April 4, 2010 ~ Easter: “You are witnesses””
The Text: Luke 24:36-53
36While they were talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 37They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost. 38He said to them, “Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” 40And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. 41While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” 42They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43and he took it and ate in their presence.
44Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.” 45Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, 46and he said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, 47and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48You are witnesses of these things. 49And see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised; so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”
50Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and, lifting up his hands, he blessed them. 51While he was blessing them, he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven. 52And they worshiped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy; 53and they were continually in the temple blessing God.
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The headlines read: Easter has lost its meaning
Houston Chronicle (online)
Just as Christmas for many has become less about the miracle of the virgin birth, Easter may be losing its connection to the resurrection.
Fewer than half of Americans mentioned Jesus' death and resurrection when asked about the significance of Easter, according to a survey released last month by Christian researchers the Barna Group.
At the same time, the National Retail Federation reports we'll spend more than $13 billion on the holiday for food, clothes, candy and greeting cards.
Although the holiday is meant to be the central celebration of the church, disassociating Easter from the biblical narrative of the resurrection or seeing it in symbolic terms makes Christianity “safer” for contemporary churchgoers, some local Christian leaders say.
“Jesus is very challenging. To encounter him is existentially challenging. It can be scary and uncomfortable,” said Jeremy Wilkins, assistant professor of systematic theology at St. Mary's Seminary in Houston. “There is a strong pressure in our culture to reinterpret (the resurrection) or explain it or not to deal with it as the mighty and miraculous thing that it was.”
We have to ask ourselves…is Easter loosing its meaning?
Deep down in everyone of us is that primitive inclination to be joyful in the spring
Conditions by thousands of years of planting…cultures have developed spring ritual of fertility…sacrifices made to the gods, to the growing natural gods to make the crops produce…sympathetic magic manipulating the mysterious forces that control our destiny to be favorable to us…(hence bunnies, chicks, flowers…)
But too often the real message of Easter has become culturally irrelevant…since we have a Good God, who will save everyone…(!???!)…resurrection is an abstraction that is unnecessary
So we just buy our ham, invite the friends and relatives
And put a lot of candy in the bunny baskets
Even worse is the antipathy toward things religious, no where more evident than in the current controversies riling the Rom Cath. Church tainting the Easter message
or providing sufficient motivation to reject the Xn message entirely…
So here we are at the end of Holy Week…what a week
Drenching Floods…
roads still out, basements still damp, couches and carpets collected at the curb for removal
22 hours here on Tuesday and Wednesday to keep the waters at bay
From last Friday, we have had as our guest Pastor Baptiste
Listening to his stories of real disaster, our current dilemmas seem to pale in comparison
But his faith, his witness to the need in Haiti reminds us all, we are so blessed and fortunate to live in the USA where we have not only enough…but way more than “enough”
Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday Supper, Good Friday, Easter Sunrise….a lot of worshipping…a lot of preparation for these moments when we gather to celebrate EASTER
And to reclaim the meaning of the resurrection for ourselves and for our world
And then to go forth like the first witnesses to proclaim the over powering mystery of our faith
Our lesson…the context:
Easter evening, after Empty tomb, those gathered with 11 disciple from Emmaus
The last appearance in Luke’s gospel
“stood among them” terrified them,
showed himself …hands, feet
…but that in and of itself did not create belief
belief is more demanding than simply accepting what appears to be real
Two other things were necessary
Ate some fish (why?)
Here divine reality fixed in memory and human reality overlap
Here there is a bridge between what was and what will be
And then Jesus did a bible study: “opened their minds”
The point of the lesson: “now that you have seen that I was killed, and that I’m now amongst you again, remember what I had said? Remember what I taught….I didn’t make this stuff up, I got it from our Tradition…in the story of Israel, in the prophetic critique of our history, in the worshipful songs we sing….all of those pointed to this reality
…that I’m with you and you are with me
…now, do you get it?
“aha!” resurrection power opens their intellects to conjoin with their emotional, spiritual, socio-economic realities
…the change of mind…the transformation of understanding…and the resurrection event explodes into human history
Then Jesus, risen, vital, compelling assigned them a job:
You are to be witnesses
You are to start from here in Jerusalem go to all the nations, all the peoples of the world to tell them what I have said and done, and to call them to discipleship
(here we hear echos of the early kerygma) It is the proclamation of the Resurrection, the call to repentance and the lifestyle that manifests forgiveness within broken relationships…that is the content of their message
And…Jesus adds to increase their confidence and courage:
you will be “clothed in power”
God’s promised energy source, the creative dynamic of divine purpose will empower, guide and direct the mission
So today
We come (as a culture) doubting and disbelieving
…from what we see and experience around us
churches at a low ebb (>20% of folks that actually participate)
sexual scandals and complacent congregations
church as but one option for the weekend
We know that even if Jesus himself walked in to our building this morning…showed us his scars…and asked for one of Ginny’s cookies….some would still not believe
So we must understand that even seeing is not believing…it takes more
If we are to learn from Luke’s account this Easter 2010, we need
to bring folks some broiled fish and eat it to bridge the divine into the human
We need to invite folks to this table to share the presence of Jesus as a part of the fellowship that this memorial meal and all our other meals give thanks for
We have to set the breakfast table for the new day of God’s ongoing actions
To be sure that Jesus is present when we call people to the table (as we will in a moment), we have to have within us, Jesus’ spirit, Jesus’ mind, completing and empowering us
Then and only then, will we make the nourishing, nurturing spiritual connections that bring meaning to the Easter experience of resurrection
In order for us to be witnesses and agents of God’s purpose: we have to be connected to the scripture:
Jesus spent most of his earthly career connecting his ministry to the explaining a radical understanding of the Tradition
His was an open minded, content filled, not filled with the interpretations of human institutions, but overflowing with immediate and persuasive insight into personal and corporate realities
In Jesus teaching, the OT emerges anew: prophetic warnings that raise issues of justice, of transcendent peace, of the healing of persons and nations
But certainly, Jesus message throughout was that of forgiveness: EASTER MESSAGE
Resurrection begins when we understand God’s is in a forgiving relationship with us…his disobedient children
God can get beyond the inadequacies of human foible and expects us to do the same!
Real forgiveness leads to repentance…metanoia change of existential perspective
and thus the reshaping and healing of all human relationships with each other and with the very earth upon which we live
and begins the re-purposing of human behavior to begin the tasks of creating healthy community at peace among all nations (diversity built in from the first!)
As we are saturated and transformed by the resurrection experience,
(its more than Jesus not being in the grave, its all of what we read across all the texts of the NT) Power is the next issue
Holy Spirit power is continuation of the Resurrection power
When we are gifted by the HS, we are able to speak boldly, confront courageously, and become servants to others needs…even when the expected outcome requires suffering.
Dallas Willard, the quaker, tells us how resurrection works…If we are powerful witnesses, living and doing Jesus things, it will be obvious, obvious
…because of what has changed within us
…because of what others see us do so confidently
So Easter has lost its meaning?
If so then why are we here?
Not because of Chocolate Bunnies, Daffodils or lillies?
…but because Jesus has opened our minds to God’s big issues
If we are not ready to be witnesses, every day, in every place that we haunt, Easter has no meaning…but if we are transformed by the scripture that tell us why God did this…
Then to be here says the church is important to you
The church will only continue to exist if…
…Jesus is alive in our hearts and minds…
…only if there is power in our lives to persuade
…only if we go out and share the experience that we have had here
for we can not be witnesses without that internal transformation that happens when we engage the Risen Lord and emerge open and empowered!
Easter can only be emptied of its meaning, when we become distracted by doubts and co-opted by our desire for our own comfort
But if you have seen the risen Jesus, became frightened by his divine nature, if you have had a fish dinner with him after which you spent some time in Bible study…
You will be ready to get to work, tomorrow, all this week and long into the future
…because for you Easter has meaning
…it means “you are witnesses!”
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April 18, 2010: "A Spirit of Power"
The Text: 2 Timothy 1:5-14
5I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that lived first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, lives in you. 6For this reason I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands; 7for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline.
8Do not be ashamed, then, of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel, relying on the power of God, 9who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works but according to his own purpose and grace. This grace was given to us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, 10but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. 11For this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher, 12and for this reason I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know the one in whom I have put my trust, and I am sure that he is able to guard until that day what I have entrusted to him. 13Hold to the standard of sound teaching that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 14Guard the good treasure entrusted to you, with the help of the Holy Spirit living in us.
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What does power look like?
Someone who rides in big black Limos and surrounded by big dude’s with little ear phones, looking suspiciously about?
Or maybe the NFL Football team, stretchy pants, bulging pads and lots of tatoos?
Blue chalks stripe suit, Red tie, Corner office and a large staff of apprentices?
Maybe power comes dressed in camo, with night vision goggles and a full compliment of automatic Weapons?
How do powerful people act?
You know those who know they are powerful…cocky…confident…confrontational?
They speak and expect their wishes to be done
People step aside for them…
Now how many of those images are associated with authority?
Police carry weapons and have authority…
what is their power?
They stand between ordered society and lawlessnes?
But other images of authority: Judges, teachers, doctors, clergy…no weapons, no motorcades, no “force” other than persuasion…
The models by which our young people are shape their lives…athletes (Tiger?) …musicians? Latest american idol? These seem to have a certain “power” but what authority do they represent?
So much of the power that shapes our lives, is political power
Where ultimately does political authority come?
Altruism? Moral rectitude?
The constitutional agreements that keep us together as a nation?
Or the weaponry that ultimately stands behind the enforcement of authority?
Power, force or influence,
comes in lots of manners and modes…
economic, cultural, technological…
But …authority?
Is there a clear source?
…or so many voices
Where is the source of authority for the church? Who speaks for us?
It’s not hard to understand that unraveling the interactions of Power and authority can lead to some perplexing questions!
I was perplexed last week…we didn’t seem to identify ourselves as powerful!
In daily life? Do we wield power…multinational corporations…political office…move cultural trends?
As a small church…influential in the minds and hearts of our people…and our community?
As Americans?
As Christians?
Context of Pastorals reveals our challenge…
In a culture that thinks of power in terms of strength and influence, of being able to deliver violence…
as was the Roman Empire was until the 5th Century
the church had to be something more powerful than politics and military might!
It had to be a gathering of those who were “empowered” by a radically different energy/force
From the very beginning, the church had very little in the way of earthly power…Jesus discouraged sword play and became passive at his arrest
IN the earliest believers, the power was all spiritual, a result of the Appearance, the revelation of God’s Christ!
The challenging question for us 2000 years later: can we be powerful?
Power and Authority for the Pastoral church came from
The Tradition
A faith and practice handed down from Grandparents & parents to their children
It was a Tradition that was passed within the gatherin by the “Laying on of Hands,” a conscious symbolization that the individual had achieved an understanding and a practrice that conformed to “the standard of sound teaching”
The Tradition was founded in a relationship living, vital, to the “Savior” who was revealed appearance was in the person of Jesus, a radical teacher, healer and preacher
The Tradition was the faith and love, “the good treasure” that was kept in hearts and minds
This Tradition, thoughts, practices, relationships was “empowered” given force, focused creative energy, by a living Spirit, God’s own spirit that fully enveloped the early believers…making them capable of courage, boldness and interpersonal persuasion.
The author of the Pastorals, knew how critical the jump across generations was…for if it did not happen, the faith would disappear
Our Context
Power is what we need…
We can not afford to be cowardly, indifferent, timid or complacent: these are all descriptors of those whose influence fades and disappears
We need the power
to be seen
To be attractive
To be enduring
We as a congregation are a living testament, a manifestation of the power and courage that the founders of this town brought here when all this was hostile wilderness…!
The part of the Tradition that we in this room occupy is significant…but endangered…vulnerable to the powers and principalities of this passing world.
This passage this morning suggests that our power come from our authority
“the authorities”?? (again we ask: Where do we derive our authority?
Can we speak/act authoritatively?
If our kids ask…what does it mean to be a good Christian?
If some poor person, suffering the many disasters of the human condition asks us…Why?….
If the state comes to challenge our right not to be taxed or restrained in our religious pracrice…how do we respond?
If someone who speaks from another religious point of view, challenges us to explain our behavior? …what do we say?
What kind of access do we have to the “good treasure”?
Do we have our Tradition vouchedsafe in our minds…accessible through cogent discussion and sharing?
Can we tell the story of Jesus in such a manner as to change minds or fill minds with new spiritual insight?
And, most critically, Does the Holy Spirit live in us?
The empowering, revealing, appearance of deus prescaens
What do we look like from those who are passing us by?
Do we look like a group of powerful doers and shakers?
Do the people of Swansea, Somerset, or Fall River, shake their heads slowly and admire our ability to bring peace and justice to our towns?
Reclaiming a spiritually powerful presence: how?
“…for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self discipline.”
Spirit (of power)
As religious people we must be spiritual people
The Spirit is the creative power of God, invested in us
The Spirit is the connector to the transcendent
The Spirit is the source of vision, capability and power
To live in the living Spirit we must be forthright about spiritual practice:
To be engaged regularly and effectively in prayer, study, meditation, service, worship, and all those other spiritual disciplines that have for centuries fed the souls of believers
Without spiritual consciousness, we become disconnected and listless, moving toward uselessness
Love
Love is the operative value of God’s Holy Spirit!
If we do not love, that is act responsibly and compassionately to our fellow believers, our families and our neighbors, we will not be seen as powerful, or even necessary
Love is the seeking of just relationships, of fairness and equal opportunity, of creating chances for health and happiness
Love is encompassing and accepting, it is more than a warm fuzzy feeling, it is the value of God’s purpose revealed and activated in the midst of human suffering
We must be powerful lovers, bold in our affections and effective in our relationships…or we are useless
Self discipline
There are no powerful people who come to positions of influence who are not “self disciplined”
No one enforces the spiritual practices that make us living examples of God’s power
Each one of us is responsible for him/her self.
Each one of us must take an attitude toward learning that moves us toward religious and spiritual maturity and ever increasing capability
Each one of us orders our own practice, learning from deep reflection, learning in conversation with others, learning to create new solutions
Self discipline, is hard…it happens when we demands that from our selves which is not easy or comfortable…but valuable in the greater work of the kingdom of God
As discipline is really an attitude about learning, we must all continue to be learners from the Tradition…the “good treasure”, else the spiritual power fades and as proclaimers and practitioners of our faith, we become useless
Since we now assume that the church in the second century got it together, became successful, we know that the lesson today is a very big clue as to how we can address the challenges of our church, in the 21st century
In engaging the scripture, in gaining access to the Tradition, we can reclaim a powerful personally grounded witness to the world around us in which so many powers and authorities pull and push in great competition
But for us…as Christans, as Baptists, our power comes from God, through the TRADITION and if we do not have it within us, accessible and useful in our hearts and minds then…we will simply evaporate like the morning dew and fade from all social influence and disolve as an institution.
Or we can choose to walk around visibly with a Spirit of Power
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