well, i walk upon the river

like it's easier than land

A sermon Paul's epistle from prison:

Well, the summer is finally here. And one of the hallmarks of this blessed season is the summer blockbuster. You know, those big movies. The ones with the beautiful stars, the stunning action scenes, and the hard-won BUT always assured happily ever after.

But I’ve got a little confession. Those movies never do it for me. I’ve always been a little ambivalent about the superhero movies. And I didn’t see the new Top Gun, either. 

Out of curiosity, who here saw Top Gun?

Ok. And who here saw the new Guardians of the Galaxy movie?

…Just as I thought! And I don’t believe this is because many of us are getting to that age where we go out to movies less and less often, either. No, I think many of us are just losing interest in those larger-than-life stories jam-packed with characters who are just a little too perfect!

The truth is, our world just isn’t like that. Is it? Our lives are comprised of small things: petty grievances, shortcomings, little victories, and the like. The margins of our lives aren’t as grandiose as those movies chockfull of the Hollywood treatment. Are they?

No, the movies I tend to resonate with are the ones that focus on a few characters just trying to hold their little lives together. And you know me, I have a whole list of such films. I’ll spare y’all, though. However, if anyone wants a movie recommendation for this afternoon, let’s talk.

Nevertheless, I prefer those scaled-down movies because they get something very important right. Those intimate films understand that small things are never small! Be honest, would you rather go back and relive your greatest accomplishment or have a quiet moment with a dear friend? 

It’s a rhetorical question. Isn’t it? We all know the answer.

Jacob, it’s why you’re so gosh darn dear to us. Go off and become the presiding bishop of the ELCA, turn this sinking ship around, make the ELCA the largest denomination in the world, and then turn around and say it’s all because of us. Or don’t! It couldn’t change how much you mean to us. 

Jacob, you are so much more than your accomplishments. And neither are you your shortcomings, either. No, the plain fact of your existence is such a great joy to us, Jacob. 

And I hope this goes without saying, but it’s no different for the rest of y’all, too!

Jacob, I remember you as a young boy, grabbing some rain bonnet and running around the basement. That little moment is forever etched into my memory. You understand, Jacob, it was a big moment for me. It was an instant of holy mischief. God’s divine delight to settle into the nooks and crannies of a church basement in a flyover state and have some fun!

…You know what, though? And here, I’ll make another confession; I don’t usually wake up thinking about such poignant thoughts. If that even counts as thoughtful reflection. No, I tend to fixate on personal slights.

For instance, one evening some years ago, when I was out to dinner with friends, and “someone” crowed to me, “You tried to make me look dumb, BUT I made you look dumb!” Yeah. It’s those kinds of trivial things that comprise my world. 

And you’re no different, either. It’s like how you know your team losing to the Cardinals shouldn’t matter as much as it does. But, and there’s always a but, but it does! Doesn’t it?!? And it especially does when your least favorite in-law shows up wearing cardinal red and obnoxiously grinning!

Truthfully, most of the time, the margins of our lives are relatively small. Aren’t they? And if anyone gets that, it’s Saint Paul.

Now I don’t mean that the thirteenth apostle has some sublime appreciation for the humble holiness of our little lives. No, that’s not it at all. After all, very often, Paul is concerned with the BIG things, things like powers and principalities. 

No. I’m talking about how Paul can be as petty as the unhappy rest of us. Like how it was Paul who once wrote — and this in our Bible, our holy book, by the way — it was Paul who wrote that he wished those who disagreed with him would go whole hog, get it over with, and just castrate themselves! That’s in Galatians, chapter five. Yeah, that SAINT Paul. 

So yes, I’d say it’s safe to say if anyone gets how big our petty grievances can be, it’s St. Paul.

…And poor Paul finds himself in the clink of all places in today’s passage. In case you didn’t notice, Paul’s writing from the pokey in today’s Scripture. But to add insult to injury, some other preachers out there couldn’t be happier that Paul’s in the hoosegow! 

Perhaps those other preachers were jealous of Paul’s success. Or maybe they were suspicious of his sermons that were light on what we must do and heavy on what God, in Jesus Christ, has done. Or maybe it was a bit of both.

Either way, those other preachers couldn’t have been happier Paul was in the joint. In fact, they saw his lockup as an opportunity to advance their career. What’s more, they appealed to Paul’s plight as evidence that Paul wasn’t as big of a deal as everyone seemed to think.

Worst of all, though, Paul knew about it, too! Word got back to Paul. Paul had to learn it wasn’t just well-wishers for him. And he had to learn that bitter lesson when he could have used as much support as possible.

As Paul reflects on it, though, he can’t help but wonder, “What does it matter.” What does it matter? But, and here’s the deal, his query isn’t one of resignation. No, Paul’s question is one of floored wonder! Floored wonder.

…There aren’t many clues to help you figure out which jail Paul’s writing from. After all, we do know Paul was locked up more than a time or two. However, there are more than enough clues to assure us that Paul’s predicament is dire.

After all, this is the letter where, right from the top, Paul feels the need to reassure us that his situation isn’t as bad as it seems. Plus, it’s also the letter where Paul will openly consider the possibility of death. Death.

The thing is, though, in the course of this letter, Paul doesn’t spend much time on his circumstances. No, it doesn’t take long for Paul’s attention to shift! Shift from his plight to his delight—from plight to delight. 

The reason being, as bad as things may seem, it seems Paul couldn’t be happier! First of all, there are the good folks at First Lutheran in Philippi. Their bond in Christ is a constant source of comfort for Paul in the pen. And then there’s the fact that his imprisonment has actually led to many of the guards being set free in Christ!

Turns out the prison yard is as fruitful of a mission field as any other!

The folks who study this stuff say Paul’s letter to the Philippians is his warmest. Paul seems to have had the friendliest rapport with the folks in Philippi. However, you read this letter, and you can’t help but notice that Paul’s dealing with the same stuff kept him awake at night in every other problem congregation! There’s the usual bickering and the all-too-common theological dilemmas, too.

Honestly, the only real difference in this letter seems to be Paul’s circumstances. You know, in the big house. And, likely, under a possible death sentence, to boot!

But it’s precisely from there, from that, that Paul sends this letter overflowing with affection, optimism, and especially joy! Why, not even those other preachers preaching in spite of him can get under Paul’s skin! Paul, who has wished worse over less, can’t be bothered to be bothered anymore!

And the reason for this is that something happened, and it happened in the hole of all places! In prison, Paul witnessed how God used his diminished circumstances to spread the Gospel! Paul experienced how, instead of stopping the message, God used his chains to set the Gospel loose! Paul learned, all over again, that it’s always true, when we come to the end of our rope, God’s just getting started!

And having stood on the receiving end of all that, Paul can’t help but expect God to use even those petty preachers! That’s why someone like Paul can say, “WHAT does it matter? Just this, that Christ is proclaimed in every way, whether out of false motives or true; and in that I rejoice.” And in that I rejoice.

Sure, those other preachers may have thought they were dampening Paul’s message, but here we are all these years later, still reading what Paul wrote! Those other preachers might have thought they were overshadowing Paul, but all we have left is what Saint Paul wrote! All we know about those other preachers is what Paul said about them! How’s that for irony?!

Turns out, what happened to Paul was an example of the very message he was commissioned to preach! The message that grace is relentless! The message that nothing can stop God’s will. Chains can’t hold it. Neither can petty rivalries. And finally, not even can Death get in the way!

In the end, we all become God’s sermon illustration for grace. And that’s why, as Paul prepares to face his death, he can’t help but take a load off! Paul can’t help but take it easy because he’s found out, the stunningly simple way that never comes easy, that there’s nothing left to worry about! God has taken it all into Jesus’ pierced hands! And Jesus isn’t about to be deterred from fulfilling his mission. He Christ said, “It is finished,” he meant it!

Christ’s mission is a mission of great BIG love! A love that’s large enough for all. A love that’s deep enough for the likes of you and me! Wide enough for Paul, of course. And even soaring enough those petty preachers, too!

Small though our lives might be, God’s love in Jesus Christ is large enough for them all!

…You know that night I mentioned at the beginning of the sermon, the one where someone said to me, “You were trying to make me look dumb, BUT I made you look dumb.” Yeah, that was Amanda who said that. 

But you know what? That next morning, I didn’t wake up nursing a grudge. No, I woke up smiling. Smiling because life had gotten out of my hands. And contrary to all my handwringing, that was the very best place for it to be.

Grace can do that, can’t it? Grace can take what would usually get you down and use it to lift you up.

It’s just lovely when our world gets more voluminous than we could have ever made it on our own. Isn’t it? It’s one of the best joys in life to just sit back without a care in the world. To measure the scale of our slights, victories, and losses against the largess of God’s Relentless grace.

Because that’s the thing, isn’t it? We CAN’T make our own lives bigger. No, that can only happen when we find ourselves in the presence of something larger than ourselves. 

And beloved, in Jesus Christ, that’s precisely what’s happened to you right now! That great big love of God has infiltrated YOUR life! You have been swept up into something far larger than yourself! The horizons of your death and life, in that order, are as infinite as God’s immeasurable love!

And this is all true because Jesus, by the power of his compassion, became small for you and me. Jesus left all of heaven for you. Jesus endured the petty grievances, presided over silly bickering, and even felt the sting of backstabbing for you.

And through it all, from the other side of the worst of it, Christ rose again to shed his ETERNAL life on his betrayers, backstabbers, and deniers. You know, on you and me! 

On account of Christ, the margins of your life are bursting at the seams with nothing less than the holy fire that lit the cosmos! 

…Jacob, that’s why your graduation is such a big deal to us! It’s something of a deposit on the promises made at your baptism. Indeed, there’s more in God’s storehouse of grace for you, Jacob. It’ll be there for you in the not-so-good times, too. And we wish few of those for you. But what we pray is that through it all, you will always know the love of God in your life! Because it is always there for you, Jacob. 

Just as the love of God is always there for the rest of you, too. The margins of your life, sisters and brothers, are as great as the majesty of our savior! Where your margins run thin, Christ’s grace, mercy, and love run thick. And when those margins come to an end, Christ’s passion is just getting started! 

What Hollywood has no interest in, your Lord and Savior died for! The story of your life may not be made into a summer blockbuster, but Jesus has burst heaven wide open for it! Your storyline may never be written into the plot of some superhero movie. Nonetheless, Christ himself has written it into the greatest story of all, the story of his unstoppable, never-ending, always enduring love!

And one day, and I pray it’s sooner than later, you’ll join Saint Paul. You’ll look over your life, and all you’ll be able to do is smile and wonder aloud, “What’s it matter.” And when, not it, when you do, Paul’s rejoinder will echo down through the ages. Words as old as that hymn the first time you heard, you knew it. “Nothing, just this, that Christ is proclaimed in every way.”

And in that we all rejoice.

That’s what all this is for. So you who are here today, get an earful of it! The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost has found no better place to bring the fullness of heaven than right into your life! Right now!

As such, let us, who are here, join that chorus of angels the Holy Spirit has brought down from heaven to worship with us today! Let us lift our voices and join the hymn of praise that knows no end! Let us thank we all our God!