Sunday
01/15/17 Freeville/Homer Avenue UMC’s
Sermon Title: “What would you say if you saw Jesus?”
(“The power of Jesus’ presence” Series –
Part 1 of 3)
Old Testament
Scripture: Isaiah 49:1-7
New Testament
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 1:1-9
Gospel Lesson:
John 1:29-42
My friends, my sisters and brothers, welcome again on this
the Second Sunday after the Epiphany, and this our Human Relations Day Sunday.
On this Sunday we are in the season after the Epiphany of the Lord, after the Wise
Men or Magi came to Jesus with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. We will
remain in this season after the Epiphany, through Transfiguration Sunday, which
is Sunday February 26th. Then on Wednesday March 1st, the
season of Holy Lent will begin on Ash Wednesday.
While we are in this season after the Epiphany, we also
have a special giving Sunday in the life of church today, called Human
Relations Day. Once again this a special church offering that will be taken in
addition to the normal offering today. According to www.umcgiving.org, the
Human Relations Day offering, “benefits neighborhood ministries through
Community Developers, community advocacy through United Methodist Voluntary
Services and work with at-risk teen through the Youth Offender Rehabilitation
program” (http://www.umcgiving.org/question-articles/human-relations-day-faq). If
you are interested in donating to this special giving Sunday, please make your
checks out to the UNYUMC and put Human Relations Day on the memo line. If you
are giving cash, feel free to just mark the funds on an envelope for Human
Relations Day, and we will get those fund to the conference office in Syracuse.
With this said, in this New Year, I am starting a three
week preaching series called “The power of Jesus’ presence”.
As I preparing for this sermon, I thought of patient that I
offered spiritual care to when I was a chaplain intern up at SUNY Upstate
University Hospital. This patient was from the Southeastern European country of
Macedonia. At SUNY Upstate University Hospital, chaplains, and all staff, wear
these little walkie-talkie like devices around there necks. These devices can
communicate with anyone in the hospital, and can do a variety of other things,
as well. One of the features of these devices, is that you can call a language
translator to help you to speak to folks who can’t speak English. In this case,
a Macedonian to English translator.
Now I can’t remember why this women from Macedonia was in
Syracuse, or in the hospital for that matter, but I do remember that she was
scared to be in the hospital. You see, she didn’t really speak good English.
In
visiting with her, I asked her where she was from. She told me that she was from
Macedonia, as the translator and I spoke back and forth through my little neck walkie-talkie.
As the conversation continued, this woman began to discuss, among other things,
her faith, as she was a Roman Catholic Christian.
She then asked me if I admired any Roman Catholic leaders both
past and or present. Among the names that I gave her, was the former
Arch-Bishop of El Salvador Oscar Romero, and Mother Teresa. When I said the
name Mother Teresa, who is now Saint Mother Teresa in the Roman Catholic
Church, this woman lit right up.
It
was almost as if this woman forgot that she was scared. Almost at once, she
looked calm, pleased, and relaxed. She then began weeping, as she told me through
the translator, the story of how Saint Mother Teresa came to her village in Macedonia
one day. On this day, this woman met Saint Mother Theresa. This woman then said
that she was able to shake Mother Theresa’s hand, and that she was blessed by
her. This woman wept incredibly as she told me this story. She told me that she
was in the presence of a holy woman, and that it changed her and her faith forever.
Before I left this visit, I then prayed with this women. When I left, the fear
that I had seen on this woman’s face when I entered that hospital room, turned into
calm, joy, peace, and love.
As I said, as I was preparing this sermon, I thought about
this woman was changed by an encounter with the now Saint Mother Theresa. In
pondering this, I then wondered what it would be like to physically stand in
the presence of Jesus Christ himself. By this I mean, what was it like to see,
talk to, touch, and listen to Jesus? Some people in Hollywood might say that
Jesus had “stage presence,” but I think that Jesus Christ, God in the flesh,
had a presence to him like no other. I believe that he could enter a room or an
area, and that the people around him would notice him immediately. I don’t mean
that Jesus was the life of the party, but I believe he must have possessed some
amazing and holy qualities, that drew people to himself. The full of embodiment
of God’s love and truth standing right in front of you. What would that be like
I wonder?
Well friends, brothers and sisters, let us imagine this for
ourselves, for a few moments. In a moment I am going to ask you to shut your
eyes, as I discuss some of the gospel of John reading for this morning.
So
if you could shut your eyes, and then just listen to what I am saying. Imagine
that on this day that you are near the Jordan River in Israel/Palestine, likely
sitting on the banks of the river. Imagine that it is a hot and sunny day today.
Imagine that John the Baptist is in the Jordan River, or near the Jordan River
at this point. With John are his disciples, which includes you, and the Apostle
Peter’s brother Andrew. Imagine you are sitting on or near there bank of the
Jordan River, and perhaps John the Baptist is talking, or like I said, perhaps he
baptizing someone at this point. Imagine that this is a beautiful and peaceful
day.
Just then, Jesus begins to walk down the path towards the
river. Jesus Christ, the bread of life, the prince of peace, the light of the
world, walking towards the Jordan River. As Jesus walks towards the river, his
cousin John the Baptist yells out, “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the
sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks
ahead of me because he was before me’ (Jn. 1:29-30, NRSV).
John the Baptist then says, “I myself did not know him; but
I came baptizing with water for this reason, that he might be revealed to
Israel (Jn. 1:31, NRSV). John the Baptist then speaks of the baptism of Jesus,
and the Holy Spirit descending like a dove on him, and how Jesus will baptize
us with the Holy Spirit (Jn. 1:32-34, NRSV).
As you are keeping your eyes closed, hear the gentle flow
of the Jordan River, enjoy the warm sunny day, as you are sitting on the banks
of the river. As you listen to John speak of this Jesus, Jesus continues walking
towards you.
As
your eyes are closed, what is this like for you? What does Jesus look like as
he approaches? What emotions inside of you are evoked as he gets closer, and
closer, and closer? Does he have a nice smile? Does he seems to have holy light
and love all around him? What does he look like?
As Jesus still approaches you, and then finally gets to where
you are, what is like to be in the presence of the living God? How do you feel?
Do you cry? Do you laugh?
Please open your eyes. Does anyone here feel calmer, more
joyous, or more at peace right now? Being in the presence of Jesus, following
him, living like him, this is our lifelong goal as Christians.
As I was imagining this scene in John’s
gospel for myself, I thought of the song by the Christian band MercyMe called, “I
can only imagine”. In this song the lyrics say, “I can only imagine what it will be like when I
walk by your side. I can only imagine what my eyes will see when
your face is before me. I can only imagine, surrounded by your glory,
what will my heart feel, will I dance for you Jesus or in awe of you be
still, will I stand in your presence or to my knees will I fall, will I
sing hallelujah, will I be able to speak at all I can only imagine” (https://www.google.com/#q=mercyme+i+can+only+imagine+lyrics&safe=active).
My friends, my sisters and brothers on this day, Jesus
Christ, the savior of the world comes to John the Baptist and his disciples,
and as the song says, “I can only imagine” what it must have been like to stand
in Jesus’ presence.
When John the Baptist announces that Jesus is coming, he
calls him “the Lamb of God” (Jn. 1:29b, NRSV). In the ancient Jewish faith, on
that first Passover in Egypt, and in other instances, God called the Israelites
to sacrifice a pure, white, and spotless lamb, for the atonement of their sins.
During that first Passover in Egypt when the Jews were preparing to exit
slavery under the Pharaoh, God told the people to sacrifice a pure, white, and
spotless lamb. They were to then take some of the blood of this lamb, and put
it on their door posts and lintels, so that the angel of death would Passover their
homes. This is why the Jewish holiday is called Passover.
This morning, John the Baptist, Jesus’ cousin, is claiming
that Jesus is the new Passover lamb. In this case though, when Jesus dies on a
cross, his blood will not cover the doors ways and lintels of our front doors,
but will cover the door ways and lintels of our hearts and our souls. Jesus is
the pure, white, and spotless Lamb of God who comes to love, heal, and forgive,
and to die for all of us. Jesus is the “Lamb of God who takes the sin of the world!”
(Jn. 1:29, NRSV).
Given all of this, what must it have been like to stand in
the presence of Jesus Christ? How do we become more like this Jesus whom we
follow? I don’t know exactly what I would say or do if Jesus were to come in
here in right now. I might just fall to me knees right here. “I can only
imagine”.
The story of the gospel for this morning ends with Jesus
the day after this encounter, being called again by John the Baptist, “the Lamb
of God!” (Jn. 1:36b, NRSV).
As soon as John says this, two of John’s disciples
immediately go and follow Jesus (Jn. 1:37, NRSV). Then these two disciples
asked Jesus where he was staying, and Jesus said, “Come and see” (Jn. 1:38-39,
NRSV).
These two disciples then stayed with Jesus that day, and at
about 4:00 pm, one of these men, Andrew, went and told his brother Peter, “We
have found the Messiah” (which is translated Anointed)” (Jn. 1:39b-41, NRSV).
Jesus then meets Simon Peter and says, “You are Simon son
of John. You are to be called Cephas” (Jn. 1:42, NRSV). “Cephas” is an Aramaic
name, as Jesus spoke Aramaic, which means “a rock,” or “Peter” in Greek.
I wonder what this day was like for those first disciples
of Jesus? I wonder what it was like when Peter first saw Jesus? What would it
be like if we were to look at Jesus face to face?
My friends, my sisters and brothers, in having now served
as the pastor of four United Methodist Churches, I have the pleasure of meeting
and ministering to many people. Some of the people that I have encountered have
unfortunately told me though, that they have been hurt in the past by the
church. Some of these people, as a result, no longer even go to church. Yet in the
many ministry settings that I have had the pleasure to serve in, I have never,
and I mean never, talked with someone who has found fault with Jesus.
As Christians, it is our job then, to make the church look
like Jesus, the one who came to love, heal, and forgive. May we seek his face
today, and may we both individually and as the church seek to be more like him.
In doing so people won’t talk about how the church hurt them, but rather they
will talk about how this church, and us, are like Jesus. As a result, the will
come to Jesus, and the church will grow in number, love, and strength. May we
seek his presence today and always! Amen.
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