The One whom Jesus called Father
On this Father’s Day of 2012
I would like to begin our time by asking one question that will eventually lead
into other questions that should end us up with one specific question… now
what was that all about?
Here is my question…Who is
the God whom Jesus called Father? And can he be trusted? Is the One whom Jesus
called Abba Father worthy of our trust? And we sometimes shot from the hip when
posed with such a question but it is a question that seeks deep into our souls
and at difficult times in our lives stares us right in the face.
Lets begin with a basketball question…streak shooters claim…it is a mathematical claim…and a complete and total false claim…each shot is independent from all shots before or after
Many believe that this study is way off base…why? Because in some way shape form or fashion they have experienced what we call streak shooting or otherwise known as “they are on fire” but the understanding is completely based on experience. And even faced with a fact that streak shooting is simply a myth…when sized up against experience…experience most often wins.
Now this got me thinking…is
our understanding of God often deeply shaped by our experience of God. Because
he is a relational God. This is beautifully seen in John 14:8-21.
Question #1
And the logic of this story
is that they are going for the 1 thing they do not have…that’s their
independence. The serpent says if you eat of this fruit then you will be like
God. And up till this point they have been completely dependent upon God but if
they can eat that fruit and become like God they can declare their independence
from God.
Question #2
But if you follow the logic
of the story…b.t.w. I think this is one of the most helpful ways of reading the
Bible. You gotta get in a conversation with the story that is being told,
because we are invited to participate in this story. As it talks to you, you
gotta talk back.
SCRIPTURE IS DISRUPTIVE TO
OUR WAYS OF LOOKING AT THE WORLD
The logic of the story is
something like this…God wants to know from the very beginning if the human
beings he has created will trust him or not. Will they trust him to be their
provider and caretaker or will they attempt to be the source of their own
security? That is the theme for the rest of Scripture and the underlying most
important question we will ever ask…
There are two biblical
stories I want to mention briefly about this
1. Is found in Genesis 22 and
I must begin this story with a joke…why did God ask Abraham to sacrifice his 12
year old son Isaac? Answer…if he had waited until he was a teenager it would
not have been a sacrifice…
And now the tricky part where
I try to make that meaningful…back to the story…22:3-14
2. Daniel
3…Hananiah…Mishael…and Azariah…also known as Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abednego…lets pick up in 3:13-18
Will human beings trust God
or will they try to be source of their own security?
So when we come to Jesus he
basically says this about God…God can be trusted. The God that Jesus calls
Father is worthy to be trusted…
This is clearly seen in his
story…before the cross in Matthew 26…and we often sing this song…”He could have
called 10 thousand angels…now I don’t think it would have taken 10 thousand it
would have only 3 b/c angels have ray guns…but at any point Jesus could have
called all the hosts of heaven and defended himself but he instead choose to
trust his Father who would not abandon him, even though he would eventually
die. Even in the prayer from the cross…which is a prayer by the way…Jesus
begins with My God…but he’s quoting from the Psalms Psalm 22 to be exact and this
Psalm screams I will trust no matter what my current experience looks like. I
will trust.
Jesus trusts his Father on
the cross not to abandon his soul in Hades but to raise him up. That is why the
cross is Jesus’ great profession of faith. Even in the face of death he will
choose to trust his Father over than trying to be the source of his own
security.
We see this from Paul in
Romans 5 where he does this comparison thing between Adam and Jesus and here is
the jest…
Adam—goes to the tree will he
go for the fruit and be the source of his own security or will he trust God?
Jesus—goes to the tree will he be the source of his own security or will he trust God by going to the cross.
Paul’s calculation—Adam gets an F…Jesus---gets an A.
That’s why the Hebrews writer says Jesus is the pioneer of our faith…he shows us how to do it. How to radically and completely trust God.
Ok…this is where for all us it gets personal and heart searching.
Will we trust God when everything around us tells us otherwise?
Last time I preached on Father’s Day I gave a memorial sermon to my dad who had passed some months prior…here is some of that sermon.
My dad fought in the Vietnam War. He did not want to fight, but he did anyways. The time that he spent in war is what I believe brought the illness upon him. From conversations with family members and friends his time that he spent in that war brought nightmares and a depression that he could not control. In May of 1997 a test result diagnosed dad with what is called chronic lymphocytic leukemia. It was a stage 0 type of leukemia that did not require any treatment or brought dad any discomfort at all, it was just there. And all dad had to do was a couple times a year go in for a blood test just to make sure nothing had changed. My dad never smoked a cigarette or touched any drug or even drank a bit of alcohol, I believe that even on his honeymoon with my mom they had sparkling grape juice. He ate weird stuff like vegetables/ all the regular stuff but he ate turnip greens, cabbage, beef liver, and would add onions to his green peas. Strangely he hated sour cream and guacamole. He would experiment with all kinds of dishes, adding bacon grease to his green beans which by the way is the only way he would get me to eat them. He made the best spaghetti and chili I have ever tasted. He really took care of himself. Except for some heart problems that were most likely caused by his crazy spoiled rotten son. But some how he came to have that cancer.
On Nov. 4th of 2004 his only grandson was born. I
can honestly say that I have only seen dad smile that much once before and that
was at Carrie and I’s wedding. But the joy that was on his face when he held
Dylon for the first time is unforgettable. My dad willingly and it seemed at
times forcefully watched Dylon when Carrie went back to work and while I went
to school. He was able to watch Dylon for six months. Then in March of 2005,
dad begins to have sinus problems, dental problems begin because of TMJ that
had not yet been detected by doctors. April, May and June the same problems
exist only a slight increase in symptoms, doctors think that the cause of his
pain is from TMJ and preexisting sinus problems. In July of 05 he quit working
the Opry and voluntarily quit watching Dylon. Late in the summer he had nose
surgery to try and figure out if all the drainage problems were from some
problem in his nose and he went physical therapy for his TMJ. In Aug of 05 dad
had what is called a septoplasty operation on his nose to try and fix his constant
drainage problems. By this time dad was unable to eat a lot of foods, the
weight loss had begun to take affect on his mental and psychological health.
During this month he also had many blood transfusions/ he was diagnosed as
being anemic. Doctors still do not have a clue as to what is causing all these
problems/ seems more like guesswork than anything. In September another
operation was given and the results were that what was causing all the sinus
problems/ all the dental problems/ the fact that now he could not eat was due
to a mass that was discovered by accident near the base of his tongue. The
diagnosis was lymphoma of the larynx. Once discovered the pathologist
immediately started chemotherapy. He was only able to complete two rounds of
chemotherapy. At the end of October he started to have frequent temperatures
all above 100 degrees. The doctors diagnosed it as capnocytophaga/ in other
words cat and dog disease. A disease that anyone else could have fought off
with a cough and a sneeze, but someone who is taking chemotherapy treatments is
like a well person coming down with the flu. In Nov due to the amount of weight
that dad had lost and that now he cannot swallow at all a feeding tube was put
in to keep nourishment in his body. He could no longer talk to anyone, all his
communication was through writing. Later that month since chemotherapy could
not affect what the doctors are now calling squamous cell cancer that was
caused by the chronic lymphocytic leukemia that he was diagnosed with nine
years ago. Radiation now began and there were signs of improvement at one point
in time during the treatments. He went through 36 treatments. In Jan of 06
breathing began to be a problem for dad. He had a trac put in to help with his
breathing. The radiation by itself was not doing enough so they started what is
called hypothermia treatments which I guess is just turning up the heat. My dad
goes through all this without complaining once/ and watching and hearing his
grandson upstairs playing and witnessing his Carrie and I try to make him as
comfortable as possible while trying to go about daily living. On Feb 18th
a Saturday evening we had to call an ambulance to pick dad up, he had become
delusional from all the anxiety and antibiotics and depression medication and
pain medication that he was taking. He stayed in Southern Hills until February
27th when we were advised to have him moved to hospice care. On
March 4th a Saturday morning after a Friday night filled with Gods
Holy Spirit all around his room and the presence of Jesus that was undeniable.
Some family members and friends (Linda and Kristen Brown) rubbed his feet and
sang to him till the morning light broke, and God then really made His presence
known at 6:30 a.m. when the sun was just beginning to rise and the sun covered
my dad from head to toe with birds singing in the courtyard outside, my dad
feel asleep. When I look back over last year of my dad’s life it can appear
that God is no where to be seen, but if you look at what happened before and
even what happened during his final months God is everywhere.
I learned a lot about what it means to trust God in the midst
of some of the toughest times I have had thus far in life.
Contrary to our immediate experience God can be trusted.
The One whom Jesus called Father can be trusted.
And this Father is not what we too often wind up thinking
about God which is Moralistic Therapeutic Deism…God as therapist, butler, and
free vending machine…
I find this to be so true “the one great idol of our time is
the idol of entitlement”
I think I’m owed some things, a certain quality of family
life, a certain quality of financial well-being, certain level of health. Once
we get rid of all that…then we have what you call faith.
Here is a truth to the Jesus story. The God that Jesus called
Father lets him die. The God that I call Father let my dad die. And in the
midst of the death of Jesus is this deep empowering trust that death does not
have the final say.
Trusting God does not mean you/me/us will get everything we
want when we want it. Trusting God means that you believe he will not abandon
us.
It’s believing sometimes against our experience that no
matter how it looks right now God can be trusted.
Will we trust Abba Father to be the provider and caretaker
and security or will we attempt to be the source of our own security?
