A Father's Day Sermon

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John 3:9-17

“Overlooking the Details”

I was talking to my mom and sister the other day about how I needed some new short sleeve shirts to wear because it was just way too hot to wear long sleeves. My sister asked if she could take me out to purchase some new shirts for Father’s Day. I said, “Sure. But, I’m not really a father.” She told me that I was a father and she would be doing the favor for Polar Bear (my dog). Of course, that makes perfect sense. 

I guess I am a dad to some degree. When I started thinking more about the idea I was inspired for a sermon idea, thanks to my sister and Po. I sometimes wonder what would have happened to Polar Bear or where he would be had I not adopted him seven years ago. If you don’t know the story, he popped up on my porch one day while I was living in Memphis. He was about 6 months old, malnourished, and happy to see someone with food. I have no idea where he came from but when a malnourished pitbull is running loose in midtown Memphis your mind starts to wonder. So, when I found him I decided to take him in even though my circumstances were not conducive to it. It wasn’t practical and I knew that I would have to make some sacrifices. About seven years later and here we are. 

I am sure he doesn’t think much about the fact that I adopted him. I am certain that he doesn’t think about what might have been had I not made some sacrifices. (At least I don’t think he does.) But, what he does recognize are the little things I give him. He loves the small gifts. He loves going to the dog park. I can pull up to our local running trail with him in the car and he starts whimpering as to say, “Hurry up so we can run!” He loves a good belly rub and he really likes it when I chase him around the house or around the yard. His favorite time of the day is when I sit down on the couch in the evening and he sits on the ottoman with his favorite toy with my feet beside him. Yes, I am sure to some degree Polar Bear loves the fact that I adopted him but what means the most to him are the little things, the small interactions that he experiences everyday. 

I know what you’re thinking, “But, it’s just a dog.” You’re right; it is. But, I have found that we can learn a whole lot from our four-legged companions. Polar Bear loves the small gifts he receives. But, don’t we all? The small daily consistent acts of love are what nourish us the most. Am I right? Don’t believe me? Fellas, randomly give your lady a flower and tell her you love her and see if she doesn’t, all of a sudden, have the best day of the week. It is the little things that stand out. Of course, there are those huge acts of love by our loved ones that are permanently tattooed on our hearts. Those pinnacle moments are often triggered and we are reminded of what we mean to that person. Often memories can trigger thoughts about that pinnacle moment. But, the small acts of love often cast a bright light on the bigger ones. That is how we come to know and understand a person’s love. 

There were many cases that Jesus tried to explain God’s love. We can read those stories in the Gospel writings and the letters to numerous faith communities. However there is one story that we hear a phrase that echoes through time and still many years later gives a believer chills when he or she hears it. It was a conversation with a man named Nicodemus. Jesus needed him to know the truth about God’s love. It was so important that this man come to understand God’s love because he was a Pharisee. Need I remind you that Jesus and the Pharisees (the Jewish leaders) did not have a stellar relationship. However, Nicodemus was very interested in Jesus. He might have believed in him but he had some questions. He was ready to listen to this man a little more because he was on board with the movement that Jesus supported. He noticed the miracles and he believed that he was a teacher from God. But, he didn’t quite understand the whole reborn idea. He did not quite understand the whole idea of adoption by the creator God. This was not the God that Nicodemus was taught about. This idea of God adopting the whole world by means of Spirit was a little too much for Nicodemus to understand. And the idea that God’s Spirit blows here and there like the wind was a little too much for him to comprehend. Jesus was offering him an explanation of God that did not align with the theology that he was taught growing up, that he had learned as a religious leader. Jesus wanted to explain to Nicodemus that God loved the entire world, socioeconomic status aside. God did not offer favor to the pious priests, pharisees, or lawyers in the temple. Jesus wanted him to know that God’s love was far greater than that; it was much bigger than he assumed. God loved them all. 

To better illustrate his point Jesus used a story from the Torah to help Nicodemus understand this love. In the book of Numbers, chapter 21, verse 4 the story tells that the Israelites became unruly and they questioned God and Moses. Many of them rebelled against their leader. The story tells that God’s response was to send poisonous snakes among them. Many of them died or became sick. Moses prayed for God to save the people and God commanded Moses to create a bronze statue of a snake. When an infected person looked at the snake they would be healed. The significance in this is the people became sick because they had been infected by poison. They were poisoned and there was only one way to be healed. A poison had also infected the people of Jesus’ day. The sin of the world was the poison and it had infected them. But, there was no need for a bronze statue for them to be healed. God sent something much more valuable. God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him won’t perish but will have eternal life. God didn’t send his Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through him.

God so loved the world that God wanted them to all be healed from the sin of the world. God so loved the entire world; that means the ones that hated God, the ones that used God, the ones the world hated, the ones that we hate. God loves them all. This is what Jesus needed for Nicodemus to know. The Gospel writer that recorded the story needed us to know it too. But, the way I see it, the writer left something out. Perhaps Jesus didn’t feel the need to explain this to Nicodemus or perhaps the writer did not get the details of the interaction or didn’t feel like it was necessary. You see God so loved the world that God made the ultimate sacrifice. We know God’s love because we know Jesus Christ. We know how big that sacrifice is, at least we like to think we understand it but perhaps we do not. You see God made this sacrifice with intentions of adopting the whole world. I think that is far bigger than what we can fathom. But, here is the part that we miss. If God so loves the whole world that God would make this unfathomable sacrifice, can you imagine all of the little things along the way God does for the world. You see, Jesus told Nicodemus about the big thing; he didn’t talk about the little things. What did I say earlier? It is the little things that cast a light on the big ones. 

Today is a day (Father's Day) that we can be reminded of God’s love through the love of our fathers. It is also a day that we can be reminded of our father’s love by the way God loves us. My dad fought for this country, went to college and med school, and built a foundation for my family and I. It was a huge sacrifice in his life. He showed us unconditional love in doing that. But, the small acts of love over the years are what truly remind me of his unconditional love for his family. A father’s love can be found in the foundational moment that makes him (or her) a father. That is like the roots and the trunk of the tree. But, the acts of love over many years create all of the branches and leaves that cover it.  

God made a huge sacrifice so that we could all have eternal life. We just think we know God’s love but we have no idea. This is one of those huge acts of love that is permanently tattooed on our hearts. It is the foundation of our faith and it is summarized by Jesus when he said, “God so love the world that he gave the only Son.”But hear me; let us always recognize the little things that remind us of God’s love. Let us not forget about the small blessings that show us God’s love every day. Those small blessings are just reminders, small acts that cast a light on God’s true love. They are overcoming obstacles when we did not think we could. They are the sunsets on a fall evening or the sunrises on a spring morning. They are the miracles that we marvel over. They are the friendships we make or remake in our lives that persevere through the test of time. They are also the things we feel in our hearts. It might be something we witness like a stranger giving attention to someone in need. Or they might be something first hand like a hug, a smile, or an “I love you” with a flower. Acts of love in any shape or form are acts of God. 

Let us be thankful in every way possible that God so loved the world that God made such a sacrifice through Jesus Christ. But let us also be thankful for all of the small gifts that we are blessed with day by day.