Sermon: How Big Is God's Heart?

Sermon Text: How Big Is God's Heart?

​I was once kicked out of church for asking too many questions.
 
This is not a secret — I’ve told some of you this story. But I did NOT tell it when I first interviewed for this job!
 
It was a long time ago, before our kids were born. My wife and I belonged to a conservative Bible church in Chicago. The people were great and we loved them.
 
But something started to happen. I’ve always been a fanatic reader, and I think about what I read. I started having some trouble with stuff I read in the Bible. I read things in one part of the Bible that contradicted other parts. Not only that, the pastors of our church were claiming things I just could not believe any more.
 
But I still liked everybody. So I met with the head pastor, and started asking my questions. He tried to answer them, but his answers did not add up. I kept asking questions. He didn’t seem to like that.
 
Finally, he said, “You know, Mark, there ARE other churches!”
 
I took the hint. There was not room in that church for people who asked questions, or had doubts, or challenged anything said by the pastors. So we started looking for a new church.
 
We found the Episcopal Church. I liked it a lot. I liked Sunday morning Eucharist and the Prayer Book. I liked the priests and people. And I really liked that it was okay to ask questions.
 
It’s a church where everyone is welcome. I like that — a lot.
 
You better believe that you are welcome in this place today. You better believe that you have a place at this table. You better believe that this altar rail is here only as something to lean on, not as something to keep anyone out. You better believe that the Jesus Policy is to welcome everyone, not just folks like us.
 
I left that conservative church all those years ago not because I didn’t love Jesus. I left because I read the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. And I realized that the vision of Jesus in that church was not big enough. Jesus taught about a God with a big heart, a God who searches for the lost, a God who is joyful when people come home.
 
How big is God’s heart?
Listen to the stories Jesus tells and find out.
Look at how Jesus lives and see.
Pay attention to Jesus and learn.
 
It’s all there in the gospels:
 
God’s heart is big enough for the disciples and the demon-possessed.
God’s heart is big enough for the Pharisee and the prostitute.
God’s heart is big enough for the rich man and the poor widow.
 
God’s heart is big enough for Episcopalians and Baptists.
God’s heart is big enough for Jews and Muslims.
God’s heart is big enough for Buddhists and Hindus.
 
God’s heart is big enough for Democrats and Republicans.
God’s heart is big enough for the Greens and the Tea Party.
God’s heart is big enough for conservatives and liberals.
 
God’s heart is big enough for the nursing home and the nursery.
God’s heart is big enough for males and females...and for those who are not sure.
God’s heart is big enough for the strong and the weak.
 
God’s heart is big enough --
— for straights and gays --
— for the able and the disabled --
— for the young and the old --
— for the least, and the littlest, and the lost.
 
In God’s heart, we are all kin.
In God’s heart, we are all family.
In God’s heart, we are all connected.
 
So if my God has a heart that big, and if Jesus taught about a heart that big, then I want a bigger heart than I have right now. And Psalm 51 has the prayer for me. “Create in me a clean heart, O God.” I use that prayer right here every Sunday when the crucifer washes my hands just before I go to this altar. “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.”
 
I want a clean heart, a new heart, a right heart.
I want a heart big enough to love everyone, like Jesus did.
I want a heart big enough to love the world, like God does.
 
God’s heart is big enough for you.
God’s heart is big enough for me.
God’s heart is big enough for the whole world.
 
And if that’s not good news, I don’t know what is.
 
I’m in.