Let us pray. Lord, may the words of my mouth and meditations of our hearts together this morning be pleasing in your sight. You are the Lord who both gives and takes away. (Job 1:21) Blessed be the name of the Lord, Amen.
So, I’m excited. Two weeks from today, we are going to have one of the biggest celebrations of the Christian year, and that’s cause for excitement, right? And what is it that we’re going to be celebrating? That’s right, Easter! We will be celebrating the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and when we celebrate, we celebrate big! So please invite your family and friends to church; we’ll have a special worship service, an egg hunt for the kids, and a lunch fellowship after the service. Tianen will sell some products, too. Easter for us symbolizes God’s impossible ability to turn death into life. Our Lord and Savior Jesus was destined for the cross, so that through his sacrifice we might be cleansed from our sin. But death was not all that had planned.Through Jesus’ death, and through his resurrection from death, God showed to us the power of life anew; a power which can be poured into us as well. I’m sure we all have had at least one experience - and hopefully more than one - where the course of our life was turned for the better as a result of our faith in Christ: a time when we found hope in a hopeless situation, or when God gave us exactly what we needed precisely when we needed it. A time when God healed, when God saved, when God delivered us from the miserable, death-like situations in our lives and replaced them with things of meaning and purpose. Rebirth, renewal, a new chapter in our lives; whatever we call these times, when God intervenes in our lives this way it’s so very exciting, isn’t it? When God opens doors for us, paves the way, makes it straight, and gives us opportunities we never thought possible, that’s when we truly feel that our God is a living God, a God who can change our situation, change our lives, and even change ourselves. We understand that our God is the God of Easter, who gifts us with newness, changing our destiny from death into life. When we have these times where great negatives in our lives are suddenly, even miraculously turned into great positives, it’s easy for us to see how God is at work among us. I know it sounds obvious, but it is true, isn’t it? When we encounter healing, when we see God provide, when God brings lost friends to the community, when all the new things that happen in our lives and in our communities are positive, we can’t help but to praise God, because God made what seemed to be impossible happen for us! When we witness God turning a life around, turning negatives into positives, turning darkness to light in ways that defy all the strength, all the logic, and all the great and mighty willpower of our humanity, we know right then and there that these miracles can only come from God, and God alone. Of course we can’t help but to praise the Glory of God’s holy name! But, in that moment, the question sneaks into the back of our mind that if God really is so powerful, if God has the ability to change things, to turn all that is bad into good, why doesn’t God always do it? If God can heal, why doesn’t God heal everyone? If God can provide, why does God sometimes seem to take instead? If God can mend, why does God break? If God can revive - if God can resurrect - why does God let things die? Questions like these probably crossed the minds of the people in today’s story. Today’s story opens with the word that Mary and Martha’s brother Lazarus is ill, seriously ill, to the point that Lazarus ends up dying. This is not the first time Jesus has dealt with a situation where someone was quite ill. In fact, by the time we get to today’s story, Jesus had already earned a reputation as a healer. At the beginning of his ministry, Jesus cured every disease and every sickness among the people. (Matthew 4:23) Jesus restored sight to the blind (John 9:1-12), stopped the bleeding of a woman who had been suffering for 12 years (Luke 8:43-48), healed the lame (John 5:1-9), healed another with a withered hand (Mark 3:1-6), and that’s just to name a few. There are still more healing miracles recorded in the Bible. So when we get to today’s story, the people already knew what Jesus was capable of. The large crowd that gathered and followed Jesus wherever he went were there expecting to witness his powerful acts of healing, and Mary and Martha were no exception to this. \ When Lazarus fell ill, Mary and Martha sent a message to Jesus saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” (John 11:3) And as we see in John 11:5, it wasn’t just Lazarus whom Jesus loved, but Martha and Mary as well. So if Jesus loves Lazarus, why didn’t Jesus go to him and heal him like he always did for the sick, the injured, and the dying? And what makes this even more puzzling is that Jesus seems to intentionally choose not to go right to where Lazarus was. John 11:6 says that, “after having heard that Lazarus was ill, he (Jesus) stayed two days longer in the place where he was.” What is going on here? Does that mean Jesus just…let Lazarus die? Did he actually choose to allow Lazarus to pass away? How could our God do such a thing, to cause grief by taking away the life of a beloved friend or family member like that? Of course the simple answer is, as we can see from today’s reading, that God does allow death to happen. Jesus plainly, even bluntly declares it to everyone that Lazarus has died (John 11:14). But if we want to understand why God allows this to happen, why it’s important for this to happen, we have to dig a little deeper. And to do that, we have to first remember that Jesus - and indeed God - approaches death very differently from how we approach the topic of death. The biggest difference between how Jesus faces death and how the rest of us do, is that we often try to avoid death, try to prevent death from happening. We fight to escape death, to keep it away from us for as long as we possibly can while, on the other hand, Jesus embraces death as something that cannot be avoided. Mary and Martha sent their message to Jesus to tell him of Lazarus’ illness. They knew that they were not God, they knew there was nothing they could do to save Lazarus, but they knew Jesus could. They knew that Jesus had a power they did not, a power to help them avoid the coming death, so they put their faith in him hoping that he would come and heal their brother just as he had healed so many others. But when Jesus finally got around to coming to see Lazarus - definitely not as quickly as Martha and Mary had hoped - the disciples warn him of his own risk of death, saying, “Teacher, you have enemies; the Jews were trying to kill you. Knowing that, are you leaving where you are and going to where Lazarus is?” (John 11:8) Mary, Martha, even the disciples are all trying to prevent death from happening, to prevent death from claiming the life of someone so very precious to them. And what’s striking here is that as understandable as that feeling is to all of us, Jesus does exactly none of that. Jesus isn’t interested in preventing death from happening. Jesus is only looking toward the work that God is doing in that death. When Jesus speaks of Lazarus, he says that “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) Through dying, and through the fact that God allows death to happen, we can begin to see that there is some other, greater purpose at work. But what Jesus is saying in this moment is more even than that; Jesus is saying that the God who allows death to happen is to be glorified and praised. It’s very easy to give glory to God when we see signs of power, life, light, healing, recovery, and all the possibilities of God’s promises coming our way. It’s easy to celebrate a God who gives us nothing but blessings, but it can be much, much harder for us to see God as praiseworthy and glorious when it’s not blessing we’re looking at, but death instead. When the things we hold dear are taken away, when the things and people which support us are falling away, or when situations just seem to keep getting worse instead of better, it doesn’t usually occur to us to lift up our hands and say,“Hallelujah! God is great!” does it? But this is the core message of today’s Scripture; God is the God of both life and death. God creates life, and God takes away life. God has the power and authority to give new life, and to take away life from people and things that have run their course. This ultimate authority and great power belong only to God. And allowing ourselves to accept, even embrace the death that God has ordained, is a crucial step in our faith journey. Look at Jesus’ life. Throughout his entire life and ministry and on earth, he knew that he was going to have to suffer and die on the cross. Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. (John 10:11) Jesus did not avoid talking about his own death, nor did he try to prevent it from happening. And not only did Jesus not try to avoid death, but through his words and actions he encouraged the disciples to live in the same way. He encouraged them to live for God’s will by embracing death in the same way, saying “If any wish to come after me, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lost their life for my sake will save it, ” (Luke 9:23-24) I think that this cross we bear, this death we face, comes for us Christians in big ways and small ways, throughout our lives. After I became a Christian, I had to let go of the part of me that placed my sense of self-worth on material things - like expensive clothes - because when I let that part of me die, I could embrace the fact that God, not my clothes, made me good. When Don and I decided to go to seminary and become pastors, we had to let a lifestyle of security and stability go, because when we let that part of us die we could embrace the fact that God would provide for us wherever we might go. When God inspired me to forgive and embrace my stepmother, I had to let go of my pride and conviction because when I let those things die, I could embrace this new relationship God had given me in my life. When we set aside our own desires, plans, hopes, and expectations, when we put these things on the cross and let them die, we make room for God to grow new things within us, springing forth new plans, hopes, and life out of the tomb. Dying to ourselves means rising anew in Christ. “For everything there is a season and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die; a time to plant and a time to pluck up what is planted. (Ecclesiastes 3:1-2) “ Many of us know these famous words from the book of Ecclesiastes. We know that all things happen in God’s ordained time, and that all things both good and bad happen according to the will of the Lord. But as much as we know that, believing it is another thing entirely. I confess that there was a time when I was really worried about declining attendance in our Sunday worship, in our classes, and in the other gatherings and events we offer as a church. Whenever I heard someone lament about how KUC used to have so many more people worshiping together on Sunday morning, I wondered to myself, “Oh no, is our church dying? Can we ever restore ourselves to the glories of the past? Is this my fault? Am I not doing enough?” In those times of anxiety and fear, I found myself working harder and harder to keep things from getting worse. I sent out reminder after reminder to people, so that they might come to the different events at our church. I started to worry about the number of people who showed up, and I only ever felt relief on those occasions where those numbers went up just a little bit. At some point though, it hit me; I realized that I was working in vain. I was trying so hard to save something that it wasn’t my job to save! I wasn’t supposed to spend my time fighting to keep those numbers from dropping any further, fighting to increase the number of people who show up for church on Sunday. I needed to let go of the idea that a successful church could be measured in numbers, figures, and data. Instead I realized that I needed to look forward to what God was doing, how God was guiding our church to be a resurrected body. It’s not my job, not any of our jobs, to decide who does and doesn’t come to church; not my job to increase the number of people in the sanctuary. That’s up to God and God alone. However, it is my job to see how God is turning death into life. It is my job to encourage people to listen to the voice of God calling us out of the tomb, calling us to rise and follow God in the work of servant leadership; the kind of leadership Jesus practiced by sacrificing himself to give light to the world. This type of spiritual growth does not come by the numbers, but you can see it when you see people practice endurance, build character through that endurance, and find hope no matter how difficult the situation might seem. I realized that focusing on the number of filled pews, concrete metrics, detailed plans for the future, even the positive or negative changes on a financial report; focusing on these things is like avoiding death itself. But ours is a God who allows for death to happen for great and glorious purpose; our God allows death to happen as a natural part of the cycle of life not because God delights in endings… But because our God is the God of resurrection. The God of rebirth. The God of Easter Sunday. The lenten season, both in the Christian year and in the cycles and seasons of our lives, is a time for us to set our eyes on the cross of Jesus, to remember that death too is a part of God’s plan. And whether we’re talking about the people who are dear to us, the things of our lives, or even the very identity of the church itself, we need to embrace this season of refining, where all those things which do not belong to God are burned away, so only what is willed by God, what is valuable to God, what belongs to God will remain. We have to remember that death is part of God’s plan and let it die, let it go when God says that is the time. Because only then, we can be witnesses to the glory of resurrection. Let us pray. Lord, we are a people who always want to talk about new life, rather than death. We don’t want to think about death, don’t want to face it even though you modeled death for us, so that we can all have life everlasting in you. Please show us, each one of us, what things we are holding on to in our lives which you need us to place on the cross. Please show us what we need to do as a church to let go of the things of the past, and to live fully as the people you want us to be. May you continue to be the Lord who gives and who takes away in love, and in mercy, according to your will now and forever more. Amen.
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Today I will be speaking on the story of the healing of the man blind from birth. There are several stories in the bible where we get the information where a person was afflicted from birth. Two in the book of Acts. In the gospel of John, we have one of the disciples asking the question of the nature of sin and punishment. When they meet the man born blind they ask the question, “Who sinned”? Did he sin in his mother’s womb? Or was it the sin of his parents or even of a great grandfather? The question is rude because they ask the question right in front of the man. They do not even have the courtesy to wait until the evening.
A little boy at the supermarket a few months ago turned to me and said, “Are you okay” “Daijobu desuka?” I was surprised and said I was okay. I asked why and he said he thought I was sick because my eyes were blue. It was cute because he was cute. But the disciples are not cute kids. They should know better. To ask this rude question is wrong. Here this guy is suffering, cut off from the world, just wanting a few coins to get through the day and all of a sudden a self-righteous guy filled with judgment asks about his or his parents’ sin. He couldn’t see. People he didn’t know were talking about him. People he couldn’t even confront. The question must have hurt. Not only did he have to suffer for all these years, be relegated to having to beg for money. This line of questioning is judgmental. Not righteous judgment but sinful judgement. We get a picture of righteous judgement when Jesus overturns the tables in the temple (Matt 21). When the apostle Paul confronts Peter about his behavior to gentiles Galatians2. This is not confronting the powers like Jesus did or correcting an equal like Paul did. This is judging a person who has nothing and then wanting to see him as less than nothing. It is not righteous judgment. That is evil judgment because its purpose is not to restore or correct but to push someone’s face just a little harder into the dirt. The world doesn’t need us as Christ’s representatives to walk around with planks in our eyes. When we see this kind of judgement we need to stand up to it and say, “No”. This kind of judgment sounds a lot like how people cancel each other on twitter and other social media sites. You know the phrase, “to be canceled”. It is the modern way to say that a group of people are going to boycott something or someone. This was canceled in Jesus’ day. If we think it was this man’s sin that caused his blindness. Then we are under no obligation to give him anything. If it is his family’s sin then we do not have to care for him, feel sorry for him, support him emotionally or any other way. It is the way that rich man treated Lazarus in Luke 16 seeing him as less than, not even worthy of the scraps from his table. If it is really sin that caused his blindness than to help him other than to tell him to confess and repent is an affront to God’s just and righteous punishment on him. This question has deep implications. He not only suffers but he gets accused of causing his own suffering. This type of thinking has its roots in the health and wealth thinking that equates financial and physical blessings with faithfulness, and poverty and unhealth on disobedience and sin. It is not a Biblical understand of God. Let’s just be honest. There are times people suffer because of their direct sin. I knew a guy that cheated on his wife. He neglected his family emotionally, financially, and finally his wife divorced him. It caused a break in this guy and caused him real emotional pain. When he met with me I listened to him talk about his pain before I felt the need to tell him that it was his sinful behavior that had caused his own pain. The only way out of his pain was to admit to his sin and ask God and his ex-wife and children for forgiveness. I told him he had to own his own stuff. I will say it again because this line of questioning is like a parachute to get us out of having to care for people in this world. It’s not a Christ centered worldview. You do not have to see the pain in the world because in this case the guy couldn’t even see. If you see the world in this way you might have a heart of stone that is talked about in Ezekiel 36. The good news is that if you ask God he can turn your heart of stone into a heart of flesh. But you have to ask. Ezekiel 36:26 says, “I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh”. When I get bitter, angry, or sarcastic I remind myself that I do not have to live with this heart of stone I have to turn to the light of Christ. Jesus is in Jerusalem probably near the temple gates when he passes by this guy. He is begging and probably communicating to the passersby that he is blind and that he has been blind from birth in order to pull on people’s heart strings to get some spare change. Let’s be clear. The question of sin and pain is not a bad question. The oldest book in the bible, the book of Job deals with the question of suffering and pain. People have been asking the question for at least 8,000 years. It’s all about the setting and the timing. Being naked in the shower is expected. At the supermarket it is not acceptable. Timing matters. Setting matters. The disciples' timing was off. And when our timing is off, we hurt people often unintentionally. Be careful. When I was a little boy I struggled with boils. Boils are painful pus-filled bumps that form under your skin often caused by bacterial infections. At first I got one or two, which were painful but one summer they covered my legs and back. I couldn’t even sleep in my soft bed because any pressure would cause pain. I remember crying myself to sleep because every-time I rolled over in my bed it would cause pain. In the morning there were times that my sheets needed to be changed because some boils popped in the night. My mom would sing me to sleep after putting the medication on me. One night I asked my mom the question, “Why won’t God heal me”? “Did I do something wrong?”. As I remember my mother just held me and kept singing. What could she say? Quoting one of the passages like Psalm 58:3 would not have been helpful to my spiritual or emotional life. Don’t get tricked into trying to answer all the questions. Jesus doesn’t answer all the questions asked of him. Sometimes he does not answer because the person’s intentions were off. On this occasion he wants us to learn the lesson that we are here to serve not to judge. In the book of Job, his friends do a lot of really great things to comfort their friend until they start talking. That's me, too. Jesus does not fall into the trap of debating biblical theological truths in front of the hurting man. He dismisses the question quickly by saying, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,”said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4 As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. 5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world”. Teaching is important but not when it is time for action. When we encounter people in pain it is not time to teach them about sin. God is giving us an opportunity to act as his instrument of love, to be his ambassadors. This healing in John 9 is special because it is the only healing where the person does not come directly to Jesus, or a friend or parent comes to Jesus on the ill person’s behalf. Jesus just does it. Jesus never speaks to the man until he tells him to wash himself. I think that it is important that there are times when we need to wait for people to ask for help but there are a few times in life where we just need to step in and do something. There are no rules to doing this except to listen to the Holy Spirit. Jesus spits in the dirt and makes a mud paste. In biblical time, spittle was thought of a person’s essence or intentions. Spittle from an unclean person would leave a clean person defiled not just physically but spiritually. At the crucifixion they spit on Jesus trying to defile him (Matt 26) But the spattle of a righteous or holy person was thought to be a blessing or medicinal. Jesus the Light of the world was conveying his blessing on a man living in darkness. John 1 starts by saying, Jesus is, “the light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it”. Jesus is not just talking about being thelight he shows that his light can overcome the darkness. Darkness of blindness. Yes. And other types of darkness. He shows physically that he is the light and darkness cannot stand against his light. We the people of God are not the light. The church is not even the light. Christ alone is the light. But we can be like the moon. The moon is just a chunk of rock. When the moon reflects the light of the sun it can light up the night in such an amazing and beautiful way. Be the moon and reflect the light of Christ to the people in need of light. As instructed he goes to the pool of Siloam which literally means sent. It almost is like Jesus instructs him to do a baptism on himself, as he washes himself can see. He goes home for the first time seeing the community he lives in. Seeing both the beauty and the dirt. Here is the truth. When you let the light of God’s love into your heart instead of living in the darkness you look different. I lost about 30 kilograms over the last 3 years. I still have people, especially old students that come up to me and say, “Are you Bartsch? It’s you.” And they are surprised asking me what happened. But that is nothing compared to a life changing encounter with God. Like Saul (Acts9), when the scales fell from his eyes there are people that want to put the scales back on. Don’t let them. Live into your faith not into your doubts. Some people will be happy with the change. But there are those that will actually prefer you blind, lame, ill, sick because a healthy you is out of their control. Get healthy anyway. Let the light of Christ into your heart daily. For the light of Christ will drive the darkness away. Let’s pray “Water of Life”
John 4:5-30 New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition Rev. Claudia Genung March 12, 2023 The story of Jesus and the woman at the well is very familiar. Jesus meets this Samaritan woman, whose name we never learn, and her life is changed forever. This encounter is the longest recorded conversation anyone ever had with Jesus. The story is simple but there are so many issues brought up with racial and religious differences and how Jesus is dealing with outcasts. She is a moral outcast in her own Samaritan community. One of the great truths to come out of this story is that God is greater than race, class, gender, and religious tradition. We also learn the woman struggles with many problems and choices. We also struggle with choices we may have made. For example, choices we have made ourselves or perhaps choices that were imposed on us. There are circumstances that happen to us in life that are beyond our control and we may then suffer from a “victim mentality” or we can go on with our life as best as we can. She, like some of us, may have had misplaced priorities, guilt, doubt, broken dreams, personal failure, indifference, excuses, anger, and hurt on how her life turned out. We don’t know this Samaritan women’s feelings but can only speculate. But what we do know is Jesus met her where she was, loved her and because of this wonderful encounter she accepted Christ so her life was never the same. This is true evangelism. Reaching people for Christ is not always easy. But, like Jesus, we have to go where people are if you want to reach them at all. Jesus intended to save this Samaritan woman so he went where she was. This is how to share the Good New! Once she is saved, she goes out to share with others! I am now going to do what is known as a “Narrative Sermon” or a story sermon. I’ll be the Samaritan woman who met Jesus. Let us pray as I try to get into character. “Lord, help us to hear the story in a new way and learn from it. Help us to learn to hear this story with new understanding. Amen.” START OF NARRATIVE SERMON: I realize some of you don’t like me. You just judge me. Most of you don’t even know my name. You have never bothered to get to know me and try to get to know my struggles and my pain. I hear your gossip. I hear your whispers. “Did you hear she has another man?” “She is a sinner.” “She is so shameful.” Do you think that I can't hear you? Or maybe you don't care if I do. Well, I didn’t care either…. But I actually do and I am hurt by your gossip. So, it is been easier for me to get my water in the sixth hour of the day when the sun is the hottest rather than the cool part of the day so that I do not have to meet any of you. Yes, I have avoided you because of the way you look at me but you all have avoided me as well. But today was different. It was a hot day and the sweat poured off my head as I carried my water jug. I reached the well where I always draw my water and it was there that I met a rabbi – a Jew - and he told me about everything I ever did. You look surprised that he – a Jew- would speak to me, a Samaritan and a woman. I was shocked too. Jews hardly speak to their own women and they never speak to us Samaritans. To speak to a woman in a public place was just unheard of and for a Jew to be in Samaria? That was unheard too. I come from the tiny village of Sychar. Do you know where Sychar is? Galilee is in the north, Samaria is in the middle, and Judea in the south Sychar is in Samaritan territory between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim. Sychar was built at the junction of two trade routes. One route that came up from Jerusalem on its way to Capernaum, and one that came west from the Jericho region toward the Mediterranean Sea. The well I get my water is located where these two trade routes come together. The well is called Jacob’s Well after our patriarch Jacob* who discovered the spring flowing beneath the surface. Now the easiest and quickest way to get to Galilee from Judea is to go due north right through Samaria. But when Jews travel, they almost never pass this way – they would take the longer route by going east, then cross the Jordan River, enter the region of Perea, then go north, re-cross the Jordan River, and finally they would be in Galilee. That is the long way around. Although it was out of the way and took a whole lot longer but it meant that the Jews wouldn’t have to go through Samaria. It is hard to believe that they would go the long way just to avoid Samarian territory! So that is what they did because they hated us Samaritans. Why? The Jews looked down on us, Samaritans, as religious and racial half-breed heretics. After Israel’s fall to the Assyrians, we Samaritans began to intermarry with the Assyrians, which Jews felt was a sin and contrary to their law found in Deuteronomy 7:3-5 where it says no intermarriage! We are not seen as pure “Jewish.” This is why the Jews hate Samaritans and call us as “half-breeds” and “dogs.” But this man, this stranger, whom I met at the well, just didn’t seem to care! He acted like he really wanted to talk to me! He wanted to get to know me. He acted like he had gone out of his way to come to Samaria and come to this particular well! Maybe to see me? That couldn’t be. Was he looking for me? How could that be? I remember exactly how it was that day. He was sitting by the well and was also sweating and looked tired. I could see that he was a stranger by his clothes. He asked me for a cup of water and, at first, I thought he was playing some sort of game or maybe even mocking me since I have already explained to you - Jews just don’t talk to Samaritans. We are considered “unclean” and if he touched a cup that a Samaritan had touched, then he would be “unclean” too. Rabbis were taught that it was a sin to touch a utensil that a Samaritan had touched. And so when I asked him why he, a Jew, would be speaking with me, a Samaritan, he said me did I know who it was that I was speaking with? He said something like this although I cannot remember the exact words. “Do you know who I am? If you knew my true identity, you could ask and I would give you water that leads to eternal life. And not just a drink of water but a gushing spring that will well up within your heart.” He said if I asked him, he would give me “living water.” I still was having trouble understanding if he meant running water or something different? I have to admit I was being a little sarcastic when I asked him how he planned to do that! The well is deep and he had not even brought a bucket or a cup! But he said; “Whoever drinks of this water will never thirst.” So, it seemed all that I had to do was just ask for living water? That seemed so simple and almost too easy. Then it dawned on me and I realized he was not talking about real water. I also felt he speaking to me like I was a person, like an equal. He just accepted me as I am. Oh, no! I thought. But maybe he really didn't know who I was and what others were saying about me. But, it turned out that he actually did. I was going to say something else but before I could even tell him more, he said to me to “go and call your husband” and not wanting to reveal my shame, I said, “I have no husband.” He said, “You're right when you say you have no husband. The truth is that you've had five husbands and the man that you're now with is not your husband.” How did he know that? Many of you don’t know that I was married a couple of times before I came to this village. I married very young and my first husband was a good man. He paid a fair bride price for me and my parents were happy. I thought I could be happy too but he suddenly died. According to Levirate law, I had to marry a relative of his to try to bear offspring for my deceased husband. So, I married my deceased husband’s uncle. But then he died and I married another relative and he died and then another and he died. After that, I was married off again but this man didn’t want me and sometimes he beat me so I ran away. There are not many options for women and especially widows. I did now own any property. And since I had no grown children, I could not go to live with them. I had no sons to care for me. My own parents had passed away. I was alone and had no resources. It is not easy for widows especially as we age. Maybe you remember the story of Ruth and Naomi in our Hebrew scriptures which had a happy ending but I did not a happy ending. I had to survive anyway I could. This prophet somehow knew all about me and my past but he didn’t care. I stood there in what I felt was a long like hours but it was just a few minutes. All the while he just looked at me with kindness and love in his eyes. As I said, I have many reasons for the way my life turned out that way it did. None of you bothered to ask and you judged me before ever talking to me. But he didn’t. As we continued to talk, I felt in awe of him and embarrassed. I also was confused. So, I changed the subject pointing to the mountain behind us I said, “This is our mountain for the Samaritans - Mount Gerizim. Our fathers worshipped on that mountain and we’ve worshipped there for generations but you Jews tell us that people can only worship in Jerusalem. So, tell me, which mountain is the “right one?” I may have sounded sarcastic or maybe like an idiot asking this but I really wanted to know! But he was kind in his answer. He answered me in a way that gave me worth and respect which was a new experience for me. I had not felt respect in a long time! He simply tells me that a time is coming when geography won’t matter much. He said it doesn't matter where you worship. “True worshipers,” he said, “worship God in Spirit and in truth and those are the kind of worshipers God seeks.” So, I think he was saying to me that it’s not about when and where you worship - this is about worshiping God with a pure spirit. Maybe it was the tone of his voice… maybe it was the calm I felt in his presence, but whatever it was, when he got to that spirit and truth part, I said, “I know the Messiah is coming, and when He comes, he will tell us everything…” And he said, “I am he.” Then I knew – I just knew that He was the Messiah from God! I just knew it! I felt my heart leap for joy! Up to now, I have been telling myself that God doesn't care about someone as insignificant as me but he helped me to see that wasn’t true! I was so excited when I left the well, that I even forgot my water jug! I just had to hurry and go to share with the people in town the good news about the Messiah and how he came for not just the Jews but for all of us! You, all of you here today. You are like thirsty villagers and I want him to splash you with living water! This water is continuously pouring out from above. And all we have to do is open ourselves up and let that living water soak our souls. If we accept this living water and believe in him, then there will be so much water and love inside this sanctuary that it will be flowing out into the streets and down this hill everywhere to everyone! Come, see the man who told me everything I have ever done! I told my whole town and they came to believe that Jesus was the Messiah! You, too, can be saved! Just ask for it! Ask for salvation! Come and believe in him. The Lord of Living Water, will pour his mercy on us. He will wash us clean and he is the one to give us the water of life. Share this living water of Jesus, the Messiah with others. Amen. Footnote: *Jacob was the grandson of Abraham, the son of Isaac and Rebekah, and was the second-born of their children, the elder being Jacob's fraternal twin brother, Esau. Jacob was the traditional ancestor of the people of Israel. Jacob had twelve sons through four women, his wives, Leah and Rachel, and his concubines, Bilhah and Zilpah, who were, in order of their birth, Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, and Benjamin, all of whom became the heads of their own family groups, later known as the Twelve Tribes of Israel. SAMARITANS: Samaritans still live in Israel but are almost extinct. If you want to know more about who the Samaritans are and their situation now, Google who are the Samaritans today. There are only about 800 left made up of four extended families. Men outnumber the women so they have brought in brides from Ukraine and Russia to marry. Let us pray: Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen.
Last year, when I preached this scripture on the temptation of Jesus which is often used on the First Sunday in Lent from one of the Gospels, I talked about being in the desert - the wilderness and what that was like for Jesus and us. However, this year I was led by the Spirit to do another theme. Temptation. It just rolls off your tongue, doesn’t it? That is what Jesus faced in the desert – temptation. There is a story of a robber who runs up to a man, pulls his gun, and for his wallet. The man unzips his jacket to get the wallet for the robber and in doing so, the robber sees his collar and realizes that he is a priest. “He says, “Sorry Father, I cannot rob you. You are a priest, a man of God. I will not take your wallet.” The priest is relieved and to calm himself he takes out a cigarette and asks the robber if he wants one. But the robber says, “No, thank you Father. Please do not tempt me. I gave up smoking for Lent.” We may be tempted to do things we shouldn’t. We may be tempted to eat an extra piece of cake or an extra slice of pizza when you really do not need it. Or, tempted to cut out work or school early to go hang out with friends. Or, tempted to tell a white lie to someone so that their feelings won’t be hurt – perhaps on their new haircut or article of their clothing. Or, tempted to say something that really should NOT be said. Or, tempted to buy something we do not really need. There are temptations all around. For some people temptations are even more serious and go to another level and they may be even tempted to do something displeasing to God (e.g. you may be tempted to: lie, cheat, gossip, boast, get angry when there is no reason to be, overeat, etc. You can probably think of other examples. Some of these temptations may seem silly like eating an extra piece of chocolate but some are quite serious and affect your soul. What are some of the temptations you have faced? What are the temptations happening in our world today? Rev. Dr. William Willimon (prolific author, Editor-At-Large of The Christian Century, theologian and retired bishop in the United Methodist Church) in his book “What’s Right With the Church” tells about leading an Adult Sunday School class that was studying the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness. After careful study and explanation of each of the three temptations, Dr. Willimon asked, "How are we tempted today?" A young salesman was the first to speak. "Temptation is when your boss calls you in, as mine did yesterday, and says, 'I'm going to give you a real opportunity. I'm going to give you a bigger sales territory. We believe that you are going places, young man.' ‘But I don't want a bigger sales territory,’ the young salesman told his boss. ‘I'm already away from home four nights a week. It wouldn't be fair to my wife and daughter.’ ‘Look,’ his boss replied, ‘we're asking you to do this for your wife and daughter. Don't you want to be a good father? It takes money to support a family these days. Sure, your little girl doesn't take much money now, but think of the future. Think of her future. I'm only asking you to do this. What a temptation for this poor man. Earn more money for his family since they will need it but at the cost of spending less time with his family? Or, refuse the job which means make a lot less money but he will have more time with his family. In the stories of the Coptic Desert Fathers of the early Christian Church there is a story about Abbot John the Dwarf (also called Saint John Colobus, Saint John Kolobos. See Wiki.) Abbot John prayed to the Lord that all passion be taken from him. His prayer was granted. He became impossible. In this condition he went to one of the elders and said: "You see before you a man who is completely at rest and has no more temptations." The elder surprised him. Instead of praising him, the elder said: "Go and pray to the Lord to command some struggle to be stirred up in you, for the soul is matured only in battles." Abbot John did this, and when the temptations started up again, he did not pray that the struggle be taken away from him. Instead he prayed: “Lord, give me strength to get through the fight." [Thomas Merton, The Wisdom of the Desert, p. 56-57.] Some temptations are our own making. Some may be from others. "To tempt someone” means to try and convince another person to do something which is what Satan did with Jesus. But Jesus did what God required of him to do. It may not have been easy after 40 days of fasting in the desert. But I also believe Jesus became stronger from this experience he had with the devil in the desert. Does God lead us into temptation? In the Lord’s Prayer we pray, “…lead me not into temptation but deliver me from evil….” Oftentimes we lead ourselves into temptation. All around us are things that would lead us away from believing in God “with our whole heart” and “loving our neighbor as our selves. (Mark 12:30-31) In the US, many cars have bumper stickers and sometimes they are funny or clever. For example, one bumper sticker I saw was based on the Lord’s Prayer and a joke. "Lead me not into temptation, I can find it myself." Do we find our own temptation or does temptation find us? Does God really tempt or test us? Some translations of the Bible use “test” instead of “temptation.” Jesus knew that he had the power of God’s love on his side and he did not succumb to temptations in the desert. But he did not go out looking for those temptations. They found him. In addition, temptations may or may not necessarily be bad – it is what we do with them that is often the problem. Tests and temptations. But, if we go through a test, we may come out stronger than before with the help of God and prayers for our community of faith. German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche's adage that “what does not kill me makes me stronger.” Again, I do not know if that is true for everyone. Some people break after a difficult time and some become stronger. However, in Jesus’ case he did became stronger after he rebuked Satan. This shows that when Jesus is tempted and feels he is in a difficult situation, he looks to God's word for guidance. This testing will strengthen him, just like fire strengthens iron. The trials he went through sharpened his discerning spirit. As a result of the temptations, Jesus became more prepared for his ministry because he had rejected the temptations. Let’s back up in scripture to learn what Jesus did before he went to the desert. Jesus had just been baptized by John and after he was baptized, a dove had landed on his shoulder and God’s voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:17) God was with him. God is with him as he is in the desert as well. After Jesus’ 40 days time in the desert, though weak psychically, Jesus gained strength spiritually and was strong in the Word of God. He could do what was required of him which was to be obedient to God and to follow the path to the cross. Jesus’ temptation might also have been forsaking his undeserved suffering and death that awaited him on the cross of Calvary. Did anyone here see the 1988 movie, “The Last Temptation of Christ”? It is directed by the religious drama film directed by Martin Scorsese.* The movie is about Jesus, a humble Judean carpenter who learns that he is the son of God but is drawn into revolutionary action against the Roman occupiers by Judas although Jesus believes that love, not violence, is the path to salvation. The burden of being the savior of humankind torments Jesus throughout his life in this film which leads him to doubt. As he is put to death on the cross, Jesus is tempted by visions of an ordinary life married to Mary Magdalene. The film was considered blasphemous by some Christian fundamentalists who were offended by any question of Jesus’ divinity although the Bible teaches that Jesus is both fully human and fully divine. Other Christians have said that that this film is one of Martin Scorsese’s masterpieces. It would be a good film for discussion sometime for us at KUC. (*Footnote: Martin Scorsese, the director, likes to make serious films about sin, guilt and redemption. Martin Scorsese also directed the film based on Endo Shusaku’s novel, “Silence.” Scorsese has made many films about battles in the souls of his characters between grace and sin and beliefs and passion. (e.g. "Taxi Driver," "Raging Bull," “Gangs of New York," The Wolf of Wall Street,” etc. ) In today’s scripture, the story of Jesus in the desert ends with the angels attending to Jesus after his three temptations but in the Gospel of Luke the same story ends with Satan leaving and looking in the future for other opportune moments to tempt Jesus. (When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time. -- Luke 4:13.) It seems that temptations most likely did not stop for Jesus even after the desert experience just like it doesn’t stop for us even after we become a Christian. When Jesus is out in that isolated desert, he is vulnerable but God gives him the words to say from scripture. When we feel like we are attacked or vulnerable or scared, that is when we can also draw upon words of scripture to give us strength. We can say, “Get behind me, Satan.” In our scripture reading, (Matthew 4 and Luke 4:8), Jesus rebukes "the tempter" (or the a.k.a. Satan) with these same words. “Get thee behind me Satan.” (KJV) These words will remind us that God is always stronger, more powerful, and always with us. As Pastor Akiko said last week in her sermon last week, she was surprised to hear a few people in the community in Kobe talking about the “personality of Satan” and “Satan ready to attack us form anywhere and everywhere.” She said it was “unfamiliar theology” and she has a lot more to say about God’s unending grace and mercy. I would agree with her. I have a lot more to say about the power of God who is always stronger that Satan. I do not believe is Satan lurking everywhere to attack me personally and doing things like turning off our alarm clocks so we’d be late for church or making us sick with a cold so we are too ill to read the Bible. I guess the ‘devil did this to me.” Or, ‘the devil made me’ are handy to say when you’re caught giving into temptation. Of course, it absolves you of all responsibility for any and every choice you make. However, I do believe that evil exists. But we are humans with freedom of choice and saying, “the devil made me do it” is not taking responsibility for your own actions. But there are times when certain people may seem possessed and I once was praying for a person who believed she was possessed. Whether it was mental illness or possession or something else, I used scripture and the power of prayer. When you feel there is evil around, that is the time when you need to evoke the power of God in prayer always knowing God is stronger than anything out there! As scripture says; “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God.” -- Romans 8:38 Martin Luther became famous after he put his 95 Theses to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany on October 31, 1517. Soon after that day, stories and pictures about Martin Luther surfaced and one famous story is how he used to throw his ink well at what he thought was Satan disturbing him from his writings and translation of the Bible. Luther would say to Satan, “Baptizatus sum” (which means “I am baptized.”) “I am baptized.”(His way to say, “Get thee behind me , Satan.” Martin Luther debated many foes in his lifetime, but none troubled him as much as his nightly debates with Satan. Luther ascribed his depressions and mood swings to these 'evil spirits. 'This constant fear of Satan is normal for the late-Middle Ages and rooted in the religious upbringing within his home and at school. (Show: Painting of Luther throwing ink well at Satan.) Luther defended himself through prayer, 'happy song' or, as you can see here, by throwing his inkwell. (The ink stain on the wall in Luther's room at the Wartburg, Germany is still supposably there and a tourist spot for pilgrims and visitors to see although apparently it has been touched up and re-dyed.) For Luther, defending the Gospel was a fundamental battle with the devil, the spirit who “spoke through his enemies.” In his biography, Luther: Man Between God and the Devil, Heiko Oberman quotes Luther: “The only way to drive away the Devil is through faith in Christ, by saying: ‘I have been baptized, I am a Christian.” Before I go on, I do have an amusing and somewhat funny story ( a joke ) for you about a woman and Satan. It is about a woman who was heading out the door to go shopping to get a dress for church. Her husband told her, “Please, don’t you buy any expensive dresses! We cannot afford it.” His wife said, “Ok But what if I find a dress I really like?” Her husband replied, “Just say, ‘Get behind me, Satan!’” A couple of hours later, the woman came home with a new, very expensive dress. Her husband was perplexed and said, “What did I tell you? I told you no expensive dresses!” “Well,” the woman said, “I saw this dress and I just wanted to try it on. I was not planning to buy it, just try it on. Then I went in the dressing room, put it on, and looked in the mirror. It was so beautiful and I really wanted to buy it. I could almost hear Satan telling me how great I looked in it! Then, I remembered what you said, so I said, ‘Get behind me, Satan!’” Her husband was flabbergasted, “Then why did you buy the dress?” “Well,” said his wife, “when I said, ‘Get behind me, Satan,’ Satan said, “The dress really looks good from behind too!’ ” Then that brings us to the question, what does temptation mean for us? Are we tempted in the same way as Jesus was? And I believe that yes, you and I are tempted by all the sinfulness of this world to turn away from what is required of us by God. The temptations of this world lead us to follow other idols and other “gods,” the god of selfishness, the god of power, the god of greed, etc. The other gods of this world tempt us to ignore our neighbor and to dwell only on our self, our own needs and desires. Our idols and other gods of this world will tempt us to sin. But our God is stronger and more powerful than any of these false gods and idols. And what is required of us by God. That is simple of at the same time most difficult. We are required to follow the two great commandments Jesus speaks about in the Bible as it says in Mark 12:28-34 “And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, ‘Which commandment is the first of all?’ ”Jesus answered, "The first is, ’Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this, ’You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these." Our commandments are to love God and to love our neighbor. That is what is required of us. When Jesus was tempted, he remembered who he was- the Son of God. He remembered his life came from God. He remembered the Word of God and that God was with him. When we are tempted, with Jesus’ help, let us remember who we are and where our lives come from. Let us remember God’s love is powerful. More powerful than anything! We go out into the world with the power of Jesus Christ! Let’s look again at the temptations Jesus faced in today’s scripture – “Take care of yourself. Save the world. Prove your faith.” This shows that when Jesus is tempted and feels he is in a difficult situation, he looks to God's word for guidance. As a result of the temptations, Jesus was stronger and more prepared for his ministry because he had rejected three false ways of doing his task. Somebody once called what the devil was trying to get away with Jesus there in the desert “identity theft.” Interesting way to put it. God said to Jesus, “You are my Son, the beloved.” Jesus remembered who he was, whose he was, and chose to live out of his identity as the beloved Son of God. We may face temptations. We may feel we cannot handle them. But remember, you are a beloved child of God. God will never forsake you. Scripture tells us Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."- - Deuteronomy 31:6 In closing, let us remember that we belong to God. Let us remember these three things: Jesus’ baptism, Jesus’ temptation and Jesus’ ministry. If these three actions have one thing in common, it’s this: Throughout all of them, Jesus remained focused on obedience to God. May we do the same. Go forth during this Lent know that prayer and the Word of God will sustain you through your “trials and tribulations.” If may need help, the church and other Christians will pray and support you. God is with you and you are not alone. Thanks be to God. Amen. ----------- Gracious God, take our minds and think through them; take our hands and work through them; take our hearts and set them on fire. Amen. |
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