Thanks for tuning in. I have included below an excerpt from this Sunday's sermon, but I am publishing the entire sermon elsewhere in the future, so it isn't completely available here--but will be delivered at St. Peter's UCC at 10:00 a.m. Feb 8, 2009.
“The Obligation of a Christian”
Text: 1 Corinthians 9: 19-23
Reverend Jennifer A. Little, M.A., M.T.S., M.Div.
St. Peter’s United Church of Christ
February 8, 2009
This morning we have before us one of the most often misunderstood and misinterpreted text among Paul’s writings. It is also one of the most important. Our text this morning embodies the split between an ethic of hospitality and an ethic of condemnation. It is a text that reflects the kind of split in the church that was the occasion for Paul’s writing to the Corinthians, and it reflects the kind of split we experience today among our sister churches. So, it is important that we look at this text and listen with a keen ear for the gospel of Jesus Christ reflected in Paul’s writing.
Let’s begin by naming the gospel, the good news of God’s blessing that we experienced in Jesus the Christ. The good news that Jesus came to bring was God’s very self—God’s love and forgiveness, God’s blessing and abundance for humankind.
Throughout the stories of Jesus’ life we find this blessing of God reflected in Jesus’ actions toward the most unexpected people: Jesus ate and drank with “sinners.” Jesus announced the nearness of the Kingdom of God to the tax collectors, the Pharisees (the strict religious interpreters of the day), the sick, the blind, the hungry, the outcasts of society as well as the religious authorities. He did this through hospitality. He talked with them, he ate with them, he didn’t seek to separate himself from them, did he? No, he became as one of them, one of us.
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Saturday, January 24, 2009
The Problem with Immediacy
The Problem with Immediacy
Text: Mark 1: 14-20
Rev. Jennifer A. Little, M.A., M.T.S., M.Div
Atwood UCC
January 25, 2009
As we talk about the gospel lesson for today, there is just so much wonderful stuff here! This is, without fail, one of the most important moments of the gospel, and it becomes one of the most important moments of our lives too!
In these 5 verses of scripture, we have Jesus announcing that the Kingdom of God –the fulfillment of God’s blessing for everyone—has come near—that the good news is walking among us! That in itself is something to talk about in this passage.
If that wasn’t enough we have more good news! The kingdom of God, being fulfilled in this man, Jesus of Nazareth is calling, inviting, compelling others to follow him. Fishermen! Those fishy smelling, rough, lonely, poor fisherman to follow! The kingdom of God includes Fishermen! And all like them! Which includes you and me! This is worth talking about!
Even more! There is appears to be no quota on “fisherpeople”! Jesus is inviting those he comes across, without reserve – “Hey there!” Jesus says, “The good news of God’s salvation for you has come –follow me and we will ask those we come across to join us! There is plenty of room! Come with me and I will make you fishers of people!” This is awesome good news –people are easier to catch than fish and there is a huge abundance of them.
All of these things together are packed into this section of scripture—an abundance of good news, overflowing our nets, and wonderfully, powerfully, we are included in this invitation! We are caught up also, asked to follow! There is no shortage of God’s love in this passage.
We could spend several Sundays talking about all of these aspects of these 5 verses and they would be marvelous Sunday’s, indeed. Today, though, I want to focus on one word out of this story, and that is the word “immediately.” It occurs twice, so we know it is an important part of the message. We know it is an important part of the good news because it causes us to sit up and take notice –it causes me a little bit of heartburn, in fact. And for me, this is the problem of immediacy.
I love Jesus the Christ, in whom I know God. I freely proclaim that Jesus the Christ is my Lord and my savior, and I feel immense heart joy in being able to say that and to feel that! When I say those words, when I read these verses that in Jesus of Nazareth God’s very self calls all kinds of people to follow, I am filled with joy! We human beings long for the fulfillment of peace and abundance for all in the kingdom of God. We long for the family that we are a part of to be gathered in God’s kin-dom. This is a kind of burning in my soul, in my heart! And it is anything but a problem!
Then this one word “immediately” grabs my heart. And I stutter for a few moments. Then I have a different kind of heartburn. What does it mean for me to immediately follow Jesus? Then I am afraid that I might not have followed as “immediately” as those disciples –in fact, I’m sure I didn’t –It took me a while to really “get” it. I had many doubts like most human beings, and there are days when I’m still afraid or hesitant. And there are days when I cross my arms and pout and I won’t budge in the direction I feel called. Has that happened to you? Here is the problem with this word “immediately.”
It is completely human to be cautious and afraid and even rebellious. That seems to be how we are made and there are compelling reasons –we don’t want to follow just any advice or just any leader, because they may lead us where we do not wish to go. It is good to be cautious. Patience and discernment are excellent godly values as well.
I am also aware of how often I am encouraged to do something “immediately” by advertisers who don’t have my best interest in mind. They want me to act now! “Immediate Response required!” as if this is my one chance or I’ll miss out on the opportunity of a life time!
So when I read this scripture, I bring both of those feelings to it. I am aware that these disciples immediately responded to Jesus’ presence and love and all that he was. I want to do that too! And layered on top of that is the fact that I am also cautious, rebellious (stubborn?) and sometimes fearful. Heartburn.
The writer of Mark was doing his level best to convey to his audience and us that the power of God’s love in Jesus the Christ is compelling! It is salvation! It is community! It is healing! It is nothing short of God’s “kindom”[1] and kingdom inviting all who come in contact with Jesus!
The gospel of Mark talks to you and I –we know more about Jesus’ life, death and resurrection than Andrew James and John did when they dropped everything and followed –immediately! We should follow the example of these disciples. And we want to, but HOW?!
How can we follow Jesus in our lives today, as complicated as they are, over 2000 years later, without the compelling physical presence to compel us to follow? How can our response to this good news be “immediate”?
I have a suggestion –well, 4 suggestions really about how we too can respond immediately, concretely, and responsibly to Jesus’ call to follow.[2]
First, we need to recognize where we are. We are not Galilean fisherman confronted by the savior in flesh and blood. Most of us do not see his eyes, hear his voice--feel his soul. So, we need to look around us, be fully present in where we are and who we are in this year 2009, Middle America, in a technological, economically depressed era. What is calling us here and now that speaks to us of the Kingdom of God? There are plenty of compelling opportunities to join the Kingdom of God. There are concrete and real persons all around us who need us to gather them in, to announce the nearness, to be the nearness of welcome, love, food, shelter, jobs. Be present –immediate—here and now—with people around you, people talking to you, perhaps they are announcing the kingdom of God—for other people embody the spirit of Christ, too! And they are flesh and blood, we can see their eyes, hear their voice, feel their souls and God in them. Those disciples were truly paying attention to Jesus when he walked up. They weren’t only tolerating Jesus’ presence. They were right there with him, not distracted.
Second, it seems that Andrew James and John were open to the possibilities that this man presented. They were vulnerable to his message –we suppose that they were not encased in unthinking hatred or bigotry—that they were willing –even just a little bit –and we suppose this because of the word “immediately.” There was enough willingness for the “kindom” of God to break through and compel them onward. When we are interacting with people around us –at the grocery store, in our classrooms, in our offices, we need to practice good will –openness—willingness that these very people are the nearness of the “kindom” –the family of God –and may announce to us the love of God we need.
Third, we show attention. Here is the honesty of response. Our responses need to be honest. Hiding and wishing we were otherwise, doesn’t capture that sense of the word “immediately.” We can honestly respond to what and who we see around us, recognizing that God is in the world. Coupled with our willingness to follow God’s opportunities for love and fulfillment, we can honestly respond to a request for help, or a criticism, or a compliment. How freeing it is to be honest and responsible.
Those disciples gave Jesus an honest response, as far as we know, and we can tell because their response was shown in direct action. They left their nets, they left their comfort zone (their family) and they followed. Andrew James and John put their bodies, their presence, their willingness, their vulnerability into action. They committed to following Jesus. We could say they committed themselves to the good news and the welcome of God’s kingdom and God’s salvation, by following this man from Nazareth who presented them with the concrete opportunity for fulfillment.
We too can follow “immediately” in this way. We can commit ourselves to actions that recognize and even bring the “Kindom” of God near. Instead of just saying we are followers of Jesus whom we know as the Christ of God, we put into action this following and thus make it immediate. We give someone a ride. We loan someone a pencil at school, we donate money to a charity, we give food to the food shelter, we smile at someone --the list is endless. These are immediate because they are actions. Actions have a way of being immediate that thought and faith and belief do not.
So it is that we can cure the heartburn that compels us to follow Jesus, and we can fulfill our desire to “immediately” follow. We can experience the immediacy of the Kingdom of God, the nearness that Jesus announces. We turn the problem of immediacy into the opportunity of immediacy and the kingdom comes nearer. Amen.
[1] “Kin-dom of God” is an alternative term for “Kingdom of God” I learned from Dr. Rufus Burrow, Jr, that I like because it gets away from the authoritative top-down ideas of kingdom, and emphasizes that we are all “kin” family in God’s eyes and when God fulfills God’s plan!
[2] These suggestions are adapted from Rebecca Bahnke’s (MHS, OTR/L) lecture notes on interpersonal communication which she gave me permission to adapt and use for this sermon.
Text: Mark 1: 14-20
Rev. Jennifer A. Little, M.A., M.T.S., M.Div
Atwood UCC
January 25, 2009
As we talk about the gospel lesson for today, there is just so much wonderful stuff here! This is, without fail, one of the most important moments of the gospel, and it becomes one of the most important moments of our lives too!
In these 5 verses of scripture, we have Jesus announcing that the Kingdom of God –the fulfillment of God’s blessing for everyone—has come near—that the good news is walking among us! That in itself is something to talk about in this passage.
If that wasn’t enough we have more good news! The kingdom of God, being fulfilled in this man, Jesus of Nazareth is calling, inviting, compelling others to follow him. Fishermen! Those fishy smelling, rough, lonely, poor fisherman to follow! The kingdom of God includes Fishermen! And all like them! Which includes you and me! This is worth talking about!
Even more! There is appears to be no quota on “fisherpeople”! Jesus is inviting those he comes across, without reserve – “Hey there!” Jesus says, “The good news of God’s salvation for you has come –follow me and we will ask those we come across to join us! There is plenty of room! Come with me and I will make you fishers of people!” This is awesome good news –people are easier to catch than fish and there is a huge abundance of them.
All of these things together are packed into this section of scripture—an abundance of good news, overflowing our nets, and wonderfully, powerfully, we are included in this invitation! We are caught up also, asked to follow! There is no shortage of God’s love in this passage.
We could spend several Sundays talking about all of these aspects of these 5 verses and they would be marvelous Sunday’s, indeed. Today, though, I want to focus on one word out of this story, and that is the word “immediately.” It occurs twice, so we know it is an important part of the message. We know it is an important part of the good news because it causes us to sit up and take notice –it causes me a little bit of heartburn, in fact. And for me, this is the problem of immediacy.
I love Jesus the Christ, in whom I know God. I freely proclaim that Jesus the Christ is my Lord and my savior, and I feel immense heart joy in being able to say that and to feel that! When I say those words, when I read these verses that in Jesus of Nazareth God’s very self calls all kinds of people to follow, I am filled with joy! We human beings long for the fulfillment of peace and abundance for all in the kingdom of God. We long for the family that we are a part of to be gathered in God’s kin-dom. This is a kind of burning in my soul, in my heart! And it is anything but a problem!
Then this one word “immediately” grabs my heart. And I stutter for a few moments. Then I have a different kind of heartburn. What does it mean for me to immediately follow Jesus? Then I am afraid that I might not have followed as “immediately” as those disciples –in fact, I’m sure I didn’t –It took me a while to really “get” it. I had many doubts like most human beings, and there are days when I’m still afraid or hesitant. And there are days when I cross my arms and pout and I won’t budge in the direction I feel called. Has that happened to you? Here is the problem with this word “immediately.”
It is completely human to be cautious and afraid and even rebellious. That seems to be how we are made and there are compelling reasons –we don’t want to follow just any advice or just any leader, because they may lead us where we do not wish to go. It is good to be cautious. Patience and discernment are excellent godly values as well.
I am also aware of how often I am encouraged to do something “immediately” by advertisers who don’t have my best interest in mind. They want me to act now! “Immediate Response required!” as if this is my one chance or I’ll miss out on the opportunity of a life time!
So when I read this scripture, I bring both of those feelings to it. I am aware that these disciples immediately responded to Jesus’ presence and love and all that he was. I want to do that too! And layered on top of that is the fact that I am also cautious, rebellious (stubborn?) and sometimes fearful. Heartburn.
The writer of Mark was doing his level best to convey to his audience and us that the power of God’s love in Jesus the Christ is compelling! It is salvation! It is community! It is healing! It is nothing short of God’s “kindom”[1] and kingdom inviting all who come in contact with Jesus!
The gospel of Mark talks to you and I –we know more about Jesus’ life, death and resurrection than Andrew James and John did when they dropped everything and followed –immediately! We should follow the example of these disciples. And we want to, but HOW?!
How can we follow Jesus in our lives today, as complicated as they are, over 2000 years later, without the compelling physical presence to compel us to follow? How can our response to this good news be “immediate”?
I have a suggestion –well, 4 suggestions really about how we too can respond immediately, concretely, and responsibly to Jesus’ call to follow.[2]
First, we need to recognize where we are. We are not Galilean fisherman confronted by the savior in flesh and blood. Most of us do not see his eyes, hear his voice--feel his soul. So, we need to look around us, be fully present in where we are and who we are in this year 2009, Middle America, in a technological, economically depressed era. What is calling us here and now that speaks to us of the Kingdom of God? There are plenty of compelling opportunities to join the Kingdom of God. There are concrete and real persons all around us who need us to gather them in, to announce the nearness, to be the nearness of welcome, love, food, shelter, jobs. Be present –immediate—here and now—with people around you, people talking to you, perhaps they are announcing the kingdom of God—for other people embody the spirit of Christ, too! And they are flesh and blood, we can see their eyes, hear their voice, feel their souls and God in them. Those disciples were truly paying attention to Jesus when he walked up. They weren’t only tolerating Jesus’ presence. They were right there with him, not distracted.
Second, it seems that Andrew James and John were open to the possibilities that this man presented. They were vulnerable to his message –we suppose that they were not encased in unthinking hatred or bigotry—that they were willing –even just a little bit –and we suppose this because of the word “immediately.” There was enough willingness for the “kindom” of God to break through and compel them onward. When we are interacting with people around us –at the grocery store, in our classrooms, in our offices, we need to practice good will –openness—willingness that these very people are the nearness of the “kindom” –the family of God –and may announce to us the love of God we need.
Third, we show attention. Here is the honesty of response. Our responses need to be honest. Hiding and wishing we were otherwise, doesn’t capture that sense of the word “immediately.” We can honestly respond to what and who we see around us, recognizing that God is in the world. Coupled with our willingness to follow God’s opportunities for love and fulfillment, we can honestly respond to a request for help, or a criticism, or a compliment. How freeing it is to be honest and responsible.
Those disciples gave Jesus an honest response, as far as we know, and we can tell because their response was shown in direct action. They left their nets, they left their comfort zone (their family) and they followed. Andrew James and John put their bodies, their presence, their willingness, their vulnerability into action. They committed to following Jesus. We could say they committed themselves to the good news and the welcome of God’s kingdom and God’s salvation, by following this man from Nazareth who presented them with the concrete opportunity for fulfillment.
We too can follow “immediately” in this way. We can commit ourselves to actions that recognize and even bring the “Kindom” of God near. Instead of just saying we are followers of Jesus whom we know as the Christ of God, we put into action this following and thus make it immediate. We give someone a ride. We loan someone a pencil at school, we donate money to a charity, we give food to the food shelter, we smile at someone --the list is endless. These are immediate because they are actions. Actions have a way of being immediate that thought and faith and belief do not.
So it is that we can cure the heartburn that compels us to follow Jesus, and we can fulfill our desire to “immediately” follow. We can experience the immediacy of the Kingdom of God, the nearness that Jesus announces. We turn the problem of immediacy into the opportunity of immediacy and the kingdom comes nearer. Amen.
[1] “Kin-dom of God” is an alternative term for “Kingdom of God” I learned from Dr. Rufus Burrow, Jr, that I like because it gets away from the authoritative top-down ideas of kingdom, and emphasizes that we are all “kin” family in God’s eyes and when God fulfills God’s plan!
[2] These suggestions are adapted from Rebecca Bahnke’s (MHS, OTR/L) lecture notes on interpersonal communication which she gave me permission to adapt and use for this sermon.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Finding Our Life
Today’s Gospel reading from the Revised Common Lectionary, this text in Matthew, is a part of what we call the gospel, that is, “the good news,” but it is honestly, a difficult teaching. This is prophetic speech and then some.
These words of Jesus occur in his sending off speech to his disciples. Right before this text, Jesus gathers the twelve and commissions them to preach the message that the Kingdom of God is near. He has commissioned them to “heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, and drive out the demons.” This is quite an order!
think we can imagine that the disciples were very excited about this ministry. They had already witnessed Jesus’ own healing and cleansing and preaching; indeed, they could see the nearness of the kingdom of God! And they were so excited to be a part of it!
Then Jesus begins to prepare them for ministry with some reminders about what they might face.
“I am sending you out,” he says,” “like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and innocent as doves.”
Jesus knew people, he knows us. In our scripture for today, we see Jesus reminding the disciples that the ministry of the church is a mixed bag: Being disciples is rapturous delight! It is being a vessel for God’s vision and call –renewal, renovation, healing, loving, and joy! Jesus teaching here doesn’t negate that reality, but it does temporize it a bit. Jesus here is teaching the disciples, and you and I, that being in the service of God, as the Spiritual Community sometimes involves, fear—and the grace to do the right thing despite that fear. It involves conflict—differing visions, differing passions—and the grace to go forward together as one body in Christ. It involves being willing to lose what one thinks one has as “the good life” in order to receive what God understands as the “true life.”
In this scripture, Jesus is care-fully reminding the disciples not to get too caught up in the moment of success, or in the moment of failure and rejection. “Do not be afraid of [governors, kings, arrests, fights,” Jesus says in verse 18. This stuff is going to happen. Human kind is what it is, so even within discipleship, there will be rough times. In the midst of rough times, there is reassurance: Do not be afraid of these things, says Jesus, “Even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth much.”
Do not be afraid of persecution, conflict, disagreements, rejection! It’s just going to happen. But when it happens in the sight of God, in the attempt to do the will of God, in the acknowledgment of the nearness of the kingdom of God and God’s vision, God’s power, God’s love, it will be o.k. “Do not suppose,” says Jesus, “that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn ‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—a person’s enemies will be the members of his own household.”
That’s not normally how we think of Jesus teaching and life. And yet, Jesus chooses these words (from Micah) to express his understanding that when faced with the good news, when faced with the existential choice that Jesus’ life teaching, death and resurrection requires, --to either follow or not no matter what, it is going to cause conflict.
You see, Jesus’ call requires a commitment of our very selves. It requires our lives. We don’t just believe without action. We don’t just hear without action. We are called to go out and “heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the leper, welcome the outcast, and drive out demons.” These are actions. They require commitment.
Jesus knew that any time people make these kind of life-altering choices, things are going to change, sometimes drastically. Sometimes it means giving up the “life” that we have known, for a different life.
If we are living a life that is easy, doesn’t require much, doesn’t challenge us, doesn’t put us right on the edge of the kingdom of God, then we don’t have much of a life. Life in Christ is always on the edge –that’s why Jesus warns his disciples and us: “Be on your guard: you will be handed over to local councils who will flog you (although perhaps these days, not physically). On my account, you will be brought before governors and kings. . .brother will betray brother, and a father his child. . .when you are persecuted. Not if, but when, go on.
I think we don’t have to look very far to see this in action. Those who have clung to the Word of salvation in Christ, haven’t always has easy or what we might think of as “successful lives” by cultural standards. How could they? But they have had rich lives.
The nature of the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ is that it is incredibly re-assuring and comforting and hope giving. The nature of the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ is that it requires a life-altering commitment on our part. A commitment that separates one thing from another. It is, indeed, a sword that cuts, just like a decision cuts between two choices. Even in the midst of this we are not separated from the love of God. God is in it and through it and working all the time.
Let me give you an example. When I was sixteen, my mother and I had a disagreement about whether or not the good news of salvation included people who had a different orientation to marriage. She was so afraid and so hurt, that she told me that I was dead from her. We didn’t speak for several days.
I came to understand her viewpoint: She had made a commitment to her understanding of the good news and she had dreams and visions for me from the moment I was born, and I had just told her that I believed God had created me for something else, and that some of these dreams she would have to give up. So, in the midst of this disagreement, she lost the life that she had planned for me. Indeed, in some ways, I was dead from her. She was faced with a difficult choice: she had to choose, as I did, whether to understand the good news in a new way that embraced my being, or if she was going to let me go.
Likewise, I had to choose whether I was going to follow what I understood the good news to be at the expense of being “dead” to my mother. All because of the good news, the gospel of Jesus Christ, my mother and I were having to decide what kind of lives we were called to live and the words “I have come to turn a daughter against her mother” were true in that moment.
It took a while. We slowly learned to understand each other. It was as if we were both gaining a new life. It took several years, in fact, for my mother and I to discover our new life together--and individually--that we had lost. But by the grace of God, we did.
My mom and I became very, very close. She once called the ACLU to defend me in college! That’s a change!
And I worked hard to honour her dreams and visions for me. We had found new life in God’s love, even through this hard time, and I think we both witnessed more strongly to the grace of God because of it.
This teaching in Matthew is real. In churches and in families, in work, and even in play. Jesus’ call requires a commitment of our very selves and this is going to cause some conflicts. And yet, Jesus is our Lord and Savior, who comes to set us free, to give us new life. If we give up our lives FOR THE SAKE OF THE GOOD NEWS OF SALVATION IN JESUS CHRIST, we will find new lives given by God and blessed by the Holy Spirit. Do not be afraid to commit your whole self, your work, your study, your money to God’s kingdom. Yet know also that doing so isn’t so easy (at least not as easy as the media and advertisers would like to make us think it is) there will be those –even in your own house, church, family, team, who will disagree with you. Try to remember that God is our master and we are to be obedient to God. Keep close to God and God’s grace and you will be blessed.
May God add God’s blessing to these words and thoughts.
These words of Jesus occur in his sending off speech to his disciples. Right before this text, Jesus gathers the twelve and commissions them to preach the message that the Kingdom of God is near. He has commissioned them to “heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, and drive out the demons.” This is quite an order!
think we can imagine that the disciples were very excited about this ministry. They had already witnessed Jesus’ own healing and cleansing and preaching; indeed, they could see the nearness of the kingdom of God! And they were so excited to be a part of it!
Then Jesus begins to prepare them for ministry with some reminders about what they might face.
“I am sending you out,” he says,” “like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and innocent as doves.”
Jesus knew people, he knows us. In our scripture for today, we see Jesus reminding the disciples that the ministry of the church is a mixed bag: Being disciples is rapturous delight! It is being a vessel for God’s vision and call –renewal, renovation, healing, loving, and joy! Jesus teaching here doesn’t negate that reality, but it does temporize it a bit. Jesus here is teaching the disciples, and you and I, that being in the service of God, as the Spiritual Community sometimes involves, fear—and the grace to do the right thing despite that fear. It involves conflict—differing visions, differing passions—and the grace to go forward together as one body in Christ. It involves being willing to lose what one thinks one has as “the good life” in order to receive what God understands as the “true life.”
In this scripture, Jesus is care-fully reminding the disciples not to get too caught up in the moment of success, or in the moment of failure and rejection. “Do not be afraid of [governors, kings, arrests, fights,” Jesus says in verse 18. This stuff is going to happen. Human kind is what it is, so even within discipleship, there will be rough times. In the midst of rough times, there is reassurance: Do not be afraid of these things, says Jesus, “Even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth much.”
Do not be afraid of persecution, conflict, disagreements, rejection! It’s just going to happen. But when it happens in the sight of God, in the attempt to do the will of God, in the acknowledgment of the nearness of the kingdom of God and God’s vision, God’s power, God’s love, it will be o.k. “Do not suppose,” says Jesus, “that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn ‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—a person’s enemies will be the members of his own household.”
That’s not normally how we think of Jesus teaching and life. And yet, Jesus chooses these words (from Micah) to express his understanding that when faced with the good news, when faced with the existential choice that Jesus’ life teaching, death and resurrection requires, --to either follow or not no matter what, it is going to cause conflict.
You see, Jesus’ call requires a commitment of our very selves. It requires our lives. We don’t just believe without action. We don’t just hear without action. We are called to go out and “heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the leper, welcome the outcast, and drive out demons.” These are actions. They require commitment.
Jesus knew that any time people make these kind of life-altering choices, things are going to change, sometimes drastically. Sometimes it means giving up the “life” that we have known, for a different life.
If we are living a life that is easy, doesn’t require much, doesn’t challenge us, doesn’t put us right on the edge of the kingdom of God, then we don’t have much of a life. Life in Christ is always on the edge –that’s why Jesus warns his disciples and us: “Be on your guard: you will be handed over to local councils who will flog you (although perhaps these days, not physically). On my account, you will be brought before governors and kings. . .brother will betray brother, and a father his child. . .when you are persecuted. Not if, but when, go on.
I think we don’t have to look very far to see this in action. Those who have clung to the Word of salvation in Christ, haven’t always has easy or what we might think of as “successful lives” by cultural standards. How could they? But they have had rich lives.
The nature of the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ is that it is incredibly re-assuring and comforting and hope giving. The nature of the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ is that it requires a life-altering commitment on our part. A commitment that separates one thing from another. It is, indeed, a sword that cuts, just like a decision cuts between two choices. Even in the midst of this we are not separated from the love of God. God is in it and through it and working all the time.
Let me give you an example. When I was sixteen, my mother and I had a disagreement about whether or not the good news of salvation included people who had a different orientation to marriage. She was so afraid and so hurt, that she told me that I was dead from her. We didn’t speak for several days.
I came to understand her viewpoint: She had made a commitment to her understanding of the good news and she had dreams and visions for me from the moment I was born, and I had just told her that I believed God had created me for something else, and that some of these dreams she would have to give up. So, in the midst of this disagreement, she lost the life that she had planned for me. Indeed, in some ways, I was dead from her. She was faced with a difficult choice: she had to choose, as I did, whether to understand the good news in a new way that embraced my being, or if she was going to let me go.
Likewise, I had to choose whether I was going to follow what I understood the good news to be at the expense of being “dead” to my mother. All because of the good news, the gospel of Jesus Christ, my mother and I were having to decide what kind of lives we were called to live and the words “I have come to turn a daughter against her mother” were true in that moment.
It took a while. We slowly learned to understand each other. It was as if we were both gaining a new life. It took several years, in fact, for my mother and I to discover our new life together--and individually--that we had lost. But by the grace of God, we did.
My mom and I became very, very close. She once called the ACLU to defend me in college! That’s a change!
And I worked hard to honour her dreams and visions for me. We had found new life in God’s love, even through this hard time, and I think we both witnessed more strongly to the grace of God because of it.
This teaching in Matthew is real. In churches and in families, in work, and even in play. Jesus’ call requires a commitment of our very selves and this is going to cause some conflicts. And yet, Jesus is our Lord and Savior, who comes to set us free, to give us new life. If we give up our lives FOR THE SAKE OF THE GOOD NEWS OF SALVATION IN JESUS CHRIST, we will find new lives given by God and blessed by the Holy Spirit. Do not be afraid to commit your whole self, your work, your study, your money to God’s kingdom. Yet know also that doing so isn’t so easy (at least not as easy as the media and advertisers would like to make us think it is) there will be those –even in your own house, church, family, team, who will disagree with you. Try to remember that God is our master and we are to be obedient to God. Keep close to God and God’s grace and you will be blessed.
May God add God’s blessing to these words and thoughts.
Friday, June 13, 2008
Sunday, June 15, 2008 In Celebration of Fatherhood
I thought that I would do something I have never done before: preach on the theme of fatherhood. As a lesbian feminist, I am committed to inclusive theology and social justice. I do not, however, hate men, or my father. In fact, I believe that if we feminists were more constructive in our understanding of maleness and fatherhood, we might actually free some guys to be more whole. With that preface, here is a somewhat senitmental sermon for Sunday, June 15.
My father taught me to sail. We began sailing when I was probably 10 or so. We took our summer vacations on a small lake in Northern Wisconsin that was nearly perfectly round. There were a few cabins around the lake, but most of it was undeveloped. On that lake I learned to water ski and I learned to handle a boat. The best thing I learned, though, was sailing. And l learned it from my dad.
He did the majority of the work –occasionally I took the sail or the rudder, or managed the jib when we came about. Mostly we just watched the water and the trees and the sky. I don’t recall that we talked much, just sailed.
One day, we set out on the lake and were having a great time. It was probably about 4. There would only be a half hour or so before the evening calming of the winds. It was rather brisk that day, and I found it exciting. In fact, I enjoyed it so much, that I was surprised when the storm started.
It seemed like all of the sudden it started raining, and the wind was blowing. We immediately started to head for the dock. The thing about sailing, though, is that you can’t go straight from one point to the other, you have to tack, go back and forth until you can be in a good position to get where you want to be—especially in stronger winds.
Then it began to lightning. One place you don’t want to be in a thunderstorm is on a lake without a motor and a tall metal mast. I was fairly scared. I looked at my dad, and I thought that he was kind of nervous, but he didn’t appear frightened, he just kept making progress. I thought, “Well, I don’t want to be anywhere else at all right now.” We were really flying. Normally my dad sailed at a leisurely pace. Not now. We were flying, and the winds were strong.
I remember vividly that the water took on a kind of green gray, and the line between the sky and the water seemed very small. I was having a great time!
As I hiked out over the side of the boat, with my feet tucked under the center strap, I trailed my hand in the water every so often to feel the water’s warmth, it was blood warm. The air had become cold and the wind was cold. I wanted to be in that water and I wanted to stay in this exciting but safe boat forever.
As the wind picked up and the lightning picked up, I began to change my mind. We were finally at the dock, taking the sails down, securing the rudder. I was freezing by now. As we climbed the steps up to where the cabin was, my dad told me that that was the best adventure he’d had in a while. I agreed.
Then when we got in the cabin, he and my mom had a few words about danger and storms and lakes and how worried they all were about us. My dad apologized and we both changed out of our soaking clothes.
I was shocked. It was the first time that it occurred to me that my dad could be afraid. I felt like we had not only had an adventure together, but that he has shared something important with me. I was deeply honored. Rather than making me lose respect for him, it enhanced my awe of him.
My father was a judge. And I remember his black robe, and the newspaper articles, and the dinner discussions about law and justice. I knew, even as a kid ,that a judge had huge responsibility and quite a bit of power. On weekends sometimes, when he had to go into his chambers, he’d take my brother and me. We’d play in the courtroom, but it was so formal and intimidating, we weren't quite sure how to "play." We explored.
Growing up in the church, I heard images of Fatherhood for God. I heard stories of God’s judgement and God’s mercy. Back in the 70’s, we only heard male language for God in my church, as if God was only and of course “father” and never “mother”, so it was kind of sticky to navigate the relationships –God as father, my father but not God. God as judge, my dad as judge.
I think in our culture, many of us get confused about fatherhood and power and God. Some people have a really difficult time coming to church because they equate God with Father and their own fathers were not anything resembling a loving God. And in some situations the equation of God with father has been an excuse to see mothers and women as second class citizens. We are so heavy into patriarchal systems, that fullness of God’s parenthood gets limited to our own understandings of what a parent ought to be and actually is.
In our scripture for today, we hear the familiar parable of "the Prodigal Son.' The teaching of the story is definitely focused on what the son learns. The son appears to be the main character of the parable, and we can easily relate to the rebellious child, who wants to have it all right now and live it up!
Jesus’ parable is, in some ways, an exaggerated story of the child-parent relationship of we human beings to God. The young man, who ought to know better, insults his father, takes everything that he would inherit were his father dead, finds out he can’t quite manage on his own, and comes back humble and probably scared --seeking safety. This young man knows that it is within the power of his father to disown him, or worse. He acknowledges the right of his father to judge him. Yet he comes back to the whole picture of his father. Perhaps the young man doesn’t expect mercy, but his action shows us that he acknowledges that there might also be love and mercy in his father. Judgment and the forgiveness are exactly what the young man gets on his return. This is, it seems to me, a powerful image of God as father:
God welcomes us back in spite of our wrong doing. In the context of judgment, God welcomes us back --in spite of the insult, the wrong done.
As we pause to reflect on fatherhood this Sunday, I want us to remember this parable –especially the image of fatherhood here. God is powerful and awesome, loving and forgiving.
I want us also to try to keep separate our human fathers from God as father. Our father’s aren’t God. Let’s cut our dads a break, by not seeing them as God. Let’s give them the room to make mistakes, to have adventures, to be scared
Likewise, dads, I encourage you to show your families the whole you--the human you –as you are a child of God the father--both sailor, and judge, vulnerable and powerful, full of love and justice.
“In Celebration of Fatherhood”
Text: Luke 15:11-32(An inductive/image sermon)June 15, 2008Rev. Jennifer A. Little, M.A., M.T.S., M.Div
First Presbyterian Church of Tolono
My father taught me to sail. We began sailing when I was probably 10 or so. We took our summer vacations on a small lake in Northern Wisconsin that was nearly perfectly round. There were a few cabins around the lake, but most of it was undeveloped. On that lake I learned to water ski and I learned to handle a boat. The best thing I learned, though, was sailing. And l learned it from my dad.
He did the majority of the work –occasionally I took the sail or the rudder, or managed the jib when we came about. Mostly we just watched the water and the trees and the sky. I don’t recall that we talked much, just sailed.
One day, we set out on the lake and were having a great time. It was probably about 4. There would only be a half hour or so before the evening calming of the winds. It was rather brisk that day, and I found it exciting. In fact, I enjoyed it so much, that I was surprised when the storm started.
It seemed like all of the sudden it started raining, and the wind was blowing. We immediately started to head for the dock. The thing about sailing, though, is that you can’t go straight from one point to the other, you have to tack, go back and forth until you can be in a good position to get where you want to be—especially in stronger winds.
Then it began to lightning. One place you don’t want to be in a thunderstorm is on a lake without a motor and a tall metal mast. I was fairly scared. I looked at my dad, and I thought that he was kind of nervous, but he didn’t appear frightened, he just kept making progress. I thought, “Well, I don’t want to be anywhere else at all right now.” We were really flying. Normally my dad sailed at a leisurely pace. Not now. We were flying, and the winds were strong.
I remember vividly that the water took on a kind of green gray, and the line between the sky and the water seemed very small. I was having a great time!
As I hiked out over the side of the boat, with my feet tucked under the center strap, I trailed my hand in the water every so often to feel the water’s warmth, it was blood warm. The air had become cold and the wind was cold. I wanted to be in that water and I wanted to stay in this exciting but safe boat forever.
As the wind picked up and the lightning picked up, I began to change my mind. We were finally at the dock, taking the sails down, securing the rudder. I was freezing by now. As we climbed the steps up to where the cabin was, my dad told me that that was the best adventure he’d had in a while. I agreed.
Then when we got in the cabin, he and my mom had a few words about danger and storms and lakes and how worried they all were about us. My dad apologized and we both changed out of our soaking clothes.
Then later, after dinner, the storm had passed and there were a million stars out. I was down on the dock, seeing what the storm had stirred up in the water, looking at the stars, and I felt footsteps on the dock. My dad sat down next to me and we sat for a while. He asked me if I was scared while we were sailing. I told him I wasn’t. He said, “I was a somewhat scared, but we did it, didn’t we?”
I was shocked. It was the first time that it occurred to me that my dad could be afraid. I felt like we had not only had an adventure together, but that he has shared something important with me. I was deeply honored. Rather than making me lose respect for him, it enhanced my awe of him.
My father was a judge. And I remember his black robe, and the newspaper articles, and the dinner discussions about law and justice. I knew, even as a kid ,that a judge had huge responsibility and quite a bit of power. On weekends sometimes, when he had to go into his chambers, he’d take my brother and me. We’d play in the courtroom, but it was so formal and intimidating, we weren't quite sure how to "play." We explored.
Once my father took me with him to court, when a jury had come back while we had been eating dinner. I don’t remember anything about the case, or indeed what the jury had decided, but I do know that I was kind of scared-- I knew enough about law and courts to know that my father was involved in decisions about life and sometimes death; imprisonment and freedom; guilt and innocence.
These, then, are two images of fatherhood for me –right out of my own experience: Fatherhood, for me, is sailing and adventure and trust. Fatherhood is responsibility, and authority. Now, of course there is so much more—I am not trying to simplify things here—yet, these are the two most powerful images of fatherhood in my experience.
These, then, are two images of fatherhood for me –right out of my own experience: Fatherhood, for me, is sailing and adventure and trust. Fatherhood is responsibility, and authority. Now, of course there is so much more—I am not trying to simplify things here—yet, these are the two most powerful images of fatherhood in my experience.
Growing up in the church, I heard images of Fatherhood for God. I heard stories of God’s judgement and God’s mercy. Back in the 70’s, we only heard male language for God in my church, as if God was only and of course “father” and never “mother”, so it was kind of sticky to navigate the relationships –God as father, my father but not God. God as judge, my dad as judge.
I think in our culture, many of us get confused about fatherhood and power and God. Some people have a really difficult time coming to church because they equate God with Father and their own fathers were not anything resembling a loving God. And in some situations the equation of God with father has been an excuse to see mothers and women as second class citizens. We are so heavy into patriarchal systems, that fullness of God’s parenthood gets limited to our own understandings of what a parent ought to be and actually is.
In our scripture for today, we hear the familiar parable of "the Prodigal Son.' The teaching of the story is definitely focused on what the son learns. The son appears to be the main character of the parable, and we can easily relate to the rebellious child, who wants to have it all right now and live it up!
Developmentally it makes sense: this young man is just itching to see what he can do, to experience the world and life on his own. We all have a bit of this in us. Watch any young child start to get a sense of her freedom as she runs off for the sheer joy of running.
But then what happens? The child will usually, stop, turn, and look to see where the parent is. This is called rapprochement. The child wants to be free, but also know that it is safe, that the parent is still there. Pretty soon the distance gets further and further.
But then what happens? The child will usually, stop, turn, and look to see where the parent is. This is called rapprochement. The child wants to be free, but also know that it is safe, that the parent is still there. Pretty soon the distance gets further and further.
Jesus’ parable is, in some ways, an exaggerated story of the child-parent relationship of we human beings to God. The young man, who ought to know better, insults his father, takes everything that he would inherit were his father dead, finds out he can’t quite manage on his own, and comes back humble and probably scared --seeking safety. This young man knows that it is within the power of his father to disown him, or worse. He acknowledges the right of his father to judge him. Yet he comes back to the whole picture of his father. Perhaps the young man doesn’t expect mercy, but his action shows us that he acknowledges that there might also be love and mercy in his father. Judgment and the forgiveness are exactly what the young man gets on his return. This is, it seems to me, a powerful image of God as father:
God welcomes us back in spite of our wrong doing. In the context of judgment, God welcomes us back --in spite of the insult, the wrong done.
As we pause to reflect on fatherhood this Sunday, I want us to remember this parable –especially the image of fatherhood here. God is powerful and awesome, loving and forgiving.
I want us also to try to keep separate our human fathers from God as father. Our father’s aren’t God. Let’s cut our dads a break, by not seeing them as God. Let’s give them the room to make mistakes, to have adventures, to be scared
Likewise, dads, I encourage you to show your families the whole you--the human you –as you are a child of God the father--both sailor, and judge, vulnerable and powerful, full of love and justice.
Monday, June 2, 2008
June 2, First Brick of the Summer
O.K., well maybe it was a brickette: 10 laps in the pool and a 1.5 mile bike ride. Everyone has to start somewhere. (For those fans not in with the triathlon crowd, a "brick" is a section of workout--either swimming biking, or biking running one right after the other, like a triathlon) This is the first brick in building the foundation for my second mini-triathlon. I am hoping it will also be the first brick in the foundation of the new place I find myself in my ministry. Ah, the life of an interim. . .
Last year I did the mini-tri the weekend after burying my grandmother and I was out of shape. I was also exactly one year from my total hip replacement, and I was grateful to finish it. (No I didn't run the last part, I walked, in case my orthopod is reading this). This year, I am in much better shape --at least physically, so I am looking forward to a summer of training.
As I find myself in a transition time, this physical training will be good for my spirit as well.
Last year I did the mini-tri the weekend after burying my grandmother and I was out of shape. I was also exactly one year from my total hip replacement, and I was grateful to finish it. (No I didn't run the last part, I walked, in case my orthopod is reading this). This year, I am in much better shape --at least physically, so I am looking forward to a summer of training.
As I find myself in a transition time, this physical training will be good for my spirit as well.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Salvation through Faith Alone
Romans 3: 22b-28
Reverend Jennifer A. Little, M.A., M.T.S., M.Div
First Presbyterian Church of Tolono
June 1, 2008
Deitrich Bonhoffer wrote a powerful book called The Cost of Discipleship.[1] Bonhoeffer was, as you may know, a Reformed pastor (Confessional Church) in Germany. He defied Hitler and the Nazi’s and continued to run an outlawed seminary and church for those who opposed the culture and teachings of Hitler. Bonhoffer was eventually imprisoned and later hanged. In his teaching and in his writing, he was trying to convey to people the protestant principle: Salvation by grace alone. This passage in Paul’s letter to the Romans is the most important statement of this principle. We cannot rely on anything but God’s grace, this grace is not due us and we cannot earn it.
We have to understand this cost, brothers and sisters, otherwise we are living in cheap grace. Today we are going to try to make this clear.
The cost of our salvation and blessing is really the cost to God’s own self. It is not costly for us in an ultimate way, but in the way of obedience or thanksgiving to God for God’s cost. God’s very self in Jesus the Christ is the cost of our re-uniting with God. The sacrifice Paul talks about here is indeed a costly giving, it is a self giving and it is nothing short of God’s very self that is given so that we may be justified, forgiven and saved.
I am not fond of scriptural interpretation that incorrectly separates Jesus from God. In this kind of scriptural interpretation, when we hear that “Jesus is the Christ whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement,” we can’t help but have images of divine parent abuse! In light of this inappropriate separation, the crucifixion is ONLY the sacrifice of an only son. This is not morally appropriate. We have to remember this statement in the context of the good news: God came to us in Jesus the Christ, as God’s very self: Jesus is fully human and fully God. We are monotheists: we worship one God in three persons, not two Gods –God and Jesus.
When we remember that the cross is the gift of God’s self given so that we might have eternal life, then we can hear it as good news. Then we can feel the hope offered in these words of sacrifice and atonement. The sacrifice is a self-sacrifice –something that makes moral sense. The atonement, is truly an at-one-ment: a reunification of us as persons with God’s person.
This is the first point we have to wrap our minds around with this scripture.
Most of us feel isolated, lost, fall short of the glory of God. We ourselves could not effect this at-one-ment, this full acceptance and re-unification. We can’t work hard enough, believe strongly enough, or pay enough money to make this happen.
In the Hellenist world in which Paul was writing, almost anything could be bought or gained. Human beings, through might, knowledge, patronage, or wealth could achieve perfection in this life, it was thought. And what else was there? Well, there was death --which could take all of that away. No more knowledge, privilege, or wealth. And what about those who did not have access to knowledge, privilege or wealth? In this system of belief there was no justice for them; all was fate.
Paul is announcing to the Romans a different system –God’s system, God’s justice, God’s justification and God’s righteousness. Everything in this passage is about God! “since all [human beings]have sinned (there is no human perfection) and fall short of the glory of God; they [that is, we] are now justified by God’s grace as a gift.” The gift of God’s self for our salvation, “at-one-ment” –redemption –you pick the word—because we can’t do it on our own.
We ought not hear in this the story of a vengeful God sacrificing one human being for the salvation of all. That would make God a moral monster. Rather God gave God’s very self in the person of Jesus of Nazareth so we could experience God’s righteousness and God’s forgiveness and God’s healing, and so God could share with us in an extraordinary way, our humanity.
Therefore, we are “justified,” accepted, made whole, by God’s grace as a gift of God’s self put forward in the life death and resurrection of Jesus the Christ effective through faith.
So, does that mean that God’s grace is a gift only if we have faith?
No. If that were true, it wouldn’t be a free gift. Our faith or lack of faith has nothing to do with God’s gracious giving of salvation. Our faith doesn’t earn God’s grace. We can’t earn it. We don’t have to believe in order to receive God’s grace.[2]
God’s grace makes it possible for us to have faith. Faith itself is part of the gift.
Does that mean that if we question God that we aren’t saved? No. Does that mean that if we don’t have faith as strong as we’d like that we aren’t beloved of God? No.
We have nothing to boast about. Nothing.
Paul asks, “Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. We maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the law.
It is faith alone, a gift from God, that saves us by God’s righteousness.
It’s all about God. Everything is given by a righteous and loving God. Salvation, faith, blessing.
We come back to where we started: God’s grace is free.
It is, however, not cheap. Cheap grace is a grace that is proclaimed as if there is no soul response on our part. Cheap grace is a grace that is taken for granted. Cheap grace is a feeling that because we are saved we don’t have to practice the good news of God’s love as we saw it in the life and teaching of Jesus.
For us grace is a gift that is so dear in is unimaginably costly. “It costs us loving obedience.” It compels us to love God so much that we must live in response and love our neighbor as ourselves. Grace is a free gift so dear that we must spare no cost to live in integrity and self-sacrifice.
[1] Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. The Cost of Discipleship.(1937) Rev. Ed. Tr. R.H. Fuller. New York: Collier Books, 1963
[2] Preaching note: Here I inserted a some brief statements about “irresistible grace.”
Romans 3: 22b-28
Reverend Jennifer A. Little, M.A., M.T.S., M.Div
First Presbyterian Church of Tolono
June 1, 2008
Deitrich Bonhoffer wrote a powerful book called The Cost of Discipleship.[1] Bonhoeffer was, as you may know, a Reformed pastor (Confessional Church) in Germany. He defied Hitler and the Nazi’s and continued to run an outlawed seminary and church for those who opposed the culture and teachings of Hitler. Bonhoffer was eventually imprisoned and later hanged. In his teaching and in his writing, he was trying to convey to people the protestant principle: Salvation by grace alone. This passage in Paul’s letter to the Romans is the most important statement of this principle. We cannot rely on anything but God’s grace, this grace is not due us and we cannot earn it.
We have to understand this cost, brothers and sisters, otherwise we are living in cheap grace. Today we are going to try to make this clear.
The cost of our salvation and blessing is really the cost to God’s own self. It is not costly for us in an ultimate way, but in the way of obedience or thanksgiving to God for God’s cost. God’s very self in Jesus the Christ is the cost of our re-uniting with God. The sacrifice Paul talks about here is indeed a costly giving, it is a self giving and it is nothing short of God’s very self that is given so that we may be justified, forgiven and saved.
I am not fond of scriptural interpretation that incorrectly separates Jesus from God. In this kind of scriptural interpretation, when we hear that “Jesus is the Christ whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement,” we can’t help but have images of divine parent abuse! In light of this inappropriate separation, the crucifixion is ONLY the sacrifice of an only son. This is not morally appropriate. We have to remember this statement in the context of the good news: God came to us in Jesus the Christ, as God’s very self: Jesus is fully human and fully God. We are monotheists: we worship one God in three persons, not two Gods –God and Jesus.
When we remember that the cross is the gift of God’s self given so that we might have eternal life, then we can hear it as good news. Then we can feel the hope offered in these words of sacrifice and atonement. The sacrifice is a self-sacrifice –something that makes moral sense. The atonement, is truly an at-one-ment: a reunification of us as persons with God’s person.
This is the first point we have to wrap our minds around with this scripture.
Most of us feel isolated, lost, fall short of the glory of God. We ourselves could not effect this at-one-ment, this full acceptance and re-unification. We can’t work hard enough, believe strongly enough, or pay enough money to make this happen.
In the Hellenist world in which Paul was writing, almost anything could be bought or gained. Human beings, through might, knowledge, patronage, or wealth could achieve perfection in this life, it was thought. And what else was there? Well, there was death --which could take all of that away. No more knowledge, privilege, or wealth. And what about those who did not have access to knowledge, privilege or wealth? In this system of belief there was no justice for them; all was fate.
Paul is announcing to the Romans a different system –God’s system, God’s justice, God’s justification and God’s righteousness. Everything in this passage is about God! “since all [human beings]have sinned (there is no human perfection) and fall short of the glory of God; they [that is, we] are now justified by God’s grace as a gift.” The gift of God’s self for our salvation, “at-one-ment” –redemption –you pick the word—because we can’t do it on our own.
We ought not hear in this the story of a vengeful God sacrificing one human being for the salvation of all. That would make God a moral monster. Rather God gave God’s very self in the person of Jesus of Nazareth so we could experience God’s righteousness and God’s forgiveness and God’s healing, and so God could share with us in an extraordinary way, our humanity.
Therefore, we are “justified,” accepted, made whole, by God’s grace as a gift of God’s self put forward in the life death and resurrection of Jesus the Christ effective through faith.
So, does that mean that God’s grace is a gift only if we have faith?
No. If that were true, it wouldn’t be a free gift. Our faith or lack of faith has nothing to do with God’s gracious giving of salvation. Our faith doesn’t earn God’s grace. We can’t earn it. We don’t have to believe in order to receive God’s grace.[2]
God’s grace makes it possible for us to have faith. Faith itself is part of the gift.
Does that mean that if we question God that we aren’t saved? No. Does that mean that if we don’t have faith as strong as we’d like that we aren’t beloved of God? No.
We have nothing to boast about. Nothing.
Paul asks, “Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. We maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the law.
It is faith alone, a gift from God, that saves us by God’s righteousness.
It’s all about God. Everything is given by a righteous and loving God. Salvation, faith, blessing.
We come back to where we started: God’s grace is free.
It is, however, not cheap. Cheap grace is a grace that is proclaimed as if there is no soul response on our part. Cheap grace is a grace that is taken for granted. Cheap grace is a feeling that because we are saved we don’t have to practice the good news of God’s love as we saw it in the life and teaching of Jesus.
For us grace is a gift that is so dear in is unimaginably costly. “It costs us loving obedience.” It compels us to love God so much that we must live in response and love our neighbor as ourselves. Grace is a free gift so dear that we must spare no cost to live in integrity and self-sacrifice.
[1] Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. The Cost of Discipleship.(1937) Rev. Ed. Tr. R.H. Fuller. New York: Collier Books, 1963
[2] Preaching note: Here I inserted a some brief statements about “irresistible grace.”
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