INSTANT ON
Sermon August 19 2007
Texts:
Jeremiah 23: 23-29
Psalm 80 1-2, 22-23
Heb 11, 29-12:2
Luke 12: 49-56
“I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy lies in my name.” So speaks the Lord, Jeremiah tells us in our first reading. Jeremiah is living in a time when Jerusalem is under siege from Babylonia. He tells his people that if Jerusalem is to be saved they must repent. They aren’t listening to him, but instead to false prophets who claim they are speaking for God and that Jerusalem is indeed safe. Sadly history was the final judge of who indeed was telling the truth. In 586 BC Jerusalem was burned to the ground.
“We certainly have had false prophets in our own time that claimed to be preaching the word of God. Who can ever forget Rev. Jim Jones and the terrible tragedy at Jonestown or Rev. Sun Myung Moon and how he brainwashed young people to follow him. I do not wish to speak about these prophets today but rather about another kind of false prophet that is in our society today. This prophet perhaps does not claim to be speaking about God but rather tries to direct our lives away from God’s teachings and the kind of lifestyle that He would want us to live.
We live in the instant on generation. When we want to be entertained we push the button on our remote control. We watch whatever is on the channel for a maximum of ten seconds to see if it interests us. If not, we just push the button and new images come into our living room. When we are hungry, we go to the freezer or our cupboard, get out a package, throw it in the microwave, push some buttons and voila, dinner is served.
Instant gratification. That’s what the prophets of this generation teach. Or to rephrase: “If it feels good. Do it.” I believe this expression comes from the time of the Woodstock Rock Festival held August 17, 1969. How many of you remember Woodstock? I do. Actually I was returning home from a trip to the United States with my parents a day or so after Woodstock. There was a backlog of cars waiting to cross the border. Custom officials stripped search hippies and took apart their cars searching for drugs. We were waved across the border without even being stopped.
Woodstock happened almost forty years ago but the thinking that prevailed then hasn’t changed much. Perhaps we aren’t hearing the same message about free love and turning on to drugs but we are still being lured by the same kind of false prophets. Advertisers tell us we need a faster computer. Popular magazines sell sex making you feel that perhaps your sex life isn’t as satisfying as it should be. If that’s the case, its okay to find another partner that perhaps can give you what you are lacking. (These articles always of course assume that your love life is deficient and that it must be fixed if you are going to be truly happy.) Reality TV. tells us that we even the most complex family problems can be fixed in just an hour (omitting of course time for commercials.) Personal problems can be fixed up with a new or renovated house, wardrobe or makeover to make us look “ten years younger.”
These false prophets may be different than they were in Jeremiah’s time. They do not claim to speak for our God but for another God. This god of materialism wants us to buy more and amass more for the greater glorification of ourselves. There are television shows that even tell us how to get rid of the clutter that fills many of our homes. Obesity is a big problem in our society. We go to a restaurant like Macdonald’s and are asked if we want our order super sized. We probably don’t need the extra calories in those French fries or the extra sugar in that jumbo soft drink but rationalize its okay because we are getting more for our money. We begin to worship the god of “anything goes.” This god corrupts Jesus’ commandment to love each other to say “love thy neighbour but don’t get caught.” Husbands feel it is okay to have an affair with secretaries or co-workers. I’ve heard of “open marriages”. Either person can have sexual relations with whom ever they want and because each partner is open and honest about it no one gets hurt. I have serious doubts about the veracity of that claim. When you marry a person you promise to love them and be faithful to them. How can it be acceptable to break this basic marriage vow? What about the children? How can they not be aware of what is happening? When my wife worked in an elementary school library she frequently mentioned that kids would come to school and announce, “I have a new daddy.” Sadly children become the innocent pawns in our desire to please ourselves.
The teenage years are a difficult time. Peer pressure is a big one. Ironically young people pride themselves on the one hand for being independent and then want to dress like and act like all their friends. Saying no to drugs, alcohol, tobacco and even teen sex is a struggle. Our youth want to feel accepted and to belong. Feeling ridiculed or rejected by one’s peers is a tough pill to swallow. Young people are strongly influenced by the argument “everyone else is doing it.” I can remember as a teenager wanting to go somewhere and my parents saying no. “But everyone else can go,” was my favourite comeback.
Rev. Greg Parker reminded us last week, faith means commitment. Our second reading this morning from Hebrews reminds us of the faith of men like Gideon, Sampson, David and Samuel. Faith helped them through their lives and our faith can help us too. We have to run the race by putting our trust in Jesus Christ and in what he has taught us.
This brings us to the gospel reading this morning. The passage from Luke is considered to be one of the “hard sayings of Jesus.” Certainly the image here is not of the gentle Jesus. He doesn’t talk about bringing peace but division. He mentions his trial of fire that is about to come and suggests that to live the Christian life means we must have a baptism of fire as well. What does this mean? Simply that as Christians we must walk the walk not just talk the talk. If someone in our home, our society or our church is doing something that is wrong we don’t just respond in the same way and justify our actions by saying “But everyone else is doing it.” Ever driven down the highway with your cruise control on 100 and see cars and trucks pass you by. The tendency is to want to speed up and say why not? The other drivers are going well over the limit so why shouldn’t I?
No one said being a Christian is easy and this perhaps even truer than it was forty or fifty years ago. We live in a very secular world where church attendance is at an all time low. Sunday shopping and sports events are far more important than giving an hour to worship God. Nor is it easy to discuss our faith with people who are atheists or who have rejected the church because of some past hurt in their lives. No one likes rejection. We all want to belong and sometimes it is easier to walk away rather than risk the hostility. I know this applies to myself. If I speak of my faith and I am rejected or ridiculed, I will not bring the subject up again.
Because it is not easy following Christ doesn’t mean that it isn’t worthwhile. Those who live in the instant on generation and seek only their own self-satisfaction ultimately loses out. There is such a sense of joy in helping others or giving of yourself to bring a spark of joy into someone’s life. Think about at your baby or grandchild the first time he or she smiles at you. The love radiating forth cannot be matched by a new quad or bedroom suite. Try visiting the residents of the personal care home or Northern Lights Manor and just see how your presence can brighten someone’s day. . A pleasant smile or a thank you is a simple gift but gives both the giver and the recipient joy. That’s what being a Christian is all about: bringing joy into the life of another. The reward for the giver is equally as great as it is for the receiver.
Yes there are indeed false prophets in our midst just as there were in Jeremiah’s time. Some may not lie in God’s own name but they lie in other ways by leading us along the road of materialism or self-indulgence. They tell us that we are first and we need not worry about the needs or wants of brothers and sisters who are less fortunate. We must remember what Christ has taught us and stand up and be counted as His no matter what the price. In that way we can help God as the psalmist suggests to “rule the earth and take all nations as your own.”
AMEN
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