It's NOT a Dream

Sermon John 11 March 29, 2020 5^th Sunday in Lent. Covid19 Livestream worship.

It's NOT a Dream

When bad things happen we sometimes deal with it by asking someone to pinch us. We look to them and ask them. “Was that a dream; did this really happen?”

When we feel the pinch which can really hurt-we realize it was NOT a dream!

Martha and Mary are living their worst nightmare.

Their precious brother Lazarus is ill to the point of death. They do what anyone would do and they call on their best friend to come and help them to save their brother.

What do we do when we are faced with a tragedy, a trauma; we call out to our dearest ones. We call to them to come back to us and help us. We want them to help us through our fear and to solve and fix our problems for us. 

We trust them with our life and we have some pretty high expectations of them. 

Most of the time we get pretty mad at the people we have preset assumptions of what they can and should do for us.

Especially when we are in a crisis.

And when we are suffering from grief.

To make this story even more interesting is that we too get mad at Jesus as we read how stalls showing up for his friends.

It’s not that he is showing up for some acquaintances-no! These are his best friends ever! When Jesus heard the news he should have dropped everything and gone running to be the hero and save the day.

So, along with Martha we’re really upset with Jesus!

We ask him too, “Where were you?! You could have done something to fix this, to save Lazarus.”

I imagine many people have been in Martha’s shoes this week.

And Mary’s too.

“Where were you Jesus when this virus took over the world?”

“Why didn’t you stop it yet?”

“How could you have hung out in other places and not put us on the top of your list of favorite people to come running to?”

We can be encouraged to know that Martha and Mary are not afraid of Jesus to let him have it.

They are not afraid to let him know the truth of how they feel.

They are not afraid to let him know what they expected of him and how disappointed they are in him for not coming to save their brother.

Perhaps, we too need the assurance that we can let Jesus have it

and let him know our feelings of disappointment and anger too.

These three were Jesus closest friends ever.

Jesus doesn’t react to their feelings. He doesn’t scold them. Jesus just loves them.

He recognizes in them the power of their faith.

Lament and expression of frustration and grief is as much a part of faith as any other expression.

Our feelings of grief and pain, hurt and sorrow are holy.

They are not unbelief but the truth of the power of faith.

Why?

Because when we believe God could have done something, we believe in the power of God of death and life.

And that’s when Jesus lets us know who he is in the heart of our faith.

He IS the resurrection and the life!

Jesus asks the women if they believe and they let him know-yes!

But, then Jesus heads to the tomb and asks the stone to be rolled away and the reality of the death within the tomb hits hard.

It hits home.

And they yell, “no don’t do it! He stinks!

It’s been four days!”

Don’t open the tomb.

Don’t open the reality of death. Don’t open the truth.

From the confession of faith in Jesus to the stark reality of the un-denying dead as a doornail Lazarus-the women are no longer dreaming!

We too have hit the hard reality of the death in the tomb.

And it stinks!

We are stuck in a pandemic and it stinks.

It really, really smells.

And it is NOT a dream!

It has hit home to us.

We have someone we know who has been infected by this virus. We have someone we know who has lost a loved to this virus. We have someone we know who has had negligent medical care because the focus has only been on this virus. And beyond that our daily life is totally turned upside down.

Hopes and dreams of retirement are now in limbo. Our young people are without career opportunities as all job interviews are on hold. Graduations, weddings, birthdays, funerals all are cancelled until further notice. Parents are scrambling to figure out how to work and teach. Teachers are scrambling to figure out how to teach without touch, toys, or tutors. Yes. We are all together standing at the tomb with Martha and telling Jesus don’t roll away the stone of the reality of how all of this really, really, stinks!

We are fearful the truth will escape in a wretched odor.

The power for us as individuals and as the church, as the community of faith and community of people everywhere, is that Jesus IS the resurrection and the Life!

He is the truth of who he has claimed and God has anointed from the beginning.

When Jesus says even though they die, they live-that’s exactly what we believe!

We say it in all our confessions.

All who live will never die.

Death is but a transition from this life to the next without any interruption of life with Christ.

The future hope is in today!

Abundance of life is now in any circumstance.

There is no fear about rolling away the stone of reality.

God is with us.

God is calling the stone to be rolled away and for new life to emerge!

God loves the world so much he has given the world Jesus for salvation.

Life is promised from the first breath of faith and the fullness of God is there, present never leaving us.

Abundance of God’s presence is what the gospel of John promises.

Over the top wonder of God working new life in those who seek him.

So when Jesus calls Lazarus to come out,

he is calling all new life to emerge.

New beginnings will emerge from the death of reality.

As we face our fears and do not let them keep us apart from God or from one another, we discover the power of God to work the abundance of opportunity in us.

Hold on to hope!

It is true that this is NOT a dream.

But, we can trust that Jesus is there calling us

to come back to him with all our heart.

Jesus is waiting for us to allow new life to emerge from the tomb.

Jesus is waiting and longing for us to come to him.

To believe in him.

To say yes when he asks us if we believe.

Friends, it’s NOT a dream.

Jesus is here right now, fully present,

all powerful,

filling us with the breath of life.

Believe his love for you today.

Amen.

Resources: NIB Gospel John Gail O'Day; Encounters with Jesus by Francis Taylor Gench,

Sent Out in Jesus’ Name

Sermon Mark 6:1-13 July 8, 2018 Ordinary Time

Sent Out in Jesus’ Name

Sometimes we come to Scripture texts like this one in Mark chapter 6, and we prefer to listen to another story about Jesus. But, it is times like these when we need to gather to the hard lessons. It’s always easier to learn about a Jesus who was not only loving but also loved. It is always easier to learn about disciples who turned the world upside down and brought thousands to faith in Jesus, and not notice the times of rejection. Yet, we need to hear about the tough times, the rough times, and the especially about those moments of being turned away, unloved, and unappreciated.

We are not what others proclaim us to be,

but who God has called us to be.

We are children of God,

loved and redeemed.

Called and sent out in Jesus’ name.

These words-

Control, faith,

rejection, love,

reputation, mercy,

power, grace

come into our life, into our being, into our vocabulary, into our response to a world out there and a soul within.

These words and actions in our life can come to us to guide us,

help us,

hinder us,

deny us,

and/or heal and hold us.

We spend a lot of energy worrying about what people think of us and how we make them feel or how they make us feel.

Our hearts can be bursting with anxiety, fear, and worry hoping we can control the thoughts of others about who we are. It is a serious concern in today’s society as social media has a way of wrapping people up in the power of the opinions of others.

Today, we witness Jesus in his hometown-imagine what Instagram, or twitter would have said about him!

Jesus had a mission to tell all the world about the love of God.

And not everyone wants to hear that message.

Not everyone is happy about Jesus-the carpenter’s son-being the messiah with power and wisdom.

His own people mock him.

His family who one would hope would embrace him, rejects him too.

We want people to know about the love of God.

But, it is not in our control who receives it or who rejects it.

It is not in our control how people feel about us, or our message.

What is in our control is how we love and show compassion.

One of the greatest lessons in pastoral care in seminary was from a professor who said, “If you think you can get everyone to like you in ministry and that is how you function in the church of your calling, you will be doomed. Because, you will have made the ministry a mockery about yourself and not about God.” There was quite a bit of arguing with the professor. But, he held his ground. He made it clear that to be called out in Jesus Name meant that is the name on our lips as we offer love at every turn. It is the name that drives us to reach out and help without judgment. It is the name that calls us to open our arms with peace even when the rocks are being hurled at us.

There are a few things to notice of in this Scripture text of Mark 6. One-Jesus is unwelcome in his home town because they remember him as the boy of the carpenter. He is rendered powerless in the face of rejection.

 

Stoning of Stephen-museum-Corfu, Greece

It makes me wonder;

how do we limit those around us

because we expect them to be the same

as we have known them in their past?

How do we render people powerless because we judge

they are not worthy or not ‘good enough’

to be able to do the powerful and miraculous

things we expect others to do?

A second thing to notice - immediately following his not so pleasant going home experience, Jesus sends out the twelve on a mission to other villages to preach the good news. He gives them instructions about shaking the dust off their feet. This was an old Jewish custom to shake off the unclean gentile dust before they entered their clean homes.

Jesus gives the action another context.

Leave the rejection at the doorstep,

do not carry it with you to the next house.

Leave it at the doorstep,

wipe your feet and remember

this is not about you it is about them.

This rejection does not define you.

You have more places to go. You are mine.

Jesus didn’t differentiate between mission and evangelism. Doing and telling were one in the same. Perhaps, that’s what we’re most afraid of, the telling. Perhaps, we’re as unsure about our faith story as the disciples were. They didn’t know quite what to say or what to do. Jesus sent them out with little instruction. He sent them out to tell the good news and heal the sick and have power of unclean spirits.

So, the twelve went as Jesus sent them. Even with their anxiety, they went. Even with the fear of their reputation, they went. Even with the looming possibilities of all that could go wrong, they went. And perhaps, that’s the message for us. Even with all our frailties and our inabilities, Jesus is still sending us out.

I recently watched the movie Sully. It was the movie about the pilot who landed the plane on the Hudson River and all 155 souls on board were saved. The movie told the story of what happened after the flight. It told about the investigation and the probability of pilot error. Sully said, “I’ve flown for forty years and delivered a million people safely to their destination but, my entire career, my life and reputation will be based on 208 seconds.”

A woman pastor was upset because she was unable to do the funeral of young man who passed away. Only later she found out the man was the grandson of one of the members of her church. People in her congregation were upset at her for not showing the compassion they expected her to show. She did what she could to make amends explaining it was difficult to reach out when she was unaware. She became worried about her reputation among the congregation and the community. She was given sage advice from other pastors- “Your reputation-It was never in your power to control what other people thought of you anyway.”

We can’t let fear of what others think of us deter us from doing what we believe is right.

Sully landed that plane because he knew it was the only choice he had to save the lives of the people on the plane. And later the safety board agreed with him. The pastor did what she understood was right at the time with the information she was given. And the congregation embraced her with new understanding.

The truth is, both these people-Sully & the woman pastor-

acted out of love and compassion before, 

during, and after their situations.

And isn’t that what God asks of us.

God asks for our faithfulness,

our love,

our compassion

to be lived and to shared.

God asks us to be steadfast,

to not be afraid,

to speak the truth,

to not worry about those

who are not ready to hear they are loved,

to go out anyway,

in Jesus name

and proclaim the gospel.

We are not what others proclaim us to be,

but who God has called us to be.

We are children of God,

loved and redeemed.

Called and sent out in Jesus’ name.

Go and do likewise. Amen.

Resources: Feasting on the Word, NIB. Working Preacher, me