Acts 11:1-18, John 13:31-35

Acts 11:1-18

John 13:31-35

How Will They Know You’re A Christian?

April 28, 2013

Easter 5

                        We are one in the Spirit – we are one in the Lord

                         We are one in the Spirit – we are one in the Lord

                        And we pray that our unity will one day be restored.

                        And they’ll know we are Christians by our love – by our love

                        And they’ll know we are Christians by our love.

            The words to this familiar hymn were written in 1968 by Catholic priest Peter Scholtes as tried to come up with a way to remind his congregation of the importance of the message in our Gospel passage for today – John 13:31-35. The song speaks of our unity in  Christ and the  love we should have for each other and others or each other because we are followers of Christ.

            That’s the same message the choir just sang:

            Friends in Christ, we’ll go where He leads,

            Love can grow if we plant the seeds.

            Giving and sharing, believing and caring,

            We’ll do whatever God needs.

            As a follower of Christ, friends, you are commanded to love. 

            God needs you to love.

“Love one another”

Jesus says.

And the thing is He does not say that this is optional   – but He says it is a commandment.

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”

It’s a command.

You must do it.

God needs you to do it.

You know — the way you show love or fail to show love to others is also a litmus test that others use to test you to see if you are really a follower of Jesus or not.  Whether you like it or not, people are watching you to see how loving you are. If you act in loving ways to others people will know that you are a Christian,  If you don’t treat others with love and respect they may question if you are really a Christian or not.     

 “By this all men will know that you are my disciples” Jesus says –

if you love one another.”

Yea –

they’ll know we are Christians by our love – by our love

                        they’ll know we are Christians by our love.

            And –

                        Giving and sharing, believing and caring,

                        We’ll do whatever God needs.

            How will people know that you are Christian? 

            By your love.

            But – I have a question for  you today – do you think Jesus wants you to keep this love He commands you to have to people who think, act, or even look like you?

            I don’t think so. It seems to me that God wants you – and all of us — to show His love to all people – regardless of who they are.

            It also seems to me that Christians have struggled since the beginning of the Christian religion with this idea of truly loving all people.

            You might know that you are commanded to love. You might even know you are commanded to love all people.  You might even know that others will “know you are a Christian by our love” — but sometimes you might find it hard to do that.

            Well, don’t feel alone.  Followers of Jesus have struggled with showing love to all people since Jesus gave the command to do so.

            Do you remember the TV show “All In The Family”?

            You probably do.  When I was a teenager my family enjoyed watching it. You may have also. The show centered around the lives of Archie Bunker, his wife Edith, their daughter Gloria and her husband Mike.  I still laugh when I think of Edith’s high-pitched voice – especially as she sang the duet with Archie that was the show’s theme song – and I especially laugh when I think of Archie and some of his opinions and ideas.  Thinking back on it, the show was not just a comedy, it was a show that got folks thinking about their prejudices as it addressed topics such as racism, homosexuality, women’s lib, and other topics that were too controversial for other shows to address, but it addressed in a way that made folks laugh – but also think.

            I remember one episode where Archie is locked in the basement of his house and no one is home.  He yells at the top of his lungs for someone to save him – but to no avail.  Edith, Gloria, and Mike are all out of town for  few days – and no one can hear Archie’s cries for help. He finally gives up trying to be rescued, and is certain that he will die there in the basement. He happens to find a bottle of vodka and decides to drown his sorrows.  If he is going to die, as least he will die happy. He finally says to God:

“Lord – don’t make me suffer a long time – if I’m gonna die, just come now and get me!”

He suddenly hears a voice as he hears the door open. “Mr. Bunker?” the voice calls –  “Mr. Bunker – are you down there?”

            “That didn’t take long!” Archie says thinking God has come to get him. He rouses from his stupor, and certain that God is coming to get him, he yells:

            “Here I am, Lord” as he staggers around looking for God —  – “Hold on Lord – I’m coming!”

            Archie finally turns around, and – to his great surprise – a black man is standing there. Well, the look on Archie’s face is priceless – and – still believing it is God he is seeing – and probably remembering all he had said and thought in his life about blacks — he mutters:

            “Lord – you’ll have to forgive me – I never knew you were black!”

            Maybe that’s something like the reaction Peter had when he had the experience he related to the leaders of the Church in our passage for today in Acts 11:1-18. He was praying on the rooftop of Simon the Tanner’s house  when a sheet filled with animals that he had always been taught were unclean and to be avoided was lowered before him and God commanded him to kill and eat them.   

            “No Lord – I would never eat those unclean animals” he replied.

            But God responded that He has made them clean.

            Then – God called Peter to go from eating unclean animals to eating with unclean people – Gentiles –  Cornelius and his family — and not only eating with them but preaching to them  – baptizing them – and watching them be filled with the Holy Spirit.

            Maybe Peter thought something along the lines of what Archie Bunker said when confronted with the black man he thought was God:    

            “Lord – you’ll have to forgive me – I never knew you were a Gentile!”

            And when – in our passage from Acts 11 —  the Christian leaders call Peter on the carpet about what he has done and he explains his actions and how the Holy Spirit came upon Cornelius and his family, the only response they could make was:

            “So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life.”

            In other words — “Lord – you’ll have to forgive us – we never knew you were a Gentile!”

“A new command I give you:” Jesus says –

“Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”

“By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

How will people know you are a Christian?

By your love. 

The call to follow Christ is a call to love you to love and show His love to others.  It’s not a call to pick and choose who you are going to show love to, or to decide that you are going to love one person but not love another – it’s a call to love – all people. It’s a call to show God’s love, and not just to some, but to all. It’s a call to look for ways to show God’s love to all people, whoever they are, and wherever they are.

 At the beginning of our Gospel passage from John, Jesus makes the statement:

“Now is the Son of Man glorified”…

As I have looked at this passage this week I have wondered – what is it that made Jesus glorified at that point? What was special about that point that made Him glorified more than at other points? As I have thought and prayed about this, I have come to the idea that maybe Jesus was glorified at that point because it was at that point that He showed His love for the disciples by washing their feet, and was preparing to show it in the strongest way possible by dying on the cross for them – and for all who would believe in Him.

I believe that Jesus was glorified as He showed God’s love.

I also believe that Jesus is still glorified as you show His love to others.

Your actions of love for all people glorify God – glorify Jesus – and identify you as a Christian. Your failure to show God’s love to some people is your failure to glorify God and Jesus, and your failure to identify yourself  as a follower of  Christ. 

Friends – you will never be perfect.  You are not going to ever perfectly show God’s love to all people all the time.  You will always struggle with this. The followers of Jesus in the early church continued to struggle with this. Even after Peter’s story of how the Holy Spirit came upon Gentiles and the leaders realized the “God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life” members of the early church struggled with Jesus’ command to show love to all people. By the end of the book of Acts Paul is in jail because he had the audacity – as some put it – to bring Timothy – a Gentile – into the vicinity of the Temple. The early Christians struggled with the idea of showing God’s love to all people, and Christians continue to struggle with this.

But – even though you are not perfect and even though you struggle with showing God’s love to all people, you can look for ways to show God’s love to everyone you meet – and look for ways to reach out to all people with the love of God.

Jesus says:

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”

and:

“By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

And they’ll know we are Christians by our love – by our love

                        And they’ll know we are Christians by our love.

                      Love can grow if we plant the seeds.

                        Giving and sharing, believing and caring,

                        We’ll do whatever God needs.

             I think that, when you get to heaven and Jesus asks you if you showed His love to all people, He would not want to hear us say – like Archie Bunker —   

“Lord – you’ll have to forgive me – I never knew you were black!”

or – “I never knew you were poor!”

or  – “I never knew you were unemployed!”

            or  – “I never knew you were homeless!”

            or — “I never knew you were that person I tried hard to avoid because I didn’t want to get involved in their life!”

            or whatever excuse you might want to give for loving some people but not all people.

            No – I think Jesus would want to hear you say:

            “Lord – I wasn’t perfect – but I tried to show your love to everyone and I tried to meet people’s needs with Your love.”

            Friends – people need to know God’s love. They need to know that God cares for them. You know what the best way is for them to see God’s love?

For them to see it in you.

The best way for people to experience the love of God is for them to experience it through you.

            People are watching you to see if God really loves them. 

            People are watching you to see if you are really a follower of Christ – who commands you to love.

            Let people know that you are a Christian.   

            How will they know that you’re a Christian?

            They’ll know you are a Christian by your love. Amen.  

Psalm 23, John 10:22-30

Psalm 23

John 10:22-30

You Are In God’s Good Hands

Easter 4

April 21 2013

I had a lot on my mind this past Monday. Sally had left that morning to go to Columbia, SC where her brother John was in the hospital after a stroke and I was worried about him – and also concerned about her being on the road with so much on her mind.  I had a lengthy list of folks I was praying for and thinking about and I was visiting some of them and calling others. During the afternoon I decided to visit one of the members of the Church who is not able to attend Church because of severe back problems and other health issues, and whom I like to visit him from time to time. When I arrived at his house I rang the door bell and he came to the door and invited me in – and as we walked into the house he said: “I guess you haven’t heard about what happened in Boston”.  I looked at him and replied: “No – what happened in Boston?”  “There were explosions at the finish line of the Boston Marathon” he replied – and suddenly what I had anticipated to be a visit to check on him and have prayer with him was  transformed into a time where the two of sat in front of his TV and watched the news in almost stunned silence. Later, when I got home, I turned on the TV and continued to watch the reports. As I watched I remembered the many other times I had watched the news on the days around tragic events – from the assassination of John Kennedy to the 9/11 tragedy to the killings in the schools in Colorado and Connecticut and so many others.  

As I watched the reports about the bombings in Boston, I could not help but wonder why. I am sure that all of you wondered why when you heard of the Boston bombings this week, as you may wonder why whenever you hear of or experience tragedy. There are no easy answers you can use to address times of tragedy. When tragic events hit you or you see tragedies affect others, you may search for answers but not find them.  You would probably love it if I would stand here today and give some answers to everyone’s questions about why evil and tragic things happen or where God is in the midst of the evil and tragic things that our lives and our world. Unfortunately, I have no definitive answers as to why these things happen, but I do have an answer to the question of where God is – and that answer is found in the words of our Old Testament lesson for today – Psalm 23.

Think about your question of where God is in tragic times – and listen again to the words of Psalm 23.  I’m going to read the Psalm this time from the Kings James Version instead of the NIV of your Pew Bible because Psalm 23 as the King James Version gives it is one of the most beloved passages of scripture and one of the most beloved passages in English literature – so listen to these words – and you will see where God is – not only in times of tragedy but all the time:

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever

I know that many of you watched the mini series “The Bible” on TV last month, just as Sally and I did.  While I have questions about some of the ways the directors of the series chose to depict Biblical events, I am intrigued with how they depicted the boy David going into the field of battle against the giant Goliath and reciting the words:

 “Yea thought I walk I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil, Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me.”

How often have you, like the TV mini series depicted David, been comforted and assured by the words of this Psalm?

            Psalm 23 is truly one of the most moving and beloved of all the Psalms. It is filled with words that can make you feel strong when you are weak, words that remind you that God is your shepherd. When you read or hear Psalm 23 you probably can’t help but add your Christian perspective to it and think of Jesus’ words that He is “the good shepherd” – or the words Jesus speaks in our Gospel passage for today from John 10 where He promises that He guards His sheep to the extent that “no one can snatch them from my hands.”

You probably hear the words of Psalm 23 at funerals – I personally like to begin a funeral service by reading it.  Many ministers read it to members of their congregations as they are dying. I like to do that myself.

In the first Church I served one of the members was in her upper 90’s and in frail health.  A few days before her death she was hospitalized, and as she lay in the hospital she was agitated and talking “out her head”, not making much sense at all. On one of Sally and my visits to her bedside I read Psalm 23.  On hearing these beloved words she became calm, lay still, and repeated the Psalm with me from memory. The words of Psalm 23 gave her a sense of peace when she needed it the most, and a sense that, as she “walked though the valley of the shadow of death” God was with her and Gopd was protecting her. 

She knew that, even in death, she was in God’s good hands.  

Psalm 23 can remind you that you are in good hands. The words remind can remind you that – as the Brief Statement of Faith our denomination adopted several years ago so beautifully states – “In life and in death we belong to God.”

It has been that way since Psalm 23 was written. The first time we have record of this Psalm being a part of the written Hebrew scripture was at a very low point in their history. When Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon invaded their country, he    knew that the Hebrew people would not be defeated easily so he abducted their leaders, military personnel, and craftsmen, stripped them of their property, and forced them to march some 500 miles to Babylon. Over 5,000 Hebrews were forcibly removed from their homes.  After some 60 years King Cyrus of Persia, who had overthrown the Babylonian empire and now ruled that part of the world let the Hebrews return to their country, but when they returned they found that the land their grandparents had called home was now a deserted land. A remnant of that 5,000 strong group that left the land God had promised their ancestors returned to re-build the crumbled walls of the great Temple where their grandparents had worshipped. But, in the midst of all the tragedy and despair they experienced, they used the words of Psalm 23 to give them hope and courage.  With almost nothing to call their own and facing a very uncertain future they were able to proclaim:

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

There in the barren wasteland they were able to proclaim:

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures

He leadeth me beside still waters

You probably take comfort and inspiration from these same words the ancient Hebrews took comfort and inspiration from.  Maybe you can think of times  you have heard these words used on television or in movies to show faith and strength in desperate times.  I vividly remember one of the episodes of “Little House On The Prairie” when Mary was diagnosed as being blind.  After the doctor gave them the diagnoses, her parents went outside her room and began to recite – with tears flowing down their cheeks —

            The Lord is my shepherd – I shall not want

Indeed, what comfort it is to have this Psalm remind you of the One who is with you  – the One who holds you in His hands and does not let anyone snatch you  away – when you face the hard times of your life or wonder “why” in times of tragedy. What a great thing it is to know that you are in God’s good hands when you are in need – or in desolate places in your life – either figuratively or literally – or need a place to rest – either mentally or physically – or need your soul restored – or need to be guided in good paths – or find yourself in times of darkness or despair – or feel surrounded by enemies – or have many problems swarming around you and wish they would go away —  or feel you have only problems following you and wish that you could see some goodness and mercy when you glance behind you.

Friends, the sad truth of the human condition is that tragic things happen. That’s just how life is. Try as we might we can’t create a world where there is no tragedy. But, regardless of how life is, you can know that God is holding you close and, as Jesus promises, nothing can snatch us away from Him.

When life attacks you with full force it’s great to have such a promise as Psalm 23. When you see tragedies in the world and wonder where God is,  you can know that God is with you at all times and is faithful to guide you when are in need.

In every circumstance that life may throw at you, you can know that are in God’s good hands.

Sally and I attended the funeral of man a few years ago who had been a friend of both of us at different times in our lives. Sally had known him as she grew up in her home Church, and I knew him as I was taking an Intern year from classes in Seminary and was the Student Intern at Sally’s home church. This man’s son is still a friend of ours.  When we knew this man he was an executive in a large company and very much a leader – always dressing well – always positive – always standing tall and looking people in the eye. We later heard that he lost his job, but he did not give up.  Instead he began painting houses and doing other odd jobs around town.  The next thing we heard about him was that his wife had become very ill, and then we heard that she died.  Again, he did not give up hope, but continued being as active as he could.  He had to move out of his family home into a small apartment, he stayed positive.  When he became sick and the doctors had to remove one of his kidneys, he did not complain.  As he became weaker and weaker, he would still talk about how much God had blessed him. Finally, as he neared  death, he requested that the 23^rd Psalm be used in his service, because he had known that God was with him all his life.

He had known all along that he was in God’s good hands.

I can’t answer the question of why tragedies happen, but I can answer the question, and you can know the answer to the question, of where God is in the midst of the tragedies you face or you see others face.

In times of tragedy, and in all times of your life, God is with you, guiding you, protecting you. At all times of your life, you are in God’s good hands. God does not wave a magic wand to eliminate adversity,  but what God offers is much greater than that.  When you are in need, you are in God’s good hands.  When you are in desolate places in your life – either figuratively or literally – you are in God’s good hands. When you need a place to rest – either mentally or physically – you are in God’s good hands. When you need your soul restored – or need to be guided in good paths – or find yourself in times of darkness or despair – or feel surrounded by enemies – or have many problems swarming around you and wish they would go away — or feel you have only problems following you and wish that you could see some goodness and mercy when you glance behind you – you are in God’s good hands. God prepares a table before you in the presence of all that would trouble you. God meets you in the very place where you feel you can’t take any more of whatever it is you are going through.  In the midst of your physical and emotional hard times God prepares a feast for you. Whatever may happen to you, you are in God’s good hands. 

As  the ancient Hebrew people rebuilding Jerusalem after the Babylonian captivity realized – as the Engels family on “Little House” realized –– as my friend’s father realized – and as countless others have realized – you can know that – whatever happens – you are in God’s good hands.

Yea – no matter what – you are in God’s good hands. Amen.  

   

Acts 9:1-20, john 21:1-10

Acts 9:1-20

John 21:1-19

Jesus Can Change Your Life

Easter 3

April 14, 2013

 

We hear the names Peter and Paul associated with each other a lot — don’t we?

            They were both leaders in the early church — both powerful witnesses to the resurrection of Christ — both of them went into the world proclaiming the new life offered through the risen Lord.  They were both strong in their faith and in their witness to Jesus. 

But they did not start off as strong witnesses to Jesus — did they? No — they are both examples of how Jesus can change lives. In fact, their lives can be seen as a challenge to you to let Jesus change your life.

The Gospel lesson from John 21 before us today tells the story of how Peter has his life completely changed by Jesus. Imagine with me that you are Peter. You have followed Jesus for 3 years — listening, watching, and learning.  You have given your life to following Jesus — and at times have been extremely committed to following Him.  You have even made a dramatic confession that Jesus is the Son of God.

            But — all that has changed.

            Jesus has been arrested — and you are scared. You do not feel that you can risk being identified with Jesus — and you try to hide.  At the house of the High Priest, three different people try to identify you as a follower of Jesus — and each time you vehemently deny it.  But — as soon as you do this — you panic.

How could you have done such a thing?

            Where is your commitment when Jesus needs you the most?

            The next day Jesus is crucified, and you feel that you are an utter failure. You feel that everything you have lived for, everything that you have given your life for is gone — and it is somehow your fault.  All your claims of love seem to be nothing as you think of how you have denied Jesus.

            If only you could hide.

            And then the story begins to spread that Jesus has risen. You see for yourself the empty tomb, you even see Jesus, but you are still ashamed and confused.  You are not sure what to do,  so you return to Galilee and to what you did before you began following Jesus. You return to the life of a fisherman.

            Then — early one morning — Jesus appears.

            You panic. You don’t know what to say or do. You want to apologize, but don’t know how.  You are mad at yourself, ashamed, and embarrassed for having denied Jesus,and feel you just can’t face Him now. 

            The tension rises within you as Jesus speaks. “Do you love me?” Jesus asks.

            “Lord — you know I love you!” you respond.

            “Do you love me?”

            Jesus again questions.                            

            “Lord — you know I love you!” you again respond.

            “Do you love me?”

            Jesus asks a third time.

            “Lord — you know everything — you know that I love you!” you respond again – maybe with more emphasis this time. .

            Jesus then looks at you — and in that look you know that all has been forgiven.  You realize that your three denials have been replaced by three affirmations of love. You realize that Jesus loves you enough to forgive you and restore you to His work.  You receive a new zeal and enthusiasm for serving Jesus.  You quickly become an outspoken leader in the early church. You boldly proclaim that Jesus — whom you have once denied — is Savior and Lord.  For the rest of your life you proclaim that Jesus is Lord – and are so adamant  about your faith that you, who once feared confessing Jesus for fear of what the Jews would do, now boldly profess Jesus, even though it finally does bring death. 

Wow!  Your life is completely changed by an experience with Jesus. 

            Jesus has changed your life.

            But — what about Paul?

The passage in Acts 9 we are looking at today tells how Paul, who here is named Saul, has his life completely changed by Jesus.

            Imagine with me now that you are Saul.

            You are a leader in the Hebrew world.  You are from Tarsus, a Roman city, so you are a citizen of Rome, and yet your family is Jewish.  Your family is also well-off.  So well-off that your parents are able to send you to Jerusalem to study under that famed Gamaliel, a great Rabbi and teacher, a member of the Sanhedran, the religious officials of your people. Not only are you educated by Gamaliel, but before long you yourself begin to climb the ranks of religious officials and in time you are a member of the Pharisees, one of the groups within Judaism that pushes for holy living before your Holy God. 

            You take your religion seriously — and wish everyone did. But this man Jesus of Nazareth , who was teaching, healing, and gathering quite a following around Him, concerned you. Jesus talked about God and God’s will for the world, but seemed to understand God and God’s will differently than you and the other religious officials. He seemed to be turning the people away from your leadership, and even seemed to question your leadership. And to make matters worse – He said that He and God were one and the same.      How could he make such claims? you wondered. It’s blasphemy! You thought that  

too many people were following Him, and that He was a threat to your power, so you and the other leaders decided that this Jesus must be done away with!

            But it seems you could not get rid of Him or His followers.

            After Pilate had Him crucified His followers began to claim that He was the Messiah and that He had risen from the dead and He gave all people a chance to live new lives before God. Now you and the other leader decide that something must be done to silence them, and you and begin killing and persecuting His followers in Jerusalem.  Some of His followers flee Jerusalem, ending up in Damascus, and you decide that you must follow them and bring them to justice, one way or another.

            Then everything changes for you.

            You are on the way to Damascus when suddenly a blinding light hits you with such force that you fall to the ground.  Jesus speaks to you — and tells you that you must change your life.

            The experience leaves you blind, and in your blindness you begin to think about this Jesus.  Could He really be the Messiah?  You begin to think so — and as soon as Aeanias comes and touches you and you receive your sight, you are filled with the Holy Spirit and you begin proclaiming that this Jesus you had persecuted just days before is indeed the Lord.

            You proclaim that for the rest of your life — and are finally killed because you are so adamant about your faith, just like those you had tried to kill yourself.

Wow!

            Your life is completely changed by an experience with Jesus!

            Yea — Peter and Paul were leaders in the early church, but they were also people who somehow experienced the risen Jesus in a way that changed their lives.

Peter and Paul were two men who experienced Jesus, and began to live a changed life.

            Jesus can indeed make a difference in how you live. Jesus can indeed fill us with such joy, excitement, and enthusiasm that you live in new ways, and have your life are changed, in much the same way as Peter’s and Paul’s.

            So –friends – the question these passages beg for you to answer is – Has the risen Jesus changed you?

            If not, why not?

            What holds you back from truly living the new life, the changed life, God invites you to live and Jesus empowers you to live?

            Maybe you are like Peter. Maybe you are ashamed of what you see as past failures and sins and you don’t believe that God can truly want and use someone as unfaithful as you have been.

            Or maybe you are like Paul. Maybe you feel that you know what’s best for your life and your’e trying to do things your way, and in the process you are running away from God’s ways just as fast as your feet will take you.

            Or maybe you just can’t seem to see that the resurrection of Jesus has made a difference in your ife or in the world.

            Friends, through the risen Jesus God invites you, empowers you, and makes it possible for you to be changed. You can believe the Good News of Easter! Jesus has risen! Your life can be changed! You can begin again! Jesus can make a difference in your life!

            You can enter into a relationship with Jesus that changes your life, calls you back to Him, and forgives you.  You can enter into a relationship with Jesus that empowers you  to live a life that is changed.

            Let yourself experience Jesus in a new way. Let Him change how you live! 

            Let Jesus call you back to Him if you have gone a different way than His. Let the Jesus forgive your mistakes and your sins.

            You can put the power of Jesus to work in your life!

You can have a new relationship Jesus and let Him renew you. You can let Jesus bring you into You can a new relationship with Him that will change your life. Whether  like Peter you are ashamed of past failures and sins or like Paul you have been just dead-set on going your way — or whether you just find it hard to live in God’s ways — let Jesus change you!

            Max Lucado wrote 

            “Surrendering your life to Jesus means going to Him and saying ‘I’m yours — use me however you want to.’”

            use me however you want to

            This attitude of belonging to Jesus, and letting themselves be used however Jesus would use them, is what ultimately changed Peter and Paul.

“I’m yours — use me however you want to.”

            If you will adopt this adopt this attitude Jesus will change you, and your life, your family, your community, this church, and the world will never be the same as Jesus works through you and touches everything and everyone with His life-changing power.

            Friends — tell Christ that you are His — and will be used by Him however He should choose to use you.

            It’s at that moment that Jesus will change you. Amen. 

John 20:19-31

John 20:19-31

A Change You Can Believe In 

Easter 2

April 7 2013

            The Lord has risen! 

            Alleluia!

            He has risen indeed!

            As Christians, we confess that Christ has risen.  We believe that He has risen and lives in our hearts — but we also believe that He has truly and physically risen.  We confess that the tomb of Christ is empty. We confess that the power of death has been broken – broken for Jesus and broken for us.  We also confess that the risen Christ is at work in the world through us and changes the world through what we say and do as we reach out to others in His name and with His love.  

            But here’s a question for you on the Second Sunday of  the Easter Season – does your confession of the resurrection of Christ change you and really make a difference in how you live? Does your belief in the risen Christ and your belief that Christ is at work in the world and changing the world through what you say and do  really make a difference in how you live? Does your belief that Christ has risen change how you live and give you something to believe in, especially at those times in your life when the situations you have to face try to  rob you of hope and take away everything you thought was secure? 

Everybody needs something in their lives that they can believe in and have faith in.  Friends – you can believe in and have faith in the risen Christ. You can believe that Christ is active and is making a difference in your life and in the world through you. You can let the risen Christ change you  and then take the change He is making in you into the world as you proclaim in words and actions that He has risen.  

The resurrection of Christ and His power in your life and in world is indeed something you can believe in.

            The Gospel passage I just read is the story immediately following the Resurrection of Christ.  In this passage the disciples were truly looking for something to believe in, some sure sign of hope, something they could trust and have faith in.

            Can’t you imagine how the disciples must have felt that first Easter night? One by one they may have crept back to the upper room where they had last eaten together with Jesus only a few nights before. The aroma of Passover lamb and bitter herbs may have still lingered in the air. They must have been a sorry, scared, and pitiful lot.  Maybe some of the women were weeping in one corner.  Mary may have stared down at her own hands and shuddered – wishing she’d held on to Him that morning — despite what He’d said. Peter and John may have been sitting back from the others, lost in their thoughts.  Along with Mary, they’d been the first to go out that morning and they had been the first to run back, incoherent with shock and grief and hope and a crazed rant about an empty tomb.  No one had believed them of course.  They hardly believed it themselves.  Others may have crouched by the wall near the locked door,  flinching at every sound on the stairs outside.  It was not unheard of for a condemned man’s followers to be rounded up and executed also. The Romans were efficient at that sort of thing.  Maybe one of them whispered: “We can’t stay here — this is the first place they’ll look!” Peter may have thought of the sword he’d struck one of the Roman soldiers with – then the fact he had denied Christ 3 times! Others may have sat under the window and shuttered every time a sound came from the street below. 

All of them probably sat in silence, unwilling to give voice yet to just how angry and deserted and ashamed they each felt.  They had loved Him.  They had trusted Him. But now, even though Mary told a wild tale of seeing Him and Peter and John a wild tale of an empty tomb, they could not bring themselves to believe that He had risen.

Some were missing from the room that night. Judas had betrayed Jesus – and they had heard that he had hung himself. Thomas was gone also.  Maybe he was seeking out the news in the streets.

            Then – a gentle breeze ruffled the air.  Suddenly the one they all were thinking of was standing in the room before them. 

“Peace be with you” He said.  

He didn’t say: How could you abandon me just when I need you most?” but He said: “Peace be with you.  Peace be with you.”  The He said  “The work our Father gave Me I now give to you.  Go out among My people.  What you forgive will be forgiven.  What you do not forgive will stay unforgiven.” He said, “Don’t be afraid.  I’m not sending you out alone.  I’m coming with you.”  And He breathed on them and they were filled with wonder and inarticulate joy. Then He disappeared — and maybe that’s when Thomas knocked on the door.

            Maybe Thomas felt that he was stepping into a room in chaos.  Everyone shouting and everyone’s arms waving. Some of them might have even snatched at his sleeve to snatch at his attention.  “Silence!” he may have shouted — then he may have shouted “You’re mad!” – and he may have added  “You’re as mad as the women this morning!” and flung himself into the far corner to stare at the others in amazement.

            Thomas, you see, had been a faithful follower of Jesus, in fact he had been one of the first to follow Him.  He’d been ready to lay down his life for Him.  He was faithful, but  he wasn’t fanciful. He wasn’t going to pretend to believe in something just because he wished it were so.  He shook his head. He felt that he needed to get on with life if he were going to survive this,  not open his wounds all over again with hysteria. 

“I’ll believe it when I see it,” he may have whispered.  

He may have desperately wanted something to believe in, but this wild tale of Jesus being raised from the dead was just too much for him to believe.

            Well, a week passed.  They still huddled in fear behind the locked door.  Maybe Thomas was now been thinking what a pity it was  that what the others had said was true a week ago so obviously wasn’t . None of them had begun to do the work they claimed their Lord had given them to do.  None of them had gone outside to heal or to preach or even to feed a hungry child.  None of them stood straight and tall and confident like they really believed what they said they’d seen.  They looked the same sorry, scared and pitiful lot they’d been a week ago. 

Thomas may have sighed.   

But then – a gentle breeze may have ruffled the air, just as it had a week before, and suddenly Jesus was again standing in the room before them – and this time Thomas was there!

“Peace be with you.  Thomas.” He said. “Touch my side.  My hands.”  But instead of touching Him, Thomas fell to his knees and whispered, “My Lord and my God.”  Thomas then knew that Jesus had risen – and that he indeed had that something to believe in he so desperately wanted and needed.

The experience with the risen Christ changed Thomas’ life and the lives of  the rest of the disciples. It gave them something to believe in when they desperately needed it. It gave them something to believe in and hope in when it seemed that all hope was gone. Their experience with the risen Christ and their belief in the risen Christ changed their lives and with the power of the risen Christ they set out to change the world. The fact that Christ had risen was something they could believe in and have faith in. Once they saw the risen Christ and believed that Jesus was at work in the world through them and that Jesus was making a difference in the world through them their lives were changed and the world was changed. 

Maybe you are like the disciples. Maybe we all are.

Maybe you need something in your life that you can believe in, something that you can have faith in, something that can help you keep going when the situations you find yourself in might make you want to just give up.  Maybe you are  looking for something to believe in when your life seems to become much too difficult to handle, something to hope for when your life seems to be hopeless.

It was an experienced with the risen Christ and the power of the new life He gives that changed the lives of the disciples and gave them something to hope for and believe in. It is still the risen Christ and the power of the new life He gives you  that can change your life and give you something to believe in. You can believe in the power of the risen Christ — experience it for yourself — and share it with others. You can believe in the power of the risen Christ and let it change your life. You can believe in the power of the risen Christ and let it give you something you can believe in and hope for when your life seems to be hopeless.

When you look at the lives of the disciples you see the change their experiences with the risen Christ and His power made in their lives. Before they experienced the risen Christ they let the situations in their lives fill them with despair, but after they experienced the risen Christ they were brave followers of Christ and worked to change the world with His power and love. Once they experienced the risen Christ they did not let any threats against them stop them from witnessing about Christ or believing in His power in their lives and change the world.  

Have you ever heard how the disciples died?

The Bible doesn’t really tell us about how most of them died – but legends have grown around the deaths of each of them.

The only apostle whose death the Bible records is James – who in Acts 12 King Herod has “put to death with the sword,” likely a reference to beheading.

Legend tells us that Matthew suffered martyrdom in Ethiopia, killed by a sword wound.

Legend has it that John faced martyrdom when he was boiled in a huge basin of boiling oil during a wave of persecution in Rome but was miraculously delivered from death, then sentenced to the island of Patmos where he wrote his book of Revelation on Patmos. He was later freed and returned to what is now modern-day Turkey and died as an old man, the only apostle to die peacefully.

James, the brother of Jesus, who was not officially a disciple, was the leader of the church in Jerusalem after Jesus’ resurrection. Legend has it that he was thrown from the southeast pinnacle of the temple (over a hundred feet down) when he refused to deny his faith in Christ. When they discovered that he survived the fall, his enemies beat James to death with a club.

Legend has it that Bartholomew, also known as Nathanael, was a missionary to Asia and witnessed in present-day Turkey – and was finally killed for his preaching. 

Andrew, legend has it, was crucified on an x-shaped cross in Greece.

Thomas, legend has it, was stabbed with a spear in India during one of his missionary trips to establish the church there.

Legend has it that Matthias, the apostle chosen to replace the Judas, was stoned and then beheaded.

Peter, according to legend, was allowed to be crucified upside down because he refused to be crucified in the same manner Christ was.

In other words, that group of scared individuals became brave followers of Christ when they experienced the risen Lord. Their experience with the risen Lord gave them something they could believe in and hope for when their lives seemed to be hopeless, and gave them a message of hope that they proclaimed for the rest of their lives.

 It is the risen Christ and the power of the new life He gives us that can change your life and give you something to believe in.

But – you might ask – what it the best way for me to truly experience the risen Christ and the hope He offers?

The only way to experience the risen Christ and the hope He offers is to take Him at His word and believe Him. You can’t see the risen Lord as Thomas and the others did, but you can still believe Him.  You can take Him at His word and let Him change your life so that you can have the hope and faith you need when the situations in your life seem to lead you to hopelessness and despair. You can ask Him to be your Lord and Savior and ask Him to change your life so you can be a bold witness to Him and the hope He gives you.

The best way I know to experience the new life of hope the risen Christ offers you is to live it. The best way to experience the change Christ can make in your life you to let Him change you. The best way to know the promise of Christ in your life is for you to take Him up on that promise and let Him show you His hope that you can believe in.

Active involvement in the work of Christ in the world is the best way I know of to find the hope Christ offers you for your life. Being actively involved in the worship, study, fellowship, and work of the Church is the best way to discover the new life and hope Christ offers.

John Chrysostom – one of the early Church leaders – once wrote:

“Let us astound them by our way of life.  This is the unanswerable argument.  Though we give 10,000 precepts in words, if we do not exhibit a far better life, we gain nothing.  It is not what is said that draws their attention, but what we do.  Let us win them therefore by our life.” 

The resurrection of Christ and His power in your life is indeed something you can believe in. 

We all need something in our lives that we can believe in – something that we can have faith in – something that can help us keep going when the situations in our lives might dictate to us to just give up. 

It is indeed the life changing love of Christ that gives us something – in fact the only thing – we can truly believe in.

The resurrection of Christ and His power in your life is indeed something you can believe in.  Amen.       

John 20:1-18

John 20:1-18

“Easter Surprise”

March 31, 2013

Easter

On February, 27, 1991, at the height of Operation Desert Storm, Ruth Dillow received a devastating message from the Pentagon.  The message was that her son, Clayton, who was stationed in Kuwait,  had stepped on a mine and  killed.

Ruth later wrote:    “I can’t begin to describe my grief and shock. It was almost more than I could bear. For 3 days I wept. For 3 days I expressed anger and loss. For 3 days people tried to comfort me, to no avail because the loss was too great.”

We all can relate to her grief.

But 3 days after Ruth received that message, she received a phone call.  The voice on the other end said, “Mom, it’s me. I’m alive.”

Ruth later wrote:  “I couldn’t believe it at first. But then I recognized his voice.”

Ruth’s son was alive. The earlier message she had received was a mistake! She writes that:  “I laughed, I cried, I felt like turning cartwheels, because my son whom I had thought was dead, was alive.” (1)

Surprise, Ruth. The son you thought was dead is alive.

There was a two-year-old girl who could hardly wait for Easter to come. She had a new dress to wear and new shoes to go with it, and she was so excited. Her father, however,  wondered whether she knew the true meaning of Easter.

“Do you know what Easter means?” he asked.

“Yes, I do,” she smiled.

“What does it mean then?” her father asked.

With a smile on her face and her arms raised, she cried, “Surprise!” (2)

There is no better word for Easter.

“Surprise!”

That was the clear reaction of Christ’s disciples and closest friends that first

Easter day, wasn’t it? And who could blame them?

In John’s relating of the story of the Resurrection Mary Magdalene comes to the tomb and sees that the stone has been rolled away. Not knowing exactly what to do, she runs to Simon Peter and John, and says,

“They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”

Evidently the thought had not occurred to Mary that Christ could be resurrected from the grave!

Peter and John run to the tomb, and when they, too, find it empty, what do they do?

They simply go back to the house where they were staying.

There was no celebration, no cries of, “He’s alive. He’s alive” that you might expect. You would think that those who knew Christ best would be bubbling over with excitement that first Easter morning! Jesus had been delivered from the tomb, just as He said He would be.

Instead, they were totally mystified that His body was gone. They didn’t expect Him to be alive any more than Ruth Dillow expected her son to be alive.

As for Mary, she stands outside the tomb crying. She bends over to look into the

tomb and sees two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head

and the other at the foot. They ask her, “Woman, why are you crying?”

“They have taken my Lord away,” she explains, “and I don’t know where they have put him.”

She then turns around and sees Jesus standing there, but she doesn’t recognize Him.

“Woman,”  He says, “why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”

Mary thinks He’s the gardener, and says, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me

where you have put him, and I will get him.”

Then Jesus calls her name, “Mary.”

She turns toward him and cries out “Teacher! ”

Surprise, Mary! Surprise!

Jesus is alive!

Surprise, Peter! Surprise, John! Surprise disciples!

Surprise!

Jesus is not dead – He’s alive!

Surprise, Pilate! Surprise, Caiaphas! Surprise, Herod!

You thought you had killed Jesus – but Jesus is alive!

Surprise, everyone!

Easter is such an extraordinary day!  Easter is such an extra ordinary surprise!

I read of a pastor who was traveling in Russia with a group of church leaders in April 1992 just as the Cold War was ending. These Christian leaders were there to celebrate Russia’s first Easter after the fall of the Iron Curtain. A large banner proclaiming “Christ has risen” loomed over Red Square in Moscow. The pastor wrote that he couldn’t help noticing that less than twenty-five yards away stood the tomb of Vladimir Lenin, the father of the Soviet Revolution. It struck him as ironic that the banner with “Christ has risen” overshadowed the tomb of the Communist leader who had once proclaimed that God was dead. Lenin lay entombed in a granite and marble mausoleum, his body sealed in a glass sarcophagus, while Christ’s tomb was empty. (3)

            Surprise! Lenin is dead. Stalin is dead. Hitler is dead.  All who thought they were so powerful and mighty are dead.  But Christ lives on!

The Hallelujah Chorus is the triumphant part of the oratorio The Messiah composed by George Frideric Handel. The story is that Handel had a vision of the risen Christ reining in power and might, and that the Hallelujah Chorus is that vision set to music.

When you hear the Hallelujah Chorus you hear a magnificent expression of two thoughts: the first one that Christ reigns over all, and second one that his reign is eternal.

In about the middle of the chorus the bass voices begin singing, “And he shall reign for ever and ever.”

Then the tenor voices join, “And he shall reign for ever and ever.”

Then the alto voices follow with, “And he shall reign for ever and ever.”

Then, still higher soprano voices add, “And he shall reign for ever and ever.”

Then bass, tenor, alto, and soprano all unite, and in a burst of melody which seems to come from heaven itself they blend in the grandest of all refrains,

“And he shall reign for ever and ever, King of kings and Lord of lords! Hallelujah, hallelujah!”

Here is how a man named Bob Smith expressed the experience of being swept up by the sound of hearnig a rousing performance of the Hallelujah Chorus:

“I frankly confess that my soul was stirred profoundly, my mind was quickened spiritually and my imagination carried me beyond things earthly, beyond the stars, into the very midst of the paradise of God. I saw a great chorus which no person could number assembled before the shining white throne. Most intently did I listen to the song which they sang. It was a song of triumph to the King of kings, telling of his wondrous achievements and of the universality and permanency of his reign. In the midst of their song I heard the voices of the patriarchs peal forth, ‘For he shall reign for ever and ever.’ Then I heard the voices of the prophets add, ‘For he shall reign for ever and ever.’ Then the voices of the apostles and church fathers followed, ‘For he shall reign for ever and ever.’ Then the voices of the martyrs triumphantly sang, ‘For he shall reign for ever and ever’ . . . Then the patriarchs, prophets, apostles, church fathers, martyrs . . . with the angels of God and all the redeemed of the ages, joined in one grand chorus, and my spirit was lifted to bliss supernal, to ecstasy supreme, as they pealed forth the blessed, the glorious, the triumphant strain, ‘For he shall reign for ever and ever, King of kings! and Lord of Lords! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!’” (4)

Most of us couldn’t express it that well, but we’ve experienced that same emotion. It is the music of Easter. It is the joyous surprise of Mary, Peter and the great cloud of witnesses — those throughout the centuries who know that Easter means the greatest surprise of all! 

Surprise!

Jesus is not dead, He is alive – and because He is alive, we can live also!  Amen.

 

1. Melvin M. Newlan d, http://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/easter–what-adifference-

melvin-newland-sermon-on-easter-resurrection-33346.asp.

2. Dr. Daniel Lioy, International Bible Lesson Commentary (Colorado Springs: David

C. Cook, 2008), p. 270.

3. Change the World: Recovering the Message and Mission of Jesus.

4. Modern Messages From Great Hymns (New York: The Abingdon Press, 1916).