The State of Show-Me

This sermon was delivered at the First Presbyterian Church in Berryville, Arkansas on the 4th Sunday of Easter, April 19, 2007.

Acts 9:36-43
Psalm 23
Revelation 7:9-17
John 10:22-30

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen.

The Jews wanted a word from Jesus. Oh, a quick note on the structure of John’s Gospel, when John’s gospel refers to “the Jews” what it refers to is the leaders of the Jews, the Pharisees.[1] It would be like saying “the Presbyterians” and meaning the leadership in Louisville.[2] Let me begin again. The Pharisees wanted a word from Jesus, “If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.” They wanted a word, a special word from Jesus telling them explicitly who he is.

Oh Jesus of Nazareth, who are you? “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.” Asking the question says more about the Pharisees asking it than about Jesus answering it because the Pharisees all ready have the answer. The answer, the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets, the Word became flesh is standing right in front of them, and they ask if he is the Messiah.

Now, it’s not as if Jesus hasn’t been saying who he was. In the preceding verses from this chapter, Jesus tells all who were present, including the Pharisees, “I am the Good Shepherd” who keeps his sheep. He says “I am the gate” and the only way to enter is past him. The sheep who know him and know his voice have a place with Jesus, but the predators who would take the sheep do not.[3] In another example, Jesus tells those who have ears “I am not of this world, I am from above.” Jesus even tells the Pharisees “I am not like you; you were born from below.”[4]

Then in John 8:24, Jesus makes an “I am” statement which makes the others pale by comparison. Jesus says, “You will die in your sins unless you believe that I am.” If all of these “I am” statements remind you of something familiar from the Old Testament, if it reminds you of the Lord telling Moses that he is the I AM, it is because this is exactly what Jesus intended.

The Pharisees want Jesus to give them a private word. They want Jesus to tell them who he is in words they can understand. What’s funny is that Jesus has used the words of the Law and the Prophets. The words the Pharisees know. He has told the world who he is in ways the Pharisees are better equipped to understand than anybody else on earth; and they didn’t get it.

When asked to “speak plainly,” Jesus answers the Pharisees by saying “I have told you, and you do not believe.” Jesus has told them exactly who he is using words they are best qualified to understand. He has told them “I am.”

There are a number of stories and legends behind Missouri's nickname “The Show-Me” state. According to Missouri’s Secretary of State, the slogan is not official, but is common throughout the state. It is even found on automobile license plates.

The most widely known legend attributes the origin of the phrase to Missouri's U.S. Congressman Willard Duncan Vandiver, who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1897 to 1903. While a member of the U.S. House Committee on Naval Affairs, Vandiver attended an 1899 banquet in Philadelphia. In a speech there, he declared, “I come from a state that raises corn and cotton and cockleburs and Democrats, and frothy eloquence neither convinces nor satisfies me. I am from Missouri. You have got to show me.”

An earlier version of the “Show-Me” legend places the slogan's origin in the mining town of Leadville, Colorado. There, the phrase was first employed as a term of ridicule and reproach. A miner's strike had been in progress for some time by the mid-1890s, and a number of miners from the lead districts of southwest Missouri had been imported to take the place of the strikers. The Joplin miners were unfamiliar with Colorado mining methods and required frequent instructions. Pit bosses began saying, “That man is from Missouri. You'll have to show him.” So while Vandiver didn’t coin the phrase, he helped popularize it and make a complement.[5]

So it’s not uncommon to the human condition that if words don’t get the point across, use actions. So Jesus reminds the Pharisees that has not only used words, he has used actions.

Jesus tells the Pharisees “The works that I do in my Father’s name testify to me.” He provides the finest wine for the wedding banquet in Cana[6] and feeds the five thousand.[7] He heals the son of the royal official[8] and the beggar at the pool of Siloam.[9] Jesus feeds the people and heals the sick. Knowing the Law and the Prophets, the Pharisees should have been able to see that Jesus is the Messiah, but they don’t.

The Pharisees were told in words, and they were shown in acts. Comparing this to the Show-Me story, the Pharisees were mining engineers stuck in the Colorado lead mines that can neither follow the Pit Boss’ directions nor his example. They were experts without the ability to recognize or follow the wellspring of their knowledge. Even the Missouri Miners would see they were clueless.

Jesus tells the Pharisees that what his Father has given him is greater than all else, and no one can snatch it out of the Father’s hand. God the Father has given Jesus all of creation. There is nothing and no one outside of the saving grace of Christ. If the Pharisees knew this; they didn’t understand it or what it means. Jesus’ presence with them should have been a time of rejoicing and celebrating. Instead it became a threat to all that they knew and understood. They would come to know that because of Jesus, the little niche they have carved out and secured in this life would be tossed tea kettle over spout. And they deserved to feel that way because they were right.

So what does this mean to us? There are two very important things to take from this reading.

The first is that we are called to believe. Believing we become the sheep of Jesus’ pen and are able to hear Jesus’ words. More than just hearing, we are called to abide in and respond to the shepherd in faith and in love.

The second thing to take from this reading is a caution: don’t follow the example of the Pharisees. They wanted the plain word of the Lord for their agenda. In the final verse of our reading they get the answer to their question when Jesus boldly changes the I AM into the WE ARE.

So what do they do with their answer? They accuse Jesus of blasphemy and gather stones to kill him. Funny how they get the plain answer they beg for and respond by taking up arms when they get the answer they don’t want. Jesus gave them the Good News, but they did not understand. He gave them what they asked for, but not what they wanted. The Pharisees wanted their own word, not knowing the word was with them and all around them. Don’t make their mistake. The Pharisees got the truth, truth that did not meet their expectations.

So how do we respond? How do we respond to the Good News of Jesus Christ? Engage the Lord; through the Word, through prayer, through work, engage the Lord. When John’s people engage the Lord, they come in praise.

Find how the Lord is engaging you. When Jesus engages others he asks, “What do you want?” In John’s gospel, more often than not, people want healing. Sometimes the healing is for their wounds, sometimes it is for another. Wounds are healed. And with this physical healing comes deeper healing, there is a joy and peace which comes with the grace of our Lord. Even for the people who do not receive direct healing, those who ask for healing for others, they are lifted in the word and the work of Jesus.

We are called to believe in Jesus and find how our life intersects the work of the Lord, how work connects to eternal life. There are places in all of our lives where we connect with the eternal: It comes when we touch the lives of children. It comes when we meet our obligations to loved ones. It comes when we visit the sick and the elderly. The Pharisees of every age forget is that the Lord is not contained by our expectations. The Lord is found with the sick, the poor and the unclean. This was true two thousand years ago and is true today. Looking at our reading from Acts today, the widows in Joppa were an impoverished group of women, castoffs from decent society. Jesus was pleased with Peter’s actions when he went to be with them. Jesus was pleased when Peter prayed for Tabitha’s healing. Jesus showed this by Tabatha’s healing.

In a world that says “Show-Me,” Jesus says look around and see. The word and the work of the Lord is around us. The grace and peace of God has enveloped us like the air that we breathe. The Holy Spirit dwells in us to teach us what we need to know so that we can respond in a way pleasing to God and God’s good creation. We don’t need a special word, we need to discern the word around us and respond to it. We need to find where the Lord is working in this life and join. In a world in the state of Show-Me, the Lord says I am here, follow. The Lord says I am here, share. The Lord says I am here, respond. The Lord says I am here, come unto me. And as we are fed at the table today, we are invited by the Lord to come, taste, and see; the Lord is good.

[1] Excursus from The New Interpreters’ Study Bible, “I am” sayings
[2] Louisville is the site of the Presbyterian Church (USA) national offices.
[3] John 10:7-14
[4] John 8:21-30
[5] State of Missouri Secretary of State Web Site, “Why Is Missouri Called the “Show-Me” State?” http://www.sos.mo.gov/archives/history/slogan.asp accessed April 28, 2007. This site resources: Rossiter, Phyllis. "I'm from Missouri--you'll have to show me." Rural Missouri, Volume 42, Number 3, March 1989, page 16. This can also be found in Why Do We Say It? Edison, NJ: Castle Books 1985, page 166.
[6] John 2:1-12
[7] John 6:1-15
[8] John 4:43-54
[9] John 9:1-12