The State of Show-Me

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Three

This sermon was presented on the 3rd Sunday of Easter, April 22, 2007 at the First Presbyerian Church in Berryville, Arkansas.

Acts 9:1-6
Psalm 30
Revelation 5:11-14
John 21:1-19

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

Three is a magic number. Those of you who know me know my fondness for ABC Television’s “School House Rock.” So you won’t be surprised when I tell you that the pilot episode of “School House Rock” was the episode where viewers learn to multiply by three titled “Three Is a Magic Number.” Our gospel reading this morning plays into this magic in many different ways. It can be divided into three parts, it deals with Jesus’ third appearance to the disciples, the net contains 153 fish, Jesus examines Simon Peter three times and then commissions him three times, and finally Jesus prophesies Simon Peter’s fate in three steps.

But these are not the only three’s found in scripture, theology, and polity. In the beginning, the creation story in Genesis is split into three parts. On the first day, God created the light and differentiated it from the dark, on the second the waters of the earth were separated from the waters of the sky, and on the third the earth’s water is ordered and dry land created. Then God repeats this trio of miracles beginning when the Sun is created to govern the light and the moon and stars are created for the night. The next day flying creatures are created for the skies and sea creatures for the water. Finally, the land was populated by animals and everything that creeps on the ground. On the same day, the sixth day, God created humanity to serve as stewards over it all. Then on the seventh day, God rested. If you will, the creation story can be expressed as a triad: formation, population, and Sabbath.

In a historical setting, the gospel’s penetration into Ireland has been attributed to the three-in-one nature of God. Long before the days of St. Patrick, the Irish had a complex view of their cultural reality and ultimate reality.[1] Their fascination with rhetorical complexity and the number three opened the Irish to the concept of one God presented in the trinity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Patrick’s famous illustration of the shamrock showed them how a plant can be three and one without compromising either the individual leaves or the single flower. Then he used this image to represent the Triune God as three persons yet only one God. This triune view of God soon saturated Irish invocations, blessings, and lullabies.[2]

Our gospel’s three parts are the fishing story, the meal, and the commissioning of Simon Peter. There is no indication about how much time had passed between Jesus last appearance and this one. It could have been days, weeks, or longer. It has been long enough that Peter decides it is time to cast his nets again. There is almost a sense of resignation in their voices. “Oh well, I’m going fishing.” “Yeah, we’ll go too.” So the men make their way to the boat, they tend their nets, and they set off from the shore. And it’s a long night. They cast their nets again, and again, and again without success. It’s like every fish in the sea knows to avoid them.

Then there is a voice from the shore, “Children, have you caught anything?” You know, it’s one thing to work and get nothing for your effort, but it’s another to be called “children.” This guy on the shore calls seven grown men prepubescent. On the bright side, the term is one of affection.[3] It is a term Matthew’s gospel uses to describe those who will get into the kingdom of heaven,[4] and that’s not all bad. Jesus blesses the little children saying the kingdom of heaven belongs to those who are like them.[5] When considering what the Lord thinks of the little children, this man on the shore could surely call them something worse.

So when they answer his question, the man on the shore suggests they cast their nets to the other side of the boat. This reminds me of those V8 vegetable juice commercials, “Wow, we could have cast from the other side of the boat. Why didn’t we think of that?” The disciples may have had sarcasm but they didn’t have objections when they cast their nets to the other side of the boat. There they are rewarded with a catch of many fish. Then and only then does the disciple Jesus loved recognize the Lord.

Did you notice the three elements of this story? First, the Lord is ever present. Even when the disciples did not recognize him he is present. He is there and he is attentive to them. He knows what they have and he knows what they need. He offers guidance, direction, and suggestion. Second, when the disciples are obedient, when they cast their nets to the other side of the boat, they receive the blessings of the Lord. When they follow his directions they catch the multitude of fish. They had to follow directions. They still had to work. They had to get the fish to shore. These are not miracles, this is work. There is one miracle, the presence of Jesus on the shore and in their lives. Third and finally, when they are obedient, the Lord allows his presence to be revealed. Our reading doesn’t mention a blinding light or any sort of transfiguration happening between the disciple and the Lord, Jesus simply reveals himself to them.

There’s that three again, it’s a magic number. These steps of God’s ever presence, our obedience, and God’s revelation still pertain today as they did in Jesus’ day… and albeit in a different order, as they did for Paul in Acts.

In the second act of our gospel reading, Jesus feeds his disciples again, this time a simple breakfast of fish and bread. If you have ever had fresh lake carp in the morning, you will know how light and sweet it tastes. With fresh bread it must have been wonderful. This had to remind them of the fateful last supper they shared together, the meal we call the Lord’s Supper. They break bread with the Lord they love, the Lord who loves them. Through their experience, I imagine the elements of the sacramental meal dancing together; the bread, and the wine. Jesus participates in the sacrament. He didn’t just say do this, he did these things himself. In his actions, he sanctifies these common elements of everyday life for use in the life eternal.

After sitting down and after breaking the fast, the third act of our reading begins. Jesus calls to Simon Peter. Simon Peter whom Jesus called the rock of the church. Simon Peter to whom Jesus cries “Satan, get behind me.” Simon Peter whom Jesus said would deny him three times before the cockcrow. Jesus calls to Simon and asks “Do you love me more than these?” Simon responds, “Yes Lord; you know that I love you.” So Jesus commissions him, “Feed my lambs.”

Jesus then repeats this question. “Do you love me?” Simon again responds, “Yes Lord; you know that I love you.” So Jesus commissions him, “Tend my sheep.”

Jesus repeats this question one more time, “Do you love me?” By now it’s like hearing that old knock-knock joke and Simon is hoping to hear Jesus finally say, “Orange you glad I didn’t say banana again?” Simon is upset. He is angry, offended, and insulted. He is saddened, grieved, and distressed[6] that his Lord, Jesus the Christ would feel like he had to ask him three times if he loved him. “Surely Lord you know everything,” he says, “you know that I love you.” Simon Peter then gets his commission. He receives his mission. He is given his marching orders. He is told by his Lord and Messiah one more time, “Feed my sheep.” But that’s not all.

Jesus warns Peter about the death he will face. He is told that he will face the most horrible, painful, disgraceful death the empire has learned to inflict against its enemies. His arms will be stretched out on the cross. He will be hung from a tree. Jesus even reminds Peter he will not wish to go. He won’t deny Jesus, but he won’t volunteer for this death either.

Then, in a post script to this three act play, Jesus tells Peter, “Follow me.”

Follow me. When Jesus says this, scholars say he is telling Peter to follow him on the cross. I can’t disagree with years and years of scholarship, but I believe the Lord is asking more of Peter than just to die. I think, I hope, and I pray Jesus is telling Peter how to live.

The wondrous love of our Lord calls Peter to build the church; the church which is to be—and is still today—Christ’s body on earth. The church has always been the people of God, and not some structure. Buildings rot, decay and are forgotten, but as the people of God we still speak and act as the body of Christ today. From the songs of David found in the Psalms, to the Acts of the Apostles found in scripture, to the Gospel of John and the Revelation the Lord shows John on Patmos, theirs are the words we speak when sharing the word of God. From the One Great Hour of Sharing to the Loaves and Fishes Food Bank to Project Self Esteem, we continue to act, to do God’s work today. We share the word. We feed his lambs. We tend his sheep. We truly become God’s people when we remember the people God calls us to be and act in obedience.

We remember that like Simon Peter, we are sent to be God’s reconciling people to the world. We are called by our Lord to serve the creation healing the wounds that separate us from God and from one another. In this mission we are given the gift of the Holy Spirit, God who walks beside us and guides us as we do God’s will. And though our obedience we are one with the church eternal. We are called yesterday, today, and tomorrow to gather and welcome the broken people of the world and through God’s love make us one.

[1] Hunter, III, George C., The Celtic Way of Evangelism. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2000, page 20
[2] Ibid, pages 33-34.
[3] padia entry from the electronic edition of Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, Third Edition. Copyright © 2000 The University of Chicago Press. Revised and edited by Frederick William Danker based on the Walter Bauer's Griechisch-deutsches Wörterbuch zu den Schriften des Neuen Testaments und für frühchristlichen Literatur, sixth edition, ed. Kurt Aland and Barbara Aland, with Viktor Reichmann and on previous English Editions by W.F.Arndt, F.W.Gingrich, and F.W.Danker.
[4] Matthew 18:3
[5] Matthew 19:14, Mark 10:14, Luke 18:16
[6] lupeow entry from the electronic edition of Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament.