This is the manuscript from the fifth and final movement of my congregations 2014 Lenten theme - God's A-gonna Trouble the Waters. We are exploring images of where God is at work in the waters of the Old Testament.
The first week we read the creation story of Genesis 1 - Creating Waters.
The second week we read the Noah story of Genesis 7 and 8 - Flood Waters.
The third week we read the Exodus story - Redeeming waters.
My sermon manuscript can be read here.
The fourth week we read Psalm 23 - Still Waters.
This week we explored Isaiah 35 Living Waters.
Isaiah 35:1-10
The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad,
the desert shall rejoice and blossom;
like the crocus 2 it shall blossom abundantly,
and rejoice with joy and singing.
The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,
the majesty of Carmel and Sharon.
They shall see the glory of the Lord,
the majesty of our God.
3 Strengthen the weak hands,
and make firm the feeble knees.
4 Say to those who are of a fearful heart,
“Be strong, do not fear!
Here is your God.
He will come with vengeance,
with terrible recompense.
He will come and save you.”
5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
and the ears of the deaf unstopped;
6 then the lame shall leap like a deer,
and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy.
For waters shall break forth in the wilderness,
and streams in the desert;
7 the burning sand shall become a pool,
and the thirsty ground springs of water;
the haunt of jackals shall become a swamp,
the grass shall become reeds and rushes.
8 A highway shall be there,
and it shall be called the Holy Way;
the unclean shall not travel on it,
but it shall be for God’s people;
no traveler, not even fools, shall go astray.
9 No lion shall be there,
nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it;
they shall not be found there,
but the redeemed shall walk there.
10 And the ransomed of the Lord shall return,
and come to Zion with singing;
everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;
they shall obtain joy and gladness,
and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
Today we return to Isaiah, where we began the season of Lent five weeks ago. We marked the beginning of Lent that day with an ashen reminder of our own mortality. We told the truth about ourselves - we are creatures with numbered days. We are dust, or should I say, we are dirt, and to dirt we shall return.
Wrapped up in all the talk of dirt and death, we heard a word that evening from Isaiah about the power of water. We returned to the waters or perhaps God led us to the waters that day, as God always leads us to the renewing waters where we are made new creations by God. We heard a word about becoming watered gardens, and having springs break forth in the parched places of our lives. That is the power of God, to make waters break forth in parched places. As we have put it throughout this season of Lent - God’s A-Gonna trouble the waters.
God has indeed troubled the waters. Over the past several weeks we have heard stories about how God troubles the waters. We began with creation, with God’s spirit moving over the primordial waters of chaos, creating life that God called good. We moved on to the story of Noah and the flood waters, how God saw the world called good unravel into brokenness. The flood waters came crashing, cleansing the earth, the ark delivering Noah and family, God’s hope for the future, to safety.
Two weeks ago we encountered the waters of the Exodus, God’s redeeming waters for the people of Israel, held for so long in the clutches of slavery. God made a way through the waters, creating a people out of the chaos of slavery, out of the stronghold of death, to new life. Last week Pastor Casey led us to the still waters of the 23rd Psalm. “The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside still waters, he restores my soul.” Sometimes God leads us to waters of refreshment and renewal.
Tonight we begin to bring our time of lent to a close. We have come to the edge of Holy Week, with the “Hosanna’s” of Palm Sunday just on the horizon. But before we get there we hear a promise of what’s to come. We get a glimpse of what God has in store for us. We hear the promise of how God will once again trouble the waters on our behalf. This promise is found in Isaiah - a fitting bookend to the story we heard five weeks ago.
Isaiah 35 sounds like rain on parched land, refreshing and full of hope - “The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom…” As the lines unfold the images bring to mind a vision of new life breaking forth in a desolate place.
God is active and moving and the people are called to respond - “Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who are of a fearful heart, “Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God.” The prophet calls the people to a state of readiness, their waiting is over. The phrase “those who are fearful of heart” has an interesting nuance in the Hebrew understanding. This phrase can also be translated to mean “ones whose hearts are racing.” The prophet calls out to those who hearts are racing - “Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God.”
This story from Isaiah was written in the darkness of exile. The racing hearts belonged to those who had known for too long what is was to live in the shadow of death. Held captive in Babylon, the people were torn from land, from family, from the temple, far from everything that gave them a sense of who they were. It was Egypt all over again. And the people longed for God to intervene.
Out of the darkness of exile, the clouds break and light begins to shine through. There is hope on the horizon. “Tell the ones whose hearts are racing - “Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God.” God is going to act once again in the midst of the people. A way will be made for their rescue. In the parched place of the exile, God will stir up the waters and make a way for the people to cross over into new life.
This story mirrors the Exodus. God will once again redeem the people. Life will break forth in the wilderness, the likes of which the world had never scene. Waters will break forth, streams will run in the desert. The haunts of jackals shall become swamps. The burning sands shall become life giving pools.
And in the midst of this budding oasis there shall be a highway for God’s people. This highway will be a Holy Way - God’s way - and it will be for the redeeming of God’s people. Just as God created a way through the waters of the Exodus, God will create a way in the wilderness. God will once again trouble the waters on the people’s behalf.
God will redeem the people. For the audience of this story, for the meta-narrative of scripture, this redeeming has economic and political implications. To redeem a person literally means to buy them out of slavery. The person redeemed is set free. Their standing in the community has changed. Out of the death of slavery God claims the people as God’s own - creating new life. This is what God has done for us through Christ.
Our baptism is a political event. God’s redeeming us marks us as a member of God’s kingdom. We are a redeemed people, bought out of the slavery of sin and death.
We are redeemed from the fallen powers of this world, not removed from them, but set free from them to do work among them on behalf of God. We are citizens of God’s kingdom first. This is a far greater mark on our identity than a driver’s license or passport or voter’s registration card. This citizenship defines who we are and how we engage the world. We are God’s redeemed people.
We are also a people who are familiar with parched places. We just have to walk outside to encounter parchedness. We are in the midst of a drought. For mouths and years we have pleaded for rain - for refreshment and hope. This is real for us, and also a metaphor for our lives. We know the parched places of sin. Of broken relationships. Of Sickness. Of Death. We know the places where our hearts race for hope and healing.
The reminder today, through these water stories, is that God is at work in the parched places. God moves on our behalf - has already claimed us as God’s own through the cross. God does God’s work in the parched places of our lives.
When our own hearts are racing in the parched places of our lives, the reminder of our redeeming by God comes like rain in the drought. This is our promise. Today and always. When our lives become worn out and dry through sin and brokenness, God promises to be there with the waters of healing. In the wilderness of sin and death, God promises to bring new life and make a way upon which we can cross. God claims us as members of God’s kingdom. God troubles the waters on our behalf, over and over meeting us when we are parched and in need.
So wade in the waters friends. That hymn that we have marked our time with here in Lent. Wade in the waters of God’s creating. Wade in the waters stirred up by God’s promise. Wade in the waters where God claims you. Now and forever.
Showing posts with label Lent. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lent. Show all posts
Thursday, April 10, 2014
Monday, March 31, 2014
Law & Order: The New Testament - The Healing of the Man Born Blind
The sermon manuscript from the fourth Sunday in Lent.
Based on John 9:1-41 - The Healing of the Man Born Blind.
The story of the man born blind in John’s Gospel reads like the script from the TV show Law & Order. Produced by Dick Wolf, it ran for 19 years, artistically documenting the struggles and triumphs of the criminal justice system in New York City. It had drama and mystery and intrigue. A great cast of characters we could all relate to. And the main characters always seemed to have some life altering moment. This morning’s story from John could be a lost episode of Law & Order. It’s got all the makings of a good drama. Intense dialogue. Intrigue. Mystery. A cast of characters we can all relate to. Just imagine - Law & Order: The New Testament...
“In the Jewish temple system, the people are guided in their lives of faith by the Pharisees. In John’s Gospel, the power of the Pharisees is challenged by Jesus, the Son of Humanity. These are there stories.”
In this episode of Law & Order: The New Testament the plot is driven by Jesus’ healing of a man born blind. The show opens with Jesus and his disciples continuing their journey to Jerusalem. Today they encounter a man who was blind from birth. The drama begins with the disciples and Jesus in a dialogue about the cause of the blindness - who sinned to make this happen? Jesus declares that sin is not the cause. He rubs the man’s eyes with mud made of dirt and saliva. And sends him to the pool.
The drama continues when the man discovers that he can see, but upon returning to the village, there is confusion over who he is and what has happened. As as he walks into the village, the whispers begin. “Is that the guy who used to beg on main street?” “ I don’t know - sure looks like him.” The man begins to frantically defend his healing - “It’s me, I promise you.” He fumbles in his wallet for his I.D. card….
The confused neighbors take him to the experts, the Pharisees. The remainder of the episode involves tense questioning of both the healed man and his parents. There are multiple interviews and commentary from the “experts” - those law abiding Pharisees. The Pharisees’ arguments provide intrigue. Facts are uncovered - the healing took place on the Sabbath, surely this man cannot be of God, can he? The mystery of the healing must be solved - just who is this Jesus. And all the while the man who has been healed gets the run around by the so-called experts. No one celebrates the healing. They all get lost in arguments.
The episode concludes with Jesus, who has been absent for most of the show. Having over heard the shouting match, Jesus talks to the man he healed, who ironically has never seen Jesus. Its a brief exchange that leaves the man confessing his faith in Jesus. Jesus comments that he has come into the world as a reversal, so that the blind may see and those who can see may become blind. The Pharisees overhead this statement and question Jesus about their blindness - surely we are not blind, are we? Jesus leaves them with the statement that their sin remains, as good as declaring them blind to his activities on behalf of God. The Pharisees miss their life-changing moment. The camera pans out. The show rolls to credits. Cue the theme music.
It is a story riddled with drama. Perfect for our high-strung viewing pleasure. And with such great characters, the ratings are sure to be high.
This story from John almost preaches itself. That’s what good stories do. The theme of light and darkness that starts from the prologue of the Gospel, sets the tone right out of the gate. Jesus has come as the light of the world. He is different from the darkness of the world - the brokenness, the sin, the separation from God. He has come to demonstrate how God engages the world - in self-sacrificing love and healing. Today, we encounter this in two ways from Jesus; his statement and his signs.
Jesus declares, “While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” The “I am” statement points us back to Moses and the burning bush. When Moses asks who shall I say send me God tells him to say “I AM WHO I AM.” God is the great “I am” - the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of the living. Jesus takes up the divine name as part of his ministry and uses it to declare exactly who he is and what he has come to do.
The second moment comes when the Pharisees ask about a sign - “How can a man who is a sinner preform such signs?” The clue from John is found in the word “signs.” The signs moments are key moments in John’s Gospel. We encounter the signs of Jesus in the turning of the water into wine at the wedding in Cana, the feeding of the multitude in the wilderness, Jesus walking on water, or the raising of Lazarus. In the signs, John is telling us something important and true about Jesus - that is what the signs are meant to communicate. The sign in the healing the man born blind points us to Jesus, who renews our ability to be in relationship with God.
Jesus is the sign. Jesus is the light of the world - literally. Jesus is the way for us to encounter God. The lesson for us to take away is not so much about physical sight. It’s about how we encounter and engage Jesus, and thus, about how we renew our relationship with God. The result of the man born blind’s healing is that he confesses his faith in Jesus. That’s it. Jesus’ act of healing brings about a confession of faith and a life that is now engaged in a relationship with God. While this is not the end-all-be-all of Jesus’ ministry, its a starting point for the community that follows him. We are drawn into a relationship of trusting and knowing that Jesus is the light and salvation of the world.
The problem with the Pharisees is that they think they know it all. They were not open to God’s continuing revelation in their midst. They were not open to what Jesus could teach them about being in a relationship with God and with the world. The Pharisees spent all their time trying to prove that they are right. They do everything by the book, that is to say the law. They live out their call to keep the law, but they do it with such a judicial hammer that they completely cut out the light of Christ that has come into the world.
One of the rules they follow is the Sabbath. The Pharisees guarded the Sabbath with an iron fist – so much that they could not see God at work when Jesus was giving new life to the man born blind. According to the Pharisees, the man could not possibly have been healed outside of their system of healing. But it was not so much the healing. It was the method. Jesus, a sinner according to their rules, was wrong.
What makes Pharisees is us here in the season of Lent is our quest to play God. And we come by this naturally. It’s a part of our broken world and the fallenness of sin. From an early age we learn to build walls and boundaries. Churches and denominations assume the power to decide who is in and who is out of the kingdom of God. And sometimes we get caught up in this movement. We attempt to mark the boundaries of God’s kingdom. We decide who is in and who is our based on rules that are not of God’s decree. And we fall into the trap of the Pharisees. We struggle to see God at work. We struggle to encounter the light of Christ.
Jesus does not get caught up in the game of the Pharisees - he simply heals. He does not kneel down to the man born blind and ask if he wants to be healed - “Do you want to be healed…ok…fill out these forms…sign on the dotted line…get them notarized at the court house…see you tomorrow.” This is not how Jesus works. Jesus encounters those in need and reaches out to meet those needs. And we are called to deal with it.
In a time of requirements and forms and red-tape, Jesus simply heals and demonstrates God’s saving love for the world. Its no deeper than that. Jesus heals because that’s what God does. God heals. That’s grace. And we are called to follow. We are called and empowered to live out the depths of God’s grace. That’s the heart of baptism.
Baptism is not our event - it’s God’s promise for now and forever more. We are invited to participate, to wade into the waters of new life. The waters of God’s promise. As we draw near the cross, we are reminded of our need for God’s grace, and for what God has already done for us, and for the world, on the cross.
Based on John 9:1-41 - The Healing of the Man Born Blind.
The story of the man born blind in John’s Gospel reads like the script from the TV show Law & Order. Produced by Dick Wolf, it ran for 19 years, artistically documenting the struggles and triumphs of the criminal justice system in New York City. It had drama and mystery and intrigue. A great cast of characters we could all relate to. And the main characters always seemed to have some life altering moment. This morning’s story from John could be a lost episode of Law & Order. It’s got all the makings of a good drama. Intense dialogue. Intrigue. Mystery. A cast of characters we can all relate to. Just imagine - Law & Order: The New Testament...
“In the Jewish temple system, the people are guided in their lives of faith by the Pharisees. In John’s Gospel, the power of the Pharisees is challenged by Jesus, the Son of Humanity. These are there stories.”
In this episode of Law & Order: The New Testament the plot is driven by Jesus’ healing of a man born blind. The show opens with Jesus and his disciples continuing their journey to Jerusalem. Today they encounter a man who was blind from birth. The drama begins with the disciples and Jesus in a dialogue about the cause of the blindness - who sinned to make this happen? Jesus declares that sin is not the cause. He rubs the man’s eyes with mud made of dirt and saliva. And sends him to the pool.
The drama continues when the man discovers that he can see, but upon returning to the village, there is confusion over who he is and what has happened. As as he walks into the village, the whispers begin. “Is that the guy who used to beg on main street?” “ I don’t know - sure looks like him.” The man begins to frantically defend his healing - “It’s me, I promise you.” He fumbles in his wallet for his I.D. card….
The confused neighbors take him to the experts, the Pharisees. The remainder of the episode involves tense questioning of both the healed man and his parents. There are multiple interviews and commentary from the “experts” - those law abiding Pharisees. The Pharisees’ arguments provide intrigue. Facts are uncovered - the healing took place on the Sabbath, surely this man cannot be of God, can he? The mystery of the healing must be solved - just who is this Jesus. And all the while the man who has been healed gets the run around by the so-called experts. No one celebrates the healing. They all get lost in arguments.
The episode concludes with Jesus, who has been absent for most of the show. Having over heard the shouting match, Jesus talks to the man he healed, who ironically has never seen Jesus. Its a brief exchange that leaves the man confessing his faith in Jesus. Jesus comments that he has come into the world as a reversal, so that the blind may see and those who can see may become blind. The Pharisees overhead this statement and question Jesus about their blindness - surely we are not blind, are we? Jesus leaves them with the statement that their sin remains, as good as declaring them blind to his activities on behalf of God. The Pharisees miss their life-changing moment. The camera pans out. The show rolls to credits. Cue the theme music.
It is a story riddled with drama. Perfect for our high-strung viewing pleasure. And with such great characters, the ratings are sure to be high.
This story from John almost preaches itself. That’s what good stories do. The theme of light and darkness that starts from the prologue of the Gospel, sets the tone right out of the gate. Jesus has come as the light of the world. He is different from the darkness of the world - the brokenness, the sin, the separation from God. He has come to demonstrate how God engages the world - in self-sacrificing love and healing. Today, we encounter this in two ways from Jesus; his statement and his signs.
Jesus declares, “While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” The “I am” statement points us back to Moses and the burning bush. When Moses asks who shall I say send me God tells him to say “I AM WHO I AM.” God is the great “I am” - the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of the living. Jesus takes up the divine name as part of his ministry and uses it to declare exactly who he is and what he has come to do.
The second moment comes when the Pharisees ask about a sign - “How can a man who is a sinner preform such signs?” The clue from John is found in the word “signs.” The signs moments are key moments in John’s Gospel. We encounter the signs of Jesus in the turning of the water into wine at the wedding in Cana, the feeding of the multitude in the wilderness, Jesus walking on water, or the raising of Lazarus. In the signs, John is telling us something important and true about Jesus - that is what the signs are meant to communicate. The sign in the healing the man born blind points us to Jesus, who renews our ability to be in relationship with God.
Jesus is the sign. Jesus is the light of the world - literally. Jesus is the way for us to encounter God. The lesson for us to take away is not so much about physical sight. It’s about how we encounter and engage Jesus, and thus, about how we renew our relationship with God. The result of the man born blind’s healing is that he confesses his faith in Jesus. That’s it. Jesus’ act of healing brings about a confession of faith and a life that is now engaged in a relationship with God. While this is not the end-all-be-all of Jesus’ ministry, its a starting point for the community that follows him. We are drawn into a relationship of trusting and knowing that Jesus is the light and salvation of the world.
The problem with the Pharisees is that they think they know it all. They were not open to God’s continuing revelation in their midst. They were not open to what Jesus could teach them about being in a relationship with God and with the world. The Pharisees spent all their time trying to prove that they are right. They do everything by the book, that is to say the law. They live out their call to keep the law, but they do it with such a judicial hammer that they completely cut out the light of Christ that has come into the world.
One of the rules they follow is the Sabbath. The Pharisees guarded the Sabbath with an iron fist – so much that they could not see God at work when Jesus was giving new life to the man born blind. According to the Pharisees, the man could not possibly have been healed outside of their system of healing. But it was not so much the healing. It was the method. Jesus, a sinner according to their rules, was wrong.
What makes Pharisees is us here in the season of Lent is our quest to play God. And we come by this naturally. It’s a part of our broken world and the fallenness of sin. From an early age we learn to build walls and boundaries. Churches and denominations assume the power to decide who is in and who is out of the kingdom of God. And sometimes we get caught up in this movement. We attempt to mark the boundaries of God’s kingdom. We decide who is in and who is our based on rules that are not of God’s decree. And we fall into the trap of the Pharisees. We struggle to see God at work. We struggle to encounter the light of Christ.
Jesus does not get caught up in the game of the Pharisees - he simply heals. He does not kneel down to the man born blind and ask if he wants to be healed - “Do you want to be healed…ok…fill out these forms…sign on the dotted line…get them notarized at the court house…see you tomorrow.” This is not how Jesus works. Jesus encounters those in need and reaches out to meet those needs. And we are called to deal with it.
In a time of requirements and forms and red-tape, Jesus simply heals and demonstrates God’s saving love for the world. Its no deeper than that. Jesus heals because that’s what God does. God heals. That’s grace. And we are called to follow. We are called and empowered to live out the depths of God’s grace. That’s the heart of baptism.
Baptism is not our event - it’s God’s promise for now and forever more. We are invited to participate, to wade into the waters of new life. The waters of God’s promise. As we draw near the cross, we are reminded of our need for God’s grace, and for what God has already done for us, and for the world, on the cross.
Monday, March 10, 2014
On Being Tested by the Tosser- Jesus in the Wilderness
Lenten Blessings.
This is the manuscript from the sermon preached on the first Sunday of Lent. The sermon is based on Matthew 4:1-11.
Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. The tempter came and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread."
But he answered, "It is written,
'One does not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"
Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written,
'He will command his angels concerning you,'
and 'On their hands they will bear you up,
so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.'"
Jesus said to him, "Again it is written, 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'"
Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; and he said to him, "All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me." Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan! for it is written,
'Worship the Lord your God,
and serve only him.'"
Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.
“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” This declaration from God serves as the finale of the baptism of Jesus in the river Jordan and the beginning of his trip into the wilderness. This is a hinge moment for Matthew’s story of Jesus. It is only after God names him as “beloved son” that Jesus is led into the wilderness to be tested. Right here in Matthew’s Gospel we know who Jesus is. We now follow the action to understand what this means for us and for the world.
Jesus is led by the spirit into the wilderness to be tested. No post baptism party for Jesus. The movement had to get started. And it begins in the wilderness. 40 days and 40 nights of fasting. The devil sitting shotgun. This may go down as the worst road trip ever.
The word that Matthew uses for the devil is the Greek diabolos. The English renders it quite literally. Clarence Jordan has an interesting take on the etymology of the word diabolos -
(Diabolos) comes from dia meaning “around, through," and bollo meaning “to throw.” Our English word ball comes from that. Diabolos means “one who throws things about” - one who stirs things up - gets them confused. The work of the devil is just to get us muddled.
With this understanding we can describe what the devil is trying do in the wilderness with Jesus. The devil is the "tosser." The devil is in this scene to toss things about, to muddle things up, to get Jesus confused over how he will live out his ministry. The devil is the one who will test Jesus about how he will live out being God’s “beloved son.”
The first testing involves something we all experience, hunger. Matthew tells us that Jesus is hungry, and who wouldn't be after forty days without food. It’s the basic and probably most pressing need that the devil goes after first. “If you are the Son of God,” the devil begins. But this is not a question of identity. Jesus knows exactly who he is. The devil knows exactly who Jesus is. We too have been told by Matthew just a few lines ago. No, this statement is more subtle. The devil is speaking in Greek syntax. The way to hear this statement is “since you are the Son of God.”
And here’s where the test comes in. And it’s a test of means. How will Jesus demonstrate the kingdom of heaven? Since Jesus is the Son of God, he has the power to react to his hunger. Surely he could have turned stones into bread. He could have satisfied his own needs. But that’s not what his ministry will look like. “Humanity shall not live by bread alone,” Jesus replies. Humanity shall not live alone with bread. Bread, representing the basic, stable food of the people’s diet, is meant to be shared. Community is born out of the sharing of bread. Twice in the Gospel we will witness Jesus’ ministry as the sharing of bread with the hungry masses in the wilderness. In the waning hours of his life Jesus will share bread with his disciples, including Judas, as a symbol of the new community created through the cross. Jesus will turn himself into bread for the world. The ministry of Jesus will be the sharing of bread with others, specifically those in need, and not Jesus himself with bread alone. The power of Jesus will be to build community and extend the kingdom of heaven into the world.
The second testing is about how Jesus will encounter the world. What will be the message of his life and ministry as the implementer of the kingdom of heaven? The scene moves the devil and Jesus to the pinnacle of the temple. Again the devil leads with “If you are the Son of God,” and again we should hear, “since you are the Son of God.” This time the devil quotes scripture to open the test, pulling a page out of Jesus’ play book. “Since you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written…” If you jump the angels will come, sweep you up in a blaze of glory, and all will see that you are truly God’s son. You’ll be famous. The phone will be ringing off the hook. You’ll need an agent to manage your gigs. They’ll want you for photo-ops and book signings. Perhaps even the Romans will take note and ask for advice. You will been seen as all powerful and the world will respond in awe.
Jesus again knows the test. He knows the world is fickle and is always on the look out for the next headline. The next front-page story. The message of the kingdom will not be a flash of power. Jesus points again to scripture, “you shall put the Lord your God to the test.” Jesus will not force God’s hand. Instead he chooses to display his power in a more subtle and radical way. The message of the kingdom of heaven will be one of humble service. Jesus opens his life to those in need. He heals the sick, dares to break social norms by hanging out with prostitutes and tax collectors, and voices critique of the religious leaders. His true power will be displayed on the cross, a foolish move according to the powers that be. By God brings life out of death. The resurrection of Jesus demonstrates God’s ultimate power, something the world cannot control. Jesus, in his ministry of humble service, demonstrates the to the world the message of God through acts of healing and mercy.
The final testing will engage the method of Jesus’ ministry. How will Jesus go about the work of bringing the kingdom of heaven into the world? This time the devil skips the pleasantries and gets straight to the point. From a high mountain the devil shows Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” The devil, the one who casts things about, assumes power over the whole world (maybe there’s some truth here), and would gift it all to Jesus for the simple act of worship. The devil knows the goals of the kingdom. He knows Matthew 28; “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…” And here they are for the taking. All nations, lined-up and ready for Jesus. No sweat, no tears, no work, no blood, no cross, no death. With this act Jesus could take control of everything. With one fell swoop he could own it all. But there’s a catch.
At the heart of this is idolatry. And Jesus names it. “Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.” Or perhaps more clearly, “trust the lord…trust God’s vision for the world.” We worship who we trust; God. The devil is asking for Jesus to trust him. But Jesus knows this is false. We are to trust, to serve, to worship God alone. And this is what will mark the life and ministry of Jesus. He will trust the the kingdom of heaven is God’s vision for the world. He will put in the sweat and the tears and the work. He will walk to the cross and to the tomb. He will trust God with his life and ministry.
With all accounts settled, Jesus dismissed the devil. The testing is over. Now the journey of his ministry will begin. Our Lenten journey marks the final leg of his journey. His life is set on Jerusalem and the trial that is to come. Jesus will remain faithful until the end, and through his sacrifice, the whole world will be set free. And we are invited to follow.
As we enter the season of Lent we acknowledge that we are sinful people. We name that we fall short, that we would probably fail every test the “tosser” would throw at us. But it’s important not to get stuck in this trap. The truth of Lent, with it’s movement towards the cross, is to remember that the words God spoke to Jesus, God also speaks to us. “You are my beloved son…you are my beloved daughter.” We have been set free and given new life through the resurrection. Jesus has already met all the tests of the “tosser” and dismissed them as false. We are God’s beloved children.
Today, and everyday, we are invited to be a part of the world that God is creating through Jesus. We are invited to be a part of the kingdom of heaven. And this life embodies the movement of Jesus’ own life and ministry. We are called to share bread with others. To tell people of God’s abundance and Jesus Christ who gave himself away as bread for the world. We are invited to live lives of humble service to our neighbors and strangers alike. We are called to trust in God’s vision for the world. And we have been set free to follow Jesus in this way of life.
Remember, you are beloved children of God. May God bless you on the journey.
This is the manuscript from the sermon preached on the first Sunday of Lent. The sermon is based on Matthew 4:1-11.
Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. The tempter came and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread."
But he answered, "It is written,
'One does not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"
Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written,
'He will command his angels concerning you,'
and 'On their hands they will bear you up,
so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.'"
Jesus said to him, "Again it is written, 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'"
Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; and he said to him, "All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me." Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan! for it is written,
'Worship the Lord your God,
and serve only him.'"
Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.
On Being Tested by the Tosser - Jesus in the Wilderness
“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” This declaration from God serves as the finale of the baptism of Jesus in the river Jordan and the beginning of his trip into the wilderness. This is a hinge moment for Matthew’s story of Jesus. It is only after God names him as “beloved son” that Jesus is led into the wilderness to be tested. Right here in Matthew’s Gospel we know who Jesus is. We now follow the action to understand what this means for us and for the world.
Jesus is led by the spirit into the wilderness to be tested. No post baptism party for Jesus. The movement had to get started. And it begins in the wilderness. 40 days and 40 nights of fasting. The devil sitting shotgun. This may go down as the worst road trip ever.
The word that Matthew uses for the devil is the Greek diabolos. The English renders it quite literally. Clarence Jordan has an interesting take on the etymology of the word diabolos -
(Diabolos) comes from dia meaning “around, through," and bollo meaning “to throw.” Our English word ball comes from that. Diabolos means “one who throws things about” - one who stirs things up - gets them confused. The work of the devil is just to get us muddled.
With this understanding we can describe what the devil is trying do in the wilderness with Jesus. The devil is the "tosser." The devil is in this scene to toss things about, to muddle things up, to get Jesus confused over how he will live out his ministry. The devil is the one who will test Jesus about how he will live out being God’s “beloved son.”
The first testing involves something we all experience, hunger. Matthew tells us that Jesus is hungry, and who wouldn't be after forty days without food. It’s the basic and probably most pressing need that the devil goes after first. “If you are the Son of God,” the devil begins. But this is not a question of identity. Jesus knows exactly who he is. The devil knows exactly who Jesus is. We too have been told by Matthew just a few lines ago. No, this statement is more subtle. The devil is speaking in Greek syntax. The way to hear this statement is “since you are the Son of God.”
And here’s where the test comes in. And it’s a test of means. How will Jesus demonstrate the kingdom of heaven? Since Jesus is the Son of God, he has the power to react to his hunger. Surely he could have turned stones into bread. He could have satisfied his own needs. But that’s not what his ministry will look like. “Humanity shall not live by bread alone,” Jesus replies. Humanity shall not live alone with bread. Bread, representing the basic, stable food of the people’s diet, is meant to be shared. Community is born out of the sharing of bread. Twice in the Gospel we will witness Jesus’ ministry as the sharing of bread with the hungry masses in the wilderness. In the waning hours of his life Jesus will share bread with his disciples, including Judas, as a symbol of the new community created through the cross. Jesus will turn himself into bread for the world. The ministry of Jesus will be the sharing of bread with others, specifically those in need, and not Jesus himself with bread alone. The power of Jesus will be to build community and extend the kingdom of heaven into the world.
The second testing is about how Jesus will encounter the world. What will be the message of his life and ministry as the implementer of the kingdom of heaven? The scene moves the devil and Jesus to the pinnacle of the temple. Again the devil leads with “If you are the Son of God,” and again we should hear, “since you are the Son of God.” This time the devil quotes scripture to open the test, pulling a page out of Jesus’ play book. “Since you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written…” If you jump the angels will come, sweep you up in a blaze of glory, and all will see that you are truly God’s son. You’ll be famous. The phone will be ringing off the hook. You’ll need an agent to manage your gigs. They’ll want you for photo-ops and book signings. Perhaps even the Romans will take note and ask for advice. You will been seen as all powerful and the world will respond in awe.
Jesus again knows the test. He knows the world is fickle and is always on the look out for the next headline. The next front-page story. The message of the kingdom will not be a flash of power. Jesus points again to scripture, “you shall put the Lord your God to the test.” Jesus will not force God’s hand. Instead he chooses to display his power in a more subtle and radical way. The message of the kingdom of heaven will be one of humble service. Jesus opens his life to those in need. He heals the sick, dares to break social norms by hanging out with prostitutes and tax collectors, and voices critique of the religious leaders. His true power will be displayed on the cross, a foolish move according to the powers that be. By God brings life out of death. The resurrection of Jesus demonstrates God’s ultimate power, something the world cannot control. Jesus, in his ministry of humble service, demonstrates the to the world the message of God through acts of healing and mercy.
The final testing will engage the method of Jesus’ ministry. How will Jesus go about the work of bringing the kingdom of heaven into the world? This time the devil skips the pleasantries and gets straight to the point. From a high mountain the devil shows Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” The devil, the one who casts things about, assumes power over the whole world (maybe there’s some truth here), and would gift it all to Jesus for the simple act of worship. The devil knows the goals of the kingdom. He knows Matthew 28; “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…” And here they are for the taking. All nations, lined-up and ready for Jesus. No sweat, no tears, no work, no blood, no cross, no death. With this act Jesus could take control of everything. With one fell swoop he could own it all. But there’s a catch.
At the heart of this is idolatry. And Jesus names it. “Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.” Or perhaps more clearly, “trust the lord…trust God’s vision for the world.” We worship who we trust; God. The devil is asking for Jesus to trust him. But Jesus knows this is false. We are to trust, to serve, to worship God alone. And this is what will mark the life and ministry of Jesus. He will trust the the kingdom of heaven is God’s vision for the world. He will put in the sweat and the tears and the work. He will walk to the cross and to the tomb. He will trust God with his life and ministry.
With all accounts settled, Jesus dismissed the devil. The testing is over. Now the journey of his ministry will begin. Our Lenten journey marks the final leg of his journey. His life is set on Jerusalem and the trial that is to come. Jesus will remain faithful until the end, and through his sacrifice, the whole world will be set free. And we are invited to follow.
As we enter the season of Lent we acknowledge that we are sinful people. We name that we fall short, that we would probably fail every test the “tosser” would throw at us. But it’s important not to get stuck in this trap. The truth of Lent, with it’s movement towards the cross, is to remember that the words God spoke to Jesus, God also speaks to us. “You are my beloved son…you are my beloved daughter.” We have been set free and given new life through the resurrection. Jesus has already met all the tests of the “tosser” and dismissed them as false. We are God’s beloved children.
Today, and everyday, we are invited to be a part of the world that God is creating through Jesus. We are invited to be a part of the kingdom of heaven. And this life embodies the movement of Jesus’ own life and ministry. We are called to share bread with others. To tell people of God’s abundance and Jesus Christ who gave himself away as bread for the world. We are invited to live lives of humble service to our neighbors and strangers alike. We are called to trust in God’s vision for the world. And we have been set free to follow Jesus in this way of life.
Remember, you are beloved children of God. May God bless you on the journey.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)