“Becoming Someone’s Cheerleader” Sermon Delivered By Rev. Dick Stetler – March
18, 2018 Centenary United Methodist Church
Jeremiah 31:31-34; John 12:20-26 Our lesson for today is a variation of an ancient myth that
surfaced around the same historic timeline in many cultures of the
world. In John's Gospel, Jesus said: I am telling you
the truth: a grain of wheat
remains no more than a single grain until it is dropped into the ground.
After it is buried, life continues and from that seed comes many
more seeds. (John 12:24) When roaming people began to switch from hunting animals for
their principle food supply to agriculture, these myths began to take
root in their societies.
These stories circulated to explain to newer generations how their
current nutritional needs changed from their earlier days.
There was a time when meat was their only source of nutrition.
It was taking more and more meat as the tribes grew in size. In the culture of After the third defeat, the stranger said:
Now you must cut off my head and
bury my body. In future days, you must care for my burial site. The
man did as he was told and from the man's body came corn and a variety
of grains from which the people could feed themselves and their animals
as well as to make bread.
Gradually, products from agriculture were entering the mix into their
diet. In Polynesian cultures thousands of miles away, there was a
similar myth that surfaced around the same date.
A beautiful maiden engaged in
the daily habit of swimming and bathing in a river.
The river was also the home of a large eel that brushed against
the woman's thighs as she bathed.
Eventually, the eel swam on to the shore and became a very
handsome young man. The two had a love affair.
After the third occasion, the man said:
You must cut off my head, bury my
body and attend to my burial site. The
words were nearly identical to the myth used in It is interesting that Jesus should use a similar storyline to
teach his listeners about nutrition. However,
Jesus was not talking about a new food supply.
He was teaching a lesson that had never been heard before by
anyone. His lesson had to
do with what happens to people when they nourish their spirits.
His words reinforced the same lesson that he would later
illustrate during his last supper with the disciples.
The disciples were being asked to allow the seed of Jesus' spirit
to take root within each of them. He illustrated this by inviting them
to take into their bodies the bread and wine, symbolic of his body and
blood. Instead of being
nourished by food, each person would experience their spirit being
nourished by changes to their attitudes about their friends, neighbors
and enemies. Once the seed of
Jesus' spirit had been taken into
the lives of his followers, it would grow and spread. He also taught
what his followers should expect as a result.
This transformation of spirit would not give them the answers to
all the mysteries of living. They could expect pain and the confusion of not knowing how to
interpret their lives. They might experience being misunderstood by
others. They might
experience branches growing
that would never bear fruit.
Such branches must be pruned as Jesus' own branches had been.
(John 15:1-2) Jesus knew
that there is a consciousness within each of us that wants to grow and
mature in spirit.
People want to learn how to gain control over their feelings
and thinking so they will grow away from their more primitive, childish
attitudes and behavior.
Without being clear in their
understanding of what is happening to them, people mature in the same
way that all plants grow. When a plant sprouts,
it automatically knows where the sun's light is.
Its leaves experience the reflex of turning toward the light.
This process is called
Heliotropism. It is the
response of all living things to light. After experiencing an emotional
and spiritual rough patch in
life, people have often said, I
am doing better now because I see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Dandelions have a consciousness within their seeds that knows how
to grow toward the sun even though the seed can be buried under four
inches of asphalt of a freshly paved parking lot.
When East-end Asphalt was preparing to install the driveway at
the parsonage, they used a very strong herbicide to kill all existing
seeds before they started with the paving. Jesus understood people. He
knew that people will respond to being bathed in love from those who
care about them. Plants
grow toward the sun, but people have within them a consciousness that
automatically responds to love in the same fashion. A book that I read decades ago described this reflex.
The author was a pediatric specialist that was invited by the
Brazilian government to find out why the death rate among newborns was
alarmingly high in their new state-of-the-art hospital.
Dr. Knicely found that in the nursery, infants were being fed by
positioning them so they could suck on the nipple of a bottle of formula
that was fastened on the side of the crib.
Their mothers' breast milk was
weak in nutritional value due to their poor diet. Dr. Knicely found that
a lack of sterility was not the problem causing infant deaths.
He asked the staff to take the babies to their mothers who would
hold and talk to them while giving them the formula.
Instantly, the infant mortality rate dropped to nearly zero.
His theory was that babies needed to be loved by someone as soon
as they are born.
Just as babies were dying
without receiving love, so do adults.
Last week, in the middle of the four inches of rain that was
falling, I dashed into A-1 Grocery Store across the street from the
church to buy ground beef that is 90 percent fat free.
They were the only store that
occasionally got the percentage accurate. There was none on the shelf
when I got there, so I spoke to the butcher.
I told him how disappointed I was that butchers constantly
produce 90 percent fat free meat that is far from being 90 percent.
He was a Filipino man who invited me to see the meat he was
preparing to grind for the 90 percent packages.
The meat had practically no fat at all. He said, "I want you to watch what I do."
No butcher had ever invited me
to watch what he does. When I saw the finished product, I told him that
in all my seven years of being in Having never seen him before, I asked him where he had been
hiding. He told me that he
came to Bermuda from Next, he told me what my words were doing to him. He said, Your words make the
hair on my arms to stand straight up and they warm my heart. Everyone
complains when they are not happy. Your words are different, and they
make me want to work harder to please our customers. Then he disappeared, and he came back with the store manager of
A-1 as well as the General Manager of all the Market Place stores who
happened to be there that day. The
new butcher said, "Please say your words again to these men."
What I felt was that this new butcher was literally starving to
death for validation and feeling appreciated.
His awareness of his own needs was quite similar to the needs of
those Brazilian infants who could not speak for themselves. Having just come
from Please keep this butcher. He really cares about his craft and I can attest to his skills. This is the first time in seven years that I have found 90 percent fat free meat that is truly 90 percent. Your new butcher knows exactly what he is doing. With smiles on their faces, the manager responded, "No
need to worry about that.
If he brings you back into our store, we will keep him."
Then the General Manager said something that was very revealing
about most of us. He said,
"We hear complaints all day.
It's nice to hear from someone who is satisfied with what we try
to do everyday. Thank you." Jesus chose to be with people whose lives
were shriveling because of
the labels and the shunning that they experienced from others.
He loved to shine the light of his love on those who were
considered to be sinners, tax
collectors, prostitutes and
outcasts. They were
being totally ignored by nearly everyone but Jesus.
The Pharisees once asked Jesus' disciples, "Why does your teacher
eat with such people?"
(Matthew 9:11) Jesus' compassion for people made him feel that he could
not ignore what he knew all people needed. His response was that people
who are well do not need a doctor. (Luke 5:31) We all need to feel
loved, needed and appreciated by others.
People who are dying inside a little bit each day are crying to be loved but often they do not recognize what creeping isolation is doing to them. It is up to us to recognize that all people need to be loved in this world and reach out to them. Yesterday, Roy Dalebozik and I went to the Paraquet restaurant
for lunch. While we were waiting for our order to be filled, a young
woman in a wheelchair and two older women also came for lunch.
I recognized the woman but had forgotten her name.
She is one of As we were preparing to leave the restaurant, her name came to
me. I saw her watching us as Excuse me, but my
friend wanted to race you in his wheelchair until we discovered that you
were Jessica Lewis, who holds the third fastest speed record in the
world. We decided against that
notion. Congratulations on all the medals you have won and for being
such an outstanding role-model for all of us. We are so proud of you!
She burst into enthusiastic laughter and thanked me from coming
over to her table. This was
truly one of those magical moments that took place between two strangers
that was meaningful to both of us. With Jesus' illustration of seeds needing to be buried within
each of his disciples, he was teaching his disciples to go into the
world and allow their love for others to do the rest.
With our presence, our words and our compassionate, forgiving
attitudes, we can change the world one person at a time.
We have to trust that the love that created the universe can also
create new attitudes and a lively spirit within others.
It is up to us to sow our seeds among others who may be starving
to death and do not realize it. CONGREGATIONAL PRAYER Loving God, from the beginning of time, you have surrounded us with
invitations to live in harmony with you.
Your calls to us come in many forms.
Many of them are only recognized by each of us personally.
Your love comes to all of us without our asking while
our love
often has requirements, needs and limits.
Your spirit reaches everyone through the harmonies of music,
inspirational words and opportunities to grow.
Our spirits yearn to be loved.
We hunger for validation and acceptance.
We need to allow our needs to die while we experience our
resurrection with new ways of understanding.
Amen.
PASTORAL PRAYER Loving God, we thank you for knowing us
completely even before we enter each new day. We thank you that
you filled our lives with potential treasures that will grow as we
express them.
As we have
begun to express ourselves with peace, hope, patience, and happiness,
others cannot help but notice.
We often deeply influence people simply by showing up in their
lives and living our values in front of them.
People's lives often change by being shown what is possible, and
not by being told what to do.
Help us to realize that everyone is living exactly the way they
are choosing to live.
What
they see happening in our lives might be a silent vision that encourages
them to change emotions that are currently not serving their lives.
During these days of Lent, we have
watched how Jesus expressed his love to all people, even those wearing
the label of sinner, tax
collector, and outcast.
He brought a peaceful spirit as he navigated through
the camps of his enemies as
Pharisees challenged him publicly. Inspire us to develop passion
to remain in control of our values and emotions when faced with others
whose values are far different from our own. Help us to remember that,
in every way, Jesus modeled for us what we can be when we
swallow our pride and hurt
feelings, and follow him even when
the headwinds for doing so
are strong. Throughout every circumstance in which we find ourselves, may our lives serve to make you visible. Help all of us to understand what divinely empowered living looks like when we trust you for the outcome of all things. Who could have known that a crucified carpenter would lead us to an understanding that life is eternal? We pray these thoughts through the spirit of Jesus, the Christ who taught us to say when we pray . . |