To Seek A Newer World

Acts 11:1-18

Lord,
as we listen to your holy Word, open our hearts and minds to the power of your Spirit, call us out of darkness, and lead us into your marvelous light. Amen.

Have you ever had a break through? Have you ever had one of those “Aha!” moments in your life when you finally understood an idea that had eluded you or discovered a solution to a problem that you studied and worked through over and over again. Break-throughs are great, reckless, extravagant, and wild. They can turn our world upside down and change us forever. That’s the power of a break through!

The Apostle Peter had a break through as he traveled spreading the Gospel. In his travels, he is led by God to convert and baptize the first Gentiles, the first uncircumcised believers of Jesus Christ. A new day has dawned and the world is changed forever, for God is doing a new thing. God had broken through to the peoples of the world offering them new life in Christ.

Now back in Judea, in Jerusalem, the apostles and believers were not thrilled with what Peter had done. They summon him to Jerusalem for some special “congressional hearings”. With Peter present, the leaders in Jerusalem stick it hard to Peter. They don’t mince words with their questioning. “Peter, what are you doing getting mixed up with the Gentiles? What are you thinking by eating with them?”

The Jerusalem church saw themselves, not as Christians, but as an extension of Judaism, as a new sect of the Jewish faith. They followed the old laws, mandates and instruction of Judaism. They believed in Jesus as the Messiah, but they still saw themselves as part of the Jewish tradition. They had a limited understanding of what God had called them to be. They didn’t and couldn’t see the big picture of God’s plan of salvation of the world which as we know today included the Gentiles.

How often do we as the church of Jesus Christ limit our understanding of God’s calling on our lives? How often do we as the church of Jesus Christ remain in the familiar, in our comfort zone, in the safe, secure places where we live.

We are called by God as Christians to reach out beyond our immediate sphere of influence; to break through the familiar, the old assumptions, the traditions that can tie us down. We are called to carry the Gospel to new places and to new faces; to seek and create a newer world in Jesus’ name.

Methodist Bishop William Willimon told a story about a young, idealistic college student who found himself in the worst housing projects of Houston. This young man was a new Christian. He grew up in a safe, affluent suburban neighborhood and was blessed with a loving family, good schools and lots of opportunities. In college, he had taken several courses on the Bible, church history, and Christian theology. He dreamed that one day he would graduate and go into the world to preach the Gospel to all people converting thousands to the Christian faith. This young man left his comfort zone, his safe, secure place and became an urban missionary without a clue on how to evangelize in the middle of the inner-city. Even though frightened and intimidated, he was excited to share his faith. He approached a large tenement and made his way in down a long, dark, dirty corridor and up a flight of stairs. As he walked he heard a baby crying from one of the apartments. He knocked on the door and was met by a woman holding a naked baby. She was smoking and really was in no mood to hear about Jesus. She cursed at the young man and slammed the door.

The young man was devastated. He left the tenement and sat on the curb. He thought to himself, “Look at me. How in the world could someone like me think I could tell anyone about Jesus?”

Then the young man looked up and saw a dilapidated old store on the corner. It was open, and he went inside and walked around. In the store he remembered the baby in the tenement was naked and the woman was smoking. Do you know what the young man did? He bought a box of diapers and a pack of cigarettes and headed back to the apartment. He knocked on the door. Before the woman could start cursing him out again, he slid the diapers and cigarettes inside the open door.

After a moment, the woman invited him in.

The young man played with the baby. He put a diaper on the baby even though he’d never put a diaper on a baby before. And when the woman asked him to smoke, he smoked – even though he’d never ever smoked before. He spent the whole day playing with the baby, changing diapers and smoking cigarettes.

Late in the afternoon, the woman asked him, “What’s a nice college boy like you doing in a place like this?” He told her all he knew about Jesus. This took about five minutes. When he stopped talking, the woman looked at him and said, “Pray for me and my baby that we make it out of here alive.” He prayed.

This young man experienced a break through! Led by the Holy Spirit and supported by the power of God, he shared the love of God with a downtrodden woman looking for a new way to live, a way out of her current situation, and did so with a box of diapers and a pack of cigarettes. God called this young man to get out of his comfort zone and beyond his immediate sphere of influence. Like this young man, we are called to obey God’s purposes for our lives: to act, to move, and carry the Gospel of Christ out of our familiar spheres of influence and into new places and to new faces to create a newer world in Jesus’ name.

This is the purpose of the church. The Danish theologian Hans Kung describes it this way. He says, “We must entice people from the world to God. We are not to shut ourselves off from the world in a spirit of asceticism, but to live in the everyday world inspired by the radical obedience that is demanded by the love of God. The church must be reformed again and again, converted again and again every day, in order that it may fulfill its task.”[1]

I am convinced that one of the main reasons for the decline of mainline Protestantism is our lack of focus. If we hope for something more, for a new heaven and a new earth, we must know the cost involved and be willing to pay it whatever it may be. We need a break-through!

When we look at the ministry of the church in the United States over the last century or so, we see God break through into the world outside the walls of the church. The faithful members of the old mission boards of the Protestant churches reached out beyond their immediate spheres of influence to reach the world, home and abroad, for Christ. They saw the needs of hunger, poverty, and disease in the new immigrant groups in their communities and with people across the globe. Hearing God’s call upon their lives, they saw the need and tried to fill it. These mission organizations sent missionaries all around the world to bring the Gospel to all nations and peoples of the world. For Presbyterians, the nation where we had a large impact and now a strong presence is in Korea. In fact, the largest Presbyterian Church in the world is in Seoul, South Korea. Churches both Catholic and Protestant sought to help the sick and injured. Hospitals were created to meet the needs of society providing healing and health to all in need. This legacy lives on in the names of hospitals in major cities across the country.

What motivated these Christians to break through and meet the needs of the world around them? What cost are you and I willing to bear? Are we willing to sacrifice to God the familiar, our comfort zone, and the safe, secure places where we live?

We process and experience life differently today than we did twenty, fifty, or a hundred years ago. Smart phones, social media, email, wireless internet access, and text messaging have completely revolutionized how we communicate and relate to one another. As a result, our spheres of influence have grown astronomically. We can talk with someone in China on a mobile phone while riding in a cab through Downtown Dallas on the way to attend a video conference call with clients in Sydney, Australia. How can we, the Christian church, take full advantage of these changes? For example, how can we utilize the internet to share our worship services with a broader audience? How can we use social networking websites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest to reach out and minister to people of all ages? The possibilities are numerous and within our reach, if we are willing to take the chance.

We have something incredible to offer the world, the Living God of the Universe, the ultimate truth. The world is a very different place today and we can no longer afford a “business as usual” attitude. There are ministries our congregation is involved in that are losing enthusiasm and energy and some we are no longer involved in. We are no longer involved with the Longview Interfaith Hospitality Network and will end our involvement with the Backpack Program at the end of the current school year. Our Saturday Bread ministry is losing steam with participating congregations wanting to drop out. What is God trying to tell us? Is there something new on the horizon? The Session will decide on Wednesday night whether we as a congregation want to commit ourselves to participating in the New Beginnings Assessment Program. Such a commitment will require us to make some tough decisions and choices that will produce short term pain, but yield long term gain. It will require participation from all members of the congregation.

So when you leave here today, pay attention; be watchful! Revelation chapter 3 says that the Lord opens doors no one can shut and shuts doors no one can open. The leaders of the Jerusalem church did not see or understand the new thing God was doing in the world through the Apostle Peter. We need to watch for God at work in our life and in the world around us. So seek after Him with all you’ve got. Get after Him with the best effort you’ve got and leave the results, the outcome, the grades in school, the college acceptances, your financial success, and everything else to God.

God has broken through and offers all people, all of us, new life in Christ. What part will you play as a servant of God to bring this new life to the world?

---

[1] Kueng, Hans.  The Church (Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Co., 1976).

The Way of the Shepherd

John 10:1-21

I used to play the trombone in high school. To properly play the trombone, you have to have a good ear to stay in tune. There are seven positions on the slide of the trombone. If you don’t hit the right position in the right spot, you are either way sharp or way flat. When I first began to play, I was all over the place. I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t tune my trombone by ear. I played a lot of bad notes: I was either way sharp or way flat. There are many positions one can play on the slide of the trombone. However, there is only one right spot for each note to be considered in-tune.

Just as there is only one point where any single note is in tune, so there is only one way by which we will be saved and have a right relationship with God. John uses what was a familiar image to the people of his day, the sheep and shepherd, to illustrate this relationship between God and us.

Jesus says, “I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture.” This is the way of the shepherd: Jesus is the way to life, real life; life as it was meant to be lived. Jesus leads us to a life of freedom and wholeness. It’s the best alternative to the voices and pressures all around us acting as thieves and bandits attempting to turn us away from God, seeking to kill and destroy us, the sheep of God’s pasture. Jesus is the Gate to abundant life.

There is this great movie that came out on DVD several years ago entitled, “Facing the Giants”. It’s about a high school football team that trusts in God and achieves the impossible. In the movie, there is a scene where David, a former soccer player now playing football, is learning how to kick extra points and field goals. He’s always kicking the ball either wide left or wide right. David is frustrated and the assistant coach is frustrated. The coach tells David that the only way it will work is for the ball to go through the middle, not wide left and not wide right. David insists that’s what he’s trying to do, but the coach goes on. Listen to what the coach tells him. He begins with scripture, “The gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it. That’s not us. That’s wide left and wide right. But the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it.” (Matthew 7:13-14) The wide gate is wide left and wide right. Anybody can kick the ball wide left or wide right. My mama can kick the ball wide left or wide right. It doesn’t have to look pretty. It doesn’t have to look smooth. It could look like a dying duck, but it’s gotta go through the middle. Now David, you’re gonna have to choose the narrow way because that’s how you’ll get your reward. Now, send that ball through those pearly posts!” David tries it again and heeding his coach’s advice, he kicks the ball straight through the middle, looking like a dying duck!

Jesus says, “Anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.” We are all like sheep and God in Christ is our gate. But He is also our shepherd, the Good Shepherd. As the gate, Jesus is the means to life releasing us from the bondage of sin. As the good shepherd, Jesus leads us on our way to life, a life of freedom and wholeness.

Why did Jesus use the shepherd motif to describe how we relate to God? It wasn’t a glamorous occupation by any means. The life of a shepherd was not an easy one. Especially in the times of Jesus, shepherding was not something you majored in at college or sought out as a rewarding career. Shepherding was a hard life, a 24/7 job. The shepherd lived and slept outdoors. Shepherds were rough and tough while at the same time caring and loving toward their sheep. They were trained to see great distances so they could see danger coming from far away. There wasn’t a lot of grass and plants to graze, so the shepherd was always on a search for the best fields to graze. There were no fences around the fields to keep predators out and keep the sheep in. Shepherds were regularly defending their flock of sheep from wolves and animals that preyed upon helpless sheep. This required a great deal of love and commitment on the shepherd’s part. In fact, the shepherd was so committed to the well being of his sheep that he is willing to die for them in order to protect them. The good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep.

Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Unless a man has something he’s willing to die for, he isn’t fit to live.” Italian philosopher Peter Pertocci said, “No man knows what he is living for until he knows what he’ll die for.”

Jesus Christ is the Gate and the Good Shepherd. In his death and resurrection, Jesus shows us the way to abundant life at the gate and offers us abundant life by the example of his love as the good shepherd.

We are God’s sheep, his people. No matter who you are, what you’ve done or where you’ve been, God in Jesus Christ is still your shepherd. Even when we wander away from him, Jesus comes after us and brings us back to the fold. Even when we travel through the lonesome valley, tempted by predators all around us; Jesus stands up for us in our time of need. Even when bad things happen to good people, Jesus is there. Even when you’re in your secret hiding place doing something you are too embarrassed to tell even your parents or spouse, Jesus is there. This is what defines us, the church of Jesus Christ: we cannot be separated from who Jesus is and his example of sacrificial love.

The way of the shepherd, the way of Jesus Christ, is through the gate that leads to fertile pastures, not fields of decay and destruction. And in this unknown, new place, Christ protects us by walking ahead of us like a good shepherd calling each of us by name caring for all as he cares for each. Jesus Christ wants to get our lives “in-tune” with God’s will. He gives us both safety and security as well as freedom and wholeness when we choose to follow and obey Him. It is then we begin to get “in-tune” with God.

“God has promised to keep his people and he will keep his promise.”(Charles Spurgeon) Christ has come so that we may have life and have it abundantly. This is the Good News. Amen.

Major Heart Burn

Luke 24:13-35

What does Easter mean? Is there more to it than the declaration, “Christ is risen”? Is there more to it than the empty tomb and the astonished disciples? What is the Easter message and what are we to do with it? How does Easter touch human lives and make a difference in them? Is the resurrection simply just an event in Jesus’ career and nothing more? How does this story that appears to be “an idle tale” actually make sense?

The story of the walk to Emmaus is one of the most well-known of the resurrection stories. Its focus is on two human beings who knew the earthly Jesus and how they respond to the news of God’s deliverance through the resurrected Jesus. It intrudes into the lives of real people, evoking worship, confession, repentance, communion, transformation, obedience, and mutual love. They see Jesus from a different perspective, from a different point of view. They’ve known him as rabbi, teacher, but now he takes on a new role, several roles in fact. Stranger. Guest. Host. All three roles are played by Jesus himself on the road to Emmaus. He appears to his disciples first as a stranger, then as a guest and finally as a host, offering critical guidance to those of us who want to do a better job of welcoming and including people in the life of the church.

What these two travelers help us understand today is that the self-revelation of the risen Messiah comes through the interpretation of the scriptures and the breaking of bread; Word and Sacrament. This is how we, the church encounter Jesus and learn to see him as someone other than a strange fellow traveler.

With Jesus depicted as a stranger, he gives his disciples the challenge of showing hospitality. They practice philoxenia, which literally means "love of the stranger." Philoxenia is one of the Greek words used in the New Testament for hospitality. This approach stands in stark contrast to the attitude so prevalent in society today -- xenophobia, "fear of the stranger."

What would it mean for us to practice philoxenia in the life of our congregation? We do it every time we teach English to a student through our ESL ministry. We do it every time we speak to strangers in the hallways and doorways after worship, instead of visiting only with our friends. We do it every time we make an effort to get to know a person from a different race, culture, nationality or sexual orientation. We may come to discover that the stranger we encounter is not all that strange. Jesus calls us to take good care of the guests who come to us. He challenges us to feed the hungry and welcome outcasts as he did throughout his ministry. Since we, the members of the church, are the physical body of Christ in the world today, we're supposed to be his hands and continue his work. We show his presence in the world every time we practice hospitality in his name, whether we're feeding the hungry through Saturday Bread or welcoming a guest to a service of worship.

Guests are important to Jesus, which is I think why he played that role on the road to Emmaus. He wanted to challenge his followers to see him as a guest and show true hospitality. Recall with me the story Jesus told in Matthew 25. Jesus comes in the form of people who are in need of food, drink and a warm welcome. Jesus says, "Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me" (vv. 34-35).

The followers of Jesus hear these words, but they don’t get it. No comprende. They don't remember seeing Jesus and helping him, so they ask, "Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry ... thirsty ... a stranger?" Jesus answers them simply, "Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me" (vv. 37-40).

Jesus comes to us as a guest, even today. When we help a person in need, we're really helping Jesus. And this happens not only in church, but on the street, in school and in the workplace. This can be tough to do, because our schools and the workplace have become competitive and anxious places, with everyone forced to do more with less and excel at any cost. But even there, when you help a person in need, you're helping Jesus.

The role of Jesus changes from stranger to guest to host when he sits at the table and breaks the bread (v. 30). We see this when the risen Christ nourishes us through the sacrament of the Lord's Supper. As the bread is broken, we're invited to open our hearts to the presence of Christ. He's comes to feed us, and to fill us with his power and his presence.

It's critically important for us to permit Jesus to be our host; to eat his bread, drink his cup and allow his body and blood to become part of our body and blood; to accept the forgiveness he offers and to allow ourselves to be strengthened and inspired.

Sometimes, it's easier for us to help others than to receive help for ourselves. We would rather be a host than let someone else host us. But today, at the Lord's Supper, permit Jesus to be your host. Open yourself to what he wants to give you. Like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, your eyes will be opened and you'll recognize him.

This message is a proclamation, and it's something we're all challenged to do. To make a proclamation is simply to talk about how we've experienced the work of God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. It's going to be different for all of us, and differences are just fine -- they are part of the diversity of life in a church that is a home to all.

Pope Francis has stirred up the Roman Catholic Church since his selection last year, gaining particular attention for working to make the church "the home of all." In a recent interview, he talked about proclamation and Christian hospitality. "Proclamation ... focuses on the essentials, on the necessary things," he said. "This is also what fascinates and attracts more, what makes the heart burn, as it did for the disciples at Emmaus."

The road to Emmaus: this is where Jesus came to his disciples as a stranger, as a guest and as a host. Emmaus is where we learn how to welcome one another around a table, and then go out into the world with a proclamation. Emmaus is where we come together and strengthen our bonds with Jesus and with each other.

Writing in The Lutheran magazine (June, 2012), Peter Marty writes about an incident Viktor E. Frankl recounted from when he was in a Nazi concentration camp. He was at the end of his rope from the deprivation. At this point, when he had lost every possession and had every valuable destroyed, someone gave him a piece of bread. Frankl wrote, "I remember how a foreman secretly gave me a piece of bread which I knew he must have saved from his breakfast ration. It was far more than the small piece of bread which moved me to tears at the time. It was the human 'something' this man also gave to me -- the word and the look which accompanied the gift."

Peter Marty comments, "Keep on the lookout for that 'human something' the next time you break bread with another person. Their words may offer more nutrients than the bread in your hand. Their look may open the eyes of your heart. It might all be a small taste of the first Emmaus."

When we practice Christian hospitality, we become part of a mighty spiritual movement -- one that can overcome divisions in a terribly polarized world. It all begins when Jesus breaks the bread, our eyes are opened and we recognize him. Amen.

Now What Do We Do?

John 20: 19-31

It’s the first day of the week and we find our disciple-friends living in fear.  They are uncertain about what has happened to their rabbi Jesus.  They are a confused and bewildered by the events of the past week.  Even though Mary Magdelene told them that very morning that she saw Jesus alive again, the disciples don’t believe her.  They are paralyzed by fear and apprehension.

They don’t want to be found or discovered.  They are afraid and so they hide from the world and its troubles and difficulties.  They are afraid.  They are asking themselves, “Now what do we do?”  Waiting for an answer from someone, somewhere.

When things go wrong or don’t go as expected, when life gets difficult, challenging, or overwhelming, our tendency is to run and hide.  Unless I’ve missed my guess is there someone here today who is overwhelmed by their circumstances and living in fear?  Is there someone here today dealing with a broken relationship, a job loss, downsizing to a smaller home, figuring out how to best care for an elderly loved one, attending new school in the fall?  Is there someone here today who put their faith in someone or something trusting that they would come through for you, but in the end they didn’t and now it hurts and left a deep pain in your gut.  Now what do we do?

It is in the midst of their fear and insecurity that the disciples see Jesus, the fully resurrected Jesus, in their presence.  He’s live and in living techni-color!  He’s as real as you and me.  All this despite the fact that the doors and windows were locked, Jesus entered into their realm.  Despite their best efforts to isolate themselves from the world around them, Jesus entered their realm with the purpose to re-build and re-gather this community of believers.  He comes to drive out the fear and uncertainty in their hearts so they could become a community of faith once again. 

In essence, the resurrection of Christ is a community-building event.  It’s the central experience that unites all Christians.  The Christian life of faith is only lived in community.  It can not be lived in isolation, yet there are many who try.  I’ve heard it said by some that there is no point of going to church because I don’t get anything out of it.  It’s not about getting, it’s about giving and having the chance to serve others.  I’ve heard it said that church is boring.  I say stop whining and adding to the boredom.  Some say the church is filled with hypocrites.  That’s because all human beings are imperfect and can be hypocritical at times.  I have heard it said that you don’t need to go to church, as long as you are a good person and don’t hurt anyone.  I say by whose standards are you measuring yourself, God’s or your own? 

Poor Thomas!  He missed Jesus the first time he came around. He was left out; on the outside looking in.

“You’ll never guess who was just here?” 

“Who?” 

“Jesus was here.  You just missed him.”

“Doh!”

The disciples tell Thomas all that happened, all that he missed.  Thomas gets a bad rep because he wants physical proof, too, as the other disciples had received.  All week Thomas waited and waited.  And he’s probably thinking to himself, “The guys all saw him and he gave them new life by the Spirit.  Will Jesus re-appear?  What if he doesn’t come back?  Now what do I do?

The good news is Jesus does appear to Thomas, so Thomas is no longer on the outside looking in.  He’s accepted, not rejected.  He’s included, not excluded.  He is received into the community with the others and given the same gift of the spirit.

We witness the birth of this community, the church, when the resurrected Christ gives them the ultimate community-builder, the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit is the presence of God that unites the body of Christ. 

With the Holy Spirit, the disciples of the past and the church of today have the power to come together as a community of faith.  As a community, we have the power to stand up courageously against fear, affliction, and injustice.  As a community, we have the power of the Living God as seen and known in the resurrected Christ.  We have the confidence and assurance to stand tall in the midst of pain and suffering as the body of Christ, to stand up against even the most fervent opposition.  We don’t have to run anymore.  We don’t need to hide anymore.  We don’t need to live in fear anymore, for fear has been conquered.

The walls the disciples’ constructed couldn’t keep the world out anymore than the huge stone could keep Jesus in the tomb. 

As Christians, we are called to be members of the body of Christ, a part of the community of faith.  We are called to make a difference in the world as His body.  We are called to dream new dreams, form new visions and inspire one another to share Christ with the world.  Do you have a dream?

However, sin causes us to struggle as the body of Christ.  Sin influences each of us to construct walls around ourselves to isolate ourselves from each other and the world. 

We put up a wall by ignoring people.  We don’t let anybody get too close to us.  We don’t want anyone to know us too well.  For some, just a simple friendly, “Hi.  How are you?” can pass for a meaningful relationship. 

We put up a wall through the abuse of alcohol and other substances or an addiction of any kind.  Our fear of being known and the pain and suffering we experience are shoved down deep through addictive behavior.  The numbness that results serves as a wall isolating us from our families, friends, and co-workers, although only temporary. 

We put up a wall by keeping a busy schedule of events and appointments.  We rush through a never-ending maze of business meetings, dance practices, athletic practices and games, and various errands.  When we are asked to volunteer our time for charitable cause, our reaction is often that we are way too busy.  Maybe some other time, we say, which almost always means never. 

We put up a wall by surrounding ourselves with material possessions and affluence.  A large, fancy home, the latest fashions from the most fashionable designers, new cars, season tickets for sporting events, vacations to exotic ports of call staying at five-star hotels and restaurants.  Such things keep us in our own worlds and isolate us from the unwanted suffering and pain of others. 

By living our lives behind these walls and doors of isolation, we become comfortable and stable, stuck in a rut we don’t want to get out of.  We become so comfortable and so stable that we don’t stretch ourselves or strive to reach out and take part in the body of Christ or the world around us.

We all need to realize that isolating ourselves is all in vain!  We can’t live the life God wants us to live in isolation behind walls of fear and insecurity.  In order to live the life God wants us to live, we need to embrace the community, participate in it and through it, and to fellowship with one another.

Now what do we do?  How can we embrace community?  How can we strengthen our own community of faith?  It begins with our need to seek the Living God each and everyday.  We need to pray asking God to dwell in our midst through the power and work of the Holy Spirit; to direct our steps and guide our thoughts.

I know this is not easy.  It is not easy to change your life; to change the culture of our church.  With God’s grace, revealed to us in Jesus Christ, we no longer have to live for ourselves.  We no longer have to be isolated from one another.  Through the Holy Spirit, we can face our fears, our imperfections, our problems and our pain with a faith that comes from knowing Christ and Christ alone in the community of faith, the church of Jesus Christ. 

With this faith, we move from living in fear and isolation to living in peace and in community.  With this faith, we bear each other’s burdens with grace and love in community.  With this faith, we are able as the church to share with the world the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  And with this faith, we shall live in earnest for that day when our Risen Lord shall come again.

Amen.

The God Story: The Twist Ending

John 20:1-18

I.

Throughout the season of Lent, we have been talking about a story, the story of God and God’s people found in the Bible. It’s easy to miss the fact that the Bible holds a story. Is there a connection between the God of Adam and Eve and the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? And what in the world does that have to do with Jesus? And the real question is, “What does that have to do with me?”

What we have discovered is that in fact there is a story here. There are common threads that run throughout the Bible. We have discovered that it is in this story upon which all great stories find their structure and their parts. It is within this story that we find any hope that our story might have meaning.

We have talked about the inevitability of uncertainty in our stories—that in a story, you don’t know what is coming next. You don’t know what the next chapter will be. It is a mystery we live into. In this way, life is more like a story than a formula or a timeline.

II.

Still, there are some big moments that are expected. You can tell when a big day is coming. You can sense it. A good storyteller lets you know that you have arrived at one of those monumental, story-changing moments. You can feel it, like your first kiss, or your wedding day, or that hike to the top of Half Dome at Yosemite National Park or to the bottom of the Grand Canyon, or that first big deal that you seal, or the first time you hold your child or grandchild. A good storyteller lets you know leading up to that, that this is a big day. So they invite us to read slowly and pay attention. These moments will shape the character forever.

One of the biggest experiences for a young boy involved in Cub Scouts is Pinewood Derby Race Day. And in my first year of cub scouts, I couldn’t wait until they set up the racetracks in my elementary school cafeteria for the big race.

I knew it would be a big day for me, and I know this sounds silly, but I just knew I would win a trophy. I knew it would be a life-defining, historical day for me,

When they gave me my block of pinewood, I could see the car already. Immediately, I went to work in our basement. My dad watched over my shoulder to supervise my work, especially working with saws, but he let me design it. Though I had straight and sleek lines in mind, when I actually drew them on the block and then cut them, they weren’t as straight and sleek as I had envisioned. My car was uneven and unbalanced, but I couldn’t see it at that time. To me it looked perfect. When I finished, my dad helped me spray paint it. Looking at the car, it looked more like a piece of modern art than a car. After attaching the wheels, I knew my awkward-looking car was a winner! The trophy was in my grasp.

I showed up to the school cafeteria, and everything changed. To my horror, I saw the other cars, and they looked like cars. They had racing stripes and window decals and numbers. How could I have forgotten a number? I wasn’t deterred, though. I thought, “Let’s race and leave it all on the track.” There were two races. If you won, you advanced, and on and on it would go until the fastest cars raced at the end.

In both races, my car finished dead last.

Here’s what I remember from that devastating time. Sitting in a chair, my head down, holding my piece of modern art, listening to the whizz of Pinewood Derby cars and the occasional cheers from parents, I thought, “How did this day, this big day, this defining day, this trophy day, turn out like this?” Everything in my story said this day would be one thing, and now it was something quite different. Now the story seemed over.

(hold up block of wood) As you look at this piece of wood, think about some of the things in your story that started out with such promise and potential and ended up as bad art.

As you think about that, I want to recap the God Story for you as we have looked at it together during this Lenten season. In the beginning is our Introduction to the main character of this story, God.

We are introduced to God and God is powerful and mysterious and just by speaking can set the whole world in motion. After speaking humans into creation, God takes an incredible, unprecedented step, God speaks to that which God created. Immediately we know this God is different from other gods. This was Thread #1 in the story: God speaks because God desires relationship. God doesn’t want to be a far off God. Shortly after, the man and the woman choose to do their own thing rather than follow God, listening to the bad guy and listening to their stomachs over the word of God, beginning their thread of deceit and betrayal.

The laughable dream of Abraham showed us Thread #2: If God makes a promise, God keeps it. As we watched the wandering people of God get frustrated in the wilderness, we found Thread #3: God will provide all you need for the journey. Then with David, we saw an unlikely little shepherd boy become king—Thread #4: God calls the unlikely and gives them a better story. We talked about how the Soundtrack to this whole story is the prophetic voice singing over us the beautiful message of Thread #5: God’s love is reoccurring and relentless.

The people of God were waiting, waiting for a new king, the real king, the king God would send. They are waiting on Resolution. A young boy, born to an unlikely family, Jesus rides into Jerusalem on the first day of Passover. Jesus comes riding in on a donkey and the people recognize Jesus of Nazareth as King. They say “Here is the King of Israel, Hosanna, save us now.”

This is our big day, the moment we hoped for, the moment we knew would come; we could sense it coming in the story, and here it is—our defining moment—God will make things right; God will give us our rightful place; God will save us.

This is the first of the week, and by Friday, they have nailed that same man, the one they said was King to a piece of wood. We want to think that we wouldn’t have done that, but everything about the story and our story points to the fact that we would have.

III. 

Big days don’t always go as we expected, and this can be disappointing.

The disciples, Jesus’ closest friends, spend Friday and Saturday and into the night, thinking how in the world did this happen? This was going to be it, our big day, our defining moment. Now the story is over.

For Mary, it’s over. And if you have ever experienced something you think is over, it’s an empty, lonely, scary feeling. When the thing you need most is done—the part of the story you need most to continue—you feel lost. And this was one of those from every possible angle. It’s done.

Mary showed up at the tomb that morning and it was over. Done. Jesus himself had said on the cross where they could hear him, “It is finished.” Mary comes to the garden alone. She sees the empty tomb, runs to tell Peter and John. They come, investigate the situation, and go home, which is their way of dealing with the doneness of this situation.

And then…suddenly she’s not alone. You know the feeling when you think you’re alone and then you find out your not. It’s unsettling. You put your guard up; you become very aware of your surroundings, surroundings you had ignored moments ago.

Your brain tries to make sense of it quickly. I’m in a garden. He must be the gardener. You speak before you’ve thought it all through.

“If you have taken his body somewhere, it’s ok; just let me know where he is, and I will get it. You’re not in trouble; just tell me where he is!”

And then…

“Mary.”

“Mary,” he says.

Had she even looked at him yet? Had she even turned to see whose shadow it was?

“Mary,” he said.

And she knew. And you know how, when your mom says your name over the phone when you answer, or your spouse says it as they lay next to you, or your hear your child call it from a room down the hall, you know who just spoke your name? Mary knew.

It wasn’t over. It wasn’t done. He wasn’t gone. He wasn’t dead. She wasn’t dead inside. She wasn’t done. Her life wasn’t over.

It was Jesus. The Jesus run wasn’t over. The Jesus relationship wasn’t over.

She knows it’s Jesus and that he is God. And he still speaks to call us into relationship, that God kept his promise, and that Jesus has been all she needed for her journey. And he calls her, the unlikely one, and has given her a better story. And the story of a reoccurring relentless love that will not give up on her, will go the grave and come back and not give up.

This is what they call in a story, or in a movie, the Twist Ending. Sometimes it is called the big reveal, or the moment of truth. Finally it all makes sense. Most great stories do this. When hope is lost, the amazing, unthinkable happens.

Back at the Pinewood Derby, I sat there until all the races were finished. They began calling out the winners of the trophies: first, second, and third for every den, and then overall. My head still down, they said, “And now for our last award of the night, probably the most anticipated trophy of each year, goes to one of our youngest scouts. The winner of the 1979 Pack Favorite Award goes to Scott Nowack!”

I couldn’t believe it. I was shocked and surprised as I walked up there, I’m sure now my dad paid somebody off, but in that moment I thought, “How could I have forgotten about the Pack Favorite Award?” And I promise you it was a defining moment for me, to be shaken from my introspective grief to see that there was a bigger, better story for me. I became a kid, who could hold hope for something good even when bad things happened, who would have the courage to dream and dream big.

This story, this Jesus story, says I can take whatever you’ve got and give you the best prize. It is a Twist Ending to the story. I bet you didn’t see this coming: that Jesus could come and take your thread of betrayal, deceit, messing up, or whatever it is that you think defines you, and speak to you. He speaks your name in a way that you will know it’s him. He keeps his promise of life and hope to you and gives you all you need. He writes you a better story, unlikely though you may be, and you see how relentless Jesus is in telling you that he loves you.

It changes everything. Easter is the Twist Ending we’ve all been waiting for. Easter is the “You think it’s over, but it’s not.”

The sun rose this morning, same as it has for thousands of years, same as it did the first Easter morning. It says, God is not done. God is not through with us yet. Jesus is not dead. Jesus is alive. He has risen. He has risen indeed. Alleluia! Amen!

The God Story: Waiting on Resolution

John 12:12-19

I.

The NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament is one of the biggest sporting events of the year. Millions of people tune into watch; tens of thousands fill out a bracket. But it is fascinating that the interest in the tournament goes down every weekend. Why? Because when you watch those first couple rounds, there are all kinds of uncertainty. You have no idea what might happen next. Every year, there are “Cinderella stories” of underdog teams that pull the upset and beat the favorite. This year was no exception.

These are the moments that all sports fans long for, found in the closing seconds of the game when a shot lifts towards the goal or when a pass sails through the air towards the end zone and what happens with that ball determines the outcome of the game. The moment before the moment we know how it all works out is the one that people wait for and watch for.

I’ll never forget Doug Flutie’s “Hail Mary” pass with seconds left on the clock against the University of Miami. Flutie dropped back to pass, evaded a defensive player by scrambling to his right, eyed his target, planted his feet and let it fly. It’s in that moment, as the ball flies through the air it seems as if time stands still for those few seconds. We hold our breath and wait. We wait for resolution.

I attended my first World Series game back in 1999, Game 4 at the old Yankee Stadium, Yankees vs. the Atlanta Braves. Yankees are up 3 games to none. With each passing inning, you could feel the anticipation building. By the 5th inning, almost everybody was standing. By the 7th inning, everybody was standing and cheering. The energy was electric and contagious. With each out made, the tension and anticipation kept growing and growing. We were all waiting for resolution, for that final out that would seal the deal for the Yankees to become World Series champions.

The uncertainty and excitement of moments like these, the moments before the moment, are what we live for. Much of our life, much of our story is found in the moments leading up to when the ball goes in the air and the final out is made.

Some of you will remember from middle school the simple graph that shows the structure of a story. After the story reaches its climax, it begins moving towards Resolution. Resolution is where everything is wrapped up and tied up neatly. Much of our life is found waiting for Resolution.

II.

Much of the God Story finds its characters waiting for Resolution as well. Abraham waits for the son that is promised to him by God. At the age of seventy-five he receives that promise, and then he waits decades to see it resolved. The Israelites wait to enter the Promised Land; they are released from slavery and wait for decades to make it to their future home. The Hebrew people call out for a king, and then it turns out the kings they get are not the kings they wanted, and so they wait for the King, the Messiah, the anointed future king. They wait for centuries. They cry, “When is he going to come? When are we going to be set free? When do we get our real King, the one who can save us?”

By the time Jesus comes riding into Jerusalem, the people are ready and waiting and chomping at the bit. This isn’t one of those moments when the people are all mixed up; this is one of those moments when they get it, and they get it right. There were enough people who recognized that Jesus was the one, unlikely though he may be. After all, they had been disappointed before with other false Messiahs and unfulfilled apocalyptic promises that the end of the world was near. But they created enough excitement that by the time Jesus came into Jerusalem on the first day of the most important week in their culture—the week of Passover, when they would retell the story of what God had done and hold out the hope of what God would do—they were ready. By the time Jesus got there the whole city had gathered on the streets to welcome him with great fanfare.

And here is what they said: “Hosanna,” which has become a word of praise, but is, at its root, an imperative statement of salvation, a word calling out to be saved. The word actually means “save now.” In other words, we can’t wait any longer; this is it; wrap this up. Hosanna. Save us now.

There comes that point in any good story, where you are longing for Resolution, when you can’t take it anymore. The story is everything at this point; you are begging the author, the director, whoever is in charge, “Will you give me some Resolution? I can’t do this anymore.”

Throughout the season of Lent, we have talked about the numerous threads in the Bible. Beginning in Genesis we saw Thread #1: God speaks because God desires relationship. The laughable dream of Abraham showed us Thread #2: If God makes a promise, God keeps it. As we watched the wandering people of God get frustrated in the wilderness, we found Thread #3: God will provide all you need for the journey. Then with David, we saw an unlikely little shepherd boy become king—Thread #4: God calls the unlikely and gives them a better story. Then last week we talked about the prophetic voice singing over us the beautiful message of Thread #5: God’s love is recurring and relentless.

Jesus’ coming and his triumphal entry on Palm Sunday appear at first glance to be the Resolution of all these threads. This is not to say it is the end of the story; it’s not. There will be even more important events that happen afterwards, but it seems at the time to be the culmination of this waiting for Resolution.

Some of us find ourselves there today. We are waiting for God. We need God.

III.

Don’t miss that it was a broken community of broken people like us who cried out to God that day. They waved palm branches and cried Hosanna. Jesus comes to these people in his normal clothes, looking like them, riding on the colt of a donkey. He connects Genesis to Abraham, to the wandering Israelites, to David, to the exiled Judahites, and to them. A broken community is crying out to their God, and finally God comes.

I have seen communities cry out to God and say “We need you now.” Communities ravaged by poverty, economic recessions, and “white flight” to new suburban communities. The north side of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is one of those communities. The neighborhood was littered with abandoned homes and storefronts that once thrived with life and activity. There were no jobs and no jobs meant no hope for a brighter future. And the people cried out to God, broken, in turmoil, lacking hope in a brighter future for themselves and their friends and families. Until one day God placed a call and a vision on one man’s heart. Saleem Ghubril, a Presbyterian pastor, started what is known as The Pittsburgh Project back in 1985. It was a way to engage North Side youth with faith, hope and love with afterschool tutoring, job training and more. And at the same time serve the needs of vulnerable homeowners: those who are elderly, poor, home bound, widowed, disabled, or immobile. Today, almost thirty years later, volunteer crews – mainly comprised of teenagers and college students – repair more than 150 homes each year in neighborhoods throughout the city and neighboring boroughs. Volunteers come from throughout Pittsburgh, out-of-town, and even out-of-state to participate in day-long or week-long service camps. For the North Side youth who take part in the Pittsburgh Project discovered what it means to be part of the community. For the young people and adults who came to serve and give life away to another in need, they were called by God to come and serve with faith, imagination and love. Through the Pittsburgh Project, God comes to the youth and vulnerable homeowners across Pittsburgh with his power, grace and love.[1]

The story of our God, the story written into the fabric of time, and the fabric of our souls, is that God comes—not how you expected God, to be sure. But God comes in power and in love.

In power and love God comes to all broken communities of people. To broken marriages, God comes. To broken finances, God comes. To broken churches, God comes. To broken nations, God comes. To the luckless, the abandoned and the forsaken, God comes. To the confused, the accused, and the misused, God comes. To the single mom working hard trying to make ends meet for her family, God comes. For the one who has secrets that they just can’t face, God comes. God comes and by the end of the week we will have forgotten all the excitement of this beautiful and glorious day, all the anticipation of this moment, waiting for resolution and we will cry out, Crucify him! Crucify him!

And do you know what? God comes again.

It’s pretty likely that you are at a place in your story where you are waiting for Resolution. That’s where we spend most of our time. Most of the time is the mean time. You’re waiting for some deal to go through, somebody to pick up the phone, somebody to come home, a paycheck to arrive, a check to be mailed, for a wrong to be made right. That’s where most of the God story takes place, any good story does. And God comes. Jesus comes for you. That’s his promise to us. Will you not receive it today?

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[1] http://www.popcitymedia.com/features/pghproject1210.aspx

The God Story: The Soundtrack

Zephaniah 3:14-17

I.

How important is the Soundtrack?

In a movie or TV drama, the Soundtrack, what you hear, is as important as what you see. You often don’t even notice it, but it keeps the story moving, and it connects the story in the movie. It draws you into the story. Often a song or a variation of it will be used in the opening credits, or in an introductory scene to be used again at the climax and the end. The Soundtrack can be as important as the dialogue.

Today movies are one of our most common ways of telling a story. In fact when a good story gets written and spreads in popularity, it is not long before they are trying to make a movie of it because that is how many people experience story now a days.

We have been talking about our story, and I want us to consider this morning: “What is our Soundtrack?” and “Does the God Story have a Soundtrack? And if so, what is it?”

In The God Story, we have talked about the greatest story ever told: the story of God and God’s people. This story is found in our Bible, but what is the connection between these books of the Bible—thirty-nine in the Old Testament and twenty-seven in the New Testament, with many different authors. The liturgist or the pastor gets up in church and reads out of a book called Zephaniah, and you wonder, “What in the world does that have to do with the rest of the story? And what does it have to do with me?”

We have discussed threads that run through the whole story. There are unique and individual stories in the Bible but also some incredible glue that holds them all together. There are threads that run throughout.

Beginning in Genesis we saw Thread #1: God speaks because God desires relationship. The laughable dream of Abraham showed us Thread #2: If God makes a promise, God keeps it. As we watched the wandering people of God get frustrated in the wilderness, we found Thread #3: God will provide all you need for the journey. Then last week with David, who we often think of as great, we saw that he started out the least likely candidate to carry on the lineage of Christ. That was Thread #4: God calls the unlikely and gives them a better story.

II.

And so David becomes king and then from his lineage there was king after king after king. Here is what was said about most of them. “He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord” (2 Kings 21:2). The people who were once called Israel split into two nations, so then they had two kings, and then they faced oppression, even destruction, and eventual subjugation and dispersion from other larger, more powerful nations. This king experiment had gone bad.

During this time God raised up certain people to be prophets. In the Old Testament, sixteen books contain the story or the words of these prophets. The word prophet derives from a Greek word that means “foresee”; that is what we usually think about with the term prophet, someone who sees the future. But that is not all. And if we stop there with prophet, we truly miss what they were sent by God to do.

The prophets’ true task was to speak on behalf of God to the people, and to speak on behalf of the people to God. God speaks because God desires relationship (Thread #1), and most of the time what the prophet spoke was a message of God’s continued desire. The prophet says God still remembers God’s promises.

And certainly, the prophets’ voices took into account our thread of betrayal and deceit; they didn’t sugar coat that or wash over it.

The prophets’ voice is the Soundtrack to the faith experience of the Hebrew people. As they went along on their way, God would raise up prophet after prophet who spoke of the promises of God to draw people into the story.

We have the option to just live life paying no attention to the greater story. You can pay the bills, punch the clock, drive kids all over kingdom come, and mark time until it is all over. All of these things are a part of our life, important parts. But you have an important role to play in the God Story, and the prophets’ Soundtrack is a reminder of this.

III.

Zephaniah was one such reminding prophet. We don’t know the exact details of the situation of the nation of Judah, but it was likely under fire from surrounding empires. It would only be a couple of decades before the nation was completely taken over: the kings of the line of David were killed, Jerusalem was destroyed, and the Temple leveled.

The people desperately needed to hear from God.

So we know Zephaniah’s word would have been an urgent word. And he is telling them God is going to do something!

Zephaniah 3:17 says:

The Lord your God is in your midst,
he is mighty to save.

He will take great delight in you,
he will quiet you with his love,
he will rejoice over you with singing.

The Soundtrack for our lives, the re-occurring theme song, is God’s love song ringing in our ears.

Wait a minute! The Soundtrack for our lives, the re-occurring theme song, is the love song of our God ringing in our ears?

It’s hard to take in. This isn’t just somebody romanticizing and getting all touchy feely about God. Zephaniah is not a romantic book. Zephaniah’s book is a hard book that exposes the depth of betrayal of the people, how far they have turned from God, and the devastating consequences of such choices. So when you hear this word about God delighting, quieting, and singing over us, don’t take it lightly, take it to heart.

Zephaniah is introducing us to Thread #5 in our story.

IV.

Thread #5: God’s Love Is Re-occurring and Relentless.

God’s love will keep on coming; it will not let up; it will not go away. God is saying, “I love you. Yeah you’ve messed up; I see that; I see that better than you, but your messing up is not more powerful than my love.”

And he calls out to his people over and over again, so he can sing to us over and over again.

When one of our kids is hurting, cranky, or is scared after having a bad dream, D’Anna and I want to calm their minds and soothe their spirits. To do so, we sing songs to them. “Jesus Loves Me” is always a winner. Michael liked for us to sing “Jesus Loves the Little Children” and “ABCs”. For Marissa and Meredith, it’s “El Shaddai” by Amy Grant. And we don’t just sing it once.

With kids sometimes you have to repeat things over and over again, so they will get it, or at least we hope so. The prophetic voice is the voice of God over and over again, saying, “It’s ok; I’m with you; I’m a warrior who is mighty to save; I delight in you; I want to comfort you. I love you.”

The prophets’ song is the Soundtrack to remind us that God loves us, fights for us, and will never let us go. And that’s the Gospel!