Psalm 85; Luke 11.1-13
J.P.L
Justice, Passion, Latitude …
These three words capture the heart and soul of the Christian Faith …
Justice is what we do.
Passion defines our commitment.
Latitude is our style.
I’m a train buff?
Anyone here love trains?
A good afternoon for me is a trip out to Cajon Pass on the 15 … get off at Cleghorn Road, a terrific place to watch trains … huge trains laboring up and over the mountains out of LA, or coming in from the north and the east for the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.
Huge trains … multiple engines … sometimes with DPUs … Distributed Power Units - in the middle of a long train, or at the end, pushing hard … all of those units linked by radio-control - all working together to move tons of cargo across the nation.
It takes energy to move a train.
It takes energy to do justice - call it passion … the passion needed to join with God in the tasks of justice.
Which is why last week’s sermon was all about passion … passion is the energy needed to move justice into the world … just like those huge engines pulling those trains across the land.
Passion defines our commitment … a determination to stay the course, follow the Christ … abide in God’s Word, to be wise in what is good … to work for the good of all.
Passion asks of us everything we are, everything we hope to be … it’s a passionate deal … not for the halfhearted or those weak at the knees …
Passion is the energy needed to move justice into our world
Which brings me to the third word, Latitude.
If Justice is what we do.
If passion defines our commitment.
Then latitude has to be our style.
Why? Why latitude?
Because Christian history is full of bloodshed and suffering … sad stories, tragic tales … when latitude was rejected, and domination accepted.
In the early 4th Century, the once-persecuted church became the all-powerful church of the Roman Empire - Christianity grew increasingly narrow and judgmental, as it grew more powerful … too many laws, too little love … the once-persecuted church now persecuted others … the Inquisition … the Hundred Years War, the Thirty Years War … colonial domination and enslavement of millions … the Salem Witch trials, burnings at the stake … the abuse of women and children … Christianity turned an ugly face to the world, to protect and promote its power.
Power is a good thing … it moves trains across the nation, it creates a just society … it wins the Civil War … it defeats fascism in Europe.
But when power is unregulated, unchecked, when power is allowed to run its course, power runs amok … power becomes an end in itself … more power is needed to protect the power already gained - a vicious cycle that ends badly … that’s why we need latitude, a wideness of mercy … a broader view of the universe and God’s majestic love.
We need latitude … we all do … it makes life possible.
Let me tell you a story - college, 1968, or so, I was a middlin’ sort of a student, B B- kinda student … I took an econ course and had a terrible time with it - more my fault than anything … I was doing poorly, like flunking-poorly.
One day, in the library, I saw my professor and I told him that I was doing poorly, that I knew it, and somehow or other, I just didn’t get it … I asked for some allowance on the final grade, and then said: “Professor Brouwer, I promise to never ever again take an econ course.” He laughed.
When the grades came out, there it was … it wasn’t the F I deserved, but a generous C- … I’ve never forgotten him.
He gave me latitude.
I end now with some troubling thoughts about a ten-year old girl in Ohio …
Abused and pregnant …
Denied an abortion in Ohio, she and her family traveled to Indiana.
A tragedy … aided and abetted by those who would force a ten-year old girl to bear a pregnancy … because somehow or other it’s “god’s will.”
An anti-abortion Indiana lawyer said that “his law only provides exceptions when the pregnant person’s life is in danger.”
He goes on: “[The girl] would have had the baby, and as many women who have had babies as a result of rape, we would hope that she would understand the reason and ultimately the benefit of having the child.”
Tell a child with a broken arm: “It’s god’s will for that arm to be broken; it’ll heal on its own, and you’ll learn to live with it. Later on you’ll realize it was all for your benefit.”
Tell the parents of child ill with cancer - “Just pray about it - if it’s god’s will, the child will get better; if not, then accept your child’s death. Medicine is bad. Science is no good. Trust god!”
I, for one, do not want to live in that kind of world.
Latitude has to be our style … open minds, open arms, open hearts …
Flexibility, agility, adaptability … creativity, innovation, risk … doubt, uncertainty, caution … generosity, charity, thoughtfulness … perplexity, bewilderment, confusion … being able to say, “I don’t know” … “I’m not sure” but I’ll do my best to live the love of Christ …
I’ll leave room, lots of room, for fellow travelers, strangers and stragglers, the world around me, a big world, a world beyond my touch, beyond my understanding, beyond my control … latitude has to be our style.
Latitude softens the instincts of power … latitude keeps us honest and humble … latitude keeps our passion balanced and patient …
Latitude finds a way, a reasonable way, a thoughtful, kindly way, a generous way, for that ten-year old girl … we know that life isn’t easy, and too many rules only make it harder.
Latitude is God’s way … forgiveness and mercy … long-suffering and deep patience, forbearance and calmness; tenderness toward the vulnerable, mindfulness of the overlooked and forsaken … a divine Yes to the realities and challenges of life … more forgiveness than anything else … latitude is God’s way.
There’s a wideness in God’s mercy,
like the wideness of the sea.
There’s a kindness in God’s justice,
which is more than liberty.
Justice is what we do.
Passion defines our commitment.
Latitude is our style!
Amen and Amen!
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