Today

 

Devotional for the Sevier County Ministerial Alliance Lenten Breakfast series, The Last Words of Christ.

 

Luke 23.39-43

　

“Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

 

I have to tell you that the story of the thief on the cross is one of my favorite passages of scripture. This brief conversation between Jesus and a convicted criminal teaches us so many things that apply to our lives, today. I’m not sure that it’s possible to overstate the importance of these few words — words that were recorded only by Luke.

 

And the most important word in this passage is, “today.” Sometimes I think we, as Christians, tend to overlook the importance of “today.” Part of the reason for this, quite frankly, are some of the things that we Christians say and hear on a regular basis. We often pray the Lord’s Prayer, saying, “Our Father, who art in heaven … thy kingdom come.” This seems to imply that God’s kingdom is coming, but it isn’t here just yet. There’s a hymn that we sing entitled, “Jesus Shall Reign.” This sounds like Jesus is going to reign, at some point in the future, not that Jesus reigns right now.

 

In the UMC, when we celebrate the sacrament of Holy Communion, we say these words: “By your Spirit make us one with Christ, one with each other, and one in ministry to all the world, until Christ comes in final victory.” Again, the words “until Christ comes” seem to mean that Christ isn’t here yet.

 

All these little phrases can cause some confusion. Of course, the key to understanding all this lies in these words from the communion liturgy, “final victory.” All of these phrases, in the Lord’s Prayer, in our hymns, in our liturgy of worship, all of these phrases refer to that day when Christ really will return in final victory, the day when every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

 

That is the coming future of God’s kingdom, and in the great scheme of things that day is of the utmost importance. In the here and now, however, we need to focus on the importance of the presence of God’s kingdom, among us and around us, today.

 

“Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

 

Let’s look for a moment at what Jesus did not say. When the thief on the cross asked Jesus to remember him when he came into his kingdom, Jesus did not say, “Okay, some time in the future, when that day finally arrives, then you will be with me in paradise.” Jesus clearly says that he will come into his kingdom “today.” Jesus’ kingdom is already established.

 

What else did Jesus not say? Jesus did not say, “Well, gee, buddy, if you can somehow get down off that cross, if you can make your way to the nearest United Methodist Church — because those Methodists are the best! — if you can make your way to the nearest United Methodist Church and be baptized in my name, if you can show by your actions that you love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and mind and strength, and that you love your neighbor as yourself.

 

“And if you can feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, welcome the stranger, and if you can sell all you have and give it to the poor, and if you can go and sin no more, then you will be with me in paradise.” Jesus didn’t say that — well, actually Jesus did say the part about Methodists being the best, but Luke was Episcopalian and he didn’t write it down.

 

Seriously, actually, at one time or another, Jesus did say that we need to do all those things — except the Methodist part. We all know that we do need to be baptized, we do need to love God and our neighbor, we do need to care for the poor and downtrodden, and we do need to do our best to live our lives in righteousness. What is striking, however, is that here, in speaking with this thief on the cross, Jesus promises paradise without any of those things taking place.

 

The thing is, while we do need to do all of those things I’ve mentioned, not one of those things saves us. All of those things are steps along the journey of salvation. If we have the opportunity, then certainly we need to do those things. It is important for us to follow Jesus’ commandments.

 

But salvation doesn’t come from those things. Salvation comes when we confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. We enter God’s kingdom, we enter paradise, the moment we accept Jesus Christ into our hearts. This is the Gospel in a nutshell. This is the Good News, and it’s not just good news for some “Sweet By and By.” It’s not good news for “some glad morning when this life is o’er.” This is Good News for today.

 

This is Good News, because you and I, like the thief on the cross, stand in need of God’s mercy. We don’t know what crimes that thief had committed. We do know that he himself acknowledged that he deserved to be there, on the cross. But whatever he had done, it didn’t matter.

 

“Today you will be with me in paradise.” Whatever you and I have done, it doesn’t matter. If we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, then today we are with Jesus, in paradise. Not that we’re going to die today, like the thief on the cross. No, what I mean is that when we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, we will immediately have Jesus in our hearts, right now, today. When we accept Jesus into our hearts, we immediately receive the knowledge, the “Blessed assurance” that Jesus is ours, and we are his.

 

Jesus began his ministry by proclaiming “Good news to the poor … release to the captives … recovery of sight to the blind,” and freedom for the oppressed. Jesus ended his ministry by extending an assurance of blessing and salvation to an admitted sinner. I think it is absolutely fitting that, in Luke’s gospel, Jesus’ last words, in his human form, to another human being, are this promise of salvation.

In the Year that King Uzziah Died

  Isaiah 6.1-8

 

　

“In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord.”

 

“In the year that King Uzziah died.” Why is that significant? And who in the world is King Uzziah?

 

Well, to answer the last question first: King Uzziah was a king of Judah, a descendant of David and Solomon, and an ancestor of Jesus. Uzziah was a good king — and trust me, not all of Judah’s (or Israel’s) kings were good. Uzziah’s reign lasted 52 years, and many people consider his reign to be second in glory only to Solomon.

 

So why is it that we don’t hear much about Uzziah? Probably because, while Uzziah was king, everything was fine. Oh, there was a little trouble with pride toward the end, but while Uzziah was in charge, the government ran smoothly. There was no corruption, no scandal, no war. It’s always the bad stuff that makes the news, and, to be honest, Uzziah was boring.

 

And that’s why it was a big deal when Uzziah died. The strong, stable leadership that the people had relied on for so long was taken away, and Judah was left with an uncertain future. It was during this time of uncertainty that God called Isaiah. I think that it’s often during our own times of uncertainty that, if we listen carefully enough, we can hear God calling to us.

 

Despite all the promise and possibilities that life holds for us, we all experience times of doubt, or even despair. There’s a feeling of loose ends, of life hanging by a thread. We feel that time keeps on slipping, slipping, slipping into the future. We feel like the things that we rely on for stability are crumbling. It is in these times that I think we can learn much from Isaiah. In a time of tragedy and uncertainty, Isaiah focused his attention on God. When Isaiah’s world was in turmoil, he saw the Lord.

 

In our times of tragedy and turmoil, God calls to us. But do we hear the call? Where is our focus? Do we gaze longingly at the casket of Uzziah, remembering the good old days — days which will never come again?

 

Do we remember the days when our pews were filled on Sunday mornings? The days when children’s laughter echoed through our church buildings? In times of trouble, do we focus our attention on how things used to be, and wonder where we went wrong?

 

Or do we focus our attention on God? Aristotle said that the direction of our gaze determines the outline of our thoughts. Are we gazing into the past, or looking ahead to the future? Our thoughts, our attitudes, and our actions depend on the direction of our gaze.

 

“In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord.” Isaiah’s gaze was on the future. Isaiah’s focus was on God. In the midst of uncertain and troubled times, Isaiah kept his focus on God, and thus Isaiah was rewarded with a marvelous vision.

 

Let’s take a look at that vision. First of all, notice that Isaiah never actually sees God face to face. Rather, Isaiah sees the evidence of God all around him. Isaiah sees a throne, and the hem of a garment. Isaiah sees seraphs, and hears their voices, glorifying God. Isaiah feels the trembling power of God.

 

We, too, can see the evidence of God all around us — in the beauty of creation, in the smile of a friend. But Isaiah tells us that this vision takes place in the temple, and certainly we can see the evidence of worship: the seraphs in attendance, hymns being sung, the smoke signifying an offering.

 

This tells us that, while there is no doubt that we can see the evidence of God anywhere, experience the presence of God anywhere — this tells us that the best place to experience the presence of God is during our time of worship. This is why I am always stressing regular attendance at worship to you. And this is why I’m always urging you to invite others to come and worship with us.

 

If there is anyone out there whom you care about, anyone who needs to experience the presence of God, you have a choice: You can sit back and hope and pray that somehow, some way, that person will focus his or her attention on God in the middle of the workday, or while lining up a putt on the golf course, or while sitting at home watching Burn Notice.

 

Or you can invite that person to come and worship with you. Because, while a 3-foot putt for birdie might cause someone to say a little prayer, the truth of the matter is that the person who needs God is much more likely to focus on God right here, during worship. After all, this entire setting — the cross, the windows, the hymns, the prayers, the scriptures being read and interpreted — all of this is designed to help people focus on God.

So, we learn from Isaiah the importance of worship. What else?

 

Well, once our attention is focused on God, we may feel the way Isaiah felt — flooded with an awareness of our own sin and failures. “Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips!”

 

This is not only normal, it’s necessary. Before our sins can be forgiven, we have to be aware of our sins, we have to confess our sins and repent of our sins. In the 17^th chapter of Luke, Jesus tells us that when someone sins, “if there is repentance, you must forgive.” That little word, “if,” is all too often overlooked, and yet it is so vitally important. Basically, Jesus is saying that we don’t have to forgive those who sin against us. We don’t have to forgive them, unless they repent. By implication, Jesus is also saying that our sins won’t be forgiven, unless we repent.

 

1^st John 1.9 says, “If we confess our sins, God who is faithful and just will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Again, don’t overlook the word “if.” If we confess, God will forgive. Sounds like if we don’t confess, if we don’t repent, then God doesn’t have to forgive us. Now, I refuse to say that God will not forgive us, because I don’t claim to know the mind of God — like Paul, I see in a mirror, dimly — but why take that chance? If we do confess and repent, then we know that God will forgive us.

 

Isaiah confesses and repents of his sin: “Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips.” This leads to forgiveness, to a cleansing. Confession and repentance trigger the cleansing action of God’s grace. It is only through confession and repentance that Isaiah is able to experience forgiveness.

 

And notice this: it is only after repentance and the cleansing of forgiveness that Isaiah is able to hear the Lord speaking. “Then I heard the voice of the Lord.” When we are lost in our sin, we are unable to hear God calling us. Only when we have focused on God, repented of our sin, and received God’s cleansing grace can we really and truly experience the presence of God.

 

We can see in this passage the very natural progression from sinner to saint, from lost to found, from despair to grace. First, we come into the presence of God. We come to church, to worship, and there we are able to focus our attention on God.

 

Once our focus is on God, we feel the weight of our sin. We then confess and repent of our sin, and God touches us with God’s cleansing grace. Our sins are washed away, we are made clean and righteous, and we become disciples, followers of God, through Jesus Christ. And then — ah, then we hear God calling. “Whom shall I send?” Most often, we don’t actually hear God’s voice. We hear God calling in our hearts, rather than in our ears.

 

In fact, I think the most common way in which we hear God calling us is in these familiar words: Somebody ought to do something. Somebody ought to do something. Whenever we hear those words, there’s a good chance that God is calling us, a good chance that God is asking, “Whom shall I send?”

 

Somebody ought to speak up about injustice in the world. “Whom shall I send?”

 

Somebody ought to feed the hungry and shelter the homeless. “Whom shall I send?”

 

Somebody ought to invite more people to worship on Sunday mornings. “Whom shall I send?”

 

Our ears hear, “Somebody ought to do something.” Our hearts hear, “Whom shall I send?”

 

And our answer — as people who have been received the cleansing grace of God — our answer must be the same as Isaiah’s: “Here am I; send me!” Honestly, as disciples of Jesus Christ, there is really no other answer that we can give, no other response that we can make. “Whom shall I send? … Here am I; send me!” Somebody ought to do something; I’ll do it.

 

So remember the lessons we learn from Isaiah. We need to focus our attention on God. We can’t keep looking at the past; King Uzziah was great, but he’s dead, and it’s time to move on with our lives. Our pews used to be full every Sunday morning; that’s wonderful, but that was then, and this is now.

 

We also can’t spend all our time blaming ourselves, asking ourselves how we got into such a fix. It’s okay to feel the weight of our sin, but we can’t dwell on it. Why are there so many empty pews on Sunday mornings? Where have all our young people gone? Don’t worry about it. Focus on God, and look to the future. How we got to this point doesn’t matter; we’re here, and somebody ought to do something about it.

 

The future of our church is uncertain, and it is during these uncertain times that we hear God calling, “Whom shall I send?” As forgiven and cleansed disciples of Jesus Christ, it’s up to each and every one of us to respond. “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord.” In the year 2010, we can see the Lord at work in our church, if only we will we all answer the call. “I’ll do something about our empty pews. I’ll invite people to come and worship with us. Here am I; send me!”