“Because That’s Who God Is”    2012

Deuteronomy 30:1-6         Ephesians 2:1-10

 

Deuteronomy 30:1-6

30When all these things have happened to you, the blessings and the curses that I have set before you, if you call them to mind among all the nations where the Lord your God has driven you, 2and return to the Lord your God, and you and your children obey him with all your heart and with all your soul, just as I am commanding you today, 3then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have compassion on you, gathering you again from all the peoples among whom the Lord your God has scattered you. 4Even if you are exiled to the ends of the world, from there the Lord your God will gather you, and from there he will bring you back. 5The Lord your God will bring you into the land that your ancestors possessed, and you will possess it; he will make you more prosperous and numerous than your ancestors. 6Moreover, the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, in order that you may live.

 

Ephesians 2:1-10

2You were dead through the trespasses and sins 2in which you once lived, following the course of this world, following the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work among those who are disobedient. 3All of us once lived among them in the passions of our flesh, following the desires of flesh and senses, and we were by nature children of wrath, like everyone else. 4But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us 5even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7so that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God— 9not the result of works, so that no one may boast. 10For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.

 

A vagrant   haunts in the shadows near a back-street fish market.

            Though disgusted by the slime, the  filth and the stench,

               at least there, the cops don’t roust and hassle him as much.

In the dumpsters behind nearby restaurants -

            he's able to find pieces of uneaten rolls and garlic bread,

                 bits of leftover meals and uneaten pieces of desserts;

                 he survives on whatever garbage he can find & choke down.

 

And then one morning,

            amid the garbage and trash, under some putrid fish entrails

                        he finds a soaked and nasty lottery ticket;

                             wiping off the worst,  he stuffs it into his pocket.

 

Sometime later, passing by a newspaper stand, he remembers,

            and he takes out that smelly stained lottery ticket.

                        He compares its numbers those in the newspaper --

                                    and three numbers match, then 4,5, 6 -- all seven;

 

                        wiping his eyes, he checks again, shocked disbelief à

                                    for things like that don’t happen to him,

                                     desperate homeless bums don’t win the lottery.

 

But its true;

            he will receive $243,000 every year, for the next 25 years.

 

Standing in his pungent old rags, still unshaven and un-bathed,

            he's dazed, and squinting before the glare of TV lights

                        and a reporter asks him, “so how do you feel?”

 

            “How do you feel?”, it’s been a long time, a very long time

                        since anyone has cared enough to ask him that question.

 

How does he feel? … he feels grace ---   he feels like a manà

            who has been to the edge of starvation and come back again,

              and is only now  beginning to accept and believe --

            that he will never have to feel that gnawing hunger again.

 

God’s grace is shocking hope and  mercy  that just simply appears,

            and that is freely given to people who don’t deserve it.

 

Grace is hope that has power to bring change, another chance;

            for to receive God’s mercy and love is an incredible thing à

                        but truth is, it’s much more than that.

    Grace can also be very difficult and unsettling,

            for it’s far more than just simple and easy sentiment.

 

 

Jeffery was an incredibly cruel and disturbed little boy,

            who tortured and killed neighborhood pets and animals.

                        As a teenager he declared to his parents,

                                       “There is no God, and I can make up my own rules.”

 

And having no sense of God or moral sensibility,

                        there was nothing to restrain his evil and cruelty,

                                    and he descended into insatiable dark bloodlust.

       By the time the police finally caught him, on average,

               Jeffery Dahmer was murdering another young man every week.

 

His actions were   unspeakable,  repugnant, dark and evil--

            truly  the unimaginable cruelty and depravity   of a monster …

                             … and perhaps even more difficult to take,

                                       and most offensive,   is the rest of the story.

 

 

            While in prison,

                        he repented and accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior.

The prison chaplain and the pastor who baptized him

            describe a man,   changed and redeemed by the grace of God.

 

And in this case,  the gospel of Jesus Christ   seems scandalous à

 

            àfor if Jeffery Dahmer’s conversion was a genuine response,

                        then God in His great and infinite mercy    gave Hisà

                                    one and only beloved Son to pay for Dahmer’s sins. 

      All of them – though so heinous  he deserved no mercy at all.

 

Dahmer’s sins   were put upon Jesus as he hung nailed to a cross

            and He paid the penalty for Dahmer’s sins,  as though

                        Jesus had tortured and  murdered the victims  himself.

 

I find myself totally offended by the scandal and the injustice

          that such a human-monster   who did such unspeakable evil

                   could be  just as loved and precious to God as  you or I;

               that he was redeemed by the sacrifice of Jesus,à

                        and is as welcome into the Kingdom of God  as any of us.

 

Mercy and grace for such a brutal murderer --- that is troubling.

            It’s hard to accept as true   or understand God’s grace

                        when it’s applied to such an evil monster of a man.

 

                 God’s love and grace, God’s mercy and compassion

                        go far beyond our human understanding or comprehension -

- and the scandal of God’s love for outcasts and unworthy sinners,

        the offensiveness of grace is at the very heart of the gospel.

 

            The grace of God   is real and undeserved,    and what better  à

                        illustrates that truth about God's gracious love,

                                    than   the baptism   of an infant or a young child.

 

Earlier in worship this morning   when we baptized Serenity,

     I confidently announced that she is precious & beloved of God,

                        and that she is a child of the Lord’s covenant with us.

         And I did that entirely without her consent or approval.

 

Serenity has never made any declaration of having faith,

    or said anything about repenting or intending to walk with God,

        or even that she accepts Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior.

So   by what authority    

            did I declare         with such certainty that God loves Serenity?

 

I could do that  because God’s promise of grace isn’t about

          our human repentance or good deeds that justify God’s love;

àbut because whatever it is that happens at baptism,

      it is entirely God's own doing – it is all  God's gracious love.

 

The Ephesians passage describes a three-part process of grace

            that begins by recognizing,    ours is a sin-distorted life à

                        of compromise following the false-wisdom of this world

                              that ultimately would lead to destruction and death.

 

As we read,  vs. 1-3

            You were dead  through the trespasses and sins in which you once lived, following the course of this world, … those who are disobedient.  All of us once lived among them in the passions of our flesh, following the desires of flesh and senses, and we were by nature children of wrath, like everyone else.

 

Truth is, by nature we are selfish and capable of terrible evil.  Apart from God, our lives are headed in the wrong direction

à until we encounter the most powerful words in all Scripture:

            "but God" – the doorway through which grace appears.

vs. 4-5

            But God,                     who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved--

 

These verses are the second step in the process of grace,

            and they explain the effect of God's gracious love and mercy,

                        of when the Lord God enters our life and our situation …

… which moves us from a sin-controlled existence,

            and instead,  a new life that is shaped by the Holy Spirit,

                        leading toward the final step

                                    in a progression or process of God’s grace: vs. 8-10

            For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God— not the result of works, … For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.

 

God’s grace and salvation

          are not just a one-time experience and then we're done;

                     but we make an initial decision to accept God’s offer,                                  and then for the rest of our lives   that grace  

                                      gradually reshapes the way that we live  ---

                   - into a relationship with God and a life of good works

                          as the Lord intended for us since the very beginning…

 

… as an ongoing spiritual journey of our faith growing deeper:

                        *          it is our learning to walk with our God

                                                in a growing relationship with Jesus;

                        *          it is the continuing re-orientation of my life

                                        as I learn to see anew from the perspective of God…

 

… and at baptism,   vow to share that knowledge of the Lord’s grace

            with our children and these entrusted to our care.

The message of grace is God’s gift and call for us to respond

            to the Lord’s offer and promise of love, purpose and mercy.

                        and as a church family we have made a solemn vow & promise

                                    that we will help guide and nurture our children,

as by word and deed, we will love and pray for them,

          and encourage and guide them   to know, love and follow Jesus.

                    so that our children will learn & respond to God’s grace.

 

            So,  how are we going to fulfill this vow and promise?

How are we going to train our children in the Christian faith

            so that they will know of God’s infinite love, grace & mercy?

 

Children learn faith, to claim God’s love & grace for themselves,

            by observing how others around them  live out their faith,

                  and especially by seeing how those whom they know & trust, 

                                    relate to God and reflect his love in their lives.

 

That’s the way that faith, a living and personal knowledge of God,

            is passed down through the ages and the generations,

                        and gets interwoven into the very fabric of our lives…

…   which places an awesome responsibility & trust upon each of us-

                        so that by seeing our life of faith,

                                    they will make it their own faithful way of life.

 

For example, if a parent says that they believe in God

            and that Jesus Christ is their Lord and Savior:

 

          but then if they don’t see them pray or attend worship,

              if they don't serve and support the life of the church,

                      what does that child really learn about their faith,

                        and about the importance of God in that parent’s life?

 

* Our children will learn to walk in faith and get to know God,

            by watching the example we live   far more  than by what we say.

So our task as both family and Church,   is to demonstrateà

       the truth and depth of our Christian faith by both word & deed,

                        and  by our example and  by the choices   we  make in life.

 

Christian nurture & education is not a task just for parents alone

            but   as a congregation we have all made a vow to help out,

                 in showing the children entrusted to this congregation

                            that they are loved, cherished, and important to God.

 

That means that as we can, and as we are capable,

            that we will volunteer to help at Salt and Light, VBS or SS,

                        that we will support and provide resources for ministry.

 

For example, consider young Serenity, who right now

            probably cannot yet understand a SS lesson or a Bible story;

                        yet certainly can tell   if she feels welcome and wanted,

                                    and if this church is a place where she wants to be.

          Though a still a baby, she can already recognize and tell

              if people are kind, and if they love and care for her,

                             which in time will translate

                                    into knowing that she is indeed precious to God.

 

I believe that a primary task of this church and congregationà

          is to create a caring and  faith-nurturing   environment

                   in which we live out the stories and truths of Scripture,

                             in ways that do reflect God's love and welcome…

 

…  and at the very least, prayer and getting to know their names

            so we can greet them and take an interest in their lives,

                        thereby   reflecting God's love and interest in them.

 

Our call

          is to intentionally and actively and generously

                    demonstrate  God’s love and grace in every way we can

                        by serving as caring dispensers of God's love & grace.

 

Grace is absolutely unearned, entirely gratuitous & uncalled for

            as if even the worst sinner or failure could be forgiven ---

*  which in fact, is the very essence of our Christian faith,

                   because our God, our loving and merciful God,

                           is the God of infinite & undeserved second chances…

 

… and if we are faithful to our calling to reflect God’s grace,

            then if anyone is ever asked, “Who are you?”,

                        they know to respond:à

               “I am a child of God.   I am one   Jesus loves and secures.”