Sermon-Sunday-May 13, 2007
Sixth Sunday of Easter
Brothers and sisters,
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus says those who love Him will keep His word. He says this in response to a question that He is asked by a disciple named Judas, but not Judas Iscariot. Jesus has just explained to His disciples that the world will not see Him but that His disciples will see Him. Judas can’t wrap his mind around this.
It wasn’t just the idea that they would see Jesus and others wouldn’t that the disciple struggled with, but it was who would see Jesus and who wouldn’t. He couldn’t grasp the idea that Jesus doesn’t make distinctions between people in the same way that the world does. The world likes to categorically rank people according to income, popularity, influence, intelligence, celebrity etc.
This disciple could not understand why those whom were being called upon to continue the work of Jesus, to spread His love and message of forgiveness and redemption, were not among those whom the world saw as the elite. Jesus did not seem to be calling upon those who would have been considered to have been learned, excellent and holy persons. This would have included the Pharisees, the scribes, the priests and the rulers etc.
This disciple was thinking "Why give this task to this collection of tax-collectors, and fishermen, and other sinners?" "Why not give this message to people of real influence and power?" "That will get the message out." And let’s be honest. From our worldly perspective, this logic makes sense.
As Christians we are called to live out the great commission to go therefore and make disciples of all nations, by baptizing them and proclaiming the Gospel, through word and deed to our neighbor. Wouldn’t this be a lot easier if the Gospel were more embraced by people that have the greatest influence in our culture? If all the well-known "A-list" celebrities believed in the Gospel and were outspoken about their faith, or if it wasn’t so common for leaders in the scientific community to dismiss the idea of a divine creator simply because they have not physically seen the divine Creator, then wouldn’t it be that much easier to spread the Gospel?
But when Jesus says that those who love Him will keep His Word, as usual He is talking about something that is impossible to understand when looked at from a human, worldly perspective. He is laying out the parameters of His kingdom. He is making it clear that in His kingdom there is no rankings by class or income or estate.
Your status and place in God’s kingdom is not dependent upon wealth or fame or prestige or influence or getting into the right college or getting the right job. It is determined by faith. Jesus makes it real simple. Those who love Him keep His word. And it is through His word, that Christ Jesus speaks to us in the Holy Spirit. So those who want to know Jesus better will love Him. They will Love Him, trust Him, cling to Him, and not be ashamed of Him. Regardless of how much money you have or what kind of job you have. Psalm 85:8 reminds us that the Lord promises peace to those who listen to what He has to say.
So the question that you might be tempted to ask yourself now might be "Do you love Jesus?" or maybe even "How do you know if you love Jesus?"
We get a clue in the question that Jesus was asked which was how it was that Jesus would not be revealed to the world but He would reveal Himself to those early disciples. And in verse 27 from today’s Gospel lesson, Jesus says that He does not give to us as the world gives to us.
From that you can see that Jesus makes a clear distinction between Himself and the world. And one could rightly assume that Jesus includes you, as part of His kingdom, in this distinction that He makes between Himself and the world. To love Jesus is to love Jesus more than you love anything in the world.
In 1st John chapter 2 the author writes of the dangers of loving the world more than Christ. He includes among that which is in the world; the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has done. Essentially the author here is referring to greed, lust, and pride. Those who are of the world or have been seduced by the world are those who put their own interests before anyone else’s interests. They are guided by that which serves their own desires and their own quest for personal comfort and satisfaction.
Of course you could probably all think of someone who you know who fits this description. And that is the easy way to have this text speak to you; apply it to someone else. It would be real easy to point the finger at the filthy rich and use this text as a basis for condemning them for their harboring of their own wealth. And many of our wealthy people are probably in need of an accountability check.
But the truth is the tendency to put your own interests before others is apparent in all walks of life. None of us can claim complete innocence in light of God’s indictment of the greed, lust, and pride that is so prevalent in the world. When you steal or look the other way to someone else’s theft, or you look the other way to someone in need, you condemn yourself. When you neglect the needs of your spouse or anyone else whom God has seen fit to place in your life, you condemn yourself. When you lie, cheat or steal you condemn yourself. When you resist making peace and hold onto grudges you condemn yourself. In all of this you reveal your capability and tendency to be of the world.
The devil does not give up after you have been baptized. Quite to the contrary he comes stronger slinging his arrows of doubt, pride, greed, and lust. But you have One who has claimed you as His own in that very same baptism. And He comes to you daily calling you and reminding you of the place that has been reserved for you in His kingdom. It is a place built not on your wealth or intelligence or influence but on the faith in Christ Jesus that you have been called to through God’s Word.
John 3:18 tells us that whoever believes Jesus is not condemned but whoever does not believe stands condemned already. To love Jesus is to believe Him. It is to believe Him when He tells you of the futility of this world. It is to believe Him when He warns you of the dangers of sin, pride and lust. It is to believe and trust Him when He says that He is the way, and the truth, and the life and that nobody comes to the Father except through Him. It is to believe that His death on the cross, to bear the penalty for the sins of all mankind, and the victory that that was revealed three days later when Jesus walked out of the tomb, was for you.
It is this belief, this faith that you have been called to that gives you the assurance that you are indeed a part of that kingdom that Jesus speaks of which is not defined by wealth or power or prestige. Your place in the kingdom that our lesson from Revelation refers to; the New Jerusalem which we anticipate will come down out of Heaven, has been secured. In this kingdom there is no need for light or lamp or sun because the Lord will be our light.
In the meantime, the Lord has sent the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, who speaks to you and calls you to faith through the Gospel. The Holy Spirit nurtures and sustains you in your faith as He comes to you through God’s Word and the sacraments and in fellowship with each other.
The Holy Spirit then sends you out to your neighbor so you can bring the Gospel to them, and through the proclamation of the Gospel reveal Christ Jesus to them. Indeed you are called to shine that light of the Lord to them, and through word and deed bring them Jesus, because it’s through His Kingdom, which you have been brought into, that Jesus reveals Himself, and not the kingdom of the world.
Amen
Brothers and sisters,
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus says those who love Him will keep His word. He says this in response to a question that He is asked by a disciple named Judas, but not Judas Iscariot. Jesus has just explained to His disciples that the world will not see Him but that His disciples will see Him. Judas can’t wrap his mind around this.
It wasn’t just the idea that they would see Jesus and others wouldn’t that the disciple struggled with, but it was who would see Jesus and who wouldn’t. He couldn’t grasp the idea that Jesus doesn’t make distinctions between people in the same way that the world does. The world likes to categorically rank people according to income, popularity, influence, intelligence, celebrity etc.
This disciple could not understand why those whom were being called upon to continue the work of Jesus, to spread His love and message of forgiveness and redemption, were not among those whom the world saw as the elite. Jesus did not seem to be calling upon those who would have been considered to have been learned, excellent and holy persons. This would have included the Pharisees, the scribes, the priests and the rulers etc.
This disciple was thinking "Why give this task to this collection of tax-collectors, and fishermen, and other sinners?" "Why not give this message to people of real influence and power?" "That will get the message out." And let’s be honest. From our worldly perspective, this logic makes sense.
As Christians we are called to live out the great commission to go therefore and make disciples of all nations, by baptizing them and proclaiming the Gospel, through word and deed to our neighbor. Wouldn’t this be a lot easier if the Gospel were more embraced by people that have the greatest influence in our culture? If all the well-known "A-list" celebrities believed in the Gospel and were outspoken about their faith, or if it wasn’t so common for leaders in the scientific community to dismiss the idea of a divine creator simply because they have not physically seen the divine Creator, then wouldn’t it be that much easier to spread the Gospel?
But when Jesus says that those who love Him will keep His Word, as usual He is talking about something that is impossible to understand when looked at from a human, worldly perspective. He is laying out the parameters of His kingdom. He is making it clear that in His kingdom there is no rankings by class or income or estate.
Your status and place in God’s kingdom is not dependent upon wealth or fame or prestige or influence or getting into the right college or getting the right job. It is determined by faith. Jesus makes it real simple. Those who love Him keep His word. And it is through His word, that Christ Jesus speaks to us in the Holy Spirit. So those who want to know Jesus better will love Him. They will Love Him, trust Him, cling to Him, and not be ashamed of Him. Regardless of how much money you have or what kind of job you have. Psalm 85:8 reminds us that the Lord promises peace to those who listen to what He has to say.
So the question that you might be tempted to ask yourself now might be "Do you love Jesus?" or maybe even "How do you know if you love Jesus?"
We get a clue in the question that Jesus was asked which was how it was that Jesus would not be revealed to the world but He would reveal Himself to those early disciples. And in verse 27 from today’s Gospel lesson, Jesus says that He does not give to us as the world gives to us.
From that you can see that Jesus makes a clear distinction between Himself and the world. And one could rightly assume that Jesus includes you, as part of His kingdom, in this distinction that He makes between Himself and the world. To love Jesus is to love Jesus more than you love anything in the world.
In 1st John chapter 2 the author writes of the dangers of loving the world more than Christ. He includes among that which is in the world; the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has done. Essentially the author here is referring to greed, lust, and pride. Those who are of the world or have been seduced by the world are those who put their own interests before anyone else’s interests. They are guided by that which serves their own desires and their own quest for personal comfort and satisfaction.
Of course you could probably all think of someone who you know who fits this description. And that is the easy way to have this text speak to you; apply it to someone else. It would be real easy to point the finger at the filthy rich and use this text as a basis for condemning them for their harboring of their own wealth. And many of our wealthy people are probably in need of an accountability check.
But the truth is the tendency to put your own interests before others is apparent in all walks of life. None of us can claim complete innocence in light of God’s indictment of the greed, lust, and pride that is so prevalent in the world. When you steal or look the other way to someone else’s theft, or you look the other way to someone in need, you condemn yourself. When you neglect the needs of your spouse or anyone else whom God has seen fit to place in your life, you condemn yourself. When you lie, cheat or steal you condemn yourself. When you resist making peace and hold onto grudges you condemn yourself. In all of this you reveal your capability and tendency to be of the world.
The devil does not give up after you have been baptized. Quite to the contrary he comes stronger slinging his arrows of doubt, pride, greed, and lust. But you have One who has claimed you as His own in that very same baptism. And He comes to you daily calling you and reminding you of the place that has been reserved for you in His kingdom. It is a place built not on your wealth or intelligence or influence but on the faith in Christ Jesus that you have been called to through God’s Word.
John 3:18 tells us that whoever believes Jesus is not condemned but whoever does not believe stands condemned already. To love Jesus is to believe Him. It is to believe Him when He tells you of the futility of this world. It is to believe Him when He warns you of the dangers of sin, pride and lust. It is to believe and trust Him when He says that He is the way, and the truth, and the life and that nobody comes to the Father except through Him. It is to believe that His death on the cross, to bear the penalty for the sins of all mankind, and the victory that that was revealed three days later when Jesus walked out of the tomb, was for you.
It is this belief, this faith that you have been called to that gives you the assurance that you are indeed a part of that kingdom that Jesus speaks of which is not defined by wealth or power or prestige. Your place in the kingdom that our lesson from Revelation refers to; the New Jerusalem which we anticipate will come down out of Heaven, has been secured. In this kingdom there is no need for light or lamp or sun because the Lord will be our light.
In the meantime, the Lord has sent the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, who speaks to you and calls you to faith through the Gospel. The Holy Spirit nurtures and sustains you in your faith as He comes to you through God’s Word and the sacraments and in fellowship with each other.
The Holy Spirit then sends you out to your neighbor so you can bring the Gospel to them, and through the proclamation of the Gospel reveal Christ Jesus to them. Indeed you are called to shine that light of the Lord to them, and through word and deed bring them Jesus, because it’s through His Kingdom, which you have been brought into, that Jesus reveals Himself, and not the kingdom of the world.
Amen
posted by Steve at 6:02 PM
1 Comments:
There is alot of good stuff in this sermon-but really seemed disjointed. I couldn't really follow along what you were trying to say-there is a lot of good law and gospel, but just not very organized, it seemed. What did you think about this one?
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