Sermons for the Month
We Are Enough
DATE: October 27th, 2002
SERVICE: Reformation Sunday
TEXT: Romans 3:19-28To all of you Saints here this morning, grace and peace to you from God our Father, from His Son, Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit. AMEN
What do you beat yourself up about? We all do it, unless, of course, we are so self-aware - or so unaware - that doing so is beyond us. Sometimes I think I'm the world champion when it comes to beating myself up. Oh, I've become less proficient at it as time passes, but I still battle those voices in my head that say, "You are not enough. You are not smart enough or talented enough or attractive enough or wise enough or personable enough. You just are not enough." I don't think I'm alone. Our culture bombards us with voices that say we do not look good enough, that our bodies need less here and more there so that we might be worthy of love and, even more important, power. Young people especially are pushed to excel in academics and sports where average is a dirty word. Preschoolers who don't know how to use the computer are considered behind in a world were imagination and play are considered a waste of time. People lose their jobs even though they have sacrificed for the employer, and more and more the workweek has become a six-day 60 hours proposition. If all of that weren't enough we fight the internal voices as well, the ones that are loud and accusatory and tell us that we have fallen short when it comes to being a good parent, or supportive spouse or devoted child to an elderly parent. We blame ourselves for past mistakes and are critical of current shortcomings, "Why can't I quit smoking" or "Why did I lose my temper?" or "Why can't I make friends?" We refuse to accept forgiveness, and thus to forgive. And what about, "Why can't I be a better Christian?" Unfortunately, the church has done its part in imposing the word of the Lord in a condemning rather than grace-filled way. We all beat ourselves up. And the reason we do so is that we have not fully grasped the words we read in Romans 5. The Apostle Paul confirms that we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, but also boldly proclaims that we are justified - or made right with God - as a gift through Jesus Christ. That's churchy language, I realize, but if we "get it" those words will change us. In fact, those are the very words that changed Martin Luther and the course of religious history. Martin Luther was an expert at beating himself up. For those of you who may not realize it, today is Reformation Sunday, the day in the Lutheran Church when we celebrate the birth of the Lutheran Church. It all began with the internal struggle of a 16th century German monk named Martin Luther. He wanted to be enough. This brilliant man - a teacher of philosophy at the University of Wittenberg - was a theologian and scholar who wanted to b assured of God's love for him. But, he just kept beating himself up because he knew he wasn't perfect. In fact, the accounts we have of Martin Luther's life indicate that he was far from that lofty goal. And, he knew it. He knew he could never do enough to earn or deserve God's forgiveness and love. In short, he knew he could never be enough in God's eyes, and in his own eyes as well. So, he opened the Bible searching for answers, and suddenly God's word broke through. While studying the book of Romans he finally understood that God's forgiveness if a gift given to us not because we have earned it or deserve it but because God's grace is unlimited. That grace comes to us in Jesus Christ; through our faith in him we are enough. Once Martin Luther understood that, his life was changed. One struggle - his personal one - ended and another one began. He set out to reform the church of his day, protesting teachings that did not support his understanding that people are saved by grace through faith. He nailed a document challenging one such practice - the sale of indulgences - to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany on October 31, 1517. So it is that the Reformation began and after years of conflict led to the establishment of a new church the Lutherans. It's ironic to me that the foundation of our theology is - not only as Lutherans but as Christians - is "You are enough", and yet we continue to give credence to all these internal and external voices saying we're not. And because it's so hard for us to internalize this truth we spend a lot of time and money looking for "the answer". In my travels from here to there this week, as I was ruminating on this sermon, I stopped at a local bookstore to use the facilities. It so happened that I walked by a display of self-help books, so I paused and wrote down a few of the titles. Now, please understand, I'm not saying that these books are void of helpful information; they may be filled with wisdom that I have not yet discovered. What I am saying is that the reason there is such a need for them is that we don't understand, in here, what God has done for us. One author says that the self matters and promises to help readers create life from the inside out. Another one offers advice for moving forward when the stakes are high. Yet someone else will guide folks in becoming the "real you", the person you were meant to be. Others offer guides to a happy life and to healing your life. And I bet if I were to read every one of those books I would find at the core of them theme of "I'm not enough" and "I can fix that." The point is we can't fix it; only God can and only God did and it's up to us to believe it. We are enough. Some time ago I read something written by Edward C. McManus that has stuck with me. He wrote about a woman who was dying of AIDS. A priest was summoned. He attempted in every way he knew to comfort her, but to no avail. Over and over again she cried, "I am lost. I have ruined my life and every life around me. Now I am going painfully to hell. There is no hope for me." She was living through hell - physically and spiritually - and anticipated only further suffering. The priest's assurances did not comfort her; she could not stop the external and internal voices raised in accusation. Forgiveness seemed far away, although it was quite near. In desperation the priest looked around the room and saw a framed photo of a girl on the dresser. "Who is this?" he asked the woman. She brightened. "She is my daughter, the one beautiful thing in my life." So the priest asked her, "And would you help her if she was in trouble, or made a mistake? Would you forgive her? Would you still love her?" The woman cried, "Of course I would!" Her daughter was precious to her, a gift in spite of her shortcomings. "Why do you ask such a question?" she asked the priest. "Because", he said, "I wanted you to know that God has a picture of you on the dresser." I don't know if that's a helpful image for you. When I reflected on it I could not help but think about how I find something wrong with nearly every photo that is taken of me. I look at them and find some flaw, something that just isn't the way I'd like it to be. It just isn't enough. But what does God see while gazing at my photo? In God's eyes, I'm enough and so are you. AMEN