This sermon was heard at the First Presbyterian Church in Berryville, Arkansas on the 3rd Sunday of Lent, February 24, 2008.
Exodus 17:1-7
Psalm 95
Romans 5:1-11
John 4:5-42
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen
Lent is often thought of as a journey, a time of preparation as we follow the movements of Jesus from the moment just after he was baptized through his travels around Judea and Galilee to the triumphant entry into Jerusalem. Lent ends with Jesus introducing the sacrament of Holy Communion, being betrayed by his disciple, dying on a tree, and rising from the tomb. It’s quite a trip, quite a journey, and in the case of our Lord, it begins after his baptism by John when he is called to the wilderness where he fasts.
Following his example, fasting is a traditional activity during Lent. Sometimes the fast is celebrated by giving something up for Lent. Often, that leads to people giving up meat or eggs or dairy during the forty days. For some Eastern Orthodox groups the fast includes giving up fish, wine, and olive oil too.[1] Some fast completely, eating and drinking nothing during daylight hours until sunset when the fast is broken.[2] Each of these Lenten fasting practices is about eighteen hundred years old, so the fast is nothing new.
The breaking of the Easter Fast is even celebrated by us here in the church. On Shrove Tuesday, the day preceding Ash Wednesday, to prepare the household for the fast, all fats and oils are removed from the home. It’s the “Jared from Subway” version of Mardi Gras, literally Fat Tuesday. This is why one of the traditional courses at our Easter breakfast (or Break-Fast, eh?) is pancakes. Because it is wonderful to welcome both the return of the Lord and the return of dairy, oil, leaven, and sugar back to the diet.
While our reading today doesn’t really deal with the Lenten fast, we remain on the Lenten journey. Jesus has left Judea and is on his way to Galilee. Verse four from this chapter of John’s gospel tells us that Jesus had to go through Samaria. While this is true, Jesus had to go through Samaria; it might be more true to say that he chose to go through Samaria. From Judea, they could have gotten to Galilee by traveling east and then north through the Decapolis on the other side of the Sea of Galilee. They could have traveled to the west to the Mediterranean and then sailed north to Galilee. Neither of these paths is direct, but they are viable. Too, they probably weren’t uncommon among the Jews who would have avoided Samaria like the plague.
Still, the gospel said he had to go through Samaria. So if he didn’t have to go through Samaria because that was the way AAA laid it out that way on his trip-strips, then why did he have to go through Samaria?
The reason why follows in our reading. At the well Jesus broke every rule in the book. Jesus was at the well when a Samaritan woman came to draw water. Jesus asks for a drink. That’s breaking the rules: Jews would have nothing to do with Samaritans. They were the trashy cousins you don’t want your respectable friends to know about. Our reading says “Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.”[3] Another translation says “Jews do not associate with Samaritans.”[4]
But Jesus breaks the rules not only by associating with a woman who is not his wife, he asks her for a drink, to share a common cup. This is not living according to the rules, but I ask, was he breaking the rules?
This scene at the well harkens us back to 1 Kings with the story of Elijah asking the widow of Sidon for a cup of water. Elijah and Jesus both interrupt the women’s daily chores seeking hospitality. It also takes us back to the betrothal stories of Abraham’s servant seeking a wife for Isaac in Genesis and Moses at the well of Midian finding a bride of his own in Exodus. In each of these stories water is used as a sign from the Lord, one a sign of family and the other a sign of new family.
In each of these instances, social conventions were out the window and a new relationship was forged. What Jesus was doing was not new to scripture. It was new again to the mitzvah, the rules established by the Priests, the Pharisees, and the Scribes. This new relationship was dangerous, but of course, new relationships are always dangerous.
The woman responds, amazed to Jesus’ request. After all, Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans. Since no Jewish man, especially a Rabbi would share a drinking cup with a Samaritan woman; she curiously asks how he can ask her for a drink from the well.
“If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” At that time, there were two definitions of living water. One is life-giving water and the other is naturally flowing water, like from a spring or stream. If she had known which he had meant, a stunning transformation would have taken place. If she had known he had meant that he was the living water, the source of eternal life-giving water, the rest of this passage would have been unnecessary. Instead, she went for the more common, more plausible meaning.
He corrects her telling her the water that he will give her will become a spring of water gushing up to eternal life. With his water, earthly thirst evaporates. She is no fool, she wants this living water. She wants to drink of the water that will eternally quench her thirst.
John’s gospel shows her knowledge of the ancient faith and one of the biggest differences between Jews and Samaritans. She tells Jesus that she knows the difference between how their peoples worship. The woman said to him, “Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem.” She continues, “I know Messiah who is called Christ is coming. When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us.”
Then, paraphrasing the ancient word for the name of the Lord he tells her in no uncertain terms who he is. He tells her “I AM.”
This is when all heaven breaks loose in Samaria. His disciples return; shocked that he is violating rules of the day speaking with a woman. Oh the scandal he is bringing upon their little brigade. They beg him to eat something but he tells them he has food they know nothing about.
If talking to the woman wasn’t enough, now he’s eating with her too? Can you imagine how these men are losing their minds wondering if their Rabbi had thrown all convention and sense out the window for a little water and a piece of bread?
No, fear not fellow followers, his food is not grain and grape, his food is to do the will of the one who sent him and to complete his work.
Jesus dares us to reconsider what sustains us. What nourishes us and its source. The Samaritans were so interested in finding the answers to these questions that they invited him to stay with them so they could learn more about the word and the work and the life-giving water. Through this not so simple action, because Jesus chose to stay and eat and share with the people he shares nothing in common, many came to testify that he is truly the Savior of the world.
Jesus had to go through Samaria. Not because it was the easiest route, but because it was the most difficult. Jesus touches the untouchable yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Renewed by God through the Holy Spirit we receive the same assurance in this gift of living water, by which the great benefits of life through him in the waters of our baptism are set before our eyes to behold.[5]
Lent is a journey, one Jesus began by fasting. When talking about fasting, we twenty-first century Americans have to take the words of St. Jerome into account. Jerome once wrote, “When the stomach is full, it is easy talk about fasting.”[6] It is easy to talk about giving up dairy products when we have soy milk and egg beaters. It is easy to talk about giving up meat for a month or so when we know that at a moment’s notice, the local store has every sort of beef or pork, fish or fowl we could imagine.
So our fast and what we need to break the fast is not steak and pancakes or chicken and waffles. The drink we need is the life giving water of Jesus, the Messiah called the Christ and the food we need is to do the will of the one who sent him and to continue their work. This is how we are to break the fast of living in the world of humanity and drink the living water from the font of many blessings.
This water, this work this new relationship is dangerous. Jesus showed that himself when he approached the Samaritan woman at the well. But of course, new relationships are always dangerous.
[1] Vitz, Evelyn Birge, “A Continual Feast.” HarperCollins, 1985
[2] Socrates the Historian (Fifth Century), “The Lenten Triodion.” Translated by Mother Mary and Archimandrite Kallistos Ware. London: Faber and Faber
[3] John 4:9c, New Revised Standard Version
[4] John 4:9c, New International Version
[5] Paraphrase from The Second Helvetic Confession, Chapter XX “Of Holy Baptism,” Paragraph 3, “What it means to be baptized.”
[6] Merton, Thomas, “The Climate of Monastic Prayer.” Kalamazoo, Michigan, Cistercian Publications, Inc.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Again and Again--Above and Beyond
This sermon was heard at the First Presbyterian Church in Berryville, Arkansas on the Second Sunday of Lent, February 17, 2007.
Genesis 12:1-4a
Psalm 121
Romans 4:1-5, 13-17
John 3:1-17
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 Congressional Medal of Honor is bestowed on a member of the United States Armed Forces who is distinguished “conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while engaged in an action against an enemy of the United States.”[1]
Serving in the Navy in the War in Afghanistan, on 28 June, 2005 Lieutenant Michael P. Murphy was awarded the Medal of Honor for leading a reconnaissance patrol in a fight against superior numbers, exposing himself to hostile fire in order to call for help.[2]
During the Battle of Mogadishu on 3 October, 1993, Army Master Sergeant Gary I. Gordon and Army Sergeant First Class Randall D. Shughart were awarded the Medal of Honor for volunteering to secure a helicopter crash site while under heavy enemy fire until relief could arrive.[3]
These medals were awarded posthumously.
Probably the most famous honoree is Audie Murphy. Later a Hollywood star, while a Second Lieutenant fighting in France, Murphy served in the 15th Infantry, 3rd Infantry Division. Reading from his Medal of Honor Citation:
Second Lieutenant Audie L. Murphy … on 26 January 1945, near Holtzwihr, France, commanded Company B, which was attacked by six tanks and waves of infantry. Lieutenant Murphy ordered his men to withdraw to a prepared position in a woods while he remained forward at his command post and continued to give fire directions to the artillery by telephone. Behind him to his right one of our tank destroyers received a direct hit and began to burn. Its crew withdrew to the woods. Lieutenant Murphy continued to direct artillery fire which killed large numbers of the advancing enemy infantry. With the enemy tanks abreast of his position, Lieutenant Murphy climbed on the burning tank destroyer which was in danger of blowing up any instant and employed its .50 caliber machine gun against the enemy. He was alone and exposed to the German fire from three sides, but his deadly fire killed dozens of Germans and caused their infantry attack to waver. The enemy tanks, losing infantry support, began to fall back. For an hour the Germans tried every available weapon to eliminate Lieutenant Murphy, but he continued to hold his position and wiped out a squad which was trying to creep up unnoticed on his right flank. Germans reached as close as 10 yards only to be mowed down by his fire. He received a leg wound but ignored it and continued the single-handed fight until his ammunition was exhausted. He then made his way to his company, refused medical attention, and organized the company in a counterattack which forced the Germans to withdraw. His directing of artillery fire wiped out many of the enemy; he personally killed or wounded about 50. Lieutenant Murphy's indomitable courage and his refusal to give an inch of ground saved his company from possible encirclement and destruction and enabled it to hold the woods which had been the enemy's objective.[4]
The principle of service above and beyond the call of duty is the standard which sets Medal of Honor recipients above other soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines. Honorees often voluntarily accept missions where death is nearly certain and many pay with their lives. Of all of the men and women who have served this country in uniform since the modern initiation of this medal during the Civil War, fewer than 3,500 have been awarded this, our military’s highest honor.
This principle of “above and beyond” is shown again and again in the military heroes who have received it. I could go on; but I also find these concepts, above and beyond—again and again, in our reading from Matthew’s gospel.
We begin with Nicodemus who hears from Jesus, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above”[5] or depending on your translation, “unless he is born again.”[6] So rather than seeing this as an either/or translation, we should more properly say that according to Jesus, we must be born from above and we must be born again.
This is one of those times when the Greek language geek in me gets a workout. The word used in the Greek version of this verse can be translated into English as either “from above” or “again.”[7] It can also mean “from the beginning” or “anew.” And while each of these English translations colors the meaning of the verse a little differently, I like the way that each of these translations tell us a little something different about what Jesus meant when he said this.
When Jesus tells us we are to be born from above, he gives us the knowledge that the rebirth comes from a source, it is not something that we can do ourselves. To be born from above means that the power of the Lord through the work of the Holy Spirit comes upon us as the children of God. In this way we are born from above.
To be born again is to tell us that our first birth is not enough, not for the kingdom of God. Our first birth, the physical birth we experienced like Cain and Abel, is not enough. As Jesus tells Nicodemus, only a second birth, not like the one we had in the fluid of our mother’s womb, but a rebirth like the one we receive in the waters of our baptism through the power of the Holy Spirit. This being born again is necessary to be born again and bring us into the kingdom of God.
To be born from the beginning gives us the perspective of starting life again without the weight of the baggage of our former lives. As Nicodemus says, it is impossible to enter the womb a second time; so to be born from the beginning must be a completely new beginning. In Romans, Paul talks about living under the law and under the wrath it brings. We need to be born from the beginning so that we may live in God’s grace, not under God’s law. The law punishes the flesh; grace gives us all a new beginning.
To be born anew, when we look at these other definitions, these other translations, together we can come into birth anew and with it life anew. To be born anew reminds us of the birth from the womb we receive from our mothers and fathers. Through them we receive the gift of life. To be born anew points us to the one who provides the source of this first birth and this new birth, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus says, “What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is Spirit.” To be born anew points to the bath that we receive in the waters of our baptism, the waters of our second birth. To be born anew is to leave an old life in the flesh behind in favor of one given by the Spirit of God. To be born anew is to be given a fresh start with God and God’s people as the body of Christ, the church. To be born anew is to be born, with all of the promise of new life in the kingdom of God.
To give us new life, Jesus will give his. We are in the second week of Lent, and over Lent’s forty days, we will journey along with Jesus on his journey. We take this trek through the Judean wilderness until we reach Jerusalem, the upper room, Pilate’s court, and the cross. We take this journey again and again. We take it every year during this holy season from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday.
Where we take this trip annually, Jesus takes this trip once, but for our sake gloriously once is enough. Because of his one trip, he is able to take us along from that day through the end of eternity. Doing this, he goes above and beyond the call of duty of any man. But with thanks and praise, he is not any man; he is the Son of Man and the Son of God.
And with thanks and praise, by grace through faith we can say this is true, we can say this is true. We can say with peace and surety that whoever believes in him may have eternal life for God so loved the world that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.
It is on his cross that Jesus will die, and it is from his tomb he will rise again, and it is in his Spirit through the waters of our baptism that we will be born from above, again, from the beginning, anew.
[1] Department of the Army (2002-07-01). Section 578.4 Medal of Honor. Code of Federal Regulations Title 32, Volume 2. Government Printing Office. Retrieved on 2006-07-23. Gender specific language in original text. Yes, I know the addition of “Congressional” is a misnomer, but it is the common name for the medal so I have used it here for the sake of clarity.
[2] List of Medal of Honor Recipients, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Medal_of_Honor_recipients, retrieved on February 16, 2008.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Audie Murphy’s Medal of Honor, http://www.audiemurphy.com/award1.htm, retrieved on February 16, 2008.
[5] John 3:3, New Revised Standard Version
[6] John 3:3, New International Version, New American Standard Bible, New Living Translation
[7] anothen, The Lexicon of the Greek New Testament, edited by Kurt Aland, Matthew Black, Carlo M. Martini, Bruce M. Metzger, and Allen Wikgren, in cooperation with the Institute for New Testament Textual Research, Münster/Westphalia, Fourth Edition (with the same text as the Nestle-Aland 27th Edition of the Greek New Testament), Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft; Stuttgart, 1966, 1968, 1975 by the United Bible Societies (UBS) and 1993, 1994 by (German Bible Society)
Genesis 12:1-4a
Psalm 121
Romans 4:1-5, 13-17
John 3:1-17
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 Congressional Medal of Honor is bestowed on a member of the United States Armed Forces who is distinguished “conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while engaged in an action against an enemy of the United States.”[1]
Serving in the Navy in the War in Afghanistan, on 28 June, 2005 Lieutenant Michael P. Murphy was awarded the Medal of Honor for leading a reconnaissance patrol in a fight against superior numbers, exposing himself to hostile fire in order to call for help.[2]
During the Battle of Mogadishu on 3 October, 1993, Army Master Sergeant Gary I. Gordon and Army Sergeant First Class Randall D. Shughart were awarded the Medal of Honor for volunteering to secure a helicopter crash site while under heavy enemy fire until relief could arrive.[3]
These medals were awarded posthumously.
Probably the most famous honoree is Audie Murphy. Later a Hollywood star, while a Second Lieutenant fighting in France, Murphy served in the 15th Infantry, 3rd Infantry Division. Reading from his Medal of Honor Citation:
Second Lieutenant Audie L. Murphy … on 26 January 1945, near Holtzwihr, France, commanded Company B, which was attacked by six tanks and waves of infantry. Lieutenant Murphy ordered his men to withdraw to a prepared position in a woods while he remained forward at his command post and continued to give fire directions to the artillery by telephone. Behind him to his right one of our tank destroyers received a direct hit and began to burn. Its crew withdrew to the woods. Lieutenant Murphy continued to direct artillery fire which killed large numbers of the advancing enemy infantry. With the enemy tanks abreast of his position, Lieutenant Murphy climbed on the burning tank destroyer which was in danger of blowing up any instant and employed its .50 caliber machine gun against the enemy. He was alone and exposed to the German fire from three sides, but his deadly fire killed dozens of Germans and caused their infantry attack to waver. The enemy tanks, losing infantry support, began to fall back. For an hour the Germans tried every available weapon to eliminate Lieutenant Murphy, but he continued to hold his position and wiped out a squad which was trying to creep up unnoticed on his right flank. Germans reached as close as 10 yards only to be mowed down by his fire. He received a leg wound but ignored it and continued the single-handed fight until his ammunition was exhausted. He then made his way to his company, refused medical attention, and organized the company in a counterattack which forced the Germans to withdraw. His directing of artillery fire wiped out many of the enemy; he personally killed or wounded about 50. Lieutenant Murphy's indomitable courage and his refusal to give an inch of ground saved his company from possible encirclement and destruction and enabled it to hold the woods which had been the enemy's objective.[4]
The principle of service above and beyond the call of duty is the standard which sets Medal of Honor recipients above other soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines. Honorees often voluntarily accept missions where death is nearly certain and many pay with their lives. Of all of the men and women who have served this country in uniform since the modern initiation of this medal during the Civil War, fewer than 3,500 have been awarded this, our military’s highest honor.
This principle of “above and beyond” is shown again and again in the military heroes who have received it. I could go on; but I also find these concepts, above and beyond—again and again, in our reading from Matthew’s gospel.
We begin with Nicodemus who hears from Jesus, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above”[5] or depending on your translation, “unless he is born again.”[6] So rather than seeing this as an either/or translation, we should more properly say that according to Jesus, we must be born from above and we must be born again.
This is one of those times when the Greek language geek in me gets a workout. The word used in the Greek version of this verse can be translated into English as either “from above” or “again.”[7] It can also mean “from the beginning” or “anew.” And while each of these English translations colors the meaning of the verse a little differently, I like the way that each of these translations tell us a little something different about what Jesus meant when he said this.
When Jesus tells us we are to be born from above, he gives us the knowledge that the rebirth comes from a source, it is not something that we can do ourselves. To be born from above means that the power of the Lord through the work of the Holy Spirit comes upon us as the children of God. In this way we are born from above.
To be born again is to tell us that our first birth is not enough, not for the kingdom of God. Our first birth, the physical birth we experienced like Cain and Abel, is not enough. As Jesus tells Nicodemus, only a second birth, not like the one we had in the fluid of our mother’s womb, but a rebirth like the one we receive in the waters of our baptism through the power of the Holy Spirit. This being born again is necessary to be born again and bring us into the kingdom of God.
To be born from the beginning gives us the perspective of starting life again without the weight of the baggage of our former lives. As Nicodemus says, it is impossible to enter the womb a second time; so to be born from the beginning must be a completely new beginning. In Romans, Paul talks about living under the law and under the wrath it brings. We need to be born from the beginning so that we may live in God’s grace, not under God’s law. The law punishes the flesh; grace gives us all a new beginning.
To be born anew, when we look at these other definitions, these other translations, together we can come into birth anew and with it life anew. To be born anew reminds us of the birth from the womb we receive from our mothers and fathers. Through them we receive the gift of life. To be born anew points us to the one who provides the source of this first birth and this new birth, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus says, “What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is Spirit.” To be born anew points to the bath that we receive in the waters of our baptism, the waters of our second birth. To be born anew is to leave an old life in the flesh behind in favor of one given by the Spirit of God. To be born anew is to be given a fresh start with God and God’s people as the body of Christ, the church. To be born anew is to be born, with all of the promise of new life in the kingdom of God.
To give us new life, Jesus will give his. We are in the second week of Lent, and over Lent’s forty days, we will journey along with Jesus on his journey. We take this trek through the Judean wilderness until we reach Jerusalem, the upper room, Pilate’s court, and the cross. We take this journey again and again. We take it every year during this holy season from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday.
Where we take this trip annually, Jesus takes this trip once, but for our sake gloriously once is enough. Because of his one trip, he is able to take us along from that day through the end of eternity. Doing this, he goes above and beyond the call of duty of any man. But with thanks and praise, he is not any man; he is the Son of Man and the Son of God.
And with thanks and praise, by grace through faith we can say this is true, we can say this is true. We can say with peace and surety that whoever believes in him may have eternal life for God so loved the world that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.
It is on his cross that Jesus will die, and it is from his tomb he will rise again, and it is in his Spirit through the waters of our baptism that we will be born from above, again, from the beginning, anew.
[1] Department of the Army (2002-07-01). Section 578.4 Medal of Honor. Code of Federal Regulations Title 32, Volume 2. Government Printing Office. Retrieved on 2006-07-23. Gender specific language in original text. Yes, I know the addition of “Congressional” is a misnomer, but it is the common name for the medal so I have used it here for the sake of clarity.
[2] List of Medal of Honor Recipients, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Medal_of_Honor_recipients, retrieved on February 16, 2008.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Audie Murphy’s Medal of Honor, http://www.audiemurphy.com/award1.htm, retrieved on February 16, 2008.
[5] John 3:3, New Revised Standard Version
[6] John 3:3, New International Version, New American Standard Bible, New Living Translation
[7] anothen, The Lexicon of the Greek New Testament, edited by Kurt Aland, Matthew Black, Carlo M. Martini, Bruce M. Metzger, and Allen Wikgren, in cooperation with the Institute for New Testament Textual Research, Münster/Westphalia, Fourth Edition (with the same text as the Nestle-Aland 27th Edition of the Greek New Testament), Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft; Stuttgart, 1966, 1968, 1975 by the United Bible Societies (UBS) and 1993, 1994 by (German Bible Society)
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Forty Days
This sermon was heard on the First Sunday in Lent, February 10, 2008, at the First Presbyterian Church in Berryville, Arkansas.
Genesis 2:15-17, 3:1-7
Psalm 32
Romans 5:12-19
Matthew 4:1-11
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen.
I love anniversaries. By the liturgical calendar, three years ago today I preached in Eureka Springs for the Pastor Nominating Committee. Marie was a member of that committee. Mark and Judy Mallett hosted Marie and me as we began to learn about the county, the community, and the church. The tour of the church took us here, right here. I remember the first time that I saw this wonderful fresco behind me, this beautiful pastoral image of “Jesus as the Good Shepherd” and one thought went through my mind, “This looks nothing like the Jesus we read about this Sunday.”
As I read this passage, a different image of Jesus came to mind, an image of Jesus like the one found in the 1999 movie known in the U.S. as “Jesus.”[1] You might remember it. It was shown on CBS in the summer of 2000. This movie’s representation of today’s gospel reading sticks in my mind.
One of the traditional ways this piece is interpreted has a smarmy devil offering Jesus fabulous temptations. And Jesus stands confidently against a cowering Satan. There is a glow around him with a light wind to blow Jesus’ silky hair gently. Satan is blinded by the light of Jesus, shining brighter than the sun, a brightness like we read about last week in the Transfiguration, and the accuser is sent away without his prize.
Matthew’s gospel says that after Jesus was baptized he fasted in the wilderness for forty days and forty nights. Imagine forty days in the Judean wilderness. The heat of the day comes with no protection from the sun; and at night, chilling breezes blow across the plain. In a desert climate forty and fifty degree temperature swings are not uncommon. High temperatures can be well over 100, and low temperatures below 60. Day time winds blow like a convection oven and at night the wind is bone chilling. If you have ever spent any time on the high plains or in the Texas panhandle in the summer you know what this is like.
So instead of the immaculate Jesus, the movie imagines something completely different. Jesus looks absolutely haggard. He looks like he has fasted forty days and forty nights in the wilderness. He is disheveled; his hair is wild and sun-bleached; dusty and gray. His clothes are torn and tattered and wind-blown. Most striking is his skin; parched and chapped; sun and wind burned. There are pieces of dead, peeling flesh hanging from his face and arms; just like viciously sunburned skin does. Jesus is obviously in physical agony from his time in the wilderness.
Jesus is distressed. He is in pain. He is thirsty. And as scripture says, he is famished. This is the man the tempter finds just forty days after his baptism.
As with any tempter, the devil attacks at the greatest weakness. Jesus’ first and most obvious weak point is his hunger, so this becomes the first temptation. “If you are the Son of God command these stones to become bread.” This would surely end his physical hunger, but hunger is more than just physical.[2] There is a spiritual hunger which also must be fed. So when Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 8:3, “one does not live by bread alone, but by every word which comes from the mouth of God.” Jesus shows that he knows that the bread of life is spiritual more than it is physical.
In the second temptation, Jesus is asked to test the word and the will of God and see if it is true. “He will command his angels concerning you,” Satan uses Psalm 91 to tempt Jesus. Test God, you will not be injured. “The angels will lift you up by their own hands.” But Jesus answers with Deuteronomy 6:16, “do not put the Lord to test.” After all, what is faith if it is not based in trust? While this test would easily confirm the faithfulness of God, it betrays faith in God.
The final temptation, the one which is the most attractive, follows immediately. The splendor of our world is presented to Jesus. Satan, the prince of this world,[3] offers dominion over this principality to Jesus, if only he worship him. But with Deuteronomy 6:13, Jesus sends Satan away, “worship the Lord your God and serve God alone.” What is gained if Jesus were to have the world, but have to worship the one who seeks to destroy the world’s relationship with its creator?
If we want to take the immaculate view of Jesus, the Jesus with clear supple skin and perfectly coiffed hair, then we can simply say that Jesus knew better. There would never be any doubt, that Jesus would not be tempted. After all, Jesus had heard just forty days ago “this is my son, whom I love.” Jesus is God, there is no way he could be tempted.
But this is not the Jesus who we see after forty days and nights in the wilderness. The Jesus in Matthew’s gospel is one who is worn, and tired, and injured by the ordeal of the fast in the wilderness. The Jesus we are shown is a man, a human being who is physically weakened by this experience. This is the perfect time to tempt anybody, including Jesus. As Jesus is being physically devastated by the fast, the fast spiritually sharpens him. This Jesus is ready for the test that comes and he dispatches his inquisitor. The tempter leaves and the angels came ministering to Jesus.
So, why bring this up? Because Matthew’s presentation of Jesus is far more human than the Jesus we are used to. We testify our Lord Jesus is fully human and fully divine, but we tend to forget what being fully human means. This is a Jesus who faces physical struggle and then temptation just as we do. A super-human Jesus, one that is more divine than human, is not the Jesus Matthew presents.
I bring this up to remind us that on this, the first Sunday of Lent, we too enter the wilderness. Almost forty days ago we celebrated Epiphany and after forty more days we celebrate Holy Week.[4] We have celebrated the Baptism of the Lord, the Annunciation and the Transfiguration. We will mourn the loss of Jesus at the crucifixion, and we will rejoice in the risen Lord at his resurrection. But until then we wait and we prepare, just as Jesus did in the wilderness two thousand years ago. We prepare because even Jesus had to prepare; even God incarnate had to go off and prepare for the work ahead, beginning with these temptations.
Hebrews reminds us that our Lord was tempted just as we are.[5] Ordinarily we blaze past this; going right to the next part of the verse, “yet is without sin” because it is this God without sin whom we know and trust. But let’s stop and remember that Jesus is also fully human and was tempted just as we are. We have a messiah who is not only our Lord who walked upon this earth, but a human being; someone who has fully shared our condition more perfectly than we ever could. The Son of the Almighty was tempted by some of the most powerful things imaginable, the same temptations we face daily.
And still, as Paul reminds us in his letter to the Romans, by the obedience of Jesus the humanity will be made righteous. Jesus was tempted, but by his obedience to the Word of God he did not succumb to the temptations of this world. He stayed the course toward life eternal.
So the question remains, if Jesus can be tempted just as we are, how can we overcome these temptations? By relying on our relationship with the fully human and fully divine Jesus Christ and by relying on what and whom he trusted. By the Word and Person of God we will be made righteous through prayer and fast and preparation, the very things Jesus himself did to prepare himself for his ministry.
The scandal of Jesus is not that he was tempted; the scandal of Jesus is the incarnation. God became human and walked among us. Ancient tradition says that the goal of the devil’s activity is our destruction and alienation from God.[6] The purpose of Satan’s temptations is two-fold: to form a chasm between the divinity of Jesus and his father, and between the humanity of Jesus and us.
We are constantly bombarded with temptations which overwhelm our senses and appeal to our baser instincts. Jesus is tested with spiritual and physical enticements. He was tempted to forsake the word and test God. He was offered the world in all its splendor and glory if only he would bow down and worship the one who would give it to him, his enemy.
Jesus could have performed the miracles Satan encouraged; and does perform them in due time. He feeds the multitudes, walks on water, and is given dominion over creation at the right hand of God when it glorifies God, not when it glorifies anyone else. Instead, Jesus relies on the relationship he has with the God he calls Father. He does not engage in miraculous acts for his own benefit. He does what he sees the father doing. He does not form an alliance with the one who taunts him; he relies on his relationship with God.
And in the end, in the glory of the resurrection, Jesus lives forever without spiritual or physical hunger. He is now the subject and the object of our faith. He is the ruler of the world in all its splendor and all its glory. Everything that he was tempted with is now in his hands; freely given by God to him, as it is freely offered by Jesus to us. Again, I get ahead of myself; we celebrate these things in forty days.
[1] Beta Pictures presents, “Jesus.” Directed by Roger Young, written by Suzette Couture, Released 1999.
[2] Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Vol. VI, page 19.
[3] TDNT, Vol. II, page 79.
[4] Epiphany was 35 days ago, Baptism Sunday was 28 days ago, Easter is in 42 days.
[5] Hebrews 4:15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin.
[6] TDNT, Vol. II, page 79.
Genesis 2:15-17, 3:1-7
Psalm 32
Romans 5:12-19
Matthew 4:1-11
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen.
I love anniversaries. By the liturgical calendar, three years ago today I preached in Eureka Springs for the Pastor Nominating Committee. Marie was a member of that committee. Mark and Judy Mallett hosted Marie and me as we began to learn about the county, the community, and the church. The tour of the church took us here, right here. I remember the first time that I saw this wonderful fresco behind me, this beautiful pastoral image of “Jesus as the Good Shepherd” and one thought went through my mind, “This looks nothing like the Jesus we read about this Sunday.”
As I read this passage, a different image of Jesus came to mind, an image of Jesus like the one found in the 1999 movie known in the U.S. as “Jesus.”[1] You might remember it. It was shown on CBS in the summer of 2000. This movie’s representation of today’s gospel reading sticks in my mind.
One of the traditional ways this piece is interpreted has a smarmy devil offering Jesus fabulous temptations. And Jesus stands confidently against a cowering Satan. There is a glow around him with a light wind to blow Jesus’ silky hair gently. Satan is blinded by the light of Jesus, shining brighter than the sun, a brightness like we read about last week in the Transfiguration, and the accuser is sent away without his prize.
Matthew’s gospel says that after Jesus was baptized he fasted in the wilderness for forty days and forty nights. Imagine forty days in the Judean wilderness. The heat of the day comes with no protection from the sun; and at night, chilling breezes blow across the plain. In a desert climate forty and fifty degree temperature swings are not uncommon. High temperatures can be well over 100, and low temperatures below 60. Day time winds blow like a convection oven and at night the wind is bone chilling. If you have ever spent any time on the high plains or in the Texas panhandle in the summer you know what this is like.
So instead of the immaculate Jesus, the movie imagines something completely different. Jesus looks absolutely haggard. He looks like he has fasted forty days and forty nights in the wilderness. He is disheveled; his hair is wild and sun-bleached; dusty and gray. His clothes are torn and tattered and wind-blown. Most striking is his skin; parched and chapped; sun and wind burned. There are pieces of dead, peeling flesh hanging from his face and arms; just like viciously sunburned skin does. Jesus is obviously in physical agony from his time in the wilderness.
Jesus is distressed. He is in pain. He is thirsty. And as scripture says, he is famished. This is the man the tempter finds just forty days after his baptism.
As with any tempter, the devil attacks at the greatest weakness. Jesus’ first and most obvious weak point is his hunger, so this becomes the first temptation. “If you are the Son of God command these stones to become bread.” This would surely end his physical hunger, but hunger is more than just physical.[2] There is a spiritual hunger which also must be fed. So when Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 8:3, “one does not live by bread alone, but by every word which comes from the mouth of God.” Jesus shows that he knows that the bread of life is spiritual more than it is physical.
In the second temptation, Jesus is asked to test the word and the will of God and see if it is true. “He will command his angels concerning you,” Satan uses Psalm 91 to tempt Jesus. Test God, you will not be injured. “The angels will lift you up by their own hands.” But Jesus answers with Deuteronomy 6:16, “do not put the Lord to test.” After all, what is faith if it is not based in trust? While this test would easily confirm the faithfulness of God, it betrays faith in God.
The final temptation, the one which is the most attractive, follows immediately. The splendor of our world is presented to Jesus. Satan, the prince of this world,[3] offers dominion over this principality to Jesus, if only he worship him. But with Deuteronomy 6:13, Jesus sends Satan away, “worship the Lord your God and serve God alone.” What is gained if Jesus were to have the world, but have to worship the one who seeks to destroy the world’s relationship with its creator?
If we want to take the immaculate view of Jesus, the Jesus with clear supple skin and perfectly coiffed hair, then we can simply say that Jesus knew better. There would never be any doubt, that Jesus would not be tempted. After all, Jesus had heard just forty days ago “this is my son, whom I love.” Jesus is God, there is no way he could be tempted.
But this is not the Jesus who we see after forty days and nights in the wilderness. The Jesus in Matthew’s gospel is one who is worn, and tired, and injured by the ordeal of the fast in the wilderness. The Jesus we are shown is a man, a human being who is physically weakened by this experience. This is the perfect time to tempt anybody, including Jesus. As Jesus is being physically devastated by the fast, the fast spiritually sharpens him. This Jesus is ready for the test that comes and he dispatches his inquisitor. The tempter leaves and the angels came ministering to Jesus.
So, why bring this up? Because Matthew’s presentation of Jesus is far more human than the Jesus we are used to. We testify our Lord Jesus is fully human and fully divine, but we tend to forget what being fully human means. This is a Jesus who faces physical struggle and then temptation just as we do. A super-human Jesus, one that is more divine than human, is not the Jesus Matthew presents.
I bring this up to remind us that on this, the first Sunday of Lent, we too enter the wilderness. Almost forty days ago we celebrated Epiphany and after forty more days we celebrate Holy Week.[4] We have celebrated the Baptism of the Lord, the Annunciation and the Transfiguration. We will mourn the loss of Jesus at the crucifixion, and we will rejoice in the risen Lord at his resurrection. But until then we wait and we prepare, just as Jesus did in the wilderness two thousand years ago. We prepare because even Jesus had to prepare; even God incarnate had to go off and prepare for the work ahead, beginning with these temptations.
Hebrews reminds us that our Lord was tempted just as we are.[5] Ordinarily we blaze past this; going right to the next part of the verse, “yet is without sin” because it is this God without sin whom we know and trust. But let’s stop and remember that Jesus is also fully human and was tempted just as we are. We have a messiah who is not only our Lord who walked upon this earth, but a human being; someone who has fully shared our condition more perfectly than we ever could. The Son of the Almighty was tempted by some of the most powerful things imaginable, the same temptations we face daily.
And still, as Paul reminds us in his letter to the Romans, by the obedience of Jesus the humanity will be made righteous. Jesus was tempted, but by his obedience to the Word of God he did not succumb to the temptations of this world. He stayed the course toward life eternal.
So the question remains, if Jesus can be tempted just as we are, how can we overcome these temptations? By relying on our relationship with the fully human and fully divine Jesus Christ and by relying on what and whom he trusted. By the Word and Person of God we will be made righteous through prayer and fast and preparation, the very things Jesus himself did to prepare himself for his ministry.
The scandal of Jesus is not that he was tempted; the scandal of Jesus is the incarnation. God became human and walked among us. Ancient tradition says that the goal of the devil’s activity is our destruction and alienation from God.[6] The purpose of Satan’s temptations is two-fold: to form a chasm between the divinity of Jesus and his father, and between the humanity of Jesus and us.
We are constantly bombarded with temptations which overwhelm our senses and appeal to our baser instincts. Jesus is tested with spiritual and physical enticements. He was tempted to forsake the word and test God. He was offered the world in all its splendor and glory if only he would bow down and worship the one who would give it to him, his enemy.
Jesus could have performed the miracles Satan encouraged; and does perform them in due time. He feeds the multitudes, walks on water, and is given dominion over creation at the right hand of God when it glorifies God, not when it glorifies anyone else. Instead, Jesus relies on the relationship he has with the God he calls Father. He does not engage in miraculous acts for his own benefit. He does what he sees the father doing. He does not form an alliance with the one who taunts him; he relies on his relationship with God.
And in the end, in the glory of the resurrection, Jesus lives forever without spiritual or physical hunger. He is now the subject and the object of our faith. He is the ruler of the world in all its splendor and all its glory. Everything that he was tempted with is now in his hands; freely given by God to him, as it is freely offered by Jesus to us. Again, I get ahead of myself; we celebrate these things in forty days.
[1] Beta Pictures presents, “Jesus.” Directed by Roger Young, written by Suzette Couture, Released 1999.
[2] Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Vol. VI, page 19.
[3] TDNT, Vol. II, page 79.
[4] Epiphany was 35 days ago, Baptism Sunday was 28 days ago, Easter is in 42 days.
[5] Hebrews 4:15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin.
[6] TDNT, Vol. II, page 79.
Sunday, February 03, 2008
A Simple Touch
This sermon was heard at the First Presbyterian Church in Berryville, Arkansas on Transfiguration of the Lord Sunday, February 3, 2008.
Exodus 24:12-18
Psalm 2
2 Peter 1:16-21
Matthew 17:1-9
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen
Failure to thrive is a medical condition which can affect new-born children and infants. Not a disease per se, it is a general diagnosis with many possible causes. What is common in all cases is the child does not gain weight as expected. As a result of poor weight gain, these children often experience poor height growth too. With so many possible reasons for this diagnosis, treating a child who fails to thrive focuses on identifying any number of underlying problems.[1]
Common causes of this condition include gastro-intestinal disorders. Some of the possible ailments which could trigger this include gastroesophageal reflux, chronic diarrhea, cystic fibrosis, chronic liver disease, and celiac disease. With reflux, eating can become coupled with painful gas and vomiting. Chronic diarrhea prevents nourishment from staying in the body long enough to be absorbed. Cystic fibrosis, chronic liver disease, and celiac disease can all make the body unable to absorb nutrients from food.
Issues of poverty can also contribute to failure to thrive. The children of women unable to breast feed who cannot afford formula may show the symptoms of this condition. In young children, a family’s inability to purchase nourishing food when a baby goes off the bottle can also lead to failure to thrive. But there is another possible cause for this condition.
One of the factors that can lead to failure to thrive is emotional deprivation as a result of parental withdrawal, rejection, or hostility.[2] As dire as poor health and poor nutrition can be to the physical development of a baby, the attitude and behaviors of the parents can be just as influential.
A couple of years ago, there was a TV documentary about the conditions of Eastern European orphanages.[3] This was at a time when poverty was so extreme that many children were being abandoned to orphanages. Of course the orphanages themselves were understaffed and overstretched. But one of the things the people noticed is that the babies in the orphanage who were held were far healthier, far more attentive than those who were left alone in their cribs. With all other things being equal, it was a touch from another that helped these babies thrive and gave them a chance to live.
Today we read one of scripture’s greatest miracles of the revelation of Jesus to his apostles, the transfiguration. This word, transfiguration, literally means “to change face” or as we would understand it “to change appearance.” And on the mountain Jesus was transfigured before Peter, James, and John.
His face shone like the sun and his clothes became dazzling white, as white as light. Suddenly, this simple Palestinian carpenter wasn’t engulfed by light; he was the source of a light as bright as the sun. His clothes were whiter than alabaster, whiter than the palest moon. And then appearing not to him but with him were the two greatest heroes of the faith, Moses and Elijah. And they were talking with Jesus. They were giving Jesus honor and praise.
This was when a voice suddenly came from a bright cloud that came over them like a white fog saying the words last heard when Jesus was baptized, “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him.”
These apostles were fishermen; they probably weren’t at the Jordan to hear the words of the voice that declared “This is my Son.” But I can imagine two things, first is that they had heard the story, these men knew these words and they knew the power and authority of the one who spoke them. Further, overshadowed by the bright light, what ever they had thought of the story before, now, in this moment, the story has new presence, intimacy, and authority for their lives.
And they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear.
Well of course they fell to the ground! Of course they were overcome by fear! The sight of God’s perfect glory is a frightening thing. Such power, such authority, such joy and delight and fear come together so that there is nothing left to do but fall to the ground worshipping God. And the posture they took is a posture of worship.
These men had grown up knowing the story of Moses at the burning bush. They knew that they could not see God and live. And suddenly here’s Moses, with Elijah none the less, chatting up the man they had just followed up the mountain. Then just as suddenly they were swallowed by a bright cloud that told them who their Rabbi truly is, the Son of the one true God.
“Overcome by fear” might begin to describe how they felt.
But Jesus came and touched them saying, “Get up and do not be afraid.” He touched them and he reassured them. This is what Jesus did. He didn’t give them the secret to life. He didn’t tell them what Moses and Elijah had been saying to him. He didn’t give them a way to clean their robes so theirs would be as white as snow. He touched them and with a word he reassured them. This is what Jesus did.
Now, imagine how they might have responded if Jesus had not touched and reassured them. Imagine the fear that would have continued to overwhelm them. They would have been scarred by such a terrifying experience. Their terror would change them, and how we know them. They would have failed to thrive. But this is not what the Lord does; with a simple touch he reassured them.
As the Body of Christ on earth, our challenge is two-fold. We are to carry on the work of Jesus; going to those who are overcome by fear, those who are terrified. And we are to touch them saying, “Get up, and do not be afraid.” We are witnesses to the grace and the peace and the glory of Jesus the Christ who walked the earth as a Palestinian Jew two-thousand years ago and continues to walk with us today; empowering us through the Holy Spirit for the work of the church for all of creation. We are the ones who are called to gather and welcome the broken people of the world and through God’s love make us one.
Gary Chapman is an author who wrote “The Five Love Languages: How to Express Heartfelt Commitment to Your Mate.”[4] Chapman writes that our relationships strengthen as we show our mates love in ways they value. He explains that every person feels most loved when love is expressed through one of five modes: words of affirmation, quality time, receiving gifts, acts of service, and physical touch.[5] (Oh, and physical touch is more than just sex.)
Using Chapman’s model, Jesus showed the three apostles his love through physical touch and words of affirmation. Of course I’m sure Jesus didn’t have Chapman in mind when he reached out with his hand and his encouraging words. Still, Jesus knew his disciples needed his simple touch; and he knew how it would change their lives. He knew that his words, “do not be afraid,” would save them from their terror.
And this is one of the great lessons of the transfiguration; the power and glory of God are wonderful, and joyous, and terrifying. In the raw presence of God we have no real choice other than to be overwhelmed. As we are overcome by the glory that surrounds us, there is a hand and a word calling us not to be afraid.
The song Ken[6] sang today is by Bill Gaither. The chorus goes like this:
He touched me,
Oh he touched me
And oh the joy that floods my soul
Something happened and now I know
He touched me and made me whole.[7]
The Lord Jesus touches us and makes us whole. As the body of Christ on earth, we are called to continue to offer this touch. Does this mean we are to physically touch everyone we see? No, that would get us kicked out of Wal-Mart in a flat second.
Jesus makes it clear in the last verse in our reading that one size does not fit all when he tells the three to tell no one about the vision. Why didn’t Jesus want them to tell the world what had happened? Why didn’t he bring everyone up the mountain to see the transfiguration? Perhaps it is because this vision was meant just for the three of them. And based on the Word of the New Testament, they overcame their fears becoming great leaders.
Does this mean that the other apostles were second class disciples because they did not experience this image of God’s glory? No, it just meant that what they needed was different. Chapman would say they had different love languages. And if we give love to someone in a language they don’t understand, it’s like we don’t give them love at all.
When appropriate, yes, we are to touch. And we should also consider Chapman’s love languages. We can give a smile, or a word of encouragement. We can spend time with someone. We can give gifts of ourselves and our works. We can do service for others who need our help, who need to see the light of God in the world. We can give a school child a back pack. We can give a thirsty person cold water. We can offer a prayer on their behalf. We can visit people who are alone and frightened.
And no matter how we share the message, to coin a phrase from Chapman, regardless of the love language we use; we are to share the message Jesus shared with his disciples on that mountain top so long ago. “Get up and do not be afraid.” In this word, Jesus reminds his disciples that he is with them. In this word, Jesus reminds us, his disciples, that he is still with us.
It’s funny. One of the things most young people learn on overseas mission trips is the depth and breadth of the faith and devotion of the people they have come to serve, the people they have come to bear witness to the glory of God. Often people who go on overseas mission trips receive far more than they give. For God, results like that aren’t uncommon. It is wonderful and joyful and glorious and sometimes more than a little bit frightening.
This is our call, this is our vocation. We are the hands of the body of Christ in the world, offering the touch of his love and his peace to a terrified world that is showing its own symptoms of failure to thrive. We are to be the voice of God in this world saying “do not be afraid.” And it’s also one of the glorious aspects of this giving, when we give through the power of the Holy Spirit, we tend to receive more than we could ever hope or imagine. Jesus tells us, the disciples of two-thousand years, “get up and do not be afraid” so that we may share the same message with the broken people of the world.
[1] Failure to Thrive, http://www.kidshealth.org/parent/nutrition_fit/nutrition/failure_thrive.html, retrieved February 1, 2008.
[2] Failure to Thrive, http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000991.htm, retrieved February 1, 2008.
[3] Actually Marie saw this documentary and told me about it. Yet this is what I remember of what she told me.
[4] Chapman, Gary, “The Five Love Languages: How to Express Heartfelt Commitment to Your Mate.” 2nd Edition. Chicago: Northfield Press, 2004.
[5] Gary Chapman’s Five Love Languages; Learn the Languages, http://www.fivelovelanguages.com/learn.html, retrieved February 1, 2008. Chapman has also published versions for singles, families, military personal, counselors, ministers, and co-workers.
[6] Ken is our Worship Leader and has a wonderful voice. His wife Lee Ellen plays piano for the church too.
[7] Gaither, William, “He Touched Me” 1964 William J. Gaither, Inc. ARR UBP of Gaither Copyright Management, First Presbyterian Church CCLI license number 2719984, accessed February 1, 2008.
Exodus 24:12-18
Psalm 2
2 Peter 1:16-21
Matthew 17:1-9
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen
Failure to thrive is a medical condition which can affect new-born children and infants. Not a disease per se, it is a general diagnosis with many possible causes. What is common in all cases is the child does not gain weight as expected. As a result of poor weight gain, these children often experience poor height growth too. With so many possible reasons for this diagnosis, treating a child who fails to thrive focuses on identifying any number of underlying problems.[1]
Common causes of this condition include gastro-intestinal disorders. Some of the possible ailments which could trigger this include gastroesophageal reflux, chronic diarrhea, cystic fibrosis, chronic liver disease, and celiac disease. With reflux, eating can become coupled with painful gas and vomiting. Chronic diarrhea prevents nourishment from staying in the body long enough to be absorbed. Cystic fibrosis, chronic liver disease, and celiac disease can all make the body unable to absorb nutrients from food.
Issues of poverty can also contribute to failure to thrive. The children of women unable to breast feed who cannot afford formula may show the symptoms of this condition. In young children, a family’s inability to purchase nourishing food when a baby goes off the bottle can also lead to failure to thrive. But there is another possible cause for this condition.
One of the factors that can lead to failure to thrive is emotional deprivation as a result of parental withdrawal, rejection, or hostility.[2] As dire as poor health and poor nutrition can be to the physical development of a baby, the attitude and behaviors of the parents can be just as influential.
A couple of years ago, there was a TV documentary about the conditions of Eastern European orphanages.[3] This was at a time when poverty was so extreme that many children were being abandoned to orphanages. Of course the orphanages themselves were understaffed and overstretched. But one of the things the people noticed is that the babies in the orphanage who were held were far healthier, far more attentive than those who were left alone in their cribs. With all other things being equal, it was a touch from another that helped these babies thrive and gave them a chance to live.
Today we read one of scripture’s greatest miracles of the revelation of Jesus to his apostles, the transfiguration. This word, transfiguration, literally means “to change face” or as we would understand it “to change appearance.” And on the mountain Jesus was transfigured before Peter, James, and John.
His face shone like the sun and his clothes became dazzling white, as white as light. Suddenly, this simple Palestinian carpenter wasn’t engulfed by light; he was the source of a light as bright as the sun. His clothes were whiter than alabaster, whiter than the palest moon. And then appearing not to him but with him were the two greatest heroes of the faith, Moses and Elijah. And they were talking with Jesus. They were giving Jesus honor and praise.
This was when a voice suddenly came from a bright cloud that came over them like a white fog saying the words last heard when Jesus was baptized, “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him.”
These apostles were fishermen; they probably weren’t at the Jordan to hear the words of the voice that declared “This is my Son.” But I can imagine two things, first is that they had heard the story, these men knew these words and they knew the power and authority of the one who spoke them. Further, overshadowed by the bright light, what ever they had thought of the story before, now, in this moment, the story has new presence, intimacy, and authority for their lives.
And they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear.
Well of course they fell to the ground! Of course they were overcome by fear! The sight of God’s perfect glory is a frightening thing. Such power, such authority, such joy and delight and fear come together so that there is nothing left to do but fall to the ground worshipping God. And the posture they took is a posture of worship.
These men had grown up knowing the story of Moses at the burning bush. They knew that they could not see God and live. And suddenly here’s Moses, with Elijah none the less, chatting up the man they had just followed up the mountain. Then just as suddenly they were swallowed by a bright cloud that told them who their Rabbi truly is, the Son of the one true God.
“Overcome by fear” might begin to describe how they felt.
But Jesus came and touched them saying, “Get up and do not be afraid.” He touched them and he reassured them. This is what Jesus did. He didn’t give them the secret to life. He didn’t tell them what Moses and Elijah had been saying to him. He didn’t give them a way to clean their robes so theirs would be as white as snow. He touched them and with a word he reassured them. This is what Jesus did.
Now, imagine how they might have responded if Jesus had not touched and reassured them. Imagine the fear that would have continued to overwhelm them. They would have been scarred by such a terrifying experience. Their terror would change them, and how we know them. They would have failed to thrive. But this is not what the Lord does; with a simple touch he reassured them.
As the Body of Christ on earth, our challenge is two-fold. We are to carry on the work of Jesus; going to those who are overcome by fear, those who are terrified. And we are to touch them saying, “Get up, and do not be afraid.” We are witnesses to the grace and the peace and the glory of Jesus the Christ who walked the earth as a Palestinian Jew two-thousand years ago and continues to walk with us today; empowering us through the Holy Spirit for the work of the church for all of creation. We are the ones who are called to gather and welcome the broken people of the world and through God’s love make us one.
Gary Chapman is an author who wrote “The Five Love Languages: How to Express Heartfelt Commitment to Your Mate.”[4] Chapman writes that our relationships strengthen as we show our mates love in ways they value. He explains that every person feels most loved when love is expressed through one of five modes: words of affirmation, quality time, receiving gifts, acts of service, and physical touch.[5] (Oh, and physical touch is more than just sex.)
Using Chapman’s model, Jesus showed the three apostles his love through physical touch and words of affirmation. Of course I’m sure Jesus didn’t have Chapman in mind when he reached out with his hand and his encouraging words. Still, Jesus knew his disciples needed his simple touch; and he knew how it would change their lives. He knew that his words, “do not be afraid,” would save them from their terror.
And this is one of the great lessons of the transfiguration; the power and glory of God are wonderful, and joyous, and terrifying. In the raw presence of God we have no real choice other than to be overwhelmed. As we are overcome by the glory that surrounds us, there is a hand and a word calling us not to be afraid.
The song Ken[6] sang today is by Bill Gaither. The chorus goes like this:
He touched me,
Oh he touched me
And oh the joy that floods my soul
Something happened and now I know
He touched me and made me whole.[7]
The Lord Jesus touches us and makes us whole. As the body of Christ on earth, we are called to continue to offer this touch. Does this mean we are to physically touch everyone we see? No, that would get us kicked out of Wal-Mart in a flat second.
Jesus makes it clear in the last verse in our reading that one size does not fit all when he tells the three to tell no one about the vision. Why didn’t Jesus want them to tell the world what had happened? Why didn’t he bring everyone up the mountain to see the transfiguration? Perhaps it is because this vision was meant just for the three of them. And based on the Word of the New Testament, they overcame their fears becoming great leaders.
Does this mean that the other apostles were second class disciples because they did not experience this image of God’s glory? No, it just meant that what they needed was different. Chapman would say they had different love languages. And if we give love to someone in a language they don’t understand, it’s like we don’t give them love at all.
When appropriate, yes, we are to touch. And we should also consider Chapman’s love languages. We can give a smile, or a word of encouragement. We can spend time with someone. We can give gifts of ourselves and our works. We can do service for others who need our help, who need to see the light of God in the world. We can give a school child a back pack. We can give a thirsty person cold water. We can offer a prayer on their behalf. We can visit people who are alone and frightened.
And no matter how we share the message, to coin a phrase from Chapman, regardless of the love language we use; we are to share the message Jesus shared with his disciples on that mountain top so long ago. “Get up and do not be afraid.” In this word, Jesus reminds his disciples that he is with them. In this word, Jesus reminds us, his disciples, that he is still with us.
It’s funny. One of the things most young people learn on overseas mission trips is the depth and breadth of the faith and devotion of the people they have come to serve, the people they have come to bear witness to the glory of God. Often people who go on overseas mission trips receive far more than they give. For God, results like that aren’t uncommon. It is wonderful and joyful and glorious and sometimes more than a little bit frightening.
This is our call, this is our vocation. We are the hands of the body of Christ in the world, offering the touch of his love and his peace to a terrified world that is showing its own symptoms of failure to thrive. We are to be the voice of God in this world saying “do not be afraid.” And it’s also one of the glorious aspects of this giving, when we give through the power of the Holy Spirit, we tend to receive more than we could ever hope or imagine. Jesus tells us, the disciples of two-thousand years, “get up and do not be afraid” so that we may share the same message with the broken people of the world.
[1] Failure to Thrive, http://www.kidshealth.org/parent/nutrition_fit/nutrition/failure_thrive.html, retrieved February 1, 2008.
[2] Failure to Thrive, http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000991.htm, retrieved February 1, 2008.
[3] Actually Marie saw this documentary and told me about it. Yet this is what I remember of what she told me.
[4] Chapman, Gary, “The Five Love Languages: How to Express Heartfelt Commitment to Your Mate.” 2nd Edition. Chicago: Northfield Press, 2004.
[5] Gary Chapman’s Five Love Languages; Learn the Languages, http://www.fivelovelanguages.com/learn.html, retrieved February 1, 2008. Chapman has also published versions for singles, families, military personal, counselors, ministers, and co-workers.
[6] Ken is our Worship Leader and has a wonderful voice. His wife Lee Ellen plays piano for the church too.
[7] Gaither, William, “He Touched Me” 1964 William J. Gaither, Inc. ARR UBP of Gaither Copyright Management, First Presbyterian Church CCLI license number 2719984, accessed February 1, 2008.
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