Sweetly Ignoring What You Say

Sermon manuscript for Green Lake Church

Sabbath, January 31, 2015

Psalm 1

Luke 4:31-37

Trilly Bean might as well have died and gone to heaven. She landed at the McLarty house and was claimed by our eldest daughter, Bonnie. There is no higher bliss available to an animal than to live at the McLarty house. Trilly's good fortune came about like this:

It was a dark and stormy night. Bonnie out in the back pasture checking on her cows. The dogs bean barking over in the neighbor's woods. Their barking was purposeful, focused. She went to investigate. What were they after?

She found them clustered at the base of a tree. Looking up, she could see a kitten. She called the dogs off. Ordered them to sit at some distance from the tree, then coaxed the little cat down to within reach. She wrapped it in her coat and brought it to the house. I was not pleased. I did not want another animal at our house (not that that has ever mattered much!).

Bonnie went through the usual routine of checking with the neighbors and posting signs around the neighborhood in pursuit of the owner of the lost kitten. No luck.

We named the cat, Trilly Bean. She was Bonnie's cat. Bonnie fed her. Paid her vet bills. Let Trilly sleep in her room.

In a typical display of cat integrity and loyalty, Trilly began hanging out at the neighbor's place—the neighbor on the other side from the woods—because the neighbor fed her any time she showed up. Eventually Trilly lived full time next door, except when she was sick or needed shots. Then she is Bonnie's cat.

Bonnie forgave Trilly for her ingratitude and fickleness because Louise, the neighbor, had been recently widowed and Trilly was her only friend.

Another story.

Rexie is an Australian shepherd. She was born at our house. Her mother, Gypsy, has been my wife's dog for thirteen years. Even before Gypsy got pregnant, our daughter-in-law had made noises about wanting a dog, specifically a puppy from Gypsy. I had quietly protested to my wife. I love my daughter-in-law, but she was married to my son. I knew he had dreams of adventure. I figured that if we gave our daughter-in-law a puppy, sooner or later we get stuck with the dog when they headed off on some exotic adventure. My wife failed to see the wisdom of my counsel. She protested that Katrina loved dogs. No make that, Katrina LOVED dogs. And Katrina would LOVE to have one of Gypsy's puppies.

Katrina picked out Rexie. This raised my protest level. I figured that if Katrina was going to get a puppy, she should pick the dog I would pick, that way when it ended up living with us, life would still be manageable. But no. Katrina picked Rexie. Katrina was absolutely certain that Rexie was the perfect dog. Alas!

Rexie headed off with my son and his wife to Lincoln, Nebraska, for their final year of college. Life was good.

Then they finished school and announced they were moving to India.

I announced they needed to find a home for Rexie.

Karin and Bonnie emphatically overruled me. Rexie already had a fall-back home. Bonnie figured Rexie would become Karin's second dog. I didn't even bother arguing. What would be the point? I did grumble.

After Rexie moved in, I sat her down and explained that I didn't really want her in our house. We had plenty of dogs already. More than enough. We had two other Australian shepherds, her mother and her sister. Both of them were cuter than she was. Every other dog in the house had a better personality. I thought she should move to India.

She looked up at me with very sad, uncomprehending eyes. She could not understand why everyone did not love her. She tried really hard to be good. She tried really hard to get everyone to like her. She did more tricks than any of the other dogs. She could dance and bow. She liked to play tug-of-war.

Her most intense efforts at winning affection were aimed at Bonnie. But Bonnie had two dogs of her own. Bonnie was nice to Rexie, paid her more attention than anyone else in the house. But there was no way Rexie was going displace Bonnie's own dogs from their favored positions in Bonnie's heart. Watching this, it appeared that Rexie figured third place in Bonnie's affections was better than any other option. She knew she couldn't take first dog place in Karin's heart. And I wasn't even worth considering.

Then this past Fall, Bonnie left. She took with her, her two dogs. The house suddenly changed. Now there were only two humans and two dogs in the house. Rexie studied the situation. It didn't a genius to figure out an appropriate strategy. One of the humans was my wife. Gypsy already owned her. other human was me. I did not have a dog. I did not have a horse. I did not have any cows. I did not own a cat. None of the chickens belonged to me. For several years I had even been without a goldfish.

Rexie decided I was going to become her person.

I tried explaining to her that I did not need a dog, did not want a dog, was not in the market for a dog. Besides her sister who had gone to Wyoming was cuter than she was. I think that just made her more determined.

Every time I sat at the table to eat, Rexie was with 12 inches of my chair. When I went outside in the morning, Rexie followed me everywhere I went. When I went to get in my car, Rexie asked to come along. Rexie slept beside my bed until I banished her. Whereupon she camped just outside the door in the hall. When I took a shower, she lay just outside the bathroom door.

When she could get my attention she would give me these pleading, beseeching looks. Please, love me. P-L-E-A-S-E LOVE ME!

I kept explaining my lack of interest. She kept following me around, greeting me when I came home. Wiggling her entire body to prove her delight in my presence.

Bonnie came home for Christmas. Rexie was glad to see her, but made it clear that Bonnie was not an acceptable substitute. I was her person.

Bonnie left. The house was back to two dogs and two humans. Rexie pressed on with her single-minded devotion. So finally I capitulated. Rexie is my dog. I proved it the other evening. I got home late. Rexie had rolled in something. She stank. I figured we'd have to give her a bath before we could let her in the house for the night. Karin got home after I did. I told her that Rexie needed a bath. Karin announced, “I'm tired. I'm going to bed.”

So what did I do? I gave Rexie a bath. She's my dog.

Now a Bible story.

Jesus had just arrived back in the town of Capernaum. He had been traveling around the region of Galilee preaching and healing everywhere he went. This particular Sabbath he was back in Capernaum, which functioned as his headquarters for ministry in the region.

As usual Jesus read the scripture, then sat and began preaching. Without warning a man near the back of the synagogue, stood up and began shouting.

“Go away! Why are you interfering with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”

The man exuded hostility. If you were making a movie you would cut back and forth from close ups of Jesus' face and the man's face. Jesus is handsome, attractive, full of dignity and compassion. The man's face is contorted, scrunched. Ugly.

Likely his body exhibited some kind of tic or twitching. His words were accusing. “What are you doing here? I know you have it in for people like me. You hate us. Well, the feeling is mutual. Leave us alone. Who invited you here to mess up our lives?”

Luke writes that he was demon possessed.

Jesus ignored the actual content of the man's words.

“Be quiet!” Jesus demanded. “Come out of the man!” At that, the demon threw the man to the floor as the crowd watched; then it came out of him without hurting him further.

The people were astonished. “What words these are! With authority and power he gives orders to evil spirits and they come out!”

In the Gospels there are several stories of Jesus' interaction with people who were possessed by demons or spirits. Two features show up in every story. First, none of these people ever ask for help or express the slightest warmth toward Jesus. If they do speak, their words express hostility and fear. They do not like Jesus. They don't trust Jesus.

The second feature common to every account of Jesus interacting with people troubled by demonsis this: Jesus delivers them. Jesus ignores the actual content of their speech which expresses fear and antipathy and gives them the help they obviously need.

Because we are Christians, we regard Jesus as the number one earthly model of God. The way Jesus treated people is the way God treats people. Jesus showed us God.

In light of this story, what do we have to do to get God to help us? To save us?

It is very common among Christians to imagine our relationship with God is like Rexies relationship with me. If we are persistent, if we do just the right thing, we can finally win God over. If we beg and plead. If we stubbornly exhibit our choice of God, eventually God will claim us as his own. Sometimes theologians develop clear statements of just how a person can secure the favor of God.

Some theologians will quote the Book of Romans.

If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 10:9

If you are going to be saved, you have to express your faith, you have to have a correct understanding of the atonement. This is great news for some people. They say the right words. They believe what they are supposed to believe. They have it made. They know that God will have to claim them because they have followed the right formula.

Other theologians will quote Matthew 25 and the story of the sheep and goats. Jesus declared that if we show kindness to needy people that will earn us the approval of God and a place in the eternal kingdom of heaven. If you want to be saved, you have to show compassion and respond to the needs of people around you. This is great news for people with large hearts and practical temperaments. They consistently show kindness to people in need. They can be sure of the favor of God and salvation.

Still other theologians quote Jesus words about the kingdom of heaven being made up of children and people who have hearts like children. So make your heart like that of a child and you can be sure God will have to claim you.

Then there is the passage in Revelation that links salvation with keeping the commandments.

What links all of these ideas together is a common vision of God. They all imagine God is like me. And people are like Rexie.

My default position in regard to animals is, we already have enough. We do NOT need another animal. Not another cat, not another dog, not another horse, not another cow. I have even given up on goldfish. They are all too much trouble.

But God is not like me. God does not have enough. God is not working to keep heaven from being overrun with too many or with the unworthy. God does not have to be cajoled or manipulated into opening the doors of the kingdom of heaven. In fact, the very definition of the kingdom of heaven is its welcome. The doors stand open. Always.

God is like Bonnie. Ever on the look out for another possible denizen of the Kingdom of Heaven. What does an animal have to do to get Bonnie's favor? Exist in her universe. That's it.

Even cats with fickle loyalty. Cats whose only claim on our hospitality is that our dogs barked at her in the neighbor's woods.

In Rexie's story, Rexie's determined work in gaining my attention and winning my affection is the centerpiece of the story. Rexie is the hero. She figured it out. She stuck it out. She had the drive and sticktuitiveness to win me over.

In the cat story, Trilly is not the hero. The cat did not beg to welcomed. The cat showed no special appreciation for Bonnie's climbing a tree to rescue her from the dark and stormy night and the dangerous dogs circled at the bottom of the tree. The story of the rescue of Trilly Bean is the story of the goodness and compassion of Bonnie, not the worthiness or even the unworthiness of Trilly Bean.

So with God. The gospel is the story of God's quest for people. It is not a manual on how we can pursue God. God is not a schmuck who can be persuaded if you use the right formula and are persistent enough.

Turning our attention again to the Gospel story: Can we imagine any people less deserving of the attention of the Holy Rabbi Jesus than people who have allowed themselves to become possessed by demons? Can we imagine any behavior less likely to recommend a person to Jesus than a person interrupting Jesus' preaching to shout hostility and slander? Still Jesus rescued the demoniacs. Jesus provided what they needed. Jesus saved them.

May I summarize this story like this: Jesus sweetly ignored what the people said and gave them life and a future. As we think of God's response to all kinds of people, let's be confident that God will not allow people's inability to mouth the right words to keep him from giving them life and a future, from giving us life and a future.

As we allow this vision of God to shape our minds and hearts, we will be sweeter in our interactions with each other. We will be more rapturous and joyous in our worship. We will do a better job representing Jesus in the world.