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

Holy/Maundy Thursday 03/29/18 Freeville UMC

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

Old Testament Scripture: Exodus 12:1-14

                                            

New Testament Scripture: 1 Corinthians 11:23-26

                                                   

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(Jn. 1:29, NRSV)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (Jn. 13:34-35, NRSV).

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

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

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

          When Jesus was done with foot washing, he said:

“Do you know what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord—and you are right, for that is what I am. So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. Very truly, I tell you, servants are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them. If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them” (Jn. 13:13-17, NRSV).

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sermon Title: “Jesus fulfilled all of the prophesies”

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

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

                                            

New Testament Scripture: Philippians 2:5-11

                                                   

Gospel Lesson: Mark 11:1-11

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

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

 (Mk. 11:9b-10, NRSV).

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“I Am Who I am” (Ex. 3:14, NRSV).

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jesus then says in Matthew 21:42-43:

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem! Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey” (Zech. 9:9, NRSV).

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

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

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

Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem! Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey (Zech. 9:9, NRSV).

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Freeville/Homer Avenue UMC's - Fifth Sunday in Lent - 03/18/18 - Sermon - “Scripture prophesied it" ("The Power of the Resurrection" Series: Part 3 of 5)

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

Sermon Title: “Scripture prophesied it”

(“The Power of the Resurrection” Series – Part 3 of 5)

Old Testament Scripture: Jeremiah 31:31-34

                                            

New Testament Scripture: Hebrews 5:5-10

                                                   

Gospel Lesson: John 12:20-33

          My dear friends, my sisters and brothers in Christ, welcome again on this the 5^th Sunday of this journey that is the season of Holy Lent. This season that we are called to prepare ourselves in many ways for the trial, the crucifixion, and the death of Jesus Christ our Lord. This season where we are also called to live sacrificially for others, to love boldly, and to care deeply. All of this bringing us ever closer to the love of Jesus Christ and his cross on Good Friday.

          As many of you know, I started a sermon series two weeks ago on “The Power of the Resurrection” of Jesus Christ. I have been talking about the resurrection of Christ not only as a historical event, but also as a very real spiritual, psychological, and a social change that can occur with us, within a group, or even in entire community and or region. Having a sense of hope in the future and a sense of hope in eternity is something that can change us. Further, with the help of the Holy Spirit it is something that can fuel us and shape us do amazing things in the world.

So far in this sermon series, I have preached on a couple of reasons to believe in the resurrection of Christ as a historical event and also as a source of spiritual power. In the first week of this sermon series, I talked about how Jesus himself, in all four of the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, “Proclaimed his own resurrection”. He said that he would suffer, that he would die, and that he would be raised up three days later.

Last week, I talked about how Saul of Tarsus, the Jewish Rabbi or Pharisee encountered Christ on the road to Damascus, and was changed forever. Saul who would become Paul, or the Apostle Paul, or the “Apostle to the Gentiles,” would become one of the biggest evangelists and leaders in the early church. Paul would go on to proclaim with power Jesus’s death as resurrection, as we see in his many epistles or letters in the New Testament

Within all of this though, sometimes in our own lives, it may seem like that “The Power of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ” is beyond our grasps. “Sure the resurrection of Christ may have happened we might say, but I don’t feel any power from it today”. My sermon title for this morning about “The Power of the Resurrection” is called “Scripture prophesied it”. Essentially, in the Old Testament and even in the early parts of New Testament it was foretold or prophesied that Christ would come to love, heal, and forgive, die for us, and then be raised to new life. Even so, maybe we are just in a hard place in our lives right now, and we just can’t see or feel “The Power of the Resurrection” that is coming on Easter, that is here.

Sometimes in our own lives, people try to steer us in this direction, toward the resurrection, and sometimes we just don’t listen. It would almost even seem that some folks in our own lives have the power to see the future regarding our lives. They seem to know what we need, what we need to do, and what will happen to us if we don’t do it. Sometimes we just don’t listen to them though. For example, how many of us have heard the term, “I told you so”? How many of us have heard, “Well it serves you right”?

          For example, Melissa has this big thing for when I am cooking, baking, assembling things, or lost in the car about following the instructions or the directions. I have assured her though on many occasions that all men have such instructions and directions hardwired into our brains. We have this from birth I have told her. In general however, this claim that I have made has not worked out very well.

          There have been a couple of times for example, where we have been assembling a piece of furniture, and Melissa has said something to me like, “I think you are putting that together wrong Paul”. I have then said, “Well how do you know Melissa?” She would then say, “Well Paul, the instructions say different”. To which I would sometimes respond, “I don’t need instructions, there in here” (my head). When I then tried to put the TV stand or something else together and they didn’t look like the picture on the box, but more like a Pablo Picasso painting, what did hear: “Well I told you so,” or “Couldn’t you just have followed the instructions or the directions”.

          I remember when I was a case worker here in Tompkins County about 10-years ago, I went one day to pick up one of the young men that I worked with for a one-to-one mentoring and informal counseling session. This was the winter, and there was a lot of snow on the ground. When I arrived at the house this young man, his younger brother was on the roof with his snow board attached to feet. Apparently, he was awaiting my arrival. Lucky me! When I got out of my car I didn’t even see him at first, until I heard, “He Paul, look”! I looked up in horror, and he said, “I’m going to jump of the roof, then off the car, then onto the driveway, and then snow board down the driveway”. Like when I cook, bake, assemble things, or get lost in the car I encouraged him, as Melissa does for me, to seek an alternate plan down from the roof. Well he didn’t listen to me, and he jumped off the roof. He then bounced off the car, and then landed on the driveway. He didn’t make it down the driveway, as he fell unhurt on the driveway.

          Sometimes in our own lives our ability to see Jesus clearly, to claim his resurrection power through the Holy Spirit might seem out of our reach. If we are in “The Valley” this morning, why do we think that we are there? What is presenting us from claiming the power of Jesus’ resurrection in our own lives?

          In our Old Testament, or the Hebrew Bible, we have the story, the history, poetry, songs, prophecies, and much of the tradition of the Israelite or Jewish people. The Israelite or the Jewish people were people that sometimes like us, were on “the mountain top” of joy in life, and yet sometimes were in “the valley” of life’s lows and struggles. Amidst the ups and downs of the Jewish people, there is this narrative of following God and not following God. Following “the instructions or directions” if you will, and not following the “instructions or directions”.

          Throughout the entire history of the Israelite or Jewish people, God called one prophet and leader after another, to provide the people with hope, love, holiness, and used them to remind, and sometimes harshly, to follow “God’s instructions or directions”. In doing this, many of these prophets and some of these leaders talked and wrote about a day that was coming in the future. On this day, someone new and significant would come to earth. This person would be greater than the great King David. This person would be called Kings of Kings, Lord of Lords, the Good Shepherd, the way, the truth, and the life. Many of the writings in the Old Testament or the Hebrew Bible talked about a savior or a “Messiah” that would come and save humanity.

            In our scripture readings for this morning, we have prophesy of the coming of Christ, from Jeremiah 31:31-34. This scripture once again says:

“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. 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. 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. 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 first written covenant with the people of Israel was partially on the Ten-Commandments that Moses carried down from Mount Sinai, after the Jews fled slavery in Egypt.  This new covenant that Jeremiah speaks of however, will not be on stone, or on paper, but it will be in us, and it will be written on our hearts. This new covenant will be with Israel and house of Judah, as Jesus is from the tribe of Judah. At Last Supper, Jesus took the cup and said,

“This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood”

(Lk. 22:20b, NRSV).

          This “New Covenant,” this thing called salvation and eternity, the crucifixion, death, and glorious resurrection of Christ is something that we can draw spiritual power from. One of the reasons to believe this therefore, is that “Scripture prophesied it”.

          In our reading from the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Hebrews for this morning, the Apostle Paul talked about how it God plan to send his only son Jesus Christ to earth (Heb. 5:5-6, NRSV). Paul also said that God “was able to save” Jesus “from death” and through him

“he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him”

(Heb. 5:7-10, NRSV).

          As the scriptures unfold from the Old Testament to the New Testament, we are given this story of back and forth, ups and downs, leading to the cross of Christ, and then his empty tomb.

So, if we are in place this morning where we are in “The Valley,” I pray that the Holy Spirit would move in us in a new way, and that we might share that love, grace, mercy, and resurrection power with each other.

          Lastly, to briefly mention the gospel of John reading for this morning, Jesus speaks of his coming crucifixion and resurrection when he says,

“The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified” (Jn. 12:23, NRSV).

          Why is Jesus going to suffer and die for us on the cross? Well, Jesus says:

“it is for this reason that I have come to this hour” (Jn. 12:27b, NRSV).

Jesus then says of his resurrection:

“And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself” (Jn. 12:32, NRSV).

          Jesus’ crucifixion, death, and resurrection, I believe are real and powerful. Not only do I believe that they are historical events, but they are realities that can change us all spiritual, psychologically, and socially. For Jesus proclaimed how he would die and live again. The Apostle Paul preached it many places, and the scripture from both the Old and the New Testaments speak of the one who is coming, the one who here, the one who has died, and who has risen. This is why in this the season of Lent our paths, our journeys, lead to the cross. Fear not though on Easter Jesus will be raised to new life.

          My challenge for me, for you, and for us all this week, is to pray, call on God, ask the Holy Spirit to fill us anew, and let us live that great and transforming love out with our neighbors. Amen.

Freeville/Homer Avenue UMC's - UMCOR Sunday/Fourth Sunday in Lent - 03/11/18 - Sermon - “The Apostle Paul proclaimed it" ("The Power of the Resurrection" Series: Part 2 of 5)

Sunday 03/11/18 Freeville/Homer Avenue UMC’s

Sermon Title: “The Apostle Paul proclaimed it”

(“The power of the Resurrection” Series – Part 2 of 5)

Old Testament Scripture: Psalm 107:1-3, 17-22

                                            

New Testament Scripture: Ephesians 2:1-10

                                                   

Gospel Lesson: John 3:14-21

          My friends, my sisters and brothers in Christ, welcome once again on this our Fourth Sunday in this the season of Holy Lent. This season were we are called to prepare our hearts, our minds, our souls, and our bodies for the coming crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ our Lord. Fear not though, a resurrection is coming!

          This Sunday, we also celebrate our United Methodist Church’s relief agency, UMCOR, and we all have an opportunity to give to this ministry today and in general.

          With this said, last week, in an effort to slowly move us towards Easter Sunday, I started a sermon series called “The power of the Resurrection”. The belief in the resurrection of Jesus Christ is central to the Christian faith, our faith witness, and our faith beliefs. Every Christian tradition that I have ever encountered in fact, believes in “The power of the Resurrection” of Jesus Christ. I believe personally that Christ was bodily or physically resurrected on Easter Sunday, while some other Christians and some other Christian traditions might have other understandings of the resurrection of Christ. However people view the resurrection, it is certainly powerful and transformative.

          In this sermon series, as I said last Sunday, it is my hope to convey some of “The power of the Resurrection” of Jesus Christ through different biblical perspectives. Why should we believe in the resurrection Jesus Christ though, and why is there “The power of the Resurrection”? I have picked five of the many reasons that I believe in “The power of the Resurrection” of Jesus Christ.

          Last Sunday, I cited in our gospel reading from John 2:13-22, that Jesus said in his own words:

“Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (Jn. 2:19, NRSV).

          Jesus of course was talking about the temple of his body. He was saying of himself, I will be beaten, whipped, spat upon, crucified, dead, buried, but then rise to new life. Resurrection, “Jesus proclaimed his own resurrection”. Further, you can find Jesus making the predictions of his crucifixion, his death, and his resurrection, in all four of the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

          So while there are many reasons to believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, one the biggest reasons for me, is that Jesus said it would happen in all four gospels.

          Of the many other reasons to believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the next one that I want to discuss this morning is that “The Apostle Paul proclaimed it”.

          Now just as refresher course, the Apostle Paul was not one of Jesus’ original twelve disciples, and he was formally named Saul of Tarsus. Saul of Tarsus was a Jewish rabbi or priest, and he fiercely persecuted the Christians. So much so, that Saul asked the high priest to have letters drafted up to bring the Jewish Synagogues in Damascus, which is modern day Syria. Paul hoped these instructions would not only help the Jews in Damascus and in other places to resist the new faith of Christianity or “The Way” as there were called in their first years of the church. On the way to Damascus to submit these instructions on how the stop the Christians, Jesus appears to Saul. In fact, it says in Acts 9:1-6, speaking of the man who would become the Apostle Paul:

“Meanwhile Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. Now as he was going along and approaching Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” He asked, “Who are you, Lord?” The reply came, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But get up and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do” (Acts 9:1-6, NSRV).

          This set of events concludes with Saul being blinded for three days, finding a man named Ananias in the city of Damascus, being baptized, regaining his sight, and fully becoming a Christian. Saul of Tarsus, the great persecutor of the Christians, will become the Apostle Paul, a mighty man of Jesus Christ.

          Now it is possible that Saul, who would become the Apostle Paul, knew or had met Jesus before he was crucified and resurrected? He could have met Jesus, but we can’t prove this for sure. All we do know is that Paul saw Jesus Christ, a vision of him anyway, and that he was changed. After this the Apostle Paul began to proclaim Jesus’ death and resurrection. This once hater and persecutor of the Christians or “The Way”, became one of the top leaders of the early Christian Church.

          Just to give you an idea once again of the significance of the Apostle Paul, who was once Saul of Tarsus, also called the “Apostle to the Gentiles,” Paul was so significant that of the 27-books of our New Testament, Paul is attributed to thirteen of these books. This means that of the 27-books of your Christian New Testament, Paul is recorded as the author of at least thirteen of those books. These “books” are Epistles or letters, like Romans, Ephesians, Colossians, 1 Timothy, and etc. The reality therefore, is that the Apostle Paul wrote almost 50% of our Christian New Testament.

          Before diving into our reading from the Apostle Paul’s Epistle or letter to the church in Ephesus or the Ephesians for this morning, I want to give you one of the best examples of the Apostle Paul proclaiming the crucifixion, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

          In 1 Corinthians 15:3-8, the Apostle Paul says:

“For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born” (1 Cor. 15:3-8, NRSV).

          The Apostle Paul clearly therefore, proclaimed the life, teachings, crucifixion, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

          In our reading from the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Ephesians for this morning, Paul proclaims the resurrection, but he does it a little differently than the scripture that I just read from 1 Corinthians 15:3-8. Once again the Apostle said in our scripture for this morning from Ephesians 2:1-10:

“You were dead through the trespasses and sins in which you once lived, following the course of this world, following the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work among those who are disobedient. All of us once lived among them in the passions of our flesh, following the desires of flesh and senses, and we were by nature children of wrath, like everyone else. But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God—not the result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life”                       (Eph. 2:1-10, NRSV).

          What is fascinating about what the Apostle Paul does here, is that he not only proclaims the resurrection of Christ, but he then likens what our own lives are like before we have faith in Christ. Specially, he likens our lives before faith in Christ to being similar to Christ being dead in his tomb for three days prior to his resurrection. The Apostle Paul then tells us that when we come to and have faith in Christ that we are spiritually resurrected and alive, as Christ was physically and bodily resurrected and alive. In my belief. This is powerful idea. The idea of physical and bodily resurrection, but also the idea of us being spiritually resurrected. This resurrection power, of us going from guilt, shame, despair, and sin, to new life in Jesus Christ. For the Apostle Paul is saying that this is part of “The power of the resurrection” of Jesus Christ.

          I also wanted to briefly touch upon our gospel reading for this morning from John 3:14-21. Once again, this gospel of John 3:14-21 reading says:

“And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up,  that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. “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. “Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God” (Jn. 3:14-21, NRSV).

In this gospel reading it says in the first verse of the reading,

“so must the Son of Man be lifted up” (Jn. 3:14, NRSV).

This could be interpreted as lifting Jesus up spiritually, lifting up his cross at the crucifixion, and or being lifted up in his resurrection and then his ascension.

While the Apostle Paul however, never saw the empty tomb of Jesus Christ, he believed in the “The power of the resurrection”. This belief changed him, and through it, God used him to change countless others.

As we are preparing in this season of Lent for the trial, crucifixion, death, burial, and then the resurrection of Christ on Easter, are we letting the power of the resurrection change us? Is the power of who Christ is and what he has done for us, bubbling up in us in this season of waiting, this season of Lent?

It is my hope and prayer that we live the power of the resurrection of Christ today, this week, and always. When we great someone in church, we are living resurrection power. When we help or love someone, we are living resurrection power. We when serve the poor, the helpless, and etc., we are living resurrection power. When we give things away that we don’t need, visit the lonely, care for the sick, we are living resurrection power. Will you dare live resurrection power like the Apostle Paul did? Amen.