On a Sunday morning in October of 1989, I met with the Elders of the Wabash Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) as a part of the process of introducing myself before the church decided whether to call me as its minister. One of the Elders, Bob Plunkett, asked a very important question. He said, “Each minister has certain theological themes which guide his or her in ministry. What are the theological themes which guide your ministry?” That, in my opinion, is a good question – in fact, perhaps the most important question any church can ask a potential minister.
One of the guiding principles I mentioned was this: I am loved unconditionally, indiscriminately, and everlastingly by God. I will never know in all of eternity how much God loves me. But God does not love me any more than God loves any other person on the face of the earth. I went on to say that this perspective is not as tame and nice as it sounds. In fact, this radical insight into the love of God can be very disturbing, shattering, and transforming as we the church unwrap its meaning for us and our world.
Today, thirty-one years after that meeting with the Elders, I am still convinced that truth reveals the heart of the gospel. In this sermon, I want to unpack that truth as we consider its relevance for our identity as the Body of Christ in a broken world
“I am loved unconditionally, indiscriminately, and everlastingly by God.”
First, “I am loved unconditionally, indiscriminately, and everlastingly by God.” Every person in every congregation needs to hear the truth of that statement in the depths of his or her heart. We need to hear that good news time and time again as we allow it to sink ever deeper into the core of our being. I have found that one of the biggest problems most of us have as Christians is that on some level we have not heard and accepted such amazing grace.
When we know we are loved unconditionally, indiscriminately, and everlastingly by God, we become free in joyful and significant ways. The vulgar lures of success, status, achievement, competition, winning, and keeping cease to have their deadening grip on our souls, and we are free to be who God made us to be instead of who others and circumstances would force us to be. One of the greatest pains in ministry is seeing so many people live their lives in the pursuit of that which cannot redeem – that which, bit by bit, erases their identities – that which suffocates their potential to blossom into the unique creatures they were meant to be and which deep down they want to be.
When we know we are loved by God unconditionally, indiscriminately, and everlastingly, then we are free to laugh at the silly games most of our society takes so seriously. We are free to say that the emperor has no clothes. We are free to see how shallow an identity and fragile a security the ways of the world provide. We are free to dance in the light of who God is and who we are. And that scares the daylights out of the keepers of the status-quo. Nothing frightens the powers that be more than the laughter of freedom as we claim our potential and identity in the eyes of God. (Consider for example, the power of Rosa Parks on December 1, 1955, who claimed her identity by refusing to give up her seat on a city bus. The dignity she claimed helped ignite a movement which shook the disgraceful foundations of Jim Crow society in this country. She was free to be.)
According to legend, St. Francis of Assisi said, “I am who I am in the heart of God – nothing more and nothing less.” I have come to find in those words some of the greatest wisdom of all the ages. Those words keep us from despair, from being pawns of the greedy and proud value systems of our day, from the tyranny of those who try to make much of themselves by making little of others. We are who we are in the heart of God. So, who are we in the heart of God? We are sons and daughters of God who are loved unconditionally, indiscriminately, and everlastingly.
“God does not love me any more than God loves any other person on the face of the earth.”
Secondly, “God does not love me any more than God loves any other person on the face of the earth.” Once we have stepped foot into the holy of holies and have journeyed into the heart of God, we make an amazing discovery. We meet everyone else within God’s heart. We come to realize that when it comes to the love of God, there is no “us” who are favored by God and “them” who are not so favored. The heart of God is big enough to accommodate the whole universe and every creature within it. We meet the world in God’s heart if we are truly in God’s heart.
As I study the Gospels, I find the harshest, most scathing words of Jesus aimed at those who would strangle the potential of others to become free and joyful children of God in all their uniqueness. He had more patience with quislings and prostitutes than he had with the religious and political authorities who restricted the freedom of people to approach God in trusting and joyful ways and to live their full capacity as liberated children of God. He had far more patience with those who were guilty of the sins of “overliving” than he had with those who “underlived” and did all they could to see that others also compromised their freedom and potential.
Unlike many religious leaders, Jesus seems to have taken delight in the diversity of humankind as a part of God’s wonderful creation. He gathered around him persons, male and female, from all walks of life and all social and religious backgrounds. He reached out to outcasts and bigshots, religious elders and little children, braggarts like Peter and gentle persons like Mary. And we have no indication that he tried to shape people into a set religious mold which violated their personhood. He believed that we could all come to God in our uniqueness and diversity and find our place as God’s children.
Pastor Kim Ryan years ago told the true story of a man named Mitch who was a resident at Woodhaven, originally a part of Disciples’ National Benevolent Association (NBA). He had been diagnosed as profoundly “retarded” (that was the unfortunate word used in those days) and was unable to speak. Over the years, he spent all of his free time in the library looking at books. This seemed to calm him and occupy his time, so the caregivers allowed him this privilege. Finally, someone took the time to try to communicate with him through symbols. And to that person’s amazement, he discovered Mitch’s ability to read in three languages. During all those years in the library, Mitch had taught himself in ways that are probably beyond the ability of most of us. Later, Mitch said through sign language, “My favorite time is when I dream, because then I can talk.”
I believe we each have something in common with Mitch. Our uniqueness and full potential slumber deep within us. And we each need someone, preferably a community of persons, to allow that potential to grow and blossom – to call out the real self from the closet in which we cower and tremble. We each need the love and affirmation which allows us to be what we were meant to be. If God so loves others unconditionally, indiscriminately, and everlastingly, then so must we.
If I am to accept the fact that God loves others as much as God love me, then I must become far more open, affirming, and accepting than I would be otherwise.
Part of our calling as a church is to provide the atmosphere where everyone can come home – where everyone can experience the grace of God and the Lordship of Jesus Christ in ways which are consistent with the way God has created them. If I am to accept the fact that God loves others as much as God love me, then I must become far more open, affirming, and accepting than I would be otherwise. Part of the reason we are not so accepting of others who are different from us is that we have never been able to accept ourselves as affirmed and loved unconditionally by God. All the racists, sexists, and homophobes I’ve ever met are fundamentally frightened by who and what they are deep down. Such people simply cannot accept the fact that they are accepted by God and loved unconditionally, so they cannot accept and love themselves. And thus, they have no energy or ability to love and accept others.
Today, we are facing a resurgence of racism, homophobia, misogyny, scapegoating, violence, insanity, falsehoods, and personal and institutional cruelty. American churches are coming to a crossroads where we much choose whether we shall truly and unreservedly open our doors and hearts to others who may differ from us, or whether we shall reject them. For my part, I must accept them with love, knowing that such grace is my only hope before a holy and righteous God. I believe Francis was right: “I am who I am in the heart of God; nothing more, and nothing less.” And so are you, and so is everyone else on the face of this earth. This is the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Don’t you think it’s time for the church to embrace that Good News to the glory of God?
Communion
In Psalm 131, the psalmist gives a beautiful image of resting in God’s heart. He says, “As a weaned child rests quietly at his mother’s breast, so is my soul quieted within me.” Here we have the image of a weaned child, a child who no longer regards her mother as only a means of satisfying her own needs, but has come to love her mother for her own sake. And the child sits quietly at her mother’s breast.
At this table, we who call Jesus Lord have a grace-filled opportunity to rest our souls in God’s heart. As we sit here at God’s breast, we know who we are in the divine heart. And we know that is enough –more than enough to free us for quiet trust and deep joy. So come to the quiet and discover who you are in the heart of God.
Commission
“We are who we are in the heart of God; nothing more and nothing less.” There is a world of God’s children who need to know that liberating truth. We share that essential Gospel not so much by the words we say as by the love we show. As we leave this Table, let us go forth as children who have sat at God’s breast and who know the height, breadth and depth of that love which will never let us or the world go.
Benediction
Depart now in the fellowship of the Spirit. May your soul be quieted like a child at her mother’s breast. May your love be stretched to match the grace that has redeemed you. And may your joy be complete as you realize your potential to the glory of God. Amen
I John 4:7-12 (NRSV)
7 Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9 God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us.
