Lifted Up

Hebrews 5:5-10; John 12:20-33

The writer of Hebrews suggests that Jesus is of the order of Melchizedek.  It is an obscure reference, to the  priest who blessed Abram.  Psalm 110 picks this up as well, and it seems to be a way to demonstrate an old old way as if it is new again.  Which is what I am interested in doing here, for we are looking at the cross today, and there are many theologies of atonement, but the one I will explore I believe is one of the earliest, with its simplicity, that has come to a greater understanding these days.

I do not believe that any of the theologies of atonement or the cross are wrong, but rather a unique view of a great mystery that cannot be completely understood.  Prof. Mark Heim explains it by saying the actual cross is three dimensional and thus when you look at it at one angle the other side is not visible, but that does not mean it doesn’t exist, it is part of this great mystery.

As the Hebrews writer suggests, not only is Jesus designated by God from an old line, he went as a perfect sacrifice via submission and obedience.  The writer even suggests that He “learned obedience through what he suffered,” which is hard to phantom.  However, that demonstrates to me that Jesus was fully human and thus understood something divine on the cross when he was lifted up.

Lifted up for John seems to have a double meaning for he does not separate the resurrection from the cross. In this pericope, John makes it clear he is referring to Jesus being lifted-up on the cross, yet we only are aware of this cross moment because of the resurrection.

In the news, Trayvon Martin is much of the discussion.  He was no perfect boy, but he was certainly innocent of deserving death.  I do believe there are demons of racism and anxiety, and I am certain that one civilian following another is not standing one’s ground.  It is so very tragic.  If Trayvon survived we would be able to have his witness.

Jesus the perfectly innocent man, who was tempted to enter our desires of a worldly kingdom.  Who told Peter to put the sword away despite being scared of the tree he was to be hung on.  Jesus was not just a good man, but acted and taught that participation in rivalry was not the divine way.  He desired people to love the neighbor as they would love themselves. And be perfect as the heavenly Father is, raining on the righteous and unrighteous. 

He did nothing but teach love, healed all who wanted healing, and taught peace, and the authorities of the state and the religion condemned him to death.  He followers fled.  Alone though on that cross he drew us all to Him.  For we would have the witness of the victim.  The witness that did not come back with the heavenly hosts (army), did not command his Disciples to guerilla warfare, or even with a judgment.  He came back and said, Peace be with you, demonstrating the scars and thus the love and forgiveness the Divine has for us all. 

It is sad and awfully tragic we do not have Trayvon’s witness, as he certainly did not deserve death for being a  black youth with a hoodie.  It reminds me that I have been drawn to the salvation of Jesus, for His perspective as victim, questions the individual and corporate sins that pave the earthly realm through rivalry.

The victim saved us and forgave us, so we would have no more death. 

Deep Within

2 Kings 5:1-14; Mark 1:40-45

Naaman was not happy when Elisha told him what would clean him of his ailment. The scripture actually says he is angry and says, “I thought that for me he would surely come out, and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and would have his hand over the spot, and cure the leprosy!”  Naaman even continues his statements of anger by comparing his nation’s rivers to the Jordan.  I cannot help but point out that this man’s anger does not seem congruent with his quest.  He wants to be healed and actually travels for this cure to his enemy’s king, and then onto their prophet, yet he believes he knows how the healing should occur.  Naaman goes as far to say “…that for me..” now that is arrogant. Now the servants were quite wise and understood he was willing to seek an audience with the king of Israel and thus would have done anything the prophet suggested, why was he not willing do something he perceived was too easy.  Of course we know that he was made clean, because of there were people without any power leading Naaman to the healing power.

Naaman was his own biggest enemy.  He knew how the healing had to take place, or so he thought.  And even when he heard what the prophet said, he could not get over his ego.  His healing was desired because of his own ego and self care.  That should have a place, just as most of us check a mirror before the house, we care about ourselves.  The unnamed slave girl was moved by compassion to tell of the prophet in Samaria, that could heal.  At least I believe that to be true as she is not freed, receive any credit, or even named in the story.  Being moved to help because of compassion is what the Gospel lectionary is about.

In the Gospel of Mark, it is reported that Jesus is moved to compassion, and the word used is splagchnizomai.  To be moved to compassion from one’s gut.  A term for compassion used twelve times in the synoptic Gospels in reference to Jesus, or by Jesus in a parable.  It is a Greek term the root of which means gut, but specifically the inner organs of a sacrificed animal. 

Jesus is moved to heal not from His ego, but from His sacrifice.  If we want to share the Gospel, we most not think like Naamon and believe we know how, but to look deep within and act out of sacrificial compassion, in response to the grace we can never repay. 

Merry Christmas

Luke 2:1-20

Do you remember the first infant you held?  The first infant that was yours, or a close family or friend’s?  It is a miracle in itself.  Each child is a little miracle and while holding the baby, you realize how helpless they are.  A baby can’t walk nor do much of anything independently from parents, honestly they are not even aware they are independent from others.  Every baby is a miracle and the Baby Jesus is no different. 

Imagine one of the shepherds being a boy who comes to Bethlehem after hearing the angel, to see the child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.  This young shepherd is encouraged the hold the infant, his first baby to hold.  Of course the chorus of Heavenly Hosts, he heard in the field would resonate in his heart, but you know that first time of holding a helpless infant is just as special.  Imagine with me, that 50 years later he holds another baby and recalls that time in the City of David.  Perhaps he even tells his experience to Luke.  50 years after that this baby, now a man, holds a baby, experiencing the miracle of a child.  And another 50 years or so that child does the same, and so forth.  That would mean that it would take only 40 people or so to have been directly connected to holding Jesus.  

I share this illustration to emphasize that our movement, the church, is not as old as we think.  First of all when the incarnation happened, Judaism in which Jesus entered was already over 3,000 years old.  It is arrogant for Christians to believe their generation is the end of the Age.  Jesus makes it clear we are to be ready and only God in Heaven will know. Calling the time of the incarnation “ancient,” and living in a time we call “post-modern,” keeps us from understanding the reality that we may simply be in the infancy of our faith.  God’s time is not human time.

Jesus as a baby demonstrated His greatest power.  The power of vulnerability.  All babies posses that power and that is why they thrive, for the parents, and even society does what is necessary for each child to live.  Jesus is no different and yet he walks into adulthood without shedding that great power.  Jesus served.  Jesus went to the cross and through that great vulnerability, the Divine Love was revealed in the empty tomb. 

As Christians, we need to follow Emmanuel who demonstrated the power of vulnerability, servitude, and love.  We must understand we are still each learning to do that, and even our movement, we call the church, is struggling to learn to be vulnerable for Love.

 

Father Richard Rohr’s Wish inspired this Christmas Day Sermon

December 2011 Newsletter

There is a chill in the air and lights are strung. We are preparing for Christmas, and there is an excitement, especially for children. Within the preparation we will experience stress, but hopefully we will also experience great hope, peace, love, and joy. Certainly the reason for the season is Jesus who is our certain hope and love giving us joy and peace that surpasses all understanding. However, the excitement of the shopping, parties, and even traditions can distract us from Emmanuel.

The scriptures keep me focused and one of my favorite is from the beginning of John, as he explains how important it is having Jesus take on human form, Incarnation:

And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. (John testified to him and cried out, ‘This was he of whom I said, “He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.” ’) From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known. (John 1:14-18)

John makes it clear that we here on earth are able to know the Glory of God through only His Son Jesus. It was necessary for Jesus to be fully human as well as fully divine as to demonstrate God’s great love for humanity. Therefore during this season we prepare for Jesus coming into the world, not simply as a memory of a birthday celebration, but how Jesus breaks through the darkness everyday from the beginning, today and forever, as John writes earlier in his Gospel about Jesus, “What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.” (1:3-5)

As the chilly busy days of December turn to night, I am reminded of the incarnation by the numerous Christmas lights. Each string of lights reminds me that Christ Jesus is in our lives in numerous and various ways. Each by themselves may be lost in the hustle and bustle of the “holiday” demands, but together it is obvious that the Incarnate Word, Jesus Christ, is the light in all our lives that cuts through the darkness, providing us with hope, peace, love and joy.

In Christ’s Service,

Pastor JC

God, Self, and Neighbor

Matthew 25:31-46

If you saw someone with a backpack on you may assume they are backpacking, but they also could be homeless.  Sure it may be easy to guess which by the quality of the items or where you see the individual, but you might be wrong.  The real difference between the two is there is a planned end to the hike and no certain end to one who is homeless.  However, when I hiked I did not take each step with the end in mind, it was assumed. 

Jesus reminds us that we are to think eschatologically; that is about the end.  In this passage He tells us the end will be like separated goats and sheep.  Well when I have been on farms where there are these animals, and I spooked them they would run in their respective groups.  At the end it will be easy to separate the two, but the judgment is less about then than it is about now.  For we have received unconditional boundless grace which we do not deserve, so I believe Jesus is not making salvation based on one’s action, yet rather is reminding those that do believe this would be their reaction.  They will run with the sheep.

For when Jesus adds himself as being part of the least of these, He is reminding us that love we do is to God, Self, and Neighbor.  We realize we receive this grace we do not deserve and feel very unworthy, but Jesus wants us to take care of those that are considered unworthy'; the least of these.  We are therefore to respond with love to ourselves, God and Neighbor as He states in  Matthew 22:37-40:

He said to him, ‘ “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.’

This is the Law, according to Jesus and thus is where one would place judgment.  However, it is all wrapped in grace, so it is not what we do that saves us, but we respond as if we would be running with the goats.  We live as Christians doing what God commands for we do not live wandering, we live with the purpose of God.

‘This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.

We know there is a final victory over all evil, and we live that way not simply with the feeling of “love,” but acting on love to God, Self, and Neighbor, for we know what fold we run with. 

God Doing

Matthew 21:23-32

The chief priests and the elders asked Jesus where His authority came from, and Jesus turned the question upon them by asking about John.  They answered, “we do not know,” which generally is a great answer coming from a religious authority.  However, we are privy to their argument.  They know they had not been heeding John’s message, so they cannot answer from Heaven, yet they were terrified of the crowd who certainly believed John to be a prophet.  So Jesus refused to answer them, yet rather told them a parable.

He told the parable of the two sons.  The first said he would not do it and yet went out in the field to work, while the second responded with an affirmation, but never went out to the field.  When they answered the obvious question so clearly, I believe they were reminded of David’s emphatic answer to the story of Nathans in 2 Samuel 12, about two men.  One was rich and the other only had one lamb, which the rich man took for a meal.  David thought it was so awful, Nathan giving his famous line, “you are the man.” (v.7) Which is what the temple authorities should hear especially when Jesus explains the parable. 

Jesus tells us that the prostitutes and tax collectors, may not have said the right things before but they have gone and done the work.  While they, the chief priests and the elders simply just say the right things but do not go do the work.  This parable is for all of us who worry more about the legalism of church then the work of church.

I remember working on projects with my dad. He would want me to anticipate what tool he would need next.  I learned through trial and error and often got good at it, but even when I was wrong he was much happier with me for trying.  God simply wants us doing the work.  God wants us to be righteous not right.  God is doing is God’s authority, we also must follow God, for as Jesus called His disciples, called us, to follow him.  We do not wait to be called into the vineyard, we are there with Him.  We end up in the field for we found Him, not rules. 

God’s Prerogative

Jonah 3:10-4:11; Matthew 20:1-16

Jonah was the most efficient prophet. Well once he actually started warning people and stopped trying to run from God.  Many of the other prophets never saw the people turn toward God, but Jonah did, and he was not happy about it.  Jonah wanted the people of Nineveh to suffer for their bad ways.  Jonah tells God, that he was aware “…that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and ready to relent from punishing.”  It seems that Jonah wanted to determine who actually would receive such a wonderful God of mercy.

The Gospel parable is one of my favorites and when I say favorite, I mean difficult.  (And there are many I call favorite.)  This is one though that I was trying to teach to a group of fourth graders over a decade ago when I was their Sunday School Teacher.  That spring we were learning about parables and I had it organized so we would end the spring semester with this parable.  I told the class that I award those that brought their Bible to class.  I had a chart with their names and each week I checked not only their attendance but if they had their Bible.  Well the girls did the task remarkably well each week.  The boys, including the pastor’s twins, were not doing so well.  They all remembered the first week, but it was clear after a few weeks they had given up. 

So it came time to give out the reward, and I did it before the lesson on the parable.  I said I had prizes also for those that brought their Bible once, as each child did remember at least once.  I gave the boys a small nice gift each, and they said “thank you.”  Then it was the girls turn (why the response was clearly marked by gender, I do not know and honestly don’t care), they received the same gift as each boy, and they said “thank you.”  I was expected grumbling from the girls and teasing from the boys over this “injustice.” However, there was none.  I went through the lesson about the parable, and eventually one of the girls did say, “Like we all got the same gift even though some didn’t bring their Bibles.” I learned children seem to understand the message better.

It was not unlike the children’s moment prior to this sermon, while some kids were asked to do something for their candy, they all got candy and did not grumble.  For when the children saw the candy bowl they knew they would all get candy.  Adults need to realize when we see God we all receive grace, equally.

Yet I know it is difficult sometimes to keep that realization of God’s grace before us.  We as adults will take it too legalistically, and therefore reject it fully in areas where life is unfair or feel guilty for feeling that way.  We may simply apply the grace to the transhistorical salvation we know as heaven, and forget that people who are hungry today need salvation from hungry.  Jesus tells us in Matthew 25 that our salvation has to do with helping those that are not able to help themselves.  Yet we see people abusing the system, I know I do, and I feel awful for even having that thought.  I try to help them but I have a lot to learn from the children.  Life isn’t fair but grace abounds.

I remember reading an article by Eugene Peterson, where he talks about brining his daughter to visit in a nursing home.  In one room there was a patient with Alzheimer's who repeated a story to the girl over and over again.  When they were in the car he apologized to his daughter, and she said something to the effect, “that is who she is.” Eugene shares that he learned about pastoral visitation from his daughter.

This scripture is easy when we simply analyze it.  Yes God’s grace is for everyone, even if they confess on the death bed.  And God’s grace of life today is for everyone, so we support and help charities, but it gets difficult when we see people with nicer cars at the food bank than our own.  This is where we become more like Jonah.  Perhaps not as bad, but we desire to hide from God’s compassion or we take no joy in seeing it.  I believe it happens to us all because we are not as keen as children to hear who God is through these scriptures.  We approach it as if it is a law, “The last will be first, and the first will be last.” We squash our own feelings about working so hard for our food, for our church, because we feel guilty about being like Jonah.

As James Alison challenges us, we must be ready to relax into orthodoxy.  He suggests it is like listening to a conversation where you have a hard time hearing, lets take the bedside of someone with dementia.  If you try to listen carefully only to the words and what she is saying you tense up more and miss most of the meaning.  If you begin to relax you may not even hear every word but you get the meaning. 

We need to learn from the children and relax into this wonderful grace.  Then we will know we too deserve it when we feel the world is unfair. Thus we will know God and all receive grace, equally.

Nothing More—Nothing Less

Matthew 16: 13-20

Peter correctly answers the question Jesus poses. Jesus says you are correct, but you did not know it yourself, “flesh and blood” did not revel it to you rather the Living God had, The Father.  This is called the “Good Confession,” and it is essential.  As Disciples of Christ, we say, “No Creed but Christ,” we say we have no creed.  It is not that we reject creeds, but we reject creeds as a litmus test for fellowship.  As it is stated in the first principle of the identity statement of the CC(DOC):

We confess that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, and proclaim him Lord and Savior of the world, requiring nothing more - and nothing less - as a basis of our life together.

We start fellowship with a belief in Jesus the Christ, the Son of the Living God, we need nothing more or nothing less to bring us together as Church, which Jesus told Peter He would start with him, and this confession and handed him the keys.

Now Peter stated the correct answer, as Jesus made quite clear, the answer we depend on for our life together.  Yet Peter did not understand his confession completely.  First off a few verses later Matthew reports that Peter tries to rebuke Jesus’ passion prophesy, and Jesus said “get behind me Satan.”  Peter claims he would follow Jesus and yet he denies Him three times.  Peter was a first century Jewish man and thus his idea of the Messiah was influenced by that reality.  The idea of the Messiah  was to free the land from the Romans.  They believed the Messiah would provide a victory, a military, and social victory for for the Jewish people.  I find it quite evident that Peter must have had that hope with the sword on him, the sword he drew on the night of Jesus’ arrest, which Jesus rebukes and heals the victim.  This is why Jesus said, “Shhhhhh!!!” about Him being the Messiah, Jesus realized that Peter did not get it, Peter had the correct revelation, but the true revelation would come through the flesh and blood on the cross and the resurrected man who told us “Peace.”

Peter had to be open to being wrong.  Even after Jesus cooked him breakfast on the beach and asked him if he loved Him three times and told him to tend and feed His sheep, Peter still had to be open to being wrong.  He believed the keys were about keeping people out, not to open the gates, as Peter was concerned about believers following the laws of the Torah, until God send him visions that made him realize:

Then Peter began to speak to them: ‘I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. You know the message he sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ—he is Lord of all. (Acts 10:34-36)

The key is that Peter was open to the joy of being wrong, a term I borrow from James Alison.  This is not a joy of being lost or a joy of hurting others.

The best example of the joy of being wrong I can think of was a time I was driving the three hour commute from my seminary during my first year.  I have many times I was wrong, but this one I believe can help you understand the joy of being wrong.  See I told my friend I thought I was interested in a woman, but I was convinced that I should not pursue her.  I was convinced she was not interested (later to learn she did not pick up on flirting well).  I was convinced I was right.  Half way home, I decided to ring her, I was open and hopeful.  She answered, “who is this"?” but by the end of the conversation we had a date planned and rest is history, as we have been married for six years.  That is the great joy of being wrong.

We do not expect young people who are just baptized to fully understand their good confession that Jesus is the Christ the Son of the Living God.  We expect them to continue their education to continue to disciple.  All of us need to be like Peter and be open to being wrong, even looking for the joy of being wrong.  For Peter it started with the Good Confession and ended up opening the Kingdom of Heaven to everyone. 

We simply need Christ, nothing more—nothing less, to begin our life together as Christians and we need to be open to learn and change what we think we know the Messiah is.  We could be wrong and that can be full of Joy.

God’s Mirror

Psalm 8; Matthew 28:16-20

The Great Commission is one of the most essential scripture of our faith, and today I want to explore Jesus’ triune statement.  It is one of the clearest places in the Bible where the Trinity is clear.  “…in the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit…”  Jesus is clearly stating that they are one and yet unique.  The Trinity is not clearly defined by our Bible, but it is an important tradition of the church.  It allows us to know God by three “faces” and know God as one.  While it is not defined directly it is certainly Biblical.  There are a few verses in the Chapter 15 of the Gospel of John, that point to the meaning of the mystery of the Trinity.  I share them below:

I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine-grower. (1)

‘This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another. (12-17)

 

‘When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, he will testify on my behalf. (26)

Each of these scriptures show that there are distinct manifestations of the Divine, yet what is clear is they work together in relationship.  We understand God as unified as One, yet demonstrates that God is in relationship with Godself.  It is not clear cut as it is a great mystery, but I will explore why this is an important tradition.

While I prayed about these scriptures in preparation, and realizing this Sunday was also Father’s day, I thought about my own father.  I had a great childhood, and I have a great relationship with my father today.  However, he was not as present as I would have liked, but when I reflected on the times I remembered my father as dad, that is positively and with parental love, there were a number of memories to pick from, but the three that kept coming to mind were three that happened in front of the bathroom sink.

I remember my father shaving in the hall bathroom and I created my own “razor” out of Legos.  I recall how he demonstrated the art of shaving and put some shaving cream on my hairless face so I could attempt to shave. 

I remember that my mom would tie my ties from standing in front of me, but one day she asked my dad to do it.  He attempted to the first time as she would have, but realized that he needed to do it from behind me and looking into a mirror.  Not only did he succeed in tying the tie, he also taught me how to do it myself. 

I remember cutting my finger in the woods and realizing it needed attention.  My dad was home and he carefully attended to it at the sink.  I recall seeing him in the mirror carefully and lovingly stopping the bleeding.

These three memories are understood greater by my recent time with my son in a mirror.  AJ is a child that we are trying to encourage more eye contact (and he continues to improve), so when we look into a mirror and he looks into my eyes in the mirror and then turns to look at me, I realized that what we see in the mirror is not simply the physical image, but rather the relationship.  It is why we treasure pictures of us with people, even if it is not the most flattering.  We see the relationship.

Psalm 8 reminds us that we are different from all other animals we are as it says in Genesis, made in God’s image.  We are set a little lower than God, so we can be a mirror of God.  We reflect the God, the Divine Light, which is itself a relationship.  Thus we are to reflect relationship through relationships.