.... this is just the closing paragraphs of my Sunday Sermon.just didn't feel like posting the whole thing.
We also had our first "Children's Sabbath" today at the 10:00 o clock service. I talked about Children's Advocacy for part of the sermon, as well.
"Give to the emperor the things that are the emperor's, and to God the things that are God's."
That is a religious statement -- and a political statement -- Because God cares about our whole lives, not just our souls -- and because Jesus is Lord of our whole lives, and not just our souls.
Jesus is not running for president -- but he is the Messiah. The truth is, if he were running for president, he would not be elected. None of us would vote for him -- from the most conservative among us to the most liberal, and everyone in between. We would not vote for Jesus for President. His policies would be too impractical -- loving your enemy, doing good to those who persecute you, turning the other cheek..... And he wouldn't always tell you just what we wanted to hear, whether about lowering your taxes or raising your taxes or anything else. But he would tell us what we needed to hear -- about who we are, and who be belong to, and where to find true life, and health. He would throw us on our own initiative just when we wanted his help -- and he would give himself for us at just the time we wanted to pull ourselves up by our own boostraps. He's not interested in the worthy, but the unworthy; he's not interested just in the rich, but the poor; he's not just interested in your soul, but in your whole life. And we would never vote for him.
But we don't vote for him. He votes for us. He votes for you. He votes with his feet, with his heart, with his life: riding into Jerusalem, not to get your vote, but to save your life.
That's why we do everything: feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, protecting the children -- in his name. And that's why we come together in his name, week after week, despite our differences, to worship the one who takes children in his arms, and calls them his own -- including you and me. AMEN
9 comments:
Wow, great points!!! Wish I could have heard it in person.
Diane - your true prophetic voice rings out here.
I am grateful for your words and your wisdom.
And I hope your congregation is too!!
Well said! Amen!
Oh, I love this, Diane. Wow.
Thanks for posting it.
I like this better than the sermon I preached. Thanks!
RIGHT ON! and so well said. Wish I could have heard it. (definitely sharing it with my two fellow pastors)
Oh, this is so good. I think similar thoughts whenever people glibly talk about the US as a "Christian nation." Jesus would never be elected here. In a similar vein, I thought this vid was amusing: "If Jesus Ran for President."
What a great sermon, and I agree with Barbara, I would have enjoyed hearing it in person.
Wow...
He votes for you. I like that.
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