You can hear an audio recording of the third scripture reading, the Passion Narrative, and my Meditation on the reading
being preached, by CLICKING HERE.
Dear People Loved by God,
The world’s a hot mess right now. That’s probably putting it mildly. There’s no question it’s HOT—climate data
shows decisively that 2015-2025 was the hottest time on record in the history
of the planet! And, do you know anyone
who would disagree with the assessment that the world’s a mess?
This isn’t the first time people have thought
that the world was “messy.”
In fact, we know from reading our bibles that
this whole dust-up in Jerusalem with Jesus came about because even “back then” religious
people looked at the world and saw it was a mess.
We know that wasn’t even the first time religious
people had disagreements about the state of the world and worldly power; we
know too many times since then, people have disagreed over politics or religion,
or both—resulting in mess, after mess, after mess—including violence and
destruction of life and property.
Yet we know that God is undeterred! We know that God saw the world in chaos and
darkness—a mess—and declared, “let there be light.” We know that our future began in those first moments
of God discerning and assessing, and we know that God still holds the future,
and our future, and because of Jesus …Love wins.
My colleague Jan Edmiston, the recently retired
General Presbyter for the Presbytery of Charlotte, wrote recently about experiencing
a pastor leading a traumatized congregation in prayer: “O God, love us through
this,” the pastor prayed. …Jan believes deeply
that God has loved us …when we feel it, and especially when we don’t!
“O
God, love us through this.”
There’s a lot about our world that’s deeply
disturbing. Human beings aren’t perfect. Despite our best efforts, we lose our cool,
shout unkind words, say mean things, react defensively, our frustration often gives
way to anger and resentment, our patience caves in and impulse rules our hearts. If not, sometimes we just make mistakes. And in a world where we truly rely on one
another for just about everything we need, this is bound create messiness.
Praying for God to love us through …well, we
might be better off if we started there!
God …who loves us enough to send us Jesus. And Jesus, who loves us enough, to …well …be
the exemplar of that love in Jerusalem. Jesus
lets the world administer its messiness; and God, once more, solves chaos and
darkness with resurrection glory—calling the world back from chaos, again.
“O God, love us through this”—whether its
something that you’ve said or done, or heard others say or do, or if you’re
just exasperated by the ways the world is or has become—is a prayer that
reminds us that Easter’s coming and has already happened.
And …Love wins.
You are the Beloved of
God. When you feel it; and even when you
don’t.
You can hear an audio recording of the second scripture reading and my sermon entitled,
“ From Mortified to Vivified ”
being preached, by CLICKING HERE.
You can hear an audio recording of the second scripture reading and my sermon entitled,
“ Seeing and Sinning ”
being preached, by CLICKING HERE.
You can hear an audio recording of the second scripture reading and my sermon entitled,
“ What's Good for the Pharisee is Even Better for the Samaritan ”
being preached, by CLICKING HERE.
You can hear an audio recording of the second scripture reading and my sermon entitled,
“ No One Can See the Kingdom of God ...in the dark! ”
being preached, by CLICKING HERE.
Dear People of Light,
Just a short time ago, we were talking about how
Jesus makes US the “light of the world,” when he declares that we are “salt of
the earth and light of the world.” And
in a “flash” …it’s become Lent.
In fact, by the time you’re reading this, we’re sunk,
nearly two Sundays deep into Lent!
You know the darkness does not overcome the light
…but in Lent, the darkness appears to be winning—with Jesus walking toward
Jerusalem and soon to be crucified, to die, and be buried. In fact, when this happens, doesn’t the
darkness win?
Ask Pilate, who I think leaves Jerusalem that
year thinking that he’s solved this Jesus-problem by putting him to death, even
though Pilate was never convinced Jesus was the problem!
Lent isn’t a story about the darkness
winning. I know you know this.
But like the darkness not overcoming the light, as
we hear our story, as we read our story, it sure seems as if the world gets one
over on Jesus.
Lent is not a story about how bad we are and how
much we need to repent for. Lent is our
reminder that despite what seems to be happening, God isn’t losing! Despite the fact that Jesus is arrested,
tried before the religious leaders, tried before the civil authorities, and put
to death …God is busy writing another ending.
The story God is writing is that God’s great love
for us isn’t thwarted.
God loves us all the way through who we are and
whatever we have done, or what’s been done to us or through us. God loves us all the way! So that when the crowds cry death, when
Pilate can’t find any way around it, when the hammers fall, and the nails
pierce, when breaths fade, and his body slumps, when his side is breached, when
he is dead, and the stone is rolled—God is busy writing another ending.
Love wins.
The light is the forever reminder.
Even when the darkness thinks
it has the upper hand—even when we think the darkness has the upper hand! It’s God’s hand, with a pen in hand, writing
about love.
You are the beloved of God. …NOT the bad of God.
You can hear an audio recording of the second scripture reading and my sermon entitled,
“ A Walk on the Wild Side ”
being preached, by CLICKING HERE.
You can hear an audio recording of the second scripture reading and my sermon entitled,
“ Lent Is Not Up to You ”
being preached, by CLICKING HERE.
You can hear an audio recording of the second scripture reading and my sermon entitled,
“ America Needs A Neighbor ”
being preached, by CLICKING HERE.
