Billy Strayhorn tells of the time when he was in fourth grade. He was madly head over heels in love with a girl by the name of Barbara Wissman. He wrote, “When she walked into the room, my heart would skip a beat. I sat in the back, about three or four seats behind and two rows over from Barbara. I could watch her, and day dream about holding her hand. Or getting a kiss. I did everything possible to line up next to her, or behind her when we had to line up to go someplace. And I remember the joy I felt when she did choose me to be her partner in a project.
Of course, I had to let her know how much I loved her. So I did what we all did back then. I wrote a note. I composed it very carefully. “I like you a lot. I think I love you. Do you like me? Do you love me?” After each question, there was a box for her to check. One box says ‘Yes’ and the other says ‘No.’
I folded it up carefully, and wrote her name on the front, then passed it to the girl next to me to pass on to Barbara, not really knowing that passing a note meant that every person would open it, and read it before passing it on.
When the girl next to me opened the note, read it, and then giggled before passing it on, I was mortified. I watched as each one of the kids read the note, looked back at me, and giggled before passing the note on. It took an eternity to reach Barbara. I buried my head in my arms.
When I did look up, I saw her writing. Then I saw her pass the note. Again everyone read the note, giggled, and passed it on. It took forever to get to me. I knew I was unworthy. I just knew I was going to be disappointed.
Finally, I worked up the courage to look, and guess what? She checked ‘Yes!’ on both questions. I still remember the feeling of seeing that ‘Yes!’ on both questions of that note.”
According to St. Paul, over the years we see a God who says yes to us even if we feel unworthy. In the Bible, we read of the God who, time and time again, made promises to love his people, and then kept them no matter how they responded.
Paul said God is righteous because God is always faithful to those promises. God promised a wandering, old, and childless nomad by the name of Abraham, and through them, the opportunity to bless all of humanity; God repeatedly promised to that scoundrel Jacob, even though he was a liar and cheat, and God was true to his promise. God heard the cries of his people in Egypt, and delivered them from bondage, even though they did not deserve it. Through the prophets, God continually made and kept promises to a stubborn and rebellious people. Time and time again, God was gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, even though they did not deserve it. God kept his word. God was righteous, and faithful to his promises.
Then Paul wrote in the same letter, when the time had fully come, God sent forth Jesus. In him, once again, the righteousness of God was manifested and revealed for all to see.
If you come to know Jesus, you see the righteousness of God in action. Jesus welcomes and befriends sinners and outcasts like you and me.
In other words, as William Barclay puts it, Jesus is God’s ‘Yes!’ to every promise. Think about the impact of those words. No matter how many promises God has made, they are ‘Yes’ in Christ.
Because the righteousness of God is love, on the third day after his crucifixion, Jesus was raised from the dead, and it was clear that Jesus was right all along.
God’s righteousness is not that we get what we deserve. God’s righteousness is that we get what we do not deserve. We get loved.
For St. Paul, this is the essence of the gospel found in verses 16 and 17, that we are to accept in faith and share. We enter into a new relationship with God, a relationship with love and confidence and friendship. We are in a right relationship with God not because of our own work, but because of our faith in what the love of God has done through Christ.
And because we feel God’s love, because we have experience God’s love, because God’s love is real to us, we are to walk with Christ, and have faith in him.
Faith here means “total acceptance” and “absolute trust”. It means believing what Jesus said is true, and staking all time and eternity on that assurance. It is a mental assent which leads to total surrender, and living a life of total “yieldedness.”
With that faith, we are to share the good news of Jesus Christ. And one of the ways to declare the good news of Jesus Christ is to reflect that faith in the way we live. We need to show it in our relationship with those around us. We need to “walk the talk.”
When was the last time you shared your Christian faith with someone else? Or are you ashamed to talk about it? When was the last time you talked about a passage from the Bible with someone who doesn’t go to church? Or are you ashamed to be identified as one of the followers of Jesus? When was the last time you invited someone to come to church with you that they may know and experience the Christ who changed your life? Or are you ashamed that you are a different person now? When was the last time when someone said, “I see the Christ in you when you speak or do things?”
As God has been faithful with us, may we be faithful in our walk with God. We need to roll up our sleeves, and get to work, that others may experience the Christ that we believe.
Lastly, in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Frodo Baggins, a hobbit, takes on the almost impossible task of destroying the Ring of Power, in The Cracks of Doom in a dark and evil land called Mordor. No one had any idea what this simple little ring really was when it came into his possession.
Gandalf, the wizard, understands that this is a dangerous task. So Gandalf makes Frodo’s best friend, Samwise Gamgee, promise not only to accompany Frodo on the trip but to promise he will never leave Frodo. Several other brave characters join Frodo as well. These nine travelers become the “Fellowship of the Ring.”
All through the journey, they face danger. As they get closer to the goal, the danger increases. Frodo finally makes a very personal and noble decision, to slip away quietly, and make the rest of the journey on his own. Frodo steps into a boat and quietly pushes away from the shore.
Suddenly down the hillside, comes Sam, crashing through the branches shouting, “Frodo! Mr. Frodo!” Frodo yells back, “Go back, Sam! I’m going to Mordor alone!” Sam, who probably knows Frodo better than himself, says, “Of course you are, and I’m coming with you!” And he continues toward Frodo, splashing into the river up to his waist. “You can’t swim!” Frodo shouts. Sam tries desperately to swim out to the boat. Frodo watches as Sam begins to sink beneath water. Frodo reaches down, and grabs Sam’s wrist, and pulls him out of the water and into the boat. Frodo looks at Sam as if to say, “Why? Why would you risk your life attempting to swim out to me?” A soaking wet Sam says, “I made a promise, Mr. Frodo.” A promise.
One day you and I will discover that the God whom we serve is true to his promise in spite of who we are. God is kinder and gentler and more forgiving than any of us can imagine. God through Christ does love us. Because we belong to Christ, because Christ’s Spirit dwells within us, we have the exhilarating assurance that we are the very children of God. God has given his “Yes” to our lives.
We may not realize all of the promises of God now. But God’s Spirit within us testifies to us that we are God’s people, and though we may not see it now, there will come a time when the glory of our life in Christ will show itself in glorious fulfillment.
My friends, that is the sense of jubilation we should take out of this worship today. God loves us more than we can imagine. We can say with joy and affirmation, “Yes!”
And by saying “Yes” let us reflect our yes in the way we live. We need to live by faith. We need to walk the talk.”
