It’s that time again—time to set lofty goals for yourself. Time to aim high for 2017. Time to dream that you might be one of only 8% of Americans who actually fulfill a new year’s resolution! Year after year, we do this to ourselves…no matter how many times we fall into the 92% failure category. This year, like every year, people are set on making their resolutions into realities. New Year’s resolutions are nothing new, though—humans have been failing at self-imposed expectations for centuries upon centuries.
The Babylonians, for instance, would make promises to their gods at the beginning of each new year—promises to return borrowed items or tools, or to pay their debts. The Romans, too, started the year off by making vows to their god Janus—hence the name January. In the middle ages, at the end of the Christmas season, knights would reaffirm their commitment to chivalry through a rite known as the “peacock vow.” In the 1700s, various Protestant denominations began “watchnight services” late at night on December 31st and into the wee hours of January 1st; at this time, they would pray for resolutions they had made. And in the United States, since the Great Depression the percentage of adults making New Year’s resolutions has gone from 25% to about 50%. There’s just something about the human experience that stirs up a determination within us to change, to improve, to start something new.
If you do a Google Search on “Top Ten New Year’s Resolutions,” most often you find body-related goals. On some of these top ten lists, you’ll see multiple body-related resolutions. Most often on these lists: lose weight, exercise more, eat healthier. It’s no wonder at this time of year, you see more commercials for Weight Watchers. Parking lots at the gyms and fitness centers you drive past are full of cars (for at least a couple of months). Friends on Facebook and Twitter are posting more health-conscious updates. And, did you know that the day after Christmas, the Fitbit App was the most-downloaded free app? (http://appleinsider.com/articles/16/12/26/app-store-trends-suggest-top-christmas-gifts-vr-drones-cameras-amazon-echo) We want change. We want to better ourselves. So what better place to start than the thing people see most? It’s obvious. The first place to start is the body.
I even found—while doing my Google searching—I even found an article from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons entitled, “Plastic Surgery and New Year’s Resolutions.” (https://www.plasticsurgery.org/news/blog/plastic-surgery-and-new-years-resolutions) The author, a Beverly Hills plastic surgeon (surprise, surprise), noted some of the same things I’ve mentioned. That, often, on the top of people’s lists of resolutions are body-related goals. The author indicates more people consider plastic surgery at the beginning of the year as a path toward achieving these body-related resolutions, and to improve one’s self-esteem. And, interestingly, he also suggests that—and this is a direct quote: “the popularity of social media and the rise of the ‘selfie’ have made individuals more conscious about how they look. No longer is plastic surgery something that one considers as they age. It is not uncommon for people in their 20s to have plastic surgery to improve their image, which can subsequently influence their professional lives through social media.”
In other words, we make these body-related resolutions; we seek change for ourselves, not necessarily for our own self-esteem, but for the approval of others. We stand in front of the mirror, and we pick apart every little detail we don’t like about the image looking back at us. We compare ourselves to others around us or those we see on TV. We convince ourselves that life could be better if I could change THIS about how I look. And it doesn’t help that we hear people make comments about others’ weight issues. We hear fat jokes, and fear being the butt of such jokes. On the flip side, we hear talk about a person being all skin and bones. So, clearly there’s a happy medium on the spectrum of weight--between "fat jokes" and "skin and bones"--and you imagine that you could maybe get there someday, in that happy medium. But to think that way is foolish, because the scales, so to speak, are not tilted in your favor. That mirror will still be waiting for you, ready to show your flaws. And, unfortunately, we unwittingly pass these image issues onto our children, who then struggle with their own distorted body image issues. And the cycle continues. Happy New Year.
Don’t get me wrong—if you’ve made a New Year’s resolution I will support you in whatever way I can. If you are seeking to make healthy choices in diet and exercise, I applaud you and admire you, and I hope you are successful. And if you go the route of plastic surgery, for whatever reason, that’s fine—I claim no expertise on the theological implications of cosmetic procedures. All I am saying; all I want to do is to make more than abundantly clear that our culture is so focused on body image. And that affects us all in one way or another, to varying degrees. We all become obsessed with body image.
But, you want a new body for 2017? Let me tell you about a new body that is already yours. For starters, no matter what your resolutions for the new year are; no matter how you feel about yourself and your body—when you go home and you look in that mirror, you are looking at someone who is loved. You are looking at someone who is accepted. You are looking at someone made in the image of God. You are looking at someone for whom Christ died—someone so valued that He gave up His life, offered His body to be broken in exchange for yours. You are looking at someone that—no matter the age, no matter the weight, no matter what physical features frustrate you—you are looking at someone who, on the last day, will receive a new, immortal, imperishable body by grace, through faith in Jesus. “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ,” Paul says.
Of course, Paul wasn’t writing to the Galatians about physical appearances, nor about how we view ourselves in the mirror. But he very well could have. In the reading from Galatians 3, today, Paul was referring to a different kind of mirror—one that follows us around. It’s the mirror of the Law, showing us our failures. Showing our sins and every little mistake. Showing our need for a Savior. When we take time for confession, when we approach the Lord’s table examining ourselves, and even when we hear certain words of Scripture—in these moments, we pause and reflect on our sins, seeking mercy. And in those moments, God’s Word of forgiveness comes to us freely.
Where we look in the mirror of the Law and see an unrighteous sinner, God sees His perfect and holy Son. Where we see dirty, despicable deeds, God sees the cleansing works of Jesus. Where we see even our best efforts aren’t good enough, God sees Him who on the cross proclaimed, “It is finished.” When we stand at the mirror of the Law, looking in disgust, it's as if God Himself is standing beside us looking at that mirror of judgment, and He says, "No, I don't see it! All I see is my child." This new, sinless body is yours. “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.”
But even still, there’s more. It goes beyond the physical body; it goes beyond the spiritual image in the mirror. There’s another new body Paul is getting at. The body of Christ. Now, he doesn’t use that phraseology in the Galatians 3 passage, but he does so elsewhere; and, that’s ultimately what he’s getting at. See, in those days, there was division in the Church—mainly between the Jewish Christians and the Gentile, or Greek, Christians. But Paul counters it, saying that for all the baptized, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” There is not one group of believers distinct from another. Jesus levels the playing field. Before God, one Jewish man’s sin is equal to a Greek woman’s sin. And one enslaved Gentile Christian’s salvation is as beautiful and free as any free Jewish Christian’s. The body of Christ is one.
And, by your baptism, you have become part of this same new body, too. But for some reason—as much as our culture emphasizes body issues, and as often as we wrestle with body image—for some reason, we struggle with this concept. The Body of Christ. We like the sound of it. It’s quaint. It’s a nice way to put it…but to actually LIVE that way? Well that’s something completely different. I wonder, if we put up a mirror to ourselves as the Body of Christ in this place, would we be happy with what we saw? Would we settle for the image reflecting back at us? Would we be pleased that roughly half of our Body doesn’t show up for worship, regularly? Would we be happy with the solitude we’ve confined our Christian faith to?
See, as Americans, we love our independence—so much so that we have allowed our Christian lives to become independent. Disconnected from one another. "It's none of your business. My faith life is private. It's between me and God only!" Don’t let anyone in. Put up a front so no one knows you’re struggling, otherwise, they’ll think you’re weak, or not a good Christian. On Sunday, get in to Church, and get out with as little interaction as possible. And if you do have to talk to someone: “Good morning. I’m fine! Have a blessed day!” All hidden behind a smile—no one knows the difference. This is not what it means to be the body of Christ.
When you joined this congregation, you committed to being part of this community; the body of Christ in this place. And commitment doesn’t mean one hour a week. Commitment is joining in life together, in all the joys and the sorrows and everything in between.
See, we have people struggling in this congregation—and too often, they do it alone. They sometimes don’t even tell us, their pastors, until it's too late for us to intervene or say or do anything about it. We have people struggling, silently. You might be struggling, silently. Whether it’s loneliness, alcoholism, finances, gambling, not being able to have kids, or needing a date night with your spouse away FROM the kids, or marital problems, health issues, job loss, pornography, depression, opioid addiction, questioning your faith, or any combination of these or other things. We have people going through these things; and we keep it bottled up, we keep it to ourselves, until it’s too late. Because no one wants to take the first step; no one wants to make themselves vulnerable and admit they need help.
The thing is, actions can’t be taken back, but neither can inaction. So consequences play out right before us in other people's lives. Families are rocked and devastated. And, we hear about it, see it all unfold, and we all think—“Tsk. If only I would’ve known. I could have done something.” ...And then we continue on with our lives, maintaining the status quo, resolved to keep up appearances, unwilling to be vulnerable and admit our own need for help, our own struggle with that exact same issue. And so the cycle continues. This is not what it means to be the body of Christ.
The mission of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church and School is not to “Go and make church-attendees of all nations,” it’s to “make disciples of all nations.” So, what if we were to make a New Year’s resolution for Holy Trinity, to start something new? What if we were resolved to live as the new body that we are in Christ? What if we made the commitment to care for one another as we take care of ourselves? To put aside all fears and vulnerabilities, and to live as the fellowship of believers in this place. To have all things in common with one another; rejoicing with those who rejoice and mourning with those who mourn. To struggle alongside those who are struggling.
It all starts with taking the first step. Finding AT LEAST one other person in this congregation who is NOT in your family. Someone you can learn with and from. Someone you can serve beside. Someone you know will notice when you’re not in church and can say, “Oh, they’re on vacation.” Or, “She’s in the hospital again; we really need to pray for her.” Or, “I don’t know where he’s at. I’ll call or text him after Church.” That’s the body of Christ. That's the new body we are part of.
Like many resolutions, we may fail; and often! But, by grace and the Lord’s doing, we are still part of this new body—united with all of these people, whether we like it or not! And where our sinful humanity gets in the way, there is forgiveness in Jesus. Because, week after week, if not daily, we will look back into that mirror of the Law, and confess our failures and our need for a Savior. And God will look at that mirror right along with us and say, “I don’t see it. All I see is my perfect child. Now, get up and try it again.”
“For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ...you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
Come soon, Lord Jesus. Amen.
