Our Good Shepherd

Psalm 23; John 10:11-18; John 9

Every year, the fourth Sunday of Easter is Good Shepherd Sunday, with a portion of John 10 as the Gospel reading. Today, the Good Shepherd willingly lays down his life, gives up his life, for the sheep, unlike the hired hand who runs away in the face of the wolf.

 … Who, we might wonder, is the hired hand? For that, we look at John, Chapter 9.

Here, the story is about Jesus healing a man who was born blind and the various reactions to the healing. After the healing, some people are puzzled, with some believing and some disbelieving and skeptical. “Is he really healed? Is this even the same man?”

Some of the Pharisees claim that because the healing happened on the Sabbath, the healing must not be from God. Other Pharisees say that Jesus could not be a sinner, since he was able to do the healing. The parents of the man are hands off, saying he’s an adult and can speak for himself. The man himself says, “I once was blind, and now I see. Jesus must be a prophet.”

So, who, in this story, is really blind? The blind are those who deny that Jesus could give sight to the blind man. On to Chapter 10, where the blind are those who deny that Jesus is the Good Shepherd.  

With Jesus as the Good Shepherd, the term “hired hands” refers to those who run away, who are scattered by the wolf instead of protecting the sheep, in other words, the leaders of Israel/Judah. In contrast, the Good Shepherd gives up his life in order to protect the sheep. Even more: the Good Shepherd welcomes more sheep into the fold that the hired hands reject as being unworthy of being in their flock.

So, Jesus is critiquing the leaders of Israel, telling them in clear terms that they have failed to protect and lead the people. Further, Jesus claims the Good Shepherd title for himself. The leaders must have gasped in dismay and anger, and continued planning to do away with this blasphemer. In John’s Gospel, this is Jesus’ intent.

… The image of God as the Good Shepherd is an ancient one. Written probably by King David 1000 BCE, Psalm 23 expands on the way the best shepherds care for the flock into an image of how God cares for the people known as Israel/Judah.

In contrast, many passages from the books of the prophets describe how angry God is that the leaders are not acting as good shepherds. Jeremiah 23 “Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter my sheep.” Ezekiel 34: “Woe, you shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep?” Zechariah 10: “My anger is hot against the shepherds, and I will punish the leaders.”

As the Good Shepherd, Jesus will lead God’s people to safety and provide for all their needs. Jesus the Good Shepherd will guide the people and the leaders along righteous pathways, so they have a healthy relationship with God. When the people trust God to guide them, God will protect them from all enemies.  When the people are led by God’s good shepherds, they will experience an abundance of goodness and mercy. More, as the Good Shepherd, Jesus will care for the flock, welcome outcast sheep into it, guide them with his own voice, and die protecting them from evil.

… My own experience with sheep is limited. I once spent the night with a friend who was a literal shepherd. It was lambing season, and we went to the barn to assist with a birth. One lamb came out, and Cathi handed it to me with a towel. “Here, wipe him off,” she said, as she waited for the birth of the twin.

And once, I was driving through the country and had to wait while shepherds moved sheep to another field. And I have seen sheep in fields as I drove by their field. That’s it.

I wonder how many of you have actual experience with sheep. Is this a helpful image to our mostly urban/suburban culture today? What might another image be for us?

In this university setting, I’ve thought of the Good Professor, with several of my own profs in mind.

I’ve thought of the Good Mother or Grandmother, with several women in mind.

I’ve thought of the Good Boss, with one woman in particular in mind.

I’ve thought of the Good Gardener, knowing that I am not one.

And that’s the point of naming Jesus as the Good Whoever. He is the best one of whatever image we play with. I’ve had good profs and just ok profs, a grab bag of good and so-so bosses, and I am myself an ineffective gardener. I had an imperfect mother, as I have been an imperfect mother, who would just the same have given her life for me.

Jesus is the best whoever we imagine, because he does it perfectly. It’s up to us to follow the Good Shepherd and do what he does, love one another, even if it means giving up our life in expressing that love.

… This week, I hope you will think about what it means to follow the Good Shepherd. As you ponder this, try out other images for God as the Good – whoever. I’ll be interested to hear what you came up with. 

Disbelieving and still wondering

 Acts 3:12-19; 1 John 3:1-7; Luke 24:36b-48

As our readings today testify, it took time for the earliest disciples to understand why Jesus had to die. It still puzzles us today. Time after time we read something like this in the scriptures: “they were disbelieving and still wondering”. 

The early disciples and writers worked hard to make sense of Jesus’ ministry, death, and resurrection. And they came to varying conclusions. We like to think everyone in the early days of the church agreed with each other, but it’s just not true! And the

… Repentance and forgiveness are important topics. The author of First John focuses a lot on repentance, which leads to forgiveness. His writings bring attention to behavior, things we should not be doing. Not following the law is sinfulness, and only by confessing and repenting do we receive forgiveness. Note that this is different from Paul’s understanding of repentance and forgiveness. For Paul, the forgiveness comes first, followed by repentance out of gratitude for the grace offered so freely.

… Peter addresses this need for repentance, too. He summarizes, speaking mostly about those who refuse to believe that Jesus was sent by God. The unbelievers put him to death. Yes, they were acting in ignorance, but now is the time to repent and turn to God, so they may be forgiven. For Peter, the sin at hand is the refusal to believe that God sent Jesus, and now is the time to repent and believe in Jesus.

… Luke tells the story we may know better from John. Jesus pops up in the locked room where the disciples are eating dinner, and says, “Shalom.” The disciples were stunned, disbelieving and still wondering. Jesus assures them it is he, Jesus, raised from the dead.

Image credit: Andy Fishburne, Flipped Preaching

Just to prove that he is not a ghost or a spirit or a hologram 😊, Jesus says, “Got anything to eat? I’d love a bite of fish. Do you have any left?” Then he ate it. Probably by now, they are all back sitting at the table, finishing the meal they had started before Jesus came in.

Jesus explains God’s plan to them. It was necessary for it to happen this way, Jesus says. While we’d all like to think that Plan A was that Jesus came, everyone believed him, and began to love everyone, and show mercy to the needy, we know that Plan A wasn’t going to work. It gets relegated to Plan NGH, as in Not Gonna Happen.

So, Plan A was for Jesus to live and teach and heal and be merciful to all. Then, after the execution, God would raise Jesus from death, to prove how God wants us all to be merciful to each other, and is more powerful than death. His death and resurrection would demonstrate that violence and lack of mercy is not the way to live.

… So, what is our response? To keep telling Jesus’ stories. To tell our own stories. It’s not part of God’s Plan A that the disciples and early believers keep the story to themselves. And what’s the best way to tell Jesus’ stories and our own stories? At a table, with a beverage and a snack or a meal.

When we think about it, Jesus shows up in lots of stories about a meal in the gospels. He eats with or feeds thousands of people – in the fields and in private homes. Jesus reveals himself to the Emmaus road disciples when he breaks the bread. The last time they are all together is at a meal, followed by a walk in the park.

We gather around a table every week here at ULC, to taste some bread and wine, some little bit of Jesus. What we receive is his love, his desire to be with us, and his forgiveness.  

… It is at our own tables that we share family stories and, usually, we learn how to love and to forgive. At the home of our son in Tampa, we remember how Andy taught the twin girls what happens when you pull on the other’s finger – which they did for 5 minutes during the Thanksgiving meal that year. At least they were at the kids’ table.

It is at our family tables that we learn about God’s love, too. We pray our thanksgiving before we eat what God has first given us. We share the happenings of our day, and our joys and concerns about the neighborhood and the world.

… And at this table, the altar, we remember how Jesus supped for the last time with the disciples. He offered them his own body, his own blood, along with the bread and wine he shared. Remember you are loved and forgiven every time you eat and drink this meal.

We remember that all are welcome, here at Jesus’ table. We remember that we share this meal with others, those around this table, and with those at countless tables around the world. We are welcome, even if we are disbelieving and still wondering.

We remember that all are forgiven, at this table. Repentance is healthy, good for the body and good for the soul, but not required, before coming to this table. However, sharing this meal may just lead to repentance anyway. God’s grace is offered for free, especially in this meal of love and forgiveness.

 

… I enjoy watching a couple cooking shows. As I prepared to preach these readings this week, I kept thinking of Lidia Bastianich. She ends every show with an invitation: “Tutti a tavola a mangiare!” “Everyone to the table to eat!”

We soon will be at the table with Jesus. Let’s enjoy the meal and the benefits.

Amen

Can I get a witness!?

Acts 4:32-35; 1 John 1:1--2:2; John 20:19-31

… The readings in the first weeks after Easter morning always include stories about eyewitnesses to the resurrection. They declare to us what they have seen and heard, often as eyewitnesses or their first or second generation descendants. We hear how the first believers shared the news with those who weren’t there.

In First John, the unknown author of the letter or sermon to an unknown Christian community appears to be familiar with the Gospel of John. The author writes of the great sense of community that exists among the believers and between the believers and God.

The story in Acts tells us that everyone shared everything, so no one needed anything. They were living out what Jesus had taught them.

In the story from John’s Gospel, we learn of a visit to the disciples by the risen Jesus. Thomas was absent the first time Jesus appeared, and he remains skeptical of the stories Peter and the others have shared that they have seen Jesus. When Jesus does appear, Thomas’ declaration of faith exceeds that of any statement so far. He kneels – perhaps even bows with his face to the ground as if to royalty or a deity. And he says firmly, “My Lord and my God.”  He realizes that he doesn’t need to touch the wounds, he just needed to be in Jesus’ presence.

Because of his refusal to believe right away, Thomas gets a bad rap. He gets called Doubting Thomas, and is disrespected because of his questioning attitude. But I wonder if this is such a bad characteristic.

The other day, I saw a news story about people trying to use the name of the IRS to scam people out of a lot of money. We are always advised to verify the source of any request for money. We are told to make sure the email address is legitimate. We should never donate over the phone. ETC.

Essentially, we are the witnesses who weren’t there that first morning at the tomb, who weren’t in the room with Jesus that evening, or on the road to Emmaus with two followers of Jesus. We are Thomas, who needed proof before he would believe what the other disciples told him.

Two thousand years later, we are not going to run into any first-hand witnesses of the empty tomb. We’re not even sure where the tomb was, since there are at least two traditional locations!

We may, or may not, have grown up in the church, and like Thomas, we didn’t necessarily believe the first time we heard the story of Jesus and the empty tomb. Or rather, we may have believed as children; then questioned everything as teenagers; and then when we were young adults, we chose to not believe anything anyone over 30 told us.

It’s only the witnessing of others that brought us to believe in Jesus. Maybe it was our grandparents, or our friends, who invited us to some event at the church and we found a community who welcomed and loved us. Or maybe it was when someone offered to pray for us, and we allowed their prayers to enter our own hearts and change us.

… I tell my own faith stories to help you discover and tell your own faith stories. Here are some brief stories of some witnesses in my life that changed me, helped me become who I am today.

Evelyn and Katie were two women who mentored me and pushed me to break out of my introverted shell. Month by month, year by year, they taught me that I could be a leader. They supported me, guided me, and challenged me to take leadership positions in Women of the ELCA.

Fran was an intern at my congregation in Michigan. We met for lunch one day when a business call took me near her home. She had not completed her seminary training, and I asked her when she was going back to finish. In return, she asked me when I was going to start at seminary. A year later, I entered the candidacy process and applied to enter Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago.

In 2016, when I was making plans to retire, I began to look for other things to do, other groups to belong to where I could continue to grow spiritually. I discovered the Order of Lutheran Franciscans, and attended an annual meeting where everyone hugged me a dozen times in 4 days. Over the years since that first meeting, I have learned about the many ways Franciscans work for justice with love and passion. That passion for justice shows in my preaching, teaching, and everyday conversations with friends.

…These are some of my faith stories, stories that tell how I have grown and been changed by people who witnessed to me about Jesus’ love and grace. This week, I hope you identify some of your own stories of how people witnessed to you and how their witness changed you and helped you grow in faith.

As we learn our own stories, we become able to invite and listen to the stories others tell. In the sharing of stories, we discover that God has been present and at work within and among us, even when we weren’t paying attention.

If people hadn’t witnessed to us, would we believe in Jesus today? Like Thomas, people may need to hear from several witnesses before they are able to believe. If we don’t witness to others, how will they know Jesus and come to believe in him?

Amen

And they said nothing to anyone

Acts 10:34-43; 1 Corinthians 15:1-11; Mark 16:1-8

It is stunning, every time we read the end of Mark’s Gospel. “So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.”

Ancient scribes who copied the Gospel were so disturbed by this they added endings, in particular one that sounds a lot like the Gospel of Luke. But it has been determined that the real ending of Mark has the women running away and not speaking about what they saw.

However, when we focus on this last verse, we miss the previous one. The youth – likely an angel – tells the women, “… go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.” So, obviously they had to have told the disciples. Just not the people on the street as they ran back to the place where the disciples were staying.

… Despite the women’s temporary silence, the news of the empty tomb and the risen Jesus spread all over the region. Paul’s writings all predate the writing of the Gospels by two or three decades. His letters all date to the 40s and 50s, while Mark’s Gospel was written in 60-70 or just a bit later. By then it seemed prudent to get the stories of Jesus in writing since the original disciples and witnesses were dying, some as martyrs and some of old age.

In this excerpt from 1 Corinthians, Paul passes on what seems to be an early Creed. I pass on to you “… that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.”  Paul goes on to list the many appearances by Jesus to other disciples and groups, also as it has been told to him. I find it interesting, and frustrating, and annoying, that the women who were the first witnesses mentioned in all four gospels are not listed at all.

… The book of Acts records the activities of the earliest disciples, guided by the Holy Spirit. The news has already been spreading about Jesus resurrection in Chapter 2. By Chapter 10, individual encounters are related, featuring Peter, and later Paul. In this section of Acts, Peter has been learning that the people he has long believed to be “other” are actually included in God’s family. He admits he was wrong, and goes out of his way to include Gentiles in Jesus’ family.

Here, he relates what he himself witnessed: the ministry of Jesus, the death and resurrection, and the many appearances to believers after his resurrection. Then he adds the imperative to go out and spread the good news that all are welcome and forgiven in Jesus’ name.

It is because of these many witnesses through the centuries that we, today, know about Jesus and believe in him. We trust Jesus’ words that God calls us, welcomes us, loves us, forgives us.

… We celebrate today that the tomb is empty, Jesus has been raised from death, which means we no longer fear death as the end of our existence. We are filled with joy at this good news.

Isn’t it sad that, for many of us, the joy stays here, at church instead of leaking or even pouring out of the church doors into the community that surrounds us. So, I challenge you this week to find ways to let the joy out.

·       Say happy or blessed Easter to someone you don’t know. It doesn’t matter if they believe or not, just say it and watch what happens.

·       Comfort someone who is afraid with the reminder that since the tomb is empty, we have proof that God can do anything.

·       Invite someone to an activity at church – to LIFT or the BEE, or Campus Ministry, or Zoom Bible study. Or to Sunday worship, and promise to sit with them.

·       Tell someone who may feel excluded in many places that ULC is a place that welcomes all, because that’s what Jesus did.

… As you consider how and with whom to share the good news, think of all the times Jesus told the disciples to spread the good news after his resurrection.

Except, of course in Mark. For Mark, we have to go back to the beginning of the book, which begins: “The beginning of the good news of Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God.” So, while it seems Mark leaves us on a dead end, when we turn back to page one, we realize that the story of Jesus has just begun.

May it be so for you, as well.

Amen

 

 

Agape Love and the Cross

 Good Friday

Twenty-some years ago I met Bishop Bob Rimbo for the first time. It was a getting-to-know-you-meeting after I was assigned to the Southeast Michigan Synod after graduation from seminary. We talked about some basic things: what the synod was like; what my seminary experience had been like; what I had learned during internship; then we got down to the real questions.

Bishop Rimbo asked me, “Why do you think Jesus died?” My answer was quick. I said something like this: “So he could tell us in God’s own words and show us in person how much God loves us.”

As we remember tonight the sad day of Jesus’ death, we also are called to ponder why he so easily gave up his life. In John’s version of the story, Jesus is very much in charge of the way events unfold, here at the end of his life. He may not have planned out every step, but he knew the basics of what would happen.

·       Jesus needed Judas – or someone -- to tell the authorities where he would be.

·       Jesus knew that Peter would deny knowing Jesus, in fear that he too might be captured and unable to free Jesus from the hands of Pilate.

·       Jesus knew just how to provoke Pilate into having him executed.

We see clearly that this death has been the plan from the beginning. John has shown us clearly who Jesus is. He is God incarnated. Because Jesus speaks God’s words, we can believe that Jesus demonstrates for us the depths of divine love.

In John 15, Jesus says, “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” The Greek word for love here is agape. I talked about this last night as love in action. It can also be expressed as love given without expecting love in return. God loves us, even if we don’t love God in return, even though we can’t love God in the same way.

We grieve tonight feeling the pain Jesus felt as he was beaten and hung dying on the cross. We grieve tonight with the disciples of all ages, but we grieve with the joy of knowing this death isn’t the final answer. We grieve tonight knowing that Easter morning is coming.

But first, we have to get through tonight. The lights will continue to dim. More candles will be extinguished. A few more sad chants and songs will be sung.

Because Jesus really did die, and we really grieve tonight. Amen

What’s love got to do with it?

 Maundy Thursday 2024

Exodus 12:1-4 [5-10] 11-14; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26; John 13:1-17, 31b-35

What’s love got to do with it?!

You know that I often get a song playing in my head that won’t go away, because it seems to be connected to the sermon. My earworm this week has been Tina Turner’s song, “What’s love got to do with it. What’s love but a secondhand emotion? Who needs a heart, when a heart can be broken?”

We might ask Jesus this question as he sits with the disciples and others at supper on his last night with them. Although most artists include only the 12 men, there were likely women and children present at this meal as well. Check out the print by Bohdan Piasecki for an expression of how this might have looked.

Matthew, Mark, and Luke portray this gathering as the Passover meal, but John presents it as the night before Passover. The purpose for John is so that Jesus can be executed at the same time as the Passover lambs are being slaughtered. Jesus is the Passover Lamb for Christians.

Jesus begins, or rather continues, to talk about what is next, saying that he will soon die and be raised in three days. The disciples are freaking out as Jesus talks about all this. They don’t understand what Jesus means about the Advocate who will come to guide them in the future.

And Jesus just says, “Love one another as I have loved you. This is my mandate for you, that you love each other.” The word Jesus uses here is agape, which refers to love in action. It is agape love which brings Jesus to wash his disciples’ feet, and then challenges the disciples to agape love others in the same way.

… Every year, we hear Jesus reminding us, with this story of washing feet, to go out to love and serve, to agape love others. Each year, the tradition of washing feet meets with resistance. We are accustomed to serving others, to serving those in need, those with less than we have. We are not accustomed to being served by our friends. We are like Peter, claiming, “No one washes my feet!” And each year, I remind you all that the ritual is not about being washed, but about receiving service offered with love.

It’s a loving deed, agape love, to wash the feet or hands of someone else. It’s equally a loving deed, agape love, to let someone else wash our feet or hands.

Even more, it’s an agape loving deed to wash feet that really need washing. Some organizations and congregations have taken Jesus’ instruction literally, as they offer agape love by washing feet on a regular basis.  

The Church of the Common Ground in Atlanta understands what a toll being homeless takes on feet. Because they often have wet feet and no change of socks or shoes, fungal and other infections abound among people who are homeless.

The Church offers Common Soles [s-o-l-e-s] clinics for non-medical foot care. Volunteers wash and massage the feet of those who request it. They also offer clean socks, lemonade, and a listening ear. The volunteers at Common Soles welcome all, listen to all, and learn to love as Jesus loved.

… While the agape love of washing feet is an important part of this evening, I want us to think about something else as well. A recent post from Diana Butler Bass suggests that when we focus on the cross and suffering of Jesus, we are focusing on the wrong thing. Though I haven’t spent a lot of time thinking about that over the years, I realize that that has been my perspective as well.

What is most important for Jesus is the love offered to all, especially as it is demonstrated at the many mealtimes mentioned in the Gospels. Jesus feeds people, over and over again. He joins all sorts of people at the table – wealthy and poor, Jews and Gentiles, able and disabled, believers and those who refuse to believe. After healing the man filled with demons and the daughter of the synagogue leader, Jesus tells people to give them something to eat. At his last meal with the disciples, he commands that they all follow his lead to welcome and love all as he has taught them.

After the resurrection, there are more meals with the disciples, and he again sends them out to love and welcome all. The cross is how he died, but it’s the love that matters. It’s the love that has everything to do with it. It’s Jesus’ command, Jesus’ mandate, that we love one another as he loves us.

… So, Tina, what’s love got to do with it? Everything! It has everything to do with love. 

Amen

 

Seeing Jesus

John 12:20-33

One day, late in Jesus’ ministry, some Greeks come to the disciples. They say to Andrew, “We wish to see Jesus,” they said. Andrew checks with Philip, and the two go together to tell Jesus about the visitors. Word about Jesus has reached foreign ears and hearts. We never learn if the Greeks actually get to see Jesus, because John only reports Jesus’ reply about seeds and timing.

Apparently, this visit, this interest in him by those thought of as outsiders, signals that the end is near for Jesus. Jesus talks instead about how seeds look dead, but planted in the earth, they rise again and bear fruit. He goes on to insist that his followers will also be like seeds, giving up their lives so they can have eternal life. … Jesus says more in this passage, but this is enough for us to focus on.

… Today is March 17, a day when people honor St Patrick by eating corned beef and drinking green beer. There are many legends about Patrick, and few facts. Here is some of what we know to be true about him. He was born in England, where his father was a deacon in the church. When he was 16, Patrick was captured by Irish raiders and held prisoner in Ireland for six years. He escaped back to England, where he heard God’s voice telling him to return to Ireland.

He studied Christianity and after 15 years, he was ordained. Then Patrick returned to Ireland where his calling was to minister to the Christians already living there, and to introduce Jesus to those who followed native Irish beliefs. He used their traditions and images to help them know about Jesus. For example, the sun was a powerful image for these folks, so he added a sun to the Christian cross, forming what we now know as the Celtic cross. They lit fires to worship their gods, so Patrick used fire to symbolize Easter. I imagine him saying, in an adaptation of what the Greeks said to Andrew, “I want you to see Jesus.”

… How do we see Jesus today? In the text from John 12, Jesus talks about the seeds as symbolizing his own life, death, and resurrection. We don’t have to be farmers or gardeners to understand the message hidden in seeds. We know that the seed, which looks quite dead, will rise from the earth as if by magic. We know that the seed must be laid on or into the soil, and that it needs sun and water in appropriate amounts at the appropriate time in order to sprout. We know that a single seed bears 10- or 100-fold, especially a thistle weed in a Florida lawn in March. 😊  

Jesus told the disciples that like a seed planted in the earth, he needed to die in order to be raised to eternal life. Jesus was also saying that the disciples and followers, including us today, needed to intentionally give up their lives, be willing to die if necessary, so that others could “see Jesus.”

… Here’s a story. I hope you’ll see the connection as I did. Mike and I often watch Young Sheldon on Thursday nights. In case you don’t know the story, Sheldon and Missy are teenage twins, with Sheldon being a mathematic genius with limited social skills, and Missy being a “normal” girl. This week, three main stories: one about Missy planning a party; one about Sheldon and friends trying to make money with a computer program; and the third about Mom Mary discovering a TV preacher selling the Prosperity Gospel.

Mary at first resists what the Reverend Travis Lemon is saying, but soon decides to believe his interpretation of Jesus’ promises for abundance. She sends him money the family can’t afford and waits for the abundance of money to roll in.

Mary’s husband George points out that the amount she sent was a week’s worth of food for the family. When Mary insists that they will soon receive an abundance of cash, George goes to see their pastor, who agrees to talk with Mary.

Mary insists to Pastor Jeff that they will soon be rolling in money because Reverend Lemon said so. Pastor Jeff explains that Jesus just doesn’t work that way. Mary isn’t convinced, but Pastor Jeff has planted a seed.

Mary goes outside to pray and ask for a sign – which turns out to be a glob of bird-do on her forehead. The negative signs abound over the next few hours, and on Sunday, the family is in church with Pastor Jeff.

Here’s the connection I found: both George and Pastor Jeff try to help Mary see the real Jesus. Their words plant seeds of doubt about Reverend Lemon’s lies, and grow to reveal the truth of Jesus’ words. It is only as Mary has time to process and lets Spirit work in her heart that she can see the real Jesus.

… We believe Jesus is present, even if we can’t see him. Perhaps just as often, we have the opportunity to help others see him, too, as George and Pastor Jeff did with Mary, as Patrick did with the early Irish folks. Knowing and sharing his stories, his words and deeds, can guide us in conversations with those who don’t know him, or don’t know him well.

We also can help people see Jesus by doing what Jesus did: welcoming all as children of God, healing and feeding them. This week, I pray you will look for Jesus, and for opportunities to help others see him. Amen

There are rules, and then there are Rules

 

2024 03 03 Sermon

Exodus 20:1-17; John 2:13-22

You may have notices that there are several versions of the Ten Commandments floating around in English. For Jews, the first commandment is: I am the Lord your God. And the second commandment is: You shall have no other gods before me.

Since for centuries, the people we now call the Jews lived among people who worshiped many gods, so these two commandments make a lot of sense. God is saying to Moses, to all, “Among all the gods out there, I alone am your God, and you will worship only me!”

Our God had competition, back in the day. God still has competition, but it comes in the form of earning money, following sports teams, having the best possessions, knowing the most important people, and so forth.

Christians tend to put the first two Jewish commandments into one first commandment. I am the Lord your God. You shall have no other gods before me.

Decades ago, a pastor said, “If we obey the first commandment, all the rest will fall into place.” I agree. If we put God first in our lives, the rest makes sense. If we tend to make money, sports, possessions, or power our gods, we are not putting God first.

Over the years after Moses, the Jewish leaders shaped the commandments into 613 commandments, all explanations and applications of the first 10. They are included in the Torah, the first five books of the Hebrew Bible.

Then later there were oral and then written interpretations of the commandments, as people sought to understand the commandments in new circumstances. How far could people walk on the Sabbath in this town? What foods were kosher when they moved to a new place and saw new foods?

… By Jesus’ time, there were rules aplenty about what was legal around and within the temple. One set of rules governed money. It had been determined that only Jewish temple coins could be used on temple grounds to purchase animals for sacrifice.

Since the land of Israel – then called Judea – was controlled by Rome, the general populace used Roman coins minted wherever they lived. So, there were tables where people could exchange their Roman coins for temple coins. (Today, when we visit other countries, we go to a Currency Exchange. It’s the same thing.) And, then, people could use those temple coins to purchase sacrificial animals from the pens on temple grounds.

As John tells the story, shortly after making the very best wine at a wedding, Jesus enters temple grounds and has a tantrum. This story is told at the end of Jesus’ life in the other three Gospels, but John chooses to put it at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry.

Jesus is making two points here: first, the obvious one that the temple rules have turned the temple into a marketplace instead of a place to worship God. And, second, that Jesus’ own body will replace the temple. … At this point in the sermon, I needed to decide if I was going to talk about Jesus as the temple, or continue with the commandments. And it turns out, it’s the commandments!

… I want to be careful here to not unfairly criticize the Jews, and veer into antisemitism. The ancient Jewish leaders had made careful plans to be as respectful as they thought possible in their effort to put God first in their lives and in the lives of all Jews.

Jesus came to say that they were focusing on the wrong things. When the Pharisees questioned Jesus about the commandments, Jesus said that the first commandment was the greatest, but it is accompanied by another. They can be summarized like this: Love God, and love your neighbor.

As it happens, we were talking about this last week at Bible study, and we thought it should be amended to clarify it today to read, love God, and love ALL your neighbors.

… The example Jesus gives us at the temple that day serves as a reminder that the rules we establish may not be according to God’s plan and desires for our wellbeing.

We all make rules. In our families, we make rules. Dinner is at 6pm. No food in the living room. Shoes off at the door. Hang up your wet towels.

In our churches we make rules. At ULC we use the ELW liturgies, or we create our own. We have snacks after worship, and celebrate birthdays on the first Sunday of the month. We welcome everyone to the altar to receive Holy Communion. We offer communion every week.

… Sometimes, when churches want to change the rules, people get upset. The old hymnal, liturgy, and songs are the only ones they like. Only certain people are welcome at the altar for communion. Communion is too special to have it every week, once or twice a month is often enough.

I suggest that when we are making rules for ourselves, for our congregations, for our communities, that we consider Jesus’ response. The most important rules, commandments, are these: love God and put God first; and love all your neighbors.

I would suggest there are rules in our communities or state or country that might need to be changed in order to line up with Jesus’ commandments, but we will disagree on which rules those are. But … since we are in an election year, it is something to keep in mind as we choose our leaders.

So, instead, I encourage you to ponder this week the rules you have in your own lives. Do they help you love God and others? Do you need to change the rules you live by?

Amen

Faith and trust

 Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16; Romans 4:13-25; Mark 8:31-38

As I was reading and rereading these texts for today, I began to imagine them as actual conversations: Abraham with God, Paul with some folks in Rome, Jesus with the disciples and the crowds.

So, Abraham and God. They have had other conversations about the same topic, about this calling. But Abraham and Sarah have been waiting years and still no baby. They will wait still longer. This conversation is a renewal of God’s commitment to Abram and Sarai. “You will be my people, and I will be your God.”

I imagine the conversation going something like this:

Abram … You know, God. You promised us long ago that we would have thousands of descendants, and we’re still waiting for the first baby! Sarai gave me her servant Hagar, and I have a child with her, but now you tell me it’s got to be with Sarai. We’re both tired of waiting and frustrated that it’s taking so long.

God … Yes, I know it seems like a long time to you. But I have plans you don’t and can’t know about. It will be soon, I promise! To show you how sincere I am, I want to give you new names. I will now call you Abraham, father of nations. And Sarai will now be Sarah, a princess, and she will be the mother of nations.  

Abram … Yes, God, I believe you and trust in your promise.

God … You are a faithful, righteous man. The covenant between us is still valid. Please wait a little longer. You’ll see.

It was about a year later that Isaac was born.

 
… It’s true that Paul may not have been able to meet with the Roman congregation because he was arrested and tried and executed once he got there, but still, it’s interesting to imagine that individuals were able to see him in prison. Paul refers to Abraham’s faith to make the point that we don’t have a relationship with God by doing things according to the rulebook. We have a relationship with God simply by having faith and trust in God.

Parishioner A … Paul, are you saying we don’t have to obey the laws for God to be our God?

Paul … Yes, that’s what I am saying. Just as God and Abraham had a covenant, a promise, to be faithful to each other, that’s all it takes for us, too. Abraham promised to trust God, and God said, “That’s righteousness!”

Parishioner B … What do you mean when you say ‘God gives life to the dead?’

Paul … I meant that to be a play on words. I think you know that, right?! First, since Abraham was almost 100 years old when 90-year-old Sarah gave birth to Isaac, they both were almost dead. And the play on words also included God’s raising Jesus from the dead.

Parishioner A … I think I’m beginning to see that faith in God is what makes us righteous.

Paul … You are right! Keep on trusting in God and you will be righteous in God’s eyes.

 

… Now, let’s think about the disciples talking with Jesus and the crowd listening in. There is no talk about Abraham here, but there is the same measure of trusting God to know what God is doing, even when the plans seem all wrong.

Jesus … The Son-of-Man must undergo great suffering and be rejected by all the leaders. He will be killed, executed, and after three days be raised from death.

Peter … No, Jesus, that can’t be the plan! Didn’t we just talk about you being the messiah? The messiah can’t be killed before getting started. That’s not how this is supposed to work!

Jesus … Peter, you are speaking like Satan, like my adversary. You need to let God’s plans work here. Divine plans are very different from human plans!

John … What do you mean? We all thought you were part of God’s plan to change the world. Or at least, to get rid of these Romans! That’s why we are following you.

Jesus … Listen to me closely. If you want to be my followers, you must be ready to die for it. You must trust me, that my way is better. I promise that in the end, it is God’s true plan.

… So, these conversations are about trusting God and what happens when we do. Abraham and Sarah trusted God for 25 years before Isaac was born. That’s a lot of trust! They weren’t perfect in their trusting, and they had lots of adventures along the way, some of them risky to life and limb. But on the whole, they trusted God and believed the promises made to them.

Paul uses the example of the imperfect trust by Abraham and Sarah as the way we can all trust in God and believe God’s promises. Abraham’s faith is used as a model for those who believe in Jesus. Paul says we can trust in the promise that our relationship with God is based on faith, not on how well we obey the rules constructed by religious leaders.

Jesus, however, puts faith and trust at a wholly new level. When we believe and act upon our belief, we can get killed for it. Just think about this as an advertising campaign: Come one, come all! Believe in Jesus and get crucified!

And yet, there were uncounted thousands of people who did just that! You may have heard the story of Perpetua and her maid Felicity and their companions. They lived in Northern Africa in the early 200s, a time of severe persecution of Christians.

The daughter of a Christian mother and a pagan father, Perpetua has an infant son. She is an educated noblewoman, who wrote her own experience in a journal. We don’t know who the father of the baby is, or where he is. It’s easy to assume he has already been arrested and executed for believing in Jesus.

Her father tries hard to get her released from prison, but she insists on remaining there to demonstrate her trust in God, her faith in Jesus. Perpetua keeps her son with her until the day she is sent with Felicity and others to the arena to do battle with the wild beasts and then the gladiators. Their feast day is March 7. Something to look forward to celebrating!

… While persecution for being Christian does happen in some parts of the world today, mostly Christianity is the dominant religion. But there are many interpretations of what it means to be Christian. Our faith in Jesus and belief in what he stood for can put us at odds with people who support other interpretations of what Jesus wants from us.

If we believe Jesus sends us to stand up for the rights of oppressed people, we might do some of the following:

·       We might put a little library on the corner near the bus stop,

·       We might visit Baker Detention Center and provide comfort to the refugees held there.

·       We might participate in voter registration drives and encourage all citizens to vote.

·       We might sign petitions that guarantee access to medical care for all women.

·       We might make it known that we welcome ALL people at UELC, young and old, straight and gay and other, white and black and brown, abled and differently-abled, and so forth.

But, our faith and trust in God might lead us to do things that put us at risk of disobeying the law, or at least angering some of our neighbors.

·       We could include some of the books banned by conservative folks in the Little Library.

·       We could provide cash for the labor of undocumented immigrants, so they can have housing and food for their families.

·       We could participate in demonstrations that advocate for justice for an oppressed group.

·       We could hang a rainbow sign or flag high on our property for all to see.

·       We could have a porta-potty installed and maintained in an appropriate spot on our grounds, while we advocate with the city for public restrooms and safe housing for the homeless.

I guess it comes down to how much you believe what Jesus said is important. And how much you trust God to make all things work according to God’s plan.

If one of these ideas upset you, try to understand why you object, and what Jesus might say about it. Then refer to Matthew 25, where Jesus insists that whenever we aid those in need, or refuse to do so, we are doing it to Jesus himself.

If one of these ideas intrigue you, ponder and pray about how to make it happen. And then place your trust in God as you make plans to follow through.

And, since many – but not all – of us are over 65, our task may be to pray and encourage those who are younger.

However we plan to be involved, let’s trust that God has a plan and Jesus has our back. Amen

 

2024 02 18 Sermon

Mark 1:9-15

Testing, testing

Mark's story-telling style is to move the story along quickly, so it's important to pay attention to what he does say. In 6 short verses, we get Jesus’ baptism, testing, and the purpose of his ministry.

The little we do have is dramatic. At the baptism the heavens are not just opened, they are torn open. At the crucifixion, the curtain in the temple will be torn open, using the same word. Jesus didn't just enter the wilderness, he was driven there. Jesus' ministry starts after John was arrested, which is a sign of foreboding for what will happen to Jesus.

 The word we often translate as temptation also means testing. If we think of scientific methods, we use testing to discover, or determine, what something is made of. How much gold is in a rock, or how much oil is in the ground?  So, when Jesus is in the wilderness, he is being tested to see what he is made of. Is he willing and able to do the ministry ahead of him the way God planned it? Will he resist the temptation to use his divine power for personal gain?

I found it interesting to imagine the scene as described by Mark. In one sentence, we get the whole picture: Jesus is in the wilderness, accompanied by wild beasts, Satan and angels. Mark doesn’t say Jesus fasted as Matthew and Luke do; so he must have survived on whatever he found, some edible vegetation, maybe locusts and honey.

The wild beasts include lions, jackals, bears, wild ox, and lots of smaller, less dangerous critters. How was Jesus kept safe from harm? Maybe the angels protected him, maybe he threw rocks at them. We don't here have a description of any conversation between Jesus and Satan, the Adversary, or in this case, the Tester. We simply know he experienced a time of testing.

Within just a few more verses, Jesus will encounter the first of numerous demons inhabiting persons and making their lives miserable. He already has to tell the demons to be quiet, because he as a different goal in mind than battling them right now. This struggle against the forces of evil continues throughout the Gospel.

The last sentence in our reading describes what Jesus came to do, despite the opposition he will receive from earthly and spirit enemies. Jesus' purpose in being on earth is to declare that the time is now, and the reign of God is at hand. Mark will describe the reign of God through Jesus’ words and deeds.  

For today, let's think about the idea of testing. We have all been tested, time and again, from birth to death. We become who we are because of the testing we have faced and worked our way through.

Being a student, of any age, is a type of testing. By the time we get to college or university, we have learned a lot, hopefully, about taking tests. The greater test in college is the course of study. How will we use what we are learning when we are finished with school? Who are our companions? Our testing can be as simple as: How will we have enough money to pay the rent and eat?

When we are older, we face other tests. My friend Sally – not her name - became a widow a few months ago. She never had to do anything with the family finances until shortly before her husband died. Now, the financial entities that hold their moneys are resisting efforts to get her the money quickly so she can pay her bills. This is a serious time of testing for her.

Another friend, Mark – also, not his name – has been battling lung cancer. The doctors have worked hard to find the right treatments for him. A bigger test has been getting the insurance companies to agree to cover new treatment options. His strong faith has helped him endure the treatments and the isolation required to avoid exposure to other diseases.

I mentioned last Wednesday that is a time for heart work, a time for self examination, for confession and seeking forgiveness. This week’s heart work could be recalling some of the testing you have been through.

What tests have you faced? How have they shaped you into the person you are today? How have they made you stronger? How have they changed you? How has your faith grown because of the testing?  How has your faith in God been shaken? It may be good to share some of that testing with others. We discover, when we share, that are not alone in the struggle to stay faithful in the midst of testing!

Amen