5th Sunday in Lent
John:12:20-33
Jeremiah 31:31-34
"The Day has Come!"
20* Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks.
21* So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.”
22* Philip went and told Andrew; Andrew went with Philip and they told Jesus.
23* And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of man to be glorified.
24* Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.
25* He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
26* If any one serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there shall my servant be also; if any one serves me, the Father will honor him.
27* “Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, for this purpose I have come to this hour.
28* Father, glorify thy name.” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.”
29* The crowd standing by heard it and said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.”
30* Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not for mine.
31* Now is the judgment of this world, now shall the ruler of this world be cast out;
32* and I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.”
33* He said this to show by what death he was to die.RSV
31 “Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah,
32 not like the covenant which I made with their fathers when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant which they broke, though I was their husband, says the LORD.
33 But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it upon their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
34 And no longer shall each man teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the LORD; for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”RSV
Grace and Peace to you from our Lord and Saviour, Jesus who is the Christ. Amen
If you noticed the title of my sermon in this bulletin this morning, "The Day Has Come" you might be thinking that we are going to preach about the end of time, the day has come when the world will end. Wrong!!! You might be thinking this is a special day of the church year, the day has come that we have been waiting for. Wrong!!.
The Day has come for us to know who we are. That’s right, the day has come to know who we are? You might think, but pastor I know who I am. But do you?? Do you really know who you are? Do you really know who you are in relationship to all the other people on the face of the earth? Do you know who you are in relationship to God? Who are you anyway?
One scientist when answering that question put it this way:
I am a (1) child of the Creator (2) temple of the Holy spirit
(3) image of God (4) redeemed disciple of Christ (5) working member of his kingdom (6) member of the fellowship of saints (7) candidate for Eternal life.
Who are you? If we think about it in that kind of way, we are very special people. Special not because of our doing but because of the work of God through Jesus in our lives.
We are special and our First lesson from Jeremiah speaks about that unique nature. The Lord said that He would make a covenant with his people. He said He would be their God and they would be His people. God established a covenant with us during the time of Jeremiah. He continued that covenant through the time of Jesus.
Jesus in our gospel lesson speaks of that relationship when he talks about His time is fulfilled. Jesus says "No, for this purpose I have come to this hour."
Jesus came to continue that covenant that God began with the people of Israel. Jesus came so that we might know who we are. We are God’s children. Children bought and paid for by the blood of the lamb of Jesus.
Dr. Martin Luther says in the Small Catechism that not only are we God’s children through the conenant he made with us. At the same time, the Holy Spirit calls me by the gospel. God helps us to live in that covenant through His Holy Spirit.
He says:
" I believe that I cannot come to my Lord Jesus Christ by my own
intellegence or power. But the Holy Spirit call me by the Gospel,
enlightened me with His gifts, made me holy and kept me in the true
faith, just as He calls, gathers together, enlightens and makes holy
the whole Church on earth and keeps it with Jesus in the one, true
faith. In this Church, He generously forgives each day every sin
committed by me and by every believer."
Reember who you are. You are a child of God called by the Holy spirit into a covenant with God.
A girl tells of how her pastor reminded her of who she was:
"Jim Ginn, an assistant pastor of a church in Phoenix, was my confidant and guide, who made sure that my walk with Christ was closer everyday.
He always said these words to me before I stepped out of the house, he said: ’Girl, Remember Who You are - You are God’s child, You are very precious in His sight and His precious blood was shed for you, never let HIM down’.
He even bought me a cap with these words stitched on it: "Remember Who You are."
These words got embedded in my heart so strongly that it always pulls me out of temptations that come by my way all the time. There were times when I had almost given in, but I could hear Jim’s rusty voice saying "Remember Who You Are". At that moment the love of Christ flashes in my mind and makes me remember who I am, I just run back to Christ, who is my fort and shelter.
Jim Ginn is no more - but his profound words will always be with me. Jim’s love and dedication for Christ drew me even closer to Christ.
I want to do the same, I want to make difference in everyone’s life who come in touch with me, by passing on the light that Christ has given me. I want to always remember who I am in Christ and make sure others do so too.
So, when Satan looks you in the face and woos you - don’t give in... Just "Remember Who You are" - You are God’s child, You are very precious in His sight and His precious blood was shed for you, never let HIM down’. "1
Who are you? You are called into a covenant with God through the Holy Spirit.
You are not only a child of God but one who serves God through serving one’s neighbor.
Scripture says" If any one serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there shall my servant be also; if any one serves me, the Father will honor him."
Not only are we God’s children, but we are chosen for a purpose to serve others.
"A Sunday School teacher was honored one Sunday by her church for 25 years of faithful service in teaching the young people of that parish. She was honored with a plaque and a pin describing her faithful service, her dedication and the love she gave so generously to her students. When l asked to speak, she said," I am surprise you would honor me this way, I’m getting so much out of it, it isn’t really work at all. I enjoy teaching the children, I enjoy seeing their eyes light up as they learn about Jesus ’ love for them. I receive as much or more than I give."
Jesus is talking about that kind of service. We serve because we want to and we gain so much more. We gain when we give.
Another example.
Art was on the board of deacons when I arrived. The Deacons and some other people volunteered to form an ongoing visiting committee. They were trained, and then one night went out to visit. Since the church was only 40 years old, some of the charter members were still alive, and it was to these members the visiting team first went.
We wanted them to know how much the church appreciated their giving, their willingness to sacrifice so much to begin a church in that town 40 years ago. Art and Lorraine went to visit Walt and Nancy. Walt and Nancy couldn’t figure out why they were being visited.
Their first question: "What do you want? Do you want us to serve on a committee, or give money?’
"No." came the reply, We came to see how you were doing? " for we all knew that life was getting more difficult for Walt and Nancy.
Then Walt and Nancy poured out their hearts to Art and Lorraine. They told of the hurt, the heartache of growing old, of being forgetful, of being not able to do those things you once could do. They told of the sense of thankfulness for the church and its ministry, of the concern these people had for them, that they weren’t forgotten but really appreciated for the fine work they did many years ago. They visited and visited. Then Lorraine prayed for them and Art and Lorraine returned to the church..
Art spoke to the others and me when they returned. He said he didn’t say much, but listened and saw what was happening during their visit. He was overwhelmed by the thankfulness of these people, by the love Lorraine gave to them in her words and especially in her prayer.
He told us he really didn’t know when he began these visits would if they would really do anything or mean anything to anyone. But now he saw that love, caring, and kindness can affect people in a real way.
And he said, "I think I got more out of that visit than anyone else."
And it showed. Art was a faithful visitor in the following years, He and his wife became sponsors for the Luther Leaguers and related to them in a marvelous way. Later, he became president of the congregation and did a great job in a difficult time when I left and the two congregations were no longer joined together.
And we all benefited from Art, too. I don’t think I will ever forget him, his kindness shown to me, his willingness to listen to care, to be active, to give of himself. The goodness which was demonstrated on that night during that visit had an effect on many lives for many years to come.
Art was willing to give of himself, to go along on that visit even when he wasn’t sure it was worth it. Then he saw how love, kindness and compassion could affect individual lives. Then he let himself be involved. He let God’s spirit work in and through him. The Spirit brought to all of us the benefit of Art’s grace filled life.
Yes in God’s economy, nothing is done for selfishness, but for the goodness of all. Jesus says in our gospel lesson," 5 He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life."
And Jesus demonstrated that concept in a clear and marvelous way on the cross of Calvary. He gave, he lost his life, he died. In his dying, in His dying everyone benefited. We received God’s grace through the sacrifice of Jesus. Jesus gave then we received. He received from God too, new life, the eternal life of the resurrection. In God’s economy goodness is non-exclusive, everyone gains, everyone receives, everyone benefits.
Again from Dr. Martin Luther:
”What is it to serve God and to do His will? Nothing else than to show mercy to our neighbor. For it is our neighbor who needs our service; God in heaven needs it not.”
Amen
Written by Pastor Tim Zingale March 27, 2006
1Author Unknown
from the-inspired buffalo
