Psalm 1, Numbers 5:5-10, Titus 1:5-16
The readings from Psalms and Numbers are easy enough for today. "Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked or take the path that sinners trod, or sit in the seat of scoffers; but their delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law the meditate day and night. THey are like treas planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in due season and their leaves do not wither." It's pretty easy to answer the question, "Who do I want to be in this scenario?" Likewise, in Numbers: "WHen a man or a woman wrongs another, breaking faith with the LORD, that person incurs guilt and shall confess the sin that has been committed. The person shall make full restitution for the wrong..." and then on to talk about the practical arrangement of such restitution. Confession of sin is important, as is justice.
Where I run into trouble, though, is taking these texts together with the text from Titus: "For a bishop, as God's steward, must be blameless; he must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or addicted to wine or violent or greedy for gain; but he must be hospitable, a lover of goodness, prudent, upright, devout, and self-controlled." It's all well and good if we read this about being only about "bishops," but if you think of all people as God's stewards: of each other and of creation, this text becomes a bit more uncomfortable. When I look at these attributes, I can't help but wonder: seriously? I can't think of a single person who can maintain any two of these character traits simultaneously. We might be humble but inhospitable... we may love goodness, but also love wine. We might have no need for wealth but have no self-control. This text looks at us, as Nathan did to David, and says "You're the hu/man."
The path of sinners is well-trodden. "Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous..." but isn't the congregation of the "righteous" comprised entirely of sinners? As I read the characteristics set out in Titus, I climbed up into the seat of the scoffers and said, "Yeah, right. Go for it Titus: pretty soon, you'll have no bishops. If all the sinners left church to make way for the righteous, there wouldn't be anyone there."
It is true, though: "When a man or woman wrongs another, breaking faith with the LORD, that person incurs guilt." When we wrong our neighbor, we wrong a child of God. Our guilt, however, is not magically removed by some sort of sacrifice we can make, some sort of thing we can do. The guilt is certainly removed by a sacrifice, by a gift, a gift for which we did not work and one for which we cannot pay. What makes a person righteous, worthy of being a steward of God, is not what he or she is able to do for him or herself. What makes a person righteous in the sight of God is the alien righteousness which God provided in Christ.
The path of sinners is well-trodden: it leads all the way up to the cross. It is on the cross that Christ's righteousness became the righteousness to which we cling, making us stewards of the mysteries of God.
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