April 27,
2008
Message
The Rev. A. Thomas Carlson
Scriptures: Acts 17:22-31
John 14:15-21
Today, I want to focus on the words
of Jesus found in John 14 beginning with the 18th verse: “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come
to you. Before long the world will not
see me anymore, but you will see me.
Because I live, you also will live.
On that day you will realize that I am in my Father and you are in me,
and I am in you. Whoever has my commands
and obeys them, he is the one who loves me.
He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and
show myself to him.”
The one word that jumps out at me is
orphan. Jesus is warning of tough times
ahead but no matter what--His disciples would not be left fatherless. In every age, since the beginning of recorded
history, orphans have been with us.
Children, left without a mom and dad, are the first images of orphans
that come to mind. Those of you who went
to
In our time and place in history,
psychology focuses on “adult orphans” and the adjustments we adults go through
after the loss of our parents. There was
a lifelong connection that has been broken, and in the order of nature, cannot
be restored. I suppose if we are “young
adults” in this situation, it can be traumatic because it happens prematurely.
In today’s text, we are not talking
about a child or siblings being left “on their own” or orphaned. Nor are we focusing on “adult orphans” in the
usual sense of the word. In ancient
times, according to Barclay’s commentary, whenever a great teacher died, his
students felt abandoned. Plato noted
that when Socrates died, his disciples “thought that they would have to spend
the rest of their lives forlorn, as children bereft of a father, and they did
not know what to do about it.” Jesus
told His disciples that would not be the case with Him and them. In essence, He told them that they would see
Him (His risen presence) because they would be spiritually alive. Instead of being forlorned orphans they would
live with hope because of their connection to the Risen Christ.
The challenge is to have this make
sense to us in our situation. Anyone of
us could end up being a “spiritual orphan.”
In fact, you could even be here in worship today with that conviction
about yourself. So, for a few moments, I’d
like to focus on some warning signs associated with becoming a “spiritual
orphan” and then remind us that God in Christ does not practice abandonment.
In everyday life, becoming an orphan
can be instantaneous. Mom and Dad are
taken in an auto accident or a flash flood and in an instant, you are left
behind. The most important attachment in
a child’s life is gone. It cuts
deeply. In our spiritual life, we are
the ones, not God, that moves away. There are those who become “spiritual orphans”
intentionally, willfully, while for others it “just happens” over time. Anyone of us here this morning has lived as a
“spiritual orphan” at one time or another.
Those who willfully live as
spiritual orphans are those who make a big deal about being the captain of
their own fate and make choices based solely on their own needs. A spiritual orphan, in this vein, turns a
deaf ear to Jesus’ words in today’s Gospel:
“Whoever has my command and obeys them, he is the one who loves me.” Christ is quite clear, if you know yourself
to be a child of God, then you will live like a child of God. Being a part of the family means accepting
responsibilities. Even those who have
been touched in the Spirit by a gracious, forgiving heavenly Father, in order
to keep that connection, need to expand his or her circle of concern beyond his
or her own immediate concerns. A lack of
accountability (or believing we are accountable only to ourselves) is a primary
cause of becoming a “spiritual orphan.” There
is only room for one. In the end it
is lonely!
The other way we find ourselves in
this fix is that we no longer feel Christ’s presence in our lives. Again, it has more to do with our lives
leaving less room for the Lord--often unintentionally. This is not to say there is only one way to
experience God. In fact, Christians
experience their faith in different ways.
Many devoted Christ followers never have what they would define as a
dramatic religious experience. I agree with
the observation that “Christ comes to us according to our own personality and
needs. Some of us experience Christ
quite emotionally. Others experience Him
when He lives in us.”
There is a beautiful story which
illustrates this truth. A pastor tells
about an experience he had when he was going through what he called a
mini-faith crisis--his faith had become dull and listless (perhaps there was a
sense that Christ had abandoned him). In
an amazing way, God used a young man who was on the maintenance staff at the
church, a man from the Hispanic community, to remind this pastor he was not
alone.
As you know, it is not uncommon for
Hispanic families to give their little boys the name of Jesus. And they call them Jesus, which was the man’s
name. One night the pastor finished a
meeting in the church and went to the office to retrieve his coat. When he got there the lights were on and the
door was open, which was unusual. He
noticed that someone had painted the door and on the side of the wall by the
door there was a note written, which said this:
“Dear Sir, do not close the door.”
It was signed, “Jesus.”
There was a message in that note for
this pastor who’s faith had grown dull and listless--he needed to keep
the door open and once again reconnect with God.
In a sense, orphans will always be on planet Earth. We have created stories about them, even comic strips. There is a sense that we all eventually become orphaned when losing our parents. It’s never easy because the attachment runs deep. When it comes to following the Lord, we do not have to become “spiritual orphans.” In fact, if we accept Christ as Savior and Lord, He is in that relationship for the long haul. So, to keep the connection strong and lively, we need to take to heart our Scripture for today. Jesus tells us “I will not leave you as orphans: I will come to you.” Amen.