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Sunday, May 30, 2004
Sermon: "Accountable to One Another and Answerable to God"
Scripture: John 14:23-29
Reverend Larry Gerber

His name is Homer Sewell, but total strangers tend to call him "Abe." One look at the man, and you know exactly why: Homer Sewell bears a spooky resemblance to Abraham Lincoln.

This all started about 30 years ago in Orlando, Florida, when Sewell grew a beard and schoolchildren suddenly began to call him "Abe." He completed the effect by adding a black suit and stovepipe hat, and developed a show called Abe Lincoln's America. Sewell has now made over 2,400 appearances as the 16th president, performing for more than two million people. "As soon as I get my suit on and my hat," he explains, "I become Abraham Lincoln."

Sewell is part of a group called the "Association of Lincoln Presenters," a union of men and women dedicated to bringing Abraham and Mary Lincoln to life. There are currently 117 Abes and 32 Marys across the country, and together they form a group of passionate Lincoln-lovers committed to presenting the president and his wife to the world in costume and in words. The group naturally includes Sewell, who was given the "Lincoln of the Year" award in April of 1999.

In today's lesson from the gospel of John, it certainly seems that Jesus is laying the foundation for an "Association of Jesus Presenters." Jesus knows that his death is coming, and he is preparing his disciples for the period that lies ahead, when he is not going to be physically with them. "Very truly, I tell you," Jesus assures them, "the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father" (John 14:12). He promises his followers that he will do whatever they ask in his name, and then he goes on to predict that God will send them the Holy Spirit, to be with them forever (vv. 13-17).

The disciples are invited to be Jesus Presenters — people who carry forward the words and works of Jesus Christ, and offer his grace and truth to the world. Like members of the Lincoln Presenters, their mission is to educate and inspire, and to present the powerful insights and actions of their leader to the world. Disciples are to be dead ringers for Jesus, so that when people see them at work, everyone will know that they are Christians.

For Homer Sewell to make this work, he's got to put on the stovepipe hat and have the beard thing working. He'll dress in period costuming every time he appears as Lincoln.

Christians don't need to do that sort of thing. We'll dress in the "garments of righteousness" and wear the mantle of love to be sure, but what identifies us as Christians is not, or should not be, some external object of jewelry or dress, or a bumper sticker that says "Honk if you love Jesus."

We are challenged to mimic our master in our daily walk through home and work and school and church. When people observe us, they should do a double take. They should sense that they have seen the Christ.

Does this sound unlikely, or even impossible? It shouldn't. Jesus says that "the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do" (v. 12). Then he prays that the disciples may be one, just as Jesus and God the Father are one. "I in them and you in me," says Jesus to God, "that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me" (17:23). There is to be a strong and seamless connection between Jesus and God and all of the followers of Christ, an unbroken thread of unity and love and shared mission that ties all three very tightly together.

Yet Jesus himself warned that not all who say, "Lord, Lord," will enter the kingdom. There are false Jesus presenters out there, or Jesus wannabes, but their words and actions betray them. They're not Jesus people at all, but just misguided souls who have forgotten to take their spiritual meds.
There are Christian wannabes who use only the scriptures that fit their desires and sometimes warped beliefs. There are those who will twist the scriptures to say what they want them to say.

Think, for example, of the harsh and hateful words that are spewed by some religious leaders in the name of Christ. Think of the so-called Christians who show up at a gay person's funeral or a gay pastor's church with signs reading "God Hates Homosexuals." Or recall Pat Robertson asking Christians to pray for the demise of three liberal Supreme Court justices. Rather than appearing as Christians with their hands extended in love, they're seen only as harsh reactionaries with the foot of hatred planted on the neck of compassion. There are even those who will point to someone's appearance, or Sunday attire, such as shorts in a church service, or loud clothing, and whisper to their friend: Look at the way that person dressed, or the style of their hair. He/she sure doesn't look like a church person......

Connie Schultz, a columnist for The Cleveland Plain Dealer, is disturbed by such speeches, and she sees it as an example of a "New Rage movement" that is sweeping the country. New Ragers see themselves as the only ones who are right with God, and they consider everyone else to be a soldier of Satan.

Jesus Presenters are never New Ragers. Instead of responding to differences with anger or judgment, they offer compassion and curiosity and concern. Instead of trying to fix others and help themselves, Jesus Presenters concentrate on helping others and fixing themselves.

When Jesus gives his marching orders to his disciples, he predicts that "the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do" (v. 12). This line can lead to some serious head-scratching for us, because when we think of what Jesus did, we naturally think of incredible miracles such as the feeding of the multitudes or the raising of Lazarus from the dead.

The problem is that people in our world really do want to see God. They are invoking the Philip Protocol: "Show us the Father, and we will be satisfied" (14:8).
That's all people want. They want to see God.

If they can see God, that will be enough.

That's why the interest in angels these days. That's why the curiosity about the so-called Da Vinci code. That's why the publishing explosion in spirituality titles.

People want to see God, and when they do they know it, and when they do, they're satisfied.

Jesus' response to the Philip Protocol is to remind Philip that to see Jesus is to see God.

Understanding who God is, is a theologically and philosophically daunting task.

Jesus makes it simple, a sort of Theology For Idiots. He really goes off on Philip. Here is the sanitized NRSV version: "Jesus said to him, ‘Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, "Show us the Father"? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?"'(14:9-10a).

If this were anyone other than the Son of God speaking, it would sound like this: "Philip, you stupid idiot, get a clue. How many times do I have to pound this into your thick head: If you've seen me, you've seen God. I am in God and God is in me."

If we're not sure how to describe God, we look to Jesus. Then, as those who model their lives on that of Jesus, we are able to show God to the world.

When we contribute a bag of canned goods to a food pantry, we're making the statement that God wants no child to go hungry.

When we mentor a troubled teenager, we're showing the world that the Lord cares for every one of his lost sheep.

When we organize a small group in church, we're reflecting a divine desire for spiritual nourishment.

When we attend a meeting about a social issue, we're showing the community that our Lord is concerned about justice.

When we befriend a lonely coworker, we're making the statement that God is love.

When we write a check to fight AIDS in Africa, we're proclaiming that our God is the Lord of life, not death.

In all of these ways, we're revealing the power and character of God. We're doing the works of Christ, and continuing his ministry in the world.
We are Jesus Presenters.

Fortunately, we do not function alone or in isolation. Like Homer Sewell, we also have an "association," an association of Jesus Presenters we call the church.

From this body we get guidance and encouragement and discipline and inspiration, plus the odd and enlightening experience of hanging around with a large group of people who are trying to project the same persona.

We certainly don't all look the same, as is the case with a convention of 117 Abes in stovepipe hats, but we certainly can learn from one another, especially if we treat each other with kindness and mutual respect.

Even more importantly, we do our work knowing that the power of God is working through us. Jesus continues to be active in our lives, promising that he will do whatever we ask in his name, meaning that he will answer us when we ask for help in revealing the power and character of God.

In addition, the Lord God gives us the Holy Spirit, the one who teaches us, and reminds us of all that Jesus has said to us (v. 26). If we are going to be persuasive and powerful Jesus people, we really do need this help and instruction and guidance.

Jesus has selected each of us to join his association. We don't need to grow beards or acquire the clothes of a first-century Palestinian. We aren't even required to travel the country and spread our message to millions of people.

Instead, we are invited to become one with God and Jesus, and to let the Holy Spirit work through us. We are asked to perform the works of Jesus, and through these works to reveal the power and character of God to the world.

If we accept this invitation, people will look at us and say, "Jesus."
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Source:

Schultz, Connie. "It's not Christian to champion hate," The Cleveland Plain Dealer, November 13, 2003.