Satisfaction Guaranteed
Sermon
Hope Beneath the Surface
Cycle A First Lesson Sermons for Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany
Object:
I remember a song of some years back that I never liked. The singer screamed as much as he sang, and he repeated the words over and over again. But the message and the title of the song I remember well, and so will you: "I can't get no satisfaction!"
As we think about our lives today, is it not true that there are those days, those weeks, and those periods in our lives when we could easily intone with great feeling, "I can't get no satisfaction"?
My big, red, unabridged power-dictionary I quote now and then defines the verb satisfy in this way: to fulfill the desires, expectations, needs, or demands of a person or the mind; to give full contentment to desire, want or need by sufficient or ample provision.
We all know that according to this definition we are not always a satisfied people, who have fulfilled all or even most of the desires, expectations, needs or demands of our hearts. There are at least one or two left unsatisfied, right?
One of the buzz word promises in advertisements today is this: "Satisfaction guaranteed." In fact, this does not say what it seems to say. It does not really say that you will definitely be satisfied with the item. It only means that if you are not satisfied, you can get your money back.
With life, it's hard to get your money back if you end up not being satisfied!
We've been looking at the message of the great eighth century B.C. prophet, Isaiah, and we're not done yet. But as a bit of an interlude, as we move into the New Year, I want us to listen to the great prophet Jeremiah. Isaiah received his call from the Lord "the year that King Uzziah died" (Isaiah 6:1ff), which was in 740 B.C. Isaiah responded immediately when God called. "And who shall I send, and who will go for us?" Remember Isaiah's response? "Here I am. Send me."
Isn't it great that God uses every kind of person? God called Jeremiah, too, more than a hundred years later, in 626 B.C. in the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah, not to be confused with Uzziah. Jeremiah's response to his call, though, was a bit different. When the Lord said, "And who shall go for us," Jeremiah, in effect, said, "Not me! No way!"
According to the record in the first chapter of Jeremiah he said,
"Ah, Lord God! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy." But the Lord said to Jeremiah: "Do not say, 'I am only a boy'; for you shall go to all to whom I send you, and you shall speak whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord."
And though Jeremiah complained to the Lord, and wished that he had never been born (Jeremiah 20:14), he did finally deliver the message. In fact, the message is even more powerful for us today because of all the insight we receive into the spiritual life of Jeremiah, as he struggled with his relationship with God. Isaiah was strong and undeterred. Jeremiah, on the other hand, was more like you and me, hesitant, resentful at being put out, and easily offended and hurt by the comments of other people.
However, in spite of his hesitance, Jeremiah did some remarkable things in communicating his message of both doom and hope to the people of Israel and Judah. His very life communicated the message of hope in the midst of great foreboding in the short run.
William Green, a UCC pastor in Pennsylvania, writes that during a period of time in seventeenth century England, worship was a crime, and thousands of churches were torn down. One church was built, though, right during those terrible times, a church which still stands, with the following inscription on its door:
In the year 1653 when all things sacred throughout the nation were either demolished or profaned, Sir Robert Shirley ... founded this church whose singular praise it is to have done the best things in the worst times and hoped them in the most calamitous.
This is the kind of thing Jeremiah did. He went out and purchased land on which to build a house someday, right when his country was about to be overthrown by the Babylonians (cf. Jeremiah 32). Hope in the midst of despair.
And in the portion of his prophecy we heard this morning, Jeremiah foresaw his people restored to their homeland. And even more importantly, he saw them "radiant over the goodness of the Lord," and "satisfied with [the Lord's] bounty."
My goodness but it takes a lot to satisfy us, doesn't it? I was talking to a friend this past week who told me of her Christmas morning gift-giving experience this year. In her family all the presents for each person are taken from beneath the tree and placed before them. Then they are opened one by one, each person taking a turn. One of her nieces, after her five presents were placed on her lap, said in that special whiny voice, "Is this all I get?"
It takes a lot for us to be satisfied today. What a wonderful prophecy, what a wonderful dream it is, that one day we might actually be satisfied, radiant over the goodness of the Lord, irrespective of how much money we have or presents we get.
I will repeat what I have said before. I believe that all of our longings have at their center a longing for relationship with God. That is our basic hunger. Unfortunately many people perceive that longing as a longing for something else, for things, for toys, for sex, for money, for adventure, for power, for food. I believe that all those drives for things are put in their proper place when the longing for relationship with God is satisfied.
Remember that conversation Jesus had with his disciples which John reported in chapter 14? Philip said a mouthful in the course of that conversation. In verse 8 we read: "Philip said to [Jesus], 'Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.' " That's true, and he did and they were and we can be, too.
The coming year holds a lot in store for all of us. We don't know what's coming, but we know that God will be with us when it does. Jesus was clear about that. Jesus assured us that the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, would be with us always (John 14:25f). If we are focused on coming to know God through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, daily praising God for the bounty around us, even on our worst days, then we will find ourselves, "radiant over the goodness of the Lord."
If we daily give thanks to God for the gift of life and hope and eternal life, even in the midst of the incredibly difficult challenges in our lives, then we will be satisfied, for we will be consciously in the presence of God. If we try any other way of life we will be sent reeling in times of trouble and heartache.
A Frank Harrington tells the story of a mountain climber who, after years of dreaming and planning and training, climbed the great Matterhorn, that uniquely shaped mountain in southeastern Switzerland. The man and his guide finally made it to the summit, with the raging wind blowing against them. Exhilarated at the incredible view and having reached the top, the man started to stand up and take it all in. Fortunately, the guide was alert and grabbed him before he did so, screaming in his ear above the raging gale, "Stay on your knees, man, or the winds will blow you off the mountain!"
Indeed they will. So let's stay on our knees this year, in touch with the God we know in Jesus. For with God, satisfaction is guaranteed.
As we think about our lives today, is it not true that there are those days, those weeks, and those periods in our lives when we could easily intone with great feeling, "I can't get no satisfaction"?
My big, red, unabridged power-dictionary I quote now and then defines the verb satisfy in this way: to fulfill the desires, expectations, needs, or demands of a person or the mind; to give full contentment to desire, want or need by sufficient or ample provision.
We all know that according to this definition we are not always a satisfied people, who have fulfilled all or even most of the desires, expectations, needs or demands of our hearts. There are at least one or two left unsatisfied, right?
One of the buzz word promises in advertisements today is this: "Satisfaction guaranteed." In fact, this does not say what it seems to say. It does not really say that you will definitely be satisfied with the item. It only means that if you are not satisfied, you can get your money back.
With life, it's hard to get your money back if you end up not being satisfied!
We've been looking at the message of the great eighth century B.C. prophet, Isaiah, and we're not done yet. But as a bit of an interlude, as we move into the New Year, I want us to listen to the great prophet Jeremiah. Isaiah received his call from the Lord "the year that King Uzziah died" (Isaiah 6:1ff), which was in 740 B.C. Isaiah responded immediately when God called. "And who shall I send, and who will go for us?" Remember Isaiah's response? "Here I am. Send me."
Isn't it great that God uses every kind of person? God called Jeremiah, too, more than a hundred years later, in 626 B.C. in the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah, not to be confused with Uzziah. Jeremiah's response to his call, though, was a bit different. When the Lord said, "And who shall go for us," Jeremiah, in effect, said, "Not me! No way!"
According to the record in the first chapter of Jeremiah he said,
"Ah, Lord God! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy." But the Lord said to Jeremiah: "Do not say, 'I am only a boy'; for you shall go to all to whom I send you, and you shall speak whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord."
And though Jeremiah complained to the Lord, and wished that he had never been born (Jeremiah 20:14), he did finally deliver the message. In fact, the message is even more powerful for us today because of all the insight we receive into the spiritual life of Jeremiah, as he struggled with his relationship with God. Isaiah was strong and undeterred. Jeremiah, on the other hand, was more like you and me, hesitant, resentful at being put out, and easily offended and hurt by the comments of other people.
However, in spite of his hesitance, Jeremiah did some remarkable things in communicating his message of both doom and hope to the people of Israel and Judah. His very life communicated the message of hope in the midst of great foreboding in the short run.
William Green, a UCC pastor in Pennsylvania, writes that during a period of time in seventeenth century England, worship was a crime, and thousands of churches were torn down. One church was built, though, right during those terrible times, a church which still stands, with the following inscription on its door:
In the year 1653 when all things sacred throughout the nation were either demolished or profaned, Sir Robert Shirley ... founded this church whose singular praise it is to have done the best things in the worst times and hoped them in the most calamitous.
This is the kind of thing Jeremiah did. He went out and purchased land on which to build a house someday, right when his country was about to be overthrown by the Babylonians (cf. Jeremiah 32). Hope in the midst of despair.
And in the portion of his prophecy we heard this morning, Jeremiah foresaw his people restored to their homeland. And even more importantly, he saw them "radiant over the goodness of the Lord," and "satisfied with [the Lord's] bounty."
My goodness but it takes a lot to satisfy us, doesn't it? I was talking to a friend this past week who told me of her Christmas morning gift-giving experience this year. In her family all the presents for each person are taken from beneath the tree and placed before them. Then they are opened one by one, each person taking a turn. One of her nieces, after her five presents were placed on her lap, said in that special whiny voice, "Is this all I get?"
It takes a lot for us to be satisfied today. What a wonderful prophecy, what a wonderful dream it is, that one day we might actually be satisfied, radiant over the goodness of the Lord, irrespective of how much money we have or presents we get.
I will repeat what I have said before. I believe that all of our longings have at their center a longing for relationship with God. That is our basic hunger. Unfortunately many people perceive that longing as a longing for something else, for things, for toys, for sex, for money, for adventure, for power, for food. I believe that all those drives for things are put in their proper place when the longing for relationship with God is satisfied.
Remember that conversation Jesus had with his disciples which John reported in chapter 14? Philip said a mouthful in the course of that conversation. In verse 8 we read: "Philip said to [Jesus], 'Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.' " That's true, and he did and they were and we can be, too.
The coming year holds a lot in store for all of us. We don't know what's coming, but we know that God will be with us when it does. Jesus was clear about that. Jesus assured us that the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, would be with us always (John 14:25f). If we are focused on coming to know God through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, daily praising God for the bounty around us, even on our worst days, then we will find ourselves, "radiant over the goodness of the Lord."
If we daily give thanks to God for the gift of life and hope and eternal life, even in the midst of the incredibly difficult challenges in our lives, then we will be satisfied, for we will be consciously in the presence of God. If we try any other way of life we will be sent reeling in times of trouble and heartache.
A Frank Harrington tells the story of a mountain climber who, after years of dreaming and planning and training, climbed the great Matterhorn, that uniquely shaped mountain in southeastern Switzerland. The man and his guide finally made it to the summit, with the raging wind blowing against them. Exhilarated at the incredible view and having reached the top, the man started to stand up and take it all in. Fortunately, the guide was alert and grabbed him before he did so, screaming in his ear above the raging gale, "Stay on your knees, man, or the winds will blow you off the mountain!"
Indeed they will. So let's stay on our knees this year, in touch with the God we know in Jesus. For with God, satisfaction is guaranteed.
