Who is Jesus - Chapter Eight

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Chapter Eight – Jesus Teaching on Prayer

Read Matthew 6: 5-13; 21:22; Luke 14: 22-23; 18: 9-14; John 17: 1-26

We cannot have a discussion about Jesus without spending time understanding His prayer life and what we can learn from that. Most if not all of the prayers that we have in the Gospels are there to teach us about prayer. Whether the discussion is Jesus teaching the disciples and ultimately us or reading Jesus prayers, they are there for our benefit. Jesus believed in the power of prayer which surely had been ingrained at an early age. Every devoted Jew would have learned early on the Shema, the daily prayer from Deuteronomy 6: 4-5,

“Hear, O Israel: The LORD is our God, the LORD alone. ⁵ You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.”

The Shema as it is called would have been the prayer at rising in the morning and before ending the day as well as at the two meals of each day. Jesus would have followed in the traditions of the Hebrew people in learning and reciting this prayer. Without delving into the divinity of Jesus, the human Jesus would have followed a devoted prayer life at table, at the Temple and during worship services. When we begin to delve into the unique relationship as the Son of God, prayer would have been a constant communication with God the Father for Jesus.

Jesus believed that prayer was an important aspect of life and His teachings indicate that we should have a deep conviction to have a prayer life in our lives. If we read the Gospel accounts of Jesus prayer life, we will find that the stories and prayers of Jesus provide for us an example of what our prayer life should be. I have divided this discussion into two parts, How to pray and when to pray. Others may divide His teaching in different ways but I believe if we learn from Jesus how and when to pray, we will have all we need in our discipleship journey.

So how are we supposed to pray? We start by understanding that prayer is our conversation with God. I liken it to a relationship that you desire to strengthen and grow. Your work would be to learn as much about the other person, about their likes and dislikes, about their habits and their desires and dreams. We do this by watching and listening. The more we communicate in verbal and non-verbal ways, the closer we get to the answers about the other person we need. Unfortunately for us, the non-verbal is not possible except through those who have journeyed deep in their relationship with Jesus. So we are left to delve into the Gospel accounts of Jesus life to gain an understanding. All that to say this, in order to grow closer to God we must be in constant communication with God and the way to do that is through prayer. Jesus showed us by example that prayer should be private and personal as much as possible. Jesus daily routine was to pray. In the Gospel accounts listed below we see that He prayed in the morning as was the custom of His day, or when He had finished the work of the day, He would go to a place where He could be alone and pray.

Mark 1:35; ³⁵ In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed.

Mark 6: 45-46; ⁴⁵ Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. ⁴⁶ After saying farewell to them, he went up on the mountain to pray.

Luke 4: 42; ⁴² At daybreak he departed and went into a deserted place. And the crowds were looking for him; and when they reached him, they wanted to prevent him from leaving them.

Luke 5:15-16; ¹⁵ But now more than ever the word about Jesus spread abroad; many crowds would gather to hear him and to be cured of their diseases. ¹⁶ But he would withdraw to deserted places and pray.

Luke 22:39-41³⁹ He came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives; and the disciples followed him. ⁴⁰ When he reached the place, he said to them, "Pray that you may not come into the time of trial."

He even goes so far as to teach us that in Matthew 6: 5-6, "And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. ⁶ But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

But all prayer is not in private and Jesus also wants us to know when we pray what is important for us to know in those prayers. Jesus would often pray in public, whether He was blessing the meal or thanking God for healing or asking God for direction, many of those prayers are in the public eye. But Jesus was specific in His teaching about what is important in prayer. He reminds us that whatever we ask for in His name will be given to us. That reminder comes to us from three of the four Gospel accounts (see Matt 7: 7-11; 21:22, Mark 11: 24-25, John 14: 13-14). But Jesus clarifies what it means to pray in His name in John 15: 7, If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. Prayer should be about the will of God. I am often asked how to pray or is there a right way and wrong way to pray. I believe that what we can glean from John 15: 7 is that Jesus is telling us that when we pray, it does not matter so much the method of prayer as it does the content of that prayer. In other words, if we are seeking guidance or intercession in Jesus name, then we are praying as if we are Jesus seeking those things from God.

Now all that may be a bit confusing so let’s solicit the text to see if Jesus can clarify it further. There are actually three that I believe do this nicely. John 14: 13 is one of those texts that tell us if we ask for it in Jesus name we will receive whatever we ask. But Jesus adds to this that if we love Him, we will keep His commandments. Well that’s easy, so exactly what did He command us to do? He commanded us to love God with all our hearts, minds and souls, straight from the ancient Shema in Deuteronomy. He also commands us to love our neighbors. Between these two are all the commandments of life. So it says to us, if we pray with those two commandments in our heart, whatever we ask for will be given.

But there is further clarification in Luke 18: 9-14, one of the passages you were asked to read. It is the story of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector. Both of these two men come to the Temple to pray. The Pharisee prays a prayer that is both self-serving and a violation of the second commandment of God, to love your neighbor. In fact, we would probably classify the Pharisee’s prayer as arrogant. The tax collector on the other hand knows where he stands in life. He is hated by the people of the town, his dealings would be classified as shaky at best in the ethical scheme of things and he comes to God asking for forgiveness. He knows that he has done wrong and so he comes to the one place and the one being that could possibly provide forgiveness in his repentative prayer. Jesus tells us that he is justified in his prayer.

Finally we have the Lord’s Prayer (see Matthew 6: 7-13; Luke 11: 1-4). I suspect that if we had the opportunity to talk with Jesus about His teaching of prayer to the disciples, He would be surprised that we have made it liturgical. I believe that if we look at what He said, it was meant to teach us about how to pray, a guideline for the proper way to pray. So if we were to look at it with that in mind, what does Jesus tell us? Jesus teaches us that we begin each prayer acknowledging and praising God and living as if the Kingdom has already come. We pray for sustenance and provision, the things we need, that God would provide for those things. Then we ask for forgiveness and we share in the love of God by forgiving others as God forgives us. We ask God to protect us from temptation and the consequences of making bad choices. End of prayer!    

           Before I go on to when to pray, I want to go down a little bunny trail that might be helpful. One of the best types of prayers to communicate with God is Centering Prayer. In centering prayer we clear our mind and invite God to direct, lead and guide us. Part of the process of clearing our mind is finding a word or phrase that helps us. Many people use what is commonly referred to as “The Jesus Prayer.” It comes directly from the story about the Tax Collector and Pharisee and is the prayer of the Tax Collector, slightly modified. It goes like this, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”

John Wesley said, “God's command to "pray without ceasing" is founded on the necessity we have of his grace to preserve the life of God in the soul, which can no more subsist one moment without it, than the body can without air. Whether we think of; or speak to, God, whether we act or suffer for him, all is prayer, when we have no other object than his love, and the desire of pleasing him. All that a Christian does, even in eating and sleeping, is prayer, when it is done in simplicity, according to the order of God, without either adding to or diminishing from it by his own choice. Prayer continues in the desire of the heart, though the understanding be employed on outward things. In souls filled with love, the desire to please God is a continual prayer. As the furious hate which the devil bears us is termed the roaring of a lion, so our vehement love may be termed crying after God. God only requires of his adult children, that their hearts be truly purified, and that they offer him continually the wishes and vows that naturally spring from perfect love. For these desires, being the genuine fruits of love, are the most perfect prayers that can spring from it.”[i]

           We should pray continuously all throughout the day, short prayers of thanksgiving and need, longer prayers of intercession and hope. Jesus prayed before meals as we find in Matthew 15:36 before He distributes the seven loaves and fish. He prayed to give thanks for the healings that He was allowed to perform and for the things that God had given Him. Probably the most important example that Jesus gives us is that He prayed before making decisions. In Luke 6 Jesus goes off to the mountain to pray for guidance about making the twelve disciples the inner circle of disciples in His ministry. John 17 is one of the most beautiful prayers that Jesus gave and it sets the example for us. Before He is taken Jesus goes to the Garden and prays to God. First and foremost in the prayer is a prayer of thanksgiving, followed by a prayer of intercession for the disciples and then finally a prayer of intercession for us. On the cross Jesus prays for intercession for each of us. So when do we pray? Jesus example is to pray all the time. Pray for guidance and wisdom. Pray for others in intercession of their needs. Pray for healing power. And then pray for our own needs in acknowledgment of God’s will for our lives. But pray!

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[i] From A Plain Account of Christian Perfection, as believed and taught by the Reverend Mr. John Wesley, from the year 1725, to the year 1777.

The Kingdom of God

Sermon given at Sydenstricker UMC 4/23/17

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^NRSV1 Corinthians 13: 9-12 For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part; but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an end. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known.

The writers of the Gospel want us to hear the message of Jesus about the Kingdom. The term "Kingdom of God" occurs four times in Matthew (12:28; 19:24; 21:31; 21:43), fourteen times in Mark, thirty-two times in Luke, twice in the John (3:3, 5), six times in Acts, eight times in Paul’s Epistles, and once in Revelation (12:10). Matthew actually prefers the term "Kingdom of heaven" which he uses over 20 times in his gospel.

So what is the Kingdom of God and is it different than the Kingdom of Heaven in Matthew’s Gospel? Why does Jesus continually say that it is near? Is it because He was in the world at the time or that He is coming again and wants us to be ready?

My understanding of the Kingdom of God is that it is present with us today and yet not fully complete. That through the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus, the Kingdom now exists in the plane of human existence and is very present in our lives each and every day. It is not fully complete as Paul says, (1 Corinthians 13:12) “For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known.” I agree with the words of John Wesley, “And this ‘kingdom of God’, or of heaven, ‘is at hand’. As these words were originally spoken they implied that ‘the time’ was then ‘fulfilled’, God being made ‘manifest in the flesh’, when he would set up his kingdom among men, and reign in the hearts of his people.”[i], as proclaiming that the Kingdom of God (or Heaven in Matthew) surrounds us as Jesus Christ is in us through God’s grace and our own justification. “The thing about which everything turns, like a wheel where God is in the middle and everything is oriented to it.”[ii]

One day, a man went to visit a church. He arrived early, parked his car, and got out. Another car pulled up near him, and the driver told him, "I always park there. You took my place!" The visitor went inside for Sunday School, found an empty seat, and sat down. A young lady from the church approached him and stated, "That's my seat! You took my place!" The visitor was somewhat distressed by this rude welcome, but said nothing. After Sunday School, the visitor went into the church sanctuary and sat down. Another member walked up to him and said, "That's where I always sit. You took my place!" The visitor was even more troubled by this treatment, but still said nothing. Later, as the congregation was praying for Christ to dwell among them, the visitor stood, and his appearance began to change. Horrible scars became visible on his hands and on his sandaled feet. Someone from the congregation noticed him and called out, "What happened to you?" The visitor replied, "I took your place."

In the near future I am going to talk about the nature and mission of the church but in order to understand that sermon, you must understand this one. What does it mean when Jesus says Kingdom of God or Kingdom of Heaven? Are they different? Matthew’s audience was the Jewish person living in the first century who was looking for a Messiah who was to come from Heaven, that place where God resides and lives. In their understanding, God was this being who approached humanity from a mountain top or through an Ark or through prophets. God was not seen by us mere mortal human beings. God was only reachable after death and after judgement. So Jesus saying the Kingdom of Heaven is near would have people’s attention. God’s coming is imminent. God’s judgment is close by. And all the while the people, not all people, but most of the people could or would not see that God was present with them in that moment. So they denied the truth of Jesus. Now Matthew was working hard to share the truth with them and to get them to see that God was not a future experience, but a present experience.

The other Gospel writers and Paul were reaching out to a broader audience of people, both Jew and Gentile. The Gentile had little or no understanding of this concept of heaven, other than to say many in the world of that day believed in an after-life. Jesus wanted us to know that the Kingdom of God is not something unattainable or something for an after-life experience. The Kingdom of God is here with us now, present with us and surrounding us in every aspect of our lives. Jesus wanted us to know that we have an opportunity to have a personal relationship with God. That is why I find it so interesting that some denominations require a third party intervention between us and God. Jesus lived among us, breathed the same air we breathe, ate the foods we eat and shared the joys and sorrows we share. He came not just to die for our sins but to show us what perfect looks like when it is lived out in the human flesh.

Jesus wants us to have an intimate relationship with God. But that is not possible when we think that God sits high on the mountaintop or under the lid of some Ark of the Covenant hidden away in the Smithsonian somewhere or only talks with people through prophets. No, that God is difficult or next to impossible to have a relationship with at all. But what if God is not only near, but standing or sitting right beside us? Or better yet, what if God were part of our makeup, permeating our thoughts and our bodies as if we lived in perfect harmony with each other in this space we take up? Wouldn’t that be absolutely divine and human at the same time? Hmmm! Isn’t that precisely what God did when God brought Jesus into the world? And didn’t Jesus tell us to abide in Him and He would abide in us? So what does Jesus really mean?

The Kingdom of God is present with us in this place this morning, will be with you tomorrow morning as you arise and go to work or play, whatever the events of the day will be. God will be as present with us as the air around us, as the sun arising in the east tomorrow morning and as the weather that will happen around us. God is near and so the Kingdom of God is also near. What is the Kingdom of God? It is the love of God that permeates the space we live in. It is the grace of God that passes along to us the abundance of that love in the promise of eternal life. I love to tell the confirmands each year that they are eternal beings and will live forever. The Kingdom is not some future event but rather the present where we live into the transformation of the creation as it is intended. The Kingdom of God is where fellow human beings care about one another and show signs of that caring in agape love. I told the children in TOT this week that the best example of perfect love comes not from a human being but from a dog. Dog’s love their masters even if their masters treat them horribly. Maybe that is why dog spelled backwards is God.

We have a chance to experience the kingdom when we open up our hearts and minds to allow the Holy Spirit to transform us. When we allow ourselves to begin to mimic Jesus in our everyday lives. It is more than action; it requires that we truly begin to believe that Jesus is within us pointing us in directions that lead to Him. When we begin to strive to live at one with the universe around us. That means that we live sacrificially for those who live beside us as neighbors, those that we encounter in our daily lives and those that we don’t even know but come into places where we might have influence into their lives. We influence them to be righteous which is not something we do but something we become. We live our lives daily in prayer and discernment for the will of God in all that we do. We focus our lives on making this world a better place for all of creation. When we live into that reality we have achieved the Kingdom of God. God is not dead or distant or neglecting us in any way. But God can only be reached when we open ourselves the possibility that God’s Kingdom is within us.

I want to look in the mirror and see God looking back at me. That can only happen if I open my heart, my mind and my soul to love God with all that I am. That can only happen when I love creation so much I can think of nothing better than protecting and sustaining it. When all that happens within me, then I believe that what I will see is the Kingdom of God looking back at me saying good and faithful servant. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

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[i] Outler, 1991, page 128

[ii] Gutenson, Dr. Chuck, 2004, n.p.

Who is Jesus - Chapter Seven

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Chapter Seven– Jesus Teaching on Justice, Kingdom and Salvation

This week I want you to do something what we did last week. Use the internet or a Bible Concordance and look up the words justice and Kingdom. Find scriptures in the four Gospel’s using these words and read not only the scripture but the contextual scriptures (the whole story surrounding the scripture). Also read John 3: 3-7; Matthew 13: 24-30; Matthew 25

Jesus was quite the rebel in 1^st century Israel. His ministry reflected His desire to change the culture of His day. If He were physically with us in our day and time we would hear Him responding to wherever He sees social injustice and oppression. His ministry was radical for the time and would still be considered radical in our day. Social issues like equality (true equality) for women, removing racial bigotry and bias, finding ways to help people out of poverty and addiction, making the privileged realize their need to support the poor and making the church be the church. Throughout the Gospel accounts of His walk among us are stories of standing against the forces of privilege and oppression. Whether we are talking about His compassion for those who suffered illness and because of that illness found themselves excluded from the very people they needed to be in relationship with, to rejecting racism, to embracing the marginalized, to sticking up for the poor, Jesus ministry was about forcing us to realize that we are to love everyone and to be good stewards not only with what God has given us, but with the world around us. 

So what were Jesus justice issues? We can start with the marginalized, those people that society sees to push aside for a number of reasons. Then we can go to equality issues of gender and race. From there it is an easy path to the equality of class. But His most significant issue is certainly spiritual justice. Let’s start with those who are the marginalized in His day. In Jesus day to be sick was to be excluded. If you had diseases that we realize are not contagious today, you could still find yourself on the outside of society, having to beg for food and the necessities of life, living in caves and in Leper camps and not being able to have the basic family functions available or be able to attend religious events. For Jesus this was a cause for great concern, to Him, a great social injustice. The sick were to be cared for and to be wrapped within the loving care of the family, not to be excluded and sent into the streets. We have stories in Matthew, Mark and Luke about the healing of the blind, the Lepers and the woman who had been bleeding. When we review the stories of the Lepers for example in Matthew 8:1-3; Luke 17: 11-19; Mark 1: 40-44, the thing that strikes us is the focus not so much on the healing of the people but the request by Jesus to keep it quiet and go get the certificate that allowed them to be restored to society. Jesus focus was on the idea that we all belong and the social injustice of being pushed out. We need to be careful in our world today of not being guilty of the same type of behavior when it comes to health challenges. Challenged children and young adults are often pushed aside by society in their differences. Those with HIV/ AIDS are routinely set aside out of our fears and concerns. Jesus showed us through His actions how to confront the poor, the sick and imprisoned (Luke 14:12-14; Matthew 25: 31-46).

Jesus also was concerned with issues we call civil rights issues, issues of gender and race and equality. His story about with the Samaritan women at the well (John 4: 1-42) is a classic example of how He continued to deal with inequality and racism in His day. I remember working with a company where it was better to have graduated from an out of state school than the University of Virginia in a Virginia Tech dominated management. Issues of bigotry and racism can show up in many different ways. Jesus struggled with this issue as He dealt with the ease of men to get divorce while women could not, even in the face of abuse (Matthew 19: 1-10). Jesus challenges us with treating everyone with love and respect as He challenged the leadership of His day. Stories like the Good Samaritan are as much about racism as they are about compassion. Eating meals with Tax Collectors (Luke 19:1-10) is to remind us that everyone is part of the Kingdom of God and only when we love without regard to race, class and gender, can we witness to that powerful message. The Rich Young Man story (Luke 18: 18-27) reminds us that those of us who have been privileged in life, to have the opportunity to get a higher education, find ourselves more affluent than poor and call ourselves middle or upper class, have an obligation to those who have not had those opportunities. It is easy to say that everyone should be able to pull themselves from where they are to a better place but that is often not the reality.

We often find Jesus confronting the powerful and the religious leadership in His teachings and His actions. He clears the Temple of the money changers which He finds offensive on many levels. It is an injustice to require people coming to make sacrifice to God asking for repentance to have to pay for that privilege. He constantly confronts the Pharisees about religious understanding. Years ago I spent time learning about and participating in a union environment. What I discovered was that we so often got stuck on the wording of the contract and when we had to justify our actions, the mediators always went back to the intent of the language. The intent of God was love. The intent of God was a connection to creation itself. What had happened in Jesus day (and I would suggest the reason we have so many denominations today) is that they had focused on the language and the rules rather than the intent. So we see Jesus confronting constantly this legalistic way of living that was so contrary to what God intended (See Luke 6: 1-11; Matthew 23: 1-3). In fact, Jesus goes so far as to remind us not to become stumbling blocks to others (Matthew 18:1-7) in their spiritual journeys.

Jesus continues to remind us of the difference between our spiritual lives and our political lives. When confronted He always made a distinction (Mark 12: 13-17) between the two and reminds us that His view of the Kingdom is completely opposite of the success minded world we currently live in (Matthew 20: 20-28). This brings us to the Kingdom!

Jesus central message was that we are in the Kingdom of God. Throughout the Gospel accounts we hear Jesus reminding us that the Kingdom is near. In the Old Testament we have stories of a present, visible God. But the people of Israel had moved so far away from God that we no longer see this visible presence. So God sends Jesus into the world to remind us that God is present with us (Emmanuel). Jesus preached continually that the Kingdom was at hand (Matthew 4: 17). What Jesus wanted us to know through His life and His teaching is that we live in the Kingdom right here, right now. We are Kingdom people claimed by a loving God. IN other words, eternal life is not something that occurs at some future point but was claimed at the moment of rebirth (John 3: 1-16). The church is to be a foretaste of that Kingdom for those who encounter it, not necessarily in the four walls of the building, but in the love and compassion extended beyond them. In the Kingdom Jesus is triumphant and sovereign. In the Kingdom social injustice disappears and people live in harmony with all of creation. It is a return to the Garden. The very idea that we could live in spiritual harmony is at the center of His teaching and His example witnessed in the Gospel accounts of His life (Matthew 13: 1-8; Matthew 13: 31-32). Through the Kingdom all of Jesus teaching comes to fruition and completion. Being born anew, from above or again (the wording is not important) allows us to enter into the Kingdom of God, spiritually, even in the physical period of our lives where we become obedient to God. It is a place where we learn to love one another and live into the imitation of Jesus as He lived. It is listening to creation and finding God in places of meditation and prayer.

When we understand the Justice of Jesus and His concept of the Kingdom we are on the precipice of Salvation itself. Jesus constantly reminded the people of His day that one must give up their life to be born anew (Luke 14:26; John 10: 27-28). Salvation is not a place, but a state of being. For Jesus, it was an awareness of one’s self and where we fit in the greater understanding of the cosmos. John begins his Gospel with this idea that the very idea of us, wisdom, consciousness and being began with God from the beginning of time. Logos was with God and Logos was God and Logos was made flesh. Salvation then for Jesus was not that moment of Judgment that for all of us must happen in our lives (Matthew 25: 31-45) but the moment when we accept that God’s love is an integral part of who we were created to be. Jesus tells us that His sheep know Him and follow His voice. That we inherently know God and when God speaks we listen. John 3: 16 sums it best when we understand that God sent Jesus not to seek judgment but to seek understanding, that all may live into this beautiful love not in the future but right this moment. John 15: 4 beautifully explains it as something not of words but of experience, “Abide in me, and I in you.”   

Whom are you searching for

Sermon given Easter Sunday at Sydenstricker UMC 4/16/17

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John 20:11-17 But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet.They said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping?’ She said to them, ‘They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.’ When she had said this, she turned round and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping? For whom are you looking?’ Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, ‘Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Mary!’ She turned and said to him in Hebrew, ‘Rabbouni!’ (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, ‘Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, “I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.” ’

There are two stories within a story in this text and my hope is that you will hear the message that God wants you to hear. So often we see this story and focus on the empty tomb, the resurrection consequence if you will of the story. But we need to focus on the human consequences of the story and how I believe God intends us to see this story in the face of His relationship with us over the generations. God simply is. You have heard me say it a number of times. God is so much bigger than we can imagine and so much greater than anything we can define. But all too often we look for our answers in who God is by the standards we bring to the discussion.

I heard a story once that I think highlights this. It was told by “Dear Abby” in a response to someone’s question. A young man from a wealthy family was about to graduate from high school. It was the custom in that affluent neighborhood for the parents to give the graduate an automobile. "Bill’ and his father had spent months looking at cars, and the week before graduation, they found the perfect car. On the eve of his graduation, his father handed him a gift wrapped Bible. Bill was so angry that he threw the Bible down and stormed out of the house. He and his father never saw each other again. It was the news of his father’s death that brought Bill home again. As he sat one night going through his father’s possessions that he was to inherit, he come across the Bible his father had given him. He brushed away the dust and opened it to find a cashier’s check, dated the day of his graduation - in the exact amount of the car they had chosen together. As I thought about this story, I couldn’t help but wonder how many people in this world have done the same thing to God. Literally tossed aside a wonderful promise, because they didn’t understand it, or they didn’t believe that it was possible. In our world, we are taught that; “if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”

Mary comes to this place because she is both distraught over the loss of her friend and mentor and also because He told her to come. Maybe not in those words, but He told her that in three days He would be raised up from the dead and would live again. So I can imagine that she has come to this place to grieve her loss but at the same time to come and see if He is risen indeed. But when she comes to the empty tomb her unbelief overcomes her faith. She thinks that His body has somehow been removed from the tomb and stolen. For many in our world today they are trying to reclaim an ancient myth that in fact Jesus was either not dead or His body was removed from the tomb to perpetuate a myth that He was resurrected. But what good would His body missing have done for anyone. Certainly not the Romans who wanted Him dead and gone. Certainly not for the Jewish leadership who wanted the same thing. And if the followers had somehow done so to perpetuate a myth, someone over time would have given up the lie. But our faith sometimes is full of doubts. And Mary is no different than the rest of us. Where have you taken His body she cries.

The second part of the story is for Mary not to hold onto Jesus, the resurrected Jesus. Jesus tells her I have not yet ascended indicating that there was something left to do before He has completed the cycle that we call atonement. But He instructs her to go and tell.

Jesus came into the world to do one thing! Now most of you believe that one thing is to go to the cross and die and then three days later rise from the dead. And it is true that all of that is part of the one thing. But it is not the one thing. Whom did you come here seeking this morning? Was it the essence of the story? Or was it the people you haven’t seen in a while? Or maybe you are not sure of whom you seek so you thought you come here and someone could explain it you! The reality is that Jesus came to do one thing for all of us.

When Jesus walked the world around Israel, He shared what God intended from the creation of the world. When we think of Jesus in the terms of the cross and the empty tomb alone we miss a great story of love that God would want us to know. Jesus reminds us in John 3:16 that God sent Jesus not to condemn the world, but to save it, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life. Jesus reminds us that the Kingdom of God is here with us right now in this place. Jesus came so that we might have love in our hearts, not just at Easter and Christmas, but throughout our lives. When Jesus says to us to let Him abide in us, He is asking us to live lives in perfection, loving one another without regard to heritage, language or past action. Jesus is asking us to find a way to become Jesus to the world around us where we through the power of God provide healing for the sick, feed the hungry and share love with those who feel unloved. Whom are we searching for? Maybe we are searching for ourselves. Maybe we need to listen to the special words that we can only hear when we open our hearts to one another without regard to what we might gain by doing so. Jesus certainly opened His heart to place Himself on the cross for us. What are we willing to do for our neighbors if not living into that sacrificial desire of love?

I heard a story once about a teacher in a faith class that encountered a student who clearly was an atheist. He was very argumentative about everything that was said in the class. One day he asked the professor, so how do I find God? The professor said to him, you cannot find God, but God will find you. The student left the class and never returned. Years later the professor heard that Tommy, the student’s name, had contracted cancer and it was terminal. Before he could find Tommy, Tommy found him. Tommy asked the professor if he knew how much impact that answer to the question so many years ago would have on him. He said he spent many years searching for God without success. And then the cancer came. He searched even harder then, often screaming into the night demanding that God make His presence known. One day he was sitting with his father who was reading the paper. They had never had a great relationship. He said he needed to talk to him and his father lowered the paper a little and said, well talk then. He told his father that he loved him. His father dropped the paper and stood up and hugged him, something his unemotional father had never done. His father told him how proud he was with him and how much he loved him. Tommy recounted that he had similar experiences with his mother and brother. Tommy said it was that moment that he realized that God had found him through love.

Whom are we searching for? Or more correctly this day, what are we searching for? Are you looking for a sense of purpose and a sense of fulfillment? Have you come to this place desiring to know what the truth of life is? Maybe you have come with baggage accumulated over the years as you searching for God in all the wrong places? God is here with us right now. Not condemning as many claim, but loving as God alone can do. What we need to do then to allow ourselves to experience God is as simple as loving one another. And in that loving relationship we will find God. Whom are you searching for?   

Who is Jesus - Chapter six

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Chapter Six – Jesus Teaching on Compassion and Servant Ministry

This week I want you to do something a little different. Use the internet or a Bible Concordance and look up the words compassion, pity, servant, shepherd, and mercy. Find scriptures in the four Gospel’s using these words and read not only the scripture but the contextual scriptures (the whole story surrounding the scripture).

We begin this chapter talking about Jesus ministry in two specific aspects. Jesus was very clear in His example of who we are supposed to be when it comes to compassion and being a shepherd. In order to understand those two concepts we need to see them as Jesus had defined them. Merriam-Webster defines compassion is the emotion that one feels in response to the suffering of others that motivates a desire to help. But the Hebrew meaning of compassion goes far beyond that. In fact, the word that is often translated as “compassion” is the plural of a noun meaning literally “womb.” Compassion or mercy, the English translation is typically the same root word in Greek and Hebrew, is much deeper of an understanding than what we have in the Western world today. To Jesus, compassion represented the essence of God. The idea of the womb suggests that we are talking about the agape love of a mother to a child or even a sibling to another sibling born from the same womb. In our modern language we often to refer to this as blood is thicker than whatever we are comparing it too. It is a feeling not just for those that are suffering but a much deeper feeling or sense of creation and the love the creator has for what has been created. God gives birth to us and feels this deep love for us because of that.

But for Jesus, it goes even deeper than just a feeling or an emotion. Jesus uses compassion as the understanding of the central quality of God. Compassion then is something that is central to the person living a God centered life. If we are God centered then we are by default compassionate and we must show mercy when presented with the opportunity to do so. It goes to the concept of purity that permeated Jesus world and still permeates ours. Those that have affluence have their health and are whole so to speak, are considered by society to be pure. Those who have illness such as lepers are considered to be impure. That concept is extended to those whose lives may not be seen by the world as respectful and privileged. In our world today we would consider under those standards, anyone with illnesses of any kind, children born challenged, and professions like prostitution and such as impure. Jesus would then argue effectively that we are to reach out in compassionate ways to them. His mantra could well be summed up in ^NRS  Mark 10:45 For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many." He shares with us that view in the Beatitudes in Matthew 5, verse 7 and 8 where he reminds us that we are to be merciful, for it is they who will receive mercy and blessed are the pure of heart for they will see God.  

So how do we follow the example of Jesus in our own lives as Jesus intended for us to do. The concept of “imitatio dei” is best translated as “in the image of God” which can best be understood as the idea of imitating God (Jesus in the literal) in our own lives. We see Jesus compassion show through in the miracle narratives that we have already described in Chapter Five. In the healing narratives we see the compassion of Jesus as He brings wholeness to the impurity of their illness. Jesus shows us His compassion in His willingness to touch the impure, the unclean and to heal them. Now the significance of that is lost on us in this century because we all have learned that with proper care, blood cannot contaminate us. But in Jesus day, to touch the unclean, the impure made you unclean and impure. It meant that you were not supposed to associate with the pure folk in the community until you had cleansed yourself and you were not allowed to worship in the Temple. We also see the Shepherd in that His healing not only restored their health, but also restored them to the societal order. In the continuation of the Sermon on the Mount story found in Matthew, we have the idea of loving your enemy, going the second mile and giving all you have to those who do not have (Matt 5: 38-48). We have the parable of the judgment in Matthew 25: 34-40 which admonishes us to clothe the naked, feed the hungry and visit the sick and imprisoned. Probably the best compassion story in the Bible is the Parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10: 25-37 where Jesus defines for us not only compassionate behavior but who is our neighbor.  

Jesus is known to us as the Good Shepherd. We see this in the restoration of His healing miracles not only in their restoration of their health but more importantly the restoration back into community and into the Kingdom of God. Several parables deal with the idea of being a good shepherd. The parable of the lost sheep (Matt 18: 11-14) for example reminds us that saving even one sheep is preferable to leading the 99 saved in discipleship. Jesus puts a high price on Profession of faith or confirmation in the Methodist journey. The Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15: 11-32) is a great story about being a good shepherd and welcoming even the lost, the least and the impure back into the family circle. Jesus reminds us, as He reminded the disciples that we are to reach out to the children of the world and we are admonished to be like little children in our faith.  

The grand entrance

Sermon given at Sydenstricker UMC 4/9/17

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^NRS  Zechariah 9:1 Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem! Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. ¹⁰ He will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war-horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall command peace to the nations; his dominion shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.

^NRS  Matthew 21:1 When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, ² saying to them, "Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. ³ If anyone says anything to you, just say this, 'The Lord needs them.' And he will send them immediately. " ⁴ This took place to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet, saying,

 ⁵ "Tell the daughter of Zion, Look, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey." ⁶ The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; ⁷ they brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. ⁸ A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. ⁹ The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting, "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!" ¹⁰ When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, "Who is this?" ¹¹ The crowds were saying, "This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee." ¹² Then Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who were selling and buying in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. ¹³ He said to them, "It is written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer'; but you are making it a den of robbers." ¹⁴ The blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he cured them.

The story from Matthew is one most everyone is familiar with that has studied the Gospel and the stories of the life of Jesus. But what does it mean to us that Jesus would come into the city of Jerusalem riding a donkey and a colt? In order to answer that question we first must answer two other questions. How does a future ruler arrive and what did it mean in the 1^st century when Jesus arrived in this way.

First I want to deal with the question, how does a ruler arrive in the city of his or her ruler ship? Well in order to answer that question, we need only to look at history. In the ancient times and even today in many parts of the world, the ruler or future ruler arrives in the city based on what he or she expects the inhabitants to understand as the role of the ruler. If the role is to be one of military might, they might well ride into the city on a horse surrounded by their army. In today’s standards, that might be in some form of military vehicle surrounded by the machines of war. If the person is coming as a peacemaker, then they might well come into the city in a humble way without much fanfare.

In ancient days this would have often been done by walking or riding a working animal like a donkey or a work horse as opposed to a war horse. In modern times where would be without the inauguration parade and all the pomp and circumstance of the ceremonial crowning of the new ruler. In our own country, the parade would include military might as well as signs of domestic peace and tranquility, mom and apple pie.

In the first century, rulers would often arrive into the city with the placing of palms on the road as a sign of peace. The waving of palms and laying down of coats was no accident or coincidence. Palms are a sign of victory and military achievement. The Romans gave palms to the winners of the games. When Jerusalem had achieved its independence, the Hebrew people had used palms to display their joy. 2 Kings 9 reminds us when it describes cloaks spread on bare steps for the anointing of the new king Jehu. So from all of this we would expect that the Hebrew people, expecting a new King would roll out the welcome carpet, wave palms, through cloaks on the ground and celebrate the entrance of this new King.

But why the donkey and the colt?

One of the most perplexing thing about the life of Jesus to the modern day person is often the way in which things were done. We neither have the appreciation or understanding of the customs of the day, or often, the biblical prophecy that he fulfills. So in order to truly understand his style of entrance, let us take a walk through biblical history and prophecy. In the 49^th chapter of Genesis we are told that the scepter, the sign of royal power, will not pass from Judah until he who is the rightful heir comes to claim it. And when he comes he will bind his foal, listen carefully, the young donkey and his male donkey to the vine which he will wash his garments in the wine and his robe in the blood of the grapes. I find this passage to be intriguing in several arenas. First, Jesus rides into Jerusalem on the foal of the donkey. Second, it will be his blood shed that we will celebrate with the fruit of the vine each and every communion. Solomon was brought into the city of Jerusalem on the back of a donkey where he was anointed king following in the footsteps of his father David. And then there is Zechariah 9. “Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” 480 years before the birth of Jesus, Zechariah writes these words of prophecy to identify not only how we will know this rightful heir, the new King, but also to tell us about him. He will be righteous and bringing salvation and he will be gentle. Now history tells us much about the life of Jesus and I suspect that we all can agree that his ministry was all about being gentle and healing and the cross is all about salvation. His entrance into Jerusalem meant something only if you were paying attention to the details. God is determined to reveal the very nature of his plan to those who are paying attention. The Hebrew people were looking for the Messiah to come into their city. They were looking for the king who would remove the oppressive Roman rule and restore the kingdom to its greatness. And yet Jesus was intent on demonstrating the power of God in a way that reveals its very nature to the world. He had already spent much time revealing the paradox that is God.

That God’s strength is made perfect in weakness and the really wise people in the world are those of us willing to become weak in the strength of God. The donkey symbolizes the power of the throne of Solomon, the strength of the prophecy of Zechariah and yet it also shows the power of peace in the gentle hands of the man who rode it into the city on that day.

Funny that he would enter Jerusalem as he entered Bethlehem, on the back of a donkey.

Jesus is reminding us of the entrance that the way to peace is through the strength of faith. We who think of ourselves as not having the power to change the world are the instruments that God uses to do just that thing. We, who focus our attention on being humble before God and reaching out to the world in a servant’s role, are the very strength that allows the world to be reached and transformed.

But I wonder if the story would somehow be complete if we carried it further into the story. We know from the Gospel of Matthew that Jesus then proceeds to the temple were people have set up shop, in the temple itself in order to make money off the people coming to make offerings there. Imagine with me for a moment the front of the church filled with people trying to get you to buy birds, doves, lambs, souvenirs and other things, all focused on taking your money from you while you are here for the Passover celebration. And Jesus comes into this place in righteous anger and cleans the house. I wonder if the significance has been lost on us as to what has occurred. Jesus enters the city in the way of peace and royalty, fulfilling the prophecy. And then he demonstrates his power and authority as he cleans the temple area. Is it possible that in doing so he is making a statement about judgment?

Are we the people of the temple, trying to sell our wares to any who would buy them, taking advantage of those who are there for righteous reasons? Or are we the righteous coming there to pray and worship having to deal with the world which is intent on taking from us everything that we own? And what is it then that Jesus is reminding us of on this day so many years ago? Is it possible that he wants us to remember whose job it is to judge? Is it for us to remember how we are supposed to be in our walk of life?

I want to end this sermon today with a story. As you hear its words, imagine yourself in it. Are you the young girl or the father? In November 1991 Jerry Jenkins wrote a bizarre story about a man awakened in the middle of the night by a phone call. He was groggy. The girl on the end of the phone was weeping. “Daddy” she said, “I’m pregnant and alone.” His daughter was away at college. Through stunned beyond belief, he forgave her and prayed with her. The next day he wrote several letters to his daughter. Here are the excerpts: Part of me seemed to die last night. Not because of what it means to me as much as what it means to you. You were free to make all kinds of choices. Now you are shut up to a few and none of them to your liking. But God will see you and us together through it all. Though I weep inside, I can’t condemn you because I sin too. You transgression is no worse than mine, just different. We think of acts as sins. But sin is a package, an attitude that expresses itself in different ways and to different degrees. But it all comes from the same sin package you inherited through us. Christ is the only difference. God forgives this sin as well as others – really forgives and cleanses. David was a man of God when he went into his experience with Bathsheba and in the grace of God he came out a man of God. And his sin included murder! We’re praying much. We love you more than I can say. And respect you, too, as always. While we can’t say that God causes failures, He does permit them, and I think it’s clear He uses them to build character and beauty that we’d never have without them. Remember that God’s love is in even this, maybe especially in this. We’re glad that in a measure, at least, we can help the daughter we love so much. This is a day of testing, but hold our ground we must. God will give us victory. We’re looking forward to your being at home. Love Dad.

Imagine the surprise by all when the daughter called three days later. His daughter was shocked by the letters. She was not the one who had made the phone call earlier... another girl must have dialed the wrong number. “These letters are my treasure,” the daughter later said, “real love letters written by a godly father who never imagined that he would have to write them to his own daughter.”

Jesus comes into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey. Humble, a man of peace offering forgiveness and salvation to the world. From that gateway he would walk to the cross, shed his blood there for you and me. What does the entrance mean? To those who are listening, everything!

Who is Jesus - Chapter Five

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Chapter Five – Miracles and Healings

Read Matthew 8: 5-13; Matthew 9: 27-31; Matthew 14: 15-21; Mark 5: 25-34;

Luke 7: 11-18; Luke 8: 43-48; John 2: 1-11; John 9: 1-38; John 11: 1-46

To understand Jesus we look to the witnesses, the things that He did, and the impact and significance of those things. Nothing creates more discussion, especially among those who struggle to believe, than do the miracles of Jesus. Did He actually do them? I had a Professor when I was in Seminary who started the class by saying that everything we know about the Bible stories of Jesus is a myth. Now half the class left after he said that and they missed some powerful education. Why did he dare call them a myth? Because we weren’t there to see them ourselves! Plus the fact that there is no actual carryover evidence to allow us to see tangible proof of the miracles of Jesus today. Does that mean they did not happen? I wasn’t alive to see Washington cross the Delaware River in the winter of 1776. Does that mean it did not happen? Maybe not the way it’s pictured in all those paintings. But we know historically that it did happen. We know it from the witnesses who recounted the events, from the writers who put those witness statements on paper and the inherent belief we have in witness testimony. The same holds true for Jesus and the miracles. What is interesting is that part of the testimony is not to dispute the healings but to call Jesus some kind of magician or evil man in cahoots with the Devil.

Jesus miracles can be divided a number of different ways. For the purposes of this study we are going to divide them into four groups, Physical, Nature, Death and Demon. Dr. Efird, Professor at Duke Seminary is often quoted as saying, “You need to ask the right question.” So what is the wrong question, did the miracles happen. The right question is what we learn from the miracles about Jesus, living and the Kingdom of God. We have a long history of miracles from God in the Old Testament. Moses after arguing his own worth finally agreed to do God’s bidding. But he wanted something that would prove that he was sent by God. So God gave him miracles to perform that gave proof to who he was and who sent him. Elijah takes what the widow has and gives her sufficient quantity (1 King 17: 17-24). Elisha cures Naaman of an incurable disease (2 Kings 5:14) and resurrects a young boy (2 Kings 4:35). Moses brings about the plagues in Egypt and parts the Red Sea. All of these before Christ is ever born. So whether the miracles of Jesus ever happened is really not at question here. Not only do we have plenty of witnesses, but we have historical expectation that the Messiah would be able to do what He did.

There are also several things that every miracle has in common in what the significance of those miracles are. First, every miracle demonstrates the power of God. Each miracle speaks to the grace and mercy of God. Whether we are talking about a healing, a miracle that goes against the natural understanding of things or resurrection from death itself, the significance of the miracle shows the power and majesty of God. Second, every miracle speaks to the authority that God has given to Jesus. The prophets had indicated that one of the ways we would know the Messiah would be through the signs or miracles. The signs then are proof that God had sent Him. John the Baptizer asks Jesus if he is the one that John is looking for. Jesus replies in Matthew 11:3-5 that the signs that you see, the blind receiving their sight, the lepers that are healed, and the dead raised up is proof that Jesus is who John is looking for. In other words, each miracle is significant as a sign of Jesus authenticity. Miracles are designed to be sources of faith. The Gospels tell us that we only get a glimpse of the signs of Jesus. We only have a small number of the actual signs of His ministry written down in testimony of Jesus ministry. Finally, each miracle is restorative. In other words, each healing not only provides physical healing but brings that person back into relationship. Back into relationship with family and friends and back into relationship with God. Remember, in Jesus day, a skin condition we know as Eczemas could cause a person to be excluded from family and friends and isolated outside the community.

How do we have proof of the miracles of Jesus? We have the testimony of witnesses when they were still alive. I remember some years ago reading Chuck Colson, an attorney of the Watergate Scandal, write that he came to faith because of the willingness for witnesses to go to their death for their story. He said he and the others could not even keep a lie when prison was the consequence. No-one would willingly go to their death for a lie, much less the thousands that gave their lives across the generations. Historically I have already said that we don’t have people disputing the miracles of Jesus in the early 1^st century. What we have is people discounting them as something other than divine.

So what do we see when we look at the miracles and signs. It would be easier to discount the healings, but even one of these to me is significant. We have the story of the woman who has been bleeding for some time, who would have ostracized by her family and friends, excluded from her family because of her illness, simply touches Jesus and is healed. We have the Centurion’s son who is healed from a distance; Jesus neither goes to the son nor sends someone to him to heal him. It is another demonstration for Jesus of what faith looks like. Throughout the accounts Jesus makes the point that faith is something that does not require signs but the signs are to overcome our own unbelief.

One of the signs that we know well is the feeding of the five thousand (Matt 14: 13-21) followed by the feeding of four thousand (Matt 15: 32-39). Jesus takes the fish and loaves that a young person has and shows His power over nature itself. Only the God of creation would have power to perform such a sign. This brings us to the miracles of resurrection. Now resurrection miracles are not new to the Bible story. Both the Elijah and Elisha performed resurrection miracles in the Old Testament. Jesus raises the widow’s son to life (Luke 7: 11-17), Jairus daughter is raised to life (Matt 9: 18-26), and the most famous, the raising of Lazarus (John 11: 1-46). All of these signs point to Jesus being sent by God and Jesus authority to validate His place in the world.  

Why are the miracles important to the story of Jesus? Without them, we must rely on testimony and teaching. With them, we see the power and majesty of God given to Jesus in His ministry. With them we see the importance of restoration to God in relationship within community and with God. The resurrection miracles give us clues to Jesus presence and who He really is. To the first century Hebrew, the resurrection stories gave proof to Jesus being the Messiah. And yet the best was yet to come. Jesus himself would become a resurrection story.

Prodigal Son

Sermon given at Sydenstricker UMC on 4/2/17

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^NRS  Luke 15:11 Then Jesus said, "There was a man who had two sons. ¹² The younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.' So he divided his property between them. ¹³ A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and traveled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living. ¹⁴ When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need. ¹⁵ So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. ¹⁶ He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything.

This story comes to us as a familiar story from the Bible. The Prodigal Son has been preached and taught many times. We know the basic story. A father has two sons and one of the sons wants his inheritance now while the other loyal son stays on and takes care of the farm. Most of those who preach this story would tell you that the father is God. God who loves us regardless! God who waits patiently for us to return! God who desires our love more than we desire God’s! Others might say that the father is who we are supposed to be as a Christian. That we are to love unconditionally! Whoever the Father is may not be as important as which son we see ourselves as.

This story is the story of two brothers. Two brothers who are nothing alike! One brother, the older one, is dependable. He is a hard worker and is willing to sacrifice for his family. The younger brother lives his life focused on himself. His life is centered around things that make him feel good, providing him the things that he wants and he could care what others think about him. In fact, he is so determined that his world is about the here and now that he demands now what is not his to receive now. He demands his inheritance. Now things in those days were no different than in our day. An inheritance is something you receive when someone dies, not before, unless the person decides to give what might become yours to you. And that is exactly what the father does. He gives his son a share of the land and wealth. Something interesting happens in the scripture that it says that he divided his wealth among the two sons. Now in those days, the older son would have received 2/3 and the younger son would have been entitled to receive 1/3. For those of you with farms and property you know that this probably means that the father had to sell off part of his property to give the son what he wants. And it also does not say whether or not the older sons share was given to him or set aside for him. We will come back to that later.

Many years ago I had stood in a courtroom with a young man who was a crack cocaine addict. Everyone expected the judge to send him to jail but instead did something the judge did something unusual. He told the young man that he was going to let him go free. He said that he could not help him and sending him to jail would not help him. He went further and said that because he had not hit bottom yet, he, the young man, had no idea that he needed help and so the judge could not help him. The judge went on to say that he hoped that he would hit bottom and seek help and his prayer was that when he did the addiction did not kill him. In our story, the father may well understand the same thing that the son would never understand what the father wants him to know until he reaches a place where he is open to listen. So the younger son goes off into the world and squanders his inheritance. Isn’t that the way it works? So often you hear that the sons or daughters have gone through the inheritance and have nothing to show for it. Maybe they were brought up receiving whatever they wanted and never learning the value of things. And then when all his fortune is gone and he has nothing left, he resorts to the job of feeding the pigs. Now to a Jewish person, this would be the lowest job possible in the food chain.

Have you ever been empty? Have you ever reached rock bottom and realized that you have nothing to give to the world? Have you found yourself at a point where there was nothing left to give. At that moment people do one of two things. They either reach out in anger at the world demanding that the world owed them something or they realized that the only way out of this mess was to climb the ladder. The ladder that is there because they realize that they have dug themselves a deep hole and the only way out is climbing the ladder of humility and hard work. In our story the young man realizes that there may be a chance to work for his father if he offers his apology for his impatience and his immaturity. And so he heads back home. Can you imagine how many times he practices the words that he will say? How many times he reflects on his mistakes and how much he has given up?

In this story the first son, the younger one, probably has lived under the shadow of the firstborn his whole life. So he goes after the good life with all he has and will ever have, at least as the story begins. He spends it on fast living and fun things that have no lasting value. How many of us spend our lives on things that do not last and then one day look back and realize what we have squandered and lost? Many of us focus on the here and now and then are surprised when that lottery ticket did not have the right numbers or that job ended before we were ready. I wonder how many of us would eat the pods to feed the pigs? Remember, that Jesus is telling this story to Jewish people who abhor the pig and the slop that a pig would eat. If the young son would eat that then he has completely moved himself away from his culture and his religious beliefs.

We have a story of two sons. One who was impatient and immature and lived in the here and now not caring about others. And one who continued to live at home in anticipation of what the future held for him. I read this story once about a young man. I am not sure of the source. There is a story of a young man who saved for years to go on a cruise. He carried crackers and cheese to eat during the cruise in order to save money. But each day he would look in on the dining room and all the food there and was envious. His crackers ran out before the cruise was over and one day, tired and hungry he asked the steward could he possibly have some leftovers. The steward asked for his ticket. When the young man gave him his ticket, the steward said, young man, your ticket entitled you to all of the food each day, you already paid for full dining privileges. Apparently the young man had never asked the right question and so he spent his entire time envious and angry. The first son came to realize he needed forgiveness and came to his father and received it. The second son resentful and angry, walked away from the heaven he already had a full paid ticket.

I want to close this morning with a story about Abigail. Abigail grew up on the other side of the tracks. She early got into drugs and devil worship. She dresses in black and her entire body is tattooed with images of devils and weird drawings. In fact, if you were to see her on the street you would swear that she was a he. She found Jesus along the way. She asked for forgiveness and received it there. But along the way, the good church people shunned her because of the way she looked, her mannerism and her art. She came to a weekend full of people with fear about how she would be treated. At that place she was quiet and to herself. But the people were full of agape love, loving her for who she was. They did not judge her, they just loved her. On the stage on the last day, she told the audience that she had found love here. And that here for the first time she had learned that she needed to let her prejudices go in order to be reached by the love of others. Are we Abigail, living in our own worlds, scared to allow others in? Or are we the good people who judge her because of where she has been? You see in this story, we also see the prodigal son lived out for real. Which brother are you?