The Missing

This sermon was heard at The Federated Church in Weatherford, Oklahoma on Sunday September 11, 2016, the Twenty-Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28
Psalm 14
1Timothy 1:12-17
Luke 15:1-10

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

There are certain Sundays pastors look forward to preaching, and certain Sundays we don’t. They vary from pastor to pastor of course. As for me, I believe this is the first time I have ever preached on September 11th. It’s not that I’ve avoided it in the past, and I might be wrong. If I did the sermon wasn’t memorable. This year is different for some reason.

Fifteen years ago I was sitting in a seminary classroom learning the Hebrew alphabet. At 9:30ish there was a commotion in the hall, but I thought nothing of it. Some classes let out at that time. It was louder than usual, and Prof. Rev. Dr. Kathryn Roberts did not take interruptions lightly, she took them personally. So I focused on the board instead of the distraction.

I went down to Financial Aid after class. That was when I first found out about what had happened in New York City. None of the computers at the seminary were powerful enough or fast enough to process video, except for the server room of course. So Financial Aid Director Glenna Balch and I listened on the radio. I told her this must have been what listening to “War of the Worlds” felt like, except this was really happening. Then I rushed back to our apartment where I found Marie in shock.

In New York City people started putting up signs almost immediately. There were flyers with people’s pictures everywhere asking “Have you seen…?” followed by somebody’s name. Pictures from people hoping, begging that someone might have seen someone else. Had a piece of news. Maybe a friend of a friend or something.

First responders, police, firemen, EMT’s, nurses, all sorts of people came out of the woodwork to make things better. They became helpers. Some became heroes. Some became fallen heroes. Some were looking for loved ones. Everybody was looking because it was the right thing to do.

The last missing person, Michelle Guzman McMillan became a survivor when she was pulled from the rubble at about 12:30 pm on September 12. That was more than 27 hours after the North Tower fell. Her office was in that tower on the 64th floor.

But I don’t have to tell a Sooner about any of this. A little over six years earlier, Oklahoma City had its own disaster at the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. On April 19, 1995, a Ryder truck loaded up with fertilizer and diesel was dropped off and detonated in front of the Murrah building blowing the front third off of the building killing 168 people, 19 of whom were children under the age of six and wounding 800 more.

At 9:03 am, the first of over 1,800 911 calls were received by the OKC Emergency Medical Services Authority, but by that time, EMSA ambulances, police, and firefighters were already headed to the scene, because they heard the blast. People who had witnessed or heard the blast arrived to assist the victims and emergency workers soon after. Within 23 minutes of the bombing, the State Emergency Operations Center was set up, with representatives from the state departments of public safety, human services, military, health, and education. Assisting the them were agencies like the National Weather Service, the Air Force, the Civil Air Patrol, and the American Red Cross to find the lost, tend the wounded and recover the dead. Immediate assistance also came from 465 members of the Oklahoma National Guard, who arrived within the hour to provide security, and from members of the Department of Civil Emergency Management because heroes need heroes too.

The summer of 2002, the summer after 9/11, Marie and I stopped at the Oklahoma City National Memorial traveling from Austin to Kansas City. I’m getting choked up, forgive me. Two things left me raw, emotionally raw from the visit. The first was the 168 chairs on the lawn, each one bearing the name of one of the victims ripped from this life. Of course there was a special punch in the stomach for the 19 child sized chairs. The other was the chain link fence that still bore the flyers with people’s pictures everywhere asking “Have you seen…?” followed by somebody’s name. Pictures from people hoping, begging that someone might have seen someone else. Had a piece of news. Maybe a friend of a friend or something.

Brandy Ligon was the last person to go from missing to found from the Murrah building bombing. She was fifteen at the time. She was in the nursery and could hear children crying after the bombing. Of course she heard children stop crying too. She was saved thirteen hours after being listed among the lost.

This is the week when we read that a shepherd will leave the 99 to find the one lost sheep to return it to the flock. This is the week when we read that a woman will sweep her house until she has blisters on her fingers if it means finding a tenth of her wealth. Both then will call everyone they know to celebrate because what was missing, is now found.

Most pastors at this point in the sermon take apart the parable to make sense of it. I have preached this passage before and that’s what I did, but not this year. The usual lesson we take from this is that we are called to seek the lost to make life whole again.

But after considering 9/11 and 4/19, it hardly makes me think we will ever really feel whole again, not this side of glory.

This year I stopped reading the passage after verse two, “Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, ‘This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.’”
So why did I stop here?

These readings are about the missing, the lost. These two short parables preface the Parable of the Prodigal Son in Luke’s gospel, a story of a wayward son, but even more so, the story of a Father who longs for his son’s return.

These parables, the two we read today and the parable of the Prodigal, are about the missing which is found. So instead of saying we are called to seek the lost, which is surely true, let me say this instead, in Christ, we are never missing.

In Christ we are never missing.

So often, the Pharisees of this world look at those they call “sinners,” and call them the lost. They have left the fold. They are weak. They are soiled. They are unclean. They are broken. They allow themselves to be used. They point and ask “Where is God?” and the answer is found right here. God in Christ is right there, at the table, breaking bread with them.

I often talk about of our baptismal identity because baptism is the sacramental symbol that shows how Christ joins us. Being celebrated once, unless we make a real effort to remember our baptism, its importance wanes, and I want us to stem that tide, so I remind us to remember our baptism.

Today we look at the other sacrament we celebrate, the Lord’s Supper. Jesus feeds his disciples, his children, the missing and the lost of this world because we are all missing and lost. The Apostle Paul knew this, maybe a bit melodramatically he shares this with Timothy. For all of the good that Paul has done and for the status he holds, he knows that he has done horrible things and is a man of sin, not grace. Paul also knows and shares that salvation comes through grace alone, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. He writes, “The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.”

This grace comes not because of who Paul is or anything he did, but because of who Jesus is and what he does. Who is Jesus and what does he do? He is Immanuel, God with us, who comes and he sits with sinners, breaks bread and shares a meal. Through the Lord’s Supper, a meal only he can invite us to take and eat, we continue to share this meal.

In a few minutes, we will hear from Ashlyn Dillon who will tell us about her African mission trip last summer. This was not her first trip, and maybe not her last. The recurring theme I hear from missionaries is that when they return, their faith is stronger. I’m sure there are many reasons this could be, but I have a guess… I bet they sat down, shared a meal together, and discovered that in Jesus Christ, they weren’t among the missing anymore.

Amen.

Un/Worthy

This sermon was heard at the Federated Church in Weatherford, Oklahoma on Sunday June 12, 2016, the 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

1Kings 21:1-21a
Psalm 5:1-8
Galatians 2:15-21
Luke 7:36-8:3

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

Here’s a name baseball fans will remember, Al Hrabosky. “The Mad Hungarian” came up through the St. Louis Cardinal Minor League system to become one of the most influential relief pitchers of the Seventy’s. Was it his wicked delivery? His unrivaled intensity? His Fu Manchu mustache?

If you selected “All of the above” you got the Hrabosky effect.

In 1978 he left the Cards to sign a contract with the cross state rival Kansas City Royals. Two years later Hrabosky became a free agent and signed with the Atlanta Braves. When asked why the Royals did not choose to match the Braves’ offer, General Manager Joe Burke said he wasn’t worth it. Hrabosky countered, “The Braves are willing to pay me, so I must be worth it.”

This is today’s lesson in free market economics, something is worth as much as someone else is willing to pay for it. We’ll get back to this.

In our gospel reading, it’s getting along to be mealtime. It seems Luke’s gospel has Jesus going from one meal to the next, my kind of gospel. Jesus is invited to the home of Simon the Pharisee for a meal. Others are invited too.

Just a couple of things you may not be aware of that will be helpful. This isn’t a closed off banquet hall with high style chairs. This table is not very high at all and those who will eat lay on mats on their left elbows and eat with their right hands. Their legs will be splayed back and away from the table. Also, strangely to us, it is not uncommon for people to just drop in on the festivities seemingly for no good reason at all.

So Jesus goes with Simon to the festivities. Everyone was reclined at the table and the servants brought the food. Among the passersby is a local woman who has led a sinful life. As you see, anybody can just drop by a fancy dinner, even this sinful life leading woman! She breaks open an alabaster jar of perfume and anoints the feet of the Lord Jesus.

Can you imagine how good that felt after a long day on the road? The oils and the balm being rubbed lovingly into your feet. She’s weeping. She’s washing your feet with her long, long hair. Do you think he might have closed his eyes enjoying this tender care?

Well, she’s in his house, on his grounds, and Simon can’t keep quiet. He mumbles “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.”

This is Simon the Pharisee’s “Al Hrabosky” moment of human economics; and as far as he’s concerned she’s not worth all that and a bag of chips. Jesus on the other hand teaches that heavenly economics are not human economics.

Jesus engages Simon in a riddle, actually a common form of entertainment at get-togethers like this in the day before college football and TiVo. He offered the story of a moneylender who forgave two debts, one of fifty denarii and another of 500 denarii.

First though, a quick lesson in ancient finance. A denarius was a day’s living wage for the common worker. It was fair, it wasn’t extravagant, it was a living wage. So 50 denarii would amount to a healthy credit card bill and 500 would pay for a nice sedan.

Neither bill so high it can’t be incurred or repaid over time, but when bankruptcy comes, broke is broke.

Jesus asks, “The moneylender forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Isn’t it obvious? It is to Simon, the one with the larger debt.

Jesus tells him he made the right choice. Technically it’s not much of a riddle, but then again, I find the rest of the conversation has a bigger riddle.

Back in the day, hospitality rules said that when you invite someone over you provide water for them to wash their feet. When you wear sandals and share roads with beasts of burden, you’d want to wash your feet too. On a side note which will become a matter of no small importance, you wash your own feet. A slave can’t be compelled to wash someone else’s feet.

Well, Simon didn’t provide so much as a basin of water. Simon did not meet his guest with a kiss either. Nor did Simon give oil for washing. This sinful woman provided perfume, her kisses, her tears, and her hair for our Lord’s feet. She could not be compelled to wash his feet, yet she did she served him on her own accord out of love. Yes, she may have been a sinful woman, and we don’t know what her sins are, but by my count the score is Sinful Woman 5, Simon 0.

Jesus continues, “Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.” To her alone he says, “Your sins are forgiven. Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

This woman seemed to know what Paul tells the Galatians over and over. They are not saved by the Law, but by grace. Yes, she is a sinner, a sinner serving God. By accepting Jesus the Christ, by loving and serving Christ, she has found her way to forgiveness. She has found shalom. She has found peace.

Paul says what Christ shows, we who know God, we who know the Christ will find ourselves “among the sinners.” I find this ironic, I have always found that when we find ourselves around those who know God we find ourselves among those who sin too. People like Simon.

While we are on this earth, we sin. People sin. Some days we sin like we owe fifty day’s pay. Others like 500 day’s pay. Others we owe a government sized bailout. Who needs more love? Of course it’s the one who owes more.

But let’s ask this question, who’s more worthy?

The question of worth is always based on some scale. Some external scale that somebody sets up and interprets. Did you meet the scale? Did you exceed expectations? Did you earn this bonus? Are you worthy of this reward?

The Jews measure this through the law. The 613 Commandments, the 613 Mitzvoth. The 248 positive commandments and the 365 negative commandments; if you were going to be judged by a code, that was quite a code. There were people who would judge. There were courts and there were scribes and Pharisees. Paul knew all of this. Paul was raised in this and he was esteemed in all of this.

Then Paul received the revelation of the better way. “So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.”

By his interpretation of the law, Simon judged the woman a sinner. She was way down on his totem pole. He, a Pharisee, was having Jesus, the “next big thing,” the “Flavor of the Month,” over for dinner. Simon’s star was ascending. He was seeing and being seen by all the right people. He had kept the law since a young child. Simon was living right. He thought he was on top of the world and in all the right ways, he was.

But with Jesus at the table, everything had changed. Paul says it this way to the Galatians, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Jesus didn’t give himself for those with the best marks in the law. God in Christ knew the people who needed him most were those in the most difficulty, those who owed 500 denarii.

Those who owed fifty couldn’t save themselves though. It’s just that those who are in worse shape will love the redeemer more.

That’s the issue here. We have laws. We have lots of laws. They can be called benchmarks or standards or goals or outcome projections. They will end up as judgements. We face them every day and we will be judged worthy or unworthy.

In God’s law, we have all fallen short of the mark. We all sin. We are unworthy of the salvation freely offered through the life, work, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus. Yet, in God’s economics, as the children of God, though we are unworthy, we are saved. God loves us so much, that even if we think we have done enough, we haven’t, we can’t, and his grace is sufficient.

This takes me back to Simon and the sinful woman. Simon the Pharisee serves the Church and the Law, but he forgets the simplest principles of hospitality, water, oil, and greeting. The sinful woman brings these and the tears of shame knowing she’s not worthy, or is it tears of joy knowing that while she is not worthy, she is yet at the feet of her Lord.

Scripture doesn’t say. But this question makes me wonder this riddle, in our reading is Simon the fifty denarii sinner or is he the 500 denarii sinner? It also makes me wonder which I am. But in truth, all the answer to that riddle will show us is how grateful we should be when the moneylender forgives our debt.

In the end our response to this question must be to be like response of the sinful woman. Seek the feet of Christ and serve him where he is, for there is forgiveness. Not because we are worthy, because we are never going to be. Our human condition will forever keep us from that.

But here’s the Good News of Jesus Christ, like the sinful woman we seek and serve the Lord not because we are worthy, but because he is.

Unworthy

This sermon was heard at St. Andrew Church in Longview, Texas on Sunday June 16, 2013, the 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

1 Kings 21:1-10, 15-21

Psalm 5:1-8

Galatians 2:15-21

Luke 7:36-8:3

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

Rules, I have been thinking a lot about rules lately. Two weeks ago in Sunday School I said that according to Genesis (by my reckoning at least), humanity began with one simple rule: “Don’t eat that.” Sure, there were chores; we were to tend the garden. We had responsibilities too; we were called to worship and be in community with God. But really, there was only one rule, “Don’t eat that.” So, how’d that work out for us?

Gradually, the number of rules increased. From one, we went to the Ten Commandments. Eventually those weren’t enough for an increasingly complex society. In the 3^rd Century Rabbi Simlai, compiled a list of Mosaic Laws from the Torah. According to Rabbi Simlai there are 613 commandments or mitzvot, the Taryag Mitzvot. 

The Taryag Mitzvot are separated into two categories, there are 248 mitzvot aseh, or positive commands, the things we are called to do. There are also 365 mitzvot lo taaseh, or negative commands, the things we are called never to do. As it happens, these numbers have cultural significance. According to Jewish tradition 248 corresponds to the number of bones and significant organs in the human body and 365 corresponds to the number of days in the year.[i] 

Some of these rules make perfect sense to us today, things like, “Know there is a God,” “Know God is One,” and “Entertain thoughts of no other god except for the One True God.” We’re familiar with these rules. These are lessons Jesus teaches in the gospels. Then again, there are others we do not follow. For example, the Taryag Mitzvot includes the prohibition against eating non-kosher fish. Sorry, but I enjoy catfish and shrimp.  Neither is kosher, but both are tasty. In fact, if someone brings either of these wrapped with bacon for your next potluck, I will make it my purpose in life to make sure you don’t have to worry about leftovers. Let’s face it, bacon isn’t kosher either, but my mouth is watering anyway.

Closer to home, the constitution of the United States of America is just over 4,600 words long. That is about the same number of words that we will hear in this worship service including everything except the announcements and the music. It may seem long, but as the foundation of a nation over 225 years old it’s relatively brief. In comparison, the current tax code, just one element of what is made allowable by the constitution, is between 55,000 and 60,000 pages long depending on who you ask. I saw those numbers and thought, “Really, there’s 5,000 pages of wiggle room?” There are more pages of wiggle room than there are words in the document that authorizes the code’s very existence.

Truly how can anybody really say they know the entire tax code when there is so much of it? The commentary and the compendium of case law increases the size of tax code beyond my imagination. This truth leads us to another: If you looked deeply enough into the tax code and into anybody’s taxes then you would be able to find a violation. There are just so many small and arcane laws that the slightest thing could slip you up. I don’t say this to scare you; I say this to prove a point. With enough law there is something to convict everyone.

How many laws does it take to reach this critical mass? I don’t know, but according to the Apostle Paul it’s below 613.

Paul told the Galatians “We who are Jews by birth know that a person is not justified by the works of the law.” Other translations say “a person is not justified through the faithfulness of the law.” Paul knows and tells all with ears to hear that there is no way the law can justify us. Hiding in those 613 Taryag Mitzvot, and of course the commentaries and the compendium of case law, hiding in there is something to trip us all. There is always something in the law to convict us all. Literally, if you try to be justified, found worthy in the eyes of God through the law, you will fail.

If you try to be worthy in the eyes of God through the law, you will fail. In the law we are all unworthy.

Seeking legal justification is a loser’s game. That’s why we need something different, something better. Something that does what the law can’t. So, as we transition to our reading from Luke let me ask you, who placed their faith in the Law of Moses and their ability to fulfill that law? That’s right, the Pharisees!

You can’t blame the Pharisees of any time and place for trying to justify themselves in the law. Few knew the law better. They knew what it took to be justified in the law and it worked well enough for them. They had the best seats in the synagogue. They were served first at banquets. Life was good and you can’t blame them if they are satisfied with the life society offers them.

So Simon the Pharisee knew there was a new rabbi in town and knew he was responsible for some pretty heady stuff. Having him over for dinner was an absolute coup!

In our reading Jesus came to Simon’s home for dinner. Dinners of this sort were held in semi-public areas of the home, so it was more like a banquet held at a street fair than in someone’s dining room. This public access allowed people who were not invited to come and go and scope out the host and the guests.

Between who was invited, who wasn’t invited, and the seating arrangements; folks would be able to see who’s who and what’s what without buying this week’s People magazine. 

But this one particular woman did not fit in with Simon’s dinner plans. She was a woman of the city, a sinner to boot. Luke does not give us any indication of what her “sin” is, but the one thing we can tell is that the wages of sin must have paid pretty well. She was able to afford an alabaster jar of costly ointment. These items were not cheap, so whatever her sin was, it wasn’t mismanaging money. 

While anyone would be able to drop in on the dinner party, she was not welcome. It is obvious by Simon’s reaction to her that she was a gate crasher, a woman flying solo who was not welcome at the party. Since she was not being accompanied by either a husband or male relative, that added another cultural no-no.

As the old saying goes, “In for a penny, in for a pound.” As long as her behavior was so scandalous, she went all the way. She wept so much that she was able to wash Jesus’ feet with her tears. Having no towel she washed his feet with her hair, then she anointed them with the costly perfume. The laundry list of cultural taboos she was breaking now included touching a man she is not related to and letting her hair down in public. Simon had enough of her appalling behavior. This was his party, and this sinner was not about to upstage the host.

Simon first says to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what kind of woman this is who is touching him—that she is a sinner.” If this Jesus was worth half of what everyone said about him, he would not allow himself to be defiled like this by this woman. This personal aside doesn’t get past Jesus though.

So Jesus tells Simon and the guests the one about the moneylender and the debtors.  He begins, “A certain creditor had two debtors; one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he canceled the debts for both of them. Now which of them will love him more?”

Something everyone then would have known that we may not is that the normal living daily wage in that time was one denarius. If we lived in that time we also would have known that both of these debts would have been nearly impossible for a common worker to repay. The lesser debt would take two months of wages to repay and the greater about twenty.

Simon answers Jesus rightly: “I suppose the one for whom he canceled the greater debt will love him more.” It’s not that both won’t love the lender for forgiving their unrepayable debts, but the one with the greater debt will love more.

Jesus takes Simon’s words and declares, “Therefore, I tell you, her sins, which were many, have been forgiven.” Then he says to the woman, “Your sins are forgiven.”

Jesus tells her that her sins are forgiven, but not because of what she’s done. The way we often see it, sinful people perform a great act of penance and generosity and then Jesus says “you are forgiven.” But that’s not what Jesus says. The key is found in the word hence.

Look at verse 47 again: “Therefore, I tell you, her sins, which were many, have been forgiven.” Jesus says her sins are forgiven without any accounting of her actions at the banquet. She has sinned and her sins have been forgiven. Her actions at the banquet have nothing to do with gaining forgiveness. It is then that Jesus says, “Hence she has shown great love.”

Know this; Jesus demonstrates that her forgiveness does not lie in holy acts, but her virtue does. It is not virtue that leads to forgiveness, not at all. She anoints and kisses his feet not to receive forgiveness of sins but because she has received this glorious gracious gift. Jesus shares this truth with everyone at the banquet.

After the story, Jesus returns us to Simon’s internal narrative about the woman and against Jesus. Yes, I said that correctly, about the woman—against Jesus. Simon is no fan of the little gate crasher, but his thoughts accuse Jesus. Simon asks himself “What kind of prophet can this man be? I have heard such wondrous things about the great Jesus of Nazareth, but he allows himself to be handled by a sinful woman.”

In true Jesus’ style, he turns the table on his host.  As important as table manners and banquet etiquette were in ancient Israel, hospitality codes older than Abraham were infinitely more important. Providing hospitality to his guests was Simon’s first responsibility.

Jesus reminds Simon when a guest is invited into the home, it is traditional to offer water to wash the feet. In a time and place where people wore sandals and shared the roads horses and livestock, washing the feet became a ritual. It was also proper to offer oil. In a time when Ivory soap was still more than1850 years on the horizon[ii] oil was used like soap. And the welcoming kiss was as ordinary as a handshake is to us today. Simon was not bothered to offer Jesus any of these things.

For a guy who knew how to live according to the Law, Simon the Pharisee wasn’t doing a very good job. He was fundamentally lacking in his responsibilities as a host and that was not right in the eyes of the law.

Jesus accuses Simon. Yes her sins are many, and his sins are also so vast than he could never hope to repay them by his own works. Just like the monetary debts, his sins are too abundant to repay. Just like the monetary debt, our sins are too abundant to repay too.

What Paul taught is so very important for us to remember: We are saved by grace through faith, not by any work that we could ever do. We are called to know that even if we are “good” by whatever measure, our sin is a debt too great to ever repay on our own. The Law will never justify, it will only convict. Yet through Jesus Christ we are forgiven. The law convicts, grace through faith in Christ redeems.

There are times in our lives when someone will say each of us is unworthy. One way or another we are found lacking, just not good enough. In the eyes of the law and in the eyes of those who use their own little metrics to measure us, we are deemed unworthy.

But let us remember, nothing the sinful woman could do earned her forgiveness. She is made worthy by Jesus alone. By Christ’s own nature she was made worthy. In forgiveness, in God’s grace accepted through faith, she responded by doing what the hoity-toity Pharisee would not. She responded to the forgiveness she received. She responded by serving the Lord God, Jesus the Christ. The Pharisee didn’t respond at all.

Let’s face it, Simon the Pharisee probably thought the sinful woman in the story was the “debtor of 200 denarii”. In the final analysis, he might well have been wrong about that too. The good news is that in Christ, by grace alone, that doesn’t matter anymore.

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[i] 613 Mitzvot, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/613_Mitzvot, accessed July 2, 2007.

[ii] Ivory soap was first sold in 1879, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivory_soap, accessed June 15, 2007

"Point of View" and "...then how?"

This sermon was heard at the First Presbyterian Church in Marshall, Texas on Sunday October 14, 2012, the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Job 23:1-9, 16-17

Psalm 22:1-15

Hebrews 4:12-16

Mark 10:17-31

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 like to start with something that has a little more pizzazz than this. I like starting with stories that either take an unexpected turn or stories that seem completely unrelated to the Gospel I had just read. Every pastor has their own way of beginning a sermon, but this one was illusive.

I mean these are some pretty heady readings. Hebrews tells us that Jesus has been tempted and tested just like we are yet is without sin. So let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence. At first look from a cautious point of view that doesn’t sound like such a good idea. Jesus was tried, tempted, and tested just like we are everyday, but he didn’t succumb to Satan’s antics. Jesus has been through the same things we have, and he did much better. How can we approach that?

The gospels are loaded with stories of how Jesus was tried by Satan after forty days in the wilderness, his family when they thought he was nuts, the Presbytery—er, Pharisees, and finally by his own. Yes, saying “by his own” I’m talking about Judas, but Mark’s gospel has shown us that many of the disciples who were named were named because they were making a mistake. Peter, even after he is declared to be the Rock of the Church, told Jesus how to be the Messiah.

So we should approach boldly, with confidence? With our sins and his sinlessness we how can we approach Jesus at all? If we approach with confidence had better make sure we don’t approach in arrogance. Otherwise we could end up like the Nazi’s at the end of “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” after picking the wrong Grail cup.

Our Call to Worship this morning taken from the 22^nd Psalm begins with the greatest lament in Christian Literature! “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” I know my share of sorrow, grief, and shame—but these words take the cake. “Oh my God, I cry in the daytime and you do not answer; by night I find no rest.” Abandoned by God, the psalmist cries out.

You can expect fair-weather friends and bad-weather enemies to betray you, but when the times get hardest can you imagine being abandoned by your best friends? It happens to Jesus at his moment of greatest despair. It didn’t just happen, he prophesied it would happen.

Of course our Old Testament reading was from Job. Last week’s reading from Job set up the scene for a man’s great downfall. His wife cries out “curse God and die!” Job refuses to curse God. He asks “Shall we receive the good at the hand of God, and not receive the bad?” So Job did not sin with his lips.

By this time in the story, Job is not a happy camper. His three “friends,” Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, each try to tell Job why he is bad, wrong, evil, sinful, or whatever. Job is done. He wants justice. He’s so upset that he wants God to come and hear his complaint. He figures no great power would ever press charges against him. Job riles because God is absent, he is abandoned. He is lost, but he is not silenced by this darkness.

So with all of these stories, we see despair. People looking for what’s good. People looking for what’s just. People looking for peace in a world that looks like God is looking the other direction.

To this, we bring you the story of the rich man. The rich man asks the question of the hour, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Let’s be honest, in one way or another, everyone has asked that question. We may scoff because we know how Jesus will respond, but honestly, everyone wants to know what we have to do to inherit eternal life.

At least the rich man doesn’t ask what he has to do to earn eternal life. To earn eternal life implies that there is something we can do, something that has to be done so that we can earn eternal life. At least he got that part of his question right. We can’t earn eternal life, we can only inherit it.

So Jesus gives him the quiz. Using the last six of the Ten Commandments, Jesus asks the rich man how he has treated the people around him, how he has lived in the community. He has kept the commandments of God since he was a boy.

So Jesus told him what comes next. Jesus used five verbs: Go, Sell, Give, Come, and Follow. He tells him to trade his treasures on Earth for treasures in Heaven. Then he can come and follow. He asks the man to do as the other disciples had done, leave it all behind and follow. This is the fate of the apostolic disciples. They gave all they had to God, in exchange God was all they had.

The Dutch missionary Andrew van der Bijl is more commonly known as Brother Andrew. The first of the many books he wrote was the memoir “God’s Smuggler.”[1] It tells the story of his early childhood, conversion to Christianity, and adventures as a Bible-smuggler behind the Iron Curtain. It has now sold over 10 million copies in thirty-five languages and is a model for the modern conversion and missionary story.

One of the major themes in the story is Andrew’s utter dependence upon God. When in Seminary in Scotland, one of the lessons that was impressed upon the students was that they all faced obligations, they all faced challenges, and these could only be met by complete and utter faith in God.

The seminarians who tried to rely on “keeping a little back in case of a rainy day” soon found that every day was rainy. When they began to depend upon themselves and their own money management skills two things happened:

The first was that the demands seemed to increase.

The second was that the miracles seemed to dry up.

The theme of God providing everything was first and foremost in the book. Miraculous acts and gifts provided what Andrew needed, from safety and provision traveling in Eastern Europe to toothpaste.

Nothing was too small or too big for God’s concern. I think we can safely say that this rich man’s story is the antithesis to “God’s Smuggler.” He wanted to follow the Lord, but the rich man didn’t want to leave his safety net behind.

After a bit more of this, noting how difficult it is for the wealthy to enter the kingdom of God, the disciples ask the big question all over again, “Who then can be saved?”

This is where folks often begin to feel a little smug. After all, none of us are rich. We certainly don’t have the riches that the rich man has. We don’t have the world at our disposal. The world is not our oyster. The only oysters we have are found in a Po’ Boy; and we say “po’” because we don’t have enough for the whole word “Poor.” We try to distance ourselves from this narrative because we’re nothing like this rich man, nothing like him at all.

This is how we perceive ourselves, our point of view. When our point of view begins to exclude us from specific scriptures, we fall into one of scripture’s traps. When we begin to think that lessons of scripture don’t apply to us because we’re nothing like that, we begin to pare not only the breadth of God’s sovereignty and authority, but the reach of God’s love.

When we think we are poor, it is because we don’t look around. No, I don’t live in that gated community on South Washington, neither do any of us. But when we look around, and see the poverty that surrounds us we learn that there are some who see us as the rich man who won’t give up what he has to help the poor and follow Jesus.

Also our reading talks about financial wealth. This is surely the most accessible form of wealth. But this is also when I wonder if this point of view isn’t overly restrictive. Our wealth extends beyond our treasure. It includes our time and our talent as well.

Some of us have made sacrifices. Some of us have taken jobs in places where our talents are needed to help those who don’t have the same resources we do. Some of us have taken jobs in places where our talents are sorely needed to help those in crisis and in danger. Some of us have served our country to help preserve the freedom of the rich and the poor. Some of us have taken our lives and shared them with the sick and the widowed and the orphaned. All who do this forsake worldly wealth in exchange for Christian service, but is there more?

Even more than all of this, we are called to set aside our egos. We are called to set aside what we think is best so that we can find and follow what God thinks is best. Setting aside our selves, our notions, and our identities is even tougher than emptying the bank account. From our point of view what we have is limited, and it’s ours! From God’s point of view, what we have been given, given, is everything!

In “Call to Conversion,” Jim Wallis reminds us “Evangelism can no longer mean simply taking people out of the world, running them through some process of conversion and then placing them back in the same world and somehow expecting them to survive. If conversion is the translation of persons from one world to another, from one community to another, then conversion to Christ requires a new environment in which it is more possible to live a Christian life.”[2]

We are called to accept the gift of eternal life and everything that comes with it, the good and the bad. We are then called to share those blessings with others creating a new community that is only possible through God.

So, there is nothing we can do to earn eternal life. There is nothing we can do to purchase our inheritance. For us it is impossible. We can’t buy our way into the family, yet there is a great cost, whether economic or not, to following Jesus like the first apostles and disciples. Our point of view may even keep us from seeing the price we are being called to pay. So then what, what can we do to inherit eternal life?

Gloriously, our earlier readings not only ask big questions, they give us big answers.

Hebrews says that Jesus has been tempted and tested just like we are yet is without sin. So let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence. This still sounds pretty heady and then we finish reading the verse. We approach the throne of grace “so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

Grace and mercy are things we cannot hope to earn or purchase. Offering anything for grace or mercy would not make them grace or mercy at all! The cautious point of view I mentioned earlier is not what God wants from us. Jesus didn’t show us a way we could imitate, he showed us Himself. We can’t be sinless, but we can follow Jesus. This is why we are called to ask. This is why we are called to be bold.

As for the psalmist, too well we know the cry “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” But regardless of how David feels about his earthly situation, he still knows God is God. He cries, “Yet you are the Holy One, enthroned upon the praises of Israel, our ancestors put their trust in you; they trusted, and you delivered them.

As for Job, well, he’s seeking an audience with the Lord trusting the Lord is just.

So here’s my point, and it gets back to verse 18 from our Mark reading. Jesus asks the young man “Why do you call me good? No one is good—except for God alone.” This repeats what Hebrews and Psalms teach us. God is good and no one is good except for God alone. It also reminds us that Jesus did not come to eliminate the law. Jesus loves the man because he follows the law! But to follow Jesus, there is more.

We don’t really know the fate of this rich man. He may have gone home and died a rich man who told stories about the day Jesus told him to give it all up. He might have told that story as a grand joke or as a sad lament. Then again, he may have repented. He may have done as Jesus asked, not immediately, but he might have.

Scripture doesn’t say he did, and scripture doesn’t say he didn’t.

What I say is Jesus is in the business of reconciliation. Our take on the shape of reconciliation isn’t always to our liking. It wasn’t to the liking of a lot of people. That’s our point of view, but it is God bringing us together in the name of Christ. And that’s who can be saved, everyone through Christ; because only in God are all things possible.

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[1] Brother Andrew with John and Elizabeth Sherrill, “God’s Smuggler.” Old Tappan, NJ: Spire Books, 1967.

[2] Wallis, Jim, “The Call to Conversion.” San Francisco: HarperCollins, 1992), 115. Found at http://www.homileticsonline.com/subscriber/illustration_search.asp?item_topic_id=1208.

The Decider

This sermon was heard at the First Presbyterian Church in Marshall, Texas on Sunday November 20, 2011, the 34th and last Sunday of Ordinary Time. This day is celebrated as Christ the King Sunday.

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Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24

Psalm 100

Ephesians 1:15-23

Matthew 25:31-46

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 Morrill Land Grant Act of 1862 set aside federal land in every state to establish a state university. The act required the universities to establish what we call today Reserve Officer Training Corps units. It also required instruction in agricultural, technical, and mechanical arts. The county extension service was also created under this act to improve agricultural and homemaking skills throughout the states. The Morrill Act created what we know as the A&M’s, A&T’s, and State Universities.

Because of the land donation, the law encouraged the universities to be built in rural and out of the way areas of the state. This helped reduce urban distractions that detract from higher education. Looking at the locations of the land grant schools in this region makes this point. Some of the fabulous cities which host these universities include College Station, Texas; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Stillwater, Oklahoma; Manhattan, Kansas; Las Cruces, New Mexico; Auburn, Alabama; and the possibly aptly named Starkville, Mississippi.

Yet one hundred fifty years after the Morrill Act was passed, these university towns are among some of the most livable cities in America. Forbes list of most livable cities often include the land grant school cities of Madison, Wisconsin; Lincoln, Nebraska; and Fayetteville, Arkansas. The question of what shaped the quality of life in these towns is a chicken-and-egg thing; were these cities always livable or did the university make the city livable? The truth is that the university serves as a hub for business and industry and arts and leisure that make these cities livable. Without the universities these cities wouldn’t be destinations, they’d be the middle of nowhere.

Everyone wants to defend their alma mater, and there’s nothing wrong with that, but I ask: Would you want to go to College Station or Baton Rouge if it weren’t for the university?

There is one problem with the cities that host these universities. These small towns often end up with big city problems like poverty and crime. By the insulated nature of these communities and the university itself, these problems and others are often swept into corners and hidden. They don’t happen often, and that’s not bad news, but because of this lack of frequency first responders and law enforcement officials don’t have the experience their big-city brethren have.

Often, these issues are ignored hoping they will go away. A couple of weeks ago, these issues came together in a perfect storm of horror in at State College, Pennsylvania a former coach, at one time the heir apparent to become head coach, was named in a grand jury report concerning several horrible incidents of child abuse.

I won’t go into the full story as I know it; because not only do I not know the full story, but the full story hasn’t unfolded yet. Still, some things must be asked and answered. These questions include “Who knew what and when did they know it?” and “Who should have done what?” Pundits and parents are asking about the differences between fulfilling “legal responsibilities” and following “moral imperatives.” People don’t seem to be asking “Did this really happen?” In American jurisprudence this is important because every accused person goes to trial with the presumption of innocence. This question is also the reason people add the word “alleged” when specifying names and crimes.

There’s also an old expression for times like this, “There’s a special place in hell for someone who would harm a child like this.”

By the way, I’m not going into the similar controversy happening with the basketball program at Syracuse University because it is now just coming to light. That and the ‘Cuse doesn’t fit my “land grant school” motif.[1] This morning Marie asked me if coaches were becoming the new “Catholic Priests” and all I could say was “yes.”

So I want to reiterate this: I believe there is a special place in hell for someone who would harm a child like this. This is where we connect to our gospel reading this morning.

I have often undersold the story of the sheep and goats and that’s my loss. Jesus tells a wild, wild tale. Beyond a story, it’s in my opinion the wildest prophetic view of end times, the second coming and eternal judgment in Matthew’s gospel.

Our reading begins with the word that sets the stage for the apocalyptic prophecy, “when.” Using this definite adverb, Jesus begins by proclaiming this event will happen like it has already happened. “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory.” Jesus has told all of his disciples that he will come in his glory.

At this point, all of the nations come gathered; collected before Christ the King on his throne. There he separates the people just like a shepherd separates sheep and goats. These images are intentional. Jesus is referred to as the Good Shepherd in scripture so this is not an accident. In fact, these images sound a lot like our reading from Ezekiel. Jesus chose this image carefully.

The nation of Israel is often referred to as sheep. The Lord has had a special relationship nation of Israel since the beginning, since Genesis. These images and thoughts come together in verse 34 when King Jesus says to the sheep, “take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.”

This portrayal of the sheep is good as far as it goes. Matthew’s gospel was directed toward Jewish believers, but this particular prophecy also has an eye toward those who spread the word of the risen Christ and those who support those them. Those gentiles who support the Kingdom of Heaven, supporting the church and those who spread the Good News, they are also included in the sheep of this fold.

In this passage Jesus tells us that those who hear his voice work on behalf of his kingdom. This is true; the sheep of his fold are those who hear his voice and follow his commands. Those who love the Lord hear his voice and follow his commands. By this, some people say that we can be saved by works; some read this to say that if you’re good you will enter into the kingdom. We in the reformed tradition stand firmly against this. We are saved by grace through faith, and we demonstrate our faith in responding to God’s grace in word and deed. It is up to us to share the Good News of the risen Christ and support those who share the good news.

We need to remember that in the ancient of days there were those who persecuted Christians. There were Christians who are hungry and thirsty and there was no one to give them something to eat or a cool water to drink. There were evangelists who traveled to share the Good News who had no place to lay their heads. There were missionaries who were imprisoned for doing what the Lord called them to do. There were even rabbis who shared the difficult words of life, not just the popular ones, and they were cast aside because the message was too much for some to hear.

As true as this was then, it is just as true today. This passage is about the missionaries and evangelists who share the good news yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Even more so, it is for those who support them.[2]

What’s interesting about this passage is that everybody seems to be surprised to be included in either the sheep or the goats. Everyone asks “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?”

The righteous and the cursed both ask this question. Both groups, the sheep and the goats, don’t recognize when they have served and when they have failed. In Matthew’s reading, nobody really knows which variety of livestock they will be lumped in. Neither group can tell. They just don’t know.

So, this gets back to where I began. I do believe there’s a special place in hell for someone who would harm a child, but here’s the rub, it’s not up to me to decide who the sheep are and who the goats are. No matter what I think, no matter how “well qualified” I think I am to make that judgment; it’s not up to me. With what happened at Penn State, I am not qualified to decide who gets to go to the “special place.” The responsibility for that decision has been given by the Father to the Son to decide.

Returning to scripture, the answer to “who judges the righteous and who judges the cursed?” are right in front of us. Verse 32 tells us “[The Son of Man] will separate the people one from another. Verse 34 then tells us “Come, you who are blessed by my Father…” Matthew’s gospel tells us it is the Father who blesses the righteous who are separated from the cursed by the King at the final judgment.

As for the others, Matthew doesn’t call them the evil or the unrighteous; he simply calls them “you who are cursed.” Jesus doesn’t say who curses them; he just says they are cursed. To say they are cursed by the Lord is to say a defendant’s guilt is caused by the judge. The judge only put the state’s seal on the proceeding.

Matthew doesn’t say the devil is the one who curses them either. The devil and the cursed will share the same punishment, but the devil can’t force anybody to do anything. Tempt, yes. Coerce, no.

There is no time when it is up to us to decide who are the sheep and who are the goats. It is not up to us to decide who will be with Christ the King in the Kingdom of God and who will be with the devil in eternal torment. This is up to the Lord. So if we don’t decide who’s a sheep and who’s a goat then what do we get to decide?

We are called to make choices for our lives and our families. It is up to us to choose how we live. It is up to us as parents and as the Body of Christ to raise disciples who are able to make good decisions. Are we to choose the life scripture calls us to lead or are we to go and do what we want? Are we to be tempted to keep our own agendas or are we to work for the good of God’s good earth? Are we to reject the great unwashed or should we remember that when we do for the least of people around us in truth we serve the Lord?

It is our choice, and as for me and this house, we will serve the Lord.

We come together today on Christ the King Sunday to declare that God is sovereign. We come and testify that Christ is King. One of the king’s responsibilities is to judge creation, and Matthew shows us this will happen. He doesn’t say when, he doesn’t go into all of the twists and turns of apocalyptic prophecy. Matthew simply tells us the Son of Man will come in his glory and when he does he will sit on his throne and judge. Nothing more, nothing less.

Matthew doesn’t say that the goats will be sent in the realm of the devil. On the contrary, we read that those who are cursed will be sent into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. The devil isn’t the king of this kingdom, he isn’t the king of anything. He’s just another soul writhing in agony. Christ is the King of all creation.

It is up to us to judge our own behavior. It is up to us to judge the behavior of others to say “this is a good role model.” It is up to us to judge the behavior of others to say “that is no sort of behavior for me, for a follower of Christ.”

Christ is the king, we are the servants. It is up to us to share God’s word with the world and support those who share the word. It’s not up to us to decide who will be saved and who will not because Christ the king makes that decision. Taking time and energy to make this judgment ultimately distracts us doing what we are called to do. It is up to us to feed the hungry and give a cold drink to the thirsty, to offer shelter to the sojourner, clothe the naked, and visit the sick and imprisoned.

By this we don’t earn our salvation. By this we participate in the salvation of the world. By this we decide to join in with God’s redemptive work in creation.

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[1] Syracuse University has a historical connection to the United Methodist Church.

[2] “The New Interpreter’s Bible.” Leander Keck, General Editor, v. VIII, Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1995, page 456.

Which Came First?

Dear Friends, please excuse my absence for the past two weeks. On July 28 at 2:00 AM my mother died. Thanks to the good people of First Presbyterian in Berryville for allowing my absence. Thanks also to the Reverend Dick Shinkle, and Mr. Ken Kinser for ably filling the pulpit while Marie and I were out of town.

This sermon was heard at the First Presbyterian Church in Berryville, Arkansas on Sunday August 9, 2009, the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

2 Samuel 18:5-9, 15, 31-33
Psalm 130
Ephesians 4:25-5:2
John 6:35, 41-51

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

One of my high school biology teachers was one of those people with a slightly crazy eye and a wicked sense of humor. Naturally, I liked the guy. Just to add a little spice to the day, occasionally someone would ask Mr. Schartz a biologically absurd question. No, it wasn’t me… not always. For example, one day Mani Mani, yes, that’s his real name, asked Mr. Schartz “Which came first the chicken or the egg?” Mr. Schartz answered, “The egg, dinosaurs hatched from eggs long before chickens.”

Honestly, we were disappointed by his answer. Yeah, sure, dinosaurs were older than chickens, but it didn’t answer the question the way we wanted it answered. His answer was too simple, too direct, way too on target. We wanted some sort of obscure, arcane information that could have only come from the mouth of Mr. Schartz. Of course his answer was right, and I remember it over thirty years later, but if anything it was too correct. Nothing funny, nothing witty, nothing provocative, it was just the right answer given to fifteen and sixteen year old boys who were looking for something a little wilder and a little weirder.

The theological equivalent of this question goes something like this: Which came first, grace or faith; salvation or acceptance of salvation? Now there’s a question that has been asked for two-thousand years.

Jesus makes the answer abundantly clear in our reading today. “No one can come to me unless drawn by the father who sent me.” It is by the grace of God that we are saved. There is no act that we can perform which can enhance our status with God. There is no wrong we can right, no song we can sing, no word that we can speak that will do what God cannot do without us. Since there is nothing we can do to earn our salvation, salvation comes from grace alone.

A few years ago, the Mount Comfort church participated in a huge evangelical event sponsored by several churches in Northwest Arkansas, including First Baptist Springdale and Christian Life Cathedral. Marie and I served as counselors for the event. What this meant is that after the evening’s activities, we were to go to the floor of Barnhill Arena on the UofA Campus and help counsel individuals who were seeking a relationship with Christ connect with a church.

We were told that it was our duty as soldiers in the army of the Lord to get unbelievers to sign their names to the card connecting them to this event and the Lord Jesus Christ. Maybe it was in the other order, I don’t remember. It was important to get folks to sign their names to a card at the event—even if they had signed their name to a similar “card at church camp”[1] years earlier. The way the organizer described it, it was as if the camp card is no longer valid. That part always puzzled me, does signing a card at church camp expire after a certain age? Is “signature salvation” like cell phone rollover minutes? If not used after twelve months it goes away?

The way this event was described to us, it was our opportunity to “bring” the unchruched into a relationship with the Lord, as if anything we did could do that. A signature on a card, whether done at church camp or at the home of the Razorbacks, does not seal our salvation. That was done long ago before the dawn of creation. It was done by the creator of all things, the creator of salvation.

This is an example of what Ralph Wood wrote about in the journal “Christian Ethics.” Wood writes, “The German religious painter Mathias Grunewald’s Isenheim Altarpiece gets the order of things right when it shows John the Baptist standing beneath the cross and pointing with his long index finger away from himself to the Man who has been nailed on the cross for our sins. From the mouth of the Baptizer issues these words: ‘May he increase that I decrease.’”[2]


Paul’s famous writing to the Ephesians states it this way: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God—not the result of works, so that no one may boast.”[3]

Wood rephrases this with a provocative statement that is sure to convict any reader; “Without the gospel of salvation by grace alone through faith alone, we get the order backward—Christ decreased in order that we may increase.” [4] When we say we “bring” somebody to the Lord we put the cart before the horse. God is all ready with us, we bring nobody.

This takes us to another element from our reading of John’s gospel. Jesus goes on saying, “Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life.” We are saved by grace which was present since before the beginning. We are saved by grace which is purchased by Christ’s death on the cross. Yet it is by faith that we come to know what God’s grace is and what it means to us, what eternal life means to us.

But I ask you to pause for a moment. We should never think of eternal life as what comes after. We tend to think of eternal life as something to do with length of life when in truth it has to do with the quality of our life, both here and on the other side of forever. “‘Eternal life’ does not speak of immortality or a future life in heaven, but is a metaphor for living now in the unending presence of God.”[5] Eternal life is a quality of life issue, but a quality of holy joy rather than a quality of human happiness.

Wood continues, “I don't believe that God much cares whether we are happy, but I believe that he cares enormously whether we are faithful and therefore joyful. Happiness is largely a matter of outward circumstance. We must possess certain things to be happy: health, money, security, success, and power. None of these things is required for joy. True joy lies in knowing that we are saved by God. It is by grace alone through his gift of faith alone. This knowledge brings the peace that surpasses all mere human happiness. We can have this joy and peace no matter how grim our circumstances-even amidst poverty and ill health, despite failure and weakness, and no matter how sinful we are.”[6]

This is how we are to respond, not in happiness, but in joy. In the joy of God we are to put away falsehood speaking the truth to our neighbors, for we are members of one another. Paul again explains this in his writing to the Ephesians as we read today. As with much of Paul’s teaching, this is not easy. We are called not to sin steal or let evil talk come from our mouths. We are to put away wrath and anger and wrangling and slander and all malice. We are called to be kind and tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven us. We are called to be imitators of Christ living in love as he loves us; giving ourselves as he gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

There are two things at work here; there is the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our response to that grace which is faith. These two things we will confess in word and song in a few moments.

Our Affirmation of Faith comes from the Westminster Standards and what we believe about effectual calling. (Sorry about the five dollar word.) We believe that God so loves the world, that even before the creation of the world, that although we are dead to sin, by the power of the Word and the Holy Spirit, through the saving work of Jesus Christ we are called into a saving relationship with the holy triune God.

And before our Affirmation, we will sing the song inspired by Isaiah’s vision of the Holy Lord in the temple. We will sing asking God’s question to Isaiah “Whom shall I send?” Then we will respond with Isaiah’s glorious words: “Here I am, Lord. / Is it I, Lord? / I have heard You calling in the night/ I will go, Lord, if You lead me. / I will hold Your people in my heart.”[7]

Our vocation is defined by Jesus in today’s gospel reading; the effectual calling of the Lord followed by our active response. It’s not the sort of thing that will win us a popularity contest, Jesus even notes that the popular kids, the power elite, grumble and complain about his words. Of course, it is the most powerful are called loudest by Jesus to hear the word of God. It is the most powerful who can make the biggest difference in the lives of the weak and oppressed in our earthly confines. Still, from the Sanhedrin to Congress, it seems like the power elite have trouble with this.

So it is up to us, it is up to the disciples of Jesus Christ to take God’s word into the world for caring for the poor, caring for those in need. Reinhold Niebuhr wrote of this and how we use our freedom. He tells us that freedom without responsibility is a horrible thing. Exercising freedom without resolve for others simply takes and takes; it’s a one way street of greed and gluttony. The freedom Christ exercises, the freedom Christ calls us to exercise is the freedom to live in joy and give sacrificially one for another. Freedom with responsibility requires action on our parts to take the gospel into the world and show the world God’s good grace through faith.

I read this yesterday and I have to share it with you. Wikipedia reports[8] “Penitents Compete” is a new Turkish reality television series in which a Jewish rabbi, a Buddhist monk, a Greek Orthodox priest, and a Muslim imam will attempt to convert a group of 10 atheists each week. It is scheduled to begin airing in September 2009 on Turkey's Kanal T network.

Kanal T's Deputy Director Ahmet Özdemir has said that that the goal of the show is “to turn disbelievers into (believers in) God,” but that which God they choose is up to them. He also believes that the show will be helpful for those interested in learning about other religions. Any converts will be offered a free pilgrimage to one of four holy sites–Mecca, Vatican City, Jerusalem, or Tibet. The newly-converted will be followed by a camera crew to ensure that the trip is a pilgrimage and not a vacation.

Two hundred atheists had already applied as of July and were being pre-vetted by an eight-person team of theologians to ensure that they truly are atheists, and not simply seeking to gain fame or fortune.

Some say the show will be good for interfaith relations and others say it’s inappropriate for television. A Turkish mufti worries that the show will confuse people and have negative consequences. An Israeli Rabbi noted that the spirit of this program does not jibe with Jewish tradition which doesn’t allow the active seeking of converts. This same Rabbi also said the show is “tasteless,” which I always thought was a touchstone of reality television.

Still, the best way for us to represent our faith, our life in Christ, whether on Turkish television or here in our own little corner of the world, is to hear Christ’s call and respond. We are to know that we do not come to the Lord unless drawn by the Father who sent him. We are to believe so that we may have eternal life. We are to enjoy eternal life confident in the life of peace and joy of knowing that we are saved by God, knowledge which surpasses all human happiness.

[1] That is a direct quote
[2] Homiletics Online, Animating Illustrations, keywords “grace alone,” http://www.homileticsonline.com/subscriber/illustration_search.asp?keywords="grace%20alone", retrieved August 6, 2009.
[3] Ephesians 2:8-9, NRSV
[4] Homiletics Online, Animating Illustrations, keywords “grace alone,” http://www.homileticsonline.com/subscriber/illustration_search.asp?keywords="grace%20alone", retrieved August 6, 2009.
[5] New Interpreter’s Study Bible, note on “Eternal Life from John 6 as found in the CD-ROM edition.
[6] Ibid, Homiletics Online
[7] Copyright © 1981 Daniel J. Schutte and New Dawn Music, 5536 NE Hassalo, Portland, Oregon 97213.
[8] Penitents Compete, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penitents_Compete, retrieved August 8, 2009.

Heavy Lifting

This sermon was heard at the First Presbyterian Church in Berryville, Arkansas on Sunday March 22, 2009, the 4th Sunday in Lent.

Numbers 21:4-9
Psalm 107:1-3, 17-22
Ephesians 2:1-10
John 3:14-21

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

There are some things that are unavoidable for the preacher. John 3:16 is one of them. Since I have been in the pulpit, I have preached this piece from John’s gospel twice. Today makes three. Now for the third time, I begin with this thought on this most beloved of all bible passages:

Page ten of the current edition of the Gideon Bible contains this in the introduction:

“There is a verse in the Bible which has been translated into more than 1,100 languages. It tells of One who loved us with an everlasting love. The verse is here recorded in 27 languages of the world which are understood by more than three-quarters of the earth’s population. That verse is John 3:16.”[1]

The introduction continues with this verse translated into languages ranging from Afrikaans to Vietnamese. These simple words have a tremendous impact on people everywhere. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.”

Some call this “the Gospel in a nutshell.” Others call it a confessional summary of the Gospel. Believers and unbelievers alike have a special connection to this verse. For many, this verse is seen as the answer. Of course, if this is the answer we had better do a good job of identifying the question. Because if this is the answer, then it has got a lot of heavy lifting to do.

Heavy lifting is nothing unusual in our readings today. Our reading from Numbers is another example of heavy lifting. In the time of this passage from the Old Testament, the people had become impatient, other translations say discouraged and faint hearted. They spoke against Moses and they spoke against God.

The people were sick and tired of making the journey to find the promise of God, the fulfillment of the promise made to Abraham. They detested the miserable food and preferred the thought of square meals and unending slavery. When starving; hard work under harsh conditions might be seductive to the faint hearted. So the Lord sent serpents, poisonous serpents, among the nation and people died.

It doesn’t take long for the Israelites to realize they had erred, so they came to Moses and they asked him to “pray to the Lord to take away the serpents from us.” Yeah, Moses has gone before Pharaoh, and the Lord on behalf of the people; and now the people who had been complaining about his leadership are at Moses’ feet crying for him to solicit the mercy of the Lord. Moses has done some heavy lifting during his days. Today they ask him to do some more.

Moses asks on behalf of the people and does as the Lord directs. Moses makes a serpent of bronze and puts it on a pole. A people who made a golden calf know how to do flamboyant metalwork, so I imagine a bronze serpent at least twelve feet long. I don’t know if it is coiled or stretched out, scripture is silent. Regardless, you know this is one big piece of heavy metal.

Imagine the US “Don’t Tread on Me” flag, but as a bronze sculpture on the end of a stick. This is what Moses lifts up above his head. He lifts it so that whenever one who was bit would look upon it; they would live.

While considering this passage, I wondered why looking at the bronze serpent healed the bitten Israelites? Maybe this miracle simply served as a reminder of who the Lord is? Surely it shows the mystery and sovereignty of God Almighty. Seeing as how the Israelites had forgotten who the Lord was in this passage, that wouldn’t be such a bad idea.

It is a reminder that the Lord sent the serpents of both injury and healing—along with the implicit reminder of the serpent of deception from Genesis. Snakes in the ancient world were a symbol of death and danger; and fertility, life, and healing.[2] This ties into the sovereignty theme well. While the nation would always tie the serpent to the story of the banishment from the garden it would also show that the Lord can use the same symbol for the good of the people, to heal the people, to redeem the people.

These are the sorts of things poets wonder about on a warm summer’s night. These musings are lovely; they come to the aid of the mystical and mysterious pieces of our souls to the glory of God. But they surely aren’t the sorts of questions that are going to be asked on the quiz. (Wait, didn’t I tell you there was going to be a quiz?)

Some things are certain. We can be sure that this is the kind of story that would be popular within a people who carried their history by oral tradition. There isn’t a twelve year old boy alive who would ever forget this story after hearing it. So when Jesus uses this image in our passage from John’s gospel; the listener returns to this time in the wilderness.

Jesus tells the people that in the wilderness, God is there. In the wilderness of forty years in the desert, God is there. In the wilderness found within the temple, God is there. In the wilderness found within the depths of our lives, God is there. God is present with them on that day as during the days of Moses. We read this story today knowing that God is here with us too. This was true when it was said, and it is just as true today.

Now that’s some heavy lifting.

We read “just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.” But where the verb for lifting up in Numbers implies picking something up to look up toward it, the New Testament verb we translate as lifting up means to raise physically or to exalt. So as Moses lifted the serpent to be seen, the Son of Man is lifted to be praised and lauded.

Again, that’s heavy lifting.

Scripture tells us why the Son of Man is exalted, why the Son of Man is lifted. The Son of Man is lifted so that those who believe may have life eternal. So, what is eternal life?

Eternal life is a gift. It is given to everyone. Imagine if you will, everyone on earth is given a flashlight; a light that will never be extinguished or burn out. Imagine we are all given this light.

We are saved by the grace of the sovereign God. We are freely given the gift of grace, a gift of eternal life given to us even though we could never do anything to deserve it. This is the light we have received.

Now imagine we turn on this light and it shines brightly showing us the way. This is what happens when we demonstrate faith. We are saved by grace through faith. It is these two things together that make eternal life, the things that make life worth living.

This is the Good News, to take to the eternal life we begin by turning on the light we have received. Those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.

So life eternal is a quality of life instead of a length of life, a way of living today that transcends how we see living in our bodies, our earth, and our time. The Son of Man is lifted up not just for the afterlife, but for our present lives. This changes how we live and breathe and love and behave not in some future time and place, but here and now.

Yet, Jesus warns us that when we have a light and don’t bother to turn it on, when we receive the gift but do nothing with it the gift is useless. It hangs like an albatross around our necks; and Jesus warns this would happen.

He warns us that people love the darkness rather than the light. And this evil, this darkness is heavier lifting than we could ever imagine. It’s a pity that we don’t have to do this lifting, but still we choose to. It’s lifting that we drop when we turn on the light. It’s lifting we drop when we exercise our faith by the grace God has freely given us.

Moses did some heavy lifting in the desert. Jesus did some heavy lifting too, and the lifting of his body at Golgotha is not the half of it. The body of the Lord might have weighed even less than a twelve foot long brass snake.

Eternal life is for all who believe, for those who are saved by grace through faith; now that’s some heavy lifting. Thanks and praise to the one who alone is willing and able to lift us. Saved by grace through faith, that’s the answer to today’s quiz.

[1] Holy Bible, King James Version, Gideon International, page 10.
[2] New Interpreter’s Study Bible, notes on Numbers 21:4-9.