The Bungee Cord 4-1-13

Hello,

     The NCAA basketball tournament isn’t even over yet, and already I’ve lost in our family bracket contest.  I had so few right picks, that from the very beginning of the tournament I have been in last place.  The upsets that I picked proved to be false hopes, and the “sure” winners I picked failed me.  Guess that it is a good thing that I am a pastor and am not trying to make a living by basketball wagers….and a good thing that pride is the only thing at stake with our brackets.

     Part of my problem with picking my NCAA bracket is that I tend to pick with the pulse of my heart, instead of the wisdom of my mind.  So, this year my heart told me that my team, The Fighting Illini of the University of Illinois, would win their second round game against the severe odds that they faced.  The odds were right.  My heart was wrong.  (I perennially make this mistake with the Illini.)  The other problem is that there are certain teams that no matter how good they are touted to be, I just can’t bring myself to pick them….old grudges die slowly….to the despair of my brackets.  You’d think I would learn that picking with my heart isn’t a winning proposition.  Matter of fact, it is a painful one.

     I am not the first one to discover what happens when you pick with your heart.  God discovered it long ago.  Clearly it was not divine wisdom that drew God to take his stand with  us humans, for if God had hoped that picking the likes of us would give him loyal friends, people who would rightly portray his grace and mercy, and children who would always bring honor to his name…..well, it doesn’t take much wisdom to see that picking us is like investing all your money in Enron.  Not very wise.

     Actually, the Bible tells us that God, like me, picks with his heart…..”For God so LOVED the world that he gave his only Son (John 3:16)  And also like me, God found out that picking with one’s heart is not a winning proposition…it’s a painful one….the pain of betrayal that we  shared with Judas on last Thursday (Maundy Thursday)….the pain of nails that we with the soldiers drove through Jesus’ hands and feet….and the pain of grief as God watched his only Son die.  It was heart, not mind, that led God to choose us, root for us, and stand with us.

     But this last Sunday was all about the power of love, of God’s love. When Jesus rose from the grave, God trumped wisdom with love. When Jesus rose from the dead, God crushed under foot all our failures, our fickleness, and our foolishness…crushed them dead.  The power of God’s love – love that accomplishes what it sets itself out to do -  makes God’s choice seem pretty wise, after all. 

     So, I rejoice in Easter, for on the day of Jesus’ resurrection we discover that God really did know what he was doing when he, from his heart, chose the likes of me….and you…because he knew the power of his love that turns the lost into the found, losers into victors, and death into life.  Alleluia!

Have a great week,

God’s grace and peace, (ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger