“The Risen Christ is Here!”
Pastor Akiko Van Antwerpen Luke 24:13-35 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+24%3A13-35&version=NRSV This is our fourth Sunday since our worship has gone exclusively online. It is a lot to figure out week by week, but God’s grace and mercy, as well as your support, keep us going. So thanks be to God for that! Starting from last week, we also decided to pre-record everything during the week, and stream the recorded video on Sunday morning. This means that, while you’re hearing me on Sunday, I’m actually sharing this message on Saturday instead. Saturdays can be very interesting days; stuck right between our regular week, and the bright promise of Sunday. This idea of Saturday is even in the bible too. Have you ever heard about Holy Saturday?. Holy Saturday is the day between the suffering of Christ on Good Friday and the resurrection of Christ on Easter Sunday. Sometimes, in our own lives and faith journeys, we find ourselves along the path to redemption. We find that Christ has died for our sins, and the sins of the world, just as with Good Friday, but we haven’t quite found our way to the resurrection yet. We get stuck on Saturday. That new life in Christ that which is brought about on Easter Sunday, just hasn’t happened for us yet. So we find ourselves in Holy Saturday; a state between what has happened already, and what has not happened yet; “already” because Christ has died for us, but not yet because we are still waiting for new life to bloom. Celebrating Easter this year, as the world goes through this pandemic of COVID-19, might feel to some of us very much like Holy Saturday. We have celebrated the risen Christ two weeks ago, but for some of us, maybe that celebration has felt a little empty, because what is happening in our world or in our personal lives is stuck between already and not yet. Today’s Scripture shares the same sentiment of being in between already and not yet. On Easter day itself, two people, one named Cleopas and the other an unnamed figure, were going to a village called Emmaus. Early in the morning this Easter day, they were in Jerusalem with the disciples and a group of women. In the story, these two were talking with each other as they walked from Jerusalem to Emmaus, which is a distance of about 7 miles, or 11 km; likely an hour or two hours walk. What were they talking about as they walked? When you look at the story, you see the risen Jesus himself approaches them and asks them exactly that. They answer saying that they are talking about Jesus of Nazareth without knowing that the very person that they are talking is Jesus. By this time, the death of Jesus has become big news in Jerusalem. Jesus had attracted the attention of the crowds as he entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, but was shortly brought to court, put on trial for claiming himself to be the king of Jews, judged guilty, and put on the cross to die. What a week! This was hard, traumatic news for people of Israel to receive and process. People in Israel had thought that Jesus would be the one to redeem Israel and set them free from the oppression of the Roman Empire. What these two on the road saw and heard was a story of death instead of redemption. They saw how their chief priests and leaders handed Jesus over to death on the cross. The story was, to them, a Good Friday story. Their long awaited messiah is now dead, and they are understandably sad and troubled, and maybe disappointed and defeated, too. But sadness is not the only sentiment you can see in this text. There is also a sense of expectancy, a deep desire to know more, which we see in these two people. In addition to the death of Jesus on the cross, they also received the strange and confusing news of his empty tomb; they had heard about the vision had by those who visited Jesus’ tomb on Easter morning. A group of women who had been following Jesus, saw that the tomb was empty and met the angels who said that Christ is alive. This sounds like great news; resurrection has come! But, what was puzzling for them was that no one had actually seen the risen, living Christ yet. It was just a story that they heard. Unproven, and honestly a little unbelievable. This is a confusing place to be, isn’t it? No wonder they had so much to talk about and discuss among themselves. To them, this was a Holy Saturday experience; a feeling of being stuck between what they already had experienced and what they are yet to see. The truth about their Savior is still being revealed and unfolded. I love how personal and pastoral Jesus is to these two people. I mean let’s think about it. In the book of Luke, this is how Jesus first appeared after his own resurrection. The Jesus that we read about before the crucifixion was definitely a preacher. He talked in many parables, gave sermons, and taught everywhere. He was also a healer and a miracle worker, someone who rebuked the religious leaders for their hypocrisy. He did all these things, but the first encounter we get with Jesus after his resurrection isn’t anything like these things; it is an intimate, individual interaction. Jesus came to save the world, but first in his heart is meeting people, sitting with his disciples in an intimate space, in a place of questions and doubts. Jesus patiently listens to all that they had to say, hearing and validating their questions. Still, Jesus does not end with simply listening. Jesus also speaks the truth. As he has been telling his disciples often throughout his ministry, now that he has risen, he once again reminds that as a messiah, Jesus needed to suffer, die, and rise again. Jesus listens and speaks as a rabbi/teacher. During his ministry, Jesus often confronted people pretty boldy, and this is no exception. Jesus points out the slowness of these two to believe what has already been declared by the prophets. So Jesus opens the Scriptures and interprets the things that were said about himself, explaining these things are all part of prophecies being fulfilled. From the beginning until the end, you can see a real, intimate interaction between Jesus and these two people. Jesus listens pastorally, rebukes with love, and stays until their eyes are opened, and they can truly see who they are talking to, which didn’t happen immediately. In fact, it took a while for them to recognize Jesus; almost until the end of the story. In verse 16, it says that their eyes were kept from recognizing Jesus. When you try to understand this phrase in Greek, it suggests something more like “their eyes became masters, and they were not able to see Jesus fully.” These two people on the road Jesus meets know there is something special about this person with whom they were talking. Otherwise they would not have asked Jesus to stay with them. Jesus was going to leave them and keep going on the road, but he decided to stay with them because they urged him to stay. At this point they still have no idea whom they are speaking to, but they are eager. They are eager to believe that something might still happen before the end of this day. Women had heard about the risen Christ from angels. The tomb was empty. And this person they were talking to says that all this was necessary, as the prophets had declared. So even though they can’t see it, they sense that something is about to happen. In reality of course, something has already happened. Jesus has risen, and has appeared right in front of them! They just can’t see it yet. They did not recognize Jesus until he had sat with them at the table and broke bread with them. Often, we have our own expectations about what redemption, what new life should look like, and how it should happen. And when we get stuck on that, we can easily overlook the risen Christ that lives already in us and among us, intimately wanting us to sit, and break bread with him. That is just what happened to these two people on the road in this story. The good news for us is that our Savior never leaves us stranded, alone on the road. He meets us with our questions, our confusion, our inability to see and comprehend. He is willing to listen, ask questions, and show us the way he wants to be with us, and for us. Friends, this is not the first time in the history of the Christian faith where people have been asked to seek the risen Christ in seemingly impossible situations; in times of “not yet.” As we read at the beginning of worship today, the psalmist remembered the goodness of God even in the midst of trials in life. Our history is full of examples of times like this, from God’s salvation to Israel from Egypt, God’s steadfast love during the Babylonian exile, through clashing civilizations and World Wars, plagues and pandemics, even until today. The witness of risen Christ cannot and should not be contained.This story tells us that it is meant to be shared in the community. Look at what happened to the two who at last saw the risen Christ. Even though it was the end of the day, and their plan was to reach Emmanus and stay there, but as soon as they had seen the risen Christ, they traveled back to Jerusalem and joined the disciplines and their company. There they shared with each other their encounters with the risen Christ. Jesus is the one who seeks out every lost sheep, and gives each one of us the chance to share a story about our own encounter with the risen Christ. And these stories we all have are meant to be shared in community, especially in times like these, so we can remember that the risen Christ is with us always, even if we might not be able to see him fully just yet. This past week, us pastors had a meeting, and we felt strongly that we want to start asking those who are willing to share brief videos of their own encounters with Christ. We want to know where it is that you have seen the risen Christ in your life. So we invite everyone to participate this story sharing and if you are interested, please reach out to Pastor Don. As a pastor, I am blessed to know many stories of those who have encountered the risen Christ along the road from death to life. Their lives were never be the same. The death of a dear friend to a cancer led to the creation of an amazing cancer-care ministry. A deadly encounter with depression, met with Christian love and hope. The costly sacrifice of finance and time from many people can, and often does, yield meals for the poor and homeless in our communities. Dead, hopeless relationships at work or among family members can meet reconciliation, little by little, through encounters with God’s call to forgive and love one another. Cries out of the depths of our hearts lead to answered prayers. Friends gathering together and feeling the Holy Spirit holding them close. Our youth who has been busy with studies and altered schedule, yet still took time to share their encounter with the risen Christ through singing melodies to the Lord. And I have to confess I was so moved and touched by their music this morning. All these are wonderful stories of resurrection, and they are meant to be shared, just as your stories are, and just as the story we read today was in the end. So, my friends, every day, every week, I want to encourage us to keep seeking the risen Christ in and among us in these difficult, unbelievable times that we are going through, together as a community and as an entire world. Keep talking to Jesus. Pray that the Spirit will enlighten when you read the Bible. Ask questions and discuss them with each other. Know that the tomb is empty and Jesus comes nearer every day, goes with us on the journey, listening to our stories, and breaking bread together with us. From this place of living in and with the risen Christ, our true mission as Christian and as a church can begin. Christ is risen. Risen indeed. AMEN!
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It is the evening of the first day of the week, and the doors are closed. Locked.
The disciples are shut tightly inside. They have been self-isolating. Social distancing from the rest of society. Not because of a pandemic but because of fear. They were anxious and afraid. Can we somehow identify with them? Actually, Japan has not been as stringent as the rest of the world and things here in Kobe may seem a bit better than they are in Tokyo. But we just do not know the future. Some of us have our own doubts about what is really going with Covid-19 in Japan. Just like the disciples were unsure of their future. We are unsure what lays in store for us. Peter and another disciple had seen the empty tomb. Mary Magdalene has spoken with the risen Christ, and she has told the disciples about it. After hearing this news, you would think they’d be excited that Jesus was alive and telling people! I don’t know why but instead they chose to hide out behind locked doors instead. But maybe they were still traumatized by his arrest and his death on the cross. Maybe they did not fully believe that he had returned. Maybe they were protecting themselves because they didn’t know if they would also be arrested as his followers. And so they gathered together behind locked doors and they waited. We wait too. Are we fearful for our future? How do you feel after watching hours of CNN or NHK and getting more and more information? We are inundated with information! Does it help calm us or does it makes us more fearful? No matter how frustrating, confusing, or scary this crisis gets, fear doesn't have the final say. 1 John 4:18 says, “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.” Our hope is built on nothing less than Jesus Christ. Our hope is built on the love of Christ that we share with others. Even behind locked doors we’ve been called to share the love of Christ in our community and respond to needs. What about the disciples in today’s scripture? Defying locked doors, they find hope. Hope in Jesus. Jesus is with them! Jesus is with us! Behind those locked doors, the first person to question this hope is Thomas. We often say, “Doubting Thomas” as a phrase in English for a person who is a doubter. He questions what he is hearing and seeing. (Because of this encounter we don’t simply refer to him as Didymus, “twin,” as the Bible does as found in John 20:24.) Thomas has gotten such a bad rap throughout the ages. Thomas made one small comment that expressed his honest doubts and the name “Doubting Thomas” has stuck with him for centuries ever since. Poor Thomas. (It is interesting that in the first three gospels we are told absolutely nothing at all about Thomas. It is in John's Gospel that he emerges as a distinct personality, but even then, there are only 155 words about him.) What did Thomas think when he heard the disciples claim “we have seen the Lord.” Did he think it was not true? The disciples had just dismissed Mary’s report of Jesus as “nonsense.” In Luke 24:11, it says that the disciples did not believe the women, because “their words seemed to them like nonsense.” (Some translations even say their words were an “an idle tale.” ) They had seen him die on the cross and then they saw his tomb. There is just no way he could be alive again. So, Thomas responded, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.” (John 20:25). He had to be sure it was Jesus and what better way than to see his wounds. But why did he have to touch the wounds? I believe he wanted to not only see the wounds himself to make sure Jesus was human and not a ghost but he also had a need to somehow be part of the pain Jesus went through. He wanted to identify with the suffering. Somehow show his solidarity with Jesus. To connect with him. To touch his hands. He wanted to know Jesus through his hands. I am not sure I could recognize people just by their hands. I would have to see the person’s face or hear their voice. But Thomas just wanted to see Jesus’ hands and the wounds. In sign language, touching the hands in the middle of the palm is how you say “Jesus” in both American and Japanese sign language. Hands are a way we connect with people. Thomas needed to connect with Jesus through his hands to truly believe that Jesus was alive. Thomas wanted to touch the wounds that represented the suffering of Christ. Thomas’ faith is restored, and his feelings of despair are replaced by feelings of joy when he sees Jesus and feels his hands. Thomas has some other qualities that we do not often think about but let’s look at scripture. In (John 11:16)— Thomas bravely urged the disciples, “Let us go, that we might die with [Jesus]” after Lazarus’ death when Jesus was determined to return to Judea where the Judeans had previously tried to stone Jesus. So he should really be called “Loyal Thomas.” Thomas was the one who boldly spoke up at the Last Supper on behalf of the disciples. In John 14:5-7 5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” 6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” And if we look again at today’s scripture, we see that Thomas was the only disciple not hiding behind locked doors and waiting in fear. After Thomas touches Jesus’ hands and starts to believe he says, “My Lord and my God!” This is the place in the all the Gospels where the Divinity of Christ is stated. Thomas making a confession of faith. He says; "My Lord, and my God." Not teacher. Not just Lord. Not Messiah. But God! He calls Jesus “God” and that is pretty significant. It is the only place where Jesus is called God without qualification of any kind. Those words are directly related to all the future Christians—to us—who would believe without seeing. The Gospel of John is written for people like us— we did not get to see Jesus’ resurrection with our own eyes, but who live on a daily basis as Easter people who experience the resurrection in our own lives. Have you ever had doubts in your faith before? Do you have doubts now? Doubts about your future? The world’s future? Sometimes we may be teetering between belief and doubt depending on the circumstances in our lives. And this can be very true for many of us during this pandemic. An accident or crisis happens in our lives and we wonder why God allowed this to happen? A child become terminally ill- why? Covid-19 spreads worldwide. Why? We may know as Christians that God did not cause our pain or send a crisis to make us suffer or to test us – God does not do that -but we still can’t help but ask God, why? Why God? Why?? Why do we have this pandemic now. As the Psalmist also cries out, “How long, O Lord How long? “ -- Psalm 13:1 Let me share a personal story. I have a friend and her name is KarenFay Ramos- Young . She is a clergy mom like me and we went to seminary together in Berkeley, Calif. and then we both served churches in Hawaii. (She was Congregational (UCC) and I was UMC.) She lives now in the LA area. I was shocked to learn her 26 year old son Taylor, who is a AA flight attendant, had come down with Coronavirus. Watch this clip. (At this point in the sermon, there is a brief clip from ABC News) They are so thankful to God and all the prayers and the hospital staff who helped their son. This is truly a blessing! We may forget God is with us in our suffering. We have faith but somehow these doubts surface. The good news is that faith and doubt do not have to be mutually exclusive. They can co-exist in a healthy balance. Jesus seemed to recognize this. He did not ignore or dismiss the disciples’ fears that they might be killed if they left the safety of the locked house, but he gives them this commissioning words, “As the Father has sent me, so I send you” (John 20:21). This commission invites us into the Resurrection story in which we live with the tension of fear and hope, doubt and faith. This commission invites us to bring our faith, our questions, and our doubt to the table as we live our lives in Christian community. This commissioning invites us to serve our neighbor in need. The Resurrection story invites us to unlock those tightly locked doors, those locked doors in our hearts and open them wide, and do our part to welcome people into the good news of Jesus’ resurrection. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. And we also can rejoice, when in the midst of fears or doubts, we recognize Christ here with us. It is not that fear is simply swept away; rather, fear no longer dominates our lives. There is one who has shown himself more powerful, and him we acknowledge as Lord. There are times when doubts are part of our faith. But when we do have doubts, it is often our Christian sisters and brothers that are the ones who keep us going. During this pandemic, let the prayers through internet, ZOOM prayer meetings, and phone calls with other Christians here at KUC and also perhaps at other churches encourage you. There are times that it seems God just can't possibly answer our prayers, someone will tell us about a prayer that was answered. Pastor Chuck has many sermons on answered prayers and they have inspired us. He has also said that somehow through this pandemic we will emerge. Somehow things may be “better than before.” (Listen to his Easter sermon from last week on the website. We have prayer and can always go to God to share our doubts. God has heard it all before and it is nothing to be ashamed of to share our doubts and fears with God. We have the belief in resurrected Jesus Christ, who loves us and assures us of His everlasting love. Regardless of the circumstances, Jesus shows up bringing peace and life as a resurrection reality. However, earthquakes will still happen, pandemics will come, the hungry still need to be fed, and loved ones will die. The life and peace of Jesus’ resurrection enable us to meet and live through those circumstances. When the doors of our lives are unlocked, the living Jesus touches us and heals us. This is the Easter Resurrection story. What makes Easter credible is that it keeps happening! New life comes to us; light shines in the darkness. We need that more than ever now during the times we are living in. Perhaps you have not yet experienced this new life. Perhaps you are hoping that the doors of your life will unlocked by Jesus Christ. Pray, wait in patience, and trust God. Life cannot be forced. Growth cannot be rushed. Sometimes it takes time to recognize the tender shoots of new life already pushing up within us. It may be something God alone may see. If you recall, we heard a lovely pre recorded hymn sung by Anne Morimoto last Sunday for Easter, the (if you do not remember, you can go online to last week’s service.) During this pandemic, we may not know the future. As lyrics of the songs says, “From the past will come the future…something God alone can see.” This season of Easter, known as Eastertide, is for 50 days until Pentecost Sunday. Pentecost is May 31 and I hope we are meeting in our sanctuary together by then. Easter and this season of Easter is about changed lives and also about a changed world. Easter is about a day when death is defeated. The promise of resurrection is the promise that death, all death, not just physical death, but every form of death, whether it is the living death of destruction, or damage, or fear, or hopelessness, or despair, or the Covid -19. But every power of death is to be no more. Easter is about letting lives soak up that promise of the resurrection until it becomes a reality in the world. That is the characteristic of Christians, of we, who are Easter people. All of you who open the doors of your hearts to let love in, you are Easter people - you are people of the Resurrection. As Easter people, we live with the awareness that death has no dominion. Easter people can stand with the pain of the world and not be overcome by it. Ester people will help not only each other, our family at KUC, but our neighbors as we connect with others in our world through this pandemic. Easter people will share the love of Christ. Easter people will not tolerate abuse of themselves or others, because we know that love is the way. Easter people insist upon the dignity of life for all because we live in God’s created world. Easter people alleviate suffering wherever they find it; Easter people bring healing and hope when possible. We go forth today, as Easter people of hope, perhaps some still holding some doubts perhaps but knowing Christ is with us and we are not afraid of what the future holds. Unlock the doors of our hearts as we become the people of hope. The risen Christ will always be with us. Thanks be to God! Amen. Hi from Long Beach California!
As most of you know- no matter what the situation or topic I am unable to not find something funny- sometimes inappropriately – when this virus first started I went to the grocery store and took these photos of various types of corona beer (show corona beer photos with captions) and among my kids we shared some of these images/memes (show 2 funny memes) And here are some shots from our home in the US as we weather the pandemic (Tin makes the collage- 1 min power point) it can help to laugh no matter what the situation and I feel like I can often do that but there is another thing I feel at times like this--- the need to cry; to feel the pain- the news and how we get it filters out appropriate emotion somehow- the numbers seem sterile- it’s an awkward time we live in that we can sit at home and read terrible stories of great tragedy while sipping our coffee….1,000 people a day dying in our city, on we go to another article or clip- it feels wrong in some way BUT I do want to share words of encouragement with you today based on our relationship with God ! We do have good news! We share from a life in which Kelly and I have seen and felt God’s presence for over 3 decades but first I want to share a CNN clip with you to sort of ground us in what we now face with one person’s story. Its sad but I want to remind us that the joy of Easter also starts in the great sadness of the Friday before- they go hand in hand just as our message of hope cannot race over the sadness and fear so many feel now. It’s of a woman who just lost her husband- I’m just going to share the first 60 seconds of the video and then a short 4 minute part in the middle - please watch this with me and lets acknowledge what is happening around us in real terms of real people and not just the numbers which don’t fully convey the true tragic nature of the moment for so many : [The clip can be found at: https://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2020/04/04/maura-lewinger-full-intv-ebof-vpx.cnn] The reason I shared that is this- if we cannot feel and cry at what is happening now- if we miss this connection I am apt to sound shallow and preachy- I believe in a God who heals but… I have sat with someone while they died- I was the one who cut down a friend I was counseling who hung himself- if I don’t retain these moments in my heart I worry I might preach when what I really want to do is share- I want us all to connect hurting people with the God we know – the God who can truly meet the needs we have- this is also real and a heartfelt reality as well. So, I start here- this is a very, very, tough time so what might God say to us now…. Uh and by the way… Happy Easter! ? Easter started as a huge tragedy! I mean Jesus died first then it turned out better than anyone could have imagined – or you could say ‘better than before’! As we read today in John 20- its like a movie – the absolutely unexpected twist as Jesus comes back. I mean Jesus died- yikes- as followers at that time that had to be just crushing- I mean what the heck?! Now it makes sense- but back then? at that moment in time? Tough. VERY tough. And then, who could have really imagined what happened next, “You came back??!! You died but now you’re here again with us?!” Hard to process but very, very cool! I imagine years later, the 11 boys sitting around …. ”and then remember we were all sitting around not knowing what to do next when suddenly there he was! Man, I was so freaked out, weren’t you?!” A moment in history that changed everything. Jesus died and then…he rose from the dead and the world was “better than before” The Easter story, like most familiar passages in the Bible, must be read slowly and with a sense of what it was like as it happened rather than from our current perspective where our mind knows the story so well and yet our heart has not felt what we should feel at all. I have never cried at what they did to Jesus so its no wonder I don’t feel the true excitement one should for His Easter return and resurrection- pity that I have more words for all this than I do genuine feelings. I’m working on it- but I get the gist of it and its truly one of the most amazing stories of all time and the ultimate model of what I will call a “better than before” outcome. So Kelly and I have prayed a certain way since 2009 - a prayer strategy I guess – and it is “Pray: Better than before” Just like how Easter unfolded- there was a real tragedy- we would have all cried- they treated Jesus horribly, beat him and killed him- a nightmare- it really was- picture Jesus’ mom at the foot of the cross- ugh. And then…. a couple of days later…wow, it simply does not get better than that one could say! So, sometimes we pray AT certain events and situations with this prayer – Better than before and here is how it started… I was in Japan on Skype with Kelly who was in the US when she said she had to take a call from one of our daughters, Lindsey. She called right back- Lindsey had been in an accident – she totaled her car… on the freeway – that’s all I know so I have to go but let’s pray… I was with a family here in Kobe making the call and we all stood there in shock and I can recall the words coming out- “lets pray that its better than before” – whatever that meant! I mean sometimes we pray for stuff with some idea of what we want or need and sometimes it’s so bad or so hard to imagine the answer that it’s just “God, do something, something good- surprise me because I am just overwhelmed.” Like what did everyone think when Moses had the whole nation there with him at the red sea- they had escaped – sort of- but now what!? Who could have imagined what happened next? There is faith for something and then there is faith in someone- when you just can’t see what comes next or how God could fix a situation. Those are opportunities and I say that as one who has lived tough times and tough challenges and moments where it was NOT clear what would come next- I am not just trying to be positive or say nice things- I mean it- Now is such a time for us to see what God can do for us and those around us- we need to pray and this is the prayer I feel most led to pray- God bring us through this “Better than before” So, back to that story in 2009 and the car accident. Kelly and I prayed – God make it better than before. We did not define it nor can I say what each of us thought that really meant but we knew God can just do stuff- and stuff we cannot imagine and that’s been our history and our experience so that’s what we prayed “Better than before” I wish I had more time and could share all the details which make stories so cool- but for time sake let me just say this- it was a real accident and that’s never good but…no one was seriously hurt and Lindsey had been having back problems, but treatment was so costly, and it had not seemed urgent enough but now…she went and got treatment and it was great and insurance paid for it all Her car was totaled but the amount of money they gave us for the car seemed weirdly too much and almost covered the cost of a brand-new car, right, but that new car was roughly ½ its original price because Kelly found this amazing cool sporty brand new 2008 Honda civic with all the extras at ½ its list price – it had been in an accident but been rebuilt so that’s a story there but we had it checked out and the dealer said it was perfectly fine – so that was our new car. There were other things like I realized a couple of months later when visiting our mechanic that we’d had some trouble with her car a while back and he had said – that transmission is going to go out- you’ll need to replace that soon – crazy expensive and I had decided to wait… Ok, so I’ll just say this was the start of dozens of stories, testimonies we have where we prayed “Better than before” and that is the Easter message, that is the gospel message- it’s just another way of praying “on earth as it is in Heaven” – We were all created to walk with the One who made us in His own image as explained in Gen 1:27 (So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. We were meant to enjoy life and relations with God and one another- but….we live in a fallen world and we see that in ourselves and all around us- but we have a chance to be better than before- grace- we can get what we don’t deserve- Grace is God giving us a life which is better than before instead of a punishment or the consequences we might actually deserve. To experience this is to know what it means to be “Better than before” or born again or walking with God I like this passage a lot: Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. I often push back at times when people will say, well, this is God doing this or God must have a reason for this- I just don’t think God does a lot of the stuff we see- I used to tell people- I had foster kids so no one can tell me God is in control or God makes things happen- No, people can be wicked and terrible and terrible things happen in this world which is not heaven – it’s up to us to work WITH God to bring heaven to earth and light to the darkness and it is God who can take what sucks and was meant for bad and turn it around. That passage means God can take bad stuff and make it good- so good- so good it might be…” better than before” I’m sure I’m not alone in knowing someone who had a heart attack or some sudden health event that then was the catalyst for a suddenly new and superior diet and regular exercise- one could say many people who had such a horrible event are better than before. Crisis can lead us to God in ways normal daily life does not So how should we pray? One way is: “God make us and this better than before “ So, now in this uncertain time- I have prayed this prayer and would like to invite you to do the same. This is bad- no doubt- I don’t think this is God but rather stuff happens in this world- the rain falls on us all but…I do think we can stand with God, call on God, pray to God and ask for our lives to be better than before- for those especially who have not had a moment of need in their lives big enough to look up or feel a ‘God need’- what if we took this situation as an opportunity to pray and ask God to touch us and those we touch- in prayer! What if we leveraged this time to specifically pray for certain people whom we know life has been good, been fine- perhaps people who never felt hungry and now are starting to feel some real hunger God has a meal for us all but for many a lack of hunger was why, so few have come to eat- and now I want to pray that we see a “better than before” in our communities. Let’s pray: God Thanks that regardless of what comes our way we can come to you and ask for help We can imagine some kind of better than before even with nothing on the horizon You are the God of miracles and our refuge- our Father and friend and savior Thanks for coming back- back from the grave so we can all live on Thanks for sending the Holy spirit when you went back to heaven and thanks for Guiding and providing for us in all situations Right now If any of you is not sure of your relationship with God If you want to be sure- I want, you to pray this prayer with me this is like getting married- you know lots of folks meet someone and they know in their heart this is love and they get married- now did they know everything about that person? No. Did they see all of what they would face? No. Getting married is a leap of faith where you know in your heart what might not be clear in your head- and luckily God is actually even better married than when you dated! So, listen to your heart- I have been praying all week for you and this moment- pray after me God, I’m not sure who exactly you are and how this works But I want to say if you will take me as I am – as I am- then I want to follow you Show me how- help me- I want to be “better than before” I want to be reconciled with You my creator- in Jesus name amen. If you just prayed that prayer be assured – God hears and sees you- don’t worry too much about the details – we’ll get to that. If you prayed that prayer though let me know ok- send me an email to pastorchuck@kobeunionchurch.com and let us walk with you a little. And for those of you who know God- who feel like you ARE married so to speak- now is a great time to renew your vows! Let the gravity of this situation move you, remind you, all of us of our fragility and need for God in a real way – not just in a Sunday morning way but an everyday way- I want to ask you to pray with me in a bold way-real and from the heart – like this- join me if you would God This is a scary time and very sad and tough for many many people BUT I am so glad you know me, and I know you Help me know how to be “better than before” Use this time to bring us closer than ever And show me how to be closer to those around me Not only protect me and my family but help me seize the moment Help me see the needs of others and to be a light in this darkness Show me your ways more than ever before Create in me a clean heart oh lord and renew a right spirit within me Better than before God- make me better than before In Jesus name- amen "Not the Apocalypse I was Expecting"
Pastor Don Van Antwerpen Matthew 21:1-11 (NRSV) I want you to take a moment, if you will, and imagine the scene. Jesus Christ, on that first, bright and sunny Palm Sunday, riding majestically into town on the back of his donkey, coming in through the main gate of the city, head held high, while the expectant crowd cry out in celebration, laying palm branches before him as a sign of respect and admiration. Sure, the ministry of Christ has had some tough times (and, fair warning, there’s more to come), but in this moment he is triumphant. He is resplendent.. He is king. Isn’t that a great image? The Messiah triumphant, recognized and revered by all around, celebrated and welcomed? It makes the heart sing just to think about it. Of course, it’s a complete fiction. It’s not true. Nearly everything I just said about that first palm Sunday was completely and totally wrong. Don’t believe me? Let’s look at the text: It starts with Jesus and the disciples “acquiring” a donkey and its foal. Once they have that, the disciples lay their coats on the donkey, to give Jesus a more comfortable ride (because, as you may or may not be aware, donkeys aren’t especially comfortable to ride!). As they start their ride towards the city, a crowd begins to gather along the way, and it’s important for us to take a moment to realize just what kind of people are in this crowd. When the palms come out and Hosannas go up, Jesus hasn’t even entered the city yet; that part is yet to come. So the people gathering here to shout “Hosanna to the Son of David!”, the people respectfully tossing foliage onto the road in honor of Jesus, are most likely not the relatively affluent, comfortable people living or staying inside the city walls. This was around the time of the Passover, when the city and the surrounding area were packed with people, and it had been filling steadily for days, if not weeks, by this point. So the people inside the city are, by now, mostly the wealthy and powerful; those who could afford to come to Jerusalem early, or those who already lived inside the city to begin with. But the people outside the walls? The people laying down their cloaks out of respect? They’re most likely travelers along the pilgrim road, trying to get as close to the city as they can for Passover; people who couldn’t afford to beat the rush, but still wanted to be in a holy place for the holiday. There are also likely a good number of people in this crowd who live outside the walls; the poor, the hungry, the disabled and the outcast; people who, for one reason or another aren’t really able to get a spot in the city either today, or any day. People who probably didn’t have a spare cloak to fetch for themselves after that donkey trampled theirs. So these are the sort of people calling “Hosanna in the highest heaven!” as Jesus passes by. These are the people who are so very excited to see him, who have already grasped that this is the Messiah, and have come together to show him his due. So, Jesus passes through these crowds, and comes into the city through the main gate. …well, not really the main gate. That gate is where all the rich and powerful had gathered to watch the great parade, the amazing welcome being given to Governor Pontus Pilate and his Roman support team, arriving in great splendor to “oversee” the holiday, and make sure that there wasn’t any trouble. No, Jesus wasn’t making it anywhere near there. Instead, as tradition holds, he entered through one of the back gates; the golden gate, which was later bricked because it wasn’t really used all that much. Ok…not what we expected. But that’s ok! When he got into the city though, that’s when the Hosannas really took off, right? Well…not really. Look at verse 10. “When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking “Who is this?” The people in the city recognized, of course, that Jesus got this strong reception outside the walls. Some may have even heard about him in general terms, but no one inside the city, no one among the wealth, power, and privilege of Jerusalem society, really knew who he was. The reaction in the city basically boiled down to, “Jesus who?” Of course, once we move past Palm Sunday, and Jesus gets to work in the city, then people start to realize. That’s when he starts preaching love and peace, working miracles, and generally being the sort of calm, uplifting figure we all remember. …Right? Well, our passage today ends at verse 11, but why don’t we peek ahead, just a little. Verse 12: “Then Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who were selling and buying in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves.” Oooh….I know that story. When we see it in the gospel of John, we get an even stronger picture of Jesus doing all this with a whip. So…this rabbi, relatively unknown among the rich and powerful of Jerusalem, but celebrated by the poor and oppressed outside the city, shows up like some sort of entitled ruler, and immediately starts literally kicking butt in the temple. This is is not the Jesus we expected. This isn’t the Palm Sunday we expected. This is an apocalypse. Now, before you get too worried by that word, I want to take a minute and explain just what an apocalypse is. For a lot of us, we hear the word apocalypse and we think “sudden and immediate end of the world in death, war, fire, and flame.” We imagine asteroid impacts, nuclear war, the second coming, and things like that. But the word apocalypse is actually much more general than that. An apocalypse isn’t a moment that ends the world, or society completely. The apocalypse is more like a dramatic turning point. Something, which was probably present in society for a while anyways, which is introduced to the world in such a way that it fundamentally changes the environment, making it impossible for the world as it is to continue to function, even as that world keeps trying to function anyways. An apocalypse is the breaking of existing systems, the breaking of our understandings about each other and the world. It isn’t necessarily sudden or dramatic; often it takes time, but it is a turning point, something after which we just can’t go back to the way things used to be. Apocalypse isn’t like experiencing a sudden and terrifying nightmare. It’s more like…waking up (or being woken up) from the nightmare that reality and society had already become for so many. Everything and Jesus’ arrival into the city, everything about Psalm Sunday, is an apocalypse. From the donkey to the cleansing of the temple, every step through this Psalm Sunday story is specifically and deliberately contradicting the forces of wealth, privilege, and power. Why do we have Jesus coming on a donkey, and a female donkey at that, with her foal in tow? Is it just because Zechariah “predicted it?” Or does it have as much to do with the apocalyptic contrast, between Pontus Pilate, riding in on his gigantic warhorse, an epic stallion befitting a Roman military commander and governor, surrounded by soldiers and the like all on similarly strong, powerful animals, while Jesus Christ, the promised messiah, comes in the back gate, heralded by only the poor, riding not some great and triumphant beast, but a small, female, donkey; a nursing mother with her colt trailing alongside. It’s an apocalypse all right, just not the apocalypse you might have been expecting. A friend of mine on Facebook, posted an image this last week which, while a pretty funny image, has stuck with me for a while now. The image was a combination of two pictures, put side-by-side. On the left, we had a picture of some leather-bound, gun-toting movie hero from some post-apocalyptic movie, like Mad Max, or the Walking Dead, or something. It wasn’t one I was very familiar with, but there’s a certain sort of “awesome-looking post-apocalyptic hero” type that you can just sort of instantly recognize when you see it, and this was definitely that. And on the top of the picture, it had the caption “The Apocalypse I Expected.” And on the right-hand side, we had a different image. This one was some random woman, maybe in her 30s or 40s, in sweatpants and a bathrobe, siting on her couch while a few kids, presumably hers, bounced around like crazy people. And the caption on this side read “The Apocalypse I Got.” I have to admit, I laughed a little too hard at that! But, there’s some real truth to it, if we’re being honest. Let’s make no mistake about it; what we’re going through, not just as a community, not just as a country, but as an entire human family, is most definitely an apocalypse. This time last year, most of us believed that dropping everything to care for the poor, the sick, and the weakest among us was a good idea in theory, but not something very practical. This time last year, many of us considered nurses and other healthcare workers to be…kinda important, but not enough to make super sure that they’re completely taken care of. This time last year, many of us believed that truck drivers, grocery store workers, delivery drivers, and teachers were nice, but not essential, or even deserving of a basic, living wage for their work. This time last year, many of us, especially here in Japan, considered nursing mothers to be kind of like the nursing donkey in today’s scripture; something that exists, but not something super-important, not something that forms the real backbone of our society. Well…just ask any parent in this country how they feel about mothers now. The mothers of our society, so long set aside and ignored here in Japan, have stepped up in a big way, not only stepping in to take care of the complete education for all their kids at once, but handling the logistics of household management, locating supplies, and keeping everyone around them both super clean, and socially separated and, in that way, are literally saving the world. This is…not the apocalypse we expected. Our sinful and twisted expectations had us looking for an apocalypse of fire, death, and war, where men of power could rise up and take charge of the situation and, with force and determination, save the day. It still has us looking to governments, prime ministers and presidents, corporations, and individuals of wealth, power and privilege, to save us. But the apocalypse we got was the apocalypse of Christ, who didn’t come to hand authority to those in power, who didn’t come into the temple to congratulate, or to humbly ask the men in leadership for help. We got the apocalypse of a savior heralded by the crowds of sick, suffering, poor, and oppressed crying “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!” while those sitting comfortably in the city asked, “Who is this?” We got the apocalypse of nursing mothers and their kids, as the first-chosen of the Messiah. My friends, I’d love nothing more than to stand here today and tell you that, in time, everything will get back to normal. I’d love to tell you that schools will re-open, businesses will resume as usual, and all this terrifying radical change will come to an end. It’d be a comforting message, certainly… …but it wouldn’t be the message of Christ. Christ comes to us as an apocalypse of love. When we align ourselves with Christ, when we choose to follow the savior, we’re making the choice to step out of the city walls, to set aside privilege and power so we can cry “Hosannah” for the one who comes in the name of God most high. When we give ourselves to Jesus, we make the choice not to be among the rich and powerful, among the Shammai Pharisees and other religious leaders who see Christ before them, surrounded by the weak and outcasts, asking “who is this guy?” My friends, let us look inward, let us examine the deepest reaches of our hearts, and ask ourselves if we truly know who this guy is. If we can ask that question of ourselves, if we can take the time to see the things in ourselves which, like the walls of Jerusalem, stand between us and Jesus; if we can step out from behind those walls, lay down all those things which stop us from feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, welcoming the stranger, clothing the naked and, perhaps most importantly, doing everything we can to care for the sick; then he will say to us “Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world;” You see, this is the Christ’s message in Palm Sunday, as simple as it is powerful: An apocalypse doesn’t have to be the end of the world. If you’re in line with Jesus, if you are a servant of the Savior, friend to the downtrodden and oppressed, caretaker of creation, beloved of God, then the change Jesus brings isn’t going to be destructive for you. It’s an opportunity. A chance to live out the faith we claim, to take that self-reflection, that deep-dive into our souls, and put what we find to use building God’s newer, better kingdom in the world. It’s a chance to step out into a broken world and be the church of the one who redeems and rebuilds, not just a group who gathers in a pretty sanctuary, or does non-profit business work in and around the community. It’s a chance to be the hands and feet of God in this community, and in the world. We are called to be children of God, in service to the one who saves all, forgives all, and loves all. That’s a great way to ride out an apocalypse, if you ask me! So, good and faithful servants of God, let us come together to help! There’s a lot we can do to help those who are in need right now. One good and easy way is to join up with the new Care Team ministry, which is being headed up by Pastor Claudia. You can make masks, help people get groceries, share resources, or pray for people who are struggling with this new and changing world. You can skip going out, focus on social distancing, and do everything you can to sterilize, sanitize, and keep this virus from getting any more out of hand. Just this week we’ve seen people in our community start stepping up to help, and through that we’re already seeing God’s grace and mercy being written across our community, and our hearts. So let’s join together as God’s fellowship of love, united in service of the donkey-riding messiah, leaning into this unexpected apocalypse together, ready to help, to serve, and to love, all the while crying out Hosannah, Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Amen, and Amen! |
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