Category: Homilies

Matthew 9:35 – 10:8

The 1963 movie Lilies of the Field…

• Obtained a groundbreaking Oscar for actor Sidney Poitier.
• The first African American to win the award.

 

The story is set in the Arizona desert.

• Poitier portrays an itinerant laborer named Homer Smith.
• Homer pulls off the road…looking for water for his battered car’s radiator.
• There…he discovers a group of impoverished nuns.
• Refugees from war-torn Europe.
• Now eking out a living from the dry soil.
• The Mother Superior believes Homer Smith’s accidental arrival is God’s answer to her prayers…
• For someone who will come and build a chapel of adobe bricks on the ruins of an earlier failed attempt.

 

Well…Homer sees it differently.

• He asks to be paid for some repairs he made around the primitive convent.
• And he Quotes Luke 10:7:
• “The laborer is worthy of his hire.”
• And Mother Superior responds by quoting Matthew 6:28:
• “Consider the lilies of the field…how they grow…they toil not…neither do they spin.”

 

As the story progresses…Homer ends up building the chapel.

• He finds a part-time construction job to help pay for materials.
• Like Mother Superior…he also has a dream.
• He wants to be an architect.
• But he exhausts himself with crushing labor in the hot sun.

 

A crucial scene comes when his dedication inspires many of the Hispanic day laborers in the region to donate materials and labor.

• This leads to a crisis for Homer.
• If he allows others to help…will it still be his accomplishment?
• His pride causes him to quit.

 

But then…he realizes his skills in design and supervision and motivation.

• The laborers gladly share the back-breaking labor.
• And so…this becomes both his triumph and the community’s accomplishment as well.

 

When the chapel is completed…Homer quietly drives off: (Singing Amen).

• Well…Homer becomes a figure in local legend.
• The new chapel becomes not only the home for the community’s life of worship…
• But also…the launch pad for schools and hospitals to be part of a growing ministry.

 

Homer Smith struggled with the idea of working with other laborers.

• OK then…if anyone could ever accomplish everything without the help of others it was Jesus.
• He was able to feed the multitudes by blessing and breaking bread.
• Healing? He did not even need to be present.

 

Matthew…in today’s reading…is describing not just days…but weeks and months:

• Journeys between cities and villages.
• Hours spent speaking and healing.
• There is no suggestion…as there are in other places…that Jesus failed in any way.

 

But Jesus compassion leads him to lament to his apostles that the work of the kingdom requires more workers.

• More laborers to bring in the harvest.
• The one who is more self-sufficient than anyone.
• Feels the need for collaborators.
• Which leads to the calling of the twelve apostles…the twelve collaborators.

 

Why twelve?

• I am not sure…but it seems that Jesus is drawing a parallel between the twelve tribes of Israel…
• And the twelve disciples.

 

During the era of the great prophets…

• The Assyrians conquered the northern kingdom of Israel and led their 10 tribes into exile.
• Later…the two tribes of the southern kingdom…Judah and Benjamin…
• Were led into exile by the Babylonians.
• A couple of generations later they were permitted to return to their homeland.
• But there was still a feeling of being incomplete.
• Ten tribes were missing.
• These twelve disciples were chosen to show that God’s kingdom is one of wholeness and homecoming.

 

Today…we as the Body of Christ are meant to represent wholeness and homecoming as well.

• We are complete when we are all together.
• Jesus referred to those of daily life in his teaching:
• Shepherds…sowers…day laborers…homemakers…lawyers…
• Scholars…the rich…the poor…
• Mothers and harvesters.

 

These are still part of our world…to be sure.

• But our daily lives also include marketers…programmers…truck drivers…mechanics…
• Professional athletes…broadcast television…smartphones…the internet…oh…and so much more.

 

Well…the teachings of Jesus still apply today.

• And we are meant to share the compassion of Jesus for these “harassed and helpless” sheep.

 

Among the twelve apostles?

• Militants like Simon the Zealot.
• A tax collector.
• Peter…the betrayer.

 

Perfection is not a requirement for membership in this body of Christ.

• Nor are our tasks meant to be equal in expenditure of energy or time of commitment.
• We do not have the same skills…the same outlook or the same politics.

 

In the movie…Lilies of the Field…there was the doubtful owner of a construction company who donated materials for the building of the chapel.

• And then there was the nonbelieving owner of the café.
• There were some who donated chandeliers and stained glass.
• Others became stained with sweat as they carried heavy loads up and down the ramps as the chapel was built.
• Mother Superior was the great overseer.
• And Homer Smith was the brains behind the operation.
• All had something to do.
• All were important workers.
• Some would be remembered.
• Others only recalled as a name mentioned in passing.

 

But they…like us…all have a part in the great work of Jesus…the Kingdom of God.

• We are called to great ministries.
• We are called to be collaborators.
• We are called to Call out new apostles.
• We are called to mentor each other.
• All together.

Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26

It began 5 years ago when Jerry…my 4 pm coffee buddy for many years…

• And a retired computer technician…met a young clerk at a 7-Eleven.
• He complimented her on the way she deftly handled a complaining customer.
• During their conversation…he learned that the young woman had dropped out of college…
• Because someone had stolen her laptop when she was taking online classes.
• Wanting to help her…he refurbished a laptop he had and gave it to her…gratis.
• She was able to go on and complete her associate’s degree in business.
• That was the beginning of his work as the “Tech Angel.”
• He collects broken laptops and computers.
• Repairs them and gives them to those in need.
• Over the last five years he has given away more than 300 computers…laptops and tablets to students and families.
• While his work often changes the lives of those he helps…
• The 76-year-old retiree benefits as well:
• “It keeps me busy…keeps me challenged.
• I’ve got the skill.
• I’ve got the time.
• I’ve got the resources.
• So…who wouldn’t do it?
• For me to spend my time productively to the benefit of others is my reward.”

 

Maria runs a small restaurant that serves breakfast and lunch.

• The place is her life.
• Her regulars are like family.
• I know because Susan and I were regulars.
• I know…because it was my second congregation to the one I served in Seminole Florida.
• I baptized and counseled and married and buried many of the regulars who ate there.
• Maria often struggled to keep her little café open.
• But she also saw the struggle of many families to put food on their tables.
• So…after she closed each day…she gathered up leftover food…soup and fresh bread and drove it over to a local soup kitchen for the evening meal.
• Thanks to the community…she is doing OK.
• So…she is happy to give back.

 

They have discovered the truth of the adage:

• If want to master something…teach it.
• So…these students…high school seniors at the church I was serving at the time…
• Carved out an afternoon a week to serve as tutors at a local after-school program for kids-at-risk.
• The smiles on these young children’s faces when they showed them the “A” they got on their latest math test…
• Or…writing assignment was the absolute best.
• But they soon discovered that their own writing skills had sharpened.
• And their ability to grasp the material in their science and math classes had improved also.
• No mystery…really.

 

Jane Hamrick…a disciple/member of the Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd…in Seminole Florida…was a firecracker.

• Jane made men’s ties.
• She would say:
• “Go over to JOANN Fabric and get the material you want for your tie.
• And I will make it for you.

 

And she always had…with her…hundreds of ties she had ready-made.

• In case you did not want to go to JOANNS.
• And she would take you out to the truck of her car.
• I was always embarrassed to go out to her car-trunk with her.
• Because I knew it looked like a drug deal was going down.
• I really should not have been concerned.
• Jane was in her 90’s at the time.
• And she would sell the ties for $15 or $20 dollars…I don’t remember.
• But all the money would go to Lutheran Services of Florida.
• Jane joined the Saints of Heaven a while ago now.
• What a joy she was.

 

And over the years…think about it.

• The woman’s groups that made and continue to do so.
• Quilts and prayer shawls and hats and blankets for babies.
• And the men…gardeners and fixers and builders for Habitat.

 

 

It’s that simple:

• To follow Jesus…as Matthew is called to do.
• It is a matter of acting out of the spirit of compassion and generosity as Jesus does in the Gospel.
• No matter what “booth” we work at.
• No matter what our skills.
• Our simple acts of charity.
• Our joy in giving and sharing whatever little we have.
• Our reaching out to someone whose needs are as great as our own.
• Are the “fringe of Jesus’ cloak.”
• That the poor…the sick…the troubled and hurting can grasp and be made well.

 

The Kingdom of God is within our grasp here and now.

• All we must do is be as merciful as we have been shown mercy.
• To love as we have been loved.
• To lift up as we have been grasped by God.

John 17:1-11

There is a cartoon of a man being rescued from a desert island that shows his rescuers asking the man about two buildings on the small island.

• “Oh” …he says…pointing to one building… “this’s my church.”
• “And” …he continues…a little sheepishly … “the other building is the church I used to attend.”

 

So…in the scripture passage we read today we heard that Jesus’ followers “will be one.”

• But then…just think of how divided Christianity is worldwide.
• People who keep track of these things say there are about 2.6 billion Christians in the world.
• If we look closer…we find Christians separated into Catholics…Protestants and Orthodox.
• But those divisions do not include everyone who identifies as Christian.
• And they do not begin to describe the loss of credibility in the institutional church.

 

For instance…Baylor University…a Baptist institution…tells us that Baptists divide up into 22 different denominational identities.

• And that’s just in the United States.
• There are more than 30 different Methodist branches just in North America.
• With the new Global Methodist Church added last year as a break-away denomination from the United Methodist Church…
• Because of that large denomination’s most recent schism.
• Lutherans? Well…about 150 separate Lutheran bodies globally.
• I could spend the rest of this homily listing hundreds of other branches and divisions within Christianity.
• I do wonder whether all that division breaks the heart of Jesus.
• Today…let’s take a few minutes to think about what Jesus meant when he asked his disciples…and his eventual followers…to “be one.”

 

It is my opinion that Jesus did not have in mind a single institutional church at all.

• Rather…he wanted his followers…to pay attention to his words and his mission and the meaning of his life and death.
• This is because Jesus knew that his own first followers were not all alike.
• Yes…his 12 disciples were all Jewish males.
• But Peter was not a duplicate of Nathaniel and Nathaniel was not a carbon copy of Matthew…
• Who was quite different from brothers John and James…the sturdy sons of Zebedee.

 

Jesus even had a follower who felt free enough to express grave doubts about Jesus’ resurrection…a man we call Thomas.

• Beyond that…Jesus had plenty of female followers.
• Many of whom exercised leadership roles.

 

So…can we find a way for all of us Christians to “be one” …

• Without being locked into a kind of soul-crushing sameness of worship style or institutional makeup?
• Yes…we can find such a way.
• We can hold to the center of our faith simply by recognizing the sacrificial way God graciously loves us.
• And by responding to that love in praise and gratitude.

 

As the apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians:

• There are different gifts of the Holy Spirit…and we should respond to the gifts the Spirit gives us.
• Paul emphasized unity in Christ in his letter to the Philippians:
• “Let each of you look not to your own interests…but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus.”
• In the prayer we read from the Gospel of John today…Jesus asks… “that they will be one…as we are one.”
• In that phrase…just “as we are one” …Jesus is not saying that he is an exact replica of the God we call Creator or Father.
• Rather…he is saying they are one in purpose…one in spirit…one in love.

 

That is the beauty of true pluralism.

• Pluralism is a conscious…built-in decision and celebration of the benefits that come from having people together who are different.
• Diversity…by contrast…happens by chance.
• Pluralism happens on purpose.
• And it engages us in a deliberate recognition that strength for good can come out of differences.

 

OK then…Jesus wanted his followers united.

• Not in the language used to create dogmatic statements.
• Not in this or that architectural approach to church design.
• Not in worship style.
• But rather united in allegiance to Jesus the Christ…the savior.
• But rather united in allegiance to the good news.
• But rather united in allegiance to the loving God of all creation.

 

I will end with this:

A man was walking across a bridge one day and saw another man standing on the edge…about to jump.

• The first man ran over to him and said: “Stop. Don’t do it.”
• “Why shouldn’t I?” he asked.
• “Well…” the first man said… “there’s so much to live for.”
• “Like what?” was the response.
• “Well” …the first man said… “are you religious?”
• He said: “Yes.”
• “Me too” …the questioner said. “Are you Christian or Buddhist?”
• “Christian.”
• “Me too. Are you Catholic or Protestant?”
• “Protestant.”
• “Me too. Are you Episcopalian or Baptist?”
• “Baptist.”
• “Wow. Me too. Are you Baptist Church of God or Baptist Church of the Lord?
• “Baptist Church of God.”
• “Amazing. Me too. Are you Original Baptist Church of God…or are you Reformed Baptist Church of God?”
• “Reformed Baptist Church of God.”
• “Me too. Are you Reformed Baptist Church of God…Reformation of 1879…or Reformed Baptist Church of God…Reformation of 1915?”
• The potential jumper replied:
• “Reformed Baptist Church of God…Reformation of 1915.”
• Which caused the first man to say: “Die…you heretic” and he pushed him off the bridge.

 

Oh yah…humor hits us where it hurts.

• Because…at times…we have not understood the pain and anguish Jesus was in when…
• Right before he was hauled away to be crucified…
• He prayed that all his followers might be one.

He was not asking us to wear standard uniforms.

• Or to understand his multi-layered parables in only one approved way.
• Or to base our social witness to the world on some political party’s platform…
• Instead of on Christ’s own teaching.

No…he was asking us to be one in spirit.

• He was asking us to be one in spirit to love one another as he loved us.
• He was asking us to be one in spirit to the joy of sharing Christ to a wounded world in need of such wonderful…good news.

John 14:15-21

Remember the first time:

• You walked home alone from school.
• You are left alone at home as a child.
• You are allowed to be alone at home in the evening without a baby-sitter.
• Your parents are away overnight or for a weekend and the house is all yours.
• Strong moments…scary and exciting!

 

Remember sleeping away from home for the first time.

• The first dance.
• The first kiss.
• Learning to tie shoelaces.
• Learning to tell time.
• Learning something by heart.
• Learning the news of a death of a friend or parent or grandparent.

 

“I’ll never forget the first time I…” is followed by stories about getting the first real job.

• To being elected to an office at school.
• To finding out you are pregnant with your first child.

 

The moment when something of importance happens to you for the first or only time is a liminal moment.

• The phenomenon of liminality.
• Liminality and threshold moment mean the same thing.
• From the Latin root limin…meaning the centerline of the doorway.

 

Liminality is the moment of crossing over.

• It describes the transitional phase of personal change.
• Wherein one is neither in an old state of being nor a new state of being.
• And not quite aware of the implications of the event.
• All stages of life include liminality.
• Life is nothing but moments of crossing over.
• Stitching these moments together into the comforting quilt of wisdom is the task of one’s later years.

 

And this is where Jesus meets his disciples and us in John this morning.

• In a state of liminality.
• A threshold moment.
• A moment of crossing over.
• A state of being with Jesus physically.
• To a state of not being with Jesus physically.
• And so…Jesus gifts his disciples…he gifts us…with the comforting quilt and gift of the Holy Spirit.

 

The six of us met during our first semester at Luther College back in our freshmen year.

• We found ourselves sitting at the same cafeteria table for breakfast during our first homecoming.
• Thrown into the excitement and anxiety of the college experience…
• Our friendship helped us survive.
• We were three couples.
• David and Karen.
• Stan and Sharon.
• Chip and Susan.
• The three young women were roommates.
• We three men were their homecoming dates.
• Together…we made our way through the next four years of lectures…lab experiments…research papers and midnight study sessions.

 

The” brains” in our little group got all of us through our math and science classes.

• The thoughtful ones were able to translate philosophy into real English.
• The quiet members always knew the right thing to say when one of us was going through a rough time.
• The easy-going ones made sure everyone did not take everything…include themselves…too seriously.

 

We held one another up in the wake of rocky times in our relationships…

• Academic struggles and the joys and concerns going on back home.
• And toward the end of our college careers…we toasted grad school acceptances…first jobs and engagements and subsequent marriages.
• And oh yes…one of us entered the military and served in Viet Nam for several years.

 

Commencement marked a turn…not an end…in our friendship.

• We continued to be there for one another.
• In good times and bad times.
• Each couple always knew that help…support…a listening ear and understanding were only a phone call away.
• Always honest and frank.
• Always loving and forgiving.
• Never judgmental.

 

We celebrated one another’s threshold and coming of age moments.

• And more births.
• And more baptism.
• Graduations
• Supported one another as we coped with our experiences of death and loss.
• And…of course…we continue to remain on each other’s Christmas card list.

 

Last year we met at our college for our 50th reunion.

• But when we met in the college reception and reunion welcome area…we were not six…
• But five.
• Karen had recently joined the Saints of Heaven from Alzheimer’s disease.
• But despite our sorrow and morning…we picked things up as if we saw each other yesterday.
• You see…we all meet once a year at homecoming.

 

We are older…grayer and wiser since that first breakfast.

• But the experiences we have shared and the memories we cherish make our friendship as strong and as real as the morning it first took root a half century ago.

 

Shared memories are what bind us together.

• Shared memories are what bind friends together.

 

A similar memory binds us together as a Church:

• The memory we share and celebrate in the event of Jesus.
• A memory that is as real and as enduring among us today as it was for the Twelve that Holy Thursday night in the room in which the Last Supper was held.

 

The Spirit of truth…the Paraclete…is the creative…living memory of the Church.

• The Spirit/Paraclete unites us and energizes us as we come together to share.
• As we come together to relive and learn from our memory of the Risen Christ.
• Jesus…the wise Rabbi…
• The compassionate Healer.
• The friend of the rich and poor.
• The friend of the saint and sinner.
• The obedient and humble Servant of God.

 

The Spirit of truth…the Paraclete…is a living presence among us who makes of us a community of faith.

• A family…a circle of friends who offer Christ’s love…support and compassion to one another.

John 14:1-14

She walks into her new room. The biggest change is that it’s her room…a room of her own.

• She carries all her clothes and a couple of toys and books in an old suitcase.
• Since her parents all but abandoned her…she’s been shuttled from one shelter to another.
• From one foster family to the next.
• Now she’s been adopted by our next-door neighbor…Carey.
• Carey is a single woman…never been married…middle aged.
• Her new 9-year-old daughter’s name is Chrystal.
• Carey is kind and understanding.
• Carey has lots of loving support from our neighborhood and her family that lives nearby.
• Carey has made a place for Crystal.
• A place of welcome and care.

 

It’s her first day at a new high school.

• Because of my vocation…our family has moved to a new church call in Seminole, Florida.
• But changing high schools in midyear is a new thing.
• And a frightening experience for our daughter.
• Katie asks a student for directions to her first class.
• After quick introductions…she tells the student that this is her first day.
• After giving Katie directions to her class…
• The student invites her to meet her for lunch in the cafeteria.
• There she introduces her around and she makes her first friends.
• Her new high school seems a little less intimidating now.
• The students have made a place for her.

 

We are lost and overwhelmed.

• Susan and I nervously inch our way into Peace Lutheran church in Hong Kong just as worship is starting.
• A greeter sees us and comes over to help us.
• We struggle with Mandarin…so he asks us to wait a moment.
• He walks up a side aisle and motions to a parishioner to come to the back.
• The parishioner smiles at us and begins to speak to us in English.
• Translating the Mandarin into English as the worship progresses.
• When worship is over…the parishioner escorts us to the narthex where he and his family are gathered.
• The family and the people around the family smile and welcome us.
• And make sure we come for the post-worship coffee hour.
• That congregation in Hong Kong made a place for us at their table.

 

In his Last Supper farewell to his disciples…Jesus assures them that he goes “to prepare a place for you” in “my Father’s house.”

• As Christians…we live in the eternal hope of one day living in God’s dwelling place.
• But that “place” of hope and compassion and peace exists here and now in the places we make.
• Where the poor and sick are cared for.
• Where the fallen are lifted up.
• Where the lost and rejected are sought out and guided home.
• In the places we make for our sisters and brothers…
• We begin to find the place Jesus has prepared for us.
• In this way…we build God’s house in this time and place.

 

The forge in the makeshift blacksmith shop glows orange and lets off a low roar.

• The furnace fires up to 2,000 degrees…hot enough to soften metal.
• The blacksmith goes to work…slowly and carefully hammering the glowing hot metal resting on the anvil.
• Shaping and re-shaping it.
• Before long…it’s finished:
• A trowel…a small shovel used to plant flowers in a garden.

 

Just a few minutes before…it was a shotgun.

• The “blacksmith” is not working at some small outpost in the Old West but in Guilford, Connecticut.
• He is one of dozens of volunteer smiths who are part of Swords to Plowshares Northeast.
• An organization that takes the guns collected in police department buy-back programs and repurposes them into gardening tools:
• Shovels…picks and cutting blades.
• The finished tools are donated to community gardens and agricultural high schools…
• That grow and harvest vegetables for soup kitchens and homeless shelters.

 

One of the volunteer blacksmiths is retired Episcopal Bishop James Curry.

• He is one of the founders of Swords to Plowshares.
• Inspired by similar Mennonite programs…
• Bishop Curry began organizing Swords to Plowshares after the tragic shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.
• Bishop Curry officiated at the funeral of one of the young victims at Sandy Hook.

 

Bishop Curry sets up his “portable” forge at churches around Connecticut to demonstrate the process.

• And he invites parishioners to take the hammer themselves to transform a weapon of death into a tool for life.
• Bishop Curry is emphatic that his group is not “anti-gun” but “anti-gun violence.”
• “We focus on voluntarily given-up guns that are unsafely stored.
• A lot of guns are just plain forgotten about.”

 

The cross that Bishop Curry wears around his neck is a constant reminder of that transformation.

• “It is made of pieces of an AK-47.
• The piston that creates the automatic action and the sights” used for shooting…Bishop Curry explains.
• “But God takes that element and God’s love breaks it apart.
• Reshapes it…then transforms it into the sign of greatest hope…the cross.”

 

On the night before he dies…Jesus asks his disciples to take up “the work that I do”:

• The work of humble servanthood that places the hurts and pain of others before our own.
• The work of charity that does not measure the cost.
• The work of love that trumps limits and conditions.

 

The “work of God” that Jesus asks us to take on is to use whatever means we have.

• Whatever skills and talents we possess.
• To transform despair into hope.
• Violence into peace.
• Hatred into respect.

 

The trowel made from a shotgun is the perfect image of today’s Gospel.

• And the work that we have taken on by virtue of our Baptisms:
• To bring the peace and hope of the Risen Jesus into our homes.
• And churches.
• And communities.
• And marketplaces.

John 10: 1-10

Sheep do not follow strangers.

• They only follow the Shepherd…whom they know.
• This is a fact.

 

Since the shepherd is known by the gate keeper.

• The shepherd comes directly to the gate that is opened for him.
• Then he goes into the sheep and lets himself be known.
• After which he leads them out of the pen…into the open pasture.
• The shepherd has no need to climb over the wall in the dead of night…to steal the sheep.

 

Jesus wants his followers to know him as the Good Shepherd…not as a thief.

• Simplistic as it sounds…
• Jesus wants people to know him as one who comes without pretense…as the authentic one.

 

As simple as this sounds…Jesus’ disciples did not understand what he was saying to them.

• So…Jesus had to try again.
• Telling them that he was the door to the sheep.
• The reality through which the sheep must pass to get to pasture.
• Jesus had to tell them that he was not like the thief who comes to steal the sheep.
• His purpose…as the Good Shepherd…was to give life and to give it abundantly.
• Unfortunately…the disciples would not know this for some time to come.
• Not until after the crucifixion and the resurrection.

 

OK then.

• Most of us make things very difficult for ourselves.
• We tend to deal in confusion.
• And so…it is very difficult to understand what really is happening in our world…to ourselves…or to others.

 

When we suffer loss…we tend to muddy and confuse what has happened to us.

• We ask questions that are confusing to ourselves and to others.
• We want answers.
• “What is the meaning?”
• “What is the purpose?”
• “Why me?”
• “Where is God in all of this?”

 

We say that we want to know the truth that can make us free.

• But at the same time we become more confused by our anxiety.
• And we may turn to people who say that they know the answers to our questions…our problems…
• And they may even try to give us all the answers we are looking for.

 

As in our time…it was also true in the time of Jesus.

• There were many people popping up all over the place who said they knew all the answers.
• “Lo … here… and Lo … there” they would say.
• “I am the answer! I am the one who can lead you to the truth!
• Trust me!”
• It all sounds familiar.
• It happens in every age.
• It is happening in our world right now.

 

We become involved in complicated situations.

• Turning to this person or that person for answers.
• And sometimes there is just enough in some of the answers to make us think that we have finally discovered the truth.
• But then we find out that this is not so.
• The answers are not what we wished or hoped them to be.
• And we become disillusioned again.

 

We look for leaders.

• As we are doing again today in this country and in this world.
• We hope that someone is going to rise out of the ashes of our perversity and lead us into the light.
• Where everyone will have a job…and food…and peace…and prosperity.

 

We want to believe that a leader can do this for us.

• Can save us from our folly…our sin.
• He or she may be an evangelist on television or a political leader.
• We want to believe that someone can save us.

 

Recently…a presidential candidate stood before a large crowd of people and said:

• “What this country needs is someone to lead…and I am the one.”
• The audience clapped.
• Even though everyone kind of knows that this is game playing.
• That there is no such thing as a leader who can lead us.
• Not in the sense that we want to be led.
• And those who claim that they can do this for us are like thieves and robbers.
• And we…who seek them out…are responsible for accepting more opiate.

 

Jesus was very well acquainted with the history of his people and aware of what was going on in his country at the time.

• His people also longed for a leader.
• For a Messiah.
• For someone to lead them out of their pain.
• And in those times…the would-be Messiahs…were popping up everywhere.
• And Jesus had to warn about this because sometimes…
• The would-be messiahs led people into rebellion and slaughter.

 

Well…our life experiences are adapted to this wolfpack approach of going over the wall at night.

• Rather than through the gate during the day…to lead the sheep…to lead us.

 

The name of the game is to develop the answer and to perpetuate it.

• Sell the idea that a particular kind of ointment on my scalp can make me look younger.
• Well…at $40 for 3 ounces I tried it.
• And you can see that it did not work.
• I am still bald…bald…bald.
• Or if you drink the right kind of colored water…you can be more…
• Well…you fill in the blank.
• You can be MORE of whatever you want to be.
• You and I know that MORE is Satan’s favorite word.
• Because if there is any MORE…then GRACE is not alone.
• MORE…I am happier because I have a turbo charged automobile.

 

It is always the same promise we are being given by the thieves.

• They tell us that we will escape pain and enter into pleasure.
• That there is no cross…and no reason why any of us should endure suffering.
• “You deserve the best there is”…we are told.
• Before holding out a bottle or a pill or anything else we are being asked to buy.
• It is all an illusion.
• And the tragedy is that we can be so eager to believe it.
• And even to perpetuate it.

 

But…there is hope.

• Jesus is saying something very good here.
• Jesus is giving us hope.
• He is saying that there are people in this world who have a gift to discern the Truth.

 

There are people who see through the illusions and will respond to the voice of the Good Shepherd.

• Who will follow no other leadership than that of love.
• Rather than manipulation and exploitation.
• There are people who will not follow the thieves and the robbers.
• Through them…we will know the truth…and that truth will make us free.
• They are the people of peace who pick up the broadcast of love and hope that are the essence of Christ’s gospel.
• And these people are eager to become the servants…to serve.

 

It is important for us to affirm these spiritually minded human beings who say:

• “Yes” after the final “No” has been uttered.
• They are the salt of the earth and the light of the world.
• And they are here…among us.

 

By nature…we are functional atheists…all of us.

• We tend not to believe the voice of Truth…even to avoid it.
• But Christ affirms the reality of divine intuition.
• There are those who hear the voice of love…of light…of truth.
• Who follow the Good Shepherd.
• And so…Jesus’ message for us this morning is one of profound hope.
• Thanks be to God.

 

 

Luke 24: 13-35

Karl Barth…one of the twentieth century’s most famous theologians…was on a streetcar one day in Basel, Switzerland…where he lived and lectured.

• A tourist to the city climbed on the streetcar and sat down next to Barth.
• The two men started chatting with each other.
• “Are you new to the city?” Barth inquired.
• “Yes,” said the tourist.
• “Is there anything you would particularly like to see in this city?” asked Barth.
• “Yes,” he said, “I’d love to meet the famous theologian…Karl Barth. Do you know him?”
• Barth replied, “Well as a matter of fact…I do. I give him a shave every morning.”

 

The tourist got off the streetcar quite delighted.

• He went back to his hotel saying to himself: “I met Karl Barth’s barber today.”

 

That’s amusing…isn’t it?

• That tourist was in the presence of the very person he most wanted to meet.
• But even with the most obvious clue…he never realized that the man with whom he was talking was the great man himself.

 

It reminds us of Mary’s reaction on Easter morning.

• In her grief…she thinks the man she is speaking to is the gardener.
• It is not…of course.
• Until he called her name…she did not realize that she was speaking with the risen Christ.

 

And it reminds us of that scene on the road to Emmaus.

• When later that same Easter day…two of the disciples walk for a while with the resurrected Jesus.
• And they…too…had no idea with whom they were talking with.

 

On that first Easter Sunday…the women took spices and went to the tomb.

• They found the stone rolled away from the mouth of the tomb.
• But they did not find Jesus’ body.
• Two angels ask them: “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here…he has risen!”

 

That is why the story of the two men on the road to Emmaus is so important.

• Because the two men were among those to whom the women shared their story of the empty tomb.
• These men were on their way to a village called Emmaus.
• About seven miles north of Jerusalem.
• They were talking with each other about everything that had happened.

 

We do not know precisely who these men were.

• The name of one of them was “Cleopas.”
• The other may have been Luke himself.
• And that he omitted his own name out of modesty…we really do not know.
• And we do not know why they were headed toward Emmaus.
• Most likely…that was their home.
• And…in disappointment…they had concluded that their grand adventure of following Jesus of Nazareth was over.
• So…they were packing it in and heading back to the lives they had before they met Jesus.

 

What we do know is that…as they walked and talked with each other about their experiences…

• Jesus himself came up and walked along with them.
• But…they were both kept from recognizing him.
• Their despair stood in the way…disappointed with the way things turned out.
• They had lost hope and were discarding their dreams.
• Blinded to the good things that still surrounded them.
• We too…should not let temporary disappointments blind us to the good God is doing in our lives.
• We should never assume that any disappointment is God’s last word on any situation.

 

The followers of Jesus certainly thought their dreams had turned to dust.

• The last thing they expected was to discover that Jesus was alive.
• Maybe this is why they did not recognize him.
• They were blinded by their disappointment.
• It’s a beautiful story of two men who were in Christ’s presence and did not even know it until he chose to reveal himself.
• We too…at times…get distracted from our faith by a great disappointment or defeat…blinded by our circumstances.
• We do not even know that we…too…are in the presence of the risen Christ.

 

Those who were closest to Jesus did not recognize him until they shook off their disappointment and despair.

• They realized he was in their midst.
• And their hearts burned within them in joy and peace that the Lord Jesus Christ was alive.

 

God tends to hide behind foolish disguises:

• He is the homeless man lumbering through the park talking to himself in a loud voice.
• A pint of Cuervo Gold tucked into the back pocket of his jeans.
• She is the teenager texting her boyfriend and applying mascara at the stoplight after it has turned green.
• He is the young father gambling away his children’s dinner at a casino on his way home from another day at the sewage treatment plant.
• She is the elderly woman slowly counting out change at the convenience store when you are late for the job interview.
• And he is the Very Busy Man who does not give you the job.

 

You understand that this is why all the sacred teachings remind us to be vigilant:

• God could pop up anywhere…anytime.
• And drop his mask.
• When he does…we must be sure we have treated him like God.
• No matter how he was behaving.

 

On the roads we travel to our Emmauses…God appears to us in so many different appearances…shapes and sizes.

• In all of them…God guides us…nudges us…challenges us and confronts us:
• Where are we going?
• What are we seeking on this journey?
• How do we experience meaning and purpose in our lives?

 

God makes himself known in the rich… the poor…the stranger…the troubled.

• And so…calls forth from us the compassion and mercy and peace of his Easter promise.

John 20: 19-31

The words Jesus actually spoke were Shalom alechem. (Phonetically: Shalome Alehem).

• Shalom alechem are the Hebrew words for “peace be with you.”
• Well…what is peace?

 

If you asked people to define peace…they would probably say things like:

• Tranquility… quiet…calm.
• They would say something about being able to get off by themselves for a while and relax.
• They would say that peace is watching a sunset and enjoying nature.
• We imagine peace as being at ease… relaxed…without stress and without conflict.
• And maybe even swinging in a hammock.

 

Many of our ideas about peace involve solitude and being off by ourselves.

• And there’s certainly nothing wrong with that.
• Having time alone is necessary and helpful and healthy.
• Today many companies as well as the church require “Boundaries Workshops.

 

But…at the same time…we live in the give and take of daily life.

• We live in the very heart and pulse of our communities and the world.
• But the heart and pulse of the world is the last place you would expect to find peace and tranquility.
• Without contact with others though…
• We would go flat and stagnate.
• And so…maybe peace is not what we think it is.

 

Jesus said: Shalom alechem.

• “Peace be with you.”
• But the word shalom does not mean calm and tranquility.
• It does not mean the absence of struggle or conflict.
• Even though most of us would probably be happy to settle for that…if we could get it.

 

Shalom means well-being.

• It means the fullness of life.
• It means thriving and relishing and zesting and delighting in life.

 

Shalom alechem:

• “Peace and prosperity and gladness and growth and abundant life be with you.”
• That’s what shalom means.

 

And then Jesus showed His wounds…the holes in His hands and feet…and again said:

• Shalom alechem.
• His saying shalom is framed around the disciples seeing His wounds.
• It’s as if Jesus were saying:
• “This is how your peace is won.
• This is where you will find well-being and fullness of life.
• In My wounds.
• Because of that…peace be with you.”

 

Jesus did not get those wounds by disappearing into solitude.

• He got them in the thick of things.
• He received His wounds in one of the most diverse cities in the world.
• In a place so worldly that the sign over His cross had to be written in three languages.
• In a place where there were robbers and soldiers and priests and black marketers and terrorists.
• A place teeming and pulsing with the rhythms of the world.

 

We call Him the Prince of Peace.

• But it is an unusual peace that He brings.
• Not the peace of solitude and tranquility.
• But rather peace in the storm and tempest.
• Peace even in the heart of darkness.

 

Guyana is one of our companion synods in our Florida/Bahama Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

• Pastor Chip’s Youth Director…Tom…went with the congregation he served…on a Mission Trip there.
• One Sunday morning Tom went to a part of Georgetown called “the City of God.”
• He rode the bus part way and then got off and began walking up the winding street to the church.
• The street was crowded and there were shacks everywhere.
• When he got to the church it was crowded with children…impatient and restless…as they are in every culture.
• As Tom looked at the children…he could not help but think of the various statistics he had heard.
• Numbers telling of malnutrition… and child labor and infant deaths and the rate of disease.
• All this was on his mind as he took Holy Communion.
• He was thinking of the tremendous needs of the people.
• And how their problems seemed to be so great that you began to doubt whether much could really be done.

 

Then…a tiny woman came up to him.

• She had long braids in her hair.
• She had deep lines on her face.
• She came up to him…reached out her hand to take his…and she said:
• “The peace of Christ be with you.”

 

There…in that backwater of the world.

• In the slums of a city…among the little and least and the lost.
• There…in that festering wound of a place.
• He had been blessed with the peace of Christ.

 

Tom said: “As I spent time with those people…they taught me to see past the signs of death…suffering and poverty.

• I began to learn a lot about faithfulness and discipleship.
• I was moved by their incredible faith.
• I learned of their certain knowledge of Christ’s presence in their midst.
• And I learned of their claim to life in the face of the forces of death.”

 

And then Tom he said:

• “On a Sunday morning in the City of God…
• I reached out to touch one of the many wounded places in this world.
• I encountered there the risen Christ.”

 

It is not a peace that comes from hiding from others.

• Or separating ourselves…or cutting ourselves off.
• No…the peace of Christ is that mysterious and marvelous shalom that is somehow connected with the pulse and beat of human life.

 

Then Jesus said: “As the Farther has sent me…so I send you.”

• We are sent into the world.
• Sent not so much to be seekers of peace.
• But sent to be the bearers of peace.
• Sent to bring the Lord’s peace into our circle of life.

 

The Lord’s peace is not something we fall into.

• The Lord’s peace is something that is lived.
• That peace is lived in peaceful activities.
• That peace is lived in making dinner for those we love and care for.
• That peace is lived in caring for animals.
• That peace is lived in reading books.
• That peace is lived in building a garden.
• That peace is lived in going for a walk.
• That peace is lived in playing with children.

 

The Lord’s peace is lived…and then it is passed on…passed on wherever we happen to be.

• When a little league team is coached in a way that builds up.
• When a business is run in a way that affirms its people and customers.
• When a neighbor is greeted with respect and dignity.
• Whenever people encourage and stimulate and support and inspire.
• There is the peace of Christ.

 

Someday…all people and all creation will sing together:

• “The peace of Christ be with you and with us all.”
• Until that great day…
• May the peace of Christ…
• Which passes all understanding…
• Keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Mark 16: 1-7

“Thirty-three years” Mordachi thought to himself.

• “Thirty-three years since the birth of Jesus.”
• He remembered the excitement that ran wild throughout the Kingdom.
• Sitting in the mysterious presence of God seemed like only yesterday.
• He would never forget the beautiful sound of the borning cry.
• And then there were his own words to the frightened shepherds:
• “Don’t be afraid. A son is born to you this day and he is Christ the Lord.”

 

Now a generation had passed…and the years had not been kind.

• Jesus was all that the prophets of the kingdom had said he would be.
• He loved those who were unlovable.
• Brought joy to the sorrowful.
• Gave hope to the hopeless.
• Healing to the sick.
• Sanity to the possessed.
• And life to the dying.

 

He did so many special things:

• In the wilderness he went nose to nose and toe to toe with Old Scratch – Satan himself!
• And wupped him!
• He tamed the wild-eyed demoniac of Gerazine.
• Amid a storm that frightened seasoned sailors…he hushed the wind and angry sea.

 

“But what was the use” Mordachi shouted as he finished packing his bag…tears streaming down his cheeks.

• Things in the kingdom were not well.
• Though Jesus did and said many good things…
• Those in power refused to hear or understand.
• Finally…the religious leaders could not cope any longer.
• And they began plotting against his life.
• They would succeed by feeding the greed of one of his followers.
• “Judas” Mordachi spat as though he had just eaten something bitter.
• The prophets had foretold the destiny of Jesus.
• But Mordachi had put it out of his mind with the hope that if he did not think about it…it would not happen.
• But it did happen!

 

And what sadness there was when they all watched helplessly as Jesus prayed:

• “Father…if it is possible…let this cup pass from me.”
• Mordachi even looked up to God…willing him to intervene.
• But all He did was sadly hang his head as if helpless.

 

And what followed made justice a travesty.

• The trial was a mockery.
• The Temple rulers had already determined his guilt and punishment.
• The politicians were too cowardly to intervene.
• Even the people were seduced into calling for his end.

 

And then there came the verdict: Death by crucifixion.

• Mordachi shivered…remembering the brutal treatment and torturous walk to that hill overlooking Jerusalem’s garbage dump.
• And Jesus carrying the heavy crossbar that his hands would be nailed to.

 

Mordachi placed his hands over his ears as he remembered the thunderous blow of the hammer that drove the metal spikes into the hands and feet of Jesus.

• A deep moaning welled up in the kingdom…clouds gathered…darkness prevailed.
• Mordachi had lifted his eyes to God…only to see Him with his face in his hands and his shoulders shaking with weeping as no-one has ever wept before.

 

 

Well… Mordachi had had it! That was the last straw!

• This idea of a Holy Nation…a Royal Priesthood…a New Jerusalem was a lot of idle talk.
• The hope of anything good died with the death of Jesus on the cross.
• Mordachi was going to leave the kingdom.
• He did not want any part of this.
• It was all a cruel hoax.

 

He finished packing his backpack.

• Looked around his modest dwelling for the last time and walked out.
• Closing the door behind him.
• It was still dark and a strange peace…a quietness hung over the kingdom.
• Just like what happens after an early morning rain.
• “Another false sense of security” Mordachi said to himself.
• And so… Mordachi walked slowly away.
• Shifting his backpack as he considered what could have been and then what really was.

 

Out of respect he decided to stop by the grave in which the dead body of Jesus was placed.

• It was the least he could do.
• The early morning air was cool.
• On the horizon the first glowing hint of dawn.
• Mordachi stood in front of the huge stone that covered the mouth of the tomb.
• Lowering his eyes to offer a prayer of lament Mordachi sensed a slight tremor in the ground beneath his feet.
• Startled now…he saw the monolithic stone moving.
• “It cannot be” Mordachi thought as he stood amazed at what he saw.

 

No one was pushing the stone…it was rolling on its own.

• Mordachi wanted to run.
• He was scared to death.
• And then suddenly a light brighter than a thousand suns bust forth from the dark grave.
• Mordachi was stunned as if struck on the back of his head.

 

He was startled as he felt something touch his left shoulder.

• He squinted through the blinding light.
• And there…smiling at him with the biggest…warmest…most beautiful smile was Jesus.
• Jesus squeezed Mordachi’s shoulder as he looked deeply into his eyes.
• And then he walked off in the direction of the city.

 

Mordachi…with tears of joy streaming down his cheeks…began to laugh and dance.

• Now he knew.
• Now he understood.
• It was not the end.
• It was just the beginning.

 

Mordachi climbed to the top of that big stone and sat there laughing and singing and swinging his legs like a little child sitting in a chair too big for him.

• “Up from the grave he rose” he sang with all his might.
• “The powers of death take flight…
• The gift of life is ours to have…
• The wrong of sins made right.”

 

Once Mordachi saw the shadow of Satan lurking in the trees.

• Laughing like a silly child… Mordachi stuck out his tongue.
• Put his thumbs in his ears.
• Wiggled his fingers and called out:
• “Take that Ol’ Scratch.
• You’ve met your match.
• It’s all over for you.”

 

What a happy day! What a glorious day!

 

Then he heard footsteps.

• Women carrying spices and cloth strips for burial approached.
• They were startled at what they saw.
• The open grave and a man dressed in white sitting on the stone…singing and swinging his legs.

 

They slowly went near.

• Mordachi jumped down.
• He was filled with so much joy he felt he would burst.
• “Where is he?” the women asked.

 

Mordachi…with the gentle rays of dawn’s early light reflecting his own joy…said:

• “This Jesus whom you seek is not here.
• He is risen.
• He who was dead is alive just as he told you.
• Go back and tell the others what you have seen and heard…
• And that he is going on ahead of you and will meet you in Galilee.”

 

CHRIST IS RISEN – HE IS RISEN INDEED!

Luke 18: 28-40

I want to report on a parade…this morning…that took place over 2000 years ago.

• The parade was as jubilant as any parade you can imagine.
• Full of hope and excitement and enthusiasm.
• Yet…as the parade made its way into the city…a cloud of disaster began to take shape in the crowd.
• The parade to which I refer is the oldest parade in our current eon of history…AD…in the year of our Lord.
• The event we call Palm Sunday.

 

This Sunday has two names in our church calendar:

• Palm Sunday and Passion Sunday…names with very different moods.
• Stay with me then.

 

Jesus had become a very popular figure.

• Whether he was talking in a village…a small city or out in the countryside…great crowds gathered to hear him.
• To witness still another miracle or to hear him answer the questions that many people asked him.
• And they came increasingly to feel that he was going to be Israel’s new king.
• The one who would lead their nation out of their bondage to the Roman Empire.

 

When Jesus and his disciples came to the capital city…Jerusalem…a few days before the great Passover feast…his followers could hardly wait.

• And when he chose to ride into the city of Jerusalem on a donkey…the mood was electric.
• People threw their coats on the ground to make a carpet before him.
• Others cut branches from nearby trees and spread them as part of their makeshift highway.
• People shouted…praising God for all the wonderful deeds Jesus had done.
• And then their shouts took on a different tone:
• “Blessed is the king…who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven…and glory in the highest heaven!”
• These were the voices of joy…of hope…of unbounded expectation.
• The mood was electric.
• If we had been there…we would have joined in the shouting and singing.

 

But there were other voices in the parade route.

• They were voices quite in contrast to the crowds that were calling for Jesus to be their king.
• These voices were those of political operators.
• And they were ominous voices.
• There was an edge in their tone.
• Even in the careful…controlled way in which they spoke.
• They were unhappy with the way the crowds were responding to Jesus.

 

They did not shout their opinions.

• They spoke them quietly but forcefully to Jesus himself.
• “Teacher” …they said… “order your disciples to stop.”

 

Why did these intelligent…sincere men want Jesus disciples to stop?

• For one thing…an element of jealousy was at work.
• People who are accustomed to power do not like to see a new kid on the block.
• This is especially true when they find that they cannot control him.
• And they could not help noticing that Jesus got not only respect.
• He got love…and now shouts of praise.

 

These elite Jewish leaders were doing their best to keep peace with the Roman government.

• So that the government would allow the Jewish people to have more freedom and less oppression.
• The Jewish leaders feared that if the crowds surrounding Jesus got carried away…the Roman government would send in more troops.
• And the Jews would lose the few freedoms they enjoyed.
• So…they said to Jesus: “Teacher…order your disciples to stop.”

 

It is because of this other voice that we refer to this day not only as Palm Sunday but also as Passion Sunday.

• Because on this day…the week of Jesus’ suffering began.
• And so…we call it passion week…the days leading up to Jesus’ trial and crucifixion.

 

But there was yet another voice at that parade.

• Only Jesus could hear it…because its tone was so high that ordinary ears could not detect it.
• But it was the strongest voice of all.
• When the Pharisees asked Jesus to stop his disciples from their celebration…Jesus answered:
• “I tell you…if these were silent…the stones would shout out.”

 

Jesus was declaring that God’s kingdom was coming and that nothing could stop it.

• If Jesus’ followers did not shout the Good News…nature itself would make a statement.
• And this was so big…so huge…so massive…
• That the voice of nature would go beyond the traditional voices of the songs of the birds or even the roar of the wind and the sea.
• The stones…the most tongue-tied objects of nature…the stones would make their announcement.

 

And that’s what happened at Easter!

• A stone got a voice.
• The stone that was rolled back from Jesus’ tomb was a voice declaring throughout the ages that Jesus Christ is Lord.
• Lord over sickness and death and hell.
• That stone at the tomb got a voice.
• He was declaring that eventually the purposes of God will be fulfilled in our world.
• And that nothing can stop God’s ultimate purposes.
• God will give a voice even to the stones.
• When all the tides of power seem opposed to the purposes of God…God can speak through the stones.
• God can find a voice in unlikely places…and often in unimpressive people.

 

 

My daughter told me about a Marine recruit who was in boot camp at the same time she was.

• He was different from the other recruits…so he was constantly being picked on.
• The young men in the barracks he was assigned to were particularly cruel.
• One day someone came up with the idea of throwing a disarmed hand grenade in the middle of the floor and pretending it was about to explode.
• The young man would be petrified with fear…and they would have a good laugh at his expense.
• So…at the appointed time they tossed the hand grenade…and everybody began shouting:
• “Get out! Get out! It’s a live grenade! It’s about to explode!”
• But instead of running away the odd young man fell on the grenade and yelled to the other recruits:
• “Get out of here! You’ll be killed if you don’t! Run for your lives!”
• The barracks fell silent.
• Shame was in the air.
• The other recruits realized that this young man had thought the grenade was live.
• But instead of running away he had been willing to give his life to save the others.
• God can and will give voice to the stones.

 

If the elite Jewish leaders with their political and religious power miss the purposes of God and grow silent.

• And if threats silence the crowd along the parade route…pay no fear.
• God can give voice to the stones.
• The purposes of God are at work in our world.
• All we need are eyes to see and ears to hear.
• It is our work to further those purposes…by our prayers…our love…our service…our thinking…our living.

By being one of God’s lively stones.