SCRIPTURE: 1 Peter 2:19-25
TEXT: 21For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in his steps. THEME: Take Jesus’ example and copy the good things in our lives. INTRODUCTION I was struck by one of the commentators on this passage from Luther Seminary’s Sermon Brainwave. He quoted systems scientist, Peter Sen-ge saying “…people are more attracted to Buddhism because it presents itself as a way of life, while Christianity presents itself as a system of beliefs.” Boy did my Zoom Bible study on Monday night jump on that. They disagreed with this lecturer at MIT with quoted from the Psalms and Proverbs, then Hebrews, and the Gospel not to mention the prophet Isaiah, This made me think about something I read from Marcus Borg, New Testament theologian, he says, “But Christianity is not about “right beliefs.” It is about a change of heart. It is about the transformation of ourselves at that deep level that shapes our vision (how we see), our commitment (our loyalty, allegiance), and our values (how we live).” The working title of this sermon began as, “A Way of Life” then “The Way of Life” and in the bulletin I listed “Living for Jesus” but after I came up with the Keiki Special message, I changed it simply to, “Copy Jesus” SCRIPTURE The passage for today from 1 Peter chapter 2 is divided into two main parts: first about what life is like as a follower of Jesus, and the second about what we believe. Living by following Jesus is characterized by enduring pain while suffering unjustly, enduring when beaten for doing right, having God’s approval for continuing to live in relationship with God in all circumstances. Being called by Christ to live forgiven lives, through grace and love, giving up our wanting to retaliate pain for pain, for a trust in God and forgiveness. Boy, Christianity is a hard sell. “Come one and Come all, live in a way that follows God, and puts on our best behavior that will lead to our suffering and test our endurance as we participate in God’s work of loving the world!” Was that in the brochure you got when we came to Christ? The second part of this passage is on what we believe, because our behavior changes when we have a change of perspective, a renewed mind, when we see and understand God and the world, from a new insight or revelation. When we get a view of the world through God’s love for us through Jesus’ life. Jesus’ love that bore our sins, by loving us so much that when his enemies came to kill him, because of what he said about God’s love and forgiveness, and about our acceptance before God, he did not run away. Jesus’ blood marks the cross of his death, as a sign for the spirit of death to Passover our lives with resurrection. Forgiveness frees us from sin. There is no one greater than God. God does not answer to a larger cosmic power. God makes the rules, so if God wants to forgive us for loves’ sake, for compassion’s sake, for grace’s sake, then God can do that and does not need a sacrifice to do so. Our God is not so small that there is some cosmic balance that needs to be kept. Righteousness is our right relationship with God that forgiveness enables. Our renewed relationship with God is that of being a child in the household of God. Christ’s wounds are the marks of Christ’s love for us, that heals us. As a shepherd cares, leads, watches, protects, seeks out, brings the lost into the fold, heals, and sustains life, so does Jesus shepherd our souls in loving care. APPLICATION Being a Christian is more than just what we believe but in how the truth of God shapes and forms the way we live. How does Jesus’ way of living become more a part of our ‘way of life’? Oh my, it is by living, how Jesus has lived for us. If suffering for being a Christian isn’t enough, for doing right in a culture where the ‘means justifies the ends’, added to that is to live a life that is gracious, loving, forgiving, free, imaginative, relational, has good manners, trusts in God and is filled with appreciative gratitude. Remember when the Christian catch phrase was, “What would Jesus do?” Basically, all it meant was to “Copy Jesus”, copy forgiveness, copy love, copy generosity, copy healing, copy reaching out, copy living for God, copy endurance, copy living in a way to help others, copy trusting in God and copy God’s ways. It is so easy to be influenced by others, it is harder for us to be influential. We need to set the good example for others to follow even when we don’t stand out. We need to endure when no one else wants to do thing that way. We need to love those who others ignore. We need to have faith, trusting in God when all hope seems lost. I’ve told this story, that I heard on an On Being with Krista Tippet podcast before, of collegiate students Matthew Stevenson and Derek Black. Matthew was one of the only orthodox Jews on his campus and Dereck came from an influential family in the Ku Klux Klan. As Derek’s identity as a motivational speaker for the Klan was revealed on campus, Matthew invited him to his weekly Shabbat dinners as a way for Derek to get to know those whom he was raised to hate. This was something Matthew thought he could do instead of the fearful anger that was rising against Derek on campus. This invitation to a dinner, remembering the God of Creation, to rejuvenate through rest, and to be in relationship with others. This cultural habit allowed them to get to know each other for who they were. Derek began to question the presuppositions and ideologies he was brought up with. Both the public outrage against the Klan’s racism and this friendship beyond labels renewed Derek’s thinking and transformed his life as he left the Klan. The Gospel truths gives us the capacity to question what we have been taught, To Question the prejudices we have inherited, to challenge the fears that we harbor, and compare these with a life that copies Jesus. Living by truth is not easy. Not everyone will treat us well because of the truth we live. We need to be discerning at all time so that our lives can be a copy of Jesus’. CONCLUSION As we read the Gospel account of Jesus’ life, how effortlessly he lived his relationship with God, it is a way of life we are to copy. There are examples of what to do with temptations, doubt, trials and hunger. Through his example we get a sense of the ‘give and take’ flow of a relationship that is being lived out with God and not the ‘tit for tat’ balance of the scales of justice. Moving away from an obedience to the Law, Jesus lives in fulfillment of the dream of God, showing us an ease in living relationally with God. There is joy even when love leads to suffering. Love will lead us to make some serious decisions on how we chose to live. Love’s way is not always easy, but love’s way brings blessing to others and relationships that are transformational. Our way of life is to live in constant relationship with God. At times it is a wrestle, at times a dance, a stroll, and a race, in each instance we can copy Jesus. Christianity is a ‘A way of life’. If we meditate on our favorite passages, its meaning could be reworded into proverbs that guides as a way of life: Be still and know that I am God of Ps 46:10 could be reworded as, “Trusting in the stillness of the universe brings harmony living.”, Forgive as God has forgiven us from Eph 4:32 can be restated as, “The way of kind compassion releases hurt, as grace does from heaven.”, Love God and Love our neighbor of Lk 10:27 is a wise saying, “Harmony with the source of the universe, expresses love in acts of compassion.” and my favorite about seeking first the Kingdom of God from Mat 6:33, “Primo Cosmic Harmony, provides all we need for communities of forgiveness and acceptance.” Let’s turn the truths about God, from things we believe, into ways of life, as we Copy Jesus.
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April 2024
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