North Shore Congregational Church April 20, 2008

The Rev. Karl D. Schimpf Fifth Sunday of Easter

Old Testament Lesson: Jeremiah 31:31-34

New Testament Lesson: John 14:1-14

Let me begin by asking the members of the Bull Pen if they know what it’s like to have a younger person look up to them and want to imitate what they see you doing. Perhaps it’s a younger brother or sister or cousin or young child of a neighbor who watches for you to get home from school. Do you know what I mean? I’ll bet that each one of you has someone, and maybe you aren’t even aware of it; but there is someone trying to do every thing you do, trying to look like you and act like you.

Last Sunday, following the after worship brunch, I drove my youngest grandson Markie to our house. When I turned down Bobolink Lane, we saw that two of his older cousins were in the driveway playing basketball. As soon as Markie saw them he started yelling, "Those are my cousins, those are my cousins." He couldn’t wait to get out of the car and join his cousins because he looks up to them and wants to be like them.

At first glance, my sermon title is somewhat heretical in that it implies that we can imitate Jesus. Jesus was God in human form, and we are not. There are lots of ways I could go with this text I inherited from the lectionary. It is a familiar one which I have used for more than one memorial service because it teaches us a lesson about life after death. I could spend time talking about the home that God has prepared for us, and remind us that the invitation has been issued, and people are waiting on the other side and the table is set. All we need to do is send an RSVP by saying, "Jesus, you are Lord. Make me yours so that I may live with you in my new home forever." One of the sure promises of God is the one Jesus made when he said, "I prepare a place for you."

But what I really want to do, and the place I want to take us with this text, is to set our minds on the love of God expressed in the things Jesus did and the promises he made by grappling to understand what he might have meant when he said that we will do greater things than he did. How is that possible? What did he mean?

The context for this portion of scripture is that things are going to go from bad to worse, for Jesus and for his disciples. It’s not by chance that Jesus begins this section saying, "Let not your hearts be troubled." Jesus was no austere, confident, on top of things, swaggering preaching. Nor was he a fire and brimstone evangelist pointing his finger and telling his congregation that they don’t have to worry, because walking with God makes for smooth sailing. Things are about to unravel for Jesus, for when they left that Upper Room and went to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray, we know that he was arrested, taken away, beaten up, forced to experience a phony trial with untruthful witnesses, crucified, and left to die hanging on a cross outside the walls of Jerusalem. For that reason our Lord said, "Don’t allow the trouble that’s coming to take root in your heart. Believe in God; believe also in me." Then he continued to inform us that as prepared people we are bound for a prepared place!

When you and I get to the place where deep in our hearts we long for a relationship with something greater than ourselves, when we search our hearts for meaning that stretches beyond our mortality, that’s when we have arrived at a place where faith can sustain when all else fails. I believe that when the question, "When a person dies shall that person live again" is asked, I believe in a simple, clear, and concise "YES." The reality of that answer is not based on intellectual ability or being such a tremendously good person that God simply can’t turn us down. I don’t believe that it is dependent on joining the right church or subscribing to the correct creed. I believe it is the promise of Christ to those of us who reach out in trust to Jesus our Master and Lord, the one who calls us to follow Him and assures us that we will do greater things than he has done. There is the sense in which we are called to imitate Jesus.

Part of the problem involved in our being able to grasp the meaning of that is that we have become so impressed with the power of God seen in Christ that it blinds us to the fact that the miracles of Jesus are not about his power but about his love. What Jesus did during his life was not so much to demonstrate his power, but to expresses his love; which is why he often said to the people who had experienced the miraculous: "Don’t tell anybody, keep it quiet."

This then is what the Gospel is all about. It’s about love. There is no way we can duplicate the power of Jesus. We can’t walk on water or raise people from the dead or multiply bread and fish. But this we can do: as we have opportunity we can express the love of Jesus to all whom we meet, recognizing that Jesus was more committed to expressing love than showing off his power. Every time we perform some act of love in his name, we can imitate Jesus; for He has called you and me to be instruments of his love to people who need to experience that love.

Think about this with me: when Jesus was on earth in the flesh, he was only able to look into the eyes of one person at a time. When he was taken from this world, he promised that God would send a Comforter to guide and direct us in ministry. When the Holy Spirit comes into your heart and mine, that Spirit of the living God fills us and drives us toward an effort to imitate Jesus through love. As Rob pointed out last week in the illustration of the 30,000 beans, representing children who die everyday from starvation and related illnesses, he reminded us that we can’t take care of 30,000 children but we can help one child. The story is told of a crotchety old man who was walking up the beach that was littered with thousands of starfish following a storm. He happened upon a young person who was frantically picking them up and flinging them back into the ocean. "Why bother?" scoffed the old man. "You aren’t going to save enough to make a difference." The young person picked up another starfish and flung it back into the water. "Made a difference to that one," he said.

In the same way, if every person here determined to imitate Jesus as a result of worship in this place this day by performing one act of love in the coming week in the name Jesus, then it could be said that "the work that Jesus did we are doing and what we are doing is greater than what he did; because our number this day is greater than one."

You see, Jesus has saved us from sin, filled us with His presence, that through you and me, his love might be expressed to all whom we meet day in and day out, who need God’s love and need it so desperately. Craig Barnes, a professor at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary writes, "Many of us spend far too much time trying to become something we are not instead of just being who we already are." I received a video this week entitled "Who You Are Makes a Difference." It’s about a movement which began probably ten years ago when a teacher decided to honor each of her senior high school students in her class by telling them the difference each of them had made in her life. She presented each one with a blue ribbon on which was printed "Who I Am Makes a Difference." She then gave each of them additional ribbons telling them that this was to be a class project designed to show the impact such recognition would have on their community. They were to choose another person to honor with a blue ribbon and then give that person another blue ribbon to keep the recognition going. Their assignment was to have these people report to them and to bring that report back to the classroom.

One of the boys in that class went to a nearby company where a junior executive had been helping him plan his career. He gave the man a blue ribbon, told him about the class project, and invited him to give one to a third person and report back to him. Later that day, this junior executive went to his boss who was seen as a grouch and admitted to him how deeply he admired him for being a creative genius. He also gave him a blue ribbon to honor someone the boss felt merited it.

That night the boss came home to his 14 year old son and told him about the incredible thing that had happened to him that day; that he had been called a creative genius and that a blue ribbon that reads "Who I Am Makes a Difference" had been applied to his shirt just above his heart. He then said that as he was driving home thinking about who he would honor with the third ribbon, that he settled on his son saying, "My days are really hectic and when I come home, I don’t spend as much time with you as I should. I’ve screamed for you to get better grades, to clean up your room. But tonight, I just want to let you know that you make a difference in my life and I love you."

The startled boy began to sob uncontrollably. Finally, he looked up at his father through his tears and said, "Dad, earlier tonight I sat in my room and wrote a letter to you and Mom explaining why I had taken my life and asked you to forgive me. I was going to commit suicide once you were asleep. I just didn’t think you cared at all. The letter is upstairs and I don’t think I’ll need it after all." His father walked up the stairs and found a heartfelt letter filled with anguish and pain.

That boss went back to work a changed person who often lets each employee know how important she or he is. The junior executive helped several other young people plan their careers and never forgot to let them know that each one had made a difference in his life – one of those being the boss’s son.

The statistics that came with the video says that adolescent suicide has increased 400% in the last 30 years. The average child hears 432 negative statements per day but only 32 positive statements per day. It points out that 60% of people in the workplace cited gossip as the number one problem. 80% of people are hurt by words. Research shows that only about 20% of children and adults can handle put downs without emotional pain and psychological damage. We laugh together, but we cry alone.

I want to give each member of the Bull Pen a blue badge that reads "Who You Are Makes a Difference." I also want to give each of them two more badges. I want them to give one to another person who has impacted their lives in a positive way for which they are grateful. Then I want them to give that person another badge to pass on to a third person so that the recognition can continue. Report back to me your stories!

It’s true that we can’t change the world single-handedly, but we can make a difference; one person, one moment at a time, imitating Jesus our Lord.