Beat It Into Their Heads Continually: Easter 2017

On Monday, I drove to Austin to visit one of our members who had had open heart surgery.  As I got about half-way there, KSBJ played out on my radio, so I began searching for a Christian radio station in Austin.  Fortunately, I found one.  However, this station was not like KSBJ.  KSBJ is a listener supported station with no commercials.  The station in Austin had commercials, so along with local businesses, local churches also ran ads.  Not surprisingly, many of those ads were about upcoming Easter services.  One ad did catch my attention.  A church was advertizing its Easter activities complete with a helicopter that would be dropping 20,000 eggs for their egg hunt.  I heard that ad several times during my trip, so I know the number and the event is accurate.

I must admit that there was a small part of me that thought about calling up Christa and saying, “How much do you think it would cost to get a helicopter to drop the eggs for our egg hunt, and do you think the congregation would go for it?”  But there was a larger part that began seriously thinking about what this congregation was doing.  I mean, I’m all for getting people to come to your church and to church activities.  I have absolutely no problem with that in the least, but this seems like a different kind of animal.  If this church is bringing in a helicopter for its Easter egg hunt, what are they going to do for the sermon?  Will they have a live-re-enactment of the resurrection complete with the ground shaking, angels appearing and rising into heaven, with smoke and loud music and the like?  Will the message of the resurrection take a back seat to a helicopter with 20,000 eggs?  It seems like there is a strong possibility of that happening.  It seems way too gimmicky, in my opinion.

So, there will be no helicopter here today.  There will be no lights, or re-enactments, or smoke, or manufactured ground shaking.  For as awe inspiring as such things might be, I know of no one’s life who was changed by seeing a helicopter drop 20,000 eggs. I know of no one who had a change of heart by packing an Easter basket with eggs.  I know of no one who found the peace that passes all understanding by watching the gimmicks of congregations.  But I do know of many, many people who have had lives changed, hearts melted, who have found peace by encountering the risen Jesus.  And it is my hope and my prayer that each of us here today encounter Him.

Let’s pray.  Heavenly Father, today we are presented with momentous news.  The one who died on the cross has been raised.  The tomb is empty.  Death is undone.  Open our hearts and our minds so that we might see what you have accomplished through the death and resurrection of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

500 years ago, Martin Luther kicked off a huge event in history that we will be celebrating later this year.  Historians call it the Reformation.  Those of us whose churches found their beginnings at this time in history remember how one man dared to call the church back to its foundational beliefs.  It was the radical notion that God had acted through Jesus Christ to bring about our salvation through no action of our own but solely by the grace of God.

Luther himself talked about God’s action in this way in his commentary on the book of Galatians, “Here I must take counsel of the gospel. I must hearken to the gospel, which teaches me, not what I ought to do, (for that is the proper office of the law), but what Jesus Christ the Son of God has done for me: to wit, that He suffered and died to deliver me from sin and death. The gospel wills me to receive this, and to believe it. And this is the truth of the gospel. It is also the principal article of all Christian doctrine, wherein the knowledge of all godliness consists. Most necessary it is, therefore, that we should know this article well, teach it unto others, and beat it into their heads continually.”  Yes, Luther said, we must beat the Gospel into folks’ heads continually.  Therefore, this morning, I brought a baseball bat...  I bet you some of you are wishing we had a helicopter with 20,000 eggs right about now.

Please stop getting up to head to the exits, I’m putting the bat down.  Jesus didn’t condone violence, and I’m not about to start that now.  However, I am not going to apologize for using Luther’s quote because the Gospel is indeed so radical that we need to hear it over and over and over and over before it really starts sinking deep down within the very fabric of our heart and soul.  We need to have it repeated over and over and over so that it weasels its way deep into our hearts and transforms them.  We must hear the Gospel over and over and over again because it goes against the way the entire world works.

So, let’s begin there.  How does the world work?  I want you to think about your life for a moment.  I want to think about all the things you engage in.  Think about work.  Think about school.  Think about family and friends.  Do you realize that you are in a constant state of working to justify yourself?  Perhaps you have never thought of it that way, but let me show you what I mean.  If you are in school, why do you work to get good grades?  You are showing justification that you have mastered the material and are ready to move to the next step.  If you are working, why do you work hard and put in the hours you put in?  You are working to justify why the company should give you a paycheck, allow you to keep your job, and even perhaps give you a raise.  You are justifying your position to those for whom you work.  And even if you are self-employed, you must justify your work to your customers.  If you are a handyman, you’d better do a good job or else no one will be calling you.  Yes, even within our engagements with family and friends, we are constantly trying to justify ourselves.  As a parent, I am constantly asked, “Why?” by my children.  That question is nothing more than them saying, “Justify why you are telling me what you are telling me.”  And if you don’t think you have to justify yourself even within your immediate relationships, get angry about something and let your tongue slip.  See if you don’t have to quickly justify what you said.  Or guys, leave the toilet seat up several times in a row.  One more example, and then we will move on.  This example is front and center in our society even though we might not realize it: sports.  If you play any sort of team sport, you are in a constant state of justifying yourself for playing time.  You are having to prove over and over and over why you should be playing and why the guy on the bench shouldn’t.  And if you slip up; on the field or in your character, you are out of luck.

Have I shown you enough?  Do you see how you and I are in a constant state of working to justify ourselves?  Do you see how the world is set up so that we must continually justify ourselves?

Now, let’s shift to religion.  Did you know that just about every single world religion is in the self-justification business?  The emphasis of just about every single world religion is: if you do x, y, z, then you will receive the blessings of God.  If you do not do x, y, and z, you can expect God’s punishment.  If you keep failing, try harder.  You must justify yourself and prove that you are worthy of God’s blessings.

Here is what Christianity says.  Christianity says, there is no way that you can justify yourself before God.  God has said that we must do x, y, and z, but God’s standards are so high that if we break x, y, or z, we have dug ourselves a hole and no matter how hard we try we can never, ever justify ourselves.  We are indebted to God for our failure to live as we should.

Most of us know this at a very deep level.  Sure, we try to fool ourselves.  We put on some brave faces and some brave phrases.  We like to think that “I’m okay and you’re okay.”  We like to believe, “You are perfect just the way you are.”  We like to tell ourselves that we are basically good people who just make a few mistakes along the way.  Yet, when we examine our lives, we know this isn’t the case.  When we really think about how we act and what we do, we know that we hold everyone else to a standard that we ourselves don’t even live up to.  Maybe this is why we try to keep ourselves so busy these days.  Maybe this is why we work so hard and play so hard and keep our brains engaged with our cell phones.  The more we distract ourselves, the more we don’t have to think and reflect upon who we are and why the world is the way it is.  The more we distract ourselves, the more we don’t have to reflect upon how indebted to God that we are because of our shortcomings.

But here is the good news.  When every other world religion would say, “Try harder.  Work harder.  Pay your own debt.  Do more good than evil.”  Christianity says: God, knowing that we could not cover the debt, took on human flesh, became like us, experienced all that we experience, but lived without sin.  God came down in human flesh and became the sacrifice of atonement to pay our debt.  God came down in human flesh and took the punishment that was meant for us because God loved us so dearly.

Some may quibble at this thought, but what parent doesn’t do this for his or her young children?  If your kids were walking in the store and they accidentally broke an item on the shelf, would you allow your kid to be arrested and charged with vandalism?  No, you would pay for the item because you love your kid.  God desires all people to be His children, so He came into this world to cancel our debts–to pay for them Himself by taking the wrath of God upon Himself so that we would not have to face it.

This is what Jesus spent His whole life teaching and preaching.  This is what Jesus spent His whole ministry working toward.  His life was one great trajectory toward the cross where He justified us before God the Father.  Christianity says: you do not justify yourself; God the Son justifies you–makes you right by His actions.  You are made right with God by grace as a gift through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus whom God set forward as a sacrifice of atonement effective through faith.  This means, you are now made right with God by trusting in what Jesus does instead of what you do.  Let me say that again: you do not justify yourself like the world demands you do.  Instead, you are justified by Jesus’ on the cross.

This is not the way the world works.  This is not the way every other world religion works.  It is contrary to almost everything we have been taught.  Who would come up with such a scheme that is so contrary; that is so backwards?  It’s crazy and would have been rejected if not for one thing:

The resurrection.

I bet you were wondering when I would actually get to why we are here today.  I bet you were wondering when we would get to the empty tomb.  Well, here it is.  You see, the resurrection is the Father’s stamp that says, “You see.  Everything that Jesus said was true.  Everything He said about being the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world; everything He said about being the Son of God; everything that He said about salvation coming through Him as the way, the truth, and the life; everything that He said about being the light of the world; yeah, all of it is true.  All of it.

This means you don’t put your hope in your actions.
You don’t put your hope in your ability to do good things.
You don’t put your hope in your ability to follow the rules and laws in the Bible.
You don’t put your hope in the world telling you to justify yourself.
You put your hope in Jesus.
You put your hope in what He has done.
You put your hope in the cross and in the resurrection.
You trust in Jesus, not in yourself.

Oh, and that is so hard.  It is so hard to trust in someone else.  It is so much more instinctual to pave our own way; to walk our own path; to take everything into our own hands and do it ourselves.  It is so much more instinctual and in accord with the world to present our own defense; argue our own case; present why we should be in the right; to justify ourselves.  In fact, we keep wanting to go back to that.  We keep wanting to do it all on our own.  We need to have the gospel beat into our heads continually.  Where is that baseball bat?

No.  We don’t need that baseball bat.  We need Jesus.  We need to be reminded about Him.  We need to hear over and over and over again how much He loves us.  We need to hear over and over again how He was willing to suffer and die for us.  We need to hear over and over again how He loves us when we are unlovable.  For as we hear about how He died and rose for us; as we think about the cross and resurrection, as we think about Jesus, He moves down into our hearts and makes His home deep within us bringing us peace; bringing us hope; bringing us joy.  It’s Jesus who changes us; not helicopters; not 20,000 Easter eggs; not lights and smoke; not even ourselves.  Just Jesus.

Let’s pray.  Heavenly Father, give us Jesus.  We know He is alive.  We know He has risen from the dead.  We know He longs to dwell in our hearts.  Lead us to trust in Him.  Beat it into our heads that we can trust in Him instead of ourselves.  And lead us to the hope, peace, and joy that is only found in the cross and resurrection.  We ask this in Jesus’ name.  Amen.

An Embarrasing Ending

 This week at church camp was tremendous.  Our young folks accounted themselves well as they learned and grew with others–learning about Superhero faith.  I won’t bore you with all the details, but I will share with you this morning one fascinating thing I observed.  One of the Bible readings on the Wednesday of camp was our Gospel reading from the book of Mark–the resurrection story of Jesus.  It was read no less than three times that day: at morning worship; during Bible study; and at evening worship.  And every time the lesson was read, verse eight was omitted.  I can’t say that I necessarily blame them for omitting it.  It’s rather embarrassing.

 “8So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.”

 What in the world is wrong with the gospel writer?  I mean, who in their right mind would stop right here at the end of this story?  Who in their right mind would quit with the women hiding in terror after what they had seen and heard?  Who in their right mind would stop without having Jesus appear and talk to the disciples; let them know that He is indeed risen; and send them out to proclaim the news?  Who in their right mind would stop right here?  It’s embarrassing.

 Indeed, several commentaries I consulted this week said that Mark must have had a longer ending.  They believe that the early manuscripts were either mutilated or had pages lost.  Mark could not have ended right here.  In fact, later scribes even took it upon themselves to add endings to the book of Mark.  If you want to have a little bit of fun, you can check out a good study Bible, and they will have two separate endings for the book of Mark available for you to see. 

 Some of you might ask, “How do you know that someone else added them?  When I took Greek, we translated a huge portion of the book of Mark.  When you get a chance to study someone’s writing style, you get a chance to see how they write, and you can definitely tell when someone else is being quoted or is writing.  In the Greek text, it is blatantly obvious that whoever wrote the two endings attributed to Mark is not Mark.  The earliest texts that we have end at verse eight.  They told no one because they were afraid.

 This is not the Easter message that we are accustomed to.  This is not where we like to end up.  The Christian faith has a huge mandate to tell the good news that Christ is risen not to cower in fear.  I mean, without the resurrection, Jesus would probably have been less than a footnote in the pages of history.

 William Lane says this in his commentary, “Were it not for the resurrection, Jesus of Nazareth might have appeared as no more than a line in Josephus’ Antiquities of the Jews, if he were mentioned at all.  The witness of the four Gospels is unequivocal that following the crucifixion Jesus’ disciples were scattered, their hopes shattered by the course of events.  What halted the dissolution of the messianic movement centered in Jesus was the resurrection.  It is the resurrection which creates, ‘the good news concerning Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God.’”

 It would seem that Mark would have known this and would have written accordingly.  But maybe, just maybe he did.  For you see, as I have preached through this book, I have come to see Mark as a literary genius.  Each story has built upon the previous one.  Each story is deeply rooted and grounded in the Old Testament understanding of the Messiah.  Throughout the Gospel stories and words are chosen to bring things together into a brilliant message of the revelation of Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah who has given His life as a ransom for many.  There is a method to Mark’s madness that culminates in a brilliant ending.  Let’s look at that ending now.

 First, Mark tells us about the women who come to the tomb early in the morning, just after sunrise to bring spices to anoint Jesus’ body.  It was customary for Jews to bury their dead and put a lot of spices and fragrant oils around the body as the body decomposed.  After a year, relatives or friends would enter the tomb and collect the bones and put them into an ossuary or bone box.  The spices and oils helped mask the smell of the decomposing body.  Because Jesus’ body was buried with haste these spices and oils were not put upon him.  The women came to give Him one last dignity.

 But they were presented with a problem: a large stone had been rolled into place to cover the opening of the tomb.  Presumably it was so large and difficult to move that these women would not be able to do that by themselves.  They were going to need some help, and it is highly probable they were expecting a gardener or someone of the same sort to be there to help them.

 What they discovered, however, was completely unexpected.  The stone was rolled away.  This caused them no small amount of consternation.  They entered the tomb unsure of what they might find.

 Much to their surprise, they find a young man seated on the right hand side in the tomb.  Now, several weeks ago, when I preached on the betrayal scene in the Garden of Gethsemane, we also saw Mark tell us about a young man who was in the garden.  This was a “neoniskus.”  The Greek word connoted someone who was strong, handsome, vital, and brave.  Mark also informed us that this young man was wealthy as he wore a linen robe.  This “neoniskus” was last seen fleeing from the Garden of Gesthemane naked; his robe in the hands of those who were sent to arrest Jesus.  All of the young man’s courage, wealth, looks, vitality, and strength were nothing.  All of these things failed him as he raced away naked, alone, and embarrassed.

 I don’t think it coincidence that Mark uses the same word to describe this young man at the tomb.  Mark is not one who uses coincidence.  There is a definite reason the “neoniskus” reappears because there is a stark contrast to the time we saw him before.  Now, this “young man” is seated; fully clothed in white, calm, collected, and seated in a position of power and authority.  He is no longer running or scared.  Something has happened to transform him mightily.  What could that have been?

 You know the answer.  He has met the resurrected Jesus, and he now tells the women exactly what has happened.  “Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. 7But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.”

 The women flee.  They do not walk away in a state of euphoria.  They do not marvel at this news in some sort of holy stupor.  They run!!  Terror and amazement had seized them, and they told no one!!  They told no one.

 Why?   Why wouldn’t they have told anyone?  This is madness.  If Jesus truly is raised from the dead, then hope is restored.  The news that the Kingdom of God was at hand is powerfully relevant.  That proclamation did not die with Jesus upon the cross.  God is indeed on the move!  Why aren’t they sharing this?

 Scholars pose several reasons.  One is that the women believed that the end judgement was at hand.  For if Jesus had been resurrected, then this was the beginning of the immanent and promised resurrection of the dead–when God would render His final judgement.  It was a time to be dreaded and feared.  The women were cowering because they believed this event was unfolding before their very eyes.  This interpretation could be very true. 

 But now, let me share you Mark Edwards’ take on this from His commentary:

 It is an encounter with the resurrected Lord, not the empty tomb that produces faith.  The resurrection does not magically dispel fear and cowardice, transforming fallible human characters into faithful disciples.  Faithful discipleship consists of following Jesus, not contemplating doing so; acting courageously on his behalf, not standing on the sidelines and watching...Throughout the Gospel, Mark has warned that signs, miracles, and portents do not evoke faith (8:11-13).  The same note persists at the resurrection, the greatest of all signs: even the visitation of angels at the empty tomb fails to produce faith.  Faith comes rather through hearing the gospel and personal encounter with the One who was crucified and is now raised from the dead.  Even at the close of the story, the human characters fail the divine will: in his earthly ministry, Jesus commanded people to silence, and they spoke; in his resurrected state, the women are commanded to speak, and they flee in silence!

 It is the resurrected Lord, not the empty tomb that produces faith.

 It is the resurrected Lord, not the empty tomb that produces faith.

 It is the resurrected Lord, not the empty tomb that produces faith.

 The women had seen the empty tomb.  They had been told that Jesus was risen from the dead, but they had had no encounter with the risen Lord.  They had not come to faith.  They would eventually, by the way, but at this moment in time, faith was an impossibility.  It went against all rational judgement.  It went against all they had ever known.  It went against all they had ever been taught and all they had ever assumed.  If indeed Jesus was raised from the dead, everything was now different.

 Everything was already different for that “neoniskus”.  His entire life was different.  No longer naked, ashamed and embarrassed; no longer fleeing for his life while deserting Jesus; he is now clothed, sitting with power, and sharing the good news.  He has been transformed from head to toe, from inside to out.  He has encountered the risen Lord.

 Mark leaves us with a stark contrast between the young man who had encountered the risen Christ and the women who had not.  He leaves us hanging by a thread asking us to consider, “Who is going to go and tell the news?  Who is going to tell others about what Jesus has accomplished? Who is left who has seen Jesus heal the sick and make the lame to walk?  Who is left who has heard of Jesus calming the storm and feeding the multitudes?  Who is left who saw Jesus transfigured on the hill with the voice from heaven confirming that Jesus is God’s Son?  Who is left to tell of how Jesus came to give His life as a ransom to many?  Who is left to stand at the foot of the cross as the Roman centurion did and say, “This truly is God’s Son.”?  Who is left to tell of the empty tomb and the resurrection to new life?

 Who is left to tell the world that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that all those who believe in Him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God sent the Son into the world not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him?  Who is left who knows these things; who has encountered the risen Christ; and who will now proclaim?

 The answer, my brothers and sisters is: you and me.  You and I have traveled through these stories.  You and I have seen and heard what Jesus has done.  You and I have witnessed these events through the eyes of Mark.  And now, we must ask ourselves: have we encountered the risen Jesus?  Have we encountered the One who died for us?  Have we encountered the one who has saved us and forgiven us from our sins?  Have we been clothed with new garments, had our shame removed, and filled with power? 

 If you profess Jesus as your Lord and Savior; if you have encountered the risen Jesus, it is now up to you and me to write the end of Mark’s Gospel.  It is now up to you and me to move into the world to tell others what Jesus has done.  It is now up to you and me to invite others into a relationship with the living Lord.  The women were amazed and terrified.  They told no one.  May we have the courage to do differently.  Amen.

What Changes Insanity into Sanity?

 In a very real way, I think you have to be somewhat insane to be a Christian.

Now, if you think that Christianity is basically like all other religions that try to simply tell us to be kind to each other and do the right thing so that we can achieve some sort of eternal life, then I probably offended you with that statement.  I am not going to apologize. 

 Before you try to do me bodily harm, please hear me out.  I do not say what I said lightly, and neither do I say it as someone who is outside of Christianity.  In fact, I say it as one who was born and raised a Christian; who is a leader in the Christian church; and as one who works to get people to become Christians and follow Jesus.  But I still say it.  I think you have to be somewhat insane to be a Christian.  Why would I say such a thing?

 Well, let’s delve beneath the superficialities that most people ascribe to the Christian faith.  Let’s delve beneath the idea that Christianity is simply a way of life that tries to get you to be kind to one another; to live morally; and to somehow end up in God’s good graces so that you can live forever.  Let’s examine the reality of what Christianity entails and the things that our founder, Jesus of Nazareth taught and claimed.  Let’s look at these things, not as those who have heard them watered down and explained away, but as if we were hearing them for the first time.  Mind you, at this point, I am going to be quoting Jesus directly.  If you disagree with what I am saying, please know, you are not disagreeing with me; you are disagreeing with Jesus Himself as revealed to us in the writings of the Bible.

 Let’s start off with something that is rather straight-forward.  Troubling, but straight-forward.  In the book of Matthew chapter five, Jesus says this, “21 ‘You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, “You shall not murder”; and “whoever murders shall be liable to judgement.” 22But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgement; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, “You fool”, you will be liable to the hell of fire.”  Did you catch exactly what Jesus is saying here?  Did you catch how He tells you straight-forward that you cannot be angry with one another because if you are that is comparable to murder?  Who in their right mind would think that simply being angry with another person and murdering a person are the same thing?  Who in their right mind would think that being angry with someone deserves a first class ticket to hell?  And yet, this is what Jesus taught!!!  This is what our leader tells us to do!!!  And this is just the beginning.

 Let’s move onto something else.  Let’s move to the book of Luke chapter 14 where Jesus says the following: “28For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it? 29Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it will begin to ridicule him, 30saying, “This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.” 31Or what king, going out to wage war against another king, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32If he cannot, then, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for the terms of peace. 33So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions.”  Again, I ask you, did you hear that last phrase that Jesus said?  Did you hear Him blatantly say, “None of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions.”?  Is there any one of you here this morning who has no possessions?  Is there anyone here this morning who qualifies to be a disciple?  Is there anyone here this morning who can claim to follow Jesus’ teaching here?  Is there anyone here this morning who will ever be able to follow this?  I’m not done either.

 Let me go to the Gospel of Mark chapter 8.  This teaching that I am about to relay to you is found in all of the earliest Gospels–Matthew, Mark, and Luke.  There is no doubt in my mind that Jesus actually said this, and He lays it out for all to consider.  Here is the teaching, “34 He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, ‘If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 35For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.”  We’ve sanitized this statement too much throughout the years, and it has lost its power for the most part.  Let me try and put it all out there for you in this way.  Jesus says: give up your identity; give up your status; give up everything that you think makes you, you; give up your history, your claim to fame, your titles, the respect you believe you have earned; give up all of those things and then consider yourself a dead person walking.  Believe that you are under a curse and have died to follow me.  How does that sound for sanity?

 Let me stop for just a moment here and say that these teachings I am putting forward from Jesus are not obscure, dig through as much as you can to find something to fit your agenda, teachings.  These teachings are vintage Jesus.  They are core teachings.  This is what the founder of the Christian movement demanded of His followers!!!  And would any sane person adhere to them?
 Ah, but let me press onward for we must continue down this rabbit hole.  We must continue to wrestle with such matters no matter how uncomfortable they may be making us–for if we are going to get to the truth of the matter, all of the evidence must be set before us.

 For Jesus did not simply offer us these unimaginable teachings; He also claimed something unimaginable about Himself.  He claimed to be God.  Now, I know there are some scholars who say that Jesus did no such thing.  They claim that this thought only entered into the Christian faith long after Jesus’ life and death as an embellishment, but this is simply not the fact of the matter at all.  The apostle Paul is the earliest writer of Christian scripture, and in what we believe to be his final book, Philippians, Paul quotes what many scholars deem to be an early Christian hymn:

 5Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,
6 who, though he was in the form of God,
   did not regard equality with God
   as something to be exploited,
7 but emptied himself,
   taking the form of a slave,
   being born in human likeness.
And being found in human form,
8   he humbled himself
   and became obedient to the point of death—
   even death on a cross.
9 Therefore God also highly exalted him
   and gave him the name
   that is above every name,
10 so that at the name of Jesus
   every knee should bend,
   in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue should confess
   that Jesus Christ is Lord,
   to the glory of God the Father.

 Let me point out to you this morning that Paul was born a Jew and that Christianity started off as Jewish movement.  No good Jew would ever–EVER claim that a man had equality with God.   This was forbidden.  It was considered idolatry.  It was blasphemy, and yet, in one of the earliest hymns sung by the church, Jesus is considered equal with God.  The early church believed Jesus was God!!

 And Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John each record Jesus’ teaching that He was indeed God come to earth.  If you do not believe me, please catch me later, and I will show you how in each Gospel, Jesus is shown to be God come to earth.  This was no late fabrication or embellishment.  It was there from the beginning.

 Why is this important?  Here is why: tell me, what do we do when someone claims to be God?  How do we react to someone who thinks he or she is an incarnation of God?  Do we readily accept them?  Do we embrace their teachings?  Do we fall on our faces and worship them?  What would happen to you this morning if I stood up here and claimed that I was God?  You know what you’d do.  You know what we do.  We call such people delusional.  We call them crazy.  If it is in our power, we have them committed.  Most people do not take them seriously in the least!!

 Ah, but you may say, sometimes such people gather a following.  And you are absolutely right.  They do oftentimes gather a following–right up until they die or are killed.  And then, nearly 100 percent of the time, the following dies out.  I mean, let’s use two modern day examples: how many people do you know who claim to follow Jim Jones these days?  If you don’t know who Jim Jones is, I rest my case.  Or David Koresh?  Any Branch Dividians that you know of?  When someone who claims to be God is killed or dies, the movement dies with them.  People realize the person was delusional.  It has happened many, many times in history–almost every time in history.

 But here is the thing: it didn’t happen with Jesus.  In fact, the movement surrounding Jesus actually took off after His death!!  The worship and adoration of Jesus actually increased after He died.  His followers did not hesitate to pass on Jesus’ teachings–no matter how difficult they seemed or how contrary to nature they seemed.  And people actually tried to follow them.  People tried to deny themselves and who they were.  People tried giving up their possessions.  People tried living without anger and animosity toward anyone else.   People proclaimed that Jesus indeed was God who came to earth even though He met His demise hanging bloody, beaten, bruised, shamed; executed on a cross. 

 What would cause people to do such a thing?  What would cause people to become so irrational?  What would cause them to try to follow such difficult, insane teachings?  What would cause them to say that indeed Jesus was God and that He wasn’t lying despite His horrendous death?  What would cause them to begin a movement that grew and grew and grew doing the exact opposite of every other Messianic movement until that time?  What would cause these people to lay down their lives as they proclaimed, “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that all those who believe in Him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God sent the Son into the world not to condemn the world but that the world might be save through Him!”?

 What would change the course of normal history and cause otherwise normal people to strive toward insane things?

 It’s the reason we are here this morning.

 Christ is risen!
 He is risen indeed!  Amen.  Alleluia!

An Invitation to Trust

    One of the things which has helped me grow in my Christian faith and understanding has been listening to debates between Christians and atheists on Youtube.  Now, it’s not as bad as you might think.  I mean, some of you might think sitting on a prickly pear cactus and eat raw tofu might be more enjoyable, and I understand that.  But for yours truly, I truly learn a lot about my faith and the views of those who do not share my faith.

    One interesting thing keeps popping up over and over and over in such debates, and it is a criticism of Christianity and belief in God in general.  Many people have a problem with what is called “blind faith.”  This is the idea that our beliefs and practices have no evidence to back them up.  We simply believe without anything measurable to point to as a basis for that belief.  The argument goes something like this: well, you don’t have any evidence to back up your belief, so why not believe in the tooth fairy or the giant spaghetti monster?

    In reality, this criticism is a valid criticism–if, and it is a big if, faith were simply an intellectual assertion–kind of like a switch in the brain that you turn on and off.  “Click” I believe in God.  “Click” I don’t believe in God.  Whether I turn the switch on or off has very little bearing on my life.  And there are many believers who fit right into this category.  There are many believers for whom faith in Jesus is simply a belief that indeed He is God; He died; He rose from the dead, and if I give intellectual assent to this, then I am saved.  Furthermore, as many, many pastors have said, it is quite all right to have doubts about such things.  It is quite all right to wrestle with the intellectual problem of God taking on flesh and living among us; performing miracles; dying; and then rising from the dead.  Simply believing this as passed down throughout history is a difficult thing especially in light of the scientific evidence about how the world generally works.  Having doubt is not a bad thing–or so we are told.

    Again, what is being said here is true–if, and it’s a big if, faith is simply an intellectual matter that is all in our heads.  If faith is simply a condition of our heads grasping something and believing it, then we have to deal with the criticism of blind faith and the idea that doubt is a good thing.  However, this does make Jesus’ words today in the 20th Chapter of the book of John a bit problematic.  For if I get up here and say, “It’s okay to doubt,” and then you hear Jesus tell Thomas, “Do not doubt but believe,” then you are left in a bit of a conundrum.  Who do you trust?  Do you trust what I say?  Do you trust what Jesus commanded?  Do you trust that the writer of the Gospel actually gives us the words of Jesus?  Did the writer make this story up?  All of these questions come to life and then snowball if faith is something that is purely intellectual; purely a head thing that has no evidence to back it up.

    But I do not think faith is simply a head thing.  I do not think faith is simply a matter of clicking a switch up in our brains which turns on and off.  I think faith runs much deeper, and honestly, the translation of verse 27 leaves a lot to be desired.  I think it should be translated in the following way:  27Then Jesus said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not distrust but trust.’  How does this change things, and how does it affect our lives?  Hold onto your seats.

     To get at this question, we need to take a quick trip through the Gospel of John to look at Thomas.  Thomas gets a lot of attention in this text, and he is important; although the main focus of this text is not Thomas, but Jesus.  We’ll get there shortly.  But let’s take a look at Thomas for a few minutes as we see his history throughout the Gospel of John.  We begin in Chapter 11 as Jesus tells His disciples He is going to Bethany after Jesus’ friend Lazarus has died.  The last time Jesus was in Bethany, the crowds threatened to kill Him.  The disciples know this, and they are afraid for Jesus.  They are afraid Jesus will be killed.  As His followers, they stand to suffer the same fate.  Thomas bravely steps to the fore and says, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”   Thomas definitely shows bravado here.  He is willing to die with Jesus, but I am convinced that Thomas doesn’t quite understand who Jesus really is.  Thomas doesn’t fully understand the extent of what Jesus is about and how this will really impact him.

            Why do I say that?  Because of the next time we run into Thomas is in John chapter 14.  In this chapter, Jesus has just told His disciples that He will be going away and that He will bring them to Himself.  Jesus also says that the disciples know the way to the place He is going.  Thomas then says, “We do not know where you are going, how can we know the way?”  So, Thomas goes from a willingness to die with Jesus to being confused.  He doesn’t quite get Jesus at all.  Jesus responds famously, “I am the way, and the Truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.”  Jesus, of course, is revealing that He is the Lamb of God who has come to take away the sins of the world by His life, death, and resurrection.  Thomas doesn’t get that.  He still has a certain expectation of Jesus.  Thomas still believes that Jesus is going to do something vastly different.  I think Thomas believes Jesus is going to be the Jewish Messiah who will come with power and might, but not the suffering servant who gives His life as a ransom for many. 

    This is why when we meet Thomas today, Thomas initially refuses to believe or trust the witness of his fellow disciples.  Jesus had appeared to them in that locked room; breathed new life into them; and commissioned them to spread the news–to forgive sins.  Thomas was not there at this initial gathering, so when he returned, the rest of the crew greeted him with the news, “We have seen the Lord.”

    Thomas doesn’t believe them.  He doesn’t trust their witness.  We automatically ask, “Why?”  Scripture is not explicit here.  We don’t know the workings of Thomas’ brain at this point, but based upon our experience of Thomas in the book of John and what he said to the disciples and to Jesus in John 11 and John 14, I think Thomas refused to believe and refused to trust his colleagues because he knew it meant he would have to die.  Hear me again on that one: if Jesus was risen from the dead, then it meant Thomas would have to die.

    Please know, I am not talking about physical death.  No.  That would have been the easy way out.  Physical death was something Thomas was willing to face earlier, but I don’t think he was ready to face the death that Jesus had talked about with His disciples before, “If anyone wants to save his life, he must lose it; and if anyone loses his life for my sake and the sake of the Gospel, he will save it.”  This kind of death is much, much harder.  This kind of death is traumatic.  This kind of death means a radical shift in one’s worldview and understanding.  If Jesus is raised from the dead, then I must give up everything I once thought would bring me happiness and joy.  I must give up everything that I once thought that made me who I am.  I must give up everything I once placed my trust in to bring me peace.  I must give up everything I once wanted and desired; and I must put my trust in Jesus.

    I don’t think Thomas wanted to die that kind of death.  I don’t think Thomas wanted to give up his dream of a Messiah who would overthrow Israel’s enemies.  I don’t think Thomas wanted to give up his dreams of power and authority.  I don’t think Thomas wanted to give up his ideas of a Messiah who was powerful and mighty; a warrior of paramount who would bring about world peace–and, of course, the dominion of the kingdom of Israel of which he would be one of the twelve rulers.  Thomas wanted all of this.  This was his deepest heart’s desire.  It was something he was willing to die for, and when he thought Jesus would give it to him, he was glad to follow Jesus to death.  It’s why Thomas couldn’t understand Jesus’ comments about preparing the way to the Father.  Thomas wasn’t thinking of such things.  His heart and mind and trust were somewhere else.

    But if Jesus was raised from the dead, those dreams must come to an end.  Those desires must cease.  His heart could no longer be captured by what Thomas wanted.  If Jesus were raised from the dead, a radical new way of life was mandated; a way of life with Jesus at the center.  And so, Thomas came up with a list of demands which could surely not be satisfied.  “Unless I place my hands in His wounds, I will not trust.”

    You know, there is a reason we quote Isaiah 53.5: “But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed.”   For Jesus came to Thomas.  Jesus had Thomas touch his wounds, and by Jesus’ wounds, Thomas was healed.  Thomas was put to death.  When Jesus came to Thomas, all of those things Thomas thought were his dreams and desires left.  “My Lord and my God!” Thomas cries out. 

    “Do not distrust, Thomas.  Trust.”  Thomas entire being was affected by his encounter with Jesus.  Thomas entire soul was changed.  It was not an intellectual switch in his brain that was thrown, but it was a change to his very core as he put his trust in the one who died and rose again.

    “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet trust,” Jesus then says.  There is no doubt as to whom this statement is directed.  It is not directed to the disciples who are standing in that room.  It is not directed at Thomas who has touched Jesus.  It is directed at you and me.  It is directed at all who will hear the message about Jesus’ life, death and resurrection.  It is an invitation to us to come and die–to walk away from all of those things that we once believed would bring us happiness; peace; satisfaction; and joy.  It is an invitation to stop placing our trust in money; power; politics; science; sports; status; possessions; friends; family; co-workers; humanity; and ourselves.  It is an invitation to put our trust solely and squarely in Jesus Christ and look to Him for our identity, for our hope, for our well-being, for meaning, for purpose, for peace, and for joy.  It is an invitation to rethink our entire lives and our entire being–not just some intellectual assertion that Jesus is risen from the dead.  It’s an invitation to make Jesus our deepest heart’s desire and proclaim Him our Lord and our God.

    Why?  You may ask.  Why should I put my trust in Him instead of all of these other things?   Why Jesus above material possessions or money or power or politics?  Why Jesus over any other religion or philosophy?   Why trust Jesus instead of trusting myself?

    Let me start by going backward.  Trust yourself?  If you start believing your own press and thinking you have the ability to handle every situation in the world, then you have become your own god and will eventually end up like Narcissus.  You will fall in love with yourself and end up consumed with yourself dying alone.  If you put your trust in any other god, they will demand your total allegiance and punish you dearly when you mess up.  If you trust in wealth, possessions, power and politics, they will demand everything of you and never give you enough to satisfy. 

    Only one God has dared die for you when you were undeserving.  Only one God dared die for you when you rejected Him.  Only one God dared to love you deeply when you refused to love Him.  Only Jesus was willing to do this for you and demand nothing in return. 

    For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that all those who believe in Him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God sent the Son into the world not to condemn the world but that the world may be saved through Him! 

    And if Jesus was raised from the dead, then this is most certainly true.  And when you put your trust in Him; when you put your trust in His saving actions, your life will be transformed.  Not in the sense of material possessions or health or financial well being, but with a peace that passes understanding and with a joy that can never be taken from you.  Today, Jesus invites you to trust Him.  Not with some simple belief, but with your entire being.  Let His wounds heal you that you may fall on your knees and say, “My Lord and my God.”  Amen.

Two Great Things that Go Great Together (Apologies to Reeces Peanut Butter Cups)

Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed!  Alleluia!

    It is very good to see so many of you here this morning in worship.  It is always great to see a church full of people.  Easter is one Sunday when that normally happens because most know the importance of the day or many have their curiosity peaked and come to see what this Christian faith is all about.  For whatever reason you are here, I give thanks to God that you are here, but I also would like to ask this question: where were you on Friday?

    I mean, we also gathered together then to worship, but the church most definitely was not full.  Where were you on Friday?  Now, please do not think that I am asking you this to instill within you a sense of guilt or obligation.  Far from it.  The Church throughout history has been guilty of trying to motivate people through guilt and fear far too often.  I do not want to add to that history.  My question is one of curiosity as to why few show up for Good Friday services.  I mean, I do understand some folks who say, “Pastor, I love coming to hear the good news of Easter.  I love coming to hear that Jesus is risen from the dead because in a world like ours where we are constantly bombarded by bad news and news that makes us scared, I love hearing something positive for a change.  I don’t like hearing about death and dying.  I don’t like hearing about blood and torture.  I don’t like hearing about nails and thorns.  I’d much rather hear about life and abundance.  I’d much rather hear about good news.”  I understand where you are coming from, but I’d like to remind you this morning that there is a reason we call it Good Friday and not Bad Friday or the Death of God Friday.  No.  It is also a very, very good day.

    At this point, you may be wondering why I am talking about Friday so much.  You may be scratching your head thinking, “Isn’t this Easter.  Aren’t I supposed to be hearing about the resurrection?  Why this talk of the cross?”  Let me answer in this fashion.  You see, I am old enough to remember when Reeces Peanut Butter Cups used to do a lot of advertizing on television.  I don’t know how many of you actually remember those commercials, but I do.  Usually, there was a guy or gal walking down the street or sidewalk eating a bar of chocolate.  Then there was another person walking down the street blissfully eating peanut butter.  Both were oblivious to the world around them.  Somehow, the two always managed to run into each other, and somehow, magically, the chocolate bar always ended up in the peanut butter.  After a moment of complaining that the two things were mixed, the folks would taste the result of the accident and say, “It’s delicious.”  Then the announcer would say, “Two great tastes that taste great together, Reeces Peanut butter Cups.”  You see, Recees is making the argument that chocolate and peanut butter are better together than they are separately.  It’s an important point.

    Now, there was a part of me that wanted to put this together a little differently.  I mean, part of me wanted to use part of the theme song to the television series, Married with Children.  You know, the little song that went, “Love and Marriage; Love and marriage, go together like a horse and carriage.  Let me tell you brother, you can’t have one without the other.”  I wanted to use that, but I wasn’t sure it was appropriate given the nature of the television show. ;-) But the point is this: the crucifixion and the resurrection go together.  The two are inseparable.  As they combine, we see the Gospel in all of its fullness–in all of its glory.  The cross is God’s redemption of the world–truly good news.  The resurrection is Jesus vindication and the revealing of the hope we share when we trust in Jesus’ action–again, truly good news.  Both are great in and of themselves, but when you put them together, then you have something truly marvelous!  You may wonder how it all goes together.

    This past Lent, during our Wednesday evening worship services, I preached a sermon series titled, “What is the Gospel?”, and I spent time laying out the Christian narrative.  It began with creation as God created a world where all was good, where everything fit.  We have echos of that world in our midst today.  In the recent past, I was visiting with someone who works in the medical field who said that our brains were hard wired for doing good things–for helping one another; for compassion and kindness.  What a wonderful echo of the way God had created us.  Imagine if we all functioned with kindness, compassion, and doing good for each other at all times.  This is the way God intended it!

    However, the story progressed because we know that none of us act with kindness and compassion at all times.  None of us work fully for the good of another at all times.  There is something deep within that is corrupt.  There is something deep within that seeks our own well being; our own satisfaction; our own desires above the needs of another.  Where did this come from?  Christianity points to a particular point in human development when we decided to be like God.  We decided we wanted to know good and evil and decide that for ourselves.  We decided we didn’t want God’s guidance and instruction, but that we could handle such matters for ourselves.  We looked to ourselves for our own well being and our own satisfaction.  In short, we decided to be little gods ourselves, and the results were disastrous!  Now, you might wonder how this might be a bad thing and whether or not this is still true of even yourself.  You might wonder if we still want to be little gods in this day and age of marvelous technology and advancement.  I would argue, yes, in every way this is still very relevant.  Aside from much of the evil and greed we see happening in the world, there is this: who among you here this morning at some point and time hasn’t said, “If everyone would just believe like I believe and do the things I think are right, then the world would be great!”  Do you see what you are trying to do in that statement?  Do you see what your heart is actually getting at?  If everyone would just do as you say they should, then the world would function great.  You are trying to be a little god and pontificate to the world!  Yes, this all rings very, very true.

    And as I said before, such things prove disastrous for our relationship not only with God but with one another.  “How?” you might ask.  Well, think about it: if you think one particular way is the right way, and another person thinks the exact opposite is the right way, what is going to happen?  Will you come to any sort of resolution?  Will you be able to work things out and through if you are convinced in your own mind that you are absolutely and completely right?  No.  You will never be able to do so.  You will work either through power or manipulation to achieve your goals and your desires no matter what happens to another.  Convinced of your own rightness, you will end up stepping on those who disagree with you, and eventually seeing them as the enemy.  Do you wonder why our political system is in gridlock?  Do you wonder why Republicans and Democrats cannot get along?  Do you wonder why liberals and conservatives spend time finger pointing and digging trenches instead of building bridges?  It all goes back to thinking that I have all the answers and that I am a little god unto myself.

    Of course, when we try to be little gods ourselves, not only are our relationships with one another strained, but what does that do to our relationship with our Creator?  What does that do to our relationship with the one who desires to truly be God of our lives?  Well, it strains it too, to say the least.  It creates a gap between the true God and ourselves–a gap that cannot be crossed despite our best efforts.  You may wonder why we cannot cross that gap.  You may wonder why we can’t make things right with God.  Here’s why: first off, God demands perfection.  He wouldn’t be God if He asked for anything less.  We must love Him above all things and then love one another as we love ourselves second.  If we are honest with ourselves, we know that we don’t do this.  Secondly, if we are honest with ourselves, we know that we only strive to follow the law when there is threat of punishment.  My famous example of this is driving the speed limit.  How many of us only slow down when we see the flashing lights ahead of us?  How many of us only slow down when we see a DPS vehicle coming up from behind?  What motivates us?  Fear.  Is fear a healthy motivation for living in a relationship with another?  Of course it isn’t.  And so, if we are living in relationship with God in fear of being imperfect and only following the commands out of fear, then we don’t have a relationship.

    God realized this.  God realized that living by the law only led to fear on our part.  It only led to obedience by threat of punishment.  It was not healthy.  So God acted on His part to make things right.  God acted when we could not fulfill the law and would not fulfill the law.  While we were still living in our sin and disobedience, God sent Jesus into the world to live the life that we should live; to die the death that we deserved so that things might be made right between God and man.  God, took on human flesh in the divine man Jesus to die for the sins of the world.

    For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that all those who believe in Him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God sent the Son into the world not to condemn the world but that the world might be saved through Him.

    And where did God die the death we deserved?  Where did God’s ultimate act of sacrificial love take place?  Where did God redeem you and me?  Where did God pour out His very life so that we might be made right with Him?  On the cross.  You were bought with a great price.  A great price indeed.  You were redeemed on the cross of Calvary.  This is why Friday was so good–so very good indeed.

    Yet, Friday would have not been so good if that was the end.  I mean, sure, we would have been reconciled to God, but then evil would have triumphed.  Death would have been the final say.  Injustice would have gotten the upper hand.  Perhaps I would be right with God, but then I would have no hope. 

    But that would not be the case.  That would not be the case at all.  For reconciliation with God now has a final result.  The earth shook.  The stone moved.  Jesus emerged alive!  It is a foretaste of the feast that you and I will share when we believe and trust in His actions!  For no matter what befalls us in this life–no matter if we lose a child; if we suffer from cancer; if we lose our savings; if we win the lottery; if we have a successful business; if we fall on our face or rise to new heights.  No matter if we experience loss or gain; God will have the final word.  God will have the final say.  God will bring life out of death; light out of darkness; hope out of despair.  This is the resurrection promise! 

Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed!  Alleluia!

    And we must put the cross and the resurrection together.  We must see what God has done to redeem the world in Jesus’ life and death.  We must see what our hope is as Jesus rises from the dead.  These two belong together.  They cannot be separated, for in them we see the true nature of the Good News.  We see the true nature of the Gospel.  And it is meant to be shared.  The women in the book of Mark today ran and hid in fear.  They told no one.  I think you know the better response.  Tell the world what God has done in the cross and in the resurrection.

Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed.  Alleluia!  Amen. 

A Deep Struggle

9 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt: ¹⁰‘Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax-collector. ¹¹The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, “God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax-collector. ¹²I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.” ¹³But the tax-collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” ¹⁴I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.’  Luke 18:9-14

It is a deep struggle to live by grace.  A deep struggle.

As I move through this Holy Week, several things are on my mind, and they have weighed heavily:

1. I received a phone call from a local nursing home.  The activity director was, as kindly as she could possibly do it, ask me to give up part of my afternoon on Easter to lead a worship service for the residents.  Another congregation scheduled to lead worship canceled on her.  "I know it's short notice, but..." 

"I will do it," I responded.

This is not the first Easter this has happened.  Once before this same congregation had canceled on this same nursing home.  The last time it happened, I was asked again.  I remember the occasion vividly as I was lovingly and gently reminded of my calling.

You see, I was quite angry last go round.  I was quite angry that the other congregation canceled.  I was quite angry about giving up my time.  I was quite upset that I felt obligated to go and preach.  There was quite a bit of righteous indignation on my part.  My heart was not exactly in the right spot because it was all about me.

And then one of my congregation members came up to me to visit.  I told her about my impending afternoon.  She smiled at me, and she said, "Someone needs to tell those people the good news, especially on Easter."

I was floored at that moment.  I won't say that my anger completely left or that I proclaimed the Good News of Jesus' resurrection out of a joyful heart that afternoon, but I did (and do) realize the Absolute Truth of my congregation member's words.  "Someone needs to tell those people the good news, especially on Easter."  Especially since many cannot get to church.  Especially since many have indeed spent their lives worshiping.  Especially since many of their families cannot bring them to worship.  They need to hear the Gospel!  They need to hear that Christ is risen!

There was no hesitation this year when I was asked.  "They need to hear the Good News.  I will do it."  I am looking forward to it, this time with joy.

But there is still a smidgen or more of anger toward that other congregation.  There is still a bit of righteous indignation.  Am I like that Pharisee pounding his chest and saying, "Thank God I am not like that tax collector."?  Perhaps I am, and it is not good.  Not good in the least.  For I have no room to boast like that.  I have no room to think that I am doing better or my congregation is doing better.  I am not.  We are not.  It's hard not to get angry.  It's hard not to be in contempt.  It's hard not to be self-righteous.  This morning on my walk, I asked God for forgiveness, for I sorely need it.

2. A friend posted a link on Facebook to a prominent blog by Mark Sandlin.  Without going into all the details, I will let you know that I disagree most vehemently with Mr. Sandlin.  It's not the first time. 

But I was and am very curious about how well the theology Mr. Sandlin promotes is accepted in my own denomination and in my own synod.  I asked for feedback on our syond's Facebook page.  The commentary was intriguing as I found a great many of my colleagues wrestling with the idea of why Jesus had to die on the cross. 

I am a proponent of the sacrificial atonement understanding of the crucifixion/resurrection.  This understanding of the cross permeates through the New Testament writings. 

It is Matthean.
It is Markan.
It is Johannine.
It is Pauline.
It is deeply ingrained in the book of Hebrews.
It is Petrine.

The idea of Jesus' atoning sacrifice on the cross seems, in a very real way, to tie all of the biblical witness together.  From Genesis 1 to Revelation 21, the entirety can be understood with extreme clarity by looking through the lens of the cross: that Jesus lived the life we should have lived, that He died the death that we deserved; He placed his perfect righteousness upon us that we may stand before God as accepted failures--blameless though we have sinned.  This is the reason we are justified by grace through faith in Christ Jesus.  Many of us who are Protestant can recite that particular verse from memory.  Yet, what follows?  What did Paul add right away?  These words: ²⁵whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood, effective through faith. (Romans 3:25).

As I wrestled with Sandlin's article and the responses given by my colleagues, my heart ached.  For it seemed as if we lost the centrality of that which gave us our core identity as a church--the Theology of the Cross; God's great act of salvation.  And once again, the wellspring of contempt and anger began to rise.  The wellspring of self-righteousness that "I've got it and you don't" began rearing its ugly head.

Ah, but I have no room to boast.  For I have spent the bulk of my ordained ministry failing to proclaim the Gospel.  I have spent the bulk of my ordained ministry failing to point to Jesus.  I have spent the bulk of my ordained ministry thinking Christianity was mainly about me and my actions and the actions of those who call themselves Christian instead of mainly about Jesus and His actions.  I am one, like Paul, untimely born.  I do not deserve to wear the collar or the stole.  How can I be contemptuous?  Because my heart isn't there yet.  My heart still has the Old Adam trying to pull it away from Jesus.  I asked for even more forgiveness.

For grace does not allow contempt.  Grace does not allow self-righteousness.  Grace shows definitively and demonstratively that all have sinned.  All have no right to claim moral superiority.  All have missed the mark.  All have corrupted and warped hearts.  No one is exempt.  Even those who proclaim the Gospel and know the Gospel and have a relationship with Jesus.  This is why we need a Savior.

This is why Jesus had to die.  We cannot escape being in bondage to our sin.  Someone has to free us.  Someone has to make things right.

Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through Jesus Christ.

In one way, it makes things so much easier.  I do not have to worry about justifying myself.  I do not have to worry about fulfilling the Law.  But it also makes things much harder--it means I must love those who are different from me in understanding and practice.  It means I must look at them as accepted failures as I am an accepted failure.  It means I cannot be contemptuous or self-righteous even if I believe I am right.  Indeed, it is a deep struggle.

Have mercy upon me, O Lord, a sinner!

Amen.

Come and Die: Easter Sermon

    This morning, I would like to invite you to come and die.

    I realize this isn’t the typical way most pastors begin their Easter sermons, and you might be a little miffed at me for saying such a thing.  I mean, you might be thinking, “You know, pastor, here it is, Easter Sunday.  The church is full of people.  We have quite a few visitors.  They are coming to celebrate Easter with their families and enjoy the holiday.  You also know, pastor that our community has been hit hard by the deaths of some well known folks.  Don’t you respect their families?  Don’t you care that they are hurting?  You should start your sermon off with a story that is funny and sets us at ease.  Then you should tell us about the resurrection of Jesus and conclude with how the resurrection is going to make our lives all better so that we leave feeling happy and joyful.  How dare you start your sermon inviting us to come and die.”

    You know, maybe you are correct in how I should preach.  I mean, there are more than a few pastors who will indeed follow the outline I just suggested, and if you really, really want to hear such a sermon, I am sure there will be re-runs showcasing the guy just down the road from here.  I am sure his sermon will follow along those lines exactly.  But I am not here this morning to sell you Christianity-lite.  I’m not here this morning to tell you that if you just believe in Jesus’ resurrection and have enough faith that your life will turn out fabulous.  Just ask the those families of those who have died about those things.  See if they agree with that sort of theology.  I don’t care what certain preachers say about having health, and wealth, and status and friends, and what have you.  Just because you believe in Jesus doesn’t mean you will have these things, and if you are desiring these things above all else, then believing in Jesus is just a means to an end.  Jesus doesn’t want to be a means to an end.  He wants to be the end Himself, but in order for Jesus to be the end in our lives, we have to die.  We have to die to our fear of death.  We have to die to our desires for wealth and privilege.  We have to die to our own thoughts about what will make us happy and satisfied.  It may not be the most satisfying thing to hear on Easter morning, but I am not asking on my behalf.  The invitation does not come from me.

    You see, Jesus once famously said, “If anyone wants to be my disciple, let him take up his cross and follow me; for whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but who ever loses it for my sake and the sake of the gospel will find it.”

    At first glance, you may believe this has absolutely nothing to do with Easter.    You may be thinking that Jesus’ call has nothing to do with His resurrection.  You may be thinking that I have gone off the deep end to bring it up, and maybe you are right.  But I ask for a few moments to explain–to explain what I see taking place in many, many peoples’ lives and what has happened in my own life.

    As I look around our society today and as I interact with people, I hear the same story over and over again.  I hear people saying they are running all over the place.  I hear them saying they are burned out, stressed out, and stretched thin.  I hear people who retire tell me they are busier now than when they were actually working.  I hear people who are working tell me they feel tired and worn out–that they have absolutely no energy to do anything after a long week.  I hear people telling me they work hard and play hard, and that their life is crazy.  I sense that people feel like they are on a treadmill that keeps spinning and spinning and spinning and they have no idea how to get off of it.  No one seems to have a sense of peace.  No one seems to have a sense of joy.  No one seems to have a sense of fulfillment.  People seem to be chasing and running after something but never finding it. 

    I know what I was chasing, and I know what it did to me.  You see, some folks think that we pastors are above such matters.  Some folks say, “You pastors believe church is so important and that life should revolve around the church, but you don’t understand what the rest of us are going through.”  And you are right, to an extent.  You see, for many of us pastors, our lives do revolve around the church.  The church becomes our god–our master.  Jesus doesn’t govern our lives, the church does.

    This was rammed home to me when I was watching one of my favorite authors and pastors on Youtube.  Timothy Keller was giving a presentation on doing evangelism in this postmodern world, and he talked about the need for once again being captured by the gospel and capturing the gospel.  And when Keller talks about the gospel, he is speaking about what God has done to save us and not our saving ourselves through our actions.  And he puts a target on those of us who are clergy.  He says, “I don’t know exactly what extent it is for you, but just about every clergy person’s self-worth is tied to their ministry.  When worship attendance goes up, we feel great about ourselves, but when it goes down, we feel miserable.”  And Keller is right.  When the church is doing great; when worship attendance is up; when offerings are strong; when visitors are coming; when programs are well attended; we feel fantastic about what we are doing.  But when the opposite is happening, we feel miserable.  Why?  Why do clergy feel this way?  Why did I feel this way?

    Because I was getting my self-worth from the actions of my congregation.  I will make a confession to you this morning.  It’s a confession many of us who are clergy could make.  I had dreams and aspirations.  I wanted to come in and make a congregation grow–not just a little bit–a lot.  I wanted a congregation to explode and have thousands of members and thousands worshiping on a Sunday morning.  I wanted a congregation to do the exact opposite of what is happening to many mainline congregations these days.  And I wanted the notoriety for having led such a congregation.  I wanted folks to come up to me and ask me, “How did you do it?”  I wanted people to come to me for advice on how to grow their congregations.  I wanted to be important in the life of the national church.  I wanted people to invite me to speak at their congregations and conferences.  And I needed a congregation to help me get there.  So I threw myself into the life of the congregation.  I worked my tail end off to make things happen.  I tried all sorts of things hoping to spur rapid growth.  And if something popped up to threaten the health of the congregation, I became defensive.  I tried to keep everyone together and focused.  I read about all the techniques one was supposed to use to make a church grow.

    And where did it get me?  Tired.  Worn out.  Burned out.  Spinning my wheels.  No sense of fulfillment.  No sense of peace.  No sense of joy.  When I heard Keller speak those words about clergy many months ago, I stood convicted by them.  I was a broken pastor who was trying to find fulfillment in the wrong place.  Jesus was a means to an end and not the end Himself.  And the bad part was, I didn’t know how to make Him the center.

    Then, there was something that happened to me this past Thanksgiving.  My family and I traveled to have the holiday with my 94 year old grandfather who is a retired pastor.  We talked many hours, and my grandfather shared with me many stories about his time serving as a preacher.  And then in the midst of the conversation, he said this, “You know, Kevin, I didn’t accomplish much in the eyes of the world, but the Lord and I are on very good terms.”  I hurriedly wrote that down because it brought me to tears.  First, it convicted me because I longed to accomplish much in the eyes of the world.  I longed to be important, and I wasn’t making too much headway.  But then the statement gave me a massive amount of comfort and peace because it directed me to what was truly important.  “The Lord and I are on very good terms.” 

    None of that other stuff really and truly matters in the big scheme of things.  What really matters is knowing one’s Creator and having Him at the center of one’s life, and that doesn’t come by anything that we do.  It doesn’t come by our perseverance.  It doesn’t come by our willing it to happen.  It doesn’t come by doing as many good things as we possibly can.  How do we get on good terms with the Lord?

    For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that all those who believe in Him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God sent the Son into the world not to condemn the world but that the world may be saved through Him.

    The Word became flesh and dwelled among us.  The Word became flesh and died to reconcile us unto God.  The Word became flesh to bear our sin, our guilt, and our shame so that we might have abundant life.  But that abundant life comes with a cost.  Jesus had to die.  He had to go to the cross, and He now asks us to follow Him to that cross as well.  He also asks us to die.  And that is hard.  Very hard.

    You see, I didn’t want to die to my dreams of being a famous and important pastor.  I didn’t want to die to being the pastor of an absolutely huge congregation.  I didn’t want to die to thinking that I had Christianity all figured out and that I had all the techniques to make congregations grow.  I didn’t want to die to the idea that if I just worked hard enough, everything would work itself out.  I wanted to have control.  I wanted to call the shots.  I wanted to have my cake and to eat it too.  It hurt to let it go.  It hurt like hell.  I hated dying.

    And it seems like such a ridiculous request.  It seems like such a ridiculous command.  “If anyone wants to be my disciple, let him take up his cross and follow me.  For if anyone wants to save their life, they will lose it, but if you lose your life for my sake and the sake of the gospel, you will find it.”  How can dying lead to such a thing?  How can I be confident there is something on the other side of death?

    That’s why there is resurrection.

    That’s why we gather here today.

            The tomb is empty.  On the other side of death, there is life.  It is not a story just for when our time on earth is done.  It is a story for how we live.

    You see, many of us have a common saying.  We say, “You know, if only (fill in the blank) if I had more money, if I had a better job, if my kids were better behaved, if I were more outgoing, if I didn’t make as many mistakes, if I had a nicer car, if the Texans would win the Super Bowl...then my life would be perfect.”  Each and every one of us says such a thing at one point and time, but the reality is, even if we were to get such a thing, we wouldn’t be satisfied.  We wouldn’t be fulfilled.  We wouldn’t be at peace.  These pursuits become our gods.  They take our time, our energy, and our focus.  Oftentimes, they consume our very being.  And waiting at the end of it all is our fear of death.  It is the one thing none of us can ever escape.  Sometimes, we use all sorts of worldly pursuits in trying to stave off what is immanent.  We stress ourselves out trying to escape the reality that we will eventually die.

    But what is death to one who has already died to self?  What is fear to one who knows that there will be eternal life?  Why does one need to run all over the place trying to take one’s mind off of the inevitable if you have already looked death in the eye and know what is on the other side?  This morning, I invite you to die.  I invite you to die to these things.  I invite you to die to the running and stress and anxiety.  I invite you to die to the way the world tells you to operate.  I invite you to die to the way the world tells you you will find all your desires fulfilled.  I invite you to die to your fear of death.  For death has been swallowed up in victory.  Oh death, where is thy victory?  O death where is thy sting?  It is gone.  The tomb is empty.  There is life, abundant life.  Jesus has risen and He now lives.  Let your heart become His home.  Let Him be at the center of your life.  And you will know the peace that passes all understanding.  You will know true fulfillment.  You will know inexpressible joy.  Amen.