First Presbyterian Church
Ripley Tennessee
May 9, 2010
6th Sunday of Easter (mothers day)
Psalm 67
Acts 16:9-15
Witnessing to the Gospel
Witnessing to the gospel is a wonderful and rich topic. Even the word conjures up fantastic ideas of excitement in some, dread in some, and in Presbyterian circles the word usually prompts a broad roll of the eyes. We as Presbyterians do not do this very well do we? We will visit more about that in a minute.
My first memory of “witnessing” happened during a revival of one of the local churches in Covington. I have said before that as a child, I was exposed to the tension between two different traditions; one happened to witness and the other was very much Presbyterian…who did not “Witness” in the traditional sense.
What happened was this; I was probably about ten or eleven, I am not sure because after this happened, my family never spoke of the ‘incident' again. I was taken into our living room (the only room I was not allowed in and only the ladies bridge club seemed welcome) where some men sat who I did not know. They said, Conner we are going to pray for you. I said OK.
After they prayed over me they asked me if I wanted to ‘open my heart to’ the Lord. Two men and my father looking down on me in the forbidden room…“Hey sure, what ever you say that will get me out of this spot”.
So I prayed what we commonly call ‘The sinners prayer’, we all shook hands and they went away and everything was normal again. The only problem was that I was left with this “What was that all about?” mentality. I do not know if that ‘incident’ was the key to my salvation or not, it may have been, so I have never made light of it. I am grateful to those who felt a calling to pray for me that day.
I certainly left the experience with exponentially more questions than I had answers to. After that I was so confused I could not even formulate questions! What was I supposed to feel? What was I supposed to do? Was I supposed to feel something? I didn’t! Did something go wrong? I remember feeling scared, uncertain; anything but peace and security of ‘eternal life’ they had talked about.
The second ‘incident’ regarding witnessing occurred while I was in college at UT Martin. One particular group of students were especially…what’s the word…publicly evangelical. One of the guys was a guy I had graduated high school with. We were in kindergarten all the way to college together. And now he was part of a group whose plan of attack (literally) was to stand beside the sidewalks as classes were changing, waving a bible wildly in the air and screaming at the young men and women as they walked by trying to look at their feet trying to escape un-noticed. It reminded me of the way we all did in school to keep the teacher from calling on you. These screams were not of salvation but of charges of evil, sin and debauchery. It was like having to walk past Jeremiah just to get from biology class to chemistry class.
Still, I do not judge others or their methods. I must believe that someone benefited from these well intended individuals. We are also familiar with the Jehovah’s witnesses, the Gideon’s, very reputable and long standing organizations who do untold good for the kingdom of God.
I even remember attending a church where in Sunday school; there was a form the children had to fill out each week documenting how many people you witnessed to that week. That is all well and good.
13On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there.
Here we have a lovely image painted by Luke who, most believe to be the author of the majority of the book of Acts, points out that the group was simply looking for a quiet place to pray. Sometimes it is not simple to know that you need to do this.
An aside ~ my daughter and I recently left a school function at about 8:45 at night on a school night. We decided to just go find an old gravel road to drive down out in the country; you know, just to get out. I was not planning what happened next.
As we drove along between two pastures and a couple clumps of trees, the whole area was just exploding with lightning bugs. There were little frogs crying out, we saw a shooting star. I ended up on a gravel road where we stopped and turned off all the lights. Before I knew it, she had crawled on top of my truck tool box and was simply staring up at the night sky. I got into the bed of the pick up and just laid there
So, there we lay, looking up at the sky full of stars, lightning bugs so dense you could practically read by them, and the spring frogs crying and chirping so loud; a gentle spring breeze came in from the south. We did not speak a word…we did not need to…we were at peace.
That is all the apostles were looking for in this passage. They simply but methodically (we need to notice this) sought out a quiet place and a quiet time.
The women were simply encountered in the routine activities of the group. This was a chance encounter, but it was still an opportunity to witness to the grace of Christ and the truth of the gospel.
“We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there.”
There are three things going on here. 1) The apostles are PREPAIRED to speak of the word of God; 2) the women are OPEN to the word of God and 3) the Holy Spirit is working to RELATE the word of God.
All the witnessing in the world won’t amount to a hill of beans if these three things are not at work.
If we claim to follow God and His Son Christ Jesus, we are called on to understand his teachings. You know what? Before I can tell someone else, I first have to understand for myself. That is what this is all about. If I am not clear on my relationship with God the Father and my Lord, Christ Jesus, I am ill prepared to speak to others about their relationship with Him.
Now, I am not talking about being a biblical scholar, which I certainly am not. I am speaking of witnessing to the love and grace and peace of Jesus in your own life and being square with how that love peace and grace has affected you directly. That is in other terms, a personal testimony.
Second, Jesus says all through his ministry, “All who have ears, let him hear”. Have you ever wondered what that really meant? It reminds me of times teaching my children about math, telling time and what all the different coins of money were. On the level of a child…and some adults…these things are difficult to comprehend.
That is what Jesus is saying here, “Open your mind. Think big.” Follow what I am saying.” A popular saying among alcoholic and substance abusers in recovery is “I couldn’t understand until I hit bottom”. This is why I preach so much about our perspectives. There are so many people, the vast majority in my opinion, whose world view is limited by their own needs and desired and wants. There is SO much more to life.
14One of those listening was a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul's message.
So at this point we have a prepared person in casual conversation with someone who is interested and open. This is where ONLY the Holy Spirit can close the deal. Sometime it happens and sometime it won’t. But mostly we have to acknowledge that all things happen in God’s time in accordance with God’s will. We can not force the deal closed; whether in someone’s living room or yelling at people on the way to class.
As I have worked at other churches in New Member and Exploring the Faith classes I have witnessed another type of witnessing to the gospel. Over many years of working with people from all walks of life and backgrounds there is one common thread.
In these comfortable and non threatening setting, people work through their faith journey as a part of discerning if joining a church is the right thing to do and if it is the right time in ones life. An opportunity has always been provided to describe the journey they have had and to speak of one person who has been the most significant to them.
Without question answers would come back, “My mother”, “My Grandmother” and then the details would flow branching into all facets of individual lives. This is always a very tender time. I see how mothers affect lives. I have lived this, as I realize how often I mention my mother here. I have witnessed lives being changed by the legacy left behind by mothers.
Have you ever thought of how a mother’s unconditional love, whether easily shown or not, is parallel to the love and grace of Jesus? Remembering mothers who have gone on before us is an important part of Mothers day. Being with our mothers on this day is also important. Today is a day set aside to honor our mothers.
What better way to honor them than to think back on how our mothers have affected our lives. Who has been most influential in your spiritual growth? I bet if we took a survey here this morning, a vast majority would speak of mom. Mom has been witnessing to us all along! Think of that beautiful gift and be thankful.
I am reminded of the well known story of monk who took a student with him into the near by village. All day long they indiscriminately helped people, visited with people and shared a kind word with everyone they met. Near the end of the day the student asked, ‘Master, all day long we have done these menial tasks and been so occupied and busy, when will you preach a sermon?’
To which the master said, “All day long we have been preaching a sermon, it is only occasionally necessary to use words”.
Thank you mothers and may God bless you all!
AMEN
Monday, May 10, 2010
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Sunday May 2, 2010
First Presbyterian Church
Ripley Tennessee
May 2, 2010
5nd Sunday of Easter
Psalm 148
Acts 11:1-18
Politics of Religion
Around my house growing up there were two things you did not discuss. One was politics and the other was religion. We have always seen these two topics as somewhat independent of one another. We have politics over here and religion over here. They are separate.
But are they? What we really mean to say is the Institutional religion and institutional politics are stand alone separates. Fostering that notion is the separation of Church and state. This separation is mandated because somewhere along the line people figured out that when the line separating spirituality and devotion to god and devotion to state got blurred, some very bad things could happen.
Here is one instance where humans have indeed observed and learned from history…so far.
But the idea that I wish to convey in my message title this morning is more of the politics with a small “p”. That is, political behavior in institutional religion. Now, if it is your opinion that this type of politics does not exist in institutional religion…I almost admire you.
Perhaps you have never been involved in organizing a church program; perhaps you have never participated in any group event at church. Perhaps you have never tried to replace a burned out light bulb and been confronted with an irate member; “You can’t change that bulb! My father donated that bulb!”
Politics have been around since Cain and Able. The story of Jacob and Esau is pure politics at its core level. Who can gain an advantage, hold that advantage and further the cause dear to them? That is politics in churches, civic groups, boy-scout troops and where ever people gather together and interact. It is made up in our DNA.
However, the patience to deal with politics of religion is not. Large churches, small churches, Sunday schools, bible studies, stadiums filled with cheering Christians; whatever you like…politics are involved.
I have heard sermons describing the exact details of Peter’s vision. I have heard the theological expositions of the meaning of each element in the vision. That is not what I want to concentrate on here. This 5th Sunday in Easter, I want to remain focused on the grace that is ours in the death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. Without that saving act of sacrifice and through the love and compassion of God, we would be lost in our own sin and worldliness.
So in this continuing Easter Season, I want to make sure we keep our focus on the more global Christian movement…the salvation of ALL mankind!
What we see in verse 1The apostles and the brothers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. 2So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him 3and said, "You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them."
“Of all the nerve Peter…what are you doing with those , those, …people (shiver)? We can’t let them in, they are not like us, they are not clean, they don’t have the mark; they are not the chosen race or the line of David! How can you hang out with them?”
Sound familiar? The fact is that ALL people have access to God the Father through Jesus Christ! Not just the ones who think like you, or who look like you, or heaven forbid, pray or worship like you. Do you remember the criticism our president got recently when he reached out to the world’s Muslim leaders? World politics aside, this is the same type of divide that separated the circumcised from the uncircumcised in the crowd Peter was facing!
“I don’t care what Jesus did…I can’t stand that guy because he prays funny!” You can just hear that as an undertone in this passage in Acts 11. But what is really going on here. Who are the real players and what are their real motives? Who are “The circumcised”? Who are the “Un-circumcised”? What does each group have to gain or loose?
Some of the most pure, un-abridged and raw politics in the world do not exist in the United Nations or capitols of Nations. The type of politics I am talking about now is too large for State Capitol buildings too. The Kremlin, the Polit Bureau, Parliament, the Vatican; all pail in comparison to this type of politics I am thinking of.
I am speaking of the politics of the playground, of the cafeteria, of the study hall, the politics of adolescence. I am a veteran of one teenager and am well under way with our second. These politics shape individual thinking, development, attitude, personality, relationships, sexuality and destiny. There is no forgiveness, no mercy and rampant cruelty; if you don’t wear the right thing, like the right thing, hate the right thing and say the right thing in the right way…you’re toast! Your life can become miserable in a matter of seconds! Adolescent suicides are at an all time high in our country due to this at times unbearable pressure.
All of these are opposite of the teachings of Christ. From childhood we bring these behaviors along with us into adulthood, we are conditions by the world around us to think like this. Jacob and Esau were great role models for the way we think…but we are wrong!
That is what is so dramatic about the teachings of Jesus and the life He prescribes. We see Peter in a situation not unlike selling ice cream to Eskimos. No one wants to buy what Peter is selling. This can’t be right; even the un-circumcised? Are you sure about this Peter?
The fact is that we can not escape our biases, our thought, our prejudices…our sin…without help. In our passage this morning, our help comes in the form of the Holy Spirit of God; the third leg of the trinity stool. You see, by ourselves, we are indeed powerless to change.
I have experienced change myself and I can tell you it is not something I could have done alone. I have witnessed the healing power of the Holy Spirit on many, many occasions and can testify to it. However, there is still a boundary to the Holy Spirit. We lack vision and we want things our way. We are impatient.
8"I replied, 'Surely not, Lord! Nothing impure or unclean has ever entered my mouth.'
Even Peter had to be reminded several times in his own vision. “It’s all right Peter. My gift of grace is for everyone!” Our little problem is that we become threatened by that. I asked a minute ago, “What does each group in our story have to gain or loose? Have you figured that out yet?
Power; position, prestige, leverage, privilege, advantage, and on and on and on!
Are you sure you want to make THOSE PEOPLE equal to us!? Come on!
Not only does he make THOSE PEOPLE equal to us through the death and resurrection of Christ, we are called to be servants of ‘those people’. You may define ‘those people’ however you may, but ultimately I have come to realize a simple truth.
‘Those People’ refers to everyone else but me. You see, it is ‘those people’ who come to God just as I do, lost, broken, repulsive and dirty. It is Christ who makes that approach possible. I believe that you can not get your mind there without the Holy Spirit of God.
15"As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them as he had come on us at the beginning. 16Then I remembered what the Lord had said: 'John baptized with[a]water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.'
I hope young people hear me; it is this Holy Spirit, which you can not understand now, that is your helper. I have found to be of great help, praying for two things.
First, pray for the Holy Spirit to help you think beyond the moment you are in. Pray for insight and for peace and for your horizon to expand beyond where you are to include some of the infinite possibilities God may have in store, most of which have never occurred to you. It was these possibilities that those who criticized Peter could not fathom.
Second, pray for the Holy Spirit to help you think beyond yourself. Jesus taught us over and over that it is not about you. It is not about me, it is about serving others! This is the very point I want to bring you to. If Peter can not serve others by reaching out to the un-circumcised, how can he spread the ACCURATE gospel message of forgiveness to ALL! When confronted by opposition, Peter did not become defensive or self conscious. He became passionate and convicted.
So what of the trappings of power, position, prestige? They were never truly yours anyway. Under the influence of the Holy Spirit, we can begin to see the world for what it really is; a creation of God. Just as an artist or a sculptor creates, just as musicians play notes combined into a beautiful symphony, just as a writer casts images across the mind, creativity is not confined to a single event or item, nor is it finite. The creative capacity of God the Father is infinite and unimaginable.
What a limited view we have of life, of love and of eternity if we will not trade our earthly power and prestige for what we are offered by God, in this life, or in the next.
Peter said in verse 17So if God gave them (the uncircumcised; you know…THOSE PEOPLE) the same gift as he gave us (the apostles), who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could oppose God?"
18When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, "So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life."
Politics are a human invention. Unfortunately, politics will be with us for the rest of human existence. But rejoice in the fact that God does not choose us the way we chose sides at recess!
Thanks be to God for the grace that is ours in Christ Jesus.
AMEN
Ripley Tennessee
May 2, 2010
5nd Sunday of Easter
Psalm 148
Acts 11:1-18
Politics of Religion
Around my house growing up there were two things you did not discuss. One was politics and the other was religion. We have always seen these two topics as somewhat independent of one another. We have politics over here and religion over here. They are separate.
But are they? What we really mean to say is the Institutional religion and institutional politics are stand alone separates. Fostering that notion is the separation of Church and state. This separation is mandated because somewhere along the line people figured out that when the line separating spirituality and devotion to god and devotion to state got blurred, some very bad things could happen.
Here is one instance where humans have indeed observed and learned from history…so far.
But the idea that I wish to convey in my message title this morning is more of the politics with a small “p”. That is, political behavior in institutional religion. Now, if it is your opinion that this type of politics does not exist in institutional religion…I almost admire you.
Perhaps you have never been involved in organizing a church program; perhaps you have never participated in any group event at church. Perhaps you have never tried to replace a burned out light bulb and been confronted with an irate member; “You can’t change that bulb! My father donated that bulb!”
Politics have been around since Cain and Able. The story of Jacob and Esau is pure politics at its core level. Who can gain an advantage, hold that advantage and further the cause dear to them? That is politics in churches, civic groups, boy-scout troops and where ever people gather together and interact. It is made up in our DNA.
However, the patience to deal with politics of religion is not. Large churches, small churches, Sunday schools, bible studies, stadiums filled with cheering Christians; whatever you like…politics are involved.
I have heard sermons describing the exact details of Peter’s vision. I have heard the theological expositions of the meaning of each element in the vision. That is not what I want to concentrate on here. This 5th Sunday in Easter, I want to remain focused on the grace that is ours in the death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. Without that saving act of sacrifice and through the love and compassion of God, we would be lost in our own sin and worldliness.
So in this continuing Easter Season, I want to make sure we keep our focus on the more global Christian movement…the salvation of ALL mankind!
What we see in verse 1The apostles and the brothers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. 2So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him 3and said, "You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them."
“Of all the nerve Peter…what are you doing with those , those, …people (shiver)? We can’t let them in, they are not like us, they are not clean, they don’t have the mark; they are not the chosen race or the line of David! How can you hang out with them?”
Sound familiar? The fact is that ALL people have access to God the Father through Jesus Christ! Not just the ones who think like you, or who look like you, or heaven forbid, pray or worship like you. Do you remember the criticism our president got recently when he reached out to the world’s Muslim leaders? World politics aside, this is the same type of divide that separated the circumcised from the uncircumcised in the crowd Peter was facing!
“I don’t care what Jesus did…I can’t stand that guy because he prays funny!” You can just hear that as an undertone in this passage in Acts 11. But what is really going on here. Who are the real players and what are their real motives? Who are “The circumcised”? Who are the “Un-circumcised”? What does each group have to gain or loose?
Some of the most pure, un-abridged and raw politics in the world do not exist in the United Nations or capitols of Nations. The type of politics I am talking about now is too large for State Capitol buildings too. The Kremlin, the Polit Bureau, Parliament, the Vatican; all pail in comparison to this type of politics I am thinking of.
I am speaking of the politics of the playground, of the cafeteria, of the study hall, the politics of adolescence. I am a veteran of one teenager and am well under way with our second. These politics shape individual thinking, development, attitude, personality, relationships, sexuality and destiny. There is no forgiveness, no mercy and rampant cruelty; if you don’t wear the right thing, like the right thing, hate the right thing and say the right thing in the right way…you’re toast! Your life can become miserable in a matter of seconds! Adolescent suicides are at an all time high in our country due to this at times unbearable pressure.
All of these are opposite of the teachings of Christ. From childhood we bring these behaviors along with us into adulthood, we are conditions by the world around us to think like this. Jacob and Esau were great role models for the way we think…but we are wrong!
That is what is so dramatic about the teachings of Jesus and the life He prescribes. We see Peter in a situation not unlike selling ice cream to Eskimos. No one wants to buy what Peter is selling. This can’t be right; even the un-circumcised? Are you sure about this Peter?
The fact is that we can not escape our biases, our thought, our prejudices…our sin…without help. In our passage this morning, our help comes in the form of the Holy Spirit of God; the third leg of the trinity stool. You see, by ourselves, we are indeed powerless to change.
I have experienced change myself and I can tell you it is not something I could have done alone. I have witnessed the healing power of the Holy Spirit on many, many occasions and can testify to it. However, there is still a boundary to the Holy Spirit. We lack vision and we want things our way. We are impatient.
8"I replied, 'Surely not, Lord! Nothing impure or unclean has ever entered my mouth.'
Even Peter had to be reminded several times in his own vision. “It’s all right Peter. My gift of grace is for everyone!” Our little problem is that we become threatened by that. I asked a minute ago, “What does each group in our story have to gain or loose? Have you figured that out yet?
Power; position, prestige, leverage, privilege, advantage, and on and on and on!
Are you sure you want to make THOSE PEOPLE equal to us!? Come on!
Not only does he make THOSE PEOPLE equal to us through the death and resurrection of Christ, we are called to be servants of ‘those people’. You may define ‘those people’ however you may, but ultimately I have come to realize a simple truth.
‘Those People’ refers to everyone else but me. You see, it is ‘those people’ who come to God just as I do, lost, broken, repulsive and dirty. It is Christ who makes that approach possible. I believe that you can not get your mind there without the Holy Spirit of God.
15"As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them as he had come on us at the beginning. 16Then I remembered what the Lord had said: 'John baptized with[a]water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.'
I hope young people hear me; it is this Holy Spirit, which you can not understand now, that is your helper. I have found to be of great help, praying for two things.
First, pray for the Holy Spirit to help you think beyond the moment you are in. Pray for insight and for peace and for your horizon to expand beyond where you are to include some of the infinite possibilities God may have in store, most of which have never occurred to you. It was these possibilities that those who criticized Peter could not fathom.
Second, pray for the Holy Spirit to help you think beyond yourself. Jesus taught us over and over that it is not about you. It is not about me, it is about serving others! This is the very point I want to bring you to. If Peter can not serve others by reaching out to the un-circumcised, how can he spread the ACCURATE gospel message of forgiveness to ALL! When confronted by opposition, Peter did not become defensive or self conscious. He became passionate and convicted.
So what of the trappings of power, position, prestige? They were never truly yours anyway. Under the influence of the Holy Spirit, we can begin to see the world for what it really is; a creation of God. Just as an artist or a sculptor creates, just as musicians play notes combined into a beautiful symphony, just as a writer casts images across the mind, creativity is not confined to a single event or item, nor is it finite. The creative capacity of God the Father is infinite and unimaginable.
What a limited view we have of life, of love and of eternity if we will not trade our earthly power and prestige for what we are offered by God, in this life, or in the next.
Peter said in verse 17So if God gave them (the uncircumcised; you know…THOSE PEOPLE) the same gift as he gave us (the apostles), who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could oppose God?"
18When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, "So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life."
Politics are a human invention. Unfortunately, politics will be with us for the rest of human existence. But rejoice in the fact that God does not choose us the way we chose sides at recess!
Thanks be to God for the grace that is ours in Christ Jesus.
AMEN
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Sunday April 25, 2010
First Presbyterian Church
Ripley Tennessee
April 25, 2010
4nd Sunday of Easter
Psalm 23
Acts 9:36-43
Down in the valley
The title to this weeks sermon does not indicate that I will stand here and belt out my rendition of “Down in the Valley”, but it was one of the first songs I learned on the guitar. Neither does the title refer to the Movie of the same name staring Edward Norton released in 2006. I do not refer to “The Big Valley” starring Barbra Stanwick featuring the western matriarch Victoria Barkley and her sons.
No, the title this morning is inspired by the phrase from the 23rd psalm “4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me”.
Each time I hear the phrase, “…the valley of the shadow of death,” my mind immediately focuses on the famous poem "The Charge of the Light Brigade". The Charge of the Light Brigade is an 1854 narrative poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson about the Charge of the Light Brigade at the Battle of Balaclava during the Crimean War.
Half a league, half a league, Half a league onward, All in the valley of Death Rode the six hundred. 'Forward, the Light Brigade! Charge for the guns' he said: Into the valley of Death Rode the six hundred.
'Forward, the Light Brigade!' Was there a man dismay'd? Not tho' the soldiers knew Some one had blunder'd: Theirs not to make reply, Theirs not to reason why, Theirs but to do and die: Into the valley of Death Rode the six hundred.
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me”. David refers to the shadow of death to personify death. Death is near and the shadow is evidence of its proximity. Uncertainty, finality and eternity are close at hand. David indicates that the valley is an unsettling place. It is also a place we all must walk and spend time.
The soldiers in the poem are faced with certain death. Yet they performed bravely. The valley of death did not deter their call to duty. What was going through these men’s minds as they faced annihilation?
I have a deep interest in the Civil War. I have toured the Battle field at Gettysburg. I have stood at the place where brave men took part in Pickets Charge. How can a person face that? Even now, brave women and men face these same uncertainties, fears and the shadow of death every day on foreign soil in the name of democracy.
The valley of the shadow of death is a striking image. However, there is so much more than just that one image. The Psalm is mainly soothing and comforting images of God protecting and comforting David. Let’s look further.
Within our two readings this morning we see death confronted. What I want to visit with you about this morning are the contrasting perspectives and the rest of the image David portrays in the valley.
Notice in the 23rd Psalm, David’s portrayal is first person. The Lord is MY shepherd; I shall not want; He makes ME lie down; he leads ME beside still waters: Though I walk…Thy rod and thy staff comfort ME. You prepare a table before ME; MY enemies; MY head; MY cup;
A beautiful relationship is revealed between God and David in the Valley. This is a personal relationship. David and God are interacting and David is being comforted by God in profound ways.
In contrast, the reading from Acts gives us a different perspective on the Valley. In this passage we are given witness to the valley from the perspective of the mourners; for certainly those who mourn are also traveling in the valley of the shadow.
We are witnesses to the massive hole that the death of a loved one can leave. We see and have all felt the immense weight, the sadness and the grief that the valley of the shadow can bring into our lives.
In this passage we see the death of someone who is vibrant, active, and inspirational to others. She has touched so many lives in so many ways. She will be desperately missed and the community is in mourning.
I think of the funeral of a teenager. All too often this time of year, vehicle accidents claim lives of those whose lives had yet to unfold; of those with so much potential and with so much to experience.
Have you ever notice how well attended those funerals and memorials are? We Lost a senior in High School in Covington two weeks ago in a traffic accident. It is a devastating experience. Imagine the difference that could be made if the same young people, whose lives are cut short, could witness the dramatic out poring of love from entire communities, the compassion toward family members and friends and the raw honest emotion that is associated with their loss. Imagine if that degree of love and caring could be experienced by those we loose, before tragedy strikes and before the valley walls rise.
The good news is, it can be and it is! David portrays God as being right beside him. God is a companion, a friend and a mentor to David. In fact the tragic thing about the 23rd Psalm is that it is so commonly associated with funerals. What about every other day of your life. God is there then too! There is no indication in the 23rd Psalm that David dies at the end of it! Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
Traditionally, we have gotten used to the idea of reciting the 23rd Psalm on the occasion of death. However, the 23rd Psalm is a powerful guide for daily living as well as inspiration for not fearing death. Here, it is comforting to those who mourn. But again, look at the personal nature of the Psalm. In the case of the death of Tabitha, how can we apply this personal nature of the 23rd Psalm?
I have declared to you on several occasions that my relationship with God the Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit define my relationship with you, you and you and everyone I meet. Now, through the Psalm, David places his relationship with God at the very center of his being, “ALL the days of my life”.
All of David’s thinking rises from that perspective. God is first for David and all other relationships are formed based upon that fact. This applies to relationships that are interrupted temporarily by death.
When we mourn, we undergo physiological changes. Our brains undergo a physical process. Life itself changes for us who remain behind. Sometimes we are as sorry for ourselves as we are for the departed. That is a natural part of the grieving process.
The 23rd Psalm speaks to that sense of mourning we feel as it did, I am sure, to those gathered in the room of Tabitha. Individually we can gain some relief in the Psalm seeing that God is tender and will be kind to us as we recover from loss. The 23 rd Psalm refreshes our perspective and reminds us that God is at the center and God is in control.
But the greater sense is that God will be kind, gracious and even heroic on behalf of our loved one. Those who mourn Tabitha’s loss can be comforted that she is in good hands in the Presence of Almighty God who will treat her just as the Psalm describes. For me, that is of great comfort.
But most comforting of all from this morning’s passage is what we read at the very last. In Acts verses 40 and 41 we read…”Turning toward the dead woman, he said, "Tabitha, get up." She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter she sat up. 41He took her by the hand and helped her to her feet. Then he called the believers and the widows and presented her to them alive.”
The 23rd Psalm is a way of looking at facing the valley and the comfort we receive from God when we face the valley of the shadow of death and as we mourn for others in the Valley of the shadow of death. In either position we receive comfort in the words and from God the Father.
But demonstrated here in Acts is the fact that through Jesus Christ and the resurrection of His body, we too will be resurrected just as Tabitha was. We see here in these words of Luke that Death IS NOT the end of the story.
We are comforted by God as we deal with the transition, but the transition is not the end. The transition is simply the means by which we are united with God. In Jesus Christ, we are guaranteed that union on the other side of the valley for eternity. As Tabitha rose again, so certainly will we through the power of the Son of God who is Jesus Christ.
I have been around far too much tragedy and death than a person of my age should. One moment in particular strikes me on this occasion. It happened that my mother was diagnosed with lung cancer. Her health deteriorated as we expected. As her illness took its course, hospice was called in. As the months progressed, my family began to prepare for her inevitable death.
I had the occasion to sit with her on the side of her bed and ask her about what she was experiencing spiritually. What was it like in her valley? We had a nice little visit about her fear, about her joy and about life in general. It is a moment that will be with me for the rest of my life and is comparable with my wedding day, the birth of my son, and the birth of my daughter.
In the midst of all the chaos brought on by the news of her condition and all the trappings of hospice care and providing comfort, here we both sat calmly, on the side of her bed in her own room, talking about HER death. It was as if we were swapping recipes, it was that calm and pragmatic. But I saw an opportunity and I took it. I am oh so glad I took it. I asked her what we were all wondering.
“Mama, are you scared?”
That one question allowed me to see into her relationship with God. In classic MAMA form she reflected for a second and then said, buoyantly with a hint of sarcasm, “Well, I’m not scared or afraid...but maybe a little apprehensive”.
That was followed with howls of laughter a few tears and a big hug. The valley we shared had been conquered!
Thanks be to God for the grace that is ours in Christ Jesus!
AMEN
Ripley Tennessee
April 25, 2010
4nd Sunday of Easter
Psalm 23
Acts 9:36-43
Down in the valley
The title to this weeks sermon does not indicate that I will stand here and belt out my rendition of “Down in the Valley”, but it was one of the first songs I learned on the guitar. Neither does the title refer to the Movie of the same name staring Edward Norton released in 2006. I do not refer to “The Big Valley” starring Barbra Stanwick featuring the western matriarch Victoria Barkley and her sons.
No, the title this morning is inspired by the phrase from the 23rd psalm “4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me”.
Each time I hear the phrase, “…the valley of the shadow of death,” my mind immediately focuses on the famous poem "The Charge of the Light Brigade". The Charge of the Light Brigade is an 1854 narrative poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson about the Charge of the Light Brigade at the Battle of Balaclava during the Crimean War.
Half a league, half a league, Half a league onward, All in the valley of Death Rode the six hundred. 'Forward, the Light Brigade! Charge for the guns' he said: Into the valley of Death Rode the six hundred.
'Forward, the Light Brigade!' Was there a man dismay'd? Not tho' the soldiers knew Some one had blunder'd: Theirs not to make reply, Theirs not to reason why, Theirs but to do and die: Into the valley of Death Rode the six hundred.
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me”. David refers to the shadow of death to personify death. Death is near and the shadow is evidence of its proximity. Uncertainty, finality and eternity are close at hand. David indicates that the valley is an unsettling place. It is also a place we all must walk and spend time.
The soldiers in the poem are faced with certain death. Yet they performed bravely. The valley of death did not deter their call to duty. What was going through these men’s minds as they faced annihilation?
I have a deep interest in the Civil War. I have toured the Battle field at Gettysburg. I have stood at the place where brave men took part in Pickets Charge. How can a person face that? Even now, brave women and men face these same uncertainties, fears and the shadow of death every day on foreign soil in the name of democracy.
The valley of the shadow of death is a striking image. However, there is so much more than just that one image. The Psalm is mainly soothing and comforting images of God protecting and comforting David. Let’s look further.
Within our two readings this morning we see death confronted. What I want to visit with you about this morning are the contrasting perspectives and the rest of the image David portrays in the valley.
Notice in the 23rd Psalm, David’s portrayal is first person. The Lord is MY shepherd; I shall not want; He makes ME lie down; he leads ME beside still waters: Though I walk…Thy rod and thy staff comfort ME. You prepare a table before ME; MY enemies; MY head; MY cup;
A beautiful relationship is revealed between God and David in the Valley. This is a personal relationship. David and God are interacting and David is being comforted by God in profound ways.
In contrast, the reading from Acts gives us a different perspective on the Valley. In this passage we are given witness to the valley from the perspective of the mourners; for certainly those who mourn are also traveling in the valley of the shadow.
We are witnesses to the massive hole that the death of a loved one can leave. We see and have all felt the immense weight, the sadness and the grief that the valley of the shadow can bring into our lives.
In this passage we see the death of someone who is vibrant, active, and inspirational to others. She has touched so many lives in so many ways. She will be desperately missed and the community is in mourning.
I think of the funeral of a teenager. All too often this time of year, vehicle accidents claim lives of those whose lives had yet to unfold; of those with so much potential and with so much to experience.
Have you ever notice how well attended those funerals and memorials are? We Lost a senior in High School in Covington two weeks ago in a traffic accident. It is a devastating experience. Imagine the difference that could be made if the same young people, whose lives are cut short, could witness the dramatic out poring of love from entire communities, the compassion toward family members and friends and the raw honest emotion that is associated with their loss. Imagine if that degree of love and caring could be experienced by those we loose, before tragedy strikes and before the valley walls rise.
The good news is, it can be and it is! David portrays God as being right beside him. God is a companion, a friend and a mentor to David. In fact the tragic thing about the 23rd Psalm is that it is so commonly associated with funerals. What about every other day of your life. God is there then too! There is no indication in the 23rd Psalm that David dies at the end of it! Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
Traditionally, we have gotten used to the idea of reciting the 23rd Psalm on the occasion of death. However, the 23rd Psalm is a powerful guide for daily living as well as inspiration for not fearing death. Here, it is comforting to those who mourn. But again, look at the personal nature of the Psalm. In the case of the death of Tabitha, how can we apply this personal nature of the 23rd Psalm?
I have declared to you on several occasions that my relationship with God the Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit define my relationship with you, you and you and everyone I meet. Now, through the Psalm, David places his relationship with God at the very center of his being, “ALL the days of my life”.
All of David’s thinking rises from that perspective. God is first for David and all other relationships are formed based upon that fact. This applies to relationships that are interrupted temporarily by death.
When we mourn, we undergo physiological changes. Our brains undergo a physical process. Life itself changes for us who remain behind. Sometimes we are as sorry for ourselves as we are for the departed. That is a natural part of the grieving process.
The 23rd Psalm speaks to that sense of mourning we feel as it did, I am sure, to those gathered in the room of Tabitha. Individually we can gain some relief in the Psalm seeing that God is tender and will be kind to us as we recover from loss. The 23 rd Psalm refreshes our perspective and reminds us that God is at the center and God is in control.
But the greater sense is that God will be kind, gracious and even heroic on behalf of our loved one. Those who mourn Tabitha’s loss can be comforted that she is in good hands in the Presence of Almighty God who will treat her just as the Psalm describes. For me, that is of great comfort.
But most comforting of all from this morning’s passage is what we read at the very last. In Acts verses 40 and 41 we read…”Turning toward the dead woman, he said, "Tabitha, get up." She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter she sat up. 41He took her by the hand and helped her to her feet. Then he called the believers and the widows and presented her to them alive.”
The 23rd Psalm is a way of looking at facing the valley and the comfort we receive from God when we face the valley of the shadow of death and as we mourn for others in the Valley of the shadow of death. In either position we receive comfort in the words and from God the Father.
But demonstrated here in Acts is the fact that through Jesus Christ and the resurrection of His body, we too will be resurrected just as Tabitha was. We see here in these words of Luke that Death IS NOT the end of the story.
We are comforted by God as we deal with the transition, but the transition is not the end. The transition is simply the means by which we are united with God. In Jesus Christ, we are guaranteed that union on the other side of the valley for eternity. As Tabitha rose again, so certainly will we through the power of the Son of God who is Jesus Christ.
I have been around far too much tragedy and death than a person of my age should. One moment in particular strikes me on this occasion. It happened that my mother was diagnosed with lung cancer. Her health deteriorated as we expected. As her illness took its course, hospice was called in. As the months progressed, my family began to prepare for her inevitable death.
I had the occasion to sit with her on the side of her bed and ask her about what she was experiencing spiritually. What was it like in her valley? We had a nice little visit about her fear, about her joy and about life in general. It is a moment that will be with me for the rest of my life and is comparable with my wedding day, the birth of my son, and the birth of my daughter.
In the midst of all the chaos brought on by the news of her condition and all the trappings of hospice care and providing comfort, here we both sat calmly, on the side of her bed in her own room, talking about HER death. It was as if we were swapping recipes, it was that calm and pragmatic. But I saw an opportunity and I took it. I am oh so glad I took it. I asked her what we were all wondering.
“Mama, are you scared?”
That one question allowed me to see into her relationship with God. In classic MAMA form she reflected for a second and then said, buoyantly with a hint of sarcasm, “Well, I’m not scared or afraid...but maybe a little apprehensive”.
That was followed with howls of laughter a few tears and a big hug. The valley we shared had been conquered!
Thanks be to God for the grace that is ours in Christ Jesus!
AMEN
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Sunday April 18, 2010
First Presbyterian Church
Ripley Tennessee
April 18, 2010
3nd Sunday of Easter
Psalm 30
John 21:1-19
I like a FIRE in my camp
The title of this sermon is dedicated to my brother Tom. Tom and I have spent many evenings sitting around a campfire. His favorite saying is “I like a FIRE in my camp!” as he would throw another big log on the fire.
I have had the good fortune to have spent many such nights in the great outdoors. I grew up camping. As a child I remember camping in my back yard with my friends. I remember going out to one of our farms and picking a favorite spot. Always at the center of the campsite would be the safe place to build a fire.
As I grew, I have been blessed to have traveled to every state in our great nation. I have camped in, or pulled a camper through, 95 percent of our states. Always, always, whether summer and 95 degrees or in the fall in Vermont when the temperature dropped below freezing, there was a fire.
I have even raised my own children camping. Andrea and I love to talk and remember times sitting around a camp fire. Andrea and I got married, moved away from home and had children. My best friend and his wife did the same thing. We ended up two states apart.
Usually about twice a year, he would call me, or I would call him and say, “I think it’s time for some therapy”. We need to retreat and relax in front of a camp fire. Ti was a time apart that allowed the world to restore its balance.
Funny thing; you may not remember the details about a particular trip but what you recall are the conversations around that fire. My children join in and each has their own favorite campfire stories.
From the Pine forests in Vermont to the Smoky Mountains, from Edgar Evans State Park in Tennessee to Lake Muncho Provincial Park in the Yukon, From the desert southwest to the Boundary Water Canoe Area in Canada; the story is the same. I can remember a particular campsite and beyond that, a particular conversation with particular people.
At the church camp Na-Co-Me in the fall, the favorite activity of adults and children alike is the night of the bon fire. That’s when we get together, the first weekend of October and make smores and cook hot dogs.
In my experience, there seems to be something primal about sitting around a fire. The fire at the center of the group gives warmth, it gives light, the fire provides nourishment. Because of the heat, sound actually changes. Because of the light flickering, we become memorized. Because of the sound of the fire, we are distracted.
We are drawn together in some primordial way. This is what Jesus understood. Outdoors, the fire is to the soul, what the alter is inside the church. It is the focal point that draws everyone’s attention. It is a commonality.
I think it may be interesting to note here that all the Easter Readings we have shared thus far, Jesus has offered Peace, but this time, I believe that there is already peace.
The scene is the shore of the Sea of Tiberius, or if you like, the Sea of Galilee. It is morning and the apostles have been up all night fishing only to be unsuccessful. They are tired, hungry, probably still in shock and probably not in a very good mood.
Then there is a greeting from a friendly person on the shore. This person turns out to be the risen Lord. He has a cooking fire all ready and he says “come”. Have you ever smelled bacon cooking in a campsite at sunrise? To say that the scene was welcoming for the Apostles is an understatement.
It was to this comforting fire that Jesus called his followers. It was this fire that Peter was drawn. In verse 7 we read “…As soon as Simon Peter heard him say “It is the Lord” he wrapped his outer garment around him and jumped into the water”. Impetuous Peter strikes again.
I want to make sure we don’t miss the timeline of this heartwarming story that has unfolded over the last few weeks of our time together. Sometimes reading a progression or chapters chopped up from week to week can in deed cause us to miss out on subtleties in the story. So let’s recap.
It was just a few days earlier that Jesus was telling the Apostles of his impending death. The next day, Jesus was welcomed as a Hero coming to fulfill Hebrew prophesies. That night he was betrayed by one of his own. Things go dramatically worse from there. In a matter of hours, Jesus found himself no longer the hero, but the villain. Peter was no longer associated with an entourage who would change the world, now Peter found himself a hunted man, an insurrectionist who was wanted.
A few more hours fly by and Jesus is put on trial. It is all happening too fast to comprehend! In all of the history of Christianity, this brief defining moment is but a heart beat in comparison. And yet, it is the nail upon which we hang our faith. Peter suddenly finds himself fleeing the scene as the other disciples scatter.
Peters own words spoken only hours before must have begun haunting him by now. Mathew 26 recalls the words of Peter, “Even if all fall away on account of you, I will never fall away”. By now Peter has bound to have remembered that Jesus even predicted that Peter would deny Jesus (John 13:13). Rushing back to Peter, the memories of how disloyal he had been must have been overwhelming!
Have you ever boasted when you should have been silent? I have
The actual denial of Christ by Peter in John 18:15 and twice more in John 18:25 must have had a soul crushing weight upon Peter’s spirit.
Has it ever seemed that your spirit was crushed? I have.
A couple days more pass by in our recap of events, and we come upon the shame, mockery and torture of Jesus. All this while, don’t you just know that this was like salt in Peters wounded pride? Peter would have felt as about as lowly as any of us here have likely ever felt. And then his friend was dead and buried. It was over and Peter was left to live with the shame of his actions.
Have you ever felt so ashamed of your actions you could die? I have.
Moving on in our recap, Peter then witnesses the impossible; Jesus is raised from being dead. Jesus was back to life now. All this was as a bad dream. Everything is restored! Thank goodness! All is well! It is as if nothing ever happened only better! Oh, rats, yeah, I don’t think Peter can move past this whole DENIAL thing.
Have you ever faced something that just hung you up? I have!
Something DID happen and it changed the course of human history. Everyone was swept up in the joy of the miracle. The world was changed forever. This WAS the true Son of God and now EVERYBODY knew it. Peter knew it too. Peter truly realized the inescapable gravity of his horrifying mistake. He had actually denied, three times, the man everyone now knew to actually be the Son of the Living God.
Have you ever seen hope but were afraid or too timid to put your faith in it? I have.
Now here is Jesus, returned from the dead and the proverbial 800 pound gorilla is in the room when Jesus first appeared to his friends. Jesus appears in that closed room and changed the lives of those there. Can’t you just see Peter, impetuous Peter, swell up with joy only to remember how disappointed Jesus must be in him.
“Oh my gosh” Peter must have thought. “I wonder if he will even speak to me again. Will I become an outcast? Jesus has every right to throw me out of this little club!” Peter would have been to Jesus like my dog is to me after eating another TV remote control! This is the first time we are shown how the Lord reacts to Peter after the last few days of excitement.
But watch what happens! For each and every time Jesus was denied, Peter is pointedly and gracefully forgiven. No matter what he had done, because of his regret, Peter is forgiven sitting at the camp fire. The warmth, nourishment and the light of Christ and the fire renewed Peter and the rest.
David Lose, WorkingPreacher.org, 2010.
"Jesus' repetition isn't meant as rebuke but as absolution:
three invitations to confess
in order to wipe away three denials just days earlier.
In and through this tri-fold pattern of question and confession
Peter is restored – to himself, to his Lord, to the discipleship community.
And yet it is more than that, too,
for Peter is not merely forgiven and restored but also commissioned."
Regardless of our circumstances in life, regardless of where we find ourselves along our spiritual journey, at any given point in our lives…the same is true for you and for me. That is the gospel message...in the name and because of the work and love of Jesus Christ…you are forgiven, restored and commissioned.
AMEN
Ripley Tennessee
April 18, 2010
3nd Sunday of Easter
Psalm 30
John 21:1-19
I like a FIRE in my camp
The title of this sermon is dedicated to my brother Tom. Tom and I have spent many evenings sitting around a campfire. His favorite saying is “I like a FIRE in my camp!” as he would throw another big log on the fire.
I have had the good fortune to have spent many such nights in the great outdoors. I grew up camping. As a child I remember camping in my back yard with my friends. I remember going out to one of our farms and picking a favorite spot. Always at the center of the campsite would be the safe place to build a fire.
As I grew, I have been blessed to have traveled to every state in our great nation. I have camped in, or pulled a camper through, 95 percent of our states. Always, always, whether summer and 95 degrees or in the fall in Vermont when the temperature dropped below freezing, there was a fire.
I have even raised my own children camping. Andrea and I love to talk and remember times sitting around a camp fire. Andrea and I got married, moved away from home and had children. My best friend and his wife did the same thing. We ended up two states apart.
Usually about twice a year, he would call me, or I would call him and say, “I think it’s time for some therapy”. We need to retreat and relax in front of a camp fire. Ti was a time apart that allowed the world to restore its balance.
Funny thing; you may not remember the details about a particular trip but what you recall are the conversations around that fire. My children join in and each has their own favorite campfire stories.
From the Pine forests in Vermont to the Smoky Mountains, from Edgar Evans State Park in Tennessee to Lake Muncho Provincial Park in the Yukon, From the desert southwest to the Boundary Water Canoe Area in Canada; the story is the same. I can remember a particular campsite and beyond that, a particular conversation with particular people.
At the church camp Na-Co-Me in the fall, the favorite activity of adults and children alike is the night of the bon fire. That’s when we get together, the first weekend of October and make smores and cook hot dogs.
In my experience, there seems to be something primal about sitting around a fire. The fire at the center of the group gives warmth, it gives light, the fire provides nourishment. Because of the heat, sound actually changes. Because of the light flickering, we become memorized. Because of the sound of the fire, we are distracted.
We are drawn together in some primordial way. This is what Jesus understood. Outdoors, the fire is to the soul, what the alter is inside the church. It is the focal point that draws everyone’s attention. It is a commonality.
I think it may be interesting to note here that all the Easter Readings we have shared thus far, Jesus has offered Peace, but this time, I believe that there is already peace.
The scene is the shore of the Sea of Tiberius, or if you like, the Sea of Galilee. It is morning and the apostles have been up all night fishing only to be unsuccessful. They are tired, hungry, probably still in shock and probably not in a very good mood.
Then there is a greeting from a friendly person on the shore. This person turns out to be the risen Lord. He has a cooking fire all ready and he says “come”. Have you ever smelled bacon cooking in a campsite at sunrise? To say that the scene was welcoming for the Apostles is an understatement.
It was to this comforting fire that Jesus called his followers. It was this fire that Peter was drawn. In verse 7 we read “…As soon as Simon Peter heard him say “It is the Lord” he wrapped his outer garment around him and jumped into the water”. Impetuous Peter strikes again.
I want to make sure we don’t miss the timeline of this heartwarming story that has unfolded over the last few weeks of our time together. Sometimes reading a progression or chapters chopped up from week to week can in deed cause us to miss out on subtleties in the story. So let’s recap.
It was just a few days earlier that Jesus was telling the Apostles of his impending death. The next day, Jesus was welcomed as a Hero coming to fulfill Hebrew prophesies. That night he was betrayed by one of his own. Things go dramatically worse from there. In a matter of hours, Jesus found himself no longer the hero, but the villain. Peter was no longer associated with an entourage who would change the world, now Peter found himself a hunted man, an insurrectionist who was wanted.
A few more hours fly by and Jesus is put on trial. It is all happening too fast to comprehend! In all of the history of Christianity, this brief defining moment is but a heart beat in comparison. And yet, it is the nail upon which we hang our faith. Peter suddenly finds himself fleeing the scene as the other disciples scatter.
Peters own words spoken only hours before must have begun haunting him by now. Mathew 26 recalls the words of Peter, “Even if all fall away on account of you, I will never fall away”. By now Peter has bound to have remembered that Jesus even predicted that Peter would deny Jesus (John 13:13). Rushing back to Peter, the memories of how disloyal he had been must have been overwhelming!
Have you ever boasted when you should have been silent? I have
The actual denial of Christ by Peter in John 18:15 and twice more in John 18:25 must have had a soul crushing weight upon Peter’s spirit.
Has it ever seemed that your spirit was crushed? I have.
A couple days more pass by in our recap of events, and we come upon the shame, mockery and torture of Jesus. All this while, don’t you just know that this was like salt in Peters wounded pride? Peter would have felt as about as lowly as any of us here have likely ever felt. And then his friend was dead and buried. It was over and Peter was left to live with the shame of his actions.
Have you ever felt so ashamed of your actions you could die? I have.
Moving on in our recap, Peter then witnesses the impossible; Jesus is raised from being dead. Jesus was back to life now. All this was as a bad dream. Everything is restored! Thank goodness! All is well! It is as if nothing ever happened only better! Oh, rats, yeah, I don’t think Peter can move past this whole DENIAL thing.
Have you ever faced something that just hung you up? I have!
Something DID happen and it changed the course of human history. Everyone was swept up in the joy of the miracle. The world was changed forever. This WAS the true Son of God and now EVERYBODY knew it. Peter knew it too. Peter truly realized the inescapable gravity of his horrifying mistake. He had actually denied, three times, the man everyone now knew to actually be the Son of the Living God.
Have you ever seen hope but were afraid or too timid to put your faith in it? I have.
Now here is Jesus, returned from the dead and the proverbial 800 pound gorilla is in the room when Jesus first appeared to his friends. Jesus appears in that closed room and changed the lives of those there. Can’t you just see Peter, impetuous Peter, swell up with joy only to remember how disappointed Jesus must be in him.
“Oh my gosh” Peter must have thought. “I wonder if he will even speak to me again. Will I become an outcast? Jesus has every right to throw me out of this little club!” Peter would have been to Jesus like my dog is to me after eating another TV remote control! This is the first time we are shown how the Lord reacts to Peter after the last few days of excitement.
But watch what happens! For each and every time Jesus was denied, Peter is pointedly and gracefully forgiven. No matter what he had done, because of his regret, Peter is forgiven sitting at the camp fire. The warmth, nourishment and the light of Christ and the fire renewed Peter and the rest.
David Lose, WorkingPreacher.org, 2010.
"Jesus' repetition isn't meant as rebuke but as absolution:
three invitations to confess
in order to wipe away three denials just days earlier.
In and through this tri-fold pattern of question and confession
Peter is restored – to himself, to his Lord, to the discipleship community.
And yet it is more than that, too,
for Peter is not merely forgiven and restored but also commissioned."
Regardless of our circumstances in life, regardless of where we find ourselves along our spiritual journey, at any given point in our lives…the same is true for you and for me. That is the gospel message...in the name and because of the work and love of Jesus Christ…you are forgiven, restored and commissioned.
AMEN
Monday, April 12, 2010
Sunday April 11, 2010
First Presbyterian Church
Ripley Tennessee
April 11, 2010
2nd Sunday of Easter
Acts 5:27-32
John 20:19-31
My Lord and My God!
"Heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible." - Lord Kelvin,
president, Royal Society, 1895.
"The wireless music box has no imaginable commercial value. Who
would pay for a message sent to nobody in particular?" - David
Sarnoff's associates in response to his urgings for investment in the
radio in the 1920s.
"I think there is a world market for maybe five computers." - Thomas
Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943
"We don't like their sound, and guitar music is on the way out." -
Decca Recording Co. rejecting the Beatles, 1962.
I'm just glad it'll be Clark Gable who's falling on his face and not
Gary Cooper." - Gary Cooper on his decision not to take the leading
role in"Gone With The Wind."
"There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home." – Ken Olson, president, chairman and founder of Digital Equipment Corp., 1977
"There is not the slightest indication that nuclear energy will ever be
obtainable. It would mean that the atom would have to be shattered at will." -- Albert Einstein, 1932
“Who the hell wants to hear actors talk?" - H.M. Warner, Warner
Brothers, 1927.
My mom used to be stubbornly insistent that I not be so certain of myself or of anything in particular. I look back on it now and realize she was raising me to have a healthy dose of skepticism. With a healthy dose of skepticism, we are not saying that a person is not open minded. No, in fact in order to have skepticism at all, one must be capable of thinking for one’s self. I was being raised to be somewhere between gullible and insistent.
I do not want you all to go along with the mass media just as so many cattle follow the hay wagon. But at the same time, skepticism keeps us from falling for anything at all. A healthy dose of skepticism can be a vital tool for survival.
Thomas had a healthy dose of skepticism. Now through the centuries, the term “Doubting Thomas” has developed. In our time it has taken on a less than favorable connotation. If someone is a “Doubting Thomas” today, we may see them in a way that makes them cagy or distant or untrusting. A doubting Thomas may be thought of as being closed minded or even judgmental.
But Thomas seemed to have a great and very healthy balance of realism and skepticism combined with a mind that remained open to all the possibilities the resurrection of Jesus could offer.
"Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it." Thomas declared!
I really think this story of Thomas adds credibility to the entire gospel account of the resurrection. For instance, if the synoptic gospels all agreed that the resurrection took place and reported no one wondering or doubting, it would seem that we were being sold a packaged pickled herring. But here, right in the gospel, we have it documented that one of the original twelve, stopped and said, “I don’t believe it! You are going to have to show me! Prove it!”
So we find Thomas somewhere between being gullible and naive on one end of the spectrum and being completely closed minded on the other end of the spectrum. Notice that Thomas DID NOT declare, “This is impossible; that can not be!” Instead, Thomas leaves that little crack in the door, “Show me and I WILL believe!” He left room for his faith to evolve, to be influenced.
I find good news in this passage. In fact I am comforted a great deal by what John offers us here.
Growing up, I had some influence from two different churches. My parents went to different churches, my father to one church and my mother to a different church. I remember that this was a really tough patch in my life.
Theology and adolescence and hormones get all mixed up and they certainly did in me. I’ll not say I ever lost faith, but holding two different churches up, side by side in comparison, showed me some pretty stark inconsistencies. I was being told how to talk to God and I hadn’t even figured out how to talk to girls! I still have trouble with that in fact. My biggest fear was doing something stupid and having to sit by myself in the lunch room / cafeteria!
At this point in my life, I had room for doubt. Neither church I was being taken to did a very good job of addressing the doubts I had floating around in my head. In fact I remember being made to feel worse because I did have doubts. Thomas had all this going on too! “What do I believe? I know what Jesus said…but…”
Is it alright to doubt? Is what Thomas did reprehensible or heroic or somewhere in between? Let’s read on.
27Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe."
28Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!"
Here is where we see the faith that Jesus commands. Here is where we see the grace and compassion of the Son of God. “Here, let me gently show you and help you, in your own way, in your own time. Stop doubting and believe!” We don’t see the vengeful God smite Thomas for having doubt. This is the new covenant and it demonstrates the compassion, grace and understanding toward His followers.
“My Lord and My God!” Thomas exclaims. But don’t you think you can hear Thomas barely capable of uttering those words as he shrinks to his knees. My Lord and My God.
Have you ever had a flash of insight? Sometimes it strikes you so hard that you can hardly speak. Once that sliver of doubt is resolved and the daylight of stark reality is allowed to flood into Thomas’ soul, all he can say is an utterance that bespeaks of total submission; My Lord and My God!
So what of me? I have had doubts in my life. Following Thomas’ bold example, I have had conversations with God. I don’t understand! I am Angry! I am HURT! Where are you??!! Why should I not doubt! I am scared! I am an orphan! I am alone!
I am reading a great book by Eugene Peterson called Five Smooth Stones for Pastoral Work. In a segment of the book, Peterson takes a good look at the book of Lamentations. The book of Lamentations is an angry book. It is full of lashing out and discontent and pain. The anger in the book flows both ways. People are mad at God and God is mad at people.
Peterson makes the point that God is angry with his creation in the book of Lamentations, because of His love for His creation. If you care for your child, there is nothing that says you won’t get frustrated or even angry with your child when she disobeys. While if you have no fondness for your child, the results may differ.
If my faith falters or becomes weak, I am not abandoned. Come close, put your hand here. Let me help you. Christ is revealed to us in unlimited ways. Christ is revealed to us when we earnestly seek and have the courage to admit we are weak and in need. It is then that we realize just how helpless we truly are.
In order to doubt a fact, one must first consider the fact; to hold it in one’s mind and contemplate it. To consider fact is to allow room for the possibility for the fact to exist in the first place. I have always encouraged you to be inquisitive.
Don’t just accept what you are given, go out and learn it for yourselves. Research your beliefs, dig down and find out what you really believe and why. Don’t be afraid. Your faith, like Thomas’, will grow.
God does care for us. God Loves us! God knows that, during the seasons of our lives, doubt may creep in. There are spiritual peaks and valleys along our way. In spite of his doubts, Thomas is then given these words to share with all of us;
29Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."
28Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!"
AMEN
Ripley Tennessee
April 11, 2010
2nd Sunday of Easter
Acts 5:27-32
John 20:19-31
My Lord and My God!
"Heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible." - Lord Kelvin,
president, Royal Society, 1895.
"The wireless music box has no imaginable commercial value. Who
would pay for a message sent to nobody in particular?" - David
Sarnoff's associates in response to his urgings for investment in the
radio in the 1920s.
"I think there is a world market for maybe five computers." - Thomas
Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943
"We don't like their sound, and guitar music is on the way out." -
Decca Recording Co. rejecting the Beatles, 1962.
I'm just glad it'll be Clark Gable who's falling on his face and not
Gary Cooper." - Gary Cooper on his decision not to take the leading
role in"Gone With The Wind."
"There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home." – Ken Olson, president, chairman and founder of Digital Equipment Corp., 1977
"There is not the slightest indication that nuclear energy will ever be
obtainable. It would mean that the atom would have to be shattered at will." -- Albert Einstein, 1932
“Who the hell wants to hear actors talk?" - H.M. Warner, Warner
Brothers, 1927.
My mom used to be stubbornly insistent that I not be so certain of myself or of anything in particular. I look back on it now and realize she was raising me to have a healthy dose of skepticism. With a healthy dose of skepticism, we are not saying that a person is not open minded. No, in fact in order to have skepticism at all, one must be capable of thinking for one’s self. I was being raised to be somewhere between gullible and insistent.
I do not want you all to go along with the mass media just as so many cattle follow the hay wagon. But at the same time, skepticism keeps us from falling for anything at all. A healthy dose of skepticism can be a vital tool for survival.
Thomas had a healthy dose of skepticism. Now through the centuries, the term “Doubting Thomas” has developed. In our time it has taken on a less than favorable connotation. If someone is a “Doubting Thomas” today, we may see them in a way that makes them cagy or distant or untrusting. A doubting Thomas may be thought of as being closed minded or even judgmental.
But Thomas seemed to have a great and very healthy balance of realism and skepticism combined with a mind that remained open to all the possibilities the resurrection of Jesus could offer.
"Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it." Thomas declared!
I really think this story of Thomas adds credibility to the entire gospel account of the resurrection. For instance, if the synoptic gospels all agreed that the resurrection took place and reported no one wondering or doubting, it would seem that we were being sold a packaged pickled herring. But here, right in the gospel, we have it documented that one of the original twelve, stopped and said, “I don’t believe it! You are going to have to show me! Prove it!”
So we find Thomas somewhere between being gullible and naive on one end of the spectrum and being completely closed minded on the other end of the spectrum. Notice that Thomas DID NOT declare, “This is impossible; that can not be!” Instead, Thomas leaves that little crack in the door, “Show me and I WILL believe!” He left room for his faith to evolve, to be influenced.
I find good news in this passage. In fact I am comforted a great deal by what John offers us here.
Growing up, I had some influence from two different churches. My parents went to different churches, my father to one church and my mother to a different church. I remember that this was a really tough patch in my life.
Theology and adolescence and hormones get all mixed up and they certainly did in me. I’ll not say I ever lost faith, but holding two different churches up, side by side in comparison, showed me some pretty stark inconsistencies. I was being told how to talk to God and I hadn’t even figured out how to talk to girls! I still have trouble with that in fact. My biggest fear was doing something stupid and having to sit by myself in the lunch room / cafeteria!
At this point in my life, I had room for doubt. Neither church I was being taken to did a very good job of addressing the doubts I had floating around in my head. In fact I remember being made to feel worse because I did have doubts. Thomas had all this going on too! “What do I believe? I know what Jesus said…but…”
Is it alright to doubt? Is what Thomas did reprehensible or heroic or somewhere in between? Let’s read on.
27Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe."
28Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!"
Here is where we see the faith that Jesus commands. Here is where we see the grace and compassion of the Son of God. “Here, let me gently show you and help you, in your own way, in your own time. Stop doubting and believe!” We don’t see the vengeful God smite Thomas for having doubt. This is the new covenant and it demonstrates the compassion, grace and understanding toward His followers.
“My Lord and My God!” Thomas exclaims. But don’t you think you can hear Thomas barely capable of uttering those words as he shrinks to his knees. My Lord and My God.
Have you ever had a flash of insight? Sometimes it strikes you so hard that you can hardly speak. Once that sliver of doubt is resolved and the daylight of stark reality is allowed to flood into Thomas’ soul, all he can say is an utterance that bespeaks of total submission; My Lord and My God!
So what of me? I have had doubts in my life. Following Thomas’ bold example, I have had conversations with God. I don’t understand! I am Angry! I am HURT! Where are you??!! Why should I not doubt! I am scared! I am an orphan! I am alone!
I am reading a great book by Eugene Peterson called Five Smooth Stones for Pastoral Work. In a segment of the book, Peterson takes a good look at the book of Lamentations. The book of Lamentations is an angry book. It is full of lashing out and discontent and pain. The anger in the book flows both ways. People are mad at God and God is mad at people.
Peterson makes the point that God is angry with his creation in the book of Lamentations, because of His love for His creation. If you care for your child, there is nothing that says you won’t get frustrated or even angry with your child when she disobeys. While if you have no fondness for your child, the results may differ.
If my faith falters or becomes weak, I am not abandoned. Come close, put your hand here. Let me help you. Christ is revealed to us in unlimited ways. Christ is revealed to us when we earnestly seek and have the courage to admit we are weak and in need. It is then that we realize just how helpless we truly are.
In order to doubt a fact, one must first consider the fact; to hold it in one’s mind and contemplate it. To consider fact is to allow room for the possibility for the fact to exist in the first place. I have always encouraged you to be inquisitive.
Don’t just accept what you are given, go out and learn it for yourselves. Research your beliefs, dig down and find out what you really believe and why. Don’t be afraid. Your faith, like Thomas’, will grow.
God does care for us. God Loves us! God knows that, during the seasons of our lives, doubt may creep in. There are spiritual peaks and valleys along our way. In spite of his doubts, Thomas is then given these words to share with all of us;
29Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."
28Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!"
AMEN
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Easter Sunday
First Presbyterian Church
Ripley Tennessee
April 4, 2010
Easter Sunday
Isaiah 65:17-25
John 20:1-18
When you Least expect it!
Look around for Jesus. He has left the grave. He has ascended into heaven. Where is the body? He may appear to you anytime. There is no rule against it.
One of our favorite television shows is America’s Funniest Videos. This is the show that features home movies of people doing really stupid things. No matter what kind of mood I find myself in, if I find that show in re-run on a cable channel somewhere, I am just about guaranteed a laugh. If I don’t get a laugh, I am sure to at least feel better about myself by comparison with those who not only videoed themselves, but sent it in for the whole country to see how stupid they can act.
That show always cheers me up. I think one of my favorite types of videos feature total shock or a dramatic surprise. I have seen people jump out of birthday cakes; some have popped up out of garbage cans. I saw one episode where, and I am still not sure how they did this, a big stock pot was on a table. It was full of something like home made soup. As the woman approached the big old pot to stir it
Suddenly this hand reached up out of the pot of soup and grabbed the woman by the arm! The woman then proceeded to have a cow!
Surprises are also sweet sometimes. On the internet, there is a whole collection of home videos showing GI’s returning home and surprising family members. I looked at a few that were really special.
These showed fathers coming home from war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Each of these many videos featured many of the same things. The soldier would stand outside the door of a classroom in an elementary school. On the video you could hear the classroom in the background. The soldier would be announced to the children as a “special guest”. I would become abundantly clear as the soldier walked slowly into the classroom exactly which child was his. The look of complete surprise spread across the face of each child as each reunion unfolded.
I watched probably about a dozen of these two to three minute video clips before I realized that I had teared up… and I didn’t even know these people!
It was this special and emotional surprise, one that Mary never expected, that came crashing down on her, surrounded her and then lifted her high again.
Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. 2So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don't know where they have put him!"
"Woman," he said, "why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?"
Thinking he was the gardener, she said, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him."
16Jesus said to her, "Mary." She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, "Rabboni!" (which means Teacher).
17Jesus said, "Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, 'I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.' "
What was Mary truly looking for in the garden that morning? What do we look for? What is it that Mary hoped to accomplish? What was her motivation?
In times of stress like this, we often behave out of sheer instinct. Mary was drawn to the final resting place of Jesus. A point that many scholars make is that the burial was already finalized. It was done. Jesus was gone and was not coming back. He was in the ground and it was final.
I think Mary probably couldn’t sleep after what she and the others had witnessed. I think that many of us have had experiences similar to Mary’s. I have buried both of my parents. I am fortunate that both are buried in Covington. I have felt that inexplicable pull…back to the grave side. I have yielded and returned at various times back to both.
My parents are buried in two different cemeteries. I have had long conversations over the head stones of each. In all instances, I found myself going back to God in prayer and ultimately asking for the pain to be removed, that my loved one be at peace, that I be given assistance in understanding life in all its variations. Thankfully, neither of them ever snuck up behind me while I was sitting there!
I returned each time looking for peace.
One scholar writes “At first, Mary does not know that Jesus stands before her. Scholars call this the "non-recognition" motif, i.e., the disciples' inability to recognize Jesus in his glorified state (cf. Luke 24:15-16). John 20:14 may be another example. Alternatively, more ordinary reasons could account for Mary's failure to recognize Jesus: emotional distress, tears, darkness, etc. Weighing in favor of a theological motive is the significance of Mary's being called by name.”
You see…Mary can be a metaphor for us.
Another pastor writes “Mary's moment of recognition comes with the mention of her name. She thus acts out the truth of John 10:3-4: "He calls his own sheep by name... and the sheep follow him because they know his voice." Using someone's name, especially a first name, assumes familiarity, intimacy, and closeness. Jesus' followers have a relationship with their Lord that goes well beyond a formal or institutional connection. Mary fails to recognize Jesus visually. Moments later she recognizes him aurally.
The Lord has many ways of reaching out to us. He reaches out in the form of events such as wonderful occasions or horrific tragedies. I believe the Lord reaches out to us, speaks to us, shows us and communicates with his children even through the earth and animals in the earth. God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit reach out to us and through us in the days of our lives.
Christ has defeated death. That is what the celebration of Easter focuses on. The cornerstone of the Christian religion rests on that fact. Mary was even told at the grave side, by the messiah Himself; do not hold on to me.
Christ did depart from us and resides in Heaven. But the meal we have before us now is His special sacrament, prescribed by Jesus himself to his followers. This meal is to be taken in remembrance of not only the person of Jesus of Nazareth, but of what he has done for each one of us.
We take this meal remembering that vivid surprise that Mary had at the grave side of Jesus. With this meal let us also anticipate that surprise. Let us, in the manner prescribed in his last meal with his disciples, that this is NOT the end. We are to observe this meal until he returns.
The meal is about personal reflection on the nature of your relationship to Christ. The meal is about reflection of the great deeds done for you by God the father through the resurrection. This is about the grace we can experience shown by Christ and delivered by the Holy Spirit.
As you take the elements, given for you by Jesus who is the Christ, allow Christ to have a renewed place in your life; allow the Holy Spirit to work in and through you. By living of your life in a righteous way, that is an honorable way to remember, to refresh and to live.
AMEN
Ripley Tennessee
April 4, 2010
Easter Sunday
Isaiah 65:17-25
John 20:1-18
When you Least expect it!
Look around for Jesus. He has left the grave. He has ascended into heaven. Where is the body? He may appear to you anytime. There is no rule against it.
One of our favorite television shows is America’s Funniest Videos. This is the show that features home movies of people doing really stupid things. No matter what kind of mood I find myself in, if I find that show in re-run on a cable channel somewhere, I am just about guaranteed a laugh. If I don’t get a laugh, I am sure to at least feel better about myself by comparison with those who not only videoed themselves, but sent it in for the whole country to see how stupid they can act.
That show always cheers me up. I think one of my favorite types of videos feature total shock or a dramatic surprise. I have seen people jump out of birthday cakes; some have popped up out of garbage cans. I saw one episode where, and I am still not sure how they did this, a big stock pot was on a table. It was full of something like home made soup. As the woman approached the big old pot to stir it
Suddenly this hand reached up out of the pot of soup and grabbed the woman by the arm! The woman then proceeded to have a cow!
Surprises are also sweet sometimes. On the internet, there is a whole collection of home videos showing GI’s returning home and surprising family members. I looked at a few that were really special.
These showed fathers coming home from war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Each of these many videos featured many of the same things. The soldier would stand outside the door of a classroom in an elementary school. On the video you could hear the classroom in the background. The soldier would be announced to the children as a “special guest”. I would become abundantly clear as the soldier walked slowly into the classroom exactly which child was his. The look of complete surprise spread across the face of each child as each reunion unfolded.
I watched probably about a dozen of these two to three minute video clips before I realized that I had teared up… and I didn’t even know these people!
It was this special and emotional surprise, one that Mary never expected, that came crashing down on her, surrounded her and then lifted her high again.
Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. 2So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don't know where they have put him!"
"Woman," he said, "why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?"
Thinking he was the gardener, she said, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him."
16Jesus said to her, "Mary." She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, "Rabboni!" (which means Teacher).
17Jesus said, "Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, 'I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.' "
What was Mary truly looking for in the garden that morning? What do we look for? What is it that Mary hoped to accomplish? What was her motivation?
In times of stress like this, we often behave out of sheer instinct. Mary was drawn to the final resting place of Jesus. A point that many scholars make is that the burial was already finalized. It was done. Jesus was gone and was not coming back. He was in the ground and it was final.
I think Mary probably couldn’t sleep after what she and the others had witnessed. I think that many of us have had experiences similar to Mary’s. I have buried both of my parents. I am fortunate that both are buried in Covington. I have felt that inexplicable pull…back to the grave side. I have yielded and returned at various times back to both.
My parents are buried in two different cemeteries. I have had long conversations over the head stones of each. In all instances, I found myself going back to God in prayer and ultimately asking for the pain to be removed, that my loved one be at peace, that I be given assistance in understanding life in all its variations. Thankfully, neither of them ever snuck up behind me while I was sitting there!
I returned each time looking for peace.
One scholar writes “At first, Mary does not know that Jesus stands before her. Scholars call this the "non-recognition" motif, i.e., the disciples' inability to recognize Jesus in his glorified state (cf. Luke 24:15-16). John 20:14 may be another example. Alternatively, more ordinary reasons could account for Mary's failure to recognize Jesus: emotional distress, tears, darkness, etc. Weighing in favor of a theological motive is the significance of Mary's being called by name.”
You see…Mary can be a metaphor for us.
Another pastor writes “Mary's moment of recognition comes with the mention of her name. She thus acts out the truth of John 10:3-4: "He calls his own sheep by name... and the sheep follow him because they know his voice." Using someone's name, especially a first name, assumes familiarity, intimacy, and closeness. Jesus' followers have a relationship with their Lord that goes well beyond a formal or institutional connection. Mary fails to recognize Jesus visually. Moments later she recognizes him aurally.
The Lord has many ways of reaching out to us. He reaches out in the form of events such as wonderful occasions or horrific tragedies. I believe the Lord reaches out to us, speaks to us, shows us and communicates with his children even through the earth and animals in the earth. God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit reach out to us and through us in the days of our lives.
Christ has defeated death. That is what the celebration of Easter focuses on. The cornerstone of the Christian religion rests on that fact. Mary was even told at the grave side, by the messiah Himself; do not hold on to me.
Christ did depart from us and resides in Heaven. But the meal we have before us now is His special sacrament, prescribed by Jesus himself to his followers. This meal is to be taken in remembrance of not only the person of Jesus of Nazareth, but of what he has done for each one of us.
We take this meal remembering that vivid surprise that Mary had at the grave side of Jesus. With this meal let us also anticipate that surprise. Let us, in the manner prescribed in his last meal with his disciples, that this is NOT the end. We are to observe this meal until he returns.
The meal is about personal reflection on the nature of your relationship to Christ. The meal is about reflection of the great deeds done for you by God the father through the resurrection. This is about the grace we can experience shown by Christ and delivered by the Holy Spirit.
As you take the elements, given for you by Jesus who is the Christ, allow Christ to have a renewed place in your life; allow the Holy Spirit to work in and through you. By living of your life in a righteous way, that is an honorable way to remember, to refresh and to live.
AMEN
Sunday, April 4, 2010
First Presbyterian Church
Ripley Tennessee
April 4, 2010
Easter Sunday
Isaiah 65:17-25
John 20:1-18
When you Least expect it!
One of our favorite television shows is America’s Funniest Videos. This is the show that features home movies of people doing really stupid things. No matter what kind of mood I find myself in, if I find that show in re-run on a cable channel somewhere, I am just about guaranteed a laugh. If I don’t get a laugh, I am sure to at least feel better about myself by comparison with those who not only videoed themselves, but sent it in for the whole country to see how stupid they can act.
That show always cheers me up. I think one of my favorite types of videos feature total shock or a dramatic surprise. I have seen people jump out of birthday cakes; some have popped up out of garbage cans. I saw one episode where, and I am still not sure how they did this, a big stock pot was on a table. It was full of something like home made soup. As the woman approached the big old pot to stir it
Suddenly this hand reached up out of the pot of soup and grabbed the woman by the arm! The woman then proceeded to have a cow!
Surprises are also sweet sometimes. On the internet, there is a whole collection of home videos showing GI’s returning home and surprising family members. I looked at a few that were really special.
These showed fathers coming home from war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Each of these many videos featured many of the same things. The soldier would stand outside the door of a classroom in an elementary school. On the video you could hear the classroom in the background. The soldier would be announced to the children as a “special guest”. I would become abundantly clear as the soldier walked slowly into the classroom exactly which child was his. The look of complete surprise spread across the face of each child as each reunion unfolded.
I watched probably about a dozen of these two to three minute video clips before I realized that I had teared up… and I didn’t even know these people!
It was this special and emotional surprise, one that Mary never expected, that came crashing down on her, surrounded her and then lifted her high again.
Scripture page 2
151Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. 2So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don't know where they have put him!"
"Woman," he said, "why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?" Thinking he was the gardener, she said, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him."
16Jesus said to her, "Mary." She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, "Rabboni!" (which means Teacher).
17Jesus said, "Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, 'I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.' "
What was Mary truly looking for in the garden that morning? What do we look for? What is it that Mary hoped to accomplish? What was her motivation?
In times of stress like this, we often behave out of sheer instinct. Mary was drawn to the final resting place of Jesus. A point that many scholars make is that the burial was already finalized. It was done. Jesus was gone and was not coming back. He was in the ground and it was final.
I think Mary probably couldn’t sleep after what she and the others had witnessed. I think that many of us have had experiences similar to Mary’s. I have buried both of my parents. I am fortunate that both are buried in Covington. I have felt that inexplicable pull…back to the grave side. I have yielded and returned at various times back to both.
My parents are buried in two different cemeteries. I have had long conversations over the head stones of each. In all instances, I found myself going back to God in prayer and ultimately asking for the pain to be removed, that my loved one be at peace, that I be given assistance in understanding life in all its variations. Thankfully, neither of them ever snuck up behind me while I was sitting there!
I returned each time looking for peace.
One scholar writes “At first, Mary does not know that Jesus stands before her. Scholars call this the "non-recognition" motif, i.e., the disciples' inability to recognize Jesus in his glorified state (cf. Luke 24:15-16). John 20:14 may be another example. Alternatively, more ordinary reasons could account for Mary's failure to recognize Jesus: emotional distress, tears, darkness, etc. Weighing in favor of a theological motive is the significance of Mary's being called by name.”
You see…Mary can be a metaphor for us.
Another pastor writes “Mary's moment of recognition comes with the mention of her name. She thus acts out the truth of John 10:3-4: "He calls his own sheep by name... and the sheep follow him because they know his voice." Using someone's name, especially a first name, assumes familiarity, intimacy, and closeness. Jesus' followers have a relationship with their Lord that goes well beyond a formal or institutional connection. Mary fails to recognize Jesus visually. Moments later she recognizes him aurally.
The Lord has many ways of reaching out to us. He reaches out in the form of events such as wonderful occasions or horrific tragedies. I believe the Lord reaches out to us, speaks to us, shows us and communicates with his children even through the earth and animals in the earth. God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit reach out to us and through us in the days of our lives.
Christ has defeated death. That is what the celebration of Easter focuses on. The cornerstone of the Christian religion rests on that fact. Mary was even told at the grave side, by the messiah Himself; do not hold on to me.
Christ did depart from us and resides in Heaven. But the meal we have before us now is His special sacrament, prescribed by Jesus himself to his followers. This meal is to be taken in remembrance of not only the person of Jesus of Nazareth, but of what he has done for each one of us.
We take this meal remembering that vivid surprise that Mary had at the grave side of Jesus. With this meal let us also anticipate that surprise. Let us, in the manner prescribed in his last meal with his disciples, that this is NOT the end. We are to observe this meal until he returns.
The meal is about personal reflection on the nature of your relationship to Christ. The meal is about reflection of the great deeds done for you by God the father through the resurrection. This is about the grace we can experience shown by Christ and delivered by the Holy Spirit.
As you take the elements, given for you by Jesus who is the Christ, allow Christ to have a renewed place in your life; allow the Holy Spirit to work in and through you. By living of your life in a righteous way, that is an honorable way to remember, to refresh and to live.
AMEN
Ripley Tennessee
April 4, 2010
Easter Sunday
Isaiah 65:17-25
John 20:1-18
When you Least expect it!
One of our favorite television shows is America’s Funniest Videos. This is the show that features home movies of people doing really stupid things. No matter what kind of mood I find myself in, if I find that show in re-run on a cable channel somewhere, I am just about guaranteed a laugh. If I don’t get a laugh, I am sure to at least feel better about myself by comparison with those who not only videoed themselves, but sent it in for the whole country to see how stupid they can act.
That show always cheers me up. I think one of my favorite types of videos feature total shock or a dramatic surprise. I have seen people jump out of birthday cakes; some have popped up out of garbage cans. I saw one episode where, and I am still not sure how they did this, a big stock pot was on a table. It was full of something like home made soup. As the woman approached the big old pot to stir it
Suddenly this hand reached up out of the pot of soup and grabbed the woman by the arm! The woman then proceeded to have a cow!
Surprises are also sweet sometimes. On the internet, there is a whole collection of home videos showing GI’s returning home and surprising family members. I looked at a few that were really special.
These showed fathers coming home from war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Each of these many videos featured many of the same things. The soldier would stand outside the door of a classroom in an elementary school. On the video you could hear the classroom in the background. The soldier would be announced to the children as a “special guest”. I would become abundantly clear as the soldier walked slowly into the classroom exactly which child was his. The look of complete surprise spread across the face of each child as each reunion unfolded.
I watched probably about a dozen of these two to three minute video clips before I realized that I had teared up… and I didn’t even know these people!
It was this special and emotional surprise, one that Mary never expected, that came crashing down on her, surrounded her and then lifted her high again.
Scripture page 2
151Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. 2So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don't know where they have put him!"
"Woman," he said, "why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?" Thinking he was the gardener, she said, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him."
16Jesus said to her, "Mary." She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, "Rabboni!" (which means Teacher).
17Jesus said, "Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, 'I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.' "
What was Mary truly looking for in the garden that morning? What do we look for? What is it that Mary hoped to accomplish? What was her motivation?
In times of stress like this, we often behave out of sheer instinct. Mary was drawn to the final resting place of Jesus. A point that many scholars make is that the burial was already finalized. It was done. Jesus was gone and was not coming back. He was in the ground and it was final.
I think Mary probably couldn’t sleep after what she and the others had witnessed. I think that many of us have had experiences similar to Mary’s. I have buried both of my parents. I am fortunate that both are buried in Covington. I have felt that inexplicable pull…back to the grave side. I have yielded and returned at various times back to both.
My parents are buried in two different cemeteries. I have had long conversations over the head stones of each. In all instances, I found myself going back to God in prayer and ultimately asking for the pain to be removed, that my loved one be at peace, that I be given assistance in understanding life in all its variations. Thankfully, neither of them ever snuck up behind me while I was sitting there!
I returned each time looking for peace.
One scholar writes “At first, Mary does not know that Jesus stands before her. Scholars call this the "non-recognition" motif, i.e., the disciples' inability to recognize Jesus in his glorified state (cf. Luke 24:15-16). John 20:14 may be another example. Alternatively, more ordinary reasons could account for Mary's failure to recognize Jesus: emotional distress, tears, darkness, etc. Weighing in favor of a theological motive is the significance of Mary's being called by name.”
You see…Mary can be a metaphor for us.
Another pastor writes “Mary's moment of recognition comes with the mention of her name. She thus acts out the truth of John 10:3-4: "He calls his own sheep by name... and the sheep follow him because they know his voice." Using someone's name, especially a first name, assumes familiarity, intimacy, and closeness. Jesus' followers have a relationship with their Lord that goes well beyond a formal or institutional connection. Mary fails to recognize Jesus visually. Moments later she recognizes him aurally.
The Lord has many ways of reaching out to us. He reaches out in the form of events such as wonderful occasions or horrific tragedies. I believe the Lord reaches out to us, speaks to us, shows us and communicates with his children even through the earth and animals in the earth. God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit reach out to us and through us in the days of our lives.
Christ has defeated death. That is what the celebration of Easter focuses on. The cornerstone of the Christian religion rests on that fact. Mary was even told at the grave side, by the messiah Himself; do not hold on to me.
Christ did depart from us and resides in Heaven. But the meal we have before us now is His special sacrament, prescribed by Jesus himself to his followers. This meal is to be taken in remembrance of not only the person of Jesus of Nazareth, but of what he has done for each one of us.
We take this meal remembering that vivid surprise that Mary had at the grave side of Jesus. With this meal let us also anticipate that surprise. Let us, in the manner prescribed in his last meal with his disciples, that this is NOT the end. We are to observe this meal until he returns.
The meal is about personal reflection on the nature of your relationship to Christ. The meal is about reflection of the great deeds done for you by God the father through the resurrection. This is about the grace we can experience shown by Christ and delivered by the Holy Spirit.
As you take the elements, given for you by Jesus who is the Christ, allow Christ to have a renewed place in your life; allow the Holy Spirit to work in and through you. By living of your life in a righteous way, that is an honorable way to remember, to refresh and to live.
AMEN
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