Title: A Matter of Degrees
Text: Matt 7. 13 – 14
MP: Sin is simply anything that takes our focus off of God. Trust your instruments.
SO: Mainly, I want to set up my “Seven Deadly Sins” series by explaining what sin is and why we must not choose it.
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He was a trained pilot, so he knew what to do. But just knowing what to do doesn’t mean your mistakes are any less serious. The most basic lesson you learn as a pilot is, trust your instruments. The cardinal sin is to go with your gut. But it’s easy say and sometimes hard to do. So, when on July 16th, 1999, he chose to disregard his training and commit the cardinal sin of flight, what at first had been a little mistake ended up costing John Fitzgerald Kennedy Jr. his life.
JFK, Jr. was flying a little six-seat airplane from New Jersey to Martha’s Vineyard, along with his wife and his sister-in-law. When you’re out flying over the ocean, sometimes the haze can fool you. It looks like the horizon is here, when, in reality, its here. That’s actually why every pilot has one of these in his plane – an artificial horizon. The rule is simple. Trust it. Follow it, do what it says. Otherwise, you’ll end up trying to violate the laws of gravity.
But, he chose to ignore his training. He pulled back ever so slightly on yoke. When you do that, centrifugal force makes you feel like you’ve leveled out – you can’t really distinguish it from gravity. But your instruments now better. But now confident, if confused, about where the ground was, he simply kept climbing.
Now, you know that an airplane flies because of lift underneath the wings. But if those wings end up perpendicular to the ground, there is nothing to hold you up. You will literally fall out of the sky. And, even just a few degrees of climb, over time, if not stopped, turn into 180 degrees. And when you get there, simple laws of physics kick in, and that, as they say, is that.
Sin is the same way. Very few of us have curly mustaches and evil plans to rule the world. But we live in a world bound up in simple laws. We don’t set out to violate them intentionally – but little by little, by small degrees, we can end up in the worse situation possible. Nothing is more natural, but nothing is more deadly. That’s why we must pay such close attention to our instruments – the Word he has given us, the Son who died for us.
This morning, if you would allow me to be your flight instructor, I want to give you some basic training in the most fundamental force in our Christian lives – sin. I’m not going to waste my time trying to convince you it’s bad. I suspect you know that already. What I want to do instead is teach you how it works, how to prevent it, and how to mitigate it when it occurs.
I also want to tell you where we’re going for the next few weeks. This week and next, we’ll be talking very generically about it. Think of this as Ground School 101. In some ways, talking about it may be too basic for you, but let me assure you, at 30,000 feet, the more you know gravity, the better.
After that, however, I want to venture into territory we as Protestants have tended to ignore. As early as the 6th Century, the church had summarized much of its scholarship into a list called “The Seven Deadly Sins.” Books have been written about it, movies have been made from it – some people have even suggested that the seven books of the Chronicles of Narnia draw at least one character each from it.
The Bible doesn’t have a single passage that lists them as such. Still, it’s a useful tool for seeing some of the more dangerous – even deadly pits we must watch out for. These pits each have names – Lust, Envy, Covetousness, Anger, Gluttony, Pride, and Sloth. Classically, you were supposed to remember them in Latin using the acronym Saligia: Supberia, Avarita, Luxuria, Invidia, Gula, Ira, Acedia.
Not being a Latin scholar myself, I prefer to use a sentence to remember them. Lust, Envy, Covetousness, Anger, Gluttony, Pride, and Sloth – List Enumerates Character Attributes Guaranteeing Political Success.
You can also remember them by thinking about that theological classic, Gilligan’s Island. How, for instance, can you think about the Professor, and not think “Pride?” I mean, here’s a guy who can make a hot air balloon out of bamboo and jackets, but can’t fix a simple hole in a boat. What else does that but pride? Ginger? Lust – what else. And Mary Ann? Well, living with Ginger, you have to be thinking Envy. Mr. Howell & Mrs. Howell – Greed and Sloth, take your pick. The Captain – as fat as he was – could take two: Gluttony and Anger. And, of course, that would leave our erstwhile protagonist, none other than Gilligan himself. Who else could be, keeping them all locked there on the island, but Satan himself?
But my aim this week isn’t so much for you to remember those seven sins as one Greek word: Amartia. That’s the word, more than any other, that translates into the word ‘sin’ itself. Amartia occurs 173 times in the Bible – 48 times in Romans alone. It carries with it a simple metaphor – of an archer missing his target. Missing the mark. Not evil – just not good.
And that, of course, is the problem. We all hate sin. But sin is anything that is not God. It’s so easy for the world to call us narrow-minded exclusivists who have such dangerous notions of sin. Sin ultimately means hitting a narrow target. And, if the world wants to call us narrow and exclusive when it comes to sin, that’s Ok. An archer tends to aim for a pretty narrow target himself. Close, as they say, only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.
Frankly, I happen to think they’re pretty narrow about things like gravity. I don’t care if you want to be able to find your own way. Sin is anything that doesn’t come through the one who said he is the door. By definition, that is going to be narrow.
It’s not mean-spirited to say this. It’s simply this: If we believe that Jesus is the answer, then anything that doesn’t lead towards him is less than the best.
As Christians, we love people. We want the best for them. That’s Jesus. And as Jesus, he has a very narrow, defined way of telling us where the best is.
So, if sin is anything that isn’t Jesus, how do we get there? Well, we read it earlier. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells it plainly. Broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many enter into it. Seek instead to enter throw the narrow gate, and find life.
And if you’re wondering where that narrow gate is: May I remind you of John? I am the Door for the sheep, Jesus says. I’m the good shepherd. Anyone who doesn’t enter by me is a thief and a liar.
I want to underscore again. It’s not malice, it’s not narrow-mindedness, it’s simply this. The best is here. Sin is everything else. Anything we do that leads us away from the narrow gate isn’t Jesus. And without Jesus, all there is, is death.
When you’re dealing with something as valuable and as complex and as truly amazing as a human life, even small degrees matter. All Satan needs to do is tap you a few degrees off course and you end up lost. That’s why I’m so narrow-minded about the Bible. If Susan ever lets me learn to fly, I’ll be pretty narrow-minded about my artificial horizon too.
Trevor de Nett was the navigator on BOAC Flight 251, the night of May 25th, 1952. The flight from London to Tunis had passed relatively uneventful – except for a little whiffle in the air compass. The final leg of their journey was to take them from Tunis to Accra. It should have been a simple overnight journey, except for that compass.
Back in 1952, you didn’t have GPS – you had these special compasses that required a certain air pressure to let the needle flow freely. Because of the sensitivity of the instrument, it was common practice to put a little bit of electrical tape over the opening when you did maintenance, but you took it off before flight. And every few hours, if you lost your bearings, you were supposed to take astronomical observations and plot your position.
As I said, the trip started out uneventfully. A simple hop from one coast of Africa to the other. But, unbeknownst to Trevor de Nett, the tape hadn’t come off. His compass was just a few degrees off course. It wasn’t much – maybe 10 degrees or so – but that was all that was needed.
They flew all night. By morning, they should have been there.
But when the sun rose, chief steward Len Smee knew there was a problem. If you’re flying north-south, the sun should not rise behind the tail of the plane. When he went to speak with de Nett about this curious fact, the navigator had to admit – he had been fudging the astro-charts all night. After all, the results weren’t matching up with his compass.
By 6 in the morning, they knew they were lost. But it was too early in the morning to raise anyone on the radio. When they finally heard a voice, they figured out they were nowhere near Ghana – but rather here – in Mauritania - the middle of the Sahara desert. Their plan was simple enough. Try to make it to Dakar, or even Atar, and get their bearings.
But the night was long and fuel was scarce. By 8:00 am, still mostly lost and running low on fuel, Smee woke the passengers and gave them a crash course in, well, how to survive a crash. It was inevitable now. Those few degrees had them simply too far from any runway.
Half an hour later, it happened. With no gas and no runway, the plan glided to a bumpy landing, skidding across the sand dunes, and finally coming to a rest in the middle of nowhere. Miraculously, no was killed – although the first officer Ted Haslam, had been banged up pretty bad.
As the scorching sun rose that day, temperatures rose to nearly 50 degrees Centigrade. That’s 112 degrees Farenheit. And for miles around, the horizon was nothing but mountain of sand after mountain of sand. Since they had made some radio contact, they knew they needed to stay with the plane. Hours upon excruciating hours later, they made finally made contact with the search and rescue plane. But there was nowhere for it to land. Supplies were dropped, and the passengers – including a six month old baby – simply did the best they could.
For two days, they waited with the plane. Eventually, a French medical team parachuted in. Finally, on May 30th, the decision was made. They’d have to trek nearly 15 hours to the nearest oasis. But their troubles weren’t done yet.
Sandstorms come and go in the desert like rain does here. They set out at night, in the hopes of avoiding the heat, but they didn’t count on the wind. Midway between their plane and their destination, it blew up. It was so blinding, they couldn’t move. Clearly, they were about to die, once again.
Eleven men, one woman, and a six month old baby, in the middle of nowhere, no hope of salvation.
So, Smee made an outrageous gamble. He told everyone else to stay put. He trudged on ahead – and by God’s own providence came across a band of nomadic Bedouin. He led their caravan back to his ragtag crew, and they safely led them to the oasis.
But every simple error has a price. The first officer – Ted Haslam, made to the oasis, but not to safety. He died for de Nett’s mistake on May 31st.
We too live with simple mistakes. We live our lives off the charts and by the seat of our pants. It’s easy, it’s natural. But when we get off course, as we so often do, we need a savior to lead us home. There’s a lot of sand, but only one way home. And he’s already paid with his life. Would you follow him?
Pray with me, please.
Like so much of what we do, the error started off so small. But it was never corrected, and when it became obvious, it was covered up. Then they simply tried to make the most of it. Finally, when they could go no further, they were stranded 1300 miles from their intended destination, smack dab middle of the most desolate place on earth. They cried out for help. Without it they surely all thirteen of them – 11 men, one new mother, and her six month old son – all of them would have perished. But every error has its price, every mistake its consequences. It had seemed like such a minor thing at first, but within days, Ted Haslam would be dead.
When I wanted to fly
learning the terminology (seque into amartia)
learning the forces (seque into 7 dealdy sins…)
but ultimately I never found someone to take me up.
List Enumerates Character Attributes Guaranteeing Political Success
Gilligan’s Island & the 7 Deadly Sins.
Somebody also suggested that each of the Chron. Of Narnia highlights one:
http://cslewis.drzeus.net/papers/7sins.html
Verse for Accidia (sloth): “The joy of the Lord is my strength”
Overview 2: Rom 1:18-25
Anger: Not just black and white.
Given my track record over the last two and half years, you guys might be surprised to know that I actually struggle with perfectionism sometimes. I hate mistakes. Simple little errors gnaw at me and knock me down sometimes. Nothing makes me hate myself more than the stupid things that I do – often unintentionally. They remind me that I am an imperfect creature with delusions of perfection.
You can imagine then what real mistakes do to me. I hate my sin. I hate it when I fall into sin. I’d like to think there is no such thing as sin. But I know better. I know that I live with a terminal case of sin, forcing me to the conclusion that as long as I live, I will never be able to be what I really want to be. I will never be perfect.
So, what am I to do about that? Well, I want to find out all I can about how to defeat it. I want to know what sin is, how to prevent it and who to call when I’m stuck. I know of only one source that can answer all three questions, if only I can take the time to figure out what the answer is.
First Officer – Ted Haslam
Steward – Len Smee
Mom & Son – Enid / Richard Gurney.
Spotted w/in a day – supplies can be dropped, but there is no means of evacuating them. So, they have to walk 15 hours away to the nearest oasis – in 50C desert. They wait for nightfall, but a sandstorm prevents them from reaching their getting to their destination, so Smee goes ahead, gets Bedouins to bring them in.
Haslam dies May 31st.
A Savior J and a Sin.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/archaeology/excavations_techniques/gallery_desert_rescue.shtml
http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?t=80850
Long Branch Baptist Church
Halfway, Virginia; est. 1786
Sunday, January 28th, 2007
Enter to Worship
Prelude David Witt
Meditation 1 Cor 13:1-13
Invocation Michael Hollinger
*Opening Hymn #212
“Be Thou My Vision”
Welcome & Announcements
Morning Prayer
*Hymn CH#299
*Responsive Lesson [See Right]
*Hymn #344
“I Know Whom I have believed”
Offertory Mr. Witt
*Doxology
*Scripture Matthew 7:13-14
Sermon
“A Matter of Degrees”
*Invitation Hymn #158
“Nothing but the Blood of Jesus”
The Lord’s Supper
The Bread
The Cup
*Benediction
*Congregational Response CH#299 [Vs 2 only]
* Congregation, please stand.
Depart To Serve
Responsive Lesson
The way of the Lord is a stronghold to the blameless, but destruction to evildoers.
There is a way that seems right to a man, but the end thereof is death.
So Jesus again said to them,
“Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.
All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door.
If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.
I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
“Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.
One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone.
And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
“And now, O sons, listen to me: blessed are those who keep my ways. Hear instruction and be wise, and do not neglect it. Blessed is the one who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting beside my doors. For whoever finds me finds life and obtains favor from the Lord, but he who fails to find me injures himself; all who hate me love death.”
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
The Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.
Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.
Pr 10:29,14:12;;Jn 10:7-10;Lk 13:24;Dt 6:4;Eph 4:5-6;Ac 4:8,:11-12;Pr 8:32-36;Jn 14:6,15,17;Re 3:20
Names & Places
Jfk, Jr. – July 16th, 1999.
This morning, if you would allow me to be your flight instructor, I want to give you some basic training in the most fundamental force in our Christian lives – sin. I’m not going to waste my time trying to convince you it’s bad. I suspect you know that already. What I want to do instead is teach you how it works, how to prevent it, and how to mitigate it when it occurs.
Where we’re going: The Seven Deadly Sins
- Latin list, List enumerates, Gilligan’s Island
But what I want you to remember is this: Definition: Hamartia
Frankly, if the world wants to call us narrow and exclusive when it comes to sin, that’s Ok. I happen to think they’re pretty narrow about things like gravity.
BOAC Flight 251, From London to Tripoli to Accra – ended up in Atar, Mauratania. Takes off May 25th, 1952. Crashes at 8:45 May 26th.
Navigator – Trevor De Nett, Steward: Len Smee
