Nagoya Mission

Perfect Moments - April 26, 2009

John 21: 1-14

    How about a good meal and a meaningful conversation or a lovely afternoon in the park, for some people those could be “perfect moments.”
    That’s what a man named Eugene O’Kelly began to seek after he was diagnosed with brain cancer --- “perfect moments.”  At age 53, Mr. O’Kelley seemed to be in excellent health, traveling and working long hours as chairman and chief executive of a large American company.  But then after a routine visit to his doctor, and subsequent follow up visits, it was revealed and confirmed that he had an aggressive brain cancer that would kill him in 100 days.
     So, what do you do when you receive such devastating news?  “I had focused on building and planning for the future,” said Mr. O’Kelly. “Now I would have to learn the true value of the present.”  The only reason I can tell you about Mr. O’Kelly, is that he decided to write a book about his experience: Chasing Daylight: How My Forthcoming Death Transformed My Life.
     You see as part of his dying, Mr. O’Kelly decides to “unwind” relationships with important people in his life, taking the time to have intentionally final conversations with those who have meant a great deal to him.  He also goes searching for other “perfect moments” ? times of lingering over a meal, enjoying long and deep conversations, taking the time to soak up the beauty of nature over the course of an afternoon.  “I marveled at how many “Perfect Moments” I was having now,” he writes in his memoir.
     Paradoxically, Eugene O’Kelly found in his experience that he did not have much time, yet on the other hand, found that in many ways he had time for turning ordinary experiences into his “Perfect Moments.”  Then he died, just as his doctors predicted.1    Our Christian faith is full of reminders that life has a start and a finish, and our faith is grounded in the conviction that there is meaning in the movement of our existence from beginning to end.  For example, the Bible is not a random collection of ancient stories, but it moves in a meaningful way from the creation of the world in Genesis to the completion of God’s plan in Revelation.  Even the story of our relationship with God has a purposeful progression to it, with God first speaking to us through Old Testament prophets, then coming to us in Jesus Christ, and finally living in us as the Holy Spirit.  That means we are not a random collection of events tied together by our life, by accident or place of birth.  Life is never marked by endless cycles of random events ? it always moves from start to finish, within God’s love and grace.
     Yet, how do we break out of day-to-day living and dying and catch sight of those instances of God’s love and grace?  In our gospel today is a glimpse of a moment that “unwinds” and comes by hearing and seeing the revelation of Jesus Christ.
     To begin our lesson mentions three times where Jesus “appeared” to the disciples.  The word used to “manifest” or “appear” is common in John's gospel and conveys the idea of “making visible,” or “making known.”  If you remember, John records Jesus Christ's appearance on resurrection day, then to Thomas with the disciples a week later.  Now he records a "third time," that is, a third day, a 3rd making manifest, in which Jesus Christ appears during the period between His resurrection and ascension.  In between his resurrection and ascension is not a random event, rather it is to make visible, to have an intentional final conversation, over a meal between Jesus and his disciples. 
     Today’s appearance begins to slow down while the disciples are fishing.  Seven of the disciples decided to go fishing, all following Peter's lead.  These disciples were for the most part and from what we haven been told before, accomplished fishermen.  We can assume that they understood the right places and the right time in the Sea of Galilee (Sea of Tiberias - Latin) to catch fish.  John comments, “So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.”
     Talk about depressing!  Here the disciples are recovering from all these proceedings in Jerusalem and the last couple of weeks, trying to put their lives back together.  Now the disciples can not even catch fish.  Then, as dawn breaks a question comes across the waters from a stranger from shore, “Friends, haven't you any fish?" "No," they answered.”2  Our translation does not do justice to the sentence because the word translated as “Friends” could also mean “Children.”  It was a non-threatening question, as if from a kindly old man asking a simple question of children, yet phrased in such a way as to expect a "no" answer.  The disciples gave an honest reply, which seems to be an unusual thing for fishermen.  These seven disciples had to admit that with all of their skills and experience, they had caught nothing.  Next the disciples are surprised yet respond to the suggestion for the stranger tells them: “‘Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.’  When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.”3  
     ut it does not end there.  The moment continues to unfold when they all go to the beach.  Peter initiates the move when he jumps into the water and takes off to the beach after having just been told by the disciple whom Jesus loved, which has typically been to mean John, who had sensed that the man on the beach is none other than Jesus.4
     The other disciples quickly follow with the net and boat.  And what did they find when they got there?  When the disciples came to shore they found that Jesus had already prepared breakfast for them.  “When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread.  Jesus said to them, ‘Bring some of the fish you have just caught.’”  And then “Jesus said to them, ‘Come and have breakfast.’”5
     They had fished all night and it was now daylight, time for breakfast.  They had nothing with them on the boat.  They had nothing prepared on the shore.  They had the need; Christ had the supply.
     Why did the disciples remember the details?  Because everything was perfect; not perfect in the sense of everything going the right way rather they never wanted to forget the call from the beach: the smell of the charcoal fire, sitting and eating with their Lord, enjoying his presence --- they had to remember every detail --- the whispered exclamation of John to Peter, the details of how Peter prepared to jump in the water, the exact number 153 fish --- all these details so they could replay the memory again and again.6  I do not know about you, but sometimes there are those moments in life when you remember the details of an event, you don’t want to forget anything, a grace filled ? faith filled moment.
     Next week we will hear how this moment unwinds with Jesus in conversation.  But that is next week.
     Today we are left watching how an event in daily life, transformed into this perfect moment.
     In the end, it’s all about relationships; a relationship with God and relationship with one another.  Eugene O’Kelly, the man who died of cancer sensed this, which is why he spent so much time with friends and family in the last hundred days of his life.  “Must the end of life be the worst part?” he wondered.  “Can it be made the best?”
     This is a good question for each of us.  Can the challenging times be the best of times?  Can we learn the true value of the present, and find grace-filled, faith-filled perfection in the seemingly mundane?  Can we turn ordinary experiences into Perfect Moments ? moments in which we see the hand of God revealed?
     As I said, near the end of his life, Eugene O’Kelly arranged times to “unwind” with people who had been important to him over the course of his life.  These “unwindings” were intentionally final conversations, held at home and in restaurants, but also in ordinary gardens, by rivers, and in the middle of a park.  They were his and his friend’s time to experience God’s revelation of grace and love in friendship, frankness and fun.
     We can do the same, for whether we have brain cancer or not, whether we are having good days or not, we can do our best to have quality conversations with family members, friends, colleagues and neighbors.  We can work on our relationship with God, and by serving others in the name of Christ.  We can look to the future, knowing that we can approach every day with confidence and anticipation, trusting that our Lord is involved in our lives in an active and ongoing way, always working for healing and restoration and peace.  Jesus Christ is open to revealing himself to us all the time.  So the only question that remains is how many faithful “Perfect Moments” can we have right now?

1 Dean, Cordelia. When cancer strikes, a high achiever plans. The New York Times, March 14, 2006.
2 John 21: 5
3 Vs. 6
4 Vs. 7
5 Vs. 9-12
6 Vs. 5,10

April 19, 2009

Acts 3: 11-26 & Mark 16: 9-18

    By my rough calculation, I have preached over a thousand times.  Thus, I can tell you from experience that the task and challenge of preaching is not easy.  When I first read this line from a poem titled Christmas Eve, by English poet Robert Browning, it had a lot of meaning about preaching for me, and it still does:
        

        For the preacher's merit or demerit,
        It were to be wished that the flaws were fewer
        In the earthen vessel, holding treasure,
        But the main thing is, does it hold good measure
        Heaven soon sets right all other matters!1 
     

      Although at times a difficult task and I struggle with myself as Browning described “It were to be wished that the flaws were fewer,” preaching for me is exciting, particularly when I see people responding to the good news: the words of grace and forgiveness that come in Jesus Christ.
     Of course, I have had varied responses to sermons besides those who needed rest.  Some reactions have touched my heart and have come from listeners who were moved through God’s Holy Spirit by something I said and felt the need to share it with me.  There have been other reactions as well.  Once after a sermon that a person felt was lengthy, this person pointed out to me that in the Guinness Book of World Records it documents the shortest sermon ever preached.  It was given by Rev. John Albrecht, an Episcopal priest.  Rev. Albrecht stood in his pulpit, paused, and said “Love!”  He then sat down.  This person, (I think) tongue in cheek, wondered if I could ever beat that!  Obviously not to this point! 
     What about you?  When you hear the word “preaching” what comes to mind?  Hopefully there is a word or image or passage or experience that encouraged you and still touches your heart, mind and life long after it was created and shared by a fellow believer.  It could be your own preaching.  Or when you hear the word “preaching,” it could be the thought, “that’s what Pastor C is doing right now.”  Some think of “preaching” in this post-modern multimedia age as an effort that needs transformation; others, hopefully none of you here, think of a Christian preaching as a symptom of a hypocrite that espouses things that are irrelevant, immaterial or wrong.
     Well, we may not all be called to preach as a vocation, but we are all called and all challenged to be able to share our convictions and belief in Jesus Christ.  We are all called and all challenged to be able to speak in words and actions about the amazing works of God through Jesus Christ.
     We are just a week after Easter and we are no longer at the empty tomb rather we are in and about all nations to share the good news: “He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.’”2  These final verses of Mark, thought by some biblical scholars to be a later addition, in one quick final swoop have us outside the street corners sharing the good news.
     We also see that in the early history of the Church.  Preaching or proclaiming begins shortly after Jesus ascends into heaven.  Certainly preaching existed before Easter, think of Jesus and John the Baptist for example.3  Now, post-Easter, preaching took on new meaning.  In Acts, for example, there are actually six recorded sermons with Peter preaching in several.  The first sermon is Peter during Pentecost where we hear that 3000 people respond.4  The second sermon is our lesson today, after the healing of a lame man at Solomon’s Colonnade in Jerusalem where 5000 repent and Peter and John go to jail for the night.5  In the other preaching moments, either Peter or the apostles or Stephen or Philip are the speakers.  The responses range from martyrdom to the baptism of one person, an Ethiopian official.6
     Which ever sermon you review in the New Testament you will see that some are long and some are short, some we only have the fact that the preaching happened with none of the words recorded, but in others we have lengthy snippets.  Yet in all we see an important point for all of us; first we are to know what Scripture says.  Notice in Peter’s preaching today that he relates Jesus to the scripture of the Hebrews.  That means that Peter had to know what it said.  Knowledge and belief worked together.
     Besides some knowledge of scripture what else do we see?  Ben Campbell Johnson, Christian author, former professor at Columbia Theological Seminary and Institute of Christian Renewal, wrote a book called Speaking of God.7 In that book he writes about the difference between “God talk” and “God speech.”
     “God talk” is what a person does when they make reference to God in conversation.  Some are drawn to “God talk,” Campbell Johnson suggests, because it can give the listener the impression that the person engaged in “God talk” fully knows of which they speak and thus to be copied.  However, Johnson argues that “God talk” may seem meaningless, or repetitive or mechanical or inauthentic.  
      But “God speech” is different.  Campbell Johnson suggests that if you review preaching in the Bible it is candid and natural as people converse with one another.  This type of sharing of faith is different because it comes from the heart.  It may be less than eloquent but it is not phony.
     As disciples, we are called, we are challenged not to “talk” but to “speech” in what we believe and in which we find great joy. 
     In Peter’s sermon today, he used his knowledge and he was authentic.  We get a glimpse of that authenticity of Peter, for the healed lame man had his arms wrapped around Peter and “held on to” him while he spoke --- talk about wearing your faith on your sleeve!
     The challenge --- the call this evening is not for everyone to go home and write a sermon; but as that the word of God intersects with our lives so that when we share our faith it is not God talk but God speech.
     Our stories and our sharing Jesus’ story may not provoke the response as did Peter’s at Solomon’s Colonnade; nor will our sharing necessarily bring into being more believers.  Remember, we do not have a monthly believer’s quota; there are no numerical targets.  Rather as post Easter people, we are simply to share the story of Jesus with authenticity to who we are.  Authenticity in today’s gospel startles many of us.  “And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”8  Some Christians get bogged down in these signs of authenticity.  My response to that passage is that these are hardly the only signs and authenticity is not limited to simply these.
     The first disciples of Jesus certainly preached about a lot more than is recorded in Acts and not every word of every sermon that are in Acts are included.  That body of proclamation although it turned the world upside down in its own day, is not necessary for us today since the Holy Spirit did not choose to preserve it for us as Scripture.  Just think we have no preserved sermons of John, or Andrew, or James and many others including the women, even though Scripture tells us that they preached.
     The point is we have all we need.  Meaning that we have enough with which to draw from and learn, because we were not meant to copy Peter or Philip or anyone else.
     Glen Tex Evans, a Methodist pastor, tells a story of a conference that he attended in Maryland in the United States.  For whatever reason, things were not going well until after this episode.  During an outside break a group of people wanted to show Pastor Evans the place at the local river close to their conference center where Francis Asbury once crossed.
     Who was Francis Asbury?  Francis Asbury was a famous English Methodist who started preaching at 18 and became a pastor at 22.  Asbury volunteered to serve as a missionary to the early colonial United States and later became one of the first American Methodist bishops.
     Well, it seems that Asbury had crossed a river at flood tide in the late 1700’s in order to preach to the people in a chapel in this part of Maryland.  This group asked Tex, “Do you want us to tell you how Francis Asbury crossed that swollen, rushing river?”  Tex responded: “No, but I do want you to tell me why he crossed that river.”
     As I said at the beginning, I have preached over a thousand times, how does not matter, nor does it matter how it has been received or heard.  Rather, because of Christ’s Easter resurrection, God is offering you and me and all people forgiveness and restoration in Jesus’ name.  Why you and I preach is all that matters, not how.  Go and preach to all creation.  Amen.  

1 Robert Browning, Christmas Eve Canto XII

2 Mark 16: 15
3 Matthew 3 - 4
4 Acts 2:14-41
5 Acts 3:11-26
6 Acts 4:23-31; Acts 7:1-53; Acts 8:29-35
7 Ben Campbell Johnson, Speaking of God: Evangelism as Initial Spiritual Guidance, Westminster John Knox Press, 1991

8 Mark 16: 17-18

April 12, 2009

1 Corinthians 15:1-11 & Mark 16: 1-8

        Empty!  What does empty mean to you?  When we lived in a small town in North Dakota for a couple of years, a large rural state in the United States, known for it’s wide expanses with not many people, my family had a running joke at the expense of my father.  Unfortunately he had run out of gas several times when traveling because he would look at his gas gauge on the car and think, “Oh I have enough!”  He would make that decision on the wrong assumption that he would find another gas station or make it home.
         After running out of gas several times during our first year, our refrain became, when it was time for him to walk out the door for work or errands, “Are you running on empty today?”
         What does empty mean?  In 2007, astronomers announced that they had found a big empty place in the universe --- a massive void.  This empty space, not to be confused with a black hole which is a completely different phenomenon, is a gigantic location, nearly a billion light-years across with no planets, no stars, no galaxies, and no gases.1  It’s just a huge cold void, in other words, a whole, large, nothing.
         Just think about it with me.  The expanse of this void boggles the mind.  A light year is a unit of distance ? it is the distance that light can travel in one year, meaning one light-year equals just less than 10 trillion kilometers or about six trillion miles.  This discovered void is estimated to be a billion light years across. 
         Our tiny heads cannot even begin to comprehend an empty space that gigantic.  Instead we use jokes or use metaphors, for example, when the news was announced, the void was described in various ways by various commentators from “It is as if it were a big bubble in the cosmic pancake batter” to “I bet it is God’s Ranch.  I wonder if He calls it the Ponderosa.”2 
          An empty place, an empty space. ---- the empty tomb.  That the tomb is empty, void, is a world-changing, mind-numbing reality.  Now the apostle Paul was no astronomer, but he knew the story of an empty place that had cosmic consequences.  Paul had heard that on Easter morning, a group of women encountered an immense emptiness when they showed up at the tomb, one that was as terrifying as anything in the universe.  Just look at their response.  It was early when they arrived, and after meeting a young man and hearing about the resurrection Mark says: “Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb.  They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.”3
         Can you imagine how empty one may feel at this point?  Just imagine Mary Magdalene, one of the women, she has already suffered the crucifixion of her friend and teacher Jesus, and she’s mourning his death deeply.  Now she goes to his tomb to pay her respects, and what does she find?  Nothing.  A huge cold spot.  She did not know that you have to pass through some empty tombs on the way to resurrection life.
         Let me take that back, you may know how empty Mary Magdalene may have felt, because all of us come face to face with colossal voids in our lives.  It happens … when you give your heart to someone who does not accept the gift; when you learn a sport, practice hard and still do not make the team; when you study and pursue a profession, only to find you hate your work; when you create something beautiful, and discover that no one is interested; when you try to resist a temptation, but then give in to it again and again; when you put money into a home and or into savings, only to see it all disappear; when you lose a spouse, and find yourself all alone in the world.  These and many more are huge cold spots --- substantial emptiness.
         How have you responded to that empty feeling?  Mary and her companions are seized by terror and amazement, and they retreat at first into silence, saying nothing to anyone.  Their world feels like a billion light-years of empty space.  But it is to their everlasting credit that they take some time to ponder this strange set of events, and let the disappearance of Jesus sink in.
         Yes, it’s true that the mysterious young man in the tomb has said to them, “’Don't be alarmed,’ he said. ‘You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified.  He has risen!  He is not here.  See the place where they laid him.  But go; tell his disciples and Peter, He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’”4  The new Easter morning and good news of resurrection life, but something the women cannot grasp it, at least not yet.
         Too often we try to pretend that there are no enormous voids in our lives; no empty places and that we can deal.  Sociologist Jean Twenge observes that young adults in particular have been told things such as “believe in yourself and you can do anything” ? which is ok advice.  The truth according to Twenge is that adults do not necessarily teach children well; bad things can happen to good people and not every goal in life is realistic.  Life does not always give us what we want.  Twenge thinks that overblown expectations are largely to blame for the rise in anxiety and depression particularly young adults pointing out, “It’s depressing to realize that your unrealistic dreams are never going to come true.”5
         What ever you may think of that analysis, we all know that loss and rejection are a part of just about every life story we can imagine.  We have to pass through some empty tombs on the way to resurrection life. 
         Mary and her companions make this journey as they flee from the empty tomb --- but not falling into the trap of that empty space.  Certainly, Mary and her companions feel the blast of alarm, terror, amazement and fear --- yet I believe it is their faith that set them up for the surprising reality of the resurrection.
         The reality is that Easter is not about them ? instead, it is about God.  By the same token, Easter is not about you or me, it is about God.  In particular, it is about God filling the empty places --- filling the empty places in our lives, in the world, in the universe --- with new and unexpected life ---- resurrected life.
         In our lesson from Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, he reminds the Christians in Corinth of the good news.  “For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.”6
         The emptiness being filled with the resurrected Jesus is of central importance to Paul, and he sees the new life of Christ as being at the heart of one’s vitality.  In fact, just a few verses later, he says that if Christ has not been raised, “our preaching is useless and so is your faith.”7
         Through the resurrection, not in spite of it, God fills the empty places in our lives.  God does it for the first followers of Jesus, for the women, for Paul, for the Christians of Corinth … and God does it for us.  We do not have to earn or deserve this gift of new life.  What we have to do is believe and be willing to follow Jesus, to go meet him.
         Mary and her companions felt a disorienting mixture of amazement and fear on Easter morning, but they responded to the young man who gave the command: “He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’”
         Yes, we have to pass through some empty tombs on the way to resurrection life.  The good news of Easter is that Christ is risen!  He has been raised from the dead, and is waiting, beyond the empty.  So you tell me --- empty --- what does that mean to you?  Amen. 

A big thank you to www.homiletics.com!

1 Kaufman, Mark. “Astronomers find massive void.” The Washington Post, August 27, 2007, A6.
2 http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/hoax/forums/viewthread/5080/
3 Mark 16:8
4 Vs. 6-7
5 Vencat, Emily Flynn. “Narcissists in neverland.” Newsweek Web Exclusive, October 16, 2007. www.Newsweek.com.
6 1 Corinthians 15:3-8
7 vs. 14

April 10, 2009

Good Friday Meditation

    Why repeat something?  We Christians retell how Jesus died by crucifixion over and over.  This retelling helps us grow not only in our knowledge of the event but by deepening our faith.
     In addition, in repeating we may learn something we did not hear before.  Possibly our hearts and minds were elsewhere, but then we may hear the story again and suddenly something touches our hearts and minds that we had not thought of before.  I remember a discussion I had with a member of our former church who could not believe that Jesus had more than 12 disciples.  However, during a sermon I happened to read from Luke 10, where Jesus appoints 70 to go out to the neighborhoods and communities.  This person was stunned.  “What do you mean 70?  There were only 12!”
     In a retelling of the passion event of Jesus years ago, I experienced something similar in my faith life.  Let me share it with you.  First, let us state what we know most certainly to be true: Jesus died by crucifixion.  Although some may suggest otherwise, the crucifixion is an event confirmed not only by the earliest Christian sources, the gospels and Paul.  This event is also attested to by the earliest non-Christian sources, for example in the words of the Roman historian Tacitus.  According to all these Christian and non-Christian sources, the crucifixion occurred sometime while Pontius Pilatus was procurator in Judaea between the years 26 and 36.  We also know that crucifixion was a Roman and not a Jewish practice, so those who carried out the execution were certainly Roman soldiers.  
     This is not what startled me years ago rather it is what follows that I had heard but did not think about.  Another thing we know for certain, according to these various Christian and non-Christian sources, is the charge against Jesus.  It was posted on top of his cross The King of the Jews meaning that Jesus' crime was considered political.1  In addition, Jesus died as part of a group: two others were crucified with him.  These two were terrorists, guerrilla fighters, or from one perspective, Jewish freedom fighters.  The common translation is "robbers" but really it would be far more accurate to the biblical Greek if we used the current word, terrorists or freedom fighters.
     For me years ago, the passion event took on new meaning when I heard it in those terms.  Jesus was arrested as a Zealot!2  His crime was seen as political!  He was crucified with terrorists!  I had heard and read the story of Jesus’ death countless times, but for some reason the political piece had escaped me.
     Hearing and seeing the crucifixion story as a political event gave me a different insight into some of the other events, for example, when Pilate asks the crowd to choose between Barabbas and Jesus; for Pilate, these two are both political prisoners.  The only difference was that Pilate did not see evidence of murder.  On the contrary, Jesus was non-violent.  So when Jesus is between the two others on Golgotha the place originally selected for Barabbas, they were seen as the same, terrorists or Jewish freedom fighters!3
     Seeing the crucifixion in that context may not be new for you, but for me it was startling.  The reason it was startling was because that new knowledge highlighted what I could never quite figure and what seemed to be so strange, if you look at the sayings of Jesus, all the parables and prophetic words and if you look at the miracles and the life of Jesus and his disciples, it would never occur to anyone that Jesus would eventually die on a Roman cross.  On the other hand if all you had was the story of the crucifixion, we would have seen Jesus only as a non-violent zealot.  Those two parts of the drama left me perplexed … unless there is something else.
     The meaning of Jesus’ death on the cross is not found in just the passion event --- the last week of his life.  The meaning of Jesus’ death on the cross is not found in just his miracles, words and life.  Rather the two are intertwined.
     How do we see that?  At the last, Jesus said “it is finished.”  “It is finished” can mean over and done with, for example the cherry blossom leaves fall to the ground.  When Jesus died another terrorist was gone.  Jesus was over and done.
     But, “it is finished” can also mean, it is accomplished, it is fulfilled.  A person graduates from college they can say, “I finished.  I got a degree.” When Jesus said “it is finished,” it meant that Jesus was perfectly obedient to God throughout his whole life and even unto his death.  Jesus personified God’s love throughout his whole life; he personified God’s love in his teachings; he personified God’s love in his miracles and at the end of his life, Jesus personified God’s love by dying on the cross so that others might live.
     Why repeat the story --- because some have not heard about Jesus.  Some may think Jesus was a non-violent political revolutionary.  Some may think Jesus was a thoughtful philosopher and healer. We repeat the story because in that event --- “It is finished” --- “It is accomplished” --- out of God’s great love Jesus Christ died for us.  Jesus Christ died against us, against all the evil that is inescapably part of ourselves.  Jesus Christ died within us so that we can repent, find forgiveness and healing can enter in.  Jesus Christ died before us, the first of God’s glory to come.
     Why repeat the story?  Amen.

1 Also see 1 Cor. 2:8
2 Mk 15:7; Mk 14:48)
3 For more discussion on this topic please see http://jcrelations.net/en/?item=749

Call for Prayer

In an ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) memo dated April 3, 2009, (sent to us by email), the following was shared:

ELCA Global Mission (GM) is experiencing a “perfect storm” with three distinct elements:  (1) a 7 percent ($1.087 million) reduction in the ELCA’s regular budget (funded primarily from Mission Support, the gifts that flow from congregations through synods to the churchwide organization); (2) a 9 percent ($1.34 million) reduction in World Hunger income, which makes up over 40 percent of GM’s budget; and (3) a $1.27 million loss of purchasing power between 2008 and 2009, relating to a variety of global factors and earlier budget reductions.  (It costs GM $850,000 million more in 2009 to support roughly the same number of missionaries supported in 2008.)  Any one of these factors would be difficult to deal with.  But each of the three amplifies the impact of the others.  Putting the three together, the effective budget reduction that GM will have to deal with in 2009 totals $3.7 million, or 12.2 percent. (Emphasis is in Memo)

 

The memo then details how the Global Mission is dealing with the 2009 budget reduction.

 

I share this information not to complain, because as many of you know many people are in dire financial pain in the US and around the world.  Rather, I cannot emphasize enough the need for prayerful support of the ELCA.

Please continue to pray for the church around the world, that the present financial difficulties do not lead us down the path of pessimism but that the church learns to use our limited resources in new and exciting ways to bring the good news of Jesus Christ around the world.

April 5, 2009

Mark 15: 1-39

        This is a Sunday of changing moods.  We begin with triumph, move into despair, and end with hope.  Yet, this is how God reveals Jesus Christ to us.  Jesus did not just simply go to Jerusalem for a victorious entrance on a donkey, a reminder of the way the tribal chief King David came into Jerusalem centuries before.  Rather, that entrance was just the beginning.  Jesus being arrested, tortured, crucified and buried in Jerusalem was for the purpose of revealing God’s plan for redemption and salvation for all people.
         Although the week began with a joyful entrance, the whole focus shifts to a week of emptying to reveal as Paul said, “emptied himself… and became obedient to the point of death --- even death on a cross.”1  This emptying was all done for the express purpose of revelation.  How do we know all this?
         Well, let us take just one example, of one nameless person we hear of in our gospel today and we will hear of again on Good Friday; how did the centurion at the cross come to the conclusion that Jesus Christ was the “Son of God?  The centurion who commanded the detachment which had the oversight of the execution was somehow convinced and confessed that this Jesus was the Son of God.2 
         Before we review the possible reasons, first we should review what is a centurion?  A centurion was a commander of a Roman infantry unit made up of 80 fighting troops and 20 support troops.  This unit breakdown was a basic block of the Roman Army and thus of the Roman Empire of which the centurions were key figures.  As you can see, the word for centurion is based on a “hundred” just like the word “century” meaning a hundred years.  Centurions were normally free-born Roman citizens.3  Centurions also had various ranks based on a variety of reasons without getting into too much detail, meaning that our centurion may have been a high rank senior or lower rank junior centurion something we will never know.
         This centurion is not our first for in the New Testament we have several, some who are people of faith.  For example, we have the centurion of Capernaum who asked Jesus to come and heal his servant.4  We have the centurion in Caesarea who is even named for us, Cornelius.  This Cornelius has a vision and has a lengthy meeting with the disciple Peter which leads this Jewish Peter to learn: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right.”5  Was the centurion in today’s gospel one of these or connected to another that is mentioned in the New Testament?  It is possible.
         What else do we know about today’s centurion?  We don’t know his name, only that he was assigned to the crucifixion detail that Friday.  As an officer we know that he did not have to do the actual dirty work ? just see that it got done.
         So think about it.  It is highly unlikely that there was more than one centurion at this event for it was relatively small crucifixion as we are told only about three are executed.  It is safe to assume, that it was this centurion at the foot of the cross that came with Jesus out of the palace, the Praetorium, and also ordered Simon of Cyrene to carry the cross part of the way to Golgotha, the place of the skull.  This centurion more than likely ordered soldiers to bind the arms of all three men to the cross beams.  It was he that oversaw soldiers nailing the hands and feet of the criminals to the wood.  It was he who looked the other way or allowed the soldiers to gamble to see who would get the dead man’s clothing.  It is this centurion that permitted Jesus, to taste from a sponge of wine mixed with myrrh --- which used in this way is like a mild narcotic sometimes given to ease pain --- which Jesus refused.  And it was very likely that this centurion ordered a soldier to nail the controversial sign over Jesus’ head on the cross: “King of the Jews.” 
         But all that educated guesses do not tell how the centurion came to believe.  Mark says that something that the officer experienced caused him to believe, “And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, heard his cry and saw how he died, he said, ‘Surely this man was the Son of God!’”6 
         What made this officer --- a free citizen of Rome; a seasoned soldier --- come to believe that Jesus was the Son of God?  Here are some possible reasons.
         First, another detail of Roman culture that may help us understand was that a Roman believed in many gods.  As we know from our lives here in Japan and what I understand from the Japanese Christians with whom I work, that does not mean it makes it easier to believe in only one true God, but it does allow a person to be open to the possibility of God in the form of this man nailed to the cross that might just change one’s mind.
         Second, hints of stronger reasons can be found in our lesson, --- “heard his cry and saw how he died” --- meaning the centurion may have witnessed something in the crucifixion that impressed him.  What may he have witnessed?  Was it in the abuse?  Mark makes a point of telling us that “those who passed by hurled insults at him.”7  Even the religious leadership mocked Jesus.  “’Let this Christ, this King of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe.’”8 
         In addition Mark suggests that there was something about the way Jesus cried out that struck the centurion as powerful.  Yet we do not know what exactly Jesus cried out.  Matthew indicates that it was also the earthquake, coming at the exact moment of Jesus’ final outcry that finally convinced the centurion that Jesus was the Son of God, but Mark does not include this detail.9
         What about the possibility that the centurion was just caught up in the moment?  Well the words of the centurion were evidently a true expression of faith.  Luke says, “The centurion, seeing what had happened praised God and said, “Surely this was a righteous man.”10  That means that for Luke, the centurion was the very first convert to Jesus Christ after His crucifixion, coming to faith at precisely the moment Jesus died.
         But those are just possibilities and threads pieced together.  One thing I know for sure is that in examining this one person, the testimony of this one centurion, is the fact that God continually reveals Jesus Christ to us not only in those final moments in the emptying of himself on the cross.  But he is revealed to us during the entire week in the washing of the feet of the disciples and giving of the bread and wine.  This revelation does not stop or end here because of what we have to look forward to in Easter.
         The closing portion of Mark's gospel, in the Roman centurion's climactic declaration of belief that Jesus was the Son of God, moreover returns to the theme of this gospel’s beginning.  This centurion indicates the fulfillment of the good news announced in the beginning of Mark 1: 1 “The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God” and is the first fruit of the passion and death of Jesus.
         What does this mean for us?  This week is not just what God did for one centurion at the foot of the cross or a group of varied disciples.  The centurion who testified here certainly knew very little of Jesus’ purpose, or of the good news that Jesus brought.  However, he did understand the first fundamental truth, that Jesus is, "Surely" the Son of God. 
         How will that revelation unfold for us during this Holy Week?  Will we hear a loud voice and see how he died?  How will that revelation be seen and experienced for us here at the table of the Lord?  How will that revelation continue to come to us in our lives as disciples?  In much the same way, God uses events and experiences in our lives to move us to say, “Surely this man was the Son of God!”  Amen.

1 Philippians 2: 7-8
2 Mark 15: 39
3 Palestine in the time of Jesus. Hanson, K.C. & Oakman, Douglas E.. Fortress Press, Minneapolis, Minnesota. 1998, p. 169
4 Mathew 8: 5-10
5 Acts 10
6 Mark 15: 39
7 Vs. 29
8 Vs. 32
9 Matthew 27:54
10 Luke 23:47