Are We Naive to Hope for Too Much?
Sermon Recording
Sermon Outline
Speaker: Rev. Charles Drew
Sermon Series: Faith, Hope & Love
John 1:1-18 (ESV)
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.
9 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”) 16 For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known.
Questions for Reflection
When John writes, "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us," he means that Jesus makes the eternal God vivid in terms we can understand. Jesus is not, in other words, "God 2.0"; he is the God who has always been. What is new is that God has now been "translated" into the accessible language of our experience. And what we discover in this new translation is a God who is full of surprises: he loves wedding parties and good wine (John 2); he hates it when we use religion to make money (also John 2); he willingly engages anyone-- whether the powerful and prestigious (like Nicodemus-- John 3) or the weak and morally compromised (the Samaritan woman-- John 4); he weeps with people over the death of those they love (John 11); he rules by serving people (John 13), and he loves to restore and put to noble use those who have failed him (John 21). Which of these discoveries is especially surprising to you? Why?
Think about the surprising fact that God has for millennia been ruling us by serving us. What guidance does this offer us as we try to live out our faith in our politically polarized time? How might it help us manage a discussion about Mr. Trump's impeachment, or guns in America, or climate change, with family and friends who disagree with us?