3 Easter May 5, 2019
Acts 9:1-20 Ps. 30
Rev. 5:11-14 John 21:1-19
Lectionary Link
A few years ago, a Baptist preacher wrote a book entitled, "Love Wins." And it was controversial for many in his faith community because he proposed that the Bible indicates that Christ is eventually persuasive for every creature. For those who think that making hell less than eternal takes away the moral hammer to frighten bad behaviors, Rob Bell was regarded to be heretical.
The love wins view is found in the reading from the book of Revelations: John the Divine in his vision, heard every creature in heaven and earth blessing the Lamb on the throne. If everyone blesses the the sacrificial love found in Jesus Christ, that would mean that such love eventually wins and persuades everyone.
It is not easy to say that in the end love will win and persuade everyone. By saying this, it seems to be impossible to prove and it can seem to minimize the willful evil conduct of so many people who seem to never want to be persuaded by love. It is such a great ideal that from our lives of living in a world full of willful evil, it is hard to believe.
But such an ideal does express what is desirable. Wouldn't it be nice if in the end love wins and love reconciles all things? For all people, for our nation, for our parish, our families and our own life. Wouldn't it be wonderful if everyone used their freedom to affirm that sacrificial love in Christ is the greatest?
What does it mean for love to win us and persuade us?
On the way to love winning all, which we cannot yet see, there many experiences of human freedom. Two of those experiences are conversion and rehabilitation. Conversion and rehabilitation are exemplified in lives of Peter and Saul of Tarsus about whom we've read today.
Now every experience of conversion and rehabilitation may not be as dramatic as Peter's and Paul's, but conversion and rehabilitation are events for us on our way to be completely won by God's love.
Conversion happens even to religious people. We are always committed or converted to the values of our lives. No one was more zealously religious than Saul of Tarsus. He was so religious that his belief included persecuting the people whom he thought were heretics. Saul of Tarsus thought that the followers of Jesus were heretics; what do you do with heretics? You persecute them and for most of history heretics were killed. Heretic usually means "something that you believe that I don't approve of." But wait? Isn't there a commandment of God about not killing? How could Saul of Tarsus be religious and be pursuing people to their deaths for mere religious disagreement? Saul of Tarsus snapped. He had a conversion experience. Saul had the first Damascus Road experience, because after he had it, it became a metaphor. Saul had an experience of the Risen Christ who asked Saul to quit persecuting him. Saul became the apostle Paul. He was a very religious person who had one of the biggest conversion events of history. You and I have perhaps been raised within religion, even to the point of being religious people. But we can still have conversion experiences. I have had quite a few conversion experiences, events which brought about significant paradigm shifts in how I have seen and defined the meaning of my life and my actions. As long as we are not completely converted to the God of love, we will continue to have conversion experiences, if we are sincerely seeking. We as individuals, as family members, as a parish and as a country are always in need of our next conversion as we wait for the love of God to become more winsomely persuasive.
Peter had what I call a rehabilitation experience with the risen Christ. Peter denied Jesus during his trial three times. In the resurrection appearance of Christ to Peter, Jesus allowed Peter to replace his three denials with three affirmations of love. This was an experience of rehabilitation of Peter.
We are often in need of rehabilitation. Sometimes we can become lazy in the practice of some important values that once were honored. Sometimes we disappoint ourselves by thinking that we are more committed than we actually practice. Peter loved and followed Jesus for about three years. He was proud and brash about his loyalty to Jesus. Yet when he feared for his life and when Jesus turned out to be a suffering servant Messiah and not a Military General Messiah, Peter sinned against his love for Jesus.
What did Jesus do? He rehabilitated Peter again in his love, grace and favor. How? He entrusted Peter to be a shepherd. He rehabilitated Peter by saying, go, and teach because you have learned from your mistakes.
As we are on our way to being fully persuaded about the sacrificial love of Christ, we will need moments of conversion and rehabilitation, as persons, as family members, as a parish family and as a nation.
Let us be thankful for these two repeating experiences of the Risen Christ. Conversion and rehabilitation toward the love of God. Let us be ready for conversion and rehabilitation in the love of God in Christ when it comes. Amen.
A few years ago, a Baptist preacher wrote a book entitled, "Love Wins." And it was controversial for many in his faith community because he proposed that the Bible indicates that Christ is eventually persuasive for every creature. For those who think that making hell less than eternal takes away the moral hammer to frighten bad behaviors, Rob Bell was regarded to be heretical.
The love wins view is found in the reading from the book of Revelations: John the Divine in his vision, heard every creature in heaven and earth blessing the Lamb on the throne. If everyone blesses the the sacrificial love found in Jesus Christ, that would mean that such love eventually wins and persuades everyone.
It is not easy to say that in the end love will win and persuade everyone. By saying this, it seems to be impossible to prove and it can seem to minimize the willful evil conduct of so many people who seem to never want to be persuaded by love. It is such a great ideal that from our lives of living in a world full of willful evil, it is hard to believe.
But such an ideal does express what is desirable. Wouldn't it be nice if in the end love wins and love reconciles all things? For all people, for our nation, for our parish, our families and our own life. Wouldn't it be wonderful if everyone used their freedom to affirm that sacrificial love in Christ is the greatest?
What does it mean for love to win us and persuade us?
On the way to love winning all, which we cannot yet see, there many experiences of human freedom. Two of those experiences are conversion and rehabilitation. Conversion and rehabilitation are exemplified in lives of Peter and Saul of Tarsus about whom we've read today.
Now every experience of conversion and rehabilitation may not be as dramatic as Peter's and Paul's, but conversion and rehabilitation are events for us on our way to be completely won by God's love.
Conversion happens even to religious people. We are always committed or converted to the values of our lives. No one was more zealously religious than Saul of Tarsus. He was so religious that his belief included persecuting the people whom he thought were heretics. Saul of Tarsus thought that the followers of Jesus were heretics; what do you do with heretics? You persecute them and for most of history heretics were killed. Heretic usually means "something that you believe that I don't approve of." But wait? Isn't there a commandment of God about not killing? How could Saul of Tarsus be religious and be pursuing people to their deaths for mere religious disagreement? Saul of Tarsus snapped. He had a conversion experience. Saul had the first Damascus Road experience, because after he had it, it became a metaphor. Saul had an experience of the Risen Christ who asked Saul to quit persecuting him. Saul became the apostle Paul. He was a very religious person who had one of the biggest conversion events of history. You and I have perhaps been raised within religion, even to the point of being religious people. But we can still have conversion experiences. I have had quite a few conversion experiences, events which brought about significant paradigm shifts in how I have seen and defined the meaning of my life and my actions. As long as we are not completely converted to the God of love, we will continue to have conversion experiences, if we are sincerely seeking. We as individuals, as family members, as a parish and as a country are always in need of our next conversion as we wait for the love of God to become more winsomely persuasive.
Peter had what I call a rehabilitation experience with the risen Christ. Peter denied Jesus during his trial three times. In the resurrection appearance of Christ to Peter, Jesus allowed Peter to replace his three denials with three affirmations of love. This was an experience of rehabilitation of Peter.
We are often in need of rehabilitation. Sometimes we can become lazy in the practice of some important values that once were honored. Sometimes we disappoint ourselves by thinking that we are more committed than we actually practice. Peter loved and followed Jesus for about three years. He was proud and brash about his loyalty to Jesus. Yet when he feared for his life and when Jesus turned out to be a suffering servant Messiah and not a Military General Messiah, Peter sinned against his love for Jesus.
What did Jesus do? He rehabilitated Peter again in his love, grace and favor. How? He entrusted Peter to be a shepherd. He rehabilitated Peter by saying, go, and teach because you have learned from your mistakes.
As we are on our way to being fully persuaded about the sacrificial love of Christ, we will need moments of conversion and rehabilitation, as persons, as family members, as a parish family and as a nation.
Let us be thankful for these two repeating experiences of the Risen Christ. Conversion and rehabilitation toward the love of God. Let us be ready for conversion and rehabilitation in the love of God in Christ when it comes. Amen.
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