All In The Family
Sermon
Sermons On The Second Readings
Series II, Cycle A
Object:
"Surprise! You're adopted!" If you were to hear those words from a trusted relative, surprise would be an understatement, I'm sure. Total shock would probably be more descriptive terminology for your emotional state as you examined the official court record and your original birth certificate. "Adopted" does describe each of us though, because we have been adopted by God into God's family. How do we know? The Bible tells us so.
When the Spirit of God dwells within us, we are given new birth as God's children, and new life (Romans 8:11). We are then free to greet God as Jesus did with the words, "Abba! Father!" (Romans 2:15). "Abba" means "daddy," and is a term of endearment Jesus uses for his heavenly father. We also become heirs to life eternal and the kingdom to come. There is no real guarantee in life except that which comes from God -- the promise of eternal life.
In antiquity, a rabbi would address his congregation gathered in the synagogue as "my children." Age was not a consideration. You could be eight or 88 or any age in between. This was because all people are God's children. The rabbi was shepherd of his flock and felt a real responsibility for those in his care, responding as a loving parent would.
The early Christian church gathered for worship in the homes of its members, which may be why the early church was called "the household of God" (Ephesians 2:19). The church today is frequently referred to as the family of God. All of us gathered here today are family, brothers and sisters. Church members care for one another in times of need. When there is a new birth, we celebrate together. In death, we mourn and weep with one another. Problems can and do arise in every family, and the church family is no exception.
We gather in small groups reminiscent of the early church meetings, sometimes in one another's homes and occasionally in rooms here at church. This is where close familial relationships develop among us and bonds grow stronger and deeper. We tell our stories in a homey atmosphere of warmth, acceptance, and fellowship. It is a safe harbor for naming our failures and sharing our successes.
We share our faith experiences and are encouraged by the events in others' lives. Jesus, our brother, is the tie that binds us to God and to one another. The circle we sit in symbolizes God's love. It has no beginning, no middle, and no end. The circle is as eternal as God's love and as the life yet to come.
Small group members can more easily explore their sense of spirituality, and seek and give prayer support, thereby deepening their awareness of God's working in all our lives. We all yearn for nurturing relationships -- with others and with the Christ in each of us. The community of believers, the church, is the place where we receive and accept God's love.
Families are configured differently today from the time of Christ, and even from a generation or two ago. Ozzie and Harriet don't live here anymore, and maybe they never did. I never did think television families such as the Nelsons, Beaver and the Cleavers, and the Andersons in Father Knows Best were very true to life. In today's family, if there are two parents, usually both work outside the home. Many families are blended, with children from previous relationships included.
New Christians are given "a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 1:3). Being born again into the family of God is the source of hope and joy. We are called, named, and pronounced children of God, becoming members of one big family.
In the Lord's Prayer, both of the words "Our" and "Father" indicate a relationship. We are brothers and sisters of Christ and children of God, sharing the same father within a huge family. Both Jews and Gentiles, and all of humanity, are "fellow heirs, members of the same body, and share in the promise" (Ephesians 3:6).
In the Apostles' Creed we refer to the church as "the communion of saints." A more apt description for today might be a "community of saints." The family of God includes the community of Christians in every time and place. We are one with all the saints who have gone before us, all of us recipients of God's gracious love.
When we understand how much God loves us, we act differently. I know you have all heard of self-fulfilling prophecies. When a child is told that he or she is dumb, that's how the child will feel, and eventually will become. When we are treated as lovable, valuable persons, we act differently. Love changes us.
In Ron Davis' book, Mistreated, he relates the story of two Roman Catholic altar boys who had almost identical experiences.1 One boy was serving in Illinois and the other was serving in eastern Europe. While assisting the priest with holy communion, each boy accidentally spilled some wine from the chalice onto the floor.
In eastern Europe, the priest saw the purple stain on the floor and he saw red. He slapped the boy in the face, and said, "You clumsy oaf. Leave the altar right now. Your services are no longer needed here." In Illinois, the priest responded differently. "That's okay, son. We all have an accident from time to time. You will be more careful and do better next time, I know. You will be a fine priest of God someday."
The altar boy from Illinois was Fulton J. Sheen, who grew up to become a most beloved bishop in the Roman Catholic tradition. The altar boy from eastern Europe was Josip Bronz Tito. He grew up to become an atheist and the despotic dictator of Yugoslavia from 1943 to 1980. I wonder if world history might have been different had that priest reacted toward young Tito with the love of God rather than from anger. Love can be a powerful force for good in this world.
We gain confidence when we know we are one of God's children and members of the family of God. Bishop Emerson Colaw relates an experience he had as lead pastor at Hyde Park Community Church in Cincinnati.2 The Taft family of political renown were members of his congregation. On the first day of school, young Mary Taft and other members of her class were asked to give their names and a little information about their families.
When it was her turn, Mary introduced herself. "I am Mary Taft. My great-grandfather was president of the United States. My grandfather was a senator. My daddy is a congressman, and I am a Brownie! Mary was confident and comfortable with her status as a Brownie and proud of it. I wish we were as confident of our legacies as children of the living God.
As parents, we strive to love our children as God loves us. Roy L. Smith grew up in rural Kansas and knew hard times. His father worked as a miller, earning only a few dollars each week. Roy had wanted so much to attend a nearby Christian college, but knew his family could never afford to send him there. Somehow, they did scrape together enough money so that Roy could realize his dream.3
Roy won a place on the college debate team and confided to his father that he desperately needed a new pair of shoes in order to be dressed properly for debates. Again, his parents scraped up enough money to buy Roy a pair of dress shoes. Just as Roy was preparing to walk onto the stage for his first big debate, a worker from the mill came bursting in to tell him that his dad had been in a serious accident and was badly injured.
Roy rushed from the auditorium and raced through the streets to the mill, but it was too late. His dad was already dead. A few days later, Roy stopped by the mill to pick up his father's belongings and was given a bag with the shoes his dad had been wearing when the accident happened. As he removed the shoes from the bag, he noticed that the soles had huge holes in them. He realized that while he was standing in that auditorium in a pair of brand-new dress shoes, his father had been standing in the mill on a cold steel floor with almost no protection for his own feet. Parents are moved to make sacrifices on behalf of those they love.
Roy's painful realization resulted in the birthing of new life as he came to realize how much both his heavenly father and his earthly father had loved him. Roy dedicated his life to God at that moment and felt the call to preach. He became a much-sought-after Methodist pastor. Because of the love Roy had experienced, every sermon he preached had a strong emphasis on God's love for humanity.
Ben Hooper was a boy who grew up in the mountains of Tennessee.4 Ben was maltreated because he was born out of wedlock, certainly no fault of his. People were always examining his facial features and trying to guess who his father was. He was drawn to a local church and would slip in just to hear the sermon. Afterward, he would hurry out, knowing that a boy such as himself was not welcome in a holy place.
One Sunday, Ben was unable to make a quick exit. He felt a heavy hand on his shoulder and fearfully turned to see the preacher staring right at him. Ben assumed that the preacher was about to make a guess as to who his father was. Then the preacher said, "Boy, I see a striking resemblance. I know who you are. You are a child of God. Now, go claim your inheritance." Ben left church that day a different person because someone recognized him as a child of God. Later in life, Ben Hooper was twice-elected governor of Tennessee.
We are God's children, not because of anything we do, but simply because God loves us. As children of God, what we will be when Christ returns is yet to be revealed. As children of God, we live as Christ lived, walking in the light of God's amazing grace. We will see God face-to-face in the last hour. And in between times, God abides in the community of faith, in fellowship with Christ, and with us. God is light. Walking in that light, we will live forever. Amen.
____________
1. Ron Lee Davis with James D. Denney, Mistreated (Portland, Oregon: Multnomah, 1989) pp. 138-39.
2. Emerson S. Colaw, during a lecture in "Preparing to Preach," United Theological Seminary, Dayton, Ohio, October 17, 1991.
3. Maxie Dunnam and Kimberly Dunnam Reisman, The Workbook on Virtues and The Fruit of the Spirit (Nashville: Upper Room Books, 1998), p. 106.
4. Fred Craddock, eds. Mike Graves and Richard F. Ward, Craddock Stories (St. Louis: Chalice Press, 2001), pp. 156-57.
When the Spirit of God dwells within us, we are given new birth as God's children, and new life (Romans 8:11). We are then free to greet God as Jesus did with the words, "Abba! Father!" (Romans 2:15). "Abba" means "daddy," and is a term of endearment Jesus uses for his heavenly father. We also become heirs to life eternal and the kingdom to come. There is no real guarantee in life except that which comes from God -- the promise of eternal life.
In antiquity, a rabbi would address his congregation gathered in the synagogue as "my children." Age was not a consideration. You could be eight or 88 or any age in between. This was because all people are God's children. The rabbi was shepherd of his flock and felt a real responsibility for those in his care, responding as a loving parent would.
The early Christian church gathered for worship in the homes of its members, which may be why the early church was called "the household of God" (Ephesians 2:19). The church today is frequently referred to as the family of God. All of us gathered here today are family, brothers and sisters. Church members care for one another in times of need. When there is a new birth, we celebrate together. In death, we mourn and weep with one another. Problems can and do arise in every family, and the church family is no exception.
We gather in small groups reminiscent of the early church meetings, sometimes in one another's homes and occasionally in rooms here at church. This is where close familial relationships develop among us and bonds grow stronger and deeper. We tell our stories in a homey atmosphere of warmth, acceptance, and fellowship. It is a safe harbor for naming our failures and sharing our successes.
We share our faith experiences and are encouraged by the events in others' lives. Jesus, our brother, is the tie that binds us to God and to one another. The circle we sit in symbolizes God's love. It has no beginning, no middle, and no end. The circle is as eternal as God's love and as the life yet to come.
Small group members can more easily explore their sense of spirituality, and seek and give prayer support, thereby deepening their awareness of God's working in all our lives. We all yearn for nurturing relationships -- with others and with the Christ in each of us. The community of believers, the church, is the place where we receive and accept God's love.
Families are configured differently today from the time of Christ, and even from a generation or two ago. Ozzie and Harriet don't live here anymore, and maybe they never did. I never did think television families such as the Nelsons, Beaver and the Cleavers, and the Andersons in Father Knows Best were very true to life. In today's family, if there are two parents, usually both work outside the home. Many families are blended, with children from previous relationships included.
New Christians are given "a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 1:3). Being born again into the family of God is the source of hope and joy. We are called, named, and pronounced children of God, becoming members of one big family.
In the Lord's Prayer, both of the words "Our" and "Father" indicate a relationship. We are brothers and sisters of Christ and children of God, sharing the same father within a huge family. Both Jews and Gentiles, and all of humanity, are "fellow heirs, members of the same body, and share in the promise" (Ephesians 3:6).
In the Apostles' Creed we refer to the church as "the communion of saints." A more apt description for today might be a "community of saints." The family of God includes the community of Christians in every time and place. We are one with all the saints who have gone before us, all of us recipients of God's gracious love.
When we understand how much God loves us, we act differently. I know you have all heard of self-fulfilling prophecies. When a child is told that he or she is dumb, that's how the child will feel, and eventually will become. When we are treated as lovable, valuable persons, we act differently. Love changes us.
In Ron Davis' book, Mistreated, he relates the story of two Roman Catholic altar boys who had almost identical experiences.1 One boy was serving in Illinois and the other was serving in eastern Europe. While assisting the priest with holy communion, each boy accidentally spilled some wine from the chalice onto the floor.
In eastern Europe, the priest saw the purple stain on the floor and he saw red. He slapped the boy in the face, and said, "You clumsy oaf. Leave the altar right now. Your services are no longer needed here." In Illinois, the priest responded differently. "That's okay, son. We all have an accident from time to time. You will be more careful and do better next time, I know. You will be a fine priest of God someday."
The altar boy from Illinois was Fulton J. Sheen, who grew up to become a most beloved bishop in the Roman Catholic tradition. The altar boy from eastern Europe was Josip Bronz Tito. He grew up to become an atheist and the despotic dictator of Yugoslavia from 1943 to 1980. I wonder if world history might have been different had that priest reacted toward young Tito with the love of God rather than from anger. Love can be a powerful force for good in this world.
We gain confidence when we know we are one of God's children and members of the family of God. Bishop Emerson Colaw relates an experience he had as lead pastor at Hyde Park Community Church in Cincinnati.2 The Taft family of political renown were members of his congregation. On the first day of school, young Mary Taft and other members of her class were asked to give their names and a little information about their families.
When it was her turn, Mary introduced herself. "I am Mary Taft. My great-grandfather was president of the United States. My grandfather was a senator. My daddy is a congressman, and I am a Brownie! Mary was confident and comfortable with her status as a Brownie and proud of it. I wish we were as confident of our legacies as children of the living God.
As parents, we strive to love our children as God loves us. Roy L. Smith grew up in rural Kansas and knew hard times. His father worked as a miller, earning only a few dollars each week. Roy had wanted so much to attend a nearby Christian college, but knew his family could never afford to send him there. Somehow, they did scrape together enough money so that Roy could realize his dream.3
Roy won a place on the college debate team and confided to his father that he desperately needed a new pair of shoes in order to be dressed properly for debates. Again, his parents scraped up enough money to buy Roy a pair of dress shoes. Just as Roy was preparing to walk onto the stage for his first big debate, a worker from the mill came bursting in to tell him that his dad had been in a serious accident and was badly injured.
Roy rushed from the auditorium and raced through the streets to the mill, but it was too late. His dad was already dead. A few days later, Roy stopped by the mill to pick up his father's belongings and was given a bag with the shoes his dad had been wearing when the accident happened. As he removed the shoes from the bag, he noticed that the soles had huge holes in them. He realized that while he was standing in that auditorium in a pair of brand-new dress shoes, his father had been standing in the mill on a cold steel floor with almost no protection for his own feet. Parents are moved to make sacrifices on behalf of those they love.
Roy's painful realization resulted in the birthing of new life as he came to realize how much both his heavenly father and his earthly father had loved him. Roy dedicated his life to God at that moment and felt the call to preach. He became a much-sought-after Methodist pastor. Because of the love Roy had experienced, every sermon he preached had a strong emphasis on God's love for humanity.
Ben Hooper was a boy who grew up in the mountains of Tennessee.4 Ben was maltreated because he was born out of wedlock, certainly no fault of his. People were always examining his facial features and trying to guess who his father was. He was drawn to a local church and would slip in just to hear the sermon. Afterward, he would hurry out, knowing that a boy such as himself was not welcome in a holy place.
One Sunday, Ben was unable to make a quick exit. He felt a heavy hand on his shoulder and fearfully turned to see the preacher staring right at him. Ben assumed that the preacher was about to make a guess as to who his father was. Then the preacher said, "Boy, I see a striking resemblance. I know who you are. You are a child of God. Now, go claim your inheritance." Ben left church that day a different person because someone recognized him as a child of God. Later in life, Ben Hooper was twice-elected governor of Tennessee.
We are God's children, not because of anything we do, but simply because God loves us. As children of God, what we will be when Christ returns is yet to be revealed. As children of God, we live as Christ lived, walking in the light of God's amazing grace. We will see God face-to-face in the last hour. And in between times, God abides in the community of faith, in fellowship with Christ, and with us. God is light. Walking in that light, we will live forever. Amen.
____________
1. Ron Lee Davis with James D. Denney, Mistreated (Portland, Oregon: Multnomah, 1989) pp. 138-39.
2. Emerson S. Colaw, during a lecture in "Preparing to Preach," United Theological Seminary, Dayton, Ohio, October 17, 1991.
3. Maxie Dunnam and Kimberly Dunnam Reisman, The Workbook on Virtues and The Fruit of the Spirit (Nashville: Upper Room Books, 1998), p. 106.
4. Fred Craddock, eds. Mike Graves and Richard F. Ward, Craddock Stories (St. Louis: Chalice Press, 2001), pp. 156-57.
