Category: Homilies

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.

John 9:1-41

 

Today’s gospel shows us what Jesus said to correct the view…of many in his day…that the cause of physical disability was the sin of one’s parents.

• Jesus said that the man’s blindness was not the result of sin at all.
• It was not punishment.
• It was…in fact…a manifestation of grace.
• Through his blindness…this man would come to God…and others would follow Jesus.

 

This miracle story is telling us something about the nature of faith.

• There is an idea floating about…in the world…that faith is warm and fuzzy…good natured gullibility.
• That people who have faith are susceptible to ideas which go against common sense.
• But here’s the thing:
• The healing of the blind man is showing us that faith is actually the result of accepting the facts of our own experience.
• Faith is the product of honesty…not gullibility.

 

OK then… Jesus gives the blind man his sight.

• And then we see the inevitable reaction of the world:
• A person who has had a faith experience may assume that the world will be interested in hearing about it…and affirm it.
• More often…though…those around us move in to persuade him…or her…that they are mistaken.
• That they have misinterpreted the facts.
• The world does not encourage spiritual awakenings.

 

And then…we see the man’s faith take shape…when he validates his own experience…simply by refusing to lie about it to himself.

• The man who had been given his sight refused to be convinced that he was a victim of some kind of hallucination.
• The man’s honesty enabled Jesus to reveal himself to him.

 

All of us…who have a faith relationship with Christ…have a personal life-history…made up of significant experiences.

• Many of our experiences are so personal…that when they are told to others…they tend to lose their power.
• They may not be at all that dramatic to others.
• These experiences forge the facts upon which our relationship with Christ is based.

 

I have a friend who was once on a motorcycle trip in the Southwest…in a very remote…arid region…when his engine suddenly lost power and quit.

• He later found out he had burned out both of his valves.
• In a state of utter helplessness…he sat down in the meager shade of a boulder…and thought to himself:
• “Well God…how are you going to get me out of this one?
• No food…no water…no shelter.
• You say you will always provide…but it looks like I’ve got you this time.”
• In a strange way…he was enjoying the situation.

 

A short while later he saw a figure in the distance moving toward him.

• It was a small Indian boy carrying a plate of tortillas and beans.
• The boy informed him that he had seen him coming down the road…and then stop…and realized he was in trouble.
• The boy’s mother had sent him with food…and asked him to come to the house…where they would put him up for the night.
• The following day…the boy said that his father and uncle would put his motorcycle on a trailer and get him to town.

 

Our friend strained his eyes toward the horizon.

• With difficulty…he could just barely make out the boy’s house on a distant hill.
• It was a mere speck.
• He wondered: how had the boy been able to see him?
• He has told this story to people who have said to him:
• “It was just a coincidence.”
• But this experience is part of his own personal…spiritual…story.
• And if he were to agree that it was “only a coincidence”…he would be lying to himself.
• A moving forward of faith requires that we honor facts as we have witnessed them.
• It requires that we not deny our own experience.

 

Here we go then…the Pharisees wanted the man who had received his sight to deny his experience.

• Their attitude shows us how people of the world…while claiming to respect facts and objectivity…are in reality…highly prejudicial and subjective.
• They are only willing to integrate facts which accord with their prevailing bias.

 

Speaking personally for a moment:

• There have been those times in my life when I have experienced doubt and uncertainty.
• At such times faith has never been restored to me by an act of my own will.
• But only by taking a survey of my personal life story with Christ.
• This has taken the form of a recounting…of all that has happened to me…in my faith relationship…since the beginning.
• What was the seed of my belief?
• What were the directives that I received?
• When I stood at points of transition, what leadings was I given?
• Did I…in any way…invent the things that happened to me?
• Did I misguide myself…or were the feelings I had clear and definite…and as far as I could honestly say…not of my imagining?

 

Running through this kind of internal review leads me to say this:

• I cannot prove the existence of God.
• But…because of my own experience…if I were to say: “God does not exist.”
• I would feel…deep down…in every fiber of my being…that I was lying.

 

So…like the neighbors and Pharisees in our story…the world will try to get us to lie.

• Not only the world…but our own worldly self…which is conditioned and socialized and trained to conform.

 

There is satire here:

• It is comical…the way the Pharisees insist on denying an undesirable fact that has presented itself in an undeniable form.
• Jesus told his followers in various ways that the kingdom is not unknown or mysterious.
• But…that it remains invisible to us only because…deep down…we are determined not to see it.
• We see here that there are forms of willful blindness that result from basic dishonesty.
• Dishonesty of this kind comes because of having enough sight to see what we do not want to see.
• This is why there is guilt attached to it.
• The blindness of being unaware.

 

 

Christ gave this man his physical sight.

• But it was his honesty that allowed Jesus to reveal himself to him as his Lord and savior.
• Faith does not ask us to believe the incredible.
• Faith asks only that we believe our own eyes…ears…and experience.
• If we have that kind of honesty…then…Jesus has a footing to communicate with us.
• He has a way of reaching us.
• He has a way of making himself real to us.
• To have faith…the first thing we must do…is to open our eyes…to what is really going on.

John 4:5-42

That story we just heard…of Jesus talking with a Samaritan woman at the well outside of Sychar…is a story full of wonder.

• Well then…it is a wonder that the conversation happens at all.
• The barriers are great.
• Jesus is a Jew…and the woman is a Samaritan.
• Between Samaritan and Jew there is a wall of separation.
• Just like what in our time separates the Israeli from the Palestinian.

 

The Jews and Samaritans are related peoples.

• Both are Hebrews.
• The Samaritans are from the old northern kingdom of Israel.
• The Jews are from the old southern kingdom of Judah.

 

To make a long story short…

• The Samaritans inter-married with non-Jewish peoples…
• And lost much of their ethnic identity.
• But the Jews maintained their ethnic purity.

 

Why? Because the Northern Kingdom of Israel was more geographically open and cosmopolitan.

• But the Southern Kingdom of Judah was geographically closed off by deserts and highlands and wilderness.
• Hence…they remained parochial and ethnically pure.

 

Each group ended up with their own temple:

• The Samaritans on Mount Gerizim.
• The Jews on Mount Zion…Jerusalem.
• And so…it is a wonder that Jesus chooses to travel through Samaritan territory.
• That he strikes up a conversation with a Samaritan is even more of a wonder.

 

There’s something additional that makes this conversation beside the well a wonder.

• In that place and time men and women are not to talk to one another in public.
• It is not considered proper.
• Especially so…when the man is a rabbi…a teacher…like Jesus.
• Someone looked up to as an example of propriety.
• That’s why the disciples…when they return…are wondering why Jesus is talking with a woman.

 

Still…another wonder…is that she has been rejected by her own people.

• She comes to the well to draw water at noon…and she comes alone.
• Noon is the hottest time of the day.
• Morning and evening are times to do the hard work of drawing water from the well…and hauling it home.
• And this is work that women do in company with one another.
• It is a chance for a chat…for some social contact.
• But this woman goes to the well at a time when she will be alone.
• She sees herself as a misfit.
• She avoids others in order not to be hurt yet again by their words.
• Their attitudes…their hard looks.
• So…it is a wonder that this conversation ever happened.

Jesus and the woman meet beside an ancient well that is more than a hundred feet deep and seven feet wide.

• The woman thinks Jesus is talking about some hidden stream he knows that is way better than this well.
• She wants a faucet in her kitchen…so she won’t have to haul buckets any more…and who can blame her?
• But what Jesus promises is a source of life in her heart.
• She is confused about what he offers.
• But she knows it is something she needs desperately.

 

It’s a wonder that Jesus knows the details of this stranger’s life.

• She has had a painful and unhappy time of it.
• We come to understand that this woman feels alone and exiled from her neighbors.

 

The woman wonders how Jesus knows the truth about her.

• She wonders even more that…knowing the truth…he accepts her.
• For her…this is an encounter with the holy.
• The man must be a prophet.

 

And then she wonders even more…and asks Jesus to resolve the long-standing question of who is right:

• Jews or Samaritans?
• Which is the correct temple:
• Gerizim or Jerusalem?
• And a wonderful surprise comes when Jesus says:
• True worship will no longer be based on location.
• But instead…will be a matter of spirit and truth.

 

The woman then confesses her faith in the messiah who is to come.

• And wonder of wonders:
• Jesus says that he is…THAT… messiah.
• REVEALING his identity.
• NOT to his very own disciples.
• NOT to his very own people.
• NOT to their very own religious leaders.

 

BUT…revealing his identity to THIS ONE…who is insignificant and…on the edge…three times over:

• She is a Samaritan.
• She is a woman.
• She is an exile among her own kind.
• We do not even know her name.
• YET!
• Jesus entrusts her.
• Jesus endows her.
• With his deepest secret.
• The truth of who he is.

 

The conversation ends.

• Because the disciples come back from their trip to buy food.
• But the wonders do not end.
• The woman leaves her expensive and valuable water jar there…at the well.
• It is heavy…and she wants to be free of it as she runs back into the city.

 

There in Sychar…she tells people to come and see Jesus.

• There in Sychar…she testifies:
• “He told me everything that I did!”
• And a crowd follows her back out to the well.
• So large is the crowd that Jesus compares it to fields ready to be harvested.

It’s a wonder that someone like this bears witness.

• After all…she is a reject…a woman with no name…no social standing.
• Her experience with Jesus is brief.
• She has no training.
• She has not been given a commission.
• It’s a wonder that people heed her.
• Yet they do…because her witness is:
• Compelling and authentic.
• She is…THE genuine article.

 

Oh…and one more wonder:

• She has had plenty of experience with the rough edges of life.
• Her understanding of Jesus is far from complete.
• Yet…she speaks of what she knows.
• Her focus is not on herself.
• Her focus is on Jesus.

John 3:1-17

 

Nicodemus was a man in his late fifties.

• Gray hair…physically distinguished…accomplished…trim…successful.
• He was a teacher of the law…a professor of religion at the temple in Jerusalem.
• He had twelve children…all gone from home.
• He had fifty grandchildren plus ten great grandchildren.
• He just heard that the eleventh great grandchild was to be born and he thinks to himself:
• “Another great grandchild? I cannot remember all their names.”
• Nicodemus was a man who had seen it all.

 

In his relationship with God…Nicodemus was going through the motions.

• His inner enthusiasm for God was not there anymore.
• He was not quite right in his relationship with God anymore.

 

So…Jesus of Nazareth showed up in town…and Nicodemus went to hear Jesus preach in the temple.

• Nicodemus sensed that Jesus had something that he no longer had.
• Jesus touched him deep in his core.

So…one night…Nicodemus quietly went over to where Jesus was staying.

• It was midnight…he did not want his fellow religious professors to know.
• He rapped on the door…softly.
• And Jesus came to the door and said: “Yes?”

 

“I know it is late…but my name is Nicodemus. I am a professor of religious law over at the temple…and I would like to speak with you a minute.”

• Jesus said: “OK. Shall we go for a walk?”
• Nicodemus said: “Oh…no…no…no…no…no.
• We don’t want to be seen outside.
• Do you mind if I come in?”
• Jesus invited him up to the roof of the house where it was cooler and offered him a glass of wine.
• Jesus asked: “How can I help?”

 

Nicodemus said: “Things are not quite right with me.

• They are not quite right inside of me.
• You have something that I don’t have anymore.
• I am tired. My lectures are stale. I want to know what advice you might have for me?”
• Jesus said: “I know the problem you’re are having Nicodemus.
• The problem is that you are no longer close to God. God is no longer living in the center of your heart.
• Nicodemus…you need to be born again.”

 

Nicodemus said: “Born again? Take and push me back into my mother’s womb? Come on…I can’t be born again.”

• Jesus said: “You don’t understand Nicodemus. You need to be born anew…You need to experience rebirth in your mind and heart and spirit.”
• Nicodemus said: “I’m not sure if I understand. But it’s time for me to go now. Thanks for the wine.”
• Nicodemus then left…closed the door behind him…looked down the street both ways to make sure nobody was in sight…and he disappeared into the darkness of the night.

 

So…how does the story end?

• Well…this what we know.
• Later…Nicodemus reminds his colleagues in the Sanhedrin (the powerful committee of 70 men who ran the Temple) that the law requires that a person be heard before being judged.
• And then at the end of John…Nicodemus appears after the Crucifixion of Jesus to provide embalming spices…
• And to assist Joseph of Arimathea in preparing the body of Jesus for burial.
• And so…Nicodemus and Joseph are the only two members of the Sanhedrin who vote no…
• Not to have Jesus crucified.
• And so…Nicodemus became a follower of the New Way of Jesus.

 

Most of us have experienced the dark night of the soul…like Nicodemus.

• We start to have the habits of faith without the heart of faith…without the Spirit of faith.
• We go through the rituals of faith…but we do not have the real thing…the power of faith.

 

OK then…when we have times in our lives when things are not quite right.

• When our faith has become more of a ritual than the real thing.
• Then…we need to come to Jesus’ home…knock on his door and say:
• “Jesus…I need some help. I’ve got a problem…here…in my heart. It is not quite right.”

 

And Jesus will say: “Come right in. Sit down for a while. Let’s talk.”

• Jesus has this uncanny ability to look deeply into our hearts and say:
• “You need to be born again…to be born anew…to be born from above…to experience a rebirth of God’s love in your heart.
• You need to be born of the Spirit.”
• To be born of the Spirit means to have the Spirit of Jesus Christ living inside of us.
• It means that God’s gracious love comes and lives in our hearts.

 

It is a way of loving…a way of forgiving…a way of caring.

• It is a way of prayer…a way of worship.
• It is a way of thanksgiving and praise.
• It is a way of being in tune with the Spirit of Jesus.

 

It is loving another person in their uniqueness.

• No longer trying to change that person to meet my expectations.
• But to truly love them in their individuality.
• Rather than trying to remake them into the kind of person I want them to be.
• Gracious love is loving another person in their sinfulness.
• Gracious love is loving myself in all my sinfulness.
• That is grace. That is gracious love.
• That is the Spirit of Jesus.
• That is how we are born again.

Matthew 4:1-11

 

Paul Simon’s song – “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover” was released in 1975 on his “Still Crazy After All These Years” album.

• Simon wrote the song following his divorce from Peggy Harper.
• It became Simon’s only number one hit as a solo artist.
• Liston to the lyrics:
• You just slip out the back, Jack
• Make a new plan, Stan
• You don’t need to be coy, Roy
• Just get yourself free
• Oh, you hop on the bus, Gus
• You don’t need to discuss much
• Just drop off the key, Lee
• And get yourself free.

Paul Simon was not around at the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry…but Satan was…and he was ready to use any means necessary to thwart Jesus’ work and ministry.

• The striking similarity between Simon’s song and Satan’s attack is the ease with which both treat what they are suggesting as being of little significance.
• Simon’s repeated use of the word “just” hints at how seemingly unimportant his suggestions are:
• “Just slip out the back…and so on.
• It’s no big deal…right?

Satan’s take on this was to use the word “if.”

• “If you are the Son of God…command these stones … If you are the Son of God…throw yourself down … All these I will give you…if you will fall down and worship me.”
• It’s no big deal…right?
• Well…Big deal? Jesus certainly thought it was.

OK then…The relationship between testing and tempting lies at the heart of our reading for today.

• It’s embedded in the word itself.
• The Greek word…periazo…can be translated…tempting or testing.
• No sooner had Jesus stepped into the waters of the Jordan and committed himself to fulfilling God’s plan for his life.
• He was tested and tempted to do just the opposite.

Both meanings apply here.

• God tests. The devil tempts.
• It is God’s Spirit that drives Jesus into the wilderness.
• God’s purpose is to test his newly appointed and empowered Son.

The temptation story falls on the heels of Jesus’ baptism.

• It was at this point…the baptism of Jesus…that he was first recognized as the Christ.
• It was here…standing in the waters of the Jordan…that Jesus was confirmed by God as the Promised Messiah…the Savior of the world.
• When Jesus came up out of the river…he went off into the wilderness by himself…and there he fasted and prayed for forty days and forty nights.
• And it was there in the wilderness that the seriousness of his calling was tested.

So…what can you expect when your faith is tested?

• You can expect to be tempted.
• In a word…Jesus was tempted to use his divine power to serve himself rather than to serve others…
• As God would have him to do.

OK then…here is how it is: as long as you are willing to maintain a low profile and go along with the crowd…

• Nobody is likely to bother you.
• But just speak up…question the status quo…champion a cause…and you will soon be challenged.
• You will be criticized and called to task.
• Not only by your adversaries…but by your friends too.
• Do you desire to meet the devil?
• Well then…just take a stand for God.
• Just take a stand for what is good and right and just and merciful.

Once you commit yourself to a task or a discipline or a new way of life…temptation is not far behind.

• Oh boy…like my New Year’s resolution to go on a low-carb diet.
• My best friend showed up with a loaf of bread and an apple pie…fresh-baked from the oven.
• How can you say no to that?

Resolve and commit yourself to doing something you think is important for the forty-days of Lent?

• I guarantee you will be tempted to cave in before the first week is up.
• What is at stake here was the temptation Jesus faced to abandon God’s claim on his life.
• And follow the ways of the world instead.
• The story of Jesus’ testing and temptation shows how the Son of God will exercise his calling.
• He will use his power only in obedience to God’s own purposes and plans.”

When faith is tested…you can expect to be tempted.

• You can also expect to be strengthened.
• In this sense…testing is a good thing.
• It gives you a chance to flex your muscles and show your stuff.
• If it’s a test in school…it gives you a chance to confirm what you have learned.
• If it’s out on the football field or on the basketball court…it gives you a chance to prove your athletic prowess.

Even when it brings out one’s shortcomings and inadequacies…testing can be a good thing.

• It lets you know where you need to improve.
• If your blood pressure is too high…you can do something about it.
• If you cannot pass the eye exam…it’s time to get glasses.

Testing builds self-confidence.

• It is the secret to lasting faith and strong character.
• Only as our convictions and values and beliefs are tested can we truly know ourselves to be people of integrity and principle.
• Only as we are tested can we truly know ourselves to be children of God.
• When faith is tested…you can expect to be strengthened.
• You can expect God to be with you.

We feel the peace of God’s presence and the power of God’s Spirit more so in a moment of crisis than at any other time.

• This is why there are no atheists in foxholes.
• When you are under fire…you naturally cry out to God and…without fail…God is there:
• He says: “I will not fail you nor forsake you.”
• Every time we say the Lord’s Prayer we pray not to be tested:
• “Bring us not into temptation” we say…or…as the New Revised Version puts it:
• “Do not bring us to the time of trial.”

And yet…we know that there will be times when we will be put to the test and have to stand strong in our faith.

• When that time comes…remember this:
• When faith is tested…you can expect to be tempted.
• You can expect to be strengthened.
• You can expect God to be with you.
• As God told Paul in the moment of his trial…so he says to us:
• “My grace is sufficient for you…for my power is made perfect in weakness.”