The Easter Choice

April 12, 2020 John 20:1-18 Easter Sunday Year A The Easter Choice 9:30 Service Children’s Sermon Good morning, boys and girls. Today we are going to talk about some of the things that the followers of Jesus found when they went to the place where he was buried and found him risen from the dead. We talk a lot about that day a long time ago, but I want you to pretend that you were there the first day when it all happened. You are going to think about how sad you are to know that your very favorite person has died and was put into a grave on Friday. Today is Sunday and that means that Jesus has been dead for two days. This is already the third day since he died. You have thought about all of the good times that you had with Jesus. You remember when you went fishing with him and you caught so many fish that your nets broke. You remember the time you sat up all night with him while he told you stories about what he wanted to do and how he was going to make people happy. You remember the time that you saw a very sick friend healed by Jesus. These are the things that you were thinking about yesterday after Jesus had died on Friday. It has been a very sad time. Now this is even going to be sadder because we are going to visit the place where Jesus is buried. Maybe we are even going to see his body. Now we are at the place where they put Jesus, but things look different. His gravestone has been moved. The soldiers who were guarding him are gone. Everything is different. If we look inside the grave, we are going to be shocked by something else. Look over there. The clothes that he was buried in are kind of piled up, but there is no Jesus. And look here (Show them the napkin.), this is the napkin that was placed over the face of Jesus when he was buried. This is a special napkin that is used only when someone is buried. It is here. It was laying all by itself like someone had taken it off and put it down special. Jesus is gone. Someone may have stolen his body or something else terrible could have happened. We have the napkin that covered his face. That would have been a shock, wouldn't it? (Let them answer.) Suppose that you went to the grave instead of Peter and John and you had found that napkin lying in the grave. What would you have done? (Let them answer.) I hope that I would have done what they did. Peter and John went back to the other disciples and waited. Soon the word came from another follower. This follower was a woman and she had seen Jesus. He is alive. He is better than before he died. He is risen from the dead and he will live forever. That is what they heard and they told it so that we would know it also. Jesus is alive and he promises that the same thing will happen to us when we die. We shall also live forever. Hallelujah. Easter is here and we shall all live forever. The C.S.S. Publishing Compa, THE ONE-HANDED CLOCK, by Wesley T. Runk Prelude Greeting and welcome Christ the Lord is Risen – and you say He has Risen Indeed As we begin our holy time together, light a candle – use candle every Sunday to create a holy time. Stewardship Moment On this Easter, choose to follow God is giving of our heart. Take a collection physically – but want to remind everyone of the importance of giving to the mission of the church. Time to give – to reach out to others. Church is not closed, and Easter is not cancelled. Send in your offerings – your commitment to God. Ways to give – online, sign up for automatic giving, send it in, or drop it off. Giving to God – the world needs God more than ever. Scripture John 20:1-18 Common English Bible (CEB) Empty tomb 20 Early in the morning of the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. 2 She ran to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they’ve put him.” 3 Peter and the other disciple left to go to the tomb. 4 They were running together, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and was the first to arrive at the tomb. 5 Bending down to take a look, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he didn’t go in. 6 Following him, Simon Peter entered the tomb and saw the linen cloths lying there. 7 He also saw the face cloth that had been on Jesus’ head. It wasn’t with the other clothes but was folded up in its own place. 8 Then the other disciple, the one who arrived at the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. 9 They didn’t yet understand the scripture that Jesus must rise from the dead. 10 Then the disciples returned to the place where they were staying. Jesus appears to Mary 11 Mary stood outside near the tomb, crying. As she cried, she bent down to look into the tomb. 12 She saw two angels dressed in white, seated where the body of Jesus had been, one at the head and one at the foot. 13 The angels asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?” She replied, “They have taken away my Lord, and I don’t know where they’ve put him.” 14 As soon as she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she didn’t know it was Jesus. 15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who are you looking for?” Thinking he was the gardener, she replied, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him and I will get him.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabbouni” (which means Teacher). 17 Jesus said to her, “Don’t hold on to me, for I haven’t yet gone up to my Father. Go to my brothers and sisters and tell them, ‘I’m going up to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” 18 Mary Magdalene left and announced to the disciples, “I’ve seen the Lord.” Then she told them what he said to her. Common English Bible (CEB) Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible Sermon When I think of life now, I think of 2020 before Covid19 and life after covid19. It seems that life has been a roller coaster of changes since March 13th. Everyday there is something different. As a pastor, the hardest part of all of these adjustments has been having to give up my plans for Easter. I spent all year planning and preparing, in one day all of that seemed to just go up in smoke. This has been a time when I have had to think back to the Easter’s of the past. My favorite Easter of all time, was when I was 7 years old. Not only did my mother plan a big dinner, and we colored easter eggs the day before. And on Easter morning, my mother planned this elaborate easter egg hunt throughout the house. I think she had more fun in the hunt than I did. The highlight was finding a pretty elaborate easter basket hidden in the dryer. I loved Easter as a child, but Easter was also a mystery to me. I ever quite understood what easter eggs, bunnies and getting new clothes had to do with the resurrection of Jesus. And no one has ever been able to explain that too me. Well, come to find out, eggs and bunnies and bright colors have absolutely nothing to do with the resurrection of Christ. They are all symbols of the coming of spring. Easter was a pagan goddess of spring, and people gave her offerings of eggs, bunnies, and flowers in order to have a bountiful spring. As Christianity spread to new cultures, the church felt that it was better to let people do what they always did. In a sense, they baptized those old habits and dedicated them to Christ. Truth, I love easter, but I think that there should be more biblical symbols of Easter. For instance, speaking of baptism – water is a good symbol of resurrections, because it is a good sign of life. Life conquering the forces of death. We all need water in order to live. Water is a powerful part of our lives. Water is powerful, and water can be dangerous, water can bring death if not handled with care, water not only bring life to us, but to all around us. When we are baptized, we are brought under the power of death and rise up out of it a new person living new life. Definitely a realistic symbol of new life. The second symbol of biblical resurrection – takes on new importance during these days of COVID-19. Corona virus has the power to bind our lungs and to suck the breath out of us. Breath – is given to us by God and it is very important for life. Never again can we take our ability to breath for granted. For myself not only do I check my blood sugar and blood pressure everyday to check on my health, but now also I take my temperature and oxygen levels everyday. Any room that I am going to spend any amount of time in make sure there is an air purifier and humidifier running to make breathing easier. Breath is definitely a realistic symbol of Easter. Breath is literally a sign of life, but the breath of God – not only gives us physical life, but also spiritual God. Inspiration – means the breath of God is inspired – or breathed into us. Breath is definitely a sign of life over death. The last one I want to mention today is the most important. That is the Easter Choice, our ability to choose life over death. Life and death is inside of the choices that each of us make. We can choose to continue with life as usual and do nothing and die, or choose to use social distancing, and choose life. The Easter Choice When faced with new realities, you have at least three options for how to respond (and it is nearly certain that you will opt for one of these three possibilities). First, you can stay bewildered. You can let this event knock you flat on your back and then stay there. Second, you can engage in world-class denial. You can look at the facts and ignore them. Or third, you can, slowly perhaps, assimilate this new information. You may get knocked as flat on your back as the next person by this new realization, but eventually you pick yourself up. You embrace this new truth and then go through the long, sometimes painful, process of re-assessing life in the light of this new evidence. This is the Easter choice. When faced with the incredible proclamation that Jesus rose again from the dead, you can be agnostic and cynical by saying that you don't know what to make of this but then neither are you going to try. Who cares anyway? Or you can deny it. The whole thing is fiction, fantasy, a pious wish but something that never really happened. Or you can move past the shock toward acceptance. But let me caution you: if you are going to accept the truth of the bodily resurrection, you need to let it change you totally. That's the Easter choice. The problem for most of us is that we are not surprised enough by Easter to realize we face a choice. Easter is a part of the background scenery of our lives. We've never been afraid of Easter, never been bewildered by it. Believing that Jesus rose again from the dead becomes a little like believing the earth is round and that it orbits the sun. Once upon a time people didn't know that. They thought the earth was flat and that the sun orbited the earth. It caused quite a stir when this view had to be revised. But that was a long time ago and now we accept that picture of our solar system without much thought. Sure the world is round and we orbit the sun, but what does that have to do with anything? It doesn't change what I have to do at work tomorrow, does it? Is that what Easter becomes for us? We believe it happened but then, we've always believed that. Even Easter has somehow become part of the “routines” of this world. So why would it have much of an effect on what we do tomorrow? Easter is no longer shocking for us -- it surely does not make us re-evaluate everything else we think we know. And anyway, we're not sure we want to have everything in our lives changed. Of course, if we can believe in the resurrection at all, it is a gift of faith granted to us by the prior gift of grace. But if we have received that grace and accept the truth that gets proclaimed from every Christian pulpit in the world each Easter Sunday morning, then we have to know that this truth changes everything. This is not some fact we can ponder just once every twelve months. This changes everything.... and on EVERY day. Scott Hoezee, Comments and Observations If we have learned anything from all of thise COVID-19 crisis, it is the fact that life is precious. Life is a precious gift from God that we cannot take for granted. Easter is a choice to live in the face of constant death. Now I Can Go On Living There was a young woman living in Washington, D.C. during the Second World War. Her husband, who had been stationed at a nearby Army base, was killed a year earlier during a training exercise - they had been married just four months. During that whole year, this young widow felt more dead than alive. She merely went through the motions of living. Her family and friends were worried about her and wondered if she would ever "snap out of it." Easter Sunday came along and a friend asked the young widow to go to church with her. It happened that they went to hear the legendary Peter Marshall, who preached in an historic Presbyterian church which still stands in downtown Washington, a few blocks from the White House. That morning, Peter Marshall spoke of Mary coming to the tomb and how her tears turned to joy. He described the sound of a wind rustling through the tomb as if the breath of God were blowing by. He described the sight of Jesus rising up from that cold, stone slab, swaying a bit on wounded feet and then walking out into the garden. He described the smell, "the whiff of strange scents which must have drifted back to the Man from that tomb, [the smell] of linen and bandages, spices and myrrh, close air and blood ...(Peter Marshall, The First Easter). By the time Peter Marshall finished that sermon, the people in that church felt as if they had been there in the garden to witness the first Easter themselves! When the service was over, the young widow practically walked on air as she left the church and her friend couldn't believe the change which had come over her. "What happened to you in there?" she asked. "The weight has finally been lifted," the young woman replied; "now I can go on living again." Erskine White, Together in Christ We hear this story of the resurrection in John 20 every year. 18 verses, but every year there is a different lesson to learn. This year, surprised how many references to our present situation. For instance, when Mary realizes that she is talking with her teacher and friend, she wants to run up an hug him. But he tells her not to touch him, he has not ascended yet. Mary had ventured out into the garden by herself, but the other disciples were sheltered in place. They were not only afraid to go out, they were afraid to stay out for any amount of time. When they looked out, even though the sun was shining brightly, they were afraid of what was out there. They celebrated that Jesus has been resurrected, but they still were uncertain about the future. We too live in a world of uncertainty. We know this will end, but we don’t know when. And we don’t know what till happen in the future. I don’t know about you, but I will probably not be going to any summer gatherings, not this year. When I see pictures of people hugging, or shaking hands, or getting to close to each other I still cringe. It is going to take awhile to get over all of that. But the greatest symbol of Easter is the strength to face an unknown future – with joy, and happiness, not fear and trepidation. Anticipation: What Is Going to Happen Today? In Winnie the Pooh, Pooh and Piglet take an evening walk. For a long time they walk in silence. Silence like only best friends can share. Finally Piglet breaks the silence and asks, "When you wake up in the morning, Pooh, what's the first thing you say to yourself?" "What's for breakfast?" answers Pooh and then asks. "And what do you say, Piglet?" Piglet says, "I say, I wonder what exciting thing is going to happen today?" You and I can't really plan to meet the Risen Christ because we never really know when or where He's going to show up. But you can be sure of this, He will show up. If you believe, He will show up. And the attitude you need to meet him is the attitude of Piglet, "I wonder what exciting thing is going to happen today?" Billy Strayhorn, Easter Heart Burn, www.Sermons.com Life has many exciting things in store – even in the valley of the shadow od death. But if we have Jesus Christ in our hearts and by our side – we can still chose life, and look forward to what exciting things are going to happen today and every day. Amen Intercession for Easter Day 2020 On this Easter Day marked by both sorrow and joy, our prayers for the church, the world, and all in need include both heartfelt lament and fervent praise. A brief silence. God our Sanctuary, we lament that we cannot gather today for public worship, that death stalks the church, and that our sorrows and fears blunt our songs of Alleluia. . . A brief silence. Show the church your mercy: Your mercy endures forever. And yet around the globe we praise you for the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the grave, for our baptismal washing in his life, for your presence come to us in the word, and for the hope the gospel brings. . . A brief silence. We praise you for the church: Alleluia! Thanks be to God! God our Creator, we lament that our life styles have harmed your creation and that our efforts to repair your earth are now postponed. . . A brief silence. Show the earth your mercy: Your mercy endures forever. And yet here in the north we praise you for the beauty of the natural world, for springtime flowers and budding trees, for the soil and rain that nourish the crops. . . A brief silence. We praise you for the earth: Alleluia! Thanks be to God! God our Governor, we lament that war and violence still rage, that countless people suffer injustice, that the plight of refugees seems beyond solution, that appropriate governmental action is delayed and inadequate. . . A brief silence. Show the world your mercy: Your mercy endures forever. And yet we praise you that there is peace on our streets, that some elected officials and many aid agencies are devoting themselves to save the people and to share our food, and that we are given connection to friends and family through technology. . . A brief silence. We praise you for community: Alleluia! Thanks be to God! God our Physician, we lament all who suffer, those we name here before you . . . but especially we lament the coronavirus and its incalculable suffering, the many thousands sick, the fear instilled, the loss of employment, the cancelation of plans, the overflow in hospitals, the scarcity of supplies, the exhaustion of medical staff. . . A brief silence. Show all the needy your mercy: Your mercy endures forever. And yet we praise you for health and well-being wherever it thrives, for the dedication of medical workers, for the goodwill of volunteers, for the generosity of benefactors, and for the comfort we receive from the power of the resurrection. . . A brief silence . We praise you for healing: Alleuia! Thanks be to God! God, our Everlasting Arms, mother us in our heartache and distress, receive now our personal laments, and help each of us to praise your name. A longer period of silence. We praise you for hearing our prayers: Alleluia! Thanks be to God! God our Life Eternal, we lament the thousands dead and the sadness of all who mourn, and we remember before you all who have died in the faith. . . A brief silence. Show to all humanity your mercy: Your mercy endures forever. And yet here we join in our Alleluias, and we praise you on this Easter Day for your promise of an endless banquet of joyous life in your presence, when diseases and sorrows will be no more. A brief silence. In life and death we praise you: Alleluia! Thanks be to God! God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who are Source of life, Word of salvation, and Power of mercy, into your hands we commend all for whom we pray, trusting in your compassionate might, for the sake of him who lived, died, and rose for us, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen. (Gail Ramshaw) Encourage you to put prayers for new day, personal for the church, community or world in the comments. Listen to this song of celebration Benediction In the midst of everything else going on, we have to find new ways to celebrate Easter. So as you go through your day – may you venture out and do something new today. After taking my regular Sunday nap, go for a walk and speak with God in nature. New day new adventure. Hoping to have some more surprises for you this week. Not allowed to make hospital visits, or home visits or funerals. Not going on vacation, but will be a week of self care – some personal things that need to be done. Back again next week – Easter is not over. After this is over, also posting a prayer for current times very good and thorough. But also posted a video this morning – death is the beginning – also speaks to worship of God encourage you to walk with God whatever you do to day Peace out! Additional Illustrations Sermon Opener - Breath of God - John 20:1-18 This year, Easter Sunday falls during the COVID-19 pandemic. A time when we are secluded in our homes and told to wrap our faces in cloth if we dare to go out for groceries or supplies. Walk into the grocery store, and you’ll see people wandering quietly through the aisles with gloved hands and masked faces. Get too close, and you’ll register a wide-eyed look of alarm on the face of that passerby. We are in hiding from an invisible beast. “The Beast” is what people are naming the virus. It attacks ferociously in the night with spiked fevers, aches, lung binding, and hallucinations. COVID-19 is a “breath-taking” virus. It steals the breath from people’s bodies in a particularly terrifying way. It strikes suddenly leaving us frightened and breathless. With no cure in sight, the only thing we can do is hide away, covering our noses and faces with cloth, hoping to keep the aggressive beast away from our lungs. COVID-19 is a death threat that has already made good on many lives. This brutal virus makes us feel that we are locked up in a dark tomb for an impossibly long duration, as though the darkness of “Good Friday” might go on forever with little hope in sight. And yet all around us, we see signs of spring, signs of awakening, signs of hope, signs of resurrection. We know life as we know it may be dampened down for now, covered in what feels like “funeral clothing.” And yet, spring blooms eternal. All around us: Birds sing, the sun bursts out from the winter clouds, trees bud, flowers unfurl, the ground thaws, and God unwraps an entirely new landscape of color and life. But for now, we wait. I wonder what it must have felt like for Jesus those “three days” in the tomb, knowing resurrection was imminent, yet waiting for dawn to come on that magnificent morning when the stone was rolled away, and the sun streamed through, when an “angel of the Lord” removed the funerary cloth from Jesus’ face, and the Holy Spirit breathed again the holy breath of life into His stricken body and made it rise like Ezekiel’s bones from the valley of the shadow of death. Three days of darkness. Then, new and restored life. Not the same life. But a restored, resurrected life.... ________________________________________ More Hope than We Can Handle Earlier this week, an old couple received a phone call from their son who lives far away. The son said he was sorry, but he wouldn’t be able to come for a visit over the holidays after all. "The grandkids say hello." They assured him that they understood, but when they hung up the phone they didn’t dare look at each other. Earlier this week, a woman was called into her supervisor’s office to hear that times are hard for the company and they had to let her go. "So sorry." She cleaned out her desk, packed away her hopes for getting ahead, and wondered what she would tell her kids. Earlier this week, someone received terrible news from a physician. Someone else heard the words, "I don't love you anymore." Earlier this week, someone’s hope was crucified. And the darkness is overwhelming. No one is ever ready to encounter Easter until he or she has spent time in the dark place where hope cannot be seen. Easter is the last thing we are expecting. And that is why it terrifies us. This day is not about bunnies, springtime and girls in cute new dresses. It’s about more hope than we can handle. Craig Barnes, Savior at Large, article in The Christian Century, March 13-20, 2002 p. 16. The Legend of the Touchstone Do you remember the Legend of the Touchstone? It's a great story to recall on Easter Sunday morning. According to that ancient legend, if you could find the touchstone on the coast of the Black Sea and hold it in your hand, everything you touched would turn to gold. You could recognize the touchstone by its warmth. The other stones would feel cold, but when you picked up the touchstone, it would turn warm in your hand. Once a man sold everything he had and went to the coast of the Black Sea in search of the touchstone. He began immediately to walk along the shoreline picking up one stone after another in his diligent and intentional search for the touchstone. He was consumed with this dream. He wanted desperately to find this miraculous stone. However, after several days had passed, he suddenly realized that he was picking up the same stones again and again. So he devised a plan... pick up a stone; if it's cold, throw it into the sea. This he did for weeks and weeks. Then one morning he went out to continue his search for the touchstone. He picked up a stone; it was cold... he threw it into the sea. He picked up another stone - cold! He threw it into the sea. He picked up another stone... it turned warm in his hand, and before he realized what he was doing... he threw it into the sea! That's a good parable for Easter, isn't it? Because that can so easily happen to us. We can come upon a miraculous moment like Easter... we can feel it turn warm in our hands... but then (so dulled by the routine) before we realize what we are doing... we throw it away. Absentmindedly, mechanically, nonchalantly... we toss it aside and miss the miracle of Easter. James W. Moore, Lenten Series on Mark, www.Sermons.com Time for Easter Dreams In a world of Good Friday nightmares, it is time for Easter Dreams. After the completion of Disney World, someone remarked, "Isn't it too bad that Walt Disney didn't live to see this!" Mike Vance, creative director of Disney Studios replied, "He did see it that's why it's here." Everything in life that we use or hold, eat or watch, wear, sit in or listen to in other words, everything that is a creation of human ingenuity started out as a dream. Before anything can become tangible, it must first become a reality in the mind of its dreamer. Only when the dream is real for one can it become real for all. Not until the dream is real for me can it become real for you. Zippers, Christmas tree lights, quadruple bypass heart surgery, combustion engines, cotton candy, x-rays, air conditioning, flush toilets, matches, eyeglasses, espresso all these things were once dreams in some person's mind. The dreams of others make our lives tasty, pleasant, sometimes even possible. So why is it that we live in a world furnished with the dreams of others, yet there are so many nightmares stalking the land? Why did we first nightmare up nuclear weaponry instead of dreaming up world peace? Why did we nightmare up high-tech security systems and gated communities instead of dreaming up communities of trust? Why did we nightmare up fast foods instead of dreaming up a way to feed every hungry child? Why did we nightmare up apartheid and slavery and Jim Crow instead of dreaming up societies of justice and equality? One member of the "buster generation" (those born between 1964 and 1983) put it this way: "I had a dream." Writing to his church's newsletter, this young man expressed the despair, cynicism and pessimism of his "buster generation" by speaking about the "death of idealism, of passion and dreaming ... of transforming vision." He spoke of an almost ubiquitous death of dreaming among his peers (as referenced by Sharon Dawn Johnson, "Vision in Mission," The Gospel and Our Culture 5 [September 1993]: 5). Because the Good Friday nightmare was transformed into the Easter Dream, the way has been opened for ending all nightmares and incarnating all dreams. The Resurrection means that Christians can expectantly: - dream of plenty in the midst of poverty; - dream of compassion in the midst of poverty; - dream of justice in the midst of inequity; - dream of holiness in the midst of hell; - dream of love in the midst of hate. Leonard Sweet, Easter Dreams, www.Sermons.com ___________________________________ We Believe You I ran across a beautiful story recently about a woman named Rosemary who works in the Alzheimer’s Unit of a nursing home. Rosemary and a colleague named Arlene brought the residents of the home together one Good Friday afternoon to view Franco Zeffirelli’s acclaimed production Jesus of Nazareth. They wondered whether these elderly Alzheimer’s patients would even know what was going on, but they thought it might be worth the effort. When they finally succeeded in getting everyone into position, they started the video. Rosemary was pleasantly surprised at the quiet attention being paid to the screen. At last came the scene where Mary Magdalene comes upon the empty tomb and sees Jesus’ body not there. An unknown man, in reality the risen Christ, asks Mary why she is looking for the living among the dead. Mary runs as fast as she can back to the disciples and tells Peter and the rest with breathless excitement, “He’s alive! I saw Him, I tell you! He’s alive.” The doubt in their eyes causes Mary to pull back. “You don’t believe me . . . You don’t believe me!” From somewhere in the crowd of Alzheimer’s patients came the clear, resolute voice of Esther, one of the patients. “WE BELIEVE YOU,” she said, “WE BELIEVE YOU!” Well, Esther, I believe it too. The evidence is overwhelming, and life makes no sense without it. Jesus Christ rose from the dead. Rosemary Kadrmas in Jeff Cavins, et.al, Amazing Grace for the Catholic Heart (West Chester, PA: Ascension Press, LLC, 2003), pp. 211-212., adapted by King Duncan Turning to God on Easter J. Wallace Hamilton, the great preacher of yesteryear, once told the story of a group of American soldiers stationed in London during the first World War. They had received orders that the next day they would be going to the front lines. The church where many of the men attended while away from home hastily gave them a dinner. It was a joyous time and the conversation was light and upbeat. Before the pastor gave the benediction, one of the soldiers was selected to share words of appreciation. He was a man of charm with the gift of speech. As he brought his speech to a close he said, "Tomorrow we are leaving for France, and the trenches, and to die." He did not mean to say that. Looking around with embarrassment, struggling for some better words to say, he said: "Can anybody tell us how to die?" And, nobody laughed or even smiled. There was an awkward pause as though he had said the wrong thing--and then a period of strange silence in which nobody said anything. Then someone walked quietly to the piano where they had been playing and singing fun songs and began to play and sing the old gospel hymns. In the quiet that followed, every man's soul was forced to deal in a serious way with the question of life and death. Without anybody planning it, a party became a prayer meeting in which they had to turn to God. Easter gives us the opportunity, without being morbid to reflect on the ultimate meaning of things. Are we mere creatures of the dust who are here only for a moment--or were we created for eternity? On the southwest coast of Scotland lies the little town of Whithorn. In its ancient cemetery can be found a tombstone with an intriguing epitaph: YOU THINK I'M FORGOT. I'M NOT. King Duncan, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com No Grave Deep Enough Several years ago, The Saturday Evening Post ran a cartoon showing a man about to be rescued after he had spent a long time ship-wrecked on a tiny deserted island. The sailor in charge of the rescue team stepped onto the beach and handed the man a stack of newspapers. "Compliments of the Captain," the sailor said. "He would like you to glance at the headlines to see if you'd still like to be rescued!" Sometimes the headlines do scare us. Sometimes we feel that evil is winning, but then along comes Easter, to remind us that there is no grave deep enough, no seal imposing enough, no stone heavy enough, no evil strong enough to keep Christ in the grave. James W. Moore, Some Things Are Too Good Not To Be True, Dimensions, 1994, p. 80. No Grave Deep Enough Several years ago, The Saturday Evening Post ran a cartoon showing a man about to be rescued after he had spent a long time ship-wrecked on a tiny deserted island. The sailor in charge of the rescue team stepped onto the beach and handed the man a stack of newspapers. "Compliments of the Captain," the sailor said. "He would like you to glance at the headlines to see if you'd still like to be rescued!" Sometimes the headlines do scare us. Sometimes we feel that evil is winning, but then along comes Easter, to remind us that there is no grave deep enough, no seal imposing enough, no stone heavy enough, no evil strong enough to keep Christ in the grave. James W. Moore, Some Things Are Too Good Not To Be True, Dimensions, 1994, p. 80. _______________________ Birth into a New World In his book, Teaching Your Children about God, Rabbi David Wolpe, a professor at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, recalls an ancient Jewish parable about twin unborn children lying together in the womb. One believes that there is a world beyond the womb "where people walk upright, where there are mountains and oceans, a sky filled with stars." The other unborn twin can barely contain his contempt for such foolish ideas. Suddenly the "believer" of the twins is forced through the birth canal leaving behind the only way of life he has known. The remaining unborn twin is saddened, convinced that a great catastrophe has befallen his companion. Outside the womb, however, the parents are rejoicing. For what the remaining brother, left behind, has just witnessed is not death but birth. This, Wolpe reminds us, is a classic view of the life beyond the grave--a birth into a world that we on Earth can only try to imagine. The Easter message is that we have an older brother who HAS traveled beyond the tomb, down the birth canal of eternity and has returned to assure us that God is love, and that there is a place prepared for any who will accept the Good News. Whether our name is Marie or Mary or Peter or even Judas, Christ came into the world to save sinners. Won't you accept his offer of a new life today? King Duncan, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com Easter Sunrise Her name was Carol. She was the organist at her church. She was an outstanding musician, but she did something no organist should ever do. She overslept on Easter morning and missed the sunrise service. She was so embarrassed. Of course, the minister and the church forgave her. They teased her about it a little, but it was done lovingly and in good fun. However, the next Easter, her phone rang at 5:00 in the morning. Jolted awake by the loud ringing, she scrambled to answer it. It was the minister, and he said, "Carol, it's Easter morning! The Lord is risen! ... And I suggest you do the same!" The message is clear: We too can be resurrected. Christ shares his resurrection with us. He rises, and so can we. We too can have new life. We too can make a new start. We too can rise out of those tombs that try to imprison us! James W. Moore, Some Things Are Too Good Not to be True

Death is a part of Life

November 3, 2019 Ephesians 1:11-23 Death is a Part of Life All Saint’s Sunday Year C Children’s Sermon Children’s Sermon Good morning. Today is a special day in our church. Of course, every day is special when we can be together. But some days are more special than others. Today’s special day is called All Saints Day. Can you say that with me? All Saints Day. Did you know that you are a saint? A saint, in the Bible, is what people in the church called each other. “I am a saint, you are a saint, we are all saints together.” Saints in the Bible are those who seek to follow Jesus. So, you see, I think you must be a saint because I know you try to follow Jesus: loving God, neighbor, and even your enemies. But sometimes you will hear somebody called “Saint So and So.” Or maybe you have friends who go to St. Matthew’s Church. It is named after one of Jesus’ disciples named Matthew. Sometimes famous people who did wonderful things get called saints. And sometimes at church, you might hear someone talk about someone who died. They might say, “He was a real saint.” This is a way of remembering someone that we really liked who followed Jesus. Today we are remembering some saints in our church. We are remembering people who died in the last year. Did you ever know anyone who has died? When someone dies we usually feel sad. And we might cry because we loved them. Because they were saints, because they tried to follow Jesus and helped us to follow Jesus, we do things to honor them. And today, we will remember them by reading their names in worship. I give thanks every week for the ways you show me how to follow Jesus. You are Jesus’ saints. Yes, children are Jesus’ saints, and Jesus knew you would be and he told adults, “become like children to enter God’s kingdom.” Saint Children, Stewardship Moment This morning we are reminded of the sacredness of life. God is all around us. Everything about life is special because of the presence of the Holy Spirit. We can see God’s presence in so many ways. In our family and friends, in the life that we live, in our priorities. Being a child of God is a wonderful privilege given to us, but it also gives us great power. The power to make a difference, the power to make the world a better place, the power to give and let God’s presence be known to others. This morning, during our time of giving let us feel the presence of the holy Spirit and all that the Spirit does to spread love. We have the power to be a part of that in giving what we have in love. Scritpure Ephesians 1:11-23 Common English Bible (CEB) 11 We have also received an inheritance in Christ. We were destined by the plan of God, who accomplishes everything according to his design. 12 We are called to be an honor to God’s glory because we were the first to hope in Christ. 13 You too heard the word of truth in Christ, which is the good news of your salvation. You were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit because you believed in Christ. 14 The Holy Spirit is the down payment on our inheritance, which is applied toward our redemption as God’s own people, resulting in the honor of God’s glory. Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians 15 Since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, this is the reason that 16 I don’t stop giving thanks to God for you when I remember you in my prayers. 17 I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, will give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation that makes God known to you. 18 I pray that the eyes of your heart will have enough light to see what is the hope of God’s call, what is the richness of God’s glorious inheritance among believers, 19 and what is the overwhelming greatness of God’s power that is working among us believers. This power is conferred by the energy of God’s powerful strength. 20 God’s power was at work in Christ when God raised him from the dead and sat him at God’s right side in the heavens, 21 far above every ruler and authority and power and angelic power, any power that might be named not only now but in the future. 22 God put everything under Christ’s feet and made him head of everything in the church, 23 which is his body. His body, the church, is the fullness of Christ, who fills everything in every way. Common English Bible (CEB) Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible Jack defeats death One day Jack was about to go to work, before leaving he looked in on his mom. She did not look so well. Her color was off, she had not gotten out of the bed yet, and she was not very responsive when Jack talked with her. Even so, so encouraged Jack to go on with her day. She would be fine, just go on she encouraged. Reluctantly, Jack walked out of the door, down the sidewalk and out onto the street. But he noticed that there was a man, dressed in black from head to toe, with a black cape covering his face so you couldn’t see his face. And a sickle in his hand. Jack turned around to look at this strangely dressed man. He noticed that the man was heading up the driveway of his house. So Jack yelled at the man, can I help you. The man responded no thank you, I just have some business to take care of. You have some business headed that way? Jack asked. Yep said the man. No, I don’t think you have any business in this house, so you need to go on about your business. I am sorry but I cant do that said the man, I have my instructions and I have to follow them. Realizing now who this man was, Jack jumped in front of him and said I am sorry but I cant let you go into that house. As a matter of fact, Jack reached out and bopped death in the nose. Death was a little taken off guard and did not fight Jack back. Jack just kept hitting death and bopping him. Every time Jack hit, death got a little smaller and smaller. Once death was smaller even then a peanut, Jack looked around the ground and found a acorn with a hole it in. He smashed death into to acorn and ran to the beach and threw the acorn into the ocean. At last, he had victory over death, he had won the fight, and put death far away. Jack decided that he would go check on his mom to see if she was okay. And sure enough, she was up , she looked better than she had in years, her hair was done and she even had on one of the best dresses the she owned. She said that she had the energy that she had as a teenager. Her color was in her cheeks, she was really happy. She told Jack that she wanted to cook him a good lunch since he was home. She went into the kitchen to cut up some carrots, but she noticed that everytime she cut the carrot, she could cut it, it would just bounce off of the cutting board. Never mind, she would cut up some potatoes - the same thing happened. She couldn’t cut into it. By this time Jack comes into the kitchen to make sure everything is okay. Mom responds, I am having a little trouble with the vegetables, but that is okay because we need some meat. She asked Jack to go to the butcher to get some pork chops. Jack goes into town, but he notices that everyone is walking around aimlessly. He goes to the butcher shop and asks for some pork chops. But butcher tells him that he cant give him any pork chops, he could kill the pig this morning. Jack says that okay, them give me beef, the butcher shakes his head, I cant do it. What about chicken, the butcher shakes his head again. As Jack walks home he notices everyone is just walking along, everyone seems to be upset, no one can prepare anything to eat. They cant kill nothing and wont nothing die. Jack wonders what he is going to tell his mom about the meat. When he gets home he tells his mom what happens at the butcher shop, and how everyone in town is in a total panic. He also tells her- I think I know what is going on. You see, this morning I got into a fight with death. I beat death and through him into the sea. You beat death – why would you pick a fight with death – because he was at your doorstep – and you didn’t look so good this morning, so I needed to get rid of him, so that you would be okay. His mom puts her hand on her head, o my God Jack, what have you done. You cant get rid of death, death is a part of life. In order for things to live, some things have to die – that is just the will of God. how are we supposed to eat lunch if we cant get kill anything. Leave it up to my son to not only ruin lunch, but to upset the whole order of life. She looks at Jack and tells him that he has to go and make this right. How I am supposed to make this right. Death is in an acorn at the bottom of the ocean, I will never find him. Jack, I don’t know what you are going to do, but you better get out of this house right now – and do something. Jack walks out of the house, and walks to the beach and just staring at the ocean, totally at a loss of what to do. All of a sudden the tide blows in, and an acorn washes up on shore. Jack cracks the acorn open, in sure enough there is death, still smaller then a penny. Jack has to take death and stretch him out. He pulls him left and right until he is back the size of a man. He gives death back his black robe and his sickle. Death thanks Jack for restoring him, and he looks at his watch as says that he still have a busy schedule. But he turns to Jack and says, since you now seem to understand the concept of death, I wont be going to your house today. But you need to understand that when the time comes I will be back for her, and the next time she has to go with me. Jack said that he understood. When he got home, lunch was ready for him. He treasured each moment that he had with his mom. Until many years later his mom passed away. Jack is a popular character in English folktales. Jack represents the ordinary guy – he is not the smartest person in life, but he not the dumbest. He is not a good person, but he is not necessarily the worst person. He doesn’t go to church, so sometimes he has to learn his lessons the hard way. In the earlier centuries, people used to carve out turnips, and put a candle in it in order so that when Jack got lost, he would see the light and have a safe place to sleep at night. He would sleep in the turnip – today in America – people carve out pumpkins and call them Jack o Lanterns. Jack never did really come to terms with death – that is why he is roaming the earth still looking for a safe place to sleep at night – but that is a story for another time and another place. Not a story for today In many ways – we all struggle with death. And all of us would do all that we can to save our loved ones from death. And when it affects those that we care about, it is harder for us to accept death as a part of life. but Ephesians gives us a word of hope in the midst of our grief. Because it reminds us that in the presence of the holy Spirit, death is not the final word. Redemption and resurrection is the final word, since Christ came into our world. We share in the inheritance of Christ of eternal life with God. The presence of the holy spirit in this life is sort of a down payment in the joy to come. Joy of truly being in the presence of God, where there is no sorrow, no death. Only love, light and hope. As we stand today – we stand in the presence of all who came before us, all that is to come. The doors of heaven are open – just to give a glimpse of better days. Let us pray…..

Early Morning Meditation

April 20, 2019 Year C 1 Corinthians 15:19-26 Easter Sunday – Sunrise Service Early Morning Meditation 1 Corinthians 15:19-26 Common English Bible (CEB) 19 If we have a hope in Christ only in this life, then we deserve to be pitied more than anyone else. 20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead. He’s the first crop of the harvest[a] of those who have died. 21 Since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead came through one too. 22 In the same way that everyone dies in Adam, so also everyone will be given life in Christ. 23 Each event will happen in the right order: Christ, the first crop of the harvest,[b] then those who belong to Christ at his coming, 24 and then the end, when Christ hands over the kingdom to God the Father, when he brings every form of rule, every authority and power to an end. 25 It is necessary for him to rule until he puts all enemies under his feet.[c] 26 Death is the last enemy to be brought to an end, Footnotes: a. 1 Corinthians 15:20 Or firstfruits b. 1 Corinthians 15:23 Or firstfruits c. 1 Corinthians 15:25 Ps 110:1 Common English Bible (CEB) Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible As we sit here this morning, I just want us to take this moment in time inside of our souls. What does this day mean for us? How does it change us or change our circumstances. We don’t have to do anything, or expect anything, but to feel the grace in our lives. And to be grateful that we are alive in this moment. Expecting Death In many ways, we are like those first disciples, so it seems to me. We are like the women coming to the grave that day. They had heard the promise of Jesus that on the third day, the Son of Man would be raised from the dead by the Powers of God. They had heard his promise to the thief on the cross, “Today you will be with me in paradise.” They had heard Jesus teach, “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me will never die.” Nevertheless, on that morning when they came to the grave, they came expecting death, did they not? When they came that morning to the grave, in spite of all of Jesus’ promises, they came expecting death. And I am suspicious that you and I are like those women. Even though we have heard the promises of God. Yes, we have heard the promises over and over again e.g. on the third day I will rise; today you will be with me in paradise; I am the resurrection and the life. We have heard these promises but we come to our graves, and like the women on that first Sunday morning, we are expecting death. For deep down in everyone’s soul is a pessimism that believes that this is all there is. They put you in a box; they put you in that grave; and in time the box and the vault will decay, and your body will decay like all the others. Why do we have this inner feeling, this inner pessimism? Sigmund Freud calls it the “death instinct.” Common to all human beings and all animals, and human beings are part of the animal kingdom, we have this instinct. Deep down inside is this fear that this is all there is. And so we come to the graves of life, the graves of our mothers and fathers, and grandmas and grandpas; we come to the deathbeds of life, and we finally come to our own deathbed and we quietly pray: “I believe, help my unbelief.” And we die. We sleep. And then…then…we awake and say…”Hooooly cow!!! It is so incredibly beautiful!!! Stunned. Breathless. And we are astonished and astounded, amazed and awestruck, dazzled and dumbfounded the beauty that God has prepared for you and me. The Apostle Paul was right when he said,“No eye can see, no ear can hear, no mind can imagine the good and wonderful things that God has prepared for us.” Edward F. Markquart, Astonished and Astounded Ready for the Trip? A minister was preaching and during the course of his sermon asked, "Who wants to go to heaven?" Everyone held up their hands except one young boy. "Son, don't you want to go to heaven when you die?" "Yes sir, when I die, but I thought you was gettin' up a load to go now." That is probably the attitude of most of us. Most Christians DO figure that when we die we go to heaven to be with the Lord, even if we are not ready to make the trip tomorrow. David E. Leininger, Collected Sermons, ChristianGlobe Networks, Inc. We are so prone to think that what is going on in our life right now is all that there is. Perhaps that is why Paul says that if our hope in Christ right now is all that we have, then we are a people are to be pitied. Our faith has to be in the resurrection and the resurrection alone. But Paul encourages us not to just focus on the resurrection of Jesus, but on our resurrection also. Christ opened many doors for us. I chose this message from Corinthians, instead of the gospel because this is the first and earliest witness to the resurrection. Paul wrote Corinthians 50 years after Christ was resurrected. The earliest gospel was not written until 74 AD. Luke would not have know Jesus, he was a second generation Christian. Paul did not meet Jesus personally, but he did know the other disciples. He did have a good idea of what Jesus was trying to do. And it was not Jesus life that inspired him, it was not even his death. It was his resurrection. Romans 10:9 tells us that if we confess with our mouth that Jesus is our Lord and we believe in our hearts that Jesus was raised then we will be saved. Once again the resurrection is the source of our faith. And the source of our salvation. On Good Friday, we become aware that Jesus dies for our sins, but today we focus not on why he died – but why it was so important for him to come back to life – so that we too could overcome our need to die, and choose life. It has been said that there are 4 great facts to remember about the resurrection. Truth is stronger than a lie, good is stronger than evil, love is stronger than hate, and finally that life is always stronger than death. If Jesus had died never to rise again, it would have proved that death could take the loveliest and best life that ever lived and finally break it. During the second world war a certain city church in London was all set out for harvest thanksgiving. In the centre of the gifts was a sheaf of corn. The service was never held, for, on the Saturday night, a savage air raid laid the church in ruins. The months passed and the spring came, and someone noticed that, on the bomb site where the church had stood, there were shoots of green. The summer came and the shoots flourished and in the autumn there was a flourishing patch of corn growing amidst the rubble. Not even the bombs and the destruction could kill the life of the corn and its seeds. The Resurrection is the final proof that life is stronger than death. In spite of our deepest, darkest tendency toward death – life always wins. The Power of Belief in a World of Lost Hope Eric Butterworth tells about a young soldier who lost his legs in battle. Something died within this young man when he found he would never walk again. He lay in his hospital bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. He refused to talk to anyone who tried to help him. He refused to cooperate with doctors or nurses who wanted to help him to adjust. One day another inmate of the hospital strolled in and sat down on a chair near the bed. He drew a harmonica from his pocket and began to play softly. The patient looked at him for a second, then back to the ceiling. That was all for that day. Next day the player came again. For several days he continued to come and to play quietly. One day he said, "Does my playing annoy you?" The patient said, "No, I guess I like it." They talked a little more each day. One day the harmonica player was in a jovial mood. He played a sprightly tune and began to do a tap dance. The soldier looked on but was apparently unimpressed. "Hey, why don't you smile once and let the world know you're alive!" the dancer said with a friendly smile. But the legless soldier said, "I might as well be dead as in the fix I'm in." "Okay," answered his happy friend, "so you're dead. But you're not as dead as a fellow who was crucified two thousand years ago, and He came out of it all right." "Oh, it's easy for you to preach," replied the patient, "but if you were in my fix, you'd sing a different tune." With this the dancer stood up and said, "I know a two-thousand-year-old resurrection is pretty far in the dim past. So maybe an up-to-date example will help you to believe it can be done." With that he pulled up his trouser legs and the young man in the bed looked and saw two artificial limbs. The tap-dancing fellow with the harmonica was not simply a Pollyanna. He once lay where that young soldier now lay. He himself had known the power of a resurrection. He had learned to live life abundantly--even without his legs. Needless to say, the young soldier's own resurrection began that moment. Easter isn't just about dying. It's about the power of belief in a world of lost hope. It is about knowing that no situation is beyond God's redeeming power. King Duncan, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com So let me ask you, how many people do you know who are breathing and walking, and talking and going through the motions of life, and yet in spirit they are dead, because they have no hope. They don’t know what to do next. That is why Paul reminds us that belief in the resurrection is the whole key to our faith. If Jesus conquered death then so can we. He did live just to die, he died so in order to have life life. I want us to watch this short video of what is possible Because of Christ resurrection. Finally let me ask – What needs a resurrection? What stones need to be rolled away? What needs to be brought out of the dark caves of this world, brought out into the light? Where is new life needing to be encouraged, unearthed, resurrected? On this Easter Sunday, on this day when we tell the ancient story of death not having the final word, what word do we need to hear? What needs a resurrection? Additional illustrations…… More Hope than We Can Handle Earlier this week, an old couple received a phone call from their son who lives far away. The son said he was sorry, but he wouldn’t be able to come for a visit over the holidays after all. "The grandkids say hello." They assured him that they understood, but when they hung up the phone they didn’t dare look at each other. Earlier this week, a woman was called into her supervisor’s office to hear that times are hard for the company and they had to let her go. "So sorry." She cleaned out her desk, packed away her hopes for getting ahead, and wondered what she would tell her kids. Earlier this week, someone received terrible news from a physician. Someone else heard the words, "I don't love you anymore." Earlier this week, someone’s hope was crucified. And the darkness is overwhelming. No one is ever ready to encounter Easter until he or she has spent time in the dark place where hope cannot be seen. Easter is the last thing we are expecting. And that is why it terrifies us. This day is not about bunnies, springtime and girls in cute new dresses. It’s about more hope than we can handle. Craig Barnes, Savior at Large, article in The Christian Century, March 13-20, 2002 p. 16. Yes, There Is Hope In the early part of World War II, a Navy submarine was stuck on the bottom of the harbor in New York City. It seemed that all was lost. There was no electricity and the oxygen was quickly running out. In one last attempt to rescue the sailors from the steel coffin, the U.S. Navy sent a ship equipped with Navy divers to the spot on the surface, directly above the wounded submarine. A Navy diver went over the side of the ship to the dangerous depths in one last rescue attempt. The trapped sailors heard the metal boots of the diver land on the exterior surface, and they moved to where they thought the rescuer would be. In the darkness they tapped in Morse code, "Is there any hope?" The diver on the outside, recognizing the message, signaled by tapping on the exterior of the sub, "Yes, there is hope." This is the picture of our dilemma as we worship this glad Easter Day. Humankind is trapped in a dreadful situation. All around we are running low on hope, and we look for a word from beyond offering it to us. This world in which we live is plagued with war and famine, mounting debt and continual destruction. The more we try to rescue ourselves the more we seem to fall behind. We wonder: Is there any hope? Bill Self, Is There Any Hope? God Cannot Die Martin Luther once spent three days in a black depression over something that had gone wrong. On the third day his wife came downstairs dressed in mourning clothes. "Who's dead?" he asked her. "God," she replied. Luther rebuked her, saying, "What do you mean, God is dead? God cannot die." "Well," she replied, "the way you've been acting I was sure He had!" Many of us have been caught in that trap. This is also what had happened to Mary. Ray C. Stedman, The Incredible Hope Birth into a New World In his book, Teaching Your Children about God, Rabbi David Wolpe, a professor at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, recalls an ancient Jewish parable about twin unborn children lying together in the womb. One believes that there is a world beyond the womb "where people walk upright, where there are mountains and oceans, a sky filled with stars." The other unborn twin can barely contain his contempt for such foolish ideas. Suddenly the "believer" of the twins is forced through the birth canal leaving behind the only way of life he has known. The remaining unborn twin is saddened, convinced that a great catastrophe has befallen his companion. Outside the womb, however, the parents are rejoicing. For what the remaining brother, left behind, has just witnessed is not death but birth. This, Wolpe reminds us, is a classic view of the life beyond the grave--a birth into a world that we on Earth can only try to imagine. The Easter message is that we have an older brother who HAS traveled beyond the tomb, down the birth canal of eternity and has returned to assure us that God is love, and that there is a place prepared for any who will accept the Good News. Whether our name is Marie or Mary or Peter or even Judas, Christ came into the world to save sinners. Won't you accept his offer of a new life today? King Duncan, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com

An Easter Sighting of the Risen Christ

April 15, 2018 Luke 24: 36-48 An Easter sighting of The Risen Christ Year B 3rd Sunday After Easter Exegetical Aim: To demonstrate the need in our lives to have God's power at all times in our life. Prop: A heavy winter coat you can wear. Lesson: [If you can wear the coat over your robe put it on and act as though it's cold.] Burr, I'm glad I have this coat. (response) Its so cold I think its going to snow! (response) What? (response) What are you laughing about? (response) It's hot? (response) It is? (response) You mean I don't need this coat? (response) Take the coat off hold and hold it in your hands. Your right it's not really cold outside. What time of year do I need a coat like this? (winter) That's right. I don't need it in the summer because it's not the right time of year. We have winter clothes and we have summer clothes don't we? (response) There are some clothes that we wear all year round. Can you name some? (response) If the kids don't name "socks" then you name it (For the women who are not wearing socks use your shoes). Application: I guess I need to put away this coat until fall when it starts to get cold again. Showing the kids your socks Should I put away my socks too? (response) Well, the Holy Spirit is kind of like these socks. When it's summer and hot outside we don't put away our socks until next winter do we? (response) No, we need our socks all year round. And, we need the Holy Spirit all year round. Jesus told his disciples they were going to be "clothed with power from on high." They were going to be clothed with the power of Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is kind of like a heavy coat. When we need strength and power in our lives we can put it around us and God will give us comfort. But the Holy Spirit is also like my socks. We always need the Holy Spirit. We always need the power God gives us to live. ChristianGlobe, , by Brett Blair Luke 24:36-48 Common English Bible (CEB) Jesus appears to the disciples 36 While they were saying these things, Jesus himself stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 37 They were terrified and afraid. They thought they were seeing a ghost. 38 He said to them, “Why are you startled? Why are doubts arising in your hearts? 39 Look at my hands and my feet. It’s really me! Touch me and see, for a ghost doesn’t have flesh and bones like you see I have.”40 As he said this, he showed them his hands and feet. 41 Because they were wondering and questioning in the midst of their happiness, he said to them, “Do you have anything to eat?” 42 They gave him a piece of baked fish. 43 Taking it, he ate it in front of them. 44 Jesus said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about me in the Law from Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures. 46 He said to them, “This is what is written: the Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and a change of heart and life for the forgiveness of sins must be preached in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. Common English Bible (CEB) Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible When I travelled to Israel in seminary in 1992, I learned a lot from my first trip out of the country. I learned a lot about myself, and about my faith. There are two earthshattering experiences that stand out for me that really challenged me. The first was on the first evening that we had arrived and we had orientation on our work. I remember staring at the instructor in disbelief, I consider myself to be a pretty intelligent person, but it never occurred to me that an archeological dig was something that you had to do in the ground, with dirt. I was mortified, because unless there was a miracle, I was not going to have anything to do with dirt. And sure enough, everyone else got up at 5am to get dressed, and trek a mile up a hill to work on the site. Luckily for me, I was sick everyday for two weeks, so that I could stay in bed. We, or they worked undigging the sight during the week. And on weekends were visited various sites around the country. On our first weekend, we went to Jerusalem. Within the larger city is the old city of Jerusalem, where Jesus would have walked. The old city is strictly a tourist sight. And most of the storekeepers are Palestinian Christians. At that time, the 4th of every month was intifada where that Palestinians were supposed to close their businesses in protest. But it turned out that they were so desparate for our tourist dollars, they were secretly opened for us. As you walk down the streets that Jesus was supposed to have travelled to the cross, you are bombarded by vendor after vendor wanting you to buy in their store. The journey through the stations of the cross is not a historical experience of what happened to Jesus, it is a recreation of the stations created by the catholic church. The church of the holy sepulcher, which has the sites of the cross and burial cave are inside. The best way to describe the experience is it is like being in Christian Disneyland. You stand in lines in order to see these holy sights. And then you get to touch the place that might have been calvary, then stand next to a picture of Mary to take a picture. In the highlight of the experience, you stand in line for over 30 minutes. They give you a candle, and you are allowed into the cave where Jesus may have been buried 10 at a time. A priest lights your candle, tells the story of the resurrection and says a prayer. It was the end of a very distressing day. As I sat in the cave, looking at the place where Jesus may have been laid, I remember thinking this is the biggest crock of mess that I have ever seen in my life. There is no way that a man laid in this place and died and just magically arose and came back to life. There is no way anyone who died came come back to life. Luckilly I did not have a lot of time to dwell on that thought, because after the prayer, they kick you out and lead you out of the church, so that the next ten people can have their chance to pray. Belief in the resurrection of Christ is the foundation of our faith as Christians. But being faced with a real place where that could have happened- made it even harder to understand. Luckily, that was just the end of a strange experience. But it didn’t make me question my faith, it drew me to ask more questions and to learn more about the story. Years later, I have more questions about resurrection than answers. There are things that I still can’t explain about what happened to Jesus. But today, after 22 years of being in ministry, I have learned that they are many strange things happening in the relationship between life and death. It is a normal part of my job to deal with that relationship and to guide families through that journey. The more that I experience in life, the less I question the resurrection. I am comfortable with it being a mystery. All four gospels accounts mention sightings of Jesus Christ after the resurrection. In each account, the man that they see after resurrection is not quite the same man that died on the cross. In each resurrection sighting, the person who know Jesus does not recognize him. But in each account Jesus comes to those who know him and speak to them. When people die, accounts of them reappearing is well documented. It is a spiritual phenomenom. As a matter of fact, it is not strange for parishioners to visit me as they are making their transitions. For years I have talked to families who told me the time that someone died, and I can remember back and remember thinking of that person at that very moment. I still vividly remember the dream that I had of the ancestors coming to get my sister, only to learn that she had died that night in her sleep. So as I experience more about life, I no longer question whether it is possible for a man to die and to come back to life. The relationship between life and death is a very real mystery. But in our story in Luke, Jesus goes through lengths to show people that he is not a spirit, that he is real. He shows them his hands and his feet. This story takes place after the walk to Emmaus. When he appears, not only does he challenge his friends to touch his hands and feet, he also asks for something to eat. Spirits don’t have flesh and bones, and they don’t eat fish. Scripture says that he enjoyed a whole meal with them and taught them many things over the meal. So it is official – church potlucks are holy meals that have been ordained by Christ. But being that Luke was a doctor, he teaches us another important lesson. That believing in the resurrection is not a spiritual experience, it is a real, physical experience. It is not about what goes on in our heads, it is about how we live and treat real people. Sermon Opener – See My Hands and Feet - Luke 24:36b-48 Tolstoy once told a story of a Czar and Czarina who wished to honor the members of their court with a banquet. They sent out invitations and requested that the guests come with the invitations in their hands. When they arrived at the banquet the guests were surprised to discover that the guards did not look at their invitations at all. Instead they examined their hands. The guests wondered about this, but they were also curious to see who the Czar and Czarina would choose as the guest of honor to sit between them at the banquet. They were flabbergasted to see that it was the old scrub woman who had worked to keep the palace clean for years. The guards, having examined her hands, declared, "You have the proper credentials to be the guest of honor. We can see your love and loyalty in your hands." A similar story is told of the great missionary to Burma, Adoniram Judson. Judson went to the King of Burma to ask him if he might have permission to go to a certain city to preach. The King, a pagan, but quite an intelligent man responded, "I'm willing for a dozen preachers to go but not you, not with those hands. My people are not such fools as to take notice of your preaching but they will note those calloused, work scarred hands." After his crucifixion, the disciples of Jesus were trying to sort out the meaning of the reports they had been receiving about appearances of the risen Christ. It was most confusing to them. Was it a hoax? They were not completely immune to superstition. Perhaps it was some kind of ghost. Suddenly it happened. Jesus himself stood among them. The disciples were startled and frightened. Then Jesus said to them, "Why are you troubled and why do questionings rise in your hearts? See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself..." The response of the disciples is a sermon in itself. Luke tells us that they "disbelieved for joy..." It was simply too wonderful to be true. He was alive and he was with them right there. No wonder they had difficulty believing. Some persons still have that problem today. Many desperately want to believe but something holds them back. "See my hands and my feet..." 1. It Is Difficult to Believe God Cares That Much. 2. It Is Difficult to Believe Life Goes on Beyond the Tomb. 3. We Have Trouble Processing the Implications of These Two Truths. We are the hands and feet of Christ. Scripture says that what we will be is not known, but when it becomes obvious we will be just like Christ. But further in Luke he also says that when we do for others in the world, that it is not us, but the spirit in us. Jesus told his disciples to wait for his power, then to go out and change the world. When we embrace the resurrection, and we can feel the presence of God in our lives, we have the power to make a difference. Luke teaches us not to look for Christ in the spiritual world, but to look for him in the people around us. Spirits don’t ask for something to eat, but people do. We really do need to break bread with those around us, work the transform the lives of those around us. God with Us Wheaton Webb tells about a time when a stranger approached him and asked, "You couldn't let a man have a dollar for a meal?" A group of people was about to eat a potluck supper, so the pastor invited the man, who had the look of one who hadn't had a good meal for some time, to join them; they sat down at the end of one of the tables by themselves. "How long have you been on the road?" asked Webb. "A long time, a very long time," came the answer. "And it never occurred to you to settle down and take some steady work?" "No," the man replied, "I used to be a carpenter. But I'm one of those who has to be on his way. I'd never be happysettled in just one place." Webb comments: "It was odd the way he said it - like the wayfarer who visited Emmaus and who made as if he would have gone further until Cleopas and his companion (in the earlier episode) invited him to stay for supper." Webb asked him his name and he answered, "Mr. Immanuel." As we know, Immanuel means "God-with-us." Wheaton Webb concludes the story this way: "Presently he said his thanks and was off on his lonely journey that has no ending. And I thought: He still goes on his way, the hungry man, Mr. God-with-us, in his shabby coat, and always a look in his eyes as if he would go further. But when he had gone, my heart began to burn within me, and I had no doubt that Cleopas and his companion, in that silence that suddenly fell over their table, would have understood."41 So would the eleven on the occasion when Jesus asked for something to eat, and so do we when the Lord occasionally appears in others who come to our tables hungry and lonely. Instead of getting stuck on whether the resurrections makes sense to us, if we want to see the resurrected Christ, we have to be present to those around us. When we are able to be present, we can be a witness to Christ in spite of our questions, doubts and fears. The spirit works through our actions to change the world. Walking the Walk A Civil War chaplain approached a wounded soldier on the battlefield and asked if he'd like to hear a few verses from the Bible. The wounded man said, "No, I'm so thirsty, I'd rather have some water." The chaplain gave him a drink, and then repeated his question. "No sir, not now – but could you put something under my head?" The chaplain did so, and again repeated his question. "No," said the soldier, "I'm cold. Could you cover me up?" The chaplain took off his inside coat and wrapped the soldier. Afraid to ask, he did not repeat his question. He made to go away, but the soldier called him back. "Look, Chaplain, if there's anything in that book of yours that makes a person do for another what you've done for me, then I want to hear it." Carlos Wilton, via PresbyNet, "Sermonshop 04 17 1994," #5, 4/12/94 In the coming days, as others can see Christ in us, let us be able to see Christ in them. Christ the lord has risen today – really. Let us pray… With Your Eyes Open to the Grace of God There is a neighborhood grocery store in our fairly affluent town that is visited each morning by the same clearly non-affluent person. We will call her "Ruth," and she is a street person. She enters the grocery about 11 a.m. every day and makes her way through the aisles. There is no polite way to describe what she does: Ruth steals food. Each morning she gathers enough for her lunch, poking pieces of fruit, loaves of bread, wedges of cheese, or a can of meat under her torn and stained coat. She then glides out the door. But she is not very subtle about it. Everyone at the store can see what she does. The stockroom crew know she is taking food; the butcher sees her activity; the checkout clerks are aware of her pilfering; the manager knows what she is about. Not long ago, this grocery moved several blocks away to a larger building. The week they moved to the new location, the store manager telephoned a downtown pastor. "I don't want to embarrass Ruth," he began, "so would you please find her and tell her where we've moved. I want to be sure she can find us." There in the city is a parable of mercy. An urban grocery store owner wants to be sure a homeless woman, a woman very much unlike the owner, can nonetheless find food, and for disciples with discerning eyes, there is much to learn here about the power of God in the world. "Stay in the city with your eyes open to the grace of God," the disciples are told, "and you will receive power." Thomas G. Long, Whispering The Lyrics, CSS Publishing Touch Sanctifies Memory Touch sanctifies memory. I have a favorite cup for my morning coffee. It was my mother’s long before it was mine. For years it had its place on the kitchen window sill in my boyhood home. The chip is still on the rim, reminding me of the horseplay my sister and I enjoyed in a time when kids actually washed and dried dishes. My mother’s hands have long since relinquished that flowered coffee cup, but because she was all that she was to me, I can hold it and remember. We do well to gather our memories around things we can touch, especially baptismal water and the bread and wine of the Easter meal. These sustain us as we journey, hand in hand, with the whole company of the faithful, toward the eternal Easter yet to come. F. Dean Leuking, "Touch and See," article in The Christian Century April 2, 1997 p. 337 The Forgiveness Business I have frequently quoted Robert Capon's comments that the church is not in the morals business. The world does a pretty good job of that. What the world can't get right is the forgiveness business which is the church's proper job. From a slightly different angle, he writes in Between Noon and Three: Morality, by its very nature, must be concerned with norms, with standards; whereas grace, by definition, is concerned with persons: it is a refusal to allow the standards to become the basis of their reconciliation or condemnation. Thus the conflict: morality tells you the standard you need to meet in order to be properly alive; grace tells you that all you ultimately need is to be dead – which is either the world's lowest standard or no standard at all. Grace and morality, therefore, are two different kettles of fish. Morality deals with virtue and vice, with what is strengthening or weakening for human nature considered as an operational possibility. Grace, however, deals with sin, with a condition in which human nature has ceased to be an operational possibility and has ended up a lost cause. Grace is, to say it once again, about raising the dead. In the Bible the opposite of sin is not virtue; it is faith – faith in God who raises the dead. All this talk about morality, therefore, is misleading. When we get far enough into it we begin to convince ourselves that the preaching of the moral law will, if done energetically enough, lead people to lead good lives and so make them more like what they ought to be. But that's not biblical. St. Paul says that the purpose of the law was not to do that at all, but to bring us to the awareness of sin. We sit here talking as if proper moral instruction to fifteen-year-olds will somehow keep them clear of sin. But St. Paul says that Scripture has concluded – locked up – all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe. [pp. 157-8] The goal of our preaching is not more moral behaviors, but forgiveness. I have often said that the primary purpose of sermons is absolution. While there may be instructions, and illustrations, and jokes, etc., if the forgiveness of sins through Jesus is not proclaimed in some way, I think that the sermon (and the church) has failed in its God-given purpose. Brian Stoffregen, Exegetical Notes The Urgency of the Task Luiqi Tarisio was found dead one morning with hardly any creature comforts in his home, except the presence of 246 exquisite violins. He had been collecting them all his life. They were all stored in the attic, the best in the bottom drawer of an old rickety bureau. In his very devotion to the violin, he had robbed the world of all that music. Much of that collection was owned by others before him who had done the same. So that when the greatest of his collection, a Stradivarius, was first played it had had 147 speechless years. How many of Christ's people are like old Tarisio? In our very love of the church we fail to give the glad tidings to the world; in our zeal for the truth we forget to publish it. When shall we all learn that the Good News needs not just to be cherished, but needs to be told? Don't bury God's Good News of Easter at the bottom of a rickety old bureau. Let the people hear the great sound of the music: He is Risen! Adapted from James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited, Wheaton: Tyndale, 1988, p. 492. George M. Bass, The Tree, The Tomb, And The Trumpet, CSS Publishing Co., Inc.

Coming Upon Lent

March 5, 2017 First Sunday of Lent Year B Coming Upon Lent Genesis 2:15-17, 3:1-7 Easter comes a little late this year. But no matter how late Easter is, lent always comes upon my unexpected. I am never to start lent, and every year I am faced with that proverbial question, what am I doing for lent. What am I going to give up for lent. I was surprised that the host of Windy City Live were having this conversation on Ash Wednesday- about what to give up for lent. Each of them named a bad habit they were going to give up.they decided that whomever did the forbidden activity for the next 40 days had to put money in the jar. They even argued about how much money was appropriate. So apparently it has become a social statement to give something up for lent. But what struck me was that even though they were talking about it, they were all totally ignorant about the meaning and point on lent. Life is not so simple. Not one of them even made a promise to change their behavior. They all admitted that they would probably fail, so the charity that was going to get the money was going to do well. Because all they had to do was to put money in the jar. No reflection, no self discipline, and more importantly, no relationship to God. God doesn’t want our money, or our guilt. And giving up something for lent is symbolic. God wants our hearts. When Easter comes we should be changed, transformed but more importantly much closer to God. I was going to give up sugar for lent, but after watching that episode on Windy City Live – I decided that rather than worrying about a symbolic act – to open my heart and to invite the spirit to come and live with me for 40 days. To work with me, challenge me but to stay close enough for us to be friends in the days to come. So I thought that this morning I would have us look at the scripture from Genesis this morning. On the first Sunday of Lent I usually focus on the gospel of Jesus in the wilderness for 40 days as an example. But I thought that Genesis has a deeper message on who we are as people, why we have those bad habits, and important lessons about what lent is all about. If you are going to give up something for lent – have the power to give it up. Genesis teaches us about an important concept to prevent us from having to keep money jars around all month- it teaches us about temptation. Of course what tempts us is very different. But with the things that tempt us, we know that there is always a chance that we will give in, or else it would be a temptation. But our faith teaches us that we always have the power to overcome. Genesis starts with the story of God creating Adam, and teaching him to care for the rest of creation. God instructions were to Adam not Eve, It was Adam who passed the information onto Eve. I make that distinction because in our popular telling of the story – we blame Eve and think of Adam as just going along. But I digress. My point is that the story starts with Adam having a direct relationship with God, he was so close to God that they could have a conversation about life. About his purpose, and even about the consequences of his actions. He tells him that he is to till the land, that he is to enjoy the fruits of his labor, he is free to do whatever he pleases. God puts one boundary on that freedom – don’t eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil or you will die. God wants us to be free, to be happy, to enjoy life. But in order to do that, God knows that in order to have true freedom, there has to be some boundaries around that freedom. There has to be some context around our freedom in order for it to have meaning. We have been hosting a class from Garrett at our church this semester, and one of the things that professor taught us was that the word religio – the word that religion comes from means to fence in. Religion fences in our freedom so that we can enjoy use it and enjoy it. It helps us to be in control of our lives, instead of our lives being in control of us. God put Adam in control of the land and creation. The first words of our text says that God took the human and settled him in the garden of eden to farm and to take care of it. God continues to order his creation. The text shows that God took man, God commanded, God said. God knew what God was doing and God did it. We know how the story goes, one day a serpent comes and talks with the woman and questions everything that God has done and said. Did God really say that? Did God really mean that? The serpent goes as far as to take the boundaries off of God’s freedom. You wont die! As a matter of fact, says that serpent, God knows that if you eat of the tree of knowledge that you will be just like God, knowing good from evil. And that has been our problem every since the beginning – once the boundaries have been broken down in our lives, we want what God has. We want to be God in our lives and in the lives of all of creation. There is an ancient story about the time God was confronted by a man who argued, “ It is easy for you God. You tell us we must do this and we cant do that. “What do you know of the struggles of people like me? You are God. It is easy for you. But God argued, insisting that being God was no picnic either. You only have to look after your own little self, said God. I have to look after the entire world, and it is not easy. As a matter of fact, just to show you, I’ll change places with you for 24 hours. You will see then. So God gave the man one day to see what a hard job it is to run the world. Twenty four hours later, God returned and said, You see? It wasn’t as easy as you thought. Then God prepared to be God once more. But the man wouldn’t give God back his power. He found he liked playing God. That is why the world is as it is today, so the legend goes. You will notice in this story the serpent did not have any power in this story. All he did was question God and that was enough to get Eve going. To tearing down those boundaries and wanting to be free from what God had taught her. God has already given them control of the land and creation, but she wanted to be in control of God’s commandments – do not eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge. She didn’t eat the fruit because it tasted good- but because it would make her equal to God – or so she thought. Usually when we give in to temptation and do those forbidden things, we are not happier. We are more miserable. Eve and Adam did not die immediately, but life was a lot harder for them. There is a reason that God has put a fence around our freedom. It is not freedom that makes us happy, it is freedom in the context of boundaries. It is freedom that can be channeled, guided, informed, and used that makes us happy. And if we continue to look at the text. Eve and Adam did not die. As a matter of fact life went on for them. They even gained the knowledge of good and evil, but once they attained the knowledge, they were forced to use it. They put on fig leaves and were put out of the garden of eden forever to live their lives with the knowledge that they had been given. I believe that this is a story of life as it is, and not as it should be. In other words – Idont think that this is a story of what would have happen if Eve and Adam had lived in the garden forever. God knew that they would fail, God knew that they would not remain innocent forever, God knew that they would sin and have to live with the consequences of their decisions. No matter how familiar the story – there is always something that we can learn that will help us in our lives today. The lesson that I learned this lent season from the story of Adam and Eve is that alongside the tree of knowledge was also –planted right to it the tree of life. God did not forbid them from eating the fruit of the tree of life. The tree of knowledge God said brought death, but the tree of life bought life, strength, common sense, joy, fulfillment, true understanding. Everything that you needed in order to live the life God intended. God always gives us a choice, and life is about the choices that we make. If we decide to do wrong, we can also decide to do right. When we are faced with temptation we also have the tools we need to resist our temptation. We don’t need to put out money jars for lent- because if we can decide to do wrong, we have the power to decide to do right. As a matter of fact, the prophetic story was about man and woman making the wrong decision, the gospel story was about Jesus in the face of temptation having the power to so no. to resist temptation. To keep the boundaries of his faith, his connection to God, his focus on life – not death. That is our task this Lenten season, not to worry about giving something up. But to repair the fences in our faith that life has torn down. To look at our relationship with God and to shut down all those extraneous voices and to listen only to God. Let us turn now to the deeper meaning of this passage. At that level it is of course no longer speaking of something that happened long ago, but addressing life in the present. It shows us “man” confronted with a choice: “You may freely eat...”, “You shall not eat...” “Man” can either work for God and find happiness and freedom in serving him, or he can go his own way thinking he knows all there is to know, and live with the inevitable consequences. This is the most fundamental choice that any of us is ever called upon to face, the choice between God and ourselves, between real freedom and the illusion of it, between Paradise and Hell, between life and death. It is our choice and our choice only. God cannot interfere, otherwise it is not a genuine choice. But how anxious he is that we make the right choice, how devastated when we make the wrong one! There is an ancient legend of the cypress Tree of Life. It tells that when Adam was dying, he sent Seth to the Garden of Eden to fetch him some Oil of Mercy. Seth could not release the oil, no matter how much Seth begged, but the guardian angel gave Seth instead a sprig, or seed, from the Tree of Life, which he as told to plant upon his father’s grave. When Adam died, Seth did as the angel had said. From that seed grew a tree which, years later, gave Moses the wood for his wonder-working rod. Later the tree was cut down and cast away. As a rejected tree, it was picked up and used . . . to fashion the cross on which Jesus was crucified. It was truly the Tree of Life. He is truly the way, and the truth, and the life. There is something so very curious about the man from Galilee. He has captivated the imaginations of people throughout twenty centuries. He transcends time and place, culture and custom, race and language. Something there is in Him that always speaks clearly to us. We see it throughout the gospels, everywhere He went, in everything He said and did. Son of God and Son of Man, we know He became one of us. While He is the answer to all our struggles, we see Him struggling with the things He faced. And, as He finds the way for Himself He finds the way for us as well… Temptation: Just Don’t Look A pastor once told his congregation, "I learned a great lesson from a dog." He said, "His master used to put a bit of meat or a biscuit or some kind of food on the ground, and he'd say to the dog, 'Don't eat that,' and the dog would run over and eat it, so he'd hit the dog. And he put another piece of meat on the ground. He'd say, 'Don't eat that.' The dog would go over and eat it, and he hit him again. Well, after awhile, the dog got the message: eat meat, get hit. So the dog decided he wouldn't eat the meat." But the man telling the story related how that the dog never looked at the meat. The dog evidently felt that if he looked at the meat, the temptation to disobey would be too great, and so he looked steadfastly into his master's face and never took his eyes off him, and thus the temptation never caused a problem. John Macarthur, How to Overcome Temptation An overzealous preacher felt it was his calling to aggressively "make" people become Christians as they would ride on the city bus system. One day a man who was obviously intoxicated stumbled onto the bus that the preacher was on. The preacher sprang into action and shook his Bible in the face of the inebriated man and yelled, "Did you know you're headed for Hell?" And the drunk replied, "Oh, no, I'm on the wrong bus again!" Even worse, many of us are unwilling to take responsibility for our transgressions. And since we refuse to take responsibility, we make the same mistakes time and time again. We are like Adam blaming Eve for their transgression, and Eve blaming the serpent. Two men were watching a western on television. As the hero rode on horseback toward the edge of a cliff, one man said, “I bet you $50 he goes over the cliff.” “You’re on,” said the other man. The hero rode on straight over the cliff. Being a sportsman, the second handed over the money. The first man looked at it and said, “I feel guilty about winning this. I’ve seen this film before.” “So have I,” said his friend, “but I didn’t think that cowboy would be stupid enough to make the same mistake again.” The first step in dealing with sin is to take responsibility for it. Quit doing the same stupid thing over and over again. The lines have at last met. If when we try to restate the meaning of this story in modern terms, everything is not as neat and tidy as we would like, that is because of the story form. It is removing to the past and concentrating on an uncomplicated pastoral stage what is in fact the root cause of this whole complicated universe’s present misery. That root cause is the strange mixture of ability and arrogance, of success and failure, of hope and remorse, of knowledge and guilt which is human sin. It has set an unbridgeable gulf between the human race and its Father in heaven—a gulf at any rate unbridgeable from its side.

Are you Ready for the Resurrection?

2 Thessalonians 2:1-5, 13-17 Luke 20:27-38 Get Ready for the Resurrection 25th Sunday After Pentecost Year C The Questions we ask A Theological Curveball A certain minister has made it a policy for many years to refer "six-year-old theology questions" to his wife. Since she has taught very young children for many years, he says, she has a much better grasp than he does of how to address the questions which little kids ask. The other day, a first-grader brought a drawing of a skeleton into class where she teaches English as a second language. The titled across the top of the drawing read "Inside of Me." It was designed to teach children that everyone has a skeleton inside of them. He unfolded it proudly and showed it to the class. One little girl from India was astounded at the thought that she and others had this scary-looking skeleton inside them, and so she pressed the issue a bit farther. "Even you got one of these inside you, Mrs. K?" The teacher replied, "Yes, I have one, too." The next question was the theological one. "Even God got one inside him?" Now in a class made up of children from many different countries, cultures, and religious backgrounds (most of them not Christians), you can imagine that this question had the potential for major theological debate. I doubt if I'd have had the presence of mind to give the answer the teacher did; but, as usual, her expertise in six-year-old theology saved the day. "If God needs a skeleton, I'm sure he has one," she replied. "God has everything he needs." This apparently satisfied the theological curiosity of the class, and they got on with the lesson. Asking questions is an essential part of learning. If we don't know something, we look for someone who does and we ask. The only dumb question is the one you don't ask. We learn by asking questions about what we don't know. Larry R. Kalajainen, Extraordinary Faith for Ordinary Time, CSS Publishing Company Sadducees – not stupid question, but stupid people We have all heard that saying that there are no stupid questions. The only dumb question is one that you don’t ask. I think that Jesus would agree with me – that there is no stupid questions, but sometimes there are stupid people who ask questions. I know that is a pretty strong statement, but it is an explanation of the story in Luke 20. This story is included in both Matthew and Mark. But for Luke he puts this story on the Tuesday before Jesus is crucified. The priest have been looking for any excuse at all to attack Jesus. Each time they ask a stupid question – a question that will prove that Jesus is a fraud – Jesus understands the trap well enough to avoid it. And this question is no different. The Sadducees where rich priest, who were in charge of the temples. They were very conservative – anything that was not expressely written in the first five books of the bible – did not exist as far as they were concerned. The words of Job - I know that my redeemer[a] lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth.[b] 26 And after my skin has been destroyed, yet[c] in[d] my flesh I will see God; 27 I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me! Means nothing to them. The did not believe in the resurrection – even though the words are in the old testament. The sadduccees were sad u see – because they did not believe in anything that they could not see. In their world there was nothing to hope for, nothing more than words on paper to believe in. There was no eternal life. That is why in this case there were stupid people asking a stupid question. If there was a resurrection – which they didn’t believe in anyway, and a woman married seven different men, who would be her husband in heaven. Jesus had to explain that not only do you not understand resurrection, not only do you not understand heaven, before you try and talk about life after death, you should have an understanding of life. I love it when Jesus tells us that god is not a god of the dead, but the living. Nothing in life disappears Dr. Wernher von Braun, well-known for his part in the U. S. space program, says he has “essentially scientific” reasons for believing in life after death. He explained: “Science has found that nothing can disappear without a trace. Nature does not know extinction. All it knows is transformation. If God applies the fundamental principle to the most minute and insignificant parts of the universe, doesn’t it make sense to assume that He applies it to the masterpiece of His creation—the human soul? I think it does.” What is life? what is death? Jesus says that God is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But he says that they are indeed alive. But if we cannot see them, if we know that they have passed on, if we know where their graves are – then how are they among the living? What is the relationship between life and death? Thessalonians was written in a different time, it answers different questions, but at the heart of the scripture is the meaning of eternal life. Paul comes to Thessalonica in order to address the Thessalonian error. We all as Christians are susceptible to that error. Because we all live in the anticipation of Jesus coming soon – and we get confused about what that means. When Paul told the Thessalonians that Christ was coming soon – they forgot that God is the God of the living. They thought they could stop living for themselves, because Christ was coming soon, so nothing mattered anymore. My Thessalonian error There was a time in my life when life was so crazy for me, that I thought for sure that Christ was coming soon. I was so desparate for God to come and fix my life, that I made myself sick and ended up in the hospital. One day the nurse bought my clothes to my room, telling me that he washed them so that I could wear them again. I looked at the nurse and said I didn’t need them anymore. I looked out the window – waiting for Jesus to come out of the sky. The nurse left them on the counter – saying trust me, I think you will need these again. I thought he was just an unbeliever, who did not see the signs. Paul tried to help us understand that waiting for Christ to come, does not mean that it is time to give up living. It does not mean that our life is over. Life goes on, the work continues. We cant give up In the challenges of life – the Jews had stopped believing in the power of God. There was no God, There were no miracles, there was nothing to hope for beyond what they could see and understand. And the Christians believed that if there was a God, then there was no need for them to keep living. They could stop working and just let God handle it. They could just give up on everything and wait for the miracle. Paul tried to help us understand that one is just as bad as the other. God is the God of those who live. And those who live, are constantly growing and moving forward. As a matter of fact Thessalonians spells it out in verses 13-16. God called you to be the first fruits of salvation. Along with being called and chosen comes a task – a job, work for you to do. If you are called, and have work to do – then God will send others to help you in your task, If we are here, then we are set apart and saved for something better. If we consider ourselves to be Christians, then we are alive, anything that is alive, grows and moves forward. We don’t get to give up. A Girl learns to skate A father bought a little girl a pair of ice skates. In learning how to skate, she fell down time after time. Wanting to spare her the pain of failure – he asked her if she was ready to give up. She got up, and said I didn’t ask for these skates in order to fail- but to be a skater, and she got up and kept trying. What about you? What are you here for? Why do you call yourself a Christian? Are you a sad u see? Only believing in what you can see? Or are you waiting for something more? Are you one of the dead? or the living? Tradition Must Leave Room for Revelation The apostle Paul, in his letter of encouragement to the struggling young church at Thessalonica, wrote, "Stand firm and hold fast to the traditions we taught you, either by word of mouth or by our letters" (2 Thessalonians 2:15). Tradition is important. But tradition has to leave room for revelation, because the Spirit blows where it wills, right? That has always been a problem in the church, from day one to this day. We don’t seem to want to leave any room for revelation when we’re talking about tradition. A well-known theologian has commented, "Any church that is alive lives on the edge of heresy," meaning that its members won’t refuse new ideas or new programs or new challenges simply because there are those in the church who say, "WE NEVER DID IT THAT WAY BEFORE!" and want these to be the final words on the subject matter. These have been called "the seven last words of the church," and in many cases they have been. Johnny Dean Heaven and Earth There are a lot question the Bible doesn't answer about the Hereafter. But I think one reason is illustrated by the story of a boy sitting down to a bowl of spinach when there's a chocolate cake at the end of the table. He's going to have a rough time eating that spinach when his eyes are on that cake. And if the lord had explained everything to us about what's ours to come, I think we'd have a rough time with our spinach down here. Michael Green, Illustrations for Biblical Preaching, Baker, 1993, p.184. What would life be like if we ate chocolate cake, and avoided the spinache? Somewhere along the way – we would have lost sight of the true meaning of life. and we wouldn’t have the nutrients we need to grow, to move and to live. I leave you with the benediction in the last part of chapter 2 of Thessalonians – Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our father, who loves us and through grace gave us eternal comfort and good hope, comfort your hearts and strengthen them in every good work and word. Amen. Big Changes by Brett Blair, Tim Carpenter Passage: Luke 20:27-40 • Lectionary: Proper 27 Item 1 of 3 | Back to Results Exegetical Aim: As we grow in life and as we grow with God, we will always have to deal with changes. Sometimes it means letting go of the old and accepting the new. Heaven will bring about the biggest of these changes. Props: A diaper, wipes, a baby bottle (or a jar of baby food and a baby spoon), and a pacifier. Lesson: I have something this morning I think you need. Hold up the diaper. Okay, who needs his diaper changed? (response) All right, don't be shy. Who needs his diaper changed? Anyone have wet britches? (response) I even brought the wipes. What? (response) What do you mean you don't wear diapers? (response) Ignore their statements about being grown-up. Well, then, here's something you need ... a bottle. Okay, who is hungry? Who needs his bottle? (response)What? (response) But you use a bottle all the time. (response) All right, no bottle. Here's something you can use. (response) You mean you don't even use pacifiers anymore? (response)Why not ... you used to use them all the time? (response) You're grown up? (response) How old are you now? (response) Tell me what growing up has to do with no longer wearing diapers and no longer eating baby food. How come you no longer need these things? (response) Keep the pacifier in your hands as you speak with the children. Application: My, how you've grown! It's sad sometimes to let go of diapers, bottles, and pacifiers, but it means we are doing some new things. Tell me some things you can do now that you are big boys and big girls? (response) What else can you do now that you are big? (response)Let me ask you a question: Do you miss the diapers? (response) Why don't you miss them?(response) I understand. Pause. Are you sure none of you would like to wear the diaper? (no!) If there is a wise guy who takes you up on it, motion him to come over. He'll back down. Jesus said as we get older, things happen to us: we grow up, and we change. We have to make decisions to let go of some things like diapers, bottles, and pacifiers. Hold up the pacifier. He even said when we go through the biggest change of all ... when we go to heaven ... some very big changes are going to occur. We will never have to brush our teeth again. And, we will never have to take a nap, and we will never have to eat all our broccoli again. Did Jesus say that? (no)You're right, he didn't say it exactly in those words, but he did say when we get to heaven some very big changes are going to take place. (Optional: He said we won't have to get married ... I know some of you are very happy about that ... and no one will ever die again.) You will no longer have just one or two brothers and sisters; you'll have millions of brothers and sisters. We will all be one big family. We will all have one Father and we shall all be God's children. That will be the biggest change of all! Let's Pray: Father, we look forward to growing up and the changes to come, but more than all that we look forward to the biggest change to come: being in heaven with you. Amen. Children's Sermons A to Z, Brett Blair, Tim Carpenter, CSS Publishing Company, 2000, 0-7880-1780-2 ----------------------------------------------------------------------THE THESSALONIAN ERROR The Thessalonian error was misunderstanding the purpose of end-time prophecy. The purpose is not to identify the anti-Christ or to inform us of events. Others have misunderstood the purpose of second-coming prophecy. Many people have been identified as the anti-Christ. Early Christians suspected some of the Roman emperors who persecuted them. Victims of the inquisition suspected some leaders of the Catholic Church. Some of you may have heard sermons comparing Hitler, Mussolini, or Hirohito to the anti-Christ. In my lifetime, I have heard or read speculation about Henry Kissinger, Prince Charles, and, more recently, Barack Obama. Do any of you remember a booklet, "88 Reasons Why the Rapture Will Be in 1988"? Matthew 24:36 says no one knows the day or hour. The writer ignored that by pointing to a 3 day period, the feast of trumpets, in October, 1988. He said we can’t know the day, but we can know the 3 day period. He was wrong. The most famous group for setting second coming dates may be the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Charles Russell believed Jesus would return in 1874. In 1877, he taught Jesus returned invisibly, contrary to scripture that says “every eye shall see him.” Jehovah’s Witnesses later predicted that in 1914 Armageddon would end. It had not even begun. They said 1925 was a date firmly established in scripture, that they had more reason to believe the kingdom would be established in 1925 than Noah had to believe there would be a flood. Jesus did not return in 1925. Jehovah’s Witnesses again expected Jesus to return in 1929. Before his return, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob would be resurrected to announce his coming. A house called Beth-Sarim was built for them to live in when they came. Judge Rutherford, then President of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, graciously offered to live in the mansion and supervise its maintenance until they arrived. They did not rise and Jesus did not return in 1929. I have heard testimonies of ex-JWs who believed the prophecies of Jesus returning in 1975. They talked about going door to door in affluent areas, picking the houses they wanted to live in when Jesus came again. Jehovah’s Witnesses are taught only 144,000 will make it to heaven. Other faithful Witnesses will be resurrected to live forever in paradise on earth. Many thought nice houses left behind by people who were not Witnesses would be free for the taking. Sometimes, men of great learning be great fools, and sometimes they suffer for it. Listen to this. "In view of the short time left, a decision to pursue a career in this system of things is not only unwise but extremely dangerous... Many young brothers and sisters were offered scholarships or employment that promised fine pay. However, they turned them down & put spiritual interests first," (Kingdom Ministry, July 1969, p 3). Some Jehovah’s Witnesses, graduating high school, turned down scholarships. Some graduating college turned down promising jobs. Why? Because their leaders told them Jesus was coming in 1975. When their leaders were proven wrong, again, those scholarships and jobs had been given to others. "Reports are heard of brothers selling their homes and property and planning to finish out the rest of their days in this old system in the pioneer service. Certainly this is a fine way to spend the short time remaining before the wicked world’s end.” (Kingdom Ministry, May 1974, p 3). Some Witnesses sold their homes and quit their jobs. They lived off the money from selling their homes while going door to door teaching a false gospel. In 1976, when their leaders were proven wrong, again, they had nothing left. Many people and groups have committed the Thessalonian error. They misunderstood the purpose of end-time prophecies. Sometimes, they suffered for it. (From a sermon by Mark Stepherson, The Purpose of Second Coming Prophecy, 5/29/2012) Unfriendly Fire It’s a fact: Sometimes the commercials are better than the programs. A few years ago, the all-sports network ESPN had a series of commercials set in a mythical University of Football. In one of them, an earnest-looking student admits to Tom Jackson, an ESPN analyst who was himself once a professional football player, that he’s probably asking a stupid question. Maybe at this point you expect Jackson to repeat the common saying “The only stupid question is the one that never gets asked.” But what Jackson actually says is “There’s no such thing as a stupid question, just stupid people asking questions.” Jesus answered a good many questions during his ministry, but this one about the bride who marries seven brothers comes pretty close to being a stupid question. It is not being asked by a stupid person, however. There’s a high-stakes game being played here — nothing less than life or death — but the only life on the line belongs to Jesus. Keep in mind that the scriptures do not condemn asking God serious questions, even angry questions. Consider Job’s vocal complaints, the laments of the psalms, Habakkuk’s extended complaining and Martha taking Jesus to task after the death of her brother Lazarus. God actually seems to welcome serious questions. A living faith is a questioning faith. How else will we get answers? God’s word invites us into an honest dialog. These questions show that we take God seriously, as someone who, though greater than we can imagine, invites us into a real, not a sanitized, relationship. But a little common sense wouldn’t hurt, either. Over the triple doorways of the Catheral of Milan there are three insciptions spanning the splendid arches. Over one is carved a beautiful wreath of roses, and underneath is the legend. “All that which pleases is but for a moment.” Over the other is sculptured a cross, and the words, “All that which troubles us is but for a moment.” But underneath the great central entrance to the main aisle is the inscription, “That only is important which is eternal.” —Current Anecdotes