Luke 23:33-43
“Converted on a Cross!”
(Many of the ideas for this sermon come from Everything Must Change by Brian Mclaren)
By: Ken Sauer, Pastor of Grace United Methodist Church, Soddy Daisy, TN
www.gbgm-umc.org/grace-sdtn
The Rock Band Jethro Tull has a song entitled Hymn 43 in which they sing the following lyrics:
“If Jesus saves—well, He’d better save Himself
from the gory glory seekers who use His name in death.
Oh, Jesus save me!”
I think these words echo much of the outside world’s sentiments.
People see Jesus’ name invoked to justify all kinds of atrocities and it really turns them off!
The writer of the song I just read cries out: “Jesus save me!”
And I believe the world is making that cry as well…whether they know it or not.
But as they see the “Body of Christ” involved in so much judgment, war-mongering, and greed…
…they wonder, “Where can I find the Jesus Who saves?”
There is a very good book out entitled: They Like Jesus, but Not the Church.
As a matter of fact, there are a lot of good books out these days by Christian authors who sense that there is something wrong with the way Jesus Christ is being portrayed by Christians to the world.
Author Brian McLaren sums it up well in the title of his newest book: Everything Must Change.
We are the Body of Christ!
And we are to represent the Authentic Jesus.
And through our representation of the Authentic Jesus…Jesus will draw all people unto Himself.
But Who is the Authentic Jesus?
Three years ago, referring to the Iraq war, a popular Christian preacher made these statements on CNN:
“we’re doing the right thing. We’re looking for them, we’re searching them out. We’re killing them when we find them.
And that’s the only cure for barbarians….
I’d rather be killing them over there than fighting them over here….And I’m for chasing them all over the world.
If it takes 10 years, blow them all away in the name of the Lord!”
I’m not here to take a stand on the war or to take a political position…
…whatever our political leanings…
…what are we telling the world about Jesus when we make statements such as, “If it takes ten years, blow them away in the name of the Lord!”?
I interpret that sort of language to be what it really means to “take the name of the Lord in vain.”
These words starkly contrast with the words spoken by Jesus when, hanging in agony, from the Cross He said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”
Jesus’ way goes completely against human nature…
…Jesus’ way goes against many of the strongest arguments as to how one should respond to one’s enemies.
But, Jesus’ way is the “message of the cross” which Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians is “foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
“If it takes 10 years, blow them all away in the name of the Lord,” or “Father, forgive them…”?
Which interpretation of Christ’s Good News are we going to live into?
Which interpretation of Christ’s Good News will draw outsiders into a relationship with Jesus Christ?
The security strategy of Jesus clearly involved a radical break from that of Rome and of the various parties in Jesus’ own nation…
…whether we’re talking about the violent zealots…
…the accommodating Sadducees and Herodians…
…the blaming Pharisees…
…or the withdrawing and isolating Essenes.
Jesus calls us, as His followers to be actively devoted to peacemaking—walking the second mile, turning the other cheek, giving freely to our enemies as well as to our friends.
Jesus is telling us that we need to choose another type of fighting: instead of fighting against each other, we must fight the Good Fight with each other against injustice, for the good of all.
Instead of fighting for dominance or revenge, we must fight for peace and reconciliation.
As one author puts it:
“So replace your craving for security with a passionate hunger and thirst for justice, and you will be immune to the temptation to snort the tempting white powder of war, or shoot the mysterious yellow syringe of war, or swallow the sparkling, bubbling, golden champagne of war.”
Jesus replaces one craving with a better hunger and thirst.
A hunger and a thirst for life, life in the Kingdom of God, which is a life that Jesus describes as life “like streams of living water” flowing from one’s inmost being.
Jesus’ sign and wonder of turning water into wine gives us an image of this transformation of our lives as we live in the Kingdom of God.
Life in Christ is like going from a life which is plain, mundane, tasteless, and flat to something dynamic, spirited, and alive!!!
Those of us who follow Jesus’ way will be so intoxicated with life that we will never want to squander it in war and hate.
What does it look like to change the way we live—which, is a decent definition of the word repentance?
What would it mean for our personal lives, for the life of Grace Church and for the life of this community to trade the love of power and money for the power of love?
As we see in our Gospel Lesson for this morning, Rome used crosses to expose and pronounce a death sentence on rebels and criminals.
Jesus uses the Cross to expose Roman violence and a religious partnership with violence, by pronouncing forgiveness on those who are crucifying Him!
Jesus’ Cross doesn’t represent a “shock and awe” display of power like Roman crucifixions were meant to do, but rather Jesus’ Cross represents a “reverence and awe” display of God’s willingness to accept rejection and mistreatment, and then respond with forgiveness, reconciliation and Resurrection!!!
To be a follower of Jesus is to be radically different from the world!
Rather than seeking peace through violence, or peace through the destruction of enemies, or peace through domination…we are to seek peace through justice, generosity, and mutual concern, and a willingness to suffer persecution but a refusal to inflict it on others!
To follow Jesus is to become a believer in the living God of grace and peace, Who, in Christ, shed God’s own blood for the salvation of the world!
As author Brian McLaren puts it: “To repent, to believe, to follow…together, these mean nothing less than defecting from Caesar’s campaign of violence to join Jesus’ divine peace insurgency.”
Do we trust God enough to join into the work of the Kingdom of God?
“Oh Jesus save me!” cries the author of the Jethro Tull song…
… “If Jesus saves—well, He’d better save Himself from the gory glory seekers who use His name in death.
… Oh, Jesus save me!” cries the author of the song and cries the world who likes the ideas of Jesus, but has yet to see them put into practice…to take on flesh!
Jesus is God taking on flesh.
That is the meaning of the word: Incarnation.
And we, as Christians are called to be Christ to the world…
…in other words, we are called to be incarnated into new creatures who witness to the world the other-worldliness of Christ!!!
Are we doing this?
Or are we taking the name of the Lord in vain?
If the world sees in us, nothing different than the bloodthirsty, greedy and corrupt tyrants of the world…then what good are we?
As Jesus proclaims in Matthew Chapter 5:
“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.”
“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.
Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.
Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.
In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”
Are we being salt and light?
Are we being salt and light to a world which is crying out in despair: “Jesus save me.”?
It was Ghandi who said, “I like your Christ, but I don’t like your Christians.”
Is not the greatest commandment which all of us are called to live into: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind”…
…and…
… “Love your neighbor as yourself.”?
Jesus tells us that “All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
In other words, if we obey these two commandments, everything else will fall into place.
And then, the outside world will be given a real choice…
…to choose between the violence, brutality, greed, and revenge of Caesar…
…and the love, the grace, and the forgiveness of God through Jesus Christ displayed by His Church!
How exciting is that?
