The Shepherd's Voice (John 10:22-30)

Sermon as preached at Lambs and Evington UMC 4/21/13

“The Lord is My Shepherd I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul.  He leads me in the right paths for his name sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil, for you are with me, your rod and your staff they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies, you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long.” These words or a another translation of these words from psalm 23 hold a special place in the hearts of so many of us. It is usually one of the first psalms that we ever learn.  We hear it frequently in times of great joy, but we especially hear it in times of our greatest distress. I would bet that it is the most common psalm used at funerals, and it seems to bring such peace to so many who are grieving. I have even been able to personally witness the power that these words have. I once had the opportunity to visit the family of a man who was in his last days on Earth. The family asked me to pray over their husband and father, and so together we prayed, but as we finished praying one of the family members asked if we could conclude by praying these words from the 23^rd psalm. It was a powerful moment and one that seemed to bring some sense of peace and closure to the family. What is it about these words that bring us so much comfort? What is it about saying the Lord is my shepherd I shall not want, that gives us a feeling of such peace? Our scripture today may not explain the power of these words, but it may help to give them even more power and meaning for us.

            Our scripture for today starts with Jesus in Jerusalem at what the Bible tells us is the festival of the dedication in winter. In other words Jesus was in Jerusalem during the time of Hanukkah. Like so many of the stories that we have of Jesus in the Bible, this story starts with Jesus being asked questions; this time he is being asked by some of the Jewish leaders at the Temple. “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah tell us plainly.” The text makes it seem as though these leaders are hanging on the words of Jesus, waiting for him to proclaim that he is the Messiah so that they can follow him; however there seems to be something lost in the translation. The leaders actually use an idiom that would not make sense in English so translators tried to have it make sense to us.  The original tone of the phrase is probably more hostile than it seems when we read it. The leaders are probably asking a question more like, “How long are you going to keep annoying us, or How long are you going to keep bothering us.[1]” The leaders wanted to know whether or not Jesus professed to be the Messiah and what evidence he had to support it. It is difficult to tell whether they truly believed that it was possible if he were the Messiah or whether they were simply asking him so that they could make a case against him.

            The scripture does make one thing clear about this interaction however, and that is that they did not know him. Sure they knew who Jesus was, they had heard about the signs and wonders that he had done, this is probably where their curiosity came from; but for as much as they knew about Jesus they did not know Jesus. They did not know that this man was the Messiah. This is made clear when Jesus answers them saying, “I have told you and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name testify to me; but you do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep.”  In essence Jesus is saying to the Jewish leaders, you ask me to tell you if I am the Messiah but I have shown you. I have done many works in the name of the father, but as he says later in the passage, “The father and I are one.”  Why do you need me to tell you that I am the Messiah when my works attest to the fact that I am. You do not follow me, you are not part of my flock and therefore you do not believe.

In English we can say that we know something or someone, however in many other languages such as Greek and Spanish to name a few, there are multiple different words for knowledge. These words differentiate between types of knowledge.  For example if we were to say we know George Washington, what would we be saying? We would be saying that we know about him, we know his history, and why he is significant. On the other hand, if we were to say something like, I know my son, or I know my wife and they would never do something like that, what are we saying then? In this instance it doesn’t seem to be a knowledge based on intellect, it seems to be a knowledge based on experience or relationships. It then starts to become clear that there is a difference between intellectual knowledge and relational knowledge.  We could even say one is a knowledge of the mind while the other is a knowledge of the heart. This difference in knowledge seems to be what is at play in our story for today. The Jewish leaders desire an intellectual knowledge that Jesus is Messiah, that want to prove that it is either true or false. They know about Jesus and what he has done, and yet they do not believe because they do not know him. They do not have that deep relation with Christ. They are not part of his flock.

            This leads to us back to the words of psalm 23, this might help to explain why it is that the imagery of the Lord as our shepherd is so comforting to us; because after Jesus tells the Jewish leaders that they are not part of his sheep, he goes on to say, “My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand.” When we hear these words from Jesus as he describes himself as a shepherd and us as his sheep, we get a sense of great intimacy. Whereas the Jewish conception of a Messiah is a great ruler, a military avenger; Christ likens himself to a shepherd. It seems to be in stark opposition to the expected role of the Messiah. The Son of God should be strong and mighty, the Messiah should almost be like a king, and we his subjects, and yet Christ does not use this comparison but rather compares himself to a shepherd.

            What beautiful imagery the shepherd truly is for our Lord! On the one hand the power dynamic is still there. A shepherd is in control of the flock, rounding them up, herding them where they are supposed to go. The shepherd plays the role of protector, keeping predators away from the flock.  If we remember the parable of the lost sheep then we remember that the shepherd is also responsible for the group as a whole but for each sheep individually and would go to any lengths to find a lost sheep. All of this stresses a status of power, and yet there is a great relationship between the shepherd and the sheep.

The first aspect of that relationship is that the shepherd knows his sheep. Even when the sheep of two different flocks come together, the shepherd is able to know which is his. The great news of Jesus as the shepherd is that we are all his sheep and that he knows each one of us. The Bible tells us that we are wonderfully made and that even the hairs of our head are known by God. This truly is good news. We have a God who truly knows us, knows our joys and knows our pain. A savior who sees each and every one of us as a unique and special individual; a individual worth seeking after when they are lost. Jesus says earlier in the chapter, “I am the Good shepherd… I lay my life down for the flock.”  This may be the most amazing element of this relationship between sheep and the shepherd; that when push comes to shove, when the lives of the sheep are in danger, the shepherd will risk his own life for the sake of the sheep. Jesus is indeed the good shepherd and he laid down his life for us. Not only did he lay his life down for us but here the good news, Christ died for us while we were still sinners, that proves God’s love for us. The good shepherd died for us, even when we did not deserve it. It is that sacred relationship between the sheep and the shepherd.

The first aspect of that relationship is that the sheep know their shepherd’s voice. Earlier in the chapter Jesus talks about the nature of sheep. He says that sheep are able to distinguish their shepherd’s voice from the voices of others. I’ve heard stories of different flocks that were intermingled and yet at the call of their shepherd’s voice they quickly separated from each other, all because they could recognize their voice. The Bible tells us that when a stranger comes and tries to call the sheep they will not follow because they do not recognize their voice. We take it for granted but one of the greatest aspects of our relationship with God is not only that God is loving, and merciful, and just; it’s not only that the shepherds knows us and seeks after us when we are lost, but one of the greatest aspects of that relationship is that we are able to hear  the shepherd’s voice. God is not some distant being, watching from afar as play out our lives here on Earth; God is ever present, God is with us, walking beside us, leading us, calling out to us.

            In the midst of the horrible tragedy that happened Monday during the Boston Marathon there have been a lot of voices calling out. There have been voices of fear, voices of pain, voices of anger and retaliation,  There have even been voices questioning whether God even exists because if God did why would something like this be allowed to happen? Still, in the middle of all of these voices, in the middle of our own doubt and fear, we as God’s flock are still able to hear the shepherd calling out to us, saying to us, “yea though you walk through the valley of the shadow of death, do not fear for I am with you.” The voice reminds us that even in times of such tragedy, we should as Mr. Rogers said, “look for the helpers.” We may not be able to understand how or why things like this happen, but if you are asking where is God in all of this, look for the helpers. Look at those brave men and women who rushed into the debris to try and save those hurt by the explosion, putting their own lives at risk. Look at those runners who after running a marathon, who continued to run to the local hospitals so that they could give blood. Look at the countless cards, emails, facebook and twitter messages that have been sent to the victims and their families. Look at the millions of people from different faith traditions gathering in prayer for those involved. When we see these things we are able to see God at work. We are able to see God’s love and mercy at work at a time of such great need. We are able to hear the good shepherd calling us just as he called Peter saying, “tend my sheep” and we are able to see those who have followed the call. It is this relationship that makes psalm 23 so special to us. It is a relationship that allows to say the Lord is my shepherd, and to claim that surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life.

           

---

[1] New Interpreters Bible Commentary

Once ,Twice, Three Times My Savior (John 21:1-19)

Sermon as preached at Lambs and Evington UMC 4/14/13

 

One of my favorite movies of all time would probably have to be Braveheart. It is a movie about medieval Scotland and the Revolutionary William Wallace. Scotland at that time was under oppressive British rule, so oppressive that one of the laws was that British troops were given the right to be with a man’s new wife on their wedding day.  After William’s wife resists and is killed, William starts a revolt against the king in attempts to free Scotland. There is one aspect of this movie that reminds me of our scripture for today. While in the midst of his struggles to free Scotland, William elicits the help of one of the noblemen of Scotland. He was a Scotsman who had been given money and some power from the king in exchange for his obedience. William asks for his help on the battle field and he consents. During a major battle however, as William is relying on the forces of this nobleman for help, the nobleman abandons William in his time of need. William is later captured and executed, however the movie ends with this nobleman taking up the fight, and leading Scotland to freedom. It is a true story of redemption.

            Our scripture for this morning is also a story of redemption. In our scripture for today there are really two different things going on. First you have Jesus appearing on the beach to the disciples and telling them where to cast their nests in order to catch more fish. The second part of the story is a conversation between Jesus and Simon Peter. This morning we will be focusing on the latter.  The gospel of John gives us a fascinating conversation between Jesus and Peter. “When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my lambs."  A second time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Tend my sheep."  He said to him the third time, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" Peter felt hurt because he said to him  the third time, "Do you love me?" And he said to him, "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep.”  

            This is a very interesting and confusing conversation between Jesus and Peter.  Jesus continues to ask Peter if he loves him, and Peter keeps answering yes. We can sense the frustration of Peter, and we begin to wonder why is Jesus doing this? There are many theories and interpretations to what this means, and many of them are correct, but this morning as we ask the question why did Jesus ask Peter this question three times, we must turn to another scripture that might shed some light on the question. We must go back to John 18 and the night in which  Jesus was handed over to be killed. “ Simon Peter and another disciple followed Jesus. Since that disciple was known to the high priest, he went with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest, but Peter was standing outside at the gate. So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out, spoke to the woman who guarded the gate, and brought Peter in. The woman said to Peter, "You are not also one of this man's disciples, are you?" He said, "I am not." After this the scripture switches to Jesus being questioned by the high priests, but a little later in the chapter the story comes back to Peter. “Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. They asked him, "You are not also one of his disciples, are you?" He denied it and said, "I am not."  One of the slaves of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, "Did I not see you in the garden with him?"  Again Peter denied it, and at that moment the cock crowed.

            And with the cock crowing, Peter had fulfilled what was prophesied by Jesus, that Peter would deny Jesus three times before the cock crowed twice. We must realize that this is not some minor incident. While Jesus had twelve disciples that he relied on, there is no arguing that Peter was special, that Peter was some sort of leader amongst the disciples. Peter is talked highly about throughout the gospels, and even this gospel of John, who frequently refers to a different disciple as the disciple whom Jesus loved, still talks about Peter as though he was a leader of the disciples. At the mount in which Jesus was transfigured before a select few disciples, Jesus even tells Peter that Peter is the rock on which he will build his church. This even plays a huge role in the Roman Catholic church, as it is believed that is pope is in a lineage all the way down from Peter himself. This means that one of the great leaders of the disciples and one of the leaders that the church today emulates, denied Jesus not once, not twice, but three times. This certainly seems to put a dent in his credentials as a Christian leader.

            This leads us back to our scripture for today.  As Jesus is asking the question of whether Peter loves him, I can imagine that Peter has that fateful night in the back of his mind. He must be thinking that he had betrayed Jesus, and now Jesus does not trust him eanymore. It must have been a horrible feeling, to feel as though the one that you love so much as your Lord and savior no longer trusts you. It must have been humiliating to feel as though you had let your savior down. While this may have been how Peter was feeling while Jesus was asking him these questions, I think that it would be wrong to assume that this was Jesus’ intent. In fact if we look at these questions from the perspective of that fateful night in which Peter denied Christ, we may see that this moment now on the beach is actually a chance for redemption.

            As we think about that horrible night for Peter, let’s pinpoint what it is that Peter did that would make him feel guilty or ashamed. It is a pretty to figure out; Peter was asked if he knew Christ and he denied him. He didn’t just deny him once, not even twice, but Peter denied Christ three times! Peter wasn’t even being asked whether or not he loved Christ, he was simply being asked if he knew him, and still Peter denied knowing Christ. And now Jesus is here with Peter asking whether or not Peter loves him. At this moment we are going to take a step back and have some of our scripture acted out and then maybe we will start to get a sense of the significance of this moment.

Reader 1: "You are not also one of this man's disciples, are you?"

Me: “I am not”

Reader 2: “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?

Me: “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.”

Reader 2: Feed My Lambs 

Reader 1: You are not also one of his disciples, are you?"

Me: I am Not

Reader 2: “Simon son of John, do you love me?"

Me: Yes, Lord; you know that I love you

Reader 2: Tend my Sheep

Reader 1: "Did I not see you in the garden with him?" 

Me: You must be mistaken; I do not know this man

Reader 2: Simon son of John, do you love me?

Me: Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.

Reader 2: Feed My Sheep

Cock-a-doodle-do

            This is the beauty of our scripture for today.  Three  times Peter denied Christ on the night in which Christ gave himself up for us, and now three times Peter is able to tell Christ that he loves him. It is not Jesus doubting Peter because even Peter says that Jesus knows all things and knows that Peter loves him. This conversation was a gracious act of mercy by Jesus, allowing Peter to redeem himself by testifying to the goodness of the Lord. Our passage for today is a redemption story. It is a story that tells us that even when we fail, even when we turn our backs on Christ, Christ is there offering us grace and forgiveness. That is why our liturgy for the sacrament of Holy Communion says,  “when we turned away and our love failed, your love remained steadfast.” Christ’s love remained steadfast, it remained steadfast for Peter even after betrayed him, and it remains steadfast for each and every one of us here this morning. We just have to answer that one question, “Do you love me?” Of Jesus I love you. 

            If we stopped here with the message however we would be missing one crucial element of the story. After this great moment of redemption, after each time Peter was able to affirm his love for Christ, what did Jesus say? Feed my sheep, Tend my lambs, feed my sheep. You see Jesus did not simply say I forgive you go on your way, he did not say you are now redeemed let’s go back to eating fish on the beach. He says feed my sheep, tend my lambs. Christ gives Peter a calling, a ministry of his own. Now there are some who would argue that this was some penalty for Peter’s betrayal. Some would argue that since we do not merit the grace that is freely given that we must do the work for Christ out of our debt for him, but this is not how I understand it because Christ did not cancel our debt of sin simply so that we would become indebted to him. What type of freedom is that?  Instead, Jesus is saying,  Peter, I told you that you are the rock on which I will build my church, and I did not lie. I have not turned my back on you Peter, you have not lost my trust, I will still build my church upon, here is your mission, feed my sheep.  Our calling to ministry, and when I say that I mean all of us,  is not out of  some debt that we have to God, but is out of God’s love, that even after we fail him time after time, Christ still sends us forth in his name. That with every denial  there is a chance for redemption, that every time we turn away, there is still an opportunity to serve. That even in all of our failings, we are called to be Christ arms and feet in this world. It is a humbling and daunting task, and yet one that proves God’s love towards us.

 

 

Something Beautiful (John 20: 19-31)

Sermon as preached at Lambs and Evington UMC 4/7/13

 

 

This morning as I begin I must admit that earlier this week I had a sermon all ready to go. I was going to preach the typical sermon about our scripture lesson for today. I was going to talk about Thomas and to talk about doubt, I was going to talk about our need to see something for ourselves for us to believe, and the importance of faith when we can’t see any tangible signs of God in our lives. It would have been a fine sermon, worthy of preaching this morning. This week however I was reading a book by Nancy Eisland called  “The Disabled God” and the imagery of the book, the way it tied into our scripture for this morning, the way it spoke to the depths of my soul, well it was certainly a movement of the spirit, and so having a sermon already finished I started anew, with a rough, unclean and yet hopefully powerful message for you today.

            Because our scripture for today has almost always been interpreted from the standpoint of faith and doubt; and as I said this was even the way that I had intended to preach it. We focus in on Thomas, we focus on his doubt, we focus on his need to stick his fingers into the side of Jesus to know that it was truly the Lord. So often we focus so much on Thomas in this story because we relate to him, we have fears and doubts just like he did. This however leads that message of this story is centered around Thomas and feeling of Jesus’ wounds,  and we forget that it is not about Thomas, it is not about us, the message of the story is that Christ is risen, that Christ has returned to his disciples. What through me for loop, what blew my mind as I read the book is that for the first I stopped thinking about Thomas putting his hand in Jesus’ wounds, and focused on the fact that Jesus had these wounds in the first place.

            When it comes to Holy week and Good Friday and all of the celebrations that go along with the crucifixion of Jesus we do not forget to focus on the wounds. We think about the nails in his hands and feet, we think about the crown of thorns around his head we think about his pierced side, we focus on the excruciating pain on the cross and how much Jesus suffered for us out of love. When the Easter season rolls around however we think about the resurrected Jesus, we think about new life, and we tend to discard the wounds and the pain of the cross as if they were something of the past that has now simply been replaced. This is particularly true  for us Protestants, in fact it has sparked theological discussions between depictions of the cross and that of the crucifix.  As some of you may have noticed most protestant crosses do not depict Jesus on the cross, whereas the crucifix, or in other words a depiction of the cross with Jesus on it, is more common in Catholic churches. Protestants have claimed that the crucifix does not tell the good news that Jesus has risen from the dead and reigns forever; this is a true and valid argument.  In our attempts to get Jesus off of the cross however it seems as though we try to quickly brush aside the pain, the brokenness, the agony of the cross. The true gospel message can only be embraced when we learn that the crucifix and the empty cross are integral for our understanding of the significance of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection.

            We as Christians and especially as Protestants have embraced the good news of a resurrected God,  however I fear that far too often we embrace it because we are afraid to believe in a savior who died on a cross. That should not be possible, we are only able to believe in the death because we know of the good news of the resurrection; otherwise we know that we too would be like Thomas, not believing until we saw it for ourselves. But we do believe in the resurrection, we believe that Christ came back from the dead conquering sin and death. We want to believe that when Jesus came back he came back even more perfect if that is even possible, and if it isn’t then we want to believe that he came back like new, once more restored in full glory. We want to think this way because it gives us the hope of overcoming our brokenness, of getting rid of our pain and our wounds and being made perfect like Christ in his resurrection. This is why our story for today is so shocking, because for as much as we want to picture a God who overcame the pain and agony of the cross, as much as we want a savior who put all of that behind him, we see a restored and resurrected savior, with holes in his hands and in his side.

            This is not what we want to think of when we think about restoration, this is not what we want to think about when we think about becoming perfect. We want to think about leaving our past in the past where it belongs, we want to think about getting rid of our brokenness and our pain, the holes in Jesus’ hands and side is a sign that our brokenness is not covered up, it is not forgotten, but instead we have a savior who can restore us through our brokenness and pain. We have a savior who can take “broken aside and make it beautiful; a savior who did not cover up his wounds but helped Thomas to believe because of them. I want to be clear that it is not that God puts these things in our lives, God does not want us to suffer, however as a fallen people suffering has become part of our human condition. The good news is that God is there to help us through it, and that God can even use our brokenness and turn it into a way to serve and glorify him.  Today know that whatever pains our brokenness of your past that has shaped you to be the person you are today, is not something to be locked away or forgotten, but that God can you our brokenness to make something beautiful in the world.

The Empty Tomb (John 20:1-18)

Sermon as preached at Lambs and Evington UMC 3/31/13

 

 

Many of us have experienced the death of a good friend or a family member; it is for sure a time of deep pain and deep sadness; a time of grief, and a time of loss. Now imagine that only days after that loved one had been buried you were going to the gravesite to pay your respect to your love one. When you arrive at the gravesite, you find the dirt piled up around the side, leaving the hole that had been dug open. You look into hole and see the casket with its cover removed, and find that the casket is empty. Think now about the emotions you would be feeling at this moment. Confusion: what has happened, where is the body, how long has it been missing? Anger: someone must have taken the body, grave robbers, why would someone do something like this? And of course sadness: I just lost one of my best friends in the world and now this happens! I can’t even come to mourn my friend’s death, and now I have to deal with this! You see one of the groundskeepers and you run up to him in pure desperation and ask him, “Where have they taken my friend, the body is gone, if you know where it is please just tell me!”

            If we can wrap our minds and our hearts around these emotions then we can begin to understand the emotions at play in our Easter story for today. We so quickly jump to the good news of Easter, but we first put ourselves in the shoes of Mary and the disciples as they visited the tomb that morning. We must experience the pain with them; we must experience the horror of the empty tomb.  That is after all how our story for this morning starts. It is early in the morning, we are told in fact that it is still dark,  and Mary Magdalene comes to the tomb to visit Jesus and we are told in the other gospels that they are coming to take care of some of the final burial procedures as well. When Mary arrives she however finds that the stone had been removed and that the tomb was empty. We can almost feel the panic set in, she runs back to Peter and the other disciple and tells them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him."  The panic continues as they all run back to the tomb, Peter and the other disciple look into the tomb for themselves and see the linen that they had wrapped Jesus’ body in lying in the tomb, and the cloth that was wrapped around his head was folded  up in another location in the tomb. We do not know much about the disciples reactions other that they saw and believed, and then returned to their homes; however the story continues to stay with Mary.

            Mary is now outside of tomb weeping, if we think back to the imagery at the beginning we can start to understand why. For Mary this empty tomb was not a sign of hope, but a sign of loss. That she had already lost her dear friend, teacher, and savior, and now the missing body, the empty tomb further drives in that point, that Jesus is gone, and not even his body can be visited. At this time she saw two angels in the tomb who ask her, “Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him." At that moment she may have been literally talking about Jesus’ body but I can’t help but to think that she was saying much more. It is almost as if her hope was gone, as God was gone. They have taken away my Lord and I do not I do not know where them have laid him. 

            It is at this point that a man, whom Mary assumes is the gardener, comes up and asks her, “"Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?"  To which Mary replies, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away."  Mary does not recognize that this man is in fact Jesus. It seems strange to us, how could Mary not recognize him. How could she not recognize the man who saved her life, the man that she has been follow for the past couple of years? How could she not notice the holes in his hands and the piercing in his side?  This is not the only account in the Bible in which Jesus comes appears to his loved ones and they don’t notice it. There is also the story of the walk to Emmaus in which Jesus joins a couple of his followers in their walk as they even talk about the events of Jesus’ death, and yet they too do not recognize Jesus. How can this be?   There have many theories about it, some have argued that Jesus was hiding his appearance, or that he came back in a different body. Some argue that he came back in his same body but completely healed of his wounds.  Yet from other stories such as Thomas sticking his fingers into the side of Jesus, we can conclude that it was Jesus in his own body, scars and all, and that those close to him simply didn’t recognize them. They may have been so overcome by grief, by pain and by loss that they could not recognize Jesus standing there in front of them. That their hope had been shattered so much, that there was no way the savior could be alive. It took Jesus calling her by name, Mary! for her to realize who stood in front of her.

            With the calling of her name, her eyes were opened, she realized that Jesus Christ her Lord had risen. She cries out, “Rabbouni!” which means teacher; a term of endearment yet respect.  With the calling of her name her tears of pain and sorrow become tears of joy. The excruciating pain of loss that she had felt on Good Friday and that that had been stirred up again this day, had now been turned to overwhelming joy. The empty tomb which to her was once a reminder of all that she had lost, was now a sign of great hope, because that empty tomb was a sign that Jesus Christ has risen and conquered death. The savior lives! All of the confusion of how the savior could have died, all of the doubt that must have swirled around in her soul on that long dark Saturday, all made sense now, because once again Jesus had done something greater than anyone expected, even though he had told them all along.  The empty tomb would be forever on a symbol for Christ’s power, that even death could not conquer our Lord.

            As we have explored the emotions of this Easter story; as we have wept with Mary, looked in on the tomb with her in complete and utter fear,  I imagine that we have found that we ourselves still feel many of the emotions that Mary felt that day; confusion, fear, doubt, sorrow, hopelessness, and the list goes on. In fact the more we dive into this story the more that we realize that still today we are a lot like Mary was on that Easter morning. How often do we fail to remember and recognize the good news of the empty tomb? In Christianity today there is a growing theology of what we call deism, whether we like to admit it or not. Deism is the believe that there is a God who created the heavens and the Earth, who set everything in motion, and now sits back and watches as we humans run our course on Earth. We may be thinking to ourselves, I could never believe something like that; yet when many of us truly think about our own beliefs we may find that they are not that different from this view.

            So often we think about heaven and Earth; Earth is where we live and heaven is where God lives. We feel like there is some great cosmic divide between here and there, that can only be breached once we die. We feel as though God is there, and we are here and our goal and our job on this Earth is to live a good life so that one day we may finally be with God. We hear the stories about Jesus in the Bible, and we think about what a man did for us over 2000 years ago. We know however that this wasn’t just any man, but this man was God, so we come and we give thanks to God for saving us so long ago. And yet so often  we approach the Bible, we approach church, we approach our faith with the same sadness of Mary as she approached the empty tomb. I am thankful for what Christ did for me then, but now he is gone, they have taken away my Lord. We sit in despair waiting for when we might be able to reunite with Christ. We sit waiting for the time in which God will come again to be with us. We sit holding on for just a little more time with Christ.

            We look at the empty tomb and so often do we forget that this is truly good news.  The empty tomb does not mean that Christ is gone, it means that Christ has conquered death, that Christ has risen, that Christ has not left us, but is always here with us. The empty tomb reminds us that the salvation story did not end on the cross, no the empty tomb tells us that this was just the beginning. That Christ is with us and that we are constantly walking with Christ everyday of our lives.

            When we feel as though Christ is there, when we feel as though there is some great divide between us and God, that is because we, like Mary, fail to recognize Jesus standing right in front of us. After all, Jesus came up and spoke to Mary, and yet she did not recognize him. In that dialogue there is something interesting that happens that literally gets lost in translation. Jesus walks up to Mary and asks her why she is weeping to which Mary replies, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away." In her reply she calls Jesus sir, which is of course a proper sign of respect to give to someone you do not know. What we lose in the English however is this word sir, which in the greek is kurie, has multiple meanings. Kurie can mean sir and is certainly what she is saying in this passage, but the word also means Lord. In fact earlier when Mary says they have taken away my lord, she is using a different form of this same word. Mary is addressing Christ as Lord without even knowing it. How often have we acknowledged Christ in our presence without even realizing it. Whether is in the way that someone has helped you, sent you a card, prayed with you and for you. Whether its been a moment here at church in which a song has touched you, a scripture has spoken to you and your heart becomes glad though you are unsure of the reasons why. How many times in your daily lives have you uttered the phrase “thank God” after some good news you received, and you did not say it as a prayer but simply as an everyday common phrase that you use. And yet in all of those moments, when you felt that love in your heart and responded, when you cry aloud than God, are we not like just like Mary, giving our praise and honor to God without even realizing it.

             It is something that God knows, God knows our pains and our joys, just as Jesus knew why Mary was weeping. But the question must be asked so that we may be able to recognize the good news of the empty, the good news that Christ is risen, he is risen indeed.  For Mary it still took Jesus calling her by name to recognize the good news of salvation, of resurrection, the good news of the empty tomb. This morning God calls each and every one of us by name. He is calling us and telling us I am risen, I am with you. I pray this morning you are able to hear him calling.

Lamb of God (Exodus 12:1-14)

Sermon as preached at Evington UMC 3/28/13

 

This is the night! This is the night the disciples gathered with Jesus around the table and partook of the Last Supper. This is the last time many of Jesus’ disciples would see him again until after the resurrection. This night holds so much importance to us as Christians today, and yet the disciples truly had no idea how important this night would be. It is not as if the disciples gathered knowing that this was going to be their last supper with Christ, they did not know that the next day he would be dead.  For the disciples this night was special because they were gathering to celebrate Passover. I think that many Christians today forget that the Last Supper was a Passover celebration. More importantly, I think that we often fail to recognize the significance of that fact.

            So let’s take a little refresher course into our Old Testament scripture for today, and remember the significance of this Passover celebration. If we remember the story of Moses, then we remember that at that time the Israelites were enslaved in Egypt. The pharaoh who was afraid of the growing number of Israelites ordered that the firstborn son of all the Israelites be killed. Moses, a first born son, was sent down the river as a baby in hopes that his life may be spared. He was saved and grew up in nobility, until one day he saw an Egyptian guard beating a Israelite slave, and Moses acted and killed the guard. After this he fled for a while, but with his return he demanded to pharaoh that the Israelites be set free. Pharaoh refused, and thus started the ten plagues, all leading up to the final plague, which was ironically the death of all of the first born son’s; a form of punishment for pharaoh’s killing of the first born sons of the Israelites.

            That leads us to our scripture for this evening. It was the night in which the tenth plague would fall upon the land of Egypt, and Moses and Aaron gave orders to the Israelites for what they must do that evening. And the instructions are very specific. A family it to obtain a lamb, and if the family is too small, then neighbors should get together and share the lamb. Here already we see a uniting of family and neighbors. It can’t be just any lamb that is to be obtained, but this lamb must be without blemish. We again see that the whole assembled congregation of Israel shall gather to slaughter this lamb. Next we see that the blood and the flesh of the lamb play an important part in this Passover. The blood of the lamb is to be smeared on the doorposts of the houses in which they are gathering to eat. This blood is a sign for the plague to pass over those families who are gathering together for this meal; leaving the first born sons of those with the mark unharmed. The blood wasn’t the only important aspect of the lamb however, because in the scripture we also read about the preparation of the flesh for a meal. All of the lamb was used and shared amongst the families. As the Bible tells us, these families were saved from the plague while the rest of Egypt, including Pharaoh himself, had to endure the horrible heartache of death.

            As the disciples gathered with Jesus that evening for the Last Supper, this is what they were gathering to celebrate. They were gathering that God had shown love and mercy on his people sparing them from the tragedy of death. They were celebrating the fact that God would go on to lead his people out of captivity. They were celebrating the unity that this Passover meal had come to represent; that this holy day was a time to bring friends and family together united in their love and gratitude for God. The fact that the Last Supper happened on this Passover celebration is extremely significant.

            As the disciples and Jesus gathered around the table at this Passover meal, Jesus took the bread and said to the disciples, “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." This is a meal celebrating the great Passover, reliving the meal shared between family and neighbors, a meal that saved the Israelite children from death; and Jesus is now saying that this bread is his body.  As Christians when we partake of Holy Communion we realize that we are remembering this night, the night of the Last Supper; but how often do we remember that this Last supper took place during a time of celebration for Passover? Many may be wondering, what is the big deal about that?  Well, in this meal, the Last Supper, Jesus is taking a tradition and celebration and uses it to reveal to the disciples and the whole world a greater truth. That for centuries God’s people have been unified in the remembrance of that Passover meal, but from now on the disciples and the world with gather in remembrance of him. That the world will be unified by Christ’s body; that when we gather in fellowship around the table, we do it in remembrance of these mighty acts in Jesus Christ.  When we eat of that bread; we are partaking in the lamb that saved us, the Lamb of God.

            This leads to one of the greatest points of significance between Passover and the Last Supper. After the supper was over, Jesus took the cup gave thanks to God and gave it to his disciples saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me." This is my blood of the new covenant poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Jesus is the new lamb! Just like the lamb in the Exodus story, the lamb who would save the world must be one without blemish. At the beginning of Lent we heard about the temptations of Jesus in wilderness by the devil, and yet Jesus did not succumb to the temptations. Jesus led his life and ministry without blemish, worthy of being hailed as the King of Kings, worthy of shouts of Hosanna as he entered into Jerusalem, but also worthy of being the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.  Just as the blood of the lamb was placed on the door frames signally the plague of death to pass over that house, Jesus’ blood is poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness sins; so that whoever believes in him shall not die but have eternal life. This is the blood in which we partake in when we share of the cup in Holy Communion.

            All of this happened on the night in which he gave himself up for us. A night in which he gathered with his disciples already knowing those who would betray him, knowing full and well what was going to happen to him. This week as we go through the highs and the lows of Holy Week, from the triumphant entry into Jerusalem to Christ’s death on the cross, to good news that the tomb is empty; we must not forget the importance of this special night. That with this meal, Jesus revealed to his disciples and to the world that he is the Lamb of God, who would be sacrificed to save us from captivity to sin and death, and to establish with us a new covenant. As we gather around the table, as we are united in Christ’s body and blood, we must always remember this significance of this night.

             

Riding on a Donkey (Luke 19:28-40)

Sermon as preached at Lambs UMC 3/24/13

 When I was younger I had the great opportunity to go to Lexington and Concord, the site of a famous battle at the beginning of the Revolutionary war, in fact it was where legend has it that Paul Revere made his ride warning that “British are Coming” While I at the time may have been a little too young to fully understand the significance of the history of the place I was visiting, one story told by our tour guide has stuck with me ever since that trip. It is the story of a famous song, “Yankee Doodle went to town riding on a pony, stuck a feather in his hat and called it macaroni.” I remember the story because it taught me the meaning and the history of a song that I had been singing ever since I was little. The song was not originally a patriotic song like we know it today, it was in fact a song by the British making fun of Americans. Yankee of course refers to Americans and Doodle is a term that was believed to me something like fool. So the line starts out American fool. And then it goes on to say riding on a pony. This is of course a joke too, because a real solider would not ride on a pony, it would ride on a stallion or some sort of war horse. Finally the line ends with “stuck a feather in his hat and called it macaroni.” Now when I was little I always thought it was weird to compare a feather to a noodle, but of course I found out this is not what macaroni meant. Macaroni was the decorative dress that many of the noble soldiers in the British army were wearing. You’ve seen the pictures of the British soldiers and the fancy hats and feathers and all that; well that’s macaroni. So this song was a song making fun of the Americans because they saw the American soldiers and said to themselves, “this is not what a real soldier looks like.” The irony in the song of course is these American soldiers won, and as a way of celebrating their victory Yankee Doodle was allegedly sung to the British at their defeat in Yorktown. This song about the sad and pitiful shape of an American soldier has now become one of our most patriotic tunes.

            In much of the same way that Yankee Doodle has become an iconic tune for our nation, our scripture for today has become an iconic scripture for Christianity. Palm Sunday as it is known has become a well-known and well-practiced Liturgical Sunday. Even many churches who do not follow the liturgical calendar as closely, it is known that Palm Sunday will be observed the Sunday before Easter. It is in essence the kick off for holy week. It is a scripture that many of us love; love to hear, love to read, and even love to reenact. It is common for churches to have Palms that they themselves waive as the words of praise are lifted up, “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!" Those who study the Bible hear these words and tie them back to the psalm that it is echoing. We hear about the colt or the donkey that is taken for him to ride into Jerusalem on and we love the imagery of Jesus riding into town with the streets lined with people cheering. It is a triumphal entry into the holy city, it is a king’s entry. And yet with all of this going on, with all of this being said, we so often fail to notice that this story is a story of great irony.

            I think that we must have become so used to this story that we tend to forget how ridiculous of an image it really is. In this story we have the word made flesh, the king of kings, King of the Jews, making his triumphant entry into the holiest of holy cities, on a donkey… a donkey! How have we managed to overlook such great irony. Like Yankee Doodle riding into town on a pony, Jesus riding into town on a donkey is something that just doesn’t seem to be appropriate for the occasion. I can even imagine that some of the opponents of Jesus saw the whole scene as a joke, as a bunch of nut jobs waiving palm branches and praising a man riding on a donkey.

            A month or so ago there was a sketch on the show Saturday Night Live called Djesus Uncrossed. The sketch was a fake movie trailer advertising for this fake movie move Djesus Uncrossed. The premise of the movie is that Jesus comes back from the cross on Easter and exacts revenge on those who were against him. It was making fun of some of the newer movies that had come out that were over the top violent and filled with action and special effects. In the skit, Jesus comes back and kills a bunch of the romans that executed with Samurai like sword skills. St. Peter, enlists the disciples to go out and hunt down 100 romans a piece. Jesus goes out and finds Judas, and as Judas is begging for forgiveness, Jesus kills him using a shotgun. The sketch received a lot of criticism, people were outraged by how far the show was allowed to go.

            At the time that the show aired, my colleague and friend Alan Combs down at Lane Memorial wrote a wonderful article about the skit on Lane Memorial’s webpage. He doesn’t try to tackle the debate about whether the skit went over the top or not, but he does mention that, “The humor comes from the fact that the actions of Jesus and his disciples are so out of character for them” This is not the Jesus that we know and love. We know Jesus as one who taught love and forgiveness not revenge and hate. The fact that Saturday night live went so over the top with the violence was for the reason that Rev. Combs mentioned,  that this is obviously a ridiculous depiction of how Jesus and his disciples lived and acted.

            He goes on in his article however to make a quite a profound argument, that for however ridiculous this sketch seems, that Jesus and his disciples would go around killing Romans and those who stood in their way, for how inconceivable that may be in our minds; it is most likely what most people were expecting and hoping for from the Messiah. If you read many of the prophets and the psalms when they talk about the Messiah or about God’s justice; it is far closer to this depiction of Djesus in Saturday Night Live than the way Jesus actually lived. If you don’t believe me, listen to the end of Psalm 137 for example, “happy is the one who repays you
according to what you have done to us. Happy is the one who seizes your infants
and dashes them against the rocks.”  This is but one short example of the type of “justice” that the Messiah would bring. The Messiah will come in like a mighty warrior and topple the mighty oppressors, the Messiah will exact revenge on those who tortured God’s people. One of the most influential theologians of our time Stanley Hauerwas points out however that instead of riding into Jerusalem on a war horse, he came in on a donkey.

            This is the great irony of our scripture for today. Jesus comes into to town and is hailed as the King of Kings, as the one who comes in the name of the Lord, and yet Jesus comes in on a donkey. The King of Kings does not come in on a war horse, the King of Kings is not the might warrior that so many expected. He did not exact revenge on his enemies, he did not violently overthrow the empire, in a world that so desperately wanted him to act in violence, he acted in humility, in peace, and of course he acted in love.

             Many of the Jewish people at the time did not get what they were expecting out of a Messiah. For many, the Messiah that they got was not even what they wanted. After being a people who had been oppressed for years and years, a people who throughout their history have been in and out of slavery and captivity, a people who just wanted to relive those short glory days when David was king and Israel was strong; it is not surprising and even understandable that they wanted a military or a king like David, who would topple over the Roman empire and restore Israel to glory. Many wanted bloodshed, violence, and justice with of course at the final outcome being the Messiah being the victor. They did not get what they wanted,  or at least they did not get what they expected. This great and powerful Messiah that they had been waiting for has been going around speaking messages of love and forgiveness? This powerful Messiah who was supposed to come to restore Israel back to its glory and to save the chosen people of God is now preaching that salvation not only belongs to the Jews but to Gentiles, in fact that all who believe in him shall have eternal life. Wait why do those who have oppressed us for so long, who have tortured us, who do not follow the laws and who do not share our same painful history, why do they get the opportunity for salvation as well?! This Messiah that we have been expecting is not coming into the holy city on a war horse to rescue it, but is coming in on a lowly donkey, a colt. How can this be?

             Throughout the centuries Holy Week has been a difficult time for many Jews, especially during the medieval times, because many Christians would listen to sermons about how Jewish leaders rejected Jesus, and then they would leave and seek retaliation on the Jews of that time. When we stop to think about the hopes and expectations of the Jews during Jesus’ time we can however begin to sympathize with the pain, the struggle and the disappointment that they felt. Having such a painful history, it is understandable that many would be disappointed that Jesus was not a violent avenger, or we can understand how many would not believe that this man was the Messiah, because it was not what they expected. In our society today we still face many of the same feeling and emotions. The United States is one of the few developed countries that still uses the death penalty, and our state of Virginia in particular high a death penalty conviction rate compared other states. For the most part, a lot of the same emotions are at play in these events. We witness or experience horrible and painful loss, we see unspeakable atrocities occur and we cry out for justice in the only way that we seem to know how, by seeking blood, violence, and retribution. We do not only do this in the political sphere, but we often do it within our own faith tradition. How often do you, or have you heard someone who has been seriously hurt, physically and emotionally, so much so that there is no way of explaining or justifying why or how someone could do such a thing, and you think to yourself at least they are going to get theirs when they die, God will take his wrath out on them. We are not so different from the Jewish people at the time of Jesus, when we are hurt, oppressed and scorned, we also often seek blood, violence with the goal of victory at the end.

            And this is exactly what we got through Jesus Christ; but not in the way we expected. Jesus did not come will a sword killing those who rejected him, he did not seek revenge on those who had oppressed his people. His ride into Jerusalem was not a military march, but was instead the march of a martyr. In Jesus’s arrival there was  blood, blood that ran down his face and from his hands and feet. And there was violence, as they stripped and beat him, and in that moment Jesus could have done everything that the people were expecting, he could have retaliated, he could have set himself free, but yet he does something greater than this, he shows  God’s love for his people, so much so that he is willing to die for them. Christ showed us that love conquers hate. The Messiah was victorious, love prevailed, and on Easter he rose to that death as well has been defeated. The triumphal march that we read about in our scripture for today is not military parade, and yet it is a victory march worth all of the excitement and praise, because the Messiah has come to Jerusalem to save his people.

Musings: What being a Duke Fan has taught me about being a Christian

I must admit I have not been a Duke fan all of my life, in fact I haven’t been a college basketball fan for much of my life. I didn’t truly start to become a fan of either until my freshman year of college at Randolph-Macon when I started to get the sense that Duke was where I wanted to go for seminary.  Since then I have been introduced to the joys and the difficulties of being a Duke fan.  I have found however that being a Duke fan has actually given me perspective on being a Christian, and in particular a Christian leader. The following are reasons why.

 

1. Respect for history and tradition:  As I have admitted I have only been a “dukie” since 2005. I did not  care for basketball much when they won the National Championship in 2001 with great players like Jason Williams, Shane Battier, and Carlos Boozer, and I was still learning my alphabet when they repeated in ’91 & ’92. Still when I would look up at the championship banners and retired jersey in Cameron Indoor, I felt as though I was just as much a part of those teams as the one that I was rooting for that particular game.  The Laettner shot as it is replayed over and over brings me such joy even though I never truly lived as a fan in that era. It all has taught me not only a respect for our history, but a sense that our history and tradition is not something of the past but is in active part of our present team. This is how I feel now when I read Wesley or Augustine, or when I prayer a prayer by St. Francis or St. Patrick.  I am not simply honoring or paying homage to the past, but I am working with them, learning from them, and building upon their legacy.  In seminary I heard something that will forever stay with me. While talking about the Lord’s prayer, it was discussed that not only are you joining with others around the world saying the same prayer, but we are also joining with centuries of Christians who have also prayed the same prayer. If you ever walk into Cameron when it is empty, it is almost eerie; you feel as if you can relive the years of historic games that have taken place on that court. You can hear the echoes of all the Cameron crazies have come before; and on game day you realize you are not only cheering with those in the arena that day, but with all who have come before. Through our liturgy in the church we are able to not only worship with those in the congregation, but are able to worship with all the communion of saints.

 

2. People hate Duke!  In college basketball, there is pretty much fans of Duke, and everybody else. No four letters produce the ire of opposing fans more than D-U-K-E. For many opposing team’s  fans, Duke is raised up as the epitome of everything that is wrong with college basketball, the educational system, and culture in general. For other fans, they have just been taught that Duke is the bad guys (watch Kid President pick the brackets “Duke they’re the bad guys, that’s what my bro told me.)  As a new Duke fan this was off putting for me; I of course wanted to be liked. I couldn’t understand why people could hate a school with high academic standards, a great coach, and one that produced quality teams year in and year out. I would always try apologetics, arguing with others on why they shouldn’t hate us. Eventually I had to learn to embrace it. It’s not that I enjoy being the villain, but it taught me to be thick skinned, to realize that with the more success you have, the more people will begin to resent you.

In America in particular this has become the case of Christianity. Christianity was once seen as “the established religion of the US”(not debating whether it ever was or not, just pointing out the perception) While there are still many who look favorably on Christianity, there is now a lot of people who also feel a great animosity towards Christians. When I introduce myself as a pastor, sometimes I am met with great admiration and respect, and other times people shut down, or even begin to tell me why Christianity is either stupid or evil. Being a Duke fan has given me the thick skin to be able to handle it; to react in love and to turn the other cheek. In college I would have fought back, thinking that I could prove why Christianity is right, but I have now learned to hear a person vent and respect it,  If they earnestly want to talk about the issue, I am not defensive or angered. I am not saying that all Duke fans react in such tact or sportsmanship, but as a Duke fan entering the ministry, I have learned how to win and lose with grace; likewise I have learned to embrace those who love the church and those who hate it.

 

3. The hate isn’t completely misguided

            The hardest thing to come to terms with as a Duke fan is that sometimes those who hate Duke actually have legitimate arguments. Duke is in fact an institution of privilege. Now while some people go overboard acting as if there are not large amount of students who work their tails off for academic scholarships; the fact is that Duke is an expensive, primarily white institution. Haters are right when they accuse Duke of being elitist.  Many students and fans in particular are in fact obnoxious, rude and arrogant. Many players of the past are players that were so arrogant that secretly even Duke fans didn’t really like them (ie Austin Rivers).  I mean, Laettner stepped on a player’s chest when he was down! There are legitimate reasons to hate Duke, and that should not be simply overlooked.

            The church is the same way, the church has given people plenty of reasons to hate it. Whether it is historically (the crusades, its treatment of Jews, its use to support slavery etc.) or whether it is what it is doing now (its judgment, silence on social issues, exclusivity etc.) the church cannot act as if it is blameless.  When people make accusations against the church, we should take them seriously because often there is a hint of truth behind it. It should teach us how to grow, how to react, and how change what we are doing wrong. We cannot afford to simply ignore the hate towards us, whether it’s the church or Duke. Now this may sound contradictory to what I said in my last point, but my point is that we should learn from it instead of getting defensive about it. It is also that we have to learn to love the church even with all of its flaws.   After all, there valid reasons to hate Duke, and yet I am still a dukie. All of which leads to my next point.

 

4.  We take the good for granted.

With all of the success that the Duke has had in the past, fans have come to expect a lot out of the program.  Last year was seen as a failure because we failed to win the ACC regular season, the ACC tournament, and lost to 15 seeded Lehigh.  What fans forget to recognize is that Duke has made the tournament 16 straight years; being in the Lynchburg area I experienced the excitement of Liberty simply making it to the tournament. Duke has been ranked in the top 10 of the polls for over 3 years. Another team that I love and have a lot of respect for Virginia Commonwealth University has a banner larger than any Duke championship banner which celebrates the fact that two years ago they finished the season ranked 6^th!  We as Duke fans take our success for granted, we focus on the negatives of a season rather than the good.

            In the church we also seem to take the good that we do for granted. We do not celebrate enough the great work of organizations like UMCOR do to reach out to those in need. We do not acknowledge the fact that so many people in our congregations are going and visiting the sick and the shut-ins. We ignore the fact that groups like the UMW gather to seriously learn about economic and environmental justice. We see the mega-churches   or even just the larger churches in our district and wish we had what they had, wish we did what they did. We record our statistics on attendance, professions of faith and giving, and we are discouraged that any change is minimal. We need to constantly remind ourselves of the good that we are doing. This should be a regular practice in worship, council meetings,  etc. We as the church have a lot to be proud of, let’s take time to recognize it.

 

5. Embrace Expectations

            As Duke fans, while we do often fail to recognize the achievements of the program, a lot of it comes from the fact that year in and year out Duke has so much potential. We do have one of the greatest coaches, we recruit some of the best players every year, we have a huge home court advantage, and a fan base that travels well. The disappointment that comes when we fail to win it all, comes from the fact that we have so much potential. Each and every year Duke has so much expectation. This means that each game the team must be ready for everybody’s best shot. Every road game that Duke lost this year, the opposing team’s fans rushed the court. It was the biggest win of the year for that team. For Duke, it’s just another game; because for Duke the expectations are so high. The only way that Duke can live up to its expectations is by embracing them; giving it their all each and every day.

            In the church while it true that we need to celebrate our achievements, we must also embrace the higher expectations we have because the reason we have expectations to do great things is because we truly have the potential to do great things.  We should not become complacent; we should constantly be looking to find ways to learn more, to reach out to others, and to seek to walk closer to God. The excitement that we have and the expectations that we have come from the fact that through the grace of God, we can not only live up to our potential, but exceed it.