Street Signs of Life: No Parking

Pastor Meyers' Sermon

  Sunday, July 30, 2006

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our heavenly Father and from our risen Lord and Savior, Jesus our Christ.

My dear Friends, I couldn't believe it. I had done it again. It was the second time in six months. It all started when my father-in-law decided to give my wife and me one of his cars as a gift. The car runs fine. The only thing wrong with it is the fuel gauge doesn't work. “Oh, that's no problem,” my father-in-law said. “All you have to do is watch the mile gauge and, once it gets to 300-350 miles, you know you need to fill it up.”

Well, last Thursday, the last thing on my mind was the miles on the mile gauge. And, as I was heading home and I turned into my subdivision, all of a sudden, the car started to slow down. And I stepped on the gas and it started to shudder and shake and, finally, the engine just quit. And, as I coasted down the street, I looked down at the mile gauge and it said 354. Yes, you guessed it. I ran out of gas. But not only did I run out of gas, but it's the second time in six months I've run out of gas in this car. Well, I knew there was no way I could coast home so I went ahead and pulled off to the side and parked. And, as I got out of the car, sure enough, I looked up and there on the light post was that sign. Now I don't know about you but when I see that sign, it screams out to me, “No Parking! Keep going!” And so I knew I needed to get my car out of the No Parking zone. Thankfully, my house wasn't too far away.

So I got out and I walked rather quickly to my house. I got into the garage. I got the lawnmower gas can. “Ah, it's empty.” So I got into the other car, the Caravan, and I went to the gas station. And, when I got to the gas station, I filled it up, went over to my car, put the gallon of gas into the car, took the Caravan back home, and then I literally ran from the house over to my car so I could get it out of the No Parking zone. Because that sign creates a sense of urgency in me that I need to get the car out of the No Parking zone.

But, as I was driving home, I started to think about the power of little words. Because that's what the street signs are all wrapped around. They're built around little words. You see the sign “Stop” and what do you do? You stop. You see the sign for “Merge” and you think, “Oh, well I need to start looking to get over to the next lane.” You see “Caution” and that makes you sit up in your seat a little more and pay more attention to what's going on around you. And now we have “No Parking.” In other words, to me, it screams out “Keep going. Don't stop. Keep moving. This is not a place for you to stop.”

Throughout this sermon series, we've been looking at different street signs to see how they can clue us in to what God wants us to do as we go about life's roadway. And, throughout scripture, God has placed No Parking signs all over the place as He calls us to heed to the No Parking zones, to not become complacent in our faith. So what is complacency? Well, the Webster's Dictionary has a good definition. It says “Calm or secure satisfaction with one's self accompanied by unawareness of actual dangers or deficiencies around them.” God is calling us not to just keep the knowledge of what Jesus Christ has done for us within us. No. It's a No Parking zone. He is asking us to go and to tell others so they, too, can become part of God's blessings.

That's what He told Abraham. Did you catch it? Abraham was serene, settled, secure, and enjoying the fruits of a successful career when one day God came to him and said, “Abram, you need to uproot your family and you need to move to a land which I will show you.” So Abram did it. And as a result, God gave him a blessing. I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you. I will make your name great and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and, whoever curses you, I will curse and all the peoples on the earth will be blessed through you. Did you catch the end of the blessing? When the blessing was given to Abraham, what did he say? “I will bless you. I will make your name great. I will bless all of the nations.” And right at the end, “I will bless all the peoples on earth who will be blessed through you.” These blessings have a No Parking sign attached to them. We are called that, not only do we receive the blessing but then we pass them on to others around us so they, too, can receive the blessings.

But wait a second. There's a hangup here, isn't there? Because we want to follow the No Parking sign but, you know, we kind of want to keep the blessings to ourselves. Sometimes, it's hard for us to even recognize God has given us the blessings in our lives. Or we want to serve others but, you know, when we look at the serving, it just doesn't seem too appealing. Or we want to be committed but, you know, now days commitment is just hard for us to do. And it just seems almost too much. And so we tell ourselves we aren't trained enough to tell someone else about God. Or we're not qualified enough to say something to someone about God. We aren't educated enough. Or we don't have all of the right answers. And so, you see, we begin to focus on the things that make us feel comfortable and not on what other people need to hear.

Memorial Day weekend, quite a few years ago, during the Indianapolis 500, a section of the bleachers collapsed suddenly and there were hundreds of people injured. Some lay bleeding. Many were unconscious, and there were some who had broken bones. And you could hear the cries of terror above the sound of the car engines. However, in the bleacher section right next to the bleachers that had collapsed, the people in those bleachers continued to watch the race and they continued to down their sandwiches and to drink their six packs. And, as they were watching the race, every once in awhile, they would look over and they would see the suffering going on and then they'd go back to watching the race. Can you see the complacency there? Whatever makes them comfortable is what was important to them.

We have people in our daily lives who need to hear about the gifts God has to give them, whose bleachers are crashing down among them. Maybe it's a family member who has made a huge mistake and she can't forgive herself and she needs to hear there is someone who loves her and who will forgive her. Or maybe you have a friend who is dealing with a deep bout of depression and feels like there is no one for him to turn to. He needs to hear there is a God who hears our prayers and who wants to hear them. There is No Parking with the blessings we receive. We need to go to other people.

That's what Jesus said in our gospel reading for today in John 10. “I am the Good Shepherd,” He said. “I know my sheep and they know me. I have other sheep who are not part of this sheep pen and I must bring them also.” Can you feel the urgency? Can you sense it? Jesus' message isn't just parked inside Him. No, Jesus is driven because He knows there are other sheep He needs to go to and bring them into the pen. The Good News needs to be proclaimed. People have to be reached. We need to go. There is No Parking. We need to get the message out. And that word, that word “Go” is the most powerful word in scripture. “Go wash in the pool,” Jesus told the blind man. And he went and was able to see again. “Go show yourself to the priests,” Jesus told the ten lepers and, as they went, they were healed. “Go and sin no more,” Jesus said to the woman caught in adultery. And she left forgiven and changed. “Go. I am sending you,” Jesus said to the 12 disciples and then the 72. And they went and, because they went, many were healed. Many were cleansed and many were forgiven. And they were so excited about the things which they had seen. Because of what they had shown the people, they were filled with joy. They were filled with joy over all the things that had happened because they knew what Jesus had done for them. They couldn't just park it. They needed to go out and tell others about what God had done for them.

So, My Friends, it's time for us to get real. Because we have neighbors, we have friends, we have family members we don't know how long they're going to be here on this earth. Can you sense the urgency? We need to go. We need to go to that student who holds defeated dreams. We need to go to the couple with a barren womb in a marriage about to collapse because there is no parking here. We need to go to the man who daily fights with his desires only to lose time and time again. And we need to go to any person who has suffered from the pains and from the sting of having a death in the family. Because what we know can't just be parked here with us because it is a No Parking zone and we need to tell others. Because, My Friends, there are bodies out there hurting and there are souls that are crying. There are marriages that are bruised, and there are families that are aching. And we need to announce to them the kingdom of God is near them, lives can be made whole again, healing can take place in bodies and in souls and in marriages and in families. We need to go with power, and we go with a powerful message. And what is that message? That life doesn't make sense without Jesus Christ. Life apart from Jesus Christ is meaningless. Life aside of Jesus Christ has too many questions for which we have too few answers. Life without Jesus Christ is heartache without comfort, tears without laughter, future without hope, and hell without heaven. Because Jesus changes lives. He changed our life. He has taken our sin-ridden and fear-filled lives and, by the grace and mercy of God, has changed them and changed the meaning and the purpose of our lives. And Jesus does that for us, and He can do that for other people using us. Because it doesn't matter who you are or where you are or how old you are. God, using you, can make the difference in the world, can make all the difference in the world literally for another person. Because it can be the difference between heaven and hell for a neighbor, for a friend, for a member of your family, even the one you love the most.

When the Triune God comes to us and says, “You are God-created. You are Jesus Christ-redeemed, and you are Holy Spirit-empowered,” do not be complacent. There is no parking. Go. Share what Jesus Christ has done for you. Share the forgiveness you know is yours through Him and share that with someone else today. Amen.

Copyright 2006 Gloria Dei Lutheran Church