Menlo Church 950 Santa Cruz Avenue, Menlo Park, CA 94025 650-323-8600 Series: Easter April 1, 2018 John 12:24-26 Easter at Menlo Church John Ortberg My name is John Ortberg, and I'm one of the pastors at Menlo Church. There is a tradition that has been around for thousands of years on Easter that somebody will say, "Jesus Christ is risen," and people will respond, "He is risen indeed!" You might be just visiting. I know a lot of folks are checking things out and not sure what you think about God, so feel no pressure when we're singing or saying words like that. Feel free just to be a spectator, but if you are a follower of Jesus, I'm going to say that, and you can respond back. Here we go. Jesus Christ is risen. He is risen indeed! We're so honored to be celebrating Easter with you. I want to say, "Hi," to everybody. We're one church with a lot of campuses (South City, Saratoga, San Jose, San Mateo, Mountain View), in the Café, and everybody here in this room. Everybody over in Fellowship Hall enjoying that fabulous Easter brunch we have We don't actually have that. I just made that up to make you all feel jealous. This is Easter, and this is the day when followers of Jesus celebrate that Jesus was raised from the dead. That's a good day to talk about hope, and that's a good thing because hope is something we can't live without. No human being can. We need it like we need oxygen. When we're young, we hope recreationally. "I hope I pass this test. I hope I make this team. I hope we win this game. I hope I get this job. I hope she says, 'Yes,' when I ask her out. I hope he asks me out," or maybe, "I hope he doesn't ask me out." If you're single, maybe it's, "I hope I marry this person." Well, then, if you do, maybe it's, "I hope we have children. I hope we get kids in the house." Then, if you do, it's, "I hope we get kids out of the house." Yeah. Some of you are there. But if you live long enough, hope will disappoint you. It just will. Life will disappoint you. You don't get married when you wanted to, or you do but you don't have kids, or you do but something you did not foresee happens to one of them, or something terrible happens to you, and you wonder when one of these or some other thing happens to you, "Is there a big hope underneath all of the other hopes? Is there an ultimate hope? Is there a hope beyond mere groundless optimism that can stare life, stare tragedy, and stare despair in the face and not blink?" This man, Jesus, haunts the human race because he says there is. He was quite convinced that, in fact, precisely when things look the darkest from a human perspective is very often when God is going to shine the brightest. He expressed this unforgettably one day in a way that has left everybody who has ever heard these words with a decision to make, and this is that day, and I want to lay that out for you and for me. - 1 -
Here's how he put it. "Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds." Then, he speaks to the human condition. "Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life." Strange, haunting teaching. Let's start at the physical level. Imagine for a moment you're that seed he's talking about, and one day you get thrown into a hole in the ground, and the dirt gets shoveled on top of you. If you could think (that little seed), you would think, "Well, I guess it's all over now. No air, no light, and no sunshine. Covered by earth. Can't move. Can't see. This is the worst. This is the end." Then, this strange miracle, and we forget how miraculous it is because it happens everyday, but it still is. Something (we don't know what) high above the earth says to something deep within that seed, "Rise up," and it does, and a little stem shoots out of that seed to reach up toward the sky, and a little root shoots out of that seed to get life and nourishment from the earth, and what looked like the end, as it turns out, was just the beginning of something unimaginably wonderful. What looked like the worst thing to that little seed ended up being the best thing, the only thing. For the seed wasn't buried; it was only planted. So often in the Bible there are stories about God working in this way. His people, Israel, wandering around in the wilderness for 40 years wanted to go back to Egypt. They thought they were dead. They'd rather be slaves. God was about to plant this new people who would give hope to the entire world in the Promised Land. A young boy is going up against a giant named Goliath. We all go up against giants, and we all feel, "You might as well bury me now." He had no idea. A strong, bright young man named Joseph is buried in a prison that belongs to Pharaoh. He thinks his life is over, and God is about to raise him up to be like the prime minister. A young woman named Esther thinks she's about to be destroyed, and God is just about not only to save her but to use her to save his people in a story that will be remembered thousands of years later. I wonder about you. You see, the thing about being planted you have to understand is it feels exactly like being buried. It looks exactly like being buried, except a lot of times it is right then when things look their darkest that God is going to do something unimaginable. Many years ago we had neighbors who badly wanted to have children. They tried for a long time and had pretty much lost hope. They were telling us about this, and my wife, Nancy, and I said, "We're going to pray for you." We did this for several months, and one day they came over to our house and they were so excited, and they told us they were pregnant. She was going to have a baby, and we said, "We'll keep praying." A month later they came back to our house and told us they had gotten news from the doctor that not only were they pregnant, but they were going to have twins. We said, "We will really pray for you now." Several weeks later they came back and said, "We've been to the doctor again and we're not having twins. We're having triplets. Please stop praying for us." The dream wasn't buried; it was planted. We all love hope. We all love stories about hope. At Easter time in the spring when life creeps back up from the earth, when little seeds send up little shoots to reach toward the sun, we love to think about the power of positive thinking or having an optimistic attitude. "Maybe if I just approach the world with enough confidence I will draw good things to myself." Jesus is saying nothing like that. He is, first, explaining what is about to happen to him. "Unless a seed falls into the ground and dies " He's on his way to Jerusalem. He is going to die on a cross. He knows - 2 -
he's going to die on a cross. He has chosen to die on a cross. Who would make something like this up? He believes if he dies on a cross something terrible and wonderful will happen. A great power will be released in the world. A great story will be told that would not be told and that power would not be released if he did not first die on a cross. In fact in fact whatever you might happen to think about Jesus, about God, about life after death, or the supernatural, he was exactly right. Think about this. If Jesus had lived somehow to a ripe old age, if he had died quietly and painlessly in his sleep as an old man, he would have been forgotten centuries ago like a hundred other wonderful teachers, but he died. He knew he would die. He chose to die on a cross, and that death on a cross changed everything, beginning with the cross itself. You might think about this. More graves (go to any cemetery) are marked by a cross than any other symbol. Yet, the cross was simply a means of torture, brutal humiliation, and execution. Nobody in their right mind marks a grave with a guillotine or a little electric chair or a noose. Why in the world would anybody mark a grave with a cross for God's sake? Because of Jesus. There is no other explanation. Because he used the cross. The powers thought they were going to use the cross to stop Jesus, but Jesus decided he would use a cross to show the human race what God's love is like. Jesus decided he would use a cross to show people the power of forgiveness over hate. Jesus decided he would use a cross to show people the power of life over death. Jesus decided he would use a cross to show people the enduring, irresistible strength of sacrificial, humble love. He suffered hate without hating back. He was mocked, but he did not mock in return. He embraced the untouchables nobody else would. He spoke courageous truth to power, and it made the powers that be really mad. They could not stand it, so they hung him on a cross to kill him. Then they buried his body in a tomb, and they said to themselves, "Well, that's the end of that! That's the last we will see of this problem!" But they were wrong because on the third day on the third day something way up above said to something way deep within, "Rise up," and he rose up. It turns out Jesus was not buried in that tomb; he was only planted. I know we're just a Presbyterian church, so we don't say, "Amen," but if you're going to say it, this would be the time. A scholar by the name of N.T. Wright notes, "If Jesus was not raised from the dead, we simply never would have heard of him." Tens of thousands of people, as a matter of historical fact, were killed by Romans on a cross. It was a convenient way to suppress rebellion. Many of them were would-be messiahs who wanted to lead Israel's revolution. Of all of these, only the name of Jesus of Nazareth is known, and it is known more widely across all of the world than any other name in human history. There is no other way to account for this. There is no other way to account for the sudden emergence and the birth of the church which one day did not exist and the next day it did. There is no other way to explain how formerly terrified disciples by their own account were suddenly filled with a devotion so great they would brave martyrdom and death for the name except they knew this to be true: Jesus Christ was raised from the dead, and this is hope. We live at the intersection of hope and despair. That's our world. A wonderful writer named Fredrick Buechner said, "The resurrection means the worst thing is not the last thing." The worst thing the worst - 3 -
thing the worst thing is never the last thing, but now all of this means nothing if you do not respond to it. You will get buried. Our world is that way. What Jesus taught is true of seeds and for him and for me and for you. Unless a seed falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone. Jesus says, "If I love my life " What that means is not if I embrace living. He loved that. It means, "If I put my own self-interests first, if I put my own survival above all else, if I make it my ultimate goal to do what people generally do (climb the ladder as high as I can, be successful, live in comfort, or look after myself) I will be like that seed that never gets planted: barren, fruitless, stagnant, and alone. But there is a way to life with God. It's quite counterintuitive. I like how a little kid put it. A Sunday school teacher was trying to explain grace and salvation and God's mercy to her little class, so she asked them, "Can you go to heaven by just being a good enough person?" They all said, "No." "Can you get to heaven by going to church enough?" "No." "Can you get to heaven by giving enough money or doing enough good deeds?" "No." "Then, what do you have to do to get to heaven?" One little kid said, "You have to die first." It kind of makes sense when you stop and think about it. You have to die first. Unless a seed falls into the ground and dies Anybody who loves their life You have to die first. Have you done that? The way to life is through death. I die to my ego. I die to my sin. I die to my demand to have my own way. I die to my will, and I surrender. "God, your will and not mine be done." I put my life in God's hands so I can be born to a greater life, to a greater self, to a nobler self through Jesus. I have been crucified with Christ. I wanted you to see what that looks like in real life, so I'm going to ask a friend. This guy is part of our church. Behrooz, would you come up right now? His journey to Jesus has been quite remarkable and shows how Jesus just transcends culture, religion, and everything, and he's willing to share his story with us this weekend five times. Would you all greet Behrooz right now? Behrooz: Thank you. Before I start, I want to thank you, sir, and all of the family of Menlo Church, the staff, and everybody for their support and for their love. Thank you, all. A few years ago I could not imagine myself in a Christian church on Easter let alone be speaking in one, but now I'm gladly here to tell you about my journey to Jesus and, of course, my beard. I grew up in the beautiful countryside of Iran surrounded by a lot of my family. Years later, when I was studying engineering at the University of Tehran there was a brutal government attack on the school dormitory to silence a student uprising. On that night I was there when a number of students were killed, injured, and captured. Seeing the violence made me think, "How could this happen in my country with such a rich culture and heritage?" In the journey to understand what happened to get us to this point in our history, I decided to study sociology, and it was then that I was first introduced to Jesus and his teachings by a fellow student. What drew me to explore Jesus was the love that is at the center of his message. - 4 -
Years later when I came to the States and the Bay Area, I was drawn into the family of Menlo Church by the love of the community and the teaching here. Exploring the gospel of John and the letters to Romans and Galatians, I was overwhelmed by the depth of love, faith, and spirituality in their message. After a while, I asked to be baptized. On December 18, 2016, I accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Savior. It was an amazing turning point in my life, an outward act that would profoundly change something deep inside me. I accepted Jesus as my role model. I soon realized my character needed to change. I struggled with anger issues all of my life. Last September I experienced an intense anger attack. I felt immense embarrassment and realized that no matter how mature I am still there are those rare moments that I have no control over my actions. I knew I didn't want to be in that situation again, and I had to do something about it. Listening to the Holy Spirit, I decided to allocate some time in every day to praise, prayer, meditation, and solitude. I also decided to push my own comfort zone by applying changes to my daily lifestyle and behavior, to leave those thoughts and habits that caused destructive feelings like anxiety and anger. Pushing my comfort zone, I started to grow a beard, or I think it's better to say to leave my beard alone. Growing a beard was not an easy one for me. I was always worried about looking old, so I never grew a beard in my life before. I'm 38, after all. Furthermore, for me growing up in Iran, having a beard was not just a personal choice. For the revolutionary government of Iran, the beard was a symbol of ideology, and for most of Iranian middle class like myself who have experienced the suppressing actions of that government, a beard unconsciously creates a sense of dismay. This beard is a constant reminder that the people I attempted to dislike have a common humanity, that they, too, are people Jesus died for and are loved by God. Looking at my bearded face everyday in the mirror I'm reminded to overcome a mixture of destructive feelings and to focus on love and forgiveness. As Bishop Richard Chartres says, "We cannot change the past, but we are responsible for how we remember the past." What we choose to remember shapes the future. In truth, we remember the future. When our church began to study the Sermon on the Mount, then I could understand why Jesus focused his first and most important sermon not on describing a belief system or any intellectual matters but on behaviors. "Don't be worried. Don't be angry. Don't judge. Pray, love, and forgive." Thank you, and happy Easter to all. Thank you. John Ortberg: God's ability to bring healing and hope and love into a life is just extraordinary. I wish you could know Behrooz' whole story. When he was baptized just a little over a year ago, you might have noticed another This is just a really specific way that he said God was leading him. He used to dye his hair, and just as a way of reminding himself, "God loves me just the way I am," he stopped dying his hair. I think gray-haired guys look great, so I think that was a great choice. I have no idea why you're applauding for that one. What happened to Behrooz has happened to millions and millions of people for thousands of years, and it can happen to you. You can meet Jesus. You can give your life. He said it. Unless a seed falls to the ground and dies, it remains alone, but if it dies, it will bear much fruit. You can hand your life over to him and, just like you saw in that picture, you can get baptized. In a couple of weeks our church This is a big party and a big celebration for us. We're celebrating baptisms and anybody who has surrendered their life to Jesus can come. You can find out more about this - 5 -
if you go online at menlo.church or go to the Connection Center. You can get signed up to come to our church. It's kind of like going public with your faith to say, "I want the whole world to know I will follow Jesus." Bring your friends and we'll have a big party, but you have to die first. You have to get planted. This is a day you can make that decision. I want to invite you to right now, so I will ask everybody to bow your head and close your eyes, if you would. This is the most important decision a human being faces in light of Jesus' Word, and if you want to come to new life in him, if you want to belong to him, if you want him to forgive and save you, then say this simple prayer from your heart. "God, I confess there is stuff inside of me I do not want and I can't control. There is anger, bitterness, hatred, greed, lust, addiction, regret, guilt, failure, shame. God, I'm laying it all down. I'm naming it. I'm repenting of it. I'm asking you now to forgive me and cleanse me. Do what Jesus did for me on that cross. God, I want to die to my old ego, my old self-centeredness, my old habits, and I want to come alive to you. I want Jesus to walk with me and guide me and be my friend and my forgiver and my leader from this day forward." Again, keep your heads bowed and eyes closed. If you've prayed that prayer, I just want to say a really brief prayer for you, so just raise your hand if you've made that decision. Yep! Yep! I see that hand. Yep! Yep! Yep! Folks all over the room Yep! I see you up in the balcony. Just slip that hand up. This is a way of expressing between you and God, "God, I'm all in." Heavenly Father, I pray right now for every woman and man who has in their heart surrendered their life to you. Help them, God, to find the right person to talk to who can begin to lead them on that path to growth and grace and salvation we've just heard about from Behrooz. God, I pray for everybody in this room who feels buried or who will feel buried. I pray the only hope that matters, the only life that counts, and the one name that stands above every other name will come to life in them, and I pray this and we thank you in the name of our crucified and resurrected friend. In Jesus' name, amen. - 6 -