1 John 4:16b-21
The last two weeks we have read from the book I Corinthians the12th chapter. The scripture was addressed to a congregation who was at odds with each other as many sought power and prestige over their fellow members. The Apostle Paul tried to show them that there is no one any more important than another in their church. That each gift, each vocation a person has received is a gift from God’s Holy Spirit, and that it is only when all these gifts are utilized together that the church is the fully functioning body of Jesus Christ. Then, after this long explanation, Paul tells them there is a better way to be in community. It is love. He then describes what a relationship, what a church centered upon love looks like. The scripture we are about to hear from I John shows us even more deeply why this life of love is the better way. It is because love is the very character of God. And if we are to be totally alive in our relationship to God, to each other and maybe most importantly, in the experiencing of our own humanity, we are to live this better way.

Read 1 John 4:16b-21

Luke 4:21-30
Today, we continue the Lukan story of Jesus’ first recorded public preaching. The words are spoken to the people from his home town of Nazareth. As we saw last week, it started out fine as Jesus shared what his mission and purpose is. But today, we will see that all of a sudden a dramatic shift takes place as Jesus begins to get specific about what this ministry will mean and look like for those who hear it.

Read Luke 4:21-30

Sermon:
When you think of Jesus, what image or images come to your mind?  It seems like an important question to me, as in Jesus we claim to see a personification of God in our midst. Scripture tells us that we shall call him Emanuel, which means “God with us.” Even more importantly, we are told that we should be like him. So when you think of Jesus, what image comes to mind? Is it this picture of Jesus in the pasture holding this little lamb. It is a great picture and a wonderful image of who Jesus is, as it suggests to us a sense of being safe and secure in Jesus’ arms. There is a real sense of serenity and peace in this picture. And what a gift it is when we can be this same presence of peace and security to others. If we are anxious and worried about a coming diagnosis, or a life change, is it not wonderful to have someone who can be a strength and encouragement to you?

Or is this picture an image you have. I really like this one as it shows the shepherd risking his life to save the sheep who has fallen over the cliff and who surely cannot rescue itself. We see the strength and dedication in this shepherd who will do all he can to save us from our deepest needs and problems. And again, what a wonderful image for who we are called to be as the church. People dedicated and committed to the wellbeing and safety of others, especially in their deepest times of need and trouble. What a gift?

But how about the image we received today of Jesus and his impact upon our lives. In the story from Luke we see Jesus comes to his oldest friends and acquaintances and angers them so deeply they want to kill him. Can’t you see the headlines now? “Local boy made good, but really irks his hometown.” What is this all about? How many of you, when you think about someone who has been the Christ for you in your life would think about someone who made you so mad you wanted to kill him or her?

Now I have a time early on in my ministry I want to believe this is what happened. I was still in seminary, and as I have shared before it was one of the most exciting times of my life. Every day I learned something that helped me grow, and when I did I just couldn’t wait to share it with my congregations. Usually, they really appreciated this, knowing they were hearing some of the latest theological and biblical thoughts. The word usually is important here. We were studying Liberation Theology and we had just finished the section on Feminist Theology right before Mother’s Day. It was exciting to hear about how there was this under-girding of scriptural thought that showed that there are indeed no slaves or free, Jews or Greeks, males nor females, but all are one in Christ Jesus our Lord, as Paul tells us in Galatians. So, in my exuberance I wrote a sermon entitled, “The Equality Of The Personhood Of Women.” I couldn’t wait to rescue the women of my church from all the old perceptions they had lived with these many years. Basically I gave the congregation the whole load as to why women were co-equals with men and because of that they needed to pursue their hopes and dreams in careers, etc. etc. etc. I was preachin!

Unbeknownst to me, there were three women in my congregation that had just finished a fairly conservative Bible Study on the family. They had learned almost the exact opposite of everything I shared in my sermon. After the service, I went to the back to greet people, as Nancy and I do here, and that’s when I discovered I had stepped on some toes. Actually, I had opened the proverbial hornet’s nest. Instead of sharing my excitement, these three women were really mad to say it mildly. Two of them were sitting on the aisle and so they had a direct line to the back of the church. When that last stanza of the hymn was sung, they ran back to confront me. They started hollering at me and were just totally upset by what I had said. The rest of the congregation, instead of trying to get by these women to shake my hand and say hello, just kind of grinned at me and waved as they walked by. Well, the third lady from the study was stuck in the middle of the pew by the rest of her family but out of the corner of my eye, I could see she was anxious to get back to talk to me as well. In fact, I was sure she was going to climb over the pew any second. Finally, she broke free and made it back. Now you have to know this woman was about four foot ten inches tall. She was madder than the other two. In fact, she would jump up and then slap me on the shoulder. “How can you say such things? Who ever told you this was true.” On and on they went.

Let me jump ahead about three years. When I announced that I was being sent to another church, these three women were some of the saddest to see me leave. We had become very good friends. One of the women, whose children were now in high school, was feeling a need to be able to do more, so she went back to college. Another woman ultimately went through a divorce, and had to learn to fend for herself, and discovered what a capable person she really was. And the last woman’s husband died, and she also learned that she could face her life as a capable person.

I know that the main reason what I said was met with such strong emotion is, I used many shoulds and oughts in my sermon. I did not leave any room for anyone to seek their own directions for themselves, for I had pretty well laid out the course for everyone. I had the truth that was going to set everyone free. I showed little grace when it came to the reality that we all have different goals, and vocations in our lives, and different roles to live. Just a quick aside. I told this story at another church, and again as I was greeting people at the door, a woman came through still laughing. Her comment to me was, “I have disagreed with pastors and what they have said many times, but I did not know smacking them was an option.” Then she gave me a big hug. I just want you to know smacking your pastor is not an option, even if you disagree strongly. Even if they make you so mad you wan to kill him or her.

It is interesting to me that there is indeed a deep resistance to change in man people’s lives. In fact my first big word I learned in seminary was homeostasis, which means a resistance to change. What floored me was to learn that even women who are in abusive relationships will resist change, for what they know feels safer than the unknown. In our Christian walk, change is a given. We are told that the beginning of the gospel in the Book of Mark is to repent, to have a change of heart, mind and direction. So, someone who challenges you to change, who may call into question some of your present beliefs and behaviors, even when it is mean to help you grow, can illicit some anger. And you may be mad enough that even though you do not want to kill them, you may feel like slapping them a couple of times.

But, even this is not what angered Jesus’ hometown people. What makes the people mad in the story is Jesus uses their holy writings to show them that God’s love is bigger and more encompassing than their own. When Jesus told the stories of Elijah and Elisha, he shows them that God loved people they hated. Its not that God did not love them, it is the fact that God loved people they felt did not deserve to be loved. God loves people they exclude, whom they consider enemies and outcasts. Take a moment and think of the groups we could list today that if we said God loved them, it would spark an uproar in the lives of many. What if I said God loves Democrats, or God loves Republicans. Some of you are churning inside. What if I said, God loves Iraqis, Iranians, Gays, Syrians, and Hispanics. Now I am really hitting the bottom line. And, I just want to remind you that smacking the pastor is not an option. The reason I believe this thought brings such a visceral reaction is that once you stand up for a group, you are seen as one of them. Or you have at least separated yourself from those who used to identify with you. Biblical scholar Marcus Borg claims that what got Jesus crucified was his table fellowship, those who he would eat a meal with. In Jesus’ day when you sat at table with someone, you were saying they were acceptable to you. In Jesus’ case when he ate with someone, he not only said they were acceptable to him, but also acceptable to God. It flew in the face of what the Jewish leaders were saying about God.

But, I believe there is even a deeper issue in this story. That people’s hatred affects their very being, their very humanity. So much so, that as we see in the story the people are ready to kill the Son of God, the personification of God in our midst, the epitome of love. I John tells us that God is love. The people are mad because Jesus broadens the boundaries of God’s love, consequently challenging them to broaden their own. Love is a divine quality. Love is the core value of our character. Jesus tells us in the Gospel of John that we are to love as he has loved us. Hatred, the scripture shows us, prevents us from experiencing the presence of God in our midst, and consequently prevents us from being the Christ to others.

Lewis Smedes, in his book, Forgive and Forget, says that hatred is like a snarling tiger within us, shredding our souls. Preventing us from being who God not only calls us to be, but preventing us from experiencing who God created us to be. Our nature, our being as people and as the church, is to fully love as God has loved us. The hard part is, learning that when we are the Christ to the world, when we love as God loves, we can sure make a lot of people angry. People who do not want to include others in love in their lives.

So who is the Christ and what does it mean to the living of our lives? Surely it means helping others experience the security and serenity of life. It means being a community dedicated to being present, fully present and risking ourselves to give our strength and encouragement to each other. I hope it means challenging each other to grow, to change in our faith walk, for it is only then that we find a deeper relationship with our God and touch more deeply our own humanity. And it means we are to love. It is the better way that Paul talks about in I Corinthians 13. In fact love is not just the better way, it is the only way to live if we want to be the Christ for those we meet, and build God’s kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.

Sermon delived by Rev. George Cushman on January 28, 2007.