In a Plain Brown Wrapper

Matthew 16:13-20

Albertville

8-24-08

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An organist was practicing one day in a big church in Europe. A man came up to the organ and asked if he could play. The organist looked at him and thought to himself “No way! Just look at him: he is unshaven, his clothes are dirty, he looks like an absolute bum!” So he told the man no.

But the unkempt stranger was very insistent. So finally, the organist relented, thinking to himself that he probably wouldn’t play very long, after all what does a bum know of organs.

Well... the bum’s fingers danced over the keyboard and among the stops in a way that the organist had neither seen nor heard in his lifetime! The big church organist was spellbound by the talent of this apparent vagabond.

As the private concert came to an end and the scruffy man began to leave, the organist inquired: “Who are you? What is your name?” The bum looked over his shoulder and said “My name is Felix Mendelssohn”. The big church organist just about passed out. His ragged clothes, his unshaven face, and his need of a bath disguised the fact that this bum was the well known musical master and a prince of the organ! To think that he was this close to preventing him from playing; this close to missing this experience of a lifetime.

Apparently, the old saying is true: Sometimes, the best things in life come in a plain brown wrapper. This was particularly true of Jesus while he was among us. For concealed within his simple human frame, was his divine, all powerful, Son of God, but a lot of people missed that. When he asked his disciples who people thought he was...... the answer that he got from them was “Some say John the Baptist; Others say Elijah; Still others Jeremiah.” ..... All great men, but men just the same.

They couldn’t get past the brown paper wrapper. Perhaps it was his tussled hair; his dusty feet; his craggy complexion from the years he spent outside; his need for food and drink and sleep. Whatever it was, the masses saw him only as a man. And they still do! Many people in our day are quick to say that Jesus was a great teacher and a great man; a loving person and all that, but just as quickly they balk at saying he was also God. Having thus prejudged him, they have prevented him from playing his music in their lives even though they have inwardly longing to hear it.

Peter actually surprised Jesus with his response to the same question, he understood the truth lay beneath Jesus human nature. Jesus turned to his disciples and said “and how about you....who do you say that I am?” And without delay, Peter answered: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” What a difference! But different in the right way! Let’s unpack it a little.

What does it mean that he called him “The Christ?” With the definite article “THE Christ” it is clear that Christ is not merely Jesus last name as so many people think. It’s actually a description of who he is and what he came to to do. Christ means “anointed one.” THE Christ means he is THE ANOINTED ONE.... in other words, the one whom God promised to send into the world to save it; the one spoken of by the prophets; the one promised to Abraham! He is God’s answer to the root of all problems; god’s answer to sin and death. So when Peter said “You are the Christ” he was saying “You are God’s answer!” “ “You are the Savior.”

But hold on! After he said, you are the Christ he went on to say: “You are the Son of the living God.” Notice the definite article again. He said “THE” Son and not “A” Son! Peter recognized that Jesus is God and therefore had all the authority that was necessary to do what The Christ was sent to do. He said “Son of the LIVING GOD” as opposed to other Gods who aren’t really alive. Another way of saying it would be “You are the Son of the only God who truly exists!”

Putting it all together... the meaning of what Peter said is this; “You are the answer that God promised for a world of troubles, You are the only Son of the only God who is actually there.”

Peter’s statement about Jesus was solid. It was so solid that Jesus referred to it as a rock. “On this Rock”, this confession of faith, “I will build my church.”, said Jesus. So The church is the assembly of all those who believe what Peter so clearly stated! And it’s true:. we do believe that Jesus is the The Christ; we do believe he is the Son of the living God. We do say that he is the answer that God promised for a world of troubles. We do say that he is The only Son of the only real God. This is at the very center of what we believe; the rock upon which all of Christianity stands....it’s just as Jesus said.

Not only do we believe this, but we also proclaim it. He said to his disciples and to us “I will will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven.....whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” What does this mean? It means that he gives us, those who know him, believe in him and are saved by him, the authority to tell others that God forgives them by the death and resurrection of Jesus. He gives us the authority also to alert others that they are in need of this forgiveness! We sinners who have been forgiven bring the message of forgiveness to other sinners.

People are often surprised to discover that there are sinners in the church. But it’s true! Perfect people have not need for church or the Savior it represents. We have not been nor are we perfect, but we are forgiven. We may be rough around the edges at times, but we are the people of God. Hidden within these flawed frames of ours is ”Treasure in Jars of Clay,” as it were. (2Cor. 4:7) So you see, Just as Jesus was wrapped in a plain brown wrapper, he has made us to be the same....We are eternal beings in Christ...but you couldn’t tell by looking at us. We look like everyone else.

So many things about the Savior and his church are this way: incredibly valuable stuff in plain brown wrappers. First there’s Jesus....the precious son of God....hidden in the son of a carpenter. Then look at what Jesus has commanded us to do! To baptize with water! Plain old ordinary water! But combined with the word, that water astoundingly offers forgiveness of sins and eternal life. And then there the Lord’s supper: Simple bread and simple wine. So common. So very pedestrian! But through that bread and through that wine and by his command our sins are forgiven. And then there’s us: as I mentioned...frail children of dust, adopted sons and daughters of God and heirs of all that is his.

Experience has taught me that some of the best teaching, the best counseling, the most meaningful witness happens when one Christian, who may not even be very articulate and may not be pretty or handsome, is willing to share what he knows and believes to be true with another person. Do you see? It’s like I said: much of what Our Lord is about and how he works in this world is wrapped in a plain brown wrapper. It is the way Jesus came to us. And it is how we are to bring him to others.

Many have been tempted to forget this at this time in this country. The church at large has gone through some rather big big changes in the last 30 years. The Church has come under the influence of some very powerful institutions. Hollywood has put it in the minds of church people that in order to get people to listen to the precious Gospel, that we must entertain them. Madison Avenue has taught us that we must advertise and properly market Jesus and his church: talking about love, peace and joy....the things that people like to hear, but not about the things people don’t like to hear like sin and the need for repentance. These words are departing from much of the modern churches vocabulary. Politics has taught us that We’ve got to put the right “spin” on Jesus otherwise people won’t accept him. The “Unplugged Jesus” ....the plain old ordinary Jesus just doesn’t cut it any more.

Do we really like what these human institutions have done to us and our culture? Do we really want them to do it to the church? I think not! I prefer the plain brown wrapper. It’s how our Lord worked in the past...and I don’t think he’s changed. He works through people; not programs; not hype; not showmanship; just people. Like the organist in that story I told you, people are deeply moved and surprised when he does his thing in their lives. And he is doing his thing; every day all over the world through boring, unhip, perhaps balding, perhaps aging, plain brown wrapper people like you and me. AMEN