John 17:1-11

Jesus, raising his eyes in prayer, said:

“Father, it’s time. Display the bright splendor of your Son so the Son in turn may show your bright splendor. You put him in charge of everything human so he might give real and eternal life to all in his charge.

And this is the real and eternal life:
That they know you,
The one and only true God,
And Jesus Christ, whom you sent.

I glorified you on earth by completing down to the last detail what you assigned me to do. And now, Father, glorify me with your very own splendor, the very splendor I had in your presence before there was a world.

I spelled out your character in detail to the men and women you gave me. They were yours in the first place; then you gave them to me, and they have now done what you said. They know now, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that everything you gave me is firsthand from you, for the message you gave me, I gave them; and they took it, and were convinced that I came from you. They believed that you sent me.

I pray for them. I’m not praying for the God-rejecting world but for those you gave me, for they are yours by right. Everything mine is yours, and yours mine, and my life is on display in them. For I’m no longer going to be visible in the world; they’ll continue in the world while I return to you.

Holy Father, guard them as they pursue this life that you conferred as a gift through me, so they can be one heart and mind as we are one heart and mind.”

What was Jesus doing?

That might seem like a basic and elementary question but it’s one of the most important questions Jesus-followers can ask. What, exactly, was Jesus doing?

In today’s gospel Jesus tells us exactly what he was doing. He was giving “real and eternal life to all in his charge.” (And since, in the sentence immediately preceding, Jesus claimed he has charge of everyone, that means he was giving real and eternal life to everyone.)

Jesus has given us real and eternal life! That’s great news! But it’s great news in the same way that it’s great news to hear someone tell us “You’ve won a prize.” Our initial excitement and dopamine rush gives way to the important second question: “What prize? What, exactly did I win?”

What, exactly, is real and eternal life?

Jesus answers simply: real and eternal life is that you know the one and only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one sent by God.

To know God is to enjoy real and eternal life. The entirety of Jesus’ earthly purpose was to help us to know God.

Every insight about the kingdom of Heaven,

every overturned temple market table,

every parable about seeds and lost things,

every physical healing,

every social norm broken,

every jug of water turned to wine,

every prayer to the Father,

every endured lash and drop of blood,

every promise of forgiveness…

...everything Jesus said and did was a reflection of the true nature and identity of the divine.

What was Jesus doing? He was showing us that the world is in the hands of a God who is actively, competently, and compassionately caring for all creation.

In studying the works of philosopher Dallas Willard I encountered a claim of his that, to be frank, I found offensive. He claims “The world is a perfectly safe place for us to be; and if we place ourselves in God’s care, no harm can come to us.” (The Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard).

Maybe that suggestion rubs you the wrong way also. I mean, it’s not even safe for us to gather in our church building.

Dallas Willard follows his provocative phrase with some important nuance. He says harm is different from hurt and clarifies that Christ-followers are not immune to the pain and suffering that exists in this world; however, this pain and suffering are not from God and they will do nothing to negate God’s promises of ultimate grace, love, hope, and peace. This is simply a reinforcement of the scriptural promise of Romans 8:39 that there is nothing in the world that can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.

Jesus believed that the world was a perfectly safe place for him. He had faith that he lived in God’s care and he was never in harm’s way. Pain and suffering? Yes, he felt that in abundance as he navigated the landmines of human sin, greed, fear, and lust for power. Yet, through it all, he was able to see that God was in control, believe that he was loved, and be so filled with God’s grace that he could share it with everyone.

Jesus’ earthly purpose was to help us to know God. We can know God by looking to and emulating our teacher, Jesus. We can live the same life that Jesus lived; we can have Jesus’ faith, Jesus’ assurance, and Jesus’ love.

At this point I think a sermon illustration is in order. Now, I need to offer a word of caution up front. I was taught in preaching classes to be careful about sermon illustrations because they can easily take over the sermon and be the only thing people remember.

I am about to show you something and I don’t want this to be the only thing you remember about my message this morning. I hope that you will remember both the illustration and the larger point about how we can look to Jesus to know about God and to trust that the world is a perfectly safe place for us to be.

This is Obi, our new puppy.

Obi is two months old and has been a part of our family for two days now. In the weeks leading up to getting Obi I read a dog training book about positive reinforcement (Training the Best Dog Ever by Larry Kay and Dawn Sylvia-Stasiewicz) and came across a few sentences that struck me as beautiful theological insights. The authors, write,

“...the bottom line is that a dog is a living, breathing creation of God that desires love and security.”

“A well-trained dog that is truly connected to his owner will feel happy and safe, and have more success in our human world.”

“Good leaders don’t have to act like bullies to command respect–not in the human world or in the dog pack. Pet dogs don’t need to be bullied to become your loyal follower. Pet dogs love to follow leaders who provide food, shelter, and safety; leaders they see as benevolent and fair.”

By virtue of nothing other than his being a creation of God, Obi deserves to feel happy, safe, and successful. The way he will feel happy, safe, and successful is if his human family meets his needs and acts benevolent and fair. If he feels loved and safe, then we will have done our jobs as his dog-parents.

Everything we do in our training regimen is an attempt to reinforce the idea for Obi that his world is a perfectly safe place for him to be. We cannot promise Obi that his life will be free from pain. At some point in his life he will experience hurt; but we can promise him that we will do everything we can to make him feel loved and safe.

My friends, allow yourselves for a minute to think of yourselves gazing upon your master (the way, hopefully, Obi will learn to look at me). Gaze upon your master who promises that you are loved and safe. This master provides your food, shelter and safety. This master is benevolent and fair. You feel happy, safe, and successful in the presence of your master. Your mistakes are not met with painful punishment at the hands of your master; but instead are met with a gentle reorientation to the correct path. Your hard work and faithfulness do nothing to gain your master’s favor because you are already highly favored. Your hard work and faithfulness are simply the automatic responses to your master’s loving actions. That’s a good life.

Jesus insists that the good life for you and I is to know the master--the one and only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one sent by God.

This world is a perfectly safe place for you to be because it is in the hands of a God who is actively, competently, and compassionately caring for you. Allow that image of God’s goodness to take hold of your heart, as it did for Jesus, and you will have the gift of real and eternal life.

Amen.

Matthew 18:21-35

Then Peter came and said to him, “Lord, if any member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?” And Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.

“For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. When he began the reckoning, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him; and, as he could not pay, his lord ordered him to be sold, together with his wife and children and all of his possessions, and payment to be made. So the slave fell on his knees before him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ And out of pity for him, the lord of that slave released him and forgave him the debt.

But that same slave, as he went out, came upon one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii; and seizing him by the throat, he said, ‘Pay what you owe.’ Then his fellow slave fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me and I will pay you.’ But he refused; then he went and threw him into prison until he would pay the debt.

When his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their lord all that had taken place. Then his lord summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked slave! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. Should you not have had mercy on your fellow slave, as I had mercy on you?’ And in anger his lord handed him over to be tortured until he would pay his entire debt. So my heavenly father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”

I heard a quotation, just last week, that I knew would be meaningful for today’s occasion:

“Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened.” The words come from a journalist, Anatole France, about whom I know next to nothing else. But this little gem was enough to make me believe I would have liked the guy. “Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened.”

I’ve told myself before – and maybe even said out loud more than once – that I’m inclined to like most people – to give anyone and everyone the benefit of the doubt. But, you have an even better chance with me, if you like dogs and can appreciate the music of the Indigo Girls. We’re good, either way, don’t get me wrong – and Jesus still loves you no matter what, of course – but for my money, a love for dogs and/or an affinity for the music and message of the Indigo Girls say a lot to me about the nature and character of a person. But since we’re blessing pets this morning, I’ll leave the Indigo Girls for another day.

“Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened.”

And, in keeping with the appointed Gospel for today, loving an animal – particularly, perhaps, a dog- or a cat- kind of animal – is good practice at the work of forgiveness, right?

Our house is filled with reminders of all the ways and reasons we have to forgive, Stella, the pound-puppy we rescued at Christmas-time about 8 years ago:

The kitchen chairs are still splintered enough to snag your socks from where she chewed them, that first Spring. There’s a bald spot on the carpet up the stairway, from another chewing fit she had sometime just within the last six-months. And, of course, there aren’t enough candles or essential oils or scented wax burners to convince Christa that our house doesn’t smell like a zoo, thanks to Stella. (Of course, I think Max and Jack are as much to blame for that as the dog is.)

Still, all of it – the constant reminders of Stella’s sins and the imperfection of life with a pet – is an invitation to either keep score and carry a grudge, or to let go and forgive her transgressions, with thanksgiving, instead, for the joy and companionship she brings, in spite of all the rest.

“Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unwakened.”

Because we need all the practice we can get when it comes to forgiveness, don’t we? And animals like Stella give us practice for what really matters when it comes to forgiving our human brothers and sisters in the world. Just like Peter, we want to know how much forgiveness is enough. How little of it can we get away with? How much grace is too much grace, lest we be made a fool, or be taken advantage of, in some way?

Well, Jesus seems to say there’s no such thing as too much forgiveness. There’s no such thing as too much grace, where God is concerned. Which is easier for the Son of God to say, then it is for most of the rest of us, you have to admit. And he tells that story about the slave and the Lord and the debt he was forgiven, to remind us that each of us is, or has been, or will be forgiven prolifically in this life and the next, so that we might be inspired – if not commanded – to extend the same kind of abundant grace and prolific forgiveness to others as we go.

Back to that quotation: “Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened.”

As much as I love that – and as true as I believe it to be – Jesus’ parable makes me want to turn it around to say even more:

“Until one has been loved by an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened.”

What I mean is, I think the Gospel of God’s kind of grace and mercy and forgiveness is there, somewhere.

“Until one has been loved by an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened.”

Because no matter how much Stella, the hound at my house, is scolded... No matter how contrite and sad and shamed she feels when she has done wrong... No matter how guilty we make her feel for his misdeeds – or how long we make her wait for dinner; or how much time she spends waiting for someone to come home; or how boring it must be to be a dog in our house a lot of the time, Stella’s love for her people is consistent, constant, unconditional and unwavering in ways most of the humans I know are incapable of offering.

To be loved that way – to be loved by the cats and dogs and creatures that surround us now – is an image of the kind of love Jesus describes and lives and dies for and is raised to new life to inspire in those of us who try to follow him.

We are to receive the fullness of God’s grace and mercy – we are to know we are loved so fully by our creator – that we offer the same measure of that grace, mercy and love to the world around us.

And when we do – when we receive that kind of love in ways that inspire us to offer it up – not just to our pets when it’s easy, but to each other and to all of God’s people, especially when it is not – our souls will be awakened; our lives and the lives of others will be transformed; and our world will change for the glory of God, thanks to the grace we share in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen

A Perfectly Safe Place for God's People...and Puppies!

"Loving Animals = Awakening Souls" - Matthew 18:21-35