Straight Talk from a Non-Candidate

        We’ve endured round one of the election.  Round two is well underway. 

        Here are some of the political mailings that have come to our house. From them I have learned that one candidate was an abortion loving, tax and spend, closet fascist.   The other was a welfare gouging white supremacist who eats meat.  And that was just for the office of County Clerk and Recorder.  The ones for Governor are much worse.  The worst of all are the ones from the bitter race for California State Bird.  You may not have seen these because they’re only on late night television.  Birds don’t have much money.

            Quail and Condor Videos

        These mailings and videos are short on are specific plans and ideas and positions.  Politicians hate getting specific for fear that it will cost them votes.         

       Jesus, however, isn’t running for election.  He always tells us the unvarnished truth.  He also tells us that what we do with that truth has tremendous implications for our future.

       As we have looked together at the Gospel we spent a lot of time with a merciful Jesus.  Jesus has clearly shown us His love and grace. But now we hear shocking words from a judging Jesus. 

       Jesus has been talking about John the Baptist.  Then He asks, "To what shall I compare the people of this generation? They are like children who sit in the marketplace and call to one another: 'We played the flute for you and you did not dance. We sang a dirge for you and you did not weep.'"

       Every one of Jesus' listeners has seen children in the marketplace restlessly trying to find a game to play on a long, hot afternoon. They don’t have Wii. They don’t have television. They just have each other and they are tired of each other. Some want to play "weddings" and some want to play "funerals."

       They taunt each other. One group cries "we want to play wedding and you won't play our game." The others respond with the chant, "but we want to play funerals and you won't do what we wanted."  They can't get together because each want their own way and end up enjoying neither game.  In my childhood it would have been a contest between Cowboys and Indians and Barbies.  I was always on the side of Cowboys and Indians –and my Ken doll agreed.

       Jesus often used children to model the honest, enthusiastic response to life He wants from people. But in this case, Jesus pictures the most unattractive aspect of immaturity -- the fickle uncooperativeness of a bored, spoiled child – in the back seat on vacation.            

       Jesus uses this image to say that some people are not satisfied with Him simply because they do not want to be satisfied.  They will keep changing the rules so they will never have to be satisfied.   He continues: "For John the Baptist came eating no bread and drinking no wine and you say, 'He has a demon!' the Son of Man has come eating and drinking and you say, behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax gatherers and sinners.'”  They called John's asceticism madness; and they called Jesus' sociability lax morals. They could find reason to criticize either way.

       When people do not want to listen to the truth, they will always find an excuse for not listening.  Grown men and women can be very like spoiled children who refuse to play no matter what the game is.  They keep moving the lines.  But the root of their pretend uncertainty is a very real resistance to God.

       Jesus is saying: "Listen! You say you want God but your actions and words expose that you don't. You talk about God's judgment but you did not willingly accept John when he proclaimed it. You say you long for the Messiah to come. But now that He is here you search for a reason to reject Him. You are childish! If you had the wisdom of God you would recognize His truth in the messenger sent to prepare the way for the Messiah and you would welcome the Messiah Himself."

       Matthew writes that “Then Jesus began to denounce the cities in which most of his miracles had been performed, because they did not repent.”Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the Day of Judgment than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to the skies? I don’t think so.  No, you will go down to the depths. If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day. But I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the Day of Judgment than for you."

       Wow!

       Tyre and Sidon were ancient port cities on the Mediterranean.  They were notorious for their sins and for being centers of pagan worship. But Jesus doesn’t direct His judgment to Tyre and Sidon.  He directs His judgment to Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum. These are the Jewish towns where He has done most of His deeds of power. Capernaum is His home base of ministry. These are cities in which the law of God had been proclaimed for centuries. These cities have witnessed the miracles of Jesus. They have seen the power of His healing. They have been blessed by Hs presence. And they are sure a lot better than Tyre and Sidon.

       But Jesus says to them, "Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the deeds of power done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you; on the Day of Judgment it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon than for you"

       And Capernaum? City blessed by the presence of Jesus, city exalted in its pride: "What's to become of you? You will go to hell! For if the deeds of power done in you had been done in Sodom (wicked Sodom), it would have remained until this day." On the Day of Judgment, Capernaum will wish it could switch places with Sodom.

       What is Jesus saying here?  He is saying three things.

       First, there will be a judgment.   That judgment is to be feared.

       Second, there are degrees of punishment. Jesus says that as terrible as the judgment of Tyre and Sidon will be, it will not be as bad as the judgment of Chorazin and Bethsaida. And as terrible as the judgment of Sodom will be, it will not be as horrible as the judgment of Capernaum.

       Third, we are judged on the basis of our opportunity.  That’s what I want to focus on today.  Paul says the same thing in Romans 1.  Everyone has some light and we are responsible to respond to the light we have. 

      We are judged, not just by our response to God in Jesus Christ but also by the amount of light we have to work with.  A person in Saudi Arabia who has no opportunity to hear the gospel in an accurate way has much less responsibility for not responding to Jesus in faith than a person in this country who has to go out of their way to avoid the gospel.  A Muslim, who is looking for the God of love and mercy in Islam – even though the image of Jesus is badly distorted in Islam, is much more likely to be welcomed by Jesus than a person of this Christian nation who gives only a half hearted response to easily accessible and accurate truth. 

      Jesus says that God's judgments are based not only on what people have done but also what they would have done if the conditions under which they had lived had been different. At the final judgment God will take into account not only America’s and every American’s response to Jesus Christ. He will also take into account our use of opportunities and access, as compared with, say, every Saudi Arabian’s use of their opportunities and access – and what American’s and Saudi Arabian’s would have done if their roles and advantages had been reversed.

       When I think of the opportunities to believe in Christ that have been given to the people of America in our day, I tremble for America. And I tremble for you if have not yet trusted in Jesus Christ. No nation has ever had the opportunities to repent and believe on Jesus Christ as we have had. Hebrews 2:3 asks, "How shall escape if we ignore such a great salvation?"

      Christian countries are in special trouble on judgment day, not because Jesus has not really been in their communities but because He has. Jesus' presence, without out change, can lead to a damnation deeper than Sodom's. That is the message of our text. Sodom will have a better day in court than Capernaum,

       Merely having had Jesus and His miracles in our midst is not salvation. The point is: Have we changed as a result? Are we still changing?

      Does this make you a bit uncomfortable this morning? I'm way uncomfortable. We are a nation that boasts of being favored by God. This nation prints In God We Trust on our coins. Our nation likes to think of itself as a city set on a hill, a light to the rest of the nations, a nation in which 74 percent of its citizens profess faith in Jesus Christ — Chorazin.

       Jesus Christ has been wonderfully present in our church, and we have enjoyed remarkable strength. The Lord makes himself known to us week by week through Word and sacrament and fellowship. This church has witnessed wonderful deeds of power: the healing of bodies, lives changed — Bethsaida.

      We gather as individuals who have experienced the blessings of Jesus Christ. Most of us here would say we have invited Jesus Christ into our lives.

        But the real issue is not whether we have Jesus. The real issue is whether Jesus has us. You say, "I've invited Christ into my life." Great.  Christ lived at Capernaum. The question is this: What difference has it made?” The presence of Jesus must move us toward transformation of life.

       Does it sound as though I'm scolding this morning? I assure you I am only trying to echo the words of Jesus Himself. I am not trying to be judgmental since I am also faced by these words.  I would avoid them if I could.  I am reporting the words of judgment Jesus Himself spoke. I am trying to hear the judgment of Jesus against all of those who have had all the advantages and for whom it has not made any difference.

        Several years ago the Gallup organization did a poll on Religion in America which revealed millions of what Gallup calls "believers on the outside." These are people who say that they believe that Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross and rose from the dead. The vast majority of Americans say they believe that. But when asked how they are acting on their belief in worship, in Bible study, in Christian service the answer is: "They aren't." The reason, they often claim, is that they are "turned off by the church."

       Now the church makes mistakes. But the church is not the gospel. The church isn't art. It's only a sometimes poor way of teaching art.

       When contestants on American Idol sing the songs of Lennon and McCartney the contestants are being judged, not the songs. When the Moorpark High School band plays Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, Beethoven is not on trial. The band is on trial. The symphony doesn't lose its greatness if that band plays it poorly.

       In the same way, Jesus doesn't cease to be Lord just because a particular church or all churches don't do justice to the gospel. And to allow something like a problem with the church to prevent me from following the Lord would be insane.

       Unless, as Jesus says to the people of Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum, “Any excuse will do. You do not really want to follow Me and no matter what I do you will still not want to follow Me. If the church were perfect, you would find another excuse because excuses are all you really want."

       People say: "I don't want to get too involved or over committed because I had religion shoved down my throat when I was a kid." They are letting people come between them and Jesus.  Is that a tragic mistake? Or is it simply another excuse? I hear this from fifty year old men--thirty five years after the alleged offense.

       The thing is that even if people have tried to "shove religion down your throat,” Jesus won't. But He does say: “I stand at the door and knock. If anyone opens the door, I will come in." He never breaks down the door. But He leaves us with the warning that our choice to open the door or not open the door has eternal significance.  

       That is true for us and it is true for our unchurched family, friends and neighbors. We need to be inviting them to come meet Jesus or so actually do something about the Jesus they say they know.  If we don’t do that it is because we don’t really believe Jesus words about the lostness of the lost.

        You are encouraged to walk with us at Country Days on October 2.  Putting on a Tee shirts and marching in a parade isn’t the gospel.  But who knows who might see you and what conversation might start.   On October 16 we have illusionist Danny Ray coming.   He is a great illusionist and has a strong Christian message.  Be inviting people to join you. 

       If you don’t feel equipped to share your faith, we are starting a class on Relationship Evangelism called “The Jesus Bridge” during our education hour between services in just two weeks.  No excuses.

       Jesus is not a cosmic killjoy determined to make us do what He knows will make us miserable. He says: "My yoke is easy and my burden is light." It fits you. He says, "I have come that they may have life and have it abundantly."

       But at the same time He points us very clearly to the path that is abundance. Jesus’ whole point here is to awaken us out of spiritual complacency.  He is saying to us in this passage: "Don't make excuses! Be honest with yourself. Be realistic about yourself." Not: "What's wrong with Jesus and what reason can I find to keep from following Him?" But, "do I really want to follow Him? Do I trust Him that He does indeed know the way to abundant life even if the path He chooses sometimes seems unpromising to me? Can I trust Him to keep His word?  Do I believe Him enough to invite others?"

       Those are the very questions that our discipleship will be built on.