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Palm Sunday or Parade Sunday?
0 Comments | Submitted: 04/05/2009 09:32 AM
We are excited today at the church, because we are having a parade of palms into the sanctuary for the 10:50 AM service.
Palm Sunday is the day that marks Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem, the beginning of the last week of his earthly ministry. It's an action-packed week ahead, from celebration to sorrow to joy again.
My challenge in my sermon this morning was to encourage us to use this week to sink your spiritual roots deep into God's love, a love that has no bounds, a love that goes any distance for us. A powerful image - but then again, Jesus' life was all about waking us up to the new kingdom breaking in, a vision of a world where God's love reigns.
A great reason for a parade - a great day for it too!
- Rev. Nathan
Disciples Like Me
0 Comments | Submitted: 04/01/2009 12:00 PM
When I read the Bible and am reminded of the hard-hearing and lack of understanding by the disciples to the words of Jesus, I feel relieved. Let's face it - Jesus said a lot of stuff that is really hard to understand on first, second, or even third pass. If the disciples couldn't figure it out, maybe it's not so bad for us not to always get it as well.
For example, look at this passage that will be read this coming Palm Sunday:
They said, "What does he mean by this 'a little while'? We do not know what he is talking about." John 16:18
Jesus is in Jerusalem with his disciples, giving some of his final instructions and teaching before he faces the cross. He warns them that in "a little while, you will no longer see me". He is of course talking about his death and resurrection - the pain that is coming. His disciples may still be in Palm Sunday mode - relishing in the parade and promise of Christ's return to Jerusalem. The last thing they wanted to hear was that he might be leaving.
Holy Week is probably the best time to wonder what Jesus was talking about - there is so much to learn and think about packed in the seven days that mark the high note of the Christian calendar. So it's fun to be reminded, even by the disciples themselves, that it's okay to pause and ask questions. What was Jesus all about anyway? What did Jesus really mean? And when you do this, sometimes you are blessed with open eyes and ears to see it all in a new light.
- Rev. Nathan
A Jesus of Many Faces
0 Comments | Submitted: 03/24/2009 11:54 AM
One of the funny things I learned in seminary was that you can always find the Jesus you go looking for.
Wait a minute. Say that again?
Dr. Craig Hill made this point in his lectures on the Gospels in one of my first classes at Wesley. Through all of history, we have thousands of different interpretations on Jesus Christ. Some folks have gone looking for a Jesus who was a revolutionary, seeking to overthrow the Roman Empire and launch a new Godly empire. Some folks have gone looking for a Jesus who was all about exposing sin and bringing judgment to evildoers. Others still have sought out a Jesus who was really just a wise human sage, probably not a miracle worker or a son of God except in a symbolic sense. Others still have found a Jesus who was completely God and never had a doubt or fear, a Jesus who makes us humans realize just how imperfect we are. Still others, according to writers like Philip Yancey in his book, "The Jesus I Never Knew", have discovered a clean, handsome, lovable Jesus or even the leader of a fringe Jewish cult that might have used drugs. In other words, we humans have found the Jesus that we wanted to find, a Jesus like us or a Jesus who justifies our own actions or lives.
But it is hard to pin Jesus down. Let's take a look at just a few of the things he is supposed to have said:
"Love your neighbor as yourself." Matthew 22:39
"I come not to bring peace, but to bring a sword." Mark 10:34
"Come to me, all ye who labour and are burdened, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28
"For the Son of Man in his day will be like the lightning, which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other." Luke 17:23
"I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty." John 6:35
"And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Matthew 25:30
"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God." Matthew 5:9
Jesus made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those who sold doves he said, "Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father's house into a market!" John 2:15-16
"I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 19:23
Jesus did seem like a guy who had more than one face. In an instant, he could bring judgment, withering a fig tree, calling out the Pharisees, chastising the crowds for not believing - and in the next, he offered a way of life that seems irresistible, healing for wounded souls, affirmation that God remembers even the lowliest in the world, and hope for a future where God's justice and peace reigns on earth as it is in heaven. We might prefer to hear and read from one side of Jesus over the others - there are plenty of times when I do too!
Perhaps my professor's point was - always be open to reading Jesus again. Our danger as Christians is assuming we know what Jesus meant - assuming we know what the Word is for our lives. Jesus' disciples even had this problem (Matthew 16:13-15). Even they saw in Jesus different things, different hopes for the future and God's fulfillment. Our effort as disciples is to keep trudging, keep learning - keep approaching Jesus and God and the Gospels and the entire Bible with openness and humility. There is always more to learn.
When we read the Bible, maybe we shouldn't see ourselves in Jesus. Maybe we should begin to find Jesus in us.
-Rev. Nathan
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