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The Message for Feb 28, 2016
Luke 13:1-9
Love Changes People
Rob Miller, Pastor
Is it just me or is the world getting meaner? It seems like it is – doesn’t it? From presidential candidates to parents teaching and coaching our children - people seem to be getting meaner. I know it’s happening in our schools. I hear about it from my children and it seems to be getting worse. It doesn’t have to be this way.
Love Changes People, say that with me… Love changes people. That’s what Kelly Fryer writes in her book Reclaiming The “L” Word.
We’ve been using her book as the basis for our Lenten worship series this year. We are considering the Five Guiding Principles for Lutheran Churches. First principle is Jesus is Lord, Second principle is, Everybody is Welcome. And today we consider the third principle, Love Changes People.
It really does. Love changes people, the law does not. Kelly tells a story about driving through Charlotte, NC one Friday night around 10:30. She saw a gigantic billboard on the side of the road. Flames of fire shot up along the bottom of the sign and its message was clear. It read…
NO GOD = NO FUTURE
She writes, “Apparently, there are some Christians who think this approach – to scare the heck out of people – actually works.” It doesn’t… If anything it turns people off from God and the faith and the church.
Another time while traveling, she stopped at a MacDonald’s to use the restroom. She noticed the usual goofy graffiti in places like that.
“Lennie loves Maggie”
“Bob & Sue forever”
Then she noticed this message, “Jesus is coming back soon. Will you be ready or left behind???”
“I’m sure they meant well…” Kelly writes. “But somebody ought to tell these folks that it is God’s love that makes the difference for people. Not the law. Not some list of rules you better follower or else.”
I agree! As Lutherans, we don’t take that scare-tactic approach. Kelly writes - whacking people upside the head with a Bible doesn’t help. It’s a turn off. How true! So let’s not do that…
Instead we take a different approach. In the Bible we read about Peter who blessed his friends - rejoicing with them that they had become a holy nation, God’s own people. Peter reminded them that this was all because they had been chosen and called by Christ. They had been loved into it (1 Peter 2:9).
Peter doesn’t say anything about being whacked upside the head. NO… we are blessed by God to be a blessing to others. I guess you could say that we are loved by God to love others.
The law is important. No doubt about it. Law and love are two sides of the same coin. We don’t abolish God’s law instead love helps us live by it.
Kelly writes: “God’s law is like a disciplinarian who helps us see clearly when we are lost - when we mess up (Galatians 3). The law points out how far we drifted away from God. Looking up at that towering list of God’s rules and we realize that it is impossible for us to fulfill them. We cannot fulfill what the law requires of us.”
That’s what troubled Luther so much. He realized that we cannot work our way up to God. The arrow always points down. God always comes down to us. We call it grace.
That’s what our Gospel reading is all about. It’s about grace. Give the fig tree another chance. Sure you can focus on all the “should” and the “you better produce or else” but the point of the story is that we are all fig trees and we often fail to produce. But Jesus says, “Give ‘em another chance.”
People aren’t changed by rulebooks, or lectures, or laws, or church constitutions. Kelly asks the question: Can you honestly say that your life is different because somebody beat you over the head with the Bible or scared you half to death because you are a sinner?
I’ve come to realize that what really changes people -- what leads people along the path of faith, and holiness, and hope – the one thing that has made a difference in my life is L-O-V-E. The love of God through Christ Jesus at work in my life through the people around me.
Sometimes – the way we do things in the church – the way we’ve done things in the past – we’ve actually sacred people away even before they had a chance to meet the one who welcomes them with open arms from the cross.
That’s why Guiding Principle #3 is so important. Love Changes People. It really does. It reminds us to live the opposite of way the culture tells us. Being mean doesn’t get us anywhere. Love does.
Jesus meets us where we are and welcomes us with open arms from the cross because he loves us. He loves sinners. He lived for sinners. He died for sinners. He lives again for sinners. His love is at work in our lives making all the difference for life. Love changes everything.
I still remember the day my life changed because of love. I was a teenager. I was a rotten teenager. I know that’s hard to believe. I pushed the limits. I didn’t do things that were bad at least not that bad in my mind. I did things that were rebellious.
For example: As a child I would never sit still in church. I loved to crawl around underneath the pews during the sermon. Who wants to listen to a boring sermon? Don’t answer that! I would slip down when nobody was watching. One time I crawled underneath the pews all the way up to the front popped up and waved to everybody.
I don’t remember doing that but my mother never let me forget it.
That was probably the Sunday an older church lady said to my mother, “Well Janie, it looks like you finally have one that won’t sit still in church.” I was number 6 in a family of 9.
That was probably the same Sunday my mother said, “Robert, if you don’t sit still I’m going to smack your bottom right here in front of everybody.” And I said, “Go ahead.” No… I didn’t. I said, “Well go ahead and smack it!?!?”
Then one day I was getting ready for school I was probably around 13. We had a mirror near the front door. I was combing my hair just before heading out the door and my mother said, “Robbie, I love you!”
That was the first time I remember my mother saying that to me. Of course she loved me, she showed it all the time and probably said it all the time too. But that was the first time I actually heard her say it to me. And I was a hard teenager to love.
That day my life changed. I was loved – that was nearly 40 years ago and I remember it like it was yesterday.
I remembering looking into the mirror of that pimpled faced rebellious teenager I saw someone who was loved. Me. From that day on I started acting differently… or at least tried to… I stopped being so mean - still rebellious - just not as mean.
Love really does change everything as Michael Ball & Il Divo sang about… Wasn’t that a great song… and a great message too…
The Bible is full of stories about people whose lives were changed after experiencing God’s love. And these people found themselves doing thing they never dreamed possible.
One day Jesus called Zacchaeus to come down out of a tree (Luke 19). Jesus could have said, “Hey Zacchaeus, you cheated people out of their money. You lied and took advantage of those in need. You are a good-for-nothing low-life!”
Jesus could have thrown the book at him or whacked him with it. He could have threatened him, embarrassed him, or spelled out the eternal consequences of his behavior. He could have painted a picture of how unhappy his future was going to be without God in it. No God = No Future!
But Jesus didn’t do any of those things. Jesus said, “Hey Zacchaeus are you hungry? Let’s go get something to eat.” And Zacchaeus, overwhelmed by such a surprising welcome, gave his heart to Jesus. “I’m going to fix everything I’ve done wrong.” Declared Zacchaeus. “Nothing is going to be the same in my life.”
Nothing is the same when you’ve been touched by the love of Jesus.
For a long, long, long time Martin Luther saw God as an angry judge -- a God that was never satisfied. Of course, that’s what the church was teaching at the time. Try as he might – Luther never felt he was good enough to receive God’s grace. And he was right. He would spend hours and hours at a time in the confessional booth – confessing all his sins. He wanted to get right with God. The priest said Luther would wear him out with his confessions.
So when Luther experienced the love of God in his life – he became a new man – changed forever. He wrote about his encounter with God’s love in a little booklet called Christian Liberty… Anyone, Luther writes, who has ever had a faint taste of it [God’s love] can never write, speak, meditate, or hear enough concerning it. It is a living ‘spring’ of water welling up to eternal life.
No one can dispute how radically different Luther’s life had become once he experienced God’s love. It set Luther free. God’s love gives us the confidence and the courage and the commitment to do things we would never dream of doing.
Of course, not everyone decides on the spot like Zacchaeus to give away half of their possessions - and pay back every debt - and make up with everyone they’ve ever cheated. Not everyone marches out to lead a Reformation and change the world like Luther. And yet… Something happens when we encounter God’s love. It changes us for good.
Throughout Paul’s letters in the New Testament he is constantly clarifying and re-clarifying the priority of God’s grace at work in our lives. He shared the message of love to help set people free. Paul would often write in his letters – “lead a life worthy of the gospel.”
That’s what Paul set out to do after meeting Jesus. If anyone deserved a good clobbering with the good book, it was Paul. He was going around killing Christians because they believed Jesus is Lord. Paul encountered Jesus one day on the road to Damascus and Jesus put him to work setting people free with God’s love.
Instead of destroying churches Paul went around planting churches so that more and more people would hear the good news about Jesus and experience God’s love. That’s the kind of church we are called to be. A church where God’s love is shared with everyone because Jesus is Lord and everyone is welcome.
There is a great story in the Bible about Peter and his friends out fishing all night and they caught nothing (Luke 5). In the morning Jesus meets them on the beach and suggests they go out into deeper waters.
Jesus said… “Hey guys, if you want to catch something worthwhile, you have to go into deeper waters.” They looked at him like he was crazy. But they did it. They listened to Jesus. And they caught so many fish they couldn’t haul the nests into the boat. They had to drag them to the shore.
Kelly says that, “We are called to go into the deeper waters of God’s love. Of course, Jesus couldn’t love as any more than he already does. He simply invites us to follow him wherever he leads and listen to him wherever we go. And that journey will look different for each one of us. It depends on our starting point.”
Kelly offers as great metaphor for going deeper into the waters of God’s love. She lists them like this…
Still Ashore
Waders
Swimmers
Deep Sea Divers
Lifeguards
- Still Ashore
Some people are still on the shore. They have not experienced God’s love in their lives yet. Maybe that’s because no one has shared God’s love with them yet. Maybe that’s you. Maybe you are just going through the motions of church and faith and life. Sure you come here to worship once in a while… you say Jesus is Lord but that doesn’t really mean anything to you. Nothing changes. God’s love really isn’t a part of your life If that’s the case then I am praying for you…
- Waders
Maybe you’re a wader. You have just begun this new adventure in the faith. You’re just sticking your toe in the water of God’s love. You’re curious but unsure about this whole “Jesus thing” and “being loved by God.” You come to worship but that’s about as far as your involvement goes. You think about God during the week. Something seems to be happening to you. Your faith is starting to develop. You want to learn more and you think about getting more involved. It’s weird -- you are starting to have fun.
- Swimmers
Maybe you’re a swimmer. You’ve taken the plunge. You don’t know all the fancy strokes yet but you’re learning. You’re really trying to practice the faith. You strive to be here in worship every week. You read the Bible. You make time for God. Your prayer time is spent listening more so then speaking. You are trying to live the faith in your everyday world.
You have a spiritual discipline -- and it’s making a difference in your life. You can’t wait to come to worship and or to a Bible study. You enjoy inviting others to come with you. You are involved beyond just worship. You realize that you are blessed to be a blessing to others so you give generously of your time and your financial resources to say – “Thank you, Jesus.” Your life is different. You know that God’s love is all around you – you feel it wherever you go…
- Deep Sea Divers
Perhaps you are a Deep Sea Diver. You can hardly believe what is happening in your life. You see God at work all around you. You realize this is what you were created for. Your faith is becoming more and more the center of your life – at work, at home, at school, everywhere… You trust God with everything. You are working towards being a tither - giving 10% because you want to help make a difference in this place. You are not there yet but you’re working on it. You can’t imagine starting your day without hearing God speak to you when reading the Bible. When God calls you to do something, no matter how scary, you pray for courage to say, “yes.”
- Lifeguards
Maybe you have the honor and the privilege of being a lifeguard – of teaching others how to swim. Maybe you are on the worship team – including ushers, greeters, tech booth, prepare communion, deliver communion, or children’s ministry, or youth ministry, or a leader for our small group ministry, or help clean the building, or take care of the grounds. Maybe you serve on council or on the staff. You keep your faith skills up to par so you can be there when someone needs help.
You know that the focus of our mission is on those who are still ashore. They are the people we have not met yet. They are our neighbors -- those who drive by this place every day -- those who are trying to make sense out of life and the mean people in the world.
They may believe in God but for whatever reason - they avoid us and the church because - well – because they don’t think we have much to offer them. They are afraid of the water.
The truth is we are not doing enough to reach them. And yet that’s what Jesus calls us to do. So invite someone to come with you to worship next week, or invite them to our Wednesday Bible study this week at 6:30, or invite them to check out our webpage…
None of us will move out into deeper waters because someone yelled at us or threatened us or wacked us upside the head with the Bible. Instead -- knowing that we are unconditionally loved by a good and gracious God who always comes down to us – to wade with us - or swim with us - or dive with us. God’s love gives us the confidence and the courage to go places and do things we never dreamed possible.
Love changes people. It really does… Amen.
Come back next week our topic will be “Everybody Has Something to Offer. Amen.