expectation

Worthy

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Worthy

August 01, 2021*

By Pastor John Partridge

2 Samuel 11:26 – 12:13a                    John 6:24-35              Ephesians 4:1-16

What does it mean to be “worthy”?

We hear the word used a lot, but what does it mean?

The dictionary definition helps a little.  It says:

wor·thy (/ˈwərT͟Hē/)

adjective

“issues worthy of further consideration”

To repeat, “having, or showing, the qualities or abilities, that merit recognition in a specified way.”

In practice, we use this a lot.  We consider whether a scout, or a military person, or an employee is worthy of promotion to the next rank or to a new job.  We consider whether a political candidate, or Carnation Festival queen candidate is worthy of our vote. 

But why does any of that matter to us in church as the followers of Jesus Christ?

For the moment, just trust me that it does matter.  And hopefully, you will understand why before we finish.

We begin in 2 Samuel 11:26 – 12:13a as we remember the story of how God sent the prophet Samuel to confront David for his sin in sleeping with Bathsheba and in murdering her husband Uriah.

26 When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him. 27 After the time of mourning was over, David had her brought to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing David had done displeased the Lord.

12:1 The Lord sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said, “There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, 3 but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup, and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him.

4 “Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him.”

5 David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, “As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this must die! 6 He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity.”

7 Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. 8 I gave your master’s house to you, and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you all Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more. 9 Why did you despise the word of the Lord by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. 10 Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.’

11 “This is what the Lord says: ‘Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity on you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will sleep with your wives in broad daylight. 12 You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.’”

13 Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.”

The story begins by saying that what David had done “displeased the Lord.”  God was not happy.  God expected better from David.  God expected better for the leader of the nation of Israel, and David had fallen short of God’s expectations.  But one of the things that makes this story so compelling, is that when he was confronted by Samuel, and was asked to judge the rich man in the story, David angrily demands swift punishment for the rich man and condemns himself in the process.  When confronted with his own actions, David makes it clear that he has not only fallen short of God’s expectations, but he has fallen far short of his own expectations as well.  God deserved better.  Israel deserved better.  And, although it’s too late to do anything about it, clearly Uriah deserved better as well.

And then, in John 6:24-35, as crowds of people follow Jesus after the feeding of the five thousand, we discover that not everyone who followed Jesus did so for the right reasons.

24 Once the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum in search of Jesus.

25 When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”

26 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. 27 Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.”

28 Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”

29 Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”

30 So they asked him, “What sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? 31 Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”

32 Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

34 “Sir,” they said, “always give us this bread.”

35 Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

Some of the people following Jesus are doing so because he has given them food to eat, and they want more.  But Jesus encourages them not to expend their work and energy for food that spoils, but instead to work for food that lasts for eternal life.  Jesus says that they can get this eternal food from the Son of Man, upon whom God has placed his seal of approval and considers to be worthy.

But the people demand that Jesus feed them like God gave their ancestors manna in the time of Moses.  In the end, Jesus simply says that God has already given them the true bread because he himself is “the bread of life.” 

Let’s step back a moment and consider what we know.  God chose David from among the entire nation of Israel.  David was said to be “a man after God’s own heart.”  We would be safe in thinking that God thought David was worthy of being Israel’s king.  But even so, David fell short of God’s expectations as well as his own.

Jesus was worthy of God’s seal of approval and his life, and his death, are evidence of that.

But what does that mean?  What does worthiness have to do with us?  And why does it matter?

We find the answer in Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus in Ephesians 4:1-16, where Paul says:

4:1 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

7 But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. 8 This is why it says:

“When he ascended on high,
    he took many captives
    and gave gifts to his people.”

9 (What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? 10 He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) 11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows, and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

I urge you to live a life that is worthy of the calling that you have received.

Let me say that again.

I urge you to live a life that is worthy of the calling that you have received.

David was called to be the king of Israel.  God had judged him to be worthy of being king, but David didn’t always live up to God’s expectations.  David fell short and didn’t always live a life that was worthy of the calling that he had received.  And so, Paul encourages his church, and us, to live a life that is worthy of the calling that we have received, to do our very best to live up to God’s expectations of us.

The next question is, what would that look like?  What would it look like if we lived lives of worthiness?  And Paul’s answer is that living up to God’s expectations means that we would lives that are completely humble, gentle, compassionate, and patient with one another, lives that make every effort to be united in Spirit through the bonds of peace.  And, more than just living lives of individual struggle, we are to work together to equip one another for works of service, to learn and to grow in knowledge and in faith so that we might all become mature followers who can each do their share of the work for the Kingdom of God.

We aren’t just called to claim Jesus as our savior… and then coast. 

We were called to expend ourselves, to work toward a common goal, to learn, to grow, and help others to learn and to grow, so that everyone might become mature disciples of Jesus and share the work of building the Kingdom of God.

God has called us just as he called David.  

And God has expectations of us just as he had expectations of David.

May we struggle, work, and make every effort to live lives that are worthy of God’s calling.

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You can find video of this message here: https://youtu.be/FQ6Fh7F0HDM

*You have been reading a message presented at Christ United Methodist Church on the date noted at the top of the first page.  Rev. John Partridge is the pastor at Christ UMC in Alliance, Ohio.  Duplication of this message is a part of our Media ministry, if you have received a blessing in this way, we would love to hear from you.  Letters and donations in support of the Media ministry or any of our other projects may be sent to Christ United Methodist Church, 470 East Broadway Street, Alliance, Ohio 44601. These messages are available to any interested persons regardless of membership.  You may subscribe to these messages, in print or electronic formats, by writing to the address noted, or by contacting us at secretary@CUMCAlliance.org.  If you have questions, you can ask them in our discussion forum on Facebook (search for Pastor John Online).  These messages can also be found online at https://pastorpartridge.wordpress.com/. All Scripture references are from the New International Version unless otherwise noted.

Disappointing Expectations

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Disappointing Expectations

March 28, 2021*

(Palm Sunday)

By Pastor John Partridge

Mark 11:1-11

Have you ever been angry? 

I’m certain that you have. 

But have you ever been angry at another person, and later discovered that you were the one who was really at fault?  That sounds confusing.  But maybe this will help, there was a time when I received some good counseling for some anger issues with which I had been struggling.  And one of the sources of my anger was the disappointment that I felt in the attitude and behavior of another person.  But during that conversation, my counselor said something that has stuck with me for a long time.  And that was basically that there are many things that we cannot control.  We can’t control the attitude and the behavior of other people, and there are many other things in our lives that are similarly out of our control.  But while we can’t control the actions of other people, or the actions of government officials, or which team is going to win the football game, or your bracket for the final-four in the March Madness basketball game, the things that we can control are our expectations.

When we expect a particular team to win, and they don’t, any anger that we feel is largely our own fault for the expectation that we set.  When our children don’t behave the way that we expected them to, it’s okay to be disappointed, but our anger if often our fault for expecting more from them than was reasonable.  We are guaranteed to be disappointed if we expect the impossible or expect someone to do what they never intended to do.  You shouldn’t expect the basketball team to win a football game, or expect a pharmacist to solve your engineering problem, or expect your doctor to solve your accounting problem.  When you expect the wrong things, you are certain to be disappointed.

And, in large measure, that is exactly what we are watching in the story of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem in Mark 11:1-11.

11:1 As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 3 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly.’”

4 They went and found a colt outside in the street, tied at a doorway. As they untied it, 5 some people standing there asked, “What are you doing, untying that colt?” 6 They answered as Jesus had told them to, and the people let them go. 7 When they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, he sat on it. 8 Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut in the fields. 9 Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted,

“Hosanna!” [which means “Save us”]

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”

10 “Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!”

“Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

11 Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into the temple courts. He looked around at everything, but since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve.

This is a wonderful story, and it is one of the most well-known stories in the New Testament as well as one of those that we read and repeat every year.  But it is not just a story about Jesus being recognized as Israel’s Messiah and king, it is a story about misplaced expectations.  The people shouting for Jesus to save them (remember that “Hosanna” means, “save us”) were expecting that the messiah would come as a conquering king.  But scripture says that the messiah would be both a suffering servant and a conquering king.  When Jesus did not immediately begin raising an army to oppose and overthrow the Roman garrison, he failed to meet the expectations of the people.  And, as we mentioned earlier, when our expectations are too high, and people fail to meet them, we humans often direct our anger toward the other person rather than remembering our own failure to set reasonable expectations. 

In this story, Jesus clearly demonstrates his power and authority as the messiah and redeemer of Israel, and he fulfills many of the Old Testament prophecies regarding God’s coming rescuer and king, but because he did not meet their expectations, the people were angry and easily persuaded by the Sanhedrin and the Pharisees to cast their vote to release Barabbas and crucify Jesus.

But this also serves as a cautionary tale for us in the twenty-first century because the people of Jerusalem in the first century were not the only ones who have placed unreasonable, impossible, or just plain wrong expectations on the person, purpose, mission and ministry of Jesus Christ.  Many of the people who reject religion, or who have left the church, have done so because their understanding of Christianity, and the person, purpose, mission, and ministry of Jesus Christ is filled with unreasonable, impossible, misguided, and wrong expectations.  Yes, Jesus came to save the world, and yes, Jesus offers everyone the opportunity to follow him, be forgiven, and receive eternal life.  But the first coming of Jesus did not make suffering, pain, and death go away.  Christians do not live perfect lives free from pain, suffering, inconvenience, sickness, mental illness, and death.  Violence, war, crime, and all sorts of evil did not end with the resurrection and neither did poverty and injustice.  When we expect Jesus to do all these things, and expect Jesus to make our lives perfect, in this present age, then our expectations are not in alignment with the teachings of scripture, and we are certain to experience profound disappointment.

The people of Jerusalem failed to accept Jesus because they expected him to do things that he had not yet come to do, and the fault was not with Jesus but with their misplaced and misguided expectations.  Today, we fail in the same way when we expect Jesus to heal the sick, clothe the naked, make our lives painless and perfect, and to eliminate evil and injustice from the world.  Scripture says that Jesus will do those things, after the second coming and the judgement of the world.  But until then, the mission to do all those things been given to us, the church. 

Let us not allow the people around us to be disappointed in Jesus.

Whenever we witness injustice and evil, or find the sick, the naked, and the hungry among us, let us not be disappointed in Jesus, but instead put on our work gloves… and get to work.

You can find the video of this worship service here: https://youtu.be/xs-faxbmLWg

Did you enjoy reading this?

Click here if you would like to subscribe to Pastor John’s weekly messages.

Click here to subscribe to Pastor John’s blog.

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*You have been reading a message presented at Christ United Methodist Church on the date noted at the top of the first page.  Rev. John Partridge is the pastor at Christ UMC in Alliance, Ohio.  Duplication of this message is a part of our Media ministry, if you have received a blessing in this way, we would love to hear from you.  Letters and donations in support of the Media ministry or any of our other projects may be sent to Christ United Methodist Church, 470 East Broadway Street, Alliance, Ohio 44601. These messages are available to any interested persons regardless of membership.  You may subscribe to these messages, in print or electronic formats, by writing to the address noted, or by contacting us at secretary@CUMCAlliance.org.  If you have questions, you can ask them in our discussion forum on Facebook (search for Pastor John Online).  These messages can also be found online at https://pastorpartridge.wordpress.com/. All Scripture references are from the New International Version unless otherwise noted.