March 18 2018 "God Calling"

March 18 2018 (Fifth Sunday in Lent) John 12.20-33 “God Calling” Pastor Jacqueline Hines

+++

I  was given a Fishwrapper a few weeks ago and there are some humorous lines of plays on words that I want to share and bring a smile before I begin the more serious Lenten message this morning.

To write with a broken pencil is pointless. A boiled egg is hard to beat. The batteries that were given out were free of charge. A dentist and a manicurist got married. They fought tooth and nail. A bicycle can’t stand alone. It’s too tired. A thief who stole a calendar got twelve months. Smiles are good!

+++

In this season of Lent, we focus on the idea of making sacrifices for God’s sake. Most of us know about making sacrifices in life, whether great or small. We have made sacrifices for a stranger or a neighbor or a member of our family. Simply defined, “to sacrifice” is to give up something for something else that is considered more important. For the Christian, nothing is more important than whatever God has for us to do. [slide # 1 God’s will] God’s will brings the best results. [slide # 2 seek God’s will]

Verse 25 of our text declares that those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. “Hating one’s life in this instance means willing to give your life totally to God, not caring for our life on our own terms, but always letting God lead us in taking care of ourselves because God’s plan is bigger and better than we can ever imagine. Hating one’s life in this text has nothing to do with evil. Hating one’s life has everything to do with loving God’s good will more than loving ourselves and loving anything we dream of, anything we plan for, anything we cling to, and anything we own, including ourselves. [slide # 3  …life in God’s hands]

Jesus says something in verse 26 that I never noticed before after all these years of reading the gospel of John. He says in verse 26 whoever serves me must follow me, [slide # 4 whoever serves me…] and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor.

It never occurred to me that serving Jesus is a separate idea from following Jesus. In other words, if we make ourselves available to do good works, God is pleased! Most often it is our availability not so much our a- bility that puts us in a position where God can use us to be a blessing.

In the world today, some reject religion, the church, Christians, or God. Sometimes, religion, the church, Christians, and God seem to be rejected with more good excuses than good reasons. Nevertheless, there is so much work to be done to make this world a good place that even people who are not at all religious are inspired by the grace and mercy of God to serve as Jesus calls humanity to serve. Many serve Jesus. Not everyone intends to follow Jesus.

A few weeks ago, I spoke with an OJR high school student. She was preparing to join the following of students from around the country on Walk Out Wednesday, which was held this past week. [slide # 5 school banner…walk out] They decided they wanted their voice heard around the issue of gun violence, especially in schools. Their actions were controversial and brave. History tells us that student movements may be messy but they change lives for good, they change the world.

I was in a graduate level counseling class with a woman from China not long after the protest in the 1989 Tiananmen Square student protests in Beijing. [slide # 6 Tiananmen Square] The students called for democracy, greater accountability, freedom of the press, and freedom of speech. About million people followed the path to the square and gathered to protest. The government was threatened by the crowd and 10 thousand people were arrested, [slide # 7 Beijing crowd] some were executed.  Guns and tanks were deployed in order to stop the protests. Though the Chinese government maintained that no one was killed, other reports say thousands were killed. One man known as “Tank Man” [slide # 8 tank man] stood boldly in front of the tanks. His was a symbol of courage in a fight for justice; there is only speculation of what happened to him.

We remember the 1960’s student sit-ins at Woolworth lunch counters. [slide # 9 spraying mace over protesters] Though it was messy, their actions were controversial and brave, helping to eliminate segregation laws. They changed lives for good, they change the world. [slide# 10 integrated counter]

Every generation of students has some injustice to protest. They do not all profess to be Christians; they are at least standing up and standing out preparing to serve and sacrifice, to do something and not simply sit back and complain or do nothing.

In recent months we have also seen a surge, a wave, of men and women protesting sexual assault in the #me-too movement. [slide # 11 me-too] I like to think that those protesting are not only serving the Lord by speaking truth to greedy, corrupt, power mongers, but that they are also following the way that Jesus is leading, whether or not they are conscious of Jesus presence with them.

Just like life can be stressful, following Jesus can be stressful. A man told me last week that he was having a serious bout with insomnia. I assumed his insomnia was stress related. His solution was to take a double dose of one of those over-the-counter sleep aids, like Nyquil or something. Instead of responding to his alarm for a morning meeting, he woke up in that afternoon.

My doctor loves to give me the latest research on how stress effects the body. Stress is hard on the heart she tells me. Mindful meditation – that is filling our brain with positive thoughts has proven to be more effective in maintaining good heart health than surgery. Filling our brain with good, hope-filled and positive thoughts, leaves less room for fear, rage, discouragement, and negativity that stresses the body in every way.

The doctor gave me her favorite mindful meditations: breathe in “peace,” breathe out “love”. She asked me if I practiced mindful meditation and I said “yes”. I consider my morning meditation and prayers throughout the day as a way to be less stressed and more confident that God will guide me in the ways of peace and love. I want to serve, but I also want to follow Jesus, I do not want to spend an hour without him by my side, much less a day. Some days I know I should take the advice of Rev. John Wesley, founder of the Methodist Church who said when he has an extra busy day of serving the Lord, he added extra time in prayer!

Jesus said “Whoever serves me must follow me.” It is good to serve. We love to serve. We are good at serving. Often we serve Jesus without even knowing it! It’s all good, but serving Jesus and following Jesus are not the same. Many of us serve in many ways, but when we follow him, Jesus does at least three things for us. He changes us for the better, he challenges us for the better and he chooses us for the better.

Jesus changes us for the better. Following in the footsteps of Jesus leads us to be better, holier, healthier people, families, communities, and countries. Any changes we want to see that will make America great again, begin with following Jesus. We used to know what it was like to have peace in most schools. Now that more schools have become war zones, we are even more anxious to find peace.

War zones spread like a wild fire [ slide # 12 wildfire ] or a contagious flu both of which we have experienced as an epidemic this year. [slide # 13 flu] First responders [ slide # 14 first responders] and the World Health Organization follow a strict plan and path in order to save lives and make changes for the good to stop the spread of things that harm and begin the spread of things that heal. [slide # 15 flu shot line]

If we as Christians follow Jesus in the paths that make for peace, we will see a change in us and around us, we will see peace spread far and wide, too. We are serving and that is good. But, following Jesus, is even better. 

Jesus changes us and he also challenges us for the better when we follow. None of us here are ready to lift a 500 pound barbell, [slide #  16 red barbell]  but there are those who do. Jesus knows how much we can bear and challenges us, treating us softly and tenderly. There is an old hymn that says - Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling, Calling for you and for me; Oh, for the wonderful love He has promised, Promised for you and for me! Though we have sinned, He has mercy and pardon, Pardon for you and for me.Come home, come home, You who are weary, come home. [slide # 17 …you who are weary…]

We are challenged to listen and hear the voices of love that surround us. We are challenged to be obedient to the scriptures and respectful and responsive to our traditions, experience, and reasoning. We are challenged to get along with one another, to love and care for one another, to set healthy boundaries for one another and speak the truth in love to one another. We are challenged to make commitments and keep them to the end. Jesus challenges us for the better. When we follow him, we become stronger and more able to bear and share life’s burdens. [slide # 18 bearing one another’s …]

Jesus changes us for the better, he challenges us for the better, and finally he chooses us for the better. You are chosen by Jesus for good reasons. You are the best God has. You are the best choice to do the great work that the Holy Spirit has to do. [slide # 19 …Gods best]

Each one of us is created uniquely and designed with sheer awesomeness. [slide # 20 …creator not duplicator] You are gorgeous. You are special. Every breath you take, every move you make, every beat of your heart is majestic, even miraculous. You are not a mistake. God made you on purpose. You are a masterpiece. [slide # 21 ...masterpiece] You are extremely important. You are multi-talented. You are breathtakingly beautiful. You are an unforgettable rose in God’s beautiful garden. God smiles at the thought of you. [slide # 22 Maker…factory…] You were intentionally shaped with care in your mother’s womb. You are the apple of God’s eye. You are forever beloved by the maker of the universe. You are highly treasured and honored by the king of kings. You have been purposely made with God’s wonderful and plan in mind. [slide # 23 God made you on purpose]

God loves you just the way you are, past, present and future. You have an open invitation to always follow Jesus in an adventurous journey that leads to unspeakable love, joy and peace. And all this is true for each one of us that God has made. As we each follow Jesus, we discover him to be our rock and our shield in the time of trouble. It does not get better than that. We are chosen for the better.

In order to serve best, we must also follow. When we follow, we see the good in ourselves that God sees and we hear answers to prayers that will take us to places of peace and love.

I heard a man tell the story of one of his friends who lost his son. During the funeral one man waited in line for three hours to offer comfort. When he got two or three people away from approaching the father, he lost control of his emotions and could not speak a word, so he got to the end of the line and waited another hour. Soon he was again at the front of the line, and again he wept uncontrollably and could say a word.

Years later the father would recall that that man, though he never said a word, was his most treasured comforter. Could it be true that we hear God most when we are quiet? With Jesus by our side we serve; let us also quiet ourselves enough to know where he is leading us and follow. [slide # 24 Follow Jesus] Amen. [slide # 25 Dare to be a disciple]