CMLC 2024-03-17 Sermon

Howdy.

Well, so I wanted to make sure that I clarified for all of you that there are definitely some nerdy things that are about me.

Okay, number one, I do still enjoy the occasional cartoon.

Number two, I do enjoy getting a chance to go and sing karaoke.

Billy Joel is still the favorite.

And number three, I do enjoy getting a chance to go and dance.

Alright? Not necessarily a flash dance.

I'm not necessarily a maniac on the dance floor dancing like I've never danced before.

But at the same time, I do enjoy a chance to go out country dancing.

I do enjoy a chance to shake my little tish from time to time.

And so on Thursday, I ended up going out and doing line dancing with some friends nearby.

And as I'm going to do this line dancing, you have to keep in mind that in my head,

I thought of line dancing as that sort of like in-between stuff that you do when you're country dancing.

Okay? And it's sort of like, you know, you're just like, oh, I'll just, you know, do do do do do.

Yeah, this is really, really easy. I got this. I'll just rock back and forth.

Okay, and then I'll kick and then we'll just keep on going.

Oh, no. Oh, no, no, no.

And I don't know if it was just the fact that there's St. Patty's Day today or not.

But I swear there were jigs. There were all sorts of spins and things going on.

There are people like hopping around and like going and everything else.

And I'm literally just staring at them for a bit.

And there were a couple of times where I just kind of paused and I'm just like,

all right, I got the hopping part. Let's just keep going.

And it was just ridiculous how much people were able to...

And it wasn't like it was just like one age group.

It wasn't just like, oh, great. There's the 21 year olds that are over there.

Oh, no, no, no, no, no, the 60 and 70 somethings were out there too.

Okay, so do not let this be something where you'd be like, no, that's for the younger generation.

Oh, no, it is not. All right.

And it was amazing to me how much there was to try to learn.

But you see, as you're trying to learn a lion dance or really any dance,

is that at first you can spend a little bit of time and you're trying to think through what they're doing.

Okay. And you're kind of like noticing, okay, yes, I need to put this foot there.

Okay, good. And then I'm going to have to hop back to there.

And then I'm going to go over here and I have to try to keep it and you're thinking it in your head.

And you get a chance to just practice those moves a couple of times and that's great.

But you can't be doing that the entire time.

You cannot be spending the entire time thinking, I'm going to move this leg over here.

I'm going to put this over. I've got a turn. I've got it.

It's not going to work because by time you've gotten two or three steps down,

everybody's done with that whole thing and they're facing another way and they're going right past you.

And you're like, what just happened and why did I step on somebody's foot?

But the thing with dancing is that it's not just about knowing things in your head.

It's about learning it with all the different muscle groups throughout your body because as you're doing so,

your mind might be able to keep up with the rhythm,

but your core has to be able to remember which way am I going to be leaning?

Am I leaning left or am I leaning right?

Your hips have to remember which foot you're going to be placing it on.

Your legs have to remember where it is that they need to go.

It's got to be the way that it feels, not just thinking through each and every piece.

The dance has to be internalized.

Your entire being has to learn and know what it's supposed to be doing.

And that idea of what it is to internalize the dance is much of what we end up seeing in our Jeremiah passage today.

You see, it ends up talking about this idea of there being a new covenant.

You see, God had told the people of Israel and Judah in the past that he had told them what to do

and what did they keep doing?

The complete opposite.

They keep hearing it in their head, but what do they end up doing in their lives?

They go off their own different directions.

They want to go off and make treaties with other people,

worship other gods, and intermarry with everybody else,

and they go off and do their own thing.

And what we discover is that as much as they keep hearing what God wants,

they never internalize it.

But what does God end up saying in Jeremiah?

That you won't have to go to people and say,

you need to know God, or you need to follow Him.

Instead, everyone is already going to know God.

But what's strange to me, though, is that, you know, like centuries,

all this time of being told what they're supposed to do and they still never internalize it,

why was it that something was going to be different?

And what's interesting to me is verse 34.

Is this idea of, for I will forgive their iniquities and remember their sin no more.

Why is that such a vital part to changing the difference between knowing what God wants

and internalizing it with your entire being?

And then I had to remember the dance floor.

See, the thing is, is that when you're out on the dance floor and they're trying to tell you,

you need to learn these different moves, what you keep hearing over and over again

is the safest place to be is in the middle.

And I'm like, how does that make any sense at all whatsoever?

I need to hide over to the side, okay?

I'm going to watch y'all, okay?

And then when I finally get it, that'll be great and everything.

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

The safest place to be is in the middle.

Because if you're off to the side, once you make two turns,

you can't see anyone in what they're doing.

You have no idea what's happening.

But if you're right in the middle, then whichever way you turn, you end up knowing exactly what to do.

But you also have to believe something about that dance floor.

You have to believe that it's safe for you to be there.

You have to believe that you actually have a place there.

You have to actually believe that as much as your awkward white boy self, or whoever you might be,

might be, is that you're still supposed to be right there.

And that as you're stumbling through those moves,

is that the people around you forgive you and are happy that you're there.

Because as much as I was struggling through several different parts,

at the same time, there was nobody saying you don't belong here.

Which, by the way, has definitely happened at Whiskey River at a time or two when I tried to go two-stepping.

But somehow, while line-stepping, while line-dancing,

I end up being there and knowing that it's okay until finally I'm learning enough of the steps

that at least I feel like I'm finally dancing.

And that's a big piece about this, is that the relationship that we have with God,

of knowing that we are in a safe place to be in His people, to be with Him, to be close to Him,

and to know that while we're still stumbling, that He is still calling us to Himself,

that place is where we need to be as we keep practicing the moves.

As we continue to learn what it is to not only sense the grace of God,

but also learning how to share that grace with other people,

how to actually know, wait a minute, at this moment in time,

I could say something really rude and snarky to this person.

And I think I may have done that last week, but you know what?

I also sense that that's not what it is that I think God would want from me.

That doesn't feel like what God is wanting from me,

because I also know that God has been forgiving and loving to me.

Or I know that I haven't been in His Word, or I know that I haven't spent my time

focusing on things that matter, or serving other people, or whatever it may be.

But I also know that He keeps bringing me back.

And as I continue to be in His presence, I know more and more naturally

what it is that He wants of me.

But you see, that's one side of it.

It's the idea that we know that we stumble,

but even in the midst of our stumbling, we are still in the place where we're meant to be

as we learn what God is wanting from us, not just up here, but just in our entire being.

And the other side of that is that oftentimes, we think we've got it all figured out already.

I was definitely there.

And I've been there before.

I've been over at Whiskey River on a Thursday night when everybody else is doing bachata.

And I'm like, okay, how does this fit with Two Step?

And they're just like, oh, silly little guy.

And realizing that these hips don't lie, but they do stutter.

And with that is that as we go into these places and we think that we've got it all figured out,

then we discover that we don't know how to participate in the dance

because we're going to a whole other beat.

See, that's the thing that we end up seeing with James and John.

See, James and John were still not internalizing what it is that Jesus is communicating to them.

We had just ended up having the piece where this rich young man, this ruler among the people had come up

and was trying to find out from Jesus what do I need to do for eternal life.

And Jesus is going through these different laws and don't murder, don't lie, cheat, steal,

be sure to honor your father and your mother.

And this rich young man is going through, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I got this.

Yeah, absolutely.

I mean, he was a good aggy.

He doesn't lie, cheat or steal.

He collaborates and borrows.

Sorry.

But with it though is realizing that then at the end Jesus says,

now give everything that you have to the poor and come follow me.

See, that's the thing about this is that this rich young man, of course he never killed anyone.

Why would he need to?

No one's going to upset the rich guy.

Does he have any reason to be jealous or to covet other people?

Does he have any reason to steal?

No, he has everything that he wants.

Does he have any reason not to honor his father and his mother?

Absolutely not.

They've given him everything.

But isn't that oftentimes what we look to?

In our particular world is that we spend so much time making sure that everything is set up perfectly

for ourselves, for our families, for everyone.

No one has any need or any want that does not get fulfilled.

And yet then we end up realizing that we lose the sense of feeling that we need to turn to God.

Because there's a thing about this is what Jesus doesn't end up mentioning any of the commandments about loving God.

Because the thing is, this young man didn't end up meeting God other than just saying,

I want to have eternal life.

But you see, the thing is, is that we also end up discovering that from James and John as well.

See, James and John, for all this time that they're following after Jesus, is still in their heads, in their minds.

They've got it figured out as to how to be the right disciples for Jesus.

And they've got it down. So they're just put us at your right and at your left, Jesus,

and we're going to take care of all this stuff for you, okay?

We're ready. We're there.

And yet they still don't know the steps.

Because here Jesus is not only proclaiming that letting go of the things that you feel are God's way of showing that you're better,

that you're blessed, and that what is the cup that he's going to have to drink?

That he's going to go and be arrested and give up his life so that three days later he can rise from the dead.

But what are James and John doing?

You know what, we're going to take care of all this stuff for you, Jesus.

The thing is, is that they hadn't been internalizing what it is that Jesus was trying to get across.

And aren't we oftentimes in a similar boat?

Is that we're looking for the things that end up showing us how we're blessed.

We look for the things that make us feel confident and secure, and that we've got everything figured out.

And let's just avoid the things that we don't feel so comfortable with.

And then there is Jesus saying, can you drink from the cup from which I drink?

Why? Because his cup was going to the cross.

That cup is his blood of the new covenant.

See, that covenant is only going to be bought with his blood.

So James and John, you're wanting to sit here next to me.

Guess where I'm about to go?

Are you willing to go there with me?

And the funny part is, is that along with, well, 11 out of 12 of the disciples, they end up giving up their lives for Jesus.

But that's the thing about this cup.

Is that the cup of the new covenant is not just about, you know what, let's sprinkle some blood on the parts that, you know, we're like,

you know what, I need to fix this little piece of myself.

I need to take care of this one thing over here.

I need to come and make sure that, you know what, I needed this one thing from God.

I had a really rough week.

I needed to come in.

Okay, good.

I'm glad I got that piece figured out.

I needed to make sure that the family, everybody knows the Lord's prayer and the catechism.

Great.

Okay, we got that taken care of.

Thank you, God.

All right.

Good job.

I need to make sure that at some point in time, I know where it is that I belong.

It doesn't necessarily mean I'm going to be a part of it regularly.

Just, just sprinkle a little bit here and there.

And it's like, no, this is the cup from which I drink.

Is that it's about everything inside of you.

Every piece of you, every part of you is no longer coming in and figuring out that you've got it all sorted out.

But rather is continually coming back and saying, God, I don't.

I need your grace.

I need your mercy.

I need to be welcomed back into your presence.

Why?

Because as much as I think that I know which way I'm going, I need you to be the one who keeps showing me.

So that's the thing about what we look at the responses here and to pause and to say, what about you?

When you're not thinking about it, when you're not, you know, focused on, oh, I know I better be a good Christian right now.

What are the things that naturally come from you?

Is what flows out of you flowing from the cup of forgiveness?

Of losing that sense of self?

Is what is coming out of you coming from what came within?

This new covenant that only comes from the sacrifice of Christ, has it pervaded you so that now your life is now about sacrifice for the rest of the world around you?

And if it's not, then maybe we pause for a moment and ask God, bring me back to your presence.

Would you be the one to keep changing me time and time again?

Because that covenant is not just something to tack on or add a little piece here or there.

But it's meant to change everything about who we are.

So this week as we continue our journey to the cross, may we realize that cross that Christ is going toward?

That is something that is meant to change us inside and out.

And as we do so, may that be the witness that brings others to share in that cup with Christ Jesus as well.

Thanks be to God.