I don't know about you, but I enjoy a good mystery, a good police show and a good law show. I am not one for reality TV, but I do appreciate realism and the real struggle between right and wrong, good and bad and the battle rights versus right. Although these stories are fictitious they reflect the current issues/community concerns. As such, they give us a window of insight into their source culture.

Quite a number of shows that we watch are talking about the moral dilemma that the American legal system produces at the moment. That the difficulty is in the onus of proof and the protection of the individuals rights could see that a person could be technically in the right although morally wrong. One story on the Practice that highlighted this, was the discovery of a body in a locked closet was not admissible as evidence, as the police who discovered it were conducting an illegal search and therefore the person could not be charged with murder. In the same way, the lawyers have twisted the constitution to ban prayer in public schools.

Now although these are American examples, the are illustrative of our Gospel reading. You see there was nothing illegal about the selling of animals and money changing in the temple, but it was immoral because the people in charge were using a position of power for self-promotion and self-gratification. It is a bit like buying food at the airport. There is no reason why it should cost more, but it does

The Ten Commandments that we heard as this mornings first reading, are not just good ideas, but are a framework to understand the mind of God. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus speaks of himself, fulfilling the law and extends the understanding that it is not just about actions, but adultery and murder are attitudes of the heart.

This is the problem with any form of codification - for it leads to the definition of a maximum rather than a minimum standard. It leads to the expression of faith in terms of action rather than attitude, and the idea that as long as you don't cross a line in the sand, you will remain right with God.

But the Ten Commandments are not about defining of the way to be right with God, but are an expression of the outworking of a right relationship with him. It is the heart attitude that matters. Parents and Godparents have this as a challenge, not only to teach the right action, but the right attitude. It is not something that you can do through books or formal lessons but in the way that you live out your lives before your child or Godchild. Faith is caught not taught and it is in the family that faith will be either observed or not observed and this more than any other factor will determine the faith outcome in a child.

But back to the Gospel… Jesus was outraged because of the problems that this was causing. Rather than providing a path to God through the temple and it systems and practice, the religious hierarchy had turned things on its head. They had now put in place obstacles and rather that opening the way to God, they had taken the opposite approach and were in their practice, excluding people.

And this is the problem that we have today as well. The church (and not just the Anglican Church) is full of people seeking to exclude others. It is as if we are some sort of exclusive club trying to protect the membership. And we do this very simply when try to set standards - standards of experience, behaviour, dress, age, belief. I have enjoyed in the past not being particularly well dressed when I go to a strange church to see the actions/attitudes that I encounter. I have seen churches that do not count children in their records (for they cannot understand the Gospel), and who refuse to admit them to communion for the same reason. It does not matter really, because most of the kids stop coming. There are churches where if you make the sign of the cross or sing with uplifted hands, no one will talk to you afterwards, and churches that seek in every way to ensure that no one outside can get in.

But is this the message of the Gospel? When Jesus said "Come unto me all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" he placed no conditions on it. Indeed the only condition is that of faith. Believing in Jesus. And this should be the only condition we have. It has been a long journey for me to get to this point, and it may be hard for you to understand at this point in time, but it is actually the ultimate outworking of an expression of faith in God. Think for a moment. It requires a trust in God that he is able to sort things out.

So let us take care then not to get angry with those taking the first steps of faith, but rather with those whose attitudes and actions attempt to use faith for their own importance. Who attempt to close the doors to God on others.

Perhaps this is best understood in the parable of the sheep and goats. Jesus describing the last judgement pictures the separation between those who acted with love and care and those who did not. There is no mention of the Ten Commandments or theological position just in terms of care and concern for fellow human beings. God is look for us to express our faith in our attitudes of care. Parents and Godparents can do not more than this demonstration of love. Indeed a baptism is all about faith. The child is not taken away to a monastery to be raised in the faith -as they do in Buddhism. No the child is entrusted to the love and care of the family, the Godparents and the church family and that is true faith.

May God protect us from those who would seek to splits hairs about the law but not show us the path of love.

AMEN.