Sermon April 13, 2008 - Good Shepherd
Pastor Wesley Howell
I’ve gone through the Bible and I just can’t find a place where Jesus said to his disciples, “Believe the following five things about me.” He doesn’t say “Now to really get it right believe: a. b. c. d….
He says things like “I am a door”,”I am the gate”,” I am bread”,” I am a shepherd.” But somehow I think he’s driving for a different point.
No. What Jesus said was, “Follow me.”
In today’s epistle, it is not said that Christians ought to know about love; we are to love. And then, amazed by God’s love they ACT on it. Sell everything they have and live in community.
In today’s gospel, Christ does not say that we are to think about him, to believe in him. Rather, he says that we are to listen for his voice, live in him, with him, and follow. We are to follow, to do what he did, to live in the world as he lived.
The faith is in the following.
So don’t be too befuddled of the simple question, “Are you a Christian?” It’s a freebie. Easy.
The answer is not a matter of having your head straight about the meaning of the atonement. You don’t have to understand the intricacies of the Doctrine of the Trinity. The answer is simply to say, “Yes, I’m trying my best to follow Jesus. I’m his apprentice, his disciple.” The faith is in the following.
How often in all the gospels, you hear Jesus criticizing his disciples. He often seems at his wits end that they don’t get the point.
Jesus criticism of them doesn’t mean that they are not real disciples; it means that they are still on the journey. They are on the way.
Faith does not mean they have arrived, it means that they are on the way.
That’s why Jesus’ parables are stories about real life and his teaching is about matters like anger, forgiveness, ordinary injustice, disappointment, the stuff of real life because he meant us to follow him now, in this life, not just some other, future time.
I have to tell you…It’s amazing what you can learn when you’re getting your hair cut. A few weeks ago I told you about an encounter over tomatoes in Top Foods. Just a couple weeks ago it happened at my barbers. I was sitting there waiting and the guy in the chair, guy about my age, asked the barber what he did for fun on the weekends. My barber said “You know, I’ve started going out to retirement and nursing homes and cutting hair for free. I love cutting hair and it makes me really happy that people feel good about themselves. It makes THEM happy. Just love it.” The guy sitting in the chair said, “You’ve got to be kidding! That’s what you DO for FUN? Man, what a waste. I spend my weekends picking up chicks. This whole relationship thing is for the birds. It’s hard and messy and complicated. Life is short and I’m just going to have as much fun as I can. Pick up chicks and one night stands. That’s where it’s at.” I have to tell you, I was SO happy I wasn’t wearing my collar that time.
Now…I want you to think about it. Both men, the barber and “Mr. Pick Up Chicks Guy”, are followers, people who live out some vision of what life is about, why we were put here. One is catching his vision from Jesus; the other is attached to selfish pleasure seeking. So the abstract question “What do you believe in?” is really silly…their lives proclaim it.
I want you hear this as a parable about following Jesus, about being a Christian, about being a disciple. Who you are is BOTH choice and grace. Saying What or Who you believe is only part of the story. God has his arms outstretched and open…that’s Grace. But we have to respond…that’s Choice.
Later… in the Gospel of Matthew (Matthew 25) Jesus tells another story about sheep…sheep and goats. It’s a story that hits hard. Both say “Lord!” So they have the words right. They are both SAYING “Lord”…. but their lives proclaim what they REALLY believe. And the results are tragic.
The faith is in the following. Your faith isn’t just in your brain, or in your mouth. It’s also in your feet. Maybe we should spend a lot less time fussing about WHAT we believe. Spend our energies on Following.
