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Sunday, March 3, 2019

“To Call Jesus ‘Lord’” (Luke 6:37-49)




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Sunday, March 3, 2019

            For my birthday, my wife and kids got me the Amazon “Echo Dot” for my office.  Now you can come in and say, “Alexa, play jazz,” and the machine will do exactly that.  In fact, the other day, I did that very thing.  But, then I needed her to turn it off, so I said, “Alexa, stop.”  And I said it kind of loudly.  Right at that moment, Alexis Carpenter was in the office making copies.  She asked, “What am I doing wrong?”  
            You have to be careful with “Alexa.”  For fun, I asked, “Alexa, what is your mission.”  
            She responded in her machine-like female voice, “To explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no A.I. has gone before.”  
            Do you recognize her play on the iconic Star Trek opening?  “These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise.  Its continuing mission:  To explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life forms and new civilizations, to boldly go where no one has gone before.”  
            I love the playful convergence of ‘90’s pop-culture and today’s technology.  But, suppose I wasn’t asking Alexa her mission or James Tiberius Kirk the mission of the Enterprise.  Suppose I ask you, what is the mission of a disciple of Jesus Christ?  Would you say it is to call Jesus “Lord?”  That seems easy enough until we take into account what “Lord” means.  This one who loves us so much he died for our sins that we might be forgiven and have his righteousness cover us and that we might have eternal life - this one is to be the absolute, complete, final authority in our lives.  But he’s not an oppressive authority.  Rather he is the source of all love and mercy, and he wants a relationship with us. 
            To call Jesus Lord is to enter that relationship by way of confession and forgiveness and grateful reception of the new life He gives.  It is to live a life of prayer and devotion.  And it is to accept that Jesus lays out our life plan and whatever hopes or dreams we might have, we submit to Him.  
            Maybe you dream of professional soccer player.  You’re athletic.  You train really hard.  You might make it.  But however hard you work, however badly you want it, if you are a Christian, then Jesus is Lord even of your pursuit of your dream.  Go for it.  Go ahead.  But, every step of the way, stay connected to your Lord, your Master, through prayer, Bible-reading, worship, and involvement in church life.  And if there comes a moment where you have to choose between soccer or obeying your Lord, you follow Jesus.
It could be acting or writing.  Maybe your ambition is academic and you’ve made all A’s in the hardest classes.  Harvard, Yale, and Princeton all have to compete to see which one gets you.  But if your Master, Jesus, lays out another path, one that deviates from your academic dreams, you take that path.  If we choose academic success over obedience or the advancement of an athletic career over obedience or any career over obedience to the will of Jesus, then he is not our Lord no matter what we say.  That career or that achievement, or it could be a relationship or an addiction - anything we yield to instead of surrendering ourselves to Jesus - that is our lord regardless of what we say. 
            I remember reading an article about a Hall-of-Fame running back when he was still playing.  He listed his life goals.  Number 1 was to keep Jesus as his Lord and Savior.  After that came another dozen or so goals.  Win the rushing title.  Win the MVP award.  Make the playoffs.  Win the Super Bowl.  He did not have a single goal that stated how he would acknowledge Jesus as Lord and Savior and nothing in his life indicated Jesus has any authority over him.  It was just words.  A disciple’s mission is to go beyond words and serve Jesus with our lives.
            In Luke 6, we speak of the disciple’s mission because verse 20 says Jesus is speaking to his disciples.  A large crowd is present.  In verses 17-19 we learn two things.  First, thought Jesus clearly chose 12 for a special calling, many more followed him.  Luke describes it as a great crowd of his disciples.  However, for the 100’s that wanted to follow Jesus as disciples, many 100’s more wanted a piece of him.  They wanted healings or they wanted to witness miracles.  So the masses thronged to this open field to be with Jesus.  This portion of Luke, which is similar to the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew is sometimes referred to as the Sermon the Plain.  It was an oral culture.  You couldn’t go order podcasts of Jesus preaching the Sermon on the Mount.  I think what we find here in Luke is similar material but a different sermon.
            When he starts preaching, Jesus can see the crowds, but he focuses on his disciples.  That is who these words are for.  The crowd can listen in and in doing they might themselves want to become disciples.  We must, though, remember, these words are for people who have already committed to following Jesus. 
By the time we get to chapter 6 verse 46, can you hear the exasperation in Jesus’ voice?  ‘Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and do not do what I tell you?’ The life he has laid out for them is extreme and the only way to abide by his words are with the help of the Holy Spirit.  We can’t cover it all in one Sunday sermon, so we zero on a few of his points beginning in verse 37. 
“Do not judge and you will not be judged.”  We have to name evil and be specific and truthful in calling a sin a sin.  But we cannot claim righteousness just because we endeavor to follow Jesus.  Every one of us falls short in our attempts to be wonderful disciples. Because we fall short, we should be humble and generous toward others both inside the church and outside.  Humble and generous. 
Jesus goes on to say we must forgive. Because we live, work, and play with people - people flawed like we are - both inside the church and outside, in the world, we’re going to be hurt.  And, we’re going to say and do things that hurt others, even when we don’t mean to.  Do not be judgmental.  Be gracious.  And forgive.
What else?  Verse 42, “How can you say, ‘Friend let me take the speck out of your eye when you do not see the log in your own eye?’”  In other words, how can someone constantly name the sins of others when his own sins are piling up?  Jesus makes no allowance for sin.  Sin is so serious and so deadly, he had to die on worst of torture devices to cover the penalty - the Roman cross.  We can, in love and humility, correct one another.  But, the love and humility have to be expressed and each one of us has to live in confession.
Confession has to be a regular part of our Christian lives.  Don’t make stuff up.  When you pray, don’t make a show of saying, “O Lord, I am such a miserable wretch,” and then ramble on about how despicable you are so everyone listening can see you being confessional and humble.  Don’t it that way.  Do it this way.  Carve out time to be alone, just you and God, a time of solitary prayer. Honestly review your life, your choices, your relationships.  Ask God to help you see your blind spots and your mistakes.  When we do this honestly, it is painful but also cathartic. 
Usually for me, it becomes clear that I have been heavy handed with someone in my family or someone I love.  I have had to confess rudeness and insensitivity.  I have had to confess laziness.  I have had to acknowledge my willful indifference to all the privileges I enjoy as a white, middle class, educated, married, heterosexual, employed American male.  None of those descriptors are bad things, but every one of them gives me advantages.  Many, I haven’t really earned.  At times, I have exploited those advantages for my own good without thinking about those who do not have these advantages.  I have to confess that to God and ask forgiveness. 
But don’t worry about my confession.  You make yours.  God has forgiven me and will forgive you.  
Jesus says, don’t judge; forgive; don’t try to correct others without first dealing with your own junk through confession and repentance.  What else?
He talks about the produce of our lives.  “The good person out of the good treasure of the heart produces good, and the evil person out of the evil treasure produces evil; for it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks” (6:45).  So, what is in your heart?  What is in my heart? More importantly, what shapes and influences our hearts, our desires, our affections?
Jesus looked into the crowd and saw that even those who wanted to follow him were prone to sin, tempted to turn to other influences, or likely to make other things more important in their lives than the way of God.  Sure, once I get my athletic career going, then I’ll work on my discipleship.  Once I assert my opinion about the hot issue of the day, once I have had my say, then I will trouble myself with obeying Jesus.  Once I make all money I think I will need to make me happy, then I will see about fitting discipleship into my life.
He could see it on their faces.  He can see it on ours.  Why call him Lord if we are just going to disregard God when we feel like doing so?  
To call him Lord, is to speak truth, because He is Lord of the universe.  It is also acknolwedgement that our only hope for life is to stay connected to Jesus in relationship.  It is all we have.   The call of a disciple, the people Jesus was talking to in this Sermon on the Plain was to obey Jesus.  We need help and God gives it. 
When we receive that help, and do our best to live the obedient, disciple life, we walk in joy, no matter our circumstances.  We find ourselves part of what God is doing in the world.  We live the mission he has given us and are welcomed by Him as He says, “Well done, good and faithful servant.  Enter the joy of your Master.”
AMEN

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