From the pastor’s desk…
“Grace without truth pampers, confuses, and even deceives. Truth without grace cuts, wounds, and destroys.” These words come from W. P. Campbell in his book Turning Controversy into Church Ministry. When Jesus calls us to obedient holy living, he gives us his word, the words of the Bible, to teach us and guide us in becoming more like him. When Jesus calls us to walk by the Spirit, he gives us the great gift of grace, unmerited favor, to enable us to know more and more about God’s love for us and for the world. We learn from our sacred text that there are none righteous; we all fall short of the glory of God. We also learn that we are called to a holy life that needs the scripture to determine what that life may look like. Grace and truth are inseparable in this journey.
When Jesus was asked about the woman caught in adultery in John 8, he did not call her names, demean her in any way, but instead the turned to the crowd who wanted to stone her to death and challenged them: “If any of you are without sin, cast the first stone.” After the crowd dispersed, Jesus asked the woman if there was anyone left who condemned her… “no one, sir.” This is God’s immense grace!
Then Jesus turns to the truth of scripture with these words: “Neither do I condemn you. Go now and leave your life of sin.” Grace…neither do I condemn you, and truth…leave your life of sin. Jesus extends a call to repentance in this story. His very first sermon was a call to repentance (Matt. 4:17). Jesus did not hide the truth, but he elevated the truth to a greater degree for the holy life. Jesus did not exclude grace, but he embraced sinners and called them to new life.
Grace and truth. To have one without the other is destructive and divisive. Perhaps this is where the Presbyterian Church USA has failed. We are willing to offer grace without truth on one side, and truth without grace on the other. We have ignored the truth of scripture, but we have also failed to embrace those whom God loves. We have forgotten to seek the goal of becoming like Jesus Christ who was and is filled with grace and truth (John 1:14), and furthermore, from his fullness we have all received grace upon grace (John 1:16). “Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” (John 1:17). I believe we are all called to live by God’s grace and truth. This is what leads us to a holy life. The Bible offers us the means to truth and holy living. The Bible also shows us the grace given us to love God and one another and to enable us to live by God’s truth. Grace does not call one to compromise the truth, but the truth does not communicate without grace. “Grace without truth pampers, confuses, and even deceives. Truth without grace cuts, wounds, and destroys.” We are called to both truth and grace. Therefore we cannot use truth to wound others, nor can we use grace in such a way that deceives.
This is what I have learned through W.P. Campbell. It is what I pray for you and for myself and for the Church…grace and truth. I am reminded of two encouraging words from the apostle Paul: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly” (Col. 3:16) and “Grace be with you” (Col. 4:18). Ω
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Easter Sermon 2
Sermon # 1039
May 1, 2011
John 20:19-31
Dr. Ed Pettus
“Post Resurrection”
I discovered in some reading this week that this Sunday has sometimes been called Low Sunday. The Sunday following Easter traditionally has the lowest attendance and in many churches the minister takes this Sunday off to recuperate from the busy Easter festivities. Easter is such a huge day, lots of people, extra music, new dresses, Easter egg hunts, and then, when it’s all over there is the feel that the party is over. The good news is that the party is just getting started! This is not Low Sunday; this is the second Sunday of Easter. This is a continuation of what we started last Sunday! Christ is risen, his body is not in the tomb, and the joyous celebration rolls on.
We are a post-resurrection people. Every Sunday is a resurrection celebration in the sense that the very reason we are meeting on Sunday instead of Saturday is because we celebrate the resurrection on this day, the Lord’s day. Last Sunday we celebrated the great testimony of Christ’s resurrection from the tomb. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the testimony the women brought back from the tomb. It is the testimony the disciples would tell Thomas. This Sunday we continue with the story, the on-going story of resurrection.
In John’s gospel Mary Magdalene had come to the tomb and found that Jesus’ body was no longer there. Mary ran back from the tomb to tell Peter and John that Jesus was gone and they in turn ran back to the tomb to see and when they saw for themselves they returned to their homes. Mary was weeping outside the tomb and looked inside to see. Two angels appeared and asked her why she was weeping – she told them that someone had taken Jesus. She turned around and Jesus appeared to her, but she did not realize it is him. He asked her why she was weeping and during their conversation he speaks her name and she recognizes him. She goes back to the disciples and tells them what had happened.
That evening the disciples gathered together. There is no explanation for their meeting, only that they locked themselves in for fear of the Jews. They probably feared that the Jews might take action against them as well. It is Sunday evening and the disciples are afraid, Mary’s words are still fresh in their ears: “I have seen the Lord.” What do they make of that? What is going on? So they lock the doors and the story just abruptly states: “Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you’” (John 20:19). “Peace be with you.” It is a statement Jesus says three times, peace be with you. They are afraid and only God’s peace could relieve their fears.
Thomas was not among them that night, so they give their testimony to Thomas when they see him again, that Jesus had appeared to them. It is a week later when Thomas is with the disciples that Jesus appears again and Thomas is able to see for himself that Jesus is alive.
Thomas is the “seeing is believing” disciple. He was skeptical of the testimony that the disciples gave. He could not believe this wild story. He needed to touch and see and smell and hear before he would believe. We live in a world and culture that approaches Jesus Christ with great skepticism. Our culture lives without belief because Jesus’ presence today cannot be proven through sensory perceptions. Jesus is thus largely dismissed because he does not fit any objective criteria for existence. Every time around Easter several programs appear on television asking if Jesus was real or who Jesus was or something about Jesus that seeks to refute the biblical narrative.
One of the joyous celebrations of Easter that continues for us is in telling the story. We get to celebrate Easter, not just on Sundays, but with every opportunity to give testimony about Jesus. That is what we have – the testimony – given to us that we may come to believe. Jesus does not fit any provable theory or method. Jesus confounds the wise. "The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile," says Paul in 1 Corinthians (3:20). We run a great risk when we trust in only what we can see and prove. Yet, that is how we live because we think that is wise. It is the way we have learned to reason and think about truth. The gospel of John affirms that life does not begin with what we can touch and see and prove, but with the testimony of faith. John writes: “But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name” (20:31).
The world says the Bible is ancient, out of step with the modern world, it has no relevance for living today. The very opposite is our testimony. We begin with the gospel. The world is being called to live up to the standards of the gospel of Christ. What often happens is that the gospel (and by “gospel” I mean the whole of scripture) the gospel is reinterpreted to conform with the world rather than the world conforming to the commandments of Christ.
There is a great battle on going about science and religion, usually fleshed out in the evolution and creation discussion. Barbara Brown Taylor notes the difference between how science and religion know things:
“While both rely on reason and experience, the most obvious difference is that science depends on observation while religion depends on revelation. You ‘go get’ the first kind of knowledge. The second kind is ‘given’ to you” (The Luminous Web, 81).
We go get observations. Revelation is given to us! Take Thomas as an example. It seems that Thomas would not receive that which was given to him - revelation, he could not accept it, could not believe the testimony of those who had seen already. All Thomas could do was “go get” the observations for himself. He had to see and feel the nail scars and the wound in Jesus’ side.
The good news for Thomas, and for us, is that Jesus accepts Thomas’ need to see and feel for himself. Jesus does not reject him for his need to see. Jesus seems to say, “You can come to me seeing or not seeing, just come.” Jesus receives us whether we think like modern day scientists or not. But Jesus does say this to Thomas: “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe" (John 20:29).
Thomas had the tendency to put proof ahead of faith. Thomas did not trust the witness of the other disciples when they told him they had seen the Lord. But we cannot blame him too much. Jesus had been crucified, dead, and buried. How quickly would we have believed anyone who claimed to have seen Jesus alive after that? That is why the celebration of Easter goes on…because the news is so stunning and remarkable that is takes us a life time to celebrate!
We celebrate post resurrection the grand good news that he is risen. Because he is lives we can face tomorrow. Because he lives, we live. We live in him. It is the revelation that goes beyond explanation, it goes beyond scientific understanding, and it goes beyond our ability to control. The Spirit moves in uncalculated, unpredictable ways. The wind of God blows in mysterious ways. There is no routine manner to the breath of God.
That is one thing the disciples quickly learned after the resurrection of Jesus. God works in ways that defy understanding. I wonder how much more of Thomas’ life would depend upon touching and seeing first hand. Would he go on in his life to trust more in the testimony of others? Would he expect others to trust his testimony? That is what we are called to do, trust in this testimony, this word we call the word of God. Jesus calls us to abandon ourselves to this message of resurrection, we need not rely on proof through archeological data. We do not have to prove Jesus was dead and is now alive. Our life is not based upon our ability to prove these things; it is based on the testimony of several witnesses who tell us:
“I have seen the Lord” (John 20:18).
“The Lord has risen indeed” (Luke 24:34).
John concludes today’s gospel reading with these words, “But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name” (20:31). The testimony is written so that we might believe and through believing we may have life. A central focus of the gospel of John is life!
In him was life, and the life was the light of all people. (1:4)
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. (3:16)
The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life. (4.14)
I am the bread of life. (6.48)
I have come that they may have life. (10.10)
I am the way, and the truth, and the life. (14.6)
The testimony of John’s gospel is that life comes through believing and John wrote these words of testimony for the sake of faith, “that you may come to believe”.
Paul indeed had it right: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God-- what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2). Such discernment comes through revelation, through the word of God, through God’s gift and through believing our testimony of scripture.
In 1 John 5:9-13 we read:
If we receive human testimony, the testimony of God is greater; for this is the testimony of God that he has testified to his Son. 10Those who believe in the Son of God have the testimony in their hearts. Those who do not believe in God have made him a liar by not believing in the testimony that God has given concerning his Son. 11And this is the testimony: God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. 13I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.
This is our post resurrection testimony!
“Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe."
Amen.
May 1, 2011
John 20:19-31
Dr. Ed Pettus
“Post Resurrection”
I discovered in some reading this week that this Sunday has sometimes been called Low Sunday. The Sunday following Easter traditionally has the lowest attendance and in many churches the minister takes this Sunday off to recuperate from the busy Easter festivities. Easter is such a huge day, lots of people, extra music, new dresses, Easter egg hunts, and then, when it’s all over there is the feel that the party is over. The good news is that the party is just getting started! This is not Low Sunday; this is the second Sunday of Easter. This is a continuation of what we started last Sunday! Christ is risen, his body is not in the tomb, and the joyous celebration rolls on.
We are a post-resurrection people. Every Sunday is a resurrection celebration in the sense that the very reason we are meeting on Sunday instead of Saturday is because we celebrate the resurrection on this day, the Lord’s day. Last Sunday we celebrated the great testimony of Christ’s resurrection from the tomb. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the testimony the women brought back from the tomb. It is the testimony the disciples would tell Thomas. This Sunday we continue with the story, the on-going story of resurrection.
In John’s gospel Mary Magdalene had come to the tomb and found that Jesus’ body was no longer there. Mary ran back from the tomb to tell Peter and John that Jesus was gone and they in turn ran back to the tomb to see and when they saw for themselves they returned to their homes. Mary was weeping outside the tomb and looked inside to see. Two angels appeared and asked her why she was weeping – she told them that someone had taken Jesus. She turned around and Jesus appeared to her, but she did not realize it is him. He asked her why she was weeping and during their conversation he speaks her name and she recognizes him. She goes back to the disciples and tells them what had happened.
That evening the disciples gathered together. There is no explanation for their meeting, only that they locked themselves in for fear of the Jews. They probably feared that the Jews might take action against them as well. It is Sunday evening and the disciples are afraid, Mary’s words are still fresh in their ears: “I have seen the Lord.” What do they make of that? What is going on? So they lock the doors and the story just abruptly states: “Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you’” (John 20:19). “Peace be with you.” It is a statement Jesus says three times, peace be with you. They are afraid and only God’s peace could relieve their fears.
Thomas was not among them that night, so they give their testimony to Thomas when they see him again, that Jesus had appeared to them. It is a week later when Thomas is with the disciples that Jesus appears again and Thomas is able to see for himself that Jesus is alive.
Thomas is the “seeing is believing” disciple. He was skeptical of the testimony that the disciples gave. He could not believe this wild story. He needed to touch and see and smell and hear before he would believe. We live in a world and culture that approaches Jesus Christ with great skepticism. Our culture lives without belief because Jesus’ presence today cannot be proven through sensory perceptions. Jesus is thus largely dismissed because he does not fit any objective criteria for existence. Every time around Easter several programs appear on television asking if Jesus was real or who Jesus was or something about Jesus that seeks to refute the biblical narrative.
One of the joyous celebrations of Easter that continues for us is in telling the story. We get to celebrate Easter, not just on Sundays, but with every opportunity to give testimony about Jesus. That is what we have – the testimony – given to us that we may come to believe. Jesus does not fit any provable theory or method. Jesus confounds the wise. "The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile," says Paul in 1 Corinthians (3:20). We run a great risk when we trust in only what we can see and prove. Yet, that is how we live because we think that is wise. It is the way we have learned to reason and think about truth. The gospel of John affirms that life does not begin with what we can touch and see and prove, but with the testimony of faith. John writes: “But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name” (20:31).
The world says the Bible is ancient, out of step with the modern world, it has no relevance for living today. The very opposite is our testimony. We begin with the gospel. The world is being called to live up to the standards of the gospel of Christ. What often happens is that the gospel (and by “gospel” I mean the whole of scripture) the gospel is reinterpreted to conform with the world rather than the world conforming to the commandments of Christ.
There is a great battle on going about science and religion, usually fleshed out in the evolution and creation discussion. Barbara Brown Taylor notes the difference between how science and religion know things:
“While both rely on reason and experience, the most obvious difference is that science depends on observation while religion depends on revelation. You ‘go get’ the first kind of knowledge. The second kind is ‘given’ to you” (The Luminous Web, 81).
We go get observations. Revelation is given to us! Take Thomas as an example. It seems that Thomas would not receive that which was given to him - revelation, he could not accept it, could not believe the testimony of those who had seen already. All Thomas could do was “go get” the observations for himself. He had to see and feel the nail scars and the wound in Jesus’ side.
The good news for Thomas, and for us, is that Jesus accepts Thomas’ need to see and feel for himself. Jesus does not reject him for his need to see. Jesus seems to say, “You can come to me seeing or not seeing, just come.” Jesus receives us whether we think like modern day scientists or not. But Jesus does say this to Thomas: “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe" (John 20:29).
Thomas had the tendency to put proof ahead of faith. Thomas did not trust the witness of the other disciples when they told him they had seen the Lord. But we cannot blame him too much. Jesus had been crucified, dead, and buried. How quickly would we have believed anyone who claimed to have seen Jesus alive after that? That is why the celebration of Easter goes on…because the news is so stunning and remarkable that is takes us a life time to celebrate!
We celebrate post resurrection the grand good news that he is risen. Because he is lives we can face tomorrow. Because he lives, we live. We live in him. It is the revelation that goes beyond explanation, it goes beyond scientific understanding, and it goes beyond our ability to control. The Spirit moves in uncalculated, unpredictable ways. The wind of God blows in mysterious ways. There is no routine manner to the breath of God.
That is one thing the disciples quickly learned after the resurrection of Jesus. God works in ways that defy understanding. I wonder how much more of Thomas’ life would depend upon touching and seeing first hand. Would he go on in his life to trust more in the testimony of others? Would he expect others to trust his testimony? That is what we are called to do, trust in this testimony, this word we call the word of God. Jesus calls us to abandon ourselves to this message of resurrection, we need not rely on proof through archeological data. We do not have to prove Jesus was dead and is now alive. Our life is not based upon our ability to prove these things; it is based on the testimony of several witnesses who tell us:
“I have seen the Lord” (John 20:18).
“The Lord has risen indeed” (Luke 24:34).
John concludes today’s gospel reading with these words, “But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name” (20:31). The testimony is written so that we might believe and through believing we may have life. A central focus of the gospel of John is life!
In him was life, and the life was the light of all people. (1:4)
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. (3:16)
The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life. (4.14)
I am the bread of life. (6.48)
I have come that they may have life. (10.10)
I am the way, and the truth, and the life. (14.6)
The testimony of John’s gospel is that life comes through believing and John wrote these words of testimony for the sake of faith, “that you may come to believe”.
Paul indeed had it right: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God-- what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2). Such discernment comes through revelation, through the word of God, through God’s gift and through believing our testimony of scripture.
In 1 John 5:9-13 we read:
If we receive human testimony, the testimony of God is greater; for this is the testimony of God that he has testified to his Son. 10Those who believe in the Son of God have the testimony in their hearts. Those who do not believe in God have made him a liar by not believing in the testimony that God has given concerning his Son. 11And this is the testimony: God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. 13I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.
This is our post resurrection testimony!
“Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe."
Amen.
Easter Sermon
Sermon # 1038
April 24, 2011
Mark 16:1-8
Dr. Ed Pettus
“He Has Been Raised!”
He has been raised! With those words the world was changed. At the time those words probably brought mixed feelings and thoughts of fear and wonder, awe and excitement, surprise and confusion. It would be difficult to imagine – one day Jesus is dead and laid in a borrowed tomb and on the third day his body is gone. He has been raised! Good news.
Today we celebrate and give thanks for the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Imagine what it must have been like to expect death but receive life. Imagine what it must have been like to expect a body and receive a message… “he has been raised, he is not here”. The women had come to care for the body of Jesus because, to them, it still mattered. It was important that Jesus receive the burial preparation that could not be given before his placement in the tomb. The Sabbath was over now and they believed it important that proper respect and proper care be given to the dead. So they came to the tomb, but he was gone. “Look, there is the place they laid him”. It was a bare place, no body, only a young man dressed in white telling the women: “he is not here”.
Marks says that terror and amazement seized the women. I imagine we too would have been seized by the same feelings. Terror is not our emotion today as we celebrate the empty tomb. Hopefully we are still amazed. Hopefully the empty tomb leaves us so amazed that, in one respect, we become like those women who left the tomb speechless. That is one of the wonders of this story – the resurrection at first leaves us speechless, because words, mere words cannot do it justice. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is too big for words and all we are left with is the amazement and terror of the empty tomb.
When words are not enough we use symbols. The symbol of the empty tomb says more than words are able. The symbol of the empty cross says more than we can. Today we remember Jesus through the symbols of bread and wine (grape juice!), symbols which say something more to us than words might.
Today we will hear music to help us listen to the message. We will tell the story again in song. Music stirs us to hear in a different way. But there are many ways to hear and see: in music, in words, in springtime, in symbols, in Mark’s testimony of the women at the tomb, even in the women’s silence there is testimony.
Out of the silence we may hear God. From our symbols we might see anew. Our amazement this Easter morning might renew our faith. He is risen; he is not in the tomb and because he has been raised we are alive to God. Jesus lives and because he lives we live to God! Paul writes that all we have to do is confess and believe:
…if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved (Romans 10:9-10).
Today we gather around the table to be nurtured for new life in Christ. Today we listen for God’s word to us in scripture, in preaching, in the sacrament, and in song. It is a great day, a joyous day, an exciting day to celebrate Christ raised from the dead, Christ living today, and to delight in the glad news of the gospel: “Christ is risen!” He is not in the tomb but God has raised him from the dead. May we always be amazed for this is our very life: Jesus Christ – the risen Lord. Amen.
April 24, 2011
Mark 16:1-8
Dr. Ed Pettus
“He Has Been Raised!”
He has been raised! With those words the world was changed. At the time those words probably brought mixed feelings and thoughts of fear and wonder, awe and excitement, surprise and confusion. It would be difficult to imagine – one day Jesus is dead and laid in a borrowed tomb and on the third day his body is gone. He has been raised! Good news.
Today we celebrate and give thanks for the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Imagine what it must have been like to expect death but receive life. Imagine what it must have been like to expect a body and receive a message… “he has been raised, he is not here”. The women had come to care for the body of Jesus because, to them, it still mattered. It was important that Jesus receive the burial preparation that could not be given before his placement in the tomb. The Sabbath was over now and they believed it important that proper respect and proper care be given to the dead. So they came to the tomb, but he was gone. “Look, there is the place they laid him”. It was a bare place, no body, only a young man dressed in white telling the women: “he is not here”.
Marks says that terror and amazement seized the women. I imagine we too would have been seized by the same feelings. Terror is not our emotion today as we celebrate the empty tomb. Hopefully we are still amazed. Hopefully the empty tomb leaves us so amazed that, in one respect, we become like those women who left the tomb speechless. That is one of the wonders of this story – the resurrection at first leaves us speechless, because words, mere words cannot do it justice. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is too big for words and all we are left with is the amazement and terror of the empty tomb.
When words are not enough we use symbols. The symbol of the empty tomb says more than words are able. The symbol of the empty cross says more than we can. Today we remember Jesus through the symbols of bread and wine (grape juice!), symbols which say something more to us than words might.
Today we will hear music to help us listen to the message. We will tell the story again in song. Music stirs us to hear in a different way. But there are many ways to hear and see: in music, in words, in springtime, in symbols, in Mark’s testimony of the women at the tomb, even in the women’s silence there is testimony.
Out of the silence we may hear God. From our symbols we might see anew. Our amazement this Easter morning might renew our faith. He is risen; he is not in the tomb and because he has been raised we are alive to God. Jesus lives and because he lives we live to God! Paul writes that all we have to do is confess and believe:
…if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved (Romans 10:9-10).
Today we gather around the table to be nurtured for new life in Christ. Today we listen for God’s word to us in scripture, in preaching, in the sacrament, and in song. It is a great day, a joyous day, an exciting day to celebrate Christ raised from the dead, Christ living today, and to delight in the glad news of the gospel: “Christ is risen!” He is not in the tomb but God has raised him from the dead. May we always be amazed for this is our very life: Jesus Christ – the risen Lord. Amen.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Sermon
Sermon # 1036
April 17, 2011
Matthew 21:1-11
Dr. Ed Pettus
"Hosanna! Save Us!"
Jesus begins, on what is now known as Palm Sunday, a unique journey into Jerusalem. Proclaimed a king by the chanting crowd, he rides on a donkey, a humble king, and a king who will not be crowned until the soldiers place a crown of thorns on his head. This Palm Sunday entrance moves us into the suffering of the King of kings, the Passion of Jesus Christ. Jesus enters Jerusalem to bring his message of the kingdom, and not only by the words he will speak, but by the very manner in which he arrives in the city.
Actually, it may not have been much of a scene, a few people putting their cloaks along the road and cutting down branches when the cloaks ran out. The Romans may not have thought much of it at the time, just a guy riding into town on a donkey. He draws something of a crowd, but nothing that will appear to get out of hand - nothing the Romans could not handle. After all, this was not the first person to ride into Jerusalem with an entourage.
It could not have been all that interesting from the point of view of those outside the faithful who praised Jesus. After all, he was not riding in on a fine steed sitting in a finely adorned saddle with jewels and other animals carrying his riches. He is just a guy on a donkey with a bunch of rag tag people putting down their cloaks and some branches.
On the other hand, it was at least a big enough event to get the town buzzing over who this guy was. “Who is this person?” Some probably wondered, "Who does this guy think he is?"
That question is just as important today, "who is this?" Who do we say Jesus is? Is Jesus a king? Is Jesus our king? And if Jesus is our king, do we live as if we believe it to be true? What does it mean to be a king?
We don't live with the concept of kingship, with a concept of royalty that warrants the red carpet treatment, or even the cloak and branch treatment. The closest we get to that is our fascination with the royal family in England or in other countries. For us, in the modern west, Jesus would have to come in as a President, or at least a presidential hopeful. The people in biblical times hoped he would bring some kind of new rule. They hoped his prophetic voice would build a new kingdom where the Romans would have no more power. So they shouted, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!"
We hope for no less, we pray each Sunday, "thy kingdom come!" But we struggle with what the kingdom looks like. Many people so integrate their modern political views with Jesus that it is sometimes difficult to tell what the kingdom of God will look like. Some seek to bring the kingdom through established political parties or through social justice issues alone. Too often we are as narrow in our vision for the kingdom of God as those who thought Jesus would overthrow Roman rule. We limit our view rather than opening ourselves to the radical message of the gospel. We are not much different than those who walked with Jesus on the day that he rode into Jerusalem.
So, who is Jesus? It was the question of the day as Jesus rode in with cloaks and branches marking the way. We know something of his kingship from our look at the scriptures, even from this short story of Jesus' entrance into Jerusalem.
It is, according to Matthew, a fulfillment of prophecy, Zechariah 9:9, "Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey." They shout, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Hosanna in the highest!"
The are proclaiming in those words, “Hail to the king.” Hosanna originally meant "O save us!" Like many words, hosanna takes on new meaning through time and becomes a cry of praise. Praise to the king. Except they did not say "king," they said, "Son of David, blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord." And in verse eleven they say that Jesus is a prophet from Nazareth. So Matthew has to help us see that Jesus is the one Zechariah spoke of, the king who comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey.
Who is this? He doesn't come riding a white horse with sword in hand. Who do we say Jesus is? Palm branches remind us that those who followed him on that day believed him to be a king. We have the benefit of reading other scripture that proclaims Jesus the King of kings and Lord of lords.
How would we answer the question? Who is this? What do we tell others about this Jesus? My most vivid image of a king is King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table who would give their lives for the king. I remember movies that depicted the loyalty and obedience of those who fought for the king and gave their lives in his service. But Jesus is not like any other king for he comes to Jerusalem in humility.
Jesus is the king who comes to Jerusalem in humility knowing that he will suffer and die. He will suffer and die for us. The king gives his life for the subjects, so that we might be saved. It is not at all like the image I remember of the Knights of the Round Table who would give their lives for the king, but here, the king is giving his life so that we might live. "Hosanna!" Hosanna to this king who brings salvation to us through his suffering and death on the cross. This ride into Jerusalem marks the beginning of his final week before the cross. Yes, he is the king, but on Friday he will be crowned with thorns, nailed to a cross, and placed in a tomb.
Who is this? This is the king who saves us, hosanna. This is the king who is willing to give his life for us. This is the king who seeks a relationship with his people, not just a relationship of exalted king and humble servants, but one of a humble king who gives of himself that we might be saved. The king suffers for us. Jesus rode into Jerusalem knowing he would suffer and die. He told the disciples this would happen. He knew, and he still rode in, humble, obedient.
The theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer, while imprisoned by Hitler's regime, said: “God allows himself to be edged out of the world and onto the cross and that is the way, the only way, in which God can be with us and help us...Only a suffering God can help.”
This is how Jesus comes, as the One willing to suffer for us. Our tendency is to resist the humbled way that leads to suffering – but Jesus embraced it. It is what enables Jesus to embrace us and our suffering and in turn we are able to embrace his suffering. As Paul writes: “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead” (Phil. 3:10-11).
Jesus rides into our lives, humble and seeking to save. Jesus rides into our church, humble and seeking those who would follow. What will he find? Praise? Questions of who he is? Will he find disciples? Admirers? Will he find a humble people? A people shouting, “Hosanna! Save us!”?
Jesus is our king because he has been faithful even unto death. This week we look to that death, the news that is painful and hard to look upon. But we must have death before resurrection. We must have Good Friday before there can be an Easter Sunday. Jesus rides into Jerusalem to signify that the suffering servant, the humble king is willing to give his life for us. This week is the most important week of our lives. This week, these final days in Jesus’ life, we reflect and learn more about this king who lived in fidelity, obedience, and love as our king. Who is this? This is Jesus Christ to whom we shout with those along the road: “Hosanna! Save us!” Amen.
April 17, 2011
Matthew 21:1-11
Dr. Ed Pettus
"Hosanna! Save Us!"
Jesus begins, on what is now known as Palm Sunday, a unique journey into Jerusalem. Proclaimed a king by the chanting crowd, he rides on a donkey, a humble king, and a king who will not be crowned until the soldiers place a crown of thorns on his head. This Palm Sunday entrance moves us into the suffering of the King of kings, the Passion of Jesus Christ. Jesus enters Jerusalem to bring his message of the kingdom, and not only by the words he will speak, but by the very manner in which he arrives in the city.
Actually, it may not have been much of a scene, a few people putting their cloaks along the road and cutting down branches when the cloaks ran out. The Romans may not have thought much of it at the time, just a guy riding into town on a donkey. He draws something of a crowd, but nothing that will appear to get out of hand - nothing the Romans could not handle. After all, this was not the first person to ride into Jerusalem with an entourage.
It could not have been all that interesting from the point of view of those outside the faithful who praised Jesus. After all, he was not riding in on a fine steed sitting in a finely adorned saddle with jewels and other animals carrying his riches. He is just a guy on a donkey with a bunch of rag tag people putting down their cloaks and some branches.
On the other hand, it was at least a big enough event to get the town buzzing over who this guy was. “Who is this person?” Some probably wondered, "Who does this guy think he is?"
That question is just as important today, "who is this?" Who do we say Jesus is? Is Jesus a king? Is Jesus our king? And if Jesus is our king, do we live as if we believe it to be true? What does it mean to be a king?
We don't live with the concept of kingship, with a concept of royalty that warrants the red carpet treatment, or even the cloak and branch treatment. The closest we get to that is our fascination with the royal family in England or in other countries. For us, in the modern west, Jesus would have to come in as a President, or at least a presidential hopeful. The people in biblical times hoped he would bring some kind of new rule. They hoped his prophetic voice would build a new kingdom where the Romans would have no more power. So they shouted, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!"
We hope for no less, we pray each Sunday, "thy kingdom come!" But we struggle with what the kingdom looks like. Many people so integrate their modern political views with Jesus that it is sometimes difficult to tell what the kingdom of God will look like. Some seek to bring the kingdom through established political parties or through social justice issues alone. Too often we are as narrow in our vision for the kingdom of God as those who thought Jesus would overthrow Roman rule. We limit our view rather than opening ourselves to the radical message of the gospel. We are not much different than those who walked with Jesus on the day that he rode into Jerusalem.
So, who is Jesus? It was the question of the day as Jesus rode in with cloaks and branches marking the way. We know something of his kingship from our look at the scriptures, even from this short story of Jesus' entrance into Jerusalem.
It is, according to Matthew, a fulfillment of prophecy, Zechariah 9:9, "Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey." They shout, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Hosanna in the highest!"
The are proclaiming in those words, “Hail to the king.” Hosanna originally meant "O save us!" Like many words, hosanna takes on new meaning through time and becomes a cry of praise. Praise to the king. Except they did not say "king," they said, "Son of David, blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord." And in verse eleven they say that Jesus is a prophet from Nazareth. So Matthew has to help us see that Jesus is the one Zechariah spoke of, the king who comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey.
Who is this? He doesn't come riding a white horse with sword in hand. Who do we say Jesus is? Palm branches remind us that those who followed him on that day believed him to be a king. We have the benefit of reading other scripture that proclaims Jesus the King of kings and Lord of lords.
How would we answer the question? Who is this? What do we tell others about this Jesus? My most vivid image of a king is King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table who would give their lives for the king. I remember movies that depicted the loyalty and obedience of those who fought for the king and gave their lives in his service. But Jesus is not like any other king for he comes to Jerusalem in humility.
Jesus is the king who comes to Jerusalem in humility knowing that he will suffer and die. He will suffer and die for us. The king gives his life for the subjects, so that we might be saved. It is not at all like the image I remember of the Knights of the Round Table who would give their lives for the king, but here, the king is giving his life so that we might live. "Hosanna!" Hosanna to this king who brings salvation to us through his suffering and death on the cross. This ride into Jerusalem marks the beginning of his final week before the cross. Yes, he is the king, but on Friday he will be crowned with thorns, nailed to a cross, and placed in a tomb.
Who is this? This is the king who saves us, hosanna. This is the king who is willing to give his life for us. This is the king who seeks a relationship with his people, not just a relationship of exalted king and humble servants, but one of a humble king who gives of himself that we might be saved. The king suffers for us. Jesus rode into Jerusalem knowing he would suffer and die. He told the disciples this would happen. He knew, and he still rode in, humble, obedient.
The theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer, while imprisoned by Hitler's regime, said: “God allows himself to be edged out of the world and onto the cross and that is the way, the only way, in which God can be with us and help us...Only a suffering God can help.”
This is how Jesus comes, as the One willing to suffer for us. Our tendency is to resist the humbled way that leads to suffering – but Jesus embraced it. It is what enables Jesus to embrace us and our suffering and in turn we are able to embrace his suffering. As Paul writes: “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead” (Phil. 3:10-11).
Jesus rides into our lives, humble and seeking to save. Jesus rides into our church, humble and seeking those who would follow. What will he find? Praise? Questions of who he is? Will he find disciples? Admirers? Will he find a humble people? A people shouting, “Hosanna! Save us!”?
Jesus is our king because he has been faithful even unto death. This week we look to that death, the news that is painful and hard to look upon. But we must have death before resurrection. We must have Good Friday before there can be an Easter Sunday. Jesus rides into Jerusalem to signify that the suffering servant, the humble king is willing to give his life for us. This week is the most important week of our lives. This week, these final days in Jesus’ life, we reflect and learn more about this king who lived in fidelity, obedience, and love as our king. Who is this? This is Jesus Christ to whom we shout with those along the road: “Hosanna! Save us!” Amen.
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Newsletter - April (Amendment 10-A)
The following was my latest article for our church newsletter:
From the Pastor’s Desk…
Our denomination (PCUSA) is currently voting throughout the Presbyteries of the United States. The PCUSA consists of 173 Presbyteries and we are a part of the Presbytery of West Virginia. We are voting on several changes to our constitution; the two primary issues deciding on ordination standards for Ministers, Elders, and Deacons, and the other change deals with our form of government section of the Book of Order. I realize that these issues do not necessarily affect church members directly and the concern over them may be more important to some than others. But, I think these issues do matter to everyone. The hot button topic revolves around allowing the ordination of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) persons to offices in the church. There are many complex factors playing into this issue, not the least being the authority and interpretation of scripture. The PCUSA has debated this particular issue since 1978 and this will be our sixth time voting on changing the standard. The current standard holds all persons to particular standards of conduct in singleness or in marriage between a man and a woman. Here is the current Book of Order reference:
G-6.0106b “b. Those who are called to office in the church are to lead a life in obedience to Scripture and in conformity to the historic confessional standards of the church. Among these standards is the requirement to live either in fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman (W-4.9001), or chastity in singleness. Persons refusing to repent of any self-acknowledged practice which the confessions call sin shall not be ordained and/or installed as deacons, elders, or ministers of the Word and Sacrament.
If the denomination votes to change the standard, the Book of Order will read:
Standards for ordained service reflect the church’s desire to submit joyfully to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in all aspects of life (G-1.0000). The governing body responsible for ordination and/or installation (G.14.0240; G-14.0450) shall examine each candidate’s calling, gifts, preparation, and suitability for the responsibilities of office. The examination shall include, but not be limited to, a determination of the candidate’s ability and commitment to fulfill all requirements as expressed in the constitutional questions for ordination and installation (W-4.4003). Governing bodies shall be guided by Scripture and the confessions in applying standards to individual candidates.”
Those who advocate keeping the standards we currently have appeal to scripture as traditionally interpreted as its standard. LGBT advocates are seeking participation in offices for the sake of justice and through a different interpretation of scripture. Of course, this simplifies the two sides greatly, but my point here is not to present both sides (that would take much more room than the newsletter gives) as much as to demonstrate that there is great division in the PCUSA. Even if the change is approved, such an outcome would be divisive as one side says the church will be healed while the other side says it will divide us even more, perhaps leading many conservatives from the denomination.
I voted, in our Presbytery meeting March 1, to keep the standards we currently have in the Book Order. The Presbytery voted 93-56 in favor of changing the standards. While I have great concern for people on both sides of the issue, I personally cannot set aside my biblical convictions, but I pray for all that we may listen to God’s word and the leading of the Holy Spirit as we seek to discern what God is calling us to do and to be. If the ordination standard is changed it will take effect in the PCUSA July 11, 2011. The session will be studying various positions and responses to this issue in the next three months. If you are interested in seeing the material we will be studying, please email me at edhpettus@gmail.com. Let us remember to “speak the truth in love” (Eph. 4:15) and “let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts” (Col. 3:15). Ω
From the Pastor’s Desk…
Our denomination (PCUSA) is currently voting throughout the Presbyteries of the United States. The PCUSA consists of 173 Presbyteries and we are a part of the Presbytery of West Virginia. We are voting on several changes to our constitution; the two primary issues deciding on ordination standards for Ministers, Elders, and Deacons, and the other change deals with our form of government section of the Book of Order. I realize that these issues do not necessarily affect church members directly and the concern over them may be more important to some than others. But, I think these issues do matter to everyone. The hot button topic revolves around allowing the ordination of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) persons to offices in the church. There are many complex factors playing into this issue, not the least being the authority and interpretation of scripture. The PCUSA has debated this particular issue since 1978 and this will be our sixth time voting on changing the standard. The current standard holds all persons to particular standards of conduct in singleness or in marriage between a man and a woman. Here is the current Book of Order reference:
G-6.0106b “b. Those who are called to office in the church are to lead a life in obedience to Scripture and in conformity to the historic confessional standards of the church. Among these standards is the requirement to live either in fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman (W-4.9001), or chastity in singleness. Persons refusing to repent of any self-acknowledged practice which the confessions call sin shall not be ordained and/or installed as deacons, elders, or ministers of the Word and Sacrament.
If the denomination votes to change the standard, the Book of Order will read:
Standards for ordained service reflect the church’s desire to submit joyfully to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in all aspects of life (G-1.0000). The governing body responsible for ordination and/or installation (G.14.0240; G-14.0450) shall examine each candidate’s calling, gifts, preparation, and suitability for the responsibilities of office. The examination shall include, but not be limited to, a determination of the candidate’s ability and commitment to fulfill all requirements as expressed in the constitutional questions for ordination and installation (W-4.4003). Governing bodies shall be guided by Scripture and the confessions in applying standards to individual candidates.”
Those who advocate keeping the standards we currently have appeal to scripture as traditionally interpreted as its standard. LGBT advocates are seeking participation in offices for the sake of justice and through a different interpretation of scripture. Of course, this simplifies the two sides greatly, but my point here is not to present both sides (that would take much more room than the newsletter gives) as much as to demonstrate that there is great division in the PCUSA. Even if the change is approved, such an outcome would be divisive as one side says the church will be healed while the other side says it will divide us even more, perhaps leading many conservatives from the denomination.
I voted, in our Presbytery meeting March 1, to keep the standards we currently have in the Book Order. The Presbytery voted 93-56 in favor of changing the standards. While I have great concern for people on both sides of the issue, I personally cannot set aside my biblical convictions, but I pray for all that we may listen to God’s word and the leading of the Holy Spirit as we seek to discern what God is calling us to do and to be. If the ordination standard is changed it will take effect in the PCUSA July 11, 2011. The session will be studying various positions and responses to this issue in the next three months. If you are interested in seeing the material we will be studying, please email me at edhpettus@gmail.com. Let us remember to “speak the truth in love” (Eph. 4:15) and “let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts” (Col. 3:15). Ω
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Sermon
Sermon # 1034
March 27, 2011
Exodus 17:1-7
John 4:5-15
Dr. Ed Pettus
“A Thirst for Living Water”
Israel spent a lot of time in the proverbial middle of nowhere. Forty years in the wilderness following Moses – following God. The wilderness is a place of threat because the wilderness does not supply the needs for life. The wilderness has no food, no shelter, and in the case of Exodus 17, no water. No water means death to Israel. No water means they have risked everything following Moses out of Egypt. The wilderness is a place of trust where Israel learns to trust God for what they need, but Israel is slow in learning that trust and they question God.
Our text today comes to us during the season of Lent. Lent is a time to reflect on our own wilderness, a wilderness of sin, a wilderness of social and cultural change, a wilderness wherein we, like Israel, may learn to trust God for our life. God has given us water for life, water to sustain us physically and water that quenches all our thirsts in the wilderness of life. Our journey begins with baptism, a journey through the water, just as Israel’s journey began through the waters of the sea. Sometimes our journey leads us to places without water, without resources, without trust.
Our life text intersects with other texts. Jesus meets the Samaritan woman at a well, a place to gather water for life, but Jesus offers her a new kind of water – one she desires so that she will never thirst again. Her thirst runs deep like that of the Israelites in the wilderness, but her thirst is for more than water from a well, but water from a Savior.
I. We thirst for the water God supplies, water for our physical and spiritual well-being.
Exodus 17 presents a story of lack. There is no water to drink and Israel complains: Where will they get water? They complain to Moses, “Give us water to drink.” I guess they thought Moses knew where a well was located. Perhaps they are asking Moses because he stands between them and God. Perhaps they are asking God for water. Moses asks them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?”
It seems like a legitimate request. They are thirsty and they will die without water. Walter Brueggemann writes: “The focus is upon their deep need and upon the way is which the deepest question of faith is connected to the deepest material reality of life” (Inscribing the Text p.137). There is a connection between the material and the spiritual that cannot be severed. The lack of water to drink raises questions of God’s presence. Moses even names the places of Israel’s question of God. He names Massah meaning “test,” and Meribah meaning “find fault.” They lacked water to drink and so they asked: “Is God among us or not?” The absence of water triggered the question of God’s presence. They test God. They find fault with God. They question God’s presence.
Is not that the way it goes with us? I was thinking about the latest natural disaster and the problems of water shortage in Japan. There is always a shortage of water with a natural disaster whether it is drinking water or water to cool a nuclear reactor, water is a key element for life. On occasion we might have a water pipe break and we are told that we should boil our water, but imagine if the water just stopped and all the shelves at the grocery store were empty. When we lack what we need or even what we want, sometimes we question God. We know, as well as Israel knows, that our physical well-being is tied to God’s presence. Without God we will have nothing. With God, we have all we need.
So God tells Moses to take some elders with him and to strike a rock with his staff and water will come out so that the people will be able to drink. God provides them what they need to survive. God provides for us what we need even when the wilderness threatens us with thirst or even death.
II. We thirst for living water, the water Christ gives that enables us to never thirst again.
In another wilderness story Jesus meets a woman at a well and he asks her for water to drink. Jesus is thirsty. She is amazed that a Jew would speak to her, a Samaritan woman – no Jew would speak to the Samaritans because they believed them to be impure. Jesus quickly turns the conversation around and tells the woman - ‘If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, “Give me a drink,” you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water’ (John 4:10).
Now the physical need for water is connected with the spiritual need for living water. Water becomes the metaphor for new life in Christ, as Jesus says, “a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.” Good news has come in the living water, just as good news came for Israel when Moses struck the rock. Water for which we thirst has become the symbol for new life in Christ and the power of God’s Spirit. God’s provision for our thirst is now the sign of life with God in Christ. And the waters of baptism connect us with the God who gives us water for drinking and living water for new life. All our physical and spiritual needs are met and we will never thirst again.
III. We thirst for the living God, Psalm 42:1-2; 63:1-8.
Two other texts add to our word from the Lord: First is Psalm 42:1-2 – “As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.” The true thirst is not for a drink of water, but in the thirst of our soul. The promise is that God will give us the living water that quenches our thirst for God – living water that quenches our thirst. Israel thirsted for water but their thirst would never be satisfied until they tasted of God – trusted in God.
Another Psalm, Psalm 63:1-8 says, “O God, you are my God, I seek you, my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. So I will bless you as long as I live; I will lift up my hands and call on your name. My soul is satisfied as with a rich feast, and my mouth praises you with joyful lips when I think of you on my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night; for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I sing for joy. My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.”
Our thirst for God is like thirsting in a dry and weary land, like a people wandering the wilderness in search of water and like the Samaritan woman who comes to well to get water that sustains life. Our souls are parched and the living water is the only water that can quench our thirst. We look elsewhere – to the world, to work, to entertainment, to riches, we look in all kinds of places to find satisfaction, but none will satisfy. Remember the Rolling Stones song, “I can’t get no satisfaction?” The reason the Rolling Stones could get no satisfaction was because they were looking in all the wrong places. All of our thirsts and hungers and yearnings and desires are, at root, a thirst for God! But we will go everywhere else, we will look to other sources to try and satisfy that thirst…until…until we trust in God. We will look in all the wrong places to quench our thirst until we come to see that God is truly with us and that God is truly giving us living water in Jesus Christ.
IV. Lent is a time to spend in the wilderness opening awareness of our thirsts.
The season of Lent is a perfect time for us to seek the One who satisfies. Through the waters of baptism we are called into the wilderness of Lent. Just as Jesus was called out of the Jordan after his baptism into the wilderness, so we are called from the waters to trust in God – to trust that God will give us abundant water to drink and abundant living water to satisfy.
But, we also hear these words from the prophet Isaiah: Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you that have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. Incline your ear, and come to me; listen, so that you may live. I will make with you an everlasting covenant…Seek the LORD while he may be found, call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake their way, and the unrighteous their thoughts; let them return to the LORD, that he may have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
This is the call for our practice of Lent – Come to the waters; come to the source; come drink and eat; come to God. Let us forsake wickedness and return to the Lord. Let us recognize that our thirst, even our thirst for water, is a thirst for God – a thirst for the living water of Jesus Christ. Amen.
March 27, 2011
Exodus 17:1-7
John 4:5-15
Dr. Ed Pettus
“A Thirst for Living Water”
Israel spent a lot of time in the proverbial middle of nowhere. Forty years in the wilderness following Moses – following God. The wilderness is a place of threat because the wilderness does not supply the needs for life. The wilderness has no food, no shelter, and in the case of Exodus 17, no water. No water means death to Israel. No water means they have risked everything following Moses out of Egypt. The wilderness is a place of trust where Israel learns to trust God for what they need, but Israel is slow in learning that trust and they question God.
Our text today comes to us during the season of Lent. Lent is a time to reflect on our own wilderness, a wilderness of sin, a wilderness of social and cultural change, a wilderness wherein we, like Israel, may learn to trust God for our life. God has given us water for life, water to sustain us physically and water that quenches all our thirsts in the wilderness of life. Our journey begins with baptism, a journey through the water, just as Israel’s journey began through the waters of the sea. Sometimes our journey leads us to places without water, without resources, without trust.
Our life text intersects with other texts. Jesus meets the Samaritan woman at a well, a place to gather water for life, but Jesus offers her a new kind of water – one she desires so that she will never thirst again. Her thirst runs deep like that of the Israelites in the wilderness, but her thirst is for more than water from a well, but water from a Savior.
I. We thirst for the water God supplies, water for our physical and spiritual well-being.
Exodus 17 presents a story of lack. There is no water to drink and Israel complains: Where will they get water? They complain to Moses, “Give us water to drink.” I guess they thought Moses knew where a well was located. Perhaps they are asking Moses because he stands between them and God. Perhaps they are asking God for water. Moses asks them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?”
It seems like a legitimate request. They are thirsty and they will die without water. Walter Brueggemann writes: “The focus is upon their deep need and upon the way is which the deepest question of faith is connected to the deepest material reality of life” (Inscribing the Text p.137). There is a connection between the material and the spiritual that cannot be severed. The lack of water to drink raises questions of God’s presence. Moses even names the places of Israel’s question of God. He names Massah meaning “test,” and Meribah meaning “find fault.” They lacked water to drink and so they asked: “Is God among us or not?” The absence of water triggered the question of God’s presence. They test God. They find fault with God. They question God’s presence.
Is not that the way it goes with us? I was thinking about the latest natural disaster and the problems of water shortage in Japan. There is always a shortage of water with a natural disaster whether it is drinking water or water to cool a nuclear reactor, water is a key element for life. On occasion we might have a water pipe break and we are told that we should boil our water, but imagine if the water just stopped and all the shelves at the grocery store were empty. When we lack what we need or even what we want, sometimes we question God. We know, as well as Israel knows, that our physical well-being is tied to God’s presence. Without God we will have nothing. With God, we have all we need.
So God tells Moses to take some elders with him and to strike a rock with his staff and water will come out so that the people will be able to drink. God provides them what they need to survive. God provides for us what we need even when the wilderness threatens us with thirst or even death.
II. We thirst for living water, the water Christ gives that enables us to never thirst again.
In another wilderness story Jesus meets a woman at a well and he asks her for water to drink. Jesus is thirsty. She is amazed that a Jew would speak to her, a Samaritan woman – no Jew would speak to the Samaritans because they believed them to be impure. Jesus quickly turns the conversation around and tells the woman - ‘If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, “Give me a drink,” you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water’ (John 4:10).
Now the physical need for water is connected with the spiritual need for living water. Water becomes the metaphor for new life in Christ, as Jesus says, “a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.” Good news has come in the living water, just as good news came for Israel when Moses struck the rock. Water for which we thirst has become the symbol for new life in Christ and the power of God’s Spirit. God’s provision for our thirst is now the sign of life with God in Christ. And the waters of baptism connect us with the God who gives us water for drinking and living water for new life. All our physical and spiritual needs are met and we will never thirst again.
III. We thirst for the living God, Psalm 42:1-2; 63:1-8.
Two other texts add to our word from the Lord: First is Psalm 42:1-2 – “As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.” The true thirst is not for a drink of water, but in the thirst of our soul. The promise is that God will give us the living water that quenches our thirst for God – living water that quenches our thirst. Israel thirsted for water but their thirst would never be satisfied until they tasted of God – trusted in God.
Another Psalm, Psalm 63:1-8 says, “O God, you are my God, I seek you, my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. So I will bless you as long as I live; I will lift up my hands and call on your name. My soul is satisfied as with a rich feast, and my mouth praises you with joyful lips when I think of you on my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night; for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I sing for joy. My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.”
Our thirst for God is like thirsting in a dry and weary land, like a people wandering the wilderness in search of water and like the Samaritan woman who comes to well to get water that sustains life. Our souls are parched and the living water is the only water that can quench our thirst. We look elsewhere – to the world, to work, to entertainment, to riches, we look in all kinds of places to find satisfaction, but none will satisfy. Remember the Rolling Stones song, “I can’t get no satisfaction?” The reason the Rolling Stones could get no satisfaction was because they were looking in all the wrong places. All of our thirsts and hungers and yearnings and desires are, at root, a thirst for God! But we will go everywhere else, we will look to other sources to try and satisfy that thirst…until…until we trust in God. We will look in all the wrong places to quench our thirst until we come to see that God is truly with us and that God is truly giving us living water in Jesus Christ.
IV. Lent is a time to spend in the wilderness opening awareness of our thirsts.
The season of Lent is a perfect time for us to seek the One who satisfies. Through the waters of baptism we are called into the wilderness of Lent. Just as Jesus was called out of the Jordan after his baptism into the wilderness, so we are called from the waters to trust in God – to trust that God will give us abundant water to drink and abundant living water to satisfy.
But, we also hear these words from the prophet Isaiah: Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you that have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. Incline your ear, and come to me; listen, so that you may live. I will make with you an everlasting covenant…Seek the LORD while he may be found, call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake their way, and the unrighteous their thoughts; let them return to the LORD, that he may have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
This is the call for our practice of Lent – Come to the waters; come to the source; come drink and eat; come to God. Let us forsake wickedness and return to the Lord. Let us recognize that our thirst, even our thirst for water, is a thirst for God – a thirst for the living water of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Sermon
Sermon # 1033
March 20, 2011
1 Peter 3:18-22
Dr. Ed Pettus
“The New Reality in Our Baptism”
Lent is perhaps the most difficult of church seasons. Granted, there is no shopping to do, no gifts to purchase, no decorations, no cards, no family gatherings like Christmas brings, no big meals to prepare, so in one respect maybe it is not too hard on us. But Lent is difficult for those who take seriously the disciplines of self-reflection, self-examination, repentance and humility. No one gets festive about that!
When we are called to look at our selves, to reflect on our lives, we fear what we might see. It is easier to continue our self-deception than to engage in self-examination. But Lent calls us to examination. This is the message of Lent: “Yet even now, says the Lord, return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; rend your hearts and not your clothing. Return to the Lord, your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and relents from punishing” ~ Joel 2:12-13.
We return to God through examination, fasting, weeping, and mourning – because we see our sinfulness. Our hearts break. But what we come to realize more deeply is the power of God to forgive our sin and to cleanse us of that sin. It is the same power that we know through our baptism. In our baptism we have experienced the forgiveness of sin, the washing away of all that would break our hearts, and the new life and new reality we have in Christ.
The scripture readings for today relate to baptism. The Old Testament reading reminds us of the saving of Noah and those with him, through the waters of the flood. Noah and his family were saved through the waters just as the waters of baptism symbolized our salvation. The Epistle lesson, 1 Peter 3, is something of an odd passage, parts of which we are not sure how to interpret. The overall context of the passage deals with unjust suffering.
Verses 18-22 use Jesus Christ as an example of one who suffered. The passage links the sufferings of Christians to the suffering of Christ through our baptism. In our baptism we share in the suffering, death, and resurrection of Christ. We are also, in our baptism, linked to Noah and the flood, in the gospels, to Jesus in the Jordan, and to Christians everywhere who suffer – because we have all passed through the waters.
Peter, I imagine, intended to comfort the suffering Christians of his day with these words that connect believers to Jesus. We are unfamiliar with the suffering they endured, with persecution and the threat of death. But what if we took this passage as a comfort in the discomfort of Lent, the discomfort of examining our hearts and having sin rear its ugly head? That may entail more suffering for some, but we won’t name names! This passage helps us participate in Lenten disciplines in two ways:
1. It reminds us that our hope lies in remembering the suffering servant, Jesus Christ,
2. It reminds us that in our baptism, we may know the will of God.
Let us look first at the suffering servant. Jesus died on the cross because of our sin. It was not his fault! Not his crime! Instead, Christ died for the ungodly (Romans 5.6). While we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Rom. 5.8)! But it does not end there! Secondly, Jesus is made alive in the spirit. That is, he is raised from the dead. Then, Peter says Jesus journeyed to the prisoners to preach, apparently to those who did not pay much attention to Noah when he gave warning that a flood was coming! This is the part of the text that scholars debate.
Peter draws a comparison between Jesus and Noah, between the past salvation of Noah and the present salvation in Christ. The link is with us, in our baptism. The analogy here is not just a comparison of water, the waters of the flood and the waters of baptism, it is seeing the comparison of salvation for Noah and his family and the salvation of Christians symbolized through baptism. The passage accentuates how baptism moves us from one reality into another.
Noah’s family moved from one world, stained with sin, to a new world that afforded Noah and his family a new beginning for humanity – from an old tired reality to a fresh new reality. Noah floated through the waters to a new life. So too do we move in our baptism from one world into another, from the sin filled world into a new creation given through the resurrection power of God. As one commentator says:
“Entering this new world through baptism alters the believer, for it applies the benefits of Christ’s death and resurrection to us, which results in spiritual transformation. In other words, we see the world differently in baptism – with a clear conscience or to use a biblical metaphor, we regard the world with a transformed mind – because we have, in fact, entered a different world of which the church is the first emerging sign” (24, Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary).
Lent is a time to recognize that in our baptism we have entered into a new world and the benefits of Christ’s death and resurrection result in our spiritual transformation. That is the good news of Lent, when we see the bad news of our sin we know that in our baptism we are washed clean. Lent, while it is a time to reflect on our lives and repent, is a time to also reflect on the reality of our baptism. Lent is a time to decide if we truly believe what our baptism means for us.
If you have seen the movie “The Matrix”, it is something of a science fiction thriller where the main character, Neo, begins to see that there are two realities in his reality. Neo is eventually faced with a decision. Is the reality he has known from birth his true reality or is it another reality he has just discovered? He must decide between "false reality" and "true reality." When he makes that decision, he is transformed and brought into a new community, a new reality.
The season of Lent may become a time for each of us to decide what reality is false and what reality is true. We certainly have options – the way of the world or the way of the kingdom, the way of death or the way of life. Our baptism calls us throughout our lives to make a decision. Do we believe the kingdom of God is at hand? Do we believe the kingdom of this world is our true reality?
In our baptism we are called to choose between life and death, between the ways of the world and the ways of God’s kingdom. In our baptism we celebrate a covenant faith. The covenant and the faith are gifts from God. The salvation we come to know through our baptism is not our own work, but the work of God in Jesus Christ. That is why Peter says that our baptism saves us “through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” God brings us through the waters, just as God brought Noah through the waters. It is the will of God for us to know this salvation in Jesus Christ.
The power in our baptism is God’s power at work to bring us to understand the reality of Christ’s suffering for sins once and for all.
The power of our baptism is God’s power at work to show us the reality of Jesus’ death and resurrection fleshed out in our dying and being raised to new life in Him.
The power of our baptism is God’s power at work to help us examine our lives and our hearts so that we may return to God “with all our heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; tear our hearts and not our clothing. Return to the Lord, our God.”
The power of our baptism is God’s power at work to reveal the good news revealed trough the prophet Joel, “for God is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and relents from punishing.”
The power in our baptism is God’s power at work to reveal that the kingdoms of this world, the ones we can see, are false realities. God’s kingdom is the only true reality.
The power in our baptism is coming alive to us throughout our lives.
Baptism is not revealed only once at the actual moment of baptism, but our baptism constantly calls us back to God to reveal its meaning for our lives. Whether we are baptized as infants or adults does not matter because what we know at the time is not the criteria for an effective baptism. What matters in our baptism is God’s power! Our baptism calls us to realize whose we are, like Woody in the movie “Toy Story”. Woody is a toy that belongs to Andy, a young boy with a room full of toys. Woody is always able to look on the bottom of his boot and see the name “Andy”. He knows to whom he belongs. We too have a name marked through our baptism that tells us to whom we belong. And the constant call in our lives, in Lent and any season is a call to discover and rediscover the meaning of our baptism.
We never stop learning about and growing into our baptism. I remember a conversation with someone who was baptized early in life and had just realized, in a significant way at age 40, what that baptism meant. It does not matter if we are baptized as infants or adults – we are always learning the significance of this sacrament.
During Lent, we are called to reflect on our sinful lives and to repent. We are also called to remember that we are a baptized people, forgiven, washed, being exposed to a new reality, the true reality in the kingdom of God. Let us open ourselves wherever we are in our journey, during this Lenten season, that we may see the power of God at work in us through our baptism and that we may see the new reality in Christ. Amen.
March 20, 2011
1 Peter 3:18-22
Dr. Ed Pettus
“The New Reality in Our Baptism”
Lent is perhaps the most difficult of church seasons. Granted, there is no shopping to do, no gifts to purchase, no decorations, no cards, no family gatherings like Christmas brings, no big meals to prepare, so in one respect maybe it is not too hard on us. But Lent is difficult for those who take seriously the disciplines of self-reflection, self-examination, repentance and humility. No one gets festive about that!
When we are called to look at our selves, to reflect on our lives, we fear what we might see. It is easier to continue our self-deception than to engage in self-examination. But Lent calls us to examination. This is the message of Lent: “Yet even now, says the Lord, return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; rend your hearts and not your clothing. Return to the Lord, your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and relents from punishing” ~ Joel 2:12-13.
We return to God through examination, fasting, weeping, and mourning – because we see our sinfulness. Our hearts break. But what we come to realize more deeply is the power of God to forgive our sin and to cleanse us of that sin. It is the same power that we know through our baptism. In our baptism we have experienced the forgiveness of sin, the washing away of all that would break our hearts, and the new life and new reality we have in Christ.
The scripture readings for today relate to baptism. The Old Testament reading reminds us of the saving of Noah and those with him, through the waters of the flood. Noah and his family were saved through the waters just as the waters of baptism symbolized our salvation. The Epistle lesson, 1 Peter 3, is something of an odd passage, parts of which we are not sure how to interpret. The overall context of the passage deals with unjust suffering.
Verses 18-22 use Jesus Christ as an example of one who suffered. The passage links the sufferings of Christians to the suffering of Christ through our baptism. In our baptism we share in the suffering, death, and resurrection of Christ. We are also, in our baptism, linked to Noah and the flood, in the gospels, to Jesus in the Jordan, and to Christians everywhere who suffer – because we have all passed through the waters.
Peter, I imagine, intended to comfort the suffering Christians of his day with these words that connect believers to Jesus. We are unfamiliar with the suffering they endured, with persecution and the threat of death. But what if we took this passage as a comfort in the discomfort of Lent, the discomfort of examining our hearts and having sin rear its ugly head? That may entail more suffering for some, but we won’t name names! This passage helps us participate in Lenten disciplines in two ways:
1. It reminds us that our hope lies in remembering the suffering servant, Jesus Christ,
2. It reminds us that in our baptism, we may know the will of God.
Let us look first at the suffering servant. Jesus died on the cross because of our sin. It was not his fault! Not his crime! Instead, Christ died for the ungodly (Romans 5.6). While we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Rom. 5.8)! But it does not end there! Secondly, Jesus is made alive in the spirit. That is, he is raised from the dead. Then, Peter says Jesus journeyed to the prisoners to preach, apparently to those who did not pay much attention to Noah when he gave warning that a flood was coming! This is the part of the text that scholars debate.
Peter draws a comparison between Jesus and Noah, between the past salvation of Noah and the present salvation in Christ. The link is with us, in our baptism. The analogy here is not just a comparison of water, the waters of the flood and the waters of baptism, it is seeing the comparison of salvation for Noah and his family and the salvation of Christians symbolized through baptism. The passage accentuates how baptism moves us from one reality into another.
Noah’s family moved from one world, stained with sin, to a new world that afforded Noah and his family a new beginning for humanity – from an old tired reality to a fresh new reality. Noah floated through the waters to a new life. So too do we move in our baptism from one world into another, from the sin filled world into a new creation given through the resurrection power of God. As one commentator says:
“Entering this new world through baptism alters the believer, for it applies the benefits of Christ’s death and resurrection to us, which results in spiritual transformation. In other words, we see the world differently in baptism – with a clear conscience or to use a biblical metaphor, we regard the world with a transformed mind – because we have, in fact, entered a different world of which the church is the first emerging sign” (24, Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary).
Lent is a time to recognize that in our baptism we have entered into a new world and the benefits of Christ’s death and resurrection result in our spiritual transformation. That is the good news of Lent, when we see the bad news of our sin we know that in our baptism we are washed clean. Lent, while it is a time to reflect on our lives and repent, is a time to also reflect on the reality of our baptism. Lent is a time to decide if we truly believe what our baptism means for us.
If you have seen the movie “The Matrix”, it is something of a science fiction thriller where the main character, Neo, begins to see that there are two realities in his reality. Neo is eventually faced with a decision. Is the reality he has known from birth his true reality or is it another reality he has just discovered? He must decide between "false reality" and "true reality." When he makes that decision, he is transformed and brought into a new community, a new reality.
The season of Lent may become a time for each of us to decide what reality is false and what reality is true. We certainly have options – the way of the world or the way of the kingdom, the way of death or the way of life. Our baptism calls us throughout our lives to make a decision. Do we believe the kingdom of God is at hand? Do we believe the kingdom of this world is our true reality?
In our baptism we are called to choose between life and death, between the ways of the world and the ways of God’s kingdom. In our baptism we celebrate a covenant faith. The covenant and the faith are gifts from God. The salvation we come to know through our baptism is not our own work, but the work of God in Jesus Christ. That is why Peter says that our baptism saves us “through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” God brings us through the waters, just as God brought Noah through the waters. It is the will of God for us to know this salvation in Jesus Christ.
The power in our baptism is God’s power at work to bring us to understand the reality of Christ’s suffering for sins once and for all.
The power of our baptism is God’s power at work to show us the reality of Jesus’ death and resurrection fleshed out in our dying and being raised to new life in Him.
The power of our baptism is God’s power at work to help us examine our lives and our hearts so that we may return to God “with all our heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; tear our hearts and not our clothing. Return to the Lord, our God.”
The power of our baptism is God’s power at work to reveal the good news revealed trough the prophet Joel, “for God is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and relents from punishing.”
The power in our baptism is God’s power at work to reveal that the kingdoms of this world, the ones we can see, are false realities. God’s kingdom is the only true reality.
The power in our baptism is coming alive to us throughout our lives.
Baptism is not revealed only once at the actual moment of baptism, but our baptism constantly calls us back to God to reveal its meaning for our lives. Whether we are baptized as infants or adults does not matter because what we know at the time is not the criteria for an effective baptism. What matters in our baptism is God’s power! Our baptism calls us to realize whose we are, like Woody in the movie “Toy Story”. Woody is a toy that belongs to Andy, a young boy with a room full of toys. Woody is always able to look on the bottom of his boot and see the name “Andy”. He knows to whom he belongs. We too have a name marked through our baptism that tells us to whom we belong. And the constant call in our lives, in Lent and any season is a call to discover and rediscover the meaning of our baptism.
We never stop learning about and growing into our baptism. I remember a conversation with someone who was baptized early in life and had just realized, in a significant way at age 40, what that baptism meant. It does not matter if we are baptized as infants or adults – we are always learning the significance of this sacrament.
During Lent, we are called to reflect on our sinful lives and to repent. We are also called to remember that we are a baptized people, forgiven, washed, being exposed to a new reality, the true reality in the kingdom of God. Let us open ourselves wherever we are in our journey, during this Lenten season, that we may see the power of God at work in us through our baptism and that we may see the new reality in Christ. Amen.
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