Luke 24:33-35
We all love a good story don't we? We all know that yesterday was a busy day for us all. My day started here at the church were I pulled a couple of tables out and put some my cooker under the tent. A few others showed up about that time and we told a few stories. Some about fishin', some about cars, and some about cooking stuff. Shortly after that I headed to Fairfield for a soccer game. While I was there I heard stories. Mostly stories of things that had recently happened and things that were happening with the game. After that game was over, we headed to Blooming Grove for a Baseball tournament. During the games I heard stories of practices in back yards. I heard stories of the glory days in Little League and High School.
When I left there I came back here to the fish fry and the stories continued. We love to tell stories. I also understand that we love to hear a good story. From what I have been told, some of my better sermons are the ones where I tell stories. Like the story of Emperor Bokassa of the Central African Republic, or the story of my time in the jungle of El Salvador, or the story of man with weather balloons tied to his lawn chair flying into San Diego Airports airspace. I remember stories from sermons too. In fact, I heard the story of the balloon man of San Diego from a pastor that lived in the area when the event took place. We love a story don't we.
One thing about stories though, sometimes you wonder if you can or should believe all the story. When we get the email and read the story from Renaud Abonnel Deputy General Manager Finance & Administration,Societe Generale De Banques Au Burkina, talking about the $4.2M he needs to send to the United States and he will split the money 50/50. Well, that story, I don't think you need to believe that story.
Just like the story of this church having a hundred or more people in worship. I know, some of you probably thought that I was crazy to suggest a year ago that I wanted to see this church with 120 people in worship on average. Then 7 weeks ago I told you a story. A story of me getting a pie in the face if we could average 65 and have 100 in worship. You thought it was a nice story but not really anything to believe. You knew we couldn't average 65, much less have 100 in worship, even with Easter. But then what happened? In the last 8 weeks we have had over 100 in worship twice and had averaged over 75.
Well, I waited for the pie. I was ready for the pie. In fact, I'll still take the pie. You deserve to give it to me and I'd love to take it.
But here's the next challenge. Attendance is great, but now we are looking at adding membership. Would you think I was just tellin' you a story if I said I'd get in a dunking booth a the BBQ if we have 20 people join the church this year? You know we had 14 join last year. Wouldn't that be a nice story to tell? A story about a church changing lives and making a difference in the community. As story of a church that is growing, but as it grows it is doing things as an outreach.
Now that's the kind of story we like to tell and that is the kind of story other people like to hear. That is the kind of story that the long-time members of the church take solace in.
Ohhhh, there's that word again. You were wondering when I'd get back to it weren't you. Solace: safety, comfort, peace. Yes, to see this church as a strong church that makes a difference, not only in the lives of the people in the church, but in the lives of the people in the community. That is the kind of story to in which to find comfort.
But there is an even better story. A story that, though it is hard to believe, no it is a story that is unbelievable, yet is true. It is a story that offers comfort to us. It is a story that has brought solace into the lives of many for nearly 2000 years.
It is the story that the 11 Disciples were discussing when Cleopas and his friend returned from Emmaus to the upper room. Jesus had risen. Jesus is alive. He had appeared to Peter. He had appeared on the road to Emmaus.
It is a story that began with a miraculous birth and proceeded through an extraordinary birth that changed heaven and earth. It is a story that continued through a remarkable life of healing and teaching. It is a story that didn't end with a death on a cross but continues today bringing solace in the lives of those who follow Jesus.
It is because of this story that it matters that we have 120 people in worship. It is because of this story that we care enough to have a health and welfare event with medical, clothing, and food available this coming week-end. It is this story that we tell to others so that they too can know the solace that it brings into our lives.
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Solace in the Grief
Solace in the Grief
Luke 24:13-32
Solace – Today we begin a series called Sundays of Solace, Six Weeks with our Risen Lord. Sunday we understand, it is the first day of the week. It is not the Sabbath of old that those of the Jewish faith follow, it is the day of the Resurrection of our Lord. It is the day that we gather together to worship our Risen Savior.
Six weeks with our Risen Lord, we can even get that too. There are Six Sundays between Easter and Ascension Sunday. But Solace. Why Solace?
When you Google the word Solace, you get a couple of options, information about the James Bond movie, Quantum of Solace, or definitions. Well, since I'm not near the fan of 007 since Sean Connery retired, I chose to check the definitions.
The top definition for Solace is: 1) comfort in sorrow, misfortune, or trouble; alleviation of distress or discomfort. 2) something that gives comfort, consolation, or relief:
Solace is comfort. Solace is peace.
So, solace is what we seek in our risen Lord. Over the next six weeks we will slowly work our way through Luke 24 and Acts 1 as we walk with our risen savior the his last weeks before the ascension. It is in this time with our resurrected Lord that we find Peace and Comfort in this life. It is in seeing Jesus offer solace to his Disciples, be they the two Disciples on the way to Emmaus or the Disciples who wouldn't believe until they saw the wounds. My prayer is that over the next six weeks you will find this sanctuary to be a place of solace, but more importantly you would find that Christ is the only one that can truly offer you solace.
We begin with the gentlemen from Emmaus. So often we read this passage within the context of the entire Christian story, which is fine in some respects, but it doesn't do justice to Luke's writing of this story. It is only found in Luke and it is carefully placed after Mary, and Mary, and Joanna, and Salome have returned from the tomb wondering and Peter has gone to the tomb and been amazed. In fact, vs 12 tells us that Peter went home amazed, bewildered, wondering, what it all means. We then get this story that tells us what it means.
As we read we see their grief. They drop their heads as they talk, you can almost hear it in their voice.
They are defeated, everything they had believed had died with Jesus. How could the things he said be true if he were dead. They are dejected. They are grieving.
What makes it even worse is that a couple of women have gotten everyone's hopes up that he isn't really dead. These women said he's alive, but these disciples were in Jerusalem. They knew what had happened. They likely saw the bloody body of Jesus. The may have helped bring him down from the cross. They knew he was dead.
They have lost a friend. They have lost a leader. They have lost a teacher and a revolutionary. At this point they may feel that they have lost everything except their own life – and that is even questionable. If the Jews and the Romans were willing to kill Jesus, his followers can't be far behind.
In fact, the road that they are walking is a rough and dangerous road that winds through the hills. I have been told that there are many places where someone looking to do them harm could have hidden.
Can you imagine their surprise when they have been walking by themselves for an hour or more and suddenly they are not alone? Maybe they thought Jesus had come from a side trail or had been resting behind a rock and they didn't see him enter the trail. Maybe he had been behind them all along and they didn't realize it until he caught up with them. Who knows what they thought, but I would definitely think they were alarmed when this stranger was suddenly with them.
Why would they not recognize Jesus? Some say it was because they had been walking into the setting sun. Others because Jesus' appearance had been altered from the resurrection. I don't know, maybe they were followers of Jesus that hadn't seen him closely for a while. Maybe they wouldn't recognize him because the last time they saw him some three days before he was so badly beaten that he scarcely resembled a human. Why they didn't recognize him, we don't know. But what we do know is that Jesus came into the midst of two of his followers who were hurting and brought them solace. Jesus still brings us solace through his presence.
I have heard well wishing people tell grieving family members that God needed their loved one more than they did, or that God always picks the best roses first. Each phrase is intended to offer comfort and show care, but what they end up doing is making people question why God would “need” their loved one or “take” the one they care so much about.
I don't think that God “takes” or “needs” any of our loved ones. What I know is that God is with us when it happens. Just as he did that day on the road to Emmaus, Jesus comes along side us as we grieve, as we hurt, as we cry. Jesus isn't the picker of young roses, but the maker of footprints in the sand as he carries us through the tough times of our life.
These disciples had lost their way. They had missed the story of what Jesus had done for them and were going home with only half the truth and all the grief. But Jesus comes to them and begins to teach them. He begins with the Moses and the Prophets and then the rest of the Scriptures as he teaches them why Christ had to suffer and how the Scriptures had predicted it all along.
Not only does Jesus bring us Solace through his presence, he brings us solace through his teaching. Psalm 119 tells us that we are to “hide God's word in our heart that we may not sin” and that “God's word is a lamp unto our feet and a light to our path.” We can't receive this Solace, this peace, this comfort if we do not study the Word of God. What, or who is this Word? Jn 1:1 - In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God... Jn 1:14 - And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Jesus is the Word. The Word of comfort, the Word of peace, the Word of Solace.
When was the last time you sat down with others and had a conversation about the the Word? When was the last time you studied a lesson and then got together with other believers to study it together? When was the last time you spent time alone in the Bible? We can not receive the solace of Jesus through his teaching if we are not willing to study the Word incarnate.
These disciples walked with Jesus and learned from him and their hearts began to be warmed and they couldn't get enough. Jesus had made his point without them even realizing who he was and he was going to continue walking off into the sunset but they begged him to stay – As if to tell us, that once you begin to receive Jesus' teaching you can't get enough of it.
Jesus enters their house and sits at the table with them. A common table. A regular meal of hospitality, yet, when he broke bread with them they realized who they were with. Maybe it was the way he broke the bread and it reminded them of when he had broken the bread and fish for the 5000. Maybe it was the prayer he prayed. Maybe it was the similarity to the last meal that they had heard about from the 11 remaining disciples that were with Jesus the night he was betrayed. What ever it was they found solace in the meal that was shared.
Today, some of us are are grieving the loss of a friend, a relationship, a family member. Some of us continue to grieve a loss from 5, 10, 20, or even 50 years ago. It may have been a death, or it may have been something else – a friendship that was interrupted or a marriage that was broken. Our grief is OK. Our grief is normal. Our grief is acceptable. But for some of us we need to find solace in that grief. Some of us need to move beyond that grief because it is hampering our relationships today. Some of us need to see past the grief because it is blocking our relationship with our family, our friends, and more importantly, our Lord.
You don't have to hang on to that pain any more. Jesus can take that pain from you and comfort you. Jesus will walk with you through the pain and on to the other side. Through the word of God you can be comforted as you study. As we are told in Revelation we only have to open the door and Jesus will come in and dine with you and comfort you. We bread bread together, we fellowship together and offer one another peace as we come together as the Body of Christ – the holy Church of God.
It's time... Let go of the pain. Let go of the grief. Let God have it all, so that through God you can be all you were created to be.
Luke 24:13-32
Solace – Today we begin a series called Sundays of Solace, Six Weeks with our Risen Lord. Sunday we understand, it is the first day of the week. It is not the Sabbath of old that those of the Jewish faith follow, it is the day of the Resurrection of our Lord. It is the day that we gather together to worship our Risen Savior.
Six weeks with our Risen Lord, we can even get that too. There are Six Sundays between Easter and Ascension Sunday. But Solace. Why Solace?
When you Google the word Solace, you get a couple of options, information about the James Bond movie, Quantum of Solace, or definitions. Well, since I'm not near the fan of 007 since Sean Connery retired, I chose to check the definitions.
The top definition for Solace is: 1) comfort in sorrow, misfortune, or trouble; alleviation of distress or discomfort. 2) something that gives comfort, consolation, or relief:
Solace is comfort. Solace is peace.
So, solace is what we seek in our risen Lord. Over the next six weeks we will slowly work our way through Luke 24 and Acts 1 as we walk with our risen savior the his last weeks before the ascension. It is in this time with our resurrected Lord that we find Peace and Comfort in this life. It is in seeing Jesus offer solace to his Disciples, be they the two Disciples on the way to Emmaus or the Disciples who wouldn't believe until they saw the wounds. My prayer is that over the next six weeks you will find this sanctuary to be a place of solace, but more importantly you would find that Christ is the only one that can truly offer you solace.
We begin with the gentlemen from Emmaus. So often we read this passage within the context of the entire Christian story, which is fine in some respects, but it doesn't do justice to Luke's writing of this story. It is only found in Luke and it is carefully placed after Mary, and Mary, and Joanna, and Salome have returned from the tomb wondering and Peter has gone to the tomb and been amazed. In fact, vs 12 tells us that Peter went home amazed, bewildered, wondering, what it all means. We then get this story that tells us what it means.
As we read we see their grief. They drop their heads as they talk, you can almost hear it in their voice.
They are defeated, everything they had believed had died with Jesus. How could the things he said be true if he were dead. They are dejected. They are grieving.
What makes it even worse is that a couple of women have gotten everyone's hopes up that he isn't really dead. These women said he's alive, but these disciples were in Jerusalem. They knew what had happened. They likely saw the bloody body of Jesus. The may have helped bring him down from the cross. They knew he was dead.
They have lost a friend. They have lost a leader. They have lost a teacher and a revolutionary. At this point they may feel that they have lost everything except their own life – and that is even questionable. If the Jews and the Romans were willing to kill Jesus, his followers can't be far behind.
In fact, the road that they are walking is a rough and dangerous road that winds through the hills. I have been told that there are many places where someone looking to do them harm could have hidden.
Can you imagine their surprise when they have been walking by themselves for an hour or more and suddenly they are not alone? Maybe they thought Jesus had come from a side trail or had been resting behind a rock and they didn't see him enter the trail. Maybe he had been behind them all along and they didn't realize it until he caught up with them. Who knows what they thought, but I would definitely think they were alarmed when this stranger was suddenly with them.
Why would they not recognize Jesus? Some say it was because they had been walking into the setting sun. Others because Jesus' appearance had been altered from the resurrection. I don't know, maybe they were followers of Jesus that hadn't seen him closely for a while. Maybe they wouldn't recognize him because the last time they saw him some three days before he was so badly beaten that he scarcely resembled a human. Why they didn't recognize him, we don't know. But what we do know is that Jesus came into the midst of two of his followers who were hurting and brought them solace. Jesus still brings us solace through his presence.
I have heard well wishing people tell grieving family members that God needed their loved one more than they did, or that God always picks the best roses first. Each phrase is intended to offer comfort and show care, but what they end up doing is making people question why God would “need” their loved one or “take” the one they care so much about.
I don't think that God “takes” or “needs” any of our loved ones. What I know is that God is with us when it happens. Just as he did that day on the road to Emmaus, Jesus comes along side us as we grieve, as we hurt, as we cry. Jesus isn't the picker of young roses, but the maker of footprints in the sand as he carries us through the tough times of our life.
These disciples had lost their way. They had missed the story of what Jesus had done for them and were going home with only half the truth and all the grief. But Jesus comes to them and begins to teach them. He begins with the Moses and the Prophets and then the rest of the Scriptures as he teaches them why Christ had to suffer and how the Scriptures had predicted it all along.
Not only does Jesus bring us Solace through his presence, he brings us solace through his teaching. Psalm 119 tells us that we are to “hide God's word in our heart that we may not sin” and that “God's word is a lamp unto our feet and a light to our path.” We can't receive this Solace, this peace, this comfort if we do not study the Word of God. What, or who is this Word? Jn 1:1 - In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God... Jn 1:14 - And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Jesus is the Word. The Word of comfort, the Word of peace, the Word of Solace.
When was the last time you sat down with others and had a conversation about the the Word? When was the last time you studied a lesson and then got together with other believers to study it together? When was the last time you spent time alone in the Bible? We can not receive the solace of Jesus through his teaching if we are not willing to study the Word incarnate.
These disciples walked with Jesus and learned from him and their hearts began to be warmed and they couldn't get enough. Jesus had made his point without them even realizing who he was and he was going to continue walking off into the sunset but they begged him to stay – As if to tell us, that once you begin to receive Jesus' teaching you can't get enough of it.
Jesus enters their house and sits at the table with them. A common table. A regular meal of hospitality, yet, when he broke bread with them they realized who they were with. Maybe it was the way he broke the bread and it reminded them of when he had broken the bread and fish for the 5000. Maybe it was the prayer he prayed. Maybe it was the similarity to the last meal that they had heard about from the 11 remaining disciples that were with Jesus the night he was betrayed. What ever it was they found solace in the meal that was shared.
Today, some of us are are grieving the loss of a friend, a relationship, a family member. Some of us continue to grieve a loss from 5, 10, 20, or even 50 years ago. It may have been a death, or it may have been something else – a friendship that was interrupted or a marriage that was broken. Our grief is OK. Our grief is normal. Our grief is acceptable. But for some of us we need to find solace in that grief. Some of us need to move beyond that grief because it is hampering our relationships today. Some of us need to see past the grief because it is blocking our relationship with our family, our friends, and more importantly, our Lord.
You don't have to hang on to that pain any more. Jesus can take that pain from you and comfort you. Jesus will walk with you through the pain and on to the other side. Through the word of God you can be comforted as you study. As we are told in Revelation we only have to open the door and Jesus will come in and dine with you and comfort you. We bread bread together, we fellowship together and offer one another peace as we come together as the Body of Christ – the holy Church of God.
It's time... Let go of the pain. Let go of the grief. Let God have it all, so that through God you can be all you were created to be.
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Amazed
LUKE 24:1-12
Have you ever been a failure? Have you ever failed? You tried. You did what you through was right but it didn't work. You didn't succeed. You failed.
Maybe it was on the job. You thought you understood what your supervisor had told you. You thought you knew your job. But you failed.
Maybe it was the stock market. You followed all the rules, buy low – sell high. You did your part, then in one week the market drops, you lost all the growth, you lost some of the principle. You thought you were doing right. You thought you were careful, but no, you failed.
Maybe it was a marriage.
Maybe it was a friendship
Maybe it was a sport
It could have been so many things...
If you have ever failed, then you can imagine what Peter felt. He was a failure. He had followed Jesus. At times, he seemed to understand... “Jesus, you are the Messiah.” he would say in one breath, then reprimand Jesus for talking about his impending death in another. He had learned so much. He was looking forward to a long rule with Jesus. He was looking forward to being “The Rock” but not without Jesus. In the final meal, the passover meal, Jesus tells the Disciples that one will betray him, but Peter says “not me”. In the Garden Peter draws his sword to defend Jesus and injures Malcheus, but is reprimanded by Jesus. Jesus heals Malcheus and goes peacefully with the guards.
Peter is confused. Peter is scared. Peter denies that he even knows the one he once called Messiah. Peter had failed.
Some of the stories tell us that he had gone to the lake to fish during the days. I understand that. When I am down, when things aren't going right, when I'm tired of the daily grind of life, I like to go to the woods, to the lakes, to the wilderness. I like to get away. I can understand Peter.
But what I can't imagine is what was going through his mind. Did he finally understand what Jesus was talking about? Did he ask himself why he didn't stand up more? Did he wonder if he could have saved Jesus from the hands of the Romans? Did he wonder just how he had failed? Did he blame himself for what Jesus was going through?
I don't know. What I do know is that I, and I suspect some of you, are more like Peter than we care to admit. We ask ourselves, “How is it that we keep on failing?” “How is it that we don't seem to understand?” “Was it our fault that Jesus had to die?”
I can't imagine all that was going through Peter's mind on that Sunday some 1977 years ago when Mary Magdeline came rushing into the Upper Room to tell the Apostles that Jesus had been Raised from the Dead. According to Luke, nobody believed them, that is no one except Peter. It seemed as foolishness to them, but not Peter, he got up and ran to the tomb, saw the linen cloths, and went home amazed at what had happened. Amazed... what a word...
NRSV - Amazed... NIV – filled with wonder NASV – marveling
Any of these words and expressions fit for what Peter was going through on that day. Can you imagine the thoughts as he walked back home? “Is that what he meant by 'rebuild the Temple in three days?'” “Is this what he was preparing us for?” “Did someone take him, who would do that, no, He had to have risen, but where is he?” “What will this mean for us now?”
Ahhhh, there is a question for us as well. As we peer into the empty tomb, as we hear the cry of the women that “He is risen”, what will it mean for us now? What does it mean that he is risen? Well,
It means his teaching is true.
It means that we have a hope that we too will rise.
It means that we have a future with Christ.
And it means something else too... Let me illustrate with a story.
In the book Travels in Alaska, John Muir told a story of his encounter with the Stickeen and Sitka Indians of Alaska in the late 1800's. The two tribes had been at war for some twenty years and winter was approaching. The Chiefs met together and the Stikeen chief said to the other, “My people are hungry. They dare not go to the salmon-streams and berry-fields for winter supplies, and if the war goes on much longer most of my people will die of hunger. We have fought long enough; let us make peace. You brave Sitka warriors go home, and we will go home, and we will all set out to dry salmon and berries before it is too late.”
The Sitka chief replied: “You may well say let us stop fighting, when you have had the best of it. You have killed ten more of my tribe than we have killed of yours. Give us ten Stickeen men to balance our blood-account; then, and not till then, will we make peace and go home.”
“Very well” replied the Stickeen Chief, “you know my rank. You know that I am worth 10 common men and more. Take me, and make peace.”
The offer was accepted, the Chief stepped forward and was shot down in sight of the fighting bands and peace was made. The Stickeen Chief sacrificed himself for his people. Had he not given his life, then many more would have died from both the Stickeen and the Sitka as a result of war and starvation. The Chief saved his people.
Years later when missionaries came and told the story of Jesus to the Stickeen and Sitka people, they already knew of the sacrifice of one for many. As was recorded of the Indian people, they replied to the missionaries, “ Yes, your words are good, the Son of God, the Chief of Chiefs, the Maker of all the world, must be worth more than all mankind put together; therefore, when His blood was shed, the salvation of the world was made sure”
Salvation was brought to us, to you and me, on that day when Peter was amazed and today,
I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene
and wonder how he could love me
a sinner condemned unclean
Oh, how marvelous
Oh, how wonderful
and my song shall ever be
oh, how wonderful
oh how marvelous
is my Saviors love for me.
Today we stand amazed before a table that is set. A table that symbolizes all that Christ has and continues to do for us. Let us stand amazed, let us gather at this table, and let us go home, but let us also do as Peter and go forth into the world to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ to a world that needs to know of his love and grace.
Have you ever been a failure? Have you ever failed? You tried. You did what you through was right but it didn't work. You didn't succeed. You failed.
Maybe it was on the job. You thought you understood what your supervisor had told you. You thought you knew your job. But you failed.
Maybe it was the stock market. You followed all the rules, buy low – sell high. You did your part, then in one week the market drops, you lost all the growth, you lost some of the principle. You thought you were doing right. You thought you were careful, but no, you failed.
Maybe it was a marriage.
Maybe it was a friendship
Maybe it was a sport
It could have been so many things...
If you have ever failed, then you can imagine what Peter felt. He was a failure. He had followed Jesus. At times, he seemed to understand... “Jesus, you are the Messiah.” he would say in one breath, then reprimand Jesus for talking about his impending death in another. He had learned so much. He was looking forward to a long rule with Jesus. He was looking forward to being “The Rock” but not without Jesus. In the final meal, the passover meal, Jesus tells the Disciples that one will betray him, but Peter says “not me”. In the Garden Peter draws his sword to defend Jesus and injures Malcheus, but is reprimanded by Jesus. Jesus heals Malcheus and goes peacefully with the guards.
Peter is confused. Peter is scared. Peter denies that he even knows the one he once called Messiah. Peter had failed.
Some of the stories tell us that he had gone to the lake to fish during the days. I understand that. When I am down, when things aren't going right, when I'm tired of the daily grind of life, I like to go to the woods, to the lakes, to the wilderness. I like to get away. I can understand Peter.
But what I can't imagine is what was going through his mind. Did he finally understand what Jesus was talking about? Did he ask himself why he didn't stand up more? Did he wonder if he could have saved Jesus from the hands of the Romans? Did he wonder just how he had failed? Did he blame himself for what Jesus was going through?
I don't know. What I do know is that I, and I suspect some of you, are more like Peter than we care to admit. We ask ourselves, “How is it that we keep on failing?” “How is it that we don't seem to understand?” “Was it our fault that Jesus had to die?”
I can't imagine all that was going through Peter's mind on that Sunday some 1977 years ago when Mary Magdeline came rushing into the Upper Room to tell the Apostles that Jesus had been Raised from the Dead. According to Luke, nobody believed them, that is no one except Peter. It seemed as foolishness to them, but not Peter, he got up and ran to the tomb, saw the linen cloths, and went home amazed at what had happened. Amazed... what a word...
NRSV - Amazed... NIV – filled with wonder NASV – marveling
Any of these words and expressions fit for what Peter was going through on that day. Can you imagine the thoughts as he walked back home? “Is that what he meant by 'rebuild the Temple in three days?'” “Is this what he was preparing us for?” “Did someone take him, who would do that, no, He had to have risen, but where is he?” “What will this mean for us now?”
Ahhhh, there is a question for us as well. As we peer into the empty tomb, as we hear the cry of the women that “He is risen”, what will it mean for us now? What does it mean that he is risen? Well,
It means his teaching is true.
It means that we have a hope that we too will rise.
It means that we have a future with Christ.
And it means something else too... Let me illustrate with a story.
In the book Travels in Alaska, John Muir told a story of his encounter with the Stickeen and Sitka Indians of Alaska in the late 1800's. The two tribes had been at war for some twenty years and winter was approaching. The Chiefs met together and the Stikeen chief said to the other, “My people are hungry. They dare not go to the salmon-streams and berry-fields for winter supplies, and if the war goes on much longer most of my people will die of hunger. We have fought long enough; let us make peace. You brave Sitka warriors go home, and we will go home, and we will all set out to dry salmon and berries before it is too late.”
The Sitka chief replied: “You may well say let us stop fighting, when you have had the best of it. You have killed ten more of my tribe than we have killed of yours. Give us ten Stickeen men to balance our blood-account; then, and not till then, will we make peace and go home.”
“Very well” replied the Stickeen Chief, “you know my rank. You know that I am worth 10 common men and more. Take me, and make peace.”
The offer was accepted, the Chief stepped forward and was shot down in sight of the fighting bands and peace was made. The Stickeen Chief sacrificed himself for his people. Had he not given his life, then many more would have died from both the Stickeen and the Sitka as a result of war and starvation. The Chief saved his people.
Years later when missionaries came and told the story of Jesus to the Stickeen and Sitka people, they already knew of the sacrifice of one for many. As was recorded of the Indian people, they replied to the missionaries, “ Yes, your words are good, the Son of God, the Chief of Chiefs, the Maker of all the world, must be worth more than all mankind put together; therefore, when His blood was shed, the salvation of the world was made sure”
Salvation was brought to us, to you and me, on that day when Peter was amazed and today,
I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene
and wonder how he could love me
a sinner condemned unclean
Oh, how marvelous
Oh, how wonderful
and my song shall ever be
oh, how wonderful
oh how marvelous
is my Saviors love for me.
Today we stand amazed before a table that is set. A table that symbolizes all that Christ has and continues to do for us. Let us stand amazed, let us gather at this table, and let us go home, but let us also do as Peter and go forth into the world to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ to a world that needs to know of his love and grace.
Laying Down the Branches of Our Life
Luke 19:28-40
Some of you may remember the coronation of Jean-Bedel Bokassa in 1977. Bokassa took over the presidency of the Central African Republic by cout-d’etat in December 1967. Within a year he had invalidated the Constitution of the Country and created a new form of Government. In 1972 he named himself “President for Life.” Then, on December 5, 1977 he crowned himself Emperor Bokassa I of the Central African Empire.
At 10:10 AM trumpets and drums announced the approach of His Majesty.
The beginning of the parade had eight of Bokassa’s 20 official children proceed down the royal carpet to their seats.
They were followed by the heir to the throe, Jean Bidel Bokassa II – dressed in a white admirals uniform with gold braid. He was seated on a red pillow to the left of the throne.
Bodassa I’s favorite wife, Catherine, one of nine of his wives, paraded next to her throne wearing a $73,000 gown that was hand sewn with pearls.
Bokassa then arrived in an imperial coach decorated with golden eagles. His coach was drawn by Six matched Anglo-Norman horses.
The Central African Empire Marine Band struck the hymn “The Sacred March of His Majesty,” a song written especially for the event. Emperor Bokassa I strutted proudly to his throne. He was bedecked in a 32 pound robe decorated with 785,000 strewn pearls and embroidered in gold.
The emperor wore white gloves and pearl slippers on his feet. On his head, he wore a gold crown of laurel-wreaths, similar to those worn by Roman consuls of old and a symbol the he was favored by the gods.
As the “Sacred March” ended, Bokassa I seated himself on his $2,500,000 eagle throne.
He took his gold laurel wreath off and placed a crown on his own head that contained a 70 carat diamond in the shape of Africa. The lavish coronation ceremony cost $200,000,000 and all but ruined the country’s economy.
Contrast that with how Jesus came into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.
Jesus sends for a young Donkey to ride. Not a stallion. Not a noble animal, but a Donkey. For those that were watching and waiting, this was a clear sign of who Jesus was claiming to be. Prophecies had claimed it to be true: Zechariah 9:9, written some 250 years before Christ, tells us:
Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion!
Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem!
See, your king [a] comes to you,
righteous and having salvation,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
But by our standards today, Jesus wouldn’t have been coming to town in a Rolls Royce, or a Lincoln Limo as we expect royalty to come. No, Jesus didn’t even come in a Mustang, He came in the equivalent of a new Pinto.
Jesus didn’t come with glitz and glamor, Jesus came into Jerusalem, the place where he was to die, being heralded by his followers as the Messiah that he was. Jesus was rejoiced over by the Disciples and celebrated by the people along the way. He knew the rest of the story. He knew what was to happen at the end of the week, but, that didn’t stop him. Romans 5:8 reminds us that, “while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Jesus knew that the people that were celebrating on Sunday were going to be crucifying him on Friday. Though I think Jesus hoped with every step that the people would truly turn and follow him, he also knew that you and I would need the salvation he was to offer at the end of the week.
Oh, that Sunday was a day of celebration. A day that Jesus enjoyed. I can just see Jesus smiling as he told the Pharisees that “if they keep silent, then the rocks will cry out.” In other words, some things just must be said, I am the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords. I will be worshiped.
Today is an enjoyable day for us as well. We come together on this Sunday. We celebrate. We have an Easter Egg hunt. We rejoice with our family and friends. We wave palm branches and sing praises to our King. Today we Crown Jesus king of our lives, yet, by Friday we have crucified him with our actions. Today we vow to be good. In the church we try to do good. Then, by the time we get to the end of the week we have lived our lives in such a way that our actions are the very reason that Jesus had to face “Good Friday.” Just in case some of you are as self-righteous as I can be sometimes and think that you have done well this week, that you didn’t sin. Were you completely honest this week? Did you always say kind things about people? Did you gossip any? Did you lust after anyone? Did you covet your neighbors wife, husband, dog, car, truck, tractor….
You get my point.
We crown him on Sunday and Crucify him by Friday.
That is the fact of this week. I can’t sugar coat it. I can’t change it. I may want to. I could make this sermon all lovey dovey. I could tell you how wonderful you are. I could make you feel good. But that is not what happened between Sunday and Friday. To get to Easter we can not forget what happened the week before.
In fact, we can’t forget what we talked about last week: the cost of following Jesus. That is as much a part of the day and the week as the palm branches.
You see, I look at these palm branches as a symbol of control of our life. These palm branches are those sins that keep us from Christ. These palm branches are the busy lives that interfere with our relationship with God. These palms represent all those things that get in the way of our commitment to the life Jesus taught us. Today, I invite you to lay yours down. I invite you to lay down the palm branches of your life and fully give your life to God. I invite you to take a step toward the life that Jesus taught you to live. I invite you to hear the Holy Spirit’s call on your life to do what you were called to do, to be who you were called to be, and to live a life worthy of that calling.
Given the choice, without the intervention of God in our lives we would be more like Emperor Bokassa than we care to admit: lavishly bestowing upon our lives hundreds, if not millions of dollars worth of nothing. Given our way, we would follow the example of a man that thought he was a god rather than the God who became a man.
Today, I invite you to lay down the branches of your life and allow Jesus, the God who became a man to take them up and make them to be what they need to be. Won’t you let him?
Some of you may remember the coronation of Jean-Bedel Bokassa in 1977. Bokassa took over the presidency of the Central African Republic by cout-d’etat in December 1967. Within a year he had invalidated the Constitution of the Country and created a new form of Government. In 1972 he named himself “President for Life.” Then, on December 5, 1977 he crowned himself Emperor Bokassa I of the Central African Empire.
At 10:10 AM trumpets and drums announced the approach of His Majesty.
The beginning of the parade had eight of Bokassa’s 20 official children proceed down the royal carpet to their seats.
They were followed by the heir to the throe, Jean Bidel Bokassa II – dressed in a white admirals uniform with gold braid. He was seated on a red pillow to the left of the throne.
Bodassa I’s favorite wife, Catherine, one of nine of his wives, paraded next to her throne wearing a $73,000 gown that was hand sewn with pearls.
Bokassa then arrived in an imperial coach decorated with golden eagles. His coach was drawn by Six matched Anglo-Norman horses.
The Central African Empire Marine Band struck the hymn “The Sacred March of His Majesty,” a song written especially for the event. Emperor Bokassa I strutted proudly to his throne. He was bedecked in a 32 pound robe decorated with 785,000 strewn pearls and embroidered in gold.
The emperor wore white gloves and pearl slippers on his feet. On his head, he wore a gold crown of laurel-wreaths, similar to those worn by Roman consuls of old and a symbol the he was favored by the gods.
As the “Sacred March” ended, Bokassa I seated himself on his $2,500,000 eagle throne.
He took his gold laurel wreath off and placed a crown on his own head that contained a 70 carat diamond in the shape of Africa. The lavish coronation ceremony cost $200,000,000 and all but ruined the country’s economy.
Contrast that with how Jesus came into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.
Jesus sends for a young Donkey to ride. Not a stallion. Not a noble animal, but a Donkey. For those that were watching and waiting, this was a clear sign of who Jesus was claiming to be. Prophecies had claimed it to be true: Zechariah 9:9, written some 250 years before Christ, tells us:
Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion!
Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem!
See, your king [a] comes to you,
righteous and having salvation,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
But by our standards today, Jesus wouldn’t have been coming to town in a Rolls Royce, or a Lincoln Limo as we expect royalty to come. No, Jesus didn’t even come in a Mustang, He came in the equivalent of a new Pinto.
Jesus didn’t come with glitz and glamor, Jesus came into Jerusalem, the place where he was to die, being heralded by his followers as the Messiah that he was. Jesus was rejoiced over by the Disciples and celebrated by the people along the way. He knew the rest of the story. He knew what was to happen at the end of the week, but, that didn’t stop him. Romans 5:8 reminds us that, “while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Jesus knew that the people that were celebrating on Sunday were going to be crucifying him on Friday. Though I think Jesus hoped with every step that the people would truly turn and follow him, he also knew that you and I would need the salvation he was to offer at the end of the week.
Oh, that Sunday was a day of celebration. A day that Jesus enjoyed. I can just see Jesus smiling as he told the Pharisees that “if they keep silent, then the rocks will cry out.” In other words, some things just must be said, I am the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords. I will be worshiped.
Today is an enjoyable day for us as well. We come together on this Sunday. We celebrate. We have an Easter Egg hunt. We rejoice with our family and friends. We wave palm branches and sing praises to our King. Today we Crown Jesus king of our lives, yet, by Friday we have crucified him with our actions. Today we vow to be good. In the church we try to do good. Then, by the time we get to the end of the week we have lived our lives in such a way that our actions are the very reason that Jesus had to face “Good Friday.” Just in case some of you are as self-righteous as I can be sometimes and think that you have done well this week, that you didn’t sin. Were you completely honest this week? Did you always say kind things about people? Did you gossip any? Did you lust after anyone? Did you covet your neighbors wife, husband, dog, car, truck, tractor….
You get my point.
We crown him on Sunday and Crucify him by Friday.
That is the fact of this week. I can’t sugar coat it. I can’t change it. I may want to. I could make this sermon all lovey dovey. I could tell you how wonderful you are. I could make you feel good. But that is not what happened between Sunday and Friday. To get to Easter we can not forget what happened the week before.
In fact, we can’t forget what we talked about last week: the cost of following Jesus. That is as much a part of the day and the week as the palm branches.
You see, I look at these palm branches as a symbol of control of our life. These palm branches are those sins that keep us from Christ. These palm branches are the busy lives that interfere with our relationship with God. These palms represent all those things that get in the way of our commitment to the life Jesus taught us. Today, I invite you to lay yours down. I invite you to lay down the palm branches of your life and fully give your life to God. I invite you to take a step toward the life that Jesus taught you to live. I invite you to hear the Holy Spirit’s call on your life to do what you were called to do, to be who you were called to be, and to live a life worthy of that calling.
Given the choice, without the intervention of God in our lives we would be more like Emperor Bokassa than we care to admit: lavishly bestowing upon our lives hundreds, if not millions of dollars worth of nothing. Given our way, we would follow the example of a man that thought he was a god rather than the God who became a man.
Today, I invite you to lay down the branches of your life and allow Jesus, the God who became a man to take them up and make them to be what they need to be. Won’t you let him?
Estimate the Cost
Luke 14:25-33
Some called them the “Auca Indians” meaning the Savages. They were actually the Waorani Indians, one of the indigenous peoples of the Rain Forrest of Ecuador that segregated themselves by families. Each family lived independently of the others until food was short or wives were needed then one family would raid the other family and take what they could. As family members were killed by spear, the other family would avenge the death of their relative and so the cycle of violence continued year after year, decade after decade, generation after generation.
These were a people that lived in fear, fear of a raid by the other families, fear of illness, but mostly the fear of “Jumping the Great Boa.” This expression was their way of explaining how one crosses over from this life to the next. Their legends told them that the great Boa guarded the afterlife and only those strong enough to jump over the boa could enter eternity, otherwise they become “termites” – the bugs of the earth. To gain strength they had to spear others. To gain power for eternity they had to take the life of others.
By the mid 1950’s this once great people had become so violent that they numbered only in the hundreds and decisions of the Ecuadorian government and foreign oil explorers threatened to wipe out the remaining members of the tribes.
Nate Saint, a former WWII fighter pilot and now missionary to the area did not want to let this happen. He and four others began what they called the “Operation Auca.” They began flying over the Waorani tribal village, dropping care packages. They even devised a method of circling and dropping a bucket on a rope to the village. As they circled the bucket would remain almost still. The Waorani could take the gift from the “Great Wood Bee” and let it return. At times the gift might be a knife, a trinket or toy, a live chicken, a colorful cloth… Eventually one of the Waorani warriors returned a gift, a parrot, to the bucket. This was Nate’s sign that they were ready to be contacted.
They knew of no one who had ever contacted the Auca and lived to tell about it but they were compelled to contact these people. They felt that it was only through the Gospel of Jesus Christ that the cycle of violence could be ended. The day Nate was to fly in to make first face to face contact with the tribe his young son, Steve, asked him, “If they attack will you use your guns”. Nate replied, “Oh no, They aren’t ready to go to heaven, but we are.” On January 6, 1956 Nate and the others landed on a sand-bar of the river at the edge of the Waorani territory and set up camp. On January 7, three Waorani visited their site and seemed peaceful.
What is more important is that they knew that the missionaries were peaceful. However, in a lie to cover up a hidden relationship between two of the three original visitors to the beach, the rest of the tribe thought they were hostile and on January 8, Jim Elliot, Peter Fleming, Ed McCully, Roger Youderian, and Nate Saint were speared to death at their camp sight. They gave their life for the Gospel in what has been called the most publicized missionary massacre of the 20th century.
They gave their life for the gospel but what do we give? What is the cost of the gospel here in Wortham, TX? What does it cost us to follow Christ? The truth is, it doesn't cost us much to follow Jesus. We live in a time and place where many of us don't have to turn our backs on our family religion in order to be a Christian. Instead, it is our families that have “raised us in the ways of the Lord.” We live in a time where in some circles it costs more to not be a Christian than to claim to be a Christian.
When Jesus was walking among the people of Judea and Samaria, there wasn't much cost to follow him either. At least not in a casual way. The people who followed him were looking for a great leader, a great teacher, a great miracle worker. They found that in Jesus. The problem was that they didn't fully understand what it meant to follow him. They thought it meant walking around, hearing some teaching, traveling from town to town. They thought it meant being a better Jew. They thought it meant becoming a Jew. They thought it meant continuing as things are and being a little better. Jesus was telling them here that there is more to it than that. Jesus was telling them that families would turn against them. Jesus was telling them that some of them would loose their life. Jesus was telling them that there was a cost to following him. So, what is it that he was telling them? What was he asking them to consider?
1.Is there anything in life that is more important than their relationship with God? He was asking them to think of family – mother, father, sister, brother, wife, children... He was asking them to take inventory of their life and their priorities. Today the question is the same.
Is there anything in life more important than your relationship with God? Is your relationship with your family not only a priority, as it should be, but is it taking the place of your relationship with God? What about your job. Is your job taking precedence over God? Is money more important than church? Is your reputation more important than your witness?
What else was Jesus telling the people, and us?
2.He was telling them to carry their cross. When I hear that I think of these guys walking down the highways with their 4 X 4 Cross nailed together with a wheel on the bottom. You may even know some of the people who have participated in this image of “carrying a cross”. But some how I don't think that is what Jesus meant by this.
The people hearing this phrase would have had a different meaning. As they walked the highways and byways of the near east, they would have seen crosses lining the way with victims in various stages of death and dying. For them to carry ones cross would be akin to telling someone to carry ones noose, or carry ones electric chair. It meant to bear the very method of death that was inflicted by the powers that be. It also meant that they were to give up control of their life.
For those that read these words after the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, we know that it means we are to give our life over to Christ. We know that it means that to follow Christ, to live as Jesus, to truly be a Christian means that we give up control of our destiny, we give up control of our life, we give up control.
3.Finally, Jesus was telling them to make sure they knew the cost before they commit. Now, when I think of this one I can't help but follow the analogy that Jesus started. Most of you know that I have a Rent House in Hillsboro that Renee and I remodeled when we lived there. When we started the job I planned, I prepared, I estimated, I got Bobby the builder in there and we planned and estimated. I wanted to know how much it was going to cost to remodel this house before I got started because I had to pay for it. I wanted to make sure that I didn't bite off more than I could chew. As it was, I learned that you always need to plan to spend about 30% more than you think and it will take about 30% longer than you think to finish the job. Even when you estimate the cost, you have to be ready to accept the fact that it may actually cost more.
Another area that my mind goes is the cost of being a church member. For so long we have allowed there to be no cost to becoming a member of the Methodist Church. When someone comes to join we usually say something like this... “Oh, you want to join this wonderful church. Well, I can speak for all of us, we are so happy to have you (meaning – we are so happy to have anyone join the church). I just have one little question to ask you. It's just this thing we ask as Methodists. Ummm, will you do your best to support the church with your prayers, your presence, your gifts, and your service?, and I know you will so I want to extend the right hand of fellowship.” Mary Sue will you play one more verse of 'Just as I Am' while Margaret and Armond go to the back of the church to meet their new family.”
You see, there really hasn't been a cost. Membership has been a privilege, not a responsibility. Since the 1960's when that mindset for membership began, the United Methodist Church has been in a constant decline. While other denominations, both conservative and liberal in social and theological teachings have upped the requirements of membership and seen phenomenal growth, we in the Methodist church have been afraid to offend someone and actually hold people to their membership requirements. As a result we have seen our denomination shrink from 10.6 Million member in 1970 to less than 8 Million today. What has happened? We have lowered our expectations for our members to that of being a warm body that shows up when it is convenient.
Time and time again we have seen this fact. High expectation churches grow while low expectation churches die. My question for us is what are we?
Do we expect our members to actually show up? Weekly? Twice a month? Once a month? At least on Christmas and Easter?
Do we really expect our members to pray for the church? The leaders? The pastor? The Conference?
Do we actually think our members should give of their finances & their time? You mean it's not an either / or?
Do we really expect our members to tell others about the church and more than that, tell others about Christ?
In short, yes. You are expected to be in church when you are in town. You are expected to serve and reach out in ministry to others. You are expected to give... a tenth. You are expected to pray for me, the leaders of the church, and the District and Conference leaders. You are expected to tell others about God and the church.
Is there a cost? I don't know if you could call it that. Maybe you could.
I know Nate Saint thought of his sacrifice as a cost when he lay dying on that sand bar in the jungles of Ecuador.
In the Waorani dialect, there was no word for friend or friendship. As Nate Saint lay dying on that beach looking up at the warrior Micayani, he uttered the words, “Qua Bia Ganumbua” The closest thing that he could say to “I am your sincere friend.”
It was those words and the fact that though these missionaries had guns yet they did not fight back, that stuck in the mind of Micayani. In the weeks that followed it was the wives’ of the missionaries and Nate’s sister, Rachael, that actually made contact with the Waorani and lived to tell about it. With the help of Dayumai, the sister of Micayani who had some years earlier escaped the violence of the family and been living with Rachael, the ladies began to present the message of Jesus’ love to the “Auca’s”. They lived through Polio epidemics, spearing attacks from neighboring tribes, and many other hardships but the power of the gospel was worth it.
In 1969, the first copies of the Gospel of Mark in Waorani were dedicated at “God’s Speaking House.” Kimo, one of the original warriors who attacked Nate Saint’s party some 13 years before prayed, “Father God, You are alive. This is Your day and all of us have come to worship You. They brought us copies of Your Carving, enough for everybody. We accept it, saying, ‘This is the truth.’ We want all of your carving.”
That is the power of the Gospel. That is the power of the cost of following Christ. Through the good news of Jesus, lives are changed.
Prior to the 1960’s the Waorani Indians seldom had more than two generations present in a family. Disease, but mostly spearings, killed off the adults before they could see their grandchildren. Today, because of the Christian example of forgiveness lived out by the families of the Five Missionaries, the Waorani Indians are again a thriving population of Indigenous people of Ecuador. Micayani is a minister who preaches to visitors and tells them the story of the lives he took, the forgiveness he found, and the beauty and power of the Gospel.
Five missionaries gave their life for the Gospel and the power of that Gospel has since changed the lives of thousands in the rainforest of Ecuador. The Gospel has the power to do the same for you today if you will let it. No greater love is there than this, that one would lay their life down for another. Jesus loves you and Jesus can make a difference in your life. What do you want to do with that message? When you estimate the cost, is it worth it?
Some called them the “Auca Indians” meaning the Savages. They were actually the Waorani Indians, one of the indigenous peoples of the Rain Forrest of Ecuador that segregated themselves by families. Each family lived independently of the others until food was short or wives were needed then one family would raid the other family and take what they could. As family members were killed by spear, the other family would avenge the death of their relative and so the cycle of violence continued year after year, decade after decade, generation after generation.
These were a people that lived in fear, fear of a raid by the other families, fear of illness, but mostly the fear of “Jumping the Great Boa.” This expression was their way of explaining how one crosses over from this life to the next. Their legends told them that the great Boa guarded the afterlife and only those strong enough to jump over the boa could enter eternity, otherwise they become “termites” – the bugs of the earth. To gain strength they had to spear others. To gain power for eternity they had to take the life of others.
By the mid 1950’s this once great people had become so violent that they numbered only in the hundreds and decisions of the Ecuadorian government and foreign oil explorers threatened to wipe out the remaining members of the tribes.
Nate Saint, a former WWII fighter pilot and now missionary to the area did not want to let this happen. He and four others began what they called the “Operation Auca.” They began flying over the Waorani tribal village, dropping care packages. They even devised a method of circling and dropping a bucket on a rope to the village. As they circled the bucket would remain almost still. The Waorani could take the gift from the “Great Wood Bee” and let it return. At times the gift might be a knife, a trinket or toy, a live chicken, a colorful cloth… Eventually one of the Waorani warriors returned a gift, a parrot, to the bucket. This was Nate’s sign that they were ready to be contacted.
They knew of no one who had ever contacted the Auca and lived to tell about it but they were compelled to contact these people. They felt that it was only through the Gospel of Jesus Christ that the cycle of violence could be ended. The day Nate was to fly in to make first face to face contact with the tribe his young son, Steve, asked him, “If they attack will you use your guns”. Nate replied, “Oh no, They aren’t ready to go to heaven, but we are.” On January 6, 1956 Nate and the others landed on a sand-bar of the river at the edge of the Waorani territory and set up camp. On January 7, three Waorani visited their site and seemed peaceful.
What is more important is that they knew that the missionaries were peaceful. However, in a lie to cover up a hidden relationship between two of the three original visitors to the beach, the rest of the tribe thought they were hostile and on January 8, Jim Elliot, Peter Fleming, Ed McCully, Roger Youderian, and Nate Saint were speared to death at their camp sight. They gave their life for the Gospel in what has been called the most publicized missionary massacre of the 20th century.
They gave their life for the gospel but what do we give? What is the cost of the gospel here in Wortham, TX? What does it cost us to follow Christ? The truth is, it doesn't cost us much to follow Jesus. We live in a time and place where many of us don't have to turn our backs on our family religion in order to be a Christian. Instead, it is our families that have “raised us in the ways of the Lord.” We live in a time where in some circles it costs more to not be a Christian than to claim to be a Christian.
When Jesus was walking among the people of Judea and Samaria, there wasn't much cost to follow him either. At least not in a casual way. The people who followed him were looking for a great leader, a great teacher, a great miracle worker. They found that in Jesus. The problem was that they didn't fully understand what it meant to follow him. They thought it meant walking around, hearing some teaching, traveling from town to town. They thought it meant being a better Jew. They thought it meant becoming a Jew. They thought it meant continuing as things are and being a little better. Jesus was telling them here that there is more to it than that. Jesus was telling them that families would turn against them. Jesus was telling them that some of them would loose their life. Jesus was telling them that there was a cost to following him. So, what is it that he was telling them? What was he asking them to consider?
1.Is there anything in life that is more important than their relationship with God? He was asking them to think of family – mother, father, sister, brother, wife, children... He was asking them to take inventory of their life and their priorities. Today the question is the same.
Is there anything in life more important than your relationship with God? Is your relationship with your family not only a priority, as it should be, but is it taking the place of your relationship with God? What about your job. Is your job taking precedence over God? Is money more important than church? Is your reputation more important than your witness?
What else was Jesus telling the people, and us?
2.He was telling them to carry their cross. When I hear that I think of these guys walking down the highways with their 4 X 4 Cross nailed together with a wheel on the bottom. You may even know some of the people who have participated in this image of “carrying a cross”. But some how I don't think that is what Jesus meant by this.
The people hearing this phrase would have had a different meaning. As they walked the highways and byways of the near east, they would have seen crosses lining the way with victims in various stages of death and dying. For them to carry ones cross would be akin to telling someone to carry ones noose, or carry ones electric chair. It meant to bear the very method of death that was inflicted by the powers that be. It also meant that they were to give up control of their life.
For those that read these words after the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, we know that it means we are to give our life over to Christ. We know that it means that to follow Christ, to live as Jesus, to truly be a Christian means that we give up control of our destiny, we give up control of our life, we give up control.
3.Finally, Jesus was telling them to make sure they knew the cost before they commit. Now, when I think of this one I can't help but follow the analogy that Jesus started. Most of you know that I have a Rent House in Hillsboro that Renee and I remodeled when we lived there. When we started the job I planned, I prepared, I estimated, I got Bobby the builder in there and we planned and estimated. I wanted to know how much it was going to cost to remodel this house before I got started because I had to pay for it. I wanted to make sure that I didn't bite off more than I could chew. As it was, I learned that you always need to plan to spend about 30% more than you think and it will take about 30% longer than you think to finish the job. Even when you estimate the cost, you have to be ready to accept the fact that it may actually cost more.
Another area that my mind goes is the cost of being a church member. For so long we have allowed there to be no cost to becoming a member of the Methodist Church. When someone comes to join we usually say something like this... “Oh, you want to join this wonderful church. Well, I can speak for all of us, we are so happy to have you (meaning – we are so happy to have anyone join the church). I just have one little question to ask you. It's just this thing we ask as Methodists. Ummm, will you do your best to support the church with your prayers, your presence, your gifts, and your service?, and I know you will so I want to extend the right hand of fellowship.” Mary Sue will you play one more verse of 'Just as I Am' while Margaret and Armond go to the back of the church to meet their new family.”
You see, there really hasn't been a cost. Membership has been a privilege, not a responsibility. Since the 1960's when that mindset for membership began, the United Methodist Church has been in a constant decline. While other denominations, both conservative and liberal in social and theological teachings have upped the requirements of membership and seen phenomenal growth, we in the Methodist church have been afraid to offend someone and actually hold people to their membership requirements. As a result we have seen our denomination shrink from 10.6 Million member in 1970 to less than 8 Million today. What has happened? We have lowered our expectations for our members to that of being a warm body that shows up when it is convenient.
Time and time again we have seen this fact. High expectation churches grow while low expectation churches die. My question for us is what are we?
Do we expect our members to actually show up? Weekly? Twice a month? Once a month? At least on Christmas and Easter?
Do we really expect our members to pray for the church? The leaders? The pastor? The Conference?
Do we actually think our members should give of their finances & their time? You mean it's not an either / or?
Do we really expect our members to tell others about the church and more than that, tell others about Christ?
In short, yes. You are expected to be in church when you are in town. You are expected to serve and reach out in ministry to others. You are expected to give... a tenth. You are expected to pray for me, the leaders of the church, and the District and Conference leaders. You are expected to tell others about God and the church.
Is there a cost? I don't know if you could call it that. Maybe you could.
I know Nate Saint thought of his sacrifice as a cost when he lay dying on that sand bar in the jungles of Ecuador.
In the Waorani dialect, there was no word for friend or friendship. As Nate Saint lay dying on that beach looking up at the warrior Micayani, he uttered the words, “Qua Bia Ganumbua” The closest thing that he could say to “I am your sincere friend.”
It was those words and the fact that though these missionaries had guns yet they did not fight back, that stuck in the mind of Micayani. In the weeks that followed it was the wives’ of the missionaries and Nate’s sister, Rachael, that actually made contact with the Waorani and lived to tell about it. With the help of Dayumai, the sister of Micayani who had some years earlier escaped the violence of the family and been living with Rachael, the ladies began to present the message of Jesus’ love to the “Auca’s”. They lived through Polio epidemics, spearing attacks from neighboring tribes, and many other hardships but the power of the gospel was worth it.
In 1969, the first copies of the Gospel of Mark in Waorani were dedicated at “God’s Speaking House.” Kimo, one of the original warriors who attacked Nate Saint’s party some 13 years before prayed, “Father God, You are alive. This is Your day and all of us have come to worship You. They brought us copies of Your Carving, enough for everybody. We accept it, saying, ‘This is the truth.’ We want all of your carving.”
That is the power of the Gospel. That is the power of the cost of following Christ. Through the good news of Jesus, lives are changed.
Prior to the 1960’s the Waorani Indians seldom had more than two generations present in a family. Disease, but mostly spearings, killed off the adults before they could see their grandchildren. Today, because of the Christian example of forgiveness lived out by the families of the Five Missionaries, the Waorani Indians are again a thriving population of Indigenous people of Ecuador. Micayani is a minister who preaches to visitors and tells them the story of the lives he took, the forgiveness he found, and the beauty and power of the Gospel.
Five missionaries gave their life for the Gospel and the power of that Gospel has since changed the lives of thousands in the rainforest of Ecuador. The Gospel has the power to do the same for you today if you will let it. No greater love is there than this, that one would lay their life down for another. Jesus loves you and Jesus can make a difference in your life. What do you want to do with that message? When you estimate the cost, is it worth it?
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