May 29, 2011

"As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion,

at the First Presbyterian Church of Kilgore

May 29, 2011

The title of the sermon today must seem odd to those who are not familiar with the work of Dr. Johnson. He was a scholar and humorist of 18^th century England. Dr. Johnson’s most notable achievement was his Dictionary of the English Language published in 1755 that had far-reaching influence right up to the present time. On the humorist side, perhaps his best known quote that is coined frequently, even by those who have forgotten its source, is "When a man knows he will be hanged in a fortnight,… it concentrates the mind wonderfully."

I hope Dr. Johnson will forgive me for re-working his saying in order for us to consider a fundamental truth about our lives as disciples of Jesus Christ. And that is: "KNOWING WHO YOU ARE….concentrates the mind wonderfully." Do you know who you are?

In our Scripture Lesson for today, the Apostle Paul tells us who we are in three words. "As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience…" Who are you? If you are a disciple of Jesus Christ, Paul says, you are…CHOSEN. You are HOLY. And you are BELOVED. Let me make the case that, if we truly believe that Paul is speaking for Christ here, and we can see ourselves this way, it will indeed "concentrate the mind wonderfully." For those of you who, like me, have inquisitive minds to the point you have so many interests sometimes it seems there is no Center holding it all together, this message is for you. If you consider yourself a bit scatter-brained at times, or suffer from a sort of "attention deficit disorder"; if you are simply easily distractable, or have so many irons in the fire you can’t seem to get anything done well…then this message is for you. Now, have I missed anyone?

The fact is, every time we open the Word of God, every word is God-breathed and it tells us who we are. James, the brother of the Lord who wrote the epistle toward the end of the New Testament, said "The Word of God is like a mirror," when we look into it we not only discover who God is, we discover who we are. (James 1:23-25) Thus the three questions that always open up the Scriptures to us: "What does it tell me about God?" "What does it tell me about myself?" And, "Why is this message coming to me at this time in my life?"

Do you know who you are? First, if you are a disciple of Jesus Christ, you have been "CHOSEN." To the very common folk of Colossae of the first century, the Apostle says, "As God’s chosen ones…" Have you ever thought of yourself as having been "chosen"? Well, let me suggest that you are. How do I know? Because you are here. Some of you are here because, growing up, your parents insisted on your going to church; and it became a habit; and here you are. (Let’s hear some applause from heaven for your parents.) You went through Confirmation Class; you may have wandered a bit in your young adult life, but there was always something missing. It was like you had a homing device within you, and finally you made your way back, and here you are continuing your journey as a disciple.

Others of you are here because your spouse dragged you to church. Maybe you took a long leave of absence from church in your early adult life; but then you started having kids, and you knew you needed help to see that they had a foundation to build their lives on. You couldn’t very well insist on their going to church unless you led the way, so you came back.

Some of you left off going to church altogether; you felt no need for it and you thought there were better ways to fill a Sunday morning for many many years. But life has a way of humbling us, doesn’t it. You went through some traumatic times--perhaps a divorce, the death of a loved one, a job loss, a life threatening illness, or some emotional stress. They say there are no atheists in foxholes. Our veterans here today would probably say "Amen" to that on this Memorial Day weekend. It is also true there are no atheists when life caves in and we don’t know what to do. We need a Power greater than ourselves, and we hope we can find it in church.

Now, all of this is part of your "chosenness." There are more people not in church this morning in Kilgore than those who are in church. For whatever reason, you are here; and I believe that is evidence you have been "chosen." You may not think you are a very good example of a Christian; you may have all kinds of struggles in your faith, deep doubts perhaps, intellectual problems believing this or that, sometimes you may feel that you are just going through the motions and you have trouble keeping your attention. Other times you find yourself in that struggle of the soul the Apostle Paul expressed when he said, "I don’t understand my own actions! The good I want to do, I do not; and the evil I do not want to do is exactly what I do! Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this bondage…?!" Yes, that was the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Romans (7:15-24). Nevertheless, with all your struggles trying to be a Christian, here you are!, see? You got out of bed and came this morning hoping there might be "a word from the Lord" for you. And I’m here to tell you there is!: You’re "chosen." And consider yourself extremely fortunate.

But the Apostle goes on. Who are you? It’s not only that you are "chosen," but you are "HOLY." "As God’s chosen ones—holy and beloved—clothe yourselves with compassion…" There is a saying, "Membership has its privileges." Well, let me change another saying to make it more true: "Membership has its RESPONSIBILITIES." Being "chosen" has its responsibilities. This is why Paul calls these common folk in Colossae "holy." Do not think of your Chosenness by God as making you "privileged" or in any way better than anyone else. Rather let your Chosenness make you tremble a bit.

To be "holy" does not mean to be perfect, sinless, or even religious. To be "holy" means TO BE SET APART FOR SPECIAL SERVICE. Because you are chosen, you have a huge responsibility, because you represent Jesus Christ to the world. Like it or not, you are the best Christian someone knows; and you are being watched. Even in something as simple as being a member of First Presbyterian Church, just coming in here on a Sunday morning, you can do Christ a lot of good, or a lot of harm. In the way you live, by the causes you support, by the things you say, by the things you don’t say when the opportunity arises. When you are "chosen," you are "clothed with Christ," like it or not. You have publically identified yourself as one of Jesus’ disciples. And so we are reminded by the Third Commandment, "You must not take the name of the Lord Thy God in vain." (Exodus 20:7) Let me make my point by way of those we honor on Memorial Day.

As a boy I used to love seeing pictures of my father in his Army Air Corps uniform. Dad was very proud to be a veteran of World War II. I loved seeing pictures of him in the cockpit of his B-17 and B-24 bombers. Dad never graduated from college. He enlisted in the Army Air Corps. I asked him why he didn’t finish college first. He said, "I’m not sure I chose to enlist as much as it chose me. World War II broke out in Europe; then Pearl Harbor, and I was just caught up in the events that pushed me to enlist."

I once asked Dad how it felt to wear that uniform. As a little boy, I wanted one of those. It was so nicely pressed; he looked so handsome and brave. He would love to reminisce as much as I would love to hear, so we were a good match. He said, "I can still remember the first time I put on a uniform. I looked at myself in the mirror, and I was proud." What were you proud of?, I asked. "I was proud of my country," he said… "And I guess I was proud of myself; I was only 23…and as I put on that uniform, I felt like a better person, a bigger person; I felt better than I was.

Because I was representing my country, and my uniform told the world that I was a man on a mission." To be "holy" in the way Paul is telling the Colossians, is to be set apart for a special mission.

So now, get this: In our scripture lesson today, the Apostle Paul is telling us to put on our uniform. "Take off your old clothes [your civilian clothes] with all the old practices, when you were driven by anger, wrath, self-seeking…and clothe yourselves with the new self which is the image of God….As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience…" (Colossians 3:8-12)

Oh, how I wish that we all would have the same pride as the veteran in his uniform, and much more! Because, you see, we represent Christ to the world! Oh, how I wish when we get up in the morning we would remember who we are. As we get dressed, that we would think of ourselves as "putting on Christ," "clothing ourselves with Christ." How I wish we would have the same sense of mission concentrating our minds wonderfully on what, above all things, we MUST do that day. As we’re getting dressed, our stomachs may churn with so many things that need doing, so many challenges that need meeting, so many problems that need solving. And your mind is splintered into any number of directions; your heart races with anxiety. But ABOVE ALL, there is ONE THING that you MUST accomplish. You must, in all that you do and the way you do it, you must represent your Lord accurately to the world. Because you are putting on Christ!

The last thing is this. Who are you? You are not only "chosen" to be a disciple of Jesus Christ, and "holy"—set apart for a special mission; but you are "BELOVED." "As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves…" with Christ. As you go about your day, and do your best to accomplish your primary mission, remember that Christ is not far away. Remember that Christ is by your side, in the presence of the Holy Spirit. Remember that He is "a very present help in time of need….", because you are "beloved." Jesus described the Holy Spirit in exactly this way. In the Upper Room, as He was preparing the disciples for His leaving them, He said, "But I will not leave you as orphans. I will come to you. I will send the Helper to be with you forever. You know Him, because He is with you now and will be in you." (John 14:15-18) The Greek word in the original New Testament for "Helper" is parakletos—One called alongside.

Do you remember your first job? Did you have a mentor who stood behind you and taught you how to ring the cash register, or pack the groceries, or trim the tree, or put the spark plugs in your car? My first job was plowing fields in northern Indiana, getting the plow at just the right depth, keeping the furrow straight all the way across the many-acred field. This was before the days of the closed, air-conditioned cabs on the tractors, so we were just on top of the tractor, dust in the face and I would come home every night looking like a chimney sweep. My most vivid memory, though, is old John Lindborg, sitting up with me, straddling the back of the tractor seat, pointing to the furrow, showing me where I was off line, tapping me on the shoulder, showing me when the terrain took a dip and I need to adjust the plow up or down in depth, yelling in my ear over the noise of the tractor. John Lindborg was a good man. What’s more, he liked me, he believed in me. I was "beloved" in a sense. And he knew what he was doing, so I listened as he yelled into my ear. I never felt embarrassed or humiliated when I started to create a wavy furrow. This is the picture of the Holy Spirit that Jesus paints. This is the help we can count on as we go out into the world knowing who we are, and live into it!

So as we get dressed in the morning, let’s think about "putting on Christ," about Who it is we represent in all that we have to do, because we have been "chosen," and we are "holy", set apart for a high mission. But let us also remember the Presence who is behind us, arranging the circumstances, giving us the words, giving us a patience beyond our own. We are not alone, because we are "beloved." We belong to Christ! Alleluia! Amen.