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22.02.2009_“Easier said than done"_english
| 24.02.2009, 10:22 | |
| Rev. Davide Canarella Psalm 39; Isaiah 43:18–25; 2 Corinthians 1:18–25; Mark 2:1–12 Sunday Feb 22, 2009 - “Easier said than done” It appears that human beings, wherever they may be from, are able to distinguish the difference between words and facts, or saying and doing. This is reflected in national proverbs and sayings. In Italy, for instance, we say that between saying and doing lies the sea. The ancient Romans used to say, “Sunt facta verbis difficiliora ” - deeds are harder than words. The Germans and the English say, “Easier said than done”. The Russians, of course, say it better, “легко сказка сказывается, да не легко дело делается ” There is a difference between saying that we can do something, and actually doing. There is a difference about saying we are something, and actually being that. This seems to be what is happening in the story that Mark tells about Jesus and the healing of the paralyzed man. The story is quite unique. Jesus is back in Capernaum; earlier in the story we learn that Jesus had to run away from this city because of the many miracles he performed there. In Capernaum he was a superstar, and this is why, as soon as the crowds learned Jesus was back in town, they literally besieged the house where he was. There are so many people around the house, that the entry way is blocked, no one can come in and no one can come out. So, suppose you have a friend, he is paralyzed, and you really want Jesus to heal him. What are you going to do? Simply, you find three other friends, and come up with a plan. And here is the plan: “We are need to make a hole in the roof, and lower him down to Jesus” For those who wonder how on earth one could make a hole in the roof – houses back then were not made out of concrete, but out basalt, and so they could only support a light thatch roof, which had to be replaced every year before winter rains started. So, making a hole was not too difficult, and neither was repairing the roof afterwards. So, no reason to feel sorry for the owner of the house. The four men, thus, manage to raise the roof on the side of the room where Jesus was, and lowered the mat down. When Jesus saw their faith, the Scriptures tell, he was impressed and said to the paralytic, “Your sins are forgiven.” Now, that is quite a statement, isn't it? To say to someone “your sins are forgiven” is to assert that you have the authority to forgive sin. To say the least, it takes courage to same something like that. This is why the teachers of the law who are in the same room with Jesus are in shock. They are thinking in themselves, “Does this guy realize what he has just said? He just said he is God. How is he going to live up to his word?” Jesus knew this would be the reaction – and frankly speaking, that's a fairly natural reaction. If one of you here told me, “I am God”, first I would call an ambulance, and then I would ask you, “Can you provide any evidence?” Evidence is indeed what Jesus needs to provide at this point to substantiate his words. So, he says, “What is easier to say, 'Your sins are forgiven' or 'Pick up your mat and walk'? But I want you know that I can say those things, and do what I say.” So, he turn to the paralyzed man and said to him, “Pick up your mat and walk”, which he immediately did. So the guy that had been lowered down through the roof, immobile in his bed, now walks out of the door in the presence of everyone. Quite a sight, and quite an amazing story in which Jesus is depicted as someone who does not simply make claims about himself. He substantiates his claims with actions visible by all. In the Corinthian passage we read, Paul is also dealing with the issue of saying one thing and then doing it. Paul had planned a trip to Corinth, but was then forced to cancel it, which resulted in widespread criticism. Paul had many enemies in Corinth, and they uses this opportunity to attack him. The accusations were more or less these: if he was a true Apostle, he would build his plan completely based on God's guidance, and since God does not lie or change His minds, Paul's plans would not change either. The fact that Paul has to change his plans, means he is not relying on God, and therefore he is not reliable as an apostle, and his message is not reliable either. The attack was very serious and Paul had to defend himself from these accusers who wanted to discredit him and his message. And his defense is quite straightforward. His change of plans was not due to his inability to plan, or by his not relying on God's guidance. Much the opposite. He did not come because he realized that his coming would be premature and thus make for a painful visit both for Paul and the Corinthians. Yet, now that he knows that the Corinthians want to see him, he plans on stopping by twice. Paul says something else in his defence. The message he has been proclaiming in Corinth is reliable, because God is reliable. God does not change his mind. He does not say “yes” and “no” at the same time; He does not make a promise, and then does not maintain it. The God Paul serves is faithful and reliable. All the promises God has made have received their “yes”, that is, have been fulfilled by Jesus. And this is why we can say “Amen”, Paul says. We can say “Amen” because through Christ God demonstrates to be faithful, and He will answer our needs according to His promises. And then Paul adds, “And the same God enables us to stand firm in Christ. He has anointed us and has put on us His seal of approval, the Holy Spirit.” A faithful God needs faithful representatives. A faithful God cannot be adequately represented by people who do not reflect Him. So, ask we, did Paul provide any factual evidence of his own faithfulness? Or was it just words? “As servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left; through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors; known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything.”(2 Cor 6:4-10) “What anyone else dares to boast about—I am speaking as a fool—I also dare to boast about. Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they Abraham's descendants? So am I. Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn?” (2 Cor 11:21b-29) Paul's words are sealed as true by his own blood, and by the martyr's death he died, so he could bring the Gospel to the heart of the Roman Empire – Rome and the Emperor. He was the faithful servant of a faithful God. He was not a believer in words. He was a believer in deeds. There was plenty of evidence in his life that Christ was Lord. What is the evidence in our lives that Christ is Lord? What is the factual evidence we can provide in support of our claim that we are genuinely Christians? Some of you may think, “Well, the fact that we go to Church is evidence that we are Christians”. Yet, the truth of the matter is, going to church does not make anyone a Christian. As someone put it, “Going to church does not make me a Christian any more than going to McDonald makes me a hamburger.” Some others may say, “Well, we pray, and we read and study the Scriptures.” Great! But praying and studying Scriptures is done in other religions as well. Muslims, Hindus, Buddhist pray and read sacred texts. At this point some other people may say, “Well, but one day I prayed the sinner's prayer and invited Jesus into my heart.” Fine. This is important. However, in and of itself, a prayer or a confession does not make you a Christian either. Actually, I would go so far as to say that one of the greatest lies that some Evangelicals believe is that praying a sinner's prayer makes someone a Christian. Personally, when I was struggling to give my life to God I prayed the sinner's prayer I don't know how many times. It did not do anything for me. There is only one way to begin a Christian life, and that is sincere repentance. And there is only one way to continue in the Christian way, and that is a striving after holiness. I must make a confession. I am tired of meeting people who claim to be Christians and live as non-Christians. Probably nothing in this life bothers me more than people who claim to believe in God, to love Christ, to want to do God's will, but whose lives present little or no evidence of transformation, and all they want to do is simply justify their own desires. They are dishonest, they are unforgiving, they cannot control themselves, they are self-centered, they break their marital vows, and lots more. Essentially, they are pretty much like their non-believing friends, with the exception, maybe, that they don't have some of their negative habits. But on most Sunday mornings, they come to church, and if you ask them, they'll tell you that all they want is do God's will. When it comes to this, the Scriptures are very clear and very radical. They leave no room for doubt. “God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin ” (1 John 1:5-7) “And we can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments. If someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth. But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him. Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.” (1 John 2:3-6) “So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:14-16) If it is true, as Paul says, that “God did not call us to live impure lives, but holy ones”, then if we claim to be Christians, we'd better live as Christians should live. For when the Holy Spirit comes into our lives at our salvation , He comes to make us holy in practice. If there is not, then, at least a yearning in our hearts to live a holy life pleasing to God, we need to seriously question whether our faith in Christ is genuine. Now, this desire for holiness may be only a spark at the beginning. But that spark should grow till it becomes a flame – a desire to live a life wholly pleasing to God. True salvation brings with it a desire to be made holy. For God not only saves us from the penalty of sin, but also from its dominion, and the whole purpose of our salvation is that we be “holy and blameless in His sight”(Eph. 1:4) To continue to live in sin as a Christian is to go contrary to God's very purpose for our salvation. To say we are Christians, and not being committed to holiness is nonsense. And to say we are Christians and live as a non-Christian is simply blasphemous. Now, I must say that God does not require a perfect, sinless life to have fellowship with Him, but He does require that we be serious and passionate about Holiness. He does require that we stand against the power of sin by the Spirit He has given us. And when we sin, He does require that we grieve over sin instead of always justifying it. God does require that we earnestly pursue holiness as a way of life. And if a desire for holiness is not even on the radar screen of our lives, we need to question whether our Christianity is genuine. “ Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.” If we don't have the desire to live as Jesus did, what we are probably living is ersatz (surrogate) Christianity. I am not saying these things to make some people here feel guilty and uncomfortable. I am saying these things so that we have the opportunity to reflect on whether the priorities of our lives needs changing. With the good news that if your life has been like this in the past, it does not need to continue like this in the present or the future. If today you are thinking that you are not such a great Christian, or if you have always thought if are a failure as a Christian, today God wants to open up a new opportunity for you. As we read in Isaiah, “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.” (Is 43:18-19) God can do for you what you have found to be impossible for yourself. He can help you, by His Spirit, to live a holy life. He can help you live a life that matches your claims as a Christian. Right now, here and today, you can have a fresh start. The past is the past. Today is the time to look into the future and take a step of faith, and believe that God can sanctify you and give you a burning passion for holiness – a desire to be like Jesus every day of your life. Christianity is more than words. Christianity is more than using religious language to justify our own worldly desire. Christianity is a life transformed in the image of Christ. This is what God wants for you. This is what God wants to help you with. If this is also what you want to do, I invite you to come and pray with me. | |
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