How the Pope became popular among Evangelicals

The title alone seems like a crazy thought; it least it would have only a generation or two ago.  Having just finished Diarmaid MacCulloch's Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years (with its 1016 pages no less), I could not help but comment on his observation that Secularism (in particular cultural battles over sexual morality) was an unintentional boost to the modern alliance between formerly rival factions within Christianity.  A generation or two ago, the primary threat as seen by Evangelical Protestants would have been Liberal Protestantism and Catholicism; Orthodox Christianity wouldn't have rated a mention as it languished behind the Iron Curtain.  Fast forward past the Cultural Revolution of the 60's, Roe vs. Wade, the rising tide of divorce in the West and America, and the battles for ordination for women and homosexuals.  With all of these struggles in common, a remarkable shift has taken place: "a survey on approval ratings among American Evangelicals showed that Pope John Paul II, who would have represented Antichrist to an earlier Evangelical generation, out polled assorted spokesmen of the Religious Right" (pg. 1010, from a poll taken in 2004).
What did it take to make the Pope popular among Evangelicals?  The realization that we have more in common with our brothers and sisters in the Catholic (and Orthodox) Churches than we do with a society that has come to embrace sexual promiscuity, divorce, abortion, and euthanasia.  It was not a sudden outbreak of Christian brotherhood that prompted those looking across the divide of Christianity for solidarity, but a realization that we must work together lest we separately be overwhelmed by atheism and agnosticism.  It seems that after 500 years of confrontation (in the case of Orthodoxy, 1000 years), the worldwide Church is beginning to see that the message of the Gospel is needed in our world regardless of which one of our Christian denominations is doing the telling.  What we have in common is more important that our differences, however important they may be.  The world needs a message of hope, forgiveness, and reconciliation, far more than it needs us to continue the arguments that have raged within the Church in the shadow of the writings of St. Augustine.
Did I once think the Pope would be the Antichrist?  Sure I did, that's what was being taught in Evangelical circles 30 years ago.  The times, they are a changing.  In the words of the American Patriot Benjamin Franklin, "We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately."

Sermon Video: "Woman, why are you crying?" - John 20:1-15

In the Easter resurrection appearance of the Gospel of John, the focus is upon the emotional state of the three participants.  Mary Magdalene is filled with anguish upon learning that the stone has been rolled away and fearing that Jesus' body has been stolen by those who would desecrate it.  She runs to tell Peter and John who both come to see the empty tomb for themselves, ponder the mystery of the burial cloths left behind, and leave believing that Jesus is alive but confused as to how and why this has happened.
As Mary remains behind, still in anguish over the apparently stolen body of Jesus, she first sees two angels, and then Jesus himself whom Mary mistakes for a moment as the gardener.  Jesus asks Mary, "Woman, why are you crying?"  When she doesn't recognize him, he simply says, "Mary" to which she responds with recognition, "Rabboni" (Teacher).  At once the cloud of sorrow is lifted off of Mary and replaced by extreme joy.  Jesus gives her the important task, and high honor, of being the first Christian missionary to spread the Good News that Jesus is alive.  As she runs to tell the disciples, the words of Jesus that he will soon be returning to his Father are a sobering thought amidst the joy that the worldwide task of preaching the Gospel will be the task of this small band of disciples; this is just the beginning.

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Sermon Video: "that they may be one" - John 17:20-23

In the last prayer that Jesus is able to make to his Father before the beginning of his time of trial, the focus of his concern is for the unity of his followers.  Knowing that they will face persecution as they spread the Gospel, Jesus prays for unity under God's leadership for his people, that the world might see it as a sign of the Truth of the Gospel.
In the Church today, we have the chance to move beyond the division and infighting of the past be focusing upon our mission, the training of disciples.  It is up to us to make peace happen among Christians of every denomination, that the world may know that the Gospel is indeed God's message of hope for them.

To watch the video, click on the link below:
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Sermon Video: "Unless I wash you, you have no part with me" - John 13:3-15

As the Last Supper looms, Jesus takes a moment to teach his disciples a lesson about humility, not a lesson of words, but a lesson by example.  Because Jesus knew who he was, what his mission was, and that his reunion with the Father awaited, Jesus was able to lay aside his rightful kingship and take on the actions of a servant.  When Peter objects to having his feet washed, Jesus assures him that all who follow him must imitate his servant's heart.  Along the same lines, all who would approach God must do so in humble repentance, washed clean by the blood of the Lamb.
Jesus, by washing his disciples' feet, shows us that we must do likewise; it is in service to others that we will find peace.

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Sermon Video: "unless a kernel of wheat falls" - John 12:24-32

With the Triumphal Entry mere moments behind him, Jesus begins to impress upon his disciples that "the hour" is at hand.  The purpose that brought the Son of God to dwell among men will culminate in his own death.  This death will not be an accident, rather it will be the fulfillment of the divine plan which envisioned the self-sacrifice of the Christ.  The life which Jesus will willingly lay down will accomplish infinitely more than he could have by trying to preserve it.
The same principle which Jesus proves in his own life applies to our lives as well.  If we believe that our lives are our own, and hold them tightly in our grasp, we will in the end lose that life just the same to no purpose.  If, however, we believe that our life is a gift of God, a stewardship for which we must one day give account, we will throughout our lives give of ourselves to show the love of God to others and in the end be rewarded by God for our faithfulness.
It may be a paradox, but the Son of Man will destroy sin and death by taking the world's sin upon his back and dying.  The moment of supreme victory for Lucifer's campaign of rebellion against Heaven will instead be the moment of complete defeat as Jesus rises from the grave in victory once-for-all ending the enslavement of mankind to sin and reconciling the world to God.  The cross, a symbol of brutal Roman oppression will in time become the symbol of hope for lost, the poor, and the hopeless.  In death, Jesus will provide life; in death, victory.
The question then becomes: Will we follow suit?  Will we walk in the footsteps of Jesus, give our lives freely to a life of service?

To watch the video, click on the link below:
Sermon Video