According To John: Signs of Jesus

John 5:2-11, 16-18 

Now in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate there is a pool, called in Hebrew Beth-zatha, which has five porticoes. In these lay many invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed. One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be made well?” The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; and while I am making my way, someone else steps down ahead of me.” Jesus said to him, “Stand up, take your mat and walk.” At once the man was made well, and he took up his mat and began to walk.

Now that day was a sabbath. So the Jews said to the man who had been cured, “It is the sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your mat.” But he answered them, “The man who made me well said to me, ‘Take up your mat and walk.’”

Therefore the Jews started persecuting Jesus, because he was doing such things on the sabbath. But Jesus answered them, “My Father is still working, and I also am working.” For this reason the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because he was not only breaking the sabbath, but was also calling God his own Father, thereby making himself equal to God.

Can you imagine a President of the United States that did not believe that Jesus was God?

A President who didn’t believe that the miracles of Jesus were authentic but rather were myths?

A President devoted to the teaching of Jesus — but not always agreeing with how Jesus was interpreted by the biblical sources?

         

Can you imagine a President who saw the four gospels as "untrustworthy correspondents?"

Thomas Jefferson struggled with the Biblical account of Jesus --- so he created his own gospel by taking a sharp instrument, perhaps a penknife, to copies of the New Testament and pieced together his own account of Christ’s philosophy.

Much of the material Jefferson elected to not include related to miraculous events, he rejected anything that he perceived as “contrary to reason.”

          Including the resurrection stories

Thomas Jefferson did what many of us want to do at times —- excise from our minds things that don’t make sense or cannot be proven.

Last week, I had the privilege of teaching the re-confirm class. 

It is a class for adults who want to go over the same material that the youth are learning in confirmation.

It was my first chance to teach the class and I found it fascinating.

What I realized is that:

·         They have the same questions that the youth have — they just have better tools to articulate those questions

·         They are not always sure what to do with the things that don’t make sense

But what fascinated me the most was an explanation given why our youth struggle so much with accepting what they read in the Bible

What was shared was that students today are taught in school that they must prove things.

          Papers are written with the need to PROVE a position

                   How does one PROVE what is written in the Bible?

Even John understood this in his conclusion to his Gospel in Jesus’ encounter with Thomas — when he said (20:29)

“Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”

It is understandable how Jefferson could then conclude that we should remove all those un-provable stories from the Bible —

but then again — maybe he was missing the point

John has only seven miracle stories in the Gospel while the Synoptic Gospel's have over 30 different ones

John not only excludes many of the miracles in the synoptic Gospels, but he sees them as having a very different purpose

          In the synoptics they are there to win people to Jesus

                   That is not John’s purpose

John does not even call them miracles

          He sees them as SIGNS

Let me elaborate a little

          In John there are 7 Signs — in biblical times numerology was very important

                   7 = wholeness or completeness

          In John there are 7 "I Am" sayings

                   I don’t think it is a coincidence

Bart Ehrman says:

Jesus does not do as many miracles in John as he does in the Synoptics, but the ones he does are, for the most part, far more spectacular. Indeed, unlike in the Synoptics, Jesus does nothing to hide his abilities; he performs miracles openly in order to demonstrate who he is. 

Jesus performs miracles openly in order to demonstrate who he is

What do these signs say about who Jesus is?

          For John —- there is always more than what is visible to the eye

I find the first sign in John’s Gospel fascinating — It is the story of Jesus and his mother attending a wedding together in the small community of Cana

It is the elements of the Cana story that are so intriguing.

Jesus and his disciples, who have been down in the Jordan valley with John the Baptist, return to the Galilee to join a wedding celebration.

Jesus’ mother Mary and his brothers are already there (2:12), so it seems to be some kind of “family affair.”

Indeed, Mary seems to be at some level officially involved in the celebration as a kind of co-hostess since she takes charge of things when the wine planned for the occasion, unexpectedly runs out, indicating either that the crowd was larger than expected or that things became quite festive, or both.

Mary turns to Jesus and tells him take care of the problem

Jesus finds nearby six stone jars (not the typical clay jars) that could hold 20 or 30 gallons of water and he told the servants to fill the jars to the brim.

After filling the jars, he instructs them to draw off some of the water and take it to the headwaiter

John 2:9-10 (The Message)

When the host tasted the water that had become wine (he didn’t know what had just happened but the servants, of course, knew), he called out to the bridegroom, “Everybody I know begins with their finest wines and after the guests have had their fill brings in the cheap stuff. But you’ve saved the best till now!”

In some ways this is one of the strangest stories in the Bible surrounding Jesus.

We all know the point of the story isn’t that Jesus is the life of the party and if you run out of wine Jesus will bring the good stuff

          But what is John trying to tell us?

What is hidden beneath the surface that a literal reading won't tell us?

I believe there are a couple of key concepts here

·         John seems to imply that if we do as Jesus tells us to do — then our ordinary lives can become extraordinary

·         Jesus took stone jars, not clay ones, because stone jars were used for ritual cleansing.  Jesus seems to be saying that he will cleanse us of the impurities in our life if we will follow.   Or as Hamilton put it: “life in Christ is richer and more joyful than the ritualistic religion of first century Judaism.”

·         This full extraordinary life is available right now — not just in the future

What is amazing, is these same concepts are found in the second “Sign” story that I want to look at

This is one of my favorite of the "Sign" stories in John

Jesus has made his way back to Jerusalem for his 2^nd (of three visits)

          This is one of the big differences between John and the Synoptic Gospels

In the Synoptic Gospels Jesus only goes to Jerusalem once (at the end of his ministry)

                             In John, Jesus travels to Jerusalem three times

Jesus is near the sheep gate — near the modern Lion’s Gate (or St. Stephen’s gate)

It is the Sabbath — and that will become an important detail

The location of this sign is the Pools of Bethesda the remains of which are still visible today

It was believed that this was a place where one could experience healing — thus people would gather in the hope that they might be the next one healed.

The Pools of Bethesda are described as having five porticoes — a puzzling feature suggesting an unusual five-sided pool, which most scholars dismissed as an unhistorical literary creation.

Yet when this site was excavated, it revealed a rectangular pool with two basins separated by a wall—thus a five-sided pool—and each side had a portico.

This story about Jesus’ miracle suggests a long history of healing at the site.

Roman medicinal baths constructed at the Bethesda Pool only a century or two later reflect this continued tradition.

When Christians controlled Jerusalem in the Byzantine and Crusader periods, they liked to mark the sites of Jesus’ miracles and other important events in his life, so they added a chapel and churches that now cover the Bethesda Pool complex.

The way the story is told it was understood that the first person to enter the pool when the waters were stirred up would supposedly be cured of his or her ailment

We are told that there was a man who had been ill for 38 years who had been coming to the pools for a long time hoping to be cured.

Jesus sees him and asks him a profound question: “Do you want to get well?”

The truth of the matter is, many of us don’t want to be made well

          We like our addictions, our illnesses, our whatever it is that ails us

But this man wants to be cured — he says to Jesus

“Sir, when the water is stirred, I don’t have anybody to put me in the pool. By the time I get there, somebody else is already in.”  John 5:7 (MSG)

The very next thing we see is Jesus — seemingly ignoring the superstition surrounding the water AND the man’s complaint as to why he’s still there after 38 years — telling the man to get up, pick up his mat and walk --- Notice, Jesus does not put him in the waters.

What’s lost in the translation from Greek is that Jesus’ words to the man carry the implication of an order — almost like that of a commanding General to a private.

Immediately the guy was on his feet — mat in hand — heading toward the Temple

It is at this point that we can begin to see the deeper meaning John has been leading us toward.

"DO YOU WANT TO GET WELL?”

With this question, Jesus meant to get both this ailing man’s attention and ours — to help us see a truth which is too often overlooked.

Jesus knew that healing and moving forward in transformation was going to require the paralytic man to move into territory he’d never known.

His circumstances were sad and unfortunate, and undoubtedly he’d wished, wanted, and even prayed to be able to walk thousands of times over the last 38 years.

But Jesus knew that not everything about being healed would be easy.

There would be some results of his healing that would be a challenge.

For instance, he was immediately going to be accused of being a sinner by the religious leaders.

          Why? Because he was breaking the law by carrying his mat on the Sabbath

Yet, when we read the story carefully, it appears that Jesus very intentionally picked a Sabbath to heal the man

We Jesus trying to make a point to the religious leaders?

          Was he trying to push their buttons?

                   It really seems so

Jesus is seems is trying to open the eyes of those who get wrapped up in the law and fail to see God's grace because of it.

          Sometimes we cannot see what it right in front of us.

Hamilton reminds us of this with a story about Vincent Van Gogh's masterpiece painting: Starry Night

The painting shows a town and a church at night --- I am sure you are familiar with it.

Above this beautiful scene is the most amazing sky: the moon and the stars whirl like pinwheels above the town.

Many see the lights in the sky representing Jesus --- the light of the world --- or maybe just the light of God's love (Van Gogh was a very religious man)

Most of the houses in the village have this light in them as well --- perhaps signifying the light of the Christ in the hearts and lives of the people.

But what is striking is that the church ---

the church which is at the center of the painting ---

the church has no light.

Many believe this is Van Gogh pointing out that the church of his day often seemed to lack the love of God --- so he painted it as a cold building without the light of Christ in it.

He suggests that the church is more concerned about following the letter of the law --- than being a conduit for the light and life of Jesus.

John seems to be asking us --- is the light of Christ shining through our lives, or are we so captivated by following the rules --- that the light and life of God is diminished.

And from that moment on, John tells us, the religious folk redoubled their efforts to get rid of this troublemaker

To get rid of the one who to them seemed to lessen God because he failed to follow all the rules.

And not just get rid of him --- to put him to death.

Because they could not hear the question Jesus was asking them: Do You Want To Be Healed?

Pick up your mat, Jesus says --- and be made well.

Grace Upon Grace

Gracious God, I kneel before you a sinner.

I know that I am not worthy to be called a child of yours.

Yet despite my sin, despite my continuing to sin and fall short of your glory --- forty years ago --- you called me into ministry.

Loving God, these past few weeks have been hard --- as we have wrestled over who is worthy to be a pastor in YOUR church.  And as I have studied the bible, I have become even more conflicted. 

Clearly in the few texts that spell out requirements of ministry I fall short. 

I have failed to live up to the ideal that the authors suggested.

And yet O Lord, I have been called by you, vetted and ordained by your church.

I thank you for accepting me --- for I kneel before your throne only by your grace.

Grace that is sufficient for me --- grace that is sufficient for all.

As we wrestle today --- put in our minds eyes other servants who have been called by you --- yet clearly by the ideal requirements stated in the bible are unqualified

·         every pastor who has been divorced or married a divorced person

·         every pastor whose children have not remained in the faith or have rebelled

·         every pastor who has not demonstrated self control at all times

·         every pastor who is a woman

Gracious God we have all fallen short of your ideal --- I have fallen FAR short of your ideal --- for my sins are legion --- and yet you have still called me and invited me to pastor your flock.

Thank you for your grace that enables me to stand before you and your people.  This I pray in Jesus name.  Amen.

Almost 20 years ago, the United Methodist Church adopted a new slogan

          Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors

For many of us, we saw in this slogan a glimmer of hope that the church that we loved would truly open the doors to the many marginalized in our society.

The church that I was serving at the time was going through a long range planning session and as a result adopted a new vision statement stating that they saw their mission as "offering hope, unconditional love and meaning for life."

A couple of years ago, Discipleship Ministries of the UMC continued along this same vein when they encouraged each Methodist to "See All The People".

If you have been paying attention to the media these last few days --- from all the major outlets, to NPR and the religious news services --- the overwhelming majority suggest that --- with the action that we took in St. Louis this past week --- we closed the door to a majority of people, and are shutting our eyes and our hearts toward them.

There have been lots of emotions this past week

·         Some of you feel defeated

          "Kicked in the gut" was how someone described it to me

          "Asked to leave home" was another

·         Some of you feel as if God has been defended

          Satisfied to know that we didn't "give in" to culture

          Happy that the Bible was protected and held in high esteem

More than anything I just felt sad

          Sad that we made our church more and more exclusive and unwelcoming

And before you get angry with me --- I believe both points of view are real and authentic

Obviously I don't agree with the decision that was adopted in St. Louis

So what happened?

In 1972, the General Conference added to our social principles the sentence that we have wrestled with ever since.

"we insist that all persons are entitled to have their human and civil rights ensured, though we do not condone the practice of homosexuality and consider this practice incompatible with Christian teachings."

And I will be honest, if I had been asked my opinion on it in 1972, I probably would have agreed. 

          But I don't today.

My relationship with Jesus has moved from an idolatry of the Bible (thinking it was God) to hearing the voice of Jesus

Every 4 years since 1972, those words have been debated, argued over as we have sought to understand how we relate to a changing world.

In 2016, the General Conference decided to create a Commission on The Way Forward as it relates to this issue.

They were to study the issue and bring a proposal to the Council of Bishops and to a specially called General Conference, the one that just wrapped up in St Louis last Tuesday.

The Commission initially presented two plans, The One Church Plan and the Connectional Plan, and, after 2 1/2 years of study at the last minute the "Traditional Plan" was thrown in the mix.

The Council of Bishops received the plans and by an overwhelming majority recommended the One Church Plan which allowed each Jurisdiction, Conference and local Church to wrestle with the issues of sexuality in their individual context.

The plans, along with many petitions went before the elected delegates of the General Conference last week.

After much debate, the General Conference adopted issues around pensions for churches or pastors that wish to leave the denomination, an exit plan for churches to leave and a modified traditional plan.

To be honest with you, I do not know the exact language of what passed.  I am sure it is available somewhere, but I have yet to find it.

Regardless, what I can tell you is that the conference was hurtful to the body of Christ.  I witnessed that in statements made by persons on both sides of the issue.

We will not easily mend the hurt that happened.

Rev Tom Berlin from the Virginia Annual Conference said this about the Traditional plan

"it will be a virus that will make the American church very sick  Many pastors are going to leave, many annual conference will leave. … There will be trials, and they will be on the news. The only news about the church will be about people we don’t serve.”

In my mind, the saddest part is that many portions of the traditional plan will be ruled unconstitutional, as will the exit plan.

          In other words, we will be right back to where we started (or will we?)

Many believe that the traditional plan was put forth to scare the rest of the UMC and allow particularly our Southern Methodist Churches to leave with their property.

I would not be surprised if that isn't still the result.

But at what cost?

          And I am not talking about money

          At what cost to our mission of sharing God's unconditional love?

          At what cost to making --- not believers in Jesus --- but Disciples of Jesus?

70% of those under 50 support gay marriage

68% of those in mainline denominations do as well

What are they going to say to this harsh and mean spirited decision that has come out of St Louis?

          Well if my text messages, email and FaceBook are any indication, many will leave

We have been through this before ---

In 1939, the UMC was trying to figure out what to do with black people

At that GC, the segregationalist and racist Central Jurisdiction was voted into being. The late Bishop Thomas wrote that the white folks stood up and clapped, and the black folks sat down and cried.

From what I am witnessing we are at another stand up and clap, sit down and cry moment.

And the question becomes --- where do you find yourself?

Since last fall, Matt and I have been wrestling with this issue --- whether at information sessions, Bible Studies, various committees within the church or with you individually

We have tried to educate and share why we believe what we believe: that the One Church Plan made the most sense for the UMC and for Meridian Street in particular.

Through this process, Jesus has moved me, and given me a better understanding -- not only of scripture --- but more importantly, of my relationship to Jesus and others.

I will not be the same after this

I DO NOT BELIEVE that committed homosexual relationships are a sin --- any more than committed heterosexual ones are.

I do not believe that wearing more than one type of clothing is a sin.

Nor do I believe it is a sin to eat shellfish or pork

I do not believe a person who remarries and has been divorced is committing a sin

I do not believe that God's grace is limited to the people I accept, or who believe like I do

I do not believe that believing in the right things is enough --- we are to be actively engaged in following Jesus, seeking to transform the world with his unconditional love.  And that we are called to especially care for those who are marginalized in our society.

My intention this morning was to make the case why I believed the One Church Plan was the most grace filled.

I planned on doing that with the text that was read this morning. 

          The idea that God will separate the wheat from the chaff -- that it is not our job

And I fully believe that.

          Our job is not to be the gatekeepers for Jesus

                   Jesus opens the gate wide to all and Jesus can decide

          Our job is to welcome all into Jesus

I have been a Methodist my whole life. 

          I remember in 1968 when we merged and became United Methodists

I have served in ministry since my sophomore year in college, when I helped start a campus ministry --- which means I have been engaged in ministry for 40 years

The churches I have served have been committed to the United Methodist way -- promoting connection and that God's grace is available to all

Under the rules that just passed at General Conference; I doubt I would be approved for ordained ministry today. 

          I doubt most of the people I know who are clergy could get accepted either

While I find much of the legislation repugnant --- especially that which calls the “practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching.”

What bothers me more is that it went on to imply that same sex married couples who wish to be reconciled with the church need to divorce and break up their families (which often include children).

The legislation further added mandatory penalties for any pastor who performs a same sex wedding or even hosts one.

          Such a pastor would be suspended for 1 year without pay for a first offence

          And automatically defrocked for a second.

Bishops would also be under penalty if they disobeyed the Discipline.

Approximately two thirds of US delegates voted against the Traditional Plan

It was approved by a coalition of our global United Methodist brothers, and sisters

Adam Hamilton, pastor of the largest UMC in the United States wrote:

My hope is that the leadership of the WCA (Wesley Covenant Society) is re-evaluating what’s happened, and the legislation their coalition just passed.  They appear to have the votes to pass whatever they would like.  It is hard for many of us to see any future in a scenario in which the WCA and their supporters control the church and show disregard for the rest of the church.   US churches that disagree with this path backwards will not sit by quietly and watch as this takes effect.  They will protest, live in disobedience to the Discipline or leave, and the impact will be far greater than the leadership of the WCA ever imagined.   If the WCA leadership does nothing, I believe they will have won the battle and lost the church.   

My mentor in seminary was the former Dean of the Duke Divinity School Thomas Langford.  I served on staff at the church that Tom and his family attended, and he was not only a professor, but also my friend.

I remember while in seminary, Tom shared with a class an early draft of a book that he was working on --- I don't believe it was ever published --- but it was entitled GRACE UPON GRACE

It was his premise that God's grace is sufficient

          That God is big enough to defend God's self and it was our job to invite people in

One of the things that has always struck me is the notion that God's love is somewhat limited.  If God loves you --- there might not be enough for me.

But there is grace upon grace --- sufficient for all of creation --- our job is to humble accept it and to invite others to experience it.

In just a few moments, you are going to be invited to God's table.

          NO ONE HERE MERITS BEING INVITED

But just the same, God invites you.

But as long as I am pastor at Meridian Street UMC, this table will be open to ALL.

          Straight, gay,

          Married, single, or divorced

          Black, brown or white

          Citizen or alien

          Rich or poor

          Sinner or Saint

This table will always be open

And I will do everything that I can to open the doors of the church to all of God's children.

I will support those who believe they are called by God to ministry but also were created by God gay

I have never performed a same sex wedding --- it has always been my biggest fear.

I was afraid I would have to choose between what I knew was right --- and angering some of the members in the church I was serving at the time.

In the future ---I will do what God calls me to do

To all of our gay members here at Meridian Street Church --- I LOVE YOU, GOD LOVES YOU

And to all who are broken hearted over this decision --- let us make this our rallying cry

Don't leave; let us keep working for change.

God's table is big enough --- even if we disagree

No one --- regardless of which side of this issue you are on --- is being excluded from God's table

Someone shared a powerful story the other day and I hope that they are not offended if I share it

They talked about being on a youth retreat when the leader of the retreat, as they were sitting in a circle, turned to the person that they really disliked and said to them "I love you most of all (and then gave a reason).

As you can imagine, this young person was upset that their leader had made this affirmation to the one that they struggled with, because they thought they were loved most of all.  And for a time they sat their stewing in their indignation

But soon, the leader turned to them and said: "I Love You most of all . . ."

As we prepare to come to the table, I encourage you to think of the biggest sinner you know. 

          Can you see them?

          Put them in your minds eye

          If you can't see anyone, then just think of me

And listen as God says to them: "I Love You most of all . . ."

And unless you can hear them say that to the one you really struggle with --- I doubt you can really understand or appreciate it when God says to you: "I Love You most of all . . ."

Let us care for one another, and come together to God's table.  Amen.

Expanded response to UMC GC 2019

The last few days have been very hard for me, and I know for many of you. I have learned through my journey with Jesus that God's unconditional love is available --- not just to me --- but to you --- all of you! NOTHING separates us from the love of God -- it is always present (see I am a good Methodist).

While the institution of which I am a part has broken my heart with much hurtful language to God's children that happen to be LGBTQI, I personally do not agree. To all my LGBTQI friends, and to those who call Meridian Street or any UMC church home --- I apologize. I promise, that I will do my utmost to stand with you and support you on your journey of life. I hope and pray that these last few days have not caused you to abandon God --- GOD HAS NOT ABANDONED YOU!

If God has called you to ministry, God has called you. End of statement. God called me; I have resisted repeatedly over the years, but the hounds of heaven would not let me run away. I believe that my call is not unique, God has called many others, some whom happen to have a different sexual orientation than I do, but if God calls, God calls!

As we try to figure out what all this means, do not lose heart. As I have matured in my faith, I have learned that to shy away from LGBTQI friends is not acceptable. But I confess that I have not always stood up like I should. At my baptism, confirmation and ordination as an Elder in the UMC, I promised to “accept the freedom and power God gives me to resist evil, injustice and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves.” I vow to do a better job living that promise. I also promised in my ordination vows to “in the exercise of your ministry, lead the people of God to faith in Jesus Christ, to participate in the life and work of the community, and to seek peace, justice, and freedom for all people”. I do not see an asterisk excluding anyone.

A friend may have captured the moment best when they wrote: “and Jesus wept.” I too am weeping, but it is time to dry my tears and to transform the world with the unconditional love of Jesus.

I do not believe that God asks us to choose between our faith in the Bible text and the compassion that Jesus has taught us.  If you listened to the debate this past week in St. Louis, you would have thought that it was all about one either believing the Bible or standing with compassion and social justice on the other.  Both sides made impassioned pleas for their positions.

But I believe it is a false dichotomy.  We do not need to choose between the two.  There is no need to discount the biblical text in order to accept equality and justice for our LGBTQ friends.  All that is required is reading those few passages where homosexuality appears to be mentioned in the same way we would read any other part of the biblical text.

There is no clearly stated directive in the bible that we should marginalize and ostracize people who have come to understand that God made them LGBTQ.  Certainly Jesus NEVER spoke of it.

The UMC currently states "The practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching" (304.3)), a statement that implies that we understand LGBTQ persons as not fully Christian. If we believe that, then based on what the church and what we believe the Bible has said, it seems easy for us to make the next leap that we have no choice but to exclude them from full inclusion in the life of the church.  It becomes easy to exclude them, and all non-repentant sinners, from full participation in the life of the church.

I have and will continue to assert, that without an explicit command from God to exclude LGBTQ people, that to do so is in violation of the very clear commandment from Jesus to love one's neighbor as ourselves.  I am also do not believe that a monogamous homosexual relationship is any more a sin than a monogamous heterosexual one.

The problem is that heterosexual Christians use a couple of passages from the bible to justify an standard of morality that they are not tempted to commit while at the same time living a standard of relative morality for sins that they do regularly commit.

Jesus never speaks of homosexuality, but constantly calls on us in regards to our wealth, treatment of the poor, widows and other marginalized who live on the edges of our society.

But when I think of the message of Jesus; one thing comes to mind LOVE.  Jesus lived, breathed, preached and embodied love.  As I have journeyed on this way called Christianity, I have become convinced that I am to err on the side of love.  I hope that Meridian Street as a congregation will throw open its doors and let the world know that we choose love.  And we will look at our own sins before we judge others for what we perceive to be their sins.

Sunday, I will share with you how the Holy Spirit has been wrestling with me these past few days.  While I have not sought out this conversation, I am convinced that God has put me here just for a time such as this.

I invited you to join me in this prayer by Rupert Bristow

Creator God,

bring us gently onto the true path,

through revelation,

through explanation,

through exploration.

But let us honour those on different paths,

praying that we all converge on you.

Let us not be sidetracked by condemning those others,

but help us to model your Son’s way,

challenging, asking for and practising

your Son’s love for humankind.

Amen.

A Man After God's Own Heart

Acts 13:15-33     (NRSV)

After the reading of the law and the prophets, the officials of the synagogue sent them a message, saying, “Brothers, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, give it.” So Paul stood up and with a gesture began to speak:

“You Israelites, and others who fear God, listen. The God of this people Israel chose our ancestors and made the people great during their stay in the land of Egypt, and with uplifted arm he led them out of it. For about forty years he put up with them in the wilderness. After he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, he gave them their land as an inheritance for about four hundred fifty years. After that he gave them judges until the time of the prophet Samuel. Then they asked for a king; and God gave them Saul son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, who reigned for forty years. When he had removed him, he made David their king. In his testimony about him he said, ‘I have found David, son of Jesse, to be a man after my heart, who will carry out all my wishes.’ Of this man’s posterity God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, as he promised; before his coming John had already proclaimed a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. And as John was finishing his work, he said, ‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not he. No, but one is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of the sandals on his feet.’

“My brothers, you descendants of Abraham’s family, and others who fear God, to us the message of this salvation has been sent. Because the residents of Jerusalem and their leaders did not recognize him or understand the words of the prophets that are read every sabbath, they fulfilled those words by condemning him. Even though they found no cause for a sentence of death, they asked Pilate to have him killed. When they had carried out everything that was written about him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb. But God raised him from the dead; and for many days he appeared to those who came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, and they are now his witnesses to the people. And we bring you the good news that what God promised to our ancestors he has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising Jesus; as also it is written in the second psalm,

‘You are my Son;

    today I have begotten you.’

Even before a new pastor arrives at a church they hear stories about king David.

King David is not the mythical figure of Hebrew Bible lore, but rather the mythical figure in the history of the particular church.

Before I even arrived (and ever since) I have heard stories of Meridian Street's King David

Like most king David stories, they take on a life of their own.

Arriving as I did, on the cusp of the 200th Anniversary of Meridian Street, I have tried to understand the ministries of the previous men and woman whose seat I now have the privilege of occupying.

And the funny thing is --- even thought I have read the histories of Meridian Street, and tried to understand the progression of this wonderful congregation.  The truth is, the history of Meridian Street --- in most people's minds --- goes back at best to the building of this wonderful structure.

In the corporate memory of Meridian Street the years prior to moving to 5500 North Meridian Street seem like ancient history.

But even saying the history starts with this building is a bit of a stretch. 

The real history begins in 1962 with the ministry of Dick Lancaster.

Many, many, many of you have regaled me with Dr. Lancaster stories.

Nobody talks about the pastors who preceded Dr. Lancaster

          Except maybe Buddy Hall, when I have asked him about his dad

          Logan Hall

          Frank Templin

And nobody talks about the pastors that followed Dr. Lancaster except to tell a story of how they broke protocol that Dr Lancaster created, or stepped on sacred ground.

          Walking down the center aisle

I know nothing about

Rev Schwein (unless it is bad --- although my best friend said he was the best preacher he ever heard)

Cindi Alte --- Her brief tenure when Schwein left abruptly but she was then replaced with quite a bit of unhappiness just a few months later

          Rev Miller --- Nobody talks about him --- although I have heard he is a nice guy

Rev Wantz --- even he seems to be ancient history and not the Sr. Pastor just 12 years ago

Anne, of course is a different story --- I have gotten to know her personally and can see the wonderful life changing ministries she instituted here.

I know this is going to date me, and maybe they weren't popular here, but in the early 90's --- Gatorade put out a series of commercials that featured Michael Jordan with an amazingly catchy tune -- inviting us to BE LIKE MIKE -- do you remember them?

Michael Jordan became a mythical figure that everyone wanted (and many still want) to emulate.

David, King of the Jewish people, was the same way.

When Saul was chosen to be the first King of the Jewish people, he failed in his task as king, and Samuel had this exchange with him:

1 Samuel 13:13-14

“How stupid of you to have broken the commands the Lord your God gave you!” Samuel told Saul. “The Lord would have established your rule over Israel forever, but now your rule won’t last. The Lord will search for a man following the Lord’s own heart, and the Lord will commission him as leader over God’s people, because you didn’t keep the Lord’s command.”

And God chose David: "a man after his own heart"

Over a 1000 years later he was remembered by the author of the Book of Acts:

          Acts 13:22

[God] said, ‘I have found David, son of Jesse, to be a man after my heart, who will carry out all my wishes.’

For 1000 years, the kings of Israel had attempted to live up to the ideal that became King David, and for a 1000 years they all failed and fell short of his glory.

And then, sometime around 4 BCE a baby is born in an obscure portion of the Roman Empire.

Both Matthew and Luke in their birth narratives want to make something abundantly clear.

          This is no ordinary baby

This baby, born in a cave in the insignificant town of Bethlehem is not insignificant

This baby is from the line and lineage of David --- THAT DAVID

And this baby will fulfill all the promises that have gone unfulfilled since the time of David

          He will reestablish the kingdom

                   restore and unify it bringing together all the dispersed tribes

          He will throw out the imperial invaders (the Romans)

He will re-establish a corporate relationship with God by being the True High Priest

THESE ARE THE STORIES that are being told about Jesus.

Can you imagine what it must have been like to grow up being told that YOU are the new DAVID, the Greatest King of all time --- that YOU are the Hope and Restoration of Israel

The weight must have been unbearable

From the stories I have heard, the weight of following the King David of Meridian Street was devastating on many of those who followed him

I have told you --- my goal for 2019 is to help you fall in love with Jesus --- maybe for the first time --- maybe in a whole new way

But we cannot fall in love with someone that we don't know

Love is not an intellectual assent to an idea --- it is a relationship

So we must try build a relationship and try to understand what motivated and influenced Jesus

          What made him love God completely?

          So that we too may fall in love with him completely

My goal during this season of epiphany and beyond has been to help you understand some of the key concepts that influenced Jesus in the first century of the common era.

We have looked at seven important concepts

1.       God is creator of all

2.       Sin is what keeps us from a relationship with God

3.       God desires and makes a covenant with his People

                   Israel is God's chosen people

                   But Israel is to be a light to the world

4.       Failure to follow God --- to break the covenant with God --- has consequences

                   The result can be catastrophic

                             Destruction of the Northern Kingdom of Israel 721/722

                             Destruction of the Temple and Judah 587

5.       But even despite the consequences --- God is faithful and restores his People

6.       But it is not the people who restore the relationship with God --- Restoration is all God's doing

                   Humility is the lesson of exile

7.       The people (then and today) long for a savior

Jesus enters humanity with all these factors playing into how people perceived and understood him.

And many of them impact how we understand and build a relationship with him

But throughout his life, Jesus really seems to have ONE goal

          To bring people into a closer relationship with God

And we have been invited to emulate the mission of Jesus

          Loving our enemies

          Seeking God’s justice for all

          Recognizing that ALL are children of our creator God

But first and foremost --- PUTTING GOD FIRST in our lives

          Loving God with our heart, soul, mind, and strength --- with our very being

Only once we love the God we encounter in Jesus --- can we love LIKE God and love ALL of our neighbors

Jesus constantly demonstrates the HE is the one after God’s own heart

          And he invites us to join him on this journey of love

How Could This Happen?

Psalm 137:1-6   (NRSV)

By the rivers of Babylon—

    there we sat down and there we wept

    when we remembered Zion.

On the willows there

    we hung up our harps.

For there our captors

    asked us for songs,

and our tormentors asked for mirth, saying,

    “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”

How could we sing the Lord’s song

    in a foreign land?

If I forget you, O Jerusalem,

    let my right hand wither!

Let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth,

    if I do not remember you,

if I do not set Jerusalem

    above my highest joy.

Despite what the God is Dead movie franchise tries to suggest, Christians in the United States do not really face religious persecution. 

And when we do talk about persecution it usually is in movies like God is Dead that create a ridiculous straw man to try and suggest how terrible it is for Christians today in the United States.

But for the Jewish people, their lives were filled with persecution, destruction, deportation, and even death.  And those experiences have had a profound effect on the stories that have been passed down and are now a part of our Biblical tradition.

Israel has faced numerous periods of persecution and captivity.

The great narrative of the Hebrew Bible speaks to the most urgent needs all people have:

·         including the need to be connected and grounded,

·         to be protected and to belong,

·         to know who you are and where you fit in.

The Hebrew Bible contains the stories of the people of God when they seemingly lost all of that.

People torn away from their land,

          torn up as a people,

          and torn down by humiliating loss.

And it didn't happen just once or twice --- Israel's history is the history of a people who lived under oppression --- even in modern history.

I don't know how well you know your geography --- but in this case it is very important.

Israel is a tiny land bridge between Africa and Asia.

If you wanted to go to Egypt --- the only way by land was through the tiny country of Israel

If you wanted to go to Asia or Europe --- Israel was the path way.

Thus Israel played a significant geo-political role throughout its history --- even if only as a pawn.

Controlling this land bridge was essential for defense (and for aggression)

The bible is filled with stories of the back and forth --- the tug and pull to control this tiny strip of land.

Our first encounter is when Abraham leaves the security of the rivers of Mesopotamia and settles in and around modern day Hebron before finding his way to Egypt.

While in Egypt, the ancient Israelites become slaves to Pharaoh and eventually fled to the land of the Canaanites and settled in what is now the modern state of Israel.

          That took place somewhere around the year 1250 BCE

David becomes king of Israel in 1000 BCE but the country is never at peace. 

          There is always a tug from Egypt or a pull from Babylon

Following David's death, Solomon his son becomes king, and after Solomon's death the country is in turmoil

The 10 northern tribes split from the Davidic Dynasty and become the Northern kingdom of Israel centered at Dan.

In 721/722 BCE the Northern kingdom is overrun by the Assyrians

The Assyrian practice was to scatter the people whom they overran and move other conquered people in.

Thus the 10 tribes were scattered and lost to history as they were dispersed throughout the Assyrian empire.

125 years later the unimaginable happens --- the southern kingdom of Judah, which was centered in Jerusalem, is over-run by the Babylonians. 

Jerusalem is destroyed, the temple is torn down and ransacked and the people --- the elite --- were gathered up and taken into captivity to Babylon.

It was during this time that the Psalmist wrote:

By the rivers of Babylon—

    there we sat down and there we wept

    when we remembered Zion.

On the willows there

    we hung up our harps.

For there our captors

    asked us for songs,

and our tormentors asked for mirth, saying,

    “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”

How could we sing the Lord’s song

    in a foreign land?

If I forget you, O Jerusalem,

    let my right hand wither!

Let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth,

    if I do not remember you,

if I do not set Jerusalem

    above my highest joy.

I cannot even imagine what it must have been like for the people of Judah --- forced to live in a foreign land --- pining for Jerusalem and home.

The stories of their captivity and eventual return fill the books of the prophets and have influenced Judaism ever since.

In 538 BCE, Cyrus (the only non-Jew to be called God's Messiah in the Hebrew Bible) let the Jews return home and rebuild their temple and city.

But the conquest of the Jewish people was not over.

In 333 BCE Alexander the Great conquered the known world and Israel was under Greek occupation until the revolt by the Maccabees in 167 BCE.

The Jewish Hamonean's dynasty ruled until about 63 BCE when Rome conquered Jerusalem.

 And once again became a puppet state to a foreign country

This is the world that Jesus was born into.

A world that had been torn asunder from the dream that God had instilled in Abraham and David.

Before the Babylonian exile, Jewish religious life revolved around the Temple in Jerusalem.

When the Babylonians expelled the Jews from Judea, they destroyed the Temple completely.

Jewish law stipulated that certain important aspects of Jewish religious life -- most notably animal sacrifice -- could only be performed at the Temple in Jerusalem.

Since the Jews now lacked both a temple and the ability to go to Jerusalem, changes were needed to retain their cultural and religious identity.

The result was the rise of the synagogue among the Jews dispersed throughout the Babylonian Empire.

The focus shifted from animal sacrifices, to the study and teaching of the Torah -- the Jewish Bible -- which became the focal point of worship in the synagogues.

The results of Exile were predictable.

If you go and read the stories found in Ezra and Nehemiah you read of

·         fears of immigrants

·         a need for racial purity

·         xenophobia

·         an inward focus and a desire to return to some idealized past

But Isaiah, Jeremiah, Jonah and many of the other prophets called for Israel not to turn inward, but instead to become a light to the nations

To welcome the stranger that was in their midst

Jesus is born into this world in turmoil

          A people trying to find their identity while being captives

          A nation trying to seek God

And Jesus was certainly influenced by the communal experience of exile.

And instead of turning inward --- Jesus saw in the exile experience --- humility.

Instead of protecting himself --- Jesus made himself vulnerable to those who were still living in exile even among their own people.

For his entire life, Jesus reached out and welcomed the least, the lost and the last.

Whether it was the woman with a hemorrhage, or the woman at the well --- Jesus is reaching out to those who were still experiencing exile.

          Unwelcome in their own land

          Unwelcome in the community

He is constantly accused of eating with "sinners", inviting everyone that he meets to God's table fellowship.

Ultimately, Jesus pays the ultimate price for his unconventional attitude toward those still in exile

One of the things that I love about being a United Methodist is that we have an open table.

Everyone is welcome to come.

          You don't earn it

          You don't have to believe in it

          You just have to come to it

We are a church that is open to all of God's children

At the table we embody our logo

                    Open Hearts

                   Open Minds

                   Open Doors

          We are one of the few traditions that have a table that is open to all!

I have never been evicted from my land

          My church has never been torn down

          And to be honest, I cannot imagine what exile feels like

Yet in our midst

          In our church

          In our neighborhoods

          At our work places and schools

          Throughout our city, nation and world

There are many, many people who have been pushed into exile

          Told they don't belong

          Shunned because they don't believe the right things

                   Or live on the right side of the tracks

                   Or the color of their skin is wrong

                   Or their sexual orientation is different

Who is living in exile in your midst?

And if you can't think of anyone --- I would suggest you are not looking very hard

Who needs to know that they are loved? --- that they are a child of God.

As you get ready to make your way up to God's table

An invitation that is given to you not because of anything you have done -- but because of what God has done

Who do you need to welcome?

Take some time and ask God to help you to welcome those who still live in exile.