Ugly - April 13th, 2014 sermon

By Pastor Greg

Everyone in the apartment complex knew Ugly. Ugly was the resident tomcat. Ugly loved three things in this world: fighting, eating garbage, and shall we say, love. The combination of these things combined with a life spent outside had their effect on Ugly. To start with, he had only one eye, and where the other should have been there was a gaping hole. He was also missing his ear on the same side, his left foot appeared to have been badly broken at one time, and had healed at an unnatural angle. His tail had been lost, leaving only the smallest stub, which he would constantly jerk and twitch. Ugly had sores covering his head, neck, even his shoulders with thick, yellowing scabs. And every time someone saw Ugly there was the same reaction. "That's one UGLY cat!!"

All the children were warned not to touch him. The adults threw rocks at him, or would hose him down when he tried to come in their homes. But Ugly always had the same reaction. If you turned the hose on him, he would stand there, getting soaked until you gave up and quit. If you threw things at him, he would curl his lanky body around feet in forgiveness.

Whenever he spied children, he would come running meowing frantically and bump his head against their hands, begging for their love. But sadly they too saw the cat as Ugly, and treated him just like everyone else did.

One day a new man moved into the apartment complex. He seemed gentle and quiet. That very day Ugly was mauled by some dogs in the neighborhood, and his sad life of rejection was coming to an end. But this new neighbor rushed to where ugly lay torn and bleeding. He picked that ugly cat up into his arms and started to carry him home. And as this gentle, loving man cradled Ugly in his hands, that cat began to purr and snuggle in those loving arms.

What strikes me about that story is not that I might be the kind benevolent man overflowing with compassion, but that I am Ugly. I am the scarred and wounded cat longing for compassion and affection and tenderness. And Christ is the One who takes me in His arms gently holding me and caring for me and loving me while others would not.

I’ve often wondered if the twelve apostles knew this about themselves as they gathered with Jesus in the Upper Room. Did they see themselves as leaders or servants? Did they see themselves as righteous or as sinners? Did they know just how ugly they appeared next to the holiness of Christ? I suspect they did not, for if they had, their reaction to what Jesus did in that Upper Room would have been much more different.

“Before the Passover celebration, Jesus knew that his hour had come to leave this world and return to his Father. He had loved his disciples during his ministry on earth, and now he loved them to the very end. It was time for supper, and the devil had already prompted Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had given him authority over everything and that he had come from God and would return to God. So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel he had around him. When Jesus came to Simon Peter, Peter said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” Jesus replied, “You don’t understand now what I am doing, but someday you will.” “No,” Peter protested, “you will never ever wash my feet!” Jesus replied, “Unless I wash you, you won’t belong to me.” Simon Peter exclaimed, “Then wash my hands and head as well, Lord, not just my feet!” Jesus replied, “A person who has bathed all over does not need to wash, except for the feet, to be entirely clean. And you disciples are clean, but not all of you.” For Jesus knew who would betray him. That is what he meant when he said, “Not all of you are clean.” After washing their feet, he put on his robe again and sat down and asked, “Do you understand what I was doing? You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and you are right, because that’s what I am. And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you”[1] (John 13:1-15).

In the Upper Room that Thursday evening before Jesus was crucified, He kneels before this room of sinners and washes their feet. He looks past the pain, the scars, the brokenness; past mistakes that had been made and ones that will be made; past the sin which indeed makes them so ugly. The Lord takes those ugly disciples and holds each one of them in His hands. Gently, and tenderly He takes each one in His hands, not seeing all that is wrong, but instead seeing the heart of each person in that room.

Jesus washes the feet of Judas, the betrayer, Thomas, the doubter, John, the unloving, Matthew, the tax-collector, and Peter the denier. However, Jesus doesn’t stop there. He would do far more in less than 24 hours. He would give up His spirit for those men as well as all the Pharisees who opposed Him, those who would bear false witness against Him, those who would gamble for His clothes, those who would nail Him to the cross, and those whose actions and behavior appear to be so ugly.

But that also includes me and you. Our actions and behaviors and sins are just as ugly as those gathered around in the Upper Room.

This is the heart of our Savior; that He would take us into His hands and gently hold us even though our sin and our behavior make us appear so ugly. “While we were yet sinners”, says the apostle Paul (Romans 5:8). We are a people scarred by sin, corrupt in our heart, selfish, conceited, and wounded by others who are just as sinful as we are. And yet, wicked as we might be, our Savior takes us into His hands and loves us. He cares for us. He touches us. And there is no better example of this than John 13.

Too often we allow ugliness to define us. We have heard the voice of this world reminding us of all that is wrong with us. We have heard the cry of “ugly” at the end of its pointing finger. And yet in spite of this the Lord gently and lovingly draws near to us – in spite of our ugliness; in spite of what the world might say. And this, I believe, is why the Lord gave the command to follow His example; to wash one another’s feet. This act of love reminds the one doing the serving to see others as the Lord sees them. And it reminds the one being served that the Savior looks upon them with tenderness and compassion; that He draws us close and hold us tight regardless of what the world might say.

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^[1] Tyndale House Publishers. (2007). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (3rd ed.) (Jn 12:50–13:15). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.

You Be Jesus - March 30th, 2014 sermon

By Pastor Greg

A mother was preparing pancakes for her sons, Kevin, age 5, and Ryan, age 3. The boys began to argue over who would get the first pancake. Their mother saw the opportunity for a moral lesson. "If Jesus were sitting here, He would say, 'Let my brother have the first pancake. I can wait.' Kevin turned to his younger brother and said, "Ryan, you be Jesus!"

“You be Jesus” is the call of God in our lives. We are called to become more and more like Christ. But, as we have learned, we do not possess this ability. We cannot become someone we are not. We are not born with it and we cannot manufacture it. We read passages like Galatians 5:22-23 and often realize just how often we fail to live up to this standard. If you are like me, you are troubled by commands such as “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). It seems that too often we observe everything BUT the Fruit of the Spirit in our lives. So sometimes the call to be like Jesus seems far too lofty; a goal we simply cannot reach.

I know that we will become complete “one day”. One day, when we pass from this life, the war within us will be over. The flesh will be stripped away and we will finally be free to be who the Lord wants us to be. But how are we to live in the mean time? How can we still live in this world yet not be a part of this world? How do we nail the passions and desires of our sinful nature to the cross of Christ and crucify them there? Even Paul confessed to struggling with this. A war raged within him between the flesh and the Spirit. What was he to do? What can we do? And what does it mean when we fail to demonstrate the Fruit of the Spirit in our lives all the time? Fortunately Paul gave us the answer in Romans 7:25. The answer to this struggle is found in Jesus Christ.

You know, too often we only think about what Jesus did for us upon the cross. The cross is the most important part of our relationship with Jesus, and our eternal future depends upon how we react to the Cross of Christ. But sometimes we forget what the Lord will do for us in this life as well. Sometimes we forget that there are earthly benefits to a relationship with Christ; benefits we experience this side of heaven. And these benefits can be seen in the “Fruit of the Spirit”.

I know the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives is often pictured as an angel of light sitting on our shoulder trying to persuade us to do the right thing, while the devil sits on the other shoulder luring us to the dark side. But the Holy Spirit is much, much more than the voice of our conscience. And this is where becoming a Christian gets really, really interesting. You see, not only does my Faith in Christ grant me eternal life, but because of my faith the Father grants me the gift of His Spirit. The Holy Spirit’s presence equips me to become someone I am not and someone I could never become on my own. He transforms me, not just informs me what God would have me do. And as His Spirit fills me I find that the emptiness within me and the deep longings of my heart are finally satisfied in this life.

Consider the life of John the Apostle for example. While he walked with Jesus, John was known as a Son of Thunder (Mark 3:17). Throughout the Gospels we get the impression that John was hot-headed, judgmental, and not very loving at all (Luke 9:54; Mark 9:38). John had difficulty loving, and yet years later he would describe himself as a disciple loved by Jesus (John 13:23). Why would John describe his relationship with Jesus in this way? It’s because deep within his heart John knew he lacked love. He did not know how to love, did not have the ability to love, and quite possibly did not feel loved. Yet in Jesus he found what his heart desired. He needed love to be given him so one day he might be transformed into someone who does love.

I see this example even lived out in my own life. On those days when I fail; when I am far from perfect, I desperately need patience and kindness. I need to know that the Lord is not going to lose His temper when the flesh overpowers the Spirit within me. When I fail, I need to know that Jesus will be patient with me because I am not very patient with me. I need Jesus to love me especially on those days when I don’t love me. When no one around me is kind and gentle, I need the Lord to treat me with tenderness and love. These become the deep longings of my soul; to be loved, to be shown patience, and to be treated kindly. Thank God that I am able to find these things in my Savior and my Lord.

It is in experiencing love that we learn to love. It is in being shown patience that we learn patience. The transformation into a person who demonstrates the Fruit of the Spirit takes place because we receive these things first from our Savior. What we need to make it through the day to day living in this life we freely receive from Jesus. This Fruit enables us to live out our lives becoming more like Jesus each and every day.

Let me tell you a wonderful secret: Jesus is cheering you on. He is on your side. He wants to see you succeed in your Christian walk. He wants to see you transformed. He sees where you are weak; where you struggle in letting go of your old life. Yet rather than condemn or accuse, He is your advocate.

I don’t want you to forget this one important lesson. As we look inward at ourselves and see where the Fruit of the Spirit is lacking in our own lives, we must, must realize that through this whole process Jesus is our champion. He is not against us. He is for us. And I can say this with confidence simply because this Fruit that we have been looking at describes the character of our Lord. If the Spirit is trying to transform us into the image of Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18), this Fruit then describes the character of Christ. Our Lord and Savior is Himself loving and joyful and peaceful and patient and kind and good and faithful and gentle and filled with self-control.

You be Jesus. But while you strive to become like Jesus, know this: “My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous” (1 John 2:1).