Why Abide in Jesus?

     Jesus says in our Gospel reading this morning “Abide in me as I abide in you,” and then He goes on further to give us the results of what will happen if we abide in Him.  This morning, I will attempt to do three things: 1) Answer the question of why we should abide in anything.  2) Show how abiding in anything other than Jesus will lead to disappointment and chaos.  3) Show why you should abide in Jesus above anything else.  It’s a rather large task before us, so let’s jump right in.

    The first thing we’ve got to deal with is why we should abide in anything.  Well, really we don’t have a choice but to abide in something.  The Greek word used by Jesus here is μένω which can mean several things: “abide”, “remain”, “to remain in a place”, “to stay in the house”, or even “to stay alive” or “to stand fast.”  And we all stand fast; we all remain; we all stay alive in something.  However, most of us don’t really take the time to think about where we abide; where we stand fast.  We are kind of like fish who are surrounded by water.  It is so natural for a fish to live in water, he wouldn’t know what it was like to live in anything else.

    So it is with how we live.  We simply go through most of our lives believing certain things we have been taught–things which are deeply imprinted within our hearts.  For instance, most of us, since we live in the U.S. have a deeply imprinted belief that if we work hard, do the right things, then we will achieve some measure of success.  We have a deeply imprinted belief that all people are equal and have certain inalienable rights.  We have a deeply imprinted belief that we are free to do as we choose as long as we do no harm to anyone.  These are so deeply ingrained that if we were taken out of our culture, we would indeed be like a fish out of water.  Many of us would have a very difficult time adjusting to anything else.  Why?  Because we abide in this particular worldview.  We stand fast in this particular worldview.  And even if there are those of you here this morning who question this particular worldview, you need to realize, you have a worldview of your own.  You have a way of looking at things that help you understand reality.  You have a way of looking at the world and dealing with all the information in the world that helps you cope with life and make sense of things.  We remain or abide in those worldviews most of our lives.  And it is very hard to change them.  Very hard.

    But sometimes we run into things that force us to deeply consider why we believe what we believe.  We run into things that force us to ask ourselves, “Is this where I want to continue to live?  Is this where I want to continue to abide?  Do I need to shift my thinking or change how I view the world?”  I have run into this more than a few times with folks throughout my career as a pastor.  Usually, these times occur when someone experiences deep sadness or loss.  If someone loses a job or a spouse or is faced with cancer, such questions usually arise.  I mean, if you have been taught that if you work hard and do good things, then you should be successful, then what happens if you lose your job or fall on hard times?  Were you not working hard enough?  Were you not good enough?  Do you see how this affects such a worldview?  I hope you can, because now we are getting into territory number two: the vast majority of worldviews will lead to disappointment or a sense of superiority over others where you hold others in contempt.  Let me say that again: the vast majority of worldviews will lead to disappointment and a sense of superiority over others where you hold others in contempt.

    Let me try and illustrate this by turning to recent events in Baltimore, MD.  Many of us have seen the images of rioters destroying property and burning buildings.  Many of us have seen the video of the mother slapping around her teenage son.  Many of us know the reason the riots have occurred is a reaction to what happened to Freddie Gray in the back of a police van and the accumulated distrust of a community toward law enforcement officials.  Pundits are pointing a lot of fingers and spreading a lot of blame, but let’s delve deep, very deep.

    Let’s begin with looking at those who blame the police for the violent uprising.  In a very real way, they hold the police officers in contempt because they believe the police have used their power and authority abusively.  This side believes they are continually victimized, and they justify the actions of the rioters by saying, “At some point all the anger and frustration boiled to the surface, and they lashed out at injustice.”  The folks are disappointed in a system which seemingly keeps them burdened and heavy laden without allowing them the freedom to escape poverty.  Many become hopeless, and I think it’s why these communities have a prevalence of drugs.  A lot of folks in these communities only live for their next fix.  Disappointment reigns as does contempt for those who they see as oppressing and abusing them.

    On the other hand, there are those who blame the rioters themselves.  There are those who believe if folks just followed the law and obeyed the rules, then they could improve themselves.  They tend to say, “These folks are just looking for an excuse to get something for nothing.  They are just waiting for an opportunity to do whatever they want, and they have no regard for the law; they have no respect for officers.”  The folks on this side of the street believe they are morally superior to those who are rioting, and they are disappointed with a system who will not crack down on such lawbreakers.  In reality, there is very little compassion being shown by this group, in my opinion.

    Now, I will say that this oversimplifies things a bit.  For we could nuance things very easily and say that there are more groups involved in this whole ordeal, but to keep time in mind, I will only deal with these two groups.  Can you see how the two worldviews lead to disappointment and contempt for others?  Can you see how the two sides are at great odds with each other?  Can you see how there is very little room for compromise or agreement on anything?  When worldviews like this clash, enmity and strife become the norm, and inevitably, worldviews will clash. 

    The question becomes: what is the solution?  Can there be any sort of resolution?  Can we just agree to disagree?  No.  I don’t think so.  The stakes are very high.  We need law and order.  We also need freedom.  We need to deal with those who break the law, but we also need to deal with the injustice of they systems which have kept people in poverty.  And more laws will not do it.  You see, people know they shouldn’t be breaking the law.  Cops know they shouldn’t abuse criminals–the vast majority don’t.  People know they shouldn’t riot–the vast majority don’t.  I mean, why do you think some cops try to destroy or appropriate cameras which catch them abusing others?  Why do you think many rioters covered their faces and hands and ran from cameras?  They know they are doing wrong!!!  We know we are doing wrong, even when our worldview tells us we are wrong, we still break the law!!! 

    I’ve outlined the problem, I think.  Hopefully, I was clear.  So, what is the solution?  Jesus says, “Abide in me.”  You may try and stop me here and say, “Well, why should I abide in Jesus. Aren’t there Christians who fall on both sides of those worldviews?  Aren’t they divided on those lines as well?”  Yes, Christians are divided on those lines as well, but if they are abiding in Jesus, they will not hold others in contempt, and they will not be filled with disappointment.  What do I mean by that?

    Well, I need to do a little bit of work here because we have to get to the heart of Christianity.  We need to see what distinguishes Christianity from all other worldviews–all other religions–all other philosophies.  Every other religion and every other philosophy will look at what is going on in Baltimore and say, “We’ve got to try harder.  We’ve got to follow the law better.  We’ve got to love our neighbors better.  We’ve got to work to overcome this division.  We’ve got to follow the tenets of our religion better.”  The emphasis is all on us.  We’ve got to do it!!  But as I pointed out earlier, we already know what to do.  Trying harder isn’t going to get us there.  It hasn’t throughout history.  It won’t now.  So what will?  Only a change of heart.  And how do hearts change?  How do hearts lose their contempt for others?  How do hearts turn from anger and hopelessness and disappointment to love and hope?

    Christianity says: Trust in what Jesus has already done for you, and to the extent you trust in Him–to the extent you abide in Him–to the extent you make your home in Him–to the extent you stand fast in Him–you will begin to love others.  You will begin to erase the contempt you once had for them.  You will no longer see yourself as superior to them.  You will not be disappointed, instead you will have tremendous hope which will give you abundant life.

    How is such a thing possible?  How does abiding in Jesus do this? 

    You have to realize what Jesus did for you.  You have to realize that when every other worldview says, “Try harder to be good, and then you will receive the rewards,” Jesus says, “There is no way you can achieve the standard that my Father and I set.  There is no way you can ever work hard enough.  There is no way you can be perfect.  You are and always will be a failure in this respect.  But I love you even if you are a failure.  I accept you even if you fall short.  I will never stop loving or accepting you.”

    “How can I trust you on this?”  You might ask Jesus?

    And His answer is the cross.  His answer is, “I died for you.”

            For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that all those who believe in Him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God sent the Son into the world not to condemn the world but that the world may be saved through Him.

    You see, when you believe that Jesus died for you when you were a sinner; when you believe you were accepted when you least deserved it, you are humbled.  You cast aside your haughtiness and your self-righteousness because you know you didn’t measure up; but you don’t grovel in victimhood and self-hatred because you know you are accepted.  You can neither be too high nor too low.  And your heart finds peace.  Your heart finds itself longing to love even those whom hurt you.  Your hearts finds itself full of hope that there can be a better way and that reconciliation is possible.  And you have proof of that with the resurrection.  Because Jesus lives, you will live also–not only for eternity, but you will live with a lasting, assuring hope.  Nothing can ever take that from you.  There is never then an need to escape the world and live for the moment–you are now abiding in the True Vine.  You are now getting your identity from Him.  You are now getting your sustenance from Him.  You now have an unending source of love and hope and compassion flowing through you.  A love that makes reconciliation possible–not because of anything you have done or how hard you have worked, but because of what Jesus has done for you and even for the one who opposes you.

    Let us pray.  Lord Jesus, you abide in us even without us asking.  You died for us when we least deserved it.  You accepted us when we were failures.  You rose to give us hope.  May we abide in you.  May we trust you.  May we find our identity in you that our divisions will cease; that we may be reconciled to one another; and that peace may reign.  In your name we pray.  Amen.

We Are God's Children, Now!

    I don’t know how many of you have seen the Broadway musical and motion picture, "My Fair Lady." It is based on George Bernard Shaw’s play, "Pygmalion." It is about a brilliant professor, Henry Higgins, who transforms a humble flower girl, Eliza Doolittle, into an elegant English lady. In the midst of her brilliant transformation, Eliza falls in love with Henry Higgins, but he treats her only with disdain.

    Towards the end of the play, she expresses her complaint to their mutual friend, Colonel Pickering: "You see," she says, "Really and truly apart from the things anyone can pick up (the dressing and the proper way of speaking, and so on), the difference between a lady and a flower girl is not in how she behaves, but how she is treated. I shall always be a flower girl to Professor Higgins, because he always treats me as a flower girl, and always will; but I know I can be a lady to you, because you always treat me as a lady, and always will."

    Think about this story for just a minute as we consider the fact that today we celebrate All Saints Day in the life of the Church.  It is the day in the Church year where we remember the saints–those who have gone onto eternal glory and those who are among us now who have profoundly impacted our lives–particularly our lives of faith. 

    For many, when the term saint is mentioned, they think about a person who has exceptional morals or who had done extraordinary things.  They think about a Mother Teresa, a Pope John Paul II, a Peter, a Paul, a miracle worker, a person who volunteers all of their spare time to help out at soup kitchens, food pantries, or other charitable organizations.  Rarely do we think of the person sitting right next to us as a saint.  No.  We know too much about that person.  We know too much about his or her past.  We know what he or she does on the weekends or how he or she treated us with just a touch of anger at some point and time in our lives.  We know how they don’t keep their lawns perfectly manicured; how they spend money frivolously; how they could do so much more to help others but they choose not to.  No, that person couldn’t possibly be a saint.  She is just a simple flower girl, never a lady: or, in Christian terms, that person is a sinner not a saint.

    One might think that with such an attitude, these folks would think more highly of themselves than they should.  One might think that those with such an attitude would consider themselves above the people they think about.  However, I would submit to you this morning, they probably don’t.  They probably look in the mirror and say, “I am no saint either.  I do not do enough good things.  I am no Mother Teresa.  I am no St. John.  I am no St. Francis of Assissi.  I’m not the most horrible person in the world, but neither am I so great.  I get angry.  I get frustrated.  I say things I shouldn’t say.  I do things I shouldn’t do.  I know my limitations and my imperfections all too well.  I am no saint.  I am a sinner.”  I am just a simple flower girl, but I really am not a lady to return to the opening illustration..

    This is where we get with either/or thinking.  This is where we get when we start thinking in terms which are not necessarily Christian.  For the orthodox Christian faith proclaims that we are not either a sinner or a saint.  The orthodox Christian faith proclaims that we are both a sinner AND a saint.  Consider that very, very carefully, and then consider its implications.

    And as you consider it, listen once more to the words of 1 John.  Words that we heard earlier this morning: “See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is. 3And all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.”

    John holds up this balance very well.  We are children of God NOW.  Not later.  Not when we are finally brought to perfection.  We belong to Him NOW.  Yet, we have not reached perfection.  We have not been fully purified.  That will take place slowly and surely in a process called sanctification.  We are in the process of being transformed into the image and likeness of Jesus Christ.  God has claimed us NOW, but we are not there yet.

    And that raises and interesting question for me: how am I then called to treat others?  How am I called to look at them?  What am I called to emphasize about them, and how am I supposed to relate to them?  As simple flower girls?  As ladies–going back to the original story? 

    Let me try to shed some light on this question with another story.  It is a story I have told before, but it bears repeating again and again and again.

    Back in the mountains of Tennessee, there was a boy born to an unwed mother. He had a hard time growing up, because every place he went, he was always asked the same question, 'Hey boy, Who's your daddy?  Whether he was at school, in the grocery store or drug store, people would ask the same question, 'Who's your daddy?'

    He would hide at recess and lunch time from other students. He would avoid
going in to stores because that question hurt him so bad. 'When he was about 12 years old, a new preacher came to his church. Little Ben had heard good things about this preacher how he was kind and non-judgmental.  He heard that he was compassionate and full of the Spirit.

    Before long, Ben decided he wanted to check this preacher out.  He would always go in late and slip out early to avoid hearing the question, 'Who's your daddy?'  Ben liked the things he heard in that church.  He liked hearing about a God who loved and forgave.  In fact, on one particular Sunday, Ben was so caught up in the message that he forgot to slip out early.  Before he knew what was happening he got caught up in the crowd.

    Just about the time he got to the back door, the new preacher, not knowing anything about him, put his hand on his shoulder and asked him, 'Son, who's your daddy?'

    The whole church got deathly quiet. He could feel every eye in the church
looking at him.  This was the question everyone was dying to receive an answer for.  Ben expected harsh words, condemnation.  But something very different happened.

    This new preacher looked deeply into Ben’s eyes.  With a great big grin, the preacher said, “Wait a minute! I know who you are! I see the family resemblance now, You are a child of God.”   With that he patted the boy on his shoulder and said, “Boy, you've got a great inheritance. Go and claim it.”

    Perhaps I should tell you that little boy went on to become the governor of Tennessee.  Perhaps that is relevant to the story.  Perhaps it is not.  Perhaps what is most important was the way the preacher thought to look at Ben.  Whereas many could only see him as an illegitimate son of an unwed mother, this pastor saw him as a child of God–and worthy of love, respect, care, concern, and compassion.

    Each of you are worthy of such things as well.  Each of you have been adopted in the waters of baptism and have been claimed as God’s children now.  No, you are not perfect, but God’s not done with you yet.  He loves you dearly.  He wants you to know that, and He hopes that you will treat one another with the same love He gives you.  For that is what it means to Live God’s Word Daily.  Amen.

Re-Forming

    There was a potter who after years of dedication and hard work decided to create his most wonderful work.  He woke that morning and began working the clay.  He added just the right amount of water to make it just the perfect consistency.  He molded it with his hands to check and make sure.  When he was completely, absolutely satisfied, he threw it on the potter’s wheel.

    Sitting down, the potter began to spin the wheel.  Years of doing this very thing had honed his muscle movements perfectly.  The wheel spun as he worked his feet building up to just the perfect speed.  The potter’s hands then flashed toward the clay.  The hands worked it, embraced it, and molded it.  The lump of clay began to change shape.  Guided by skillful fingers it rose into a perfect mound.  Studying the mound for just a second, the potter thrust his fingers toward it and shaped it further.  A piece of pottery so masterful, so creative began to take shape.  The master’s hands continued to work and mold and create until after what seemed like eternity, the piece was finished.  The artist stood back and admired his work.  It seemed perfect.  He could detect no flaws.  Removing it from the wheel, he set it apart to dry. Eventually, he would paint and fire the piece so that all could see this marvelous artwork.

    Going to bed that night, the potter dreamed of seeing the faces of others light up as they viewed the exquisite piece he had thrown this day.  The dreams were abnormally sweet.

    The next morning, the potter awoke and checked on his masterpiece.  When he entered the room, he cried out in dismay.  The piece had slumped and fallen into disarray!  This could not be.  He had mixed everything perfectly!  He had taken all precautions!  This should not have happened!  He rushed to check on his piece.  Looking it over, he thought it could be more than salvaged.  As he inspected it, he was quite sure he could actually restore it to its original perfection.

    His skillful fingers once again worked over this masterful piece of art.  Molding the clay, he reformed it into its original beauty.  After painstaking moments, he stared once more at the intricate beauty he had created.  He then departed to continue his other work.

    But alas! When the artist came back to check on the piece, he noticed it becoming deformed once again!  What was wrong with this piece?  He had never had such a thing happen before.  Should he start over?  Should he scrap his work?  Should he just try to recreate it?

    No.  The piece was too beautiful.  It was too precious.  It was indeed a masterpiece, and so the potter reformed it once more.

    Perhaps it was fate.  Perhaps it was something else, but the potter found that each time he reformed the piece of pottery, it somehow managed to get out of whack.  No matter what he tried; no matter how he added water or extra clay, it would fall out of perfection and into disrepair.  People marveled at how the potter could be so stubborn.  “Why don’t you just scrap that thing and try and create it again?”  “Wouldn’t it be worth your time just to move on?”  “Why don’t you just give up on that thing and just let it go.  Let it do its own thing and you create some other piece of artwork.”

    The advice was often tempting.  It seemed like it would be more rational to give upon the whole process, scrap the thing, and start over.  Surely there was another masterpiece within those hands and fingers.  Each time those thoughts crept in, the potter would look at that piece he had sculpted.  He saw the beauty of his creation.  He saw how marvelous it looked when it was brought to perfection.  He saw that in a real way, it was a part of him–almost as if it were created in his own image.  Destruction was out of the question.  He loved this piece of work.  He knew what it could be, and he would not stop reforming it–even if he had to keep working on it until the day he died.

    Most of us, if we were in the shoes of that potter would probably quit.  We would probably start all over and give up.  We would probably say our time, effort and energy was not worth it.  Many of us would perhaps say the potter was crazy in his endeavor to fix a masterpiece that obviously could not be fixed.  Indeed, the definition of insanity is to keep doing the same thing over and over and over again while expecting different results.  However, I would like to offer a different caveat to that definition this morning: what if you know you are doing the right things?  What if you know you have indeed chosen the correct approach in dealing with a particular situation?  What if you know that the other options of doing things are ill advised or detrimental to that which you are working with?  If indeed you are doing the right thing, then is doing it insanity or determination?   Is it craziness or hopefulness?

    Some may look at God’s decision to deal with humankind through the concept of grace as insanity or craziness.  After all, in many ways it doesn’t make much sense.  We are corrupted.  Don’t get me wrong here–I am not saying we are completely and totally deprived.  I am not saying we are completely and totally evil.  I am not saying we cannot do good things or accomplish things which are acceptable in God’s sight.  This is most certainly not true.  Indeed, when you look around the world and in our communities, you see that we do some really marvelous things: acts of compassion and mercy not only toward other human beings but toward other species–cats, dogs, cattle, horses, and the like.  You see that humans are generous in their response to those who have suffered tragedy and despair.  There is good which runs through us.

    But we are not wholly good.  There is a streak of selfishness which runs through the best of us.  That streak emerges time and again in obvious and subtle ways.  It leads us to division, strife, anger, and animosity.  Instead of loving our neighbor as ourselves, we love ourselves and care for our neighbor as long as it doesn’t inconvenience us.  Our brokenness shows when we blame others for problems and do not realize that we too suffer from the same selfishness and anger which drives thieves, murderers, adulterers, and manipulators of the system to do the things they do.  We are cracked, broken, slumping pieces of pottery–even though we were created to be a masterpiece.

    And God cherishes the beauty He sees in us.  God cherishes the kindness He put into us.  He cherishes His creation that He created in His own image and likeness.  He could destroy us and start anew, but He is attached.  And so, He constantly reaches His hands out to us to mold us and reform us into that which He intended us to be.  He knows He is doing the right thing.  He knows He is handling us with all the skill He can muster.  He knows He must give us freedom to stand on our own–even though He knows we will probably slump down once more into imperfection.  But He will never give up.  He will never quit.  He will always seek to reform us and bring us back to His original intent.

    Today, we celebrate Reformation Sunday.  It is one of my favorite Sundays of the Church year.  We commemorate the day when Martin Luther, the namesake of the Lutheran Church, nailed 95 Theses to the door of the church in Wittenberg Germany calling the Church of the day to debate the nature of God and the salvation He provided through Jesus Christ.  Unfortunately, the intended reform brought about division because of the hard headedness and hard heartedness of humanity, but it also brought about a re-emphasis on the nature of God–the God who is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love; the God who from the cross spoke the words, “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they do.”; the God who sent His only begotten Son into the world so that those who believe in Him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God sent the Son into the world not to condemn the world, but to save it.

    Today, we remember God’s desire to keep reforming, not only the Church, but us as well.  When it might be easier to scrap the whole project and start over, instead God tenaciously and hopefully molds us over and over into the people we were intended to be.  We don’t deserve it, but God does it anyway.  It’s called Grace, and it’s the reason we seek to Live God’s Word Daily.  Amen.