Last week, Pastor Brian did an amazing job of illustrating the fullness of grace. He explained that the “unmerited favor” we receive in grace includes, but is not limited to, unconditional acceptance. Grace also includes “giving others what they cannot give or get themselves.” So, to have one without the other is to have only half-grace.

And today we will consider “truth,” because if we have only grace without truth we have only half of the gospel.

 

For the heart of the Gospel is Christ, and the Gospel of John describes Christ with these words:

 

"And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth."

 

“Full of grace AND truth.” It’s grace that makes it possible for us to be in relationship with Christ. And yet, without truth, we have the potential for relationship with NO response. No surrender. No reception of grace. No transformation. No discipleship. Only half-faith.

 

Unfortunately, truth doesn't always sound as enjoyable as grace.

 

Summer of 2008. In a small, rural Iowa town, I am seated on a couch in the church's youth room, anxiously gripping the edge of the seat cushion. Waiting. It's classis exams. The annual gathering of a body of Reformed churches who are supporting and evaluating students in seminary education. In my classis, we spent two days in a series of exams, followed by deliberation time for the examiners, followed by another exam. There was a lot of waiting. There was also a lot of anxiety and gripping of couch cushions!

 

So, when one of the examiners came in the youth room and “Megan, we would like to invite you back in...just to talk a bit...before we make our final decision,” I immediately assumed the worst!

 

Once in the exam room, I smiled and nodded through all of the obligatory compliments, thinking, “Yeah, yeah, yeah. Just tell me what I did wrong, so I can prepare my defense!”

 

“You have great pastoral instincts when it comes to offering others grace.” The primary facilitator was drawing the conversation to close, leaving a nice, fat pause to suggest that everyone's favorite three-letter-word was coming next... “BUT...you have to remember the importance of truth. Grace and truth go hand in hand. You cannot have one without the other.”

 

I did not want to admit it at the time, but I knew he was right. I couldn't even attempt to defend myself. This group of wise pastors and lay leaders had seen right through me. I was scared of the truth, scared of misrepresenting the truth, and scared of speaking words that are difficult for others to hear.

 

Have you ever been there? I guess it's possible that I'm alone in this. If so, the rest of the sermon is just for me. But I have a hunch that some of you share my struggle. So what are we so afraid of?

 

Well, the truth is risky. It stands out in world that profits on lies. From the minute that Adam and Eve hid themselves from God in garden, deception has been a natural characteristic of humanity. Various influences teach us that it’s not enough to be ourselves, we have to look like the men and women on the covers of magazines; we pad our resumes and job applications; and, sometimes without knowing it, we teach our kids to do the same. We speak about “bending the truth,” putting a “spin” on a story, or taking a different “angle.”

 

Even in the 1950s, a time when everyone appeared to be squeaky clean, a silly Christmas musical mocked the deceit within the world of show business. A popular performing duo, played by Bing Crosby and Danny Kay, are tricked into observing a sister act when the youngest sister mails them a letter, pretending to be one of their old friends from the army. When the old sister, played Rosemary Clooney, explains the situation, Bing Crosby laughs and says, “Well ain’t that somethin’? Even little Judy’s got an angle!”

 

It’s funny and it’s true. We’ve all got an angle because we’ve learned that it’s the best way to get what we want, because the world doesn’t like honesty. That’s why the little girl who admits she’s never been kissed gets teased on the playground. That’s why many Arab men and women are thrown out of their families for confessing that they have converted from Islam to Christianity. That’s why the man who dared to share a dream that people of all races could live harmony received countless death threats, served time in prison and was eventually assassinated by someone who disagreed.

 

It is also true that because grace and truth go together, that little girl can learn to resist the peer pressure of adolescence and mature into a successful adult who knows where her priorities are and maybe even becomes the leading expert on child psychology. Because grace and truth work together, the patience and courage of persecuted of Christians in Islamic countries inspires new believers every day. And because grace and truth work together, one man’s dream helped an entire nation reconsider habits, patterns and even laws that discriminated against persons based on the color of their skin. That journey, of course, continues, but who knows where we would be if he had not spoken truth.

 

The truth is risky. And if anyone can handle the risk, it ought to be Christ’s Church!

 

 

Paul's take on truth, as we heard it from the Message today, goes like this:

 

"The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for him."

 

Or from the NRSV: 

"For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgement..."

 

Sober judgment. Not too high. Also implied, not too low. Reminds me of Goldilocks and the three bears – to think with sober judgment is to see things “just right.” Or, even more accurately, to see things as God sees them.

 

Chances are we have a habit thinking either too highly of ourselves, or not high enough. We may not look down our noses, literally, but even when we say, “At least I’m not that lazy…” or “At least I’m not that gossipy…” or fill in the blank however you like. That train of thought is part of what Paul is addressing. When we think “too highly of ourselves,” we run the risk of forgetting that God is God and we are not.

 

And the same is true on the opposite end of the spectrum. If we only read Psalm 22:6 and consider ourselves to be worms, we miss the big picture. If we tell ourselves, “Well, I could never do that…” or “I don’t deserve that…” we are not just limiting ourselves, we are dismissing God’s work within is. It is true that we are created beings, fully dependent upon our Creator. It is also true that our Creator has chosen to fashion us in His image. In the image of God we are created. Through Christ, we are redeemed. And by the power of the Holy Spirit, we are growing in our ability to honor the image we have received and the grace poured out on us.

 

Later today, we will celebrate the installation of Pastor Marijke Strong as our Minister of Congregational Care and Community Life. During the service, there will be a charge to the minister that is full of blessing and wisdom. In the charge, the minister is reminded: “do not neglect the gift within you.” I'm sure that Marijke would agree, this reminder is fit for the priesthood of all believers, not just ordained clergy. As Paul reminds us, "We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us..." This is God's work in us!"

 

Sober judgment teaches us to see ourselves as God sees us. God looks at us through the lens of Christ and sees the beauty of our potential, the innocence of the child still within us, and those gifts – the gifts he has given us to help build the Kingdom of Heaven!

 

Do you think you might be able to see yourself this way? As both dependent and beautiful? As innocent AND responsible? As needy and yet gifted?

 

As brothers and sisters in Christ, the better we are at examining ourselves with such honesty and humility, the better we will become at extending the same favor to one another. To see others as God sees them, to celebrate who God has made them to be, to give thanks for their role in the Body of Christ and, as Paul puts it: to rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep.

 

When we look through the lens of Christ, we can become a community without masks. Without pretense. A community of brothers and sisters who celebrate together over the joys of life, both big and small. A community of brothers and sisters who grieve with one another over life’s losses, from discomfort to devastation. This is a community that practices significant levels of vulnerability and transparency.

 

What does that mean? Well, the simplest answer is that it means someone has to rejoice and invite the rest of us to join the celebration. It also means that someone has to weep and let the rest of catch the tears. When something exciting happens, we share it for the benefit of the community, rather than keeping it to ourselves. And, when we hit a bump or even a road block, we share that too without being embarrassed.

 

The greatest lie we tell ourselves is: “I can do it on my own.” I don't need anyone else's help. If I just try harder, I can get things under control and everything will be fine. Sometimes it works. Sometimes, we can pull through just by the skin of our teeth and we count it a success. But we don't realize that our vision has grown blurry and our perspective is distorted. We no longer see ourselves as God sees us. In fact, if we are not careful, we can ignore God altogether.

 

So Paul reminds us, “...think with sober judgment...”

 

What might happen if everyone at Fellowship church committed to the truth? What if each us stopped lying to ourselves today? What if we saw ourselves the way God sees us? What if we dared to say what is “real” in our lives, without shame or embarrassment? And what if we learned to speak God’s truth into one another’s lives and…what if we learned to listen?

 

That's a lot of what-ifs. A lot of possibility. A lot of unknown. And, I know you have it in you.

Christ himself assures us that he is “the way, the TRUTH, and the life,” so if Christ is in you, the TRUTH is in you!

 

This last Thursday we began a new women’s Bible study. From the introductions all the way through our closing prayer, I was blessed by these women and their capacity for sharing the truth. Not one of them claimed to have it all together. In fact, I got the sense that we all found some freedom in recognizing that no one has it all together. With that freedom, tears could be shed without embarrassment. We could also laugh at ourselves without mocking ourselves.

 

And with little instruction, we were able to surrender ourselves to God’s Word, to examine ourselves with truth and receive God’s grace.

 

I am positive that they would agree – none of us is any better or worse than anyone else. But I share this story simply to say, it’s possible. It’s possible to develop a community of truth because in so many ways we are already are. This is just one example!

 

Reflection…

God help us to see ourselves as you see us...