Who Knows What Will Happen

 

It's Easter Sunday and we know what happened. 

We've heard all about the Resurrection. How Jesus rose from the dead. How people came to the tomb and found nothing there but linens and wraps. But, what if you didn't know what was going to happen? Us in the 21st Century have a tendency to become complacent in our faith because we think we understand it all. We think we know what we need and that's all we need to know. We read text off a page. We see what we are told to see. We believe what we have been told to believe. It all becomes so mechanical. This tendency to simply do what we have always done. It becomes ritual. It becomes tradition. It's how we create legacy. It's how history is carried on. Doing the same thing over and over again. 

There's nothing wrong with that. We need repetition. It is how we learn. By doing a thing over and over we create a pattern. Muscle memory. Even habitual memory. The drive this morning is that we create a new appreciation for what happened today by putting ourselves in the shoes of those who had no idea what was going to happen. Oh, they had been told again and again. But, as we should know all to well about our human condition; we don't always get it right the first time. (Or, the twentieth time for that matter.) Sometimes it takes more than a ritual telling of the story for it to sink in. 

Might seem like a silly illustration to use on such a momentous occasion as Easter. But, entertain me for a moment. I am taken back to an interesting film from 1997 called "Men In Black". James Darrell Edwards III is an NYPD cop who has the haphazard chance of chasing an actual alien from another planet, on foot, through the streets of New York City. This encounter brings him into a world of people who have been protecting the planet for some time against threats and beings from other planets. In an offer to join the Men in Black group and become an agent, he is confronted with a mountain of knowledge and information that challenges what he thought he has always known. Agent K, a long time veteran in the organization, has one final talk with James before he makes up his mind about whether he actually wants to step in this world he has discovered. The next day his life is changed. Forever. 

What I want to do this morning is take things from the standpoint of a person who has no idea what is going to happen. A person who thinks he has all the answers and is convinced that things are going to happen a certain way. Even for the Christian who believes in Jesus and has heard the Resurrection story a million times, there are situations in life where the reality that God has everything under his hand and his control needs to become true. The scripture from the Gospel of John says that "the disciple whom Jesus loved" made it to the tomb first. It says that Peter went in first and then John came in after that. The report says that John "saw and believed". The scripture also goes on to share that they still did not understand that Jesus had to rise from the dead. We can believe in Jesus and still not know what we are supposed to know. We can believe that Jesus is Lord and Messiah and not know that fully in our own hearts. There are issues and matters that lie within our blind spots in life. Issues that we are not aware of and matters that we either are not ready to confront or willing to deal with at the moment. 

Driving a car is one of those situation in life that one of the parents in the house is going to have to come to terms with if the child who is of age is going to learn how to do it. More often that not, good ol' dad is the person who gets to be the one that handles the learning and teaching part. Mom, stereo-typically, gets the be the joy-riding person that the child gets to have fun with once they have learned some of the essentials and has a bit of confidence behind the wheel. According to the National Safety Council, one of the hardest concepts for a new driver to embrace is that of the blind spot. Just knowing that we should look back over our shoulder and then applying the concept and actually doing it is something that is difficult for a person to accept. The difficulty might come from the fact that we deal with what we can see. The old adage is "out of sight, out of mind". Everything in our blind spot is out of our sight. Who knows what will happen back there. Most of the time we don't see it so we don't even know what is going on. 

The Christian singer/songwriter Larry Norman knew how to deal with just such an issue. Many times people get distracted by everything going on around them. It's not that they have a blind spot to deal with, it is that they are distracted by everything going on around them. What they need is to come back to the central focus of what Jesus has done. Larry was avid about singing in bars. He would witness to people right there in their own comfortable surroundings. A beer in hand or a drink of some kind did not stop him from sharing what needed to be said. However, in the midst of a conversation about Jesus, when the truth about the Savior was bringing their head to turn to that place and see what they needed to see, the person he was witnessing to might ask something along the lines of, "Yea, well what about UFOs?" It's a question that really doesn't have anything to do with what was being discussed. It's a distraction question, meant to do exactly that, and keep a person from having to focus on that glaring item sitting in the blind spot. Well, Larry went and penned a song that addressed that very problem and brought the focus back to a center on Jesus himself.. 

Larry Norman - "U.F.O." (1972)

So many of us think we know what is going to happen next. Yet, there are so many situations where we still don't understand. Just like the people Jesus speaks with after his resurrection, we find ourselves in mourning and grieving. We think this is the end and this how the story goes. Then we come across information that can transform our outlook. Do we take it seriously? Do want the answer? How many times do we have to hear it before we actually look into that blind spot and acknowledge the truth? Scripture suggests that Jesus appeared more than 10 times to his disciples in his resurrected body. Imagine being Thomas. He wasn't there when Jesus first appeared to ten of the disciples. How many of us have looked up at heaven, demanding a sign, and wanting an answer? I'm pushing the envelope beyond the simple matter of just believing in the Resurrection this morning, and I hope you see that. I hope you know that. Because many of us say we believe in the Resurrection, but we don't live like it. How many of us love to tell others what they should do and how they should do it, but can't follow our own advice? How many of us want to be strong, act like we are strong, but when it comes down to it we truly, really don't have the wherewithal to hold our head up when things get hard?

Peter. John. Mary. They have no idea what's going to happen. Some followers come to the tomb early. They report back that the place where his body was laid is wide open. The two guys who were closest to this Jesus are the ones who take off running. They get to the tomb, find it just as was told them. They see. They believe. But, they don't understand. For now, that's ok. But we know there's more. If you believe at all this morning, then believe this. You don't understand it all. You don't know it all. You don't have an answer for everything.What you have is an empty tomb, a risen Savior. 

And, that's enough. Understanding comes to those who are patient and wait. 

Just like Jesus taught. Seek. Ask. Find. Imagine what you'll know tomorrow.

Follow The Broken Heart

 

We call it Palm Sunday. The Triumphal Entry. 

Jesus comes to Jerusalem and the people want him to be King. The street is lined with palms as the people see Jesus riding in a colt, a young donkey. They want him to be king. They want him to be the "fixer". The person who makes all their problems go away. The person who rescues them in their hour of distress. But, what does Jesus want? What is it that God wants the people to see and understand? 

We have been covering the subject and doctrine of salvation through this Lenten season. We are almost at the end of that stretch as we come into Palm Sunday focusing on the tears that the Savior shed over a city who missed the point. Last week we were in Bethany seeing Jesus weep with a sister who had lost her brother. Now we see him crying as he looks over this great city of Jerusalem. When you spend all of your time walking through an area or country and become attached to the people it is natural to feel some remorse and discomfort when you know your time in that place is drawing to an end. Jesus knows. He knows that the end is coming and so is the cross. We will see later in the week the great drops of sweat and blood and tears he gives as he cries over the moment that will transpire. Jesus will give his life for our salvation. It is the only sacrifice that will suffice. It is the only proper means of covering our sins and putting things right with the Almighty. 

Jesus is the the bridge. If we thought of God and man being separated by a wide valley or gulf with no way to cross the expanse to the other side, Jesus would be the means to get there. If we are in touch with the moment here in Luke 19, I can't help but be impressed with the notion that Jesus must be feeling the weight of being that bridge. I see his tears as not having the bear the weight of the bridge, but knowing how few have actually take the trek across the expanse. "If you, even you, had known on this day what would bring you peace..." Jesus is bearing the weight of using all his energy and time to speak to a people that refuse to listen. Even the ones in his care as disciples don't fully understand what is about to transpire. It won't be until some time after the event of the next weekend that their eyes will be opened to what has happened. Only then will they see and hear and remember what Jesus has done for them. The washing of feet. The shedding of blood. All the lessons and teaching and scripture shared will come back tot hem in a flood. But, only after. 

Too often we find ourselves in a place of bearing the afterthought. "Hide-sight is 20/20" is the old adage. For many of us, we either can't see what is in our blind spot to acknowledge it and do something about it -or- we simply refuse to do anything about it. Then the moment comes upon us in a sweeping rush of regret and angst. We want to apologize, but it's too late. We want to make changes, but things have already changed and maybe not in a way that is good for anyone. Jesus knows that all of this could be avoided as he stands on the hill looking over Jerusalem. The religious hierarchy will explode with arrogance and pride. The Romans will eventually come and knock down the Temple. Many of the Israelites will be killed or drug away in slavery and servitude. The country will never be the same. The thought of being an independent state standing on its own two feet, governing itself, will be a pipe dream. "As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it"

There are so many shoes to put ourselves into as we reach through this stretch of scripture. For starters, we want to follow in the footsteps of Jesus. We want to be like him. We want to share in the saving of our world. We want to share the load of giving peace and forgiveness to a world that need to hear the message and understand what it means to know God. Too often, we find ourselves sharing the burden of the prophet Isaiah. 

All too often we find ourselves slipping into the shoes of the people. The ones who didn't listen in the first place. The ones who should have known better. The ones who find their land "utterly forsaken". The ones who should have apologized before all of the bad stuff transpired. The ones who should done what was right from the start instead waiting to give some lame apology after the moment has passed. God can see what is going on in our hearts. He knows all. He sees all. There is no escaping that. And, we wait too long, there might not be any way to correct the wrongs we have committed. 

To have eyes like Jesus.
To have a heart like Jesus.
To see what he sees. To know what he knows. 

To be like him. That is our Goal.
To bring salvation to a lost and hurting world.
 

Whether they will listen or not.

The Arc Of Salvation

 

As we draw closer to Easter and the end of Lent, we continue on with our look at Salvation as one of the central doctrines in our United Methodist system of beliefs. We have tied in with the subject many other issues such as Grace and Faith and Sacrifice. This morning, we look right at the doctrine itself and see it from the perspective of Wesley as we take a look into John 11; this familiar passage when Lazarus is raised from the dead and Jesus has some interaction with two sisters who approach him with different attitudes and words. 

Wesleyans and Methodists are not the only ones who seek to make some sense of our salvation through means of an "arc" nature. If you do a Google search with jut the words "salvation - sanctification - glorification" you will comes up with many diagrams and pictures as we will find Baptists and Lutherans and even Presbyterians seeking to explain what God has done for us in the incredible offering of Jesus on the Cross. (The pictures here might seem small but you should be able to click on them to enlarge.)

This "arc" I am referring to usually includes at least three major points on the road.
Our Justification - I usually like to use a reference here to one of my favorite TV shows. Timothy Olyphant plays Kentucky State marshall Raylan Givens who leads with his attitude and gun. After shooting a drug dealer in Florida which winds up sending him back to home state of Kentucky as punishment, he says that the shooting was "justified". The drug dealer pulled first. Givens shot him. In the matter of our salvation, are we justified at all on our own merits to approach God? No we are not. Christ makes it possible. In this case, God pulled first. He sends his one and only son into our world to save us. We need to believe and trust and it is on that basis we find any communion with God at all. 

Our Sanctification - You will hear in some Wesleyan circle of belief an explanation of "two means of grace" or two things that happen to us. We are "saved and sanctified" as some older folks might recal hearing from a testimony or two on a Sunday morning. I can still recall some senior Nazarene ladies who would wave the white hankey while crying and sharing about what God had done for them. There is a moment when we find forgiveness and there is a moment where we find separation from sin. It is a moment that deserves deeper explanation and I hope to give it between here and Pentecost. 

Our Glorification - It is finally over. We fins ourselves in the arms of Jesus. We stand before God and hear words like, "Well done, good and faithful servant." We want to be there and see God with a good standing . Our names written in the Lamb's book of Life. There is no more crying or hurting or pain. It is the culmination of our Salvation. 

The whole thing is Salvation. From the beginning where God starts speaking to our hearts. To the moment he begins to draw us in. Till we find forgiveness for our sins. The moment when we surrender and let him be in control. We start to work out all the areas where Jesus needs to lead the way. The three step idea is truly an oversimplification of the process. There is much more that goes into it. In John Wesley's sermons, he would go into much more detail about the process of salvation. Wesley would explain every steps through a series of sermons. If you can get your hands of Wesley 52 standard sermons, it is worth a read through. While diagrams don't necessarily do it justice, this is one of the best I have found. It is from the Taylor County Campmeeting in Butler, GA. 

What I want to do this morning is take a look at John 11 and try to see where we find the sisters, Mary and Martha, in this process. Maybe we can do a little introspection on ourselves and determine where we find own souls on this journey to glorification. 

Of course, Lazarus has died. Jesus seems to stay where he is in a nearby village for an extra two days before making the walk to Bethany, to the home of Mary and Martha. We see both sister coming out to meet Jesus on his way in. Both sister speak to him, but with much different tones. 

Many people believe in Jesus. How they carry out that belief and the internal struggle with the matters going on in the world around them can be a tricky road to navigate. A personal loss like a family member can be one of the hardest areas to overcome. From reading the scripture we can see that there was a closeness between all three members of Lazarus' family and Jesus. The sisters believe that he is the Messiah and Martha clearly states her belief. The picture that has been painted of Martha over the centuries is a gruff one. It is easy to picture her arms crossed, speaking to Jesus in rough tones. "If you have been here, my brother would not have died." Grace is a central element to our salvation as we see the word laid out in the diagram above. God reaches out to us. We, in turn, reach out to him. Often we don't reach out with the same grace that is extended to us. We reach out with shouts and anger and pleas. We demand and makes out wills be known. How we are approaching Christ is ultimately important to our salvation and it is something we learn how to do as we go along. 

As we look at Mary, we see someone who approaches Jesus with their tears instead of the gruff and rough. The scripture suggest that she runs to where Jesus is. The Savior is approaching Bethany but Mary cannot wait. Martha didn't wait either. They both go where he is at that moment. They just approach him with different emotional standings. Mary comes with her heart on her sleeve instead of her arms crossed. On this Arc of Salvation, where do we see ourselves? If we put ourselves in the shoes of these two sisters, would we say we are experiencing grace? Is there need for repentance? Would we find ourselves at a place where we should surrender all to the hands of Jesus? There are many things that go into that arc from the beginning of our journey until we finally arrive in front of God.