“Suppose That You
Create The
Future” Sermon Delivered By Rev. Dick Stetler – October
29, 2017 Centenary United Methodist Church
Psalm 90:1-6; Matthew 22:34-46 Our lesson today is one of the most theologically intriguing and
insightful passages that exists in the Gospels.
However, it is among the most obscure teachings of Jesus.
The passage that I want to discuss this morning is seldom studied
because of where it is located.
Jesus was talking about
The Great Commandments to love God and to love our neighbors.
The emphasis of Jesus on these
two commandments draws the attention of most commentators and preachers,
allowing casual readers of the Gospel to miss what comes next. After Jesus declared that these two commandments were the sum
total of what his listeners had been taught by the Law and the Prophets,
there are a few more verses where this
mysterious and
revolutionary
nugget can be found.
Jesus was talking with a group of Pharisees on this occasion.
After his teaching about the two
greatest commandments, Jesus
casually asked them, "What do you Pharisees believe about
the Messiah?
Whose descendent will he be?"
They responded, "He will be the Son of David."
Jesus immediately responded by quoting Psalm 110:1, a passage
that tradition suggests was written by King David. "God said to
my Lord, 'Sit here at
my right side until I give you power over all your enemies." Jesus
asked, "How could the Messiah
be David's descendent if David referred to him as
my Lord?" The Pharisees had
no answer. This interaction
may mean very little to us, but it has a huge significance to what was
happening historically. The point that Jesus was making was that
the Messiah could not be a
descendent of David, nor would he come as a military conqueror that
would repeat the victories of King David.
Jesus distanced himself from all the notions that the Jews had
about who the next Messiah
would be and how his mission would unfold.
Jesus taught that the
Messiah will be the spirit of
God in human form who will bring clarity to the potential of how men
and women could choose to live. This was a fitting conclusion to his teaching that people have
the potential to love God with every quality of their body, mind and
spirit and to love everyone else in the same manner that they care for
themselves.
Please notice
the shift here.
The two great commandments demonstrate what happens when
energy is flowing away from people to God and to their neighbors.
Having a military Messiah that brings a political change would be
salvation through an event
taking place in the external world, an event that has nothing to do with
changes to the spirit by which people live. Do we have any idea what Jesus was teaching with this?
He was telling the Pharisees that their beliefs that had
sustained the Jews for hundreds of years were incorrect. Jesus decided
to tell them that no one was coming to save them by rearranging
the material world politically to suit the Jews.
The one who was coming would teach his followers to be
Messiahs themselves
that would scatter throughout the world to teach men and women the
enormous power that would come to them through what they think
and the attitudes they develop when both are rooted in love. The thoughts and feelings of people have the potential to
transform them from being held prisoners by the images of the material
world. (Matthew 28:19) This idea had never been taught before this time.
This teaching was a break-through in how humans could understand
themselves. Recently, I experienced a massive break-through that took me from
one level to another in my computer skills.
The parsonage had what technicians call a DSL hook up to run
computers. It is so slow
that it took hours for me to up-date my computer security software.
One picture from our son took over seven minutes to download.
I felt trapped by limiting circumstances.
After receiving information from Craig Thomas on what I could do, I called One Communications. A technician was dispatched who helped me enter the 21st Century. I cannot believe the difference that decision has made in my life. Jesus was sharing with the Pharisees a new frame of reference to
understand the Messiah and I
am sure most of them thought his words were utter nonsense.
After all, how could a belief that has survived for centuries be
wrong? Well, it was wrong, just
as I had been putting my faith in an ancient technology. Christians have believed for a long time that
a second coming was in our
future, possibly as a way of excusing themselves from having to assume
responsibility for becoming the
leaven for the loaf or the
light set on the hill.
I have always had trouble with a need for the second coming of
Jesus because it means that change will come to the lives of people as a
result of an external influence just as the Jews imagined.
Jesus was teaching something
totally different. Jesus taught that an internal choice needed to be
made by individuals just as he instructed Nicodemus.
(John 3:3) Perhaps the reason a number of Christians believe a second coming
is necessary is because people in our modern times have not understood
or cared what Jesus taught centuries ago.
He
was literally teaching his listeners why it is essential to wake up to
their true identities. The empty pews give
testimony to exactly why this is happening today.
People will remain blind and handicapped until someone awakens
them by teaching them that within is
a treasure trove of talents
and abilities that remain unused. (Galatians 5: 22) If Jesus were to come again, what more could he do that would be
different from what he has already given the world?
How many headlines do we need to read before people understand
that today people are choosing to manage their own lives with
insufficient information while sustained happiness and fulfillment
continue to elude them? Our need for
a second coming
would imply that Jesus' life and teaching were not enough, that
something more needs to be done to correct human thinking and attitudes.
Many of us feel that our need is greater today than at any other
time in history.
The headline in yesterday's
Royal Gazette may be the tip
of the iceberg when it comes to how many people on our island are
regular users of cocaine. Honestly, do we have a grasp on how many users
of illicit drugs there are? Actually, we could generate a long list of how people are
missing the mark with their
choices.
The
truth is that we only mess up
in the outer world because we lack clarity about the power that exists
in our inner world.
This is the greatest shame of our generation.
Very few are teaching anyone about their true identities,
particularly the testimony that is coming from many pulpits today.
Jesus knew that people have
a stage presence when they
are in public as well as having quite different thoughts that would
embarrass them if those thoughts ever got into the mainstream of public
knowledge. Jesus said: Not everyone who
refers to me as, 'Lord, Lord,' will experience the happiness that comes
from having loving energy govern their inner worlds. Those who
experience what I am describing are those who are expressing the very
nature of God's spirit.
(Matthew 7:21) All of us know that the
Golden Rule has been part of every culture since the dawn of
civilization. (Matthew 7:12)
Actually, this Rule is
the grandfather of the two
greatest Commandments that Jesus cited earlier in our lesson. What
more does God need to do to convince us that all our pain and suffering
are the result of our attachments to issues found
only in the physical world?
So many feel lost today while living in
a sea of plenty and
opportunity. One afternoon I got off the Metro train in After she calmed down, I assured her that I meant her no harm.
I learned that she was a Russian whose English was extremely
limited. She was totally lost but she was open to being helped.
Her problem was easily solved. She
had gone too far on the Metro and fear had taken over her emotions.
She needed to cross the tracks and board a train going in the
opposite direction. She
needed to get off at I walked with her to the other side.
We both looked at the map. We counted 3 stops on our fingers.
She understood to get off at Compassion radiates a
specific energy in our body language, our smiles, our choice of words,
the quality of judgments, and our daily forgiveness of all the behavior
and attitudes that others display.
How can anyone believe
anything we try to teach if our beliefs do not appear to be working in
our own lives? John Chapman (1774-1845) was an American pioneer nurseryman who
planted apple trees in parts of The other day I was in the Shelly Bay Market Place holding a
large apple that carried a price tag of $1.99 each.
I thought to myself, "I wonder what Johnny Appleseed would think
if he knew that apples one day could cost two dollars a piece in a
grocery store." This is what we are doing when we pay an enormous amount of money
to mental health specialists to help us cope with living.
Jesus told everyone the answer and millions of us have chosen to
follow our own idea of what we think works for us. Jesus was
teaching, "Understand and create from your inner world and you will rise
above your need to escape from the confusion and stress that living can
generate."
We purchase prescription drugs to help us to remain emotionally
stabilized. Some of us find
relaxation through our use of controlled substances like cocaine,
marijuana and opioids.
Jesus would tell us that everything we need was neatly packaged inside
of us when we were born. He
told Nicodemus that finding it and activating it is like being born
again. For many people, however, that part of them remains undeveloped.
People are doing exactly what they want to do with their lives
and thus we are experiencing so many lives that are out of control.
No supernatural being is coming to save anyone.
Jesus sent us to teach and offer guidance.
The future of the human race has always been in our hands
regardless of what people believe otherwise.
Jesus planted seeds with his teachings that help people embrace
all of life with open arms filled with
instant
forgiveness, radiant enthusiasm and compassionate understanding.
Jesus taught us to manifest the quality of angels.
Now it is our turn to plant
seeds that will allow future generations to benefit from what we share
with each other today.
CONGREGATIONAL PRAYER Loving and always present God, if we
visualized the number of blessings we have received since birth, we
would cease to see all else.
We have grown wiser.
We have experienced you in our lives.
We have learned that we reap what we sow.
We have learned not to define ourselves by our perceived
failures. Our life experiences have often taught us to pursue health,
happiness and prosperity as sources of guidance.
Yet, only our trust in you for the outcome of all things will
give us the peace we desire. Help us to accept the invitation of Jesus
to change the quality of our thoughts and attitudes that will enable us
to be instruments of your peace.
Amen. PASTORAL PRAYER Loving God, this morning as we gather,
we are humbled by our remembrance of all that Jesus invited us to
become. We recognize that even though we have not always
risen to the level Jesus knew we could reach, you love us just as we
are. We thank you for the vast number of opportunities that you place
before us the moment we awaken each morning. As we look at each
new day, we can choose patience over frustration. We can engage in
random acts of kindness without seeking recognition or approval. We can
offer a lifestyle that is framed around forgiveness rather than seeking
apologies. How thankful we are for your guidance.
We are grateful that Jesus not only called us to follow him, but also
invited us to make disciples of those who have fallen in love with
the
gods of this world.
Inspire and motivate us to stand forth in our desire to give expression
to our faith. Help us to make visible the truth we have
found so that we can continue to guide others to live inspired lives. Enable us to recall the Sunday school teachers who focused our thinking on matters of substance when we wanted to be elsewhere. Help us to recall the prayers that were offered for us when we felt vulnerable. Help us to recall the miracle of your forgiving presence when we were convinced that we had lost our way. Please accept all our forms of love, O God, as signs of our gratitude to you for all that your guidance has meant to us. We pray these thoughts through the loving, patient spirit of Jesus, the Christ, who taught us to say when we pray . . . |