So Much
Lent 4B     John 3:14-21

I need to clarify the way in which I am going to use the word, “so” today.

You can use the word in a sentence, saying, “Are you going to the movie?  SO am I?” Then the word is used as a conjunction in that sentence.

You can say, “SO, it is you!” or “SO what!” And then it is used as an exclamation.

You can use the word SO in another way such as “I read a page or SO in a book.” There the word was used as a pronoun.

You can use the word SO in at least three different ways.

Today, today I am going to use the word SO as an adverb, as an intensifier, such as “The cake was SO good.” Or, “she was SO good looking.”  Or, “I am SO mad.”

It expresses intense, inner emotion. “I feel SO happy today.”

The word SO is a stronger word than the word, “very.”

If I had said, “The cinnamon rolls were very good,” that would have been complimentary. But when I say to my wife, “They were SO good; they were SO delicious,” she knows that I REALLY like them.

We discover that the word SO is even stronger than the adverb, “very.”

The word SO can also express the opposite of love “I was SO mad.”

 “Elizabeth and I were SO much in love.” “I was SO mad at those boys.”

It is with this mood that we approach the gospel lesson for today, John 3:16.

 “For God SO loved the world.”

The Greek word for SO is the Greek word, houtos.

Like in English, the word, houtos, can be used in many different ways.

Only rarely in Greek, is the word, houtos, ever used to express deep feelings.

In fact, there are only two places in John’s gospel is houtos used to express deep and intense emotion.

In both Bible verses, it is the same:

John 3:16 says that “God SO loved the world that he gave his only son that whoever believes in him will not die but have everlasting life.”

The second is found in I John 4:11, “God sent his son to die on the cross for us. My friends, if God loved us SO much, ought we not also love one another?” If God loved us SO much, should we not love one another?

The same thoughtful intensity is expressed in the book of Ephesians where the Apostle Paul says, “God’s love for us is SO abundant and God’s care for us is SO great.”

The phrase, SO MUCH, is reserved for very special people and very special relationships.

Similarly, in the Bible, those words are reserved for very special and sacred relationships.

God ‘SO’ LOVED THE WORLD.

It is not merely, God so loved me. It is not merely, for God so loved you.  But God loved the whole world. That is what is so amazing.

That God loved people who don’t like him, who don’t believe in him, who could care less about him. God loves the world, and the world does not love God. That is what is so absolutely amazing.

But let’s imagine that the child in front of me is not my grandchild. Rather, the kid in front of me is a kid from the neighborhood and I know that this kid is a bad apple. The kid has broken windows in our house before. The kid has splattered paint on our cars before. The kid uses four letter words every time he sees me and he calls me foul names. The kid has shot at the neighbor’s dog with his B-B gun. To be honest, I don’t like this kid very much. In fact, I don’t like this kid at all. And obviously, this kid does not like me.

Would I love that mean neighbor kid SO much that I would be willing to die in his place?

The Bible says, “For God SO LOVE the world.”

That the intensity of God’s love is not just directed towards church people. That the intensity of God’s love is not just directed to your little life or my little life. The intensity of God’s emotion is for the world.

To be honest, I don’t get it.

I don’t comprehend or understand grace, that God so loves people who do not love him.

I would like to tell you a story.

The bridge man, the manager of the bridge, sees this train coming down and he has to lower the bridge very quickly so that the train can cross. Just as the manager of the bridge was going to lower the bridge, he looks out and sees his son out there in the middle of the bridge. His son is caught in the gears of the bridge.

He can lower the bridge and crush his son or he can leave the bridge up and kill all the people on the train.

The manager looks out at his son whom he deeply loves and he looks back at the train. Those hundred people on the train don’t love him at all. What should he do? He makes a decision to lower the bridge and his own son is crushed to death.

For God SO loved the world, that he gave his only Son to die on the cross that the world might be saved.

It is all so incomprehensible.

I don’t get it. I just don’t get grace.

My mind cannot comprehend the heart of God, how God elects to sacrifice his Son so that the world may live.

The little word, SO. It is SO small. It is SO short. SO seemingly insignificant. There is SO much locked up in that little word. It expresses such great intensity. The word, SO, is an intensifier.  “Those cinnamon rolls were SO good. Elizabeth and I are SO much in love. I was SO mad at a group of boys.” The word SO is such a good word. In the Gospel of John, the word SO is only used twice and both times to express intensity of emotion. For God SO LOVED the world that he gave his only Son to die on the cross.

Amen. 

CHILDREN’S SERMON. I played the game with the children, “Do I love you this much?” How much do your parent(s) love you? This much? (Fingers are spread about an inch apart?) NO. This much? (Fingers spread to six inches apart.) NO. This much? You repeat the process until your arms are outstretched as much as possible and I ask: Do your parents love you SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much? And the children all shout, YES. So does God.

Great Fun for all moms: Anita Renfroe’s hilarious song…

This has gotten me laughing and you’ve got to listen to this: about everything that Moms say to their kids… Busted! This video is “What A Mom Says in a 24 Hour Period” condensed down to about 3 minutes of song.

Helpdesk support back in the day of the middle age
with English subtitles. Original taken from the show “Øystein og jeg” on Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK)in 2001. With Øystein Backe (helper)and Rune Gokstad (desperate monk). Written by Knut Nærum.

1st Car Made in Detroit After Bailout
Result of design by bureaucrats!