Lent 4B
March 14, 2021
Grace, Waseca, MN
John 3.14-21
“Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but so that the world might be saved through him.”
When I was in elementary school, we had “release time” where we could go to a nearby church for an hour a week. The idea was, I guess, to learn more about God and get stronger in our faith. But in my case it backfired. I don’t remember much about that release time, but what I do remember vividly is one afternoon reading a “comic book” for kids. I use air quotes because this particular comic book was anything but funny. It showed people burning in hell. The message was quite clear: if you don’t accept Jesus and follow him you’ll end up like those people, burning for eternity.
Whatever the release teacher’s motives, they didn’t scare me out of hell; they scared hell into me. I couldn’t articulate this back then, but this was certainly not good news to me. I would make it through the rest of Sunday School and Confirmation at my own church, but would drop out of the church until a young adult. And I’ve always wondered if my nightmares struggling with the devil were attributed to this childhood experience. Looking back, I’d like to think the teacher had the best of intentions, that they truly cared about our souls. But how did they conclude that the best way to get kids to follow the way of Jesus is through fear?
It is in fear that the religious leader Nicodemus comes to Jesus under the cover of darkness to quiz him. “Nic at Night”we like to call it. Nicodemus is trying to not only figure out just who this Jesus is, but also his relationship to him. Jesus confuses him by not answering his question, telling him he needs to be born again (or from above). Then Jesus finally zeroes in on what he wants to say, telling Nicodemus that he, the Son of Man, must be “lifted up.” We’ll discover later on in John’s Gospel that means Jesus’ crucifixion, resurrection and ascension, three distinct but not separate parts of one continuous action. And then comes this verse that is the favorite of football stadiums everywhere, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.”
Yet, as good as that verse is, my favorite is the one that follows: “Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but so that the world might be saved through him.” Now, I have to ask, how is it that my release time teacher missed this? Did they just skip over this verse and move onto the verses that seem to condemn people to hell that don’t believe in Jesus? A word about those verses: I don’t think Jesus is condemning people who don’t believe, just the opposite. I think Jesus is holding up a mirror to us about the human condition, that as broken people our darker, shadow sides often come through and we like it that way.
Jesus only does that to help us understand that God loves all of us so much that God will go to great lengths to bring us into a life-giving relationship with God and with all of creation. The cross tells us God will do whatever it takes and as long it takes to love us back, including dying. As Ephesians says, “By grace you have been saved and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.” And that “you” in Ephesians is plural, meaning everyone. The thing we need to remember is that we are all in this together. It’s not a privatized “me and Jesus,” but “me and you and you and you and everyone else and Jesus.”
So, what are the condemning voices that you’ve heard, especially the ones from churchy people? Or, do you know someone like me that has been told they aren’t loved by God the way they are, that they have to change to be accepted by God? Please, hear the good news that God loves you, no strings attached, and will keep loving you. Here’s one way to proclaim this message loudly and clearly: a proposed core value for Grace is Inclusive Welcoming. I invite you to think about how Grace embodies this value and might do so more fully. For by grace all y’all have been saved, because God did not send his Son to condemn all y’all, but save everyone. Thanks be to God. Amen.
To view the video version of this sermon click here.
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