"Looking for God in the Wrong Places"Sermon Transcript for April 23, 2000
By Rev. Mike Beck
Scripture Reading: Luke 24:1-8
Moving quickly in the semi-darkness of the morning, the first rays of sunlight beginning to break over the horizon and through the trees of a garden just outside the city walls of Jerusalem, some women neared the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea. This Joseph had been much confused in recent days struggling to reconcile his life-long Jewish understanding of God with the powerful teachings of this Carpenter of Nazareth. Joseph of Arimathea was a member of the Jewish Council and had been strongly opposed to putting Jesus to death, but his voice was not strong enough to sway their opinion. Out of a sense of guilt and perhaps some measure of devotion, he had quietly offered a burial place for Jesus who had spoken of Himself as the Christ, the Promised One.
On that Friday afternoon things had happened quickly for the beginning of the Jewish Sabbath on Friday evening was at hand. There was no time for embalming the body of Jesus, for contact in any way with the dead defiled a person and made them unable to participate in any Jewish religious observances. And so the body of Jesus had been quickly wrapped in a shroud and laid in a rock-hewn tomb.
The women at the cross that day, who had faithfully stood with their Lord to the end when most of the men had fled, had followed to see where He was laid. Now that the Sabbath had passed, they approached the tomb again, wondering if there would be someone who could roll away the stone so that they could anoint the body of Jesus with spices for a fitting and proper burial. When they reached the tomb, fear gripped their hearts. The stone was rolled away; and when they entered the tomb, they found that the body of Jesus was gone.
Had the Roman or Jewish leaders tried to add insult to their already throbbing pain by removing the body of their Lord? They looked at one another with bewilderment and tears welling up in their eyes. There were no thoughts of resurrection here. Only the deepening anguish of the physical loss of the body of the One who had filled their lives with a love and hope beyond anything they had experienced before.
And then, in the slowly-brightening dawn of a day that would change the face of history for all time to come, came these words: "Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here. He as risen!"
Why do you look for the living among the dead? In our faith journey, is it possible that we often do the same thing in our search for God? Are we at times guilty of looking for God in the wrong places? We’re looking for God in the wrong place if our faith is centered around some individual instead of the risen Christ. I’m thankful for the many individuals who have helped point me to Christ. But if my faith is in them instead of Christ, at some point I’m likely to be disappointed. Persons are human, with shortcomings and failures. Life’s circumstances may result in our being separated from them. My faith must be rooted in Christ if it is to endure.
Is it Mom & Dad’s faith or your faith? Is your faith in the Pastor or some other individual, or is it in the Christ that they seek to represent?
We’re looking for God in the wrong place if we are looking for him only in the context of our "religious" activities. We sense God’s presence in a powerful way here in this beautiful sanctuary and in the majestic sounds of our new organ. We praise God for that. But we need also to be aware of God’s presence in all of our daily activities. Be aware of God’s presence in our children, in a loving glance of a spouse or friend, in the skilled hands of medical professionals, or in a bird’s nest or a butterfly. Don’t limit your experience of God simply to things here at church. Be aware of God’s presence with you twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.
We’re looking for God in the wrong place if our faith is in the scrapbook of events in days gone by. I thank God for the wonderful experiences of God that have been mine over the years. Most of you can testify to some special way in which God touched your life last year, five years, or twenty years ago. It is good to look back on those precious memories. But if we are looking for God only in the events of the past, we’re looking among the dead, not the living. We look back only for the purpose of being reminded that if God was faithful yesterday, God will also be faithful today and in all of the tomorrows of our life as well. What great thing does God want to do in your life, and in our church, today and in the days to come?
We’re looking for God in the wrong place if our faith is wrapped up in our good works. This is such an easy trap for us to fall into. We should strive to please God by our actions, but if we’re not careful we come to the end of the day saying: "God, aren’t you proud of me?" But if that is the basis of our faith, we’ll not find God there. The Bible says that all of our righteousness in contrast to the holiness of God is as filthy rags. When I die and persons call on members of my family at the funeral home, I hope they will talk about some of the good things I tried to do in my life. But friends, those good deeds aren’t going to get me to Heaven. Our good works are not to earn God’s love; they are merely our response of thanksgiving for the love of God seen so clearly during this Holy Week in the cross of Calvary. The old hymn put it this way: "Nothing in my hand I bring. Simply to Thy cross I cling." That’s why we speak of the gospel as good news. That God can be found, not only when I think I have my life "all together", but when I know I have fallen on my face again.
We are looking for God in the wrong places when we become comfortable in our understanding of who God is and how God operates in our lives and in our world. Maybe that sounds strange to you. I thought God was the same "yesterday, today, and forever." That’s true. But my understanding of God must be ever-growing as I journey through life. The New Testament tells us to "put away childish things", to "grow in our knowledge of Christ", and to "always be ready to give an answer for the hope we have in Jesus". To be a disciple is to be a "learner", at age 15, but also at age 65. Are you growing in your faith? Don’t try to use a road map of 25 years ago. You need one that is being constantly updated through the work of the Holy Spirit in your life.
Is it possible that you are searching for God in some of these "wrong places" in your life today? If so, move out of the dampness of the Tomb and into the freshness of the morning dew of the Garden. Don’t despair. The good news is that God is always seeking after us. God delights in calling out our names! When we seek after Him with our whole hearts, we will find Him just as the women did in the Garden that first Easter morning. Waiting to dry our tears with those nail-pierced hands; ready to embrace us with outstretched arms of love.
In the words of the wonderful Easter hymn that we sang last week, "When we walk with him" (in faith and obedience) "and talk with Him" (in prayer and study), our lives will never be the same. Alleluia! Christ is risen - for you and for me.
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