Untitled Sermon (10)

I was working on my sermon in the Urbana library earlier this week, wearing my clergy shirt and collar, along with my spiky hair. I had been reading some of the news of that day, including yet another terrorist act having been carried out.

And yet I was reading Bible passages about God creating the world and declaring it was good, and then creating humanity and declaring, even more, that humanity is “very good.” Since it is Holy Trinity Sunday, where we focus some attention on the belief that God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, (a concept, the fullness of which is beyond our comprehension and therefore can seem a waste of time to discuss), I felt stuck in my sermon study time. Several commentators had pointed out that launching into a theological dissertation on the nature of the Trinity would probably leave people hungering for some good news.

“Yea, yea, yea,” I thought to myself, as the Matthew passage says, “Jesus promises to be with us always.” Ok, so, what difference does that really make to know who God is?

So, I took a risk. Two teenagers, high schoolers I was sure, had been sitting on the padded bench not far from the desk I was using near the window. They had been cuddling and giggling and talking (making the bench seem more like a loveseat) and studying and doing things on their phones.

· So, I turned to them and said, “Can I ask you a question?”

o They looked at me.

· I continued, “I’m the new pastor at Living Grace Lutheran Church that meets in the high school. Do you go there?”

o They nodded.

· Are you religious or spiritual in any way?

o Both commented that they go to church at Christmas.

· I’m feeling a bit stuck working on these Bible passages because I’ve read them so many times, I almost don’t hear what they are saying. So, I was wondering, if you wouldn’t mind, would you be willing to read these two short lessons and just tell me what jumps out at you?

o file:///C:/Users/mike/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image001.pngfile:///C:/Users/mike/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image002.pngThey looked at each other and then responded that they would.

o After a few minutes of reading,

§ and a short phone call from the guy’s mom, to whom the guy explained he would be out in a few minutes after he helped “the church guy” with something,

o the guy walked over to me and said, “This part jumps out at me, “live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.”

o “That’s true,” he said.

· What makes that true?

o When you live in peace, then that means God is with you.

· “So,” I asked, “when you hear about the terrorist activity happening in the world, does that make you question this passage?”

o No, because the terrorists are just dumb.

§ And then, the teenage girl chimed in, “They are mentally ill.”

o And, then, he concluded, “They have a different god.”

Knowing who your God is will give direction to and purpose for your life.

Which God is worthy of your praise?

While people who grow up attending church &/or Sunday School often learn about God in the midst of the relative calm of a dinner table prayer, a worship service or a classroom environment, most people test out their choice of a god or “higher power” or the “man upstairs” when we are in the midst of a crisis – a terrifying moment, a failed relationship, a fractured fellowship.

· A person once said to me, “Who you are in a crisis is who you are.” I stopped and thought about how I have behaved in some crisis moments. This person’s statement left me feeling disappointed, condemned, guilty, -- overall, not very fond of myself. Sure, I’ve helped plenty of people who are in crisis, but then there are the moments that l am in crisis – someone has rearranged my mental furniture – and I trip over the ottoman that’s over here instead of there, and over the dog that moved from here to there – and out comes my frustration and fear and anger, usually targeted at someone closest to me.

Today’s passage stands out to us as one of the greatest moments in the disciples’ lives – their Great Commissioning – “Go, therefore, because of all that Jesus has done in your lives these last three years, changing you, teaching you, healing you, comforting you, convicting you, inspiring you -- go therefore and make disciples – lead others to become fellow students/followers/imitators of him. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations – all ethnicities, all peoples – baptizing and teaching them to obey all that Jesus has taught you.

And yet, while they worshipped him, some of them doubted?

· How could they doubt?!? They just spent time with their resurrected Lord, Rabbi, teacher, friend, Jesus – which comes from the Hebrew language of the Old Testament as Joshua, which means, “One who saves.”

· How could they doubt? Certainly, over the last 3 years, they had seen Jesus act and had heard him speak in ways that demonstrated he surely was authorized by someone higher than an earthly ruler!

o He healed the sick, taught in such a way that left people feeling astonished, and silenced those who were seeking to ruin his name, his reputation.

o To demonstrate that he was authorized to forgive sins, he commanded a paralyzed man to get up and walk, which, if the man had not walked, would have ruined Jesus’ reputation on the spot. But the man got up and walked away, rejoicing è a changed, healed, and forgiven man! And Jesus’ name spread.

· How could they doubt?

o Well, there was the fact that this event of the Great Commissioning happened on the same day that the women went to the tomb to respectfully care for Jesus’ crucified body and found the tomb empty and encountered an angel who told them to tell the disciples to go to Galilee and Jesus would meet them there.

· How could they doubt?

o Well, only 3 days before, he had died on a cross in the midst of his closest companions/students/disciples/imitators.

· How could they doubt in the presence of their newly resurrected Lord?

o Well, ancient dictionaries of that time period give us synonyms for the Greek word, διστάζω, that include:

§ διχονοέω (“to be divided between two opinions”),

§ ἀπορέω (“to be helpless”),

§ ἀμφιβάλλω (“to be uncertain”, “in doubt”),

§ ἀμφισβητέω (“to disagree”, “dispute”),

§ ἐνδοιάζω (“to be at a loss”), and

§ ἀμφιγνοέω (“to be doubtful”).[1]

· Might not you have found yourself doubting or conflicted if you were looking at the man you had seen on a cross three days before now greeting you and sending you out to share his good news of resurrection with others?

· Living Grace, in your recent past, have you not found yourself, at times, “divided between two opinions,” “feeling helpless, uncertain, in disagreement, at a loss, i.e., conflicted and doubting, maybe even acting out in anger toward another?

o Do you know that anger is a second emotion that is often preceded by another feeling?

o Do you know that many times we react to those first emotions with anger so that we redirect the attention away from our own heart that is feeling vulnerable in that moment and toward the heart of another, simply to protect ourselves?

Who we are in crisis is who we are – in the midst of that crisis. And, yet, the good news of this Holy Trinity Sunday, is that when God was in crisis on the cross, in the midst of death over our sins, God remained there out of love for humanity, and then after dying, rose to share life with all – and can therefore keep his promise, to be with us always, even to the end of time.

So, what difference does it make to know who God is?

When that God is the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, it means that God is one who intentionally created the world and all that is in it to be in relationship with the world and its creatures.

When that God is the Son who took on human flesh, it means that God is one who is about the business of death and new life, confession and forgiveness, and hope, even in the midst of the most scary of situations, which could be a terrorist act or could be when God calls you to reach out to one with whom you are conflicted.

To know who God is, and to know that it is this God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, revealed in Jesus the Christ, and who you judge is worthy of your praise means that you trust in a God who changes you in the midst of crisis, bringing you out forgiven, renewed, restored and hopeful.

Trusting in this God calls you to seek resolution with those with whom you are in conflict, not approaching them by saying, “I want you to know that I forgive you for all that you did in the recent past,” but instead saying, “As God has forgiven me for my mistakes, I want to have the opportunity to admit my mistakes (what I have done and not done, said and nto seaid) and to ask you for forgiveness.

[1] Luz, U. (2005). : a commentary. (H. Koester, Ed.) (p. 623). Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg.