Community Church Sermons
Year B
June 3, 2012
Trinity Sunday
It’s Not All About You…or Is It?
John 3:1-17
Isaiah
6:1-8
Rev. Martin C. Singley, III
Senior
Pastor
Today being “Graduate Recognition Sunday” at the Community Church I want to extend on behalf of our congregation our most sincere congratulations to all those graduating from universities, colleges, technical schools, high schools, middle schools, elementary schools, nursery schools, and day care. And I want to recognize all those whose graduations are now in the past, but who have come to church today proudly wearing their school colors. Raise your hand if you have your school colors on. We had briefly considered using some of our college fight songs for the hymns today, but it was pointed out that Rocky Top has some lyrics that don’t exactly fit church!
I think most of us here today well remember the day of our graduations, marching in to the tune of Pomp and Circumstance, wearing robes and mortarboards, and alternately laughing about the beach ball being batted around the rows of graduates, and tearing up a bit as we remembered that we would soon be separated from many of our dearest friends. And, of course, we all remember the commencement speaker who had reached into the bag where all commencement speeches come from and boldly told us that we were the brightest and best, the hope of the world, and commissioned us to go out and change society for the better. For a moment then, some of us actually believed the future of humankind depended upon US.
Well, how’s that working out for you?
So today, on “Graduate Recognition Sunday”, I want to offer an anti-commencement speech. And it begins with these words:
“It’s not about you.
The purpose of your life is far greater than your own personal fulfillment, your peace of mind, or even your happiness. It’s far greater than your family, your career, or even your wildest dreams and ambitions. If you want to know why you were placed on this planet, you must begin with God. You were born by his purpose and for his purpose.”
These are not my words. They are the opening words of Rick Warren’s bestselling book, The Purpose Driven Life. And they are wonderful words spoken to modern-day people like us who have a tendency to think of life and faith as being all about ourselves. Some of us approach Christianity thinking it’s all about getting ME to heaven when I die. Others of us think that having faith will be like buying a personal insurance policy protecting us and those we love from disaster. And some of us want a faith that can be used to help us get a job, find a mate, or even to keep the rain away from our family picnic. And when we think about what we want from life itself, we so often aspire to things like wealth and success and comfort.
For many of us, faith and life ARE all about us.
But they’re not.
Rick Warren reminds us that WE are not the center of the universe, and that the world does not revolve around ME. And God is not the ultimate Santa Claus whose job it is to give us the things we want.
It’s not all about you – or me.
It’s all about the One who before the universe even existed said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. It is about the One who created the world and everything in it. It is about the One who formed these beautiful Smoky Mountains, and exploded stars into being, and decorates the earth with flowers painted in a million different colors. It is about the One who imagined creatures great and small, formed us out of the clay, and who breathed into us his very own breath, giving us life.
It’s not about you.
It is all about God and God’s purposes.
Why do you think God made YOU?
Why did God breathe his breath into you and make you a living soul? And why did God bring to life the people who live down the street, and those who dwell in Michigan, and the people who live in Africa, and China, and India, and Syria, and the former Czechoslovakia?
Why are we all here? What is our purpose?
Those of you who come from the Presbyterian tradition know that the very central element of John Calvin’s theology – Calvinism - found in the Westminster Catechism - is the answer to the question: “What is the chief end of man?” What is our purpose? Do some of you Presbyterians remember the answer?
“Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.”
I like to think of this in terms of parents and their children. What do we want most of all for our kids? I know that Sandy and I want our children to be happy people. We want them to be good people. We want them to have lives that are fulfilling and meaningful.
And along with that, we want them to enjoy us, their parents, and each other. We want them to come home for Thanksgiving dinner, and to celebrate Christmas together, and even though we Singleys live many miles apart these days, we want to Skype with them and our grandkids on Saturday mornings! Last summer we were so happy to have the whole family together up at our camp in New Hampshire. That hadn’t happened in a while. We fished together, and went swimming and waterskiing, and enjoyed geocaching (if you know what that is), and in the evenings we sat around and talked and played some board games and simply ENJOYED each other!
“Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.”
Do you see it?
The purpose of life is best seen in the image of God’s family gathered together in love. And just as a mom and a dad are in their glory when the kids all come home, God is glorified when his family is gathered together in love.
So how do we live out that purpose? How can we apply that to the here and now of our lives?
Well, here’s where today’s sermon title comes in: It’s Not All About You – or Is It?
You see, while the very purpose of our lives revolves around God, you and I have been given a share of responsibility for fulfilling that purpose. It is NOT all about you, but YOU have a role to play in the purposes of God in gathering his family together. And discovering the YOU part of our faith is the key.
Listen to these words of Jesus about YOU:
“Love one another as I have loved…WHO?...YOU!”
“Do unto others as you would have them do unto…WHO?...YOU!”
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength, and love your neighbor as…WHO?...YOURSELF.”
You see, God has placed within each of us a kind of mirror that – when we look into it – helps us know how to live. We might call it the “you mirror”! How has God loved YOU? How have others brought care to YOU? What are YOUR highest dreams and aspirations? How do YOU want to be treated? What words do YOU want and need to hear from others? What do YOU want for your children and grandchildren? What kind of friends do YOU want to have?
When you look into the “you mirror” and see your own experiences, needs and desires, then and only then can you love others as YOU have been loved, treat others as YOU want to be treated, and love your neighbor as YOURSELF.
So take some time in the days to come to look into YOU. See how YOU have been loved, cared for, befriended, encouraged, forgiven, supported… Make a list of how these gifts have come to you, and then figure out ways that YOU can bring gifts like these to the people you live with and meet along the way.
It’s not all about YOU, but YOU are important to God.
Some 700 years before Jesus was born, a young man by the name of Isaiah saw a vision. It happened during a period of time when the world seemed to be falling apart. King Uzziah had died. There were big domestic problems and big foreign problems. God needed someone to go and speak to the people – to call them together and to remind them that their purpose in life was to glorify God and enjoy him and each other forever. God needed someone to tell the people God loved them.
In the vision, God – from the throne of heaven – asks, “Whom shall I send?”
Isaiah answers, “Here I am, Lord. Send me.”
You see, it wasn’t all about Isaiah. It was about God and God’s plan to save his children.
But Isaiah had an important role to play in the purposes of God.
And so do you.