A
Sermon from November 24, 2013 - The Festival of "Christ the King" - based on Luke 23:33-49. The audio
recording was taken at the Praise and Worship service at Bethany.
Luke 23:33-49
When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified Jesus there with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” And they cast lots to divide his clothing. And the people stood by, watching; but the leaders scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah of God, his chosen one!” The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine, and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” There was also an inscription over him, “This is the King of the Jews.” One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, “Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” He replied, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”
It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, while the sun’s light failed; and the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Then Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” Having said this, he breathed his last. When the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God and said, “Certainly this man was innocent.” And when all the crowds who had gathered there for this spectacle saw what had taken place, they returned home, beating their breasts. But all his acquaintances, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.
The cross is our theology. This simple statement points to the heart of how Martin Luther understood our relationship with God. The cross stands at the center of what Luther taught and preached during his life and ministry. The cross is written into what we confess and how we live out our faith. We have inherited this focus from the generations before us and we pass it down to our children. A cross is the center point of our sanctuary. When you walk in you can’t help but see it suspended behind the alter. It is so prevalent in our midst that I wonder sometimes if we even notice. Hidden in plain sight is the cross, the heart of our theology. We encounter it on jewelry and t-shirts so much that perhaps we look past it. And yet we are faced with it’s reality this morning.
And it may seem odd to find the cross in the cold winds of November. We left the cross back in April, on Good Friday. We left it standing empty on a hill outside of Jerusalem. We celebrated the empty tomb and the Easter miracle of Christ’s resurrection. As the church year flows, the cross is behind us. Among the Christmas lights and trees popping up around town and on TV, the cross makes an interesting contrast. Next to the mangers of the nativity the cross may seem like a harsh reality - let us celebrate his birth before his death. But here the cross stands. And its at the feet of the crucified Christ that we find ourselves this morning.
Today we celebrate Christ the King, also known as the Reign of Christ; the final festival of the church year. We adorn the church in gold and white and festival before we enter into the blue and waiting of Advent. Today is the day we celebrate the lordship of Christ in our midst.
It’s actually a rather late aspect of the church’s life on this earth. The festival of “Christ the King,” or the “Reign of Christ,” does not get introduced into the church’s calendar until 1925. Pope Pius XI introduces this festival to the world in order to combat the rise of nationalism and secularism. This festival was born in the shadow of the first world war. The victors were celebrating, the pride of victory spilling over into the rise of a more secular society. Humanity had won a hard fought victory through weapons, not God. It was into this environment that the Pope pointed to Christ. The world needed to be reminded of God’s gift for all people. Nationalism and secularism needed to be kept at bay so the pope pointed to Christ. And still to this day we celebrate the reign of Christ.
But today we find Christ on the cross and not on a throne. Today we hear the story of Christ’s crucifixion and death. If we are celebrating lordship and the festival of a king, perhaps we chose the wrong one. The figure hanging on the cross does not resemble a king. He does not resemble a person of power. In the context of the story, which is to say the context of Rome, he is a criminal, and is receiving his state approved sentence. Jesus is labeled as a threat to the state and so he must be dealt with accordingly. The cross was used by Rome to send a clear message; we control life and death. The empire controlled life under it’s watch. It set the boundaries of what as acceptable and if you threatened these rules or broke them, you paid the price. The cross was a statement of control. Left in public spaces, at crossroads, and along major highways, the crosses of crucified rebels send a clear message to steer clear of questioning Rome’s power as if to say, “Do not defy us or we will crush you.” A loud and clear statement with a cross. And this is where we find Jesus.
But the picture Luke’s paints of Jesus on the cross does not look like a broken, humbled Jesus. If the goal was to destroy Jesus’ sense of self and mission, the cross has not worked. Luke shows Jesus in control of himself and the circumstances. Though he is indeed crucified by Rome, Jesus is still ministering to those in need.
From the cross Jesus forgives those who are crucifying him. “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” The ministry of Jesus was about reaching out and healing those on the margins, and this ministry continues from the cross. He reaches out to those on the margins once more, speaking a word of forgiveness to those whose job it is to kill and silence the detractors of the empire. Those who deal in death live farthest from the fruits of life, but not from the mercy of Jesus. Jesus remains the healer. Jesus releases them from their captivity to death, and in the face of death speakers words of healing and forgiveness.
From the cross Jesus speakers words of new life to the criminal who defends him. In the face of jeers from the crowd, the calls for Jesus to save himself in a display of divine power, Jesus chooses to reach out to one in need with a more subtle display of power. The second criminal, hanging on his own cross, dares to ask Jesus to remember him when he reaches his kingdom. It is a treasonous statement. The criminal, crucified for his defiance of Rome, has not gotten the message. He looks to Jesus and sees one who is bringing a new kingdom into the world. A kingdom that belongs to God. A kingdom that brings hope and healing to a people crushed under the weight of death. “Jesus, remember me when you come into you kingdom.” And Jesus extends a hand of welcome. Even from the cross the boundaries of God’s kingdom has no limits.
From the cross Jesus displays his trust in God, who has sent him into the world to preach and heal. “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” Jesus has remained faithful to his ministry for the sake of God’s kingdom, even through the humiliating work of the cross. Jesus trusts that God can bring healing, even through the most unimaginable events. And God does bring healing, and new life through the cross.
Today we celebrate Jesus Christ, a king enthroned on a cross. It is a paradox. It does not make sense to a world that expects a king to rule from a throne. It was unexpected at the time of Jesus and I dare say things have not changed all that much. And so for us who follow Jesus, the message of the crucified Christ is still an imperative for our lives.
“We preach Christ, and him crucified,” as Paul wrote in his first letter to the church in Corinth. And this remains our calling today. The world needs to be reminded of the healing power of God’s kingdom. A kingdom that does not conform to the world’s standard’s of power, but to God’s boundless mercy and love. This world needs the good news of the cross.
We live in a nation that spends more annually on weapons and war than it does on education. In the face of this reality of death we preach Christ crucified, God’s love poured out for the world. This bold statement points to the reality that’s God’s kingdom is more powerful than death. That through the love of God poured out on the cross we can come together in peace and build a better world.
We are taught to fear our boarders and those who cross them. We are taught to fear our neighbors and the strangers in our midst. To this broken image of community we preach Christ crucified and the power of God that tears down boarders and teaches us to love. Even our enemies. This is a powerful witness to the community of God’s kingdom where all have a place at the table.
The cross, the symbol of absolute power for an earthly empire, is turned into a life giving symbol through the death and resurrection of Christ. Through the cross God draws all things to himself. There is no evil or sin too great for the power of God. Jesus displayed this radical power by enduring the cross. And we celebrate this victory today.
Christ is our King. The cross is our theology. This is our way of faith. This is our story.
Monday, November 25, 2013
Monday, November 11, 2013
God of the Living
A Sermon from November 10, 2013 - based on Luke 20:27-38. The audio recording was taken at the Praise and Worship service at Bethany.
Luke 20:27-38
Some Sadducees, those who say there is no resurrection, came to him and asked him a question, "Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man's brother dies, leaving a wife but no children, the man shall marry the widow and raise up children for his brother. Now there were seven brothers; the first married, and died childless; then the second and the third married her, and so in the same way all seven died childless. Finally the woman also died. In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had married her."
Jesus said to them, "Those who belong to this age marry and are given in marriage; but those who are considered worthy of a place in that age and in the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. Indeed they cannot die anymore, because they are like angels and are children of God, being children of the resurrection. And the fact that the dead are raised Moses himself showed, in the story about the bush, where he speaks of the Lord as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Now he is God not of the dead, but of the living; for to him all of them are alive."
Jesus knew that his death was approaching. He could see the writing on the wall. After months on the road, Jesus finally arrives in Jerusalem and he immediately begins to stir things up. His first act upon arrival was to drive out those who were selling things in the temple. The chief priests and the scribes and the leaders of the people rally together to try and find away to kill Jesus. The stage is set for the trial and the cross. His passion has already begun. A trap is being set for Jesus. And the Pharisees and scribes seem to be closing in. In wave after wave of clever arguments, these religious leaders try to catch Jesus off guard while he is teaching in the temple. They try to trap him in his own words. And today it’s the Sadducees turn.
We know very little about the Sadducees historically. They left no writings for us to study, so all we have is furnished by other historians and the brief encounters we have in the Gospels and the book of Acts. What we do know is that the Sadducees were a wealthy group of aristocrats who operated the Temple and wielded their power as religious leaders. They led comfortable lives. They did not believe in the resurrection. And why would they? They had it made on earth so why should they look for what’s next? And it is on this topic that they try to snare Jesus.
The Sadducees approach Jesus with a rather long story about a woman and seven brothers. They are wondering how exactly it’s all going to work out in the resurrection. What we have is a rather ridiculous story of a group of brothers with extremely bad luck and a worn out woman who outlives all of them. How is this suppose to work out Jesus? It’s a twisted spin on modern on-line dating sites if you will. Matched-up by Moses dot com - if your husband dies, we’ll hook you up with your brother-in-law. No questions asked. This scenario almost needs a flow chart. Jesus, she married all seven, that’s how the system works, that’s what Moses taught us - how is this going to pan out in the resurrection?
The Sadducees, who do not believe in the resurrection, have the trap set. For them the key lies in a rather complicated rule called levirate marriage. This rule focuses on making sure their is an heir to keep the family land in the family. The family legacy is held up by keeping the family name alive. If a man dies with no heir, his wife is to marry his brother, thus ensuring the family name continues. For the Sadducees, that’s the closest to the after life as you’re going to get. Death has the final word. Death always wins. This life is all we get. The afterlife is meaningless. It’s all about what happens now. So what happens Jesus? How does this shake out?
It’s a cold and calculated question. They have Moses to back them up. Jesus looks caught for sure. But he knows there is a deeper truth about Moses. He knows that he Sadducees left part of the story out. They forgot the moment at the burning bush. So Jesus will tell the rest of the story.
For at the bush death looked like it was winning. The people cried out in Egypt, longing for release. Longing for their promised land. Longing for life. Death had moved among them for too long, four hundred years, and God had heard the cries. And so it was Moses at the bush, caught while tending sheep, who heard the call from God. It was Moses who was unsure; “Who am I to go back to Egypt? Who am I to haggle with Pharaoh? And who I am suppose to tell them who send me?” All of this in the face of fear and death for Moses. But God spoke from the bush. And God spoke life.
“I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob,” God says at the bush. God spoke of the ancestors as if they were living, for they were indeed living in the eyes of God. God speaks life at the bush. God who sets this world into being and is creator of all time - “I am who I am, I am who I was, I will be who I will be” - speaks life in the face of death. And this is what Jesus tells the Sadducees. Jesus dismisses the issue of marriage, the false trap set by those who only sought to destroy him. Jesus dismisses the hollow plot and speaks life in the face of death. “God is not God of the dead, but of the living.”
And this is good news for us today. For we journey in the midst of world that seems to spin out of control with the news of death. And here I move into the realm of metaphor. I am speaking here of death as a social reality. Folks can have a heart beat and a pulse, can be physically alive, and yet dead to the world. To be denied the gifts of community is to be denied life. The poor, the lame, the blind, the outcast, the oppressed, those to whom Jesus ministered, are the socially dead, cut off from the benefits of life in the community. Death as a social reality runs rampant in our midst. We are stilling feeling the shock waves of a government shut-down where privileged leaders debated and delayed at the expense of the poor and needy. We up to our necks in an argument over healthcare that ignores the most vulnerable in our society. We are hearing rumors and stories of a football team that supported racist and bullying actions by a teammate. Make no mistake friends. Death is all around us where we see life taken away from our brothers and sisters. All this talk of death seems to snuff out the fire at the bush, and silence the words of God to Moses. Death seems to close around us like the cold stone of a tomb, fading the light of hope in our lives. But the God who spoke at the bush also speaks at the tomb.
It was Mary, full of tears and questions, who went to the tomb to discover it empty. The women had gone to the tomb to anoint the body of Jesus with spices, as was their custom, but they were met by emptiness, death all over again. But two messengers had a different word; “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has been raised.” At the tomb, God continues to turn death into life. At the tomb God enters into our lives and draws us back from the clutches of death, breathing new life into us who grow weary in the face of death.
It is in the face of death that God does God’s work. It is in this world, so over run by death, that Jesus Christ did his work and ministry. In the face of death Jesus taught, healed, and brought new life. And the tomb was not the end of the road, but the beginning. The beginning of a new way of life for those who follow Jesus. The beginning of new life for you and me here and now.
To a world trapped under the weight of death, we who follow Jesus bear the word of new life for all people. We are witnesses to the one who defeated the power of death once and for all. We share the good news of the living God who entered into our reality of death and transformed our hopelessness into new life. God speaks life in the face of death here and now in our lives.
The living God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob moves among us now. Our living God gives us nourishment for parched relationships, providing the strength to even burn the midnight oil in an effort to mend strained and broken relationships - reminding us what it means to love.
Our living God, who came into our broken world through Jesus, moves among us now, teaching us how to confront the reality of death in out midst. Last week our youth collected canned goods in a neighborhood of our community. This act was a living testament to God who says no to the reality of death we witness in the hunger of others. Stirred up by the power of Christ, our youth learned that we can confront the power of death with the blessings we receive as the sons and daughters of God. In this event we are witnesses once again to the power of our living God.
We have a God of life, not of death. May the living God of Abraham, and the ancestors, the living God present in Jesus, the living God who moves in us through the power of the Spirit be with you on the journey.
Luke 20:27-38
Some Sadducees, those who say there is no resurrection, came to him and asked him a question, "Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man's brother dies, leaving a wife but no children, the man shall marry the widow and raise up children for his brother. Now there were seven brothers; the first married, and died childless; then the second and the third married her, and so in the same way all seven died childless. Finally the woman also died. In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had married her."
Jesus said to them, "Those who belong to this age marry and are given in marriage; but those who are considered worthy of a place in that age and in the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. Indeed they cannot die anymore, because they are like angels and are children of God, being children of the resurrection. And the fact that the dead are raised Moses himself showed, in the story about the bush, where he speaks of the Lord as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Now he is God not of the dead, but of the living; for to him all of them are alive."
Jesus knew that his death was approaching. He could see the writing on the wall. After months on the road, Jesus finally arrives in Jerusalem and he immediately begins to stir things up. His first act upon arrival was to drive out those who were selling things in the temple. The chief priests and the scribes and the leaders of the people rally together to try and find away to kill Jesus. The stage is set for the trial and the cross. His passion has already begun. A trap is being set for Jesus. And the Pharisees and scribes seem to be closing in. In wave after wave of clever arguments, these religious leaders try to catch Jesus off guard while he is teaching in the temple. They try to trap him in his own words. And today it’s the Sadducees turn.
We know very little about the Sadducees historically. They left no writings for us to study, so all we have is furnished by other historians and the brief encounters we have in the Gospels and the book of Acts. What we do know is that the Sadducees were a wealthy group of aristocrats who operated the Temple and wielded their power as religious leaders. They led comfortable lives. They did not believe in the resurrection. And why would they? They had it made on earth so why should they look for what’s next? And it is on this topic that they try to snare Jesus.
The Sadducees approach Jesus with a rather long story about a woman and seven brothers. They are wondering how exactly it’s all going to work out in the resurrection. What we have is a rather ridiculous story of a group of brothers with extremely bad luck and a worn out woman who outlives all of them. How is this suppose to work out Jesus? It’s a twisted spin on modern on-line dating sites if you will. Matched-up by Moses dot com - if your husband dies, we’ll hook you up with your brother-in-law. No questions asked. This scenario almost needs a flow chart. Jesus, she married all seven, that’s how the system works, that’s what Moses taught us - how is this going to pan out in the resurrection?
The Sadducees, who do not believe in the resurrection, have the trap set. For them the key lies in a rather complicated rule called levirate marriage. This rule focuses on making sure their is an heir to keep the family land in the family. The family legacy is held up by keeping the family name alive. If a man dies with no heir, his wife is to marry his brother, thus ensuring the family name continues. For the Sadducees, that’s the closest to the after life as you’re going to get. Death has the final word. Death always wins. This life is all we get. The afterlife is meaningless. It’s all about what happens now. So what happens Jesus? How does this shake out?
It’s a cold and calculated question. They have Moses to back them up. Jesus looks caught for sure. But he knows there is a deeper truth about Moses. He knows that he Sadducees left part of the story out. They forgot the moment at the burning bush. So Jesus will tell the rest of the story.
For at the bush death looked like it was winning. The people cried out in Egypt, longing for release. Longing for their promised land. Longing for life. Death had moved among them for too long, four hundred years, and God had heard the cries. And so it was Moses at the bush, caught while tending sheep, who heard the call from God. It was Moses who was unsure; “Who am I to go back to Egypt? Who am I to haggle with Pharaoh? And who I am suppose to tell them who send me?” All of this in the face of fear and death for Moses. But God spoke from the bush. And God spoke life.
“I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob,” God says at the bush. God spoke of the ancestors as if they were living, for they were indeed living in the eyes of God. God speaks life at the bush. God who sets this world into being and is creator of all time - “I am who I am, I am who I was, I will be who I will be” - speaks life in the face of death. And this is what Jesus tells the Sadducees. Jesus dismisses the issue of marriage, the false trap set by those who only sought to destroy him. Jesus dismisses the hollow plot and speaks life in the face of death. “God is not God of the dead, but of the living.”
And this is good news for us today. For we journey in the midst of world that seems to spin out of control with the news of death. And here I move into the realm of metaphor. I am speaking here of death as a social reality. Folks can have a heart beat and a pulse, can be physically alive, and yet dead to the world. To be denied the gifts of community is to be denied life. The poor, the lame, the blind, the outcast, the oppressed, those to whom Jesus ministered, are the socially dead, cut off from the benefits of life in the community. Death as a social reality runs rampant in our midst. We are stilling feeling the shock waves of a government shut-down where privileged leaders debated and delayed at the expense of the poor and needy. We up to our necks in an argument over healthcare that ignores the most vulnerable in our society. We are hearing rumors and stories of a football team that supported racist and bullying actions by a teammate. Make no mistake friends. Death is all around us where we see life taken away from our brothers and sisters. All this talk of death seems to snuff out the fire at the bush, and silence the words of God to Moses. Death seems to close around us like the cold stone of a tomb, fading the light of hope in our lives. But the God who spoke at the bush also speaks at the tomb.
It was Mary, full of tears and questions, who went to the tomb to discover it empty. The women had gone to the tomb to anoint the body of Jesus with spices, as was their custom, but they were met by emptiness, death all over again. But two messengers had a different word; “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has been raised.” At the tomb, God continues to turn death into life. At the tomb God enters into our lives and draws us back from the clutches of death, breathing new life into us who grow weary in the face of death.
It is in the face of death that God does God’s work. It is in this world, so over run by death, that Jesus Christ did his work and ministry. In the face of death Jesus taught, healed, and brought new life. And the tomb was not the end of the road, but the beginning. The beginning of a new way of life for those who follow Jesus. The beginning of new life for you and me here and now.
To a world trapped under the weight of death, we who follow Jesus bear the word of new life for all people. We are witnesses to the one who defeated the power of death once and for all. We share the good news of the living God who entered into our reality of death and transformed our hopelessness into new life. God speaks life in the face of death here and now in our lives.
The living God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob moves among us now. Our living God gives us nourishment for parched relationships, providing the strength to even burn the midnight oil in an effort to mend strained and broken relationships - reminding us what it means to love.
Our living God, who came into our broken world through Jesus, moves among us now, teaching us how to confront the reality of death in out midst. Last week our youth collected canned goods in a neighborhood of our community. This act was a living testament to God who says no to the reality of death we witness in the hunger of others. Stirred up by the power of Christ, our youth learned that we can confront the power of death with the blessings we receive as the sons and daughters of God. In this event we are witnesses once again to the power of our living God.
We have a God of life, not of death. May the living God of Abraham, and the ancestors, the living God present in Jesus, the living God who moves in us through the power of the Spirit be with you on the journey.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)