Teach Us, O Lord, To Live Generously
Posted on Mar 15, 2015 by David Whetter
Grace and peace to you from God our Creator, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, who abides in which of us. Amen
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life” (3:14-16). This might be the most recognized and memorized bible verse in the world. For many, this verse wasn’t something they learned in Sunday School or even in worship, no for many of my generation they learned this verse by watching NFL football, right? For decades, there was always someone in those end zone seats holding up a sign like this (hold up the sign) every time there was a field goal attempt or a PAT kick. Heck, even many Lutherans have this memorized because of the NFL.
But, you know, as much as we love this verse and as much as it describes our relationship with God, memorizing it by itself is a little deceiving. So, let’s back up and take a look at this verse within its full context. It is nighttime, and in the darkness of night, Nicodemus, a Pharisee, comes to Jesus to talk with him. Nicodemus seems to want to build a relationship with Jesus, but he is afraid of what his fellow Pharisees might think, so he comes at night when no one can see him. He is also confused. He wants to build a relationship with Jesus, but he doesn’t like what hears. He doesn’t want to give up his secure life. He wants to keep things the same and be in relationship with Jesus. But Jesus says, you can’t that Nicodemus, "Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit” (3:5). What? No one can be born twice says Nicodemus.
But Jesus continues and as he begins to explain things to Nicodemus, he says this, “And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15that whoever believes in him may have eternal life” (3:14-15) and then he offers verse 3:16 to Nicodemus, who apparently leaves still confused. These verses about the serpent being lifted are a reminder to Nicodemus of not only who God is, but also about who God’s people are. You see, as we heard in our story from the Book of Numbers this morning, God’s people, who God had freed from slavery, were complaining about God and they wanted more, and so in response to there selfishness, God sent serpents to bite them. Now, when they realized what they had done, they repented and in response to there repentance, God offers a solution; a” snake on a stick.” Yes, whenever someone was bit by a snake, all one had to do was look at the bronze snake and they would be healed. The very thing God sent to condemn his people also was the great healer of the people. Jesus was not only sent into this world to remind us of God’s love for us, but also to remind us that we are a sinful people. We are a people who constantly refuse to use our gifts as God intended. We are people who constantly seek self-gain over the good of all God’s world. We are a people who, like Nicodemus, would prefer to come to Jesus in the darkness of our lives, because we know that to truly follow Jesus into the light, will mean living differently. It will mean giving some things that we really like. For me, in my call struggle, I feared not having the finer things in life. I feared that if I left my career, I would be able to have the home I wanted, take the trips I wanted, and so much more. But, when I finally came to Jesus in the light of day, I discovered that all of those fears were unfounded. I discovered that when I gave up my selfish ways and was willing to live a generous life that I, too, found joy and comfort that I never knew. O don’t get me wrong, there are many “things” I don’t have today because I can’t afford them. I also discovered that me biggest fear, which was the loss of money, turned out to be the least important for me. What I discovered in the light of Christ, was that me greatest gifts and blessings was not money, but my time, my love of God’s word and my desire to make a positive difference in this world. Today, instead of worrying about income, I focus on tings like poverty and racism and instead of denying their existence. I seek to be a change agent in them. Today I seek to live a generous life.
As I look around this sanctuary, I see many who also seek to live generous lives. I see people who are not afraid to admit that poverty and hunger are a reality on our community and who seek to make sure food is available every week to those who come to us for assistance. I see people who are willing to give up some of their financial wealth so that we as a faith community can continue our mission. I see people who are not afraid to literally roll up their sleeves when work needs to be done to insure that others who cannot help themselves have what they need. I see people who live generous lives, not for their sake, not for their gain, but for Christ’s sake and for the betterment of all of God’s creation.
Living a generous life is not always easy. It is costly and it often means sacrificing some of our personal wants and desires. Living a generous life means being willing to live in the light of reality and not be afraid to stand up to the world that is filled with brokenness and challenge the world to change. Living in the light means that we are willing to be generous with our entire lives for we know that the promise and hope of the resurrection is real and we desire all to participate in God’s love.
This is a hard way to live, and this message we hear today from Jesus can be deceiving and it can be very confusing and hard to grasp. In his challenge to Nicodemus, and to us, Jesus is asking much of us and the problem for many is not that it is so difficult to understand, but because if we understand, then we are implicated. We are guilty of denying Christ and Christ’s ways.
But, in the midst of Jesus convicting us of our broken ways, he offers us forgiveness and wholeness, the cross. All we need to do to be saved is look upon the cross. When we find it difficult to live generous lives or to come out of our darkness and into the light of Christ, Jesus says, look upon the cross and know that “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life”
Don’t be afraid to live generous lives. Yes it is hard, but all we need to do to ding the strength to live generously is to turn to Jesus. So this week as we enjoy Spring break, as we journey closer to Good Friday and the celebration of the Resurrection, let pray, Teach us, O Lord, to live generously. Amen.