Preached by the Right Reverend Grant Lynn Ford at the Sunshine Cathedral on Sunday, March 19, 2006.
The grace of our Master Teacher — the love of God in the unity of Spirit — be with you all.
God of All Creation, since the beginning of time you have demonstrated the importance of being in relationship with each of us. You gave us the Ten Commandments as a part of your covenant with us. These were guidelines to help us live the good life as we share our lives with you.
Yet, we feel the need to control our own lives and leave you out. Lord have mercy.
We are not respectful of the life you have given us. Christ have mercy.
Our idea of success is to control and manipulate so we can have what we want. Lord have mercy.
God of Grace, forgive us for not honoring our relationship with you by being all you created us to be. Help us to enjoy what we have and to not create barriers that do not show our respect and love for you. We ask this in the example of Jesus, your Beloved, and in whose name we pray. Amen.
Exodus 20:2-17 (abridged)
2a“I am the Sovereign One; 3So don’t try to supplant me with your ‘invented gods’. 4Don’t revere something you form with your own hands, or even something I’ve created, whether in heaven or on earth. 5I hold myself in high esteem; when you hold the Divine in low esteem or devalue me completely, the effects will be felt for generations to come. 6But when you hold my Divine Principles in high esteem— indeed, when you love me—that love will influence many generations to come.”
7“Respect my Holy Name. Being disrespectful of the Divine only brings on unneeded guilt and unwanted consequences.”
8“Respect the Day of Rest; make it a holy day. 9Six days is enough work in one week. 10Give the seventh day to God, and encourage your family and anyone else for whom you’re responsible to do the same: your employees, your livestock, and even the stranger who enters your life. 11After all, God created the entire cosmos in six days, and then ceased from all activity on the seventh, blessing it and making it holy.”
12“Respect your parents; it’s the key to longevity in the land God has given you.”
13“Respect life; don’t destroy it.”
14“Respect relationships; don’t violate them”
15“Respect the possessions of others; don’t steal them.”
16“Respect the reputation of others; don’t injure them.”
17“Respect your neighbor’s possessions, livestock and servants; don’t covet them”
John 2:13-16
13It was almost time for Passover, so Jesus went to Jerusalem. 14He found the temple courts crowded with people engaged in commerce, selling animals and birds for sacrifices and exchanging Roman coins for Jewish coins. 15He was appalled by it all, so he grabbed some rope and — using it like a whip — began to drive the cattle and their sellers out of the courtyards. The moneychangers knocked over their tables — coins flying everywhere — as they fled to avoid the stampede. 16At the same time he was yelling at the top of his voice: “Get those birds out of here! How dare you turn this place — the house of my Heavenly Parent — into a marketplace!”
Unbelievable! The Joel Miller Commentary on WorldNetDaily.com about a doll craze that thankfully didn’t take off. It seems that for only $29,95 plus $7.00 shipping and handling you could buy your own “collectable, soft and cuddly, hypoallergenic” doll called Huggy Jesus.
I’m surprised that several of us missed this opportunity offered in 2002. Instead of filling our closets with Beanie Babies we could possibly have started a collection which included Petulant Peter, Adorable Andrew, Naughty Nathanael, and Jealous Judas. How about Marriageable Mary, a Mary Magdalene doll complete with wedding gown and make-up kit? This way Huggy Jesus could finally get married and make all the DaVinci Code fans happy. Though I’m not too sure about that make-up kit. Could start another trend.
A stuffed, cuddly Jesus. As the ad says, “All can enjoy the warmth and comfort of Huggy Jesus.” And what if Jane or Johnny gets Jesus dirty? No sweat, just toss “machine washable” Huggy Jesus in the laundry and a spotless savior will rise again. Moms can really impart Gospel lessons to kids by having Christ emerge from the dryer on the third day.
In his article Joel Miller asks: “But what about the real Jesus? He’s a little sweet and sappy, tender and touching, cute and cuddly, too, right?” He goes on to say, “The correct answer: No. The Scriptures give us an entirely different picture of Christ. In the Gospel account, we see Christ running through the temple yard with a whip chasing out the money changers. Would Huggy Jesus do that? Remember Christ’s showdowns with the Pharisees, calling them a brood of vipers and sons of Satan? I can’t really see Huggy Jesus raising his voice or calling names.”
In his classic, Your God is Too Small, J.B. Phillips warns about such a sugary conception of Christ. Refuting the “nice,” he questions why we think of Jesus as meek and mild. Jesus was nice. He was gentle. But he was also assertive, commanding, powerful, even violent at times. We fail Jesus if we portray him as anything less than a passionate person who was willing to stand up for what he believed, even if it meant dying for it. In Phillips’ words, when we put him on a pedestal, we make him “small”.
Just across town this weekend there was a conference to reclaim America for Christ. And what makes these people think that Christ wants to be identified with a nation that spreads democracy at the end of a missile? In God We Trust? On our money, of all places? One nation under God? In our national pledge? I remember as a child when those words were inserted into the pledge. But I don’t remember the phenomenon having taken place.
Maybe if Coral Ridge Ministries and its friends get their way, Jesus can take over from George W. and kick out all those terrible people who don’t agree with their religious convictions. But if I read my Bible correctly, I’m thinking that Jesus would be leading the parade across the borders if they really took over. He always identified with the poor, the disenfranchised and those who suffered discrimination, even to the point of healing the daughter of a pagan woman and the boyfriend of a heathen Roman centurion. Why would he be any different now?
I know you’ve heard a lot about raising money this morning. And I wouldn’t be surprised if the thought had crossed your mind, “But if Jesus was upset that they were selling sacrificial animals in the temple, wouldn’t he be upset about us asking for money?” I believe the answer is ‘No’. This is our home, and it’s also a house of prayer for all people. When we make our home beautiful and inviting so as to welcome everyone ― denying entrance to no one ― then I believe we are right smack in the middle of God’s will.
May those of you who have been generous so far be abundantly blessed, and may blessings be upon those of you who will make your contribution to this campaign. Together we’re building a place where people can come in, find healing, help and hope, and learn to minister to the needs of others, as Christ commanded.
That’s why some of us do what we do. I want Eric Petrushka to stand up. Here’s a young man who’s working to make a difference. He’s forming a team to walk in the AIDS Walk that’s coming up in April. He needs your support. Some of you can walk; all of you can contribute by going to the website listed in the SunBurst and making your donation. He’s being part of a church “where every member is a minister, and every ministry is a team!”
There’s also another team that I’m excited about, the team which is putting on our International FoodFest this Saturday. Sure, it’s about eating; who wouldn’t love that? Sure, it’s about my German food booth, with braised pork loin, sauerkraut and buttered spaetzle. But I digress!
It’s also about celebrating our diversity. We are a house of prayer for all people from all nations, each of us tasting the traditional foods of many cultures, celebrating the diversity of life with joy. I know Jesus liked a party — read the Book, it’s all there. I expect him to show up Saturday. For you, Jesus, free admission, all you can eat!
But don’t think for one minute that if Jesus loved parties he was soft on those who sowed hatred or fear. Why, he called the conservative religious leaders of his day hypocrites! What should we be doing today?
At the very least, we can sing and pray as we have done this morning: “Lead us forward into freedom; from despair your world release, that, redeemed from war and hatred, all may come and go in peace. Show us how through care and goodness fear will die and hope increase.”
When we stand up against the senseless killing of our children in our own streets as well as in strange and foreign places, I believe we stand with Jesus. When we resist the attempts of people to turn America into a theocracy where foreigners will no longer be welcome and doubters will be treated with distain, I believe we stand with Jesus. When we speak out against the attempts of the misguided who want to change homosexuals into heterosexuals, thus frustrating the creative diversity planned by God while psychologically damaging people for the rest of their lives, I believe we stand with Jesus.
On the other hand, when we open our spiritual home to all ― heterosexuals, homosexuals, bisexuals, transgendered, Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, Buddhist, black, white, brown, and all shades in between, believers, doubters, the fearless and the frustrated ― I believe we really stand with Jesus. After all, didn’t Jesus invite us to come in from beyond the pale, to step inside the circle of God’s love? Didn’t he say, “Come to me, all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
How could we do anything less?
Oh, yes… and that’s the Truth!
I am remarkably loved!
As I help others I am being healed.
I am filled with hope.
I stand for what is right and good.
I share God’s love with others.
I am abundantly blessed —
and I like it like that!And so it is! Amen!
It was the philosopher Eric Hoffer who said: “The remarkable thing is that we really love our neighbor as ourselves: we do unto others as we do unto ourselves. We hate others when we hate ourselves. We are tolerant toward others when we tolerate ourselves. We forgive others when we forgive ourselves.”
Let us rise to “praise the gracious power that tumbles walls of fear and gather in one house of faith all strangers far and near.”
