PALM SUNDAY 2004
April 4, 2004
St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church
The Rev. M. Anthony Seel , Jr.
2 Corinthians 5:17-21
“Made for a Mission”
Let us pray.
Heavenly Father, we bow in your presence. May your Word be our rule, Your Spirit our teacher, and your greater glory our supreme concern, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
One of the popular television shows in our home is The Learning Channel’s Trading Spaces. The premise of the program is that two neighboring families are given 48 hours and $1,000 to make over a room in each other’s homes with the help of a professional designer and a construction team. Afterwards, each comes home to walk in with eyes closed for the climactic “reveal” of what the neighbors have done with, or to, the room. Happy homeowners shriek and jump about – others are not quite as effusive.
There’s even an outtake DVD titled “They Hated It!” although the producers of Trading Spaces say that the percentage of those who hate their home makeovers is small. Even so, the truth is that external makeovers have a short shelf life.
This morning, we are going to look at eternal makeovers, the kind that happens inside us by the power of God through Jesus Christ. Secondly, we are going to look at the mission that God gives to all who have received Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord.
We begin with verse 17 of our second reading.
v. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold the new has come.
If you’ve seen just the commercials for the weekday talk shows, you may have noticed that cosmetic makeovers are a staple for them. In addition to these regular segments on the talk shows, there are currently a dozen different “reality” makeover shows running on the tube. One program has taken the common makeover to another level. It is Fox Channel’s Ambush Makeover. Fox says,
“Imagine walking down the street, minding your own business when a stranger comes up to you and offers you a complete makeover – new hairstyle, fantastic makeup, designer clothes…the works. The only catch: you must accept it right now, abandon whatever you are doing and run-off to be a queen or king for the day. Would you do it? Welcome to the unpredictable excitement of AMBUSH MAKEOVER.
“In every episode, the AMBUSH MAKEOVER team travels all over the country, targeting unsuspecting “fashion victims” who are willing to drop everything to receive a once-in-a-lifetime makeover opportunity. Sometimes it’s spontaneous, while other times, the ambush has been set-up by a friend or family member. As soon as a potential participant says “yes,” he or she will be swept away into that city’s most prestigious salons where a team of fashion and beauty experts will work their magic. The viewers see it all as this “instant participant” is transformed into an instant beauty. Along the way, there will be fashion and beauty tips galore, and at the end of the day, the new – and hopefully improved – look will be revealed not only to the participants, but also to their friends and family.”
Paul himself had experienced such an “ambush makeover” on the Damascus Road. In one blinding moment he was encountered by Christ and transformed into the boldest and widest reaching ambassador for Christ in the apostolic church. Christian history is replete with thousands of examples of people who were surprised by the offer of a new life through Jesus Christ and were made new by Him.
For most of us the changes are more gradual. Through Jesus Christ, we are a new creation, but the work of Christ in us is generally slow and deliberate. Becoming a new creation is not instantaneous in all its’ effects. The spiritual makeover takes some time because the old sinful nature within us is so pervasive, and we cling to it so stubbornly. Through Christ, the old nature is declared of the past, even while God works in us, in cooperation with our minds, wills and emotions, to diminish the power of the old sinful nature over us. Explaining this further, Paul writes
vv. 18-19 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God is reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.
Reconciliation is the main theme of this passage and it is important that we understand what reconciliation meant in Paul’s era. The word was used frequently in Greek to signify a change in relationship between individuals or groups of people, often involving a financial transaction.
Used in a religious sense, Greek literature applies the word “reconciliation” to the healing of relationships between divine and human beings. In verse 19, Paul interprets the death of Christ as reconciling “the world” to God.
We begin Holy Week today with our Lord’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem. God’s work of reconciliation is set in motion as Jesus travels toward the Holy City on the back of a donkey. As Jesus enters Jerusalem, people on either side of Him spread their clothes in His path as a sign of homage and praise God for all the mighty works that Jesus has done.
Faith meets unfaith as the Pharisees object to all this praise. They say to Jesus, “Teacher, order your disciples to stop.” Faith meets unfaith again on Thursday evening atop the Mount of Olives after the Last Supper. In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus prays while His disciples wait nearby, and as others climb the countryside for the purpose of arresting Him.
Each evening of this week that leads to the cross, Jesus is atop the Mount of Olives where He can see the stone and plaster houses of Jerusalem. He can see the Jerusalem Temple built by King Herod. He can see the places where He will be imprisoned, scourged, put on trial and executed. As Jesus moves closer to His crucifixion, He alone can see it all.
Through the work of His Son Jesus Christ on the cross, God’s eternal plan is to reconcile the world to himself is done. The sacrifice of Jesus on the cross is our salvation, and it is also our proclamation, as verse 20 tells us.
v. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
As ones who have been reconciled to God through Jesus Christ, we are given the life mission of being ambassadors for Jesus Christ. An ambassador is someone who has been given the power to speak for a nation or government. An ambassador is an official spokesperson who has been given the authority to speak and act on behalf of the country that he or she represents.
As Christians, we are ambassadors of the Kingdom of God who have been entrusted with a message from our sovereign Lord. On Day 36 of The Purpose Driven Life, Rick Warren says
You were made for a mission. God is at work in the world,
and he wants you to join him. This assignment is called your
mission. God wants you to have both a ministry in the Body
of Christ and a mission in the world. Your ministry is your
service to believers, and your mission is your service to
nonbelievers. Fulfilling your mission in the world is God’s
fifth purpose in your life. [p. 281]
Last week, we focused on our ministries within the Body of Christ. This week our focus is on our mission to the world. Warren explains that the word mission comes from the Latin word for “sending.” Jesus said to His followers, “As the Father has sent me, so I send you” (John 20:21). Being a Christian means that God sends us into the world as ambassadors of Jesus Christ. The mission that God has given each of us is a continuation of Jesus’ mission on earth. The message for our mission is located in verse 21, where Paul writes
v. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Jesus, the only human being who ever lived who did not sin, died on the cross for our sins so that His righteousness could be our own. A fifth-century bishop (Theodoret of Cyrus) captured the essence of what Paul is saying in verse 21 when he wrote, “Christ was called what we are in order to call us to be what he is.” This is what makes Good Friday good for all who believe in the power of what God has done in Christ. This is the basis of our salvation and our proclamation. This is the good news for all who believe and trust in Christ. This is the message that our Lord has given to us, His ambassadors, to take to the world around us.
If we belong to Christ, we are His ambassadors. The sad news is that if Jesus Christ is not your personal Savior, you cannot be His ambassador. You cannot speak for something that you do not have. In addition to this, if you have no interest in being Christ’s ambassador, you have sufficient reason to question whether Jesus Christ is really your Savior and Lord. If Christ is not your personal Savior, then your greatest need right now is to receive Him into your life.
You can receive Jesus Christ into your life by confessing to Him that you are a sinner who needs His salvation and repenting of those things in your life that you have done that are sins. Further, turn to Christ and accept Him as your Lord. Trust that He will lead you in His ways.
The makeover that the Apostle Paul is talking about in our second lesson today goes far deeper than any makeover on television. There is a deep work of grace that God desires to do in each of us, and moreover, to do in many others who will only hear this good news if we bring it to them.
Listen to one final word from Rick Warren about your life mission. Warren says
Your mission has eternal significance. It will impact the eternal
destiny of other people, so it’s more important than any job,
achievement, or goal you will reach during your life on earth.
The consequences of your mission will last forever; the
consequences of your job will not. Nothing else you do will
ever matter as much as helping people establish an eternal
relationship with God…. This is why we must be urgent about
our mission. [p. 284]
Warren asks,
Is anyone going to be in heaven because of you? Will anyone in
heaven be able to say to you, “I want to thank you. I’m here
because you cared enough to share the Good News with me”?
Imagine the joy of greeting people in heaven whom you helped
get there. [p. 295]
I honestly don’t know of any joy that can top that one. I will one day say
to a fellow named Pat Tengwall that “I am in heaven, Pat, because you took the risk of sharing your Christian faith with me.” I have been told by youth that I have worked with that I was the Pat Tengwall in their lives. There is no greater joy in my life than to know that God used me to share the good news of eternal salvation with someone else. It doesn’t get any better than that.
If you are a parent, your greatest work is to be used by God to bring your children to saving faith. In too many Episcopal homes, children leave for college without a clue as to what they believe. Don’t allow this to happen for your kids.
If you are in the workforce, be prepared for opportunities that God will give you to change the eternal destiny of those whom God places in your care. If you are prepared, this will happen more than you can at this time imagine. Pray for wisdom to recognize and respond to the holy moments that God will give you.
If you are retired, pray that God will use the relationships that you have for His greater glory. It might be someone that you work with during Meals on Wheels deliveries. It might be someone with whom you play golf or cards. Pray for wisdom to recognize and respond to the holy moments that God will give you.
In order to complete our life mission it is imperative that you have a firm grasp on your life message. If someone were to ask you why you have hope, could you give them a succinct statement of your Christian faith? If not, that is your most important work this Holy Week. Your life message includes:
How you began a relationship with Jesus Christ.
The most important life lessons that God has taught you.
The godly passions that God has laid on your heart.
And the Good News of how someone else can begin a relationship with God through Jesus Christ.
These four aspects of your life message are described in more detail on Day 37 of The Purpose Driven Life. If you’ve been reading and journaling during these 40 Days of Purpose, we’re almost home. Tomorrow is Day 35, and we finish our 40 Days this Saturday, Holy Saturday. Easter is coming, but don’t miss out on the profound events of this extraordinary final week of Lent. Easter is not Easter without the cross of Good Friday. While we are closer today to the glorious culmination of our annual remembrance of our Lord’s death and resurrection, we will do well to travel the whole distance with Him and not run ahead.
Stay with Jesus as He teaches us through His life and sufferings this week. Pray with Him as He prepares for His passion. Join us here as we worship Christ our King on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday. May this solemn week prepare your heart for the joyous celebration one week from today, and a life mission that God has given you to bring others with you into eternity.
Let us pray.
O God, by the passion of your blessed Son you made an instrument of shameful death to be for us the means of life: Grant us so to glory in the cross of Christ, that we may persevere with steadfast faith in the confession of your Name, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
