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.

Eyes On the Prize (Philippians 3:4-14)

Sermon as Preached on 3/17/13 at Lambs and Evington UMC

 

There’s the famous song that is played during the Christmas season that says it’s the most wonderful time of the year. While it is hard to argue against Christmas time being wonderful time of the year, I have to admit that to me, right now is the most wonderful time of the year. When else in the year can you have the beauty of snow, with snow angels and snow ball fights one week, and then the very next week enjoy a day at the lake or a picnic in the mountains?  For children and teachers spring break is right around the corner so for many families that means a time of vacation or a nice family outing. In the church we of course are inching closer and closer to the wonderful celebration of Easter, and with every Sunday get more and more excited about its arrival. And of course, the cherry on the top of what makes this time of the year the most wonderful time of the year is (put on jersey) March Madness! That’s right this time of the year where college basketball teams from all over the nation gather to compete for the national championship. Different teams from Liberty to Notre Dame, VCU to Duke face the daunting task of trying to win at least six games against the best teams that nation has to offer all with their eyes on the prize of being named national champions.  Players and coaches must put in long hours of studying game films, even more hours of practice, they have to travel all over the nation in a matter of weeks all while completing their academic studies.  They must avoid the distractions of interviews, social media, and whatever the sports news are saying about them. They have to avoid the temptation of looking past a team that they should easily beat because what makes March Madness so crazy is all of the upsets that can happen. As a Duke fan trust me, I know this all too well. These next few weeks are a time in which players must avoid distractions and at the same time they must embrace the things that are going to help them reach their goal.

            Avoid distractions and embrace things that help to reach a goal; it kind of sounds like what we have been talking about all of Lent doesn’t it? You may have been wondering where I was going with all of this, but now hopefully the pieces are starting to fall in place. In fact, in our scripture for today, Paul himself seems to also be making some sort of analogy to a sporting event, though more likely some sort of race. He says, “Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,  I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.”  Not that I have already reached the goal, but I press on… I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus. Paul talks about striving after a goal, pressing on towards that goal. Paul even admits that he has not yet reached that goal. So what is the goal that Paul is seeking after? It of course is not a national championship, but it also isn’t something else that we would expect such as fame, fortune, or power. The prize that Paul is seeking after is the prize of the heavenly call of God in Jesus Christ.

            The prize of the heavenly call of God in Jesus Christ; this sounds nice and wonderful but what does it actually mean?  Well, in our own Methodist heritage we have special words to describe what Paul is talking about. We would describe what Paul is talking about as Christian Perfection.  Now many people here this word perfection and get scared. They think of this as an unobtainable goal, that there is no way that we as humans can be perfect because we just make far too many mistakes. We forget to change our clocks, we forget what our spouse told us to get from the grocery store, we got a ticket for speeding,  our jump shot is horrible, and we can’t sing as beautiful as the people we hear on the radio.  How can we be perfect? If this is what we mean by perfect, then yes we can’t be perfect. We will always mess up, we will make errors, we will forget things; that’s all true.  This is not the type of perfection we are talking about however when we talk about Christian perfection. We are not trying to become Mr. or  Mrs. Perfect, the ones you see on T.V. or in the newspaper on wished that you could be like them;  we instead accept that simply things that we just are not good at because we aren’t trying to become like God. In fact true Christian Perfection is having or will fully submit to God. Christian Perfection is when or thoughts, or actions, or emotions are all aligned with the will of God. It when we say not my will but yours be done and actually live it out every day of our lives. John Wesley  believed that Christian Perfection was actually possibly within in this lifetime, though it something that most people will be striving towards all of their lives. Even Paul admits that he is not yet there.  Far too often people mistake the beginning of the journey  for the end. The grace of the Holy Spirit works in our lives before we even realize it and leads us towards that moment of baptism in which we are washed by the cleansing waters and join with others as the body of Christ; and yet many people think that this is the end of the road. Like a team that celebrates being selected for the tournament, it truly is a huge accomplishment, and yet it is only the beginning, we must keep our eye on the prize. Baptism is but the beginning of our new life in Christ, a life in which we must continue on towards our goal, towards that prize of the heavenly call of God in Jesus Christ, towards Christian Perfection.

                        What keeps us from our goal?  To answer this let’s look at what Paul says at the beginning of this passage.  “If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more:
 circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee;  as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ.” If we continue with our March Madness theme, in basketball you have Cinderella teams, those teams that seem to come out of nowhere and win big games, and at the same time you have your bluebloods, those teams that always seem to be dominant, who have the best players, the best coaches, the money and the fan bases. Paul is a blueblood. In our scripture he tells us that if anyone has a reason to be confident in the flesh it was him. He was a Jew of noble esteem, born out of an esteemed heritage. He was a Pharisee, a man of power and knowledge. As we know he was a persecutor of Christians, since he had the power to uphold the law. In other words, Paul had all of the power that any Jew at that time could really ever wish for, Paul had it all.

            And with all of this Paul tells us, “More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.”  Paul tells us that all he had, which was so much, he regards as loss. He even goes say that he regards these things as rubbish. Now my translation says rubbish, but that’s a very kind way of putting it. The word that Paul uses really means excrement or waste, or in our everyday language we could even call it….well I let you use your own imagination. Paul calls all of these things waste, rubbish or whatever because in fact that is exactly what they are when compared to knowing Jesus Christ as Lord. It is not that the things of this Earth and our stature in the world are in themselves evil, but the evil comes when we seek first after these things. The evil occurs when our focus shifts away from God and onto these things, when we fail to keep our eyes on the prize. Paul realizes this after his conversion experience on the road to Damascus. That all of his power, his knowledge, his stature and social upbringing really just don’t mean as much when you have Christ in your life and are striving towards that Christian Perfection.

Seeking earthly power and possessions are not the only things that stop us for striving for our goal.  In fact, we often fall short of our goal because we begin to focus on things that are good rather than things that are great. For example,  Paul says, “Not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death,” Here Paul is showing that there is a difference between the law and faith. Now when we say law, we have to avoid thinking about that in our modern context, separation of church and state as we know it would be a foreign idea to them; in fact government as we know it was not the same. When Paul talks about the law, he is not talking about Parking tickets or lawsuits. When Paul talks about the law he is talking about the Jewish Law; the scriptures.  Remember that Paul was a Pharisee, that he was well versed in scripture, he read it and studied it and tried to execute it to the best of his abilities. There is a tendency for Christians to reject the law, but we must remember that the Jewish law is extremely important, after all it is part of our Bible. The law was given to Moses to teach the Israelites how to live according to God’s will. The law set out to unite the Israelites as the chosen people of God, and also set out to protect the weak and the helpless. Following the law is a very good thing, even for us today.

            Yet what Paul is reminding us is that of our focus is squarely on following the law, then we are not looking big enough. We have settled for good instead of great. For now we know God in an entirely different way. As we talked about last week, we have now experienced God in flesh through Jesus Christ. We have heard his stories, we have seen his miracles, we have witnessed his death and resurrection and we have be washed clean and united by his blood. To continue to focus squarely on the law without acknowledging the magnitude and wonders of Jesus Christ would be a travesty. The point is not that the law is bad or wrong, but that we experience greater things than the law through Jesus Christ.

            For Paul it was the law, for us it may be something else that we are directing our gaze towards; that we are settling for. It can be quite tricky since many of these good things help lead us towards the Perfecting grace that we strive towards. For example we could be wonderful students of the Bible, reading it, going to any studies about it, and yet if we are not doing it for the greater meaning of seeking to align or will with Christ’s then we have settled for good over great. If we are active in service in service, helping as many people as we can, but do it for our own benefit and not because we striving to follow God’s will, then once again we are settling for good over great. The Lord has great things in store for us, but we must continue to focus on God. We cannot allow our gaze to be diverted away from God, and we cannot allow our gaze to become too narrow causing us to miss the amazing scope of God’s glory and grace. As Paul tells us we must press on towards the goal of our heavenly call, press on towards Christian Perfection, that closest walk with God. We must keep our eyes on the prize.

All Things New (2 Corinthian 5:16-21)

Sermon as preached 3/10/13 at Lambs and Evington UMC

Scripture 2 Corinthians 5:16-21

When I was growing up there was a very popular show on tv call “Pimp My Ride.” I know, it’s a horrible title, but it was a pretty interesting show. They would find people with some of the most beat up, run down, ugliest and broken cars, and then they would go over the top in fixing them. Not only would they fix it, but they would add things like racing kits to the car, they would lower or jack up the car or truck, They would give it a crazy new paint job, they would redo the interior of the car with new upholstering, and usually add some crazy gadgets like T.V.’s in the headrest and rear view cameras, which unbelievably are now common in many new cars. Then they would reveal the car to its owner and watch the pure joy come across their faces. There are many shows on today that do similar things. For example the show “American Restoration” does exactly what it says. They find really cool, older American relics, from anything to cars, to old signs or whatever you can think of, and they restore them to make them look new. Or there are a bunch of house shows on today focused around this idea of remodeling and restoration. One in particular, “Flip This House” is a show about taking old, decrepit houses, restoring them to a beautiful like new house, and then selling them back on the housing market for a huge market. Whether it is cars, houses, or memorabilia, We as Americans, and I would dare to say simply we as humans, love to see old things become like new.

            We truly do love this idea of transformation, and while we do like seeing it happen with cars, and houses and the like, I think deep down it is because we want to see it with us. On a superficial level, how many ads and commercials do we see targets us by telling us their product can transform our appearances. There is aging and beauty cream, weight loss pills, teeth whitening strips, Rogaine, and Just For Men, all products made to make us feel like a new person. And still I believe that our desire for transformation is even deeper than this. So often we get so fed up with the way things are going in our lives or simply with the way things are going in the world in general. We wish things were different, and often times for Christians this leads to us playing the waiting game. I can’t wait until things change when I get to heaven. I just have to endure this life and all will be made right in the next.

            Our scripture today focuses around the same hope and desire, in fact the section of scripture right before our passage echoes many of these sentiments. “For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. ² For in this tent we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling— ³ if indeed, when we have taken it off^[a] we will not be found naked. ⁴ For while we are still in this tent, we groan under our burden, because we wish not to be unclothed but to be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.” Paul recognizes hardships of this Earth and the joy and hope of heaven. He understands that we long so much to be in the dwelling of God, that we long so much not to live in this broken and  sinful state, that all we really want is the joy of transformation, the joy of being new, the joy of being close to God that comes when we get to heaven. And yet hearing and understanding all of this, in our passage for today, Paul reminds us of a new transformation, one that is made possible through Jesus Christ.

            Paul tells us, “From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way.” Here, Paul is reminding us of an extremely important fact to remember, He is telling us that to think about God and heaven and then reflect about us and Earth, and then hoping and waiting for the time in which we can leave Earth for Heaven, creates a false divide. It makes us feel as though we are here alone on this Earth, That God has nothing to do with us besides a few instructions that are written down for us to follow. It leads us to thinking that the only true interaction that we have with God is once we die and go to heaven. It is as if we are young homesick children dropped off at camp crying and waiting for our time at camp to be over so that we can go back home. Though we don’t ever say it this way, and though it surely isn’t our intention, when we think about God in this way it is as if we are saying that God is not here for us.

            Paul is reminding us that exactly the contrary is true. Paul says that we once knew Christ from a human point of view. In the original Greek it is probably better translated, according to the flesh. We knew Christ according to the flesh. What does this mean? It means that Christ was human, that this notion that there is some great divide between God and ourselves is bogus, that this notion that God does not interact with us on Earth is false, and that the idea that our bodies and our time on Earth is not valuable, is an idea that is just flat out wrong. Because Jesus Christ was human, we knew Christ according to the flesh. God walked amongst us, talked with us, ate with us, and of course died for us. There is no divide between us and God, because the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.

            And yet, having known God, Having God dwell with us, and die for us, we no longer look at Christ the same way.  When Christ first came into this world all we saw was the flesh, his humanity. Yes there were prophets predicting his arrival, there were visitations and signs, but all of these things pointed to Christ being a Messiah, being a special man sent by God, another great prophet or leader or king. And Yet as people started to follow him, started to witness his miracles, and of course when he died and rose again, people started to look at Jesus not just a great man, but realized that God had walked among them. The same is true when we reflect back on Jesus, we don’t think of him as just a man, we think of him as our Lord, our savior, our God.

            This event, God on Earth, is an incredibly important event, because Christ gave our lives greater meaning, and redeemed our flesh. What do I mean by this?  Earlier we talked about how there can feel as though there was a divide between God and humanity. It could even lead many to believe that humanity simply doesn’t matter. The arrival of Christ changed that though. God became human in Jesus Christ, and in doing so showed us our sacred worth. God would love us so much that he would humble himself, take upon the flesh, and even die for us. God showed us through Jesus Christ that we are all sacred.

            This is what Paul is saying when he tells us that just as we no longer know Christ according to the flesh the same as we no longer know one another according to flesh. We no longer see each other for our brokenness, for our flaws, our mistakes or our weakness. God so loved the world that he died for all of our sins; now see each other as those who God treasures, who God loves, who have sacred worth in God’s eyes. What an amazing transformation! That we could go from broken and sinful people to people of sacred worth.

            The amazing transformation doesn’t stop there. Paul tells us, “So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!  Paul is telling us that through Christ this transformation is not something that we must simply wait for, that this transformation is not just for us once we die and go to heaven. This transformation, this new creation, is happening here and now for those who are in Christ. Everything old has passed away; see everything has become new! The good news of Jesus Christ is that through Christ we can be transformed into new creation.

 This Lent we have talked over and over again about self-reflection, about sin, about finding things that separate us from God and then about changing those things. We do these things so that through Christ we may be made new. Like a snake shedding it scales, or a butterfly breaking through the chrysalis, we shed these things to reveal our new selves, the wonder beauty of new creation that is only possible through Jesus Christ.

            But we must remember that Paul says, “So if anyone is in Christ.” What does this mean? It could easy to use this as a way of separating the sheep from the goats, the saved from the unsaved. It could be used to lift ourselves up and gloat about new creation while looking down upon those who are not in Christ. This is not the point of the saying. This phrase is not directed to the “others” but instead it is directed at us. It makes us recognize what it means to be in Christ. Paul goes on to say, “All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”  Paul is reminding us that we are the ambassadors for Christ, that if we want to be in Christ, then we must be like Christ.

How do we do this? Paul boils it all down into one word, reconciliation. Reconciliation “to make oneself or another no longer opposed.” This of course means that we must reconcile ourselves to God, as I have been saying all along, getting rid of those things that keep us in opposition of God’s will; yet reconciliation is more than that also. If we think about Jesus’ ministry, his whole ministry was one of reconciling the world to him. Even with his birth he brought together the lowly Jewish shepherds  and the rich, Gentile magi. He ate with sinners, touched the unclean, protected an adulterer from death, and still at the same time he dined with Pharisees and Sadducees and taught lessons in the synagogues. Jesus’ ministry was a ministry of bringing all people to him, because as mentioned before all people are of sacred value.

            If we are truly to live as ones who are in Christ, if we want to see the beauty of new creation in its fullest, the we are called to be in reconciliation to all the world. We are called to view and treat all humans as sacred beings, ones who are loved by God. This means that we must reach out to those who are richer and poorer than us, those from different ethnic backgrounds, those with different beliefs. Not only must we reach out to them, but we must allow them to reach back to us. If we view ourselves simply as someone bringing the good news to those who don’t have it, then we are viewing ourselves as better and not of the same sacred value. If we truly want to be in Christ, if we truly want to see the amazing power and beauty of new creation here on earth, then as ambassadors of Christ we are called to be in the ministry of reconciliation. Drawing ourselves closer to each other, and in doing so drawing the whole world closer to God.

I Can't Get No (Satisfaction)

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

Scripture Isaiah 55:1-9

I came across a wonderful story on the internet this week. The story involves a boy and his father.  The boy comes up to his dad and asks him, “Daddy, how much do you make an hour?” The dad was angry at the question and told his son that it is none of his business. The boy just pleaded again, please daddy just tell me how much you make an hour? The dad replies, well if you really must know, I make $100 an hours. The little boy stops and thinks about it for  a little while and then asks his dad, “Daddy, can I have $50 dollars then?” The dad gets furious and tells his son if the only reason he asked how much he made an hour was so that he could beg for money, then he needed to go straight to his room and go to sleep. 15 to 20 minutes passed and the dad started to think about the request. At first he assumed that the boy wanted it to buy some new toy, but as he thought about it he realized that the boy has never really asked for much before other than on birthdays and Christmas. The dad thought it over and decided that he would give the boy the money. He knocks on the door and finds that the boy is not yet asleep, but just crying in his bed. The dad apologies to his son and gives him the $50. The boy takes the $50 dollars, and lifts his pillow to show that he already had money under his pillow. Seeing this the dad starts to get angry again, but before he could say anything the son says, “I have enough now.” Enough for what the dad asks? The boy replies, I have $100 now dad, I have enough to buy an hour with you.”

            This is of course a tender and also heartbreaking story, a story of how caught up we can get in our everyday lives; so much so that we can forget to take time to spend with those that we truly love. While the story does teach a valuable lesson about family relations, the reason I share it with you this morning, is because the relationship between the son and the father in the story is often far too close to depicting an accurate portrayal of our relationship with God. Of course in this instance we are like the father who gets so busy, so preoccupied with things that seem so important to us, that it leaves God asking us, when are you going to spend time with me? Now some may say, well I’m here this morning; I’m giving my hour of time with God. Think again about that story, after the father recognized what the son was asking for, do you think he said, ok thank you very much, I’ll take that $100 and your hour starts now? Of course not, the father realized that he had been neglecting his son and changed his life so that he made sure he had more time to spend with him. This is the same with our relationship with God,  it’s not that God is asking for an hour of our time, it is that God is asking for us to be in a closer relationship with him. God asks us to stop, and take time think about what we are seeking after, what our primary focus is, and whether or not we are focused on the right thing.

            In our passage for today, the prophet Isaiah does what good prophets do, he speaks the word of the Lord to the people. He says, “Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you that have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.”  I love this passage, because the Lord is talking to the people in words that hold so much depth and substance, words that have multiple intentions, and words that really make one stop and reflect. On the surface these words seem just like every day practical advice. Don’t spend your money on things you don’t need. We see instances of this today, where people who barely have enough money to pay rent, somehow have the newest cell phones, or people taking expensive vacations and trips around the world instead of putting money into their retirement. On the surface this passage is giving us the practical advice of using our money wisely, spending it that satisfy us (food, clothing, housing) and not on frivolous things. Yet, to read the passage only in this way would be severely missing the point of the scripture.

            In fact making this practical advice is someone like a joke. It’s not a joke to make sure that your priorities are in order, that you using your money on things that satisfy rather than frivolously throwing it away; however the joke lies in the fact that none of these things, bread, wine, honey, will ever truly satisfy. Yes they are something that we need to survive, but each day you will be coming back for more. The real lesson being taught in this passage is the lesson that we know all so well from the Gospels and from that wonderful hymn, “Seek ye first the kingdom of  God, and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.” The passage is telling us that nothing satisfies us like God can. That all that we do, all of our work, all that we spend, should be done so first and foremost while seeking after the Kingdom of God; while seeking after that relationship that God so desperately wants with us.

             The passage says,  “Incline your ear, and come to me; listen, so that you may live. I will make with you an everlasting covenant... Seek the LORD while he may be found, call upon him while he is near.”  At first, this may sound harsh to us, seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near. It can sound to us as if we only have a short time to make right to God, that if we don’t repent now, than God is going to leave us for good, but this is not what scripture is saying. The scripture tells us that God will make with us an everlasting covenant, that means that God isn’t going anywhere, that God has been, and always will be there for us. So then what does it mean to seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near? Once again it goes back to what we have been saying all along; that we need to seek first the Kingdom of God. It is saying that God doesn’t leave us, but that we can get so involved seeking earthly pleasures, we can even get so involved in seeking things of this Earth that are good and necessary for survival, but that we can get so caught up in these things that we no longer see God. We no longer seek after, we no longer hear God like that little child saying to us, Can I have an hour with you?

            For the Lord says, “let the wicked forsake their way, and the unrighteous their thoughts; let them return to the LORD, that he may have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the LORD.
 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.  God says to us, seek me I have more to offer,  In me you will find your daily bread. As we come together for communion today we will see the paradox of this scripture at work. We will gather partaking of the physical sustenance of bread and juice and yet the reason we gather around the table for Communion is so much more than that, we come to the table because we want to spend that time together with God.  Communion invites us to come to the table and experience true satisfaction; a relationship with God.