Matthew 11:2-11
“Say Again?”
By: Rev. Ken Sauer, Pastor, Grace United Methodist Church, Soddy Daisy, TN graceumcsd.org
In John 2:35-37 John the Baptist is with two of his disciples and when John sees Jesus passing by, he says, “Look, the Lamb of God!”
At this these two disciples of John left John in order to follow Jesus.
In John Chapter 3 some of John the Baptist’s disciples went running to him wringing their hands in worry.
Lots and lots of John’s disciples were jumping ship to follow Jesus instead of John.
John’s reply to this?
He talks about being overjoyed, and then adds, “He must become greater; I must become less.”
There is a true loveliness in the humility we see in John the Baptist, is there not?
It’s a loveliness that we don’t often see in our ego driven, power hungry world.
Sadly, it’s the kind of loveliness that outsiders sometimes do not see exemplified in and by our churches…
…it’s the kind of loveliness that newcomers miss when brothers and sisters in Christ quarrel and fight for position in church meetings…
…or when brothers and sisters raise angry voices at each other when it comes to discussing money or plans for the next evangelism event.
It’s the kind of loveliness that people miss in us when we gossip and talk badly about others behind their backs.
John Wesley wrote: “Those who love others are so far from making their faults or failings the subject of conversation that they never speak at all about an absent person, except to speak favorably.
A busy-body, slanderer, gossip, or evil-speaker is the same as a murderer.
One would just as well cut a neighbor’s throat as to destroy his or her reputation.”
We should be embarrassed ‘even at the thought’ of speaking badly of another person in their absence.
As Wesley so rightly proclaimed, the Love that comes from an intimate and growing relationship with God through Jesus Christ should humble our souls to the dust!
It should dissolve all self-adulation.
It should prompt us to rejoice in being the lowest of all, the servant of all.
In our Gospel Lesson for this morning Jesus declares, “I tell you the truth, of all who have ever lived, none is greater than John the Baptist.
Yet even the least person in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he is!”
Say what?
God’s Kingdom and the kingdom of the world are absolute complete polar opposites are they not?
The last finish first in God’s Kingdom.
The one who serves rather than the one who is served is the greatest in God’s Kingdom!
How does that fly in our dog-eat-dog world?
So many of us are trapped in jobs where gossip is the native tongue, pushing others out of the way IS the ONLY WAY to get ahead.
What a miserable existence, indeed!
But in the Kingdom of God, that kind of stuff is the most foolish mess of all!
In school, kids put on a tough-guy or a tough-girl image in order to protect themselves and gain respect from what often appears as a pack of wolves.
People ignore the loner, are embarrassed to be “seen” with the “unpopular” kid who doesn’t fit in…
…but in the Kingdom of God…
…that kind of mess is complete nonsense!!!
In the Kingdom of God, the coolest thing one can do is hang out with the loner, the outcast, the marginalized, the unpopular!!!
And what a relief that is!!!
What a relief!!!
In the Kingdom of God we are set free to be truly human…
…and truly humane!!!
And my friends, if you are living as a resurrected follower of Jesus Christ…you are a member of the Kingdom of God, right here and right now…
…and this Kingdom living is not a mask we put on when we enter the doors of the church building and then take off as soon as we leave!
No, this Kingdom living is no mask at all!
It is who we are to be, and how we are to live at work, at play, at school…everywhere!!!
And we are not left alone to try and be this way on our own.
Jesus, through the power of the Holy Spirit, is with us every step of the way…
…we can always count on that!!!
When you are faced with a decision…
…such as…
…how do I live in this moment as a member of the Kingdom of God?...
…stop, pray and listen for God’s still small voice to lead you in the Way!!!
A friend of mine who works at Panera Bread Company told me that when she started there, the other workers warned her that the Sunday-after-church shift is the absolute worst!!!
“That’s when the Christians get out of church, and they are the most rude, arrogant and demanding of all customers.”
“The majority of them appear to be in a horrible mood.”
Restaurant workers dread working on Sundays when the “church crowd” comes waltzing on in.
This should cause us quite a bit of alarm!
The people who are to represent Jesus Christ--God Who humbled Himself to the dust and came into this world born in a dirty stable, and lived as a homeless preacher, and died as a common criminal….
…are often seen by the world as the most rude, arrogant, judgmental and non-humble people around!!!
What kind of witness is this?
What kind of Christianity is this?
There is an “air of arrogance” surrounding much of the Christian community these days…and the world sees it…
…the world sees it and is disgusted…
…and they have a right to be disgusted!
They see Christians demanding their rights and putting down non-believers in the public square.
Since when were Christians supposed to have rights in this world anyhow?
John the Baptist didn’t have any rights, nor did he demand them.
John was beheaded by the King.
Jesus didn’t have any rights, nor did He demand or claim them!
And He told us that we are to live in the world but not to be like the world!!!
We are to turn the other cheek, love our enemies, pray for those who persecute us…and serve, serve, serve!
This planet is under the spiritual control of Satan, the Prince of the Power of the Air…and Satan is anything but humble!
We are to have nothing to do with Satan’s arrogance!!!
When Christians start acting like a bunch of self-proclaimed martyrs, who cry over and throw temper tantrums when the world wants nothing to do with their manger scenes, their Gospel, their morality…
…Christians start to look like a bunch of arrogant, judgmental and extremely worldly morons!
But when Christians, instead, take on a Christ-like attitude of Servant-hood, asking for no accolades nor for any rights the world responds with admiration!!!
Was this not the way Mother Teresa lived her life, and has there been a better witness for the Kingdom of God and the Way of Christ than our Sister from Calcutta in the past fifty to a hundred years?
And yet, to put our Gospel lesson in a more modern context, “I tell you the truth, the least person in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than she is!”
In the recent book entitled UnChristian the authors write, “A young generation of outsiders is raising significant criticisms of the Christian faith and its people.”
My friends, how will we respond to this?
What will we do to address the unChristian perception of our faith?
How will we respond to what outsiders think of us?
If people say we no longer look like the people Jesus intended, what do we do about it?
And this question in itself should humble us, should it not?
We need to be intentional in shifting our reputation.
We must learn to respond to people the way Jesus did.
We need to be defined by our service and sacrifice, by lives that exude humility and grace!
If outsiders can’t see Jesus in our lives, we have to solve our “hidden Jesus” problem!
This may be the hardest thing in the world to get right.
The truth is we all have much to learn, and the more mature we are in our faith, the more we are able to see our need to grow.
According to a survey by the Barna Research Group mature believers…and I’m not talking age here…mature believers are more likely to identify their weaknesses, because they are able to see themselves more clearly in light of God’s standards.
They don’t fool themselves.
So, one of the most important things we can do is to mature in our faith.
How do we best do this?
We live it!
We respond to people the way Jesus did!
And one of the most effective ways to learn how to respond to people the way Jesus did is to read the Bible regularly…every single day.
And if you don’t like the version you have…
…if it is hard to understand or dull to read…
…go to LifeWay or to Books a Million…
…there are all kinds of fantastic translations written in easy to understand modern-day contemporary language—buy the one that suits you best!
Also, come to Bible study.
And if the Bible study that meets at 6:45 on Wednesday evenings does not work for you time-wise…
…I plan to start another Bible study to suit your schedule better…
…there is an insert I am asking you to fill out this morning.
Please hand it to me or place it in the offering plate before you leave today.
Come to Sunday school, and if the classes which are presently offered do not fit your needs…start a new one…or come talk to me about what kind of Sunday school class you would like to be part of.
I am here to serve you in the name of Jesus Christ!!!
It’s my job, my calling and my love!
Another fantastic way to mature in our faith and learn to respond to people and situations the way Jesus did is to join a Band Society.
Please read the insert in your bulletin which pertains to that.
We have a few Band Societies that are now meeting or getting ready to meet.
You could join one of those or be part of a new one!!!
And about the restaurant problem…
…I’m not so sure that Christians should even go to restaurants or any other places of business on Sundays.
It’s just the law of supply and demand.
If Christians instead, ate at home or in one another’s homes on Sundays the persons who have to work in restaurants on Sundays might have the opportunity to experience the great privilege that we enjoy…coming to church Sunday mornings to worship God!!!
Let’s not do anything that can come between people and a personal, life-saving relationship
with Jesus Christ!
If we do—I believe it’s sin!
We are to live lives that exude humility and grace.
We are to serve others.
We are not to be caught up in the world’s politics or the world’s anything.
Instead, we are to live our lives in order to point the Way to Jesus Christ.
Period.
There is no greater way to express our love for God and for others.
If we say we love God, and yet do not live as though we do…what good is it?
Every one of us…
…every one of us who call ourselves Christian must be involved in some ministry!
That is another reason to become part of a Band Society, since each Band Society is asked to take on a mission with a hands-on-approach.
But even beyond that, we each need to be actively involved in a ministry of this church.
What is God calling you to do in and through Grace United Methodist Church?
What is God calling you to do to serve our community…to point others to Christ through humble service?
Certainly, we are to begin our ministry at home…in the way we treat our families, our neighbors…
…and we are to move our ministry into our places of employment and our schools as we build relationships where outsiders are given the opportunity to see how a Christian faces and deals with the problems that are common to every person.
God is concerned about our response to criticism, about teaching us, and about helping shape us into the kinds of people God can use!
When it comes to our interaction with outsiders, we need to realize that our relationships, our interactions with people, the way we react or don’t react, our humility or lack thereof, comprise the picture of Jesus that people retain.
God has wired human beings so that spiritual influence occurs most commonly through relationships.
And one thing that turns people on to Jesus is humility.
What turns people off is arrogance and an aura of deserving certain rights and privileges.
Just for a spiritual and intellectual enterprise, I suggest you take a look at the “letters to the editor” which are in the “Metro” section of the Times-Free Press each and every day.
As you read the letters that come from Christians, put yourself in the shoes of someone who knows little about Christianity—an outsider.
What kind of “picture” does the letter paint of “Jesus followers”?
When we say nasty things about Athiests and persons of other faiths are we responding to folks as Jesus responds to folks?
Let’s humble ourselves.
Let’s not claim to have any rights.
Let’s stop demanding that the world owes us something.
My friends, as Christians, we are to live as aliens in this world…not as those who control it!
We are to be concerned about the proper way to live in God’s Kingdom—not Satan’s Kingdom.
We are to be humble.
We are to live like Christ.
James the Brother of Jesus and the first Bishop of the Christian Church writes in James Chapter 2 that faith without action is useless…and that even the demons believe in God!
The thing that causes the devil to truly tremble is when Christians live as Jesus lived—which is something that goes so contrary to the way of the world…
…that the world is forced to sit-up and take notice—having a great respect.
Almost everyone respects Jesus.
Many do not respect His representatives.
But they will if we are serious, as John the Baptist was serious in saying, “[Jesus] must become more; I must become less.”
This is the kind of humility…
…the kind of loveliness we must, as the Body of Christ, live to exemplify.
Jesus must become greater; we must become less—every day!
Let us pray: Dear God, enable us to be amazed and humbled to the dust by Your love in Christ Jesus our Lord! May we become serious about maturing in our faith. Let our souls be filled with humility which leads to kindness, gentleness, endurance, and patience toward everyone. Let everything within us thirst for You—the Living God. May we long to be awakened into Your likeness and to be satisfied with this. May we become true lovers of You, and of all humankind. And in this spirit, do and endure all things for the sake of a lost and dying world, which You love and came and died to save. In Jesus’ name and for His sake we pray. Amen.
