Who Will Vouch For Me?
Sermon
Sermons on the Second Readings
Series III, Cycle B
Object:
Surely we do not need, as some do, letters of recommendation to you or from you, do we?
-- 2 Corinthians 3:1
William Barkley points out in his commentary on this passage that there was a common practice in the ancient world of sending letters of commendations with a person when he traveled into strange and foreign communities. To insure his reputation or even safety, these letters written by a trusted friend would testify to his character. It was sometimes difficult, however, to determine whether a recommendation was sincere or merely flattery or, worse, forgery.
The same is true today, isn't it? If we don't know someone, we look for a recommendation. There is a true story recorded in the popular book, Chicken Soup for the Soul. It is a story about a man who wrote a letter to a small hotel in the Midwest. He planned to stay there during his vacation and wrote the owner this letter. "I would very much like to bring my dog with me. He is well-groomed and very well-behaved. Would you be willing to permit me to keep him in my room with me at night?"
An immediate reply came back from the hotel owner who wrote, "I've been operating this hotel for many, many years. In all that time, I've never had a dog steal towels, bed clothes, silverware, or a picture off the wall. I've never had to evict a dog in the middle of the night for being drunk and disorderly. And I've never had a dog run out on a hotel bill. Yes, indeed, your dog is welcome at my hotel. And, if your dog is willing to vouch for you, you are welcome to stay here, too."
What a surprise. Here the man assumed all along that the dog was the problem and that he would have to vouch for the dog. What a turn of events to find out that the dog was fine. There was nothing wrong with the dog. It was just the opposite. The man was the problem. He was the one needing someone to vouch for him. Who would have guessed it?
There was once a contest to write an essay titled, "What is the Problem with the World?" And there were many submissions that wrote about hunger, war, pollution, greed, racism, and sexism. But the winning essay describing the problem with the world was actually the shortest. Just two words. "I am."
It's true, you know. From the first chapters of Genesis, God reveals the problem with this world. It would be easy to point the finger at all sorts of problems from society to greed to being bottle-fed as a child. But the Bible clearly points the finger where it is due. What's the problem with the world? I am. And if this is true, then who will vouch for me?
Years ago, Notre Dame dominated national college football. The team was led by coach Knute Rockne, known as the Rock, perhaps the most inspirational football coach of all time. In a game defending its title, Notre Dame kicked off to Carnegie Tech who proved to sustain an unstoppable drive. Six yards, ten yards, five yards. Notre Dame was caught backpedaling against the highly spirited Tech team.
But one thing Notre Dame had on its side, or rather its sidelines, was a coach who never gave up, who inspired his team to victory; a coach with all the right strategic calls. The players were convinced that Rock would figure out a way to stop Tech. In the meantime, the ball kept advancing.
When the ball reached the fifty-yard line, the defense looked anxiously toward the sidelines. What should we do? When Tech reached the thirty-yard line, Rockne grabbed a substitute and barked out commands ... but held him back for a few more plays.
Finally, when Tech reached the three-yard line, Rockne called time out and the substitute came running in from the sidelines with the message.
The defense quickly gathered around the player, absolutely quiet, ready for their instructions, "What should we do?"
The substitute answered, "Rock says, 'For God's sake, hold 'em!' "
That's it! "Hold 'em." It's up to you. For in the end, we are the one held accountable. Nowhere is that more evident than when you are struggling on the third-yard line against great odds.
We are the ones accountable. There is no letter of recommendation that can take us off the hook. We would prefer to play the victim, make excuses, exonerate ourselves, hide behind the fluff but really in the last analysis, we need to make an account of our lives -- and when we do, we stand alone. When that moment comes, who will vouch for me? When that final breath is taken and I am held accountable for my life ... for what I have done and left undone, for the people I've harmed and the poor I've neglected, who will stand up and vouch for me?
It is here that Paul provides the answer. Our confidence is not in a letter of recommendation or some righteous life that we have lived. Our confidence is not based on our competency or following the letter of the law. Paul says that the law kills but the Spirit gives life. When we finally stand before the throne of God, desperately looking around, our confidence will come from the one who will step forward and say, "It's okay. He's with me. His debt is paid in full. He is blameless. I can vouch for him."
This great gift of forgiveness and grace comes with it a tremendous amount of responsibility. As forgiven believers with letters of recommendation written upon our hearts, we now become Christ's epistles to the world. He has vouched for you. Can you vouch for him?
Pastor and author, Lee Strobel, told the story of a young woman in his church who, after a long time away, finally returned. She had been badly hurt as a child by the so-called Christians in her church that for her to darken the doors again took great courage. She was filled with skepticism and doubt. The walls were high. The scrutiny was tight. As she felt that faith welling up inside her again, she had to make sure it was real. So she wrote Strobel this letter.
Dear Pastor,
Do you know, do you understand that you represent Jesus to me?
Do you know, do you understand that when you treat me with gentleness, it raises the question in my mind that maybe he is gentle, too. Maybe he isn't someone who laughs when I am hurt.
Do you know, do you understand that when you listen to my questions and you don't laugh, I think, "What if Jesus is interested in me, too?"
Do you know, do you understand that when I hear you talk about arguments and conflicts and scars from your past, I think, "Maybe I am just a regular person instead of a bad, no good little girl who deserves abuse."
If YOU care, I think maybe he cares ... and then there's this flame of hope that burns inside of me and for a while I am afraid to breathe because it might go out.
Do you know, do you understand that your words are his words? Your face, his face to someone like me?
Please be who you say you are. Please God don't let this be another trick. Please let this be real. Please.
Do you know, do you understand that you represent Jesus to me?1
It is an awesome responsibility, isn't it, to vouch for Jesus? And it won't be done with fading ink or empty words. It can only be done through the heart that has been renewed, restored, and forgiven. He has vouched for you. The Spirit has given you life. Now, vouch for him for the one who longs to know whether or not he is real. Amen.
____________
1. Leo Strobel, "Maggie's Poem," God's Outrageous Claims: Discovering What They Mean for You (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2005).
-- 2 Corinthians 3:1
William Barkley points out in his commentary on this passage that there was a common practice in the ancient world of sending letters of commendations with a person when he traveled into strange and foreign communities. To insure his reputation or even safety, these letters written by a trusted friend would testify to his character. It was sometimes difficult, however, to determine whether a recommendation was sincere or merely flattery or, worse, forgery.
The same is true today, isn't it? If we don't know someone, we look for a recommendation. There is a true story recorded in the popular book, Chicken Soup for the Soul. It is a story about a man who wrote a letter to a small hotel in the Midwest. He planned to stay there during his vacation and wrote the owner this letter. "I would very much like to bring my dog with me. He is well-groomed and very well-behaved. Would you be willing to permit me to keep him in my room with me at night?"
An immediate reply came back from the hotel owner who wrote, "I've been operating this hotel for many, many years. In all that time, I've never had a dog steal towels, bed clothes, silverware, or a picture off the wall. I've never had to evict a dog in the middle of the night for being drunk and disorderly. And I've never had a dog run out on a hotel bill. Yes, indeed, your dog is welcome at my hotel. And, if your dog is willing to vouch for you, you are welcome to stay here, too."
What a surprise. Here the man assumed all along that the dog was the problem and that he would have to vouch for the dog. What a turn of events to find out that the dog was fine. There was nothing wrong with the dog. It was just the opposite. The man was the problem. He was the one needing someone to vouch for him. Who would have guessed it?
There was once a contest to write an essay titled, "What is the Problem with the World?" And there were many submissions that wrote about hunger, war, pollution, greed, racism, and sexism. But the winning essay describing the problem with the world was actually the shortest. Just two words. "I am."
It's true, you know. From the first chapters of Genesis, God reveals the problem with this world. It would be easy to point the finger at all sorts of problems from society to greed to being bottle-fed as a child. But the Bible clearly points the finger where it is due. What's the problem with the world? I am. And if this is true, then who will vouch for me?
Years ago, Notre Dame dominated national college football. The team was led by coach Knute Rockne, known as the Rock, perhaps the most inspirational football coach of all time. In a game defending its title, Notre Dame kicked off to Carnegie Tech who proved to sustain an unstoppable drive. Six yards, ten yards, five yards. Notre Dame was caught backpedaling against the highly spirited Tech team.
But one thing Notre Dame had on its side, or rather its sidelines, was a coach who never gave up, who inspired his team to victory; a coach with all the right strategic calls. The players were convinced that Rock would figure out a way to stop Tech. In the meantime, the ball kept advancing.
When the ball reached the fifty-yard line, the defense looked anxiously toward the sidelines. What should we do? When Tech reached the thirty-yard line, Rockne grabbed a substitute and barked out commands ... but held him back for a few more plays.
Finally, when Tech reached the three-yard line, Rockne called time out and the substitute came running in from the sidelines with the message.
The defense quickly gathered around the player, absolutely quiet, ready for their instructions, "What should we do?"
The substitute answered, "Rock says, 'For God's sake, hold 'em!' "
That's it! "Hold 'em." It's up to you. For in the end, we are the one held accountable. Nowhere is that more evident than when you are struggling on the third-yard line against great odds.
We are the ones accountable. There is no letter of recommendation that can take us off the hook. We would prefer to play the victim, make excuses, exonerate ourselves, hide behind the fluff but really in the last analysis, we need to make an account of our lives -- and when we do, we stand alone. When that moment comes, who will vouch for me? When that final breath is taken and I am held accountable for my life ... for what I have done and left undone, for the people I've harmed and the poor I've neglected, who will stand up and vouch for me?
It is here that Paul provides the answer. Our confidence is not in a letter of recommendation or some righteous life that we have lived. Our confidence is not based on our competency or following the letter of the law. Paul says that the law kills but the Spirit gives life. When we finally stand before the throne of God, desperately looking around, our confidence will come from the one who will step forward and say, "It's okay. He's with me. His debt is paid in full. He is blameless. I can vouch for him."
This great gift of forgiveness and grace comes with it a tremendous amount of responsibility. As forgiven believers with letters of recommendation written upon our hearts, we now become Christ's epistles to the world. He has vouched for you. Can you vouch for him?
Pastor and author, Lee Strobel, told the story of a young woman in his church who, after a long time away, finally returned. She had been badly hurt as a child by the so-called Christians in her church that for her to darken the doors again took great courage. She was filled with skepticism and doubt. The walls were high. The scrutiny was tight. As she felt that faith welling up inside her again, she had to make sure it was real. So she wrote Strobel this letter.
Dear Pastor,
Do you know, do you understand that you represent Jesus to me?
Do you know, do you understand that when you treat me with gentleness, it raises the question in my mind that maybe he is gentle, too. Maybe he isn't someone who laughs when I am hurt.
Do you know, do you understand that when you listen to my questions and you don't laugh, I think, "What if Jesus is interested in me, too?"
Do you know, do you understand that when I hear you talk about arguments and conflicts and scars from your past, I think, "Maybe I am just a regular person instead of a bad, no good little girl who deserves abuse."
If YOU care, I think maybe he cares ... and then there's this flame of hope that burns inside of me and for a while I am afraid to breathe because it might go out.
Do you know, do you understand that your words are his words? Your face, his face to someone like me?
Please be who you say you are. Please God don't let this be another trick. Please let this be real. Please.
Do you know, do you understand that you represent Jesus to me?1
It is an awesome responsibility, isn't it, to vouch for Jesus? And it won't be done with fading ink or empty words. It can only be done through the heart that has been renewed, restored, and forgiven. He has vouched for you. The Spirit has given you life. Now, vouch for him for the one who longs to know whether or not he is real. Amen.
____________
1. Leo Strobel, "Maggie's Poem," God's Outrageous Claims: Discovering What They Mean for You (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2005).
