Sidney UMC - Fifth Sunday in Lent - 04/07/19 - Sermon - “The Many Miracles" ("The road to the cross" - Series - Part 5 of 7)

Sunday 04/07/19 - Sidney UMC

Sermon Title:                “The Many Miracles”

                       (“The road to the cross” Series – Part 5 of 7)

Old Testament Scripture: Isaiah 43:16-21

                                            

New Testament Scripture: Philippians 3:4b-14

Gospel Lesson: John 12:1-8

          Brothers and sisters, friends, welcome again on this the Fifth Sunday in this Season of Holy Lent. This season that we are invited to draw closer to Christ. This season that we are invited to give up, give away, sacrifice, love, care, show mercy, and kindness, as we journey to the cross of Christ together. Next Sunday, which is the beginning of what many Christians call “Holy Week,” we will have Palm Sunday. This is the Sunday that Jesus enters triumphantly into Jerusalem on a donkey/colt. The savior of the world, God in the flesh, who came to be like one of us. God incarnate will enter Jerusalem next Sunday to the shouts of “Hosanna!”

          Four days later on the Thursday of Holy Week, Jesus will have his “Last Supper” with his disciples. At this “Last Supper,” we will be given the sacrament, the gift of Holy Communion. At this supper, Jesus washes the disciple’s feet, and he commands us to love each other, as he has loved us. Our Maundy/Holy Thursday service will be next Thursday April 18^th at 7:00 pm. We will have Holy Communion, foot/hand washing, and we will hear again the “Maundy” or the Mandate to love each other.

          The next day, on Friday April 19^th, we will have Good Friday services at both 12:00 pm and at 7:00 pm. On this day, we are invited to gather to remember, to worship, and to love one another, as we remember how Jesus died for our sins and for the sins of the world. Jesus’ triumphant entry next Sunday April 14^th on Palm Sunday, will soon turn into a cross and a crown of thorns. Be of good cheer though, as a resurrection will come on Easter morning!

          Today though, as I am continuing my sermon series called “The Road to the Cross,” series I want to talk about “The Many Miracles” that Jesus performed. I certainly can’t talk about all of them, as there are many miracles that weren’t even recorded.

          If I pray over a sick person and if God heals them, I am not the one doing the healing. I am just the vessel that God is using to pour out his healing and his grace. Yet as Christians, we are not only a people of resurrection and new life, but we are also a people of miracles. We are people that see, participate in, and experience miracles.

          The other morning, I went out early to let our dog Mylee out. As I opened the door to the parsonage, I heard the sound of geese overhead making the “wronk wronk” noise as they flew. To me, it’s a miracle that every year those geese know when it’s time head north. Did these geese check if Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow? No. Did they see the most recent weather report? No. They just have a natural internal mechanism that tells them that it is time to go home.

          Our dog Mylee could be sound asleep in her crate, but if Melissa or I crack open a banana peel or a cheese wrapper, Mylee is right there!

          In recent weeks I have noticed that the annual flowers that grow around the parsonage every year are growing back strong. It’s a miracle to me that every year the snow fades, the cold leaves, and life just seems to flourish all around us.

          While Jesus was both man and divine, he performed literal miracles, but I think he also taught us see the miracles of God everywhere we look. Before getting into this though, I want to walk through briefly our recent parts of this sermon series.

          I suppose up until now, I have talked about the struggles Jesus had in his human part. That he was “Tried and Tempted,” that he was indeed “Persecuted”. Jesus communicated with his divinity and his humanity that he “came for the sins of all” on earth. That he came to live, love, heal, forgive, and to die for us.

          Last week I said that Jesus “Questioned and Challenged” just about everywhere he went. This week, as I said, I am talking about once again, “The Many Miracles” that Jesus performed.

          As I said, miracles are always the work of God, but as humans we have love, we have kindness, we have mercy, and we have compassion. Our caring, our love, our mercy, our kindness, and our compassion often compels us to want to participate in miracles. If we didn’t care, we wouldn’t pray for anyone, and we wouldn’t want to see anyone healed. Yet, Jesus so often was filled with great love and compassion in his human part that this worked together with his divine part to cause healing and miracles.                   

          In our reading for this morning from the Book of Philippians, the Apostle Paul says again of Jesus Philippians 2:10:

^“I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death,” (Phil. 2:10, NRSV).

          So in addition to our gospel lesson for this morning, what are some of the many miracles of Jesus, as listed in the gospels? Here a few:

          In Luke 8:22-25, Jesus calms the storm that the disciples are stuck in. In John 6:16-21, Jesus walks on water. In Luke 13:11-17, Jesus heals a possessed and crippled woman. In Matthew 14:13-21 Jesus feeds the 5,000 from five loaves and two fish. I could go on and for hours about the miracles that Jesus performed in the gospels. In fact, the gospel of John ends by saying in 21:25:

“But there are also many other things that Jesus did; if every one of them were written down, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written” (Jn. 21:25, NRSV).

          So the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John is everything that we know that is recorded about Jesus’s earthly life. John says that if we wrote down everything that Jesus did that the world would not have enough books to contain it all.

          In the gospels then, Jesus did all manner of miracles. The question though is this, why did Jesus do these “Many Miracles”? Was he simply an army medic that entered the battlefield of this world? By this I mean, did Jesus come just to heal and perform miracles? Was Jesus trying to “whoo” the crowds? Was he a David Copperfield or a Siegfried and Roy? Was Jesus just trying to get famous? What was Jesus’ motive for his “Many Miracles”?

          Now before I jump into our gospel of John reading for this morning, I want to look at the previous chapter first, to better explain the questions that I just asked you. Our gospel lesson for this morning once again, starts after Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. Just to review a little bit about Jesus performing this miracle of resurrecting Lazarus though, it says in John 11:32-37, after Lazarus had died:

“When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus began to weep. So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”

(Jn. 11:32-37, NRSV).

          So I am only giving you a piece of the resurrection narrative of Lazarus in John 11. It says though that Jesus:

“was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved” (Jn. 11:33, NRSV).

          So Jesus, being fully God and fully human on earth, had all the power, grace, love, and divinity of God. He could raise life up, heal, fed, and transform. Yet, in the human part of him he felt what we feel. He was disturbed and deeply moved. In fact, in the next verse, Jesus began to weep or cry.  

          The mission of Jesus Christ was to come to earth to die on a cross for our sins, but he taught us so much along the way. Often in the gospels, the reason Jesus healed someone was due to their faith. Jesus would often tell someone that he was about to heal something like what he says in Mark 10:52:

“Go; your faith has made you well” (Mk. 10:52, NRSV).

          Jesus did miracles primarily so that people would have faith that God sent his only son to earth to die for our sins and to transform the world, but he had perfect love, compassion, empathy, and caring.

          Has anyone here ever looked upon someone who was suffering and wanted to heal them and or take away their suffering? If so, Jesus gets that, and he gets you!

Imagine how he, God in the flesh saw the brokenness of the world every day. He saw a broken world and a broken humanity and performed “Many Miracles”. He didn’t perform these miracles for fanfare, for fame, but did so, so that everyone might believe that the Heavenly Father had sent him to earth for the mission he came for.

          If you see a broken Sidney, a broken world, suffering people, hurting people, and have a heart, have compassion, have love, have kindness, and have mercy to heal and help them, then you understand more the very heart of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. If you want heal the broken, love the lost, then Christ knows all about that. For became one of us.

          In looking at our gospel of John reading for today once again, we enter after Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead. It says once again:

“Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him. Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus’ feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said, “Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?” (He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it.) Jesus said, “Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial. You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.” (Jn. 12:1-8, NRSV).

          So in this gospel lesson once again, Jesus had just raised Lazarus from the dead, and now Jesus is at a dinner with Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. At this dinner, Mary took a costly bottle of perfume, made of pure nard, or spikenard, and she poured it in on Jesus’ feet. She then wiped the perfume off Jesus’ feet with her hair. The house smelled great, and Judas complained because he really wanted the money that he could get for that perfume.

          You might be asking, “Well ok Pastor Paul, where in this gospel reading for this week did Jesus perform a miracle?” The answer is, is that it mentioned Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead, but I think what Mary did was a miracle. She took a bottle of perfume that on some accounts would cost a years’ worth of wages, and anointed Jesus feet with it. I wonder where she learned that kind of love, compassion, caring, mercy, and kindness. I think we all know that she learned all of this even more from Jesus.

          You see while Jesus performed “Many Miracles,” he has also empowered us his people to love, to heal, and to show kindness in his name. Granted only God can perform the miracle, but Jesus has asked us to be like him. He has asked us to go into a broken world and love it and heal it, the way he has taught us to do so.

          So yes, the Geese migrating, the flowers of spring growing, and the birds chirping this time of the year are miracles to me. Have I cured a person with my own power? No, but I have seen people healed with God’s power. Jesus has called us to love, to heal, and to forgive, the way he did. In Jesus’ humanness he gets what it’s like to see suffering and want to heal it, as so many of us do.

          Jesus came to earth to become like one of us, and gets us, and this is what makes him such a personal Lord and savior. He suffered, he healed, he loved, and we all experience all of these things, as well.

           I want to close this message with a really good quote by Saint Francis of Assisi. Here it is:

“We have been called to heal wounds, to unite what has fallen away, and to bring home those who have lost their way. Many who seem to us to be children of the Devil will still become Christ's disciples”. 
http://saintquotes.blogspot.com/2009/05/suffering-helping-others-who-suffer.html).

          Jesus performed “Many Miracles,” and we are called to be like Jesus. Amen.

Sidney UMC - UMCOR Sunday/Fourth Sunday in Lent - 03/31/19 - Sermon - “Questioned and Challenged" ("The road to the cross" - Series - Part 4 of 7)

Sunday 03/31/19 - Sidney UMC

Sermon Title:          “Questioned and Challenged”

                       (“The road to the cross” Series – Part 4 of 7)

Old Testament Scripture: Psalm 32

                                            

New Testament Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5:16-21

Gospel Lesson: Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

          Welcome again on this the Fourth Sunday in this the season of Lent. This season that we are called to prepare our hearts and our minds for the trial, the crucifixion, and the death of Jesus Christ our Lord. Be of good cheer though, for a resurrection will come on Easter!

          This Sunday is also a Special Giving Sunday in the life of the United Methodist Church. This Sunday used to be called “One Great Hour of Sharing,” but it was changed to be called “UMCOR” Sunday at one of our General Conferences. I know that there are a lot of charitable organizations out there that many of us give to. Sometimes we wonder how much of our giving actually helps those in need. UMCOR, or the United Methodist Committee on Relief has an excellent track record for helping those in need. In fact, when a disaster occurs, UMCOR often has what are called “Advances”. These “Advances” are set up so that 100% of those funds get to the people that need them the most.

          When there are earthquakes, we are there. When there are hurricanes, monsoons, or tornadoes, we are there. UMCOR has boots on the ground in natural disasters and troubled situations all over the world. A friend of mine went to an UMCOR training a couple of years ago, and he told me that he learned there that there are two church organizations that are known for responding the quickest to natural disasters. What are these two church organizations? UMCOR and the Mormon Church’s relief agency. I am very proud of our relief agency, and the wonderful work that do each and every day!

          In your bulletin for this morning, there is an envelope to give to this special “UMCOR” giving Sunday. Feel free to put your funds in the envelope in your bulletin, and then put this envelope in the collection plate for this morning. We will then make sure that these funds get to UMCOR and to the people that so desperately need it.

          With all of this said, has anyone here ever had to deal with someone or more than one person that constantly sought to undermine you? You know that person at work that when you were in a meeting would always try to outdo whatever you had just said. You had a great idea, but then they came up with an even better idea. You were doing your job, and they then let you know that you really weren’t doing your job so well. They constantly challenged everything that you did. You were questioned, criticized, and never just allowed to do what you were supposed to do. Has anyone ever experienced anything like this before?

          Or maybe it was a neighbor or someone in town that you were determined to make your friend. Yet, everything you did, everything you tried, was challenged, was questioned. This is why I would never run for elected office, as I know that I would be “Questioned and Challenged” about everything. I wonder what it would feel it be “Questioned and Challenged” constantly? Imagine everywhere that you went that you were “Questioned and Challenged”? Instead of people just allowing you to be you, they instead challenge you. They don’t seem to like you. They want to put you in your place, and they are hoping that you mess up and have a fall from grace. Sometimes we have just encountered people in our lives that for whatever reason just want us to go away and not be around them anymore.

          Well let me illustrate to you what it’s like to be “Questioned and Challenged” with a joke. Here is the joke:

“A scientist went to God and said triumphantly, "We've worked out how to make a man without you." God laughed and said, "Okay then, show me. Go ahead..." So the scientist bent down and picked up a handful of dirt but God stopped him. "Oh no you don't. " said God. "Get your own dirt" (http://laffgaff.com/funny-christian-jokes-and-humor/).

          As many of you know I started a sermon series a few weeks ago, called “The Road the cross”. In this sermon series, I am seeking to connect the human part of Jesus to us. While the historical Christian belief is that Jesus was fully God and fully human on earth, how can we connect to Jesus’ human half? Further, does Jesus understand us and our lives?

          What I have been attempting to lay out in this sermon series, is just how much we can truly identify with the human part of Jesus. Why? The answer is, because Jesus has went through all the highs and the lows we do, but he suffered well beyond what we will ever suffer. Jesus gets us, because he came down from to become one of us.

          In the first week of this sermon series, I talked about how Jesus was “Tempted and Tried” by the devil in the wilderness for 40-days (Lk. 4:1-3, NRSV). Jesus was also “Tempted and Tried” at other times and places, as well. When we have been or feel tempted or tried by this world, or the people in it, Jesus has experienced what we do. He gets us.

          In the second week of this study, I talked about how Jesus was “Persecuted”. Specifically, how people, like King Herod wanted to kill Jesus (Lk. 13:31-35, NRSV). In some areas of the world, if you are a Christian you could be putting your life on the line. Maybe some of us have felt “Persecuted,” marginalized, or threatened. Well guess what, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ knows all about that, because he was “Persecuted” to. Jesus is described in the Bible as a suffering servant, and he knows what life is like, because he lived it. Jesus became one of us.

          Last week, while I didn’t preach, as we had the 150^th anniversary of the Methodist Women, I would have talked about how Jesus, “Came for the sins of all”. Last Sunday Jesus was also “Questioned and Challenged,” but through it all he said we must repent and have faith (Lk. 13:1-9, NRSV).

          Not only did Jesus suffer we have suffered, and even worse, he also came for each and every one of us. Even though we all have or will suffer differently, and even though Jesus understands our suffering, he still came for us all. All of us are sinners, all of us are incapable of doing right all the time on our own. As a result, Jesus came, lived, taught, healed, forgave, loved, was tried, crucified, and died, for all of us. He came for our sins. He lived, breathed, suffered, and died, so that we wouldn’t have to. He came to live like one of us, be like one us, and to die for all of us.

          This Sunday I want to talk about how Jesus was “Questioned and Challenged.” Our gospel of Luke reading for this morning begins once again by saying of Jesus:

“Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them” (Lk. 15:1-2, NRSV).

          Jesus is teaching, loving, healing, and proclaiming the kingdom of God, as he did for three years during his public ministry. In doing this, he was constantly “Questioned and Challenged”. This happened in part for a couple of reasons I think. One, Jesus was doing things that the religious leaders of his day didn’t like or agree with. The religious leaders believed that Jesus was in error. Two, Jesus was wildly popular, and I believe that the religious leaders, the Pharisees, feared losing power to Jesus. If they could trick Jesus, discredit him, or make him look foolish, then they would win. Yet they failed miserably.

          Jesus was “Tried and Tempted,” and never broke. Jesus was “Persecuted,” but never caved in. Jesus “Came for the sins of all,” and he was “Questioned and Challenged”. Yet every time that he was “Questioned and Challenged,” Jesus passed the test.

          In this morning’s gospel lesson from Luke, Jesus is once again mocked a little, but not fully “Questioned and Challenged”. So I am stretching our gospel lesson from this morning a little bit. Let me give you but a few examples though of how Jesus was “Questioned and Challenged” in the gospels.

In Mark 8:11 it says speaking of Jesus:

“The Pharisees came and began to argue with him, asking him for a sign from heaven, to test him” (Mk. 8:11, NRSV).

          In the gospel of Luke 20:1-2 it says of Jesus:

“One day, as he was teaching the people in the temple and telling the good news, the chief priests and the scribes came with the elders and said to him, “Tell us, by what authority are you doing these things? Who is it who gave you this authority?” (Lk. 20:1-2, NRSV).

          A final example from the gospels of Jesus being “Questioned and Challenged” is from the gospel of Matthew 22:33-36, which says of Jesus:

“And when the crowd heard it, they were astounded at his teaching. When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?”                             (Mt. 22:33-36, NRSV).

          So while our gospel of Luke reading for this morning once again has more slander and some grumbling against Jesus in the first two versus, Jesus was “Questioned and Challenged” just about everywhere he went. If you have ever been “Questioned and Challenged,” Jesus get it, and he gets you. He has been there, and he understands us.

          After the two versus of slandering Jesus in our gospel reading for this morning, Jesus then tells my favorite parable or story that he tells in the gospels (Lk. 15:11b-32, NRSV). In this parable or story, Jesus tells us the story that we often know as the story of “The Prodigal Son”. Sometimes when Jesus was “Questioned and Challenged,” or sometimes when he was just teaching the disciples, he would do so with parables or stories. These include the parable of the Mustard Seed, and the parable of the Fig Tree.

          This morning, after being slandered, or lightly “Questioned and Challenged” in our gospel lesson, Jesus then takes his critics to school about the love of God. In this parable of “The Prodigal Son,” a father who had wealth, land, a house, and servants had two sons. One worked hard and stayed with his father at home, and never ask for anything. The younger of the two sons though, went to his father and asked him for his inheritance right then and there. This meant 50% of what the father had. The father agreed.

          The son then went off, and in a polite way to say it, partied and frittered the money away. Where the younger son was broke and hit rock bottom, a great famine hit, and he was penniless. This son found work feeding pigs, an animal that Jews believe to be an unclean animal. So hungry was this younger brother that he was willing to eat what he was feeding the pigs.

          After sucking up his pride, and realizing that he squandered his inheritance, the younger son decided to go home and ask if his father would make him one of his servants. The younger son knew he had done wrong, and knew he was no longer worthy to be called his father’s son. The younger son was embarrassed and had shamed the father and the whole family with his behavior.

          Yet Jesus goes on to say, but this is the level of the love and grace that I am brining to earth. As the defeated, shamed, starving, and broke younger son is heading home, and is at a decent distance from the house, his father saw him. Remember that the younger son had shamed the father and the family. The younger son blew half of the father’s wealth.

          So what does the father of the younger son do? He runs to his son. He puts a robe on him, sandals on his feet, and a ring on his finger. The older brother is angry at the treatment of the shamed younger brother. The older brother tells his father, but how can you treat him this way after what he has done? How come you are going to kill the fatted calf for a feast? The father tells the oldest son, you have always been with me and have had the best of everything that I have had. Once again as the gospel lesson for this morning ends in Luke 15:32, the father says:

“But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.’” (Lk. 15:32, NRSV).

          Jesus Christ, God in the flesh came to earth to love, to heal, to forgive, to live, to die, and to be raised to new life for us. He endured what do and so much more. Jesus Christ, the God man, was “Tried and Tempted,” was “Persecuted,” “Came for the sins of all,” and was “Questioned and Challenged” for us. He did all of this for us.

          So as we journey on the road to the cross together, the road to Good Friday, remember that Jesus has been where we have been. He is a personal savior that gets us, forgives us, and loves us. Even if we have made a mess of our lives, Jesus will run to us, put a robe on us, sandals on our feet, and a ring on our finger, and he will prepare a feast for us. All we need to do is come to him and ask him forgiveness, and he will say:

 “But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.’” (Lk. 15:32, NRSV).

          Praise God, and amen.

Sidney UMC - Second Sunday in Lent - 03/17/19 - Sermon - “Persecuted" ("The road to the cross" - Series - Part 2 of 7)

Sunday 03/17/19 - Sidney UMC

Sermon Title:                    “Persecuted”

                (“The road to the cross” Series – Part 2 of 7)

Old Testament Scripture: Psalm 27

                                            

New Testament Scripture: Philippians 3:17-4:1

Gospel Lesson: Luke 13:31-35

          Welcome again my friends, my brothers and sisters in Christ, on this the Second Sunday in Lent. This season that we are called to give up, give away, to love, to care, and above all else to grow closer to Jesus Christ. This season of Lent, should not be a season of suffering, but a season of humility, faith, generosity, charity, and love. As I said last Sunday, I am giving up pride for Lent, as I seek to grow closer and closer to Jesus Christ. I am hoping with God’s help, to become more humble.

          Last week, for those of you that braved the elements, you know that we started a sermon series called, “The road to the cross”. In this sermon series, I am seeking to have us all understand more, the very human part of Jesus. Historically, the church has believed that Jesus was fully God and fully human on earth, but I believe that sometimes we need to connect more with Jesus’ human side. This is because Jesus’ human side connects to our own humanity.

          In our Lenten book study that we have on Mondays and Tuesday called, “He Chose the Nails,” by Rev. Max Lucado, the first lesson that we have done is entitled:

“He Chose to Be One of Us” (He Chose the Nail, Max Lucado).

          Sometimes a title can say so much. In this first lesson in our Lenten book study, Pastor Max Lucado is saying that God saw fit to have his only begotten son become one of us. This means that Jesus, God, took on flesh, and that he would experience what we experience. This means that God saw fit to come down into our mess. This should be humbling for us to be sure, but this also allows us to see the human side of Jesus, not just the divine side.

          In Jesus’ humanness, what did he encounter? What did he experience? Did he laugh? Did he cry? Did he suffer? In the first session of our Lenten study as I said, we looked at how God “Chose to Be One of Us”. Does Jesus get us or understand us? Does Jesus know what our lives are like? Is he a savior that can be personal and that understands what we feel and what we experience? Well my answer to this is yes!

          So just what did Jesus experience and encounter on “The road to the cross” where he would be crucified and killed on Good Friday? There are certainly so many things that Jesus experienced and encountered, and in this sermon series, I want to talk about just some of the examples of the human part of Jesus Christ.

          Last Sunday in the first week of this sermon series, I talked about how Jesus was “Tempted and Tried” in the flesh. Specifically, in our gospel lesson from Luke 4:1-13 from last Sunday, Jesus was “Tempted and Tried” in many ways (Lk. 4:1-13, NRSV). Jesus had just had the glorious moment of his baptism by his cousin John the Baptist in the Jordan River, and then he, filled with the Holy Spirit, went into the wilderness for 40-days (Lk. 4:1-2, NRSV).

          For those that remember from last Sunday, in this reading from the gospel of Luke 4:1-13, Jesus resisted devil for 40-days. Jesus was hungry, and resisted food, he resisted wealth, riches, and fame, and refused to jump off the temple and dishonor God (Luke 4:1-13, NRSV). Jesus would not jump off of the great temple in Jerusalem simply because the devil “dared” him to do it.

          In the human part of Jesus, I would say that last Sunday we say a resilient, strong, brave, and a tough Jesus. He stood toe to toe with evil. He experienced hunger, temptation, and in general was “Tried and Tempted”. Jesus didn’t back down, and the devil fled from him. Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, was no wimp, as last Sunday he survived 40 brutal days of being “Tempted and Tried”.

          While all throughout the gospels, the devil was constantly tempting and trying Jesus, Jesus also had many people that sought his downfall, here on earth. This is why my sermon for today, which is the second part of my “The road to the cross” series, is called “persecuted”.

          Has anyone here ever felt judged? Has anyone here ever felt persecuted? Or even hated? I don’t mean that you disagreed with someone about something, I mean the fact that you had a different opinion meant that someone hated you. It’s not the same as disagreeing with a family member about politics at the Thanksgiving dinner table, I mean this is hostile.

          This sort of the “persecution” is getting death threats, being told you are unloved, and that you in general are a terrible and an awful person. Jesus, was “persecuted,” and was “persecuted” from the time he was baptized in the Jordan River by his cousin John the Baptist, until he breathed his last breath on the cross.

          So some of Jesus’ “persecutors” didn’t just disagree with him, but they sought his downfall, his death. It’s one thing to disagree, it’s another to want to hurt and to harm someone else. Jesus was “persecuted”. Imagine what it would be like to have people seeking your downfall daily, and maybe even your death.

          In our reading from Psalm 27 for this morning once again, we have a Psalm where King David is no doubt feeling “persecuted”. In fact, in just re-reading the first two versus of Psalm 27, it says once again:

“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When evildoers assail me to devour my flesh—my adversaries and foes—they shall stumble and fall”

(Ps. 27:1-2, NRSV).

          The Psalm continues with King David proclaiming that amidst strife, suffering, and yes “persecution,” God will be with us. In fact, this Psalm ends once again by saying:

“Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!” (Ps. 27:14, NRSV).

          “Persecuted,” King David felt “persecuted”. The “persecution” that Christ experienced though, was on a much higher level.

          In our reading from the Apostle Paul’s epistle or letter to the Philippians for this morning, the Apostle Paul also speaks about suffering and persecution. Specifically, the Apostle Paul talks about those who once again:

“live as enemies of the cross of Christ” (Phil. 3:18, NRSV).

          The Apostle Paul is discussing people that are against Jesus, his cross, and the church. The Apostle Paul encourages us to look toward heaven, and not be consumed with the things of this earth (Phil. 3:17-4:1, NRSV). Or as the great Rev. Billy Graham once said:

“I never saw a U-Haul behind a hearse” (https://www.azquotes.com/quote/1439463).

         

In this scripture from the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Philippians, he is clearly emotional about this reality of “persecution” and selfishness against the followers of Jesus Christ. Once again, the Apostle Paul tells the Philippians that he is writing to them:

“even with tears” (Phil. 3:18b, NRSV).

          All throughout the scriptures, we have people that suffer, that struggle, and are persecuted. Let’s look again though at the one who was the most persecuted, Jesus Christ. In looking at our gospel lesson from Luke 13:31-35, it says once again:

“At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him, “Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.” He said to them, “Go and tell that fox for me, ‘Listen, I am casting out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish my work. Yet today, tomorrow, and the next day I must be on my way, because it is impossible for a prophet to be killed outside of Jerusalem.’ Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! See, your house is left to you. And I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when you say, ‘Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord’” (Lk. 13:31-35, NRSV).

          In this gospel lesson, Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem. In Jerusalem, the capital of Judea or Israel, is where the Roman Governor Pontius Pilate is, and also the Jewish King, King Herod. As Jesus is on his journey to Jerusalem, our gospel reading once again picks up at this point this morning.

          What I have always found interesting about this scripture, is that the Jewish Pharisees, or the religious leaders, warn Jesus. Now remember, these are some of the same Pharisees that try to trip Jesus us, condemn him, shame him, and etc. Yet in this gospel lesson, these Pharisees warn Jesus that King Herod wants to kill him.

          One could ask, “But Pastor Paul, why would the same Pharisees that chanted on Good Friday ‘crucify him, crucify him; now want to help Jesus?” The best answer that I can give for this, is that it wasn’t yet Jesus’ time to die. Also, the Pharisees weren’t bad people, many of them just didn’t like Jesus or what he taught and represented.

          What I also love about this gospel lesson, is that once again, Jesus fires right back at the Pharisees. The Pharisees tell Jesus that King Herod wants to kill him, and Jesus says once again regarding King Herod:

“Go and tell that fox for me, ‘Listen, I am casting out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish my work. Yet today, tomorrow, and the next day I must be on my way, because it is impossible for a prophet to be killed outside of Jerusalem.’ (Lk. 13:32-33, NRSV).

          Jesus is saying that he has no fear of King Herod, and that he must go to Jerusalem, because that is where his mission will come to an end. At his cross on Good Friday, Jesus will give up his life for us, in Jerusalem. Jesus is telling the Pharisees, I am not worried about King Herod, I am worried about fulfilling my mission of loving, healing, forgiving, and dying for the sins of the world in Jerusalem.

          Jesus then concludes this gospel lesson once again, by lamenting on all of the prophets of old, from the Old Testament that were persecuted and even killed. Jesus says once again:

“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! See, your house is left to you. And I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when you say, ‘Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord’”                  (Lk. 13:31-35, NRSV).

          Jesus on earth was “tried and tempted,” and he was “persecuted”. I can’t imagine what it was like to be Jesus from age 30-33 when he died on the cross. From age 30-33, Jesus was “persecuted” everywhere he went. Can any of us here identify with what it feels like to be “tried and tempted,” or identify with being “persecuted”? If you can, then Jesus gets you, and get where you are coming from.

          Jesus on earth was truly God and was truly man, but in his humanness, he experienced what we do, and so much more. He was “tried and tempted,” and today he was “persecuted”. He gets you. He gets me. He is our savior that came among his people, that understands his people, and because of this, we can better understand our savior. Amen.

Sidney UMC - First Sunday in Lent - 03/10/19 - Sermon - “Tempted and Tried" ("The road to the cross" - Series - Part 1 of 7)

Sunday 03/10/19 - Sidney UMC

Sermon Title:            “Tempted and Tried”

                (“The road to the cross” Series – Part 1 of 7)

Old Testament Scripture: Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16

                                            

New Testament Scripture: Romans 10:8b-13

                                                   

Gospel Lesson: Luke 4:1-13

          Once again, happy Lent, as we are, as of this past Wednesday, in the season of Lent. This is the 40-day season that starts every year on Ash Wednesday, and ends right before Easter. We then have Easter Sunday, where we celebrate the glorious risen Christ, our Lord and Savior.

          I read an invitation to the observance of the Lenten discipline to introduce this the season of Lent this past Wednesday, at our Ash Wednesday service. Let me read this to you once again:

“Dear brothers and sisters in Christ: the early Christians observed with great devotion the days of our Lord’s passion and resurrection, and it became the custom of the Church that before the Easter celebration there should be a forty-day session of spiritual preparation. During the season converts to the faith were prepared for Holy Baptism. It was also a time when persons who had committed serious sins were reconciled by penitence and forgiveness, and restored to participation in the life of the Church. In this way the whole congregation was reminded of the mercy and forgiveness proclaimed in the gospel of Jesus Christ and the need we all have to renew our faith. I invite you, therefore, in the name of the Christ, to observe Holy Lent: by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God’s Holy Word. To make a right beginning of repentance, and as a mark of our moral nature, let us now bow before our Creator and Redeemer and ask for forgiveness”.

         

So we are not going to pray right now, as this invitation that I just read invites us to. We are given this season of Lent though, so that we can spiritually prepare ourselves for the coming crucifixion and death of Christ, leading to Easter Sunday.

As I stated on Ash Wednesday, the Bible is full of many 40-day periods, or periods of 40’s. Noah was on the water in the Ark for 40-days, the Jews wandered the wilderness for 40-days, this morning in our gospel reading, Jesus is in the wilderness for 40-days, and this season of Lent, we are given 40-days. The season of Lent also developed out of the tradition of the Christian Church, as Lent is not a Biblical season.

Forty is very a Biblical concept though, and this 40-day season of Lent (minus Sundays, as Sunday is the day of Christ’s resurrection), is the time that we are given to grow closer to Christ in this season. It is amazing to me that for hundreds of years that billions and billions of Christians have engaged in a time of spiritual preparation to prepare for the crucifixion, death, and then resurrection of Jesus Christ. All of us are called to seek after Christ, to be like him, and to move closer into what he has called us all to be. This season then, is all about God, all about Jesus.

Some of us have a tradition of “giving up” something for Lent, as this year I am giving up pride.  Some of you might not think that I have a lot of pride, but I want to continue to grow closer to Jesus Christ. There are times where maybe I have been judgmental, not as loving as I could be, or maybe I have failed to be all that God has called me to be. Instead of getting defensive though, I am repenting and growing closer to Jesus.

          As I said in our Ash Wednesday service, I grew up in a largely Roman Catholic family. I remember every year listening to my aunts and other family members discuss what they were giving up for Lent. One gave up chocolate, one gave up deserts, and so on and so forth. Yet, many years my family members seemed to be grieved and troubled at what they were giving up. It was almost an act of futility and an admission that we must suffer, as Christ suffered for us.

          Lent though, is about Jesus. If we chose to give up something in this period of Holy Lent, let it be because that thing that we are giving up draw us closer to Jesus. If we give up something, may we give it up to draw us closer to God, so that we become more holy and righteous.

          As I also said on Ash Wednesday, I pray that we may give away, not just give up, a variety of things. May we give away things we don’t need, be generous, loving, caring, so that we might draw closer to Christ and to each other.

          So since this 40-day season of Lent, minus Sundays of course, is all about growing closer to Christ, I wanted to start a sermon series this morning about Christ. This sermon series looks at who Jesus was and is, as we are all on a journey on “The road to the cross”. In this period of Lent, we are preparing for the crucifixion, death, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We are, as I just said, (which is the title of my seven part sermon series) on “The road to the cross” together.

          The historic teaching of the Christian Church, is that Christ on that first Good Friday died on a cross for the sins of the world. Outside of this, who was Jesus, and what was he like? This sermon series, “The road to the cross,” will hopefully shed some light on this.

          Now before I begin this sermon series, I want to remind you all that on Sunday March 24^th, I won’t be preaching, as we will be celebrating the 150^th anniversary of the Methodist Women, as an organizational entity. I will fill you all in on that missed sermon briefly the next Sunday though.

          Today, my first sermon in this sermon series is called, “Tempted and tried”. So often we hear about, we think about, and we believe in the gentle and loving Jesus Christ. These are certainly accurate understandings of Jesus. It is the historical belief that Jesus was fully God and fully human on earth, but was there more to Christ than these things? Was Jesus tough? Did Jesus show courage? Was Jesus brave? How much was the human part of Christ like us as humans? Further, was Jesus truly more than just meek and mild? The answer is yes!

          Jesus was tough! Jesus was tougher than any of us here this morning. How tough? Well according to our gospel reading for this morning once again, Jesus spent 40-days in the wilderness being tempted by the devil (Lk. 4:1-2, NRSV). Now you might think you’re tough, but going 40-days toe to toe with the devil, well that’s tough! Let’s look again at what the scripture for this morning has to say: It says:

“Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.” Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone’” (Lk. 4:1-4, NRSV).

          So after Jesus is baptized, and comes out of the water full of glory and grace, Jesus then goes into the wilderness for 40-days, to be tempted by the devil. Just like when Jesus was up on the mountain and was “Transfigured” last Sunday, we must come down from the mountains in our own lives. Sometimes glory can quickly turn into grief. Jesus goes from his glorious baptism to this Sunday being in the wilderness for 40-days, as we are now in the 40-day season of Lent.

          In this gospel reading, which I like to call “Jesus’ basic training”, is Jesus’ 40-day period where he is “Tempted and tried” by the devil.

          The gospel says that Jesus ate nothing for 40-days, and after this he was famished or really hungry. So the first way that Jesus is “tempted and tried” is with food. The devil tells Jesus to prove who he is and his power, by turning a stone into a loaf of bread. I don’t know about you, but I probably would have caved right then! Forty-days, are you kidding me! Fresh hot bread! Yeah, I don’t know if I would have made it!

          While Jesus is “tempted and tried” though, he responds to the devil by quoting scripture, as the devil was quoting scripture. Jesus says at this time of being “tempted and tried,” quoting Deuteronomy 8:3:

“One does not live by bread alone”

          The gospel continues by saying:

^“Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And the devil said to him, “To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him’” (Lk. 5-8, NRSV).

          The fascinating reality of this gospel reading, is that the devil knows scripture just as good as Jesus. The devil just misuses the scripture. The devil then leads Jesus up to cliff, an overlook if you will, and offers him all the kingdom and wealth in the world. The devil then quotes scripture, and Jesus responds with scripture. Jesus, quoting Deuteronomy 6:13 and 10:20 says:

“Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him”

          So the devil knows and uses scripture, but interprets it wrong, and Jesus fires right back with a correct usage of scripture. Jesus turns down hot bread after not eating for days, turns down fame, riches, and power, and will be tempted once more before his time in the wilderness is over.

          The gospel then concludes by once again saying:

“Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’” Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time” (Lk. 4:9-13, NRSV).

          In this last time of being “tempted and tried” in this gospel lesson, the devil takes Jesus to the very top of the temple in Jerusalem. The devil then “temps and tries” Jesus to jump off the top of the temple, knowing that angels will rescue him. Jesus again, quoting scripture says from Deuteronomy 6:16:

“Do not put the Lord your God to the test”

          So meek and mild Jesus, goes days without food, and is tempted by the devil. Tempted with food when hungry, riches, fame, and fortune, and to save his own life from falling of the temple in Jerusalem. Yet Jesus emerges victorious after being “tried and tempted” in this gospel lesson.

          As we walk the road to the cross together then, let us remember that only is Jesus going to die for us soon on Good Friday. Not only did Jesus come to teach us to love, to heal, and to forgive, but Jesus also is many things. Today’s gospel reading shows us just how tough Jesus is. It shows us that Jesus can be meek and mild, but he can also trade scripture for scripture, look the devil right in the eye and overcome him. This is the savior that we are journeying with together on “The road to the cross”. Amen.