“Giving Hope To A Sinner” Sermon Delivered By Rev. Dick Stetler – November
20, 2016 Centenary United Methodist Church
Colossians 1:11-20; Luke 23:33-43 Some of you may have been surprised by the Gospel reading this
morning. I can remember a
time when I looked out at my congregation in The answer is that today is called Christ the King Sunday. The emphasis of Christ being a King grew from a Roman Catholic tradition that was first celebrated by Pope Pius 11th in 1925. The tradition has spread across many Protestant churches. The Luke passage was the one listed for today from the lectionary that I follow. The lectionary is a collection of four Scripture lessons for every Sunday during the Church year. The word King in this
context could easily be translated as a superior
guide, compass, or
coach.
This morning our emphasis
is going to be on the powerful change that occurs in a relationship when
forgiveness is introduced.
This one skill of spirit frees us from the numerous barriers to
our loving others. Forgiveness
also extends hope to people by treating them as a son or daughter of
God, whether or not we feel they deserve such recognition. Christ the King Sunday
was the Church's final
exclamation mark on the stature Jesus had reached during his short
ministry. Jesus' life on earth was coming to an end, and yet before he
died, his numerous acts from the cross were so compassionate that a
Roman Centurion declared, "Truly this man was the Son of God."
(Matthew 27:54) What Jesus said to one of the thieves hanging next to him changed
his life. Jesus knew
the despair that must have been tormenting his mind because he was
guilty as charged. There
was no time for that thief to mend his ways.
He was paying a penalty for his
crime. In response to the
thief's request to be remembered, Jesus said, "Today, you will be
with me in When I was a little boy, I began collecting postage stamps just
as my father had done.
While I collected them from all over the world, I specialized in stamps
from the On February 3, 1943, the Dorchester was torpedoed and sank in the We can only imagine what was going on inside of the mind and
spirit of that thief when he learned that, following his death, he would
be in There has always been a debate among Christians about what
happened to the other thief.
Did his words prevent him from joining his companion in What makes
Jesus a king
was his desire and ability to teach outcasts and
sinners
that pious
living does not win salvation for anyone.
What saves people is the love and forgiving nature of
God. Jesus was only doing
what he knew God would do. What is very challenging for Christians is to
understand that God loves all
people equally, not just those who feel they are
righteous. Numerous Christians still cling to
a formula that guarantees
salvation, e.g., "Believe in
the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ, and you will be saved." (Acts 16:31)
There are numerous Scriptures that suggest that beliefs assure
Christians of a glide-path
into Heaven.
However, God's grace is
far more expansive in its inclusiveness than narrowing
the field of candidates by
something people need to do, think or believe.
I cannot resist the use of one
of my favorite poems which illustrates this point very well. I was shocked,
confused and bewildered as I entered Heaven’s door, not by the beauty of
it all, nor the light of its décor.
But it was the folks in Heaven who made me sputter and gasp – the
thieves, the liars, the sinners, the alcoholics and the trash.
There stood the kid
from seventh grade who swiped my lunch money twice. Next to him was my
old neighbor who never said anything nice. Herb, who I always thought
was rotting in Hell, was looking remarkably well. I asked Jesus, ‘What’s
the deal? I would love to hear your take. How did all these sinners get
up here? God must have made a mistake.
And why is everyone so quiet, so somber – give me a clue.’
Jesus said, ‘They, too, are all in shock.
No one thought they would be
seeing you. Why is it so
shocking for the faithful to understand that
salvation
is as automatic as the rising of the sun each morning?
Perhaps it has to do with our
system of fairness, justice and rewards. Maybe we are also thinking
of Jesus' teaching about the separation of the sheep and the goats or
the parable where Jesus mentions the great gulf between Abraham and a
rich man who never lifted a finger to help the poor man named Lazarus
who sat at his gate every morning covered with sores and begging him for
food. (Luke 16:10f) The rich man in Lazarus' parable wanted Abraham to send word to
his five brothers to repent of their ways.
Jesus has Abraham say to the rich man, "If your five brothers
will not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be convinced of
a greater truth even if someone were to rise from death to teach them to
take a more wholesome path."
(Luke 16:31) God's
love grants us the privilege of remaining
the captain of our own ship
both here and after we leave this life. What
Jesus came to teach and show us is that forgiveness is a universal
energy that comes from God.
God allows us to become who we are. Jesus illustrated this
beautifully in his Parable of the
Prodigal Son. (Luke 15:11-32)
Christians are often the ones who want rewards and punishments
even though people on earth are never on
the same page in their
understanding.
God does not engage in such
judgments. God allows
us to become exactly what our choices make of us.
We determine the pace of our own spiritual evolution.
We all enter I remember when we first came to Think of what Jesus was teaching us from the cross. He was
teaching us again who he was. Jesus
truly was a king, a remarkable leader, a giant who had mastered the
greatest virtue of all -- the art of forgiveness.
Try to imagine what our
lives would be like if we mastered just this one skill of forgiveness. Everyday, instead of having our passions aroused by how
motorcyclists are weaving in and out of traffic and putting so many
lives in danger, we could allow
their behavior to be the trigger for our becoming peaceful simply by
bringing no judgment to what others are doing with their lives. The next time someone disrespects us by being rude, we could
practice remaining calm, cool and collected because they are only
showing us where they are in life and nothing more. How much energy
would it take to turn to the
thief who is trying to dilute our thinking with toxic thoughts and
say, "Today, you could be
with me in There are people who believe that
righteous indignation has its
place. They are absolutely correct; it does have its place. Where would
most societies be without their courageous legislators, their strategic
military personnel, their skilled police officers and their no-nonsense
leaders? The real effective
people can practice their skills for leading without being motivated by
anger, resentment and controlling spirits.
How can people remain in control of their emotions to this
extent?
The answer is that they
refuse to personalize the responses or deeds of others.
Again, God allows us to grow at our own pace; why can't we extend
the same courtesy to others that God extends to us?
This is what sets
Jesus apart from countless other leaders.
He was modeling what life looks like when people are governed by
loving and peaceful spirits.
In his case, Jesus was in We all survive our physical deaths, but what we experience just might depend on how we choose to interpret our experiences. Jesus was patient and forgiving of a common thief. He also invited his followers to extend the same loving compassion to those whose values often fall short of their own. It's called forgiveness. All of us can do this. All of us must do this even if it is only to understand more clearly who we really are. |