Kathryn's sermon last Sunday began with an apology. Her sermon was to be about sin, she confessed. Well my sermon today is not about sin, indeed, it is a sin-free sermon.

Our Gospel reading this morning is the well-known story of the clandestine visit of Nikodemus to Jesus. Nikodemus we are told was “a ruler of the Jews” in other words, a very important person, a pharisee most likely. He came to visit Jesus under the cover of darkness. Wow! what grist for the preacher’s mill. But I am not going to be preaching on that text.... well not yet.

I am basing my remarks this morning on The words in the Epistle of Paul to the Romans. It is probably the oldest Christian writing, about 58 AD, that is some thirty years after the crucifixion and about ten years before Mark the first gospel hit the book stalls of Jerusalem.

Paul also was a pharisee, a man well versed in the law who before his conversion on the Damascus Road had been much involved in the persecution of the early Christians. Now he became one of them. According to the Book of Acts which tells the story of the early church, he travelled widely, visiting the synagogues in the Mediterranean area. Christianity at that time was thought to be a sect of Judaism. He had hoped to visit Rome on his way to Spain. Spain was considered the end of the world. Standing on the shore of the Iberian peninsula and looking out to the west, across the Atlantic, one can well imagine that this was the end of the world. Paul didn’t get to Spain , he did to Rome but in chains.

Paul had difficulty with the jews in those synagogues. They could not believe that Jesus was the messiah promised by the prophets, also they believed that righteousness was achieved by obedience to the Law, the ten commandments and the 600 or so other rules of the Jewish religion. Paul maintained that righteousness was not achieved by the law but through faith.

He lifted up the person of Abraham, the patriarch of Judaism, and later of Christianity and indeed, also of Islam. Abraham, Paul maintained, was made righteous by faith. Long before Moses brought the Commandments from Mount Sinai, he heard God telling hymn to leave home and kindred and to journey to a land that God would give to him and his progeny. One can only imagine the laughter and consternation of some of the people at Ur, probably in modern Iraq, when Abraham announced that he was leaving, having heard the voice from God. Thus he set out “on faith” into the unknown. It was this faith in God that made him a righteous person according to Paul.

There is no doubt that laws are important. From laws that govern our behavior on the highway to intention relations, laws are important to prevent society descending not chaos. Without laws, we are... well.. lawless. But laws in themselves are not enough to make society just.

Charles Dickens in his book Oliver Twist wrote that “the law in an ass” . Janice Kennedy the Ottawa Citizen writer reminded me of this in a recent article. She goes on to tell about the case of Robert Latimer, the Saskatchewan farmer and father of Tracy. Tracy who survived birth only by the heroic measures of the medical profession, was badly deformed, subject to seizures, of a very low intelligence and in constant pain. She had already endured numerous surgical operations and more were planned, none of them relieved her of pain.

Latimer loved her dearly and was acutely aware of her suffering. It finally got to him and he realized that only death could give her peace. Placing Tracy in the cab of his truck he rigged up some hoses to transfer carbon monoxide from the exhaust into the cab and thus Tracy died.

We are familiar with the drama that followed. Latimer is now in prison on a second degree murder verdict and deprived of parole until he admit guilt and regret. Latimer truthfully maintains that what he did was the right thing.

Over against this Kennedy places Chris Meyers, the Ottawa man who murdered Ardith Wood and by plea bargaining managed to be likewise convicted of second degree murder.

By the time both are released they will have served the same amount of time behind bars. Kennedy asks, has justice been served. Do these cases not show that the law can be an ass, an idiot at times? It raises serious questions about our legal system.

Last Sunday we sang a beautiful hymn that is based on the words of the prophet Mica.
It asks: What does the Lord demand of me? And then answers: To do justice, to love mercy ad to walk humbly with God.

In his sermon on the mount Jesus defines justice. He inveighs against the popular Lex Talionis, a revenge kind of justice. ”You have heard it said of old, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth...( and I suppose, a life for a life), but I say unto you ...” and then extols forgiveness and compassion. I suppose many would say that Jesus was soft on crime and probably would not agree with the Crime Bill that is now before the Senate of this country. To walk humbly with God means to recognize out limitations , that we are creators not creators.

What sort of system of justice do we need?

When the white man came to North America he found an aboriginal people that he immediately set out to “civilize” and “christianize”.. The white man had no interest in what sort of justice system or religion was already there. In our residential schools the intention was to deprive children of language and faith, to make them Christians that can be integrated into the white man’s system.

Healing Circles are a part of the judicial system of some of the aboriginal people. It believes than not only the victim but also the perpetrator needs healing after a crime. This is not an easy task, to confront the people involved with each other. In this regard I must congratulate this congregation’s “Circles of Support” .On a wider plain, we recall Archbishop Desmond Tutu instigating the Truth and Reconciling Commission to deal with the situation in South Africa after apartheid. Tutu maintains that only such a system of Reconciliation can mend the torn fabric of Kenyan’ society.

John the apostle gives us some of the dialogue between Jesus and Nikodemus. I would like to think that this matter of law and its inadequacy over against a system built on faith was the topic. How is salvation possible?

We are not told what impact the clandestine discussion had on Nikodemus. Did he see a new light, dim and distant, did he come to see that Jesus was seeking to usher in a new dawn of peace and justice?

And what about us, do we who come and worship sense the presence of a new age. Are we then prepared to go out into the world with a daring and a tender love. Remember, the world is waiting for us. therefore go in peace.