Sermons for the Month
DATE: February 28, 1999
SERVICE: Lent II
TEXT: John 3:1-7
Sermons for the Month
How Possible
DATE: February 28, 1999
SERVICE: Lent II
TEXT: John 3:1-7"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 What "impossible" things have you done so far today? None? Really?
Did you perfectly poach your breakfast egg in 45 seconds in your microwave? Did you log on to your e-mail site and download messages from friends, business associates and maybe even your grandson? Did you get out of bed and stroll pain-free around your home using an artificial hip or knee? Did you swallow a simple aspirin and so reduce your chance of a heart attack? Did you drive to church in a $30,000-plus computer car that has a built-in satellite system so that you always know exactly where you are or where you are going? Did you make a phone call from your car while on your way here? Did you stop at an ATM and pay a few bills or get some cash? Taco Bell and grab a burrito with extra hot sauce for breakfast on your way to Sunday school? All of these things, and a million more, would have been rejected as "impossible" only a decade or two ago. Today, home electronic gadgetry, microchip technology, medical, surgical and pharmaceutical wizardry, and a culture with 24/7/365 services has made much of what seemed impossible a decade ago part of common everyday experiences. Everyone knows people who would rather deny that the impossible is now possible than to learn new ways of doing things or to risk the possibility of some new experiences in their lives. Some people would rather cook in the same old scarred and seared saucepan they have been using for years rather than try the convenience of a microwave. Some people would rather hobble around on a painfully arthritic knee or hip rather than allow some strange new cyborgian joint into their body. Some people refuse to believe that anything other than "snail mail" is a legitimate or trustworthy form of communication. In today's gospel text, Nicodemus is like one of those folks so resistant to change that they keep claiming that new possibilities are still impossible. Nicodemus is so flummoxed by the unexpected nature of Jesus' images and the possibilities of his promises that all he can keep stupidly stammering is "How is this possible?" "How is this possible ...?" -How is it possible for us to be born "from above" after our first physical birthday is long past? -How is it possible for us to see and enter into the "kingdom of God"? -How is it possible for sinful men and women to "ascend into heaven"? -How is it possible that mortal creatures such as ourselves may gain "eternal life"? The answer to the question, "How is it possible?" is "We've got an Impossible God!" That is to say, a God who defies what is possible, who transforms a "no-way-José unbelief" into obedient faith. Our impossible, too-good-to-be-true God outlines the core of this reality in this memorable verse: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life" (John 3:16). Indeed all things are now possible because "God so loved the world ... [and] gave [us] his only Son." Indeed, Jesus is proof of God's commitment to doing the impossible. J.B. Phillips argues in his classic, Your God Is Too Small, that "we can never have too big a conception of God, and the more scientific knowledge (in whatever field) advances, the greater becomes our idea of his vast and complicated wisdom. Yet, unless we are to remain befogged and bewildered, and give up all hope of ever knowing God as a Person, we have to accept his own planned focusing of himself in a human being, Jesus Christ. If we accept this as fact, as THE FACT of history, it becomes possible to find a satisfactory and comprehensive answer to a great many problems, and, what is equally important, a reasonable 'shelf' on which the unsolved perplexities may be left with every confidence" (New York: The Macmillan Company, Inc., 1961), 120-121. There is a story in the January 8, 1992, Journal of the American Medical Association called "A Doctor in the House," written by Bernadine Z. Paulschock, M.D., about another doctor that illustrates how Jesus makes the impossible possible. A physician went to visit and treat a sick mother whose children had chicken pox. She gave advice to the mother and then left. The pediatrician came later to see the children. The next day when the first physician called, the mother said, "Doctor M. did something really great for us. After he left, he went over to the supermarket and brought back milk and juice and barbecued chicken and bananas. I was so surprised. He didn't even let me pay him. He really is one terrific doctor." Paulschock says, "That is how we heal -in those small acts between one human being and another." Another woman shared an experience she had with her oncologist, describing how for her a simple act had enormous power. "He once tied my shoes after my treatment. Suddenly I felt like a human being." When doctors become involved in their patients' lives, they can cure in ways they may not expect. One doctor told me about a woman and her child who had come to see him. He wrote some prescriptions for antibiotics and then asked, "What's going on in your life?" He learned that the woman's husband had left her. After listening for a while, he realized that what she needed was to speak to Legal Aid. They spoke for a time, and so he gave her the telephone number, and she forgot to pick up her prescriptions. When she came back a week later, she was beaming and healthy, as was her child. The visit to Legal Aid had solved her problem. The antibiotics turned out to be unnecessary. Someone cared and responded, she felt hope, and she could go on. What had been impossible for these patients to experience became possible when someone cared and loved enough to get involved. John 3:16 is the ultimate expression of how our Doctor God became involved with his Patient Humanity. The most "impossible" obstacles that stunt our lives are not technological challenges or physical disabilities or the realities of time and space. The most debilitating "impossibilities" we face are those that are rooted in wrong relationships, eroded emotions, hurtful habits and bad behavior. Every one of us faces in life some looming "impossibilities." What are the "impossibilities" you are facing? Perhaps you have said to your self or someone else, "I don't think I can face another day of working at my "impossible" job." My friends, "God so loved the world that whoever would believe in him would never perish..." Perhaps you have wondered, "It is "impossible" for me to manage staying in my house by myself any longer." "For God so loved the world that whoever would believe in him would never perish..." " I can't seem to get control of my "impossible" drinking/eating/gambling addiction." Say it with me, "For God so loved the world ..." "I have "impossible" monthly bills that now outweigh my monthly income." Congregation: "For God so loved the world ..." "I am facing an "impossible" situation with my kids." Congregation: "For God so loved the world ..." Confession: There is a problem in my life that I am finding it "impossible" to face. Congregation: "For God so loved the world that whoever would believe in him would never perish… " but have ever lasting life. AMEN