Sidney UMC - Second Sunday in Lent - 02/28/21 - Sermon - “The Suffering and the Anger" ("The Journey to New Hope and New Life" Series: Part 2 of 7)

Sunday 02/28/21 - Sidney UMC

Sermon Title:                 “The Suffering and the Anger”

       ("The Journey to New Hope and New Life"- Series: Part 2 of 7)

Old Testament Scripture: Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16                                       

New Testament Scripture: Romans 4:13-25

Gospel Lesson: Mark 8:31-38

          Today is the Second Sunday in this the season of Holy Lent. This 40-day season where we are invited to follow Christ to the cross and to walk the road with him to Good Friday. As I said last Sunday, this season in part developed through the worshipping life of the early church, to model Jesus’ 40-days in the wilderness, where Jesus fasted and was tempted by Satan. This is also a season for us to examine ourselves, and to give up and to give away. A season where we turn to Christ and walk with Christ and remove anything in our lives that separates us from Christ.

          As I do in every season of Advent and Lent, I started a new sermon series last Sunday called “The Journey to New Hope and New Life”. As we are called to prepare our hearts and our minds for the coming trial, torture, and death of Jesus Christ on Good Friday, we should also have great hope that resurrection is coming. Jesus will suffer, but on Easter Sunday he will conquer sin and death, as he will be raised to new life.

          What I attempt to do every year in my sermon series for Advent and Lent, is relate the timeline of Biblical events and realities of the season we are in, with our own lives. Some years for example in Advent, I have talked about how commercialized Christmas has become, or how the Advent and Christmas seasons have become too busy and stressful. In this season of Holy Lent, which started on Ash Wednesday, we are reminded of our own mortality, of our own weakness, and our own frailty. The season of Lent is not supposed to be an oppressive or a bad season, but it is a season where we are challenged to give up, give away, simplify, and draw closer to Christ. All this once again is to in part, model Jesus’ 40-days in the wilderness.

          Last Sunday, in the first week of this sermon series called, “The Journey to New Hope and New Life,” I talked about “The Time of Trial”. Since Jesus was in the wilderness for forty-days and forty-nights being tempted by Satan, can we really fully understand what that was like for Jesus? The short answer is no, but sometimes we enter this season with a lot of suffering and a lot of hurts and pains.

          This year, 2021, and part of Lent 2020, we had and have the Global COVID-19 Pandemic. Maybe we already had struggles, fears, worries, losses, and temptations, similar to what Jesus had during his time in the wilderness, but for most of us, our struggles have been magnified by this pandemic. Perhaps if there was a year to truly relate to Jesus being tempted in the wilderness, then 2020, and 2021 would make sense. For this pandemic has taken so much from us.

          With all of this said, I want to take some time this morning to talk more specifically about the suffering that many of us have endured. For as my sermon titles says, through this pandemic many of us have experienced, “Suffering and Anger”. I want to talk about it this morning, but then next Sunday, I am going to be talking about how we then need to pick ourselves up, regroup, and forge ahead. The pandemic will end, just as Jesus’ horrific death on Good Friday will end in resurrection. Friends, “New Hope and New Life” is coming soon!

          My sermon title for this morning is once again called, “The Suffering and The Anger,” and it is modeled by our experiences through this pandemic, and our gospel of Mark reading for this morning. In this reading, Jesus tells his disciples that he we will killed, but that he will be raised to new life. Let us hear Mark 8:31-33 once again:

³¹ Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. ³² He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. ³³ But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things”                       (Mk. 8:31-33, NRSV).

          Through this time of pandemic, some of us have had COVID-19. Some of us have lost friends and loved ones to COVID-19. The thought that someone we love or care about is going to die, is scary. It is a thought that might anger us or cause us to suffer.

          Now I do not what Peter’s mood was this morning, when he literally takes Jesus aside and rebukes him. Peter takes Jesus Christ our Lord aside and tells him he is wrong and what he is saying will not happen. Was Peter angry? It is in entirely possible. I would certainly say that Peter was shocked, and Jesus’ words probably caused him to suffer. I mean Jesus tells his disciples that he will suffer greatly, be rejected, and be killed. This cannot be good for the disciples to hear, and I can imagine it could cause confusion, anxiety, and yes “Suffering and Anger”. Jesus did of course say that three day later he would rise again, but Peter was not focused on Easter, he was focused on Good Friday.

          As a result, I will indulge Peter this morning and focus on “The Suffering and the Anger”. Next Sunday though, we will regroup and move towards resurrection. This morning, Peter tells the Lord of life, Jesus Christ, you are not going to die. Jesus, the Lord of life, once again, says back to Peter:

“Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things” (Mk. 8:33b, NRSV)

          Jesus may have displayed righteous anger, or at least discontent with Peter’s lack of faith and questioning God’s plan through him. If we are honest though, can’t we relate to Peter, through this time of Pandemic? Haven’t we had “Suffering and Anger”? What was it like to get that phone call that your loved one had COVID-19? What has been like to not see a friend, or a family member for months?

          I remember late last summer or early fall, Bill Dann and I met in Oneonta, because were going to visit Dot Drake. In order to visit her, we had to stand on the lawn of the nursing home and look through Dot’s bedroom windows. She had to do the same on the other side of these same windows. We had a phone, and she had a phone. Bill had his little husky dog, which Dot loved, but she did not understand why we could not just come into the nursing home and into her room to see her. At points she seemed frustrated and angry, and Bill and I just told her that we cannot come in right now. We noticed as we looked in the window, that Dot’s bulletin board that once adorned pictures of Bill, items from our church, and other things, was bear. Dot did not always fully understand why we cannot come it to see her. Other residents were also “Suffering” and were “Angry” that they had not seen friends and family in months. This sense of abandonment, and not fully understating the realities of the global pandemic has made these many months so hard.

          I called Dot recently, and she wanted me to come and visit her in person, and I do not think that she fully understood why I could not. Friends, I saw Dot’s “Suffering and Anger,” and I had it to. We have had church members in the hospital over these many months, whether with COVID-19 or something else. Yet, we could visit any of them. This has caused “Suffering and Anger”.

          I remember when Beverly Gregory passed away, and we were not able to do a proper funeral for her here at Sidney UMC. I remember being on the phone with her husband Les Gregory, telling him that I wanted this church to give his bride the best service and luncheon we could. Yet, we were not able to do this. I was “Angry” and “Suffered,” because of this, and I was not the only one.

          I remember when Aggie DeShaw went into a rehab facility in Norwich. I remember talking to her family, and how saddened and frustrated that they were that they could not see Aggie in the nursing home. Sure, they could talk over the phone or a tablet on the internet with her, but not in person. I remember towards the end of Aggie’s earthly life when she ended up at the hospital in Norwich, and finally her children we permitted to see her, one at a time. They had not seen or touched their mother in weeks. I remember when Aggie’s health was failing, and I asked her daughter Kathy if I could go to the hospital anoint Aggie with oil and pray for her. “Of course,” Kathy said.

          I then called the hospital, as it was about 7:30-8:00 pm at this point, and the nursing staff told me that they would call the hospital administration and check on this. The medical staff was overworked and super busy. About 9:00 pm rolled around, and Melissa knew that I was not leaving the church office, until I had an answer on whether or not I could see Aggie. Melissa then brought me dinner over at about 9:30 pm. I then got a call from a nurse at the hospital at about 10:30 pm apologizing that I was not allowed to come.

          This pandemic has caused so much “Suffering and Anger”. Not only has this been, as I said last Sunday, a “Time of Trial,” we have suffered. I remember when Ron Nemire had to quarantine twice, even though he never got COVID-19 once. He was home all of January and the first week of February. He said, “Pastor, I just want to come the church, to do my work duties, and to see our people”.

          I remember last month when some of our church folks got COVID-19, and it was one of the scariest two weeks in my entire time being a pastor. Praise be God, virtually everyone recovered. We prayed and prayed, and we surely all had “Suffering and Anger”. Even though Peter should not have rebuked Jesus this morning and even though he should not have told Jesus that he would not be crucified this morning, I can maybe understand more now what Peter felt like.

          This past week I officiated two funerals right here at the CH Landers Funeral Parlor in Sidney. Due to all the COVID-19 restrictions, families cannot have calling hours and funerals the ways they once did. Gatherings for a big meal, and even hugging each other is off limits. There have been times through this, where I have had great “suffering and anger”. Next Sunday though, we will pick ourselves back up, dust ourselves off, and forge forward.

          The rest of this morning’s gospel lesson is one that really challenges us, once again, Mark 8:34-38 says:

³⁴ He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. ³⁵ For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. ³⁶ For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? ³⁷ Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? ³⁸ Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels” (Mk. 8:34-38, NRSV). 

          Jesus tells us, that in following him, we just might in fact suffer. We all know it more than ever right about now. So today, let us temporarily wade the waters of “Suffering and Anger,” so we can get it out and process what we have experienced these many months. Know though that we will not stay in these waters of “Suffering and Anger,” because we are called to be about God’s business. As hard as it is, even though we have endured so much “Suffering and Anger,” we will soon pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and continue walk with Christ to calvary. For Jesus is with us, he saves us, and he can save you to, if you but repent of your sins, and turn to him.

          Last Sunday, I was so excited that Sarah Pressler was back to the church, and that she was back to playing the organ and the piano. I got so many comments and mentions of how nice it was to hear the organ and piano being played again by Sarah. I sat with tears in my eyes at different points of the service last week, just being grateful. It was also Sarah’s birthday last Sunday, and as a result, she was not going to get out of this church without that being recognized. We got her a carrot cake, as she loves Carrot Cake. She then came back a few days later to give Ron Nemire and I half of it, because apparently, she doesn’t love that quantity of carrot cake.

          We had also celebrated that Gary Pressler recently had a negative COVID-19 test, and that he no longer had pneumonia. Gary had been moved to a rehabilitation facility, and he was going to get rehab, and hopefully eventually come home. The day after Sarah’s birthday, we had spoken on the phone, and she told me how she was able to interact with Gary using her I-Pad over the internet. Gary had gone from needing 100 liters of oxygen in the hospital to just 2 liters of oxygen in rehab. On Monday he had one and half hours of physical therapy, and he was tired. I was so glad and thanked God that he not longer had COVID-19. In fact, when Gary was being transported from the hospital to rehab, Sarah, and Gary’s daughter Lizanne and son-in-law Dave were able to run up to the ambulance and look in the window. They were able to see Gary through the windows, and they waved to each other.

          After Sarah had video chatted with Gary on Monday morning, she then called me a couple of hours later, and told me that a nurse at Gary’s rehab facility had just called her and said that Gary was not breathing. I felt a cold chill go up my spine. I then asked our church leaders to pray, and oh did we!

Sarah called me back about 15-20 minutes later, and said that Gary had passed, and friends I felt “Suffering and Anger”. None of us could see Gary in person, except for Sarah when she was in the hospital with him, and after beating COVID-19, he just suddenly passed. I felt “Suffering and Anger”.

          I did not realize until this global COVID-19 pandemic how broken a human heart could be, but friends through all of this, Jesus is with us! We will not stay in the valley forever. This evil and terrible pandemic has taken so much from us, but know this friends, as Christians we are a people of “New Hope and New Life”. We are resurrection people, and we called to be children of life, light, and love.

Today I take time, so that we can wallow in “The Suffering and the Anger,” but next Sunday we regroup. We will not allow this pandemic to destroy us, to destroy our faith, to destroy our hope, to remove our love, and we will not allow it to keep us from shining the light of Jesus Christ through Sidney and world! Even though Good Friday is coming, and even though we have felt like were in Good Friday for a year, resurrection is coming. “New Hope and New Life” are coming, and Jesus is with, here and now! Amen.

Sidney UMC - First Sunday of Lent - 02/21/21 - Sermon - “The Time of Trial" ("The Journey to New Hope and New Life" Series: Part 1 of 7)

Sunday 02/21/21 - Sidney UMC 

Sermon Title:                 “The Time of Trial”

       ("The Journey to New Hope and New Life"- Series: Part 1 of 7)

Old Testament Scripture: Psalm 25:1-10                                      

New Testament Scripture: 1 Peter 3:18-22

Gospel Lesson: Mark 1:9-15

          Friends, Brothers, and Sisters, welcome once again on this the First Sunday of this the season of Holy Lent. This 40-day season where we are invited to follow Christ to cross and walk the road with him to Good Friday.

          As I mentioned this past Wednesday on Ash Wednesday, the season of Lent and Ash Wednesday itself, are not strictly Biblical. In this sense, Ash Wednesday and the season of Lent are not requirements from the Bible, but rather they developed out of the worshipping life of the early Christian Church. Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent, is a day that we remember our mortality, our brokenness, our need to repent, and our need for Christ. This 40-day season of Lent, minus Sundays, is a season to journey with Christ towards the cross on calvary. To give a little bit of a better explanation of what the season of Lent it, here is what one source I read says about the season of Lent:

“Lent (Latin: Quadragesima, 'Fortieth') is a solemn religious observance in the Christian liturgical calendar that begins on Ash Wednesday and ends approximately six weeks later, the night before Easter Sunday. The purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer for Easter through prayer, doing penance…, repentance of sins, almsgiving, and self-denial”.

“This season is observed in the Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, Lutheran, Methodist, Moravian, Oriental Orthodox, Reformed (including Presbyterian), and Roman Catholic Churches. Some Anabaptist and evangelical churches also observe Lent. The last week of Lent is Holy Week, starting with Palm Sunday. Following the New Testament story, Jesus' crucifixion is commemorated on Good Friday, and at the beginning of the next week the joyful celebration of Easter Sunday recalls the Resurrection of Jesus Christ”.

“In Lent, many Christians commit to fasting, as well as giving up certain luxuries in order to replicate the account of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ's journey into the desert for 40 days; this is known as one's Lenten sacrifice. Many Christians also add a Lenten spiritual discipline, such as reading a daily devotional or praying through a Lenten calendar, to draw themselves near to God…”

“Lent is traditionally described as lasting for 40 days, in commemoration of the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert, according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, before beginning his public ministry, during which he endured temptation by Satan. Depending on the Christian denomination and local custom, Lent ends either on the evening of Maundy Thursday, or at sundown on Holy Saturday, when the Easter Vigil is celebrated. Regardless, Lenten practices are properly maintained until the evening of Holy Saturday” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lent).

          So, this is a season in the Christian Church designed to bring us all closer to Christ, as we walk with Christ. In this season of Lent then, what can you give, what can you give away, and what struggles do you have that can you surrender to Christ, so that you might be more like him?

          With this said, I really enjoy doing sermon series for Advent, leading up to Christmas, and Lent leading up to Easter. Since Advent and Lent are powerful and transformative seasons in the lives of so many Christians, having a theme that flows through each of these seasons can help us to grown more. With this said, my sermon series for the next 6 weeks of Lent, ending on Easter Sunday, is called “The Journey to New Hope and New Life”. In the season of Lent, we are invited to turn from sin and darkness, to give up, to give away, and to surrender God, as we journey with Christ to the cross on Good Friday.

          In some Christian traditions some people still flagellate or whip there backs the way that Jesus was whipped on Good Friday. In one place in the Philippians, a man literally gets nailed to cross every year, which is a great honor in this place, to show what Christ has done for us. I personally, do not think that we need to physically harm ourselves during Lent or on Good Friday, as Jesus has suffered on our behalf and for us.

          In this season of Lent, we are called to reflect on our lives, to look at ourselves in the mirror, and to see where need to draw closer to God. Perhaps you need to reconcile with a friend or family member? Maybe you have a habit that you need to give up? Whatever is keeping from getting closer to Christ, Lent is a good time tear the weeds out of our lives. We are called to repent, draw closer to God, and to walk with Christ to the cross.

          Some people give up things for Lent that they like, to grow closer to God. They are giving up and giving away, as Jesus gave up all for us. All of this being said, Ash Wednesday 2021, and this Lent 2021, are vastly different. Part of Lent 2020 certainly was the same, but we are in a global COVID-19 Pandemic. Perhaps the normal struggles, sufferings, and brokenness that we all have been through during these many months has been amplified due to the Pandemic. Maybe we have lost friends and family member due to COVID-19. Some of us have not seen some of our family in months. Some of us have not seen some fellow church members in months, some have been isolated, cut off, lonely, sad, laid off from work, struggling to pay their bills, dealing with relationship struggles, etc.

It is as if many of our normal struggles were at a 10 on the volume of the stereo, and COVID-19 turned them up to a 30 on the stereo. For many, the suffering and the struggles are louder and more real than in past Lenten Seasons.

          On the day that Jesus was crucified almost all of his followers abandoned him, he was mocked, spit on, tried, beaten, humiliated, and nailed to Roman Cross for the sins of the world. That feeling of being all alone, of having despair and pain, and maybe through this pandemic you can related to Good Friday and this season better than ever before. I know that I can.

          As a result, this sermon series that I am starting this morning, once again, is called, “The Journey to New Hope and New Life”. I am presenting this sermon series as a parallel. Every week I will present the scriptures and the story leading to Good Friday, and then Easter Sunday. The reason that this sermon series will be a parallel is I will be connecting our experiences through this pandemic, in addition to our normal struggles, with Jesus’ road to the cross on Good Friday. Jesus suffered and died for us, and many of us have suffered greatly during the pandemic. How can we compare and contrast the two?

          The first week of this sermon series on the first Sunday of the season of Lent is called, “The Time of Trial”. What I am basing this sermon title on, is Jesus’s forty-days of being tempted by Satan in the wilderness. As the gospel of Mark says of Jesus’s forty-days of temptation in the wilderness in 1:12-13 once again:

“¹² And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. ¹³ He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him” (Mk. 1:12-13, NRSV).

          So, again periods of 40-days or 40-years are pretty common in the Bible. Jesus was in the wilderness being tempted by Satan for 40-days and nights. In part, the early Christian Church developed the season of Lent to be modeled after Jesus’ 40-days in the wilderness. During his time in the wilderness, Jesus had really nothing but the power of God in him.

          For centuries, many Christian Churches have celebrated Lent and have incorporated Lenten practices and disciplines into the lives of there churches. I can imagine that some seasons of Lent were different that others. What was it like during Lent in the middle of the Civil War? What was Lent like during the American Revolution? What was Lent like during World War II? What was Lent like during the great influenza or Spanish Flu Pandemic from 1917-1920? Lastly, what is Lent 2021 like during the great Global Covid-19 Pandemic?

          Perhaps we have come to church during many seasons of Lent or come to church during the time of the season of Lent with heavy burdens. Maybe during a particular season of Lent, we had lost a loved one, had health or financial issues, or some other struggles that brought us to our knees in prayer. Your Lent 2021 might be challenging independent of the COVID-19 Pandemic, and if this is the case we suffer together.

          With this being said however, I think that it is undeniable that most of 2020 and thus far into 2021 has been quite different for many of us. Never in our lifetimes have we lived through a global pandemic. I never remember a time in my life where the entire country shut down. Maybe you remember such a time, but I do not. I never remember a time in my short life where over 500,000 Americans died from a virus. I never remember a time in my life that I could not visit people in the hospital or a nursing home. I never remember a time in my life that I was discouraged from going to public places, or that I was asked to wear a mask everywhere.

          Among the many things that have been taken from us during this pandemic, we can probably relate to some of the examples that I just gave. Perhaps you have lost and suffered in many other ways that I did not mention, as well. Possibly then we are entering into this season of Lent feeling and seeing things very differently than we ever have before. If this is the case for you, as it is for me, then maybe you can relate better to what it must have been like for Jesus to be tempted by the devil in the wilderness for 40-days and 40-nights.

          It is not that we are awful, it is that we are all broken and all-in need of God’s grace. Jesus was tempted in the wilderness, but he never broke, he never gave in. I have to safe that during this pandemic where times I had tears, fear, worry, anxiety, and also great hope. Maybe you can say the same. Our reading for this morning from Psalm 25, once again, shows us our need for God’s grace.

          Through this time though, God has indeed been with us. God has been with us through the pain, the loss, the loneliness, and the fear. God was with Jesus too when he was in the wilderness for 40-days and 40-nights. Jesus went through a 40-day and 40-nights of trial, and we have been through the challenging time of this global pandemic. Not like Jesus in the wilderness, but we all have been through a “Time of Trial”. We all have struggled and suffered over these many months, and maybe we had have had other big struggles in addition to this pandemic. Next Sunday in this “The Journey to New Hope and New Life” sermon series I am going to dive more deeply into “The Suffering and The Anger” that some might have felt through this time of pandemic. Then I will be focusing on this pandemic ending, and the new live in Jesus on Easter.

In our scripture reading for this morning from 1 Peter 3:18-22 once again, Peter reminds us all that Christ suffered for us and for our sins. All of us, not just some, but all of us. Peter tells us that we have hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ that is coming on Easter morning (1 Pet. 3:18-22, NRSV).

In looking more closely at our gospel of Mark 1:9-15 reading for this morning, we begin once again with 1:9 that says:

“⁹ In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. ¹⁰ And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. ¹¹ And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased” (Mk. 1:9-11, NRSV).

          So, we are given in part for this morning, once again, one of the beautiful accounts of Jesus’ baptism. Then right after this, which is the focus of my sermon for this morning, Jesus is led by the Spirit into the wilderness. Jesus then undergoes a “Time of Trial,” being tempted by Satan for 40-days and 40-nights (Mk. 1:9-11, NRSV). From this part of this gospel reading once again, I compare our struggles and our hurts through this time of Global COVID-19 Pandemic.

          Our gospel of Mark reading then ends once again, with Jesus proclaiming the good news, and telling people repent, and believe the gospel (Mk. 1:14-15, NRSV). The season of Lent in part is about us repenting, is about us turning to God. I know that we have all been through a “Time of Trial” over these many months, but new life is coming. Much like resurrection is coming on Easter, this pandemic will end! This “Time of Trial” will end, for the light of Christ is at the end of the tunnel. Amen.

Sidney UMC - Ash Wednesday - 02/17/21 - Sermon - “Humble and Repentant"

02/17/21 Sidney UMC – Ash Weds. Sermon

Sermon Title: “Humble and Repentant”

Old Testament Scripture: Psalm 51:1-17                                         

New Testament Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10 

Gospel Lesson: Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

          Friends, brothers, and sisters, I have been blessed to have been able to lead many Ash Wednesday services. Unfortunately, though, this is the first time that I have had an online only Ash Wednesday service, due to the Global COVID-19 Pandemic. This is also the first time that I have offered “Ashes to Go,” as these were offered at the church today from 12:00 pm to 7:00 pm. Since I cannot impose Ash Wednesday Ashes on you tonight, except for the few of us here, this is why I offered “Ashes to Go” today. This is also the first Ash Wednesday service that I have had to impose Ashes with a face mask on, a rubber glove on, and Q-Tip to impose Ashes. Certainly, a vastly different Ash Wednesday than the previous ones I have had.

          Some Christian denominations do not celebrate Ash Wednesday or the 40-day season of Holy Lent that begins today. In the Bible there are many numbered periods of time, such as Jesus being in the wilderness for forty days and forty nights, and during this time, he fasted and was tempted by Satan. In the Bible, we also have many incidences of 40-days or years. We have Noah on the Ark for forty days and nights. We have the Jews in the wilderness for forty years, and so on and so forth. Forty, like seven, and other numbers, are very Biblical numbers.

          This season of Holy Lent that starts today, is a 40-day season, which is actually 46-days, as we do not count Sundays, as this is the day the Christ rose form the dead. This season developed out the worshipping tradition of the church, and it is not Biblically required of us. Yet, since there are so many 40-day, 40-year, 7-day, etc. periods of time in the Bible, the early Christian Church developed this season or period of time leading to Good Friday, and then on to Easter Sunday.

          So, the 40-day season of Holy Lent that we are starting today, is a season that the church created, but it is designed to point us to Christ. The Sunday in the season of Holy Lent, called Palm or Passion Sunday developed as Christ entered Jerusalem that day on the back of a donkey, to the shouts of Hosanna! Since the Last Supper of Jesus and his disciples occurred the Thursday of this same week, that many Christians now call “Holy Week,” many churches have developed over the centuries worship and practices for Maundy or Holy Thursday. Maundy or Holy Thursday is Thursday April 1^st this year, as this is a service where we will retell the story of the Last Supper, where Jesus gives us the sacrament of Holy Communion, where Jesus gives us the gift of foot washing, and where Jesus gives us the Mandate, or the “Mandatum,” or the “Maundy” to love each other. Good Friday of course is a service to remember Jesus’ trial, torture, and death on a cross for our sins. All of these services and rituals developed out of the worshipping tradition of the church.

          As I said once again, none of these services, these practices, or the season of Holy Lent itself are in the Bible, but once again they developed out of the worshipping tradition of the church. These services, this season of Holy Lent, and these practices were designed to inform our faith, to support the Bible, and to draw us closer to God in Jesus Christ.

          Over the centuries, the first day of this season of Holy Lent eventually became unique in that it involved ashes. In some country’s ashes are imposed on the forehead like we do here in America, and in some countries, ashes are sprinkled on people’s heads, or are imposed in some other way. The ashes offered this day do not give us magical powers and we are not required to receive them. These ashes are a merely a symbol for us and for the world, that we are followers of Jesus Christ. These ashes show us and the world, that we are repentant, that we need Jesus, and that we are entering into this season of Holy Lent to draw closer to our lord and savior Jesus Christ.

          Throughout the worshiping tradition of the Christian Church, it eventually became a tradition of the people of the church to give up or give away things in this holy season. For example, what do we have too much of that we can share with others? What in our life is a wall or a stronghold keeping us from God? For example, if you have anger problems, and if this keeps you from getting closer to Christ, then maybe you need to give up Anger. Some people give up things like Chocolate or something fun, not to torture themselves, but to remind us of who Jesus is and what he is going to do for us all on the cross on Good Friday. This 40-day season of Holy Lent then, is a season of repentance, of humility, of self-examination of our lives and our souls, and an opportunity to give up or give away. All of this is designed to draw us closer to Christ, and to remove the things in our life that keep us from being closer to him. So, on this Ash Wednesday, this first season of Holy Lent, I would challenge you, as I challenge myself to give up and give away those things you do not need, or those things that keep you from getting closer to God, through Jesus Christ. As I said, I also do not think that in this holy season that we need to torture ourselves or to hate ourselves, as this season is designed to bring us closer to Christ. I encourage us all to pray to fast, to read the Bible, to give, to abstain, and to draw closer to Christ.

          I also think that for many of us, this is the first Ash Wednesday in our lifetimes where what we have given up and what has been taken from us, as people, as a country, and as a world, has been so great. We know loss in a profound way through this Global Covid-19 Pandemic. We know the loss of loved ones, of getting sick, the loss of a job, the loss of income, the isolation, the fear, the anxiety, the thankfulness that we did not cancel our Netflix account, etc. If this 40-day season is about us walking the road to the cross with Christ, then maybe this is the first Ash Wednesday where we can really understand sacrificing, abstaining, and giving, as real and powerful spiritual disciples. We are called to do all of these things to draw us to Christ, and to show us, even in a small way what Jesus experienced and suffered for us. So maybe this Ash Wednesday is different, as we all have given up, abstained, sacrificed, and have lost so much through this time of pandemic.

          As a result of all of this, as my sermon title for tonight says, I come to worship this evening “Humble and Repentant”. We have all experienced and or seen a lot around this Global Covid-19 Pandemic, and some of us have even lost family and friends to this pandemic. We are always called to come to Ash Wednesday worship being repentant, reflective, and seeking God, but this year it seems that many of us might be extra “Humble and Repentant”. I know that I am.

          In our reading for this evening from Psalm 51:1-17, King David is asking God to forgive him, to cleanse him, and to blot out his transgressions and his wrong doings. King David asks God for forgiveness, for a clean heart, and asks for God to help him live for him (Ps. 51:1-17, NRSV). Maybe this year, this Ash Wednesday 2021, and this season of Holy Lent 2021, are ones where can relate to this scripture from Psalm 51 from tonight, even more.

          In our reading for tonight from 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10, the Apostle Paul tells us that we are ambassadors for Christ. The Apostle Paul tells us to be reconciled to God, as Christ who had no sin, will on Good Friday die for our sins. Paul also says that as Christians and as people that sometimes we suffer for our faith. Paul lists various ways that Christian at this point have suffered. Yet none of our sufferings can compare to suffering of Christ on the cross. During this pandemic however, I believe that many of us understand suffering even more than maybe we have in a while, or ever.

If we have suffered or are suffering, Christ who suffered for us, suffers with us. So, while our suffering is real, and has likely been even more during this pandemic, Christ is with us eternally if we but call upon him.

          In our gospel of Matthew reading for tonight once again, we hear about four different topics. We hear about giving money, praying, fasting, and storing up treasures on earth. First, Jesus tells us to not to try to look holy and righteous in front others or give money or alms so that everyone knows what we give. Be holy and give, but do so for God, for Jesus, not for an earthly reward or accolades from others (Mt. 6:1-6, NRSV). For the only one we truly need to please is God.

          Jesus continues in Matthew 6:16-21, telling us not to be miserable when we fast. Whether we are fasting from food or something else, do not look or act miserable just to try to show everyone how holy you are. Do it for God, to draw closer to Christ. Likewise, Jesus tells us not to store up treasures on earth, but rather store up treasures in heaven. Jesus ends this gospel reading with a verse from Matthew 6:21 that really says it all. Jesus says once again:

“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Mt. 6:21, NRSV).

          In our gospel lesson therefore, Jesus is giving us examples of how to be “Humble and Repentant,” and how to be a servant of others. I pray that tonight on this our Ash Wednesday 2021, and during this season of Holy Lent 2021, and always that we might seek to be “Humble and Repentant,” through our God, who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. A blessed Ash Wednesday and Holy Lent to you all! Amen.

Sidney UMC - Transfiguration Sunday/Valentine's Day/UM Scouting Sunday - 02/14/21 - Sermon - “Transfiguration and Valentine's Day!"

Sunday 02/14/21 - Sidney UMC 

Sermon Title:       “Transfiguration and Valentine’s Day!”

Old Testament Scripture: Psalm 50:1-6                                       

New Testament Scripture: 2 Corinthians 4:3-6

Gospel Lesson: Mark 9:2-9

          Friends, brothers and sisters, welcome once again on this our Transfiguration Sunday, this our Valentine’s Day, and on this our UM Scouting Sunday. So, three things in one Sunday, that’s a lot!

          I think we all know what Valentine’s Day is. This day that we celebrate that special someone that we love or loved if they have passed on. This day that our special someone is honored, recognized, and we tell them how blessed we are to have them in our lives. For some, as I said, your special loved one has gone on to be with the Lord, but we can still remember them on this day, and the love that you shared. Valentine’s Day is about love, and flowers, and chocolates, and stuffed animals, and little candy hearts, and a cherub in diaper with a bow and arrow. So Happy Valentine’s Day!

          Every year in the United Methodist Church, we also have a special Sunday in the life of the church to honor Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, and Girl Scouts. We used to have a separate Sunday for Cub/Boy scouts and Girl Scouts, but in recent years we now have just one large Scouting Sunday.

          Given this, I wanted to mention the fact that this is UM Scouting Sunday, but since we are in the middle of the global COVID-19 Pandemic, we are going to celebrate UM Scouting Sunday at a later date this year, when we can actually have scouts, parents of scouts, and scout leaders in the church for in-person worship. At this service, that will likely be in June, I will gear some of the worship towards honoring our scouts, there parents, and scout leaders. This said though, we are very proud at the Sidney UMC to host Scout Troop 99, and Scout Pack 34, which is now officially Troop 9934.

          Lastly, as I said, today is Transfiguration Sunday. This special Sunday in the life of the church that we celebrate Jesus on the mountain, miraculously changed. By changed, do I mean that Jesus put on a Halloween costume? By changed, do I mean that Jesus performed a magic trick? No and No. Today Jesus was miraculously transformed or transfigured on the mountain. He looked and appeared different. This miracle is also well documented in a few books of the New Testament.

          As our gospel of Mark reading for this morning says once again in Mark 9:2-4:

“² Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, ³ and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. ⁴ And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus” (Mk. 9:2-4, NRSV).

          So, Jesus’ clothes on this mountain turn miraculously white, and then suddenly Elijah and Moses are with Jesus talking to him. Elijah and Moses are lower and lesser than Christ in this scene, however. In doing some research on the transfiguration of Jesus, one source I read says:

“The transfiguration of Jesus is a story told in the New Testament when Jesus is transfigured and becomes radiant in glory upon a mountain. The Synoptic Gospels (Matthew 17:1–8, Mark 9:2–8, Luke 9:28–36) describe it, and the Second Epistle of Peter also refers to it (2 Peter 1:16–18). It has also been hypothesized that the first chapter of the Gospel of John alludes to it (John 1:14)”

“In these accounts, Jesus and three of his apostles, Peter, James, and John, go to a mountain (later referred to itself as the Mount of Transfiguration) to pray. On the mountain, Jesus begins to shine with bright rays of light. Then the prophets Moses and Elijah appear next to him and he speaks with them. Jesus is then called "Son" by a voice assumed to be God the Father, as in the Baptism of Jesus” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transfiguration_of_Jesus).

          Quite an amazing miracle indeed, but what I wonder is this, why did Jesus lead Peter, James, and John up the mountain and perform this miracle? What was the purpose? What was Jesus trying to show, Peter, James, and John, and why was Moses and Elijah there? By the way, many scholars believe that Mountain of Transfiguration, is actually Mount Tabor, in Galilee.

          There are many theories that answer these questions, one of the sources I studied about the Transfiguration says this however:

“Christian theology assigns a great deal of significance to the transfiguration, based on multiple elements of the narrative. In Christian teachings, the Transfiguration is a pivotal moment, and the setting on the mountain is presented as the point where human nature meets God: the meeting place for the temporal and the eternal, with Jesus himself as the connecting point, acting as the bridge between heaven and earth” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transfiguration_of_Jesus).

          When he was on earth, Jesus was fully man, and was fully God, and miracles like the Transfiguration show us the divinity of Jesus, along with the humanness of Jesus. For he was God and man.

          Again, Moses and Elijah the great prophets are also with Jesus on the mountain this morning. The first five books of the Old Testament or the Torah, are also called the five books of Moses. These books contain the creation story, the fall of humanity in the Garden of Eden, the Exodus from slavery in Egypt, and all of the Jewish Law, including the 10-Commandments. The great Moses had a small almost transfigured kind of experience in the Book of Exodus. It says in Exodus 34:29:

²⁹ Moses came down from Mount Sinai. As he came down from the mountain with the two tablets of the covenant in his hand, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God”                        (Ex. 34:29, NRSV).

          Moses in this scripture certainly was not transfigured like Jesus was this morning, but clearly was a mighty prophet of God. Being in God’s presence, the holiness of God almost seemed to “rub off” on Moses as his face shone, yet Christ Transfigured himself, as he was God on earth.

          In addition, Elijah was one of the greatest prophets in the old testament, as some thought Jesus was “Elijah” (Mt. 16:13-16, NRSV). The Old Testament Prophet Elijah performed many miracles, with God working through him. In fact, one source that I read about the Prophet Elijah say:

“God also performed many miracles through Elijah, including resurrection, bringing fire down from the sky, and entering Heaven alive "by fire" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elijah).

 

          Some consider the Prophet Elijah to be among, or to be the greatest of the Old Testament Prophets. Then of course, we again have great Old Testament Prophet Moses, who again, led God’s covenant people out of slavery in Egypt through the Red Sea, who is named as the author of the first five books of the Old Testament, and who is the one who carry the 10-Commandments or stone tablets down from Mount Sinai.

          Moses and Elijah were great prophets, leaders, and men of God from the Old Testament. Yet even the great Moses and Elijah pale in comparison to Jesus Christ. On this day, Moses, and Elijah converse with Christ on the Mount of Transfiguration, as he is radiant, dazzling, and shining like the sun. I like to think that Elijah and Moses are learning from Jesus in this scene as they talk, as Jesus is far greater than they are. A really powerful image if you think about it.

          In our reading from Psalm 50:1-6 for this morning, once again, it says 50:1-2:

“¹ The mighty one, God the Lord, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting. ² Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth” (Ps. 50:1-2, NRSV).

          This God, who has created everything, who is in control of everything, who comes out of Zion or Jerusalem, was made fully manifest in Jesus Christ. Jesus, our savior, God in the flesh, is this morning talking to the great prophets Moses and Elijah.

          In our reading from 2 Corinthians 4:3-6 for this morning, it says once again:

“³ And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. ⁴ In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. ⁵ For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’ sake. ⁶ For it is the God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ”                      (2 Cor. 4:3-6, NRSV).

          The Apostle Paul talks about seeing the light of the gospel and the glory of Christ. On this Transfiguration Sunday, Peter, James, John, as well as Moses and Elijah see this light, this glory, as Jesus is miraculous Transfigured or changed on the Mount of Transfiguration. Through this, Jesus is showing us all, his power, his authority, his majesty, his light, and most importantly his love.

          On this Valentine’s Day, this day to celebrate love, may we remember that God is the source of life, light, and love. Love comes from God, so if you love someone on this Valentine’s Day, and if love comes from God, then this is what makes Valentine’s Day so special. Love is simple and yet complex.

          In 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a, the Apostle Paul says:

“⁴ Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant ⁵ or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; ⁶ it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. ⁷ It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. ⁸ Love never ends”       (1 Cor. 13:4-8a, NRSV).

          The Apostle Paul also says in 1 Corinthians 13:13:

“¹³ And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love” (1 Cor. 13:13, NRSV).

          I hope on this Valentine’s Day that we see God’s love in others, and in our special someone, if we have one. I hope that we realize that on this Transfiguration Sunday, that Jesus was on the mountain this morning showing us the power and love of God. Be looking for, be expecting it.

          The Apostle Peter this morning, seemed to miss this, as our gospel of Mark reading says once again, starting from Mark 9:5:

“⁵ Then Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” ⁶ He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. ⁷ Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!” ⁸ Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus” (Mk. 9:5-9, NRSV). 

          The Apostle Peter got scared and was startled by Jesus’ Transfiguration this morning, and the fact that Jesus was speaking with Elijah and Moses. Peter did not know what to say, the gospel says, and James and John were terrified to. Then God the Father, listen to my son. Then boom, the Transfiguration ended.

          Jesus did what he did, or became Transfigured or miraculous changed this morning, to show Peter, James, and John, and us, the glory, majesty, power, and love of God. Jesus shows us that through him, we can come to God, be forgiven of our sins, and follow him, if we but turn from sin and darkness and believe in him.

Today is Valentine’s Day, the day of love in our culture. If God is love, and if love come from God, may we love or remember our special someone this day. May we also show the love of friendship or Agape love to all people. For this day Jesus shows us love on the Mount of Transfiguration, as Valentine’s Day is about love, and since it is UM Scouting Sunday, we love our scouts. Amen.