THE DEFINING MOMENT OF GOD’S LOVE

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son...." John 3:16

Sociologist identify "defining moments" for generations, especially when generations "come of age."  If I asked you to choose a defining moment in your generation, what would you say? 

I'm a part of the first wave Baby-Boomer Generation. I suppose there were many defining moments for my generation, beginning with the assassination of JFK.   It was a time of hope and our nation grieved for a magnificent dream unrealized. That November Day in 1963 shaped a generation. It was followed by the assassinations of Martin Luther King and RFK. Also in the list are the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights Movement, the Beatles, the Feminist Movement, Woodstock, the Jesus Movement, campus protests and riots, Flower Children and the Sexual Revolution. Anti-establishment children left their homes, young men fled to Canada.  We were a nation divided; a generation marked!

For my parent's generation, when they came of age, it was the depression and WWII. The Depression had a profound impact on anybody who lived through it. Depression Age people are extremely conscious of not being wasteful of anything, especially food. I remember not one crumb of food being wasted in our household growing up. Every leftover was eventually consumed or reappeared in some weird reconstituted conglomeration of leftovers.

For Generation X'ers, those now between the ages of early thirties and forties, they were unique in that there were few life shaping events that impacted the generation coming of age on a large scale.

For the generation currently coming of age, they have Columbine, the frenzied materialism of the 90's, 9-11, and the war with Iraq.  What effect will this have upon them as they come of age? 

Defining Moments are not limited to generations and sweeping events.  Everybody in this room this morning has been affected by deeply personal defining moments; those moments, times and events that have affected us in profound ways. If you reflect upon it, what are your defining moments? How have they affected you?  What have they done to you?

- the defining moment of a betrayal or rejection may have you angry and bitter and afraid to risk with anyone again.

- the defining moment of a tragic loss, a spouse, a parent, a friend makes you wonder if you'll know joy again.

- the defining moment of illness or injury has convinced you that the best days of life are now behind you.

- the defining moment of relocation has left you feeling lonely and feeling heavy grief that you'll never recapture the goodness of what you had in the previous place.

- the defining moment of regret or guilt over something that continues to haunt you.

- the defining moment of unfairness or injustice has rendered you cynical about a lot of things. You don't like feeling that way, but you seem to be trapped in it.

What are your defining moments, and how have or are those moments shaping you for better or worse?

Jesus died on the cross, executed as a common criminal with two other criminals alongside of him. When it happened, it was not a historically sweeping defining moment. It was scarcely noticed. It was just another execution; cheap, cruel Roman entertainment for the afternoon. He died and nothing changed. His death was barely a blip on the radar screen, quite forgettable and unremarkable; certainly not a generational defining moment. Except for some women at the foot of his cross and disciples in hiding, few mourned, some gained perverse pleasure, some disillusioned, most didn’t care much.  There was no press report; no news briefing; no shocked nation. No one knew.

The religious leaders rejoiced that this rabble rouser was eliminated.   The disciples had fled and returned to their former occupations, hauling nets, collecting taxes and pounding nails.  The political leaders just wanted to get rid of a trouble-maker.  The soldiers gambled for his clothes.  Many people were thoroughly disillusioned that he didn't live up to their expectations.

But as time wore on things began to change. After his rising he very intimately and personally encounters his friends and disciples. They saw he was still alive, but in a whole new way! They began to see and understand that his death and rising had released into human life a power the likes of which the world had never seen, a love, purpose and hope that nothing could discourage and snuff out. Little by little he began to make a difference in their lives. The found themselves empowered like never before, and before they knew it his death and rising had become the "defining moment" of their lives.

Do we know? Do we understand that the defining moment for every Christian is when we stand at the foot of the cross of Jesus Christ and receive the forgiveness, love and grace that flows from there?  Have you encountered Christ in a way that affirms Jesus was not merely a good man, but as your Lord and Savior who died for the sins of the world, for your sins and for mine?   "God so loved the world that he gave his only Son..."

Love is word that includes so many emotions and actions that we must qualify it. If the cross of Jesus is the defining moment for every Christian then we must understand just what kind of love it is that flows from there.     

Sometimes by love we mean something that resembles love for equals - a friend for a friend; a sibling for a sibling; a neighbor for a neighbor. The love of equals is to love what is beautiful and lovely. It's a warm kind of love that adds much to our daily lives and puts a smile on our faces. It's one of the marvelous ways that we experience love.

Sometimes by love we mean romantic love. This kind of love is hot and passionate and can ultimately lead to great intimacy and satisfaction. In the context of commitment this kind of love can foster a deep level of soul sharing and building a life together that yields great fulfillment.

Sometimes by love we mean compassion - the love of those who suffer; for those who are poor; the oppressed; the sick, the lonely; the unlovely. This kind of love touches the heart and soul of the world. It gives the world a heart.

Sometimes love takes the shape of loving the more fortunate. This kind of love is very unusual. This is love for those who succeed where you fail; rejoicing with others without envy or jealousy. It is the love of the loser for the winner; the failure for the successful; the poor for the rich. Whenever this kind of love is expressed the world is confused because it is so rare and so unusual: true humility!

God's love is certainly reflected in all these kinds of love. But none of these and all of these together still do not adequately express God’s love.  The Bible has a special word for God’s love: "agape."   Agape is the love that flows from the blood of the cross. It is love for the enemy. It is love for those who do not love you, but mock you, threaten you, hurt you, hate you, inflict pain upon you, and crucify you! It's the tortured’ love for the torturer; the innocent victim’s love for the executioner; the hurt-ee’s love for the hurt-or.  This is the love which makes no sense to the world whatsoever and is written off as pure foolishness.  But, this is the love that can conquer the world and transform a life.

This is the love that you and I simply cannot generate. This is a love that you and I cannot call forth from somewhere inside of us, because it is not there; not by our own efforts. This is the love that only comes from God.

That is the kind of love with which God loves the world. It is costly and it is crazy, but yet "God so loves the world that he gave his only Son...",  even and especially when our love fails and we posture ourselves in some way as God's enemies and nail Jesus to the cross all over again. Since we cannot love like that but only through Jesus Christ, we can begin to understand how totally incredible God's love really is.

The world is in desperate need to know the "defining moment" of the cross, but the world will only know if we each make the cross the "defining moment" of our lives.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son...."

When Christianity and the Christian lose touch with the love that flows from the cross, Christianity becomes grotesque and evil; cut off from its very life source, that which makes the Christian way unique among the religions of the world.   

This past week in Denver we have all had a good unmasked look at what Christianity looks like cut off from the agape love that flows from the cross of Jesus.  It becomes monstrous and corrupt.  On the front pages of our newspaper we’ve seen the group from Topeka, Kansas picketing the funerals of fallen soldiers waving their placards of hate and contempt, pronouncing judgment in the name of God, quoting scripture out of context, using for their hateful purposes, citing that the deaths of soldiers are punishment upon our nation for condoning homosexuality.

We tend to look to the other side of the world to see what people will do in the name of religion, blowing themselves up and taking as many with them as possible as being sanctioned by their God.  But we do not have to look that far.  We can look into our own community, and I would say even into our own hearts, to see the fear, contempt and disdain for others that lives deep underneath, if ever so latently, ready to explode in some way, using any means to justify our hate, even God if we can.  

The picture of Christianity disconnected from the broken body of flowing blood of the cross of Jesus is not a pretty picture, and it is as dangerous and destructive as anything on this planet.

“For God so loved the world, that God gave the only begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but have everlasting life.”  That is not a weapon to bash people with, but the most astounding promise every given, a promise to base your life upon; a love to share with all others.     I close with two thoughts. 

First, Christians are people who freely confess we cannot love like that; we cannot call up from within ourselves, for even a moment the radical kind of love that flows from the cross of Jesus Christ.

Second, Christians are also people who believe that when we open our lives to Jesus Christ through faith, he can love through us with agape love.    It is through your life and mine, and our lives together through faith, that God’s love becomes real for the world to see; so the world might have hope; might have life; might live without fear; might be reconciled.    Amen.