Lent 4
March 27, 2022
Fr. Phil Eberhart
GETTING
OVER A GOD WHO HATES ME
Have you
ever wondered if God loves you?
It seems
like we all have those moments, when we’re “under the circumstances”, and we
get low and we hear that little voice that says, “God really hates you!” All the negative things that people have said
about us or over us in our past come roaring to the front of our minds!
Have you
ever had that experience?
I think
its actually pretty common – given the way our world works. Or doesn’t work … really.
We really
want to encounter God’s love for us in some way that we can grasp onto – that we
can hold close – something that’s not “somewhere, out there…” – the Bette
Midler god. God is watching us! I want a God who is doing more than just
watching from a distance! Right? I want a God who is involved with my life –
who is paying attention to little details in my “good, bad and ugly!”
Our gospel
this morning paints a picture of a father and two sons. Very familiar story – we’ve studied it before
in some depth – songs have been written about it: “When God Ran!” great song.
Sometimes I call it the Parable of the Loving Father, instead of The
Prodigal Son (or Sons!)
The Love
of our God for us is on display here, no matter how low we go – nor how dutiful
and obedient we are! The two sons in the
story are the opposite poles of our lives!
So often we get off track, lose our way, lose sight of what God wants for
our lives – we love to “do our own thing.”
Or we
concentrate on doing it all “right” – on being obedient, dutiful, the Good Son
or Daughter – in order to “win” God’s affection in some way.
The picture
we have of these two boys pales though, when we look at the picture of The
Father – The Heart of the Father that we see here!
I imagine
the Father standing daily at the window looking down the lane from the house,
hoping against hope to see the figure of his lost son. And one day, finally, after years away, that
son comes back – a tiny figure in the distance, but Father sees him and recognizes
the walk, the height of this boy, something that sparks that memory of his son…
And he
runs out of the house, tossing his cloak aside to gain speed – running down the
lane to gather up this broken, filthy, how does the letter of Revelation put
it: “…wretched, pitiable, poor, blind and
naked.” Yet, here God runs to meet us –
to gather us in His arms – to restore us to the family with the new clothes and
the ring for his finger! In Revelation,
Jesus says He is standing at the door knocking – we are in this state of wretchedness,
pitiable, poor, blind and naked – and He wants to eat with us.
Do you
get it?
Look with
me for a moment at the passage from 2 Cor 5.
18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself
and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God
was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses
against them,
Reconciling
US - Reconciling THE WORLD
You know
the verse: For God so … LOVED … the world
What does
it take for us to grasp the meaning of that phrase?
Paul asks
that in the passage we read yesterday at Duane’s memorial service:
31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for
us, who can be[i] against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave
him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?
Paul goes
on:
The real
fact is this:
34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than
that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is
interceding for us.[j] 35 Who shall separate us from the love of
Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or
nakedness, or danger, or sword?
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors
through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life,
nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in
all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus
our Lord.
There’s a
lot there!
And when
we mix it in with the picture of God we see in our Gospel this morning, it’s a
really powerful mix!
Does this
sound like GOOD NEWS to you? Do you
think you know anyone for whom it might be GOOD NEWS as well? How about everyone?
God so
loved who? THE WORLD.
And here
is the hook! When you know this, you’re
on the hook to TELL THE STORY!
14 For the
love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one
has died for all, therefore all have died; 15 and he died for all, that those who
live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake
died and was raised.
17 Therefore, if
anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.[b] The
old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18 All this is from God, who through
Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to
himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and
entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.
20 Therefore, we
are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us.
“We implore you on behalf of Christ, be
reconciled to God.”
AND
THE CAPSTONE: THE WHOLE STORY IN A
SENTENCE…
21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no
sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Friends, God loves us hilariously! No matter how small or how great we feel; no matter what we’ve done or not done; no matter the volume of the accusations, the
name calling, or the slop we’re into!
God
LOVES US – GOD LOVES YOU – PERIOD!
And
one small step back in the opposite direction, brings God running to scoop you
up in His arms. To welcome you home, to put on a feast – to come in and eat
supper with you.
Your
place of exile can become your place of acceptance and belonging!
And
friends, once we’ve experienced this kind of extravagant, hilarious love for
us, how can we not share it with everyone we meet?
How
can we not! “the love of Christ compels us!”
Pray
with me:
Lord
Jesus Christ, you stretched out your arms of love on the hard wood of the cross,
that everyone might come within the reach of your saving embrace!
So
clothe us with Your Spirit, that we, reaching forth our hands in love, may
bring those who do not know you, to the knowledge and love of you, for the
honor of your Name!
Amen.
