Just As I Am
Lent 4C
2 Cor. 5:16-21; Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32
3/14/10
Lorraine Ljunggren

        It may be a common human trait that we associate certain 'things' with certain 'people' or 'events' in our lives. It might be that when one of us smells a gardenia or a rose blooming, we recall or associate the scent with a person for whom that is their favorite flower. Perhaps a particular food conjures up for us images of enjoying that food in another place at another time. Maybe even more common is to relate a certain song to a particular person, as in 'that's our song,' or a special event, as in a Beatles concert or a U2charist with Bono.

        This kind of association certainly rings true for me when I hear a hymn written by an Englishwoman named Charlotte Elliott born in 1789. At the age of 30 a serious illness caused Ms. Elliott to be confined to her home. The illness also caused a change in her personality from someone who immensely enjoyed life to someone chronically depressed and angry. When she was 33, she underwent another change in the context of a conversation with a minister visiting in her family's home. She unburdened herself of all the pent-up feelings she had because of her illness – it was a confession of sorts. The pastor assured her of the love of God in Christ whatever the circumstances of her life. While the illness still plagued Charlotte, her spirit was changed that day. “Then in 1836 her brother needed help. He was a pastor and was trying to build a school in Brighton for children of poor clergymen. Since she couldn't take part in bazaars or other fund-raising projects, she decided to write the words for a special hymn that might generate income that she could donate to the school… As it turned out, the hymn brought in more money than all other church projects combined. It was published that same year as part of the 'Invalid's Hymn Book' which contained 115 of Charlotte's original works. The melody was composed by a well-known American gospel musician, William B. Bradbury.”

        The title of the hymn is Just As I Am and it's said to be Charlotte's “spiritual autobiography.” (http://www.workersforjesus. com/just.htm) When I hear or sing Just As I Am, I recall my dad and his sincere love and his fervor for Jesus the Christ.

        It's a hymn rarely sung in Episcopal churches – though we're going to do so today. It's a hymn with words which reflect the themes of today's readings – the themes of reconciliation, restoration, and the unconditional love of God in Christ. “Just as I am, though tossed about with many a conflict, many a doubt; fightings and fears within, without…Just as I am, thou wilt receive; wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve, because thy promise I believe…Just as I am, thy love unknown has broken every barrier down; now to be thine, yea, thine alone, O Lamb of God, I come, I come.” (Hymnal 1982, #693) The words of the hymn reveal a willingness to be vulnerable and transparent about what it is to be human. The words of the hymn speak joyfully of hope restored and life renewed by God's love.

        Immediately upon reading the short passage from Paul's Second Letter to the Church in Corinth, this is what leaped from the page: “So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! All this is from God, who reconciled us to [God's self] through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation.” (2 Cor. 5:17-18)

        Original context is always as important in reading scripture as is our context in interpreting scripture. In this letter one commentator notes that in the “painful conflicts between Paul and the community [in Corinth]…we see Paul figuratively with his back against the wall. The small cracks in the unity of the Corinthian community that were apparent in 1 Cor have here widened into large fissures, and the people's animosity seems aimed not at one another but at Paul…. Here the honeymoon is definitely over, and all the problems of a long-term relationship are evident. Now Paul writes that he forgives as they should, too. … Paul is now ready to reconcile.” (The New Interpreter's Study Bible, 2003, p. 2061-2062)

        Paul writes to the Church in Corinth just as he is – admitting his faults, asking others to admit their faults as well, and calling for forgiveness so that all might be reconciled – not only to one another – but most importantly to God. Paul points out that, whatever comes between us, God in Christ can make all things new. The ministry of reconciliation is not one given only to Paul and the Church in Corinth. The ministry of reconciliation is given to all of us – today.

        And today broken relationships, broken communities, broken nations, a broken global family are all in need of reconciliation.

        This ministry isn't an easy one. Perhaps what is most difficult is that we each have to begin with ourselves – we each have to examine our lives to see what relationships of our own are in need of reconciliation. Not all relationships can be reconciled. It isn't always safe to do so. Wrongs can't always be made right. Forgiveness isn't an instant commodity we can order online or buy at the local book store.

        'Iyanla Vanzant has written, 'For most of us, forgiveness is a sensitive and very tricky subject. On the one hand, we want to forgive and know we need to forgive. On the other hand, we believe that to forgive someone is somehow saying that what they did was okay. Forgiveness doesn't let the other person off the hook. It eliminates the hook altogether. [She continues] Forgiveness is the only path to acceptance. Not until we can accept an experience without the judgmental story we often attach to it are we free to choose another way of seeing things.” (Synthesis, 3/21/10, p.4)

        Wow. Perhaps this is the stumbling block for the older brother in the parable from Luke's Gospel. His younger brother has messed up big time – violated all manner of religious and societal norms – taken an early inheritance, squandered all the money, worked in a job considered ritually unclean, and come home seemingly to be rewarded by a big party. But, the forgiveness shown by their dad doesn't mean what the younger son did was okay. It means that the bonds of love can be stronger than hurt and grief. The older brother, while he says he is the dutiful son, working like a slave, never having a big party of his own, isn't taking time in the heat of the moment to look past his resentment to examine his own life. Why isn't the older one grief-stricken over his brother's having been lost to them? The odds are slim to none of the older son being without his own faults. And, yet, their dad loves him as well.

        Jesus tells this parable because he's being criticized for eating with tax collectors and with sinners. Jesus caring for and spending time with people considered in his time to be the dregs of the earth causes the Pharisees and the scribes to grumble about it, calling into questions Jesus' faithfulness. Jesus knows that the hope of reconciliation is grounded in God's love for one and all.

        Michaela Bruzzese writes, “Like the prodigal son's father, Luke portrays a God who allows us to make choices, and even to do things that may be harmful to ourselves or others. And like the father, Luke conveys God's overwhelming joy upon our return. Repayment, punishment, and justice are not mentioned, only joy and celebration. We, too, can return home knowing that new life awaits us – new life given by God, but cultivated and given back by God's people.” (Sojourner's Online, “Coming Home”)

        As people who inherit the faith of Jesus, as people who are recipients of the Good News of Jesus Christ, we are to now cultivate the ministry of reconciliation in our daily lives. In private and public arenas we are to demonstrate by word and example what it means to love and worship God who makes all things new, who is ever ready to forgive us as we forgive others, who calls us to embrace the Divine Way of Life, and who grants each of us the willingness to say, “Just as I am, I come, I come.” Amen.

©2010 Lorraine Ljunggren