Focus: Face the music of the church; consider the whole picture; then go and vote, because Jesus Christ is Lord of all.
Function: To encourage the congregation to vote and face the future with confidence.
Texts: Philippians 2:5-11; Hebrews 11:39-12:2
It’s kind of depressing. If you think of American culture
as a patient, and you take the temperature of that patient, you realize that
our culture is a “sick puppy.” For example, our culture’s outlook on life is
dim. The symbols of Halloween underscore that dimness: spooks and ghost and
tombstones on display in front yards all speak of death in tones of mockery.
We are supposed to laugh and embrace the symbols in good fun. But buried underneath these symbols you’ll find our culture’s struggles and despair with death. And since so many don’t know God’s antidote to fight despair, our culture mocks and laughs and deals light-heartedly with death. Our culture is a “sick puppy.”
Now when you couple our culture’s dim view of death with our duty to face the future of our nation by going to the voting booth this coming Tuesday, you may get downright depressed. The election pitch of our political candidates is coming to a crescendo on November 4, and the nation’s pulse is beating feverishly. You can almost “taste” the political atmosphere. Many in our nation are tired—but also worried, fearful and anxious—about the political menu set before us:
Red states vs. blue
states, tax cuts vs. tax increases, economic depression or recession vs.
economic prosperity to come. Wall Street vs. Main Street; Iraqi retreat and
defeat vs. victory and patriotism. Our national vocabulary now includes flash
terms such as Rev. Wright, Bill Ayers and Joe the Plumber. And now we seem to
have two America’s: the obscene rich and the well-deserving middle class.
These ingredients are part of the political diet set before us the last number of months. Many are getting indigestion and heartburn and will be glad when the elections are over. Others thrive on the election fevers; and again many others worry about the future of our nation and world.
So, what are Christians to do this
week? What is the Church of Christ supposed to do in the midst of a depressed
culture and an uncertain, political future? As a minister of the gospel of
Jesus Christ and in light of the Scriptures read this morning I say to you: Face
the music of the church; consider the whole picture; then go and vote, because
Jesus is Lord of all.
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Face the music of the church. I say that in light of Paul’s letter to the church in Philippi. Philippians 2:5-11 is an early Christian hymn that summarizes and celebrates what God has done in Jesus Christ. The passage is a hymn that captures God’s work of salvation. The hymn has a downward and an upward movement: one of humiliation, and the other one of exaltation.
And that downward and upward movement corresponds with the Church’s feasts and festivals: Christmas, Good Friday, Easter, Ascension Day, and Advent, which points to the great day of Final Judgment—as yet to come. Listen: “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.” There you have Christmas—which is all about Christ’s incarnation, taking on our human flesh and nature.
Listen again: “And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross.” There you have the season of Lent and Good Friday—which is all about Christ’s death and burial. Listen again: “Therefore God exalted (Jesus) to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord….” There you have the Easter season, which includes Jesus’ resurrection from the dead and his ascension into heaven. This is the music of the Christian church. This is the song all Christians sing as they go through life.
Philippians 2:5-11 is not only an early Christian hymn that summarizes and celebrates God’s work of salvation; it’s also a cosmic vision for the church—a vision that shapes our lives. Note, for example, that all of creation, all of history, all the nations and peoples of the earth end up bowing down before Jesus Christ, declaring and acknowledging that he is Lord of all. There you have the season of Advent, which deals with Christ’s comings in our lives and world.
Think about it: in a time of great persecutions in the Roman empire, the early Christian church embraced this shocking, astonishing vision of God’s rule in our world and throughout history. It is not Caesar--the emperor--or any earthly king or magistrate that is Lord of all. Only Jesus Christ is Lord. And he is sovereign over all!
Tyrants and dictators may yell and scream and demand full obedience from their subjects; rulers such as the North Korean dictator today may demand deification or worship from his citizens; kings and queens and parliaments and congresses may insist on laws and claims of governmental authority. Yet, in the end, all will declare and acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord of all. And as it did in the days of the early Christian church, so this cosmic vision of Jesus’ kingship ought to shape our lives today.
That’s why I say: Face the music
of the Christian church and sing its powerful stanzas with gusto: “Christ has
died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again!” Go and cast your vote on
Tuesday. And be sure to consider the whole picture.
You know, when you step back a bit and take the pulse of our nation and world, it’s not hard to make a diagnosis of the human condition. The rhetoric of our presidential candidates addresses, for example, matters of poverty, unemployment, social injustices and sickness. Our politicians promise policies that will make us “happy,” and that will lead to material prosperity for all.”
In other words, people are in search of shalom; people yearn for a world where poverty, sickness, and unhappiness are no more. Everyone seems to be looking for safety, security, and happy feelings. And our politicians promise them all if only we put our trust in them and government.
Is this diagnosis, is this search
for happiness and shalom a new thing? Not really. Ever since sin and death
entered our world, people have been searching for these things. The Bible,
however, teaches us to look for that shalom NOT in government or political
figures, but in the Son of God, who is Lord of all. Jesus is the One who, in
due time, will usher in true shalom. That’s why I say, “Face the music of
the Christian Church and consider the whole picture.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Today, we also read Hebrews 11:39-12:2. That Scripture
passage gives us insight into the larger picture. First of all, this passage
connects us today with all God’s people, who have gone before us. All
throughout history, God has called and gathered people to live in faith. God
made promises to them. They lived by faith, seeking to inherit the promises of
shalom. But “…none of them received what had been promised.” For,
says the writer of Hebrews, “God had planned something better for us so
that only together with us would they be made perfect.”
To be sure, God’s promises are fulfilled in Jesus Christ.
Bundled up in Jesus—his person and work—we find the fulfillment of God’s
promises of shalom. Those promises, however, will come to full expression and
they will become fully ours and become fully visible when Christ comes again.
It
is through faith in Christ that we possess the content of God’s promises
already today. But like the saints in the past, so we today who follow Christ
Jesus must live by faith, always keeping in mind the whole picture. Clearly,
this passage from Hebrews connects us with all God’s people who have gone
before us. (They
include people such as [roll call of the saints])
This passage from Hebrews also
reminds us of the invisible realm called “heaven.” All those believers who have
gone before us are now with Christ in heaven. We are connected with them today.
(They include
people such as [roll call of the saints])
Heaven
and earth are connected. Heaven is an invisible part of God’s created realm.
Even though it is invisible, it is just as real as this sanctuary and world in
which we live. And God’s heavenly kingdom is just as real as the political
landscape of America and the nations of the world. In fact, God’s heavenly rule
is being brought to bear here on earth as you and I spread the influence of
Christ’s work and Word in all we do and say.
So, mindful of that invisible realm called “heaven,” and
being connected with God’s people who are with Christ in heaven, we now hear
them cheer us on. They surround us like a great cloud of witnesses. This is why
we shall NOT follow the Halloween culture of despair today. This is why we can
cast our vote on Tuesday with a deep trust that our future is secure in Christ.
Jesus’ Lordship is the roadmap by which we shall travel through life. We shall
not despair. Rather, we shall fix our eyes on Jesus.
Jesus is the author and finisher or “perfecter” of our
faith.
It’s not a politician or
king; it’s not a political party or policy that will save us and bring us
shalom. It’s Jesus Christ, the eternal, incarnate Son of God.
Since
Jesus is King of all, and since he calls us to live as his ambassadors here on
earth, we shall fully engage ourselves with the politics of the day. We shall
not be anxious; we shall not deny death, or mock the pain and sufferings and
grim realities of our world; rather, we shall face the music of the church and
sing “Jesus is Lord.” Yes, we shall consider the whole picture: God’s
church in heaven and on earth. And thus we shall go and vote, because Jesus is
Lord.
In the name of the Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.