Heart of Jesus: A Victorious Heart

Sermon given at Sydenstricker UMC 5/6/18

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^NRS John 17:1 After Jesus had spoken these words, he looked up to heaven and said, "Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you, ² since you have given him authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. ³ And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. ⁴ I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do. ⁵ So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed.

There was a woman at work when she received a phone call that her daughter was very sick with a fever. She left work and stopped by the pharmacy to get some medication for her daughter. She returned to her car to find that she had locked the keys inside the car when she went into the pharmacy and was now unable to get into her car to drive home.
She didn’t know what to do and started to panic, so she called home and told the baby sitter what had happened and that she did not know what to do. The baby sitter told her to find a coat hanger and see if that would open the door. The woman looked around and found an old rusty coat hanger that had been thrown down on the ground, possibly by someone else who also had locked their keys in their car. Then she looked at the hanger and said, "I don’t know how to use this." So she bowed her head and asked God to send her some help. In so doing, she obeyed the command to never stop praying. Do you think God would reward her for that?

Within five minutes, a motorcycle roared up and pulled into the parking space next to her car. A rough, dirty-looking biker got off and saw her situation. He asked if he could help her. The woman thought, "This is what you sent to help me, God?" She finally told him yes, as she needed to hurry and get home to her sick daughter. He walked over to the car, and in less than one minute, the car was opened. She hugged the man and through her tears she said, "Thank you so much! You are such a nice man." The man replied; "No, I’m not, Lady. I just got out of prison for car theft." The woman hugged the man again and with sobbing tears cried out to God, "You even sent me a professional."

As we celebrate this week lets return to the Passion narrative of Easter. Jesus is looking into the face of death itself. He knows what is coming soon and in spite of that, He asks God to stand by the promise that all of humanity is given into the hands of Jesus. Jesus tells us that He has complete authority over the whole earth and all of its inhabitants, not just for the first century but also for all time. Jesus is asking God to give us, those that believe in the love of God brought through the love and sacrifice of God’s Son, Jesus, to receive the promise of eternal salvation and life. All of this while looking into the very depths of Hell itself and death. What love there is that can do this kind of thing? One that we cannot truly understand or appreciate. However, this is exactly what happened and what we must be forever thankful. How can we ever repay that which is given to us freely and without strings attached unless we spend our lives witnessing to the grace and mercy of God? How can we ever truly sit at our tables or in our houses comfortable without thinking about the sacrifice that God has given to us? Thanksgiving is a time to do that very thing. Jesus is saying to us that He is ours if we are willing to open our hearts to Him and invite Him in. Will you, can you, won’t you?

Jesus has a victorious heart, made up of all the woes of the earth, all the joys and tears and celebrations that we can imagine. That sounds a bit like an oxymoron but the truth is Jesus death and resurrection allows Him to hold all of that in tension. The beauty of this story is that God sent Jesus, the very example of physical living love into the world so that we might see that example and learn to live into it in our own lives. Jesus wants us to know that we are free from the chains and binding holds of this world. Jesus wants us to know that we have eternal life at the asking just by loving God and loving one another. He is calling us to an unconditional love for God and for each other. In that love, Jesus shares the victory over death with us. That is the good news of the Gospels, the good news of the Biblical story that began with God’s love for the world in the Garden of Eden that carries through the last chapter in John’s Revelation.

We live in a difficult time in the world today. There can be no doubt that there is more violence and bloodshed, hate and anger, than when many of us were young. The world is full of terrorism and hate amongst the peoples of the world. We saw it played out in Paris, Beirut, and Mali in recent days. We must also remember that there are thousands of people who are struggling in the places where hate originates. They are fleeing to bring better lives for their families and themselves. Is that any different from the story of the Exodus from Egypt by the people we call Israelites under Moses? For most of us, the stories of our ancestors who came to this country fleeing religious persecution, difficult times in their homes countries of Europe, Italy and the Middle East. Can we but take a moment and remember that if not for the generosity of this place we call America; all of us would have lived and died in places like Syria though the names would have been Scotland and Ireland, Germany and Italy among many. Are we not the country that has said to the world, “Give me your tired, your poor/ your huddled masses yearning to breathe free/The wretched refuse of your teeming shore/Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me/I lift my lamp beside the golden door!” So let us this season remember that we are all aliens in a strange land with the exception of our Native Americans. We all washed with the blood of a loving God who gave His blood for our eternal lives.

In Jesus we are victorious. Death is beaten and the promise of eternal life in a place where joy, peace and celebration abound is fulfilled. Jesus gave His life so that we might share in the Garden in our lives. Not just at some future point in time but right now. We have the opportunity to share in this promise by living our lives in the image of Jesus, an image of the creating God, the image of love in the world. Our victories come when people from all nations, ages, sexual preferences and life’s understandings can live in peace with one another. A world where differences allow our unique talents to better the world rather than divide it. Jesus promise is to all people. Should we act any differently? The victory of God is when we live our lives every day in love for one another. Come to the table all you who are weary and I will give you rest. Isaiah’s promise that we will all sit at the table of God is available to all of us right now in this place.

I dream of a world where the church called Sydenstricker is so focused on loving one another that the world desires to be a part of our family. Where everyone can find sanctuary and love in this place regardless. Where discipleship is the core foundation of who we are as we gather for worship, study and small groups where we lift each other up daily. Dr. Martin Luther King reminded us that we may not get there together but we can build the foundation on which this vision is built. Moses looked out from the mountain and saw all that God had promised. Joshua led them through the Jordan to the Promised Land. My friends, Jesus has won the victory on the cross. The Tomb is empty and the promise of eternal life is yours for the taking. The cost to you is living your life as a loving sacrifice to the world. The price is priceless.