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On this Lenten journey, we have
been following the prayer paths of Jesus. This journey began
in solitude and then took us out to the roadside. This week
Jesus will take us to the side of the mountain. In Matthew’s
Gospel, there are three complete chapters dedicated to the
times Jesus took his disciples up into the mountains for
retreat and renewal. It was during these mountaintop
experiences that Jesus would impart some of the most
essential pieces of wisdom about what it would mean to live
into the Kingdom of God. It was during these times the
disciples could ask Jesus some of the questions that weighed
heavy on their hearts. We call these times Jesus spent on
the mountainside with his followers the Sermon on the Mount,
and perhaps the most famous question any of the disciples
ever asked him on this mountainside was, “Lord, how are we
to pray?”
“How are we to pray?” It is a
question that all of us would probably want to ask. How are
we to communicate with the very source of our being? What
are we supposed to say? Are we supposed to say anything at
all? How are we to pray? In response to this simple
question, Jesus would string together 66 simple words that
have stood as the model of how we are to be at prayer. Those
words have become known as the Lord’s Prayer, perhaps the
single most recognizable piece of liturgy throughout the
entire Christian church.
In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus
tells us so many things about how we are to approach God.
Its lessons are so important because when we pray, when we
close our eyes, fold our hands and enter into a moment of
prayer, immediately an image of the God we believe we are
praying to will form in our mind’s eye. The image of God we
hold in moments of prayer is so important because that image
will affect almost every other aspect of our lives. The
image we have of God affects how we see ourselves, how we
see the world around us, and how we will choose to live with
others in this world. There are a lot of different ways
people look at God, some far more helpful than others.
Tonight, let’s take a look at some of the images we carry
about God in hopes of finding the image of God that Jesus
unveiled on the mountainside. Here is one of the ways people
sometimes look at God:
Hey, I suppose you know you are
trespassing. Who let you in under that fence, anyhow? You
are breaking ordinance 737, paragraph DD, sentence 6. Me?
I’m God, and I’m Sheriff of these here parts. You don’t need
to tell me your name because I already know your name.
That’s right, I’ve been watching you. It’s my job as Sheriff
of the Cosmos to keep track of you—to make sure you don’t do
anything wrong, that you don’t step out of line. Because
when you do, I gotcha.
It’s my job to enforce the
rules, and let me tell you something. I’ve been watching
you. In fact, I’ve been watching all of you. I am making my
list and I am checking it twice, and trust me, I know who’s
been naughty and who’s been nice. And let me just say, most
of you haven’t been too nice lately! As a matter of fact, I
wrote most of you off a long time ago. Most of you will be
going right down the chute, if you know what I mean. And as
for the rest of you, it is just a matter of time before I
catch you messing up or breaking one of the rules. It’s just
a matter of time before I catch you having fun. FUN….those
are the first three letters in “funeral” as far as I am
concerned. If I catch you, I’ll have to put a little red X
next to your name. Then you’ll have to do a whole bunch of
good deeds in order to get rid of the red X. And if you
don’t do enough? Well, let’s just say it ain’t gonna be a
pretty sight. That’s right, I’m God. It’s my job to keep you
in line. Most folks are scared of me—scared to death! Well
good, that’s the way I like it!
All of us, at one time or
another, have had to deal with this image of God. God the
Sheriff—the God of too many rules and too much judgment. The
God who never seems to notice when I am doing anything
right, but is always there when I step just a slight bit out
of line. It is the image of God the relentless rule maker
that often drives us to always be better or be the best.
Living with this image of God always means somebody is in
and somebody is out. If folks don’t live by the rules, at
least as I understand the “the rules,” then they are simply
outside of God’s blessing.
Whenever I find myself running
(or hiding) from this image of God as Sheriff, I turn to
Psalm 103 and read about someone who didn’t have this
particular image of God. Listen to these powerful words:
The Lord works righteousness
and justice for all the oppressed.
He made known his ways to Moses,
his deeds to the people of Israel:
The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in love.
He will not always accuse,
nor will he harbor his anger forever;
he does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
As a father has compassion on his children,
so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him.
So if the image of God as
Sheriff isn’t the most healthy or helpful image of God for
us to carry, then what is? Here is another way we sometimes
view God:
Welcome, good sir!!! It is nice
to see you again. It has been nearly four months since your
last visit. Yes, it’s right here…Christmas. It was a jolly
good time, indeed. How is everything, sir? I have your list
right here. Yes, let’s see…I gave you a new split level home
with a swimming pool and a Jacuzzi. Oh dear...I did, I did,
forget the Jacuzzi. I’m terribly sorry about that, sir. Let
me take care of that right away. (One Jacuzzi for the split
level home.) And how about the new boss, sir? Is he treating
you all right? Oh, very good….it was no trouble at all. I
did think sending your old boss to Siberia was a bit
extreme, so I hope Wyoming would be permissible. (Very good,
one old boss to Wyoming.)
Well, what is it today, sir?
There must be some kind of emergency, some sort of crisis,
you just calling me like this. Oh my, sir. That’s terrible.
You got in an automobile accident. Totaled your car. What
kind of car was it? A ’72 Chevette? I’m not sure I’d call
that a crisis, sir. No, no sir…just a little joke…a little
godly humor, if you will. I will make note of it, sir.
(Replace the ’72 Chevette.) A new car? Why certainly, sir.
What a great idea. I never would have thought of that. What
kind would you like? A BMW? Excellent choice, sir. Any
model? The M3…once again a great choice. Make it a
convertible…now why didn’t I think of that? I’ll get right
to work on that, sir. Wouldn’t want to forget like I did the
Jacuzzi now, would I? No, no…no need to thank me, sir.
That’s what I am here for. Your wish is my command. I was
wondering if you might stay a moment, sir. It would be nice
to catch up. No, no, I understand…you are a very busy
person. You have places to go and people to see. I’ll just
pencil you in for…Easter, sir? Very good…goodbye.
God as Butler. A God whose only
function is to tend to our every need. You know, if we were
to poll the congregation tonight and ask everyone when,
“When you pray, what is the image of God that comes to
mind?”, I imagine that we probably wouldn’t find too many
people who actually say that God is their butler. It would
be a bit presumptuous. But how about in practice? When I
think about my life, I know that more often than I’d like to
admit, that is exactly how I have treated God. How many
times do we only go to God if we are in a crisis or only
when we need to get out of a jam? “Please God, just this
once…”
I guess the problem of only
praying to God like a butler, only praying when we are in
need and have nowhere else to turn, is that we miss out on
so much. I think that through our prayer life, God hopes to
share in our times of joy as well as in our times of
trouble. In prayer, God can help celebrate with us in those
times of abundance, not just help us in times of scarcity.
The other problem with praying
to God the Butler is that it is so individual. “Dear
God…help me.” If our image of God is one of Butler,
the great blessing bestower, then we end up placing only
ourselves and only our needs at the center of everything.
Jesus reminded us, in what is now called the Greatest
Commandment, that when it comes to our relationship with
God, it isn’t just about us, it isn’t just a vertical thing.
Remember he said, “Love the Lord your God with all your
heart, all your soul, all your strength and all your mind,
and love your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus reminds us that
our prayer life must be horizontal, as well. It must include
the needs of others as well as our own needs. He reminds us
that God is far more than just a butler.
So if the image Jesus wants us
to carry for God is not one of a Sheriff or of a Butler,
then the question still remains: Who is this God to whom
Jesus says we should pray? Well, here is another image of
God we sometimes have:
Well, howdy. You kind of snuck
up on me here, didn’t you? The name’s Jehovah…but you can
call me God for short. I’ve been God, well, for about as
long as I can remember. It’s been pretty good being God.
Mostly I sit right up here on my throne and watch things
happen. I just kind of keep an eye on everything. Back in
the old days, I used to be a lot busier. I sure did. Why, I
remember this one time I created the whole universe…took me
about a week, I think. Then there was that time I got the
fella to fill that boat with those animals. What was that
fella’s name? Noah, that’s right! Yeah, I got old Noah to
build that boat and save the world from the flood. Sure was
a smelly boat, though. Then there was this time that I made
a highway right smack dab in the middle of the Red Sea. I
was taking care of kids…you know, the children of Israel.
They were trying to escape the Egyptians and I let them walk
right through. Wow, was that cool. Because then those
Egyptians tried to follow them in there and I shut the
curtain right on them. Surprise, surprise, surprise. You
should have seen it. It was great.
Yup, those were the good ol’
days. I guess I don’t get around much anymore. Don’t get too
involved. I’m kind of retired. I mostly just got things
going, gave them a good push, and then I came back up here
to my throne and now I just watch them happen. Well, maybe
every now and then I’ll perform some small miracle, help
somebody out, take care of people here and there….you know,
that kind of stuff. Otherwise I’m just up here on my throne.
I’ve got my crossword puzzles and I have Bingo with the
angels on Monday night. It’s been good, though. Well, it’s
been nice chatting with you. I’ve got to take my morning
nap… doctor’s orders and all. You come on back,
now….
God as an Old Man who went to
sleep sometime after the Old Testament was written. A God
who, if he ever possessed any power, sure isn’t using it
anymore. A God who either used up all his power or lost it.
A God who certainly has nothing to do with everyday
life…that’s left to us.
I think sometimes when we look
out at our war-torn and poverty-stricken world, it might be
easy to think that God has retired, checked out, isn’t able
(or at least isn’t interested) in helping us out. But thank
God for Jesus. God came to us in the person of Jesus Christ
to show that God is interested in every detail of the human
experience. In Jesus Christ, God showed us that there was
nowhere God wasn’t willing to go with us—into sickness and
brokenness, loneliness and confusion. Even unto death. In
the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we
encountered a God who is far from retired, but active and
alive and working in the affairs of nations and governments,
as well as in the lives of folks just like you and me.
So the question still remains.
What is the image of God Jesus points us towards? Well, in
order to help his disciples get a glimpse of God, he told
them a story—a story that has become one of our favorites. I
tell it to you now in the first person:
I really don’t know where to
start. Well…okay…I really didn’t know what to expect. I’d
been away from home for about five years. I hadn’t seen my
mom or dad. I just didn’t know what was going to happen when
I showed up. I didn’t write a letter or call to let them
know I was coming or anything because I was afraid that if
they had any warning, they would lock up the house and the
cops would be there waiting for me. So I decided to just
show up. I was a sight. I had just hitchhiked about 1,000
miles. It was the middle of the winter and I was wet and
cold. My clothes were all torn and dirty. I hadn’t showered
in about two weeks. I must have smelled something fierce.
It’s not the way I left, that’s
for sure. No, when I left five years earlier I had $50,000
in my pocket—money I had taken from a trust fund my parents
had set up for me—and I took off. The only thing that was in
my mind was freedom. I wanted to be free—free from my mom
and dad, from their rules, their church, their friends. I
wanted to just get out of there and experience some real
life. I wanted out. I wanted to go where the action was,
where real life was happening. I did, and things sure
happened. I had a lot of friends….for a while anyway. But
drugs and fast living have a way of emptying your pockets,
and before I knew it, my stomach was empty, as well. I found
myself behind restaurants digging in garbage bins for my
next meal. The big factory had big layoffs and there was no
work anywhere. One morning I woke up and said, “I need to go
home.” I didn’t know what my mom and dad would say because I
had really messed things up. They had no reason to take me
back. But I had nothing to lose, so I just decided to go
home.
I showed up about two o’clock in
the afternoon. I went over to this park and started to
rehearse my speech: “Mom and Dad, I’m sorry I messed up. I
know I don’t deserve anything. Maybe you could just give me
a job as an errand boy in your company.” I rehearsed that
for an hour, then went over to my house. There weren’t any
cars in the driveway because both my folks work, so I
thought I’d better check in the mailbox, because what if
they had moved or something. It’s not like they knew where I
was or anything. So I went over and opened up the box, and
sure enough, there were a couple of bills there with my
parents’ names on them. That’s when I saw the note. It was
kind of yellow and curled up at the edges. Some of the tape
was peeling off. It had my name on it. I took it and opened
it. It read:
Dear Jeff,
Sandwiches
in the fridge, clean sheets on the bed, house key in that
same old hiding place. Welcome home!
Love,
Mom and Dad
Well, I wasn’t about to walk
into an empty house. I mean, I had had enough trouble with
the police. I guessed it was just safer to stay put until
they got back home. I walked across the street and ducked
under some bushes, and I just waited. About four o’clock,
my mom came home. She drove down the street and pulled into
the driveway. She checked the mail and I saw her hand go up
to her mouth, and she went running into the house. About ten
minutes later, a car came rushing down the street and
slammed on the brakes right in the front of my house. It was
my dad. He ran into the house. Every five minutes my mom
would stick her head out of the house and look up and down
the street. My dad just stood in front of the bay window,
kind of looking…like he was looking for somebody.
I didn’t work up enough courage
to knock on the door until about midnight. I didn’t know
what they were going to say. I knocked on the door. My dad
opened the door and he just stood there and stared for a
minute, then he started to cry. I started into my speech:
“Dad, I’m sorry…” He wouldn’t even let me finish. He just
grabbed me and gave me this great big bear hug, and then my
mom ran in and started hugging me, too. They took me into
the dining room and dinner was on the table—my favorite,
lasagna. I started eating and my dad got on the phone and
called my brother, and the whole family came over. It was
one o’clock in the morning on a school night, and they were
having a party…for me. That’s when I realized just how much
my parents loved me. I sure didn’t expect that and I sure
didn’t deserve it. But my mom and dad, you see, they love
me…they really do.
So Lord, how are we to pray? And
Jesus said to pray like this: “Our Father, who art in
heaven…”
And who is this heavenly father?
To that, Jesus told them a story:
There was a man who had two
sons. The younger one said to his father, “Father, give me
my share of the estate.” So he divided his property between
them.
Not long after that, the younger
son got together all he had, set off for a distant country
and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had
spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole
country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired
himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to
his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with
the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him
anything.
When he came to his senses, he
said, “How many of my father’s hired men have food to spare,
and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back
to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against
heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called
your son; make me like one of your hired men.” So he got up
and went to his father.
But while he was still a long
way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion
for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and
kissed him.
The son said to him, “Father, I
have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer
worthy to be called your son.”
But the father said to his
servants, “Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put
a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the
fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate.
For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was
lost and is found.” So they began to celebrate!
When we pray, Jesus tells us
that we bring ourselves before the God who, like a loving
parent, stands with arms open wide, always ready to receive
us and welcome us home. I don’t know where you are on your
journey tonight. I don’t know if you are feeling a long way
from home or if you already know this God—this loving,
forgiving, all-embracing God—whom Jesus tells us about.
Wherever you are on this journey, simply know that God waits
for our return as a father waits for the return of his much
beloved and long lost child. If you haven’t met this God
yet, I pray you meet him soon. If you know him already, why
not introduce him to someone else?
Note: The monologues in this
sermon were adapted from Curt Cloninger’s video entitled
God Views. In this video, Curt gives several other very
creative and funny presentations of the ways we sometimes
look at God. It is definitely worth seeing. More information
on this video and other works by Cloninger can be found on
his website, http://www.curtcloninger.com.
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