Sermons for the Month

On My Heart Imprint Your Image, Jesus
DATE: April 6th, 2003
SERVICE: Fifth Sunday In Lent
TEXT: Jeremiah 31:31-34
“To 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

My favorite hymn in the Lent section of the Lutheran Book of Worship is #102, "On My Heart Imprint Your Image." It's not an impressive hymn musically nor are the lyrics clever and inspiring. The reason I like the hymn is because of the picture it paints in my mind. What do you see as you hear these words:
"On my heart imprint your image, Blessed Jesus, king of grace. That life's troubles nor its pleasure ever may your work erase. Let the clear inscription be: Jesus crucified for me. Is my life, my hope's foundation, all my glory and salvation."
Especially on days when I have disappointed myself and God - on those days when I have been impatient and a perfectionist and pessimistic - I like that picture of the image of Jesus imprinted upon my heart, covering all my shortcomings. I like to see in my mind's eye the serene face of Jesus, resting within me, calming me, reminding me of the unending grace of God.
To me it's a gentle image, but I read an article from The Christian Century this week in which the author - Laurence Simon - describes something much bolder. He speaks of being branded by God as he discusses today's lesson from Jeremiah. ("Branded by God", The Christian Century, October 18, 2000, p. 1035)
In that scripture passage the prophet speaks of the day when the Lord will make a new covenant - or promise - with the house of Israel and of Judah. And this covenant will be unlike the old one which was built on mutual interaction.
The concept is an easy one to understand. God was revealed to the people and, in return, God expected that the people would respond to that revelation with worship and faithfulness. But, the prophet makes it clear that the relationship had gone awry, in the same way that a marriage might fall apart. The people have been unfaithful and the relationship with God is damaged, or some would even say destroyed.
As I mentioned in my sermon last week, stopping the bad behavior is not enough. Another law is not what is needed. The people of God require a change of heart that will make it possible for them to be faithful.
Here's an interesting detail … in Hebrew the word heart does not refer to an emotion such as love or compassion, as is true in English. Instead, carries with it the meaning of will or intention. So to have a change of heart in the Old Testament is not just to develop a warm feeling about someone you may have carried a grudge against, it is to show that person that the heart has been transformed.
The problem is, though, that they can't change their own hearts anymore than they can be faithful on their own. So, the amazing proclamation of this text is that God will act. God will make it happen. In the article I mentioned Mr. Simon tells how, as a child, he grew up in a tradition that emphasized, "letting Jesus into our hearts." He wrote, "Jesus stood patiently and knocked, waiting as long as it took, and when we were ready, we swung the door open and invited him in. The God of Jeremiah will have none of that."
We do not read that the people asked for a new covenant. But God wants a relationship with the people, so God "writes himself into the people". Or, to put it more bluntly, God branded the people.
I don't know if you have ever seen an animal branded. I have - with the E bar V brand at a relative's small ranch (by the way, small is 1000 acres and 4000 head of Black Angus cattle). Some of you may not know what a brand is; it's a symbol that is burned onto an animal's hide so that its owner can be identified should it wander. I won't give you a detailed description of sights, sounds and smells associated with branding, although I could. Instead I want to make the point that the scar from the brand is permanent. And, getting the brand is painful.
When God writes on our hearts - when the image of Jesus is imprinted upon us - it's permanent. Remember the words from the baptism service, "You have been sealed with the Holy Spirit and marked with the cross of Christ forever"? This is who we are; our identity begins on the inside and then is revealed on the outside in how we live. The capacity to be faithful comes from within us - from the Holy Spirit. Oh, we are still imperfect human beings so we fall short, but by God's choice we belong to God.
And the reality is that being branded by God is sometimes painful. In the Gospel lesson that is assigned for today Jesus says that unless a grain of wheat that falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain, but if it dies, it bears much fruit. He then tells his followers, "Those who love their life, lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life."
Those are strong words, spoken as Jesus approaches his own death. He knows that before he can be glorified, he must first die. Death, however, is not the somber end of the story, wonderful things will happen because of his death.
We know, don't we, that these concepts do not just apply to Jesus? The wonderfully painful part of having Jesus imprinted on our hearts is that we are called and empowered to give of ourselves for the sake of the Gospel. I'm afraid, though, that our image of giving of ourselves is not necessarily what Jesus had in mind.
What I'm about to say won't be popular. Church growth experts would say that I shouldn't make these comments because if people want anything it is for church to be comfortable, convenient and meet their needs. People shouldn't get the idea that something is expected of them beyond that which is easy to do, or at least the idea should be introduced gently. Well that may be true, but it's not consistent with the teaching of Jesus.
When Jesus speaks of hating our lives he's saying that we should always be willing to let go of the things of this life in order to follow in Jesus' footsteps. He's talking about lives that are centered on giving, not taking. It's not that God does not want us to enjoy our lives, but God wants us to remember to whom we belong. Jesus is not imprinted on our hearts to enable us to be self-centered, grasping for stuff and pleasure seeking. He is imprinted there to empower us to do just the opposite. So it is that if we feel we can't give something up - whether it be a possession, or money, or an activity, or praise, or our precious time - in order to serve Jesus and the world we have lost something valuable.
Oh, our salvation is not at risk, that brand is there forever, but we have forfeited the abundant blessings of Jesus in this life that bring true contentment.
It's a good thing that the brand is permanent. It's a good thing that God chose to write on our hearts and that Jesus is imprinted there. It's a good thing that the Holy Spirit, who strengthens us to be faithful, is a part of the deal. I'm grateful that in my mind's eye I can see Jesus there, inside of me. Indeed on those days when my focus is wrong, "let the clear inscription be, Jesus crucified for me. Is my life, my hope's foundation, all my glory and salvation."
AMEN