lent

Expectations.

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Mark 11:1-11

Jesus’s Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem

11 When they were approaching Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples 2 and said to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately as you enter it you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden; untie it and bring it. 3 If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ just say this: ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here immediately.’ ” 4 They went away and found a colt tied near a door, outside in the street. As they were untying it, 5 some of the bystanders said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” 6 They told them what Jesus had said, and they allowed them to take it. 7 Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it, and he sat on it. 8 Many people spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut in the fields. 9 Then those who went ahead and those who followed were shouting,

“Hosanna!
    Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!

10 

    Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David!
Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

11 Then he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple, and when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.

In 4th grade I was in love with Angel.  Yes, that was her name.  I got up the nerve one day to write her a note proclaiming my love for her.  I saw her read it and smile a bit I think.  Later, my friend Fred came up to me and told me he had heard about my love note, that Angel had shared it with him and others, and they all thought it was funny.  I was, of course, devastated…and deeply disappointed.  What I thought would be one thing, turned out not to be.  Well, as we jump into Holy Week…we know that expectations can lead to disappointment…

Here we are on Palm Sunday 2024!  And, it’s a big day…the day we kick off Holy Week 2024!  This is the week that we begin the home stretch if you will…we have spent the past 30+ days in Lent preparing for this last part of the journey towards the cross.  But, we aren’t there yet…we have some more journeying to do…we have some more reality to face…we have some disappointment to do deal with as the story unfolds.

Today though we wave palms and proclaim that Jesus has arrived in Jerusalem!  He comes to the city gates having sent two unnamed disciples to get a colt, one that has never been ridden.   Other gospel narratives of this story say that Jesus rode a donkey, not a colt.  A donkey signified humility, but Mark is making a statement by using a colt, an untamed one at that!  This Jesus is making a statement that history is moving towards.  It is wild, it is untamed, and it is the center of the universal arc of history that is leading towards victory…that love does ultimately win.  

Mark doesn’t name the disciples.  Yet it seems like they were dealing with so many questions, so much doubt, and quite a bit of anxiety.  They were uncertain of what was going to happen next, but they had hopes.  The crowds on the other hand were filled with folks on the margins, the hoi polloi, common people.  There were not the power brokers, but common folk who had heard about Jesus, had seen Jesus, and were drawn to this movement that was radically inclusive and had a promise of something new to emerge.  

Other Gospel narratives say that the power people, the religious leaders, wanted Jesus to silence the crowds, that they were getting out of hand.  They were missing the point…Jesus said that he could not and would not stop them, because if he did, then even the rocks would cry out.  

All of creation, Jesus is saying in effect, was in eager anticipation of this moment, of this season, that would change everything.  

Jesus was on his way to the festival, passover, a celebration, at the Temple, the spiritual center of Judaism…once there, he would proclaim that it would be destroyed and rebuilt in 3 days.  In essence, this temple doesn’t contain God, God is contain-less, God is in all things.  And that his body, the body of Christ, in which we all live in, is universal.  And, that in a world filled with wars, disinformation, false narratives that divide us, plagues, pandemics, hunger, crisis after crisis, that there will be peace on earth.  Hosanna literally translates to “save us”.  The people are wanting salvation, a restoration if you will to being able to live as humanity and creation was intended to live.  Restoration from the all of the destructive narratives that divide…restoration to our truest selves as created in God’s image.

Yet, we know the story.  These religious leaders, political pawns in a system that they’ve created to benefit them, turn enough of the crowd by the end of the week to turn the proclamations of “hosanna” to “crucify him”.  They become disappointed, deeply.  

Friends, all of us face holy week, and our lives, with expectations…and often we are disappointed, but disappointment is also key for our growth.  David Whyte, the poet, says this:

Disappointment is a friend to transformation, a call to both accuracy and generosity in the assessment of our self and others, a test of sincerity and a catalyst of resilience. Disappointment is just the initial meeting with the frontier of an evolving life, an invitation to reality, which we expected to be one particular way and turns out to be another, often something more difficult, more overwhelming and strangely, in the end, more rewarding. 

Jesus doesn’t change course that week.  He must continue on towards the reality of the ups and downs of the life that he shares with humanity.  

He had been journeying upwards, towards Jerusalem.  Jerusalem is on a hill, pilgrimages to Jerusalem have an upward movement.  It can be hard.  Add into that the opposition of some, those with loud voices and a transactional worldview that is skewed towards the few, Jesus knew that the final part of his journey would be the hardest.

After Jesus arrives in Jerusalem, the ascent, the upward movement is over…and the week starts out with a celebration and then moved downward, a descent, into death.  Of Jesus giving himself away…of letting love flow out of him into us…Jesus, descending, God with us in the throes of life, of celebration, and of disappointment.  

This messenger walked in the way of humility, of giving himself away…we just read in our lectionary passage in Philippians this phrase of Jesus emptying himself, pouring himself out…

7 

but emptied himself,
    taking the form of a slave,
    being born in human likeness.
And being found in human form,

8 

    he humbled himself
    and became obedient to the point of death—
    even death on a cross.

It was, as we know.  And it holds for us the reality that we have to celebrate a message and the messenger that is bringing Good News of God’s being with all of us.  And, we also have to bear the reality that this message and messenger will keep on calling us towards something beautiful and hard:  growth and restoration…healing our image of ourselves that we have created towards the image that God has made us in, that we are loved and we are God’s own…and that we are in constant union with God, one another, all of creation, the Universe.  We are the body of Christ, the universal body of Christ, and no one is to be left out of that love…this connection calls us to go through darkness, to lean into them, and to remember, to hold on to this narrative that God gives us, and that we proclaim even in the disappointment, even in the darkness.  And that embracing this journey, the ups and downs, the celebrations, the expectations, and the hard disappointment, that we come to terms with who we are and we are transformed…resurrected even.  

We still have to deal with this journey of emptying of ourselves…and, in the process of losing our life, we gain live and we move forward towards a deeper growth.  And, we look forward to the resurrection were can declare:  “Love Wins!”  

Lifted.

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John 3:14-21

14 And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.

17 “Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19 And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. 20 For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. 21 But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.”

This is the word of the Lord; 

Thanks be to God

SERMON                     “Lifted.”

Sermon:

When our kids were little, we would take them rock climbing.  It was always a fun outing!  We would usually go to Yellow Springs, OH where they have some great cliffs for climbing (as well as good restaurants and Young’s Dairy for ice cream!).  Our kids loved to climb, and our son still does…but, back then, it often meant me or Debbie belaying them at the bottom and lifting them up the cliff wall…they were pretty light then, so fairly easy!

This morning we’re talking about being lifted up…we want to be lifted up in our everyday lives, out of the mundane, the ordinary, the routine.  We so often get caught up in days upon days of wondering, is this it?  Is this all there is to life?  We get caught in ruts where we possibly make decisions or begin to think in ways that are not helpful.  Oftentimes, these decisions and thoughts, especially when made in isolation or without a sense of intentional and positive growth, change, or maturity could lead to patterns that don’t move us forward. 

This is true in our own lives, as well as our life together as a community of faith.  It happened to Israel.  They were stuck in the desert, both physically and metaphorically.  They were losing faith and getting tired.  Which, I get, especially coming through the pandemic.  So many folks are tired, weary, ready to move on…and, in the midst of this, relationships have shifted.  Some, including many in this church, have grown.  Some not.  Isolation became more apparent.  And, the mental and emotional toll is huge on a lot of folks. 

The Israelites decided to look for fulfillment in behaviors that led to living in a way that was not healthy and did not reflect their being made in God’s image.  They also turned on each other.  Friends, we know that before the pandemic, our culture was divided, isolation has always been with us…and we know folks have turned to violence, destructive patterns, looking for ways to make sense of the changes, going after conspiracy theory after conspiracy theory, and many have gone after other distractions, some not so bad, some that could lead towards something potentially destructive if not moderated.

Good questions for us as a church universal, not just here at Westwood First Presbyterian Church but everywhere, are: “Have we gotten tired of waiting on God, of having faith?  Have we sought after other things such as consumer-based church where we chase after program after program or worry about worship styles?  Have we chased after theologies and ideologies that are more closely related to cultural systems rather than radically challenging those systems?  Have we become more focused on ourselves and our way of doing things rather than practicing hospitality and reconciliation with our community?”  I wonder what folks in this community, or the communities in which we live, think of Westwood First Presbyterian or the church universal. 

Within this tiredness or rut that the church finds itself in, and in the ruts of our every day that lead us to make personal decisions that may not be healthy, we get to the point where we finally realize and hope for something more.  We want to be lifted up.

God wants to lift us up, but it starts with us looking towards God inside of us and all around us for deliverance rather than the systems of this world or the unhealthy places we may find ourselves.

With Israel, God told Moses to put up a pole with a snake on it.  He did and folks were saved from death.  Now, I’m not sure of all the symbolism of a snake on a pole, but I do believe that the writer of this story was saying that Moses went to God and God gave Moses a sign.  In antiquity, snakes shed their skin and could be symbols of new growth, regeneration.

Our gospel lesson finds the writer referring to this Old Testament lesson and saying that Jesus is being lifted up and we are called to look to him for deliverance, for justice, regeneration, and for the way to live. 

As Christ is lifted up, literally on a tree at calvary, but also lifted up daily in our lives, we find our salvation.  Friends, because Christ shares with us in our humanity and Christ is also eternal in Christ’s being, we find that our identity is wrapped up in Christ.  As Christ is lifted up, we are also lifted up.

Colossians 3:3 gives more evidence of this, “our lives are hid in God through Christ”.  We are being lifted up with Christ and Christ is rising up within and around us.  Now, we may be thinking, do I want to live forever if this life is a reflection of the life eternal?  Well, the folks listening to this reading in John had an understanding of eternal that we don’t have on the surface.  Eternal means the quality of life, not just quantity.  And, eternal tied in with Christ means amazing quality that does last forever, and it starts now.

You see, Jesus is also lifted up as the one true human that we are all called to live in, just as Christ lives in us.  Now, we are not perfect, we mess up…hang out with me for a while, crawl into my head, and you may have some deep reservations about me!  Of course, the opposite is true, if I were to know your deepest thoughts and faults, I may be wanting to get out of here as well!  But, our lives are wrapped up in Christ and Christ redeems and saves all of us, our thoughts, our actions, and, well, everything.  Nothing is outside of God’s reach.

Our text this morning talks about belief.  IN our culture, we seem to put a lot of emphasis on believing the right things.  However, I would say that this text is calling us towards something deeper, trust.  We are called to trust God and even to trust each other.  Which, can be hard and we need to make sure we are wise with some folks.  But, yes, we should grow towards building trusting relationships.  Sometimes, even with the best intentions, our trust can be broken.  Yet, as we see with God, God continues to put his trust in us.  Even after Jesus is crucified, Jesus comes to his disciples and shows them amazing trust.  

As we do this, as we become “lifted up” people, we will grow stronger as persons and we will grow stronger as a church.  We have potential to be agents of good, of change, of hospitality and deep friendships as we experience God lifting up Jesus, lifting up us, and lifting up the community around us.  We are the body of Christ, called to illuminate to the world the love of God.  To all of the community, not just those that are similar to us, but everyone…that’s good news…may we all do the lifting up of Christ in this community, following Christ’s example of radical hospitality, friendship, and inclusion and, in so doing, be lifted up.

Deconstruct.

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The Baptism of Jesus

9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. 11 And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”

The Temptation of Jesus

12 And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. 13 He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.

The Beginning of the Galilean Ministry

14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.”

In a world of division and disillusionment, it is hard to know what we can depend on.  And, here we have a faith that says nothing is certain other than God’s love that resides within us and around us.  Yet, there are so many layers in our lives and culture that cloud that vision.  A lot of it stems from experiences.  

When I was a kid in a youth group, a freshman.  I remember going on a missions trip.  I loved our youth group.  I felt a part of something.  Before we left on that trip, the youth director, someone that I really respected, told us that we were going to King’s Island at the end of the trip.  Sounded fun!  Then he said we would have to wear long pants and our youth group t-shirts, which were 3/4 sleeve shirts with a funky hand coming out of heaven design on the front.  It was 1982, but not sure if that ever was fashionable.  I did not want to wear those at King’s Island…simply ugly shirts.  Plus, it was July! Who wears long pants in July at an amusement park.  I protested, yet, got over it.

That week, there were lots of great memories…and also a lot of practical jokes.

But, by the end of the week, we were all excited to go to Kings Island.  We boarded our church bus, it was full of kids and adult leaders, but I got a seat at the front.  I wanted to be the first one to see the Eiffel Tower…which was a big thing in our family when we went to King’s Island…a kind of competition.

Well, sure enough, as we got closer to King’s Island, I was excited, looking for the Eiffel Tower…I forgot all about having to wear my long pants and ugly shirt…even led a chant on the church bus with everyone saying “almost there”…then, like magic, I saw the Tower first and let out a yell of happiness!  I won!  Then I turned around to see everyone on the bus taking off their shirts and long pants to reveal that they had on short sleeve regular shirts and shorts on underneath their clothes.  I looked over at my youth pastor, who was also taking off his long pants and youth group shirt…I was the brunt of one major practical joke. I laughed, told everyone how funny it was…went to the back of the bus…and, yes, you probably know how I felt…dejected, alone, and disappointed.  

Over the years, I have felt more disappointment with the church…I know many of you have as well.  Yet, I still hang on to a notion that church can be so much more, for all of us.  Also, if you are like me, you have found great disappointment in what life was supposed to offer you and you have been disappointed with God even…like Jesus, wandering the wilderness…these have been amazing seasons of growth actually.  There is a word that describes what happens in our faith journeys in the wilderness of life, when we are faced with life’s ups and downs…that word is “deconstruction”, when we have to tear down all of the things and roles that we’ve been handed in our faith in order to “reconstruct” a faith that is not about certainty, but about living in beauty and mystery.

In our faith journey, we have times where we doubt God’s commitment to us…we forget…I know I do.  These are times where my faith is “deconstructed”, sometimes even a time of wilderness…but, it is through those times where my faith also grows.  And, through it all, at different times, we see that God’s commitment to us is deeper and more intimate than we could imagine.  

Our gospel, or “good news” text this morning is also about coming to a now moment of a promise fulfilled. 

The Israelites had been promised a Messiah, a deliverer.  Jesus, who’s very name means “salvation” comes on to the scene after John the Baptist had been announcing that the time was upon Israel for the Messiah.  John the Baptist recognizes Jesus as the messiah, he baptizes him, and then the voice comes out of heaven, the voice of God proclaiming that Jesus has relationship with the Father, his son.  That the relationship between God and humanity has been marked in Jesus through a shared essence with God and with humanity.  Jesus is the bridge.  And, he is loved by all that God is…when the voice of heaven pronounces this love, that is a message to us that God loves all of us as we share in Jesus’ humanity. 

It’s interesting to me that in the Gospel of Mark, the temptation of Jesus, Jesus’ going into the wilderness, comes right after this amazing moment of baptism, of commitment, and of God’s voice calling Jesus “beloved”.  

Mark doesn’t go into as much detail about the temptations in the desert as the other writers of the gospels do.  Mark seems to want to give us the facts without the details, the writer of Mark seems like he wants to get to the end of the book, the end of the story quickly.  

We know from the other gospel accounts that Jesus was tempted to be relevant, powerful, and to solve the worlds needs.  Yet, he resisted.  Jesus knew who we was and that his life had more meaning, that hope for the world.  In order for us, to know and love each other well, to be inclusive and work towards personal and communal wholeness and abundance, we needed to see Jesus’ life, his coming to us, his living with us, his dying because of us, and his rising from the dead, overcoming everything, Jesus had to do the hard work of confronting his doubts, his demons, his temptations.

I think that says something to us…we are marked by God’s love…and that love, all love, doesn’t grow until it’s put into the wilderness, where temptations to move past something and get back to “civilization” or “normal” too fast prevents us from growing.  Friends, as we are walking this wilderness of life and culture, and faced with temptations of different voices calling us to this conspiracy theory or some ideology or so called “leaders” with empty promises…or, even worst, acting like nothing is happening and just ignoring what’s going on around us and wanting to be comfortable, we miss the opportunity to grow and become all that God intends.  

During this season of Lent, we have been given time to go to the desert with Jesus.  To confront our own demons, doubts, and temptations.  To see Jesus as the one who loves us and believes in us…and to mark our allegiance to God’s kingdom presence over anything or person in this world.  To deconstruct, or to die to self, in order to reconstruct or to live into new life, new birth.  

This is a call for us personally, and for us a church and a member of this community, this neighborhood. 

Our calling as a church is to be the people who live into mystery, into living in the universal presence of Christ, or the Kingdom of God if you will.  To have confidence and humility in who we are as the Jesus’ body.  To repent, which again, in Greek is “metanoia”, or change of heart and mind, where we need to and to grow from a time of being in the wilderness to a place of paradise and promise for the world around us.

It is hard work, letting God’s Presence emerge within us…seeing the Kingdom of God..yet we have a redeemer-kinsman, a friend, who is with us, in us, around us who want so reveal to us the abundance that is life with God. 

Friends, believe in the good news.  The time is now for Westwood First Presbyterian and for me and for you, to live into the promise of God’s Presence in our lives, of God’s kingdom of justice, fairness, honor, deep love, of God’s friendship with us to be lived out and made real for us and for our neighbors.