Saturday, April 26, 2014

Freeville/Homer Ave. UMC's - Second Sunday of Easter - 04/27/14 Sermon - “Why do we doubt?"

Sunday 04/27/14 Freeville/Homer Ave UMC’s

Sermon Title: “Why do we doubt?”

Old Testament Scripture Lesson: Psalm 16
                                            
New Testament Scripture Lesson: 1 Peter 1:3-9

Gospel Lesson: John 20:19-31
                     
Brothers and sisters, welcome once again on this the Second Sunday of this our Easter Season, or this our Eastertide. This Easter Season or Eastertide, began last Sunday, on Easter or “Resurrection” Sunday, and it will continue until Sunday June 8th, which is Pentecost Sunday. The fifty-day period between last Sunday and Pentecost Sunday then, is partially the period during which Jesus appears to various disciples at different times and places. On the fortieth-day of this fifty-day period, Jesus will then ascend to heaven, promising that the fullness of the Holy Spirit would soon come upon the disciples and the other early followers of Jesus. So until Pentecost on Sunday June 8th, we are going to hear some different stories from the gospels about Jesus appearing to various people, as well as some of the various things that Jesus taught and said.
          This morning though, what I want to talk about is doubt? How many of you here have ever doubted something? Perhaps you doubted your spouse about something? Perhaps, you have sent your spouse to the grocery store to buy milk and eggs, and they came back with Twinkies and beef jerky? Perhaps you doubt our government? Perhaps you doubt the strength of our economy? Do we ever though, doubt our faith? Do we ever though, have doubts about God?
          Now many of us could very comfortably say, “Well of course pastor!” When I asked about faith and God though, I wonder how many of us squirmed a little inside of ourselves? I mean struggling with faith and with God? We would never do such a thing right? As we are followers of Jesus Christ, who always have rock solid faith every minute of every day. Yet life happens, does it not?
          For some of us, doubt comes from the death of a loved one. For some of us, doubt comes from war, violence, poverty, joblessness, abuse, not having a loving earthly family, and etc., and etc. For some of us doubt has come very seldom in our lives, and for some of us, doubt has come a lot in our lives.
          You see, I believe that often in our human agony of loss and struggle, it is then that we can feel the most connected or disconnected from God. That in moments of great trials and tribulations that we can turn to or turn from God. So often when we are on the mountain top in our lives, we may give glory to God, we may thank God, but I find that in our agony and despair, that this is when our doubt really turns to faith.
          I think that many of us here this morning like me, have had trials and tribulations in life. Many of you might be able to put your finger those times of doubt, but you may also realize how your faith grew through this struggle, or that struggle. That God is faithful, that God always does what he says, and always says what he does. That so many of us here don’t just believe in God in our heads, but further that we have experienced God in our hearts and in our souls. Many of us have felt the Holy Spirit course through us, like drinking a cup of Hot Chocolate on a cold winter day. Many of us have felt the Holy Spirit fill us with peace and joy, when we were broken and miserable. Oh yes, many of us know doubt all too well, but many of us also know the power and the love God through such trials and tribulations also all too well. Many of us can testify this morning that God has brought us through the struggles and trials of our lives, that he is real, and that he is powerful! That Jesus Christ is our savior, and if we put our faith and trust in him, amazing things happen in us and through us!
          Given all of this then, the big question that I want us to think about this morning, is “Why do we doubt?” By this I mean, what more assurance from God do we need, before we will believe in him and trust in him, and no longer have any doubts? What will it take? “Why do we doubt?”
          Why do I as a pastor sometimes have doubts? Why did I have some days in seminary, that I said, “Lord I don’t know if I can do all this?” Yet God always came through and showed me that this is where I was supposed to be. When I was tired and weary however, sometimes I would have doubt. Growing closer to God then, is a process of becoming more and more holy. A process of giving up doubt in exchange for glory.
          Today, Thomas, as many of us know the term “A Doubting Thomas,” doubts the Lord. Even though this doubter, Thomas, witnessed firsthand much of what Jesus Christ did, he says, no I don’t believe, I have doubt.
          Before diving into the gospel reading from this morning however, let us first look at Psalm 16 from this morning. The Psalm begins by saying, “Protect me, O God, for in you I take refuge.” On this morning my brothers and sisters, do we truly, honestly, and fully, “take refuge” in the Lord?
          The Psalm continues by saying, “I keep the LORD always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.” Have we ever been moved or shaken by doubt before? The Psalm from this morning concludes by saying, “You show me the path of life. In your presence there is fullness of joy; in your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” My brothers and sisters, “Why do we doubt?”
          In the Apostle Peter’s first Epistle or Letter, the Apostle Peter said, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” Then the Apostle Peter writes these beautiful words about having faith in Christ. He says when we put our faith in Christ we receive an “inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”
          Then the Apostle Peter makes a statement that shatters our doubt. He says, “In this you rejoice, even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith—being more precious than gold that, though perishable, is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.”
          The Apostle Peter then tells the early church, what we can hear in the same way even today, “Although you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with indescribable and glorious joy.” The Apostle Peter then concludes this portion of his first Epistle or letter, by saying, “for you are receiving the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”
          When looking at the gospel according to John from this morning, we enter the story, as it says, “When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” This sharing or “Passing of the peace” of Christ with one another on Sundays in church, comes from this and from other scriptures. When I say at the end of church of then, “share a sign of peace and love with each other,” this scripture and others, is where Jesus teaches us this.
           After Jesus has entered to where the disciples and other followers were basically hiding out scared, and after he said, “Peace be with you,” the gospel reading then says, “he showed them his hands and his side.” The disciples that were present for this rejoiced in the risen Lord. Then again Jesus said to them, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” Having said this, Jesus then “breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” Yet this outpouring of the Holy Spirit was just some of the fullness of the Holy Spirit that will pour out on the day of Pentecost.
          When Jesus then vanished from the presence of the disciples that were present, soon after one of the twelve disciples, Thomas, was greeted by the disciples telling him that they had “seen the Lord.” Yet Thomas doubted. This is where once again we get the term, “A doubting Thomas.” You see not only did Thomas doubt, but he said, “Unless I see the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”
          The gospel then says, “A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Jesus then looked right at Thomas, the doubter, and said to him “put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” Thomas then falls down, and says, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus then says to Thomas, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”
          The gospel reading for this morning then says, “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book.” The gospel reading then ends by saying, “But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus if the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.”
          So how many of us have had doubt? I know that I have had doubt? Yet my doubt has grown my faith and drawn me closer to God. Doubt therefore, is not always a terrible thing then, but how much convincing does Jesus Christ have to do, before we truly believe and trust in him. “Why do we doubt”
Brothers and sisters, I would like to close this message this morning with a story about doubt and faith. This story is titled “Living Either Side of the Hill,” by author Scott Higgins. Here is how it goes: “In November 2000 my wife, my kids and I took a holiday to the Gold Coast. About 600kms north we were driving up a big hill, knowing that Byron Bay was down the other side. We were looking forward to it. We’d been in the car for a long time, it was hot, and we were eagerly anticipating a break. So up the hill we came, knowing that our break was down the other side. And then we saw it – the most breathtaking view you’re ever likely to encounter. At the top of the hill we got the most breathtaking view of a lush green valley stretching away to the deep blue of the ocean.”
“There was a lookout at the top of the hill, so we stopped, jumped out of the car and stood looking. The kids figured they’d reached the top of the world, so they danced on a little stone wall singing, “We’re on top of the world, we’re on top of the world.” Over and over, “we’re on top of the world, we’re on top of the world.”
“And in some ways it really felt like it – it was one of those perfect moments frozen in time. The kids singing and dancing, the wind fresh on the face, the sun shining above us, the road we’d travelled stretching out behind us, the road to come winding its way ahead. We knew who we were, where we’d come from, where we were going.”
“If you think of life as a journey, most of us would like to sit at the top of the world, to have one of those perfect moments where it all comes together and make sense, where we can look back at where we’ve come from and look ahead and know where we’re going, to have a sense of what is out there waiting for us, to see the detours and potholes and danger points that lie out there and start planning how we’ll meet them.”
“But instead of sitting at the top we spend most of our time travelling on either side of the hill. God sits at the top, has a sense of how it all fits together, but we usually don’t get that view. We get surprised by potholes and detours and danger spots and have to struggle our way through them. Faith however reminds us that God is at the top of the hill, and that even in the roughest parts we can live with trust in him to guide us through.”

Brothers and sisters, “Why do we doubt?” Amen.        

Saturday, April 19, 2014

Freeville/Homer Ave. UMC's - Easter Sunday - 04/20/14 Sermon - “This is the hinge pin!"

Sunday 04/20/14 Freeville/Homer Ave UMC’s

Sermon Title: “This is the hinge pin!”

Old Testament Scripture Lesson: Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24
                                            
New Testament Scripture Lesson: Colossians 3:1-4

Gospel Lesson: John 20:1-18
                     
Brothers and sisters, He is risen! He is risen indeed! Welcome again on this Easter or this “Resurrection” Sunday. This is the day in the Christian Calendar that we celebrate Jesus the Christ rising from the dead. This is the day that we celebrate the grave itself being defeated, for on this day, the Lord has risen! He is risen indeed! For as is says in the gospel of Luke 24:5, when the women came to the empty tomb they, “were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen.”
To me then, this day in like a door. Yes, I just said a door. Has anyone here ever hung a door? Maybe you have hung an outer-door, or maybe you have hung an inner-door. The few times I have hung doors, I realized that first the door frame had to be leveled, or the door wouldn’t hang right. Worse if the door frame was too un-level, the door might not fit at all.
So once the door frame is leveled out, you can then attach the hinges on the door frame. Then you line up your new door, that has its hinges attached, and then you slide the door with its hinges into the counterpart hinges on the door frame. After this though, and perhaps the most important part, is then tapping in those hinge pins into the hinges. Has anybody here ever done this before?
I remember one time that I helped someone hang a door, and everything was all set, and the door was put into the door frame hinges. Yet, I forgot to tap the hinge pins into the new door’s hinges. Shortly after this, the other person opened door, and as you might already be guessing, the door fell right off the hinges! The door fell flat on the floor, and the person said, “Hey Paul did you forget something!” What I must have forgotten, is that a door cannot stand without its hinge pins.
In the same way brothers and sisters, our Christian faith cannot stand without the hinge pin of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. For if Jesus Christ did not rise from the dead, then he was not the living God on earth. If Jesus Christ did not rise from the dead, then he was just a man, just a nice guy, and we just have some good stories in the Bible about him. Given this then, was Jesus just a nice guy worth reading about, or is he truly the “Risen Savior?”
Our belief that Jesus Christ is truly the risen savior, is so strong that most Christian Churches have even moved the historic Sabbath day from Saturday to Sunday. Further, most Christian Churches have traditionally had there worship services on Sundays, as most still do. While our Jewish brothers and sisters, and our Seventh-Day Adventist Christian brothers and sisters still take Saturday as their Sabbath day, the majority of Christian Churches celebrate Sunday as the Sabbath day, as our day or worship, and as our formal day of gathering together. In fact, the entire reason that most Christian Churches formally gather for worship on Sunday, is because of the resurrection of Jesus. In this way, every Sunday for us is a “mini-Easter,” as we gather formally this day to worship, and to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Further, for many years in this country most businesses were closed on Sundays. For many years in this country most people didn’t work on Sundays, and most people spent this day with their families, and all of this centers around this “hinge pin” called the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
In the same way then that the NFL has a first game of the season, which we can call the birth of Christ on Christmas, today in NFL terms, is our “Super Bowl.” Today is really and truly our biggest holiday, in that the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the “hinge pin” that holds the door of our Christian faith on the hinges of the door frame. In fact, as I heard an older pastor and a friend of mine say to me once, “if you can find me the bones of Jesus Christ, I will be worshipping with my Jewish brothers and sisters at the Synagogue next Saturday.” For there are no bones of Jesus Christ to be found brothers and sisters, for he is risen! Risen indeed!
When looking at the Old Testament reading from Psalm 118 from this morning, it says, “O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his steadfast love endures forever!” Today Jesus Christ has overcome the grave, and officially lives forever. The Psalm goes on to say, “The LORD is my strength and my might; he has become my salvation.” The risen Christ is the proof that he is the Messiah, proof that his death on the cross matters, and that we have a new way to God. That this day for us is the opportunity for all of us to have a resurrection from within.
          For while this day does have many different meanings for many different people, on this day, Jesus Christ offers us renewal, and offers us resurrection from within the depths our very souls. Jesus says to us this day, are you feeling burdened, are you feeling broken, are you feeling dead inside? If so, then today, let God fill you, let God heal you, let God love you, and let God’s people love you with the power and the love of God. Let this church or one like be your new family, your new home, as we all learn, journey, and move towards glory together.
          Today there is victory over death, and joy over misery. Let us claim this victory today, for as this Psalm reading ends, “This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”
          When looking at our reading from the Apostle Paul’s Epistle or letter to the church in Colossae, or the Colossians, the Apostle Paul says, “So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.” The Apostle Paul then says, “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on are on earth, for when you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” The Apostle Paul then concludes this scripture be saying, “When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory.” Today Christ is raised to new life, so let us also this day seek to be raised to new life in him. “This is the hinge pin!”
          You see Jesus came to this earth to usher in a new era of peace, of justice, of love, and of mercy. When we put our faith in him, we are raised and healed to new life in him. We are then freed up to be filled, to love others, and to change this world in his name. For Jesus is the one who overcame everything, so that we may not die, but rather live abundantly.
          When looking at the gospel reading from this morning, it begins by saying, “Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb.” Upon seeing this reality, the gospel then says that that “she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.”
          At this point the gospel says, “Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went toward the tomb. The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first.” Then the gospel says that, “He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb.” After this, the gospel says, “He saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself.” At this point, “the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead.” You see brothers and sisters, everyone did not expect this resurrection, and were truly amazed and awestruck by it.
          After this the gospel says that, “the disciples returned to their homes. But Mary stood weeping outside of the tomb; and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet.” At this point, “They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” In response to this question she said, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” Upon saying these words, the gospel then says, that Mary “turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus.” The gospel then says that, “Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?”
          In Mary hearing these questions, she looked at this man and thought that he was the gardener. Mary then says, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” The gospel then says at this point, “Jesus said to her, “Mary!” Then, “She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni!” (which means Teacher).” Then Jesus “said to her, “Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.” The gospel reading then ends by saying, “Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”; and she told them that had said these things to her.” On this day, he is risen! Risen indeed!
          Brothers and sisters, I would like to close this morning with a story about another Easter resurrection. This is a story is taken from Guideposts, and is called “An Easter Sunday Miracle,” by Diana Aydin, April 18, 2014. Here is how it goes: “Sometimes a miracle doesn’t come in the form that we expect it to. Instead of a burning bush, we experience a gentle nudge. Or a quiet voice. Or, in the case of Ken Trush, a poke.”
“Back in 1997, Ken’s 12-year-old son, Daniel, suddenly collapsed on-court at a basketball game in his school’s gym. Doctors discovered five aneurysms in his brain, one of which had burst. He was in a coma for more than 30 days. Every night, Ken kept watch by Daniel’s bed at the hospital, hoping and praying for a miracle–some sign that he would wake up. But weeks passed and nothing happened. The doctors prepared Ken and his wife, Nancy, for the worst: Daniel might never come back.”
“Though all appeared hopeless, Ken refused to give up. And on Easter Sunday, he finally got the sign he’d so desperately prayed for... Danny was still not showing any signs of life. It was coming up to Easter. I just had this feeling that Easter was going to be special. I kept thinking, this is the holiest of holy days. This is what our faith revolves around. What better day than Easter Sunday to see something? Any kind of sign.”
“I left the hospital for 9 o’clock Easter mass. I didn’t tell anyone my hopes. It felt like it was just between me and God. Nobody else knew. I went back to the hospital after church hoping to find a miracle. I was waiting, looking for a sign. But there was no sign.”
“Everyone in our family was going to celebrate Easter at the hospital with us. I was sitting in the chair with Nancy next to Danny’s bed. My brother-in-law Steve and sister-in-law Debbie came to visit. We didn’t have enough chairs in the room, so I sat at the foot of the bed by Danny. At that point, no miracle had happened and I was starting to feel like nothing would. And then, all of a sudden, I got this little poke... from Danny. I turned around, looked at him and said something a little outrageous for me: “Did you just kick me in the butt?” Danny gave the faintest of smiles. Everyone saw it. Nancy, Debbie and Steve. We all saw it.”
“Danny has always had a really good sense of humor. He was still in a coma, but that little poke was a sign that Danny was still in there. The doctors said it was impossible, that the smile was just reflexes. That Danny was too deep in a coma. But I knew my prayers were answered. I knew what I saw. And I knew that smile–a reassuring, “I’m here.” “It was the most beautiful Easter. And two weeks later, against all the doctors’ predictions, Danny woke up.”
The author then say, “It was a long road to recovery, but today Daniel is an accomplished musician dedicated to giving back. In 2006, the Trush family started Daniel’s Music Foundation, a New York-based nonprofit that provides free music classes to anyone with a developmental or physical disability, regardless of age.”
          Brothers and sisters, today the Lord of life Jesus Christ is raised to new life. For he died and he was raised out of love. He asks us on this day to love him, and to put our faith and our trust in him, for this is why he came. For he is risen! He is risen indeed! Amen and hallelujah.



Friday, April 18, 2014

Homer Avenue UMC's - Good Friday - 04/18/14 Sermon - “It is finished"

Friday 04/18/14 Freeville/Homer Ave UMC’s

Sermon Title: “It is finished”

Old Testament Scripture Lesson: Psalm 22
                                            
New Testament Scripture Lesson: Hebrews 10:16-25

Gospel Lesson: John 18:1-19:42
                            
          Brothers and sisters, welcome once again on this “Good Friday,” of this our “Holy Week.” On this day, we come together to observe and to remember the arrest, the trial, the crucifixion, and the death of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ. This is the day then, that Jesus will give up his life for us all us. This day is also known as “Holy Friday,” “Great Friday,” “Black Friday,” or also known as “Friday in Easter week.”
          The big question to ask ourselves tonight though, is why would we call the day where the Lord of Life, the Messiah, the King of Kings, that Jesus the Christ is crucified, a “Good” or even a “Great” day? I mean wouldn’t this day more logically be called, “Terrible Friday” or “Awful Friday?” Yet we call this day “Good Friday.” Given this, what makes this day so “Good?” I mean Jesus went through unspeakable pain and misery on this day. So how can this day be a “Good Friday?”
          The answer to this brothers and sisters, it is on this day that “It is finished.” By this statement, I mean that Jesus has accomplished on this day what he set out to accomplish on this earth. On this day, the Messiah, the Son of God, has fulfilled the written prophesies of the Old Testament. On this day, Jesus has officially conquered evil, resisted all temptations, and until his very last breath, thought only of others before himself. For on this day, death itself has died, and soon, very soon, on this coming Easter Sunday morning, the stone will be rolled away, and the tomb of Christ will be empty. On this day though, we remember what the Lord endured for us.
          When looking at the Old Testament reading from tonight from Psalm 22, Jesus Christ will cry out to the Father with part of the first verse of this Psalm. This Psalm begins by saying, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” You see, Jesus in his human agony on the cross, for a moment felt disconnected from the Father, and as a result, cried out these words. The Psalm goes on to say, “But I am a worm, and not human; scorned by others, and despised by the people. All who see me mock at me; they make mouths at me, they shake their heads.” On this day, this is what Jesus Christ encountered on the way to the cross, and on the cross. The Psalm then goes to say, “I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint, my heart is like wax; it is melted within my breast.” I can imagine on this day, that many of Jesus’ bones were pulled out of joint, that he had been beaten and mocked to near death, prior to even getting to the cross. The Psalm then says, “they divide my clothes among themselves, and for my clothing they cast lots.” Jesus’ clothes were divided, and lots were cast for them. The Psalm then ends by saying, “those who seek him shall praise the LORD. May your hearts live forever!” You see my brothers and sisters, in Christ, there is no death. For when we die on this earth, our earthly deaths are only the beginning of everlasting life with Christ.
          In the Apostle Paul’s Epistle or letter to the Hebrews or Jewish Christians, from tonight, he spoke of the New Covenant in Jesus Christ. He then quotes the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah 31:33 and said, “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.” Paul then says to the Hebrews, “we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain (that is, through his flesh), and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us approach with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” The Apostle Paul then concludes this portion of his letter to the Hebrews by saying, “And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
          Today brothers and sister, is the day that the Lord will give his life up for all of us. Today, “It is finished.” In looking at the lengthy gospel of John reading from this evening, we begin with Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane. Since Judas Iscariot betrayed him though, the gospel says, “So Judas brought a detachment of soldiers together with police from the chief priests and the Pharisees, and they came with lanterns and torches and weapons.” Jesus is then arrested, but before he is though, the gospel says, that “Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it, struck the high priest’s slave, and cut off his right ear.” Christ then tells Simon Peter to put his sword away, and that he needs to go with his would arrestors.
          Jesus was then bound, and was first taken “to Anna, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest that year. At this point, a woman also accused Peter of being one of Jesus’s disciples. Peter said “I am not.”
          Peter then went to warm himself around a charcoal fire, as Jesus is being questioned by the high priest, “about his teaching.” Jesus then said, “I have said nothing in secret.” Jesus then told the high priest to go and ask the people that he was preaching to, what they themselves had heard him say. At this point, “one of the police standing nearby struck Jesus on the face, saying, “Is this how answer the high priest?” Jesus then basically says to the high priest, tell me what I have said that is wrong, and then “Anna sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.”
          As Simon Peter was still warming himself by the fire, he was accused a second time, and then a third time, and a second and a third time he denied knowing Jesus. At this very moment, as Christ told Peter would happen, the “cock crowed,” and Peter then cried bitterly at his betrayal of the Lord.
          At this point the police and soldiers, “took Jesus from the high priest to Pilate’s headquarters. It was early in the morning.” So at this point it is now Friday morning, and Jesus Christ of course had been up all night praying. One could only imagine how exhausted he must have been.
          As to “avoid ritual defilement and to be able to eat the Passover,” the police, soldiers, and high priests would not enter into Pilate’s headquarters. As a result, the gospel then says, “Pilate went out to them.” When Pilate came out, he said, “What accusation do you bring against this man?” The Jews that were with Jesus explained that Jesus was a criminal, but that they as Jews were “not permitted to put anyone to death. (This was to fulfill what Jesus had said when he indicated the kind of death he was to die).”
          Pilate then “entered the headquarters again, summoned Jesus, as asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus then responded to Pilate, “Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me?” Pilate then says to Jesus, “I am not a Jew, am I?” Pilate then wants to know why the high priests want Jesus dead. Pilate says to Jesus, “What have you done?” Jesus then responds to Pilate by saying, “My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.” Pilate then asks Jesus, “So you are a king?” Jesus then answers, “You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.” Pilate then asks Jesus, “What is truth?”
          After this, Pilate brought Jesus back to the Jews who brought Jesus to him and said, “I find no cause against him.” Pilate then reminded the Jews that it is a custom on the Passover to release a Jewish prisoner back to them. Instead of Jesus being released though, the crowd shouted for a “bandit” named “Barabbas” to be released. As it was, the Jews who accused Jesus, asked for a criminal, a “bandit,” to be released over to them.
          Due to the fact then, that Jesus was not the one chosen to be released, Pilate needing to do something, then has Jesus flogged or whipped. This whipping probably would have occurred with a “Cat o’ nine tails” whip that was designed to not just cut and stripe the flesh, but often to tear into and to scourge the flesh. Pilates soldiers also “wove a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they dressed him in a purple robe.” These soldiers then kept coming up to Jesus Christ mockingly saying, “Hail, King of the Jews! And striking him on the face.” Soon after, Pilate came over and told his soldiers that he was going to release Jesus, as “I find no case against him.”
          When the Jewish chief priests and the police then saw the now whipped and scourged Jesus Christ, with his crown of thorns and purple robe on, they began to chant, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” Pilate hesitating, said to them, “Take him yourselves and crucify him; I find no case against him.” At this point, “The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and according to the law he ought to die because he has claimed to be the Son of God.”
          Pilate now more fearful of this situation growing out of control, “entered his headquarters again and asked Jesus, “Where are you from?” Jesus then said nothing. Then Pilate asked Jesus, “Do you refuse to speak to me?” After this, Pilate then said, “Do you not know that I have power to release you, and power to crucify you?” Jesus then replied to Pilate, “You would have not power over me unless it had been give you from above; therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.” Pilate was still at this point determined to release Jesus though, but the Jews cried out, “If you release this man, you are no friend of the emperor. Everyone who claims to be a king sets himself against the emperor.” Then Pilate “washed in hands” with a bowl of water, to signify that Jesus’ blood was not on his hands.
          Pilate then finally agreed out of fear and worry to have Jesus crucified. The gospel then says, “So they took Jesus; and carrying the cross by himself, he went out to what is called the Place of the Skull, which in Hebrew is called Golgotha.” In this place they crucified Jesus, along with “two others,” “one on either side, with Jesus between them.” The gospel then says, “Pilate also had an inscription written and put on the cross. It read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” This was written “in Hebrew, in Latin, and in Greek,” and while the chief priests protested this sign, Pilate said that the sign would stay where it is.
          The gospel continues on to say, “When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four parts, one for each soldier. They also took his tunic.” The gospel then says, “now the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from the top.” Instead of tearing it, the soldiers casted lots to see who would get Christ’s tunic. This was done fulfill the prophecy of Christ’s clothes “cast for lots.”
          The gospel continues on to say, “Meanwhile, standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.” At this point, the gospel says, “When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside here, he said to his mother, “Woman, here is your son.” Then he said to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” The gospel then says, “And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home.”
          In order to fulfill another Old Testament prophecy, Jesus then said, “I am thirsty,” as there was “A jar full of sour wine standing there.” At this point the Roman guards took “a branch of hyssop,” put and sponge on the end of it, dipped it in the sour wine, and raised to Christ’s mouth. After Jesus received the sour wine, he then said, “It is finished.” Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.”
          The gospel says after this, that “The Jews did not want the bodies left on the cross during the Sabbath.” Due to this, we know that this did indeed occur on a Friday, as the Sabbath would have begun at sundown. Since having dead people hang on the crosses would according to the Jews, ruin the “great solemnity” of the Sabbath and the Passover, taking the bodies down was important. As a result, the Roman soldiers then “broke the legs of the first and of the other who had been crucified with him.” Remember that one of these two men, would be with Jesus in “paradise” today. Yet, Jesus was already dead, so none of his bones were broken, but “one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once blood and water came out.” Two more Old Testament prophecies were then fulfilled, that “None of his bones shall be broken,” and that “They will look on the one whom they pierced.”
          When this was done, “Joseph of Arimathea,” who was a secret disciple of Jesus Christ, asked Pilate if he could take Jesus’ body. Then, “Pilate gave him permission; so he came and removed his body.” Nicodemus then came with, “bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, weighing about a hundred pounds.” Then, “They took the body of Jesus and wrapped it with spices in linen cloths, according to the burial customs of the Jews.” Then they took Jesus to garden near the place of his crucifixion, and put him in “a new tomb in which no one had ever been laid. As so, because it was the Jewish day or Preparation, and the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.”
          So, brothers and sisters, this is where the story of “Good Friday” ends. To better emphasize all that Jesus is though, I want to show you a video: (show video) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upGCMl_b0n4.

          Brothers and sisters, today the Lord of life dies for us, so that we may life. This is our “Good Friday.” Amen.

Thursday, April 17, 2014

Freeville/Homer Ave. UMC's - Maundy/Holy Thursday - 04/17/14 Sermon - “The biggest lesson of all"

Thursday 04/17/14 Freeville/Homer Ave UMC’s

Sermon Title: “The biggest lesson of all”

Old Testament Scripture Lesson: Psalm 116:1-4, 12-19
                                            
New Testament Scripture Lesson: 1 Corinthians 11:23-26

Gospel Lesson: John 13:1-7, 31b-35
                          
          Brothers and sisters, welcome again on this “Maundy” or “Holy Thursday,” of our “Holy Week.” Other than “Maundy” or “Holy Thursday,” this day also has many other names. In some Christian traditions, this day is known as “Holy Thursday,” or “Covenant Thursday,” or “Great and Holy Thursday,” or “Sheer Thursday,” or “Thursday of Mysteries,” and of course “Maundy Thursday.” The term “Maundy” comes from the Latin word “Mandatum,” and “Maundy” essentially means “Commandment,” or “Mandate,” but has come to be connected with the “Washing of the Feet.”
          This day then, has many meanings to many different Christian traditions. Yet some non-believers might say, other than Jesus celebrating a Jewish Passover Seder meal with his disciples, what makes this day so holy? They might say, so Jesus broke bread and passed it, so Jesus poured out wine and passed it, so he washed feet, and so them he told them to “love another,” so what?
          Yet within Christendom, there are over two-billion of us who say that this day is in fact special. We say that the events of this day are not common or ordinary. Instead, we say that the events of this day are the continuation of the ushering in of the new kingdom of God here on earth. For when Christ lifts the bread to the Father on this night, blesses it, and then breaks it, he is ushering in a new kingdom, a new covenant. For when Christ lifts the cup to the Father on this night, blesses it, and then passes it to be drank by all, he is ushering in a new kingdom. For these reasons, tonight we will celebrate “Holy Communion,” or the “Lord’s Supper,” or the “Eucharist.” Part of what we do tonight then, goes far beyond just bread and juice, for at the “Lord’s Table,” we find a spiritual and a powerful meal that fills the very depths of our souls. Due to this, some Christian traditions as I said, refer to this day as “Covenant Thursday,” because tonight with the bread and with the wine, Jesus was telling his disciples that the old law is done, and that he is now the new covenant. Jesus was saying that if you still want to try to keep all of the laws of the Old Testament that you can do that, but all you need now for salvation, for eternity, is to simply have faith in me, he said. That I am the new agreement with God, that I am the new covenant, he said. For these reasons, tonight we will gather at the “Lord’s Table,” as he told us to do.  
          On this night, when Jesus lifted the bread and then the wine and prayed to the Father, he indirectly was saying as Psalm 116 from tonight says, “I love the LORD, because he has heard my voice and my supplications.” The Psalm reading continues on saying, “I will lift up the cup of salvation and will call on the name of the LORD,” and Jesus Christ lifted the cup and called upon the Father to bless it. The Psalm then says, “I will offer you a thanksgiving sacrifice and call on the name of the LORD,” as Jesus will soon be the pure and spotless lamb that will die for us all.
          You see my brothers and sisters, in Jesus knowing on this day what pains would befall him tomorrow, he instituted on this night the Sacrament or gift from God, of “Holy Communion.” This gift from God, is a means of God’s grace, and is a Holy Mystery of our faith, that Jesus invites us all to partake of.
          When we look at the Apostle Paul’s first Epistle or letter to the Church in Corinth, or the Corinthians from tonight, the Apostle Paul speaks to the church about “Holy Communion,” or the “Lord’s Supper,” or the “Eucharist.” The word “Eucharist” by the way, is originally from the Greek, and it simply means “Thanksgiving.”
          So the Apostle Paul tells the church in Corinth, “For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” The Apostle Paul then goes on and says, “In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” The Apostle Paul lastly says, “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”
So on this night, Jesus Christ gives us the Sacrament of “Holy Communion,” or the “Lord’s Supper,” or the “Eucharist,” even though Judas Iscariot will betray Jesus for thirty-pieces of silver, which by the way was roughly the cost of buying a slave in Jerusalem at the time. Further, the prophet Zechariah, the one prophesied that the Messiah would enter Jerusalem on a donkey to shouts of Hosanna said in, 11:12-13 of his book in the Old Testament, “I said to them, “If it is good in your sight, give me my wages; but if not, never mind!” So they weighed out thirty shekels of silver as my wages. Then the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the potter, that magnificent price at which I was valued by them.” So I took the thirty shekels of silver and threw them to the potter in the house of the Lord.” Yet another Old Testament prophesy fulfilled through Jesus Christ.
          After this Passover Seder meal, this “Last Supper” was over, the gospel reading from John this evening says that, “Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father.” The gospel than says, “Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.” You see my brothers and sisters, “The biggest lesson of all” that Jesus Christ gives us tonight, is that of love. To “love one another.”
          Yet before he gives this commandment formally, Jesus gets up from the dinner table, he goes and pours “water in a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel” that he had just tied around himself. Peter of course being Peter, objected to the Lord doing this, yet Jesus told him, “Unless I wash you, you will have no share with me.” Peter once again being Peter, then said, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” I can imagine in my mind Jesus just smirking at Peter, as he said, “One who has bathed does not need to wash, except for the feet, but is entirely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you. For he knew who was to betray him; for this reason he said, “Not all of you are clean.”
          When Jesus finished washing the feet of the disciples, he the put his robe back on, and returned to the table with the disciples. He then asked them, “Do you know what I have done to you?” Then the Lord said, “You call me Teacher and Lord—and you are right, for that is what I am. So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash another’s feet. For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you.” Then Jesus said, “Very truly, I tell you, servants are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them.” Jesus then said, “If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them…”
          This my brothers and sisters, is why many Christian Churches on this day wash feet. This is why I on this night will wash your feet or your hands if you’re more comfortable with that. I do this, because no pastor or person according to Jesus Christ is any greater than any other person. So this is what the “Maundy” or the “Washing of the feet” of “Maundy Thursday” is all about, being a humble servant before the Lord.
          So while some churches embrace this ordinance or rite from Jesus Christ, most do not consider “Maundy” or the “Washing of the feet” to be a Sacrament like that of Holy Communion or Holy Baptism. The reason for this, is that most Christian Churches see the “Washing of feet” as an authoritative example or command that Jesus Christ showed us, but not that is required of us, like Holy Communion and Holy Baptism. Yet, if Christ taught this to us on this night, then I want to do it, as Jesus taught it to us.
          After giving us the new covenant of “Holy Communion,” and after the “Maundy” or the “Washing of the feet” of the disciples, Jesus is about to give the disciples one last command or lesson of the night. To me, this lesson is “The biggest lesson of all” on this night. Jesus first says though, “Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once.” Then Jesus tells the disciples, “Little children, I am with you only a little longer” You will look for me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come.’
          After all of this, Jesus gives then gives the gift of this new command or lesson, this “The biggest lesson of all.” Jesus Christ then says to them, “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for another.” Notice there as well, how Jesus said to the disciples, “everyone will know,” which means not just some, not just certain kinds of people, but all people. Jesus wants all people to be loved, and to realize they are fearfully and wonderfully made creations of God. That the totality of this night, boils down to “The biggest lesson of all,” Jesus says, believe in me, and love each other. Don’t fight over trivial and little things, but instead Jesus says, believe in me, and love all people, without question, and without regard to who or what those people are.
          For on this night, the Lord gives us “Holy Communion,” or the “Lord’s Supper,” or the “Eucharist,” the Lord gives us the ordinance or rite of “Maundy” or the “Washing of the feet,” and in his “biggest lesson of all,” he commands us all to “love one another.”
          You see when the Lord goes to the garden of Gethsemane later on this same night, he will go toe to toe will all of the forces of evil, he will sweat blood, he will then ask God in heaven to “take this cup” of suffering from him. Tomorrow brothers and sisters, he goes to Calvary, he goes to display this “biggest lesson of all,” that Jesus will himself would say in John 15:13 “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
          Given all of this, I saw a Facebook posting from one of my seminary brothers and colleagues recently that said, “If your theology doesn’t lead you to love people more, you should question your theology.” Brothers and sisters, everything that Jesus Christ did on this night, started and ended with love. This is our Maundy/Holy Thursday. Amen.


          

Saturday, April 12, 2014

Freeville/Homer Ave. UMC's - Palm/Passion Sunday - 04/13/14 Sermon - “The King of Glory Comes"

Sunday 04/13/14 Freeville/Homer Ave UMC’s

Sermon Title: “The King of Glory Comes”

Old Testament Scripture Lesson: Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29
                                            
New Testament Scripture Lesson: Philippians 2:5-11

Gospel Lesson: Mathew 21:1-11
                            
          Brothers and sisters, welcome again on this Palm or Passion Sunday. This is the Sunday in the Christian calendar where we celebrate Jesus’ triumphal entry into the city of Jerusalem, to shouts of “Hosanna,” which translates into English to mean, “save us,” “rescue us,” or “help us.” The last two Sundays of the Lenten Season are also sometimes referred to as “Passion Sundays” as we prepare for the Passion of Jesus Christ’s death on the cross, this coming Good Friday.
          Yet as we will hear this morning, “The King of Glory Comes” in the city of Jerusalem today. Yet, “The King of Glory Comes” not with a pomp display of wealth and power, but with simplicity, and with little to nothing. In our culture, we seem to expect that people of wealth and power will make a triumphant and a memorable entry just about everywhere they go. When there is a major annual movie awards event, such as the “Oscars,” the buzz begins by the media on the “Red Carpet.” “Who is going to wear the nicest and the fanciest dresses and outfits, they may ask?” “Who will have the largest and the most expenses pieces of jewelry on, they may ask?” “Who will have the nicest cars arriving to this very swank event, they may ask?”
          Imagine for moment though, if these very wealthy and successful actresses and actors, showed up in taxi cab, and wore clothes that they had recently purchased from a second hand store. What would be the reaction on the “Red Carpet,” to this? I think that we all know what the reaction of the media would likely be, and that it would probably be less than kind to that actor or actress.
          You see brothers and sisters, we have long lived in a world, where kings, queens, and people of power and wealth would and do display this power and wealth, when they made or make a big entry. To show ones social and economic status, only a big entry would and even today will do. During the coming holiday of the Jewish Passover in Jerusalem, likely King Herod Antipas and Pilate likely entered the city with glitz, glamor, shining armor, chariots, soldiers, drums beating, and gold glistening in the sun light. Likely people looked on with scorn and envy.
          Since Jesus was also about to enter Jerusalem near the time of the Jewish Passover, the city of Jerusalem was filled with thousands upon thousands of people. You see this Jewish holiday of the Passover occurred to commemorate the literal Passover of Pharaoh trying to kill the first born of each family of the Jewish children in Egypt. God had told Moses to tell the Jewish people to sacrifice a lamb and then spread the lamb’s blood above there doorways, so that there house would be “Passed Over,” and there first born child would not be killed by Pharaoh. This is also the same holiday where the young twelve-year old Jesus was in the temple talking with the religious leaders, and Joseph and Mary accidently left him in Jerusalem. They then came back for him, and he said to them, “didn’t you know that I was supposed to be in my Father’s house?”
          So the Passover was a big and a festive week long holiday, and all of Israel was there. This was the big “Red Carpet” event of the year. Yet this year, when the celebration of the blood of lambs being smeared on doorsteps to save the first born children of the Jewish people would occur, the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, will prepare himself to shed his blood for all of humanity. You see the Lord saved the first born of the Jewish people in Egypt, because they sacrificed a pure lamb, and by the blood of that pure lamb being smeared on the doorways of their homes, they were saved. Today, “The King of Glory Comes,” as the pure and spotless Lamb of God. This lamb is to be sacrificed so that all of humanity, both past and present, can be passed over, and can be saved. The sacrifice of this lamb will also be a one-time sacrifice, and all we must do is except this sacrifice, and believe in Jesus. Like the Jews in Egypt then, we can be saved by the blood of the pure lamb.
          Today then brothers and sisters, “The King of Glory Comes” into Jerusalem, in the humblest of ways, unlike modern day celebrities on the “Red Carpet.”
          When we look at the reading from Psalm 118 from this morning, we are reminded that God’s “steadfast love endures forever.” The Psalm then continues on to say, “Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them and give thanks to the LORD.” The Psalm then says, “This is the gate of the Lord; the righteous shall enter through it.” Today brothers and sisters, the precious “Lamb of God,” Jesus Christ, comes through the gates of the Jerusalem, the City of God.
          The Psalm then says that, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.” This rejected “chief cornerstone” in Jesus Christ. Then in verse 25, it says, “Save us, we beseech you, give us success! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the LORD.” These shouts of “Hosanna” or “God save us,” have come this day, as “The King of Glory Comes.” The Psalm then says, to “Bind the festal procession with branches,” and this day people will lay palm branches in the path of Jesus Christ.
          When looking at the Apostle Paul’s Epistle or letter to the church in Philippi, or the Philippians, the Apostle Paul encouraged the church in Philippi to be of “the same mind” in Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul tells the church in Philippi that Jesus, “emptied himself, taking on the form of a slave, being born in human likeness.” The Apostle Paul then said, “And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross.” On this day brothers and sisters, “The King of Glory Comes,” to the city of Jerusalem, the city of God, and does so as a humble servant. He does not come on a chariot, he does not come covered in gold, he does not come adorned with armor, he does come with the sound of loud drum beats, but rather, he comes simply and humbly.
          When looking at the narrative or the story line from the gospel of Mathew reading from this morning, Jesus and the disciples had just arrived in Jerusalem. When they reached the “Mount of Olives” on the outskirts of the city of Jerusalem, Jesus sent two of his disciples ahead of him telling them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me.” Jesus then said, “If anyone says anything to you, just say this, “The Lord needs them.” So the two disciplines went, and sure enough the animals were there, and they did just as Jesus said.
          The reason that Jesus asked his two disciples to do this, was fulfill what the Old Testament Prophet Zechariah said in 9:9-10, that, “Tell your daughter of Zion, Look, your king is coming to you, humble and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of the donkey.” Jesus then fulfilled yet another prophesy of what the coming Messiah would do.
          The gospel then says, “The disciples then went and did as Jesus had directed them; they brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them.” At this point, the gospel say that, “A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the roads.” This massive crowd then began shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David.” Then quoting Psalm 118 from this morning, the shouted, “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!” The gospel reading for this morning then concludes by saying, “When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was turmoil, asking, “Who is this? The crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.”
          So you see, this Palm or Passion Sunday, is a grand day indeed. On this day, “The King of Glory Comes,” into Jerusalem in the simplest and most humble of ways. He comes on a simple donkey, to triumphant shouts of “Hosanna!” On this day he enters humbly, simply, but as a triumphant king. He does not have a limousine, fancy jewelry, or bundles of money, he comes simply and humbly.
          Brothers and sisters, I would like to close this message this morning with a story. This is a story that I wrote myself. This story is called “From Hero to Zero.” Here is how it goes: “Imagine for moment if you will, that even in the most humble of clothes and transportation, that you were received into a big beautiful city like a rock star. Imagine that when you entered this big beautiful city that you were given a massive reception, that made you feel like the most important person on earth. In this reception, countless people would flock to you, and would look to you for inspiration. In this case they would even look to you to save them for all that binds them in this world. You see, these people would even look to you for salvation, and for eternal life itself. These people would even lay there garments and tree branches in front of your humble mode of transportation as love offerings, and these people would have you be as close to them as possible. These people would believe in you, for you would be there hero and even there savior.”
          “Yet within about four to five days of this triumphant entry into this big beautiful city, the religious leaders of this city have all gotten together to discuss you. They have decided that you are no longer the rock star and the hero that countless people claimed you were just four to five days before. In fact, they even desire for you to die. They will soon shout “crucify them!” On this day, this hero, you, will become a zero. You see on this the day, you, the hero that came into this big city with shouts of acclamation, will soon be abandoned by almost all of these people who claimed to love you so much. Some of them will even curse you, some of them will even spit on you, and some of them will even shout “crucify them,” as they nail you to the tree. You see today you are there hero and there savior, but soon they will abandon you, and even after all that, you will still die for them. You will do this, because even though they abandoned you, you still love them so much. You love them so much, that even when they abandoned you, you still made sure that they will have the blood from the pure lamb. This blood will not cover there doorways, but instead, this blood will cover all of their sins. So you see, even though the world will soon reject you, you decide to die for all of humanity, as you just love them that much.”
          You see my brothers and sisters, on this day, “The King of Glory Comes.” On this day Jesus is the triumphant hero, and the savior of people. Yet by this Good Friday of this Holy Week, almost all of the people who today will shout “Hosanna,” will abandon him, and consider him a zero. He will go “From Hero to Zero.” Yet he is still coming this day, coming so that a pure Lamb of God may be sacrificed, so that your sins may be forgiven, and that you will be passed over for eternal condemnation. Today my brothers and sisters, on this Palm Sunday, “The King of Glory,” Lord Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, comes into the big beautiful city of Jerusalem. Amen.
                   


Saturday, April 5, 2014

Freeville/Homer Ave. UMC's - Fifth Sunday in Lent - 04/06/14 Sermon - “He tells the dead to breathe"

Sunday 04/06/14 Freeville/Homer Ave UMC’s

Sermon Title: “He tells the dead to breathe”

Old Testament Scripture Lesson: Ezekiel 37:1-14
                                            
New Testament Scripture Lesson: Romans 8:6-11

Gospel Lesson: John 11:1-45
                            
          Brothers and sisters, welcome again on this the Fifth Sunday in our Lenten Season. Holy Lent is the season in our Christian calendar that we await the death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Given this, the Lenten Season is an invitation for us to realize what Christ has done for us, and it is an opportunity to grow closer Christ.
          In this Lenten Season then, let us seek to root out of ourselves all that separates us from Jesus Christ. While some of us give up something for Lent, like chocolate, coffee, or the internet, what if we gave up more than this, and what if we gave it up for more than just forty-days? What if we gave up those things that bind us, like anger, envy, greed, and jealousy? What if we gave up such things for good? What if we use this time of Holy Lent as a purifying time, a time of prayer, and a time to draw closer to Jesus Christ.
          Instead of making Lent a time of darkness then, what if we make Lent a time of light? What if we can take the darkness and the coldness of the winter, and then realize that new life that is springing up all around us? That Jesus Christ’s coming resurrection is a call for us all to be “resurrected from within.” You see while we await Jesus Christ’s resurrection in this season, Jesus offers us new life in him.
This morning then, I want to talk a little about the topic of resurrection. I am not speaking of two-Sundays from now on Easter, when we will talk about Jesus Christ raising from the dead, I am rather talking about a mere person, like you or I, being resurrected from the dead. For our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, is a savior that “tells the dead to breathe.” While Jesus healed the sick, while he cleansed the lepers, while he had power over the storm, and while he conquered life and death itself, he also raised the dead. For “he tells the dead to breathe.”
In all of these ways, let us realize in this season of Holy Lent, that there is power in the name of Jesus. That through Jesus Christ, anything, and I mean anything is possible. Through Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit, we can continue towards holiness, and we can continue to root out of ourselves all that is unholy and all that is impure. Through Jesus Christ, we can have resurrection in our very souls.
          When looking at the reading from the prophet Ezekiel from this morning, in this scripture, Ezekiel had a vision from God. Ezekiel tells us that in this vision, the Lord and the spirit of the Lord set him down “in the middle of a valley,” that was “full of bones,” and everything was dry. Then in this vision, the Lord caused “breath” to enter the dry lifeless bones, and new life was created. The Lord then gave this new life bodies, and all manner of things that they needed for life. Then the Lord said to Ezekiel speaking of the valley of dry bones, “Mortal, these bones are the whole house of Israel.” Then the Lord said speaking of Israel, they say, “Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off completely.” The Lord then told Ezekiel to tell the people of Israel, “I am going to open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people; and I will bring you back to the land of Israel.” The Lord than says, “I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken and will act,” says the Lord.”
          In this scripture from the Old Testament prophet of Ezekiel, the Lord gives him a vision of new life, of resurrection, and of hope, for the then displaced and scattered people of Israel. For with the Lord, death can be made into life, hopelessness can turn to hope, as we serve a savior, who “tells the dead to breathe.” We serve a savior that will very soon come up alive out of his own grave, but in today’s gospel reading, Christ will breathe life into a dead person named Lazarus. He will do this in the same way that the Lord spoke of breathing life into dry and lifeless bones in the Book of the prophet Ezekiel.
          You see with Christ then, there is no death, only life. For in the song, “Save Your Life,” by the band the Newsboys, it says, “if you surrender and you will live.” When we come to Christ then, we will not taste spiritual death.
          What is certain for all of us in this earthly life though, is that we will experience an earthly death, but not all will experience a spiritual death. For this reason my brothers and sisters, Jesus gives us a choice every single day. This choice is, that we can chose to die once or to die twice. For we will all die once, which is the earthly death we must all experience. When we come to know Jesus Christ and are filled with the Holy Spirit however, we then die to ourselves, we die to the sin and the vanity of this world, and in the depths of our very souls, and we are resurrected to new spiritual life in Jesus Christ. So as I said my brothers and sisters, we can choose to die once, or twice in this life. I choose twice.
In the Apostle Paul’s Epistle or letter to the church in Rome or the Romans from this morning, he says the church in Rome, “To set the mind on the flesh is death, but set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.” For when we focus on the dry bones and this world, we surely have death, but when we focus on the Spirit and Jesus Christ, we will have life eternal. We will die not once, but twice, and we live on spiritually in eternity with the Lord.
          The Apostle Paul continues on by saying to the church in Rome, “the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law—indeed it cannot, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” For if we live just for the world, and just for our flesh, we will surely become dry and lifeless bones. The Apostle Paul then tells the church in Rome, “But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you.” The Apostle Paul then concludes by saying, “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your moral bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.” So through Jesus Christ, through the Holy Spirit, you can have resurrection from within, and new life.
          In this morning’s gospel reading, Mary and Martha’s brother Lazarus is very ill. Mary was the same Mary of course that dumped the nard of Jesus’ feet and wiped them with her hair. Since Lazarus was ill, Mary and Martha then sent a message to Jesus that Lazarus was very ill, and asked if could come quick to heal him. Yet Jesus said that, “This illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God’s glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” Jesus then stayed for another two days where he was staying.
          After these two days, Jesus then told his disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” Yet when Jesus said this, the disciples were worried that Jesus would be attacked or stoned if they returned there. Jesus said though, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to awaken him.” The disciples then told Jesus that if Lazarus was merely sleeping that he would be fine. Jesus then “told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead.”
          By the time that Jesus and disciples then arrived in Bethany where Lazarus was laid to rest, Jesus “found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days.” The scripture then says, “Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two miles away.” Remember that Jesus will be crucified and resurrected in Jerusalem, as he is now getting closer to the cross.
          When Martha then heard that Jesus was in Bethany, she went to him, and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” Jesus then says to Martha, “Your brother will rise again.” Jesus then tells Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.”
          Shortly after this, Martha’s sister Mary then came to Jesus, she “knelt at his feet and said to him, “Lord, if you have been here, my brother would not have died.” Mary and the Jews that where with her were weeping and grieving the loss of Lazarus. Jesus then said, “Where have you laid him?” “They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” The gospel then says, “Jesus began to weep.”
          When Jesus got to the tomb, he asked for the stone to be rolled away from it. Martha then said, “Lord, already there is a stench because he had been dead for days.” Jesus then tells Martha, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you see the glory of God?” The stone was then rolled away. Jesus then prayed to the Father and asked for his power, so that crowd gathered might believe in him, and then he said, “Lazarus, come out!” At this point the gospel says, “The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth.” Jesus then said, “Unbind him, and let him go.” Many of the Jews who were with Mary came to believe in Jesus Christ that day.
          Brothers and sisters, in this season of Holy Lent, let us remember that we serve a savior that “tells the dead to breathe.” In him, we find resurrection, we find new life, and we find eternal salvation.
I would like to close this message this morning with one of my favorite stories called “Pearly Gates,” by author unknown. Here is how the story goes: “A man dies and goes to heaven. Of course, Saint Peter meets him at the pearly gates. Saint Peter says, “Here’s how it works. You need one-hundred points to make it into heaven. You tell me all the good things you’ve done, and I give you a certain number of points for each item, depending on how good it was. When you reach one-hundred points, you get in.” “Okay,” the man says, “I was married to the same woman for 50 years and never cheated on her, even in my heart.” “That’s wonderful,” says St. Peter, “that’s worth three points!” “Three points?” he says. “Well, I attended church all my life and supported its ministry with my tithe and service.” “Terrific!” says St. Peter, “that’s certainly worth a point.” “One point? Golly. How about this: I started a soup kitchen in my city and worked in a shelter for homeless veterans.” “Fantastic, that’s good for two more points,” he says. “TWO POINTS!!” the man cries, “At this rate the only way I get into heaven is by the grace of God!” Saint Peter then smiled, then opened the Pearly Gates and said, “Come on in!”

Brothers and sisters, what continues to amaze me as a pastor and as a young Christian, is just how much the Lord loves us all. That he loves us so much, that we are offered spiritual resurrection through our Lord Jesus Christ every day. Every day we are offered eternity with Jesus Christ, if we but believe. If we receive the free gift of God’s grace. For while Jesus is very soon coming to die for us all, and while he will triumphantly be raised to new life on Easter Sunday, on this morning “He tells the dead to breathe.” Let us then, let the Lord of life, the King of Kings, breathe some life into us this morning. Amen.