Saturday, April 21, 2012
Christianity is a Team Sport
Christianity... It's a Team Sport
1 Corinthians 12:4-14
Video
Now I feel like some baseball, Don't you?
Baseball is an American Past-Time. It is my favorite sport. Oh, don't get me wrong I enjoy watching football and I enjoy watching various forms of Martial Arts, I even enjoy playing or watching tennis and soccer with the family, but if I had to choose a sport to participate in it would be baseball. Growing up I played every position except catcher. I was on winning teams and I was on my share of losing teams, even one called "Bears" in yellow and green. Yet, with all those years of playing, I never successfully played by myself. Even though I knew how to play all the positions, I couldn't do it all by myself. It took the team playing together.
The Texas Rangers have been a great team over these past couple of years, not because of one great player that stands out but rather many good players that together make the team great. We all remember the years with A-Rod, Texiera, Pudge, and many others. Some we loved and some... well not so much. They were all great players. They stood out. And in many respects it seems they tried to be the team. Today we have Josh Hamilton, Ian Kinsler, Michael Young, and now Yu Darvish. They are great players but they do everything for the team. They see themselves as a part of a team and no better than the rest of the team. They work as a team:
Not all are pitchers
Not all are centerfielders
Not all are Short-Stops
It takes all 9 players seeing themselves as a team and each doing their part to make the team a success.
Christianity is much the same way. Christianity is a team sport. We each have our positions to play; we have our places to fill. We are all a part of a team that is no better than the rest of the team. As we read this passage and others like it in Romans and Ephesians, we find examples of what this team looks like and what the positions are for us. Here in Corinthians, Paul compares the use of the Spiritual Gifts to the body and starts by saying that there is one Spirit but many gifts, one Lord but different ministries and one God but many activities.
What are these positions you may ask? There are a couple of different lists in scripture that we find. In Ephesians 4 we find a list that includes Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors, and Teachers. Some may want to call these the leadership gifts but you don't have to be a paid clergyperson or staff member of a church to have these gifts. What you do for a living and your gift don't always match. Often we may find that we have a disposition that drives us in certain ways. A Prophet may actually work as a professor and proclaim the truth. A Teacher my actually be a business leader in charge of personnel training. One with the gift of pastoring - leading a flock, may actually work as a director of a department. Where these gifts begin taking hold and making a difference in your life and others is when you let the gift, your passion, and your talents merge into what it is that you do. More on that in a minute.
We add to the list from Ephesians 4 as we turn over to Romans 12 and see that some are given the gifts of service, encouragement, giving, leading, and mercy. Finally in 1 Corinthians 12:28 we find a few more gifts listed: miracles, healing, and tongues. Over the next few weeks I will be covering many of these gifts - keep in mind that there is no way I can cover all these gifts completely so I will cover a couple of them a week and make some handouts available to you for some more details.
There are a couple of other things that we need to cover about our Spiritual Gifts before we begin discerning and discovering them over the next few weeks. 1) what is the difference between gifts and talents, and 2) what is the purpose of the gifts?
1) We all have talents. Some can sing and play an instrument. Some can decorate. Some are good writers. Some are great photographers. These are not "gifts" even though we may say, "Cheryl, God has gifted you with such a great voice." (Scott on Organ or the Chris with leading the choir) Or "Darrell, your drum playing is a gift from God." These are talents, abilities that we have and enjoy. While they aren't just "hobbies" often our talents can be things we learn or enjoy doing as a hobby. A spiritual gift on the other hand is something that we have a knack for. You, just by your nature, are a good administrator or you seem to have a strange sense of fulfillment after sitting with a grieving friend if you have the gift of mercy. You may seem to have an uncanny ability to say things that encourage others to find their place in serving God or an ability to bring healing into ones presence when you visit them in the hospital. These are gifts from the Spirit. You may be able to do things to enhance them or do them better but you already have a knack for doing them. It is a part of who God made you to be.
We don't have to discount our passion and talent to serve within the area of our Gifts. We are most successful and happy when our passions, talents, and gifts all match up in some special way to serve God's purpose for our lives.
2) That brings us to the final point, what is the purpose of our Gifts? In the passage read today we see two things and in the final teaching of Jesus we see a third. First, we see that God gives the gifts to us as God sees fit. If would be a very strange church that had all preachers and teachers in it. Oh, everyone would be well educated but no one would do anything. It would be great to be surrounding by encouragers and those with the gift of Mercy but soon the entire organization would fall apart. I could go on but I think you get the point. God distributes the gifts to each of us as the Spirit sees fit so that we may fulfill God's purpose as individuals and as a church.
The second thing we see about these gifts is that they are given for the common good of all. When we fail to use our gifts, talents, and passions for God the rest of the body hurts. It is missing an important part that balances the body to fulfill God's purpose.
Finally. What is God's purpose for us? We find it there in the final words of Jesus as recorded by Matthew: Go and make disciples... We even have that as our mission statement as United Methodists, that we are to go and make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the World.
That is why we are who we are. Each of us a different piece to a puzzle. Each of us a different part of the ensemble. Each of us a different player on the team. We have no bench warmers. There is no second chair. There is no JV. None of us are extra pieces to the puzzle. We all have a purpose and it's about time we began discovering that purpose and serving God according to it.
So, what are we going to do about it? I want you to look at the person to you left and right. I know you may have to cross the isle, that's OK. I want you to tell them your name and learn their name. Then I want you to tell them that you will be praying for them by name as they seek to learn what their spiritual gift is.
Do it… Now…
This week’s challenge is to be in prayer about your gifts and the gifts of those to your left and right.
I want you to begin the discernment process this week as we, the followers of Christ begin to see and understand who we are and why we are. I pray that, as Christians - those who seek to be like Christ, we will seek to be who we are called to be.
Now, there are some of you that this is all new to you. You have never accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior. I firmly believe that God has hidden deep down inside you an innate ability to serve God and serve others. My prayer for you is that you will come to the saving knowledge of God and that you will begin to understand what God has done for you through the life death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I will be praying this week that you will be open to God's grace and that you will come to Christ and join us in this conversation.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Worship Articles - 5
As we bring this series on worship to a close I wish to take time to remind us of a few of the things we have covered over the past weeks (You can find these articles in more detail on the church website or my blog, jayssermonthougts.blogspot.com):
1. Worship is not about you… It is about God.
2. Being focused on ourselves rather than God and others ruins worship.
3. Evangelism, Discipleship, Giving, and Praying all grow out of worship and then return to worship.
4. Scripture tells us how we are to worship and praise.
5. It isn’t someone else’s job to “make you worship.” Each of us has the choice to worship or not.
Finally, this week we will look at the fact that worship is a verb, an action word. It means we do something. More specifically worship is something we do, not something done to us.
I think back to Paul and Silas. As the Christian Rock group Petra told the story in “Let Everything that Has Breath,” Paul and Silas were thrown in jail
For preaching the gospel of Christ
Though in chains they praised His name singing songs in the night
I have heard other stories of people truly praising God and worshiping in the face of persecution and certain death. No matter how bad it gets we can still worship God.
While I truly feel we are blessed with pastoral leadership, great music leaders in Chris and Brett, great musicians in the band and Scott, and a great facility, none of these are necessary for us to worship. As you read this there are people worshiping under Marula trees in Africa and in the cramped space of a basement in China. With or without all the architecture and leadership we can still come together as the body of Christ, offer God our praises, and give an offering.
As Joe McKeever puts it in his article, “Our insistence on worshipful music, worship settings, and worshipful everything are all signs of our disgusting self-centeredness. It’s disgusting because I see it in myself, and do not like it.”
I leave the topic now with this final thought… Worship is life. While we need to gather together in corporate worship regularly, we also need to realize that our life is our worship. What we do daily in our goings and comings should be worship.
And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice--the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Romans 12:1, NLT
I’ll See You Sunday;
J
McKeever, Joe, “7Things We Regularly Get Wrong About Worship”, http://www.crosswalk.com/church/worship/7-things-we-regularly-get-wrong-about-worship.html, May 24, 2011
1. Worship is not about you… It is about God.
2. Being focused on ourselves rather than God and others ruins worship.
3. Evangelism, Discipleship, Giving, and Praying all grow out of worship and then return to worship.
4. Scripture tells us how we are to worship and praise.
5. It isn’t someone else’s job to “make you worship.” Each of us has the choice to worship or not.
Finally, this week we will look at the fact that worship is a verb, an action word. It means we do something. More specifically worship is something we do, not something done to us.
I think back to Paul and Silas. As the Christian Rock group Petra told the story in “Let Everything that Has Breath,” Paul and Silas were thrown in jail
For preaching the gospel of Christ
Though in chains they praised His name singing songs in the night
I have heard other stories of people truly praising God and worshiping in the face of persecution and certain death. No matter how bad it gets we can still worship God.
While I truly feel we are blessed with pastoral leadership, great music leaders in Chris and Brett, great musicians in the band and Scott, and a great facility, none of these are necessary for us to worship. As you read this there are people worshiping under Marula trees in Africa and in the cramped space of a basement in China. With or without all the architecture and leadership we can still come together as the body of Christ, offer God our praises, and give an offering.
As Joe McKeever puts it in his article, “Our insistence on worshipful music, worship settings, and worshipful everything are all signs of our disgusting self-centeredness. It’s disgusting because I see it in myself, and do not like it.”
I leave the topic now with this final thought… Worship is life. While we need to gather together in corporate worship regularly, we also need to realize that our life is our worship. What we do daily in our goings and comings should be worship.
And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice--the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Romans 12:1, NLT
I’ll See You Sunday;
J
McKeever, Joe, “7Things We Regularly Get Wrong About Worship”, http://www.crosswalk.com/church/worship/7-things-we-regularly-get-wrong-about-worship.html, May 24, 2011
Worship Articles - 3
As I began writing this article I heard the song How Great Thou Art. Consider the words of this great hymn:
O Lord my God! When I in awesome wonder
Consider all the worlds thy hands have made,
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power through-out the universe displayed.
Then sings by soul, my Savior God to thee;
How great thou art, how great thou art!
What a way to begin writing an article about Worship. As we look at Scripture we see that we are called to worship. 1 Chronicles 16:29 and Psalm 96:8 tell us to “Give (ascribe) to the Lord the glory due His name and bring an offering.” David wrote in Psalm 51:17 that “The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart O God, you will not despise.” Throughout Scripture
we are invited, we are commanded, we are called to sing to God, offer praise to God, rejoice before God. We are to pray, offer, humble, love… All this is what worship is about.
Our worship is more than an emotional experience just as it is more than just something we show up for. Jesus tells the Samaritan Woman at the well that “Those who worship God must worship in spirit and in truth.” In other words we must worship with all that we are. Worship is more than lip service or going through some ritualistic motions. Worship is what we do in our innermost being. And, worship is something we choose to do.
Worship is a decision that we make as we enter the house of the Lord and as we walk through our daily lives. How many times have we said, “I just couldn’t worship today, the Soprano was off key.” Or, “The preacher was a little off today and it really messed up my worship.” Or, “I wish they would sing [insert your favorite worship song] so I can worship.” It is so easy to blame others for our lack of
worship. We live in a consumerist society where we feel we should be served. If we don’t get what we “pay for” it must be someone else’s fault. As Joe McKeever puts it, the truth is that “No one can eat my food for me, love my cherished ones in my place, or do my worshiping for me.”1 We are the only ones in charge of our decision to worship.
My prayer is that we will make the decision to worship, not only on Sunday but everyday of our life. In fact, I hope we will worship with our life. I’ll see you Sunday where we will continue corporately the worship we have done privately all week.
Peace,
]
1 (McKeever, Joe, “7 Things We Regularly Get Wrong About Worship”,
http://www.crosswalk.com/church/worship/7-things-we-regularly-get-wrong-about-worship.html, May 24, 2011)
O Lord my God! When I in awesome wonder
Consider all the worlds thy hands have made,
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power through-out the universe displayed.
Then sings by soul, my Savior God to thee;
How great thou art, how great thou art!
What a way to begin writing an article about Worship. As we look at Scripture we see that we are called to worship. 1 Chronicles 16:29 and Psalm 96:8 tell us to “Give (ascribe) to the Lord the glory due His name and bring an offering.” David wrote in Psalm 51:17 that “The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart O God, you will not despise.” Throughout Scripture
we are invited, we are commanded, we are called to sing to God, offer praise to God, rejoice before God. We are to pray, offer, humble, love… All this is what worship is about.
Our worship is more than an emotional experience just as it is more than just something we show up for. Jesus tells the Samaritan Woman at the well that “Those who worship God must worship in spirit and in truth.” In other words we must worship with all that we are. Worship is more than lip service or going through some ritualistic motions. Worship is what we do in our innermost being. And, worship is something we choose to do.
Worship is a decision that we make as we enter the house of the Lord and as we walk through our daily lives. How many times have we said, “I just couldn’t worship today, the Soprano was off key.” Or, “The preacher was a little off today and it really messed up my worship.” Or, “I wish they would sing [insert your favorite worship song] so I can worship.” It is so easy to blame others for our lack of
worship. We live in a consumerist society where we feel we should be served. If we don’t get what we “pay for” it must be someone else’s fault. As Joe McKeever puts it, the truth is that “No one can eat my food for me, love my cherished ones in my place, or do my worshiping for me.”1 We are the only ones in charge of our decision to worship.
My prayer is that we will make the decision to worship, not only on Sunday but everyday of our life. In fact, I hope we will worship with our life. I’ll see you Sunday where we will continue corporately the worship we have done privately all week.
Peace,
]
1 (McKeever, Joe, “7 Things We Regularly Get Wrong About Worship”,
http://www.crosswalk.com/church/worship/7-things-we-regularly-get-wrong-about-worship.html, May 24, 2011)
Worship Articles - 2
How fitting it is that we are talking about worship after I have had the recent experience of leading all aspects of worship in The Current. This week we continue our discussion of worship and come to the problem of and the importance of “self” in worship. Danish theologian Soren Kierkgaard saw this problem in the church as far
back as the mid 19th Century. As he looked at churches, he saw worship being played out as a drama of Prompters, Actors, and Audience. Usually he would see the drama played out from the perspective of God being the Prompter – that the Holy Spirit moves us into worship, the leaders (musician, pastor, liturgists, etc.) were the actors – carrying out the lines that others were to see, enjoy, and get something out of, and the congregation was the Audience – those that sit and receive what the actors perform as prompted by God.
When we look around the church these days I think we still see the same thing. This is what we have become accustomed to as worshipers. Yet, as with Kierkegaard, I think this model has the order all wrong. This model of worship tends to make worship about “me” and “my needs”. If the music is off or the preacher has a bad day then we consider it to have been a bad performance for the week and worry that we didn’t get anything out of it. When the focus becomes about self, i.e. “getting my needs met, learning something, hearing a lesson that blesses me, being lifted by
the singing – then Christ has no part in it.” Maybe that is why Joe McKeever says, “Selfcenteredness Destroys all Worship.”1
Instead of this errant model that we have become so accustomed to, Kierkegaard suggests a different model and order for the drama of worship. This model is what I like to remember as I worship and lead others in worship. Whereas we often start with God as the prompter suddenly the leader becomes the prompter. Those that lead the music, read the passages, preach the sermons are the Prompters who lead the congregation to then be the Actors in the great drama of worship. Finally we realize that all this is done for the Audience of one, God. Worship truly
becomes something of great beauty when we get self out of the way – selfishness, selfcenteredness, self-interest, self-seeking, and self-absorption.
Only when we live and breathe our worship in this way do we fully realize the power of our Audience. I pray that this week you will begin preparing to be a participant in the great drama of worship.
I’ll see you Sunday.
Jay
1. (McKeever, Joe, “7 Things We Regularly Get Wrong About Worship”,
http://www.crosswalk.com/church/worship/7-things-we-regularly-get-wrong-about-worship.html , May 24, 2011)
back as the mid 19th Century. As he looked at churches, he saw worship being played out as a drama of Prompters, Actors, and Audience. Usually he would see the drama played out from the perspective of God being the Prompter – that the Holy Spirit moves us into worship, the leaders (musician, pastor, liturgists, etc.) were the actors – carrying out the lines that others were to see, enjoy, and get something out of, and the congregation was the Audience – those that sit and receive what the actors perform as prompted by God.
When we look around the church these days I think we still see the same thing. This is what we have become accustomed to as worshipers. Yet, as with Kierkegaard, I think this model has the order all wrong. This model of worship tends to make worship about “me” and “my needs”. If the music is off or the preacher has a bad day then we consider it to have been a bad performance for the week and worry that we didn’t get anything out of it. When the focus becomes about self, i.e. “getting my needs met, learning something, hearing a lesson that blesses me, being lifted by
the singing – then Christ has no part in it.” Maybe that is why Joe McKeever says, “Selfcenteredness Destroys all Worship.”1
Instead of this errant model that we have become so accustomed to, Kierkegaard suggests a different model and order for the drama of worship. This model is what I like to remember as I worship and lead others in worship. Whereas we often start with God as the prompter suddenly the leader becomes the prompter. Those that lead the music, read the passages, preach the sermons are the Prompters who lead the congregation to then be the Actors in the great drama of worship. Finally we realize that all this is done for the Audience of one, God. Worship truly
becomes something of great beauty when we get self out of the way – selfishness, selfcenteredness, self-interest, self-seeking, and self-absorption.
Only when we live and breathe our worship in this way do we fully realize the power of our Audience. I pray that this week you will begin preparing to be a participant in the great drama of worship.
I’ll see you Sunday.
Jay
1. (McKeever, Joe, “7 Things We Regularly Get Wrong About Worship”,
http://www.crosswalk.com/church/worship/7-things-we-regularly-get-wrong-about-worship.html , May 24, 2011)
Worship Articles - 1
I have so enjoyed the time we have spent here. You have all been so wonderful and welcoming to me and my family as we have begun to grow accustomed to Corsicana. The meals, gift cards, gifts, and the pounding have all been greatly appreciated. I have also enjoyed visiting with so many of you during the week and on Sunday as well as during my visits to the nursing homes. I truly look forward to the many years we have together as we continue to grow in grace and offer Christ to others.
As the pastor of The Current and your new Associate Pastor here at Corsicana First, I want to take the time during these first few newsletters to discuss two areas that are important to me. In so doing I hope you will begin to get a flavor for my ministry as we grow together. The first focus will be worship and taken in part from an article written by Joe McKeever called “7 Things We Regularly Get Wrong About Worship”. In later weeks we will look at being welcoming from an interesting perspective. Finally we will look at where I think the rubber meets the road
as a church within the Corsicana community – Local Missions.
For now let us focus on worship. In Just Like Jesus by Max Lucado, Max tells us that “The purpose of worship is to change the face of the worshiper. That is exactly what happened to Christ on the mountain. Jesus’ appearance was changed: ‘His face became bright like the sun’ Matt. 17:2)”. As we spend time over the next weeks looking at worship I hope that we will keep this in mind. Worship is not about us getting something out of the service, it is about us being changed into the likeness of Christ. So often I hear people say, “Oh, I don’t go to church any more, I just don’t get anything out of it.” As if to say that the goal of coming to worship is to get something as though we were going to the store for groceries.
So, if worship is not about getting our needs met then what is it about? Worship is about the Lord, plain and simple. We are to go to church to give, not to get. When we have set the expectation within ourselves and those we invite to “get” instead of “give” then we become disappointed and leave in frustration. We all need to remember that we are there to give, first and foremost. What we are to give is glory to God, because God is worthy of our worship and glory. How often do we recite in the prayers and creeds that “…thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory”? Or sing “Praise God from whom all blessings flow…”
Therefore, as we prepare our hearts and lives to receive the grace offered in Holy Communion this Sunday, may we prepare our hearts not to “get something” out of the service but to instead gather to give glory to God who is worthy of all our praise.
I’ll see you Sunday,
Jay
As the pastor of The Current and your new Associate Pastor here at Corsicana First, I want to take the time during these first few newsletters to discuss two areas that are important to me. In so doing I hope you will begin to get a flavor for my ministry as we grow together. The first focus will be worship and taken in part from an article written by Joe McKeever called “7 Things We Regularly Get Wrong About Worship”. In later weeks we will look at being welcoming from an interesting perspective. Finally we will look at where I think the rubber meets the road
as a church within the Corsicana community – Local Missions.
For now let us focus on worship. In Just Like Jesus by Max Lucado, Max tells us that “The purpose of worship is to change the face of the worshiper. That is exactly what happened to Christ on the mountain. Jesus’ appearance was changed: ‘His face became bright like the sun’ Matt. 17:2)”. As we spend time over the next weeks looking at worship I hope that we will keep this in mind. Worship is not about us getting something out of the service, it is about us being changed into the likeness of Christ. So often I hear people say, “Oh, I don’t go to church any more, I just don’t get anything out of it.” As if to say that the goal of coming to worship is to get something as though we were going to the store for groceries.
So, if worship is not about getting our needs met then what is it about? Worship is about the Lord, plain and simple. We are to go to church to give, not to get. When we have set the expectation within ourselves and those we invite to “get” instead of “give” then we become disappointed and leave in frustration. We all need to remember that we are there to give, first and foremost. What we are to give is glory to God, because God is worthy of our worship and glory. How often do we recite in the prayers and creeds that “…thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory”? Or sing “Praise God from whom all blessings flow…”
Therefore, as we prepare our hearts and lives to receive the grace offered in Holy Communion this Sunday, may we prepare our hearts not to “get something” out of the service but to instead gather to give glory to God who is worthy of all our praise.
I’ll see you Sunday,
Jay
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Will You Follow?
Maundy Thursday 2011
Will You Follow
It all started with a young lady. You know how rumors can start in a small town... She was to marry her sweetheart Jo but then the scandal broke. It seems we have become accustomed to it in our day, often young couples begin their family before the wedding. But it wasn't too many years ago that it was scandalous.
People would turn their head and talk when she and Jo would walk by. At times the shame would overcome her. Other times she remembered that this was different. She didn't plan this. She didn't really even want this. But she accepted it. Little did she know her life would never be the same. Little did she know what her sacrifice really meant. Little did she know that she would one day give up her son so that others might live.
This scenario could fit any number of stories to illustrate the point, but the story of Jesus really needs no other illustration. Jesus came to us as a child. Humble, helpless, and innocent. Jesus lived as a pauper. We read his own words as he says he has no place to lay his head, he ate grain that was plucked from the side of the road and he wandered around the countryside, often by foot. Jesus was not royalty by earthly standards. Yet, he was called King.
On this night we remember Jesus final meeting with the disciples in the upper room. They gathered for the Passover Feast, a meal to commemorate and celebrate God's final deliverance of Israel from Egyptian Bondage. We have heard the directions for this meal from Exodus 12. In that reading it is interesting to note the communal aspect of the meal. It was meant that families would share in the meal with others, no food was to be left. All of Israel gathered in their homes and ate the meal at the same time. This was a communal remembrance of God's salvation. (Amber Essick – Abingdon Preaching Annual)
It was this feast that Jesus chose as his communal meal for the church, we call it Communion. Paul reminds us that the church is to gather for this meal regularly to remember what Christ has done for us on the Cross. The old remembrance of Passover has now marked the new covenant through the body and blood of Christ.
As we read in John, there was more to the night than just the meal. Jesus, the one they called Lord and Savior, donned the clothes of a servant and stooped to wash their dirty feet. There is so much more in this image than just the God-man stooping before humanity. Amber Essick says it like this, “Not only is the God-person stooping to humanity, but during the feast celebrating freedom from slavery, Jesus takes on the role of a slave in order to teach his disciples a vital lesson about what it means to follow... It is a life of giving up our own way to walk the Christian path together.”
And there we have it again. The concept of following.
And where is Jesus asking us to go? Where is he asking us to follow him? Where does he lead?
Jesus leads us to love. To love one another to the point of becoming our slaves.
If by some way the imagery of Palm Sunday was lost on any of the 12 in that room, now it was clear. Jesus is leading them to love and to serve. For it is through loving and serving that others will know we are Christ's disciples.
Will you follow? Will you love and serve your neighbor? Will you go where Jesus calls you?
That is what you will need to answer over the next few days as Easter approaches.
Let us Pray.
Will You Follow
It all started with a young lady. You know how rumors can start in a small town... She was to marry her sweetheart Jo but then the scandal broke. It seems we have become accustomed to it in our day, often young couples begin their family before the wedding. But it wasn't too many years ago that it was scandalous.
People would turn their head and talk when she and Jo would walk by. At times the shame would overcome her. Other times she remembered that this was different. She didn't plan this. She didn't really even want this. But she accepted it. Little did she know her life would never be the same. Little did she know what her sacrifice really meant. Little did she know that she would one day give up her son so that others might live.
This scenario could fit any number of stories to illustrate the point, but the story of Jesus really needs no other illustration. Jesus came to us as a child. Humble, helpless, and innocent. Jesus lived as a pauper. We read his own words as he says he has no place to lay his head, he ate grain that was plucked from the side of the road and he wandered around the countryside, often by foot. Jesus was not royalty by earthly standards. Yet, he was called King.
On this night we remember Jesus final meeting with the disciples in the upper room. They gathered for the Passover Feast, a meal to commemorate and celebrate God's final deliverance of Israel from Egyptian Bondage. We have heard the directions for this meal from Exodus 12. In that reading it is interesting to note the communal aspect of the meal. It was meant that families would share in the meal with others, no food was to be left. All of Israel gathered in their homes and ate the meal at the same time. This was a communal remembrance of God's salvation. (Amber Essick – Abingdon Preaching Annual)
It was this feast that Jesus chose as his communal meal for the church, we call it Communion. Paul reminds us that the church is to gather for this meal regularly to remember what Christ has done for us on the Cross. The old remembrance of Passover has now marked the new covenant through the body and blood of Christ.
As we read in John, there was more to the night than just the meal. Jesus, the one they called Lord and Savior, donned the clothes of a servant and stooped to wash their dirty feet. There is so much more in this image than just the God-man stooping before humanity. Amber Essick says it like this, “Not only is the God-person stooping to humanity, but during the feast celebrating freedom from slavery, Jesus takes on the role of a slave in order to teach his disciples a vital lesson about what it means to follow... It is a life of giving up our own way to walk the Christian path together.”
And there we have it again. The concept of following.
And where is Jesus asking us to go? Where is he asking us to follow him? Where does he lead?
Jesus leads us to love. To love one another to the point of becoming our slaves.
If by some way the imagery of Palm Sunday was lost on any of the 12 in that room, now it was clear. Jesus is leading them to love and to serve. For it is through loving and serving that others will know we are Christ's disciples.
Will you follow? Will you love and serve your neighbor? Will you go where Jesus calls you?
That is what you will need to answer over the next few days as Easter approaches.
Let us Pray.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Day and Night Part 2
Day and Night, Part 2
John 4:1-26
He was hot and tired. He was hungry and thirsty. He had been walking for hours. This first leg of the trip covered some 25 miles as the crow flies; but, walking through the desert mountains that 25 miles seem to stretch into 50. So often we think of Jesus as a super human -
"Faster than a speeding bullet! More powerful than a locomotive! Able to leap tall buildings at a single bound!"
"Look! Up in the sky!"
"It's a bird!"
"It's a plane!"
"It's SUPER JESUS"
It's hard for us to remember at times that Jesus was fully human. He would tire. He would thirst. He would hunger. Jesus was like any one of us in that respect. This day was no different.
I wonder if he had thought much about his conversation with Nicodemus just days before. A leader, a teacher, a ruler of the Jews, one who truly should have understood who Jesus was and why he was there yet he went back to the Pharisees still confused, still trying to understand, still in the dark. Jesus had talked to these types many times but Nicodemus was different. He truly was searching.
Now here he sits, waiting by the well for someone to come and draw the water that he may have a drink. His disciples had left him alone as they went to gather and buy food in Sychar. So, here Jesus sits: tired, thirsty, and alone.
I wonder if Jesus knew she would be coming at this time to this place.
Had he seen her coming at noon when he passed through this part of Samaria on other trips, wondering why she didn't come with the other women in the morning and afternoon?
Did he have divine knowledge that she would be there?
Did it just happen that they both ended up at the well together at noon?
We don't know, but what we find as a result of their encounter is the longest recorded conversation between Jesus and anyone else. You might expect it to be with one of the elite. Maybe with a Roman official as the ruler of the territory. You might expect Jesus' long conversation to be with another Pharisee or a Sadducee, the religious elite of the Jewish circles. Maybe even a Priest of the Samaritan Temple at Mt. Gerrazim. But a woman? A Samaritan Woman? A culturally suspect Samaritan Woman? A sinner that has even been ostracized by the other Samaritan Women?
Surly Jesus had more self respect that to spend the heat of the afternoon in deep theological conversation with a person like that!
Yet, that is precisely whom Jesus spends his time with.
Notice, in Chapter 3 it is Nicodemus who engages Jesus is conversation. Not so here in Chapter 4, it is Jesus that initiates the conversation. In chapter 3 the conversation takes place at night; here it takes place in the day. With Nicodemus it takes place hidden from others and few knew of the conversation. In fact, there is no mention of Nic at Night even leaving much less bearing witness to how Jesus' conversation had strangely warmed him, or impacted him in any way. But here, this un-named, sinful woman has a lengthy conversation with Jesus and leaves to tell others all about what has happened and who this man of God is - the Messiah, the one who bears living water, the one who is the very light of the world.
Now may I ask? which one do you wish to be compared too? The sinful outcast that has given more than taken, been hurt more than helped, been rejected rather than received
OR
The insider that has been educated in the finest schools, dressed in the finest clothes, and received in the finest homes?
The one that others talk about
OR
The one that people hope to talk to?
The one that everyone knows the business of but few know the name
OR
The one that everyone wants to support and even vote for in public office?
I dare say most of us would prefer to be the later rather than the former. We don't want to be the sinner of the community, we want to be the saint. We don't want to be the outcast, we want to be accepted and loved by everyone. We don't want to be a nobody, we want to be a somebody. I know I do.
Yet, time and again we see Jesus warning the somebodies and caring for the nobodies. Time and again we see the somebodies are in the dark as through it were the dead of night and the nobodies are the ones in the light as though it were noon and the sun was high in a cloudless sky.
How is it that those of us who gain an education, live the good life, and play by the rules are the ones that so often have the hardest struggles with our faith? Why do we find ourselves in the dark while "those people" seem to always bask in the light?
Maybe it's because we have established our rules and set up our standards and accepted our "best life" and called it living in the blessings of God when in fact the standards of our world are far from the standards of God.
Everywhere Jesus went he upset the apple cart.
The world was looking for a Messiah that would be a military ruler and king, what they got was a teacher, a rabbi, and one that didn't even follow all their interpretations of the law.
The world said that there was a Social Order that all were to follow. Jew's didn't associate with Samaritans, Romans were superior to Greeks, Men were superior to Women. The healthy were superior to the sick. The wealthy were privileged and the poor were being punished and on and on and on the order goes. Yet Jesus came in and told stories where the Samaritans were the heros. Jesus came and healed the sick. Jesus blessed the poor. Jesus taught women, Greeks, Romans, and Jews without prejudice.
The world said that life ended with sin and death. Jesus defeated the power of sin and death.
Each of those things that were true then are also relevant and true today.
So often we look for Jesus to give us our blessings rather than being a blessing to others
So often we try to fit Jesus into our mold
So often, instead of being like Jesus we find ourselves trying to make Jesus like us.
And that is the crucial difference we find between Nicodemus and the woman at the well.
Nicodemus wouldn't accept the waters he was offered by Jesus because it didn't make sense yet.
The woman at the well received the living waters and let them overflow into a blessing for others.
Eventually Nicodemus, the cultural and religious insider, would receive that water too, but by then an entire community had been changed because a socially unacceptable woman dared to believe on faith and let it change her life.
What would happen if you too went out and shared how Jesus had made a difference in your life? Last week I challenged you to look at where you have been hiding in the dark and then pray about how you are to step out into the light.
This week I want you to do more than just step out into the light. This week I want you to find one place where you can let that light reflect out for the world to see. I want you to let God's light shine forth in the darkness. I want you to let the living waters overflow that you may be a blessing to others.
John 4:1-26
He was hot and tired. He was hungry and thirsty. He had been walking for hours. This first leg of the trip covered some 25 miles as the crow flies; but, walking through the desert mountains that 25 miles seem to stretch into 50. So often we think of Jesus as a super human -
"Faster than a speeding bullet! More powerful than a locomotive! Able to leap tall buildings at a single bound!"
"Look! Up in the sky!"
"It's a bird!"
"It's a plane!"
"It's SUPER JESUS"
It's hard for us to remember at times that Jesus was fully human. He would tire. He would thirst. He would hunger. Jesus was like any one of us in that respect. This day was no different.
I wonder if he had thought much about his conversation with Nicodemus just days before. A leader, a teacher, a ruler of the Jews, one who truly should have understood who Jesus was and why he was there yet he went back to the Pharisees still confused, still trying to understand, still in the dark. Jesus had talked to these types many times but Nicodemus was different. He truly was searching.
Now here he sits, waiting by the well for someone to come and draw the water that he may have a drink. His disciples had left him alone as they went to gather and buy food in Sychar. So, here Jesus sits: tired, thirsty, and alone.
I wonder if Jesus knew she would be coming at this time to this place.
Had he seen her coming at noon when he passed through this part of Samaria on other trips, wondering why she didn't come with the other women in the morning and afternoon?
Did he have divine knowledge that she would be there?
Did it just happen that they both ended up at the well together at noon?
We don't know, but what we find as a result of their encounter is the longest recorded conversation between Jesus and anyone else. You might expect it to be with one of the elite. Maybe with a Roman official as the ruler of the territory. You might expect Jesus' long conversation to be with another Pharisee or a Sadducee, the religious elite of the Jewish circles. Maybe even a Priest of the Samaritan Temple at Mt. Gerrazim. But a woman? A Samaritan Woman? A culturally suspect Samaritan Woman? A sinner that has even been ostracized by the other Samaritan Women?
Surly Jesus had more self respect that to spend the heat of the afternoon in deep theological conversation with a person like that!
Yet, that is precisely whom Jesus spends his time with.
Notice, in Chapter 3 it is Nicodemus who engages Jesus is conversation. Not so here in Chapter 4, it is Jesus that initiates the conversation. In chapter 3 the conversation takes place at night; here it takes place in the day. With Nicodemus it takes place hidden from others and few knew of the conversation. In fact, there is no mention of Nic at Night even leaving much less bearing witness to how Jesus' conversation had strangely warmed him, or impacted him in any way. But here, this un-named, sinful woman has a lengthy conversation with Jesus and leaves to tell others all about what has happened and who this man of God is - the Messiah, the one who bears living water, the one who is the very light of the world.
Now may I ask? which one do you wish to be compared too? The sinful outcast that has given more than taken, been hurt more than helped, been rejected rather than received
OR
The insider that has been educated in the finest schools, dressed in the finest clothes, and received in the finest homes?
The one that others talk about
OR
The one that people hope to talk to?
The one that everyone knows the business of but few know the name
OR
The one that everyone wants to support and even vote for in public office?
I dare say most of us would prefer to be the later rather than the former. We don't want to be the sinner of the community, we want to be the saint. We don't want to be the outcast, we want to be accepted and loved by everyone. We don't want to be a nobody, we want to be a somebody. I know I do.
Yet, time and again we see Jesus warning the somebodies and caring for the nobodies. Time and again we see the somebodies are in the dark as through it were the dead of night and the nobodies are the ones in the light as though it were noon and the sun was high in a cloudless sky.
How is it that those of us who gain an education, live the good life, and play by the rules are the ones that so often have the hardest struggles with our faith? Why do we find ourselves in the dark while "those people" seem to always bask in the light?
Maybe it's because we have established our rules and set up our standards and accepted our "best life" and called it living in the blessings of God when in fact the standards of our world are far from the standards of God.
Everywhere Jesus went he upset the apple cart.
The world was looking for a Messiah that would be a military ruler and king, what they got was a teacher, a rabbi, and one that didn't even follow all their interpretations of the law.
The world said that there was a Social Order that all were to follow. Jew's didn't associate with Samaritans, Romans were superior to Greeks, Men were superior to Women. The healthy were superior to the sick. The wealthy were privileged and the poor were being punished and on and on and on the order goes. Yet Jesus came in and told stories where the Samaritans were the heros. Jesus came and healed the sick. Jesus blessed the poor. Jesus taught women, Greeks, Romans, and Jews without prejudice.
The world said that life ended with sin and death. Jesus defeated the power of sin and death.
Each of those things that were true then are also relevant and true today.
So often we look for Jesus to give us our blessings rather than being a blessing to others
So often we try to fit Jesus into our mold
So often, instead of being like Jesus we find ourselves trying to make Jesus like us.
And that is the crucial difference we find between Nicodemus and the woman at the well.
Nicodemus wouldn't accept the waters he was offered by Jesus because it didn't make sense yet.
The woman at the well received the living waters and let them overflow into a blessing for others.
Eventually Nicodemus, the cultural and religious insider, would receive that water too, but by then an entire community had been changed because a socially unacceptable woman dared to believe on faith and let it change her life.
What would happen if you too went out and shared how Jesus had made a difference in your life? Last week I challenged you to look at where you have been hiding in the dark and then pray about how you are to step out into the light.
This week I want you to do more than just step out into the light. This week I want you to find one place where you can let that light reflect out for the world to see. I want you to let God's light shine forth in the darkness. I want you to let the living waters overflow that you may be a blessing to others.
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