The last 24 hours of Jesus life begins with the Last Supper and while Jesus knew this would be his last meal on earth, for the disciples it was just going to be another Passover or Seder meal. The Seder meal was then, as it is today, a meal rich in history and symbolism and it celebrates God saving his people by leading them out of Egypt and establishing them as a nation in the Promised Land. The people of Israel had been slaves in Egypt for 400 years when God called Moses to deliver them out of slavery and lead them into the land God promised to give them. So Moses went to Pharaoh and demanded that he let God’s people go, but Pharaoh said no. God then brought a series of plagues on the land and the people of Egypt to encourage Pharaoh to set God’s people free. After each plague, Moses would return to Pharaoh and ask him to let God’s people go, and each time Pharaoh refused. Pharaoh’s heart became harder and harder after each plague until finally God said he was going to send one final plague. If Pharaoh did not let God’s people go, the first born in all of Egypt, including all livestock, would be killed. Pharaoh still refused so God told his own people to sacrifice a lamb and place the blood of the lamb on the doorposts of the house so that when the angel of death travelled throughout Egypt killing the first born, it would not strike down anyone belonging to God.
What we often forget is that while the blood of the lamb was placed on the doorposts of the house, the meat of the lamb was to be eaten inside those homes by the families. If you think about it, this was one final meal before the people would leave Egypt, a sort of last supper before God would deliver them. The people of Israel did just as God told them. They chose their spotless lambs and then four days later they sacrificed those lambs, placed the blood on the door posts of their homes and ate the meat for dinner. Later that night the first born in all of Egypt were killed and it was after this plague that Pharaoh finally let God’s people go.
When Pharaoh agreed to free God’s people, they had to leave quickly. In fact, they left so fast that they took with them the bread which had not yet had the yeast added. This Exodus became the foundation of Jewish faith and over and over again God brought His people back to this event to remind them that He would rescue them, redeem them and always care for them.
From that very first night when the people ate the lamb and the angel of death passed over, the people of Israel were called to remember this event and God’s deliverance in a meal that was to be celebrated each year and this meal became known as the Passover or Seder meal. Each year families would come together and in the course of a large festive dinner certain foods would be eaten as a reminder of God’s saving power. Not only would there be a leg bone from a lamb to remind the people that it was the blood of the lamb that had rescued them, but there would also be unleavened bread to remind them that they had to flee Egypt quickly. There would be a special dish called charoset, a kind of chunky applesauce that reminded the people of the mortar they had to use when they laid bricks as slaves. There were also bitter herbs, both maror which was either horseradish or romaine lettuce and karpas, which was usually parsley, and these reminded the people how bitter and hard life had been as slaves. They would also dip the Karpas, or parsley, in salt water to remind them of the many tears they had shed while they lived as slaves. There was also a roasted egg which was a symbol of new life and four glasses of wine which symbolized the covenant that God made with his people. Each cup was to represent one affirmation of God’s promise as it is recorded in Exodus 6:6-7. So in this meal everyone could see the journey from slavery (bitter herbs and choraset) to deliverance (lamb and bread) to new life (egg) and be reminded of God’s covenant and promise with his people (wine).
Each year, families would sit down and not only share together in these foods, but they would tell the story of how God had delivered them, a story contained in a book known as the Haggadah, and they would hear once again how it was the blood of the lamb and the power of God that delivered them and gave them life. The Passover meal became the most important time of worship and celebration for God’s people and today it still defines the people of Israel.
In Jesus day, as the time of the Passover would approach, people would come to Jerusalem to have their lambs sacrificed in the Temple, and many would stay in the city to celebrate the Passover meal with extended family and it was at this time that Jesus came to Jerusalem looking forward to sharing this meal with his disciples. While the meal was to be a time of real celebration and joy, the mood was very different in the upper room when Jesus and his disciples sat down to eat.
If you remember from last week, Jesus arrived in Jerusalem 4 days before the Passover, which, by the way, was lamb selection day. At the very first Passover when the people of Israel were still slaves in Egypt, God told his people to choose a lamb 4 days before they killed them and so four days before the Passover became known as lamb selection day and it was the day people would bring their lambs into Jerusalem. So Jesus entered into Jerusalem on lamb selection day. This was not a coincidence; Jesus was making the statement that he was coming to be the Lamb of God whose blood would take away the sin of the world.
So Jesus and his disciples arrived 4 days before the Passover and during those 4 days he spent his time teaching and preaching in the Temple and the tone of his message was harsh. Jesus was critical of the religious leaders and so they began to look for ways to silence him, even kill him. There was a lot of tension between Jesus and the religious establishment and so the tone of the Passover meal was somewhat subdued and then things got worse when during the meal Jesus said to his disciples, one of you is going to betray me. During the next 24 hours of Jesus’ life what we will see is that this theme of betrayal plays out again and again. While it was Judas who betrayed Jesus, Peter denied that he was his follower and that he even knew him, and eventually all of the disciples deserted Jesus, so in essence they all betrayed him and yet, these were the people Jesus wanted at the table with him for his last supper.
For me, this is one of the most profound things about the Last Supper. Here it is, less than 24 hours before his death and Jesus sits down to what he knows will be his last meal on earth and he could have chosen anyone to share this meal with, but chose these 12 men who were his closest friends and people whom he deeply loved. Jesus had spent three years pouring his life into these men and he loved them, but he also knew that they would fail him in just a few hours, but their failure didn’t keep Jesus from loving them. In fact, the love of Jesus was so strong that he forgave their weakness and failure ahead of time and shared the meal with them.
Now the reason this is so profound for me is because it reminds me that God wants me at his table and in his presence every time we share in communion. Like all of the disciples, God knows we are not perfect and God knows we will all fail, miserably fail, at times, but that doesn’t keep God from loving us. The truth is that there is nothing that can keep God from loving us. Romans 8:38-39. The failure of the disciples didn’t keep Jesus from loving them deeply and giving himself completely for them and our failure and sin does not keep God from loving us and we need to remember this every time we share in communion.
I have met many people who really don’t like taking communion because they don’t feel worthy enough to receive it. I always try to remind them, and myself, that none of the disciples were worthy either. Think about it – in just a few hours they were all going to turn away from Jesus. We will never be worthy of God’s love, but that’s the whole point of grace. While we aren’t worthy and we are sinners – God still loves us and God wants us at His table, not just the communion table, but that table in heaven where God’s children feast forever.
So Jesus wanted to share this meal with the disciples because he loved them, but then Jesus did something at the Seder that I’m sure confused them. In every Seder there were certain traditions that were followed and words that were said, but during this meal, Jesus changed things up. When Jesus took the bread, after he blessed it and broke it he gave it to his disciples saying take, this is my body. The disciples had no idea what Jesus was talking about here. They didn’t know his death was coming in just a few hours and so I can almost imagine the strange looks they must have given each other as they passed the bread from one to the other. I can almost hear them whispering among themselves, what is he talking about? While Jesus had talked about being the bread of life, none of the disciples understand that he was going to offer his body for them, and for the world, as a sacrifice upon the cross.
While they are still trying to make sense of that, Jesus took one of the four cups, the third cup, and said, this is my blood of the covenant which is poured out for many. What is really interesting here is that if we go back to Exodus and look at the four lines of promise that God makes that are symbolized in the 4 cups, the third line which is what the third cup represents says I will redeem you with an outstretched arm. So after Jesus says, I will redeem you with an outstretched arm he says this is my blood of the covenant.
While we know it was the outstretched arm of Jesus on the cross that shed blood for us, there was no way the disciples could have understood what Jesus was talking about here. For them the cups reminded them of God delivering his people from slavery and the only blood they talked about was the blood of the lamb, but now Jesus was redefining the meal and saying that it would be his blood, his death, that would establish a new covenant with God and it would be his outstretched arm tied and nailed to the cross that would deliver people from slavery and death to freedom and life. What Jesus is saying in this meal is that it is his death and resurrection that sets us from free sin and death. This is the new covenant that is established with God through the blood of Christ so that we can be in a relationship with God and this is the gift we celebrate every time we gather at the table for communion.
Gathered at the table that night, the disciples had no way of knowing what Jesus was talking about, this was all a mystery to them, but they shared in the meal anyway. I find comfort in this because there are times when I come to the communion table and it is all a mystery to me. I struggle to understand how it is that Jesus’ death and resurrection brings me forgiveness and sets me into a new relationship with God. Just like the disciples, there are times when I don’t get it all, but just like the disciples I share in the meal anyway with the hope and desire of learning more because it is by taking part in the meal that we learn what it is all about. We believe that communion is a means of grace, in other words, we believe that God gives us his grace to experience and understand him a little bit more every time we share in communion together. So it is important for us to share in communion because every time we do we learn more and experience more of God.
During my last year of college I remember being in a worship service at University Reformed Church in East Lansing, MI, and it was a communion Sunday. As we shared in communion that day I was overwhelmed with the reality of my own sin, God’s love for me, and how this gift of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection really did open the door to a new relationship with God. As I shared in communion that day I was overwhelmed by the power and love of God and I began to realize that God really did want me at His table. Even though I felt completely unworthy, and still do, I began to understand and experience that God really did want me at his table and in his kingdom and as his child and that he was willing to give his own body and blood to make it happen. I’m not sure how all it all works, it is a holy mystery, but I know it does.
When I realized that this first Sunday of Lent when we were going to be looking at the Last Supper was not a Sunday we normally celebrate communion I thought about changing our schedule and serving communion today, but then I thought that maybe there is value in allowing us take this week to think about what communion is all about and what it means to us. If you are part of a small group that will meet this week, I want to encourage you to share your thoughts and questions about communion. I also want to encourage all of us to take time to reflect on what Communion really means. Take some time this week to work through the next steps so that next Sunday as we gather at the communion table, we will not only understand how God delivers us from sin and death through the blood of Jesus, but that we will come to understand and accept that God wants us at this table and that God wants us in his kingdom and that God wants us as his children and that God loves us so much that he is willing to give his own body and blood to make it happen.
It’s humbling to think that the final 24 hours of Jesus life begins with a meal which Jesus redefines to proclaim that deliverance from sin and death and the gift of eternal life is ours through His body and blood. And it’s humbling to think that Jesus gave his body and blood to deliver us because, sinners though we are, he loves us. May this love of Jesus not only deliver us today but may it change us and change our world.
Next Steps:
Prepare yourself to share in Holy Communion next Sunday by:
1. Reading the story of the Last Supper in each of the four gospels:
• Matthew 26:17-30
• Mark 14:12-26
• Luke 22:7-38
• John 13:1-30
What similarities and differences do you see in each of these accounts? What new insights into Jesus’ celebration of his Last Supper and our remembrance of this meal in Holy Communion do you see?
2. Reflect on a service of Holy Communion that was particularly meaning for you. Who was gathered at the table with you? What made it so special? What was God saying to you? How did you experience God’s deliverance, forgiveness and new life?
3. The whole purpose of the Passover meal was to proclaim what God had done to deliver his people, if you had to tell someone what Holy Communion is all about and why it is important for you, what would you say? Write it out and offer it as a prayer of thanksgiving to God.
4. Read 1 Corinthians 11:23-32, take time to “examine yourself” in preparation for Holy Communion. In prayer, confess your sin to God and then seek and take hold of God’s forgiveness and grace. Listen for God’s invitation to not only join Him at the table but to join Him in worship, ministry and life.
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Costly Worship of Jesus
This story of Jesus being anointed appears in all four gospels and in three of the four it is the event that comes immediately before the Last Supper and because Jesus alone knew that his death was coming in just a 24 or 48 hours, and he alone knew that they would not have time to anoint his body properly before placing it in the tomb, he says that what this woman has done will be remembered forever because she has prepared his body beforehand for burial. Jesus knew what was coming, so the act of this woman had special and profound meaning for him.
It’s interesting that while he says that this woman’s actions will be remembered for all time, Mark doesn’t include her name, and when we look at the other gospels we aren’t completely sure who she is. In John it says that this woman was Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus who all lived in Bethany, but most scholars believe she was Mary Magdalene who had not only been a prostitute but at one point in her life was possessed by seven demons. Mary Magdalene knew very well the brokenness and pain of life. She knew what it was to wrestle with sin and to feel trapped in a life that she didn’t want to be living but felt powerless to change. Being possessed by demons, she knew what it was like to battle forces and powers that were beyond her ability to overcome and I’m sure there were times in her life when she felt helpless and hopeless. Of all the people Jesus met during his ministry, maybe it was Mary who really understood that our lives are really just dust and ashes.
While we may not know the depth of Mary’s pain, I think there are parts of Mary’s life that we can all identify with. We all wrestle with a past that is filled with disappointments and sin. We have all said and done things of which we are ashamed we all wish we could just wipe the slate clean. We all wrestle with issues and circumstances in life that on our own we can’t overcome, whether those issues are emotional, physical, financial, relational or spiritual, we all at times feel trapped and powerless in situations and like Mary we end up feeling helpless or hopeless or both. There are many ways where, if we are honest with ourselves, we can identify with Mary before she encountered Jesus.
But Mary’s relationship with Jesus changed her life. The power of his forgiveness and love changed Mary completely. Jesus not only drove out the demons Mary faced, but when he forgave her sin, it set her free from her past and helped her truly embrace a new life here and now. It was the power of God in Jesus that transformed Mary, and what I love about her is that she knew exactly what God’s love and grace had done for her, While she knew she didn’t deserve God’s grace and could never repay God for his love, she accepted both completely and allowed it to change her. Mary knew exactly what God had done for her and she was grateful, grateful for the forgiveness God had given and grateful for the new life she received from Jesus. So it was gratitude that moved Mary to give herself the way she did to Jesus.
As we enter into this Lenten season what Mary teaches us is that tonight is not just a time for us to acknowledge that we are sinners and that we need to repent and turn back to God. This is also a night to understand just how powerful the touch of God’s grace and love can really be. Like Mary, we don’t deserve God’s grace and we cannot repay God for his love, but God’s love and grace are here for us to receive. Tonight while we acknowledge that we are dust and that we are sinners who need to repent and turn back to God, we are also reminded that it is our repentance that leads to God’s forgiveness. It is confessing our sin that leads to God’s grace. Ashes lead to new life – if we are willing to surrender to God and accept his love and allow his power to work with in us.
Mary shows us that God’s forgiveness and grace are real and transformative if we are willing to accept it, but Mary also shows us that we need to be truly grateful for the power of God’s love and grace. Mary showed her gratitude by literally giving all she had to Jesus. The bottle of nard Mary used to anoint Jesus was probably worth a year’s wages, so it was a valuable gift that was given directly to Jesus. It upset the disciples that this gift was given to Jesus in such an extravagant and personal way and not given to the work of Jesus and the disciples. It is interesting that it was Judas who complained the most and said that the money was wasted on Jesus and not given to the work they were doing with the poor, but Mary wasn’t giving to the work of Jesus, she was giving to Jesus and her giving came from a grateful heart. Mary gave as an act of devotion and worship because she knew that it was through Jesus that she had been forgiven and given a new life. So Mary shows us that we not only need to find ways to accept God’s love and grace but we need to find ways to worship God with the same kind of love and devotion. We need to find ways to worship and love God with all our heart and soul and mind and strength which is the first and greatest commandment.
What will it look like for us to give ourselves to God the way Mary did? What will an extravagant gift of our heart look like as we come together to worship Jesus? To be honest, I don’t know. I don’t know what it will look like for you or me, but I do know that it will have to cost us something. Mary’s gift cost her everything and I’m not just talking financially. Mary knew that her act of worship and devotion to Jesus done in such a public way would be looked down upon by those who were gathered around the table. She knew that her reputation preceded her and that people would talk about what she was doing, but she was risked rebuke and ridicule because she was so grateful. So our worship of God needs to cost us something, maybe it’s time and changing our priorities on Sunday or during the week. Maybe it’s money and giving financially the way God is calling us to give. Maybe the cost will be facing ridicule from family, friends or neighbors who think it’s silly to worship and give our lives to God. So many people think being a devoted follower of Jesus who sincerely tries to live like Christ in the world today is just a little crazy, so maybe the cost is to our reputation and standing as we place our faith out there for the world to see. I don’t know what the cost will be for us, I just know that real worship is costly and the season of Lent is a good time for us to count that cost.
What we are going to see in the last 24 hours of Jesus life was that his worship of God was costly. Everything Jesus did during his life and particularly during his last day was an act of love and devotion to God. Jesus didn’t just do all he did to save us, he did it to be faithful to the will of God, so his arrest, trial, beating and crucifixion were all acts of worship that cost him everything, so we see both in Jesus and in Mary that true worship is costly. What will it cost us? What will we be willing to give God during these next six weeks and how can our giving to God during the season of Lent transform our lives?
By making sure her story was told, Jesus was making sure that we take some time to reflect on the life and the worship Mary. Her life was changed because she accepted God’s grace and love. Her gratitude led her to worship God completely and while her gift to God was costly – she received a blessing of life and faith that few others in the gospel received. There is no one else Jesus said would be remembered the way he said she would be remembered. As we begin this journey of Lent tonight, we need to repent and confess that we are sinners in need of God’s grace, but we also need to accept God’s grace and allow God’s love to change us. We need cultivate grateful hearts that will not only learn how to worship God, but will learn how to count the cost and give to Jesus all that he asks for.
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Are we bearing fruit?
In so many ways, everything was going Jesus way and it looked like this might truly be the moment God would redeem his people and establish his kingdom, but in just 4 days, many in that same crowd would turn on Jesus and call for his crucifixion and the question that is always asked is how could that happen? How could crowds that cheered Jesus one day call for his death just a few days later? Part of the answer is found in what Jesus did during those 4 days. After he arrived in Jerusalem, Jesus and his disciples travelled to the Temple everyday where Jesus taught, but unlike his previous sermons which talked about the power of love and grace and forgiveness, Jesus’ teaching in the temple was filled with judgment. It was during these days that Jesus called the religious leaders hypocrites and told the people to follow what these leaders said because they taught the Law of Moses but then he said do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach.
Jesus called the religious leaders white washed tombs, which meant that while they looked good on the outside - inside they were filled with death. Because of this, the religious quickly turned on him, but Jesus harsh criticism wasn’t just reserved for the religious leaders. There were two things Jesus during these days in the Temple which shocked and stunned the people and we read about them in Mark 11:12-21.
In the days that lead up to his arrest, trial and crucifixion Jesus was staying in the village of Bethany outside of Jerusalem and everyday he and the disciples would travel into the city. The first day as they were walking into the city, it says Jesus was hungry and saw a fig tree in full bloom so he goes to the tree looking for fruit to eat. Now while it says that it was not the season for figs, that doesn’t mean there still may not have been some fruit on the tree. There could have been fruit left over from an earlier harvest, or there could have been early buds hidden among the leaves for the second harvest, but either way Jesus goes to the tree looking to find some fruit because the tree appeared to be healthy and strong, but when he gets to the tree and looks closer he finds nothing and so Jesus curses the tree. The next day when Jesus and his disciples entered the city, they pass by the same tree and the disciples are shocked to see that the tree has died. The disciples are used to seeing Jesus bring healing and life to situations, but here they see him bring judgment and death and honestly, it is unsettling. Why did Jesus curse this tree?
Let’s be clear, Jesus didn’t have a personal vendetta against the tree and he wasn’t angry that the tree didn’t provide him food. Jesus cursed the tree as a warning to God’s people. Fig trees were symbolic of God’s people. Several times in the Old Testament fig trees were used to represent the people of God and just as fig trees were to produce fruit that would sustain life, so God’s people were to live their lives in such a way that they would help bring life to the world. Individually and collectively the people of God were to be healthy and strong trees that would produce fruit so when Jesus sees a tree that looks healthy and strong on the outside but has nothing of value to offer on the inside – he curses it to make the statement that God’s people cannot look good on the outside but have no fruit or faith on the inside.
It is this same message that Jesus gives when he clears out the Temple later the same day. The Temple in Jerusalem was the very heart of worship for God’s people and it was to be a holy place where people could experience the power and presence of God. When Jesus arrives in Jerusalem, he would have seen that the Temple looked good on the outside. The Temple was a magnificent physical structure and not only was it a beautiful place, it was a busy place and all the activity there helped provide for the ritual scarifies required as part of worship. Like the fig tree, the Temple looked good on the outside, but when Jesus entered and took a closer look, things were not so good.
When Jesus entered into the Temple he would have first entered into an outer area known as the court of the gentiles. This was the only place in the Temple where non-Jews were allowed to pray, so this was the only place they could experience the presence of God, but it was this area that the merchants and money changers had set up their tables for business. People came to the Temple for 2 main reasons, to pay the Temple tax and offer sacrifices. For the Temple tax, people had to pay with a specific currency, so for the sake of convenience, money changers were allowed in the Temple to help the people make the necessary exchanges. Merchants selling pigeons and doves were also allowed to set up in this area so they could sell animals to people from out of town who needed birds for the sacrifices; again this was set up as a convenience for the people. The problem was that all of this business was set up in the court of the gentiles which was the only place non-Jews were allowed to worship and pray. So this activity, as good as it was, kept people away from God.
So while the Temple looked good on the outside it was dying on the inside. The whole point of the Temple was to be a place of worship and prayer and because of the money changers and merchants; people who were hungry for God and looking for God were being turned away empty. One of the purposes of Israel was to be a light to the nations and call people to God, both Jews and Gentiles, and yet what Jesus finds is that they are actually turning people away. So like the fig tree, while the Temple and all the activity may have looked good on the outside - they were not offering life and faith on the inside and this is what upsets Jesus to the point where in an act of uncharacteristic anger and frustration, he turns over the tables and drives out the merchants from the Temple.
So both cursing the fig tree and clearing out the Temple were bold acts of judgment on God’s people. Jesus was clear that God’s people were not being who God created them and called them to be and Jesus actions, along with his words of judgment against the religious leaders, created a climate that became toxic toward Jesus. The religious leaders and many of the people began to try and find a way, anyway, to silence Jesus. So that helps us understand how so many people could have turned against Jesus in such a short period of time, but these bold acts of Jesus also serve as a warning to us today. As God’s people, both individually and as a church, do we just look good on the outside or are we actually bearing fruit?
Are we here at Faith Church bearing fruit? Are we fulfilling the purpose of the church which is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world? Are we helping people connect to God, are we encouraging people to serve God and those in need around us and are we growing in faith and in number. I am encouraged because I believe the answer to these questions is yes. We are bearing fruit. We have more people seeking God through worship and we are offering more opportunities for people to worship like the Wednesday times of prayer and reflection that will start next week and continue through Lent. I am excited by the number of people who willing serve God in the church by giving their time to help with meals for those in need, sing in the choir and the Easter choir, and help with our children and youth and in missions. I am also excited that while many churches in our denomination are shrinking in size, we are growing. We are bearing fruit, but I think Jesus clearing of the Temple serves as a particular warning to us.
What was going on in the Temple with the money changers and merchants was taking place because things in the Temple were so busy. There were so many people coming to worship and serve in the Temple that to take care of them all they provided the service of money changers and merchants, and yet in all their busyness they forgot the most important thing of all – prayer. In seeking to serve God and the people, they had somehow forgotten God in the process. In our Men’s Bible study we are studying the book of Revelation and we just finished the letters to the churches and in the letter to the church in Ephesus Jesus commends the people for all their hard work but then he says, but you have abandoned the love you had at first. The warning for us in all of this is that when things are good and when things get busy it is easy to forget our first love which is worship and prayer and our own personal connection with God, so while we are bearing fruit as a church, we can not get so busy that we forget that the single most important thing for us as the body of Christ is to worship God and keep our hearts and minds fixed on Jesus and to provide opportunities for others to experience God’s presence through prayer.
So as a church I believe that we are bearing fruit, but what about as individuals? Are you bearing fruit? Am I bearing fruit? How can we even tell if we are bearing fruit? Well, the Bible says that the fruit we should be producing in our lives is love, joy, peace, patience kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. As you look at these words and reflect on your own words, attitudes and actions of this past week, have you been bearing fruit? Have we been patient and kind toward others? Have we been gentle with our families and self-controlled in our thoughts and habits? Have we been filled with love, joy and peace in our relationship with God and the people of God? Or have we just been putting on a good show. Are we all leaves and no fruit? Are we all activity and no prayer?
I have to say, when I think about it like this, I am not sure I have been producing as much fruit as I want to these days. At times I feel like that fig tree, looking good on the outside but not so sure if there is the fruit Jesus is looking for on the inside. If you are feeling that way as well, don’t worry because God is not here to curse us, but He is here to call us to bear fruit. Jesus curses the fig tree not because he was going to destroy God’s people but as a call to the people to deepen their faith. If we keep reading in Mark 11 we see that the cursing of the fig tree unsettles the disciples and in their anxiety Jesus says to them, have faith in God.
Two of the specific steps Jesus calls the disciples to take to deepen their faith in God have to do with prayer and forgiveness. Again, look at Mark 11:23-25. Jesus calls his disciples to pray with faith trusting not in what we can do but in what God can do. We can’t move mountains but God can, so we pray for God to do those things we can not. Prayer is so important to Jesus, it was what got him angry in the Temple and it is what he calls his disciples to if they want to deepen their faith, so we need to take prayer seriously. Can we commit ourselves to prayer every day and can we make the prayers not just about us, or our family and friend but can our prayers include times of adoration and thanksgiving as well. This Wednesday marks the beginning of the Lenten season and so it is a great time to commit ourselves to the spiritual discipline of prayer, and praying together in small groups and Sunday school classes is also great so if you are not already part of a group think about joining one.
Prayer is the key to a deeper faith, but so is forgiveness so can we also commit ourselves to living lives of forgiveness? Can we let go of the hurt that we hold on to and begin to forgive those who have hurt us? Remember that forgiveness doesn’t always mean relationships are reconciled – it simply means that we release our desire to seek revenge and allow God’s grace to work in our lives and in the lives of others. Worship on Ash Wednesday will also provide us the opportunity to confess our sin to God and seek the kind of forgiveness and grace that can deepen our faith, so again I invite you to join us this Wednesday at 7.
Bearing fruit is not an option if we are followers of Jesus, Jesus comes to us and looks for it, our world is hungry for God and so they also come to us and look for it, so our lives need to be filled with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control and if they aren’t, or if we know we need to deepen our faith then let’s take this Lenten season and do it, and let’s begin with prayer.
Next Steps: Are we bearing fruit?
• Read the sermons Jesus gave that led up to his last 24 hours:
o Matthew 21:12 – 26:16
o Mark 11:12-13:37
o Luke 19:45-22:6
• Begin the Lenten Season with prayer. Join with others on Ash Wednesday at 7:00 PM for prayers of confession and forgiveness.
• Set aside 10 minutes every day that you will commit to prayer. Include prayers of adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and supplication.
• Ask God for forgiveness and then ask God for the strength and courage to forgive others. Name those you need to forgive and include them in your prayers.
• Consider joining a small group for the Lenten Season and explore the 24 hours that changed the world and can change your world.
Thursday, February 2, 2012
5 Questions - What is your mission?
For years that is what Star Trek did on TV and in movies, they boldly went where no man had gone before and found all kinds of strange life forms.
Mission statements are important because they help keep an organization focused and all good long lasting programs have solid mission statements. The mission statement for the boy scouts is to prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the Scout Oath and Law. Today we heard that scout oath and law and we can see how the mission of the scouts is still going strong and helping young people make ethical and moral choices. The church also has a mission statement and the original mission statement comes from Jesus and it is known as the great commission (see Matthew 28)
From this statement the UMC created a mission statement, which we use as ours here at Faith Church, and that is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world and the unique way we seek to do that is to help people connect to God and one another, serve Christ in the church and in the community and grow deeper in our faith and grow the church wider through sharing our faith. Having a clear mission is important because it not only helps us stay focused on the most important things in life, it helps experience life itself. In Proverbs 29:18 it says, where there is no vision, people perish, so where there is no clear mission or purpose in life - there is no life, so having a clear mission is important for organizations, but it is also important for our personal lives. If we don’t have a clear sense of mission for our lives we can end up missing out on life itself, so it’s important to ask ourselves what is the mission of our lives? More importantly do we know God’s mission for our lives? What is the unique mission that God has given to us?
Even Jesus had to answer this question. Because Jesus was God in the flesh he was pretty good at everything, so he could have done anything in life. Jesus could have stayed at home and been the best carpenter in the world or he could have joined Peter, Andrew, James and John and been the best fisherman in the world. In fact, we get a glimpse of just how good a fisherman Jesus could have been when he tells his friends where to lower their nets into the sea to find fish and when they did what Jesus says, they instantly found them. In fact they pulled in so many fish that the boat they were in began to sink. Now think about what would have happened if Jesus did this everyday? He would have put all other fishermen out of business and been the best fisherman in the world.
Everything Jesus did he did well. Last week we heard how Jesus preached with power and authority and quickly become the best preacher in town. That his teaching and sermons have endured to this day shows us that he was the best, but he was also the best healer and exorcist. People came from the entire region with hopes of being touched by Jesus’ hand and healed. Jesus could literally have done anything he wanted in life so the question Jesus had to answer was what was his mission? Was he going to teach and preach and call disciples to follow him? Was he going to cast out demons and evil spirits? Was he going to heal people physically? What was his mission? Jesus needed to define his mission in order to be effective and in order to be doing the will of God. The same is true for us.
We need to define our life’s mission if we are going to be effective in life and if we are going to be in center of God’s will, but defining our life’s mission is not easy because there are many voices around us. Our family, friends and the world around us all try to define our life’s mission and it is not easy to make sense of it all. I met a lot of students at Bucknell whose families wanted them to enter into the world of business, finance or science and put their Bucknell degree to good use, which meant making a lot of money, and for many students that voice was strong and defining, but the problem was that at the same time many of these students were also wrestling with God’s call and a passion to serve God by serving the poor in inner cities here or around the world. Defining a mission for their lives beyond college was not easy.
In Mark 1:35-39 we see that Jesus was at a crossroads in his ministry and had to decide which road he was going to take. Some people wanted him to be a preacher and teacher, but others wanted him to be healer and still others an exorcist and miracle worker and then there was his family who at times just wanted him to come home and keep quiet. So many choices and all of them would be good, but which one was the best and more importantly what was God’s will? What Jesus did in order to make that decision is what we see in verse 35 and if we are trying to define our own mission than this is a good example to follow.
The first thing Jesus did was get up while it was still dark and so if want to define our life’s mission the first thing we need to do is get up at 4 AM while it is still dark. No, I’m just kidding… but let’s look at why Jesus did this. There is a very practical reason Jesus got up while it was still dark out, if the sun had been up and the people had been awake, Jesus never would have been able to leave the house. If we look back to Mark 1:32-33 it says… So the entire town was camped out on the doorstep and everyone wanted something from Jesus and if he had tried to leave when the crowds were awake the people would have seen him and they would have surrounded him and followed him. So Jesus got up while it was still dark so the people couldn’t see him slip away to be alone, but it also meant that Jesus couldn’t see the people and I wonder if that was something Jesus needed in order to make his decision.
Jesus was faced with two very clear missions at this point in his ministry. He could be a powerful preacher and proclaim the word of God with authority or he could spend his time healing people. Jesus had so much compassion for people that I honestly believe that if he had seen all the people in need that morning he may have been influenced by what he saw and not have been able to focus on the will of God, so he goes off while it was dark so he could begin to focus on nothing but God’s mission for his life. Sometimes it is hard to close our eyes to everything around us so we can begin see what God wants for us but that is what we have to do in order to discover God’s mission for our lives. Jesus got up while it was still dark in order to see what God’s mission for him was and we need to do the same thing. This doesn’t mean we need to get up at 4AM, although that is an option, but we do need to be able to close our eyes and ears to the world so that we can begin see God’s will.
Jesus not only got up while it was still dark but he went to a solitary place. Jesus goes away to be alone and some alone time is important for us as well. I heard someone say last week that except for when they are in the bathroom, they are never more than 20 feet away from their phone, and then I read this week that said 91% of people 35 and younger admit to using their smart phones while on the toilet (which is something you might want to think about before you borrow someone’s phone) but it shows how we are never alone and yet maybe we need some solitude in order to define God’s will for our lives. Where was Moses when God helped him define his mission in life? He was standing alone before a burning bush. Samuel was called by God to be a prophet when he was a young boy lying alone on his bed at night. Mary was alone when the angel Gabriel told her that her mission was to be the mother of the Messiah. It is important for us to seek some time alone where we can begin to hear God share with us his mission for our lives.
So Jesus got up while it was still dark, he went to a solitary place and he prayed. Prayer is perhaps the key to defining our mission, but let’s be clear that the kind of prayer we are talking about here is not the kind of prayer we usually think about. When we think of prayer we tend to only think about talking to God, but I’m not sure God can reveal to us his mission if we are talking the entire time. So part of prayer is listening and reflecting. What helps us discover God’s will is connecting to God through prayer and praise and reflection and even the sacraments which means that it is in the fullness of worship that God helps us discover our mission.
For example, as we take part in communion today we will see that part of Jesus mission and therefore part of our mission is to be broken and poured out for others. When we take the bread and drink from the cup we are saying that like Jesus we want to live a life that is willing to give sacrificially for others. Sharing in communion helps shape our life’s mission, reading God’s word helps shape our life’s mission, prayer and praise and silence helps shape our life’s mission because these are all ways that God speaks to us and pours his spirit into us and it is God’s spirit and voice that shape us and fills us and opens our eyes to our mission in life.
Let me quickly say that once we begin to define our life’s mission it will be important for us to share this others. Jesus immediately told his disciples that his mission was to preach about the kingdom of God (Mark 1:38). He shared his mission and we need to as well. And then we need to act on it, look at Mark 1:39. Jesus left the village and went throughout the entire region preaching. He took the first necessary steps and then allowed God to lead him along. As we step out in faith to fulfill our mission God will lead us each and every step of the way and he will bring to us a variety opportunities and challenges so it will be important to continue to pray and seek His direction for our lives.
We need a clear mission if we are going to experience the fullness of life God wants for us and if we are seeking that mission today, if we are wanting to define it and be in the center of God’s will then we need to follow the example of Jesus and find focus, seek solitude, persistently pray and then boldly begin to live the mission God has given us.
Next Steps: Discovering your life’s mission.
1. Find Focus:
• Identify all the voices that speak to your life’s mission:
Family, friends, finances, work, world needs,
personal desires, skills, gifts, abilities…
• How does each voice define your life’s mission?
• Prioritize these voices for this season of your life.
2. Seek Solitude:
• Set aside at least 5 minutes a day to spend in silence.
• Open yourself up to God’s presence in the silence.
3. Persistently Pray:
• Offer all your priorities to God.
• Listen for God in the silence moments.
• Allow moments of worship to shape your mission.
4. Boldly Begin:
• Share your life’s mission with others.
• Take the first step to live out your mission.
• Allow each next step to further define your mission.
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