Exodus 20:1-20
Psalm 19
1 Corinthians 1:18-25
18 For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written,
“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”
20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, God decided, through the foolishness of our proclamation, to save those who believe. 22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, 23 but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.
John 2:13-22
Sermon
Today is a day of celebration for our congregation and for Jase’s family. We are here to celebrate the sacrament of Holy Baptism…and to officially welcome Jase into the community of faith. On special days like this… we love hearing about how being reborn in the waters of baptism … We love being told “You are my beloved, with you I am well pleased.”… And we love learning how in Holy Baptism God liberates us from the power of sin. For us the sacrament of Holy Baptism is a true celebration.
However this day of baptism and its celebration is happening during the season of Lent… the time when Christians focus on Jesus’ passion and his journey to the cross where he dies. During Lent we also examine ourselves closely…and our sins… how we have failed loving our God and our neighbor. Today we have already heard about the Ten Commandments written on stone tablets by God. We heard Psalm 19, which tells us how the laws of God are perfect, and we would be wise to follow them… And in the Gospel of John we hear about Jesus’ anger over God’s temple being made into a place of Commerce… rather than a place of prayer.
When we carefully consider the laws of God…we know that we have not done very well. To our surprise we see that we are sinful…and even when we try our hardest we are not able to be sinless. Thinking about it carefully…we know that the laws of God only serve to teach the true depth of our failure. Most difficult for us is the realization that our sinfulness adds to the load which Jesus carries to the cross.
While the season of Lent is a time to examine ourselves… and our relationship with our God and with our neighbors … it is also a time when we look forward to Easter Sunday. Rather than focusing on what we have done to hurt God…the story of the Passion and Easter… focuses on what God does for us. The emphasis of the Passion and Easter…is God’s great love for the world… Jesus comes to not to condemn or punish the world… Instead, Jesus comes to save it… And rather than seeing us staggering under our heavy load of sin…God’s son lifts it off our shoulders… and carries it to the cross for us. God does this great thing for us…while we are still sinners and even before we have asked.
The good news of God is this… Christ dies for us even though we may not want it…and even though we may be actively working against God’s plan for us and for the world. That Christ dies for sinners and even the ones who are enemies God… seems to be extraordinarily silly or the height of foolishness. As heard earlier; “The message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing.
We want to ask; “Why would God do such a foolish thing?” In our simple and easy language…words quickly flow off our tongues. We say; “God does foolish things for us because God loves us.” This is certainly true…but it only leads to another question… “Why does God love us when we have not love God with our whole heart…and when we have not loved our neighbor?
To answer this we must ask; “Why does God love at all?” This important question is best answered by first considering how we love. Last week we asked how Mary the mother of Jesus must have felt as she followed her son to the cross… Today we add a piece…and ask how any mother would feel following her son…even if he has sinned against God. We have young parents and not so young grandparents here…to help us with the answer. We ask; “Have our children ever done anything to hurt or disappoint you?” ……………. Even though they have… do you still love them? Why do you think parents still love their children?
We love our children because they are our children… We have a lot invested in them. We planned for them… we waited for months…mothers and father each had their concerns during the actual birth event. Most significantly our children are our own flesh and blood. And even when they do something wrong…we continue loving them.
Now we are at the point where we can return to the question; “Why does God love?” Today in the baptism service for Jase…we heard the voice from heaven saying; “You are my son, the beloved.” In these words we are reminded that God is our Father… Through Baptism we become a member of God’s family. In the service, we also heard that even if a mother would somehow forget her nursing baby that God will never forget.
We are God’s children whether we are good or bad. And, whether we are good or bad…God loves us with a love beyond our understanding. Some might even say that God loves us with a foolish love. (But) God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom.
So even though this is the season of Lent…and it is a time which saddens us. Even though it is a time for us to examine how we have broken our relationships between each other and with our God… This is actually a season… in which we celebrate God’s foolish wisdom of choosing the cross. On the cross Jesus looks pitiful and weak. On the cross Jesus seems forsaken and forgotten. But God chooses the cross…foolish as it may sound… to demonstrate ultimate and unconditional love for us. It is on the cross of sacrifice… that Jesus frees us from the sins… which weigh us down…and separate us from God. Through the foolishness we are freed people…and our relationship of mutual love is restored.
Living in a loving and mutual relationship with God…makes it possible for us to respond to what God does for us. Because of Jesus’ journey to the cross…because of God’s foolish love for us… and because we are being saved by God’s foolishness…only because of this are we able to respond with love toward our God and our neighbor. It is only to a loving God…a loving Father…and loving Savior that we are able to love in return…and do the thing God wants. God gives us continual opportunities to repair and restore our broken relationship. It is the ministry of reconciliation. We confess our sins to God and to our neighbor asking for forgiveness… and God forgives us. The whole purpose for the passion and the Easter story is to give us a new life, and to restore our relationships with each other and with our God. There is no other reason.
It is good to celebrate. It is good to hear the words; “You are my beloved, with you I am well pleased.” It is good to hear about how God’s foolish love is given to Jase in his baptism…and that it will continue for his whole life. It is good to hear us respond to God’s declaration…by promising to raise Jase with the knowledge of God’s love. So let us celebrate our foolish but loving God. And let us respond to God’s foolish love…by loving as God loves. Thanks be to God. Amen
Out of the Wilderness 