Sidney UMC - Easter Sunday - 04/21/19 - Sermon - “All roads lead to the cross and the empty tomb!” ("The road to the cross" - Series - Part 7 of 7)

Easter Sunday 04/21/19 - Sidney UMC

Sermon Title:  “All roads lead to the cross and the empty tomb!”

                               (“The road to the cross” Series – Part 7 of 7)

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

                                            

New Testament Scripture: 1 Corinthians 15:19-26

Gospel Lesson: John 20:1-18

          He is Risen! He is Risen, Indeed. Hallelujah! Welcome once again on this our Easter Sunday. This day that Christ victoriously walked out the grave, offering us new hope, new life, and victory!

          Last Sunday, Jesus triumphantly entered into Jerusalem riding a donkey on Palm or Passion Sunday. A few days ago, we celebrated Maundy or Holy Thursday, as Christ had his Last Supper with his disciples. At this supper, this Jewish Passover Seder dinner, Jesus gave us the gift of Holy Communion or the Lord’s Supper, the example of foot washing, and the “Maundy,” the “Mandate,” the commandment, to love each other as Jesus loves us.

          Two days ago, we gathered in prayer and worship on “Good Friday,” as we remembered, as we were humbled, and as we were appreciative that Jesus died for the forgiveness of our sins.

          After two days of being separated from Jesus Christ, from Friday afternoon at 3:00 pm through this morning, things have changed this morning!

In our gospel of John reading for this morning it says once again in 20:1:

“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” (Jn. 20:1, NRSV).

After seeing this, the gospel then says of Mary Magdalene:

^“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. 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” (Jn. 20:2-10, NRSV).

          While this is only one of the four gospel accounts of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, all four of our gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, speak of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This resurrection of course, happened this day, nearly two-thousand years ago. The resurrection of Jesus Christ happened on a Sunday.

          Our Jewish brothers and sisters however, have their Holy Day of the week from sun down on Friday, to sun down on Saturday. Yet, most Christians tend to have their holy and worship day on Sunday. Why is this?

          Well, as I just said, our day of the week that we most often gather to worship, gather to pray, is on Sunday, because this is the day that Jesus Christ rose from the dead. On this day, Jesus overcame the snares and the trials of this world, proving to us who he is, and proving the great power of God. Jesus is not dead, he is alive. There is no grave that contains Jesus’ bones, or the earthly remains of Jesus Christ, as they are not here, for he is risen! As a dear family friend of ours, a retired pastor, the Rev. Robert Pinto has famously said, “If you find you can find me the bones of Jesus Christ, I will be worshiping in the Jewish Synagogue next Saturday”. Jesus is risen!

          In viewing the resurrection of Christ as a historical event though, one might ask me, “So you believe that Jesus came back from the dead, what’s the big deal?” Today isn’t significant, as I said, just because Jesus was physically resurrected, mind, body, and divinity this day, but today is significant in showing us the nature of God, the love God, and our eternal future with God.

          Today shows us the reality that God wins, that love wins, that hope wins, that life wins, and that light wins. Darkness, evil, hatred, anger, all of these things in the end will be extinguished through the great love of God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Or to put another way, “an empty grave is there to prove my savior lives!”

          For nearly 2,000 years, billions of the people the world over have drawn spiritual strength from the life, the teachings, the death, and today, the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Why is this? For me, and many of us, where can we seek help when we are struggling and are broken? Who understands us and our realities? Who understands our suffering? Who loves us unconditionally, even to the point of death on a cross? Jesus Christ, is the ultimate expression of God’s love, grace, and mercy on this earth. His resurrection proves that God’s love is truly among us, and that the love of God gets the final word. We can have confidence on this day, this Easter Sunday, and every day, that we have victory and hope in the great name of Jesus Christ. We have eternal inheritance promised to us, if we just believe in Jesus. For the claim of the Christian gospel for nearly two-thousand years the world over, is best captured in the gospel of John 3:16 that says:

“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).

          The Christian faith teaches us that the second person of the Holy Trinity, Jesus Christ, came amongst us, lived with us, healed, loved, died for us, and today rose to new life. We are the only major religion that claims that our founder Jesus Christ, is not buried in a cemetery or a mausoleum somewhere, instead he is alive and well! He is alive literally, spiritually, and He is alive in us! Through Christ, our living savior, all things are possible. Today is a day of victory, of celebration. Today in NFL terms is the Super Bowl of the Christian Church. This is our big finale, baring the second coming of Christ to earth.

          Through this entire Lenten Season I have been preaching a sermon series called, “The road to the cross”. In this series, I have been trying to connect our lives to the human part of Jesus. Jesus was fully God and fully human on earth, but in his humanness, how can we relate to this savior whom we claim was resurrected from the dead on this day?

          Even though I could preach for weeks about all of the ways in which Jesus’ humanity can connect to our humanity, I identified six examples in this sermon series of Jesus’ humanity leading up to today, this Easter Sunday.

          Here is a quick review of the last six sermons I preached regarding some of the human realties that Jesus endured, like we do:

1. Jesus was “Tempted and Tried”. Jesus was not only “Tempted and Tried” by the devil in the wilderness for 40-days, he was “Tempted and Tried” all the time. People tried to manipulate and stifle him. If we have ever been “Tempted and Tried” in our lives, then Jesus gets us.

2. Jesus was “Persecuted,” as people wanted to kill him, wanted to harm him, and people hated him. How many of us have ever felt mistreated or persecuted? Jesus gets us.

3. Jesus “came for the sins of all”. So loved us all, he came for us all. He became like one of us, and died for us. If we feel unworthy at times, Jesus makes us worthy. In his humanness he gets us.

4. Jesus was “Questioned and Challenged” wherever he went. People tried to confuse him, they tried to trick him, they tried to embarrass him, and they challenged his authority. If you have ever felt like this or if you have been treated any of these ways, well then Jesus gets you.

5. Jesus performed “Many Miracles” in his ministry, as seen in all four gospels. Jesus performed so many miracles in fact, that we don’t even know all of them, as they all weren’t recorded. Jesus performed many of his miracles so that we would have faith, but he also truly had compassion for those who were suffering. If you seek to alleviate suffering, if you want to help people when they are sick, if you like to help the oppressed, the down trodden, and the hurting, then you are beginning to see the world through the loving eyes of Jesus Christ. To see a broken and a hurting world and wanting to heal it, is to understand Christ and to try to be more like Christ.

6. Jesus fulfilled many prophecies from the Old Testament or the Hebrew Bible. Many of these prophecies from a human stand point were demeaning and not glorious. The fulfillment of many of these prophecies about the life and death of Jesus were ones that were not glamorous. Being whipped or “stripped” as the prophet Isaiah prophesized, is not glamorous, for example. Riding in on a donkey on Palm Sunday, being crucified. These are not glorious and glamorous things, and if we have felt less than glorious, well then Jesus gets us, and he loves us.

          Today, as is listed in our Easter Sunday bulletin for this morning, my sermon is called, “All roads lead to the cross and the empty tomb!” I have heard some people say things to me in my life like, “Pastor Paul, I believe in God and I am good person, isn’t that enough?” The Christian faith does not say that anyone else can’t talk to God or connect with God. The claim we have made for nearly two-thousand years is this, how do we reconcile our broken sinful nature to a perfect and loving God?

          Maybe if we give more, do more, volunteer more, treat people nicer, or become more generous? These things will certainly save us, and please God won’t they? Our claim as Christians is not that someone cannot have knowledge of God, our claim is this, is that only through the life, the death, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ can we be forgiven, restored, and reconciled to God. There is nothing we can do to earn the grace that God so freely gives through the cross and the empty tomb of Jesus Christ. We have made the claim as Christians that for nearly two-thousand years, we can be forgiven, we can be restored, we can be cleansed of our sins, we can be made new, and one day be given eternity. All this is a free gift from God through his son Jesus Christ.

          To better emphasize the significance of the resurrection of Jesus Christ and Easter Sunday, I want to tell you a story called “Philip’s Egg,” by an unknown author. This is an Easter story. He is the story:

“Philip was born with Downs Syndrome. He was a pleasant child, happy it seemed, but increasingly aware of the difference between himself and other children. Philip went to Sunday School faithfully every week. He was in the third grade class with nine other eight-year olds”.

“You know eight-year olds. And Philip, with his differences, was not readily accepted. But his teacher was sensitive to Philip and he helped this group of eight-year olds to love each other as best they could, under the circumstances. They learned, they laughed, they played together. And they really cared about one another, even though eight-year olds don’t say they care about one another out loud”.

“But don’t forget. There was an exception to all this. Philip was not really a part of the group. Philip did not choose, nor did he want to be different. He just was. And that was the way things were. His teacher had a marvelous idea for his class the Sunday after Easter. You know those things that pantyhose come in . . . the containers that look like great big eggs? The teacher collected ten of them. The children loved it when he brought them into the room and gave one to each child. It was a beautiful spring day, and the assignment was for each child to go outside, find the symbol for new life, put it into the egg, and bring it back to the classroom They would then open and share their new life symbols and surprises, one by one”.

“It was glorious. It was confusing. It was wild. They ran all around the church grounds, gathering their symbols, and returned to the classroom.

They put all the eggs on a table, and then the teacher began to open them. All the children gathered around the table. He opened one and there was a flower, and they ooh-ed and aah-ed. He opened another and there was a little butterfly. “Beautiful!” the girls all said, since it is hard for eight-year old boys to say ‘beautiful.’ He opened another and there was a rock. And as third-graders will, some laughed, and some said, “That’s crazy! How’s a rock supposed to be like new life?” But the smart little boy who’d put it in there spoke up: “That’s mine. And I knew all of you would get flowers and buds and leaves and butterflies and stuff like that. So I got a rock because I wanted to be different. And for me, that’s new life.” They all laughed”.

“The teacher said something about the wisdom of eight-year olds and opened the next one. There was nothing inside. The children, as eight-year olds will, said, “That’s not fair. That’s stupid! Somebody didn’t do it right.”

Then the teacher felt a tug on his shirt, and he looked down. “It’s mine, Philip said. It’s mine.” And the children said, “You don’t ever do things right, Philip. There’s nothing there!” “I did so do it right!” Philip said. “I did do it right. The tomb is empty!”

“There was silence, a very full silence. And for you people who don’t believe in miracles, I want to tell you that one happened that day. From that time on, it was different. Philip suddenly became a part of that group of eight-year old children. They took him in. He was set free from the tomb of his differentness”.

“Philip died last summer. His family had known since the time he was born that he wouldn’t live out a full life span. Many other things were wrong with his little body. And so, late last July, with an infection that most normal children could have quickly shrugged off, Philip died”.

“At his memorial service, nine eight-year old children marched up to the altar, not with flowers to cover over the stark reality of death . . . but nine eight-year olds, along with their Sunday School teacher, marched right up to that altar, and laid on it an empty egg . . . an empty, old, discarded pantyhose egg. And the tomb is empty!”

My brothers and sisters, my friends, “All roads lead to the cross and the empty tomb!” Jesus came to this earth to love, to heal, to forgive, to die for us, and this day to be raised to new life. May the power if his resurrection and love live in your hearts this day and always. May you live a life love, victory, and resurrection. Hallelujah! Happy Easter and amen!

Sidney UMC - Good Friday - 7:00 pm - 04/19/19 - Sermon - “The veil was torn!"

Good Friday 4/19/19 - 7 pm - Sidney UMC

Sermon Title:         “The veil was torn!”

                               

Old Testament Scripture: Psalm 22

                                            

New Testament Scripture: Hebrews 10:16-25

Gospel Lesson: John 18:1-19:42

          My brothers and sisters, my friends, my fellow pilgrims on the road this day to the cross of Christ on Calvary. For nearly two-thousand years, it has become the worshipping tradition of the Christian Church to gather in worship and prayer on this day. The church has come to call this day “Good Friday,” as well as other titles, such as “Holy Friday”, “Great Friday”, and “Black Friday” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Good_Friday). Today is day to be thankful, to be humble, and to appreciate Jesus Christ dying for the sins of the world on a cross.

          On this day, I find myself personally feeling both grateful, and yet feeling unworthy. I am not worthy of what Christ did for me on this day nearly two-thousand years ago. Yet what Christ endured today, he did out of amazing love. Jesus loves us all so much, that he came to earth, to live, to love, to heal, to forgive, and on this day to die for us all.

          Today then is an act of God’s grace. We don’t deserve forgiveness, we don’t deserve grace, we don’t deserve heaven, but God’s love is so great for us that it is offered to us anyway!

          The Apostle Paul says it well in Romans 5:8, where he says:

“But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8, NRSV).

          Historically, some Christians throughout the centuries have viewed today as a day of great guilt and great shame. I do not view this our “Good Friday” as a day of guilt and shame. I view this day as the day that love beyond our comprehension won, and that sin, evil, and death was slain. Even though we are all broken, even though we are all sinners, Jesus still came for us. As our Lent study was titled, Jesus “Chose the Nails”. He knows who we are, and he knows what we are, and yet he still “Chose the Nails”.

          A scripture that we all know well, John 3:16 says:

“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).

          So I don’t have guilt and shame on this day, instead I am overcome by the grace of God through his son Jesus Christ. I think of the contemporary Christian song by the band “Big Daddy Weave,” called “Overwhelmed”. In this song, some of the lyrics say this:

“I delight myself in You Captivated by Your beauty I’m overwhelmed, I’m overwhelmed by You God, I run into Your arms Unashamed because of mercy I’m overwhelmed, I’m overwhelmed by You”

 (https://www.lyrics.com/lyric/26143655/Big+Daddy+Weave/Overwhelmed).

          Brothers and sisters, I don’t know about you, but these lyrics that I just read, in part, summarizes well on how I feel about what Jesus did for us on this Good Friday.

          As a sort of comparison, I think of the great sacrifices that my parents, my grandparents, and my family have made for me. I can never repay them for what they have done for me. I can feel guilt and shame over there great sacrifices, great work, and great love, but most loving parents that I know don’t want us to feel shame and guilt. What do most loving parents and grandparents want? They just want us to love them, to be grateful, to be humble, and to be in relationship with them. This is what Jesus want of us. To repent of our sins, and bring him into our hearts as our Lord and Savior.

As I said then, I will never fully comprehend the grace of God through Jesus

Christ, especially on this our Good Friday. For on this day, nearly 2,000 years ago, as we heard from our lengthy reading from the gospel of John for tonight, Jesus our Lord was arrested, tried, mocked, whipped, scourged, beaten, crucified, and then died for our sins. He did, I believe, what any loving parent would do for their children.

Sometimes unfortunately though, when parents love, give, and sacrifice for their children, sometimes there children just don’t appreciate it. In a connected way, Jesus goes through all that he went through today, because he loves us so much. Even if we don’t or appreciate Jesus or what he has done for us on this day, he still did it, as he still loves us. The way a parent might continue to love an indignant child, Jesus continues to love us. After all, who here wouldn’t gladly give up your life for your children, your grandchildren, your great grandchildren, or for your family? Further, maybe you would do so even if they didn’t appreciate it, or even if they didn’t deserve it.

          Jesus on this day took the fall for us. He took the punishment we should have had, and he hung in our place. In a display of love and grace beyond our human comprehension he was crucified and died for us. Other than being humble, thankful, and appreciative, what else can we do to show Jesus and the world our love?

My response to this question, is to love everyone even more boldly. My response to this question, is to be even more grateful, to be even more humble, and to sacrifice even more for others. My response to this question, is to visit sick, help those in need, and above all share the Good News of Jesus Christ with the world.

The truth is, that we can never repay what Christ did for us this day, as many of us can never repay what our parents and families did for us. This does indeed make today a “Good” Friday, as God’s love went far beyond anything we deserve and can understand. We don’t need to suffer today therefore, as Christ suffered for us. We don’t need to feel guilt and shame, as Christ took on our guilt and shame this day. This day frees us from sin. All we have to do is repent, believe, and share the love of Christ with each other.

          Many of the scriptures from the Old Testament or the Hebrew Bible foretold the coming of Christ, the Messiah, and some of these scripture specifically spoke of the events that would unfold on this our Good Friday. I want to give you a couple of examples of this in our reading from Psalm 22 for tonight. For example, Psalm 22:1a says once again:

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Ps. 22:1a, NSRV).

          According to the gospel of Matthew, Jesus said these prophetic words in 27:46, shortly before he died.

          Psalm 22:18 says once again:

“they divide my clothes among themselves, and for my clothing they cast lots” (Ps. 22:18, NRSV).

          As our gospel of John reading for tonight says once again about the crucifixion of Jesus in 19:23-25a:

“When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four parts, one for each soldier. They also took his tunic; now the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from the top. So they said to one another, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see who will get it.” This was to fulfill what the scripture says, “They divided my clothes among themselves, and for my clothing they cast lots.” And that is what the soldiers did”                        (Jn. 19:23-25a, NRSV).

          So what had been predicted hundreds of years before in Psalm 22:18, came true this day, as lots were indeed cast for Jesus’ clothing. This is just a couple of the many examples of the prophecies fulfilled this day by Jesus Christ.

          This all leads me to my sermon title for tonight, called “The veil was torn!” I am not going to go through step by step the lengthy reading that we just read from the gospel of John, or we will be here until Easter morning by the time I get through it all!

 I was struck by the Apostle Paul’s words for tonight from Hebrews 10:16-25, that once again say:

“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,”

he also adds, “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.” (Heb. 10:16-17, NRSV).

        The Apostle Paul, who is quoting the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah, specifically, Jeremiah 31:31-34, talks about a day of deliverance. This scripture talks about the day of our sins being forgiven, and us being seen as justified and righteous in God’s eyes.

          In the great Jewish Temple in Jerusalem, there were multiple sections of the temple. The holier that you were, the farther into the temple you could go. The Holy of Holies that housed the ark of covenant, with the 10-commandments, was the holiest and most inner room in the temple. Only the High Priest could enter this room one day a year, and he would have a rope tied around his waist. Why did he have a rope tied around his waist? This is because, if he were to die from being found to be unworthy, he would then be dragged out, as surely none of the other priests would be seen by God as being as worthy as the High Priest.

          This inner most chamber, this Holy of Holies was closed off by a large veil or curtain. This curtain separated the holiest place in the temple, the place where you could be the closest to God on earth. Only the high priest, one day a year could go in.

          In the gospel according to Matthew 27:51, it says that right when Jesus died on the cross that:

“At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, and the rocks were split” (Mt. 27:51, NRSV).

          So the innermost chamber of the great Jewish Temple in Jerusalem, that only the High Priest could enter into one day a year, which was closed off with a curtain or a veil, had just been torn in two. This inner-most and most holy room, is now wide open to all people.

          The Apostle Paul continues in our reading from Hebrews for this night, and once again starting with 10:19 says:

^“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. 19-26, NRSV).

          The Apostle Paul is telling us that through Jesus’ trial, torture, crucifixion, and death, along with the veil tearing into two in that innermost chamber, that we all now have equal access to God, and 365-days of the year.

          The Apostle Paul tells us that through Christ, and through accepting him and his love, we are made whole, and can freely access the Holy of Holies, as we are now found to be fully worthy before almighty God.

          Friends, brothers and sisters, I will never be able to fully comprehend the love of God through Jesus Christ. I will never be able to fully comprehend what Jesus did for us this day. In response though, I am grateful, humble, hopeful, and appreciative that today “The veil was torn!” Amen.

         

Sidney UMC - Maundy/Holy Thursday - 04/18/19 - Sermon - “A dinner that changed the world!"

Maundy/Holy Thursday 4/18/19 - 7 pm - Sidney UMC

Sermon Title:    “A dinner that changed the world!”

                               

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 brothers and sisters in Christ, welcome again on this our Maundy or Holy Thursday, in this our Holy Week. This week began this past Sunday on Palm or Passion Sunday, with Jesus’ triumphant entry into the holy city of Jerusalem. As he entered, Palms waved, and Hosannas were shouted.

The week has continued. On this day, we have what I like to call “a dinner that changed the world!” How many of us here have ever been to a fancy dinner in our life? Maybe it was a Thanksgiving Dinner for the books. Maybe it was a wedding reception dinner. Maybe it was an anniversary, or a retirement dinner. Some people have even met there wife or there husband at a dinner. Often times when people want to celebrate something big, they go out to dinner. When a guy asks a girl out on a date, sometimes he asks her out to dinner.

Sharing food and breaking bread together is an important tradition and a sign of hospitality in many cultures. As I said, maybe some of us have been to some impressive dinners. So which dinner in the history of humanity was the greatest dinner ever? Perhaps the wedding feast of king, where there was endless food, music, and enjoyment? Maybe a large celebration dinner to end a war? Maybe it was a dinner that celebrated another great achievement?

We certainly can look throughout history and see many great shared meals and dinners that have been significant and historical. I would argue however, that the dinner that we remember on this night, is the most significant meal or dinner that has ever been recorded in the history of the world. This is a tall claim to make, considering some of the feasts that maybe we have seen or have read about throughout history.

On this night, of Maundy or Holy Thursday, Jesus sits around the table in the Upper Room in Jerusalem, during the Jewish Passover, to share one last meal with his disciples. Perhaps other like Mary Magdalene were there to, but we know for certain that all twelve disciples were present.

This Last Supper that we celebrate and remember tonight, was a Jewish Passover Seder meal. Even though we gain the sacrament of Holy Communion on this night, Jesus and his disciples had a full meal tonight. We don’t have many details about the rest of the meal, but Jesus sat with his twelve disciples one last time, before going to pray all night in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus early tomorrow morning, while it is still dark, will then be arrested, tried, tortured, and crucified, on what we have come to call “Good Friday”.

Tonight though, Jesus spends time with his 12-disciples. They eat the Jewish Passover Seder meal. At one point in the meal though, Jesus takes bread and wine and does something new.

Let’s look again at what our scripture reading from 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 says. It 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).

          In this scripture, we have an example of what happened on this Maundy or Holy Thursday. On this night, Jesus gave us the sacrament, the gift, of Holy Communion or the Lord’s Supper. For nearly two-thousand years, churches all over the world have celebrated Holy Communion or the Lord’s Supper. Whether it is with bread and juice or wafers and wine, we celebrate Holy Communion or the Lord’s Supper as Christ commanded us to.

          In our reading for tonight from the Book of Exodus, we hear once again about God telling Moses to tell Israelites to sacrifice a pure and spotless lamb (Ex. 12:1-14, NRSV). Once doing so, they were then to spread the blood of the lamb on their doorposts and lintels of their homes. This would ensure that there first born humans and animals would not die that night (Ex. 12:1-14, NRSV). This miracle of the blood of lamb saving the first born of the Israelites, as they prepared to flee slavery in Egypt, became known as the holiday of the Passover. Death passed them over, and they received God’s word, as well. This scripture also said that God commanded them to eat the pure spotless lamb that they killed and spread the blood of. Jesus tell us at his Passover dinner in the Upper Room on this night, that the bread is his body, and the wine is his blood.

          So the way that God used pure and spotless lambs to save Israel for one night, Jesus will shed his blood as the new covenant, as the new Lamb of God. Jesus then, is the new Passover, as his sacrifice on the cross tomorrow will cover the doorposts of our hearts and our souls for eternity, if we repent of our sin and put our trust in him.

          After this dinner, and after giving us the sacrament of Holy Communion or the Lord’s Supper, Jesus then moves into the washing of the feet. This is where our gospel lesson for tonight once again picks up.

          Once again to review, in our Book of Exodus reading for tonight, the Israelites sacrificed pure and spotless lambs, and there blood saved them for a night. Jesus then tells his disciples that the new covenant with God is through his blood. Christ says that his death and his shedding of blood that will happen tomorrow, and that it will cover the sins of the world. Christ is the new Passover Lamb. Christ also tells us to take the bread and drink the cup to remember him.

          Our gospel then says once again:

“Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas son of Simon Iscariot to betray him. And during supper Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself” (Jn. 13:1-4, NRSV).

          What happens next is why we have foot or hand washing tonight. The gospel then says of Jesus:

“Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” Jesus answered, “You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.” Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” Jesus said to him, “One who has bathed does not need to wash, except for the feet, but is entirely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you.” For he knew who was to betray him; for this reason he said, “Not all of you are clean”                           (Jn. 13:5-11, NRSV).

          After the foot washing, Jesus then says once again:

“After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had returned to the table, he said to them, “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. 13:12-17, NRSV).

          In washing the disciple’s feet, Jesus shows the disciples and us that we are all equal before him, before God. Not equal with him, but equal before him. Washing feet is not a sacrament, or a requirement, but an example. Jesus tells us to wash each other’s feet, but does not require it in the way he requires Holy Communion or Holy Baptism.

          Some Christian traditions embrace the ritual, the rite, or the ordinance of foot washing, and some do not. Since Jesus did it at the Last Supper on this night though, I incorporate it, as to offer you the fullness of the story of the Last Supper.

          The gift of Holy Communion and the washing of the feet, is in general where we get the title “Holy Thursday.” So why do we so often call tonight “Maundy Thursday,” and not “Holy Thursday”?

You will notice on your bulletins for tonight, I call this day Maundy/Holy Thursday. The Holy part of Holy Communion or the Lord’s Supper and the washing of feet has occurred, but last comes the “Maundy”. The “Maundy” is a mandate, or something that Jesus asks us to do. Jesus is mandating or giving us a “Maundy”. What is this Mandate? Once again, our gospel lesson ends for tonight with the giving if “Maundy”, the mandate. This is what it says:

“Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once. Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come.’ 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. 13:31b-35, NRSV).

          This new commandment, this mandate, this “Maundy”, is to love each other. On this Maundy/Holy Thursday then, we are again given the sacrament of the gift of Holy Communion, which Christians the world over have been celebrating and partaking of for nearly 2,000 years. We are giving rite, ritual, or ordinance of the washing of the feet, which some Christian traditions embrace and some don’t. We are lastly given this commandment, this mandate, this “Maundy”, to love each other.

          Of all of the dinners that ever occurred in history, I would argue that this “dinner that changed the world,” is the most significant. I think this because, we have the final encounter of Jesus with his disciples, the gift of Holy Communion or the Lord’s Supper, the example of foot washing, and the mandate or “Maundy” to love each other. This is big stuff!

          So famous and well known is this Last Supper in fact, that artists like Leonardo Da Vinci painted a depiction of this dinner. Some churches even actually reenact this dinner on this night, or have a Passover Seder to just make the story even more real. We are doing all that we are doing to tonight, as we are reenacting, remembering, and calling upon God to fill us, as we tell and partake of the story of “A dinner that changed the world!”

This story that we are telling, this story that we are hearing, this story that we are acting out and partaking of, is one that Christians have been celebrating every year for nearly 2,000 years. For tonight is night where we have “a dinner that changed the world!” Happy Maundy/Holy Thursday. Amen.

Sidney UMC - Palm/Passion Sunday - 04/14/19 - Sermon - “Continued fulfillment of the Prophecy" ("The road to the cross" - Series - Part 6 of 7)

Palm/Passion Sunday 04/14/19 - Sidney UMC

Sermon Title:         “Continued fulfillment of the Prophecy”

                               (“The road to the cross” Series – Part 6 of 7)

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

                                            

New Testament Scripture: Philippians 2:5-11

Gospel Lesson: Luke 19:28-40

          Welcome again my friends, my brothers and sisters, on this our Palm/Passion Sunday, and this the first day of Holy Week. We call this Holy Week, because from today up until this coming Friday, we are moving ever closer to the cross of Jesus Christ. Today Christ enters into Jerusalem triumphantly, on a donkey or a colt. As it says in Mark’s gospel in 11:9b-10 the crowds shouted:

“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).

          Jesus Christ, the savior of the world, who was fully God and fully human, enters Jerusalem on a donkey. God in the flesh, enters the holy city, Zion, on a donkey or a colt.

          How can this be? How can the savior of the world, the person of God who came among us, be so humble and so human? The answer brothers and sisters, is that God sent his son Jesus to become like one of us.

          As many of us know, I have been preaching a sermon series called, “The road to the cross,” and this sermon series looks more at not Jesus’ divine nature, but his human nature. Was he God in the flesh? Yes. Was he sinless? Yes? Did he die for us? Yes. Jesus also came to earth in a human body though. He lived, he breathed, he taught, he loved, he healed, and he forgave. He experienced what we do. He gets us and our struggles.

          While there are a multitude of the human characteristics of Jesus, I am discussing just some of them in this sermon series. What was it like to be God in the flesh? How did Jesus experience life on earth? How can we relate to our savior?

          Thus far in this sermon series, to emphasize the human part of Jesus, I talked about how Jesus was “Tempted and Tried”. Jesus was not only “Tempted and Tried” by the devil in the wilderness for 40-days, he was “Tempted and Tried” often. If we have ever been “Tempted and Tried,” then Jesus gets us.

          In week two of this series, I talked about how Jesus was “Persecuted,” as people wanted to kill him. How many of us have ever felt mistreated or persecuted? Jesus gets us.

          The third installment of this series on “the road to the cross,” was about how Jesus “came for the sins of all”. So loved us all, he came for us all. He became like one of us, and died for us.

          Two weeks ago, I talked about how Jesus was “Questioned and Challenged” wherever he went. People tried to confuse him, tried to trick him, tried to embarrass him, and they challenged his authority. If you have ever felt like this or have been treated this way, well then Jesus gets you.

          Last week in installment five of this sermon series, I talked about how Jesus performed “Many Miracles”. Jesus performed so many miracles in fact, that we don’t even know all them, as they all weren’t recorded. Jesus performed many of his miracles so that we would have faith, but he truly had compassion for those who were suffering. If seek to alleviate suffering, if you want to help people when they are sick, if you like to help the oppressed, the down trodden, and the hurting, then you are seeing the world through the loving eyes of Jesus Christ. To see a broken and a hurting world and wanting to heal it, is to understand Christ and to try to be more like Christ.

          This morning though, as I said, we are now beginning “Holy Week” in this season of Holy Lent. Today is a day of triumph, as Jesus enters into Jerusalem, into the city of God, into Zion, in the most humble of ways. Jesus enters Jerusalem like a poor person, like a person of no wealth or status. He came to be like one of us.

          Jesus will have his Last Supper this Thursday, as we will have a Maundy/Holy Thursday service this Thursday at 7:00 pm. Jesus will then be tried, whipped, and crucified this Friday, as will have Good Friday services at both 12:00 pm and 7:00 pm. As I said though, this day, Palm or Passion Sunday, is a day of triumph.

          My sermon this morning is called the “continued fulfillment of the prophecy,” as Jesus fulfilled countless prophecies in the Old Testament written hundreds of years before his birth about who and what he would be. The fulfillment of many of these prophecies about the life and death of Jesus were ones that were not glamorous. Being whipped or “stripped” as the prophet Isaiah prophesized is not glamorous, for example.

          So not only did Jesus have his mission from God, to come to earth, to love, to heal, to forgive, and to die for us, he also came to fulfill all of the prophecies about him in the Old Testament or Hebrew Bible. Many of these check points were ones of suffering and humility, not pride and arrogance.

          This morning, as Jesus triumphantly enters Jerusalem, this event was foretold hundreds of years earlier. In fact the prophet Zechariah wrote in the Book of Zechariah in the Old Testament that:

“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).

          Jesus enters Jerusalem “on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey,” because the prophecy said that he must. He humbled himself as the Messiah, all for us.      

          Another scripture from the Old Testament or the Hebrew Bible that connects with the “continued fulfillment of the prophecy” is from 2 Kings 9:13. This scripture says:

“Then hurriedly they all took their cloaks and spread them for him on the bare steps; and they blew the trumpet, and proclaimed, “Jehu is king”

(2 Kings 9:13, NRSV).

          Now this scripture does not speak of Christ directly, but it shows you the culture of the ancient Jewish people, and why they received Christ the way they did on this day.

          As Jesus enters Jerusalem this morning, he comes in to shouts of what it says in our Psalm 118:26 reading for this morning:

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

          So let’s look once again at our scripture reading from this morning from Luke 19:28-40. It says once again, leading up to the events of today:

“After he had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. When he had come near Bethphage and Bethany, at the place called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of the disciples, saying, “Go into the village ahead of you, and as you enter it you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ just say this, ‘The Lord needs it.’” (Lk. 19:28-32, NRSV).

          So, to fulfill the prophecy, Jesus sends two disciples to get this donkey, this colt for him to ride into the city of Jerusalem. The gospel continues on to say:

“So those who were sent departed and found it as he had told them. As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?” They said, “The Lord needs it.” Then they brought it to Jesus; and after throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. As he rode along, people kept spreading their cloaks on the road” (Lk. 19:33-36, NRSV).

          So the donkey, the colt was in fact there, as Jesus said would be. Cloaks are put on this donkey, and people are putting their cloaks on the road for Jesus, just like in 2 Kings 9:13.

          The next part of this gospel mirrors the prophecy made about Jesus hundreds of years before his birth in our reading for this morning from Psalm 118. The gospel continues on saying:

“As he was now approaching the path down from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the deeds of power that they had seen, saying, “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!” (Lk. 19:37-38, NRSV).

          So this is a triumphant entry for Jesus on this Palm or Passion Sunday. Jesus rides a donkey, a colt, cloaks are laid before him, palms are waved and laid, people shout. It is truly a powerful moment, but not really a glorious moment.

          You see if God in the flesh really wanted to show his power and his authority, then he would have entered Jerusalem on a golden chariot covered in armor. He would have had legions of soldiers and war drums playing. Yet the prophecies of old said that savior, the Messiah, would enter the holy city of Jerusalem humble. Remember, in Jesus’ humanness, he became one of us. He entered in today like a common man, not a general, or an earthly king. He entered in simply and perhaps like we would have entered.

          To put it another way, Jesus entered Jerusalem in a Ford not Porsche. He came, as the prophecies of old said he would, to be just like one of us. He is a savior that came to earth, to live, to breathe, and to be like one of us.

          I remember some years ago reading about presidential inauguration ceremonies in the United States. The great general George Washington, and of course the first president of our republic, entered his inauguration on a horse. From my understanding he dressed to nines like a conquering general. George Washington in fact, was just that. He had defeated the largest and most power army in the world, from the strongest country in the world, England. He was a natural hero, and he was inaugurated as such.

          Yet when our third president Thomas Jefferson was inaugurated, he walked to the inauguration simply and plainly. President Jefferson was seen more as a common man of the people. He certainly wasn’t perfect as he owned slaves, but many Americans said of Jefferson, “he is like one of us”.

          Jesus Christ came to earth in part to become like one us. Our gospel lesson concludes for this morning from Luke 19:39-40, saying about people praising Jesus as he enters Jerusalem:

“Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, order your disciples to stop.” He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out.” (Lk. 19:39-40, NRSV).

          Jesus said, the people are praising me on this donkey, this colt, as I enter Jerusalem, because I am the Messiah. Jesus, the God man did all of this, suffered, lived, healed, cared, fulfilled the prophecies of old, will die for us this Friday, just so we can know him. Through Christ, we can be reconciled to God, if we repent of our sin and accept him as our Lord and Savior. All of this he did for us, as he became like one of us.

          With said, I want to close with a quote this morning by a man named Henry B. Eyring. Eyring is actually a Mormon, but his quote is right on, even we other strong theological differences. It says:

“Our Heavenly Father knows us and our circumstances and even what faces us in the future. His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior, has suffered and paid for our sins and those of all the people we will ever meet. He has perfect understanding of the feelings, the suffering, the trials, and the needs of every individual” (https://www.brainyquote.com/topics/jesus_christ).

          Jesus came to earth to become like one of, he gets me, and he gets you. Amen.