I wonder sometimes about those people who buy into what those televangelists say about God. Maybe you’ve been exposed to some of their garbage before. You know, the ones who say, “God wants to bless you financially. God wants to pour down his blessings upon you, but you have to show God something first. You have to commit to God to prove that you are sincere. You’ve got to take the first step, a step of faith. God wants to bless you, but in order for him to do so, you’ve got to plant the seed first. And that seed is $1,000. All you need to do is send in $1,000 and God will bless you and pour his blessings upon you.”
Now, these televangelists wouldn’t be on saying such things if people weren’t actually sending in money. There have been documentaries showing how wealthy some of these so-called preachers have become. Someone somewhere is sending in such donations, but we rarely get to see the fallout in those peoples’ lives. We rarely get to hear a word from them about what happened after they sent in their “seed.” And I wonder what became of their faith if and when the blessings of God didn’t fall into their lap. I wonder what became of their faith when their $1,000 gift didn’t all of a sudden become $10,000. What did they think of God then? Did they question God’s faithfulness? Did they say, “God, I’ve done my part. How come you didn’t do yours?”
And it’s not just folks who have sent money to televangelists who ask such questions. I mean, I’ve heard all sorts of other comments that are very much related. “Doc, I’ve never drank or smoked. I’ve tried to eat healthy and live an active life. Why do I have cancer?” “I’ve tried to live my life as a good person. I help people wherever I can. I treat people with respect and dignity. Why did I lose my job?” “I’ve worked hard to provide for my children. I’ve given them love and affection; clothes and food; toys, a phone, and computers, why do they treat me with contempt?” Sometimes, these questions are directed at God, and the unspoken part of each of those questions is: God, I’ve done my part. I’ve done what I’m supposed to do. Why aren’t you doing your part? Why aren’t you holding up your end of the bargain? Why aren’t you being faithful?
Oh, and there is a rebuttal. There are those who have worked to squash this kind of questioning. Maybe you’ve heard it. Maybe it is ingrained deep within you. I’ve heard it numerous times as well. “I know we’re not supposed to question why...” Ever hear that one? And so you work to bury the questions. You work to cover them up deeply, but the problem is, they never quite go away. They are always there nagging. Is God faithful? Does God keep His promises? Can I really count on Him to come through?
Let us pray. Heavenly Father, there are times when we wonder about you. There are times when we wonder if you really do care. There are times when we wonder if you really will take care of us like you said you would. During those times, reveal yourself to us. Help us see just how you work. Help us to see that indeed you are faithful and that we can put our full trust in you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
The issue of God’s faithfulness is an old one. It can be found deeply embedded within the Bible in both the Old and New Testament. And what is most interesting about our text from the book of Romans today is that God’s action in Jesus Christ has presented a problem of God’s faithfulness to the early church. The problem comes in the Old Testament promises that God made to Israel. Paul summed up the blessings that God had bestowed upon Israel at the beginning of Romans chapter 9, “4They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; 5to them belong the patriarchs, and from them, according to the flesh, comes the Messiah, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.”
The problem was, that the vast majority of Israel was rejecting Jesus. The vast majority of the people did not see Jesus as the Son of God or the Messiah. The religious leaders had rejected Jesus and were persecuting the church. The political leaders were simply puppets of Rome and could care less. Even the Jews who did not live in Israel proper and who lived throughout the Roman empire were not flocking to Christianity. This caused no small amount of consternation in the early church because God’s consistency was on the line. God had made these promises to the Israelites. They were considered unbreakable. Were they now null and void? Would God keep these promises?
Paul knows he has to answer this question because it cuts to the heart of the character of God. If God can revoke a promise, then how do we know He will keep the promises given though Jesus? If God can take away this promise, then He can certainly take away another promise. Then, all our hope will be in vain. Paul now will take great pains to show that God is faithful and that He has and will keep His promises.
He begins with these words, “6 It is not as though the word of God had failed.” Paul begins by turning our attention to the Word of God. Paul knows the Old Testament backward and forward, and he is going to begin with God’s promise to Abraham. That covenant is front and center now for Paul. If you remember the promise God made to Abraham, it went like this: I will be your God, and you will be my people. From you will make a great nation. Your descendants will be more numerous than the stars of the sky and the grains of sand in the sea. I will bless you so that through you all the world may be blessed. It is this covenant that Paul is now defending.
And what does Paul say about how this covenant was passed down throughout the generations? For not all Israelites truly belong to Israel, 7and not all of Abraham’s children are his true descendants; but ‘It is through Isaac that descendants shall be named after you.’ 8This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as descendants. 9For this is what the promise said, ‘About this time I will return and Sarah shall have a son.’ Paul digs into the story of Abraham to show that the covenant is not passed down to someone simply because of genetics. Abraham has two children that the scriptures focus on: Isaac and Ishmael. Both are genetically his children. One is born through a slave, the other is born through Abraham’s wife Sarah. The covenant promise, as every good Jew knew, went to Isaac.
But it is also important to notice what Paul says about children of the flesh and children of the promise. He references the promise made to Abraham when God visited and said, “About this time I will return and Sarah shall have a son.” Now, remember, Sarah was well past the age of child bearing. Abraham was an old man himself. There was no way they should naturally have been able to conceive and bear a child...but they did. There is a strong element here of God’s work in the passing down of the covenant. Paul is pointing out that God is ultimately responsible for how the covenant is passed down because something supernatural had to take place for the promise to move on. Please keep that in mind as we move on.
For Paul now knows the next objection that will come his way. As I said before, every good Jew knew that the promise should go to Isaac instead of Ishmael because Sarah was Abraham’s wife. Hagar was a slave. It’s only natural to believe that the covenant would go to the son of Abraham’s wife. One could come to the conclusion that there is nothing mysterious or God driven about this despite God’s supernatural intervention.
Therefore, Paul goes to the next generation to show how God operates in the passing on of the covenant. 10Nor is that all; something similar happened to Rebecca when she had conceived children by one husband, our ancestor Isaac. 11Even before they had been born or had done anything good or bad (so that God’s purpose of election might continue, 12not by works but by his call) she was told, ‘The elder shall serve the younger.’ 13As it is written, ‘I have loved Jacob, but I have hated Esau.’
Now, we have to remember the story of Jacob and Esau. These two were twins, so they both have the same mother and the same father. Genetically, they are the same, however, the covenant promise was not given to both of them. It was given to Jacob, and this was decided before these two were even born. God had declared that the older (Esau) would serve the younger (Jacob). God had declared that the younger of the two would receive the covenant promise even before it was shown what kind of character or moral standing each boy would have.
This defied the cultural wisdom of the time!! In that culture, the oldest son always inherited the most!! Hands down!!! But here is God defying cultural wisdom. And God is also defying what most would expect out of a just and moral God. We would expect God to choose the person who was the most upright; the most moral; the one of the highest character. If you know the story of Jacob and Esau, you will remember that Jacob was an absolute jerk. That’s not actually the term I would prefer to use, but I am in church. Jacob was a conniving, sniveling, scoundrel. And yet, God’s covenant promise rested on him. “That the election might continue not by works but by his call.” That statement is of utmost importance in the big scheme of things. We will come back to it shortly.
But first I must deal with that last sentence of God loving Jacob and hating Esau. This statement has caused no small amount of controversy. How could a loving God hate someone even before they are born? How could a loving God be so callous in this manner? Take a deep breath. What is being said here has nothing to do with the emotions of love and hate as we know them. The story itself bears this out because God actually blesses Esau. What is being used here is a quotation found in the book of Malachi. It is a Hebrew idiom that would be better translated, “I chose Jacob and not Esau.”
Now, let’s start tying all of this together to understand what Paul is saying about God. Paul is delving deep into scripture to show that who you were born to doesn’t give you any privilege when it comes to receiving the promises of God. At the very beginning of the transfer of the covenant promises, God would choose one child over another. The second thing Paul is showing us about God is that He will willingly defy cultural norms in accomplishing His work. God operates by a different standard–a different set of rules than we tend to, so just because the culture around might accept something, it does not mean God will operate in the same manner. Finally, Paul shows us that our performance doesn’t affect whether or not the promise is handed down. God passes down the promise by grace not by works.
What do all of these things say when put together? I think it says this: when we question God’s faithfulness, we are often doing so because we misunderstand how God works and are often putting our own expectations on God instead of understanding who He is. Let’s go all the way back to those televangelists that I started with. They make the claim that God will bless you if you take the first step. If you plant the seed of giving, then God will give you more. This train of thought leads you to believe that you can actually make some sort of claim on God. This leads you to say, “God, I’ve taken the steps, now you are supposed to follow through. You owe me something because I have done the right things.”
A similar thing happens when we say things like, “God, I’ve worked really hard to be a good person. Sure, I’ve made some mistakes, but I generally try to be nice. I generally try to do the right thing. I don’t intentionally hurt others. Why are bad things happening to me?” At the heart of this question is the idea that I’ve done my part; I’ve done what I’m supposed to do, now, God you are supposed to follow through. You are supposed to bless me.
And that train of thought would be appropriate if God actually worked on the basis of performance and status. I mean, if God rained down blessing upon you because you were born a Christian–and not just any Christian but a Lutheran Christian for good measure, then you could claim your birth status as a right. But God doesn’t operate that way.
If God rained down blessings upon you because your cultural norms demanded it, then you could claim your culture as a right. But God doesn’t operate that way.
If God rained down blessings upon you because you were morally superior to everyone else,
then you could claim your performance as a right. But God doesn’t operate that way.
God operates by grace. God operates by blessing you first. In the covenant laid out to Abraham, God says, “I will bless you that you may be a blessing.” God’s blessing came first, and then Abraham’s obedience followed. And God then kept His promises to Abraham–and will continue to do so. But He will do so by grace.
And, of course, that grace is made purely evident through the actions of Jesus. For Jesus became the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world by dying on behalf of sinners–by dying on behalf of us. There was nothing that we ever did that warranted the Son of God dying for us. Not our status. Not our ability. Not our performance. In fact, our status, our ability, and our performance would actually lead to our condemnation. But instead of condemning us, God saved us by sheer grace as a gift. God has already blessed us. God has already been faithful to us because He loves us–so much so that He was willing to die for us.
And so when things start falling apart; when we feel like we aren’t receiving the blessings that we think are due; we need to be reminded, that it this isn’t a failure of God. We need to be reminded that God has already blessed us, and that in the future, God will make all things right. We need to be reminded of what God has already done on our behalf and trust that He will act again in the future. The real question then is not a matter of God’s faithfulness, it is a matter of ours.
Let us pray. Heavenly Father, thank you for your faithfulness. Thank you that you remain steadfast in your promises. Thank you that you will never revoke them or take them away. When things happen that might lead us to question those promises, lead us to the cross. Lead us to Jesus so that we may see how much you love us and the length that you have gone to make sure that your promises will remain true. Lead us to your love that we may have faith; that we may trust in you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Showing posts with label Promises of God. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Promises of God. Show all posts
Monday, May 22, 2017
Monday, December 9, 2013
Who Wouldn't Want to Prepare?
My brothers and sisters in Christ, you and I both know the world is not at all like what our first lesson from the book of Isaiah describes. The world is far from the reality the prophet spoke about long, long ago. Take another listen to his words, and then reflect on just how far away we are from this sort of reality:
The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. 7 The cow and the bear shall graze, their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8 The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den. 9 They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. –Isaiah 11:5-9
To this day, these things are not happening. To this day, there is still war and strife and death. To this day, something must die in order for something else to live. To this day the earth still rebels against God and His knowledge–it is far from full of this. Indeed, our world remains broken and battered by the reality of sin, and just one glimpse of reality can set us on edge. One glimpse about the way things really are can lead us to a state of frustration and depression. Just a cursory read of the news shows this. The headlines tell us of greed, power grabs, destruction by natural disaster, rising poverty, government debt, people forced to give up what they are pleased with, and so on and so forth. This is the world we live in, and it can be overwhelming.
It can be so overwhelming that the promise of God set forth by the prophet can be lost. The promise of God can be forgotten. The promise of God can indeed be seen as an empty promise–false hope to hold onto in the midst of all our pain and suffering. Indeed, there are those who say that religion is simply a crutch that many hold onto to deal with the reality of brokenness in our world.
God knows how easily we can fall into such despair. God knows how easy it is for His creation to lose sight of His promise and His Word. God knows that we humans function on a different reality of time than He does. For us, thousands of years is an eternity. For God thousands of years are a fleeting moment. It’s easy to lose sight of this in the midst of this world.
Knowing this, God realized we needed something to hold onto. God realized we needed something concrete to grasp whenever hope starts to fade. God knows we need more than a promise to hold onto. In the old days, a handshake solidified a deal, but today, we need lawyers and legal documents to make sure we are covered. One would think that God’s Word would be enough, but the history of God’s people shows us differently. Scripture shows us how even the people of God who witnessed God’s miraculous deeds soon forgot them in the midst of their trials and tribulations. We need something more to hold onto.
And God understood this. God realized we needed assurances. God realized something more than a vision was needed so that we had evidence of God’s intent to make all things right. And God provided that evidence. God took on flesh and lived among us.
“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 not to condemn the world, but so that the world may be saved through Him.”
Jesus Christ entered this broken world. Jesus Christ, God in flesh, entered into this reality and began the process of redemption. Sure, He performed miracles. Sure, He healed the sick, raised the dead, fed the hungry, and proclaimed God’s Kingdom. There is no doubt about these things. But these things were simply leading up to the grand finale–the reconciliation of humankind unto God.
This, of course, took place on the cross. Sometimes, it’s hard to let this sink in. Sometimes, it’s hard to remember what that cross represents. That cross represents all that is wrong with this world. That cross represents pain, suffering, brokenness, blood, injustice, selfishness, greed, depression, illness, and death. That cross does not today carry the same connotation it did 2000 years ago. Today, we see redemption. Long ago, it meant death. And that is exactly what happened to Jesus upon that cross. He was murdered. He suffered. He bled. He felt abandonment. It was not a glorious experience at all. But it was necessary. For in reality, it was us who should have been hanging on that cross. It was us who deserved punishment and death for our failure to measure up to God’s standards. We deserved to be hanging there for our participation in and failure to fix this broken world. Yet, instead of letting us take our deserved punishment, God intervened and Himself died.
This is a powerful statement of God’s love for us. There is no doubt about that. But the story is not yet done. For remember the promise of Isaiah? Remember the vision Isaiah tells us–a vision that came from God?
A shoot shall come out from the stock of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. 2 The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. 3 His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear; 4 but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. 5 Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist, and faithfulness the belt around his loins. 6 The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. 7 The cow and the bear shall graze, their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8 The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den. 9 They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. 10 On that day the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples; the nations shall inquire of him, and his dwelling shall be glorious. –Isaiah 11:1-10
This could not come to pass if the God incarnate suffered and died and that was the end. This could not be the true vision of the hope to come if the cross were the end. If suffering; if injustice; if despair; if punishment; if death were the end, then there is no real hope. God died. We are reconciled unto Him, but is there more?
The answer came three days later. Three dark days passed, but then the ground was shaken, the angels rolled the stone away, and Christ rose from the dead. St. Paul made no bones about what this meant, “20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died. 21For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead has also come through a human being; 22for as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ. 23But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. 24Then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, after he has destroyed every ruler and every authority and power. 25For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.”
Christ is God’s handshake. Christ is God’s assurance that the promise of Isaiah is real. Christ is God’s way of showing us the fulfillment of the promise has begun, and we have something to hold onto in the midst of this world.
But more than that, for we do not simply hold onto the promise as if it were something only to be treasured by ourselves. For we know that around us is a world that is indeed hurting. We know that around us is a world that is broken and suffering in ways both big and small. We know that around us is a world in need of good news.
And we also know the foolishness of trying to make the world perfect. We know it is an impossibility on our part; yet we also know we cannot remain idle. We have been touched deeply by the promises of God, and so we work to prepare the way for Christ’s return. For who wouldn’t want to do this? Who wouldn’t want to prepare for the time of ultimate peace and justice? Who wouldn’t want to prepare for the time when all people can join with one another at the marriage feast of the Lamb? The vision is glorious!
And how do we prepare? How do we get ready for this vision? By trying to implement as much of it as we can in our daily lives right here and right now. By showing God’s love through kindness and caring and involvement with others both inside and outside our community of faith. For this is what it means to Live God’s Word Daily. Amen.
The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. 7 The cow and the bear shall graze, their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8 The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den. 9 They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. –Isaiah 11:5-9
To this day, these things are not happening. To this day, there is still war and strife and death. To this day, something must die in order for something else to live. To this day the earth still rebels against God and His knowledge–it is far from full of this. Indeed, our world remains broken and battered by the reality of sin, and just one glimpse of reality can set us on edge. One glimpse about the way things really are can lead us to a state of frustration and depression. Just a cursory read of the news shows this. The headlines tell us of greed, power grabs, destruction by natural disaster, rising poverty, government debt, people forced to give up what they are pleased with, and so on and so forth. This is the world we live in, and it can be overwhelming.
It can be so overwhelming that the promise of God set forth by the prophet can be lost. The promise of God can be forgotten. The promise of God can indeed be seen as an empty promise–false hope to hold onto in the midst of all our pain and suffering. Indeed, there are those who say that religion is simply a crutch that many hold onto to deal with the reality of brokenness in our world.
God knows how easily we can fall into such despair. God knows how easy it is for His creation to lose sight of His promise and His Word. God knows that we humans function on a different reality of time than He does. For us, thousands of years is an eternity. For God thousands of years are a fleeting moment. It’s easy to lose sight of this in the midst of this world.
Knowing this, God realized we needed something to hold onto. God realized we needed something concrete to grasp whenever hope starts to fade. God knows we need more than a promise to hold onto. In the old days, a handshake solidified a deal, but today, we need lawyers and legal documents to make sure we are covered. One would think that God’s Word would be enough, but the history of God’s people shows us differently. Scripture shows us how even the people of God who witnessed God’s miraculous deeds soon forgot them in the midst of their trials and tribulations. We need something more to hold onto.
And God understood this. God realized we needed assurances. God realized something more than a vision was needed so that we had evidence of God’s intent to make all things right. And God provided that evidence. God took on flesh and lived among us.
“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 not to condemn the world, but so that the world may be saved through Him.”
Jesus Christ entered this broken world. Jesus Christ, God in flesh, entered into this reality and began the process of redemption. Sure, He performed miracles. Sure, He healed the sick, raised the dead, fed the hungry, and proclaimed God’s Kingdom. There is no doubt about these things. But these things were simply leading up to the grand finale–the reconciliation of humankind unto God.
This, of course, took place on the cross. Sometimes, it’s hard to let this sink in. Sometimes, it’s hard to remember what that cross represents. That cross represents all that is wrong with this world. That cross represents pain, suffering, brokenness, blood, injustice, selfishness, greed, depression, illness, and death. That cross does not today carry the same connotation it did 2000 years ago. Today, we see redemption. Long ago, it meant death. And that is exactly what happened to Jesus upon that cross. He was murdered. He suffered. He bled. He felt abandonment. It was not a glorious experience at all. But it was necessary. For in reality, it was us who should have been hanging on that cross. It was us who deserved punishment and death for our failure to measure up to God’s standards. We deserved to be hanging there for our participation in and failure to fix this broken world. Yet, instead of letting us take our deserved punishment, God intervened and Himself died.
This is a powerful statement of God’s love for us. There is no doubt about that. But the story is not yet done. For remember the promise of Isaiah? Remember the vision Isaiah tells us–a vision that came from God?
A shoot shall come out from the stock of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. 2 The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. 3 His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear; 4 but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. 5 Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist, and faithfulness the belt around his loins. 6 The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. 7 The cow and the bear shall graze, their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8 The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den. 9 They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. 10 On that day the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples; the nations shall inquire of him, and his dwelling shall be glorious. –Isaiah 11:1-10
This could not come to pass if the God incarnate suffered and died and that was the end. This could not be the true vision of the hope to come if the cross were the end. If suffering; if injustice; if despair; if punishment; if death were the end, then there is no real hope. God died. We are reconciled unto Him, but is there more?
The answer came three days later. Three dark days passed, but then the ground was shaken, the angels rolled the stone away, and Christ rose from the dead. St. Paul made no bones about what this meant, “20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died. 21For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead has also come through a human being; 22for as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ. 23But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. 24Then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, after he has destroyed every ruler and every authority and power. 25For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.”
Christ is God’s handshake. Christ is God’s assurance that the promise of Isaiah is real. Christ is God’s way of showing us the fulfillment of the promise has begun, and we have something to hold onto in the midst of this world.
But more than that, for we do not simply hold onto the promise as if it were something only to be treasured by ourselves. For we know that around us is a world that is indeed hurting. We know that around us is a world that is broken and suffering in ways both big and small. We know that around us is a world in need of good news.
And we also know the foolishness of trying to make the world perfect. We know it is an impossibility on our part; yet we also know we cannot remain idle. We have been touched deeply by the promises of God, and so we work to prepare the way for Christ’s return. For who wouldn’t want to do this? Who wouldn’t want to prepare for the time of ultimate peace and justice? Who wouldn’t want to prepare for the time when all people can join with one another at the marriage feast of the Lamb? The vision is glorious!
And how do we prepare? How do we get ready for this vision? By trying to implement as much of it as we can in our daily lives right here and right now. By showing God’s love through kindness and caring and involvement with others both inside and outside our community of faith. For this is what it means to Live God’s Word Daily. Amen.
Monday, July 22, 2013
Go Ahead, Laugh
This morning as I read our Old Testament lesson from the book of Genesis, I was reminded of the following story I once heard:
Nine-year-old Joey was asked by his mother what he had learned in Sunday School. 'Well, Mom, our teacher told us how God sent Moses behind enemy lines on a rescue mission to lead the Israelites out of Egypt . When he got to the Red Sea, he had his army engineers build a pontoon bridge while the rear guard held off the approaching Egyptian army. Once the bridge was assembled, all the people walked across safely. When the Egyptian army started crossing the bridge, Moses radioed headquarters for reinforcements. They sent bombers to blow up the bridge. All the Israelites were saved, and the Egyptian army was completely routed!'
'Now, Joey, is that really what your teacher taught you?' his Mother asked.
'Well, no, Mom. But, if I told it the way the teacher did, you'd never believe it!'
Go ahead and laugh, it’s quite alright to do so. Many studies have shown that laughter relives stress and helps with the body’s healing process. It also releases endorphins which make you feel good. Humor is quite a good thing. I mean, why do you think Joel Osteen begins every sermon he preaches with a joke? It gets people feeling good as endorphins surge through their bodies. Maybe that’s why Otto Reichardt brings me a stack full of jokes every time we have senior service. We need to laugh.
Which brings me to the next story. As a pastor, I’ve been privileged to offer prayers at many, many community functions. One of the recurring functions I go to is the Austin County Soil and Water Conservation Banquet of Champions. Philip Shackleford usually emcees the event, and twice, he’s used the podium to pull one on me. He’s used the same bit twice, but I still think it’s funny.
Phil began, “One day Pastor Haug was visiting in the homes of his parishioners.
At one house it seemed obvious that someone was at home, but no answer came to his repeated knocks at the door. Therefore, he took out his card and wrote "Revelation 3:20" on the back of it and stuck it in the door. Revelation 3:20 begins "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.."
When the offering was processed the following Sunday, Pastor Haug found that his card had been returned. The Revelation passage had been scratched out and replaced with "Genesis 3:10", which reads, "And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself." The room cracked up!
Unbeknownst to Phil, I had a come-back. I went up to the podium to pray, but before the prayer, I turned to the audience and said, “My turn.”
I then proceeded to tell the following story: You know, when I start working in a community, I go around a visit quite a bit, and on another one of those visits, I just so happened to be driving past Phil’s house. Now, there at his gate was a dead mule, so wanting to be neighborly, I drove up to his house, got out of my car, and knocked on the door. Phil answered, and I introduced myself. Then, I said, “I just wanted to tell you there’s a dead mule down by your gate.”
Phil looked at me and said, “Well, Reverend, I thought it was your job to bury the dead.”
Without missing a beat, I responded, “Yes sir, it is, but it is also my job to notify the next of kin.” Pandemonium ensued.
Go ahead. Laugh some more. Laughter is good for the soul. In fact, I would argue we need much more laughter in our society today. We need to allow ourselves to have a few deep, resonant belly laughs. Our society is way, way too serious. We take things so bloody seriously that our practical jokes are seen as dangerous. We need humor–it is vital.
Now, those of you who were listening carefully to our Old Testament lesson might be wondering why I am spending so much time telling you it is o.k. to laugh when laughter seems to be frowned upon in this text about Abraham and Sarah. I mean, let’s take another moment to look at this passage from Genesis.
The Lord comes to Abraham to visit, and Abraham busies himself preparing a feast for his guest. As was custom, they ate and held conversation. At the appropriate time, the Lord spoke these words to Abraham, “I will surely return to you in due season, and your wife Sarah shall have a son.” Sarah overheard, and she laughed. Now, let’s take a moment to understand why.
Scripture tells us that Sarah had ceased to be after the matter of women because she was of advanced age. Now, I know there are children here this morning, so I won’t go into the exact detail, but let me say this: Sarah was ninety. Her body had ceased its natural functions which make it possible to have children. Is the picture clear? I hope so. Now, you know why she laughed. This had to be a joke. It was impossible for a woman of that age to conceive and have a child. The body no longer functioned in that manner. Laughter is possibly the only appropriate response.
Now, before I go any further, let’s take a moment to examine some of the more humorous things about this faith that we Christians share. I mean, the idea that a 90 year old woman could conceive and bear a child isn’t the most outlandish things we proclaim–not in the least.
I mean, stop a moment and think about some of the following claims from scripture and tell me if they aren’t worthy of a good chuckle:
● God appeared in a bush that was burning, but the fire did not consume the bush. Ever seen such a thing?
● God made the city walls of Jericho fall down because people shouted and trumpets were blown. Ever seen that happen?
● God made bread appear in the desert on the bare ground. Have you ever seen food appear out of thin air?
● Elijah called down fire from heaven which ignited a sacrifice which had been drowned in water–and the resulting fire was so hot, it melted the rock. Has anyone seen a fire like that?
O.K. let’s turn to the New Testament. Here are some more whoppers!
● We proclaim that the virgin Mary was impregnated by the Holy Spirit and that Jesus had no earthly father. That’s not exactly how children get conceived is it?
● We say that Jesus walked on water. Have you done that?
● We say Jesus fed about 17,000 people with five loaves of bread and two fish. Ever tried to do
something like that when unexpected guests show up? Been that successful?
● We say that Jesus was crucified, died, and was buried; but that He came back to life. Ever seen a dead person rise?
● We say that God is the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. Three persons; one God. One God; three persons. Does that even make sense? Didn’t think so.
In fact, all of these things are quite laughable. If we try to understand them from a rational, scientific perspective, we would quite scoff at them and laugh a hearty, belly laugh.
But what if...
What if...
What if all those things were true. Just as it came to pass that Sarah indeed conceived and bore a son named Isaac.
Perhaps it is important to realize laughter is important–as long as we laugh at the right things. But the promises of God–those are no laughing matter. Those are real. Amen.
Nine-year-old Joey was asked by his mother what he had learned in Sunday School. 'Well, Mom, our teacher told us how God sent Moses behind enemy lines on a rescue mission to lead the Israelites out of Egypt . When he got to the Red Sea, he had his army engineers build a pontoon bridge while the rear guard held off the approaching Egyptian army. Once the bridge was assembled, all the people walked across safely. When the Egyptian army started crossing the bridge, Moses radioed headquarters for reinforcements. They sent bombers to blow up the bridge. All the Israelites were saved, and the Egyptian army was completely routed!'
'Now, Joey, is that really what your teacher taught you?' his Mother asked.
'Well, no, Mom. But, if I told it the way the teacher did, you'd never believe it!'
Go ahead and laugh, it’s quite alright to do so. Many studies have shown that laughter relives stress and helps with the body’s healing process. It also releases endorphins which make you feel good. Humor is quite a good thing. I mean, why do you think Joel Osteen begins every sermon he preaches with a joke? It gets people feeling good as endorphins surge through their bodies. Maybe that’s why Otto Reichardt brings me a stack full of jokes every time we have senior service. We need to laugh.
Which brings me to the next story. As a pastor, I’ve been privileged to offer prayers at many, many community functions. One of the recurring functions I go to is the Austin County Soil and Water Conservation Banquet of Champions. Philip Shackleford usually emcees the event, and twice, he’s used the podium to pull one on me. He’s used the same bit twice, but I still think it’s funny.
Phil began, “One day Pastor Haug was visiting in the homes of his parishioners.
At one house it seemed obvious that someone was at home, but no answer came to his repeated knocks at the door. Therefore, he took out his card and wrote "Revelation 3:20" on the back of it and stuck it in the door. Revelation 3:20 begins "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.."
When the offering was processed the following Sunday, Pastor Haug found that his card had been returned. The Revelation passage had been scratched out and replaced with "Genesis 3:10", which reads, "And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself." The room cracked up!
Unbeknownst to Phil, I had a come-back. I went up to the podium to pray, but before the prayer, I turned to the audience and said, “My turn.”
I then proceeded to tell the following story: You know, when I start working in a community, I go around a visit quite a bit, and on another one of those visits, I just so happened to be driving past Phil’s house. Now, there at his gate was a dead mule, so wanting to be neighborly, I drove up to his house, got out of my car, and knocked on the door. Phil answered, and I introduced myself. Then, I said, “I just wanted to tell you there’s a dead mule down by your gate.”
Phil looked at me and said, “Well, Reverend, I thought it was your job to bury the dead.”
Without missing a beat, I responded, “Yes sir, it is, but it is also my job to notify the next of kin.” Pandemonium ensued.
Go ahead. Laugh some more. Laughter is good for the soul. In fact, I would argue we need much more laughter in our society today. We need to allow ourselves to have a few deep, resonant belly laughs. Our society is way, way too serious. We take things so bloody seriously that our practical jokes are seen as dangerous. We need humor–it is vital.
Now, those of you who were listening carefully to our Old Testament lesson might be wondering why I am spending so much time telling you it is o.k. to laugh when laughter seems to be frowned upon in this text about Abraham and Sarah. I mean, let’s take another moment to look at this passage from Genesis.
The Lord comes to Abraham to visit, and Abraham busies himself preparing a feast for his guest. As was custom, they ate and held conversation. At the appropriate time, the Lord spoke these words to Abraham, “I will surely return to you in due season, and your wife Sarah shall have a son.” Sarah overheard, and she laughed. Now, let’s take a moment to understand why.
Scripture tells us that Sarah had ceased to be after the matter of women because she was of advanced age. Now, I know there are children here this morning, so I won’t go into the exact detail, but let me say this: Sarah was ninety. Her body had ceased its natural functions which make it possible to have children. Is the picture clear? I hope so. Now, you know why she laughed. This had to be a joke. It was impossible for a woman of that age to conceive and have a child. The body no longer functioned in that manner. Laughter is possibly the only appropriate response.
Now, before I go any further, let’s take a moment to examine some of the more humorous things about this faith that we Christians share. I mean, the idea that a 90 year old woman could conceive and bear a child isn’t the most outlandish things we proclaim–not in the least.
I mean, stop a moment and think about some of the following claims from scripture and tell me if they aren’t worthy of a good chuckle:
● God appeared in a bush that was burning, but the fire did not consume the bush. Ever seen such a thing?
● God made the city walls of Jericho fall down because people shouted and trumpets were blown. Ever seen that happen?
● God made bread appear in the desert on the bare ground. Have you ever seen food appear out of thin air?
● Elijah called down fire from heaven which ignited a sacrifice which had been drowned in water–and the resulting fire was so hot, it melted the rock. Has anyone seen a fire like that?
O.K. let’s turn to the New Testament. Here are some more whoppers!
● We proclaim that the virgin Mary was impregnated by the Holy Spirit and that Jesus had no earthly father. That’s not exactly how children get conceived is it?
● We say that Jesus walked on water. Have you done that?
● We say Jesus fed about 17,000 people with five loaves of bread and two fish. Ever tried to do
something like that when unexpected guests show up? Been that successful?
● We say that Jesus was crucified, died, and was buried; but that He came back to life. Ever seen a dead person rise?
● We say that God is the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. Three persons; one God. One God; three persons. Does that even make sense? Didn’t think so.
In fact, all of these things are quite laughable. If we try to understand them from a rational, scientific perspective, we would quite scoff at them and laugh a hearty, belly laugh.
But what if...
What if...
What if all those things were true. Just as it came to pass that Sarah indeed conceived and bore a son named Isaac.
Perhaps it is important to realize laughter is important–as long as we laugh at the right things. But the promises of God–those are no laughing matter. Those are real. Amen.
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