Sermon - Easter Sunday

Luke 24:1-12                                                                                                

                                                                      Moving the Stone 

“But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared.  They found the stone rolled away from the tomb.”     

I may have known, but I had kind of forgotten, that Luke doesn’t mention “the stone” until we get to the events of Easter morning.  He writes that the stone has been rolled away, but he says it as if we know what stone he is talking about.

And I guess we do.   

Matthew and Mark both speak of the stone being rolled over the entrance to the tomb.  Matthew goes on to include action, on the part of Pilate, to seal the tomb and appoint guards so that no one might come and take the body.  But Luke just assumes we know that there would be a stone at the entrance, as does John.  Both of them speak of the stone being removed, but neither of them says anything about how it got there in the first place.  They just assume that we know there would be a stone.

And I guess we do. 

The stone, being removed from the entrance of the tomb, is the preceding act to our being able to see that the tomb is empty.  It is the first and essential step in our beginning to realize that nothing, not even death, could put an end to the Good News of Jesus Christ.  Before anything else can happen that stone has to be moved. 

The women, who go out there on that first day of the week seem (in Luke’s story) not to have thought about this.  They had prepared the spices and ointments for the anointing of Jesus’ body, but they had made no preparations for the removal of that stone.  I would love to know what they thought was going to happen, when they got there. 

Again, in Matthew and Mark, these same women were present the day that Jesus is laid in the tomb.  They see the stone which is placed at the opening.   They then go home and begin to make “preparations” for the anointing of Jesus’ body, but they make no preparations for getting to that body once they return to the tomb. 

I know that you need to be careful not to give too much emphasis to one part of the Easter Story – rather than hearing the whole story.   But by separating this part just a little we might create an opportunity to increase our appreciation for what this day – this Easter day – is all about.  You see - the God whom we gather to worship would not let some silly stone stand in His way.  The God whom we adore would have us know that we need not worry over a stupid rock.  “Proceed with what you are doing and forget that it is even there.”  “Make your preparations and set about the task of serving.”  “Leave the removal of stones to God.” 

I want to believe that these were the thoughts running through the heads of the women who went out to the tomb on that first Easter morning.  It seems reasonable to me to think that their encounters with the Jesus in the months and years before arriving in Jerusalem had made them realize that everything would be okay.  Something in his teachings, in his actions, in the way he had died – something had informed these women, at the very core of their existence that everything would be taken care of it.  Taken care of by Jesuss -  even after dying.  If the pre-Good Friday Jesus could instill such confidence in them just think what the Easter Christ is able to do. 

There is no stone big enough, or heavy enough, or tough enough to stand in the way of Christ’s followers as we make our way to the place where he was resurrected. 

It was on an Easter morning some years ago that I shared with you a stone which weighs heavy on my heart.  It is the stone which bears the names of my mother and my father – their tombstone.  Mama and Daddy are buried at our family’s church, in North Carolina.  Cedar Grove Lutheran is the place I was baptized and confirmed.  It is the place that I too will be buried.

 There isn’t a stone for me there, yet.  But there soon will be.  My sister’s pancreatic cancer is no longer at bay.  She is undergoing chemo, but getting weaker each day.  She and her husband, Laura and I will actually share a grave.  One which no one else has claimed.  It is tucked up close to one of the beautiful cedar trees from which Cedar Grove takes its name.  Fear of damaging the tree means they won’t allow a vault or casket to be buried there.  So the grave is perfect for our cremains.  Far too soon, there will  be a stone erected to mark the grave.  It will bear the name of my sister, with room for the rest of us to be added. 

 I have been bearing the weight of that first stone for nearly five years now.  Sometimes, it seems to be getting lighter – or at least easier to bear.  Other times it almost crushes me to the ground.  I have great apprehensions about the setting up of this next stone.  It has fallen to me to pick it out; and to get it approved by my sister; and then to order the thing.  God knows how I will ever pay for it. 

Here is where I am most like those women in the Gospel lesson:  I go about the process of preparing the spices and ointments as if doing the menial tasks will somehow be enough to allow me to do what it is that I must do but cannot.  I set out to make ready the dressings, without the foggiest idea of how I am ever going to handle the really big problem.  Like an eager beaver, I pop up early in the morning and take up my baskets and head out to the graveyard – forgetting or ignoring the stone which stands in my way. 

How can we ever face the death of those from whom we have drawn our own life?  How can we be so blind as to overlook the stones which stand between us and the peace which we desire and seek? 

Well, the story tell us.  We plod along.  We do our simple little tasks.  And when we get there that big honker rock is going to be gone.   

I think this story, in the way Luke tells it, drives home for us the central message that Easter is all about God doing for us that which we could never hope to do for ourselves.  God moves the stone which is too large or too heavy or too overwhelming for us to even consider removing it. 

The central teaching of Christian Theology is that Jesus accomplishes what we never can.  We cannot merit or earn our salvation, but Jesus can accomplish it for us.  The good news expands to include other impossible tasks, accomplished on our behalf.  Eternal salvation is only the last of a long line of situations in which, without him, no preparation is sufficient.  We make up our little baskets.  We go on our merry way.  Only to be overwhelmed at what God is able to do. 

The more I wrestled with these texts, the more appreciative I became of Luke and John’s failure to identify the stone.  Remember they are the two Gospel writers who tell us that the stone had been moved away, without ever having told us that a stone was put there in the first place.  This omission on their part allows us some license.  Maybe the stone which stands between you and the assurance that Jesus is raised is something other than death.  Perhaps it is apprehension, or disappointment, or maltreatment.   The stone which stands in your way may be the betrayal of a loved one, or the rejection of one whom you love.  Illnesses rob us of life.  Mismanagement of our affairs leads to insecurity.  The stones which would block our view of the empty tomb can take on any number of shapes and descriptions.  In failing to identify the stone, Luke leaves open the opportunity for us to label the stone for ourselves. 

Whatever shape the stone takes, the result is the same.  The stone is rolled away.  Jesus lives up to his promise. 

Before I say “Amen” and sit down.  I want to acknowledge that as we make our way, toward that place, the thought of the stone might slow us down.  I must admit, that the weight of the burdens carried by many of you is overwhelming.  I am not trying to ignore the hurt and pain and fear which are the realities of far too many lives.  But I stand before you this day offering the confession which has made it possible for generation after generation of believers to persevere.  More than endure, they have conquered, in His name. 

The stone is gone.  The grave is empty.  Christ has lived up to his promise, making it possible for us to live into ours. 

Christ is Risen!  Christ is Risen Indeed!

Amen.  May it be so.

Sermon - Good Friday

John 18:1-19:43

                                                                   Another Good Friday

 Perhaps it is foolhardy, or at least ill-advised, but I decided that I would tell you that I am beginning to grow weary in my office.  Thirty years ago, when I lead a congregation through its first Lent and Holy Week and Easter, I was young enough or naïve enough or hopeful enough to think that if only the story were to be told – truthfully and powerfully – then the world would surely change.  But it just hasn’t happened.

Maybe the downfall is my own failure.  Perhaps what I perceive to be the right things to do or to say or to write are not the right things at all.  Maybe I am not as clear in my sermons as I think I am; or as precise in my morning devotions as I would want to claim. 

But after thirty years of going through Lent and Holy Week and Easter – well, I just don’t know that I see the world becoming more likely to avoid the sins confessed in the Ash Wednesday liturgy or less likely to join the chorus for bringing an end to all this and calling for the silencing of the One who tells us that we made a decent show of it but that we really aren’t living the lives God would have us live. 

What do you think?  How would you measure it?   

Not that attending worship services should be our prime indicator, but there sure seem to be fewer gathering for these services than there were in 1983.   

Violent crime statistics are actually going down, but if the actions of the SC Legislature are an indication of how safe we feel then we are moving in the opposite direction.  You did see, a few weeks back, the legislation introduced to eliminate the need for a cancelled weapons permit.  Our Legislatures are moving toward an “open display” of firearms – meaning so long as the gun is in a holster on your hip and not in your pocket you don’t need a CWP. 

Jesus said, “You will always have the poor with you,” and we certainly do.  While personal wealth as a whole has increased in our society, the last thirty years has seen a decrease in the standard of living for the bottom third of the socio-economic ladder.  (By the way.  You really ought to know that when Jesus says that (in Matthew and Mark and John – but NOT in Luke) that he is most likely making a reference to Deuteronomy 15:11.  The full verse reads, “Since there will never cease to be some in need on the earth, I therefore command you, ‘Open your hand to the poor and needy neighbor in your land.’”  We are such poor students of our bibles that we think Jesus is giving us license to be extravagant.  Really, he is trying to teach us about the purpose of money and the resources God has entrusted to us.)  Thirty years; the poor are still among us, and getting poorer.

What measure do you have, for determining whether the annual re-telling of the Jesus story is having the desired effect on the world around us? 

I won’t embarrass those of you who have trusted me enough to share family secrets.  But as I look out upon you tonight a whole host of examples of wounded if not broken relationships.  And students – don’t think I am speaking only to the other side of the sanctuary.  You may only be 18 or 20 or 22, but you have your share of tension and in-fighting among those who are supposed to be your closest friends and within the circle referred to as “family.” 

Are we getting closer to the hope Jesus had for us when he opened his arms and died on the cross? 

I tell you the one that is burning at me the most these days.  It arises from my exposure to Martin Luther’s Small Catechism.  This is one where I can get you to do a bit more than just listen to me babble.  Pull out a copy of the ELW.  Do you know that the Small Catechism is printed in the ELW?  Open it to page 1161 – way in the back.  Look with me at the explanation to the 8^th commandment.  That is the commandment which says, “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”  See the last line of Luther’s explanation?  It says that we are to interpret everything our neighbor does “in the best possible light”.  Older versions say “defend their actions in kindest of way.”  How do you remember it?  How well do you see it being done among us?  Well I tell you one place where I don’t think we are doing so hot – we seem to be poised to eat each other alive over the kind of addition we will add to this building.  In the argument over a flat roof or a slopped roof we are abandoning the commandment’s instruction to interpret our neighbors actions and thoughts and opinions in the kindest of ways.  (That was a low blow – I apologize for taking such a cheap shot.)

As in each of the past thirty years of my life and work, I read the story of Jesus’ rejection, and betrayal, and trail, and torture, and execution.  I do so out of the hope that a faithful and powerful re-telling will result in a change in the world around us.  But after thirty years I grow weary.  And I hear more voices crying “Crucify him!” than I ever hear saying, “Lord forgive us, we know not what we do.”

I promise that I will be in a different mood on Sunday morning.  I am preaching then, too.  And I assure you that on Sunday I will tell you that regardless of what the world did to Jesus (regardless of how we might ignore Jesus’ story) God will raise him from the tomb and God will say to all of us that we do have every reason to cling to the promise that we too, will rise.

But getting to Easter morning is a cheap ride unless it passes through the Maundy Thursday instruction to love, as Christ has loved us.  It is as hallow as a chocolate Easter bunny unless it follows a Good Friday on which we admit our own insistence that Jesus be silenced; or at least that his words be toned down a bit; or perhaps that we be allowed to see his demands as some philosophical concept of the good society. 

Easter morning is full of promises.  And those promises are made to us and will not be withdrawn or withheld from us.  The One who promises is faithful and trustworthy and true.

If only the same could be said of those to whom the promises are made.

Amen.

Devotion - Maundy Thursday

The disciplines of Lent are stated in the Ash Wednesday liturgy: Prayer, fasting, giving of alms, acts of service.  As I have heard you speak of your Lenten journey, mention has been made of the first; little of the latter.  We have allowed our following of Jesus to become deeply pietistic and rarely practical.

The "New Commandment" from which Maundy Thursday gets its name is to love one another as Jesus has loved us.  His love surely involved praying for his sisters and brothers, but it also meant attending to their bodily needs.

As we prepare the Maundy Thursday liturgy and its ceremonial foot washing, I wonder if the reason we at times find this service uncomfortable is our failure to embrace the fullness of Jesus' life and thus to completely mimic him.

How have you shown the love of Maundy?  The love of the new commandment to love as we Jesus has loved us?

Today is a day to reflect on such things.  Today is an opportunity to continue your spiritual quest - perhaps making greater room for serving the physical needs of those around you. 

Devotion - Wednesday of Holy Week

Spring Break has interrupted our Lenten journey.  I continue to comment on the events of this week, hearing the reply 'Oh yeah, Easter is this Sunday."  But Easter is but one of the days which lie ahead.  Others are equally important.

Today we share in a traditional Seder with the Jewish students.  Tomorrow is Maundy Thursday - the day on which we complete the confession which began on Ash Wednesday.  Tomorrow, we hear the absolution which has been implied but not spoken during the season of Lent.

The reading appointed for today aided me in my journey.  I decided to share it with you, in its entirety.  Forgive me for this job of "cut and paste," but I think Monrad's words are powerful.

"It is very important that we are without pretense when we come before God's countenance   All adornment, all excuses, must be cast aside.  We must not give ourselves out as anything other than we are.  Wares often pass in trade under false names in order to win easier sales; but it is still more common that the human heart houses cravings to which it gives false names in order to justify love for them.  Deceit is called cleverness  greed is called concern for spouse and children; hatred and anger are called zeal for truth and justice.  No sinful desire is found in the human heart that does not sail under a false flag and steal a name that does not belong to it.  It is a great step forward when we are able to give the right name to all that lives within us.  It is one of the blessings of prayer that calls upon us for serious self-examination and brings into the light of God's countenance that which steals around in our souls, half conscious, part truth, part falsehood.  Everything that lives within us should be laid bare in prayer."

Ditlev Gothard Monrad (1811-1887), taken from "The World of Prayer"

Devotion - Tuesday of Holy Week

I continually struggle with the issue of "merit."  In my first call, a member of the congregation had compiled a complete listing of all the passages in the Bible which spoke of "rewards."  She was insistent that "great would be the reward" for those who were faithful.  As time went by, I began to realize she did not consider me one in line for "great rewards."  We experienced God differently and spoke of the experience in ways which did not easily align.

An author by the name of Hans Urs von Balthasar wrote:  "The word 'merit' insofar as it concerns some value conferring a right to something, is theologically an unhappy term that would be better dropped."  He suggests that we make use of the biblical word which stands ready to replace it: fruitfulness.  God tells Abraham that he will make him "exceedingly fruitful."  In John the grain of wheat must die so that it can bear much fruit.  The vine-dresser prunes the vine in order that it might produce more fruit.

We do not merit God's salvation - it comes to us a result of Jesus death and resurrection.  We do not merit any reward - it is an outpouring of God's grace.  We do not merit our status as children of God - we are made heirs by the One who goes before.

As we conclude our Lenten pilgrimage and look back upon our disciplines we do so not in order to gauge our advancements but in order to see the fruit which we have be able to distribute along the way.  Our aim is not to obtain but to share and to provide.

Devotion - Monday of Holy Week

Jesus enters Jerusalem to a huge reception.  The religious leaders had been worried (according to John's account) of the impact of the rising of Lazarus from the dead.  Plots were being devised for the execution of Lazarus, to quite things down.

But then, Jesus comes to the edges of the Holy City and there are new worries.  The leaders of the Sanhedrin begin to see that they can do nothing to stop this movement.  "The whole world" seems to have gone after Jesus.

And so it seemed.

But as we discussed a few weeks ago, in our Wednesday LCM program, they seem to have gone after him.  But their dedication to him is very shallow.  They will change in their attitude toward him; shifted from welcoming him with palms to crying out "Crucify him!"  It is too easy to get caught up on the excitement of Palm Sunday; just as it is too easy to seek to be a part of the decision making group on Good Friday.  We are swayed by the crowd.

It is too much of a cliche to say that each of us much decide for ourselves which crowd we will be a part of.  Each of us will need to determine whether our hands will carry a green leaf or a be clinched in an angry fist.  If we merely follow along, we may eventually exchange one for the other.

Welcome Jesus - into Jerusalem and into your own world.  Make room for him and allow his message to take root.  There was such great need for things to be different in Jerusalem; but the crowd was unprepared for those changes to come.  How great are the changes needed in our world?  Will we tire of the challenge and soon add our voices to those calling for Jesus to be silent?  The week will tell......

Devotion - Thursday, March 14

Spring Break is next week.  That means the campus will be empty and I will be away.  A group of us are heading to Mt. Airy, NC, to build houses with Habitat for Humanity.  Keep us in your prayers.

It also means that today is the last of my offerings on Romans.  When I return, we will be in Holy Week.  The Lectionary shifts its selections away from Romans.  So I pray that you will continue your own reading of these verses, even without my commentary on them.

I do want to comment on one more verse.  It is actually part of tomorrow's reading.  It is Romans 8:28:  "We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. "

Paul isn't saying that everything which happens in our lives is good; he isn't supporting the often ill-offered advice that "everything happens for a reason."  He is saying that regardless of what comes in our lives, we can find occasion to be strengthened in our conviction.

In the previous verses, he reminded us "Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words."  When we are hard pressed, it is the Spirit who fills in the gaps; when we are confounded, it is the Spirit which brings us hope.

All things work together for good in the lives of those who know God and trust God.  In all things we are able to remain firm in our faith and in our confidence that we will not be separated from God.  So long as we remain attached to God, all things do fall into place and form a cohesive whole.

Devotion - Wednesday, March 13

One of the things which make Romans such a helpful book is that Paul is writing to a community which he had never visited.  As a result, his letter to them had to cover the background which he would have shared with them in his first lessons taught to them.  In Romans, we have a laying out of Paul's theology.  It is helpful to those of us who did not have the opportunity to sit with him and absorb what God had revealed to him.

In chapter 8, Paul begins to make a shift.  Having explained the reasons why God's people could not go on doing what they had been doing (trusting in a set of rules or restrictions to set them free), he now begins to set before his readers what this new way of living. 

He begins, "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus."

All of his reasoning, all of his pleading comes to this one, single point.  We no longer live under the fear or shadow of condemnation.

This is what Paul would have said to the Romans had he been with them.  This is what he would have taught in his first lessons.  This is what he would have communicated in his daily interactions with them. 

Many are the encouragements to slip back to the law.  There are loud voices calling upon us to seek justification by our obedience or by our compliance.  But Paul would have us begin our new life - begin each new day - with the assurance that in Christ Jesus we are set free from our anxiety or worry.

Devotion - Tuesday, March 12

The second half of Romans 7 contains verses which often confuse us.  They are a twisted mess; the perfect reflection of the twisted nature of our thoughts, our actions, and our intentions.

Paul writes:  "For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate."

Within the collection of Christian doctrines, there is one on "Original Sin."  Some mistake this doctrine to be a reference to the original act of sin, committed by Eve and Adam.  But it is even more original than that.  Original Sin is a reference to the impetus to sin which lies within each of us.  It is woven into our nature.  It is something we can never fully avoid.

We act in a particular way, hoping for a certain outcome.  But as we act we fail to see the dark side of our actions; we are incapable of understanding the full impact of what we do.  There are unintended - but very real - negative consequences to our actions.

So long as we are human (and not God), there will be mixed results to any of our actions.  This is what Original Sin refers to.

Paul continues:  "I can will what is right, but I cannot do it.  For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do."

We could, and perhaps ought, to despair over this state of affairs.  Paul seems close to doing so.  Until he finds the response.  "Who will deliver me from this body of death?  Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!"

When someone comes to me, expressing their dissatisfaction with my actions or pointing out the negative consequences of my behaviors, I stand ready to acknowledge my failings.  Having a firm grasp on the Doctrine of Original Sin, I can admit that I do not accomplish the good that I had intended or that my actions may have caused the exact option of what I was intending.  The heated attack looses its fire when I acknowledge this and when I warn them that there are likely to be other disappointing acts in our future together. 

Original Sin is not an excuse to fall short - but it is a good reminder that intentions and consequences don't always match up - and are likely not to do so in this life.

Devotion - Monday, March 11

I continue my reading of Romans.  This morning I read the opening 12 verses of Chapter 7.

Paul continues to speak of the Law, and its inability to accomplish what faith is able to do.  The law can only restrain us; never lead us to learn to love.

God desires us to join him, to be one with him, to pledge ourselves to God and God's hopes for the world.  This is not the kind of relationship which develops when we are confined or constrained to act.

While we may not understand the transgression, or list it among those most troubling for us, Paul places coveting at the center of much of our rebellion against God.  We want what we cannot have, so we covet.  We covet for ourselves that which is God's.  This begins when we covet the right or the opportunity to determine our own fate.  We rebel against God and seek to be the masters of our fate.

The law, when made the prime source in our lives, leads us to covet the right to set the rules.  The very purpose of the law is thus lost - we are not more likely to follow God, but to reject God's role.

Think of your relationship with your parents.  As a young child you never questioned their rules or authority.  You simply went along.  Then came that time in your life when you were not so inclined to agree.  There began a season of rebellion and disagreements.  At some point (usually during your college years, but perhaps a few year after) when you and your parents will come to a new understanding.  You will find yourself understanding why they asked of you what they have; they will come to honor your ability to make significant life decisions.  You transition from obedience to unity; you shift from complying with their wishes to a blending of viewpoints. 

This is the relationship Paul encourages us to have with God.  We are not to fear and obey God because God is threatening and overbearing.  We fear and obey God out of respect for His wisdom and His vision for our lives.

Sermon - 4th Sunday in Lent

Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

                                                    It’s tough to be an Elder Brother

Today's parable is known by a number of differing names.  Most often it is called the parable of the Prodigal Son; in calling it that, we place the emphasis upon the younger child who squanders away the father's wealth and then steals his way home, hoping to be reunited with the family. 

Sometimes, however, this parable is referred to as the parable of the Forgiving Father; it is, after all, the forgiveness which the father offers that makes this story noteworthy.

I am still waiting for someone to refer to this parable in a way which focuses on the Elder Brother.  As of yet, I haven't heard any such title.  So I am still waiting, hoping that such a title will emerge, and thus some acknowledgment Jesus tells this parable in order to make a point for the elder brothers (and sisters) in the world.

Look back at the text.  This morning we read the first three verses of Luke 15.  They set the stage.  Jesus isn’t coming up with pithy little stories; he is telling a parable to the Pharisees and scribes.  You will note that verses 4 through 10 are skipped.  Had we read those, you would have seen the pattern.  Jesus tells not one but three parables, each coalescing around a theme.  (Parable of the lost sheep; parable of the lost coin)  That theme is the joy which comes when that which is lost is found.  “Joy” that is for the one who claims title for the lost; but the Pharisees and scribes seem not to share this joy.  They are more concerned with preserving a sense of what is just and right and proper.

It does matter – from which perspective we view the story.  With whom are we able to identify?  How do we see ourselves in this story?  It matters who we consider the prime character; as a result we will draw differing conclusions from the parable.

Let’s look first at that most popular perspective.  The prodigal son ignores social custom and asks his father for his share of the estate.  After he gets it, he goes off to a far country and spends the money.  It is important to note that it isn’t his squandering alone which results in his troubles.  There is a famine which comes upon the land.  The young man ends up working as a laborer, and begins to contemplate eating the scraps he was supposed to feed the pigs.

The young man comes to himself and decides to head home.  He turns his life around and chooses now (having made a series of bad choices earlier) to do the right thing.

The decision to read this passage in the season of Lent nudges if not forces us to see the parable as an invitation to see some part of the prodigal in ourselves.  What do we have here if not an acknowledgement of transgression?  Viewing this parable from the perspective of the prodigal calls upon us to examine our actions and our motives and wonder how a new and different direction might turn out.

There may be a few prodigal children among us.  There may be a few of you who have gone through a period of renouncing and rejecting all the things which you now gather in this place to affirm.  Maybe.  But most likely his story isn’t our story.  Most likely, our lives follow the pattern of the elder brother, the one that never left home in the first place.

Both sons have reason to be grateful for a forgiving father.  Whether our transgressions are great (as in the case of the younger son), or relatively minor (as in the case of the elder) – we can see the advantages of a father who overlooks our failings and loves us without condition.

In telling the story, Jesus reminds us that this is God’s prime trait.  Go home and do a search of the phrase, “For God is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.”  The forgiving father, in this parable, sees his sons and loves them.  Forgiveness is easy for him.  It is his nature.

Jesus tells us that this is the attitude God has toward us and this is the motivation which allows God to welcome back the wayward child.  And we can all be grateful for this – without it, how would we ever hope to have the courage to stand before God?

But God’s nature isn’t the reason Jesus tells the parable.  He shares this story in order to make a point.  And the audience for his point is the Pharisees and scribes who were grumbling about Jesus’ forgiving attitude toward “sinners.”  Jesus tells this parable in order to say something to the elder brothers.  He wants those who have been minding the store and staying at their posts to begin to look differently at those who have stepped outside the ring and maybe even ceased to be concerned with the wishes and desires of the Father.

That is why I would like to hear this story told with a keen eye to the elder brother.  He is the one who must learn to see and then emulate the father’s forgiveness.  He is the one who needs to experience the change of heart.  Until that happens, there will be no true celebration for the son who has returned.

I said it earlier; I will say it again.  We are, for the most part, the elder brother.  While there may be a few prodigals among us, most of us are among the children who may have fussed and bickered a bit, but remained pretty close to the heart and home.  We are the one who has tended the family farm, and probably even fed the calf so it would be fatten up at just the right time. And we are so easily overlooked.

This parable is difficult for us.  And we tend to want to see it as a story about someone else.  But it is really a story about us – and about our ability to do the day in and day out tasks associated with having things ready for our wayward brothers to return, and our gracious father to forgive.

Amen.

 

Devotion - Thursday, March 7

I am going to step away from my comments on Romans today in order to address the concluding verse of our Gospel lesson. 

John 8:32 reads - "You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free."  And indeed it does.

Pope John XXIII restated this verse with a twist.  His quote is cut into the paper relief in my office - a gift from my wife (she majored in art at UGA.)  Just this week, the relief and quote was noticed by a student for the first time.  I really ought to hang it in a more prominent location.

The quote reads:  "The truth will set you free, but first it will make you miserable."  And indeed it does.

The truth is that we don't have to live lives of insecurity - but we shy away from the depth of Christ's love for us.

The truth is that we only hurt ourselves when we gossip - but we continue to run others down thinking this will somehow build us up.

The truth is that amassing more and more stuff (money) seems like a good idea - but none of that stuff will unite us with others in the way that a few hours of service can.

The truth is that we have freedom - total and complete freedom - set before us but we choose to remain captive to the illusions of the culture around us.

I am the one who sees the paper relief and reads the quote when someone trusts me enough to invite me into their lives by sitting in the office and opening their heart.  As they share their struggle, I try to help them see the truth which lies so close at hand, but too often evades their grasp.  I know the truth, God has revealed to it to me, but I am miserable as I seek to help the truth take root in the hearts, minds, and lives of God's children.

The truth makes us free.  In that freedom we see how the world can be, and is.  But too often darkness is chosen and truth is allowed to slip into the shadows.  What a miserable state of affairs!  And so totally unnecessary.

Devotion - Wednesday, March 6

Romans 5:1-11 contains several verses worthy of memorization.  Paul has addressed the question of whether the law can save us ("No") and has given his insights to the way in which Abraham was justified ("By faith").  These eleven verses could be read as a summary of the above, as a re-affirmation of the essential role that faith plays in our salvation.

The first of these reads:  "Therefore, since we have been justified by fatih, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."

If our justification is by any means other than faith, if it obtained by us through effort, if it has to be wrestled from the grip of a judgmental or angry God - then, there is no peace between us and God.  If justification is what we want, but what God holds back, how can there be peace between us?

Later in this section we read, "Suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us." 

The questions of human suffering will forever haunt us, and we will wonder why such things are in our world.  We can never obtain a place where they are gone, but we can come to terms with them and not allow them to erode our confidence of God's love.

One more:  "While we were yet sinners Christ died for us."

God's act comes before, not after.  God makes the sacrifice, then turns to us for a response.  If Christ would die for us when we are still alienated from him, how much more would he do now that we have been made one?

I wish this section of scripture were stretched over several days of reading and prayer.  I hope these few nuggets will give you something to reflect on this day, and encourage you in your own reflection time to marvel at the desire of God to unite us with himself.

Devotion - Tuesday, March 5

I often speak to couples about the difference between a covenant and a contract.  When considering marriage, this is an important distinction.

In a contract we state what is required of the other.  The legal document, signed at a marriage, is a contract.  If we fail to meet the terms of the contract, the other can bring a suit against us.

In a covenant we state what it is that we are eager to give to the other.  In a covenant we build upon trust, not upon law.

In Romans 4 Paul speaks of the promise which God has given us.  He reminds us of the covenant established between God and Abraham. 

Contracts have the force of law - and we can hold that force over the head of the other named in the contract.  Covenants have the word of the other - they are as solid as the faithfulness of the one who makes the promise.

The covenant into which Abraham enters has many facets.  At its core is the simple "I will be your God and you shall be my people."  God selects Abraham and his descendants as his own.

Through the centuries which follow, the people will break the laws set up to direct God's people to the covenant; but the covenant is not removed.  It is built upon the faithfulness of the One who established the covenant.

Covenants are stronger than contracts.  Covenants involve our whole selves.

Our covenant with God, the often referred to "New Covenant," flows from the death and resurrection of Jesus.  That covenant is stronger than anything we can imagine.  It will remain, regardless of our adherence to the law.  And it will take on its fullness, as we give our whole selves to the One who claims us in that covenant.

Devotion - Monday, March 4

This morning's readings present us with a conundrum.  Actually, it is the struggle which so often confuses us and divides us.

From the Book of Jeremiah we read of God's insistence that His people reflect their status in the way they live their lives (Jer 7:1-15).  In Romans 4:1-12 we get a powerful renunciation of justification by works - works of ANY kind.

So often we read the seemingly different sets of instructions and decide which one is "correct," or "more helpful."  We seldom find it possible to hold the two in creative tension.

It is the death and resurrection of Jesus which signals our salvation.  We are saved based on nothing other than his leaving behind the heavens, taking on our form, and forever changing our understanding of what it means to be created (and re-created) in the image of God.

But surely there are to be outward signs of this salvation.  Surely we would live differently.

Jeremiah was sent by God to a people who has ceased to live as God would have them live.  He went to them to say, "You are God's people - act like it."  It is message worth re-hearing in every age and in every situation.

Never forsake the assurance that your salvation has come as a result of Christ's actions.  But look for ways to show this change in how you live and act.  Jeremiah's words may prove helpful:

For if you truly amend your ways and your doings, if you truly act justly one with another, if you do not oppress the alien, the orphan, and the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not go after other gods to your own hurt, then I will dwell with you in this place, in the land that I gave of old to your ancestors for ever and ever.   Jer 7:5-7