Sidney UMC - Twenty-Third Sunday after Pentecost/Reformation Sunday - 10/31/21 - Sermon - “The Blood of Christ”

Sunday 10/31/21 - Sidney UMC 

Sermon Title:                   “The Blood Of Christ”                     

Old Testament Scripture: Psalm 146:1-10                                       

New Testament Scripture: Hebrews 9:11-14

Gospel Lesson: Mark 12:28-34

          In our culture today there are a lot of ways that many people speak about blood. Yes, I said blood, the stuff that flows through our veins. Someone will sometimes say of their job for example, that doing their job “is in their blood.” Talking about blood is a pretty common thing in many ways. We sometimes refer to people’s “bloodlines.” We might say that we love someone “with all our hearts,” realizing that our hearts pump and circulate our blood throughout our bodies. In fact, I have seen advertisements for blood drives that say, “give blood, give life.” The general idea then, is that blood is life.

          Given this, blood is significant, and is a topic that we talk about a lot. For example, if someone makes you angry, then you might say that they made your “blood boil.” Or if it someone is cold and unfriendly, you might say that they “have ice in their veins.”

The subject of blood is also very common in the bible, as well. If blood is seen as part of what makes our life possible, and if the heart pumps the blood, are we shocked then that it is in the bible. In the Roman Catholic Church in fact, some of you maybe have seen statues of Jesus where on the statue you can see Jesus’s heart. This “Sacred Heart,” is what the church across the street is named after. The heart and “The Blood Of Christ,” as the heart pumps the blood. It is not a mystery then that we love with our hearts and our souls. On Valentine’s Day we give people heart shaped candy, or candy in a heart shaped box.

          In looking at our reading from Hebrews 9:11-14 again this morning, we hear about “The Blood Of Christ”. Once again, we hear starting in 9:11:

¹¹ But when Christ came as a high priest of the good things that have come,  then through the greater and perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation), ¹² he entered once for all into the Holy Place, not with the blood of goats and calves, but with his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption                 (Heb. 9:11-12, NRSV).

          In this reading from the Book of Hebrews, that Apostle Paul is comparing animal sacrifices in the Old Testament of the Bible, to the New Testament of the Bible. In part, the blood of sacrificed animals, which was seen as the life of the animal, was sacrificed. We hear every time that we partake of communion that Christ’s body was broken for us, and that his blood was shed for us. Blood is significant in the Bible and in our culture today. In fact, we just heard once again, that eternal redemption and salvation is made possible by “The Blood of Christ.”

          In our United Methodist Hymnal, hymn # 362 is called “Nothing but the Blood” (UMH, 362). The first verse of the hymn, as you might know goes like this:

“1. What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Refrain: O precious is the flow that makes me white as snow; no other fount I know; nothing but the blood of Jesus” (UMH, 362). 

          As the scripture says, and as the hymn “Nothing but the Blood” says from scripture, we are saved through “The Blood of Christ.” Some might ask though, but aren’t we saved because Jesus died for us? Sure, but the heart pumps the blood, and the blood goes through our veins and keeps us alive. As I said, some blood banks advertise to encourage people to give blood with slogan “give blood, give life.”

          All throughout the Old Testament or Hebrew Bible, our Jewish brothers and sisters would offer animal sacrifice, and spill the blood of these animals. These sacrifices, along with repentance and atonement would be a way to atone for sins. The problem is this though, we all largely keep sinning. As a result, the Jews needed to then offer more and more animal sacrifices, and this was also done in Egypt. During the very first Passover in Egypt, the Jews were told to take a pure and spotless lamb and sacrifice it. They were to take the blood of that lamb and put in on there doorposts and lintels. The blood of the lamb would cover them, so that death would not come that night to their first-born child. The blood. They were told to smear the blood of the lamb, the life of the lamb. Since humanity continued sinning however, animal sacrifices were offered over and over again. It seems almost like madness to us today. I mean could not we just sacrifice one animal and that would good forever?

          As Christians, we believe that our once and for all sacrifice for humanity was and is Jesus Christ. In fact, our Book of Hebrews reading for this morning concludes once again with 9:13-14 saying:

¹³ For if the blood of goats and bulls, with the sprinkling of the ashes of a heifer, sanctifies those who have been defiled so that their flesh is purified, ¹⁴ how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to worship the living God! (Heb. 9:13-14, NRSV).

          So do I think that I am saved through “The Blood of Christ?” Yes, I do. Do you? In fact, it says in 1 John 1:7:

⁷ but if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin                                  (1 Jn. 1:7, NRSV). 

          So “The Blood of Christ” cleanses us from sin. Jesus’ shed blood is the sacrifice that was made for the sins and brokenness of all of humanity. All we have to do is turn from our sin and our darkness and believe in and on Jesus. In doing so, we are cleansed and washed by his blood. For we cannot be perfect before God on our own. God wants us to be righteous, holy, and like Him, and only through Jesus Christ can we accomplish this.

          It is no mistake then that at the Last Supper in the Upper Room once again that Jesus took the Bread and the Cup and said, “This is my body broken for you,” and “this is my blood shed for you.” In Acts 2:28 it says:

²⁸ Keep watch over yourselves and over all the flock, of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God that he obtained with the blood of his own Son (Acts 2:28, NRSV).

 

          The Apostle Paul writes in Colossians 1:20 of Jesus:

²⁰ and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross                      (Col. 1:20, NRSV).

          We are saved by the blood of Christ, blood that flowed from Jesus’ heart that some call his “Sacred Heart.” You see friends, as the song title says, “There Is Power In The Blood.” How significant is blood? Well, we sometimes say, “blood is thicker than water,” as our biological family is our blood. We need to love and have loyalty to our biological family. Flesh of our flesh, blood of our blood.

          In the Book of Leviticus in the Old Testament is says in 17:11:

11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood; and I have given it to you for making atonement for your lives on the altar; for, as life, it is the blood that makes atonement (Lev. 17:11, NRSV).

 

In the Book of Leviticus, it says that the life of our flesh and our bodies, is our blood. In the Book of Genesis, emphasizing to the Jews the significance of blood it says in 9:4:

But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood                                        (Gen. 9:4, NRSV).

 

The Book of Revelation 1:5 says of Jesus:

⁵ and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood, (Rev. 1:5, NRSV).

          In 1 Peter 1:18-19 it says this:

¹⁸ You know that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold, ¹⁹ but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without defect or blemish                                         (1 Pet. 1:18-19, NRSV).

          In Romans 5:9 it says of Jesus:

⁹ Much more surely then, now that we have been justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath of God (Rom. 5:9, NRSV).

          What can wash away my sins? “Nothing but the blood of Jesus.”

          In looking briefly at our gospel of Mark reading for this morning, once again, one of the scribes asked Jesus what the most important commandment from God is. Jesus answers picking up in 12:29 saying:

²⁹ Jesus answered, “The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; ³⁰ you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ ³¹ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these” (Mk. 12:29-30, NRSV).

          Some might ask then, “Well if Jesus said to love God and our neighbor as ourselves, does it matter than that Jesus shed his blood for us?” Yes, because Jesus’ shed blood is what covers us from sin and reconciles us to God. After centuries of prophets like Isaiah and Ezekiel calling us to holiness and us failing, God sent his son Jesus. Jesus, the new Passover Lamb, shed his blood and died for us. This is not for a night, but for eternity. Like the blood of a pure and spotless lamb on the doorposts and lintels of the Jews in Egypt, Jesus covers our hearts and souls with his blood for eternity.

          We are then freed up to love God and neighbor, without fear, worry, and trepidation.  As far as the blood of Chris though, the great reformer Martin Luther said this:

One drop of Christ's blood is worth more than heaven and earth (https://www.azquotes.com/quote/851985).

 

          After Jesus told one of the scribes to love and God and love your neighbor as yourself, the gospel for this morning concludes once again saying:

³² Then the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher; you have truly said that ‘he is one, and besides him there is no other’; ³³ and ‘to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength,’ and ‘to love one’s neighbor as oneself,’—this is much more important than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” ³⁴ When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” After that no one dared to ask him any question (Mk. 12:32-34, NRSV).

          We are called to love God and to love our neighbors as ourselves, but how are we made free from our sins? As song title says, “Nothing but the Blood” Of Jesus. Amen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sidney UMC - Twenty-Second Sunday after Pentecost - 10/24/21 - Sermon - “Seeing Vs. Seeing”

Sunday 10/24/21 - Sidney UMC 

Sermon Title:                  “Seeing Vs. Seeing”                      

Old Testament Scripture: Psalm 34: 1-8, 19-22                                         

New Testament Scripture: Hebrews 7:23-28

Gospel Lesson: Mark 10:46-52

          Some people have a problem with seeing, and yet some other people have a problem with seeing. By this I mean, we can see with our eyes, but we can also see with our hearts and with our souls. We can have 20/20 vision, but our hearts and our souls can be blind. Our hearts and our souls can have 20/20 vision, but we can be blind in our eyes. Can we see with the eyes in our heads? Can we see with the eyes of our hearts and our souls?

          I remember a number of years ago I did a weekend of prison ministry at the Cayuga Correctional Facility, in Moravia, NY. Our Christian leadership team went into the prison on Friday, on Saturday, and then after church on Sunday. Some of the inmates that I encountered had incredible faith, and some of them knew the Bible inside and out. Many of these men were devout and committed followers of Jesus Christ.

When this weekend ended, I returned to the church and told the church that I had learned that there are some people who are behind bars physically, but who are spiritually free. Likewise, there people who are physically free, but who are behind bars spiritually. Being free in Christ is a state of being with God, not necessarily a location.

          In a comparable way, my sermon for this morning is titled “Seeing Vs. Seeing.” In the same way a person can be behind bars, but be spiritually free, someone can be blind in their eyes, but see clearly in their hearts and souls. I do not know as if I have ever personally met a Christian before who was blind in their eyes, but this would be an example of seeing with your heart and your soul. For example, if you tell someone that you love them, what do you mean by this? Do you mean that you love just what you can see, or do you also love what you cannot see? You may love the appearance of the person, but hopefully you also love their heart, there soul, and the way that they are. We can have physical eyesight, and we can have spiritual eyesight.

          I do not know about you, but not being able to see with our eyes is scary. I remember sometimes in my life that the power in the house went out during a storm. It was dark, I could not see, I was stumbling around try to feel my way to where I was going. This was the worst, and it always seemed to happen when you least expected it to.

I also remember a couple of times when the power went out, my mom asked me to go into the basement and to check the circuit breaker box. I mean after all it could be a power outage, a tripped circuit, or a blown fuse. Once in a while I was the lucky person who got to investigate this.

Well, when you are young though, you may or may not think that there are monsters in the basement. You have to walk down those creaky steps in the dark, and it can be scary when you are a kid. When I was about 10-years there would be no way that you would ever be able to get me to sleep in the basement.

We often use the term in our culture being “Afraid of the Dark.” Some of us used to be “Afraid of the Dark,” or maybe still are “Afraid of the Dark.” I was “Afraid of the Dark,” when I was kid. Were you “Afraid of the Dark”? Are you still “Afraid of the Dark”? Why would someone be “Afraid of the Dark” though? I mean if the lights were on one minute and then the power suddenly went out, why would be scared? Has anything really changed in a couple of seconds? No. So what are we afraid of? We are in our living room watching television one minute, and then the power just goes out. It got dark and quiet really quick. Has anything changed though? No. Why can the dark be so scary?

          I was “Afraid of the Dark” when I was a kid because I did not know where I was going. I struggled to get where I was going and could not see anything around me. I temporarily lost my hope, my direction, and I felt lost and afraid in the darkness. For in these moments there was no light to reassure me, and I was not certain that the dark was safe. I mean, I could not see with my eyes, so how did I know that there was not something scary out there. Many people act differently when they walk around in the daylight versus the night. In fact, in some places that I have visited, I was told to not go out alone at night. Some people do not like to walk around at night, but only during the day. Anyone here like that? Not being able to see, being in the dark, is not a feeling that many people like to have.

          In the Book of Isaiah, Isaiah prophetically wrote of the coming Messiah, of Jesus in 9:2:

² The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness—on them light has shined (Isa. 9:2, NRSV).

          To be blind is to be in darkness, whether that darkness is in the vision in your eyes, or the vision in your heart and soul. This morning in our gospel of Mark reading once again, a man named Bartimaeus son of Timaeus was a blind beggar. Bartimaeus heard that Jesus of Nazareth was in Jericho where he was, and so he shouted for Jesus to have mercy on him. Many tried to silence Bartimaeus, but he cried even louder for Jesus’ mercy (Mk. 10:46-48, NRSV). Bartimaeus could not see Jesus with his eyes, but he knew Jesus was there. Bartimaeus heard with his ears that Jesus was present, but I wonder if in his heart and in his soul, he felt the presence of Jesus? Why did he cry out to Jesus? Was it just because he was desperate? Was it because he had heard this Jesus was a healer? Or was it because Bartimaeus knew who Jesus really was?

          After Bartimaeus continues to shout to Jesus, Jesus then invites Bartimaeus to get up and to go to him. After Bartimaeus threw off his cloak and sprang up, he walked over to Jesus. Jesus then asked Bartimaeus what he wanted from him. Bartimaeus then said to Jesus, “My teacher, let me see again” (Mk. 10:49-51, NRSV). The gospel of Mark reading for this morning then ends once again referring to Bartimaeus in 10:52 saying:

⁵² Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith has made you well.” Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way (Mk. 10:52, NRSV).

          I wonder what it is like to be blind. What is it like to never see light, but to only have darkness? I have been told that when people are blind that their other senses become incredibly strengthened to compensate for there lack of vision. These folks learn to make there way through the world not seeing, having darkness. That being said though, nobody wants to walk in darkness.

          In a comparable way, what is it like to have spiritual blindness? What is like to have no faith, no hope, and to have no eternity. To walk in spiritual darkness is to have no spiritual light, no Jesus, no salvation, no peace, no love, no eternity.

The morning the Psalmist says in 34:1-2 once again:

¹ I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. ² My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the humble hear and be glad         (Ps. 34:1-2, NRSV).

          Can you praise God with the eyes of your heart and your soul, but yet be blind in your vision? Yes, of course. For those of us that can see with our eyes though, when we meet Christ we change, and how we see the world changes. The eyes of our hearts and our souls, therefore, directly affect the eyes in our heads.

          In our reading from the Book of Hebrews for this morning, the Apostle Paul reminds us of the reality that all pastors and priests will die on this earth, but that the highest priest, Jesus Christ, is permanent, eternal, and that he died for our sins. Jesus, unlike any other human who has walked this earth, did not stay dead, but rose and lives and reigns forever.

          Imagine then being in a dark room but being filled with light. Imagine not being able to see with your eyes but having 20/20 vision with your heart and your soul. Further, when we look at the world with our eyes, what we see is always skewed by how we interpret the world. If we see nothing but misery in our hearts and our souls, are we shocked when see a miserable world? If we see nothing but darkness in our hearts and our souls, are shocked when we see darkness through our eyes? I heard the term once that “the eyes are the windows to the soul.” If this is true, what is in our hearts and our souls will most certainly affect what we see with our eyes. What do people see when they look through the windows of your eyes into your soul?

          Given this, do we really fully see with the eyes in our heads, or is what we see with the eyes in our heads greatly affected by the eyes of our hearts and our souls? I would think that the eyes of our hearts and our souls greatly impact what we see with the eyes in our heads. In fact, Jesus healed Bartimaeus this morning, not because he was blind, but because he had faith. Jesus tells Bartimaeus “Go; your faith has made you well.”

          It would seem evident then that the eyes of Bartimaeus’ heart and soul were wide open, and as a result, the vision in Bartimaeus’s eyes in his head was magnified and completely transformed. If Jesus had restored Bartimaeus’ physical eyesight, but Bartimaeus had no faith, would he then see the world the way he did with faith? Maybe Bartimaeus realized that “the eyes are the window to the soul,” and that when his faith through Jesus Christ restored his physical vision, what he saw in his soul was then personified with what he saw with the eyes in his head. So, friends, this morning are we seeing with our hearts and our souls, and with the eyes in our heads? I am asking this question to see if we are “Seeing Vs. Seeing.” Amen.

Sidney UMC - Twenty-First Sunday after Pentecost/Laity Sunday - 10/17/21 - Sermon - “Not To Be Served But To Serve”

Sunday 10/17/21 - Sidney UMC 

Sermon Title:             “Not To Be Served But To Serve”                     

Old Testament Scripture: Psalm 104:1-9, 24, 35c                                      

New Testament Scripture: Hebrews 5:1-10

Gospel Lesson: Mark 10:35-45

          Isn’t it amazing when someone you revere or who has great power and status decides to serve others? When such a person gets their hand dirty and works alongside of you, like they are not a person of great power and status? For example, Jesus washed the feet of his disciples. Imagine, God in the flesh, Jesus Christ our Lord kneeling to wash your feet. Sometimes when we choose “Not To Be Served But To Serve” it has a powerful effect on people. Sometimes when we humble ourselves and do for others, it empowers them, it makes them feel loved, and it draws them closer to Jesus Christ. This is because people will see our faith and our love for Christ, and how we are serving like him. This can result in people giving there lives to Christ, living like Christ, and serving like Christ.

          I know I have talked about in church a few times, one my favorite movies. As many of you know, I have many favorite movies! One that I really like however, is the 2016 movie “Hacksaw Ridge”. In this movie, we have an excellent example of servant leadership. Once again, Jesus ends our gospel of Mark reading for this morning , saying in 10:45:

⁴⁵ For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many” (Mk. 10:45, NRSV).

          When I was re-reading over the gospel of Mark to prepare to write my sermon for this morning, I thought once again of the movie “Hacksaw Ridge.” In this movie that takes place in the era of World War II, the real-life character Desmond Doss, played by actor Andrew Garfield, enlists in the US Army. Desmond Doss enlists in the Us Army following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Desmond Doss is a conscientious objector though, and as such, he refuses to carry a gun or fight. Doss was a Seventh Day Adventist Christian, and he became a Combat Medic during his time in the US Army in World War II.

          As you can imagine Combat Medic Desmond Doss had a rough go of it in not being willing to fire a gun or fight. Some thought him a coward, but he enlisted to serve others. He did not enlist to fight but only to serve and help others.         

          Combat Medic Doss was deployed to the Pacific theater of the war to fight against the Japanese Empire. In the movie, Doss, and his fellow soldiers in 77^th US Army Infantry Division are assigned to fight in the Battle of Okinawa. I am sure that these soldiers fought in other places, as well. During the Battle of Okinawa, Doss's unit is informed that it will relieve the US Army 96th Infantry Division, which was tasked with ascending and securing the Maeda Escarpment ("Hacksaw Ridge") (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hacksaw_Ridge). This of course is the reason that this movie is called “Hacksaw Ridge.”

          As the story goes, the Japanese attacked and the 77^th Infantry ended up falling back from Hacksaw Ridge in retreat. Yet there were many that were still injured up on “Hacksaw Ridge” in Okinawa. For hours and all night long, Combat Medic Desmond Doss pulled dozens of wounded American soldiers off the field of battle and lowered them down the cliff, down Hacksaw Ridge to safety with ropes. In the movie, and in real life, Doss prayed as he rescued these wounded soldiers and said, “Lord let me save just one more.” After saving another wounded soldier and lowering them down the ridge with ropes, Doss again would pray, “Lord let me save just one more.”

The next day, the 77^th Infantry was ordered to go back up Hacksaw Ridge and to take it back, but the 77^th did not move. In anger, the officer giving this command to the 77^th asks a captain in 77^th why they have not moved. The captain explained to his superior officer that they have not moved because Corporal Doss had not yet finished praying for the 77^th. When Doss said amen, then the 77th went back up the cliff.

          Not only is the movie “Hacksaw Ridge” based on the real life events of Army Corporal and Combat Medic Desmond Doss, Doss was also awarded the Medal of Honor by President Harry S. Truman for rescuing 75 soldiers at Hacksaw Ridge. He died on March 23, 2006, at the age of 87. Doss risked his life all night long, under fire, to rescue wounded soldiers.

          Desmond Doss was not in the war to achieve glory, to move up in rank and power. Desmond Doss enlisted in the US Army after the Pearl Harbor Attack “Not To Be Served But To Serve.” With no gun, as a pacifist, and doing this all night long up on Hacksaw Ridge, Desmond Doss rescued 75 soldiers who likely would have died.

          Of the many heroes that I have, Desmond Doss is one of those heroes. Jesus tells us in our gospel of Mark reading for this morning “Not To Be Served But To Serve.” As Christians, as believers, we all have spiritual gifts and graces given to us by God. These gifts and graces are not supposed to be used to our glory, but to bring people to Christ and to serve others. All of us here have gifts and graces, and we are called by Jesus Christ, “Not To Be Served, But To Serve.”

          Sometimes in churches the church hires a pastor to be the “Professional Christian,” and because of this, part of the rest of the congregation does not pursue their own Christian leadership. We all do not need to be pastors, but we are all called “Not To Be Served, But To Serve” like Jesus Christ. The strength of a good church rests not just with the pastor, but even more so with the laity or the lay people of the church. When all of us use our spiritual gifts and graces and pursue the ministries that God has called us to, the church becomes alive with disciple making activity. When we all pursue how we can bring people to Christ, to serve others, and to transform the world, the strength, the numbers, and power of the church grows exponentially. I want everyone at this church to be thinking about and praying about what God is calling you to. For some it might be sending cards and visiting people. For some it might be starting a small group to build relationships and to bring people closer to Christ. To some, you might be called to help with the building and the grounds. To some it might be teaching Sunday School, starting a prayer group, etc. Everyone in the church is a pastor in some way, shape, or form, whether the occupy a pulpit or not. This morning Jesus tells us “Not To Be Served, But To Serve”.

          In our reading for this morning from Psalm 104 we hear of the glory and the majesty of God, and when we seek “Not To Be Served, But To Serve” we are sharing the hope of the gospel of Jesus Christ in word, action, and deed. We can preach Christ and we live and love like Christ. All of this brings people closer to Christ.

          The Apostle Paul reflects on Jesus’ servant leadership this morning once again in Hebrews 5:5-6 that says:

⁵ So also Christ did not glorify himself in becoming a high priest, but was appointed by the one who said to him, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you”; ⁶ as he says also in another place, “You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek” (Heb. 5:5-6, NRSV).

          Desmond Doss was and is a disciple of Jesus Christ, and the reason he was determined to “Not To Be Served, But To Serve,” was because he learned it from Jesus. Jesus Christ is the ultimate servant leader, our standard, and our Lord.

          In looking once again at our gospel of Mark reading for this morning, it begins once again starting in Mark 10:35 with the Apostles James and John talking to Jesus. Starting in 10:35 it once again says:

³⁵ James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came forward to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” ³⁶ And he said to them, “What is it you want me to do for you?” ³⁷ And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory”                                                           (Mk. 10:35-37, NRSV).

          In this request that James and John make to Jesus, they do not really seem concerned about serving the least of these. Instead, it seems like that they want to be front and center with Jesus. It would seem that maybe they want to glorify themselves or have the glory of sitting by Jesus for eternity. Even if their request was made out of desire to have the honor and the privilege of sitting by Jesus for eternity, it is not a request that resembles humble servanthood.

          To respond to this request from James and John, Jesus replies starting in Mark 10:38:

³⁸ But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” ³⁹ They replied, “We are able.” Then Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink; and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized; ⁴⁰ but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared”                 (Mk. 10:38-40, NRSV).

 

          Jesus lets James and John know that his suffering can be something that they in part experience, as church tradition holds that all but the Apostle John died a painful death. Jesus is also saying that to be one of his followers, to be one of his disciples, is to sacrifice, and to have a mentality of “Not To Be Served, But To Serve.”

          As Jesus is talking to James and John, the other ten disciples either overhear this or soon hear about it. The gospel of Mark then picks up from Mark 10:41 saying once again:

⁴¹ When the ten heard this, they began to be angry with James and John. ⁴² So Jesus called them and said to them, “You know that among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. ⁴³ But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, ⁴⁴ and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. ⁴⁵ For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many”                                                                 (Mk. 10:41-45, NRSV).

 

          Jesus concludes this gospel reading in telling the disciples once again that if you want to be great, if you want to sit at my left and at my right, then you do not understand anything that I have been telling you. If you want to be great in the Kingdom of God, then you have to become a servant and a slave to all. To be great in the Kingdom of God you must seek “Not To Be Served, But To Serve.” If you want to be a great Christian and to be more like Jesus you must seek to “Not To Be Served, But To Serve.”

          To put it another way, a mature follower of Jesus Christ does not think that they are the best Christian. In fact, they shy away from praise, they do not think that they are great as you say they are, and they never seek power, status, or control.

One of my heroes, Desmond Doss was very much a servant leader. The reality my friends, is what makes us better than each other? More education? More money? More possessions? The truth is that all of us are sinners in need of the saving grace of Jesus Christ. To be great in the Kingdom of God is to be so humble and so service oriented that if you were to rise up in the church ranks or in a ministry, you did so not because you sought after it, but because you were living, loving, and serving like Jesus Christ. Friends let us always seek to “Not To Be Served, But To Serve.” Amen.

Sidney UMC - Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost - 10/10/21 - Sermon - “Why Did Jesus Say This?”

Sunday 10/10/21 - Sidney UMC

Sermon Title:             “Why Did Jesus Say This?”                     

Old Testament Scripture: Psalm 22:1-15                                     

New Testament Scripture: Hebrews 4:12-16

Gospel Lesson: Mark 10:17-31

          I remember one day when I pastored in the Finger Lakes region of New York, a young married man came into one of the churches that I was serving at the time. This young man also came to church periodically, as well. On this day, this young man seemed a little distressed and a little downtrodden. I got him a cup of coffee and we conversed about the usual pleasantries. After this I then asked him why he came to see me. He said, “Well Pastor Paul, my wife and I got into a big argument on Friday night.” I said, “Oh no, why do you think that happened?” He then said, “Well I had a long stressful week and work, I was tired and hungry, and I guess something little and stupid just got me really upset. Normally it would not get me upset, but this thing did, and I got mad.” He then said, “When I got mad, my wife got defensive and mad, we didn’t talk to each other until the next morning.” In continuing on in this conversation, he then said, “My wife and I talked on Saturday morning, and she forgave me. I still feel bad that it happened though. Sometimes Pastor Paul, as hard as I try, I just continue to mess up sometimes.”

          How many of us here, can ever say that we ever did something just like this? Anyone here every get mad at your wife or your husband, or someone else, and then realize that you were in the wrong? I know that I have done it, and Melissa has done it. I purposely left names out of the example of this couple for this morning, but this young husband wanted the secret of this never ever happening to him again from me. I reminded him that we are all called to surrender our lives to Christ every day, and the hope is that we continue to become holier and more righteous, as we walk with Christ and live out our faith. I then told him, “If you have found that something like this has happened 50% less a year from now, then you are growing in grace, holiness, and righteousness”. I then told him the scripture that I am preaching on this morning.

          This scripture from Psalm 22:1 was uttered in part by Jesus in Matthew 27:46, and in the gospel of Mark 15:34. As a point of reference Jesus speaks what is in Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34 shortly before he dies. Well, what does Jesus say in Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34? Let me give you Matthew 27:46. It says once again:

⁴⁶ And about three o’clock Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”                (Mt. 27:46, NRSV).

          I told this young husband who got angry with his wife and had an argument with her that this is what Jesus said shortly before he died on the cross on Good Friday. I then told him that the scripture that I am preaching on this morning from Psalm 22:1-2 says once again:

¹ My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning? ² O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer; and by night, but find no rest (Ps. 22:1-2, NRSV).

          So, Jesus in Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34 looks up when he is on the cross and asks God the Father, why he had forsaken him. In Psalm 22 for this morning, once again, the portion of Psalm 22 that we are given is one of lament. The end of Psalm 22:23-31 is a song of praise, as the Psalmist feels reconnected to God. In the portion of Psalm 22 that we are given this morning though, the Psalmist or King David feels that God has abandoned him.

          I told this young husband, “Isn’t interesting that Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, our Lord, the second person of the Holy Trinity, would say this in the gospel of Matthew and Mark shortly before he died:

“Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”      (Mt. 27:46b, NRSV).

          I then asked this young husband this question, which is also my sermon title for this morning. The question I asked this young husband was, “Why did Jesus say this? The young husband said, “Well maybe Jesus lost faith?” I then said, “But how can this be if Jesus was God on earth? How can God lose faith?” The young husband then said, “Well Pastor Paul, I have no idea then, “Why did Jesus say this?”

          I said to him the easiest answer is this, a righteous man suffered injustice (Africa Bible Commentary, pg. 1194). The young husband said, “Well what does that mean?” I said, “When Jesus was on earth, he was fully God and fully human, and this meant that he felt, he hurt, and he suffered just like we do. Can you imagine how exhausted, how in pain, and how beat down Jesus must have felt just before dying on his cross?” The young husband said, “Well of course, I can only imagine.”

          I then asked the young husband, “And how tired, how hurt, and how over extended did feel when you got home this past Friday night?” He said, “Like I was at the end of my rope!” I then said, “When Jesus was on the cross in the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Mark, he literally had the weight of the sin the world on his shoulders. The human part of him was so overwhelmed that even Jesus our Lord for a moment felt distant from God the Father. So much so in fact, that he cried out to him and as he did not feel his presence. The sacrifice of Christ on the cross was so overwhelming that the human part of the Jesus for a moment, just a moment, felt abandoned.”

          I then said, “Jesus was bleeding, scourged, mocked, most of his friends ran, and he was ready to die for us.” I told the young husband, I do not think any of us can ever say that we went through what Jesus went through, but sometimes we feel like you said, “Like we are at the end of our rope!” Sometimes in those moments we cry out.

          At this point the young husband understood what I meant, and how this connected to him getting mad and picking an argument with his wife. I then told him, “brother every day when we wake up, we must recommit our lives to Christ, we must pray, read scripture, and try our best to take care of ourselves. We are human, and on the day that Jesus died for us, the human part of him was so beat down, that he felt abandoned, just for a moment, by God the Father.”

          This young husband was actually really encouraged by the scriptural comparisons and examples that I gave to him. While he still lost his temper after this sometimes, as we all do, he told me later that God was helping him to control it better. When he felt himself getting mad, he would remember what Jesus said on the cross. Maybe he would realize that he was grumpy because he had a tough day or week, because he was hungry, or because of something else. Instead of getting mad at his wife, he would try to address and care for what he was struggling with. Further, he would allow his wife to love him, and his wife would allow him to love her.

          Again friends, I am 100% confident that what I just described with the young husband, is probably something that we have all done. Has anyone ever done anything like this? Hopefully not on the way to church this morning! Does it mean that mean that we are failures as Christians? No, it means that our bodies can be weak and frail. We as human can be weak and frail, and sometimes we can react negatively to these realities.

          The Apostle Paul pulls no punches in our Book of Hebrews reading for this morning in 4:12-14 when he says:

¹² Indeed, the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. ¹³ And before him no creature is hidden, but all are naked and laid bare to the eyes of the one to whom we must render an account                        (Heb. 4:12-14, NRSV).

          The scriptures can be direct, sharp, and sometimes they pull no punches. You see, it is not that most of want to sin, it is that we are human. As humans we need the grace of God in Jesus Christ. We do not need this grace just once when we come to believe in Jesus Christ either, we need it continually, and every day. The reality then, is that all of us have said in some form or fashion what Jesus said from Psalm 22:1 this morning. Maybe some of us have said this to God, and maybe some of us have said it to others. Imagine if you were to say, “My friend, my friend, why have you forsaken me?” Or “My child my child, why have you forsaken me?” we have all done this in one way or another.

          In looking briefly at our gospel of Mark reading for this morning, we have what is commonly known as “The Parable of the Rich Man.” Once again, this gospel reading says of Jesus starting in 10:17:

¹⁷ As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” ¹⁸ Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. ¹⁹ You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; You shall not defraud; Honor your father and mother.’” ²⁰ He said to him, “Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth.” ²¹ Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, “You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” ²² When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions (Mk. 10:17-22, NRSV).

          After this the gospel then picks up in 10:23 saying:

²³ Then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” ²⁴ And the disciples were perplexed at these words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! ²⁵ It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” ²⁶ They were greatly astounded and said to one another, “Then who can be saved?” ²⁷ Jesus looked at them and said, “For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible” (Mk. 10:23-27, NRSV). 

          You see, earthly wealth is not against God, but putting earthly wealth before God, and being greedy is against God. If you accumulate some earthly wealth and possessions, there is nothing wrong with this if your generous and if you understand that what you have is Gods. We are essentially managing what God has entrusted us with.

Further, Jesus tells us once again that we as mortals cannot be like God by ourselves, but that with God all things are possible. Through Christ we can be saved, we can do better and be better, for a world that desperately needs it. Jesus then tells us once again that we will be rewarded for serving and following him. We will have earthly rewards of all different kinds, and many heavenly rewards. This being said, Jesus reminds us to be humble, in that whoever is first, will be last, and whoever is last will be first.

In summing all of this up then, why did Jesus in the gospel of Matthew and Mark quote Psalm 22:1 for this morning? Jesus did this, because the human part of him bore the weight of the sins of the world, and this was so much that the human part of Jesus, even Jesus, for a moment, just a moment, felt disconnected from God the Father. This is why Jesus said this. Amen.