The First Presbyterian Church Rev. James K. Teall

Salt Lake City, Utah               January 25, 2004

A Soul Transformed

John 13:1-17

I have a confession to make.  Yes, it is true.  I am a channel suffer.  When the commercial comes on the TV, I pick up that clicker and begin to ride the TV wave, surfing from one station to the next hoping to find the perfect show.  TV, though, is not my favorite place to surf.  My favorite surfing spot is the radio.  Oh, how I love my preset radio stations in my car.  The moment a tune comes over the radio waves that I don’t like, my hand is like lightning and I am surfing through those stations to find that one song.  In the mid 80’s there was no greater song that would cause my finger to go in motion like the song by Bobby McFerrin , “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.”  I could not stand that song.  Not that I had anything against Bobby; it was the radio overkill for one thing.  I mean, you could not go 10 minutes without hearing that song on some radio station.  But the other thing was the lyrics.  Usually I would hear the song in my car as I sat in grid-lock traffic on a Houston highway late to my next appointment, and there was ol’ Bobby rappin’ out “Don’t worry, be happy…” click, switch.

You know Bobby McFerrin is not the only one who has offered his advice on how to attain happiness.  For Bobby, he simply never worried.  I find this task of not worrying very difficult, perhaps you do as well.  When a loved one is sick I find it hard to just be happy.  Happiness is the one thing we are all searching for but seldom does anyone find it.  Are you happy?  Are you really happy, or are you still searching?  Corporations realize that most Americans are not happy.  This is why they tell us if we drive their car, vacation at their resort, drink their beer, we will be happy.   The pursuit of happiness is not only our constitutional right, but it is also our destiny.  That’s right; God wants you to be happy.  He wants to bless you.  The word blessed translated really means happy.  Jesus tells his disciples that they will be blessed, happy, if they follow His example. 

Who are you following when it comes to discovering happiness?  Are you following Wall Street?  Are you living under the illusion that more money will bring happiness?  Are you following titles?  Are you living under the illusion that if people say nice things about you then you will be happy?  Are you following Walt Disney?  Are you living under the illusion that life is about fun and pain and suffering must be avoided at all costs?  Or perhaps you are following religion?  Are you trying to live life as if it were a formula of do’s and don’ts, and that if you could just do more good than bad then, then finally you will be happy?  Jesus says if we follow Him, we will be blessed, we will be happy.

That sounds kind of trite doesn’t it?  It is almost as bad as “don’t worry, be happy.”  Follow Jesus and be happy?  I kind of cringe when I hear myself say it; it sounds too easy.  So let me try again.  The way to be blessed is by loving others.  That is probably not a startling statement either coming from a preacher.  You probably know that the path or the key to leading a joy filled life has something to do with love and if you think that love and happiness are synonymous you would be correct. 

When we love others, we are blessed.  This is the truth of Jesus message in the gospels.  Love others and be blessed.  There it is.  Sermon over!  Well, not quite yet, because we need to know what love is first, don’t we.  Poll 10 people on the streets and ask them what love is and you’ll get 10 answers.  Love is a puppy dog.  Love is a song.  Love is tough love.  Love is sentimental and sweet.  Love is a feeling.  Love is an action.  Love is sex.  Love is skiing on a mountain.  Love is romance and the list goes on and on.  What is love?  When Jesus says, “I give you a new commandment, that you should love one another,” what does he have in mind? 

I am not so sure Jesus would have been a successful marking agent.  For if Jesus was to create a bumper sticker, His might say, “BECOME A SLAVE AND BE HAPPY!”  Jesus says the way to be blessed is to choose to be a slave.  Jesus gives us a very concrete specific example of how to walk down the path to happiness.  The Apostle John records the story, the example, for all of humanity to read, in the hope that by faith we would follow.

Let’s dive a little deeper into this marvelous text to discover the love and freedom of being a slave.  The verse that jumped out at me first is the one which states that “Jesus showed to the disciples at this very moment the FULL EXTENT of his love.”  The text says that Jesus had loved this group all along but at this very moment in time, he shows them the FULLNESS OF HIS LOVE.  Wow, here is the answer we have all been looking for.  Jesus is about to show us not only tell us but show us what love is, the fullest extent of love.  Jesus gives all the disciples a rose…no.  Jesus tells all the disciples how cool they are...no.  Jesus breaks out his guitar and sings a song…no  Jesus knows he is not going to be around much longer so he gives each disciple a gift that he bought down at the market…none of these actions are taken.  The most loving act, according to Jesus, is choosing to become a slave in order to serve and love others.  Now, that is not very romantic is it?  That does not sell very well.  Love is slavery?

Let me set the scene.  Here we have Jesus, the Son of God in a room with his disciples.  He has one night left on earth to live before he will be lead away to be murdered by suffocating in his own blood by hanging on a tree on which he is held by nails.  The one who will set up this murder, Judas, is in the room with him.   How would you react to this?  If you knew that you had eleven friends who would do anything for you, and one other guy in the room was out to get you, you know you got the numbers, you know you could overtake him.  You go for it, you take him out.  Well not Jesus, not only does he not take him out, He shows him the full extent of his love by serving him.  That is the thing about Jesus; he really does walk the talk.  Jesus says love your enemies, and here in this text we see Jesus doing this in action.  Jesus, the King of Kings, the Master and Lord of the universe de-robes and puts on a servant’s towel, and performs one of the most menial tasks of a slave by washing the dirty, smelly feet of the men he is dining with; he not only serves his friends, he serves his enemy by washing his feet.   

How could Jesus do this?  Is Jesus not letting Judas walk all over him?   Jesus does not seemed concerned about his own rights or what perceptions others have of him.  Why is this?  Perhaps it is because as the text states, “He knew that God had given him all power. He knew where He had come from and he knew where He was going.”  Jesus was able to make the choice to become a slave and serve others because He was confident about his identity.  Jesus was not weak; on the contrary, Jesus was stronger than any other man to have lived.  Where did He find His strength?  In His intimate relationship with the Father.  Knowing the love of the Father filled Jesus and empowered Him to serve.  Jesus could serve because He knew who He was.  Do you know who you are?  Until you know this, you will never find joy. 

Jesus was called a king, the master, a teacher, a friend of sinners, and a drunkard but the labels never mattered to Jesus.  Jesus found His identity and joy in doing the will of God.  The will of God is to serve.  Jesus made that very clear when he said the son of man came not to be served, but to serve.  God expresses His love to us by serving us.  You see, God wants to bless us, He wants to wash us and make us clean.  God’s desire is to serve us, to love us, to cleanse us to bless us to fill us with joy.  His will for you and I is to be happy. 

Whenever I ask people who their favorite disciple is, the answer I get back most often is Peter.  I think it is because Peter is so outspoken and we can relate to Peter.   Peter’s role in this story I think is often the same role we play.  In the story Jesus is crawling across the floor wearing a slave’s towel and he is about to perform a humble act of service and Peter says, “NO.”  I can imagine Peter saying, “Jesus, this is not cool.  Come on now, get up off the floor and put your robe back on.  You are making me uncomfortable, in fact, Jesus you are embarrassing yourself by acting this way.  Jesus, you are King of the Jews, Kings don’t do this kind of thing.”  You see Peter knew that Messiahs needed to have a polished image if they were to be loved and exalted by the people, but Jesus replies back to his stubborn little friend Peter by saying, “Peter unless I wash  you, then you have no part of me.  Peter, “Oh, really no part, well then wash all of me.  Go for it Jesus.”   Jesus says, “Peter calm down, you do not need a bath.  I have already washed you.  I am now simply serving you by cleaning the dirt between your toes.”  Jesus washed Peter, and now Peter was set free to love.

Joyous service happens when we are transformed by God.  We are transformed when we receive God’s grace, mercy, and love in our life.  God’s love is always there but we, like Peter, must decide whether or not we will receive it.  If we choose to reject it then we can have no part of Jesus and we will never be able to serve or love others because we lack the very thing we need to love: Christ.  Christ shows us how to love, but the only way to love is by following His example.  This is the transformational moment in your life when you accept God’s love.  When you accept His love, you are transformed.  When you receive from Christ, then you can never be the same.  When you accept His invitation to be in an intimate relationship with God, then you are able to creatively and joyfully serve.  When you receive the love of Christ, the labels, the titles, societies’ norms and restrictions no longer matter.  You choose to be a slave and are now free to love.

When we humbly accept the truth that Jesus wants to kneel at our feet --- our dirty, smelly feet --- and wash them, we longer follow greed, power, people pleasing, or pleasure to find our happiness.  We become aware that by gaining power, by gaining prestige, by getting pleasure, by acquiring more money we will not find happiness.  We need not add anything else to our lives to be more loving; we need not acquire one more thing to be happy.  If we have Christ, then we have it all.  If we have Christ, then we are clean.  If we have Christ, then we are free from tyranny of society and all of its rules and regulations and we can now choose to get down on our knees and wash the feet of our friends and even our enemies.  When we are able to do this we will finally be free.  We will know love and we will be blessed.

God is love and love is service, thus if you are intimately connected to the savior you will simply serve, you won’t even think about it; like Jesus said, give so that the right had does not know what the left hand is doing.  If we get burned out in the church it is because we are not receiving from Jesus.  Burn out does not happen because there is too much work to be done, burn out happens when we do not allow Jesus to wash our feet.  Will you let Jesus love you?  Will you let the Savior cleanse you?   Will you receive God’s mercy and grace?   Can we as the First Presbyterian Church humble ourselves like Peter and simply receive? 

No servant is greater than his master.  Our master is Jesus.  Jesus picked up the towel and the basin, he chose to be a slave and he washed the feet of his enemy.  No servant is greater than his master.  Our Master was a servant, should we demand anything else?  Is not our foul mood brought on when people take advantage of us or when people have a negative opinion of us?  Perhaps our hurt and pain come because we are really not following Jesus’ example.  If we have power, prestige, money, pleasure, the moment someone interferes with these things our joy is taken away from us. 

Thus, the secret of happiness: change our thinking and accept the truth of Jesus.  If we do as Jesus has done and let go of our unhealthy need to be appreciated and humble ourselves to serve others, we be blessed.  Jesus said, “It is better to give than receive.”   Do we really believe this?  When Jesus says you will be blessed if you give and serve others he is not offering some advice but stating the truth of His universe.  In the universe God created, serving brings joy.  It is not so much that God sees you serve and then hands out a bonus check, but it is more like the law of gravity.  When I drop something it falls.  Every time.  When you serve another because you are living out the will of God then you will discover happiness. 

We often pray, “Bless me Lord.”  I have good news:  the Lord has answered you prayer.  Pick up the up towel and start washing.  If you do this, Jesus says you will be blessed.