Sidney UMC - Easter/Resurrection Sunday - 03/31/24 - Sermon - “The Hope of New Life Now and For Eternity!” (“Resurrection Hope” Series: Part 7 of 7)

Sunday 03/31/24 - Sidney UMC 

Sermon Title: “The Hope of New Life Now and For Eternity!”     

                                (“Resurrection Hope” Series: Part 7 of 7)                           

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

New Testament Scripture: Acts 10:34-43

Gospel Lesson: John 20:1-18

          He is Risen! He is Risen Indeed! Alleluia! Happy Easter everyone! Happy Resurrection Day everyone! On this day, on this Easter Sunday, we and all of humanity are offered “The Hope of New Life Now and For Eternity!” through Jesus Christ. For on this day nearly two-thousand years ago, the reality of who Jesus claimed he was, and everything he did and said was cemented by him returning to life from death on that first Easter Sunday. Specifically, in our United Methodist Church “Articles of Religion,” this is what it says happened in part on Easter Sunday:

Article III — Of the Resurrection of Christ

Christ did truly rise again from the dead, and took again his body, with all things appertaining to the perfection of man's nature, wherewith he ascended into heaven, and there sitteth until he return to judge all men at the last day (https://www.umc.org/en/content/articles-of-religion).

          Now Jesus has not ascended to heaven on this day, but He is Risen. He is Risen Indeed! Alleluia! Due to this, Christians have celebrated this day, Easter Sunday or Resurrection Sunday for almost two-thousand years. On this day, the common day of worship for many Christians, Sunday, Jesus is risen! This is why, once again, so many Christians’ worships on Sundays.

          Beyond just the historical reality of Jesus’s resurrection and empty tomb though, does this day have any other significance for this day or our lives today? I would argue that on this, all of humanity can no know for sure that we can be forgiven, that we can be restored, and that we are all offered “The Hope of New Life Now and For Eternity!” Other than just an event, other than just a miracle, today is what makes Jesus’ death on Good Friday matter, and what makes our faith powerful and transformative. Today is about life, light, and love. Today Jesus overcame, and as a result, we can claim “The Hope of New Life Now and For Eternity!”

          Having new life and having a new sense of hope is powerful. Maybe some of us can relate to this. As I said, maybe some of us have had times in our lives where we thought everything was lost, that there was no hope, and that there was no way forward. If you or someone you know has ever felt this way, then you are not alone, as many people have felt this way, or still do. Jesus’s friends and disciples no doubt felt this way, until the morning of Jesus’ resurrection. They were not sure what would happen on this day, but imagine what it is like to have your crushed dreams, and your hopeless situations restored in an instant?

          We are reminded of this in our Psalm 118 reading for this morning, as we hear in Psalm 118:1-2 once again:

¹ O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his steadfast love endures forever! ² Let Israel say, “His steadfast love endures forever” (Ps. 118:1-2, NRSV).

 

          The love of Christ is as resurrected love, and eternal love, and an endless love.

 

          Sometimes though if someone is overcome with grief, or is really struggling it can be hard for them to claim “The Hope of New Life Now and For Eternity!”. I would submit and I will claim that on this day, Easter Sunday 2024, March 31, 2024, to be exact, that power of the Jesus’ resurrection can still transform us, and can still transform the world! The power of Easter, the power of resurrection is us embodying this truth in our hearts and our souls. The fullness of Easter, is us living and loving all people like Jesus, yet inviting as Jesus said, to go and sin no more.

          This is the belief that through the resurrection power of Christ that things can be better, and that God can use us to make things better. When we give up on the power of the resurrection, we give up on hope itself. I don’t know about you, but I have hope, I want hope, and I want to believe in the good things that God can do.

Today, this Easter or Resurrection Sunday, reminds us then that hope wins, that our love for Christ wins, that joy wins, that kindness wins, that Biblical justice wins, and that mercy wins. Beyond just a historical event and toy set that Pastor Paul owns then, today we are offered “The Hope of New Life Now and For Eternity!”. Do we claim this Hope and New Life? Or is it just another Easter Sermon, before an Easter Egg hunt and an Easter dinner?

belief in Jesus’ resurrection is transformative. As Christians we believe that the highest ideal that we can have in this world is to live and love like our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. For if he was the greatest person to cross the horizon of this world, and if we can be more like him, what a world we would have indeed. Make no mistake, all Christians are call to unconditionally love, uphold, and to respect the full dignity of all people, while following Christ the best we can.

          After Jesus ascended into heaven, we have the story of the early Christian Church in the Book of Acts, or also called the “Acts of the Apostles”. We have a reading from this morning from Acts 10:34-43. Once again in this reading it begins in 10:30 with the Apostle Peter saying:

³⁴ Then Peter began to speak to them: “I truly understand that God shows no partiality, ³⁵ but in every people anyone who fears him and practices righteousness is acceptable to him. ³⁶ You know the message he sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ—he is Lord of all. ³⁷ That message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John announced: ³⁸ how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him (Act 10:34-38, NRSV).

 

          The Apostle Peter is saying that we live like and for Jesus. The highest goal of the Christian life, as I said, is to fully live like and love like Jesus, through the power of the Holy Spirit. You see the future of the church, any church, our church is not rooted on whether or not we all like Coke or Pepsi, on whether we like Ford or GMC, on whether we like the New York Yankees or the New York Mets, instead the future the church is us being focused on Jesus. When the church is focused on Jesus, it has a bright future indeed!

          The Apostle Peter then continues on in our Acts 10:34-43 reading, once again, and says this is not just mythology or midrash to us. Peter said that he, the other disciples and many other met and knew Jesus. They became convinced of who Jesus was not only by hearing, but also be seeing and experiencing. Church tradition holds that all but the Apostle John died brutal deaths for their faith and beliefs in Jesus, and only someone who was convinced that Jesus was Lord and Savior would be willing to go to this length to retain their faith.

          The Apostle Peter then explains, as I said, that he and many other witnessed Jesus’s life on earth, and all he did. Peter says that they put him to death, but that three days later, on this day, God raised him to new life. Further, Peter said that after Jesus’ resurrection that many saw and interacted with him. Peter said, we have been offered forgiveness, new life, and hope through Jesus. Easter Sunday for Christian then, is about much more than bunnies and jelly beans.

          In looking at our gospel of John reading, we have one of the narratives of Jesus’ resurrection. It is true to say that gospels present the resurrection story a little differently, as far as who arrived at the empty tomb first, and the events, their in. Yet all the gospels affirm an empty tomb. Since Mary Magdalene is often considered the first of Jesus’ followers to be at the empty, she is the first person to attest to and affirm the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Sure, the men seemed to take all the credit, but Mary Magdalene was the first. Mary Magdalene is considered the first witness and preacher of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

          In revisiting our gospel of John account of the resurrection for this morning it says once again, starting in John 20:1:

20 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. ² So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” ³ Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went toward the tomb. ⁴ The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. ⁵ He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. ⁶ Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, ⁷ and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. ⁸ Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; ⁹ for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead (Jn. 20:1-9, NRSV).

           When hear in our gospel of John reading about how Jesus’ linen wrappings and the cloth on Jesus’ head being in rolled up in a place by itself. In past Easter Sunday sermons, I have talked about this face or head covering being separate and rolled up, as a sign that the master, Jesus Christ, would return one day.

The rest of our gospel of John lesson of course then continues with Simon Peter and James returning to tell everyone that Jesus’ tomb is empty, and they did not know fully yet why the tomb was empty. Mary Magdalene stays behind though, and was weeping over the whole thing. Mary sees two angels, and then Jesus, but at first mistakes him for the gardener. After seeing Jesus, she triumphantly heads home to declare to the world that she has indeed seen the resurrected Christ. For Mary Magdalene is the first witness to resurrection of Jesus Christ.

All of this points to this fact my friends, that on this day, Jesus is alive, alive in us, alive in glory, and when we leave today may we offer new love, new hope, and new life to this world. This world needs you, and needs your gifts and your graces. Live like resurrection power is within you, and offer the world “The Hope of New Life Now and For Eternity!”.

Lastly, I just want to say what a profound honor and privilege it has been these last six-years to serve as your pastor, and to serve Sidney and Sidney Area. I have baptized some of you and or your family members. I have done funerals, burials, and celebrations of life for some of your friends and family. You have allowed me into spiritual places, that only a trusted pastor or priest has access to. I want you know, that you all have changed me for the better, and have made me a better pastor, a better husband, and a better man. I am profoundly grateful for each and every one of you, will miss you all, will always be praying for you.

With this said, this what I would I encourage you all to do. Stay together as the body of Christ, for your joined or came to a church, not a pastor. Look around you, these are your brothers and sisters in Christ, and I would encourage you to stay connected to each other. Stay connected, and await your next incoming pastor.

Finally, I will say this last thing to you all. Quoting the Book of Jude in the New Testament 1:3, I want to read this verse to you:

³ Beloved, while eagerly preparing to write to you about the salvation we share, I find it necessary to write and appeal to you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints (Jude 1:3, NRSV).

 

Friends keep Christ at the center of your life, preach his gospel of repentance, restoration, and resurrection hope. For as you have heard me say many times, we stand in a line of heroes and we stand on the shoulders of giants. We are here, and have the faith we have because of the countless generations that have gone before us. So, keep the faith and live the faith, because Sidney, the Sidney Area, and the world needs it now more than ever. With this said, He is Risen! He is Risen Indeed! Alleluia! Happy Easter everyone! Amen. 

Sidney UMC - Good Friday - 03/29/24 - Sermon - “The Boundless And Sacrificial Love Of God!”

                     Good Friday 3/29/24 - 6 PM - Sidney UMC

Sermon Title: “The Boundless And Sacrificial Love Of God!”          

Old Testament Scripture: Psalm 22                                      

New Testament Scripture: Hebrews 10:16-25

Gospel Lesson: John 18:1-19:42

          So, I remember earlier in my time in ministry when someone asked me around the time of Good Friday, how could the day that Jesus was tried, rejected, mocked, tortured, and crucified, be called “Good Friday”? I mean how could such a day of such awful events be “good?” It’s a fair question, isn’t it?      

In getting into the answer of this question, today is a day that Christians the world over have remembered and have commemorated for nearly two-thousand years. Marking this day, worshiping on this day, telling the story of this day is an important part of our Christian faith and tradition. In fact, in some Christian Churches like in Roman Catholic Churches or in Episcopal Churches, this day is literally laid out in numbers/images around the church’s sanctuary. These stations or numbered markers are the events of this day.

          Our Holy Week, began this week with Palm Sunday, Jesus entering Jerusalem to the shouts of “Hosanna,” and palms. The week then continued, as Jesus continues loving, healing, and forgiving. On Monday of this week, Jesus cleansed the temple, flipped the tables of the money changers, released the sacrificial animals and threw out the vendors selling these animals. On Tuesday, Jesus confronted the hypocrisy of the some of the religious leaders. On Wednesday, Judas Iscariot betrays Jesus for 30-pieces of silver, the cost to buy a slave at that time. Yesterday on Maundy or Holy Thursday, Jesus had the Last Supper in the Upper Room in Jerusalem with his disciples. After likely eating the Passover Seder dinner, Jesus took bread and wine and he instituted Holy Communion or the Lord’s Supper. Jesus also washed the disciples’ feet, and gave us the “Maundy” or the commandment to love each other, as Jesus has loved us. Judas Iscariot then of course leaves the Last Supper to officially betray Jesus.

          After the Last Supper, Jesus goes to the Garden of Gethsemane, and prays all night long. He asks a couple of his disciples to stay awake, but they both fail to do this both times that Jesus asks them to do so. On this day, in the early morning, Judas Iscariot greets Jesus with a kiss, even though he betrayed him. Jesus is arrested, Peter will deny him three times, and the majority of Jesus’ followers scatter out of fear.

          Today’s saga will then play out as Jesus is brought before the high priest, the Roman Governor of Judea, Pontius Pilate, and the King of Judea, Herod Antipas. You can see how this week, Holy Week, can therefore seem similar to a stage production, as the story of this week keeps unfolding. Every year for centuries we have gone through this week and the events of this week, as it is our faith and our tradition.

On this day that we have come to call Good Friday, the religious leaders clearly wanted Jesus dead, as he was a threat to their authority and their power. The King of Judea, Herod Antipas finds no fault in Jesus, as the high priest and the Pharisees tear their robes open feeling Jesus was committing blasphemy in claiming to be God in the flesh on earth, while the Roman Governor of Judea, Pontius Pilate, seems to not want to deal with Jesus at all. Pontius Pilate even offers to release Jesus or the bandit Barabbas to appease the angry mob (Jn. 18:1-18:40, NRSV).

          The pressure continues to build, as the crowd shouts for the bandit Barabbas to be released and for Jesus to be retained in Pontius Pilate’s custody. Barabbas is released, and then things move to a fever pitch with shouts to crucify Jesus. Many in the crowd shouted “Crucify him! Crucify him!” (Jn. 19:6, NRSV). Pilate has Jesus flogged and whipped to try to appease the crowd, but this does not appease the crowd. Eventually, Pontius Pilate conceded to the mob and has Jesus crucified. Jesus carries his cross, but will end up getting help from Simon of Cyrene. By the time Jesus gets to the cross he is marred, whipped, beaten, and barely recognizable as a man. Jesus is crucified along with two other criminals. One of these criminals rejects Jesus, and once accepts him. Jesus prays for those who are harming him, condemning him, mocking him, and even spitting on him. Jesus asks his beloved disciple John, who is the only disciple of the twelve disciples at the cross, to take care of his mother Mary. Jesus had a crown of thorns placed on his head, and has been treated is ways that are cruel and demeaning. Pilate has a sign nailed to Jesus’ cross above his head in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek that reads “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews” (Jn. 19:19, NRSV).

          In addition to all of this, at Jesus’ crucifixion some of the prophecies of the Old Testament or the Hebrew Bible come to fruition, as well. These prophecies of old, like casting lots for Jesus’ clothes, or none of Jesus’ bones being broken, etc. occurred. We also hear once again in tonight’s reading from Psalm 22, in 22:1a the Psalmist says:

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

          Jesus is recorded saying these words from Psalm 22:1a in Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34. The great saga of this day, as this great stage production that we move through every year on Holy Week continues.

In our reading from the Gospel of John 18:1-19:41, Jesus says, “It is finished” in 19:30, bows his head and gives up his spirit. Jesus has died. He then is taken off the cross, as the Sabbath Day, which is sundown on Friday to sundown on Saturday was quickly approaching. Jesus was wrapped in linens and a mixture of myrrh and aloes were put on his body. Jesus’ body was placed in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea, and this is how the great saga of this week, Holy Week, continues.

          So how then, as the person asked me some years ago can this day be called “Good Friday?” One good answer is written in the gospel of Matthew 27:51, which says upon Jesus dying this:

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

Further, this is reinforced our scripture reading for tonight from Hebrews 10:16-25, it says once again in 10:19-22:

“Therefore, my friends, since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain (that is, through his flesh), and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us approach with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water” (Heb. 10:16-25, NRSV).

 

          You see, when Jesus died, the veil or the curtain in the great temple in Jerusalem that separated the high priest from the holiest room in the temple was torn. This room could normally only be entered into by the high priest, and only once a year. In fact, a rope would be tied around the waste of the high priest. Should God find him unworthy, and he be struck down dead, the other religious leaders would just pull him out. I mean after all, if the high priest were struck down, what hope would there be for the rest of them.

          Jesus dies, and the sins of the world dies with him. Today then could simply be seen as merely a saga alone, or part of the stage production alone. We can view today merely as the events of Jesus’ trial, crucifixion, and death, or we can realize as my sermon title for tonight says today is a day about “The Boundless And Sacrificial Love Of God!” Death on this day has been swallowed up in victory. For on this day, the only perfect and the only sinless person, who was fully God and fully human, Jesus Christ, dies for the sins of the world. Jesus dies for us, as measure of unfathomable love, and this open door is offered to us all. The torn veil in the temple shows us that all people are invited into the forgiveness from Christ that this day offers. Today is good, because Christ our Lord dies for us. Jesus does so because on this day and always he embodies “The Boundless And Sacrificial Love Of God!”

          Today then is not just a legal transaction. Jesus did not just die this day to merely just check a box. This is to say, Jesus did not just die a brutal death to only fulfill some sort of contractual agreement. Jesus died this day, willingly. He could have gotten out it. He could had denied everything he said and taught. Jesus had a way out. Yet Jesus chose the nails, and chose the cross. On this day Jesus shows us all “The Boundless And Sacrificial Love Of God!”

          Some have argued that events of this day are just simply too brutal. Some have argued why did the events of this day happen or need to happen? Couldn’t God just forgiven us they ask? Sure, but this day was preordained before time itself. We hear in the gospel of John in chapter 1 these words regarding Jesus in 1:14-17:

¹⁴ And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. ¹⁵ (John testified to him and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’ ”) ¹⁶ From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. ¹⁷ The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ (Jn. 1:14-17, NRSV).

          Today’s events were planned before time itself, and God’s plan to reconcile humanity through the life, love, light, and death of his son was God’s plan to redeem humanity before time itself.

          Only a perfect spotless lamb’s blood would save the Israelites first born on that first Passover in Egypt, and on this day the death and blood of Christ saves us all. We cannot earn it, we cannot buy it, instead it just is. God in the flesh came to this earth to teach us a radical new way of loving, healing, and forgiving, and this love was so great, it even went to death on a cross.

          Do we receive this free gift of grace and salvation offered so freely to us through Jesus Christ. Who deserves it? No one does. Who is offered it? Everyone is. All of need Jesus, and today all people, without exception are offered new hope, redemption, forgiveness, salvation, and eternity through the cross of Christ. For today is about “The Boundless And Sacrificial Love Of God!” Beyond just Jesus’s brutal death, is the new hope that is brought through the life, love, death, and soon resurrection of Jesus Christ. For today Jesus shows the world and us “The Boundless And Sacrificial Love Of God!” Happy Good Friday. Amen.

Sidney UMC - Maundy/Holy Thursday - 03/28/24 - Sermon - “The Night Of The New Covenant!”

       Maundy/Holy Thursday 3/28/24 - 6 pm - Sidney UMC

Sermon Title:     “The Night Of The New Covenant!”                     

Old Testament Scripture: Psalm 116:1-4, 12-19                                  

New Testament Scripture: 1 Corinthians 11:23-26

Gospel Lesson: John 13:1-17, 31b-35  

Tonight, is the night before the arrest, the trial, the torture, the crucifixion, and the death of Jesus Christ our Lord. This night is significant, because in that upper room in Jerusalem, Jesus and his disciples celebrated, the Jewish Passover Sedar dinner. In addition to this Jewish celebration of the death of the passing over of the firstborn child in Egypt, the Israelites celebrated the first Passover dinner that night. On that first Passover night in Egypt, long before Jesus was born, the Israelites were instructed to sacrifice a pure and spotless lamb. They were to then take the blood of the lamb and spread it over their doorposts and lintels. The blood of the spotless lamb protected the oldest child of each family for a night from death, but Jesus, our new Passover Lamb, covers our hearts and our souls for eternity with his shed blood. On this night in that upper room so long-ago, Jesus gave us the sacrament of Holy Communion or the Lord’s Supper, he gave us the ordinance and gift of the washing of the feet, and he also gave us the commandment, or the “maundy,” or mandate, to love each other.

Some Christian Churches or denominations have what they call a “Maundy Thursday” service, and some have a “Holy Thursday” service, during Holy Week. You have probably have heard both names before, but the question is why are some services called “Maundy Thursday,” and some services called “Holy Thursday?” First let me explain why some churches have a “Maundy Thursday” service. According to a source that I researched it said this of “Maundy Thursday”:

It is the fifth day of Holy Week, preceded by Holy Wednesday and followed by Good Friday. "Maundy" comes from the Latin word mandatum, or commandment, reflecting Jesus' words "I give you a new commandment" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maundy_Thursday).

          So, the Latin word “mandatum” means “mandate.” On this night Jesus gives us the “maundy” or the “mandate” to love each other. It is quite a big night in what would become the Christian faith. For on this night, in that upper room in Jerusalem, the holy city, we once again have three big things that occur. While all three are important on this night, it is still “The Night Of The New Covenant!” Tonight, the bread and wine, or grape juice in our case, are consecrated, celebrated, and shared, not just because it is a sacrament or gift, but because in it and through this we offered the new covenant, the new agreement with God through Jesus Christ. For on this night, we are no longer living under the Law of Moses, but we are not living under grace. We are on this night, living under the grace of Jesus Christ, our new Passover Lamb. The blood of Christ however, will not save us for the night like the Passover Lamb in Egypt die, but for eternity, if we turn to him.

          Now the events of this night, this “Last Supper” as we have come to call it are in all four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, but there are some differences in some details among the gospels. Further, during Jesus’ life the Passover happened only in Jerusalem, because this is where the great temple of God was. The Jews, therefore, had been celebrating the Passover long before Jesus and his disciples walked on this earth. We have every reason to believe that Jesus and his disciples then ate the other Passover foods, as well, but we tend to hon in on what Jesus does at this supper with the bread and a cup of wine.

In fact, the Apostle Paul tells us specifically of this night in the upper room, this Last Supper. In our reading for tonight from 1 Corinthians 11:23-26, it says of the bread and cup more specifically:

^“For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes” (1 Cor. 11:23-26, NRSV).

On this night almost two-thousand years ago, Jesus sits with the disciples, his friends, and he tells them that he is the new Passover. The lambs that were slain in Egypt, so that death would Passover there first born for a night, have now all turned into him. He is the new sacrificial lamb, and his body, like the bread, and his blood, like the cup will be broken and poured as an offering for all of humanity. This new covenant or agreement is not like the old covenant or law of Moses, as this covenant is established through the broken body and the shed blood of Jesus Christ.

Christ dying on the cross, tomorrow on Good Friday, and his resurrection on Sunday cements the salvation of all humanity past, present, and future, forever. All we need to do is repent of our sins and turn to Jesus Christ, and eternal death will pass us over. So, Holy Communion or the Lord’s Supper, as our communion altar says, is something we do, as Jesus said, “In Remembrance of Me.”

While our Gospel of John reading once again does not talk about the Last Supper itself, it is implied as the scripture says that Jesus got up from the table. Clearly this table, was the table of the Last Supper. Jesus then washes the feet of his disciples, and Peter wants no part of this initially. Jesus then gives his disciples a new commandment, or “maundy,” or a “mandate,” to love each other. Jesus says that the world will know that we are his disciples by the love that we have for one another.

          One of the reasons that we have our Sharing the Peace of Christ portion of our church service after the washing of the feet, or hands in this case tonight, is because that’s when Jesus gave us the commandment, or the “maundy,” or the “mandate” to love each other. So, when we share the peace of Christ with each other tonight, after we do foot/hand washing, we will then be practicing the “maundy” or the “mandate” to love each other.

          So tonight, on this Maundy/Holy Thursday, Jesus and his disciples eat the Passover Seder, Jesus institutes Holy Communion or the Lord’s Supper with the bread and wine. Jesus washes the feet and gives us the “maundy,” or the “mandate,” or the commandment to love each other. As my sermon title says for tonight though, tonight is “The Night Of The New Covenant!” Dear friends, brothers and sisters in Christ, happy Maundy/Holy Thursday. Amen.

Sidney UMC - Palm/Passion Sunday - 03/24/24 - Sermon - “Hope Through Humility and Simplicity!” (“Resurrection Hope” Series: Part 6 of 7)

                                   Sunday 03/24/24 - Sidney UMC

Sermon Title:   “Hope Through Humility and Simplicity!”                         (“Resurrection Hope” Series: Part 6 of 7)                                                                                                                            

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

New Testament Scripture: Philippians 2:5-11   

Gospel Lesson: Mark 11:1-11   

          Sometimes in our lives we over complicate things. Sometimes there are very basic and very simple things, but we sometimes make them much more complicated than they need to be. For example, some of us might be going somewhere special, and we spend an hour trying to figure what to wear, how to do our hair, etc. Sometimes we over think things that are simple, and even that are humble and basic.

          Sometimes some of us lose sleep, worry, or stress about things, that when looking back later, we realize were small, simple, and humble. In our busy and technologically advanced culture, sometimes we make things so complicated. Sometimes an understanding of Jesus, and coming to Jesus becomes over complicated. Yet, I think that coming to Jesus is in many ways simple and something the requires our humility.

          I mean how much simpler can it get? God sent his only Son to earth, and this son taught, loved, healed, forgave, and has transformed the whole world. All we have to do is have faith “Through Humility and Simplicity!” We realize that on our own, all of us, including me, and including you, are incapable of living fully independent of sin and darkness. This is all of us, not just some. We realize that we want and need spiritual freedom, and the answer my friends is faith in Christ “Through Humility and Simplicity!” Jesus made it so easy for us, that if we through “Through Humility and Simplicity!” turn to him, we can be restored to new life, we will be forgiven, and we can live a life of victory!

          For God in the flesh came among us to be like one of us, to live like one of us, so that we might have hope and spiritual restoration in and through him. Further, we can then live out that faith, that discipleship, that love, that community, and that hope, not only individually, not only in our families, not only in our church families, but in the whole world!

          I mean in many ways John 3:16 can’t be any simpler or humbler, as John 3:16 says:

¹⁶ ‘For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life (Jn. 3:16, NRSV).

          So basic, so simple, so humble, but many of us often have a tendency to over complicate things that are so uncomplicated. Next Sunday, is Easter or Resurrection Sunday. Next Sunday, we will celebrate Jesus Christ our Lord physically rising from the dead, after three days, triumphing of sin, evil, darkness, and hopelessness. Today on this Palm or Passion Sunday, Jesus enters the holy city of Jerusalem, or Zion as it often called in the Old Testament or the Hebrew Bible. In this scene, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, enters the holy city, Zion, Jerusalem, not in limousine, or a gold covered chariot. Jesus Christ, God in the flesh enters the holy city on a donkey, a colt.

          If we were going to make a grand entrance, if we were going to a grand event, would be simple about it, or would make it more complicated? If you were to have the savior the world, God in the flesh enter Jerusalem to start the Jewish Passover celebration, how would you have him enter? In my sermon for this morning being called “Hope Through Humility and Simplicity,” I think that Jesus this morning wanted us to see who he was on this Palm or Passion Sunday in a simple and even humble way.

          Just think of it, the savior of the world coming into Jerusalem to prepare to celebrate the Passover, but he does it on a borrowed donkey, or colt. Cloaks, which a sort of like coats of sorts we place on the donkey or a colt, and Jesus sat on it. As Jesus entered Jerusalem, people cut palm branches from trees, as we have palms this morning, to remember this. People spread their cloaks in the path that Jesus walked in on, and as he entered, in this simple and humble way, or gospel of Matthew reading says in 11:9-10 the people were shouting:

⁹ Then those who went ahead and those who followed were shouting, ‘Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! ¹⁰ Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David! Hosanna in the highest heaven!’                          (Mk. 11:9-10, NRSV).

          The savior of the world enters into the holy city of Jerusalem, or Zion this day, in a simple and a humble way. You see, as I said, Jesus came to live like one of us. How much simpler and humbler could Jesus make it this morning. Turn our lives over to Christ, live for him, and like him. Live simply and humbly, as our savior enter the holy city this morning in this way.

          As many of know through this season of Lent and through easter I have been preaching a sermon series called the “Resurrection Hope” series. Easter Sunday, which is next Sunday, is that day Jesus conquers sin and death when he rises up and leaves him empty tomb. This day is what makes and proves that Jesus is truly Lord and savior. So powerful is the resurrection of Jesus Christ, that most Christian Churches worship on Sunday mornings, making each Sunday a mini-Easter celebration. Even so, we can seek other forms of hope through this season of Lent, Easter, and beyond.

          So far in this “Resurrection Hope” preaching series we have talked about finding “Hope Through Baptism” that we feel and receive. We have talked about having “Hope In Suffering and Surrender!” as we all struggle, and as we all need to continue to surrender our lives daily to Jesus Christ. We have talked about “Hope Through Biblical Justice,” as Jesus flipped the tables of money changers and cleansed the temple. We have talked about “Hope Through Love, Life, and Light!” and last week we talked about “Hope Through Faith and Trust!” This morning, once again, we are talking about “Hope Through Humility and Simplicity!”

          For example, in our reading for this morning from Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29 for this morning, we hear in Psalm 118:1, once again:

¹ O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
    his steadfast love endures forever! (Psalm 118:1, NRSV).

          Simple and basic right? I mean how could we over complicate this, but we so often can do just that. We hear in the same Psalm reading for this morning, foreshadowing Jesus’ triumphant entrance into Jerusalem this morning our gospel of Matthew 11:1-11, in Psalm 118:26, this

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

          Similar to what the people this morning shouted when Jesus came into Jerusalem to prepare to celebrate the Passover “Through Humility and Simplicity!” If we were going to send Jesus into Jerusalem this morning, how would we do it? Would we over complicate it, or would we show the “Humility and Simplicity!” and that our Lord and Savior tried to show us this morning.

          Since Jesus enters Jerusalem this way on this Palm or Passion Sunday, then what does this tell us our faith should be like? A simple faith. A humble faith where love Jesus, and where we love others. At the same time, we are called to humbly and simply turn from sin and darkness towards Jesus Christ. In fact, in our reading from Philippians 2:5-11 for this morning, we hear right away in 2:5-8, once again:

⁵ Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, ⁶ who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, ⁷ but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, ⁸ he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross.

          Jesus Christ, enters into Jerusalem on this Palm or Passion Sunday with humility and simplicity, to remind that he came to this earth feel what we feel and experience what we experience. Jesus enters Jerusalem this day, to give us “Hope Through Humility and Simplicity!”

          In looking, once again, our gospel of Matthew 11:1-11 reading for this morning, it says starting in 11:1, once again:

11 When they were approaching Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples ² and said to them, ‘Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately as you enter it, you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden; untie it and bring it. ³ If anyone says to you, “Why are you doing this?” just say this, “The Lord needs it and will send it back here immediately.”’ ⁴ They went away and found a colt tied near a door, outside in the street. As they were untying it, ⁵ some of the bystanders said to them, ‘What are you doing, untying the colt?’ ⁶ They told them what Jesus had said; and they allowed them to take it (Mk. 11:1-6, NRSV).

 

          I have also found it kind of humorous that Jesus sent two of his disciples in the village to just untie a colt, or donkey depending on your translation, and to just bring it to Jesus. Jesus said this animal had never been ridden. Jesus tells the disciples if they are questioned, to just tell whoever may question them that “The Lord needs it and will send it back here immediately.”’ It’s sort of like a modern version of Jesus wants to borrow your car briefly.

          The gospel of Matthew reading then picks up in Mark 11:7, and finishes in Mark 11:11, saying:

⁷ Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it; and he sat on it. ⁸ Many people spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut in the fields. ⁹ Then those who went ahead and those who followed were shouting, ‘Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! ¹⁰ Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David! Hosanna in the highest heaven!’ ¹¹ Then he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple; and when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve (Mk. 11:7-11, NRSV).

 

            So, this story of Palm Sunday, that many of us have heard many times, where we wave palms and where we shout ‘Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! is to remember and commemorate this our start of Holy Week. On this day, Jesus enters the holy city, Zion, Jerusalem, on a donkey, a colt, to shouts of ‘Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Jesus enters in the humblest and most simple  of ways, to show us his love, his grace, to become like one of us, and to show us how simple and humble faith in him can be. On this day in always may we seek to have “Hope Through Humility and Simplicity!” Amen.

Sidney UMC - Fifth Sunday In Lent - 03/17/24 - Sermon - “Hope Through Faith and Trust!” (“Resurrection Hope” Series: Part 5 of 7)

                                Sunday 03/17/24 - Sidney UMC

Sermon Title:  “Hope Through Faith and Trust!”                             (“Resurrection Hope” Series: Part 5 of 7)                                     

Old Testament Scripture: Jeremiah 31:31-34                                         

New Testament Scripture: Hebrews 5:5-10

Gospel Lesson: John 12:20-33        

          So, I remember that for a while when I was a young adult, my parents attended a Baptist Church in the Adirondacks. The church was a nice small-town church, made up of largely local folks. They had their church dinners and barbeques, adorned with salads, chicken, and Jello desserts. During my parent’s time attending this church, the pastor at one point was going through a challenging time in his own life. I don’t remember why it was a challenging time in the pastor’s life, but the pastor was apparently not sleeping at night. The pastor, I was told, was able to keep it together well enough during the day, and at the church, but the pastor was really struggling.

          I have known various pastors and people that have had struggles like this, and if you have not been sleeping at night, or if you have been struggling, then maybe this sermon is for you. Again, I do not know why this pastor was struggling, but I do remember hearing that on those stressed and anxiety filled nights, that this pastor would sometimes just walk. The pastor would walk the streets, and go here, and go there. The pastor even wrote a capital “T” on one of his hands, as a reminder that he had to trust God. This pastor was seeking “Hope Through Faith and Trust!” To know Christ is to have new life. To know Christ is have light and not darkness.

          Now why do I tell you this story? For two reasons. One, it really fits great into my sermon for this morning! Two, it shows that all people, including pastors, sometimes struggle to have “Hope Through Faith and Trust!” The pastor of the church that my parents attended at the time, eventually got through this hard time, but we all will or have gone through times that we have struggle to have “Hope Through Faith and Trust!”  

          You see, what I am learning at the “ripe old age” of age of Forty-Two, is that things can change in an instant. Our health can change. Someone’s employment situation can change, or someone that we know can suddenly pass on to heaven. Sometimes the things that we think are permanent are so fleeting. I have been guilty sometimes of not “seeing the forest through the trees” in my life, and sometimes I am so focused on where I am at, and what I am doing, that I forget things can change just like that! The “normal” that we may or may not be experiencing right now, can change.

          Again, I don’t know what happened to my parent’s former Baptist pastor, but something happened. Something happened that made that pastor struggle to have “Hope Through Faith and Trust!” So, what do we do friends when these types of things happen to us? The Apostle Paul’s letter or Epistle to the Philippians, we hear in Philippians 4:6-8:

⁶ Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Phil. 4:6-8, NRSV). 

          I am quite confident that my parent’s former pastor knew this scripture, and scriptures like it, but during that period of his life, he was not able to fully embody this. It’s not that many of us seek to not trust God, or to not believe in the scripture, it is that we are struggling to have “Hope Through Faith and Trust!” I could think, for example, that Melissa and I could be here for a long time, but we never really know do we? We are called to try to have “Hope Through Faith and Trust!” even if the unexpected happens. It can be so easy to have “Hope Through Faith and Trust!” when things are predictable and understandable. What would make us lose sleep and walk around town with a “T” drawn our hands though, reminding us to have “Hope Through Faith and Trust!” in God?

          Even though, two weeks from today we will celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ our Lord, and even though this is the ultimate hope of the Christian faith, we can seek hope from many places. Beyond just “Resurrection Hope,” which is the title of this sermon series, we can have other kinds of hope too. On this the fifth Sunday of this seven-week preaching series, we have talked about so far, the “Hope Through Baptism” that we feel and receive. We have talked about having “Hope In Suffering and Surrender!” as we all struggle, and as we all need to continue to surrender our lives daily to Jesus Christ. Last week we talked about “Hope Through Biblical Justice,” as Jesus flipped the tables of money changers and cleansed the temple. Last week, we talked about “Hope Through Love, Life, and Light!” Today once again, we are talking about “Hope Through Faith and Trust!”

          Even though many Christians and others believe that the resurrection of Jesus Christ was a historical event, it is also a cause for hope. Hope that righteousness, goodness, and mercy overcome evil, injustice, and cruelty. This “Resurrection Hope” can then point us to the various forms of hope we have discussed so far, and beyond. This morning as I said though, we are discussing “Hope Through Faith and Trust!” Have there been a time in our lives where we have all lost some faith and or trust in God? Yes, I am sure there have been. Further, if this happened, why did it happen?

          Sometimes in our lives we get comfortable, and we think our present reality is permanent. I have told some people lately, as I am now in my forties that my family and friends circle has changed over the years. Growing up I had grandparents and many more family members than I have now. People pass on and go to be with Jesus, people move away, and our lives change. This can even happen in the blink of an eye. Are we as ready as we can be for such things? Can we have “Hope Through Faith and Trust!” no matter what this world throws at us? For this world my friends will do just that. Do we have “Hope Through Faith and Trust!” that is so strong though, that no matter what, no matter what happens, no matter what changes, that we can have “Hope Through Faith and Trust!” in Christ?

          This is the challenge, and this is what can cause a pastor, like my parent’s former pastor, or anyone to not sleep at night, and to walk around town with a capital “T” for trust written on his hand.

          We are given hope however, in our Old Testament or Hebrew Bible reading for this morning, from the Prophet Jeremiah. Jeremiah talks of a coming savior, who will give us hope, new life, and forgiveness. In our reading from the Book of Jeremiah, it says in 31:31-34, once again:

³¹ The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. ³² It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt—a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says the Lord. ³³ But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. ³⁴ No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, ‘Know the Lord’, for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more (Jer. 31:31-34, NRSV).

          The prophet Jeremiah is telling us that hope is coming, which will come through Jesus. This “Resurrection Hope” is not just mental, but also a deep spiritual “Hope Through Faith and Trust!” God’s love and law will be written on our hearts, and we can have “Hope Through Faith and Trust!” through Jesus. Even though there are times in our lives when we lose sight of this, Jesus is in our hearts if we but invite him in.

          In looking at our reading for this morning from the Apostle Paul’s letter or epistle to the Hebrews, We have a connection of what Jeremiah was saying in 31:31-34. This connection is that God’s love and law is on our hearts through Jesus Christ.

          In looking at our Hebrews 5:5-10 reading for this morning, it says, once again, starting in Hebrews 5:5:

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 for ever, according to the order of Melchizedek.’ ⁷ In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. ⁸ Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered; ⁹ and having been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him, ¹⁰ having been designated by God a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek      (Heb. 5:5-10, NRSV).

          In the flesh part of Jesus, he struggled with the human reality that he was going to be tried, tortured, whipped, and crucified. Jesus did have “Hope Through Faith and Trust!” but he felt the emotions that we feel in the human part of him. For while Jesus was fully God and fully human, he allowed himself to feel and experience what we feel and experience. While we are called to have “Hope Through Faith and Trust!” sometimes it gets away from us. Sometimes we struggle to have “Hope Through Faith and Trust!”, and sometimes this could cause us to not sleep at night, wander the streets, and write a capital “T” on our hand to remind us to trust God.

          This leads us to our gospel of John 12:20-33 reading for this morning. In this reading we have some Greek people that seek to see Jesus, and then Jesus speaks about his death. Starting in John 12:20, the gospel says, once again:

²⁰ Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. ²¹ They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, ‘Sir, we wish to see Jesus.’ ²² Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. ²³ Jesus answered them, ‘The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. ²⁴ Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. ²⁵ Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. ²⁶ Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor. ²⁷ ‘Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say—“Father, save me from this hour”? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. ²⁸ Father, glorify your name.’ Then a voice came from heaven, ‘I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.’ ²⁹ The crowd standing there heard it and said that it was thunder. Others said, ‘An angel has spoken to him.’ ³⁰ Jesus answered, ‘This voice has come for your sake, not for mine. ³¹ Now is the judgement of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. ³² And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.’ ³³ He said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die.                   (Jn. 12:20-33, NRSV).

          Some Greek people wanted to see Jesus, which very loosely, in part, is a foreshadowing of the Christian faith expanding beyond just Jews to the world. When Christianity started it was only a movement within Judaism, but it would then spread to the Greeks and to the world.

          Jesus then speaks of his coming betrayal, trial, torture and crucifixion. Jesus says once again in John 12:27-30:

²⁷ ‘Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say—“Father, save me from this hour”? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. ²⁸ Father, glorify your name.’ Then a voice came from heaven, ‘I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.’ ²⁹ The crowd standing there heard it and said that it was thunder. Others said, ‘An angel has spoken to him.’ ³⁰ Jesus answered, ‘This voice has come for your sake, not for mine (Jn. 12:27-30, NRSV).

          Yet another example, that in the human part of Jesus, Jesus is lamenting the suffering he will soon go through. Jesus is unwavering however, and even God the Father speaks to Jesus audibly in this scene. Even though we all struggle, even if as Jesus said in our gospel of John reading for this morning, if our “soul is troubled,” can we still have “Hope Through Faith and Trust!”?

          This is not always an easy thing to do, but if we have a good church family, good spiritual practices, like prayer, meditation, reading of scripture, etc., and strong support from those we love, we can still seek to have “Hope Through Faith and Trust!”. So, if anyone here is not sleeping a night, and if you have written a capital “T” on you hand to remind you to trust God, remember that you are not alone. There good people in this church, and good people you know in other places to that will walk this journey faith and like with you. Be with these people, for you need them, and they need you!

In this season of Lent, this season that we are awaiting the “Resurrection Hope” of Jesus Christ, may we strive to “Hope Through Faith and Trust!” Amen.