Luke 8:1-15

Dear Theophilus,

It fascinates me that you mention the church’s lack of integrity between the God of love they proclaim and their own actions, actions that often lack any semblance of love within them.  It is hypocrisy such as this that has driven me far from the church, and hearing this account of Jesus does not surprise me at all.  What would surprise me is witnessing such an act of gentle love being practiced by the church today.  Now, part of me realizes that this is not a fair characterization—I know that there are many Christians quietly living lives that preach exactly this kind of selfless love.  I know that they will never receive the television coverage that a few loud voices get, but it is so frustrating to know that the church is often so focused on itself and so worried about purity that it doesn’t bother to emulate this generous and amazing love that Jesus displays.  If the church took a month and decided to stop bickering and lived this message out, I believe the size of the church would probably double in that month.  But I suppose the chances of this happening are slim, because as soon as the church doubled many would go right back to arguing which of those that joined are truly worthy of God’s love.  Here, and in so many other places, Jesus illustrates that the ones we probably suspect least of being worthy of God’s love are the most willing to receive it, while many of these Pharisees are so busy trying to earn it that they miss it completely.  I wish I had been taught this lesson from my youth—I suspect my life would look very different than it does today.

As you can tell, Theophilus, there is a part of me that seems to yearn for a relationship with Jesus.  This exploration of his life has opened my eyes to his incredible love.  Many of the negative opinions I have of his followers and the church are torn away when I am confronted with the pictures of him loving those whom he met.  I want to be loved like that, freely and without condition, without fear of rejection.  Perhaps someday I will experience firsthand the kind of love that sinful woman found at the feet of Jesus and it will transform me forever. 

Speaking of women, it’s interesting that Jesus traveled with women.  Mary Magdalene, who had seven demons cast out from her, Joanna, the wife of Chuza, who was Herod’s steward, Susanna and many other women traveled with Jesus.  In today’s society there are still individuals arguing about whether women should be equal in religious communities, and yet here we have Jesus traveling with woman, many of whom were providing for the group from their own funds!  Jesus was all about inclusion! 

He continued to travel throughout cities and villages, talking about the kingdom of God wherever he went.  You, Theophilus, would probably be better at grasping exactly what that means, but it had a tremendous effect, for crowds gathered to hear him speak and to see him heal.  I wonder how many came out of curiosity and how many came out of desperate need, and how many still were in the original category and realized they were actually in the latter when they heard him speak.

One particular speech included a story about a sower who threw seed seemingly without care.  If I hired a sower with this same kind of accuracy, he wouldn’t last long!  He threw some seed on a path that was trod upon and eaten by the birds.  Some was on rock, where the roots were unable to be nurtured and it withered as it grew.  Some was in thorns and was never able to escape, being choked by the competition.  Some seed, though, did find its way to good soil, where it produced many times over. 

Oddly, Jesus told this story to the crowd without explanation, and I’m sure many went away scratching their heads, trying to find the root of the story.  Even the disciples were confused and asked him what it meant.  I have a faithful account that Jesus told them that they were given to know the secrets of God’s kingdom, but that many others merely heard the parables and would not understand them, even though they listened.  I will admit that I don’t understand why Jesus would speak in such a way that many would not understand him, but perhaps it is a test of faith, to see who is truly worthy?  Or maybe it is to give people something to think about, discuss, and trust that they would know the answers?  

Thankfully, the same record I have includes Jesus’ explanation of the parable.  The seed, Theophilus, is the word of God, and the seed that lands on the path represents the people who hear the word but have it stolen from their hearts by the devil.  The birds that pluck the seed from the path must be a symbol of how they are not saved because their belief does not endure.  The seed that falls among the rocks represents those whose initial joy upon hearing the word fades after a difficult time.  The thorns that choke some of the seed are symbolic of the riches of the world, and any newspaper in the world can attest that these temptations can choke away even the strongest faith.  The seed in the good soil, however, represents those that not only hear the word but also live a life of earnest and faithful witness, bearing fruit for the world to see, enduring all challenges and temptations to bring glory to God.

Jesus speaks in these parables, which are often more like riddles, and I wonder if they made perfect sense to the listeners back then.  I can’t help but think that many would have been confused, just as I often am.  It’s strange for me to say, but I trust Jesus’ method—if he is as loving as your previous story detailed, I’m sure that he would make a path for any who earnestly wished to be saved by him.  He doesn’t seem like the kind of man who spends more time building obstacles than making roads for people to come to faith, as opposed to many Christians I know who invest their time and energy in dividing others into groups and judging them.  They still have much to learn about Jesus.

Listen to me talk!  I find myself reaching all sorts of conclusions, and yet many might scoff at me.  I am not an expert on Jesus, but I am impressed by the man.  You may say that if I am so impressed I should offer him my life, but at this point I merely admire him.  I have not yet come to a place of worship.  You seem to believe that is inevitable, but I know that many have been confronted with the same evidence I have and reached a different conclusion than you have, so I will not say that it is inevitable.  I will say that I am uncertain, and I will continue to press forward, trusting that answers will become clear. 

Thank you, friend, for your investment of time and energy.

Sincerely,

Luke

Luke 7:36-50

Dear Luke,

Know that you are constantly in my prayers, friend, and I believe that you will come to see the light of faith shining truly in your life.  I don’t pretend for a moment that this is an easy process for you, but I see the earnestness of your struggle and I believe that God will lead you in the right direction.  The lack of peace in your life is the devil fighting for your soul, but he has been defeated, as we will discuss later, and his death throes violently claim many in this world who turn from the truth of God.  I don’t say this to strike fear into you, but know that your decision matters, and that there is a sense of urgency to it.  This side of heaven, we will never know everything about Jesus, but I believe that we know enough to commit our lives to him, and that what we will discover beyond the moment of death will overwhelm us—it will be as though we had been given only a taste of the richest honey ever, and after our death we will be lead into a chamber filled with it, and we shall laugh like children at the realization of how little we knew.

Jesus came to open our minds to God’s mission here on earth.  In the words and works of Jesus, we see God reaching out in love to those who are separated from him.  It strains the Pharisees’ understanding of him, but many who felt excluded from Judaism rejoiced at being welcomed into the family of God by a man filled with tender forgiveness.  It’s interesting to pair this next account of Jesus with the story you had related—I find that his harsh words contrast sharply with his gentle actions here, but I believe that different people need to hear a different message.  What Jesus preaches to one crowd is not displayed in the same way to the next individual.  Jesus reserves his harshest words for those who presume to know him best, while gracious displays of love are offered to those who are the farthest from him.  I believe, Luke, that the words I would hear from Jesus are different than the words you would hear.  The message of repentance and grace would be the same, but he would speak differently to me, a lifelong follower, than he would to you, a seeker.  Those of us within the church are often guilty of giving all of religion a bad name, the very reason that many, like you, avoid the church at all costs.

In this latest account, Jesus is eating in the home of a Pharisee, sitting at the Pharisee’s table.  Jesus seemed willing to eat with almost anyone, and it’s a wonderful counterbalance to those who seem to forget that Jesus was constantly sharing a meal with anyone who invited him.  These meals must have been rich in discussion, and it’s hard to imagine anyone eating with Jesus and not being converted to following him!  I know I am idealizing the scenario, but how could you not be overwhelmed by the man’s presence and wisdom?

At this particular meal a woman, known to be a sinner and rumored to be a prostitute, brought an alabaster jar of ointment to the house and stood behind Jesus weeping, her tears bathing the feet of Jesus, and the woman knelt to dry them with her hair.  While doing this, the kissed his feet and used the ointment to anoint them. 

It must have been a moment played out in silence, some too shocked to speak while others feared breaking the beauty of the moment with their words.  I can picture Jesus, receiving this woman’s tender devotion with a calm demeanor, being able to see the love within her heart and desperately hoping that so many others would worship God with the same passion.  The woman herself must have been filled with any number of emotions, from devotion and love to fear of rejection.  I doubt that she had too many concerns for the household’s opinions on her act, for this was a woman probably accustomed to harsh words and rude glares from the town’s elite.  She was there for Jesus, and the rest of the world could have fallen away at the very moment and I doubt the would have noticed.

The Pharisee, thinking his words were safe if he muttered them to himself, believed that if Jesus were truly the prophet that many claimed him to be he would know exactly where those hands, that heart, that were before him had been.  The Pharisee clearly had an incomplete picture of Jesus, for he believed that the woman’s condition of sin would make Jesus think less of her, to be ashamed of her.

Jesus spoke up to the Pharisee, and I can envision the whole household straining forth to catch his words.  I wonder if the woman listened out of fear for a rebuke.  Jesus, as he so often does, tells a story about two debtors who owe money to the same creditor.  One owes fifty days’ worth of wages, while the other owes five hundred.  Neither could pay their debts, and in response the creditor graciously forgives them both.  Jesus then looks the Pharisee in the eye and asks which one loves the creditor more.

The Pharisee answers the question clearly, even if he doesn’t grasp the meaning just yet.  He replies, “Probably the one who owed the creditor more.”

Jesus nods in affirmation, then turns to the woman.  She might have been afraid at this point, but the words of Jesus calm her fears, while perhaps stoking them in the Pharisee.

“Simon, this woman used her tears to bathe my feet and her hair to dry them, after you gave me no water for my feet.  No kiss was forthcoming from you, and yet my feet have been bathed by her kisses—indeed, she has scarcely stopped kissing them.  My head received no oil from you, and yet my feet have been anointed by this woman. Her many sins have been forgiven, and so she has shown great love.  Little love often comes from those who do not have much to forgive.”

While the Pharisee was doubtless reeling in shock at all of this, Jesus looked the woman in the eye and told her that her sins were forgiven.  If anything else was said by him following this exchange, it was probably lost at the table, for immediately all seated at the table began to wonder just who this was that forgave sins.  I wonder if Jesus was amused our saddened by the questions that were asked.  Perhaps he had hoped that others would come forth in love, and instead they were too busy debating his identity.  When the conversation died down, Jesus spoke just to the woman, “Go in peace, for you are saved by faith.”

This woman, whose debt of sin was onerous upon her, was released by her faith, not her actions.  Her actions did, however, demonstrate her great faith in Jesus.  The Pharisee and others gathered around the table seem to be more interested in debating the question of Jesus rather than taking the steps to follow him, and their self-righteousness is a constant obstacle to their discipleship.  Jesus reaches out to all and some respond.  I find it amazing the different types of interaction he has with people at different levels—here, in this story, his interaction between the Pharisee and the woman take place at different levels at the same time, and yet each hears something just for them.  Jesus knows that the Pharisee’s faith in himself is an obstacle, while the woman has no obstacles left—she has come to worship. 

It is my hope that the church would stop building our own obstacles and come to Jesus with hearts broken by our own sin, that we might be healed and sent forth in Jesus’ peace.  Instead, we seem to be more focused on debating the question of forgiveness and the place of the woman.  It is painful, and I understand why so many have thrown their hands up.  Just like the woman, however, there is hope for us yet.

May the same peace reign in your heart, Luke, as you seek your place around the table, or at his feet.

Sincerely,

Theophilus 

Delighting to Do God's Will

  John 13:34-35
    I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.’

  Psalm 1:1-3 
    Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or take the path that sinners tread, or sit in the seat of scoffers; but their delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law they meditate day and night. They are like trees planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season, and their leaves do not wither. In all that they do, they prosper.

********************

How many of you have ever tried to get a child to eat a balanced meal?  If you haven’t, you’ve probably witnessed the negotiations that take place at such an event. 

If you eat two more chicken nuggets, you can have a cookie.  Three bites of vegetables and then you can go play.  Two green beans might earn you some ice cream.

Perhaps this is the arena in which police departments ought to have hostage negotiators train.  Anyone who can break the iron will of a three year old can probably deal with any other problems life brings to bear. 

The idea of bargaining is deep within our culture.  We strongly believe that in order to get anything, you have to give something up.  We’re strongly suspicious of anyone offering a free lunch, and we are always trying to determine what the catch is to an offer.

So it’s much easier for us to believe that God works the same way, rather than simply accepting the free gift of unmerited grace.  It would make far more sense to our 21^st century American minds if this was the sermon that came first in the series, if we flipped the vision on its head and talked about how doing God’s will might earn us God’s kindness.  Viewing good works as our ticket to escape the fires of hell makes sense to us.

As Presbyterians, however, that’s not what we believe.  It might be an easier sermon to preach, but I don’t believe that the motive for our good works should be to escape damnation.  I do believe in hell, and I do believe that people end up there, but I don’t think it’s because they haven’t done enough good works, that they haven’t earned their way into heaven.  I believe it’s because people have rejected the free gift of God’s grace and love, just as I believe that we make it into heaven only by accepting God’s free gift of justification and redemption.  Our good works are the result of God’s salvation, not a precondition.

So we come to this sermon last, a cap on the vision for New Hope in 2013.  I believe that we need to take some time to recognize God’s kindness that is showered down upon us.  I believe that God’s kindness should lead us to repentance, to recognize the sin in our lives and turn back to God.  I believe that God transforms us into a people who delight to do God’s will.

What does it mean to delight to do God’s will?

That’s what we’re going to cover today. 

But first, if we’re going to talk about delighting to do God’s will, we have to talk about what God’s will is, right?  How can we expect to delight to do something that we don’t understand?

The best way to understand God’s will is to read the Bible.  All of it.  Cover to cover.  After that, God’s will becomes clear.  Since we probably don’t have time to read all of it today and still make lunch, let me summarize:  God’s will is to reach out and love the other.  This has been true since before the universe was formed, and it will continue to be true long after the sun has faded into dark.  It’s who God is—we see this at the root of the Trinity.  It’s love.  God—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—exist in a permanent embrace of love.  This is what we mean when we say that God is love—God I constantly and permanently involved in a loving relationship with Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit is that love going back and forth.  The three persons of the Trinity are engaged in a perpetual, loving dance, and when God created humans, he invited us into that loving relationship.  God wants us to join him in love, and so God reached out in love to us. 

The Bible bears witness to this.  Page after glorious page, we see God reaching out in love.  Even when we have rejected God’s love, God is still reaching out in love.  Even when humans gave him 10,000 reasons to destroy us, he still reaches out in love.  There are times of punishment, but overwhelmingly, the Bible is a witness to God’s never-ending love for humanity and the world in which we live.  It’s written across every page.

We see this most fully in Jesus Christ.  When it was clear to all that humans could not save themselves, God sent his own Son, Jesus Christ, to die on a cross to save us.  When we were in need of a Savior, God had a plan, and there was no price that was too high to pay for our salvation.  God reached out in love and invited us in.

So God’s will is for all people to be wrapped up in his love.

So when the Holy Spirit transforms us into a people who delight to do God’s will, what that means is that we delight to share the love of God with others.  We don’t do it out of obligation or out of guilt, but out of something far deeper than that—gratitude.  We are so overwhelmed with God’s love dwelling in us that we can’t help but share it.

Think about it like this.   Let’s say you win one of those crazy Powerball lotteries that gives away something like $500 million.  Let’s say that this money changes your life, and unlike real life, it changes it in good ways.  You’re healthier, happier and can’t believe your good fortune.  Then, imagine the lottery board is so impressed with the fact that you didn’t go crazy like most other lottery winners that they told you that there was no limit to the money you could have.  Here’s a credit card, they said, just spend it.

Now, you’re so overjoyed with what all this money has done for your life that you decide you’re going to dedicate yourselves to letting others experience this kind of joy.  You run around and give tons of money to everyone you see, everyone you meet.  You can’t help but share it because you want them to experience the same kind of delight that you have found.

That’s the essence of the kind of life we’re supposed to live, only we have a treasure far more valuable than money.  We have something so much better than anything money is or can ever buy, and yet I imagine that we’d all be so much more excited if we won the lottery than we are at the truth of the Christian message for us.

We have been given the greatest treasure anyone could ever hope for.  We have been given the eternal grace, love and peace of God, and it should change the type of people we are.  It should change the way we view our days, and it should change the way we look at the world around us.  We should be overjoyed, because Christ died for us.  We should delight at the prospect of what God might do today.

Then, we realize that God’s love is a bottomless pool, an ocean with no limits.  We should rejoice so deeply at this realization that we should seek to give God’s love to everyone we meet, everyone we see.  We want them to experience the same blessings we have experienced, not out of guilt, but out of gratitude.  Our lives should be so transformed that we invite all into the endless wonder of Christ.

The world would think we were crazy, right?  There goes one of those crazy loving Christians.  They are so generous.  This is what Jesus means when he says that the world will know that we are his disciples by our love—they will recognize that all selfless love is rooted in Christ.  This is the identifying mark of Christians—not the clothes we wear or the fish on our cars.  Those are fine, but the real mark is the love we have for one another.  Again, this love isn’t rooted in guilt, but in grace, in generosity.  We should be so overwhelmed at what God has given us that we can’t stop sharing it.

And this is what makes us truly happy.  We all want to be happy, right?  We’d do almost anything for happiness.  Well, the Psalmist tells us that sin will never make us happy, despite what sin would have you believe.  Sin promises happiness, but is always unable to deliver.  So what makes us happy? 

Focusing on God. 

And the more we focus on God, the more we realize that God wants to reach out to the other in selfless love, and then we want to imitate that.  This, too, makes us happy, because we become more like Christ and we lose our anxiety and our stress and our worry.  We stop focusing on what we don’t have and are amazed at the endless love that fills us.

Friends, this is the type of people God wants to change us into.  We can refuse and resist, and I won’t stand up here and say that you’ll go to hell if you don’t do things exactly right, but I will stand here and say that anyone who spends a moment dwelling on the incredible gifts of God cannot help but want to share this Good News.  May we seek to bless others as richly as we have been blessed.

Let us pray

Luke 7:18-35

Dear Theophilus,

Can you imagine what it would have been like to stand in the crowd, to see a woman whose own life has been destroyed by the death of her only son be restored to life just as the young man was?  Surely there are few events in human history that would draw forth tears from each and every bystander like this one would!  I’m sure word spread like wildfire across the region, as each person that was there, and many who were not, would tell and retell the details of the event to every person they met.  By the time the story reached Jerusalem, I imagine it had been exaggerated ten times over, but even the simple details are incredible.

Events like that make me want to believe that all of this is true.  Part of me wonders if this is an event that is blown out of proportion by overeager story-tellers, but this feels right.  It fits with the rest of the story, and I want to believe its authenticity.  It makes me want to believe in Jesus, too—I could follow a man who takes a special interest in restoring widows.  By his simple act, two lives are restored.  Jesus knows that this is more than a simple healing.

Yet, I can’t help but wonder why more of these don’t still take place.  For those widows out there today, why don’t these type of healings occur more often.  If God has the power, why doesn’t he use it more often?  Would it be so difficult for him to reach down and stir up some miracles in the lives of his often desperate believers?  Why are miracles like this limited to particular times?  Wouldn’t it also make faith possible and easy for many others like me?  If I had witnessed this firsthand, I’d be following Jesus without a doubt.  But hearing about it afterward and wondering if it is too good to be true, I can’t help but have my doubts.

I know that I stand in a long line when it comes to people having their doubts about Jesus.  Even John, the one who baptized Jesus, had his doubts.  You wouldn’t think that John would have these, particularly after the events surrounding Jesus’ baptism.  The man’s entire life and ministry was based around the fact that he was preparing people for the arrival of Jesus, and yet even this man, when he heard the details of was happening, sent his disciples to Jesus to ask him whether he was the Messiah, or if there were still to wait for someone else.

Jesus must have been amused at their question, but in his own wonderful way he sensed their humble honesty in the depths of their hearts.  He knew they didn’t come and ask out of a desire to debate him, and that they hadn’t arrived in the hopes of mocking him.  They earnestly sought the truth as to his identity, Jesus’ reply is an answer that amazes and confounds me.  I will admit to wanting a straightforward yes or no, and that his reply is the type that engages the listener at a far deeper level, asking the questioner to come forward and promising to meet him halfway.  Jesus has been busy curing people, casting out demons and restoring sight to the blind, and he must have taken a moment to survey evidence of the miracles that surrounded him before replying, “Tell John what you have seen and the witness that you have heard, that the blind can see, the lame walk, the deaf hear, the lepers are sick no more, the dead are restored to life and the poor hear good news upon their ears.  All who are not offended by me are blessed.”

Jesus certainly gave John’s disciples something to think about on the way home.  It was a yes, I suppose, but a veiled one.  He turns John back to the world and asks him if the evidence confirms his identity, and if it does, then John will know the answer.  It’s similar to what you do, Theophilus, to all my questions.  You reply by pointing to the stories, to the world, and leave me to answer the question on my own.  I know in my heart that’s what I must do, but I desire a strong yes or no beforehand, even though it is apparent that such an answer is not coming.

Jesus turned from these disciples to the crowd, addressing them harshly, calling them to a deeper discipleship, to move beyond wonder and fascination into a place of faith.  I don’t get the sense that Jesus has an issue with those who are seeking the truth, but he takes the crowd to task for acting like a crowd, for looking on and not following. 

He first asks them what they expected when they went to hear John in the wilderness.  He wonders if they supposed he would be weak, like any weed shaken by a strong wind.  He asks them if they expected to find a man of wealth and power who would live in a palace and be dressed in the finest linens.  John had captured the attention of the people, but I think Jesus is addressing their surprise at his words, at his message—it had some sharp edges upon which many were wounded, and some backed away.  But Jesus reminds the people that the prophets of the Old Testament had looked forward to the messenger that God would send ahead of the Messiah, and John was to be that messenger. No one born of a woman would be greater, and yet even a man of his stature is lowly in the kingdom of God.

You can see, Theophilus, how hard much of this would be for a man or woman of traditional faith to take in.  If you have been accustomed to one certain brand of steady faith your entire life, it would be an enormous challenge for a listener, for a witness, of Jesus’ words and actions to make sense of it all.  Perhaps I should be more astounded that as many followed him as they did, because it would have been easy to discount the man as crazy, yet everything he did reinforced what he said.  Those who followed had tremendous courage.  Those who had chosen to be baptized by John, to heed his message of repentance, took heart at what Jesus had to say, believing that God’s justice was at work in the world.  The Pharisees, however, and other power brokers in that religious milieu, refused John’s baptism and, in so doing, turned their backs on God’s calling for their lives.  They didn’t want to fall before God and be restored.  Their pride prevented them from doing so.  Do I refuse out of pride?  Or is it just unknowing?  Confusion?  I stand between the groups, between the sinners who believe themselves to be saved and the sinners that Jesus rebukes for refusing to allow themselves to be saved, and as I survey the landscape I see that those who follow Jesus are in love with him and the life to which he calls them, but my heart tugs me back, asking more questions, uncertain of such tumultuous changes that a life of faith would bring.

Jesus continued before the crowd, comparing the people in the generation to children who sit in the marketplace, calling out that the others did not dance when the flute was played, that their wailing was not joined with weeping.  Jesus asks the crowd why it was said that John had a demon when he neither ate nor drank wine, and yet the Son of Man comes eating and drinking and is accused of being a glutton and a drunkard!  Jesus knows that he is looked down upon for befriending tax collectors and sinners, yet he tells the crowd that the children of wisdom will vindicate her.

Theophilus, this is hard for me to hear.  I know that Jesus was upset at the crowd, disappointed in those who would listen and watch but not follow.  It’s like those who stand around outside, hoping to catch a glimpse of the show but refusing to part with any money to go in.  We often guard our hearts too closely, holding back love and commitment until it is a sure thing, only to find that the object of our affections has then moved on.  I pray that I am not like this, that my life is not caught up in uncertainty and that I find myself an old man, regretful of decisions unmade and commitments that passed by.  Pray for me, friend, that I may find peace in my heart with this consuming question of Jesus.

Sincerely,

Luke