|
Much is expected from each one of us. Sometimes we
neglect or rather ignore the demands of discipleship
that Jesus places upon us. There are times when we
forget that Jesus calls us to follow him. The
temptation as we gather for worship each week is to
think more about ourselves and our perceived needs than
to focus on Jesus and his teachings. Our focus in
worship is on what God has done for us and to be
challenged by Jesus’ words.
It
is not always easy either but Jesus promises to be with
us always. It is hard to love those who wrong us, or
hurt our feelings. It is hard to offer forgiveness or
admit our own wrong doing to others. It is always
easier to point out other people’s flaws and short
comings than to see our own.
Then, there are those times when we feel we are doing
all right. We are not fighting with our neighbors; we
attend church on a regular basis, we listen to scripture
lessons and the sermon. We are doing all right. It is
precisely at those times when Jesus grabs our attention
startling or surprising us with his words. As Jesus
concludes his Sermon on the Mount, the core of his
teachings, he tells those who have been listening, “Not
everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the
kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of
my Father in heaven.” Imagine the shock at hearing
those words. People might very well have asked him,
“What do you mean Jesus?” We might say, “We are after
all good church going Christians who try our best. We
are here in church on a beautiful late spring morning
when we could be doing all sorts of other things.” The
people present with Jesus protested, some claimed to
have “prophecy in your name” while others “cast out
demons in your name.” They thought they were doing all
right and never expected to hear otherwise.
I’m not sure Jesus would win any popularity contests; he
tells it like he sees it. To those who said all the
right things, the people who viewed themselves as on
track, on judgment day Jesus will say to them, “I never
knew you; go away from me, you evildoers.” On that day
it will be too late for them. The sad thing is that
they lived their whole lives thinking they were all
right. Jesus’ words are harsh, labeling those good
people as “evil doers.” Ouch! That hurts!
It
is not enough simply to listen to Jesus’ teachings or
even agree with them. What will make an eternal
difference is whether or not we acted on them. We find
in the book of James, “Be doers of the word, and not
merely hearers who deceive themselves.” (James 1:22) We
listen to Jesus’ teachings, internalize them and then
act on them. Many of us struggle with this very point.
We live in the information age. We are bombarded daily
with too much information. We can not eat or drink with
seeing a couple of paragraphs on the label. I once
heard someone describe our condition as suffering from
information overload. Plain and simple, there is too
much information available. There is so much
information that we have trouble knowing what to do or
how to respond. The end result is that we do nothing.
We become paralyzed by too much information.
We
need to focus on what has eternal consequences. We need
to filter through all the junk to focus on what is
really important. Come judgment day we want to hear
Jesus say to us “well done good and faithful servant,”
and not “I never knew you; go away from me, you
evildoers.”
We
can say all the right words, but if we fail to live out
our faith in practical ways everyday we will fall
short. We can not tell simply by looking at another
person whether or not that person is living out their
faith, of course we are not to judge others—that clearly
is Jesus’ role. Take two new houses both look the same
on the outside, both look like they would make fine
homes. What will distinguish the two houses is when the
storms come. The house built on a solid foundation will
weather the storm. However, the house built on less
than a solid foundation will come crashing down during
the first storm. The house certainly looked nice but it
was not build to last—with a solid foundation.
We
want to build our lives on the firm foundation so that
when the storms come, and they will come, we will be
standing firm. Again the difference is acting on Jesus’
words, living out our faith. “Everyone who hears these
words of mine and does not act on them will be like a
foolish man who built his house on sand.” We all know
what happened to the foolish person’s house—the one
built on sand—it might have looked great but once the
rain came, and the wind stirred, “It fell and great was
its fall.”
To
quote an old hymn, “When the roll is called up yonder”
we want to be absolutely certain that our name will be
called. So here on earth we will do everything we
possibly can to ensure that on that day we will be
welcomed. We share our faith with others, inviting them
to our church with us. Vacation Bible School provides
us a wonderful opportunity to reach out to children
living in our community, many who do not have a church
home. People mattered to Jesus and they should matter
to us as well. When we see a need we offer to help. We
not only pay attention to what Jesus did but actually do
all we can to help other people in his name. Many of
you participate in our Meals on Wheels program which
provides cooked meals for elderly residents. Our
mission of the month is a wonderful way to support local
mission in practical ways. We serve the Lord as we
share with others, especially those with special
needs.
The people who heard Jesus’ sermon were “astounded.”
They had never heard anything like it before. It was a
fresh word from God, and not something that they had
heard too many times before. Jesus, “taught them as one
having authority, and not as their scribes.” Unlike the
religious leaders of the time who used their power over
people, Jesus taught with authority and the people
responded to his teachings in a positive way.
Three years ago Dalmar moved to the
United States from his native Africa. He witnessed the
horrible genocide in his country, suffering and dying.
He welcomed a new life, and a fresh start in a new
country. Along his journey he became a Christian. He
saw the powerful witness of Christians risking their own
lives to bring about justice in his country. He began
reading about Jesus and soon became a believer.
Once established in a new home he began visiting
churches. For the most part he felt welcome in the
churches he attended. However, he felt that something
was missing. It became apparent that most of the
churches were not concerned with helping other people
but were more concerned with meeting their own needs.
As he read the gospels he could not understand how these
people could claim to be followers of Jesus and not care
for the plight of the poor living in their community.
Eventually Dalmar joined a church with an inner city
ministry, which provides breakfast and tutoring programs
for school students. People from the church help find
jobs for people by providing training as well as
babysitting. What impressed him the most was that the
entire church was involved in ministry, from the
youngest to the oldest. That was the kind of church
that Dalmar was looking for—one that touches the lives
of people in need.
Jesus warns, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’
will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who
does the will of my Father in heaven.” Our faith calls
us to action. May Jesus’ words serve as a wake up call
this morning--to wake us from our complacency so that we
can be both hearers and more importantly doers of the
word. May we continue to find new and creative ways to
reach out to others in the name of Jesus. When we live
out our faith in practical everyday ways we are building
a solid foundation that will not crumble.
Now let us prepare our hearts to receive the sacrament
of Holy Communion which also strengthens our
foundation.
Amen.
|
