A Lord's Day Message for Sunday, April 24, 2011

“Seven Who Encountered Jesus: (7) Us!”

Matthew 28:1-10 and John 20:1-18

“Do not be afraid; I know you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come; see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples.” (Matthew 28:5b-6)

(Sermon preached by Rev. Larry A. Langer, First Presbyterian Church, Jasper, IN, April 24, 2011)

What in the world are all of us doing here, outside, in this weather, at 7:00 on a Sunday morning? Are we crazy or something? I mean, it is enough, isn’t it, that we come to church at 10:30, 9:30 if we are in Sunday school on a Sunday morning. 7:00 AM on a Sunday? What it is all about? What are our reasons?

Are we here to “get church over with” so we can have the rest of the day? Are we here because it is just a different kind of service? Are we here because it is our tradition? OR, are we here because it makes our faith seem more real to us?

Perhaps we are here to somewhat feel what it was like for Mary Magdalene and the other Mary (and the other women) when they went to the tomb “very early in the morning” as the text says. Perhaps we want to close our eyes and picture the rough ground with the hewn-out cave with first the stone in front of it, then the stone “rolled away.” Perhaps we are imagining what it would be like to hear the news, as did Peter and John, and run to the tomb and experience its emptiness.

Knowing what we believe and know now, I think it would be wonderful to run to the tomb, find it empty with the folded grave clothes, have Jesus appear to us, and have our faith in the promises of God validated!

Anyway, this is what I dream and think about when this day comes around every year. How about you? We want to “see” the resurrection so we can more deeply believe. So, we re-enact going to the tomb on Resurrection Day, very early in the morning. We go back to the stage, we see the setting, and we place ourselves in the shoes of the actresses and actors. We see ourselves in the roles. We hear the dialogue in our mind’s ear. So, let us hear and see for ourselves, once again,  this morning.

The first thing we hear at the tomb is, “Don’t be afraid.” The angel says to Mary, “Don’t be afraid.” Remember the scripture we read at Christmas time? The angel says to both Mary and Joseph, “Don’t be afraid.” Remember clear back in the Old Testament the many times when God or an angel said to a person of God, “Don’t be afraid”? If there is a practical, everyday part to our faith, it is the wise counsel, “Don’t be afraid.”

Don’t be afraid of what? We aren’t to be afraid of the “unknown,” because God is already there. We have the Bible to tell us that God is already there in any circumstance we can imagine and how God resolves any circumstance we can imagine.

In our Good Friday service, we read the very pastoral verse from John 19:27, where Jesus is hanging on the cross with his mother and “the disciple Jesus loved” standing there. Jesus “says to his mother, “Woman, here is your son.” Then he said to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from that hour the disciples took her into his own home.”

Then we heard Kyrstan sing beautifully the wonderful words of assurance from the hymn, ‘Be Still, My Soul.” Remember?

Be still, my soul! The Lord is on thy side;

Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain.

Leave to thy God to order and provided,

in every change He faithful will remain.

Be still my soul, thy best, thy heavenly friend

through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.”

Be still, my soul! Thy God doth undertake

to guide the future as He has the past.

Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;

All now mysterious shall be bright at last.

Be still, my soul! The waves and winds still know

His voice who ruled them while He dwelt below.”

There is no greater instruction that we can hear from God through our faith than “be not afraid.” Then, there is no greater instruction we can tell ourselves in response than “Be still, my soul, in every change, God faithful will remain.” We come to the tomb to believe this is true once again.

The second thing we hear at the tomb is “Come and see…come and see the place where he lay.”

It is an interesting thing that when we go to Israel on a tour, the place people want to see the most is the place that is said to be where Jesus was born. People throng to the depths under the Church of the Nativity. There are long lines just to see (actually, two places, depending on one’s faith perspective) where they say Jesus was born.

But there are smaller lines to see Golgotha, the upper room, or the cave in the garden in the Church of the Holy Seplecur. On the tours, we will walk the Via Del La Rosa, the path Jesus walked through Jerusalem, but we won’t go to the cave. We might even enjoy the shade and cool breezes in the Garden of Gethsemane, but we won’t go to the cave. Yet, the angel invited the Marys and Peter and John to check it out on their own, to see that the cave was empty. Mary originally thought that some “they” had taken Jesus, and she “didn’t know where they had taken him.”

There is a strong sense in which we have to “see” the resurrection before we can “see” what is really going on in the world, now that God has risen crucified Jesus from the dead. We can see the empty tomb, but we can’t really “see” the resurrection. We have to believe the resurrection before we can see.

The women show us that it is only as we venture forth- dare to come out to the tomb in our darkness, willing to be surprised, willing to obey the messenger of God, willing to see the risen Christ, willing to go back to Galilee, expecting to meet him there – that we will see.

The good news for us is that when we hear “come and see”,” it can be about what God is doing and wants to be doing in our lives now! Remember when John sent his disciples to Jesus to ask Jesus if he was the one they had been waiting for or did they need to wait for someone else?

Jesus said, “Go and tell John what you see and hear: The blind receive their sight; the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have good news brought to them. And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me” (Luke 7:22-23).

We really don’t have to have “blind faith’ to accept that the Lord is present and active in our lives. What we do require, though, is to have a faith that believes in, listens for and to, and follows and gives glory to God. Seeing the empty tomb, even if only through the eyes of faith on Easter Sunday morning, is part of this for us. So, the angel’s instructions are important for us: We should always try to come and see things through eyes of faith. Our prayer should be

Open my eyes that I may see,

glimpses of truth Thou hast for me.

Place in my hands the wonderful key

that shall unclasp and set me free.

Silently now, I wait for Thee.

Ready, my God, Thy will to see.

Open my eyes, illumine me, Spirit divine.

The third instruction we hear at the tomb is, “Go and tell…Go quickly and tell others.” Tell the others what – that the tomb is empty? No, tell others that “Jesus has been raised from the dead and goes ahead of you…”

This is the crux of our faith and the promise of the resurrection: Jesus has been raised from the dead and goes ahead of us. Remember what he said to his disciples?

Do not let you hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go and prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. And you do know the place where I am going, because you know me, and I am the way, the truth and the life.

You know, Mathew’s Gospel stresses these necessities: Not only loving Jesus, but obeying Jesus. Not only admiring Jesus, but following Jesus. He stresses that faith in Jesus requires active participation, obedience and discipleship: Be not afraid, come and see, go and tell.

And, haven’t we found over the years that we more fully believe the more we venture out in faith, risk, obey, are surprised and mix up the fear and joy? The truth of Easter and the Resurrection is a truth that we cannot understand in arguments, nor detached, measured reflection and consideration.

The truth of Easter is known only as we are in motion, going out to obey and to tell.

We often hear that Jesus came to “turn the world upside down.” Really, he came to turn the world right side up! The world, especially these days, is shaking, figuratively and literally. The world shook back then, too. Matthew says there was an earthquake. Back then, it was the sign of a beginning. We have had shakes lately, as well as winds and waves and fires. Are these signs of the end of things as we know them and the beginning or the promised things? Are these the birth pangs of Christ’s second coming? Some say so. If so, it will fulfill the scriptures that Christ will come again.

But back then, the world shook. The powerful soldiers shook in their boots, so afraid that they were like dead men. In fact, they had absolutely no explanation for what happened, such that they had to be bought off to keep quiet and the officials had to put a spin on things. But the women who previously were powerless are now the bearer of the experience, the teller of the story, and the relaters of the truth.

So, the important thing for us today is to also obey the risen Christ: “Do not be afraid; come and see; go and tell my brothers and sisters to meet me; they will see me, to!” If we obey, if we overcome our own doubts and fears, if we go and tell, out in Galilee or wherever we find ourselves, then we, too, will see the risen Christ, raised so that he might return to us, encourage us, and reveal himself to us.

This is the message of Easter: Be not afraid…come and see…go quickly and tell…Christ is risen; Christ is risen indeed.

Hallelujah! Amen!

A Lord's Day Message for Sunday, April 17, 2011

(© by Rev. Larry A. Langer, First Presbyterian Church, Jasper, IN, April 17, 2011)

“Seven Who Encountered Jesus: (6) The Crowd”

Matthew 21:1-17 and Romans 13:1-10

“When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, ‘Who is this?’ The crowds were saying, ‘This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.’” (Matthew 21:10-11)

I was at McDonald’s the other morning eating breakfast after a “fasting” blood test. As I sat there eating my “Cholesterol Special” of hot cakes, hash browns, biscuit, scrambled eggs and sausage (do know that I usually eat oatmeal and fruit every day at home!), I was next to a group of ten or so of Jasper’s finest men. I couldn’t help by overhear them speaking about the Integra bank Trust Department being bought by Old National and about other such current events.

What I observed about these men was that each of them sat back as if they already knew everything, such that it seemed that it all was just a “re-cap.” It seemed that each man could shrug his shoulders and say, “That’s the way it was; that’s the way it goes.”

Eventually, some of the men got up and went on their ways, perhaps to other errands, perhaps to work, perhaps to home. And, I suppose, each man who had been there and part of the conversation felt that they were up on the current news.

What I also know is that there are other groups just like this all over town: At Hardies, at Headquarters, at the other Mc Donald’s, at Denney’s. All of these groups share the news and their analysis of it, and have a common fellowship: “Going for Coffee!” The thing I wonder about is what impact these “coffee” times have on the day for these men – and women – who have gathered? Does it make a difference in what they do? Does it change their life? Does it make them a better person? Does it help them with their decisions throughout the day and beyond?

These same questions could be asked of those who experienced what we label “Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem.” We read of the instructions to the disciples; the preparation by the disciples. We read of the reactions of the crowd; we read about what they said. We read, then, about what Jesus did, and who saw, heard and reacted to it. Finally, we read of where and how Jesus went – to the temple to cleanse it.

Yes, we read all of these things, probably for the umpteenth time, right? Ever since we have been in church, this passage, this recollection, comes around every year. We always get the passage about “Jesus’ Triumphal Entry” on what we call “Palm Sunday,” because it begins Holy Week, the days leading up to Jesus’ last Supper, his crucifixion, his death, and his resurrection. We always get it, perhaps so much so that it has become old hat to us, and we sit back like so many men and women at coffee and think, “I know that.”

Then we get up and go for another week.

But what if we really tried to contemplate this triumphal entry as if we were there? Of course, this is what I hope we do after each Sunday’s Worship Service and message: I hope we think about it and it somehow changes what we do and who we are during the week!

What if we were one of the disciples, one of the chosen twelve? We have been with Jesus pretty much full time for three years now. We are pretty much used to his sometimes strange actions. So, when he tells us to go into town and get the donkey and her colt, we might shrug and think, “Okay, the Lord has need of them. We don’t know why, but the Lord has need of them.”

Not even John’s Gospel, which always fills in the details, fills in the cracks that would have Jesus telling the disciples that he was about to enter Jerusalem on one of those animals. No, there were no questions or explanations, just “Go into town, get the animals, and if anyone says anything, say, “The Lord has needs them.”

So, as Jesus’ disciples, what do we say when someone asks us to do something, because of our faith, because we are Christian, because we are church members, because we are trying to be good, Godly people? I can tell you what most of us do: We say, “Why?” Most of us want an explanation of why we might be asked to do something, especially if it seems to be as obtuse as going into town and getting a donkey and her colt. I mean, Jesus and his disciples seemingly have gotten by without one for three years; they have walked every place. So, why a donkey and her colt now? The answer is, “The Lord has a need…The Lord has a need.” (It also fulfills the Old Testament prophecy about how the “King of the Jews” will come into power!)

However, now, the Lord has a need for us to be his disciples, and there has never been a greater time to meet the needs as Jesus’ disciples.

I bet that when we think of “meeting needs,” we think of “money issues.” But there is so much more than just supplying monetary needs. Particularly at the age and stage most of us are, there is the need of time and tender loving care, not only to our own people, but to those around us.

There is also our own need to be helped. We might even say, “I don’t want to be a bother,” or “I’d hate to ask someone to do that.” But, sometime, perhaps a lot of the times, people who want to meet needs are available; they just don’t know what needs to meet. If we have needs, and we let others know, there are usually people around to meet those needs.

The best habit to get into as a disciple of Christ is to develop the attitude of saying “sure” to requests. “Sure, I’ll do that for you, if at all possible.” “Can you give me a ride?” “Sure, when?” “Can you help me at my house?” “Sure, what can I do?” “Would you be willing to (fill in the blank)?” “Sure, I’d love to!”

Again, Jesus’ disciples weren’t told any more than “The Lord has need of it,” when asked to go into town. They trusted that they could do what Jesus asked, and it would be for the good. If someone asks us to do something good, especially a fellow believer, there is no reason not to acquiesce to the request.

What if we were who I would call the “cheerleaders” that day? These were the folks who were around Jesus, but not officially “disciples.” These were the people who listened to his teachings, who followed him around, and who now were the cheerleaders, shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!” They were creating quite the stir!

What do we think Jesus was doing, though, While the crowds were cheering? What do we think was the expression on Jesus’ face? What do we think were the expressions on the twelve disciples’ faces? Somehow, I just can’t see Jesus waving and grinning to the crowds as he rode that donkey into town.

Perhaps he did look resolute. Perhaps he had a look of satisfaction on his face, because this was the way things were supposed to be. Perhaps he was thinking ahead to the rest of the week.

We know that other recollections of this Palm Sunday entrance make this “Passion Sunday” rather than “Palm, Sunday.” I have always thought that it is important to see this as “Palm Sunday” to get the full impact of the juxtaposition between the joyful celebration that the Messiah of the peoples’ dreams has come, and the sadness that Jesus wasn’t truly the “King of the Jews.”

Have we ever thought of the look on Jesus’ face as he rode into town on the donkey, with the crowd of cheerleaders in front and behind?

Have we ever been a cheerleader for Jesus?

Some of us may say, “Not really, we’re Presbyterians. We’re called the “Frozen Chosen.” If we want to jump and shout, we would be something else!” Yet, we don’t have to put the “jump and shout” into “Hosanna to the Son of David. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.”

It really is also effective when we say it with great surety: “Jesus is Lord; Jesus is the promised Messiah; Jesus is the Son of David; the Son of Man; the Son of God. Thanks be to God!”

Are we cheerleaders for Jesus? Do we ask people if they believe in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior? Do we ask people if their life would be better with forgiveness and love and knowing for certain God loves them? Do we ever ask folks if we could tell them about our Savior? Are we cheerleaders for Jesus?

Are we “the others” in the crowd, part of the “Whole city (that) was in turmoil” crowd? There was probably a very large group, probably the majority, who wondered, “Who the heck is this anyway? The streets are blocked, there is what appears to be a riot on the main street, and it is being led by some guy on a donkey. What is going on; it really is a real pain!”

Oh, my friends, if only the world knew and believed what we know and believe: That Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world, and yes, he disrupts lives, but for eternal purposes! Unfortunately, in our present age, politics has become our main means of salvation – or not, our main means of protection – or not – from cradle to grace, our main source of security and well-being – or not. As someone has said, “We raise armies to produce peace. There was a time when we fought wars for national expansion or for the good name of the king. Now we fight wars for security.”

Do we dare say that we Americans will soon be fighting wars for our financial security? I haven’t seen any seriously non-political commentary on the budget proposals that aren’t negative. The Wall Street Journal had a blistering article this past week, though. My gut feelings are that we are quickly becoming a socialist nation. We are a long way from responding the way the Middle East countries are responding, but we will get there sooner than those countries have. You see, we have known the “good life,” the prosperous life, so much so that we have gotten very used to it. I’m afraid we are about to lose it – and we don’t know that we are, and if we did, we wouldn’t know what to do about it.

I know this is a political statement, but most of the citizenry of this great country depend on politics, not the Lord Jesus Christ, for prosperity, health, and well-being. If we chose to be the followers of Jesus, we would give our fullest effort to answering the age-old question with our lives, as much as it depends on us. We would constantly be asking “What does the Lord require of us?” We know the Biblical answer: “Only this, to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with the Lord.”

When we see the guy on the donkey named Jesus, are we seeing him from the perspective of the disciples, the cheerleaders or the townspeople? Hopefully, we are at least the cheerleaders, preferably we are the disciples!

What if Jesus asked us to get him a donkey?

Amen.

A Lord's Day Message for Sunday, April 10, 2011

(Message © by Rev. Larry A. Langer, First Presbyterian Church, Jasper, IN, April 10, 2011)

 “Seven Who Encountered Jesus: (5) Lazarus, Mary, Martha and the Jews”

John 11:1-45 and Romans 8:6-11

“So the sisters sent a message to Jesus, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.’ But when Jesus heard it, he said, ‘this illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God’s glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.’” (John 11 4, 5)

Is there any among us who hasn’t had the experience of hearing our text for today and wishing we had been the one standing next to Jesus that day, hearing Jesus calling our loved one by name, commanding him or her to “come out,” and have our loved one come back to life? Oh, we might say we wouldn’t want our loved one back if he or she couldn’t be totally well, but if he or she could be full of health, what a joy that would be for us!

I have wished for the power of the Lord to say to my loved ones and, as your pastor, to your loved ones, “In the name of Jesus, come out!” But all of our experiences thus far give indication of the finality of our physical death. So far, there hasn’t been a “Lazarus” among our loved ones.

Church Swindoll quoted Joseph Bayly from the book The Last Thing We Talk About,

There are two fixed points in our lives: birth and death. Death is especially unbendable. One astute writer used these words to describe what we have all felt.

This frustrates us, especially in a time of scientific breakthrough and exploding knowledge, that we should be able to break out of earth’s environment and yet be stopped cold by death’s unyielding mystery.

An electroencephalogram may replace a mirror held before the mouth, autopsies may become more sophisticated, cosmetic embalming may take the place of pennies on the eyelids and canvas shrouds, but death continues to confront us with its bleak wall. Everything changes; death is changeless.

We may postpone it, we may tame its violence, but death is still there waiting for us. Death always waits. The door of the hearse is never closed.

Dairy farmers and sales executive live in death’s shadow, with Nobel Prize winners and prostitute, mother, infant, teen, and old man. The hearse stands waiting for the surgeon who transplants heart as well as the hopeful recipient, for the funeral director as well as the corpse he manipulates. Death spares no one.

This is very somber, and we know this. Somber and sobering, we know these things. This is all there is to life as we know it: Death – all there is, that is, unless Jesus stands among us. But, if Jesus stands among us, we may have more of a child-like view of death:

Alan, age 7, “God doesn’t tell you when you are going to die because he wants it to be a big surprise.”

Aaron, age 8, “The hospital is the place where people go on their way to heaven.”

Stephanie, age 9, “Doctors help you so you won’t die until you pay all their bills.”

Marsha, age 9, “When you die, you don’t have to do homework in heaven unless your teacher is there, too.”

Kevin, age 10, “I’m not afraid to die because I am a Boy Scout, and Boy Scouts are brave.”

Ralph, age 8, “When birds are ready to die, they just fly to heaven.”

What about adults? What do they say about death? What do some of our spiritual writers say?

St. Ambrose: “The foolish fear death as the greatest of evils, the wise desire it as a rest after labors and the end of ills.”

William Barclay: “When I die, I should like to slip out of the room without a fuss – for what matters is not what I am leaving, but where I am going.”

Dietrich Bonheoffer: “Death is the supreme festival on the road to freedom.”

John Bunyan: “Death is but a passage out of a prison into a palace.”

Dwight L. Moody: “This is my coronation day; I have been looking forward to it for years.”

James Dobson: “The final heartbeat for the Christian is not the mysterious conclusion to a meaningless existence. It is rather, the grand beginning to a life that will never end.”

St. Francis of Assisi: “It is in dying that we are born to eternal life.”

Abbe Henri de Trouville: “Death is the following of life, the consummation of union with God.”

George Whitefield: “Take care of your life and the Lord will take care of your death.”

Arthur Sherrington Wood: “My happiest moment will be when God puts his hand on my heart and stops it beating.”

It is interesting, isn’t it, that none of these great figures in the Christian faith said, “I wish Jesus would stand in front of my tomb after I die and tell me to ‘come out!’ No, each of these great figures in the Christian faith is ready for Jesus to stand in front of them and say, “Come home!” They are ready to hear and believe the words of the spiritual song,

Come home, come home,

you who are weary, come home.

Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling,

Calling “O sinner, come home!”

This is what our text is all about: Jesus calling us home, not our hoping with the power and love of Jesus Christ that we or our loved one will be called back to this life from the grave! It is about believing in the One and only Person, Jesus Christ, who did die, but how was brought forth from the grave to live forever!

The salient question before all of us now is as it was asked of Martha, “Do you believe this?” “Do you believe, Martha, that I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” Do we believe this, my friends?

This passage from John 11:25-26 is one of the main, usual passages that we read at a funeral, but as I re-looked at my funeral liturgy book, I discovered that it was the third passage listed to read. What were the first two that, if they are listed in order of chronology or importance, are they foundations to our faith? Here they are; what do we think about these texts and their order?

First comes Psalm 124:8, “Our help is in the name of the Lord who made heaven and earth.”

Second comes Romans 6:3-5, “When we were baptized in Christ Jesus, we were baptized into his death. We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that, as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live a new life. For if we have been united with Christ in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.”

Third, then comes John 11:25-26, “I am the resurrection and the life, says the Lord. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.”

But there are two more after these that are words of assurance and invitation, also.

First, the assurance from Revelation 21 and John 14:19, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. I was dead and behold I am alive forever and ever; and I have the keys of Death and Hades. Because I live, you also will live.”

Then the invitation from Matthew 11:28, “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give your rest,” invites Jesus the Christ, Jesus is the Son of God, Jesus the Good Shepherd, Jesus our Savior.

But, going back to our text for today, did you notice? Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life…” He didn’t say, “I will be” or “As soon as I die, I am going to be…” No, Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life.”

In John’s Gospel, “Eternal Life” is now. Into the world of sin and death, a Savior has come. John writes at the very beginning of his Gospel, “The Word has become flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth.” Heaven has come down to earth. In the midst of death, there is life, because Jesus is the Lord of life. Even though, in this part of the Gospel, Jesus is on his way to the cross, he won’t let the forces of evil and death determine his direction or his life. In the Gospel of John, Jesus’ death is spoken of as his “hour of glory.” One has commented, “Jesus’ strange, upside-down way of looking at things, death and glory are linked. As he told Mary and Martha, Lazarus’ illness and this whole thing, in fact his whole earthly ministry that led to his cross, is “for God’s glory, “so that Jesus might be thereby “glorified through it.”

You know, when we or someone we love are on the way to “Glory Land,” if we will, God is usually glorified through us because of our faith in Jesus. First of all, “Since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have died…so we may not grieve as those who have no hope.”

When we pray here in the Sanctuary or at our table at home or at the bedside of our loved one, we pray in Jesus’ name as people with hope that God will heal as God has healed before. But then we can faithfully say at the end of the prayer what Jesus said in the midst of his, “Nevertheless, Lord, not my will but Thine be done.”

We all know in our hearts that there is very often healing for what ails us in this life. But we also know in our hearts that sometimes there is the perfect healing, the healing unto eternal life with the Lord.

Have we ever noticed that Jesus so rarely prayed for sick people? If we look at the Lord’s Prayer that Jesus taught his disciples to pray, we will find Jesus praying for forgiveness, for daily bread, for the coming kingdom, but he doesn’t mention sickness, nor does he  mention death, either.

Sickness, sudden accidents, even “living,” all of the things that result in death are the great challenges in life. But Jesus says, “Come with me, come on towards the death you are avoiding, lay your life into the hands of the living and loving God, let God give you the life that you cannot earn for yourself. In facing your death with me, in walking the way to the cross that I walk, you shall have eternal life, life, and that abundantly, but first, we have to go out to the cemetery.

As I wrote this, I was reminded of my own illnesses about a year and a half ago; my pneumonia where I was septic and my blood clot which filled my right leg. Turns out I should have stopped at the nearest hospital somewhere between Challis, Idaho, and here. Doc said that I only had about 24 more hours to get help for my sepsis, and then it might have been too late to help me.

Doc also said, when I presented him with my blood clot, that he had to put me in the hospital, because if the clot broke loose, no one could get to me fast enough.

What is interesting to me are my reactions to both. Yes, I could have stopped at a hospital in several good-sized towns along the way home from Idaho, but what if I had had to stay there? I would have been there alone; I really wanted to be near loved ones, so I drove on home.

But when I was in the hospital here with my clot, I was very much at peace, so much so that my Martha got upset and made me think. She said, “You absolutely don’t understand the seriousness of your situation. You very much could die, and you are acting as if nothing is happening!”

I have thought about these things and have decided that I didn’t want to be alone between here and Idaho, but I did have the comfort of loving, caring people around me here. I really did believe and know that whether I lived or died, I belonged to the Lord. What more does a person need this side of heaven and that side of earth: People who love, first of all, and then a God who loves us so much that he gave his only Son that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”

Jesus, the Resurrection and the Life; Our only true comfort in life and in death. Amen.

A Lord's Day Message for April 3, 2011

(Message © by Rev. Larry A. Langer, First Presbyterian Church, Jasper, IN, April 3, 2011)

“Seven Who Encountered Jesus: (4) The Man Born Blind”

Ephesians 5:8-14 and John 9:1-41

“His disciples asked him, ‘Who sinned, this man or his parents, the he was born blind?’ Jesus answered, ‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him.’” (John 9:2-3)

Where we left Jesus and the disciples last week, the men and women from Sychar were going out to see the man who had changed the town’s “woman of shame” into a “woman of forgiveness.” The last statement made in the text about this day in the life of sinners was said to the woman: “it is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Savior of the world!”

I made the comment that it seemed that the disciples were also beginning to “get it,” because they didn’t question Jesus about going through Samaria in the first place, didn’t ask any questions when they came back to the well and found Jesus with the woman, nor had anything to say when Jesus taught them right then and there about how “the fields were ripe for a spiritual harvest.”

So, we could assume that the disciples would be really moving along in their faith. Apparently, this is not so, because just five chapters later, we get the recollection of the day Jesus and the disciples were walking along and encountered “the man born blind.” If we remember what the woman at the well said about worship and what Jesus said in return can be applied here.

The woman, drawing on her history, said, “Our ancestors worshipped on this mountain, but you say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem.” Jesus responded with, “You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him.”

The key phrase here is “you worship what you do not know; we worship what we know.”

Now, let’s get back to today’s story. The disciples thought they knew what to ask Jesus as they were walking along that day in Jerusalem. They wanted a theological answer to a physical question. They wanted to be able to put into a nice little box and tie up with a bow, “Who sinned, this man or his parents, the he was born blind?”

Perhaps this is the first question we ask when a baby comes out handicapped, or is diagnosed “Down’s Syndrome,” or “Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.” “Who sinned?” “What happened”? “Who screwed up?” “Who do I sue?”

I will always appreciate Dr. Ruff here in town when Peter was finally diagnosed with his malady. You know that all along we thought that Peter was ADHD. We thought all along that Peter just need more discipline. And, actually as we were considering whether or not Peter may have a gene that would make him amoral – inhibit his ability to know right from wrong – we discovered his chromosomal defect that is put under the title of “Klienfelter’s Syndrome.”

This is not an “amoral gene.” It is a genetic issue that causes delayed development, super height, a large girth, and possible sterility. As Peter has aged, he has been able to mature, has been able to begin making good and wise choices, has been able to be more of the son parents would like to have, a “normal kid,” if you will.

But applicable to today’s text is what Dr. Ruff said as soon as he received the results back from the genetic testing, and even before we asked, although we were probably thinking it. Dr. Ruff said, “Please do not blame yourselves for Peter’s genetic disorder. We aren’t sure why the genes came together like they did, but we are pretty sure that neither of you are at fault. Don’t spend time trying to figure out the cause or who to blame. Spend your time and energy on raising your son as best you can.”

We could sit around all day trying to answer the question the disciples asked Jesus: “Who sinned; this man or his parents?” “Who sinned; Peter or Larry or Martha?” But Dr. Ruff and Jesus said, “That’s not a question that needs to be asked. Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born the way he was so that God’s works might be revealed in him.”

In the blind man’s story then, Jesus spit on the ground, made mud, placed it on the man’s eyes, told him to go wash in the Pool of Siloam (which means, “He who has been sent”). “Then he washed and came back able to see.”

In Peter’s story, we have worked with the school, the Southwest Dubois Community Schools Coop, the doctors, the counselors, and SIRS and the BDDS to get Peter where he is today. He is a good and valued employee at Pizza Hut. He has been hired to work at the new Wendy’s in Dale. He is going to fill out apps in other places for a full time position. People really like him at the Hut and other places.

Even my mother, who really couldn’t stand to be around him, is now complimenting him on how nice, polite, helpful and funny he is. All the folks at my mother’s retirement place like him. Peter can never be healed from Klienfelter’s, unless Jesus comes along and changes his chromosomal make-up. But Peter can be brought along to enjoy a good life, even a productive life.

That is, unless like the man born blind but who now sees, we keep dwelling on trying to figure things out, especially keep trying to figure out the sin involved. Jesus sees a blind man and thinks about healing him. Jesus’ disciples (and us) also see the blind man and immediately begin a theological discussion with, “Who sinned?”

You see, it is our human thinking side that would have us try to explain sadness and tragedy – we want the rational explanation. If God is good and righteous, then if there is bad, then the bad must be punishment for our badness, right?

When Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast four years ago, a State Senator from Alabama said that it hit where it did because Mississippi and Louisiana had legalized gambling, that God had sent the hurricane to punish those states for their sin.

A preacher in Alabama retorted, “Well, if the Lord was aiming for those casinos, then the Lord needs to improve his aim. The hurricane took out about eight casinos and nearly a hundred Methodist Churches!”

At least in today’s Gospel, Jesus won’t make a direct correlation between sin and a person’s circumstances in life – at least this isn’t what is important to Jesus. What is important to Jesus (and to us) is what he and we are going to do with it and about it. The thing is, unless we are believers in Jesus Christ, we will dwell on the sin, rather than seeing what we can do with the life. If we are believers in Jesus Christ, we will do what Jesus said to do: “Give thanks that God’s works are being revealed!”

I don’t know how much any of us know about the Alcoholics Anonymous program or any of the other 12-step programs that take their foundation from A.A., and that take it all from the Bible, really, but the one thing I have always thought was missing from the 12-step program was a “Celebration Step.”

Now, I have been by the AA meeting that meets here; I have been around other AA meetings that have met in other churches I have pastored. I hear them applauding each other’s testimonies. I hear them applauding a new milestone in their soberness – 30 days, six months, 5 years, etc. But I would think that celebrating one’s sobriety would be one of the 12 steps. Rather it seems that the person going through AA always remains beaten down, sometimes seems to be going through life feeling worthless rather than worthwhile – especially worthwhile as a child of God.

But, I guess, maybe our root problem is thinking too much of ourselves – such as the Pharisees were literally too full of themselves – rather than thinking little enough of ourselves. When we are so quick to judge, so quick to find fault, so quick to discard, so unwilling to even recognize that “there for the grace of God go I,” we are too full of ourselves and not full enough of Jesus Christ.

I don’t really need to remind us we ought to be feeling the empty pangs in our souls today. This is the first Sunday of the month when we would usually be celebrating the Holy Meal, Holy Communion. We haven’t had the bread and the cup to eat and drink for a month now. But we are in the midst of Lent, the “Season of Sin,” This is the season we are encouraged to spend forty days for honest meditation upon our sin, looking forward to Resurrection Day once again, when we can breathe a sigh of relief that we don’t have to live in our sin forever, that we are forgiven because of our faith in the grace of God in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Let me suggest that the twelve steps of AA are useful for us to use as we meditate during Lent:

Step one, we admit that we are powerless over our own lives, over any sin; "the things we want to do righteously we cannot do, and the things we don’t want to do we do – and there is no health in us," says Paul.

Step two, we do believe that a Power greater than ourselves can restore our lives to living and being righteous. This Power is God, with the Holy Spirit being God’s power in us.

Step three, we make the decision, as tough as it is, to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God, as we understand Him. We may not all understand God the same, but when we believe that there is a Higher Power named God who can handle all, we can make the decision to turn our will over to God.

Step four, we make a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves. What often happens, though, is we look at the splinter in another’s eye and not see the log in our own. Besides, it is scary and hurtful when we do give credence to the log. We’d much rather ignore it.

Step five, we admit to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs. Being Presbyterians, we do try to do this. We have our Prayers of Confession; we have our opportunities to not ignore the things that are wrong in our lives. We can admit the things that are wrong. We can admit them and be healed from them.

Step six, we can be entirely ready to have God remove all our defects of character. It is interesting that step six just says, “We are ready to have God remove our defects of character.” Here is where the “yeah, buts…” come in. We may know our failures; we may feel that we want to get rid of them; but we have to get to the point that we want to get rid of them.

Step seven, has us humbly asking God to remove our shortcomings. And, what are we promised in Scripture? I John 1: 8-9 says, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth in not in us. But if we confess our sins, God who is faithful and just will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” In humility and faith let us confess our sin to God, then.

Step eight, is to make a list of all the people we have harmed and become willing to make amends to them all. Again, we make this list without the “yeah, but…” Be ready to admit that careless word, that crass comment, that unavailability, that embarrassment you caused. Be ready to admit all of them.

Step nine, go do it! Go, make amends to such people wherever possible, except where to do so would injure them or others. Matthew 5:23 says, “When you are offering your gifts at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift…When you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, first be reconciled to them.”

Step ten, keep on practicing steps 8 and 9 constantly.

Step eleven, seek through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out. Can we ask for any more than to know God’s will and carry it out?

Step twelve, having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we try to carry this message to all others and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

As I reminded us earlier, this is the season of Lent. But rather than being dour and somber, it can we a very joyful season. We are sinners, to be sure, but in Christ something decisive and wonderful is being done to heal our sinful state. Martin Luther said that we ought to confess our sin and throw a mantle of charity over the sins of others!

So, during Lent our time is best spent not in theorizing about sin, nor by zealously rooting our the sins of others, but rather in humbly confessing our own sin – perhaps the way we callously walk past those in need on our way to church to worship a God who reaches out in mercy to those in need, the way we can always see the sin of others more clearly that our own sin, the way we get confused into thinking that Jesus is among us as a judge and jury rather than as a Savior and healer. Lent ought to be a time not so much for prophetic, searing honesty about sin, but rather for modesty and for celebration of our God who comes to us and heals us in love, despite our sin.

Praise God! Hallelujah! Amen.