CHIC Sunday 2006

Today I am going to venture out on a nearly impossible task. . . to summarize about 5 hours of material from CHIC 2006 into a message that hopefully lasts a few minutes less than that.

As you probably know, the overall theme of CHIC this year was “No Ordinary Day” and each day had a specific topic. . . “No Ordinary Man,” “No Ordinary Teacher,” “No Ordinary Healer,” “No Ordinary Life,” and “No Ordinary Day.”

And the scripture I chose to be read this morning supports this theme and topics. . . this morning’s scripture asks the ultimate question that all people must answer. . . who is Jesus? Now don’t let your mind try to answer this question right away. . . I don’t think the answer is quite as simple as we might think. I imagine that when we hear this question, who is Jesus, we quickly think of some reflex answers. . . he is the son of God, he is our savior, he is the lamb of God, he resurrected. . .but who do we really think Jesus is? Not who do we say that Jesus is? But who do we really believe he is?

One way of testing who we think Jesus is. . . is to imagine that we met Jesus on the street and to picture what we would feel or think when we met Jesus in person. Now some people may tell us that Jesus is like our best friend. . . that you would just run up and give him a hug. . . or even a high five. . . but I think that if we just see Jesus as a buddy we are gravely mistaken. Jesus is no ordinary man.

Have you ever encountered something awe-inspiring. . . something so mesmerizing that you could do nothing but stare in shock. At CHIC one of the speakers told a story about an encounter he and a group of his friends had with a 2000 pound moose. The group was playing cards inside a condo next to an enormous picture window. As they were playing cards they looked up and saw an enormous 2000 pound moose staring at them through the window. They froze, partly out of fear, but also out of a sense of fascination. . . and they just stared for several minutes without anyone saying a word or making a sound. They were awed at the enormity of the creature, but they were also scared of what the overpowering beast could do to them if it came through the window.

If we truly understand who Jesus is. If we truly understand that he is no ordinary man. . . we will stand before him as that group of friends did before that moose. We will be fearful because we know how powerful God is. . . but we will also be in awe of God’s glorious mercy. And so we will just stare paralyzed by a man who walks on water, heals the sick, and sacrificed his life so that we may live. Jesus is indeed no ordinary man.

Throughout the New Testament we read that wherever Jesus went there were people shocked by what he said and by what he did. If you simply thumb through your bibles you will discover that there was not anyone bored when Jesus came to town. His glory amazed people.

Now we are not easily shocked anymore. . . every movie and tv show today attempts to shock us so we have gradually become desensitized. . . but we must give ourselves the freedom to be awed by Jesus. . . because if we are not awed by Jesus. . .if we do not shutter when we encounter him. . . we probably haven’t gotten close enough to him yet. . . we probably don’t know him well enough. We should be awed by Jesus. . . and if we aren’t. . . we are not seeing him as he truly is. . . Jesus is no ordinary man.

And as we approach Jesus and discover that he is no ordinary man, we quickly discover that he is no ordinary teacher either. Jesus does not just teach us to be better people. . . he does not just give us keys to happiness. No. . . Jesus also shows us the way by teaching us about himself and by doing things that the world says are foolish. Foolish things abound in Jesus’ teaching. Jesus says look up to the poor and pity the wealthy. . . really soak these things in. . . Jesus says look up to the poor and pity the wealthy. . . Jesus says give away what someone wants to steal from you. . . Jesus says when someone strikes you on one cheek, turn your head and let him strike you on the other cheek. Jesus taught crazy things by the world’s standards. Jesus was no ordinary teacher and sometimes we find it just too hard to follow.

So when we look at our scripture from Matthew this morning and hear the question, “who do you say that I am,” . . . we quickly and easily answer, “you are Lord” . . . but so did Jesus’ disciples. . . that was not enough for the teacher of foolish things though. What Jesus really wanted his disciples and us to learn was that allegiance to him was not just about calling him the right things. . . but it was about living a life that reflected that you truly believed the right things about Jesus.

In Luke chapter 6, Jesus asks, “why do you call me Lord, and not do what I tell you?” Our answer to this question is simple. . . we often call Jesus Lord, but do not do what he asks of us. . .because Jesus is no ordinary teacher and we might look like fools if we choose to obey his words. Common sense is so much easier for us. . . But if we are truly Jesus’ followers we must learn to be no ordinary students. We must be willing to step out into the realm of foolery and bask in the awe and power of God. The risk is worth it.

A fascinating part of this journey of learning from Jesus is the fact that we don’t have to be perfect . . . we don’t have to have all the answers. . . we don’t even have to be physically, socially, emotionally or mentally healthy. . . because Jesus is not only no ordinary man and no ordinary teacher. . . Jesus is also no ordinary healer. He can pull us out of any pain that we may be experiencing and heal our brokenness.

Now any time we talk about healing, it is dangerous ground. We all know people that we have prayed for and hoped would be healed. . . but they were not. And we are left with why? There are no easy answers and there is no way for us to understand why God heals some and not others. There is no doubt, however, that God can heal people physically. . . I want us to understand, though, that to limit God’s healing power to only the physical is to miss the idea that our spirits and not our bodies are of primary concern to God.

Too often when we think of Jesus as a healer we think of his miracles where he gave sight to the blind and health to the sick. But Jesus heals in so many other ways. He is drawn to broken people of all kinds for this precise reason. . . so that he can heal their brokenness and reveal his love and compassion. Jesus wants us to find relief from our pain. He is not about quick fixes or patches over wounds. . . Jesus is about new life and new beginnings. Jesus is no ordinary healer.

And as if all this were not enough. . . and you still were not convinced of the extraordinary nature of Jesus Christ. . . Jesus lived no ordinary life. Contrary to popular opinion, Jesus was not just a wise, moral man who attracted lots of followers. No. . . Jesus was God on earth. . . he was the perfect man, entirely sinless. . . endured crucifixion and death. . . took upon himself the punishment that we all deserve. . . and then defeated it all by rising again from the dead three days later. Now anyone who takes a serious look at Jesus’ life can see that his life was no ordinary life.

All of this. . . Jesus as no ordinary man, as no ordinary teacher, as no ordinary healer, living no ordinary life. . . makes today no ordinary day. When we follow Jesus, when we truly recognize him for who he is and seek to do what he asks of us. . . no day is ordinary.

When we understand that our lives are not meaningless. . . when we understand that we can have a relationship with a God who loves us unconditionally. . . when we understand that an entire spiritual world exists beyond what we can see. . . we realize that today is no ordinary day.

This is what sets the church apart from the world. We live extraordinary lives. . . or we should be living extraordinary lives. . . not because of what we have accomplished for the world, but because of what we have accomplished for the Kingdom of God. We are committed to something greater than ourselves, something greater than the world around us. . . and as we mature in this reality. . . we become more confident that nothing is ordinary. That every day is an adventure. . . a journey to grow closer to Christ and to draw other people into the excitement of truth and faith.

Today is a new opportunity to transform people. Today is a new day to bring people closer to their creator. Today is a chance to meet God. Today is a chance to learn from the greatest teacher. Today is a chance to be touched by the greatest healer. Today is indeed no ordinary day.