Creekside Church Sermon of May 23, 2004 "Got Glory?" John 17:20-26	Rev. David Bibbee
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Tuesday night was a phenomenal one for the Arizona Diamondback's ace pitcher, Randy Johnson. He is the most intimidating pitcher in baseball. He stands 6'-10'', and hurls 100 mph. fastballs. Against the Atlanta Braves, Johnson added to his already impressive career by recording thirteen strikeouts, no walks, and no hits-a perfect game! What makes his feat so impressive is that Johnson is forty years old, an age considered elderly in professional sports. He became the oldest pitcher to throw a perfect game in the modern era. The normally "reserved" pitcher wore a radiant smile after the final out and he was swamped by his teammates. He was in his glory.

On Wednesday evening, Concord High School seniors were recognized for their accomplishments over the past four years-- a time that seemed an eternity for them but was a blink of time for their parents. Scholarships were awarded and academic honors and citations were received. The seniors tried to look dignified and cool, but they were beaming beneath their sophisticated veneers. They were in their glory.

When she works, she turns her back to people. If the face is a window to the soul, her's is a picture window. Sometimes her expressions are intense-bulging, Marty Feldman-like eyes, with a radiant, ear-to-ear smile. Sometimes the look is encouraging. Sometimes furrows form on the forehead and her lips are pursed, a signal to those under her charge that says, "You can do better." Regardless her expression, it is clear that Angi Marcin is in her glory when directing the children's choir.

When are you in your glory? Is it when you are immersed in something you love? Is it the satisfaction you feel after a job well done? Does it happen when you've aced a test, been accepted to college, or received a promotion? Maybe you're not sure you've got a glory in your life, or, if you do, you don't know if you could recognize it without help.

Knowing your glory is important. It tells people a lot about who you are and what you value. It reveals what you live for as well as what you are willing, if called upon, to die for.

We associate glory with honor and prestige. Glory is what a person has when singled out for special recognition or advancement. We connect glory beauty. When we witness brilliant, radiant beauty in nature, glorious is often the word that comes to mind. I love wildlife art. When I saw this print of a loon unfurling its wings to the sun on a misty, wilderness dawn, I was drawn into it. Something moved inside of me. It hangs in my office and speaks to me of creation's glory.

Glory has a bloody connotation. Much has been written about the glory of war. Go to Barnes and Noble and scan the stacks of books devoted to the history and "art" of war. In comparison, few books have been written dealing with the glory of waging peace. Much has been written about the glory of battle. But General Dwight Eisenhower, who was infinitely familiar with war said, "There is no glory in battle worth the blood it costs."

Ultimately, all glory belongs to God, and its reflection is everywhere. "The heavens are telling the glory of God, and all creation is shouting for joy." I remember something my New Testament professor, Grady Snyder, said about glory. Glory means splendor or weight. He used the example of college presidents and CEO's to describe it. They possess a weighty presence. They have big, fat fingers and hands, and "abundant" physiques. This has been true for presidents of Brethren institutions-Parker Marden and A. Blair Helman at Manchester College, and Paul Robinson, all 6'-3'' and 300 lbs. plus of him at Bethany Seminary. Their countenance drew attention and we respected them accordingly.

Glory belongs to God, but it is shared. Jesus' high priestly prayer in John 17 was prayed on behalf of his disciples before his arrest. The hour of his glorification was coming. In verse 22 Jesus prays, "The glory which you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one as we are one." Jesus' prayer for glory was not limited to the original disciples. "I don't pray for these only," Jesus said, "but also for those who believe in me through their word."

Our lives are a reflection of God's glory. Each of us has a glory that is our own. But what is it, and what are we to do with it? To answer, let me share a portion of C.S. Lewis' wonderful story, The Great Divorce.

A professor dreamed he was visiting hell, and then given a bus ride to heaven. The geography of hell was vast. It was enormous because it had to be. To his surprise the inner city of hell was a ghost town. People only began to appear the further he rode from the city. You have heard the expression, "Hell is other people." In hell, the people couldn't stand each other, so they kept moving to get away from others and be alone. Those who inhabited hell the longest lived the furthest away.

Along with a few of hell's citizens, the professor got on a bus headed for the outskirts of heaven. The boundaries of hell were monstrous, yet were tiny in comparison to the geography of heaven. Things that seemed impressive in hell had no importance in heaven. As the bus neared heaven's outskirts, the driver stopped and let passengers off for a while.

A strange thing happened to the folks from hell. They couldn't get around very well because they were weightless. They walked on grass, but it didn't bend. Grass hurt their feet like it would hurt ours walking barefoot across a gravel-paved driveway. They had to watch out for insects like butterflies. If hit by one, they would be knocked flat. If they were not holding on to things, the wind would blow them away. During their earthly lives, these people were important and influential. They threw their weight around. When they spoke, things happened. But that was then.

The passengers who were destined for heaven tried to talk the others out of the things they loved on earth and in hell. The guides from heaven had what the residents from hell didn't…. weight. They were called the solid people. The more contact the people from hell had with them, the more weight they gained. They could only gain weight by getting close to and leaning on solid people, and by seeking the grace of God that would allow them to regain their glory.

In 2 Corinthians 4: 16 Paul said, "So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. For this slight, momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure…" Despite what the world says about glory, Jesus said it has nothing to do with frills, honors, status, recognition, or clawing our way to the top of the heap. It is not about being on the cover of Time or The Rolling Stone, and it doesn't float us above the mundane matters of life with which others battle.

What's your weight? What is your substance? It is easy to know where it is not. Last week at Dave Eis's birthday party I told a few, "You know you're getting old when…"quotes. "You know you're getting old when you begin every sentence with, 'nowadays.'" "You know you're getting old when you and your teeth sleep in separate rooms." And, "You know you're getting old when your worst enemy is gravity."

The older we grow, the more we sag. I read that during middle age, one-third of your face droops. Your hair falls… out. The battle of the belly bulge is raging. Next come crow's feet, age spots, and varicose vein patterns on your legs that look like a Chicago street map. Gravity works against us. We are gradually pulled earthward and eventually, under it. Botox injections, liposuctions, face-lifts, implants, and reconstructive surgeries can't negate gravity or halt the march of time. As Paul said, "Our outer nature is wasting away."

Our superficial society worships beauty and either values or devalues people on the basis of outward appearance. Wednesday on Benham, I pulled alongside a magnificent Rolls Royce stopped at the light at Indiana Ave. Heads turned and fingers pointed. I wasn't sure whether they were pointing to my Caravan or the Rolls. The dignified chap behind the wheel looked at me. Envious of my wheels. I wish I had a sign in the window that said, "Hey, don't knock it. It gets me where I'm going."

Jesus said rust and moths would consume all earthly things, Rolls Royces included. The Psalms remind us, "As for mortals, their days are like the grass, for the grass withers and the flower fades… the wind passes over it and it is gone…"

The human guinea pigs featured on the extreme makeover reality programs look glamorous after surgery, but not necessarily "glorious." Inside, the issues are the same-the hunger for acceptance and unconditional love; to be valued for who they are and not for the reflection in the mirror; to live for more than facades and toys; to know that life has meaning and purpose because there is a God who loves us, forgives us, heals our wounds, and shows the way to live.

You would think that God, who possessed the kingdom and the power and the glory forever, would have come in a more glorious manner. Someone said, "We don't write church anthems for the harmonica and kazoo." God is high, exalted, lifted up, glorious, so we write anthems for pipe organs and choirs and build grand slam churches to reflect God's magnificence.

We should know better. In John 12 Jesus said, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified… and when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all people to myself." "Lifted up," did not mean popularity in the public eye. It didn't mean sitting in the Oval office. He didn't even mean sitting on a throne in heaven. He meant lifted up on a cross. The cross, the symbol of suffering and death-the bloody sight from which people turned their faces became a beacon which drew people….

Yesterday at board meeting someone said, "We need to help people know what they are intended to do." We need to help people find the place where that which brings them joy meets other's needs. Do you want to be glorified?

We know people who put themselves into pursuits that we think would deplete them. Instead, it energizes them. It is not work. It is a labor of love. It is their glory. Finding our glory means remembering how Jesus found his. He gave himself up. He grew in his relationship with God. He valued God's will over his own.

I want to share a story with you that expresses what I've tried to say. It appeared in a sermon by George Anderson. Harry and Cara were Dutch dances from Holland, Michigan who were wed as teenagers. Betty Jo was a woman who wrote their story knew them when they were old. The two had divorced years before, and no one knew why. But it never stopped them from caring for each other. Harry visited Cara in a Hospice facility where she was living the last days of her life. Every day they visited, read the Bible, prayed, and one day, they decided to marry again.

One afternoon, Betty found them dancing. Her arms were wrapped around his neck, and his were wrapped around her waist. Harry hummed music and swayed softly with Cara to the sound of his voice. The dance wasn't just a dance. It was an improvised mode of transportation to get Cara from her bed to the bathroom. Her feet were slippered and rested on top of Harry's shoes. What seemed to be perfect timing between them was actually Harry lifting her feet on his as he held her nearly weightless body in his arms. He devised other ways to show his love without diminishing her self-respect.

Cara was just a frail remnant of herself. Her thick waves of black hair were single strands. It didn't matter to Harry. He saw how beautiful she really was. Betty Jo was called to Cara's bedside at the end. Cara told her, "I have never been so happy. I have Jesus now and I have Harry again."

Time had done all it could to Cara. Her outward being had wasted away, but her inner being grew stronger every day. The pain of the past had been healed. A broken relationship had been restored. Harry and Cara were in their glory.

Are you in yours?

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