“Together
is Beautiful” was preached at Sunnyside Presbyterian Church on Sunday, April 8,
2018. Inspirations for this sermon include Scripture, commentaries, fellowship
with one another, and a Coca-Cola commercial. There is no audio recording of this sermon.
----------------------------------
1
John 1:1-2:2
1.1
We declare to you what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have
seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands,
concerning the word of life— 2 this life was revealed, and we have seen it and
testify to it, and declare to you the eternal life that was with the Father and
was revealed to us— 3 we declare to you what we have seen and heard so that you
also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father
and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4 We are writing these things so that our joy
may be complete.
5
This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is
light and in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have
fellowship with him while we are walking in darkness, we lie and do not do what
is true; 7 but if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have
fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from
all sin. 8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth
is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will
forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that
we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
2.1
My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin.
But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the
righteous; 2 and he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours
only but also for the sins of the whole world.
----------------------------------
Did
you know after every Super Bowl Time magazine keeps a scorecard for every
commercial that was aired during the game? Every single year, they make a list.
You can actually google “Best Super Bowl commercials of ________ year” and Time
Magazine’s list of rankings will be one of the very first links. Now, on
average, companies pay about $5 million for a 30 second commercial at the Super
Bowl. Time Magazine then gives these commercials a grade, usually based on
their creativity, humor, and effectiveness. Once they have received a grade,
Time Magazine then ranks them from worst commercials to best commercials. Can
you imagine paying $5 million for a thirty second commercial just for it
receive a D or even worse, an F, and be considered one of the worst commercials
at the Super Bowl that year?
But
then you imagine the commercials that actually do well. The ones that get the A
ranking and are listed as one of the best commercials of that year. Over 100
million watch the Super Bowl each year, and some people watch the Super Bowl
not for the football but for the commercials alone. One hundred million people
watching a commercial during the game, and then if the commercial gets a good
score, people watch it again and again, increasing that number even higher.
Talk about some good advertising… even if it does cost $5 milliom…
And
then you have those commercials that are so good they are played multiple
years.
Coca-Cola
has one of those commercials. In 2014, during Super Bowl 48, Seattle Seahawks
vs the Denver Broncos, Coca-Cola released a commercial that Time Magazine gave
an A score (the highest score a commercial can receive) and was listed as one
of the best commercials that year. But it wasn’t like the other commercials. It
wasn’t funny; it didn’t have any spoken words. It was just a commercials full
of clips of family and fun and love while “America, the Beautiful” was sang in
the background.
Now
mind you, what made it special, was the diversity and the inclusion the
commercial featured; the unity and togetherness of people. The families that
were shown were families of all different races, backgrounds, and orientations.
The song itself, “America, the Beautiful” was sang in seven languages: English,
Spanish, (KEE-resh) Keres, (TAH-GAH-log) Tagalog, Hindi, (SEN-NAH-GAH-leez) Senegalese
French, and Hebrew. Of course, everyone in the video was sipping on a bottle of
Coca-Cola, and at the end of the commercial, the words “Together is Beautiful”
flashed across the screen. The end. The commercial was simple, but it was
powerful.
When
the commercial aired, Coca-Cola released a statement on their website:
The premise of
‘It’s Beautiful’ can be simply stated: America is beautiful and Coca-Cola is
for everyone. It celebrates Coca-Cola moments among all Americans and features
snapshots of American families. We believe it’s a powerful ad that promotes
optimism, inclusion and celebrates humanity – values that are core to
Coca-Cola. “It’s Beautiful” shows just a few of the ways Americans enjoy our
brand and how Coca-Cola brings families and friends together every day.
Now
I believe that commercial was successful because it reminded the viewers what
was important in their lives. Whether they are black or white, rich or poor,
conservative or liberal, whether they even like coke or not; that commercial
showed that being together will provide life-long happiness. Whatever may
divide us, all we need is love and apparently a bottle of coke to bring us back
together. They just had to be reminded.
Which
is exactly what the author of 1 John is saying in his letter.
The
first century was mistakenly thought as the “honeymoon” of the Christian
Church. Because the church was growing so quickly, people assumed everything
must have been going well. But that is far from the truth. Because the church
was growing so quickly, people began disagreeing what was the most important
doctrines and beliefs to follow. In fact, one of the greatest divisive issues,
was on who Christ was. Was Christ God? Was Christ human? Was Christ neither?
Was Christ both? Think about that: the early Christian church—the early
followers of Christ—disagreed on the person and the God who had them establish
the church in the first place.
So
as the early Christian Church grew, it soon began splitting into several
different communities. There were more differences than similarities, and it
was a time of strife. All these churches were far from the Church they were
supposed to be. They lived in a divided community.
So 1
John was written. In the opening address, John calls the audience to remember
why the Christian Church was established in the first place. He calls them to
go back to the beginning: what have they all heard, what have they all seen;
what have they all looked at; what have they all touched with their hands. John
tells them to testify to this and the life that was revealed in Christ Jesus.
If they remember this, they will have fellowship with the Father and with the
Son. If they have true fellowship with the Father and the Son, they will have
fellowship with one another. If they have fellowship with one another, then
their joy will be complete as they will be a united community once again.
1
John is a letter of love, knowledge, and truth. There is an urge for unity in
the community. This unity comes from three characteristics of God that form the
heart and soul of God’s children: light, justice, and love. Our passage today
only focuses on the first characteristic, so we will do the same.
In
our passage, we have the proclamation that God is Light. Now we know from the
creation story that God created light, but 1 John says that God not only
created light but now serves the people as the True Light. If they walk with
God, they walk in the light. If they forget who God is, they walk in the
darkness. Now 1 John admits that because of their sin they all have walked in
the darkness at some point, which makes them lost and separated from one
another. But even in the darkness, he reminds them that they have all seen
glimpses of the light. Since everyone has experienced the light, it’s something
that they have in common with one another, and it draws them together.
1
John says if the people gather in the Light who is God, then they gather
together as a united community.
This
is also true for us. If we gather in the name of God, then we gather as one
community. If we have fellowship with God, we have fellowship with one another.
If
we think about the two commandments Jesus gave us: to love God and to love one
another; 1 John teaches us that they go hand-in-hand. Our own faith in Christ
Jesus is what summons us to be in relationship with one another. Our relationships with one another are what
help us live in an often-difficult world. We’re not meant to face life alone.
I
often consider why I believe fellowship is important in my call to ministry,
and I keep going back to the answer that we are stronger together. You know the
saying? It takes a village. It’s true! It does take a village. Yesterday,
Sunnyside hosted a wedding, and in addition to me serving as the pastor, Rachel
was there playing the organ and Seng Ly came to help reset our sanctuary for
this morning’s worship, and four of our members came to serve as hosts, helping
the wedding party and the family and the guests. It was a beautiful service but
not because of the work of one person. No, it was because several people
gathered together in the name of God to celebrate the love of God that was
revealed between two people as they made their vows to one another.
Our
church follows the call of God because of the relationships that happen here.
It is strengthened by the bonds we create with one another. I often say this at
youth group: our group would be less if one of them were not a part of it. If
one of our youth goes missing for a while due to sports or school, their
presence is missed because a vital part of our community isn’t with us. They
are separated from us. This is true for all of you. If you decided that your
relationships here at Sunnyside weren’t important and you decided to leave our
Christian fellowship, our community of faith would be less without you.
And
we need to be honest. We are a diverse church. We have all sorts of backgrounds
that could divide us; that sometimes do divide us. But if remember who God is
to us; who Christ is to us—then we will not be divided. We will instead be
united together as one community in Christ, through Christ, with Christ.
And
who is Christ to us, Sunnyside? Christ is our guide, our light, our advocate;
our Savior. And Christ’s work is shown at weddings and at youth group; at Bible
studies and at committee meetings. It is shown here in worship and upstairs
with our children; it is shown in the ministry of our staff and in the ministry
of our volunteers. Every person here walks in Light of Christ; therefore, we
walk together.
And
if it’s true here, then it must be true all across the world. Let us all be
reminded how fellowship with Christ draws us to be in fellowship with another.
There
are many reasons that may divide us, but fellowship with Christ is a much more
powerful way to unite us. Christ gather us to be together… and together is
beautiful.
Thanks
be to God. Amen.
----------------------------------
