Reflections on "Those around Us" Titus 2: 1-15; Joel 2: 28-32

my blog post from last week had little to do with the sermon!  When I quickly outlined the Titus sermon series, I missed the point of this text.  After trying to make the text fit my notes, I gave up and tried to make the sermon fit the text.

In some ways, this text would be better to discuss in a Bible study than preach.  There is a lot of material about household codes and how this passage reflects the early church's understanding of household codes in light of being followers of Christ.  Within that context, reflecting on the NT approach to slavery would have been very interesting.

I struggled against the text all week (I probably read the text a dozen times, which is a few more than usual). As I finished the sermon in the sanctuary, I realized what my problem had been all week.  I want to the gospel to be radical and life-changing; this letter to Titus announces the gospel, but then calls for everyone to stay confined to the boxes in which society has placed them.  I would rather preach Joel than Titus!  the irony, of course, is that in the context I live and preach where most of us who gather each week have comfortable lives and are treated fairly well by the status quo, Titus' message may fit our context better than Joel.

The sermon veered off the written text more than normal, so if you heard the sermon and then read this, it may seem rather different.

“Those Around Us” August 12, 2012; FPC, Troy; Titus 2 1-15

Introduction: I went to be last night dissatisfied with my sermon preparation and where it had led me. That sometimes happen. When it does, I go to bed hopeful that somewhere in the night I will get a sermon delivered to my dreams.

I did have a dream last night. I was preaching to a United Church of Christ congregation out west that had a window in the back of the sanctuary with beautiful deserts vistas – the orange and red colors of a desert landscape.

When I awakened I pondered with the dream meant. All I could conclude was that I would rather be preaching at UCC church in the desert than tackling this passage from Titus.

I find this a very difficult passage to preach – not sure where the appropriate point of entry is. Here are some thoughts on the text.

Move 1: Context matters when interpreting this text.

a. When this letter is written to Titus, the community of faith in which he reads it has a very different context than the community of faith in which we hear these words.

b. They were a small, minority group trying to carve out their niche in a world where they had little power.

1. The Roman government still controlled everything.

2. In the world of faith, the Judaism has staked out a minor place in the landscape, but the Christians were even a minority within that group.

3. If you believed that Christ was the Son of God and that he had been raised from the dead, you were part of a very small minority that was struggling to figure out what that meant.

100. Even in our time when there is an ongoing debate about the role of church and state, followers of Christ are in power or have access to power.

1. we may choose to limit the power faith plays in our secular government, but to even have that conversation means we are at a different place than the early Christians.

2. they were at the mercy of the Roman government and the world around them that knew very little about Christianity and probably cared even less.

500. As we read this letter, then, we have to be careful about recognizing our different context.

Context matters.

Move 2: Theology matters.

a. We discover that the foundation for how the Christians are to act grows directly out of what they believe about God.

b. At the tail-end of this passage we read about these theological underpinnings.

1. the grace of God has appeared in Christ bringing salvation to all.

2. Jesus gave himself to redeem us, to make us right with God.

3. there is a waiting time between for the second coming in glory of Jesus Christ.

4. Nothing particular radical there, although it has a rather universal understanding of God's grace and Jesus' redeeming power.

Move 3: our theology ought to shape the way we live.

a. The letter takes the theological foundation and applies it to their daily living.

1. The first part of the passage we read suggests ways in which Titus should teach how their belief in God impacts their everyday lives.
   
   
   b. As the letter defines what should be taught to older men and older women, younger men and younger women, and even slaves, we perhaps recognize that these way of life reflects the household codes of that time.

1. It would not be unusual for writings in that time to focus on household codes – that is, the way in which the different groups within the household should act.

2. There are many examples of other comments on how men and women, husbands and wives, and slaves should treat one another within their household context.
   
   
   c. This letter reminds Titus that for Christians how they live out the household codes matters and that it should reflect what they believe about God.

1. Everyone should be living in ways that reflect God's grace and Jesus' desire to redeem.


2. Relationships are critical.


3. the redemption that Jesus offers not only calls them to right relationship with God, but right relationship with each other.

500. But, this letter lacks the sense of liberation that we might expect from those who follow the resurrected Christ.

1. In raising Christ from the dead, God has radically changed the world.

2. To confine this power to the household codes of their society seems to lack that same sense of liberation.

3. But, we remember the context. These early Christians had no power, no change to make systemic changes; all they could control was the way they acted, their ethical behavior.
   
   
4. so they are challenged to live out their calling in the context of their lives, with the hope that as they model for the larger world how they live out the household codes, the world might notice.

Move 4: What do we do with this?

a. Recognize the claim that our theology ought to have practical implications for how we live our lives.

1. If we say that God's grace has appeared bring salvation to all, what does that look like in the way we live our lives?

2. what are we doing in the context of our lives to show and share God's grace?

3. If we believe that Jesus came to redeem us so that he could purify for himself a people who are zealous for good deeds, how do our actions reflect that redemption and desire for good deeds.

b. This letter to Titus suggests that our faith has implications for everyone.

1. Not just one segment of the household, but all people, regardless of their rank or status.

2. The older and the wiser men need to be changed; the older women need to be changed; the younger men and the younger women both need to be changed.

3. even the slaves are impacted by our God's saving grace.

100. We also need to be aware that we live in a different context than the one in which this letter is written.

1. We hear these words in a world where we as followers of Christ do have the power to make systemic changes.

2. We live out our faith in a context where we can at times do more than just model ethical behavior and hope others notice.

3. Remember the prophet Joel -- he describes what happens when God arrives and it is a time when the old men dream dreams and the young men have visions.  This is the reverse of what would have been expected.  Joel suggesting that when God comes it upsets the applecart and is unexpected.  
   
   
   4. If we settle for the status quo because of Titus' approach, we do not do justice to our context relative to do the context in which Titus was written.

500. finally, I find some wisdom in the way this letter seems to call us to “dial it down.”

1. Did you notice that in each category of instruction, there was the sense that everyone needed to cool it?

2. It seems to me that in our world today the polarization and high-pitched rhetoric is on the rise making it harder and harder to live in community with one another.

3. I refereed a high school soccer game recently. It was between two boy's teams and there was lots of energy and anger and intensity. My partner that game was a younger referee who is on the fast track to making it big as a referee. At 28, he is already working Major League Soccer scrimmages and is going to be become a National referee next year.

As we talked before the game, he was describing how game management was stressed. I suggested that he could practice that quite a bit because we were about to referee a scrimmage between two physical teams whose skill level was far less than what he was used to refereeing and we had very little powers of enforcement because it was not the regular season so the players would not be worried about getting yellow cards or red cards (being thrown out of the game) since there would be no repercussions for their actions.

As I suspected, the game was a tough one to handle. Lots of emotions and physical play. But it was fun to watch this younger referee, who was really working hard to help keep the game under control.

He was very demonstrative with his arms; he would announce "settle down" and he motioned with his arms in a downward fashion;  we called the game really tight for quite some time; we talked to the players; and it took awhile, but the exhorting finally carried the day. The players quit the silly stuff and began to play soccer.

That's what I hear this letter telling Titus to do. Get everyone to take a deep breath and settle down.

Give God a chance to be at work.

Conclusion: Our theology matters to all of us as we discover God in our midst wherever we are and hear God's call to live out our discipleship in all places.