“Opened By the Risen Jesus:
Opened Hearts”
May 22, 2022
Dear brothers and sisters, grace and
peace be to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
Amen.
As long as I have been in ministry, I
have had the privilege of being able to meet, and serve, many unique and memorable
individuals. I frequently think of one man in particular, whom I had the
pleasure of being able to know in Northern California, and who went to be with
the Lord just last year. He was someone who had served in the Army, during the
Korean War, and had been a Drill Sergeant, mostly training new soldiers stationed
in Japan, as well as being in charge of North Korean prisoners in a prison
camp. He would tell stories about how he would be rough and tough with both the
soldiers under his command, and the prisoners under his charge. By the time I
met him, however, it would have been impossible to know anything about his past
without him telling anything. Over the years, he had become both a gentle man,
and a gentleman, in every sense of the word. His wife had passed away not long
before I first met him, and he still cherished her memory fondly. Together they
had raised a family, which had grown by leaps and bounds by the time he passed
away, including fifteen great grandchildren. He was also an avid baker, and
would frequently deliver homemade banana breads and cookies to various people
and groups around the neighborhood. But what he was particularly remembered
for, and what I remember him for the most, was having a large heart. He had a
genuine care and concern for everyone he knew, and made sure to provide them
with the best he had to offer. Practically everyone he knew was family to him: at
one point, he was even taking care of at least three single-parent families who
were not related to him, but he still took on the responsibility of caring for.
No matter what anyone needed, he was willing to go above and beyond to provide
it for them. He was someone whom God had truly blessed with a large and open
heart. And it was evident that not only was his heart open to other people, but
his heart was open to God: he was also a man who demonstrated great faith and
trust in God. He was committed strongly to following God, and could always be
counted on to be a positive encourager: he certainly was a positive encourager
for me on many occasions. He had faced many challenges in his life, but he
trusted God to keep him safe and bring him through. He also did not let the
challenges he faced cause his heart to grow small in any way: one of the families
he provided for unfortunately ended up stealing from him at one point, but he did
not let that incident interfere with his desire to care for other people in any
way. He simply trusted God to keep giving him the ability to have an open heart
to everyone. Since his heart was open to God, his heart was able to be open to
everyone he knew.
In today’s Gospel reading, in order
to have our own hearts become large, we are encouraged to open our hearts to
God, and so have our hearts be opened to each other. Jesus says that whoever
loves Him keeps His word: in this case, keeping our hearts open to Him, so He
can come and make His home in our hearts. By doing so, He changes us every day
to become more like Him. He also promises that He will send someone to help us
keep our hearts open to Him: the Advocate, the Holy Spirit. In Greek, the Holy Spirit
is called the Paraclete, which literally means someone who is running
alongside us at all times, who we can count on for help and support in any
situation. The word Paraclete also means someone who speaks up on behalf of
someone else: whenever we are in any kind of trouble, or in any kind of
conflict, the Holy Spirit speaks up for us, and asks God for help in solving
our troubles – which God always does. The Holy Spirit also leads us in the life
Jesus wants for us, and encourages us to keep living that life.
In John 14:27, Jesus tells us the
life He wants for us: a life of peace. Usually when we think of peace, we think
of the absence of violence, which we certainly do hope and pray for as the
fighting between Ukraine and Russia continues without any sign of letting up,
or after the recent shootings in Laguna Woods, California, and Buffalo, New
York. However, peace is not simply just the absence of violence, but it is the
absence of conflict. Unfortunately, conflict is inevitable. The events of the
past couple of years have created quite a bit of conflict. Conflict, as we have
also seen, frequently comes from fear. Fear comes from feeling as though we’ve
lost control – that we should be in control and able to deal with whatever it
is we’re facing, but we don’t know what to do. This means that we try to regain
control in whatever way we can – which causes us to be frustrated, even angry,
because we feel helpless and powerless, that we’re not in charge, and in turn
leads to more conflict. Conflict is also caused by a lack of understanding,
which, again, comes from a desire to control, rather than either accept the
situation for what it is. So the only solution to fear is peace. However, the
peace Jesus promises us is not peace which we can somehow create for ourselves.
This is what He means when He says the peace He offers is not as the world gives:
it comes from us giving up control. This is what Jesus means when He encourages
us to not let our hearts be troubled: the more we struggle to gain control, the
more troubled we become. But true peace comes from waiting patiently for Jesus
to act. It is peace which, in Hebrew, is described as Shalom, the peace
that comes from letting go of our own desire to be in charge, and letting God
be in charge instead. It comes not through our own brainstorming, but instead
through open and honest prayer: by describing our fears and struggle to Jesus in
as much detail and in whatever words we want to, asking for His help, and then letting
go of our struggle – trusting that Jesus is taking care of it, and it is not up
to us to work hard to find a solution any longer: Jesus Himself will reveal a
solution at the right time.
At this point, I wish to continue
the promise I made at the beginning of this month, to talk about the various
parts of the worship service. This week, we’re going to be talking about one
part which we frequently take for granted, but which is a lot of the reason we
gather together each week: prayer. The reason we are here is to be able to pray
to God: to bring our praises and what we’re thankful for, and to bring our
worries and conflicts to God, to place in His hands to resolve, so we can be at
peace. I can tell all of you, with absolute honesty, that some of the most
rewarding experiences I have been able to share with many of you the past few
years have been when I have been able to pray with you. I greatly enjoy being
able to listen to you as you’ve talked about your joys and struggles, and then
together we’ve been able either to thank God for what He’s blessed you with, or
be able to turn your struggles and conflicts over to God to take care of. I’ve
also enjoyed being able to pray with others in our community in other places,
whether it’s been out on the street, in people’s homes, over the phone, at
CAMP, or even at the Village Inn. Notice also in our Second Reading from
Revelation that in heaven there is no temple – Jesus Himself is the temple.
This means that since Jesus is everywhere, in both heaven and on earth, we can
pray to Him any time, anywhere – and take advantage of every opportunity we
have to pray. When we offer our prayers for various needs in the world, as we will
do in just a few minutes, we will both be calling to mind the needs of many
people both here and around the world, and turning those needs over to God to
take care of. Furthermore, when we pray the Lord’s Prayer together, we are not
just reciting ritual words: we are asking God for certain things, both from Him
and for each other. We are asking Him for His help in living in such a way
where we bring honor and maintain a good reputation for His name; to live as
His Kingdom here on earth, where He reigns supreme among us; to provide us, and
everyone else, with what we need to be able to survive each day; to be forgiven,
and to forgive; and, finally, at all times and in every moment, good and bad,
to praise and thank God for who He is and how wonderful He is to us. The reason
we pray the Lord’s Prayer is we are praying for what God wants for us, and for
everyone. In fact, the most effective prayers are the ones where we pray for what
God wants: specifically, He wants us to live in peace with each other, support
and encourage each other, and show compassion to each other because of our
common struggles. So if we pray for these things, that is what we will be given
– but the key is always to ask what God really wants for us, and then pray for
it to happen. When we pray for each other, we are also acting on behalf of the
Holy Spirit: just as the Holy Spirit is someone who runs alongside us to
encourage us at all times, we are also going along with each other to provide
encouragement. We can be paracletes to each other. Praying for each
other is also a wonderful way of showing that our hearts are open to each other;
that we are willing to respect and honor each other’s struggles; and that we
are there to support each other through every kind of struggle. In the past few
years, we have had to deal with many things – but many of these are experiences
we have shared and struggled with together. Which means that we can show
compassion, and understanding, to each other because we have these shared
experiences in common. Praying for each other helps us be able to understand
each other better, because we have to listen to each other in order to know
what to pray for. When this happens, the more at peace with each other we can be.
Being at peace with each other means we can continue to have an open heart for
each other, and so have our hearts be open to where God is leading us together.
So let us be large-hearted encouragers, as we pray for and support each other
and everyone else, and let us live with Jesus in control of us.
Now may the peace of God, which
passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord,
Amen.
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