If you are an experienced skydiver or competent swimmer, then you know that you have arrived safely when your toes touch the bottom. We too possess a mutual interest to feel the ground beneath our feet. We earnestly seek a life of foundation and substance upon which we can stand.
Many do so by finding a good job, belonging to a encouraging church family, and sustaining a strong faith. And yet where do we rest our feet when storms of suffering destroy our foundations? Is there a place to stand when tremors of heartache crack the ground beneath us? On what shore can one land when waves of grief take us further out to sea?
For some such moments come when a boss tells you’ve been laid off, or perhaps when a doctor informs you that your once beaten cancer has come back. I suspect you sense life falling farther and farther into the pit. Perhaps you ask yourself, “will this feeling of free-fall ever end? And even if it does, you say to yourself, “will I survive the landing? ”
For others, these moments arrive upon hearing the news that a loved one is gone. I estimate you feel your heart sinking deeper and deeper into the abyss. I imagine you think to yourself, “Will my heart ever touch the bottom?” But worry not. This morning I bring good news. Rejoice and be glad. For there is a bottom and Jesus Christ waits to meet you there.
How do I know this? What makes me so sure? Well if the Scriptures teach us anything, it teaches us that Jesus Christ was born there; even more incredible Jesus Christ dwelled there; greater still Jesus Christ died there; and most importantly, Jesus Christ rose from the bottom.
But what form does the presence of Jesus Christ take at the bottom? In depths of suffering and grief, one detects the presence of Jesus Christ in God’s word. In Ps 31, the psalmist proclaims that the Lord is gracious to those in distress. Though our eyes waste away from grief, we may still utter, “we trust in you O Lord.” Despite moments when sorrow withers the soul and body, we can say “You are my God.” Though years of sighing consume our strength, we say, “what time we have left remains in his hands.”
Even when misery eats away at our bones, we say “his face persists to shine upon us.” Though we endure the ridicule of our enemies, isolation from our neighbors, and abandonment from acquaintances; we say, “the Lord delivers us from their icy rejection and cruel persecution.” Even when we feel dead inside and life shatters like a broken jug, we say, “he stands ready to save us in his steadfast love.”
At the bottom of suffering and grief, one witnesses the presence of Jesus Christ in God’s creation. In Ro 1:20, Paul declares that such a promise exists not only for today, but such has been the promise since the creation of the world as he writes,“...For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.”
You see no matter how desolate the drought may seem, God’s compassion will always come forth like a gentle rain. No matter how dark the night may appear, God’s grace will forever break through like the piercing rays of the dawn. No matter how cold the winter may feel, God’s love will eternally emerge like the breathtaking arrival of the spring blossom.
For every drop of rain gives us an excuse to praise God. Every time the sun rises over the horizon we have reason to worship God. Every time the flowers bloom and the trees bud we have cause to put our trust and hope in God.
Finally, the presence of Jesus Christ reveals itself to those at the bottom through you and me. At its core, the ministry of Jesus Christ as told in the Gospels stands as an open invitation to you and me to work along side him to serve the dejected and the depressed living at the bottom.
And the more I consider the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the more I am convinced that a disciple’s life becomes most attuned with the mind and heart of Christ when he or she cares for the deserted and comforts the despondent taken to the bottom by their suffering and grief.
Yet at times we hesitate in responding to such an offer. Why are there moments when we struggle with accepting such an invitation? Perhaps it’s because there remains in the human heart a yearning to set our sights and admirations on those at the top rather than fix our gazes and concerns on the disheartened and the hopeless dwelling at the bottom. In our corrupt nature, there endures a preference for success over failure, a partiality for winning over losing, a fondness for greatness over weakness.
Lest we think we’re alone in our struggle, Jesus needed to correct this misconception in his own disciples. In Luke 22, an argument arose among them as to which one of them was the greatest? However, Jesus instructed them to think differently on the true meaning of greatness. He asked his disciples, “who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves?” He answered them saying, “You might assume it is the one at the table, but see how I am among you as one who serves.”
More than two thousand years later, the dispute over greatness and the distortion of its true meaning continues. And with it being election season, this dispute and the distortion has reached a fever pitch with a parade of presidential candidates arguing over who can, in their words, “make America great again.”
Well I wish them the best of luck in their quest. Because upon hearing Jesus’ teaching in Luke 22, the pursuit of our culture’s understanding of greatness holds little interest for a disciple of Jesus Christ. For the disciple of Jesus Christ, his or her interest is not to obtain greatness, but rather to sustain faithfulness. He or she does seek to hold dominion over anyone, but instead desires to offer service to everyone.
The disciple of Jesus of Christ becomes less interested in a life where one denies themselves nothing, but rather becomes more attracted to life that offers up everything. And I don’t know about you, but it’s challenging enough trying to get a handle on faithfulness before one need worry about putting any effort into achieving greatness.
Often times our state of mind that determines whether we accept or reject Jesus Christ’s invitation to comfort the ones who ache and the one who weep at the bottom. In Philippians 2:5-11, Paul encourages those who have confessed Jesus Christ as Lord to take on the same perspective as Jesus Christ. Being in the very form of God, Jesus was entitled to take his place at the seat of highest honor.
However, Jesus’ perspective did not find its meaning in pursuing equality with God. Instead, Christ emptied himself, taking the shape of a slave, exchanging the immortality of Godhood for the confines of manhood.Within those boundaries, he humbled himself fully and submitted completely all the way to the cross.
This morning I ask us, what do we feel more when given the chance to fellowship with those who stink? Is it the blessing of restoring one’s humanity or is it the burden to our senses? What do we sense more when afforded the opportunity to care for the sick and the dying? Is it the gift of administering the miraculous medicine of love or is it the interruption upon our social calendar? When provided the chance to put our contribution in the collection plate? Does our sentiment come from a place of desire or a sense of obligation?
We should not be surprise when our culture declines Jesus’ invitation. For our culture persuades the destitute to believe that relief from their heartache rests in penthouse suites. Our culture convinces the dejected to think that respite from their suffering resides in first class seats. Our culture induces the distraught to trust that release from their grief lies in country club memberships.
But if we turn our hearts once more to the Psalms, then we find lasting relief from suffering and grief comes when the Lord throws open the gates of righteousness to us. We discover enduring respite from our doubts and fears happens when the Lord becomes our answer. We find eternal release from sin and death occurs when the Lord becomes our salvation.
In PS 118, the psalmist finds that such a glorious outcome occurred when the stone that the builders rejected became the chief cornerstone. Now where does one place the cornerstone? Does the cornerstone belong at the top of the structure? Does one place the corner half way up the façade of the building? I know less about the methods of construction than most, but even I know that the cornerstone always goes AT THE BOTTOM.
You see not only does Jesus wait to meet us at the bottom of our suffering and grief, but Jesus Christ offers himself to be your bottom upon which you can stand. With Jesus Christ as the cornerstone of our lives, we can build a life that will not disintegrate. With Jesus Christ as the foundation of our faith, we can construct a faith that will not collapse. With Jesus Christ as the base of our hope, we can assemble a hope that will not crumble.
Like the psalmist, we must understand that building such a solid foundation is not of our doing, but the Lord's doing. We acknowledge that we did not bring the day into being, but this is the day that the LORD has made. We need not complain about our lack of involvement in our own salvation and success, but let us rejoice and be glad in it.
If we are able to rise above of our sufferings, it is only because Jesus Christ welcomed us in depths of our despair. If we are capable of being brought up out of our heartache, it is only because Jesus Christ acknowledged us in the chasms of our grief. And if we are able to greet him in heaven above, it is only because Jesus Christ received us at the bottom.
Thank you for sharing in this time. I want us to conclude with some words that came from our reading at the beginning. Will you stand as we share these words…
“118:26 Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the LORD. We bless you from the house of the LORD.118:27 The LORD is God, and he has given us light. 118:28 You are my God, and I will give thanks to you; you are my God, I will extol you. 118:29 O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.”
