Preach On! Easter Sermon

Preach On!

Welcome to All Saints’!  I am really glad you are here to worship with us on this night when we meet again our risen Lord.  A part of me wonders what brought you to church tonight.  Are you visiting family from out of town?  Were you invited?  Is someone you love being baptized?  Maybe you are anxious to see the new baptismal font in action?  I wonder if this is your way of getting out of the chaos of Easter morning services.  I imagine a few of you are here because someone dragged you here against your will.  Are you here because this is your favorite church service of the year? 

Whatever your reason for being here, our risen Lord receives you all with open arms this night—you who are glad and you who are weary, you who are excited and you who are indifferent, you who are filled with joy and you who are filled with despair, and you who are everywhere else and in between.  Our risen Lord wants to meet you exactly where you are and nowhere else.

Scripture says, “Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb.”  The text does not say why Mary got up before the sun to come to the tomb on that first day of the week.  Maybe she couldn’t sleep and needed to see again that Jesus really did die.  But maybe she still hung onto a glimmer of hope.  Maybe God really will bring Jesus back from the dead.  We can’t know for sure why Mary came to the tomb that morning except we know that she loved Jesus.  The important thing for us to remember tonight is what happened when she did show up. 

Immediately, Mary notices that Jesus is gone.  She then runs to tell Peter.  In turn, Peter runs to the empty tomb.  The beloved disciple passes Peter in a sprint and wins the race.  And ever since the church has held 5ks for fundraisers.  It has always been that way, it is tradition!  When the race is over, all three witnesses stand at the threshold of the tomb, but it is Peter who enters first followed by the beloved disciple.  They don’t really know what to think and go home.  And then Mary enters the tomb and begins to weep.

If Mary hung onto any hope, that hope is gone now.  She believes that someone took Jesus.  What other possible explanation is there?  Blinded by her tears, she demands that the gardener tell her where Jesus is so she can take him somewhere safe.  And this is moment when the risen Lord is made known to Mary.  In her tears and in her grief, Jesus calls out, “Mary!” 

It is true!  Jesus will wipe away every tear from our eyes.  Brushing her tears aside, Mary sees the risen Lord standing right in front of her and calls out, “Rabbouni!”  Jesus tells her not to hang on to him and instead to go and tell the disciples what she has seen.  She does as Jesus says and preaches the first sermon in church history saying, “I have seen the Lord.”  Every sermon should be this simple—I have seen the Lord.

Mary’s witness to the good news is based on her own experience with the risen Lord.  And her experience is that the risen Lord meets her in her grief and in her tears.  Over the next several weeks, we will see how Jesus meets others.  Jesus meets the disciples in their fear as they huddle behind locked doors.  Jesus will meet Thomas in his doubt.  Jesus will meet Peter in his guilt.  And each time, in different ways, Jesus tells those whom he encounters “Go and tell others what you have seen.”   

  Thus, our witness to the risen Lord does not happen in a vacuum or in the abstract.  Like Mary, the risen Lord wants to meet you exactly where you are in your particular situation even if you think your particular situation is the last place in the world Jesus would look—as we will see next Sunday, Jesus can appear through locked doors!  The risen Lord knows that we live in a world where everyone is touched by the depth of loss and despair.  And because he knows that loss is all around, our risen Lord wants to tell us that God’s love is all around.  And the way that the world should know this love is through the preaching and spreading of the gospel in our churches and in our homes and in our workplaces and wherever people are hungry for good news. 

Tonight we encounter the risen Lord as a community of faith and as people with our very own story to tell.  Through our own particular encounter with the risen Lord, we know there is reason to hope.  Like Mary, we know that our tears are not the end of the story.  How do we know?  We know because the risen Lord appeared to Mary and dried her tears.  Mary then told Peter and Peter told the other disciples, and the other disciples told their respective communities, and those communities told the world.  Now it is our turn to preach.  As witnesses of the risen Lord, we are called out into the world to tell others, “I have seen the Lord.”  So go into the world and preach your sermon, preach in only the way you know how in both word and deed. 

 If you tell jokes, tell a joke to someone who is sad.  If you like to have people over to dinner, invite someone who is lonely over for dinner.  If you like to garden, befriend that neighbor with a black thumb.  If you know what it is like to lose a parent, tell someone who has lost a parent that you know how badly it hurts.  If you know someone who is having a hard time and you really don’t know what to do or say, just tell them that you love them and are there for them.  Give them reason to believe that the risen Lord is standing right next to them in their grief and in their sorrow. Give them a reason to believe that the risen Lord is showing them a way out of their loss. 

The world is hungry for this news.  The world is hungry to hear our Savior calling out, “you who are lonely, you who doubt, you who are ashamed, you who are lost—I am with you now.  I will never leave you.  How can I leave you?  I have been raised from the dead.”  And now brothers and sisters, you who have witnessed the risen Lord, preach on!  Alleluia, Christ is risen!  The Lord has risen indeed, Alleluia!

What kind of will is that? A Good Friday Sermon

Good Friday 

                Have you ever watched a movie for the second or third time hoping it will end differently?  Hoping that the good guy will actually survive or win only to see the movie end the same way every time?  This is kind of like how I feel on Good Friday.  When I remember these events that took place some two thousand years ago in Jerusalem, a part of me hopes for a different ending.  Maybe Jesus doesn’t have to die. 

Maybe Judas will have a change of heart.  Won’t Judas change his mind and decide not to betray Jesus?  But that doesn’t happen.  Judas brings a detachment of soldiers with the police, chief priests, and Pharisees.  They came with lanterns and torches and weapons.  They came to take Jesus away and sentence him to death.  Judas betrays the trust of Jesus and his friends.

Maybe Peter will remember Jesus’ prediction of the cock crowing three times and change his mind.  Won’t Peter wise up and boldly proclaim Christ as Lord as he did so passionate before?  But that doesn’t happen.  Peter denies Christ three times.  Peter thinks only of himself.

Maybe Pilate will show mercy and compassion.  Doesn’t Pilate see that the Jews have a weak case against Jesus?  But that doesn’t happen either.  Pilate washes his hands clean of any responsibility and hands Jesus over to death.  Pilate surrenders his integrity for popularity’s sake.     

But wait, maybe the angry mob will realize that they are out of control.  Won’t they see that Barabbas is the person who is really deserving of death?  But that doesn’t happen.  They shout even louder—Crucify him!  Crucify him!  The crowd wants a good show; they came to Jerusalem to be entertained.

Jesus is betrayed, denied, flogged, mocked, sentenced to death, and hung on a cross to die.  Jesus’ mother Mary, Mary Magdalene, Mary wife of Clopas, and Jesus’ beloved disciple grieve at the foot of the cross.  Surely these people hoped the ending wouldn’t happen this way either.  But it happens the same way every time.  Jesus dies on the cross.  It is finished.  All these things took place in order to fulfill scripture.  Jesus said, “Am I not to drink the cup that the Father has given me?”  Jesus’ death on the hard wood of the cross is God’s will in order that all may come within the reach of his saving embrace.  What kind of will is that? 

I recently read about an old movie called Stars in My Crown.  The story takes place immediately after the Civil War.  The movie revolves around a preacher named Josiah who tries to tame an unruly town who is learning how to live in an era when African Americans could own land.  The plot thickens when some white business owners try to buy some land in order to expand their mining industry. 

In order to reach their goal, they need to convince a free slave named Uncle Famous Prill to sell his property.  Uncle Famous tells them no, that he has nowhere else to go.  The town threatens Uncle Famous until finally they give him an ultimatum—sell the land or else.  This newly freed slave doesn’t budge.  Pastor Josiah knows things will get ugly.  He knows something has to be done, but he swears not to resort to violence.  Later that evening, Josiah and his sons go to Uncle’s house.  When the lynch mob arrives armed and ready to kill Uncle Famous, Josiah says, “before you do anything I am going to read Uncle Famous’ last will and testament.” 

Josiah stands on the front porch and reads Uncle Famous’ last will and testament.  Each person in the mob hears their name read aloud:  to one Uncle’s fishing rod, to another Uncle’s rifle, and finally to another Uncle’s land.  Slowly all the men walk away.  They realize their transgressions and their hearts are changed due to this act of charity.  One of Josiah’s sons looks at the blank sheet of paper and asks, “What kind of will is that?”  The preacher man replies, “It is the will of God.”

On the cross, Jesus looks at Judas and Peter and Pilate and the Crowd.  Jesus looks at you and me and grants us life in his death.  On the cross, Jesus empties himself out of everything he has so that we might live in the household of God forever.  To put things plainly, the crucified Jesus grants life to his crucifiers.  When we see and understand all that has taken place, do we not see that we are all complicit in the death of Jesus?  And do our hearts not change? 

When we see and understand what God is doing in Jesus, how can we not become more loving, more generous, more compassionate, and more forgiving?   On the cross, God’s only Son Jesus Christ gives us the power to become children of God and as children of God we have the power to change the world through acts of compassion, generosity, charity, and mercy.   When see and understand the good news of God in Christ, how can we not respond like the centurion? — and say, truly this man was God’s son. 

When we accept that the story has to end this way, only then can our hearts change.  Jesus had to die in order for us to realize our need for Christ.  If Jesus didn’t die, I am not sure we would have the grace to acknowledge our fault.  I believe we would continue betray the very one who wishes to give us life, we would continue to make excuses for our actions and shift the blame to someone else, we would continue to thank God that we aren’t like all those other sinners, we would continue to be blind and live only for ourselves. 

When we look at the cross, the need to repent is made clear in the wounds of our crucified Lord.  When we look at the cross, only then do we realize that the will of God in Christ is the only thing that has the power to change us and make us whole again.  Jesus takes on the ending that belongs to us which is death and gives us the ending that belongs to him which life.  What kind of will is that?  It is the will of God.  Amen. 

An Invitation to Holy Week

The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church describes Holy Week as a liturgical drama enacting the last scenes of the life of Christ.  The main cast of this drama includes Jesus, Pontius Pilate, Peter, Judas, and Mary Magdalene.  Like any play, all of these characters are necessary for the plot to thicken.  Whether we vilify, crucify, or celebrate these characters, all of them are needed to tell of God’s salvation story.  Our opinions of the characters may change as the story goes on and just when we think we have figured it all out, the narrative takes a new twist.

The Jesus who is greeted by resounding chants of “Hosanna in the Highest!” is quickly put down by shouts that scream, “Crucify Him!”  Once noble Peter, the disciple who seems to set himself apart from the others, changes his tune and denies Christ three times.  There is Judas, the character we hope will change his response of betrayal if we just watch the play one more time but never does.  There is also the politician, Pontius Pilate.  We are never quite sure if we should grant him sympathy because he holds an office of such intense scrutiny or if we should call him a snake because he figures out how to wash his hands of any responsibility.  Then there is the incredibly complex character of Mary Magdalene.  She sticks around to the bitter end and beyond, never limited by the grief that accompanies living according to the life of Christ, and is the first to witness to the joy of resurrection.

                The drama moves quickly and with purpose, from the crowded streets of Jerusalem and jubilant expectation to a private room and a Last Supper, from the washing of feet and a kiss that betrays to a trial that condemns only the righteous Christ Jesus, from a crown of thorns and whip of cords to the hard wood of the cross.  This is a drama where Christ hopes to invite all to fall within the reach of his saving embrace.   

Year after year the church invites us to participate in the great drama of Holy Week.  When we participate in this drama, we are not called simply to remember. The Holy Week liturgy, like all liturgies, reminds us that we too are notable characters in God’s salvation story.  We are invited to ask important questions regarding our life of faith.  How does Jesus speak to me when I doubt?  When I betray?  When I am indifferent?  When I am in tears?  What does this drama say about me?  More importantly, what does this drama say about Christ’s hopes for me?           

                I hope and pray that you will find some answers to these questions.  Not simply answers that will make everything better overnight.  Instead, answers that invite you to experience the mystery of God.  Answers that point to God’s intense love for you no matter what character you find yourself playing.  At the foot of the cross we see the love of Christ proclaimed.  At the cross we witness a love that doesn’t simply try to fix our problems or make everything better with the snap of a finger.  Rather, a love that says I care about you so much that I am with you when you doubt, when you cry, and even when you betray.  A love that says I will take all of these things that consume you and show you that the final word is not grief, but joy.

                Holy Week continues this week (Holy Week Schedule at All Saints').  I know that is a lot of church and that attending any one of these services will invite you to experience certain elements of this drama.  In order to experience the fullness of the drama you are encouraged to participate in all the services.  I hope you will consider joining us (or your local church) this Holy Week and find again or for the first time the promise of God’s love for you on the cross.  

Nobody is too far gone for God

Fifth Sunday in Lent:  April 6, 2014

I was about seven years old when I really started to consider the implications of Jesus’ resurrection and ascension into heaven.  I was not your typical seven year-old.  I remember sharing this news of Jesus’ resurrection with my next door neighbor.  There I was, Jack the Evangelist of Norman Drive, trying to convince my friend Russell that God brought Jesus back from the dead.  I guess I preached a pretty bad sermon because he wasn’t impressed.  He needed proof.  I had an idea.

I told Russell to search for ants—those little black things that crawl on the ground.  Meanwhile, I went to the side of the house to dig a small hole to bury the ants in.  After burying the ants, we went around to the back of the house, and I said a prayer, “Please God, take these ants to heaven so Russell may believe.”  When we returned to the burial site, we discovered that the ants were no longer in the hole.  It was a miracle and my friend believed!  It is easy to believe as a kid, isn’t it?  

It would be really easy for us adults to sit here and tear this story apart.  Did we actually go back and dig in the right place?  How shallow was the hole?  Could the ants have escaped from underneath the dirt?  The questions could go on.  It is easy for us to get distracted by the details, isn’t it?

 

In each of the last four gospel lessons from John, the main players in the stories get distracted by the details.  They ask questions that take them away from the truth that Jesus is trying to get them to see.   In the famous John 3:16 lection, Nicodemus doesn’t understand that being born again has nothing to do with coming out of your mother’s womb for a second time.  In the story of the woman at the well, the Samaritan woman is talking about earthly water and Jesus is talking about heavenly water.  So naturally they were on different pages.  

Last week the Pharisees demand answers from everyone and their mother as to how the blind man came to see again.  They just couldn’t believe that someone like Jesus, someone from Galilee could perform such a miracle.  And in today’s lesson the disciples are distracted by Jesus’ decision to forge ahead to Judea.  The disciples ask Jesus, "Rabbi, the Jews were just now trying to stone you, and are you going there again?"  Did they not believe that before Jesus was to be glorified by his Father in heaven, he had to die? 

 For some, it is really easy to believe and for others it is really hard to believe.  One of my favorite episodes in the TV Series LOST is entitled “Man of Science Man of Faith.”  The Man of Science is a spinal surgeon with a god complex and the Man of Faith is someone who was able to walk again after being paralyzed from the waist down.  The climax of the episode has the Man of Faith exclaim, “Why do you find it so hard to believe?”  The Man of Science responds, “Why do you find it so easy to believe?”

I believe somewhere in all of us is a man of faith and a man of science.  Sometimes it is really easy to believe.  Sometimes we throw caution to the wind and feel free to believe anything is possible in this world.  We are able to see bumps in the road as an opportunity for healing, as an opportunity to be made whole again.  But other times it is really hard to believe.  We get bogged down by the weight of the details.  We chase the rabbit down the rabbit hole until we’ve completely lost touch with reality.  We act as if that bump in the road is Mt. Everest.  We act as if that bump will throw us off track forever.

The good news is that God really, really wants us to believe that nothing has the power to throw us off track forever.  God wants us to believe that he is making all things new—even what seems impossible.  And God shows us that this new world is available through Jesus.  Today we get a glimpse that nothing is impossible for God when Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead.  But do we believe all things are possible through God?  Do we really believe that God is renewing the world through Jesus?

The writer of the gospel of John sure does believe and the writer of John really wants others to believe too.  In order to help his readers believe, John records seven signs that Jesus gives so that others may believe.  I am sure there were more signs but seven is an important number in scripture because it represents completeness.  These seven signs are evidence of God’s new creation, the new Eden, the new Jerusalem.  Today, we read about the seventh sign.  Jesus can make even the dead come back to life.  This has to leave us wondering, “Is there anything that God can’t do?”  “Is there anything in this world that is outside God’s control?”  “Is anything too wonderful for the Lord?”

This past week I read a story that makes it easy to believe we have a God who is making all things new, a story that reminded me that nothing is too wonderful for the Lord.  The story was published in the Tuscaloosa News.  I was captured by the article because it’s not every day that a homeless man’s death makes the front page of the paper.  The homeless man’s name was Vincent.

Until the age of 17 or 18, Vincent was just like any other teenager in town.  He liked to fish.  He had a younger brother who idolized him.  He grew up in a loving family.  One day, Vincent changed.  His brother said it was like a switch went off in Vincent.  He started experimenting with drugs.  Eventually, Vincent was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.  He lost touch with his family and friends and was a drifter and beggar for most of his life.  His final residence was behind a gas station in Tuscaloosa.  

The gas station attendant in Tuscaloosa, Dawn Terry, looked after Vincent.  Dawn is known for taking care of the homeless who live in a camp behind her business.  Occasionally, Dawn would pay for Vincent to stay at the local motel so he could have a place to take a shower and rest his weary body but most of the time Vincent slept in the homeless camp behind the gas station.  Vincent was eventually diagnosed with lung cancer, but he never followed up with any kind of treatment and managed the pain with Ibuprofen and alcohol.

On the surface, there was no real reason to stop and help Vincent.  He was the disheveled looking guy who drank beer, smoked cigarettes, and hung out at a gas station.  But one day a friend of Dawn’s, Sharon Standifer, stopped at the gas station and was drawn to Vincent.  Sharon simply said, “God wanted me to notice him.”  

Sharon eventually noticed that Vincent was too sick to be on the streets and was able to get him into hospice care. He died just a few days later. Vincent did get to talk with his brother over the phone before he died but the remarkable part of the story is that Vincent died surrounded by his new family in Tuscaloosa.  Vincent died in the presence of his new family and there were people present to weep for Vincent when he died. 

It is easy to get caught up in the details of Vincent’s story.  This man drank and smoked even though he had lung cancer.  This man was a beggar.  This man was mentally ill.  This man threatened to kill his mother at one point in his life.  Despite all of this, God still found a way to bring Vincent to life even in the face of death.  After all, two women gathered by Vincent’s deathbed and wept at his passing.  These women’s tears reminded me of the detail of Vincent’s story that really matters—nobody is too far gone to be touched by the love of God.  God was with Vincent in the face of these two women.  

Our scripture lesson for today says that Jesus wept with two women, Martha and Mary, to grieve the loss of Lazarus.  Jesus wept—this is the detail of the story that really matters.  Like the Jews mention in this lesson, these tears mean that Jesus loved Lazarus.  Through the tears of Jesus, I am reminded just how much God loves us.  But the story doesn’t end there.

After 4 days in the tomb, Jesus says, “Lazarus, come out!”  The raising of Lazarus ultimately tells us that nobody is too far gone for God.  No one, not one person is outside the reach of the healing power of God through Christ—not even people like Vincent.  No matter how far gone you might think you are, Jesus is calling you to come out!  There is always hope for healing and new life in Christ.  

No matter if you find it easy to believe or hard to believe in the good news of God in Christ, I invite you to hold a prayer close to your heart as we approach Holy Week:  Lord Jesus Christ, you stretched out your arms of love on the hard wood of the cross that everyone might come within the reach of your saving embrace.  Amen.