Freedom – A Reflection, Memorial Day 2012

I was reading an article in a religious magazine today reminding pastors that part of their job as “shepherd” is to “warn and reprove” the flock. The author went on to say that as a real shepherd protects sheep and keeps them out of danger, it is the job of a pastor to warn their (metaphorical) sheep and keep them out of spiritual danger.

My initial reaction was one of skepticism.  Aren’t people supposed to be responsible for themselves?  Don’t too many church leaders keep their congregations in a constant state of emotional and spiritual adolescence and dependence?  And on top of all that, what socio-political assumptions were behind the author’s words?  Was there some hidden agenda?

Then I remembered: at one point in the Old Testament God says to his prophet: ^“If I say to the wicked, “You shall surely die,” and you give them no warning, or speak to warn the wicked from their wicked way, in order to save their life, those wicked persons shall die for their iniquity; but their blood I will require at your hand. But if you warn the wicked, and they do not turn from their wickedness, or from their wicked way, they shall die for their iniquity; but you will have saved your life.”  (Ezekiel 3:18-19)

The apostle Paul also warned his friends: “I know that after I have gone, savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock.  Some even from your own group will come distorting the truth in order to entice the disciples to follow them. Therefore be alert….” (Acts 20:29-31)

For someone who is seriously contemplating ordination these are pretty heavy passages.  The job of a pastor is… well… humanly impossible when you get down to it.  But I know God equips the people He calls.  So I began to muse… if I were a pastor right now, what dangers might I warn my flock about?

For those readers who are pastors – I welcome your answers to this question.  And for those readers who are not pastors – I welcome your reactions to, and any additions to, what follows.  I could definitely have written much more.  But I begin with…

Lies.  Quit sugar-coating them with the words “untruth” or “misinformation” or “inaccuracy”.  When facts are spun, when figures are re-interpreted to promote a particular agenda, this is not simply a “point of view”.  They’re lies.  And all lies have the same source… which leads me to…

The words of Paul, “We are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”  (Ephesians 6:12)  Our enemies are not Democrats, Republicans, the rich, the poor, liberals, conservatives, or any individual politician, businessman, celebrity or religious leader. A follower of Christ is called to contend against unjust practices, fallacies, errors, misconceptions… whether they are accidental or deliberate… and stand for what is true, just, and compassionate.  One of the biggest lies people of faith fall for is that anyone other than God can make the nation (or the world) what it should be, and/or that God’s kingdom can be brought about by political means.

I would tell them: Be aware of the sources of lies, including but not limited to: political campaigns. Advertising.  Infomercials.  Press releases.  News “analysis”. Selling smaller packages of goods in the grocery store while charging the same price.  Corporate policies.  Governmental policies.  Church hierarchies.  Prosperity preachers.  People who want your money.  People who see lovemaking as a sophisticated game of IOU.  And just about anyone who doesn’t want to be held responsible for something.

I would tell them: The world is a dangerous place.  Remember 9/11 – how for a moment the flimsy gauze of our societal fabrications was torn away and we realized how, at any given moment, very little stands between us and annihilation. This is the reality our society tries to cover up with its focus on money, power, success, fame, and lots of sex. Just going about one’s business every day, making an effort to do things God’s way, is an act of courage and the beginning of reform.

And I would tell them: Given all of the above bad news, we believers are delighted with life – because as the ancient king David wrote, “thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies.”  The principalities and powers will not win, because God is Truth, more powerful than any lie. People who know the Father, Son, and Spirit are free – free from fear, free from the need to justify the space they’re taking up on the planet, free to love, and serve, and give and receive, and delight in God’s creation and the grandeur He has made in the spirit of every individual. “If the Son makes you free you will be free indeed.” (John 8:36)

“It Is Finished” – When Jesus Says It’s Finished

When Jesus had received the wine, he said, “It is finished.” Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. (John 19:30)  (Word #6 of the Seven Last Words of Christ from the Cross)

The sixth word of Jesus from the cross has a number of shadings of meaning.  In the Greek it is just one word: tetelestai, which can mean ‘it is finished’, ‘it is completed’, ‘it is accomplished’, or ‘it is fulfilled’.

One thing it does not mean is ‘I’m done for’.  Tetelestai is not a sigh of resignation.  It is a declaration of victory.  In spite of appearances – in spite of the tortured body we see on the cross – Jesus has accomplished everything He came to earth to do.  He has accomplished the salvation of humanity, and His death will open the door for us to eternal life.

In ancient Israel tetelestai was also a business term meaning ‘paid in full’.  Writing tetelestai at the bottom of a bill would be the same thing as stamping a “Paid” stamp in our day.  Jesus paid the price for our sins, and the debt has been paid in full.  It is over.  “It is finished.”   Our sins are done away with, and we are free and forgiven.

If we hear nothing else today, we need to hear that.  Everything we’ve ever done wrong, every mistake we’ve ever made, has been paid for.  It is finished.

That said, there’s another angle that I never really noticed before a few days ago, and that is: God the Father and God the Son have been in control the whole time.  They decided when righteousness was fulfilled, and they decided when it was time for Jesus to leave the planet and come home.  As Jesus says in the Gospel of John,

“I lay down my life, that I may take it again.  No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again; this charge I have received from my Father.” (John 10:17b-18)

In other words, it wasn’t finished until Jesus said it was finished.

If you had asked the political and religious leaders of Jesus’ day they would have told you a different story.  If you had asked Herod he would have said “I got rid of John the Baptist and then I got rid of that preacher friend of his. I sent Him off to Pilate dressed like a king – wearing a purple robe and a crown of thorns.  He and his followers are finished.”  And then Pilate washed his hands of Jesus’ blood and sent Him off to be crucified.  In Pilate’s eyes Jesus was finished.  But as Jesus told Pilate, “You would have no power over me unless it had been given you from above…” (John 19:11)  It wasn’t finished until Jesus said it was finished.

The religious leaders were no better. They knew that Jesus fulfilled the prophecies of the Messiah.  They knew the writings the Old Testament.  But they had become rich and powerful in their religious careers and they weren’t about to step aside for Jesus. So they conspired against Him.   They even bought the cooperation of Judas, one of His twelve ‘inner circle’ disciples.  And as Jesus hung on the cross they ridiculed Him saying, “He saved others, but he can’t save himself.  If he is the king of Israel, let him come down from the cross and we will believe in him.” (Matt 27:42)  But the suffering of the Messiah had been predicted by David and Isaiah and all the prophets.  Everything that day was unfolding just the way God planned it.  The religious leaders thought they had gotten rid of Jesus for good… but it wasn’t finished until Jesus said it was finished.

Before Jesus died, he lived long enough to see the first sinner come to saving faith in Him, when the thief on the cross next to him said, “remember me when you come into your kingdom”.  Jesus was not going home to His Father empty-handed… He was bringing the first redeemed human being with Him.  For that thief on the cross it wasn’t finished until Jesus said it was finished.

And the same is true for us today.  I am reminded of a Gospel song called “It Ain’t Over Till God Says It’s Over”.  The first verse of the song goes like this:

I know the odds look stacked against you
And it seems there’s no way out
I know the issue seems unchangeable
And that there’s no reason to shout
But the impossible is God’s chance
To work a miracle
So just know
It ain’t over till God says it’s over
(Maurette Brown-Clark)

 Jesus won the victory on Calvary and if we allow Him to, He will win the victory in our lives as well.  We here in this time and place, post-Calvary and post-Resurrection, we live in between the now and the not yet: Jesus’ victory is complete, but history is still playing itself out.

Society may say Christianity is a thing of the past.  People may ridicule Christian beliefs… but it ain’t finished till Jesus says it’s finished.  There may be a situation in life that looks hopeless, and we can’t find a way out… but it ain’t finished till Jesus says it’s finished.  People sometimes say our little parish church is done for… they say we don’t have enough people, we don’t have enough money… but it ain’t finished till Jesus says it’s finished.  God has ways that we can’t even begin to imagine, as we see so clearly at Calvary.

So here in the darkness of Good Friday… and in the darkness of our world… Jesus declares, “it is finished”.  The price has been paid.  The victory is won.  And when we come to the end of our days, we can say with confidence, as Jesus did, “Father into Your hands I commend my spirit”.  Until that day, it ain’t finished till Jesus says it’s finished.  AMEN.

~ Preached at Church of the Atonement, Good Friday 2012 ~

“My God, My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me?”

From noon on, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. And about three o’clock Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matt. 27:45-46) (Word #4 of the Seven Last Words of Christ from the Cross)

These are probably the most gut-wrenching, horrifying words that have ever spoken by a human being, spoken by Jesus into the deepening darkness.

It’s bad enough to feel forsaken.  Most of us have felt forsaken at some point in our lives: abandoned by a friend, maybe someone we were in love with, someone we cared about deeply.  That’s bad enough.

It’s even worse to feel God-forsaken… to feel like things are so bad God can no longer see you and would never want to be near you. I believe this feeling of being God-forsaken is far more common in our neighborhoods and in our nation than we would imagine.

But the forsakenness Jesus felt was something even deeper than this.  It’s beyond imagining, because in this moment on the Cross Jesus really was God-forsaken.

Yesterday’s reading from Trinity’s Lenten Devotional describes the scene:

“When Jesus had set His cup back on the table and sung a hymn with his friends, He left the upper room for the darkest night of His exile. Since He had arrived on earth, our sin – my sin – and His determination to end its reign had deprived Him of the comfort of heaven and the near friendship of His Father.  Until His work was finished, there would be no return.  As G.K. Chesterton wrote: ‘When the world shook and the sun was wiped out of heaven, it was… at the cry from the Cross: the cry which confessed that God was forsaken of God.’”

It’s beyond imagining.  Jesus was abandoned, completely alone, for the first time in His eternal life.  It’s beyond imagining because somehow, in a way that we can never comprehend, the One True and Living God was divided… split in two… torn apart.  It’s completely unthinkable.  It should have been impossible.  But what is impossible from a human perspective is possible with God.

We know, thank God, that Jesus did not remain God-forsaken.  He did not die God-forsaken.  By the time Jesus breathed His last breath He was able to say with confidence “into Your hands I commend my spirit”.  The unity of Father and Son was restored through the power of the Holy Spirit while Jesus was still on the cross. And the temptation is to move as quickly as possible past this God-forsaken moment because it is too much to bear.  But it needs to be seen because this is God’s love for us in action.  God loves us so much that He is willing to be torn apart himself, to be condemned and abandoned, so that we never need to be condemned or abandoned.

When I think about this I wish it hadn’t been necessary.  I wish there were some way we humans could have lived up to God’s standards.  I wish there had been some other way.  This Jesus, who was descended from kings, who was the rightful heir to the Jewish throne, who loved and welcomed children… and prostitutes… and sinners… dies as a rebel and an outcast.

Yet in this moment we can take comfort in knowing that whatever we are going through in our lives, Jesus has been there and He knows how it is. And we can take comfort in the words of Isaiah, who says of the Messiah:

“…when he makes himself an offering for sin, he shall see his offspring, he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand; he shall see the fruit of the travail of his soul and be satisfied…” (Isaiah 53:10b-11a)

As strange and unlikely as it seems, Jesus thinks we’re worth it.  All the pain and all the forsakenness He went through is worth it to Him to win us for Himself.

As we meditate on the suffering Jesus endured for us, let us respond with love, thanks, and obedience that grow deeper with every passing day.  AMEN.

~ Preached at Church of the Atonement, Good Friday 2012 ~

Pope Shenouda III, Leader of Coptic Christian Church, Has Passed

It is with sadness we share the news that Pope Shenouda III of Egypt’s Coptic Christian Church has passed away at the age of 88.  The story can be found here:  BBC News

Pope Shenouda III

Pope Shenouda was seen as a peacemaker between Christians and Muslims in Egypt, loved and respected by both.

He was also a good friend of Bishop Mouneer Anis, head of the Anglican Church in Egypt, and through him to Anglicans worldwide. Bishop Anis wrote in his Obituary for Pope Shenouda III, “Together with all Egyptians, the Episcopal / Anglican Church of Egypt mourns the loss of Pope Shenouda III,” adding, “I was not surprised to see hundreds of thousands of people in the streets of Cairo yesterday, immediately after the announcement of the passing away of the beloved Pope, who was such an important symbol for the nation.”

His funeral is set for 21 March, and he will be buried at the monastery of St. Bishoy.

Breaking News – Archbishop of Canterbury Steps Down

Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams

In a move that comes as a surprise to many, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams has announced he will step down from his post at the end of 2012.  He plans to return to teaching and writing and will take a position at Magdalene College, Cambridge, beginning in January.

The Guardian offers details of his decision and a balanced perspective on Williams’ tenure in Rowan Williams Resigns as Archbishop of Canterbury.

Williams’ successor will be poised to have a profound impact on the Anglican Church worldwide, including The Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church in North America.  Readers are invited to keep both the outgoing archbishop and the choice of incoming archbishop in their prayers.

 

Sweeter Than Honey?

Scripture Readings:
Exodus 20:1-17 (The Ten Commandments)
Psalm 19:7-14
Romans 7:13-25
John 2:13-22

In Psalm 19 King David sings, “the law of the Lord is perfect and revives the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, and gives wisdom to the innocent; the statutes of the Lord are just and rejoice the heart… More to be desired are they than gold… sweeter far than honey…”

In one way or another all of our scripture readings for this morning are about the “Law of the Lord”.  The Old Testament passage is the Ten Commandments; the lesson from Romans talks about how impossible it is to keep the commandments; and in the Gospel reading John shows us a picture of God’s law in action.

I could easily spend a half hour on each reading!  For now, though, I want to focus on something King David said in the Psalm.  He describes God’s law as “sweeter than honey, and the drippings of the honeycomb.”

This description jumps out at me because when I read God’s laws – when I read the Ten Commandments – that’s not the reaction I have.  I respect God’s law.  I honor it, because it helps avoid life’s pitfalls, helps me live well. And like David, I believe the law of God is something we can depend on.  It’s a foundation to build life on.  In fact it’s the foundation of many secular laws both in America and in Europe.  If it were OK to steal, murder, cheat on one’s spouse, and make false accusations against other people in court, life would be hellish.  So God’s laws are good… but sweet is not exactly the word that comes to mind.

Another reaction I have to the Ten Commandments is a sense of familiarity.  These words are something I’ve known since I was a kid.  They’ve always been there, part of the fabric of life. So God’s laws are foundational… but again sweet is not really the word.

A third reaction I have to God’s law is a sense of failure, especially being aware of how Jesus interprets the law. Jesus said things like “You have heard it said… ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’  But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment.” (Matt 5:21-22).  I may never have murdered anyone, but never being angry with someone?  I’m not that good.  In our Psalm for today David prays, “who can tell how often he offends? Cleanse me from my secret faults… let them not get dominion over me.”  That’s real… because the nature of sin IS to get dominion over us.  Every one of us fails to live up to God’s standards in one way or another.  And the Bible says the penalty for breaking God’s law is death.  No way is that sweet!

When we come face to face with God’s excellence, and then look at ourselves and how flawed we are, we can be tempted to despair.  But in our New Testament lesson Paul provides us with an answer to this predicament.  He writes, “Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Rom. 7:24-25)  Or as he says in his letter to the Corinthians, “Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!” (I Cor 15:57)  Because Paul knows, as we know, that Jesus gave his life to give us the victory over sin and death.

Jesus’ victory is sweet.  But does it make the Law sweet?  In my mind, not yet.

I would submit for your consideration that the sweetness of God’s law is not in the reading or in the understanding or even in the repenting, but in the living.  Let me offer two examples.

The first example is found in our Gospel reading for this morning.  The tale of Jesus turning over tables and throwing animal sellers out of the temple is an odd scene.  Very rarely in scripture do we see Jesus angry, and for this reason a lot of modern scholars have attempted to debunk this story, tried to take the teeth out of it.  I think they do both Jesus and us a disservice when they do this. Here’s why.

Imagine for a moment that we are an extended family living in Israel in Jesus’ day.  It’s time for the Passover, so we (along with every other Jewish family in the country) prepare to make the journey to Jerusalem. When we get there we will worship, confess our sins, sacrifice a sin offering in the temple, and then celebrate our redemption and freedom. The journey takes many days over rough terrain.  Donkeys carry the very old and the very young, and we bring extra animals with us to sacrifice. We climb up Mount Zion, singing Psalms to keep our minds off the difficulties of the journey. We finally make it to the top of the mountain and see the great city of Jerusalem.  We locate our hotel and get settled in.

The next morning we take our sacrificial animals over to the temple.  The city is packed.  We finally make it to the outer courts of the temple and we get in line to enter.  The air is hot, dry, dusty, and smelly.  The kids are nagging: “What’s taking so long? When are we going in?”

The outer court where we are standing is where the Gentiles are supposed to worship… but there’s no worship going on here!  Instead the priests and their workers have set up tables where our animals will be inspected. It says in the law of Moses that animals sacrificed to God can’t have any blemishes, so the priests inspect.  Most of the time they find blemishes.  That’s what happens to our animals.  They can’t be sacrificed.  We have to go buy unblemished animals, so we are directed to the next set of tables. Here we can buy cows, sheep or doves, depending on what we can afford.  (It’s a matter of status.)  The prices for all of them are sky-high, but we have no other options.  We have to buy one for each family.

So we pull out our sack of coins… and the man at the table says, “Wait, wait… we can’t take that kind of money.  Only temple coins can be used to buy things in the temple.  The money-changers are over there.”

So we go to the next table to change our money.  The exchange rate is outrageous – highway robbery. But we have no choice.  The sacrifice has to be made.  We are barely going to have enough money for the trip home.

Suddenly, just before we exchange the coins, Jesus of Nazareth storms into the temple courtyard.  We’ve heard about this man.  They say he works miracles – heals blind people, brings the dead back to life.  He’s shouting “My father’s house is supposed to be a house of prayer! And you have made it a den of robbers!”

And he knocks over the money-changer’s tables.  Coins are flying everywhere!  Then he shouts “Stop making my Father’s house a marketplace!” and He goes over to where the animals are being sold, and he sets them all free!  Cows and sheep are running every which way!  Doves are filling the air!  Children are laughing, people are cheering, and at last we can all enter the temple.  We can celebrate the Passover with our families just like in the old days.

How sweet is this?  It’s an end to injustice. Freedom from oppression.  The way God meant it to be.  Jesus has made a way for people to approach God without being cheated.  And then after the sacrifice we sit down to feast with our whole extended family.  Let the celebrations begin!

God’s law, when it is lived, is sweet.

Here’s a second example from a little closer to home.  Last Sunday for the first time I took a close look at the stained glass windows in this church.  They are a message to us from the parents and grandparents and great-grandparents of this parish.

The tradition of stained glass windows began in the Middle Ages when most people couldn’t read… so the great stories of the Bible were told in pictures instead.  The founders of this church honored that tradition and these windows tell us what they believed.  Their choice of pictures – because there are many, many passages they could have chosen to illustrate – tells us what they thought it was important we should know.  It cost them a great deal to leave these stories for us but for them it was worth it.

This morning we are going to obey the commandment, “honor thy father and thy mother” by listening to what they have to say.

The windows in this church, taken together as a group, tell the story of Jesus’ life and our salvation.

The story begins in the back of the church, where we enter the building.  The first window shows the Annunciation: the angel coming to Mary and telling her “you will be the mother of God’s son”.  The angel is holding lilies over Mary’s head to indicate her purity.  In the window next to it we see that prediction coming true as Jesus is born in the manger, with Mary and Joseph and the animals at His side.

Annunciation and Birth of Jesus

The next pair of windows shows Jesus turning water into wine – his first miracle – and someone being blessed and healed in the temple.  The first miracle puts us in mind of communion, and is a foreshadowing of what is to come.  The second shows Jesus’ willingness to forgive and to heal.  In both of these windows one thing stands out: Jesus’ hands.  We have a God with hands — a God who isn’t ashamed to touch us as we are.

First Miracle and Healing

In the next pair we see Jesus calling disciples by the Sea of Galilee.  These are fishermen – we can see the boat in the background – probably Peter and Andrew.  In the next window we see Jesus surrounded by children.  It brings to mind Jesus’ saying “let the little children come to me, for of such is the kingdom of heaven”.  In both of these windows we see that God does not show preference for the strong and the rich but rather for the average working person and for the smallest and least of people.

Calling the Disciples and Let the Children Come

On the other side of the aisle we see Jesus’ baptism by John the Baptist in the Jordan River.  The Holy Spirit is above Jesus descending on him like a dove.  Baptism is something that is meant to wash away sins… so Jesus didn’t need to be baptized.  But he was willing to become one of us and identify with us in every way, so he did it anyway.  In the next window we see the Transfiguration – Jesus on the mountain talking to Moses and Elijah.  This brings to mind the words of Jesus “I have not come to abolish the law and the prophets but to fulfill them.”

Baptism of Jesus and Transfiguration

In the next pair of windows we see Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem on what has become known as Palm Sunday.  A few days later, we see Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane.  He is praying while his disciples sleep, and we see the cup before him (figuratively) as he prays “let this cup pass from me, but not my will but Thine be done”.

Triumphal Entry and Garden of Gethsemane

The story continues in the window above the altar.  This window is placed in the most prominent place in the sanctuary because it is the heart and soul of the story.  We see the Last Supper, with Jesus holding the cup and the bread on the table in front of him.  Above that we see a Bishop’s mitre.  The mitre could be interpreted a number of ways, but I take it to mean Jesus has become our great high priest – the only go-between between people and God.

The Last Supper w Mitre

Above that we see Jesus on the cross, dying in our place to take away our sins.  Two women stand at the foot of the cross bearing witness.  Above that we see a Bishop’s staff – which is shaped like a shepherd’s crook – indicating Jesus is the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep.

Crucifixion and Shepherd's Staff

And then finally the last window, tucked away above the choir. Here is the victory!  Jesus is alive!  We see the nail scars in His hand and feet, but the grave can’t hold him.

Resurrection!

These are the things our parents and grandparents wanted us to know.  And whenever we share the story of Jesus, either here or outside the walls of the church, especially outside these walls… we obey God’s commandment to honor our fathers and our mothers.  How sweet is that?

The sweetness of God’s law is in the living.  By the power of the Holy Spirit may we live it more and more. AMEN.

- Sermon given at Church of the Atonement, Carnegie, March 11 2012 -

BlogSurfing Find: Troubled Times in Egypt

Bishop Mouneer Anis of Egypt is calling for prayer for Egypt as the country struggles to redefine itself in the wake of last spring’s coup.  Troubles continue as 74 people are killed and 400 wounded at a football game in Cairo, followed by rioting in Alexandria and Suez.

The story can be found here:  Egypt on the Edge