PARDON THE GLORIOUS INTERRUPTION
Acts 10; particularly verses 44-48
Today’s Good News: God shows no partiality in pouring out the Holy Spirit on people so that all may be saved.
If ever there was a case of a “God-incidence,” the meeting of Peter and Cornelius in Acts 10 is one of the very best. The whole new world of Christianity was about to be gloriously interrupted and notoriously tipped on its head. Demographically and geographically, the boundaries of Judea would soon be reached. The good news of Jesus Christ seemed to be headed for the proverbial end of the road. Think about it; if God had not had bigger plans for the Judeo-Christian world, you and I might not be gathered here together right now.
Everyone—Jews and Gentiles—in biblical days believed the message of Jesus Christ was given to the Jews only. God eliminated this belief through bringing together two men of faith: Cornelius, a Gentile from Caesarea; and Peter, a Jewish man and apostle of Jesus Christ. God brought these men together for the purpose of revealing that the good news of Jesus Christ is meant for all people; that no one who believes in God and does what is right shall be denied salvation.
The only complication was that each man was shocked by the vision he was given and wanted to resist it in the worst way. Cornelius stared in terror at the angel of the Lord who told him to send for Peter in Joppa. Peter characteristically, impulsively protested when he was told to eat of the animals, even those that Jewish law proclaimed unclean. “By no means, Lord!”
Terror and fear, confusion and resistance. Peter and Cornelius were “greatly puzzled” (10:17) by their double vision. Certainly they had never even heard of each other, let alone met, yet God called them together for the purpose of bringing Jews and Gentiles together as one in Jesus Christ. Each chose to obey the word of the Lord they had received even though it called for them to take great risks for the faith.
I think we can certainly identify with Cornelius and Peter. They were not just being called to step outside their religious boxes, they were called, in the words of Anne Robertson (formerly pastor of St John’s Methodist Church in Dover, NH), to “Blow the lid of the God-Box” they lived in.
Robertson writes, “When we become closed to aspects of God that we don’t understand or to experiences of God that aren’t our own, we create the fiction that we know all there is to know of God and God’s ways. Our limited experience and expression then become the standard by which all others are measured and the truth by which all others are judged” (Robertson, Blowing the Lid off the God-Box, p x).
It is very difficult to step outside the comfort zones of our religious boxes, let alone blow the lids off them! We tend to be gut reactors to God’s call Just like Peter, we can say far too quickly, “By no means, Lord!” Yet, no matter who we are or where we are on our life’s journey, God created us good, for his purpose and for his pleasure.
We may at times find this trusting God in all things difficult. The tension we feel can only be relieved through prayer, study, meditation, and obedience; yet, it is so much easier to go with what we know rather than with what can make us grow.
The tension we feel is real, as real as the tension Peter spoke of when he entered Cornelius’ house. “You yourselves know that it is unlawful for a Jew to associate with or to visit a Gentile; but God has shown me that I should not call anyone profane or unclean. So when I was sent for, I came without objection” (Acts 10:28-29).
Peter’s entourage experienced a similar sense of tension as they witnessed Cornelius’ household receiving the Holy Spirit. Luke writes in Acts 10:45. “The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles.”
Empowered by the Holy Spirit all the people in this story were able to see their way through what at first they believed was “unlawful” to do. Yet, they overcame a common, pedantic belief by risking it all for a most uncommon teaching: God shows no partiality in pouring out the Holy Spirit on all people so that all people may be saved.
A message for us today is to challenge ourselves to take risks for God. Cornelius through answered prayer and Peter through divine vision show us that not only is obedience in the face of fear possible, it is to be preferred; it is to be entered into with haste and without objection.
The same powerful Holy Spirit that was poured out on Cornelius and his household is poured on us as well. Imagine what wonders we would behold if we could really let go and let God’s Holy Spirit send us beyond the limits of our known comfort zones.
We could blow the lid off our God Boxes and speak to the world about the mighty God we serve, the gracious God who loves all without partiality, the merciful God who died once that all who believe in him and do what is right might live forever—talk about speaking in tongues!
In the middle of Peter’s preaching he sees and hears that the Holy Spirit has been poured out on the Gentiles; they’re talking in tongues and praising the Lord. You can just hear him thinking, “Enough with the preaching! The water’s merely a formality; bring on the Spirit! It’s happening to them just as it happened to us on the day of Pentecost! Good Lord, what a ride!”
Peter’s sermon was gloriously interrupted by the outpouring of the Spirit upon people he never would have believed could receive it from God. Such good news is this for us today! Christianity has spread to all nationalities, all races, all places since that day at Captain Cornelius’ house. His gift is our gift. How shall we praise the Lord for his gift of the Spirit? How shall we celebrate the good news that God shows no partiality?
We must do as Peter did. He went to places God sent him without objection. Faith is a journey God invites to take; faith is not pretty scenery God invites us to sit back and watch. Each one of us is called, by name, to join the journey.
If we struggle with a serious illness, would it not be better to share the journey with the healing power of the Holy Spirit? If we fear the darkness because we have lost our way, would it not be better to share the journey with the divine light of the Holy Spirit to guide our way? If we wrestle with doubt, or grief, or depression or fatigue, would it not be better to have the immutable strength and perseverance of the Holy Spirit working for us?
The Holy Spirit is for all people. What good news! Speak of it; give the gift a voice. Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Live and empowered life for the news is good my friends: from now on there is neither Greek nor Jew; slave nor free, male or female, for we are one in Christ Jesus who is Lord of all (Galatians 3:28). This Word is not sort of true; it is not partially true; it is fully true, and upon its truth we are saved. Amen.
May 17, 2009
First Parish Federated Church of South Berwick, ME
The Reverend Donna Lee Muise, Pastor
May 11, 2009
Put Your Life on the Vine
PUT YOUR LIFE ON THE VINE
John 15:1-8; I John 4:7-21
“I am the true vine.”
One day, Jesus decided that he needed a new robe, so he went to the shop of Finkelstein the Tailor. A few days later, when the robe was ready, Jesus tried it on and it was a perfect fit. He asked the tailor how much he owed. Finkelstein brushed him off, “No! No! No! for the Son of God? There's no charge! However, may I ask a small favor of you?”
“Anything!” Jesus responded. “Just ask!”
“Whenever you give a sermon, perhaps you could just mention that your nice new robe was made by Finkelstein the tailor?”
Jesus readily agreed and as promised, extolled the virtues of his Finkelstein robe whenever he spoke to the masses. A few months later, Jesus happened to walk past Finkelstein's shop and noted a huge line of people waiting to order Finkelstein robes. He made his way through the crowd to speak to the tailor, and as soon as Finkelstein spotted Jesus, he shouted, “Jesus! Jesus! Look what you've done for my business! Would you consider a partnership?”
“Certainly,” replied Jesus. “Jesus & Finkelstein, it is!”
“Oh, no, no,” said Finkelstein. “Finkelstein and Jesus. After all, I am the craftsman.”
The two of them debated for quite some time. Their discussion was long and spirited, but ultimately fruitful, and they finally came up with a mutually acceptable compromise. A few days later, the new sign went up over the shop. Can you guess what it read?
Before I tell you the answer, let's take a closer look at this morning's text that also teaches about being in a kind of partnership with Jesus. The word John uses is not partnership, however; the word he uses is abiding…
“I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.”
We live in a time and culture where there is much suffering, much uncertainty. Anxiety, a sense of helplessness and all kinds of troubles are around every corner. We don’t know when or if the struggling will end and it's all very unsettling, discouraging, frightening. Whether examining these troubles at home or in the church, the outlook seems quite bleak.
Some churches will say that we are suffering God's judgment and punishment. Some populations say there is no God or that God has forsaken us. Others do not make any connection at all between God and what's happening in our world.
But what about this approach: cannot our understanding of these difficult times we are living in be seen as a way of God's pruning us for greater fruitfulness? I think we can, for Jesus' teaching in John 15 reaches across the centuries. Let's look at then:
During the final Passover meal that they would share, Jesus is preparing his disciples for the difficult days after Jesus has been crucified, resurrected and ascended into heaven. The eleven who remain will encounter great anxiety, sorrow, anger, betrayal, persecution, poverty, and eventually martyrdom.
The disciples are struggling to understand why and how God uses suffering to bring about greater fruitfulness. It just doesn't seem to make any sense. To help them understand how their relationships with one another, with him and with God work, Jesus uses the very familiar grapevine to explain.
Archaeological evidence from Egyptian tombs shows that grapes were being cultivated 2500 years before Christ. Grapes are the most widely grown fruit in the world. The grapevine is part of Israel's national emblem. Grapes are a big deal. But, why so much talk of grapes on the eve of Crucifixion?
The quality of the vine is only as good as the rooted stock. Individual branches are grafted onto a healthy productive stock. New plants are pruned for three to five years to “train” them before they are allowed to produce a crop. It takes a lot of feeding, watering, and pruning, pruning, pruning to yield the best grapes.
Did you know that good roots can produce fruit for as many as 100 years? That, for their size, vines are very productive, yielding as much as eighty pounds of grapes in a single season? That, disease and lack of productivity can spread from dead branches that have not been removed from the vine?
It takes an immense amount of pruning and caring to develop a fruitful vineyard. Equally so, it takes an immense amount of care and pruning to develop a faithful disciple who will yield much fruit for the Lord.
We are facing difficult days in our lives: we are anxious about our jobs, our mortgages, our expenses, our debts, our health, our wealth, and perhaps even our ability to put one foot in front of the other. Add to that, most recently, a pandemic, and it seems we are bombarded with stress and distress from every direction.
Besides our personal lives, we have been through some difficult times in this church—as is fairly common in churches—with great anxiety, sorrow, anger, betrayal, and what hardly needs mentioning, a lack of funds, low attendance and less than abundant fruitfulness. Could these difficulties and sufferings be the pruning process of the great vinedresser? Are we being pruned for greater fruitfulness? I believe that is exactly what's been happening here.
Just as Jesus was preparing his disciples that the time of suffering that they were about to experience was part of a God's bigger plan for an abundant harvest of love. We, too, can learn from Jesus, the true vine, that our suffering will lead to a greater abundance than we can even imagine.
With the hope Jesus shares in this gospel, growing, committed Christians can find strength for the troubled times by abiding in Christ, remaining true to his word, by literally putting our lives, grafting ourselves, on the vine. God is dressing us for mighty works in his name.
God is glorified when we abide in Jesus and bear fruit for him. Jesus' word makes it possible to understand spiritually what's going on in our lives and helps us to endure all things with grace.
Friends, there will always be seasons of trouble, but Jesus promises to those who abide in him that even though they suffer they will one day thrive if they continue living in him, spreading his love, teaching his word, and never, ever giving up.
.
Have you figured out the name of the shop that Finkelstein and Jesus finally agreed upon? Are you ready? Don't prune the messenger now. Here goes: Lord & Taylor.
See, we can survive bad jokes on our own. For the real hard stuff of life, the only way for us as Christians and as a Church to survive the pain of pruning is by abiding in Jesus.
What does it mean to abide in Christ? Each of these activities begins at some point, but the long-term branch-to-vine practice is called abiding. Abiding in Christ means[1]:
· Believing that he is God’s Son (I John 4:15)
· Receiving him as Savior and Lord (John 1:12)
· Doing what God asks us to do (I John 3:24)
· Continuing to believe the gospel (I John 2:24)
· Relating in love to the community of believers, Christ’s body (John 15:12).
Abiding with Jesus, we will come through difficult times with a greater faith, a deepening spirituality, and a growing congregation.
Abiding in Christ, we know that God promises us times of great fruitfulness. When we put our lives on the vine, our ultimate demonstration of great faithfulness, we are met with the ultimate demonstration of God's great love: salvation through his Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Apart from him, we can do nothing. Amen.
May 10, 2009/First Parish Federated Church/S Berwick, ME; Rev Donna Lee Muise, pastor
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] Life Application Bible Commentary: JOHN, p 308.
John 15:1-8; I John 4:7-21
“I am the true vine.”
One day, Jesus decided that he needed a new robe, so he went to the shop of Finkelstein the Tailor. A few days later, when the robe was ready, Jesus tried it on and it was a perfect fit. He asked the tailor how much he owed. Finkelstein brushed him off, “No! No! No! for the Son of God? There's no charge! However, may I ask a small favor of you?”
“Anything!” Jesus responded. “Just ask!”
“Whenever you give a sermon, perhaps you could just mention that your nice new robe was made by Finkelstein the tailor?”
Jesus readily agreed and as promised, extolled the virtues of his Finkelstein robe whenever he spoke to the masses. A few months later, Jesus happened to walk past Finkelstein's shop and noted a huge line of people waiting to order Finkelstein robes. He made his way through the crowd to speak to the tailor, and as soon as Finkelstein spotted Jesus, he shouted, “Jesus! Jesus! Look what you've done for my business! Would you consider a partnership?”
“Certainly,” replied Jesus. “Jesus & Finkelstein, it is!”
“Oh, no, no,” said Finkelstein. “Finkelstein and Jesus. After all, I am the craftsman.”
The two of them debated for quite some time. Their discussion was long and spirited, but ultimately fruitful, and they finally came up with a mutually acceptable compromise. A few days later, the new sign went up over the shop. Can you guess what it read?
Before I tell you the answer, let's take a closer look at this morning's text that also teaches about being in a kind of partnership with Jesus. The word John uses is not partnership, however; the word he uses is abiding…
“I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.”
We live in a time and culture where there is much suffering, much uncertainty. Anxiety, a sense of helplessness and all kinds of troubles are around every corner. We don’t know when or if the struggling will end and it's all very unsettling, discouraging, frightening. Whether examining these troubles at home or in the church, the outlook seems quite bleak.
Some churches will say that we are suffering God's judgment and punishment. Some populations say there is no God or that God has forsaken us. Others do not make any connection at all between God and what's happening in our world.
But what about this approach: cannot our understanding of these difficult times we are living in be seen as a way of God's pruning us for greater fruitfulness? I think we can, for Jesus' teaching in John 15 reaches across the centuries. Let's look at then:
During the final Passover meal that they would share, Jesus is preparing his disciples for the difficult days after Jesus has been crucified, resurrected and ascended into heaven. The eleven who remain will encounter great anxiety, sorrow, anger, betrayal, persecution, poverty, and eventually martyrdom.
The disciples are struggling to understand why and how God uses suffering to bring about greater fruitfulness. It just doesn't seem to make any sense. To help them understand how their relationships with one another, with him and with God work, Jesus uses the very familiar grapevine to explain.
Archaeological evidence from Egyptian tombs shows that grapes were being cultivated 2500 years before Christ. Grapes are the most widely grown fruit in the world. The grapevine is part of Israel's national emblem. Grapes are a big deal. But, why so much talk of grapes on the eve of Crucifixion?
The quality of the vine is only as good as the rooted stock. Individual branches are grafted onto a healthy productive stock. New plants are pruned for three to five years to “train” them before they are allowed to produce a crop. It takes a lot of feeding, watering, and pruning, pruning, pruning to yield the best grapes.
Did you know that good roots can produce fruit for as many as 100 years? That, for their size, vines are very productive, yielding as much as eighty pounds of grapes in a single season? That, disease and lack of productivity can spread from dead branches that have not been removed from the vine?
It takes an immense amount of pruning and caring to develop a fruitful vineyard. Equally so, it takes an immense amount of care and pruning to develop a faithful disciple who will yield much fruit for the Lord.
We are facing difficult days in our lives: we are anxious about our jobs, our mortgages, our expenses, our debts, our health, our wealth, and perhaps even our ability to put one foot in front of the other. Add to that, most recently, a pandemic, and it seems we are bombarded with stress and distress from every direction.
Besides our personal lives, we have been through some difficult times in this church—as is fairly common in churches—with great anxiety, sorrow, anger, betrayal, and what hardly needs mentioning, a lack of funds, low attendance and less than abundant fruitfulness. Could these difficulties and sufferings be the pruning process of the great vinedresser? Are we being pruned for greater fruitfulness? I believe that is exactly what's been happening here.
Just as Jesus was preparing his disciples that the time of suffering that they were about to experience was part of a God's bigger plan for an abundant harvest of love. We, too, can learn from Jesus, the true vine, that our suffering will lead to a greater abundance than we can even imagine.
With the hope Jesus shares in this gospel, growing, committed Christians can find strength for the troubled times by abiding in Christ, remaining true to his word, by literally putting our lives, grafting ourselves, on the vine. God is dressing us for mighty works in his name.
God is glorified when we abide in Jesus and bear fruit for him. Jesus' word makes it possible to understand spiritually what's going on in our lives and helps us to endure all things with grace.
Friends, there will always be seasons of trouble, but Jesus promises to those who abide in him that even though they suffer they will one day thrive if they continue living in him, spreading his love, teaching his word, and never, ever giving up.
.
Have you figured out the name of the shop that Finkelstein and Jesus finally agreed upon? Are you ready? Don't prune the messenger now. Here goes: Lord & Taylor.
See, we can survive bad jokes on our own. For the real hard stuff of life, the only way for us as Christians and as a Church to survive the pain of pruning is by abiding in Jesus.
What does it mean to abide in Christ? Each of these activities begins at some point, but the long-term branch-to-vine practice is called abiding. Abiding in Christ means[1]:
· Believing that he is God’s Son (I John 4:15)
· Receiving him as Savior and Lord (John 1:12)
· Doing what God asks us to do (I John 3:24)
· Continuing to believe the gospel (I John 2:24)
· Relating in love to the community of believers, Christ’s body (John 15:12).
Abiding with Jesus, we will come through difficult times with a greater faith, a deepening spirituality, and a growing congregation.
Abiding in Christ, we know that God promises us times of great fruitfulness. When we put our lives on the vine, our ultimate demonstration of great faithfulness, we are met with the ultimate demonstration of God's great love: salvation through his Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Apart from him, we can do nothing. Amen.
May 10, 2009/First Parish Federated Church/S Berwick, ME; Rev Donna Lee Muise, pastor
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] Life Application Bible Commentary: JOHN, p 308.
April 04, 2009
Untie the Donkey
UNTIE THE DONKEY
Mark 11:1-11
....Go into the village ahead of you...and you will find tied there
a colt that has never been ridden; untie it and bring it.
The most important week of the Christian year is upon us. Today we start the journey toward Easter. We line the aisles of our church as the Jews lined the road to Jerusalem, all of us waving leafy palm branches and shouting “Hosanna!” It's a wonderful day.
But we know something today that the Jews of Jesus' day did not: this one day of triumph will morph into three days and nights of sorrow. Even as we celebrate this morning, we know that the shadow of the cross looms large behind the Temple; that the air of Jerusalem will be saturated with the breath of betrayal; and that Jesus was fully aware that he was riding into the majesty of “royal” suffering and death.
Knowing what we know, we still wave the palm branches and sing, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who cometh to bring us salvation!” Why? It is the gift of faithful paradox.
The paradox of our faith is as I have shared with you each year. In order to understand Easter, we must go through Good Friday. Jumping from Jesus' riding on, riding on in majesty one Sunday to Jesus' rising victoriously from the dead on the next Sunday, is a lie. This is the reason I so strongly urge each of you to attend the services on Thursday, Friday, and Sunday. It's not a burden; it is fulfillment.
Like it or not, scripture is full of truth; it doesn't leave out the hard and depressing and even the frightening stuff in between the triumphs of God. It's the stuff in the middle—Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Silent Saturday—that makes this entire week one complete faith story.
In order to experience the magnificent highs of Easter, we must expose ourselves to the desperate lows of Good Friday. In order to complete our participation in the frenzy of the “cheering, chanting, dizzy crowd,” we must gather quietly with Jesus in the upper room, communing for the very last time with our most intimate friends, knowing that our betrayer is among them. We must be humble enough to have the Lord wash our feet clean, wipe our tears away, and forgive us our sins against him.
I ask you today, are you ready to ride the beast of burden called Holy Week, or will you get to the empty tomb by some other way?
Jesus is asking us today through the living word of scripture to be his witnesses to the paradoxes of the faith: to spread our cloaks before him and then rip his robes from him; to raise our voices, singing hosannas in his name, and then to raise our fists against him and demand his condemnation—Crucify Him; to weep beneath his cross and rejoice in front of his empty tomb. To walk with him on the road to Emmaus and to take his message to all the world.
In all the world, Christians are known for living irrationally: “We love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. We forgive, as we have been forgiven. We renounce violence as a means of defending or securing or saving ourselves or those we love. We live out the ministry of reconciliation: NO MATTER WHAT.
Our faith makes little sense to the outside world—it may not even make sense to us, yet still we press on. We might be reluctant reconcilers, yet still we press on. At times we feel faint and exhausted and powerless; we are sick and grief-stricken; we are weary and weak, yet still we press on, remembering the words of Isaiah, “He gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless. Even youths will faint and be weary, and the young will fall exhausted; but (sing with me) those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength...(Isa 40:28-31).
The Lord will help us in His way; we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us, but there is one thing we are having some trouble doing. We have some trouble trusting Jesus to know what he is doing with us. We trust more what he was doing with the disciples in his day than we trust what he is intending to do for us, and that's where the donkey comes in.
The disciples followed Jesus' instructions to the letter back “in the day.” Jesus said, “Go into the village ahead of you, and immedi-ately as you enter it, you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it. If anyone says to you, 'Why are you doing this?' just say this, 'The Lord needs it and will send it back here immediately'” (Mk 11:2-3).
The disciples were successful. They untied the donkey and began to bring it back to Jesus. When they were asked what they thought they were doing, the two simply said, “The Lord needs it and will send it back immediately,” and the owners let the disciples take the colt.
What about us? We believe we are loved. We believe we are forgiven. We believe that God sent Jesus to save us from sin and death. We believe the promise of the gospel and we sing the songs of faith, so why are we so reluctant to do what he asks? Why do we hesitate to go into the village ahead of us and untie the donkey?
Everybody's got a donkey, my friends. It's extremely valuable;it's irreplaceable. It's the gift each of us is given—the purpose for which we are created. The Lord needs us every bit as much on this Palm Sunday as he did on the first Palm Sunday so very long ago.
But we have so many other “lords” pulling us in a hundred directions. We are so “dizzy” that might have trouble finding our way to the church, why would we ever want to walk over to Dover, untie a slow and smelly donkey and drag it back to town?
Because it is what the Lord has asked of us. The Lord needs us to do his work. And in the midst of all this, I am suggesting that the first work we can do is to agree to untie the donkey, liberate ourselves (and our church) to be the disciples—to be the Church—that Jesus needs to reach his beloved brothers and sisters: all of us caught in a world at war physically, emotionally, spiritually, financially.
Do not let your hearts be troubled! There is freedom for all of us, but first we have to untie that donkey.
Last November, I left my donkey tied in the distance, and I share it with you as intimate friends who are about to share the last supper with Jesus. (Tell story.)
When I say, “Untie your donkey, untie your colt”; I mean untie your life, untie your faith:let it ride on, ride on in majesty. Leaving your colt tied at the door is like leaving your heart there, too. Leaving the donkey tied up means that it will never be more than a beast of burden. Untying the donkey, untying our lives, means that we are free to be carriers of Christ, servants of grace, bringers of peace, vessels of hope, and children of God.
As we contemplate the week ahead—the bread and the wine, the cross and the grave—let us deeply consider Christ's claim upon our lives. Where are we all tied up in knots? What will untangle us so that we may be free to go not only into the next village but to the ends of the earth to bring the good news that Jesus lives? And because Jesus lives, we can face not only tomorrow, but every tomorrow no matter what it brings. We can face anything, for we are never alone—not in the Garden of Gethsemane, not on the cross at Calvary, and not in the tomb of Aremathea. We have our Savior and we have each other. Into our hands has been placed to power to untie the donkey and set people free for the love of Jesus Christ. In the midst of faith's new dimensions, my friends, ride on, ride on! I'm behind you all the way! Amen.
April 5, 2009
First Parish Federated Church of South Berwick, ME
The Reverend Donna Lee Muise
Mark 11:1-11
....Go into the village ahead of you...and you will find tied there
a colt that has never been ridden; untie it and bring it.
The most important week of the Christian year is upon us. Today we start the journey toward Easter. We line the aisles of our church as the Jews lined the road to Jerusalem, all of us waving leafy palm branches and shouting “Hosanna!” It's a wonderful day.
But we know something today that the Jews of Jesus' day did not: this one day of triumph will morph into three days and nights of sorrow. Even as we celebrate this morning, we know that the shadow of the cross looms large behind the Temple; that the air of Jerusalem will be saturated with the breath of betrayal; and that Jesus was fully aware that he was riding into the majesty of “royal” suffering and death.
Knowing what we know, we still wave the palm branches and sing, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who cometh to bring us salvation!” Why? It is the gift of faithful paradox.
The paradox of our faith is as I have shared with you each year. In order to understand Easter, we must go through Good Friday. Jumping from Jesus' riding on, riding on in majesty one Sunday to Jesus' rising victoriously from the dead on the next Sunday, is a lie. This is the reason I so strongly urge each of you to attend the services on Thursday, Friday, and Sunday. It's not a burden; it is fulfillment.
Like it or not, scripture is full of truth; it doesn't leave out the hard and depressing and even the frightening stuff in between the triumphs of God. It's the stuff in the middle—Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Silent Saturday—that makes this entire week one complete faith story.
In order to experience the magnificent highs of Easter, we must expose ourselves to the desperate lows of Good Friday. In order to complete our participation in the frenzy of the “cheering, chanting, dizzy crowd,” we must gather quietly with Jesus in the upper room, communing for the very last time with our most intimate friends, knowing that our betrayer is among them. We must be humble enough to have the Lord wash our feet clean, wipe our tears away, and forgive us our sins against him.
I ask you today, are you ready to ride the beast of burden called Holy Week, or will you get to the empty tomb by some other way?
Jesus is asking us today through the living word of scripture to be his witnesses to the paradoxes of the faith: to spread our cloaks before him and then rip his robes from him; to raise our voices, singing hosannas in his name, and then to raise our fists against him and demand his condemnation—Crucify Him; to weep beneath his cross and rejoice in front of his empty tomb. To walk with him on the road to Emmaus and to take his message to all the world.
In all the world, Christians are known for living irrationally: “We love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. We forgive, as we have been forgiven. We renounce violence as a means of defending or securing or saving ourselves or those we love. We live out the ministry of reconciliation: NO MATTER WHAT.
Our faith makes little sense to the outside world—it may not even make sense to us, yet still we press on. We might be reluctant reconcilers, yet still we press on. At times we feel faint and exhausted and powerless; we are sick and grief-stricken; we are weary and weak, yet still we press on, remembering the words of Isaiah, “He gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless. Even youths will faint and be weary, and the young will fall exhausted; but (sing with me) those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength...(Isa 40:28-31).
The Lord will help us in His way; we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us, but there is one thing we are having some trouble doing. We have some trouble trusting Jesus to know what he is doing with us. We trust more what he was doing with the disciples in his day than we trust what he is intending to do for us, and that's where the donkey comes in.
The disciples followed Jesus' instructions to the letter back “in the day.” Jesus said, “Go into the village ahead of you, and immedi-ately as you enter it, you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it. If anyone says to you, 'Why are you doing this?' just say this, 'The Lord needs it and will send it back here immediately'” (Mk 11:2-3).
The disciples were successful. They untied the donkey and began to bring it back to Jesus. When they were asked what they thought they were doing, the two simply said, “The Lord needs it and will send it back immediately,” and the owners let the disciples take the colt.
What about us? We believe we are loved. We believe we are forgiven. We believe that God sent Jesus to save us from sin and death. We believe the promise of the gospel and we sing the songs of faith, so why are we so reluctant to do what he asks? Why do we hesitate to go into the village ahead of us and untie the donkey?
Everybody's got a donkey, my friends. It's extremely valuable;it's irreplaceable. It's the gift each of us is given—the purpose for which we are created. The Lord needs us every bit as much on this Palm Sunday as he did on the first Palm Sunday so very long ago.
But we have so many other “lords” pulling us in a hundred directions. We are so “dizzy” that might have trouble finding our way to the church, why would we ever want to walk over to Dover, untie a slow and smelly donkey and drag it back to town?
Because it is what the Lord has asked of us. The Lord needs us to do his work. And in the midst of all this, I am suggesting that the first work we can do is to agree to untie the donkey, liberate ourselves (and our church) to be the disciples—to be the Church—that Jesus needs to reach his beloved brothers and sisters: all of us caught in a world at war physically, emotionally, spiritually, financially.
Do not let your hearts be troubled! There is freedom for all of us, but first we have to untie that donkey.
Last November, I left my donkey tied in the distance, and I share it with you as intimate friends who are about to share the last supper with Jesus. (Tell story.)
When I say, “Untie your donkey, untie your colt”; I mean untie your life, untie your faith:let it ride on, ride on in majesty. Leaving your colt tied at the door is like leaving your heart there, too. Leaving the donkey tied up means that it will never be more than a beast of burden. Untying the donkey, untying our lives, means that we are free to be carriers of Christ, servants of grace, bringers of peace, vessels of hope, and children of God.
As we contemplate the week ahead—the bread and the wine, the cross and the grave—let us deeply consider Christ's claim upon our lives. Where are we all tied up in knots? What will untangle us so that we may be free to go not only into the next village but to the ends of the earth to bring the good news that Jesus lives? And because Jesus lives, we can face not only tomorrow, but every tomorrow no matter what it brings. We can face anything, for we are never alone—not in the Garden of Gethsemane, not on the cross at Calvary, and not in the tomb of Aremathea. We have our Savior and we have each other. Into our hands has been placed to power to untie the donkey and set people free for the love of Jesus Christ. In the midst of faith's new dimensions, my friends, ride on, ride on! I'm behind you all the way! Amen.
April 5, 2009
First Parish Federated Church of South Berwick, ME
The Reverend Donna Lee Muise
March 15, 2009
Temple Upside Down
TEMPLE UPSIDEDOWN
John 2:13-22; I Corinthians 1:18-25
The foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength."
Today, I want to look at the "unexpressed text" in our passage from John—a familiar passage to many, especially since it covers an event that is recorded in all four gospels. This story is always taught in Sunday School, probably because it is very dramatic. It also challenges our stereotypical characterization of Jesus as always being kind, good, and soft-spoken; and it involves a lot of yelling and running, as well as imperfect people running afoul of the perfect Christ.
Bear with me as we go deeper into the text, to what I see as an underlying human condition that leads people astray, a condition that we can learn to counteract through a proper perspective of God’s divine authority and Christ’s sacrifice for our sin.
There are three features of John’s report of the cleansing of the Temple that do not all appear in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. These features are the presence of oxen and sheep inside the Temple precinct; the making of a whip; and the prophetic words of Jesus in v 19.
There are no Jewish historical texts that mention animals in the Temple. Knowing what we know about animals and the call of nature, the reason they were not allowed within the Temple is more than obvious.
No weapons were allowed inside the Temple, so the best guestimate is that Jesus grabbed the bulrushes (used for bedding for the animals who were not supposed to be there) and made a whip out of those. Today’s crime scene investigators might call the bulrushes a "weapon of opportunity."
It also appears as if Jesus drove out the merchants as if they were animals. However, none can imagine that Jesus would resort to violence in order to make a point. He preferred preaching parables to wielding weapons.
The third unique feature of John’s record is verse 19: "Destroy this Temple and in three days I will raise it up." The Jews pounce on his words at that moment and also bring it up at his trial, distorting the meaning into little more than sorcery.
How had the sacred Temple at Passover time deteriorated from a holy house of prayer, reverence and worship into a bellowing barnyard of cheating, money changing, out-right thievery? Enter the human condition of slowly, unnoticeably, imperceptibly forgetting our good intentions. What starts out as a righteous reason for a noble action can deteriorate over time into a pointless practice or, as in the case of the Temple merchants, an occasion for what might be called "sanctioned sin."
How did the chosen people of God corrode into the self-chosen people of God? The same way any of us does, by forgetting our purpose, our call, our reason for being; by losing sight of our right-side-up selves that God created us to be; by living as though we grant God his power and his wisdom.
When we forget whose we are, major correction is necessary. We need to be turned upside down, perhaps (figuratively or literally) dropped on our heads so that we start using our hearts for God.
If any believer allows the safety of human intellect to inform the ways our "business" of faith is conducted, then believers have forgotten who is in charge.
It is time to remember well the words of Paul in I Corinthians: "The foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength" (v 25).
Look at the merchants in the Temple: the services they provided could very well have started out as a helpful means of providing a convenient way for the pilgrims to enter the Temple. The services of the Merchants provided the faithful the necessary elements to fulfill their holy obligations. The best animals for their sacrifices and the right coinage for their Temple taxes were made easily available, what could be so bad about that?
Somewhere along the line, perhaps through the passage of time, the merchants’ motivations oozed into desires for personal gain under the guise of business transactions, and it was in this meandering metamorphosis that sin silently replaced sanctuary.
"Take these things out of here! Stop making my Father’s house a marketplace!" Jesus was angry, incensed. Nothing less than turning the temple upside down would achieve total cleansing. This was not an occasion for a parable.
John does not relate this event as a reason to kill the Church, nor is it an attack upon all our rites, customs and designated holy places, but upon our tendency to elevate these things to positions of higher holiness than we ascribe to God.
We tend to give these places and customs the worship and devotion that belongs to God, and God alone.
When we love things that cannot love us back, we misplace our love. When we present Christ-like attitudes to achieve personal gain, we abuse our Lord. When we define God within our own terms, we confine our hope to the weakened structures of a fallen world. Salvation means little more than satisfying human ideology.
Through God’s gift of Jesus Christ to the world, we have been given the presence of the highest love, the model of the deepest commitment, and the grace of the finest forgiveness.
Turning the temple upside down is the best way to turn Christians right side up for the journey with Christ to the cross on Calvary hill and the salvation joy of resurrection morning—proving Jesus’ words to be true: the temple destroyed and rebuilt in three days. Amen.
3/15/2009//1st Parish Fed Church, S Berwick, ME/Rev DL Muise
John 2:13-22; I Corinthians 1:18-25
The foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength."
Today, I want to look at the "unexpressed text" in our passage from John—a familiar passage to many, especially since it covers an event that is recorded in all four gospels. This story is always taught in Sunday School, probably because it is very dramatic. It also challenges our stereotypical characterization of Jesus as always being kind, good, and soft-spoken; and it involves a lot of yelling and running, as well as imperfect people running afoul of the perfect Christ.
Bear with me as we go deeper into the text, to what I see as an underlying human condition that leads people astray, a condition that we can learn to counteract through a proper perspective of God’s divine authority and Christ’s sacrifice for our sin.
There are three features of John’s report of the cleansing of the Temple that do not all appear in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. These features are the presence of oxen and sheep inside the Temple precinct; the making of a whip; and the prophetic words of Jesus in v 19.
There are no Jewish historical texts that mention animals in the Temple. Knowing what we know about animals and the call of nature, the reason they were not allowed within the Temple is more than obvious.
No weapons were allowed inside the Temple, so the best guestimate is that Jesus grabbed the bulrushes (used for bedding for the animals who were not supposed to be there) and made a whip out of those. Today’s crime scene investigators might call the bulrushes a "weapon of opportunity."
It also appears as if Jesus drove out the merchants as if they were animals. However, none can imagine that Jesus would resort to violence in order to make a point. He preferred preaching parables to wielding weapons.
The third unique feature of John’s record is verse 19: "Destroy this Temple and in three days I will raise it up." The Jews pounce on his words at that moment and also bring it up at his trial, distorting the meaning into little more than sorcery.
How had the sacred Temple at Passover time deteriorated from a holy house of prayer, reverence and worship into a bellowing barnyard of cheating, money changing, out-right thievery? Enter the human condition of slowly, unnoticeably, imperceptibly forgetting our good intentions. What starts out as a righteous reason for a noble action can deteriorate over time into a pointless practice or, as in the case of the Temple merchants, an occasion for what might be called "sanctioned sin."
How did the chosen people of God corrode into the self-chosen people of God? The same way any of us does, by forgetting our purpose, our call, our reason for being; by losing sight of our right-side-up selves that God created us to be; by living as though we grant God his power and his wisdom.
When we forget whose we are, major correction is necessary. We need to be turned upside down, perhaps (figuratively or literally) dropped on our heads so that we start using our hearts for God.
If any believer allows the safety of human intellect to inform the ways our "business" of faith is conducted, then believers have forgotten who is in charge.
It is time to remember well the words of Paul in I Corinthians: "The foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength" (v 25).
Look at the merchants in the Temple: the services they provided could very well have started out as a helpful means of providing a convenient way for the pilgrims to enter the Temple. The services of the Merchants provided the faithful the necessary elements to fulfill their holy obligations. The best animals for their sacrifices and the right coinage for their Temple taxes were made easily available, what could be so bad about that?
Somewhere along the line, perhaps through the passage of time, the merchants’ motivations oozed into desires for personal gain under the guise of business transactions, and it was in this meandering metamorphosis that sin silently replaced sanctuary.
"Take these things out of here! Stop making my Father’s house a marketplace!" Jesus was angry, incensed. Nothing less than turning the temple upside down would achieve total cleansing. This was not an occasion for a parable.
John does not relate this event as a reason to kill the Church, nor is it an attack upon all our rites, customs and designated holy places, but upon our tendency to elevate these things to positions of higher holiness than we ascribe to God.
We tend to give these places and customs the worship and devotion that belongs to God, and God alone.
When we love things that cannot love us back, we misplace our love. When we present Christ-like attitudes to achieve personal gain, we abuse our Lord. When we define God within our own terms, we confine our hope to the weakened structures of a fallen world. Salvation means little more than satisfying human ideology.
Through God’s gift of Jesus Christ to the world, we have been given the presence of the highest love, the model of the deepest commitment, and the grace of the finest forgiveness.
Turning the temple upside down is the best way to turn Christians right side up for the journey with Christ to the cross on Calvary hill and the salvation joy of resurrection morning—proving Jesus’ words to be true: the temple destroyed and rebuilt in three days. Amen.
3/15/2009//1st Parish Fed Church, S Berwick, ME/Rev DL Muise
March 01, 2009
Spirits in Prison
SPIRITS IN PRISON
Mark 1: 9-12; 1 Peter 3:18-22
At once, the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness, and he was in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by Satan.
Let’s get right to it: Christ requires, not simply desires, disciples who are willing to confront, not simply face, the wilderness.
The wilderness can make or break a Christian for any number of reasons—Mark mentions a few trappings in verse 12: he was in the wilderness 40 DAYS; he was being tempted by SATAN; and he was with the WILD BEASTS and ANGELS attended him.
FORTY DAYS in bible language means an extraordinary long time. What can we take from a very long time outside of our safety or comfort zones? Perseverance? Trust? Patience? The art of Solitude? Yes, these, but something more.
TEMPTED BY SATAN: Why was Jesus DRIVEN, even THROWN, into the Wilderness just after that beautiful moment at the Jordan? To teach us how to respond, with scripture, when tempted? To encourage us to not fear the wilderness journey of discipleship? To face our own temptations and wild beasts? Yes, these, but also something more.
WILD BEASTS in Jesus’ day constituted boars, jackals, wolves, foxes, leopards and hyenas. Angels are the messengers of God. What a juxtaposition of forces—wild beasts and angels—all around Jesus. One group could tear him apart and the other could put him back together again. How should we understand the presence of each?
To remind us of the hostile nature of the wilderness? To accentuate Jesus’ vulnerability as a human? To impress upon us his ability to deal with both the beast and the angel? Yes, these, and also something more.
What is the something more we are to learn today? Let’s look at 1 Peter 3:18. "Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God."
Every move he made, every word he spoke, every prayer he prayed, Jesus did all of it in accordance with his mission to bring each person back into relationship with God.
There are no forgotten children of God: no one too sick, too bad, too dirty, too haughty, too ignorant, too intelligent, too beast-like, to be reached, to be healed, to be made whole, to be suffered for, to die for, to rise for. Yes, Jesus did all of these for us, and even more.
"He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit. [And] In that state, he went and made proclamation to the spirits in prison…"
The wilderness season of Lent is an appropriate time to examine how our spirits are imprisoned.
We live as free individuals. We make our own choices and decisions about everything, yet when it comes to our faith, many of us own imprisoned spirits.
We settle for something less than angels but more than wild beasts. We are willing to endure ten days, but not a full forty. We stop short of the full commitment; we stop short of the cross, and that is why our spirits remain in prison.
Socrates said that the unexamined life is not worth living. I am saying to each of us that the unexamined faith is hardly worth having.
When Socrates spoke of the unexamined life, he was on trial for heresy. He was encouraging his students to challenge the accepted beliefs of the time and think for themselves.
The sentence was death but Socrates had the option of suggesting an alternative punishment. He could have chosen life in prison or exile, and would likely have avoided death.But Socrates believed that these alternatives would rob him of the only thing that made life useful: Examining the world around him and discussing how to make the world a better place. Without his "examined life" there was no point in living.
So he suggested that Athens reward him for his service to society. The result, of course, is that they had no alternative and were forced to vote for a punishment of death. "The Unexamined Life is Not Worth Living" by Karl W. Palachuk
Our challenge as we begin this Lenten journey is to free our spirits—not for our own gain, of course, but for God’s glory.
The something more that we can receive through our walk with Jesus Christ is a strength like no other—the strength of the Spirit to not only throw us into the wildernesses of our lives but also to bring us out victorious. Let’s get right to it:
Jesus defeated Satan.
He faced the wild beasts.
He endured the entire journey
He emerged to fulfill his mission.
He was obedient unto God, even to the point of death.
He sits at the right hand of God—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.
When Christians in obedience to Christ gather in churches as one body, they have the strength of wild beasts and angels; they have the fortitude to not merely to persevere but to PREVAIL.
Know this, the Church, any church, our church, cannot prevail without the loving commitment to go to the cross with Christ. On the other side of the cross is resurrection, reconciliation, redemption…and an invitation to the greatest banquet our hearts will ever feed upon.
At Christ’s table, the gates of heaven open wide: the imprisoned spirits are set free…free, for what? To pledge with a clear conscience our faith in God who will find us in any wilderness, from the deep woods of Oregon in THE SHACK to the shores of coastal Maine.
The Lord knows where we are. Shall we keep our spirits in prison, or shall we go out to meet him and receive something so much more? Amen.
March 1, 2009
First Parish Federated Church, S Berwick, ME
The Reverend Donna Lee Muise, Pastor
Mark 1: 9-12; 1 Peter 3:18-22
At once, the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness, and he was in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by Satan.
Let’s get right to it: Christ requires, not simply desires, disciples who are willing to confront, not simply face, the wilderness.
The wilderness can make or break a Christian for any number of reasons—Mark mentions a few trappings in verse 12: he was in the wilderness 40 DAYS; he was being tempted by SATAN; and he was with the WILD BEASTS and ANGELS attended him.
FORTY DAYS in bible language means an extraordinary long time. What can we take from a very long time outside of our safety or comfort zones? Perseverance? Trust? Patience? The art of Solitude? Yes, these, but something more.
TEMPTED BY SATAN: Why was Jesus DRIVEN, even THROWN, into the Wilderness just after that beautiful moment at the Jordan? To teach us how to respond, with scripture, when tempted? To encourage us to not fear the wilderness journey of discipleship? To face our own temptations and wild beasts? Yes, these, but also something more.
WILD BEASTS in Jesus’ day constituted boars, jackals, wolves, foxes, leopards and hyenas. Angels are the messengers of God. What a juxtaposition of forces—wild beasts and angels—all around Jesus. One group could tear him apart and the other could put him back together again. How should we understand the presence of each?
To remind us of the hostile nature of the wilderness? To accentuate Jesus’ vulnerability as a human? To impress upon us his ability to deal with both the beast and the angel? Yes, these, and also something more.
What is the something more we are to learn today? Let’s look at 1 Peter 3:18. "Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God."
Every move he made, every word he spoke, every prayer he prayed, Jesus did all of it in accordance with his mission to bring each person back into relationship with God.
There are no forgotten children of God: no one too sick, too bad, too dirty, too haughty, too ignorant, too intelligent, too beast-like, to be reached, to be healed, to be made whole, to be suffered for, to die for, to rise for. Yes, Jesus did all of these for us, and even more.
"He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit. [And] In that state, he went and made proclamation to the spirits in prison…"
The wilderness season of Lent is an appropriate time to examine how our spirits are imprisoned.
We live as free individuals. We make our own choices and decisions about everything, yet when it comes to our faith, many of us own imprisoned spirits.
We settle for something less than angels but more than wild beasts. We are willing to endure ten days, but not a full forty. We stop short of the full commitment; we stop short of the cross, and that is why our spirits remain in prison.
Socrates said that the unexamined life is not worth living. I am saying to each of us that the unexamined faith is hardly worth having.
When Socrates spoke of the unexamined life, he was on trial for heresy. He was encouraging his students to challenge the accepted beliefs of the time and think for themselves.
The sentence was death but Socrates had the option of suggesting an alternative punishment. He could have chosen life in prison or exile, and would likely have avoided death.But Socrates believed that these alternatives would rob him of the only thing that made life useful: Examining the world around him and discussing how to make the world a better place. Without his "examined life" there was no point in living.
So he suggested that Athens reward him for his service to society. The result, of course, is that they had no alternative and were forced to vote for a punishment of death. "The Unexamined Life is Not Worth Living" by Karl W. Palachuk
Our challenge as we begin this Lenten journey is to free our spirits—not for our own gain, of course, but for God’s glory.
The something more that we can receive through our walk with Jesus Christ is a strength like no other—the strength of the Spirit to not only throw us into the wildernesses of our lives but also to bring us out victorious. Let’s get right to it:
Jesus defeated Satan.
He faced the wild beasts.
He endured the entire journey
He emerged to fulfill his mission.
He was obedient unto God, even to the point of death.
He sits at the right hand of God—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.
When Christians in obedience to Christ gather in churches as one body, they have the strength of wild beasts and angels; they have the fortitude to not merely to persevere but to PREVAIL.
Know this, the Church, any church, our church, cannot prevail without the loving commitment to go to the cross with Christ. On the other side of the cross is resurrection, reconciliation, redemption…and an invitation to the greatest banquet our hearts will ever feed upon.
At Christ’s table, the gates of heaven open wide: the imprisoned spirits are set free…free, for what? To pledge with a clear conscience our faith in God who will find us in any wilderness, from the deep woods of Oregon in THE SHACK to the shores of coastal Maine.
The Lord knows where we are. Shall we keep our spirits in prison, or shall we go out to meet him and receive something so much more? Amen.
March 1, 2009
First Parish Federated Church, S Berwick, ME
The Reverend Donna Lee Muise, Pastor
February 26, 2009
The Compassionate Community
2 Kings 5:1-12; Mark 1:40-45 “If you choose, you can make me clean.”
The maidservant offers these simple words, “If only my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy” (2 Kings 5:3).
Complete trust that Elisha would cure Namaan, spoken with that great caveat, “If only.”
How often do we find ourselves with the words “if only” on our lips? Today’s scripture from Mark teaches us to make the HUGE ASK of Jesus and not to hide behind the procrastinator’s flimsy cloak of “If only.”
JC Ryle said, “People are not lost because they are too bad to be saved, but because they will not come to Christ so that he may save them” (Life Application Bible Commentary, p 40).
Now, Namaan would think that he should not have to go to a poor, homeless carpenter for the eradication of his disease. He wanted to wash in the clean and mighty rivers of the land, for he was a man worthy of this honor, though he was a leper.
In Jesus’ day, lepers were corpses “haunting the edges of the community [they] could no longer enter” (Preaching Through the Christian Year B). He or she is worthy of nothing. Not only is this painful disease ravaging his body; the misery of being completely ostracized from family, friends, and community relentlessly burns throughout his soul, leaving him bereft of love and relationships …basic human needs.
Had Namaan lived in Jesus’ day, he probably would never have approached the Lord, but for a very different reason. He did not have the “right stuff”: faith, courage, and humility. And he would not have accepted a poor man’s touch.
The scripture says that Jesus was moved with pity by the leper’s request. Jesus had compassion for him. The Lord stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to him, “I do choose,” he said. “Be made clean” (Mark 1:41).
I find it very difficult most times to ask for what I need; probably most of us do. If fear keeps us from making the BIG ASK of Jesus, our faith needs work. I believe Jesus does choose to touch us with his compassion, yet we are inclined to hold back—not like Namaan but more like Mack, the lead character who is also suffering with great pain at the loss of relationships in The Shack.
“Why do I have so much fear in my life?” Mack asks Jesus, who answers, “Because you don’t believe. You don’t know that we love you. The person who lives by their fears will not find freedom in my love…To the degree that those fears have a place in your life, you neither believe I am good nor know deep in your heart that I love you. You sing about it, you talk about it, but you don’t know it.” And Mack breathed a huge sigh of the soul, “I have so far to go.”
The Lord is compassionate beyond all human understanding. He stretches out his hand by choice. He is the balm in Gilead of which we sing. We have a choice: to live with Christ in beloved community or live outside of him in dis-eased captivity.
What, then, shall we choose? For choice is the only barrier we face. Defy all fear and ridicule; override any doubt and sense of unworthiness and come close to the Lord. Let’s seek to be close enough to him that he can stretch out his hand and touch us.
“Jesus does not minister long distance. His work of forgiving brought him into contact with sinners; his work of lifting put him in places with the fallen; his words of encouragement were given among the hopeless; his healing put him with the diseased; his giving new life took him to the tomb.” (PTTCYB, p 103).
And he was willing to do it all; it was his choice, even unto the point of death on a cross, to die for us, to cure our sin, to save us for God.
The irony of this passage is that while Jesus brought the leper back into beloved community, Jesus was forced to seek out lonely places—the wilderness, the desert. Jesus Christ is willing and able to do for us what we are unwilling or unable to do for ourselves and for our community---this is the chasm of love across which we must extend not only our hands, but our very selves, our whole soul.
If we look to Jesus as a vital example of compassion, we find him embodying love in real, active ways: feeding people, physically and spiritually; touching and healing their bodies, minds and souls; giving them good wine to drink; rubbing mud on their eyes; holding their hands, speaking and listening to them—all these are actions to change people’s physical conditions, personal situations, and relationships with each other and with God.
Yes, we have so far to go; but to not take the journey is to reject the beloved community for which we were created; to refuse to make the HUGE ASK is to leave people in finite misery. Open yourself to the Lord; come and hear what Jesus will choose to do for you and see if you can contain the good news—the great healing you have received—Let the Lord hear your request; and may we both hear these words come back to our ears, spoken from our mouths and from our hearts, “I do choose.”
Share in the Lord’s compassion. Create the beloved and compassionate community. Wade in the muddy waters and be made clean for the work of the gospel must spread throughout the earth.
Unless we who have experienced the gospel speak, then the one who desperately needs the good news may never hear it—and the Lord is not willing that even one of us should perish. Rise up, compassionate community, and let us show ourselves to the people. IF we choose, we can lead them to the one who can—and will—make them clean. Amen.
February 15, 2009
First Parish Federated Church, South Berwick, ME
The Reverend Donna Lee Muise, Pastor
The man with leprosy, in coming to Jesus for healing was demonstrating three qualities that would do well in any Christian’s life:
Coming close to Jesus demonstrates courage—not only to break society’s barriers but also to approach him intimately
Kneeling before Jesus reveals his desperation and his humility; he was abandoning the law, risking ultimate suffering
Asking of Jesus his HUGE request reveals his faith that Jesus can do for him what he desires; the only barrier is, will Jesus choose to do so
Contrast this leper with Namaan—a decorated war hero and a leper. However, at every turn, he feels insulted by what he is told to do in order to be restored. In fact, everybody in the story has a nose out of joint because of what they are asked to do—all except the servant girl—a child, a slave, a captive from Israel.
The maidservant offers these simple words, “If only my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy” (2 Kings 5:3).
Complete trust that Elisha would cure Namaan, spoken with that great caveat, “If only.”
How often do we find ourselves with the words “if only” on our lips? Today’s scripture from Mark teaches us to make the HUGE ASK of Jesus and not to hide behind the procrastinator’s flimsy cloak of “If only.”
JC Ryle said, “People are not lost because they are too bad to be saved, but because they will not come to Christ so that he may save them” (Life Application Bible Commentary, p 40).
Now, Namaan would think that he should not have to go to a poor, homeless carpenter for the eradication of his disease. He wanted to wash in the clean and mighty rivers of the land, for he was a man worthy of this honor, though he was a leper.
In Jesus’ day, lepers were corpses “haunting the edges of the community [they] could no longer enter” (Preaching Through the Christian Year B). He or she is worthy of nothing. Not only is this painful disease ravaging his body; the misery of being completely ostracized from family, friends, and community relentlessly burns throughout his soul, leaving him bereft of love and relationships …basic human needs.
Had Namaan lived in Jesus’ day, he probably would never have approached the Lord, but for a very different reason. He did not have the “right stuff”: faith, courage, and humility. And he would not have accepted a poor man’s touch.
The scripture says that Jesus was moved with pity by the leper’s request. Jesus had compassion for him. The Lord stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to him, “I do choose,” he said. “Be made clean” (Mark 1:41).
I find it very difficult most times to ask for what I need; probably most of us do. If fear keeps us from making the BIG ASK of Jesus, our faith needs work. I believe Jesus does choose to touch us with his compassion, yet we are inclined to hold back—not like Namaan but more like Mack, the lead character who is also suffering with great pain at the loss of relationships in The Shack.
“Why do I have so much fear in my life?” Mack asks Jesus, who answers, “Because you don’t believe. You don’t know that we love you. The person who lives by their fears will not find freedom in my love…To the degree that those fears have a place in your life, you neither believe I am good nor know deep in your heart that I love you. You sing about it, you talk about it, but you don’t know it.” And Mack breathed a huge sigh of the soul, “I have so far to go.”
The Lord is compassionate beyond all human understanding. He stretches out his hand by choice. He is the balm in Gilead of which we sing. We have a choice: to live with Christ in beloved community or live outside of him in dis-eased captivity.
What, then, shall we choose? For choice is the only barrier we face. Defy all fear and ridicule; override any doubt and sense of unworthiness and come close to the Lord. Let’s seek to be close enough to him that he can stretch out his hand and touch us.
“Jesus does not minister long distance. His work of forgiving brought him into contact with sinners; his work of lifting put him in places with the fallen; his words of encouragement were given among the hopeless; his healing put him with the diseased; his giving new life took him to the tomb.” (PTTCYB, p 103).
And he was willing to do it all; it was his choice, even unto the point of death on a cross, to die for us, to cure our sin, to save us for God.
The irony of this passage is that while Jesus brought the leper back into beloved community, Jesus was forced to seek out lonely places—the wilderness, the desert. Jesus Christ is willing and able to do for us what we are unwilling or unable to do for ourselves and for our community---this is the chasm of love across which we must extend not only our hands, but our very selves, our whole soul.
If we look to Jesus as a vital example of compassion, we find him embodying love in real, active ways: feeding people, physically and spiritually; touching and healing their bodies, minds and souls; giving them good wine to drink; rubbing mud on their eyes; holding their hands, speaking and listening to them—all these are actions to change people’s physical conditions, personal situations, and relationships with each other and with God.
Yes, we have so far to go; but to not take the journey is to reject the beloved community for which we were created; to refuse to make the HUGE ASK is to leave people in finite misery. Open yourself to the Lord; come and hear what Jesus will choose to do for you and see if you can contain the good news—the great healing you have received—Let the Lord hear your request; and may we both hear these words come back to our ears, spoken from our mouths and from our hearts, “I do choose.”
Share in the Lord’s compassion. Create the beloved and compassionate community. Wade in the muddy waters and be made clean for the work of the gospel must spread throughout the earth.
Unless we who have experienced the gospel speak, then the one who desperately needs the good news may never hear it—and the Lord is not willing that even one of us should perish. Rise up, compassionate community, and let us show ourselves to the people. IF we choose, we can lead them to the one who can—and will—make them clean. Amen.
February 15, 2009
First Parish Federated Church, South Berwick, ME
The Reverend Donna Lee Muise, Pastor
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)