Chosen By God
Sermon
UNDER THE WINGS OF THE ALMIGHTY
Sermons For Pentecost (Last Third) Cycle A First Lesson Texts
All of us love to be chosen. It is a wonderful thing to be chosen. A teen-age boy tried out for the basketball team. When the coach posted the list of those who had made the team, he was thrilled to discover that the coach had chosen him. A young woman was one of 75 applicants for a high-paying job. She exclaimed with great excitement in her voice, "Of all the applicants, they chose me." A young friend who had made application to the Naval Academy announced with great pride that out of the hundreds who had applied, "They chose me." It's a great thing to be chosen. It makes us feel good; it makes us feel wanted, needed and valued. It makes us feel special.
We learn in the beginning of the book of Ruth that she did not feel very special. Her young husband died leaving her alone and destitute. When her world suddenly turned upside down, Ruth determined to leave homeland behind and cast her future with her mother-in-law, Naomi. She was forced, for the sake of survival, to impose upon the charity of her kinsman, Boaz, who permitted her to gather leftover grain in the field. When compared to the giants of the covenant like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Moses, the Moabite woman, Ruth, seems insignificant and out of place as a main character in the Bible. She was a foreigner whose only claim to remembrance was her devotion to her mother-in-law and her cleverness in securing a husband.
Ruth didn't feel very special but she was. In Matthew's gospel we learn why. Ruth, the pitiful widow from Moab, through her marriage to Boaz and the birth of her son, Obed, was eventually to be the great-grandmother of King David. King David was of the royal lineage of our Lord Jesus Christ. Ruth was chosen by God to be an instrument of his grace in sending his son, Jesus, into our world.
Why did God choose Ruth? Was she a powerful leader of the people? Was she a profoundly spiritual person? Did she come from a noble family? No, she was none of these things. She was a quiet, ordinary woman who lost her husband and struggled to survive in a foreign land.
The answer is we don't know why God chose Ruth. We only know that he did. We might also ask, why did God choose you? As a child of God you are the beneficiary of his grace, love, salvation and eternal life. Why did God choose you? Because you are good; because you are righteous; because you are profoundly spiritual? The truth is we don't really know why God chose you; we only know that he did.
What does it mean to be chosen by God? To be chosen by God is an intensely personal thing. The New Testament declares that Jesus died for the world, that he died for the church, that he died for the kingdom, but do not ever forget that the bottom line of faith is this, Jesus died for you. Faith is an intensely personal matter between you and your God. No one else can believe for you; no one else can trust or love for you; no one else can laugh or cry for you; no one else can live or die for you; no one else can stand before God in your place. You are a person -- one lone, solitary individual -- who is sometimes brave, sometimes scared, sometimes glad and sometimes sad. You are a person and your life with all of its marvelous complexity belongs to you, and your life is important to God.
Yes, God reaches out to the world, to nations, to races, to groups large and small, but remember he reaches out to you. God knows your name. He understands the feelings in your heart and the substance in your soul. Your laughter fills his divine being and your tears break his sacred heart. You are a person -- a complex, often confused, frequently hurt, sometimes glad, occasionally successful -- person. Don't be afraid to be human. Don't be afraid to be you, the person that you are.
The world, including the world of the church, will often misunderstand, criticize, judge and even condemn you. Accept those feelings. They are the price you pay for being human. Do not hold a grudge against those who misunderstand. They, too, have their burdens to bear. Remember, God blessed the human condition by sending his son to be human.
Now is a good time to shed the pretense of life. There is no need for you to strive to be a super Christian or superrighteous person. It is enough to be human, to be authentically human. We are what we are, dear friends, nothing more, nothing less, strangers traveling through a strange land in search of our home with God. To be chosen by God is an intensely personal thing.
To be chosen by God can also be an extremely painful thing. Jesus said, "If anyone would believe in me, let him take up his cross and follow me (Matthew 16:24)." The cross is a symbol of suffering and an instrument of pain. If you love others, you share their hurts, their sorrows and their pain. To be chosen by God can be a painful thing. Know that it can. Be aware of it. Expect it.
Can you imagine what it is like for a pastor to have to go to a family and announce to them "Your teenage son has been killed in a car accident." To be chosen can be a painful thing. What must it be like for a doctor to say to his patient, "I'm sorry, but the results of the biopsy indicate that you have a malignant growth and there is nothing we can do about it." Can you imagine what it was like for the soldiers who fought in the Persian Gulf? Many were Christian people who loved God, trusted in Christ and yet they were required to take up arms against their fellow human beings and even take the lives of others. To be chosen to serve can be a painful thing.
I read about two policemen who were called to a disturbance on the street. A young man was waving a gun in the air. People were hiding behind cars or wherever they could. The policemen took cover and shouted to the young man, "Put down the gun, put it down." The young man continued to wave the gun in the air. They tried again, "Put down the gun." The young man ignored their command and pointed the gun straight at one of the policemen. In a reflex action the policeman shot and killed him. They later discovered that the gun was a toy and that the young man was retarded and did not understand. To serve others is a painful thing!
A woman told me about being with her mother through the final weeks of a terminal illness. The family tried to sit with her 24 hours a day. The mother had difficulty going to sleep and was awake almost constantly. The woman said, "We came down to the last few days. I had been with my mother all that day, and about 3 a.m. I drifted off to sleep. My mother awakened me and asked, ‘Can you not stay awake with me these last hours?' " How reminiscent of Peter, James and John in the Garden of Gethsemane when Christ came to them and said, "Can you not watch with me just one hour?" To be chosen can be a painful thing! To be chosen by God is a very personal thing and it can be a painful thing.
To be chosen by God is a most demanding thing. Remember, God, in choosing you, gives you everything. He gives you his grace and love, salvation and eternal life and the gift of the Holy Spirit. He gives you everything and expects everything in return. When you accept the blessing of God, you also accept the responsibility that is attendant to that blessing.
Your congregation was chosen to be the church where you are in this time in history and therefore carries a great responsibility. You must be the best, strongest, most loving, giving, caring church that you can be. Why? Because so much depends on it. Thousands upon thousands of lives are touched by your church and its ministry across the period of a year.
Think of the challenges that are always before our society. We dare not face those challenges as a weak and feeble church. Young people need the church now more than ever. Statistics tell us that in the next 24 hours in this country, 3,200 children and teenagers will run away from home, 2,900 will see their parents divorced, 2,800 teenage girls will become pregnant, 1,850 children will be abused or neglected, 1,500 teenagers will drop out of school, 1,100 teenage girls will have an abortion, 200 children will be arrested for drug abuse, and six teenagers will commit suicide. Can we face that challenge as a weakened, enfeebled church? Understand that to be chosen of God is a demanding thing.
To be chosen by God is a wonderfully glorious thing. You are chosen by God; you are not chosen by a wealthy employer, an important person, or even a dear friend… you are chosen by God. You are chosen for his love and grace, for his gifts and blessings. To be chosen by God is an incredibly glorious thing.
A young boy kept making mistakes while practicing the piano to perform at a recital. His mother advised, "Son, practice the end of your recital piece. Practice the closing measures as hard as you can, over and over again, because the truth is, you can make mistakes in the beginning, you can make mistakes in the middle, but people will forget all of that if you make the end glorious!"
I don't know what the beginning was like for you. I don't know what your childhood was like or what mistakes were made. I don't know where you are or what mistakes you've recently made but I can tell you, wherever you are, Christ is with you. If you will trust him and love him, he will make the end glorious.
Long ago God chose a quiet, ordinary woman named Ruth who had lost her husband and was struggling to survive in a foreign land to be an instrument of his grace in bringing his son, Jesus, into the world. We don't know why God chose Ruth. We only know that he did. Today he chooses you, an ordinary person struggling to survive in a difficult world, as an instrument of his grace in bringing his son, Christ, to the world. We don't know why God has chosen you; we only know that he has. Amen.
We learn in the beginning of the book of Ruth that she did not feel very special. Her young husband died leaving her alone and destitute. When her world suddenly turned upside down, Ruth determined to leave homeland behind and cast her future with her mother-in-law, Naomi. She was forced, for the sake of survival, to impose upon the charity of her kinsman, Boaz, who permitted her to gather leftover grain in the field. When compared to the giants of the covenant like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Moses, the Moabite woman, Ruth, seems insignificant and out of place as a main character in the Bible. She was a foreigner whose only claim to remembrance was her devotion to her mother-in-law and her cleverness in securing a husband.
Ruth didn't feel very special but she was. In Matthew's gospel we learn why. Ruth, the pitiful widow from Moab, through her marriage to Boaz and the birth of her son, Obed, was eventually to be the great-grandmother of King David. King David was of the royal lineage of our Lord Jesus Christ. Ruth was chosen by God to be an instrument of his grace in sending his son, Jesus, into our world.
Why did God choose Ruth? Was she a powerful leader of the people? Was she a profoundly spiritual person? Did she come from a noble family? No, she was none of these things. She was a quiet, ordinary woman who lost her husband and struggled to survive in a foreign land.
The answer is we don't know why God chose Ruth. We only know that he did. We might also ask, why did God choose you? As a child of God you are the beneficiary of his grace, love, salvation and eternal life. Why did God choose you? Because you are good; because you are righteous; because you are profoundly spiritual? The truth is we don't really know why God chose you; we only know that he did.
What does it mean to be chosen by God? To be chosen by God is an intensely personal thing. The New Testament declares that Jesus died for the world, that he died for the church, that he died for the kingdom, but do not ever forget that the bottom line of faith is this, Jesus died for you. Faith is an intensely personal matter between you and your God. No one else can believe for you; no one else can trust or love for you; no one else can laugh or cry for you; no one else can live or die for you; no one else can stand before God in your place. You are a person -- one lone, solitary individual -- who is sometimes brave, sometimes scared, sometimes glad and sometimes sad. You are a person and your life with all of its marvelous complexity belongs to you, and your life is important to God.
Yes, God reaches out to the world, to nations, to races, to groups large and small, but remember he reaches out to you. God knows your name. He understands the feelings in your heart and the substance in your soul. Your laughter fills his divine being and your tears break his sacred heart. You are a person -- a complex, often confused, frequently hurt, sometimes glad, occasionally successful -- person. Don't be afraid to be human. Don't be afraid to be you, the person that you are.
The world, including the world of the church, will often misunderstand, criticize, judge and even condemn you. Accept those feelings. They are the price you pay for being human. Do not hold a grudge against those who misunderstand. They, too, have their burdens to bear. Remember, God blessed the human condition by sending his son to be human.
Now is a good time to shed the pretense of life. There is no need for you to strive to be a super Christian or superrighteous person. It is enough to be human, to be authentically human. We are what we are, dear friends, nothing more, nothing less, strangers traveling through a strange land in search of our home with God. To be chosen by God is an intensely personal thing.
To be chosen by God can also be an extremely painful thing. Jesus said, "If anyone would believe in me, let him take up his cross and follow me (Matthew 16:24)." The cross is a symbol of suffering and an instrument of pain. If you love others, you share their hurts, their sorrows and their pain. To be chosen by God can be a painful thing. Know that it can. Be aware of it. Expect it.
Can you imagine what it is like for a pastor to have to go to a family and announce to them "Your teenage son has been killed in a car accident." To be chosen can be a painful thing. What must it be like for a doctor to say to his patient, "I'm sorry, but the results of the biopsy indicate that you have a malignant growth and there is nothing we can do about it." Can you imagine what it was like for the soldiers who fought in the Persian Gulf? Many were Christian people who loved God, trusted in Christ and yet they were required to take up arms against their fellow human beings and even take the lives of others. To be chosen to serve can be a painful thing.
I read about two policemen who were called to a disturbance on the street. A young man was waving a gun in the air. People were hiding behind cars or wherever they could. The policemen took cover and shouted to the young man, "Put down the gun, put it down." The young man continued to wave the gun in the air. They tried again, "Put down the gun." The young man ignored their command and pointed the gun straight at one of the policemen. In a reflex action the policeman shot and killed him. They later discovered that the gun was a toy and that the young man was retarded and did not understand. To serve others is a painful thing!
A woman told me about being with her mother through the final weeks of a terminal illness. The family tried to sit with her 24 hours a day. The mother had difficulty going to sleep and was awake almost constantly. The woman said, "We came down to the last few days. I had been with my mother all that day, and about 3 a.m. I drifted off to sleep. My mother awakened me and asked, ‘Can you not stay awake with me these last hours?' " How reminiscent of Peter, James and John in the Garden of Gethsemane when Christ came to them and said, "Can you not watch with me just one hour?" To be chosen can be a painful thing! To be chosen by God is a very personal thing and it can be a painful thing.
To be chosen by God is a most demanding thing. Remember, God, in choosing you, gives you everything. He gives you his grace and love, salvation and eternal life and the gift of the Holy Spirit. He gives you everything and expects everything in return. When you accept the blessing of God, you also accept the responsibility that is attendant to that blessing.
Your congregation was chosen to be the church where you are in this time in history and therefore carries a great responsibility. You must be the best, strongest, most loving, giving, caring church that you can be. Why? Because so much depends on it. Thousands upon thousands of lives are touched by your church and its ministry across the period of a year.
Think of the challenges that are always before our society. We dare not face those challenges as a weak and feeble church. Young people need the church now more than ever. Statistics tell us that in the next 24 hours in this country, 3,200 children and teenagers will run away from home, 2,900 will see their parents divorced, 2,800 teenage girls will become pregnant, 1,850 children will be abused or neglected, 1,500 teenagers will drop out of school, 1,100 teenage girls will have an abortion, 200 children will be arrested for drug abuse, and six teenagers will commit suicide. Can we face that challenge as a weakened, enfeebled church? Understand that to be chosen of God is a demanding thing.
To be chosen by God is a wonderfully glorious thing. You are chosen by God; you are not chosen by a wealthy employer, an important person, or even a dear friend… you are chosen by God. You are chosen for his love and grace, for his gifts and blessings. To be chosen by God is an incredibly glorious thing.
A young boy kept making mistakes while practicing the piano to perform at a recital. His mother advised, "Son, practice the end of your recital piece. Practice the closing measures as hard as you can, over and over again, because the truth is, you can make mistakes in the beginning, you can make mistakes in the middle, but people will forget all of that if you make the end glorious!"
I don't know what the beginning was like for you. I don't know what your childhood was like or what mistakes were made. I don't know where you are or what mistakes you've recently made but I can tell you, wherever you are, Christ is with you. If you will trust him and love him, he will make the end glorious.
Long ago God chose a quiet, ordinary woman named Ruth who had lost her husband and was struggling to survive in a foreign land to be an instrument of his grace in bringing his son, Jesus, into the world. We don't know why God chose Ruth. We only know that he did. Today he chooses you, an ordinary person struggling to survive in a difficult world, as an instrument of his grace in bringing his son, Christ, to the world. We don't know why God has chosen you; we only know that he has. Amen.
