Business (not) as Usual - Sermon Easter 7B - 5.13.2018

Listen to the gospel and the sermon here.

John 17:6-19

⁶”I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. ⁷Now they know that everything you have given me is from you; ⁸for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. ⁹I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours. ¹⁰All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them. ¹¹And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one. ¹²While I was with them, I protected them in your name that you have given me. I guarded them, and not one of them was lost except the one destined to be lost, so that the scripture might be fulfilled. ¹³But now I am coming to you, and I speak these things in the world so that they may have my joy made complete in themselves.¹⁴I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. ¹⁵I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one. ¹⁶They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. ¹⁷Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. ¹⁸As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. ¹⁹And for their sakes I sanctify myself, so that they also may be sanctified in truth.

On Thursday this past week we celebrated the Ascension of Jesus Christ.  Our friends from All Saints Episcopal Church across the street joined us in worship and celebration.  And on Thursday, the 40th day of Easter we not only celebrated Jesus’ joyful ascension, but we recalled Jesus’ commission to the disciples.  To be witnesses to all the ends of the earth.  From Jerusalem to Samaria and beyond.  Jesus lifted his hands to bless the disciples and while he was blessing them he left them and was taken up into heaven.  The disciples were left looking to the sky

The disciples have had a rough few weeks haven’t they?  For starters they dedicated their lives to following a rabbi, trusting and hoping for him to be the Messiah.   And in a matter of weeks everything seems to come unhinged. First they paraded into Jerusalem knowing good and well that they’ll face opposition.  They share an intimate meal with Jesus not knowing it’d be his last.  Jesus speaks a bit prophetically about things to come.  While praying Jesus is taken into custody.  He is tried, beaten, crucified and murdered.  Their hoped-for Messiah is dead.  But wait, three days later he’s alive, appearing to them behind closed doors and on a dusty road to Emmaus. They rejoice for he is alive and once again among them.  And then there is the Ascension, where Jesus blesses them one last time and then ascends to heaven.  And just like that he’s gone again.  

What a emotional and spiritual whiplash their relationship with Jesus is. They’ve crossed the highest mountains and the lowest lows….through fear, joy, death, betrayal, denial, and hiding, and now after all of that the text says they returned to Jerusalem with great joy...praising God.  

The disciples return to Jerusalem, and it’s back to business as usual. The disciples regroup with a crowd of about 120 people, let’s call it a congregation.  And Peter steps forward to remind them that they down one member, they’re a council member short.  If you recall, Judas who betrayed Jesus chose money and greed over his relationship with Christ and he then took his own life.  So Peter, council president, reminds the congregation that Scripture foretold this moment, and therefore the time has come to fill Judas’ place among the disciples.  So they hold an election.

Maybe I am biased, but does this whole scenario not seem a bit weird?  Hear me out.  We’re only weeks from the shock and awe of Jesus’ death and resurrection.  Days after Jesus commissions them and Ascends to heaven.  And this is their priority?  Jesus said go and tell and they said, “yah ok, in a minute…”

Sure replacing Judas fulfills scripture and therefore must take place, but the timing of the whole situation seems odd.  Call me crazy, but your best friend, your rabbi, mentor, teach, messiah was brutally murdered.  He was dead and buried. You were in mourning. Then he rose from the grave. He came to you in your hiding on multiple occasions telling you to hit the streets and spread the word.  

Finally, the once dead now alive Messiah blesses you and tells you to go to all the world and spread the good news…and the first thing they do is check the constitution and its bylaws?

Nevertheless, the nominating committee identifies two among them suited to serve ...Joseph and Matthias.   They cast lots to avoid human influence on the election and the lots fell the Matthias.   So Matthias joined the other 11 disciples in order to fulfill scripture.  Business as normal. Easy enough.

Last Sunday was a Spirit-filled morning. We celebrated the resurrection together over word and wine.   Then I hung out with 4 of our St. Mark’s kids to talk about first communion.  We made bread.  We talked about the sacrament of communion.  We talked about God’s promise of love and grace in the meal.  We talked about Jesus being present through the bread and wine.  We talked about welcoming everyone to God’s table to be fed and nourished.  We even broke bread together over lunch.   I was on fire with the joy of the Spirit when I left this church home! I mean every Sunday those 4 kids reach out their hands to me at the rail, begging to taste and see.  Obviously the Spirit was moving and I was excited.  But the moment I walked in my house, set my stuff down, and let my dog out, I nap.  Apparently my fervor for the Spirit was no match for the couch.

Perhaps it is that I take the Spirit for granted.  I know that Spirit is at work and I know that the Spirit will continue to be at work...so in the meantime I’ll focus on me and the pressures of the world...and I’ll catch the Spirit next week.  

When I woke up from my nap, I made my to-do list.  From washing dishes and vacuuming...answering emails and scheduling appointments.  I was back to business as usual.

What about you?  When you come to this nave, to be among friends and community, siblings in Christ.  When you worship God, receive forgiveness, sing alleluia, and pray for the world.  When you come to the table to be fed and nourished…when you hear the word of God proclaimed, the love and grace of God who loved the world so much that Jesus came to walk among us and experience the depths of life…After all of that, and the Spirit alive within you...what do you do next?  Do you take to the ends of the earth, or do you settle back into business as usual? 

Maybe the disciples had thought they had seen it all.  Death and resurrection. The story of Easter, what could the Spirit possibly do next that they hadn’t seen already. Between resurrection and ascension, was it really possible for the Spirit to catch them off guard...there will be plenty of time for proclaiming the gospel and living out Jesus’ commission later…“yah ok Jesus, in a minute…”

Have you ever experienced this “setting-aside” of the Spirit.  Almost as though we compartmentalize God and the call?  Maybe we feel an immense presence of the Spirit in worship, and like the disciples we’re looking to the ascended Christ in awe,  Yet some time between 11:00 and noon today we might set that aside.  Check it off the list.  Put the lid back on the box until next week?  It’s back to business.

It seems easy to put faith aside.  To prioritize the busy-ness of life over the Spirit.  Give me just a minute God and I’ll be right there.  Hang on for a few days and let me finish these other tasks and then I promise I’ll make some time for the Spirit to lead. It’s easy to move from one thing to the next, carrying on our lives business as usual, unaccepting or unaware that just maybe the power of God in Christ might have actually changed us. 

It is precisely those moments when the Spirit intercedes.  We think we have a handle on things and then the Spirit wakes us up and shakes the priorities of our lives.  Just as we get comfortable the Spirit will be up to something.

I give the disciples a hard time.  And it’s easier looking from the outside in.  At first glance it seems like they haven’t been changed at all by the events that just took place.  But in the midst of their logistical business we glimpse or sign of what’s to come.  The text tells us that they selected two among them as candidates for this apostleship ministry.  And before they cast lots….they prayed.  They prayed “Lord you know everyone’s heart.  Show us which one of these two you have chosen to take the place in this ministry and apostleship.”  Before they cast lots the disciples prayed, “Lord, thy will be done.”  Just as Jesus had taught them.  Lord, thy will be done.

It’s a minor detail in the overall story, but I think it’s a testament to their lives in Christ.  Maybe it’s a tiny change, but it is a powerful change. Even in the midst of their mundane logistical business, they seek God’s guidance and the Spirit’s presence. And if they truly have been changed by God in the death and resurrection of Jesus as well as the commission to proclaim the gospel, then business will never be as usual. That small moment of prayer is a symbol of their new lives in Christ. From here on, everything they do and say, every action they take...Thy will be done. 

Friends, the same is true for us. The Spirit is alive and well within us.  And the Spirit is up to something.  Even in the nuances of our lives...the busyness of work and family...even in the trivial check-list items of our everyday living, the Spirit is working. Make no mistake, we can not separate ourselves from the Spirit.  No matter what we do, we do not go without the presence of the Holy Spirit.  

This is what Jesus promised the disciples at the Ascension.  Jesus promised they we will never walk this journey of life along.  Though he may no longer be physically present, the Spirit accompanies us in our life of faith.   We can not and will not be detached from that truth.  In the resurrection of Jesus we are forever changed.  And perhaps, just maybe...the disciples returned to Jerusalem with great joy...praising God because they finally knew this to be true.  

They may have no idea what the Spirit will do next, and nor do we, but in the meantime, even in the logistical tasks of the early Christian church, the disciples give witness that God’s will be done. I think we would do well to follow their example.  After all the Spirit is not something we can dismiss or defer our attention.  The Spirit is always present.  So rather than delay faith or set the Spirit aside, God would have us embrace her.  It is God’s promise to us..even during tests or projects, exams or deadlines, from reports to elections, to-do lists and beyond...The Spirit abides in us.  It is God’s gift for us. Amen 

© Preached by Pastor Daniel Locke on May 13, 2018 @ St. Mark's Lutheran Church

For All the Saints! - All Saints Sunday Sermon

Matthew 5:1-12 

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. ²Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying: ³“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ⁴“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. ⁵“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. ⁶“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. ⁷“Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. ⁸“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. ⁹“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. ¹⁰“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ¹¹“Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. ¹²Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."

It is the season for festival Sundays (Reformation, All Saints, Christ the King) as our church calendar will soon roll over into Advent, beginning another liturgical year marked by the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. But as for this day: today is All Saints Sunday, a festival Sunday in our church year, even though it doesn’t always feel like a cause for celebration. Today is loaded with mixed emotions as we mourn the loss of our brothers and sisters over the last year along with all the saints of the church triumphant.   Sisters and brothers, I know the laments and joys that this festival All Saints Sunday.   I understand the emotions of this day.  

I, along with many of you, if not all of you, have heard the name of a loved one read aloud in the prayers on this day.  A name followed by the tone of a bell.  I acknowledge the difficulty of today’s celebration.  

But at the same time that we hold this pain and grief, we seek hope and celebration for the life of the saints in Jesus Christ. A life formed in Jesus’ resurrection, which gives way to the gift of eternal life. And so on this day, we’ll say their names aloud, we’ll ring a bell, and together we’ll mourn and grieve.

Friends, I also know of the deep, yearning hope found in today’s celebration.  A name echoed by a bell that rings abundant joy as the great multitude of saints. As Revelation says, "every nation, tribe, and tongue stand proudly robed in white before the Lamb of God Proclaiming “Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen."

It’s a day of mixed emotions, but in our grief and mourning, may we find the hope and grace and promise of God’s eternal kingdom.

In the 5^th chapter of Matthew today. Jesus teaches in public for the first time.   After his baptism he was tempted in the wilderness, and emerged preaching the kingdom of God has come near.  He called his first disciples and traveled throughout Galilee. He’s gained a following, but it isn’t until chapter 5, this moment that the author of Matthew presents Jesus in front of the crowds, ready to teach for the first time.   

For Matthew’s Gospel account this is an important moment because it will set the tone for Jesus’ ministry in the next 20 chapters.  It will prepare the way for Jesus’s purpose and identity.  It is the public’s first educational moment with Jesus, and Jesus reveals the depths and direction of his ministry. So with his disciples gathered closely around Jesus on a hill, and the crowds behind them, Matthew’s Gospel account launches into the first major discourse of Jesus’ public ministry.

It is a 3-chapter conversation that we know as the Sermon on the Mount.  Jesus will teach anger, murder, adultery, divorce, loving your neighbor, turning the other cheek, prayer, worrisome-ness, truth and temptation. But in the first 12 verses, which we affectionately know as the Beatitudes, we receive the blessed be statements:

³“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

⁴“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

⁵“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

⁶“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be filled.

At the heart of these “blessed be” statements is Jesus’ characterization of the kingdom of God.  For Matthew, this will be at the heart of Jesus’ ministry…God’s abundant and grace-filled kingdom ushered in. God’s kingdom breaking in among us with Christ the lamb seated at the throne, to reign eternally.

This is a significant entry into public ministry because for the longest time the Jewish people had very clear expectations regarding a future Messiah. They had set expectations about God’s anointed king and the kingdom in which he would rule. They envisioned a king of king, a mighty ruler, Lord of Lords.  An earthly ruler who a savior who would deliver the Jewish people from all forms of oppressive governments.  He would strike down their foes and enemies would hold no chance of challenging him.  

This earthly king would establish an immense kingdom where he would restore proper order and care for the community within his kingdom.  He would reign forever and ever at the right hand of God.   A powerful, mighty, ruler.  For the longest time, this was their expectation. And so as the crowds gather to see and hear this new Rabbi, Jesus offers 12 verses that both define the nature of his ministry within Matthew and challenge their expectations of God’s in-breaking kingdom.

For this kingdom, God’s kingdom, Jesus will surely reign, but it won’t look anything like what they expected.  Rather than a fierce, strong, competitive and conquering king, God promises Jesus, a king who rules with humility, patience, and service. Rather than defeat his adversaries with sword and war, this king would lay down his life, turn the other cheek, and offer forgiveness.

Jesus begins his public teaching ministry by characterizing the very nature of this kingdom of God in what we know as the beatitudes.  Jesus turns the world and their expectations upside down. In the kingdom of God, Jesus rules in favor of the least the last and the lost. 

God’s kingdom is not characterized by pride or self-righteousness, but by the poor in spirit and those who experience mourning will inherit the kingdom of heaven and be comforted. God’s kingdom is not characterized by power but by humility for the meek shall inherit the earth. God’s kingdom is not characterized by self-interest, personal gain, or success, for those who hunger and thirst for righteousness and justice will be filled.

God’s kingdom is characterized by mercy, wholesomeness, faithful struggle, honesty humility, and perseverance. God’s kingdom was different then their worldly expectations. When Jesus emerged from the wilderness in chapter four he proclaimed, “the kingdom of God has come near.”   The good news for the disciples on that hill side, the crowds surrounding them and even us today, Is that the kingdom of God has come near.  

God’s kingdom, which lifts up the lowly, humbles the proud, seeks out the least and lost, advocates for the oppressed, acts for mercy and justice. That kingdom is present among us in Jesus Christ.  And by the power of the Spirit in baptism, we are granted access to this kingdom. Made participants, kingdom builders in God’s abundant reign of grace and mercy.

God’s kingdom gives us the freedom wrestle with our faith.  God’s kingdom…where we can both grieve and hope for joy. Where we can name our mourning and our pain, while also seeking comfort and assurance. God’s kingdom is a where our faith is put to work, challenging the earthly systems of power, and standing firmly in favor of the meek, the lost, the hungry, the poor in spirit, and those who mourn. For they will inherit the kingdom of God, not because of the current pain or struggle, but because in their struggle their hope is found in God.  Faith that is securely rooted in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The good news brothers and sisters is that God sees us and our pain, our grief, our struggles. God stands with us in our time of deep questioning and promises to be with us always, especially through death and into eternal life.  God honors our earthly struggles and blesses us through Jesus Christ, the one who accompanies us on this journey of faith.

God’s kingdom has come near, and we are invited to participate.  Our participation may not always be cheery, joyful, or struggle-free, but it is participation nonetheless. After all, lament also has its place within God’s kingdom. So on this All Saints Sunday, a day marked with mixed emotions, doubts, faithful struggles, simple joys, and uncertainty, hear the promise of God in Jesus Christ.

God’s kingdom will prevail against all earthly powers.  God’s kingdom will have no end.  In Jesus Christ, all will dine at the great banquet table.  Saints past and present who is seated on the throne and “They will hunger no more, they will thirst no more; the sun will not strike them, nor any scorching heat; ¹⁷for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of the water of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

All will rejoice in the lord, the kingdom of God…AMEN

© Pastor Daniel Locke Nov. 5, 2017 @ St. Mark’s JAX