Lititz United Methodist Church Sermon Archive

Steve Arterburn is a counselor, founder and chairman of New Life Clinics, and host of a daily radio program where people call in and get help with their relationship problems. He is also a licensed minister, much in demand as a speaker, and has authored over two dozen books. Recently his marriage ended in divorce. As one of the featured speakers at the Celebrate Recovery conference this past August at Saddleback Church in California he talked honestly about how he struggled to keep his marriage together, the pain of seeing it end, and the fear that his career would go down the drain. He shared how embarrassed and ashamed he felt in helping so many others, when he couldn’t save his own marriage. He also talked humbly about the things he was doing to find healing in his own life, including participating in a divorce care group.

The birth of Jesus at Christmas is God coming into human flesh, the Incarnation. In this series of sermons we have been pondering the implications of God’s Incarnation. Last week I said that the church is the Body of Christ in the world today, the incarnation and extension of Jesus Himself. I said that, like Jesus, the church is a mix of the divine and human. There is a divine presence in the church that makes it more than just a human organization or institution, but the church is also made up of people, all of whom are very human, flawed, and sinful.

This is expressed in 2 Corinthians, chapter 4. In verse 6 it says, “For it is the God who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” Just as God created light and creation took place, the light of Christ has shined in our hearts to make us a new creation in Christ. But…going on to verse 7: “But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us.” We are merely clay pots! God’s light and glory may shine in us and God may do worthwhile things through us, but we are just earthenware vessels - fragile, easily broken, mortal human beings.

If that’s true, it would seem that the mode of operation in the church would be that we would be honest about our humanness – open about who we are and what we are – willing to reveal our hopes and longings, as well as our struggles, failures and pain.

However, the reality is that we are good at pretending. We have built a “church culture” whereby much of the time we hide behind masks. We put on our smiley face, act religious, and insist that everything’s “fine”. Someone asks, “How are you doing?” and we respond, “Fine!”. We often cover over what’s really going on in our life!

I think there’s a great need in the church for what I call “incarnational honesty” – that we be real and genuine, and accept our humanity instead of putting on a front. The Apostle Paul is an example of someone willing to come clean and be honest. That’s the way he carried out his ministry: up front, forthright, avoiding any deceit. He writes to the Corinthians, “We refuse to wear masks and play games. We don’t maneuver and manipulate behind the scenes” (2 Corinthians 4:2 The Message).

He is also refreshingly open about some of his life struggles. Paul’s words are recorded in 2 Corinthians 1:8 (Good News) “We want to remind you, brothers, of the trouble we had in the province of Asia. The burdens laid upon us were so great and so heavy, that we gave up all hope of living.” Note how willing he is to admit his despondency.

Not only Paul, but other heroes in the Bible are portrayed as real people, warts and all! Moses, King David, Solomon, Elijah, Gideon, Jeremiah, Simon Peter – check out the Scriptures, and see how the Bible writers are not afraid to show that these prominent Bible characters had feet of clay. If the writers of Scripture were willing to expose the true humanity of these great heroes of the faith, why do we try to hide ours?

Think about Jesus. He was fully human. He was tempted, just like us. Remember the temptation stories, how the devil tempted Him to turn stones to bread, to jump off the pinnacle of the temple, and to worship Satan to gain the kingdoms of the world? Have you ever wondered how we how got the details of those temptations? No one else was there! Jesus must have told his disciples about them!

Why are we so afraid to reveal our true selves in the church? Here are a couple of reasons. First, because we think others are not like us. Everybody else seems “fine”. Others look so happy on Sunday - sweet, religious, contented. Surely no one else in the church is coping with a bad marriage, or struggling with sexual desires, or stuck in depression. But this is not true! If we are willing to admit it, everybody’s dealing with some sort of problem.

Second, we hide our true selves because we think others would not accept us if they knew who we really are. We think, “If you could really see behind my smiley church mask, you wouldn’t want anything to do with me.” “If you really knew my temptations, you wouldn’t like me.” But, there is a good chance that others are going through the same stuff we are, and they would actually feel closer to us. They might realize, “Hey, we have some things in common!”

Think of the healing that can come, think of how we can help each other, if we are only willing to be real with each other instead of faking it. It’s hard to truly care about each other when we’re unwilling to tell each other what’s really going on in our lives. When the church is simply a gathering of pretenders, we can never go deep enough to help each other grow.

I’m not suggesting that every time someone says, “How are you doing?” that we dump our whole life history on that person! We have to be discreet. But the church can be much more of a healing place if each of us is willing to admit our humanity and say, “This is where I’m sick, this is where I hurt.”

This same incarnational honesty is needed of church leaders and pastors today also. Just because we may be a leader in the church, or a pastor, doesn’t mean we don’t struggle with the same stuff as everyone else. I’m thinking of some well known, popular television preachers. I can’t ever remember hearing them talk about their struggles or their pain. I can’t help but wonder of them, “Do you ever have a lustful thought? Do you ever feel hateful towards someone? Do you ever feel blue and depressed? Do you ever feel anything?

I contrast these preachers with James Robison. I remember years ago when he was an evangelist who came across (at least to me) in a cocksure, dogmatic manner. He now hosts a daily TV talk show with his wife, and in more recent programs I have heard him talk very frankly about his battle with lust, and about he and his wife’s struggles and growth in their marriage. I find myself drawn to him, feeling much more respect and warmth than I had before.

Maybe you are a leader at Lititz United Methodist Church, or another church. This does not mean you have to pretend that everything is fine and dandy in your life! It’s all right to be in a leadership role and be struggling with problems! Now I am not saying that it’s ok to be living in open, defiant sin and be a leader in the church! Please hear me correctly! We need standards for leaders. We have to distinguish between continued, willful wrongdoing and, on the other hand, humble and penitent striving to overcome one’s weaknesses and faults. But if we have to wait until we are completely free of temptations and struggles before we serve in the church, none of us would qualify!

This is also true of pastors. I know, many of you may be thinking, “I realize that pastors are human, too.” But, some of you don’t believe that! Or, to put it more accurately, you won’t accept that! I know of pastors who discovered that parishioners were not very sympathetic when they found out their pastor was suffering from clinical depression, or was having problems with his or her children. I recall one clergyman who was let go by his church when he went through a divorce. This brother started coming to our worship services. He was a sad and broken man. Not only was he crushed by his marital failure, but by the rejection of those within his congregation. When he needed them the most, they dumped him!

One of the difficulties when you are a pastor, or the spouse of a pastor, is: where do you go with your problems? Many in the church still can’t accept the fact that their pastor is every bit as human and vulnerable to life’s pitfalls as they are. Recently, at one of our clergy meetings in the Warwick area, a lady spoke who started a counseling ministry with a heart for pastors, since she realized pastors often have few options for sharing their pain.

2 Corinthians 4:7 says, “We have this treasure in clay jars.” If we are followers of Jesus, we have the light of Christ in us, and God is imparting new life to us. However, we are still flesh and blood human beings.

I think if we are willing to be more honest about ourselves, and come out from behind our masks, that God can use us to help each other heal, and grow, and change.

The other side of the coin is that if we are going to stop being a church full of pretenders, the church needs to be a safe place to express our real selves. One of the worst things in the world is to dare to be yourself and to acknowledge, “These are my strengths, but these are my fears…my doubts…my faults” - to be honest like that, and then to have people put you down, or gossip about you, or crucify you in one way or the other.

How safe a place are we for us to remove our masks?

One of the reasons why I want this church to be a church of small groups, and why I encourage everyone to be part of some smaller fellowship within the church, is that these can be places where we can build trust with each other and be more free to reveal our true selves. I so appreciate Lori Mahoney’s courage to share her testimony, and the others in the church who from time to time have been willing to share some of their life struggles and pain. I hope that our response to these brave persons is to love them, embrace them, and let their words and witness inspire us to do the same!

“We have this treasure in clay jars” (2 Corinthians 4:7). The gospel is the treasure - the light of Christ in us, giving us new life. Believers are the earthen vessels, the clay pots – ordinary, fragile, earthy. Why try to be something we’re not?

But the glory is that God can do wonderful things through us in spite of our humanness if we yield ourselves to Him! And He gets the glory! That’s what our Scripture text says. “But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that the extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us” (2 Corinthians 4:7).

“The Incarnation”

“An Incarnational Honesty: Clay Pot Believers and Leaders”