Sermon for the 2nd Sunday in Lent

2nd Sunday in Lent

Luke 13:31-35

"The Yearning, Wooing, Longing Pleading Heart of God"



31* At that very hour some Pharisees came, and said to him, “Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.”
32* And he said to them, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I finish my course.
33* Nevertheless I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the day following; for it cannot be that a prophet should perish away from Jerusalem.’
34* O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, killing the prophets and stoning those who are sent to you! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not!
35* Behold, your house is forsaken. And I tell you, you will not see me until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’”RSV

Grace and peace to your form our Lord and Saviour, Jesus who is the Christ. Amen

A small child, not even old enough for school, went into one of those mirrored mazes at an amusement park. When her father discovered that she had slipped away he saw her trying to find her way out and beginning to cry in fear. She became increasingly con. fused by all the paths, until she heard her daddy call out, "Don't cry, honey. Put your hands out and reach all around. You'll find the door. Just fol. low my voice." As he spoke the little girl became calm and soon found her way out and ran to the security of her father's outstretched arms.

God's voice is calling us from the confusion of the maze of life. He is waiting for us to reach hos out stretched arms. god is calling us through Jesus to him. We are hearing as God calls to us through his yearning, wooing, longing, pleading heart.

God yearns for us,. He years for the time when we will be with him again. He yearns for the time when the relationship between him and his creation will be perfect as it once was. God yearns for the time when all will be right between him and his creation.

As Jesus laments for Jerusalem in our gospel lesson as He says: O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, killing the prophets and stoning those who are sent to you!

Jesus is expressing in our gospel lesson this morning that yearning of God. Can you imagine the ache, the hurt in god's hears as he years for what he has made to be in good relationship again with him.

Jesus says further: How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not!

Jesus is lamenting that God has tried to bring the creation back to Him. God has tried to bring the fallen creation back to him, from Noah to Jesus. God has tried in all kinds of manner to make the relationship between him and his people right.

God tired through Noah and the flood. He tried through Moses and the prophets. God tried through the Judges. God has tried in all kinds of manner to make the relationship between him and his people right.

God has tired to woo, to win back, to persuade his people to come back to him. Through the history of the Old Testament, God worked with the people of Israel trying to win them back. But at last, it was to no avail as Jesus says in our text: and you would not!

So God decided he would send Jesus to reconcile, the bring human kind back to God. What human kind would not do for itself, God did for them. That is the great news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. god decided that man could not be won back, so God decided in Jesus, to give man the girt of salvation. God decided that man would surely accept a free gift. A gift he did not have to earn, to work for, man only had to accept this gift by faith.

God's heart longed for his people. He longed for them to trust, to believe in Him. But they would not. so God decided if he came among his people, if he walked with his people, if he told them as one of them of the great love he had for them. Maybe they would listen, maybe they would understand how he longed for have a right relationship with his people. So God became flesh and tented among his people. He lived among his people. He walked with them, he hurt with them, he taught them and pleaded with them.

God is like the ruler in the following:

"Long ago, there ruled in Persia a wise and good king. He loved his people. He wanted to know how they lived. He wanted to know about their hardships. Often he dressed in the clothes of a working man or a beggar, and went to the homes of the poor. No one whom he visited thought that he was their ruler. One time he visited a very poor man who lived in a cellar. He ate the coarse food the poor man ate. He spoke cheerful, kind words to him. Then he left. Later he visited the poor man again and disclosed his identity by saying, "I am your king!"

The king thought the man would surely ask for some gift or favor, but he didn't.

Instead he said, "You left your palace and your glory to visit me in this dark, dreary place. You ate the course food I ate. You brought gladness to my heart! To others you have given your rich gifts. To me you have given yourself!"

This is the way in which Jesus came to us. He came disguised as a lowly man, but brought to us so much. He met our every need."1

There is truly a wonderment about God. He does all he can to bring the relationship between himself and his people into right order. He comes to earth. He walks with his people. He talks with his people. He dies for his people. He is raised from the dead for his people. He gives them the free gift of salvation and then He gives them the free choice to take that gift or leave it. If we went through all this for a certain group of people, we would demand that they take the gift, period. But not God. He places the gift of salvation in our hearts and then says, you may believe in the promises I have made for you, or you may not. That is your choice.

God is telling us that He has done all of the work of bringing his creation and himself back together. He knew he could not woo us back. But He knew he could through Jesus bring us back by punishing Jesus for our sins and making this relationship right again.

As you come to the Lord's table this morning, come knowing that the yearning, wooing, longing pleading heart of God is present in and through the bread and wine. God yearns for you to accept this gift of salvation. God yearns for this relationship with Him be right again. Here at the table you can taste, touch and feel that great heart of God.

Salvation is present here in the word of God, in the sacraments of God.

"An unknown author wrote, "Longfellow could take a sheet of paper, write a poem on it and make it worth sixty thousand dollars. That is talent. Rockefeller could sign a piece of paper and make it worth millions. That is capital. A mechanic can take material worth $5 and make it into an article worth $50. That is skill. A merchant can buy an article for eighty cents, put it on his counter and sell it for a dollar. That is business.

But God can take a worthless, sinful life, wash it, cleanse it, put his Holy Spirit within it and make it a blessing to all humanity. That is salvation.

And that salvation is available for all who choose to accept it." 2

God's voice come to us in the maze of life and calls to us. He calls to us to come to Him, to believe in his promises for our lives. He calls us to believe He has given us salvation. He calls us to be in a right relationship with him again. He calls us to be his people, to worship and praise him as our God. He call us in grace. He calls us in Love. He call us to be His.


A closing poem says it well:

God Does

When you feel unlovable, unworthy, and unclean,
when you think that no one can heal you,
Remember, Friend, God Can.
When you think that you are unforgivable
for your guilt and your shame,
Remember, Friend, God Can.
When you think that all is hidden,
and no one can see within,
Remember, Friend, God Can.
And when you have reached the bottom,
And you think that no one can hear,
Remember, my dear friend, God Can.
And when you think that no one can love,
the real person deep inside of you,
Remember, my dear friend, God Does! 3

Amen

Written by Pastor Tim Zingale February 26, 2007

You may freely use this but please give credit. Not for commercial use.

1 Contributed by: Jason Cole from SermonCentral newsletter

2 From: Timothy Williams
3 Author Unknown

1st Sunday in Lent Sermon

1st Sunday in Lent

Luke 4:1-13

"The Dragon"


4:1* ¶ And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan, and was led by the Spirit

2* for forty days in the wilderness, tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing in those days; and when they were ended, he was hungry.

3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”

4* And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’”

5 And the devil took him up, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time,

6* and said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory; for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will.

7* If you, then, will worship me, it shall all be yours.”

8* And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.’”

9 And he took him to Jerusalem, and set him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here;

10* for it is written, ‘He will give his angels charge of you, to guard you,’

11 and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”

12* And Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’”

13* And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.

Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Saviour, Jesus who is the Christ. Amen

I would like to tell you a story this morning about a dragon.

"There was once a great and noble King whose land was terrorized by a crafty dragon. Like a massive bird of prey, the scaly beast delighted in ravaging villages with his fiery breath. Hapless victims ran from their burning homes, only to be snatched into the dragon's jaws or talons. Those devoured instantly were deemed more fortunate than those carried back to the dragon's lair to be devoured at his leisure. The King led his sons and knights in many valiant battles against the dragon.

Riding alone in the forest, one of the King's sons heard his name purred low and soft. In the shadows of the ferns and trees, curled among the boulders, lay the dragon. The creature's heavy-lidded eyes fastened on the prince, and the reptilian mouth stretched into a friendly smile.

"Don't be alarmed," said the dragon, as gray wisps of smoke rose lazily from his nostrils.

"I am not what your father thinks."

"What are you, then?" asked the prince, warily drawing his sword as he pulled in the reins to keep his fearful horse from bolting.

"I am pleasure," said the dragon. "Ride on my back and you will experience more than you ever imagined. Come now. I have no harmful intentions. I seek a friend, someone to share flights with me. Have you never dreamed of flying? Never longed to soar in the clouds?"

Visions of soaring high above the forested hills drew the prince hesitantly from his horse. The dragon unfurled one great webbed wing to serve as a ramp to his ridged back. Between the spiny projections, the prince found a secure seat. Then the creature snapped his powerful wings twice and launched them into the sky. The prince's apprehension melted into awe and exhilaration.

From then on, he met the dragon often, but secretly, for how could he tell his father, brothers or the knights that he had befriended the enemy? The prince felt separate from them all. Their concerns were no longer his concerns. Even when he wasn't with the dragon, he spent less time with those he loved and more time alone.

The skin on the prince's legs became calloused from gripping the ridged back of the dragon, and his hands grew rough and hardened. He began wearing gloves to hide the malady. After many nights of riding, he discovered scales growing on the backs of his hands as well. With dread he realized his fate were he to continue, and so he resolved to return no more to the dragon.

But, after a fortnight, he again sought out the dragon, having been tormented with desire. And so it transpired many times over. No matter what his determination, the prince eventually found himself pulled back, as if by the cords of an invisible web. Silently, patiently, the dragon always waited.

One cold, moonless night their excursion became a foray against a sleeping village. Torching the thatched roofs with fiery blasts from his nostrils, the dragon roared with delight when the terrified victims fled from their burning homes. Swooping in, the serpent belched again and flames engulfed a cluster of screaming villages. The prince closed his eyes tightly in an attempt to shut out the carnage.

In the pre-dawn hours, when the prince crept back from his dragon trysts, the road outside his father's castle usually remained empty. But not tonight. Terrified refugees streamed into the protective walls of the castle. The prince attempted to slip through the crowd to close himself in his chambers, but some of the survivors stared and pointed toward him.

"He was there," one woman cried out, "I saw him on the back of the dragon." Others nodded their heads in angry agreement. Horrified, the prince saw that his father, the King, was in the courtyard holding a bleeding child in his arms. The King's face mirrored the agony of his people as his eyes found the prince's. The son fled, hoping to escape into the night, but the guards apprehended him as if he were a common thief. They brought him to the great hall where his father sat solemnly on the throne. The people on every side railed against the prince.

"Banish him!" he heard one of his own brothers angrily cry out.

"Burn him alive!" other voices shouted.

As the king rose from his throne, bloodstains from the wounded shone darkly on his royal robes. The crowd fell silent in expectation of his decree. The prince, who could not bear to look into his father's face, stared at the flagstones of the floor.

"Take off your gloves and your tunic," the King commanded. The prince obeyed slowly, dreading to have his metamorphosis uncovered before the kingdom. Was his shame not already enough? He had hoped for a quick death without further humiliation. Sounds of revulsion rippled through the crowd at the sight of the prince's thick, scaled skin and the ridge growing along his spine.

The king strode toward his son, and the prince steeled himself, fully expecting a back handed blow even though he had never been struck so by his father.

Instead, his father embraced him and wept as he held him tightly. In shocked disbelief, the prince buried his face against his father's shoulder.

"Do you wish to be freed from the dragon, my son?"

The prince answered in despair, "I wished it many times, but there is no hope for me."

"Not alone," said the King. "You cannot win against the dragon alone."

"Father, I am no longer your son. I am half beast," sobbed the prince.

But his father replied, "My blood runs in your veins. My nobility has always been stamped deep within your soul."

With his face still hidden tearfully in his father's embrace, the prince heard the King instruct the crowd, "The dragon is crafty. Some fall victim to his wiles and some to his violence. There will be mercy for all who wish to be freed. Who else among you has ridden the dragon?"

The prince lifted his head to see someone emerge from the crowd. To his amazement, he recognized an older brother, one who had been lauded throughout the kingdom for his onslaughts against the dragon in battle and for his many good deeds. Others came, some weeping, others hanging their heads in shame.

The King embraced them all.

"This is our most powerful weapon against the dragon," he announced. "Truth. No more hidden flights. Alone we cannot resist him."1

Temptations are all around us. Temptations affect everyone, no one is immune.

In the Dragon story many people were tempted by pleasure. They were tempted and they gave in. What the pleasure was we don't know, but we do know it made the people come back again and again. It changed them. The son had to hide the changes in his body from his father. He wore gloves, he wore a long tunic. He hides in the shadows. He is afraid to let anyone see him for then they will know that he was taking part in the Dragon, pleasure.

Even Jesus went through a period of temptation as our text says:

for forty days in the wilderness, tempted by the devil

Jesus was tempted in the wilderness by the devil. He was let into the wilderness by the Spirit, which we assume is the Holy Spirit, and tempted by the devil. Why was Jesus tempted? I would guess so that He understood our temptations even better.

Jesus was tempted three times. Once to turn rocks into bread. Another to worship the devil and the third to throw himself off the top of the temple. These temptation was designed by the devil to take Jesus' mind off the course set by the Father. All temptations were to cause Jesus to loose focus.

The devil tried to force Jesus to focus on something else than His journey to Jerusalem and the cross. The devil was making Jesus think about something other than what the Father wanted Him to do.

And isn't that what temptation is for us today? Doing other than what we would know that God wanted us to do?

We know what is right and what is wrong, but sometimes we give in to the Dragon of pleasure.

It is like the boy in the following:

The boy was standing near an open box of peanut cookies.

"Now then, my lad," said the grocer as he approached the lad.

"What are you up to?"

"Nothing," replied the boy :

'Nothing?"

"Well it looks to me as if you were trying to take a cookie?"

"You're wrong, mister. I'm trying not to."

I'm trying not to. Isn't that who we are. People trying not to. Trying not to turn our focus away from God and his ways.

It is difficult trying not to, but we have help.

We learned from the temptation story and the story of the dragon that we cannot fight temptation alone. Jesus drew upon the word of God as His support. During the time of his wilderness temptation, Jesus proved once and for all that the Word of God hidden deeply in the heart and mind is the best defense against sin.

And it is for us. The word of God as spoken through the Bible and through fellow believers is the best help we can have. The king in our Dragon story knew the only way to fight the dragon was for them to fight it together. So with us and our fights with our dragons. We can fight the Dragon pleasure better with the word of God spoken in our hearts and to our hearts by another.

A closing quote from Dietrick Bonhoeffer from his book "Life Together" says it best:

" God has willed that we should seek and find His living Word in the witness of a brother, in the mouth of a man. Therefore, the Christian needs another Christian who speaks God's Word to him/her. He needs him again and again when he becomes uncertain and discouraged, for by himself he cannot help himself without belying their truth. He needs his brother man as a bearer and proclaimer of the divine word of salvation. He needs his brother solely because of Jesus Christ. The Christ in his own heart is weaker than the Christ in the word of his brother, his own heart is uncertain, his brother's is sure."

Amen

Written by Pastor Tim Zingale February 19, 2007

You may freely use this but please give credit. Not for commercial use.




1 from Laugh & Lift Daily Issue for Feb 20, 2006

The Dragon

(By Melinda Reinicke, Parables for Personal Growth, [San Diego, CA: Recovery Publications, Inc., 1993], pp. 5-9.)

Ash Wednesday Sermon

Ash Wednesday
Sermon

Psalm 51:2-5

"Sinner"




2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!

3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.

4 Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done that which is evil in thy sight, so that thou art justified in thy sentence and blameless in thy judgment.

5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.

Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Saviour Jesus who is the Christ. Amen

Ash Wednesday begins our Lenten journey. A journey that leads us through the season of Lent, to Maundy Thursday and Good Friday and then finally to the Easter Resurrection.

Along this journey we will see the grace and love that God has for us through His son Jesus Christ. A love that transforms us into what God had intended for us to be all along.

And part of that journey needs us to realize who we are. We are not gods, we are not perfect, we are not what God intended for us to be. We are sinners.

On this Ash Wednesday we need to realize just that fact. We are sinners in need of God's grace. Without God we are nothing.

Someone once said:

The difference between God and us is seen in the mud. God molded the mud,blew on it and created life. We mold the mud, blow on it, and end up with---mud. We like to play God. We like to pretend that we are as wise and powerful as God. But we still end up with mud.

We still end up with lives that fall short of God's expectation of us.

We need to be as honest with ourselves as the writer of the Psalm as he says:

3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.

The ashes of Ash Wednesday remind of our sinfulness before God.

A pastor wrote:

" The first thing the ashes of Ash Wednesday remind us of is WHO we are. As the sign of the cross is traced on your head, the first mark is in the shape of a capital "I." An "I" that stands for someone who is uniquely "me." Me with all my strengths and weaknesses. With all my talents and all my sins.

It's the "I" that also separates me from God. The capital "I" that forms part of the cross etched into my forehead is also the "I" that stands in the middle of my "sin" -; that state of being separated from God. The cross of ashes etched into our forehead reminds us of our uniqueness, of who we are, and of how we stand in need of God's grace.

The ash cross on our forehead not only reminds us who we are, it also reminds us WHOSE we are. In imposing the ashes, the vertical stroke of the capital "I" is followed by the horizontal stroke, which crosses out the "I." The "I" that is crossed out is the "I" that leads to feelings of alienation from God. It is as if in the horizontal stroke the loving arms of Christ are stretched out to welcome me back home. The wiping out of the "I" that separates me from God also gives me the freedom and ability to reach out to my brothers and sisters. I am reminded of whose I am as I am held in the arms of my savior and as I reach out in solidarity with my brothers and sisters in Christ. " 1

The capital "I" is the sinful part of me that wants to play God but can only make mud. The capital "I" is the part of me that during this Lenten season I must acknowledge as the sinful self, so that the redeeming miracle might engulf me with all of its splendor.

For if I do not see my sinfulness, then I cannot accept the grace of God through Christ which died on the cross for me and rose on Easter so that I might have eternal life.

"The ashes of Lent do indeed remind us of our human frailty,of our mortality.But they also remind us that God takes us just as we are,frail and human and prone to sin,but also recoverable,forgivable,forgiven.Lent is a time to sweep the debris from our lives, to wash down the walls of our souls.It is not tidy.

One of my favorite Lenten resources reminds us that "Our windows need washing,our temples need cleansing,and the earth itself needs a good bath....Winter doesn't leave without blustery battles that push things over and mess things up and even break things.Lent,if we honestly face its fury,will leave the landscape littered with bits and pieces of ourselves."2 3

Ash Wednesday begins the process of cleansing our lives so that the miracle of the resurrection might begin anew in us. Today is the day that we must acknowledge that we do need a good bath. We need the rains God's grace, of his forgiveness to wash over us, so that we can stand in the redeeming light of Easter.

We need to let the horizontal stroke of the cross wipe clean the "I" which wants to be in charge. We need to surrender ourselves to God so that "I" can be cleansed and redeemed.

A pastor tells this Ash Wednesday story which I think tells us all about the Ashes of this Wednesday.

" Avery - a quiet but faithful member of the Church who was always there.

He was not a tall man, but he was an imposing person.

Avery had a larger than average totally bald head, and it broad and well shaped so as to be the envy of all of us men. It was Avery who helped me get a more satisfying perspective on Lent. But this will become clear later.

This seemed the perfect time to try out the Lenten services in my new book, "From Ashes to Fire."

We followed the suggestions in the book. First the ushers passed out slips of paper on which the congregation was invited to write down some past sin, or some harmful habit that they would like to be forgiven for or delivered from.

Then these were collected and burned ceremoniously in a metal basket. Then these were mixed with darker ashes burned from palm branches - and now for my first experience at the imposition of ashes.

As the people knelt across the altar, each worshiper received a cross marked on his or her brow.

However, I soon knew I was in trouble. Many women were wearing a flip hairstyle with their hair pulled across their forehead, leaving no space for the mark.

As I struggled to find a place, sometimes the ladies would lift their hair and make room to put the mark on the forehead. But then it might partially disappear when the hair was released. Even the men had extra long hair. This was not going as I had expected. I was sweating profusely.

Then, moving to the middle of the last group, I saw Avery and that magnificent large, bald head - an oasis in the desert - a giant canvas on which to portray the fullness of God's love and forgiveness.

My eyes lighted up. Happiness welled up in my soul. It was a struggle not to laugh out loud with joy, and from the stark contrast to the stingy spaces I had been dealing with.

After standing for a moment gazing down at the greatest opportunity any one could ever dream of for the imposition of ashes, it became clear that I was free to draw as large as I wished. I was not even limited to the forehead - his whole head was an inviting space.

With great abandon, the cross was drawn across that vast expanse - manifold times larger than any that had gone before.

Then, triumphantly and with great joy, I turned to the congregation and pointed to the cross I had just drawn. They celebrated with me and broke out in applause.

After the congregation had left, I sat for long time in the Sanctuary contemplating the lesson of Avery.

It seemed as if God had been showing through the difficulties in finding room for the cross that our lives are so filled up and there are so many barriers to his touching our lives."4

As we saw in that cute story, there are all kinds of barriers in us, including hair, which can keep out the forgiveness of God.

Today on the Ash Wednesday, we need to lower those barriers and let the forgiving power of the cross enter our lives.

2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!

Amen

Written by Pastor Tim Zingale February 12, 2007





1 Steve Jackson NewSong Community Church Cumming GA 300-40

2 Peter Mazar,A Lent Sourcebook,p.vi

3 A Sermon Preached by The Reverend Gale W.Robb The House of Hope Presbyterian Church Saint Paul,Minnesota

4 Rev. W. T.(Bill) Reynolds, Assistant to the Pastors Fairlington U.M.C.,Alexandria, Va.

Transfiguration Sunday Sermon

Last Sunday after the Epiphany

Transfiguration Sunday

Luke 9:28-36

"They Saw, He Saw"




28 ¶ Now about eight days after these sayings he took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray.

29 And as he was praying, the appearance of his countenance was altered, and his raiment became dazzling white.

30 And behold, two men talked with him, Moses and Elijah,

31 who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was to accomplish at Jerusalem.

32 Now Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep, and when they wakened they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him.

33 And as the men were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is well that we are here; let us make three booths, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah" --not knowing what he said.

34 As he said this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were afraid as they entered the cloud.

35 And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!"

36 And when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silence and told no one in those days anything of what they had seen.RSV

Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Saviour, Jesus who is the Christ. Amen

"I heard a story recently about a terrible fire in a chemical plant. Several area fire departments responded to the blaze, and quite a crowd from the entire area gathered at a distance to watch. The media was there in helicopters and satellite remote trucks. The president of the company was among the crowd, and he was frantic. He gathered together the chiefs of all the fire departments and explained to them that in the midst of the inferno was a safe that contained all the company's super-sensitive documents including the top-secret formulas for all their best-selling products. He pledged to give a $500,000 donation to the fire department that brought the blaze under control and saved all the super-sensitive documents in the safe.

The chiefs rallied their firemen and women, pulled out all the stops attempting to bring the blaze under control, but it wasn't happening. The fire continued to rage. After quite some time the crowd heard another siren in the distance that kept growing louder. Before long this old beat up, dilapidated 1930's style fire engine filled with a bunch of men in their 60's and 70's came roaring through the crowd, right past all the other fire departments. The truck didn't even slow down as it burst through the front door of the plant and right into the middle of the blazing inferno. Everyone, firefighters, media members and the crowd just gasped thinking about what these guys did. However, before long the fire was under control and this group of aged firefighters stumbled out the front of the plant coughing. Everyone cheered their heroic effort. They saved the safe.

A few hours later in front of the gutted plant the president of the company handed the 82 year old chief a check for half a million dollars. In the press conference that followed, one reporter asked the chief what they planned to do with that incredible reward. He didn't even hesitate. "These guys already told me they want to buy a new fire engine that has some brakes!"

I tell you that story for a couple of reasons. First of all, I thought it was funny. But more important, there is a lesson we need to learn in it. Every story, every situation, every incident has at least two levels to it. The first level is what happened, the facts of what occurred (Who, what, when, where and how). Though sometimes the bare facts are interesting if they are outrageous or off-beat, most often the bare facts of a scenario are that, pretty bare. What adds spice and interest to the facts of any situation is the motivation. It seems to me that why something happen is usually more interesting than what happened, even if what happened is a phenomenal event." 1

Something happened in our gospel lesson that was unusual, but the why of it happening is even more exciting.

Peter. James and John went with Jesus up to the mountain to pray. While they were praying, two figures appeared, Moses and Elijah. These two men talked with Jesus. about his departure, his crucification. Then a cloud came a voice which said, "This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!".

Then they went down the mountain and said nothing about the experience.

Peter, James and John saw, but what did they see.

First they saw that Jesus was connected to their past. They saw Moses and Elijah with Jesus. They saw Jesus talking with those who had led their people many years ago. They saw the continuation of that history in this man Jesus. And they might have heard what was to happen to Jesus as he set his face to Jerusalem. They saw in Jesus God who indeed became flesh.

A pastor says in the Augsburg sermon series the following ''But not until God stepped into his own creation as a man, not until he came to be our brother, not until he suffered for the guilt of sin and died by crucifixion not until he broke the death grip and destroyed the force of hell had He revealed himself in all his love, compassion, mercy, pity, grace that satisfies our desperate need. I see and each of us makes this his own confession. I see my Lord not as a man who points the way, but as the God who is the Way, not as a good teacher who dropped in to teach some truth, but as the God who is the Truth not as revealer of a better life, but as the "God who is the life."

They saw Jesus as more than a teacher, but as one who would die for them on the cross.

They saw this moment and wanted to stay on the mountain. They understood what was happening beyond the sight of Jesus, Moses and Elijah. They wanted to stay in this glory.

They saw!

I remember when Wanda and I took a vacation out west and we traveled to Pike's Peak. It was a steep and winding road that led up to the top of that mountain. There we parked the car, got out and went to the observation platform and looked out in all directions. It was truly a wondrous sight.
Then all of a sudden a storm blew in. The wind started to blow, the rain came and the lightening started to flash in the sky. The guide yelled for everyone to come inside, but I was so enthralled by the beauty of the storm, that I lingered. I did not want to leave that great majesty that was all around me. Then, in an instant, lightning flashed again, just a few feet from where I stood, and I hurried into the shelter, still drawn by the beauty outside, but weary of the storm and its ill effects.

That mountain top experience was glorious. I wanted to stay.

The mountain top experience for the disciples was glorious. They wanted to stay, to stay and worship what they saw and hear.

Many times we as Christians want that mountain top experience in our faith life. We want that glorious feeling of being with Christ. Some even demand it. Some even make those who do not feel that way feel guilty! We like the highs, we shun the lows.

Some Christians feel that if their life or those around them are not always glorious, something is wrong with their faith or the faith of those around them. This theology of glory says that if you are not healthy, wealthy, feeling good because of Jesus then something is wrong, either with you or your faith. If you are with Jesus everything is good, great, glorious.

But Jesus did not see it that way. After the experience on the mountain, what did he do? He went down the mountain and set his face for Jerusalem and the cross. Jesus knew that it is good to have those mountain top experiences, but the real work is in the valleys, in the depth of the human condition of sin and brokenness.

Jesus on that cross felt and experienced the human condition in all of it brutality. He knew the depth of suffering we human beings suffer, he knew the guilt, the anguish, the despair that comes with living life. He knew and felt it all on that cross and through the resurrection of Easter he conquered it all for us.

Jesus went to the mountain to be transfigured, but came down the mountain to be a Saviour. He calls to us to have a relationship with him, but then to come down into the human condition to minister to those around us with love and compassion.

A poem says it well:


The work of the world is as common as mud.
Botched, it smears the hands, crumbles to dust.
But the thing worth doing well done
has a shape that satisfies, clean and evident.

Greek amphoras for wine and oil,
Hopi vases that hold corn are put into museums
But you know they were made to be used.
The pitcher cries for water to carry
and a person for work that is real. 2

The disciple saw the glory of Jesus. they saw and wanted to stay. But Jesus said no because He saw more than glory. Jesus saw the human condition. Jesus saw sin, He saw saw brokenness, He saw sorrow, He saw grief. He saw and wanted to help. So Jesus left the mountain and came to the valley of human sinfulness and conquered through his death and resurrection.

Jesus saw, He conquered.

Jesus wants us to come down from the mountain and work in the valley, too. He wants us to bring a measure of His grace into this world. He wants us to bring his faith into the lives of those around us.

A closing story from the late Pastor Valbracht's book Exit Interstate O says this about our lives:

"I remember the unchurched husband of a woman in a former parish. He never attended church, but she was always there. She was a quiet, retiring woman, who took part in everything, but always in the background, always silently. Oh, there were many people who had talked to her husband urging church attendance and church membership. One day he finally came and eventually he united with the congregation. Some time later I had the occasion to ask him why? Who said the right thing to him? Who had finally convinced him?

'No one, 'he answered.' It was my wife. she never said anything, but, I guess, over the years, she kind of lived me into it."'

She kind of lived me into it. That is the work of the valley living the way Jesus wants us to live.

Amen

Written by Pastor Tim Zingale February 12, 2007
You may freely use this but please give credit. Not for commercial use.



1 from a sermon by Tim Bond found at SermonCentral
2 by Marge Piercy from Sermon Nuggets

6th Sunday after the Epiphany Sermon

Sixth Sunday after Epiphany

1 Corinthians 15: 12-20

Luke 6:17-26

"Do You Believe in the Resurrection?"



12* Now if Christ is preached as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?
13* But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised;
14* if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.
15* We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified of God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised.
16* For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised.
17* If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.
18* Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.
19* If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all men most to be pitied.
20* But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.

Grace and Peace to your from our Lord and Saviour, Jesus who is the Christ. Amen

Our gospel lesson for the 6th Sunday after Epiphany is Luke's account of the Sermon on the Mount. Except it is called the Sermon on the Plain. It speaks about discipleship and living for Christ.

But this morning since we are in the Epiphany season, which is the season of the revealing of Jesus, I have chosen to preach on the second lesson.

Paul is speaking to the Corinthians about the resurrection of Jesus. It seems that some believers are not believing in the resurrection. Paul is questioning how can they believe in Jesus and not the resurrection?

Indeed, how can one believe in Jesus and not the resurrection?

Paul says " if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain."

Paul is saying that if Christ had not risen, then anything we preach about Christ is not true. If Christ had not risen, our faith is worthless. all that Christ was and is, is fulfilled in the resurrection.

Without the resurrection there is no Christmas.

Without the resurrection there is no heaven.

Without the resurrection Jesus is just some guy in history who taught and walked and really meant nothing.

Without the resurrection we would be like the three people in the following:

We would be like the three buddies who were discussing death, and one of them asked the others:

“What would you like people to say about you at your funeral?” He said, “I would like them to say about me, ‘He was a great humanitarian, who cared about his community.’”

The second one said, “I want them to say, ‘He was a great husband and father, who was an example for many to follow.’”

The third guy said, “I want them to say, ‘Look, he’s moving!’” With no hope of heaven that is what all of us would want them to say. 1

Without the resurrection there is no hope, nothing beyond the grave. Without the resurrection, our lives would end in the grave, a cold and dark existence.

Paul goes on the say that without the resurrection our sins would not be forgiven. He says:" If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins."

Through the resurrection of Jesus we have gain the forgiveness of sin. Through the resurrection of Jesus our guilt is forgiven. Through the resurrection of Jesus we live as forgiven people. Forgiven people who are free to experience all of life.

Through the resurrection of Jesus we live as changed people. People who are no longer chained to sin, but free to live in and through Christ. We are people who are free, free to live in Christ.

We are like th butterfly in the following:

Two butterflies - colorful and majestic monarchs - sat side by side on a tree limb. Beside them was the ruptured cocoon from which they'd just emerged.

"Come fly with me," said the one.

"Caterpillars can't fly,"said the other.

"But we're not caterpillars anymore," said the first, flexing his new wings, stretching then their full span till they looked like magnificently crafted stained glass windows.

"Those caterpillar days are gone forever."

"Don't be silly," said the other. "We were born caterpillars and we'll always be caterpillars. That's the way it is."

"Well, then, why did the Maker see fit to give us there wings?" said the one.

The other butterfly thought for a moment and then replied,"I don't know. Some sort of cruel joke, I suppose. He did the same thing to the ostrich, you know."

"Nonsense!" said the first. "Look at all the other butterflies. They're flying. What do you say to that?"

The second butterfly looked out over the meadow and said, "They're not flying. they're just being blown about by the wind. Stupid of them, too. Can't they see it's dangerous? Easy prey for hungry birds and, when they land, mischievous children as well. I'll stick to crawling and climbing, thank you very much. It may be slow, but it's safe and sure."

"it may be slow and safe and sure but it's.....well, it's unnatural. Butterflies fly!!!

That's the way the maker made us. That's our role, our function, our fit: to dance on the wings of the air; to play tag with dandelions seeds; to soar; to dart; to float; to light on a single blade of grass to the delight of all who see; to inspire awe and wonder; to fascinate; to add a note of grace to this world's dreary song." 2

Can you feel the new and vibrant life of Christ? Our vibrant life in Christ is like the butterfly to add a not of grace to his world's dreary song. Because of the resurrection, you and I are allowed to bring the light of Christ into this dark world. Because of the resurrection, you and I are the light of Christ to those around us.

Paul concludes his questions about the resurrection with this statement, "But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep"

"But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead."

For Paul there is no question about the resurrection of Christ. Christ has risen. For Paul there is a resurrection, for Paul there is an Easter.

For you is there a resurrection? For you is there an Easter?

What do we do with the fact of the resurrection?

In a sermon by Dr. Schmalenberger preached at Easter of 1985 he says:

"you and I put Christ it seems to me in there three different places.......1. We leave him in the grave and gather every so often to pay our respects to a dead and buried Christ who died for a great cause........2. We remove him from the grave and locate his body in some pearly-gated heaven. We then return to the empty grave to marvel at his power to do that back then. We "ooh" and "ahh" at how he ever worked such a thing as to come back from death and out of the grave......3. We can take the body out of the grave, with all its power and glory---move it up 2,000 years and place it here and now in this church. Then on this day and every day he is with us out in the world......The hallelujah of today's story--the thrill of the Easter resurrection, is the fact the body ends up here! It is in our church and in us as we gather to witness and worship and serve to be his alive presence in the world........... We may see this communion as a table of the living Lord who is its host and take very seriously: "This is my body" and"This is my blood." It is when we gather for the alive Christ to join with us and in us that Easter has its full significance........It is here in St. Johns, Des Moines for those who would receive it the good news of Easter is that Christ is alive here and now...."

Where is Christ for you? Is he in the grave, or is he only in heaven and you come to worship Him as someone out there?

Or do you see the risen and resurrected Christ as someone who is present here and now. Here in the church. Here through the body and blood. Here through the preaching of the word. Here through the loving kindness of those in the body of Christ. Is Christ present here and now in and through the body of Christ?

Do you believe in the resurrection of Christ here and now?

In this Epiphany season Jesus is manifested. He is revealed to us. We see his ministry begin. We see his first miracles. We see the call of the disciples. And Paul reminds us today to look past all of that to the risen Christ. For the most important manifestation of Christ is the risen Christ.

There is a a story about a family that tragically lost three of their four children within just two weeks to a deadly, virulent disease. One child was left – a four year old boy. The family had buried the third child just two weeks before Easter. On Easter morning the parents and the remaining child went to church. The mother taught her Sunday School class about the resurrection of Jesus and the father read the Easter story as he led the opening Sunday School devotion.

People who knew about their great loss wondered how they could do it.

One family of the church were in the car on their way home after church when their 16 year old asked his father, "Dad, that couple must believe everything about the Easter Story, don’t they?"

"Of course they believe it," said the father, "all Christians do!"

The young man then said, "But not like they do!" 3


But not like they do!

How do you believe in the Resurrection story? With your whole heart and mind?

Amen

Written by Pastor Tim Zingale Monday, February 5, 2007
You may freely use this but please give credit. Not for commercial use.



1 by Rodney Buchanan from a sermon found at SermonCentral

2 Mark Radecke in "In Christ: A New Creation"

3 Contributed by: Klaus Mehrl from SermonCentral