The Unauthorized Homily

By Bill Dunn

A commentary on the Gospel reading from the Sunday Lectionary

(Scripture readings for Sunday, April 30th: Acts 3:13-19; 1 John 2:1-5; Luke 24:35-48)

GRACE IS OFFERED TO U2

In all three readings this week, there is a common theme: repentance and the forgiveness of sins. In the first reading, from the book of Acts, St. Peter declared to a large crowd, “Repent, therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be wiped away.”

In the second reading, from St. John’s first epistle, it says, “But if anyone does sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous one. He is expiation (that is, the atoning sacrifice) for our sins.”

Finally, in the Gospel reading this week, Jesus said, “Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins would be preached in his name to all the nations.”

An interesting perspective on this theme was offered recently by Bono, the lead singer of the rock band U2, in a book titled Bono in Conversation by Michka Assayas. When the secular interviewer, Mr. Assayas, mocked religious faith, Bono, who is a Christian, didn’t get angry or defensive. Instead he began to explain the Good News: “It’s a mind-blowing concept that the God who created the Universe might be looking for company, a real relationship with people, but the thing that keeps me on my knees is the difference between Grace and Karma.”

When asked to explain that statement, Bono said, “At the center of all religions is the idea of Karma. You know, what you put out comes back to you: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth….And yet, along comes this idea called Grace to upend all that….Love interrupts, if you like, the consequences of your actions, which in my case is very good news indeed, because I’ve done a lot of [sinful] stuff.”

“I’d be in big trouble if Karma was going to finally be my judge,” Bono continued. “It doesn’t excuse my mistakes, but I’m holding out for Grace. I’m holding out that Jesus took my sins onto the Cross, because I know who I am, and I hope I don’t have to depend on my own religiosity….The point of the death of Christ is that Christ took on the sins of the world, so that what we put out did not come back to us, and that our sinful nature does not reap the obvious death. It’s not our own good works that get us through the gates of Heaven.”

Even more interesting is the interviewer’s reaction. “The Son of God who takes away the sins of the world,” he marveled. “I wish I could believe in that….That’s a great idea, no denying it. Such great hope is wonderful, even though it’s close to lunacy, in my view.”

God’s grace is so wonderful that it is close to lunacy. Except that it is true.

The interviewer had never even heard of the concept of grace, or of the basic Gospel message of the forgiveness of sin through the death and Resurrection of Jesus. The idea that we can be freely forgiven, no matter how terrible our sins, seems to be lunacy when people first hear about it. It doesn’t fit in with our ingrained belief about karmic justice: if you do the crime you gotta do the time, and what goes around comes around.

For many people, like the interviewer, who have never heard the Gospel message, the answer to the problem of karmic justice is to deny that sin is real. This is why our secular society is so screwed up these days. We are unwilling to label ANY behavior as sinful anymore, no matter how reprehensible it might be. There is no sin, our culture declares, there are simply many different personal value systems. If you don’t like a particular behavior, then don’t do it yourself, but don’t you dare impose your intolerant values on other people.

Denying that sin exists may sidestep the problem of karmic justice, and it may give people some peace and comfort—at least until either the swirl of societal chaos wreaks havoc on their lives, or they die and find themselves face to face with the Judge of the Universe. But the plain reality, for those willing to open their eyes and look around, is that sin is all too real.

Although the penalty for sin is death (Romans 6:23), the solution to the problem is not to pretend that sin doesn’t exist, the solution is found at the foot of the Cross. The solution, as Bono mentioned, is Grace. God’s love interrupts the consequences of our actions.

Yeah, we all screw up big time. And yeah, we all deserve to pay the penalty for our selfish and hurtful actions. But God loves us too much to see us lost for all eternity. He paid the price Himself for our wickedness. If, as the readings this week explain, we repent of our sins and turn to the Lord in faith, He will forgive us. He will shower us with His Grace. And that is Good News indeed.

And if more people who believe in Christ—not just rock stars, but also we everyday, middle-class shlubs—spoke out about the wonderful Grace of God, then maybe those around us—not just rock star interviewers, but also our everyday, middle-class shlub friends and relatives—would hear for the first time how much God loves them. So much so, He does something that borders on lunacy: He forgives our sins even though we don’t deserve it.

©2006