John 18

Jesus is arrested and brought before Pilate. The Jewish leaders want the Romans to crucify him, but Pilate doesn't think Jesus is guilty of anything. Pilate really didn't want to punish him.

Pilate had a custom of releasing a prisoner every year at the time of the Passover. He had an idea which we would let him off the hook. Instead of punishing Jesus, he would offer to release him, and to make sure the crowds chose Jesus, he would put him against Barabbas, a well-known criminal. Barrabbas was considered a mad man and was responsible for a revolt which led to the many deaths. The clear punishment for his crimes was crucifixion. Surely the people would rather have Jesus released than this dangerous man Barabbas.

Pilate's plan backfires. The Jewish people choose to free Barabbas instead of Jesus. They encourage Pilate to crucify Jesus.

The people chose to crucify Jesus, the Son of God.

The people chose to crucify Jesus, who was guilty of healing people, loving people, and teaching people.

The people chose to crucify Jesus because he claimed to be the Messiah... he claimed to be what he was.
 
The people chose to free Barabbas, a man guilty of murder and madness.

The people chose evil over goodness, they chose anarchy over God's will.

We choose evil over good everytime we sin, and we sin every day...  Every day we choose Barabbas instead of Jesus.

So Jesus took Barabbas' place on the cross... and ours.

12/16/2012 Sermon... Violence, Evil & Jesus

Readings for the day: Zephaniah 3:14-20, Isaiah 12:2-6, Philippians 4:4-7, Luke 3:7-18

In this morning’s reading from Philippians, the Apostle Paul writes “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.”

It is a fitting text for Abiding Grace this week... we have a great reason to rejoice... we closed on our building this week. For the first time we are sitting in chairs that we own, on a floor that we own, and under a roof that we own. We rejoice because God has provided all these things for His church and for us, His people. This is truly a mountain top experience for us, and we should rejoice. We should rejoice because we don’t get very many mountain top experiences in life, and the ones we do get don’t seem to last very long. My mountain top experience this week lasted all of 18 hours.

I have preached on this text three times.

The first time I preached on this text was Sunday, April 22 2007. I was working at Jacob’s Porch, the Lutheran campus ministry at Ohio State University. The text was given to me weeks in advance so that I could prepare my sermon. On Monday, April 16, 2007, 6 days before my sermon, 33 people were killed and 29 people were injured during a shooting spree at Virginia Tech.

The second time I preached on this text was Sunday, February 17, 2008. Again, I was working at Jacob’s Porch and again I was given the text weeks in advance. On Thursday, February 14, 2008, 3 days before my sermon, 6 people were killed and 21 people were injured during a shooting spree at Northern Illinois University...

Today, I am at a complete loss for words. I don’t know what it is about this text... I never want to preach on it again. How is this even possible?

I decided to look deeper in to the text. It turns out that Paul writes Philippians while imprisoned in Rome staring death in the face... He is sitting on death row and is urging Christians to rejoice in their faith while he is imprisoned because of his faith. Paul rejoices because of his coming death, he writes in Philippians 1:21 “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” He rejoices because the end is near.

Maybe it is my lack of faith, but I’m not ready to rejoice at the thought of my death… and I am certainly not ready to rejoice at the death of 26 innocent people, 20 of them in kindergarten.

Actually, I don’t want to rejoice, I want answers! Why God? Why world? Why?

My questions led me to our reading this morning from Zephaniah – “The king of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst; you shall fear disaster no more... I will remove disaster from you”

Now this is a nice thought... but I do fear disaster because it hasn’t been removed from us! But I don’t think God is the problem... I think the problem is us; we are broken people living in a broken world.

Some people say that guns are the problem... I’m not sure that’s totally true, but I’m not sure that’s wrong either. I went Christmas shopping yesterday. While I was at the mall I went to visit my friend who is a manager at Dick’s Sporting Goods. He said that since the store opened in the morning, he has been selling assault rifles non-stop. Honestly, the last thing I thought of after hearing the news on Friday was running out and buying an assault rifle...

But I think it points us to part of the problem, we are violent people. The whole world is and has always been violent; it seems to be in our DNA. It seems like the most common way to a settle dispute is with violence, and we start so young. When I started a new school in second grade, the first day I got on the bus a fifth grader asked me if I thought I could beat him up. I looked him up and down and replied “probably.” I was wrong.  

Whether it’s the playground during recess or Omaha Beach, violence is a part of our story. It always has been. We have ancient stories of wars like the time David used his slingshot to kill Goliath.

Not only do we use violence to settle disputes, we are entertained by violence. The Romans filled the Coliseum to watch gladiators fight to the death... Now we put it on pay-per view and call it martial arts or boxing. So many movies and televisions shows are full of violence, because we love watching stuff blow up... I know I do. But I wonder by the time our children turn 10, how many times have they seen someone on TV shoot a gun at someone else?

Some violence is necessary... but not all violence... not most violence.

The other part of the problem, the bigger part of the problem, is that we live in a broken world where evil is alive and well. And when violence and evil come together we always get disaster and tragedy. It all started with Cain and Abel and has been a part of daily life ever since.

So how do we cope when tragedy strikes?  What do we do or say when all we can think to do is scream WHY???

I think the first thing we need to do is be honest with ourselves:

We were not created to bear this much evil and this much emotion, we cannot shoulder this level of suffering. On Friday, many of my pastor friends were posting words of comfort and hope on Facebook. I wanted to post something too, but I couldn’t find the words. I was lost and shocked and sad and angry and I couldn’t form a worthwhile sentence.

When we know we can’t handle the pain, we turn to God.

We turn to God in prayer. We pray for hurting families and broken communities that have had their children ripped from them. We pray for churches and pastors to drop their agendas, come together and minister to those who are hurting.

But most of all, we pray for Jesus to come and set this broken world right, we pray for Jesus to come back and put an end to all evil and all hurt... which is what the season of Advent is all about.

While we wait for Jesus to come, we fight evil. As the church, we have to fight evil. In today’s reading from Luke, John the Baptist said: "Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise." The best way to fight evil is to give, serve, and love each other. I went to see The Hobbit Thursday night at midnight... because I like movies with sword fighting and other violence. In the movie, the great wizard Gandalf was asked why he brought Bilbo Baggins on the journey. Bilbo is a hobbit, he is half the size of everyone else and has no fighting skills. Gandalf said that evil is not overcome by mighty acts, but in many small acts of goodness and kindness. I thought that was profound... and true. Every act of kindness matters, no matter how small. Every act of love counts in the war against evil. I believe the only way to defeat evil is to love it right out of people.

And finally, we hold our loved ones tight... and we cling to Jesus...  we cling to the promises God has made to us through Jesus and the hope they give us. Isaiah writes “Surely God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid, for the LORD GOD is my strength and my might, and has become my salvation.”

Jesus has become our salvation through suffering. He was the victim of our brokenness... the cross is a first century example of what happens when violence and evil come together. Humanity killed him the most painful way we knew how.

And God the Father knows how it feels to lose a child because He had to sit idly by while His son was being murdered.

God went through that pain for a reason, so that we might be given the gift of everlasting life. Death is not the end for those who lost their lives on Friday and it is not the end for us… Death does not, will not, and cannot win because Jesus has won.

I don’t know what it will look like when we see Jesus face to face. I don’t know how I’ll feel or what I am looking forward to most. But I know one thing… We will no longer need to ask “why?”

And maybe that is reason enough to rejoice.

John 17

In John 17 Jesus says a prayer for those “who will believe in me.” Jesus says a prayer for us.

What does Jesus pray for?

Does he pray that we would all be rich? No.

Does he pray that we would picket funerals and tell people they are going to hell? No.

Does he pray that we would argue over every little theological detail? No.

Jesus prayed “I have given them the glory that you have given me, that they may be one as we are one – I in them and you in me – so that they may be brought to complete unity.” (Verses 22-23)

Jesus’ prayer for us is that we would be united, that we would work together... all of us.

Ever since Jesus left the church has been dividing. In the book of Acts the disciples and Paul had disagreements and went their separate ways. The creeds we recite in church were written in part to tell others that they believed the wrong thing.

If we were to chart the history of the church we would start with Jesus, and from him we would have split after split and eventually end up with a reverse tournament bracket that included dozens of denominations, dozens of splits in each denomination and new denominations like non-denominationalism. Since Jesus prayed this prayer we have been busy separating ourselves from each other instead of uniting.

Maybe we have spent too much time focusing on our disagreements instead of focusing on the items that we actually agree on.

Maybe our egos and desire to always be right have hindered the growth of the church.

Imagine the possibilities if we all admitted that the mysteries of God were exactly that, mysteries… And maybe we all have it a little bit right, but none of us has it all right.  

Maybe Jesus should have prayed that we would all be a little humble. Without humility, unity will never be possible.

John 16

Verse 7 “It is for your good that I am going away.”

Jesus is still telling the disciples that he is soon going to be dead. The disciples, for a number of reasons, are freaking out… They don’t want him to go.

A couple months ago, I visited one of our members just before her death. She was at peace with what was about to happen, but her children weren’t. She tried to comfort them, but they were devastated… If you’ve ever been there at the end for one of your loved ones, you can relate to how they were feeling.

Jesus was about to die a terrible death, and here he is trying to comfort his disciples. So often, it is the dying who try and give comfort to the healthy, which doesn’t make a lot of sense.

 It must be all about perspective.

The perspective of someone that is dying is very different than that of someone who is healthy. The dying realize they aren’t going to live forever, which makes all the other stress of life seem irrelevant.

In the days before his death Jesus wasn’t worried about interest rates, an election or a football game... He wasn’t worried about the non-essential realities of life. He was worried about his friends and family.  

I’m not suggesting we shouldn’t care about interest rates, elections or football games, but I think we would be well served to change our perspective a little. If interest rates go up or my candidate loses it’s not the end of the world. My life may become harder, but it’s not over.

Until it is…

And when it is, Jesus’ death will be all that we have; it will be our only comfort as we take our last breath.

It is for our good that he went away.

John 15

Verse 13: Jesus said "No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends."

I have a pretty good life. I have a great family, an amazing wife and a job that I love. I have great friends scattered around the country and I am surrounded by a loving community of believers. I live in a country where I am free to speak my mind and preach the gospel. I have enough money to pay my bills, eat good food, have a little fun, and support my church and other organizations that make the world a better place. I have a good life, which I’ve worked hard for.

But I realize that others around the world work hard too, maybe even harder, yet their lives are not as easy. Maybe they live in places that have been devastated by war or natural disaster, maybe they do not have the freedoms that I do, or maybe they just don’t have a loving support system.

I’m lucky… I realize that more now than I ever have. Some people would say that I’m not lucky, I’m blessed. Yes, I am blessed, but I’m lucky too. I think I’m lucky and blessed, and yes, I think there is a difference.

I’m lucky because of where I live. I’m blessed because of God’s love. A lot of people in America are lucky, but they don’t realize how blessed they are. And a lot of people around the world are blessed by our loving God, but they aren’t as lucky as I am.

I’m both blessed and lucky because people gave their lives for me.

As we celebrated Veteran’s Day in worship on Sunday, I was humbled by this thought: If men and women didn’t fight and die for my religious freedom, I wouldn’t be able to be a pastor... I wouldn’t be able to worship God. After I realized this, Veteran’s Day meant something totally different to me. It’s not a day to just thank a veteran, but it’s a day to crown them with honor them for their willingness to die for me. I am lucky to live in this country, made great by its veterans.  

Everything else I have is a gift from God. I’m here because of Him, I breathe because of Him, and I am loved because of Him.

I am free to live the way I do because millions of men and women fought and died for me.

I live the way I do because Jesus died for me.  

John 14

Jesus knows that the end is coming soon and he has to share this reality with his disciples. He tells them that he is going to the Father, and that he will prepare a place for them there. They ask him, "how do we get there?" Jesus then told his disciples, "I am the way, the truth, and the life." (Verse 6)

This must have been crushing news to the disciples. They had left their lives behind to follow Jesus and now he was giving up, he was leaving. Maybe they thought he'd become king, maybe they thought they'd became wealthy or famous because of him... Either way, this isn't what they bargained for. day after day, year after year they worked for Jesus, they traveled around the country by foot proclaiming the good news. But now it was all going to be over.

What would they do now? Where would they go? What would they put their hope in? They needed direction.

I think when Jesus said "I am the Way," he was giving them direction for the rest of their lives... Actually, he was giving us all direction for our lives.

Last night America re-elected Barack Obama to serve as our president. A lot of my friends are very excited, and a lot of my friends are frustrated and sad. Now that the election is over, I think both sides are looking for whatever might be next.

Like the disciples we have to ask ourselves, what do we do now? What do we put our hope in?

Jesus said he is the way, so we go towards Jesus.

When we don't know where to go, go towards Jesus.

When we don't know what to do, go towards Jesus.

When we don't know where to put our hope, go towards Jesus.

Every day of our lives we should go towards Jesus because he is the best way through this life.

When we go towards Jesus we will find love instead of broken promises and half-truths. We will find unity instead of division.

When we go towards Jesus we will find that we have all won, because He lost.

Jesus and the Election

Yesterday I was asked, “Who would Jesus vote for?” I know, without a doubt the answer to this question. After all, I went to seminary for four years and have been working as a pastor for over two years. So I, without a doubt can answer this question; I feel like I know Jesus.

So here is the answer… Jesus would vote for neither. He wasn’t a citizen of the United States.

What if Jesus was a citizen? Well, then I don’t know.

Here is what the bible says:

Jesus was a carpenter, as was his father Joseph. They probably owned a small business in Nazareth and made just enough money to live on. Maybe they hired a couple people to help with deliveries, who knows? As a small business owner, he probably worked very hard to provide for his family, especially after his father died.

But then he stopped working… One day he just quit the family business. He decided instead to walk around and tell people that the “Kingdom of God has come near.” He lived on the generosity of others and his enemies called him “a glutton and a drunkard” (Matthew 11:19) He was called a fat, lazy, drunk by those who opposed him; there must have been some truth to what they said or they wouldn’t have said it. I saw a bumper sticker the other day that read “You are not entitled to what I earned,” yet Jesus lived on what others earned.

But he did live on the generosity of others; he didn’t rely on a program. The people that helped Jesus chose to do so; they were not forced to do so. But when a rich man asked Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life, Jesus said "You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” (Mark 10:21)

Jesus was born in Israel to Jewish parents. All of Jesus’ family members, friends and disciples were Jewish. Israel was God’s chosen people, and Jesus came for them. In Matthew 15:24-26 Jesus has the following conversation with a non-Jewish woman, “He answered, ‘I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.’ The woman came and knelt before him. ‘Lord, help me!’ she said. He replied,  ‘It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.” He called her a dog! Clearly Jesus must be pro-Israel.

But Jesus was betrayed by Judas, who was Jewish. He was arrested by the Jewish leaders and it was the Jewish high priest Caiaphas who begged Pilate to crucify him. While he was hanging on the cross Jews would walk by and mock him.

As far as taxes go, in Matthew 22:21 Jesus said we are to “give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”

I could do this all day, but I’m going to stop. I haven’t attributed any of these bible stories with a political party; I’ll let you do that. But as a pastor, here is what I believe:

I believe our parties are full of people, and people are beautiful, and broken, and sinful. No party falls in line with the Jesus we know in the bible. No party gets it all right and no party gets it all wrong. They both stand for good things, and can quote the bible if they choose to.

I believe you have to decide which candidate you think is best for you, and which candidate is best for America… and be open to the possibility that the guy who is best for you may not be the guy that’s best for America.

I believe that Jesus rejoices in our system of government and the freedom that we have to elect our leaders. He was not so lucky.

I believe that no matter who wins, Jesus would want us to respect, support and pray for our leaders; Lord knows they will need it.

I believe that no one person can make America great; America is at its best when we are all at our best.

I believe a third of America will be happy tomorrow, a third will be frustrated and a third won’t care. I pray that we all show respect, grace and peace no matter what side we are on.

And finally, I believe that Jesus died for us all, Republicans, Democrats, Tea Party folks, Libertarians, Independents and everyone else. His love is our true hope.

Christians and Halloween

In a couple hours the sun will go down and the streets will be filled with children of all ages going from house to house trick-or-treating. When I was a kid, Halloween was one of my favorite days of the year. The neighborhood we lived in was just the perfect size to fill up a pillow case, and there were kids everywhere. Every house had their porch light on and enjoyed the night.

18 months ago my wife and I moved to a new home and a new neighborhood. I was very excited for our first Halloween; I went to the local grocery store and bought a ton of full size candy bars to give out. I’ll never forget the joy seeing a full size candy bar drop into my pillow case when I was a kid… and I’ll never forget the disappointment of seeing an Almond Joy.

One year ago tonight I was ready to meet my neighbors and fill up some pillow cases or plastic pumpkins. I turned on my porch light and waited… and waited… and waited. In the first hour we only saw a handful of kids. I walked outside and it was like any other night, there were no kids on the sidewalk and very few houses had their porch light on.

I learned that most churches in the area have special events on Halloween night, such as trunk-or-treat. Many people either go to their church or just sit inside their home and ignore the holiday. I was very disappointed, but it reflected a greater reality about our culture.

America is more and more becoming a back-porch society. Most new houses have huge decks and patios and very small front porches. So we hang out in our backyard instead of our front. We don’t know our neighbors very well, and if we do, it’s just the ones right next door. I don’t know the first name of my neighbor two houses down in either direction.

I have heard Christians say that Halloween is an evil holiday because it romanticizes the occult… Like our kids will think that it’s cool to practice witchcraft if they dress up like a witch or skeleton once a year. I think that’s just hogwash.

I think Halloween is the best day of the year to get to know our neighbors, to be community. I think Christians could be a greater witness to the world by staying home and passing out candy.  Maybe put a sticker on the candy that says “Jesus Loves You.” You can even make big stickers, but you’ll have to get a candy bar big enough for it to fit on.

I’m pretty sure Jesus said something about loving our neighbors… Getting to know them is a good start.

John 13

Jesus has been on the run for a few chapters now. The Jewish leaders have tried to arrest him a number of times, but he has been able to escape and flee to safety. In the meantime, he had become Jerusalem’s Most Wanted.

The creator of the world came to live among the created, and we turned him into a fugitive because he healed people on the Sabbath, preached love and actually claimed to be the son of God! Jesus knew that he couldn’t keep running; that’s not why he came. He was prepared to be arrested and he was ready for whatever sentence was to come.

The Jewish leaders were ready too. It was the time of the Passover Feast, a time where millions of people came to Jerusalem. If the authorities were going to find Jesus they were going to need help. It would be like finding a needle in a stack of a million other needles. So they pulled Judas aside and worked out a deal.

In verse 27 Jesus whispered to Judas, “What you are about to do, do quickly.” Then Judas left and set the wheels in motion.

I’m not sure what I think about Judas. I feel a little bad for him. If the story was going to play out the way it did, somebody needed to be the bad guy. John tells us that Satan entered Judas, but did Judas choose Satan? Did Judas know Jesus would be killed?

I can’t help but wonder what was going through Judas’ mind. Did he realize that Jesus would be dead in a week and think the last three years of his life were a total waste? Maybe he thought that he was on a sinking ship and was looking for a life preserver.  Was he looking for a way to get in the good graces of the religious elite? He might have joined Jesus because he thought he would be friends with a powerful person, and now he was looking for new powerful friends. Was he just greedy, and wanted the reward money? Money can make people do crazy things.

It’s easy to make Judas out to be the bad guy because we need someone to blame. Judas is guilty of being a bad friend, but he didn’t make Jesus a fugitive, the Jewish leaders did.  Judas didn’t crucify Jesus either, the Romans did.

Jesus didn’t die because of Judas. Jesus died because I’m a sinner.

I wish I could blame Judas, but if I'm going to blame anyone, I need to start with the guy in the mirror.   

John 12

The first eleven verses of John 12 tell the story of Mary taking a pint of perfume, pouring it on Jesus’ feet, and wiping his feet with her hair. It is a crazy story.

John states that the perfume itself was worth a year’s wages! In 2011 the median household income in the US was a little over $50,000… That’s a lot of perfume! Those watching, especially Judas, think this is excessive and wonders why the perfume wasn’t sold and the money given to the poor. That sounds like something Jesus would be all about, but no, he enjoys the moment.

First of all, I don’t like people touching my feet, so this would be weird. But I especially wouldn’t want someone spending $50,000 to massage or anoint my feet… I’d rather have a new car, take a trip, buy my wife something or pay off some student loans… Either way, stay away from my feet!

What would cause someone to do something so reckless, something so crazy?

Love is the only answer I can come up with.

Mary must have known that Jesus was not going to be around much longer and she wanted to express her love. There are some things that we only get one chance to do, and if we pass, then the opportunity never returns. It is a tragic thing to come upon an opportunity to show love, and do not do it.

Now that I think about it, I’d pay $50,000 to spend one more day with my grandparents. I’d go fishing with my grandpa in the morning, then we’d all go to Belle Isle for the afternoon and my grandma would tell me the bunny story before bed. That would be worth $50,000, actually that would be worth $500,000. I don’t have $500,000, but I’d spend the rest of my life paying it back.

It would be a reckless decision, but I’d do it.

Love made Jesus make a reckless decision; he gave his life for those he loved.

I will see my grandparents again, and it won’t cost me anything.  

Jesus already paid the price… which is why I am going to spend the rest of my life paying him back.

John 11

In chapter 10 Jesus was almost captured and killed. He escaped and fled to the other side of the Jordan River, where he was safe.

In chapter 11 Jesus gets word that his friend Lazarus is sick... Lazarus lives on the other side of the river, where Jesus' enemies live.

Jesus has to make a decision. Does he stay where he is safe or does he risk his life and go visit his friend?

Of course he goes to visit Lazarus. By the time he arrives Lazarus has been dead for four days and his sisters, Mary and Martha, are stricken with grief. Jesus weeps with them.

If the story stopped here we would still think that Jesus was a good guy and a great friend. He risked his life to see his friend, but was too late, so he comforted his friend's sisters.

Up until this point in the story, Jesus has not drawn much attention to himself. He is just another visitor coming to pay his respects. Jesus could have spent a few hours with Mary and Martha, and then headed back to the safe side of the river.

But our God is bigger than just a good guy and a great friend.

Jesus walks to the tomb where Lazarus' body was lying. The stone was taken away and Jesus said in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" (v.43) Lazarus, still wrapped in linen, walked out of the tomb, alive.

Immediately word spread about what Jesus had done, and again the Jewish leaders tried to arrest him and kill him. From that time on, Jesus had to be careful where he went.

Jesus risked his life to save his friend. Jesus gave his life to save you.

It's never too late to be saved.
 

John 10

Jesus is talking to his Jewish opponents once again, this time at the Festival of Dedication. They ask him if he is the Messiah, so he tells them that he and the father are one, which is basically saying, "yes, I am."

So what do they do? Do they drop to their knees and worship Jesus because he is God? That would make sense.

No, they do what they do best, they start picking up rocks so that they can stone him. They tell Jesus that he is being stoned for blasphemy, "because you, a mere man, claim to be God." (Verse 33)

It's hard to blame them for not believing Jesus, I'm not sure what I would say if some guy told me he was God. I don't think I'd stone him, but I'd probably laugh at him or think he was crazy.

Truth is, if you read the gospels and the things Jesus said, he has to be one of two things... Totally crazy or the Messiah. Jesus is either just a mere man that claimed to be God, or he is God, who chose to became a mere man.

Why would God choose to become a mere man? Why would the creator enter creation?

The first chapter of John tells us that Jesus and the Father created the world together. They made the earth what it is, they made animals and then they made humans in their own image. These humans were the pinnacle of creation, they were created with the capacity to love and be loved. They were created to be in relationship with each other, and with God.

But humans decided that they wanted to be like God, they wanted to know what God knows and they wanted to make the rules, so they sinned. The creation that God made perfect was now full of suffering and pain... It still is.

So God came to re-create it through love. To do that, God had to know our suffering and pain, so he became one of us and suffered the ultimate pain. Every day since then people have been re-created, one person at a time, one heart at a time.

It doesn't mean we won't feel suffering and pain in this life, it just means that the suffering and pain doesn't win... love does.        

John 9

Jesus and his disciples come across a man that was born blind. The disciples ask Jesus, "Who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" Jesus said, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned: he was born blind so that God's works might be revealed in him." (Verses 2-3)

Jesus goes on to heal the man of his blindness.

Back in the day, people really believed that if you were disabled in any way, it was because you or your parents had committed a terrible sin. God punished them by making their children blind or deaf or any other ailment for which there was no cure.

What bothers me about this text is that Jesus doesn't disagree with their assumption, instead he says "no, this man has been blind his whole life so that God can show off how great He is."

Really? God does that? This a troubling story because it depicts a God that punishes the innocent for His own glory. That is not a loving God, that is oppression.

Well... Jesus never actually said that God made the man blind, he just said he was born blind and God used his imperfection to reveal Himself to others. I like that better.

Truth is, we are all born with a defect, with an imperfection... We are all humans and we are all sinners. God didn't create us that way, it's the way that we chose... And it's the way we continue to choose.

God took away our imperfections when Jesus died on the cross, and Jesus died so that God's glory might be revealed to the world.

As humans, we can read that last statement as, God killed his son to show off how great He is... But we don't understand what Jesus means when he says 'glory.'

God's glory is not shown in overwhelming power, it is shown in suffering love. Which means God's glory is our glory, because in love, Jesus suffered for us.

In the end, the cross IS God showing off how great He is... Because we need to see it.

John 8

The Pharisees bring a woman to Jesus that they caught committing adultery. They are going to throw rocks at her until she is dead because of her sin. They also want to test Jesus because the law of Moses states that the penalty for this crime is death. Either Jesus agrees to her death and is with Moses, or he is against Moses, which means he is against God.

Jesus says "Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her." (Verse 7)

Jesus then looks to the ground while the Pharisees drop their rocks, one by one, and walk away. When he looked up the woman was the only one standing there. I could only imagine what she was feeling at this point; she was seconds away from being killed by a mob of Pharisees and now she is standing in front of Jesus, the man that saved her life. Well, actually he gave permission for them to kill her, if they were without sin.

What is Jesus going to say to her? He is without sin and has the right to start throwing rocks, it was the lawful thing for him to do. Instead he says "Has no one condemnded you? I don't condemn you either. Go and sin no more." (Verses 10-11)

I think we all have been in her place. We have all done wrong and have gotten caught. We have broken hearts and broken rules. Maybe we have never done something worthy of death, but we have all done something that deserved punishment. I'll never forget what it felt like to wait in my room while my parents decided my fate. Would I be yelled at, grounded, or spanked... Or would it be the worst of all, the sad look that came when I let my parents down. The waiting was torture.

Just like her, we are all going to stand in front of Jesus.

You could spend the rest of your life afraid of what might happen on that day. Maybe the fear of being cast in to hell will motivate you to be a better person. Maybe you feel like it doesn't matter what you do because you've been told you're going to hell anyway.

Or maybe the bible is right, and Jesus will see you just the way you are and say, "I don't condemn you either."

John 7

The Jews have three pilgrimage festivals every year, meaning that all the Jews living outisde of the city were required to come in to the city for these festivals. John 7 takes place during one of these festivals, the festival of Booths. Jesus, like all other Jews, goes in to town for the festival and ends up teaching in the temple.

The town is full of people, and so is the temple. The people listening in the temple are amazed at what Jesus had to say, they say to him "You have a demon!" (Verse 20)

Jesus was in the temple, talking to the religious people, and they thought he was possessed by a demon. They had created a religion that worked for them, and they had created a God that worked for them. They were not interested in hearing anything different.

The world was not ready for Jesus when he came; they were not ready to hear what he had to say. They thought they knew all the answers and they had no interest in listening to the ramblings of a peasant from Galilee. They thought he must have been sent from the devil to try and trick the religious people.

The world is upside down when the religious people can look God in the face and think he's from satan.

The world is upside down the minute that religious people think they have all the answers. When we think we know it all, we claim to have figured out God. Any god we fully understand is a god that we have created. And any opposition to the god we create must come from the devil, right?

Truth is, God is bigger than we can comprehend. We will never fully understand God in this life, but we can seek Him and know Him a little more every day.

The first step to knowing God more is admitting that we Christians don't have all the answers.

Then again, maybe we're still not ready for Jesus to come.

John 6

John tells us the story of Jesus feeding 5,000 people, just like the other gospels. But John adds something that isn't found in any of the other gospels; after the 5,000 were fed they wanted to make Jesus the king, but he withdrew to the mountain before they could get to him. The text actually says they were going to "take him by force to make him king." (Verse 15)

Jesus ran away before his movement became a political rebellion. The Jews already had a king, his name was Herod. But Herod wasn't really in charge, the Romans were. Making Jesus the king meant that there would be a civil war between the Jews and a war with the Romans. It would have been a bloody mess.

So Jesus gets out of there, he did not come to be a politician, or start a war.

He did not come to be a king, he came to be The King.

It was hard for his followers to understand; it is still hard to understand. Jesus has no interest in a kingdom of dirt and a castle of rock... He is interested in our hearts. Jesus doesn't rule a land, he rules a people.

The people wanted to take him by force to be the king... While most kings take their subjects by force.  Jesus isn't interested in either. Jesus doesn't rule with a fist or a sword, he rules with love. He doesn't force anyone to love him, yet he loves all of us to the point of death.

Jesus didn't kill others to become a king, he died to become The King.

And he died for you.

John 5

Jesus meets a man that is lying on a mat because he has been sick for 38 years. Jesus asked him, “Do you want to be made well?” The man gives Jesus a list of reasons why he has not been made well; Jesus just finally tells him to get up. The man is immediately healed; he gets up and walks away with his mat.

The Jewish authorities are enraged because Jesus healed him on the Sabbath. They actually think that Jesus was a bad guy for doing what he did. Jesus didn’t just heal him… Jesus gave him his life back.

The Jewish authorities completely missed the point!

The Sabbath is a day to rest, reflect, and honor God. Telling others what they can and can’t do is not honoring God; it is claiming God’s authority as your own. Someone asked me the other day what my opinion on gay marriage is. I said, “I don’t have one.” Why do I have a right to tell two people they can or can’t get married? Where did I get the authority to say? I didn’t ask society for its permission when I married Michelle.

When we start telling people what they can and can’t do, we run the risk of looking God in the face and condemning Him for His ungodly actions.

As a pastor, I will be happy to tell you what the bible says. As a Lutheran, I will be happy to tell you what the ELCA believes. As a Christian, I will be happy to tell you that we are sinners and that God has forgiven us.

But as a person created in God’s own image, I will not tell another person created in God’s image what they can and can’t do, that is God’s job... and the cops.

And I trust in both, unless I'm the one going 5 over the speed limit.   

John 4

When I was in seventh grade, I was kind of an idiot. Actually most of the kids I went to middle school with were idiots. We would do stupid things and think they were funny. One of the things we would do is slam shut the lockers of other students after they opened them. We'd walk down the hall and think we were cool. We did it to everyone.

One day I did it to a girl that rode my bus, her name was Catherine. Unfortunately, when I slammed her locker shut, her finger got caught in the seam. The locker closed and locked, and her finger was stuck... It was crushed. She started screaming and crying. I ran back to her, she told me her combination and I was able to re-open her locker, but the damage had been done. I felt terrible.

The who school knew what I had done. I was ashamed and embarrassed. I wanted to disappear.

John 4 is the story of Jesus meeting a woman at the well. She was there at noon, when no one else was there. Everyone else went to the well in the morning and at night, when it wasn't so hot. She went at noon, during the hottest part of the day, because she didn't want anyone to see her.

She had been married five times, and was living with a man that she wasn't married to. She had a reputation, people must have pointed at her, and hurled insults at her. She was too embarrassed to come to the well when everyone else was there. I can relate to how she felt.

She must have been surprised to see Jesus there. Maybe she was worried about what he might say to her, but she probably hoped he would just ignore her. Instead he asks her for a drink of water.

He doesn't preach to her or condemn her, but he hasks her for help. He doesn't come across as self-righteous, but he treats her as a human being, he treats her as an equal. He is kind to her.

I think at times in our lives we know what it's like to be this woman, we know what it feels like to be embarrassed and ashamed. In those times Jesus is not ashamed to be our friend.

I pray that I'm never ashamed to be a friend.  

John 3

I remember where I was on Spetember 11th, 2001. I was sleeping in my bed at my parent's house when my mom came and woke me up. She said there was something on the television that I needed to see. I have to admit, I was pretty annoyed that she woke me up. I had a late class the night before and planned on sleeping in. I'm ashamed to admit that I was annoyed.

I made it downstairs just in time to see the second plane hit, and both towers fall soon after that. I thought to myself that this was the kind of stuff that was only seen in movies. I couldn't believe what was happening right before our eyes. I still can't believe it.

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

The verse that everyone knows, it has been on the eye black of football players, on signs in stadiums and everywhere this guy went.

The part of this verse that is the hardest to grasp is that "God so loved the world." It leads to questions like: If God loves the world how could this have happened? Does it mean God loves everyone that lives here? What about the terrorists flying the planes?

I follow Ricky Gervais on twitter. Some of you may know him, he is a world famous comedian and an atheist. Someone tweeted Ricky this morning, asking him not to talk about his Atheism today out of respect for the 9/11 tragedy. His response was, "We all saw what happened when religion got involved."

His response made me mad... because it was true. Religious devotion motivated the terrorists to kill thousands of people. Religious devotion led to hatred.

But that was their religion, the Islamic fundamentalists on the other side of the world. Our religion does not lead to hatred. Or does it?

The truth is, religion is flawed because we are flawed. We have all failed in one key area... No religion has loved the world. Only God is big enought to love the world.

Yes Ricky, religion got involved and it was a terrible day.

I'm just wondering if anyone has told you what happened when God got involved? It too was a terrible day when an innocent man died. But in the end love won, and it always will.

John 2

Jesus is at a wedding with his disciples and his mother. The party planners run out of wine, so the party is over right? Nope. Jesus' mother, Mary, looks at him and says "They have no more wine." Jesus responds by saying "Why do you involve me?" Basically he says, "I don't care, it's not my problem." Mary ignores Jesus, looks to the servant at the party and says "Do whatever he tells you." Jesus then turns water into wine so the party can continue.

I love the conversation between Jesus and Mary. She tells him to do something and he says no. She just ignores him and makes him do it.

Jesus was human, he had a mom that would make him do things. At times I'm sure he felt she was just nagging him, but he did what his mom told him to because he didn't have a choice. I wonder if Mary ever said to him, "I brought you into this world and I can take you out of it!"

Sometimes I feel bad for Mary. She was responsible for raising the Son of God and the savior of mankind. She had to be the mother to God incarnate, but at the same time he was her blood, her baby boy. She had to punish him and wash his dirty diapers... And she had to watch him die like a criminal.

None of us are Jesus and we don't have Mary as a mother. (Your mother's name might be Mary, but I promise she wasn't a virgin when you were born.)  If your mom is anything like mine, she has not always had it easy raising you. The least we can do is love her in return.

If you had a good mom, you could help her, call her, cherish her.

If your mom wasn't a very good mom, you can forgive her.

If your mom has passed on, you can remember the good times, and tell those stories.

It's not always easy, but it's not like we are being asked to turn water into wine.  

John 1

Verse 29: The next day John (the Baptist) saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!"

This may be the most radical verse in all the bible. This statement is just as radical today as it was 2,000 years ago for three reasons.

First, Jesus forgives your sins. Not just your sins against God, but your sins against everyone on the planet. If you steal from someone, Jesus forgives you... If you murder someone, Jesus forgives you... If you <fill in the blank>, Jesus forgives you. But, if you steal from me, or murder me, I feel like it should be up to me if you are forgiven... Nope, Jesus has the power to forgive the things we do each other. By claiming that he can forgive sins, he was either a lunatic or the Son of God. (Note: If you murder me, I am going to be really mad at you!)

Second, Jesus doesn't just forgive you, he forgives the sins of "the world." It doesn't say he forgives the sins of those who repent, or just the sins of Christians, it says the sins of "the world." Meaning Jesus forgives the sins of those who don't believe, he even forgives the sins of those who hate the church. There are no exceptions... "The world" means everyone! No person, no matter how self-righteous they are, can condemn another because all are forgiven.

Finally, not only are our sins forgiven, the text says that Jesus took them away... They are gone. God does not see our sins when He looks at the world because they are gone, they have been taken away and will never return. We are the ones that hold on to our sin, not God. We harbor anger towards those that have sinned against us or we carry guilt around like a suitcase full of bricks. We have trouble letting go of the things that God has already taken away. (Not to say letting things go is an easy process, but it is a worthwhile one.) 

Maybe this isn't radical to you, but it is to me. I pray that you claim the entire forgiveness of all your sins... Know that you are forgiven, because you are loved.

Joel 3

Verse 10: Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears.

This text reminded of Isaiah 2:4: They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.

There will come a day when war will never again be necessary, a day when weapons will not be needed; it is a day that all the world should look forward to, and all the world should work for. But it's never going to come while humans are still in charge, it's just part of who we are... Conflict is in our DNA.

There are times when war is necessary. When another nation attacks you or declares war on you, you must defend yourself. When a dictator decides that a certain type of person should be wiped off the face of the earth or decides to take someone else's land to puff up their ego,  then they need to be stopped. At times, war is necessary and so is a fighting force that is always ready to defend and protect.

But war is ugly. It is a terrible thing. Most often, the lives lost in battle are not the dictators and decision makers, they are the lives of young people just doing what they are told. If I was a 20 year-old living in Germany or Japan in 1940, what choices would I have?

So we wait for God's kingdom to become a reality here on earth, as it is in heaven. We wait for the day when no more heroes have to die in battle and leave a family at home. We wait for Jesus.

But Jesus is already here. The kingdom is already here. When we live our lives the way God created us to live, when we love one another and pray for enemies, then the kingdom shows up and gets bigger.

Scientists say the universe is always expanding, it keeps getting bigger. So is God's kingdom, and it will continue to grow until love and grace take over everything. I'm ready for that day. I'm ready for new DNA.   

Joel 2

Verse 32: "Then everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."

This chapter has a lot of ugliness in it. It talks about armies coming to destroy, it says the sun will go dark, the earth will quake and all the people will be in anguish.

I've met a number of people this week that are in anguish. This morning I went to the funeral of a man named Bill; it was the second funeral I have been to in three days.

Bill's son Mark and his family are members of my church, and his wife Marie comes regularly to our Thursday book group. I know the family very well, but I never got a chance to know Bill. I heard this morning that he was a war hero, a pastor, a chaplain, a father, a husband and a good friend. He touched many people with his life and he will be missed by many.

How are we expected to say good-bye to people we love so much? How do we go on when a piece of us is gone?

It is times like this that I feel bad for people who don't believe in God, people without any hope of reuniting with their loved ones. I don't know how I would go on without the promises of God, like the one made in this verse. If the basis of our faith is nothing more than eternal life insurance, that would be enough for me.

I personally believe faith to be about much more than just heaven, it's about love, forgiveness, grace, mercy and the truth.... But heaven is a big part of it. Which is why I believe this verse. I believe that Bill's family will see him again. I believe that today was not a good-bye, instead it was a "see you soon, in a better place."

Some people may think Christians are naive, but what are our other options? 

I'm not really interested in darkness and anguish.  

Joel 1

Verses 19-20: "To you, Lord, I call, for fire has devoured the pastures in the wilderness and flames have burned up all the trees of the field.  Even the wild animals pant for you; the streams of water have dried up and fire has devoured the pastures in the wilderness."

One of my favorite things about Southlake is that for the longest time the city would not allow any homes to be built on a plot of land that was smaller than an acre. (It may still be a law) Which makes for less homes and more trees, grass and ponds... More nature. I like nature.  

Recently it has been really hot here. It's been close to, or over 100 degrees every day for over a month and we have had very little rain. The city has restricted our water usage. Which means our grass isn't as green as it was in June, our trees are looking a little bare and the water level of our ponds are down. (To me, every "lake" in Texas is a pond. I grew up in Michigan, where we have real lakes.) We are conserving water because it is essential to life. Without water, nothing can survive; grass, trees, dogs, cats and people need water to live.

But what do you do when the streams have dried up? 

Scholars aren't sure when Joel was written, he could be warning the Israelites that this could happen or that this did happen because they put their trust in things and not in God. Either way, the message is the same then as it is now, do not trust in the things God created, trust in God.  

In the end, all things created will fail. Last week I was sitting at the bedside of my friend Cordula as she was dying and a cup of water would not have done her any good. All the great things on earth will come to an end or cease to be useful.

Except love, because God is love. All Cordula had with her when she left this earth was love, and that was all that she needed for her journey to eternal life.

Love will never be restricted and no heat wave can dry it up.

John 6: 35: Jesus said, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty."





   

Chick-Fil-A

I wanted to share my thoughts in regards to "National Chick-fil-a day." I thought I'd wait a week to post it as I didn't want to throw gasoline on the fire.

I didn't really want to address this, but as I read a lot of articles and blogs about last week, none of them said what I was thinking.

Millions of Americans flocked to Chick-fil-a restaurants last week in support of Dan Cathy's stance on gay marriage and his right to free speech. Here is what he recently said in the Baptist Press, "We are very much supportive of the family -- the biblical definition of the family unit. We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first wives. We give God thanks for that." (July 22)

I can't say that I have a problem with what he said. He believes the biblical definition of marriage is one man and one woman for life. To be honest, Jesus says that in Matthew 19. (After the bible says a whole bunch of other stuff about marriage, see the chart below, provided by many of my seminary friends on facebook) Cathy chooses to read the bible in black and white, which means he believes the world was created in 6 days and is opposed to divorce. While I do not read the bible that way, I can respect his theology.

So the millions go eat chicken to support Cathy's right to freedom of speech. They showed up in opposition to big city mayors that would rather Cathy did not open any restaurants in their city. I don't have a problem with anyone going to get chicken in support of his rights. 

What bothers me is not what was said, but what was heard. While Christians were trying to say "We support Dan Cathy's right to free speech," millions of non-Christians emphatically heard "God hates gay people."  

The same people we are trying to share the gospel with have another reason to deny it. 

That makes me sad.



Malachi 4

Verses 2-3: But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its rays. And you will go out and frolic like well-fed calves. Then you will trample on the wicked; they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day when I act,” says the Lord Almighty.

I think this is good news for Christians, especially Christians that have been trampled on by the wicked. Nobody has ever literally trampled on me, I can't even imagine what that would feel like. 

But people have taken advantage of me. People have stolen from me when I had very little. People have publicly embarrassed me for their own gain. People have been wicked to me, my family and my country. So like I said, I think this is good news.

But when this life is over, I don't want to trample on them; I don't want to even think about them. I want to be in awe while standing in the presence of God. I want all the negatives thoughts of this life to be gone, just a distant memory.

Actually, I want the wicked to be standing next to me, because that means God's grace is bigger than I could imagine.

And I'm sure that somewhere someone thinks I'm wicked.

Malachi 3

Malachi 3 has one of those magical verses that is so often quoted when a church is looking for a little extra money.

Verses 8-10: “Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me. “But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’
“In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse —your whole nation—because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it..."

I really think this text was aimed at the Levite's, the Jewish priests. I think God is telling them to take everything that has been offered and put it in the storehouse, God might say, "Do not take a portion of my offerings for yourself. Instead, just trust in me."

But most often today this text is used to encourage people to give 10% of their pay to the church. I've heard it preached two ways. Either the congregation is accused of robbing from God and shamed into it, or the congregation is promised wealth beyond their dreams if they give. Either way, let's address the text as if it were written for us.

Truth is, God does want you to give 10%. God wants you to do a lot of things, like love your enemy and keeping the Sabbath holy, but God is not going to love you less is if you can't do it, just like God is not going to love you less if you have to work on the weekend to meet a deadline.

A friend of mine, who is a pastor, was telling me that a member of his church came to him and said "Pastor, we have been giving 10% for many years, but my wife just lost her job. If we keep giving 10% we will lose our house... what should we do?" I think God would agree with his response... "Stop giving 10%." He had been giving 10% for years and he never got rich.

My wife and I give 10%, but we haven't always. After seminary I didn't have a full-time job for almost a year and we had my student loans to pay for. I was excited when we were recently able to break the 10%  barrier. For some reason, I always felt like when I became an official "tither" I would change, maybe feel more generous. I never thought I'd be rich, but I was looking for some kind of blessing... I mean, that is what the text says.

I got a blessing, but not what I was expecting. The blessing is this, I don't look at the money the same way. It's not something that rules my life nor is it something that keeps me up at night. The Romans used to say that money was like salt-water, the more you drink the thirstier you get. Seems true today, our appetites for money are insatiable.

Don't get me wrong, I could figure out a way to spend money if I had it... But I'm not thirsty.

Maybe there is no better blessing than contentment.

  

Malachi 2

Verse 15-16: So look to yourselves, and do not let anyone be faithless to the wife of his youth. For I hate divorce, says the Lord, the God of Israel..."

I could find myself arguing with just about everything God has said in the first two chapter of Malachi, if I just took the words at face value.

And I am certain that many people have taken these words at face value and walked away from God because of them. It's easy to read this verse and think that God not only hates divorce but God hates people that have gotten a divorce.

In this chapter God is addressing a problem in Israel. The world was getting away from polygomy, so men were divorcing their first wife and marrying younger women. God wasn't happy about it.

Before I continue, let me say this; God does not want you to be miserable or in an abusive relationship. What God wants is men and women to take their promises seriously. Abuse is breaking that promise. Adultery is breaking that promise. There is no way that you should keep a promise to someone that is not keeping their promise to you.

And then there is this... I met a guy the other day that has been married five times. He just walks away after a couple years when he "can't take it anymore." Take what, being around the same person every day? I wanted to say, "That's what marriage is! Why get married then?"

Divorce hurts. It hurts everyone involved. It hurts the husband and wife, it hurts the kids, it hurts the families on both sides and it hurts the friends that have to choose sides. It's not an easy thing for anyone... it's like a death in the family. It is not to be taken lightly.

Divorce is death to relationships and rips families apart. Of course God would hate it. God sent his Son to die on a cross to repair the relationship with humanity, to reconcile with humanity, to bring new life to humanity.

In Mere Christianity C.S. Lewis wrote something along these lines: (paraphrase) Love may not always be easy. After many years the thrill may be gone, but love is as much from the will as it is from the heart. The heart urges us to make promises, the will sees them through. God wants us to take all of our promises seriously...

(back to me) Because God takes all of His promises seriously. Which means even though half the people that get married end up getting a divorce, God still loves them the same as everyone else.

*** Sometimes I write blogs that I really don't want anyone to read, because I don't want to hurt anyones feelings. When I started this blog I committed to blogging about the bible, every chapter of every book. Which means there will be unpopular topics and views, but they aren't mine, they are God's. If you're divorced, I'm sure you've heard this verse before... I hope you know that God will always love you... and no one has the right to judge you.