Freeville/Homer Avenue UMC's - Easter Sunday - 04/01/18 - Sermon - “Seeing is believing!" ("The Power of the Resurrection" Series: Part 5 of 5)

Easter Sunday 4/1/18 Freeville/Homer Avenue UMC’s

Sermon Title: “Seeing is believing!”

(“The Power of the Resurrection” Series – Part 5 of 5)

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

                                            

New Testament Scripture: 1 Corinthians 15:1-11

                                                   

Gospel Lesson: John 20:1-18

          He Is Risen! He Is Risen Indeed! My friends, my sisters and brothers in Christ, welcome once again on this our Easter Sunday. For on this day, death, evil, injustice, oppression, and sin have officially been conquered, as Jesus is alive.

For the past four weeks I have been talking about “The Power of the Resurrection” of Jesus Christ. Not only do I believe that Jesus’ arrest, trial, crucifixion, and resurrection were real historical events, but I believe that they are also powerful events. Sometimes an event can occur that radically changes the world forever. Jesus’ arrest, trial, crucifixion, and resurrection have and will continue to change the world forever. Millions and millions have been changed and will continue to be changed.

          The idea of the resurrection, is that holiness wins, that goodness wins, that love wins, that truth wins, that kindness wins, and that hope wins. I don’t know about you, but I need resurrection power. So we have the historical events, and then we have the psychological, emotional, and spiritual power that are connected to them. To put it another way, the power of faith and the power of belief can inspire us and move us to do amazing things in the world. We can be changed, and thus God can use us to change the world. My faith in the Risen Christ inspires me, motivates me, and causes to me to want make a difference for God in the world every day.

          In this sermon series that I am completing this morning on “The Power of the Resurrection” of Jesus Christ, I have discussed that Jesus personally “proclaimed his own resurrection” in all four of the Gospels. Basically, Jesus said in the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, that he would be betrayed, tried, killed, and resurrected. Due to this, I believe that we can trust the historical realities of these events, and there power.

          I discussed the conversion of the Apostle Paul, and how his faith in Christ transformed him, and the world. I discussed that how for hundreds of years before the birth of Christ, that his life, death, and resurrection were foretold in the Old Testament or the Hebrew Bible. Last Sunday, I got more specific into some of the prophecies about the coming of Christ, his life, his crucifixion, death, and resurrection.

          This morning I am finishing this sermon series with the sermon “Seeing in believing!”

          With all of this said, has anyone here ever seen something that seemed too good to be true? Or have you ever seen something that stopped you in your tracks and you had to do what I like to call a “double take”. I have seen television shows where people have claimed to see the Lockness Monster, Big Foot, the Sasquatch, or a UFO. Can we trust our eyes? Do we always see the reality of what we are looking at? Or are we imaging things sometimes?

          Can we trust what we see, or to put it another way, is “Seeing believing”? There have been a couple of times in this church for example, were myself and others have looked up and have seen something on the walls and or the sealing. It was dark colored, and sometimes we thought that it was a bat! We all love bats right? It usually wasn’t a bat though, it was just a black spot somewhere or something else.

          This brings me to our gospel of John reading for this morning. In this gospel reading we have one of the resurrection accounts. To give a little background to this gospel account, as many of us know, this pass Friday on Good Friday, Jesus was taken off the cross after he died. He was then placed in the tomb of a rich man, named Joseph of Arimathea. The tomb was sealed, guarded, and Jesus was dead. This morning though, the stone is rolled away, and the tomb is empty. Let’s look at this morning’s gospel reading once again. This is what it says:

“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. So 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.”  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. 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. 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. ⁸ Then 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. Then the disciples returned to their homes. But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into 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. They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni!” (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, “Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”; and she told them that he had said these things to her”

(Jn. 20:1-18, NRSV).

          So what happened on this day, on that first Easter? Did Jesus Christ truly rise from the dead? Or did the disciples just imagine it? Did they make it up? Did they get rid of Jesus’ body and make it look like a resurrection? Based upon the gospels, multiple sightings of Jesus today, Easter Morning, and after, and host of other reasons, I believe that Jesus Christ truly rose from the dead. To put it more directly, I believe that on this day Jesus Christ physically got up, was alive, and walked out of the tomb, taking with him, his is body, his soul, and his divinity. This means that I believe that Jesus is alive and well!

          This is why the Christian Church for centuries has proclaimed on this day, that Christ Is Risen! Christ Is Risen Indeed! So either the risen Christ was seen, touched, and viewed, or he wasn’t. I believe that he was.

          Within this, the power of this is transformative. I can imagine for example, what the mood was like on Friday and Saturday for the disciples and the Marys. Imagine what it was like the moment they saw and truly believe that their Lord and master was alive? Imagine the hope that we can draw from the belief that not only is Jesus alive, but that he is alive in us. Further if he overcame evil, sin, and death, then what he can do through us? We can be the church, feed the poor, clothe the naked, and transform the world!

          As Christians we have been described by many as Easter people, or people of resurrection. As Christians we are people of faith and hope, and we believe that anything is possible with God. We believe that God can use us to do anything, because as the song says, “An empty grave is there to prove my savior lives!”

          Maybe you have come here this morning without hope, or maybe hope filled. Wherever you are at this morning, the reality is this: for nearly 2,000 years, people from all across this world have been draw to the hope and the power contained in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This day symbolizes therefore, that goodness has overcome, that love wins, that mercy wins, that truth wins, and that hope wins. If this is true, which I believe it is, then we are to believe that when it is all said and done that God will have the final word in our lives and in this world. This is hope that we can all tap into, hope that we can all seek, and through the power of the Holy Spirit, that we can all live into.

          So I believe that Jesus rose this day. I have a friend who is a retired United Methodist Church pastor, and he always used to say on Easter Sunday, “show me the bones of Jesus Christ, and I will be worshipping at the Jewish Synagogue next Saturday night”. He made this joke because no one has ever found the bones of Jesus Christ, because He Is Risen! He Is Risen Indeed!

          My sisters and brothers, we live in a hurting and a broken world, and Jesus Christ and his gospel, show us that a different way is possible. Jesus’ death and resurrection offers us forgiveness, hope, and the belief that we can do great things. This is why Easter is so important to Christians, and this why the gospel of Jesus Christ is the best and only hope for this world.

          I pray that on this Easter, and in this Season of Easter, that you will find a new movement of the Holy Spirit in your life. I pray that the power of Jesus and His resurrection will fill you anew. I pray that you will be empowered to live out our faith in the world in new and powerful ways. We are people of resurrection, faith, and hope. May you live this out on this day of resurrection and always! Happy Easter and Amen.

Homer Avenue UMC - Good Friday Service - 03/30/18 - Sermon - “God loves you this much!"

Good Friday 03/30/18 Homer Avenue UMC

Sermon Title: “God loves you this much!”

Old Testament Scripture: Isaiah 52:13-53:12

                                            

New Testament Scripture: Hebrews 10:16-25

                                                   

Gospel Lesson: John 18:1-19:42

          My dear friends, my sisters and brothers in Christ, welcome once again on this our Good Friday, of this our Holy Week. On this day, the savior of the world lays down his life, so that we may be forgiven and reconciled with almighty God.

          This Holy Week started this past Sunday on our Palm or Passion Sunday. On that day, Jesus entered triumphantly into Jerusalem to the shouts of Hosanna! Jesus then continued to love, heal, and forgive, and proclaim the Kingdom of God here on earth. Last night, Jesus shared his Last Supper with his disciples. During this Last Supper, Jesus gave us the sacrament of Holy Communion, or the Lord’s Supper, He gave us the gift of foot washing, and the “Maundy,” or “mandate,” or new commandment, to love each other. After celebrating all this with his friends, his disciple Judas Iscariot betrayed him. Peter would soon do the same. His friends would scatter.

          Jesus prayed all night in the Garden of Gethsemane, and in the early hours of this morning, Jesus was arrested. For Judas Iscariot had led those guards right to Jesus. From this point, the events of this day, Good Friday, have played out.

In our reading from the Prophet Isaiah for tonight, Isaiah writes many centuries earlier, multiple events that will happen this day, this Good Friday. Isaiah tells us what Christ will look like shortly before his death on the cross. Isaiah says:

“—so marred was his appearance, beyond human semblance,
    and his form beyond that of mortals—“ (Isa. 53:4b, NSRV).

          Another way to put it, is that by this day’s end, Jesus will barely recognizable or not recognizable as person, due to the incredible suffering that he went through.

The prophet Isaiah writes of Jesus Christ that he will be:

“despised and rejected by others;
    a man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity;” (Isa. 52:3a, NRSV).

The prophet Isaiah then says of Christ further in tonight’s reading that:

“But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed” (Isa. 53:5, NRSV).

          Our reading from the prophet Isaiah for tonight ends with Isaiah saying this about Jesus:

“because he poured out himself to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors”

(Isa. 53:12b, NRSV).

          Jesus poured himself out and suffered for us. He bore the sin of many, for all of us. He prayed and interceded to those crucifying him. He loved everyone right to the very end.

You know, every single time that I prepare for a Good Friday Service, I get choked up in thinking about what Christ has done for me, and for us all. As I was writing this, I kept thinking of a song by “Hill Song”. This song, written about Jesus is called, “What a Beautiful Name”. The Lyrics of this song are beautiful as they say:

“You were the Word at the beginning. One With God the Lord Most High. Your hidden glory in creation. Now revealed in You our Christ. What a beautiful Name it is. What a beautiful Name it is. The Name of Jesus Christ my King. What a beautiful Name it is. Nothing compares to this.
What a beautiful Name it is. The Name of Jesus. You didn't want heaven without us. So Jesus, You brought heaven down. My sin was great, Your love was greater What could separate us now”

(https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/hillsongworship/whatabeautifulname.html).

          As a handful of us here just read the story of Good Friday from the gospel of John, we all heard again the story of the arrest, trial, mocking, degradation, whipping, scourging, suffering, and brutal crucifixion of Jesus Christ. As the prophet Isaiah said he was barely if at all recognizable as a man.

          In our reading from the Apostle Paul’s epistle or letter to the Hebrews for tonight, he begins this reading by quoting a prophecy from the prophet Jeremiah. Paul writes:

“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”

 (Heb. 10:16, NRSV).

The Apostle Paul then writes a little more from the prophet Jeremiah, and then his own words says:

“he also adds, “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.” Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin. Therefore, my friends, since 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. Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful. 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” (Heb. 10:17-25, NRSV).

          The Apostle Paul is telling us that Jesus, the Lamb of God, shed his blood and died for us, so that we could be forgiven. As the song says, “O How He Loves you and Me”.

          Some people have a really hard time with Good Friday though. They have a hard time with the betrayal against Jesus of Judas Iscariot, of Peter, Jesus’ arrest, the disrespect, the mockery, the chains, the trial, the whipping, the scourging, the thorns, the nails, and the cross. As I said in a recent sermon, some folks in recent years have begun to reject the crucifixion as too brutal, or even unnecessary. Some have rejected the idea that God the Father needed to send his Son to earth to brutally die for our sins in order to reconcile to us to Himself. Yet this was “God’s eternal plan in Jesus Christ,” and it happened because God planned it this way. Before time itself, this was the plan, because this is how God sought to reconcile the world to Himself.

          What Jesus went through today was indeed brutal. As I asked in that recent sermon though, how many of you would do the very same thing for your kids, or your grandkids, or a member of your family though?

          I am reminded of what the Apostle John wrote in his gospel 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).

          Instead just seeing the events of this day as brutal, think about like this, our heavenly Father loves us so much, that He would stop at nothing, I mean nothing, to be reconciled to us. I heard a pastor say once that “if the nails didn’t hold Christ on the Cross, his love for us would have”. Jesus told us in all of the gospels that among everything else he came to do and say, that he was coming to die for us. This is why my sermon for tonight is called “God love you this much!”

          On this day, death dies, and sin is destroyed, as I believe that before time itself this was “God’s eternal plan in Jesus Christ”,

          I have a story for you that I have told a few times before that explains this day, this Good Friday, much better than I ever could. This story is taken from (https://www.crossroad.to/Victory/stories/TheSon.html), and is called

“Whoever Gets the Son, Gets Everything”. This is the story:

“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 receives the son gets everything!"   

          Friends, while today might seem brutal to some, this is our open door to be saved and reconciled by the God of the Universe. As Rev. Billy Graham said:

“God proved His love on the Cross. When Christ hung, and bled, and died, it was God saying to the world, 'I love you.'
(Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/billy_graham_150661)

Jesus came and did this for me, for you, and for all people both past, present, and future, and all we have to do is to say yes to Jesus being the Lord of our lives. We do this, and we are forgiven, because the one who receives the son gets everything! Amen.

Freeville UMC - Holy/Maundy Thursday - 03/29/18 - Sermon - “God's eternal plan in Jesus Christ"

Holy/Maundy Thursday 03/29/18 Freeville UMC

Sermon Title: “God’s eternal plan in Jesus Christ”

Old Testament Scripture: Exodus 12:1-14

                                            

New Testament Scripture: 1 Corinthians 11:23-26

                                                   

Gospel Lesson: John 13:1-17, 31b-35

          My friends, my sisters and brothers in Christ, welcome again on this our Holy or Maundy Thursday, of this our Holy Week. This Holy Week began this past Sunday on our Palm or Passion Sunday. We heard the story of Jesus our Lord entering triumphantly into the Holy city of Jerusalem, Zion, to the shouts of “Hosanna”! So many of us know that story well, as many of us also know the whole story of this our Holy week well.

          As this week has unfolded, Christ has continued to love, heal, and forgive, as well as to teach and proclaim the Kingdom of God here on earth. Yet, as he said in all four of the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, his mission on earth is coming to an end soon. Jesus tells the disciples and us, that he is soon to suffer and die for us, and three days later will be raised to new life.

          To me, Holy Week in all of its events and emotions are like a grand symphony that is beautifully playing out, as the story of the Christ on earth inches ever closer to the cross.

          On this night though, we have a big dinner. Sometimes when someone has been with us, whether visiting or living with us, we might end the living arrangement or the visit with a great meal. For some of us, we can remember maybe going out to a dinner after a graduation, getting a new job, on a birthday, or something else. This idea of sitting down and spending some time sharing a meal and some fellowship together is something that we still very much do in our culture.

          This hospitality, this love, and this caring, is played out in the events of this our Holy or Maundy Thursday. On this night, the night before Christ is tried, suffers, is crucified, and dies for us, he has a last meal with his friends. Even though they have no doubt broken bread many times together before this, this is an extra special meal. This Last Supper has been portrayed in many works of art, the most famous of which is no doubt the painting by Leonardo Da Vinci. This meal also occurred on the Jewish Passover. The Jewish Passover was a festival or holiday that commemorated the Jews surviving death in Egypt, and then fleeing slavery in Egypt.

          In our book of Exodus reading for this evening, we have the very first Passover, where God told Moses to have the Jewish people slaughter a lamb without blemish (Ex. 12:1-5, NRSV). The Book of Exodus says:

“Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs. That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast” (Ex. 12:7-8, NRSV).

          The story then ends with the angel of death passing over the houses of the Jews that had the blood of lamb on them, thereby preserving the life of each firstborn child (Ex. 12:12-14, NRSV).

          Many Jews and many Christians still celebrate this holiday every year. If you have ever been to a Passover Seder, this is exactly what this first Passover was. Essentially then, the Last Supper that Christ shares tonight with the disciples is a Jewish Passover Seder. Yet, this specific supper is different.

          In the Jewish faith, Jews believe that on that first Passover they were saved by the blood of a pure and spotless lamb, and they then ate that lamb as part of a Seder dinner.

          In the gospel of John 1:29, John the Baptist sees Jesus walking towards him and shouts:

“Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

(Jn. 1:29, NRSV)

          Do you see the connection with the sacrificed lambs and their blood that saved the Jews on that first Passover in Egypt, and with Jesus being the Lamb of God? This means that while the blood of pure and spotless lambs saved the Jews in Egypt from losing their first born on the night of the Passover, Jesus is the New Passover. Jesus won’t just save us from death for just one night, but instead Jesus will save us from death eternally. His blood won’t cover our doorways, but instead it will cover our hearts and our souls. Jesus, the “Paschal Lamb,” is the New Passover. Jesus is the Lamb of God that will save us all.

          It is interesting then, that on this night Jesus does a “one-eighty” with the Passover Seder. Judas was also already planning to betray him, as they sat in that Upper Room, left soon after the meal. Instead of just celebrating the Seder like the Jews had for hundreds of years, on this night Jesus does something different with the bread and the wine. The Apostle Paul highlights this in our reading for tonight from 1 Corinthians 11:23-26. The Apostle Paul says:

^“For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when 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.” 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.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes”

(1 Cor. 11:23-26, NRSV).

          On this night, Jesus gives us the gift of the sacrament of Holy Communion, or the Lord’s Supper. In this gift, Jesus offers the bread and the cup as his body and his blood. The parallel between the first Passover in Egypt with the blood of a pure and spotless lamb saving life and then eating the lamb, is exactly what we have happening in this the Last Supper, or first Holy Communion.

          I not only believe then that this was “God’s eternal plan in Jesus Christ,” as my sermon title says, but it was also God’s plan to save the Jews and lead them out of slavery in Egypt hundreds of years earlier.

          As I said, Holy Week to me is like a beautiful symphony, where thousands of years of prophecy and the promises of God are coalescing, and as they do, if we look closely, we can see “God’s eternal plan in Jesus Christ” playing out.

          So Jesus and his disciples have the Last Supper, there last meal and Seder dinner together. There was certainly more there than just bread and juice on the table, but since these are the elements that Jesus focused on, we have Holy Communion or the Lord’s Supper with the bread and the juice.

          All of this is why this day, this night is called “Holy Thursday”. Many Protestant churches however, call this day “Maundy Thursday” though. Why do we call this day “Maundy Thursday,” instead of Holy “Thursday”? The answer is this, in tonight’s gospel of John reading, it says in John 13:34-35:

“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 one another” (Jn. 13:34-35, NRSV).

          This “Mandate” or “Maundy,” or “Mandatum” in Latin is why we call this day “Maundy Thursday”. We are focusing the new commandment or the mandate to love one another.

          Before Jesus gives us this new commandment, this mandate, or this “Maundy,” Jesus first does something extraordinary. Jesus gets up from the dinner table, the Passover Seder table, and takes off his outer robe (Jn. 13:4, NRSV). Jesus then takes water and pours it into a basin, ties a towel around his waist, and then he began to wash the disciple’s feet. Peter of course wanted no part of this, but Jesus convinces him otherwise (Jn. 13:5-11, NRSV).

          It is important to remember that this was an era of time that most people wore sandals, as in the dessert there feet would get dirty, sandy, and rather disgusting sometimes. It was the lowest task to wash someone’s feet, and yet Jesus humbly does this on this night. The washing of the feet is not a sacrament, but it is more of an ordinance, a ritual, or a rite. It is something that Jesus taught us. I remember the first time that I saw Pope Francis washing and even kissing the feet that he washed on Holy Thursday, it was moving to me, and people crying that were getting washed.

          When Jesus was done with foot washing, he said:

“Do you know what I have done to you? 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 one another’s feet. For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. Very truly, I tell you, servants are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them. If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them” (Jn. 13:13-17, NRSV).

          Jesus Christ our Lord, the living God, the New Passover, the Lamb of God, gets down and washes the dirty feet of his disciples.

          As I said, I believe that everything in this Holy Week is a beautiful symphony of God that is playing out. I believe that this was and is “God’s eternal plan in Jesus Christ”. I believe that before time itself God and Jesus coexisted, and that God planned to teach and redeem humanity through his son Jesus Christ. This is what this Holy Week is all about.

          So on this Holy or Maundy Thursday, we have three key things that happened which we will celebrate tonight. First, Jesus gives us the sacrament of Holy Communion or the Lord’s Supper. Second, Jesus gives us the gift of the ordinance, ritual, or rite of foot washing. Lastly, when this service comes to end we have the chance offer each other the Maundy, or the mandate to love each other. So these are the three things then, communion, the washing, and the Maundy.

          Tomorrow we will have Good Friday, which will be much more sad and brutal. On this night though, we have the continuance of this beautiful symphony of God that is playing out, which is “God’s eternal plan in Jesus Christ”. Blessings to you and yours on this Holy/Maundy Thursday. Amen.

Freeville/Homer Avenue UMC's - Palm/Passion Sunday - 03/25/18 - Sermon - “Jesus fulfilled all of the Prophesies" ("The Power of the Resurrection" Series: Part 4 of 5)

Sunday 03/25/18 Freeville/Homer Avenue UMC’s

Sermon Title: “Jesus fulfilled all of the prophesies”

(“The Power of the Resurrection” Series – Part 4 of 5)

Old Testament Scripture: Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29

                                            

New Testament Scripture: Philippians 2:5-11

                                                   

Gospel Lesson: Mark 11:1-11

          My sisters and brothers in Christ, my friends, welcome once again on this our Palm or Passion Sunday. This is the Sunday that we celebrate Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem, as palms were laid in his path and were waved in the air. As this happened, the crowd shouted, as I just read in this morning’s Gospel of Mark reading:

“Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David! Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

 (Mk. 11:9b-10, NRSV).

          Today, as prophesied by scripture, Jesus the Christ, our savior enters into the holy city of Jerusalem, to Zion, to the shouts of Hosanna! Our king enters triumphant and in glory, only soon to be tried, to suffer, to be crucified, and to die for us all. This day though is one of celebration and great excitement! For today, the King of Glory comes, and the nation rejoices!

          This morning, I am continuing on with my five week sermon series on the “The Power of the Resurrection” of Jesus Christ. For the last three weeks, I have been talking about how Jesus’ trial, crucifixion, death, and his resurrection, aren’t merely historical events. While I believe that they are historical events, and that there are many reasons to believe them, these are also realities that still continue to change people even today in 2018. The power of all that this Holy Week is, and all that the resurrection will be on Easter Sunday, are so powerful that they can change us psychologically, emotionally, and spiritually. We can become, as scripture says, a “New Creation” in Christ. The story of Jesus Christ, I believe, is the greatest story that has ever been told, and I also believe that Jesus Christ can still change us in mighty way today. For nearly 2,000 years people have given their lives to Christ, become followers of him, and have and continue to draw power from his life, death, and resurrection. This is why my sermon series is called, “The Power of the Resurrection”. The power of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection has changed people, cultures, and the world.

          Thus far in this sermon series, I have preached that Jesus’ trial, crucifixion, death, and resurrection, are real and powerful because, among many other reasons, “Jesus proclaimed his own resurrection” in all four gospels. I also discussed the powerful conversion of Saul of Tarsus, who became the Apostle Paul, who was a strong voice for the power of Christ, Christ’s death, and Christ’s resurrection. Last Sunday, I discussed broadly how the scriptures of the Old Testament, and even some in the New Testament made claims about the coming of Christ, his life, his death, and his resurrection.

          This morning, I want to get a little more specific with some of what the scripture actually says about the coming of Christ. This sermon therefore, is called “Jesus fulfilled all of the Prophesies”.

So, just what did the Old Testament or the Hebrew Bible and maybe a little bit of New Testament claim about the coming of the Messiah, the Christ? Further, did Jesus fulfill those prophetic claims that were foretold of him?

          Well many folks who don’t believe in the historical or the apostolic Christian faith might say, “No, Jesus did not fulfill these prophetic claims”. Our Jewish brothers and sisters would likely say this. Yet, since Jesus was alleged to have worked on the Sabbath, which meant healing people and gleaning food from fields, and well as ministering to people considered fallen and sinful, well then he broke the Jewish law. Jesus then, in a very legalistic Jewish sense is not eligible to be the Messiah. Yet Jesus tells us that he is the “New Covenant” and that he is the “Lord of the Sabbath”. Due to all of this, the majority of Christians historically would say that Jesus was and is the savior, the Messiah that those before him said he would be.

          So what are some of these many claims in scripture about Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the savior? Well depending on your reading of scripture, or where you do your research, there could be as many as dozens to hundreds of scriptures that have lead Christian scholars to believe that prophecies about Jesus Christ were being made. In fact, one place I did research said that there are 353 scriptures that foretold or discussed the life of Jesus Christ.

          Let me just share a handful of examples of this. In Exodus 3:14, God tells Moses that his name is:

“I Am Who I am” (Ex. 3:14, NRSV).

Then in the gospel of John 8:58, Jesus says:

“Very truly, I tell you, before Abraham was, I am” (Jn. 8:58, RSV).

Jesus is making the direct connection to God in the Book of Exodus, and he is saying I am he, I am the Messiah, I am God in the flesh.

          In Exodus 12:21-27, we have the story of the Passover, and the Jewish people sacrificing a pure and spotless Lamb. The blood of this Lamb was put on their doorways to protect them from the angel of death that was to Passover there homes. In 1 Corinthians 5:7, the Apostle Paul tell us that Jesus is the new Passover, the new pure and spotless lamb. The blood of Christ will cover the doorways of our hearts, and we will not see death with Christ, only eternal life.

          What we see then, is a very direction connection to the Old Testament or the Hebrew Bible, and the coming of Christ and his revelation in the New Testament.

          In Exodus 12:46, it says of him who is to come, that he will not break one bone in his body. In the gospel of John 19:31-36, as Jesus is being crucified and died, the scripture says that not one bone was broken in Jesus’ body.

          Psalm 23:1 says that God is the Good Shepherd.  In John 10:11 Jesus says that he is the Good Shepherd. In Psalm 69:21 it says that the Messiah would be given vinegar to drink. In Matthew 27:34 Jesus said that he thirsted, and one of the roman guards then soaked a sponge with vinegar and sour wine, put it on a hyssop branch, and lifted it for Christ to drink from.

          Psalm 129:3, it says that the Messiah will be scourged, as Christ in gospel of Matthew 27:26 was scourged with a cat-o-nine tails by the roman soldiers. In our own reading from Psalm 118 for this morning, it says in 118:22-23:

“The stone that the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes” (Ps. 118:22-23, NRSV).

Jesus then says in Matthew 21:42-43:

Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the scriptures: ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is amazing in our eyes’? (Mt. 21:42-43, NSRV).

Essentially then, and these are literally but a few, there are multiple scriptures in the Old Testament or the Hebrew Bible that are referenced as being fulfilled in the New Testament. Further, in Luke 24:44, Jesus literally himself says:

“Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled” (Luke 24:44, NRSV).

          So of just the handful of Old Testament prophecies that I just read to you that would be fulfilled in Jesus Christ, Jesus then tells us that all of these prophecies will be fulfilled in him. This is why my sermon title is called, “Jesus fulfilled all the prophecies”.

          So you might asking right about now, well what on earth does this have to do with Palm or Passion Sunday, and our gospel reading from the gospel of Mark for this morning?

          This, in the Book of Zechariah, the Prophet Zechariah says in 9:9 this:

“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).

          Does this prediction written many years before Christ sound like what happened in this morning’s gospel reading? Let’s look again at this morning’s reading from the gospel of Mark. The gospel reading once again says:

“When they were approaching Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately as you enter it, you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden; untie it and bring it. If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ just say this, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here immediately.’” They went away and found a colt tied near a door, outside in the street. As they were untying it, some of the bystanders said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” They told them what Jesus had said; and they allowed them to take it. Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it; and he sat on it. Many people spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut in the fields. Then those who went ahead and those who followed were shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David! Hosanna in the highest heaven!” Then he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple; and when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve” (Mk. 11:1-11, NRSV).

          Now once again, the prophet Zechariah says in 9:9:

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).

          Just as a reminder also, our reading for this morning from Psalm 118:26 says:

“Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord. We bless you from the house of the Lord” (Psalm 118:26, NRSV).

          In the gospel of Matthew narrative, the disciples get Jesus a colt and donkey. So while there are some discrepancies between the gospel accounts, what the prophet Zechariah predicted long before this day, came true as Jesus Christ entered Jerusalem on this day to the shouts of Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! This is significant, because it not only reinforces who Christ was and is, that he existed, that he died for us, and that he rose again, but it also shows us that this is still significant for us today.

          In this sermon series so far, we have discussed that Jesus “Predicted his own resurrection,” that the “Apostle Paul proclaimed it,” last week that the “Scripture prophesied it,” and this week that “Jesus fulfilled all of the prophesies” written about him. Jesus again himself said that he would fulfill all of the prophesies written about him.

          So I believe therefore, that Jesus was and is the Messiah, our savior, and I believe that he lived as God in the flesh on earth, that he loved, healed, forgave, died for us, and rose again on the third day. I also believe that can and will change our hearts, our minds, and our lives if we let him into our hearts, minds, and lives.

          In this season of Lent, has the life, teachings, death, and resurrection of Christ changed us. Are we growing spiritually? Are we being changed? Are we different that we were, because we have the love and resurrection power of Jesus Christ flowing through us?

          It is my prayer that we would claim all that Jesus is in our lives in this season of Lent, that we would pray and continue to call upon the Holy Spirit to change us, so that God may use us to then transform the world.

          Today, the one in whom many prophesied and said would come, the Messiah, I believe entered into Jerusalem this day in a triumphant display. He entered not in most ostentatious of ways, but humble and lowly, as the crowd shouted, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”

          This story will continue to play out this week, as we will gather this Thursday at 7:00 pm at the Freeville UMC to hear and experience the Last Supper and all that transpired that night. This Friday our road then leads us to the cross to Christ. Next Sunday on Easter we celebrate his triumphant resurrection. So again I pray that God would move in us this day and always, so that we to might continue to be transformed in Christ, and thus shout “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” Amen.