SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2007

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2007

THE SUNDAY AFTER ALL SAINTS DAY

Matthew 5:1-12 (When you need a friend)

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TODAY’S SERMON THEME:

“When you’re down and troubled, and you need some loving care; and nothing, nothing is going right . . .” Then, right at that moment, when nothing is going right, you can turn to Carole King and her “Tapestry” album from 1971. Or, even better, you can turn to the Lord. God is the only One, after all, whose love can get you not only through the darkest night, but also through life.

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1. The amazing thing about moving -- and digging through boxes -- is that you always seem to find something important. Something unexpectedly important. And that’s what I did this past week. A few days ago, as I was looking for an important videotape, I re-discovered a CD that I had forgotten about. It was a CD of what used to be one of my favorite record albums -- the No. 1 album of 1971. Carole King’s “Tapestry” album. To me, this was one of the greatest albums ever recorded. And it included one of my favorite songs -- the one James Taylor turned into a No. 1 hit: “You’ve got a friend.” Listen to the words of the first verse: “When you’re down and troubled/ and you need some loving care/ and nothing, nothing is going right. / Close your eyes and think of me/ and soon I will be there/ to brighten up even your darkest night.”

2. That song brightened a lot of dark nights back in 1971. Many of you will remember that year: Our nation was stuck in the middle of the war in Vietnam. And most of us had friends or relatives who were being drafted and shipped to fight a war that was growing increasingly unpopular. Some of us -- including me -- were on the verge of being drafted. Had I not been in college, and had I not received a lottery number of 189 that year (out of 365), I probably would have gone, too. But we are also living in uncertain times today, with the war against terror still blazing in parts of the Mideast. And that song still seems to strike a nerve today, 36 years later. I think the song strikes a nerve because it describes a big part of the human condition: It talks about the very familiar feelings of loneliness, isolation, confusion. It talks about times when we feel that NO ONE understands us or cares about us. Times when “nothing is going right” in our lives, and all we really want is for someone to be our friend. A true friend. WE HAVE ALL BEEN THERE. Maybe we’re there today. And all we really need is a friend . . . A dependable, reliable friend . . . Someone who can help us overcome the storms and confusions of life . . . Someone who can help us find peace . . . Someone who can make us whole . . . Someone who can walk with us through the difficult times.

3. In other words, we need to be loved. And we need to be loved unconditionally. We need to know that someone out there loves us because of who they are, and not because of us. We need to know that someone LOVES us through our own pain, through our own confusion, through our own uncertainties, through our own problems, through our own inconsistencies. We need to be loved by SOMEONE who is capable of loving us much better than we are capable of loving. Someone whose love never wavers and never fails. SOMEONE WHOSE LOVE CAN MAKE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LIFE AND DEATH. And Carole King can’t do that for us. Our families can’t do that for us. Our spouses can’t do that for us. ONLY GOD CAN LOVE US THAT WAY.

4. The New Testament tells us about a love like that -- a love that goes beyond life and death. A love than transcends life. A love that is more powerful than death. Let us take a couple of glimpses at that love:

(1) A woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery, and her lawful punishment was supposed to be death by stoning. She wound up in front of Jesus, who said: “Let the person without sin cast the first stone.” The angry crowd walked away. And Jesus said to her: “Woman, neither do I condemn you. Go your way, and sin no more.”

(2) The hungry crowds in the Galilean countryside were lost, like sheep without a shepherd. And Jesus had compassion on them -- taking five loaves of barley bread and two salted fish, and blessed them and broke them into a meal that fed 5,000 families. And it was because “he had compassion for them, for they were like scattered sheep without a shepherd.”

(3) A widow from the tiny hillside village of Nain lost her only son to death. But with a touch, Jesus summoned the boy back to life (right there in the cemetery), and restored him to his mother. The Lord was moved by the anguished tears of a widow.

(4) A gathering outside a tomb in the village of Bethany watched in abject silence as Jesus brought back to life his friend Lazarus, who had died five days earlier. And Jesus WEPT -- so intense was His love for those who hurt.

(5) From the height of the Cross, Jesus uttered these words: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Such is His love for those who do harmful, sinful, hateful things -- to ourselves, to others, and to Him.

THIS is the love of God in Christ Jesus, the greatest love in the world. The greatest force in the world. It is the only LOVE that can get us through love, and into eternal life.

5. You see, the love that Jesus showers upon the world is the ONLY love that can overcome the world. It is a love based on humility, obedience, and faith. His humility. His obedience. His faith. It is a love that is based on WHO GOD IS, and not on who we are or what we have done. It is the only love that can help us OVERCOME the world. And the best news of all is this: We can experience that Love. We can share that love. We can tap into that love. We, too, can come into a deep, abiding relationship with our Heavenly Father. And we can do that because it is what HE wants us to do. HE HAS ALREADY MADE IT POSSIBLE. He has already called us into that relationship. He has already offered us His hand and heart of friendship. All we have to do is accept Him into our hearts. And we can DO THAT simply by WANTING TO DO THAT. He takes care of all the details.

6. Our Gospel lesson this morning describes the miraculous nature of God’s love. It describes a love so powerful that it blesses even those who suffer and hurt (ESPECIALLY those who suffer and hurt) -- a love that lifts us from the sorrows of life into the realm of eternity. Matthew 5:1-12, the Beatitudes: (1) Blessed are the poor in spirit . . . Those who know they are spiritually poor; (2) Blessed are those who mourn . . . Those who are accustomed to grief and anguish; (3) Blessed are the meek . . . Those who know what it is to be downtrodden; (4) Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness . . . Those who yearn for God’s justice and peace; (5) Blessed are the merciful . . . Those who are quick to show love and compassion; (6) Blessed are the pure in heart . . . Those who struggle with the high calling of obedience; (7) Blessed are the peacemakers . . . Those who struggle for reconciliation. (8) Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake . . . Those who are mistreated and reviled because of their faith. THESE ARE THE ONES WHO KNOW JESUS AS THEIR FRIEND, as the One whose LOVE overcomes the world. We can know that love, too. We can share that love, too.

7. Today is the Sunday after All Saints Day -- All Saints Sunday. This is the day we remember those who have fought the good fight, who have finished the race, who have kept the faith. We remember especially those who are dear to us who have now entered into eternity -- as we remembered them by name at this altar three days ago on All Saints Day. We give thanks to God for his love, which overcomes our three ancient enemies -- the world, the flesh, and the devil -- and brings us safely into His eternal presence in heaven. And we invite Him into our hearts today, so that we, too, can share His love.

8. There is another song about a “friend” that I learned as a child -- a long time before Carole King, James Taylor, or the Beatles entered my life. It is a song I still sing occasionally when I visit nursing homes. Or when I sing for children. It, too, is a No. 1 song on the all-time charts. And it reminds us of the greatest love of all: “What a friend we have in Jesus,/ all our sins and griefs to bear, / what a privilege to carry,/ everything to God in prayer. / Oh, what peace we often forfeit,/ oh, what needless pain we bear,/ all because we do not carry/ everything to God in prayer.” With God, there is no waiting in line, no voice mail, no e-mail, no appointments, no secretaries, no assistants, no call- waiting. And He’s always there for us and with us . . . Even in the darkest of nights. So please remember this morning: