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Mercy Rule - January 25, 2009

Mercy Rule

1 Corinthians 7:29-31

January 25, 2009

Rev. Dave R. Garwick

Let's hear that one line more time: "What I mean, brothers, is that the time is short. From now on those who have wives should live as if they had none..."

Now THAT's the kind of Bible a guy can live with. So next time your wife complains that you're out too much or that you leave stuff around like you were living in a dorm, just whip out your Bible and have it marked at 1 Corinthian 7:29 and tell her that you're only doing what the Bible said, that you're living your marriage AS IF you were not married. THAT oughta work just fine, right?

And then when you're sleeping on the couch in the garage, you can reflect on the possibility that maybe this was not exactly what Paul had in mind when he said those words.

You see, what was going on back in Paul's day was that the very first Christians thought that Jesus was returning immediately - in a few days, weeks, or maybe a few short years. So new Christians were asking Paul how they should be going about their daily lives if they weren't going to be around much longer anyway. Should they buy stuff? Make any plans? Get married? Some thought that maybe they could just ditch their responsibilities since they were about to receive a "get home free" card from Jesus any day now. that is when Paul wrote what he did in this morning's lesson. He told people to sit tight and grow where God has planted them, but don't get too wrapped in these temporary earthly things. Rather behave in the expectation of Jesus walking in on you at any moment.

When He said that those who are married should live as though they are not married, He probably was meaning something closer to what I saw in the sports pages this week. I know, I know...when ever I mention anything about sports I almost always get something wrong. That's because I actually don't know anything about sports. I was a debater, an actor, a speaker in high school. Since our family could never afford a letter jacket, I wet out for anything that did NOT offer a letter.

So being I don't know much about sports, I had never before heard of this thing that I saw in the paper. there was this girls basketball game down in Texas, right? Covenant High absolutely slaughtered Dallas Academy one hundred zip. Then the report had it that the winning school apologized. I figure what, did they cheat or something? Nope. They apologized simply because they BEAT the other team. I was confused. I don't know much about sports, but I thought that the whole point was to beat the other guy.

In Rochester our team was called The Rockets and our cheer was "Cha HEE, cha HAA, cha HACKA racka BOOM a racka, hullaballoo a firecracker, sis boom ba: Rocketchester, Roketchester, rah, rah, rah!" And we murdered everybody I tell ya. Then in the middle of my senior year we move up to Washburn in Minneapolis which went by the terrifying logo of...get this... The Millers! And our cheer spread terror far and wide: "Lut a fiska, Lut a fiska, lef se, lef se, Were da mighty Millers, ya sure ya betcha!" So I learned this much about sports: it's better to win.

But in the case I'm telling you about it was the spokesman for the WINNING school, Covenant High, who said, "What we did was shameful and it is very embarrassing for the school." The WINNING team was appealing...to forfeit the game! They suspended their coach and fined him and may well fire him. I thought coaches were fired for losing. This one might get fired for winning!

Here is the part I noticed. The school they beat up was a school for girls with learning difficulties. The winning school said that how they showed no mercy was not Christ-like. One commentator said that their kin of victory is what gave the Crusades such a good name.

Particularly in high school sports there is something called "the mercy rule" which says that when you are so far ahead, you should back off a bit in one way or another. Ten states have actual regulations that require this: Minnesota put this into effect this last fall. Maybe you let the clock run out to end the game more quickly. Maybe the coach puts the second string in. Any number of ways.

That Bible passage we just read said that Christian husbands who are married should live as though they are not married. That is a little bit like saying that a basketball team should compete as though it is not competing. Illogical on the surface. But in the world of high school athletics, to compete as though you are not competing is to win with mercy.

One other interesting thing about the mercy rule. The mercy rule comes into play only when the time remaining is short - like in the last quarter, after the fifth inning, in the last nine minutes or so. It's interesting how the apostle Paul began this morning's passage and how he ended the passage. He started by saying, "What I mean, brother, is that the time is short." Then he concluded by saying, "For this world in its present form is passing away."

In other words, folks, it's time for us to invoke the mercy rule. When we live in this world as though we are not OF this world, we carry out our assigned positions according to the ways of the Kingdom of Heaven - the ways of mercy, the ways of forgiveness, the ways of compassion.

After all, the time really is short.

Amen. May it be so.