"WHAT WE'RE MEANT TO BE"

Isaiah 11:1-10; Romans 15:4-13

Today's scripture readings

give us a picture of what we're meant to be,

and what it is  that God intends for us.

Isaiah gives us the vision of what that will look like -

as we follow one who is always on the side

of the poor and the meek,

one who is always righteous and faithful,

one whose love is so life-altering

that a child can feel just as comfortable with snakes and lions

as with those who are charged with providing for the child's welfare.

Maybe even moreso.

Then Paul, in his letter to the Romans,

gives us some practical ways

to live out the vision that Isaiah shares.

One of the reasons that Paul wrote toRome

was to encourage Jews and Gentiles to live together -  

which, being translated for our times,

means that this is not a story for livestock only.

You and I,

with all of our differences

and all of our shortcomings,

are meant to live together in unity and safety and peace.

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Paul and Isaiah both say

that what enables us 

to live in that peaceful, hospitable way

is the knowledge that we are loved by God.

Knowing that we are named, claimed,

cared for no matter what -

that knowledge

gives us the strength and the security

to walk without fear

and to serve without calculation.

Yesterday, the elders and I

met with Paul Williams for some officer training.

One of the things Paul told the group

is why it is that we worship:

not for something to do on Sundays,

not to just be with friends and neighbors that we enjoy,

but bottom line,

we worship as a response to love.

When someone tells you they love you, he said,

something inside of you changes

about the way you feel towards that person.

Before we were,

God was.

Before we knew what love was,

before we knew who God was,

God loved you and me and all of us.

And so in response to that initiating love of God's,

you and I can do no other

than to love God in return.

And the way that we do that is called worship.

It's the same way for peace.

If we are secure in the knowledge

that we are loved,

then there's nothing to fight about.

We can sit right next to the person

or the beast

which would cause us harm,

because we are secure in the knowledge of love.

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Listen to the practical ways that Paul gives us

to live out God's vision for what we're meant to be.

He even gives them to us in order.

The first thing he tells us

is to read and to know the scriptures

provided to us and for us by God.

That has to be the first thing.

We have to know Who it is that loves us

and Who it is that calls us out of ourselves.

And in order to know that,

we have to know more than just what a Bible is.

we have to know what's in the Bible.

Knowledge of the scriptures can be a dangerous thing.

Paul Williams yesterday compared scripture to a hammer.

It's a tool that can be wielded as a weapon against someone,

or in the hands of a skilled construction worker,

it can be used to create a fine and sturdy building.

The apostle Paul is encouraging us

to know the scriptures,

and not just the printed words but the sense of scripture,

well enough that we use it as it was designed:

not for breaking apart, but for building up.

He then goes on to say

that such a knowledge of scripture

will lead into living in peace and harmony with one another.

 "Peace" is a word in our day and time

which comes fully loaded

with a lot of cultural baggage attached.  

Some think of peace as the opposite of war.

Others think of peace like a group of happy campers

singing "Kum Bah Yah" around the fire.

But another, and possibly healthier

way to look at it

would be simply "mutual respect."

Peace goes for neither total agreement

nor the denial of differences.

In honoring the other person,

differences are allowed to exist

without total annihilation of the other "side."

Reading and learning the scriptures, Paul says,

enables us to live together in harmony:

in a peaceful, mutual respect -

so that we may together, with one voice,

worship.

Worship is a response to love.

It is as we steep ourselves in scripture

that we are able to live in respect

with other of God's beloved children //

and then come together with them

to give praise and worship

to our loving and gracious God.

Then Paul takes that notion of harmony and respect

one step further.

We have to do more than be tolerant:

we have to be hospitable.

Knowledge of God's word to us,

relatedness to our siblings in Christ,

and worship of our common (or uncommon) Creator

bring us to the place

where we not only allow others to live,

we welcome them with open arms.

Edith Wilson, the second wife of President Woodrow Wilson,

was fabled for her gift of hospitality.

One time at the White House,

she was serving tea to an honored guest

and she chose to use some rare, historic china.

Soon after explaining the significance of the china

to her guest,

the guest managed to drop her cup.

It hit the floor and shattered into a million fragments.

But in her hospitable way,

the hostess met her guest where she was.

Mrs. Wilson took her own teacup,

flung it over her shoulder onto the floor,

and said that she never liked it that much anyway!

Friends, the good news of the Gospel

is that hospitality does not ordinarily call us

to shatter china!

But hospitality does call us

to seek the ease and comfort of the other

before we seek our own.

Hospitality is a constant reminder

that it's not about us.

It's about our relationship

to that other child of God sitting next to us.

And then the apostle Paul says

that it is these things -

the scriptures, living in harmony,

worship and hospitality -

these things enable us not only to live in hope,

or to experience hope,

or to feel a fleeting sensation of hope,

but to ABOUND in it.

To swim around in it

and still have enough to spare.

Having that kind of hope

is how we're meant to live

as sons and daughters of a gracious God.

Abundant hope is contagious.

As we live it and share it,

we encourage others to give it a try.

And as they come to see

that our hope grows out of scripture,

and worship and community -

they might even feel led to come and test the waters themselves.

Might it be that by doing these things,

we are doing evangelism?

Indeed we are.

Just by being who God intends for us to be.

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I heard a really great preacher last week.

On Thursday night, I went to a Stevie Wonder concert.

You all have known for some time

that Stevie Wonder is one of my favorites.

I've loved his music since I was in high school.

I even wrote a paper about his theology

while I was in seminary,

People from all walks of life

were there to hear him sing.

We met a guy in the lobby from Austin

who said he couldn't let Stevie come to Texas

without coming to hear him.

The young woman sitting next to me

had been named for Stevie's daughter Aisha,

and during the concert she called her dad on the cell phone

and held it out

so that he could be at the concert too.

The whole evening

was very much a portrait of the peaceable kingdom.

When the show was ready to begin,

Stevie Wonder walked out on stage with his daughter.

And before he even got near the keyboard,

he started off by giving glory to God

and saying that it was for God's pleasure

that he and the other musicians were there to perform.

From there he went on to perform

for two and a half hours -

no opening act, no intermission.

Just him and us.

It was powerful.

The audience stood up with him

for at least the last hour of the show.

No one was checking their watches.

He called out "God is good,"

and the entire audience answered back.

And that was the best thing about it.

It wasn't just memories of days gone by

that he was conjuring up for us old geezers.

He was conjuring up abundant hope

in the name of God.

Maybe he knew

that today was the second Sunday of Advent,

because he talked a lot about peace.

And one of the things he said

was that peace has got to start

with each of us individually.

One person responding in peace and hospitality to another

can make a world of difference.

Isaiah and the apostle Paul couldn't agree more.

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Stevie Wonder impacted thousands of lives in Texas

in just two nights.

Just think of it!

What can you do?

You are a beloved child of a loving God.

How are you called to make a difference in this world?

You and I are God's hands and feet

this side of heaven.

Where are you in your study and knowledge of scripture?

In what relationships

do you need to shore up some mutual respect?

How's your worship life?

Are you worshiping

as often as the One you worship shows you love?

Are you welcoming of others?

Are you going the second mile

to share what you have with someone else?

And most of all,

are you abounding in hope?

Does what you gain from scripture and worship and hospitality

fill you to overflowing,

so that you have enough to share and more?

You, all on your own,

your thoughts, your words, your actions,

can make a difference!

This is how God means for our lives to be, friends.

This is what you and I are meant to be:

loving, learning,

welcoming and worshiping.

Let's make sure we're headed in that direction.

Amen.