How many people have you told, “I love you.”? What did you mean by it? How old were you? Do you still love them? Today’s message is about love and it scares me to death. Not because I think that I am going to say something wrong, or controversial or something like that. But because it’s just too darn easy for this message to fall flat like a day old Pepsi can sitting out in the sun. I believe that love means a lot more than what we’ve accepted it to mean and the reason that I believe this is because of what I read in the Bible about love. We’ve made love into chicken broth when I believe it is something more like Kim Chi.
Has anyone here ever eaten Kim Chi? I have. Only once. Kim Chi is a staple of the Korean diet and is extremely important for that culture. It is made by fermenting vegetables, like cabbage, for a long time. The taste is unparalleled by anything else I have ever tasted. It is spicy, yes, but terrifically pungent and hits you like a ton of bricks. Some people love it (like I said, it is a staple of the Korean diet) but for many Americans (myself included) it is just too much for my nose and tastebuds to handle.
I believe that love, according to the Bible, is much more like Kim Chi than chicken broth. While chicken soup can be comforting when you are sick, Kim Chi is considered one of the most healthy foods you can eat, especially when you are sick (that is, if you can stomach it). In the same way, love, the way it is sold to us as Americans, is all about chocolate hearts at Valentines Day and snuggly teddy bears. But love in the Bible, is presented as something that isn’t always very snuggly and delicious.
There are two statements and two stories that I’d like to present to you that have convinced me that love is much more radical than we make it out to be. The first is this: God is love. Now that sounds nice and all, but have you ever thought about how different you and I are from God? “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Says the Lord. And yet, when we hear that “God is love” we somehow think that Valentine’s Day comes close to what “love” means.
If God’s thoughts are so different than ours. If God’s ways are so different than ours. Than why do we assume that our concept of love is so similar to God’s? Maybe hugs, and kisses, and tolerance, and smiles, and nice words, and doing a few good things for people barely touch the surface of what real love is in God’s eyes. In fact, I think we have definitely underestimated what love is according to a second statement, again from today’s reading: “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” Hands nailed into rough cut pieces of wood, having your face spit on, a crown of thorns, abandonment, sacrifice, forgiveness . . . that’s what love looks like. A crucified Jesus is the face of love. Have you ever come close to that kind of love on Valentine’s Day? Have we ever come close to that kind of love as a church?
Let’s come clean this morning and admit that we haven’t a clue what love means, at least not the kind of love that “God is” and the kind of love that Jesus had for us in order to die on the cross for us. Why is this so important? Because we have to start over. We have to chuck out our old concepts of love and get a new one—albeit a more radical one, if we are ever to understand how to truly love one another.
You’ve heard the two scripture passages, but now I have two stories of love. The first one is actually the beginning of a rather long story about a Father’s love for his children. “The Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being. The Lord took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, “You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.” Some of you might know this story. You might know that, as the story goes on, the man did eventually eat from that tree with the help of his partner. And that Father, the Lord God, cursed that man, “By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”
So what does this loving Father do with his cursed children? This is where the real love shows I believe, “The Lord God said, ‘The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.’ So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken.” Now, does that seem like love to you? Not in most people’s definition of love.
What are the words that you hear when we talk of love in the church? Acceptance. Compassion. Tolerance. So, if “God is love” how is it that He can cast his children out of their garden so that they can’t live forever? What’s so wrong with living forever? When I brought this question up at seminary one time, my professor answered in this way. “If Adam and Eve had eaten from the tree of life, they would have lived forever in death . . . as cursed people . . . they would have lived forever in their sin.” The most loving thing for God to do was to make sure they would die so that, one day, in Jesus Christ, their death might be destroyed. So that one day Christ would become a curse to free Adam, Eve and every one of us, from the curses we are under. A loving God does not accept or tolerate sin—he sacrifices himself to free you from sin. “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” This love does not smell like chicken soup . . . it smells like Kim Chi!
But it is more than our definition of love that is so different than God’s. It’s how God DOES love that is so different and how he uses that love to do amazing things in His world. Why is love so important? Because people come to know God through our love for them. No kidding. “No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.” THEY WILL KNOW we are Christians BY OUR LOVE. And if they know chicken soup love, that what they’ll think God’s love is all about. The kind of love that is nice to visitors, tolerant of newcomers, compassionate for victims. And if they know Kim Chi love, that’s what they’ll think God’s love is all about. The kind of love that is more than a feeling, but willing to sacrifice something important for the sake of a stranger. A kind of love that is passionate for those who are the hurting and the lost. The kind of love that doesn’t just accept someone, but is willing to forgive unconditionally. The most radical kind of love is forgiveness.
Another story, “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, ‘Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?’” What did he say? Did he argue for her civil rights? Did he say that they were wrong to judge her? Did he try to get her off the hook? No, he said this, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” They all left.
But the story continues and Jesus’ love becomes much more radical than letting a guilty woman go free. “Jesus straightened up and asked her, ‘Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?’ ‘No one, sir,’ she said. “then neither do I condemn you,’ Jesus declared. ‘Go now and leave your life of sin.’” Jesus forgave her, he did not condemn her. But just as His Father did in the garden of Eden, he did not want her to live forever in her life of sin, “Go now, and leave your life of sin.” He said. What if our church didn’t just love people, or tolerate people, but when we saw someone struggling with a sin, what if we loved people so dearly that we could tell them the truth about it, and never leave their side until their heard and believed that that sin was forgiven.
Maybe you’d like to see more of this kind of love in the church, but how do you get it? “If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he is God.” If you want to love as God loves, you must have faith in God, because “God is love”. “We know God through love and rely on God for our love. If you start trying to love on your own you will fail. If God loves through you, He will succeed every time.
If you want to see this kind of love in the church, in your friendship, in your marriage and in your life, there is only one way to get it and it’s not by trying to do it better. You don’t love better just because you are told to (out of fear of punishment if you fail). Remember that there is no fear in love. We love because of faith.
Today, you have another opportunity to put your trust in God, perhaps for the first time and perhaps for the 100th time. Faith isn’t something that you store up over the years, it comes new every morning and every day. If you’d like to know what true love is, pray with me today and risk believing that Jesus Christ truly is the Son of God; that he died on the cross as a sacrifice for your sins; that every wrong thing you have done has been forgiven once and forever. And when the prayer is over, don’t ever start trying to love someone simply on your own—but when you go out this morning—have faith that God is loving through you. “We love because God first loved us.” Amen.
Showing posts with label Love. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Love. Show all posts
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Sermon for June 20th (A Husband's Love)
In Ephesians chapter 5, both the husband and the wife are called to submit to one another because they respect the Lord. What does that mean? Well, God instituted marriage in order to help us live healthy and happy lives together even though, of course, there are time when the people in those marriages don’t do a very good job of fulfilling God’s call. Most of the time in the Bible, the word submit refers to our relationship to God, we are to submit ourselves to God commands for instance; however, just because it’s the same word doesn’t mean that we are to submit to one another AS IF they were God (nobody could live up to that!), but because God instituted us to be in relationship with one another, we are called to submit to one another out of respect for how God ordered the world, including our marriages.
How does a husband submit to his wife? By loving her. “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.” I know that some of you have heard me say how I think that this whole Father’s Day and Mother’s Day thing is really unfair. I mean, men and women have different gifts and, let’s face it guys, we have the gift of selfishness. We can come up with all kinds of great ways to have a good time and help others show us some love. But when I ask my wife what she wants for her birthday or mother’s day or whatever she sometimes has a hard time figuring it out and (this is the really mind-boggling part) even if she CAN think of something she’ll feel bad for wanting it let alone if she actually would get it for a gift. Me, on the other hand, just ask me and I’ll tell you some things I want and if I get them—no guilt. I LIKE to make myself happy. I enjoy feeling loved. What can I say . . .it’s a gift!
How does a husband submit to his wife? By using those God given talents for love and using them to love his wife. God made men with the need to love someone. And for those of you who are married men, God blessed you with your wives.
Now guys, I don’t mean loving them the way YOU want to be loved. “Hey honey! I bought you a new grill so that you can have more hot dogs and hamburgers to go with your beer!” Uh-uh. That’s showing love, but, like I said, we men have an amazing gift to love ourselves. Guys, now be honest, if you want something, it doesn’t matter if it always makes sense. It might cost too much or take too much time, but if you got it you’d be happy. Imagine if your wife really wanted something . . . would you ask first whether it would make her happy or whether it made sense to you? Love doesn’t always make sense. We are called to love ours wives just as Jesus Christ loved the church. What does that mean?
To begin, I have to cover my rear-end with you men that are here and explain how I can have the audacity to talk about how to better love your wives on Father’s Day of all days. Today is supposed to be the one day out of the year when we men can shower the love on ourselves—no holds barred.
Today is Father’s Day and, so, it is a day to celebrate Fathers. I WANT you to be celebrated. I WANT you to be considered a good Father. And the fact is that everybody knows a good father by how he treats his wife. It’s a fact and children notice it. It’s not just how you treat your children that makes you a good father—it’s how you love your wife. If you talk about your wife in a negative manner, especially in front of other people, your children will talk to their mom that way too . . . and it will reflect on you. Men who beat their wives, either physically or verbally, raise children who do the same thing to the women in their lives. But if you treat your wife like the jewel she is, you will raise children who love their mother as much as you do. If you love your wife just as Jesus Christ loves the church, your Father’s Day celebration will become a day when people honor you with their hearts and not just their lips. I want husbands and fathers to be celebrated every day of the year (not just one) so let’s find ways of loving our wives just as Christ loves the church.
How does Christ love the church? By giving himself up for her. “Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross.” But you might say! That’s going a little over board pastor, but I’m not asking you to jump in front of a truck and get run over . . . that might actually be an easier way out that what I am encouraging you to do. Jesus had everything he could ever want (he was God after all), but he gave that all up to become human, to be vulnerable to hunger, pain, mocking, crucifixion, abandonment and death.
What change could you make in your life to love your wife? What would you have to “give up”? Does she want more of your time? More physical affection? Does she want you to forgive her for something that you’ve never been able to let go of? I’m not asking you if that’s fair . . . Jesus never asked if it was fair for him to die to take away the sins of the world—because it wasn’t fair! It’s love for goodness sake!
Paul writes in Ephesians, “Husbands should love their wives as they do their own bodies.” See, he knew men were good at loving themselves. He points out that no one hates their body, but he nourishes and tenderly cares for it. You don’t just feed yourself well one day and then forget to eat for the rest of the week. In the same way, when you love your wife, you continue to work at showing her that love not just once a week, or even once a day, but she becomes what you constantly are interested in. Love doesn’t turn back on itself and say, “But what am I getting out of all of this. Love asks the question, “What is she getting out of all of this?”
But how, you might ask. How can I show my wife love. Perhaps you’ve tried and failed . . . miserably. That’s what I’ve said Mother’s Day is all about. I often feel like Mother’s Day is an exercise in futility. No matter how much I love my mother, or my wife, I can’t seem to show them. Since we men are so good at loving ourselves, it’s tough to try and think of someone else all the time so we need a little help. There are a lot of directions you might go here, but I believe that the book, “The Five Love Languages” can be a lot of help in this area. I’m going to give you a brief synopsis here, but there are sheets that you can take home to work on this as well as a marriage retreat next week where we will be going over this in more detail.
Here’s how it goes guys. Every woman is like a cup . . . full of your favorite beverage. Use your imagination. When that cup is full, your wife is happy. When her cup is empty, aint nobody happy as the saying goes. But, not every cup is made alike and you can’t throw just anything in to fill them up. Some women feel love when you speak kindly to them or tell them how beautiful they are to you. Other women don’t care how much you tell them that (they know it already), but if they ask you to do something they want you to do it . . . and if you keep “forgetting” they won’t feel like you love them. On the other hand, you might have a wife who feels love in a completely different way. You could work your hands to the bone to support your family, tell her over and over how much you love her, but if you are always working and never at home to share your life with her, she won’t feel your love. Some of you husbands here might have the desire to love your wife, but have never figured out how to fill their cup. It’s important to show them love in the way they understand it.
The book, “The Five Love Languages” says that most people feel love in all five different ways, but usually one or two will be the most important. Through words of affirmation, acts of service, by receiving gifts, through physical touch or by getting quality time. No one way is better than any other. If you are married, take a risk and ask your wife to fill out a little survey (we’ve got a bunch of copies for you to pick up after the service) to help her tell you when and how she feels your love the most. If she won’t fill one out, take one anyway and do your best to figure it out. And when you find out how she needs to feel loved, act on that information no matter what. Not just once a week, but constantly. It might be hard and you may not be perfect at it; but if you ever figure it out, she will be loved and your marriage will be blessed.
Understand that learning to love another person is as important for husbands as it is for wives, for children and for everyone else as well. This information applies to all of you and you are all welcome to find out what you can to help you love others better. But, in marriage, God specifically tells us that a husband’s love is a key ingredient to a successful marriage. Some of you, husbands and wives, may have gone for years without receiving the love you need, or giving it, but now is another opportunity to change that. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loves the church. Because Jesus loves you, he gave himself up for you so that you could know his love. Your past mistakes are forgiven on account of what Jesus has done and you have hope for a new life, an eternal life with God forever. Trust, today, in God’s guidance for your marriage and you will have hope for a new relationship to enjoy for as long as you both shall live. Amen.
How does a husband submit to his wife? By loving her. “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.” I know that some of you have heard me say how I think that this whole Father’s Day and Mother’s Day thing is really unfair. I mean, men and women have different gifts and, let’s face it guys, we have the gift of selfishness. We can come up with all kinds of great ways to have a good time and help others show us some love. But when I ask my wife what she wants for her birthday or mother’s day or whatever she sometimes has a hard time figuring it out and (this is the really mind-boggling part) even if she CAN think of something she’ll feel bad for wanting it let alone if she actually would get it for a gift. Me, on the other hand, just ask me and I’ll tell you some things I want and if I get them—no guilt. I LIKE to make myself happy. I enjoy feeling loved. What can I say . . .it’s a gift!
How does a husband submit to his wife? By using those God given talents for love and using them to love his wife. God made men with the need to love someone. And for those of you who are married men, God blessed you with your wives.
Now guys, I don’t mean loving them the way YOU want to be loved. “Hey honey! I bought you a new grill so that you can have more hot dogs and hamburgers to go with your beer!” Uh-uh. That’s showing love, but, like I said, we men have an amazing gift to love ourselves. Guys, now be honest, if you want something, it doesn’t matter if it always makes sense. It might cost too much or take too much time, but if you got it you’d be happy. Imagine if your wife really wanted something . . . would you ask first whether it would make her happy or whether it made sense to you? Love doesn’t always make sense. We are called to love ours wives just as Jesus Christ loved the church. What does that mean?
To begin, I have to cover my rear-end with you men that are here and explain how I can have the audacity to talk about how to better love your wives on Father’s Day of all days. Today is supposed to be the one day out of the year when we men can shower the love on ourselves—no holds barred.
Today is Father’s Day and, so, it is a day to celebrate Fathers. I WANT you to be celebrated. I WANT you to be considered a good Father. And the fact is that everybody knows a good father by how he treats his wife. It’s a fact and children notice it. It’s not just how you treat your children that makes you a good father—it’s how you love your wife. If you talk about your wife in a negative manner, especially in front of other people, your children will talk to their mom that way too . . . and it will reflect on you. Men who beat their wives, either physically or verbally, raise children who do the same thing to the women in their lives. But if you treat your wife like the jewel she is, you will raise children who love their mother as much as you do. If you love your wife just as Jesus Christ loves the church, your Father’s Day celebration will become a day when people honor you with their hearts and not just their lips. I want husbands and fathers to be celebrated every day of the year (not just one) so let’s find ways of loving our wives just as Christ loves the church.
How does Christ love the church? By giving himself up for her. “Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross.” But you might say! That’s going a little over board pastor, but I’m not asking you to jump in front of a truck and get run over . . . that might actually be an easier way out that what I am encouraging you to do. Jesus had everything he could ever want (he was God after all), but he gave that all up to become human, to be vulnerable to hunger, pain, mocking, crucifixion, abandonment and death.
What change could you make in your life to love your wife? What would you have to “give up”? Does she want more of your time? More physical affection? Does she want you to forgive her for something that you’ve never been able to let go of? I’m not asking you if that’s fair . . . Jesus never asked if it was fair for him to die to take away the sins of the world—because it wasn’t fair! It’s love for goodness sake!
Paul writes in Ephesians, “Husbands should love their wives as they do their own bodies.” See, he knew men were good at loving themselves. He points out that no one hates their body, but he nourishes and tenderly cares for it. You don’t just feed yourself well one day and then forget to eat for the rest of the week. In the same way, when you love your wife, you continue to work at showing her that love not just once a week, or even once a day, but she becomes what you constantly are interested in. Love doesn’t turn back on itself and say, “But what am I getting out of all of this. Love asks the question, “What is she getting out of all of this?”
But how, you might ask. How can I show my wife love. Perhaps you’ve tried and failed . . . miserably. That’s what I’ve said Mother’s Day is all about. I often feel like Mother’s Day is an exercise in futility. No matter how much I love my mother, or my wife, I can’t seem to show them. Since we men are so good at loving ourselves, it’s tough to try and think of someone else all the time so we need a little help. There are a lot of directions you might go here, but I believe that the book, “The Five Love Languages” can be a lot of help in this area. I’m going to give you a brief synopsis here, but there are sheets that you can take home to work on this as well as a marriage retreat next week where we will be going over this in more detail.
Here’s how it goes guys. Every woman is like a cup . . . full of your favorite beverage. Use your imagination. When that cup is full, your wife is happy. When her cup is empty, aint nobody happy as the saying goes. But, not every cup is made alike and you can’t throw just anything in to fill them up. Some women feel love when you speak kindly to them or tell them how beautiful they are to you. Other women don’t care how much you tell them that (they know it already), but if they ask you to do something they want you to do it . . . and if you keep “forgetting” they won’t feel like you love them. On the other hand, you might have a wife who feels love in a completely different way. You could work your hands to the bone to support your family, tell her over and over how much you love her, but if you are always working and never at home to share your life with her, she won’t feel your love. Some of you husbands here might have the desire to love your wife, but have never figured out how to fill their cup. It’s important to show them love in the way they understand it.
The book, “The Five Love Languages” says that most people feel love in all five different ways, but usually one or two will be the most important. Through words of affirmation, acts of service, by receiving gifts, through physical touch or by getting quality time. No one way is better than any other. If you are married, take a risk and ask your wife to fill out a little survey (we’ve got a bunch of copies for you to pick up after the service) to help her tell you when and how she feels your love the most. If she won’t fill one out, take one anyway and do your best to figure it out. And when you find out how she needs to feel loved, act on that information no matter what. Not just once a week, but constantly. It might be hard and you may not be perfect at it; but if you ever figure it out, she will be loved and your marriage will be blessed.
Understand that learning to love another person is as important for husbands as it is for wives, for children and for everyone else as well. This information applies to all of you and you are all welcome to find out what you can to help you love others better. But, in marriage, God specifically tells us that a husband’s love is a key ingredient to a successful marriage. Some of you, husbands and wives, may have gone for years without receiving the love you need, or giving it, but now is another opportunity to change that. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loves the church. Because Jesus loves you, he gave himself up for you so that you could know his love. Your past mistakes are forgiven on account of what Jesus has done and you have hope for a new life, an eternal life with God forever. Trust, today, in God’s guidance for your marriage and you will have hope for a new relationship to enjoy for as long as you both shall live. Amen.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Sermon for February 14th
“This is my Son, my Chosen, listen to him!” When the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone.
There are times when I really appreciate the little blurbs placed above the readings in our Celebrate inserts each week. They often give good insight into the readings or background information that you may not have known. But sometimes I believe that they really miss the mark, like the one explaining today’s gospel reading. Here’s what it says, “The conversation about Jesus’ suffering and death is enclosed in a dazzling foreshadowing of the resurrection.”
Today is Transfiguration Sunday, but it is NOT a dazzling foreshadowing of the resurrection. What does the text say? Jesus went up the mountain to pray. While he was praying his face changed and his clothes became dazzling white (transfigured). Suddenly the disciples saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to Jesus. They appeared in glory and were speaking about his departure (that is, Jesus’ death), which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. There is no talk here about resurrection. So why does the Celebrate insert decide to bring it up?
Why? Because it’s hard to believe that Jesus’ death on the cross is actually how God shows his glory. The bright shining face of Jesus holds more possibilities we imagine. It’s always a temptation to try and jump ahead to the resurrection and look past the death. But God’s glory is shown most amazingly in the cross of Christ. God has brought the dead back to life before. The prophet Elijah raised the dead, Jesus raised the dead, God even created humankind out of the dust of the ground at the beginning of creation. God had created life before—from nothing. But God shows his glory most dazzlingly by giving his very self over to death in Jesus.
In the passage just previous to Jesus going up this mountain to pray, Jesus says, “The Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves, and take up their cross daily and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will save it.” Is the transfiguration really about the resurrection? Or does this event just make the march to death all that more offensive to us? Yes, there will be a resurrection, but the glory of that resurrection can only be understood if we can handle staring at the cross, with all it’s shame and despair. And Jesus’ transfiguration shows us exactly who is going to suffer from that shame and despair.
Peter said to Jesus, “Master it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” Of course! Why go down the mountain ever again? There’s only death and persecution waiting there. Let’s stay up here! Let’s stay where the glory is! Where God speaks out of clouds and where Jesus’ face shines like lighting! Soon, Jesus will be abandoned by his father on the cross and his face will be covered with blood. He will be as one from whom others hide their faces, as the prophet Isaiah puts it, but here, on the mountaintop, we see God’s glory.
Everyone needs a good mountaintop experience sometime. The honeymoon, the winner’s circle, the fifteen minutes of fame. A moment in time where everything seems to be going right and life is amazing. The problem comes when we start demanding that that be the norm or start thinking that those experiences are somehow better, more “divine” and “godly” than the other experiences in life. The love in marriage isn’t defined by the honeymoon bliss, but by the years of careful attention to each other’s needs. Amazingly, love is most gloriously manifested when it goes through the suffering of death. That’s where you see true love. If couples never left the honeymoon suite, never came down from that mountaintop, the true glory of love would never come about. Jesus’ glory is surely shown when he is transfigured and when he is resurrected, but the true glory of God’s love will come across most clearly on the cross of Calvary.
My wife’s uncle is a Methodist pastor in Texas and I’ve heard about an example he gave one time for a group of couples preparing for marriage. I thought this story would be especially appropriate on Valentine’s Day. He took off his wedding ring and talked about how, when he was first married, it was bright, shiny and perfect looking. Now, it has dents and scratches. Marriage, like all relationships, isn’t perfect, it is full of ups and downs, mountaintop experiences and deep down sufferings. But those dents and scratches in a marriage, and in a ring, make it real, make it true, make it a reflection of a long-lasting and steadfast love.
In Jesus’ transfiguration, God is not simply foreshadowing the resurrection, but placing a spotlight on a man headed for crucifixion. Because love doesn’t always look pretty. While we hide our faces from the cruelty, Jesus does not hide his face from us. His disciples abandoned their Lord and still, when the thief being crucified beside him cries out, Jesus hears and promises that God will not abandon him—“Today you will be with me in paradise.” The cross of Christ is a true reflection of God’s glory, for he is most glorious when he is showing his love for you. There is no greater love than this, Jesus maintains, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
Why the Transfiguration? God shows the world, in Jesus’ shining image, that God does not expect anyone to take this suffering from him. God does not expect anyone to take this suffering WITH him. God shows the disciples, on that mountaintop, that God will express his love in the fullest way that he can fathom, when Jesus dies alone, God’s chosen one, the lamb of God, sacrificed for the sins of the world—for your sins. And so, when the dazzling light disappears and the cloud passes, it is time for the journey to Jerusalem. The journey to the cross will be made not just by another prophet or charismatic preacher, but by God’s Son. Who will bear the sins of the world? God himself in all his glory. From the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my Son, my Chosen, listen to him!” When the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. Amen.
There are times when I really appreciate the little blurbs placed above the readings in our Celebrate inserts each week. They often give good insight into the readings or background information that you may not have known. But sometimes I believe that they really miss the mark, like the one explaining today’s gospel reading. Here’s what it says, “The conversation about Jesus’ suffering and death is enclosed in a dazzling foreshadowing of the resurrection.”
Today is Transfiguration Sunday, but it is NOT a dazzling foreshadowing of the resurrection. What does the text say? Jesus went up the mountain to pray. While he was praying his face changed and his clothes became dazzling white (transfigured). Suddenly the disciples saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to Jesus. They appeared in glory and were speaking about his departure (that is, Jesus’ death), which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. There is no talk here about resurrection. So why does the Celebrate insert decide to bring it up?
Why? Because it’s hard to believe that Jesus’ death on the cross is actually how God shows his glory. The bright shining face of Jesus holds more possibilities we imagine. It’s always a temptation to try and jump ahead to the resurrection and look past the death. But God’s glory is shown most amazingly in the cross of Christ. God has brought the dead back to life before. The prophet Elijah raised the dead, Jesus raised the dead, God even created humankind out of the dust of the ground at the beginning of creation. God had created life before—from nothing. But God shows his glory most dazzlingly by giving his very self over to death in Jesus.
In the passage just previous to Jesus going up this mountain to pray, Jesus says, “The Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves, and take up their cross daily and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will save it.” Is the transfiguration really about the resurrection? Or does this event just make the march to death all that more offensive to us? Yes, there will be a resurrection, but the glory of that resurrection can only be understood if we can handle staring at the cross, with all it’s shame and despair. And Jesus’ transfiguration shows us exactly who is going to suffer from that shame and despair.
Peter said to Jesus, “Master it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” Of course! Why go down the mountain ever again? There’s only death and persecution waiting there. Let’s stay up here! Let’s stay where the glory is! Where God speaks out of clouds and where Jesus’ face shines like lighting! Soon, Jesus will be abandoned by his father on the cross and his face will be covered with blood. He will be as one from whom others hide their faces, as the prophet Isaiah puts it, but here, on the mountaintop, we see God’s glory.
Everyone needs a good mountaintop experience sometime. The honeymoon, the winner’s circle, the fifteen minutes of fame. A moment in time where everything seems to be going right and life is amazing. The problem comes when we start demanding that that be the norm or start thinking that those experiences are somehow better, more “divine” and “godly” than the other experiences in life. The love in marriage isn’t defined by the honeymoon bliss, but by the years of careful attention to each other’s needs. Amazingly, love is most gloriously manifested when it goes through the suffering of death. That’s where you see true love. If couples never left the honeymoon suite, never came down from that mountaintop, the true glory of love would never come about. Jesus’ glory is surely shown when he is transfigured and when he is resurrected, but the true glory of God’s love will come across most clearly on the cross of Calvary.
My wife’s uncle is a Methodist pastor in Texas and I’ve heard about an example he gave one time for a group of couples preparing for marriage. I thought this story would be especially appropriate on Valentine’s Day. He took off his wedding ring and talked about how, when he was first married, it was bright, shiny and perfect looking. Now, it has dents and scratches. Marriage, like all relationships, isn’t perfect, it is full of ups and downs, mountaintop experiences and deep down sufferings. But those dents and scratches in a marriage, and in a ring, make it real, make it true, make it a reflection of a long-lasting and steadfast love.
In Jesus’ transfiguration, God is not simply foreshadowing the resurrection, but placing a spotlight on a man headed for crucifixion. Because love doesn’t always look pretty. While we hide our faces from the cruelty, Jesus does not hide his face from us. His disciples abandoned their Lord and still, when the thief being crucified beside him cries out, Jesus hears and promises that God will not abandon him—“Today you will be with me in paradise.” The cross of Christ is a true reflection of God’s glory, for he is most glorious when he is showing his love for you. There is no greater love than this, Jesus maintains, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
Why the Transfiguration? God shows the world, in Jesus’ shining image, that God does not expect anyone to take this suffering from him. God does not expect anyone to take this suffering WITH him. God shows the disciples, on that mountaintop, that God will express his love in the fullest way that he can fathom, when Jesus dies alone, God’s chosen one, the lamb of God, sacrificed for the sins of the world—for your sins. And so, when the dazzling light disappears and the cloud passes, it is time for the journey to Jerusalem. The journey to the cross will be made not just by another prophet or charismatic preacher, but by God’s Son. Who will bear the sins of the world? God himself in all his glory. From the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my Son, my Chosen, listen to him!” When the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. Amen.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Sermon for May 10th
I have a woodstove at home. It keeps us a little too hot in the Fall and Spring and not quite warm enough in the winter, but I still really like it. Every three or four hours, I have to get another load of wood into the stove in order to keep it going. If I don’t, for instance if I oversleep, I awake to find the coals not quite hot enough to get another fire going quickly and that means I have to put out a lot more effort and . . . use many more little sticks and branches.
Where I do I find these little sticks and branches? Well, mostly, my family finds them for me. They search the ground for little sticks that have fallen off trees and pile them up for me in the wheelbarrow or in a bucket or in a box so that, when the time comes, I can throw them into the fire and get it started again. Because, you see, that’s all those little sticks are good for, really, besides breaking my lawnmower or maybe for playing pretend games with outside. Those little sticks have fallen off the tree they once belonged to. They won’t produce leaves anymore. They can’t grow anymore. So, in my opinion, they are mostly good for one thing—to be burned.
Jesus compares himself not to a tree, but to a vine. He was probably referring to a grapevine. And he compares his disciples to the branches on that vine that would produce fruit. Jesus says that any one of his disciples that do not bear fruit are about as good as a branch lying on the ground. Not good for much other than burning. You also are about as worthless as this box of sticks if you do not continue and remain connected to Jesus Christ, the true vine. Jesus says that if you do not produce fruit—if you do not follow his commandments and actively love others—you’d be worth more burned up than just sitting around where you are. “I am the true vine,” Jesus proclaims. “Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me.”
Jesus talks in a very organic way about faith and life. A branch on a grapevine doesn’t just “decide” one day to create a grape. It is nourished from the vine it is attached to, it abides in the vine, as Jesus puts it, resting securely, receiving everything through the vine until, after a period of time, fruit finally bursts forth. Jesus says he receives everything from his Father and gives it to us. And over time, after being nourished day by day by none other than Jesus himself, the fruits of the Spirit happen in your life. According to Paul’s letter to the Galatians, “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” Important stuff. Stuff worth waiting for.
As a branch on the true vine of Jesus Christ, your “nourishment” comes in two forms. Jesus gives you commandments and Jesus gives you love. “As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
Jesus gives you love. That love flows into you throughout your entire life. God gave you life at birth. God provides you with food. God provides you family and friends. God sent Jesus to die for your sins. The love keeps flowing and flowing into you. But if you are removed from that relationship, well, two things happen. First, that love cannot find its way into fruit. In order to get your neighbor loved, God needs you. If you do not abide in Jesus, your friends, your family and your coworkers cannot know God’s love. Second, if you did not continue receiving life or love from Jesus, you would not have love or life. One moment you would be a living branch on the true vine. The next moment you would be a dead branch, fit for the fire.
Jesus also gives you commandments. Jesus tells you what to do by giving you his words that you must fulfill. These commandments flow into you throughout your life. You are told to love God above anything else. You are told to pray to God for everything that you need. You are told not to murder. You are told to love one another. You see, sometimes we do things because we want to, we love our children and so we change their dirty diapers. But sometimes we do things, not necessarily because we want to, but because we are told to. Nurses or aides in a hospital or nursing home might rather not change a resident’s dirty diaper, if the decision were based purely on love, they might just choose not to. But they are commanded to by their bosses or else they might be fired.
These commandments of God, while not always being something we like or like to do, are extremely important in our world. Without them, diapers would sometimes not be changed. People would think they could do whatever they wanted without any consequences even if they hurt others. God’s commandments flow through Jesus into our ears and into our actions day after day, but if that relationship is cut off two things happen. First, your neighbors are no longer protected and may not be loved as they were before. Second, if you do not continue receiving commands from Jesus, you have no boundaries on your behavior. You are unprotected from others and from yourself. One moment you are a living branch on the true vine. The next moment you are a dead branch, fit for the fire.
And somehow these two things are connected. In fact, the purpose of God’s commandments is to get you to love, love is the completion of God’s commandments. But when Jesus talks about love, he is not simply talking about it like WE like to talk about it in our world. Everyone is “for” love, if you haven’t noticed. Very few religions don’t like love, right? Atheists like “love” too! Everybody likes love! But Jesus is not just talking about love the way the world works. This is a different kind of a love. A love described by none other than Jesus himself, “As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love.” Love is about service. It is an active love that doesn’t aim at death or martyrdom, but, through the act of service, is willing to die for the sake of the neighbor just as Jesus did.
When you watch TV and movies, love is often described or connected somehow to sex and sexual relationships. Relationships between adults and youth often see the act of sex as a requirement for love: “If you really love me, you’d sleep with me.” That’s the general idea at least. Sex is even used to “fix” relationships or to “make up” after big fights. Some communes in the sixties were based on the idea that anyone could “make love” with anyone else without any jealously or so called “property rights” (at least that was the idea anyway). If you’ve ever read the book Stranger in a Strange Land you might recognize that concept of love.
The other description of “love” that is so popular today makes love equal to tolerance. Now, tolerance is a Christian ideal in many respects. We are all sinners and, as Jesus points out “judge not lest ye be judged”. However, the thing is, we are all judged by God, his words and his commandments, and so is everyone else. So while we are called to be tolerant of others and their choices in society, this doesn’t mean that people are not still punished for their bad choices. We don’t tolerate some things like murder or stealing. In the church, we must be tolerant of different ways of life, cultures and traditions, but when we break God’s laws, we aren’t called to tolerate bad behavior, we are called to forgive, just as we have been forgiven. We learn love from Jesus’ death on the cross for us, not from TV or movies. Jesus didn’t just tolerate your sins, he died to forgive you and save you from being punished for your sins.
Jesus’s statement about love in John’s gospel is different than sex and more than tolerance. In fact, it is different than any other statement that you can find in the other three gospels. John isn’t saying that you should “love our neighbor as yourself” and he isn’t talking about the “golden rule” or how to increase your pleasure in the world; instead, as the Father loves him, and as Jesus loves you, that is love. “No greater love is there than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” That doesn’t mean that everyone must die, it is not death seeking martyrdom, but all love is measured based on that gift of Jesus’. A soldier in the armed forces doesn’t serve with the intention of dying; however, they are willing to serve even if it means that they must die for the sake of loving their country and the people within it, for their protection and their freedom.
What did Jesus’ death do for you? It gives you life, forgiveness and peace. Love is life-giving, not simply pleasure seeking either for the person receiving or giving. Love is about forgiving, not simply tolerating, but forgiving specific wrongs that are being committed against people and against God. This is the love that fulfills God’s commandments. This is the love that God calls you to abide in.
Yet, even while abiding in Jesus Christ and bearing the fruit of the Spirit, sin still clings to you, for you are both a saint and a sinner. John says, “Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit.” The word that John uses for “prunes” is the same as he uses for “cleanse” in the very next sentence, “You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you.”. God continues to cleanse and prune you through the words of Jesus Christ so that you will continue to bear fruit. So, while you are receiving love and commandments from Jesus Christ, the true vine, you can still expect to need forgiveness along the way.
In fact, that’s how God loves you. Growing on the vine that is Jesus Christ, you are free to sprout off in whatever direction you need to for the sake of loving or serving someone else. You’ll make mistakes, no doubt about that. You’ll do the wrong thing sometimes and need forgiveness, or pruning as Jesus puts it. But that’s what God’s love is like—not only accepting you as you are, but creating you into a NEW creation. Because the goal isn’t simply to make you feel good about yourself or to help everyone get along. The goal is to serve the world, and through that, glorifying God and his Son, your Savior, the true vine, Jesus Christ—who died for you and intends to serve the world through you.
Where I do I find these little sticks and branches? Well, mostly, my family finds them for me. They search the ground for little sticks that have fallen off trees and pile them up for me in the wheelbarrow or in a bucket or in a box so that, when the time comes, I can throw them into the fire and get it started again. Because, you see, that’s all those little sticks are good for, really, besides breaking my lawnmower or maybe for playing pretend games with outside. Those little sticks have fallen off the tree they once belonged to. They won’t produce leaves anymore. They can’t grow anymore. So, in my opinion, they are mostly good for one thing—to be burned.
Jesus compares himself not to a tree, but to a vine. He was probably referring to a grapevine. And he compares his disciples to the branches on that vine that would produce fruit. Jesus says that any one of his disciples that do not bear fruit are about as good as a branch lying on the ground. Not good for much other than burning. You also are about as worthless as this box of sticks if you do not continue and remain connected to Jesus Christ, the true vine. Jesus says that if you do not produce fruit—if you do not follow his commandments and actively love others—you’d be worth more burned up than just sitting around where you are. “I am the true vine,” Jesus proclaims. “Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me.”
Jesus talks in a very organic way about faith and life. A branch on a grapevine doesn’t just “decide” one day to create a grape. It is nourished from the vine it is attached to, it abides in the vine, as Jesus puts it, resting securely, receiving everything through the vine until, after a period of time, fruit finally bursts forth. Jesus says he receives everything from his Father and gives it to us. And over time, after being nourished day by day by none other than Jesus himself, the fruits of the Spirit happen in your life. According to Paul’s letter to the Galatians, “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” Important stuff. Stuff worth waiting for.
As a branch on the true vine of Jesus Christ, your “nourishment” comes in two forms. Jesus gives you commandments and Jesus gives you love. “As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
Jesus gives you love. That love flows into you throughout your entire life. God gave you life at birth. God provides you with food. God provides you family and friends. God sent Jesus to die for your sins. The love keeps flowing and flowing into you. But if you are removed from that relationship, well, two things happen. First, that love cannot find its way into fruit. In order to get your neighbor loved, God needs you. If you do not abide in Jesus, your friends, your family and your coworkers cannot know God’s love. Second, if you did not continue receiving life or love from Jesus, you would not have love or life. One moment you would be a living branch on the true vine. The next moment you would be a dead branch, fit for the fire.
Jesus also gives you commandments. Jesus tells you what to do by giving you his words that you must fulfill. These commandments flow into you throughout your life. You are told to love God above anything else. You are told to pray to God for everything that you need. You are told not to murder. You are told to love one another. You see, sometimes we do things because we want to, we love our children and so we change their dirty diapers. But sometimes we do things, not necessarily because we want to, but because we are told to. Nurses or aides in a hospital or nursing home might rather not change a resident’s dirty diaper, if the decision were based purely on love, they might just choose not to. But they are commanded to by their bosses or else they might be fired.
These commandments of God, while not always being something we like or like to do, are extremely important in our world. Without them, diapers would sometimes not be changed. People would think they could do whatever they wanted without any consequences even if they hurt others. God’s commandments flow through Jesus into our ears and into our actions day after day, but if that relationship is cut off two things happen. First, your neighbors are no longer protected and may not be loved as they were before. Second, if you do not continue receiving commands from Jesus, you have no boundaries on your behavior. You are unprotected from others and from yourself. One moment you are a living branch on the true vine. The next moment you are a dead branch, fit for the fire.
And somehow these two things are connected. In fact, the purpose of God’s commandments is to get you to love, love is the completion of God’s commandments. But when Jesus talks about love, he is not simply talking about it like WE like to talk about it in our world. Everyone is “for” love, if you haven’t noticed. Very few religions don’t like love, right? Atheists like “love” too! Everybody likes love! But Jesus is not just talking about love the way the world works. This is a different kind of a love. A love described by none other than Jesus himself, “As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love.” Love is about service. It is an active love that doesn’t aim at death or martyrdom, but, through the act of service, is willing to die for the sake of the neighbor just as Jesus did.
When you watch TV and movies, love is often described or connected somehow to sex and sexual relationships. Relationships between adults and youth often see the act of sex as a requirement for love: “If you really love me, you’d sleep with me.” That’s the general idea at least. Sex is even used to “fix” relationships or to “make up” after big fights. Some communes in the sixties were based on the idea that anyone could “make love” with anyone else without any jealously or so called “property rights” (at least that was the idea anyway). If you’ve ever read the book Stranger in a Strange Land you might recognize that concept of love.
The other description of “love” that is so popular today makes love equal to tolerance. Now, tolerance is a Christian ideal in many respects. We are all sinners and, as Jesus points out “judge not lest ye be judged”. However, the thing is, we are all judged by God, his words and his commandments, and so is everyone else. So while we are called to be tolerant of others and their choices in society, this doesn’t mean that people are not still punished for their bad choices. We don’t tolerate some things like murder or stealing. In the church, we must be tolerant of different ways of life, cultures and traditions, but when we break God’s laws, we aren’t called to tolerate bad behavior, we are called to forgive, just as we have been forgiven. We learn love from Jesus’ death on the cross for us, not from TV or movies. Jesus didn’t just tolerate your sins, he died to forgive you and save you from being punished for your sins.
Jesus’s statement about love in John’s gospel is different than sex and more than tolerance. In fact, it is different than any other statement that you can find in the other three gospels. John isn’t saying that you should “love our neighbor as yourself” and he isn’t talking about the “golden rule” or how to increase your pleasure in the world; instead, as the Father loves him, and as Jesus loves you, that is love. “No greater love is there than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” That doesn’t mean that everyone must die, it is not death seeking martyrdom, but all love is measured based on that gift of Jesus’. A soldier in the armed forces doesn’t serve with the intention of dying; however, they are willing to serve even if it means that they must die for the sake of loving their country and the people within it, for their protection and their freedom.
What did Jesus’ death do for you? It gives you life, forgiveness and peace. Love is life-giving, not simply pleasure seeking either for the person receiving or giving. Love is about forgiving, not simply tolerating, but forgiving specific wrongs that are being committed against people and against God. This is the love that fulfills God’s commandments. This is the love that God calls you to abide in.
Yet, even while abiding in Jesus Christ and bearing the fruit of the Spirit, sin still clings to you, for you are both a saint and a sinner. John says, “Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit.” The word that John uses for “prunes” is the same as he uses for “cleanse” in the very next sentence, “You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you.”. God continues to cleanse and prune you through the words of Jesus Christ so that you will continue to bear fruit. So, while you are receiving love and commandments from Jesus Christ, the true vine, you can still expect to need forgiveness along the way.
In fact, that’s how God loves you. Growing on the vine that is Jesus Christ, you are free to sprout off in whatever direction you need to for the sake of loving or serving someone else. You’ll make mistakes, no doubt about that. You’ll do the wrong thing sometimes and need forgiveness, or pruning as Jesus puts it. But that’s what God’s love is like—not only accepting you as you are, but creating you into a NEW creation. Because the goal isn’t simply to make you feel good about yourself or to help everyone get along. The goal is to serve the world, and through that, glorifying God and his Son, your Savior, the true vine, Jesus Christ—who died for you and intends to serve the world through you.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Sermon for September 7th
“If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to you, you have regained that one.” Jesus realizes that the church is made up of sinners. Jesus doesn’t go after the “goody two shoes” in the world. Earlier in Matthew’s gospel he says point blank that he is not after the healthy but the sick, not the righteous but the unrighteous. Well, you get a bunch of sick, unrighteous sinners together week after week and you can expect fireworks sometimes. That is part of living in the same world together. Here at Saint Peters, I can assure you that there will also be fireworks from time to time.
But all this makes sense doesn’t it? If someone hurts you, don’t start telling other people about it first, don’t just tolerate the hurtful behavior, tell the person face to face. Ask for an apology. “But if you are not listened to, take one or two others along with you, so that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses.” Jesus calls us to speak to one another and not about one another. But this still makes sense doesn’t it? What a great model for the church the follow. What a great model for businesses to follow. What a great model for a family to follow. But then, we start getting very uncomfortable. This next part of the gospel lesson doesn’t always make sense.
“If the member still refuses to listen, tell it to the church; and if the offender refuses to listen even to the church, let such a one be to you as a Gentile or a tax collector.” Jesus makes it clear that a faithful community must set boundaries for healthy behavior. If it does not do this, it just becomes another amorphous group of worldly people and not a community of faith at all. Gentiles and tax collectors were considered to be such great sinners that they were not allowed to be a part of the religious community. What does this mean for us?
Martin Luther maintained that Scripture alone sets out boundaries for us. For example: Do not kill, do not commit adultery and do not lie. But what happens if and when someone crosses those boundaries? Forgive them? Yes! Yes! Forgive them. But in the passage today this isn’t the only issue is it. What happens if someone doesn’t care? Doesn’t want forgiveness? Doesn’t believe there are boundaries? Jesus says, “Consider them a Gentile and a tax collector.” If someone isn’t acting like part of a community, then perhaps they shouldn’t be considered part of it. If you are at church and you aren’t looking for forgiveness you are at odds with the message being proclaimed there.
Now, what would you do if you found out your teenager had a friend who was an alcoholic? Perhaps you would set a boundary for your child and disallow them from riding in the same car with that friend. Perhaps you would not allow that child to be a part of your child’s group of friends. The next question is this: how would you treat that forbidden friend from then on? “Treat them as a Gentile and a tax collector” Jesus says. What does that mean?
What would you do if you found out a worshipper at your church was behaving inappropriately in the community? After discussing it with the person, the council, the pastor and the church, there was disagreement, fear and a lot of hurt feelings. If the person was eventually asked to seek another place of worship, how would you deal with them from that point forward? “Treat them as a Gentile and a tax collector” Jesus says. What does that mean exactly?
“Let such a one be to you as a Gentile and tax collector.” Consider this: What kind of people did Jesus hang out with? Sinners and tax collectors. Gentiles and prostitutes. I can’t imagine that the irony of Jesus’ statement was lost on his disciples. Matthew himself was a tax collector when he was called by Jesus.
Jesus maintains that when you’ve brought sin into the light and repentance does not occur, there comes a point where you must set up a boundary between a community and an unhealthy lifestyle. But even as we are called to set healthy boundaries in our lives, we are simultaneously called to forgive people outside these boundaries. We are called to pray unceasingly for them, to love them and bring them the good news of God. Ask forgiveness and God will forgive you. Our Christian community needs healthy boundaries, just like your life does, but we are called, just as Jesus was, not for the healthy, but for the sick, not for the righteous, but for the unrighteous. The gateway back into a community is the same way you came in: Asking for forgiveness.
As you may know, people, especially, I have heard, many men, have trouble leaving their socks lying around on their beds, on the floor, on the lampshade or wherever. As you also may know, when they are asked to pick up their socks, these same men do what they are told, they pick up their socks. The law says, “Don’t leave your socks lying around the house.” And, if a sock is left outside of its drawer, the punishment is an angry spouse, a raised voice and a sock thrown in your face. That’s the law at work.
“I don’t want to have to keep telling you . . . to pick up your socks!” THAT, my friends, is what the law wants. The law doesn’t want to have to tell you. The law doesn’t want to have to punish. Your spouse doesn’t want to have to tell you to pick up your socks! Your spouse wants love. So much love that there are never socks left lying around! The law wants love. Unfortunately, the law can’t keep you from forgetting where the hamper is or missing the laundry basket. The law can’t make you do what it wants.
When Jesus talks about church discipline today in the gospel of Matthew, he sets out the law. There are sins. There are people who have unhealthy behaviors and there must be boundaries. The law has its place. But he also points out that the law is not the goal. Punishment is not the goal. Jesus doesn’t want a church where sinners are kicked out (otherwise called an empty church). He wants each of us to come asking forgiveness just like a Gentile and a tax collector. Not because we deserve forgiveness, but because we need it.
God wants you to love your neighbor so he created the Law. But all the Law can do is tell you to love people, or scare you into loving them. Love your neighbor or else! Crrrrrreeech! It can’t make you love them. “Honey, do you love me?” “Yes. Of course I love you.” “Well, why don’t you ever tell me?” Well, I just did tell you!” “Oh sure, when I asked!” Love wants to be loved without asking. Love wants to be loved without the demands. Love wants to be loved apart from the Law. To be true love, it must be spontaneous. Not coerced or manipulated. The law can never create love. Jesus gives you the love that the law was looking for. How? By loving you first.
In today’s passage there is a word of hope. And do you know where you can find it? In a surprising place: “Let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.” Yes, right there! The part everyone hates! Why is this such a hopeful verse? Because wherever you find sinners you’ll find Jesus hanging around. If you refuse to admit you are a sinner, you need forgiveness more than ever. You can be sure Jesus is after you. And if you ever find yourself lost, you know for sure Jesus is on his way to find you.
There is a story that ends right before this passage in the gospel of Matthew that I
would like end with today. Maybe it can help us understand what to do with those we consider to be “Gentiles and tax collectors. “If a shepherd has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. So it is not the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones should be lost.”
Boundaries are needed. Even churches have to have rules. The Law requires it. You need protection and your neighbors need to be loved. But the law finds its goal in forgiveness. The law finds its goal in Jesus. The goal of this passage isn’t to throw people out. The goal is to forgive and bring people back to Jesus. Jesus, who was sent for the lost. Jesus who was sent for the Gentiles. Jesus who was sent for the tax collectors. Jesus who was sent for the sinners. Jesus who was sent for you. Amen.
But all this makes sense doesn’t it? If someone hurts you, don’t start telling other people about it first, don’t just tolerate the hurtful behavior, tell the person face to face. Ask for an apology. “But if you are not listened to, take one or two others along with you, so that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses.” Jesus calls us to speak to one another and not about one another. But this still makes sense doesn’t it? What a great model for the church the follow. What a great model for businesses to follow. What a great model for a family to follow. But then, we start getting very uncomfortable. This next part of the gospel lesson doesn’t always make sense.
“If the member still refuses to listen, tell it to the church; and if the offender refuses to listen even to the church, let such a one be to you as a Gentile or a tax collector.” Jesus makes it clear that a faithful community must set boundaries for healthy behavior. If it does not do this, it just becomes another amorphous group of worldly people and not a community of faith at all. Gentiles and tax collectors were considered to be such great sinners that they were not allowed to be a part of the religious community. What does this mean for us?
Martin Luther maintained that Scripture alone sets out boundaries for us. For example: Do not kill, do not commit adultery and do not lie. But what happens if and when someone crosses those boundaries? Forgive them? Yes! Yes! Forgive them. But in the passage today this isn’t the only issue is it. What happens if someone doesn’t care? Doesn’t want forgiveness? Doesn’t believe there are boundaries? Jesus says, “Consider them a Gentile and a tax collector.” If someone isn’t acting like part of a community, then perhaps they shouldn’t be considered part of it. If you are at church and you aren’t looking for forgiveness you are at odds with the message being proclaimed there.
Now, what would you do if you found out your teenager had a friend who was an alcoholic? Perhaps you would set a boundary for your child and disallow them from riding in the same car with that friend. Perhaps you would not allow that child to be a part of your child’s group of friends. The next question is this: how would you treat that forbidden friend from then on? “Treat them as a Gentile and a tax collector” Jesus says. What does that mean?
What would you do if you found out a worshipper at your church was behaving inappropriately in the community? After discussing it with the person, the council, the pastor and the church, there was disagreement, fear and a lot of hurt feelings. If the person was eventually asked to seek another place of worship, how would you deal with them from that point forward? “Treat them as a Gentile and a tax collector” Jesus says. What does that mean exactly?
“Let such a one be to you as a Gentile and tax collector.” Consider this: What kind of people did Jesus hang out with? Sinners and tax collectors. Gentiles and prostitutes. I can’t imagine that the irony of Jesus’ statement was lost on his disciples. Matthew himself was a tax collector when he was called by Jesus.
Jesus maintains that when you’ve brought sin into the light and repentance does not occur, there comes a point where you must set up a boundary between a community and an unhealthy lifestyle. But even as we are called to set healthy boundaries in our lives, we are simultaneously called to forgive people outside these boundaries. We are called to pray unceasingly for them, to love them and bring them the good news of God. Ask forgiveness and God will forgive you. Our Christian community needs healthy boundaries, just like your life does, but we are called, just as Jesus was, not for the healthy, but for the sick, not for the righteous, but for the unrighteous. The gateway back into a community is the same way you came in: Asking for forgiveness.
As you may know, people, especially, I have heard, many men, have trouble leaving their socks lying around on their beds, on the floor, on the lampshade or wherever. As you also may know, when they are asked to pick up their socks, these same men do what they are told, they pick up their socks. The law says, “Don’t leave your socks lying around the house.” And, if a sock is left outside of its drawer, the punishment is an angry spouse, a raised voice and a sock thrown in your face. That’s the law at work.
“I don’t want to have to keep telling you . . . to pick up your socks!” THAT, my friends, is what the law wants. The law doesn’t want to have to tell you. The law doesn’t want to have to punish. Your spouse doesn’t want to have to tell you to pick up your socks! Your spouse wants love. So much love that there are never socks left lying around! The law wants love. Unfortunately, the law can’t keep you from forgetting where the hamper is or missing the laundry basket. The law can’t make you do what it wants.
When Jesus talks about church discipline today in the gospel of Matthew, he sets out the law. There are sins. There are people who have unhealthy behaviors and there must be boundaries. The law has its place. But he also points out that the law is not the goal. Punishment is not the goal. Jesus doesn’t want a church where sinners are kicked out (otherwise called an empty church). He wants each of us to come asking forgiveness just like a Gentile and a tax collector. Not because we deserve forgiveness, but because we need it.
God wants you to love your neighbor so he created the Law. But all the Law can do is tell you to love people, or scare you into loving them. Love your neighbor or else! Crrrrrreeech! It can’t make you love them. “Honey, do you love me?” “Yes. Of course I love you.” “Well, why don’t you ever tell me?” Well, I just did tell you!” “Oh sure, when I asked!” Love wants to be loved without asking. Love wants to be loved without the demands. Love wants to be loved apart from the Law. To be true love, it must be spontaneous. Not coerced or manipulated. The law can never create love. Jesus gives you the love that the law was looking for. How? By loving you first.
In today’s passage there is a word of hope. And do you know where you can find it? In a surprising place: “Let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.” Yes, right there! The part everyone hates! Why is this such a hopeful verse? Because wherever you find sinners you’ll find Jesus hanging around. If you refuse to admit you are a sinner, you need forgiveness more than ever. You can be sure Jesus is after you. And if you ever find yourself lost, you know for sure Jesus is on his way to find you.
There is a story that ends right before this passage in the gospel of Matthew that I
would like end with today. Maybe it can help us understand what to do with those we consider to be “Gentiles and tax collectors. “If a shepherd has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. So it is not the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones should be lost.”
Boundaries are needed. Even churches have to have rules. The Law requires it. You need protection and your neighbors need to be loved. But the law finds its goal in forgiveness. The law finds its goal in Jesus. The goal of this passage isn’t to throw people out. The goal is to forgive and bring people back to Jesus. Jesus, who was sent for the lost. Jesus who was sent for the Gentiles. Jesus who was sent for the tax collectors. Jesus who was sent for the sinners. Jesus who was sent for you. Amen.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Sermon for June 29th
God asks you the same question today as he asked Peter so long ago, “Do you love me? Do you love me? Do you love me?” For those of you familiar with this gospel story, it is usually mentioned that Jesus asks Peter this question, “Do you love me?” three times in order to negate Peter’s threefold denial of Jesus previous to the crucifixion. Unfortunately, Peter doesn’t seem to get the symbolism, does he. Instead, by the end, he gets offended. Perhaps you feel the same way when God asks you this question, “Do you love me?” You are at church after all. Doesn’t that count for something?
At seminary, I remember taking a class my second semester with a wonderful teacher for whom I have a lot of respect. It was a history class on the Reformation. I loved this class because this professor really knew how to lay out God’s promises in front of me so that I knew God’s forgiveness was for me, a big sinner. The only problem I had was that he kept telling me that God had forgiven my sins. Again and again he would say this. Class after class. Week after week. Now that was fine, I thought, but what was I supposed to do? I mean, now that my sins were forgiven. What was I in charge of? What was my part to play. I had heard all the rest of that before! Yes! I get it! I’m forgiven already! I didn’t need to hear it again and again and again!
Usually, there are two ways that we respond to God, when the forgiveness of sins is announced. We either say, “That’s nice, but no thanks. I don’t need it.” Or we say, “Yes. I know. I’ve already heard that.” When Jesus is presented before us we either decide that we can live without him or else we wonder why he’s back when we already are Christians. When it comes to love, or forgiveness, or faith, we either don’t want it or think we’ve already got enough of it. The apostle Peter gives us an example of both responses in the gospel of John.
Peter is most famous, of course, for his denial of Jesus before the crucifixion. He explains to Jesus how all the rest of the disciples might run away and abandon you, but not I. Not Peter! But Jesus tells him, “Very truly, I tell you, before the cock crows you will deny me three times.” Peter thinks that he is above all of that. Peter thinks that he has got this disciple thing down pat! Peter says that he will lay down his life for Jesus, not the other way around. Peter doesn’t need Jesus to tell him how to be faithful, Peter can do it all on his own . . . that is, until he realizes he can’t, or even more interestingly, he won’t.
Peter did deny Jesus three times, not because he didn’t have the opportunity to confess his faith, but because he chose not to. We never think we need something like the forgiveness of sins until we actually need forgiven. Until we’ve done something so horrible, our egos have to take a nosedive back into reality. We have such high regard for ourselves that we figure we are doing just fine on our own. Forgiveness? Who needs it? Not us! Not yet.
We either think we don’t need it or we think we’ve already got it. The second example Peter provides for our edification is in today’s gospel lesson. “When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” he said to him, “Yes Lord; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.” A second time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, “do you love me?” And he said to him, “Lord you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him. “Feed my sheep.” By the third time, Peter must have wondered whether Jesus’ eardrums didn’t get resurrected properly or else that, maybe, Jesus just didn’t believe the answer. Peter figured that his first answer was good enough. Making him confess this over and over seemed a little over the top. A bit redundant. A bit rude.
One of my favorite musicals is Fiddler on the Roof. In this musical, there is a wonderful song that I would like to present for you as an illustration of what is going on here with Peter and Jesus. It’s a bit quiet at the beginning, so I’ll let you know the question the man, Tevya keeps asking: he asks his wife, “Do you love me?”
“Do you love me?” “Do I what?” I love that. At first, Golde, Tevya’s wife thinks this whole, “Do you love me?” question is completely pointless doesn’t she. She doesn’t care! She doesn’t need this interruption into her daily life. As I’ve said before, this is the first way we respond to love.
But, in the movie, her husband, Tevya keeps at her. Asking her and asking her. Then, that second response comes barreling down the road, “I do this for you. I do this for you. I do this for you. I do this for you!” In other words, “Haven’t I already told you I love you! Why are asking me again!?” When it comes to love, or forgiveness, or faith, we always seem to think we either don’t need it or that we’ve already got enough of it.
You can see these two responses to love over and over again in our lives. We either think we don’t need it or think we’ve already got it. And we don’t have to look at dead apostles or movie clips to understand what is going on here.
“I can be just as spiritual in my garden.” I worship God when I go hiking.” “I don’t believe in organized religion.” “I don’t go to church, but I’m very spiritual.” These are variations on the theme of, “I don’t need Jesus.” Maybe you respect Jesus, or think church people are nice, or maybe even you’d like to “just be friends” with Jesus, but when it comes down to the nitty gritty, you think you can live without him.
However, for many of us, the problem isn’t that we think we don’t need God. Our problem is that we think God is a little too annoying. A little too insistent. A little too touchy feely when it comes to loving us. He says it a few too many times for our comfort. He’s always asking us, “Do you love me?” Doesn’t he already know?
One of my favorite stories from the Bible is from the book of Exodus, where the Israelites eat manna in the wilderness. God, through Moses, tells his people that they are to gather enough of this bread from heaven to feed themselves for each day. However, if they take more than they need, the leftovers become rotten. In other words, they must rely on God each and every day for their physical needs. They can’t ever have too much of what he has given them.
This story, from Exodus, gives us a good view of how God works in our lives. You can never have enough faith. You can never have enough forgiveness. You can never have enough love from God. As soon as you think you have received all you need, you’ll find that your faith isn’t strong enough, or you do something wrong again, or you feel depressed and in despair. God asks you again and again, day in and day out, “Do you love me?” “Do you love me?” “Do you love me?” Why? Well, because he loves you again and again. He loves you day in and day out. He loves you no matter what. Whether you think you need his love or think you already have it, God wants you to confess your faith in him over and over. God never gets tired of telling you that he loves you and he never gets tired of hearing that you love him. So that you never forget that you are his child. So that you never forget that he is your heavenly Father. Even when you sin. Even when you deny him. Even when you come to church.
God asks you this question, “Do you love me? Do you love me? Do you love me? Follow me for I love you. I love you. I love you. ” Amen.
At seminary, I remember taking a class my second semester with a wonderful teacher for whom I have a lot of respect. It was a history class on the Reformation. I loved this class because this professor really knew how to lay out God’s promises in front of me so that I knew God’s forgiveness was for me, a big sinner. The only problem I had was that he kept telling me that God had forgiven my sins. Again and again he would say this. Class after class. Week after week. Now that was fine, I thought, but what was I supposed to do? I mean, now that my sins were forgiven. What was I in charge of? What was my part to play. I had heard all the rest of that before! Yes! I get it! I’m forgiven already! I didn’t need to hear it again and again and again!
Usually, there are two ways that we respond to God, when the forgiveness of sins is announced. We either say, “That’s nice, but no thanks. I don’t need it.” Or we say, “Yes. I know. I’ve already heard that.” When Jesus is presented before us we either decide that we can live without him or else we wonder why he’s back when we already are Christians. When it comes to love, or forgiveness, or faith, we either don’t want it or think we’ve already got enough of it. The apostle Peter gives us an example of both responses in the gospel of John.
Peter is most famous, of course, for his denial of Jesus before the crucifixion. He explains to Jesus how all the rest of the disciples might run away and abandon you, but not I. Not Peter! But Jesus tells him, “Very truly, I tell you, before the cock crows you will deny me three times.” Peter thinks that he is above all of that. Peter thinks that he has got this disciple thing down pat! Peter says that he will lay down his life for Jesus, not the other way around. Peter doesn’t need Jesus to tell him how to be faithful, Peter can do it all on his own . . . that is, until he realizes he can’t, or even more interestingly, he won’t.
Peter did deny Jesus three times, not because he didn’t have the opportunity to confess his faith, but because he chose not to. We never think we need something like the forgiveness of sins until we actually need forgiven. Until we’ve done something so horrible, our egos have to take a nosedive back into reality. We have such high regard for ourselves that we figure we are doing just fine on our own. Forgiveness? Who needs it? Not us! Not yet.
We either think we don’t need it or we think we’ve already got it. The second example Peter provides for our edification is in today’s gospel lesson. “When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” he said to him, “Yes Lord; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.” A second time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, “do you love me?” And he said to him, “Lord you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him. “Feed my sheep.” By the third time, Peter must have wondered whether Jesus’ eardrums didn’t get resurrected properly or else that, maybe, Jesus just didn’t believe the answer. Peter figured that his first answer was good enough. Making him confess this over and over seemed a little over the top. A bit redundant. A bit rude.
One of my favorite musicals is Fiddler on the Roof. In this musical, there is a wonderful song that I would like to present for you as an illustration of what is going on here with Peter and Jesus. It’s a bit quiet at the beginning, so I’ll let you know the question the man, Tevya keeps asking: he asks his wife, “Do you love me?”
“Do you love me?” “Do I what?” I love that. At first, Golde, Tevya’s wife thinks this whole, “Do you love me?” question is completely pointless doesn’t she. She doesn’t care! She doesn’t need this interruption into her daily life. As I’ve said before, this is the first way we respond to love.
But, in the movie, her husband, Tevya keeps at her. Asking her and asking her. Then, that second response comes barreling down the road, “I do this for you. I do this for you. I do this for you. I do this for you!” In other words, “Haven’t I already told you I love you! Why are asking me again!?” When it comes to love, or forgiveness, or faith, we always seem to think we either don’t need it or that we’ve already got enough of it.
You can see these two responses to love over and over again in our lives. We either think we don’t need it or think we’ve already got it. And we don’t have to look at dead apostles or movie clips to understand what is going on here.
“I can be just as spiritual in my garden.” I worship God when I go hiking.” “I don’t believe in organized religion.” “I don’t go to church, but I’m very spiritual.” These are variations on the theme of, “I don’t need Jesus.” Maybe you respect Jesus, or think church people are nice, or maybe even you’d like to “just be friends” with Jesus, but when it comes down to the nitty gritty, you think you can live without him.
However, for many of us, the problem isn’t that we think we don’t need God. Our problem is that we think God is a little too annoying. A little too insistent. A little too touchy feely when it comes to loving us. He says it a few too many times for our comfort. He’s always asking us, “Do you love me?” Doesn’t he already know?
One of my favorite stories from the Bible is from the book of Exodus, where the Israelites eat manna in the wilderness. God, through Moses, tells his people that they are to gather enough of this bread from heaven to feed themselves for each day. However, if they take more than they need, the leftovers become rotten. In other words, they must rely on God each and every day for their physical needs. They can’t ever have too much of what he has given them.
This story, from Exodus, gives us a good view of how God works in our lives. You can never have enough faith. You can never have enough forgiveness. You can never have enough love from God. As soon as you think you have received all you need, you’ll find that your faith isn’t strong enough, or you do something wrong again, or you feel depressed and in despair. God asks you again and again, day in and day out, “Do you love me?” “Do you love me?” “Do you love me?” Why? Well, because he loves you again and again. He loves you day in and day out. He loves you no matter what. Whether you think you need his love or think you already have it, God wants you to confess your faith in him over and over. God never gets tired of telling you that he loves you and he never gets tired of hearing that you love him. So that you never forget that you are his child. So that you never forget that he is your heavenly Father. Even when you sin. Even when you deny him. Even when you come to church.
God asks you this question, “Do you love me? Do you love me? Do you love me? Follow me for I love you. I love you. I love you. ” Amen.
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