"THE LORD WHO CARES"
Seventh Sunday of Easter May 24, 2020
Bethel Evangelical Lutheran Church Glenshaw, Pennsylvania
TEXT: "I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your name, which You have given Me, that they may be one, even as We are One." John 17:11 (ESV)
Everyone wants to be known as a "caring" person, but just what does it mean to be a caring person? Who, for example, is more caring: a parent who constantly bails out an irresponsible child or a parent who forces that child to either accept responsibility or live with the consequences? I suppose that either of these two parents could easily point the finger at the other and accuse him or her of being "uncaring"--and some people would agree with the assessment of each. Who cares more: someone who goes the extra mile to get both you and him out of a jam or someone who goes the extra mile to get you out of a jam even though he has nothing to gain by it? I think that's a good way to look at it--a good way to evaluate caring. It's easy to care when you are personally affected by the matter at hand. The real test of caring is what you are willing to do for another when you have no stake in it at all.
Certainly Jesus Himself has set the standard for caring in this regard. The problem of God's judgment against sin was not a reality for Him, since He was without sin and since He was in fact God. And yet, in His life and death, He willingly took the place of sinners like you and me, placing Himself under the Law and judgment of God. Why did He do this? --because He loves us and He cares about us. If you have ever had any doubt about that, you shouldn't. The excerpt from Jesus' so-called "High Priestly Prayer" that serves as our text for this morning reminds us that His caring for us is seen in what He has done for us and also in what He desires for us.
What Jesus has done for us, first of all, is that He has entered our situation. He has, in effect, traded places with us. This whole messy business of sin is something that is foreign to Him. Putting up with the consequences of sin that we take for granted was not His lot in life. He didn't have to do it. There would have been no serious consequences for Him had He chosen not to. But He loved us and cared about us to such a great extent that He was willing to dive right into human life, with all of its unpleasantness. In becoming human the Son of God was not spared from any of the hardships of life that everyone else must endure. He bore it all--and even more, since He chose to enter the world not just as a human but as the Redeemer of humans. Therefore He lived each day not just under the Law of God but also under the judgment and wrath of God--the judgment and wrath that you and I so richly deserve because of our sin. All of this misery and responsibility Jesus willing took upon Himself--all because He loves and cares about sinners like you and me. Jesus cared enough to do more than just live with the consequences of our sin; He cared enough to deliver us from the ultimate consequence of our sin, which is damnation--everlasting separation from the grace of God. In bearing the brunt of God's wrath against sin our Savior has made atonement for the sin of the whole world. He has made it possible for those who receive in faith what He has accomplished for them to enjoy the forgiveness of their sins, fellowship with God, the motivation and strength to please God in their daily lives, and the sure and certain hope of everlasting life. The Lord who cares hasn't merely paid lip-service to our plight; He has placed Himself in the midst of it and has delivered us from it.
The care that our Lord has for us can be seen also in what He desires for us. We discover this as we eavesdrop on the prayer from which our text comes. Here the Lord lays before His Father what He desires for His people. The first of these desires is that we be protected. As One who has lived in this world in perfect harmony with the will and Law of God, Jesus knows all too well how dangerous that can be. I'm not talking just about outward hostility and persecution. There are far greater dangers than that. The temptations of Satan are all around us, and the more that we try to be faithful to our Lord, the more difficult it becomes to resist those temptations. It's easy to forsake the standards of God's Word when the rest of the world, often including those nearest and dearest to us, live by a different set of standards and constantly tell us that we're living in the dark ages. It's easy to forget about living the Christian life when it seems that life is much more peaceful and productive if you just "roll with the punches." It's easy to give up on being a faithful witness for Christ when again and again our efforts seem to accomplish nothing except to alienate us from others. There is a lot for us to be afraid of in this world of ours if we open our eyes. The Lord who loves us and cares about us desires that we be given the strength that we need to not only face it, but to overcome it.
Our loving and caring Lord also desires that we be one as He is One with the Father and the Holy Spirit. This is yet another area where the influence of the world that we live in must constantly be held in check. Competition is the way of the world. It underlies everything that the world considers to be important: politics, economics, even sports and entertainment. Competition certainly has its place in all of these areas. In fact, it makes life better for all of us in the long run. But it must be kept in perspective. It is an offense when the spirit of competition abounds among the people of Jesus Christ and disrupts their unity in Him. Those who dream of "reuniting the Church so that it can once again be unified and harmonious like it was in the beginning" are "barking up the wrong tree," so to speak, because the spirit of competition has always been a problem for believers and it always will be in this life. The disciples of Jesus still argue over which of them is the greatest, competing with one another to be recognized as the most influential, the most effective, the most generous. Our loving and caring Lord prays that our unity in Him may be strong enough to withstand that sort of petty bickering.
When we start thinking of ourselves or of others in this world as being caring people, we need to remember that the love and care of our Savior really puts all of us to shame. He doesn't just arouse consciousness to a problem or make sacrifices to help others; He has given Himself totally and completely to solve the problem of our sin by gaining for us forgiveness, peace with God, and the certainty of heaven. If He has done all this for us, certainly He can be counted on for the lesser problems and difficulties that we face in life. According to His parting promise, He is with us always and stands ready to help. His Holy Spirit comforts us with the assurance that we can face anything, "casting all [our] anxieties on Him, because He cares for [us]" (1 Peter 5:7). Amen.
May the God of peace, who brought again from the dead that great Shepherd of the sheep, our Lord Jesus, by the blood of the everlasting covenant equip you thoroughly for the doing of His will. May He work in you everything which is pleasing to Him, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, to whom be honor and glory forever and ever. He who calls you is faithful, and He will do it. Amen. ~