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Sermon for Sunday 15 August 2021

First Reading: Joshua 24:1-2a, 14-18

1Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem and summoned the elders, the heads, the judges, and the officers of Israel. And they presented themselves before God. 2aAnd Joshua said to all the people,

14“Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. 15And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” 16Then the people answered, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods, 17for it is the Lord our God who brought us and our fathers up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight and preserved us in all the way that we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed. 18And the Lord drove out before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve the Lord, for he is our God.”

Psalm 34:12-22

12Who among you loves life and desires long life to enjoy prosperity? 13Keep your tongue from evil speaking and your lips from lying words. 14Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. 15The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open to their cry. 16The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to root out the remembrance of them from the earth. 17The righteous cry, and the Lord hears them and delivers them from all their troubles. 18The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and will save those whose spirits are crushed. 19Many are the troubles of the righteous, but the Lord will deliver him out of them all. 20He will keep safe all his bones; not one of them shall be broken. 21Evil shall slay the wicked, and those who hate the righteous will be punished. 22The Lord ransoms the life of his servants, and none will be punished who trust in him.

Second Reading: Ephesians 5:6-21

6Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. 7Therefore do not become partners with them; 8for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9(for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), 10and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. 11Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. 12For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. 13But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, 14for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” 15Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. 17Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, 19addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, 20giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Gospel: John 6:51-69

51{Jesus said to the Jews grumbling about him,} “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” 52The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” 53So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. 56Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. 57As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. 58This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” 59Jesus said these things in the synagogue, as he taught at Capernaum. 60When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” 61But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, “Do you take offense at this? 62Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? 63It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. 64But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.) 65And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.” 66After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. 67So Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” 68Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, 69and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.”

The Dean’s Dilemma

Between Comic books, TV and movies, what kid hasn’t dreamed of finding that preverbal genie in a bottle?  Kids, boys at least, dream of possessing super-powers, of achieving hero status, and with the fabled granting of three wishes, kids see endless possibilities in the world.  But children have limited power, so they derive a lot of satisfaction from imagining a magical being who can instantly give them whatever they desire.  But the movies and stories along these lines almost always come with a moral: Be very careful what you wish for—you just might get it.

It reminds me of the story I like to call “The Dean’s Dilemma.”  An angel appears at a college faculty meeting and tells the dean, “In return for your unselfish and exemplary behavior, the Lord will reward you with your choice of infinite wealth, infinite wisdom, or infinite beauty.”  Without hesitation, the dean says, “Give me infinite wisdom!”  “Done!” says the angel before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.  All heads now turn to the dean, who sits surrounded by a faint halo of light.  “Well,” says a colleague, “say something brilliant.”  The dean stands with a blank expression on his face, looks around the table, and confesses, “I should have taken the money.”

We laugh, but how many of us would have a hard time deciding between those three things?  Wealth and beauty are important in our culture, they’re celebrated, even idolized.  They’re measurable, noticeable and in many cases, they can give us power and authority.  They offer a way to “keep score.”  But wisdom, on the other hand, is hard to measure, it takes time to realize it’s affect, and in a world of instant information, what difference does being wise make?

Wisdom won’t necessarily get you a nicer car, or a bigger paycheck.  Wisdom won’t win you any awards, or make you the life of the party.  And yet, there are so many verses in the Bible about the value of wisdom.  In fact, the Bible makes it clear that the way of the foolish person leads to emptiness and even death, while the way of a wise person leads to joy, peace, and eternal life.  So, if an angel suddenly appeared and offered you the choice of infinite wealth, infinite beauty, or infinite wisdom, which would you choose?  Even for the Christian, the choice isn’t always easy, however, understanding what God is telling us in the Bible will help to make this decision easier.

Our second lesson from Ephesians this morning was written by the Apostle Paul, who understood “The Dean’s Dilemma” better than most of us.  Before he became an Apostle, Paul had been an esteemed young leader of the Pharisees, a “Pharisee of the Pharisees” as Paul put it (Phil. 3:5).  The Pharisees were an influential Jewish sect that practiced strict, legalistic adherence of Jewish traditions and religious observances.  And as an orthodox Pharisee, Paul would have held a position of high regard in his community.  Wealth and power were certainly part of the benefits he enjoyed.

However, when he became a follower of Jesus, he gave all that up.  He gave up his influence and respected place in society.  He willingly gave up his former career.  He gave up his community and home to travel all over the Roman Empire establishing churches and training early church leaders.  He gave up his safety and security.  And for the remainder of his life, he faced persecution, shipwrecks, beatings, and imprisonment for his faith.

In fact, the words we read this morning were written during the time of Paul’s second arrest.  At the time he wrote this letter, (about 64 A.D., 26 years after his conversion and 4 years before he was martyred), he knew full well the cost of following Jesus, and he also knew what life as a disciple was really worth.  Yet, despite the personal cost, he spent the last 30 years of his life serving the risen Christ.  So it was from the wisdom that only personal experience can bring, that St. Paul wrote, “Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.  Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.  Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery.  Instead, be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit.  Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Eph. 5:15-20).

Very likely, the first thing Paul wants us to understand in this passage is that the foolish person lives as if there is no God.And the first thing we need to acknowledge is, if there is no God, then ultimately, life has no purpose, it’s meaningless.If there is no God, then it’s only logical for everyone to simply do their own thing.  Listen to the tragic closing verse in the book of Judges: “In those days there was no king in Israel: everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (21:25).  Can you imagine the chaos that ensued from the people doing only what seemed right to them?  The question I often ask is, could this same statement be true of what’s happening in many places in our country today?  Don’t we see the evidence of people who choose to live only by their rules?

Without God’s laws and statutes, there are no absolute values; the definition of right and wrong are arbitrary, changeable, simply a notion defined by popular opinion.  Psalm 14:1 says quite plainly, “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’”  And thus, the foolish person lives only for themselves and only for the moment.  The foolish person doesn’t care about the consequences of their actions, or the legacy they leave behind.  For the fool, there is no future beyond this life.  All the foolish person cares about is themselves, their satisfaction, and satiating their cravings and lusts.

Warren Buffet, as many of you know, is a self-made billionaire, one of the richest men in the world.  One time Buffet was speaking at the University of Georgia.  A student asked him for his definition of success.  As part of his answer Mr. Buffet said: “I know people who have a lot of money, and they get testimonial dinners, and they get hospital wings named after them.  But the truth is, nobody in the world loves them.  If you get to my age in life and nobody thinks well of you, I don’t care how big your bank account is, your life is a disaster.”

Think about that for a moment, if “nobody thinks well of you, I don’t care how big your bank account is, your life is a disaster.”  That’s an eye-opening statement coming from a man who has amassed more money and power than you and I could ever dream of.  According to Mr. Buffet, those things are of little consequence compared to being loved and being respected and leaving a legacy of loving God and loving your neighbor.

Let me tell you about a young man from the world of skateboarding named Christian Hosoi (HooSO).  Hosoi is one of the best vertical skateboarders in the world.  He has received worldwide recognition and major sponsorship deals for his skateboarding skills.  As a child, he set for himself the goal of being the best skateboarder in the world.  At 14, he turned pro in the sport.  At age 16, he opened his own company.  He achieved all his goals by his late teens.  And none of it brought him fulfillment.  So, like many people who find worldly success at a young age, Christian Hosoi drifted into drugs and partying.

In January 2000, he was arrested at the Honolulu airport with 1.5 pounds of crystal methamphetamine and was sentenced to prison.  His girlfriend, Jennifer Lee, saw the road they were going down, and she decided to make a change.  She stopped using drugs and partying.  Not long afterwards, she began attending church and became a follower of Jesus.  But when she visited Christian in prison and tried to share her faith with him, he said, “I don’t need God; I need a lawyer!”  Paul would say that’s the perspective of a fool.

The fool sees no value in knowing God.  The fool wants a quick fix so they can go back to their old life, to their foolish ways.  For the fool, since we know there is a God, and since there is a purpose to life, that is living a life that is pleasing to God, then the fool has a decision to make.  Sadly, Christian (HooSO) Hosoi wasn’t ready to make that decision.  We need to recognize Paul’s first point here, it’s the fool that says there is no God.  The second thing Paul wants us to know is that the wise know that every moment of their life is an opportunity to know God and live in God’s will.  St. Paul writes, it is for the faithful follower “to discern what is pleasing to God” (vs.10).

James Merritt, in his book Friends, Foes & Fools, defines wisdom as, “Seeing life through the eyes of God, and living life in the will of God.”  The wise person knows that they belong to God, as Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 6:20, “[we] were bought with a price”, therefore, our first priority is to seek to understand the will of God.  So, what would change about our life if we could see life through the eyes of God, and lived our life in according to God’s will?  Would this knowledge change our attitude?  Our relationships?  Our priorities?  Our work?  Our future?

Paul knew that every Christian is like a magnet.  We, through our words and actions have the opportunity to draw others to Christ.  We have the chance to draw others to the way, that is the hope, the truth, and the life that is Jesus.  But magnets also have the power to repel as well.  If we claim to be a Christian, but still live like the fool, then we will repel people away from God.  We will waste the opportunities that God sets before us, the chance to help save a soul by sharing with them the love and joy of God.  Some of you may have heard of the artist, Chance the Rapper.  

Chancelor Johnathan Bennett, known by his professional name, Chance the Rapper is enjoying great success in the music industry right now.  He’s won a Grammy award, his concerts sell out, he is an anti-violence activist in Chicago and has donated over $1 million to Chicago’s public school system.  Professionally, he’s experenced tremendous success.

He shares an interesting story of his grandmother’s reaction to his career.  In his early days, when he was first starting to enjoy some success, his grandmother took him aside and told him that she didn’t like the way his lifestyle was changing.  She told him that she was going to pray for him.  In an interview with GQ magazine, Chance shares his grandmother’s prayer.  She prayed, “Lord, I pray that all things that are not like You, You take away from Chance.  Make sure that he fails at everything that is not like You.  Take it away.  Turn it into dust,” [amen].  Think about that prayer, it’s a powerful one!

What would you think if someone you loved prayed that prayer over you?  What if I as your pastor prayed, “Lord, please let my brothers and sisters in Christ fail at any endeavor that is not perfectly within Your will”?  Most of you wouldn’t appreciate it very much, would you?  But I must confess, I have the greatest respect for Chance’s grandmother.  She cares more about her grandson’s eternal soul than his success.  She cared more about him knowing God and living a life pleasing to God than she cared about offending him.  What a wonderfully wise Christian woman!

It was this prayer that led Chance the Rapper back to a right relationship with God.  Many of his song lyrics reflect his faith.  At his sold-out concerts, he speaks about God and his spiritual journey.  His phenomenal success now is rooted in knowing God and living in God’s will.  Like most wise folks, he knows that every moment of your life is an opportunity to show God’s hope and love through our words and deeds.

One final thought in closing this morning.  When we strive to discern what is God’s will and to live a life that is pleasing to God, then our natural response is to be thankful.  We’ll see every moment of our life as a blessing, a God-given opportunity.  An essential part of living in God’s will is living with a grateful heart.  Paul concludes this section of his letter by writing, “Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”  Remember, Paul is writing these words from a Roman prison.

There was nothing comfortable or predictable or even controllable about his life anymore.  He had willingly given up everything that once defined him.  And yet the joy and thanksgiving that flow through his letters are a powerful witness to the truth of God.  This kind of thankfulness and joy can’t be found in earthly possessions or power or success or status.  This kind of thankfulness is clearly a gift that can only come from knowing and living for Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior and having His spirit live in us.

Dr. Mark Jacobson graduated as valedictorian of his class at Harvard University and went on to study at Johns Hopkins University.  He was considered the best of the best in his field.  He could have chosen a job at any of the most prestigious and highest-paying hospitals in the country.  Instead, Dr. Jacobson headed to Tanzania to work among the impoverished people there.  As a missionary doctor, he helped establish a clinic and then upgraded that clinic to a 110-bed hospital, Arusha Lutheran Medical Centre.  Today he and the staff sees some 40,000 patients each year.

When asked if he ever thought about moving back to the States to practice in a more comfortable environment, he says he thinks about it at least once every day.  But he’s not going anywhere.  Dr. Jacobson has been working in Tanzania for more than 35 years now.  And he says that he knows that this is the place God wants him to be.  He’s living in God’s will, even though it requires sacrifices.

Why would anyone give up the money and status and comforts of a medical career in the United States to work among the poor of Tanzania?  Dr. Jacobson says, “Early on in my faith life, I realized that I had been wonderfully blessed and that I had a responsibility and call to give some of that back to others.”  Listen again to his response: “. . . I realized that I had been wonderfully blessed . . .”  There’s a man whose gratitude to God shapes his outlook and mission in life.

A moment ago, I mentioned the world-famous skateboarder Christian Hosoi (HooSO). Christian’s girlfriend, Jennifer, didn’t give up.  She continued to pray for him and share her faith with him.  Three weeks after he was incarcerated to serve a 10-year term, he surrendered his life to Jesus.  For the next 4 ½ years, he grew in his faith while serving his time in jail.  He was released early for good behavior, and he and Jennifer married and started a family.  Christian returned to skateboarding, but he also joined the pastoral staff at a church in California.  Today, he uses his skateboarding as a platform to share his faith in God.  

So which life looks more attractive: the way of the wise or the way of the fool?  “Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil” (vs. 15-16).  Paul wasn’t being harsh or judgmental here.  He knew what he was talking about.  He was trying to save us from living as if there is no God and as if life has no purpose.  Living a life as if there is no God is an empty and meaningless life.  It’s a foolish way to live.  And it ends in a wasted life.  Thankfully, there is another life available to us.

When we submit our wills and lives to God, we can live a life that is centered on knowing God and living in God’s will.  Jesus tells us all we need to know in how to live a life that is pleasing to God.  In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus said, “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you (Matt. 6:33).  When we seek God first, our lives will be ones that are marked by joy and thankfulness.  

The words of our psalmist for this morning are poignant, “Who among you loves life and desires long life to enjoy prosperity?  Keep your tongue from evil speaking and your lips from lying words.  Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.  The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open to their cry (Ps. 34: 12-16).

Amen

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