09-23-2012 Sermon by The Rev. Dr. Brian K. Jensen

 

CHRISTIANITY 101: WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BELIEVE?

  Warner Sallman was a 20^th century painter from Chicago.  In 1994, the New York Times called him the best-known artist of the century.  It is his rendition of Jesus Christ standing at a wooden door by a garden – knocking – with which many of us are familiar.  It is important to note that in Sallman’s picture, the door upon which Christ knocks has no knob or handle on the outside.  It can only be opened from the inside.  Yet there Christ stands...knocking.  The question is: How do we open the door to let the Christ inside?  How do we make ourselves receptive to Jesus Christ?  Keep that thought in mind as we move on.

 

  Many years ago, in my church in Luverne, Minnesota, we had a Baptist custodian by the name of Terry.  Now don’t get me wrong; I’m not picking on the Baptists – it’s just that that’s what Terry happened to be.  Terry actually had a bachelor’s degree in psychology.  We used to joke that the secretary could say, “Well, the pastor’s not in right now, but our custodian will see you!”

 

  Terry and I used to debate endlessly as to whether the Baptists or the Presbyterians were right.  Theologically speaking, it was a clash between Anabaptist and Reformed beliefs…but I’m not going to get into all that right now.  In any case, it was frustrating for me because Terry never listened to a word I said.  But in fairness to Terry, I never listened to a word he said either.  Perhaps no one here today is less surprised to hear me say that…than is my wife!

 

  Then one day, an FBI agent came to see me in my office.  As you might suspect, I was a little unnerved to have an FBI agent come to see me, but it turns out he was looking for Terry.  It seems Terry had bought a pickup truck in Sioux Falls, South Dakota with 70,000 miles on it.  Two years later, he sold that pickup.  The man who bought it happened to be from Sioux Falls, and when he went to register that truck in South Dakota, mysteriously...it only had 60,000 miles on it.  In the course of two years, Terry’s truck had somehow lost 10,000 miles!  That’s why the FBI became involved.  It seems some unscrupulous automobile dealers in South Dakota were habitually rolling back the miles on cars, and the FBI wanted to know if Terry was involved.

 

  Now Terry only got a slap on the wrist, but after that happened, oh…I knew I had him.  I called him into my office.  I said, “Terry, did you roll back the miles on that truck?”  He said, “Hey, sometimes odometers run backwards!”  I said, “They do not!”  Then I said, “Now Terry, you’re a born again Christian, right?”  He said, “Yes.”  I said, “Then Terry, how could you roll back the miles on that truck?  That’s stealing!”  To which Terry replied – I kid you not – “Well, the person who bought that truck…might not have been a Christian!”

 

  Does that fact that someone we deal with might not be a Christian make it okay for us to cheat them?  I don’t think it does.  You see, to be a Christian means that we live the life of faith we claim to profess.  To not be honest in our dealings with others – to not have integrity in our daily lives – is to make our actions incongruent with our beliefs…and to render our beliefs hypocrisy.  And when that occurs, perhaps we can still see Jesus knocking at the door of our hearts, pleading with us to be invited inside.  So how do we open the door to let the Christ inside?

 

  Consider the passage we read from the gospel according to John.  Jesus was addressing a man named Nicodemus.  Nicodemus was a Pharisee who had come to him with a question by cover of darkness.  He was concerned as to how one might inherit eternal life.  Among other things, Jesus said to him, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.” 

 

  That statement answered the question that was burning in the heart of Nicodemus.  Jesus showed him the way to eternal life.  The Greek words translated “eternal life” are aionion zoane, which literally mean, “life without end.”  What that means is that immediately upon the cessation of life in this earthy realm, we are ushered into life in the heavenly realm.  Through faith in Jesus Christ, we have life without end.  But we do need to be careful with our Greek here.  Switch the “a” and the “n” in the Greek word zoane and you get the word “girdle.”  We do not want to insinuate that faith in Jesus Christ leads to a girdle without end.  Pardon the digression; I just thought that was really funny.

 

  In any case, I believe the aforementioned statement answers the question we asked a moment ago, as well.  How do we open the door to let the Christ inside?  How do we make ourselves receptive to Jesus Christ?  The answer is: We need to believe in him.  So the question thus becomes, “What does it mean to believe?”  What does it really mean to say, “I believe in Jesus Christ?”

 

  The Greek word translated “believe” in John’s gospel is pisteuo.  My Greek lexicon translates that word this way.  Belief is: “Faith in the Divinity that lays special emphasis upon trust in his power and his nearness to help, in addition to being convinced that he exists and that his revelations are true.”  So in other words, to believe in Jesus Christ is to give more than mere mental assent to his existence.  It has also to do with trusting in his power and his nearness to help.

 

  I think of the old story about a church that was preparing to send one of its own off to seminary.  The young man’s name was John, and he was a very bright and very talented individual.  Everyone in the congregation was absolutely convinced that he’d make an excellent minister.  Near the end of a commissioning service they held for him, the minister asked if there was anyone who would like to come forward and offer a word of prayer.  An elderly woman stood up and with great effort, she made her way to the front of the church.  Then she began to pray.  She said, “Lord, John is a very bright and talented young man.  He has the brains to learn all about you.  He has the gifts to preach all about you.  But Lord, he lacks one thing.  Lord…move his faith about one foot down!”

 

  There is a difference between mental assent to God, and trusting in his power and his nearness to help.  There is a difference between knowing about God and knowing God.  There is a difference between faith of the head and faith of the heart.  Theologians call this distinction “primary theology” and “secondary theology.”  Secondary theology is that which lies in our heads.  It has to do with biblical knowledge or theological competence.  Primary theology is that which lies in our hearts.  It has to do with genuine and sincere trust in God.  It has to do with living the life of faith we claim to profess.  Both are important, and true faith cannot really exist without the two. 

 

  You know all about secondary theology.  The Presbyterian Church is great at teaching a theology of the head.  We have enlightening worship services that open our minds to who God is.  We have outstanding adult education that helps us to discern the will of God.  We have tremendous Sunday school programs, youth groups and confirmation classes for children that could profoundly impact our community...if only we could reach the people who need them most.  We’re very good at secondary theology.  The instruction of the Presbyterian Church in a faith of the head is second to none.

 

  What we’re not quite as good at is teaching primary theology.  That’s because I’m not entirely sure that primary theology can be taught.  A faith of the heart is not something that is learned.  A faith of the heart is something that is experienced.  In other words, one’s faith moves from one’s head to one’s heart when one experiences the grace of God for one’s self…and discovers that the promises of God are true.  While I may not be able to enable that to happen for you, perhaps I can explain how it happened for me.

 

  In the spring of 1997, my wife was diagnosed with Sartoli-Leydig cell cancer, a rare form of ovarian cancer.  It was a particularly deadly kind of cancer.  Every woman over the age of 40 who had been diagnosed with it up to that point in time...had died.  My wife was 35 at the time.  Our oldest son, Rob, was eight, our daughter, Mariah, was five…and baby Travis was but three.  I was faced with the prospect of raising three kids by myself.  She was faced with the prospect of not seeing them grow up at all.

 

  The chemotherapy protocol was harsh.  She had to endure seven-and-a-half to eight hours of inpatient infusion a day for a week.  Then she was out of the hospital for two weeks, then back in the hospital for another week.  It went on all summer long. 

 

  My mother-in-law came to live with us for three months.  Now, a woman in my last church taught me that mothers-in-law do not appreciate mother-in-law jokes, so that’s all I’m going to say about that.  Let’s just say that her coming to live with us was not my idea.  But truth be told, we never could have made it without her.  The cooking, the cleaning, the shopping, the laundry... I don’t envy anyone who has to go it alone.

 

  Now at the time, I was just becoming involved with what we call contemplative prayer.  Contemplative prayer is another way of saying listening prayer.  In other words, instead of besieging God with an endless list of requests, we actually take the time to listen for God.  Contemplative prayer thus involves a measure of silence.

 

  So I was at my desk – listening for God – and thinking about my wife’s situation.  Suddenly, I sensed four distinct words.  I did not hear voices – I am not crazy – but I sensed four distinct words, just the same.  Those four words were, “She will be fine.”  Immediately, I asked God in my mind, “Does that mean she’s going to live?”  And again I sensed four distinct words: “She will be fine.”  And suddenly, I knew – that whether she lived or whether she died – she would be fine.  And if she would be fine, then maybe the kids and I would be fine, too.

 

  That is by far the most profound spiritual experience I have ever had.  God came to me when I needed him most.  My faith moved from my head to my heart when I came to realize for myself that the promises of God are true.  Ladies and gentlemen, that’s what it means to experience the grace of God for one’s self.  And that’s how one moves from secondary theology to primary theology.  When we experience the grace of God for ourselves, our faith can’t help but move from our heads to our hearts.

 

  A few weeks ago, we talked about a concept that a Jesuit priest named Gerard Manley Hopkins called “inscape.”  Looking at art, he noted how the artist helps us to see what we have always seen, but never really seen.  The artist helps us to hear what we have always heard, but never really heard.  The artist helps us to feel what we have always touched, but never really been touched by.  That, my friends, is inscape. 

 

  From a faith perspective, inscape is to see everything in relation to God – to see all the shadows and colors and tones working together – to bring God’s great purposes to pass.  Develop your own sense of inscape, and you, too, might find yourself experiencing the grace of God.  And you may find the door of your heart upon which Christ knocks...opening up, as well.  As someone once said, “Seeing isn’t believing.  Believing…is seeing.”  Amen.

 

 

 

  

 

09-16-2012 Sermon by The Rev. Dr. Brian K. Jensen

 

CHRISTIANITY 101: WHAT’S IN IT FOR ME?

  I had the most bizarre dream the other night; a dream that really rattled my cage.  It seemed my wife died and was met at the Pearly Gates by none other than St. Peter himself.  St. Peter said to her, “Would you like to come inside?”  She said, “Oh, more than anything else in the world.”  St. Peter replied, “In order to enter the kingdom of heaven, you’ve got to pass a spelling contest.” My wife said, “Spelling is not exactly my strong suit, but I’ll certainly do my best.”  St. Peter said, “Spell ‘God.’”  My wife said, “G-O-D,” and St. Peter quickly replied, “Welcome to the kingdom of heaven.” 

  Well in this dream, after my wife’s untimely demise, I quickly took up with a woman who was half my age.  I was having the time of my life when I was tragically killed in an automobile accident.  And I was met at the Pearly Gates by none other than my wife.  She said to me, “Would you like to come inside?”  I said, “Oh, more than anything else in the world.”  She replied, “In order to enter the kingdom of heaven, you’ve got to pass a spelling contest.”  I said, “Spelling is not exactly my strong suit, but I’ll certainly do my best.”  My wife then said, “Spell… Czechoslovakia.”   

  The question of how one gets to heaven and who really gets to go there is a question that has plagued humanity since the beginning of time.  In fact, that is exactly the question that was on the mind of Nicodemus in the passage I read from the gospel according to John.  Nicodemus was a teacher of the law and a member of the prestigious Sanhedrin, which was essentially a Jewish high court some 2000 years ago.  He came to Jesus by cover of darkness, since Jesus had already caused quite a stir amongst Jewish leaders, and he did not want them to know that he was there.  Yet Nicodemus sensed there was something special about this Jesus.  So he came to Jesus with a question by cover of darkness.    

  He began the conversation with these words: “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do, unless God is with him.”  Do you see what Nicodemus was doing?  He was beginning the conversation with flattery.  As Dale Carnegie once said, “Flattery is telling another person precisely what he thinks about himself.”  Perhaps Nicodemus was thinking, “Flattery will get you everywhere.”

  Yet Jesus wasn’t fooled by token flattery.  He knew why Nicodemus was there and he did not waste time on palaver.  He looked right at Nicodemus and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born anew, one cannot see the kingdom of God.”  Jesus was talking about spiritual matters, while Nicodemus thought he was talking about earthly matters.  Thus, the first thing Nicodemus said to Jesus in response was, “How can a man be born when he is old?  Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”  So Jesus got him on the right track.  He said to Nicodemus, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.”

  It is from this brief exchange that many have taught that in order to get to heaven – in fact, in order to even be considered a Christian – one must be born anew.  Now I’m here to tell you that that’s true, but there is a catch.  The Greek words translated “born anew” are genaythay anothen.  They literally mean, “begotten from above.”  What that’s saying is that the process of being born anew or begotten from above…does not begin with us.  The process begins with God.  As Jesus later said to Nicodemus, “Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born anew.’  The wind blows where it wills, and you hear the sound of it, but you know not whence it comes or whither it goes; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

  So you see, the process of being born anew is a gift from God, not a personal achievement.  Oh, a gift must be received that we might possess it, but it remains a gift just the same.  The point is that faith and salvation come by way of the Holy Spirit, not by way of our concerted efforts.  This is meant to keep us humble and to engender faith within us out of gratitude rather than out of pomposity.  But still, our American culture leads us to believe that we are in control, that we are the masters of our own destinies, and that we make all the choices, does it not?

  Many years ago, there was a very devout woman in my church in Salem, Ohio named Elaine.  She had a son-in-law who had a Ph.D. in neurosurgery.  In other words, he taught neurosurgeons how to operate.  He was clearly an incredibly brilliant man.  He was also an atheist, which broke his mother-in-law’s heart.  Elaine tried long and hard to convince her son-in-law that God was real, and that he really ought to have faith.  Yet she found herself confounded at every turn.

  She was telling me about this one time, so I said to her, “Let me have a crack at him.”  She said, “Oh, he’d kill you in an argument!”  I said, “That may be true.  But what I’d say to him is this.  Faith necessarily begins with God.  If you don’t have faith, maybe it’s not because you have rejected God, but rather, it’s because God has rejected you.”  Elaine quickly replied, “You can’t say that!”  That was not at all what Elaine wanted to hear, but based upon the theology of faith we just described, it’s altogether possible that that is exactly what was occurring.

  The American Religious Identification Survey, conducted in 2008 by Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, reveals that 80% of Americans surveyed identify themselves as Christian.  Of course, that begs the question, “What does it mean to be a Christian?”  Because we all know full well that the 80% of Americans who claim to be Christian are not a part of the church.  I think of my own family.  We went to church every Sunday morning when I was a kid.  I became a minister, in no small part through the influence of a man named Bill Skinner of the First Presbyterian Church in Sioux City, Iowa.  My brother and my sister – also raised in the church – have no part of the institutional church to this day.  They’re relying on me to get them into heaven, and that sentiment hurt no one more than it hurt my mother.

  I know there are people in this congregation who are in the very same boat.  They raised their children in the church.  Then they watched their kids grow up and move away and begin to raise families of their own.  Only they are not raising their children in the church.  No one’s heart is more broken than a grandmother who sees son or daughter fail to raise her grandchildren in the church. 

  Here’s the thing.  We stated very clearly that faith begins with God.  That’s what the church has taught for 2000 years now.  Thus, are we saying that God is rejecting those people?  Is God rejecting our own children and grandchildren?  Or could it be something else?  Remember, we said that faith is a gift from God.  Yet a gift must be received that we might possess it.  Could it be that our children are simply not ready to accept the gift?

  Listen to this.  In March of 1978, the Presbyterian Church conducted a survey of its membership.  The study was called, “Prayer, Religious Practices, and Sources for Christian Growth.”  Church members, church officers and church ministers were asked how often they prayed, how often they read the Bible, and how much these practices meant to them.  What they discovered was that the less control people felt they had over their lives, the more likely they were to be involved in seeking a relationship with God.  Did you catch that?  The less control people felt they had over their lives, the more likely they were to be involved in seeking a relationship with God.

  Women were more likely than men to pray, and to view prayer as being important in their lives.  Younger and older people were more likely than people in their middle years, poor people more likely than rich people, and divorced or widowed people more likely than married people.  You see, when we are without the defense of being able to pretend that we are in charge, we become more willing to turn to God.  The more deeply people have been wounded by the experience of life, the more open they are to a relationship with God.  We become more eager for a relationship with a God who just might upset our plans and disrupt our conveniences...when we feel we are not in control.  Thus, when we feel as if we are in control of our lives, God is a luxury we may choose not to afford.  But when we feel we are not in control – when we feel as if we need help from an outside source – we tend to be far more open to faith in God.

  Perhaps that’s why our children and our grandchildren are not in church.  It’s not that God has rejected them.  It’s that they feel as if they are still in control of their lives.  And chances are, they will not turn to God…until the vicissitudes of life convince them to give that up.

  Jesus told Nicodemus that no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born anew, or begotten from above.  From those words we derived that faith begins with God.  It has to do with the movement of the Holy Spirit.  Yet a gift must also be received in order to be possessed.  Still, I suppose, the question remains: What do I really gain by being faithful?  Or, perhaps even better still: “What’s in it for me?”

  There is perhaps no greater fear than the fear of death.  A few years ago, however, a survey determined that the greatest fear in America was the fear of public speaking.  Jerry Seinfeld did an interesting bit on that.  He said, “A recent survey says that the greatest fear in America today is the fear of public speaking.  Death…was number two!  So in other words, at a funeral, most people would rather be in the casket than up front doing the eulogy!”

  Truth be told, I think our greatest fear is death.  No one wants to die, at least not while they’re healthy.  So Jesus addressed that fear.  As he said in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”  So what do I really gain by being faithful?  What’s in it for me?  Eternal life is what’s in it for me.  

  Of course, I never like to read John 3:16 without adding John 3:17.  John 3:17 says, “For God sent the Son into the world not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.”  We tend to stop with John 3:16 and try to determine who’s in and who’s out.  Now this tends to upset some people when I say it, but I really believe it.  I do not believe it is our job to determine who is in and who is out.  I believe that’s God’s job.  Suffice it to say that those who believe in Jesus Christ are in.  Who’s out…is up to God.

  Of course, people today want something a bit more tangible.  To say that faith in God can bring us eternal life is seen as pie-in-the-sky theology by some.  So when they say, “What do I really gain by being faithful?” or, “What’s in it for me?” they want something they can sink their teeth into.  They want something in the here and now.  So I’m going to give you that right now.

  I did a funeral for someone not long ago who was not a part of this church.  In fact, she was not a part of any church, and neither were her two sons.  I did what I always try to do in a funeral sermon.  I share pleasant thoughts about the dearly departed, then we dip down into the valley of the shadow of death, then we try to emerge in the light of the resurrection.  In my mind, I’m following the pattern of the 23^rd Psalm.  After that was accomplished, the funeral director then led everyone past the casket for one last goodbye.  I wish they wouldn’t do that.  In any case, one of her sons began shaking violently in his grief, and crying out, “I can’t believe this is happening!  Come back to me, Mother!   Come back!”  It was the desperate agony of a man in pain.  It was the sheer trauma of a man who was no longer in control.  It was the utter devastation of a life without faith.

  Contrast that story with the couple for whom today’s chancel flowers were given.  Bob and Libbie Christie were members of this church for 61 years, and were married for nearly 69.  When it says in the Bible that the two shall become one in marriage, such was indeed the case for Bob and Libbie.  They were devout in their dedication to one another, and they were devout in their faith.  Nearly every Sunday morning, I could look out in the congregation and see them sitting pulpit side, about a third of the way back, right beside the outside aisle…Bob in a coat and tie, and Libbie in a bright blue hat.

  When Libbie died in the Meadville hospital at 11:55 p.m. on July 12^th, 2007, 91-year-old Bob got up, got dressed, and drove down to the hospital in the middle of the night.  I’m sure it was a beautiful goodbye.  He shed a few tears, but he did not fall apart.  Because of his faith – because of his profound faith in God – he knew he’d see his Libbie again.  And a little less than three months after that, he went to join her.  Faith brings eternal life, but faith brings peace in this lifetime as well.  Because of our faith in Jesus Christ, we have nothing to fear…in this lifetime or the next.  That’s what’s in it for us.  Amen.

 

09-09-2012 Sermon by The Rev. Dr. Brian K. Jensen

 

LIVING THIS SIDE OF THE CROSS: CONCLUSION

  Paul Harvey was a 20^th century radio personality.  He was probably most famous for the line, “Now you know the rest of the story.”  Back in 1964 he delivered a profound speech entitled, “If I Were the Devil.”  What I want to present to you now is Paul Harvey’s updated version of that speech, rewritten in 1996.  Listen closely to an essay by Paul Harvey entitled, “If I Were the Devil.”

If I were the Prince of Darkness, I would want to engulf the whole world in darkness.  I’d have a third of its real estate and four-fifths of its population, but I would not be happy until I had seized the ripest apple on the tree – thee.  So, I would set about however necessary to take over the United States.

 

I’d subvert the churches first, and I would begin with a campaign of whispers.  With the wisdom of a serpent, I would whisper to you as I whispered to Eve: “Do as you please.”  To the young I would whisper that the Bible is a myth.  I would convince children that man created God, instead of the other way around.  I’d confide that what’s bad is good, and what’s good is square.  And the old, I would teach to pray after me, “Our Father, who art in Washington…”

 

Then I’d get organized.  I’d educate authors in how to make lurid literature exciting so that anything else would appear dull and uninteresting.  I’d peddle narcotics to whom I could.  I’d sell alcohol to ladies and gentlemen of distinction.  I’d tranquilize the rest with pills.

 

If I were the devil, I’d soon have families at war with themselves, churches at war with themselves and nations at war with themselves until each, in turn, was consumed.  And with promises of higher ratings, I’d have mesmerizing media fanning the flames.  If I were the devil, I would encourage schools to refine young intellects, but neglect to discipline emotions.  I’d tell teachers to just let them run wild.  And before you knew it, you’d have drug-sniffing dogs and metal detectors at every schoolhouse door.

 

Within a decade, I’d have prisons overflowing and judges promoting pornography.  Soon, I could evict God from the courthouse, then from the schoolhouse, then from the houses of Congress.  In his own churches, I would substitute psychology for theology, and deify science.  I’d lure priests and pastors into misusing boys and girls and church money.  I’d make the symbol of Easter an egg and the symbol of Christmas a bottle.

 

If I were the devil, I’d take from those who have, and give to those who want it, until I had destroyed the incentive of the ambitious.  And what’ll you bet I couldn’t get whole states to promote gambling as the way to get rich?  I’d convince the young that marriage is old-fashioned, that swinging is more fun, and that what you see on T.V. is the way to be.  Then I could undress you in public and lure you into bed with diseases for which there are no cures.  In other words, if I were the devil, I’d just keep right on doing what he’s doing.  Good day!

  Paul Harvey addresses what the Apostle Paul calls the wiles of the devil in an essay entitled, “If I Were the Devil.”  What are the wiles of the devil?  Keep that thought in mind as we move on.

This is the last in a series of sermons entitled, “Living This Side of the Cross.”  The thesis of the series is pretty much summed up in verses 14 and 15 in the 4^th chapter of the book of Ephesians.  There the Apostle Paul writes, “We must no longer be children tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine.  But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head…into Christ Jesus, our Lord.”  In other words, this is a sermon series on growing up in Christ.

  We talked about how the church is meant to represent the kingdom of God on earth.  We said that the kingdom is here, but not fully here.  Thus, could it be that the church we have is exactly what God intended when he created the church?  Could it be that the church we have provides the very conditions necessary for growing up in Christ?  While we live in a throw-away society these days, perhaps there are some things we should not throw away.  After all, the providence of God means that wherever we have gotten to – whatever we have done – that is precisely where the road to heaven begins.

  We talked about living a worthy life.  A worthy life – a life that is truly growing up in Christ – is a life formed in community.  Christian maturity develops as we form friendships with the friends of God…not just the friends we prefer.  You see, God chooses to act and intervene in the world through us.  We see God acting in the world today when we witness the heartfelt convictions of those who serve him.

  We encountered what we called Paul’s roadmap through the cosmos.  He tells us who we are and where we are going as Christians.  We are blessed by God, chosen in Christ, destined for adoption, bestowed grace, lavished forgiveness, made to know the will of God through Christ, and gathered up to God in the end.  We are precious children of God – created in the image of God – and destined for eternal life.  Do not let anyone ever tell you otherwise.

  We noted how Paul refers to us as saints.  Paul deliberately chooses a word that identifies us not by what we do for God, but rather, by what God does for us.  He is retraining our imaginations to understand ourselves not in terms of how we feel about ourselves – and certainly not in terms of how others might feel about us – but rather, he is retraining our imaginations to understand how God feels about us.  In God’s eyes, we are saints.  In God’s eyes…we are holy.

  We discovered that God bestows grace to sinners like us.  Yet the grace of God is a lot like water to a swimmer.  It seems as though there is no possible way it could support us.  So like the swimmer, we have to lean forward, lift up our legs, and let ourselves go.  To coin a phrase, we need to learn to let go…and let God.

  We learned that the church is the gift of Christ to the world.  Yet there is more to the church than meets the eye.  The church is not just bricks and mortar.  The church is not just a collection of faithful people.  The church is the body of Christ in the world.  And it is through the church – and only through the church – that Christ bestows his peace upon us.

  We observed what Jesus Christ came to earth to accomplish.  He established the church and gave it a commission.  That commission is to make God’s wisdom known to the world.  What is God’s wisdom that we might make it known?  We see God’s wisdom when we possess inscape.  Inscape is the capacity to see the God in everything.  Inscape is the ability to put on the eyes of God and see the world as God sees the world.

  We noted how we describe Jesus Christ as being fully human and fully divine.  As the church is referred to as the body of Christ in the world, it follows that the church must also be both human and divine.  Thus, while we come to church to encounter the word of God, we also come to church to be transformed by God.

  We heard Paul beg us to lead a life worthy of the calling to which we have been called.  We do so by way of paraclesis – which has to do with the Holy Spirit.  In other words, we strive to get the words of Jesus Christ inside of us so that they become us.  We condition ourselves to look at the world through the eyes of love.

  We learned that because we are Christian, there should be something different about the way we live our lives.  As Cardinal Suhard put it some one hundred years ago, “It means to live in such a way that one’s life would not make sense if God did not exist.”  In other words, we are called to put off the ways of the world…and put on the way of God.

  We saw what happens when we fail to put off the ways of the world and put on the way of God.  As C.S. Lewis so eloquently put it, “There are two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done,’ and those to whom God says, ‘Thy will be done.’”  In other words, sin has its consequences.

  Finally, we saw Paul tackle the relationship between a husband and a wife, the relationship between a child and a parent, and the relationship between a master and a slave.  It all seems to come down to mutual submission.  One’s faith must inform one’s family life, one’s work life, and one’s personal life.  After all, if we’re not faithful in the little things, how could we possibly be trusted with big things? 

  Now, at the end of the book of Ephesians, Paul urges us to be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power.  Why?  That we might stand against the wiles of the devil.  Paul Harvey eloquently described the wiles of the devil in an essay I read to you earlier.  The devil makes to seem good that which really isn’t.  Of course, these days, a lot of people see the devil as nothing more than a charming myth from days gone by.  Regarding that thought, perhaps I could quote a 19^th century French poet named Charles Baudelaire.  He once said, “The devil’s first trick...is to convince us that he doesn’t exist.”  Paul seems to believe there is a devil, and he urges us to stand against his wiles.  And if we take Paul at face value, there seems to be only one way that can be accomplished.

  The only way to stand against the wiles of the devil…is prayer.  Yet there are different levels of prayer.  For example, many years ago, I asked one of my confirmation classes if they prayed.  A young man in the class surprised me.  He did not attend worship.  The only time I ever saw him in church was when his parents forced him to go to confirmation class.  Yet to my question he quickly replied, “I pray all the time!  Prayer is great, man!  You can ask God for anything, and he’ll come through!” 

  I did not want to discourage this impressionable young man.  After all, he was only part way on his journey of faith.  We’re all only part way on the journey of faith.  Yet it seemed the only thing he could pray for was himself.  Regarding that issue, I pose to you what has become my favorite question in recent years.  That question is, “Does God exist to serve us, or do we exist to serve God?”  Praying for nothing but ourselves might be described as immature prayer.  While that may be appropriate at times, it is not appropriate all the time.  Our goal in this series of sermons is spiritual growth.  Our goal in this series of sermons thus becomes mature prayer.  So what exactly is a mature form of prayer?

  I think Paul answers that question in the 18^th verse of chapter six.  He writes, “Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and intercession.”  I think he’s addressing two important aspects of mature prayer in that sentence.  First, intercession is prayer for others.  I am far less likely to wish someone ill if I am praying for them.  And second, Paul says to pray in the Spirit.  In other words, we leave ourselves open for God to move within us.  When we pray in the Spirit we are saying to God, in essence, “Thy will be done.”  That, my friends, is a mature form of prayer.

  A friend of mine has a son who was facing a sentence to the Erie county jail.  I assure you, he prayed long and hard before his son went to jail that his son might be spared the pain and humiliation.  Yet my friend also managed to conclude his prayers with the words, “Not my will, but Thy will be done.”  In the end, the boy spent a year in jail.  Yet my friend also sees that his son gets it now.  It took a year in jail for him to figure that out.  You see, God may not always give us what we want, but the mature Christian comes to realize that – in the end – God gives us what we need. 

  So how do we get there?  How do we achieve spiritual growth through mature Christian prayer?  Theologian Eugene Peterson seems to believe that it’s something better rubbed off on us, rather than consciously learned.  In his book, Practice Resurrection, he writes:

Prayer is the language most congruent with practicing resurrection.  As in learning any language, keeping company with those who (use) it provides the most congenial companionship for becoming proficient.  Unconsciously, we acquire fluency in our mother tongue long before we enter a school, simply by being talked to and talking with our parents and siblings and neighborhood children.  When we keep company with Moses and his stories, David and his psalms, the preaching of Isaiah, our Lord himself in his parables and prayers, pastors and priests who lead us in the church’s common worship, singing hymns with Wesley and Watts, we are praying and learning to pray…even when we aren’t aware of it.

  The Apostle Paul wrote, “We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro, and blown about by every wind of doctrine.  But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head…into Christ Jesus our Lord.”  Eugene Peterson seems to think that we learn it best when it rubs off from others.  I can think of no better place for that to happen…than the church.  How ‘bout you?  Amen. 

 

09-02-2012 Sermon by The Rev. Dr. Brian K. Jensen

 

LIVING THIS SIDE OF THE CROSS: PART XIII

  There is a non-profit organization in northeast Ohio called Angels for Animals.  They rescue abandoned dogs and cats and for a small fee, you can purchase one of those animals for yourself.  My family and I went there to get a dog a number of years ago.  The first one we considered was a very large dog named Samson.  He had the body of a Great Dane and the head of a Scottish terrier.  He really was an ugly dog, but I liked him.  However, the rest of my family did not, so we ended up getting a beautiful German Shepherd/Labrador Retriever mix named Miss Mattie.   

  A few months later, I went to the home of a couple named Dr. Bob and Jody Wright.  As I got out of my car, I was greeted in the driveway by a very large and very ugly dog.  It was none other than Samson.  I told Bob that we’d looked at Samson ourselves, but that the rest of my family didn’t really like him.  Bob said, “That’s how my kids felt, too.  But my wife decided that that was the dog she wanted.  So I said to the kids, ‘If momma’s not happy, nobody’s happy.’  That’s how we got the dog.”

  “If momma’s not happy, nobody’s happy,” Bob said.  Now there’s a man who’s come to understand the ins and outs of marriage.  It takes love for a marriage to work; it takes hard work for a marriage to work; and it takes sacrifice for a marriage to work.  But my friend Bob also understood that if momma’s not happy, nobody’s happy.

  Speaking of relationships, back then we lived next door to a couple named Chuck and Kim Wright; no relation to the aforementioned Bob and Jody Wright.  In any case, Chuck once said of his marriage to Kim, “I wear the pants in my family. It’s just that Kim tells me which ones to put on.”  Now there’s another man who’s come to understand the ins and outs of marriage.

  The Apostle Paul is talking about spiritual maturity in the book of Ephesians.  He spends the first three chapters writing a beautiful theological treatise on who God is and how he relates to us.  Then he spends the next couple of chapters writing a beautiful theological treatise on who we are and how we relate to God.  Then in the second half of chapter five he starts talking about the relationship between husbands and wives.  What has that got to do with spiritual maturity?  What has that got to do with growing up in Christ?  Keep that thought in mind as we move on. 

  This is the thirteenth in a series of sermons entitled, “Living This Side of the Cross.”  The thesis of the series is pretty much summed up in verses 14 and 15 in the 4^th chapter of the book of Ephesians.  There the Apostle Paul writes, “We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro, and blown about by every wind of doctrine.  But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head…into Christ Jesus, our Lord.”  In other words, this is a sermon series on growing up in Christ.

  We talked about how the church is meant to represent the kingdom of God on earth.  We said that the kingdom is here, but not fully here.  Thus, could it be that the church we have is exactly what God intended when he created the church?  Could it be that the church we have provides the very conditions necessary for growing up in Christ?  While we live in a throw-away society these days, perhaps there are some things we should not throw away.  After all, the providence of God means that wherever we have gotten to – whatever we have done – that is precisely where the road to heaven begins.

  We talked about living a worthy life.  A worthy life – a life that is truly growing up in Christ – is a life formed in community.  Christian maturity develops as we form friendships with the friends of God…not just the friends we prefer.  You see, God chooses to act and intervene in the world through us.  We see God acting in the world today when we witness the heartfelt convictions of those who serve him.

  We encountered what we called Paul’s roadmap through the cosmos.  He tells us who we are and where we are going as Christians.  We are blessed by God, chosen in Christ, destined for adoption, bestowed grace, lavished forgiveness, made to know the will of God through Christ, and gathered up to God in the end.  We are precious children of God – created in the image of God – and destined for eternal life.  Do not let anyone ever tell you otherwise.

  We noted how Paul refers to us as saints.  Paul deliberately chooses a word that identifies us not by what we do for God, but rather, by what God does for us.  He is retraining our imaginations to understand ourselves not in terms of how we feel about ourselves – and certainly not in terms of how others might feel about us – but rather, he is retraining our imaginations to understand how God feels about us.  In God’s eyes, we are saints.  In God’s eyes…we are holy.

  We discovered that God bestows grace to sinners like us.  Yet the grace of God is a lot like water to a swimmer.  It seems as though there is no possible way it could support us.  So like the swimmer, we have to lean forward, lift up our legs, and let ourselves go.  To coin a phrase, we need to learn to let go…and let God.

  We learned that the church is the gift of Christ to the world.  Yet there is more to the church than meets the eye.  The church is not just bricks and mortar.  The church is not just a collection of faithful people.  The church is the body of Christ in the world.  And it is through the church – and only through the church – that Christ bestows his peace upon us.

  We observed what Jesus Christ came to earth to accomplish.  He established the church and gave it a commission.  That commission is to make God’s wisdom known to the world.  What is God’s wisdom?  We see God’s wisdom when we possess inscape.  Inscape is the capacity to see the God in everything.  Inscape is the ability to put on the eyes of God and see the world as God sees the world.

  We noted how we describe Jesus Christ as being fully human and fully divine.  As the church is referred to as the body of Christ in the world, it follows that the church must also be both human and divine.  Thus, while we come to church to encounter the word of God, we also come to church to be transformed by God.

  We heard Paul beg us to lead a life worthy of the calling to which we have been called.  We do so by way of paraclesis – which has to do with the Holy Spirit.  In other words, we strive to get the words of Jesus Christ inside of us so that they become us.  We condition ourselves to look at the world through the eyes of love.

  We learned that because we are Christian, there should be something different about the way we live our lives.  As Cardinal Suhard put it some one hundred years ago, “It means to live in such a way that one’s life would not make sense if God did not exist.”  In other words, we are called to put off the ways of the world…and put on the ways of God.

  Finally, we saw what happens when we fail to put off the ways of the world and put on the way of God.  As C.S. Lewis so eloquently put it, “There are two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done,’ and those to whom God says, ‘Thy will be done.’”  In other words, sin…has its consequences.

  Now with all those lofty theosophical thoughts in mind, why would Paul suddenly turn to the relationship between a husband and a wife?  Why would Paul consider something so basic and banal as marriage?  I think the reason is this: to keep us grounded.  You see, we all have a tendency to think a bit too much of ourselves.  When it comes to answering the call of God, we want to encounter a burning bush like Moses and lead God’s people to freedom.  When it comes to answering the call of God, we want to lead a revolution like Martin Luther King, Jr.  When it comes to answering the call of God, we want the task to be profound, life-altering and world-transforming. 

  Paul asks, regarding how we’ve answered the call of God, how are we treating our husbands or our wives?  You see, Paul realizes that not all of us are going to lead a revolution.  When it comes to answering the call of God, we begin with the basics.  Because if we’re not faithful in the little things, how could we possibly be trusted with big things?

  Paul begins with one of the most misunderstood lines in all of Scripture.  “Wives, be subject to your husbands,” he says.  “Wives, be subject to your husbands.”  Why would Paul say such a thing?  Some have theorized that Paul was very unhappily married.  Others have theorized that we should chalk it up to the fact that Paul lived in a patriarchal society.  Here’s my theory.

  In the first book of Corinthians Paul says, “Women, be silent in church.”  Why did he say that?  Because in those days, the language of the day was Aramaic.  Yet the Scriptures were written in Hebrew.  The men were taught Hebrew, but the women were not.  What’s more, the men sat on one side of the sanctuary, while the women sat on the other.  Thus, while the preacher spoke in Hebrew, the women didn’t understand a word he was saying.  So what did the women start to do?  They started to talk amongst themselves.  Their chattering prevented the men from hearing.  Thus, Paul says, “Women, be silent in church.” 

  Which is part and parcel to why Paul says, “Wives, be subject to your husbands.”  The men understood the Scriptures in those days, while the women did not.  Thus, the women needed to listen to their husbands to comprehend the word of God.  Our society has changed a little bit in the last 2000 years. 

  But notice what Paul says next.  He says, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.”  To love someone…is to gladly take the lower place, is it not?  Thus, perhaps the message Paul is really trying to communicate is that marriage entails mutual submission.  Not a popular concept in this day and age.

  A wise older man in this church taught me how that works.  He said, “When my wife and I got married, we agreed to abide by the rule of 60/40.”  I said, “What’s the rule of 60/40?”  He said, “We agreed to give 60% and expect 40% in return.”  Then, with a gleam in his eye, he leaned forward and said, “Sometimes, it’s 70/30.” 

  Paul seems to believe that spiritual maturity first entails faithfulness in the little things, like a marriage.  And a healthy marriage necessarily implies mutual submission.  We are not always going to get our way.  He goes on to talk about the relationship between children and their parents.  “Children, obey your parents in the Lord,” he says.  Later he adds, “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.”

  I think we may have just hit upon what may be the greatest problem in our society today.  It has to do with a lack of respect for authority.  Far too many children do not obey their parents, and far too few parents bring their children up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.  Think about it.  What is my impetus for doing the right thing if there is no God?  Why would I respect the rights of another person if there is no God?  Because it’s the right thing to do?  Says who?  If there is no respect for authority – if children are not brought up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord – the end result is chaos.  The end result…is exactly what we have in our society today.  Maybe the church is trying to do a good thing after all, huh?

  Paul goes on to talk about the relationship between slaves and their masters.  Not many of us have slaves any more, but maybe the message is applicable just the same.  To the slaves, he says, “Render service with enthusiasm, as to the Lord, and not as to men and women.”  To the masters he says, “Do the same to them.”  Could this not be applied to the workplace?  Could not employees render service with enthusiasm, as to the Lord, and could not employers treat their employees well?  Again Paul seems to be saying that if we’re not faithful in the little things, how could we possibly be trusted with big things?

  I want to illustrate this with a concept I came up with when President Bill Clinton was caught having an extramarital affair.  Now Bill Clinton was a Southern Baptist.  That’s a very conservative faith.  When the Bible says, “Thou shalt not commit adultery,” the Southern Baptist is taught to take those words at face value. 

  The problem comes when one encounters what I like to call the boxes of life.  There’s my family box over here, there’s my work box over here, there’s my personal life box over here, and there’s my faith box over here.  Each box is a separate category of my life, and ne’er the twain shall meet.  One does not inform the other, nor does one influence the other.  That’s how a Southern Baptist can have an extramarital affair.  It happens when one’s faith has no influence on one’s behavior.

  Paul seems to be saying that in order to live a mature Christian life, one’s faith box must be over and above the other boxes of life.  One’s faith must inform one’s family life, one’s work life, and one’s personal life.  After all, if we’re not faithful in the little things, how could we possibly be trusted with big things?  Amen.