Epiphany 2 (A)
John 1:29-34
The next day he saw Jesus coming towards him and declared, ‘Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, “After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because he was before me.” I myself did not know him; but I came baptizing with water for this reason, that he might be revealed to Israel.’ And John testified, ‘I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, “He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.” And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.’
Find Your Freedom in Christ
I grew up in Odessa, Texas part of the Bible Belt of fundamentalism and hell, fire and brimstone preaching. One particular Baptist church was especially well known for lightin’ ‘em up -- Temple Baptist Church. When it came to the pulpit, that particular preacher took no prisoners and left no survivors. If there was any doubt about whether you had a hope in the world, by the time he got done with you, you knew for a fact that there was none. He had a scorched earth policy and the only fallout was a bunch of guilt and shame. As we drove across town in that 1965 Ford Galaxy 500 to go to the Lutheran church we would drive by Temple Baptist church. One summer was especially hot, must have been close to a thousand degrees. It was so hot, cactuses packed up and left town. Newspapers, local news, and restaurants were all abuzz with talk about the oppressive and punishing heat. We were driving across town to go to church one Sunday morning and Temple Baptist, famous for its hell, fire, and brimstone had a new message on their church sign. It read “AND YOU THINK IT’S HOT HERE?!”
Hell, fire and brimstone preaching is what John the Baptist was famous for. “REPENT!” his voice would bellow out. “BEAR FRUIT WORTHY OF REPENTANCE!” And to those who were especially wicked he would blister them “WHO WARNED YOU TO FLEE FROM THE WRATH TO COME, YOU SNAKES?!”
“Get your act together,” he would say and “Walk the straight and narrow.” “There's not much time.” “The fire is kindled and coals are white hot. Brace yourselves, because it’s gonna get ugly. Brace yourselves because if you don’t, there’s gonna be hell to pay.” And the people came. It got their attention. John had the crowds in the palm of his hand with his firebrand preaching. For some reason, there is something about it that sticks in our minds. For some reason, it makes an impression on us. Not just for people in foreign lands speaking a foreign language but in our land and in our language.
Perhaps the most famous sermon ever preached in an American pulpit was a sermon by Jonathan Edwards in 1741 called “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God." Edwards convinced his people at the founding of this country that they were wicked and as hopeless as a bug dangling at the end of thread over the fires of hell. Some might have wondered if Jonathan Edwards was John the Baptist back from the dead. People must have wondered if the preacher of Temple Baptist Church was John the Baptist come back from the dead. The constant accusations, the rules and regulations, the do’s and don’ts.
If you’ve ever been exposed to that kind of message, if you’ve ever found yourself trying to pull yourself up by your religious bootstraps, if you’ve found yourself trying to get back into a life with God by applying that spiritual elbow grease then you know where it leads. Frustration. Exhaustion. Living your life like in constant spiritual crisis mode is like running non-stop on a treadmill. You keep running and running to get it right. You keep trying and trying to be the right kind of person that you think God would approve of. But after a while, because you sense that it will never be enough, you get worn-out, stretched-thin, and left feeling empty. And eventually, you just bail out.
This life of constant rules and regulations, do’s and don’ts, will suck the life out of you. John the Baptist knew this. That’s why today in our first verse from the gospel in John he says “On the very next day [after Jesus’ baptism] John saw Jesus coming and said ‘Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Follow him.”
John knew that you need to get past basing your life on a simple commitment to getting it right. John knew that you need to move beyond building a life on observing certain rules and regulations. John knew that at some point you need to move away from a series of do’s and don’ts.
John tells those who were following him, John tells those who were on the spiritual treadmills, "there he is . . . follow him. Go that way." And they did. These two disciples followed after Jesus, apparently at a distance . . . watching . . . observing . . . wondering. Jesus senses their presence. Jesus picks up on their curiosity. Jesus detects their longing to move beyond hell, fire and brimstone. And he turns around, looks them square in the eyes and says “What do you want?”
One of the facts of modern church life is that churches are filled with people who want more from their religious life. Churches are filled with people who want to move beyond mere rules and regulations, who want to get past the guilt and heaviness of religion. There are people here today who, like my childhood family driving by the guilt trip of normal religion, want to move on. Well, my good friends, Jesus is here. And he asks you the same question he asked them “What do you want?”
Well . . . what . . . do . . . you . . . want?
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
I would imagine after an awkward silence, the disciples said, “Where are you staying? Where have you pitched your tent?”
Jesus simply says “Come and see,” or in other words “Walk with me.”
And they walked with him. My friends, as you seek a fuller more rewarding life with God, Jesus invites you past the rules and regulations, do’s and don’ts, guilt and shame to a simple walk with him.
As you walk with him, he draws you into his orbit. As you walk with him, he pulls you close to the heart of God. As you walk with him, you begin to see things like he sees them, hear things like he sees them, feel about things like he feels about them. As you walk with him, he becomes the center of gravity that rearranges and reorders your life so that the very life of God flows through you. The do’s and don’ts are history. The rules and regulations are have passed. The guilt and shame are no more.
The Bible says that “we are discharged from the law” (Romans 7:6) and in Galatians 5:18, “you are not subject to the law.”
For those of you who have served in the military, you know what it means to be “discharged.” You may even have a piece of paper that says you have been discharged. It means that you no longer take orders from the same people anymore. They no longer rule your life, set its direction, or call the shots. When John the Baptist sends his disciples to Jesus he discharges them to follow him and Jesus becomes the epicenter of their lives.
Next Sunday, we will be receiving financial commitments, pledges, for our capital campaign. There is something I want you to understand. You do not have to participate. You do not have to pledge or give. In this church, we are way past laying down the law. And if you are tempted to give because you feel like you should, then think about holding off. When we give, we give not because we should. We give because we are on a walk with Jesus. When we give, we give not because there is a rule somewhere that commands it. We give because our lives are looped into Jesus'.
When I was a pastor in Dallas at an inner city black church, there was a poor old black woman who started attending. Actually, she wouldn’t say she was black, she would say she was “chocolate, because the darker the skin the sweeter the sugar” -- her words not mine. Helen would give a large offering every quarter, so much so it alarmed people who were counting the offering. “She can’t do this! Where does this come from? Pastor you should speak to her about this. It’s too much. She can barely keep herself afloat.”
Well I spoke to Helen and asked about her generosity. And when I asked her why and how, she said “Pastor, this morning I woke up with my mind stayed on Jesus.” And I understood that her gift to the church came out of her walk with Jesus. It happened a couple of other times. I was asked to speak to her and each time she would say “I woke up this morning with my mind stayed on Jesus.”
In this church, here at Risen Lord, you have a sister who lost her job over a year ago. She’s been on food stamps for a year. In 2010, she gave over a thousand dollars to the church. Why? How? Where does this come from? It comes out of her walk with Jesus. Whatever you give, my good friends, give from you walk with Jesus. And whatever you give or pledge, let me say this . . . Thank you. Whether it is one dollar or a gazillion dollars . . . Thank you.
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