Jan. 20th Sermon - Would You Change?

God Gives Us January Part 3
Would You Change?

Jeremiah 7:1-11 NLT                                                           
Matthew 18:1-9

This morning we come to the third installment of our sermon series, God Gives us January.  Today’s sermon title comes from its inspiration: the song, “Would You Change?” by Tracy Chapman. She’s an urban folk singer and social activist – one who deals with contemporary issues in a unique way. 

This particular song moved me from the first time I heard it on the radio – I guess because right off she writes about God. I like it when God turns up in secular music. After all that’s about the only way many people will hear about God. So my ears perk up and I listen to what the song is saying about God or prayer.  There seems to be a lot of praying going on in popular music.  I believe Country singers pray the most. I’ve read the lyrics to Would You Change and can say that like a lot of poetry – I don’t always “get” every line.  Sometimes I think poets and songwriters just throw words together just to make the rhythm or rhyme of a certain line or verse work. 

Here are selected parts of her song:

If you knew that you would die today
If you saw the face of God and Love
Would you change?
Would you change?

If you knew that love can break your heart
When you're down so low you cannot fall
Would you change?
Would you change?

[Chorus]

How bad, how good does it need to get?
How many losses how much regret?
What chain reaction
What cause and effect
Makes you turn around
Makes you try to explain
Makes you forgive and forget
Makes you change
Makes you change

If you knew that you would be alone
Knowing right, being wrong
Would you change?
Would you change?

If you knew that you would find a truth
That brings a pain that can't be soothed
Would you change?
Would you change?

If everything you think you know
Makes your life unbearable
Would you change?
Would you change?

If you'd broken every rule and vow
And hard times come to bring you down
Would you change?
Would you change?

If you knew that you would die today
If you saw the face of God and Love
Would you change?
Would you change?

 

And so I asked myself, would I change if I knew that I would die today? 

I think the timing of that is a little close.  Yet If I knew that this was my last day on earth I would definitely change my schedule for the day, even if I couldn’t change myself. I personally would spend the day telling people I love them.  I might also consider my legacy and think if there was anything I could do in that time period to make it be a more positive one. 
Thankfully for me there are no people in my life from whom I am estranged.  Some people might want to reconnect one last time with another person. 

The second line gives us even more food for thought.
If you saw the face of God and Love would you change? They are one in the same.  God is love, perfect love.  And this is what a life of faith is about.  I first wrote Christian life, yet I know that it’s the same for our Jewish friends and perhaps even for people of other faith traditions. A connection with the creator should draw us toward something more perfect and inspire us to strive to be more than we are. 

I chose my scriptures this morning carefully. Jeremiah is speaking to worshippers.  He’s speaking to people like you and me. And it seems pretty clear that he’s saying that Temple worship alone won’t cut it. God is demanding change – away from evil ways, away from the worship of idols away from the exploitation of foreigners, orphans and widows; away even from murder.

God says through Jeremiah:  8 “‘Don’t be fooled into thinking that you will never suffer because the Temple is here. It’s a lie! Do you really think you can steal, murder, commit adultery, lie, and burn incense to Baal and all those other new gods of yours, and then come here and stand before me in my Temple and chant, “We are safe!”—only to go right back to all those evils again?  
Don’t you yourselves admit that this Temple, which bears my name, has become a den of thieves? Surely I see all the evil going on there. I, the Lord, have spoken!”

I’d also like to share Ezekiel 33:12 (CEV)  “Tell them that when good people start sinning, all the good they did in the past cannot save them from being punished. And remind them that when wicked people stop sinning, their past sins will be completely forgiven, and they won’t be punished.”

I remember there being a joke once about sowing your wild oats on Friday night and then going to church on Sunday and praying for a crop failure.  God wants a 7 day faith. 

That doesn’t happen all at once.  Being here on Sunday is a great start – but not if you don’t leave changed. Not if it doesn’t inspire you to examine your life honestly.

In Exodus 33:20, God declares, “You cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.” 
So Tracy, it isn’t so possible to look on the face of God and Love,  at least literally – but I’ve looked into the face of God’s love – at so many times, in so many places, and in so many ways. 

I’ve seen people kneel and give shoes to a homeless man, I’ve seen Doctors Without Borders bringing medical help to people living in the direst of situations.  I’ve seen a hospice worker sitting quietly – just being a loving presence to someone taking the last few breaths of this earthly life.  I’ve seen adults giving their time to teach and lead children and youth. I’ve seen high school students repairing homes in poverty stricken areas of Appalachia.  I’ve seen elderly couples strolling down the pathway – walking cane in one hand, and the hand of their life partner in the other.

These sights have changed me and helped me want to be a better person.  But if you could see God’s face and live – would you change?  How would you change? 

Our gospel lesson is also about change – change of goals and attitudes and lifestyle.   It just seems normal for Jesus’ disciples to have been affected by the fame of their master. Imagine being in the entourage of some famous music star today.  Everywhere you go, people are clamoring after your friend and you are in the middle of it all.  Not only that, Jesus is turning water into wine – that would make you a lot of friends!  He’s healing people – truly performing miracles – walking on water for goodness’ sake.  How could that not give any average Joe a head trip of some sort?  So the disciples seem to be concerned with who would be the greatest.

Jesus says – it’s not about being a person of importance – you must change your attitude about that and become a humble person like this child – that is where true greatness lies.  And he goes after some of the same things as Jeremiah – change from your sinful ways. Bring no harm to children.  He adds, “Don’t tempt others to sin.”  And then he uses hyperbole that is so strong it’s off-putting to me.  If your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. Please know Jesus is in no way demanding that people cut off body parts. 

He’s using a figure of speech that is shocking in order to make a strong point – get rid of anything in your life that is causing you to sin.  It would be better to live without this thing than to live in hell.  We can read that last bit in two ways – we can look at it from the viewpoint of our state of being after death.  However, Jesus also preaches that eternal life begins on earth.  Eternal life is not just about everlasting life – it’s about a quality of life here and now.  And we can certainly live in hell on earth.  Ask any heroin addict for example.

As I sat in that KFC  – with the Holy Spirit bringing me sermon ideas as fast as I could write – these three words came to me:  Regrets, Re-do’s and Resolutions.

I don’t know about you but I’ve done and said things in my life that I sincerely regret. Some were just little things but I really wish I could go back and re-do them.  Haven’t you ever looked back on your life and said, “If I knew then what I know now – things would have been different.”?  I could give you a whole list of things that would be different – from becoming more physically active at a young age to my choice of relationships.  Regrets and wishes for re-do’s go hand in hand.  But for the most part – we don’t get re-dos. The past is written in stone.  It’s only the present and future that offers the opportunity for doing something differently, if we make a resolution to change. The other thing I acknowledge when I get all regretful about previous life choices is that those choices, good or bad brought me to this very place and it is a place I’m happy to be.  So I need to let go, to ask God’s forgiveness where it’s needed and to move forward in a thoughtful manner.  

Thoughtful is a good word. We would all move through life more smoothly if we put more thought into our plans, our attitudes and our actions.  Think about the past and learn from it.  They say the definition of insanity is doing the same things over and over and expecting different results. 

Secondly, think about the consequences of your current actions.  In last week’s scripture Paul used the phrase, “in everything.”  That means big things and little things, in all areas of your life. I am a procrastinator.  One day this week I had to tell myself that if I didn’t water my plants, which I had been putting off, they would surely die.  With my brown thumb they will eventually die anyway but at least they will die watered.  Think before you post something on Facebook that’s negative or critical of others.  Think before you get behind the wheel when impaired in any fashion.  Think before you get involved with someone you know is trouble.  Think about the ways you can use your time, talents and resources to help others, and to make God’s kingdom, this church and the world a better place. 

Think before you build a wall, not letting things of life influence you for the good.  Going back to that song, here are some remarks someone posted on the web about this song:

“This was a life changing record for me for a short time. It is no strange stroke of luck that when you look at it, the ads [on the website] that are picked are religious yet no one has picked up on that.
I bought this CD and this was the first tune on it that I really fell in love with. Two days later my son (3) came down with a serious case of meningitis. Whilst he was sleeping I sat drinking and drunk in my car listening to this tune and it ALL made sense. I sat there and for the first time in my life wept and prayed to a God whom I never believed in to save my son. I promised I would change my drinking ways and accept God into my heart if he would just see me through this crisis and spare my child. He did. I only partially came through on my part of the deal but at the time it made SO MUCH SENSE. And I meant it.”

Let’s face it – most significant change doesn’t happen overnight.  But it’s ok to take baby steps when they take us in the right direction.  We do have to make the decision to change and take those first steps.  Pastor and author Adam Hamilton saw this on a church sign:  “Life has no remote. Get up and change it yourself.”  It goes well with a quote from a devotion by our District Superintendent this week:  Someone said, “I’d like to be more independent, but I can’t do it by myself.”   True independence is really interdependence.  We can benefit from the assistance of others, as we also help them. 

In Acts 3 Peter challenges the people: “Change your hearts and lives! Turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.” 

If you knew that you would die today
If you saw the face of God and Love
Would you change?
Would you change?

Peace to you. Amen.