March 23, 2003: 3^rd Sunday in Lent (B)

Text: 1 Corinthians 1:22-25

"Shock and Awe." Through relentless heavy and accurate bombardment the coalition forces hope to "shock and awe" the Iraqi army and regime into recognizing where the real power lies and to capitulate without a fight.

It appears to me that the Apostle Paul dealt with a similar situation in his world 2000 years ago which he described in his letter to the Corinthians: "Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom…" (1:22). The Jews were looking for a "shock and awe" display of God's power. They were expecting a Messiah who would lead them to victory over their enemies and usher in a new era of world peace.

However, we know that this approach for eliminating evil does not work. Peace and justice cannot be attained through military might. You just have to look at the tremendous amount of resources spent to contain Saddam during Desert Storm and see where we are today. Few are under the illusion that this war will do much to prevent future conflicts.

The Greeks of Paul's day had another approach: They believed that the world's problems could be solved through "wisdom." Their philosophers developed new, more enlightened forms of government as well as ways to eliminate social evils through education and social engineering. They believed that evil or bad behavior could be corrected by providing the right environment and resources.

This has been our basic approach in the West with our secularized education, and socialized welfare and medicare. A similar thing is happening on a global level as the UN moves towards a one-world government. But even this approach to engineer a world without wars and genocide will likely fail. Either it will turn into a "Big Brother" dictatorship or it will eventually lead to moral chaos. At least, that is the lesson history has taught us when man tries to build a "perfect" world. Such a thing simply does not exist.

The reason these two approaches fail is because they fail to identify the real problem. The problem is not primarily the evil that is out there. The ultimate problem is not Saddam Hussein. Nor is it faulty socio-economic or political systems. The real problem of evil is here in my heart and in your heart. Jesus said: "For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander." (Matthew 15:19)

The heart of mankind needs to be fixed. We are all afflicted with a terminal condition called sin. And sin is not so much about lawbreaking, but about the orientation of our hearts towards God. I find that even in my profession as a minister, I often behave as if God did not exist. Oh, I talk and teach about God, but how often do I find myself struggling in prayer with God over the issues and problems I encounter? You see, often we act as if God were just some impersonal entity "out there" and not as the personal God he is who is intimately connected with every aspect of our lives.

In the opening to the Ten Commandments we hear God say, "I am a jealous God." (Exodus 20) This means that he is deeply offended and hurt by how we can just talk about him without a real sense of awe and wonderment or without deep passion and conviction. You see God is deeply passionate about you and about me. He is not willing to share us with any other gods. He is intensely interested in being a part of every aspect of your life. Your family, your personal time, your friendships, your work, your finances and decision-making. If there is any aspect of your life that he is not a part of, then you have got yourself what the Bible calls an idol. And it is often these idols in our lives that lead us to commit sins and do things that not only offend God, but also hurt our neighbor.

In order to take care of our sin-problem, God does not hurl smart bombs at us or send us to an institution for re-education. No, instead he himself pays the price for our sins. He did this by becoming one of us. He was willing to be rejected, to suffer and be crucified for our sin. In doing this he demonstrates his true concern and love for us. For it is only his love that can change our hearts to truly love him and to love each other.

"Christ crucified. A stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles." The message that God loves from the cross makes no sense to our world. For the cross is a symbol of utter shame and defeat. It involves terrible suffering and death: These are two things that any "normal" human being would try to avoid at any cost.

Another reason the cross is so offensive is that in it we see the consequences of our sin reflected. There the stark reality that we have fallen short of God's righteousness stares out at us. For those who do not sense any personal guilt towards God, the message of the cross is foolishness. And they fail to see the Savior on the cross.

As God shows his "weakness" and "foolishness" by letting his Son be executed, God's power and wisdom are revealed most powerfully in another realm. For in this act of "foolishness" God wiped out the consequences of all the evil acts that have taken place on earth since the beginning of history. In this show of "weakness" God broke down the gates of hell and disarmed Satan of all his weapons, even robbing him of death itself. In Christ crucified, God made possible forgiveness, immortality and divine fellowship.

To our world these truly amazing concepts don't mean very much. We are told that they are not "real." But tell me what is real? Do you think wealth and health, comfort and success, or peace and the perfect family are more real? Then think twice. In our world of sin these are only illusions that last but a short time. If these are the things you are pinning your hopes on, you will be disappointed. Although some of us may enjoy some of these some of the time, none of us can escape what is really real: Getting hurt, feeling empty, sickness, suffering and death. That, together with taxes, is what is unavoidable and real. So when you wonder about what is real, remember that when the Titanic went down, the only things that proved to be of ultimate worth were exactly those which were thought dispensable: The life boats.

One of our aims this Lenten season is to discipline ourselves to be spiritually vigilant; to be on the look-out for what is not real and to search out what is real. What is most significant about God and our world is not always so apparent to our senses. That's because God is a hidden God. Ever since sin entered the hearts of mankind, God chose to hide his raw glory and power so that it would not destroy us. Instead of punishing us he began to reach out to us in mercy. In order for us to be able to see him at all, God had to put on a "mask" which conceals his true nature and allows to be seen only a small part of himself: Such examples include the sounds God made approaching fallen Adam and Eve; the burning bush of Moses; the pillar of cloud by day and fire by night in the wilderness; and the supreme mask, the Incarnation--are all masks worn by God, worn paradoxically, that we may know him.

It is the height of folly to search out the bare majesty of the hidden God apart from the masks in which God chooses to come to us. And until Christ returns God comes to us through what we call his "means of grace," meaning, the Word, the Lord's Supper, and Baptism. These are the only means of grace God gave us by which we may approach him for forgiveness. There we find his faithful promises to us.

As the Lord invites you to his table today, think about what he is offering you here. This bread and wine we consume is the "mask" God has put on in order to be able to personally come to you, to touch you and to enter into you for the most intimate and close fellowship. Here God allows us to enter into his holy presence even as it is hidden behind simple bread and wine. This is a serious matter that we do not take lightly and for which we must prepare our hearts. For we recognize that we are truly unworthy of this divine fellowship and we desire that the Holy Spirit lead us to live a life that is holy and pleasing to God.

Here the Lord would encourage you to come and receive this awesome spiritual food for your body and soul: For in this mask of God we receive is hidden the most powerful reality of all: The very Creator of the universe who was crucified for you. In this mask of God we participate in the awesome love of God and are changed by it. That is why this spiritual food is the one thing you can count on to see you through the only sure thing in life, through death, and on to immortality.

May the fellowship of the Holy Spirit keep your hearts and minds in union with Christ. Amen