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"I Am Not Ashamed" I am honored to be here today with you as we remember those who have lived their lives faithfully, who have passed from this life into the reward that has been held for them in the Kingdom of God. Many of the names, I knew personally, of course, in this first year, there were some I did not. None-the-less, reading their names reminds me that we are born and we die into something that is much, much bigger than our selves, much much bigger than our preferences, our opinions, our human understanding. We are born from and die into the great mystery that is God, and the promise that God longs to be in relationship with God’s children, and does all that God can to make that happen. We read two brief passages from the book of Romans, Paul’s letter to the Roman church, and some scholars believe, his letter to all of the Christians outside of Jerusalem that Paul shepherded. It’s more than a letter really. Though written in letter form, it is Paul’s great, essay on the large themes of the gospel:
While most of Paul’s letters address a specific situation, such as the backsliding of the Galatian church or the bickering of the Corinthian church, in Romans, Paul is not concerned with a situation—he’s concerned with imparting his ideas about how we will come to be reconciled into a right relationship with God. Listen again to the first two verses we read this morning: “For I am not ashamed of the Gospel: it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith, to the Jew first, then to the Greek.” For in
the world, Paul sees ungodliness and wickedness. Lust and impurity. Shameless
acts. Evil, covetousness, malice. Envy, murder, strife, deceit, craftiness,
gossips, slanderers, God haters, insolent, haughty, boastful, foolish,
faithless, heartless, ruthless people. But, Paul says, “righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, 23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24but are justified freely by God’s grace through Christ Jesus.” Do you hear it? We deserve death, but all—now then—ALL who believe are justified freely by God’s grace through Jesus Christ. No wonder Paul was not ashamed of such a gospel! For this is a gospel that is available to ALL. A grace that frees ALL. A Savior that liberates ALL. I too, am not ashamed of such a gospel! I am not ashamed of the gospel… But I am ashamed of those who seek to limit the saving effect of Jesus for those who are suitable, acceptable and deserving. I am not ashamed of the gospel… But I am ashamed of those who order sin by rank of personal offense, forgetting that all sin is equally offensive to God. I am not ashamed of the gospel… But I am ashamed of those who proclaim a gospel of selection, rejection, bigotry, and intolerance, which reveals much more about them than it ever does of God. I am not ashamed of the gospel… But I am ashamed of those who stamp their own idealogical and political ideas with the word “Christian” as a way of creating an artificial moral argument. I am not ashamed of the gospel… And I still remember the day, I traded shame for God’s all inclusive love. It was Memorial Day, nearly a decade ago, when I was able to view a portion of the aids memorial quilt displayed in Wichita’s Century II exhibition hall. I say a portion, as the Aids Memorial quilt has not for some time been displayed in its entirety, for it has simply grown too large. For those who have seen it, know that the quilt is made up of large panels, 3 feet by 6 feet, 8 of which are sewn together to form 12 foot squares. Consisting now of more than 44,000 panels, it is the largest ongoing community arts project in the world. Each panel that makes up the Quilt memorializes the life of a person lost to AIDS. The 12 squares were laid out on the floor, with walkways between. People silently, solemnly walked among the quilt squares, viewing the panels. Each panel was unique and different, but nearly all of them consisted of symbols, photos and important words that helped the viewer understand something about the deceased person’s life. There were photographs, and poems. Rainbows, butterflies and flowers. And on each one, a name. Usually with two dates underneath. Something like, “Stephen—1966-1993.” I walked and was filled with sadness at the enormous symbol representing the loss of life. Each of these panels had been crafted by a loved one, a family member or a friend, perhaps a spouse or a child of the deceased. It was emotionally intense to walk among those squares. And then, I saw one panel that I will remember for all of my life. Sad to say, I no longer remember the name on it. Or the dates. There was little else on the panel. But I do remember 4 large block letter words that filled the panel. It was those four words that changed my life. Filled me with a sense of God’s amazing love and power to forgive and reconcile. Along with the young man’s name, the date of his birth and the date of his death were these words: Simply, “I AM A WHOSOEVER.” I am a whosoever. Immediately, my mind began the recitation. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.”Or as the apostle Paul told us, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: “For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith." I am not ashamed. Amen. |
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