Competitive Religion

Sermon: John 14:1-14 – Competitive Religion

May 18^th, 2014

Pr. Paul Cannon

Grace and Peace Bethany Lutheran Church!

Is anybody else the type of person that get’s really competitive over unimportant things? I’m kind of that way.  I have this tendency to get a little upset when I lose.  Kirstin and I nearly broke up three or four times after cribbage games (partially because I’m a bad loser AND a bad winner).

I’m not sure where I got it from. I certainly didn’t get it from my parents.  My mom in particular has a very distinct anti-competitive attitude.   Before my high school basketball games, she used to say things like “Good luck Paul!  I hope you tie, because I would feel so bad for the other team if they lost.”  

It could be that having a twin brother drove my competitive spirit. The only time we used to fight, was when we were competing.  It didn’t matter if it was foosball in the basement or basketball in the driveway.  All games were fiercely contested.

Or maybe it’s just that we live in a competitive world.  We’ve even found a way to turn eating into a competition! Have you seen those hotdog eating competitions? It kind of ruins hotdogs for you.

Religion has become a competition as well. A lot of folks think of church as the cosmic version of the TV show, the Bachelor, where in the end God chooses his favorite church to be with. And if we know anything about the bachelor, it’s that those relationships last forever.

In truth though, competition can be a good thing. It’s fun to compete.  It can help push us to be better.   But I’m not sure that competition is what God is all about. I don’t think God’s plan was just for Lutherans to go to heaven!

I mean, I love Lutherans.  We’re great! I believe Martin Luther and Paul had it right when they said we saved by grace through faith! Lutherans follow this and strive to live up to it.  We give generously.  We live faithfully.  We care about justice and freedom and the poor.  And best of all, no other religion in the world does bake sales like we do bake sales (did I mention the youth are having a bake sale today?)!  Lutheranism does have something unique and special to offer the world. 

 

But does being Lutheran mean that God only loves Lutherans? Did God decide one day that only the 4 million or so ELCA members won the religious lottery?  Of course not!

But many Christian denominations say exactly that, and they use the verse we heard from our Gospel today as their proof. And here’s the verse I’m talking about: Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father, except through me.”  

It’s a verse that we have to wrestle with, because it’s one that we hear a lot of Christians use, and misuse.  And most often, it gets misused like this. People say, “See! My religion is the BEST religion.  Even Jesus said so.”  

That verse in particular gets twisted to mean that you can’t get to heaven if you don’t know Jesus. Christians win.  Everybody else loses.

But is that what Jesus is really getting at here?  Because if so, it seems a little harsh.  Is some guy who is born and dies on an island really out of luck because nobody ever told him about Jesus?  Is that the God that we know and love? 

That’s not to mention that Christians haven’t even been able to figure out exactly what it means to follow Jesus.  It seems like there’s always one group of Christians that’s constantly telling another group of Christians that they aren’t doing it right! 

We’ve been chasing our own tails for two thousand years, and I think it’s time to recognize that there are merits and demerits to all religions.  There’s good and bad to each one of us.  Or as Martin Luther put it, we are all 100% sinners, and 100% saints at the same time. 

What about Jesus words then?  Doesn’t he say, “No one comes to the father except through me.”  It sounds like an exclusive statement.  And in some ways, I think it is.  Jesus is making the unique claim that if you know him, that you will know God.  And if you love him, you will love God.

But here’s the catch.  I think it’s exclusive in a way that is unique to God, because every time in the Bible, when God makes an exclusive move like this…it’s ultimately for an inclusive end.  Let me say that again.  When God makes an exclusive move, it’s ultimately for an inclusive end.

That phrase is something my Old Testament professor Terry Fretheim used to say.  And he claimed that it’s a pattern found throughout the Bible – Old and New Testaments.  When God chose the Israelites to be “His People” he told them that they were called to be a “priestly nation.” 

They weren’t chosen because God loved them more, or because he decided one day that he only wanted this one specific group of people in heaven. They were chosen to bring God’s creative and redeeming Word into the world!  They were called to do a job – to be a blessing for the world.

And throughout the book of John, where we hear our Gospel today, this same pattern is repeated.  Before Jesus says “No one comes to the Father …” He says this, “In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places.” 

Pastor Carrie’s Wednesday Words mentioned that this was actually a popular funeral verse.  And I think that’s the case because we all cling to the hope that there’s going to be space for us in God’s house.

In my Father’s house, there are many rooms. There’s room for everybody.  There’s a place for all.  God’s not going to run out of guest beds here.

And YES, Jesus makes an exclusive move. But this doesn’t mean that we’ve won a game of the Bachelor with God. Because when God makes an exclusive move, it’s for an inclusive end.  Or put another way, God doesn’t choose us to be a blessing for ourselves, God chooses us to be a blessing for others.

If to know God is to follow Jesus, then maybe we need to pay closer attention to what Jesus was actually all about, rather than trying to figure out who’s in and who’s out.

“I am the way, the truth and the life,” Jesus says.  If that’s the case, then what is Jesus way?  What is his truth?  What is his life?  Isn’t the way of Jesus to uplift the poor, heal the sick, forgive the sinful and the free the oppressed?    Isn’t his truth that God’s love is for the entire world?  Wasn’t his life one that he gave up for others?

Brothers and sisters in Christ, through faith and by the grace of God, it’s time for us to do likewise.  It’s time for us to stop competing with one another and start helping each other.  You are all called by God to be a blessing for the world. 

The church and Christianity, and our very selves, are at our best when we are living for the sake of our neighbors! When we follow the way, the truth and life of Jesus, is when we do the job God has called us to: to be a blessing for the world.  

Amen

Sermon for Sunday, May 11, 2014: 4th Sunday of Easter

Sermon for Sunday, May 11, 2014

4th Sunday after Easter, year A

John 10:1-10, Psalm 23

PREACHER: Pastor Carrie Smith

Alleluia, Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed, Alleluia!

In my family, the grandkids call my mother “Mormor.” Mormor is the Swedish word for grandma, or more specifically, “mother’s mother”—a little nod to my family’s Swedish heritage. Now, Mormor as a name for Grandma has a lot of advantages: it’s easy for little ones to say, for example, and fairly easy to remember. But a few years ago I learned that my kids didn’t get the Swedish connection at all. In fact, they told me they had always assumed her name was “Mormor” because, when they went to her house, they got “more”. More hugs. More junk food. More time to watch television. More minutes until bedtime. At Mormor’s house, there was “more” of everything! 

I had to laugh when I heard this, but it makes sense, doesn’t it? Grandma’s house—or mom and dad’s, or wherever you call “home base”—is where we usually experience an abundance of the things we value most: food, comfort, familiarity, and of course, love.

In this morning’s Gospel reading, we hear the words of Jesus, who tells us he is the one who provides for us abundantly. In this famous passage of Scripture, Jesus is shown to be a good shepherd, calling out to his sheep, who recognize his voice immediately. Jesus acknowledges there are thieves who will sneak in and try to steal, kill, or destroy the sheep. But Jesus, the good shepherd, came that we would have life, life, and more life.

Jesus came that we would have life, and have it abundantly. This is a powerful and enticing promise. But what does that abundant life look like? I’ve been thinking a lot about this recently, as I’ve been going through the exhausting process of selling, giving away, or cleaning out almost everything in our home. My family’s move overseas will happen with about 8-10 suitcases and a crate the size of a small closet. Paring down to this small amount of possessions means coming to terms with the reality of how much stuff we have collected over the years. It turns out, we have an abundance of nearly everything.


Of course, there are the books. You know you have a problem when you have bookshelves in the bathrooms! Having earned seven college degrees between the two of us, Robert and I knew getting rid of the books would be a huge project.

But there are also the old magazines. And craft supplies. Cake pans, in every shape and size. Shoes that fit and shoes that don’t. Towels with holes in them. Bins of decorative items for every season. Empty boxes—and full, opened ones—from our last move. Legos. Garden tools. And three Christmas tree stands, the extras purchased in years when I couldn’t find where I had stashed the original.

In short: We have SO. MUCH. STUFF. It’s been humbling, in fact, to confront the abundance in our home. Preparing to move across the ocean has made clear to me just how much comfort, convenience, and privilege I enjoy. But is this what Jesus means by saying he comes that we may have life, and have it abundantly? Does having more stuff equal having more life?

It’s easy to answer this question, of course. We all know, on some level, that our stuff is not what gives our life meaning. We all know, in our hearts, that if our home was destroyed, if thieves broke in and stole, or if we, like so many others in the world, became refugees and had to leave it all behind, that we would pick right up and go on living. As Martin Luther’s hymn, “A Mighty Fortress”, puts it: “Were they to take our house, goods, honor, child, or spouse, though life be wrenched away, they cannot win the day. The kingdom’s ours forever!” Amen!

So abundant life with Jesus cannot be about having an abundance of “stuff.”

But we do often hear people offer this phrase: “As long as you have your health, that’s what counts.”

And it’s true—good health is something to be treasured.

But what about when you get the news you didn’t want to hear? The cancer’s come back, for example. Or you hear the words “Stage 4”, “Alzheimer’s” or “Negative prenatal diagnosis.” A health crisis is when many people suddenly realize the value of each day, and find themselves wondering if Jesus’ promise of abundant life still holds true. If abundant life cannot be counted in pounds of stuff, can it be counted in the number of days given?

Hear again the words of Jesus, who said: “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” This clear statement comes at the end of a passage of Scripture which provides, at best, a confusing image. Is Jesus the gate, or the gatekeeper? Is he the shepherd, or does he hold the gate open for the shepherd? And wait—can he be the gate and also go through the gate?!

I think the best answer to these questions is: YES. Think of it the way you might answer this question: Is a mother a chef, a chauffeur, a counselor, or a nurse? The answer, of course, is YES. All of the above, as needed.

In this case, in John chapter 10, we do best not to try and make the analogy work perfectly. It’s enough to say this: Jesus cares for us as a shepherd provides for his sheep, and as a fence protects the sheep from enemies, and as a gate which lets the sheep enter into pasture. And he proclaims, several times: “I am the gate! I am the gate! There are other gates to choose, but I am the gate that leads to pasture. I’m the gate that leads to security and safety. I’m the gate that leads to abundant life.”

 

Jesus, our good shepherd, came that we may have life, and have it abundantly. We know for certain that the way to life is never through possessions. But we also know, in light of the resurrection, that life also cannot be counted as merely the number of days we have been allotted. For we know that Christ has been raised, and just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too will walk in newness of life.

Therefore, thieves may be climbing the fence, looking to steal, and kill and destroy, but we have nothing to fear. Debt bangs at the gate. Cancer sneaks in under the fence. Racism, sexism, and homophobia sneak in with a friend. Anxiety and depression just show up, and we have no idea how they got in.

The thieves and bandits are always there, looking for a way to take life away. But we have abundant life because we live under the constant care and protection of Jesus, our good shepherd. No matter what we own, no matter what we face, and no matter how many days we have left, we have overflowing life when we look to Jesus for our comfort, care, provision, and guidance.

“I am the gate!” says Jesus. “I am the gate!” Oh, but we like our options, don’t we? We’re accustomed to cafeteria style everything. We like buffet lunches, especially on Mother’s Day! We want to have choices. So we’ve tried other gates. We, like sheep, have gone astray.

In our search for more security, more comfort, and more life, we’ve looked to a savings account, a pension, a house, or the promise of tenure. We’ve counted on good health, popularity, and family traditions. We’ve even gone through the gates of power and privilege, seeking the greener pastures promised on the other side.

And, often, we do find a measure of happiness there. There is much joy that comes with health, and a beautiful family, a comfortable home, or a successful business. These gates can certainly lead us to the good life. But Jesus didn’t come to bring us to the good life! The good life is an easy target for thieves and bandits. Jesus came that we would enjoy abundant life.

Jesus came, so we would never lack the credentials to enter into God’s kingdom: “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.”

Jesus came that we would be at peace with God, with our neighbors, and with ourselves: “He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters, he restores my soul.”

Jesus came to show us how to live in a way that pleases God and honors our neighbor: “He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake.”

Jesus came that we could face anything (chemo treatments, divorce, unemployment, graduation, or a big move overseas) without fear: “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff— they comfort me.”

Jesus came that we would have courage even to feast in the presence of our enemies, not giving them the power to control our lives: “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.”

And Jesus came, that we would live lives of joy, trusting him with our ultimate protection and care: “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD my whole life long.”

Jesus, our good shepherd, came that we would have all these things and more. Jesus, crucified and risen, has brought us abundant life! In light of that gift, and in the hope of the resurrection to eternal life, go now and live lives that bear witness to the abundance you have received. Go now, under the loving protection of Jesus, whose arms outstretched on the cross provide all the security you ever need.

Alleluia, Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed, Alleluia!