The Testimony of the Blind Man

Posted by Chris on March 8, 2009 under Sermons

Read John 9.

Most people have never bothered to know my name. For most of my life I was know as the blind man, or the blind beggar. The most compassion I was ever shown was the sound of coins falling on the ground in front of me. People have always felt sorry for me, but few cared enough to know my name. I was just the blind man.

Of course to some I was less than that. To them, I was a sinner. “Blind since birth,” they would comment. “That is truly judgment from God!” Some assumed that my parents had committed some great sin, and I was the punishment for their sin. I confess that there were days I even believed that myself.

I had been the object lesson for many a Rabbi before. Teachers of the Scripture would wander by and point me out and I would hear them discuss the severity of sin and the justice of God. If I hadn’t been dependent on their compassion I would have screamed out at them for treating me like a case study instead of a human being.

It was fairly typical the day I heard a group coming my way and one of them asked his teacher “Who sinned, this man or his parents?” I wasn’t surprised by those sort of questions. I just waited to hear one of the standard replies and then the familiar clink of coins falling into my pan.

“Suffering is a sign of iniquity, my children – show mercy to this poor sinner for God’s sake! Plink, Plink!”Or … “The consequences of sin are visited upon the children unto the fourth generation. Give thanks my children that you are not as this one! Plink, Plink.”

But on that day, I heard an answer I never heard before. To that same old question about who had sinned the man replied, “Neither!” I was always listening in my world of sound, but when that Rabbi said, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” I really listened. Then the Rabbi said, “This man is blind so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.”

I was so amazed by that teaching. It was the first time I ever thought of my blindness as anything but a curse from God. I didn’t care anything about coins. All I cared about was seeing that light of the world. Living in darkness all my life, I couldn’t even imagine what light was. I stopped thinking about it because I knew I would never experience it. But now I felt differently.

I was really unprepared for what happened next. The Rabbi touched my eyes. At least I think it was the Rabbi, but his hands weren’t like the average Rabbi. This teacher’s hands were rough. His touch was cold, and then I realized that it was mud. He had put mud on my eyes. I remember when I was little, my parents used to take me to healers and they would put all sorts of stuff on my eyes – spit, mud, smelly ointments. I got used to it, and I also got used to the disappointment, but this time I felt differently, maybe it was what the Rabbi had said. When he pulled his hands away he said to me, “Go wash in the pool of Siloam.” Then I heard them leave.

I sat there for a moment just stunned. My eyes were wet; the mud had started to cake. And then his words sunk in – “Go wash in the pool of Siloam.” I knew I had to do what he said; after all he said that I was blind so that the work of God might be displayed in my life. No one had ever said such a thing about me.

I cried out for help to get to the pool of Siloam. When I was there I washed my face. I splashed water on my face and rubbed my eyes. And then suddenly – I saw light. I didn’t know what it was then, but now I know it was light. And I kept washing and then I saw water. For all my life water had meant wet. But now I saw ripples and drops and then my reflection. It took me a moment to figure out that my reflection wasn’t just the way water looked. It took me even longer to figure out that the reflection was my face. For the first time ever I could see my face.

I could see. I could see and it was because of what this Rabbi, this Jesus of Nazareth had said. Most of my life I felt like God frowned on me. But thanks to Jesus I finally knew what it was like to think that God might be smiling.

Of course I had to tell everyone about this. And I didn’t have to try hard. I mean as soon as my neighbors and people who knew me saw me walking around and matching their stares, they instantly knew something had happened. I couldn’t help staring. “So those are noses,” I thought. “What a variety!” It was so strange to see me staring and walking without a guide that some people said it wasn’t me, just someone who looked like me.

I remember how old Eli, our neighbor, came up to me and said, “You must be a demon.” “No, Eli!” I smiled, “It’s me.” “If it’s you,” he asked, “then how are you able to see?” By this time everyone in the neighborhood had gathered around. I spoke up, “A teacher, a healer, put mud on my eyes. He told me to wash in the pool of Siloam. I did and then the next thing I knew, I could see.” I heard everyone whispering; I had heard whispers before but now I could “see” people whisper. I noticed the way they glanced aside at me and covered their mouth as they muttered to their friends. Finally, Eli spoke up “Where is this man now?” I didn’t know. I wanted to know, but for different reasons than my neighbors. You see, even though some of our neighbors were kind, they too believed that I was blind because of sin. It didn’t make sense to them that I could suddenly see – how could the punishment of sins just be removed so quickly. They were amazed, but they wanted to know what this meant. If they could have found the Rabbi, I think they would have asked him. But since we didn’t know his whereabouts, they decided to ask the experts – the Pharisees.

The next day I told the Pharisees all that happened. I didn’t mind telling anyone what had happened. Not just because I could see, but because I felt, for the first time, that God was pleased with me. I noticed the whispering again. But this time it was different. As I told my story some of them scowled and shook their head. Before I finished one of them spoke up and said, “When did this take place?” “Uhm, yesterday.” “And wasn’t yesterday the Sabbath?” he asked. Honestly, I hadn’t really thought about it. You see, the Sabbath didn’t mean much to me. Not that I don’t respect it, I do. But on the Sabbath one isn’t supposed to work. Well, when your only career is begging, I suppose everyday is the Sabbath – I was blind, I couldn’t ever work!

At the mention of the Sabbath, the Pharisees sort of forgot about me and started arguing to one another. I remember one of them saying that kneading was a forbidden activity on the Sabbath and if this Rabbi made mud then he kneaded. Someone suggested that if this Rabbi really respected God’s Word then it would not have mattered if he had waited a day for me to be healed. I sort of resented that. I bet he had never been blind – and I was blind my whole life.

At first I didn’t get it, but then it dawned on me that they were accusing this Rabbi who had helped me of sinning. That seemed to make some of them nervous. I remember one of them, a short stocky one (I never noticed such features before), saying “But if this man is a sinner, then how did he heal, for healing only comes from God?” I thought for a moment this man was defending the Rabbi, but then his tall friend replied “Hmmm, an interesting dilemma. How can a sinner heal?”The debate went on and I was ready to leave when one of the men stood up and shouted at me, “What do you say about him? It was your eyes he opened, yes?”

What did I think? No one had ever asked me that before. I always heard what people thought about me, but no one ever asked me what I thought. I had told everyone what he did. I knew he was a Rabbi, but what sort of Rabbi has the power to heal? All I could think of was the stories I had heard as a child. Stories about Moses and Elijah – great prophets. So, I answered the Pharisees, “He’s a prophet.” No one had suggested that. I thought it was a good answer. There was a silence. Then someone from the back said, “Why are we asking him?” Another one from the side said, “He was probably never even blind. This is all a lie.”

My mouth dropped open. A lie? Did they really think I pretended to be blind all those years? Did they really think I enjoyed receiving pity all those years? Did they really think I wanted to be labeled the punishment of parent’s sins my whole life? Something great had happened to me and these so-called experts were making a mockery of it. One of them suggested summoning my parents to give testimony. I never imagined it would go this far.

I’m not mad that my parents were scared that day. My father is old and I have no brothers. He and my mother have known for years that they would one day have to rely on the benevolence of the synagogue. After all, their only son was born blind and he couldn’t support them. It also took them a little longer to make sense of my restored sight. Like me, they lived with a feeling that God was angry. They too were getting their sight restored. They were just beginning to see that God could be pleased with them as well.

My parents weren’t there when Jesus restored my sight. They testified that I was their son and I had been born blind. “If your son was born blind then how is it that he is able to see?” asked an old gray-bearded Pharisee. “We don’t know,” said my father. My mother nodded. “If you want to know,” said my father, “ask him. He’s of legal age.” Of course I had already told them how it happened. But they were technically right. It was proper to ask me. After all I was the “eyewitness” to the event (no pun intended — well okay maybe). I suppose I was disappointed that mother and father feared expulsion from the synagogue if they acknowledged what Jesus had done. But I was more disappointed that the rulers of God’s people were so, so – blind!

They called me back in and asked me to swear – to “give glory to God” and tell the truth. They wanted me to confess. But I had no idea what they wanted me to confess. Were they accusing me of being a liar? Were they trying to intimidate me too and get me to confess against the Rabbi? One of them said, “We know this man is a sinner.” So, they had made up their mind. It really didn’t matter what I said.

“I don’t know,” I said. I suppose it was obvious I was a little annoyed. “I don’t know if this man is a sinner or not. But here’s what I do know. I was blind. From the day I was born I was blind, and right now I can look into all of your faces. I can see!”

The short fat Pharisee interrupted, “What did he do to you? Exactly how did he open your eyes?”

I shot back, “I’ve already told you that! Weren’t you listening? Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples too?”

Something I’m not used to when it comes to seeing is reading faces. When I said that I saw their faces get really twisted. And I never imagined a face could turn red, but of course colors were a new concept.

They shouted insults at me, but I was used to that. They said I had revealed myself as one of the Rabbi’s disciples. It wasn’t true, but if the Rabbi would have me I would be proud to be his disciple. “We know God spoke to Moses,” they said, “but as for this man, we don’t even know where he came from.”

Now that amazed me. I seem to remember a Scripture that spoke of God restoring sight to the blind in the age to come. God certainly wouldn’t listen to some sinful charlatan or pagan miracle man. It was right there before them but they refused to believe it. What experts! I told them this. I said, “If the Rabbi (or Prophet or whatever he is) was not from God, then I would not be able to see.”

The Pharisees started shouting at me and swearing to God. Some of them tore their clothes (but not very much). Then the old gray bearded Pharisee stood up and said, “You were steeped in sin at birth! How dare you lecture us! Get out!” That was odd … First they tried to accuse me of lying about my blindness from birth. Now they were certain of it. Nothing they said made sense. I was glad to be away from their confusion, but then it dawned on me that I would never be welcome into the synagogue. I was an outcast when I was blind, but now I was an outcast because I could see.

A few days later I was looking for work. I couldn’t beg, but I didn’t have many skills. I was willing to learn, but some people were afraid to have anything to do with me after what happened. So I was surprised when a man approached me one day in the marketplace and said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”

Did I believe in the Son of Man? The judge who would come and make everything right? Sure I did. As I thought about it, the Rabbi that I called a prophet just might be the Son of Man. Maybe he was the Messiah. I answered the man, “Who is the Son of Man, sir? Tell me, I want to believe in him.” That’s when I recognized the man’s voice. It was the Rabbi. This was the first time I saw him. He said “You see him right now, in fact he is the one speaking with you.”

And I thought – I do see him. I can see. I fell down at his feet. I said, “Lord, I believe.” I worshipped the Messiah, the Christ, and I was ready to become his disciple. Now I was certain that God could be pleased with me. It was as though I gained my sight all over again. For this time I saw not ordinary light, but I saw the light of the world, the Christ.

As I walked with him through the marketplace I asked him why some people didn’t realize who he was. He said it was about judgment. Not that he came to judge people, but their acceptance or denial of him and the truth was their own self-imposed judgment. Jesus was the light of the world. His light brought sight to the blind, but those who thought they could see without his light actually became blind.

When he said all this there was a crowd that had gathered. I looked into the crowd and there was the short Pharisee and the tall one, and the gray-bearded one. I looked over at Christ and he was looking right back at them. The gray-bearded man asked Christ, “So? Are we blind too?”

The Rabbi turned to the Pharisees and said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but since you claim you can see, your guilt remains.”

That’s when it all came together for me. That’s when I understood that self-righteousness is sin and blindness. I thought about what Jesus said: He said that the work of a loving God would be revealed in me. If were to lose my sight again, I would still be able to see. Not with my eyes, but with my spirit. For in all my days of blindness I wasn’t as blind as those who cannot, who will not, see the Light of the world.

I thought physical blindness was a curse. Now I know that the real curse is refusing to believe in Jesus. You may have perfect vision, but still be blind. Or maybe you feel like you live with curse. Maybe you think, like I once did, that God could never smile on you. Wash your spirit in the pool of Siloam. When you “see” Jesus, and hear his words, then you’ll know that God can smile on you.

Put Down the Stones

Posted by Chris on March 1, 2009 under Sermons

Read John 8:1-11.

What happens (the mechanics of the trap): This woman is a test. She is not the real issue. They have asked Jesus, the Rabbi, for a ruling. They want him to be the judge and they will execute the sentence. They think they have him in a no-win. They aren’t interested in condemning the woman as much as they want to condemn Jesus (who threatens them).

• If he ignores the sin, then how can he truly preach righteousness? Think of how she has hurt the families of the men who have been with her. If Jesus says let her go, then he says righteousness doesn’t matter.
• But if Jesus lets her go, then he really isn’t here to save rather than condemn. He is being inconsistent.

They’ve asked Jesus to rule so he does. His rule is this: Execute her according to the law. You do it. But here’s the one condition – You have to be without sin and perfect to throw the sin. You have to be perfectly righteous. You must be like God to throw the stone.

Are we that good? Maybe not perfect, but might be better than some.

The woman caught in adultery is a sympathetic figure. It’s fairly easy to say that we are not any different than her. ” There but for the grace of God go I.” We can feel for her.

But what about unsympathetic characters?

• Bernie Madoff? Greedy CEO’s and Posturing Politicians. Enron. Anyone who has caused us to lose money and stolen our savings. Their sins have caused the harm and hurt of all of us.
• What about the child molester who has hurt children forever.
• Can we cast that stone?

Are we that good? Maybe not perfect, but might be better than _________________.

I must confess that I think I might be able to pick up that stone. Even if I didn’t throw to kill, I would like to throw to hurt. Just something to balance the scales. Isn’t that justice? There is a moral outrage at people whose inability and inconsiderate sense of boundaries (compulsions) hurt all of us or the innocents.

Yes, some of them are hurt and have been hurt. Some are victims, but how do we tell them to stop. How do we tell them that if they do not stop then the community is going to punish you. The law was meant to put boundaries on society. There has to be boundaries. If we don’t, then we will just destroy each other.

Does the Scripture really say that all sins are just alike? If we can make a distinction, then why can’t God? It does no good to read this text and hear, “That when I jaywalk or tell a white lie, then I am just as bad as greedy corporate thief, the murderer, or the child molester. We recognize the difference between misdemeanor and felony. Doesn’t God? I just don’t think it makes sense to level out all sins so that one is just the same as the other. I would rather you jaywalk than steal my retirement. I would rather you tell me a white lie than hurt my family.

This scripture is not about flattening out sin (misreading). This scripture does not communicate the message that one sin is as bad as another. This scripture says what Paul said in Rom 3 – all have sinned. This teaching is saying that there has to be a different way that saying, “We’re not perfect, but we are better than _________________.”

• We ought to be outraged at sin and we ought to name it and deal with it. Jesus is not turning a blind eye to sin. He isn’t excusing it. Not just the sin of the woman, but the sin of the accusers who have defined their righteousness as being better than others and confidence in their own correctness. (This is why they are trying to trap Jesus).
• Righteousness is supposed to exalt a people, but it will not when the definition of righteousness is “We’re sinners, but just a little bit better than those” I’m not a murdered. I’m no child molester.
• Likewise, it doesn’t make sense to say this is a bad as that. Too often this text has been used as an excuse not to deal with our own brokenness. We turn on others and say “Ye without sin cast the first stone.” The woman didn’t say that. Jesus did.

Jesus is confronting all of us with the reality that each of us must be born from above. We have to convert to an entirely different way of living and not just a religion that adapts to our view of the world.

The no-win situation is not Jesus’ trap. The no-win situation is our condition when we are without God. Everyone wonders what Jesus drew in the dirt. I wonder if he drew a line. His line was a false boundary and what he intended was for those who thought they had the sufficient righteousness to judge to stand on one side of the line and execute all those who didn’t meet up. (You must be this righteous to throw a stone.)
Jesus is showing us our inattention to redemption and our mixed up definition of righteousness. If that’s the way we encourage righteousness then we will end up with two people ready to throw huge rocks at each other. We are bad judges.

This text has had an impact on society. The fact that we have some sympathy for this woman is evidence of this. We are gracious with those who are judged and tagged with a scarlet A.
But how much more does this text need to shape us?

• Is this liberalism? If we are lenient and not ready to enact capital punishment, then does that mean Christianity is liberal? Terms like liberal and conservative are recent terms and if we try to squeeze the text into that frame we will find it doesn’t fit.

Two ways to hear the text.

1. Are you burdened with a sin so detestable that you cannot even stand it? You might be so immersed and trapped in it that it has become a way of life. I doubt this woman intended to be a prostitute and adulterer. No one ever intends to do that. Structures and circumstances lead to it. But that’s not an excuse. Go your way and sin no more. Legend has it that this woman was Mary Magdalene. That’s probably not true, but why is that legend so captivating. Probably because we want some closure. We want to know that this woman that Jesus saved lived out that salvation. That would be a good end to the story.
2. For others, the word is, put the rocks down. What are we defending? What are we threatened by? Those who came to him for a ruling didn’t really want it. They just wanted to assert their way of the world and their definition of righteousness. They are threatened by the implications of his honest truth. Let the judge of all the earth do right.

But that means that unjust people are going to get way with their sin. Right, and that’s always been the case. The only thing guaranteed is that there will be justice at the end of time.
Let’s strive for redemption.

Put down the stones, go, and sin no more.

Streams of Living Water

Posted by Chris on February 22, 2009 under Sermons

Read John 7.

So here are the brothers of Jesus. They believe that Jesus should make his public debut at the Feast of Tabernacles. He ought to perform signs and wonders and wow the masses at just the right time and place so that he can be assured of success.

The Feast of Tabernacles was a week long festival when the Children of Israel would live in little tents. Sort of like a national camping trip. Feast of Tabernacles is also a harvest festival. The Israelites who left Egypt over 1000 years before Jesus were not farmers. They were brick makers. They survived off their livestock. They value food and supplies that have their own legs – stuff that they can herd. When they settle in to a new land and can begin to grow crops, their entire economy shifts.

The final day of the festival is called Hoshana Rabbah. On this day the prayers for water and rain are spoken. By the time of Jesus, prayers were also included that the Messiah would come soon. Every year the same prayers would be spoken just as they always had been. The same rituals performed, just as they were expected. And deep down people have a reserved hope that streams of water will spring forth from the temple in Jerusalem and flood the desert. (But if that happened, what would they do next year?)

You can understand why Jesus’ kin would advise him like they did. If he were to arrive and perform his miracles in the holiest city of the land at the time when the expectations of Messiah are high. Jesus’ brothers are offering him the best religious and political advice available. If he wants to be a public figure, then there are some expectations that he has to fulfill. He can gain more disciples if he moves his ministry closer to Judea and conforms to the expectations of the traditionalists.

Jesus will not fit into the expectations of the traditionalists. He hadn’t so far …

1. He healed on the Sabbath
2. He dared to teach Greeks
3. He doesn’t come from the right place (He’s from Galilee!)

Jesus has been sent by God and he speaks on behalf of God. He isn’t interested in fitting into the agenda of the religious institution. He isn’t interested in affirming traditions that have never been questioned. He isn’t interested in creating a following.

But Jesus does go to the Festival on his own terms and in his own time. And on the last day when the ram’s horn is sounded and the prayers for water are being spoken, Jesus does the unexpected. He shouts, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.”

Notice that the reviews about Jesus are mixed. Some say he is the prophet. Some say he is the Christ. Some say he is good. Others say that he doesn’t fit the profile. It’s not Scriptural. He isn’t from Bethelem. He’s from Galilee. He is a deceiver.
Notice that the crowd is divided over Jesus. Isn’t Jesus supposed to be a unifier? Aren’t we all supposed to get along? Pay close attention: Jesus himself did not divide the crowd, rather they divide themselves because of their willingness to accept Jesus or their refusal to escape their own traditions.

There’s a word here for us. Jesus cannot be tamed and made palatable. He is not soft and mushy so that we can mold him to our agenda and our timing, rather he is on God’s agenda.

Have we committed ourselves to Christ or to our traditions? When our faith is more rooted in dead traditionalism than the living Christ, then Christ is made into a rubber stamp that approves our projects and our long held notions – even if they are not very godly. Now here’s what’s difficult – if we have molded Christ to fit our own expectations we are probably not aware of it. No one intentionally sets out to tame Jesus and his teachings. It happens over time because we become invested in what we know.

• Many a young preacher is faced with this dilemma. They are told, “Just preach the cross. Just preach the cross.” And sometimes when they do, they get reprimanded – sometimes by the very people who told them to just preach the cross. How does that happen?
• We become suspicious of talk about change. Maybe now it’s too common. In decades past, change has been seen as leaving the old paths and the old traditions. There is no value in change for change’s sake or change for no good reason. There is no virtue in casting out the wisdom of old ways just to be trendy.
• But neither is their any virtue in being reactionary, arrogant, and overly suspicious of change. The only way to know if we have become devoted to our own traditions rather than to Christ is to check our level of anxiety. Christ is not threatened by our mistakes. His truth is like a stream of living water that will wash over everything. Our traditions however will not stand up and if we are threatened, then we need to take a deep breath and ask why?

One Pharisee that day was taking that deep breath and asking the right questions instead of reciting the same old answers. We’ve seen him before, our friend Nicodemus. In the midst of the anxious Pharisees who want to jerk Jesus down, Nicodemus is reminding his peers to be their best. Instead of cursing the crowds and calling them fools, instead of claiming superiority and all-knowledge, Nicodemus is asking, “Does our law condemn anyone without first hearing him to find out what he is doing?” ? And they shut Nicodemus off by insulting him.

To be so resistant and stiff-necked is to make the same mistake as the Pharisees. Are we going to be open to new possibilities and the Spirit of God like Nicodemus? Or will we act like the anxious Pharisees? They were so threatened to let go of their traditions and their assumptions that they not only dismissed Christ, but they attacked anyone who dared just to consider what he was doing.

The living stream of water is the teaching of Christ. You can jump in and drink, but not if you’re afraid of getting wet.

Living Sacrifices

Posted by Chris on February 15, 2009 under Sermons

Structure of Romans

• Thesis – 1:16-17
• Antithesis – 2:1-3:20
• Restatement – 3:21-31
• Abraham – 4:1-25
• Adam: One Man – 5:1-21
• Grace, Sin, Law – 6 & 7
• Spirit, Life in Christ – 8
• Israel/God’s Justice – 9-11
• Spiritual Worship – 12
• Virtue in Society – 13
• Weak and Strong – 14:1-15:13
• Mission – 15:14-33
• Recommendation – 16

Belief and Practice

Romans 1-11 —THEREFORE—> Romans 12-16
Romans 1:16-17 I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”

Romans 12:1-2 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is-his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Spiritual Act of Worship

1. God doesn’t want an offering, he wants us.
2. Compare to the language of death and life in 6-7
3. Change of mind
   • Renewal
   • Conformity

Worship as Identity

1. The new vision of worship transcends Jew and Gentile concerns
2. Faith is basis
3. Practice embodies faith

Living Sacrifices in Worship

1. Evaluate ourselves through faith (v. 3)
2. We are members of one body (v. 4-6)
3. Use the gifts given to us by God’s grace

Gifts for One Another

Love

1. Practicing love within the church (12:9-13)
2. Practicing love with those who persecute the church (12:14-21)
   • 2 Kings 6:8-23

Bread of Life

Posted by Chris on under Sermons

Children – Talk about bread and share bread. Tell the story of John 6.

1. So here was this little boy who had five loaves of bread and two fish. Andrew, one of the disciples, notices this boy with the food and he says “Here’s someone with food.” Can you feed 5000 people with five little loaves of bread and two fish? Doesn’t seem likely. But a little bit is more than nothing at all. So Jesus gives thanks for what they have and he keeps dividing it up and there’s enough for everyone to eat their fill.
2. Where does bread come from? (God)
3. What is in bread? (Life)
4. So no wonder Jesus talks about bread when he wants to talk about life.

Communion:I’d like to ask a question that I asked the children. We need to think about this question every time we gather for this Supper. Where does this bread come from?

• You could say, and you would be right, that this bread came from ordinary people like me and you. Someone divided it up this morning as their simple unseen service to all of us.
• You could say, and you would be right, that these breads were baked in shops and factories. Not that different than other factories.
• Those are plain answers. Maybe even a little dull for something so sacred. But remember that the Word Became Flesh. The Word of God, the Son of Man, became just as dull, ordinary, and material as you and me. So perhaps there is something honorable and godly in these simple forms and in this simple bread.

Where does this bread come from?

• You could say, and you would be right, that all bread comes from God. He gives us the wheat, the grain, the rice or corn. The living growing material that becomes bread. Its a gift from god
• You could say, and you would be right, that the bread comes from heaven. Not just miracle manna or wonder bread to feed 5000, but the simple bread that is passed among us. The daily bread that we pass across a table.

Listen to what Jesus says [John 6]:
47 “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes has eternal life. 48 Yes, I am the bread of life! 49 Your ancestors ate manna in the wilderness, but they all died. 50 Anyone who eats the bread from heaven, however, will never die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever; and this bread, which I will offer so the world may live, is my flesh.”
52 Then the people began arguing with each other about what he meant. “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” they asked.
53 So Jesus said again, “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you cannot have eternal life within you. 54 But anyone who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise that person at the last day. 55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. 56 Anyone who eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. 57 I live because of the living Father who sent me; in the same way, anyone who feeds on me will live because of me. 58 I am the true bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will not die as your ancestors did (even though they ate the manna) but will live forever.”

There is life in bread, but not the kind of life that will enable us to live forever. Bread is a sign and it points to Jesus, the bread of life. Bread of Heaven. Bread is a sign and it points to Jesus.

Sermon

So here are these crowds following Jesus around after the miracle of the bread and fish. They want more miracles. They want Jesus to supply them with endless bread. They want to see him do the manna trick all over again. Jesus has a following. A crowd. That seems to be the goal. Jesus came to seek and save the lost. He was sent to teach and preach the kingdom. But notice that Jesus is strangely dismayed by the attention of the crowd [John 6]:

26 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, you want to be with me because I fed you, not because you understood the miraculous signs. 27 But don’t be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man can give you. For God the Father has given me the seal of his approval.”
28 They replied, “We want to perform God’s works, too. What should we do?”
29 Jesus told them, “This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent.”
30 They answered, “Show us a miraculous sign if you want us to believe in you. What can you do? 31 After all, our ancestors ate manna while they journeyed through the wilderness! The Scriptures say, ?Moses gave them bread from heaven to eat.'”
32 Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, Moses didn’t give you bread from heaven. My Father did. And now he offers you the true bread from heaven. 33 The true bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
34 “Sir,” they said, “give us that bread every day.”

Jesus scolds the crowds for paying too much attention to the bread rather than the sign of the bread and what it indicates. Even though they have been recipients of miracle bread, they are caught up in the wrong things. They see the sign but not what it points to.

And then they finally ask for the true bread of heaven. Like the Samaritan woman who asked for the living water so she wouldn’t have to draw water from the well, these folks want miracle bread so that they can quit working in the fields and kitchen.

And Jesus confuses them yet again. Jesus has to tell them to stop grumbling (v. 43) about bread and the meaning of eating his flesh and blood. Jesus’ teaching actually gets offensive (v. 61) and some of his disciples leave him at that point. Before we say, “Well they were just there for the bread.” It was more than that. People actually lost their belief in Jesus because he was downplaying the miracles and signs and trying to focus attention on what is behind the sign. His talk of eating flesh and drinking blood just didn’t seem appropriate to some of his followers.

We need this corrective word from Jesus. You cannot get any plainer than this text. Jesus is telling us to pay attention to the real food and drink and not get distracted by perishable stuff.
The followers of Christ, including us, have sometimes been like the crowds and put too much attention on the wrong things.

In the history of the church there have been arguments and complaints over how the bread actually becomes the body of Christ. Some believe that the bread is transubstantiated and it actually changes substance and becomes Christ’s body. Some believe that the bread is consubstantiated and the elements of Christ’s body and the bread are both present. Others opt for no explanation and just say the real presence of Christ is there, but we cannot explain it. And centuries later in the age of reason, some reasoned that its just bread and its symbolic. But all these debates miss the point. When we try to decide who’s right and what category we should be in we are getting hung up on the bread. We are complaining about the wrong thing. The bread has become more important than the sign of the bread that points to Jesus!

In the history of church there have been arguments and complaints about who is worthy to partake of the bread and the wine. Some churches have practiced closed communion and one has to present a token if he or she has been deemed worthy. Who should and shouldn’t have access to the Holy Bread and the Holy Wine has been hotly debated and some say, only those who are baptized and have a clean conscious. Others say, only those who have gone through the teaching, and still others say just leave it to the individual to decide. But all these debates miss the point. When we try to decide who’s right and what category we should be in we are getting hung up on the bread. We are complaining about the wrong thing. The bread has become more important than the sign of the bread that points to Jesus!

One time I visited a congregation and the elders presided over the bread and the cup and the service was so beautiful and the sign pointed to the true bread from heaven. And those elders carried the bread into the assembly as if they were carrying Christ to the people and I watched one of these men hand the tray of bread to a couple in front of me – and then for some reason I guess I’ll never know, the elder looks carefully at who he’s offering this bread to and he jerks it back and will not give it to them. And they seemed so shocked. And instead of the sign pointing to Christ it just pointed to the insecurities and conflicts in the hearts of those people. The bread had become more important that the sign of the bread that points to Jesus!

Once working with a large church, some of us noticed that there were college students who not only slipped out of service once they got their dosage of Lord’s Supper for the week, but they also it timed so that that they could slip in late at the moment just before the trays were passed around. Our concern wasn’t that they were missing the sermon and the singing. It wasn’t even that we didn’t get to fellowship with them. It was the fact that they had been taught that you can reduce your spiritual life to a nip of a cracker and a sip of juice. We were concerned that such anemic faith was giving too much attention to the perishable stuff. The bread had become more important that the sign of the bread that points to Jesus!

I once heard of a large church that boasted that they could distribute the communion and complete the communion service in record time. Many people marveled at the efficiency and organization of getting the elements into the hands and mouths of the assembled so quickly. But no one ever thought to ask “Why would you want to do that?” Why turn the Lord’s Supper into McDonalds? Is it because we think that the Lord’s Supper is already so boring and isolated that we want to shorten the agony? I’ve heard some worship experts say that we should learn how to shorten the Lord’s Supper because it is “Dead Time” in the worship program. That’s an odd description for something that’s supposed to be all about life. But this is what happens when the bread becomes more important that the sign of the bread that points to Jesus!

I know of a congregation where a woman asked if she could bake the communion bread every Sunday. She wanted to offer this as her gift to the congregation. Her recipe was unique. It wasn’t fancy, it was unleavened and yet it had some sort of sweetener in it. After a few Sundays some people wondered if this bread was authorized. They wondered if sugar was a leavening agent. They demanded their old bread back so that they could worship with a clean conscious. When we are that concerned with the chemical analysis and the recipe of the bread, then the bread has become more important than the sign of the bread that points to Jesus!

When our focus is on the bread and not the sign of the bread, then we get preoccupied by our own works. Like the crowds in John 6 we work so hard for food that will spoil. For food that will not keep us from dying. And we get so intense about performing works for God.

But Jesus warns us that the only work God cares for us to do is to believe in the one that God has sent. When we accept the bread as a sign, it leads us to believe in Jesus. And we aren’t worried how the bread should be baked or in what sense it transfigures into the presence of Christ. When we accept the bread from heaven as sign, then what get’s changed and transfigured and transubstantiated is us!

The recent ice storm has brought back a memory for me. When I was in college at the University of Arkansas and living in the dorm, my friends and I were stranded in all the snow and ice. It was a Sunday morning and we had no way to get to church service. But those of us who lived in the dorms said, let’s all meet at Pomfret Hall and get together. So we all trudged out into the snow and rolled down the hill from our dorm to visit our friends. Some of us went looking for the means to serve communion. The dining halls were all shut down and I doubt they had matzohs on hand anyway. Someone had a box of saltine crackers. They sort of looked the part we thought. We went to a vending machine and found a can of Bluebird Grape Drink. We weren’t sure if it was made of grapes or bluebirds but it was purple. We took that little 6 oz can and poured it into Dixie Cups. I got to preside and I cannot remember much from those days anymore, but I do remember this day. I remember the faces and the room and the plate of crackers and the can of juice. And I remember that I said, “These aren’t saltines and grape drink. This is the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.” We ate, we sang, we laughed and prayed. And because we didn’t get distracted by the bread, we tasted and ate the sign of the bread that pointed to Jesus Christ. And we remained in Him and He remained in us.

Roots and Branches

Posted by Chris on February 8, 2009 under Sermons

The Lord’s Genius

• God’s not finished with Israel
• If He can save Israel to save the Gentiles …
• Then He can save the Gentiles in order to save Israel!

Past, Present, Future

1. Past: Romans 9:6-29 – God Shapes a People
2. Present: Romans 9:30 – 11:6 – Remnant
3. Future: Romans 11:7-36 – God’s Mysterious Plan

Did God Reject Israel?

• Saul/Paul the Benjamite
• Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. – 1 Samuel 8:7

God’s Saving Remnant

• 1 Kings 19 – Elijah and Remnant
• Three texts describing Israel’s inability to see God’s work
  – Deuteronomy 29:4
  – Isaiah 29:10
  – Isaiah 6

The Future of Israel

• God has not rejected Israel forever
• Israel is not without hope
  – Psalm 69:22-23
• Nothing separates us from God’s love (Romans 8)
• God will use it to His purposes

Warning to the Gentiles

• Romans 2:17 – Warning to Jews not to boast in their advantage with the law
• Romans 11:11-16 – Warning to Gentiles not to boast in their advantage in the present

Image #1: The Lump

• Lump of dough, lump of clay
• Numbers 15:19-20 – The first-fruit offering of the grain
• If the portion is consecrated, then so is the rest

Image #2: The Root

• Gentiles were wild branches grafted into the “chosen” nation
• Remember your place
• Don’t despise the root
• Historical reality – Jew first and also Gentile

Chiasm

Ingrafted Branches

• The Future
• The broken branches can be grafted back into their own root
• Sin and Grace
• Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!

Do You Want To Be Made Well?

Posted by Chris on under Sermons

Read John 5:1-18.

So here’s this paralyzed man flat on his mat by the healing waters of the Pool of Bethesda. For 38 years he’s suffered with his paralysis and withered limbs. He lies on his mat waiting for the spirit to move and make it into the water. For 38 years he has waited there among many others who have come for healing.

Jesus approaches this man on his mat and asks a very strange question, “Do you want to get well?”

I’m a little disturbed that Jesus would ask such an obvious question. I could really excuse the poor man for being smart aleck in his response. What is the man supposed to say? “Let me think about that, Jesus! I’ve been pondering that very thought for 38 years and I just can’t make up my mind.”

I have to wonder what Jesus is doing. He supposed to know these things. He knows that the man has been ill for some time. He knows that people are gathering in this place for the specific purpose of being healed – and yet he asks this man who has suffered for longer than Jesus himself has been on earth, “Do you want to get well?”

But maybe Jesus knows more that we’ve supposed. Maybe when we read this carefully we begin to see the truth and honesty in Jesus’ question. Notice that the man doesn’t say, “Oh yes, I want to be healed.” Rather, his answer is something like an explanation as to why he isn’t healed. After all, even if he has to be the first in the pool when the water gets stirred up, I would think imagine that maybe he could get in first at some point in four decades. But he explains (or is it an excuse), “I have no one to help me into the pool. Someone else always gets there before me.”

Maybe Jesus really wants to know if this man is committed to being well, or has he become comfortable in his illness. It’s a fine line between struggling with a problem and holding on to it so that it defines us. For 38 years, the only life this man knew was lying on his mat by the pool of healing waters. Always on the edge waiting and hoping but never going in to the water. Giving up his life on the mat, even though it doesn’t sound very good, can be challenging. After all, what’s next for a someone like him?

Let’s really pay attention to this story. As is always the case with John, he doesn’t intend for us to take his gospel entirely literal. This is the author of Revelation and his gospel is almost as symbolic. So we have to develop the ears to hear.

This is not a proof text for a health and wealth gospel that says that our chronic conditions are due to a lack of faith. The fact that people struggle with a health problem or a some other malady is not an indication of their weak faith or God’s lack of concern or misfortune (Just wait till we get to John 9 and the blind man) But if this unnamed paralytic is representative, as is the unnamed Samaritan woman, then what does this mean.

Wellness and health is about more than physical healing. It involves the way we live. This has broad application to our individual lives and our lives together. Beware the qualified responses to the question: Do you want to get well? Do you want to be healthy and sound? Do you want to change your condition? It sounds like yes, but it’s not.

“Well, yes – but there’s no one who understands me.”
“Well, yes – but my situation is unique.”
“Well, yes – but other people don’t seem to care.”
“Well, yes – but other people may not appreciate it.”

The forms are endless, but the formula is the same. Sure we want to get well, we want to overcome addiction, we want to change our attitude, we want to get out of an unhealthy relationship, we want to give more, we want to get out of debt, we want to stop abusing ourselves, we want to stop taking advantage of others, we want to give our life to Christ – BUT!

Jesus isn’t just asking the question to be polite. He wants to know if we are committed to being healthy. He removes all the excuses through his direct words: “Pick up your mat and walk!” Jesus is the word made flesh. He is the Son of Man who has come on behalf of the Father. He has come to save, not to condemn, and he offers us life eternal – new birth from above. Do we want that? Do we want eternal life and thus want to be made well?

Even if we are committed to being made well, there are others who might not be ready for it. For this man it was the Pharisees. There they are confronting this man, who for as long as they could remember was a withered heap on his mat by the pool. “Hey you there!” they call out, “You’re not supposed to being carrying that mat. It’s the Sabbath and what you are doing looks an awfully lot like too much work for the Sabbath.”

And notice how the man responds, “Well yes, but … the man who made me well told me to do this.” They want to know who it was, and this man cannot or will not tell them. And so Jesus, who had disappeared into the crowd, presents himself again to this man. He says, “Stop sinning or something worse might happen.” That’s another strange thing to say, but it emphasizes that this is about more than just physical healing. If this man is going to be healthy, then he must live out his faith in Jesus and know who it is that made him well.

Another way we need to hear this story is to avoid the mindset of the Pharisees. These good people who knew their Scriptures and worked so hard to honor God, have tried to contain God within their customs and traditions. They have religious perfection refined to an art, but they have forgotten justice and mercy. They have taken the refreshment of the Sabbath and turned it into a burden. So, instead of rejoicing with this man who has had a life-changing encounter with the Son of God, they become religious referees and start blowing their whistles – Foul! Foul! Violation of the Sabbath! Loss of yardage, get back on the mat!

Beware the mindset of the Pharisees. They are withered up also – in their minds and hearts. They are well-intentioned dragons who are more interested in persecution than praise. “Who told you this error and untruth about the Sabbath?” They ask the man. When he finally names Jesus, they confront him and get more than they bargained for.

Jesus says, “God doesn’t take a day off and neither do I.” They were more upset about the violation of the Sabbath rather than the power of God to bring life.
As Jesus says in his own words, “You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life. I do not accept praise from men, but I know you. I know that you do not have the love of God in your hearts. I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him. How can you believe if you accept praise from one another, yet make no effort to obtain the praise that comes from the only God?”

Jesus is asking the Pharisees – “Do you want to be healthy?” Do you want to have life.

We don’t like to listen to Scriptures and sermons about the Pharisees and wonder if that’s us. They are always someone else. They are the villains. Being called a Pharisee is a great insult, and we don’t want that. But if we really want to be healthy and have life, then we have to open our minds and hearts — for if there’s one thing that described the good Pharisees, it is their closed minds and hearts. That would be tragic to be like them. To be paralyzed and become more comfortable with our weaknesses.

How sad it would be if we continue to come right up to the edge of the pool Sunday after Sunday, but we don’t ever jump in.
How sad it would be, if we studied the Scriptures week to week, and it never leads us to life.
How sad it would be, if we praise one another and commend each other but we make no effort to obtain the praise from the only God.
How sad it would be, if we fail to have the courage to tell the truth about ourselves and the one who made us well.

I want us to be healthy – and I think you do too.
I want us to believe in God’s work – and I think you do too.
I want us to be open to God’s work – and I think you do too.
I want us to welcome those who want to get well – and I think you do too.
I want us (I want you) to be brave enough to accept the praise of Christ and not worry about what other think – and I think you do too.
I want us to put away excuses and pick up our mat and walk – and I think you do too.

Do you want to get well?

Calling on the Name of the Lord

Posted by Chris on February 1, 2009 under Sermons

The Elephant in the Room

• So what about Israel?
• Did God abandon them? Did he change the terms?
• Is God just and fair?
• Did he abandon Jews for Gentiles?

The Lord’s Genius

• God’s not finished with Israel
• If he can save Israel to save the Gentiles …
• Then he can save the Gentiles in order to save Israel!

Romans 9:30-33

• Righteousness and Faithfulness

  Gentiles Not Seeking God Attained Righteousness By Faith

  Israel Seeking God Did Not Attain Law Because of Law

The Irony

• Paul describes the reality of a people who made their own efforts and contribution to righteousness more of a God than God
• Isaiah 8:14, Isaiah 28:16
• The stumbling block = Scandal

Misdirected Zeal

How can it be?
A young man straps a load of explosives to his waist, walks into a crowd and destroys both himself and scores of others.
A group of devotees follow a charismatic leader, surrender their common sense and die out of loyalty to a pathetic cause.
Religious zealots dance on red-hot coals, mutilate their bodies, go on lengthy fasts and subject themselves to every kind of abuse.

Why? How can it be?

The answer is easy to identify but difficult to understand. Misdirected zeal. A subjecting of all that is reasonable to a religious fervor that is ill directed and destructive.
One word describes this deplorable kind of behavior – deception. Ask an escapee from a religious cult. Ask a suicide bomber five seconds into eternity. Ask anyone who has been deceived into believing that zeal and fervor are beneficial, even when misdirected. They will all agree – they have been tragically, pathetically and deplorably deceived.
None of us will forget the carnage of mass suicides as sincere people have been gradually brainwashed into believing that a cause was bigger and more important than life itself. Indeed, misdirected religious zeal is deception at its worst.

Again, how can it be? Why does it happen? Romans 10 (and the last verses of Romans tell us). Here then are the subtle lies that undergird the deception.

Romans 10:1-4

Misdirected Zeal
God’s Way vs Our Way
1. Human Effort Can Earn Divine Favor
2. Human Righteousness = Divine Righteousness
3. Human Initiative Can Compel Divine Response

See also: Misdirected Zeal – The Great Deception {offsite}

Romans 10:5-13

• God’s Way
  – Trusting Christ
  – Acknowledging Christ as Lord
  – Believing God raised Him
  – “All who call upon the name of the Lord will be saved” – Joel 2:32
  WARNING: CHECKLIST MENTALITY
  God’s way is confession and belief. Equals Trust.
  But we can turn even this into a series of obligations that we can manage and trust flies out the window. Self-Reliance vs Reliance in God.

Calling On The Name

1. Jew and Gentile are same in this respect
2. No one is advantaged or disadvantaged
3. No disappointment in trusting God
4. Where does faith begin?

Little By Little

1. You cannot call unless you believe in Him
2. You cannot believe unless you’ve heard about Him
3. You cannot hear about Him unless someone tells
4. One cannot tell unless one is sent

Hearing About Christ

• Isaiah 53
• Acts 2 – Peter preaches Christ
• Acts 8:5, 35 – Phillip proclaims Christ to the Samaritans and the Eunuch
• 1 Corinthians 1:23 – “We preach Christ crucified …”

Christ at the Core

Obedience is to the gospel. A response to the good news. Not simply obedience to commands. Salvation comes through a response to Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection.
Response apart from Christ is meaningless.
Reliance on a formula or pattern is misplaced zeal or self-reliance. Salvation comes through trust and reliance on Jesus Christ.
Preaching Christ is what produces faith. See K.C. Moser – The Gist of Romans

Romans 10:16-21

• Can the Good News be Rejected? (Isaiah 53:1)
• Have the Jews heard? (Psalm 19:4)
• Did they understand? (Deuteronomy 32:21; Isaiah 65:1-2)

The Future of Israel

• God has not rejected Israel
• Israel is not without hope

  Dear brothers and sisters, the longing of my heart and my prayer to God is for the people of Israel to be saved.

Living Water

Posted by Chris on under Sermons

Read John 4

So here’s this woman at Jacob’s Well in Sychar. She’s there to draw water for the basic needs of her household: water to drink, water to clean with. Approaching the well she notices a worn out, thirsty, hungry man who’s not a local. She can tell by the way he dresses, the way he wears his hair and just his whole look that he’s a Jew. Jews and Samaritans don’t get along.

She’s must be thinking that it is unusual to see a Jew in Sychar. Jews don’t typical venture into Samaritan Land – and that’s just fine with her. She’s all too familiar with their arrogance and contempt.

• They call her and her people half-breeds.
• They call her and her people compromisers.
• They refuse to accept that her and her people are Children of Israel (Jacob is their father too after all)
• They regard her and her people as something less than Gentiles. (Why? They circumcise, they keep the Sabbath, they observe Passover, they honor Moses)

Jews and Samaritans don’t get along.

She attempts to ignore this stranger and go about her business. She doesn’t have much to say to her neighbors, why would she bother with this Jewish stranger? He’s likely to condemn her anyway.

She’s surprised when he asks her for a drink. Because Jews and Samaritans don’t get along.
The shock of it is enough to break through her outer shell. She loses her filters and what she is thinking is changed to words, “How is it that you – a Jew – ask me – a Samaritan and a woman for a drink?” Maybe she’s insulted by the audacity of this Jewish man to ask her for a drink. He’s like all the others – the prejudice, contempt, and exclusion are firmly in place until he needs something. Then it’s “give me drink!” No please or thank you! What gall to demand a drink of water when he and his people make certain that everyone knows why Jews and Samaritans do not get along! So here’s this Samaritan woman at Jacob’s Well in Sychar.

Listen to Jesus’ reply: “If you knew God’s gift, his generosity, and who ask you for water, you would ask him for living water and he would give it to you.” Jesus perceives what she doesn’t know: 1) God must not be very generous in her experience. 2) She doesn’t understand who he is – she has filed him away under “Jewish Men” with all the rest of her assumptions and stereotypes. And even though that may not be excusable, Jesus understands it. After all, Jews and Samaritans don’t get along.

The conversation about sharing living water is enough to get her interest. Even though her rejoinder seems defensive and skeptical, there’s a single word that allows the conversation to change. “OUR.” She mentions “our” ancestor Jacob. She admits that Jacob, the founder of the well, is as common to Samaritans and Jews as the need for water.

Maybe the past is a source of hope for the reconciliation of Jews and Samaritans who don’t get along? Maybe, but the past is also a source of tension. When Jesus describes the better living water as never-thirsty water that creates a bubbling spring in someone, then woman asks him for the water. Then Jesus gets personal and asks her to bring her husband.

This woman has something to hide. She facing that moment that all of us know when the conversation, the interview, the relationship, the confession moves into the past and down hidden roads we try to avoid.

She knows that she has two obvious strikes against her when it comes to talking to Jesus. She’s a woman and she’s a Samaritan. If Jesus knows the third strike – that she’s in and out of relationships – then surely there’s no living water for her.

So she makes a clever dodge – “I don’t have a husband.”

And Jesus tells her everything she’s trying to hide. And he doesn’t condemn her, he commends her: “You’re right. You’ve had five husbands and the man you are living with know isn’t your husband.”

Now, instead of focusing on the well that they had in common, the woman is bold enough to bring up the big dispute. Jews and Samaritans are really so much alike. But the one huge difference between them is whether you should worship on a mountain or a temple.

Jews and Samaritans don’t get along because they are so much alike. An outsider looking in probably couldn’t tell the difference. They have basically the same Scriptures. They have the same rituals. They have the same ancestors. They have the same stories. But anytime you might think that these Children of Jacob would have a unity meeting, the Jews tend to bring up a nasty part of the Samaritans history (2 Kings 17). After the King of Assyria invaded the north of Israel, he moved in some foreigners: Babylonians, Cuthanians, Avvanites, Hamathites, and the Sepharvaim. Five tribes of Assyria who brought their pagan Gods with them. And then the King of Assyria sent kidnapped Israelite priests backs to the land to teach all these people how to worship the Lord. And worship of God took place on the hilltop, just as it does for the gods of these five tribes. Jews point that out. And they don’t listen when the Samaritans bring up the point that their common ancestors worshipped on Mount Gerazim and long before any of this. Instead, the Jews see their northern sister sleeping around with five foreigners and her latest relationship isn’t legitimate either.

Jesus and this woman have just named the ugly history that stand between her people and his. He knows everything she’s ever done and it sounds a lot like everything that her people have ever done. How does Jesus answer her question? What can he say? “So how about that drink?” How do you get past such a looming and painful history. How can Jews and Samaritans ever get along?

God is spirit. Mountains and Temples aren’t what matters. Being right on the arguments is not nearly as important as knowing the One who knows all. God isn’t making appointments to meet us on Mount Gerazim or in Jerusalem. His preference is for those who worship him in spirit and truth.

The Samaritans know one thing. This woman knows one thing. Something that her people have believed for generations. There’s a man coming that they call the Taheb. He will restore everything. He’s also known as the Messiah. Maybe she’s saying – It would really be great if he were here to settle all these divisions and restore us from our broken world.

Jesus says, “I am the Messiah.”

She runs off to tell her people about a man who knew everything she ever did. He knew everything that her people ever did, but he still invites her to living water.

Here come the disciples. They noticed Jesus talking to this Samaritan woman. They are surprised too. Because Jews and Samaritans don’t get along. And yet, they don’t have the nerve to bring it up.

Trying to ignore this breach of protocol, the disciples choose to fuss over things that really don’t matter. They want Jesus to eat lunch. But Jesus is focused on mission. For the disciples, mission ends outside the border of the Samaritans country. And it isn’t that they are clueless. Rather they are avoiding the mission. John says that no one had the nerve to ask Jesus about this discussion with the Samaritan woman. Why avoid it? Maybe because their afraid that the Samaritans are part of the mission too? After all Jews and Samaritans don’t get along.

Do we do that? Do we get fussy about things that aren’t part of the mission because we worry about the implications of the mission. Do we fuss about our own mountains and temples and where we’re going to get lunch because we are afraid of the deep waters of worshipping God and we might even be afraid of who else we find around the well of living water?

There’s a lot of fuss over shape notes and songbooks. There’s a lot of fuss over what we’re wearing and the Welch’s we’re drinking. There’s a lot of fuss over lifting hand and bending knees. There’s a lot of fuss over preaching and Power Point. There’s a lot of fuss over this and that.

Do you think we fuss over all that because we find it easier to deal with our symbols rather than our spirits? Do you think we like to make something pretty and precise out of worship to cover over the ugliness of our sins?
The Samaritan woman could argue all day about the proper location of worship, but it didn’t change her history. Jesus knew everything that she ever did.
The Samaritan people could make the case for Mt. Gerazim and their historical claim to being the one true people of God. But that didn’t change their history. Jesus knew everything that they ever did.
The Jewish people could make their case for Jerusalem and stand on their knowledge, but that couldn’t change their history and their sins. Jesus knew everything that they ever did.
And the church, the bride of Christ, can fuss and argue and dress itself up and make the case for being right. But it will not change our history and it will not excuse our arrogance, our errors, our abuses, our nastiness, and all the sins that we bury deep inside. Jesus knows everything we’ve ever done.

Jesus knows. He isn’t fooled. He isn’t tricked. Jesus isn’t a forgive and forget kind of a guy either. Nothing is forgotten – but here’s the good news – all is forgiven. He knows everything we’ve ever done. He knows everything you’ve ever done. But he still offers us living water.

Worship evangelism. Worship and evangelism won’t come together as long as we’re fussing about worship. When worship is a game of insider and outsider, then there will not be any evangelism. Worship in Spirit and Truth gets turned inside out.

As long as worship is focused on our mountains and temples, there’s no spirit and truth. And if there’s no spirit and truth, then who are we worshipping?

Worship in spirit and truth means that our worship is not play-acting. Worship in spirit and truth means we are through hiding our history and we are through making excuses. Instead we proclaim the praises and the words of the one who knows everything we’ve ever done. Thanks to him we have eternal life. And if we keep on doing this – worshipping spiritually and honestly with ourselves and with one another, we will draw many others to believe in the words of the Savior of the World.

Born From Above

Posted by Chris on January 25, 2009 under Sermons

Read John 3:1-21

So here’s Nicodemus, he’s in the dark. It is night and he wishes to interview this Rabbi, Jesus from Nazareth. He’s heard about the signs and Jesus has been discussed often in the religious council. But Nicodemus’ first word to Jesus really isn’t a question – it’s a statement …

“We know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you.”

We know. Nicodemus and his colleagues have it all figured out. That’s sort of appealing in a way to be so confident. They’re not obtuse academics or scholars gushing with liberal ambiguity. We know, says Nicodemus. And here he is presenting this knowledge to Jesus. Maybe he’s wondering if Jesus really is sound and conforms to what he and his colleagues know. After all, the only way Jesus can do signs is if God is with him. Nicodemus and his associates have spent a lot of time sorting, classifying, and rightly dividing what they know – and anything that doesn’t fit one of their categories must not be right.

Nicodemus relies on what he knows. He relies on his orderly, systematic sorting and typing of all things religious. Nicodemus knows. He is a teacher of Israel.

But Nicodemus cannot see. He is in the dark and he cannot see the kingdom of heaven.
He cannot see the kingdom of heaven because he hasn’t been born from above. What he knows is from the earth, not from above. What he speaks is from the earth, not from above. That doesn’t mean that Nicodemus is worldly or non-religious. No, it means that his religion and his belief isn’t spiritual. It hasn’t been inspired by the spirit from above.

If you haven’t heard, television signals are going to change. If you haven’t then don’t worry because you don’t watch TV anyway. You can have a TV, a TV antenna, a TV guide but if it isn’t converted to the new signal, then you will get nothing. [This illustration and other observations are inspired by the work of Gregory Stevenson, Tom Olbricht, and David Fleer in Preaching John’s Gospel: The World It Imagines (Chalice Press, 2008).]

Nicodemus is on a different wavelength. According to his dial, Jesus is a teacher sent by God. He would have to be sent by God to work those signs. That’s sounds like a confession of faith, but it is really a limiting and defining statement. Nicodemus is trying to explain it, limit it, categorize it and classify it.

Here’s a warning that even people on the inside can still be in the dark. Nicodemus is not a godless pagan. He’s not a hopeless sinner. He’s one of the chosen. He’s a teacher and leader. But he’s still in the dark because he’s more invested in what he knows rather than knowing God’s Spirit.

What wavelength are we on? Can we get in tune with the Spirit from Above and see the kingdom? Or are we going to rely on what we’ve always known, like Nicodemus. What does this means for us?

Born Again means Born from Above
The difference between dark and light is the ability to see. We can stand in a dark room and we may be able to get around because we “know” the layout. But we cannot see a thing. What happens when the furniture get rearranged?

Jesus says that if we want to see the kingdom of God breaking into this dark world, then we need to be born from above.
Your text probably reads born again. You might have an asterisk explaining that it can also be translated as born again. There’s a word play here and it’s odd that the majority of translations in history have followed not what Jesus is saying, but what Nicodemus misunderstands. Nicodemus understands the phrase as born again because that’s all that fits is categories.

But truly, truly Jesus is saying that being born again is being born from above: a rebirth that involves the spiritual renewal of heaven. To be born from above through water and Spirit tunes us into the wavelength of the spirit. It fills our eyes with light. Flesh and Spirit is a not a dualism of body and soul, rather they are points of reference.