Hebrews 11:8-16, Matthew 5:43-48
Independence
Day is all about, well, independence!
It’s a word that
we Americans cherish, revere and defend at all costs
The
Revolutionary war was fought to gain our independence from England
And we had to
fight for it again in 1812 when the British tried to reassert their authority.
At times we’ve
had to go abroad to defend that liberty;
such as in WWI and WWII
And at other
times we have helped others to attain or retain that freedom when it was
threatened as it was in Korea, Vietnam
and Kuwait
And yet, at
every occasion for war, in the name of independence and freedom, there were
many who did not want independence at that cost; if war was the cost, some lack
of freedom was acceptable.
Today
we find ourselves in an era in which it would seem that our freedom is
threatened by an unseen enemy.
An
enemy which is so stealthy
it
fits in seamlessly into our communities and organizations,
An
enemy that lives on our street and eats dinner with our families and plays with
our children
An
enemy that fits quite well into our every day lives and with whom we even may
be close friends with.
And
this enemy waits until just the right moment to strike
And
when he does, it takes us totally by surprise
And
strikes terror in our hearts and lives
And
strikes so hard that we all cry out that something be done about it
and
we clamp down and take away liberties we were formerly used to having;
we
restrict what we do and how in order to somehow thwart the efforts and
movements of the enemy
And
we are willing to give up almost anything in order that we don’t have to face
that enemy ever again
And
this enemy that I speak of is…sin.
Yours, mine, and everyone else’s.
When
our founding fathers first spoke of independence, they were tired of having to
bow down to King George and all that he represented;
for,
bowing is a sign of submission—even to death.
Whether
it was taxation without representation,
Or
the way in which the nobility controlled the land
The
Colonists desired to be free of that which seemed to oppress them so harshly.
They
no longer wished to be submissive to something or someone which held them down
and kept them from realizing their fullest potential.
And
that’s the issue I think we have with sin today; but sin is much more deceitful
than King George ever was.
Sin
masquerades itself as something freeing—as the ability to cast off the shackles
of rule and right and wrong.
Sin
lies to tell you that if you follow its ways that you are showing the Big-Guy
who’s boss!
Because
sin would have you believe that God is the oppressive power
that
would hold you back
and
make you bow down before him
all
so that your vulnerable neck might be exposed,
ready
to receive a good whack, just when you mess up and anger God with your actions,
words, or thoughts.
Sin
tells me that humility and humbleness are weaknesses
That
I need to look out for number one
And
that no-one else knows what’s good for me better than me!
And
that If I want to get ahead in this life I need to make a name for myself
And
you know what? Sin is right!
If
you want to be known or get ahead in this world, you must do exactly what sin
tells you to do
Post
pictures of you on the internet which show a little skin!
Go
home with someone on the first date!
Cheat
on your income taxes!
Work
60, 70, 80 hours a week so that you can have more money!
Spend
every dime you make now and don’t worry about saving anything!
Skip
church to watch your favorite team, or child, or wild game run around the field
That’s
right! All these things will give you the
reward you were looking for;
Your
picture will be shared with lots of other people—and you might even be
recognized by it.
You
will gain a reputation--as someone who likes to “have a good time” and nothing
more.
You
will be on the news when your business is audited and you go to federal prison
for tax evasion
You’ll
be popular with your wife and kids as you leave lots of money on the kitchen
counter before you go work
Because
they need to have something to do while you are ignoring them
And,
let me tell you from experience, its going to cost you dearly!
With
no worries about retirement and old age that boat or new car or house will be enjoyed
a whole lot more than a certain nursing home you couldn’t afford later on.
And
having fun away from Church on Sunday; why that’s WAY more fun that sitting there
watching me sweat up here in these robes.
When
you do what sin tells you to do, you are told that you will be free from the
claustrophobic clutches of God’s Law,
but
you will not have independence;
you
will be locked into an even greater slavery.
And
when you find yourself or your children estranged from your church, and your
God, you’ll wonder, “what happened?”
When
I get into conundrums like this I find I need to look to God’s word to get me
straightened out again. So, let’s do
that today with our Gospel and our first lesson from Hebrews.
In
the Gospel, Jesus gives us his famous quote, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”
In
other words, “why get upset and hateful with people who are sinning against
you?
Do
not let their sin lead you to sin
and
don’t let their sin gain more notoriety;
for that is the reward of sin—notoriety today
at the cost of future glory.
Moreover, pray for them that they would be
forgiven and relieved of their sin.
That
way, you might no longer be enemies but friends,
for,
if someone has not sinned against you, why, then, would they be your enemy?”
And
if you cannot forgive your enemies, are you not sinning against them?
That’s
why at the end of the Gospel, Jesus says, “You
therefore must be perfect, as you heavenly Father is perfect.”
And
how is our heavenly father perfect? In
his perfect love for us.
In
John 15:13 Jesus says, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down
one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command.”
In
other words, Jesus is calling us to show his perfect love to the world so that
those who are our enemies will become our friends and, in turn, friends with
Jesus.
Only
by doing this can we have hope of being completely free and independent in this
life
For
if we have an enemy that we hate, they hold a piece of our heart which is
focused on sin
But
if we have an enemy that we show love toward and for whom we are praying,
our
hearts are turned toward God
as
we ask him to bring peace, love and faith to their hearts
as
he delivers forgiveness and mercy to their lives.
The
great thing about our God is that he never gives a command or instruction
without telling us how it will be accomplished—he doesn’t say, “just figure it
out.” He tells us how and why.
The
Bible is filled with stories about people commanded by God to carry out his
will for a specific purpose and we hear one such account reiterated by the writer
to the Hebrews today.
Abraham
and Sarah were told to go to a land that God was giving them as an inheritance
I’m
sure lots of people made fun of them and, perhaps, some of their family
members, employees and associates tried to dissuade them from going.
They
were probably told that God was punishing them for making them take this long
and dangerous trip
But
Abraham went…by faith
By
faith, he went and lived in that land of promise
By
faith, Sarah was able to conceive and have a son in her 90’s
Because
Abraham had faith that God was faithful to his word
And
would, in deed, bring forth a great nation out of his obedience.
And
so by faith, they all died
Not
in despair or doubt, wondering if it was all for naught,
But
resting in the sure and certain hope, that what had been begun by God through
their faith-filled actions, would be fulfilled in later days
They
died in freedom
knowing
that independence from the confines and conformities of this earth
outlast
any temporary, earthly, freedom gained by casting God out of their life.
And
God gives us the same kinds of commands.
Freed
from the bonds of this life and this present time, we take the long view of
things.
Knowing
that life and death are eternal we make decisions which reflect that reality.
Believing
that death is a curse which enslaves those who don’t know God’s grace we share
that grace will all--that some may come to know it.
And
just like Abraham and Sarah, we aren’t left to fumble around in the dark
We
are called to love one another as God showed perfect love to be
That
love by which Jesus died on the cross was not saved for a precious few,
But,
rather, all are precious in his sight, as he died for all people and all their
sin
therefore
our love knows no boundaries
It
is colorblind, gender-blind, age-blind and money-blind.
Our
love will reach out to all cultures and affinities
And
it will not stop until it is known in its fullest extent when someone comes to
faith, and by the power of the Holy Spirit knows that love of Christ in their
heart and is baptized.
And
we also know that that perfect love of Christ is must fully shown in this world
by his Word and in his sacraments
As
we hear not only the commands of God through his Word,
but
his intents and purposes for we, his people,
and
through those words we also gain encouragement, examples, and comfort.
And
when we come to his font and his altar those words are given tangible signs
As
we see the water of life, combined with that Word, washing away sin
And
as we see that bread and wine, we bear witness to Christ’s body and blood given
up for us so that we would no longer be enslaved to our sin.
So
what does all this look like for you as you sit here today—here at Redeemer Lutheran Church?
Well,
it looks like Redeemer
Lutheran Early
Childhood Center
(a.k.a. “The Preschool”) which seeks to share the love of Jesus with as many
people as possible by the gift of Christian Education
“But
my kids are grown!” you might say. How
can I be part of that ministry?
Well,
you might not be aware of this, but our word-of-mouth network, which has
ensured a full preschool year after year
has, for some reason, run out of tentacles
And,
starting last year, we have had sharply declining numbers of students enrolled
in our program.
There
are plenty of preschoolers, whom we can reach with this ministry, but we don’t
know who they are—but you might!
So,
if you have neighbors with 2, 3, and 4 year olds, take them a preschool
brochure and extend to them the love of Jesus this summer
This
perfect love also looks like a Vacation
Bible School
at which 140 children heard the Good News of Jesus, ¾ of which were not children
of Redeemer.
While
some of these children are in another church, the reality is that most are
probably not
And
since they have already been here for VBS, some of them multiple times, they
are just begging for you and I to invite them to take our with Jesus pilgrimage
together.
They
are looking for you to form a friendship, a relationship with them and invite
them to be friends in Christ
But
we need people to make those calls, and send those postcards, and make those
visits
So
if you think God is asking you to do that, tell one of the VBS committee
members and they’ll get you started.
This
perfect love looks like the Hispanic family from KCK who will drive all the way
out to Redeemer this Saturday to baptize their children
simply
because we would extend the Grace of Jesus when no-one else would.
And
along with the two children being baptized their family will witness the love
extended to them by a congregation which wants them to know the love of Jesus.
And
this perfect love is demonstrated when you and I each declare our independence
from the sin which would tie us down and, instead, yoke ourselves to the Savior
who will only lift us up.
We
do that when we make the decision to put down that remote and read our bibles
during our quiet time at home.
We
demonstrate that love when we put Sunday worship and Bible Study ahead of our
pastimes and passions
We
demonstrate our independence from sin and death when we set aside our differences,
preferences and desires for the church,
And,
instead, seek God’s will through active prayer and live out his will by serving
his bride the church in her mission and ministry
And
lastly, that love of Christ dwelling richly within you is demonstrated by what
you would give—even as Christ gave all, including his life.
Abraham
knew all these things—even that last little bit about stewardship
I
mean, can you imagine if Abraham and Sarah set out on their mission to reach Canaan like the church sets out to complete the mission
we’ve been called to?
What
if Abraham said to Sarah, “Well, their wasn’t quite as much water for the
camels at the watering hole this Sunday so I guess we should just stay here and
wait for that watering hole to get bigger.
That’s what God would want us to do.”
What
if Sarah said to Abraham, “Oh, I don’t think we should go through Haran. That’s not such a good neighborhood you
know. Their not from Ur like we are.”
What
if Abraham said to Lot, “You know what,
nephew? I’m a rich man and I got this
way by pulling myself up by my bootstraps and you can too if you try really,
really, really, hard.”
If
those were all true, the result would have been much different, wouldn’t it?
Instead,
Abraham and Sarah had faith enough to bow before God and place their dependence
upon him, knowing that it would lead to their independence from sin and death.
Each
day they forged ahead toward Canaan,
knowing
that God would provide—
that
there would be other waterholes and other provisions along the way
They
went onward into Haran,
knowing
it would be a good place to rest up and re-supply before embarking on the
continuation of their journey to Canaan and
Trusting
upon the Lord to make these people generous hosts of their foreign guests
And,
knowing the great riches and blessings God had bestowed upon him, Abraham
divided up his property and gave the best pastures to Lot
Out
of love for Lot and love for the Lord who had
blessed him so,
And
knowing that no matter how much he gave away God would continue to provide for
his life and his family.
Will
you bow before God? Will you give up
your independence in order to be freed from the slavery of sin?
We’ve
all been faced with these same choices from time to time, haven’t we?
We’ve
looked at the Christian life from what seemed like a perspective of humiliation
and subjugation which would seem to be poor and scarce,
Rather
than the life of faith, which is one of humility and servant hood, lived for
the benefit of all so that all might be blessed.
As
we go forward from here, I pray that each of us continue to bow before our God
Not
out of fear, but in humble thanks for the perfect love he showed us
So
that we will be instruments of that perfect love
In
our homes, our neighborhoods, our community and our world.
In the name of Jesus. Amen.
