How?

 How many of you remember the country song from the late 1970's by John Conlee entitled, "Rose Colored Glasses"? In this song, John sings of a man who has a girlfriend that has cheated on him, possibly lied to him, and just treated him wrong in general. However, John sings that he looks at the girl through "rose colored glasses:" "But these rose colored glasses that I'm looking through, show only the beauty cause they hide all the truth." Those rose-colored glasses show him only the good things from their relationship and help him ignore all the obvious problems and reasons he should leave her. We have asked "Who?" as we contemplated "Spiritual Alzheimer's" and the temptation to forget who and whose we are. We asserted that all people are created in the Image of God and as Christians we are called to remember that we belong to God. We have asked, "Where?" and were called to remember that we are "citizens of heaven" and are to live lives that have been transformed by the grace of God. We have asked "Which?" and pondered whether we will choose life or death. This week we ask, "How?" and contemplate how we see things, as we continue our self-reflective Lent before Easter. There's the story of this pastor who has been preaching to the congregation about not judging anyone by their appearance. The congregation assured him that they would welcome, with open arms, anyone who came to worship with them. One week, this pastor told the congregation that he was going to go on vacation and a guest preacher would bring the message the following week. The next Sunday, as the folks came to worship, they saw a figure sitting on the back pew of the church. They had never seen this man before. The man had long hair and looked like he hadn't shaved in a week. He wore a t-shirt, torn jeans, tennis shoes, and a worn-out baseball cap pulled over his eyes. No one in the church talked to him before the service started, and instead poked and elbowed one another while making gestures back toward the man. Then the whispering began. When the collection was taken, the ushers wouldn't even pass the plate down the row where this man was sitting. When the service was over, everyone was careful to avoid him on their way out. It was the talk of the church for the next week. On the following Sunday, as the pastor began talking about how good it was to be back in the pulpit, someone asked him where he went on vacation. "Nowhere," he said. "I stayed right here and worshipped with you." The folks in the congregation laughed, and said, "We didn't see you. Where were you, really?" The pastor said, "I was sitting right there," as he gestured to where the ragged looking man had been sitting. You could have heard a pin drop as most of the congregation bowed their heads, and the pastor pulled out his Bible, turned to 2nd Corinthians 5:16 and began reading. "From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view," Paul says. Paul wants to talk about how we see things-whether we are wearing the right sort of glasses. Yes, I know, Paul doesn't actually mention glasses there, but think about it. What do glasses do? They control how we see things, often times altering the way we see things. If a far-sighted person puts on glasses adjusted for them, they are able to read things closer up, and glasses are made to do the exact opposite for a near-sighted person. If a person goes out into the bright sunshine, the dark coating on sunglasses makes everything appear darker, and, depending on the color of the tint may give everything a colored aura. In Corinthians, and for our reflection tonight, Paul wants to address how we see others. Paul says that we are not to regard anyone from a human point of view, or as some translations put it, we are not regard anyone according to the flesh. Sadly, we do it every day. We see someone we don't recognize on the Island, doing things that don't make sense, and decide that they must be from "Off." We get in line behind a young woman with a child in the grocery store, and when she pulls out food stamps, we think, "there goes someone having babies and abusing the system." We learn that someone is a school drop out, and think, "that lazy kid just didn't want to learn." Someone we know has a checkered past moves back after being gone for years, and we know we've got to keep a close eye on them. We notice someone of Latino background or hear someone speaking Spanish and think, "there goes another illegal taking away American jobs and resources." The ways go on and on as we look at folks and judge them on the basis of their economic condition, educational level, age, skin color, or history. When confronted with "How," namely, "How we see things," the answer tends to be, from an "I-centric" position. That is "I" as in me, myself, and I. We look at things, at people and situations, from a self-centered, self-focused position. If it is not like us, if it is not what we like, then we are ready to disregard it, dismiss it, or, worst of all, disrespect it. That's been going on for a long time. Jesus dealt with it through the gospels. The Pharisees and scribes came upon Jesus and saw him eating with the tax collectors, prostitutes, and other sinners, and at once they began to judge him as a sinner among sinners. They watched him cast out demons and determined that he must be in league with the demons. All too often we join them and look at things around us through, not rose-colored glasses or bifocals or any other type of glasses we can buy, but through those "I-colored-glasses." Paul says we can't look at folks and situations in that way any longer. "Behold," Paul says, "if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away, see, everything has become new." At first glance, it would seem to us that this would mean that when folks are joined to Christ through Baptism, that they are made new, and we have to see them in that way. This is true. It means that whether a person is white or black, Asian or Hispanic, or Native American, rich or poor, educated or non-educated, male or female, felon or a goody-two-shoes, that once they have passed under those Baptismal waters that all those characteristics have disappeared and we are now to understand them as our full brothers and sisters in Christ-we don't see those characteristics that the world sees that would separate them from us. However, that is not all that Paul is telling us. Paul is not only reminding us that those who come under those waters are a new creation, but he is also reminding us that we are a new creation. Paul is telling us that we must make sure that we are no longer wearing those "I-colored-glasses" when we look at those outside the church either. We are called as new creations to put on a new pair of glasses. We are not told to put on those "rose-colored-glasses" which hide the truth, but we are called to put on "Christ-colored-glasses" which reveal the truth. We are to be ambassadors of Christ who came into the world not to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be reconciled to God. As ambassadors of Christ, we are called to live as Christ's presence in the world. Paul says, "we have been given the ministry of reconciliation." We are to see people as Christ would see them and treat them as Christ would treat them. We are called to see the sick and the suffering, and whether they are church members or not, reach out to them with compassion, by going to them and being with them. We are called to see the lost and confused, regardless of their membership status, and offer them gentle guidance in the Word of God. We are called to see the lonely and outcasts and offer them friendship and love. We are called to see those who are struggling and offer them assistance. We are called to see those in mourning and battling with depression and offer them encouragement. We are called to see people as Christ would see them, as God would see them. We are called to see them as those who have been created in the Image of God, who are vessels of the very Breath and Spirt of God, and those for whom Christ offered His very life to redeem. We are called to see them as those Christ rose to give eternal life to. They are of value. They are meant to be loved. My brothers and sisters, how are we looking at things? May it not be "I-colored-glasses" nor through John Conlee's "Rose-Colored Glasses," but may it be with the perfect vision of the eyes of our Creator. In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. 2 How? 2nd Corinthians 5:16-21