SERMON                                                                                                “Pierced for our Transgressions”

Eighth sermon in a series,

titled, “The Ragamuffin Gospel”

Excerpts from The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning
Multnomah Publishers

(Chapter 10 – “The Victorious Limp”)

1)   The New Testament depicts another picture of the victorious life … Jesus on Calvary.  The biblical image of the victorious life reads more like the victorious limp.  Jesus was victorious not because He never flinched, talked back, or questioned, but having flinched, talked back, and questioned, He remained faithful.

2)   Buffeted by the fickle winds of failure, battered by their own unruly emotions, and bruised by rejection and ridicule, authentic disciples may have stumbled and frequently fallen, endured lapses and relapses, gotten handcuffed to the fleshpots and wandered into a far country.  Yet, they kept coming back to Jesus.

3)   “Many of us have [a] problem.  We project into the Lord our own measured standard of acceptance.  Our whole understanding of him is based in a quid pro quo [something for something] of bartered love.  He will love us if we are good, moral, and diligent.  But we have turned the tables; we try to live so that he will love us, rather than living because he has already love us.”

4)   After his triple denial, what future would have awaited Peter if he had had to depend on my patience, understanding, and compassion?  Instead of a shrug, sneer, slap, or curse, Jesus responded with the subtlest and most gracious compliment imaginable.  He names Peter the leader of the faith community and entrusted him with authority to preach the Good News in the power of the Spirit.

5)   The forgiveness of God is gratuitous liberation from guilt.  Paradoxically, the conviction of personal sinfulness becomes the occasion of encounter with the merciful love of the redeeming God.  “There is more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents…” (Luke 15:7).  In his brokenness, the repentant prodigal knew an intimacy with his father that his sinless, self-righteous brother would never know …

      Only God knows how to pardon  … The prodigal’s father said in effect:  “Hush, child.  I don’t need to know where you’ve been or what you’ve been up to.”

      The gospel of grace announces:  forgiveness precedes repentance.  The sinner is accepted before he pleads for mercy.  It is already granted.  He need only receive it … “‘O happy fault!’ they could cry.  If we weren’t sinners and didn’t need pardon more than bread, we’d have no way of knowing how deep God’s love is.”

6)   Henri Nouwen writes:  “In my mind’s eye, I see Rembrandt’s painting The Return of the Prodigal Son.  The dim-eyed old father holds his returned son close to his chest with an unconditional love.  Both  of his hands, one strong and masculine, the other gentle and feminine, rest on his son’s shoulders.  He does not look at his son but feels his young, tired body and lets him rest in his embrace.  His immense red cape is like the wings of a mother bird covering her fragile nestling.  He seems to think only one thing:  he is back home, and I am so glad to have him with me again.

      “So why delay?  God is standing there with open arms, waiting to embrace me.  He won’t ask any questions about my past.  Just having me back is all he desires.”

7)   The mature Christians I have met along the way are those who have failed and have learned to live gracefully with their failure.  Faithfulness requires the courage to risk everything on Jesus, the willingness to keep growing, and the readiness to risk failure throughout our lives.

8)   One night a dear friend of Roslyn’s named Joe McGill was praying over this passage in John:  “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God … The Word was made flesh, he lived among us …” (John 1:1,14).  In the bright darkness of faith, he heard Jesus say:  “Yes, the Word was made flesh.  I chose to enter your broken world and limp through life with you.”

      On the last day, when we arrive at the Great Cabin in the Sky, many of us will be bloodied, battered, bruised, and limping.  But, by God and by Christ, there will be a light in the window and a “welcome home” sign on the door.