Advertising is quite effective. It is so effective that millions of dollars are spent each year just to acquire 60 seconds worth of air time during the Super Bowl. When asked why companies are willing to spend so much money for just 60 seconds of air time, the response is simple. Companies believe that the proper ad can do at least four things; RAISE AWARENESS, CHANGE PERCEPTION, EFFECT CUTURE (meaning take advantage of your state of mind), and PROMOTE AUTHORITY. Companies feel that AUTHORITY is promoted because if you can afford to have a commercial air during the SUPERBOWL, you must be doing quite well.
I think RAISING AWARENESS is the primary goal of advertising. In fact I bet you that right now I could mention a slogan from commercials as far back as the 50’s and most of you would know what product they advertised. Let’s give that a try and please feel free to just shout out an answer.
• Nike, "Just do it", Wieden & Kennedy, 1988
• McDonald’s, "You deserve a break today", Needham, Harper & Steers, 1971
• Maxwell House, "Good to the last drop", Ogilvy, Benson & Mather, 1959
• Burger King, "Have it your way", BBDO, 1973
• Campbell Soup, "Mmm mm good", BBDO, 1930s
• M&Ms, "Melts in your mouth, not in your hands", Ted Bates & Co., 1954
• Timex, "Takes a licking and keeps on ticking", W.B. Doner & Co & predecessor agencies, 1950s
• Wendy’s, "Where’s the beef?", Dancer-Fitzgerald-Sample, 1984
• Charmin, "Please don’t squeeze the…", Benton & Bowles, 1964
• Wheaties, "Breakfast of champions", Blackett-Sample-Hummert, 1930s
• Coca-Cola, "It’s the real thing", McCann-Erickson, 1970
• Kellogg’s Rice Krispies, "Snap! Crackle! and Pop!", Leo Burnett Co., 1940s
• 7 UP, "The Uncola", J. Walter Thompson, 1970s
• Wisk detergent, "Ring around the collar", BBDO, 1968
• Life cereal, "Hey, Mikey", Doyle Dane Bernbach, 1972
• Hallmark, "When you care enough to send the very best", Foote, Cone & Belding, 1930s
• AT&T, "Reach out and touch someone", N.W. Ayer, 1979
• Brylcreem, "A little dab’ll do ya", Kenyon & Eckhardt, 1950s
• Motel 6, "We’ll leave a light on for you", Richards Group, 1988
• Jell-O, Bill Cosby with kids, Young & Rubicam, 1975
These advertising campaigns were fairly successful. Maybe they were successful simply because we heard them over and over and over again, or maybe they were successful because they were entertaining or that the products held high factors of integrity; meaning we like and still use the products.
So, with these thoughts on my mind and after reading today’s Gospel lesson, I began to look at the words and work of Jesus in light of an advertising campaign. In fact I took it one step further and began to imagine how such a campaign would be received if Jesus were doing his ministry today; here in America. What if our Lord was in the midst of his ministry right now? What would his slogan be? Could he, through the public media, create the same four pronged success strategy that today’s ad’s target? And if he was able to RAISE AWARENESS, CHANGE PERCEPTION, EFFECT CULTURE AND PROMOTE AUTHORITY and you “r e c e I v e d” his product, would you be satisfied?
So let’s imagine that you recently watched Jesus on television for the first time and you have since followed his advertising campaign. You have seen him teach, heal, and encourage. You have watched him promote love, compassion and mercy. Not only has Jesus RAISED AWARENESS about himself but, he also CHANGED YOUR PERCEPTION about Him over time. In a world that faces war, and poverty and wickedness at every turn, your eyes have been glued to the television and you are ready to jot down that 1-800 number so that you can have Jesus come to your home. The reason you are ready for Jesus is because you feel that what he most represents is PEACE!
With everyone at each other’s throats; with all the various opinions on abortion, lifestyle changes, politics, marriage and freedom of expression PEACE is truly what this Nation needs.
PEACE is truly what we all need and so you pick up the phone because you want Jesus to come to your home and teach you about discipleship. And after a small donation, Jesus is said to arrive at your home in 7 to 10 business days.
Once at your home, Jesus seemed to be everything as advertised. He began to teach about the true meaning of discipleship. He spoke of us confessing Him before men, and that if we did this, he would confess us before God. He told you that even the hairs on your head are numbered by God. Truly, you thought to yourself, this man was all about PEACE. Then suddenly, as if Jesus read your thoughts, he said these words, “Do not think that I came to bring PEACE on the earth; I did not come to bring peace but, a sword. For I came to set a Man against his Father, and a Daughter against her Mother.
He spoke some more about the effects of Him bringing the SWORD but all you heard were the words, “I DID NOT COME TO BRING PEACE BUT, A SWORD”. Instantly confusion began to take over your thoughts and you interrupted Jesus. Remember that in this scenario you are just learning about Jesus and so you said, “Now wait a minute. The advertisement I saw moved me to believe that you were all about PEACE and that you would bring PEACE. We need peace Jesus! We need to have our borders be safe. We need our children to be protected! We need our families to be drawn back together. How can you possibly say you did not come to bring Peace? Didn’t you say, “Peace I leave with you, Peace I give to you?” Are you not called the Prince of Peace?”
Folks, this is the moment of truth, the moment when you decide whether or not Jesus has integrity in your eyes. And we are going to move from our imaginative scenario for a moment to present day. It is not too difficult to imagine anyone of us doubting Jesus’ integrity or maybe better said, God’s intent, when we lose hold of the Peace that surpasses all understanding. We can lose hold of that peace when we fail to understand the purpose of the SWORD. The SWORD in itself is DIVISION. We are divided now between the shame of our sin and the newness of our Spirit. There is battle going on, and sometimes the Old Adam or earthy desires seem to take the advantage; get the upper hand so to speak. Sometimes we might even wish that we did not have to make the difficult choices that come with being a Christian. How much easier would life APPEAR to be if we were not the only ones in a crowd that shouted against abortion and against same sex marriages and against the ban of prayer in our schools? How much easier would life be if we could sleep in on Sunday instead of attending church? How much easier would it be if we always let other people do the work of the church that is supposed to be everyone’s responsibility?
The sword brings division and sometimes it divides us from receiving all that our Lord wishes to give. However, we are not blind to the blessings of the SWORD that Jesus has brought to this world. We are not blind to understanding that if Jesus did not come to take away our sin and our shame and guilt, that we might have considered ourselves blessed in our blindness even though we were lost to all that was Good and Holy. We are not blind to the fact that Christ could have left us to wallow in our own perversions; He could have left us to all perish in our sin. We are not blind to these things because our Lord has opened our eyes to see God’s Will and to receive His Promise. We are not blind to these things because we no longer live for the World and that is why we must endure the SWORD.
Family in Christ, it is good for us to remember that the SWORD that Jesus has brought was not a SWORD to be placed in your spirit but, rather a SWORD that is placed “UPON THIS EARTH”. The DIVISION that it represents, at least in our own lives, is when we put others before the WILL OF CHRIST. Simply put, if we put the things of this earth before the things of God, we will come to realize the SWORD is affecting us personally. And again I say, this is something we all deal with because we still live in these sin-stained bodies.
However, the good news today is these sin-stained bodies no longer have full rule over us. Our Lord has changed us so drastically, that we see Him as more precious than gold, and truly worthy of whatever suffering or shame we must endure as a result of putting Jesus first in our life. The good news continues in that Jesus has said, “Peace I leave with you, My Peace I give to you give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, nor let it be fearful.” Then he gives us Himself so that we are never alone and can cast all things to Him; while He casts ALL PEACE to us.
Jesus has brought PEACE to us. He has given us contentment. We have a Peace that speaks to us when times become difficult and when the SWORD manifests itself in our life and in our family. That PEACE I refer to reminds us that Christ has won for us salvation not based upon what we do or say but, upon what He did and said. We have Peace in knowing that this world can truly go to hell in a hand basket but, in the end eternity will still be ours. The eternal presence of our God will surround us and we will finally know no suffering, no sin and no sorrow.
While I was preparing this message I found out that my "Gram" GrandMother, who was like a mom to me, suffered a massive stroke. It’s the sort of stroke that does not promise any return. If I had only known the SWORD, my sorrow could not have been quenched. But, I own and you own the PEACE OF CHRIST. We know that though we shall die, yet shall we live. When I called my Gram who has been unresponsive, and the phone was placed to her ear, I was told that at the sound of my voice and the reminder of Christ’s love and readiness to receive her, her eyebrows rose up. I was told by the nurse that until that moment she has shown no signs of awareness. I was also told that she seemed to become more peaceful. Dear friends…that is the Peace of Christ, where even an unresponsive patient can hear the name of Jesus and react.
I would like to bring you back now to our imaginative scenario but, place you not in the role of uncertainty; instead you belong in the role of campaign manager. You belong in the role of fulfilling those four goals of advertising. So as Jesus’ campaign manager, how would you RAISE AWARENESS, CHANGE PERCEPTION, EFFECT CULTURE and PROMOTE AUTHORITY in Christ’s name?
Since today’s topic was based upon the words, “I DID NOT COME TO BRING PEACE BUT, A SWORD”. I think that would be a good place to begin. I would like you to also remember that those various slogans we talked about earlier were not based upon lengthy dissertations but upon a simple phrase such as, “AIM HIGH” When you hear that phase, many different thoughts about the AIR FORCE might come to mind. Sharing Christ with someone can be as simple as that AD. Remember you have the Peace of Christ so you can share that Peace with someone else. I think if you had the SWORD instead of the PEACE OF CHRIST, evangelism would be quite difficult indeed. However Christ has already RAISED AWARENESS of Him in your spirit. Christ has already CHANGED YOUR PERCEPTION of HIM and this world and thus he has EFFECTED your CULTURE, your STATE OF MIND because even though this world can challenge you and your Christian values can be attacked, your STATE OF MIND ends up focusing on JESUS. Finally, I am sure that each and every one of you can truly say that Jesus has PROMOTED HIS AUTHORITY once he suffered for us, died for us and rose again so that we all might have eternal life in Him. Wait a minute! You don’t have to fulfill those advertising goals, Jesus has already done so in your own life.
So, you and I have everything we need to be Christ’s campaign manager. Therefore, can you think up a slogan? How about I give you mine and you carry the thought of your own slogan in discussion with your family tonight? See what you come up with. My slogan to advertise Jesus would be, THE PEACE IS MIGHTIER THAN THE SWORD. Okay, that’s why God made me a pastor and not an Ad Exec but you get the point, and you already got the PEACE.
AMEN!
(c) Totallysaved Ministries
Lutheran Christians believe (as I am sure you do as well) that the Bible is the living word of God in its fullness. Therefore we often preach the text and its meaning trusting in the Holy Spirit to provide the Life Lessons. We also attempt to provide proper distinction between the Law and the Gospel, meaning we do not feel it is proper to leave the hearer with an abundance of either Law or Gospel. The Law condemns. The Law can be a curb, mirror or rule. It can tell us what we do wrong, it can force us to take a hard look at our failings and it can tell us what to do. What the Law fails to do is bring us to Christ. That is the role of the Gospel. However, if I provide too much Gospel, then the hearer will not recognize a need to repent. Think about it this way, if you give a child toys on every occasion, even when they are bad, they will become spoiled. If all you give is Gospel, the same is true for us.
So LC-MS Lutherans strive to provide a balance, erring on the side of Grace rather than on the side of condemnation. If a hearer walks away from a sermon with thoughts on the love and work of Father, Son & Holy Spirit primarily, with a secondary call to "go forth" (Guided by the Holy Spirit) then I feel I have served my people well. If a person walks away only thinking of what they must do better and how they do not measure up to Christ’s standards, then I have failed.
Eph 2:8-9
