Maundy Thursday

Maundy Thursday

April 9, 2020

With nightfall our Lenten observance comes to an end, and we “gather,” as it may be, with Christians around the world to celebrate the Three Days of Jesus’ death and resurrection. At the heart of the Maundy Thursday liturgy is Jesus’ commandment to love one another. As Jesus washed the feet of his disciples, we are called to follow his example as we humbly care for one another, especially the poor, the marginalized, the sick, and the unloved. At the Lord’s Table we remember Jesus’ sacrifice of his life, even as we are called to offer ourselves in love for the life of the world.

John 13:1-17, 31b-35

1 Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. 2 The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas son of Simon Iscariot to betray him. And during supper 3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, 4 got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. 5 Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him. 6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?" 7 Jesus answered, "You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand." 8 Peter said to him, "You will never wash my feet." Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you, you have no share with me." 9 Simon Peter said to him, "Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!" 10 Jesus said to him, "One who has bathed does not need to wash, except for the feet, but is entirely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you." 11 For he knew who was to betray him; for this reason he said, "Not all of you are clean." 12 After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had returned to the table, he said to them, "Do you know what I have done to you? 13 You call me Teacher and Lord—and you are right, for that is what I am. 14 So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. 15 For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. 16 Very truly, I tell you, servants are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them. 17 If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.

31 Jesus said, "Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. 32 If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once. 33 Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, "Where I am going, you cannot come.' 34 I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." 

Sermon

On this Holy night Jesus not only instituted the Sacrament of Holy Communion but he also gave us the great commandment - to love one another.  We have been invited to love one another, as Christ loved us, and in practicing such unconditional love, we are blessed to be the very presence of God in this world.  We are reminded that we are the heart, the arms, the voice, and the hands of God, - that we are “re-membered” into the very body of Christ.  

“In the night in which he was betrayed” Jesus modeled this incredible “servanthood love” to us by taking off his outer robe, picking up a towel, wrapping it around his waist, pouring water into a basin, kneeling on the ground, and humbly washing the feet of his disciples.

In the past few weeks, we have seen this love, this humble and sacrificial love, lived out in the many ways people and communities have responded to the COVID 19 Pandemic.  

Each of us has been asked to “sacrifice” our public life for the sake of others, for the sake of slowing down the virus.   And many have been faithful, - doing nothing, so nothing bad will happen!

And we all need to give thanks for the many nurses, doctors, and hospital workers that are literally putting their own health, even their own lives, on the line.  Serving, often with very limited supplies, even the crucial supplies that protect them.  For all the first responders who humbly serve when disaster strikes, we give thanks to God.

And let us not forget the ones who serve in more humble ways, yet in ways that are just as important.  I am reminded of the people who have faithfully shown up for work at grocery stores, food pantries, retail stores, restaurants, convenience stores, gas stations, and pharmacies; - to ensure that we have the essentials for life.  And let us not forget the farm workers who are still harvesting food, the factory workers who are still producing supplies, the processing centers that are keeping things going, maintenance workers who keep it all running, and the people who deliver all these things to the places where they are needed.  I am also thankful for the ones who “suit up” to clean up, making sure any germs left behind on surfaces are removed daily, that things are made as sanitary as possible, and that all the refuse is safely disposed.  All these people are taking risks for our sake.  This list could go on and on, essential government workers, childcare workers caring for the children of those who must work, mental health care workers, and all the cashiers that bravely do their job, exchanging the instruments of commerce in very uncertain conditions.  

In all these people, all those whose job demands they stay at work in the midst of this pandemic, those making professional wages and especially those making minimum wages; - we are blessed to see the great commandment of Christ literally fleshed out among us, ”I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.  By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." 

We are living in a difficult time, a moment in history that will not be forgotten, an experience that will appear in future history books; and I believe this “pandemic event” will shape the future going forward.  Things “will change” when all this is over.  And the changes proposed, the changes enacted, the changes that are coming; will either be rooted - in fear - or in love.  Let us hope and pray that the sacrificial love that we are experiencing, the sacrificial love that we have witnessed, the sacrificial love in which we all are participating; Let us hope that this great love will be the sole inspiration for the all the changes that will shape tomorrow.  

God is in our midst, practicing love, and in this love all things will be made new. Let us cling to this promise, the promise of love, the promise in which we abide when we choose to love one another, as Christ loved us.  Amen.

Mark 14:22-25

22 While they were eating, he took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.” 23 Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, and all of them drank from it. 24 He said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. 25 Truly I tell you, I will never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”

How I miss sharing this meal with you.  This meal where we share in God’s grace, this meal where we are healed, this meal where we are united in God’s love, this meal where we are re-membered into the body of Christ, this meal where we experience our faith, this meal where “we taste and see” that the Lord is good.  

Yet in this season we have been called to a fast, we have been called to sacrifice this meal, for the healing of the world.  In the Gospel of Mark Jesus concludes the story of the Last Supper with these words spoken by Jesus, with words that really jump out for me tonight, “Truly I tell you, I will never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”  One day our Communion fast will end, and I look forward to that day, that day when we will share again the bread and the wine, anew, here in this place.

Let us pray as our savior taught us …. Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name,thy kingdom come,  thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.  Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.  For thine is the kingdom, and the power and the glory,  forever and ever, Amen.

Tonight, our Lenten observance has come to an end. We begin “the three days,” the heart of the passion of Christ, the journey to the cross, the grave, and finally the resurrection.   Christ be with us as we make the journey.

Palm Sunday

First Lutheran Church Palm Sunday April 5, 2020

First Lutheran Church

April 5, 2020 + Palm Sunday

Matthew 21:1-11

When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, "Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me.  If anyone says anything to you, just say this, 'The Lord needs them.' And he will send them immediately."  This took place to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet, saying, "Tell the daughter of Zion, Look, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey." The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; they brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting, "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!" When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, "Who is this?" The crowds were saying, "This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee."

Sermon

The people of Jerusalem are all a-buzz.  For some time now, they have heard these stories about a man named Jesus.  Stories about a poet whose words were mysterious and hard to understand; stories about a magician who could heal people, turn water into wine and multiply fish and bread; stories about a politician who spoke of freedom, a zealot with many followers; - stories about a man who just might be the long awaited Messiah.

And now the rumor on the street was that this man Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem.  Words like “prophet,” “King,” and “Son of David,” are being thrown around.  Expectations are high, has the time to over-throw the Romans come, has freedom finally arrived?  Matthew writes, “When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, "Who is this?"  (Matthew 21:10)

I wonder what the disciples were thinking, what were they expecting?

In the movie, “The Last Temptation of Christ,” the disciples are portrayed as a conflicted group, with mixed expectations.  Some want more sheep when Jesus comes to power, they dream of sitting in the seat of power, one at his right hand and the other at his left, others just want to worship freely in the temple; but they all expect some kind of violence to take place, they all expect some kind of battle with Rome.  Peter sheepishly asks Jesus, “There’s going to be some angels joining us when we get there, right?”

(Movie Clip “King of the Jews,” The Last Temptation of Christ)

And I wonder what kind of expectations the people of Jerusalem had, did they expect a great and mighty whirlwind, a prophet like Elijah; did they expect something that would compete with the fanfare of Rome, the might and power of empire; did they expect an apocalyptic army of heavenly angels?  Can you begin to imagine what they might have expected? Maybe they expected something like this ….

(Movie Clip  from “Aladdin”)

(In this scene Aladdin comes to town disguised as a visiting prince.  His incredible caravan of people, made possible by his Genie, includes musicians, dancers, soldiers, and exotic animals.  It’s an incredible show!)

I don’t know what they expected, but I can’t help but imagine that they weren’t “a might bit disappointed” when Jesus turned the corner riding on a donkey!

And what about our expectations for this Palm Sunday, Holy Week, and Easter?  Up till about a month ago nobody expected that we would be participating in these Holy Services, physically and socially isolated, quarantined in our homes!  This was certainly not what we expected, and to be honest, we too are, to say the least, “a might bit disappointed,” with the way Holy Week and Easter have turned out.

This is not the way it’s supposed to be, this is not what it looks like on Palm Sunday, this is not how we participate in Holy Week, and whatever happens next week, it will not be how we are supposed to celebrate Easter.  

Yet, here we are, hoping for something that’s just not going to materialize this year.  Jesus has come to town and he is riding on that pathetic donkey.  What are we supposed to do with that?  How are we supposed to worship in the midst of this “pandemic lock down?”  How can we celebrate Palm Sunday without gathering together with palms?  It’s all so frustrating, so disruptive, -and so frightening.   The COVID 19 virus has taken us way out of our comfort zone!  It’s challenging our expectations, the way things are supposed to be!

So it is, I wonder if we’re thinking about “all this” in the wrong way; maybe it’s not all about what we “expect,” maybe it’s not all about what “we” are looking for, maybe it’s not all about being able to do it in “the way we’ve always done it;” maybe it’s not all about being comfortable with the normal routine.   Maybe, just maybe we should just “let go” of “all that,” let go of the past, let go of our expectations; and be still, quiet our minds, calm our hearts, and be open to the way that God is going to be present today, this time around, in this time and place, in the midst of this difficult time.  Because it’s Palm Sunday, and no matter what is going on in the world, in your life, no matter what, Christ is going to ride that unremarkable donkey into your heart!

In today’s Palm Sunday Gospel, we are reminded not to spend our precious time “speculating” how it is Christ might come into our lives, how it is, Christ “must” come into our lives.  We are reminded that such speculation actually cuts us off from the presence of God in our world.  How many people missed out on Jesus on that first Palm Sunday because they saw him riding on a donkey and decided - that was just not the way a true king arrives?  How many people just walked away and closed their doors because it did not meet their expectations?  

Perhaps the gift for us today is that all our expectations regarding Palm Sunday, Holy Week, and Easter 2020 have already been shattered because of the Pandemic.  Perhaps now that everything has been turned upside down, we might experience Easter in a way that just might possibly be more profound?  Perhaps the fact that things won’t be happening in the way we expect, the Christ who so often shows up in unexpected ways, will surprise us with the gift of life.  Perhaps “this” is what Lent, Holy Week, and Easter is really all about, the letting go of expectations, so that Christ can truly make all things new, in order that we might become a new creation, in order that we might be resurrected unto life abundant and eternal.

Theologian Walter Wink suggests that one of the reasons that Christ must suffer and die on the cross is to set us free from the many ways that we project our own expectations, our own assumptions, and our own agendas onto Jesus.  Wink argues that “all those things” must die, that we must see them die, in order for us to be opened up to the real Christ that can set us free.  Perhaps this year we find ourselves with that opportunity.

So, as we enter into this unique Holy Week that is before us; this different kind of week thrust upon us by a pandemic, let us even more so, intentionally set aside our expectations, so as to be more open to the Christ who is coming with the gift of life for all of creation, the gift of hope for all who now suffer, the gift of healing for all those who are ill, and the gift of love, simply for all of us.  Let us quiet our noisy and speculative minds, and humbly gather at the foot of the Cross, and await the Christ who has come that we might have life, that we might have life abundant.  May God help us prepare the way of the Lord, that God might come into our world and into our very hearts.  Amen.

Jesus Raises Lazarus

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First Lutheran Church

March 29, 2020 + The Fifth Sunday after Lent A + John 11:1-45

John
11:1-45. 1 Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary
and her sister Martha. 2 Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume
and wiped his feet with her hair; her brother Lazarus was ill. 3 So the sisters
sent a message to Jesus, "Lord, he whom you love is ill." 4 But when
Jesus heard it, he said, "This illness does not lead to death; rather it
is for God's glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it." 5
Accordingly, though Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, 6 after
having heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where
he was. 7 Then after this he said to the disciples, "Let us go to Judea
again." 8 The disciples said to him, "Rabbi, the Jews were just now
trying to stone you, and are you going there again?" 9 Jesus answered,
"Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Those who walk during the day do
not stumble, because they see the light of this world. 10 But those who walk at
night stumble, because the light is not in them." 11 After saying this, he
told them, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to
awaken him." 12 The disciples said to him, "Lord, if he has fallen
asleep, he will be all right." 13 Jesus, however, had been speaking about
his death, but they thought that he was referring merely to sleep. 14 Then
Jesus told them plainly, "Lazarus is dead. 15 For your sake I am glad I
was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him." 16 Thomas,
who was called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go,
that we may die with him." 17 When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus
had already been in the tomb four days. 18 Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two miles away, 19 and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother. 20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary stayed at home. 21 Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him." 23 Jesus said to her,
"Your brother will rise again." 24 Martha said to him, "I know
that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day." 25 Jesus
said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me,
even though they die, will live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me
will never die. Do you believe this?" 27 She said to him, "Yes, Lord,
I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the
world." 28 When she had said this, she went back and called her sister
Mary, and told her privately, "The Teacher is here and is calling for
you." 29 And when she heard it, she got up quickly and went to him. 30 Now
Jesus had not yet come to the village, but was still at the place where Martha had
met him. 31 The Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary
get up quickly and go out. They followed her because they thought that she was
going to the tomb to weep there. 32 When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, "Lord, if you had been here, my
brother would not have died." 33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews
who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply
moved. 34 He said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to him,
"Lord, come and see." 35 Jesus began to weep. 36 So the Jews said,
"See how he loved him!" 37 But some of them said, "Could not he
who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?" 38
Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a
stone was lying against it. 39 Jesus said, "Take away the stone."
Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, "Lord, already there is a
stench because he has been dead four days." 40 Jesus said to her, "Did
I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?" 41
So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upward and said, "Father, I
thank you for having heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I have
said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe
that you sent me." 43 When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice,
"Lazarus, come out!" 44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet
bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to
them, "Unbind him, and let him go." 45 Many of the Jews therefore,
who had come with Mary and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him.

Sermon

I will be, I will be, I will be strength for the journey

I will be, I will be, I will be strength for the journey

There is a road meant for you to travel

Narrow and steep is the shepherd’s way

And as you say “yes” letting me guide you

I will be strength for the journey

I will be, I will be, I will be strength for the journey

I will be, I will be, I will be strength for the journey

The Gospel reading for today invites us to go on a journey with Jesus, an uncomfortable journey, that narrow and steep journey, a familiar - all too “human” journey, a Lenten journey that leads to the cross. 
And truth be told, it’s a journey we would just as soon if possible, – avoid;
Yet it is the most important journey in life, a journey that reveals “the way, the truth, and the life.” 

This morning, once again, Christ invites us to follow him, to head towards Judea, the place where Lazarus lies dead, the place where he will face death.  Jesus invites us to pick up a cross, join him, follow him. Jesus invites us to face our own suffering, our fears, our own mortality.  Once again, it is a journey
we would just as soon avoid.

I will be, I will be, I will be strength for the journey

I will be, I will be, I will be strength for the journey

In this week’s Gospel Mary echoes the words that belong to all of humanity, words that - one time or another, in one way or another, - have belonged to each of us, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died."  “Lord,
if you had been here.”

It’s part of our human nature; we want God to rescue us, and our loved ones, from the pain and suffering of this world.  That’s why so many people are attracted to the idea of a God who “intervenes” when prayer is done right, to the notion that the bible is some kind of book filled with charmed formulas that can be “claimed” and exercised, that faith somehow opens us up to a world of supernatural magic that can make everything easy, ok, even predestined for good.

Yet Jesus resists the temptation to be such a “savior.”  Upon hearing the news that Lazarus is ill, he does not drop everything and run to his aid, he does not
come quickly to rescue Mary and Martha from their heartache, instead he waits two days and then begins a two-day journey - arriving four days too late.  Jesus does not “steal us away” from the pain of life, instead he chooses to walk with us through such moments.

So it is that Christ is present in our graveyards, in our despair, in our loneliness, in our emptiness; fully present sharing tears and the breaking of hearts, - mourning right beside us.   And this is a powerful presence.  The scriptures this morning remind us just how deeply present God is, incarnate and fleshed out in Jesus.  “When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. 
He said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to him, "Lord, come and see." 35 Jesus began to weep.”

I will be, I will be, I will be strength for the journey

I will be, I will be, I will be strength for the journey

There is a cross meant for you to carry

There is a cross meant for you alone

And as you bow down in humble surrender

I will be strength for the journey

I will be, I will be, I will be strength for the journey

I will be, I will be, I will be strength for the journey

As the season of Lent moves along bringing us closer to Holy Week and the events of Good Friday, we are reminded that to follow Jesus is to trust and lean into a death that leads to resurrection.  We are reminded that there is no resurrection where there is no death.  For that is the pattern of life, that is the
pattern of faith, that is the pattern that leads to transformation, that is the
pattern that makes all things new on Easter morning, that is “the way, the
truth, and the life.” 

Magic cannot do this for us.  To truly live, to know peace and be shaped by grace, to be healed and made new, to be free and to love; demands that tears be shed, hearts break and hands bleed.   And accordingly, it demands a savior who will share those moments with us, a God who will descend into our depths, Christ fleshed out all around us in the community of faith, making the journey - with us, right beside us every step of the way.

It is to this promise, this deep kind of presence, that I cling to during these difficult days in which we currently find ourselves living.  I find comfort that no matter what it is that we face, we do not face it alone, but with Jesus present beside us.  Jesus present in each other, Jesus present in the ones we serve, and Jesus present in the very depths of our being; in our heart, soul, and mind.  Jesus present with the gift of peace and strength for the journey.

I will be, I will be, I will be strength for the journey

I will be, I will be, I will be strength for the journey

After Jesus weeps, after he holds Mary and Martha in his arms, after death seems to have had the last word; Then and only then, Christ speaks a word of life and suddenly Lazarus rises up from the grave. And this pattern will happen again, Jesus will go to the cross, he will die, and he will be in the grave for three days.  We will weep and we will mourn, and it will seem like the end; but then the earth will shake, the stone will be rolled away, and Jesus will be raised up from the dead.  And we who are united with him in a death
like his, will know a resurrection like his!  

God grant us the faith and courage to make the journey through the pain
and suffering, all the way to the grave, that we might know the fullness of the
resurrection unto life abundant and everlasting. Amen.