St. Andrew’s April 24^th 2005

 

A (Wo)Man For All Seasons

 

Acts 7:55-60

1 Peter 2:2-10

John 14:1-14

 

One of the reasons that the mainline churches are in decline is the simple difficulty we all have in being able to express the healthy affirmation that we simply are “Christians.”

 

How often have you heard someone say:

-“I am a Christian, I don’t make my life’s decisions based on what the horoscopes say in the paper?”

-“As a Christian I don’t like what you are saying about that person and I don’t wish to hear anymore.”

-“I am a Christian and it is not ethical to do that?”

-“I am a Christian and” then follow with an explanation of an opinion or choice of action?

 

It is news that a welfare Mom in Ontario recently turned in $40,000.00 that she found and returned for the owner. Social Services have affirmed that the $2,000 reward will not be taken off of her benefits. Why is it news? Because we don’t expect anybody to stand for honesty and integrity and to put their money where their mouth is when it really costs them dearly to do so. This woman was on welfare and could probably use that $40,000.00, but she didn’t want something that didn’t rightfully belong to her. We expect people can be bought and its “finders keepers, losers weepers.” Grab all you can grab, take all that you can get. It cost this woman $38,000.00 to stand what was right.

 

Fairness is not a fixed issue in this discussion. Not all people are grateful and give rewards for ethical action for honest behaviour. In some cases, you can even get fired from your job for telling the truth. Ironically, we even have negative names for those who tell the truth: “whistleblowers,” and “tattletalers” and “snitches.”

 

Lots of people know about children being sexually molested, but few are willing to blow the whistle and protect those same children from life destroying abuse.

 

Standing for something means that it has a cost; a big cost. If you tell the truth it is going to cost you: blowing the whistle will cost you, calling “a spade a spade” will cost you.

 

In the book of Acts we read about Stephen, a follower of Jesus Christ. When he challenges the crowd about how they treated Jesus and how they don’t keep God’s laws, they attack him, drag him out of the city, and stone him to death. Stephen paid a very high price for standing for his faith in Jesus Christ. Two thousand years later we have to admit that Stephen’s kind of faith was the fire that ignited the Gospel into world history.

 

The writer in 1 Peter talks about the irony of the faith, how the very Jesus who was rejected became the cornerstone of God in what God was building. Christ came with a promise that whoever believes in him will never be put to shame in God’s eyes.

 

This cornerstone from God, Jesus Christ will then become, “A stone that makes them stumble, and a rock that makes them fall.” Light will be brought into the darkness.

 

Finally after years of side stepping and denial, a Judge has been appointed to look into the abuse of children by community and church leaders in Cornwall, Ontario. The text from 1 Peter will play itself out and a public accounting from this inquiry will be “A stone that makes (the abusers) stumble, and a rock that makes them fall.”

 

The writer goes on in a strong positive way to state the implications of a people who follow Jesus:

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”

 

Following Jesus, while it may have its costs and they may be high, bring us into the power of God who with “mighty acts,” transforms darkness into light.

 

Don’t you think that it would have been helpful if when you were, say about 12 or 14, someone you trusted took you aside and said, “I want to tell you something. I want to tell you that growing up is very difficult and scary. There are times you won’t know what to do. You won’t believe how complicated and confusing people will be; there will be betrayals and loss. So when you see things going badly, don’t think it is you, it is just the way it is. People can’t deal with the truth. There is only one thing that is constant and that is God, and God loves you and you are good. Hold on to that faith because it is the only thing that will get you through it all.”

 

When Jesus was in danger of leaving his disciples, he gave a similar kind of talk about life and death in order the give his disciples the wider picture:

“Do not let your hearts be troubled.

Believe in God, believe also in me.

In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places.

If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you.

I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also.

And you know the way to the places where I am going…

I am the way, the truth, and the life.”

 

Jesus is very explicit that who he is, what he represents and teaches, is directly from God:

“If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”

 

This text is often used by Christians to exclude others from paradise; to say that unless you say the words: “Jesus Christ is Lord,” you will never go to heaven.

 

We have to be careful not to limit God or Jesus Christ. We have to be careful not to compartmentalize and squeeze God into the little boxes of our minds. We have to be careful not to take on “the God job,” ourselves and decide who is going to heaven or not. Standard Christian theology says that “we are saved by grace,” by the Grace of Jesus Christ.

 

Individually, each our lives is a litany of seasons: times of harvest and plenty, times of want and betrayal, times of success and times of horrific abuse and violence.

 

Jesus is a man for all seasons, for all of the seasons of our lives.

 

But this is not about gender. Jesus Christ transcends gender. Jesus Christ stands for a truth and a justice, and a healing and for what is right for all people regardless of gender, race or rank. We don’t withhold baptism or Holy Communion from people for reasons of gender, race, or rank.

 

For a woman, Jesus is a woman for all seasons. For a person of colour, Jesus is a person of colour for your seasons, too. If you are oppressed, scorned, hurting, or betrayed, Jesus is for your seasons, too.

 

But when Jesus, the good shepherd left us, he said we are now to be him. We are now the body of Christ. You and I are the body of Christ in our families and our communities.

 

In plain English this means that we have to stand for something. We have to stand for what is right even when it costs us, as it will. We will spend friends, family, and money, to stand for something, for what is right, for what is just.

 

We human beings, as individuals and as a society often need to be stretched, and standing for what is right and just, will stretch us beyond where we ever thought that we could go.

 

To help us to do that as his followers, Jesus made a few amazing statements recorded at the end of this passage: “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.”

 

The “anything” Jesus mentioned does not refer to lottery tickets; the “anything” refers to that which may bring glory to the Father “in the Son.”

 

The “anything” refers to things like justice, love, healing, communion, and the destruction of evil in our world, because those things just mentioned bring God’s glory alive in humanity.

 

There are costs, as Jesus found, as Stephen found, and as all of us who stand for God’s justice in our world have and will find.

 

Although there are costs, the reason that we must and for what is just in God’s eyes, is because… injustice costs even more.

 

The costs of pain and suffering, of abuse and violence are sky high.

 

The cost of one child molested cannot be measured.

 

We have the promise from Jesus that he will walk beside us and be with us in our costs during all of the seasons of our lives, as he was from the beginning.

 

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power.

Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

 

For our struggle is not against the enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

 

Therefore take up the whole armour of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.

 

Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness.

 

As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace.

 

With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

 

Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God…

 

Grace be with all who have an undying love for our Lord Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 6: 10-20, 24

 

AMEN             Rev. Alan Stewart