Just for
the record, or a gold star as they like to joke in Bible Study classes around
here, Anoosh got really close to getting everyone out of a homily at the early
service, and Gregg would have had I made the same deal with 10:30am.
A couple Adventers
have complained the last year or so that I do not preach much from the book of
Romans. I have been asked if there is a
reason I avoid it. Just to remind
everyone, I only avoid teaching a class on revelation, and that due to wise
counsel when I was in seminary. When
there have been readings from Romans, though, I must have felt called to preach
on the Old Testament reading, the Psalm, or the Gospel lesson. It’s not that I was avoiding Romans when it
came up. I simply felt we needed to
spend our time in another of the assigned readings. That being said, this is a week where I was
obviously called to our readings from Romans.
It is all about faith, and it serves as a wonderful counterbalance to
the anxieties which are plaguing us (that’s a dad-joke worthy pun) now.
Anxieties
are much on my mind. It began a week ago
Thursday. An Adventer had taken
seriously my call, on behalf of the Church, to enter into a holy Lent and take
on a discipline that would re-orient them, they hoped, toward God. Our brother or sister was . . . disappointed
in an early discovery. There was some
anxiety in their mind or heart that they were failing and disappointing God, so
they wanted to talk. I have since had a
couple more conversations very much like that first one. In this season of introspection, in this
season where we evaluate our lives, our focus, our sins, it is only natural
that we spend significant time on our failings or perceived failings. That, naturally, presents us with some
anxiety. Sometimes, the Enemy whispers
we are the special one, we are the one outside God’s grace because we did
whatever it is that we did, that God could not possibly forgive us for doing
that particular sin.
Good, I see
a couple nods. Y’all understand that
internal anxiety.
Of course,
things picked up Tuesday morning, or late Monday night. A tornado blew through Nashville, nearly
following the trail of the last one, wiping out houses, apartments, businesses,
and, unfortunately, lives. As it went
east, it got stronger. From west of
Ashland City to, I think, Cookeville, there’s a trail of destruction,
increasing in strength as you go east and up the plateau. I do not know anyone who does not know anyone
who was unaffected by the storm. We know
people who live in East Nashville or further east. Heck, the Taylor’s and Obang and the bishop,
in particular, were in the possible path.
Much of Tuesday and Wednesday was spent assuring people that Adventers
were ok, that our churches escaped much damage, and telling people how they
could help address the needs. Hilary and
Nancy ended up coordinating our food and other material goods response. They are continuing that work, and you will
hear more about it during the announcements.
The bishop, for his part, shared even his anxiety and family system with
Bishop & Council. He’s dealt with a
hurricane, a flood, and now a tornado, as a member of the clergy. And, loving, teasing brothers being loving,
teasing brothers, was reminded there were only ten plagues in Egypt!
You are
laughing now. Poor Bishop John. As Gregg will attest, Bishop John’s brother
is very active in the Roman Church.
Imagine your active Roman brother asking you if you think Someone is
trying to send you a message at the crack of dawn on Tuesday morning!
As if
tornados do not cause enough anxiety, we got our first coronavirus case this
week in Williamson County, too. That
means the “civilization ending” plague is here!
And there seems to be no direct line.
They think the guy got it at Logan Airport. But they are not sure. He did not go to Wuhan or speak with anyone
who did. But it’s here. We have to deal with it. We are an aging congregation, like many
Episcopal congregations. We have aging
members with underlying health issues.
That’s a double risk. So we need
to pay attention. We need to care so we
don’t put a fellow Adventer at risk of contracting the disease from us and
getting them to the throne of mercy sooner than we or they or their loved ones
would like, right?
And, as if
the virus and tornado and beginning of Lent were not enough, now we have market
meltdown. 401’s and IRA’s and crazy
money accounts were crushed this week.
For some folks, this will hugely impact their standard of living. If it continues, though, for an extended
period, we will all be working until we drop dead. Anxiety is real. Anxiety is real within these walls and on
steroids outside these walls.
Thankfully
and mercifully, God has something to say about anxiety.
But what He
has to say is perhaps not what we would like to hear. First and foremost, there is nothing wrong
with anxiety to a point. In my
conversations with some Adventers, but especially with those of other denominational
affiliations outside these walls, there is whisper that anxiety equals sin,
that if you are worried about something, it is an indictment against your
faith, proof your faith is wanting. I
see the nods. We all know those
Christians. If you really believed in
God you would not be worried. I thank
God for whatever happens to me because I know it is all part of His plan for my
life. Skubala.
Worry or
anxiety is simply a sign that we care about someone or something. Should it or they be cared about more than
God? Absolutely not! But we are called to care for others
especially. Some of those who will not
be here in the coming weeks will be avoiding us for fear of catching the virus
because their underlying health issues put them at a greater risk of
mortality. They want to live, so they
avoid situations that put them at risk.
I’m the professional Christian, right?
I’m the one who should be most assured of the eternal destination of my
soul of all of us, right? You will NOT
find me playing hopscotch on I-65 on any sunny afternoon. I value my life. I love my wife and my children. I want to grow old with Karen and watch my
children grow up, get married, and have their own children just like them, so
they can see why I have so much grey now!
Some of us,
in our cares, have loved ones who are at greater risk of dying from the
disease. There are Adventers who we may
not see for a few weeks because they do not want to risk transmitting the virus
to another at-risk individual. That seems
a great way to love a neighbor, to do your best to keep them safe. Now, I understand some may use the virus as
an excuse to sleep in or play golf or shop or whatever, but that is a matter
between them in God. For those who are
keeping others safe, however, there is nothing for which to repent.
Of course,
I have skirted around the issue of the relief for our anxieties, around God’s
instruction and balm when it comes to anxiety.
As we learn from the letter to the Romans today, what saves us? Correct.
Faith saves us. But Whose
faith? No, it is not our faith that
saves us; it is the faith of Christ Jesus that saves you and saves me.
I see the
stunned looks, so we need to have a bit of instruction, a la Romans. What is your only role in your salvation and
redemption? The right answer is
something along the lines of placing your trust in Jesus, or, to use the words
of the Gospel this morning, believe in Him.
Believe in Who He is. Believe in
what He said. Believe, as John says this
morning, that He came not to condemn you or me or anyone else in the world, but
to save us. Sound right so far?
Then, where
does God ever say the depth or confidence of your faith is what saves you? In fact, when Jesus describes belief in Him
He compares it to what seed? A tiny
mustard seed. Nearly a thistle. When Jesus is confronted by those who want
Him to help their unbelief, does He condemn them? Of course not! The only bit you and I play in our salvation
is the decision to serve or fight God.
That is our free will. Everything
else depends on God! Specifically,
everything else depends the faith of Jesus.
Think about
it. Last week, we read about the
messianic temptations. What were Satan’s
temptations? Satan offered Jesus an easy
path to power and authority. He did so
diabolically with the “If you are the Son of God” lead in’s, but Satan’s offer
was to get Jesus off the obedient road that leads to Calvary. Why?
Do you think Jesus wanted to die any more than you or me? Of course not! He sweats blood. He begs the Father to let the cup pass. He values His life, but He understands He is
doing the will of the Father to save us!
But He has anxiety about His work, His calling.
One of
those last temptations we will consider in a few weeks comes as He hangs dying
on the Cross. We join in the throng
taunting Him, “If You are the Son of God, come down.” The crowd has no idea how diabolical that
temptation is. Jesus has to will to stay
on that Cross for you and for me and for every single person that has lived and
will live on the face of the earth. If
He thinks, as we often do when we are hurting, “I want this over,” it
ends! He has to remain focused on His
purpose, the Father’s will, and His love of us.
It’s part of the reason He rejects the sour wine and myrrh. He cannot be numbed or distracted. He must will Himself to hang there, to die
there, to accomplish that for which He came down!
And it His
faith which saves us! It is His utter
trust in His Father that makes our salvation possible. He does what we cannot do, that we might be
with Him for all eternity. But make no
mistake, brothers and sisters, it is His faith which saves you and save me. It is His faith upon which all salvation
history depends!
If you
think about it, as shocked as some of you appear, it makes sense and is
glorious. What is our faith was
responsible for saving us? How would we
measure it? How would we test it? What assurance could we have? If you uproot a mulberry tree and it plants
in the ocean, you’re assured of salvation?
Of course not. Such tests would
result in something being due us, being owned to us because of our work or
knowledge or deeds of power. As the
author says, if the heirs of Abraham are those who keep the law, then faith is
null and the promise is void. We become,
in other words, responsible for our own salvation, and we know there is no hope
in that! Who here truly thinks they
could pass a test required by God? Who
here thinks they could keep to the plumb line of righteousness?
Good.
But think
of the seductive plea that we are responsible for our salvation. Look at prosperity gospellers. What is their message? It is your own fault if you are
suffering. If you are not healed, it is
your lack of faith. If you are not
blessed, it is your own lack of faith or trust in God. You withheld your trust, so He withholds His
blessings. It’s diabolical, not Gospel! Jesus’ faith saves. Jesus’ faith blesses. Jesus’ faith assures us that we are
inheritors of God’s promises. All we do
is trust that Jesus is Lord. That’s
it. It’s His faith that makes grace
available to us. It’s His faith that
makes the benefit of His passion, death, and Resurrection available to us!
Once we
learn that, what happens to our anxiety?
Once we truly learn and inwardly digest that our salvation is really up
to Christ Jesus, what happens to us? We
are transformed. We become a people who
can face the challenges of life, a people who can face even the threat of
death, with that peace that passes all understanding. We are freed to do the work He has given us
to do because we recognize true failure is impossible. Either we will accomplish the work He has
given us to do and He will be glorified in our lives; or He redeems our
failures, and He is glorified in that redemption! We recognize the truth of His promise that
His yoke is easy and His burden is light because He’s done the heaving lifting!
We can tend
those suffering from the effects of the plague and know that, if God has called
us to lay down our life in service of Him, He can give it back to us in
fulfillment of His promises. We can tend
those suffering from the effects of a crashed market or staggered economy
because we know the Lord, the Creator of all that is, seen and unseen, calls
into existence those things we need to glorify Him in our lives. We can tend those around us suffering from
anxieties by reminding them the Lord knows our fears, knows our hurts, and
promises us He will be with us to the end of the age, that no suffering, no
pain, will be felt apart from Him. We
can even tend those in our lives who do not believe, by living our lives as if
we believe our salvation depended on the faith of Christ Jesus. As they watch us pass through valleys of
death and the other shadowy places of life, we testify to them our belief in
His faith!
Brothers
and sisters, I understand the anxieties are real. Some of us are struggling with individual
anxieties. Each of us brings to this
service those fears, those worries, and those doubts. Most of us are struggling with anxieties
resulting from the virus, including the market sell-off. Some of us may even be struggling with
anxieties surrounding our own possible deaths.
What happens to my loved ones if I die? The reminder this day, my friends, is that He
has already overcome the world. We may
be in a season of introspection, a season of self-examination, but we are in
that season on this side of the Empty Tomb!
We are a people who believe that God has already begun His honoring of
His Son for His faith, and that our faith in Him assures us that we, too, will
magnificent day be glorified with Him.
And it is that promise, that hope, and that assurance that we gather
this day and every day to give thanks to the Lord for the work He has done in
us through Christ and for the work that is yet to come! So, name your anxieties. Share them with your friends and loved ones
and brothers and sisters. Own them! Take prudent precautions to protect those
whom you love. But above all, remember
the anxieties which He overcame as He walked this path that lead to rejection,
to humiliation, to dishonor, to torture, and to death! And remember, my dear friends, that He
accomplished for us what we could not do ourselves, all because He loved you
and loved me.
In His Peace,
Brian†
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