difficult to do. But it all boils down to one thing: If every church member made it a part of their lifestyle to invite people to go to church, the churches would grow like wildfire. But, the fact is that most people don't invite others to church, at all. And that is why most churches don't grow.

Church growth people say that the most effective method of getting people to come to church is for church members to share with others about how exciting and meaningful their church is to them. Or, as a friend told me recently, "If you really want your church to double in attendance, have everyone in your church bring something with them to church next week. And if you do that for several Sundays you'll have a congregation that's so big you'll need a bigger sanctuary to meet in."

A congregation can spend all it wants to hiring good looking, smart, eloquent pastors, and high priced programs, and stained glass windows, and expensive pipe organs, but unless the congregation really buys into sharing their faith and their enthusiasm with others outside the church there can be and will be no church growth.

In our Gospel lesson for today we hear about parable about a judge who neither reverenced God nor cared about anyone. And there was a woman in the town who kept coming to the judge, over and over again, asking him to grant her justice in a lawsuit she had against someone who was hurting her. For a long time the judge just wanted to ignore the woman's case, until he simply got tired of her coming to him all the time. He finally decided to give her the judgment she wanted to hear so she wouldn't bother him any more.

Jesus' point in telling this parable was to make a point about God, who is a righteous judge. Certainly, God who is greater will bring forth justice even greater justice to those who faithfully and continually pray for it.

In our lesson from the book of Jeremiah the prophet agreed that it does seem as though the sins of the fathers are visited upon their children. Jeremiah said, "The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge." He didn't feel this was right, either. He protested that the children should be doomed to pay for the sins of the fathers. He visualized a time when God would put his law in the minds of the people and write it on their hearts. Jeremiah visualized a time when God would forgive the wickedness of the people and remember their sins no more. What a miraculous time that would be! What a time of healing and reconciliation and peace that would be for the world!

Such a time of miracles is ours when Christ is in our midst. Such a time of miracles and healing is ours when we take seriously the call God has made upon our lives. Such a time of peace it is whenever neighbors bow down together to worship God. Such a time of reconciliation it is when we choose to make our lifestyles fit into the order of creation so that our children will not have to pay for our mistakes.

As Jesus finished telling his parable of the unjust judge, he asked a haunting question. Jesus said, "The day is coming when the world will see justice from God, and quickly. But, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?"

As a Christian I believe in God's grace. God's grace is so miraculous and powerful that even when everything seems to be broken to pieces and falling apart, God can come in a put everything back together, once again. Sometimes once it gets put back together, it doesn't look exactly the same as it did before it was broken. In some ways it may even be better than before. But, the fact of the matter is this: If we expect to be a part of the new order, if we want to be a part of the healing of the world, then we need to work with God to do it. We need to make changes in our lives to do it. We need to constantly commit and re-commit ourselves to Christ to do it.

Let us make that rededication to God today – a rededication to God who is greater than the unjust judges of this world, to a God who is greater than the brokenness of this world, to a God who can take the tangled messes we make and make them whole for us and for our children and for our children's children.

Amen.