“When God Is Our Role Model”


     Sermon Written By Rev. Dick Stetler – June 21, 2020

     On the occasion of church’s closure due to COVID-19 Virus

     Centenary United Methodist Church

    Proverbs 3:1-8; Luke 15:11-24 

 

Father's Day

    If there is one illustration in the Gospels that paints a near perfect picture of God's nature, it is the Parable of the Prodigal Son.  Jesus' description of this son's father is remarkable.  If we have ever wondered why God chooses not to intervene in the affairs of human beings, we may have an answer.

    To our way of thinking God is the most powerful Being in the Universe.  God's love is universally applied to everyone on their level of awareness.   The mysterious Will of God, contrary to many beliefs inspired by the Church, is the same for everyone.  Each of us is given the opportunity to pursue our dreams during our brief lifespan to see how creative we can be.

    When we were born, we came into this world like a blank canvas that comes alive when we begin to create from the various colors of paint on our palette. The adventure of living begins when we start to connect-the-dots that we believe will give our lives meaning and purpose.    

    The material world offers us attractions and opportunities that tease our senses and imaginations inspiring us to choose certain paths while bypassing others.  What entices us is an individual motivation that is unique to us.  Not all people are inspired by the same pursuits. We become what our choices mold and shape.

    Wise parents do not do the homework for their children even when that involves observing them suffering with frustrations as they struggle and fail and run-down blind alleys that cannot possibly serve their growth.  Why would God try to block or guide any of these opportunities to learn?  Both success and failure are remarkable teachers.  God is the architect of the universe. Each of us is the architect of our own lives.

    If God chose to intervene during troublesome or inconvenient circumstances in our lives, the entire purpose for our being born would be thwarted. This is our drama not God's.  God's Will has been the same for each of us since we developed our crude technology associated with what we could accomplish with the wheel. People learned to worship the sun which caused their wheat to grow. They discovered that the spear and the bow and arrow made it easier to secure meat to feed themselves.

    The father in Jesus' parable owned a farm which was the money-maker for his family.  Along with his two sons, the farmer had a staff of workers who helped farm the land.

    The one son had no idea how secure he was with life on the farm.  All he knew was that he was bored with his life and he imagined what he could experience if he had wealth.   The grass looked greener elsewhere.  When he had enough of his life on the farm, he asked his father if he could have his future inheritance while he was young enough to enjoy it.

    His father allowed his son to follow his dream and gave him his inheritance early. The inexperienced son could have gotten a job on a sailing ship.  He could have gone into a business like becoming a carpenter. However, his dream was to feel important and he spent his instant wealth lavishly to attract friends.  He enjoyed the attention and his pleasurable experiences. These feelings that he never had before caused him to spend even more money.

    Soon his wealth was gone along with all his friends.  With his artificial prop no longer serving him, he had to assume responsibility for himself.  The young man's father never interfered with his son's choices.   As can easily happen, the influence of his father's love came in a form that went unrecognized.  Sometimes we have to admit that we are so concerned about ourselves that we may not recognize all the forms of God's love.

    The faith that Christians have developed often causes them to assign all kinds of activities to God. Many people believe that God will heal the family member or a personal friend because they plead for God to do so. They become disappointed when their requests appear to be denied.  We know we are born and that we eventually die.  Sometimes the choices that people make can hasten their own death as was the case with Jesus.  (Matthew 26:39)

    Because of the way the Scriptures read, his followers ever since have assumed that it was God's Will that Jesus should die.  An entire theology has grown around that one assumption including a belief that our personal salvation was at stake. Are we to assume that had Jesus escaped to Galilee to continue his ministry, that God's Will for humanity would somehow have been blocked?  How could such a thing happen?

    God, who created the universe, certainly does not need our help to accomplish anything. We are the ones who have to connect-the-dots by understanding that life is totally our drama.   (Acts 17:25) 

    Father's Day is an ideal time to consider Jesus' parable of the Prodigal Son. The father knew that his son could lose his life by engaging in activities that his instant wealth would make possible. However, the son came to his senses and escaped his having to eat the slop that was fed to the pigs.

    The Prodigal Son did not pray, "Not my will but thine be done," rather he left where he was and came home to his father who was waiting for him with open arms.  His choice produced an entirely different future.  Dare we ask where the Church would be today had Jesus fled to Galilee where he knew loving people could be found? An entirely different narrative would have developed. 

    Was it really God's Will to have his son murdered in such a savage way to save us from our sins? This was clearly Jesus' choice, not God's. Jesus chose to stay and wait for his arrest. God would never deliver his precious son to be murdered. (Matthew 7:11) Remember how God reportedly spared the life of Isaac?  Abraham's knife was raised to kill his own son when an angel intervened. (Genesis 22:10)

    It is clearly our decisions that guide our adventure while we are here. There is never a need for God to take over our lives by intervening.  We were created with everything that we need when we were born. (Luke 17:20-21) When people claim that God has guided them, this understanding comes from their beliefs. However, is a belief the same as being in possession of the truth? It was the Prodigal Son who came to the conclusion to return home as humiliating as that might have been.  He knew the qualities of his father.

    Is this an attempt to define the activities of God in our lives?  Not at all.  God creates invisibly.  We create from our choices. How our faith guides us comes from the knowledge that we will never run out of alternatives to access our potential, to improve our attitudes, and to further develop our level of life-skills. 

    The other night I was listening to a 77-year-old black man talk about his father.  This is a paraphrase of what I heard him say about the memory of his father:

My father had to work as a child to help support his family.  He carried bricks, mixed concrete, and learned to drive a nail without bending it.  In the process of working alongside masters of their craft, he learned many of their skills.  My Father seldom paid attention to the attitudes of anyone. He only took responsibility for his own attitudes. My father knew that everyone's life mattered when others recognize their value.

 

With a third-grade education, my father bought and refurbished a number of homes one at a time, much like people do today.  With the profits earned from the sale of those properties, he started a construction company.  His company developed a reputation with expert craftsmanship and by delivering a finished product on time. 

 

The advertisement for his company was free because his business thrived solely on the recommendations by others.  With wise stewardship of his money, he more than adequately provided for our family, he gave 23 men jobs, and he gained respect from everyone because he assumed total responsibility for his success. 

    Did God intervene in this father's life? Again, such a thought could have been his father's belief, but in this case, such an understanding did not happen.  His father's faith was anchored in gratitude to God for the potential he developed.  That potential took form in developing a passion for hard work and a desire to express attitudes that would serve him and his customers. 

    We often hear people say, "God has richly blessed me beyond measure."  Yet this man's father used the treasure he found in his own inner world and developed it. God has blessed this father in the same way that God sends each of us into the world with the potential to become anything that we set our minds to accomplish.

    When the Prodigal Son was living a life of wine, women, and song, he was doing exactly what he set out to do.  He was enjoying life without any responsibilities. A time came when his decisions no longer contained the magic that they once had. He changed his mind, just as any of us can do, and he came home to where there was love, acceptance, and an opportunity to earn respect from the quality of his work.

    Fathers can have influence over their children by living a life filled with quality attitudes and by the way they conducted themselves daily.  The best thing a father can do is to live among others sharing the wisdom that is packed into The Golden Rule.  Whether it rubs off on others is strictly up to them. 

    God gave each of us the potential to become anything we wish. As we are maturing in our growth, do we have the humility and wisdom to change directions when our goals no longer work for us?  The Prodigal Son changed his direction because he knew the quality of spirit of his father. (Luke 15:17)  Because of our understanding of our God's nature, we know that we will never be without alternatives to continue our growth.

     

CONGREGATIONAL PRAYER

Merciful and always present God, we thank you that you have given us the healing energy that comes from laughter and joy. You have shown us how appreciation and gratitude bring out the best in others. We have learned how listening without judgment creates confidence in the person sharing. Our encouragement allows others to feel that we believe in them.  We have discovered that the quality of our values has a transforming effect when we live them every day. Help us to remember that we are your children and nothing has the power to separate us from your love.  Amen.

     

PASTORAL PRAYER

Loving God, we come to renew our lives amidst a world that appears to be dominated by headline-grabbers.  We wonder where the place is for people who do not desire to cast much of a shadow.  They continue to make a difference in people's lives through their friendship, their generosity, and they're not needing to receive anyone's approval.

We are reminded of your mysterious love that comes in many different and sometimes unrecognizable forms.  A friend can unexpectedly arrive in our life   to give us an emotional lift.  Our children can express their appreciation for the many influences we had on them as they were growing into mature adults. The song of a bird, the beauty of a rose, the smile of a child that hugs us, and the helpfulness of a friend that goes the extra mile for us just when we needed it.  All loving surprises are forms that only appear to come from others.  But what inspired their presence in our lives just when we needed them to support us? They came when we were not asking for anything.  You are so mysterious because you invisibly want all of your children to be happy and successful by developing their unique one-of-a-kind potential. Thank you for teaching us how to give away to others what you have given to us.  We pray these thoughts through the loving spirit of Jesus, the Christ, who taught us to say when we pray . . .