Marks of Faith -- A Message for April 7, 2024

Scripture John 20:19-31

On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 

After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.

Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” 

And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 

If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 

 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”

But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”

A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 

Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”

Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”

Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 

But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

Here ends this reading of the word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God. Amen

Let us pray....

Message Marks of Faith

Although we have spent a week since Easter Sunday in 2024, this morning, our reading picks up right where we left off last week, on the first Easter Sunday. 

The women had gone to the tomb to tend to Jesus’ body, but they did not find Jesus’ body when they arrived. Instead, they were informed he had resurrected. The women may have gone back to tell the men the news – we are not sure. Some of the Gospels say the women told the men; the gospel of Mark says they were scared and kept the news of the resurrection quiet.

Later that Easter day, the men were hiding together...they were afraid of being arrested and put to death like Jesus. They were unsure of what move to make next...should they sneak away in the middle of the night and return to their former lives, the lives they were leading before they met Jesus? Should they wait together to be captured and put on trial by the government?

It is telling that the writer of John said the doors were locked for fear of the Jewish leaders...the disciples had stood by and watched Jesus be arrested, put on trial, and killed. They were afraid they would be next.

But, then Jesus appeared. He breathed the Holy Spirit onto the Disciples. He told them they now had the power to forgive the sins of other people. So, Jesus not only was resurrected, but he was working to prepare the Disciples as they were about to take on the responsibility of leading the Christian movement. 

Thomas missed Jesus’ first post-resurrection visit. He had trouble accepting the truth of the resurrection. We can relate to his doubt...it is difficult for us to believe things we cannot see and do not understand. Thomas also said something that many of us can relate to...he made a statement, an ultimatum, that was extreme. He said, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”  Thomas stated he both needed to see and touch Jesus to believe that he was resurrected. Thomas was a literal thinker, and he could not believe based on what he was told by others—he had to see for himself.

So, the next time Jesus appeared to his Disciples, Jesus made a point of asking Thomas if he wanted to put his fingers in Jesus’ wounds. Jesus was willing to give Thomas what he needed to believe in the resurrection...so his eyes and his hands could attest to the reality that Jesus was no longer dead.

After Thomas accepted the reality of the resurrection, Jesus said: “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” This is where the rubber hits the road – in the 2000 years since Jesus’ resurrection, millions of people have believed in Jesus and in his resurrection without seeing it for ourselves. We are the blessed people who believe without seeing. 

In several of the stories about Jesus’ resurrection and the start of the Christian church, we read that the Disciples were scared and hiding in rooms together. When they were unsure about everything that was happening, they took comfort and solace in one another. This continued after they started to accept the reality of Jesus’ resurrection – the Disciples still lived together as they waited for the next events in their spiritual journey and life journey to come. They lived and worked together as the church grew and shifted. Even when the Disciples were sent out into the world to evangelize and spread the Good News of Jesus, they did not go off alone. Instead, they paired up with other believers and stayed in the homes of believers in the towns they visited. Practicing Christianity was always done in groups.

Our faith is inherently social. Jesus did not come to earth and keep the reality of who he was a secret. He was not a rugged individual who kept his views and his faith to himself. Instead, as soon as he left the wilderness after his time of prayer and temptation, he started gathering a group of disciples. When Jesus’ was not able to be with those disciples, they relied on each other. When they were sent out into the world to evangelize and tell others about Jesus, they went in pairs and in groups. When churches began to form around the Mediterranean region, and then gradually expand their territory throughout the world, they were made up of people who supported each other, shared their resources, and worked together to create communities modeled on the teachings of Jesus.

Those communities became the Christian church. Over the centuries, the church has evolved. It started with groups gathering in each other’s homes. As more and more people became Christians, they gathered in barns, catacombs, and synagogues. Eventually, buildings were built in some places to house churches. No matter where they met, the church was the people who did the “meeting.” The people of the church are called to be in relationship with each other.... we come together to be the church. Some of us are biologically related to each other, but most of us are not. Instead, we make us the family of God, the community of Christ, by choosing to be part of this group of people who are Trinity Chrisitan United Church of Christ in beautiful Skippack, Pennsylvania. 

When the Disciples were terrified and were hiding in the upper room together, they could only count on God and count on each other. As part of Trinity Church, we also know we can count on God and count on each other. We are called to support each other as our lives change and as unexpected events arise. When illnesses or accidents occur, we are the people who are called to support each other.

Jesus was very intentional about how he gathered his disciples. He gathered a group of people that was large enough to be strong for each other when events became unpredictable. Let us work to be those supportive friends and cheerleaders for each other during the days of our lives. Amen. 

Now What? -- An Easter Message for 2024

Scripture Reading                       Mark 16:1-8

When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body.

Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb 

and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?”

But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. 

As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.

“Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. 

But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’”

Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.

Here ends this reading of the Word of God for the People of God. Thanks be to God. Amen. 

Prayer for Understanding

Spirit of power and new possibility, through the scriptures, open our minds to understanding, our hearts to loving, and our wills to carrying out the mission of the Risen Christ, God’s Living Word. Amen.

 

Message                                         Now What?

Christ the Lord is Risen today! – Alleluia! 

In our reading of our scripture this morning, we are left with a cliff hanger.  Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome went to the tomb to anoint Jesus’ body and prepare him for burial. In a more ideal situation, they would have done that work soon after Jesus died….if he had died in a less brutal way on a different day of the week, he would have already been anointed. But many unusual things happened when Jesus died….so the women went to care for the body of a man who had been dead three days. The women loved Jesus so much they would work through any unpleasantness to care for his body. 

            The women were brave….by going to tend to the body, they risked their own arrest. It was dangerous to be connected to Jesus. It was dangerous to be connected to people the Roman government executed for committing sedition. Even in our own country, how many people line up to care for the bodies of people the government executes? Most of us are probably not contributing to “Go Fund Me”s to pray for funeral expenses of people on death row. We keep our distance – we look away. We don’t want to be associated with whatever tragedy leads to those kinds of deaths. 

            The brave women went at daybreak to tend to Jesus’ body. It seems like they were a little unprepared for their trip – they didn’t think they would be able to roll the stone away from the entrance of the grave. They hoped there was someone there to help them. But, when they arrived, the stone was already moved away and the grave was open. So, the women walked right into the grave. They had work to do! 

            But, when they entered the tomb, the women were startled to find a man they didn’t know sitting in it. A strange young man wearing a white robe was sitting in the tomb. Where was Jesus?!? 

            The man told the women Jesus had risen from the dead. Jesus would meet them and the other disciples in Galilee.  Jesus had prophesied about his death and resurrection…now Jesus’ prophetic words had come true. He was risen and wasn’t in the grave anymore. 

            The man told the women to tell the other disciples and Peter about Jesus’ resurrection and that they all should go meet him in Galilee.  Maybe this was part of the plan—that they were to go to the region where Jesus grew up and lived most of his life to meet with him. 

            But the women were scared. According to Mark, they didn’t say anything about the man or the empty tomb to anyone because they were afraid. They were stunned into silence. Instead of finding the man’s words to be comforting, the women were terrified. Mark doesn’t tell us when they told others about the empty tomb and the words of the strange man. 

            Even if the women had not spilled the news, we know what happened next…..the Disciples found out Jesus was not in the tomb.  They initially weren’t sure what to believe about his absence.  But, later that same day, Jesus appeared to two disciples who were walking to the town of Emmaus. After their encounter with Jesus, those two disciples rushed back to Jerusalem to tell the others. After they arrived and told the others about their thrilling encounter with Jesus, Jesus appeared to the whole group of disciples. During the 40 days after Easter, Jesus appeared again and again. And, then Jesus left the world on his own terms when he Ascended and went to be with God. 

The Easter Miracle of Jesus’ resurrection is part of what we consider the greatest story ever told. God loves the people of the world so much that God chose to come to earth as Jesus. God chose to take on the form of a human being. God chose to live among us, as a weak and vulnerable baby, as a child who could skin his knees, as a man who could eat too much and be thirsty and cry when he was sad and be delighted when he witnessed beauty. God chose to live among us. And, God chose to die a human death.  

God allowed Jesus to be crucified. God gives us free will – we have the freedom to do good things and bad things. God is not a puppet master controlling us. God gives us the freedom to do wonderful things and horrible things. On the first Good Friday, the people of the world, the people of Jerusalem, killed Jesus. God allows us to do horrible things. But, God is more powerful than us...God is wiser than us...God is greater than us. God knows what is best for us even when we don’t know what is best for ourselves. And, on the first Easter morning, God chose for Jesus to be resurrected. So, even though we made the mistake of killing Jesus, God wouldn’t allow that mistake to stand forever. Jesus was resurrected. 

Jesus was resurrected to remind us that no matter what mistakes we make, God love us. No matter how much we hurt each other, God loves us. No matter how much we hurt ourselves, God loves us. Even when we ignore God, God loves us.  

God came to live among us as Jesus the Christ. At the time Jesus walked the earth, some people listened to him, some people were alarmed by him, some people ignored him, some people killed him. But, on the first Easter Sunday, Jesus was resurrected. Jesus was resurrected for all people, the ones who “got” him and the ones who hated him. Jesus came to teach all of us about God’s love for humanity, God’s desire for us to love each other, and through that love, to treat all people with compassion, warmth, and care.  

            On this Easter Sunday, we are blessed to be followers of our loving God, the God of the Good News. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” We are saved by God’s love. It is our work as people of faith to share God’s love with others.

            When Jesus was asked what commandment is the most important law of God’s to follow, he answered that we are to “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ “ and we are to…”: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ “ In response to God’s sacrificial love for us, we are called upon to love God in return and to love all other people as much as we love ourselves. So, this is our duty and our challenge as Christians. It is one thing for us to say we love other people; it is entirely another thing to live with a consistently loving attitude and outlook as we interact with others.

            In the next few months, our already contentious national political scene will go into overdrive as we prepare for the elections in the fall. And, most of us take sides – it is us versus them, the right people verses the wrong people, the smart people verses the ignorant people, the people who understand the big picture verses the people who only see the “right now.” No matter what side we are on, we tend to vilify the people who we don’t agree with.

            Christians don’t fall into a monolithic group when it comes to American politics. We don’t have a consensus on our views. Some of us are Republicans, some of us are Democrats, and some of us are Independents. There is not a Christian party; instead, there are Christians who are part of all the parties.

            As we enter into this intense political season, we must remember that we are first and foremost followers of God and Jesus Christ. We are called to be people of love as a response to the love of God. And, as loving followers of God, we are to treat all people with consideration, compassion and resect, even if we disagree with each other.

            For God so loved us, God sent Jesus to die for us. We are saved through that love. Let us love God and love one another, no matter what.

          Thanks be to God.

          Christ the Lord is Risen Today. Alleluia!

 

He is Risen! -- A Easter Sunrise Message for 2024

 

GOSPEL — Mark 16:1-8

When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. 

Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb 

and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?”

But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. 

As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.

“Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. 

But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’”

Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.

PSALTER (Psalm 107.1-2, 10-15)
O give thanks to the Holy One, for God is good.
God’s steadfast love endures forever!
Let the redeemed of the Holy One say so,
whom God has redeemed from trouble.
We sat in darkness and in gloom,
prisoners in misery and in irons,
for we had rebelled against the words of God,
and spurned the counsel of the Most High.
Our hearts were bowed down with hard labor;
we fell down, with no one to help.
Then we cried to God in our trouble,
and God saved us from our distress.
God brought us out of darkness and gloom,
and broke our bonds asunder.
Oh God, we thank you for you steadfast love,
for your wonderful works to humankind.

 

MEDITATION

Forty-five minutes before we gathered this morning, at 6:45, the Sun rose in Skippack. It is around 50 degrees Fahrenheit here. The sun rose in Jerusalem at 5:28 this morning, and it is 70 degrees there.  

If we rewind time by almost 2000 years, we can imagine ourselves waking up early this morning and walking with the women to the tomb. Although it would be around 70 degrees, when you are used to warm days, the air would have felt chilly. The women would have been wearing their robes and cloaks to keep warm. 

I suspect the women gathered up their supplies before they went to bed the night before – they would have had water, oil, and herbs. They needed a vessel with water in it to wash the body off. Jewish people have a custom called to-ho-rah when bodies are ritually washed before being wrapped in a burial shroud. When Jesus was on the cross, he sweated and bled. The women would have wanted to remove his body fluids before his final burial. They also had oil to rub into his body, probably olive oil. They may also have had aromatic herbs with them such as olive, laurel, palm, and cypress to help fight the effects of decomposition. The women loved Jesus and wanted care for his body. They wanted to care for his body as a final act of love for Jesus. 

But, when the women arrived at the tomb, their plans went awry. Jesus’s body was not there. Instead, a strange man dressed in a white robe was sitting in the tomb. He told the women Jesus had resurrected and would meet them in Galilee. The women were shocked by his words and went away afraid to tell anyone what he had said. 

Despite their misgivings and fear, the man’s words were true. Later on that first day of the week, later that Sunday, Jesus began to make appearances to his friends. He was resurrected and they would soon see him. 

I feel for those women. They wanted to do the right thing by tending to Jesus’ body. They wanted to be faithful to Jesus, to the one they loved, to their friend and their messiah. They wanted to tend to his body as a final act to show their love for him. And, they had no idea that Jesus would not be there to receive their gift, to receive their love. 

Like those women, we are called to respond to Jesus with loving actions. In a few minutes, we will walk to the Education Building and gather for breakfast. Our social committee will lovingly prepare food for us, their brothers and sisters in Christ. Our acts of faith don’t always have to be mighty and showy – like those women at the tomb, we can show we love Jesus by wiping off his sweat and wrapping his body…..we can show we love Jesus by making sure there are table cloths are on the tables in the fellowship hall and by making sure your friend’s eggs are cooked just right. 

In our lives, we do not have a lot of opportunities to do the big things – we quite possibly will not donate a stained-glass window to our church or donate enough malaria vaccinations so that we eradicate the virus in our lifetimes. But we can do many little things that express our love to the people we meet each day. We can do many little kindnessses to express our love to Jesus each day. 

In the Christmas carol “In the Bleak Midwinter,” Christina Rosseti wrote: 

“What can I give Him, poor as I am? If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb; If I were a Wise Man, I would do my part; Yet what I can I give Him: give my heart.” We do not always have a specialized skill set or luxury goods to donate to the church. We may not be trained as ministers or parish nurses or opera singers. But we are called to give what we can, no matter how humble. We are called to share our time, talents, and treasures with God and with the church.  

 

The women who went to the tomb had servant’s hearts. They found joy in selflessly serving other people, in lifting up the broken, and in bringing hope to the hopeless. We are called to be like them....to share our gifts, to humbly do what we can for Jesus and for the people God calls us to be in relationship with. 

On this Easter day, let us put aside our fears and live lives of service and love. Amen.  

Into Jerusalem -- A Message for March 24, 2024

 

Scripture                 John 12:12-16

 

The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. 

They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting,

“Hosanna!”

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”

“Blessed is the king of Israel!”

Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, as it is written:

“Do not be afraid, Daughter Zion;
    see, your king is coming,
    seated on a donkey’s colt.”

At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that these things had been done to him.

Here ends this reading of the word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God. Amen.

Let us pray…

 

Message                                          Into Jerusalem

 

            A few weeks ago, the Oscars aired on a Sunday night. All of the movie stars and celebrities dressed up in the finest attire to walk the red carpet. There were hordes of on-lookers behind protective barriers watching the stars. Tons of reporters asked questions and snapped photos. Every last detail of the famous celebrities’ looks were scrutinized – you could read about their outfits and their jewelry and their hairdos and their makeup. Even their perfumes were covered by the press – we had to use our imagination as we heard about how good the celebrities smelled.

            Many of us find it fascinating to watch celebrities make their grand entrances at these events. Yet, when Jesus made his entrances, the fanfare was a little less spectacular. Jesus was the Messiah – the savior of humankind.  People waited for his entrance into the world for centuries before he came. They expected the messiah to arrive with a lot of fanfare – he was anticipated to be born as a literal prince to a royal family directly descended from the lineage of King David. And, he was supposed to be a priest and an expert Biblical Scholar – a king, a priest, and an academic. 

            They expected the Messiah to be born in a palace, to a royal family, surrounded by advisors and religious scholars.

            And, when Jesus, the true messiah arrived to the world, he was born to a teenaged mom and her carpenter fiancée. He was born in a stable, not a palace. No advisors or religious scholars authenticated his birth – instead he was surrounded by sleepy animals and visited by smelly shepherds.  His beginnings were humble, not grand. His arrival was heralded by angels, but they didn’t appear in the throne rooms of worldly rulers – instead they sang their heralds to shepherds and sheep.

            Jesus was the expected Messiah, but he was unlike everything the people expected.

            On the first Palm Sunday, Jesus the Messiah paraded into Jerusalem – the king had arrived in the royal city. In the first century, when important dignitaries and royalty visited a city, they would have the first century’s version of the red carpet rolled out – they would enter the cities to triumphant fanfare – people would wave palm branches.  The king would ride in sitting atop a mighty warhorse. He would wear a garland of laurel leaves around his head – or a golden crown that looked like a wreath of laurel leaves around his head. He would have worn fine clothes, rode a fine horse, and be led to the finest palace available. 

            In contrast, Jesus rode into town on the back of a young donkey.  He wasn’t met by the rich, successful, or powerful leaders of Jerusaelm ... .instead, the common people who heralded him were very modest in their means. They shouted hosanna, laid down their coats, and waved palm branches. Instead of spending the night in a palace, Jesus returned to Bethany to stay at the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus.  Instead of making a positive and grand impression on the Temple leaders, Jesus’ arrival scared them. The crowds were happy and excited to welcome Jesus to Jerusaelm; the Temple authorities were upset by Jesus’ arrival. His arrival was the catalyst for them to put into action their plan to eliminate Jesus. 

Jesus wasn’t the kind of messiah the Temple authorities wanted. Jesus wasn’t the kind of messiah the Roman authorities wanted. Jesus wasn’t the kind of messiah the rich and powerful nobility of Israel wanted. But, Jesus was the kind of messiah we needed….we all needed even if he wasn’t what we wanted.

Jesus came for the least of these….Jesus came for people who are Jewish and people who are Gentile….Jesus came for people who are monetarily poor and people who are monetarily rich….Jesus came for people who are ethnically Jewish, and ethnically Samaritan, and ethnically Roman, and ethnically Ethiopian – as well as people who are East Asian, and Australian Aboriginal, and European, and Latin American, and Nigerian, and European, and every other combination of ethnic group….Jesus came for young people and old people….Jesus came for women and men and nonbinary people….Jesus came for religious people and irreligious people….Jesus came for people who are imperfect in every way and are trying to be better.  Jesus came for us.

As we live through the next seven days, we will remember the lowest point of humanity, when we met the Messiah and killed him. And we will remember that despite all the terrible things we do, God loves and forgives us. God loves us so much that Jesus gave himself over to suffer and die for us, so that our salvation is assured. Jesus came to save a wretch like me…and like you.

In response, let us live lives full of gratitude to God. Just as Jesus gave of himself for others, let us work to make other people’s lives better. Let us live lives full of appreciation and generosity in response to the generosity we have received from God.

May it be so. Amen. 

Deep In Our Hearts -- A Message for March 17, 2024

Scripture     John 12:20-33

Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the festival. 

They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.” 

Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus.

Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 

Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. 

Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 

Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.

“Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. 

Father, glorify your name!”

Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” 

The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him.

 Jesus said, “This voice was for your benefit, not mine. 

Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. 

And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” 

He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.

Here ends this reading of the word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God. Amen.

 

Let us pray….

 

Message                              Deep In Our Hearts

 

            When Lucia was little, we planted a big garden in pots on our sunny back porch. Our yard had lots of critters – groundhogs, raccoons, squirrels and deer -- so the elevated porch seemed like a safer bet if we wanted to eat our produce and not have the animals eat it before we could get to it.  We started little seeds in trays in our kitchen first – Lucia thought they would instantly grow so she checked them multiple times a day. Finally, the seeds sprouted and it was warm enough to transplant our little seedlings into pots.  We were attentive waterers and our garden did indeed grow.   Lucia was excited to eat what we harvested, and I was excited the kid was finally eating veggies.

 

            There is something almost magical about watching plants grow from seeds. When you plant hard little seeds, they sometimes seem quite dead.  … They are so hard they seem like little rocks. But, in only a few days, after water and warm soil do their thing, seeds sprout and grow into a wholly new plant.

           

            In our scriptures, we read about Jesus’s sermons and the miracles. We read about his baptism and his time in the wilderness and the conservations he had with his disciples. Jesus’ years of ministry were brief, and he packed a lot into them. There seemed to be a shift about midway through those years when  Jesus began to prepare his disciples for what Jesus was destined to experience at the end of his human life on earth.  He knew he would be arrested, put on trial, and die. Jesus also knew that his death would not be the end of his ministry, but would be the moment salvation became attainable for all people.

           

            This morning’s scripture is out of sequence in the time-line of Jesus’ life. Next week, in worship, we will remember the first Palm Sunday, when Jesus entered Jerusalem as a king five days before the start of the Jewish Passover. People waved palm branches and honored Jesus by welcoming him to the city. Our reading this morning comes immediately after the Palm Sunday events. In the beginning of our reading, some Jewish Greek people who were in Jerusalem for the Passover festival approached the disciples because they wanted to meet Jesus.  Their request triggered Jesus to tell his followers that the hour had come for Jesus to be glorified – to be killed.

 

            Jesus then gave the analogy about a kernel of wheat falling to the grown and being planted….the wheat kernel dies but the wheat plant that grows out of the former kernel produces many seeds. Jesus knew that he would die, but the events that would result from his death – the Easter resurrection, salvation for all people, and the spread of the Good News across the world to generations of people – these would be the kind of productive seeds the world needs.

 

            Sometimes, we have to let things die in order for things in our lives to grow in a better direction.  Most of us aren’t still friends with our best friend form kindergarten – at some point, we changed or moved away or were assigned to a different 2^nd grade classroom and our friendship died.  But, we made additional friends, better friends. We have known people who dreamed of becoming doctors, and then they got an F in Organic Chemistry, and they let go of their dream of practicing medicine and became something else and are happily living their lives. Some of us have experienced a depression or identity crisis after losing a job, and then found ourselves with a much better fit and much happier outlook in our next position.

 

            Jesus knew he was going to die. And, he told his friends and followers again and again that he must die to fulfill his destiny and make a difference in the lives of all the people of the earth. But, as we remember the events around the death of Jesus, we will recall that his friends and followers did not take it well when Jesus died. They freaked out. They were sad. They were terrified. They were overwhelmed by their fears. As the events of Maundy Thursday and Good Friday unfolded, Jesus’ followers were devastated.

           

            In the moment of their loss, they had trouble understanding that something good was coming out of their tragedy. They couldn’t anticipate the Easter miracle...they didn’t expect it even though Jesus gave them lots of clues it would happen.

 

            It is important to for us to remember that when bad things happen to us, they are not the end of our stories. As the yard signs we put up for our “It Get’s Better” campaign say – Your mistakes don’t define you.  Our faith holds the promise that each ending is also a new beginning. Yes, Jesus died, but the result of his death was the Easter miracle, salvation for all people, and the opportunity for the Christian message of God’s love and grace spreading to all the people of the world.   We can take heart in the promise of the Gospel….God loves us. Christ died for us. And, the most beautiful part of our lives is yet to come, new life with God and resurrection with Jesus.

Amen.

 

No Matter What -- A Message for March 10, 2024

 

Over the six weeks of Lent, we examine teachings of Jesus and events in his life that led to his crucifixion. This morning, we turn to a portion of Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus. 

Nicodumus was a Pharisee and a leader of the Sanhedrin – the council of Elders who had judicial, legislative and political oversight over the Jewish people during the first century. Nicodemus was curious about Jesus and his teachings, but was conflicted about allowing his peers to know about his curiosity. So, he snuck out in the middle of the, when the Jerusalem streets were dark and empty, to talk to Jesus and ask him questions.  

The reading we have this morning is part of Nicodemus and Jesus’ initial discussion.  Listen know to their words as we read John, chapter three, verses forteen through twenty-one:

 

John 3:14-21

 

Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,

 that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 

Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. 

This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 

Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. 

But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.

Here ends this reading of the word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God. Amen

 

Let us pray…

 

Message           No Matter What

 

          Nicodemus and Jesus had a complicated relationship. Nicodemus was curious about Christ, but also was ashamed of his curiosity. He snuck around in the middle of the night, in the dark, to meet with Jesus. And, when he was with Jesus, Nicodemus asked him questions and Jesus gave such profound answers that we are still studying their words.

 

          The first words we read this morning are about the Hebrew people in the wilderness. They spent 40 years in the wilderness on a trip that could have taken three weeks if they followed a direct route. But, the Hebrew people had to work out many cultural and theological dilemmas – they needed to wander so that they would be ready to enter the Holy Land. They spent a long time bickering and arguing and questioning God. When they kept their eyes on the ground, and on their mundane and trivial problems, they didn’t move forward….when they focused on themselves and their self-centered problems, they were stuck in the wilderness. But, when Moses lifted up the symbol of the snake on the pole, the symbol of God and God’s ways, they were saved.  

 

          Jesus was the embodiment of God and God’s ways. When people focus on Jesus instead of their mundane and trivial problems, we will be saved.

         

          The most famous verse in Christianity is embedded in this conversation. We see it held up at sporting events and spray painted on the side of highways…John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” The words that Jesus said next are: “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” These verses are crucial for how we understand God to work in the world. Jesus came to live among us to save the world. God loves the people of the world so much that God was willing to come to earth, teach us, and die so that we may live knowing God’s teachings and will for us, and for us also to receive eternal life beyond the lives we live on this earth.

 

          In the following verses, Jesus says: “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.” Remember, Nicodemus came to talk to Jesus in the middle of the night, under the cover of darkness. These words were a jab at Nicodemus….Jesus was saying that he, the messiah, the truth, the source of enlightenment, was in the world. Jesus had the foreknowledge of what was going to happen to him – he was going to be lifted up like the snake on pole that Moses used to lead the Hebrew people through the wilderness. And, when Jesus was lifted up on the cross, he would die. Jesus, the messiah, was going to be rejected by countless people who weren’t able to embrace his message or the truth of who he was. In a few weeks, on Holy Week, we will journey to the cross with Jesus – we will hear the words condemning him – we will remember how some of the people in the crowds that embraced him on Palm Sunday turned against him on Good Friday. 

 

Although we will remember Jesus’ rejection and crucifixion, it is our work to embrace the light, to embrace the truth of Jesus’ teachings and to work to live following those teachings. 

 

Sometimes, we think we can act like Nicodemus – we can be covertly members of the Christian faith – we can choose to “believe” in God, but not change our behaviors or our lives to embrace that faith – we can carry on in participating in actions or practices that hurt other people.         But, Jesus calls us to be in the light – to be open and truthful about our faith. 

 

We have to remember that Nicodemus did not stay hidden about his conviction that Jesus was God’s representative on earth. When Jesus was under trial, Nicodemus stood up for him.  When the Sanhedrin members were discussing what to do about the problem of “Jesus” – since he was offering a different interpretation of how to faithfully follow God, and interpretation that differed from their teachings – Nicodemus defended Jesus and reminded the other members of the Sanhedrin that the Jewish law compelled them to offer Jesus an opportunity to meet with them and answer their questions before he was convicted — they were supposed to offer Jesus a trial. 

 

And, later, after that trial and after the Romans convicted and executed Jesus for sedition, Nicodemus brought burial spices and he and Joseph of Arithmathea used them to prepare Jesus’ body for burial. Nicodemus didn’t stay hidden – he stepped forward despite the pressure he felt to remain secret about his feelings regarding Jesus.

 

          God loved the world so much that God came to live among us as Jesus, the messiah who lived a human life, with the joys and pains that all humans experience. And, he gave of himself fully, Jesus gave of himself  to the point that he was willing to suffer and die on our behalf. Jesus came to us not to condemn us or judge us or make us feel bad, but instead came so that we will know God loves us and wants us to love each other and to treat all other people with kindness, love and respect. 

 

          In response to the love of Jesus and God, we must be open and public about our choice to be Christians and followers of Jesus.