Glory Shmory

 

I want to try something new today.  I want to begin my sermon with a little “Intern Pastor to congregation” interaction.  Now, don’t worry, I’ll keep the newness within the confines of our wonderful Lutheran culture.  We won’t be clapping hands, or shouting Amen or halleluiah (unless you want to) or doing anything crazy like that.  I want you to do something very small and very quiet.  I want you to all close your eyes.  Now, this isn’t an invitation to take a nap, this is an exercise of the imagination.

 

Keep your eyes closed.  I invite you now to think about what it means to be glorified.  More specifically I want you to imagine what Jesus Christ looks like when He is glorified.  What is he wearing? Shining robes and golden crowns, or jeans and a t-shirt?  Where is he located? On the puffy clouds of heaven, or on littered streets?  Who surrounds Him? Is he alone in His glory, are there angels serenading Him, or is He being hurt or beaten by Roman Soldiers?   Hold whatever image you have now in your minds and remember it.  Now, open your eyes and nudge your neighbor just in case he or she fell asleep. 

 

 

 

Now, I do not want to speak for everybody here by any means, but I would guess that for someof us, when we imagined Christ being glorified we probably imagined a shining Jesus, a powerful Jesus, a Jesus that enjoys constant worship.  Images such as this would probably fit into our natural human understanding of glory.  We naturally picture one who is glorified as somehow set apart from us regular, ordinary people.  Those who bring glory to themselves or to their countries are Olympic athletes, decorated soldiers, or charismatic political leaders.  We naturally picture a person who is glorified as somehow holier, wiser, and better-looking than us average Joes.  And this is why glory is so intoxicating and inviting for us. 

 

I mean, who here would not relish the opportunity to be wiser, holier, better-looking, wealthier, or more talented?  Who here wouldn’t love a dose of a little more glory?  I have a twin brother, and when you’re a twin people are constantly asking which twin is better at sports, or at school, or at whatever.  (Of course, the answer was always “myself,”) but the point is that the pursuit for personal glory is a very common human urge and desire. 

But in our Gospel for today, we discover that Christ’s glorification means much more than praise, adoration, shiny new clothes, or more talent.  In the beginning of the gospel, John says that among those who went to worship at the Passover festival were some outsiders, some Greeks, who went up to Phillip and asked if they could see Jesus.  Phillip then told Jesus that there were some Greeks there to see Him, and Jesus said, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified!”  This is the first time in John’s Gospel that explicit outsiders are said to have come in search of Jesus, and this is the first time that Jesus proclaims that now, finally, it is time for Him to be glorified.    Later on, Jesus prays to his Father saying, “Father, glorify your name,” and God speaks back saying, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” 

So what does this tell us about Christ and his glory?  Jesus Christ was glorified only when his ministry gathered in all people, outsiders and insiders, Jews and Greeks, saints and sinners, you and me.  Let me say that again: Jesus is glorified only when he has gathered all people to Himself.

What does this mean for us?  This means that we don’t have a God who is glorified by being Holier then us, His creation.  This means that we don’t have a God who delights in being “on top” while His creation remains “on the bottom.”  This means that we don’t have a God who is contented to shine brightly next to our dimness.  This means that we do have a God who is glorified only when that glory is finally shared with God’s people.

 

In other words, today, right here and now, As a result of Christ’s death on the cross we too have been glorified, we too possess exactly what Christ possesses:  an unchanging, everlasting, relationship of love with our God that is bound so tightly that nothing, not even our own sin, can break it!  You have all been called into this loving relationship with God.  You all have a share of Christ’s glory. 

 

But if we look around, we’ll notice that nobody here is dressed in shining clothes.  Nobody here is wearing a golden crown.  Most likely nobody here after hearing of God’s promise of a loving relationship grew more talented.  Apparently, the glory that Christ shares with us, that gift of a loving relationship with our God, does not glorify us according to worldly standards.

 

You see worldly glory seeks to set another person above the world.  Jesus’ glory seeks to lift the world up to where He is. 

 

That means that the glory we share with God through Christ will most likely not make us more popular.  It most likely won’t fatten our bank accounts.  It most likely won’t even make our friends and our family members think we’re cooler.     

 

And thank God for that!  If the glory Christ gives us were worldly glory, then we would be lost.  You see, worldly glory fades.  Shiny clothes get dirty, golden crowns become dented and rusty, bank accounts dwindle, and talent, all talent, inevitably fades.  The glory Christ shares with us may not be flashy like our human glory, but it does last.  Once claimed as a child of God, always claimed as a child of God. 

 

I just visited my Grandpa in Bismarck, ND who is dying from cancer.  He told my family and I this weekend that he is o.k.  He said that he has lived for 86 years without any major health problems and he has solid relationships with friends and family who he dearly loves and who dearly love him, and he has his faith.  He has had a wonderful life.  He knows that God claimed him throughout his life, and that God will claim him when He is gone (I asked him if he would like to come back with me and preach on Sunday). 

 

In my Grandpa, I witnessed faith working in the front lines of our human experience.  That is, faith facing death (it does not get harder than that).  And in his last days, it is his faith that he now looks to for hope, for joy, and for a sense of completeness to his life.  He is not concentrating on how much money he made, or about the social ladders that he had to climb.  He is concentrating on his family and on his God, and He has the wonderful comfort of knowing that both his family and his God are holding him. 

 

If Jesus Christ gave us worldly glory than my Grandpa would not be content right now as his life is ending because, as I mentioned earlier, worldly glory fades.  It cannot support us at the front lines of life’s tough experiences, such as death.  Jesus gave him something that would last.  Its not as shiny, its not as flashy, but it is permanent, and it cannot be taken from him.  It is his relationship with his God.

 

Jesus gave you the same gift 2000 years ago on the cross.  It may not be shiny, it may not be flashy, but it is yours, and it can never be taken from you.  Enjoy your gift. 

 

Amen

Let us Pray.