This Is Certain
Sermon
The Lord Is Risen! He Is Risen Indeed! He Really Is!
Gospel Sermons For Lent/Easter
Jesus said, "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me" (John 14:1 NRSV).
Since everything that follows for the rest of the passage I just read from John is commentary on that, we need to hear that clearly, before we hear anything else.
This is the closest English can get to the Greek of John's Gospel: "Let not be troubled of you the heart; Believe in God, also in me believe."1
And here are the translations of others who have listened and interpreted these words for you and me:
"Let your hearts not be disturbed. Believe in God and believe in me" (Lattimore).
"Don't be worried! Have faith in God and have faith in me" (CEV).
"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God still, and trust in me" (Jerusalem Bible).
"Set your troubled hearts at rest. Trust in God always; trust also in me" (New English).
"You must not let yourselves be distressed -- you must hold on to your faith in God and to your faith in me" (Phillips).
" 'Do not be worried and upset,' Jesus told them. 'Believe in God and believe also in me' " (TEV).
"Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith, then, in me" (The Anchor Bible).
What follows in the text has Jesus saying to us, have faith, trust, in face of uncertainty about death, uncertainty about life, and uncertainty about whether anything is to be done about either one of them anyway. This isn't a three-point sermon, really. It's three sermons, with one point. As Jesus puts it a little later, "Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid" (John 14:27 NRSV).
In face of death, there is a future for you -- it's with me, said Jesus. In face of life, there's a way for you -- it's with me, said Jesus. In face of uncertainty about whether it's worth trying at all, you have my promise. "If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it," said Jesus (John 14:14 NRSV).
Die unafraid. Live unafraid. Ask unafraid. That's it!
I'm summarizing up front this morning, so if anybody fades out halfway through, you can still get it. That's it. What God wants for you and for me is for us to quit being fearful people and for us to start being faithful people -- a faithful person being not just one who believes a lot of doctrine about God, but rather one whose trust is in God in the uncertainties of life and death.
Believing, as we Presbyterians put it in our Brief Statement of Faith, "That in life and death we belong to God ... (and) with believers in every time and place, we rejoice that nothing in life or in death can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Nothing! But in spite of that affirmation, drawn from the apostle Paul, we've all got a list of things we think might separate us (or others) from God's love. Clarence Macartney catalogued some of our problems in a Memorial Day address a while back: "Widespread murder, rampant divorce, the decline of family religion, rising hemlines, blatant hedonism, and apostate preachers all ... (signal) a seriously diseased society."2
He's right -- pretty much. As right now as he was on Memorial Day, 1927! There's a lot about the way we live and the way we die that would lead one to wonder whether there is any hope for you and me, here or hereafter, which makes us uncertain about both. But when our wondering hearts become worrying hearts, Jesus says, "Don't worry. God is still God. I am still with you. Do not be afraid." He didn't say, "Don't be concerned." He didn't say, "Don't try to do anything about it." On the contrary, he said, "Do something about your concerns without fear. I am with you all the way!"
Three points about what that means.
1. In death, there is a place for you.
2. In life, there is a way for you.
3. In uncertainty, we'll find our way together.
In death, there is a place for you and me. If it will help you remember, attach this point to the popular song, "There's a place for us," from West Side Story. I don't remember where the place was in the song, but in death your place and my place is with Jesus Christ. Jesus said so. There is a place for us in the kingdom of God.
In the King James Version of the Bible, the place is called a "mansion." "In my Father's house are many mansions ..." said Jesus (John 14:2 KJV). As a child growing up, I tried to imagine what that would look like. I knew what a "mansion" looked like. Down South a "mansion" looked like Tara in the movie Gone With the Wind. My problem was how you got a bunch of Taras -- a bunch of antebellum mansions -- in a house. Newer translations solved that problem. "Mansions" became "dwelling places" or "rooms."
The United Bible Society handbook on John, used by biblical translators, says, "My Father's house is best taken as a phrase descriptive of heaven as a place having many rooms (that is, room enough for all)."3
I still like to think in terms of "mansions," but a mansion can be a fairly exclusive place. Jesus clearly intends that there is room in his "mansion" for us all.
When death is what scares you, be that the death of someone you love, the death of hopes and dreams, the death of some fondly-held belief, or the death that comes to everyone who lives, even you, find your security in me, says Jesus. In death there is a place for you with me.
But as "Dr. Death," Dr. Jack Kervorkian, all too uneasily reminds us, for some of us there is something worse than death. It's called life. Jesus said, "In life there is a way for you." There is a way to live that's worth living. Not just what Kervorkian offers -- or what drugs or alcohol offer -- a way out. But what Jesus offers -- a way through life and into life worth living forever. Not only is there a place for you at the end of life, there is a way for you in life.
And "I am the way, and the truth, and the life," said Jesus (John 14:6 NRSV). That could sound a bit arrogant, unless you understand that what is being offered is the truth about life and a way to live it. The truth is, life is worth living. It's worth living well. And Jesus' way is the way to do that.
Too often these words, coupled with Jesus' words, "No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6 NRSV), have been misused by some to say, "No one comes to the Father except us...." There is only a "place" for those who believe as we do, who walk the way we walk. Sometimes that's a misguided attempt to take Jesus at his word. Other times it's a blatant attempt to have the last word for ourselves. We know the way, and others better get with it, or God will get'em! That way is not the way of the God we know in Jesus Christ.
Jesus said, "Whoever has seen me has seen the Father" (John 14:9 NRSV). That's a clear warning not to misunderstand God's relationship to you and me as some kind of "good cop/bad cop" game, with Jesus as the "good cop," reassuring us God loves us, and God as the "bad cop" threatening us if we don't love him. It's one thing to say, "If you want to see God, look at Jesus." It's quite another to say, "Go to hell, if you don't see it."
And that is not the way of Jesus Christ. The way Jesus summed up elsewhere in response to those who asked him what was most important about the way we live. He didn't say it is most important to figure out for ourselves who's right and who's wrong, but simply to live together Jesus' way: "... love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength, (and) ... love your neighbor as yourself" (Mark 12:30-31 NRSV).
There is a lot we can do, but there is very little we should do before we do that: before we love God, love our neighbor and, in doing that discover we can love ourselves.
Someone once said that contrary to what would seem to be true, Christianity has not failed as a way to live. It's simply that so few have ever tried it. Whatever else the passage may connote, some kindness and love "along the way" are clearly what Jesus intends for us to try, even when things are at such a pass that we no longer want to try at all.
This is my third point (my third sermon!) In uncertainty we'll find our way together. If there is anything we, in the late twentieth century, are looking for, it is a sense that something is certain; and if there is anything we can assume, it is uncertainty.
That, in fact, sometimes seems like the only thing that is certain: uncertainty! But Jesus said be certain about this: "I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it" (John 14:13-14 NRSV).
Something else you can be certain about. He didn't mean a word of it; not if you take those words to mean that whatever you want, you'll get, if you ask. Jesus' words do not convey a right to whatever we want.
Charles Cousar writes, "... Jesus makes the pledge to the disciples (repeatedly) that their prayers will be answered. The text makes clear, however, that this pledge is not a willy-nilly commitment to give to overly indulgent children whatever their hearts fancy. Prayers are to be made 'in [Jesus] name', that is, they are to be made out of the disciples' relationship established with and by Jesus. The answering of the requests does not serve those who pray, but is to the end 'that the Father may be glorified in the Son.' These are prayers offered in behalf of the community and the community's mission. They undergird the 'greater works' that the church is to perform."4
Right prayer, says Jesus, is for God's glory, not just our aggrandizement. And right prayer is prayed not only with our words, but with our lives.
This week I picked up a story on a computer chat line called "Eculaugh." It's a place where we Christians, who too often fight about things, are encouraged to laugh about things. For those of you into the Internet, the "subject" line reads, "Only Good Clean Religious Humor (all 4) All Else Removed."
This story goes, "There was this guy and he really needed some money, so he got on his knees and he prayed the Lord would bless him by winning the lottery. After the prayer, he gets up and goes about his business. The next day he's on his knees praying again saying, 'Lord, you know I really need this money and to win the lottery would be such a great blessing. Think of all the people I could help with the money. I thought for sure I'd win it yesterday, but I didn't. Please Lord, I'm begging you.' And off he went.
"The next day, he's back on his knees crying out to God, 'Please Lord, I need this money! Is something the matter, God? Why don't you answer my prayer?' Suddenly a voice from Heaven calls out to him, 'Hey! Meet me halfway, would you! Buy a ticket!' "5
The moral of the story is not run down to the gas station right after church and God will make you a millionaire by morning. The moral is that what we pray for we need to be willing to work for, and the only answer we need to hear is "Well done! You have done what God wants you to do." Does that get me everything I want? No. But can I be certain of everything I need? You betcha!
In the uncertainties of life and death, this is certain: "In life and in death we belong to God ... (and) nothing in life or in death can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord," who calls us together to face life, death, and uncertainty together with him.
____________
1. The Zondervan Parallel New Testament in Greek and English (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Bible Publishers, 1980).
2. Bradley J. Longfield, The Presbyterian Controversy: Fundamentalists, Modernists and Moderates (Oxford University Press, November 1,1993), p. 118.
3. Barclay M. Newman and Eugene A. Nida, A Handbook on The Gospel of John, UBS Handbook Series (New York: United Bible Societies, 1980), p. 455.
4. C. Cousar, et al., Texts for Preaching, A Lectionary Commentary Based on the NRSV -- Year A (Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1995).
5. Eculaugh Note 2670.
Since everything that follows for the rest of the passage I just read from John is commentary on that, we need to hear that clearly, before we hear anything else.
This is the closest English can get to the Greek of John's Gospel: "Let not be troubled of you the heart; Believe in God, also in me believe."1
And here are the translations of others who have listened and interpreted these words for you and me:
"Let your hearts not be disturbed. Believe in God and believe in me" (Lattimore).
"Don't be worried! Have faith in God and have faith in me" (CEV).
"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God still, and trust in me" (Jerusalem Bible).
"Set your troubled hearts at rest. Trust in God always; trust also in me" (New English).
"You must not let yourselves be distressed -- you must hold on to your faith in God and to your faith in me" (Phillips).
" 'Do not be worried and upset,' Jesus told them. 'Believe in God and believe also in me' " (TEV).
"Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith, then, in me" (The Anchor Bible).
What follows in the text has Jesus saying to us, have faith, trust, in face of uncertainty about death, uncertainty about life, and uncertainty about whether anything is to be done about either one of them anyway. This isn't a three-point sermon, really. It's three sermons, with one point. As Jesus puts it a little later, "Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid" (John 14:27 NRSV).
In face of death, there is a future for you -- it's with me, said Jesus. In face of life, there's a way for you -- it's with me, said Jesus. In face of uncertainty about whether it's worth trying at all, you have my promise. "If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it," said Jesus (John 14:14 NRSV).
Die unafraid. Live unafraid. Ask unafraid. That's it!
I'm summarizing up front this morning, so if anybody fades out halfway through, you can still get it. That's it. What God wants for you and for me is for us to quit being fearful people and for us to start being faithful people -- a faithful person being not just one who believes a lot of doctrine about God, but rather one whose trust is in God in the uncertainties of life and death.
Believing, as we Presbyterians put it in our Brief Statement of Faith, "That in life and death we belong to God ... (and) with believers in every time and place, we rejoice that nothing in life or in death can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Nothing! But in spite of that affirmation, drawn from the apostle Paul, we've all got a list of things we think might separate us (or others) from God's love. Clarence Macartney catalogued some of our problems in a Memorial Day address a while back: "Widespread murder, rampant divorce, the decline of family religion, rising hemlines, blatant hedonism, and apostate preachers all ... (signal) a seriously diseased society."2
He's right -- pretty much. As right now as he was on Memorial Day, 1927! There's a lot about the way we live and the way we die that would lead one to wonder whether there is any hope for you and me, here or hereafter, which makes us uncertain about both. But when our wondering hearts become worrying hearts, Jesus says, "Don't worry. God is still God. I am still with you. Do not be afraid." He didn't say, "Don't be concerned." He didn't say, "Don't try to do anything about it." On the contrary, he said, "Do something about your concerns without fear. I am with you all the way!"
Three points about what that means.
1. In death, there is a place for you.
2. In life, there is a way for you.
3. In uncertainty, we'll find our way together.
In death, there is a place for you and me. If it will help you remember, attach this point to the popular song, "There's a place for us," from West Side Story. I don't remember where the place was in the song, but in death your place and my place is with Jesus Christ. Jesus said so. There is a place for us in the kingdom of God.
In the King James Version of the Bible, the place is called a "mansion." "In my Father's house are many mansions ..." said Jesus (John 14:2 KJV). As a child growing up, I tried to imagine what that would look like. I knew what a "mansion" looked like. Down South a "mansion" looked like Tara in the movie Gone With the Wind. My problem was how you got a bunch of Taras -- a bunch of antebellum mansions -- in a house. Newer translations solved that problem. "Mansions" became "dwelling places" or "rooms."
The United Bible Society handbook on John, used by biblical translators, says, "My Father's house is best taken as a phrase descriptive of heaven as a place having many rooms (that is, room enough for all)."3
I still like to think in terms of "mansions," but a mansion can be a fairly exclusive place. Jesus clearly intends that there is room in his "mansion" for us all.
When death is what scares you, be that the death of someone you love, the death of hopes and dreams, the death of some fondly-held belief, or the death that comes to everyone who lives, even you, find your security in me, says Jesus. In death there is a place for you with me.
But as "Dr. Death," Dr. Jack Kervorkian, all too uneasily reminds us, for some of us there is something worse than death. It's called life. Jesus said, "In life there is a way for you." There is a way to live that's worth living. Not just what Kervorkian offers -- or what drugs or alcohol offer -- a way out. But what Jesus offers -- a way through life and into life worth living forever. Not only is there a place for you at the end of life, there is a way for you in life.
And "I am the way, and the truth, and the life," said Jesus (John 14:6 NRSV). That could sound a bit arrogant, unless you understand that what is being offered is the truth about life and a way to live it. The truth is, life is worth living. It's worth living well. And Jesus' way is the way to do that.
Too often these words, coupled with Jesus' words, "No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6 NRSV), have been misused by some to say, "No one comes to the Father except us...." There is only a "place" for those who believe as we do, who walk the way we walk. Sometimes that's a misguided attempt to take Jesus at his word. Other times it's a blatant attempt to have the last word for ourselves. We know the way, and others better get with it, or God will get'em! That way is not the way of the God we know in Jesus Christ.
Jesus said, "Whoever has seen me has seen the Father" (John 14:9 NRSV). That's a clear warning not to misunderstand God's relationship to you and me as some kind of "good cop/bad cop" game, with Jesus as the "good cop," reassuring us God loves us, and God as the "bad cop" threatening us if we don't love him. It's one thing to say, "If you want to see God, look at Jesus." It's quite another to say, "Go to hell, if you don't see it."
And that is not the way of Jesus Christ. The way Jesus summed up elsewhere in response to those who asked him what was most important about the way we live. He didn't say it is most important to figure out for ourselves who's right and who's wrong, but simply to live together Jesus' way: "... love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength, (and) ... love your neighbor as yourself" (Mark 12:30-31 NRSV).
There is a lot we can do, but there is very little we should do before we do that: before we love God, love our neighbor and, in doing that discover we can love ourselves.
Someone once said that contrary to what would seem to be true, Christianity has not failed as a way to live. It's simply that so few have ever tried it. Whatever else the passage may connote, some kindness and love "along the way" are clearly what Jesus intends for us to try, even when things are at such a pass that we no longer want to try at all.
This is my third point (my third sermon!) In uncertainty we'll find our way together. If there is anything we, in the late twentieth century, are looking for, it is a sense that something is certain; and if there is anything we can assume, it is uncertainty.
That, in fact, sometimes seems like the only thing that is certain: uncertainty! But Jesus said be certain about this: "I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it" (John 14:13-14 NRSV).
Something else you can be certain about. He didn't mean a word of it; not if you take those words to mean that whatever you want, you'll get, if you ask. Jesus' words do not convey a right to whatever we want.
Charles Cousar writes, "... Jesus makes the pledge to the disciples (repeatedly) that their prayers will be answered. The text makes clear, however, that this pledge is not a willy-nilly commitment to give to overly indulgent children whatever their hearts fancy. Prayers are to be made 'in [Jesus] name', that is, they are to be made out of the disciples' relationship established with and by Jesus. The answering of the requests does not serve those who pray, but is to the end 'that the Father may be glorified in the Son.' These are prayers offered in behalf of the community and the community's mission. They undergird the 'greater works' that the church is to perform."4
Right prayer, says Jesus, is for God's glory, not just our aggrandizement. And right prayer is prayed not only with our words, but with our lives.
This week I picked up a story on a computer chat line called "Eculaugh." It's a place where we Christians, who too often fight about things, are encouraged to laugh about things. For those of you into the Internet, the "subject" line reads, "Only Good Clean Religious Humor (all 4) All Else Removed."
This story goes, "There was this guy and he really needed some money, so he got on his knees and he prayed the Lord would bless him by winning the lottery. After the prayer, he gets up and goes about his business. The next day he's on his knees praying again saying, 'Lord, you know I really need this money and to win the lottery would be such a great blessing. Think of all the people I could help with the money. I thought for sure I'd win it yesterday, but I didn't. Please Lord, I'm begging you.' And off he went.
"The next day, he's back on his knees crying out to God, 'Please Lord, I need this money! Is something the matter, God? Why don't you answer my prayer?' Suddenly a voice from Heaven calls out to him, 'Hey! Meet me halfway, would you! Buy a ticket!' "5
The moral of the story is not run down to the gas station right after church and God will make you a millionaire by morning. The moral is that what we pray for we need to be willing to work for, and the only answer we need to hear is "Well done! You have done what God wants you to do." Does that get me everything I want? No. But can I be certain of everything I need? You betcha!
In the uncertainties of life and death, this is certain: "In life and in death we belong to God ... (and) nothing in life or in death can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord," who calls us together to face life, death, and uncertainty together with him.
____________
1. The Zondervan Parallel New Testament in Greek and English (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Bible Publishers, 1980).
2. Bradley J. Longfield, The Presbyterian Controversy: Fundamentalists, Modernists and Moderates (Oxford University Press, November 1,1993), p. 118.
3. Barclay M. Newman and Eugene A. Nida, A Handbook on The Gospel of John, UBS Handbook Series (New York: United Bible Societies, 1980), p. 455.
4. C. Cousar, et al., Texts for Preaching, A Lectionary Commentary Based on the NRSV -- Year A (Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1995).
5. Eculaugh Note 2670.
