July 9, 2006; Pentecost 5 (B)

Text: 2 Corinthians 5:14-21

Ambassadors of Christ

One of the most widely read books of English literature is Daniel
Defoe's "Robinson Crusoe." It is the story of an English seaman who
gets shipwrecked on an island where he spends 28 years before being
rescued. Part of his experience on the island involved rescuing a native who
had been brought over to the island by cannibals in order to be killed
and eaten.

The native, because his life was saved by Robinson, then followed him
wherever he went and became his slave. His life no longer belonged to
himself. It belonged to Robinson who had saved him.

This is also true of us. We have all been saved from a far worse
outcome than death. We were saved us from being God's enemies and from
eternal death by our Lord Jesus. As a result our lives no longer belong to
ourselves but to Jesus. In our second reading we heard Paul say,
"Jesus died for all, that those who live should no longer live for
themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again" (2 Corinthians
5:15).

How did this happen? When we were Baptized, Jesus saved us from sharing
Satan's fate in the hellfire and brought us into God's kingdom. We
owe Him not only for our earthly life because He is our Creator, but
also for our afterlife in eternity because He is our Redeemer.

Rightfully, we do not belong to ourselves but to Jesus, to Him who died for us
and was raised to life.

Through Baptism God has joined us to Christ and we have been united to
Him. Now when God sees us, He no longer sees our sins and failures.
Because we are united to Jesus He sees His perfect and holy Son. Through
Baptism we have been "clothed" with Christ. Paul put it this way:
"If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the
new has come!"

This is amazing! Our old being with all its fears and insecurities, its
vainglory and hopelessness has mercifully been terminated and we were
given a much better life: We have been made a totally new thing - a new
creation! A new creation implies a change from the old previous self.
Let me tell you the conversion story of Dr. Marvin Overton which even
made it into the pages of the Wall Street Journal in 1994.

Dr. Overton was one of the foremost brain surgeons. Just about the time
that he experienced a spiritual reawakening and began to attend church,
he began suffering severe pain in his stomach area. X-rays revealed
that he had cancer. However, when further tests were done, they showed
nothing and Overton has felt fine ever since. He was completely healed.
And this healing crystallized his realization that in Christ he was a new
creation, a totally new person.

Before his conversion he was a skeptic and a rationalist who believed
in the power of science. Now he understood the power of God. Before he
was, by his own description, coldhearted. "I was a good surgeon,"
said Overton, "but I was coarse. I couldn't shed a tear. My attitude
towards patients was - tough.'"

Now he writes notes to friends, notes containing encouraging quotes
from the Bible, and he cares enough about patients to ask those scheduled
for surgery, "If something goes wrong, are you comfortable that you
know God and that you'll go to heaven?"

Before his conversion Overton worshipped Bacchus, the God of fine wine.
He had one of the finest wine collections in the world. When he became
a follower of Jesus he sold his wine collection worth over a million
dollars and donated the proceeds to charity.

Before he socialized only with those of high society. But now this
neurosurgeon is one of the leaders of a small-town, blue-collar church in
Texas. And he even takes time to go door-to-door to tell others about
Jesus, the One who had made him a new creation!

What about us? All of us who have been baptized into Christ have also
become a new creation! Now that we have heard Dr. Overton's "new
creation" story, I would like to hear yours! That's right! We all have
our own stories to tell of the difference Jesus has made in our lives.

In my own life, since I was born into a Christian family, my own story
is not as dramatic as that of Dr. Overton. I grew up with Christian
values and did not have to struggle with an overtly sinful lifestyle. But
just like everyone else, I have a sinful nature which often lures me to
trust in myself rather than put my full trust in God. And so my "new
creation" story is about how Christ breaks my trust in myself and
forgives my sin.

But it does not end at forgiveness. The most amazing part of my story
happens after the forgiveness and after I have become a new creation.
Jesus entrusts me with the task of inviting others to join me as new
creatures in Him. For someone who has experienced the joy of becoming a new
creation, there is nothing more fun to do than to share that joy with
others! And if that can be true of a neurosurgeon, it can also be true
of me and of each one of you!

One way people in our church are involved in sharing their joy as
God's new creations is by being part of our ESL Conversation classes. For
me that is where I experience the joy of sharing God's new life with
others. Paul says that we are Christ's ambassadors, and that God
wants to use us to make His appeal to the people of the world. And the
message we have to share is this: That God reconciled the world to Himself
in Christ, not counting men's sins against them.

Now why does God choose us to be His ambassadors? I am sure that many
of you feel that you are not particularly good ambassadors for Christ.
Even as a Pastor who has been trained in the Bible, I often feel the
same way. But the reason God chooses you to be His ambassador is that you
have a story to tell. A story of how you were once lost and an enemy of
God, but now you have been reconciled and made a new creation.
That is why I encourage you as Christ's ambassadors to remember your
"new creation" stories and to share them: Stories that tell of how
God's grace has touched your life. The fact that Christ loved us and
gave His life for us is our motivation for sharing that wonderful news.

In closing, I would like to make a connection to that wonderful story
we heard in our Gospel reading where Jesus calmed the storm. Sometimes
when it comes to telling others about Jesus, we may feel very fearful at
first. Perhaps even as fearful as the disciples who were in the boat
with Jesus when the storm threatened to sink their boat. If that is the
case, should you just give up? Should you say, "Well, I guess I am
just not cut out for this task"? What did the disciples do when they
were about to drown? They called upon Jesus.

In our case, we are not drowning, but it may be your friend who does
not know Jesus. Facing eternity without Jesus can be even more frightful
than drowning. So let me encourage you not to give up, but to call on
the One who can help us. For Jesus not only helps us get the story out.
He also promises to send the Holy Spirit to work in the heart of our
friend so that He may be led to put his trust in Jesus and become a new
creation.

So don't give up when you feel fearful about telling your friends
about Jesus. Call upon Jesus and be proud that you are His ambassadors! We
are His new creations and with Him nothing is impossible!

Now may the grace of God the Heavenly Father and the fellowship of the
Holy Spirit keep your hearts and minds in perfect peace through Christ
Jesus our Lord. Amen.