EASTER 04
April 25, 2010
the Rev. Ken Kroohs
Isaiah 43:16-21; Ps. 126; Philippians 3:4b-14; John 12:1-8)
JESUS LOVES ME EVEN THOUGH
St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church, High Point, NC
MAY THE WORDS OF MY MOUTH ... AND THE MEDITATIONS OF ALL OUR HEARTS ... BE ALWAYS ACCEPTABLE TO YOU --- OUR STRENGTH AND OUR REDEEMER AMEN
We tend to over complicate God .... make theology, our relationship with God much more complicated than it is.
It is fascinating how the simpler songs, many of them children’s songs, get the message that we miss. Jesus loves me. .... In some ways that’s it. That’s the whole picture, the entire Bible, all of theology in one children’s song — Jesus loves me.
But I wonder — so what? Jesus loves me, so what? Another simple song: “I want to walk as a child of the light I want to follow Jesus.” ......... We need to work on a few details about what it means to follow Jesus, but one line from that simple song says it all .... I want to follow Jesus.
Even following Jesus doesn’t get too complicated. No, another favorite children song actually paraphrases today’s Gospel and says it all: “They will know we are Christians by our love.”
They will know we are Christians by how we treat other people. ..... and even THAT is extremely simple – treat other people as we want to be treated.
If I were to be in need: health, physical needs, emotional, financial, how would I want to be treated?
They will know we are Christians by our love. .......... I love God very much. To my utter shock and disbelief I also know God loves me. ... that Jesus loves me. .... don’t know why, but Jesus loves me. I thought about having us sing a re-written version of that children’s song — Jesus loves me even though ... and then let you fill in the blank.
..... Possibly my deepest passion in life is helping other people know that Jesus loves them. That’s why I am so hurt when I talk to people and they say they won’t go to church because it is full of hypocrites as bad as unchurched people. The fastest growing religious affiliation in the United States is “spiritual but not religious” and the primary reason given for not being religious is that “Christians are no different from other people” ........ They do not know we are Christians by our love .... by the way we treat other people.
St. Christopher’s is one of the best by that measure I have ever known. We treat each other better than happens in many churches. ..... I do wonder why church conflict is more painful than any other conflict — with the possible exception of family conflict, church conflict is the most painful.
A comparison, I spent over 20 years working in the public sector doing things like getting I-40 built. I was at meetings we had to request obviously armed police to be present. The worst one of all was when a pastor collected his congregation, screamed at them for 30 minutes, and then, literally, charged up the hill to the public meeting. ..... We had to place police outside to escort other people into the meeting they were being harassed so much.
True story, you probably can still find it in newspaper archives.
I suspect you are all picturing the type of church. .. You are wrong. .... It was a pacifist Moravian church. They were against violence but something happened they did not like so now being mean was OK.
I wonder ..... how many people stopped going to church that night? Or saw them and decided never to associate with a church again?
They will know we are Christians by our love ... by the way we treat each other.
Loving is not the only important act. .... Why is there such a sharp division between people who are willing to talk about God and those who are not? Between people who are willing, even anxious to talk to you about their religion versus people who will not touch that on your death bed!
I want to run this past friends in the religious studies field ... but I THINK I may have part of the answer. Everyone is different so everyone’s specific answer will be different but ........ I suspect that a big part of the explanation comes from the person’s focus.
I was approached by someone at the hospital recently as many of you have been approached ... the person asked, well almost shouted, if you die today do you know where you are going?
Others want to know: What was the place, date and time of your salvation? ---- if you want to have some fun with them answer that one by saying: I know that. It was on a Friday, 3 in the afternoon, on a hill in Israel, about 2000 years ago. .... More often than not they will simply stare at you totally missing the point. ................ OK! That is not very loving — but it is fun.
I suspect the reason those people are willing, even anxious to talk about their relationship with God whereas most of us are not is that their focus in on the next life. .... Not totally ignoring this life, but their primary focus is on the next life.
Whereas we, at some level of our being, have absorbed the lesson that they will know we are Christians by our love — in this life, and fear we fail the test. I fail the test all the time and when I do get the chance to talk with someone I make a point of working that into the conversation ---- I do NOT want someone measuring the idea of Christianity against me. That will make Christianity fail.
I have heard people say they don’t talk about Christianity because they are afraid a person will ask a question they cannot answer. That is an easy one to fix, simply say: good question and one I have wondered about, let’s go ask someone . ... most people will be happy to hear that response.
No, I suspect most of us don’t talk about our Christianity because we are afraid people will think ... be too polite to ask but think ... what about the time you ___ ? What about your attitude on ___? .... Or maybe not even that, maybe we don’t want them watching us to see how Christians act because we know how often we will fail that test. ........ Or at least I do.
Today we heard one of the major reasons for hope in the Book of Revelation. The previous verses contained the famous line about 144,000 being saved. ... Unfortunately for those who want to take that as a specific number, immediately after that comes this verse which says “a great multitude that no one can count”. Both cannot be specifically true. How can you say it is 144,000 if no one can count the number?
Fortunately, and full of hope, Revelation is a symbolic book. Much as we might understand a headline that says: “the bulls were active on Wall Street” ... the original audience understood that numbers are used symbolically. The number 12 as in the 12 tribes of Israel, was used to mean “all people”. The number 10, as in ten fingers, was used to indicate completeness. So 144,000 — 10 times 10 times 12 times 12 was the complete number of all people — just expanded for emphasis like we might say it is “very, very, very good!”
I do not believe this means universality. I do believe people can choose to be away from God. BUT, I see no other way to read it but that it means the overwhelming number of people. In chapter five of Revelation I like, and think its more accurate, the translation that there are a “myriad of myriads” present. Basically that means a virtually infinite number of people .... which means despite the fact I so often fail the test of being Christian, I may be in the crowd.
But it also means I should always be striving harder to meet the test of looking like a Christian should look.
Another place those who focus on the next life differ from those who focus on this life is a part of their worship services. I don’t go to Pentecostal or Charismatic or Baptist churches very often so I may be working on incomplete data but I have never heard a confession said in any of those services. After all, they have already accepted Jesus so there is nothing to change in that relationship.
Interesting theology. I think it is wrong ... I believe we need to constantly be focusing on our failures — not in despair but in an attempt to learn. AND focusing on our successes. I was struck a few years ago by a newspaper article. One of the greatest shooters in basketball was having a bad stretch. The article said he did not look at film of the recent games when he was missing, he looked at film of the times he hit the shots to focus on success.
We need to know when we have failed, acknowledge that failure, confess that failure, and see what we can do to correct the results and avoid the same mistake again. ..... Doing all of that knowing: Jesus loves me even though .... And acknowledge to so we learn from our successes.
The final piece of it is best illustrated by the time a friend ... metaphorically ... picked up a baseball bat and smacked me on the head. .... I am not stubborn, I just have strong convictions ..... anyway I had been ranting and raving about someone who had mis-treated me. No question, I was wronged and seriously wronged and I was ‘commenting’ on every part of their existence in exquisite detail. It took a while for me to need a breath but when that moment came my friend .... so quietly it was especially nasty said: Jesus died for them. My immediate reaction was: well, He shouldn’t have!! .... I am stubborn, but I am also honest and my friend’s comment, which I have never forgiven him for, and my reaction was that smack across the head telling me how unChristian I was being.
Jesus loves me even though
But I was also reminded that is no excuse. We need to behave as if we have to earn God’s love while knowing we can never earn God’s love because we already have it.
Another way to say the same thing I like better is that we should act as if we believe God loves us and we are trying to live up to that love. We won’t. But we should try.
And if we live that way we have plenty to say to the “spiritual but not religious” or anyone else..
I believe we are making a good start if we sincerely sing::
Jesus loves me even though
Christian love I seldom show
(but) All of us to Him belong
We are weak but He is strong
AMEN
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CLICK HERE TO RESPOND: I would enjoy reading your comments about this sermon. Please feel free to discuss content or presentation. (If you wish to use another email system send your comments to: ken@st-christopher.com)