Two boys are playing hockey on a pond in a Chicago park when one of the boys is suddenly attacked by a crazed Rottweiler.  Thinking quickly, the other boy takes his hockey stick, shoves it under the dog’s collar, twists it and breaks the dog’s neck, saving his friend.

A Chicago Tribune reporter happens to be nearby, sees the incident, and rushes over to interview the boy.

“Young Cub Fan Saves Friend from Vicious Animal” he starts writing in his notebook.

“But I’m not a Cub Fan”, the little boy replies.

“Sorry but since we’re in north Chicago, I just assumed you were,” says the reporter and starts writing again. “Sox Fan Rescues Friend from Horrific Attack,” he writes in his notebook.

“But I’m not a Sox Fan either,” the little boy replies.

“I GET IT. YOU DON’T LIKE BASEBALL. Bears Fan Rescues Friend from Horrific Attack,” he writes in his notebook.

“I’m not a Bears Fan either,” says the boy. “Oh… I assumed everyone in Chicago was either for the Cubs, Sox or Bears.What team do you root for?” the reporter asked.

“I’m a Packers fan,” the boy replies. The reporter starts a new sheet in his notebook and writes… “Little WRETCH from Wisconsin Kills Beloved Family Pet.”

This true story brings up an interesting point. Who is responsible for deciding what constitutes a sin? Are we all personally responsible for identifying our own sins? When God warns us to stay out of the judging business unless we are prepared to be judged ourselves, does He mean we have no business identifying each other’s sin? That’d be a shame because most of us are really good at it – pointing out the failures and shortcomings of others. For instance, if a man has suffered numerous setbacks and failures in life we are satisfied that it must be his own fault. But if a guy is more successful than we are, then we label him an operator. You know; the kind of guy who follows you into a revolving door and comes out ahead of you.

This judging thing, this sin identification is fun, and it often makes us feel better about ourselves, which is precisely why we do it. But finding fault in others in order to build ourselves up provides only temporary relief. It allows us to shift the burden of our sin from one shoulder to the other, which feels less burdensome for just a bit, before the strain and torture of the burden returns.

Henry Ironside, in his book titled Illustrations of Bible Truth, tells of an incident in the life of a man named Bishop Potter. He set sail on a transatlantic cruise ship and, in order to save money had signed up for a roommate through a travel service. After meeting his roommate for the voyage he went up to the purser’s desk and asked if he could store his gold watch and other valuables in the ship’s safe. He explained that he normally wouldn’t be concerned but he had been to the room and met his roommate and, judging by the man’s appearance he didn’t think the guy would be a very trustworthy person. The purser accepted the responsibility of the valuables and told the bishop, “No problem at all, sir. As a matter of fact your roommate was just here and left his valuables with me for the same reason.”

Someone once said, “When we see a brother or sister in sin, there are two things we do not know: First, we don’t know how hard he or she tried not to sin. And second, we do not know the power of the forces that assailed him or her. Which means we also don’t know what WE would have done in the same circumstance.”

I always say that the great attraction of the game of golf is that on one hole, a hacker with a 25 handicap can score like a pro. On top of that, there are 18 holes, so that’s 17 fresh starts, 17 do overs every round. And sometimes terrible shots turn out beautifully. You look up too soon on a little pitch shot 30 yards off the green and don’t keep your head down, so you top the ball, sending a grounder up the middle and it ends up 4 feet from the flag. Yes, golf can be beautiful.

But then there is the final score and it tends to remind us who we are and who Rory McElroy is. We decide we have a ways to go before trying out for our tour card. And that’s also a picture of temptation. Sometimes we have what it takes to turn our back on all 7 of the deadly sins! Even unbelievers perform random acts of kindness. Buddhists perform 1 or 2 a day! And when we fail we get to start over. But the final score reminds us, every one of us, of who we are and who Christ is.

The season of Easter once again has pulled us toward this inescapable reality. God loved us so much He offered up Jesus to become like us. He allowed for the Christ to become one of us. God in Jesus Christ – experiences the indignity of humanity. And Jesus accepted this demotion willingly, knowing it was the only way. Isaiah prophesied that Jesus would be despised and rejected by men. He would be pierced for our transgressions, and by HIS wounds, we would be healed.

Clearly, before we can get around to judging who among us is worthy – identifying each other’s sins, remember – God in Jesus Christ has already decided NONE of us is worthy. None of us can stand up to the power of the forces that assail us in this life.

The contest of wills between Jesus and the devil that defines His earthly ministry and that brings about the announcement of victory on the cross and the completion of victory on Easter morning at the empty tomb makes clear to us once and for all that we are mistaken when we attribute temptation, not to Satan, but to our Lord. The source of temptation is never God. God is not tempting us to do wrong. Jesus is not enticing us to do evil. Yes, a petition of the Lord’s prayer, the prayer Jesus taught us, is LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION. However, in this prayer, as Martin Luther explained, we are praying that Jesus comes to our aid in times of temptation and enables us to be strong against the forces of evil. What we are really acknowledging in the Lord’s prayer is our spiritual defectiveness. “Lord, lead us not into temptation because alone we are no match for the tempter”. He’s better at this than we are. He’s got a lot more experience as the tempter, than we do as the ones tempted.

And Jesus responds with the words of our Gospel lesson. “Keep loving each other, as I have loved you. This is how everyone will know you are my disciples”. And, this is how you will be able to withstand the forces of the evil one.

A woman was at her weight watchers meeting and the instructor held up an apple and a candy bar. WHAT ARE THE ATTRIBUTES OF THIS APPLE? She asked. Among the answers were “low in calories” and “lots of fiber.” Then she talked about what was wrong with the candy bar, and concluded by pointing out, “Apples are not only more healthy, they are also less expensive. Do you know I paid a dollar for this candy bar? A small voice from the back spoke up, “I’ll give you two for it.”

Yes, we all prefer the candy bar to the apple. It’s a byproduct of a fallen human nature that needs redeeming. Yes, we share in the blame for Jesus’ suffering and death. OUR sins put Him there, too. But because He did become our Redeemer and Savior, change is in the air. We are capable of being retooled and recharged. Temptation can bring us down, but it cannot keep us down. KEEP LOVING ONE ANOTHER AS I HAVE LOVED YOU, EVEN THOSE WHOM YOU FIND IT DIFFICULT SOMETIMES TO LIKE. This is the mark of a believer, and more! The mark of a disciple! Change IS in the air. And let it begin with me!

Amen