Jeff Foxworthy became famous with jokes based on the line, “You just might be a Redneck IF...” and then he would give you a stereotypical behavioral association. He would say stuff like:
·“You just might be a Redneck IF...You use your fishing license as a form of identification.”
·“You just might be a Redneck IF...Your secret family recipe is illegal.”
·“You just might be a Redneck IF...Your momma has ‘Ammo’ on her Christmas list.”
·“You just might be a Redneck IF...You took a fishing pole to Sea World.”
Foxworthy had a whole slew of these. Even though he has been out of the limelight for a while, you can still find his one-liners on the Internet. One of the things that made his brand of comedy so very popular was that his jokes had to do with identity. People, even rednecks, want to be able to identify with something. The Internet website where I found the Foxworthy lines that I read to you was put up by a fellow that wrote this:
“I’ve lived in Alabama, I’ve worked in Alabama, I’ve got lots of friends in Alabama, I married a lady born and raised in Alabama, most of her relatives still live in Alabama.... So, I assure you, Mr. Foxworthy speaks the truth!!! As a Jeff Foxworthy fan, I hope you enjoy these excerpts which people have sent to me on the web.” (http://www.specsci.com/donspage/htmldocs/fox_wthy.htm)
There is almost a sense of pride in this fellow’s association with Foxworthy’s material, isn’t there? Who would have figured? I mean, the things that Foxworthy says are not exactly complimentary. In fact, we could make a real good case for these observations not even belonging in Church. But there is that sense of identity that gives people a pride in belonging. Maybe it goes beyond pride – maybe it is a need. Maybe it is critical for us to feel that we are part of something special – to belong.
There was this old boy by the name of Abraham Maslow. This fellow was absolutely brilliant. He came up with a hierarchy of needs for people. You can think of Maslow’s needs as kind of like a pyramid. Before you can worry about the top of the pyramid – which represents things like ‘self esteem’ and self actualization - you have to build the lower layers – things like food and safety. Well, “belonging” was one of the lower layer needs in Maslow’s hierarchy. He called these very basic needs, ‘deficiency needs,’ because if these are not met, there is no way for us to excel at the more esoteric things in life.
We’re still celebrating Easter in Church. But I want to ask you a question: What in the world does identity have to do with Easter? I’d like to tell you that I’d like to begin to answer that question for you based on the reading and context from our reading in the book of Acts. Lets read it together. [Read Acts 4:8-12 here]
A man who had been crippled from birth asked Peter and John for money. Now Peter and John were typical preachers – broke – no money. But Peter told the crippled man that he had something to give him. He said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.”
So Peter took the crippled man by the hand and helped him to his feet, and the Scriptures say that instantly, the man was healed. He followed Peter and John just leaping and jumping behind them. What I is really critical to catch here is that immediately, Peter and John showed to whom they belonged. In the very act of healing, they proclaimed, “We belong to Jesus.” In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth – walk. They didn’t rely on their credentials or their identity – it was Jesus’ identity on which they relied.
Now, the same crowd that had killed Jesus took notice of this incredible miracle. You see, crowds had gathered around Peter and John and what do you think they were telling these people? Listen to their message:
Acts 3.12-15: When Peter saw this, he said to them: “Men of Israel, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go. You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this.”
What did they talk about? Well surprise, surprise, surprise – they talked about Jesus. They talked about his Messianic identity. They talked about his death. And they talked about his Resurrection. They refused to take any credit for the healing of the crippled man. Why? Their identity was in Christ! Christ was their reason for being, for preaching for living and the power behind their work.
Now the guys that had Jesus killed didn’t like this at all. And so they had Peter and John arrested. They threw them right into jail. And the next morning they dragged Peter and John before the high priest and the other religious teachers. They asked Peter and John, “By what power or name did you do this?”
What a question! How could they ask believers such a thing? What did they expect to hear? That would be like asking a fish, “Why do you swim?” or asking a bird, “Why do you fly?” What do you suppose that Peter and John would say?
“Rulers and elders of the people! If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed, then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. He is ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone.’ Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”
Peter and John’s identities were fully wrapped in the work that Jesus Christ came to do. And because of Easter, Jesus’ work of salvation was confirmed by God the Father. Because there is no other way to be saved; no other way to heaven; no other way for healing to happen; no other way for forgiveness to be offered; no other way for us to have a relationship with God.
Our identity in Christ is so critical and needful, that God insures that we are fully connected. Connected by Baptism. Connected by sharing fully in Jesus’ body and blood at the Lord’s Table. Connected by the Holy Spirit that works so hard to gather and call us together.
Beloved, all the benefits of being a child of God accrue to us because of our identity in Christ. The Scriptures are loaded with verses that attest to this:
·ROM 6.11: …count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
·ROM 6.23: …the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
·ROM 8.1: Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus…
·ROM 8.39: …neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
·ROM 12.5: …so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.
·1CO 1.4: I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus.
·1CO 1.30: It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God - that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.
There are many, many more verses, but you get the idea. It is in Christ – as we identify with Him, as we grow in Him - that we receive the benefits of being Children of God – forgiveness, mercy, eternal life, and finally – our own resurrection. Amen.
