A Witness for Christ

Luke 24:1-12 Easter Sunday March 31, 2013 “A Witness for Christ” Year C Something Happened That first Easter Morning Something happened to the women and men who went to the tomb that first Easter morning. And, something happened to Jesus who they had seen die on a cross, so they said. They said the tomb was empty. Two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them. The women were terrified. The men told them to remember Jesus' own words about how he would rise again after he had been crucified. Something happened on that day that would change the course of all other events in the world. Something happened on that day – but what was it? Joanna, Mary Magdelene, and Mary mother of James – were the first witnesses of the promises of Christ. Three of those promises – were an empty grave, an empty tomb and empty grave clothes. This morning, I would like us to think about the promises of Easter. There are three of them. Each promise is marked by something empty. An empty cross, and empty tomb and empty burial clothes. It is the very fact that each of these is empty that assures us that God’s promises are real. Because they couldn’t hold Jesus, because he couldn’t be contained by the cross, the tomb, or even his burial clothes, we can be sure of the fullness of God’s promises in our lives. The women in Jesus life have gathered to go to the tomb of Jesus. They want to anoint the body. That’s what you do when you are family – you show love and care to the body by rubbing it in spices. They have been through a hard ordeal, traveling with the teacher, believing and being inspired by his message, watching him beaten and killed for all of the wrong reasons, seeing your family fall apart from the stress, feeling like you have to do something – only to witness the final insult – his body is gone. Bodies don’t just disappear on their own, they don’t just walk away on their own, - something had to have happened. After all they have done to this man – how could they have deprived Jesus of his final resting place? Most of us live and die, but for Jesus - he died and then lived. He was resurrected from the dead, by the power of the promises of God. That those who believe and serve shall never die. Jesus was resurrected but sometimes it takes us a little while in our lives to witness to what happened on that day. The women say 2 men sitting by the empty grave, and hoping they could explain the empty grave – she asked where he was. And he asked why do you continue to look for the living among the dead? that is a very good question, why do you look for the living among the dead? Today, we continue to look for the living among the dead. Even as those who come together to celebrate the resurrection – we still find ways to look for Jesus among the dead. Knowing that we will never find him – but we look anyway. Woodrow Wilson’s butler called him one night to tell him that the tax accountant for the government had died. Sir, I was wondering if it s okay with you if I could take his place. Now mind you this is the middle of the night – butler- tax accountant. President Wilson responds – you know it doesn’t matter to me if you want to take his place – but you should probably ask the funeral director if it is okay. When we seek comfort instead of righteousness – we are looking for life in the midst of death. When we are in constant pursuit of pleasure and forsake joy – we are looking for life in the midst of death. When we seek security and what is best for us, instead of reaching out to help others – we are looking for life in the midst of death. When we are much more willing to listen to what the world says, and forget what god says – we are looking for life in the midst of death. There were people in that disaster and many others – who had the task of looking for the living amongst the dead. Who had to go through that rubble of each fallen building – and look for life in the midst of death. Who had to examine every body for signs of life. And at any sign of life, they had to stick with that person until they were taken to safety. No matter how the faint the sign may be- if they are alive then they have to be nurtured back to health. We have that type of obligation to life. Death can take care of itself – but it is in life that we have an obligation to carry on. In the midst of our circumstances of life, our troubles, our hardaches, our questions, our destiny. Death can give us easy answers. But when we are still alive, and we don’t know what to do, or what comes next, or how things will work themselves out- that’s when we need a resurrection faith. Faith in an empty tomb – faith in a promise of new life, faith in divine intervention in a way that makes no sense, faith that death has been conquered, so that we will have to strength to go on in life. Faith that God will succeed and conquer all. Faith in an empty cross, and empty tomb and empty grave clothes. Faith in the power of resurrection. Recently, Billy Graham responded to someone who shouted out "God is dead! God is dead!" Dr. Graham with tenderness replied, "That's strange because I just talked to Him in prayer a few minutes ago." Yes, the day you believe in the resurrection is the day you change the universe, and most importantly, you can reflect that transforming truth. When we witness to an empty tomb, we witness to a living God. A God that lives with us in our lives. Something happened on that day, Jesus came alive. Joanna, Mary and Mary were among the first witnesses to see the miracle of life. But Luke 24 says that there were others. As we go through the season of Easter, Luke will tell us of the stories of those who witnesses Christ for themselves. There were 500 other witnesses in the book of Luke who were witnesses that Jesus is indeed risen and present to us in our lives. But the most important witness – is you and me. At the Good Friday service, I told a story of a modern day prophet of God – Sadhu Singh. He was born in India as a Hindu, but we became a Christian because Jesus came to him personally and spoke to him. I have come to appreciate his stories of his encounters with God. Sidhu Sangh tells this story of a young girl… A thirteen-year old girl left her village and was travelling to another place. On the road a priest met her. He asked her, `Child, I think you are a Christian. Is it because your father is a Christian that you have become a Christian?' To that she replied, 'No, a Christian Sadhu came to our house and preached. I thought about it again and again. Then from my own experience I knew that Christ was the Saviour. That is why I became a Christian.' The lama burned with anger. He took her and shut her in a dark room, giving her no food or water. The man was amazed to hear her singing with great gladness. After four days he went to see her. What was it that he saw there? He did not see that poor child singing. She was speaking quietly to someone, and with eyes closed. What was she saying? The lama tried to understand. This is what he heard from her: 'O Lord, I thank Thee that I have received the privilege of suffering for Thee. Lord, have mercy on this lama. Open the eyes of his heart to see the light.' Hearing this sincere prayer, the man broke down and cried. He fell at her feet and before very long he accepted her words as he would the words of a Guru. That lama told everyone he saw about the wonderful strength of the girl; and not only that, he desired to receive that wonderful strength himself.—Sadhu Sundar Singh Something happened on that day that Joanna, Mary and Mary came to the grave – to see an empty cross, and empty grave and empty grave clothes. But something is happening today – we have to be witnesses to the presence of Christ all around us. Listen to the words of this prayer Make me a witness, Lord, So faulty I and weak, My trembling word can scarce be heard, So loud my failings speak. Make me a witness, Lord; Subdue my will to Thine That, led by Thee, in meek accord, My lamp may brightly shine. Make me a witness, Lord, That all at home may see A constant daily growth in grace, And glory give to Thee. Make me a witness, Lord, To those I daily meet, That I may be Thy messenger In neighbourhood and street. Make me a witness, Lord, With every talent given; And let my treasure all be stored In deepest vaults of heaven. Make me a witness, Lord, By gift, and prayer, and pen, In native land and far abroad Telling Thy love to men. Make me a witness, Lord, And use me in Thy way; Though sacrifices we applaud, 'Tis better to obey. Make me a witness, Lord; Thou needest even me; How strange that I can aid afford That I may be Thy messenger In neighbourhood and street. Make me a witness, Lord, With every talent given; And let my treasure all be stored In deepest vaults of heaven. Make me a witness, Lord, By gift, and prayer, and pen, In native land and far abroad Telling Thy love to men. Make me a witness, Lord, And use me in Thy way; Though sacrifices we applaud, 'Tis better to obey. Make me a witness, Lord; Thou needest even me; How strange that I can aid afford When captives Thou wouldst free. Make me a witness, Lord; That souls on Thee may call, And glorify Thy name adored, O Jesus, Lord of all!—G. Alexander (Acts 1. 8) Amen The Christian author, pastor and radio Bible teacher, Rev. Dr. Warren Wendell Wiersbe (Born: 1929), once said, "Easter is the Truth that turns a church from a museum into a ministry." Eric S. Ritz, www.Sermons.com (2 Kings 5. 2, 3; Acts 1. 8; 5. 41) Looking for the living amongst the dead. There are times when we have to do that. I think of the recent Haiti disaster. I have a picture here of the cross that survived, when the church was destroyed. (I will pass it around). Things would have certainly been different if they had found a body. If we had found a body. Our obligation to death and to life are very different. Lenin fashioned himself as a savior of the people. He told them that communism would save them. He told them that there was no need for faith. It didn’t do anything but give false hope. He promised his people a better life, he even took the time to teach people a new way of understanding. And then he died. At his death – the question was asked – what do you do with a God who has failed you? They actually did the same thing that the women at the tomb were planning to do with Jesus. Anoint his body with spices, preserve it, give it a nice home, and put it on display as a monument so that people from generation to generation could come and see death. And yet remember to point he was trying to make. Why do we continue to look for the living amongst the dead. The empty tomb is a witness to a God who does not fail, but who has won the ultimate victory. The triumph of life over death. There is no body for us to remember and show respect to, there is no principle for us to be reminded of. There is a life that we are to live. There is a story that we are to tell, there is an event that we are to witness to. There is no body – there are only people. People who choose life over death anyday. When the women went to tell the disciples what they had witnessed. No one believed them. It couldn’t be- God never intercedes like that, no one has ever been resurrected. No one who had died, has ever come back to life. Peter even went to the grave himself – he saw the empty tomb. He saw the proof for himself that the body was gone – it had indeed just walked away. And yet he didn’t believe. It didn’t make sense. He did not see the life in such a tragic event. The world is the same – the world sees proof everyday of a god who won – a living faith. And yet they refuse to believe. It is easier to believe in easter bunnies, and chocolate, and eggs, than it is to believe in life over death. The good news is that Easter is not a day or an event – Easter is life unfolding, and God revealing, each and every day. Jesus came to each an every one of them – to reveal the truth and to show them proof of the resurrection. With each passing day – they understood a little bit better, and they saw a little more clearer. The good news is the Easter is still unfolding, God is revealing, Jesus Christ is alive an still appearing to his disciples, and we still get the chance to choose life over death. There is not body – only people. When we celebrate and sing Hallelujah God wins. When we live as if we believe that Easter is a life changing event – God wins. Otherwise this all is just another idle tale- as his own disciples believed long ago. Let us pray… Lord, the resurrection of Your Son has given us new life and renewed hope. Help us to live as new people in pursuit of the Ways of Christ. Grant us wisdom to know what we must do, the will to want to do it, the courage to undertake it, the perseverance to continue to do it, and the strength to complete it. New Saint Joseph People's Prayer Book Amen. Lee Strobel put it like this… “If we were holding a trial to determine the facts concerning the resurrection, and if we were to call to the witness stand every witness who personally encountered the resurrected Jesus and we cross-examined them for only 15 minutes, and if we went around the clock without a break…we would be listening to first-hand testimony for more than 128 hours…that’s over 5 days worth of testimony…who could possibly walk away unconvinced?” The stories…they are too close. The written history is too strong to deny what they saw and what they experienced. One psychologist even said “over 500 people having the same hallucination would be more of a miracle than resurrection itself!” I recently came across this story, it was told by “Dear Abby” in a response to someone’s question. A young man from a wealthy family was about to graduate from high school. It was the custom in that affluent neighborhood for the parents to give the graduate an automobile. "Bill’ and his father had spent months looking at cars, and the week before graduation, they found the perfect car. On the eve of his graduation, his father handed him a gift wrapped Bible. Bill was so angry that he threw the Bible down and stormed out of the house. He and his father never saw each other again. It was the news of his father’s death that brought Bill home again. As he sat one night going through his father’s possessions that he was to inherit, he come across the Bible his father had given him. He brushed away the dust and opened it to find a cashier’s check, dated the day of his graduation - in the exact amount of the car they had chosen together. As I thought about this story, I couldn’t help but wonder how many people in this world have done the same thing to God. Literally tossed aside a wonderful promise, because they didn’t understand it, or they didn’t believe that it was possible. In our world, we are taught that; “if it sounds to good to be true, it probably is.” So many of us have been taken in by “empty promises,” that we are leery of anything or anyone that tells us we can have something for nothing. THE WORLD SIMPLY DOESN’T WORK THAT WAY! But, you know what – God does – God never made a promise that was too good to be true. The truth of the matter is, the world is full of empty promises. We watch TV, and the advertisements tell us that we can be happy, sexy, rich, or famous, if we only purchase a certain product. It doesn’t take long before we have been fooled enough to know that the world’s promises are full of emptiness. But, God is different. Instead of promises full of emptiness, on Easter, he gave us emptiness that is full of promise.

Sitting at the Master's Feet

Good Friday – 7 Last Words Service John 19:30 – It is Finished March 29, 2013 Introduction of Sadhu Singh – A modern day prophet Sadhu Singh was a 20th century prophet (remember are in the 21st century now). He lived in India, and he grew up learning about Hinduism, buddism and islam. His father said that Christianity was the religion of the oppressor. He would have spent his life believing that until one day the spirit of Christ came to him. Like Paul, the spirit came to him and taught him many things. He spent the rest of his life as a poor pilgrim travelling the world not so much teaching about Christ, but reminding people about Christ. Story of the brother who died in his arms I was struck with a story he told…. A rebellious son once left his father’s house and joined a band of robbers living along the road through the jungle. In time, he forgot his happy childhood and became as cruel and ruthless as the others. But his father never gave up hoping that one day he would abandon his evil ways and return home. In time, the father called his servants and asked them to go into the jungle, find his son, and tell him that his father was waiting to welcome him home and forgive him, if only he would abandon his evil ways. But the servants refused to go. They were afraid of the wild country and the fierce robbers. Now, the man’s older son loved his younger brother just as much as his father did. So when no servant could be found to go, he set out himself into the jungle to find his brother and deliver his father’s message. As he wandered through the jungle, the robbers spied him, attacked him, and wounded him to the point of death. Only then, did his younger brother recognize him. Filled with grief and remorse at what he and his band had done, he embraced his dying brother “Now my life’s task and love’s duty is done.” So saying, he died in his brother’s arms. The young man was so moved by the loving sacrifice of his brother, that his heart was instantly changed. He abandoned his life as a robber, asked forgiveness of his father, and from that day lived a new and upright life. When we think of how the master died in agony to pass on to us God’s message of love, should we then not also be ready to give our lives in bringing this message of hope to others? Could be a story in Chicago Even though this story talks about jungles, and kings. In our culture of blood and violence, this story could have very well been told in Chicago. Modern version of the story The story of a young person, who had been raised to be well behaved and respectful, but got tired of that life and ran away and joined a gang. And got caught up in a life of violence and crime. And it took his brother dying in his arms to help him to turn his life around and to learn to respect the lives of others. It took that bloody encounter to make a difference for him. The moral of the story – meet him at his point of need In case you have not thought about it, the brother in the story is Jesus, and the father is God. God loved his younger son enough to risk his older son to go out into the streets and to meet him where he was, and to speak the only language that he understood – blood, violence, death, sacrifice, new life, freedom from sin, forgiveness. God knew that he had to be able to live in that world and speak that language in order to show his child true love. Violence on our streets is a major concern, freedom for our children is a major concern. We are all hopeless, despairing, and searching for answers. We do well to remember the sixth word – the second to the last word of Christ as he lay on the cross – it is finished. The word in Greek – tetelestai means it is complete, the debt has been paid in full, the mission has been accomplished. That mission – to tell the children of God that they are loved. That God loves them enough to come into their life to show them that there is a way out, there is peace, there is hope. Jesus said it is finished, so that we can stop looking for future solutions. All that we need for peace have been accomplished in the past, way before we were born 200 years ago on the cross. But here us the thing – the story that I told you from Sardu Singh – about the young man who needed to see his brother die in his arms in order to understand salvation. Well the story is not about a young man at all. The story is about you. Remember I said that Sardhu Sangh did not teach Christianity, he spent his life reminding people of what it meant to be Christian. Sardhu Sangh said that we should Heathen not spend so much time worrying about heathen out there in the world. As a matter of fact he said that we should never call people heathen – because no matter who they are and where they are and what they are doing they are loved children of God. but I like what he said – that there are more heathen in the church the outside the church. He said that many of us are like a stone, that is in the river. That water splashes all around it – but if you were to crack it open you would find it as dry as a bone inside. He said that we are like a hunter in the jungle – feeling we are safe to hunt the tiger, because it something happens there is a hut nearby and we can run to safety- only to find that we lost the key to get in. We know all there is to know about Jesus – but we don’t have a relationship with Jesus. Sardu Sangh encourages us to spend our lives at the master’s feet. Remember that bloody, violent, encounter with Jesus is what made a difference in our lives. It is with that encounter that it was finished, our debt to God was paid in full. He said that theology without an encounter with life is dangerous. There is nothing wrong with educating ourselves, but education void of life is beside the point. We should stop examining the truth of Jesus like dry bones, but be willing to break open the dry bones and truly get at the life giving marrow. Easter is a wonderful story – the greatest story in the world. But it would be nothing without bloody encounter on Good Friday. It is finished. Amen. Usage of Tetelestai While doing some research for this article, I learned there were several ways the word tetelestai was used in Greco-Roman culture—all of them illustrative of Jesus’ finished work on the cross. An artist might have said Tetelestai! when he finished a painting in order to announce, "the picture is perfect." Jesus, the Master Artisan, declared from the cross that the picture of salvation He had drawn from eternity past was always perfect, but now complete. It is finished! A servant might have confidently said Tetelestai! when asked by his master if the work he had been assigned to do was complete. The servant would say, “Yes, master. I have finished the work.” Jesus, the Suffering Servant, completed the work His Father had given Him. It is finished! A judge might have said Tetelestai! when he conferred a sentence or when issuing a ruling that a sentence had been completed. The judge would say, "Justice has been served." There is only one Lawgiver and Judge--only One who is able to save and destroy. And as the Father turned His back on His Son, the Father was well pleased. It pleased the Father to crush His Son. It is finished! A priest might have said Tetelestai! when he recognized an unblemished and acceptable sacrifice for God. The priest would announce to the person offering the sacrifice that the offering was acceptable according to the law of God. And, "Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need" (Hebrews 4:14-16). Yes, our Great High Priest, Jesus the Lord, not only mediates for His people as a priest but He Himself was and is the perfect sacrifice. It is finished! A merchant might have said Tetelestai! after stamping a bill "the debt has been paid." The Christian's debt has been paid in full by the propitiation of Jesus Christ. By Jesus paying the Christian's sin debt in full, "God [has] made [us] alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him" (Colossians 2:13-15). It is finished! A soldier might have said Tetelestai! as a battle cry toward a vanquished foe. The soldier would yell, "You are finished!" Jesus' cry on the cross was not a cry of despair or defeat. Oh, no. When Jesus cried with a loud voice, He was declaring victory of the enemy--Satan, sin, and death. It is finished! The Artist had the last word as to the meaning of the painting—not the art critic. The Servant knew if the work in the house had been completed and approved by the Master—not the stranger who entered the house. The Judge determined the sentence, it’s execution, and it’s satisfaction—not the convicted criminal. The Priest determined if one’s sacrifice was acceptable to God—not the penitent. The Merchant determined if a debt was paid—not the debtor. The Victorious Warrior determined the future of his combatant—not the defeated enemy. Jesus Christ is the Artisan, the Servant, the Judge, the Priest, the Merchant, and the Victor—you are not. Your religion is not. Your intellect is not. Therefore, repent of any false ideologies that add works to Christ’s finished work. Repent of any arrogant notions, through manmade philosophies of ministry, which would presume to finish the work that Christ has already finished. Jesus said, “It is finished!” And He meant it. IT...IS...FINISHED! It is finished, indeed. Thank You, Lord Jesus. Thank You. • 1.Matthew Henry's Unabridged Commentary on John 19:30 • It is finished' applies to: • • The work of redemption • • The Mosaic covenant with it's priesthood, temple and sacrifices • • The curse of the law • • Sin (in the sense that it was all placed upon Christ - past, present and future) • • The prophecies and types concerning the Messiah's death • • The old fallen creation (which was placed 'in Christ'). God's purposes are now centered on a 'new creation' in Christ. • • Satan's dominion and hold over man • • The separation of Jew and Gentile During one of his great campaigns, D L Moody was approached by a man who had been to a number of the services and who, although convicted of his need for Christ, had kept on postponing a decision. Now the last night had come. The appeal was over, the people were going home, the work crew was busy folding up the chairs and dismantling the platform, and Mr Moody was preparing to leave. The man finally plucked up his courage. He came to the evangelist and blurted out, "Mr Moody, what must I do to be saved?" Moody looked at him. "I’m sorry sir," he said, "but you’re too late." "Too late, Mr Moody?" The man was desperate now. "Surely I’m not too late!" "Yes, sir," said Moody. "You’re too late. As a matter of fact, you’re two thousand years too late if you want to DO something to be saved. All the DOING has been DONE. But if you would like to accept Christ by faith as your personal Saviour, you’re just in time. You can do that right here, right now."

From Self Confidence to God Confidence - (repreach)

From Self confidence to God Confidence Psalm 126 Philippians 3:4-14 Fifth Sunday of Lent Year C (repreached from 3/21/10 Max Lucado is a pastor and has written many many books on the Christian faith and what it means to believe. He tells the story of taking his daughter Jenna to the park when she was a little girl of about two years old. While she was playing with the other children, and there were other parents around – he decides to go across the street to the dairy queen and get her an ice cream cone. He returns to the park to give her the cone, only to discover that not only has she been playing in the sand – she has decided to eat the sand. He can’t very well give her an ice cream cone – when she has sand in her mouth. In telling the story – Lucado asks himself – did I love her any less with dirt in her mouth? Was she any less my daughter because she had dirt in her mouth? No – was I going to let her continue to play with dirt in her mouth(especially while holding an ice cream cone) no. He took her to the water fountain and washed her mouth out. Lucado compaired this to the way God thinks about us sometimes. He catches us all of the time with dirt in our mouths, God loves us, god cares for us, and yet God feels the need to clean out the dirt in our lives – because there is something much better in store for us. Most of the time if left alone to our own devices, we want to play in the sand and eat it- and yet god wants us to see that there is a bigger life, a greater relationship that we can have with ourselves and with God – if we stop depending on our own devices and seek to learn the ways of God. I tell you that story because Paul can relate to it very well. It proves the point that he is trying to make in Philippians when he says that his life is dirt. All of the things that used to matter in the world, no longer matter because his whole perspective in life has changed. Now that is really strange – because Paul was not a bad person. And he did not have a bad life. And there was nothing in his life that he had any real reason to be ashamed of. He came from a good family. When many other jewish families were giving up their faith for new beliefs. Pauls family were true Hebrews among Hebrews. He grew up to be a teacher and defender of the faith. He fervently persecuted Christians who were trying to ruin his faith. He was very well respected. And when others may have been thrown in jail because there were not citizens, even though he was jewish, he was still a roman citizen, he had all of the rights and priveledges that would have been given to the best of people. There were people who were trying to put Paul down and say that he was not a true leader, and yet Paul wanted them to know that there were at least 7 things in his life that he could point to and say that he was indeed a good and respected person. Good and respected if his life were about him. The thing is – he realized that his life was not about him. His life was about jesus Christ. And even though those things mattered in the eyes of humanity – they were nothing in the eyes of God. Whatever gains I had, these have come to regard as loss because of Christ. More than that I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and regard them as rubbish in order that I may gain Christ. Rubbish – how do you come to call everything that you have accomplished in life a rubbish? As I pondered that question I remembered a time in my own life – when I was living with my boyfriend. And on this night our argument was not any more significant than they were on other day. We fought all of the time about any thing. But for some reason, on this night I remember he made a fist, and I remember in the moment between his fist hitting my face and my head hitting the wall – I remember taking everything inside of myself that valued, all of my self esteem, all of my pride, all of the things that I loved about myself – and hiding them onto the white wall. So that when he hit me – he wouldn’t hurt anything. In the days to come, there were many people who asked why I had a black eye – and I always responded the same – I walked into a wall – I am just clumsy that way. It is nothing serious. Until one day – my manager at work asked me how long I intended to lie to myself. And I had to face the fact that I needed to make up a tale, so that I did not have to deal with the seriousness of what was really going on. But it was that tale that kept my life in place- and allowed me to continuing to live in the midst of a bad situation. Dirt in the mouth, while God was trying to show me that there was a better way. Sometimes it is easier for us to hold onto the tales – then it is for us to let the truth in and deal with it. But I don’t want to get caught up in the intensity of the story – that is not my point in telling it. That was a long time ago, and my life has gone on since then, and I have had many experiences in life that supercede that one. That wasn’t the incident that finally got me to leave the relationship, it was the incident that turned my life around to listen more intently to God. But it is an illustration of the intensity of what Paul is saying when he is using the word rubbish in regards to his old life. I few days after that incident I remember saying – I wonder how I am going to get all of that junk off of the wall – all of the things that I admired about myself – now that they were totally worthless. They didn’t mean anything to me anymore – because now I had a new reality, on which none of that stuff applied. The greek word that Paul uses for rubbish is skybala. Skybala means junk, trash – but it also means human waste or excrement. That is a pretty strong word when you are talking about your life’s accomplishments. And yet his new life in Christ – was so much more important than the person that he used to be. He was able to taste the ice cream cone that God was offering. And was glad that he did. Are we able to do the same? Lent is our reminder to put old ways behind and to study more intently to see God’s new ways for us. And there are always new ways. There are always thought patterns and beliefs that no longer serve their purpose, there are resentment and fears that is time to give up, there are ways that we have been coping that need to be put away. There are allegiances to people that are no longer helpful. There is an old understanding of our relationship with god that we are being called to give up – in order to be open to what is happening in our lives today – which is leading us to a new understanding and a new relationship. There is dirt, a lot of dirt that we can stop eating. The good news for us is that junk can be recycled. Even excrement is used are fertilizer. The old ways of thinking make us who we are today- they are the pathway for the new. They inform our lives and give us a chance to truly understand Christ salvation for us. The story of our salvation is always part of the bigger story of salvation of the world. Our story is important because it is a part of God’s story. It shows us that God is always working to make us better people. There is always room for us to grown to mature, to make sense of why things happen to us. And to know that in the end – it always a story of God’s love. When we are able to put aside our own accomplishments and our own self confidence – we are free to take on God confidence. We don’t know what god’s final vision of the world will be – most of the time we have no idea of what God’s final vision for our own lives is. But we can give up the past in order to prepare ourselves for the future. Paul ends his pep talk by saying – beloved I do not consider that I have made it my own. But this one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead- I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus. It is time for us all to leave the past behind and press on to the destiny of Christ – let us pray…..

The Prodigal Mother

March 17, 2007 Joshua 5:9-12 Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32 repreached on 3-10-13 You don’t hear of me that story that was just read to you did you? I am Lydia, the mother of those two boys. Those two very different boys. Nathaniel, my oldest, and then there is Zachariah, he will always be my baby. And of course I am Simon’s wife. I am beginning to think that the whole world knows my story – some people seem to think that our last name must be prodigal. They refer to the prodigal son, the prodigal father, the prodigal sons. But I never get mentioned as the prodigal mother. Prodigal means either extremely wasteful, or extremely abundant. The funny thing is, I don’t think of my family as extreme at all. We are very normal, just like any other family. And the story told is not about the behavior of any one of us – it is about all of us, together as a family. It is a story of our families struggles with faith – faith in ourselves, faith in one another- faith in a God who goes out of the way to love us. But anyway, let me tell you a little more about my family. Do any of you have children? So you know that no matter how much you try to raise them the same- they come out so different. Each with their own personalities and their own stories. Take for instance, my baby, Zachariah. He was always so active and always asking questions. When he has younger, it was easy to keep up with him, and to keep up with his questions. Mommy, why did God make the sky blue? Why is it that we don’t eat the meat of pigs, like the people who live in the camp down the way? Why can’t I go play with the kids that I see in that camp – they seem to be having so much more fun. As he got older, his question got a little harder – why do I have to work in the fields with daddy- I would rather have time to dance and to learn to play my music. And then it just seemed that his questions got to hard for us to answer as parents- why do I have to stay here? Why do you want to find a wife, I am don’t want to settle down here. And then one day I think that Zach’s questions got to big, even for himself to answer. My gosh, I will never forget that day – the day that he asked my husband for his inheritance. My husband said that he felt like a knife had been struck through his heart. And it had, after all asking for his inheritance was the same as saying I wish you were dead- so that I could go on with my life. My hsband, simon, swallowed his pride, put aside his hurt. He did it – he gave Zach his inheritance and let him go- out into the world that he has always seemed to look to. We had to let him go- let him go to find what he was looking for. But I was greatful on that day that I have two sons- two very different sons. My oldest son Nathaniel never asked any of those questions. As a matter of fact, he never gave me any trouble at all. Whatever we told him – he accepted it, whatever we taught him he did it. He never wondered what was going on out there- he was always there to help his dad. We knew, from the moment that he was born that Nathaniel would be the one to take over the family business. And he has never not for one moment in his life, given us any reason to doubt that decision. Now that he and his new wife are expecting, we are looking forward to passing the business on to the next generation. And passing on our faith, which our family has held onto for many generations before. But of course, my mind always goes back to Zach, my baby. It’s like he needed to go on a journey to find himself. Those questions had to be answered. He is not a bad boy- and I know that I raised him to do the right thing. I don’t think that he will get too out of hand, when he goes onto town. And the faith that I taught him- he hasn’t come to temple with us in a very long time. But I know that God is in his heart- and God will take care of him. And Zach will return to the faith that we taught him in time. I just need to give him some time. God promised that anything that is lost will always been found. Anything that is lost will eventually be found- even family members that you don’t understand. Have you ever lost something? My family has a history of being lost, and being found. Lost to God and found by God. For years we wondered in the desert, trying to escape the oppression of Egypt. But I think the oppression of being lost in our own wilderness, is far worse than anything that someone else can do to you. To be lost somewhere between who you are and who God calls you to be – can be a horrible feeling. To be stuck between a past that you know doesn’t work – and a future that you don’t know or understand- that can be a hard thing. A friend of mine-her name was Virginia Daily, talks about a personal wilderness this way – she says that we look back with dismay upon our wrong decisions, poor choices, we dwell endlessly on our past mistakes until we make ourselves miserable and physically or emotionally ill, we are haunted by those the past, we keep dragging it out- continually rehashing of previous mistakes can cause us to lead gloomy lives. We don’t become free of that past, until we stop rehashing it in our spirits, and we are willing to give it up to God. There is a time to hold on to things, and there is a time to let go. There is a time to be lost, there is a time to be found. My family knows that well, being lost and being found. They wandered around in the desert for 40 years- trying to erase their past. It took a young man by the name of Joshua to lead the out of the wilderness, to the land that God had promised. They crossed the Jordan river, over into Gilgal – the place of a circle, the entryway into a new life that God had always promised them. A land of abundance, a land of freedom, a land of new ways, a land full of promise. And at that moment, you know a funny thing happened. In the wilderness, where they had no sense of direction, and no understanding of God’s promise. God provided a miracle for them. They ate that stuff there, on the tree. (see photo on the screen). Manna – a gift of sustenance from God. That was the miracle food that got them through the tough times. When the tough times were over, the miracle disappeared. But you know that funny thing is- that they didn’t need it anymore. Because the land that they entered-the promisedland- was full of food and many opportunities to create new ways of providing a new living. It is those times of transition in all of our lives, where we can realize that God has supported us, in ways that we couldn’t support ourselves. just as we realize that support as a gift of God- before we can become thankful enough to depend upon it- it disappears. And we are stuck in that moment of transition – when we ask ourselves the question – what do we do now. I bet you are in that transitional time right now- you are probably asking yourself what to do next? We all need resources to live- we’ve all experienced those times when those resources dry up and disappear. It’s funny, there is nothing in this world that last forever. Things that we think our very life depends upon can be taken away at a moments notice. I thank God for my faith during those times of transition. That story about Joshua helps me to realize that God had taken care of my in my past, and I may not know how, and I may not know why- but God will provide. In new and exciting ways- if I am open minded enough to listen and to learn. Everything that I need is growing right now, somewhere in the future that God has led me to. I just have to put aside old ways of thinking, leave old questions- and let God reveal a future that has always been promised to me. That happened to my family when they were finally willing to let the Egypt of the past go, and they entered into Canaan. I don’t know about your family- when good things happen my family celebrates with a feast. They had a Passover that people have been talking about for years. Anything that is lost will always be found. That is because God is always working – working to find us when we are lost, working to bring us back to the table, working to prepare us for the celebration. The celebration of life, the celebration of new life. I wouldn’t say even that God is a prodigal. God is not extravagant, or wasteful, or ridiculous. God know what god is doing. Bit I would say that God has a prodigal love for God’s family. An extravagant, ridiculous, abundant love for each and every one of us. God will do anything that I takes to find each and every one of us. God will go as far as sacrificing God’s own son for each of us. We are all gods children – and you know what- in those times when we are lost in our own personal wilderness- we can never find our true identity outside of God’s love for us. Speaking of personal wilderness, of searching for one’s true identity, asking questions that can’t be answered. He came home today! My baby Zach came home. I have never seen my husband run so fast for anything. But he welcomed him home. We are preparing for the feast now- to celebrate his being found. To celebrate being family. To celebrate God’s ridiculous, abundant love for our son, our all of us no matter who we are. I have two sons, one that had to leave to find himself, and one who has been here all of the time and just didn’t know. Maybe you can see yourself in their story. Maybe you can see your story somewhere in the story of my family? We are celebrating together, because God found all of us in the wilderness of our lives and bought us together to the promiseland. As you stand in the entryway of a life, what is is that you have to celebrate finding? Now that the manna has dried up, what are the new fruits of the land being offered to you? What preparations are you doing for the celebration? What have you found in the presence of God that you thought you had lost? And most importantly who is it that sits at the family table with you? And who in your family are you still praying for to come in from the wilderness and join the family meal?