The Reading: Jeremiah 31: 31-34
“Behold, the days are coming, Says Yaweh, when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them up out of the land of Egypt—a covenant they broke, though I was their spouse”, says Yaweh. “But this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says Yaweh: I will put my law in their minds and on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will they need to teach one another or remind one another to listen to Yaweh. All of them, high and low alike, will listen to me, says Yaweh, for I will forgive their misdeeds and will remember their sins no more.”
The Gospel: John 12:20-33
Among those who had come up to worship at the Passover were some Greeks. They approached Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and put forth this request: “Please, we would like to see Jesus”. Philip went to tell Andrew, and together the two went to tell Jesus. Jesus replied, “Now the hour has come for the Chosen One to be glorified. The truth of the matter is, unless a grain of wheat falls on the ground and dies, it remains only a single grain; but if it dies, it yields a rich harvest. If you love your life you’ll lose it; if you hate your life in this world you’ll keep it for eternal life. Anyone who wants to work for me must follow in my footsteps, and where I am, my worker will be there too. Anyone who works for me will be honored by Abba God. Now, my soul is troubled. What will I say: ‘Abba, save me from this hour?’ But it was for this very reason that I have come to this hour. Abba, glorify your name!”
A voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” The crowds that stood nearby heard this and said it was a clap of thunder; others said, “It was an angel speaking.” Jesus answered, “It was not for my sake that this voice came, but for yours. Sentence is now being passed on this world; now the ruler of this world will be overthrown. And when I am lifted up from this earth, I will draw all people to myself.” By these words Jesus indicated the kind of death he would die.
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This is the Covenant 3-25-12
God, we need to dig deep into our hearts today if we are to understand your message. Help us hear beyond what we have heard before. Give us willingness to open the ears of our heart to hear. May the words that I speak and all things that we reflect upon bring honor and glory to you. Amen
This week’s readings call us to re-think some of what we may have heard before. The theme of both readings is covenant, although I admit that it is more hidden in the Gospel reading—challenging us to do the hard work of getting to our own understanding.
We must surely start with the meaning of the word covenant. There is the legal definition of a covenant: An agreement, contract, or written promise between two individuals that frequently constitutes a pledge to do or refrain from doing something. And this we learn from the on-line legal dictionary. However a legal definition has no place in God’s covenant with us in both the Old and New Testaments.
God’s covenant can only be understood from the standpoint of relationship—so much deeper than the do’s and don’ts of a simple legal contract. In God’s covenant legalism has been replaced with the image of radical acceptance in a relationship that is surrounded by and infused with God’s grace—the same grace we experience every time we partake of the cup of the new covenant in Holy Communion. So, we are blessed to approach these somewhat perturbing readings already fully enveloped by God’s grace.
We begin with Jeremiah. Jeremiah’s words were addressed to the Hebrew people who had, once again, strayed from a relationship with Yahweh. These folks, just like us, had terrible time putting God first in their lives. They were a lot like the story my friend the kindergarten teacher told me. There was this child who just could not or would not sit down. The teacher finally convinced her to sit down and the little girl said, “I may be sitting down with my body, but I’m standing up in my head.” These Hebrew folk just could not find the will within them to remain obedient to God.
Now God used the words of Jeremiah to reveal the divine prophecy to those who had a difficult time with faithfulness and steadfastness. “Behold, says Yaweh, in the days to come, I will establish a new covenant with these people even those who have broken our prior covenant over and over again. This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says Yaweh: I will put my law in their minds and on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. All of them, high and low alike, will listen to me, says Yaweh, for I will forgive their misdeeds and will remember their sins no more.” As we listen to the words of God to Jeremiah, we must remember that prophecy, while set in an historical time and place reaches far beyond those particular people. We, too, are the recipients of these prophetic words. Are we ready to receive this new covenant—to be God’s people fully?
Jeremiah was given the difficult task of speaking God’s word to a people who had been rejecting God’s grace and the ways of God for a long time. They had been rebuked by God for what appears to be their unfailing disobedience. God had called and called and they still did not turn their hearts toward God. In an amazing turn of events, God promised them a new covenant, a covenant where God would place the Divine Law directly on their hearts. In this covenant, they would all listen to God, whether they were high or low, wealthy or poor, educated or illiterate. Not only that, but God promised to forgive their unfaithfulness and to forget all about their sins. Now these were people who had sinned in some of the most important ways, turning their backs on God; nevertheless, God makes a Sacred Promise—and we hear the prophesy of a new Realm of Justice centuries before the New Covenant of the Gospel appears.
You know, we MCCer’s shun the word sin. Having been told that who we are at the core of our personhood is sinful, we tend to reject the notion of sin in its entirety. MCC pastors mostly hate to use the word at all, and as a result, our attempts to preach a Gospel of Radical Acceptance can take us to a place of “all is well” without doing the hard work of preparing ourselves for this New Covenant in Christ Jesus. By failing to respond to God’s grace in a full and complete way that shines the light of forgiveness into every corner of our lives, we fall short of what Jesus calls us to in our Gospel lesson today. And, lest we forget, this is Lent, and during this time we are indeed called again to allow God to work in our hearts, our spirits, and even, our minds. Should we blithely assume, however, that this excavation of our hearts, this preparation of our whole selves for the receiving of the blessing of the New Covenant, takes place only during Lent, we learn to think another way. Lent does not conclude next week with Palm Sunday. Lent is a path that leads us to open ourselves up to the grace of God; and once faithfully started, leads only deeper for as long as we walk with God on this earthly journey.
And here we are at the Gospel. The presence of the Greeks are significant as a way to measure how far the news of Jesus had spread. Jesus knew if news of his teaching had spread to the Greeks, that the time was drawing closer for his death. This brief passage tells us all that we need to know about the New Covenant. Jesus replied, “Now the hour has come for the Chosen One to be glorified. The truth of the matter is, unless a grain of wheat falls on the ground and dies, it remains only a single grain; but if it dies, it yields a rich harvest. If you love your life you’ll lose it; if you hate your life in this world you’ll keep it for eternal life. Anyone who wants to work for me must follow in my footsteps, and where I am, my worker will be there too. Anyone who works for me will be honored by Abba God.” Speaking of his life and ours, at once he brings us to the place of honor and grace.
We often forget that Jesus was, first and foremost, a Jewish man who knew the words of the prophets and the content of the Law. Jewish thought regarded the heart as the seat of the will, not the seat of feelings. Here, he calls us to move beyond the realm of feeling—loving God is not a feel-good event. Jesus is calling us to a way of obedience, just as he is choosing to become obedient to God’s will, even if that will leads him to a cruel and horrible death. Jesus, always in the place of grace, calls us to sacrifice—He calls us to put the work of the harvest ahead of our fear and uncertainty. He speaks to us, gently, as if we are little schoolchildren struggling to understand a difficult idea. Listen to his illustration of what we must do to follow God: a grain of wheat (our lives before we choose to follow God) simply held in our hands will produce nothing. We can gaze upon it and wait for something to occur; but nothing will. However, if we allow God to lovingly plant the seed into the ground, the seed will first die, but will then sprout new growth—growth which will break through the barren soil and will yield a rich harvest.
Just so, allowing God to call us to a place of readiness for the new covenant—going into the ground, a dark and scary place where the truths of our inner heart are found, forgiven, healed and transformed, will result in a great and wonderful harvest. Our lives, when examined and readied by God, will produce wonderful things for God’s glory and will hasten the coming of the reign of God’s justice into our world and into our lives. Jesus is serious here—calling us to discipleship beyond the easy path—Jesus calls us to follow him in grace all the way to the cross and beyond—and he makes us a sacred promise—the promise that is indeed the new covenant: “Anyone who wants to work for me must follow in my footsteps, and where I am, my worker will be there too”.
This, then, is the new covenant—being where Jesus is—in the world, healing, loving and caring. And like the covenant of which Jeremiah speaks—this is a covenant of grace. Within a circle of grace we gather at the table, his table, and drink the cup of the new covenant. And as we do, may we walk in unity—together, as a people called to do the work of Jesus in the world. Amen and amen.
Welcome!
Monday, March 26, 2012
Sunday, March 11, 2012
The Message of the Cross 3-11-12
The Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:18-25
For the message of the cross is complete absurdity to those who are headed for ruin, but to us who are experiencing salvation, it is the power of God. Scripture says, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and thwart the learning of the learned.” Where are the wise? Where are the scholars? Where are the philosophers of this age? Has not God turned the wisdom of this world into folly? If it was God’s wisdom that the world in its wisdom would not know God, it was because God wanted to save those who have faith through the foolishness of the message we preach.
For while the Jews call for miracles and the Greeks for wisdom, here we are preaching a Messiah nailed to a cross. To the Jews this is an obstacle they cannot get over, and to the Greeks it is madness—but to those who have been called, whether they are Jews or Greeks, Christ is the power and the wisdom of God. For God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.
THE GOSPEL: John 2:13-22
Since it was almost the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the Temple, he found people selling cattle, sheep and pigeons, while moneychangers sat at their counters. Making a whip out of cords, Jesus drove them all out of the Temple—even the cattle and sheep—and overturned the tables of the money changers, scattering their coins. Then he faced the pigeon sellers: “Take all this out of here! Stop turning God’s house into a market!” The disciples remembered the worlds of scripture: “Zeal for your house consumes me.”
The Temple authorities intervened and said, “what sign can you show us to justify what you’ve done?” Jesus answered, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” They retorted, “It has taken forty-six years to build this Temple, and you’re going to raise it up in three days?” But the temple he was speaking of was his body. It was only after Jesus had been raised from the dead that the disciples remembered this statement and believed the scripture—and the words that Jesus had spoken.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Message of the Cross 3-11-12
God, when we see things being turned upside down for the sake of Your justice, we know you are there and here with us as we study your word and seek your face in worship. May the words that I say and all the things that we think in our hearts be blessed by you through your holy spirit. Amen.
This is a great story—the one where Jesus swings a whip and throws out the money changers and merchants and clears the Temple of those who would seek to make a fortune because of the laws that were in effect at the time. Those of us who studied this story in Sunday School where all the R-rated portions of the Bible get watered down into G-rated versions, may have missed some of this story along the way.
The assumption behind most of those Sunday School lessons is that Jesus is furious because the animal merchants and moneychangers are there. Yet, according to the Torah, they had good reason to be there. The Torah demanded certain sacrifices be made to God in the Temple and the moneychangers were there, literally, to change the money from those who had travelled from other countries into the coinage that the Temple could actually receive for the purchase of the sacrifice animals, as well as, the half-shekel tax that was levied on all Jews. It does not appear that the presence of the merchants and moneychangers bothered the Jewish pilgrims and, in fact, they actually served a purpose in making the sacrifices readily available. But Jesus took offense.
Now we know that there are four writers of the various Gospel stories: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John—each written with just a bit of difference of perspective and perception. The first three gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke share much more in common with each other than they do with the Gospel of John. John was a poet, and in his writings, there is a great sense of poetic justice particularly where God’s people are concerned. It is interesting to note that the main differences between the recollections have to do with timing. John places this event close to the beginning of Jesus’ ministry where it serves to serve as a jumping-off place for his earthly ministry. In the other three gospels, this incident serves as the proverbial “last straw” for the religious leaders in Jerusalem who, from that point on, begin to plan to kill Jesus. Now there may have been two incidents when Jesus drove the merchants from the temple—maybe not. The important thing to grasp is that if this incident occurred at the beginning of Jesus’ earthly ministry, it says to us—right up front—that things are never going to be the same again. That Jesus is turning the world upside down, just as he turned over the tables of the money changers. And whether or not the money changers were cheating the pilgrims becomes secondary to knowing that in the new Temple, the one that Jesus was going to build in the lives of his followers, that sacrifice would no longer be necessary. John also places this incident against the backdrop of the Festival of Passover. There are two possible reasons for this—this first is that John wants to illustrate that the ministry of Jesus is set in the context of the ancient laws and observances. The second, far more subtle meaning is found in the specific Festival during which the incident is set—Passover, the time when God spared the Hebrew children—just as God will spare and bless the ones who come to believe in this Christ.
Think on these things as they relate to our Lenten study of the radical change that Jesus brought to this world. I have a vision of Jesus, with whip upraised, that I would like to share with you. Imagine that the merchants and moneychanges represent all those things that come between us and God. The Jews had to purchase, according to their status in life, a particular animal or bird, to sacrifice. If they did not have the means to make such a sacrifice, they could not enter the Temple. Jesus, in his all-inclusive ministry turns this concept on its head. Once Jesus raises up the new Temple—that Temple of Jesus himself in the people of God—the Church, no sacrifices are needed. In fact, the earthly Temple itself is gone and replaced by the inner temples of our lives and our hearts on fire with the message of the change. Change which renders God accessible, directly accessible, to all of us. Different from preaching to the crowds, or healing the sick among the people, this one act is one of the most radically inclusive acts of Jesus recorded for us. It’s a somewhat brash act, and it generates trouble with the authorities whether it comes at the beginning or end of the story. In one swing of his whip, Jesus destroys the intermediary, whether that intermediary be a seller of doves, or someone restricting the right of the children of God to be in God’s presence. Laws regarding what we must do or who we must be are banished by Jesus’ radical act—an act played out through his ministry, and finally, his death and resurrection.
So back to my vision—now mind you, I am not a violent person, so it’s a bit of a stretch for me to go here, but it’s a momentarily gratifying stretch. Imagine, just for a moment, that the people Jesus is chasing from the Temple are all those people who have sought to regulate the rest of the world’s access to the Reign of God’s Justice. Think for a moment, about all those who have limited your access to worship God exactly the way God made you. Think for a moment, of all those well-meaning people who say that bullying is really just teasing, and that each and every church has the right to place their own understanding and requirements upon all those that would seek membership. Imagine just for a moment, a very angry Jesus chasing those folks from the Temple—sweeping it clean and suddenly inviting all of us in to worship and praise in a relationship with God, free from rules, prohibitions, and damnation. Ah yes, just as the merchants and money-changers were limiting the access of the poor, the dis-enfranchized, the marginalized of the time; so does anyone who stands between us and God and says, “you are not worthy to enter God’s temple unless you make the sacrifice of changing who you really are into something or somebody we deem acceptable to God.” Now, let me be clear here. I am not just talking about my gay and lesbian, bi and trans brothers and sisters. I am talking about those who are poor, those who dress and act differently than the rest of us. I am talking about women refused the priesthood and those with physical and mental challenges that make us have to work a little harder to say “welcome”. Imagine Jesus’ anger at all those attempts to restrict membership in the Temple of God or make it anything other than the pure, free gift of God through the living, dying, and rising again of Jesus himself.
This is, indeed, the message of the cross. This is a message that you simply can’t understand unless you want to. Why, because it is nonsense unless one is open and ready to receive it. We look around and find that there’s a lot out there other than the message of the cross. Just as Paul wrote to the Christians at Corinth—there are those who want miracles, those who want great wisdom and knowledge, and what do we have to offer?—the simple message of the one sent from God to turn everything we know about the world upside down, by walking with, loving, and healing all without discrimination, without judgment. It’s not an easy message to bring, but it is the true message that grants all access to the glorious grace of God. It’s not a message of prosperity—so popular in the mega-churches of our day, but it’s a message that all are welcome into the Temple of God whether rich or poor, learned or simple, sophisticated or plain, gay or straight, young or old. It’s not a message of elitism—there are no special folks who have all the answers, who somehow walk a separate walk with God.
And, it’s not a message that the world longs to accept. Jesus tells us clearly that there are many who will not hear. Perhaps we should be less surprised than we seem to be when it happens again—when we are damned and rejected because of any number of things which keep us from meeting the expectations of the world. And perhaps we should be more careful than we tend to be that we are not moneychangers ourselves—regulators of others’ access to God. “To those who have been called…Christ is the power and wisdom of God”. May we relish our calling and always stand on the side of the One who is that power and wisdom of God.” Indeed, great are you, Lord. Amen and amen.
For the message of the cross is complete absurdity to those who are headed for ruin, but to us who are experiencing salvation, it is the power of God. Scripture says, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and thwart the learning of the learned.” Where are the wise? Where are the scholars? Where are the philosophers of this age? Has not God turned the wisdom of this world into folly? If it was God’s wisdom that the world in its wisdom would not know God, it was because God wanted to save those who have faith through the foolishness of the message we preach.
For while the Jews call for miracles and the Greeks for wisdom, here we are preaching a Messiah nailed to a cross. To the Jews this is an obstacle they cannot get over, and to the Greeks it is madness—but to those who have been called, whether they are Jews or Greeks, Christ is the power and the wisdom of God. For God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.
THE GOSPEL: John 2:13-22
Since it was almost the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the Temple, he found people selling cattle, sheep and pigeons, while moneychangers sat at their counters. Making a whip out of cords, Jesus drove them all out of the Temple—even the cattle and sheep—and overturned the tables of the money changers, scattering their coins. Then he faced the pigeon sellers: “Take all this out of here! Stop turning God’s house into a market!” The disciples remembered the worlds of scripture: “Zeal for your house consumes me.”
The Temple authorities intervened and said, “what sign can you show us to justify what you’ve done?” Jesus answered, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” They retorted, “It has taken forty-six years to build this Temple, and you’re going to raise it up in three days?” But the temple he was speaking of was his body. It was only after Jesus had been raised from the dead that the disciples remembered this statement and believed the scripture—and the words that Jesus had spoken.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Message of the Cross 3-11-12
God, when we see things being turned upside down for the sake of Your justice, we know you are there and here with us as we study your word and seek your face in worship. May the words that I say and all the things that we think in our hearts be blessed by you through your holy spirit. Amen.
This is a great story—the one where Jesus swings a whip and throws out the money changers and merchants and clears the Temple of those who would seek to make a fortune because of the laws that were in effect at the time. Those of us who studied this story in Sunday School where all the R-rated portions of the Bible get watered down into G-rated versions, may have missed some of this story along the way.
The assumption behind most of those Sunday School lessons is that Jesus is furious because the animal merchants and moneychangers are there. Yet, according to the Torah, they had good reason to be there. The Torah demanded certain sacrifices be made to God in the Temple and the moneychangers were there, literally, to change the money from those who had travelled from other countries into the coinage that the Temple could actually receive for the purchase of the sacrifice animals, as well as, the half-shekel tax that was levied on all Jews. It does not appear that the presence of the merchants and moneychangers bothered the Jewish pilgrims and, in fact, they actually served a purpose in making the sacrifices readily available. But Jesus took offense.
Now we know that there are four writers of the various Gospel stories: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John—each written with just a bit of difference of perspective and perception. The first three gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke share much more in common with each other than they do with the Gospel of John. John was a poet, and in his writings, there is a great sense of poetic justice particularly where God’s people are concerned. It is interesting to note that the main differences between the recollections have to do with timing. John places this event close to the beginning of Jesus’ ministry where it serves to serve as a jumping-off place for his earthly ministry. In the other three gospels, this incident serves as the proverbial “last straw” for the religious leaders in Jerusalem who, from that point on, begin to plan to kill Jesus. Now there may have been two incidents when Jesus drove the merchants from the temple—maybe not. The important thing to grasp is that if this incident occurred at the beginning of Jesus’ earthly ministry, it says to us—right up front—that things are never going to be the same again. That Jesus is turning the world upside down, just as he turned over the tables of the money changers. And whether or not the money changers were cheating the pilgrims becomes secondary to knowing that in the new Temple, the one that Jesus was going to build in the lives of his followers, that sacrifice would no longer be necessary. John also places this incident against the backdrop of the Festival of Passover. There are two possible reasons for this—this first is that John wants to illustrate that the ministry of Jesus is set in the context of the ancient laws and observances. The second, far more subtle meaning is found in the specific Festival during which the incident is set—Passover, the time when God spared the Hebrew children—just as God will spare and bless the ones who come to believe in this Christ.
Think on these things as they relate to our Lenten study of the radical change that Jesus brought to this world. I have a vision of Jesus, with whip upraised, that I would like to share with you. Imagine that the merchants and moneychanges represent all those things that come between us and God. The Jews had to purchase, according to their status in life, a particular animal or bird, to sacrifice. If they did not have the means to make such a sacrifice, they could not enter the Temple. Jesus, in his all-inclusive ministry turns this concept on its head. Once Jesus raises up the new Temple—that Temple of Jesus himself in the people of God—the Church, no sacrifices are needed. In fact, the earthly Temple itself is gone and replaced by the inner temples of our lives and our hearts on fire with the message of the change. Change which renders God accessible, directly accessible, to all of us. Different from preaching to the crowds, or healing the sick among the people, this one act is one of the most radically inclusive acts of Jesus recorded for us. It’s a somewhat brash act, and it generates trouble with the authorities whether it comes at the beginning or end of the story. In one swing of his whip, Jesus destroys the intermediary, whether that intermediary be a seller of doves, or someone restricting the right of the children of God to be in God’s presence. Laws regarding what we must do or who we must be are banished by Jesus’ radical act—an act played out through his ministry, and finally, his death and resurrection.
So back to my vision—now mind you, I am not a violent person, so it’s a bit of a stretch for me to go here, but it’s a momentarily gratifying stretch. Imagine, just for a moment, that the people Jesus is chasing from the Temple are all those people who have sought to regulate the rest of the world’s access to the Reign of God’s Justice. Think for a moment, about all those who have limited your access to worship God exactly the way God made you. Think for a moment, of all those well-meaning people who say that bullying is really just teasing, and that each and every church has the right to place their own understanding and requirements upon all those that would seek membership. Imagine just for a moment, a very angry Jesus chasing those folks from the Temple—sweeping it clean and suddenly inviting all of us in to worship and praise in a relationship with God, free from rules, prohibitions, and damnation. Ah yes, just as the merchants and money-changers were limiting the access of the poor, the dis-enfranchized, the marginalized of the time; so does anyone who stands between us and God and says, “you are not worthy to enter God’s temple unless you make the sacrifice of changing who you really are into something or somebody we deem acceptable to God.” Now, let me be clear here. I am not just talking about my gay and lesbian, bi and trans brothers and sisters. I am talking about those who are poor, those who dress and act differently than the rest of us. I am talking about women refused the priesthood and those with physical and mental challenges that make us have to work a little harder to say “welcome”. Imagine Jesus’ anger at all those attempts to restrict membership in the Temple of God or make it anything other than the pure, free gift of God through the living, dying, and rising again of Jesus himself.
This is, indeed, the message of the cross. This is a message that you simply can’t understand unless you want to. Why, because it is nonsense unless one is open and ready to receive it. We look around and find that there’s a lot out there other than the message of the cross. Just as Paul wrote to the Christians at Corinth—there are those who want miracles, those who want great wisdom and knowledge, and what do we have to offer?—the simple message of the one sent from God to turn everything we know about the world upside down, by walking with, loving, and healing all without discrimination, without judgment. It’s not an easy message to bring, but it is the true message that grants all access to the glorious grace of God. It’s not a message of prosperity—so popular in the mega-churches of our day, but it’s a message that all are welcome into the Temple of God whether rich or poor, learned or simple, sophisticated or plain, gay or straight, young or old. It’s not a message of elitism—there are no special folks who have all the answers, who somehow walk a separate walk with God.
And, it’s not a message that the world longs to accept. Jesus tells us clearly that there are many who will not hear. Perhaps we should be less surprised than we seem to be when it happens again—when we are damned and rejected because of any number of things which keep us from meeting the expectations of the world. And perhaps we should be more careful than we tend to be that we are not moneychangers ourselves—regulators of others’ access to God. “To those who have been called…Christ is the power and wisdom of God”. May we relish our calling and always stand on the side of the One who is that power and wisdom of God.” Indeed, great are you, Lord. Amen and amen.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
When God Shows Up-3-4-12
The Reading: Genesis 17: 1-7, 15-16
When Abram was ninety-nine years old, GOD showed up and said to him, "I am The Strong God, live entirely before me, live to the hilt! I'll make a covenant between us and I'll give you a huge family." Overwhelmed, Abram fell flat on his face.
Then God said to him, "This is my covenant with you: You'll be the father of many nations. Your name will no longer be Abram, but Abraham, meaning that 'I'm making you the father of many nations.' I'll make you a father of fathers—I'll make nations from you, kings will issue from you. I'm establishing my covenant between me and you, a covenant that includes your descendants, a covenant that goes on and on and on, a covenant that commits me to be your God and the God of your descendants. And I'm giving you and your descendants this land where you're now just camping, this whole country of Canaan, to own forever. And I'll be their God."
God continued speaking to Abraham, "And Sarai your wife: Don't call her Sarai any longer; call her Sarah. I'll bless her—yes! I'll give you a son by her! Oh, how I'll bless her! Nations will come from her; kings of nations will come from her."
THE GOSPEL: Mark 8:31-38
He then began explaining things to them: "It is necessary that the Son of Man proceed to an ordeal of suffering, be tried and found guilty by the elders, high priests, and religion scholars, be killed, and after three days rise up alive." He said this simply and clearly so they couldn't miss it.
But Peter grabbed him in protest. Turning and seeing his disciples wavering, wondering what to believe, Jesus confronted Peter. "Peter, get out of my way! Satan, get lost! You have no idea how God works."
Calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, "Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You're not in the driver's seat; I am. Don't run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I'll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to saving yourself, your true self. What good would it do to get everything you want and lose you, the real you? What could you ever trade your soul for? "If any of you are embarrassed over me and the way I'm leading you when you get around your fickle and unfocused friends, know that you'll be an even greater embarrassment to the Son of Man when he arrives in all the splendor of God, his [Holy Parent], with an army of the holy angels."
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When God Show Up: What Then? 3-4-12
God, we miss the mark over and over again. We just don’t “get it”. Open our hearts in new ways and speak to us in ways we cannot help but understand. May the words of my mouth and meditations of all our hearts be true and pure and pleasing to You. Amen.
It would be easy to ignore the section from Genesis today and just pretend that it just sort of happened into the bulletin as “filler” if you will. And I was tempted to do so. How many of you actually look to see if I am preaching about the scriptures in the bulletin or have gone off on my merry way to something else—no hands, please, either way, I don’t need to know. But God kept calling me to see the way that these two scriptures intertwine to bring us deeper understanding of each. The story in Genesis is pleasant and simple, certainly not like the passage in Mark. When I first chose the name of the sermon today, I must say I was thinking of poor Abram. Abram was 99 years old and had been faithful to God. And God shows up with bigger news. God will be in covenant with Abram and it will be quite a covenant indeed—a long full life (my goodness, he’s already 99) and a huge family. Our passage says this, “overwhelmed, Abram fell flat on his face”. I’m with Abram on this—flat on my face seems the appropriate place to be when “God shows up.” But God, apparently not seeing or stopping because Abram is now face down in the dirt, continues. “Abram, you are going to be the head of many nations and as a sign of the covenant, I’m going to change your name to Abraham.” Can you see it, Abram lifting up his head, spitting the dirt out of his mouth as God is declaring him to be the great parent of hundreds of people? God continues, as Abram, now Abraham slowly rises from the ground, “And because of this covenant, I’ll always be your God, and the God of all your descendants. I think we often forget when we read about the ancient nations of Israel, that this was a time of multiple gods, and those gods regularly waged huge wars and huge wars were waged in their names. The concept of one God always seemed to come as a surprise to everyone except God’s special servants. This moment, then is a big moment when it is recorded that this is the God for all time for all the descendants of Abraham. Sarai, Abraham’s wife, also receives a new name, Sarah, and she is blessed by God and told she will bear a son. Think of it—lives turned upside down, when God shows up. Have we not, too, been witness to the turning upside down when God shows up and speaks directly to us? But none of this could prepare us for what Jesus now says.
We fast forward though centuries of warfare, pilgrimage, and prophecy, and find ourselves at a particularly difficult place with Jesus of Nazareth. It is important to place this story in context. What comes immediately before our passage is the conversation between Jesus and his disciples regarding what was basically gossip about Jesus. Jesus asks them, and we spoke of this passage not long ago, “who do people say that I am” and, more importantly, “who do you say that I am?” Simon, is the one in this passage who brings the correct answer to the question. “You are the Messiah!’ In Matthew’s version of the story, it is easier to see the connection between the Old Testament passage and the New. Simon continues and says, “You are the Son of the Living God!” And now Jesus does something that clearly connects his covenant with the covenant of God with the people of God. Jesus changes Simon’s name. From here on out, Simon is called Peter, and it is just after this dramatic moment of a new name and new place of prominence in the story that our next rather unfortunate event occurs. Jesus, after determining who others think that he is, begins to tell us in his own words, exactly who he is. Jesus begins to explain things to his disciples: “"It is necessary that the Son of Man proceed to an ordeal of suffering, be tried and found guilty by the elders, high priests, and religion scholars, be killed, and after three days rise up alive." Mark records that Jesus stated this plainly, clearly and in simple words so that they would not miss it. Nevertheless, Peter, hopelessly lost in his love for Jesus and his wanting to protect him, grabs Jesus and protests. The older translations use the word ‘rebuke’ and, if you’ve ever been rebuked, particularly in public, you probably don’t want to go down that road again. All of a sudden, Jesus grabs Peter and says, “Peter, get out of my way—you and Satan get lost! You have no idea of how God works.” At this point, Jesus, more than a little angry, calls the crowd to join the disciples. Even in his anger, Jesus shows us undeniably that none are excluded from his message. His chosen few now lost in importance as those who were outside the inner circle are invited into the larger circle of Jesus’ reign. Jesus continually shows us that the Truth, the Good News, about himself and God is available for all and that no one has an “in” with God.
Unfortunately, most of us are not so crazy about hearing what Jesus says next. This is a hard passage and Jesus must have known that few would be able to hear and embrace what he is saying. But listen closely; in my revised version this is what I hear Jesus saying to us: If you intend to follow me, you have to get out of the way. I am the one who leads. Don’t run from the hard parts of life, embrace them. By following me, by accepting my cross as yours, you will learn how to take the broken parts of yourself and let them become whole. If you’ve tried before, you know by now that it takes more than just willing yourself to change; you must be willing to let me show you the way through sacrificing what you think is important in order to find your truest self. For what good would it do you, if you managed to accumulate all the power and accolades you thought you wanted if you lost your real self along the way?” And finally, Jesus asks us the crucial question, “Is there anything worth giving up your soul for?”
One night this week, I left a conversation with someone in the community feeling very, very “un-whole”. I imagine this has happened to some of you as well. Suddenly in the midst of studying the passage above, I knew immediately what I had done. I had allowed someone other than God’s Holy Spirit to tell me how to fix my broken parts. And, in the midst of it all, God showed up. Face down, I came to understand, yet again, that only God—the God who entered into covenant with us at the time of Abraham and reaffirmed and transformed that covenant through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ—can fix our broken parts, if they are truly broken at all; and only God can lead us to the truest sense of wholeness, through the graceful gift of being touched by the One who leads us faithfully.
This longing to be fully connected to God, through the saving grace of Jesus, is what makes this passage accessible to all of us. I believe that Jesus is indeed calling us to a life of sacrifice, but this is it not an, ‘o woe is me, how bad can this get’ kind of sacrifice. This is a sacrifice that gently and faithfully results in our discovery of who we truly are. This ‘taking up one’s cross’ means that we follow the will of God no matter where it takes us—that as we find ourselves able to expand our ministries that there will be those of us who will sacrifice one afternoon a week or maybe two or three to work in our food pantry, or minister to those in need of spiritual or physical food. And that those of us who are able may find ourselves called to support the work of this church in new and exciting ways. It also means that we sacrifice our best notion of who we thought we were for a life of humility—humility that knows that when God shows up—face flat on the ground is an ok response. We celebrate the God of the first covenant, the Christ of the second, and the knowing that when we are present to God’s Holy Spirit, at the oddest and best times of life, God, well, shows up. Amen and amen.
When Abram was ninety-nine years old, GOD showed up and said to him, "I am The Strong God, live entirely before me, live to the hilt! I'll make a covenant between us and I'll give you a huge family." Overwhelmed, Abram fell flat on his face.
Then God said to him, "This is my covenant with you: You'll be the father of many nations. Your name will no longer be Abram, but Abraham, meaning that 'I'm making you the father of many nations.' I'll make you a father of fathers—I'll make nations from you, kings will issue from you. I'm establishing my covenant between me and you, a covenant that includes your descendants, a covenant that goes on and on and on, a covenant that commits me to be your God and the God of your descendants. And I'm giving you and your descendants this land where you're now just camping, this whole country of Canaan, to own forever. And I'll be their God."
God continued speaking to Abraham, "And Sarai your wife: Don't call her Sarai any longer; call her Sarah. I'll bless her—yes! I'll give you a son by her! Oh, how I'll bless her! Nations will come from her; kings of nations will come from her."
THE GOSPEL: Mark 8:31-38
He then began explaining things to them: "It is necessary that the Son of Man proceed to an ordeal of suffering, be tried and found guilty by the elders, high priests, and religion scholars, be killed, and after three days rise up alive." He said this simply and clearly so they couldn't miss it.
But Peter grabbed him in protest. Turning and seeing his disciples wavering, wondering what to believe, Jesus confronted Peter. "Peter, get out of my way! Satan, get lost! You have no idea how God works."
Calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, "Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You're not in the driver's seat; I am. Don't run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I'll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to saving yourself, your true self. What good would it do to get everything you want and lose you, the real you? What could you ever trade your soul for? "If any of you are embarrassed over me and the way I'm leading you when you get around your fickle and unfocused friends, know that you'll be an even greater embarrassment to the Son of Man when he arrives in all the splendor of God, his [Holy Parent], with an army of the holy angels."
~~~~~~~~
When God Show Up: What Then? 3-4-12
God, we miss the mark over and over again. We just don’t “get it”. Open our hearts in new ways and speak to us in ways we cannot help but understand. May the words of my mouth and meditations of all our hearts be true and pure and pleasing to You. Amen.
It would be easy to ignore the section from Genesis today and just pretend that it just sort of happened into the bulletin as “filler” if you will. And I was tempted to do so. How many of you actually look to see if I am preaching about the scriptures in the bulletin or have gone off on my merry way to something else—no hands, please, either way, I don’t need to know. But God kept calling me to see the way that these two scriptures intertwine to bring us deeper understanding of each. The story in Genesis is pleasant and simple, certainly not like the passage in Mark. When I first chose the name of the sermon today, I must say I was thinking of poor Abram. Abram was 99 years old and had been faithful to God. And God shows up with bigger news. God will be in covenant with Abram and it will be quite a covenant indeed—a long full life (my goodness, he’s already 99) and a huge family. Our passage says this, “overwhelmed, Abram fell flat on his face”. I’m with Abram on this—flat on my face seems the appropriate place to be when “God shows up.” But God, apparently not seeing or stopping because Abram is now face down in the dirt, continues. “Abram, you are going to be the head of many nations and as a sign of the covenant, I’m going to change your name to Abraham.” Can you see it, Abram lifting up his head, spitting the dirt out of his mouth as God is declaring him to be the great parent of hundreds of people? God continues, as Abram, now Abraham slowly rises from the ground, “And because of this covenant, I’ll always be your God, and the God of all your descendants. I think we often forget when we read about the ancient nations of Israel, that this was a time of multiple gods, and those gods regularly waged huge wars and huge wars were waged in their names. The concept of one God always seemed to come as a surprise to everyone except God’s special servants. This moment, then is a big moment when it is recorded that this is the God for all time for all the descendants of Abraham. Sarai, Abraham’s wife, also receives a new name, Sarah, and she is blessed by God and told she will bear a son. Think of it—lives turned upside down, when God shows up. Have we not, too, been witness to the turning upside down when God shows up and speaks directly to us? But none of this could prepare us for what Jesus now says.
We fast forward though centuries of warfare, pilgrimage, and prophecy, and find ourselves at a particularly difficult place with Jesus of Nazareth. It is important to place this story in context. What comes immediately before our passage is the conversation between Jesus and his disciples regarding what was basically gossip about Jesus. Jesus asks them, and we spoke of this passage not long ago, “who do people say that I am” and, more importantly, “who do you say that I am?” Simon, is the one in this passage who brings the correct answer to the question. “You are the Messiah!’ In Matthew’s version of the story, it is easier to see the connection between the Old Testament passage and the New. Simon continues and says, “You are the Son of the Living God!” And now Jesus does something that clearly connects his covenant with the covenant of God with the people of God. Jesus changes Simon’s name. From here on out, Simon is called Peter, and it is just after this dramatic moment of a new name and new place of prominence in the story that our next rather unfortunate event occurs. Jesus, after determining who others think that he is, begins to tell us in his own words, exactly who he is. Jesus begins to explain things to his disciples: “"It is necessary that the Son of Man proceed to an ordeal of suffering, be tried and found guilty by the elders, high priests, and religion scholars, be killed, and after three days rise up alive." Mark records that Jesus stated this plainly, clearly and in simple words so that they would not miss it. Nevertheless, Peter, hopelessly lost in his love for Jesus and his wanting to protect him, grabs Jesus and protests. The older translations use the word ‘rebuke’ and, if you’ve ever been rebuked, particularly in public, you probably don’t want to go down that road again. All of a sudden, Jesus grabs Peter and says, “Peter, get out of my way—you and Satan get lost! You have no idea of how God works.” At this point, Jesus, more than a little angry, calls the crowd to join the disciples. Even in his anger, Jesus shows us undeniably that none are excluded from his message. His chosen few now lost in importance as those who were outside the inner circle are invited into the larger circle of Jesus’ reign. Jesus continually shows us that the Truth, the Good News, about himself and God is available for all and that no one has an “in” with God.
Unfortunately, most of us are not so crazy about hearing what Jesus says next. This is a hard passage and Jesus must have known that few would be able to hear and embrace what he is saying. But listen closely; in my revised version this is what I hear Jesus saying to us: If you intend to follow me, you have to get out of the way. I am the one who leads. Don’t run from the hard parts of life, embrace them. By following me, by accepting my cross as yours, you will learn how to take the broken parts of yourself and let them become whole. If you’ve tried before, you know by now that it takes more than just willing yourself to change; you must be willing to let me show you the way through sacrificing what you think is important in order to find your truest self. For what good would it do you, if you managed to accumulate all the power and accolades you thought you wanted if you lost your real self along the way?” And finally, Jesus asks us the crucial question, “Is there anything worth giving up your soul for?”
One night this week, I left a conversation with someone in the community feeling very, very “un-whole”. I imagine this has happened to some of you as well. Suddenly in the midst of studying the passage above, I knew immediately what I had done. I had allowed someone other than God’s Holy Spirit to tell me how to fix my broken parts. And, in the midst of it all, God showed up. Face down, I came to understand, yet again, that only God—the God who entered into covenant with us at the time of Abraham and reaffirmed and transformed that covenant through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ—can fix our broken parts, if they are truly broken at all; and only God can lead us to the truest sense of wholeness, through the graceful gift of being touched by the One who leads us faithfully.
This longing to be fully connected to God, through the saving grace of Jesus, is what makes this passage accessible to all of us. I believe that Jesus is indeed calling us to a life of sacrifice, but this is it not an, ‘o woe is me, how bad can this get’ kind of sacrifice. This is a sacrifice that gently and faithfully results in our discovery of who we truly are. This ‘taking up one’s cross’ means that we follow the will of God no matter where it takes us—that as we find ourselves able to expand our ministries that there will be those of us who will sacrifice one afternoon a week or maybe two or three to work in our food pantry, or minister to those in need of spiritual or physical food. And that those of us who are able may find ourselves called to support the work of this church in new and exciting ways. It also means that we sacrifice our best notion of who we thought we were for a life of humility—humility that knows that when God shows up—face flat on the ground is an ok response. We celebrate the God of the first covenant, the Christ of the second, and the knowing that when we are present to God’s Holy Spirit, at the oddest and best times of life, God, well, shows up. Amen and amen.
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