The Bungee Cord 2-1-21

Hello,

 

I thought a little bit of humor would help as we slug along through winter and the pandemic.  So, I found this joke on the internet.

 

During an impassioned sermon about death and final judgement, the pastor said forcefully, "Each member of this church is going to die and face judgement." Glancing down at the front pew, he noticed a man with a big smile on his face. The minister repeated his point louder. "Each member of this church is going to die and face judgement!" The man nodded and smiled even more. This really got the preacher wound up. He pounded the pulpit emphatically when he came to the ultimatum: "Each member of this church is going to die and face judgement!!!" Though everyone else in the congregation was looking somber, the man in front continued to smile. Finally, the preacher stepped off the platform, stood in front of the man and shouted, "I said each member of this church is going to die!" The man grinned from ear to ear. After the service was over, the preacher made a beeline for the man. "I don't get it," the preacher said in frustration. "Whenever I said, 'Each member of this church is going to die,' your smile got bigger. Why?" "I'm not a member of this church," the man replied. 

 

Snicker, snicker.

 

All laughing aside, I have never given an “impassioned sermon about death and the final judgement”.  It is not that I do not believe in “death and the final judgement”.  Death is very real, especially now, and every Sunday when I confess my faith in the Apostles’ Creed, I acknowledge that with the end of this life, I will be judged by God.  The reason that I haven’t impassionedly preached on these things is because in my relationship to God, God has impassionedly taken care of both of these things.

 

Death will come, but I do not fear it, because when Jesus stepped out of that Easter tomb, he crushed death under his feet like an ant on the sidewalk.  And my judgement will come, but I do not fear it, because Jesus will say of me, “I died for this one.  His sins claim him no more.  He’s one of ours.”

 

So, every week I hope to preach an impassioned sermon not about death and judgment, but about abundant life (life now and life forever) and God’s gracious mercy (now and forever).  I hope to help people catch a glimpse of the power of God’s love in their lives, a power that like a potter’s hand is shaping their lives to live with Christ-like hope, peace, joy and love.  And I hope, with the forgiving power of Christ’s resurrection, to undo the shackle on their leg that is dragging that ball and chain of sin, failure, tragedy and fear – that ball and chain that the world keeps on fastening back on.  And I hope that when I have done my impassioned best there will be smiles on the faces of all the members of my church that have heard my sermon, and I hope that if that man of the joke was in attendance there would be a smile on his face, too.  For what I have said is true, whether you are a member of my church or not!

 

Have a great week,

God’s grace and peace, (ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger