Memorial Day ~ What do these stones mean?

As the people of Israel finally entered into the Promised Land, God told Joshua to have one man from each of the 12 tribes of Israel enter into the middle of the Jordan River, right where the people crossed over, and pick up a stone to carry with them into the Promised Land. Those stones were then set up as an altar to remind the people of all that God had done to bring them safely to their new home, and when future generations saw that altar and asked what do these stones mean – the stories of God’s faithfulness would be told. The stones reminded the people how God stopped the flow of water in the Jordan River so that the people could cross over on dry ground and enter into the land God had promised them, but the stones said so much more. Those stones gave the people the opportunity to share with their children and grandchildren the stories about how God provided manna and quail for the people as they wandered in the wilderness. The stones told how God made water come forth from a rock, and they stood as a reminder of how God parted the Red Sea and rescued the people of Israel from the advancing armies of Pharaoh. The stones were a reminder of how God forgave his people and how God guided them faithfully through 40 years of wandering in the wilderness until the finally entered into the land God had promised them.

The stones reminded people of God’s faithfulness and God’s commitment to his people and his promise, but they also stood as a reminder to the people that they were being called to be faithful and committed to the work of God themselves. While crossing the Jordan River and entering into the promised land was the end of a long journey for the people of Israel, it was not the end of the story, in many ways it was only the beginning, the beginning of a new day. Now that they were in the land God had promised them they had to establish themselves as a nation. There were already people living in the land so they would have to drive out nations. They were going to have to build homes and communities and they had to learn how to work the land and raise crops. They had been a wandering people for over a generation and now they had to learn what it would mean for them to settle down and establish a new community. There was a lot of work that still needed to be done and while the stones told them that God had been faithful in the past and would be faithful to them in the future – those stones also told the people that they needed to remain faithful themselves and that they needed to once again commit themselves to the work God had for them.

This weekend we will also take some time to look at stones, stones that have a lot to say to us. Memorial Day is not just a time for cook-outs and camping, and it’s not just a time to plant flowers and put out the patio furniture, it’s also a day to remember and it’s a day to ask ourselves, what do these stones mean? These stones reflect lives of faithful service. These stones tell the story of sacrifice and commitment made by so many men and women who were willing to give themselves to a cause greater than themselves. Each of these stones tells the story of a person who gave their life to help someone else. They reflect men and women who were willing to help fight for freedom and justice both here and around the world. The stones that we will reflect upon and decorate with flowers and flags this weekend help us remember and give thanks for those who have sacrificed for us and served us, but these stones need to do so much more. These stones need to call us to greater faithfulness and deeper service.

These stones need to remind us that as followers of Jesus, each and every one of us is called to give ourselves away in service for others. In Matthew 16:24 Jesus says, If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. In other words we have to stop thinking about ourselves first and what’s best for us and we need to be willing to lay down our lives so that others can experience freedom, spiritual freedom and life. We are called to look not to our own interests but to the interest and the well being of others. We are called to have the same mind as Jesus, who didn’t think about himself first and foremost, and did not think about what was good for him, but what was in the best interest of others. Look at Philippians 2:5-8.
We are being called here to have the same mind, or the same attitude as Christ himself who never thought about himself first. While Jesus was God himself, he did not hold on to his rights and privileges as God, he didn’t hold tightly to all that he was entitled to in heaven; instead he gave it all up because he was thinking about us. Jesus humbled himself when he put our needs first and came into this world in the form or a servant – someone who would spend his life helping others. And when that life of service became difficult and dangerous, Jesus didn’t turn away, he remained faithful and committed, he was obedient to death – even death on a cross. Jesus gave himself fully so that others might fully live – so that we might live. Jesus committed himself to the will of God and he sacrificed himself so that we might be free, spiritually and emotionally and some day physically freed. Paul is saying here in Phil. 2 that it is not enough to just remember all of this, it’s not enough to just give thanks for Jesus and all he did for us – we have to be willing to embrace this attitude and this way of life.

So Memorial Day shouldn’t just be a day to look back and remember, it also needs to be a day for us to look forward and commit ourselves again to faithful service to God and to the work of God and the people of God and to God’s people here and around the world. I love what Abraham Lincoln said in his Gettysburg Address: It is for us the living rather to be dedicated to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us. For Lincoln, it wasn’t just about looking to the past to remember and honor the sacrifice of those who had given so much; it was also about picking up their hopes and dreams and following their example of dedication and service in order to make the world a better place. Reflecting and giving thanks for those who fought for our freedom and died so that we might experience the fullness of life is important – but it’s really not enough. These stones tell us that we need to keep giving ourselves to others. As we reflect on those who have gone before us this weekend, are we willing to remain faithful to God and commit ourselves anew to the work of God here and around in the world? Will we dedicate ourselves to the great task that remains before us? That task is the unfinished work of God. It’s to continue to share the love of God and the forgiveness and grace of Jesus Christ with others. It’s to invite people to experience the salvation that is ours through Christ alone and to draw people closer to God.

We are all here today because someone in our lives was willing to give them themselves to this great task. We are here because there were people who dreamed big dreams about what the power of God could do in their community and they were willing to give themselves to God and sacrifice their time and energy and even their lives for us. There are those who have fought to help establish our freedom, but there are also those men and women who have worked hard to establish us in faith. As a church, we are here today because men and women of vision and passion and commitment were willing to step out and dream big dreams for God. There were people who willing to take a great risk and buy this piece of land and build this building. We are here in worship today because men and women: parents, grandparents, teachers, leaders, friends and neighbors took the time to pray for us and they told us about Jesus. They shared with us the love of God and they taught us about Jesus. More importantly they showed us what it means to love and follow Jesus. We are here today because there have been countless numbers of people who have given themselves to the work of God and while it’s important to remember them and give thanks for their faithful lives of service, remembering and giving thanks is not enough – we have to be willing to commit ourselves again to carrying on the work of God.

What will it mean for us to dedicate ourselves to the great task before us? Let’s go back to Joshua 4 and see what we can learn. The first thing we see here is that when God speaks to Joshua – Joshua is listening. When God asks Joshua to choose 12 men who will go and take stones out of the river – Joshua is listening – his ears and mind and heart are attentive to the word of God. If we are going to commit ourselves to the great tasks God has for us, then we have to know what those tasks are. There are many ways we could build the kingdom of God in this world. There are many causes for justice we could fight for and many ministries we can pursue, so how do we know what God specifically wants us to do? There is only one way we can know and that is to listen to God.

Are our ears and our hearts attentive to the word of God? Are we personally listening for God to give us a sense of purpose and direction? The question isn’t whether or not God is still speaking today – he is, the question is, are we listening? There are so many ways we can listen for God today. We can listen for God as we read the word of God written in the Bible. We can listen for God as we reflect on the life of Jesus – remember Jesus was the word of God in the flesh. In John 1 it says that in the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the Word was God. And this word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. So as we listen to what Jesus says and more importantly as we watch what Jesus does we can hear the word of God. We can also listen to God speak directly to our hearts and minds through the power of God’s Holy Spirit. Through the convictions of our heart, God can speak to us, through the thoughts and directions of our minds, God can speak to us, and sometimes if we are open enough and quiet enough we can hear the word of God speak. So the question is, are we listening? Are we eager and anxious to listen?

One of the hardest things for us is to do as we enter into worship each week is to enter with the expectation that God is here to speak to us. The last 2 weeks I attended different churches and while I was excited to be able to worship in new places, I have to tell you that I’m not sure I went into worship expecting or anticipating God to speak to me. I’m not sure we gather each week expecting God to speak to our lives, and yet if we want to dedicate ourselves to the great task that lies before us, if we want to commit ourselves to the work God has for us then we need to enter into this time with ears and hearts that are open and ready and eager to hear what God has to say. Joshua was listening when God spoke and we need to constantly listen because God is still speaking today.

But let’s also be clear that listening isn’t enough, we must also be willing to act on what we hear – that’s what Joshua did. Without asking why they had to pick up stones, Joshua chose the men and then set them out to work. They were obedient in what God called them to do and we also need to be obedient to the work God has for us. Again it is Jesus who talks about the importance of acting on the word of God. In Matthew 7:24-27we find Jesus finishing up his sermon on the mount. After teaching the crowds about how they needed to practically live their lives in this world, after giving careful instruction on how to live in relationship with God and in community with the people of God – Jesus says this:

Notice that Jesus says here that it’s not enough to listen to the word of God – we have to act on it, we have to live it out in our lives and when we do we will not only have a strong and solid faith for ourselves, but we will be establishing a foundation of faith for those around us. When we act on the word of God, when we follow through on all the big and little things God asks of us, we will be helping pave the way of faith for all of those who will follow us, and that’s part of what the stones mean. Whether it’s the stones out of the Jordan River, or the grave stones we will reflect on this weekend, the stones are a call to faithful service. The stones call us to commit ourselves to the work of God so that future generations can live in spiritual freedom and come to know the love and grace of Jesus Christ. So let us commit ourselves to the great task that still lies before us, let us dedicate ourselves to the unfinished work of building God’s kingdom as listen for the word of God and then faithfully act upon what we hear.

Jesus ~ The Good Shepherd

Tim Laniak is a professor at Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary and on a trip he took to the Middle East he spent a lot of time with shepherds. Tim travelled with the shepherds, slept in their tents, tended sheep with them and asked a lot of questions. One of the questions Tim asked was if the shepherds really knew their sheep. You may have heard the stories about how sheep only know the voice of their shepherd and how they will only follow that voice, but do shepherds really know each and every one of their sheep as well. The shepherds reply, yes, he knew each and every one of his sheep. He knew the year the sheep was born and the circumstances of its birth. He knew if it had broken any bones. He knew which diseases it's susceptible to, which foods it doesn't digest well. He knew which animals it doesn't get along with and he knew its temperament—if it tends to wander or fight or follow. Obviously if his sheep had names, this shepherd would have known each and every one of them.

So a good shepherd really does know his sheep, and as our Good Shepherd, Jesus really does know us, but what is it that Jesus knows about us? To answer this, let’s look at 4 people from the gospel to see what Jesus knew about them, the first is Nathanael. Nathanael was a friend of Philip, who was one of the first disciples of Jesus. When Philip told Nathanael that he believed Jesus to be the Messiah, Nathanael was skeptical. He couldn’t believe that anyone or anything good could from Nazareth, which is where Jesus grew up. When Jesus meets Nathanael he says… (John 1:47-49). Now a little background here is helpful. Many good Jews who were waiting for the Messiah to come would sit and read God’s word and pray under fig trees, so when Nathanael was sitting under the fig tree we take that to mean he was longing for and maybe even in that moment praying for the Messiah to come. He was a true Israelite who was longing for God’s kingdom and Jesus could see that in him. What Jesus knows about Nathanael is that while he might be skeptical – he was also longing for God’s kingdom. While he had his own doubts and prejudices, he was looking for the Messiah to come. What Jesus knows about Nathanael is the deepest longings of his heart.
When we say that as the Good Shepherd Jesus knows us, what we are saying is that Jesus knows the deepest longings of our heart. Jesus knows what we really want, the deeper longings and desires that often lie hidden under our own doubts and prejudices. This was made clear to me when I went to college. As I headed off to college I thought I wanted to experience the typical college life. My preconceived idea was that a good time was going to be found in all the things you associate with college parties. That’s what I wanted and that’s the environment in which I lived. My freshman year at MSU I lived in an all male dorm on an all freshman floor. Let’s just say it doesn’t get any more wild than that. It was what I thought I wanted, but as the Good Shepherd, Jesus knew what I really wanted – which was to be known and loved and accepted, and those relationships weren’t going to come from college parties but through a relationship with the Good Shepherd himself. God knew the deeper longing of my heart and life and when I began to turn to Jesus as the Good Shepherd, he helped me see that and accept his love and care. I think that’s what Jesus is doing with Nathanael here, he helps him see that the deepest longing of his heart, which was to see the Messiah and begin to experience the kingdom of God, was right there in front of him, in a man from Nazareth.

So Jesus knows the deepest longings of our heart. Even when we can’t articulate them clearly, even when they might lie hidden from us. Jesus also knows the things that holds us back in life and in faith. In Mark 10 is the familiar story of Jesus encounter with the rich young man. This young man had it all. He was faithful and giving and he followed the commandments all his life. He approaches Jesus and asks him what he must do to inherit eternal life and Jesus knows him so well that he knows the one thing that has held him back all his life. Mark 10:21-22 Jesus knows that the one thing holding this man back from a full, faithful and abundant life is greed and Jesus loves him enough to point that out to him.

Jesus knows us so well that he knows the one thing that holds us back in life and in faith. Well, I don’t know about you, but I think Jesus knows it is more than one thing that holds me back – so let’s say that Jesus knows all the things that hold us back in life and in faith and you know what? Jesus loves us enough to point them out to us. We may not like it when we feel challenged or convicted in certain areas of life, but are we willing to listen to God when he points out a problem to us? Our natural tendency is to get defensive when we are challenged. We don’t like to be told that we might need to change or go in a new direction. It is humbling – but God says that it is the humble that will be lifted up. It is the humble that will experience the fullness of life. So when we say that Jesus as the Good Shepherd knows us, what we are saying is that Jesus knows all the things that hold us back. He knows how we wander away from the truth and how we wander away from God and need to return and repent. Jesus knows how our greed, and pride, and self interest keeps us from experiencing the greater blessings of life or faith.

Jesus doesn’t only know those things that hold us back, he knows our sin as well. In the gospel of John is the powerful story of Jesus not only knowing the sin of the woman caught in adultery, but the sin of all the people who accuse her as well. In John 8 we see a woman who was caught in adultery being thrown in front of Jesus and the crowd wanted to know what to do with her. The law said to stone her – along with the man by the way, who was not brought to Jesus – and people were asking Jesus what to do with her. Now seeing the sin of this woman was easy – everyone saw it. It says she was caught in the very act – there was no hiding her failure, but what this story shows us is that Jesus didn’t just see her sin, he saw the sin of the crowd as well. Look at John 8:6. What people believe here is that when Jesus bent down to write in the sand, he wrote out the sins of the people gathered around him. So as people are watching him they begin to see their own failures written on the ground and my guess is that they began to ask themselves – how did Jesus know that? How did he know my sin? How did he know that about me?
As the Good Shepherd, Jesus knows everything there is to know about us. He knows our sin, all of it. There is nothing that we wrestle with today, nothing that we are trying to hide from others or from God that Jesus does not know, and while the reality of our sin can weigh us down with guilt and shame – notice that Jesus doesn’t use his knowledge of people’s sin to accuse them or judge them – instead he is willing to forgive them. What Jesus says to the woman he says to all of us today, “neither do I condemn you”. In John 3:17 it says that God did not send Jesus into the world to condemn the world but so that the world might be saved through him. God sent a good shepherd to save the sheep and to gather them together in order to experience the fullness of life. So Jesus knows our sin – all of it, every last detail and yet loves us still. Jesus knows our brokenness and our failures and yet sees beyond that to the deeper potential that lies within us. He really knows and he really loves us.

Let’s look at one last encounter. Again from the gospel of John Jesus has just begun his ministry and Andrew brings his brother Simon to meet Jesus and when Jesus sees Simon he immediately changes his name to Peter – which means Rock. Jesus immediately knows that Peter is the leader upon which he would build his church. Jesus knows Peter has potential. Did Jesus see the ways that Peter would fail Jesus, of course he did. I think in that initial meeting Jesus heard a rooster crow and knew Peter would deny that he even knew Jesus. But Jesus saw beyond that to the Peter who in the strength of God’s spirit would stand up and preach that Jesus is the Messiah and who would bring thousands of people into the kingdom of God.

As the good shepherd, Jesus doesn’t just see our sin and our failures, Jesus sees our potential. For me, this has always been the most encouraging part of my relationship with God. Jesus doesn’t just see my failures, he doesn’t just see my sin, he doesn’t just know that I am broken and needy – he sees the potential that lies deep within. He sees what we were created for, the good works God has planned for us and he sees us for who we are – which is sheep of God’s pasture, the lambs of God’s kingdom.
So when we say that as the Good shepherd Jesus knows us, what we are saying is that Jesus knows more than our name. He knows all of our hopes and dreams. He knows the deepest longings of our heart. He knows all our sin and failures and those things that hold us back in life. He knows it all, and yet he loves us enough to look beyond the failures to see the future God has for us all. Actually, as the good shepherd, Jesus doesn’t just look past the sin - he is the one who takes away our sin so that God’s potential and future can become a reality in our lives.

That’s the second part of what Jesus says when he says he is the good shepherd. Go back to John 10:15. I lay down my life for the sheep. This is not the first time Jesus said this. He said it in John 10:11 and will say it again in John 10:17-18. Jesus is clear that a good shepherd is willing to lay down his life for the sheep. A good shepherd is willing to run directly into danger in order to save the life of the sheep and that is exactly what Jesus has done for us. Because Jesus knows us so well and knows how our sin and will keep us from God and the life God has for us - and because he knows that we are powerless to overcome this on our own, he ran straight into the danger for us. Jesus willingly took up a cross – our cross – so that we might live. The empty tomb reminds us that sin and death – our sin and death – has been forgiven and overcome by God so that we might live – live eternally with God and live fully right here and now.

When we say that Jesus is our Good Shepherd, these are not empty words. As a shepherd, Jesus really does know us – he knows our hopes and dreams, he knows our failures and sin, and he knows our full God given potential. As the Good Shepherd, Jesus loves us enough to lay down his life so that we might be live. Jesus is our Good Shepherd, so let us listen for his voice and follow him today.

Peace, Purpose and Power

While for us the experience of Easter is one of great joy and hope at what the resurrection of Jesus means for our lives, for the disciples and the first followers of Jesus, the resurrection created a great deal of chaos and confusion. Just as they begin to process the reality of Jesus death – he is suddenly found alive, and trying to make sense out of the resurrection was not easy. Someone has said that for the disciples, trying to understand the resurrection of Jesus was like trying to put the ocean into a bottle. All that they were experiencing and learning with the resurrection of Jesus just didn’t fit their understanding. Things just didn’t make sense. Nothing like the resurrection had ever happened before and the disciples don’t know what to make of it at all, and just when they think they understand what’s going on, Jesus is off moving in a new direction. Literally, Jesus is there one moment and gone the next, and when he is gone the disciples are left questioning what it all means.

The gospel of Luke gives us a glimpse into this kind of chaos and confusion. Look at how Luke describes their emotions in the days following the resurrection. In Luke 24:37 it says that when Jesus appeared the disciples were startled and frightened, later on it says they were disbelieving but filled with joy and amazement. As we can see, their emotions are all over the place. The disciples are afraid because they really aren’t sure who or what Jesus is. They aren’t even sure Jesus is fully human at this point because he will suddenly appear out of nowhere and then just as quickly – be gone. Is he man or a ghost? They are filled with joy and amazement, and yet they are also confused and uncertain, & how frustrating that he never seems to stay around long enough to help them understand.

So the resurrection of Jesus brings an atmosphere of chaos: there is fear and yet joy, faith and yet disbelief and all of this contributes to an uncertain future. What does the resurrection of Jesus mean for the lives of the disciples now? For the last 3 years they had been in ministry with Jesus – was that going to continue? Would Jesus keep on teaching and preaching and healing the sick, or does the resurrection mean that the disciples will begin g to do something new? Should they start heading for home because their work is now over or get ready to keep following Jesus who knows where? Either way, the disciples have to be wondering what their future holds and where they will get the strength and the power to keep going.

Up until this point the strength they needed always came from Jesus who was right there with them and if there is one thing they are beginning to understand about the resurrected Jesus is that he is not always going to be right there with them. He is there one moment helping them understand the scriptures and sharing a meal with them, and then the next moment he is gone. If Jesus isn’t going to be with them all the time, where would they get the strength to carry on in life let alone in ministry. They had always looked to Jesus for strength because he was the one who had the power, literally. Jesus is the one who had the power to calm storms and still the seas. He was the one who had the power to heal the sick and forgive sin, and he is the one who had the power to silence crowds and religious leaders who opposed him. Jesus had a divine power that the disciples knew was always there when they needed it, but it was always there in Jesus, what was going to happen now when Jesus is not there. Where would the power come from? Where would their strength come from?

So here’s the situation for the disciples, they are confused by all they see going on around them, they are unsure of what their future holds, and they are feeling weak and powerless in the face of all the changes. Does any of that sound familiar? Confused by all we see around us; questions about what the future holds; an overwhelming sense of powerlessness in the face of life’s problems; our world and our lives today are not that different from what the disciples were experiencing in the days after Jesus’ resurrection. Whether it’s our health, jobs, family or finances, many of us feel just like the disciples: confused, uncertain about the future and powerless in the midst of it all.

If you can identify with any or all of that, then look at what Jesus offers his disciples.
In the midst of the confusion and chaos Jesus speaks words of comfort and blessing. On more than one occasion Jesus says to his disciples, Peace be with you. There is no better gift in the midst of a storm than peace. The storm for the disciples came from not knowing if Jesus was alive. Was Jesus presence with them a ghost or was he really there? Into their confusion Jesus doesn’t just offer empty words of peace, he proves to them that he is alive and with them by eating with them and showing them his physical flesh and blood. Look at Luke 24:37+

Jesus invites them to touch him so they can be confident that he is not a ghost but is really with them, and then to prove the point he takes a piece of fish and eats it with them in their presence. The peace Jesus offered wasn’t an empty word; it was a peace that came from knowing that Jesus was really with them. The peace we need today comes from knowing that Jesus is still alive and with us. When the world around us doesn’t seem to make sense, when it all gets overwhelming and chaotic, it’s important for to stop and remember that Jesus is with us. Jesus promised that where 2 or more were gathered in his name that he would be there, he said that he would be with us always, even to the end of the age, so we can find real peace today in knowing that Jesus is here with us. He is present with us in worship and he hears us when pray. Knowing that Jesus is with us doesn’t always make the confusion and chaos go away, and some of the questions and situations we struggle with will still be there, but it helps us to know that we aren’t alone. The peace we need comes in being able to trust that no matter what we are going through, Christ is with us.

Jesus not only offered the gift of peace, he also gave his disciples a new sense of purpose and direction. The resurrection of Jesus was going to change the mission and direction of the disciples. For three years all the disciples did was follow Jesus and learn from him, but now things would be different. Instead of Jesus teaching and preaching and offering forgiveness and new life, it would now be the disciples doing this. Look at Luke 24:46-48.
The purpose given to the disciples was to preach and teach that there was forgiveness of sin and new life in Jesus name. They were to share with the world all that Jesus had done and they were start in Jerusalem. While they still had many questions about how this was going to take place, their new mission and sense of purpose at least gave them a direction to go. At least they know now that they weren’t supposed to go home and become fishermen again. Knowing God still has a purpose for them gave them hope and a future.

It’s important for us to remember that no matter how uncertain the future may be for us, God still has a purpose and a plan for our lives. If we have a lost a job, or are in danger of losing a job, or if we are just feeling unsettled about where we are in life, it’s important to remember that God still has a purpose for us. God says in Jeremiah 29, I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Even if our future looks uncertain, it’s important to remember that God always has a purpose for our lives. If nothing else, God still calls us to be a witness to the love and grace of Jesus Christ. Part of our purpose is to continue to remind people that there is forgiveness and new life that we can find in Jesus.

As a church we need to continue to share this good news with the world. The purpose of Faith Church today is the same purpose given to the disciples by Jesus in the days after the resurrection. We are to proclaim that Christ died and rose again on the third day and that we can find forgiveness and new life in Jesus. As a church we are to continue to call people to repentance, to turn away from sin and turn toward a new life in Christ. How we teach and preach and bear witness to Jesus Christ in the world may change from time to time, but the message never changes. The purpose of the church never changes – we are called to go and make disciples, and as Jesus says we need to do this in all nations, but we need to start right where we are. We need to be a witness to Jesus Christ right here Bellefonte, and in Zion, and in Centre County, and then we need to spread out to all the world. Jesus called the disciples to preach to all the nations but they were to start in Jerusalem, right where they were, and then they were to slowly move out. We need to give a witness to the love and grace of God right here in Bellefonte, but we can’t stop here, there’s the growing community of Zion right down the road and as more and more people move into Zion, God is calling us to be a witness to them and to share with them that there is life in Jesus name.

So in the midst of our confusion, Jesus offers peace. In the midst of uncertainty about our future, Jesus provides a purpose and a plan, and in the midst of weakness, Jesus offers power. Look at Luke 24:49. Jesus promises the disciples that they will be clothed in power from on high. This must have been a huge encouragement for them because up until this point Jesus had been their sole source of power. Jesus gave them the strength they needed each and every time they needed it, and if Jesus was not physically going to be with them, then the disciples needed to know that power, divine power, would still be available to them, and that power did come. On the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples and it gave them the strength to do things they had never been able to do before. Once the power of God came upon them, the disciples left the upper room and went out into the streets of Jerusalem where they preached that people needed to repent of their sins and trust in Jesus. Even when opposition and persecution came, the Holy Spirit gave the disciples the strength they needed to remain faithful to God and continue to carry out God’s purpose for them.

When we are feeling weak or powerless in any situation, we need to remember that God continues to clothe us with power from on high. The Holy Spirit is in us. The same spirit that raised Jesus from the dead is now part of our lives and so we have the strength to face any and every situation. While there are times when we feel weak and like we just can’t keep going – it is precisely these moments that we need to turn to God and find His strength. In the children’s song Jesus loves me there is that great line that says, little ones to him belong, we are weak, but He is strong. There are times when we are weak that we won’t be strong, we just need to rely upon God to be strong in us and for us. God can be our strength deep within us, if we will allow him to, and when we let God be strong for us we will find that the Holy Spirit we will be able to do more in us and through us than we ever thought or imagined. If we are feeling powerless, weak and like we are unable to keep going, then it is right time to turn and trust in the power of God that is within us.

The truth is that our world today, our lives as followers of Jesus today are no different than it was 2000 years ago. There is a lot of confusion and uncertainty today and there is a growing sense of powerlessness when we look at our lives and our world and our future. What we need to remember is that it is exactly in situations like this that Jesus comes and offers us peace, purpose and power. W need those gifts of Jesus today, so let us open our hearts and our lives to receive them.

The Power of Vision

The English poet Ralph Hodgson said, some things have got to be believed to be seen. But the disciple Thomas would have said, some things have to be seen to be believed. Thomas had a hard time believing that Jesus was alive because he didn’t see him on that first resurrection day. Thomas wasn’t there when Jesus miraculously appeared in the upper room and spoke with the disciples. Even during a week when his friends tried to convince Thomas that YES, we had seen Jesus alive, Thomas continued to say, unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my fingers in the mark of the nails and unless I put hand in the wound in his side, I will not believe. And it is because of these words that we have given him the name Doubting Thomas.

But I really don’t think that is being fair because Thomas was only asking for what the rest of the disciples needed in order to believe. When Mary arrived at the empty tomb, she couldn’t believe that Jesus was alive. Even after the angel told her that he had risen just as he said, Mary couldn’t believe. Mary didn’t believe that Jesus was alive until she not only saw him, but heard his voice calling out her name. Peter and John raced to the tomb and saw the empty grave clothes but they couldn’t believe that Jesus was alive. Even after Mary told them that she had seen Jesus, they could not believe until Jesus himself appeared in front of them. So really, all Thomas was asking for was what the rest of the disciples got, which was the opportunity to see Jesus alive, and the reason Thomas needed this was because there is power in vision. The vision of Jesus that filled Thomas’ heart and mind was too powerful to overcome with just the words of his friends.

Think of everything that Thomas had seen the past 10 days. Thomas saw Jesus betrayed in the garden and arrested by the soldiers. He may have followed behind at a safe distance, but Thomas certainly saw Jesus beaten and nailed to a cross. He knew that Jesus died and was laid in a tomb for 3 days. What Thomas had seen made it hard for him to believe that Jesus could now be alive, so yes, he had his doubts. Thomas needed a new vision of Jesus to replace the old one.
Like Mary, Peter, John and all the rest of the disciples, Thomas needed a vision of the risen Jesus to replace the vision of the crucified Jesus that haunted his eyes, and the eyes of his heart. It is a very loving act on the part of Jesus to return a week later so that Thomas could see and believe. Jesus returned on the first day of the second week and once again appeared to the disciples. Jesus spoke the same greeting & offered the same blessing, Peace be with you, but then he turns to Thomas and instead of calling him out, Jesus invites him in. Instead of being frustrated or angry, Jesus offers to Thomas what he offered the other disciples, the opportunity to not only see him, but to reach out his hands and put his fingers in the mark of the nail. He invites Thomas to reach out his hand and put it into his side. Thomas not only sees, but he truly believes and he exclaims, My Lord & My God.

Thomas doesn’t just see Jesus, in that moment he sees something more, and in that moment everything changed. The vision of the resurrected Jesus not only drove out the images of Jesus on the cross – but the vision of the risen Savior gave fuel to Thomas’ life, because Thomas didn’t just see a friend standing before him, he saw the living God who brings the victory of life over death for everyone. What Thomas saw in Jesus was a new way of life and a new way of being and it was this new vision that would change his life. Vision is a powerful thing, it can keep us in the dark doubting what God can do, or it can open up our heart and mind and show us what life can be like and what God’s plans are for our world.

Vision is a powerful thing, but the kind of vision we are talking about is not just seeing something with out eyes, the vision we are talking about is a clear, precise mental picture of a better future, a better world. The vision that changed Thomas wasn’t just the person of Jesus; it was seeing what God had in store for the world around him. When Thomas saw Jesus alive, he began to see a world where people could find strength and power in a living God. The future Thomas saw was a world where the teaching and life of Jesus that had captivated his own heart and imagination would not only be able to continue, but could become a reality in this world.
But it went even further than that because Thomas began to see himself as part of God’s new work. When Thomas saw Jesus standing in front of him he knew that he could no longer keep the good news of Jesus to himself, he had to share this news with others, and share it he did. Tradition tells us that Thomas took his vision of the resurrected Jesus and his vision of a world where people could find hope and life in that risen Savior and he shared it with people in the East. While Peter and Paul and the early church moved west toward Rome and the entire the Roman Empire, it is believed that Thomas took the good news of Jesus to the East. Centuries after the resurrection of Jesus, missionaries from England landed in India and they were stunned to find the remnants of Christian churches, and while the people in these churches knew nothing of Peter or Paul, they did know about the resurrected Jesus and the knew about a disciple named Thomas. It’s believed that fueled only with his vision of Jesus & God’s vision for the world – Thomas went East to share the love and power of a risen Christ.

There is power in vision. Once Thomas began to see that people around the world needed to hear about the love of Jesus, and once he saw how the power of God which raised Jesus from the dead could touch people’s lives and bring them hope and healing and new life, Thomas’ life changed forever. Like Thomas, we need a strong God given – live-giving vision for our lives. As followers of Jesus we are to know, love, & serve God with all our heart, soul, mind & strength, but how each of us lives this out will be different. God’s vision for our lives will be different. For Thomas, the vision was to take the good news of Christ’s resurrection and the power of God to people living in the East. For Peter and John it was to share the love of God with people in the West. For some of the early followers of Jesus their vision was to teach, others worked to build up the church the apostles established. Some people had the vision to help support the work of the apostles by raising money or offering their homes and food. For everyone the vision was different, but they all had a vision & the power of their vision changed the world.
What is the vision that God has given you? If vision means a clear mental picture of a better future, or a better world, then what is that better world that you are working for? What unique way of loving and serving God are we offering to the world around us? How are we working to bring the kingdom of God and the life of Jesus into our community? If we do not have a vision for how God wants to use us in this world, then the first thing we need is a vision of the risen Jesus.

What gave the disciples a clear vision for their lives was seeing, hearing and walking with the risen Jesus. During the days after the resurrection and before Jesus was taken up into heaven he gave his disciples instructions and direction. He told them to forgive sin, he told them to feed his lambs and tend his sheep, he told them to go and make disciples of all nations – from the West to the East. The vision that formed in the disciples came from walking and talking with the risen Jesus and we have that same opportunity today. If we don’t have a clear vision of how God wants to use us in this world, then like Thomas we need to take some time and walk and talk with Jesus. We need to pray and read God’s word. We need to talk with others who have vision and learn from them. While a vision for the disciples may have started in the upper room, that vision was expanded and defined through times of reflection, conversation and instruction from Jesus. The God given vision for our own lives may start in this moment of worship where we can experience the living God, but it will be expanded and defined through times of prayer, reflection and the study of God’s word.

Once we have a vision of what God wants for us and from us, it will take some effort to make that vision become reality. Again, Thomas shows us what it takes if we want our vision to come alive and the first step is to see that with any new vision comes the need for change. It’s the very definition of vision that tells us there will be a need for change because vision is defined as a clear mental picture of a better future. Better means that it’s not what it is right now, which means that the right now is going to have to change. God’s vision for our lives will always call for change, a change in us and a change in the world around us. There is not one person in the Bible that God called that he did not change and then use to bring change into the world. Abraham had to leave his home and then he became the father of God’s people. Moses went from being the Prince of Egypt to a child of Abraham and was then able to lead God’s people out of slavery. David went from being a shepherd boy to Warrior King who then established a new nation. Thomas went from being a tax collector to a missionary in India who then called people to change their hearts and lives. God’s vision for Thomas called him to leave behind the comfort and security of his home and country, he had to leave behind his family and friends to face the unknown. If God’s vision is to become reality in our lives it will always call us to change, and then it will call us to work for change.

Change is hard for most of us because the status quo is comfortable and the familiar is safe. It’s easier to stay in our safe little worlds where we know what to expect then to step out and see what God might have in store for us. Here’s how hard change is for most of us. Let me ask you a question. When was the last time you sat in a different seat during worship? It may have been last week because with so many people you may have had to find a different seat (what a great problem, by the way) but seriously, when was the last time you worshipped from the front or the other side. When was the last time you decided to sit next to some new in order to get to know them, or invite someone new or maybe just someone you don’t know to sit next to you? Change is hard because we like to stay comfortable, but we do not follow a God who ever played it safe or stayed comfortable. We worship and follow a God that left the comfort of heaven to come into this world. We follow a Savior who never had his own home or followed the same routine. Jesus was constantly on the move and doing something new. If we close our minds to new ideas, and if we close our hearts to new people, God’s vision can never take hold in our lives and the better future that God has for us and for the world around us will never be realized.

God’s vision becoming a reality requires change and it will also require commitment. Are we willing to commit ourselves to God’s vision? We can’t go half-way, and we can’t give up the first time we hit an obstacle. We have to be willing to commit 100% and then step out in faith again, and again, and again. This kind of commitment will call for us to be courageous. Thomas and the rest of the disciples faced the possibility of arrest, beatings and death when they left the safety of the upper room. In fact, it wouldn’t be many months later when Stephen would be stoned for preaching that Jesus had risen from the dead. It takes courage to follow Jesus and it takes a commitment to stand up and share a new vision of how God wants to work in our world.

Now the good news is that the courage required to stand firm does not come from inside of us, it comes from God. Look again at what Jesus says and does on that first resurrection day. Jesus says, as the father has sent me so I send you. And then Jesus breathed on them and said, Receive the Holy Spirit. The courage that the disciples needed to leave the safety and comfort of the locked room and go into all the world & the share the good news of Christ’s resurrection did not come from within them, it came from the spirit of God. The courage required to turn God’s vision for our life into a reality doesn’t come from our own inner strength but the strength that comes to us when we are willing to receive the Holy Spirit of God.

There is power in vision, and I believe that God is wanting and just waiting to give us the courage and strength we need to follow through on the vision he has given us. If you don’t have a clear vision for your life, then open your eyes and the eyes of your heart to see the risen Jesus because I believe that the living Christ still stands and offers himself to us and I believe that the living Christ is just wanting and just waiting to fill our lives with the power of his vision.