AtomWill Not Leave You Orphaned
John 14:15-21
On a hot southern night, some 150 years ago, a weary slave sat before a tar-paper shack and lifted his voice in a song of lament - a mournful, deep song whose words sang of the pain of having been taken from home, separated from family, and subjected to slavery. With hurt and longing he sang these words:
Sometimes I feel like a motherless child,
Sometimes I feel like a motherless child,
Sometimes I feel like a motherless child,
A long ways from home.
A similar feeling was experienced by a rookie baseball player just up from the minor leagues who was sent up to bat against the great Hall of Fame pitcher from the St. Louis Cardinals, Bob Gibson, in his prime. Here’s the story:
Just off the bench and as nervous as someone on his first date, the rookie stepped up to the plate and took a couple of tentative practice swings as the great right-hander, Gibson, glared down at him from the mound. Then, with a great windup and pitch, Gibson blew two consecutive fastballs right down the center of the plate, so fast that the poor rookie didn’t even have time to swing his bat. With that, the rookie turned on his heels and started back to the dugout. “What’re you doing?” his manager shouted at him as he approached the steps. “Get back out there. You’ve got another pitch coming.” “Let him have it,” the rookie said. “I’ve seen enough already.”
Let’s ask: Have you ever felt this way? Outmatched by life? Up against what seems to be impossible odds? Depressed? Lonely? Feeling alone?? Downhearted? Hopeless and helpless, overpowered by life?
Of course you have…I sure have. We all have at one point or another. We’ve all had those experiences when life seems to fall apart…when trouble traps us!! I mean…
Consider the 80 year old widow…left alone at home after 40, 50, 60 years of marriage. Her spouse no longer with her, she nods off in front of the television set, a half-eaten frozen meal cold in front of her. She is alone in a house too big for her, children with lives of their own in different towns. Sometimes I feel…
Or this could be a teenager—off to college on that first day…wondering where and with who do I fit in? Knowing they are no longer a Big HIGH SCHOOL senior…where they knew others and were known by others. And now, Sometimes I feel….
It could be the husband or wife…whose spouse has left them:
the business person whose business is slowing sinking…
the parent whose child has rebelled and left them:
Sometimes I feel…
It could be these or any of the countless others in the world around us who feel alone and without hope, rejected and lonely, like that rookie facing Bob Gibson….like the two families in our bulletin announcements who both lost everything in a fire!!
To them and to us, and to all…the Gospel proclaims Good News this morning. The Gospel tells us God Himself is here to say, “I will not leave you as orphans.” I will not abandon you.
I am with you…through the gift of HIS SPIRIT…the gift of HIS PEOPLE!!
Let’s go back in time…
In the gospel reading today, Jesus sits with the disciples in the upper room. The candles of the Passover meal have burnt short and it is time to go.
• One disciple has already fled the gathering, his betrayal a shock to all of them.
• Another disciple’s denial is predicted and the pain of the cross awaits them all.
And in the midst of this uncertain gathering, Jesus reaches out to them in love. Listen again to what he says in these various verses: for these promises are FOR YOU also today:
I will not leave you as orphans. I will not abandon you. I will send you a counselor, an advocate, a comforter, a friend who will care for you, who will offer you hope when there is none to be found, help when you are helpless, comfort when you can find none, and life in the face of death.
Powerful promises given to God’s people…throughout the centuries…to today!!
And how does God do this?
He does this in many ways…with one key way…He does this through His People keeping His commandments and loving Jesus!!
“God’s Work…Our Hands” is the way you’ll be hearing of this this year.
A few years ago, when the economy was going into the tank…unemployment rate was going up and up…businesses were laying off… About that time, I was in a church in the Twin Cities…
And, I picked up a card they were distributing to the members and friends in the church…and in the surrounding community…it said this:
This is our promise to you:
You will never walk alone. We will ALWAYS have someone to walk with you.
You will never go hungry. We will ALWAYS have food for you to eat.
You will never be without a bed to sleep in. We will ALWAYS have a place for you.
And, these folks became the hands of Jesus in that time and place: hands that lived out the promise of Jesus to his people: I will not leave you as orphans!!!
And…I would be remiss to not mention that this being the hands and feet of Jesus is NEVER confined to the church…it happens in our everyday life…as God works in us and through us at all times. We call this the “Priesthood of all believers…the Ministry of our Vocation”!!
As many know, Joy and I have two sons in the National Guard. While I’ve known of what the guard does in the past, I’m experiencing it first hand through my sons.
Yesterday morning, the phone rang at 7:30…and by 10:00 my oldest son Josh was on his way to Bismarck to make sure the people of Bismarck knew they were not alone in their fight against the floodwaters of the Missouri River. (The priesthood of all believers…God working his promise through the Ministry of the National Guard!!)
And further, many times in the scriptures we’re reminded that this promise is given to ALL THE PEOPLE!! In God’s word we’re told this message to all includes all: Slave or free, black or white, Jew or Greek, male or female…ALL!! Jesus sends his promise to ALL!! He stands with ALL his people…which means WE stand with all people as bearers of this promise!!
This week I was told the story of when Senator Hubert Humphrey was interviewed and asked pointedly where he stood on something. He supposedly replied, “Some of my friends stand over here, and others of my friends stand over here and still others stand over here. As for me, I stand with my friends!!”
Today Jesus says to all…”I stand with my friends…and to all my friends I say to you, I will not leave you orphaned…to You I will send my Spirit.”
Sometimes I feel like a motherless child…
It’s a feeling we all know and have experienced.
Jesus says, “I will not leave you as orphans”…and He comes to us through God’s people.
God’s work…Our Hands.”
He also comes to us through His Word…His Word that comes today with a promise!!
For thousands of years, God’s people have found:
hope in the midst of mourning, life in the midst of death, encouragement in the midst of despair, light in the midst of darkness…by turning to God’s word…especially God’s Word as it comes to us in the Psalms!!
The Psalms tell us, when these times of feeling abandoned come…God invites us to turn to his word… They not only give VOICE to our soul: they give us a HUGE source of strength, hope, encouragement, and more. Listen to just a few of these words…
23 The Lord is My Shepherd I shall not be in want…
46 God is our Refuge and Strength, a very present help in times of trouble
121 I lift my eyes to the hills, from where my help comes…
22 God, why have you forgotten me?..
From my mother’s womb you have been my God…
Be not far from me, for trouble is near!!
At First Lutheran we’ve been given a mission of “Opening Doors to Life in Christ”…
We know there are many around us singing a sorrowful song;
Sometimes indeed, I do – we all feel like an orphan at times…
To all Jesus said, “I will Never leave your orphaned or abandon you…this is the promise given!!
How is this promise received and then given away today?
Two ways offered today…
Through God’s people, as God works in us…God’s work…Our Hands!!
Through God’s Word…today’s Gospel…the Psalms…and more…
AMEN.
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