Sermon Text

April 25, 2010
The Fourth Sunday of Easter

DON’T KEEP US IN SUSPENSE!
John 10:22-30

Jesus was in the Temple, in the wintry season around Hanukkah, in the colonnaded Portico of Solomon, in the Court of the Gentiles. It was a popular place for teaching and debate during this time of year, because it provided some shelter against the elements. It was also common for religious trials to take place there, and what happened there on this day had aspects of both. Some of the people gathered around Jesus asked him, “Don’t keep us in suspense! Are you the Messiah, or not?”

The answer they got left a lot to the imagination. No matter why the question was asked, the answer was maddeningly indirect. What Jesus said, in effect, was “I’ve already told you, but you wouldn’t listen. I’ve shown you, but you wouldn’t see. Only those who are willing to risk faith hear and see, and their faith will make them new. No one will be able to take that away from them. We are one, just as the Father and I are one.”

Well, that wasn’t the direct, self-incriminating answer some of the questioners might have hoped for, and it wasn’t the irrefutable confirmation some of the others wanted, either. But that was characteristic of Jesus -- he seldom gave people the answers they wanted to hear, because he knew their prejudices and preconceived notions would keep them from hearing him in the right way.

Our position in this story is not a whole lot better than that of the questioners. In fact, the barriers of time and culture make it even harder for us to get a clear answer to our questions about who Jesus is. Wouldn’t it be great if we could have that unquestionable, clear proof that Jesus actually is who the Church has proclaimed him to be? Then we wouldn’t have to wonder about him any more. We would know who he was.

But Jesus always seems to lead us away from that kind of “scientific” certainty. He keeps talking about faith, not knowledge. We don’t understand in order to believe; we believe, in order to understand. The leap of faith precedes any kind of certainty about who Jesus is, or what God has accomplished through him on our behalf. We get the same, maddening, indirect response: “Look and see, hear and believe.”

Jesus told these questioners that, for all his eloquent teaching, his actions spoke even louder than his words. That shouldn’t surprise us -- it is true for all of us. Our actions do speak louder than our words. Remember when Jesus warned his hearers that not everyone who said, “Lord, Lord” at the proper time actually does the will of God? We can talk all we want -- in Sunday School, at work, in the family, among friends -- about what is important to us, but the way we live and what we do will tell far more eloquently what we value.

What we say and do here every Sunday -- what impact does that have on your life during the rest of the week? How does our worship, study, and fellowship together affect the rest of your life? Methodist bishop and author William Willimon writes:

In a recent discussion in a small church, two women expressed the following sentiments. When asked, “Why do you come to worship?” one replied, “I come to worship to be quiet, at peace, alone; to get rest and refuge from the problems that confront me in everyday life.”
“I disagree,” said the other woman. “I come to worship to get motivated to live a better life in the real world.”
One saw worship as an escape from the world, while the other saw worship as motivation for involvement in the world. Both agreed that, whatever happened in worship, it was not an integral part of life in the “real world.”

One thing Dr. Willimon is saying is that worship is not a means to some other end. It is worthwhile in and of itself, and not merely because of what it can provide for us. Another truth contained here is the fact that, whatever happens for us in worship, what we do and say here ought to affect our lives, here and elsewhere. If we believe something is important in here, then it ought to be important for us anywhere. If acting in a certain way is important in here, then acting that way ought to be important for us anywhere. Certainly, we come here for rest and refreshment. Certainly, we come here to be challenged to live out the discipleship to which we have been called. But there is more. Worship is more than a way of saying who we ought to be, or who we wish we were. Worship brings us to express who by God’s grace we are!

So let’s not keep the rest of the world in suspense! Are we followers of the Christ, or not? Are we willing to commit ourselves to him, even without having all the answers? Here, in this worship service, is where it can begin, and where it can continue. And we will know that he and we are one, just as he and the Father are one.

In our world today, it is important for us to remember that what we do, in Christ’s name, will speak more loudly about the Lordship of Jesus Christ than all our words put together. Be in suspense no longer. Declare yourself in word and deed. Then the whole of our lives will be worship, in which we serve God, just as God has so graciously served us. Let us become who, by God’s grace, we are.