May 30, 2021
Hope Lutheran Church
Rev. Mary Erickson
Is. 6:1-8; Rom. 8:12-17; Jn. 3:1-17
The Courage to Be
Friends, may grace and peace be yours in abundance in the knowledge of God and Christ Jesus our Lord.
Paul Tillich was a gifted theologian in the last century. During Hitler’s rise to power, Tillich left his native land of Germany and moved to the United States. He learned English at age 47 and later went on to publish many great theological works.
Among these was a book entitled “The Courage to Be.” Tillich declares that courage is derived when we affirm who we are. Courage is tied to understanding who we are as good and worthy. Knowing that we’re worthwhile and valued gives us confidence. It empowers us to enter the world and act with assurance and courage. We have the courage to be, to be ourselves. We act genuinely, we’re confident to utilize the God-given talents and strengths we possess. We simply have the courage to be.
But then, enter the forces that counteract the courage to be! Fear enters, and courage melts and runs out of us like hot wax. Tillich identified three unique sources of fear, a trinity of anxieties.
The first anxiety is connected to the limitations of our biology: Biological Finitude. There are an unlimited number of factors about who I am over which I have absolutely no power! What if one, or more, or even several of these aspects render me less than acceptable? Am I a reject? Do I become invalid, illegitimate, unworthy?
There’s no end to the list of these factors!
• Our physical body – Society sends strong messages about our shapes and appearance. We’re too big, our nose isn’t right. We have crooked teeth, our ears stick out. We have deformities, we’re missing limbs, we bear terrible scars from injuries. Our hair is balding or thinning or greying; it’s too curly or too frizzy or too straight. We’re not strong enough, we’re slow and uncoordinated. We’re too young; we’re too old. We’re limited by chronic disease.
• Race and the color of our skin – How does society rank us according to race? Do all lives really matter, or are some people ranked higher and better than others?
• Gender and Sexual Orientation – What messages do we learn as young children about masculinity and femininity? What shaming messages do we receive if we don’t follow the norm? How have we incorporated disabling opinions about how to be a man or a woman? And for our youth who are awakening to their sexual orientation, do they have a safe environment to foster the courage to be?
• Education and intellect – Are we smart enough? Do we have a learning disability? Is our IQ too high? Too low?
• Emotional and mental disabilities – What stigmas are associated with depression, with autism and spectrum disorders? What judgements are made against those battling addiction?
In so many ways we can perceive that there’s something inherently wrong with us. These negative messages continually chip away and erode our sense of self-worth. Our courage and confidence wanes. Who can save us from this endless cycle of internal and external criticism? How can we find the courage to be?
Brothers and sisters, let me tell you about the Holy Trinity! Let me tell you about God the Father! We have been wondrously made! The Bible tells us that when God had finished all of creation, God stepped back and looked at all God had made. And God deemed it good. And not just simply good, but VERY good!
Our faith in the triune God informs us more accurately about our worth and our inherent nature than anything else! We are good, we are beautiful, just as we are! Even in our weakness, we are prized and honored.
St. Paul suffered from some kind of affliction. He called it his “thorn in the flesh.” Three times Paul prayed that God might deliver him from his ailment. But the answer he received was this: “My power is made perfect in weakness.”
Each of us has been uniquely made. Even in our weakness and our most vulnerable aspects, we have been claimed and named by our loving creator.
In our Triune God we are given the courage to be. Today we heard Paul’s encouraging words to the Romans: “For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’ it is that very Spirit bearing witness that we are children of God.” Brothers and sisters, faith offers you the courage to be in all of the unique biological mosaic you are!
Tillich identified a second anxiety. It also erodes courage. This one is related to feelings of guilt: Moral Finitude. We sense that we have really blown it. No matter how hard we try, we keep making the same dumb mistakes. We’re rotten and worthless. Just toss us in the garbage can and wheel us to the curb.
This unrelenting guilt breaks us down. The same old damning tapes play over and over in our heads. It’s like a toxic Groundhog’s Day. We keep screwing up, falling over the same trip wires, returning to the old destructive behaviors. In our minds we repeat the same self-critical messages. The world might not know, but we know exactly who we truly are! We’ve committed something so grotesque, so out of bounds that we’re simply beyond repair, beyond hope, beyond redeeming.
Isaiah knew this moral dread first hand. In a vision, he found himself standing before the throne of the all-powerful, all-knowing, eternal and holy God. He quaked in dread. Isaiah knew he was thoroughly unclean, unworthy.
How can we possibly find the courage to be when who we ARE is completely rotten to the core?
Friends, let me tell you about the Trinity! Let me tell you about God the Son! We have a redeemer! We have a savior who sees beyond our corruption! He has seen through our hopelessly shattered nature and claims us nonetheless!
In Christ’s actions, we see God’s pure depth of love for who we are. Not for who we SHOULD be, not for who we OUGHT to be, but for who we ARE in all our faults. It was because God SO LOVED the world that our savior came into this world. His coming IS our judgement: He came because he deemed us worth redeeming – worthy not because of our actions, but on account of his tremendous love.
In Isaiah’s vision, he knew just how fully corrupt he was. “Woe is me!” he wailed. But then came the grace. Holy fire touched him and made him clean. And then the most remarkable thing happened. God needed a helper. “Whom shall I send?” God asked, “Who will go for us?”
Isaiah found the courage to be. Despite his sinfulness, he had been made clean. And in God’s righteousness he was bestowed with the courage to act and live as God’s servant.
Friends, we were born sinners, and we shall die sinners, but in Christ’s righteousness we have been redeemed! He has replaced the internal tapes of condemnation with a new message. He says, “You have been made whole! Rise up and go in peace!”
Through the Son our redeemer, we are born anew. And in that newness, we have the courage to be.
Tillich identified a third anxiety: Existential Finitude. It’s more internal and spiritual in nature. This third anxiety is related to emptiness and the lack of meaning. What difference do I make? When all is said and done, will my life have made a difference?
The Pharisee Nicodemus struggled with this dilemma. He’s groping in the dark, he’s looking for answers. Nicodemus wants to have a conversation with Jesus. He comes creeping in the dark so that nobody will see him there. He’s nervous about being seen and found out.
Nicodemus doesn’t want people to know that he has questions, that he’s searching for answers. Here’s the esteemed holy man. But he’s coming to Jesus looking for answers.
There’s that feeling we get that we’re faking it. If people really knew our doubts and uncertainties, they might think far less of us. We maneuver through life trying to cover up the nagging sense that we’re actually a fraud, a phony.
We spend the hours of our days chasing after wealth, after possessions, after recognition and respect. But in our darkest hours, we wonder if any of it matters. We can’t live by bread alone. Is there any greater significance? What meaning does my life have? Will my being here make a difference? Will I accomplish what I was meant to do?
At the end of his life, King Solomon reflected on who he was. By any scale, he’d been blessed. Richer than Croesus, wiser than Confucius, but at the end of the day, Solomon could only say that it was all vanity.
What’s our meaning? What’s our purpose? How do we find the courage to be when we wrestle with spiritual crisis?
Let me tell you about our triune God! Let me tell you about the Holy Spirit! This Spirit intercedes on our behalf. It connects us with holy energy and direction from above.
The Holy Spirit is our encourager. When we’re weary, it sustains us. When we despair, the Spirit of God revives with a message of hope. When we feel we’ve reached a breaking point and our whole world is about to collapse, at that moment, a sense of peace quietly descends upon us. It’s a peace beyond our human understanding, and it comes to guard our hearts and minds. It sustains and encourages. It gives us the courage to be, even when the world doesn’t make sense.
Friends, we have been created in the image of God. We’ve been washed clean in the blood of the Lamb. And day after day, we’re born anew through the Spirit.
In all these things, God is sending us a clear and decisive message: You have been claimed by the Triune God! God the Father pronounces: You are mine, I have created you! God the Son testifies: You are mine, I have redeemed you! God the Holy Spirit promises: You are mine, and I shall never leave your side!
Every day we find ourselves tossed about, with many a conflict, many a doubt. In the heat of the day and the darkness of night, we fight fears within and fears without. But in our triune God, we have been affirmed! God unconditionally says yes to us, without caveat, without stipulation. It’s sheer grace. God tells us who we really are. And in that holy affirmation, we have the courage to be, fully and authentically.
