"Reframing Our Will-Power” Sermon Delivered By Rev. Dick Stetler – January 25, 2015 Centenary United
Psalm 62:5-12; Mark 1:14-20 This morning's lesson described a time when Jesus called two sets
of brothers to become his disciples.
The first two were Simon Peter and Andrew, both of whom were
disciples of John the Baptist. James
and John, the sons of Zebedee, were Jesus' second choice.
Their father owned a fishing fleet.
Jesus extended an invitation to the four men by saying, "Follow
me and I will teach you how to influence people by sharing the Good News
of God." When we were in
Sunday school, we learned the words, "I will make you fishers of men."
(Mark 1:17) These four men faced the same dilemma many people experience when
they decide to follow Jesus later in life. These four brothers grew up
around rough and tumble men who had
salt flowing through their veins
as seasoned fishermen. They
knew how to handle nets and navigate in sudden and often severe storms.
They were in constant competition with the other fishermen for
getting their catch to markets faster. Their language and manners
reflected their environment of being around men all day. How do such late-comers to Jesus overcome their well-rehearsed
habits of making hasty, judgmental responses?
How do they set aside their prejudices about the lifestyles of
others? How do they escape
using discriminating labels in their everyday conversation? Today, almost everyone has been exposed to how easily others
become offended by what people say.
This sensitivity training is now called
social and political correctness.
Even a small verbal slip from high profile people will often cost
them their jobs. Men have
had to clean up their language around women or face legal consequences.
One of the experiences that startled me when we first came to Perhaps Jesus did not try to change anything about his disciples.
They were known personalities and skilled enough to speak to
certain audiences that might never take the time to listen to priests
that were far more polished and articulate.
What Jesus sought to
change was the spirit by which they lived.
Everything else they could keep,
even Peter's explosive emotions. There is, however, a learning curve for people if they take
discipleship seriously.
Many Christians know the correct
words of faith to say, the right
beliefs to parrot and the
best churches to attend.
What requires the most modification, however, is their
will-power. Just after Christmas and New Year's, we begin to see various
infomercials on television featuring some piece of exercise equipment or
some product that produces
miracles around our waistlines. The well-oiled, highly defined
bodies of men and women demonstrate their claims of what is possible for
us within a very short period of time. Losing eight pounds in the
first two weeks sounds good to us.
Viewers are treated to very touching testimonies from people who
claim that their lives have been dramatically transformed. Spouses
become convincingly emotional with their sincerity as they describe
their fears: "Had this product not come into our lives when it did, a
fatal heart attack was imminent. Now my husband will be here for
our grandchildren." When experts in physical fitness were asked to evaluate which
high-end products were the best for the average person to use safely,
their response was not surprising. Their studies proved
conclusively that every one of the products was excellent.
They all worked well and did what they claimed.
The one ingredient that is never discussed in any infomercial is
a spiritual quality, namely our will-power to
use such equipment faithfully with regularity, our will-power to
monitor carefully what we eat, and our will-power to maintain
these health-disciplines for the rest of our lives.
The problem facing us
today is not a scarcity of what works,
but the will to follow-through by living
the truth that we know. The same struggle to
follow-through is present in spite of the choice we make about our style
of worship.
An article caught my eye
concerning contemporary worship services. The author was
non-judgmental and described why church leaders are investing large sums
of money in sound systems that are similar to those in movie theaters
and lighting that can affect the moods of people.
He wrote, "People want what
stimulates and excites their emotions while lifting their spirits with
the sounds of Jesus -- the
repetitive praise music." The churches that have made these renovations are filled with
people, and the money flows into the church coffers in very generous
amounts. Such formulas for
attracting large numbers of people have church officials delighted.
Yet, in spite of our
style of worship, eventually a time comes when each of us is away from
the lighting, the well-funded music programs and the highly polished
sermons. During these
moments, we have to choose amid all the confusing choices the world
presents to us to live
transformed lives because we are God's representatives that provide
the living proof that the Is our will-power committed enough to help us to rise above the
habits, beliefs and response mechanisms that have been molding and
shaping our lives for decades? No one can answer that question for
any of us. That question is ours and ours alone to answer. Obviously, Jesus never had such technology at his disposal.
He wanted to change attitudes and the spirit by which people lived
rather than giving his listeners highly emotional-charged experiences. There
is a vast difference between spirit-filled gatherings and having the
ability to live transformed lives
faithfully every day.
The former enables our hearts
to sing during particular
occasions. The latter guides our spirits to radiate timeless values like
tolerance and compassion when no one is looking. As we return to Jesus calling the two sets of brothers, he became
their coach, their mentor and teacher on a daily basis for the next
three years. Did their relationship with Jesus transform their
lives? No! It did not.
Even
though they walked with Jesus daily, failure was their constant
companion. During the immediate months following their calling, their
individual, self-centered wills asserted themselves constantly.
Once when Samaritan villagers did not welcome Jesus and his followers,
it was James and John who asked, "Lord, do you want us to call fire down
from heaven and destroy them?" (Luke 9:54) Their hurt
feelings were talking, and their coach said, "No, we are not going to do
that today." The sisters who loved Jesus more than anyone else became upset
with him. Both Mary and Martha said, "If you had been here, our
brother would not have died!" (John 11:20) Both sisters were not
able to accept the fact that Jesus did not come running as soon as word
came to him that they needed him. After three years, the disciples still found themselves arguing
over which one was the greatest among them.
What made this episode so
defining about our own human nature was this event happened
during the Last Supper.
(Luke 22:24) We may wonder sometimes how such flawed men managed to pass on
the truth that set them free.
(John 8:32) One answer is
that it happened because of good coaching and their will-power to follow
through. However, both of
these failed to develop consistent
fruits of the spirit.
The physical world is very powerful and successful in probing the
depths of our weaknesses. A better
answer is that God creates with what we give away when our spirits are
responding with compassion and love.
The rest of our responses, often of lesser value, die on
the vine of our material
existence.
We leave them behind when we
transition from our bodies.
Even Jesus engaged in
many of these lesser responses.
He once allowed his anger to get the best of him in the We identify with the human side of Jesus because he demonstrated
a number of our own shortcomings.
However, Jesus also said, "Father, forgive them, they know not
what they do." Can we do
that?
Even though he had his moments
of frustration, Jesus was still teaching what it looks like to love his
enemies when his life appeared to be experiencing its darkest moments. God takes what our loving spirits create and uses it to influence history. Remember, it only takes a little bit of yeast to cause the entire batch of dough to rise. We need to re-evaluate the role of our will-power to influence anyone other than ourselves. Creation is not about us. Creation happens when God uses what we do to create footprints that future generations can follow. God saves the wheat and with the breath of compassion blows the chaff away. |