Isaiah 58:1-12; II Corinthians 5:20b-6:10; Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21
The Reverend Paul D. Allick, St. George’s Episcopal Church, February 17, 2010

Over the years I keep seeing this bumper sticker. It reads, “If you’re not outraged, you’re not paying attention.” It always make me think. What am I supposed to be paying attention to? Which moral side of the political coin are we looking at here? Why would I want to be outraged all of the time?

I do get it. If you pay attention to all the horrible things going on in the world you are going to get outraged or depressed. The world is a broken place, no doubt. We see it all around war, hunger, fear and injustice. But the sad news is that the world has always been this way. The news of all the horror just gets to us faster; it gets repeated at us over and over until we feel paralyzed with anger or with fear or with a feeling of helplessness.

I am paying attention, close attention, but I still do not want to react with outrage. We live in a culture of outrage. From every crook and cranny of the political spectrum we are angry. We see it on our news channels and on our editorial pages. On internet blogs outrage is a cottage industry. We savage the opposition making them somehow less than human. We don’t disagree we see others as being stupid. After all isn’t that the only reason someone would disagree with me because they are not smart enough to see the world the way that I do? If you aren’t outraged by what I am outraged about then you just aren’t paying attention.

In my walk with Christ I have learned how to not be outraged. Sure I get angry, I get depressed, but I never ever get immobilized or hateful. I can’t. I am walking in the light of Christ’s love. I am paying attention to everything through the power I was infused with in the Holy Spirit at my baptism and confirmation.

God knows that the world is a mess. It always has been. The Lord spoke through the prophet Isaiah, “Announce to my people their rebellion.” The Lord says sure they fast and do their religious obligations only to let workers be oppressed, to serve their own interests and to continue their quarrelling and fighting.

But God gives us a way out. This is why the Church sets aside this season of repentance to show us a way out of our self-imposed depression and outrage. The ashes on our forehead put everything into perspective. We are all guilty. We have all rebelled against love. We have all fallen short. We are all from the dust and to that dust each of us returns.

In acknowledging our own sin we are set free to live the abundant life  that God intended for us. A life of continuing penitence brings us back to ourselves and to each other renewed. Repentance removes the yoke of self-righteousness from us and we are free to live in that same humility that Christ lived in.

The Lord says to His people through Isaiah, “If you remove the yoke from among you, the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil, if you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday.” When we live for each other, when we pay attention to each other especially in our frustrations with each other then we live out the ministry of reconciliation. Then, “you shall be called the repairer of the breach.”

We can all point the finger. What God in Christ calls us to do is to look at the other four fingers pointing back at us. This won’t solve all the problems of the world. It won’t mean that we are wrong. It will make us stop and reconsider. It will make us pay closer attention to others especially those with whom we disagree. It will lead to healing.

Jesus warns us in the Gospel today to not build up treasures on earth. We don’t offer alms, prayers and fasting to be regarded by humans. We offer them to humble ourselves and to get closer to God. We give up everything to have everything.

As St. Paul writes to the Church in Corinth, we disciples of Christ live “as having nothing, and yet possessing everything.” This is because when we let go of our own righteousness we find God’s righteousness living and growing inside of us.

I am not outraged because in the midst of all the suffering of this world I also see all of the healing. I see broken relationships being healed. I see brothers and sisters reaching out to save each other. I see forgiveness and hope in a world that often seems so bleak.

I am not outraged because I am all too aware of my own sinfulness. I have experienced the blessed liberty of reconciliation provided by Mother Church. I get to confess my brokenness and then receive absolution. It makes it easier for me to forgive others. It makes it easier for me to see the world without the yoke of pointing the finger.

I am not outraged because I am paying attention.