Sermons
"Tilt-A-Whirl"Pastor Ken Hilston |
Abundance is one of the key words in today's gospel: "I have come that they may have new life, and have it abundantly!" We like the word, "abundant." It smacks of having more than we could want or expect or deserve, and in many ways in the faith, that is true. We call that GRACE!
From the familiar 23rd Psalm today, we hear that our cup of grace runneth over! It spills because it is so full. There is no room for more. As much as possible is in the cup. Our Lord provides for us more than we need, to make sure that we have had enough. And for our good shepherd, if some does spill and is wasted, so what, since it is more important that we have all that we need from our Lord. Unfortunately, abundance in other areas, outside the faith, is not necessarily helpful, as tantalizing as it seems.
On the surface, abundance sounds nothing but great. If a small amount of something is good, more is better and greater. And, the more you have, the happier you become. Right? However, a few weeks ago when I went back to Ohio to visit my hometown, I had the 2 memories that reminded me, "all abundance, is not all that it is cracked up to be." Both took place on the Fairport Beach.
It is a simple beach, except for a few days when the boat races (that Brad and Devon Ness took part in) and around the 4th of July, when the big event in town, the Fairport Mardi Gras carnival and fair, arrives. It took me a long time to figure out why New Orleans had theirs before Ash Wednesday. We however always had it connected with patriotism. Of course in Ohio, a Mardi Gras carnival in winter, on a frozen beach, would be a stretch.
Growing up, our mother was the nurse for the Mardi Gras. She helped all the carnival people and guests who needed medical attention. Since this was a fund raiser for the fire department, all jobs were donated jobs.
Once as a little kid one of the carnival people who ran the Tilt-A-Whirl thought he would do my brother and I a big favor because of our mother. It was late at night, and we were the only ones on the ride, and he thought the longer the ride, the better. Since it was late at night, and we had been eating junk all day, after about 15 minutes, the ride was no longer fun! Actually we were both sicker than dogs, BUT the man thought, the longer the ride, the better. We screamed, and he thought we were joking. More is less! He just let it run forever!
Several years later, after the Hilston and Sons Construction Company that I was a part of, built the beach front concession stand, I was allowed to work there. Pay was less than minimal, BUT we were allowed to eat as much of the soft serve ice cream we wanted, for free. That was supposedly to make up for little pay. A kid in a candy store! After about a week, again, more is less. I don't think I've ever had more than two more cones since. Enough is enough. Soft serve ice cream is not like onions, but there is no desire to have any more. I've had my lifetime quota.
Not everything in abundance is good, desired, or helpful. Obviously, a longer sermon is not always better, and neither is adding extra laundry detergent to the washer better. The right amount is good, more makes a mess, and the clothes are not cleaner, believe it or not, and the proof is, there is nothing to clean up on the floor afterwards, if you do it right!
There is something tantalizing and enticing about grand size and grand amounts of things, like at an all-you-can-eat restaurant. We used to have that bumper sticker, "he who dies with the MOST toys (in their fanny pack) winds." The question to that bumper sticker is, "wins what?" A lot of nothing, is still nothing.
In John's gospel, we are reminded that if Jesus is the Good Shepherd, we are the sheep. And for this section, Jesus is the gate of the sheepfold. He is the door where you can easily enter or leave. At that time, it probably was a stoned off area, with stone walls topped with briars. Entering or leaving other than by the gate would not only be foolish, but probably impossible. But then, we as human beings, sinful humans, have been known to try and attempt many things, the hard way.
Entering a house, not through the door or natural opening, is the hard way. Living life with the most junk, an abundance of nothing, is the hard way. We strive for an abundant life, but an abundance of what?
We see exhibited in our Lord's life among us what an abundant life looks like. We see from this chapter of John how our Lord as shepherd gives, rather than grasps. He is the one who lays down his life for the sheep. This analogy has been with the faith community for centuries.
Earlier the prophet Ezekiel criticized the kings, who were supposed to be the shepherds of Israel, caring for the sheep. The king/shepherd was to care for the sheep, instead of shearing them and roasting them. The king was to lead them to the best grazing lands possible, where they could have an abundant supply of all that they needed. The shepherd was there to serve and lead them to an abundant life, where they could live together, enjoying life, grazing on the most luxurious pasture lands.
John's gospel begins with the contrast of living outside of the shepherd: our Lord came to bring light into the darkness of life, living life on our own. Stumbling in the dark, entering and leaving other than through the gate is living life the opposite of an abundant life, living the hard way.
Then John's marvelous prologue closes with those astonishing words describing our Lord's purpose in life for us: (John 1:14) "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father." His life in our midst was FULL, abundantly full of grace and truth and glory, not just anything!
Later on the cross, He examples that overflowing abundant gift of life, where His side is opened up by a spear and His blood flows freely. The flowing of His lifeblood for us, coming from His wounded side, is what gives us life. Partaking and participating in His life, is what gives us life. Sharing in His overflowing love and selfless giving, is what describes life for us.
Trying to find out the source of life any other way, John says, is like at Cana in Galilee's wedding feast, being satisfied with, drinking from the water jars used for cleaning hands, instead of the new wine. Our Lord provided for the celebrating wedding guests, new wine, supplied in abundance, even 180 gallons provided, after they had already freely imbibed. It is an overflowing life that comes from our Lord, not just anyplace!
There is a closeness of relationship described in the gospel today. He is the one who gives access, the gate to this new life. They, the sheep, know Him as well as He knows the sheep. He knows their names, and they recognize His voice, and therefore follow the One they have grown to trust. We all know that warm feeling when we hear the voice of one we have grown to trust. There is that relaxing feeling, knowing instantly and automatically, it is ok!
We don't even need to hear the words or explanation, just the sound of the voice connects us with the person, and that is all that we need. We immediately connect with the person, the past times when things went well with that person. Our mind is like a good computer, takes in the first sounds, and connects those sounds with all the past good events, and says, this is the voice of one who can be trusted. After the trust has been established, we will follow, will allow ourselves to be led, by the one we have trusted in the past.
Then there is the contrast of finding life outside of our Lord. The opposite of the One you can trust, are the ones who sneak into our lives and not only don't know us and our needs, but come to do harm and take advantage of us. The ones who promise much, do so only so they can have access to our lives, to fleece us. They promise a lot only so they can take more. They promise more things, but they cannot promise LIFE!
They sneak into our lives and tell us all the things that we want to hear. They are like nasty peers, or poor politicians that pander to our needs, promising only what we want to hear, so they can deceive us into trusting them. Later after the trust is gained, comes the fleecing and the abandonment. In some ways, we get what we deserve, when we follow only those who are self serving and promise us anything to enter our lives, as the old saying goes, "you got to expect to get fleas if you associate with rats."
So it is not that those who sneak in, do not offer enough to supply life to us, they cannot supply life no matter how much they give. If you go back to the source of dirty water to get more, you still get dirty water. The dirty source has no capability to provide anything new or life-giving.
And maybe most importantly, abundant life comes not from grasping, but from giving. Life, in John's gospel, abundant life, as exampled from our Lord is one of patiently abiding in the Father's will. The shepherd so cares about others, the flock, He lays down His life for the sheep, our Lord, the way, the truth and the LIFE! His life is life, and the light of humankind.
Strangely enough, it doesn't take the faith to see "glimpses" of that self-giving truth. Some social scientists (Globe 3/21/08) wanted to find out what makes people happier, and what doesn't. Their surprising find: how one spend money is a better indication of increasing happiness, not how much money we have (other than the very poor on the margin of existence).
A small company in Boston gave out bonuses ranging up to $5,000, figuring that the bonus would make them happy. The social scientists asked them about their happiness before and after the bonus, though the employees did not know the bonus was connected to the questions. There was no connection between happiness and a higher bonus. The only connection was how one spent the money. Those who gave money to others became happier as a result of the bonus. Those who spent on themselves, even just paying bills, did not! The actual money had no influence on happiness, only how they used it.
In another experiment, some students were given $5, others $20. They all guessed, those given the $20 would be happier than those receiving $5. Those who gave up their $5 to charity were happier than those who simply received $20 and kept it for themselves.
Even here, less for ourselves is more, and more for self is less. More things, gives us less life!
The bottom line in life is, there is abundant life in our Lord, and there is abundant junk. Our Lord offers us abundant life, not to horde, as individuals or the church, but to share and offer it to others. And not only do we help others, but receive joy ourselves, but NOT necessarily more things!
I have come to give you life, so that you may have it abundantly! However, just more time on the Tilt-a-whirl only makes you sick!
AMEN