FIRST READING Revelation 7:2-4, 9-17
2I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, with the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea, 3saying, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.” 4And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000 sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel: 9After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” 11And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.” 13Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” 14I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. 16They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. 17For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
PSALM Psalm 149
1Hallelujah! Sing to the Lord a new song; sing his praise in the congregation of the faithful. 2Let Israel rejoice in his Maker; let the children of Zion be joyful in their King. 3Let them praise his name in the dance; let them sing praise to him with timbrel and harp. 4For the Lord takes pleasure in his people and adorns the poor with victory. 5Let the faithful rejoice in triumph; let them be joyful on their beds. 6Let the praises of God be in their throat and a two-edged sword in their hand; 7To wreak vengeance on the nations and punishment on the peoples; 8To bind their kings in chains and their nobles with links of iron; 9To inflict on them the judgment decreed; this is glory for all his faithful people. Hallelujah!
SECOND READING 1 John 3:1-3
1See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. 3And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.
GOSPEL Matthew 5:1-12
1Seeing the crowds, {Jesus} went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: 3“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. 5Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. 6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. 7Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. 8Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. 9Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. 10Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
BECOMING LIKE JESUS
A Sunday School teacher once asked their students to talk about how they felt about their church. The students responded in the usual ways: some said something silly to get the rest of the class to laugh, while others tried to be more serious. One of the girls, who was new to the class, felt uncomfortable about sharing openly, so she never volunteered an answer. Later, however, she did have an answer for her Sunday School teacher, and it was unforgettable. She said, going to church was, “like walking into the heart of God.” What a powerful description of what the church ought to be: “like walking into the heart of God.” Of course, that could also be the basis for the definition of a Christian; a person who strives to have the heart and actions of God.
You’ve heard me say it before and it’s something I’ll probably repeat many times in the future: being a Christian isn’t simply a title you get because you grew up in a home that went to church. Being a Christian isn’t something you do on Sunday; it isn’t something you claim so that you can get more business. The label, or title, or category Christian isn’t something attached to a person simply because you aren’t Jewish, Muslim or atheist. Being a Christian means you love and put God first, it is who you are.
Calling oneself a Christian is a description of how one lives their life. It’s a person who puts God first, one who follows and is devoted to Christ and one who patterns their life after Jesus. Being a Christian is about how we think, how we act and how we live. It informs every part of our being. Being a Christian is about seeking to align our hearts with God and emulate the actions and attitudes of our Lord and Master. But sadly, this isn’t what the church or society has taught in the past.
In the past, the church and society have forwarded that being a Christian is akin to job title. It’s something that describes one aspect, not the entirety of the person. When needed, this aspect could be changed or set aside as needed for the situation. For many having the Christian identity simply informs, but doesn’t define. So lately, I’ve been thinking that maybe it might be better if I didn’t refer to myself as a Christian. That maybe there’s a better term I could use that would let people know, without a doubt, that I am a faithful follower of Jesus.
Now this might sound harsh, and maybe that’s my intension, but I don’t always like being put in the same category with some people who like to call themselves Christians. I’m referring to the ones who will put out a directory of businesses that are identified as Christian businesses, so all the Christians can do business with each other. There’s something about that that just rubs me wrong. It makes Christianity sound like an exclusive club. If you’re in the club, we want to support you and if you’re not in the club, forget it. Or it sounds like you’re trying to make an extra profit from going to church. It turns church attendance into an opportunity to network instead of worshiping God. Trust me, just because you have a fish logo on the side of your company truck doesn’t mean I’m going to automatically assume that you’re the best and most trustworthy in your profession. I’ll certainly keep that in mind, but I still need to see it in your actions. If this is what it means to be a Christian, I’m not sure I want to be put in that category.
And then there are the so-called Christians who want to teach alternative theories of creation that have nothing to do with science or the Bible. I’m fully aware that some have posited alternative theories about how we got here which are taught in school. Believe it or not, I’m okay with that, because education is about presenting information, information that people believe. So we need to teach both. The Bible is clear on how things came into being: God spoke and through Jesus all things were made. I, and a good number of others, believe this and it needs to be taught in school as well.
And then there are the Christians who condemn victims of natural disasters, claiming that they suffered the destruction of a hurricane, or drought or earthquake as punishment for their sins. Really! How exactly did they arrive at this judgment? And what about the faithful Christians who suffered losses as well? What was their sin? Guilt by location? And then there are those who decide that God has given them judicial authority, ones who are quick to tell you who is going to hell and who isn’t. In the name of Christianity, people have been burned at the stake, lynched, herded into gas chambers, and suffered every atrocity known to humanity.
When I think of the title Christian, as it’s being used too many times today, I’m hesitant to be considered one of those. Yes, I’m a disciples of Jesus, but if that means being seen as someone who is quick to judge, is vindictive or lumps people and sin into the same category, then please don’t call me a Christian. Christians, the children of God, understand that we are called to love, whether sinner or saint (John 13:34.) This doesn’t mean we rationalize or condone sinful behavior (Rom. 12:9.) We’re expected to shine the light of Christ into this dark and sinful world; we’re called to identify sin and call the behavior out for what it is. However, we’re to do this in love, not out of judgement. Jesus is the only One with the authority to judge.
In today’s passage from 1 John 3, followers of Jesus are not identified as Christians, but as children of God. That’s a label that’s easier for me to live with. And yet, John reminds us that it doesn’t really matter what we might call ourselves because, so far as the world is concerned, people will see us the way they want to see us. As Jesus’ followers, we can’t expect the world to understand us any more than it understood Jesus. Just as they misunderstood what it meant for Jesus to be the Son of God, we can expect them to misunderstand what it means for us to be children of God. But it doesn’t matter what the world thinks so long as we understand what being a Christian means.
According to John, for us to be children of God means that we will be like Jesus. Now, I don’t know about you, but that makes me more than a bit uncomfortable. Not only does it sound presumptuous, but it’s also a bit scary. As children of God, we will be counter-cultural. In some ways it also sounds like we think we’re better than other people, and that’s one of the problems so many people have with the Christian church. There’s a perception that we believe we’re better than other people, we’re “holier than thou.” The fact is, just because we’re children of God, that doesn’t make us any better than anyone else in the world. God loves everything He created. We still need to accept the fact that we’re not perfect yet, that we’re still broken, imperfect, sinful. What sets us apart from the rest the world, is that we’re in the process of becoming more than we are. We strive each day to become more and more like Jesus.
But as self-willed people, who are very much affected by our sinful nature, how is this possible? How can we deny the self and take up our cross each day? First, we recognize, through faith, that in Christ, God has forgiven us and freed us from all our sinfulness. However, God doesn’t just forgive us so that we can resume our lives. God frees us so that we can lead lives of righteousness, without the burden of our sins weighing us down. Through His forgiveness, and the leading of the Holy Spirit, God makes it possible for us to become more than we were before. As broken people, His forgiveness sets us on the path toward wholeness. We’re not the same. We’re being transformed by the renewing of our minds (Rom. 12:2.)
This reminds me of the story of the traveler and the preacher. One day a man was traveling by horseback from Prescott to Phoenix when his horse stepped into a hole in Horse Thief canyon and broke its leg. Back then the only humane thing to do was shoot the horse and obtain another one. Knowing that he wasn’t far from Mayer, the man takes the saddle and gear and begins to walk the few miles to town. About a mile into his hike he comes across the ranch of the local circuit preacher.
In the yard was the parson and the man explains his situation. Western hospitality, being what it was, the man was invited in for dinner and was given a place to stay for the night. In the morning the preacher agreed to loan the man his horse so he could go into town to buy another. Before the man mounted, the parson explained, now I’ve trained this horse a bit different. When you want to go you say thank you Lord, if you want him to go faster you say that again. When you want him to stop say amen. The man thanked the preacher and mounted up.
Instinctively the man tried to spur the horse and said giddy up. But the hose never moved. The man laughed and said, oh yea, thank you Lord and the horse walked toward town. A couple hundred yard off the homestead, the man repeated, thank you Lord and the horse begins to trot. Going a little further, the man once again repeats thank you Lord and soon the horse is running. Wanting to see what the horse could do, the man says thank you Lord one more time. Now the horse is at a dead run. Before long they the man see the edge of the canyon above Mayer and pulls back on the reins to slow the horse, but the horse keeps running.
The man begins to panic, pulls on the reins harder and starts screaming woo horse woo; nothing. About to jump for his life the man suddenly remembers what the preacher says and shouts amen horse, amen. The horse digs in his heels and comes to a stop right at the edge of the canyon. The man laughs a bit nervously, looks out over the edge, removed his hat and wipes his brow. Putting his hat back on he looks once more over the steep drop and says, thank you Lord.
You could say that’s the same kind of confusion some have about God’s forgiveness in their lives. God is saying give thanks for your forgiveness. And we think that means go. Go and do what they were doing before. But God in Christ has told us we’re okay, not so we can run off and do what we were doing before, but so we can become more than we were before. So that we can become more like Jesus. And it’s the Holy Spirit that leads us through this process. In some traditions, they refer to this as sanctification. Sanctification is the process of growing in spiritual likeness to Christ.
Sanctification is a lifelong process for us, one that’s never finished, no matter how old we may be. Paul writes about it to the Philippians: “Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus (Phil. 3:12-14.) Our goal, our desire is to emulate Jesus more and more each day.
Everyone understands that children tend to be like their parents. Some of this is because it’s in their DNA, and some of it is because when you raise a child you have a lot of influence over them and your behavior rubs off on them. I know there were some things about my father that drove me nuts when I was growing up and I swore I’d never do them. More and more it seems, I find that the words that come out of my mouth are way too familiar. I realize that I sound just like my father.
And if I ever forget, my brothers are always good about reminding me, “You sound just like dad.” It’s not always meant as a compliment. But how can I help it? They say that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree and it’s true. There’s no way we can get around the fact that one of the strongest influences anyone has on the kind of person we become, comes from our parents. However, as children of God, we’re not only the children of our mothers and fathers, we’re also children of our heavenly Father. We may have our parents’ DNA, but we were also created in the image of God.
Under the influence of the old Adam, we rebel and distort that image so that it may be hard to see, but that doesn’t change the way we were created. As children of God, our lives are a journey back to God’s intention for us. We know that none of us are perfect. None of us are complete, but one day we will be. Until then, we’re on a journey, growing more and more into the spiritual likeness of Christ.
People outside the church will often look at the church and pass judgment on us, saying that the Christian church is full of hypocrites. To them, it may look that way. The question for us is, is this actually true? Is there a difference between what people see in the church and what they see in the world? If the view is the same, why would anyone want to come? When we look at the world we see hatred, violence, disrespect toward others, power struggles and judgmental attitudes. Is that what the world sees when they look at the church? If so then it’s no wonder the word Christian means nothing more than an arbitrary title. It’s no wonder the world doesn’t really understand the point of being the church.
As a saint and sinner, we know that we’re not some select group of people who are better than the rest of the world. We understand we sin as well; we’re every bit as sinful as people are outside the church. The difference between us and the world is who we are dedicated to, and that we support one another in pursuing the process of becoming more than what we are. This is what the world needs to see. We need to redefine, for the world, what the term Christian really means. Being a Christian means we’re defined by Christ. And the world will hate us for this (John 15:18).
Our lifelong calling is to become more and more like Jesus until the day when we see Him face-to-face. Later in John’s letter, he talks about what it means to be like Christ. It means to love as Christ loved. “Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God” (1 John 4:7). Being a child of God means we reach out to others to share the truth in love and to tell them of God’s grace and mercy. But this also means we need to be willing to ask the hard questions, what does the world see when it looks at us and what does it see when it looks at the church?
Are we living as children of God? Are we allowing God’s Spirit to work in our lives so that we grow more and more like Christ? As children of God, we’re not called to become Christians. We’re not called to become church members. We’re not called to become successful. We’re not called to become powerful. We’re not called to impress the world or even to be understood by the world. We are the children of God and because of this, our goal and desire is to become like Jesus. So, what does the world see?
Amen.
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