Sermon-Sunday-April 22, 2007
Third Sunday of Easter
Brothers and sisters,
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the risen Lord Jesus Christ.
Earlier this week when I asked Jim Stout if he would be willing to fill in for me next Sunday, he asked me if there was a theme that I was preaching on throughout Easter. And I said no, not really. I mean nothing really outside of the death and resurrection of Christ. But as I read these lessons that have been assigned these last few weeks, there does seem to be a sort of common thread.
Of course the death and resurrection of Christ is the foundation of our faith and that of course is very present in these lessons, but underneath that there seems to be this recurring theme of Jesus absolutely refusing to leave us in darkness and despair. Last week we talked about the risen Jesus appearing to the disciples as they were hiding in fear and Jesus appearing in the midst of them and saying "peace be with you," and then later of course Jesus appearing to Thomas, and thus bringing Thomas and the rest of the disciples out of their fear, doubt, and confusion.
Certainly in light of the tragedy that took place this week in Virginia, it is reassuring to know that Jesus does not leave us alone in our darkness and despair, and that He enters into that darkness with us and over time brings us out of it.
And In our first lesson this week, in the story of the conversion of Saul, we see one of the most powerful examples of Jesus refusing to leave someone in their own darkness and confusion. Like most of us, Saul thought he was a good man. Like most of us Saul professed to love God and had a desire to serve God. But Saul didn’t realize that the people whom he was spending so much time persecuting really were who they said they were; disciples of the risen Lord Jesus.
Saul thought he was doing God’s work. As he breathed threats of murder against Jesus’ disciples, or as he looked on approvingly over the stoning of Stephen; the first Christian martyr, Saul thought he was doing God’s work.
And then, on his way to Damascus to bring some letters to the synagogues in Damascus he sees this great light from Heaven flash all around him and then he hears the words that would change his life. He hears the words that cut him to the core and laid him bare and exposed him to be the sinner that he was, and exposed just how much in bondage he was to sin. From the mouth of the risen Lord Jesus Saul hears "Saul, Saul why do you persecute me?"
These words have the same effect on you. These words cut you to the core and expose your sin and your darkness and your bondage. We are all persecutors of Christ, every one of us. What Saul realized in that moment, among other things, was that when you persecute God’s people, it is the same thing as persecuting Christ Himself.
You persecute Christ with petty jealousy toward your neighbor. You persecute Christ by holding grudges against each other, when you should be forgiving each other and trying to understand each other more. You persecute Christ when you put up walls between yourself and your neighbor. You persecute Christ when you gossip about other people. You persecute Christ when you say bad things about someone behind their back. You persecute Christ when you ridicule each other.
The words that the risen Lord Jesus spoke to Saul that day make Saul and you realize that it is in our very nature to persecute Christ. It is in our very nature to think of ourselves before we think of others. In that moment Saul, soon to be Paul, was struck with the truth. He was struck with the truth that would eventually lead to him writing the well known words that he wrote in Romans 3, "…that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."
But as the story goes on, you can see that once again Jesus refuses to leave His people in the darkness and futility of their own sin and despair. Saul gets up and can’t see, but the men who were with him, who themselves were completely speechless at what was going on, led Saul by the hand the rest of the way into Damascus. But for the remaining three days that it took them to get to Damascus, Saul was without sight.
And while all this is going on, Jesus speaks to a man named Ananias who is described as a disciple, and he lives is Damascus, where Saul is going. And he is told to go find Saul and that Saul is an instrument chosen by Christ to bring the name of Christ Jesus before gentiles and kings and the people of Israel.
And when Ananias finds Saul he greets him as a brother. He no longer sees Saul as an enemy but instead as a brother. And Ananias tells Saul that Jesus has sent him to Saul so that Saul may regain his sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit. And then Saul’s sight is restored, and he is baptized.
He was claimed by Christ. He was brought into the family of God in Christ Jesus. That is what happens when Christ Jesus exposes you for the sinner that you are and you are brought into the stark reality of the futility of trying to be righteous through your own efforts. And once you realize that, you realize it’s not up to you, but that everything has already been done for you on the cross. Then all you can do is follow the lead of Saul who after spending time learning from the disciples immediately began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues saying "He is the Son of God."
Saul was shown that the real way to serve God is not in arrogance and pride but in service and humility. It’s the same thing that Peter was shown in today’s Gospel lesson when three times Jesus told Peter that if he loved Jesus, then he should feed and tend Jesus’ sheep.
The light of Christ comes into your darkness, exposes your sin, leaves you bare and helpless, and He claims you as His own. And you realize that when Jesus said "It is finished." He meant it. Martin Luther wrote that we can actually find comfort in that moment when Jesus asked Saul why he was persecuting Him. Luther writes…
These, I say, are words filled with comfort. They are spoken to strengthen our faith and to make us bold to disdain the world’s persecution and hatred and to sing this song of defiance in opposition to any sadness with which the world wants to submerge us: "Dear world, you are not persecuting me; you are persecuting Christ, my Lord. Since I am aware of this, I challenge you to do your worst. Here I stand in God’s name and let you, together with all the devils from hell, fume in their name. You can persecute, exile, yes, even kill me, if my Lord Christ so wills; but you will not deprive me of my courage and my comfort, nor will you bring me to the point of being grieved in my heart.
Persecution of Christ continues as the world rejects the Gospel that you have been called to proclaim to your neighbor. But on the cross Christ Jesus took all the persecution that the world can muster and He came out victorious. And now, you have been freed from having to worry about whatever rejection or persecution the world might offer up. You have been freed to follow the lead of Peter and Paul and feed and tend Christ’s sheep, your neighbors, and proclaim to them the Good news of Christ Jesus that "He is the Son of God" and He refuses to leave you in darkness.
Amen
Brothers and sisters,
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the risen Lord Jesus Christ.
Earlier this week when I asked Jim Stout if he would be willing to fill in for me next Sunday, he asked me if there was a theme that I was preaching on throughout Easter. And I said no, not really. I mean nothing really outside of the death and resurrection of Christ. But as I read these lessons that have been assigned these last few weeks, there does seem to be a sort of common thread.
Of course the death and resurrection of Christ is the foundation of our faith and that of course is very present in these lessons, but underneath that there seems to be this recurring theme of Jesus absolutely refusing to leave us in darkness and despair. Last week we talked about the risen Jesus appearing to the disciples as they were hiding in fear and Jesus appearing in the midst of them and saying "peace be with you," and then later of course Jesus appearing to Thomas, and thus bringing Thomas and the rest of the disciples out of their fear, doubt, and confusion.
Certainly in light of the tragedy that took place this week in Virginia, it is reassuring to know that Jesus does not leave us alone in our darkness and despair, and that He enters into that darkness with us and over time brings us out of it.
And In our first lesson this week, in the story of the conversion of Saul, we see one of the most powerful examples of Jesus refusing to leave someone in their own darkness and confusion. Like most of us, Saul thought he was a good man. Like most of us Saul professed to love God and had a desire to serve God. But Saul didn’t realize that the people whom he was spending so much time persecuting really were who they said they were; disciples of the risen Lord Jesus.
Saul thought he was doing God’s work. As he breathed threats of murder against Jesus’ disciples, or as he looked on approvingly over the stoning of Stephen; the first Christian martyr, Saul thought he was doing God’s work.
And then, on his way to Damascus to bring some letters to the synagogues in Damascus he sees this great light from Heaven flash all around him and then he hears the words that would change his life. He hears the words that cut him to the core and laid him bare and exposed him to be the sinner that he was, and exposed just how much in bondage he was to sin. From the mouth of the risen Lord Jesus Saul hears "Saul, Saul why do you persecute me?"
These words have the same effect on you. These words cut you to the core and expose your sin and your darkness and your bondage. We are all persecutors of Christ, every one of us. What Saul realized in that moment, among other things, was that when you persecute God’s people, it is the same thing as persecuting Christ Himself.
You persecute Christ with petty jealousy toward your neighbor. You persecute Christ by holding grudges against each other, when you should be forgiving each other and trying to understand each other more. You persecute Christ when you put up walls between yourself and your neighbor. You persecute Christ when you gossip about other people. You persecute Christ when you say bad things about someone behind their back. You persecute Christ when you ridicule each other.
The words that the risen Lord Jesus spoke to Saul that day make Saul and you realize that it is in our very nature to persecute Christ. It is in our very nature to think of ourselves before we think of others. In that moment Saul, soon to be Paul, was struck with the truth. He was struck with the truth that would eventually lead to him writing the well known words that he wrote in Romans 3, "…that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."
But as the story goes on, you can see that once again Jesus refuses to leave His people in the darkness and futility of their own sin and despair. Saul gets up and can’t see, but the men who were with him, who themselves were completely speechless at what was going on, led Saul by the hand the rest of the way into Damascus. But for the remaining three days that it took them to get to Damascus, Saul was without sight.
And while all this is going on, Jesus speaks to a man named Ananias who is described as a disciple, and he lives is Damascus, where Saul is going. And he is told to go find Saul and that Saul is an instrument chosen by Christ to bring the name of Christ Jesus before gentiles and kings and the people of Israel.
And when Ananias finds Saul he greets him as a brother. He no longer sees Saul as an enemy but instead as a brother. And Ananias tells Saul that Jesus has sent him to Saul so that Saul may regain his sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit. And then Saul’s sight is restored, and he is baptized.
He was claimed by Christ. He was brought into the family of God in Christ Jesus. That is what happens when Christ Jesus exposes you for the sinner that you are and you are brought into the stark reality of the futility of trying to be righteous through your own efforts. And once you realize that, you realize it’s not up to you, but that everything has already been done for you on the cross. Then all you can do is follow the lead of Saul who after spending time learning from the disciples immediately began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues saying "He is the Son of God."
Saul was shown that the real way to serve God is not in arrogance and pride but in service and humility. It’s the same thing that Peter was shown in today’s Gospel lesson when three times Jesus told Peter that if he loved Jesus, then he should feed and tend Jesus’ sheep.
The light of Christ comes into your darkness, exposes your sin, leaves you bare and helpless, and He claims you as His own. And you realize that when Jesus said "It is finished." He meant it. Martin Luther wrote that we can actually find comfort in that moment when Jesus asked Saul why he was persecuting Him. Luther writes…
These, I say, are words filled with comfort. They are spoken to strengthen our faith and to make us bold to disdain the world’s persecution and hatred and to sing this song of defiance in opposition to any sadness with which the world wants to submerge us: "Dear world, you are not persecuting me; you are persecuting Christ, my Lord. Since I am aware of this, I challenge you to do your worst. Here I stand in God’s name and let you, together with all the devils from hell, fume in their name. You can persecute, exile, yes, even kill me, if my Lord Christ so wills; but you will not deprive me of my courage and my comfort, nor will you bring me to the point of being grieved in my heart.
Persecution of Christ continues as the world rejects the Gospel that you have been called to proclaim to your neighbor. But on the cross Christ Jesus took all the persecution that the world can muster and He came out victorious. And now, you have been freed from having to worry about whatever rejection or persecution the world might offer up. You have been freed to follow the lead of Peter and Paul and feed and tend Christ’s sheep, your neighbors, and proclaim to them the Good news of Christ Jesus that "He is the Son of God" and He refuses to leave you in darkness.
Amen
posted by Steve at 10:38 AM
3 Comments:
WOW! You are becoming bold in your old age! How dare you write:
"You persecute Christ with petty jealousy toward your neighbor. You persecute Christ by holding grudges against each other, when you should be forgiving each other and trying to understand each other more. You persecute Christ when you put up walls between yourself and your neighbor. You persecute Christ when you gossip about other people. You persecute Christ when you say bad things about someone behind their back. You persecute Christ when you ridicule each other."
Don't you know that sermons are about soothing them and then challenging them to be better people??!!
Seriously, great sermon!
Old age??
well, you are older than I am? Plus you have the kids and everything-are you going to bed at about 7ish now?
Post a Comment
<< Home