SERMON: TODAY I WAS REMINDED OF MY PURPOSE

26 April 2015

I.  Introduction

            -- turn in Bibles to Luke 19:1-10

Luke 19:1-10 (NIV)

1 Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through.

2 A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy.

3 He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a short man he could not, because of the crowd.

4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.

5 When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today."

6 So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.

7 All the people saw this and began to mutter, "He has gone to be the guest of a 'sinner.'"

8 But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount."

9 Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham.

10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."

            -- "Today I was reminded of my purpose"¹

            -- that line was the first post I read when I opened up my Facebook account on Friday morning -- it was from a young friend of mine, and I don't know the occasion that prompted this statement -- he did not elaborate in his status -- but these simple words spoke volumes to me and have been constant companions in my thoughts ever since

            -- I have noticed in recent years the presence of a communal wandering -- a "lostness," if you will -- a sense that a lot of people in our world are drifting through life -- aimless and pointless and searching for meaning and purpose

            -- I have felt this personally in my own life, and attributed it to the familiar mid-life crisis most men my age are accused of going through -- and while my own wandering and search for meaning and purpose haven't followed the clichéd path of a little red sports car and dyed hair, it has been there none-the-less

            -- initially, I thought this lostness and wandering was a by-product of my own middle-aged generation, but this post from my young friend now makes me think differently

            -- when I stopped for a moment and stepped back and looked at this subject from a bigger perspective, it struck me that this desire to find true meaning and purpose has affected our entire nation -- you see it in the recent spate of business productivity books and self-help guides -- you see it in the wander-lust on the pages of Facebook as people travel aimlessly from place-to-place looking for God only knows what

            -- I went back and looked at the recent best-seller books that I have read, and two just leaped out at me -- the first, "The Four-Hour Work Week," by Tim Ferris, was written because of his realization that most people are unsatisfied with the current trajectory of their lives -- that the familiar path of grade school to college or vo-tech and then careers spanning 30 years until you finally trudge to the golden gates of retirement -- did not provide the meaning and purpose so desperately sought

            -- the second is a book I am reading right now -- "My Year with Eleanor" -- in which Noelle Hancock chooses to live a year doing one thing each day that she is fearful of in an attempt to find direction and meaning and purpose in her life

            -- I only  mention these two books specifically because they reflect this new genre of literature that is being written to address this communal drifting and search for meaning

            -- so what is it that is driving this search? -- why has the quintessential male midlife crisis been joined by multi-generational searches for meaning and purpose?

            -- after pondering this for some time, I have come to the conclusion this drifting and sense of lostness is a move of God -- I think it is God shaking our lives and calling our attention to the fact the American Dream should not be our dream -- that we were created for more than a treadmill to retirement -- that we were created to love and to be loved -- to be in relationship with God and to live out of that relationship into the lives of those we come into contact with

            -- but in order to do so, we must learn to see again

            -- you might have heard the story this week in the news about a third-grade teacher in Colorado who wanted to get to know her students better -- to see them, if you will, with new eyes

            -- so she gave them a writing assignment that had them answer the prompt, "I wish my teacher knew..." -- and left it open-ended for the students to write what was on their hearts

            -- some of the responses were predictable  

            -- some showed an awareness of the corporate American Dream treadmill, even at this young age  

            -- but others showed hearts in need of a special touch 

            -- there is no way this teacher can go back to business as usual after reading these notes -- her eyes have to have been opened through the results of this assignment -- and she has to understand that there are more important things for her to accomplish in her classroom than merely teaching through the mandated third-grade curriculum

            -- through this assignment, she remembered her purpose

            -- so how can we remember our own purpose? -- how do we add meaning to our lives so when we look back at the end of our days we don't merely see a forced march to retirement and death?

            -- St. Augustine wrote that our hearts are restless until they find rest in our God and Creator -- I would add that our hearts are restless until we remember our purpose and add meaning to our lives -- and that our purpose and meaning are captured in the command of Christ to love one another as He has loved us

            -- Life Magazine, of all places, caught the essence of the purpose behind Christ's command with their inspirational motto:  “To see the world, things dangerous to come to, to see behind walls, draw closer, to find each other, and to feel. That is the purpose of life.”

            -- we are called to more than we are doing -- we are called to know and to love others -- but that requires us to first open our eyes and see those around us as they truly are -- not just the surface they show the world -- but their heart-felt needs such as those expressed by the children in that class

            -- Jesus gives us that example here in this passage from Luke 19 -- let's look together now at this passage and see what we can learn about seeking others and loving them as a means to defining true life and purpose for ourselves

II.  Scripture Lesson (Luke 19:1-10)

            -- look back at verse 1

Luke 19:1 (NIV)

1 Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through.

            -- I want you to notice something there -- Jesus was just passing through -- this is important on two levels

            -- first, it implies Jesus knew where He was going -- He knew what His purpose was -- He knew His destination -- there was no lostness or wandering or drifting with Jesus -- He had a plan that had been given Him from His Father -- and, as Luke points out elsewhere in this gospel, Jesus had resolutely turned His face towards Jerusalem -- towards the goal His Father had set before Him

            -- what I want you to understand here is that we only find purpose and meaning when we follow the Father's will for our lives

            -- which brings us to our second point -- although Jesus was just passing through -- although Jericho was merely a feature in the path He was following -- He never wavered from His true, ultimate purpose -- which was to love and redeem the lost of Israel -- even as He was passing through, He kept His eyes open for those who needed to know Him -- for those who were ready to love Him

            -- we need to learn to keep our eyes open, as well -- in the midst of any path we tread, we need to remember God has placed us here to reach others with the good news of Jesus Christ -- and we need to be ready, in season and out of season, to share this good news with all those God brings into our path

            -- verse 2-4

Luke 19:2-4 (NIV)

2 A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy.

3 He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a short man he could not, because of the crowd.

4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.

            -- "a man was there by the name of Zacchaeus" -- there's meaning in that phrase -- you see, the name Zacchaeus was taken from a Hebrew word meaning pure or innocent -- but Zacchaeus was not living up to his name

            -- Zacchaeus was a tax collector -- you need to know that tax collectors were despised by the Jews -- not only did they serve the Romans who occupied the Holy Land, but they taxed their own people unmercilessly

            -- they were not paid a salary by the Romans to be tax collectors -- they made their money by skimming off the top -- taxing the Jewish people more than the Romans demanded and keeping the difference -- the more they took from their Jewish neighbors, the more they could keep for themselves

            -- and not only was Zacchaeus a tax collector, but he was a chief tax collector -- he was the chief of sinners and probably the most despised man in all of Jericho -- rich -- dishonest -- and short of stature -- someone who was looked down on by all, and not just because of his height

            -- but when Zacchaeus heard that Jesus was passing through, he got curious -- the text says that he wanted to see who Jesus was

            -- that's a curious phrase, isn't it? -- he wanted to see who Jesus was -- we can assume from this that Zacchaeus had heard about Jesus and about His miracles and about His teachings -- but now, he wanted to see who He really was

            -- we come into contact with a lot of people like Zacchaeus every day -- they've probably heard about Jesus -- they know about church -- maybe they've even been to church off and on -- maybe they even call themselves a Christian -- but they've never really experienced Jesus -- they don't know who Jesus is -- they know about Him, but they don't know Him

            -- that's where Zacchaeus is -- he's looking for something more in his life -- and he wonders if Jesus might be that something more he's been trying to find

            -- verse 5 -6

Luke 19:5-6 (NIV)

5 When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today."

6 So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.

            -- now I want you to get the picture of what the street looked like in Jericho that day -- Jesus is passing through with His disciples -- and Luke tells us a crowd has gathered -- the sides of the street are crowded with people -- to the point that Zacchaeus can't even get close to where Jesus is passing -- it's like a parade -- just people everywhere -- just faces in a crowd

            -- but Luke tells us that Jesus came to the spot and stopped and looked up -- as we said before, Jesus wasn't just passing through without paying attention -- Jesus was looking for someone who was seeking Him -- Jesus had His eyes open -- and when He reached the spot, Luke says He stopped and saw Zacchaeus

            -- I like that phrase, "the spot" -- that implies this wasn't an accident -- it wasn't just chance that the Savior came passing through Jericho that day -- it wasn't just a coincidence that in the midst of the crowd Jesus stopped at "the spot" where the chief of sinners -- the chief of tax collectors -- waited to see Him and looked up -- no, the spot was a divine appointment

            -- Zacchaeus was lost and he knew he was lost -- he was trapped in a job that I'm sure he didn't like -- who wants to work in a place where you are daily castigated and hated by your own countrymen? -- he wasn't living up to his name -- his life wasn't pure or innocent -- his hands were dirty -- his soul was stained -- all that lay before him was more of the same -- but he longed for something better

            -- and so God led him to "the spot" where the Savior of the world was watching -- and when Jesus saw him, Jesus told Zacchaeus that He must stay at his house that day -- Zacchaeus was overjoyed and came down immediately to welcome Jesus into his home and into his heart

            -- verse 7

Luke 19:7 (NIV)

7 All the people saw this and began to mutter, "He has gone to be the guest of a 'sinner.'"

            -- this is a reminder to us that most people God puts in our path are not going to be well-respected in society -- God leads us to those who most need His touch -- who need to know His presence -- regardless of their station in life

            -- in my time working with the homeless and in the reading I have done about them, I have learned that the one thing they desire more than anything else is to be seen -- to truly be known by another

            -- too often when we pass the homeless in the street, we don't see the person -- we don't see the heart -- we see another nameless face in the crowd -- and while we might give them a handful of change -- we don't really see them for who they are

            -- we need to learn to open our eyes and see the people God has called us to minister -- to look within -- to look at their heart -- no matter if they are the most respected politician in town or whether they are the chief of sinners as Zacchaeus was

            -- and we need to be prepared for the response we may receive from those around us as they question why we are associating with someone like this -- the residents of Jericho muttered against Jesus because He was helping a sinner -- we will experience the same as we minister to those God puts in our path

            -- verse 8

Luke 19:8-10 (NIV)

8 But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount."

9 Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham.

10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."

            -- after Jesus saw him and knew him, Zacchaeus found a different path -- he repented of his sins -- he turned away from his previous life -- and he chose to walk a new life of meaning and purpose in the Son

            -- Jesus proclaimed that salvation had come that day to Zacchaeus and his whole household -- that the lost had been saved and that God's purposes had been fulfilled

III.  CLOSING

            -- In the 3rd-century, a skeptic named Celsus made fun of Origen (a Christian leader of day) --  Celsus said, "When most teachers go forth to teach, they cry, ’Come to me, you who are clean and worthy,’ and they are followed by the highest caliber of people available. -- But your silly master cries, ’Come to me, you who are down and beaten by life,’ and so he accumulates around him the rag, tag and bobtail of humanity."

            -- And Origen replied: "Yes, they are the rag, tag and bobtail of humanity. -- But Jesus does not leave them that way. -- Out of material you would have thrown away as useless, he fashions men, giving them back their self-respect, enabling them to stand on their feet and look God in the eyes. -- They were cowed, cringing, broken things. -- But the Son has set them free."³

            -- for those who find themselves adrift in this world today, seeking meaning and purpose in life, let me point you down a new path -- Jesus said here in verse 10 that He came to seek and save that which was lost -- and that's where we will find our purpose and meaning in life, too

            -- our goal -- our objective -- is to see and be seen -- to know and to be known -- to love and to be loved -- our calling is to rescue the cowed cringing, broken things of society and to love them into the kingdom of God

            -- at the end of your days, what will be the measure of your life? -- a retirement certificate on the wall? -- a last-ditch effort to travel and see what you missed your whole life? -- or the remembrance of lives touched for the kingdom -- of souls saved from the fire -- of eternity changed for many because you took the time to seek them out and to see them and to love them

            -- this week, I want to challenge you to look at life as never before -- to look into the eyes of another -- to seek their heart -- and to speak into their life the good news of Jesus Christ

            -- that is where we find meaning and purpose -- that is what we are searching for

            -- let's pray

¹ Carl Glen T. Caballas

²Liz Klimas, Apr. 17, 2015 8:25am, The Blaze: "‘I Wish My Teacher Knew’ Assignment Reveals Third-Grade Students’ Heartbreaking Secrets"; http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2015/04/17/i-wish-my-teach-knew-assignment-reveals-third-grade-students-heartbreaking-secrets/

³From a sermon by Jeff Strite, Stewardship of a “Patchless” Life, 1/3/2010, http://www.sermoncentral.com/illustrations/sermon-illustration-sermon-central-staff-stories-evangelismthelost-75194.asp

SERMON: TAKING ADVICE

12 April 2015

I.  Introduction

            -- turn in Bibles to Proverbs 12:26

Proverbs 12:26 (NIV)
²⁶ A righteous man is cautious in friendship, but the way of the wicked leads them astray.

            -- if there is one maxim I have discovered in my life to be absolutely true, it is this:  Everybody else knows exactly what you should be doing, and they don't hesitate to let you know

            -- just think about it -- everywhere you look today, you see people trying to give advice -- if not in person, then through Facebook and twitter and Instagram and even through bumper stickers and t-shirts -- everybody wants to tell you what to do

            -- this week -- just take a moment and see how many signs or messages you see that begin with the words, "Keep Calm" -- they're everywhere -- this message started as a motivational poster to the British during World War II -- the British Government commissioned signs that said "Keep Calm and Carry On" to be printed and put up all around the country to encourage people during the hard times of World War II

            -- but recently, these signs have been showing up everywhere with all kinds of different instruction -- Keep Calm and Read a Book -- Keep Calm and Study On -- Keep Calm and Stop Texting -- Keep Calm and Drink Coffee -- Keep Calm and Love Life -- Keep Calm and Be Yourself -- the list is endless -- and if you look around town, you'll see people everywhere trying to advise you on what you should be doing

            -- that's the thing about advice -- we love to give advice -- more so than receive it

            -- I remember when I was just starting my career as a wildlife biologist, I gave some advice one day that could have been deadly -- another guy and I were on Ossabaw Island and were conducting some surveys for sites to trap feral hogs -- and as we made our way through the woods, we ran across a very large alligator -- this guy had to be 10 feet long or so -- and there he was, sitting right in the middle of a pine forest -- the only thing we could figure is he was crossing from one body of water to another, perhaps seeking a mate

            -- so we pulled out our cameras and started taking photographs -- but there's nothing more boring than a photograph of an alligator just laying there doing nothing -- it's like a picture of a log -- this gator could have been stuffed, for all the action we were seeing

            -- so we talked about it -- we were both young biologists -- we wanted action photos -- animals doing things -- not just laying there looking like a log -- the guy I was with was from up north where they didn't have alligators -- he said, "well, how do we make it move?" -- and so I told him -- "take a stick and tap it on the head -- that will make it move" -- sounded good -- I told him I'd take pictures first and then we'd switch positions and he could take pictures

            -- so he grabbed a long branch -- probably about five foot long -- and he gingerly approached this alligator from the front and reached out and tapped the alligator on the head -- and, all of a sudden, the alligator lunged at him with mouth open -- he turned to run...and fell

            -- so there we were -- I was standing there taking pictures and I watched the sheer panic on his face as the alligator came after him -- luckily, there was a fallen log between him and the alligator -- and the alligator stopped his charge when he got to the log and my friend was able to get up and get safely away

            -- my bad advice to this guy almost resulted in a serious accident

            -- but isn't that the way of most bad advice? -- bad advice kills people -- bad advice does nothing good -- that's why Solomon wrote here in Proverbs 12:26 that a righteous man is cautious in friendship -- you're careful in who your friends are and you're careful in what they tell you -- because the way of the wicked will lead you astray

            -- the New Living Translation puts a better spin on this in terms of advice -- it says "the godly give good advice to their friends; the wicked lead them astray"

           

            -- this morning I wanted us to take a moment and think about advice -- where do we get our advice from? -- who do we listen to when we need counsel?

            -- do we get our advice from the internet? -- from Facebook or other social media? -- do we get it from our friends? -- where should we turn for good advice?

            -- so let's turn over to the Old Testament book of 1 Kings 12 and let's look at the story of Rehoboam -- a young man who is the poster child for what happens when you take bad advice

II.  Scripture Lesson (1 Kings 12:1-15)

            -- while you are turning there, let me give you the background for this passage -- 1 Kings 12 takes place in the united kingdom of Israel -- as you remember, David had been anointed king by God and had united the twelve tribes of Israel into a strong and powerful nation

            -- after his death, his son Solomon continued to reign over the twelve tribes from Jerusalem, as the sole king of the nation of Israel -- however, Solomon was not a man of the people as David was -- and although he had prayed to God for wisdom and was known as the most wise man who ever lived, his reign did not necessarily reflect this wisdom

            -- Solomon loved extravagance in all things -- he had 700 wives and 300 concubines, many of these women from foreign lands with foreign gods -- and their influence on Solomon led him to neglect the worship of the one true God -- he was also wealthy beyond compare and this wealth led him to tax the people in Israel heavily -- especially the people who lived north of Jerusalem and who belonged to the northern ten tribes of Israel -- Solomon also required the people to serve him directly as a type of indentured servitude

            -- all of this caused bad blood between the northern ten tribes and Solomon's government -- since Solomon was from the tribe of Judah and his throne and palace were in the lands of the southern two tribes, the northern tribes felt Solomon discriminated against them and was too harsh with them -- a deep-seated resentment of Solomon began that continued right up to his death

            -- which brings us to 1 Kings 12 and the coronation of Solomon's son Rehoboam as King of Israel

            -- look with me now at 1 Kings 12:1 and we'll start looking at the story of Rehoboam

            -- verse 1

1 Kings 12:1 (NIV)

1 Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all the Israelites had gone there to make him king.

            -- now Shechem was a town in the north -- and, apparently, rather than taking the crown in Jerusalem, Rehoboam decided to have the ceremony in the north, possibly as a gesture of good will -- everyone was aware of the tension between the north and the south -- and Rehoboam's decision to be crowned in Shechem could be taken as a step in the right direction -- the new king reaching out to the people in the north, telling them that he was not going to follow the same pattern as his father Solomon

            -- verse 2-5

1 Kings 12:2-5 (NIV)

2 When Jeroboam son of Nebat heard this (he was still in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon), he returned from Egypt.

3 So they sent for Jeroboam, and he and the whole assembly of Israel went to Rehoboam and said to him:

4 "Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but now lighten the harsh labor and the heavy yoke he put on us, and we will serve you."

5 Rehoboam answered, "Go away for three days and then come back to me." So the people went away.

            -- Jereboam was the de facto leader of the people in the north -- he had been exiled from Israel by Solomon because he apparently had tried to wrest control of the northern tribes from the kingdom

            -- just as a backside to the story -- God had sent a prophet to Jereboam to proclaim that God was going to punish Solomon for his sins by splitting the kingdom into two areas and that Jereboam was going to be the king of the northern area -- Jereboam had decided to make the prophecy come true in his own timing rather than wait on God, so Solomon exiled him from the country

            -- now that Solomon has died and Rehoboam has taken his place, Jereboam returns to address the grievances of the northern tribes to the new king -- he asks Rehoboam to give them a break -- to lessen the taxes -- to take away the demand for harsh labor -- and promises they will serve him and support his kingdom in exchange

            -- so Rehoboam does a wise thing -- he doesn't make a decision on the spot, but instead takes three days to make a decision

            -- this is good advice for us to follow in our own lives -- when we have a decision to make, it's always wise to take a moment to think it through before acting -- to just pause and consider all the options and all the consequences of our actions before we act

            -- so Rehoboam has done two smart things so far as king -- first, he reached out to the northern tribes by being crowned in Shechem -- and secondly, he waited to make a decision that could impact his kingdom until he had time to think about it

            -- verse 6-7

1 Kings 12:6-7 (NIV)

6 Then King Rehoboam consulted the elders who had served his father Solomon during his lifetime. "How would you advise me to answer these people?" he asked.

7 They replied, "If today you will be a servant to these people and serve them and give them a favorable answer, they will always be your servants."

            -- so Rehoboam does another smart thing -- when faced with this enormous problem, he goes to someone else for counsel -- it's never a bad idea to ask others for their advice -- the question is:  who do we ask?

            -- in this case Rehoboam goes to the elders who had advised King Solomon during his reign -- these are men of experience who had served in the kingdom and who were well aware of the issues with the northern tribes -- they understood the situation -- and they were able to speak from a place of wisdom and knowledge -- they had seen the way Solomon handled the north -- and they knew what would work and what wouldn't work

            -- so these elders advise Rehoboam to heed the request of the northern kingdom -- to repair the damage his father Solomon had caused by taking the position of a servant -- by doing the opposite of what Solomon had done -- instead of serving self, they advised Rehoboam to serve others -- to put the people's needs and concerns first -- and to lessen their taxes and their burden of servitude

            -- but apparently, Rehoboam didn't like their advice -- isn't that the case with us? -- a lot of times we ask for advice, but what we're really asking for is affirmation of what we already want to do -- we don't want to hear someone tell us something that doesn't agree with what we already think, so we go off and try to find someone who will tell us that

            -- verse 8-11

1 Kings 12:8-11 (NIV)

8 But Rehoboam rejected the advice the elders gave him and consulted the young men who had grown up with him and were serving him.

9 He asked them, "What is your advice? How should we answer these people who say to me, 'Lighten the yoke your father put on us'?"

10 The young men who had grown up with him replied, "Tell these people who have said to you, 'Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but make our yoke lighter'--tell them, 'My little finger is thicker than my father's waist.

11 My father laid on you a heavy yoke; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions.'"

            -- when Rehoboam didn't get the answer he wanted from the elders, he turned to his own friends and asked them what they thought

            -- you've got to remember -- Rehoboam grew up in the lap of luxury -- he and his friends were accustomed to a wealthy and privileged lifestyle -- they didn't have the experience and the wisdom of the elders -- they didn't understand the plight of the people in the northern tribes -- all they heard was a request to give them less money and less service -- and not a one of them wanted to do with less than what they currently had

            -- in fact, they said, let's ask for more -- tell them you're going to demand more money and more service and you're going to even be harder on them than Solomon was

           

            -- verse 12-15

1 Kings 12:12-15 (NIV)

12 Three days later Jeroboam and all the people returned to Rehoboam, as the king had said, "Come back to me in three days."

13 The king answered the people harshly. Rejecting the advice given him by the elders,

14 he followed the advice of the young men and said, "My father made your yoke heavy; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions."

15 So the king did not listen to the people, for this turn of events was from the LORD, to fulfill the word the LORD had spoken to Jeroboam son of Nebat through Ahijah the Shilonite.

            -- so Rehoboam does just that -- he rejects the counsel of the elders and does what his friends tell him to do and it turns out just like you'd expect -- the people are distraught and they aren't going to stand for it any longer

            -- this passage goes on to say that the northern tribe rebelled against Rehoboam and refused him as their king -- they install Jereboam as their king and form the northern kingdom, known in the Bible as Israel

            -- Rehoboam retreats to Jerusalem to rule the southern two tribes of Judah and Benjamin with his friends that gave the bad advice

III.  Advice about Advice

            -- so what can we learn about taking and giving advice from this passage?

            -- first, you need to consider who you go to for advice -- you need to think about who you are friends with

            -- Jim Rohn wrote that we are the average of the five people we spend most of our time with -- if we spend time with people who aren't good for us -- if we spend time with people who make questionable choices in their own lives -- then we're going to start acting like them

            -- we need to surround ourselves with good and godly people if we want to act that way in our own lives

            -- Rehoboam's friends were self-serving and self-seeking -- they were immature and they didn't pause to consider the suffering of those around them -- all they were concerned with was their own wealth and their own pleasure -- don't seek advice from people like this

            -- instead, seek advice from mature and wise people -- from mature and godly people -- seek advice from people who have experienced similar issues in their lives -- and listen to their counsel before you act

            -- second, we need to recognize that good advice is true advice -- most people go to others just wanting them to affirm what they already want to do -- they don't want to hear the truth -- they just want you to tell them, "Go for it"

            -- I heard about a couple in church one time that went to their pastor and told him that God had spoken to them -- God wanted them to divorce their spouses and to marry each other -- and they went to the pastor to get his blessing -- but they weren't happy when they heard his response

            -- good advice speaks to the truth of a situation, even if that truth is painful -- a lot of times, when we have problems in our lives, we're the problem -- as the old saying goes, "everywhere you go, there you are" -- and a wise person can be a mirror in your life to show you the truth of a situation as they advise you on what you need to do -- not what you want to do

            -- third, we need to weigh any advice we receive against the word of God -- we need to base all our decisions on God's moral principles that we see in the Bible -- never accept advice that goes against God's moral principles -- never accept advice that tells you to do something contrary to God's word -- integrity should be the cornerstone of all we do in our lives

            -- God's principle for leadership in the Bible is clear -- He calls for servant leadership -- not exalted leadership -- but Rehoboam didn't want to hear that from his father's advisors -- he wanted to be served, rather than serve -- and by not following God's principles, he lost his kingdom

           

            -- fourth, we need to seek advice from those who have our best interests in mind -- Bob Goff wrote, "if someone I trust tells me something, and I know it's for my benefit, I just trust it." -- he goes on to say, "I've found one of the best filters you can use to trust someone is when there's nothing for them to gain from their advice."

            -- Rehoboam's friends had something to gain from their advice -- they were going to get to keep their extravagant lifestyle -- that should be a warning sign to us when others give us advice

            -- always seek advice that serves your best interests rather than the interests of the person you're asking

            -- finally, good advice addresses the problem -- good advice addresses our needs and gives us steps to take to fix it

            -- in this case, the issue was how to repair the break between the northern and southern tribes -- the advice given by the elders would have resolved this issue and mended broken relationships -- but Rehoboam chose to take advice contrary to them and ended up making a bad situation worse

            -- if someone tells you to do something that doesn't help the situation, don't do it -- action for the sake of action is not always the right course

            -- so the take-home message is this -- lean not on your own understanding, but trust in the Lord with all your heart -- if you are faced with a situation and you put God's positions and principles first -- listen to His people and the advice they give -- and you'll always come out best

            -- it's wise to seek counsel when you don't know what to do, but be careful who you go to for advice -- avoid ungodly people -- avoid immature people, even immature Christians -- go to people who have experience and wisdom -- who have walked with God for a long time and who know God's word -- listen to their advice and see if it lines up with Scripture -- and if it does, then go for it

            -- let's pray

TRASH TRUCK

I read a devotional by D.J. Pollay that really sums Jesus' message up for us and shows us how to live it out in our lives today.

Pollay wrote about the day he was in a taxi and they got cut off by another driver -- he just missed them by inches and Pollay's cabdriver had to slam on brakes to keep from hitting them -- and then, to make things worse, the guy who cut them off started yelling at them like they were the ones at fault

The taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy like they were best friends -- so Pollay asked him, ‘Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!’ -- that's when the taxi driver taught him the ‘The Law of the Trash Truck.’

He said a lot of people are like trash trucks -- they run around full of garbage -- full of frustration -- full of anger -- and full of disappointment -- As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it -- and sometimes they dump it on you

Don’t take it personally, he said -- Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on -- don’t take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the streets.

The bottom line is that successful people do not let trash trucks take over their day

When this happens to you -- and it will -- just say to yourself, "Trash truck!" -- and let it go -- "Life’s too short to wake up in the morning with regrets"

SERMON: BUT, WHO DO YOU SAY I AM?

29 March 2015 [Modified from 20010415]

I.  Introduction

            -- turn in Bibles to Matthew 16:13-15

Matthew 16:13-15 (NIV)

13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?"

14 They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets."

15 "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?"

            -- I heard a story one time -- and I was told it was true -- about this little boy who was in a family member's wedding -- as the wedding procession made its way down the aisle, the little boy would take two steps, stop and turn to face the crowd -- while facing the crowd, he would put his hands up like claws and roar -- then he'd take two more steps, face the other side, and do the same thing

            -- so he did this the whole way to altar -- two steps -- stop -- and roar -- by the time he got to the altar with the rest of the wedding party, the entire church was rolling in laughter and the little boy got upset and started crying -- his mother came and got him and took him back to her seat -- she said, "What were you doing?" -- he said, "I was being the ring bear"

            -- it's a funny story -- but if you think about it, the behavior of the little boy as he made his down the aisle was kind of like a game of charades -- it was almost like the little boy was asking the crowd the question, "Who am I?" -- and because no one could figure it out, his parents had to ask him

            -- "Who am I?" -- this is the most important question that has ever been asked -- over two thousand years ago, Jesus asked this question to His disciples -- and He continues to ask it of us today

            -- it is a question that everyone must answer -- and it is the most important question ever asked because our answer to this question has real and eternal implications -- so this morning, as we gather together to remember Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, I wanted us to take a moment to think about that question and what it means to us

II.  Who Am I? -- turn in Bible to Matthew 16:13-15

            -- look back at verse 13-14

Matthew 16:13-14 (NIV)

13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?"

14 They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets."

15 "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" Matthew 16:13-15 (NIV)

13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?"

14 They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets."

            -- as this passage opens, we see Jesus and His disciples traveling and ministering through the regions of Galilee and Judea -- Jesus had been attracting a lot of people who came to hear Him preach and see Him do miracles -- He had just miraculously fed the crowds for the second time, feeding over 4000 people with seven loaves of bread and a few small fish -- so Jesus asked the question of His disciples, "Why? -- Why are these people following Me? -- Who do they say I am?"

            -- His disciples told Him that some said He was John the Baptist -- others said He was Elijah -- some that He was Jeremiah or another prophet

            -- do you know what this tells me? -- the people in Jesus' day answered the question of who Jesus was based on how they saw Him

            -- Some of them answered the question based on their personal observations -- their experiences with Him -- some saw Him change the water to wine, and called Him magician -- others watched as He healed the sick, and called Him physician -- some remembered Him working in His father's shop, and called Him carpenter -- others heard His teaching, and called Him Rabbi -- while the very few called Him Master

            -- other people refused to look to Jesus for their answer, and chose to answer the question simply through their own biases and preconceived notions -- Jesus' brothers saw Him as a lunatic -- the priests saw Him as a threat -- the Pharisees called Him unrighteous, because He didn't follow their religious rules -- the Sadducees saw Him as a heretic, because of His teachings on the resurrection

            -- this question that Jesus asked, "Who do people say I am?" continues to be answered today -- if you turn on the TV or the internet this week, you'll see many shows and articles telling us who they believe Jesus really is

            -- but the question, "Who do people say I am?" really isn't the important question  -- the important question is in the next verse

            -- verse 15

Matthew 16:15 (NIV)

15 "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?"

            -- "BUT what about you?  Who do you say I am?"

            -- It really doesn't matter what others say or what others think about Jesus -- it doesn't matter what some TV show or article you read this week tells you about Jesus -- it doesn't even matter what some church or preacher tells you about Him

            -- what matters is your answer to this question

            -- "But, what about you?  Who do you say I am?" -- You know what the others say, but what about you? Who am I to you?"

            -- this is a question that everyone of us here is going to have to answer at some point in our lives -- if not on earth, then in eternity -- and our answer will have eternal implications

            -- real quick, I want us to look at two men who were forced to answer that question during Holy Week -- and as we look at their stories, think about how you would have answered if you had been in their place

            -- We will need to look at three passages in order to get the whole picture of what is going on in the life of these two men and how they answered Jesus' question, "Who am I?"

III.  Jesus Washes the Disciples Feet -- John 13:1-10

            -- turn over to John Chapter 13, and while you're doing that, let me give you the context of this passage

            -- This passage tells us about the events that occurred on Thursday night of Holy Week -- the night before the Passover -- this is the day we call Holy Thursday or Maundy Thursday -- the term "Maundy" comes from the Latin "Dies Mandati" -- the day of the Commandment -- which refers to Jesus' command for His disciples to love one another

            -- this was the night when Jesus shared the Last Supper with His disciples in the upper room and then was betrayed into the hands of the chief priests in the Garden of Gethsemane

-- look at verse 1-5

John 13:1-10 (NIV)

1 It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.

2 The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus.

3 Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God;

4 so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist.

5 After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

-- As we look at this passage in detail, don't forget the question that will be asked and that must be answered this night in the upper room -- "But, who do you say I am?"

-- the first thing we see is that Jesus knew the answer to that question -- He knew who He was -- in verse 1 we read, "Jesus knew that the time had come for Him to leave this world and go to the Father" and over in verse 3, it says, "Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under His power, and that He had come from God and was returning to God."

-- Jesus knew who He was, but what about the disciples? -- they had been with Him for three years -- they had seen all the miracles -- they had seen Him heal the sick -- cast demons out of the possessed -- and walk on water across the Sea of Galilee -- they had heard His teaching -- they had seen the power -- but had they come to know who Jesus really was?

-- that night in the upper room, Jesus is serving as the host of the supper, an important position.  But as the meal progresses, He gets up, takes off His outer clothes, wraps a towel around His waist and begins to wash the disciples feet

-- You need to understand the significance of this and what it meant in Jesus' day for someone to wash another's feet

-- In that time, open sandals were the most common footwear, and it was customary for guests to leave their sandals at the door when they entered a house, because their sandals and feet would have been extremely dirty with dust from the road -- it was considered impolite to come into another's house with dirty feet

-- therefore, it was customary for guests to have their feet washed by the lowest servant or slave in the house -- any servant who was assigned the dirty job of washing a guest's feet was automatically considered the one who doesn't count, the unimportant, expendable slave.

-- the disciples had entered the upper room with the idea that Jesus was the Messiah, the anointed one -- they thought that they had come to Jerusalem to establish His kingdom -- in fact, they had been quarreling among themselves over who would be the greatest in His kingdom

-- but now their Messiah, their king, has gotten up, taken on the role, not even of a servant but of the lowest servant, and was washing their feet.  What was going on?  What was Jesus doing?

-- Think about Simon Peter -- He's sitting there, watching, as Jesus works His way around the room, getting ever closer.  Finally, Jesus makes it over to Him.  Peter looks down at His Messiah, acting not like a king but a servant, and reaching for his feet to wash them

-- That is why Peter responds as he does in verse 6

John 13:6 (NIV)

6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?"

-- It's not possible for us to relate the emotions involved in this verse in English like in the original Greek.  But the closest we can come would be for Peter to say, "You?  You, Lord?  You are going to wash my feet?"

-- Peter can't believe what is going on.  How can Jesus be acting this way? -- Then Jesus responds

-- verse 7 

John 13:7 (NIV)

7 Jesus replied, "You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand."

-- What is going on here?  What is the real issue?  Jesus knows His time is short.  He knows He is about to be poured out as a sin offering for all, so by becoming the lowest, by becoming the servant and washing the disciple's feet, He is forcing them to hear and answer the question that still rings today, "BUT, who do you say I am?"

-- verse 8a

John 13:8a (NIV)

⁸ "No," said Peter, "you shall never wash my feet."

-- Peter affirms what he has said before.  "NO, you are God.  You are the Messiah.  You will never wash my feet.  You cannot stoop so low."

-- Peter has made his decision.  He has answered the question already -- when Jesus first asked that question of His disciples, it was Peter who answered, "You are the Christ -- the Son of the living God"

-- many people say that to Jesus today -- but do they mean it? -- do they believe it? -- do they live it?

-- look back at the second part of verse 8b-10

John 13:8b-10 (NIV)

8b. Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you, you have no part with me."

9 "Then, Lord," Simon Peter replied, "not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!"

10 Jesus answered, "A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you."

-- Do you see?  When Jesus grabbed the basin and towel, He forced the question to be asked and answered -- it was the answer from Peter that made him clean -- it wasn't the water 

-- The answer from Peter that Jesus was Lord -- that Jesus was the Christ -- cleansed him from head to foot as if he had taken a bath.  The question was asked and answered, and Peter's answer resulted in salvation.

-- Now let's look at another example where water was involved in the decision.

IV.  Pilate Washes His Hands 

            -- Turn over to John Chapter 18:28-40

            -- while you're doing that, let me give you the context once again -- this passage takes place on the next day -- early Friday morning.

            -- Jesus has been arrested by the temple guards and the disciples have fled, including Peter, who denied knowing Jesus three times that night -- all night Jesus was questioned by Caiaphas and Annas and the other temple priests

            -- now it is early morning and the Jews are taking Jesus to Pontius Pilate for judgment and punishment

            -- look at verse 28-32

John 18:28-32 (NIV)

28 Then the Jews led Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor. By now it was early morning, and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness the Jews did not enter the palace; they wanted to be able to eat the Passover.

29 So Pilate came out to them and asked, "What charges are you bringing against this man?"

30 "If he were not a criminal," they replied, "we would not have handed him over to you."

31 Pilate said, "Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law." "But we have no right to execute anyone," the Jews objected.

32 This happened so that the words Jesus had spoken indicating the kind of death he was going to die would be fulfilled.

            -- All night the Jews had questioned Jesus -- they had asked Him repeatedly, "Who are you?" and waited for Him to answer. 

            -- and with every response from Jesus, they had been forced to answer the question "But, who do you say I am?" in their own hearts.

            -- And answer it they did.  They said He was a blasphemer -- a sinner who should be executed -- so they hauled him off to Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor, to be tried before the Roman court

            -- the question followed Jesus to Pilate's front door -- "But who do you say I am?"

            -- Pilate tried to avoid the question -- in verse 31 he tried to hand him back over to the Jews, but they persisted, so Pilate ordered Jesus to appear before him

            -- you can't avoid the question -- everyone has to answer it for themselves

            -- verse 33. 

John 18:33 (NIV)

33 Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, "Are you the king of the Jews?"

            -- Pilate asks the same question that the Jews had been asking Jesus all night.  The same question that the disciples had asked each day they were with Him.  The same question that the people asked when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey on Palm Sunday.  "Are you the king of the Jews?" -- a reasonable question in light of the charges against Him

            -- but see how Jesus answered. 

            -- verse 34

John 18:34 (NIV)

34 "Is that your own idea," Jesus asked, "or did others talk to you about me?"

            -- Here we see the question again from Jesus' own lips -- "You have heard what the others say, but, who do you say I am?"

            -- Think about the answer from Jesus for a minute -- how he answered Pilate's question with another, more important question.  Pilate knew about Jesus.  He had to have known about Him. 

-- Here was a man who was worshipped by the multitude just 5 days before when He rode into Jerusalem on a donkey.  Here was a man who attracted so many people that he caused a disturbance when he entered the city and when he walked around. 

-- Here was the man who had caused a disturbance in the temple by overturning the money changer's table and turning loose the sacrificial animals

-- Here was a man who attracted more attention in Jerusalem than Pilate himself.

            -- The Romans ruled Jerusalem.  They kept peace there.  Surely, if someone was causing a problem or creating a disturbance, the Romans would know about it and would keep tabs on them.  The Romans were worried about rebellion and insurrection, and they would have kept an eye out for anyone who might cause a problem.  In fact, they had arrested Barabbas for that very reason -- because he was popular with the people and was inciting them to rebellion.  Surely, they would have paid attention to one like Jesus who attracted crowds where ever He went.

            -- Pilate may not have ever seen Jesus, but he knew about him.  In fact, we see in Matthew's gospel that Pilate's own wife went to him and told him not to have anything to do with Jesus.  Pilate's whole household had heard of this man who the people claimed was the king of the Jews, the son of God.

            -- That is why Pilate asked Jesus if He was the king of the Jews.  When he saw the Jews coming with Jesus in their possession, he knew that this was why Jesus was arrested. 

-- And so he asks Jesus if he was the king of the Jews.  And Jesus responds by asking Pilate back, "Is this your own idea or was it what you heard from others?"

            -- Once again Jesus cuts to the heart of the matter.  Pilate had heard the testimony of the witnesses.   He himself had either observed Jesus directly or had others do so and report to him.  He knew what others thought.  He knew who Jesus claimed to be. 

            -- So Jesus turns the question back on Pilate and says, "You've heard what others say.  You've heard what I say.  Now, what do you say?  Who do you say I am?"

            -- verse 35

John 18:35 (NIV)

35 "Am I a Jew?" Pilate replied. "It was your people and your chief priests who handed you over to me. What is it you have done?" John 18:35 (NIV)

Once again we see Pilate trying to get out of answering Jesus.  "I'm not a Jew," he says.  "I don't have to answer your question."  Pilate does everything he can to avoid answering Jesus directly.

            -- verse 36-38a

John 18:36-38a (NIV)

36 Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place."

37 "You are a king, then!" said Pilate. Jesus answered, "You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me."

38 "What is truth?" Pilate asked.

            -- Now we can see the true conflict in Pilate.  He wants to believe.  The answer is written on his heart.  It is written on all our hearts. 

            -- Even before we heard about Jesus, we knew the truth about God.  That is why God says in Romans 1 -- "what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.  For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities -- his eternal power and divine nature -- have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse."

            -- We have no excuse.  We know the truth.  Pilate knows the truth in his heart, but his head won't let him answer the question that Jesus asks. 

             -- So he deflects it by responding, "What is truth?"  -- This is a man who wants to do the right thing, but doesn't want to commit --  However, non-commitment is not an option.

            -- verse 38b-40

John 18:38b-40 (NIV)

38b. With this he went out again to the Jews and said, "I find no basis for a charge against him.

39 But it is your custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of the Passover. Do you want me to release 'the king of the Jews'?"

40 They shouted back, "No, not him! Give us Barabbas!" Now Barabbas had taken part in a rebellion.  

            -- Pilate tries once more to pass the buck -- to get out of answering the question.  He offers Jesus back to the Jews, but they refuse.  They have made their decision.  They have answered the question.

            -- Please turn over now to Matthew Chapter 27 and let's finish Pilate's story up there.

            -- Matthew 27, verse 24. 

Matthew 27:24 (NIV)

24 When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. "I am innocent of this man's blood," he said. "It is your responsibility!"

            -- The Jews tried to force Pilate to make a decision, to answer the question that Jesus had asked, "But, who do you say I am?" 

            -- Pilate tried to release Jesus time and time again, but the Jews disagreed.  So, finally in desperation, Pilate takes a basin of water and washes his hands and says, "I am innocent of this man's blood." 

            -- Pilate thinks that by doing this act, by washing his hands, that he can relieve himself of responsibility, that he can avoid having to answer the question.  Pilate thinks that he can just be neutral and take neither side.  But, he can't, anymore than we can.

            -- Jesus said that those who are not for him are against him -- Either you are for Jesus or you are against Jesus.  You cannot be neutral on an issue like this.  You cannot be apathetic on an issue like this. 

            -- Either you choose to be for Jesus or you choose to be against Him.  Either you name Him as your Lord and Savior, as the Son of God, or you deny His deity.  There is no other choice.

            -- And so Pilate ultimately answered the question when he did not name Jesus as the Christ, but instead tried to wash his hands of the issue.

V.  Closing

            -- This morning, we  have looked at the stories of two men -- each who were faced with a question that neither wanted to answer. 

            -- Both stories had a common theme -- Both men faced a similar dilemma -- Both men were asked by Jesus -- a carpenter from Nazareth -- a teacher -- a healer -- a miracle worker -- the same question, "Who do YOU say I am?" 

            -- And in both cases, water was there -- in both cases, water represented the path that each man chose to take -- water that represented the answer that each man made.

            -- The Bible tells us that there is a river that runs from the throne of grace -- it is this river -- it was this water -- that intercepted the lives of Peter and Pilate that week so many years ago. 

            -- On this river there is a fork -- representing different paths to take -- representing the two answers to the question that Jesus asked, "Who do you say I am?"

            -- Peter took the right fork, and continued down the river of cleansing provided by the Holy Spirit, washed clean and born anew when he accepted Jesus as the Christ, as His Lord and Savior.  Peter took the fork that led to God.

            -- Pilate took the wrong fork, he tried to wash his hands of Christ, and ended up traveling down the river of despair, drifting further and further away from God.

            -- Like Peter and Pilate, we are all traveling on this river.  The current is sweeping us along and we are coming to a fork and we must make a decision.  We must make a choice.  We must pick a side.  We must answer the question from Jesus, "Who do you say I am?"

            -- A choice is demanded -- we have to pick our direction

            -- We can do what we want with Jesus.  We can study His life.  We can study His theology.  We can reflect on the prophecies about Him.  We can hear what others say about Him.  

            -- But the one thing we can't do is to walk away in neutrality.  The one thing we can't do is to refuse to make a decision.  No fence-sitting is permitted.  That is one luxury that God doesn't permit.

            -- Either we allow Jesus to wash our feet and make our body and souls and spirits clean -- or we wash our hands of Him --  Either we side with Peter or we side with Pilate -- Either we believe Jesus is the Son of God or we don't.

            -- Jesus is here right now and he's asking you a question..."Who do you say I am?"  How will you answer?

            -- Let us pray.

THE APOSTLE OF THE LEPERS

"...I make myself a leper with the lepers to gain all to Jesus Christ."

Every year on April 15th, the people of Hawaii celebrate "Father Damien Day," in recognition of the Catholic priest Father Damien (Jozef de Veuster).  Father Damien served as the spiritual leader to the leper colony in Molokai, Hawaii, from 1873 until his death in 1889 from leprosy he contracted during his ministry.

The leper colonies in Molokai were created by the King of Hawaii in response to the growing number of people contracting the contagious disease, originally brought to the island by foreign traders and sailors.  Since leprosy was considered incurable and fear of contagion persisted throughout the islands, the Hawaiian legislature passed the "Act to Prevent the Spread of Leprosy," and dictated the forced relocation of lepers to two colonies on the island of Molokai.  Originally, the Government planned to support the lepers through direct food aid and anticipated the colonists would plant gardens to supplement the Government assistance, but the progression of the disease and the lack of governmental resources made this impossible.  The result was a colony characterized by squalor and decrepit conditions, with immorality and licentiousness being the norm.  And, because of fear of the disease, no one would dare come to assist those who needed their help.  That is, until Father Damien arrived.

Having been called into the ministry at an early age, Father Damien dreamed of being a missionary in foreign lands, of reaching out to the poor and needy as an imitation of Christ.  Coming to the Hawaiian Islands, his dream was fulfilled when the Bishop asked for volunteers to minister to the lepers in the two Molokai colonies.  Many refused the call to minister to the lepers because of fear of the disease, but Damien went, and ministered to the lepers both spiritually and physically.  After building a church for worship services, he led the colonists to build and paint houses and to organize themselves into a functional and moral society built upon the foundation of Christianity. 

But Damien did much more than just minister to the colonists with words and deeds.  He ministered with touch.  You see, the lepers in these colonies experienced the same isolation and lack of physical touch that the lepers in biblical times experienced.  In Jesus' day, lepers were isolated outside of villages, and were required to ring a bell and call out in a loud voice, "Unclean, unclean," when others approached.  No one would dare touch a leper for fear of catching the deadly disease.  Human touch, outside of that of other lepers, was nonexistent, and the lepers lived a lonely, isolated life.

That is why the ministry of Jesus to the lepers of His day was so amazing.  Not only did Jesus stop to speak to the lepers and treat them like normal human beings, He also did the unthinkable.  He touched them.  Before He spoke healing into their lives.  Before they were made clean and whole, He touched them.  He let them know they were accepted.  He let them know they were loved.  And then He brought His healing into their lives.

He did the same to us, who, while not leprous, were still unclean in the eyes of God.  As Romans 3:23 says, "For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God."  Our unrighteousness made us as untouchable to God as the lepers were to the general society of their day.  But the Bible tells us that Christ loved us while we were yet sinners.  And Jesus shocked the Pharisees and the religious leaders of His day by not only touching sinners and lepers and others deemed "unclean," but socializing with them and eating with them and loving them.  Jesus touched us while we were still sinners, while we were still unclean, and He loved us in spite of it.

Jesus became one of us, leaving His glorious kingdom and His rights as the Creator God and King of Kings, to become one with us, to love us and touch us and heal us, to reconcile us with the Father.  He touched us with His life and gave His body and blood to heal us and to make us whole again.

Father Damien, the Apostle to the Lepers, contracted leprosy because he followed the pattern that Jesus taught.  He reached out and loved and touched the lepers in the colony.  He became a leper so he could minister to them the love of Christ.  He took upon himself their disease and their illness and became one with them so that they might know the saving grace and healing power of Jesus Christ.  So let us celebrate today the memory of this remarkable man of faith, who lived out the message of the gospel and of the grace of Jesus Christ, giving his life for others in exchange for a place in the Kingdom of God.