“What If Jesus Was With Us Today

“What If Jesus Was With Us Today?”

Text: John 14:1-14

© April 20, 2008 by C. Edward Bowen at Crafton United Presbyterian Church.

You never know what will happen until you ask. That’s what a lot of churches discovered back in the late 1800s. You see, in 1873 a Presbyterian minister in Scotland decided to write a letter to Andrew Carnegie – you know, the Andrew Carnegie who was the steel tycoon, the Andrew Carnegie who the nearby town of Carnegie was named for. That Presbyterian minister in Scotland decided to write a letter to Andrew Carnegie and ask if he would be willing to give his church some money so that they could purchase a new organ. The minister explained that if they would be able to get a new organ, then their Sunday and weekday worship services would be greatly enhanced, and they would be better able to reach out to people in their community.

When Carnegie received that request, since the cost of a church organ seemed to him to be virtually nothing compared to the hundreds of millions of dollars that he had, right away he told his assistant to write out a check and send it to that church for the full cost of the organ. Well, pretty soon the local newspaper there in Scotland found out what Carnegie had done and they printed the story, and within days newspapers all across Europe and the United States told the story of Carnegie’s generosity as well.

Guess what? Pretty soon other churches started to think: “Hey, if that church in Scotland asked Andrew Carnegie to buy them an organ and he granted their request – who knows? If we ask Andrew Carnegie to do the same thing for us, maybe he’ll do it. There’s certainly no harm in asking.” And so church after church all across the United States began writing to Andrew Carnegie, asking if he would do for them what he had done for that church in Scotland. And time after time Andrew Carnegie responded to those requests by saying yes and giving those churches what they asked for. And during a span for forty years, Andrew Carnegie helped 7,000 churches and schools all across the country get organs.[1]

You never know what will happen until you ask. That’s basically the message that we find here in this passage that we just listened to in the Gospel of John. Because in this passage Jesus says to us: “I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it” (14:13-24). In fact, as it says here in this passage, if only we would ask, Jesus wants to make it possible for us to go on and do even greater things than he did. And so it would seem that the question is: Are we asking? Are we asking Jesus to do great things in our lives? Are we asking Jesus to do great things in our church?

Soren Kirkegaard was a well-known Christian thinker back in the nineteenth century. And he suggested that as Christians, it’s as though God has given each of us a huge, wonderful, three-story mansion to live out our lives in. But instead of doing that, Kirkegaard said, all too often it’s as though we while away our days down in the dark, damp basement.[2]

Do we see what Kirkegaard was getting at? Jesus is telling us that he wants to do huge and wonderful things in each of our lives. Jesus is telling us that he wants to do that huge and wonderful things in each of our lives, if only we would ask. But all too often, instead of asking, we sit in the dark, in the basement, and let our lives pass by as we figure: nothing huge or wonderful could ever happen in my life. It’s impossible. It just can’t happen.

I like a saying that I recently came across. It said: “What most of us need is a good vigorous kick in the seat of the can’ts.”[3] What most of us need is a good vigorous kick in the seat of the can’ts. You see, it’s not a question of what we believe we can or can’t do. No, the real question is what we believe God can or can’t do. And what Jesus says to us is that nothing is impossible for God. What Jesus says to us is that if we ask for anything in his name – that is, if we ask for anything that will help us live the life and do the work that God wants us to be doing – then Jesus will say yes, Jesus will make it happen.

A very tangible example of that is with our food pantry. In just the last year, we’ve seen more than a 40% increase in the number of families asking for help with food. Last month, for example, through the food pantry we helped 73 families in Crafton and Ingram. And so a few months ago we began asking ourselves, “How are we ever going to get enough food to come in each month to supply that need?”

Well, a couple months ago I went to a Crafton Borough Council meeting and asked the Council and the community to do what they could to help. And you never know what will happen until you ask. Because pretty soon my “appeal” was making the front page in the local newspaper. And as a result of that, a local resident began to organize a community-wide food drive. And to tie in that with food drive, both the elementary school and the high school did food drives as well.

And because of all the buzz that was being generated about what we’re doing through the food pantry, when the Crafton police department recently received a $525 gift from a local resident as a thank-you for their work on a case, the police turned right around and handed that $525 to the food pantry. And just this last week a local Cub Scout pack brought in the food they had collected through the Scouting for Food program, and in addition they brought in nearly $400 they had collected – about 10 times more than they had ever collected before.

And so, having seen the huge and wonderful things that God has been up to ever since we started asking for help with the food pantry, I’ve been half jokingly asking people what our next cause should be. And I say that only half jokingly because I sincerely believe that God really wants to be up to all kinds of other huge and wonderful things, if only we would ask.

For instance, I believe that within the next three years, God is wanting to transform our church into a church where on an average Sunday at least 170 people will want to be worshiping here. I believe that within the next three years, God is wanting to transform our church into a church where God’s presence is so real and where there are so many exciting opportunities to serve God, that at least 170 people in our area will feel drawn to be a part of this congregation and will have a passion to put their faith into action.

And I believe that there are signs that that’s the way that God is already moving us. During this past year, our Wednesday morning Bible study has more than doubled in size. In fact, on quite a few weeks we have a problem fitting everyone around the tables we have. And I’m hoping that in the coming months and years, even more people will develop a deep-seated yearning and desire to learn more about the Bible – to discover what God is saying to us, and to understand more fully what God wants us to be doing with our lives. I’m looking forward to the coming months where I’m hoping that on a regular basis people will be calling me up on the phone or stopping by the church and saying, “You know, Dr. Bowen, as I was reading my Bible last night, I had some questions. Could we talk about this passage means?” Having that happen, having people becoming more and more passionate about learning the ways of God, that would really make my day. So I dare you, go ahead and make my day!

And there are other signs that God is up to some huge and wonderful things in our midst. A few months ago the Manor Care Nursing Home on Greentree Road called and asked if we had anyone who would be willing to lead a Bible study for the residents or who would be willing to sit and visit with some of the people there. Well, Mary Lou Shick and Nyra Schell responded to that call and have started to do a Bible study there, which has turned out to be a great thing; and John Novak is going to the nursing home frequently to visit with the residents and pray for them. And who knows where all that may lead?

After a recent Crafton Borough Council meeting, one of the Council members came up to me and said, “With so many older adults in our community, wouldn’t it be great if some churches would be able to reach out and really help senior citizens – you know, with home repairs, with errands, with companionship, and with other issues that they face.” There certainly is a need for that. But are we willing to ask? Are we willing to ask Jesus to work through us to make something like that happen?

I think that all too often churches settle for doing things that are “nice” or that are “interesting.” And there’s certainly nothing wrong with doing things that are nice or interesting. But I believe that Jesus calls us to something bigger and greater than that. After all, when Jesus showed up in people’s lives and taught and healed and worked wonders, I doubt that anyone described what he did simply as “nice” or “interesting.” No, when Jesus showed up in people’s lives – when he opened the eyes of the blind, when he walked on the water, when he raised the dead – those were things that caused people to shout, “Wow! That’s amazing!” And I believe that as we seek to be Jesus’ people today, Jesus wants to be doing amazing things in our lives.

Have you ever wondered: What would our lives be like if Jesus was with us today? Have you ever wondered: What would our church be like if Jesus was with us today? Well, the good news is that through prayer, by asking Jesus, Jesus can be with us today. Through prayer, by asking Jesus, Jesus can be with us every day. You never know what will happen until you ask. And so if we have the faith to ask Jesus, there’s no telling what kind of amazing things he’s just waiting to do.