The other night, I had just drifted off to sleep. It had been a long several days, and my body was craving sleep so badly, that I was asleep almost as soon as my head hit the pillow. But I awoke with a start as I heard someone moving in my room. It was my oldest daughter. She was breathing heavily, on the verge of tears. “Daddy, I had a night mare. I’m scared. I can’t go back to sleep.”
I reached out and held her for a few moments. I reassured her. I sent her back to her room. She left. I looked at the clock. Only thirty minutes had passed since I laid down. I curled up, hoping to recapture the dreams that had held me captive and in restful sleep.
But sleep did not come because only minutes later, my daughter returned, this time in tears. “Daddy, I can’t fall asleep.” This time, there were no reassuring hugs. I was stern, “Turn on you radio. Go to sleep!”
She left, and once again, I pursued much needed rest. It was not to be had. Just a few minutes later, my other daughter entered the room. “Daddy, I’m really scared! I can’t sleep.” I hugged and reassured her. I told her, go back to sleep.” As she exited the room, she said, “Kiera’s in her bed crying.”
By that time, I had had it. I was angry. Not only had my sleep been interrupted, but so had others. It was time for stern measures. It was time to force the issue of sleep. I headed to my eldest’s room.
“Go to sleep!” I said as soon as I entered.
“I can’t go to sleep!” my daughter said through tears. She had taken all of her stuffed animals off her bed. She had the bare minimum of sheets and pillows. I reached for a blanket next to her bed to cover her with, and she cried, “I don’t want that.” And then, she reached for me. She stretched out her arms and wrapped them around me, and I did the same with her. I laid my head next to hers, and I simply held her. Her crying stopped. Her breathing slowed. In moments, her breathing was rhythmic, and she was fast asleep. Whatever nightmares had haunted her, they had vanished in seconds. They had vanished because of the embrace of her father.
I arose and walked out of the room, and I looked in my middle daughter’s room. She had turned on her bathroom light, her closet light, and the light next to her bed. She was laying in bed with the covers pulled up to her neck and eyes wide open. I walked to her bathroom saying, “No. No. No.” I turned off the bathroom light, the closet light, and the light by her bed. “No. No. No.” I sat down next to her. Embraced her. Laid my head down next to her and held her tight. Within moments, she too was sleeping soundly. The fears and anxieties that had haunted her were gone. She was at peace all because she had been wrapped in the arms of her father.
I thought to myself at that moment, “That is what it is like to be embraced by the loving power of God.” Whatever fears, whatever anxieties, whatever nightmares haunt you, they are erased in moments when you find yourself resting in the powerful arms of your heavenly Father–when you understand what grace is all about.
Unfortunately, today, most folks don’t understand grace because either they don’t believe in God or they have no fear of God’s anger toward sin. There is a message seeping out into society that says, “You may make a few mistakes from time to time, but basically, you are a good person. You are fine just the way you are. Don’t get down on yourself at all.” If you take God seriously, you simply cannot feel that way about yourself. You can’t think that you are just fine.
The apostle Paul certainly did not feel that way about himself, and he is one of the greatest messengers of the Christian faith that walked the earth. Last week, in out snippet from Romans Chapter seven, he laid out his case for how the law works–how it confronts us with our sinfulness. If you were here last week, you were presented with a list of the demands of God. I don’t think anyone in this room could fulfill even one of those demands. If we use God’s standard for measurement, we are not simply sinful–we are sinners.
Paul knew this down to the very marrow of his bones. He knew how he stood in comparison to the law. He knew where he stood when it came to accomplishing following God, and it scared him. It literally scared him to death.
Paul knows that there is a power at work within him. He knows there is a power that is corrupting his body. He knows that something is very wrong deep within him. He knows that the law comes from God and is spiritual. He knows that the law is holy and just and good. But he also knows that he is fleshy. He knows he is still under the influence of this world–sold into slavery under sin, as he puts it. And he is not happy about this. Because he wants to be good. He wants to do good. He wants to do the right thing at all times and in all places. But he cannot, “I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing that I hate.”
Have you ever found yourself there? Have you ever found yourself thinking, “I know what I should do...” I know I should be more generous, but the economy looks shaking. I know I should give my new neighbors a chance, but they have some weird ideas and don’t do things like I do them. I know I should be forgiving, but the pain that person has caused me is so great. I know I should talk about my faith in Christ to others, but I don’t think I know enough and people might get upset with me. Can any of you relate? Can any of you understand what it means to know what is right and yet fail to do it?
So, what is the problem? Why is it that we know there is a standard that is good but fail to do it? Why is it that we know that the law is good, but we fail to implement it? Because, Paul now says, that deep within us–deep within him–is a power that is at war with the good. There is a power that is moving deep within our members that is corrupting us and leading us astray. There is a power that won’t release its hold on us. A power that is subtle when it needs to be subtle; brutal when it needs to be brutal. It is a power that will do whatever it takes to lead us away from what we know deep down in the innermost part of our being to be right. That power, Paul says, is sin. And it continues to corrupt us. It continues to influence us. It continues to work on us toward its purpose so that we do not become what God intends us to be. “I can will what is right,” Paul says, “but I cannot do it.” Sin dwells in me. It corrupts me.
And so, I find myself at war, Paul says. Deep within my heart, I love God and His law. I love the commandments because I know that they are for my good. I want to please God and honor Him. I want to implement these things because they are given to me by God Himself. Deep down, I know this. Deep down, to the core of my being, I want to do this. But, outside the core of my being, sin holds the rest of me captive. I cannot escape it. I cannot avoid it. I cannot overcome it. I am wretched!
What a horrible thing to say about one’s self. What an absolutely horrendous thing to say. When you call yourself wretched, you are saying that you are worthless, of no value, miserable, devastated, heartbroken. None of us want to feel this way. None of us want to go down this path. But if we hold ourselves to the standard of God’s law and take God’s law in its entirety seriously, then this is exactly where we cannot help but end up. Wretched. Paul, when he gets to this point cries out, “Who will rescue me from this body of death?” Paul is having a nightmare. Paul is unable to sleep. Paul is scared to death.
“Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Who rescues us from this nightmare? Who wraps His arms around us so that we can sleep? Who brings us peace in the midst of this conflict? Jesus. Only Jesus.
“Not the labors of my hands can fulfill thy law’s demands”
Could my zeal no respite know, could my tears forever flow,
All for sin could not atone, thou must save, and thou alone”
Nothing in my hands I bring, simply to thy cross I cling.
Naked come to the for dress; Helpless, look to the for grace;
Foul, I to the fountain fly; wash me Savior, or I die.
Rock of ages, cleft for me, let me hide myself in thee.”
This hymn speaks deeply to what God has done in Jesus Christ. It speaks of how Christ gave Himself up for us to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. It speaks of how in the midst of our sin, Christ washes us clean and clothes us with His righteousness. We are indeed wretched, but we are cleansed. We deserve God’s righteous anger, and we have received His marvelous love. We are sinners who deserve just condemnation, and we are saints who have received salvation.
I wish I could convey to you better what this means. I wish I had the ability to help you see this just like I had the ability to wrap my arms around my daughters in the midst of their fear and anxiety and bring them rest. I wish I could convey to you the deep love of God for you–to show you the depths that He has gone to redeem you. I wish I could make it tangible–to make it come alive within you so that each and everyday you might cry out, “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” I wish I had the ability to have this settle deep within your hearts because it was this Gospel that changed the world so long ago. It was this gospel that inspired a small group of disciples to take this message throughout the world. It was this gospel that transformed individuals and then societies. It was this gospel that brought people to a place where they didn’t fear to die; they didn’t fear loving those who were different than they were. They didn’t fear the future. They were consumed with loving God and loving their neighbor. They offered forgiveness. They offered hope. They were at peace.
This is desperately needed in our world right now. The anger, fear, and anxiety in our society are palpable. You need only to read the news and see how people are treating one another today. You need only to turn on the television to see how the seeds of distrust have been sown–how we tend to walk on eggshells because we don’t want to cause someone to erupt with anger and hatred. How we have to measure every single word that we say or type because of how it can be misconstrued and used against us. How we cluster into our various groups: conservative, liberal, democrat, republican, men, women, race, color, creed and look at others as a threat to us. How we worry about threat after threat after threat. Sin is using these things to divide. To scare. To breed hatred. Sin is still very much a disease that infects not only us, but the world.
Jesus is the cure. Jesus can bring healing. And it starts right here. With us. With our hearts being captured by His love. With our being a community of people focused on Him. I pray this day that we all may know the depths of His love for us, that we too might find peace and rest in Him; that we may be a community that lives in Him; that we feel His presence with us and that our fears and anxieties may cease. May we all know the love of Jesus. Amen.
Showing posts with label pastor. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pastor. Show all posts
Monday, February 27, 2017
Sunday, December 25, 2016
How Blessed are Messengers
A man sat in a marriage counselor’s office in despair. His wife was threatening to leave him. He desperately loved his wife. He wanted to stay with her; to be with her. No one else had ever caught his attention, and he had devoted himself to caring for her. He was flabbergasted when she told him that she felt unloved. He couldn’t understand it at all. So, he sought help and advice.
The counselor asked the man what was going on.
The man began, “I don’t know. She says that she feels unloved. She says that she feels like I don’t care about her. But nothing could be farther from the truth. I love her dearly, desperately. I only want what is best for her. I work as hard as I can each and every day to show my love to her. I make sure and get all my work done so I can get home. I cook dinner for her almost every day. I know what kind of food she likes and doesn’t like, and I take great pains to make sure it’s cooked to her taste. I know what kind of clothes she likes to wear, so I make sure her wardrobe is full of those clothes. I have purchased several things personally, and she never tells me that they are bad. She has always marveled at how well I can buy stuff for her. I also take her on vacations to whatever destination she wants. Never have I refused her a single request to a place she wants to go. I have constantly done things for her and given her gifts, so I don’t understand why she feels unloved. I haven’t a clue why she believes I don’t love her. Can you help me?”
The counselor scratched his head for a moment and then replied, “When is the last time you told her?”
The man sat in silence and struggled to remember.
It is certainly true that love without action is merely words. You can tell someone you love them over and over and over again, but if your actions contradict your words, you are a liar. If there are no actions following the words, they remain empty.
However, words matter. Messages matter. Not only do we need to see things in action, we need to hear those words. We need to hear messages. We need people to verbalize what is going on deep within their own hearts and souls. News carries weight.
We all know that news carries weight. We all know that words that are spoken or read sometimes hit us where we live–even if we are far removed from the events that are taking place, news still impacts our lives. For instance, on September 11, 2001, four passenger airplanes were hijacked. Two were flown into the World Trade Center towers. One was flown into the Pentagon. One was crashed into a field in Pennsylvania. As far as I know, none of us here this morning had any direct contact with those events–if someone here did, please correct me later. As far as I know none of us here were really, truly impacted by what happened. We weren’t there. We were over a thousand miles away.
But the news about those events hit many of us hard. We grieved for the people who were killed. We grieved for the families who lost loved ones. We grieved for our nation as we came under attack. We were angered by those who attacked us. We wanted vengeance. We also were inspired by the acts of heroism that we heard about. We took pride in police officers and other first responders who risked and gave their lives to help others. Reflecting on such stories, we hugged our families a little tighter. We turned to God in bewilderment, in frustration, in questioning. We rallied together as a nation. The event itself may have had little impact on us, but the news of what happened certainly did.
News always elicits a response. Whether it is emotional or physical, news always causes us to react–sometimes with joy; sometimes with sadness; sometimes with elation; sometimes with anger. When the news really hits home, we talk about it; we discuss it; we share it. Those of us with Facebook know this all too well.
Christianity, at its core is about news. To be precise, Christianity is about THE good news. We use the technical, theological term: Gospel. Gospel literally means good news. The question that often arises is: what is the good news? What is the gospel?
Well, in order to know the good news, we first have to hear the bad news. The bad news is that we are separated from God. The bad news is that we live in a world where that separation shows itself on an all too regular basis. The technical term for this is that we live in sin. Now, this term has fallen out of favor with many. Most folks today prefer to talk about the mistakes we make. Everyone readily admits that they are not perfect, but no one wants to admit that they are sinful. No one wants to admit that deep down they are inherently selfish or that they seek their own wishes and desires over everything else. Truly evil people are rare and to be held in contempt. Most folks aren’t bad but perhaps misunderstood. And if we simply manufactured the right conditions or put the right sorts of laws in place or produced the right environment, then everyone would turn out perfectly fine. Everyone would get along swimmingly and be completely happy and satisfied.
What is truly intriguing about such commentary is that it is not new. Folks have thought this for thousands of years. The idea of utopia–or the perfect society with perfect living conditions has been around for a long, long time. And each and every time it has been attempted, it has failed. Just like every end time prediction. They’ve all failed. Folks have tried to come up with the answer, but one answer has stood the test of time–even though it isn’t popular, and that answer is: there is something deeply wrong and deeply flawed with us. No matter what kind of society. No matter what kind of government is established. No matter what kind of laws are on the books, humans do not do what we know is right. We do not follow the laws like we should. We end up seeking our own interests above the interests of others. Scripture calls this the original sin–seeking our self interest over what God has instructed us to do. This selfish orientation has left us estranged from God–separated from Him and His goodness.
Now, God is a God of love, and He has given us free will. He will allow us to go our own way and walk away from Him should we choose. He will allow us to engage in our destructive behavior and seek our own desires for eternity. And, left to our own devices, we would. You may ask: what’s wrong with that? Here’s what: we will never be satisfied. We will always be searching. We will always be hungry. And imagine your hunger growing and growing in an eternal search for satisfaction and fulfillment. Imagine never finding what you seek and desperately longing for what you desire with no end. You would be miserable. You would be desperate; in pain; in longing. My friends, you would be in hell. And that is exactly what the Bible says will happen to us left to our own devices and our own desires.
But God does not desire this for us. God does not want us to end up in this condition. God wants us to thrive. God want’s us to find satisfaction; to find fulfillment; to find joy, peace, and hope. But He knows we will not find that in any thing but Him. He knows He alone can fulfill our deepest desires and hungers. And He knows that we must turn to Him; we must trust Him; we must seek Him and make Him our greatest heart’s desire.
But how would God do this? He could warn us. He could try and tell us of all the things that we should and shouldn’t do. He could tell us to love Him above all and love our neighbor as ourselves. And God did just this thing. But, our selfishness wouldn’t allow us to accomplish these things. Our selfishness would not let us see beyond ourselves in loving God and loving our neighbor.
And so God sought to change our hearts–to turn us away from our selfishness. There is one powerful force that can indeed change a heart. There is one powerful force that can cause us to step outside of ourselves and seek to please others instead of ourselves. That force is love. When we fall in love with someone, we will to anything we can to please that other person; we will live for that other person; we will strive to do what they ask us because we know it brings them joy. And God had to wonder how to make us fall in love with Him. How could He demonstrate His love and share His love with us?
Last night, we heard about the birth of the Christ child in the manger. We heard of angels singing, shepherds running, and Mary pondering these things in her heart. Today we heard about the light shining in the darkness, the Word becoming flesh and living among us. We heard of God becoming human in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus who came to speak of God’s love; who told us that God is the good shepherd who seeks out the one lost sheep out of the 99; God is the woman who tears up her house to find one lost coin; God runs out to meet the son who squandered His wealth and throws a party for that son; God also leaves that party to welcome in the son who has done everything right and is bitter at God’s graciousness. Jesus told of an extravagant God who loves those who are far away from Him.
And Jesus didn’t simply tell of this love. The God become man showed that love as He took our sin upon Himself. He took the just punishment for the wrongs we have done. He poured out Himself on the cross and died for us when we least deserved it speaking those haunting words, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” Dying for a family member is common place. Dying for a friend is something we might do. People have even died for strangers. But dying for an enemy? Dying for someone who does not believe or follow you? That is a special kind of love. That is the love that Jesus shows. That is the love of God for you and for me. 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 might be saved through Him.
God poured out His love for you on the cross, and then three days later, He showed what happens to those who trust in Him; who trust in Jesus’ work on their behalf. They will be raised to eternal life and glory. All of their hungers and wants will be satisfied. Their future is safe and secure in the hands of the one who created and redeemed them.
This my friends, is the Gospel. This my friends is the good news. When we were separated from God, He bridged that gap. He reconciled us unto Him. He provided for us; saved us; and ensured our future.
This is the news that we are now commissioned to tell. We are now messengers on God’s behalf to tell the world about what God has done for them. Not only with our deeds. Not only with our acts of kindness and generosity, but with our voices. We are called to share what God has done for the world. For you. For me.
And then, so shall come to pass what is written in the book of Isaiah. It will be spoken about the Church and all who believe, “7 How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger who announces peace, who brings good news, who announces salvation, who says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns.’ 8 Listen! Your sentinels lift up their voices, together they sing for joy; for in plain sight they see the return of the Lord to Zion. 9 Break forth together into singing, you ruins of Jerusalem; for the Lord has comforted his people, he has redeemed Jerusalem. 10 The Lord has bared his holy arm before the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.” Merry Christmas!! Amen.
The counselor asked the man what was going on.
The man began, “I don’t know. She says that she feels unloved. She says that she feels like I don’t care about her. But nothing could be farther from the truth. I love her dearly, desperately. I only want what is best for her. I work as hard as I can each and every day to show my love to her. I make sure and get all my work done so I can get home. I cook dinner for her almost every day. I know what kind of food she likes and doesn’t like, and I take great pains to make sure it’s cooked to her taste. I know what kind of clothes she likes to wear, so I make sure her wardrobe is full of those clothes. I have purchased several things personally, and she never tells me that they are bad. She has always marveled at how well I can buy stuff for her. I also take her on vacations to whatever destination she wants. Never have I refused her a single request to a place she wants to go. I have constantly done things for her and given her gifts, so I don’t understand why she feels unloved. I haven’t a clue why she believes I don’t love her. Can you help me?”
The counselor scratched his head for a moment and then replied, “When is the last time you told her?”
The man sat in silence and struggled to remember.
It is certainly true that love without action is merely words. You can tell someone you love them over and over and over again, but if your actions contradict your words, you are a liar. If there are no actions following the words, they remain empty.
However, words matter. Messages matter. Not only do we need to see things in action, we need to hear those words. We need to hear messages. We need people to verbalize what is going on deep within their own hearts and souls. News carries weight.
We all know that news carries weight. We all know that words that are spoken or read sometimes hit us where we live–even if we are far removed from the events that are taking place, news still impacts our lives. For instance, on September 11, 2001, four passenger airplanes were hijacked. Two were flown into the World Trade Center towers. One was flown into the Pentagon. One was crashed into a field in Pennsylvania. As far as I know, none of us here this morning had any direct contact with those events–if someone here did, please correct me later. As far as I know none of us here were really, truly impacted by what happened. We weren’t there. We were over a thousand miles away.
But the news about those events hit many of us hard. We grieved for the people who were killed. We grieved for the families who lost loved ones. We grieved for our nation as we came under attack. We were angered by those who attacked us. We wanted vengeance. We also were inspired by the acts of heroism that we heard about. We took pride in police officers and other first responders who risked and gave their lives to help others. Reflecting on such stories, we hugged our families a little tighter. We turned to God in bewilderment, in frustration, in questioning. We rallied together as a nation. The event itself may have had little impact on us, but the news of what happened certainly did.
News always elicits a response. Whether it is emotional or physical, news always causes us to react–sometimes with joy; sometimes with sadness; sometimes with elation; sometimes with anger. When the news really hits home, we talk about it; we discuss it; we share it. Those of us with Facebook know this all too well.
Christianity, at its core is about news. To be precise, Christianity is about THE good news. We use the technical, theological term: Gospel. Gospel literally means good news. The question that often arises is: what is the good news? What is the gospel?
Well, in order to know the good news, we first have to hear the bad news. The bad news is that we are separated from God. The bad news is that we live in a world where that separation shows itself on an all too regular basis. The technical term for this is that we live in sin. Now, this term has fallen out of favor with many. Most folks today prefer to talk about the mistakes we make. Everyone readily admits that they are not perfect, but no one wants to admit that they are sinful. No one wants to admit that deep down they are inherently selfish or that they seek their own wishes and desires over everything else. Truly evil people are rare and to be held in contempt. Most folks aren’t bad but perhaps misunderstood. And if we simply manufactured the right conditions or put the right sorts of laws in place or produced the right environment, then everyone would turn out perfectly fine. Everyone would get along swimmingly and be completely happy and satisfied.
What is truly intriguing about such commentary is that it is not new. Folks have thought this for thousands of years. The idea of utopia–or the perfect society with perfect living conditions has been around for a long, long time. And each and every time it has been attempted, it has failed. Just like every end time prediction. They’ve all failed. Folks have tried to come up with the answer, but one answer has stood the test of time–even though it isn’t popular, and that answer is: there is something deeply wrong and deeply flawed with us. No matter what kind of society. No matter what kind of government is established. No matter what kind of laws are on the books, humans do not do what we know is right. We do not follow the laws like we should. We end up seeking our own interests above the interests of others. Scripture calls this the original sin–seeking our self interest over what God has instructed us to do. This selfish orientation has left us estranged from God–separated from Him and His goodness.
Now, God is a God of love, and He has given us free will. He will allow us to go our own way and walk away from Him should we choose. He will allow us to engage in our destructive behavior and seek our own desires for eternity. And, left to our own devices, we would. You may ask: what’s wrong with that? Here’s what: we will never be satisfied. We will always be searching. We will always be hungry. And imagine your hunger growing and growing in an eternal search for satisfaction and fulfillment. Imagine never finding what you seek and desperately longing for what you desire with no end. You would be miserable. You would be desperate; in pain; in longing. My friends, you would be in hell. And that is exactly what the Bible says will happen to us left to our own devices and our own desires.
But God does not desire this for us. God does not want us to end up in this condition. God wants us to thrive. God want’s us to find satisfaction; to find fulfillment; to find joy, peace, and hope. But He knows we will not find that in any thing but Him. He knows He alone can fulfill our deepest desires and hungers. And He knows that we must turn to Him; we must trust Him; we must seek Him and make Him our greatest heart’s desire.
But how would God do this? He could warn us. He could try and tell us of all the things that we should and shouldn’t do. He could tell us to love Him above all and love our neighbor as ourselves. And God did just this thing. But, our selfishness wouldn’t allow us to accomplish these things. Our selfishness would not let us see beyond ourselves in loving God and loving our neighbor.
And so God sought to change our hearts–to turn us away from our selfishness. There is one powerful force that can indeed change a heart. There is one powerful force that can cause us to step outside of ourselves and seek to please others instead of ourselves. That force is love. When we fall in love with someone, we will to anything we can to please that other person; we will live for that other person; we will strive to do what they ask us because we know it brings them joy. And God had to wonder how to make us fall in love with Him. How could He demonstrate His love and share His love with us?
Last night, we heard about the birth of the Christ child in the manger. We heard of angels singing, shepherds running, and Mary pondering these things in her heart. Today we heard about the light shining in the darkness, the Word becoming flesh and living among us. We heard of God becoming human in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus who came to speak of God’s love; who told us that God is the good shepherd who seeks out the one lost sheep out of the 99; God is the woman who tears up her house to find one lost coin; God runs out to meet the son who squandered His wealth and throws a party for that son; God also leaves that party to welcome in the son who has done everything right and is bitter at God’s graciousness. Jesus told of an extravagant God who loves those who are far away from Him.
And Jesus didn’t simply tell of this love. The God become man showed that love as He took our sin upon Himself. He took the just punishment for the wrongs we have done. He poured out Himself on the cross and died for us when we least deserved it speaking those haunting words, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” Dying for a family member is common place. Dying for a friend is something we might do. People have even died for strangers. But dying for an enemy? Dying for someone who does not believe or follow you? That is a special kind of love. That is the love that Jesus shows. That is the love of God for you and for me. 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 might be saved through Him.
God poured out His love for you on the cross, and then three days later, He showed what happens to those who trust in Him; who trust in Jesus’ work on their behalf. They will be raised to eternal life and glory. All of their hungers and wants will be satisfied. Their future is safe and secure in the hands of the one who created and redeemed them.
This my friends, is the Gospel. This my friends is the good news. When we were separated from God, He bridged that gap. He reconciled us unto Him. He provided for us; saved us; and ensured our future.
This is the news that we are now commissioned to tell. We are now messengers on God’s behalf to tell the world about what God has done for them. Not only with our deeds. Not only with our acts of kindness and generosity, but with our voices. We are called to share what God has done for the world. For you. For me.
And then, so shall come to pass what is written in the book of Isaiah. It will be spoken about the Church and all who believe, “7 How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger who announces peace, who brings good news, who announces salvation, who says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns.’ 8 Listen! Your sentinels lift up their voices, together they sing for joy; for in plain sight they see the return of the Lord to Zion. 9 Break forth together into singing, you ruins of Jerusalem; for the Lord has comforted his people, he has redeemed Jerusalem. 10 The Lord has bared his holy arm before the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.” Merry Christmas!! Amen.
Monday, June 29, 2015
The Seed Grows
Let me begin this morning by setting the stage for what is happening in our Gospel lesson from the book of Mark. I have said before that I believe Mark is a brilliant writer and story teller and that he places things in his gospel for a particular reason. Such is the case with our lesson today. Just prior to this account of Jesus’ calming the wind and waves, Jesus was teaching people from this boat as they gathered to hear Him preach. Jesus said the following:
‘The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, 27and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. 28The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. 29But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come.’ 30 He also said, ‘With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? 31It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; 32yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.’ Mark then informs us that Jesus taught the crowd with such parables, but when He and His disciples were alone, Jesus would teach them in more detail. After informing us of this, Mark delves straight into a demonstration of Jesus’ power, but I would like to argue this morning this is less a demonstration about Jesus’ power and more about who He is.
Mark begins by telling us that Jesus tells His disciples that they need to go across to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. The phrasing of Mark here indicates that they did not stop for provision. They did not go ashore to stretch their legs. They didn’t take too much time to check the weather. They took Jesus “just as He was.” Other boats were with them as they began their trek across the waters.
Now, for a little bit of detail about the Sea of Galilee. It’s a body of water that rests over 600 feet below sea level. It is thirteen miles long and eight miles wide. It has a mountain range on one side, and it is prone to sudden and violent storms. You see, winds oftentimes rush down the mountainsides and wreck havoc on boaters even today. There is very much precedent for the kind of storm Jesus and His disciples were to experience, but we will get to this in just a moment. For now, we need to turn our attention to Jesus Himself.
For, you see, in this little snippet, we get a very real sense of the human side of Jesus. For it is the only time in the whole Bible we hear of Jesus sleeping. He had spent the entire day teaching; healing; forgiving sins and the like. Perhaps some of you here this morning have worked so hard that you could not keep your eyes open. Perhaps some of you have engaged in activities to the point where you crash out and you wake up unbelieving that you have slept so long and so hard. Perhaps some of you have been so tired that you fell asleep at two or three in the afternoon and then suddenly woke the next morning realizing you have slept for thirteen, fourteen, or even fifteen hours. This is the kind of tired Jesus is experiencing. He is wiped out. Completely and totally. How wiped out is He? Mark gives us the details.
You see, one of those sudden storms that I spoke of earlier hits the disciples as they are crossing the Sea of Galilee. It’s not a little storm. Not in the least. Mark records that the boat is being swamped! This means the waves are breaking over the top of the boat and soaking everyone inside it. Now, this fishing boat was approximately 26 feet long. It could hold about 15 people. They did not have any sort of cover on it. There was no below deck or anything of the sort. Jesus is lying in the front of the boat on a cushion. He is exposed to the weather. He is having waves crash over Him, and He is not waking up. Think about that. When is the last time you were splashed by water while you were sleeping and you didn’t wake up? Probably never. Yet, Jesus is so tired. He is so desperately weary, that He doesn’t wake up.
And this ticks off the disciples. Yes, you heard me correctly, this ticks off the disciples. You see, the disciples know they are in trouble. This is no small detail according to Mark. I mean, we know that several of the disciples are experienced fishermen. They have been in boats all of their lives. They know how to handle these boats backward and forward. They know all the tricks of the trade. They know how to survive. And even these disciples are afraid. Even these disciples know that if something doesn’t occur to change what is going on around them, they will die. At least they have the sense to go to Jesus.
But they approach Jesus in rather brutish fashion. “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” Let me quote to you one of the commentaries I consulted this week regarding this statement. “Matthew 8:25 softens the reproach to a prayer, and Luke 8:24 to a plea for help. The rudeness of Mark’s wording reflects the way frustrated and desperate people speak and is probably a verbatim reminiscence of the disciples’ response in the crisis.” It’s telling that later writers–who probably consulted the book of Mark–softened this particular rebuke of the disciples’.
It’s not surprising, however. Remember how I said earlier, this story is not so much about the disciples as it is about Jesus. And the disciples had been around Jesus. They had seen Him heal the sick. They had seen Him cast out demons. They had seen Him perform amazing acts of power and release people from trials and tribulations. He had done all this stuff for complete strangers, and now, the very people who Jesus Himself had called to be His followers were in grave danger. The very people Jesus had entrusted to the explanation of the parables and His teachings were in very real danger of drowning and dying. And what was Jesus doing? How was Jesus facing this terrible storm? By sleeping. This just wasn’t right. Something had to be done. “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”
How many times do we find ourselves just like those disciples? How many times do we find ourselves looking heavenward and saying, “Don’t you care?” We look around this world and see people who reap blessing upon blessing. We look around and see people who do not go to church; who do not pray; who do not study the Bible; we see these folks reap benefits. They seem to capture special blessings of God; but those of us who are involved in church and who strive to do the right things get caught up in storms. I know many of those storms you face: whether it is grief at losing a loved one; whether it is battling cancer or dealing with a loved one who has serious disease; whether it is struggling with a relationship that has gone south; whether it is facing a shortage of money in your household; these are just some of the storms we all face, and our temptation is to look to God and say, “Don’t you care? Are you asleep? We are dying here? Won’t you do anything?”
And Jesus, after awaking rebukes the wind and the waves. He says, “Peace, be still,” and there is a dead calm. Now, mind you, when winds die down after a storm, the waves still beat back and forth until their energy is used up. Both wind and wave do not normally cease at once, yet this is exactly what Mark tells us happens. And it causes a great amount of awe to fall upon the disciples–an awe that is rammed home by Jesus’ words to them, “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?’ 41And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, ‘Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”
That question at the end is a bit of a rhetorical one because Jesus has just shown who He is. How so? I would like to take you back in time–way back in time–to the very beginning of time. Hear now the words of Genesis chapter one: In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, 2the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. 3Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light. 4And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. 5God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.
I am not going to read any further because the scene becomes repetitive. Over and over God speaks into existence the world. By the command of His voice, all things come into being. By the command of His voice, the chaos of water and wind and darkness is transformed into the order of creation, and now, Jesus standing in a fishing boat with a command of His voice stills the chaos of water and wind in the midst of the darkness once again. Who is this? This is God incarnate. This is the One who is fully divine and fully human; who becomes so tired that He sleeps through crashing waves and who is so powerful that He stills the storm with a few words. This is Jesus, our Lord and our Savior who is unleashing the Kingdom of God–a Kingdom that began small, the tiniest of seeds that is now growing into a huge bush.
But, wait, you might say. I see what Mark is trying to convey in this story, but what does this have to do with me? What does this have to do with the storms in my life? Let me ask you the same questions Jesus asked His disciples: “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have such little faith?” Or, do you have such little trust? which is probably a better interpretation
Why would I say such a thing? Why would I seem so callous to your inquiry? Let me ask you this–Do you not realize what Jesus has promised you? Do you not realize what Jesus came to the earth to accomplish?
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, the storms you face in life are hard. They are rough, but they are nothing compared to the storm you would face without Christ. For we are all in the same boat as far as our relationship with God. We all fall short. We all miss the mark. We all act in selfishness and self-centeredness. I am no better than you. You are no better than me. We are no better than the guy who walked into the AME Church in South Carolina and massacred church goers. We desire to be in charge and in control, and deep down, we know we do not even measure up to the standards to which we hold others. We are tremendous hypocrites. Deep down, I think we all know this, and if there is a Judge over the universe, we know that if we were to ever appear before Him, we would stand condemned. We would face the ultimate storm of that Judge’s wrath.
And we would face that wrath if it were not for the one who faced that storm for us. We would face the horrible prospect of the wrath of God if it were not for the God incarnate, Jesus Christ, who faced that wrath in our stead–who upon the cross cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?!” as He felt that storm. But after facing it–after going through the storm of death and God’s wrath, He was raised to new life. He was resurrected as the first fruit of a new creation–of a new heaven and earth; of a new Kingdom–a Kingdom that you and I have been invited to join through the blood of Jesus. When we place our trust in Jesus and what He accomplished on the cross, we know our ultimate destination, and we have little to fear.
If you trust that you are traveling with Jesus, then whatever storms assail you, you can rest assured–He has been there. He has faced the ultimate storm. He loves you and will never desert you. As Martin Luther wrote in his famous hymn, “Were they to take our house, goods, honor, child or spouse. Though life be wrenched away, they cannot win the day. The Kingdom is ours forever!” That kingdom begins like a mustard seed deep within your heart, and it grows as you place more and more of your trust in it. And when you realize that Jesus is the incarnate God who died to save you when you were still a sinner, you will have peace in your storms. Amen.
‘The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, 27and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. 28The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. 29But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come.’ 30 He also said, ‘With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? 31It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; 32yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.’ Mark then informs us that Jesus taught the crowd with such parables, but when He and His disciples were alone, Jesus would teach them in more detail. After informing us of this, Mark delves straight into a demonstration of Jesus’ power, but I would like to argue this morning this is less a demonstration about Jesus’ power and more about who He is.
Mark begins by telling us that Jesus tells His disciples that they need to go across to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. The phrasing of Mark here indicates that they did not stop for provision. They did not go ashore to stretch their legs. They didn’t take too much time to check the weather. They took Jesus “just as He was.” Other boats were with them as they began their trek across the waters.
Now, for a little bit of detail about the Sea of Galilee. It’s a body of water that rests over 600 feet below sea level. It is thirteen miles long and eight miles wide. It has a mountain range on one side, and it is prone to sudden and violent storms. You see, winds oftentimes rush down the mountainsides and wreck havoc on boaters even today. There is very much precedent for the kind of storm Jesus and His disciples were to experience, but we will get to this in just a moment. For now, we need to turn our attention to Jesus Himself.
For, you see, in this little snippet, we get a very real sense of the human side of Jesus. For it is the only time in the whole Bible we hear of Jesus sleeping. He had spent the entire day teaching; healing; forgiving sins and the like. Perhaps some of you here this morning have worked so hard that you could not keep your eyes open. Perhaps some of you have engaged in activities to the point where you crash out and you wake up unbelieving that you have slept so long and so hard. Perhaps some of you have been so tired that you fell asleep at two or three in the afternoon and then suddenly woke the next morning realizing you have slept for thirteen, fourteen, or even fifteen hours. This is the kind of tired Jesus is experiencing. He is wiped out. Completely and totally. How wiped out is He? Mark gives us the details.
You see, one of those sudden storms that I spoke of earlier hits the disciples as they are crossing the Sea of Galilee. It’s not a little storm. Not in the least. Mark records that the boat is being swamped! This means the waves are breaking over the top of the boat and soaking everyone inside it. Now, this fishing boat was approximately 26 feet long. It could hold about 15 people. They did not have any sort of cover on it. There was no below deck or anything of the sort. Jesus is lying in the front of the boat on a cushion. He is exposed to the weather. He is having waves crash over Him, and He is not waking up. Think about that. When is the last time you were splashed by water while you were sleeping and you didn’t wake up? Probably never. Yet, Jesus is so tired. He is so desperately weary, that He doesn’t wake up.
And this ticks off the disciples. Yes, you heard me correctly, this ticks off the disciples. You see, the disciples know they are in trouble. This is no small detail according to Mark. I mean, we know that several of the disciples are experienced fishermen. They have been in boats all of their lives. They know how to handle these boats backward and forward. They know all the tricks of the trade. They know how to survive. And even these disciples are afraid. Even these disciples know that if something doesn’t occur to change what is going on around them, they will die. At least they have the sense to go to Jesus.
But they approach Jesus in rather brutish fashion. “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” Let me quote to you one of the commentaries I consulted this week regarding this statement. “Matthew 8:25 softens the reproach to a prayer, and Luke 8:24 to a plea for help. The rudeness of Mark’s wording reflects the way frustrated and desperate people speak and is probably a verbatim reminiscence of the disciples’ response in the crisis.” It’s telling that later writers–who probably consulted the book of Mark–softened this particular rebuke of the disciples’.
It’s not surprising, however. Remember how I said earlier, this story is not so much about the disciples as it is about Jesus. And the disciples had been around Jesus. They had seen Him heal the sick. They had seen Him cast out demons. They had seen Him perform amazing acts of power and release people from trials and tribulations. He had done all this stuff for complete strangers, and now, the very people who Jesus Himself had called to be His followers were in grave danger. The very people Jesus had entrusted to the explanation of the parables and His teachings were in very real danger of drowning and dying. And what was Jesus doing? How was Jesus facing this terrible storm? By sleeping. This just wasn’t right. Something had to be done. “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”
How many times do we find ourselves just like those disciples? How many times do we find ourselves looking heavenward and saying, “Don’t you care?” We look around this world and see people who reap blessing upon blessing. We look around and see people who do not go to church; who do not pray; who do not study the Bible; we see these folks reap benefits. They seem to capture special blessings of God; but those of us who are involved in church and who strive to do the right things get caught up in storms. I know many of those storms you face: whether it is grief at losing a loved one; whether it is battling cancer or dealing with a loved one who has serious disease; whether it is struggling with a relationship that has gone south; whether it is facing a shortage of money in your household; these are just some of the storms we all face, and our temptation is to look to God and say, “Don’t you care? Are you asleep? We are dying here? Won’t you do anything?”
And Jesus, after awaking rebukes the wind and the waves. He says, “Peace, be still,” and there is a dead calm. Now, mind you, when winds die down after a storm, the waves still beat back and forth until their energy is used up. Both wind and wave do not normally cease at once, yet this is exactly what Mark tells us happens. And it causes a great amount of awe to fall upon the disciples–an awe that is rammed home by Jesus’ words to them, “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?’ 41And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, ‘Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”
That question at the end is a bit of a rhetorical one because Jesus has just shown who He is. How so? I would like to take you back in time–way back in time–to the very beginning of time. Hear now the words of Genesis chapter one: In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, 2the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. 3Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light. 4And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. 5God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.
I am not going to read any further because the scene becomes repetitive. Over and over God speaks into existence the world. By the command of His voice, all things come into being. By the command of His voice, the chaos of water and wind and darkness is transformed into the order of creation, and now, Jesus standing in a fishing boat with a command of His voice stills the chaos of water and wind in the midst of the darkness once again. Who is this? This is God incarnate. This is the One who is fully divine and fully human; who becomes so tired that He sleeps through crashing waves and who is so powerful that He stills the storm with a few words. This is Jesus, our Lord and our Savior who is unleashing the Kingdom of God–a Kingdom that began small, the tiniest of seeds that is now growing into a huge bush.
But, wait, you might say. I see what Mark is trying to convey in this story, but what does this have to do with me? What does this have to do with the storms in my life? Let me ask you the same questions Jesus asked His disciples: “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have such little faith?” Or, do you have such little trust? which is probably a better interpretation
Why would I say such a thing? Why would I seem so callous to your inquiry? Let me ask you this–Do you not realize what Jesus has promised you? Do you not realize what Jesus came to the earth to accomplish?
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, the storms you face in life are hard. They are rough, but they are nothing compared to the storm you would face without Christ. For we are all in the same boat as far as our relationship with God. We all fall short. We all miss the mark. We all act in selfishness and self-centeredness. I am no better than you. You are no better than me. We are no better than the guy who walked into the AME Church in South Carolina and massacred church goers. We desire to be in charge and in control, and deep down, we know we do not even measure up to the standards to which we hold others. We are tremendous hypocrites. Deep down, I think we all know this, and if there is a Judge over the universe, we know that if we were to ever appear before Him, we would stand condemned. We would face the ultimate storm of that Judge’s wrath.
And we would face that wrath if it were not for the one who faced that storm for us. We would face the horrible prospect of the wrath of God if it were not for the God incarnate, Jesus Christ, who faced that wrath in our stead–who upon the cross cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?!” as He felt that storm. But after facing it–after going through the storm of death and God’s wrath, He was raised to new life. He was resurrected as the first fruit of a new creation–of a new heaven and earth; of a new Kingdom–a Kingdom that you and I have been invited to join through the blood of Jesus. When we place our trust in Jesus and what He accomplished on the cross, we know our ultimate destination, and we have little to fear.
If you trust that you are traveling with Jesus, then whatever storms assail you, you can rest assured–He has been there. He has faced the ultimate storm. He loves you and will never desert you. As Martin Luther wrote in his famous hymn, “Were they to take our house, goods, honor, child or spouse. Though life be wrenched away, they cannot win the day. The Kingdom is ours forever!” That kingdom begins like a mustard seed deep within your heart, and it grows as you place more and more of your trust in it. And when you realize that Jesus is the incarnate God who died to save you when you were still a sinner, you will have peace in your storms. Amen.
Monday, November 18, 2013
You are not Stones
We love to build our temples out of beautiful stones. Brick by brick we build them. We try to make them as large and as grand as possible. Oh, I am not necessarily talking about physical temples–no, not in the least. Not many of us physically construct such a thing in our lives, but metaphorically. Yes, we build our temples as best as we can trying to make them as beautiful as we possibly can.
• Here is a brick for getting a good education.
• Here is a brick for graduating in the top 10% of the class.
• Here is a brick for getting scholarships to the university.
• Here is a brick for getting a good paying job.
• Here is a brick for finding a good spouse.
• Here is a brick for having children.
• Here is a brick for having well behaved children.
• Here is a brick for getting involved in the community.
• Here is a brick for helping out at the local food pantry.
• Here is a brick for volunteering at the YMCA.
• Here is a brick for going to church.
• Here is a brick for putting something in the offering plate.
• Here is a brick for having a nice house.
And we keep adding bricks. We keep building and building, and sometimes, just sometimes we step back and say to ourselves, “What a beautiful building I have built.” Of course, sometimes the building doesn’t go as planned. Sometimes the stones aren’t as beautiful as we would like. Sometimes they don’t fit as well as we would like them too, but with just enough effort–just enough maneuvering around, we alter the construction to hide those flaws. After all, it would be a terrible thing if someone were to see that the facade of that temple wasn’t necessarily perfect.
So often, our lives revolve around building such temples. So often our lives are consumed with having such places of beauty and pristine, and before we realize it, our lives find their meaning only and solely in that temple we have constructed and are constructing. It is then that something dangerous begins to happen to us. When we find meaning in life from constructing such temples and maintaining their beauty, that meaning and purpose can be shaken to the core if the stones start falling apart or if they are discovered to be flawed. What do I mean by that?
When I was in college, one Christmas, I asked my parents for one gift and one gift alone: a gold cross necklace. I didn’t want anything else. That was it. I wanted to wear my faith around my neck–so to speak. I didn’t get the cross for Christmas, much to my chagrin. But, my parents had a trick up their sleeve. Since my birthday is just a couple of weeks after Christmas, they decided to surprise me by giving me that necklace then. When I opened the box, I was on cloud nine. I loved the gift. I loved that little gold cross necklace. I put it on and steadfastly resolved to never, ever take it off.
And I didn’t. I wore it every waking and sleeping moment. I was proud of that necklace and what it represented. I could argue that the necklace literally was a part of me.
One day, I played an intra-mural football game at school. It was a hard-fought game, and we were pretty physical even though we had no padding on. After the game, I noticed my necklace was gone! I was not happy. I searched and searched the field on which we played. I went out after dark with a flashlight hoping to catch a glimpse of the gold in the ground. Nothing. I despaired. I literally was crushed. I felt like a part of me was gone.
Jesus said, “As for these things that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down.”
That’s not a comforting thought. It’s not a comforting thought at all. When we’ve spent so much time constructing these things; when we’ve spent so much time with building blocks and necklaces that mean so much; when we’ve made our purpose in life to construct more and better and beautiful temples, these are not the words we want to hear. Now, Jesus may have been speaking about the upcoming destruction of the Jewish Temple by the Romans in 70 A.D. Some scholars believe this, but what if there indeed is a deeper thought here. What if Jesus is forcing us to go deeper.
For the thought of the destruction of the Temple was a horrible one. The Jews had endured this once in their history. The Temple represented God’s presence on earth. It represented where God lived. It represented the place where people could go and be guaranteed to be near the presence of God. If it were destroyed? What then? If the Temple were gone? How would God’s presence be felt?
“Do not be terrified,” Jesus says. “Lots of things are going to happen. But don’t fear. I’ve got a plan.”
After searching futilely for my necklace, I picked up the phone. It was not a phone call I wanted to make. I called my mom and dad. I broke down in tears as I told them that my beloved necklace that they had purchased for me was gone. I sobbed as I told them of my search and how nothing turned up. I apologized for losing what they had given me.
“Kevin, it’s just a necklace,” they said. A word of grace. Whether my parents meant it or not, the message to me became loud and clear–you are not that necklace. Your identity is not wrapped up in that necklace. You did not lose a piece of you when that necklace somehow was ripped from your neck. It is a just a stone–a beautiful stone, but a stone none-the-less. Stop worrying about the stone. There are more important things.
It’s hard to stop worrying about those bricks we use to build up our lives. It’s hard to stop worrying about even building those temples. Somehow, we have come to think that we should be judged by those temples. Somehow we have come to think our self worth depends upon those temples. Somehow we have come to think that how others should or should not view us depends upon those temples.
It’s not just necklaces which drive us to despair. Sometimes, if a person loses his or her job, that person feels like the purpose of life is gone. If a house is broken into and goods are stolen, sometimes people feel violated. If a project does not go as planned, sometimes a person agonizes and spends countless hours worrying about what went wrong. If children do not live up to expectations, parents seek out professional help to “fix” their kids. Hey, even we pastors are not immune from such things. When worship attendance is up, we are on cloud nine. When it is down, we get depressed. We all build temples, and most of the time, our emotional state is completely dependent upon how that temple looks.
And the scariest part is that the temple will indeed be torn down. Not one stone will be left upon another. It will all disappear in a heart beat; in the blink of an eye. Or, rather in the ceasing of the heart to beat when mine eyelids close in death. And what will become of that which we have slaved over for all of our years?
Hear now a word of grace: you are not that temple. Your worth is not wrapped up in that which you strive to build. Your worth comes from something completely different. Your worth; your purpose; your value comes from God.
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God sent the Son into the world not to condemn the world, but so that the world may be saved through Him.
Each and every day, my brothers and sisters, opportunity knocks. Opportunity breaks into this world as Christ comes to us to remind us that He has a plan and a purpose for us. Our temples may be knocked down. Our lives may fall apart. We may lose our jobs, our families, our friends, but we can never lose God’s love. Never. Ever. We have an assurance that not one hair on our head will perish. Is it any wonder then that Jesus says such things are opportunities to testify? When our identity rests in Him, we have nothing to fear. And that is what it means to Live God’s Word Daily. Amen.
• Here is a brick for getting a good education.
• Here is a brick for graduating in the top 10% of the class.
• Here is a brick for getting scholarships to the university.
• Here is a brick for getting a good paying job.
• Here is a brick for finding a good spouse.
• Here is a brick for having children.
• Here is a brick for having well behaved children.
• Here is a brick for getting involved in the community.
• Here is a brick for helping out at the local food pantry.
• Here is a brick for volunteering at the YMCA.
• Here is a brick for going to church.
• Here is a brick for putting something in the offering plate.
• Here is a brick for having a nice house.
And we keep adding bricks. We keep building and building, and sometimes, just sometimes we step back and say to ourselves, “What a beautiful building I have built.” Of course, sometimes the building doesn’t go as planned. Sometimes the stones aren’t as beautiful as we would like. Sometimes they don’t fit as well as we would like them too, but with just enough effort–just enough maneuvering around, we alter the construction to hide those flaws. After all, it would be a terrible thing if someone were to see that the facade of that temple wasn’t necessarily perfect.
So often, our lives revolve around building such temples. So often our lives are consumed with having such places of beauty and pristine, and before we realize it, our lives find their meaning only and solely in that temple we have constructed and are constructing. It is then that something dangerous begins to happen to us. When we find meaning in life from constructing such temples and maintaining their beauty, that meaning and purpose can be shaken to the core if the stones start falling apart or if they are discovered to be flawed. What do I mean by that?
When I was in college, one Christmas, I asked my parents for one gift and one gift alone: a gold cross necklace. I didn’t want anything else. That was it. I wanted to wear my faith around my neck–so to speak. I didn’t get the cross for Christmas, much to my chagrin. But, my parents had a trick up their sleeve. Since my birthday is just a couple of weeks after Christmas, they decided to surprise me by giving me that necklace then. When I opened the box, I was on cloud nine. I loved the gift. I loved that little gold cross necklace. I put it on and steadfastly resolved to never, ever take it off.
And I didn’t. I wore it every waking and sleeping moment. I was proud of that necklace and what it represented. I could argue that the necklace literally was a part of me.
One day, I played an intra-mural football game at school. It was a hard-fought game, and we were pretty physical even though we had no padding on. After the game, I noticed my necklace was gone! I was not happy. I searched and searched the field on which we played. I went out after dark with a flashlight hoping to catch a glimpse of the gold in the ground. Nothing. I despaired. I literally was crushed. I felt like a part of me was gone.
Jesus said, “As for these things that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down.”
That’s not a comforting thought. It’s not a comforting thought at all. When we’ve spent so much time constructing these things; when we’ve spent so much time with building blocks and necklaces that mean so much; when we’ve made our purpose in life to construct more and better and beautiful temples, these are not the words we want to hear. Now, Jesus may have been speaking about the upcoming destruction of the Jewish Temple by the Romans in 70 A.D. Some scholars believe this, but what if there indeed is a deeper thought here. What if Jesus is forcing us to go deeper.
For the thought of the destruction of the Temple was a horrible one. The Jews had endured this once in their history. The Temple represented God’s presence on earth. It represented where God lived. It represented the place where people could go and be guaranteed to be near the presence of God. If it were destroyed? What then? If the Temple were gone? How would God’s presence be felt?
“Do not be terrified,” Jesus says. “Lots of things are going to happen. But don’t fear. I’ve got a plan.”
After searching futilely for my necklace, I picked up the phone. It was not a phone call I wanted to make. I called my mom and dad. I broke down in tears as I told them that my beloved necklace that they had purchased for me was gone. I sobbed as I told them of my search and how nothing turned up. I apologized for losing what they had given me.
“Kevin, it’s just a necklace,” they said. A word of grace. Whether my parents meant it or not, the message to me became loud and clear–you are not that necklace. Your identity is not wrapped up in that necklace. You did not lose a piece of you when that necklace somehow was ripped from your neck. It is a just a stone–a beautiful stone, but a stone none-the-less. Stop worrying about the stone. There are more important things.
It’s hard to stop worrying about those bricks we use to build up our lives. It’s hard to stop worrying about even building those temples. Somehow, we have come to think that we should be judged by those temples. Somehow we have come to think our self worth depends upon those temples. Somehow we have come to think that how others should or should not view us depends upon those temples.
It’s not just necklaces which drive us to despair. Sometimes, if a person loses his or her job, that person feels like the purpose of life is gone. If a house is broken into and goods are stolen, sometimes people feel violated. If a project does not go as planned, sometimes a person agonizes and spends countless hours worrying about what went wrong. If children do not live up to expectations, parents seek out professional help to “fix” their kids. Hey, even we pastors are not immune from such things. When worship attendance is up, we are on cloud nine. When it is down, we get depressed. We all build temples, and most of the time, our emotional state is completely dependent upon how that temple looks.
And the scariest part is that the temple will indeed be torn down. Not one stone will be left upon another. It will all disappear in a heart beat; in the blink of an eye. Or, rather in the ceasing of the heart to beat when mine eyelids close in death. And what will become of that which we have slaved over for all of our years?
Hear now a word of grace: you are not that temple. Your worth is not wrapped up in that which you strive to build. Your worth comes from something completely different. Your worth; your purpose; your value comes from God.
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God sent the Son into the world not to condemn the world, but so that the world may be saved through Him.
Each and every day, my brothers and sisters, opportunity knocks. Opportunity breaks into this world as Christ comes to us to remind us that He has a plan and a purpose for us. Our temples may be knocked down. Our lives may fall apart. We may lose our jobs, our families, our friends, but we can never lose God’s love. Never. Ever. We have an assurance that not one hair on our head will perish. Is it any wonder then that Jesus says such things are opportunities to testify? When our identity rests in Him, we have nothing to fear. And that is what it means to Live God’s Word Daily. Amen.
Monday, November 11, 2013
I Know that My Redeemer Lives!
23 ‘O that my words were written down! O that they were inscribed in a book! 24 O that with an iron pen and with lead they were engraved on a rock for ever! 25 For I know that my Redeemer lives, and that at the last he will stand upon the earth; 26 and after my skin has been thus destroyed, then in my flesh I shall see God, 27 whom I shall see on my side, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. --Job 19:23-27
These words were uttered by Job as recorded in the book which bears his same name. As we read these words, we may detect a hint of triumph within them. They sound ultimately hopeful! They sound like words we too might utter if we have stumbled upon fortune. Perhaps we got lucky enough to win the lottery. Perhaps we were fortunate enough to be declared cancer free after fighting an arduous battle with cancer. Perhaps we heard our child received a full ride scholarship to his or her preferred university. “I know that my redeemer lives, and at the last He will stand upon the earth!” It is so easy to give God glory and thanks when things are going in our favor.
But there is an interesting twist with these words which were uttered by Job–an interesting twist indeed. Let’s set the background.
Job was a pretty wealthy guy. He was happily married; had several children; large flocks of sheep and goats. He loved the Lord and worshiped Him and only Him. Now, we are told that God and Satan are having an argument, and they decide upon a wager: Satan believes Job’s faith is only skin deep. Satan believes that if calamity were to befall Job, then Job would curse God. God has more trust in Job than Satan does. God believes Job will remain steadfast in His faith. In order to settle the bet, Satan is given reign to torment Job.
Satan is pretty thorough. He afflicts Job mightily. He sends disaster upon Job’s flocks; his crops, and his family. He afflicts Job’s health and covers him with painful sores. Job goes from the top of the world having everything, to the top of the ash heap having nothing. While sitting on the ash heap, Job’s friends come to visit with him. It’s a really interesting conversation which takes up many chapters in the book of Job–it’s particularly fascinating that they continually believe Job must have done something to deserve the calamities which have befallen him. They say God punishes sinners in such a manner, and that Job should repent or curse God and walk away from Him. Job steadfastly refuses to walk away from God, and he says that he has done nothing to deserves such punishment.
Job’s friends are unrelenting. He must have done something to have earned God’s wrath and punishment.
Let’s stop here for just a moment because Job’s situation gives us a chance to talk about grace. Some of you might scratch your heads at this. How in the world does this story about a guy whose family has been taken from him; who has lost his wealth; who has lost his health; whose friends are telling him he is a sinner; and who is now sitting on an ash heap give us an opportunity to talk about grace?
Well, remember what I started this sermon off with? Remember those words, “I know that my redeemer lives!”? Remember how they are often spoken when things are going good? What do we usually say when things are going badly for us? What do we utter when it seems like the world is against us?
Many times, we don’t need friends to sit next to us and tell us. Many times we say it ourselves, “What have I done to deserve this?” You would be surprised how many times I have heard someone say this in the time that I have served as a pastor. Cancer strikes: what have I done to deserve this? A child is stricken with disease: what did we do to have this happen to us? A loved one suffers a debilitating health issue: she doesn’t deserve this. Over and over and over again.
What is behind this? Perhaps not in all circumstances, but I think there is a bit of commonality running through each and every one of these situations: it’s the idea that somehow we can still save ourselves. It’s the idea of works/righteousness. It’s the idea that if I just do the right things; believe the right things; say the right things, then everything will work out for me in the long run. It’s the idea that if I do the right things, then I will be accepted and be blessed. And so when things don’t turn out the way we think they should, we start asking ourselves what we might have done or not done to deserve what has befallen us.
We must stop here and ask: is this the way God, as revealed in Jesus Christ acts? Is this the modus operandi of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit?
Actually, no. Not in the least, because as we see God revealed in Jesus Christ, we do not see this kind of working at all. Instead, we see a God who operates by pure grace. We do not see a God who demands that we work out our own salvation, but we see a God who works out salvation for us by the death and resurrection of Jesus, the second person of the Trinity. We see a God who literally dies for us so that we might live. There is nothing we have to do to earn this. There is nothing we have to do to make this happen. There is nothing we have to say to earn God’s favor. There is no mountain we have to climb or ocean we have to swim.
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but so that the world might be saved through Him.” That’s the beauty of grace. And God acted in this manner while we were still sinners.
So, what does that mean in relation to when those bad things start happening? Well, a person functioning under the works/righteousness model says, “Why is this happening to me?” The person who operates under the grace model says something quite different. The person working under the grace model says, “I know that I am a broken person. God has every right to punish me in whatever mode He sees fit. I know that I have sinned against Him in thought word and deed by things that I have done and things that I have left undone. I have not loved Him with my whole heart. I have not loved my neighbor as myself. Never-the-less, God has removed the discipline of the law. God no longer punishes me or anyone by sending death, disease, or misfortune. This is not God’s will. I may not know why these things are happening to me, but I do know that God is operating in the midst of this in some way, shape or form. I know God is working to transform this situation. I know that God has promised me hope, and I will have faith in Him no matter what happens.”
How can we know that God has promised such a thing? How do we know God is working in the midst of such turmoil and struggle and pain and suffering? Well, we look to the cross. Yes, the cross. That instrument of death is the focal point of the Christian faith, and there is little wonder why. For if there was anyone who didn’t deserve to die, it was the God incarnate who hung on it. If there was anyone who had actually lived up to the works righteousness end of the bargain, it was Jesus. If there was anyone who should not have suffered, it was him indeed. But that’s not what happened. Jesus was nailed to that cross. Jesus bled. Jesus suffered. Jesus died.
But death was not the end. Suffering did not provide the final answer. Evil did not carry the day. For on the third day, Christ rose from the dead showing the power and desire of God to conquer evil, suffering and death. Christ rose from the dead to show us that the final answer rests with God and will forever be God. Grace leads us right to this spot.
“For I know that my redeemer lives!” Job spoke these words from the top of the ash heap. He spoke these words after his friends tried to convince him that he had done something wrong to anger God, to provoke God’s wrath, to make God send him suffering. But Job would have none of it. He would not blame himself. He would not blame God. Instead, he would put his trust in the one who gave him hope. In the midst of his pain; in the midst of his suffering; in the midst of those who would call him to do otherwise; Job spoke words of faith.
“For I know that my redeemer lives; what comfort this sweet sentence gives. He lives! He lives, who once was dead. He lives my ever living head!” We will sing those words in just a moment, and whatever your situation in life–whether you are struggling mightily with what life has given you or whether you are satisfied and happy with what is going on–sing them not because you believe you have earned your lot, but because you trust that God loves you whatever you may be facing. For that is what we do when we Live God’s Word Daily. Amen.
These words were uttered by Job as recorded in the book which bears his same name. As we read these words, we may detect a hint of triumph within them. They sound ultimately hopeful! They sound like words we too might utter if we have stumbled upon fortune. Perhaps we got lucky enough to win the lottery. Perhaps we were fortunate enough to be declared cancer free after fighting an arduous battle with cancer. Perhaps we heard our child received a full ride scholarship to his or her preferred university. “I know that my redeemer lives, and at the last He will stand upon the earth!” It is so easy to give God glory and thanks when things are going in our favor.
But there is an interesting twist with these words which were uttered by Job–an interesting twist indeed. Let’s set the background.
Job was a pretty wealthy guy. He was happily married; had several children; large flocks of sheep and goats. He loved the Lord and worshiped Him and only Him. Now, we are told that God and Satan are having an argument, and they decide upon a wager: Satan believes Job’s faith is only skin deep. Satan believes that if calamity were to befall Job, then Job would curse God. God has more trust in Job than Satan does. God believes Job will remain steadfast in His faith. In order to settle the bet, Satan is given reign to torment Job.
Satan is pretty thorough. He afflicts Job mightily. He sends disaster upon Job’s flocks; his crops, and his family. He afflicts Job’s health and covers him with painful sores. Job goes from the top of the world having everything, to the top of the ash heap having nothing. While sitting on the ash heap, Job’s friends come to visit with him. It’s a really interesting conversation which takes up many chapters in the book of Job–it’s particularly fascinating that they continually believe Job must have done something to deserve the calamities which have befallen him. They say God punishes sinners in such a manner, and that Job should repent or curse God and walk away from Him. Job steadfastly refuses to walk away from God, and he says that he has done nothing to deserves such punishment.
Job’s friends are unrelenting. He must have done something to have earned God’s wrath and punishment.
Let’s stop here for just a moment because Job’s situation gives us a chance to talk about grace. Some of you might scratch your heads at this. How in the world does this story about a guy whose family has been taken from him; who has lost his wealth; who has lost his health; whose friends are telling him he is a sinner; and who is now sitting on an ash heap give us an opportunity to talk about grace?
Well, remember what I started this sermon off with? Remember those words, “I know that my redeemer lives!”? Remember how they are often spoken when things are going good? What do we usually say when things are going badly for us? What do we utter when it seems like the world is against us?
Many times, we don’t need friends to sit next to us and tell us. Many times we say it ourselves, “What have I done to deserve this?” You would be surprised how many times I have heard someone say this in the time that I have served as a pastor. Cancer strikes: what have I done to deserve this? A child is stricken with disease: what did we do to have this happen to us? A loved one suffers a debilitating health issue: she doesn’t deserve this. Over and over and over again.
What is behind this? Perhaps not in all circumstances, but I think there is a bit of commonality running through each and every one of these situations: it’s the idea that somehow we can still save ourselves. It’s the idea of works/righteousness. It’s the idea that if I just do the right things; believe the right things; say the right things, then everything will work out for me in the long run. It’s the idea that if I do the right things, then I will be accepted and be blessed. And so when things don’t turn out the way we think they should, we start asking ourselves what we might have done or not done to deserve what has befallen us.
We must stop here and ask: is this the way God, as revealed in Jesus Christ acts? Is this the modus operandi of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit?
Actually, no. Not in the least, because as we see God revealed in Jesus Christ, we do not see this kind of working at all. Instead, we see a God who operates by pure grace. We do not see a God who demands that we work out our own salvation, but we see a God who works out salvation for us by the death and resurrection of Jesus, the second person of the Trinity. We see a God who literally dies for us so that we might live. There is nothing we have to do to earn this. There is nothing we have to do to make this happen. There is nothing we have to say to earn God’s favor. There is no mountain we have to climb or ocean we have to swim.
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but so that the world might be saved through Him.” That’s the beauty of grace. And God acted in this manner while we were still sinners.
So, what does that mean in relation to when those bad things start happening? Well, a person functioning under the works/righteousness model says, “Why is this happening to me?” The person who operates under the grace model says something quite different. The person working under the grace model says, “I know that I am a broken person. God has every right to punish me in whatever mode He sees fit. I know that I have sinned against Him in thought word and deed by things that I have done and things that I have left undone. I have not loved Him with my whole heart. I have not loved my neighbor as myself. Never-the-less, God has removed the discipline of the law. God no longer punishes me or anyone by sending death, disease, or misfortune. This is not God’s will. I may not know why these things are happening to me, but I do know that God is operating in the midst of this in some way, shape or form. I know God is working to transform this situation. I know that God has promised me hope, and I will have faith in Him no matter what happens.”
How can we know that God has promised such a thing? How do we know God is working in the midst of such turmoil and struggle and pain and suffering? Well, we look to the cross. Yes, the cross. That instrument of death is the focal point of the Christian faith, and there is little wonder why. For if there was anyone who didn’t deserve to die, it was the God incarnate who hung on it. If there was anyone who had actually lived up to the works righteousness end of the bargain, it was Jesus. If there was anyone who should not have suffered, it was him indeed. But that’s not what happened. Jesus was nailed to that cross. Jesus bled. Jesus suffered. Jesus died.
But death was not the end. Suffering did not provide the final answer. Evil did not carry the day. For on the third day, Christ rose from the dead showing the power and desire of God to conquer evil, suffering and death. Christ rose from the dead to show us that the final answer rests with God and will forever be God. Grace leads us right to this spot.
“For I know that my redeemer lives!” Job spoke these words from the top of the ash heap. He spoke these words after his friends tried to convince him that he had done something wrong to anger God, to provoke God’s wrath, to make God send him suffering. But Job would have none of it. He would not blame himself. He would not blame God. Instead, he would put his trust in the one who gave him hope. In the midst of his pain; in the midst of his suffering; in the midst of those who would call him to do otherwise; Job spoke words of faith.
“For I know that my redeemer lives; what comfort this sweet sentence gives. He lives! He lives, who once was dead. He lives my ever living head!” We will sing those words in just a moment, and whatever your situation in life–whether you are struggling mightily with what life has given you or whether you are satisfied and happy with what is going on–sing them not because you believe you have earned your lot, but because you trust that God loves you whatever you may be facing. For that is what we do when we Live God’s Word Daily. Amen.
Thursday, October 31, 2013
The Questions of Jesus: Mark
This is the introduction and a few paragraphs of the book I recently published on Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing titled: The Questions of Jesus: Mark. If you are interested in purchasing the book, please click the link. If you are patient, in a week or so, you can get it for free.
Introduction
Being
a father of three, I hear these words or a version of them constantly: “Daddy,
how come…”; “Daddy, why does…”, “Daddy,
do you…” The amount of questions seems
inexhaustible, and many times, I find myself thinking, “Would you just stop
asking questions?” Yes, I am completely
aware of the irony of the situation.
But, questions are important.
Very important.
I
truly believe that as human beings, we never stop learning. Even though our bodies stop growing and start
aging, our minds and intellects continue to develop and grow through our
interactions in the world. Something is
always out there that we just don’t know enough about and could stand some
brushing up on. Those of us with internet
access know that there exists a whole virtual world of knowledge and opinions
that far exceed the capacity of the human mind to assimilate. In my opinion, this is not a bad thing. It allows us to stay sharp as we engage
points of view and facts that do not necessarily conform with our
understandings and views. Such attempts
to reconcile, change, or reject keeps our synapses sharp. (For those of you who don’t know what a
synapse is, I have just made my point about the necessity of continued
learning.)
As a pastor, it is further my belief that our faith lives
are in constant flux. Contrary to the
belief of some, you never have your life of faith all figured out. You never can figure all of Christianity
out. Just when you think you’ve got it
down, another insight is revealed, another interpretation is offered, or God
speaks to you in a way that sheds light on something that you have struggled
with. Yes, our faith constantly ebbs and
grows.
Now, there are those who might like to argue with me
about that statement. Christianity is
nearly 2000 years old. In that 2000 years,
we have covered all there is to cover forward, backward, and forward
again. There is nothing new under the
sun. “Jesus loves me, this I know. What more do I need to know?” The
teachings in the Bible have not changed.
If my faith is based upon what is revealed in the Bible, how can things
continue to ebb and grow? These trains
of thought are very similar to some of the folks written about in the pages of Scripture:
especially those who questioned Jesus’ teachings and actions. They thought that they had faith in God all
figured out. They thought that they
understood the things they were supposed to do and say that would keep them in
God’s good graces. Why should they grow
any further?
But Jesus would have none of that. Jesus constantly stretched His audience,
called them to see God in another way, and called them to open their eyes to
different possibilities of how God can and does act. Oftentimes, some of His most poignant points
were rammed home by asking a question.
“Why are you afraid?” “Who do the
crowds say that I am?” “Who do you say
that I am?” “Why do you call me
good?” Jesus stretched his audience, and
he continues to stretch us today. The
questions that he asked during the time he walked the earth are questions that
still carry relevance to us today. I
invite you to join me in a journey of looking at those questions and growing in
your faith as we invite Jesus to challenge us with the questions He asked in
the book of Mark.
In Your Hearts
2:1-9, 1When Jesus
returned to Capernaum
after some days, it was reported that he was at home. 2So many
gathered around that there was no longer room for them, not even in front of
the door; and he was speaking the word to them. 3Then some people
came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. 4And
when they could not bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, they removed the
roof above him; and after having dug through it, they let down the mat on which
the paralytic lay. 5When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the
paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” 6Now some of the scribes
were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, 7“Why does this
fellow speak in this way? It is blasphemy! Who can forgive sins but God
alone?” 8At once Jesus
perceived in his spirit that they were discussing these questions among
themselves; and he said to them, “Why do you raise such questions in your
hearts? 9Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are
forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Stand up and take your mat and walk’?”10But
so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive
sins”—he said to the paralytic—11“I say to you, stand up, take your
mat and go to your home.” 12And he stood up, and immediately took
the mat and went out before all of them; so that they were all amazed and
glorified God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”
A rather interesting scene takes place in the movie 10
Things I Hate About You. Two
characters who have a rather colorful past end up dating together, and on one
such date, they begin to question one another regarding all of the rumors that
others have told about them. The
conversation went something like this:
Patrick: No, none of that stuff is true.
Kat: State trooper?
P: Fallacy. Dead
guy in the parking lot?
K: Rumor. The
duck?
P: Here say. Bobby
Ridgeway’s b-lls?
K: Fact, but he deserved it. He tried to grope me in the lunch line.
P: Fair enough.
K: The accent?
P: It’s real. I
lived in Australia
until I was 10.
K: With the pygmies?
P: Close, with my mum.
(10 Things I Hate About You, 1999)
I watched with fascination at how nearly all the rumors
that swelled up about these two characters were false. Because each character was mysterious and
acted quite contrary to what others believed as normal, folks talked about them
behind their backs. In order to explain
the perceived abnormality, folks created stories questioning the characters’
sanity and painting them as psychopathic wierdos. Anyone who has ever had one’s name drug
through the rumor mill can relate very well to what happened to these two
characters. Fortunately, for them it was
a movie. In real life, things can end up
much worse.
Monday, October 28, 2013
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.
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.
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