“Wearing Jesus”

A Sermon Based Upon Romans 12: 9-21; 14:  10-14

By Rev. Dr. Charles J. Tomlin, DMin

Flat Rock-Zion Baptist Partnership

Sunday,   November 9th, 2014

“But put on the Lord Jesus Christ…. (Rom 13:14 NAU).  

Once a young preaching student asked his professor, "How many points should a sermon have?"   The professor answered immediately back,  "At least one."

Young preachers have a lot to learn, and great preachers are always learning.  It's really no different for any of us.  We must all be 'lifelong learners” if we want to stay engaged with life.  I’ve been ‘learning’ how to be a Christian all my life.  I’m still learning, and I hope you are too.

When I began my ministry there was much discussion about a new piece of Christian jewelry that was very popular in youth groups at that time.  You probably remember those WWJD bracelets, necklesses, T-shirts and other paraphernalia, coming out of the youth Jesus movement.   The idea originated in book written years before (1896) entitled "In His Steps", where the question was first asked,  "What would Jesus Do?"  The point of the book and the jewelry was that if you really want to live as a Christian, you must ask yourself in every situation you encounter, "What would Jesus Do?" and then try to live accordingly.   It all sounds good, until we realize what Jesus did do, and how he died?  Can we do that?

An even better image for living the Christian life, comes at the conclusion of Romans 13.  The apostle Paul had his own take on what it means to live the Christian life.  He said it is like putting on new clothes.  This is what he means when he makes this grand conclusion to all he has been saying in Romans 13: ‘put on the Lord Jesus Christ'  (Rm. 13:14).   Sounds simple, but look closer.  Paul pictures wearing Jesus to be like putting on one single set of clothes to wear on all kinds of different occasions.  That's certainly not easy, is it?  Try to do that?  Try to wear the same clothes everywhere you go?   It could almost be comical.   We are used to putting on different clothes for differing moments of our lives, aren't we?  You shouldn't wear your pajamas to school like I did once in the first grade, forgetting to take them off before I put on my trousers.  That was embarrassing to me, even I made sure no one else saw it and got back home.  You also shouldn't wear your blue jeans to a funeral and you know better than to wear a three piece suit to do yard work.   It's certainly not advisable to wear jeans while swimming.  When you get all wet, weighed down and drown.  

How can Paul suggest something like this?   Everybody knows we’re supposed to make the clothes fit the occasion, not the other way around?   But if I understand Paul correctly, he’s saying that if we want to be a follower of Jesus, we must wear Jesus in every moment and each situation of our lives.  Let's see how he wants us to do that?

WEARING JESUS IN CHURCH

The first place is the most obvious.  We need to "wear Jesus" at church.  That's easy, right?  Well, not always.  Sometimes the hardest place to be like Jesus is at church.  

Let me start out positively.   Church is where I grew up.  Some of the most wonderful people in my life I knew at church.   When as a child, we left the city to return to the country,  I was homesick, so some of the people made sure I came back for Christmas to get my presents.  People at church supported and loved me, just because I grew up there, and even when my sermons were terrible, and sometimes still are.   Over all, there is no place in the world like a body of believers, who believe in hope, faith and love?   

But let me also be frank and clear.  Some of the angriest, meanest people I've ever met, I’ve also known at church.  I've seen people get so mad at each other, even neighbors, friends, brothers and sisters, would not speak to each other.  And many have left the church for good, because of something that happens, or because of people they've met at church.  Recall the church lady on Saturday night live?  She's fictitious, but her course demeanor is how many view church. 

Not long a book very critical of church came out saying that though churches are in decline, faith is not.  One person even suggested that people still like Jesus, but not the church.  While there are many good churches, the growing trend is away, rather than toward church.   One of the most respected evangelical Christians, Philip Yancey might give us an idea why?  He tells of how a prostitute came to a downtown street mission in Chicago.  Everything was falling apart for her.  She was homeless, sick, and unable to buy food for her two-year-old daughter.  She had even been "renting out" her daughter---two years old!   She made more money on her daughter in an hour than she could earn on her own in a whole night.  Her story was hard to bear and it made the mission work legally liable.   It was hard to know what to say to her.  Finally, the mission worker asked her if she'd ever thought about going to church for help.   Pure, naive shock went across her face.  "Church!"  she cried.  "Why would I ever go there?  I am already feeling terrible about myself.  They just make me feel worse."

While there were many things that had gone wrong in life of that woman, one thing she got right is her critique of church in the eyes of the world.  Most people see the church as a place that makes them feel worse; worse about themselves, worse about the world, worse, even about religion and faith, especially when Christians don't, as the song says, "know we are Christians by our love", which begins with how we treat and love each other.

Can we change the negative impressions toward church in the world around us?  It's not easy to undo the damage that's been done, but Paul shows us the right place to start; not with changing the world but with changing ourselves.  "Don't think more highly of yourself that you ought to think...." (12:3)  Get off that high horse!  Faith works differently for different people!  We who are many, are still to be one body! (5)  We have gifts differing....(6)  Let love be without hypocrisy!  (9).   In this passage, Paul says some very foundational things about being like Jesus at church.  When we get along with each other at church, and when we practice living what we say we believe at church, and when we put on and wear Jesus here first in church, we will then have occasions to wear Jesus elsewhere.  For, if we don't wear Jesus here, in this dedicated place, where Jesus in worshipped, how can we wear Jesus anywhere else? 

I’ve done a lot of funerals over the years of ministry.  Some of them came at the end of a long struggle with illness and were like a relief.   Others, were tragic, difficult, and pushed everyone near the edge….   What is most tragic is not that someone dies, but that someone dies alone, or without hope.   What I mean by dying alone is not dying alone without someone close by.  That’s bad enough.  I mean dying alone without any kind of word of hope.  

The love we all need most is the love of God that promises us hope, no matter what we go through in life.  For most all of us, that promise of hope comes, not through one person, and not through mere written words—even the words of the Bible---the good book.  But the Word of God and the word of hope and promise are channeled to us through the living and loving body of Christ, we call the church.    Even as imperfect as we are,  when we at least “try” to love each other (even when we might not like each other) and when we come together in genuine love for God, despite our differences, despite our conflicts, and despite our shortcomings,  something still happens in a fellowship of believers who strive to be a spiritual family of  faith, hope, and love, which happens nowhere else.    When love is expressed in a living, breathing, caring and loving body, that love can accompany us from the cradle to the grave and it can and will sustain us and sustain our hope.   “Wearing Jesus”  here at church, first of all, we give faith, hope and love---to those who are growing, to those who are going, we might say.   As Paul told the Ephesians:  “as each part (of the church body) is working properly, (it) promotes the body's growth in building itself up in love (Eph 4:16 NRS).

WEARING JESUS BEFORE THE WORLD

After Paul speaks of ‘wearing Jesus’ in what should be a very safe environment (v. 10),  he then moves on to a more hostile environment.   Now, Paul speaks strangely of  even 'blessing those who persecute you' (v. 14), and more specifically that we should 'never pay back evil for evil to anyone' (v. 17).   Of course this is ‘dangerous’, and of course it can be like ‘bearing a cross’ that might cost you.   Wearing Jesus in the world is never promised to be easy.    Why would anyone want to ‘wear Jesus’ like this?   We wear Jesus before the world, even the aggressive, harmful and hurting world, because we are to 'to respect what is right in the sight of everyone' (17b), and we are to 'be at peace with all' (v. 18)  and we 'never seek revenge' (v. 19) because, as Christians, we are to ‘leave room’ (NAU) or ‘ give place’ (KJV) for God.  

It easier to be negative when the world turns negative around us.  But when only react negatively, we are not wearing Jesus in the world.  To wear Jesus means that we respond to evil with positive things,  plus signs like the cross; like feeding our enemies,  quenching the thirst, and doing good for even for people we don't like (and don't like us).  Instead of being 'overcome by evil', we can only 'overcome evil with good' (v. 20-21).  

We know that we live in an increasingly secular, non-religious society that is becoming less appreciative of Christian faith in particular, and less tolerant of religion in general.  We've all are seeing less religion in public life; less in schools, less in court rooms, less respect or understanding of faith.   Ironically,  statistics show that Christianity is holding its own among the educated and urban,  but it is sliding more quickly in rural areas, and among those with less education.  Some of  this negativity toward God might be in response to job loss and struggling economics, and part of it is also in the reaction of public fears to growing religious radicalism and fundamentalism; in both Islam and in Christianity.   It has caused silent atheists to become even more outspoken against all religious belief.

I lived in Europe for several years, and saw how the land of great Cathedrals and Churches are now mostly museums.  What were once “Christian nations” have now become places where people are less religious, and very few, even among those who preferred Christianity, had anything to do with an organized church.   The same seems to be happening in America, and there seems to be no way back.  How do we wear Jesus in a world where more and more have little or no understanding?

I’ll never forgotten how a communist man, who had always been against the church, was still in shock after the fall of communism in eastern Europe, but out of curiosity, he walked into a church service for the first time in his life.  He had always thought church was stupid, senseless and meaningless.  After the service had concluded--- after he had experienced the preaching of the Word for the first time, and after he had experienced the fellowship of believers for the first time, and after he had sense the power of the Holy Spirit for the very first time, he then stood up and testified before them:   “I just want you all to know, that I have found something so positive here among you and so life affirming, that I want to become one with you and I don’t want to hate anymore.   Who could can resist being changed when believers and unbelievers, simply stop to make room for God and the transformation of a soul.

In Lewis' Carroll's children's classic, Alice In Wonderland, the White Queen makes a wonderful statement to Alice, when she explains how she "tries to believe as many as six impossible things before breakfast.”  “Count them Alice,"  she says.  Well,  Paul says that is exactly how we wear Jesus before the world.  We must try 'impossible things',  or at least what the world (and even some Christians) think is impossible.   We must these ‘impossible things’ an even greater priority than breakfast.   Can't you name these impossible things in this text:  "Bless those who persecute you....",   "weep with those who weep....", "don't be haughty in mind'....,   "associate with the lowly".... "don't be wise in your own estimation,"  "never pay back evil for evil",  "never take revenge,    "  feed and give drink to your enemy"....   That's already 8 impossible things.  Could you imagine how much easier it would be for the world to believe in God when they could see us wearing Jesus by doing 'impossible things' that only those who believe in Jesus would ever dare to do?   Think of how ‘inspiring’ it is when people forgive, even forgive the most unthinkable.    By doing such 'impossible things' we wear Jesus in the world and we make ‘room’ or ‘place’ for God to work.

WEARING JESUS IN OUR NATION

Finally, it had to happen.  In  Roman 13, wearing Jesus gets political.   We know that  mixing political opinions with religious viewpoints is as dangerous as dynamite.   But there is even a good use for dynamite, if we train ourselves in how to use it properly.  

Paul tells us how to ‘wear Jesus’ in our nation by being “in subjection to the governing authorities....' (Rm. 13.1).   For us, in a two-party system, this means that when Republicans are in the majority, we are to be subject to the republicans and we to respect and work with them.  When the Democrats are in the majority, we are to be subject to the democrats as we respect and work with them.   Now, that's certainly making, bearing a cross, isn’t it?  How do you do this, especially when you  believe they are in the wrong?

What we need to understand is that Paul was not talking about a Christian government, nor was he talking about a Government that was even supportive of the Christian faith.   Paul was talking about Roman Christians being subject to pagan Roman laws, because the Christian faith has bigger fish to fry.   Do you recall what Paul told the Galatians, when he told them to cultivate the 'fruit of the Spirit' which included love, joy, peace, patience, kindness.... and so on (Gal. 5.22)?  These spiritual 'fruit' are Christian priorities.   They are line items you would never see on the political agenda of any worldly government.   Even our great American government only speaks about providing  'justice for all',  and never has any kind of specific goal to show 'love for all'.  

As Christians, who are to wear Jesus in our nation, it is not learning how to wave a flag as much as it is about is about keeping faith while we respect the flag.   Remember how once Paul revealed the Christian agenda when he spoke about love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, and so on, and then said:  'against these there is no law' (Gal. 5.23).  I would only also add that for these, that is for Jesus and his love, kindness, peace, patience, and kindness there is no government law that can really ‘promote’ them either.   The law of government can punish you when you do wrong, but it can’t encourage you to do right.    Christians are respect the government’s law so we can promote Christ’s higher laws and commands---namely Jesus’ new ‘law’ that we love one another.  

As long as a government gives us freedom to keep God’s law, we should respect and be 'subject' to it.  We should wear Jesus by being good citizens, as Paul writes:  "Do what is good and you will have praise from the (authorities)!"  (Rm. 13.3)....  "Render to all what is due them: tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor...." (Rm. 13.6).   But wearing Jesus by being good citizens goes beyond being democrat or a republican, or for that matter, even being an American.  

Most of you recall the mountain preacher who told his church members, that if they were not voting republican, they needed to find another church.   Fortunately, at least from what I heard, that church found another preacher instead.   One of the quickest ways to stop wearing Jesus is to start wearing a particular political party and saying that only that can be right.   Just wait, one day they will be wrong.  Even if they get it right today, tomorrow things will be different, and they probably won't be able to change when situations change.   This is why Jesus must be bigger than any one political viewpoint.  Jesus has his own politics and it’s the kind of politics is beyond any political party and should involve both, as they both submit to the truth of God. 

We all know that in Europe, the German church once became confused and followed Hitler and the German state, even when it was going against the laws of God.   People mistakenly thought that Hitler spoke for God, and they became confused about what they should'render to God' and what they should 'render to Government'.    I also hope we never have to choose between the two; and I hope our children don't either.   For now, in country where faith and freedom are still valued,  being “ subject to the authorities” does not mean we have to wear the nation in our churches, but as Christians, it does mean that we must wear Jesus as we live in this nation.  

WEARING JESUS AS A NEIGHBOR

Paul's last word about wearing Jesus concerns one of the most important questions Jesus ever was asked by anyone: "Who is My Neighbor?"  In that gospel story a Lawyer came to Jesus asking a very religious question (how do I have eternal life) but Jesus gave him a very practical answer that loving God means loving your neighbor.   When the lawyer then asked, "Who is my neighbor?" Jesus then gave him a very human, heartwrenching story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:37).   From that story we discover even an expert in the law had trouble figuring out how to love his neighbor.

This is still our greatest human problem, which Scripture puts in front of us again when John writes: "How can we love God, whom we haven't seen, when we don't love our brother, whom we do see" (1 Jn. 4.10)?   How can we love  any of those around us, whether they be 'brother', 'sister' or 'neighbor'?    Agreeing that this is the question a Christian must answer, Paul adds:  "Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who love his neighbor has fulfilled the law."( Rom. 13.8).   Do you realize that the only thing we owe everyone can be the hardest thing of all to do?  How is it possible to love our neighbor when we live ways that keep us from even getting to know our neighbors?

Eric Lomax, was an British army officer in WWII, who was captured and spent time in a Japanese prison camp.   I don't think any neighbor would be harder to love than the one who has tortured and tried to kill us.  That was the problem Lomax had.  He was unmercifully tortured by his enemy, and one particular Japanese guard.  After the war was over, he still had nightmares about the ordeal and was unable to forgive, wanting to go back and confront the Japanese man who submitted him to torture.   Possessed by hate, Lomax finally went back and to find, face and kill that Japanese.   He found the man, put him in a cage, just like the man had done to him.  While he was ready to take the knife and kill him,  and began to see this man humbled and shaking in fear,  something inside of him told hi, that if he killed this Japanese, the hate would never stop.   Instead, he let his enemy out of the cage, and they became close friends, and the hate and hurt was healed in them both.  

What did Lomax realize?  He realize that if he did not pay the debt being able to choose love, over hate, he would always be empty.  Only by paying the debt of ‘love’, even the strange debt of loving our enemies, can we pay a cost that gives us more than we could ever imagine.  This is why we must wear Jesus; in the church, in the world, in our nation, and also before our neighbor, even when that neighbor happens to be an enemy.  Only by ‘putting on the LORD Jesus Christ’ will we fulfill the law of love that has the power to redeem us all.   Amen.