Sermon Archives

February 17, 2010
Pastor Dan Selbo

"It's Time to Do Something"
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

At the close of the service, as the casket is about to be lowered into the ground, from the liturgy (we use) for the burial of the dead, we read these words: "In sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ, we commend to almighty God our sister (or our brother), and we commit (his or her) body to its resting place; earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust."

Dear Friends, greetings tonight in the name of our Lord Jesus as we begin this season of Lent. For the next forty days, we'll be walking with our Lord, remembering the path he traveled (to Calvary) to pay the price, to offer the sacrifice, to clear the way, to give his own life (willingly) on the cross, so that we can have ours.

And so it is, during this season, that we come face to face with our own mortality. Of all the things that make each of us unique and allow us to stand out (in our own individual ways), there are a few things that are the same (for every one of us). We all come into this world with nothing. We all live and move and breathe (each day) only by the grace of God. And we will all leave this earth with nothing more than with which we came in, apart from that which God has graciously given to us in his Son, Jesus Christ.

"It's Time to Do Something." And so it is, if we want this Lenten season to make a difference, to allow this time of the year to draw us closer to the one who died for our sin, it's not a time to waste and take for granted. Rather, it's a time to remember what Jesus has done, reflect upon why it had to happen, and recommit ourselves to a life of faith and obedience and trust.

"It's Time to Do Something." Let's start (tonight) where we need to start. Lent is a time (first and foremost) to confess something. It's time to come clean (before God) and acknowledge and confess our sin. It's a time to be real. It's a time to stop pretending that we are (somehow) good enough before God on our own, and to accept the fact that only in Jesus Christ do we even begin to have a prayer.

From the Old Testament prophet Joel, (our First Lesson tonight), "Yet even now," says the Lord, "return to me with all your heart, with fasting and with weeping and with mourning, and rend your hearts and not your garments."

I don't know what you remember from the Old Testament, but the people had the practice of doing exactly what the prophet Joel said. They would rend their garments. They would tear the clothes (they were wearing) as a sign of repentance and mourning. They'd also take ashes and cover their bodies with soot, as a reminder of their need for cleansing in the sight of God.

And it was a good practice. It served them well. It was a discipline they followed, a decision they made. It was an outward sign of an inner need in their lives. And it helped them to come clean and to confess and to recognize and to acknowledge their need.

But the prophet says it's not enough to do things outwardly, if there's nothing going on inside. And so he tells them to "rend their hearts, and not their garments." He's says it's time to be honest and open, and to confess your sin, and to allow that confession (before God) to change your heart and your life.

I still remember one of my seminary professors (from years ago) who would remind us that there's a time (in this world) to do something. There are too many Christians (he would say) who never do anything. They get baptized and they come to church. And they get confirmed and married in the church, (and someday) buried. But they never do anything outside its walls. There's nothing in their life (he would say) that shows the world that they believe. And (so) he would remind us that the Christian life is about doing, and it's being involved and active in living out the faith we profess.

But (then) he'd go to on to say that there are also times in the Christian life when we need to stop doing and start confessing. "Don't just stand there, do something?" He used to turn it around, and he'd say. "Don't just do something, stand there." Be still before the Lord. Acknowledge your need. Confess your sin. Come clean (in your life) before God. And accept the fact (in your life) that you need a Savior.

Sins of omission and commission: the ones we omit (by failing to do what we should), and the ones we commit (by doing the very things we should not). These forty days are a time for looking inwardly, and for a deep and a careful assessment of our lives. They're a time to repent of our lack of attention to the things of God, and our over-attention to the things of ourselves. They're a time to own up, and to get it right with God, and to allow our hearts to be torn.

Lent is a time (first and foremost) to confess something. Lent is also a time to take on something. In fact, I'd go so far as to say (tonight) that if you're not taking on something (during Lent) that is above and beyond what you're already doing, then you're missing out on (an important part) of what this season is all about.

That was our Second Lesson tonight. Paul was writing to the Corinthian believers and he was reminding them (not only of what God has done for us), but also of what we're to be doing in return.

Remember what he said? He said, "We implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God. (He said), "God made Jesus (who had no sin) to be sin for us, that in him, we might become the righteousness of God." (And then he said), "As God's fellow workers we urge you not to receive God's grace in vain."

And so what's he saying? He's saying that in Jesus you and I have been made right with God. We're sinless (he says) in God's sight, because of Christ. We become the righteousness of God, and all because of Jesus. And then he says, because of that, here's how you should live. Because of what he's done, don't let what he's accomplished for you on the cross be accomplished for nothing.

Something needs to change. Something's supposed to be different. And what needs to change is to be found in your heart. And what's supposed to be different is to be seen in your life.

Jesus says the same thing, in his Sermon on the Mount. He doesn't say "if" you do these things. "If you give to the needy…and if you pray…and if you fast, and if wash your face and put oil on your head." He doesn't say that. He says, "when." "Let your light shine before others" (he says), so that in seeing how you live your life, others would come to know him.

Not "if," but "when." Not as something to be considered (if it fits into your life), but as something you need to do (because of the life you've been given). And don't let your left hand (he says) know what your right hand is doing. In other words, don't do it to be seen by others, but do it because of what Jesus has done for you.

Now, maybe that sounds like a contradiction. Letting your light shine before others, and doing things not to be seen? Which one is it? Jesus says it's both. And here's the principle to follow. (And it's simple.) If it's boastful to show it, then hide it. If it's shameful to hide it, then show it.

That's what Jesus says. Your giving? Hide it. The world doesn't need to know what you're doing for others. Because what we do for others isn't for the world, but for them. And so "when you give to the needy, or when you pray, or when you fast," the world doesn't need to know. Only your Father who is in heaven needs to know. (And he already does.) If it's boastful to show it, then hide it.

But if it's shameful to hide it, then show it. If it's something that's supposed to be seen, then make sure it is. Your witnessing? Do it publicly. The difference Jesus makes in your (every day) life? Why would you keep it to yourself?

In fact, if you read through the gospels (including the passage we read tonight), the one thing that angered Jesus (more than anything) was the hypocrisy of the religious leaders. They were pretending to be religious, but inside they weren't. They were outwardly doing the right things, but they were being done for the wrong reasons.

And so what did Jesus call them? He called them hypocrites. He called them pretenders. He said they were "blowing their trumpets," putting on a show. They were playing a game of spiritual make-believe. And God wasn't buying it, because it wasn't coming from their hearts.

If it's boastful to show it, then hide it. If it's shameful to hide it, then show it. (That's what Jesus says.)

Lent is a time to confess something. Lent is a time to take on something. Lent is also a time to give up something.

Now, again, (and some of these same teachings overlap), but we don't give up things for Lent for the sake of giving up things for Lent. What we give up (if we give anything up), we do to remember what God gave up when he offered his Son.

And so people give up all kinds of things during Lent. They give up watching television. They give up texting their friends. They give up something they enjoy eating, something that's fun to do. And they do it because of what God has done for them. They make the sacrifice to remind themselves of the sacrifice God made (in Jesus) on the cross.

Now, do you have to give up something for Lent? No, you don't have to. What God up for you (in his Son) is all that you need during Lent, (or any other time of the year) to become right with him.

But it's not so much one of those "this is what you have to do for Lent" decisions we make, because we're followers of Jesus. But rather, it's one of those, because of what Jesus has done, isn't this something you might want to do?

Let me give you another list, if that first one doesn't quite fit. Instead of giving up a favorite food, or a favorite past time, or something that would be a sacrifice, how about something like this. How about giving up complaining? (Anyone, here tonight, a complainer?) Instead of complaining about what's wrong, why not pay more attention to what's right?

Or how about giving up that extra ten minutes in bed (in the morning), and using those extra moments (before you get going) to talk with God? Or how about giving up finding faults in other people and, instead, looking for the things (in others) that are good? Or how about giving up worries and anxieties, and work on handing them over to the Lord? Or how about giving up buying things you don't need, and passing on (what you would have spent) to someone who does?

My friends, I'm not directing (any of those ideas) at any one of us (here tonight) in particular, but rather at all of us in general. Because there are all kinds of things we could give up: some for the good of others, and others for the good of ourselves. But whatever we give up, (whatever you give up), if you do, do it for the right reason, to remember what God gave up (on the cross), when he offered his Son for your sin.

It's time to confess something. It's time to take on something. It's time to give up something. And it's time to believe something.

I still remember one of the first baptisms I performed as a young pastor. And it's not so much the baptism I remember as what happened later that day.

The family had asked that (during the baptism), instead of making the sign of the cross (on the forehead of their child) with water (as is normally done), that I'd make it (instead) with oil. They had (in a small jar) some of the same oil that had been used for the parents (at their baptisms) and the grandparents (at theirs), and now they were asking if (some of that same oil) could be used for their child. And I said that would be fine. And so we did. And the baptism took place. And the sign of the cross was made. And that child (of earthly parents) became a child of God.

Later that day, I was invited to their house for a celebration of the baptism. And they had a big meal in their backyard. And the family was there, along with many relatives and friends, and congregational members. And the little baby (who was baptized) was sound asleep (in a stroller) over on the side of the yard.

And I still remember it. It was one of those moments you couldn't have planned. But it happened. And not by choice (and I'm not even sure), by chance. And I'll never forget it.

There was the baby, sound asleep. Earlier that day, baptized into the kingdom, marked with the cross of Christ forever. And not with water, but with oil. And not symbolically, but as a sign, and as an assurance, and as a promise of what God had done in Christ.

Lying in the sun, that oil acted the opposite of sun screen. And instead of blocking the rays (of the sun), it made them more intense. And so the sign of the cross was (literally) burned onto that baby's forehead, and not for the day, but for several days. And not as a guarantee (of anything), but as a reminder of the guaranteed promise made real for us in Jesus.

In a short while, we'll all be given the chance to have the sign of the cross placed on our foreheads. And not (tonight) with water, or even with oil, but with ashes. And not tonight as a reminder of our entrance into the kingdom (as happens in baptism), but as a reminder of our own impending death and of the only hope we have (for life) in the cross of Christ.

And so it is, tonight, that we begin the season of Lent. And so it is, tonight, that we remember those words that will, one day, be said of us. "In sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ, we commend to almighty God our sister (or our brother), and we commit (his or her) body to its resting place; earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust."

My friends, it's time to do something: to confess something, to take on something, to give up something, and to believe something. And not to be seen by others (pretending to be something we're not), but to be seen only by God (who knows exactly who we are) and who (because of what he knows) gave his own Son. Amen.