One and Done - Calvary United Methodist Church

Calvary United Methodist Church
November 9, 2014
ONE AND DONE
Rev. Dr. S. Ronald Parks
Children’s Sermon
Matthew 18:21-22
The gifts of God’s are freely given to each of us. We all have been
graced.
We invite the children to the front of this worship space to celebrate
what God has given and the promises that He gives even more.
Big doings this past week at the Strong National Museum of Play. Anybody been to the National Museum of Play? It is in Rochester, NY. I
think it is something we ought to really do as a church, I’m thinking
bus trip, what do you think?
This past Thursday they announced the winners of the 2014 National
Toy Hall of Fame induction, which means that there are toys that are
now thought of as being like classic toys and this is the 17 th year that
they have inducted toys into the National Toy Hall of Fame. Anybody
want to take a guess at what might have gotten in this year? You guys
who are older than these young ones are going to remember these toys
a lot more than you young people will.
The first one is bubbles. Everybody got bubbles? We’ve all played
with bubbles of every size and shape.
Number two was the Rubic’s cube. Who has been able to actually
work a Rubic’s cube to completion? Just raise your hand. Oh, you
showoffs! That’s ridiculous. Yeah, you pull off the stickers and you
put them back on. I know how to do that.
And you also welcomed the little green army men into the National
Toy Hall of Fame. Everybody had little green army men? You guys
still may have little green army men, repopularized by the movies Toy
Story 1, 2 and 3.
But the real disappointment to me this year as it has been every year
since 1997 when the inductees were named, no Bozo again this year.
Bozo the clown: have you ever heard of Bozo the clown? (no) Exactly right, you haven’t but many of you have. Bozo first burst on the
scene in 1946 and it wasn’t long after that that a bunch of toys were
created by various toy manufacturers, this being one that I had when I
was your age growing up. It is called “Bozo’s 3-D Bop Bag”. And
what do you think, never knowing Bozo or ever having seen this toy,
what do you think you do with this? Go ahead. Don’t tell me, show
me. Oh! Bop, right? And if you hit him on the nose, listen (squeak).
If you hit him anywhere else he doesn’t make noise, but if you hit him
on the nose (squeak). A bop bag. What if you squeeze his ears? Sorry. Got nothing. (I heard a little sound) You heard a little sound? Get
out!
Anyway, what was really cool about Bozo’s Bop Bag is it is built
tough. It takes a boppin’. Just don’t let a big dog around it, okay? It
doesn’t do well with big dogs.
And Bozo, look at the smile on his face. He’s always ready for anything you can dish out. He even has a target on his belly. You can’t
keep a good clown down, as the DS continues to tell Calvary regarding
Pastor Jeff and me. And the really cool thing about not keeping a good
clown down, watch this. Even if you put him down on the ground…
ohhhh…(laughter) I’m done! I’m done! Can I borrow that from you?
Okay. Bozo, as you can see, never gives up. I’m going to move him
over here (more laughter) I’m going to move him back here. (this is
going to be really funny) Yeah, this is going to be really funny. People have lunch reservations, already they are looking at their watch.
Alright, so what I need is a helper to grab a hold of this little guy so I
can finish this thing. Alright. He never gives up, right?
Now, what’s really cool about the 3D Bop Bag, not only is it a fun toy,
not only is it cool, but it actually, as I thought about it, it’s a great way
to learn about something that is always very hard for us, and that’s to
forgive.
To forgive means to decide to stop being angry and to let go of the idea
that I’m going to get even, or I need to be compensated in some way
and sometime it is really hard to forgive. It is not only hard to forgive
for kids; it is hard for adults to forgive too. And Jesus shares a kind of
a story with one of his friends, Peter, about what it means really to forgive. It is from Matthew 18:
Peter asked, “Lord, I know I’m supposed to forgive someone if they
hurt me.” You guys have all been hurt by somebody before, haven’t
you? You all know how difficult it is to forgive and to be forgiven, but
here’s the question. “Just how many times should I forgive them?
Like, for example, should I forgive them two times if they hurt me
once and then I forgive, should I forgive them again? How about if
they hurt me three times? How about if they hurt me five times? How
about if they hurt me like seven times?” I don’t even know how you
make your hand do that. The question is “How often should I forgive?” And Jesus said, “Nope, not 2, 3, 5, not even seven times. Listen carefully,” which is Jesus’ way of saying I am about to say something you are going to find hard to believe. He says this, “Do the
math. Seventy times seven equals (490) 490.”
Now, how did Jesus come up with the number 490? Well, you have to
know a little bit about the way the Bible uses numbers to share some
thing. It is called “Numerology”. Certain numbers have special meaning in the Bible to help us learn some things about God.
And the most commonly used number in all of the Bible is the number
7. Seven is used 847 times in the Bible. Most importantly, and right
out of the gate, how many days are taken up with the act of creation in
Genesis? (7) Seven, six days where God works and the seventh day,
which is just as important as the first six, is the day of rest.
Seven means, in the Bible, something that is complete, something
whole, something fulfilled. It means all the way to the end. So when
God rests on the seventh day, it is like saying “That’s it, that’s all,
that’s all there is all the way to the end.”
And that’s how seventy times seven means something in the Bible
more than just the number 490.
“Don’t count the number of times you forgive,” said Jesus. “Forgive
every time, all the way to the end, just like God forgives you.” And
that’s why (laughter). You know, I would like for all of you to come
running into church like that some morning. That would just be the
most beautiful thing.
Bozo’s Bop Bag helps me remember how God forgives me, because as
we know, Bozo’s Bop Bag is build strong to take a bopping.
God’s forgiveness, it is stronger than any of the bops that I can dish out
to God and God’s forgiveness helps me to be strong, no matter what
other people dish out to me.
Bozo’s Bop Bag, because of the big smile, we know that he’s ready for
anything.
God’s forgiveness is bigger than everything, so God’s forgiveness can
help me be ready for anything.
Bozo’s Bop Bag can’t be kept down. You can lay him down, but he
won’t stay down, right? In the same way, God’s forgiveness lifted Jesus up to new life once he was put down and God’s forgiveness offers
me a brand new start every day because God does not want us to be
put down.
And Bozo’s Bop Bag never gives up. You could stand here all day and
hit it and every time he is going to come…and what? (unless you poke
a hole in it) Yeah, okay, unless you poke a hole in it, but you know
what? In my office there is a patch kit. And that’s called “grace”.
Oh, thank me! He never gives up. God’s forgiveness never gives up
on me and therefore, my forgiveness using God’s forgiveness and love,
helps me never to give up on you. That’s why here in this place, even
though sometimes it is hard to forgive, we remember how God forgives and it has nothing to do with taking score or counting. Don’t
count the number of times you forgive. Instead forgive every time all
the way to the end, just like God forgives each of us. Thanks for sharing in our time this morning.
Message
John 8:3-11
He is 35 years of age and the 7th generation of acrobat and aerialists
and he and his wife are committed Christians. His name is Nik Wallenda and I first came to be aware of Nik’s work two years ago, when
after months and months of negotiation he traversed Niagara Falls
from the American side to the Canadian side. What was so spectacular
about this particular walk was not only the fact that it was done over
such an enormous chasm, but it was done at night. He had to have a
little bit of a training wire coming off the back of him because the authorities required that he have some safety precaution and even though
he didn’t want it, he bowed to their demands.
Last year, he did a section of the Grand Canyon, and this time he was
able to do so without any kind of safety wire attached to him. That
was on June 23 of last year.
Last Sunday night, however, if you didn’t have a chance to see it, Nick
did what many are calling his more spectacular walk. So, in case you
didn’t catch it, here’s a little review.
(Video)
Did you hear what the last thing he said was? “Praise God!” But before he stepped out on the wire, he asked everybody to be quiet so he
can hear his dad, because his dad was talking him through the steps. I
thought those were particularly poignant examples of someone who is
using a rather unusual gift not only to celebrate his life, but also in
some way to give thanks to God. Why do we watch stuff like this?
What is this fascinating? Why do people, from what I understand, go
to dog races if they want to see dog wreck? Of that is a terrible joke,
you should laugh.
We go to these things because there is something about it that is unforgiving. It is one and done and there are no second chances. You see
the reason that this particular walk was considered by many to be his
greatest feat even though it wasn’t the longest nor was it the highest, is
because not only did he have no safety gear attached to him, he was, as
you noticed, blindfolded and we are fascinated by the idea that someone could fail so spectacularly on television. When other people fail,
and this is by the way one of the darkest aspects of every single one of
us, all of us have this feeling that when someone else is around and
they start to fail, we actually have a sense of celebration. Germans call
it “schadenfreude”: glee at someone’s failure, because it lets us for a
moment sit in a judgment seat and we get to say to ourselves “Hey, I
wouldn’t do that. I am obviously smarter than Nik Wallenda.” I didn’t
do that. I’m a smarter employee, a better student, a more conscientious co-worker.
You see, when other people fail, it lets us feel somehow that we’re able
to now look down upon them and judgment, Brothers and Sisters,
judgment is one of the things that human beings love to do because it’s
fun. Judging is fun. It is fun because it is quick. In a moment you can
diminish the value of another person for a thousand readings and you
can do it from afar. All you have to do for some people is just look at
the skin tone of another person, listen to the accent that they speak
with, look at the garb that they are wearing, and in an instant you can
decide “I’m better than that person. They are different from me and
therefore I can judge them to be inferior.” It happens that quickly.
It is also cheap because it requires nothing of you except the willingness to judge. You don’t have to spend any time getting to know anybody, you can just stand back from afar and you can watch them and
you can see if they mess up, because when they mess up, well, obviously my pre-judgment, my prejudice, was right on target. It takes
time to get to know people, to understand differences, to see how it is
that, as diverse as we are, we are really all the same.
It is quick, it is cheap and it is comforting. There is nothing better than
feeling as though you are in a room full of inferior people. It is comforting not to fail. It is comforting not to mess up. It is comforting
simply to live your life and watch in observance the lives of the people
around you.
And judgment is fun because it is much easier than what it is that you
and I are actually called to do and that is to forgive. Judgment is much
easier than forgiveness is. Grudges are easier than forgiveness. Anything that we do is probably easier than what God calls us to do which
is to forgive.
Forgiveness is God’s greatest gift and it’s only important to us, it is only a great gift, if we receive it because only when we receive it can we
then overcome the struggle of being people who are one and done with
each other or people who are willing to forgive as we have been forgiven.
Interestingly enough, in the Apostle’s Creed the only thing spelled out
in all of those words that actually defines God’s expectation is the concept of forgiveness. Let’s talk about the Apostle’s Creed as we’ve
looked at it so far over the past few months. Say it with me: I believe
in God the Father, Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus
Christ His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified,
dead and buried. The third day he rose from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty;
from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe
in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints
and the forgiveness of sins
Especially mine. I believe in God forgiving my sins. I believe in God
wiping away my past. I believe in God lifting from me the burden of
my guilt and the weight of my past.
But you, a lot of times you are one and done. If you offend or hurt or
cross or step on me, maybe, we’ll see…
In 34 years of ministry, I’ve had the honor of welcoming almost a
thousand people into the churches that I have served. And in that same
amount of time I’ve also had the great despair of being the cause for
the exit of several hundred of them. I think back over the reasons people have shared with me, if they share any reason at all, why they just
don’t show up anymore. And it’s very sobering to hear things like
“Well, I was not in church for three consecutive weeks and you didn’t
call me.” or “I was in the hospital for a few days, and no I didn’t really want anybody to know, but I thought maybe you’d visit me.” or
“You know, those shirts that you wear, I’m half offended that you’re
not wearing a robe.” Or “The way that you preach, you move around a
lot and sometimes your voice gets really low, I can’t…”
Now, those may seem to you like frivolous reasons, but when they are
turned into you, it really does weigh and this is you and me as we
come together as a church. We are so often one and done with each
other. “Well, he ignored me at the grocery store.” “Didn’t shake my
hand on a Sunday morning.” “It seemed as though she avoided me.”
Really? This is what it comes down to as a Church of Jesus Christ?
That we are watching what each other wears and we’re not willing to
share our disappointments and expectations. We just think that everybody understand what we all want all the time and that everybody is
right there to do our bidding and to meet our expectations and if they
are not, we are one and done. One and done!
The Church of Jesus Christ never would have been 2000 years in the
making had that been the prevailing attitude even though for me it is
the attitude that I have from time to time. And I have to catch myself.
And the thing that helps me catch myself is the forgiveness that God
has given to me, which is just like the forgiveness given to a particular
individual in this story from John 8:
Religious scholars and Pharisees brought a woman before Jesus.
“Teacher,” they said, “this woman was caught in the act of adultery.
The law orders one and done. She is to be stoned. What do you say?”
The question was a trip. And Jesus didn’t respond. Instead, he bent
down and he wrote in the dirt with his finger. I’ve always wondered
what he wrote. But they were relentless and finally, he stood up and
he gave them an answer. “The sinless one among you throws the first
stone.” The one who has been totally perfect in obedience, totally
righteous in meeting all of God’s expectations, the one who is flawless
in their discipleship, wale away and get another stone and throw it too.
Do as much damage as you can do, if that’s the way you understand
your life to be. And there was silence. Nobody knew what to say.
They had never heard that before. Why? Because they are used to one
and done, caught in adultery, not the fifth time, not the seventh time,
not the third time, the first time! Stone her! One and done! No second chance! Unforgiveness. Silence. One by one, beginning with the
oldest, beginning with the person who has lived the longest and recognizes just how much sin God has forgiven them, they all walked away
and Jesus turned to the woman. “Is there no one left to condemn
you?” “No one, Master.” “Neither do I,” said Jesus. “Go on your
way and don’t sin.”
There is nothing about this that suggests that she somehow gets off the
hook. She bears the responsibility for her actions. She carries the
guilt and shame of what she was caught in the act of. This is not some
kind of a release from responsibility. But what it is is forgiveness.
Forgiveness is inhumanly difficult because it is divinely instituted. It
does not come up out of you and me and our understanding of relationships. What we do is called “justice.” You wrong me, you hurt me,
you offend me, I’m going to get compensation. I’m going to be compensated for my suffering, for my injuries, for what you’ve done to
me. And if I do something to you, I can expect that you are going to
turn to me and you are going to expect payment. That’s called
“justice”. It is a balancing of the scales.
But that’s not what forgiveness is about. Forgiveness is divinely instituted in this place, in the communion of the saints. We understand one
another differently. We understand God differently, and, yes, there are
times when people are owed compensation, but here in this place, it
doesn’t come up out of vengeance, it doesn’t come up out of violence,
it comes up out of a sense of being one in Christ.
Last week, we celebrated 23 individuals whose witness and life no
longer graces us here on this earthly planet. And, we shared communion. Now I want you to hear the Words of Institution for Communion.
We talked about them and said them last week, but just in case you forgot,
“While they were eating, Jesus took a loaf of bread, he blessed it and
he broke it and he gave it to his disciples and said, ‘Take and eat, this
is my body.’ And then he took a cup and he gave thanks and he gave it
to them saying ‘Drink from this, all of you. This is the cup of the covenant. It’s poured out for you and for many for the (forgiveness) of
sins.’” For the forgiveness of sins. This place exists to be the body of
Christ for the forgiveness of sins. “Do this every time you drink of it
in remembrance of me.” Not some of the times, not when you feel
good about one another, not when the person that you have a beef with
doesn’t show up in worship. No, every time that you share this, remember the purpose of this bread and this cup is to remind us of the
forgiveness of our sins and the forgiveness we offer in Christ.
Forgiveness is the mark of discipleship. It is what separates us from a
one and done world.
And it is that mark of discipleship because forgiveness is always a gift
of grace. It is not about justice, it is not about compensation, it is not
about what is owed me or what you deserve. It is always about God
who is willing to give stuff, gifts, blessings, people, put them in our
lives. Not because we deserve it, but because God wants to give, God
can’t stop giving, that’s why God can’t stop forgiving. Discipleship is
the mark of forgiveness. We are redeemed through the sacrifice of
Christ. Our sins are forgiven by the free gift of his grace poured out
upon us, Paul says, to the people of Emphasis. It is poured out. You
don’t even have to ask for it, but if you don’t receive it, you don’t experience it. It is as simple as that.
Forgiveness is the mark of discipleship, not only because it is given to
us by a gracious act of God. It is also because it is an act of love. It is
poured out for us in the gift of Christ. God so loves us that He forgives us and sends His son that we may not perish in a one and done
world, but that we may have life everlasting.
Forgiveness is an act of love and God is always ready to forgive. Gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
Forgiveness is an act of love as well as a gift of grace. It is what
makes us disciples of Christ because it is also a step of faith. Do you
know how vulnerable when you ask somebody to forgive you? Is
there any feeling more awkward, more uncomfortable, than saying
“I’m sorry, will you forgive me?”
The thing that always sticks in my mind about those people that somehow I feel responsible for pushing out of the church is that 99% of
them never tell me what I have done. They just get mad. And they
don’t come back. Was it something I said? Something I didn’t say?
Something I did? Something I didn’t do? And I think the reason that
many people won’t share with you why it is that they are mad at you or
why it is that you’ve offended them is because they hate this part. This
is the part where you take the initiative and you step up in faith and
say, “I’m sorry, will you forgive me?” Now where does the weight
go? Puff… Right back to them. Now they have to make a decision.
And for a lot of people one and done is better. It is a lot cleaner.
There’s no mess. You don’t have to keep going back over stuff that
happened. You can just walk away and be done. Not us, no, forgiveness is a step of faith. When you step out in forgiveness, in faith,
you leave yourself open. You could be crucified for that and some
people have been and you might be one of them, when you’ve offered
forgiveness and it has been thrown back in your face.
But the reason you do it is this: Christ is the fulfillment of everything
God ever taught, of every prophetic promise and everyone who believes in him. There is the faith piece. I believe that God forgives me.
I believe that’s a gift I need to offer you. Everyone who believes in
Him receives the forgiveness of sins through His name, not through
my worth, not through my merit, through His name.
Discipleship and forgiveness go together like this because it is faith
and forgiveness is the mark of discipleship because forgiveness lifts
the hope of healing. This is a bruised, battered and wounded world in
which we live because people are one and done with each other. They
are always looking for payback; they are always looking for compensation. Forgiveness lifts the possibility that people can be healed, that
relationships can be repaired, that communities can be put back together, that the world might actually live in peace. Anyone who is in
Christ is a new creation because the old is gone, everything has become new.
All this comes from God who reconciled us to himself through Christ.
God does not hold our sins against us. In Christ, you and I are forgiven and he has given us the same message, that reconciling message, to
share with all the world. Through us, now here is the hard part, Folks,
through us, which means if we are not doing it, it ain’t happening.
Through us, God is making His appeal. Christ who is perfect in obedience is offering to heal us and bring us home. And Christ offers to
bring everyone with us that we are willing to extend the gift of forgiveness to.
Forgiveness is inhumanely difficulty. You know how hard it is, and
you know how rare it is and that’s because it doesn’t come from us. It
comes from God and the best we can hope for is to receive it and share
it and we do so as the community of saints.
This is the Church of Jesus Christ. This is not a place where you are
one and done. This is the place where all are forgiven as was done by
the One.
Let us pray:
Help us, O Lord, to sense the presence of the One, the One who gives
us the gift of grace. The One whose life is an act of love; the One who
holds up the hope of healing; and the One who takes the step of faith
by entrusting to people like us the eternal message of reconciling forgiveness. Bless us, O God, and help us to be the Body of Christ, the
Church, in this hurt and broken world. We are not one and done. The
One has done it all for us and we pray in His name. Amen.