 | Full Text Sermon | Alternate Sermon Ideas | Prayers & Readings | [ Trial Balloon: Note Sheet for this Week ] LENTEN SERIES 1998 - "In The Thick of Things!" Overall Theme: The Season of Lent is a great time to reflect on the genius of Christian Faith. Jesus is with us in the "Thick of Things". He is there when we are tempted, when we fall on our face,and in the everyday experiences of our lives. He is present in the heights of joy and the depths of despair. The gospel stories of this Lenten season show Jesus involved in powerful "slice of life" episodes. Using the lessons, we can help our listeners open their daily lives to the presence of the One who is with us "In the Thick of Things." ...................................................*** Sunday March 22, 1998 ~ Fourth Sunday in Lent ~ Luke 15:1-3; 11b-32 [A Prayer
upon entering the pulpit: In the Thick of Humiliation Have you seen the sign that says, "Teenagers - Quick, Leave Home Today While You Still Know Everything!" The kid in Jesus' story is one of those young people who doesn't need the advice and counsel of an older brother or his father. He knows what he wants and he doesn't need anyone to tell him otherwise. "Give me what's mine, he says,"I'm outa here!" This young man is one of those people who learns in the school of hard knocks. Chances are, many of us here today can relate! In any case, the speed of the boy's exit from his family is matched only by the speed at which he finds himself broke, homeless and without a friend. While a good Jewish boy's deep humiliation is reflected in his having to feed the pigs and wish he could eat the food intended for them, for us it would be the anticipation of having to eat "crow". Have you ever been humiliated and wished there was a short road home to feeling better about yourself? The "distant country" of our scripture story is easily related to the place we find ourselves after a bad decision, a dreadful failure, or an embarrassing revelation. In the event you cannot imagine being in the prodigal son's shoes, I want you to do something. Don't think about it... just answer from the top of your head... "What is there in your life that would cause you to simply die of embarrassment if it were suddenly projected on a large screen right here in front of everybody?" (Anyone want to share?) Some of what may occur to us as we look into the nooks and crannies of our soul will be things that are known only to us and to God. And finally, when it comes right down to it, there are some things about ourselves that are known to God alone... the things that cause us to sometimes say,"I don't know why I do the things I do!" The answer of course is, "Only God knows." The prodigal son was clueless when it came to the consequences of his actions. There is a progression in this story which yields some important dynamics for understanding ourselves and others. There is a straight line between this young man's arrogance and his eventual humiliation. Yet, his humiliation produces a genuine humility which puts him in a place where he can receive grace. Humility is a "kissin' cousin" of humiliation. Take note here... grace can not gain entrance into a life which lacks humility. Some people may have the good fortune of possessing humility which is not the product of humiliation, but there are many who have to endure the school of hard knocks. The key here, however, is this: It is in the midst of deepest humiliation that the prodigal son discovers the depth of his father's love. The progression in this "best loved" story of grace is: .1) A Bad Decision, ..2) Hitting the Wall, ..3) A Good Decision, ..4) Experiencing the Grace. As we explore the dynamics of the story, we want to keep in mind three viewpoints. There is dad, big brother and little brother. The viewpoint that touches you most will be very dependent upon your life experience. 1) A Bad Decision A woman came to see me after her third marriage failed. "I just don't know what I've done wrong, but I just know God is punishing me. This is the third time I've married someone who turned out to be an alcoholic who abused me!" I gave her the book, "Smart Women/Foolish Choices : Finding the Right Men, Avoiding the Wrong Ones". [Connell Cowan, Melvyn Kinder / New American Library: January 1991] After reading the book, she came back quite embarrassed. She was a quick study though, joined a support group, gave up men (at least temporarily), and went directly to the experience of grace! Bad decisions sneak up on us -- blindside us. They rarely come with red flags or "beware -- bad decision ahead" warnings. Rarely (except in the case of self destructive people) do we consciously make a bad decision. It might seem like the thing to do at the time, or we just didn't think about it, or we wouldn't help ourselves. We certainly didn't say, "I think I'll wreck my life!" I can just hear the prodigal son saying, "This place is way too boring and stifling. I need some excitement. Give me my cut now, I'm outa here!" The big brother, on the other hand sees the younger as a self centered brat who gets away with everything. "Maybe it will be better around here without him!" The father sees a child he can not control. He sees disaster ahead for his son, but knows there is no way he can get in the kid and do his learning for him. Love means he has to let go and hope God will go with the boy. 2) Hitting the Wall Luke doesn't tell us how long the young man's money lasted, but judging by the speed of his cashing in his assets, he seems to have gone through his money in a hurry. No matter how long it was, it must have seemed like a blur. One day he's saying, "Later!" to his family and the next thing he knows, he's in a foreign land, where the economy goes bust, he's broke and the proverbial wall has been hit. He's so hungry, he's willing to clean floors at McDonald's for left over fries or wash dishes at the diner for the chance to grab a few leftovers. There is an important spiritual truth here. The shortest distance between two points can very quickly turn into a very long distance. Do you see how? The prodigal son took a quick trip to a "distant" land. A short trip. The way home however, was long. It began "when he came to himself" and did not end until the winding road took him finally to his father's arms. In Alcoholics Anonymous, there is an understanding that people never get on the road to recovery until they "hit bottom" -- that is, hit the wall. Some people are unfortunate enough to never hit bottom. They never recover or even begin to recover. Bottom for them is death. This is the father's risk. He might have wanted to beg, plead or even lock the boy up, but he had to let the son go in order to have even have the possibility of having him back. The older brother meanwhile is enjoying the peace and quiet. There is a striking truth that jumps out here. The journey of the prodigal son into the distant country was a voluntary one into what he expected to be fulfillment and joy. In his humiliation, (when he hit the wall) he discovered his true home was back in his father's arms. In the Christian story, Jesus takes a voluntary journey into what he knew would be humiliation. It is not too much of a stretch to suggest that he takes the "hit" for us! 3) A Good Decision "I will get up and go to my father..." Turning point! No matter who it is, where it is or why it is, whenever we come to the point of saying "I will get up and go to my father..." we are certain of the outcome because we have a preview of the end of the story in the story of the prodigal son. Out of humiliation came humility and out of humility came grace. Can you remember the last time you "came to yourself", as Luke puts it? You became aware that you were wrong. Dead wrong! Take a moment if need be and think about it. You were wrong. Do you find it difficult to admit that? (I've found that to be a squirmy question to ask when people are here with someone who knows them well.) Can you remember the sense of relief that began when you said, "I will get up and go to my wife and say..." or, "I will get up and go to my boss and say..." or, "I will get up and go to my brother..." That decision will take humility. Here's a definition of humility. "Humility is a realistic assessment of who I am -- before God." Do you see how important those last two words are? I might delude myself when I do an assessment of who I am -- but when I add those last two words, "Before God..", that changes things! So when the time comes that you need to reverse a bad decision and the consequences of that decision are weighing heavily upon you, there is a sure road to recovery. It is an action that takes place within your spirit. "I will get up and go..." 4) Experiencing the Grace There is a critical truth underlying this whole message today. "The father is waiting with open arms." The prodigal son can't see the fact that his father is waiting at the gate to the old homestead. He comes out each day to see if there is any sign of his son on the horizon. He is the parent waiting for the phone call from a run-a-way child, a wife waiting for her husband to send the roses with an apology, the friend hoping that the friendship will not be lost. If only we fully knew the grace that awaits our good decision to "get up and go...". When you have fallen on your face, feel unworthy and want to crawl in a hole -- do something different -- reach out. Jesus went through a public humiliation that is unimaginable to you and me. And here's the rub... Jesus didn't make the bad decision that brought about his humiliation! Nevertheless he knows what it is like to be exposed, rejected and scorned. The more we get in touch with the ways Jesus meets us in the everyday experiences of our lives, the more we understand that there is never a time when he does not understand what we are going through. You have heard the words if not the song, "Love is better the second time around..." It isn't as though we were not loved before we fell on our face, but there is something wonderful about being loved even though we fell on our face. One definition of a true friend is, "someone you can make a fool out of yourself with and not wonder the next day how they feel about you." There are no words that can top the words of scripture. Here's the final answer to the question... "So how does God feel about you when you have failed miserably? "But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him." [Apply It] Each week, as we move through this Lenten journey, there is a new dimension of our living we've tried to open up more fully to our relationship with Christ. This week, we want to look inward and then look outward with some new perspective. 1. Can you think of a time when you most needed God's understanding for some failure in your life? 2. Did you reach out to Christ during this time -- or was your sense of humiliation too great? 3. It is good to know that God waits for our return no matter how profound our failure was. Here's the clincher -- Are you willing to be as understanding of others in their failures as you want Christ to be of you? 4. Who, specifically might this change your attitude toward? What's New? - II Corinthians 5:16-21 Have you heard of Jesus Christ? I take it you know about Jesus Christ. He was an itinerant teacher from Upper Galilee who lived about 2000 years ago. Have you heard of Abraham Lincoln? I take it you know about Abraham Lincoln. He was a country politicain who became President of the United States and lived in the 19th century. Look again at the first verse of the scripture (II Cor. 5:16), "...even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way." What's that mean? You can know about Abraham Lincoln. No one would question you if you said, "I know about Abraham Lincoln." However, if you said, "I know Abraham Lincoln," folk would begin to wonder about you. Yet, we go beyond knowing about Christ and speak in terms of knowing Christ. The "human point of view" is to know about Christ. The new point of view -- the spiritual point of view enables us to know Christ. So, what's new? 1. We have a new position. vv. 16-17 The new reality is "knowing" Christ which is to be reconciled with God because of Christ. Our new position means we have a new spiritual reality operating in our lives. 2. We have a new purpose. vv. 18-19 Once reconciled with God, we are given a ministry and a word. Get it? Our ministry does not include coming up with our own message. We are given the ministry and we are given the word of reconciliation. 3. We have a new passion. v. 20 We are "ambassadors". Note the passion here. The ambassador of Christ doesn't "suggest" reconciliation to God, nor does he or she "strongly recommend" reconciliation to God... this ambassador "pleads" for reconciliation to God. It's a passion and not just a position! When Faith Turns To Sight - Joshua 5:9-12 Consider doing a meditation on "Fulfillment" - "When the promises of God are fulfilled". After the long wilderness journey and subsistence on manna, Joshua and the people finally arrive in the promised land and begin to feed on the land -- that is, they begin to experience the fulfillment fo God's promises. Jesus said to his disciples in the Upper Room that he would not partake of the Passover until "It is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.." In a sense he is the new Joshua (Yeshua!) who is leading his people to the promised land. The key point here is that God sustains us until we reach our destination! This would make a great communion meditation. Use the hymn "Sweet Hour of Prayer" and point out what it means that we will one day give up the "hour of prayer" for immediacy with God. Call to Worship Leader: Come let us join our hearts in a chorus of praise, People: And lift up our voices with the saints of every age! Leader: Let this place be filled with a spirit of joy, People: For God is in this place with gifts of life and love! Prayer of Dedication As we bring these gifts to You, O God of light, we ask that Your Spirit open us up fully to all we can be through the love of Christ. Shine Your light within our hearts that we might see more clearly how You can change the world through the gifts we bring. Amen.
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