I have been reflecting on this sermon topic most of the sermon. It's highly anticipated moment floundered a bit in the chapel service. In addition to having my notes in the wrong page order and jumping a page before working back to the original order, I did not feel like I was ready for the chapel service. Maybe I was a bit scared of it. This sermon seems a bit radical to me, at least in terms of pushing beyond the salvation question.
Between services I add the bit about this is an important question, which somehow seemed to all me to preach the sermon more easily. The sanctuary service sermon went much better, at least from my perspective.
This is one of those sermons that I wish I could preach from a different angle for several weeks to really explore it, but I am not going to do that.
“A Surprising God” September 18, 2011; Matthew 19: 16-30; 2 Corinthians 5: 12-20; clergy renewal series
Introduction: The musical “Big River” details the escapades of Huckleberry Finn.
One of the songs is entitled “Do Ya Wanta Get to Heaven.” the chorus goes like this: “Looka Hear Huck, do you wanna go to heaven? do you want to go to heaven well I'll tell you right now. You better learn to read and you better learn your writin or you'll never get to heaven cause you won't know how”
Huck is given lots of advice, including not growing up to be a “loafer like your pappy” and “If you can't read your Bible, then you'll never get to heaven cause you won't know how;”
Widow Douglass and Miss Watson were “so regular and decent in all their ways” (sounds like they were Presbyterian)
Judge and Tom Sawyer were not above puttin in their two cents worth. Everyone in town, it seemed, had their idea of how Huck Finn ought to act or something he should do to get into heaven.
That was not the first time this question was asked. Historically, lots of things have been suggested for people to do so that they can get into heaven.
Perhaps you might have mentioned a thing or two over the years about what someone needs to do to get into heaven.
Move 2: Young man with many possessions has this question in mind when he approaches Jesus.
a. “What good deed must I do to have eternal life?”
- Maybe you have wondered that once or twice yourself.
- We certainly live in a world where many Christians ask that question.
- Surely I am not the only one who has had someone ask “have you been saved?” or “if you died today, where you would you go?”
- Or have seen the bumper sticker that reads “In case of rapture, this car will be empty” and wondered who would be left driving your car if the end of time arrived suddenly while you were out running errands!
5. Someone recently shared with me the story of a woman who lost her Bible. She frantically looked for it. As she looked for it, the real story came out – her hysterics were not for the Bible per se, but for the piece of paper in the Bible which had a statement detailing the day and time she was saved, signed by her minister; sort of her ticket into heaven.
b. Jesus returns the question with a pretty challenging answer – obey the commandments.
1. The young ruler must be a pretty good guy, or at least he has a pretty good sense of himself because he tells Jesus that he has done just that.
- I bet he soon wished that he had skipped that last question because Jesus pushes the envelope – not only obey all the commandments, but sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor.
2. So what's next he wants to know.
the young man goes away knowing he has failed Jesus' test, and I suspect hopeful that he can find another way to get to eternal life.
4. In a way, Jesus seems to be on the same page as Huckleberry Finn's aunts and friends as he tells the young man the things he must do to get eternal life.
b. On the other hand, Jesus' tone and demeanor suggests that he will keep on raising the demands until a threshold is reached that the young man cannot pass.
1. If the rich young ruler had said, “okay, I'm off to sell my possessions to give to the poor,” I imagine Jesus would have had something else for him to do.
2. The point Jesus seems intent on making is that no one, the young man with lots of possessions, or anyone else can can achieve eternal life, at least of their own accord.
3. the question of salvation cannot be answered by mortals, it can only be answered by God.
4. Maybe, just maybe, the story of the young man who tries to figure out what he can do to earn eternal life will allow everyone, including us, to hear the surprising good news that God that sends Christ to save sinners, to save even us.
Move 3: During my Clergy Renewal time, I had the chance to read Love Wins by Rob Bell
- In part, he argues that Christians have put too much emphasis on the question “Are you saved?”
- He suggests that Jesus does not spend much time on that question.
- Instead, Jesus emphasizes how to live our lives as his followers.
- We recognize that in the exchange he has with the rich young ruler.
- We have already noted that when the young man asks Jesus about getting to eternal life, Jesus puts forth some difficult challenges.
- But we also notice that Jesus' answers direct the young man to consider how he is treating others.
- Jesus recites commandments that dictate how we are to treat one another; then the great commandment that contains further amplification on how we are to treat one another; finally, Jesus tells the young man he has to show so much concern for the poor that he sell his possessions and give it all to the poor.
- It is not only a seemingly impossible challenge, but it sends the message that the path to eternal life may not matter nearly as much as following Jesus into the world to serve.
9. In other words, Jesus shifts the question from “Am I saved?” to “Am I following my Savior?”
b. Bell also asks how we can believe in the sovereignty of God without believing that God will be true to those promise to save everyone?
- In other words, when Paul tells the Corinthians that God is reconciling the whole world, is God true to that?
- If we believe God is true to that promise, why are we so concerned about who is saved and who is not saved?
- Or why do we have such trouble claiming that truth for ourselves.
- It seems to me that the answer to those questions are intertwined.
- To bolster our own uncertainty in salvation, we focus on the who is saved and who is not saved, usually including ourselves among the saved.
6. The more unsure we are about others, the more certain we are that they have failed the salvation test, the better we look.7. as if the only way we can claim the good news of God's saving grace for ourselves is by noting that it is bad news for others.
- With that in mind, Bell suggests Christians need to have a little more humility.
- Instead of rejoicing in the certainty that we know what it takes to be saved, celebrate the God who time again acts in surprising, gracious ways to save people.
- instead of narrowing Christ's saving act on the cross by seeing how we can limit that by a certain belief structure, rejoice in the surprising ways God continues to be at work in the world.
- Not to say that the question “Do I get to heaven is unimportant.” I suspect Matthew told this story because he knew that there were others who had that question – that we would have that question.
4. But hear the Good news – it is impossible for mortals to answer that God; only God saves
Conclusion: Back to Huck Finn – he lives in the fictional town of St. Petersburg, MO
Literally “St. Peter's town”
St. Peter, the one manning the gates of heaven in any story or joke about getting to heaven.
As if Twain's whole story is about the question of salvation.
Turns out Huck Finn finds himself too busy helping his slave friend Jim get to freedom to do the things he's told he needs to do to get to heaven.
“Do you want to get to heaven?” Is that a question we need to answer or an invitation to know the saving grace of God and to follow our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ?
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