Lift Off!
Dr. Jon Burnham preached this sermon from Luke 7:36-8:3 on June 17, 2007 at Batesville Presbyterian Church
"Do you want to ride in my beautiful balloon? We can fly! We can fly!" We were flying high at the church this week in our Vacation Bible School. The ceiling of the Recreation Room wsa filled with rainbow colored hot air balloons the children made in their crafts class. The sanctuary was filled with cries of "Lift Off!" as the children sang the VBS theme song. "Soaring to new heights with God; everybody elevate up off the ground. Lift off!"
We want to soar in our spritual lives. We want to soar to new heights with God. We want to elevate up off the ground. Our scripture this morning teaches us how God's love will lift us up! Lift us a little bit higher. Jesus is the wind beneath our wings. The key to lift off is falling out of our ourselves and into God's love. Without the heavy baggage of our false selves, our true selves lift off. As Jesus said, "My yoke is easy and my burden is light." Jesus invites us into a relationship that will lift us up to God.
We need to be lifted up out of the bondage of our cultural conditioning. That was certainly true of the religious leader at whose home Jesus was eating. He went to the religious leader's house and sat down at the dinner table. Just then a woman of the village, the town harlot, having learned that Jesus was a guest in the home of the Pharisee, came with a bottle of very expensive perfume and stood at his feet, weeping, raining tears on his feet. Letting down her hair, she dried his feet, kissed them, and anointed them with the perfume. When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, "If this man was the prophet I thought he was, he would have known what kind of woman this is who is falling all over him."
Then Jesus does something extraordinary. He says, "Simon, I have something to say to you." That sounds like such a simple thing but it is very profound when we reflect upon it. This shows us that Jesus wants to communicate with us. He calls us by name and he has something to say to us. This is a radical message indeed. Jesus wants to speak to us. He calls us by name. Jesus invites us into a relationship that will lift us up to God.
Of course we want to respond to Jesus' special invitation to us. Our story tells us how to respond to Jesus' invitation. We repond as did the religious leader, we say, "Teacher, speak." Jesus then tells a story that carries a heavy punch.
Jesus says, "Two men were in debt to a banker. One owed five hundred silver pieces, the other fifty. Neither of them could pay up, and so the banker canceled both debts. Which of the two would be more grateful?"
Simon answered, "I suppose the one who was forgiven the most."
"That's right," said Jesus. Then turning to the woman, but speaking to Simon, he said, "Do you see this woman? I came to your home; you provided no water for my feet, but she rained tears on my feet and dried them with her hair. You gave me no greeting, but from the time I arrived she hasn't quit kissing my feet. You provided nothing for freshening up, but she has soothed my feet with perfume. Impressive, isn't it? She was forgiven many, many sins, and so she is very, very grateful. If the forgiveness is minimal, the gratitude is minimal."
Then he spoke to her: "I forgive your sins."
That set the dinner guests talking behind his back: "Who does he think he is, forgiving sins!"
He ignored them and said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you. Go in peace." (The Message)
Your sins are forgiven. If Jesus could say that to a woman of ill repute, surely he says that to us as well. Without our sins, we soar to new heights with God. Lift off! Whenever we get serious about entering into a relationship with God, the Lord throws our sins overboard like a bunch of unnecessary sand bags and we soar up and away with Christ. Lift off!
And the fun thing is that we do not travel alone. There are other folks on this journey with us. Our story finds Jesus continuing according to plan, traveling to town after town, village after village, preaching God's kingdom, spreading the Message. The Twelve were with him. There were also some women in their company who had been healed of various evil afflictions and illnesses: Mary, the one called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out; Joanna, wife of Chuza, Herod's manager; and Susanna—along with many others who used their considerable means to provide for the company.
This is not merely an individual enterprise. We are called to support the community of Jesus which is the church. We are called to provide for the church out of our resources. (Luke 8:3) It is amazing what we can do as a Christian community when we provide for the church of our resources.
If you've read our church newsletter in the past few weeks you've seen lists of names of people who have been providing for Christ's church out of their resources. This week, once again, we have blessed by the gifts of many people. Thanks to all the volunteers who helped make our VBS a huge success this year! The list includes members and friends of the church.
Directors: Debi Honnoll, Teresa Brasell
Pres-school: Susan Hardy, Hunter Brock, Jade Henry, Brittany Long, Karlee Woods
Kindergarten: Cathryn McKee, Sarah Ashton Baker, Will Dickins, Ty Ferguson
1st & 2nd Grade: Beth Garner, Paulette Norman, Calvin Hawkins, Lindsey Henry, Jake Rogers
3rd & 4th Grade: Amanda Lee, Chris Cummins, Austin Smith
Recreation: Beth Honnoll, Beth Little, Michelle Mundroff, John Hendren, J.J. Kilpatrick
Decorations: Jana Burnham, Nicole Risner, Debi Honnoll, Teresa Brasell, Beth Garner, Paulette Norman, Andrew Garner, Rob Henry
Music: Susie Van Dyke, Mary Lynn Lewis, Emma Pittman
Bible Story: Fred Henry, Haley Williams, Scott Honnoll, Jon Burnham, Nicole Risner, Mary Lynn Lewis, Emma Pittman
Refreshments: Andrea Staten (Director), Susan Lewis, Christy Waldrup, Teresa Myers Suzan Graves, Brennan Baker, Jade Henry, Adam Cummins
Snack Providers: Christy Waldrup, Teresa Myers, Susan Lewis, Billie Garner, Meg Woods, Paulette Norman, Alison McCord, Mandy Henry, Sara Helen Ware, Connie Baker, Jake Kidder, Margaret Nix, Lucille Monk, Rita Herron, Rebecca Reed
DVD Operators: Brennan Baker, Adam Cummings
Stairmasters: Adam Cummins, Will Dickins, Levi Wilson
Assembly: Jade Henry, John Hendren
Crafts: Jana Burnham, Jennifer Burnham, Daniel Lightsey, Charley Ann Nix
As you can tell, we had a lot of support at Vacation Bible School. And that is merely the latest example of how we work together in Jesus' name. By working together and providing for the common good, we can soar to new heights with God. That was true of Jesus' original followers and it is true for us today. When we work together in the church we soar to new heights with God.
