SERMONS:

WE ARE SO BLESSED. WHAT ARE WE DOING ABOUT IT? A blog from Thursday, May 01, 2008

"WHAT’S GOOD ABOUT GOOD FRIDAY?" Sermon for GOOD FRIDAY, 21 March 2008 John 18 & 19 (The Passion according to John)

"SAINTS AND SINNERS" Sermon for ALL SAINTS - C, 4 November 2007 Luke 6:20-31

"CAN THESE BONES LIVE?" Sermon for PENTECOST 4 June 2006 Ezekiel 37:3,14

"JOSEPH, CALLED BARSABBAS" Sermon for EASTER 7, 28 May 2006 Acts 1:15-17, 21-26

"THE END OF THE EASTER STORY" Sermon for EASTER DAY, 16 April 2006 Mark 16:1-8

"FOR THE HARD OF HEARING...." Sermon for THE DAY OF PENTECOST 30 May 2004 Acts 2:1-21

"A TALE OF TWO WOMEN IN JOHN" Sermon for LENT 3 27 February 2005 A.D. John 4:5-42 (& 8:1-11)

"GO...MAKE DISCIPLES!" Sermon for THE HOLY TRINITY 22 May 2005 Matthew 28:16-20

Pastor Ron Nitz

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John 18:1 - 19:42

18 After Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with his disciples across the Kidron valley to a place where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered. 2 Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, because Jesus often met there with his disciples. 3 So Judas brought a detachment of soldiers together with police from the chief priests and the Pharisees, and they came there with lanterns and torches and weapons. 4 Then Jesus, knowing all that was to happen to him, came forward and asked them, ‘For whom are you looking?' 5 They answered, ‘Jesus of Nazareth.' Jesus replied, ‘I am he.' Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. 6 When Jesus said to them, ‘I am he', they stepped back and fell to the ground. 7 Again he asked them, ‘For whom are you looking?' And they said, ‘Jesus of Nazareth.' 8 Jesus answered, ‘I told you that I am he. So if you are looking for me, let these men go.' 9 This was to fulfil the word that he had spoken, ‘I did not lose a single one of those whom you gave me.' 10 Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it, struck the high priest's slave, and cut off his right ear. The slave's name was Malchus. 11 Jesus said to Peter, ‘Put your sword back into its sheath. Am I not to drink the cup that the Father has given me?' 12  So the soldiers, their officer, and the Jewish police arrested Jesus and bound him. 13 First they took him to Annas, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest that year. 14 Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jews that it was better to have one person die for the people.

15  Simon Peter and another disciple followed Jesus. Since that disciple was known to the high priest, he went with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest, 16 but Peter was standing outside at the gate. So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out, spoke to the woman who guarded the gate, and brought Peter in. 17 The woman said to Peter, ‘You are not also one of this man's disciples, are you?' He said, ‘I am not.' 18 Now the slaves and the police had made a charcoal fire because it was cold, and they were standing round it and warming themselves. Peter also was standing with them and warming himself.

19  Then the high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and about his teaching. 20 Jesus answered, ‘I have spoken openly to the world; I have always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all the Jews come together. I have said nothing in secret. 21 Why do you ask me? Ask those who heard what I said to them; they know what I said.' 22 When he had said this, one of the police standing nearby struck Jesus on the face, saying, ‘Is that how you answer the high priest?' 23 Jesus answered, ‘If I have spoken wrongly, testify to the wrong. But if I have spoken rightly, why do you strike me?' 24 Then Annas sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.

25  Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. They asked him, ‘You are not also one of his disciples, are you?' He denied it and said, ‘I am not.' 26 One of the slaves of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, ‘Did I not see you in the garden with him?' 27 Again Peter denied it, and at that moment the cock crowed.

28  Then they took Jesus from Caiaphas to Pilate's headquarters. It was early in the morning. They themselves did not enter the headquarters, so as to avoid ritual defilement and to be able to eat the Passover. 29 So Pilate went out to them and said, ‘What accusation do you bring against this man?' 30 They answered, ‘If this man were not a criminal, we would not have handed him over to you.' 31 Pilate said to them, ‘Take him yourselves and judge him according to your law.' The Jews replied, ‘We are not permitted to put anyone to death.' 32 (This was to fulfil what Jesus had said when he indicated the kind of death he was to die.)

33  Then Pilate entered the headquarters again, summoned Jesus, and asked him, ‘Are you the King of the Jews?' 34 Jesus answered, ‘Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me?' 35 Pilate replied, ‘I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me. What have you done?' 36 Jesus answered, ‘My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.' 37 Pilate asked him, ‘So you are a king?' Jesus answered, ‘You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.' 38 Pilate asked him, ‘What is truth?' After he had said this, he went out to the Jews again and told them, ‘I find no case against him. 39 But you have a custom that I release someone for you at the Passover. Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?' 40 They shouted in reply, ‘Not this man, but Barabbas!' Now Barabbas was a bandit.

19 Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. 2 And the soldiers wove a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they dressed him in a purple robe. 3 They kept coming up to him, saying, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!' and striking him on the face. 4 Pilate went out again and said to them, ‘Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no case against him.' 5 So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, ‘Here is the man!' 6 When the chief priests and the police saw him, they shouted, ‘Crucify him! Crucify him!' Pilate said to them, ‘Take him yourselves and crucify him; I find no case against him.' 7 The Jews answered him, ‘We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die because he has claimed to be the Son of God.' 8  Now when Pilate heard this, he was more afraid than ever. 9 He entered his headquarters again and asked Jesus, ‘Where are you from?' But Jesus gave him no answer. 10 Pilate therefore said to him, ‘Do you refuse to speak to me? Do you not know that I have power to release you, and power to crucify you?' 11 Jesus answered him, ‘You would have no power over me unless it had been given you from above; therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.' 12 From then on Pilate tried to release him, but the Jews cried out, ‘If you release this man, you are no friend of the emperor. Everyone who claims to be a king sets himself against the emperor.'

13  When Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus outside and sat on the judge's bench at a place called The Stone Pavement, or in Hebrew Gabbatha. 14 Now it was the day of Preparation for the Passover; and it was about noon. He said to the Jews, ‘Here is your King!' 15 They cried out, ‘Away with him! Away with him! Crucify him!' Pilate asked them, ‘Shall I crucify your King?' The chief priests answered, ‘We have no king but the emperor.' 16 Then he handed him over to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus; 17 and carrying the cross by himself, he went out to what is called The Place of the Skull, which in Hebrew is called Golgotha. 18 There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, with Jesus between them. 19 Pilate also had an inscription written and put on the cross. It read, ‘Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.' 20 Many of the Jews read this inscription, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, in Latin, and in Greek. 21 Then the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, ‘Do not write, “The King of the Jews”, but, “This man said, I am King of the Jews.” ' 22 Pilate answered, ‘What I have written I have written.' 23 When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four parts, one for each soldier. They also took his tunic; now the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from the top. 24 So they said to one another, ‘Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see who will get it.' This was to fulfil what the scripture says,‘They divided my clothes among themselves, and for my clothing they cast lots.' 25 And that is what the soldiers did.

Meanwhile, standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, ‘Woman, here is your son.' 27 Then he said to the disciple, ‘Here is your mother.' And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home.

28  After this, when Jesus knew that all was now finished, he said (in order to fulfil the scripture), ‘I am thirsty.' 29 A jar full of sour wine was standing there. So they put a sponge full of the wine on a branch of hyssop and held it to his mouth. 30 When Jesus had received the wine, he said, ‘It is finished.' Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

31  Since it was the day of Preparation, the Jews did not want the bodies left on the cross during the sabbath, especially because that sabbath was a day of great solemnity. So they asked Pilate to have the legs of the crucified men broken and the bodies removed. 32 Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who had been crucified with him. 33 But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. 34 Instead, one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once blood and water came out. 35 (He who saw this has testified so that you also may believe. His testimony is true, and he knows that he tells the truth.) 36 These things occurred so that the scripture might be fulfilled, ‘None of his bones shall be broken.' 37 And again another passage of scripture says, ‘They will look on the one whom they have pierced.' 38  After these things, Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, though a secret one because of his fear of the Jews, asked Pilate to let him take away the body of Jesus. Pilate gave him permission; so he came and removed his body. 39 Nicodemus, who had at first come to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, weighing about a hundred pounds. 40 They took the body of Jesus and wrapped it with the spices in linen cloths, according to the burial custom of the Jews. 41 Now there was a garden in the place where he was crucified, and in the garden there was a new tomb in which no one had ever been laid. 42 And so, because it was the Jewish day of Preparation, and the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.

I USUALLY DON’T PREACH ON GOOD FRIDAY, BECAUSE IT SEEMS THE STORY OF JESUS’ PASSION PRETTY MUCH SPEAKS FOR ITSELF. And shortly, we will hear that Passion story, and let it speak to us again. Indeed, thinking I can say something about Jesus’ suffering and death that John or any of the other Gospel writers has not already said could come off as being quite “full-of-myself”! [Of course, that doesn’t stop other pastors all over the globe from doing it, and it won’t stop me either!] But what I want to focus on tonight is not so much the details of Jesus’ suffering and death, as examples of this or that, but our observance of Good Friday. In other words, why are we here tonight at all? The very fact that four or five churches get together for this service suggests that if we each had a service for our own members, there wouldn’t be very many people attending, and indeed, we might not be able to have a service at all! After all, who wants to go to church on a Friday night, after a long work week, and at the beginning of a holiday weekend, to hear about someone suffering and dying? When we think about Good Friday, the words that come to mind are injustice, fear, mob rule, torture, betrayal, excruciating suffering, humiliation, tyranny, death and burial, just to name a few. So, “What’s good about Good Friday?”

WELL, OF COURSE, THERE ARE SOME PRETTY OBVIOUS THINGS THAT ARE “GOOD” ABOUT GOOD FRIDAY – JESUS MAY HAVE SUFFERED AND DIED, BUT HE DID IT FOR YOU AND ME! That’s pretty good, at least from our perspective. If Jesus had not suffered and died, we would still be trapped by our sins and guilt and headed for eternal death and separation from God. Indeed, if Jesus had not suffered and died on the cross for all people, he would have been little more than an interesting historical religious figure like Abraham or Moses or John the Baptist or Mohammed or Buddha or any of thousands of significant religious figures. In fact, one wonders if anyone would have known about Jesus at all, since there are only a few non-Biblical reports that he even existed! So, the very fact that we can gather tonight and celebrate the suffering and death of Jesus for our sins and the sins of the whole world is very significant for our faith and life  as Christians – it is very good indeed! What’s more, the very fact that God would forgive and set aside our sins and the sins of the whole world because that same “world” killed his only son is not just “good”, it’s downright incredible! You would think God’s response to what “the world” did to Jesus would be more along the lines of the Flood or some of the dramatic visions of the last times in the book of Revelation. That’s what I would expect to get from God for torturing and killing God’s son! But no, instead God loves and forgives us for it. That is indeed something that is “good” about Good Friday.

BUT THERE IS SOMETHING ALMOST AS IMPORTANT FOR EACH OF US ABOUT OUR GATHERING HERE TONIGHT, THAN THE REASON WE DO IT. God would love and forgive us all just the same whether we celebrated Good Friday in this way or not. The eternal value of Jesus’ suffering and death for us are not dependent on how we remember it. Gathering to remember and meditate on Good Friday in this way has more profound implications for our lives than just some tradition or ritual. We cannot gather here tonight to remember the suffering and death of Jesus without making a profound statement about what we believe! If Jesus is not the very Son of God, and his suffering and death did not wipe away our sins and their guilt, then there is no point in doing anything on Good Friday, much less Easter! Indeed, much of the world has apparently decided that is the case, and so Easter is about the Easter Bunny and Spring, rather than about death and eternal life. But if Jesus is indeed the very Son of God, as we proclaim by our presence here, then it is the world that has a lot of explaining to do, rather than those of us gathered here! If Jesus, the very Son of God, suffered and died for you and for me, we must either believe and trust in that “good news”, or reject it altogether, and go on thinking our relationship to God has something to do with how well we “behave” – what we do rather than what Jesus has done. By our presence here tonight, we proclaim that we believe that it is what Jesus has done for us for us in his suffering and death that matters before God.

BUT MORE THAN THIS, WE ALSO ACKNOWLEDGE BY OUR PRESENCE HERE THAT JESUS HAS A CLAIM ON OUR LIVES – WE CANNOT SIMPLY LIVE OUR LIVES AS IF IT IS OF NO CONSEQUENCE TO GOD WHAT WE DO! Our lives belong to God because Jesus’ death has purchased them away from sin and death. So, we can either turn our lives over to God, in witness to our faith in Jesus Christ, by everything we say, and everything we do, or we can keep control of our lives and hope that we are “good enough” for God to continue to care about us anyway. My friends, if you are betting on the latter, you’d better stay away from Las Vegas and Spirit Mountain! What’s “good” about Good Friday is that, in his suffering and death, Jesus has taken over the responsibility of our eternal salvation so that we don’t have to.... But in return, we need to serve Jesus as if we truly believe that is the case! You can’t make Jesus the Ruler of your life and then live as if you’d never heard of him! As we will soon hear, both Judas and Peter tried that; it ended badly for one of them and the other one came to his senses just in time! One of the reasons for hearing that story is so we don’t keep making the same mistake!

WHAT’S GOOD ABOUT GOOD FRIDAY? Lot’s of things – our faith and eternal life depend on them! As we meditate tonight on Jesus’ suffering and death, let’s not forget that we also have a lot to celebrate because of it; that our time spent together tonight is a reflection of the central truth of our faith in Jesus. And then, having reminded ourselves of the wonderful things God has done for us this night, let us share our faith and God’s love and forgiveness with the world, in the name of Jesus. AMEN.

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Luke 6:20-31
Then he looked up at his disciples and said: "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. "Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled. "Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. "Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets. "But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. "Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry. "Woe to you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and weep. "Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.

"But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. Do to others as you would have them do to you.

THE STORY GOES SOMETHING LIKE THIS – THE PASTOR WAS ASKING KIDS WHO HAD COME FORWARD FOR THE OBJECT LESSON, “WHAT MAKES A PERSON A SAINT?” One older child suggested, “They do really good things?” And the pastor said, “No, that’s not it.” Another child suggested, “They work for the church?” And the pastor said, “I wish that were true, but no, that’s not it either.” Then there was a seemingly long silence while everyone looked very perplexed. Finally, one little boy’s face lit up as he blurted out, “I know what it is! They’re DEAD!” ...Now, thankfully, that little boy was also wrong, but there are an awful lot of folks today who think that the “living saints” we celebrate today, on All Saints Sunday, are essentially “dead” also - in Spirit and faith and in living out their beliefs. If you have to be “dead” to be a saint, either we are in trouble or the Church is – and unfortunately, both of those may be right!

OF COURSE, THE ANSWER THAT THE PASTOR WAS FISHING FOR FROM THE KIDS IS THAT IT IS FAITH THAT MAKES A PERSON A SAINT – NOT GOOD DEEDS, NOT A CONNECTION TO THE ORGANIZED CHURCH, AND NOT EVEN DEATH! In fact, the term “saint” (or “holy one”) is often used in the Bible, but it virtually always refers to the living faithful, not those who have died. And in a few instances where it does refer to someone who has died, the term “saint” is used in the past-tense, in reference to their recent past life as a Christian; suggesting that in death, they almost cease to be a “saint”! When you think about all the people we refer to as “Saint So-and-so” today, it seems the opposite would be true. But today, we celebrate that we are, all of us who are baptized and claim Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, “saints” in the kingdom of God. Now, I know this is not especially new information.

BUT IT IS PUZZLING, EVEN DIFFICULT INFORMATION FOR US TO DIGEST AND ACCEPT, BECAUSE – WHEN YOU GET RIGHT DOWN TO IT – WE DON’T FEEL VERY “SAINTLY”. In fact, it’s easy to see why dead people got the title transferred to them; after all, what can they do to mess things up, once they’re dead? That we feel this way about being “saints”, is identified by a very important Lutheran teaching – we are “simul justus et peccator” – we are at one and the same time, “saints” and “sinners”. Only those who are dead are no longer “sinners” and are only “saints” – if the term actually fits someone who is dead! The rest of us have to struggle forward in the midst of this paradox. This teaching has, interestingly enough, recently come to light in the life of Mother Theresa of Calcutta. Already being whisked along the path of canonization to sainthood by the Roman Catholic Church, just a few short years after her death, we have recently learned that she was full of doubts and uncertainties about God and her faith. And yet, there is little doubt that God used her for divine purposes, and that she was certainly a “saint” in the eyes of the thousands she helped. And there is really little doubt that she was a person of faith until her death, in spite of her doubts and uncertainties. Indeed, she probably epitomizes more than many others we could name, the very essence of being both “saint and sinner”.

BUT FOR THOSE OF US WHO ARE IN THE “TRENCHES OF THE BATTLES OF LIFE”, WHO ARE MUCH MORE AWARE OF OUR SINFULNESS THAN OUR SAINTLINESS, TO GO AROUND CALLING EACH OTHER A “SAINT” ONE DAY EACH YEAR HAS A HOLLOW RING TO IT; AS IF IT WERE SOME SORT OF “GROUP THERAPY GAME.” It’s as if we are saying, “Yes, we know it’s difficult to live out one’s faith in the real world, but for today, let’s go around calling each other a ‘saint’ and maybe we’ll all feel better, at least for awhile.” People may think we’re “dead” when it comes to living out or witnessing to our faith, but we’re not stupid! Either it means something to us to be “saints” in the kingdom of God, or it doesn’t, and we might as well go back to thinking of “saints” as only dead people instead of kidding ourselves. Well, here’s the basics of “sainthood” in the kingdom of God – take it or leave it! GOD makes us “saints” – “holy” or “chosen ones” – in the kingdom by making us Children of God through our Baptism. It is a gift that is given to us by God; we do not earn it, much less deserve it. OK, we get that part. But, faith in God is given birth in Baptism – or, in the case of older youth and adults, we recognize the faith that God has already been working in us at Baptism, and claim our rightful place as a child of God. That does not make us feel “sinless” or anything else; it just is! But faith is not a body of information that we learn and then we’re done with it. Faith is a life-long process that we grow into. That’s why people baptized as infants have a head start on everyone else. Faith is like being a member of a particular group of people; a member of a Native American tribe, or even just being an American, for example. When we’re little, we don’t know that we are anything in particular, because we are surrounded by people just like us – we don’t know anything else! But all the while we are learning what it means to be a Paiute, for example, or an American through the ways people act and talk around us. As we grow older, we learn that there are other people in the world besides those we know, and we learn how we are different and how we are the same as other people. But it isn’t until we have “lived into” what it means to be a Paiute or an American for many years that we begin to fully comprehend what that means for us. And no matter how we try to change our life-style or appearance or move away from the people and places we know, we are still going to be a Paiute (or whatever).

JUST SO, ONE CANNOT, AT THE BEGINNING OF ONE’S LIFE AS A CHRISTIAN (WHENEVER THAT HAPPENS) FULLY COMPREHEND THE VALUE AND MEANING OF BEING A “SAINT”. It is something we have to grow into over many years to fully comprehend and appreciate. And that can be particularly difficult if we have been given “bad information” along the way about what that means! [Scowling] “Being a Christian means no dancing or drinking of alcohol or playing card games or singing with electronic instruments or wearing pants if you’re a woman. Arrgghhh!” Indeed, a century ago, it was believed you could not really be a “true Christian” if you spoke English! Of course, there was general disagreement among Lutherans about whether you had to speak Swedish or Norwegian or Danish or Finnish or German, but just about everyone was pretty sure speaking English put you on the “road to hell!” Well, we’ve discovered that there’s an awful lot of “garbage” in our past as the Church that we’d rather most folks didn’t know about, and that certainly has little or nothing to do with being a “saint” in the kingdom of God. But fortunately for us, the things the church thinks up to make life difficult as a Christian, do not prevent God from making us “saints” by faith, as we live out our faith from day to day in our lives. I have already discovered it is much easier to live out my faith as an “older adult” than it was when I was much younger. There is something about the perspective of age that makes many things much clearer. I think that is what Mother Theresa discovered as well, since most of her doubts and misgivings came earlier in life and she found more  contentment toward life’s end.

BUT BEING A SAINT IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS NOT FOR THE “FAINT OF HEART”! Being a “saint” is a gift from God, but it is a “gift” that involves us in many choices and moral dilemmas in life; and sometimes the “sinner” part overwhelms the “saint” part! That’s why it’s good to have a day like “All Saints Sunday”, to remind ourselves that no matter what the “scoreboard” may show in our battle between “sinner” and “saint”, the “saint” in us will always win out in the end, because that’s the part that God has guaranteed to us through our faith in Jesus Christ. So, when we talk about each other as saints today, it’s not just a “game” we’re playing to try and cheer each other up. It is the title that God has given us to use to encourage us on in our struggles in life, until we all arrive at that day when, by God’s grace, we will be saints forever and sinners no more! In the name of Jesus, AMEN!

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Ezekiel 37:1-14
The hand of the LORD came upon me, and he brought me out by the spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me all around them; there were very many lying in the valley, and they were very dry.
He said to me, "Mortal, can these bones live?" I answered, "O Lord GOD, you know." Then he said to me, "Prophesy to these bones, and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.
Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. I will lay sinews on you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am the LORD."
So I prophesied as I had been commanded; and as I prophesied, suddenly there was a noise, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. I looked, and there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them; but there was no breath in them.
Then he said to me, "Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, mortal, and say to the breath: Thus says the Lord GOD: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live."
I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood on their feet, a vast multitude.
Then he said to me, "Mortal, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, 'Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off completely.' Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: I am going to open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people; and I will bring you back to the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people. I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the LORD, have spoken and will act," says the LORD.

WHEN I WAS GROWING UP IN THE MISSOURI SYNOD IN THE NORTHWEST, THERE WAS A STANDING JOKE AMONG THE MORE “OPEN-MINDED” MISSOURI SYNOD PASTORS IN THE AREA - THAT ST. LOUIS [HEADQUARTERS OF THE MISSOURI SYNOD AND RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE COUNTRY] WAS THE “DEAD CENTER OF LUTHERANISM”. Now that might be funnier to me if I hadn’t recently heard something similar being said by some young adults of Lutheranism in general - that we are “spiritually dead”. So, to St. Louis, we could also add Chicago and Minneapolis and any other place where Lutherans gather as “dead centers” of Lutheranism. That, at least, is apparently how some others see us! But we, wishing to justify ourselves, might protest, “They are only looking at a few outward signs of the Spirit’s presence in our lives. How do they know what is in our hearts?” How, indeed? In fact, how would anyone know? ...And that’s really the problem, isn’t it? “Mortal, can these bones live?” God asks Ezekiel. “Can the dry bones of Lutheran Christianity live?” the world asks us today. A cynical outsider, looking at the E.L.C.A. or even at our small congregation, might see us as a “valley of dry bones”, shriveling in the sun of a parched and weary world. Some might even say that we think and act as if it were enough for us to be “Lutheran”; that it should be enough for us to be “always right” in matters of faith! Unfortunately, even if that were true, as the highway safety ads have pointed out to us, we could be “dead right”!

WE KNOW, OF COURSE THAT WE HAVE THE SPIRIT OF GOD ALIVE IN US AS SURELY AS IN ANY OTHER CHRISTIAN. Not only has God promised this to us as a result of our baptism, but in fact, we could not be here today, confessing our faith in and worshiping the Triune God, if we did not have the Holy Spirit living in us. But we need to ask ourselves, “Why is it that others do not see this in us?” One thing we have already discovered is that many people have found the Spirit alive and well in us, as they have come to know us through our faithful worship and warm, welcoming fellowship. But not everyone gets the chance to discover that about us. Even some who do, may find themselves wondering what sort of Spirit is alive in us when we are so small and seem to be struggling to survive. “Why does the Spirit draw many, in one place, but not in this place?” And so, they may look elsewhere for a community that seems “spiritually live”. “Mortal, can these dry bones live?”

WELL OF COURSE, WE KNOW THE ANSWER - WE ARE NOT “DRIED UP, DEAD, AND GONE” AS THE BONES WERE IN EZEKIEL’S VISION! Not even close! The promise to us, to our congregation, and to the whole of Lutheran Christianity is God’s word of promise in verse 14 - “I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live!” We can find comfort and assurance in this promise of God. But we’d better find something else there, too! Just as the dead, dry bones of Ezekiel’s vision could not simply lay there in the sun; so we cannot ever be satisfied with “business as usual” in the life of the church! When God breathes the new life of the Spirit into dead bones: they are rattled and shaken, they rise up and are joined together, they take on new forms and shapes, and God breathes new life into them. When things look dead, there must be a resurrection! How are we “rattled and shaken”? How shall we rise up and be joined together? What new forms and shapes do we need to take on? What will become of us when God breathes a new “life Spirit” into us?

“RATTLED AND SHAKEN” - I THINK THIS IS WHAT HAS BEEN HAPPENING IN RECENT YEARS IN THE CHURCH, AS WE HAVE STRUGGLED WITH A NUMBER OF THORNY ISSUES - CONTEMPORARY VERSUS TRADITIONAL IN WORSHIP, CLOSE COOPERATION WITH THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH, HOMOSEXUALITY IN THE CHURCH - TO NAME JUST A FEW. The church has been shaken and rattled, but what will be the outcome of this? Of course, only God knows. But we may hope that the struggle will draw us closer together as faithful Christians, rather than driving us further apart. As we learn to see, in our sisters and brothers, people who are concerned about being faithful disciples, just as we are, then we will realize that we are not wrestling against the forces of evil, but with difficult issues, as we seek out the truth together. The forces of evil in the world are those that encourage us to believe it is better to divide ourselves and go our separate ways, than to work out our differences, no matter how difficult, and continue to move forward together as the Body of Christ. “Rise up and be joined together” - this is always more easily spoken of in theory, than practiced in reality. If people in a family cannot even “be joined together”, and congregations are often divided about various issues, how shall the larger church, and even the whole Christian Church on earth be joined together? How shall we learn to set aside our differences for the sake of the Gospel and the mission of God on earth? If nothing else, the Reformation has taught us that this is not something that can be “legislated” by a handful of leaders, but must be lived and felt by faithful Christians working together in the name of Jesus. And so, long before the E.L.C.A. and the Episcopal Church in America declared themselves to be in close fellowship, there were many places around the country, where Lutherans and Episcopalians were working closely together and worshiping together because they found they had a common mission in the name of Jesus Christ. Just like Ezekiel’s “dry bones”, the Spirit had brought them together.

“TAKE ON NEW FORMS AND SHAPES” - THIS IS THE SCARIEST PART OF RENEWAL IN THE CHURCH, BECAUSE IT MEANS WE MUST NOT BE AFRAID TO TRY NEW THINGS, AND DO OLD THINGS IN NEW WAYS. It is scary because we are forced to stretch ourselves into new ways of thinking about things and doing things, and we not only do not know how they will come out, but we also do not know how they may change us! Many in the church today are not interested in changing - they did enough of that when they were young! “Why can’t we just leave things the way they are? Why do we have to try new worship materials or perhaps a new hymnal? What was wrong with the old, comfortable, familiar ways of doing things?” Nothing! Except they are the ways of the people who are already here, and not the ways of the people we still need to reach out to. A favorite motto of mine is: “If we only do what we’ve already done, we will only get what we’ve already got!” And that means we have stopped being in mission! When we stop being a “mission outpost” for God in the world, we stop being the Church. That is the only reason God brought the Church into existence that first Pentecost.

WHAT WILL BECOME OF US IF GOD BREATHES A NEW SPIRIT AND NEW LIFE INTO OUR COMMUNITY? How will we look after a resurrection? We cannot tell, since we do not know from day to day what God is going to ask us to do, or how God will ask us to change. What we do know is what will happen to us if God doesn’t send the Spirit with new life into our midst - we will dry up and waste away like bones on the desert floor. And so we pray, “Come Holy Spirit, come!” In the name of Jesus, AMEN.

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Acts 1:15-17, 21-26
In those days Peter stood up among the believers (together the crowd numbered about one hundred twenty persons) and said, "Friends, the scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit through David foretold concerning Judas, who became a guide for those who arrested Jesus – for he was numbered among us and was allotted his share in this ministry." So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us--one of these must become a witness with us to his resurrection."
So they proposed two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also known as Justus, and Matthias. Then they prayed and said, "Lord, you know everyone's heart. Show us which one of these two you have chosen to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place." And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias; and he was added to the eleven apostles.

“ALLELUIA! CHRIST IS RISEN! [HE IS RISEN INDEED!] ALLELUIA! Yes, indeed, Jesus is risen! I saw him alive with my own two eyes. That’s why the disciples wanted me to be one of the Twelve; to take the place of that traitor, Judas. Perhaps you’ve heard of me? I am Joseph, called Barsabbas; also nicknamed “the Just”. I know when the disciples were trying to choose someone to take Judas’ place among the Twelve, I was the first person they thought of - “Joseph, the Just, Son of the Sabbath”. [That’s what Barsabbas means, after all.] You haven’t heard of me? Well, I’m sure you will! I just can’t imagine why they decided to leave it up to chance and cast lots for this important position! I could have added much to the company of the Twelve. I was well-schooled in the Scriptures, and already had the respect of the Jewish community as a learned and wise leader. I was well-to-do and could have helped to finance their activities out of my own resources. I was unmarried, having spent much of my life in the study of Scripture and my time in the synagog - not a very good place to find a “good woman” - you know, someone who would have been worthy of me. This would have left me free to spend most of my time in helping to direct the affairs of the disciples in Jerusalem. I had listened to nearly all of Jesus’ sermons and teachings, and followed their use and interpretation of Scripture with rapt attention, at times even correcting Jesus in his use of certain passages! In fact, I truly felt a certain closeness to Jesus. I’m sure, if Jesus had it to do all over again, he not only would have picked me to follow him instead of that Judas person, but he probably would have started with me. I could have helped him whip the rest of that rag-tag lot into shape!

“BUT, I SUSPECT YOU ALREADY KNOW WHAT HAPPENED. The lot fell to Matthias, instead of me. I don’t know why they even considered Matthias! His background was as humble as most of the rest of them. As far as I’m concerned, he wasn’t much more than a “warm body” to fill the hole! Everyone gasped when the lot fell to him; they were sure it would be me! I even suggested they try it again, just to be sure, but they felt that wouldn’t be appropriate, since they had prayed over it and all. Goodness! I pray over lots of things and they don’t necessarily turn out right. In fact, I’ve often wondered sometimes, when I’ve prayed and prayed for something and it turns out all wrong, if perhaps God enjoys playing “little tricks” on me,...or even that God’s not listening to me at all! Of course, I wouldn’t say something like that if I were one of the Twelve. After all, it is important for this group to have a “united front” in religious matters! But anyway, Matthias has been chosen and if that’s what God wants, so be it! I will do my best to help the Twelve establish themselves here in Jerusalem. Once the Sanhedrin realizes and accepts that these people are no threat to our faith, but are renewers and reformers that will revitalize our beliefs and help us to be great in the eyes of the world once again, they will accept The Way as another valid expression of the faith of Israel. I know the great teacher Gamaliel; I will speak with him on their behalf. His influence will go far in helping the Twelve be heard. If only Simon Peter would keep his thoughts to himself! He is forever getting us in trouble with the authorities. Well, what can you expect from a fisherman!”

“PERHAPS AFTER THINGS ARE A LITTLE BETTER ESTABLISHED, THEY WILL ALLOW ME TO SERVE THEM IN SOME SORT OF “OFFICIAL CAPACITY.” To begin with, it would really help if they had some sort of headquarters; some place where they could meet with Jewish and Roman officials. I will have to see if I can’t find something suitable for them.... Perhaps it will turn out for the best that Matthias was chosen instead of me. I can do a great deal of good for the Twelve behind the scenes, where my role is not so public. And, now that Jesus is not here in person to lead us, it is time to begin the process of folding the followers of the Way back into the life and faith of Israel. More than anything, I don’t want to see our band “fritter away” the gains and the followers we have made in some direction-less effort. These fisher-men and country-folk just don’t know how important it is to plan for the future and to make the right kind of “contacts.” Yes, yes, I’m sure that the choice of Matthias as the replacement for Judas will ultimately turn out to be for the best for our little band, however illogical it may have seemed at the time....”

“JOSEPH, CALLED BARSABBAS, ALSO KNOWN AS JUSTUS...” IS ONE OF THE FEW MEN IN THE BIBLE WITH THREE NAMES - WHAT AN EXTRAVAGANCE! More to the point, it’s virtually all we know about this man who might have been one of the Twelve, although we can guess some things from these names. One wonders why Luke would bother to even mention Joseph’s three names when, ultimately, Matthias was chosen. Perhaps Joseph “Justus” Barsabbas was someone that was well-known to Luke’s readers. Perhaps Luke was trying to make the point that someone “famous” was not the sort of person that God wanted in the leadership of the fledgling Church. Or, more to the point, that God deliberately chooses those who are lowly when there’s a job to be done; someone whose ego will not get in the way of the Church’s mission. Someone who is open to the Spirit’s leading, and not blinded by their own intelligence or preconceived notions. In fact, we don’t really know much about Matthias, but at least there is a tradition that he died a martyr’s death for the mission of the Church, and Matthias has a day on the Church calendar [February 24th]. Beyond that, Matthias is famous only because of the person he replaced, because of the way he was chosen, and most of all, because he said “Yes!” when God called. We don’t even know why the disciples felt it was so important to continue to have “twelve apostles”, other than as a balance to the twelve tribes of Israel.

AT THIS POINT IN TIME, IT MIGHT BE TEMPTING TO DRAW SOME SORT OF PARALLEL WITH THE OREGON SYNOD’S NEED TO CHOOSE A BISHOP AT NEXT YEAR’S ASSEMBLY. But I think it’s more important for us to ask what this story means for us, as disciples of Jesus today. First of all, we never know when or how God will call upon us to do something for the mission of the Church that we never imagined, just as I’m sure Matthias never imagined until that day that he might end up in the leadership of the first Christians. As a rule of thumb, we can probably presume that the stranger the circumstances under which we are being asked to do something new, the more likely it is that God is the one calling us. Like Matthias, we need to be ready to say “Yes!” when we are called upon to do something for God and the mission of the Church. ...But secondly, we also need to remember not to let human wisdom or honor get in the way of what God wants for the Church. We don’t know that Joseph and Matthias had “a competitive bone in their body”, least of all when it came to sticking their necks out in a leadership position, for the Jewish leaders to cut off. We don’t know that Joseph was disappointed that he wasn’t chosen, or that Matthias was happy that he was. All we know is that by all appearances, things may not have gone the way anyone expected. We shouldn’t be too upset or dismayed when things don’t go the way WE think they should, or - like our make-believe Joseph above - when our prayers aren’t answered in the way we think they should be. God knows what is best for the Church, and God knows what is best for us, and sometimes - against all odds - we just need to trust that God knows what God is doing, and that ultimately God will do what is best for us and the Church as a whole! Thanks be to God that we are not the ones solely responsible for the welfare of the Church in the world, for we should surely “muck it up”! When we let God take the driver’s seat in our lives, we will surely arrive at that destination that is best for us, now and for eternity. Thanks be to God! In the name of Jesus, AMEN.

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Mark 16:1-8
When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. They had been saying to one another, "Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?" When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. But he said to them, "Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you." So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

WHAT THE....? WHAT KIND OF A STUPID ENDING FOR THE EASTER STORY IS THIS? Jesus does not appear alive to anyone! The "young man" told the women to tell the disciples to go to Galilee, but they "said nothing to anyone." In fact, they did not leave the empty tomb in joy, but in terror and amazement, and said nothing to anyone out of fear. Thank goodness for the other gospels! They knew how to make the Easter story turn out right! What on earth was Mark thinking? ... Of course, we know that wasn't the end of the story. If it were, Mark (not to mention Matthew, Luke, and John) would not have bothered to write this gospel at all. Indeed, if that were really where the story ended, there would have been no one to care what happened, no one to risk their lives to write the story down, and - frankly - none of us here to read about it, much less to devote our lives to following that "poor, unfortunate wretch" called Jesus of Nazareth. Mark surely knew what happened after this. Why didn't he include the rest of the story like the other gospel writers; bring it to some more recognizable conclusion?

I THINK MARK ENDED THE EASTER STORY AND HIS GOSPEL AT THIS POINT FOR A VERY GOOD REASON. What Mark was reporting up to this point was essentially historical fact - verifiable, for the most part, by various means. Why, even the Roman and Jewish historians of the day wrote about Jesus and the story of the empty tomb. It is clear from a variety of sources that, after Jesus was crucified and his body had lain in the tomb from Friday to Sunday, the tomb was discovered to be empty. That someone may have been there and called this to the women's attention, and that they reacted by running away in terror and amazement is hardly surprising. BUT, it is at this point that the story moves from fact to faith. There is nothing more that can be said about the Easter story that does not require the reader to have faith; to believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and that he is indeed risen from the dead. In effect, Mark is saying to his readers, "These are the facts of the story. The rest of it is up to YOU!"

SO THEN, MARK CHALLENGES US TODAY WITH HIS EASTER GOSPEL"HOW WILL YOU FINISH THE EASTER STORY?" There are many people around the world today and down through the centuries who are perfectly happy with this Easter Gospel ending just as it does. They would like to say: "Jesus, the Great Teacher, died a terrible death, the victim of incredible injustice. Jesus was a symbol of all that is good in the world, and all who have died unjustly - the victims of tyranny and oppression. Jesus lives on in the hearts of all who believe in the ultimate triumph of good over evil in the world. Why, it's no wonder that his disciples believed he was still alive! In a way, he does live on, as the eternal symbol of our human striving for justice, good will, hope, and decency." But to end the Easter story in this way is to turn Jesus into just another plaster statue of a saint on a pedestal; something to look at and admire, something to think about from a scholarly perspective, something to bring out and dust off once or twice a year, and then put peacefully back into a cupboard until the next time. [SIGH!]

BUT, IF JESUS IS TRULY RISEN FROM THE DEAD, SUCH A VIEW OF JESUS AND OUR RESPONSE TO HIM IS TOTALLY INADEQUATE! If Jesus is truly risen from the dead, that is a miracle beyond human explanation, whatever we may think of the other miracles he is reported to have done. If Jesus is truly risen from the dead, then he can only be the Son of God, just as he claimed. If Jesus is truly risen from the dead, then nothing he said can be ignored, and he has a just claim on the life of every human being! If Jesus is truly risen from the dead, then the only hope we have for this life and the life to come is to commit our lives to following Jesus Christ faithfully. This is what Jesus has called us to do. These are the demands that Jesus makes on our lives.

YOU SEE, GOD, LIKE MARK, HAS LEFT THE ENDING OF THE EASTER STORY UP TO US. How will WE end the Easter story? Will we leave it as it is, with the women leaving in terrified silence, so that we do not have to respond with our lives? Or will we recognize that Jesus is alive, not just in First Century Israel, but also in Twenty-First Century Portland, Oregon? Jesus is alive right here, right now, watching and waiting for our response. Will we choose life with Christ, or death and its empty and meaningless consequences? To accept Christ's invitation is to turn our lives over to him, to trust in his love and mercy and forgiveness; to trust in his power to see us through death to life eternal.

WE KNOW HOW THE STORY REALLY ENDED; THE WOMEN WHO WERE FILLED WITH FEAR AT FIRST, BELIEVED IN THE RISEN CHRIST, AND WERE FILLED WITH COURAGE AND CONVICTION. Those who heard their testimony believed also, and so did those who heard it second- and third- and fourth-hand. Wherever people heard the Good News that Jesus, the true Son of God, is risen from the dead, and sends the Spirit of God to work faith in human hearts - there faith is born, and life triumphs over the forces of evil and death. That was partly why Mark did not need to write any more than he did. The-people for whom Mark was writing his gospel already knew and experienced the risen Christ in their very midst. They did not need to know what happened next; they were living it! How about us? How will we end the Easter story in our own lives? Is the risen Christ alive and living in us? Are we living in terror and fear of the unknown, or are we living in the boldness and courage of the risen Son of God?

I RECENTLY HEARD THIS STORY ABOUT AN INTERVIEW BETWEEN ED BRADLEY OF "60 MINUTES" AND BISHOP DESMOND TUTU OF SOUTH AFRICA, MADE IN THE DAYS WHEN APARTHEID STILL HAD ITS TERRIBLE HOLD ON THE LIVES OF PEOPLE THERE. After Bishop Tutu had related a number of stories of terror and torture and mayhem wreaked upon people, with gross injustice, Ed Bradley asked Bishop Tutu how he could possibly have any hope for himself and South Africa. Bishop Tutu looked back in stunned silence for a moment, and then replied, "Why Ed, I am a prisoner of hope! As long as my Lord Jesus lives, I cannot do anything but have hope!" The true ending of the Easter story is written in the lives of all who follow Jesus Christ through this life into life eternal. May God bless all our lives with this kind of Eater faith, for Jesus' sake!
AMEN

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Acts 2:1-21
When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability
Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each.
Amazed and astonished, they asked, "Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs--in our own languages we hear them speaking about God's deeds of power."
All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, "What does this mean?"
But others sneered and said, "They are filled with new wine."
But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, "Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o'clock in the morning. No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel: 'In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy. And I will show portents in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and smoky mist. The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the coming of the Lord's great and glorious day. Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.'

MOST OF US HAVE PROBABLY EITHER PLAYED THE GAME, "TELEPHONE", AS A CHILD, OR AT LEAST WE ARE AWARE OF IT. I know I've mentioned it a number of times in sermons and object lessons. To refresh your memory, this is the game where the participants sit in a circle, and one person is given a phrase that usually makes some sense, and they then whisper it in the ear of the next person. That person whispers what they heard in the ear of the next person, and so on and so forth, until the phrase travels around the circle and the last person says out loud what they think the phrase was. Usually, what comes out at the other end is quite different than what started, to the amusement of all who are playing. It's usually fun to also see where and with whom the phrase got "off the track" along the way. The point of this game (and my mentioning it today) is that this game, like the first Pentecost, is primarily about "hearing", not "speaking". When someone playing the game says what they think the phrase is, they are not mis-stating what they heard. The problem when a message goes awry is that the next person does not accurately hear what was said. When a message is "mis-heard" and misunderstood, it is often because the hearer is not ready to hear the message.

WHEN WE LOOK AT THE STORY OF THE FIRST PENTECOST, WE LEARN THAT THE PRESENCE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IS MADE KNOWN, AT LEAST IN PART, BY THE MIRACLE OF "SPEAKING IN TONGUES". But if we look carefully at the text, we see that there is a carefully-worded shift from verse 4 to verse 8. In verse 4 it is noted that the disciples were speaking in other languages, as the Spirit made them do that. But in verse 8 and again in verse 11, it says clearly that the people heard them speaking in their own native language. Now, it would be easy to dismiss this as just a difference in perspective. But have you ever stopped to count all the different countries that were mentioned - presumably all with different languages or dialects? There are at least 14 or 15, not counting the language(s) of the Jews in Jerusalem itself. How do 12 disciples preach in 15 or 16 different languages? I mean, that would really be talking out of both sides of your mouth! And given the size of the crowd, there is no guarantee even that is the total list of all who were there. No, the disciples may have been speaking in tongues at the first Pentecost, but the real miracle of the Spirit is that the crowd was "hearing in tongues".

OK, SO WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES THAT POSSIBLY MAKE FOR US TODAY; A MIRACLE - WHETHER OF HEARING OR SPEAKING - IS STILL A MIRACLE! Although this "Pentecost miracle" may very well be a "both-and", rather than an "either-or", it nevertheless points out that the Spirit does not do its work in set ways. The Spirit decides what is needed for the work of God to go forward on a case-by-case basis. So, in the early Church, those who were baptized often exhibited a special visual "gift of the Spirit" - usually "speaking in tongues". In fact, it came to be expected. In Acts 10 & 11, it was the reason for a major shift in the mission work of the Church, from Jews to Gentiles. But, having accomplished this purpose, this particular gift gradually faded from the scene in the life of the Church (as we read about it in the book of Acts), until today, it is relatively rare. And so, no one should ever have to prove the presence of the Spirit in their lives by exhibiting a particular gift - everyone gets their own gifts "as the Spirit wills." But on another level, it is encouraging to us, who are called to share our faith, to know that what is important may not be the message we speak, so much as the message the Spirit causes to be heard. That takes an enormous burden off our backs as God's agents in the world; for while we have a job to do, the Spirit is really doing all the hard work for us. And while we don't want to stop praying, "Lord, please put the right words in my mouth to say to this person," we can also add, "and by all means, let the Spirit guide the message that they hear." Just as at the first Pentecost, when the Spirit got things ready for the disciples to preach, by calling everyone together with the wind-and-fire-storm, and then took whatever they said and made it right, in the hearing of the thousands gathered there, so the Spirit will lead us to those who are ready for the Good News, and then help them to understand whatever it is that we manage to say about it.

I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO ADDRESS ANOTHER "HEARING ISSUE", AS WE THINK ABOUT THE SPIRIT GUIDING GOD'S MESSAGE INTO THE EARS OF THE SPIRITUALLY "HARD-OF-HEARING". As we again celebrate Memorial Day, and we are mindful of the sacrifices that our armed service men and women have made and are making today, in Iraq and Afghanistan and countless other places around the world, we are inundated with many voices saying what we should and should not do in the Middle East, often for some sort of political gain. Well-meaning Christians may wonder, "But what does God have to say about this situation? Why can we find no clear guidance from God in the Scriptures, in this time of battle and stress, injury and pain?" Part of the problem, of course, is that there are many who claim to speak for God on this issue, and then proceed to give us conflicting "testimony" about what God wants us to do. Scripture gives us general guidelines - stories in the Old Testament that use God's people to punish the evil-doers, and the words of Jesus and others that emphasize peace and love for one's enemies. But consider this dilemma from God's perspective. If you are a parent, and you have two children fighting over something, whom do you side with? You may side with the one that seems to be in the right, or you may side with the one who is younger or weaker, to even up the sides. Most likely, however, you will side with neither one, but rather punish them both for not finding a more peaceful way to resolve their issues! So when there are two people praying the Lord's Prayer in Iraq, one an American and the other an Iraqi, and the American prays, "deliver us from evil," and thinks of the Iraqis, and the Iraqi prays, "deliver us from evil," and thinks of the Americans, to whom does God listen? How does God hear those prayers? It is no wonder that we have trouble hearing guidance from God about such matters. God is not ready to answer such questions with a "simple answer" - there are no such things. Indeed, God may even be giving us an answer, but we are not ready to hear it! National pride could even be causing us to be "hard-of-hearing". So, as we pray for the Spirit to heal our hearing today, we also ask that the Spirit would give us the ability to hear what God is saying to his people today, and may our hearts be tuned to listen, even if the message from our Father in heaven is not one we want to hear! In the name of Jesus, AMEN!

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John 4:5-42 (& 8:1-11)

John 4:5-42
So he came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob's well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon.
A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink."
(His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.)
The Samaritan woman said to him, "How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?" (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.)
Jesus answered her, "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."
The woman said to him, "Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well, and with his sons and his flocks drank from it?"
Jesus said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life."
The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water."
Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come back."
The woman answered him, "I have no husband."
Jesus said to her, "You are right in saying, 'I have no husband'; for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true!"
The woman said to him, "Sir, I see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem."
Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth."
The woman said to him, "I know that Messiah is coming" (who is called Christ). "When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us."
Jesus said to her, "I am he, the one who is speaking to you."
Just then his disciples came. They were astonished that he was speaking with a woman, but no one said, "What do you want?" or, "Why are you speaking with her?"
Then the woman left her water jar and went back to the city. She said to the people,
"Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah, can he?"
They left the city and were on their way to him.
Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, "Rabbi, eat something."
But he said to them, "I have food to eat that you do not know about."
So the disciples said to one another, "Surely no one has brought him something to eat?"
Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work.
Do you not say, 'Four months more, then comes the harvest'? But I tell you, look around you, and see how the fields are ripe for harvesting. The reaper is already receiving wages and is gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, 'One sows and another reaps.' I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor." Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman's testimony, "He told me everything I have ever done."
So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them; and he stayed there two days. And many more believed because of his word.
They said to the woman, "It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Savior of the world."

John 8:1-11
while Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him and he sat down and began to teach them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery; and making her stand before all of them, they said to him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” They said this to test him, so that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” And once again he bent down and wrote on the ground. When they heard it, they went away, one by one, beginning with the elders; and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus straightened up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, sir.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go your way, and from now on do not sin again.”

WOMEN DO NOT SEEM TO PLAY A MAJOR ROLE IN THE GOSPEL OF JOHN, AS THEY DO IN LUKE; OTHER THAN MARY, THE MOTHER OF JESUS, AND MARY & MARTHA, THE SISTERS OF LAZARUS, THE ONLY WOMEN WE KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT FROM JOHN IS THIS WOMAN AT THE WELL IN SAMARIA, AND THE WOMAN "TAKEN IN ADULTERY" AT THE BEGINNING OF JOHN, CHAPTER 8 [OFTEN INCLUDED AS A FOOTNOTE]. Interestingly enough, these two women appear ONLY in John, also. I don't think it is accident or coincidence that both of these women have a "colorful" past, and that John gives their stories considerable space in his Gospel. Let's look at the two women and their stories - what is similar and what is different. The woman at the well in Samaria had a past that was clearly no secret. One has the impression that - even though she was surprised Jesus, a stranger, knew about it - the people in town seem to have known all about her past life. Indeed, under those 1st Century circumstances, it would have been very difficult to keep five marriages and a present infidelity secret! Those who have studied life in those times note that most women would have gone to the well for the day's water early in the morning, before it got too hot. One suspects this woman came to the well at noon, in spite of the heat, to avoid the cat-callsand snide remarks she would have to endure from the other townsfolk.

BUT, THERE IS AN IMPORTANT DISTINCTION TO BE MADE BETWEEN THE WOMAN AT THE WELL IN SAMARIA, AND THE WOMAN CAUGHT IN ADULTERY IN JERUSALEM. No one in Samaria wanted to stone that woman to death. They may have been unkind, and felt that they wanted nothing to do with "her kind". But no one thought she should be stoned for her indiscretions. The woman in Jerusalem, on the other hand, had no such lengthy marital career; as far as we know, she was discovered in a first indiscretion. The woman in Samaria bumped into Jesus, almost by accident, while the woman in Jerusalem is dragged before Jesus while he is teaching. The Pharisees who brought the woman in Jerusalem to Jesus did so precisely because they suspected Jesus would not choose to stone this poor woman, and so, go against the clear teachings of the Levitical law. Thus, they would have further evidence to discredit Jesus to the people who were following him. What they had conveniently forgotten, however, was that in such cases in the Levitical law, both the woman AND THE MAN are to be stoned. Perhaps the guilty male was one of their own number.

WITH THE WOMAN IN OUR GOSPEL FROM SAMARIA, JESUS KNEW ALL ABOUT HER LIFE, BUT NEVER ONCE SUGGESTS THAT SHE SHOULD CHANGE HER SINFUL WAYS. Instead, he offers her "living water" that becomes "a spring of water gushing up to eternal life." Jesus is not concerned with her past; only her future in the kingdom of God. The woman in Jerusalem, however, is in danger for her life; to her, Jesus says, "Go and sin no more." Jesus certainly does not mean that somehow this woman should suddenly become more holy than anyone else in Christendom, and never sin again. That would be impossible. Instead what Jesus seems to be saying here is, "I saved you this time, but I may not be here the next time you are caught. Things turned out well enough this time, but don't expect that things will always turn out as well, when I am not here to remind the others that they, too, are guilty and in need of forgiveness. You had better not take chances with committing this sin again!"

TRUE TO FORM, JUST AS THE PHARISEES SUSPECTED, JESUS WAS MORE CONCERNED ABOUT THE PERSON THAN ABOUT THE LAW. We see in both these stories that Jesus DID set the law aside for the sake of the individual needing to be saved. In the case of the Samaritan woman, the Law about marital fidelity was more-or-less irrelevant to those folks, who did not worry about what the Jews in Jerusalem thought. WHAT IS THE SAME ABOUT BOTH WOMEN IN THESE TWO STORIES IS THAT JESUS SET ALL OF THE RELIGIOUS LAWS AND SOCIAL NORMS ASIDE IN ORDER TO REACH OUT TO THESE TWO WOMEN. Too many people believe that Christianity is all about "the rules". "Am I 'good enough' for God? Will God love me after I have done this or that?" Even people who continue to love their own children when they are bad somehow believe that God is not able to do this; that God's standards are so much higher that God cannot possibly love them! Jesus' words and actions here, and in other places where he does battle with the scribes and Pharisees over the Law, demonstrate that the most important "keeping of the Law" is when it helps someone in their journey back to God. And when the Law gets in the way of that journey, it is the Law that is to be set aside, not the person in need! Finally, Jesus is not concerned about what these two women had done; he's only concerned about who they are going to be from now. We do not know whether either of these women led exemplary lives after their "conversion experience". We do not know this because it is irrelevant. They had become children of God through Jesus Christ; that was their life-changing experience that made all the difference to them and to Jesus.

WE HAVE BEEN TO THE "FOUNTAIN OF LIVING WATER" THAT SPRINGS UP IN US TO ETERNAL LIFE. We can keep that fountain springing up in our lives by worrying less about whether we are "holy enough" to be children of God, and more about how we can live our lives in the joy and promise that God gives to us through our baptism. The disciples did not understand why Jesus would be talking to a "Samaritan woman of ill-repute"; they were trapped in their own legalistic thinking. Instead, Jesus was proclaiming the Gospel, to this woman and to all people, that God accepts everyone who comes in faith to be forgiven and healed. The Pharisees and the disciples didn't get it. The two women got it! Do you? May your baptismal grace be a fountain of life springing up in you, in Jesus' name. AMEN.

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Matthew 28:16-20
Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

THE WORDS OF JESUS TO THE DISCIPLES, TO THE CHURCH, TO YOU AND ME: “GO...MAKE DISCIPLES OF ALL NATIONS!” These few verses - appearing on Holy Trinity Sunday, since they include one of the few clear references to the Trinity in the Bible - have become the Christian Church’s “Mission Statement” since the very beginning of the Church. There is some question as to whether Jesus himself would have said these words, referring to himself in a way that is far different than what we see elsewhere in the Gospel, and suggesting a developed theology of the Trinity that does not seem to jive with the early history of the Church as we have it in the book of Acts. But at this point, that is all irrelevant, because it has become so important to the Church’s life, that Jesus surely would have said it if the occasion presented itself. But aside from the obvious reference to the Trinity, do we really understand what this verse is about?

YOU WOULD THINK, AFTER TALKING ABOUT THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH FOR NEARLY 2,000 YEARS, USING THIS VERY VERSE, THAT THERE WOULD BE NOTHING NEW TO SAY ABOUT OR LEARN FROM THIS VERSE. And yet, the dynamic nature of this critical verse is completely lost on most Christian congregations today. Jesus says, “Go...make disciples”, and most churches have come to think that means “Go, unlock your door, so people can come in, if they want....” Or perhaps they think it means, “Go outside and put up a nice sign for people to see, so they know you are there....” Now, don’t get me wrong - I have nothing against unlocking church doors or having nice signs! It’s just that these things have little or nothing to do with “GOING” and “MAKING DISCIPLES” of “ALL NATIONS”. That involves more activity than unlocking a door and putting up a sign. I get really frustrated when I read church “Mission Statements” that talk about believing, and worship, and learning, and fellowship, and praying, and...let’s see...oh yes...telling others about Jesus. The ONLY thing in most mission statements that has anything to do with the actual MISSION of the church is usually some after-thought tacked on at the end! For too many, the Church’s only reason for existence is an after-thought!"GO...MAKE DISCIPLES!"

LET ME FOCUS ON THAT FOR A MOMENT - THIS PASSAGE, THIS SO-CALLED “GREAT COMMISSION” - IS THE ONLY LEGITIMATE REASON FOR THE CHURCH TO EXIST. Any congregation that stops “going to make disciples of all nations” ceases to have a reason to exist. And, in fact, many of those who have forgotten this have ceased to exist. Now, yes, it is true that this process involves baptizing people, and teaching them what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ in the world. But if we fail to first go, and reach out to “all nations” and call them to discipleship, we will stand at our baptismal fonts and sit in our classes twiddling our thumbs, waiting for something to happen! We know as well as anyone that “making disciples” happens in many different ways. It is rarely about knocking on the doors of strangers, or standing on a street-corner preaching. It is usually not about giving away Bibles or tracts either, though that may have more of a chance to work than some other efforts. What it IS about is sharing in word and deed what it means for YOU to be a disciple of Jesus Christ in the world today. Don’t forget, Jesus told the disciples - who weren’t so sure they knew what this was all about, and in fact, “some doubted” - Jesus told these disciples to go out and make more disciples! Talk about “the blind leading the blind”! But that’s exactly what they did, and did well enough that we still gather here in the name of Jesus Christ, today.

IF YOU ARE A DISCIPLE OF JESUS CHRIST, YOU HAVE A STORY TO TELL - A STORY OF YOUR FAITH THAT WILL HELP OTHER PEOPLE WANT TO BE DISCIPLES, OR PERHAPS AT LEAST BE CURIOUS ABOUT BEING DISCIPLES. The secret to “going and making disciples” is to know what your story is - you know, those experiences you have had when God touched your life and helped you to be the disciple you are today. Some of these stories will be from your childhood, some will be from Sunday School or Confirmation, or some will be from last week. The important thing is not what the story is, but that it shows your relationship with God and what it means to you. If we travel to another country, most people know we are Americans by the way we act and talk, and we don’t feel like this is something we have to hide (except maybe in France...). By the same token, people ought to be able to recognize by the way that we act and talk that we are disciples of Jesus Christ, and this should not embarrass us, even in France! "GO...MAKE DISCIPLES!"

In short, the most important thing we do as Christian people is to practice our life of faith so that we make our faith known to others! And lest we think this is about “recruiting members for this church” - that should be the least of our concern. God has made us his disciple so we can make other disciples, however and wherever that may happen.

I’D LIKE TO TOUCH ON ONE OTHER ISSUE THAT I FIND TRULY AMAZING, THAT COMES FROM THIS PASSAGE, AT THE HEART OF THE CHURCH’S LIFE. Jesus clearly says to make disciples of “all nations”. I cannot fathom why Christian people can hear this very clear message, and think that somehow it doesn’t apply. Since when does “all nations” NOT include people of other races and other cultures that live in this country, or people with disabilities, or people who have different sexual orientations from us, or who have unsavory jobs or addictions. Last time I checked, “ALL NATIONS” includes everyone that is alive. God wants everyone to be a disciple! The only place we don’t have to recruit disciples in is the cemetery. And even there, my aunt found a grieving man to witness to! It mystifies me when I hear someone quote some passage from one of Paul’s letters, written for a particular group of people at a particular place and time in history, and try to say that this means there are some people who don’t belong in the “kingdom of God”, when JESUS - not just Paul, but JESUS - says he wants everyone to be a disciple! No restrictions, no qualifications, no “ifs, ands, or buts” - JESUS WANTS EVERYONE!

ONE OF THE REASONS WE TEND TO “TUNE OUT” WHEN THIS CRITICAL PASSAGE IS READ IS NOT JUST BECAUSE WE THINK WE KNOW IT SO WELL, BUT BECAUSE WE DON’T WANT TO HEAR WHAT IT’S REALLY SAYING TO THE CHURCH! We are Jesus’ disciples today. Thank God, someone helped us to become a disciple. Now it’s our turn. No matter how much we’d rather bake a cake, or paint a wall, or pull a weed, or sing a hymn, making disciples for Jesus Christ is our only real job as Christians. And when we go make disciples, we begin with the story of our faith, and what it means to us, and the Spirit takes it from there. And most of all, we need to remember that when the name of the Trinity is spoken over someone being baptized, God doesn’t care who that person is or what they have or haven’t done, so we’d jolly well better not care either! In the name of Jesus, AMEN!

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Our vision at Mt. Carmel is to share our relationship with Jesus by building loving inclusive relationships which nurture faith, healing, and forgiveness.

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Mt. Carmel Evangelical Lutheran Church
515 S.W. Maplecrest Drive, Portland, OR 97219
503-244-5143
Updated: May 2, 2008