Because I Said So

Luke 4:16-21

Harpeth Presbyterian Church: January 21, 2007: David Jones

          Before I read today’s scripture passage, I want to take a survey.

          Raise your hand if you ever had this happen with a parent. You the child wanted to do something other than what your parent wanted. You the child protested. Frustrated by your lack of voice, you ask your parent, "WHY?" The parent's response? "Because I said so."

          Now, if you as a child swore that you would never ever say that to your own child… if you promised to yourself, "I will never tell my child "Because I said so" then raise your hand.

          If, as a parent, you broke that promise and said to your child, "Because I said so" then raise your hand.

          I told Carrie the title of the sermon. She said, “I’ve heard that before.” She wasn’t talking about as a sermon title. I asked Cayla, do you ever remember me ever… possibly… maybe…. saying to you, “Because I said so.” She said “yeah!” As if, “Father, I am surprised you had to ask!”

          That’s the bad side of “because I said so”. Today, I want to show you the good side of “because I said so.”

Luke 4: ¹⁶When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, ¹⁷ and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:

¹⁸ “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

because he has anointed me

to bring good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives

and recovery of sight to the blind,

to let the oppressed go free,

¹⁹ to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

²⁰ And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. ²¹ Then he began to say to them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

          In this passage, Jesus uses a huge “because I said so.” Granted, it is not an explicit “because I said so” but an implicit “because I said so.”

          Jesus, in his home town, pulls out the scroll to read at the local synagogue. He reads a passage that has two significant parts.

          1. an image of the Messiah, God's chosen leader, the passage reads... "The Lord has anointed me."

          2. an image of the kingdom of God, Jubilee, the year of the Lord's favor where slaves go free. Both are in this passage.

          When Jesus then says, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” He is making two bold declarations.

          1. That he is the Messiah.

          2. And that the kingdom of God is right in front of them.

          It is important to point out this difference. John, the baptizer, was calling people out into the desert to wait for the kingdom of God. “The kingdom of God is coming!” Jesus, called people from there homes into the streets, why? Because for Jesus, the kingdom of God is already here.

          Those are two very powerful declarations.

          On what authority did Jesus make those declarations?

          Jesus then boldly says, "Today… this passage… the one you have heard about all your lives in the synagogue… the one you hoped might possibly one day come to pass… today, this passage is fulfilled in your hearing."
          A bold statement! The reason they should believe him, according to Jesus, was, of course, “because he said so.”

          Powerful because I said so’s.

          Today, I want to consider this power, "Because I said so." I want to look at three powerful "Because I said so"s that can change your life.

          Three steps for you to claim the power of “Because I said so.”

          Step 1. Trusting in the power of God’s because is said so.

          The Bible begins with a wonderful image. In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was formless and void… but it didn't stay that way. Why? Because God said so.

          God said, "Let there be light!" and there was light. Why? Because God said so.

          God said, "Let there be land!" there was land. Why? Because God said so.

          Life is… because God said so.

          When a child asks, "Why is there an earth?" The answer, according to Genesis, is… because God said so.

          "Why are there stars?" Because God said so.

          "Why do I exist?" Because God said so.

          Jesus stood before his home town and said, “The lord has anointed me.” How could he do that? Because God said so. This chapter in Luke follows closely chapter three. What happened in chapter three? Jesus’ baptism. At Jesus baptism God tells Jesus that this is my child my beloved.

          What happens at your baptism? God tells you and the world, “You are my child. My beloved.”

          God’s declaration. God’s said so.

          When you tell a child, "You are a child of God. God loves you. You are God's beloved." And they ask, "Why?" Then you can point to the baptismal font and say, "Because God said so."

          With our confirmation class, I think perhaps affirmation is better than confirmation, why? Because we are affirming God's said so. In baptism we promise to nurture them in the Christian faith, a faith that trusts that God has claimed them and told them they are beloved. We tell them, we affirm, "You are a child of God, because God said so."

          In confirmation, like at baptism, we aren’t just saying, “You are a child of God because God said so,” we are also saying, “You are a child of God because we said so.” That’s why during confirmation we put with you adults, family members and covenant partners who can keep reminding you, “you are a child of God… you are a child of God…” “Beloved… beloved…”

          Which leads me to the second "Because I said so…" the "Because I said so…" of the group, the community.

          Not only do we gain the power of “Because I said so” by trusting in God, but by connecting to the community.

          Step 2. Connect to the community's because I said so.

          A group's "Because we said so" is very powerful.

          a. the power of the group’s because we said so…

          On July 4^th, 1776, a group of British Citizens living in the colonies gathered together. At risk of their very lives, they declared in the Declaration of Independence that they were no longer British Citizens but free men, the colonies no longer under British rule - but instead a nation. Why? Because they said so.

          The nation agreed. If they hadn't, it would have been some silly people.

          Currency. Because we said so. Foreign money. No. We didn't say so.

          b. the weakness of the group’s because we said so…

          If you every talk with Jewish friends, if you ask them, “Why don’t you think Jesus was the messiah?” Likely, they will tell you though they might use different language, “Because we don’t see God’s kingdom.” The messiah was to bring in God’s kingdom.

          Jesus points it out right here…¹⁸ “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

because he has anointed me

to bring good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives

and recovery of sight to the blind,

to let the oppressed go free,

¹⁹ to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

          I think they make a good point… the poor are still poor, the captives don’t seem released, and the oppressed don’t seem free. I don’t see the year of the Lord’s favor.

          What’s missing? Was there something amiss in Jesus… or in us?

          I would say, humanity as a group claimed one of two of Jesus’ declarations.

          As far as Jesus being the Messiah, much of the world said, “Yes, Jesus was and is the Messiah.” We agreed with Jesus’ declaration. We celebrate his birthday and resurrection around the world. Our calendar begins with when we thought his birthday was. 2007 means 2007 years since Jesus’ birthday.

          But Jesus second declaration that the kingdom of God is among us… well… not so much. The lack of the kingdom is that we, the people of God, have never accepted the beilief that the kingdom of God is right here.

          John the Baptist "Wait for it." Jesus "here it is - see it!" We’re still waiting.

          Certainly, not everyone agrees that Jesus is who is declared himself to be. Jews, for example, they say, "If Jesus was the Messiah, we would see the kingdom."

          A once famous monastery had fallen on hard times. People no longer came to the monastery to be nourished by prayer. The monks had a heavy heart because they were aging and their numbers were diminishing.

One day, the abbot visited the Rabbi who had a hut nearby and who came to pray and fast in the woods on occasion. The Rabbi sensed how sad the monks were and knew that the abbot had come to ask him for a teaching that would help. The Rabbi told the abbot he would give him a teaching but the abbot could only repeat it once and then it must never be said out loud again. The Rabbi said: "The Messiah is among you."

When the abbot gathered all the monks and repeated the Rabbi's teaching to the monks, the monks were startled and immediately began to ask, who is the Messiah? Is Brother John the Messiah - or Father Thomas? Am I the Messiah? What in the world did the Rabbi's teaching mean, they wondered.

Within a year, the monastery was a completely different place. Visitors, occasional at first, immediately noticed there was something special about the monks. The monastery was a good place to be - and as the word spread, more and more people came to pray. The number of monks expanded as young men joined the monastery. Happy ending.

Did the monks do anything different? No. But the monks were changed. Knowing the Messiah was among them, they were no longer heavy hearted. They treasured one another. Rather than seeing an old, bent-over hard of hearing monk, they saw a brother who might be the Messiah. How the monks were significantly impacted everything the monks did.

Why don't we try this? Let's retell this story in our local unit. We'll conclude it with the Rabbi's teaching: "The Messiah is among us". Let's live with this mystery every day and get in touch with what it means - the Messiah is among us. We will be changed.

Praise God! The Messiah is among us!

          The community's because we said so is powerful.

          The reason the world is not experiencing Isaiah 61, the reason we are lving more like John the Baptist “God is coming” instead of Jesus’ “God is here”, is because we haven’t trusted God in Christ’s “because I said so,” we havent’ claimed the power of communal “we said so” or claimed our own individual power of “because I said so.”

          Step 3. Claim the power of your own, “Because I said so.”

                    Is today a beautiful day for you or a yucky day? Weather might lead you to saying a ‘yucky day.’

          It’s a beautiful day for me.

          This morning, I was starting the car. I had a history book on tape in the player – definitely not what I wanted to start my drive to church. I needed a little Rock and Roll. Well, I started, unknowingly to let my foot off the break. I was rolling with my front in turned. I almost hit Carrie’s van. But I didn’t! My choice, I could feel ignorant or fortunate. I chose fortunate!

          I got a cup for hot tea. Someone had poked a pencil sized hole for some craft through the bottom of the cup. Before I put hot water in it, I noticed it! It’s a beautiful day.

This power can shape your experience of the world.Let’s examine this “because I said so” first in life experiences then in relationships.

          I want to tell you the difference between feelings and emotions.

          Emotions are experiences. Feelings are choices. If a close friend dies, you experience sadness. If you win the lottery, you experience happiness. Being human, we have a difficult time choosing our emotions. Someone dies, you may not want to experience sadness, but because I said so won't help you much.

          You can't change your emotions, but you can change your feelings. Whereas there are many emotions, there are basically only three feelings. There is a positive feeling, a neutral feeling, or a negative feeling.

          For example, when a friend dies, I experience sadness. I can actually choose to celebrate the sadness, to live it fully, why? Because my friend meant a lot to me. Nathan's middle name, James. Sometimes I miss my friend. I can choose to feel positively  about my sadness. Why? Because he meant that much to me. I imitate him.

          By choosing how I feel about my emotions… I had an injustice. Will I get angry about it? No. Why. Not much I can do about it. Doesn't serve me. I don't think about it.

          Here is the disclaimer. I want to distinguish between good “because I said so’s” I’m talking about in this sermon and bad “because I said so’s” like I heard as a kid, and yes, have used as a parent.         The answer is in the serenity prayer, God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

          Good because I said so recognize you’re right to choose. Bad because I said so’s try and take away someone’s right to choose. That’s why the parenting ones are bad, they address the child as if they have no choice.

          Rather than talk about parenting, let’s look at your because I said so power. This is power we see in Jesus and power that Jesus gives. This is one way we see what Jesus meant when he said he was releasing the captives.

          This is the third part of confirmation, not just because God said so, not just because we say so, but because you say so. It is claiming your power.

          Much of you're experience in this life is rooted in whether or not you can claim the power you have to 'say so'.

          This is one of the more helpful things I have read in a while. It is a distinction between feelings and emotions.

          During the adult Sunday School class, we’ve talked about Jesus claiming his own power, because I say so power, by loving his enemies.

          I saw this power as a kid. I was seven years old. I saw this power in an enemy. Greg Chambers. Greg was actually my best friend. He had come over to my house to play. For some reason, I don’t remember why, I got mad at Greg. Furious. I was chasing him around the house. I was going to kill him. I was really mad.

          “I’m going to kill you, Greg!” I yelled as I chased him.

          “No you’re not,” he said as he ran away.

          “Yes I am,” I screamed.

          “No you’re not,” he replied.

          “How do you know?” I asked.

          “Because I said so,” was his response.

          The more I chased him the madder I got and the calmer he became. The ‘because I said so’ infuriated me. But he was right. There was no way I was going to kill him. I couldn’t catch him. He was a lot faster than I was.

          So, instead of threatening his life, I threatened our friendship.

          "You are not my best friend.”

          “Yes I am,” he replied, still out running me.

          “No you’re not.”

          “Yes I am.”

          “Why?”

          “Because I said so.”

          Greg was like Jesus. The power of because I said so is that you can’t control what people do, but you can control what you do. Love your enemies means you never give up your right to choose, and you never give up your commitment to choosing love no matter what other people choose.

          That's the power of Jesus. Loving your enemies is choosing to feel positively about people who are trying to kill you.

          Jesus went to Jerusalem, he knew they were going to kill him. He wouldn't run away. He didn't react he acted. He essentially said, "I will still love you."