Easter 3A 2023-- Rethinking Holiness

Text: “22 Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, 23 since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; 24 for “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, 25 but the word of the Lord remains forever.” And this word is the good news that was preached to you.” (1 Peter 1:22-25)

‘Self-denial’ v. Love

This morning’s readings are a good opportunity to think about holiness. What is the ‘path’ to holiness? How do you seek it? What do you do to be holy?

I think it’s fair to say that the most common answer today would be along the lines of ‘self-denial’. Being ‘holy’ is about tightly controlling what you do and don’t do. The more you do that, the ‘holier’ you are. But, as we’ll see, that’s not actually how it works.

I still remember Pastor Bahr’s description of how he came to be Lutheran. He wasn’t born into a Lutheran family. He grew up Methodist. And he often described that, as a young teenager, all he had learned about what it meant to be christian was that “you don’t smoke, don’t chew, and you don’t go with girls who do.” That’s why the Lutheran pastor he encountered made such a huge impression when he simply laid out the Gospel for the young Pastor Bahr’s school class.

Ironically, the congregation Pastor Bahr grew up in was very ‘practical’. They spent a great deal of time and effort focusing on what the Christian life should look like. And they ended up missing something really important.

This past week I shared a story at our Lutheran Laymen’s League meeting about a man named Gene. Gene was known for how loving he was to everyone. “Gene was so unhurried, so gracious, so attentive. It was as if whomever he was talking to was the most-important person in the world. This was[, reportedly,] something to behold. All these years later, ...it was Gene’s way with people—more than anything else—that ...stuck with [people] the most.

“[Gene once shared how he came to be that way. He] had grown up an “elitist,” as he put it. ...Gene ...had grown up in a small town in rural Colorado, but had excelled early in life. He claimed he had read every book in the library of his small town before graduating from high school, and the more educated Gene became, the more elevated his tastes became. And so, as Gene narrated the story, by the time he entered college, he was an elitist: he attributed worth to people based on their wealth, their education, their clothing, their standing in society. And he treated people accordingly” (Everts, Don. “Everyone Is a Gift.” www.lhm.com)

So what changed about Gene? Well, He became a Christian.

He didn’t grow up Christian. He starting to explore it during college. He became more and more captivated by the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. He was almost to the point of confessing his faith when he decided to talk to a recent convert for insight. He heard about a man who had converted about a year earlier. “So, Gene pulled this young man aside and asked him, “Is it true that you are a new Christian?”

“The young man smiled and nodded. “Oh, yeah!”

“And so, Gene asked him, “Can you describe for me what has changed in your life because you are a Christian?”

“The young man nodded and responded without much hesitation. “Sure. Well, now I don’t smoke or cuss or play card games anymore.”

“Gene leaned forward as he related the next part of that conversation. “I told him: Don’t tease me! I’m serious. I’m really seeking and want to know. How is your life different now because you are a follower of this Jesus?”

“Apparently, his new friend looked confused and asked, “Well, what do you mean?”

“And Gene’s response reflected all the reading in the Gospels he had been doing: “Well, for example, this Jesus said that if you could trade your life for all the treasures in the universe, you’d be getting a bad deal! Think about that: He is implying that a human life is of infinite value: worth more than all the cash and jewels and gold bars and vacation homes and stock options, and all of it!”

The young man nodded slowly, “So ...”

Gene went on, “So, it seems to me that if you follow this Jesus who believes that every single human life is worth more than all the treasures in the world ... well, it seems that would change how you treat people.”

Gene saw what many of us struggle to see: that following Jesus would mean believing Jesus when He said that every human being was of infinite value. It would mean seeing everyone as full of worth and dignity. It would mean treating people accordingly.

And that’s exactly what happened. Gene became a Christian, and that transformed, forever, how he saw the people around him. Gene’s unhurried, gentle, kind way with all sorts of people was a natural outworking of God transforming how Gene saw people (Everts).

Holiness is not about self-denial. It’s about love.

The problem with the way you and I usually pursue holiness is that it ends up being something selfish.

I’ve probably shared this story with you before, but it’s very relevant to today’s thought. Another pastor shared an experience he had growing up. He and his family had just moved into a new town. Not long after they moved into their new house, another boy from down the block invited him to church the following Sunday. He was kind of excited by the invitation. Maybe he was making a new friend. Sunday came and he showed up at church with the boy from down the block. That excitement died when they started handing out prizes to the children who had brought a friend to church that day. Suddenly the invitation didn’t seem so exciting. It wasn’t ever about him. It was about winning the prize.

Our kind of holiness ends up being something incredibly selfish. And those who pursue holiness through some kind of self-denial have already received their reward.

It’s common to see holiness as a matter of cleaning up your language— and it is, sort of. At the same time, “1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal” (1 Corinthians 13:1).

It’s common to see holiness as a matter of learning your Bible better and better— and it is. At the same time, “2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:2).

It’s common to see holiness as giving to those in need— and it is. At the same time, “3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:3).

If you have carefully trained yourself not to use “four letter words” any more, but you don’t bat an eye at the chance to gossip or complain, then you’re a clanging cymbal.

You regularly show how generous you are. When different needs come up— like a new roof, for example— they’re taken care of easily. The angel tree at Christmas time always gets a phenomenal response. All of that is fantastic. At the same time, if those families who are getting those angel tree gifts walked through those doors on a Sunday morning, would you even say hello? Unless you can honestly say yes, then, ultimately, your generosity gains nothing.

Our kind of holiness ends up being something incredibly selfish. And those who pursue holiness that way have already received their reward.

Jesus’ Love

That’s why it really is remarkable to see the love that filled everything that Jesus did. Just over two weeks ago we remembered all that Jesus suffered, all that He was willing to endure. And I pray that we saw clearly that all of it was an expression of His love.

For me, personally, the moment in those readings that always gets to me a little bit is the way St. John introduces his account of our Lord’s Passion— of His suffering and death. “Jesus knew that His hour had come…,” John writes before summing up everything that was about to happen by writing: “Having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end” (John 13:1).

We often talk about Jesus going to the cross in perfect obedience to the Father’s will. And this is true. At the same time, there really can be no better summary for everything that happened during Holy Week than that simple statement: “He loved them to the end.” All of it— from the Last Supper to the moment the stone was rolled in front of His tomb— all of it cries out one thing: “He loved them—loved you— to the end.” “For God loved the world in this way: He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

His suffering and death was, from start to finish, perfect, complete, undiluted love for you, “26 that he might sanctify [you], having cleansed [you] by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present [you] to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that [you] might be holy and without blemish” (Ephesians 5:26-27).

You were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot (1 Peter 1:18-19). Having been washed, cleansed, sanctified, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God (1 Peter 1:22-23). That is true holiness.

Put away coarse talk from among you (Eph. 5:4); let there be no filthiness or crude joking; let there be no grumbling, anger, or quarreling. Let your words be filled with nothing but love.

Let nothing hold you back from learning God’s word more deeply because it is the imperishable seed by which you have been born again; it is the living and abiding word of God. It, alone, remains forever.

Let your giving be just the final expression of the love you show to those right here— the love you show to everyone who walks in those doors.

Be holy as the Lord your God is holy.