There was a poll conducted in 2012
and it asked some interesting questions about Jesus. One of the most
interesting questions was this: “Do you think the most important biblical
passage that distills Jesus' message is John 3:16, "For God so loved the
world that he gave his one and only son," and that salvation is determined
by your acceptance of Jesus as savior? Or do you think it's Matthew 25:
"Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did
for me," and that salvation is determined by how you treat the poor and
vulnerable?
Can anybody tell me what is wrong with this question?
This question is written like there are two Jesus’ out there; like there is
this one that is all about having faith, because the Gospel of John focuses
more on having faith in who Jesus is (the Son of God) than what Jesus tells us
to do. The writer of this poll acts like we have to choose one or the other.
This tells us one of two things: A) that the writer probably doesn’t know how
to use the bible, and B) that they don’t spend much time reading the bible.
As Christians, and READERS OF THE BIBLE THAT WE ARE, how
can we answer the question when we know the answer is both? When we look at the
Gospel of John, there is faith language all over the place. In the very first
chapter we are told that Jesus is the Word made flesh. Every time Jesus says “I
Am” in the Gospel of John he is referring to God speaking to Moses from the
Burning bush. Throughout this Gospel Jesus keeps telling us that he is the Son
of the living God so that we have faith in who Jesus is. AND, so that we have
faith in this Good Shepherd as our Gospel says this morning who freely gave
himself for our salvation, Free of charge. We don’t have to do anything because
God did it all.
This writer of the poll is almost pitting this John Jesus
against another Jesus. He uses Matthew 25 “when you have done it to the least
of these, you have done it to me.” The CNN writer is saying that if we believe
in that Jesus then we believe in a Jesus who calls us to do works and those
works are done out of our love for Jesus causes us to do the works in hopes
that we grow in our faith.
That is why this question and all the questions are
flawed in this survey. We cannot separate Jesus from faith and love. This
second lesson from 1 John helps clarify who we are. We are already children of
God. We are born in the light of a God whose only Son went to the cross and
paid the price for our sin, as I said free of charge. Here in 1 John we hear
that we already know what Jesus has done…what God has done for us. We can have
faith in Jesus and in God because of what was freely given to us; forgiveness
of sins and eternal life.
AND it is living in that knowledge that 1 John calls us
to do more than words. We are called to respond to that free gift out of love,
gratitude for all that God has blessed us with. In this second reading John
calls us to truth and action; to acknowledge the blessings and the love of God,
the faith in Christ Jesus our Savior and go and DO…love our neighbor, help
those in need, and maybe even lay down our lives for the sake of the Gospel.
Lay down our lives literally, and figuratively. We all know the literal meaning
to give our lives for the Gospel; but figuratively, it means committing
ourselves, our hearts, and all that we are to continuing the ministries that
Jesus taught; ministries of reaching out into the community as well as the
ministries right inside our building.
It means committing to the ministry of bringing our
families to hear the word of God. It means teaching God’s Word from the
youngest to the oldest. It means working together to ensure that the ministries
of this church continue on for generations to come. To give our family members
and those that come after us a place to hear the word of God and to be in
fellowship together, just like those who came before us some 250 years ago.
This past three
weeks we have heard some powerful faith stories. Stories of how they were
touched by the power of God’s love; how their faith in God was made known in
their hearts and how they responded to that faith, in love, in prayer, and in
commitment to living out their faith. Next Sunday, we will be making a
commitment to God and the ministries of this church, this body of Christ,
Immanuel Lutheran Church and its work in the community and in the lives of one
another. During this week as we prepare to make our commitment, rest in our
faith in Christ and as John said it “Let us love, not in word or speech, but in
truth and action.” AMEN!
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