Monday, September 23, 2019

September 22, 2019 Solid Truths Luke 12:1-12


Several years ago this story made the rounds.  George W. Bush, Vladimir Putin, and Bill Gates were called in by God. God informed them that he was very unhappy about what was going on in this world. Since things were so bad, he told the three that he was destroying the Earth in three days.  They were all allowed to return to their homes and businesses, and tell their friends and colleagues what was happening. God did tell them though, that no matter what they did he was not changing his mind. So…
Bush went in and told his staff, "I have good news and bad news for you. First the good news . . . there is a God. The bad news is that he is destroying the Earth in 3 days."
Putin went back and told his staff, "I have bad news and more bad news. The first was . . . there is a God. The second was that he is destroying the Earth in 3 days.
Bill Gates went back and told his staff, "I have good news and good news. First . . . God thinks I am one of the three most important people in the world.  Second . . . you don't have to fix the bugs in Windows Vista." (From: https://www.arcamax.com/entertainment/humor/jokes/s-318954)
People rarely think about “judgement day” apart from jokes.  And I suppose that’s what most people think of it, as a joke.  But it is not.  Life’s actions have consequences.  God will hold us accountable for them.  And scripture tells us clearly that God is quite capable of punishment.
The verses we had in our gospel for today talk about God’s judgment – being thrown into hell.  Or more literally, cast into Gehenna.  That is the Valley of Hinnom, just south of Jerusalem.  It had been the site of pagan sacrifices, the burning of children, and later a garbage heap of the city where fires burned continually.  Not a nice place!  Jesus uses it as an image to show the full extent and power of God’s judgment.
It is very interesting and important to note the contrasts that Jesus makes as he teaches about this.  He is talking about judgment and accountability and hell; but he weaves into it some of the warmest and strongest statements of God’s love.
Let’s look at the verses more carefully to see.
It starts off with Jesus giving the crowds, which have grown to be huge, a warning against the yeast of the Pharisees.  This is a continuation of the themes and verses we read last week.  Jesus told some Pharisees that they looked all good and righteous on the outside but were actually full of hidden sins.  If you were here last week you’ll remember that we used a video about the path of electronic devices and how so much of the dirtiness of our consumptive lives are hidden from us.  This leaves us to feel an artificial sense of goodness and righteousness.  The truth is very guilt inspiring!
The Pharisees were probably the dominant image of righteousness in Jewish areas of that time.  While they no longer exist, there are models of righteousness in our society too.  And there are some parallels.  We no longer live in a Christian culture, although it is common to see Christians portrayed as righteous hypocrites in movies and the news.  Unfortunately some of it is deserved.  But we are not the dominant force for righteous anymore.  We’ve talked about this before.  The religion of our society is secular humanism.  Secular humanism is defined as the philosophy of life that embraces human reason, secular ethics, and philosophical naturalism while rejecting religious dogma and the supernatural as the basis of morality and decision making.  Secular humanists think they’ve come upon something new.  They think they’ve mentally evolved from religion, which seems old and out of touch.  We however, laugh at this mistake.  For the 3000 year old Adam and Eve story is really a conflict secular humanism and God.  Perhaps secular humanists do make some valid critiques about religion.  But what they are dead wrong about is that it’s nothing new!
In a fashion similar to the Pharisees, secular humanism will teach you a path to fulfillment, or righteousness, that is false.  While the Pharisees taught strict adherence to the law, secular humanism teaches that the human brain is its own god and can be counted on to make decisions that are good and honorable and just.  Fools!  At best the human mind is too limited.  At worst it is corrupt. 
The yeast of our society today tells you that you do not need faith connections, faith priorities, or faith disciplines to find happiness.  It says that happiness comes doing what you like, whatever you like and feels good, as long as no one gets hurt.  Happiness comes from being accepted by the people around you.  Don’t burden yourself with God for that is foolishness and ignorance.  It all sounds attractive until you consider how many people are using drugs and alcohol, and often overindulge.  People have no purpose in their lives and no meaning.  Overall measures of happiness are plummeting as secular humanism’s grip tightens.
Jesus says that all lies will be revealed.  But you, brothers and sisters in Christ, know the truth.  However the truth is not popular.  Now we do not face the persecution the early followers of Jesus faced.  Christianity is not a crime, at least not in this nation.  But there are consequences.  Subtle perhaps, but consequences.  Which will cause you more fear – talking about your faith to a stranger or talking to a stranger about how the Buffalo Bills are doing?  And while the Bills may appear to be importance, I wouldn’t stake my salvation on them winning the Super Bowl! 
The truth of God, faith in Christ, and life dependent upon the Holy Spirit is not popular, and it can feel embarrassing to us.  Jesus says though, do not fear.  While we do not fear death for our faith, there is pressure against it.  Perhaps we shouldn’t stand on the street corner and hand out pamphlets, but in our work and in our recreation we should have no fear letting it be known that our actions and decisions are made with loyalty to Christ in mind.
That can seem hard.  God can feel so far away.  And God may not seem to care, especially when we’re trying to do everything right but we’re still hurting and suffering.  It can be so easy to buy the secular humanist ideology, which is why it’s so powerful.  But Jesus reminds us that God knows each and every sparrow.  If God knows each and every sparrow, which were so cheap to acquire, then God surely knows us; us who are worth far more than sparrows.
Jesus tells us that the very hairs on our heads are numbered.  As an aging man I know that’s a moving target.  Sometimes I wonder if there’s are chalk boards in heaven with everybody’s hair count recorded.  And then there’s an angel near my name regularly crossing out the number and putting in a lower one!
It is awesome to realize how deeply God knows us.  That can also be a bit scary, but when you think that there are any number of times in life when your feelings are so complex that you don’t know what to feel, God knows clearly.  When a situation looks so complex that you don’t know what to do, God knows what to do and will offer guidance. 
Verse 10 of our gospel reading has had interpreters scratching their heads for centuries.  “And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.”
What?!?
This is the well-known “unforgivable sin” that we find in Mark and Matthew as well.  But in Luke Jesus adds forgiveness for denying Jesus.  What does Jesus mean?  Biblical scholars do go all over the place with it, but saving a lot of logical hoops, let’s jump to what most of them conclude.  Jesus means that those standing there hearing his words, and those who try to be faithful but fail under persecution and deny him (think Peter denying him three times) can be restored.  There is forgiveness and reconciliation for failures.
            But blaspheming against the Holy Spirit, that’s a different story.  The Christ in Our Home daily devotional book that we put out for people to take had an interesting piece in it last Friday about this.  It says, “Will all people be saved?  Will all people enjoy the blessings of the reign of God?  Actually these are two very different questions.
“Paul says God, “desires everyone to be saved.”  That seems to settle it, especially if we follow the logic that even God can’t make a stone so big that God can’t lift it.  Whatever God wants, God gets.  Case closed.
“But will everyone enjoy being saved?  Aye, there’s the rub.  God saves all sinners, but apparently not all sinners enjoy being saved all the time.  We can stubbornly insist that we don’t take handouts, that we need to earn whatever we get.  Honestly, don’t we all struggle with that it means to get something for nothing?
“Ultimately, we trust that God will decide everyone’s fate justly.  Whether some can remain eternally resistant to the blessings God offers is up to God.  Our job is to admit that have wasted precious time thinking that some don’t deserve grace and others (maybe us?) don’t need it.”  (Christ in Our Home, July, August, September 2019, Pg. 85)
Blaspheming against the Holy Spirit is not a mistake that is made.  It is an attitude of outright ongoing rejection of God’s love. 
The final verse of our gospel tells us that the Holy Spirit will teach us what needs to be said and done when it needs to be said and done.  Now don’t think this is going to be eloquent wisdom that’s going to get you out of trouble for your faith.  It is the direction that through you God’s will is going to be accomplished.  That may, or may not, lead you to an easy life.
God is judge.  God is merciful.  God does not desire condemnation for all.  But God will not have his generosity mocked.  And for those who outright reject him, God will give that freedom.  Ultimately when and how it all happens is God’s business, not ours.  But we live in trust knowing that God knows us so completely that even the hairs on our heads are numbered.

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