Monday, March 30, 2015

Don't Turn Away


March 29th, 2015      “Don’t Turn Away”  Rev. Heather Jepsen
Mark 11:1-11 with Mark 15:1-39
          This year we are doing a combination Palm and Passion Sunday.  So often folks are only able to make it to church on Sundays and so we jump straight from the triumphal entry of Palm Sunday into the joy of Easter.  There is something “not fair” about that.  We need to look at the cross, and we need to think on the death of Christ, before we can fully celebrate the resurrection.  Though it makes us uncomfortable, our call as people of faith is to deliberately not turn away from suffering.
          We will begin with the Palm Sunday reading that Mike shared.  Jesus and his friends gather for a bit of political theatre.  When we celebrated this holiday last year I pointed out to you all the political overtones of this event.  While Jesus is entering through the back door of the city, Pontius Pilate is processing in the front.  Pilate is making a big show of the power and might of the Roman Empire.  From hundreds of armed guards to large war horses, Pilate is marching into the city in triumph.  Pilate is showing that the empire is still in control, even if this is a Jewish holiday.  Passover has become political.
          The entry that Jesus makes is a mockery of all things empire.  Mark makes sure to point out that Jesus had this all set up ahead of time.  He rides in on a baby donkey, his feet dragging in the dirt.  There is no army, only a rag tag band of followers.  And yet, unlike Pilate’s entry, there is true worship here.  He is greeted with cries of joy and thanksgiving.  Jesus is presenting a bit of political theatre, challenging the Roman authority on this Passover holiday. 
          There is a tinge of sadness to the Palm Sunday celebration though.  While the crowds seem to greet Jesus in joy, we all know that it will be only a matter of time before they gather once again to see him paraded through the town.  But on this second parade, they will spit in his face, rather than cry out in worship.  The week of Passover turns quickly for the Christ.  He will clash with the Roman authorities and he will clash with the Jewish religious leaders as they attempt to control the swelling Passover crowds.  Jesus will be abandoned, he will be falsely accused, he will be mocked, and he will be tortured and killed.  Thus we turn to our second reading.
In Mark’s telling of the story it is the religious leaders who hand Jesus over to the Roman authorities to be killed.  Though they want him dead, they do not want the stain of his death on their hands.  Those who cried “Hosanna!” shout “Crucify Him!” and the torture begins.  They humiliate him, they spit on him, they rip his clothes off his body, and they mock him.  They beat him, for the fun of it.  And finally they hang him on a cross to die; a common criminal, one among many, rotting in the sky in shame and humiliation.
Like many of you, I hate this story.  I don’t want to know, I don’t want to read it, and I don’t want to look.  I imagine myself in that time period, walking by, trying to shield my children from the horrific sight.  I try to shield my children from it even now, today.  “Don’t look” I want to say, “turn away from that.”
But as adults, as people of faith, we must not turn away.  We must stand and look at this suffering.  We must admit that this is the story of our faith.  The most wonderful, loving, and righteous man who ever walked the earth was tortured and killed for no good reason.
What we see in the cross is our God’s identification with all those who suffer.  Our God identifies, not with the religious leaders, not with the church, not with the government, not with the elite and powerful, but with those who suffer injustice.  Our God identifies with those who are mistreated, those who are tortured, and those who are killed.  That is where we see the cross today, and that is where we see our God.  We must not turn away from the cross, just as we must not turn away from the suffering and injustice in our own world today.
Like many preachers, I am inspired by other good preachers, and roaming the internet among my colleagues this week was a powerful poem written by a student minister at Glide Memorial Church in San Francisco.  I love the way Marvin White, reframes the cross for our time and place.  Listen to what he has to say . . .
What if God was at work and got a call from Jesus who was crying and scared saying “Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour? But for this purpose I came to this hour? Father, glorify Your name.”
What if God didn’t know what was going on and whispered into the phone outside of the earshot of the supervisor, “I have both glorified it and will glorify it again”?
What if God was at work and got another call from one of Jesus’ friends who confirmed that Jesus was in trouble?
What if Jesus’ friend said some dudes were planning on setting him up, jumping him, and killing him?
What if God had just gotten this over time working graveyard and couldn’t afford another write up for talking on the phone on the job?
What if God couldn’t get off work because God had used up all of God’s sick leave from all them other times God got this call?
What if God comforted God’s self, hoping that God taught Jesus right?
What if God was like a lot of mothers in Oakland, Ferguson and Stanton Island?
What if God could hear Jesus crying for God and God couldn’t do anything?
What if God’s son was killed?
And what if God only had God’s self to comfort God?
What if God knows who witnessed his son’s murder and they knew god knew they saw and they still didn’t come forward?
What if God knows who did it and didn’t press charges?
What if God felt responsible?
What if God remembers saying “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” but also remembers all of the time that God wasn’t able to go to back to school night, hear him teach at temple, or make it home for dinner?
What if God couldn’t bring God’s self to identify the body and had Mary do it?
What if God didn’t have the money to have the body embalmed and had to depend on women like my mama and your mama to take care of it?
What if God heard the body was missing?
What if God couldn’t afford a plot at Rolling Hills or Arlington?
What if God couldn’t sleep for 40 days because people on the news say they saw Jesus in Jerusalem with his disciples and Paul was on the news saying he was on his way to Damascus and Jesus tried to blind him and Cleopas said he was on his way to Emmaus and saw Jesus?
What if God didn’t know what to believe?
What if God was inconsolable and besides God’s self?
What if God was rocking God’s self, crying, “Hands Up. Don’t Shoot. Hands Up. Don’t Shoot. Hands Up. Don’t Shoot?
What if it was a day like today and God heard something through God’s grief and God looked up and there to God’s surprise was God’s son Jesus?
What if God can be surprised?
What if God didn’t know these tears God was crying because God had never had a son go through hell just to come home?
What if God cried harder when Jesus came home than when he left home?
What if God leapt from creation and towards Jesus and Jesus leapt from death towards God and they collapsed into each other’s arms like they were both running from somebody?
And what if that hug is what all of creation feels like when we see God seeing us?
What if God’s children back in God’s arms is what we’re celebrating this Resurrection Sunday?
What if God doesn’t know so when God sees you it’s like the first time God is holding Gods child?
What if God does not want to rehearse that response? What if God becomes God every time one of us makes it home?
What if we all make it home?
What if the God of the outpouring is the God of the inflowing, leaping up and opening God’s self to receive us like a child coming home after a report to the contrary?
What if God gets to pray and black men get to be God’s answer every time?
What if…
What if...
What if…
I would add to this, what if we didn’t turn away from the suffering we see on the cross or the suffering we find in our world?  What if we honestly faced what it means to worship a God who dies, a God who is tortured, a God who is humiliated and finally brutally killed?  It is my prayer that we would take some time this week and truly reflect on the suffering of our God and the suffering in our world.  Don’t turn away.  Amen.

 

Monday, March 23, 2015

To See Jesus


March 22nd, 2015                             “To See Jesus”                       Rev. Heather Jepsen
John 12:20-33
          This is the final Sunday of Lent before we head into the power and drama of Holy Week.  Next Sunday we will celebrate Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, but this week we have a chance to hear from him one more time, before he enters his final moments.
          In our reading for today, there are others looking to hear from Jesus as well.  Outsiders, Gentiles, who are Greeks, have heard about Jesus and his teaching and so they come seeking information.  First they approach Philip, since he has a Greek name and is from a Greek town.  “Sir, we wish to see Jesus” they say.  Philip in turn tells his brother Andrew and together the two approach Jesus to inform him that Gentiles are seeking him.  Jesus has just raised Lazarus from the dead so it is no wonder that folks are eager to meet him.
          This is another strange reading from the gospel of John, where the action takes a back seat to the theological message the writer of the gospel seeks to convey.  Rather than bringing the Gentiles to Jesus, or Jesus going to address them directly, Jesus interprets the message, that Gentiles are seeking him, as a sign from God.  Jesus has finally come to “his hour” which has been alluded to throughout the whole gospel, and so he launches into a theological speech on the meaning of his death.  The text doesn’t make clear if the Greeks ever met Jesus or not, in fact it seems to imply that they don’t as soon after this Jesus hides from the crowds until his crucifixion.
           The theological speech that Jesus gives is compelling and it serves to frame his death in the gospel of John.  In one of the most powerful images in the whole of the gospels, Jesus tells the parable of the grain of wheat, clearly describing how he must die in order to live.  “Unless a grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.”  Jesus goes on to say once again that those who love him must be willing to lose their lives in order to follow him. 
          In this moment of knowing his demise is near, Jesus declares that his soul is troubled.  He considers asking God to save him from this path, but decides against it saying “Father, glorify your name.”  A voice comes from the heavens, the only time this happens in the gospel of John, and declares that yes, God will be glorified.  The crowds standing about hear the noise but cannot discern the message.  To close the scene, Jesus declares that the time of judgment is near.  Soon he will be lifted up, and he will draw all people to himself.
          This is a wonderful passage for us as modern believers on the cusp of yet another Holy Week.  Like the Gentiles in today’s reading, we come to church asking to see Jesus.  In the lesson he gives today, Jesus makes it plain what it is we must do if we are to see him.  The message is not easy, but it is clear.  What we must do to see Jesus is to be willing to die, in order to live.  He must be willing to give up our self-centered mode of existence, for the other-centered gospel that Jesus is preaching.  If we are to be part of Jesus’ community, if we are to see Jesus, then we must die.
          Though it was not the path that I would of chosen, I had the opportunity to die to my self-centered way of living this week.  As you know, this was Spring Break for the kids here in Warrensburg.  Like many parents I had lots of fun plans for my family.  My own parents, Tom and Patty Ruehle, were coming to town and we had big plans for a week of fun.  Haircuts, shoe shopping, movies, and butterflies were all on the roster.  Plus I had my regular work to get done like writing this sermon.  I had lot of plans that centered around myself and what I wanted to do.
          And then the kids got sick, really sick.  No haircut, no shoes, no work.  We were fighting fevers, forcing fluids, and spending time in the ER.  In order to live, and in order for my children to live, I needed to die.  I needed to throw away everything that I had planned on, everything I wanted to do, and invest all I had in keeping my kids going. 
Admittedly this is a lot easier to do for our kids than it is to do for our faith.  But this is what Jesus asks of us.  This is the lesson that Jesus teaches.  We must be willing to give up and throw away our plans for our lives, our desires for our families, our goals for our budgets, and live a life of faith instead.  And we need to do it here, in the church community, if we really want to see Jesus.
The only place that we can see Jesus is in community, because the only place that we can see Jesus is in each other.  We cannot see Jesus in ourselves, and if we want to be part of the community we must be willing to die.  Unlike the grain of wheat, we have a choice.  We can choose to remain alone, a single grain of wheat.  Or we can give up what we are, we can die and be buried, and in doing so we can grow to produce fruit and we become a part of the community.  The seed that does not die remains stagnant and alone.  By contrast, the seed that is willing to die; grows, multiples, and becomes part of the field, the community of faith.
          Jesus declares that when he is lifted up from the earth he will draw all people to himself.  As I mentioned last week, the idea of being lifted up has two connotations in John’s gospel.  Jesus will be physically lifted up on the cross in his death, and he will also be exalted in that moment, spiritually lifted up as the Son of God.  In his moment of suffering, Jesus will draw all people to himself.  To see Jesus is to look upon him in his moment of suffering, and to join him in his willingness to lose his life for the sake of the gospel.
          Jesus declares that his hour has come, the hour when he must commit to this ultimate path of self-denial and I would argue that as followers of Jesus, this hour comes for all of us as well.  We must ask ourselves if we really want to see Jesus, or if we only want to see a God of our own making, a God who serves our own self interest.
          If we really want to see Jesus, if we really want to be his followers, than that will dictate how we approach our daily lives.  When we are interacting with others, are we looking to serve our own needs?  Or are we willing to give up our own needs to serve others?  Do we do what we do, to get something or to give something?  Do we come to church, the community of seeds, and the field of faith to get something for ourselves or to serve each other?  I would argue that we cannot be the church if we come here for selfish interests.  We can only be the church if we come here to serve each other, as well as those outside of these doors.  That is the only way we will ever see Jesus.
          This message of dying to self was counter cultural in Jesus’ time and continues to shock us today.  So much of our world demands that we put ourselves in the center of things.  I need to get a better job, I need to make more money, and I need a new car.  I can’t fly coach to Malawi; I need the church to buy me a 65 million dollar private jet.  Though it may make the nightly news, I don’t think anyone would argue that pastors are immune to this way of thinking.  24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year we are bombarded with a message of self.  What is in it for me?
          By contrast Jesus tells us that we must give all that up.  In loving ourselves, we destroy ourselves.  In replacing love for self with a love for others, we gain our lives, we grow.  And not only that, we are able to finally see Jesus.  It is the ultimate Lenten message.  We must die in order to live.  If we want to see Jesus, we must look at him lifted upon the cross, and we must allow our own self interested way of life to join him in death there.
           And so today as the arrival of Holy Week draws ever near, we must ask ourselves just why we are here today.  Are we here to get something for ourselves?  Or are we here to see Jesus?  If we are here to see Jesus than they only way we will ever do it is to die.  To die to our desires, die to our wants, die even to our needs, as we replace a cold heart of self interest with a living heart of generosity and service.  May God be with us as we continue this Lenten journey.  May God be with us as we are drawn with the crowds to see Jesus, in his true nature, broken and bloodied on a cross of love.  Amen.

Monday, March 16, 2015

The Poison and the Cure


March 15th, 2015                 “The Poison and the Cure”                 Rev. Heather Jepsen
Numbers 21:4-9 and John 3:14-21
          “Why’d it have to be snakes?” Indiana Jones famously asks in the movie Raiders of the Lost Ark.  As a modern day hero, Indiana Jones the fearless adventuring archeologist is well known to be able to boldly face any challenge including landing his vintage plane on a golf course.  The only thing that ever gives him pause is snakes.  I am certain that Indiana is not alone in his fear of those slithering serpents.  Many more people are killed by bee stings each year than by snake bites, but in general people seem to be much more afraid of snakes than of bees.
          Now although most of us have an internalized fear of snakes, we know that not all snakes are bad.  Some scary looking snakes are harmless to us, while some friendly looking ones possess the most poisonous of bites.  Snakes have played a mythical role in the lives of people since the dawn of time, representing both the good and the bad.  The Egyptian Pharaoh would often wear a head dress depicting the Cobra which was there to protect him by spitting venom into the eyes of his enemies.  The Sumerian God of Healing walked around with two snakes intertwined on his staff.  Even now the American Medical Association has adopted this two snake symbol as their own, the snake representing both threat and salve in the experience of healing.  Of course, anyone who has had much experience with doctors and surgeons knows that they are certainly not afraid to hurt you in order to make you better.
          Of course, snakes play a central role in our strange Old Testament reading for this morning.  Today we find the Israelites out in the desert complaining again.  The people have been wandering in the desert for years and once again they have grown tired and cranky.  They are on the way to the Promised Land, but a person can only take so much wandering in the desert before they get a bit irritated.  Strong winds, sand in your eyes, and being constantly on the move are certainly no way to live.  The people begin to grumble about the lack of food and they remember fondly their days of slavery in Egypt where they at least got some meat once in a while.  Sure God has been sending manna from heaven, but who likes to eat the exact same thing every day over and over?  The people grumble against Moses’ leadership and they grumble against God.  
          Apparently, God has heard enough grumbling for one day and he sends a swarm of serpents to bite the people.  This story reminds me of a parent telling a child to stop crying before they give them something to really cry about.  To punish the people for their sins of grumbling, God sends venomous serpents among the people and many are bitten and die. 
          Well, it doesn’t take long for the people to repent, coming to Moses and asking him to plead with God on their behalf to take the serpents away.  And usually, this is what would happen.  In the past when the Israelites have complained about hunger, God sent manna; and when they complained about thirst, God provided water from the rock.  Logic would tell them that God would remove the snakes from their midst, but here God is less lenient.  Instead, God tells Moses to fashion a serpent of bronze and place it high on a pole.  When the people look upon the serpent, although they are still bitten by the snakes, they will not die.  God has no intention of removing the snakes, and although they receive healing, the consequences of the people’s sin remain.
          In this story, the serpent becomes the sign of both death and life, both the poison and the cure.  The serpents serve to wake the people up to the folly of their complaining.  In being brought close to death they are reminded just how much they should appreciate the gift of life.  Especially under these circumstances when God and Moses are doing all that they can to ferry these troublesome people into the Promised Land.  The experience of the snakes worked to save the people from their grumbling and self-centeredness.  In looking upon the snake lifted high on the pole, the people are healed of their wounds, and reminded of the cost of their sin.  And in the act of looking upon the snake, the people are forced to forget their grumbling and reaffirm their trust in God.
          In our reading from the gospel of John, Jesus compares himself to this bronze snake lifted high on a pole.  Jesus teaches that like the snake was lifted up in the wilderness, so he will be lifted up.  In the gospel of John, this notion of being lifted up has two dimensions.  Literally, Jesus will be lifted up by being raised into the sky upon the cross.  But symbolically, Jesus will also be lifted up by being exalted or raised up in power.  For the writer of the gospel of John, Jesus’ moment of exaltation begins at his moment of crucifixion.
          To look upon Jesus on the cross, is to look upon the snake in the wilderness for in both cases we must look upon our affliction in order to be healed of that same affliction.  The Israelites needed to look upon the fear and poison of the snake in order to be freed from it.  Similarly we must look upon the reality of death, in order to be freed from death into eternal life.  Jesus teaches that this is the love of God; to give to the awful, unrepentant and hostile world the greatest gift of all, God’s Son.  To those who believe, the gift of eternal life is given. 
But just what is it that we must believe?  Not simply that Jesus suffered and died, for that happens to thousands of people every day.  No, I think that what we must believe is that Jesus was the Son of God, sent into the world to be with us.  The lessons that Jesus taught, the actions that he took, and the way that he led his life, inevitably lead to his death.  To face the reality of God on a cross, a God who dies, a God who can be killed, is the heart of our faith and it is what makes our faith unique.  That is what we must believe.
          Many religions use symbols meant to embody our fondest human dreams; a crescent moon, a lotus flower, a star, and other emblems of striving and aspiration.  By contrast our faith uses a symbol of death, for we must look upon the affliction in order to be healed of the affliction.  Much as the symbol of the serpent reminded the people of God’s care while they were being bitten, the symbol of the cross serves to remind us of the death of God’s own Son which gives us hope while we live in the midst of death. 
          Jesus teaches that the promise that we are given, and the choice that we have to make, are about eternal life and condemnation.  We must remember that these things do not exist for us simply after we die; rather eternal life and condemnation are things that exist for us in the here and now.  The promise of eternal life is about the quality and character of the life that we live in the present.  If we look upon the cross, and believe in the self-giving love that we see there, we are freed from the power of death in our life right now.  We are given the gift of hope while we continue to live in a world of suffering.
          During the season of Lent, we are called to remember our own sinfulness before God.  Which one of us hasn’t grumbled about our lot in life?  I am certain we have it much better than the Israelites, but I for one admit that that hasn’t stopped me from the occasional grumbling.  In our modern world, it is all too easy to neglect the blessings that God has given us, as our culture presses us to continually ask for more.  As we spend time during our Lenten journey looking upon the cross, we are reminded of the terrible consequences of our sin.  Like the sting of the serpent’s bite, our sin has lasting consequences in our lives.  God may provide a path for our salvation, but that does not take away the suffering that our sin brings into the world.
          The symbol of the snake and the symbol of the cross are both symbols of the good and bad together, symbols of the poison and the cure in one.  As the gospel of John compares Jesus to the snake, we are reminded that Jesus came into the world not as what we would expect.  Jesus was the greatest gift from God, given in love, and yet he was often crafty like a good snake; opening his mouth to speak words that can cut us like a sword, words that are venomous and prophetic.  It was Jesus’ threatening teachings that led to his death, and it is his teachings which threaten our comfortable way of life today, as he calls us to die to our old way of living and to rise again with him.
          One of the wonderful things about our faith, is our belief that God reaches out to us in new life before we are even able to understand and follow the path of self-denial and suffering which Jesus lays out before us.  This morning we are going to celebrate a baptism.  Like the poison and the cure, the waters of baptism represent the waters of chaos as well as the waters of new life.  In baptism we believe that we die and then we are raised again.  We are buried with Christ, dying to our old ways of living; and then we are raised anew with Christ, ready to celebrate new life and forgiveness in our world. 
Baby Aiden is too young to understand and make these promises, but we believe that God is able to reach out and offer that new life to Aiden before he is even able to ask.  God longs for us to be part of this journey of new life and growth, part of the death and resurrection of Jesus, and so we celebrate these moments in the baptism of infants as well is an our own continual turning back to our God in repentance and faith.  For all of us today this is an opportunity to remember our own baptisms, and the new life that God has offered to each of us. 
Like a poison and a cure, the message that Jesus brings often hurts us so that we can be healed.  As believers, we are called to risk this suffering.  We are called to look upon the cross and to face the reality of our sinful nature.   We are called to look upon Jesus at his moment of death, in order that we might be saved.  As the snake was the symbol of poison and cure, the cross serves to remind us of the reality of death in our world as well as the path to eternal life.  As we continue our Lenten journey, may we look upon the cross of Christ with humbleness and awe, for we must honestly face our sin before we can receive the gift of salvation.  Let us praise God for reaching out to us in faith, and for our continual opportunities to reach back to God in repentance.  Amen. 

              

              

              

Monday, March 9, 2015

Challenge and Change


March 8th, 2015        “Challenge and Change”        Rev. Heather Jepsen
John 2:13-22
          For the next several weeks we will take a break from Mark and look at the gospel of John.  Unlike the synoptic gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke; the gospel of John does not get its own year in the lectionary.  Rather it shows up at random times throughout the lectionary readings of the other three gospel years.  And so for the next few weeks of Lent, we will leave Mark in the distance and jump forward in time to the gospel of John.
          Mark and John provide an interesting contrast.  Mark was the first gospel written and presents what I like to think of as a very human portrayal of Jesus.  Mark was probably written about 30-40 years after Jesus died.  John was written about 20-30 years after Mark and so we are looking at a document that is a generation after Jesus.  You will notice in today’s reading, and in the other things we look at, that the Jesus that John presents is very different than the Jesus that Mark presents.  By now the church has established some beliefs about who Jesus was and his relationship with God.  The Jesus of John’s writing possesses many more divine attributes then the Jesus of the synoptic gospels.
          Because John is written later, and probably written in isolation, he does things his own way.  Today’s story, of the cleansing of the temple happens at the end of the other gospels.  In the Synoptics, Jesus is in his final days in Jerusalem, the Passover during which he will die, when he goes through this ritual act.  By contrast, John places the act at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry.  Prior to this story, Jesus has changed the water into wine, a private act which signifies his divine status and attributes.  Now, for his first public act of ministry, Jesus heads to the temple to stir up trouble.
          John always requires some explanation and this temple scene is no exception.  As modern readers we need to be reminded of the policies and procedures of the temple cult, as both the sellers of animals and the money changers were in the temple area for good reason.  Folks would be traveling from all the surrounding regions to offer a sacrifice in Jerusalem during the Passover ceremony.  People would need animals that were without blemish, which would be hard to transport in a perfect condition across great distances.  So, animals that were acceptable for offering were available for purchase on the temple grounds.  The same goes for the money changers as you could not use Roman money for the temple offering, you needed to change your money for special temple coins. 
What was going on were basic services that were helps to pilgrims coming to the temple to worship, there is nothing inherently wrong with either of these practices.  And yet here comes Jesus into the temple and making a scene.  He is yelling, he is turning over the tables and sending the money flying.  He is whipping people and animals with a cord he made and creating a general scene of chaos.  And as we can see from his actions, he is frustrated and angry.  Rather than simple Jesus meek and mild, this is someone you don’t want your children around, let alone sitting on his lap.  Angry righteous Jesus is not the subject of many stained glass windows!
So what is he doing?  I am not sure I have the correct answer to that question, but it appears to me that this Jesus in the gospel of John is challenging the religious system.  The church had gotten too comfortable with the world and they were content to let little worldly conveniences intrude upon the way things were done.  The religious institution had lost its focus, and the area that was for Gentile prayer and worship had become nothing more than a market.  It was probably with the best intentions that all that got set up in the first place.  People want to be hospitable to those coming in from out of town, we want to make worship as welcoming to everyone as we can, and so these little systems of exchange were set up to make things easier for everyone.  I don’t think anyone intended to do anything wrong, but before long all the little helps became more of a hindrance.
Jesus makes it clear in his statements that changing the marketplace system within the temple gates is not the only dramatic thing he is going to do.  Jesus suggests that if the temple is destroyed, then in three days he will raise it up again.  The writer of the gospel of John makes it clear that the temple Jesus is talking about isn’t the brick and mortar building; rather it is his very own body.  Here is where we find one of those big divine statements from Jesus in John’s gospel.  Through the language Jesus uses and his own writing, the author of John makes it clear that the whole temple cult of worship is being destroyed and a new religion will be founded upon the temple of Jesus’ body.  It’s complex theological language, but John is clearly marking a change in the religious culture of his time.  Making this Jesus’ first public act just adds to the significance of this shift.
So, we have a twofold message in today’s reading.  We have both Jesus challenging the comforts of the religious institution, as well as the writer of the gospel of John creating an even bigger challenge, the birth of a new faith.  Both of these points imply a change to the system, an overhaul in what we might believe and take for granted.  This passage is all about challenge and change.
As modern readers of the text, I believe we are called to examine our own lives and faith and to ask where Jesus and the writer of the gospel of John might be challenging us today.  Angry, righteous Jesus comes into the mix to remind us that maybe we have gotten too comfortable with the ways of the world, maybe we need to increase the volume of our prophetic voice and challenge the things the church takes for granted. 
There was a great example of that this week which happened at the Mid-America Nazarene Campus in Olathe.  Like me, you may have read this story in the paper or seen it online.  The chaplain of the campus, who also served as the second vice president for community formation, dared to preach a sermon calling for peace.  Like Jesus coming in to turn over the tables, he questioned our country’s penchant for war and pointed out that the scriptures call us to pursue peace instead.  That makes sense to me, but in a more conservative religious community them’s fightin’ words.  After the sermon the chaplain lost his higher ranking vice president job.  No one likes a rabble rouser.
While I don’t think a sermon on peace would cause much conflict in this church, I wonder what would.  What are the things in our own community that we take for granted?  What topics are taboo for discussion and criticism?  If Jesus were to march in here today, what tables would he overturn?
I want to spend a few minutes today talking about that second point as well.  The writer of the gospel of John is implying a change in the culture of religion.  The move from the temple cult to the worship of Jesus Christ as the Son of God was obviously a major shift, and one of which we are all a part.  While that was shocking and offensive to many at the time, I would venture to say that is the way the church always is.  Rather than being something that is permanent or fixed, it appears to me that the church and faith are things that are in flux or evolution.  The Jewish community became the Christian community and over the years that change continued.  There was the Catholic Church, and then the Reformation from which our own denomination comes.  Then there was a new wave of belief, with the rise of Baptists and non-denominational churches.  And the evolution continued as post-Christian faiths developed including the Seventh day Adventists and the Mormons.  Faith is always growing and evolving.  Rather than complaining about this trend, I rejoice, as there are so many options for folks to find a place where they belong.
Today we gather at the communion table and I believe this represents one of the great changes in the churches history.  What once was just for the priest to eat, became something for the community.  What once was just for church members, became something that everyone could share in.  What once was something about rules and restrictions, became something open and free for all to share in.  While Jesus still may come and overturn even this table, I am thankful that it has evolved into a place that welcomes all.
Today, as we shift from Mark to John, we are reminded of the history and theology of the church.  Even in the first decades after his death, the ideas and stories about Jesus began to change.  What remained was Jesus’ role as the one who challenges us to think and reconsider all that we hold dear.  It is good to be reminded that Jesus was offensive to many people and perhaps should be offensive to us still today.  What areas of our lives does his angry righteous judgment threaten?  What patterns of our church does Jesus threaten to overturn?  This Lenten season it is good for us to be reminded that it is all not blue skies and sweet flowers.  The person of Jesus is the one who brings dangerous challenge and change.  Amen.

 

Monday, March 2, 2015

Real Temptation


March 1st, 2015                           “Real Temptation”                   Rev. Heather Jepsen

Mark 8:31-38

          The season of Lent is a time of reflection about the choices that we make in our lives.  Will we follow God and consent to go where God leads us?  Or will we simply be content to follow the pathways of human desires?  In our gospel reading for this morning Jesus is faced with a similar choice. 

          Right before our reading in Mark, is the highlight, the highpoint of Mark’s gospel.  Peter has just declared that Jesus is the Messiah, but then the disciples are ordered to keep this quiet.  This is a moment of triumph, a moment of truth, the Messiah truly has come and he is Jesus.  Now is the time for him to intervene and change the world.  The disciples would have really been on a high, but they are about to hit rock bottom.

          Verse 31 opens with the phrase, “then he began to teach them”.  Although this may seem like filler, it is very significant to Mark.  This phrase signals a new teaching, something has shifted, and now Jesus is going to tell his disciples what his plan really is.  Jesus tells them that he is going to suffer, that he is going to be rejected by the religious institution, that he is going to be killed, and that after three days he will rise from the dead.  Unlike the secret word that he is the Messiah, Jesus speaks of these things openly.  It’s like he said to the disciples, “don’t tell anybody that I’m the Messiah, but go ahead and spread the word around that I am going to get killed.”

          Now it’s not hard to imagine that the disciples might have a problem with this teaching.  “What are you talking about?” they would ask.  The Messiah was the one who was to come and change their world.  At this time the Jews are living under Roman occupation.  They are not a free people, but are captives in their own homeland.  The Messiah was supposed to come and take back the throne of David.  The Messiah was supposed to overthrow the government and bring in a new age when the Jews would possess their own land again.  This was a political battle, this was what was promised, this was why Jesus had so many followers.  The Messiah was supposed to change the world.  The Messiah can’t die now, that doesn’t make any sense.

          Mark doesn’t tell us what exactly Peter said in his rebuke but I imagine he takes Jesus aside and begins to explain all this to him.  How this dying thing is not part of the plan and how if Jesus wants to keep this revolution moving forward he better be quiet about that stuff.  While it may seem shocking to us that Peter rebukes Jesus it actually makes good sense.  Peter is the one that has declared Jesus to be the Messiah and suddenly Jesus isn’t being the Messiah that Peter envisioned.  Of course he would take him aside and set him straight.  Peter speaks for all the disciples and for all of Jesus’ followers.  Just what was this movement about if it’s going to end in this way?

          You know well Jesus’ response to Peter’s rebuke, “Get behind me, Satan!”  Whoa.  Not a moment after Peter proclaims Jesus as the Messiah, Jesus calls Peter Satan.  I think all of us cringe at those words, but Jesus is so harsh because he is so serious, this matter is very serious.  For the choice that Jesus has to make is crucial to his mission and ministry.  Jesus could very easily become the Messiah the people wanted and expected, the political Messiah who would restore Jewish leadership to the land.  That of course, would be the easiest path to take, rather than the path of suffering and death.  In fact, who wouldn’t be tempted to take the path of power and prestige; that is what true success looks like.

          Jesus calls Peter Satan because the temptation Peter presents is so very real.  Last week we read about Jesus temptation in the wilderness, and in Mark’s telling of the story we have no details as to what exactly tempted Jesus there.  But here in Mark’s gospel we find a very real temptation.  Jesus is at a fork in the road, the path of suffering and death or the path of power and success.  Jesus must choose and I believe the temptation is real. 

          We see this in Jesus’ second look back at the disciples in verse 33.  He looks back at them a second time, he thinks about it, he is genuinely tempted.  Just like when we take that second look at the dessert tray or that hot girl, Jesus takes a second look at that path of power the disciples so want him to go on.  Make no mistake about it, Jesus is tempted.  In fact this won’t be the last time Jesus considers the other way.  We all remember his words in the garden of Gethsemane, “Abba, Father, remove this cup from me.”  Jesus doesn’t want suffering and death any more than you or I would.  The temptation Peter offers him is so very real, so his rebuke is equally very real, “Get behind me, Satan!”

          Jesus then goes on to open this teaching not only to the disciples but to the crowds that are gathered, and Mark implies to the reader.  If you want to be a follower of Jesus, you must undergo this temptation as well.  And you must choose the way of suffering and death.  As we read here, anytime you see the word “life”, substitute “soul” because that is what the Greek word as Mark uses it really means.  Those who want to save their soul must loose it for the sake of the gospel.  For what profit is it to gain the whole world and lose your soul?  Jesus is talking about the core of who we are, the essence of our being at creation.  If we want to save our souls, then we must follow him on the path of suffering and death.  We must follow him on the path of self-denial.  We must choose his ways, the ways of divine things, over human ways of power and success.

          This Lenten season is a time to consider how we have been tempted by this choice in our life.  In many ways we are tempted by the voices of this world that want us to follow the path of power and privilege.  It is certainly the easier path to take, and it is the most gratifying up front.  This is the easy path that strokes our egos and rewards us for our selfishness.  In our nation’s political culture we see this path everywhere everyday.  So much of our modern political rhetoric is nothing but lies that candidates tell in the search for votes.  They are so far from the path of Christ, the path of self-denial and suffering; that it makes me cringe every time I hear them refer to their faith.  I find it hard to believe that there is a true follower of Christ among them.

          Jesus teaches that if we are to be his true disciples, we must choose a different way, the other path, the path of self-denial.  We must choose the path of giving things up for the sake of the gospel.  We must choose the path of loosing the life that we want to live in order to save our own soul.  To deny oneself is to remove oneself from the center of one’s concerns.  To follow the path of Christ is to have greater concern for the needs of your neighbor then for your own needs.  So contrary to our “It’s all about me” American culture, the mantra of the Christian should be “It’s not about me.”

          The truth is that this doesn’t happen in one fell swoop of giving our lives to Christ, but in little ways throughout the whole of our life.  This is a choice we must make over and over.  The great preacher Fred Craddock illustrates this well when he writes, “We think giving our all to the Lord is like taking a $1,000 bill and laying it on the table – “Here’s my life, Lord, I’m giving it all.”  But the reality for most of us is that he sends us to the bank and has us cash in the $1,000 for quarters.  We go through life putting out 25¢ here and 50¢ there . . . Usually giving our life to Christ isn’t glorious.  It’s done in all those little acts of love, 25¢ at a time.”

          The choice to follow Jesus is made daily for each of us.  It is a choice we face all the time.  The path of power and success leads us to cut corners on our taxes, drive aggressively, eat a little more than we need, and lust after others in our hearts.  The path of self-denial leads to cutting out excess in our lives, letting others go first, sharing what we have, and being faithful in our hearts.  Giving our lives to the Lord happens in the little every day decisions we face.  We will face this same fork in the road, the same temptation Jesus faced, over and over and over again in our lives.

          Jesus teaches the disciples and the crowds openly that the way to self-fulfillment is the way of self-denial.  Jesus faced the temptation to take the path of power and success over the path of suffering and self-denial.  If we are to be his true followers, we must face this test as well, and we must choose the path of suffering and sacrifice.  In the final verse of this passage, Jesus warns that the choice we make will have cosmic consequences, for this is the choice of saving our souls.  This morning I want to remind you that life is all about choices, and sooner or later our lives will reveal the sum of our choices.  It is upon this which we will be judged.  Amen.