"Beloved, I beseech you as aliens and exiles to abstain from the passions of the Flesh which wage war against your soul." In this epistle lesson today Saint Peter is urging us to behave ourselves; to be good people, to be Godly people. If Saint Paul had written these words we would have undoubtedly heard a long list of sins. Have you ever noticed that? How Saint Paul seems to think that its necessary to itemize Sin? Whenever the idea of sin comes into Paul's writing, it triggers off a list of sins and vices. When Saint Paul exhorts his readers to avoid sin, you can almost hear a little switch click in his brain and out comes a list:

           "Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry."(Colossians 3:5)

           "Now the works of the flesh are plain: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, party spirit, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like."(Galatians 5:19-20)

           Perhaps this is related to the fact that Saint Paul was mostly writing for people whose background was pagan and their understanding of what was wrong or sinful was quite different from his, whereas Saint Peter was primarily writing for those of Jewish background, and they knew well the Law of Moses and the specifics of right and wrong already. But it remains that when Saint Paul urges his readers to a Godly life he gets specific, and Saint Peter doesn't: AAbstain from the passions of the flesh, which war against your soul@, and its important for us to give this general statement some thought.

           Because so much more of Saint Paul's writings seem to have survived than Saint Peter's, his teachings have had a much greater influence upon the Christian faith, and, as we hear and read these "Inventories of vices" of his, we are encouraged to fall into the easy trap of oversimplifying our understanding of sin. The same danger awaits us with the Ten Commandments. We look at the list and say to ourselves, "Well, I haven't worshipped any idols this week, I haven't committed adultery or stolen or murdered or lied, so I must be a pretty good person." And we come to really believe that all that matters is that we be "good", meaning that we are nice, "respectable", people, who don't break the specifics of the law. We have fallen into the trap of the lists. If we haven't done any of the things on the list of "Bad" things, most of which seem pretty obvious, then we are OK. This of course was the problem with Ancient Israel, and what Jesus preached against: the danger of Pharisaism, the idea of keeping the letter of the Law but ignoring the spirit of the Law.

           But Saint Peter doesn't give us that out. He warns us to avoid all things that war against our souls. And we really have to work at that, because even though we may have never done anything wrong according to one of those lists of Saint Paul, we are all terrible sinners. Sin is a part of each one of us, just like our arms, legs, hearts and lungs are part of us. We are addicted to sin because we are human beings, and it is part of being human to want to turn away from God and his desire for us.

           But we mustn't think that since to be human is to want to be sinful, we should go ahead and yield to the temptation, or worse yet, talk ourselves into thinking that what we want to do is right simply because that is what we want!

           It is a continuous battle for all of us, and it is a battle that each of us must fight on our own, because each of us bears our own sins, the things we do or think or say that keep us turned away from God; that AWar against our souls@, that gnaw away at us and hold us back.

           And while it is important always to keep our focus upon the principle of Sin as anything that leads us away from God and his love, it is sometimes useful to get specific and list our sins. The Ten Commandments do this for us, and while they appear specific at first glance, they are in reality very general and cover all forms of sin. For example: gossip isn't specifically mentioned in the Ten Commandments, but gossip spreads untruths, and can kill someone=s reputation, so it is a form of lying and murder, both of which are clearly listed in the Ten Commandments. What about laziness? What about selfishness? They are forms of stealing when you stop and think about it. Gambling? Just because our Government says something is legal doesn't mean it is right for a Christian. God tells us we are not to covet. Coveting means that we want something that we are not entitled to, coveting is a desire to have something without getting it fairly. Yet many people go ahead and buy lottery tickets or raffle tickets, never realising that the covetous desire to get something for nothing is eating away at their souls. Many years ago, the then Bishop of Fredericton made a very clear statement forbidding raffles or any other form of gambling to us. The churches must not hold raffles, drawings, or the like. And while that statement was made in the nineteen forties, it has never been rescinded by any later bishops, nor could it rightly be, because it is clearly the will of God. And the will of God and what is right and wrong never change.

           When someone comes to me selling tickets, whether its for a quilt or a trip to Bermuda, or the kids bring home tickets to sell on a draw, I am tempted by covetousness, just like everybody else, thinking maybe I will win, but I just make a donation and refuse the ticket. It is sometimes embarrassing, but I must do it if I am to keep myself from sin. We should support good causes because of our Christian charity, not because we might get something for nothing. Gambling is gambling whether it is in a back alley or in a convenience store, just as murder is murder, whether it is done in a fit of rage or by a doctor in an abortion clinic.

           How about all those people who don't come to church, as we are called to do, because they want to sleep late on Sundays, or the fishing season is open, or, and this I used to hear all too often, they have house guests? "Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy." For us that means that our first obligation on Sunday is to come to church to worship with our fellow Christians, after that duty is fulfilled we are free to fish or visit with our friends, or nap, yet many people find all kinds of excuses. The self discipline of worship is indeed a transforming and strengthening thing that brings us closer to God, but too many people neglect it, and then we wonder about why we are unhappy, or at how wicked and selfish other people seem to be! But we who are here this morning mustn't fall into the sin of pride either. Our attendance at public worship should never be a source of pride, because that too wars against our souls just as surely as any other sin. I think you see how the lists could go on and on, and in fact the lists themselves can become a source for even greater sin.

           So we need to take Saint Peter's admonition to heart and work to avoid all those things that war against the soul. Check lists of sins may be useful, but they can lead us astray in our thoughtlessness. And Paul too, in spite of his desire to be specific, warns against this. In his letter to the Phillipians he tells us: "Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." (Phil. 2:12) We have to work out for ourselves what our sins are that keep us from the Godly life, and then wrestle with them, and ask God's help in overcoming them.

           In the Church year we are approaching the end of the Easter festival, Ascensiontide, and the anniversary of the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, a time when we reflect upon what it must be like to be without the presence of Christ. In the World, we are between the time of Christ=s time here on earth and his second coming. We must not despair because we cannot see Jesus as people once did. Jesus is with us. He is with us in physical form in the sacrament of the altar, but he is with us also in Spirit, caring for us and loving us and strengthening us. So let us all accept his love and care and strength as we wrestle with our manifold sins. Let us pray for God=s grace. Let us shun those things which destroy our souls, and turn to loving one another, loving God, prayerfully worshipping him and feeding our souls as we await his second coming, and the life everlasting. AMEN