The Last Lessons – Part 4: The Head
Sermon for Milledgeville and Whitestown UMC...
The Last Lessons – Part
4: The Head
A man was interviewing
for a job when the interviewer said, “Would you mind explaining this 4-year gap
on your resume?
The interviewer said, “Excellent! You’re hired!”
The man exclaimed, “Thank you! I really needed this yob!”
That one takes the mind
a bit for the punchline to land!
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Do not be conformed to this present world,
but be transformed by the renewing of your mind...
Romans 12:2a
We
continue our study of the Upper Room Discourse in John’s gospel chapter 16.
Today, we discuss the Head, where our mind is located.
Our
minds are what make humans the dominant species on this planet. Our minds carry
memories. Our minds store information so that we can repeat tasks without
having to consciously think about it. Our minds carry our sense of self. Our
self-identity, self-esteem, our personal narrative, our hopes and dreams, our
fears, and faith are all in the mind.
Humans
are evolving by our dependency upon technology. With faces buried in
smartphones, digital tablets, and computer screens, anthropologists are
noticing behavioral shifts in the population, especially in young people. Our
minds are deeply affected by what we consume on the internet, social networks
and YouTube.
New
social issues, unique to the digital age, include virtual micro-communities
with their own ethics and vocabulary, Cyber-bullying, and FOMO, the Fear of
Missing Out. Anthropologists suggest that the human psyche is dividing into a
split personality, or a dual life. There’s the self we know, and the self we
present to the world on social networks. They are not the same. The image we
seek to project on social networks is often an idealized, best life kind of
image. One is hesitant to reveal their true selves in the digisphere. All of
these new ways of being are generated in the mind, shaped by our time on
digital devices.
Many
factors shape our minds. For instance, fear and sadness shape us. Jesus warned His
disciples of the likelihood of experiencing persecution. He warned,
They
will put you out of the synagogue, yet a time is coming when the one who kills
you will think he is offering service to God. (Jn 16:2)
This
would certainly generate fear. Jesus also said he is going away, and where He
is going, they cannot yet follow. So there’s sadness at the thought of life
without their master.
Jesus
gives this information ahead of time, so that they will not fall away from
faithfulness to the mission of Christ. He tries to ease their minds by stating
the time of their persecutors will come. I presume that to mean the time of
God’s judgment upon them for rejecting Jesus. The destruction of Jerusalem and
its temple by the Romans in 70 AD was viewed by the Church, and many Jews, as
punishment from God. Jesus wants this knowledge in the minds of His disciples
ahead of time, in order to prepare them.
But
in order for his last lessons to sink in, they must deal with their fear and
sadness. When our minds are preoccupied with strong emotions, we can’t think,
and often we tend not to allow new information to penetrate.
I
remember a scary story growing up. A man was lying in bed at night when he woke
suddenly. In the pale light of the moon, he saw what he thought were two eyes,
peering at him from the foot of his bed. Not wanting to believe what he saw, he
rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and hesitantly looked again. The eyes were
still there, looking right at him! He was terrified. He held as still as he
could and eased his hand ever slowly to his nightstand, where he kept a pistol.
The eyes kept staring, not moving. His heart throbbed in his chest, his fear
pounding in his head. “What could this evil specter be? And what does it want
with me?” he worried. Finally, he summoned the courage to point his gun at the
unwelcome intruder and said, “Go away or I’ll shoot.” The eyes did not move,
but looked all the more menacing! “I mean it! I’ll shoot! Get out of here!” And
with that, the man shot off his big toe.
Fear
can control our minds and lead us to frightful behavior. But so can sadness. We
may know someone who took their own life because of hopelessness and depression.
The disciples are sad because Jesus is leaving them. Their sadness keeps them
from being able to embrace what God is about to do, save the world and make all
things new in the Spirit of Jesus.
Jesus
said to them, “I am going to the one who sent me, and not one of you is asking
me, ‘Where are you going?’ Instead your hearts are filled with sadness because
I have said these things to you.”
In
other words, the disciples are unable to think rationally. They are letting
their sadness control their minds.
I
witnessed a terrible car accident on Interstate 10 in southern California. A
van carrying a group of teens on their way to a punk rock concert blew a tire.
The van swerved out of control and flipped, rolling several times before coming
to a stop. It was a miracle that no other cars were hit. We all managed to
avoid collision. The passengers were not so fortunate. Two girls were killed.
The others sustained minor injuries. I stopped to help. I spoke to each of the
survivors and prayed with them.
And
I can tell you that they each responded in very different ways. One was tearfully
grateful for prayer. Another was so stunned they could barely speak. Shock and
sadness was in control, as we might expect. But one of the passengers was
livid, cursing and unwilling to pray. Anger was ruling his mind.
I
was taught the ABC’s of crisis counseling. A is the event that everyone has
experienced. C is how each person is reacting to the event. As you heard in my
example, some were crying for help, some were in shock, and some were filled
with rage. Why so different? They each experienced the same terrible accident.
They each lost two young ladies that they knew personally. The reason that
their reactions are so different is B, what they are telling themselves about
the event.
How
we are predisposed to interpret events in life has everything to do with how we
will react to an event. In crisis, our animal brain takes over. We deal with
fear, shock, and horror initially. As we settle down, our minds race to make
sense of the crisis. That’s where we begin to interpret the event and tell
ourselves the meaning of the event. The young man who listened to angry punk
rock, wore chains, and spiked hair. He was invested in an outsider identity.
Shaped by his angry habits, he subscribed to a worldview that pitted himself
against the banality, cruelty and unjust nature of life. And he was angry about
it.
I
sobbed tears about an hour after the event, because of the overwhelming horror
of the accident. I’m grateful I had faith to help me interpret the terrible
tragedy. Accidents happen. The tire blew. It was not an act of God, nor a cruel
strike from the devil. And God was there at the scene in the many people,
police, and emergency professionals who came to their aid.
The
disciples were sad and afraid. But Jesus wanted them to know that his departure
is to their advantage. If he does not return to the Father in heaven, the Holy
Spirit will not come to the Church. God is about to conquer sin and death in
the cross and resurrection of Jesus.
The
Church is about to be filled with power from on high to carry out the mission
of Christ. Jesus will be in them, empowering them to do as He did.
By
the Spirit, they will remember Jesus’ teachings and pass them on to others.
They will teach hope in Christ and His kingdom. They will heal the sick, help
the blind to see, and the lame to walk. They will cast out demons and set souls
free with the power of the gospel. They will be enabled to do these things
because Jesus ascended to heaven and sent the Holy Spirit.
Christ
continues to pour out His Spirit upon His Church in every generation. You are
recipients of The Spirit. And His Spirit calls to us to remember who is
reigning above. In times of crisis, remember God’s will shall be done on earth
as it is in heaven. The Spirit will remind us of who God is and who we are
before God. God is love. God is merciful. God is the Supreme Power in the
Universe, our Creator, Redeemer and Healer. God is working out His good
purposes in all things, the good, bad and ugly, for your benefit because you
have aligned your life with God’s will.
The
Church was about to get a software upgrade. Not the kind that slows down your
phone, but one that fixes bugs and gives better functionality. The Spirit was
coming to the Church and they would have divine power to overcome the world,
just as Jesus did. They are sad and afraid because Jesus is leaving them. But
when the Spirit comes, He will bring the very presence of Jesus. They will once
again be joined with Jesus in a new and powerful way as never before. The
Church is the body of Christ and Jesus is the head. Jesus dwells in us each
individually, and in our community of faith.
A
little child wept over losing a pet. Their mother tried to comfort them saying,
“Let’s pray to Jesus about how you feel and ask for help.” The child wailed,
“But I need Jesus with skin.”
You
are Jesus with skin, for you carry Christ within you, through the Spirit. Open
your minds to all He has to say to you. He will take your fears, and sadness
and turn it into joy with the lifegiving words of Jesus.
Jesus
told his disciples, “In this world you will suffer troubles, but have courage,
I have conquered the world.” The One who is in you is greater than the One who
is in the world.
Back
in John 6, many people stopped following Jesus because he said his flesh was
true food and his blood true drink. Jesus saw this and turned to the twelve
apostles and said, “Do you also wish to go away?” Peter replied, “Lord, to whom
would we go? You have the words of eternal life!”
May
the words of eternal life fill your minds and may The Spirit bring you peace
and joy as you remember God is making all things new, especially your minds. Be
renewed. Be reminded and rejoice.
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