This morning I’d like to consider three sets of laws: The Nuremberg Laws, Jim Crow laws, and Sharia.  In 1935 Germany authorized the Nuremberg Laws which mandated racial discrimination against the Jews.  Jews were forbidden to marry non-Jews; they were forbidden to employ a German woman under the age of forty-five in their homes; and they were stripped of their citizenship.  They were even forbidden to display the national flag.   By 1910 ever every state of the old Confederacy had passed Jim Crow laws.  Jim Crow laws mandated separate but, supposedly, equal status for African Americans.  Public schools, public transportation, and public places had separate buildings or facilities, toilets, and restaurants for blacks.   Sharia is a body of Islamic religious law.  It prescribes the death penalty for adultery and homosexuality; amputations for theft; and flogging for fornication or public drunkenness.  All of these sets of laws – the Nuremberg Laws, Jim Crow laws, and Sharia -- were authorized by duly constituted authorities.  The Nuremberg Laws were passed by the German parliament, the Reichstag.  The Jim Crow laws were passed by the legislatures of the Southern states.  Sharia law is drawn form the Qu’arn, the Hadin, which are the sayings of and stories about Muhammad, and from fatwas, which are the rulings of Islamic scholars.   The Nuremberg Laws, Jim Crow laws, and Sharia were or are all legitimate laws which are binding on their citizens or adherents.  We all know how important it is to live under of government of laws and to be law abiding citizens.

Do we remember the law abiding citizens of the Third Reich?  Do we remember the law abiding citizens of the Jim Crow South?  Do we remember the enforcers of Sharia?  No, we remember the law breakers.  We remember Dietrich Bonhoffer, the Confessing Church, and the Righteous Gentiles who helped the Jews.  We remember Ralph Abernathy, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Jonathan Daniels, an Episcopal seminarian who was martyred in Hayneville, Alabama.  We may have read about Hirsi Ali, the Dutch politician originally from Somalia, who is critical of the position of women homosexuals demanded by Sharia.  But most of all we remember the biggest law breaker of the all, Jesus Christ.

In today’s Gospel lesson, Jesus is exposed as a flagrant law breaker.  As we read, Jesus was walking along in the Temple and came across a man born blind and restored his sight.  After a thorough investigation, involving testimony from neighbors, the man’s parents, and the man himself, the religious authorities authenticate the miracle: This man was born blind and now he sees.  The problem is not that the miracle is shaky or suspicious; the problem is that Jesus broke the law.  According to the law, it was forbidden to work on the Sabbath.  Healing, except to save a life, making mud, and anointing the eyes were considered to be work and were thus forbidden.  All the people involved in breaking the law bear the consequences.  The man who was born blind is shunned, or at least not supported, by his parents.  He is driven out of the synagogue.  And the opposition to Jesus grows.  Jesus is a law breaker and so the Pharisees state the obvious: “’We know that this man is a sinner.’”

During Lent our Sunday morning adult education class has been watching a discussing a video series called Theologians Under Hitler.  The course follows the careers of three prominent theologians who support the Nazi regime and helped to give it a theological justification.  One of the participants in the class asked, “How can we form ourselves to be the people who will speak out and stand up against injustice and atrocities?”  How can we become the Dietrich Bonhoffer, the Dr. King, the Jonathan Daniels of our own day?  In other words, how can we form ourselves to be law breakers?

I don’t really know the answer to that question, but I think that part of the answer is found in today’s Scripture lessons.  The Letter to the Ephesians says that we should bring everything into the light so that its worth may be revealed.  Jesus is the light of the world, so we have to bring everything into the presence of Christ.  Everything has to be judged by the standards that Jesus set.  In the words of our baptismal covenant we might ask ourselves, “Does this action promote justice and peace among all people and respect the dignity of every human being?”  The answer to that question can be hard to discern especially when, as in the case of Nazi Germany, your religious leaders are telling you that the fruits of darkness are really fruits of the light.  But God has given us a brain and a conscience so that we can tell good from evil and grace to walk as children of the light.  As children of the light, sometimes God calls us to break the laws of man so that we can follow the law of love. Amen.