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Sermon Archive - January 31, 1999
Pastor Danielson
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Micah 6:8
Remember, about a year ago, I mentioned in the context of a sermon, a "WWJD
bracelet" that had gained sudden popularity among Christian young people
nationwide. These "What Would Jesus Do" bracelets, the brainchild of Janie
Tinklenberg, a Lutheran youth worker in Michigan, were patented, marketed and,
according to an article I read recently, made quite a chunk of money for a
charitable fund Janie set up to assist congregations in conducting their youth
ministries. You might still see a bracelet or two around but now, just a year
later, they have all but disappeared.
Why? ---Just another fad? You may recall that I had some misgivings from the
beginning but, given the sincerity of the effort, I would never say, "I told
you so." Frankly, most pastors I know picked-up on an inherent problem: The
bracelets didn't demand that the wearer DO anything. They asked teens to
contemplate what Jesus would do in the face of moral/ethical challenges but,
having raised the question, they (the bracelets) could easily be slipped off.
A very different response implied perhaps, even expected, but not required.
It has been my observation, not just in the instance of WWJD bracelets but in
many and varied situations that we, as a society, have bought into the notion
that "To know is to do." Wrong! To know is not to do. Knowing "What Jesus
would do" is only half of it. The other half is doing it. Obedience! This is
where discipline comes in and, just in case you hadn't noticed, from the same
Latin root we get discipul and discplina ---disciple and discipline.
The WWJD movement was right in telling us that God wants us to become like
Jesus Christ. What is missing, not necessarily in Janie Tinklenberg or in the
kids that wore the WWJD bracelet, but in every gimmick like WWJD bracelets and
every bumper sticker that throws some catchy question at you, is the
empowerment that can come from actually hearing and responding to the
challenge, request or requirement implied in any question worth the asking.
The difficult yet most crucial half of discipleship is the "request" and
"expectation" that leads the discipline toward obedience. Christian
discipleship is not as simple as asking ourselves what Jesus would do, or even
what a disciple should do. The difficult yet necessary other half of
discipleship, assuming we know "right" from "wrong," is acknowledging
personally the request and requirement that we do "right" rather than "wrong"
and then, as true disciples, doing right because it is expected of us by our
Master.
Everyone who knows me knows that I try my very best not to bring politics into
this pulpit unnecessarily. But here's something we all need to think about.
Countless men and women who professed belief in Jesus Christ, long before
President Clinton ever did, when confronted with right and wrong choices and
knowing what Jesus would have done, didn't do "what the Master would have
done." Likewise, countless men and women who will profess belief in Jesus
Chris, long after Bill Clinton no longer walks the earth, knowing what Jesus
would have done in the face of moral/ethical challenges, won't do "what the
Master would have done."---not even after being confronted with the facts of a
previous moral/ethical lapse. It's called sinning!
And, while there are consequences for sinning, the consequences don't always
prevent the sin. The only deterrent to sin, as Pastor Wick and I explained to
our high school youth at our mid-winter retreat on Human Sexuality and Self-
destruction, is to ask oneself the right questions at the right moment and to
respond faithfully to the request of our Lord implied in the question. "Don't
do it!"
In light of our sinful nature, I think a potentially more helpful acronym for
youth and adults who profess to be followers of Jesus Christ would be not
WWJD, "What would Jesus do?" but, WWJHMD, "What Would Jesus Have Me Do." I'm
not splitting hairs! The crucial point is this: In the midst of temptation to
sin or lie about sinning, I don't need any "wiggle room" ---I need to be
reminded not of what Jesus did, or more precisely, didn't do under similar
circumstances. I need to be reminded of what Jesus expects me to do, as his
disciple. "Don't do it!" or, in the face of doing good, "Do it!"
Are we clear about this now? What Jesus expects us to do takes the kind of
disciplined discipleship that is not for the faint of heart. If and when one
who professes to be a disciple of Christ suffers from "meandering morality,"
"elastic ethics," or "superficial spirituality," there can be no quick fix
---there is no easy way out. Disciplined, Christian discipleship requires time
and practice ---dedication and diligence.
In the daily lives of every human being, young or old, we may admire the
accomplishments of a great artist, but we don't become an artist by admiring
an artist's work. We love listening to a gifted musician, but our listening
will never help us play a single note. Only daily doing ---only practice,
exercise, and daily discipline make artists, artists and musicians, musicians.
What kind of discipline does your life generate? This morning's Old Testament
Lesson has been called the "Hebrew Beatitudes." Like the Beatitudes read in
this week's gospel text from Matthew, Micah 6:8 offers a number of short, even
terse, statements that hold within them great truths for human behavior. And
what, in the end, does the Lord require of we mortals ?but to do justice, and
to love kindness, and to walk humbly with our God."
Of course, it is easy to let Micah's poetic challenge roll off our tongues; it
is quite another thing to go about doing justice kindly, humbly, and
consistently our lives long.
The Beatitudes, both Matthew's and Micah's, are found in the midst of a book;
that Book demands that we not only read its words but live its message
---"follow the Way" and "walk the Walk." In other words, as Christians, we try
our very best to "live the Bible;" to put into practice what we preach as
preachers or what has been faithfully preached to us as laity.
In terms of practice or practicing, I can still vividly recall taking trumpet
lessons in junior high and high school ---especially junior high school. What
I disliked most was practicing scales. I wanted to jump right in and try out
the lesson book's various compositions, not to mention the solo melodies I
heard on the radio: "Star Dust," "Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White," and
"Oh My Papa"---usually played by Ray Anthony or Harry James. I still try to
play "Oh My Papa," whenever I find a trumpet lying around. I did so just a
week ago at the Holzingers. But, Mr. Swanson always insisted I practice my
scales and master my trills, slurs, and staccatos before tackling a piece of
music.
Wally Swanson was right. Once I had warmed-up my lip and limbered-up my
fingers with these basic exercises; once I became adept at hitting high notes
after low notes, everything else, no matter how new and challenging, came
easier.
So it is with the Beatitudes from Micah and Matthew. Once we learn how to
respond to the most difficult moral/ethical challenges of our lives on a daily
basis, everything else about living in family and community comes easier. Life
becomes more beautiful, more satisfying, and certainly more pleasing to God.
AMEN.
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