Everything and Everyone

 Everything and Everyone

Ephesians 1:3-11[1]

From the perspective of someone who is “outside” the church, I think there has always been something about our “gospel” that doesn’t sound like very good news. The “standard” script has been something like this: “we’re all sinners, and we deserve to be punished; God really does love us, though, so he sent Jesus to take the punishment we deserve, so that we could be forgiven and go to heaven when we die.” Since we’ve heard that message all our lives, it makes sense to us. But I think what most people “outside” the church hear is, “You’re no good the way you are; If you don’t change, God is going to get you; If you believe like me, act like me, hang out with me, become like me, then you get to go to heaven when you die. If you don’t, you’re going to hell.” To me, that doesn’t sound like very good news at all!

I believe the Scriptures contain a very different gospel—one that truly is good news. Our Psalm text for today alludes to it. “The earth is the Lord’s” means that everything and everyone belongs to God, both by virtue of the fact that he created us in the first place, and by virtue of the fact that he gave his son Jesus Christ to redeem us all. It means that God reigns over everything and everyone. That word “reign” might not mean much to us, but from the perspective of the Bible, God’s reign means peace, it means salvation, it means life for everything and everyone![2] It means that God also cares for all things and for the whole human family. It means that God not only deserves praise from all peoples, but also that God will be praised by all peoples.[3]

The idea in the Bible that all peoples are blessed, they witness God’s saving work, and they acclaim him in worship may sound strange to us who have been taught the traditional “gospel.” However, this understanding of God’s redemptive purpose runs through the whole Bible. From Genesis to Isaiah to Jesus to the Book of Revelation, the good news is that God is working to establish his saving reign world-wide, a kingdom which will bring mercy and freedom and new life to everything and everyone, everywhere.

I believe that’s what Paul is talking about in our lesson from Ephesians for today when he speaks of gathering all things together under the lordship of Jesus Christ. Paul believed that the return of Christ would be a day when the entire created order would be reconciled to God and restored to its rightful place under the lordship of Christ.[4] He says it this way: “God’s secret plan has now been revealed to us; it is a plan centered on Christ, designed long ago according to his good pleasure. And this is his plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ – everything in heaven and on earth” (Eph. 1:9-10, NLT).[5] That doesn’t sound to me like it leaves out anyone or anything. I like a phrase from The Message translation, where it says that God takes “such delight” in carrying out this plan for everything and everyone.

I’m not ashamed to say that I believe that God’s ultimate purpose is to redeem all humanity. I really fail to see what is good about the news that those of us who are “in” will inherit an eternity of blessing in the presence of God, while those who are “out” are going to suffer an eternity of torment. I never have seen the “good news” in that message. The Christian hope is that God’s redemptive purpose will prevail—for everything and everyone. This is the message of the Psalms, the message of the prophets, and it is the message of Jesus:  the fulfillment of God’s reign which brings salvation. The good news insists that, despite all indications to the contrary, “God’s cause will prevail in the world.”[6]

I realize that all of this may sound either outrageous or too good to be true. Some of us who have spent our lives seeking to live for God may bristle at the thought that those who never gave God a second thought may receive the same “reward” as we will. But then, it’s not really about “rewards” at all. Our gospel is a gospel of grace—of receiving something undeserved. That’s true for all of us. It’s a gospel of unconditional love, which creates in us the confidence to take the risk of believing something that may sound too good to be true. After all, if God’s love is unconditional, then it’s unconditional for everyone, not just for you and me. And that’s what gives us the assurance to believe that God not only chooses to save everything and everyone, but also that God has the power to accomplish that seemingly outrageous plan![7]

I realize some of you may be scratching your heads at this point.[8] We’ve heard the “good news” that those of us who believe in Jesus will be saved while those who don’t will be “left behind” for so long that when we’re confronted with this aspect of biblical teaching it seems either outrageous or too good to be true. But the “full” gospel is that God intends not just to save a chosen few, but rather every one of his beloved children and every inch of his precious creation. It’s the message that begins with Abraham, and it runs through the whole Bible. And so in the New Testament the Apostles looked forward to the day when “every knee” would bow in worship and acknowledge Christ as Lord (Phil. 2:10-11). They believed that the plan behind all of this is that God is in the process of “making all things new” (Rev. 21:5, NJB).

How that will happen I don’t profess to understand completely. There are complications involved. But despite that, it is a breathtaking message; a message that truly is “good news.” To me it seems like these days most of the news is “all bad, all the time.” I think we could do with some good news. I think the people around us could do with some good news. And so perhaps the challenge of this passage is that we become a people who reflect the hope of this outrageous good news![9] God’s plan is that through Christ he’s going to redeem everything and everyone. And as the Scripture says in The Message translation, God takes “great delight” in seeing to it that this plan will be fulfilled!

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[1] © 2024 Alan Brehm. A sermon delivered by Rev. Alan Brehm PhD on 7/14/2024 for Hickman Presbyterian Church.

[2] James L. Mays, Psalms, 311. Cf. also Shirley C. Guthrie, “The Way, the Truth, and the Life,” Presbyterian Outlook (Feb. 11, 2002), who says that God’s kingdom will bring “justice and compassion for all people, everywhere.”

[3] Psalm 48:10; 57:5, 11; 66:4; 72:19; 86:9; 96:1, 7; 97:6; 98:4, 7; 108:5; 145:21.

[4] 1 Corinthians 15:28; Ephesians 1:10; Colossians 1:20; Philippians 2:10-11.

[5] Cf. Jürgen Moltmann, The Trinity and the Kingdom, 39-40: “our hope is directed towards that divine future in which God will have all his creatures beside him to all eternity. That is to say, our hope is for the day when all things will be restored and gathered in a new, eternal order.” Cf. also Pheme Perkins “The Letter to the Ephesians,” New Interpreters Bible XI:378: “Ephesians assures us that … somehow the universe is ordered so that all things return to God in Christ.”

[6] Hans Küng, The Christian Challenge, 120.

[7] Emil Brunner, The Christian Doctrine of the Church, Faith, and the Consummation, 344: “this love lasts forever and that it will not rest until it possesses us wholly.”

[8] Cf. Karl Barth, Romans, 38, 108-9, where he acknowledges that idea that a God of grace and mercy loves us unconditionally with a love that will never let us go is something “so unheard of, so unexpected” that it can only appear to us as something “incomprehensible and meaningless,” as a “vast impossibility.”.

[9] Cf. also Jürgen Moltmann, The Church in the Power of the Spirit, 292-93, where he speaks of the Christian community as “the sign, the instrument, and the breaking-in of the new order of all things” and therefore not as “the exclusive community of the saved,” but “the initial and inclusive” expression of “the world freed by the risen Christ.”

Weakness?

Weakness?

2 Corinthians 12:2-10[1]

The ironic affirmation that “when I am weak, then I am strong” is the personal testimony of the Apostle Paul in our lesson from 2 Corinthians for today. It may be hard to understand that statement on its own. But when we put it into the context of Paul’s life, perhaps we can begin to make some sense of it. He wasn’t the only Christian teacher who had come to Corinth. There were many others, and some of them attacked Paul for his “weaknesses.” They claimed they were better speakers than Paul. They claimed to have supernatural visions and powers. In short, they claimed they were better apostles than St. Paul. In 2 Corinthians he even acknowledges that they claimed to be “super-apostles.” But he did not concede that they were truly superior to him.

Rather than trying to “out-boast” those other teachers, Paul took the opposite approach. His ministry followed the model of the Suffering Savior, and he demonstrated that by listing all the hardships he had endured in the service of Christ (2 Cor 11:23-30). He had been imprisoned, and he had been beaten “often near death.” He had been shipwrecked and spent a night and a day adrift on the open sea.  He had experienced dangers of all kinds: from rivers, from bandits, from his own people, from gentiles, “danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea.” His life as an “Apostle” was one defined by working “hard and long, enduring many sleepless nights,” going without food “often,” shivering in the cold without enough clothing to keep him warm. He concludes that list of his weaknesses by asking, “Who is weak without my feeling that weakness?” (2 Cor 11:29, NLT). That’s probably not the image of an “apostle” most of us have. I would say it’s certainly not the image of ministry that inspires people to serve!

As a part of his personal testimony, he tells the story of an unusual spiritual experience he had years earlier. Something about that experience was so extraordinary that St. Paul says he was afflicted by a “thorn in the flesh” to keep him from boasting about it. Although there have been many guesses, nobody really knows what this “thorn” was. But it’s clear from Paul’s perspective that it weakened him. In a sense, it put him in a state of perpetual weakness. No wonder he says he asked to be relieved of that burden. Not once but three times. Most of us would do the same thing—except we wouldn’t stop after three times! In reply to his fervent prayer, the answer he received was “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness” (2 Cor 12:9, NLT). I’m not sure that was the answer he was looking for. But by the time he recounts this experience in 2 Corinthians he had embraced it so much that he could affirm what seems absurd to us: “when I am weak, then I am strong.”

Let’s be honest: For most of us, the affirmation that “when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Cor 12:10, NLT) makes no sense. Weakness is something to be avoided at all costs. Besides beauty, youth, and wealth, we live in a society that values strength. Which explains why most of us do everything we can to avoid or hide our weaknesses. We’re afraid to let other people see our weaknesses. I think we’re afraid to admit our weaknesses even to ourselves. In our way of thinking, weakness makes us vulnerable. It puts us in a position where we may have to rely on others for help. Perhaps more importantly, weakness frightens us. After all, if we’re weak and vulnerable, someone can take advantage of us. We believe “when we’re weak, we can be hurt,” not that that “when we are weak, then we are strong”!

But the idea that God’s power works best through our weakness is a theme that runs throughout the New Testament, beginning with Jesus himself. In the apparent “weakness” of his humiliating death on the cross, Jesus demonstrated the true power of God’s love to change everything and everyone. In that same vein, St. Paul consistently “boasted” in his weaknesses. In fact, he insisted that his weaknesses were the very means by which the power of faith in Jesus Christ to change people’s lives shone most dramatically through him. And he insisted that his weaknesses were the very means through which Christ was working in and through him to bring new life to the people he served.

Again, all that can be hard for us to process. We’d much rather talk about how our faith helps us to find joy and peace and freedom in the midst of the hardships of life. We’re much more comfortable with affirming “faith is the victory that overcomes the world” than we are saying “when I am weak, then I am strong.” We have to find a balance between the two: between faith as victory and faith as surrender. That means embracing the “weakness” of faith. When we look at faith from this perspective, we’re talking about the “cost of discipleship.” And we shouldn’t underestimate that word “cost.” Our commitment to follow Christ will cost us. I’m not sure we enjoy talking about that aspect of faith.

How, then does our “weakness” become our “strength”? As many spiritual guides have taught us, it’s precisely through the “broken places” of our weakness that God is able to come into our lives and bring new life through his grace, mercy, and love. And it’s through our weakness that God does his most powerful work in the lives of those around us. As Paul recounted, the answer to his prayer to have his weakness taken from him was, “My power works best in weakness.” That means then that the “strength” we find in our weakness is not ours, but God’s! It’s the strength that Jesus demonstrated by obeying God’s will for his life, even to the point of his death on a cross. If that’s not strength, I don’t know what is!

Learning to affirm with Paul, “when I am weak, then I am strong” is an essential part of the Christian life.[2] That may sound strange to us, or it may be uncomfortable, but it is the direct result of the fact that God was working most powerfully in this world when he entered it in the weakness of a newborn baby, who couldn’t speak, couldn’t walk, couldn’t do anything for himself.[3] Learning to affirm, “when I am weak, then I am strong” is also a direct result of our commitment to follow a Savior who gave his life in the weakness and humiliation of the cross. If we believe in a God whose power works best in our weakness, if we follow a Savior who “emptied” himself on the cross, we are going to have to learn what it means to say with Paul, “when I am weak, then I am strong”!

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[1] ©2024 Alan Brehm. A sermon delivered by Rev. Alan Brehm PhD on 7/7/2024 for Hickman Presbyterian Church, Hickman, NE.

[2] Cf. Luke Johnson, Learning Jesus, 201: “The imitation of Christ in his life of service and suffering … is not an optional version of the Christian identity.  It is the very essence of Christian identity.”

[3] Cf. Karl Barth, Church Dogmatics 4.1:191: God “Most High” is all-powerful and majestic “precisely in His lowliness” as we see it in the birth, life, and death of Jesus.

The Waiting Place

 The Waiting Place

Lamentations 3:19-32[1]

Most of us are familiar with the classic by Dr. Seuss, “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!” It’s a wonderfully encouraging look at life’s journey. The idea is that, especially when you’re starting out, you really can’t even begin to imagine the places your journey will take you. And the theme is that “Wherever you fly, you'll be best of the best. Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.” But then, of course, he adds, “Except when you don't. Because, sometimes, you won't.” And one of those times he mentions is when you find yourself in what he calls “The Waiting Place.” The “Waiting Place” is for people “Waiting for a train to go or a bus to come, or a plane to go or the mail to come, or the rain to go or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow or waiting around for a Yes or No or waiting for their hair to grow.” Even Dr. Suess calls the “Waiting Place” a “most useless place.”[2]

We’re not a people who like to wait. For anything. It’s irritating at best, because time spent waiting seems like wasted time to us. At worst it can be infuriating, because nothing brings out the worst in us quicker than having our plans or expectations thwarted. And waiting is one of those things that can definitely thwart our plans! Our instant economy has spoiled us. We’re used to getting whatever we want right when we want it. If we do have to wait, we tend to take out a smartphone or another device and dive into the screen. The idea of just waiting quietly and patiently seems to be a foreign concept to us.

But waiting is part of life. And through the ages, those who have taught us the most about what it means to “walk humbly with our God” have made it clear that learning how to “wait for the Lord” plays a central role in spiritual growth, if you’re interested in that kind of thing.[3] In the Bible, “waiting” is an expression of faith. We “wait for the Lord” in faith because we recognize that much of our lives is out of our control. But more than that, we “wait for the Lord” because that’s how we grow stronger in our faith. It’s a bit like the concept of leaving a portion of the ground fallow for a season as a means of restoring and enriching the soil. Or the fact that in Winter, trees that appear to have gone “dormant” are doing some of their most important growing. They’re sending down roots to seek out nutrients, growing deeper and stronger underground while it may seem to us like not much is happening. Waiting for the Lord is how we send down deeper roots to grow stronger in faith.

The prophet Jeremiah knew about the value of waiting for the Lord, as we saw in our lesson from Lamentations for today. Much of Lamentations is not particularly uplifting. It came from a bitter time in the history of the people of Israel. The Babylonians had invaded the land, and the city of Jerusalem was under siege. The famine that resulted led to shocking atrocities. When he looked around, what he saw was his nation in ruins, his beloved city of Jerusalem besieged, and his people seemingly abandoned by God. Much of the earlier part of Lamentations contains the outpouring of his grief. At the end of it all, he could say, “Everything I had hoped for from the Lord is lost!” (Lam 3:18, NLT). Imagine the prophet Jeremiah saying that! It sounds like he had given up not only his hope, but also his faith!

But the prophet turned a corner precisely when all seemed lost. Although he could say that he would never forget that “awful time,” he remembers the most fundamental affirmation about God in the Bible, the bedrock of faith: “The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning” (Lam 3:22-23, NLT). It’s phrased in different ways in different verses, but this is the essential expression of faith in the Bible: God’s love never ends, and we can always count on him to be faithful. So, despite all the bitterness and the grief Jeremiah had been through, he could hold onto his faith: “I still dare to hope” (Lam 3:21, NLT).

We might wonder what made it possible for him to have such a dramatic change of heart—from “everything is lost” to “I still dare to hope.” If we listen carefully, he tells us. It wasn’t some spectacular vision from God, nor was it the presence of an angel that gave him new hope. The situation hadn’t changed. What changed was his attitude. And he made that change by waiting for the Lord. I think he show this was what made the difference when he affirms that “it is good to wait quietly for salvation from the Lord” (Lam 3:26, NLT). To be sure, waiting for the Lord is no easier than any other waiting. In fact, it may be harder! We may often suffer from doubt or anxiety. But what makes it “good” to “wait quietly” for the Lord is that’s how we learn that “no one is abandoned by the Lord forever” (Lam 3:31, NLT). I think in light of what the New Testament teaches, I would say that “no one is abandoned by the Lord ever”!

We live in a world of “perpetual motion,” 24/7/365, year after year! “Waiting” is what we do when we’re helpless to change the situation. We “wait” only when it’s the only option. “Waiting” calls to mind boredom, or anxiety, or restlessness. But in the Bible, “waiting” for the Lord refers to a posture of trust. To “wait” for the Lord in the Bible refers to trusting God’s unfailing and faithful love when everything in life seems to have given way. This may remind you of one of my favorite hymns: “Great is Thy Faithfulness.” I suspect that some of you may share that opinion. You may know that it’s based on this passage. It might seem surprising that such a wonderful encouraging hymn could come from such a bleak and dismal situation. But if you look at it from the biblical perspective, it’s not surprising at all. With all due respect to Dr. Seuss, the “Waiting Place” is not a “most useless place” after all. In fact, it may be one of the most useful places for growing our faith. That’s because the “Waiting Place” is where we learn again that God is faithful always! Always has been, always will be. It’s where we learn again that God is always for us, never against us. It’s where we learn again that God loves us with a love that never fails, no matter what.[4]

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[1] © 2024 Alan Brehm. A sermon delivered by Rev. Alan Brehm, PhD on 6/30/2024 for Hickman Presbyterian Church, Hickman, NE.

[2] Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You’ll Go! 1990.

[3] Cf. Henri Nouwen, Reaching Out, 91: “Waiting … is the foundation of the spiritual life” (quoted from Simone Weil, First and Last Notebook).

[4] Karl Barth, Church Dogmatics II.1, 385: “[God] is wholly Himself and true to Himself in the fact that he is true to us.”