Sermon archive

This blog contains sermons listed by date, Bible passage and title

Name:
Location: Hattiesburg, Mississippi, United States

Sunday, February 07, 2010

Fifts Sunday after Epiphany 2/7/10 Luke 5:1-11

Fifth Sunday after Epiphany


2/07/10

Text: Luke 5:1-11

Title: Called to sacrificially love.



For the past several weeks we have been looking at what God has to say about what it means to be a congregation, that is, to be in the body of Christ. We learned that God gives to those who are in the congregation certain gifts that are needed in that time and place which are to be used for the good of the congregation.



We also learned that even though our salvation does not depend on the faith of others, we cannot think of ourselves as being independent from the others in the congregation, for to do so hurts the congregation, the body of Christ.



Last week we learned that love is the highest spiritual gift given to a member of the body of Christ in the local congregation. The love that is given is not sexual love which is, for the most part, all about what feels good. It is not the love between good friends or siblings or cousins, which is about caring for another, but still is tied to self because it usually based on an “I love you, if you love me” type of love.



The love that God is talking about is agape love which is sacrificial love, the love of loving the other whether they love you back or not. It is the love that builds up the body of Christ and can only come from God as shown in and through Jesus when he came to be one of us, suffered, died, and rose from the grave for us. Pure, unselfish love is what agape love is all about.



All of the gifts that God has given the members and friends of this congregation, as good as they might be, are nothing compared to the gift of sacrificial love which does not keep track of how much love is returned, or hold grudges, or look down on others. It is not prideful and does not seek power over others.



How a person gets such love is a question that needs to be answered. Let’s look at our texts for this morning and see, because the answer is found in them. God would never tell us to seek the ultimate gift of sacrificial love and then not show us how to receive it. Notice I did not say how to get it, but to receive it, for the gift of love cannot be gotten by striving for it, or studying it, or being told to love sacrificially. Sacrificial love, like God’s forgiveness, is a gift given by God for your benefit and that of the body of Christ.



When the Old Testament text for today is read, our attention usually goes to that part of the text where the burning coal was put on the lips of Isaiah signifying that he was going to be able to speak the words of God. In the New Testament text our attention goes to that part of the story where Peter is told he is going to be a fisherman of men. Since both the Old Testament and the New Testament at first glance appear to be speaking about receiving a call from God to be a pastor, most people dismiss the readings as not speaking to them, for they are not pastors or even planning to be pastors. In dismissing the texts in this manner a valuable lesson from God is missed.



To see what I mean let’s look first at verse 5 in the Old Testament text where we hear Isaiah, when he saw God, cry out in great fear, “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts” Isaiah knew he did not stand a chance before God. He was a sinner and the people were sinners deserving of God’s wrath. He knew he was doomed.



Now let’s look at our Gospel reading for this morning where we hear Peter after he and Jesus are knee-deep in fish, cry out, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” Peter knew that in Jesus, God was present and that because he was sinful, he only deserved God’s wrath.



Do you see what common link these men have? Both of them recognized their sinfulness before God. They both recognized that the only reason they could be in the presence of God and survive was because of his good will toward them. Both men were not left cowering in the presence of God. Isaiah’s lips were touched by a burning coal, showing to Isaiah God’s forgiveness and acceptance. Peter was touched by Jesus, God in the flesh, who in his words and touch showed Peter in the messiness of that fishing boat that he was forgiven and accepted by God.



In the presence of God both Isaiah and Peter were afraid and knew they were doomed unless God intervened on their behalf. In their fear of God they received the good news of forgiveness, calling them to a new level of faith and sacrificial love, the love of Jesus, so that they could better serve the body of Christ.



Why do we who call ourselves Christians have such a problem living lives of sacrificial love? The problem is that too many Christians today don’t fear God anymore. They see him as some distant spirit who is kind and loving, who every so often reaches down and punishes or helps people, but really does not have much to do with how Christians live their lives. For them, there is a disconnect between Sunday morning and the rest of the week. We, as Christians, have for the most part lost our fear and wonderment of God and in doing so have lessened our ability to love sacrificially.



Instead of living connected to God during the week, too many times we worship at the altar of science and technology, which present us with new wonders every day. We worship at the altar of self-esteem, resisting humility and repentance as if they constituted some sort of emotional disease. Sometimes we even imagine that we have the right to set conditions under which we will accept God, as we spell out those things we expect God to bring to the table if he is to win our approval. That is who we are, sinful people who don’t want to admit that we, on our own, cannot exist in the presence of God. And by doing so, we miss an opportunity to grow in sacrificial love.



But, in our better moments, we kneel worshipfully in God's presence, acknowledging our debt to God for every breath that we take. It is at that time that we like Isaiah and Peter and others though the generations, see, truly see, that left to our own devices we are doomed in God’s presence. It is in that time that we cry out, “I am a sinner and I’m lost God. Save me.”



And in that truly repentant “I am a sinner and I’m lost God. Save me” confession there is a sense of joy, for in recognizing our complete inability to be in the presence of God there is found a sure knowledge of Jesus’ forgiveness and a letting go of our safety nets which are falling apart, laden as they are with all the wrong things we rely on for our security in this life and the next.



Jesus is your Lord, your only ultimate hope. He is not some god sitting up there watching what is going on, coming down occasionally to tweak his creation. Jesus is with you knee-deep in the messes of life, just as he was when he was knee-deep with Peter in the smelly mess of his everyday life. Jesus has everything you need. Jesus is your ultimate only hope. He will guide you in the deep water and on shore, in all of life.



If you are struggling with loving sacrificially, you need to give up your “I know what I am doing” attitude. If you think about it, that type of self-help attitude has not worked well anyway. Start fully living in the body of Christ, using the gifts the Holy Spirit has given you for the good of the body, both the congregation and those outside of the congregation. Invite one and all to join you, for there is no greater joy, no greater security than being in the Lord Jesus Christ, knowing you are fully forgiven.



We are called to be different, to say no to worries, hate, and the things of the upside-down world, for we have said yes to the promise and proclamation of the presence and purpose of God, not just in the ordinary things of life, not just in the marginal areas of life, but for those who are defenseless, the unwanted old and the unborn. We are called to love sacrificially.



It does not matter whether Christ calls you to serve on a faraway mission field or to a far humbler task like ushering, singing in the choir, setting up coffee, visiting a shut-in, feeding a hungry person, or the giving of your money. You, as a Christian, being a part of the body are Christ's hands. And since you are his hands even the most modest task becomes a way for his sacrificial love to show through you.



Christ can turn your most humble act of obedience into a net-breaking, boat-sinking miracle of living a life of sacrificial love. I pray that you meditate on the words I have spoken to you today, for I have spoken to you in the name of God who is not yet finished extending what appears to those of the world to be foolish invitations to love sacrificially. Come be a fool for Christ in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen