Sermons for the Month
The "so" Means "SO" !!!
DATE: February 17th, 2008
SERVICE: Second Sunday in Lent
TEXT: John 3:1-17“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
Here's something I bet you have not given much thought; how do we use the word "so" in English? Well there are many options. Someone might say, "I'm SO tired of winter," meaning, "I've had enough of the cold and snow." (I would not say that, but someone might!) Or, the word could be used in a sarcastic expression like, "I'm SO sure!" or "So what?" It might be used to express vagueness, "I've read a page or so in that book." There are many possibilities, and the same is true in Greek, the language in which the New Testament was written. However, in Greek the word "so" is rarely used to express deep feelings or emotions. Someone writing in Greek would not be quick to write, "Jack and Jill are SO much in love"; to use the word in that way is rare. That's not so true of English, yet, most people are cautious about using the word SO in reference to how they feel about someone. A man might say, "I love my wife SO much," or "I love my children SO much", but if he said the same thing about his co-workers, eyebrows might raise. People might get uneasy because, although the man may indeed feel affection for those with whom he shares a job, the SO is reserved for special people. Well, that's true, only more so, in Greek. Saying, "I love you SO much", happens only in special, sacred relationships. In fact, there are only two places in John's Gospel where the word "so" is used to express deep emotion, and we read one of them today. "For God SO loved the world…." There is intensity in that sentence that would pass us by if we were unaware of how rare it is; what is being described here is a special, sacred relationship. "For God SO loved"…who? "For God SO loved the WORLD". Now that's astounding too…with this deep emotion God loves not just Christians, not just the church, not just religious people or good people, but God SO loved the world. Like it or not that includes every one who has made mistakes, created chaos, or whose bodies, minds and emotions are imperfect. This means God loves those who view God differently than we do, or who don't like God, or who don't believe in God. This is what's so amazing about God, and about the grace of God. "For God SO loved the WORLD that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but have eternal life." (1) This kind of love is difficult to grasp; the Pharisee Nicodemus certainly struggled with not only these words, but his whole conversation with Jesus. Poor Nicodemus, he's a religious and political leader, and yet he had to sneak around at night in order to talk with Jesus or risk the wrath of his fellow Pharisees. He believed Jesus was a good man, but his attempt at a polite greeting is thwarted when, out of the blue, Jesus states that in order to see the kingdom of God, a person must be born from above. What? Not only did this statement cause Nicodemus to get off track, but the same thing has happened through the centuries as we have tried to interpret these words. Major arguments have broken out concerning the correct translation. Is it "born from above" or "born again" or "born anew"? And, what does it mean to be born from above, or again or anew? What do I have to do? The irony is that Jesus makes it quite clear what he means, and, guess what? It's not about what WE do, any more than our initial birth had anything to do with our actions. We came into being and were born as the result of forces beyond our control. The same is true of being born again, or anew, or from above. God loves in an astounding way. God comes to us as Jesus, the conveyor of grace. Through the power of the Holy Spirit God gives us the gift of faith because on our own we cannot believe. And, God grants us new life now and into eternity. The question is, will we allow ourselves to bask in these gifts of grace and put ourselves in Jesus' hands? Will we believe? I like the way Barbara Brown Taylor explains that there's a difference between believing someone and believing in someone. "To believe someone means simply to accept that what that person says is true, usually on the basis of some evidence. So, someone shows you a picture of himself climbing the rock face of a mountain, tells you it can be done, and you say, 'I believe you.' You accept the proposition, and doing so does not interfere with the way you live your life. "But, there is another way to believe. Instead of showing you the pictures, someone invites you to go rock climbing with him. As he checks the knots on your harness and runs your safety line through the equipment around his own waist, he assures you that everything will be all right. The proper response at that point is not, 'I believe you,' but 'I believe in you,' because you are way past an intellectual assent. You have set yourself in relationship with this person and you are trusting him with your life." (2) Jesus says to all of us, "Believe in me." The ability to do so is a gift, but whether or not it becomes more than an intellectual proposition is up to us. Will we, "set ourselves in relationship with Jesus" and allow ourselves to be reborn through him? We can be assured that, from his perspective, doing so is never about condemnation. God's focus is not on judgment but on grace. And, as those who are reborn as disciples of Jesus that should be true of us as well. Our focus should not be on judgment, but on grace. There's a story I want to tell you from the book What's So Amazing About Grace, but it's not a pleasant one. I cannot give you all the details without hurting tender ears, so I'll be vague, but I think you'll get the point. Philip Yancey, the author, begins his book with a story shared by a friend who works with people who are down-and-out in Chicago. He described a woman who worked on the streets. She was homeless, sick and unable to buy food for her 2-year-old daughter. She had a drug habit. So, in order to support that habit, she involved her daughter in situations that most of us cannot imagine … for money. The man telling the story said he could hardly bear to hear her confession. He did not know what to say, and finally asked her if she had ever thought of going to a church for help. She looked at him with pure shock and cried, "Church! Why would I ever go there? I already feel terrible about myself. They'd just make me feel worse." (3) And yet, as the author points out, in the Gospels people like that woman fled toward Jesus, not away from him. They saw Jesus as a refuge. They somehow knew that in him God SO loved the world, intensely and intimately, and with a longing for people to experience a new life. That is the love that has come to us, the unique gift that the church has to offer the world. Our well-being, individually and corporately, hinges on our ability to receive and to live out God's unconditional grace and forgiveness. It must become not just something we believe exists, but that we believe in as the source of hope for the world. In fact, let me put it this way, nothing is SO vital as our grasping that God SO loves the world. AMEN (1) "Sermons from Seattle", Trinity B, Lent 2A: Nicodemus and Born Again-Gospel Analysis, pgs. 9-10, www.sermonsfromseattle.com
(2) "Stay for Tea" by Barbara Brown Taylor, "The Christian Century", Living by the Word, 1996, www.findarticles.com
(3) What's So Amazing About Grace by Philip Yancey, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, MI., 1997, pg. 11
AMEN