"Plain As the Nose On Your Face"

Psalm 1   Acts 1:15-17,21-26

 

    Dan Brown's novel The DaVinci Code has sold over 40 million copies.  The Left Behind series written by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins series has sold an estimated 60 million copies.  At first glance we might say that the DaVinci Code and the Left Behind series have nothing in common.  The DaVinci Code appeals mainly to far out liberals while the Left Behind series mainly appeals to those on the far right. 

 

     But they are alike in at least one way.  They both share a Gnostic point of view.  The Gnostics were group that sprung up during the second century.  They based their beliefs on the gospel of John and the letters of Paul.  They claimed you had to be in possession of the secret knowledge.  Without it you were lost.  Both the DaVinci Code and the Left Behind series indicate that the people of the church have been duped and that the real Christian belief is a secret that will now be given to the privileged reader. 

 

      The early church rejected Gnosticism because they believed the Gnostics were spreading a story that was different than the story of scripture.  The Gnostics did not believe in the goodness of creation, the election of Israel, the humanity of Jesus, or the resurrection of the body.  In fact Judas was a hero to Gnostics because he helped liberate Jesus from his body.  Creeds were developed by the church to keep people from spinning religious fantasies.  In the Apostles Creed it was made very clear that Jesus was born, suffered and was crucified.  He was real flesh and blood.  The creed also affirms the resurrection of the body.  The intent of the creed was to protect people from false beliefs.

 

       One way to put it might be that the Gnostics were offering Big Macs from McDonalds while the church was offering prime rib from the Chop House.  The Gnostics offered junk food while the church offered food for the soul.  The Gnostics were very secretive, the people of the church engaged in open and public debate.  There is nothing secret about the faith. 

     

       For example, according to the first Psalm, happiness and well being do not come from having secret knowledge.  They come from obedience to the Torah, the first five book of the Bible.  If you are obedient, you can be like a luxuriant tree with plenty of nourishment.  But if you are not you will be like chaff that will disappear.  There is nothing secret or obscure about it.  When my mother thought I should understand something she would say "It is as plain as the nose on your face."  In my case that should have been pretty plain as I have a lot of nose to work with.  The Psalmist is saying this is as plain as the nose on your face, do this and you will live. 

 

       In the New Testament the Torah is still recognized as being important but the difference maker in a person's life is the resurrection.  When the disciples met to select someone to take the place of Judas they had one task in mind-they wanted someone who would witness to the resurrection.  Those who believe in the resurrection will be transformed by it.  Those who don't are hardly changed at all.  It is as plain as the nose on your face.

 

      The Acts passage mentions two of the disciples by name, Peter and Judas.  The life of Peter was transformed.  The life of Judas was not.  Peter went on to witness to the resurrection, Judas died a tragic death.  There is nothing secret about it, the way to life and life in all its fullness is through the resurrection of Jesus.

 

      We live in a world that seems to prefer junk food to nourishing food.  We live in a society in which people are more interested in what they want, not what they need.  So in the marketplace and the church that is what we give them, whatever sells and puts bodies in the pews, whether it is good for them or not. This is true of body and soul.

 

        I remember growing up, we were always forming secret clubs.  We would have a secret place to meet and you always needed to know the secret password to get in. It didn't matter that no one else really cared.  It made you feel important, set apart from everyone else.  You knew something the others didn't know. 

 

     After Jesus died the disciples may have seemed like they were forming a secret club as they were in hiding.  But they did this for a reason, they were afraid for their lives.  But then they met the Risen Jesus.  They were filled with the Holy Spirit and they took their message to the world.  Not even prison walls could contain them.  And even when they were stopped by authorities and some of them were put to death, the gospel continued to flourish.

 

       Tomorrow we will celebrate Memorial Day.  Memorial Day began after the Civil War in the south and was called Decoration Day as people decorated the graves of the confederate soldiers who gave their lives in the war.  Now we remember all of the veterans who have fought for the freedom that we enjoy in this country.  They were people who were willing to sacrifice their lives for what they believed in. 

 

     After the disciples met the Risen Jesus they were willing to sacrifice their lives for the gospel.  Their lives had been transformed and were no longer willing to settle for junk food.  They shared the real food offered by the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. 

 

     The followers of Jesus are not a secret club.  They don't have special knowledge, they simply are people who have been transformed by the resurrection of Jesus.  And they want everyone to know about it.  I John says there is nothing secret about it, it is as plain as the nose on your face.  "God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.  He who has the Son has life." May we share this message with the world.