May 10, 2020 - Fifth Sunday of Easter
The title that I have chosen for
this message is A Saint Named Stephen … at least that was the title that I
picked in January. I love St. Stephen. He is an amazing example of living by
faith. He was one of the first deacons of the church, serving the marginalized
physically and spiritually. He is the first Christian to die for the faith, and
a marvelous example of mercy and forgiveness.
That’s the title I chose in January.
Now that its May, and we’ve been shut in our homes for two months, I’m not
convinced that that is the message we need today. I think that, like Stephen,
we should be thinking about caring for our neighbors, helping the hurting, and
sharing the hope that Jesus has given us – a hope that gives us courage to face
a death far less gruesome than his! But as much as I dig Stephen and am in awe
of his example, I think it is the hope that Jesus gave Stephen, the hope that
Jesus gives you and me, that needs to be our focus.
Friends, “Let not your hearts be
troubled.” Jesus said that. I have to confess that there have been a lot of
days recently that my heart has been troubled. How about you? I’m troubled
about people getting sick. I’m troubled about not being able to easily gather for
worship. I’m troubled about where you all are at. I’m troubled that someone
might think, worshiping from home on the live stream is a lot more convenient
than actually coming to church. I’m troubled about the economy. I’m troubled
how people are polarized and reacting in ways that labels people we disagree
with as though they were morally or intellectually inferior. I’m troubled that
there are lonely people, that depression and anxiety are worsening, and that
we’re so separated from the ones we love. I’m troubled that tax revenue from alcohol
and tobacco consumption jumped greatly this past couple months. And I’m
troubled because Jesus said, “Let not you heart be troubled,” and my heart is
troubled!
Can you relate? Is this just me
again?
When Jesus said, “Let not your heart
be troubled,” he did not intend that statement to be a point to beat ourselves
upon. He doesn’t just tell us, “Don’t worry, be happy,” as though we could just
ignore what goes on around us in the world. In fact, he gives us the cure for
our troubled heart. He says, “Believe in God; believe also in me.”
In Philippians 4:7 we learn that
there is a peace that surpasses all understanding that guards our hearts and
minds in Jesus. Jesus is our peace, and his death on the cross atoned for our
sin so that we can be at peace with God. When he says, Believe in God; believe
also in me. For us, that belief is rooted in what Jesus has done, including the
fact that he is risen from the dead. When you look at the cross and see what
Jesus was willing to do to save you … do you really think he’s going to abandon
you now?
Jesus has gone to prepare a place for you. This world
with its sickness, death, isolation, fears, and frustrations, this is not our
home. You dwell here as aliens and strangers, awaiting a better more permanent
home after the Resurrection. You and I live as people with a new identity in an
old and dying world. In Christ, you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a
people for God’s own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him
who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a
people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now
you have received mercy.
That reality has broken into your life – and that is
why your heart, my heart, need not be troubled. That reality of God’s
transformation is what allowed Stephen to forgive those who stoned him. That
reality of God’s acceptance and mercy is what transformed young Saul into Paul
the Apostle and messenger of the Gospel for the Gentiles – the outsiders, the
marginalized, the looked down upon. That reality that God chose you in Jesus to
call you out of the darkness of sin and death into the marvelous light of his
glory and grace is what gives you the ability to proclaim God’s goodness even
now, and to believe that everything is going to be okay. Even if okay doesn’t
come until we see the heavens opened, and Jesus, the Son of Man, standing at
the right hand of God.
Jesus invites us today to believe him. Believe his
promises. Believe his forgiveness. Believe his word. And if we have trouble
taking him at his word, he invites to believe on the basis on the works he did
– and for us that includes his death and resurrection. He invites us to believe
him and to ask … to pray in his name … to pray as Jesus teaches us to pray –
like dear children speaking to their beloved Father.
Is your heart troubled like mine has been? Jesus is
preparing a place for you. He will not abandon you. He is the way, the truth
and the life, and he will see you through. And, if you still feel troubled,
call out in prayer. He has promised to hear and answer you. Amen.
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