john calvin press

John 15:26-27, 16:4b-15 and Acts 2:1-21

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place.  And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.  Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them.  All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.

Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem.  And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native tongue of each.  Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans?  And how is it that we hear; each of us, in our own native language?  Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phyrgia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs--in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.  All these were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?”  But others sneered and said, “They are filled with new wine.”

 

But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, “Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say.  Indeed, these are not drunk as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning.  No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:

‘In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.  Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy.  And I will show portents in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and smoky mist.  The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day. Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’

 

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer.  Amen.

Something significant happened in the room where Jesus’ disciples were waiting together for the arrival of the Holy Spirit.  I doubt anyone really knew what to expect.  Following Jesus was getting more confusing by the day.  First he’s teaching them and leading them, then he’s arrested and taken to prison.  He was betrayed to the authorities by one of his own in a strange shift among the disciples.  Fearing for their own lives, the disciples ran away, leaving Jesus to face Pilate on his own.  His death and burial were beyond the disciples’ wildest nightmares.

As they came to the realization that something had gone very wrong, that they had probably been following the wrong guy, suddenly Jesus bursts into their midst while they are huddled together behind locked doors.  Seeing his scarred body, and receiving his greeting of peace, everything changes again.  Jesus is back.  Things can return to normal.  And for awhile they do.  Jesus and the disciples are back together again, and he is teaching them many things.  Life is back to normal for about forty days, then everything changes again.

Read the rest of this post »

I wish that I could tell you that M. and J. and I poured through the Scriptures, or even the Lectionary, in order to find a Sunday with the perfect combination of bible readings when choosing this date for T’s baptism.  But I can’t.  We three simply chose the date; the readings were chosen for us.  Believe it or not, these are the regular Lectionary readings for the Fifth Sunday of Easter - even when there is no baptism scheduled!  Both of these readings are so rich, and either one of them alone is enough.  But today we get to glean from both as we consider exactly what it is we are going to do here this morning.

 

I wonder if you remember the syndicated cartoon strip from the seventies called “Love is…”  It was a one panel cartoon that offered a different definition of love each week.  One of its most famous one said, “Love is being able to say you’re sorry.”  That one was published in 1974, just as the movie “Love Story” rose to its height of popularity with the theme, “Love means never having to say your sorry.”  The late sixties and early seventies were all about love, weren’t they?  There were love children, ubiquitous puffy hearts, and scores of songs, from “Love is a Many Splendored Thing” to “Heartbeat it’s a Lovebeat.”

Perhaps such sentimental mush is swirling around in your mind when you hear John’s claim that God is love.  Isn’t that sweet?

Not so fast.  God IS love, but this love is not at all the stuff of warm fuzzies or first crushes.  In fact, this love is so distinct, so very different from what I’ve just described that John and other biblical writers reached back and reclaimed an obscure Greek word to describe this “purely biblical and ecclesiastical word”, as the New Oxford Annotated Bible indicates in the footnotes regarding the word ἀγάπη.  

God is ἀγάπη.  God is love.  ἀγάπη ("love") is mentioned 28 times, just in these verses L. read to us a few minutes ago.  Obviously, this is an important term for us to know.

ἀγάπη is love that is self-giving.  It is love that incorporates action.  It is love that is always seeking the good-will of another person.  It is not self-centered - it is rooted in God.  We love one another, not because we are good people who happen to like each other, but because God loves us and through that love compels us to show care and concern for the well-being of every person that God also loves.  This love does not originate in us, nor is it developed through our own efforts.  ἀγάπη originates in God it is the very image of God in which we are all created.  ἀγάπη shows no preference for any person.  It loves without expectation or necessity of response.  This love is the same love shared from God toward people and from people toward God.  It is also the same essence that flows from God toward Christ and from Christ toward us.  It is given to us simply because it is the nature of God.  God is wholly love, and everything that God does emanates from love.  God creates in love.  God judges in love.

ἀγάπη is the sacrificial love and through which God sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.  In Christ we see and taste and experience God’s love and that love compels us to love one another.  We simply cannot do otherwise.  Born of this love, we know God ourselves, and all fear is driven out.  In God’s love there is no fear.  We need not, in fact we cannot, fear others, even others whose lives and choices differ from our own.  God does not love us because we deserve it, and we are not to hold our love in reserve for only those whom we like or with whom we agree.  We are to love the unlovable, the unlovely.  We are to trust that God’s love is given to all.

And so today, as we baptize T., we claim this love of God, which God has already given to T., in a public acknowledgement that T. A. R. is a beloved child of God.  And let’s face it, it’s not very hard to love a baby...especially one whom we have known and loved since before he was born.  But we are also compelled to share that same love with others, too.

The Ethiopian Eunuch presented a challenge for Philip.  These two men couldn’t be more different from each other.  One holds a very important position in the royal household, and is no doubt well compensated for his job that gives him full charge over the entire treasury of the Queen of Ethiopia.  The other is an apostle of Christ, whose needs are likely covered by the common purse of his home church community.  One is a foreigner, while the other is a citizen and member of God’s chosen people.  One has chosen a strange sexual lifestyle as a eunuch.  And that choice costs him from full acceptance at the temple, even as he diligently travels to Jerusalem to worship the God of Israel--the God who is ἀγάπη.  The other is a disciples of Jesus Christ whom the Spirit guides to reach out in ἀγάπη to this other man who is so different from Philip.  And Philip obeys.

As he approaches the fine chariot belonging to the royal household of Ethiopia, Phillip listens the the Eunuch reading from the book of Isaiah.  Obviously this man is rich.  He is also educated and able to read Greek, and he is devout and eager to know the Scriptures.  Despite the regulations that keep him from fully participating in temple worship, this man rejoices at Philip’s appearance and invites him into the chariot to explain the scripture to him.  Dare he hope that the description of the suffering servant might be relevant to his own situation?

As Philip begins to explain the gospel, the story of God’s ἀγάπη, that love that encompasses all that God is and does, they come upon a place with water.  “Look, here is water!  What is to prevent me from being baptized?” the Eunuch excitedly asks Philip.

Plenty--if the authorization for baptism rested with us.  Philip could point to lots of things including the lifestyle choices of this man that are so very different from Philip’s.  Philip could have been tempted to write up an amendment proposal for the rules on eligibility for baptism to make sure that only one kind of person and lifestyle is permissible.

But that isn’t how the story goes.  It’s not how things worked out.  Philip knows the love of God that abides in him and calls him to love God and love his neighbor.  And the Ethiopian Eunuch is Philip’s neighbor, even as different as the two are.  So, when the Ethiopian asks what is to prevent him from being baptized, Philip knows the answer is nothing.  And the two go immediately down to the water where Philip baptizes the man, and the Ethiopian Eunuch becomes Philip’s brother in Christ.  God loves the Ethiopian Eunuch just as God loves Philip and me and you.  Baptism is an outward sign of that ongoing truth.  It is an acknowledgement that God is already abiding in his child, the Ethiopian Eunuch.

In a minute, we’ll go to the water, too.  There we will affirm what we know to be true.  God is love, and in that love, God has already claimed T.  God abides in T., and T. abides in God.  Eugene Peterson, author of the message, says that God invites Teague and all of us to live in God, to make ourselves at home, to dwell there.  Just as God lives and dwells and abides in us.  In God we find love that overcomes fear.  We find a love so complete that it compels us to reach out to others in the power of that same love.  Jesus put it to his disciples this way:  Just as I have loved you, so you also should love one another.  By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.

Now then, friends, here is the question for us this morning:  what is to prevent us from baptizing T?   Thanks be to God that there is nothing AND that nothing can separate Teague or us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus.  Amen. 

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen. Wouldn’t it have been nice if Jesus had just listened to the people who were taunting him on the cross? Do you remember what they said? The swore that if Jesus would just come down from the cross, then having seen it for themselves, they would believe. If Jesus had just thrown a little of his weight around, if he had jumped down from the cross to stand among his accusers--they would have believed. And if they had believed, then so would everyone after them, right? I trust you realize that my tongue is planted firmly in my cheek. The truth is that they would not have believed if they had witnessed Jesus coming down from the cross any more than they had believed when they saw Jesus heal the sick or give sight to the blind. In fact, in John’s gospel, they don’t even believe when they see Jesus raise dead Lazarus from the grave. At our sunrise service, Rev. Don Phillips’ message was called "Seeing and Believing." He talked about the truth that although we say we won’t believe until we see something for ourselves, even when we do see, we don’t always believe. John’s gospel claims to have been written so that those who have not seen may believe. So, which is it? Do we see and then believe? Or do we believe and then see? Which comes first? We know that early in the morning, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb to anoint the body of Jesus. When she and the women who were with her arrived at the entrance of the tomb, they saw that the stone had been rolled back. The tomb was empty. The women didn’t know what to make of it. It seems pretty certain that we can say that when they saw the empty tomb, that sight alone was not enough to cause them to believe. According to Mark’s gospel, the women were filled with fear and amazement and they went home and said nothing to anyone because they were afraid. Eventually they must have said something to someone, because somehow it was passed on to the author of Mark’s gospel who wrote it down for others to read and to believe. The other gospels, particularly John’s gospel which we are reading today tell the Easter story slightly differently. Remember that in John’s gospel, Mary encounters Jesus in the garden and mistakes him for the gardener until he calls her by name. Realizing who he really is, she runs to tell Peter and John and the other disciples, “I have seen the Lord.” And they, too, run out to the tomb, discover that it is empty, and come to some sort of an understanding of what has happened. But they still don’t really believe. We know that because today we read that the disciples are cowering together in a house behind a locked door. This is not what we would expect to find from disciples who believed that their Lord has risen from the grave. Suddenly, Jesus comes and stands in the middle of their huddle saying, “Peace be with you.” His words sound a lot like the “Do not be afraid” of the young man at the tomb. Immediately, this strange man standing in their midst shows them his hands and his side. Not only do they see the scars of the crucifixion, but they most likely recognize these hands that have touched them and prayed with them and comforted them. And recognizing what they see, they rejoice! Again, Jesus offers them peace and then he breathes upon them, anointing them with the Holy Spirit, and telling them as much. Then just as suddenly, Jesus is gone again. Now, not all of the disciples were present in the room when Jesus appeared. Thomas was not among them. And as the disciples, like Mary Magdalene before them, try to explain to Thomas that they have seen Jesus, Thomas isn’t buying it. “Unless I can see it, I won’t believe it,” Thomas declares. And then we, the church, jump all over Thomas, even nicknaming him “Doubting Thomas.” As if anyone else has done anything different. Rather than focusing on Thomas’ doubt or his desire for proof, we ought to have another look at the rest of the disciples. You know, the ones who HAVE seen Jesus’ hands and his side. The ones who HAVE received the Holy Spirit. The ones whom Jesus has authorized to forgive the sins of others. Those disciples. The faithful ones. One week goes by, and how are they demonstrating their believe and their faith now that they have seen for themselves? Why, they are huddled together in a house behind a locked door, filled with fear. So much for seeing and believing! Is there any hope for believing and seeing, I wonder? Well, Thomas is with the cowering disciples this time when Jesus again appears in the middle of their group, offering them the same greeting as before, “Peace be with you.” Before Thomas can utter a sound, Jesus turns and speaks to him, offering his hands and his sides to Thomas’ eyes, just as his did for the rest of the disciples last week. Thomas no longer needs to touch Jesus’ wounds to believe, “My Lord and my God!” he declares. While some of the disciples have so far addressed Jesus as Lord, Thomas is the first confession that reaches back to John’s prologue in full confession Jesus’ divinity. Thomas believes. Acknowledging, perhaps even praising Thomas‘ faith, Jesus remarks, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” John tells us that Jesus did many other signs besides the ones recorded in this gospel. Yet, these have been written down so that YOU--that’s you and me and everyone else who has come to believe without seeing--may believe. The important thing for us to see in this passage is not so much that Thomas doubted, (or perhaps more accurately feared) because they all did. Doubt, it seems, is a regular part of faith. The important thing is not that we may doubt, I can tell you that it seems pretty certain we will. No the important thing is that in the face of doubt or fear, Jesus appears to us. Jesus comes in the middle of our doubt again and again. And he comes to offer us peace. He comes to breathe on us and offer us the Holy Spirit. Jesus did not chastise the disciples or Thomas. He simply came. And Jesus continues to show up again and again, even when our fear or doubt is so strong we can hardly believe. Jesus shows up even when we are unable to recognize him. Even when we think he is the gardner. On the road to Emmaus, Jesus shows up and walks for miles with the two disciples whose faith is so crowded by doubt and fear, they have no idea that Jesus is walking with them. They think he is some rube who has no idea of what has just happened in Jerusalem. Jesus patiently walks with them, explaining the Scriptures to them, and eventually even agreeing to eat with them. It is not until they are at table together and until Jesus picks up a loaf of bread, gives thanks to God for it, and breaks it. Only at that moment do they recognize him. Jesus continues showing up in the face of fear or doubt today, too. I know this to be true because I have experienced it in my own life, and I have seen it in others people's lives, too. The first time I had a notion that God may be calling me was when the aptitude test I took in high school revealed “clergy” as the highest match for me. As a non-church going teenager who doubted women could be clergy, except maybe as a nun, I dismissed it with a confident doubt. No way. There was a mistake. And yet, time and again as I went about my schoolwork, and even as I considered what post-secondary plans I might have, a voice kept whispering in my ear. Much later as a the parent of teenagers, I heard the voice again, this time calling me louder. Still doubtful, and definitely fearful, I wondered if it could be true. Confirmation came from a few trusted individuals. Filled with a fear so strong that I would have preferred to be hiding behind a locked door, I drove to Texas Women’s University to embark on my university education, with a still unconfessed idea that I would be going to seminary next. Jesus showed up often during those seven years, “Do not doubt but believe.” “I do believe; help me with my unbelief,” was our repeated conversation. Finally, after spending those seven years in school preparing and at the same time following the rather daunting journey laid out by the Presbyterian Church, I was finally certified ready for a call. It was exciting. It was scary. “This is it,” I thought. “Now everything I’ve prayed about and prepared for will fall into place, and I will know that I have been called by God into ministry.” I sent out my P.I.F.’s and then…. And then, another opportunity for doubt and fear presented itself to me. The call I was anticipating for the past year or so didn’t come. In fact, the door was closed. And locked. And I was stuck in that room with every doubt and every fear you could imagine. Did I make a mistake? Was I just kidding myself? Did I convince myself that God was calling when it was really just me trying to do what I wanted to do? I sent out more P.I.F.s and I read about a church that sounded perfect--but did I dare to get my hopes up again? I submitted my P.I.F. and I went to Florida. I was visiting my parents and avoiding the silence all at the same time. Suddenly, the phone rang, and it sounded like Jesus. Jesus called to ask me to submit a sermon tape to the P.N.C. at John Calvin. You would never believe how much Jesus’ voice sounds like Joyce Caddell! I happen to know that Jesus just sent a letter to Jody Blythe, too. He received it when he arrived home from our Presbytery Meeting yesterday afternoon. I don’t know this for sure, but if Jody’s wait to hear whether he was accepted into the graduate program he applied for has been anything like mine, it has probably been a dance of hope and fear and excitement and doubt. But then Jesus had the admissions office send Jody a letter of unconditional acceptance, and so Jody's journey of faith continues. Maybe Jesus was the one at The Laurels who told Mr. Bianchi he was being discharged to go home this week. Time and again, in the middle of the darkness of an illness or unemployment or an exam, or any of the other challenges we face --suddenly Jesus is standing among us. Jesus comes to us as a sympathetic friend, or a compassionate nurse or an unexpected job offer or the comforting words of a bystander. And often, Jesus comes and goes again unrecognized by those he loves. It is most often in hindsight that we realize he was here. Perhaps it is only when we have believed at all that we can learn to recognize, to see Jesus, in the faces of those who are around us. Jesus is here among us even now. Do we have eyes to see him? Do we have faith enough to look for him and to recognize him when we see him? And even if we do not realize it when we see him, can we, with the help of the Holy Spirit, come to realize that he has been among us? We can be certain that Jesus has been here when we find ourselves with an expected sense of peace. Maybe the words of someone this morning will help you to feel hopeful or loved. You may not know he was here until you look back on this time and realize where it was that we saw him. I think it’s safe to say that we see Jesus all around us, but it is often hard to recognize him. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe. And even then, whenever we confess our doubt and our fear, Jesus will come to meet us where we are and to show himself to us and to grant us his peace. So, which comes first, seeing and believing? Or believing and seeing? May we all have eyes to see and hearts to believe whenever and however it comes to us. All praise be to God. Amen.

Mark 16:1-8

When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome brought spices, so that they might go and anoint him.  And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb.  They had been saying to one another, "Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?"  When they looked up, they saw that the stone had already been rolled back.   As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed.  But he said to them, "Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified.  He has been raised; he is not here.  Look there is the place they laid him.  But 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 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. 

 

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all of our hearts be acceptable in your sight O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer.

Mark’s gospel seldom wastes words, and in his portrayal of  the story of the empty tomb he is particularly succinct.   Most people have a definite opinion about Mark’s account of the resurrection.  Many people find it frustratingly mute.  So much so, that at least twice, authors have tried to help him out with what have become known as “the Shorter Ending of Mark” and the “the Longer Ending of Mark.”  You'll find both of these in your Bible.   But it is most likely that what we just heard is Mark’s entire original account of the Easter story.

Personally, I think it’s my favorite of the gospel accounts.  Mark speaks volumes though his briefest telling of all the resurrection accounts.

Read the rest of this post »

Palm Reading:  Mark 11:1-10, Jesus enters Jerusalem riding on a donkey.

Passion Readings:  Isaiah 50:4-9a; Psalm 31:9-16 and

Mark 15:1-39

May the word of God be spoken; may the word of God be heard.

May the word of God be done.  Amen.

Does anybody else feel like you have a case of whiplash?  In one half hour, give or take a few minutes, this service has gone all the way from the top of a mountain as Jesus marches into town to the very depths a valley here at the place called Golgatha.  We came into the sanctuary together this morning, waving our branches and singing our “Glory, Laud, and Honor.”  We paid homage to our king who came to us gentle and meek and riding on a donkey.  We heralded the arrival of God’s Messiah into Jerusalem, the geographical heart of God’s people.

Now, not even thirty minutes later, we find ourselves gathered at the foot of the cross while Jesus’ dead body still hangs there.  The people who earlier shouted his praises have changed their tune to one of utter rejection.  Betrayed to the Roman authorities by one of his own disciples, Jesus endured a mockery of a trial that resulted in the people lifting him up on a cross and nailing him firmly into place through his hands and his feet.   Stripped of his dignity, as well as his clothing, he wears only in a crown of thorns.  A crowd of people surrounds him.  Romans, Jews, priests, scribes, and Pharisees, curious onlookers and disciples--they are all there.  All of them shouting at him, insisting that he prove himself to be the Son of God by coming down off the cross.  If he would only do so, they insist, they will believe.  Really?

Read the rest of this post »

 

Psalm 51:1-12 and Matthew 18:23-35

"For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves.  When he began the reckoning, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him, and, as he could not pay, his lord ordered him to be sold, together with his wife and children and all his possessions, and payment to be made.  So the slave fell on his knees before him, saying, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.'  And out of pity for him, the lord of that slave released him and forgave him the debt.  But that same slave, as he went out, came upon one of his fellow sslaves who owed him a hundred denarii; and seizing him by the throat, he said, 'Pay what you owe.'  Then his fellow slave fell down and pleaded with him, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you.'  But he refused; then he went and threw him into prison until he would pay the debt.

"When his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their lord all that had taken place.  Then his lord summoned him and said to him, 'You wicked slave!  I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me.  Should you not have had mercy on your fellow slave, as I had mercy on you?  And in anger his lord handed him over to be tortured until he would pay his entire debt.  So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart."

 

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer.  Amen. 

This is the last time we will gather here before the events of Holy Week begin, propelling Jesus to the cross.  Next Sunday morning, he will ride into town on a donkey and we will be here to greet him with loud shouts of adoration:  “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”  Waving branches in our hands, we will join our voices with those in Jerusalem.  By the end of the week, those delighted shouts will turn to ugly cries for crucifixion, and our Lord will be led to a most cruel and humiliating death.  Those shouting and screaming voices will turn silent.  And that silence will, in effect, collude with those who arrest, try, and kill the Son of God.

We have a few days left to make sure we are ready to journey with Christ.  This is the fifth Sunday in Lent, and it is the last time we will gather together to examine ourselves.  It’s time we try to fathom the depth of God’s love for us even as we find ourselves utterly unable to stand before God on our own merit.  Last week, we explored the fulness of God’s forgiveness and the length to which Jesus Christ goes as our advocate.  We heard Christ’s prayer from the cross interceding for all of those who play a part in condemning him to this horrific death.  “Father, forgive them.  For they do not know what they are doing.”  And we saw God’s grace offered freely to the criminal dying on the cross beside Jesus.  As death crept ever closer, that man simply asked Jesus to remember him when he came into his kingdom.  And Jesus’ response, wrapped in God’s love and God’s grace:  “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” 

Forgiven.  Restored into relationship with God and with Jesus Christ.  Not one single person in the crowd, not those in positions of authority, nor those dying with Jesus deserved it.  Not one of them earned it.  All of them received it by grace, which is the gift of God so that no one can boast, as Paul writes.  And it is given to you, too.  And to me.  Friends, we are forgiven, and that is a gift beyond all we can imagine, if we really take time to realize what it means.  And I rejoice with you in this truth.

But it is not enough.  We are not finished.  God does not forgive us so that we can simply be right in our relationship with God.  We are created for community, and we cannot be whole without each other.  It is not enough that God forgives us.  We must forgive one another.

Peter gets it, but he wants to define the edges of that forgiveness.  So he questions Jesus, “How many times must I forgive someone who sins against me?”  Peter offers a very generous seven times.  Surely that’s enough.  You know, Peter might have been a good Presbyterian.  It seems to me that he is defining his Book of Order requirements here:

F-1.0100: Number of times we must forgive one another.  Members of the congregation shall forgive a person who sins against them seven times. (Not an actual rule!)

Seems generous really, let’s hope we are able to keep such a stringent rule.  After all, we Presbyterians know that “Shall” in the Book of Order means that we must do it.  Seven times is a lot.  Surely it’s enough.  If a member of the congregation will not amend their behavior after seven times, surely that’s it.  It seems decent and in order to ask them to leave the body after such stubbornness.  Right Jesus?

Unfortunately, Jesus doesn’t have a lot of interest in Peter’s Book of Order limitations. “Not seven times, but I tell you seventy-seven times.”  Now, before you whip out your calculators, let me just say that Jesus is not speaking about a literal numerical limit.  He chooses an outrageously high number to tell Peter that grace and forgiveness have no limits.  We must never stop forgiving one another.

Let’s pause here for a minute and think about that.  What does forgiveness mean, anyway?  Our Lenten study group wrestled with this question this week as we talked about Jesus’ command to forgive one another.  We found it helpful to define what forgiveness is NOT.  Forgiveness is notdenying the pain and hurt someone has caused; it is not excusing harmful behavior; and it is notforgetting the wound.

Jesus illustrates the depth of that forgiveness with the parable we read this morning about the unforgiving servant.  In Matthew’s gospel, it follows on the heels of the exchange between Jesus and Peter about forgiveness.

The first servant is dead in the water, crushed by the weight of an impossible debt that he cannot ever repay.  Jesus’ deft use of hyperbole here would have his listeners, even Peter, roaring with laughter.  It would be something akin to one of us owing a financial debt the size of the national debt.  When pressed for repayment, the servant pleads to the king, promising that with a little more time, he will repay the debt.  A ridiculous promise.  The debt cannot be repaid.  It is impossible.  This servant is doomed to be destroyed by his debt.

But the story turns, and with that twist, the master erases the servant’s debt.  Suddenly the servant is freed - not only of his financial burden, but literally freed from his indentured status, too.  The master forgives the debt and sets the servant free.  He receives the unsurpassable gift of a completely new life.  Everything changes.  The future that was once clouded and dismal is suddenly bright and clear.  Anything is possible.

As the servant leaves the master’s company, reflecting on the depth of what he has received, he spots a fellow servant who owes him a couple of month’s wages.  This debt is also significant, but more manageable, and it is quite realistic that the servant will be able to pay it off.  But not all at once as our servant immediately demands.  Pay up buddy.  Right now.  Jesus’ audience and we bristle a little.  Are you kidding?  After what you have just received?

The second servant makes the identical plea that we heard our fellow give his master.  Please be patient with me, and I will repay you completely.  I don’t have it right now, but I promise I will repay you as soon as possible.  Surely our man can hear his own voice speaking these same words only a short while earlier.

But no, he cannot.  Like so many of us, his memory is remarkably short.  Suddenly finding himself empowered in his own life, he decides to flex that newfound power in the first place he can.  He refuses this poor guy’s request, and has him arrested and thrown into debtor’s prison.  No mercy.  No grace.  Nothing.  (We are all holding our breath now as Jesus continues).

But this servant doesn’t live in a vacuum, and his cruelty is witnessed by still other servants who report him to the very same master who just granted his freedom and forgiveness.  As outraged as all of us are at the servant’s actions, the master now uses his position of authority to have this ungrateful servant punished.  Yes!  Vindication!  That Jesus tells a great story.

But then the final twist; the one that makes us writhe:  “So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”  Ouch!

Friends, in Jesus Christ, through his death on the cross, which came at the hands of those he came to save, we have received forgiveness beyond anything we can imagine.  We have been freed from slavery to sin or whatever you want to call that which separates us from God’s presence.  We have been given a fresh start:  the old life has gone and a new life has begun.  We have been saved by grace, and that is the gift of God, so that none can boast.  And we have been freed for the good works that God prepared for us, to be done as response and not in order to earn this gift of life.

How dare we turn around and squander this gift by refusing to share forgiveness with each other?  How dare we demand more of our brother or sister than has been demanded of us?  How dare we suggest that the debt owed to us by our neighbor is greater than that which we owed to God?

True forgiveness, from the heart is not optional.  And it is not cheap or immediate, either.     The parable’s point is to make us see that we are created to be in community.  And we cannot be in community when we are not reconciled to one another.  Our relationships require a reckoning, a balancing, a cancellation of debt so that we can all stand together on an even footing before God.  We are no longer servant or free--we are no longer in debt to God or to one another.

True forgiveness also does not preclude consequences.  While we are called to forgive others, we are not called to allow them to continue behaving in destructive ways.  When a situation is abusive, forgiveness includes separating ourselves from the situation.  

Holy Week is coming.  It is an excruciating week for those who follow Jesus.  All of their expectations are shattered as they watch their savior die.  And even while we know how the story ends, Lent prepares us to walk as if we didn’t.  It’s time to finish our preparations, it’s time to accept God’s forgiveness and to extend that forgiveness to one another.  We won’t get through the week alone, we need God and each other.  

May I invite each of us to prayerfully prepare ourselves, so that next Sunday we can shout our Hosannas as Jesus rides into town.  We can follow him as he teaches and confronts the sin around him.  We can gather in the upper room for supper with our Lord and, perhaps, follow at a distance as he takes Peter and James and John into the garden to pray.   We can follow along at his arrest and at his appearances before Pilate and Caiaphas and Herod.  We can weep at the cross, and watch as they take his body to the tomb.  It’s not going to be easy, it’s not going to be cheap, and we can only do it as God’s forgiven children.  And we can only do it together.  So now, as God has forgiven us in Jesus Christ, let us also forgive one another.  May the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.  And also with you.  Amen.

Please take a moment now to share the peace of Christ with one another.

 

 

 

Luke 23:32-43 and Ephesians 2:1-10

Two others, also, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him.  When they came to the place that is called the Skull, they crucified Jesus there with the criminals, one on his right ad one on his left.  Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing."  And they cast lots to divide his clothing.  And the people stood by, watching; but the leaders scoffed at him, saying, "He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah of God, his chosen one!"  Then soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine, and saying, "If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!"  There was also an inscription over him, "This is the King of the Jews."

One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, "Are you not the Messiah?  Save yourself and us!"  But the other rebuked him, saying, "Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?  And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong."  Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."  He replied, "Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise." (Luke 23:32-43)

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all of our hearts be acceptable in your eyes, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer.  Amen.

The title of this sermon is “Just Love,” and as I decided on it, I was thinking about the different ways it might be interpreted.  Of course, I had one meaning in mind, but as I realized how ambiguous it was, I chuckled to myself...until I realized that all of them had significant meaning to these passages of scripture.  Suddenly sermon preparation got a lot more complicated!

Read the rest of this post »

 

Psalm 19 and Matthew 5:43-48; 7:1-6

"You have heard that it was said, "You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy."  But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.  For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have?  Do not even the tax collectors do the same?  And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others?  Do not even the Gentiles do the same?  Be perfect, therefore, as you heavenly Father is perfect.

"Do not judge, so that you may not be judged.  For with the judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get.  Why do you see the speck in your neighbor's eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye?  Or how can you say to your neighbor, "Let me take the speck out of your eye," while the log is in your own eye?  You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor's eye.

"Do not give what is holy to dogs; and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under foot and turn and maul you." (Mt 5:43-46; 7:106)

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer.  Amen.

Last week, our psalm declared that God is everywhere we are.  God pursues us to the ends of the earth because God loves us and desires to be in relationship with us.  So much so, that God comes to us as Jesus Christ, the incarnation, God-made-flesh.  Jesus lived and taught and healed among us, calling us to return to God:  “Repent and believe the good news!  The kingdom of God is among you!”  Even as our calling to be disciples of Jesus Christ requires that we deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow him, we are able to do it because God is right there with us.  There is nothing we can do and no where we can go that will separate us from God. 

Having followed the psalmist’s journey seeking to flee from God and seeing that it is impossible because God is everywhere, we might wonder how we can recognize God around us.  That is a good question, and that’s where today’s psalm can help us.

Read the rest of this post »

Mark 8:31-38 and Psalm 139

Then Jesus began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again.  He said all this quite openly.  And Peter took him asie and began to rebuke him.  But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan!  For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things."

He called the crowd with his disciples and said to them, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.  For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.  For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life?  Indeed, what can they give in return for their life?  Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this alterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels."  ((Mark 8:31-38)

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer.  Amen.

We took a sneak peek at this scripture passage from Mark’s gospel on Transfiguration Sunday, as we looked to see what had transpired just before Jesus took Peter, James and John up the mountain with him.  Peter’s exclamation in answer to Jesus‘ question was the first complete confession of faith by a human being in this gospel.  “You are the Messiah.”  Immediately, Jesus began to teach that “the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.”  Suffice it to say, this is not what Peter has in mind for a Messiah.  It is not what any of the disciples, or anyone else for that matter, expected Jesus to teach them.  What kind of a Messiah is he?

Peter feels so strongly opposed to what Jesus says that he takes Jesus aside and rebukes him.  Jesus, in turn, looks at all of the disciples, addressing all of them as he says to Peter, “Get behind me Satan!  For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”  Once again, I doubt that Peter expected this response, either.

Turning to the crowds and his disciples, Jesus explains that anyone who would be a follower of Jesus will have to deny themselves and take up their cross and follow Jesus.  We cannot be the leader if we are to follow Jesus.  We are not following Jesus when our minds are focused on human things, because at the heart of everything human is the self.  When we are self-focused, self-absorbed, we are about as far away from God as we can get.  Self focus turns us inward.  We become obsessed with our own interests, our own goals, our own rights.  We lose sight of anyone and everyone else, including God.

Perhaps such a flight to self focus initially led the psalmist to write the psalm we just heard.  The best way to find out where God IS is probably to try to hide from God or escape God’s field of vision.  As much as we may delude ourselves into thinking that we might be able to put distance between ourselves and God, in fact we find that God is right there with us:

Where can I go from your spirit?

Or where can I flee from your presence?

If I ascend to heaven, you are there;

if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there,

If I take the wings of the morning

and settle at the farthest limits of the sea,

even there your hand shall lead me,

and your right hand shall hold me fast.

If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,

and the light around me become night,”

even the darkness is not dark to you;

the night is as bright as the day,

for darkness is as light to you.

In seeking to flee from God to self, the psalmist has discovered that there is no place to which he or she can go where God is not present.  What at first may seem distressing when we are bent on following our own will becomes a comfort when we change our focus to God’s will for us.  Like this psalmist, we quickly discover that wherever we are, God is there with us.  God is with us now, God has been with us until now, and God will be with us always.  The psalmist marvels at how utterly God knows the psalmist’s heart through and through.  So much so, that as the psalmist remembers how frustrating the wicked are, and how opposed to God the wicked are, his words tumble out in hatred -- that most human of emotions.  At the height of the psalmist’s righteous anger, however, perhaps a flickering memory of the weakness of the human self brings the cry for vengeance over an enemy to a cry for forgiveness for self: 

Search me, O God, and know my heart;

test me and know my thoughts.

See if there is any wicked way in me,

and lead me in the way everlasting.

When we, like the psalmist, can pray this prayer with faith that God knows us inside and out, that God loves us and accompanies us to the ends of the earth, that we cannot elude God’s presence...only then can we follow Jesus Christ.  Only then can we find the courage to face ourselves and deny ourselves, discovering our true selves in Christ.  Lenten self-examination is not easy work, and we must always engage in it in the presence of God, remembering that God loves us enough to pursue us to the ends of the earth.

Only in the confidence that God is with us and cares for us and walks even into the darkest places with us, are we able to pick up our cross and follow Jesus.  Jesus has already told us where he is going.  He is going to suffer and to be rejected and to be killed and to be raised again.  And Jesus is inviting us to follow him, and he warns us that we cannot follow him when we are self-focused.

Jesus knows that God is with him on this difficult journey.  It is with God’s strength and Spirit that Jesus can walk this pathl.  It is with God’s strength and God’s Spirit that Jesus can accept that he must suffer and face rejection and murder and be raised again in order that we can be with him.  Jesus does not journey to Jerusalem for his own sake, but because God wants so very much to be in relationship with us that he sends Jesus to lead the way home to God.  In following Jesus, in taking up our cross, our eyes are forced off of ourselves and onto Jesus in whom we find the very presence and person of God.

Friends, the journey has begun.  We are on the road to Jerusalem.  Now, who are you going to follow?

All praise and honor and glory be to God:  Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, now and forever.  Amen.

 

The First Sunday in Lent:

Genesis 9:8-17 and Luke 15:11-32

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer.  Amen. 

We’ve turned the pages of the liturgical calendar and we’ve begun the Lenten journey.  Lent is a six week or forty day season in which we are invited to engage in a period of honest self-examination.  God desires that we look beneath our carefully prepared public selves to discover what lies underneath. 

God is not fooled by the way we deliberately present ourselves to the world.  God is well-acquainted with what we are underneath.  God knows our weaknesses, our scars, our flaws; and God loves us in spite of them.  God longs for us to acknowledge them so that we can stand before God as we are, without excuse.  Only then can we begin to understand how very much God loves us.  Safe and secure in that love, God invites us to confess our sin, and to stand honestly and to realize our great need for God’s grace and God’s forgiveness, which is ours for the taking.  God forgives us because God loves us and because God desires to be in relationship with us.

Both of our readings this morning are about forgiveness.

Read the rest of this post »