Batteries Are Included
Pastor Mathew Magera – 5/12/19 – Sermon 349
St. Thomas Lutheran Church, Trufant, MI
To God be the Glory!
Grace and peace to you from God our Father, from our
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Today is a day when we give thanks for that one
special presence in our lives. The one who has taken care of us, provided for
us. The one who consoles us when we mourn, who is there when we suffer. The one
who has given us shelter, food. The one who encourages us and motivates us. You
know who I’m talking about. I’m talking about, none other than, Jesus.
Today is a day we celebrate Jesus, all he has done
for us. We give thanks for his special presence in our lives, the one who takes
care of us, provides for us. Jesus, who consoles us when we mourn, who is there
when we suffer. He provides shelter and food, encourages us and motivates us.
We love getting presents. But, if there was one
thing I remembered about presents, it was this. If it was Christmas morning, my
first stop would be the Christmas tree where I would pick up a present and
bring it back to my seat on the couch. After opening it, I would take it to
anyone with a pocket knife to free my new toy from the jaws of life that were
the zip ties that kept it securely in place within its packaging. Then, my
worst nightmare would come true if I saw one phrase on the packaging. Batteries
not included. No!!!! Why? It’s a phrase every eager kid never wants to see and
a phrase ever weary adult seems to take refuge in. Batteries not included. Kids
would say, “but now it won’t work” while adults would say, “thank the Lord, it
won’t be making noise any time soon.” Batteries not included. The toy becomes
an empty shell, screaming silently with potential, yet immovable and
non-functioning.
Have you ever felt like your faith has become like
an empty shell? As if it were screaming silently with potential, yet immovable
and non-functioning? God, my faith is broken. It just won’t work. It’s like the
batteries were not included when we opened this particular present. God has
given us the gift of faith, a very valuable gift, and it just feels sometimes
like it doesn’t do anything. You almost want to take a stick and poke at it.
C’mon. Do something. Perhaps we’ve even gotten to the point where we might say,
“Take it back. I want a refund.” We’ve opened the gift of faith but it’s as if
the batteries were not included.
Journey with me now into the pages of John chapter
10. Jesus is well immersed into his life
of ministry by this point. People are flocking to him. Others are skeptical.
Still others are trying to find ways to trick him or throw him under the bus.
Jesus had just recently given one his famous “I am” statements in telling the
Pharisees he was the good shepherd. Now, during the festival of Hanukkah Jesus
is in the Temple courts and we find people who are feeling like their faith has
come without batteries. “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the
Messiah, tell us plainly.” We know what this faith is like. We want cold, hard
evidence that we are doing the right thing in following Jesus. If not, I’ll be
on my way. Jesus, just tell me if you are the Messiah and then everything will
be okay. Come on, faith, do something.
I’m rather frustrated by Jesus’ response here too. “I
did tell you, but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name
testify about me, but you do not believe because you are not my sheep.” Jesus’
idea of telling us something plainly is not exactly very plain to our ears.
It’s as if we ask Jesus if he’s the Messiah and he comes back and says, “The
Kingdom of God is like a red tractor and a green tractor in the same field.”
What, Jesus? That doesn’t answer my question. In other words, these people are
coming to Jesus saying, my faith is broken. It just won’t work. Jesus is then
saying, you do not believe, your faith does not work, because it needs
batteries and you don’t have them. The batteries are the Church. You are not my
sheep. You are not a part of my Church. One needs the Church for faith to work.
The Church is where faith gets its power.
I don’t know how often you come across people who
say, “I’m a Christian but I don’t think Christians have to be a part of a
Church.” Well, true. You can buy your child a remote control car for their
birthday and you certainly don’t have to supply the car with batteries. But,
that’s your call. Without batteries, the remote control car will not function.
Without the Church, faith will not function. No, you don’t have to be a part of
a Church if you don’t want your faith to do anything or serve a purpose. Faith
needs the Church. We need to be his sheep, we need to be a part of His Church.
There were two women out shopping one day and they
happened to walk into an electronics store to buy a few packs of batteries.
They grabbed what they needed but when they went to check out all of the sales
associates were busy doing something else. It was as if they didn’t want to
help them. “I’ve got an idea,” one of them said. She reached into her purse,
pulled out a tape measure, and walked up to one of the largest flat screen
televisions in the store and started measuring it. Faster than you could say high
definition, a young sales associate came running over and said, “May I help
you?” “Yes, of course you can. We’d like to buy these packs of batteries.” Not
only do we want the product, it might be all we want to sell too.
In this consumer society we live in, we want things
and we want them to work the moment we receive them. I want it to work now. We
don’t want to have to worry about batteries, those extra pieces. We want the
product. I want a deeper faith but I don’t want to sacrifice for it and be a real
active part of the Church. Think about this. If you have ever gone to a
Christian book store, how many books do you see about strengthening or
deepening faith? Plenty of them. How many books do you see about thriving as an
active member of the Church? Not many.
Now, I do believe a majority of our faith formation
takes place in our homes but that is because the foundation begins with the
Church. The reason we can teach our kids and grand kids at home about Jesus is
because of the benefits we experience in being part of the Church.
So, if faith needs the Church, what’s so good about
it? Why does the Church benefit faith? How does the Church power faith like a
battery can power a toy? Listen to what Jesus says, “You do not believe because
you are not my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow
me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch
them out of my hand.” This is the power of the Church right here.
Jesus says, “my sheep listen to my voice.” This is a
fundamental attribute of the Church. It’s a present, active verb. The Church is
listening to Jesus’ voice. That means that the Church is constantly,
continuously listening for God’s will, for his presence, for his direction. Jesus says, “I know them.” Jesus knows
His Church. Jesus gets to know us as we listen to him and do his will. He see
how the Church responds to His Word, how the Church talks to him and prays to
him. It’s a constant conversation between the flock and the shepherd. Jesus says, “They follow me.” We’re
linked together. The Church and Christ. He talks, we listen. He walks, we
follow. As that relationship deepens, the Church wants nowhere else to be than
with Jesus wherever he goes. Jesus
says, “I give them eternal life and they shall never perish.” By this deep
relationship the Church has obtained with Him, what they are receiving is not
simply advice to get through a tough day. It’s not a palm reading or a
horoscope, what Jesus is giving the Church is a new life, a new way, a new
reality and he is promising that this life is unending. Finally, Jesus says, “No one will snatch them out of my hand.” The
Church is given special assurance of an indefectible security; the Church is
forever safe in Jesus’ grip.
Jesus, in these five statements here shows us the
power of the Church, how the Church powers faith. Now, I’m not trying to say
that personal devotion, study, and a personal relationship with Christ is a bad
thing. I can tell you that one of our members has spent a significant amount of
time in a secluded area and read the Bible inside and out and while I’m not
saying that this is contrary to what Jesus is telling us to do, I’m saying that
it’s only part of it. Our personal faith is one thing but our corporate faith
is another. The Church enhances our personal faith journey, it provides ways to
put our faith into action. It provides us the opportunity to encounter and be
encountered by Jesus. A new toy is a great thing in and of itself. It’s great
to look at, it’s great to have. But, it can become even better with batteries.
Faith is a great thing to have in and of itself. It’s great to depend on, it’s
great to have. But, it can grow with the Church.
The Good News in all of this is that unlike our
worst childhood nightmares of opening a present only to find the phrase
“Batteries not included” written all over it, faith is a present that is given
to us, unwrapped and found to have the words “Batteries Are Included” written
all over it. Faith does not come by itself. When we open the gift of faith, we
also open the gift of the Church as well. It’s one thing to have faith, but
it’s another thing to be a part of His Church, to be part of His sheep. But,
being a part of His sheep is a choice we have to respond to. Jesus has given us
everything we need. He has given us the gift of faith and he has given us the
gift of the Church. But, like with any electronic device, just because
batteries may be included does not make them useful. Faith is not useful
without the Church giving it power. Likewise, the Church is not useful without
anything to provide its power toward. Jesus gives us these gifts so that we may
know him more, that we may know his presence in our lives more, that we may
know his saving power more, that we may know his love more.
Finally, we need to keep in mind exactly what Jesus
is pointing to here. It’s not the keys to a robust faith nor the saving power
of the Church. Faith cant' save us. The Church can't save us. Only God's grace
can save us. The goal is Jesus. Look to him. That’s what Jesus was trying to
convey to the people when they asked him to plainly tell them he was the
Messiah. Jesus said, “I did tell you but you did not believe. The works I do in
my Father’s name testify about me.” Thanks be to God he has freely given the
gifts to experience and know him, to see that the works he does do testify
about him, to know that faith is not given alone but that faith is also given
with the Church and that together, batteries included, we may know him, and be
saved by him. To God be the glory, now and always. Amen.