Sermon Title:  Did You Know That You Are God’s Pride and Joy?

Sermon Text:  Luke 3:15-22

Sermon Date:  January 14, 2007

 

 “The activities of John the Baptiser struck a chord with the deep yearning for a national saviour, and people began to speculate that perhaps John might be the one who God had chosen. John was quick to hose down such ideas, saying, “I’m only baptising you with water. The One who is coming is way out of my league — the chance to polish his boots would be more than I could aspire to. When he gets started, it won’t be just water that he’ll be immersing you in. He’ll baptise you with the Holy Spirit and fire. He’s ready to start with his flame thrower in hand. He’ll release an uncontrollable fire into the dry bushland of your lives, completely incinerating the rubbish and germinating the good seeds that lie in wait for that day.”
........Now among all the people coming to be baptised, Jesus himself came and was baptised. As he was praying the sky opened up and the Holy Spirit came down bodily, like a diving kookaburra, and took hold of him. And a voice filled the air, saying, “You are my Son; my love personified. You fill me with pride.”
                                                                                      ©2001 Nathan Nettleton www.laughingbird.net 

 

Sermon

 

            It isn’t my intention to dredge up unpleasant memories for you but…..when did you last feel loved?

            I don’t necessarily mean romantic love although that works too but when did you feel appreciated, valued, unconditionally and deeply loved.  The love that God felt for Jesus in that moment when he said, “You are my Son, and you fill me with pride.  You are my Son with whom I am well-pleased.”  When did you last feel that kind of love?

            Her name was Barbara and she was in prison.  She was there because eight months earlier she was convicted of fraud for her participation in her father’s business.  He had abused her physically, mentally and sexually since childhood and when he came to her and asked her to take her mother’s place in the family business she looked at him through the eyes of a five year old.  It never occurred to her to say “no.”  When the FBI showed up five months later and asked if those were her signatures on the documents she said “yes” and continued her life-long pattern of covering for her father.  She was sent to a maximum security prison in Lexington, Kentucky to pay for “her crimes.”

            Before she went to the prison, she entered an adult survivor program and began to heal her childhood wounds.  She learned about the effects of long-term abuse and decided that she would change.  She read books of truth and wisdom and began to write affirmations to remind herself who she truly was.  When she heard the voice of her father say “you are nothing,” she replaced it with, “You are my beloved child.” 

            One day she was moved from her California prison to a prison in Kentucky….reasons unknown to her but she knew immediately that she was still in the palm of God’s hand.  Other housing units were named after Kentucky, like “Bluegrass.”  Her housing unit was named “Renaissance,” meaning “rebirth.”  She knew she would be safe there, in spite of the terrible reputation of this particular prison.

            There she met Mr. Lear, a guard.  Over time they broke the rules and became friends.  He urged her to share her story and wondered how she could be so happy and content with such a difficult past.  Her father took no responsibility for his actions and her siblings backed his story saying that Barbara was lying.  She told him that in prison she had learned about freedom and how you first have to believe before you could see the results of your belief.

She urged him to share his story. He shared his dream about wanting to go into the military but thought it was too late.  He had a wife and children and job security.  Then Barbara told him that the desire in his heart was not placed there if there was no chance of fulfillment.  The conversations continued and her feeling of safety with him grew.  She even shared with him some things she missed from her life at home, fresh fruit and vegetables being among them.

She knew he was not a guard who would take advantage of her…so you can imagine how shocked she was when in a gruff voice, he ordered her to go into his office and clean off everything on the shelves.  “And don’t come out until nothing is left!”

Her face burned with shame and her eyes filled with tears as she walked past him into the office.  She could not imagine what she had done to deserve this treatment….. until she looked in and saw that his shelves were completely empty…..except for one large, ripe beautiful tomato and a shaker of salt.  Then he watched the door for her while she sat down and relished every bite.

            That simple act of kindness – treating her like a human being and not a number – helped her continue her journey of healing.  She knew for sure that her stay in prison was not an accident but an opportunity to heal her abuse issues at depth so that she could later heal others.  (“A Taste of Freedom,” from A 3rd Helping of Chicken Soup from the Soul, p. 38).

            Not everyone comes into the baptismal waters with Barbara’s history.  Many come in like Paige, fresh and young in faith, trying it on to see how it fits, looking at us to see how we live out our faith.  Ready to take off and let God do some pretty incredible things in her life.

            Some come like Gordon.  Sure of his faith for many years, yet feeling that something is lacking.  Some come into the waters at Gordon’s age for the first time, regretful that the years were not spent in full relationship with Jesus.

            But make no mistake…there are many who come in pain like Barbara.  People who have been abused in their childhood and find it hard to trust.  People who have trouble letting go of the pain they’ve endured.  People who desperately want to ….but it is so hard.  Yet when we hold onto pain and mistrust we are holding God back from releasing in us the wondrous things God wants for his children.

            In your head you know God loves.  But do you really believe that God loves YOU?  I mean really know.  Know that when you came into the world God carried your picture around and told everyone about your delivery, over and over and over again.  Seriously.  We can wrap our heads around the idea that God is love but can you wrap your heart around the belief that God loves you?  Deeply.  Passionately.  Powerfully. 

            However, while the love is unconditional and comes with no strings, there is more to God’s love than showing your picture around.

            William Sloan Coffin says it best:    “My rock-solid belief is that we are loved by God. He loves us as we are, but too much to leave us that way. We are loved by God, and that's what gives us value. We don't achieve value. It's not because we have value that we're loved by God, but because we're loved by God that we have value. Our value as human beings is not an achievement; it's a gift. We don't have to prove ourselves. All that is taken care of. What we have to do is express ourselves, return God's love with our own.”

 

            “He loves us as we are, but too much to leave us that way.”

 

            Think about for a second.  Can’t we all relate to that?  Probably not about ourselves, but about someone we love.  We know someone in an abusive relationship.  We know someone with addictions or someone who simply refuses to let go of the pain.

            There really are people who refuse to let go of the pain in their lives.  It isn’t that they like the pain, it is just that they don’t know any other way to live and this pain is (for all intents and purposes) comfortable.  Kind of “the devil you know is better than the devil you don’t know.” 

            There are people who have deep prejudices about the skin color of another.  There are people who are the abusers in relationships.  Oh, the list goes on and somewhere you and I are on the list.  And God loves us too much to leave us just the way we are.

            Barbara’s life changed only in part because of Mr. Lear.  He was the validation that there are humans who can be trusted.  However her heart was already open to his coming.  She had already allowed God to move her out of her dysfunction and pain.  She had already allowed God to bring her back into the healthy family of God.  She had already allowed God to take her pain and her burdens.  Mr. Lear just helped carry the load for a while.  Barbara and God did most of the work.

            Are you dealing with something you can’t share?  Are you carrying around pain from childhood?  Are you struggling to get away from abuse – as the abuser or the one being abused? Are you fighting prejudices against people for their skin color, their gender, their orientation, or their beliefs? 

            This is not the life God wants for you.  God desperately wants you to live a safe and fulfilled life.  Let it go.  Release yourself from the pain.  Give your life to God and let God begin a good work in you.  You and God can do it and we mere mortals who sit around you each Sunday will help. 

            Leave here today with this reminder.  You are God’s pride and joy and loved beyond measure.  And God loves you too much to leave you that way.