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Thursday, August 9, 2012

Don't Go Away!

Below is the message from the WOW (Worship on Wednesday) service in Gettysburg August 8, 2012.  The scripture was Luke 18:1-8.


            Have you ever wanted something?  Well, that’s a dumb question, of course you have.  We all want things.  But have you ever wanted something really badly, and it seemed like no one else cared about it?  It’s not that they were actively opposing you or trying to keep you from getting it.  They just really could not have cared less about it.
           
It’s really frustrating to be in that situation.  In some ways, we’d rather have them be opposed to us.  At least then we might have a chance of convincing them to change their minds.  In this situation, though, it does not matter whether they think we’re right or wrong.  They might very well think we’re right.  They just don’t care.
           
That attitude of just not caring is one of the biggest things we need to fight as Christians.  We need to fight it in ourselves, and we need to fight it in others.  It’s one of the biggest impediments Christianity faces.  Yes, there are people who are actively opposed to Christianity, and we need to recognize that, but I think an even bigger danger comes from people who are not actively for or against Christianity.  They may even think that, in theory, Christianity is a good thing.  They just really don’t care about it one way or another, at least not enough to let it have any effect on their lives.
           
Here’s what I mean.  We all know people whom we would consider good people.  They’re people who, if you asked them, would probably say they believed in God.  They might even say they believe in Jesus.  But they rarely read the Bible, they rarely pray, and they rarely come to church.  They really don’t think about God very much as they go about their lives.
           
Again, it’s not that these people are bad people.  They’re people like you and me.  In fact, some of us have been those people.  They’re not actively opposed to Christ or the church or anything.
           
The thing is that they’re people who are comfortable with the way their lives are.  They don’t think they’re lives are perfect, but they think they’re okay.  They really don’t want to make any major changes in their lives.  And they know, deep down, that if they really committed their lives to Jesus Christ, their lives would change.
           
Again, most of us have been those people.  In fact, I’d guess most of us are those people now, to one degree or another.  I am.  I mean, yes, I’m a pastor, and yes, I’m trying to be a good one.  I believe in God and I’ve accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior.  But can I say my life is totally and completely committed to Jesus Christ?  Can I say everything I do is dedicated to serving God?  No.  Not honestly.  I don’t know that very many people can.
           
So, in Jesus’ story that we read tonight from Luke, that casts each one of us in the role of the unjust judge, right?  Jesus comes to us and asks us to do him justice.  Jesus comes to us and asks us to follow him.
           
And what do we do?  We go on about our business.  We don’t really pay much attention.  We don’t do anything about what Jesus wants.
           
The thing is, though, that Jesus never goes away.  Jesus does not accept our apathy.  Jesus keeps coming back to us.  He comes back to us at different times.  He comes back to us in different ways.  He comes back to us through different situations.  But he keeps coming back.  He never stops.  And at all those different times, in all those different ways, through all those different situations, Jesus keeps saying the same thing.  “Do me justice.  Follow me.”
           
What do we do?  We keep acting like the unjust judge.  We start getting annoyed.  We start getting frustrated.  We may even start getting angry.  We wish Jesus would just go away and leave us alone, but Jesus won’t do that.  No matter how many times we try to put him off, no matter how many times we tell him we’re not interested, no matter how many times we just flat out refuse, Jesus keeps coming back with that same message.  “Do me justice.  Follow me.”
           
Until.  Until, finally, our resistance is worn down.  Until, finally, we decide that Jesus is never going to go away.  We realize that we are not going to have any peace in our lives until we finally do what Jesus asks.
           
That’s kind of how I became a pastor.  When Wanda and I finally made the decision in 2006 that I’d go to seminary, that was not the first time Jesus had put that idea in our hearts.  It was not the first time we’d ever thought about it.  We’d discussed it before, but we kept saying no, we don’t want to do that.  We’re not interested.
           
But Jesus just would not go away.  He kept coming back with that same message.  Finally, we decided Jesus was not going to go away, and we’d better do what he was asking us to do.
           
And the thing is, we’ve never been happier.  Think about that.  Jesus asked us to do something we did not want to do.  We resisted it as long and as hard as we could.  Finally, we gave in.  When we did, Jesus gave us a life better than we’d ever had before.
           
Now, as I said before, that does not mean that I can honestly say everything I do is completely and totally dedicated to serving God.  It’s not.  I’m still working on it.  I will be until the day I die.  I still want to take that control back.  I still want to tell Jesus no.  And sometimes I do.  And Jesus still never goes away.  Jesus keeps coming back, wearing down my resistance until I finally say yes.
           
Jesus does not tell us what happens to the unjust judge after he finally gives in to the widow.  He may have just gone on with his life as if nothing happened.  And in fact, in his view, maybe nothing did happen, other than that he got rid of a nuisance.  I doubt it, though.  I’ll bet it changed his life somehow.  I’ll bet it made him look at things a little differently.  If nothing else, the next time someone came up to him and demanded justice, I’ll be he acted a little quicker than he had before.
           
Once we give in to Jesus, we cannot go on with our lives as if nothing has happened.  Our lives will change.  We will change, in ways that we don’t expect and cannot anticipate.
           
Again, that’s why we resist.  We don’t want to change.  We’re happy the way we are.  But Jesus is not asking us to change because he wants to make us unhappy.  Jesus asks us to change because Jesus knows how much happier than we can be.  Jesus asks us to change because Jesus can give us a peace and a joy we’ve never known before.  Jesus asks us to change because Jesus knows that we don’t really know what happiness is until we follow him.
           
There is a change that Jesus wants each of us to make in our lives right now.  I cannot tell you what it is for you.  I don’t even know what it is for me.  But I know there’s something.  Unless one of us here is perfect, there’s something Jesus wants us to change.  There’s some way in which we need to more fully dedicate our lives to Jesus.
           
Jesus is working in each of our lives right now.  We can resist.  We can fight.  But Jesus is not going away.  Jesus never gives up on any of us.  He keeps coming back with that same message, “Do me justice.  Follow me.”
           
Jesus asks us to follow.  But Jesus is not just asking us.  He’s asking others, too.  Jesus is asking people you and I know to come and follow.  And Jesus wants us to encourage those people.  He wants us to bring them with us, so that we’ll all follow Jesus together.
           
And Jesus does not want us to just go to those people once and then go away.  Jesus is not going away.  Jesus does not want us to go away, either.  Jesus wants us to keep asking, too.  Not in a mean way, not in an annoying way that will turn people off.  But in a persistent way.  In an encouraging way.  In a loving way.  We’re never supposed to give up, and we’re never supposed to go away, just like Jesus never gives up and never goes away.  We’re supposed to keep after people with that message, “Come along with me.  Follow Jesus.”
           
It’s not easy.  It’s not easy for us to follow.  It’s not easy for us to ask others to follow.  It’s not easy for others to follow, either.  But when we finally stop fighting, stop resisting, and go where Jesus wants us to go, we’ll find more happiness and joy than we’ve ever felt in our lives.  Then, the question at the end of our scripture will be answered.  The Son of Man will find faith on earth.

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