_______________________________________________

________________________________________________

SUNDAY, MAY 9, 2010

THE SIXTH SUNDAY OF EASTER

John 14:23-29 (Seeking authenticity: Keeping it real)

________________________________________________

TODAY’S SERMON THEME:

Before we can make the faith "real" for others, it has to be "real" for us. Before we can share the Lord's message of peace and hope with others, we must be living examples of that message. Words are not enough. We must be authentic. We must be living examples of God's peace.

________________________________________________

1. Many years ago, a young priest right out of seminary took his first job at a large parish, where he served as assistant rector and youth minister.

It goes without saying that the young man was excited, energized, focused, and full of great ideas and plans. And in the process of moving into his new office, the young man showed himself to be engaging, funny, spontaneous, and endearing. Everyone thought he was fantastic. And everyone knew that the youth would like him, too. And then something weird happened. The young priest had a most peculiar problem. And it took place every time he put on his clerical collar, or his vestments, and stood in front of a group of people. Every time he stepped in front of a group of people -- either in a classroom, in the pulpit, or at the altar -- he became someone else. He stopped being engaging, funny, and endearing. And he became rigid, tense, and tight. But the worst part of his bizarre character transformation was that he started speaking with an English accent. Yes. An English accent. For some reason, he transformed himself from a young Texan with an engaging personality into an old Englishman with a stained-glass voice. Everything was great until he stood up to teach, or preach, or officiate. And then he became someone else. Fortunately, his rector took him aside after his first month on the job and worked with him on just being himself. As it turned out, the young man, in his nervousness as a new clergyman, was trying to imitate one of his seminary professors. He thought that people would like him better if he was more formal and dignified. His rector, though, talked to him at length about being authentic. About "keeping it real."

2. In much the same way, a young high school baseball player -- many years ago -- idolized the great Joe DiMaggio. As a matter of fact, he wanted more than anything to play baseball EXACTLY like Joe DiMaggio. So he began running like Joe DiMaggio. He began swinging a bat like Joe DiMaggio. He began throwing a baseball like Joe DiMaggio. Whatever he saw Joe DiMaggio do, he tried to do himself. Fortunately for the baseball world, one of his junior high school coaches told him to STOP PRETENDING to be Joe DiMaggio and to BEING HIMSELF. The world already had ONE Joe DiMaggio, and that is really all the world needs. So just be yourself. The young ballplayer followed his coach's advice . . . and started developing his OWN style. His OWN way of swinging a bat. His OWN way of running. His OWN way of throwing a baseball. And we are blessed that he did. For, if anything, this young man went on to become even BETTER than Joe DiMaggio. And the two played against each other -- on competing teams -- in the 1951 World Series . . . where this young rookie professional ballplayer got to meet his idol. At the time, Joe DiMaggio was at the END of his professional career. And the young man -- whose name was WILLIE MAYS -- was at the beginning his career.

3. Authenticity. Being true to yourself. Or, as the young people say, "keeping it real." I suspect that all of us have problems with this from time to time. I suspect that all of us show a slightly different face to the people we encounter, day by day. Depending on where we are, and depending on the types of people around us, we often "tone ourselves down," or "dress ourselves up," or "put a lid" on part of who we are. We sometimes change the way we speak, the words we use, or the posture we assume . . . depending on the circumstances and the people around us. Without question, all of us, from time to time, transform ourselves (at least in our own minds) into a slightly different person. Let's be clear about this, however. Most of the time we do this, we are NOT trying to be deceitful, or hurtful, or deliberately malicious. Most of the time, we are simply trying to "spin our character," our inner being, in a direction that we think will be most advantageous to us . . . or to others. Or we do it to be respectful of those around us. This is not normally a bad thing. It is often polite, and socially acceptable, to refrain from speaking our minds when our words or our opinions could be hurtful or harmful to another person. But we cross into the danger zone, psychologically and spiritually, when we pretend for extended periods to be something or someone that we are not. When we begin to rewrite our personal narratives -- embellishing our backgrounds, altering details of our lives, adopting different character traits -- we run the risk of being inauthentic, or insincere, or hypocritical, or even deceitful. For Christians -- those who seek to follow the Lord Jesus -- we are called to be TRUE: True to the Lord, true to those around us, true to ourselves, true to our holy calling.

4. And that brings me to the main point I want to make this morning, as we look at our Gospel lesson from John Chapter 14. And here is my primary point:

Quite simply, if we want to follow our Lord's instructions -- to go into the world and DEMONSTRATE to others the HOPE that is within us -- then we must be BEARERS of that HOPE. If we want to show others what the PEACE of God is all about, then we must be PARTAKERS of that PEACE. If we want to tell others about the FORGIVENESS of SIN through the grace of Christ, then we must know first-hand about that FORGIVENESS of SIN. And if we want to demonstrate to others the JOY and the SECURITY of living in the power of the Holy Spirit, then we must be actual partakers of that Spirit-empowered life. Nothing stands out more than a Christian who gives lip-service to the faith, while living a life that is NOT focused on the Spirit. Nothing stands out more, nothing sends more of a negative message into the world, than a "do-as-I-say-and-not-as-I-do" Christian.

5. In our Gospel lesson, the Lord Jesus -- on the night in which He was betrayed -- offers His disciples (including us) two things that will assure us of authenticity: (1) The Holy Spirit, and (2) His own peace (Shalom). Let us look at our text this morning:

(1) The setting. This continues the narrative at the Last Supper, where our Lord offers His most important instructions to His apostles. Last week we encountered His “commandment” to love one another as He loves us. Our text continues that passage, beginning with the Lord’s statement that “those who love me will keep my word.” Those who do NOT love Him will NOT obey.

(2) The Father. Jesus goes on to say that the words (and instructions) that He gives are not His own . . . but come from His Father. And those who follow His words will have “a home” with the Father and the Son.

(3) The Holy Spirit. Jesus promises that, after He leaves them, the Holy Father will send to them “the Advocate, the Holy Spirit.” The Spirit “will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you.” The Spirit is our guide, our leader, our teacher, our source of empowerment, our source of authenticity, our encourager, our Advocate.”

(4) The Peace. Jesus also bestows on them (and on us) his own Peace, which passes all understanding. “Peace I leave with you, my own peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives.” The Shalom of God is our eternal source of security, our rest, our shelter, amidst the storms of this life.

(5) All that we need. In other words, the Lord Jesus promises us ALL that we need to follow Him . . . and to accomplish His work in the world. And He supplies us these things in a way that the world cannot understand, comprehend, or duplicate. What the Lord gives to us is beyond human understanding.

(6) Permanent versus transitory. What Jesus gives us is permanent, unending, undying. God’s love, God’s peace, will never let us down. When we turn to Him in faith, He always meets us at the center of our prayers, at the heart of our praise. Yesterday. Today. Forever. What the world offers is always temporary, transient, illusory. Not capable of lasting. God never fails.

(7) Our response: Trust and obey. If we seek to enter into the Peace of the Lord, if we seek to enter into a relationship with the Savior, if we seek the empowerment of the Holy Spirit . . . all we have to do is TRUST in HIM and FOLLOW His instructions. He will never turn away those who approach Him in faith. As He said in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7): “Ask, and ye shall receive; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.” He is talking about HIMSELF. When we ask for Him, we will find Him. When we seek after Him, we will find Him. When we knock on His door, we will find Him. He is the source of our authenticity. He is the only way we can “keep it real.”

6. Before we can make the faith "real" for others, it has to be real for us. Before we can share the Lord's message with others, we must be living examples of that message. We must be authentic. We must be “real.”