No other god Before God

March 11, 2012 No other god before God Exodus 20:1-17 John 2:13-22 Year B Third Sunday of Lent God’s Grace God’s grace is God’s way of telling us that God loves us unconditionally. God’s grace is God’s way of telling us that our lives are of value, that our souls are of value, and that God desires the best possible life for all of us. God’s grace is the most important thing in life, sometimes it has to go out ahead of us, and pave the way for us to have what we need. God’s Grace goes before us Several years ago, psychiatrist Scott Peck wrote a national bestseller called The Road Less Traveled. It was filled with what he had learned about life from his work with people with all sorts of mental ailments. One thing he observed was a tendency toward mental wellness even among patients who had reasons to seek psychiatric help. Some of these people had survived serious emotional traumas much better than the circumstances seemed to warrant, and Peck came to think of a force of goodness in the world. He eventually identified this force using the word “serendipity,” which the dictionary defines as “the gift of finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for.” As a Christian, Peck also realized that the word “grace” fit that definition too. So in the book, he wrote extensively about this force, using both words. Associating grace with serendipity was one of his original contributions to the subject of grace. Several years later, Peck was on a flight to Minneapolis. He usually took advantage of flying time to do some writing, so when a man took the seat next to him, Peck gave the usual nonverbal signals one gives when one doesn’t want to engage in conversation. The man soon buried himself in a novel, and they flew side by side in silence for most of the flight. Finally, the man looked up from his novel and said, “I hate to bother you, but you don’t happen, by any chance, to know the meaning of the word ‘serendipity,’ do you?” Peck responded that as far as he knew, he was the only person who had written a substantial portion of a book on the subject, and that it was perhaps serendipity that at the precise moment the man wanted to know the meaning of the word, he happened to be sitting next to an authority on the subject. This, of course, led to further conversation, and Peck explained that his book was a kind of integration of psychology and religion. The man said, “Well, I don’t know about religion anymore,” and went on to tell Peck about some doubts that had him thinking he needed to leave the church. In response Peck explained how questioning helped individuals move from the hand-me-down religion of childhood to a mature, personal one. When the two landed in Minneapolis, the man said, “I don’t have the foggiest idea what all of this means, but maybe I don’t have to leave the church after all.” (M. Scott Peck, The Road Less Traveled and Beyond [New York: Touchstone, 1997], 260-261). That was God’s prevenient grace, running ahead of the man, putting him into a conversation with someone who could help him when he needed it on his spiritual road. You see, prevenient grace is just as amazing as saving grace. It runs ahead of us, preparing the way for us to respond to God. We just couldn’t do that without him. God’s grace on the cross During our Lenten journey, we have been looking at the grace of the cross. How did Jesus turn a symbol of pain and shame into a symbol of grace, of God’s love for us. If we were headed into a life of sin, how and why did God send Jesus to take out place. God took our place There is a story about a man who visited a church. He parked his car and started toward the front entrance. Another car pulled up nearby, and the irritated driver said to him, "I always park there. You took my place!" The visitor went inside and found that Sunday School was about to begin. He found an adult class, went inside, and sat down. A class member approached him and said, "That's my seat! You took my place!" The visitor was somewhat distressed by this rude welcome, but said nothing. After Sunday School, the visitor went into the sanctuary and sat down in an empty pew. Within moments another member walked up to him and said, "That's where I always sit. You took my place!" The visitor was troubled, but said nothing. Later, as the congregation was praying for Christ to be present with them, the visitor stood, and his appearance began to change. Scars became v isible on his hands and on his sandaled feet. Someone from the congregation noticed him and cried out, "What happened to you?" The visitor replied, "I took your place." Some things that happen in church are silly. Some things are down right scandalous. Some things may even be sacrilegious. But the Church is still the body of Christ and it was for the Church that Christ died. Jesus took our place, so that we could have a better life. The greatest gift that God gave us and will never take away from us is our free will, our freedom to experience life. Exodus 20 If you look at the beginning of Exodus 20 – before it tells you the 10 commandments, it says that these are the words of God for us. Once again, you will notice that God introduces Godself. Who is that God speaking to us – I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. Out of the house of slavery. In other words I have set you free. Grace is freedom Freedom is a wonderful thing, the problem is that we don’t always know what to do with it. We have no idea of how to use it in our best interest. The 10 commandments are guidelines in how to use our freedom in a way that benefits us, not hurts us. Why freedom hurts us A preacher was depressed that he lost his bike….. In a small town there were two preachers, one Methodist and one Baptist. They both liked to ride bicycles around town, and they would greet each other when they met on their way somewhere. Well, so one day when they met, the Baptist preacher was on foot. Methodist preacher asked him, "What happened to your bicycle?" Baptist preacher said, "I don't know. I put it somewhere, and can't remember where. I hope somebody didn't steal it." So the Methodist preacher said, "I know what we can do to get your bicycle back. This Sunday we'll both preach on the Ten Commandments. When we get to 'Thou shalt not steal,' we'll dwell on it long and hard. I'll bet that'll get your bicycle returned." So they proceeded to do this, and one day the next week they met up again, and the Baptist preacher had his bicycle back. "Hello, friend," said the Methodist preacher. "I see one of our sermons did some good." The Baptist fellow hung his head and said, "Yeah, but not how you'd think. I preached on the Ten Commandments, just like we said, and when I got to 'Covet not thy neighbor's wife,' I remembered where I'd left my bicycle!" I don’t want to get into what the 10 commandments are, and the meaning of each commandment means, we all know right from wrong. Our relationship with God and our relationship with others But I do want to remind us that the 10 commandments remind us of our relationships. Our sacred relationships first of all with God. And then with our family and our community. The first 4 commandments talk about our relationship with God, and the last 6 talk about our relationship with one another. All of them ask us how is our relationship with freedom. How do we use freedom? For ourselves, or for the good of all. Always remembering that there is no benefit of freedom for ourselves, without our connections with others. Not a mirror, but the word of God I went to visit the students of Urban Prep this week. And right in the front of the classroom, there was full length mirror as the students come in the door. There was a sign on top of it which said look at the man in the mirror. The thing is, God is asking not that we look at the mirror at ourselves, but to look at God’s word. Not to adjust ourselves according to what we see in ourselves, but to adjust ourselves according to the word of God. 10 questions that 10 commandments ask us There is a tradition- instead of calling the laws of God the ten commandments, they are the 10 words. 10 words to order all of our life and all of our relationships according to. the Ten Commandments ask us ten questions, "Do you honor anything or anyone above the one true God? Has God been replaced by something physical or material in your life? Have you dishonored God’s name by using it in a frivolous manner? Is your work more important than your relationship with God? Do you honor your father and mother? Do you value human life? Have you kept your marriage vows? Do you respect other’s rights of ownership? Do you tell the truth? Are you content with what you have or do you covet the possessions, relationships and successes of others?" To God, our answers to those specific questions about behavior and morality demonstrate our willingness to follow Jesus to the cross. Jesus simplified 10 to 2 commandments Jesus simplified the 10 words to two - Mark 12, Matthew 22, and Luke 10 – Jesus says the first commandment is to love the lord our God with all of our mind, our heart, our soul. And he second commandment is to love your neighbor as you love yourself. That all goes back to the fact that the first 4 commandments tell us how to have a right relationship with God and the last tell us how to have a right relationship with each other. How to be in right relationship with our freedom. We are in the third week of lent – our journey to the cross, our time to get in touch with our sinful nature and the control that it can have on our lives. But also our chance to truly experience the grace of God’s love for us. To come out of slavery, and to look at freedom in a way that we never imagined, never saw before. If God sets us free- then there is nothing that can hold us down, no situation. The interesting thing about the 10 commandments – it that there is not situation attached to them. There are no circumstances . how many times in our lives do we- put circumstances on our freedom. I can be free, as long as others are treating me right, as long as things are going me way, as long as I am happy. God gives us freedom in every situation, in every relationship. Why follow Jesus to the cross Why follow Jesus to the cross – because God knows what you need better than you do. God has given it to you, before you even knew what it means. If you are willing to go the cross, whatever it is, it will all make sense with the coming of the resurrection. Jesus promises us that. Iive your life, not in the confines of the situation, but in the freedom of your relationship with God and with one another. The God gene Time magazine reported that there is a gene inside of each of us that seeks a relationship with God. Something that causes us to look to God for the ultimate answers of our lives. Remember these 10 words to have the best relationship with God Remember these 10 words Recognize that God comes first in all things Put nothing in God’s place in your life Honor the name of God Worship God faithfully Honor one another Protect the truth Having an attitude, a selfish attitude can be destructive to yourself and to others. If you obey God’s rules – you will truly understand what it means to be free. If you follow Jesus to the cross you will understand what it means to be saved. Let us pray…