The Lutheran Hour
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"Bridging the Gap"
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Text: 2 Corinthians 5:19-20
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Christ is risen, He is risen, indeed for you. Amen!
In 1936, a radio broadcast was transmitted to America from England. Never before had such a gap been bridged. But, just before the voice of Kind Edward VIII was to be heard, someone stumbled over a wire in the control room and they snapped the only line of communication between these two great countries. The engineers were frantic. There was no way to repair what was now broken. Then, with only minutes to spare before airtime, a quick-thinking apprentice took a big risk and grasped the two broken ends of the wire and bridged the gap. Seconds later the King addressed the nation. His voice was heard as if he were right there in the room with them. In a real sense, then, his very words were being transmitted through the body of that man.
Bridging the gap, overcoming the barriers that divide, such things take work, hard work because there is separation in this world that is almost insurmountable. In the case of this transatlantic communication, it took the work of many people, over many years, using a technology that almost seemed miraculous for its time, and finally, it took the courage of one man at the right time to risk his own life for that gap to be overcome.
But, we live in a world that is full not only of bridgeable, physical gaps, but also of insurmountable chasms and divides that are emotional, relational, even spiritual….real separation in need of real bridges!
In our lesson for today the Apostle Paul is speaking about the miraculous bridging of an abyss that is far greater than spanning the Atlantic, it is a divide that spans humanity, for eternity, that tears at the heart and very soul of all people, in this age, all ages before, and yet to come.
One can see the evidence of this gap everywhere. In fact, it seems to grow wider and wider even amidst humanity’s supposed progress.It is said that “The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings, but shorter tempers; wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints; we have bigger houses and smaller families; more conveniences, but less time; we have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.”
It is a time when there is much in the show window and nothing in the stockroom.
So, when the world has never been more interconnected (internet and social networking) the sad reality is that it seems that we have never been more separated. Overcoming these gaps, that’s the reconciliation, the bridging that Paul is talking about. Bridging that gap, the one that divides your heart and soul from God, from your relationships with others, a gap that even divides you and me from ourselves; that’s the gap that Paul is speaking about, a gap that is beyond super human strength and courage, one that only God Himself can finally overcome.That’s why Paul says so clearly, “That God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself…bridging humanity’s greatest gap…not counting man’s sins against them.”
Incredibly, in the face of our greatest challenge, it is here that the Bible speaks most boldly and clearly that there is real reconciliation, redemption, and peace available for you and me even now. Why?
Because God so loved the world, the very world alienated from Himself, the one separated from Him in their rebellion and selfishness, God so loved the world that He sent His only Son for them.
God bridges the gap between sinful humanity and Himself, in the Person and work of Jesus, because only He can.
Whatever gaps you’re struggling with right now, the Bible speaks clearly; the real issue behind it all, the real root of all the problems with face is the separation we have from God because of our sin. Our sin, our rebellion literally cuts us off from God and from one another. This sin-induced, insurmountable gap in our lives, it is the root cause of hatred, bigotry, jealously, and envy; and bridging humanity’s greatest gap needs something much more than political will or policy, it is something much greater than humanity’s moral conviction and will. This gap is beyond the mere personal, social, or political, differences in our lives. It’s a separation rooted in the heart, with its life-changing, soul-altering, eternal consequences.
If you really think about this, all you have to do is look around to see that this is true, not just of others, but of you and me, too. Sin, separation from God, this is the world’s real problem, because it there is no person immune to its cause.
There’s a story told about the famous evangelist Billy Sunday who was looking for a more effective way to gather people to tell them about Jesus, the great reconciler of people to God and to one another. Since he was going to be in a particular city for a time, he wrote a letter to the mayor in which he asked for the names of individuals that the Mayor might know about who had spiritual problems which might need God’s help and prayer. To his surprise, the mayor sent him a copy of the city telephone book.
Paul says that God bridges that gap, because only He can.
Where there is sin, there is a Savior. Where there is alienation, there is a Reconciler. Where there is an insurmountable, eternal gap, chasm, or divide, there is God in the flesh, God the Bridge Builder for you!
As Paul says, “God the Father made Jesus who knew no sin, to be sin, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
It’s a gap that is bridged, not by the negotiation of many, but by the reconciliation of one. Not by compromise, but by sacrifice. A sacrifice which established a unity, a oneness, a wholeness, and a relationship that will not be broken, along with a peace that is lasting, that passes all understanding, because in Christ, there can be peace with God the Father again.
Jesus Christ took upon Himself the just punishment that the world deserved. He was the only One who could. He was God, eternal, capable of such a feat. He was Man, born of the Virgin Mary, able to take your place and mine. His was a 33-year journey of justice that culminated on a cross 2,000 years ago, so that the eternal chasm between God and man might indeed be bridged, so that eternal life might be humanity’s fate, once again.
Like the young man who picked up those hot wires of that radio transmission in 1936, Jesus Christ courageously bridged an insurmountable gap. He didn’t just pick up the pieces of man’s occasional missteps and mistakes, He literally picked up the third-rail wires of mankind’s sin and eternal rebellion and delivered a message of grace, peace, and reconciliation to all who would trust in Him.
You know, when I was in New York City, there was always that moment before a subway pulled into the station, where I was afraid that someone would fall into the tracks. There was one time when I read of someone who fell in, and a courageous individual jumped in to save them. But, the real danger of such a rescue though, is not just avoiding being hit by the train. Throughout the subway system, there are not only those rails upon which the trains ride; there is that third rail that carries the very powerful current that gives the train the power to move. Touch that rail and you die.
The Bible proclaims a reconciliation, then, through One Man, the God/Man, Jesus, who not only jumped in to save us, He literally hit that third rail. He took sin upon Himself, and with it the just punishment of eternal death and damnation in our place. He bridged sin’s gap so that you and I might have His life with the Father again.
God reconciled the world to Himself because only He could. But today Paul says even more. He says that God has reconciled the world to Himself. He could and He did.
On this Father’s Day, I’m reminded of a love like that, one that does. Dads usually aren’t great talkers, they’re usually better doers. Dads at their best find solutions to problems; take on trouble for the sake of others; theirs is a love that blazes a pathway through difficulties and challenges so that their sons and daughters can later walk that way in peace. In the poem, “The Bridge,” a tale is told of a man who loved like that, one who, at the end of his life, was still concerned to provide for those who would walk his path later in life; his life is lived for the sake of others.
“An old man traveling a lone highway, came at the evening cold and gray
To a chasm vast, deep and wide.
The old man crossed in the twilight dim, the sullen stream had no fear for him,
But he paused when safe on the other side, and built a bridge to span the tide.
“Old man,” said a fellow traveler near, “You are wasting your strength by
building here,
Your journey will end this closing day, and you never again will pass this way.
Why build this bridge at eventide??
The builder lifted his gray, wearied head, “Good friend, in the path I’ve come,”
he said,
There will follow after me today, young people who too must pass this way,
The chasm that has been nothing to me, to them, insurmountable it might be;
They too must cross in the twilight dim. Good Friend, I build this bridge for
them!”God could reconcile the world to Himself, and He did. That’s not just talk, that’s God in action for you and for all. And when God Himself acts on your behalf and mine, that’s a reconciliation that we can count on, one in which we can believe.
Just think of that! Very rarely will someone sacrifice his or her life for a good person, a family member, or a friend, but who would even think of sacrificing their life for enemies. Well, in Romans 5:7, it says “That’s exactly what God did in the sacrifice of His only-begotten Son.”
And this sacrifice changes things. It changes our relationship with God. It changes our status with God. Now He freely and graciously calls us friends instead of enemies, sons and daughters instead of slaves, children of our heavenly Father and heirs of eternal life, with the bridge of the Gospel that holds! (Galatians 4:7)
Think about what God is saying to you today. When people make peace among themselves, there is always doubt whether it will remain. Will that peace really last? Can I really trust this person, tomorrow? Will the old issues and conflicts that caused the separation raise their ugly heads again?
But, with God, it’s different. God’s reconciliation in the blood of Christ brings a sure salvation, a lasting peace, and a hope that will not fade. Paul says, “Since we have been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through Him!” (Romans 5:9) (Romans 8:35-39)
You see, our peace finds its source in His faithfulness and not ours. And so today, the most powerful words to you, my friend, are written to us in 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” God made the bridge. God crossed the bridge to offer you His life and salvation as a gift.
Paul says, “God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself, not counting men’s sins against them. And He has committed to us this ministry of reconciliation, for we are God’s ambassadors, as though He were making His appeal through us, be reconciled to God!”
God bridges the gap because only He could. Thankfully, for you and me, He did. Now you, too, can. As His friends, His sons and daughters, with His love be bridge builders of His grace to one another.
It’s not just talk here either. When our relationship to God is changed, Paul says that all things are new in Him! He says, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come.” (vs. 17)
Because of Jesus, we don’t have to let the world’s real chasms of envy, jealousy, and bigotry continue to divide us from one another. As God’s people, with God’s promised, grace-life now and forever, we can unleash His gracious love in this world, with those who still remain separated from God and from one another.
Paul paints the picture of such a new life lived for others in Christ’s name. As new creations in Christ, “we do not conform any longer to the patterns of this world, but are transformed by the renewing of our minds” (Romans 12:2) in Christ, by the power of His Spirit, that’s true for you.
Now, we look at the world through the eyes, and heart, and mind of Christ (Luke 6:27-42). Now, we do not return evil for evil, but love as we have been loved. Now, we forgive as we have been forgiven. Now, we serve as we have been served. Now, we give as it has been given to us.
In Him all things are new with God. In Him, we become bridge builders towards one another, carrying His message of ultimate reconciliation in a spiritually broken, disconnected world.
In Christ, new life is not merely restored to us; it is unleashed in our lives and through our lives to others. All things are new in Him; all things are refreshed, restored. And refreshed people refresh others; and renewed people renew. It’s just like that.
Sometimes that unleashed grace doesn’t feel like a powerful waterfall, but merely a constant, flowing stream. Sometimes, when life is hanging by a thread; that thread of grace doesn’t seem like it can hold. Paul says, though, when that thread is the thread of new life in Jesus, delivered by His graced ambassadors, it can make all the difference in the lives of others as we serve them in Jesus’ Name.
I really love the beauty of bridges, don’t you? In Michigan, there is the Mackinaw Bridge. Oh, it is beautiful to behold as it bridges the gap caused between Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. Then there’s the Golden Gate Bridge powerfully bridging the gap of San Francisco Bay, amidst the rumbles of earthquakes and the visibility limiting fogs. But my favorite is the bridge across Niagara Falls.
I’ve often wondered how they got that bridge across the falls. Just recently I heard that there was a story in a newspaper that explained just how. It said that the “The suspension bridge built across Niagara Falls was begun by a thread attached to a kite. When the wind blew, the kite went across. Then on the thread they attached a string and they pulled it across. Then to the string, they attached a rope and pulled it across. Then to the rope they attached a cable, and that cable was then fastened to each end, secure. Then on that cable a basket was attached for the men to work and eventually the bridge was built.
They say that gap was overcome by a thread, and with that small piece of thread, eventually a giant of a bridge was built.
Well, there’s a more powerful thread than that. When you share even a thread of God’s grace in Christ, as His ambassadors, you’re sharing the new life that only God could bring, the new life that God has indeed secured, the Grace that can change everything in a person’s life, now and forever.
So, hear the good news today. When God deals with the real issues of this life, when He bridges the chasm that sin and death have caused in this world, that good news changes everything. Paul proclaims, through the very life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, that God has bridged the gap between us and Himself. Because only He could. And that’s news for your life today as you trust in Jesus Christ alone. Bridge needed, cross bridge built, new life is offered to you and to all.
God grant you His grace today so that you, too, may, by faith, walk in the newness of life that is yours, in Christ.
Amen.