Freeville/Homer Avenue UMC's - Easter Sunday - 03/27/16 Sermon - “Now it's official!"

Sunday 03/27/16 Easter Sunday –

Freeville/Homer Avenue UMC’s

Sermon Title: “Now it’s official!”

                            

Old Testament Lesson: Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24

                                            

New Testament Scripture: 1 Corinthians 15:19-26

Gospel Lesson: John 20:1-18

          Friends, brothers and sisters, He is risen! He has risen indeed! I want to welcome you all again on this Easter or Resurrection Sunday. While every Sunday or anytime that we gather to worship is important, Easter Sunday is argued by many to be the biggest holiday in the Christian Calendar. For on this day, we celebrate Jesus Christ conquering the power of death itself. For on this day, we say “that the grave could not hold the king!”

          The historic Christian Church has long believed that on the day of the resurrection, that first Easter, that Jesus Christ did physically get up and walk out of the grave. That he conquered and overcame death. That in doing so, he showed and shows us still, that he truly is the Messiah, the savior of the world.

          This means that on the Holy/Maundy Thursday that we had a few days ago, that when Jesus Christ gave us the sacrament of Holy Communion, or the Lord’s Supper, or the Eucharist, at the Last Supper, that it meant and still means something. It means that this sacrament that Jesus gave us is in fact powerful and real, as he has risen. The gift from Thursday of the washing the feet, and the new commandment or the “Maundy,” to love each other, as Christ has loved us matters, because Jesus has risen.

          Most of all, the brutal torture, crucifixion, and death of Jesus Christ that occurred on Good Friday matters, as his death was not in vain. For if Christ truly died on Good Friday, just a few days ago, and if he truly died for the sins of humanity, we know that this matters, because he is risen.

          In all of these ways, “Now it’s official!” Now we can say without a shadow of a doubt that Jesus Christ is the Messiah and is the risen Lord. For since he has conquered death, then this is the proof of who he is; That his ministry on earth mattered, that his miracles mattered, that his teachings mattered, and this his death on a cross for the sins of humanity, took away the sins of the world.

          This is why Easter or Resurrection Sunday matters. With Jesus rising from the dead, it shows us that he is truly and will always be the savior of the world, and the Lord of the Universe. That Jesus Christ was fully God and fully human on earth. After today, he will appear to the disciples and others for forty-days, and then he will ascend to heaven where he sits at the right hand of God the Father forever.

          With all of this being said, and I believe being true, what does it mean for us today on this Easter Sunday? I mean there have been many Easter Sundays, since that first Easter Sunday. Hundreds and hundreds of them to be exact. Does this mean that we simply gather every year to celebrate Jesus’s resurrection, so that we can be forgiven of sins? So that in Jesus and through him, we can one day go to heaven?

          Well sure it means that, but there is so much more to the resurrection story, than simply the fact that our sins are truly forgiven, and that one day we will go to a heaven. Some of us might be saying on this Easter Sunday, “But Pastor Paul, we hear this story every year, yet our lives haven’t improved much. We are still suffering, and while we get that we are forgiven if we ask to be forgiven, but what about today, what about the here and the now?”

          You see, while I believe that Jesus did truly and bodily walk out the grave today, and that in him and through him we can have salvation, what about today? I mean if we come to know the Lord Jesus Christ today, and if we ask him to forgive us of our sins today, it will be a powerful moment for us indeed. We will feel love like we have never felt before, and we will know even more the great love of our God. Yet will our lives then become perfect? No, they won’t.

          How then do we connect the Easter or Resurrection story with our daily lives, in the here and the now? Well one way of looking at it, is that maybe some of us are dead. Maybe some us are dead in that tomb that was shut on Good Friday, and didn’t open until this morning. Sure some of us are here bodily, we are breathing, but maybe, just maybe, some of us are dead. Maybe we are broken inside, and maybe our hearts our crushed. You see, the resurrection is so much more than just salvation, than just proof that Jesus Christ is the Messiah, the savior. The Easter story, the resurrection is a call for us all, through the power of God, through Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, to be spiritually resurrected.

          The resurrection of Jesus Christ then is more than just the final needed proof of who he was, it is more than just salvation, it is a call for us to be changed in the here and the now. This is why we tell the story year after year. For some of us here today, perhaps we are in that tomb with Jesus, but this morning God calls us to spiritual resurrection. God call us to new birth, new love, and new life. The resurrection of Christ, is a call for us all to be changed, to be resurrected from the inside out, and when this happens my brothers and sisters, God uses us to change the world. We need resurrection, and for some us, we need it now! We need to be raised up, as Christ was raised up. We need hope, we need love, and we need it now!

          It’s interesting to know that on the day of crucifixion that all of Jesus’s disciples, except for the beloved disciple, who we think was John, abandoned Jesus. Judas Iscariot sold Jesus out for thirty pieces of silver, and then hung himself in shame. Peter denied him three times, and the rest, except for the beloved disciple, scattered.

          Now imagine for a moment how broken all of these men and the women. All of them were in tears. Judas Iscariot even committed suicide. Ten of the eleven disciples took off and fled. I can imagine they were in tears, and were just emotional and spiritually broken. There savior, there Messiah, was being crucified. I can only imagine what yesterday, Holy Saturday was like for Mary Magdalene, the eleven remaining disciples, and for Jesus’s mother Mary. I can’t imagine how Mary felt, and maybe Joseph felt, if he was still alive, knowing that there son had been killed. Imagine how they felt yesterday on Holy Saturday.  Maybe the Apostle Peter, the rock, looked at his brother Andrew yesterday and said, “it’s all over bro, let’s just go back to galilee and become fisherman again.” Perhaps other disciples said similar things. They had given up hope.

          Then we have this morning, Easter or resurrection morning. Everyone is broken, they have lost hope, they are crushed, and they need resurrection. I wonder how many of us feel this way today. Maybe we have huge student loan debt, maybe we have huge personal debt, maybe we have illnesses, family or marital problems, issues at work, loneliness, exhaustion, or worry. Maybe we need resurrection today.

          In looking at the gospel of John reading from this morning, it says speaking of Easter Sunday, “Early in the morning on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that stone had been taken away from the tomb” (Jn. 20:1, CEB). So the first witness to resurrection was not the apostles, but Mary Magdalene. Mary was the first witness to the resurrection. The gospel then says of Mary Magdalene, “She ran to Simon Peter and the other disciple, and said, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they’ve put him” (Jn. 20:2, CEB). This is when hear of the excitement of resurrection. The next few verses say, “Peter and the other disciple left to go to the tomb. They were running together, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and was the first to arrive at the tomb. Bending down to take a look, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he didn’t go in. Following him, Simon Peter entered the tomb and saw the linen clothes lying there” (Jn. 20:3-6, CEB).

          So do we have a confirmed resurrection yet? Let’s see. The gospel then says, “He also saw the face cloth that had been on Jesus’ head. It wasn’t with the other clothes but was folded up in own place. Then the other disciple, the one who arrived at the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed” (Jn. 20:7-8, CEB).

          A little later in this scripture it says, “Mary stood outside near the tomb, crying. As she cried, she bent down to look into the tomb. She saw two angels dressed in white, seated where the body of Jesus had been, one at the head and one at the foot. The angels asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?” (Jn. 20:11-13a, CEB). After this the gospel says, “She replied, “They have taken away my Lord, and I don’t know where they’ve put him. As soon as she said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she didn’t know it was Jesus” (Jn. 20:13b-14, CEB).

          The gospel then says, “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” (Jn. 20:15, CEB).

          Just then, “Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She tuned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabbouni” (which means Teacher). 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 them, “I’m going up to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God” (Jn. 20:15-17, CEB).

          This gospel reading then ends with, “Mary Magdalene left and announced to the disciples, “I’ve seen the Lord.” Then she told them what he said to her” (Jn. 20:18, CEB).

          Now remember how everyone probably felt on Good Friday, and yesterday, Holy Saturday. Then this morning, we have good news. We have a resurrection. I wonder what the feelings where when Mary Magdalene came announced that Jesus had risen? Perhaps Peter and Andrew felt like they could actually continuing preaching the gospel and following Jesus? Perhaps the other disciples and early followers of Jesus Christ actually had hope for the future?

          You see my brothers and sisters, this is what the resurrection is all about. It is the reality that death does not get the final word in our lives, but that God gets the final word. In a world full of injustice, poverty, violence, and hatred, they do not get the final word, but God gets the final words. When ISIS attacks our brothers and sisters in Brussels, ISIS does not get the final word, but God gets the final word.

          For we my friends, are children of the resurrection. We are a people of new hope, and our hope is in Jesus Christ. Our hope is in that empty tomb. For in him and through him, we believe that together as the church, that we can do all things through him who strengthens us. This is why so many churches worship on Sunday mornings, for this is the day of resurrection. Every Sunday then is a mini-Easter, as we are children of the resurrection! We are Easter people!

          As followers of Jesus Christ, we believe in the world to come, the heaven to come, but we also need resurrection here and now. We need resurrection today. For we live in a world that is more hurting and broken than ever, but through the awesome power of God, the saving grace of Jesus Christ, and the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit, we can have resurrection here and now.

          Some might say, “Well Pastor Paul, what is the significance of the empty tomb of Jesus Christ?” My answer is, the significance is that God wins, and that darkness, that evil, that corruption, that terrorism, and that violence loses. It means that as followers of Jesus Christ will live on this side of the resurrection, and that through Jesus Christ and his church there is nothing we can’t do. That together we can “shake the gates of hell.” That together we end Malaria in Africa. We can feed the poor, and cloth the naked. We are God’s children, and together, through God’s power we can do all things.

          So my sisters and brothers, are you in need of your own resurrection today? Do you know how much Jesus Christ loves you? Nearly two-thousand years after this story occurred, we are still here. We are still here proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ, the Good News of his resurrection, and the Goods News of his gospel.

We, who are here, are the heirs of the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. This means that you are all his heirs. You are royalty, for you are princes, and princesses, for you Lord is a king! This is why you are all welcomed at this church not only today, but always, as we continue to live out our Christian faith, and as we on this day, and all days, we seek resurrection through our Lord Jesus Christ. So I say again, He is risen! He is risen indeed! Happy Easter, and amen.

           

Homer Avenue UMC - Good Friday - 03/25/16 Sermon - “Why today is good for humanity"

Friday 03/25/16 Good Friday - Homer Avenue UMC

Sermon Title: “Why today is good for humanity”

                            

Old Testament Lesson: Psalm 22

                                            

New Testament Scripture: Hebrews 10:16-25

Gospel Lesson: John 18:1-19:42

          My friends, my brothers and sisters, welcome again to this our Good Friday service. This week of Holy Week began with Jesus entering into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, to the shouts of “hosanna! hosanna!”. Jesus continued to love, to heal, and to forgive. Last night, Jesus had the Last Supper, where we were given the sacrament of Holy Communion, or the Lord’s Supper, or the Eucharist. We were also given last night, the gift of foot washing, and the “Maundy,” or the new commandment to love each other, the way that Jesus Christ has and still does love us.

          This day though, is a very different day in this Holy Week. Today in some cultures, and in some Christians Churches, this day is called “Holy Friday,” or “Great Friday,” Black Friday,” “Easter Friday,” or as we commonly call it “Good Friday”.

          Many of us who are here this evening have heard the story of Good Friday so many times. We know that it is the story of the brutal torture and death of Jesus Christ. For some of us that have seen movies like “The Passion of the Christ,” we have seen depictions of Jesus being beaten, whipped, and scourged. We have seen depictions of Jesus being nailed to a cross and suffering greatly. Given all of this, how can today be a “Good Friday”? How can there be any joy on a day such as this? I used to think as child that this day was a terrible day, but as I have continued getting older, I have become convinced that “today is good for humanity”.

          I remember one time that I was preparing to do funeral for the loved one of a good Christian family. While there was some sadness and mourning, there was also joy, relief, and excitement from the family. For that family believed, as I did, that there loved one had passed beyond this earth, and was now with God in heaven.

I remember when I did the funeral service though, that someone came to the funeral and asked me “pastor, this is funeral, shouldn’t people be more sad?” This person that asked me this, I don’t think was a Christian. I then told the man, “We have sadness, but we also have great joy and celebration for we believe that this person is alive and well with God. This person is no longer suffering and is with God forever”.

          So often in our culture, death is a terrible and an awful thing. Now what Jesus goes through today, for us, for our sin, is very real. Jesus having prayed in agony all night long in the Garden of Gethsemane, and as one gospel account says that Jesus was in so much agony the he sweated blood.

          One of Jesus’s friends and disciples Judas Iscariot greets Jesus with a kiss on the cheek, then sells him out. Jesus is arrested, mocked, spat upon, ridiculed, stripped naked, and treated like dirt. Jesus is then scourged with a cat-o-nine tails whip. A whip that has rocks, metal shards, and other things in it that are there to tear and scourge the flesh. After being beaten, whipped, having a crown of thorns placed on his head, and continuing to mocked and ridiculed, the Roman governor Pontius Pilate sentences Jesus Christ to death on a Roman Cross. Jesus has to carry this cross. He falls twice, and Simon of Cyrene helps him carry it after his second fall. Jesus then gets to “Golgotha,” “Calvary,” or the “Place of Skull,” as that place of crucifixion is called. Scripture tells us that Jesus was hardly recognizable as a man when he got there.

          There Jesus was crucified, and as many have termed it, “nailed to the tree”. Often when someone was crucified, it could take days for them to die. People that were crucified would also often die from sun exposure, dehydration, or from suffocation, as the person needed to hold their body up to breath. Yet Jesus Christ was so beaten, so marred, so bloodied, that he died in only 6-hours. During his time on the cross, he prayed for those harming him, he regarded his mother, and he offered salvation to one of the two men being crucified with him.

          Jesus then breaths his last breath and dies. The veil in the “holy of holies” in the Temple in Jerusalem, where the Ark of the Covenant housed the then-commandments is torn. This indicates that everyone now has free access to God. The sky is darkened, and spear if thrusted intro Christ’s side to ensure that he has died. Then a Jewish convert named Joseph of Arimathea asks Pontius Pilate for Jesus’s body to bury him in his own personal tomb. Jesus needed to be taken off of the cross by sunset, as the Jewish Sabbath was coming. Joseph of Arimathea then wraps him in linens, places him in the tombs, and a large stone is place at the entrance.

          This is essentially the story of Good Friday. Some of our sister churches, like the Roman Catholic Church, practice on this day and all of Lent, what is called “Stations of the Cross”. For those that have been into a Roman Catholic, an Anglican, and or Orthodox, and many other churches, maybe you have seen numbered scenes of this day’s events on the walls. As you look around such churches, you will see fourteen scenes that comprises the torture and death of Jesus Christ.

Up at SUNY Upstate University Hospital where I have been interning, the Roman Catholic clergy that are part of the Spiritual Care Department have “Stations of the Cross” every day. I have sat in on parts of some of them, as Christ’s torture and death, is told, and re-told.

          Given all of this then, how can today, how can this death, be anything but a “Bad Friday,” or a “Terrible Friday”? How can this sermon possibly be called, “Why today is good for humanity”? Is it good that Jesus Christ suffered and died? I would say in the human sense, it was awful that Jesus Christ suffered and died. Every year, I try to re-watch “The Passion of the Christ” movie, yet Melissa has only seen it once. She told me after watching it once, that it is two emotionally hard for her to see Jesus suffer and die like that.

          Yet Jesus Christ taught us that this is why he came. Christ came to love, heal, and forgive, but also to die for the sins of humanity. As our bulletin covers for this evening say, this is “The Day Death Died”. Do we have hurt for what Jesus went through on this day? Is it hard for us to bear? Sure it is.

          However, since Jesus Christ, God in the flesh came to earth for this purpose, it is a good today, because today “it is finished”. Christ’s death is a harsh and brutal death, but through it, we have been set free. Since Jesus did what he did and went through what he went through, we now have salvation offered to us. We now have access to God through the forgiving blood of Jesus Christ. The way the Jews smeared lambs blood on their door posts in Egypt, so that the angel of death would pass them over, on that first Passover, Christ is the new Passover Lamb. Christ is the Pascal Lamb, and by the shedding of his blood on this day, we can be forgiven of all our sins and all of our transgressions. This is why the cross matters, this is why the Christian faith points us to the cross, because through the cross of Jesus Christ, we have been offered the forgiveness of sins. I like what my Roman Catholic brothers and sisters said in their “Stations of the Cross” up at the hospital. They said, “We adore you O Christ and we bless you. Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world”.

          Another way to say it is that on this day, Christ died, so that we may live. On this day, Jesus Christ, God in the flesh died, and upon his last breath, sin, evil, suffering, and pain, had been conquered forever. Human sin had been overcome, and it had been overcome by the blood of the lamb. All we then have to do is ask Jesus Christ to forgive us of our sins, and we to will be covered by the blood of the lamb. This way, when we die one day the angel of death will pass us over, as the blood of the Lamb will make us justified when we stand before God our Father. When we stand before God one day we will know what the Apostle Paul said in Romans 5:8, which says, “But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8, NRSV). The Gospel of John says of Jesus’ crucifixion in 15:13, “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (Jn. 15:13, NRSV).

          Even though all but the beloved disciples abandoned Jesus in this day, even though Peter denied him three times, even though Thomas will doubt him, he died for them, and for us. There is nothing we can do to earn what Jesus Christ does for us, but brothers and sisters, this is “Why today is good for humanity”. Today is good because the “veil is torn,” on this day we can be reconciled to God, and we can be forgiven of our sins.

I want to tell you all a story that I have told before, but it so fitting I think for this Good Friday service. This made up story is called, “Whoever Gets the Son, Gets Everything,” by Woodrow Kroll. Here is how it goes:

“A wealthy man and his son loved to collect rare works of art. They had everything in their collection, from Picasso to Raphael. They would often sit together and admire the great works of art.”    

“When the Viet Nam conflict broke out, the son went to war. He was very courageous and died in battle while rescuing another soldier. The father was notified and grieved deeply for his only son.”    

“About a month later, just before Christmas, there was a knock at the door.  A young man stood at the door with a large package in his hands. He said, "Sir, you don't know me, but I am the soldier for whom your son gave his life.  He saved many lives that day, and he was carrying me to safety when a bullet struck him in the heart and he died instantly. He often talked about you, and your love for art.”    

“The young man held out his package." I know this isn't much. I'm not really a great artist, but I think your son would have wanted you to have this."    

“The father opened the package. It was a portrait of his son, painted by the young man. He stared in awe at the way the soldier had captured the personality of his son in the painting. The father was so drawn to the eyes that his own eyes welled up with tears. He thanked the young man and offered to pay him for the picture.” "Oh, no sir, I could never repay what your son did for me.  It's a gift."   

“The father hung the portrait over his mantle. Every time visitors came to his home he took them to see the portrait of his son before he showed them any of the other great works he had collected.”

“The man died a few months later. There was to be a great auction of his paintings. Many influential people gathered, excited over seeing the great paintings and having an opportunity to purchase one for their collection. On the platform sat the painting of the son.”

“The auctioneer pounded his gavel." We will start the bidding with this picture of the son. Who will bid for this picture?"

“There was silence. Then a voice in the back of the room shouted. "We want to see the famous paintings. Skip this one." But the auctioneer persisted. "Will someone bid for this painting? Who will start the bidding? $100, $200?" Another voice shouted angrily.  "We didn't come to see this painting. We came to see the Van Gogh’s, the Rembrandts. Get on with the real bids!" But still the auctioneer continued. "The son!  The son!  Who'll take the son?"

“Finally, a voice came from the very back of the room.  It was the longtime gardener of the man and his son. "I'll give $10 for the painting." Being a poor man, it was all he could afford.  "We have $10, who will bid $20?" "Give it to him for $10. Let's see the masters." "$10 is the bid, won't someone bid $20?"

The crowd was becoming angry. They didn't want the picture of the son. They wanted the more worthy investments for their collections. The auctioneer pounded the gavel.  "Going once, twice, SOLD for $10!" A man sitting on the second row shouted. "Now let's get on with the collection!" The auctioneer laid down his gavel. "I'm sorry, the auction is over." "What about the paintings?"  

"I am sorry. When I was called to conduct this auction, I was told of a secret stipulation in the will. I was not allowed to reveal that stipulation until this time. Only the painting of the son would be auctioned. Whoever bought that painting would inherit the entire estate, including the paintings. The man who took the son gets everything!" 

The story then say, “God gave his son 2,000 years ago to die on a cruel cross. Much like the auctioneer, His message today is, "The son, the son, who'll take the son?"  Because you see, whoever takes the Son gets everything.”

In John’s gospel it says in 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life” (Jn. 3:16, NRSV). My sisters and brothers, this is “Why today is good for humanity”.

          Yet this story isn’t finished. This day ends with a dead Messiah, a dead savior, with the eleven remaining apostles scared and disillusioned. This day ends with death, but brothers and sisters be of good cheer, for he has overcome the world, and a resurrection is coming! For the grave cannot hold the king.

Tonight and tomorrow, death will have its way, but come Sunday, we will have victory in and through our Lord Jesus Christ. The one on this day who gave up everything, so that in him and through him we can life, and life eternal. All praise, glory, and honor be to God the father, his son our savior, and the Holy Spirit. Happy Good Friday. Amen.

            

Freeville/Homer Avenue UMC's - Palm/Passion Sunday - 03/20/16 Sermon - “People see him, and know the Messiah has come” (“Why Jesus is the Savior” series: Part 6 of 6)

Sunday 03/20/16 Freeville/Homer Avenue UMC’s

Sermon Title: “People see him, and know the Messiah has come”

(“Why Jesus is the Savior” series: Part 6 of 6)          

                            

Old Testament Lesson: Isaiah 50:4-9a

                                            

New Testament Scripture: Philippians 2:5-11

Gospel Lesson: Luke 19:28-40

          Hosanna! hosanna! Save us! Rescue us! Savior! Help us! These are the words, these are the feelings, and these are the expressions of this Palm/Passion Sunday. On this day, Jesus Christ, the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords enters into the ancient and the holy city of Jerusalem. This city, sometimes called “Zion” in scripture, is the city where the great temple once stood. This is also the city where Jesus Christ enters in with great triumph on this day. As Christ enters into Jerusalem on this day, a massive crowd has gathered to greet him. As he enters in, they shout “hosanna,” or in the Hebrew “hoshanna”.

          Today, in most Christian Churches we celebrate what we know as the beginning of “Holy Week”. This Holy Week, which starts today, will go through this Saturday night. In some Christian Churches in fact, on this Saturday night they will celebrate with an Easter Vigil service, late Saturday night, as Saturday night then becomes mid-night or Easter Sunday morning, when the service has ended.

          The great thing about this week that we call Holy Week, is that it starts today with Christ’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem. Today is a joyous day where Jesus Christ comes into the great and ancient city of Jerusalem, and the people are desperate to be saved. Yet I wonder, what were the individual and the personal desires of all of the people who shouted “hosanna” on this day? By this I mean, what were there struggles? What were there sufferings?

While just like many of us here today, those people on that first Palm Sunday desired to be saved from sin, and desired salvation and eternal life with God. Many people, I believe on that the first Palm Sunday, this Palm Sunday, and every Palm Sunday, were and are also asking Jesus for more than just heaven and forgiveness. Perhaps we hurt, or perhaps suffer. We are calling for Jesus to not just save our souls, but also to save us from our hurts and our present circumstances.

In looking at that the first Palm Sunday, almost two-thousand years ago, the people in Jerusalem were largely poor. These people, in general, had very little, as an empire occupied there country. This empire, the Roman Empire taxed them extensively. The appointed Roman Governor over Judea, Pontius Pilate, ruled with great tyranny and oppression. This same Pontius Pilate will be the one who orders Jesus’ crucifixion this Friday, or “Good Friday”.

          The people on that first Palm Sunday in Jerusalem were probably overworked, under paid, were probably tired, and probably had very little. Not only this, the oppressive Roman Empire often takes whatever little bit that they might have left. In addition to this, there are many oppressive kings that act as puppets for the Roman Empire, like King Herod Antipas. King Herod Antipas, is the king who will examine Jesus Christ before his crucifixion. It would seem that Pontius Pilate and King Herod Antipas are very much not for the people. Is Jesus for the people?

In many ways then, while Jesus enters into Jerusalem today on the holiday of the Passover, it would seem that many of the people were desperate. These people see Jesus entering in on a colt, the foul of a donkey. Many of them are probably recalling the scripture from the prophet Zechariah. In Zechariah 9:9, the prophet Zechariah writes of the coming Messiah, “Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem! Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey” (Zech. 9:9, NRSV).

Many of these Jews had gathered for this holiday of the Passover, and many of them probably know of Zechariah’s prophecy of the Messiah coming into Jerusalem on a donkey, a colt. Yet maybe most of those people on that first Palm Sunday had never even met Jesus before. Perhaps they had just heard some about his healings and his miracles. Perhaps they don’t fully understand that he is the Son of God, yet they are desperate. Maybe some thought, could Jesus be the one that the prophet Zechariah spoke of? If so, can he save me? Can he heal me? Can he make my life circumstances any better? Well some of the Pharisees did not like the fact that so many were shouting and praising Jesus, when Jesus entered the city. Jesus said to these Pharisees, “I tell you, if they were silent, the stones would shout” (Lk. 19:39-40, CEB). The people are desperate. The people that greeted Jesus Christ, were very much like us. Most of them were just regular people. People who worked hard, people who dealt with illnesses, family struggles, and sometimes were just trying to put food on the table. With great anticipation they shouted “Blessings on the king who comes in the name of the Lord. Peace in heaven and glory in the highest heavens” (Lk. 19:38, CEB).

          For some of the Jews, they were hoping that the Messiah, that Jesus Christ would be a conquering king, covered in armor, like the great King David. Those persons wanted the Messiah to come into Jerusalem and militarily defeat the Romans, and kick them out of Israel. Yet today, Jesus Christ enters the holy city, humble and full of love. You see, Jesus didn’t come to kill the Romans, but he did come to change them, and to change us. The power that Christ brings into Jerusalem today is not that of the sword, not that of the shield, but that of the power of love and forgiveness. These people, like many people today are living under great oppression, and have great debt. Perhaps some of them have cancer, sickness, and or other health problems. So they shout “hosanna! hosanna!” For they, like some us, need to be delivered. They, like us, need hope. This is why I often say that the gospel of Jesus Christ is the hope of the world. For we need hope, do we not?

          With this said, I wonder how many of us have ever shouted the word “hosanna,” without using the word “hosanna”? How many of us have ever wanted God to save us, or to deliver us from something?

Are we so different then from those folks who went to celebrate the Jewish holiday of the Passover almost 2,000 years ago in Jerusalem? Do we not have our own struggles, hurts, worries, and pains? So my sisters and brothers, we shout “hosanna! hosanna!”

          I find that sometimes in this era that we live in, we look for leaders that we think will be like the Messiah, like Jesus Christ. We look for political leaders that will promise us everything, often to not deliver on those promises. Jesus, the Messiah came to love, heal, and forgive. The gift of who Jesus Christ, is like a wildfire of love, and when that gifts spreads, the world is made better. Jesus Christ does not enter into the holy city today to conquer to Romans, rather he enters to conquer our hearts and our souls. He comes to change us, not kill us. He comes that we may have new life, and have it abundantly, not to take it from us. He comes so that we may change how we are living, so that we can create a world of love, mercy, and justice. So we cry out, “hosanna! hosanna!”

          In our country today, when young people that graduate from college and owe tens of thousands of dollars in student loans and then cannot find a high enough paying jobs to pay their bills, we cry out “hosanna! hosanna!” When people live in countries that are ravaged by war, disease, and violence, we cry out “hosanna! hosanna!” When people live under brutal governments that are corrupt and they suffer because of it, we cry out “hosanna! hosanna!”

          As many of you know, the past five weeks, I have been preaching a sermon series on “why Jesus is the savior.” For if we shout “hosanna,” how do we know that this Jesus is truly the savior, the Messiah. Well we know that in the gospels that Jesus “outsmarted and resisted the devil” in the wilderness for forty-days. We know that Jesus “threw out demons and healed people.” We know that Jesus “spoke with power and truth.” We know that Jesus “loves and cares for all people.” We know that Jesus “was anointed.” Today we know that Jesus enters into the holy city of Jerusalem, and “People see him, and know that the Messiah has come.” They don’t have all the answers. They don’t know everything, but they want to believe. They have hope. They have hope in Jesus Christ.

          Do these people on that first Palm Sunday in Jerusalem fully understand who Jesus Christ is? No, I don’t think so. Do we fully understand everything about Jesus Christ today? No, I don’t think so. Will we ever fully understand everything about Jesus Christ, while still on this earth? No, I don’t think so. Do we know everything that there is to know about God? No, I don’t think so. Yet when we see Jesus Christ, it is then, in our hurts, in our pains, in our trials, and in our sufferings, that we cry out, “hosanna! hosanna!” This is the hope of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the hope of the world.

          Much like the first people that greeted Jesus as he entered into Jerusalem on this day, on that first Palm Sunday, what are our own reasons for shouting “hosanna”? Perhaps we desire forgiveness, salvation, and eternal life. Yet I wonder if Christ were to enter into this town or city today, and if we saw him on a donkey or colt, and if we truly believed in who he was, and what he could do, why would we shout “hosanna”? Would our own “hosanna” really mean, “Lord help me with my finances, as I am having trouble making ends meet?” Would our own “hosanna” really mean, “Lord I or someone I know has cancer, and I ask for your healing, your love, and your power”. Would our own “hosanna” really mean, “Lord, I am a person that lives all by myself, and I sometimes get so lonely. I pray for you to help me feel closer to you in those moments”. Would our own “hosanna” really mean, “Lord I am struggling in my life and or with my job, and Lord I need your help”.

          My sisters and brothers, in addition to salvation and heaven, what are our “hosannas” this morning. Where do we cry out to Jesus Christ, saying “save us”?

What I would like us all to do for a few moments is to think about where need to shout to Jesus this morning. I am not asking you to say or to name what your own “hosannas” specifically are. Instead, I am just asking you to think about it for a minute. Let’s imagine that Jesus comes down this street on a donkey, a colt, and we believe that in him and through him all things are possible. How do our “hosannas” sound?

          I would then invite you in a moment to say with me, “hosanna, hosanna,” but I would ask you say it while really giving to Jesus those things that burden you.

          All together then, let us say as a family, whatever we need God’s help with. Let us say together, “hosanna! hosanna!”

          I found a good quote from Saint Alphonsus Ligouri, that I want to share with you. It says, “Contradictions, sickness, scruples, spiritual aridity, and all the inner and outwards torments are the chisel with which God carves His statues for paradise” (Quotable Wisdom, The Saints).

          My brothers and sisters, Palm Sunday, Holy Week, is a time of great trial for Jesus in many ways, but it is also a time of great hope for Christians, as we hope in God, and as we hope in what God is doing in each us. As we hope that God brings us together as this church, as this family, and as this community, so that through God we may change the world. For this is the gospel of hope, the gospel of Jesus Christ. This is why we all, for similar and yet different reasons, on this day say, “hosanna! hosanna!” Praise be God and amen.

Freeville/Homer Avenue UMC's - Fourth Sunday in Lent/One Great Hour of Sharing - 03/06/16 Sermon - “He loves and cares for all people” (“Why Jesus is the Savior” series: Part 4 of 6)

Sunday 03/06/16 Freeville/Homer Avenue UMC’s

Sermon Title: “He loves and cares for all people”

(“Why Jesus is the Savior” series: Part 4 of 6)          

                            

Old Testament Lesson: Psalm 32

                                            

New Testament Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5:16-21

Gospel Lesson: Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

          Friends, brothers and sisters, welcome once again on this the Fourth Sunday in this season of Holy Lent, and this One Great Hour of Sharing Sunday. This is the Fourth Sunday in this holy season that we are called to prepare our hearts, our minds, and our souls for the coming crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ. This holy season is one in which we are called to examine ourselves, to see where we are distant and or separated from God. What sins, what barriers, what things are in our lives that separate us from the living God? In this season of Holy Lent, and always, God calls us to grow closer to him, through prayer, through service, through loving others, through reading scripture, through fasting, and through repentance, to allow God to remove those things in our lives that separate us from him. We must be willing to acknowledge those things in ourselves and in our lives that separate us from God, and we must be willing to work on changing ourselves into all that God has called us to be.

          Holy Lent is a time that through the power of God, we can grow closer to him, and become more like his son Jesus Christ. Through the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit, in this season and always, we can become more holy, more like God, more like Jesus Christ.

          This Sunday is also one of the five giving Sundays that we annually have in the United Methodist Church. Each of these giving Sundays are designed around taking a special offering for different ministries that occur in the United Methodist Church. The special giving offering that we have this week, is that of One Great Hour of Sharing. This is a giving Sunday that I feel particularly passionate about, as the One Great Hour of Sharing Sunday helps to fund UMCOR. UMCOR, is the United Methodist Committee on Relief. Whenever natural disasters occur, whether they be hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, tsunamis, forest fires, and etc., the people of UMCOR respond. The people of UMCOR who are mostly volunteers work quickly to get boots on the ground and needed resources to help our brothers and sisters in need. This response to crises and natural disasters, is part of Jesus Christ’s call on our lives to feed the hungry, cloth the naked, and love our neighbors. When we give to this special giving Sunday of One Great Hour of Sharing, we are saving lives, serving God, and bringing the hope of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the world. For me then, I believe in the mission of UMCOR, as they work collaboratively with sister relief agencies, like Catholic relief services. I give to this offering every year, because I believe that the gospel of Jesus Christ is the hope of the world, and that I need to live it in every way that I can.

          With this said, if you want to make your checks out to the church, and put One Great Hour of Sharing on the memo line, or put any money in an envelope and indicate on the envelope that it is for One Great Hour of Sharing that would be great. We will then make sure that these funds get to our conference office in Syracuse, and then to UMCOR, as they will then be able to continue to bring the life, light, and love of Jesus Christ to the world.

          This morning, as many of you know, I have been preaching a six-week sermon series on why the Christian Church for centuries has in the majority argued that Jesus is the Christ. When I say that Jesus is the Christ, I mean that the Christian Church for centuries has largely argued that Jesus was the messiah. That he was and is the second person of the Holy Trinity, of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. That Jesus Christ was fully God and fully human on earth, and that he died an atoning death on a Roman Cross for our sins. That in him and through him all things are possible.

Yet, these faith claims about Jesus Christ are major claims. Within this, in addition to our creedal statements like the Nicene Creed and the Apostle’s Creed, along with centuries of tradition, and shared beliefs about Jesus Christ, what do the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John say about Jesus? Do these gospels claim that Jesus was the Christ, the Messiah, God on earth? Or do they say something else?

Well in this sermon series, I am making the claim that yes these gospels do make the claim that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, God on earth. I am making this claim around the reality that if anything in the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John is true, that this is strong argument that Jesus was more than just a man, more than just a person like you and I. Jesus must have been the Christ, the Messiah.

Every week of this sermon series, I have been taking our gospel lectionary readings and attempting to show how and why the historic Christian Church believed that Jesus was the Christ was the Messiah.

  In the first week of this six-part series, I preached that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, because “he outsmarted and resisted the devil.” If the story of Jesus being in the wilderness for forty-days and resisting the devil is true on any level, then he must be the messiah, as no human person could endure that.

In the second week of this six-week preaching series, I spoke about Jesus “throws out demons and heals people”. If Jesus was able to do any of this, then this is certainly a strong indication that Jesus was indeed the Christ, the Messiah.

Last week, I talked about how Jesus “spoke with power and truth”. For the things that are recorded that Jesus said were powerfully piercing, and were holy. It would seem then that only Messiah could say the things that he said. For he spoke God’s words, as he must have been God on earth.

This week, my message is called, “He loves and cares for all people.” For if we have a loving and a forgiving God, which I believe we do, then Jesus displaying this love and compassion for all people, is a sign that he is indeed the savior, the Messiah.

The gospel of Luke reading from this morning begins with some Pharisees and some legal experts complaining that Jesus welcomes and eats with sinners (Lk. 15:1-2, CEB). Some might say, why would Jesus do this? Why would he go among people that were social outcasts? The reason my sisters and brothers, is that Jesus “loves and cares for all people.” He loved and cared for the lepers, he loved and cared for the woman at the well, he loved and cared for blind beggars, and he loved the unlovable. To me, this sounds like the messiah, the Christ.

After Jesus gets criticized for welcoming and eating with sinners in this gospel reading, Jesus tells the famous parable of the prodigal son (Lk. 15:1-3, CEB). This parable, the parable of prodigal son, to me gets to the very heart of God, of Jesus Christ. Many of us know this parable inside and out. For me, it is one of my favorites, and I often get emotional in telling the story.

In getting into the substance of this parable, I wonder, how many of us here have done anything wrong? How many of us here, have disrespected or mistreated our parents? How many of us, have ever thought that we were beyond forgiveness and God’s love?

In this parable, a man who has a decent amount of wealth, servants, a nice house, and many possessions, had two sons (Lk. 15:11b, CEB). The younger son asked his father for his half of his earthly inheritance early (Lk. 15:12, CEB). This means that the son took half of his father’s wealth. Upon being given this half of his father’s wealth, the young son went off, partied, lived extravagantly, and spent it all (Lk. 15:13, CEB).

After the son had spent everything, a severe food shortage occurred, and the young son was only able to find a job feeding pigs (Lk. 15:14-16, CEB). The young son, soon realized that he had hit rock bottom, and that even his father’s servants were now living better than he was (Lk. 15:17-20, CEB). He was lonely, broken, and hurting. At this point, this young son was then determined to go home to his father and tell him, “Father I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son. Take me on as one your hired hands” (Lk. 15:18b-19, CEB). The son thinks that he had lost the love of his father.

The gospel goes on to say, that the young son began the journey home, and he was likely tired, raged, and skinny from malnutrition (Lk. 15:21, CEB). Yet from a distance off, the son’s father saw him, and ran to him, and his son said to his father, as he said that he would, “Father I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son” (Lk. 15:20b-21, CEB). Yet the son’s father was not angry with his young son, nor was he unhappy to see him. The father of the young son called forth to his servants to bring “the best robe and put it on him! Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet! Fetch the fatted calf and slaughter it. We must celebrate with feasting because this son of mine was dead and he has come back to life. He was lost and is found! (Lk. 15:22-24, CEB).

Now brothers and sisters, Jesus Christ came to “love and care for all people.” I wonder how many prodigal sons and daughters that he ministered to. I wonder how many of us have been prodigal sons and daughters? Yet Jesus came to seek and save the lost. Like the prodigal son, we can be forgiven no matter what we have done.

Here is the other part of this parable or story, the older brother. The older brother, who stayed at home while the young son went off lived wildly, came back to his dad’s house to see the great party going on for the younger son (Lk. 15:25-28, CEB). The older son was angry, because of the sins of his younger brother (Lk. 15:28-28, CEB). The older brother told the father, that he had never taken anything from him, yet the younger son took so much, and blew it all (Lk. 15:29-30, CEB). Yet the father tells his oldest son in ending this morning’s gospel reading, “Son, you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad because this brother of yours was dead and is alive. He was lost and is found” (Lk. 15:31-32, CEB). It would seem that whether we are close to the father, or far from the father, he still wants to love us, and forgive us.

My brothers and sisters, if Jesus is the Christ, if he is truly the Messiah, then why would he “welcome sinners and eat with them,” as this gospel reading begins with (Lk. 15:2b, CEB)? The answer is because those people were lost, but now they are found. They were blind, but now they see. Jesus Christ came to earth so that he could seek out and save the lost, to die for us. That no matter who we are, or what we have done, we can be forgiven.

Some of us might say, but pastor, my earthly dad, or my earthly mom would never do that. Yet God, Jesus Christ, will run to us, if we let him. He will run to us, embrace us, and forgive us, if we but got to him. For Jesus Christ, the messiah came to “love and care for all people”.

In this parable, Jesus Christ is saying, this is what the love of God is like. This is why the mission of the United Methodist Church is “to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world”. If we have been forgiven, taken in by Jesus Christ, the one who “loves and care for all people,” then we need to bring people to Jesus Christ. We need to bring people to Christ, so that like the prodigal son, they may be forgiven, be filled with hope and love, and know that God loves them so much.

In this season of Holy Lent, while we examine and grow ourselves closer to God, let also seek to share the “Good News” of Jesus Christ with others, as Jesus Christ “loves and cares for all people”. Brothers and sisters, I leave you with a quote from Saint Francis of Assisi who said, “We have been called to heal wounds, to unite what is fallen apart, and to bring home those who have lost their way.” Let us in this season of Holy Lent and always, bring people to Jesus Christ. Praise be to God. Amen.