LORD AND SON

Dr. Richard J. Henderson March 8, 2009

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Psalm 2:1-8
John 3:11-17

Introduction

It seems to me that it's more difficult to be a Christian today than it has been for a long time. It's not just that Sunday worship is being edged out by soccer or dance lessons or recitals (our grandson had a mid-term test last Sunday), but many people are attacking faith.

There have been a dozen or so books out lately which aggressively attack people who believe in God. Some of them say we are fools, others that we are part of an evil, destructive illusion. I can't think of another time in my life when someone would make a film - I call it a "mockumentary" - that makes fun of all religious people, and millions of people would pay to go see it. Faith that was once held in high regard is often made fun of now.

The chaplain at Duke University was part of a group who talked with students about discrimination on campus. He met with his small group of students and asked them when they had felt discriminated against. There was silence. The group was made up of young men and women, African-Americans, Asians, whites. No one said a word.

Finally a white girl responded, "I don't know if this is what you mean, but after class one time my professor said he had heard I was a Baptist. I said that I was. He said, 'That's strange, because you seem to be so smart.'"

We've known for some time that Christians who took their faith seriously were a minority in this country; but did we expect such hostility?

Does it make sense to believe in God or Jesus? Are we fools who should just give it up?

I

For me, life only makes sense by understanding that Jesus of Nazareth is God's only Son, and that he is my Lord. Without faith I don't know what I would be, or who I would be. Well, that's not exactly true, I do have an idea and it's not pretty.

It's not only that the teaching of Jesus make such sense - although who in all the world has given us a better standard to live by, from sparing us the anguish of not being able to forget, to sparing us the anguish of not being able to feel forgiven, to Jesus' demand that we act with compassion and search for peace with our whole being, and that we love people regardless of whether they love us in return.

It's not just how Jesus acted during his life that inspires me - forgiving the prostitute who was about to be stoned to death, turning over the tables and chasing away the people who were more interested in the money they could make from church than the faith it helped instill, sitting and opening his arms as the little children jumped up in his lap and hugged him, chiding Martha for working hard in the kitchen when the Word of Life was right there in her living room, forgiving even the people who nailed his hands to the cross bars and his feet to the cross, saying "Forgive them; they don't know what they're doing."

II

It's not just the teaching or the example of Jesus; it's also the hope and promise Christ brings by being raised from the dead. I think of those first disciples, scattered, distraught, and discouraged who came back together because they heard about Jesus' resurrection. They became so positive that Christ was raised up that they risked their lives - and many gave their lives for it.

You can look at Jesus and say, "Surely this is what God is like."

Of course, that's what the Apostles Creed says: Jesus is the son God sent to us; this apparently ordinary young man, Jesus of Nazareth, is God come to us in flesh and blood. In Jesus, God's word and will and love have taken human form.

And Jesus is not a son of God; Jesus is the Son of God. Many people in history reflect God's word and love but none like Jesus did. No one else has the relationship with God that Jesus has. No one else has demonstrated the power of God in the resurrection.

III

The Apostles Creed says, "I believe in Jesus Christ, His only son, our Lord." I find it interesting that the last five words of that sentence point in different directions, "His only son, our Lord." As Wolfhart Pannenberg points out "His only son" speaks only about Jesus relationship with God. The next words, "our Lord," speak only about Jesus relationship to us.

The first words point to God, the second words point to you and me. And yet they are both important to us because Jesus can't be the only Son of God without being our Lord; and Jesus isn't our Lord without being the only Son of God.

To be Lord (kyrios in Greek) is to be the first in charge; in our case the first in charge of our lives. The Lord gives us our marching orders. Jesus as Lord sets the direction for our lives. He gives us our priorities, values, and ethics.

Because he is God's son, he sets the standards for our lives. So people from a church fix meals and take them to an elderly woman recovering from surgery.

Once a month a mother sits down on Saturday night and writes out a check for the ministry of her church; it amounts to ten percent of her monthly income.

Even though he realizes that he may be in danger, a young man testifies against someone who has done a horrible wrong.

After weeks of prayer a man goes to talk with his friend and offer him forgiveness for what he has done. They do all this because Jesus is their Lord.

Conclusion

Jesus is the only Son of God. He is the best reflection of what God is like that a human being can provide. This Jesus is the Lord of our lives. He is the first in charge. He directs every decision we make.

For services in the church where we commission people to a mission and when we ordain them to a position, we often use these words at the close of the service, "Whatever you do, whether in speech or action, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ..." These words are from the book of Colossians, and they define what it means to have Jesus as Lord. When everything that we say and do is done in the name of Jesus, we are being faithful to him; we are honoring him as Lord of our lives.

God sent Christ into the world because God loves us that much. Because he is the only Son of God, he is the Lord of our lives.

Amen

© Richard J. Henderson 2009