The Lutheran Hour
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"Our New Identity"
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Text: Galatians 3:23-29
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Christ is risen, He is risen indeed! And by faith, you can know the power of His barrier-breaking, bonding love in your life today. Amen.
If I were to quote you the first verse of a popular song, do you think you could guess its title? Could you name it? Well, let’s give it a try. Ready? Here’s the first verse!
Here come old flat top
He come groovin’ up slowly
He got joo joo eyeballs
He one holy rollers
He got hair down to his knee
Got to be a joker
He just do what he please
Can you name that song? Can you name that tune? Can you even understand that verse? Sounds pretty crazy, doesn’t it? But it was a very popular song by one of the most popular rock bands in human history. The song, Come Together, by the Beatles.
“Come together, right now, over me.”And many people think that each verse was a description of each of the four Beatles themselves. The first verse was thought to be Ringo Starr, carefree, doing what he pleased; verse two was thought to be George Harrison, one thing he would tell you is you got to be free; the third verse was about John Lennon, the writer of the whole song. He was the unyielding one, the producer, and then verse 4, that was supposed to be about Paul McCartney, the roller coaster, got to be good looking because he’s so hard to see.
But, just think about this song, its refrain, its title, “Come together, right now, over me.” The real life problem for the Beatles was that this group was breaking apart. This successful band, this heartbeat of the new, hip modern culture of the 60s and 70s, they were coming unraveled at the seams; they were increasingly going their separate ways. Wealthy, now privileged, controlling their own destinies; yet they were more broken, shattered, and more distant from each other than ever before.
This song was, in many ways, a soulful cry for help. It was a plea to get over each other and come together. But what happens when even getting over ourselves is not enough to bond us to the people we love or care about? What happens when real barriers are too big to overcome, too strong to break down, too deep to uproot?
In our text for today, the Apostle Paul can’t say it any clearer. There is only on way to overcome the cultural barriers that separate us, the economic walls that isolate us, and the sexual confusions that leave us dazed and confused even with the ones we love.
In Christ, there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for we are all one in Him.
Paul is talking about a solution to a universal human problem, a problem we all face, the brokenness of our lives, our communities, the alienation and isolations in our own relationships, and the solution that we really need is not merely a plea to get over ourselves and come together, it is an offer to receive the bonding power of a new identity, a new life in Jesus Christ! For, in Christ alone, there is literally the eternal love, status, strength, perspective, and power of Jesus Himself to live your live differently even now in this world for others.
And that is something we need more than ever. When I think about our lives, our identities, our so-called solutions to relational issues, all I can say is that I see not the power of a bonding love out there, but the fracturing power of our self-absorbed identities.
Today, people are told that they have to define life for themselves, you know, make your own happiness. And yet, even when things seem to be going right with personal successes, personal status, people seem to be more broken and disconnected than ever.
Alvin Toffler, author of Future Shock, said this….
“Today we see millions desperately searching for their own shadows, devouring movies, plays, novels, and self-help books… that promise to help them locate their missing identities. They urgently wish to leave their present existence and leap somehow to a new life – to become what they are not.”But get his solution. He says: “You’ve got to think about big things while you’re doing small things, so that all the small things go in the right direction.”
Now that’s a nice thought, but what happens when we’re told that there are no more big things that matter. What happens when people can’t even tell you what those big things are? Sounds like Toffler is just saying, “Get over yourselves, come together, you know, come together over me.”
What happens when getting over ourselves is the one thing that we can not ever seem to do? What happens when our self worth, our self-esteem is so wrapped up in our brokenness that we can’t even begin to see how to really love others?
Think about that relationship that needs mending and you know what to do, but you can’t even imagine being that vulnerable to that person who did you so wrong. And you know that they wouldn’t do the thing for you either. Come together, are you kidding me?
Or, what happens when our cultural identities, not only define us but they bind us to some and alienate us from others? What happens when each one of us has pride in what we cherish but disdain for what others cherish? Or what happens if what we cherish is something that is harmful, destructive, but you know, it’s who we are, it’s where we came from? Come together, how is that possible?
Or what happens when you really are trying to love another person, but you just don’t get how? What was that book a few years ago, “Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus”? Each one of us thinks that the world revolves around us. Wow! You know, I always taught couples in their pre-marital counseling that when they say “I do,” they are not saying, “I love you the most that I can love you and that will never die.” Why, because people in general, even Christians, are sinful people coming together to try to build a lasting, loving relationship. So, when they say “I do,” what they are saying is “I will strive to learn to love you each and every day, the way that Christ loves me.”
Such brokenness that’s in our relationships; well that kind of brokenness is inside each of us. And how can you even begin to try love someone else when you’re not even sure what to do with you? I’ve met so many people today who even as they accomplish much, they are still truly empty when it comes to the things that matter!
Have you ever heard of the name, Ted Giannoulas? Well, even if you’ve never heard his name, I’m sure that you’ve seen his antics on TV. You see, Ted has been the mascot for the San Diego Padres from the very beginning. That’s right; He has been the San Diego Chicken for over 30 years. He is one of the most recognized mascots in the world. He originated the character as a college student and has never looked back. Success, success, right?
Well, Ted is getting older now. And at age 50, this being the Chicken has been his whole life, his whole identity. His face is never photographed unless he is in costume. No one knows the real Ted. He has no family and being “the Chicken” is a little different at this age than it was when he first started.
Now at first, he loved his alter ego. In fact, he said “I discovered an untapped personality in that suit,” he said. “It was like, now I have freedom. Now I’m no longer Ted.” But there is a price to pay. Dave Raymond, who for years wore the costume of the Philly Phanatic, said, “[Giannoulas] was the first and the funniest, and I have nothing but respect for him. But if you’re not careful, you can lose yourself in that suit.” Ted himself says, “I have plenty of Chicken stories. I’m afraid I don’t have any Ted stories.”
I’ve said many times on this radio broadcast before; you can be very successful, you can be very accomplished in this life, but if you don’t have a faith relationship with the God who created and redeemed you, nothing in this world will matter in the end, and even if you think about it before that final day, you may miss out miserably on those things that make life worth living now, now and forever! Like Giannoulas, we can have total freedom and still be totally empty.
So, how can we begin to share the bonding power of love to those we care about if we ourselves can’t get out of our own way? How can we begin to make the sacrifices necessary to make relationships truly work, when we’re hesitant, unsure, and even confused about who we are and what we’re supposed to be for those we love?
If you’re struggling for an answer to questions like that today, if you are truly trying to make things work but find yourself only making things worse, then listen to God’s Word right now. Listen to what St. Paul says, what he offers for you and for me, he offers every one of us another way, the way of faith in Jesus Christ. He says, by faith in Jesus:
You are all children of God, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.This new identity, this new power to love and serve others, it doesn’t come by our best efforts; it comes in spite of our sinfully best efforts. This blessing comes not because we have earned it or deserved it, it comes because God acted in the world in which we live so that we could receive and share His love as a gift.
In that song, “Come together, right now, over me,” the writers knew that there was a problem; they knew that something had to be done because everything was falling apart, but the Bible says that “Come together over Me,” won’t cut it. Whether we are at our worst or even when we are at our best, it’s not enough, because we are a sinful people, cut off from the relationship that makes all other relationships work, our relationship with God.
And St. Paul knew this personally! In fact, Paul’s problem early in his life wasn’t that he didn’t know who he was; he was a person who was very sure of his identity. He had power, he had status, he had influence in his world. Remember what he said in Philippians, chapter 3:
If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless.
But then he goes on to say: 7 But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord!His point is that you are never going to know who you are until you know yourself in and through the grace of Jesus Christ. He is your Creator, He’s your Redeemer, He’s your Life, your Truth, your Stature, your Status, your Power to love and forgive, your Confidence to serve, your Hope to live an abundant life now and forever!
As sinners, as broken people, we need a whole new identity to know the power of the bonding, persevering love of God. We’re going to need a new heart, a new mind to overcome the sin and guilt that are real in our lives. And that’s what God makes possible for you today.
It’s here right now for you in this word from God. And, Jesus wants you to experience this grace, this love in action for you, so much so that He not only wants you to hear it; He wants to splash it all over you. In the church that bears Christ’s name, the gift of Holy Baptism is literally a gift from God, where He washes you with the water for forgiveness of your sins. He puts His Name on you lavishly, covering you with His righteousness, adopting you with His Name, and making you an heir of His kingdom.
And let me tell you, with that kind of love covering you, with that kind of love empowering you, it can literally bond, reconcile, and reconnect people who were otherwise totally set against each other. When Paul says, “In Christ, there is neither Jew nor Greek” he’s saying that there is no ethnic or cultural barrier that can separate us if we share faith in Jesus Christ together. When Paul says “that in Christ, there is neither slave nor free,” he’s saying that no political or economic system in this world, good or evil, can keep us from being brothers and sisters in Christ, the family of God together in faith. When Paul says, “In Christ there is neither male nor female,” he’s not pointing us to some bland androgynous sexuality that diminishes who we are as unique people created by God, but he is pointing us to a love that can take those uniquenesses, those differences, and still use them to bond us together in the love that holds dear the gift of our new identity in Christ together!
God calls you to a new identity right now! He calls you to be a forgiven, graced son or daughter of Jesus Christ. And when you understand the overwhelming grace of this new status, this new identity, literally earned on your behalf when Jesus lived, died, and rose again for you, that is the strength to live differently in this world.
So, what would happen today, what would happen today if you accepted that new identity in Christ? What would happen if you started to live life with His mind (resourced by His Word)? What would happen if you started to live life with His heart beating inside your body, not just granting you eternal life, but an eternal love to be shared from this day onward?
A new identity in Christ, a new heart, a new life!
It was March 18. John’s head was swimming with memories: he could almost feel the mix of terror and elation hearing the nurse’s casual statement that a heart had been found. He wanted to live so much, but he had struggled with guilt knowing that for him to live someone else would have to die. He and his wife Jan together had prayed for the doctors, for their future, and they surrendered the outcome all to God.
Miraculously the answer came. Later that night a small light appeared in the evening sky, with the roar of whipping chopper blades. Jan remembered the tears watching that blue Igloo cooler being lowered from the helicopter to be carried to the operating room where her husband lay in wait. She prayed for her husband, she prayed for her children, and she prayed for the family of that donor.
John and Jan Meinhardt would indeed be blessed that night; for as John’s heart gave way, a new heart was transplanted in his body and he got a second lease on life.
LeAnne also remembered the sound of chopper blades whipping in the winds that night. For the helicopter that was taking the heart to John Meinhardt, it was taking her husband, Melvin’s heart to him, a heart that was now surrendered because of a tragic accident that same day.
You see, that heart that they would share would bond them together forever. What amazed me about this story is that several years later LeAnne, John, and Jan, they got together, they actually met. At first it was hard for LeAnne, but she said, “I longed to hear that beautiful heart of Melvin’s beat again.” And John and Jan, they longed to meet the family of the one who would sacrifice such a heart so that John could live again! A common heart bonded them as a family.
Just think about that; a bond that they would forever share.
But, we share something even greater: the heart, the love, the life of Jesus Christ. As great as that sacrifice was from Melvin, it’s nothing compared to what Christ has sacrificed for you; what He has made available to all who would believe in Him. So, put your faith in Jesus and know the power of His barrier-breaking, bonding love in your life and in the lives of those you love and care for, today and always.
Amen!
LUTHERAN HOUR MAILBOX (Questions & Answers) for June 23, 2013
Topic: How Can God Be Just And Merciful?ANNOUNCER: And we are back with Pastor Gregory Seltz. I’m Mark Eischer. A listener asks, “How can God be merciful and just at the same time? Aren’t those two things mutually exclusive?”
SELTZ: Well Mark, it does seem a little strange that God can be merciful and just at the same time. People can be one or the other, but rarely both at the same time. But with God, they are always true; same time, though not always displayed at the same time.
ANNOUNCER: There is sort of a tension here. Even in judgment God is still love. Can you cite any other tensions like this?
SELTZ: Well, the Bible says that God is One, yet Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He’s described as One who does not change, yet He forgives. He’s infinite and eternal, yet He became Man, just and righteous, and above all God is merciful.
ANNOUNCER: Looking back at last week’s lesson that certainly highlighted God’s mercy. But, why did God judge the people of Israel by sending them into exile?
SELTZ: Well, the exile was in response to Israel’s unfaithfulness to God. God’s justice demands payment for unfaithfulness as well as for sin. God just can’t say “Oh, never mind. There’s no punishment for abandoning Me. I’ll just forget about it.” And if we were honest, we wouldn’t want Him to. Sin and rebellion are destroyers of life.
ANNOUNCER: And God can’t stop being who He is. He is just. He administers divine justice. But yet He still wants what is best for us even then.
SELTZ: Right, so even things like Israel’s exile were ultimately for their own good.
ANNOUNCER: How so?
SELTZ: Well, even in the midst of the punishment, God never abandoned His people, even though they abandoned Him. He judged their disobedience, but He didn’t abandon them. He planned to deliver them from the exile. So, in a sense, God’s mercy overcomes His justice without abandoning that trait.
ANNOUNCER: Could you explain that further?
SELTZ: Well, let’s go back to the beginning. Adam and Eve lived in perfect harmony with God and walked through the perfection of the Garden of Eden. It was all good. But then Adam and Eve disobeyed the only command God gave them and that ultimate disobedience changed everything. That one act of unfaithfulness resulted in the first exile as Adam and Eve were driven out of the Garden of Eden.
ANNOUNCER: Sounds pretty harsh, but I guess fair and just. But, where’s the mercy, then, in being kicked out of paradise?
SELTZ: Well, it was actually a blessing. If they would have stayed in Eden and eaten from the Tree of Life, they would have lived forever in a state of separation from God. So God, even with their exile, prevented that from happening. Instead He promised His disobedient children that He would fix the problem. That fixing would be the ultimate act of mercy. God’s goal in all of our lives, as James 2:13 says, is for “Mercy to triumph over judgment” because His mercy is just like that!
ANNOUNCER: How did God fix the problem caused by Adam and Eve?
SELTZ: Well, here there is a good news/bad news reality. The Bible says that through the disobedience of Adam sin and death came to all people. That’s the bad news. But, the good news is that it was by the obedience of another Man, The God-Man, Jesus Christ. Through His righteousness and obedience life comes to all. God acted to fix it all for us!
ANNOUNCER: That certainly is good news. What about God’s justice? Did He then just put that on hold?
SELTZ: No, His justice isn’t on hold, it actually ushered in His mercy for all people.
ANNOUNCER: Which sounds like a paradox. How did that work?
SELTZ: Well, God exercised His Divine Justice but on His own Son Jesus.
ANNOUNCER: Which doesn’t sound too fair.
SELTZ: You’re right. It’s not fair. But, it was the only way to save His fallen and unfaithful people. You see, payment for sin had to be made. God is just. But, God loves us so much that He was willing to take it out on His Son (whom by the way God also loved). And Jesus was willing to take that on too. That’s the good news. In Christ, God paid the price for our sins!
ANNOUNCER: How was the price paid by Jesus?
SELTZ: Well the price for disobedience, the price for sin is death and damnation – eternal separation from God. Pretty steep price! And that was accomplished by Jesus on the cross. His death, His damnation – price paid. And the resurrection proved that that payment was acceptable to God. Justice paid – mercy, God’s comfort now is ours.
ANNOUNCER: On the cross we see God’s justice and mercy all at the same time. On the cross we see that God is both just and merciful. Thank you, Pastor Seltz. This has been a presentation of Lutheran Hour Ministries.
Music Selections for this program:
“A Mighty Fortress” arranged by Chris Bergmann. Used by permission.
“God’s Own Child, I Gladly Say It” by Erdmann Neumeister & J.C. Bachofen, tr. Robert E. Voelker. From With High Delight by the Children’s Choir of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Ft. Wayne, Indiana (© 2002 St. Paul’s Lutheran Church)
“All Who Believe and Are Baptized” arr. Henry Gerike. Used by permission.
“Once in the Blest Baptismal Waters” From The Concordia Organist (© 2009 Concordia Publishing House)
“Praeludium pro Organo pleno” by J.S. Bach. From Pipe Organ Dedicatory Concert by Charles Ore (© 1999 Chapel of the Cross Lutheran Church)