The Call to Transform
Genesis 45:3-11, 15; Psalm 37:1-11, 39-40; 1 Corinthians 15:35-38, 42-50; Luke 6:27-38
Merciful Lord, grant your people grace to obey your call and to withstand the temptations of the world, the flesh and the devil. May we be strengthened by your Holy Spirit to be truly converted to the faith once for all delivered to the saints, and with pure hearts and minds follow you the Only God; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Call to Transform is our theme for this Sunday. Transformation is to undergo a change in form, appearance, or character; You let go of what is old and put on what is new. And you become a different, a new person.
As a human being, the nature, attitude, character, behaviour, thinking, everything undergoes transformation. As far as Jesus is concerned transformation is a call to live differently. To live Jesus. A transformed life means people are seeing Jesus wherever a Christian is. That is how Jesus’ disciples got the name Christian (Acts 11:26). And where Jesus is seen in his followers the environment or the landscape where they live is also transformed. In transformation there are no conditions.
And so Jesus says Luke chapter 6 verse 31 “Do to others as you would have them do to you”.
In simple terms he is saying treat people around as you would like them to treat you. Don’t live like others – those who don’t know Jesus. They love only those who love them. They do good only to those who do good to them. They help only those who help them. Even sinners do that. If a follower of Jesus does this there is no difference between a follower of Jesus and an ordinary person who doesn’t know Jesus.
And so Jesus is calling his disciples not just the twelve but a large crowd of them and many others who had come to hear him to transform. From v27 - 30 he is keeping a whole lot of ways a Christian ought to live. These Christian way of living is based on Love. Not the love of valentine's day, but the love of God. The love that was willing to sacrifice a life on a cross for the redemption of the whole world. It is counter to the ways and lifestyle of this world.
What is this counter way that he wants his disciples to follow?
- Love your enemies
- Do good to those who hate you
- Bless those who curse
- Pray for those who mistreat you
- No revenge. When someone hits one cheek give the other also.
- When someone takes your cloak give your tunic too.
- If they something that belongs to you don’t demand it back.
Now answer these questions in your mind
Do you like someone hating you, or cursing you or taking revenge from you? Is your answer a yes or a no? Now this is not to live by words. Majority of Christians live only by words. But this should be seen n action in every Christian.
Now this is very suitable for us in a church. Because though many laugh and talk nice in the open, deep inside there is no change. There is no transformation. They are the same. And the reason for that you don’t have the full picture of Jesus and his love. That is because the ego has taken the place which should be filled by Jesus and his love. That is because I and mine are more important. And when that happens you find that you are not satisfied. You are not happy. You are afraid. You don’t have peace. You have problems. You can't relate to someone else.
Have you seen Christians, always mourning, always grumbling, always complaining? Amidst all that they will say that God is blessing me, I am happy, I don’t have any problems. But when a person from outside looks they can't see the love and joy and peace of Jesus in that person. And that is because they don’t do to others what they would like others to do to them.
Now when you look at the OT reading for today see what Joseph is doing. He is a transformed man. While the brothers are afraid that he will take revenge he is forgiving and assuring them not to be afraid of the past. He sees God's will in what happened to him. He looks at the bigger purpose. And this is the example of being filled in Jesus love. It was not just outward. It was coming from his heart.
Today Jesus is calling all of us in this church to transform. Transform from hatred to love. Transform from not forgiving to forgive. Transform from being hurt to being healed. Transform from suspicion to trust. Transform from being in groups to embracing all. Transform to be merciful just as God you father is merciful (v36).
Today many are still holding on to the past. They don’t want to let go. They want to justify. Afraid that we may be hurt by the same people or the same situation, we are afraid that we may not be able to do our duties and responsibilities. That is because transformation has not taken place in the heart.
Let’s take some examples.
- When you ask someone to come and get involved the excuses and the past experiences and then tell all what others are not doing for them.
- When you hold a responsibility and then some else takes over, they didn’t support us now let them do. Let’s see how they will do.
- When someone else is given a task, and they ask for suggestions and feedback we don’t respond. Now they are doing it no. Let them do.
- We think only I can do this. Only I know. Other cant. They don’t know. They don’t understand.
These are not the behaviour of Jesus’ disciples. This is how people who don’t know Jesus behave.
So yield yourselves to the words of Jesus, don’t judge, don’t condemn, but forgive (v37) and love. Then you will be transformed from a person who is living for this world to a person who is living for God. And when you live for God, with him living inside you, you're thinking, your behaviour your attitudes, your time, it all becomes powered by God. Then like Paul says, you will bear the likeness of the man from heaven 1 cos 15.49.
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