note-- This was one of my earlier 'practice' sermons for my homiletics class, in fact I think it was my first Fuller sermon.  I got better.

Focusing on Our Message

I.  What would we do – the problem.

            I want to ask you to use your imagination for a second.  Imagine, if you will, that you are God.  Full of Divine power and wisdom, able to do anything and know everything.  So, you've created a world -- a perfect world, where everything really is good.  The people you created started off well, you had some great walks with them, but then they veered off into an odd direction.  They started to choose things which not only led them away from a stronger relationship with you, but also really led them into a pattern of destruction.  What they were doing was killing them, destroying each other, and in fact the world which you had made.  You aren't particularly inclined to destroy them, so what do you do? (pregnant pause)

Do you wipe out those who are the most defiant?  Do you pick someone, or a group of people, to really get to know and hope to rehabilitate them.  Do you hand over the rule book, so they know what works and what doesn't, so they know how you will judge?  Do you step-by-step explain yourself, detailing in a logical order why what they are doing is wrong -- basically give them a stern lecture.  Maybe a grounding, or a time-out.

What would you do?

II.  What God Did Do…

I'll tell you one thing which wouldn't immediately come to my mind.  You see this world, try a few options, then Of course, send your son to take care of the problem.  But, you don't send him in obvious glory, with an army of angels behind him.  You put him in a womb, let him be born, have him grow up in a working class home, and simply live.  When he's about 30, that's when you strike, right?  Well, you let him start teaching, and yes allow for a some miraculous events then take over the kingdom.  No, you let him be captured by people who think they're serving you, and let these people turn him over to the rather corrupt government, and then, of course, you let him die a most painful death.  That makes perfect sense.

III.   The Problem – a collision

The problem is, though, is that's exactly what God in fact did do.  He did what doesn't make sense to us, and we have a hard time accepting the fact that God would work in a way which doesn't really make sense to us. We want God to do what is predictable, what we think is right.  Paul saw this very early on --  near the beginning of his first letter to the believers in Corinth he talked about his own message -- God's way seems foolish to the Jews because they want a sign from heaven to prove it is true.  And it is foolish to the Greeks because they believe only what agrees with their own wisdom.  So when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended, and everyone else say it's all nonsense.  But to those called by God to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles, Christ is the mighty power of God and the wonderful Wisdom of God.  This "foolish" plan of God is far wiser than the wisest of human plans, and God's weakness is far stronger than the greatest of human strength.

        The Jews thought they knew what to expect from God, they had long tales of their interaction with him, both good and bad.  They in fact were told what to expect, so they simply wanted a sign, a password if you will to make sure this was God at work.  The Greeks loved to think, they figured out a lot of stuff, and thought they knew how the universe worked.  God, certainly would work in a way which agreed with how he developed his creation.  The problem with these two points of view is that they are essentially wrong -- they are telling God how he should work, rather than seeing how he does work  They have created a set field in which their God is allowed to work.  What they believe is right for them, so that's how God has to react.  For our era, maybe we can add another view – people of our day want a God who doesn’t offend, who exists to help, but not correct.  We want an answer which may be right for me, but not for you.  Because God wouldn’t offend – that would be arrogant of him.  God will certainly work in the way we think he will, right?

IV. The Theological resolution

In doing what he actually did do, send his son to die on the cross, God did not fit into a preconceived or expected pattern.  He didn't do what everyone thought he should do to fix the situation, he did what actually would fix the situation.  For that's what the Power and Wisdom of God is -- the actual, practical, accomplishment of the intended goal. Power isn't simply being able to do miracles, and wisdom isn't simply knowing about something.  Wisdom is knowing what to do and power is being able to do what will fully meet your plan.  God's plan is to save the world, so he sent Christ.  We can argue, we can disagree and debate why -- but what we come down to is the fact that this is what God did, and in this is a power not only to be saved from death, but a power to learn how to live, a power to be whole in ourselves and be whole in a community with others. 

V.  The Practical Response

When we lose sight of this, the person and work of Christ, we become like a wheel without a center, the spokes collapsing at the slightest pressure, sometimes poking out and causing more damage.   We can try to second guess God, to "translate" his message to a "modern" generation, but in doing this we lose the core of the message -- the power.  We think we may know what everyone needs to hear, but the fact is we don’t.  I don’t know what you need specifically to hear right now, I just know the story I have been told to tell.  We don't depend on logical arguments, though we may convince, we don't depend on signs as proof, though miracles certainly may happen.  We depend on the fact that in this story is power, power to change lives in a real way, not bound by a particular culture or perspective, but able to reach out to everyone.  Outside of this story, as Paul well knew, is emptiness.  

We really have nothing else to offer.  If we don't deal with Christ, we might as well pack up our bags, because we are wasting our time doing anything else.  This means, of course, that we have to know the story, that we have to grow continually in our relationship with Christ, through the study of the Gospels, through prayer, and through living in a way which reflects his truth in us.  God knows what he is doing, he doesn't need our advice or counsel -- but sadly, as our Christian history often shows, we have continually sought to blunt the message by different forms, including or adapting in a way which we think will help – but it never does.  

As Gordon Fee said, "God will not be so easily tamed, and freed from its shackles, the preaching of the cross alone has the power to set people free."  So as we go out today, all of us preparing to finish up soon our time at seminary, remember continually, in your personal and professional lives, that it is only in the message of the cross that salvation, hope, life, and love is really found, not in a pithy, “religious”, “Feel Good” sort of way, but in a real, active, powerful answer to what we are dealing with now.