Palm Sunday

Mark 11:1-11

Whenever we have a familiar story from the Bible, it’s a challenge to hear it anew. Today is one of those times; we hear some version of this story every year on Palm Sunday. Earlier we participated in what’s known as the triumphal entry into Jerusalem, where people laid down their leafy branches ahead of Jesus’ arrival, and we think we know what’s coming next. But often, as with the Christmas story, we often conflate or combine elements of the different stories into one.

In Matthew and Luke’s gospel, the entry is even more grand and when Jesus goes to the temple, he immediately he confronts the moneychangers and drives them out. But that isn’t what happens in Mark’s gospel, and that difference makes me curious.

In his gospel, Mark says, “Then [Jesus] entered Jerusalem and went into the temple; and when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.” (Mark 11:11)

According to Mark, he does return to the temple the next day, but right now, in this moment, Jesus stops and looks around at everything.

Often, I think we hear “Temple” and think “church”, and we imagine Jesus entering a darkened, peaceful sanctuary, but the Temple grounds were massive, covering acres of land. The Temple was divided into courts, and there were guards. Even if the people who were there to sell animals for sacrifice and change money were gone because of the late hour, there would have been litter or debris from the crowds who had been there earlier in the day and the lingering smell of throngs of people, burnt offerings and animal dung.

It was not a quiet, meditative place.

But Jesus had been there before, as it was Jewish custom to travel to Jerusalem for the Passover. Surely, he would have known what to expect. And yet, this time was different.

And, he stopped and looked around at everything.

Maybe, he was reflecting on the Passover visit to the Temple when he was a boy, when his parents found him, “sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.” (Luke 2:46) Maybe, like any of us who have gone back to a place we knew in childhood, he wondered at how different it was from his memories.

Maybe, he was reflecting on his years of ministry in Galilee, teaching and healing and upending people’s expectations of what, or who, a Messiah is. Jesus must have known that this time, his arrival in the city would provoke its leaders and that as he continued to invite people to be transformed, he would make a lot of people angry.

As one preacher said, Jesus wasn’t crucified because he told people to love one other.

He embodied the unbounded love of God and welcomed all, but he didn’t stop there. He challenged their understanding of authority and salvation, wrenching it from the hands of the emperor and returning it to its rightful place with God. He challenged their institutions and norms, where they found their security and control, and pointed them away from manmade things to God.

Today, as we enter Holy Week, we accompany Jesus first in his triumphal entry into Jerusalem and now to the temple. When we stop and look around at everything, what do we see?

Surely, we see that our congregations look different from the past. While some of that is sentimental longing, some of it is concrete and measurable. Decades ago, in many communities, certainly here in the South, the church was at the center of life, and traditions and friendships and activities were all built around it. There are a lot of reasons that’s no longer true and many are positive, despite the changes they’ve brought, but it is different now.

Surely, we see the divisiveness that seems to run like an electric current through conversations locally, nationally and in the world. Divisions have always been there, but they feel more intractable, and the chasms seem wider, especially in a year with a presidential election, and especially in times when there is war in Ukraine and the Holy Land.

 I hope that when we stop and look around at everything,

we do not cling to what was, or despair at the challenges that are part of our lives,

but we see each other as God’s beloved;

we see the strengths of this community of Jesus-followers; and,

we see the hope that the Gospel brings,

to anyone who has been pushed aside or been afraid,

to anyone who has been spinning because of the pace of change around them, or

to anyone who has felt the weight of the world on their shoulders and thought they would falter.

I hope when we stop and look around at everything, we can take a deep breath, breathing in God’s peace and the assurance of God’s presence in all that is to come. I wonder if that is what Jesus did, too.

Throughout this week, we will walk beside Jesus, as the crowds grow smaller and smaller, and the rest of his disciples choose whether to stay or to leave.

This week, and always,

I pray that we will not balk

at the invitation to be transformed by God’s love,

even when it means challenging our expectations,

or changing our understanding of what it means to be faithful.

I pray we will keep our eyes on God, and not the world, and follow.

Amen.

Fifth Sunday in Lent

 John12:20-33

Throughout Lent, we have been listening to God to learn how we might practice forgiveness with all our heart, soul, and mind. Forgiveness is rooted in relationship: recognizing that God’s abundant forgiveness is ours because of the relationship we have with God because we are God’s children; and being empowered through God’s grace for us, to forgive ourselves and others with whom we are in relationship.

Practicing forgiveness also helps us remember that faith is never an individual or solo endeavor. It is inherently communal, and while it is personal, it is not private. We are in relationship with God, with each other and with our neighbors beyond our doors. And the fullness of our faith is diminished when our relationships are broken.

But, forgiveness is not a new idea.

 The prophet Jeremiah reminds us that God formed covenants - or relationships - with our ancestors in faith. There was the covenant with Noah, and then with Abram, and then with Moses and the whole people of Israel. But when the Law was given in stone, the tablets were later broken, and when forgiveness was given, it was later rejected.

But Jeremiah says this time will be different.

This time there will be a new covenant.

The covenant is still grounded in forgiveness but, this time, the prophet declares, it will be written on our hearts.

By grace, God writes over whatever pain or wounds we have suffered (even the ones that are self-inflicted), cleanses our sin-scarred hearts, and makes us new and whole.

For us as Christians, we see this new covenant manifest in the person of Jesus Christ. It is in Jesus that we see God make people whole, restore their relationships and return them to their families and communities. It is in Jesus that we see justice – the addressing of wrong actions – enacted, and we see man-made or contrived boundaries, barriers and categories broken down.

And that is why, as we approach Palm Sunday and Holy Week, the religious authorities were plotting to kill Jesus.

But in the gospel text, it is also why Greeks were coming to the disciples, and saying, “We wish to see Jesus.”

It’s most likely that these Greeks were Gentiles, outsiders to the old covenant, and yet, here they were coming to see the Messiah, the Son of God who had come into the world.

Once upon a time, the words “We wish to see Jesus” were carved into pulpits, that we preachers would remember our task. But I think I’d like to see those words carved into the lintel and doorposts at the entrance to every sanctuary, so that all of us, as we leave after worship, might remember that, for some, we are the only Jesus a person may meet.

The Evangelist tells us that Philip went to Andrew and then, together, they went to tell Jesus about the Greeks who had come, but after that, the gospel account takes a turn, and we never even learn whether they got to see Jesus.

Maybe they only got to meet the disciples and see Jesus by hearing their stories of why they followed Jesus and watching what their journey looked like.

A few years ago, at a gathering of chaplains at Hood Seminary, I listened as the brigadier general who was, at that time, leading the Army and Air National Guard Chaplain Corps spoke.

Chaplain Chisolm told his story of growing up in Mississippi in a town where his daddy was the school superintendent, and, as he told his story, he told us about the man he called Brother Wallace, who lived next door to the church where he grew up, which was just across the street from his own house.

 

That meant Brother Wallace was a witness to all the mischief he and his brothers and sisters got into, but Chaplain Chisolm said that, even in those years when as a teenager he didn’t think much about God or faith, Brother Wallace remained a constant presence in his life. Not cajoling or coercing or chastising him but just staying connected and interested.

 

At 18 Chisolm enlisted in the Air National Guard and, a few weeks after he graduated from high school, he moved farther away from home, and from his parents, than he had ever gone before - to Texas for basic training. The chaplain told the story of how there, in the old World War 2 barracks at Lackland Air Force Base, he heard God speak to him and as he wrestled with what that meant, he wrote a letter to Brother Wallace. He didn’t know what to do next, but he knew Brother Wallace was someone he could trust with his questions, and who could help him see God more clearly.

 

More than thirty years later, when Chisolm returned home for his father’s funeral, he was speaking again with Brother Wallace, and the older gentleman reached into his coat pocket and pulled out that letter written by the young recruit in a complex time of uncertainty.

“We wish to see Jesus. 

It is a plea that each one of us has probably made in our lifetimes, and that our neighbors, young and old, may only have answered in our openness to accompany them and listen to their stories;

in our “healing actions or attitudes that [affirm] that all people are created in the image of a loving God and, therefore, need and merit, respect and dignity;”[i] 

or in our willingness to show up and be “a visible sign of the Holy” in a volatile and unpredictable world. [ii]

As we near the end of this Lenten season, I wonder how we can help the people around us see Jesus reflected in our words and actions.

Let us pray.

Covenant God,

You see us for what we are, but in mercy You do not cast us aside. In your steadfast love you forgive us our sin.

May we bear your love and mercy into a hurting world in such a way that they will see You in our words and actions.

We pray in the name of Your Son Jesus,

Amen.

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[i] Dr. Vergel Lattimore, Hood Theological Seminary, Salisbury, NC. 2018.

[ii] Chaplain Brig. Gen. J. Steven Chisolm speaking at Hood Theological Seminary, Salisbury, NC. 2018.  

Fourth Sunday in Lent (El cuarto domingo de Cuaresma)

Efesios 2:1-10

I preached this sermon in the Spanish service; the English translation is below. 

Oremos…

Que las palabras de mi boca y las meditaciones de nuestros corazones sean aceptables a tu vista, oh Señor nuestra fuerza y nuestro redentor. Amén.

Una de mis frases favoritas en las Escrituras aparece en la Epístola, o Carta de hoy a la Iglesia en Éfeso. La frase en inglés es “But God”. En español, la frase cambia, pero el significado es la mismo. "pero Dios".

¿Recuerdas cuando Jose confronta a sus hermanos cuando la hambruna golpea a Israel y vienen a Egipto en busca de ayuda? Él les dice, ⁸ pues, no me enviaron ustedes acá , sino Dios, que me ha puesto por padre de Faraón, y por señor de toda su casa y gobernador en toda la tierra de Egipto. (Gen. 45: 8 RVR1960) y, más tarde les dice,

²⁰ Vosotros pensasteis mal contra mí, mas Dios lo encaminó a bien, para hacer lo que vemos hoy, para mantener en vida a a mucho pueblo. (Génesis 50:20 RVR1960)

Cuando el escritor de los Hechos habla a los israelitas sobre Jesús, recordándoles que lo habían matado, dice,

²⁴ al cual Dios levantó, sueltos los dolores de la muerte, por cuanto era imposible que fuese retenido por ella. (Hechos 2:24 RVR1960)

Y en la carta de Pablo a los romanos, escribe,

⁷ ... Ciertamente, apenas morirá alguno por un justo... ⁸ Mas Dios muestra su amor para con nosotros, en que, siendo aún pecadores, Cristo murió por nosotros. (Rom. 5: 7-8 RVR1960)

Una y otra vez, estamos viendo cómo se desarrolla la historia y creemos que sabemos lo que sucederá después, "pero Dios" actúa y la historia cambia.

Entonces, quiero que veamos lo que sucede cuando escuchamos estas palabras en efesios.

Cuando leemos las epístolas, y particularmente los efesios, es útil recordar tres cosas.

Primero, estamos escuchando la conversación de otras persona.

Estas cartas fueron enviadas a comunidades de creyentes y luego se compartieron en voz alta en una reunión. Por lo general, fueron escritas en respuesta a algo conocido por el autor, pero oculto para nosotros mientras escuchamos su conversación dos mil años después.

Y segundo, aunque los efesios es una de las letras paulinas, es lo que se llama una "carta en disputa". Es más probable que uno de los propios discípulos de Pablo que querían escribir en la misma tradición o estilo que Pablo lo haya escrito. Eso nos ayuda a comprender por qué Pablo a veces suena como un radical y otras veces un conservador y otros aún un reaccionario. ⁱ

El primer capítulo de Efesios es el saludo del autor a la comunidad en la isla griega de Éfeso.

La carta luego se acelera, y la porción que escuchamos hoy describe rápidamente a las personas como "estabais muertos en vuestros delitos y pecados, en los cuales anduvisteis " (v.1-2, RVR1960)

El escritor dice que estaban siguiendo poderes malévolos, incluidos "este mundo", “el príncipe de la potestad del aire" y  “la carne”. (v. 2-3, RVR1960) No necesitamos saber la naturaleza exacta de su pecado. Sabemos que el pecado nos separa de Dios, y sabemos que, debido a nuestra condición humana, todos pecamos diariamente y necesitamos el perdón de Dios. ⁱⁱ

El escritor dice: "Pero Dios" (2: 4)

Y con esas dos palabras, sabemos que no todo está perdido.

Dios interviene.

Dios actúa.

Dios salva.

Él escribe: "Pero Dios, que es rico en misericordia, por su gran amor con que nos amó ... nos dio vida juntamente con Cristo ...". (v. 4-5, RVR1960)

Estábamos muertos, pero ahora estamos vivos.

Éramos esclavos del pecado, pero ahora somos liberados en Cristo.

Éramos "hijos de la ira" (v.3, RVR1960) pero ahora somos agentes de gracia.

Espero que cada uno de ustedes sepa que las palabras de Dios son para ti. Nadie está fuera de la rica misericordia de Dios y su gran amor.

Cuando vivimos con confianza de que estamos en el abrazo de Dios, ya no nos condenamos a nosotros mismos ni a los demás, sino que buscamos cómo podemos compartir el amor de Dios con los demás. Estamos dotados de la vida en Cristo para poder compartir esa vida con los demás, con nuestra iglesia, nuestros vecinos y la comunidad.

Podemos ser Cristo para los demás a través de actos de servicio, como lo haremos el próximo mes cuando tengamos el sábado de servicio.

Pero a veces, es justo en casa donde necesitamos mostrar el mismo tipo de amor y misericordia que hemos recibido por primera vez. Está en nuestra relación con un cónyuge, un hermano, un niño o incluso un padre.

Lutero nos recuerda que "así como pecamos mucho contra Dios todos los días y, sin embargo, nos perdona a través de toda gracia, así siempre debemos perdonar a nuestro prójimo que nos hace daño, violencia e injusticia ...".ⁱⁱⁱ

El perdón es un trabajo duro. Pero aferrarse al resentimiento, la ira o el dolor simplemente perpetúa el daño. A lo largo de esta temporada de Cuaresma, estamos escuchando en las Escrituras y aprendiendo cómo perdonarnos a nosotros mismos y a los demás,

y cómo liberar y dejar a un lado el peso de la falta de perdón.

Cuando llegamos a saber lo que necesitamos, podemos confiar en que Dios responderá, y no dependerá de nuestros propio trabajo o esfuerzos. Y lo mismo es cierto para esta tarea. Debemos entregar nuestra ira a Dios y confiar en Dios para que trabaje para ayudarnos a perdonar.

Oremos…

Dios bueno y amable

Gracias por tu rica misericordia y gran amor por nosotros.

Ayúdanos a poner nuestros ojos en ti y poner nuestra mente en ti,

Recordando que te pertenecemos.

Haznos agentes de gracia para

que todos sepan  de tu abundante gracia.

Oramos en el nombre de tu Hijo, nuestro Señor y Salvador, Jesucristo.

Amén.

[i] John Dominic Crossan and Marcus Borg. The First Paul: Reclaiming the Radical Visionary behind the Church’s Conservative Icon.

[ii] Martin Luther. Small Catechism. 39.

[iii] Martin Luther. Large Catechism, 453, 94.

Ephesians 2:1-10

Let us pray…         

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord our strength and our redeemer. Amen.

One of my favorite phrases in Scripture shows up in today’s epistle, or letter, to the church at Ephesus. The phrase is “But God”.

Do you remember when Joseph confronts his brothers when the famine strikes Israel and they come to Egypt for help? He tells them, ⁸ So it was not you who sent me here, but God; he has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt. (Gen. 45:8 NRS) And, later he tells them,

²⁰ Even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good, in order to preserve a numerous people, as he is doing today. (Gen. 50:20 NRS)

When the author of Acts speaks to the Israelites about Jesus, reminding them that they had killed him, he says,

²⁴ But God raised him up, having freed him from death, because it was impossible for him to be held in its power. (Act 2:24 NRS)

And in Paul’s letter to the Romans, he writes,

⁷ …rarely will anyone die for a righteous person… ⁸ But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us. (Rom. 5:7-8 NRS)

Again and again, we are watching the story unfold and we think we know what will happen next, “but God” acts and the story changes.

So, I want us to look at what happens when we hear these words in Ephesians.

When we read the epistles, and particularly Ephesians, it’s helpful to remember three things.

First, we are eavesdropping on someone else’s conversation. These letters were sent to communities of believers and then shared aloud at a gathering. Usually, they were written in response to something known to the author but hidden from us as we listen in on their conversation two thousand years later.

And second, while Ephesians is one of the Pauline letters, it is what’s called a “disputed letter”. It was more likely written by one of Paul’s own disciples who wanted to write in the same tradition or style as Paul had written. That helps us understand why Paul sometimes sounds like a radical and other times a conservative and still others a reactionary.[i]

The first chapter of Ephesians is the author’s greeting to the community on the Greek island of Ephesus. The letter then picks up speed, and the portion we hear today swiftly describes the people as having “been dead through the trespasses and sins in which they once lived” (v.1-2)

The writer says they were following malevolent powers including “this world”, the ruler of the power of the air” and “the flesh”. (v. 2-3) We don’t need to know the exact nature of their sin. We know that sin separates us from God, and we know that because of our human condition, we all sin daily and need God’s forgiveness.[ii]

The writer then says, “But God,” (2:4)

And with those two words, we know that all is not lost.

God intervenes.

God acts.

God saves.

He writes, “But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which God loved us… made us alive together with Christ….” (v. 4-5)

We were dead but now we are alive.

We were slaves to sin but now we are freed in Christ.

We were “children of wrath” (v.3) but now we are agents of grace.

I hope each of you knows that God’s words are for you. No one is outside of God’s rich mercy and great love.

When we live with confidence that we are held in God’s embrace, we no longer condemn ourselves or others, but look for how we can share God’s love with others. We are gifted with life in Christ so that we can share that life with others, with our church, our neighbors and community.

We can be Christ to others through acts of service, like we will do next month when we have Servant Saturday.

But sometimes, it’s right at home where we need to show the same kind of love and mercy that we have first received. It is in our relationship with a spouse, a sibling, a child or even a parent.

Luther reminds us that “Just as we sin greatly against God every day and yet he forgives us through all grace, so we must always forgive our neighbor who does us harm, violence and injustice,….”[iii]

Forgiveness is hard work. But holding onto resentment, anger or pain just perpetuates the harm. Throughout this season of Lent, we are listening in Scripture and learning how to forgive ourselves and others, and how to release and let go of the weight of unforgiveness. 

When we come to an awareness of what we need, we can trust that God will respond, and not depend on our own works or efforts. And the same is true for this task. We must surrender our anger to God and trust God to work to help us forgive.

Let us pray…

Good and gracious God,

Thank you for your rich mercy and great love for us.

Help us fix our eyes on you and set our minds on you,

remembering we belong to you.

Make us agents of grace

that everyone would know your abundant grace.

We pray in the name of your Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

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[i] John Dominic Crossan and Marcus Borg. The First Paul: Reclaiming the Radical Visionary behind the Church’s Conservative Icon.

[ii] Martin Luther. Small Catechism. 39.

[iii] Martin Luther. Large Catechism, 453, 94.