Sermon Text for January 19, 2014
"Just in Time" #81-20
Presented on The Lutheran Hour on January 19, 2014
By Rev. Gregory Seltz, Lutheran Hour Speaker
(Hate Our Father And Mother?)
Copyright 2014 Lutheran Hour Ministries
Text: John 1:29-42
Christ Jesus, the Lamb who was slain, is risen and reigns in heaven forever. And because of Him, we can have eternal life now and forever. Amen.
It's amazing in life that people, events, leaders often rise up and come along, just in time. Tomorrow the United States remembers the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. For so many, for even a nation, he was a man who came just in time, wasn't he? He came with an eloquent voice, a Scripture-filled message, to address the injustice and violence of racism. For the politics of freedom and justice for all, Dr. King came just in time.
Many of his words spoken in his famous "I Have a Dream" speech still ring true today. King declared:
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character...
This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with...with this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.
Martin Luther King brought a fresh and bold word to a nation that needed mending just in time. Through his sacrifice and leadership, a nation was able to face up to its racial discrimination and inequities, to forge a new future that started to live up to the very ideals upon which it was founded, just in time.
500 years earlier, King's namesake, Martin Luther stood before the Holy Roman Emperor and the Pope of Rome, literally laying his life on the line so that all people could know not just temporal freedom, but the even greater eternal freedom that comes by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone. That too was a moment where a man with a message was just in time. In many ways, the whole Western World was born in the Reformation that came through the fearless leadership of one man, Martin Luther.
Certain people arrive just in time. And when they do, many are glad, even saved!
Last summer, on a hot day in Brooklyn, New York, a one-year-old baby boy managed to crawl up to a window in his second-story home. This little tot pushed aside some cardboard blocking an opening next to an air conditioning unit and he squeezed through the gap. The curious boy wanted to look out that window. Then he climbed out the window onto the fire escape when a near-disaster took place. He fell. He plummeted from the fire escape. That's just when Cristina Torre happened to be walking by. She saw what was happening and she ran to help. The baby hit an awning of a yogurt shop and bounced right into Cristina's arms. She caught the little boy before he hit the ground. She saved his life. There she was, just in time, and it made all the difference in the world to that little boy.
Cristina happens to be the daughter of former Yankees' manager and former big league catcher Joe Torre. He pointed out that this was the most important catch in the family, to be sure.
Cristina was there, just in time. And people cheered.
That's what people do when someone arrives just in time to save the day!
That's what is going on in our text for today. The prophet named John the Baptizer is speaking to the people of his day, declaring as clearly as he can that the One Person this world needs to believe in; He has arrived, and it's just in time. He tells them, He tells you and me, "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!"
And did you hear the reaction in John chapter one?
During John the Baptist's day, people were looking for the Messiah to arrive. They were hoping for one who would lead them to freedom, to prosperity. People were eager. People were excited. At first, because of John's bold preaching and unique character, many thought John the Baptist was that just in time leader.
Well, in John chapter one, we hear the priests and the Levites were sent by the Pharisees to clearly ask him if he was the Messiah. Could he be the one? After all, he was a miracle baby of Zechariah and Elizabeth. He was the prophet in the wilderness who preached eloquently and who called people to repentance. Could he be the Messiah? John the Baptist gave the answer.
"No, not me. I'm the one though, here to prepare His way." John made it clear that he wasn't the Messiah, but there was One who stood among them who was. Someone arrived just in time.
Wow! Who could it be? People were looking intently because they knew that if this One Person arrived just in time, it would literally change the world by changing lives, one at a time!
So, are you looking for the One who came just in time, just in time for you? If not, what are you looking for?
It seems like we're always looking for some leader, some guru, some politician to come in and save the day or change our communities for the moment. We do value just-in-time people who make the right thing happen for all by risking to do the right thing, by sacrificing their own comforts so that things might change for the better. On a day like tomorrow, we remember that on December 1, 1955, 42-year-old Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a public bus in Montgomery, Alabama. She was arrested for disobeying the white bus driver who told her to let white people take her seat.
But, did you know about the faith that was at the center of her actions; the faith that caused her not only to stay seated, but to act with dignity in the face of injustice.
Parks ironically never planned to be arrested for breaking a racist law, but when told to get up from the white section and give a white person her seat by moving back. She was convinced that to do that would be wrong. So she said, "Since I have always been a strong believer in God, I knew that He was with me, and only He could get me through that next step."
The story of Rosa Parks is a reminder of what a central role Christian faith has played in the civil rights movement. Dr. King was a Christian minister who turned the other cheek in the face of violence. And Jackie Robinson's Christian faith was what led Branch Rickey, another devout Christian, to choose him as the man to break the color barrier in baseball.
Don't miss the key, the central force in all their actions; faith. Faith in Christ. Today, people are looking for all kinds of things, all kinds of leaders. People are looking all over the place for anything that will make them feel better and fill the gaps of life. People are looking for the latest cell phone, the latest tablet, the latest big TV. Maybe those things will help them feel satisfied for a time; but what really can satisfy us deep in our souls? What can overcome the lasting problems that we face?
People are looking for peace in a violent, turbulent, war torn world. People are looking for security in a fragile and uncertain economy. People are looking for unity and honesty in politics and leadership. People are looking for a cure for cancer, for Alzheimer's, for Parkinson's, for depression. People are looking for healing, for love. People are looking for purpose; for friendship; for hope.
Yes, we're looking, but what's the most important thing of all to find? That's the question. I know you're looking for something, my friend, but John the Baptizer says there is One Person that you really need to meet, that you really need to listen to. John says "Look at Him!"
John "saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, 'Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!'" (John 1:29)
John was thrilled. Here was the One he was told about. This was the One he came to prepare the way for. And now the Son of God, the Messiah, He had arrived. This was the One promised to Adam and Eve. This was the One who was of the line of King David who even David would bow down to as Lord. This Man was the One, the Savior for all.
The Bible says, "When the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoptions to sonship."
Look! There He is! Behold, the Lamb of God!
That exclamation was a just in time moment. Here was the One who was to fulfill all God's promises and sinful humanities greatest hopes and dreams. This was the Lamb, the sacrificial Messiah who had come for all, just in time.
In the Old Testament, rams and lambs were often sacrificial substitutes for sinners. Remember the heart-wrenching story about Abraham when he was commanded by God to sacrifice his son, Isaac. Together they marched to the mountain where God told them to go. Even young Isaac asked where the ram was. He saw the fire and the wood, but where was the ram? His father told him, "God will provide for himself the ram for the burnt offering" (Genesis 22:8). Then, after Isaac was tied to the altar, Abraham raised his knife and the angel of the Lord stopped him and provided a ram, just in time. The ram of God, like the coming Lamb of God, arrived as a substitute.
Remember the lamb in the story of Moses; the children of Israel were in bondage in Egypt. Remember the Angel of Death was ready to descend upon Egypt for their willful disobedience to God? Pharaoh had rejected God's call to let His people go. His direct opposition to God brought on that final plague: the death of all the firstborn. The only way to be spared from the Destroyer was to take a lamb without defect, sacrifice it, and spread the blood on the doorposts. The sacrifice of the lamb would rescue them from the angel of death. The Lamb of God would save them (Exodus 12), just in time.
So, imagine what the first-century Jewish crowd heard when John the Baptizer declared, "Look! Look at Him! The Lamb of God!" Provision from God, just in time. Rescue from God, just in time. Forgiveness from God, just in time. It was beyond what they were looking for and it was exactly what they needed.
And He is exactly what you and I need too. New cell phones fade fast. New TVs become old news quickly. Cures to the most challenging illnesses are wonderful, but only temporary. Love and friendships are very good, but they end when life ends. But Jesus, the Savior, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, is eternal. The new life He brings, the hope He gives, the healing He provides, it lasts forever. The purpose He places into your lives brings satisfaction and peace that never fade.
So, what are you looking for today? As good as some leaders have been for us in the past, even their leadership and sacrifice can't overcome the ultimate challenges of sin, and guilt, and heartache, and brokenness in our lives. John says you will find God's answer to those things, now and forever, in the Lamb of God. You will find it in Jesus Christ.
That's what happened to John's disciples. They were searching. They thought John was the one. But then came Jesus, the Lamb of God. The Gospel writer tells it this way: Jesus turned and saw them following and said, 'What are you seeking?' And they said, 'Rabbi, where are you staying?' He said to them, 'Come and you will see.' So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, 'We have found the Messiah' (which means Christ)" (John 1:37-41).
Everything they were looking for they found in Jesus. And they followed Him.
Friend, today your Savior comes to you just in time. He has heard your prayers. He shows up for you. In Him is everything you're looking for, everything you need. That's the message of the Bible. For Noah and his family living in the midst of evil and rebellion, God saved them just in time. For frightened people on the banks of the Red Sea, God brought them through the raging waters just in time. For the outnumbered army of Joshua, God showed him His power just in time. For three men thrown into the fiery furnace in Babylon, God kept the flames at bay just in time. For Daniel in the lion's den, God drew close with His protection and comfort just in time. That's the Savior God for you as testified to you in the Scriptures.
And even in our day, this is the Savior God who comes to us just in time. During a turbulent time in the history of the United States, a time of division and hatred, a just in time leader and pastor, called a nation to Christian brotherhood; not just to lip service, not to just hearing the Word, but to doing what the Word of God says. Martin Luther King was convinced that the scientific and technological advances of our day could easily distract us from the condition of our souls. Our laws can be wrong, our technology can leave us cold, our best efforts still need the power and purpose of God at the center to be a blessing to others. The spirit of Christian brotherhood, the spirit of Christ Himself was needed then and it's still needed today! In fact, it's even more necessary for our personal lives too.
So, what about your life? The Lamb of God, Jesus, is here for you right now. He is your help in times of trouble. He brings the word of encouragement you need. He delivers to you the news of forgiveness when you need a new beginning. He bestows upon you the certain news of eternal life for your heart of grief.
Yes, just in time. He is exactly what you need. He fills your empty soul. He restores your tired and weary heart. Just in time.
Jesus is just in time to you but He's also just in time through you.
Did you notice that Jesus changed Peter's name right away. Jesus said to him, "You are Simon the son of John? You shall be called Cephas (which means Peter)" (John 1:42). To Simon's regular name, Jesus added "Cephas" which means "rock." A regular guy became a rock in the presence of Jesus. Something new was happening in Simon Peter's life because of Jesus.
The same is true for you and me. Something new is happening in you because of Jesus. Just think about it. He opens doors for you to serve others and to use your gifts. He provides people who believe in you. A new year is tough. People are looking for something new. They try health club memberships, and the workouts fade away. We make resolutions, and they are forgotten. We're hoping for the best in a new year, but a new year seems to bring the same old stuff. But you, my friend, not only can know this Jesus as the key to your life, now and forever, but through your life you can also bring Christ to those who need Him, too.
What we all need this new year and always; we need the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! We need Jesus! John says "Look! Here He is. He's the Answer. Our Hope. Our Savior. The Son of God. Jesus. Today in His living Word, in the living water of baptism, His body and blood at communion, here is the Lamb of God. He's exactly what we need, what we're looking for."
Here is Jesus! Just in time and He has come for you. If you want to know Him, know that He wants to know you, and we here at The Lutheran Hour are here to help you get to know Jesus Christ. Call us, write us, we're here for you because we want you to know and believe there's no one like Jesus and He is here for you and me, just in time!
Amen.
LUTHERAN HOUR MAILBOX (Questions & Answers) for January 19, 2014
Topic: Hate Our Father And Mother?
ANNOUNCER: Now, Pastor Gregory Seltz responds to questions. I'm Mark Eischer. Here's a question I've always had concerning this one passage in the Bible, Jesus says, 'If anyone comes to me but does not hate his father, or his mother, his wife, his children, yes, even his own life, he can not be my disciple.' How can Jesus tell us to hate, He's the Savior who came to love and to show us how to love others?
SELTZ: Wow, what a verse. I know this has troubled a lot of our listeners, too. But the first thing we need to understand is that this is a Hebrew figure of speech that was often used to make a point.
ANNOUNCER: So He might not be saying "Hate your mother and father" literally, but He's trying to make a point?
SELTZ: Yes, in fact Jesus is not saying "Hate father, and mother, etc." but speaks about it in reference to "being a disciple." So, it's not a general discussion about love and hate, it's a discussion about defining our ultimate loves.
ANNOUNCER: Could you explain that?
SELTZ: Will do. The love/hate statement has to do with what you give your ultimate preference, your ultimate allegiance to. Jesus is even saying, "If you love anything more than Me or anything in the place of Me, you can have no part of Me or the salvation that I have for you by grace."
ANNOUNCER: And that salvation is a reconciled relationship with God through Jesus and it's really the key to loving those that God sends into our lives.
SELTZ: It sure is. We know that Jesus teaches us elsewhere about love and how to loves others. He even says, "You should love God, and love your neighbor as yourself." At the cross, while being crucified to save the world, there He worried about His mother and made sure that she was cared for. But, Jesus' point here is, "if you want to love others, you have to have a relationship with God through Me," that's first, that's foremost in your life and that alone makes real love possible through your life to others.
ANNOUNCER: Which is another way of saying, "Seek first the Kingdom of God and then all these other things find their proper place."
SELTZ: That's an excellent way to summarize it, Mark. When Jesus says "seek first," He really is saying "Seek only the Kingdom of God." Again, priority, first and foremost talk.
ANNOUNCER: So why couldn't Jesus just say that? Why did He have to use such shocking language?
SELTZ: Well, it's important to put the phrase in context. Jesus was speaking to the crowds and many of them in the crowds had their own opinion about what He stood for. Some thought He was a miracle worker, a rabbi, a political leader. Many had their own idea of how Jesus should help them.
ANNOUNCER: But, He didn't come to just help them, He came to save them.
SELTZ: Exactly. The people had a political, even false religious view, of Him and He's trying to make the point, "I'm not here merely to help or give advice, I'm here to save you, to bring God's love and forgiveness to you as a gift." And so to make that very, very, very clear, He uses this either/or, love/hate language.
ANNOUNCER: And we find that language shocking to our ears, but I suppose they would have understood that as an idiomatic way of speaking and hopefully they got the point.
SELTZ: Yeah, they did and it was shocking to them for sure, but that's why it's also important for us to hear it properly too. Jesus is the One and only Savior. That's what He is saying. He is our Lord, our Messiah, our King. There is nothing in this world that should or could take His place in our lives. If anything or anyone does, the Bible would call that idolatry, that's putting our faith and our love in the wrong place. Such misplaced allegiances actually inhibit and constrain our ability to really love people too.
ANNOUNCER: Because, ironically, by putting our faith and trust solely in Christ, we're unleashing God's love in our lives and that enables us to better love those that He sends into our lives.
SELTZ: That's exactly right. Faith in Christ alone empowers a believer's true, lasting love to others. It's all about priority, about ultimate allegiances. It's about knowing where one's true resource for love really lies. When that is right, when our faith and love are focused on Christ, when we, another way of saying it is spurn anything else that demands our faith and focus more than Him, when we are focused on Him, we gain all those other things as well.
ANNOUNCER: So we can take Christ's shocking language not just as a warning, but also an invitation to receive and then share God's love in all its fullness.
SELTZ: Exactly.
ANNOUNCER: Thank you, Pastor Seltz. This has been a presentation of Lutheran Hour Ministries.
Music Selections for this program:
"A Mighty Fortress" arranged by Chris Bergmann. Used by permission.
"Hail to the Lord's Anointed" From Music for the November Feasts by the Schola Cantorum of St. Peter's, Chicago (© 1995 The Order of St. Benedict, Inc.)
"To Jordan's River Came Our Lord" From The Concordia Organist (© 2009 Concordia Publishing House)
"Lord, Keep Us Steadfast in Your Word" From The Concordia Organist (© 2009 Concordia Publishing House)
 |
