Sunday 17 February 2024 – Being Christ’s Ambassadors – our credentials and example

Readings: 2 Corinthians 5:17- 6:2; Matthew 6: 1-6,16-21;

MESSAGE

We had a wonderful service to give thanks to God for the life of one of our church family on Thursday. She really did live a full life. It was an interesting service for me. At the beginning a neighbour’s cat came wandering in and meaowed as if to greet me. And when I got to speak, a dog came charging in and barked like crazy. All I could do is say “welcome” to the dog. There’s a first time for everything.

I’ve had interesting experiences at funerals. Some years ago I conducted the funeral of a retired ambassador. It was a dignified occasion and things were done appropriately well with care to the detals and some formality. There was only one typing mistake really in the funeral director’s brochure (In the days before I used to proofread them.) It had a rather formal statement of introduction on the inside page which was quite common in those days: “For as much as it has pleased Almighty God to take into his eternal care the soul of our dearly beloved brother John Brown…” and on it went basically saying we were there because he had died, and we were saying farewell. It was only one letter wrong, but it did create some looks. It read like this: “For as much as it has pleased Almighty God to take into his eternal cave the soul of our dearly beloved brother John Brown…” Fortunately I didn’t get the blame for that, however.

We are ambassadors for Christ, says Paul. We have a message of reconciliation to proclaim – that “God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself” (1 Cor 5:19).

In verse 20 we read: “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: be reconciled to God.”

Ambassadors are sent into another country with some authority as they represent and speak on behalf of the government or president of a country. They present their credentials at a formal acceptance ceremony and they are accorded status and respect.

Our credentials are a bit different, though. We do have the authority to speak in his name, But it’s not about us. Yes, we are a new creation, but not because of our abilities or status anything we have achieved on our own. The key verse is verse 21 – “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

And so to reflect on our lifestyles and example, we turn to Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21 (Ash Wednesday’s’s reading) and Jesus’ teaching on spiritual disciplines. Jesus lists giving, fasting and praying in this gospel reading today as the things which when we do them, should never draw attention to ourselves. LENT in some branches of the Christian church involves fasting – giving up something as a spiritual discipline to help strengthen our faith. It is for many people a meaningful discipline.

The point is that fasting is not something you show off about. And in giving for that matter, whether to church, charity, or poverty-stricken families or countries, the left hand should not know what the right is doing. In other words, don’t make a show of it.

That includes works of service. It’s to God. It doesn’t matter about anyone else, whether you think they are giving or doing enough, it’s done unto the Lord and for God’s glory. (Paul makes this clear iin Colossians 3:23.)

Jesus had an issue with hypocrites who did things for show – like in a play taking on another persona or character while the real person underneath is quite different. He used a number of illustrations for this, including “whitewashed tombs” as description for religious people of the day like the teachers of the law. White and shining on the outside, but full of dead peoples’ bones on the inside. I this passage he warns his disciples not to be like the hypocrites of the day who made a show of things in all three disciplines of giving, fasting and praying.

That’s why when it comes to prayer, Jesus’ teaching matters most in my view – just because it makes sense. “But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen…” (Matt 6:6).

I’ve always wondered about getting into a closet – like a broom cupboard, a storeroom or a washroom (the word is tameion, a storage chamber, storeroom or closet). The point is that it had no doors or windows onto the street. It did not mean suffocate yourself in the process, just don’t advertise.

These spiritual disciplines may seem for us like credentials, but no, they are for our private spiritual journey, and no one but the Father needs to know. When we speak on his behalf – be reconciled to God – we have solid credentials anyway. They’re in the Corinthian passage, and one verse is the key:

2 Cor 5:21 – God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

That’s why we used to sing: “He is all my righteousness, I stand complete in Him and worship him.” It’s the great exchange. He takes our sin and we receive his righteousness.

The spiritual disciplines of giving, fasting and praying all stem from that basic point and truth – that “anyone in Christ is a new creation, the old has gone and the new has come.”

Giving comes from our growing faith that the God who saves us provides and guides. They go hand in hand, give as you pray, pray as you give. Give in thanksgiving and gratitude and pray for the right recipient of your generosity.

Fasting helps you focus on God and God’s spirit guiding you through prayer and the reading of His word. Giving up food is symbolic of giving up our perceived needs and wants, and dependence on what feels good bring instant gratification. It teaches us to walk close to God in deprivation, and perhaps to make us more aware of the joyful lives that people of little means often have, while we who often have much too much or at least more than we need are often less satisfied. Depression and anxiety are much more prevalent in the wealthier parts of the world.

In the process we crucify the stuff that is a stumbling block all too often – what the bible calls “flesh” which is often translated as the sinful nature. Paul talks about putting off the “old man” and putting on the “new man” (Ephesians 4:22-24).

At the communion table today, we can surrender some of the stuff that hinders us, or that we hold on to too tightly. It could be some of our personal concerns, or our hopes and dreams, our work, our projects and hobbies we become a little too proud of, or even our children and grandchildren – any or all of these we can give over to the Father’s love and good purpose.

Or we may need to surrender our health if it’s a challenge. Whether that means seeking healing and wholeness from the broken physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual things we live with, or perhaps our need is to not be quite so adventurous and slow down a bit, learning to receive help and support and not only to give it.

What is certain is that there is nothing we can do to be loved more by God. What we can learn is to trust God more in the heaviness of the load as we hand things over to him, and perhaps trust God in the breadth of our human hurts and buried grief, sorrow, disappointment, fears, bitterness, or anger

This Lent season may be an opportunity for us to open ourselves up more to the reconciling and healing love of God shown in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Sunday 18 November@9 – Yes God cares about your relationships

Yes, God Cares About Your Relationships

Preacher: Lester Simpson

John 13:1, 12-17, 34-35, 1 Corinthians 13:1-7, Philippians 2:1-5,

According to one story about Adam & Eve, after the honeymoon was over a bit of friction crept into their marriage, and Adam went to God and said:

“Lord, this woman you gave me, she’s very beautiful and all that, but she has some irritating habits that are driving me crazy.  Could you take her back, please?”

God agreed, and Adam reverted to the single life.   But within two or three weeks the loneliness got to him, and he asked God to bring Eve back.

God complied, and Adam & Eve settled down to married life again.

But after a few weeks Adam returned to God complaining, ‘Lord, this woman is so frustrating.  She talks all the time, and wants me to do this and do that.  I’d rather be without her.”

And God fulfilled his wish.

But after a week or two of silence, Adam missed Eve so much he asked God to restore her.

This happened several times until finally God said to Adam, “The trouble with you, Adam, is that you can’t live with Eve, and you can’t live without her!”

And that’s the way it’s been ever since!

Relationships – something we can’t avoid unless we go and live on a desert island all alone.

All too often human relationships are brittle and broken, e.g.:

– one in every 3 or 4 marriages ends in divorce, leaving behind a trail of scars, hurts, confusion and broken dreams.

– even within the family, relationships can be difficult.  Try living with teenagers!

– what about adult brothers and sisters who haven’t spoken in years?

– to say nothing about those awkward neighbours and the people at work who are hard to get on with.

Henri Nouwen said this: “The main source of suffering in North America has to do with relationships.’

When life is full of anger, hurts, differences and blow-outs, it becomes wearying, negative and depressing – causing us to ask:

Does God care about my situation,

my mediocre existence,

my struggle to hold things together?

Yes!  God does care about our relationships.  He made us to live in relationship – with Himself and with others.

He made us to love and be loved.

How important are relationships?  They are:

• Creation’s goal – we’re made in the image of the Triune God, to relate to Him
• God’s priority – first four commandments are about our relationship to God, and the next six about our relationship to others
• Christ’s passion- “A new commandment I give you, that you love one another as I have loved you”.
• The Apostles’ concern – 30% of the NT letters deal with relationships

This importance is underlined by the frequency in the NT of words like “together” and “one another”.

God shows relationships matter by the fact that the Bible contains so much teaching in this area – from Cain’s rhetorical question, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” through to John’s letters:

“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God.”

The Bible is not the only place you can find teaching on relationships.  There is a plethora of teaching available in books, workshops, counselling sessions and online sources.

Much is sound and good,

but the basic principles are there in the Scriptures, in the Word of God.

We are wise to test all techniques, approaches and methods by the Word of God.

Let me suggest three Basic Principles for Building and Maintaining Stable and Healthy Relationships:

i.e. how to love other people, whether the love is in marriage or in friendship or neighbourly relations:

1. Recognise that to Love is to be Vulnerable:

CS Lewis: “The only place outside Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers and agitation of love is Hell.”

Life involves us in hurting and being hurt.

Once we accept this as true/realistic, we can use our energies learning how to deal with it, rather than trying to avoid it or deny it.

Brian Hathaway wrote this: “The true mark of a Christian community is not the absence of conflict, but the presence of reconciliation.”

No one likes being hurt, and one of the greatest fears in any relationship is the fear of being rejected.

Think of the way a couple at a certain point in their relationship start to hide feelings and information from each other, because they’re afraid it might sabotage their relationship.

But without risking knowing and being known, we cannot build close relationships.

Keith Miller describes in his writings how he struggled with this, and how as he grew in his trust in God and God’s continuing love for him, it helped him to open up and build close relationships.

The other side of the hurting process is forgiveness, forgiving the other person who has hurt us.

To refuse to forgive is to imprison ourselves behind a wall of resentment.

Forgiveness doesn’t mean brushing off the hurt as if it didn’t matter (which is a form of denial) or pretending we can just forget it,

but going to the other person,

speaking the truth in love,

expressing how we feel,

seeking reconciliation,

and showing forgiveness.

We read in Proverbs 27:5-6  “Better is open rebuke than hidden love.  Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.”

To love is to be vulnerable – just as God, in loving the world through Jesus became vulnerable to the world’s rejection and hatred.

2.  Love with Self-Giving Love, Not Acquisitive Love:

i.e. love that seeks to give, rather than to get.

When Paul appealed to the Philippian church to adopt the same attitude as Christ, it was in the context of dealing with (note this) strained relationships:

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition…Look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Have the same attitude as Christ, who although He was God, did not cling to his prerogatives, or claim His rights, but gave up His heavenly glory, and became a servant… going even to the cross” (Phil. 2:3-5)

Self-giving love is servant love, e.g. Jesus washing his disciples’ feet.

Cf. the Servant Song: “Brother, sister let me serve you,  let me be as Christ to you.”

In 1 Corinthians 13:4-5 we read: “Love is patient, love is kind, it does not envy, does not boast, is not proud, or rude, or self-seeking”

(Or in JB Phillips’ translation: “Love does not insist on having its own way”)

The love that builds relationships is not expressed in claiming rights or insisting on its own way, but in mutual submission.  (See Ephes. 5:21)

Jonathan & David provide a model of self-giving love in their friendship.

Jonathan honoured David above self, he risked his reputation for David, and was faithful to him, no matter the cost.

That cost was considerable – because supporting David meant that David would become king, not Jonathan.

3. Don’t Retaliate:

Peter, in counselling his 1^st century readers how to cope with persecution and suffering, reminds them of the example left by Jesus:

“When they hurled their insults at Him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats.  Instead He entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly.”  (1 Peter 2:23)

As in the Golden Rule – Jesus practised what he preached, He exemplified what he taught.

The source of this kind of love is God.

1 John 4:7 “Friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God”

If you’ve read “The Shack” (W. Paul Young), you’ll recall there are some wonderful passages about the love of Father, Son and Spirit who dwell in a circle of love and mutual submission in the Godhead.  At one point Papa tells Mack they want him to join their circle of love.

God’s love is giving, not manipulative (“God so loved the world that He gave His only Son…”),

constant , not fickle (i.e. covenant love)

In an age when commitment is at a low premium, we need to focus on covenant love, love which is the expression of commitment and loyalty.

That’s the only foundation for the right kind of love, for enduring relationships.

The greatest chapter on love in the Bible is 1 Corinthians 13.

Someone doing a study on this said afterwards they felt like giving up, because the study asked lots of questions that only served to drive home how much the person had failed.

Pity, because the purpose of God’s Word is not to put us down, but to lead us to Him, to experience His forgiving, affirming, liberating love, and to enable us in turn to love others.

Yes, God’s Word does convict us of our failures, for we can’t follow Christ in our own strength.  But as we yield our lives more and more to Him, His Spirit will change us into His likeness and we will manifest his love in our relationships.