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SERMON
SECOND
PRESBYTERIAN
CHURCH
460 East Main Street
Lexington, Kentucky 40507
“Putting the World to Rights”
Micah 6:6-8; John 1: 35-42
January 26, 2014
Rev. Erin Rouse
Last Sunday, here at Second, was Access Sunday when we focused on the subject of
“care” with our guest preacher. We did not get to speak to the holiday of last week (although
I’m sure many of you who have children in school feel like you have had a few too many
holidays the past several days!)
In the coverage of this day – of Martin Luther King Day – I saw an old photo of King
with several folks surrounding him. One of them was a young white man. That image
made me wonder a bit about those at the forefront of the civil rights struggle. . .who were so
moved, or so called, to help change relations between whites and blacks at that time in our
world, that they risked their very lives. . . And I wondered could I have ever been one of
them?
Another who joined the fight for civil rights was a young, white, Episcopal
seminarian named Jonathan Daniels. I was young enough that I don’t really remember a lot
of the details of that era. But, every time I visit the Abbey of Gethsemani, and walk the
grounds to the garden and statues, I am reminded of those days, by the tribute there to that
young man who lost his life in Alabama in 1965, another martyr in the fight for change.
And I wonder each time in earnestness about the risk he took and the price he paid for such a
cause and call.
On some level we all “have a dream” that one day, such difficulties like this will be
“put to right” in our world. Whenever we turn on the TV and hear of another bombing,
another senseless shooting, what happened to the young man (Alex Johnson) who simply
answered his door not far from where I live; whenever we hear something bad that has
happened to folks because of their race; whenever we hear of a plane crash, another
happening that seems so “unfair” – another incident where someone just happens to be in the
wrong place at the wrong time, our hearts ache and I believe they ache because we hurt for
those people and their families, yes, but we also hurt because we crave that things be made
“right” in our world.
In a book called, “Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense,” Anglican
Bishop of Durham, England, N.T. Wright, in his chapter titled “Putting the World to Rights,”
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says that we all have a passion for justice – that we all desire for the world to be “put to
rights.”
He says that this desire comes to us from “a voice that we dimly perceive and long to
hear” – it is an echo of the voice of God. And thus, it is God that calls us to the work of
justice. . .
But Wright also says this: “I have high moral standards. I have thought about them. I
have preached about them. Good heavens, I have even written books about them. And I will
break them. . .[For] the line between justice and injustice, between things being right and
things not being right, can’t be drawn between “us” and them.” It runs right down through
the middle of each one of us.”
Interestingly, this past week has also been a week of prayer for Christian unity. But
instead of working positively towards unity, we humans (and even we Christians) have often
worked (knowingly or unknowingly) more towards blame of the “other,” and thus, towards
polarization. I can’t help but wonder how in the heck that is going to help us “put the world
to right. . .” And yet the blame game seems to get worse, leaving us feeling not united, but
separated – angry, polarized.
It could be our passion for justice that propels us to blame. . . because we want so
badly for something or somebody to make things right. . .
Today, on this particular week though, in this season of Epiphany, we get some good
news! We get the news that there is somebody – someone who has come – to make things
“right.” And we get John’s take on the beginning of Jesus’ ministry.
We have heard a bit about John the Baptist lately – his calling us to “prepare the way”
in Advent, his baptism of Jesus just two weeks ago. . .And here today, we see him pointing
us to who Jesus is – “Behold,” he says, “The Lamb of God.” In fact, in John’s first chapter,
there are so many names for Jesus, that we could accuse the fourth gospel writer of “name
calling!” . . . “Messiah, Son of God, King of Israel, Rabbi, Son of Man, Lamb of God who
takes away the sins of the world. . .”
We learn here that it is because of John the Baptist – a direct result of his witness that the first disciples follow Jesus. In fact these two men that follow Jesus, who become the
first disciples, are John’s disciples who abandon John seemingly at the drop of a hat.
John humbly, let me say that again, HUMBLY gives all that up. He tells them who
Jesus is and in John’s gospel, he fades from the scene – in humility. John humbly defers to
this NEW teacher on the scene, this greater master. And John seems to be OK with that. .
.With simply walking away. . .
But his title for Jesus, “Lamb of God,” acknowledges the sacrifice that is in Jesus’
future. . . For this isn’t a master of power and privilege – this is a master who will die for
those he loves.
Most of us probably remember the WWJD campaign, when folks were wearing
bracelets on their arms to remind them to think about “What would Jesus do?” – how Jesus
might respond to some of the situations we are all confronted with each day - a reminder to
sort of be Jesus to the world. Rodger Nishioka, professor of Christian Education at Union
Seminary (and a Pace-Warren speaker some years ago), comments that sometimes the
seminary students whom he teaches, graduate taking this thought about being Jesus to the
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world a little too much to heart and end up with a bit of a Messiah complex. (He says that
some of them think they ARE Jesus to the world!)1
Rodger shares a story of when he was carrying a heavy workload and keeping a
hectic pace, and a colleague took him to lunch telling him first that it was urgent that she
speak with him. She sat at the table and told Rodger that she had some good news for him.
She said, “I want you to know the Messiah has come!” He looked at her a little puzzled and
she continued. . . “Yes, the Messiah has come - and you are not him!”
Rodger goes on to remind us that perhaps the better question to be asked is not
“WWJD?” But in thinking about today’s passage and John the Baptist’s amazing role in the
gospel story, perhaps the better question is “WWJBD?” “What would John the Baptist do?”
John who called attention to Jesus Christ. . . who deferred humbly to Jesus who said,
“‘Hey, look! See! God is alive. God is in our midst!”2 who pointed the way to Jesus. . .
Can we imagine such a world around us?. . . Such a culture that so humbly defers?
Can we even imagine humility any more at all?!!
Our Old Testament reading today from Micah, speaks to doing justice but,
interestingly, it also speaks of humility. . . as well as love. . .
“I have told you O mortal what is good. And what does the Lord require of you, but
to do justice, to love kindness, and walk humbly with your God.”
We often remember the “do justice” part of this passage. But do we remember these
other calls in this scripture? Here in Micah, it isn’t proper worship that God wants of us,
much to the dismay of those of us who organize worship! It isn’t even great sacrifice. It is
the doing of justice, the loving of kindness or mercy, and a walk with God that is humble.
That is what God wants! And they all three go together. You can’t separate the three.
If we “do justice,” without a love of mercy or kindness, without humility, we may end
up with a bit of that Messiah complex that Rodger Nishioka was talking about. . . or we may
end up more than self-righteous. We simply can’t forget about the love and humility.
Basically, what I’m saying is that we can’t forget about Jesus – all of him – when we do
justice. . .
Martin Luther King himself said “darkness cannot drive out darkness – only light can.
Hate cannot drive out hate – only love can.” No matter how “right” King was, and although
he minced no words, he insisted on non-violence, and on working WITH those whites whose
actions he may have at times detested.
But, you see, King was a man of God – he was a Christian – he was a follower of
Jesus.
When I traveled to Haiti before the earthquake with a ministry of the Church of the
Savior in D.C., I was told the purpose of our trip was to “break our hearts over the things that
break the heart of God.” That happened alright. But the wonderful thing about the way
those folks do justice or at least the way they did then, was with an very intentional focus on
their relationship with Christ. In fact, you cannot be a member of that very social justice
oriented faith community without committing to some pretty heavy spiritual disciplines,
meant to balance the outward journey with the inward one. . .meant to have us do justice as
would Christ.
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Rodger Nishioka in Feasting on the Word: Year A Volume 1, pg. 264.
Ibid.
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As we think about our own desire deep within to right those things in front of us that
break our hearts, to “put to rights” those wrongs that pain us, I want to share some words
from the great Henri Nouwen who encourages us always to think about our own relationship
with Christ. He says. . .
“I feel. . .powerless. I want to do something. I have to do something. I have, at least,
to speak out against the violence and malnutrition, the oppression, and exploitation. Beyond
this, I have to act in any way possible to alleviate the pain I see. But there is an even harder
task: to carry my own cross, the cross of loneliness and isolation, the cross of rejections I
experience, the cross of my depression and inner anguish. As long as I agonize over the pain
of others far away, but cannot carry that pain that is uniquely mine, I may become an activist,
even a defender of humanity, but not yet a follower of Jesus. . .”3
Today we are called to follow Jesus with our whole selves – to behold the Lamb of
God, to become his disciples, his followers more fully, more wholly, more humbly, to not
forget who we are, and whose we are . . .
I love these old folktales and although I have shared a few with you before, I would like to
leave you with another. . . It is about Isak.4
Isak was King Olaf’s most trusted friend and advisor. . .The king had discovered Isak
tending sheep, dressed in a tattered sheepskin jacket and a crude pair of homemade boots and
was so impressed with his wisdom and honesty, gave him a job in the royal court. Isak now
was in charge of caring for the entire palace and all the King’s treasures. . . and accounted for
it all. . .with one exception. There was a room upstairs in the topmost tower, a chamber
where Isak spent an hour in the middle of each day. No one knew what lay inside the thick
doors of that mysterious room, for Isak was the only one who possessed the key.
One day the King decided to put the members of his royal court to a test. Of course
as you can imagine, it was Isak who passed the test with the most flying colors of all the
servants and thus, showed his great obedience and love for the king. The King wanted to do
away with all the other servants, but Isak said, please Master, spare their lives and show your
love of forgiveness. The King did just that. But soon, although they were grateful to be
alive, the other servants became jealous and angry with Isak. They vowed to find something
that would remove him from the King’s favor.
One servant began to question what Isak had hidden in his secret room. “He must be
stealing from the King and storing it all in his secret chamber!” The servants decided to tell
the King. The King said, “I have never asked Isak about his trips to this secret room. You
have my permission to search it and whatever you find is yours to keep.”
They ran upstairs, broke the lock and began to tear holes in the walls in search of the
elusive treasure. All they found was a dusty sheepskin jacket and a tattered old pair of boots.
The King and Isak entered the room and chuckling, the King asked Isak to explain to
the servants as he said, “Strange treasure indeed.”
“Oh great King, when you chose to lift me up to my position in the royal court I had
nothing in the world. Without your grace, what am I?”
“Nothing but a shepherd,” sneered the other servants.
Henri Nouwen Walk with Jesus, Orbis Books, 1990.
William R. White Stories for Telling: A Treasury for Christian Storytellers Augusburg,
1986, 96.
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“A shepherd who wears a sheepskin jacket and a homemade pair of boots,” said Isak.
“Each day I return to this room to remember who I am and where I came from. The jacket
reminds me not to take my present position too seriously. The boots point to the lowliness of
my birth. . .” The King smiled and said, “I am pleased that you have continued to serve me
with a humble heart. I never doubted your fidelity. These simple objects are of far more
value than gold or jewels.”
Isak lived many years as the King Olaf’s most trusted servant. When he died his coat
and boots were placed in the royal treasury, along with the King’s precious gems.
May we always remember who we are – whose we are – and may we follow Him in
all that we do and may we do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with our God. . . In the
name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.