Community Church Sermons
Fourth Sunday in Lent – March 23, 2003
“A Cross In Every Direction:
Our faith is a faith that has a cross in every direction! And today, Jesus once again leads us to Calvary, and to the cross upon which he died.
“Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.
Think about that for a moment. The cross lifted up has some power by which it is able to bring people life! In Jesus’ death, the world finds salvation! At the cross, you and I can find everything we’ve ever hoped for!
And then Jesus explains it all by speaking words that many, many children learn and memorize in Sunday School. John 3:16. If you know the words, will you say them with me? “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
A musician I admire and trust once told me that John Stainer’s wonderful choral anthem, “God So Loved The World”, composed around these words from John 3:16, expresses the far-reaching majesty of God’s grace by bringing emphasis to different words. As the phrase is repeated by the choir, the arranger wants us to hear, “GOD so loved the world.” Emphasis upon God. Then, “God so LOVED the world.” Emphasis on the word loved. And then finally, “God so loved the WORLD.” And each repetition teaches us something about the life you and I are looking for. First, it is found only in GOD. Second, it comes through the power of LOVE. And finally, it is offered as a gift to the whole wide WORLD.
That’s what the cross conveys. GOD so LOVED the WORLD!
When I was a young Christian, I didn’t know very much about either God, love OR the world. I don’t pretend to know all that much about them now either, but by the grace of God, I’m starting to learn, bit by bit. Back then, when I looked up at God, I saw a Judge. Back then, when I looked out at other people, I saw sin. And trust me, when all you see about God is judgment, and all you see about people is their sin, you can’t even get to LOVE. I suppose my attitude toward most people in those days was best expressed by a religious play upon the words of the old Monopoly game: “Go to hell. Go directly to hell. Do not pass “Go”. Do not collect $200.”
Maybe you know some people like me. And honestly, even though I’ve changed a lot, I still have this in me – the tendency to see God as a judge and people for their sin. I find myself often looking out at the world in terms of all that’s wrong with it. It’s sort of a human trait that all of us share.
Sandy and I were confronted one day in a parking lot on our way to a baseball game by a young man who asked, “Are you Christians?” Not even an “Excuse me, but are you a Christian?” Not even a “Hello!”
I hate when people do that. Nowadays, I like to have some fun with them. If they ask me if I’m a Christian, I say, “No, I’m a Baptist!” Or Episcopalian. Pick your own denomination and have some fun with it! When you do, folks like this young man get this puzzled look on their face.
But that day, I wasn’t quick enough. I just answered honestly. “Yes!”
Well, right away, by his reaction, I realized this was not the answer the young man was looking for! Fumbling around for a moment, he then asked, “Well, are you a BORN-AGAIN Christian?”
I said, “Of course I’m a born-again Christian!”
But he wasn’t convinced! “Well, are you a born-again, BIBLE-BELIEVING Christian?” I said, “Amen! I sure am!”
Then he paused for a long moment, looking at me with suspicious eyes. Then he said, “Well, what CHURCH do you belong to?”
This young man was obviously NOT going to take “YES” for an answer, so Sandy and I brushed him off and drove away. You see here was a young man who was just like me – seeing the world and everyone in it as far away from God, and under God’s judgment.
But here is the cross. Jesus
tells us that when we look at it, we should remember that, “GOD so LOVED the
WORLD…”
But people ask, “What about judgment? Does the fact that God loves the world mean that sin is simply ignored and people are let off the hook?” And that’s a good question because sin does exist all around us, and in us. And sin destroys us. It destroys nations. It destroys families. It destroys individuals.
So what are we to do about sin?
Once again, Jesus lifts up the cross among us.
You know, our Scripture text from John 3 is fascinating because it does something about love and judgment that no other religion does. Instead of seeing grace as one thing and judgment as another, Jesus brings them both together and synthesizes love and judgment.
“For God so loved
the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him
should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent his Son into the
world not to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved.
Whosoever believeth in him is not condemned, he who does not believe is
condemned already because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of
God. And this is the judgment – Did you hear that? – this is the
judgment, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather
than light…”
About fifteen years ago, Sandy and I and some friends built a new addition onto our place on the lake in New Hampshire. We framed it in, put a roof over it, installed some nice Anderson windows, and promised ourselves that we’d finish it off the next year. Fifteen years later, it’s still not done! But we have made some progress. One year, we decided to drywall the new family room. Now, we’d never drywalled anything in our lives before, but we were willing to learn. I mean, we have learned how to sweat copper pipes, fix water pumps, run electrical wire, and all sorts of things you need to learn if you’re going to have a place on a lake in New Hampshire. So we got some brochures about drywalling, and got some advice from friends. Then we threw ourselves into the project. We measured, and cut, and hammered, and taped, and mudded. We took extreme care to smooth out all the seams with joint compound. We spread, and sanded, and sanded some more. Then we painted the room. It was beautiful!
But that night, when we got in off the lake, we settled into our beautiful new family room, and turned on the light.
And when the light came on….there were all the seams and joints and flaws of a couple of rank drywall amateurs! Come visit us this summer! You’ll see what I mean!
Funny how, when the light came on, all the flaws were exposed.
And that’s what Jesus is telling us about the cross in the 3rd chapter of John.
In the Christian Faith, there is a new way of dealing with grace and judgment. If you are daring enough to come to the cross and lift it up in your life, you will see the love of God for you and the world….and you will start to see yourself for who and what you are!” The cross, you see, is like turning on a light. And a light not only illuminates the way, but exposes the flaws.
Early in my ministry, a woman who had just recently committed her life to Christ came to me and said that she was having a hard time with guilt. Since letting Christ into her heart, she said, she was becoming more and more aware of the sin in her life. “The other night, Brad and I had a fight, “ she said, referring to her husband. “And afterwards, I felt so bad! I felt like I should not have said some of the things I said, and I knew that I hurt him. And now I feel guilty about it! I’ve never felt THAT way before!” It was funny listening to her, describing how her new relationship with Christ was exposing her lack of patience with her children, her tendency to always think of herself first, and even her worldview. “Now I see kids starving to death on TV and find myself thinking. ‘Hey, you’ve got to do something about that!’”
When the light of Christ comes on in a person’s life, we begin to see within ourselves wrongs that need to be righted, wounds that need to be healed, thoughts that need to be changed, values that need to be heightened, even dreams that need to be brought into line with the will of God. The light of the cross reveals a lot of the rubble of our lives.
But we see all these things in the context of GOD so LOVED the WORLD. And we hear Jesus’ promise that God will help us and save us. You see, we have a rubble-rousing faith!
So as the light of the cross shines upon us today, let’s ask ourselves some important questions.
First, how’s your life going? How are you doing with this gift you’ve been given? Are you okay?
Tomorrow, I’m going to have another one of those pesky birthdays. I know they come on the same day year after year, but the time sure seems to shrink in between! And I’m in one of those really strange moments of life. I’m four years older than my father was when he died. I don’t know if you’ve had the experience or not, but as I came up to that pivotal moment, I felt troubled. Knowing that the men in my family tend to die early, and that there is a history of heart disease, made me all of a sudden realize that I could be facing the final days of my life. And that was okay from a faith perspective – as a Christian, I have confidence in the future. But what really got to me was the past! I haven’t really lived my life up to its full potential. I wish I had been more attentive to some friendships that are now gone forever. I have a few sermons I’ve preached that I wish I could get back now! I wish I’d been a better husband and father. And like George Burns, if I had known I was going to live this long, I would’ve taken better care of myself! Looking at my life exposed by the light of the cross, I can see quite a bit of rubble there!
How are you doing with your life? Are you happy? Have you accomplished all you could? Have you made a difference in the world? How’s your physical and mental health? In our family, we’re dealing with a recently-diagnosed illness that has turned our life topsy-turvy. Sandy and I will live the rest of our days adjusting to and needing to cope with this disease.
You see, when the lights come on in our lives, we can see all the seams, and the dents and dings of our living. And as we face the rubble of human life, the cross rises before us as if Christ is saying, “Open up to me, and let’s work together as a team to face up to and live victoriously through those things!”
You see, we have a rubble rousing faith!
And how are things going in your family?
You know, Sandy and I always thought it would be great to have kids. But that was before we had kids! Once Peter and Bethany came into our lives, we knew we were out of our league! There are some things life doesn’t prepare you for, and being parents is one of them. And even now that the kids are older, we still find it a tremendous challenge. We still want to make all their decisions for them. We find it very difficult to bite our tongues and let them live their lives. And you know what? We miss them a lot. We miss that they’re not little kids anymore, filling the house with noise and activity. Separation anxiety, you know, is not only about distance. It’s also about time.
And our kids have problems and face challenges. And so do we as a couple. When you turn on the light in the Singley family, you can see a lot of rough spots. A lot of debris. A lot of rubble.
How are things in your family?
Well, here is the cross. Not only does it reveal the rubble, but it offers us help. “Invite me to help you build and strengthen your family,” says Jesus. “Let me teach you, and guide you, and show you a better way!”
We have a rubble-rousing faith!
And how are things going between you and God? Do you have a conversant relationship? Are you able to draw from the Lord strength and guidance and resources to deal with the important issues in your life? Are you making a difference in the world, and contributing something of value to the Kingdom of God? Are you looking forward to a future in God that is greater than anything you’ve experienced in the past?
A while ago, I was visiting with a couple who wanted to talk about getting a niche in our Columbarium. We joked around a bit, using a little gallows humor to lighten the moment. I told them that the first decision they had to make was who they wanted to have as their next DRAWER neighbor. Well, we laughed about that. And then came some tears. First from one, and then the other.
She said, “You know, this is good to talk about this. Here we are, in our 80’s, and we’ve never really talked about dying before.”
The light of the cross exposes us for who we are.
Dust.
But dust into which has been blown the Spirit of the living God. He is the one who made us, and not we ourselves. He is the one to whom we will return.
And He is the one from whom comes all happiness, and meaning, and fulfillment. Only God can make a person! Only God can lift your life to the level of what life is intended to be!
So how are things with the two of you? You and God?
Here, with the cross lifted up before us, it is okay to take a fearless moral and spiritual and physical and mental and relational inventory of our lives. It is okay to let the light expose all the seams and dents and rubble of our humanity.
Because here at the cross, Jesus comes not to condemn us, but to save us. Jesus promises to rouse up and raise up that rubble!
Because, you see, GOD so LOVED the WORLD that he gave his only begotten son…