 | Full Text Sermon | Alternate Sermon Ideas | Prayers & Readings | LENTEN SERIES 1998 - "In The Thick of Things!" Overall Theme: The Season of Lent is a great time to reflect on the genius of Christian Faith. Jesus is with us in the "Thick of Things". He is there when we are tempted, when we fall on our face,and in the everyday experiences of our lives. He is present in the heights of joy and the depths of despair. The gospel stories of this Lenten season show Jesus involved in powerful "slice of life" episodes. Using the lessons, we can help our listeners open their daily lives to the presence of the One who is with us "In the Thick of Things." ...................................................*** March 29, 1998 ~ Fifth Sunday in Lent ~ John 12:1-8 In the Thick of Deceit Have you ever had one of those days in your life when there was joy and sorrow, happiness and sadness all at once? A day filled with such conflicting emotions, you found your heart torn between laughter and tears. There was a day like that for a family near Milwaukee, Wisconsin this past year. A terrible mid-week accident occurred outside a small town near Milwaukee and three young men were killed in a head on collision. The following Saturday one of the families had a funeral for one son in the morning and a wedding for another son in the afternoon. They felt the son who had been killed would not want his brother's wedding to be postponed on his account. It is difficult to even imagine what emotions filled that wedding reception. The son who was buried was to be the best man and give the toast for his brother. Today's scripture tells the story of a dinner party where there must have been a house full of people whose hearts were filled with conflicted emotions. Think about the guests and try to get hold of the feelings and the tensions. * Jesus is trying to stay out of the public eye because the plot to have him executed is fully hatched. Temple officials have a warrant out for his arrest. * Lazarus who has just been raised from the dead. He may or may not be aware that there is a price on his head. * Mary and Martha have gone through the loss of their brother and suddenly have him back from death. * Judas is present grousing about losing the opportunity for a little more embezzlement of the disciple's fund. Here is the warm glow of a gathering of friends who share the joy and sorrow of each other's lives. They are saying, "Hello", and "Goodbye". In the world outside, all hell is breaking lose -- literally. Inside there is warmth, sharing and the security of love. Except for one thing... ...There is one who sits as though with friends whose heart is filled with corruption. The joy and beauty of intimacy ruined by the deceit of a soul gone awry. The irony is striking. Is not the presence of Judas in this gathering a prime example of why Jesus is here to begin with? Jesus is present as the amazing declaration of God's unconditional, forgiving love in the face of unqualified deception. It had to hurt. Judas is fully aware of Jesus' choice to live totally for others. He twists the gift of Mary into a hollow complaint about how the poor could have been helped. It's like the tightwad who is always saying, "Charity begins at home," so as to cover his miserly heart that really doesn't want to give to anything. Or is it more like the weeping television evangelist who shows pictures of crying, starving children so as to line his own pockets with the gifts of poor widows. Jesus' response to Judas is a counterpoint only Judas will pick up on if he is perceptive enough, "You care for the poor do you Judas? There will be opportunity enough. Let Mary give her costly gift of love while you cover your deceit with pious platitudes about how you care for the poor. We will soon see what you really care for!" The most astounding thing of all is the thought that Jesus is here to love even the deceiver and long for his return. Since the beginning, God has longed to see every wayward child come home to eternal love. Our Old Testament reading from Isaiah [43: 16-21] shows this pleading love of God which is spurned by Israel. God has said to Israel, "I hold all the cards... there is nowhere else to go... and still you will not come to me!" It is amazing to see an all-mighty, all-powerful God appealing to wayward Israel like a jilted lover. Have you ever experienced the pain of "being dumped?" God has! The voice of the prophet from almost eight hundred years before the gathering at Lazarus' home goes to the heart of Mary and Martha's dinner party, "... I am about to do a new thing..." [Is. 43:19] The "new thing" is present in the midst of that emotional gathering. The gospel of John coments, "Jesus knew that his hour was come... having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end." The NIV comes closer to accurately giving us the meaning of "unto the end" by saying it this way, "he now showed them the full extent of his love." The meaning of the word "end" [telos] frequently communicates the notion of goal, completion, or even perfection. The heart of what is taking place at this amazing gathering is Jesus demonstrating the meaning of perfect love. This is almost too much for human hearts to understand. This is a love powerful enough to encounter deception, engage rejection and still love the deceiver! *** Is it possible we live in a world where deception is so common place we have come to accept it as "normal"? * An NBC Dateline episode shows telemarketing scam artists stealing money from elderly people. One older woman is in tears pleading with the caller who is demanding she send in a check if she is really the upstanding, honest person she claims to be. * The car you went to buy for your college bound daughter after reading an ad is not $199.00 after all -- if you want an engine and wheels -- plus there are the $4000.00 for, acquisitions fee, capitalization reduction cost and a few other hidden items. * Did you see the 48 Hour program on CBS where five heartbroken women all thought they were married to a "Romeo" who had taken most of their assets and run up countless thousands of dollars in credit card debt? Each one of these women thought she was his "one and only" until the police caught up with him. You wonder sometimes. An early 70's song by the group, Three Dog Night, asks... "How can people be so heartless, how can people be so cruel? Easy to be hard..." *** Is there anyone here who has not at one time or another endured the breakdown of a cherished relationship? Someone you cared for very deeply turned away from you. A misunderstanding that shouldn't have mattered came between you. Imagine what it must have been like for Jesus to spend all night praying about who should be chosen as his closest associates. He picks twelve and then totally immerses himself in training them to take over his mission in three -- maybe three and a half years. Now he sits with one of those twelve knowing full well that this man is not only embezzling funds from the group, but is about to join the conspiracy to have Jesus put to death. And... he will finger Jesus as the culprit with a fake kiss! Hey... if it was me? "Judas, you low down, good for nothing... the very least you could do is to let me have this last bit of fellowship with my true friends!" Could you handle it? Deception and the breakup or even loss of a friendship hurts -- big time. How does Jesus handle it? There are two critical principles at work here. Principles that can help us through those times when someone we thought cared turned away from us. 1. Focus on those who are true friends. Jesus did not allow the deception of Judas to diminish the quality of his relationship with those who were true friends. Hard to do, but essential. Don't focus on what's gone, but on what's left. There is still the evening with Lazarus, Mary and Martha. If you are anything like me, it is easy to let negative things drain your energy. Jesus does the opposite. The negative is devalued and the positive is revalued. It's the old quip, "Is the glass half empty or half full?" 2. Do not engage the Deceiver on his turf. Keep distance from the temptation to "fight it out" with the person who has turned away. Judas already had an agenda. His heart had turned away from Jesus... the justification had already been done and his mind was made up. He did not come to Jesus with questions or difficulties he had. Jesus does not waste his time in debate, argument or even venting his anger. He would only drain his own time and energy. Save it! Save it for the good things of your life. Life is way too short to spend it on the deceiver's agenda. [ Apply It ] Think about a time when you were hurt by the deception of a friend or a time when the loss of a friendship hurt you deeply. How much time did you waste on anger, turning it all over in your mind or rehearsing in your mind what you would like to say or do to the person? How might you respond differently in light of the two principles Jesus used with Judas? Try to build this response into your life when you find yourself in the "Thick of Deception". "I will preserve and nourish the positive things in my life and put away the negative!" Is God Impressed Yet? ~ Philippians 3:4b-14 What's the old saying, "Put your best foot forward?" The most natural thing in the world is to present ourselves as best we can... lead with our strong suit. An executive placement firm advertises, "We will make you look as good as anyone can!" No one ever wanted to look bad for the Prom. C.G. Jung, the great psychiatrist, saw the issue of wanting to look good as so deeply ingrained in our development, it is the basis of personality types. In brief, we use personality functions we do best over and over and avoid the things we're not good at. In other words we are always playing our best hand and that shapes how we go about our world. So how does all this play out in our spiritual lives? Ditto! Same thing. We show our best face to the religious community. "Be good, do good and look good!" Jesus was very hard on people who make a public show of their religion. But again, it's only natural to want to look good. There is a story [you can embellish, but we will shorten here] about this guy who shows up at the proverbial Pearly Gates wanting admission. Peter and the angels ask the fellow just what he has done that might gain him an entrance to heaven. "You need 1000 points," Peter informs him. The man begins a lengthy description of church attendance, service as an elder, good deeds etc. Peter and the angels look impressed, agree the man is a great guy and tell him, "You're one of the finest people we've seen lately! Hmmm... let's see (they add up the score)... you have 82 points! Is there anything else?" [you can drag this out as long as you like as the guy racks his brains and once again the angels and Peter are impressed and the fellow ends up with all of 96 points.] He finally blurts out in desperation, "Oh my God, what will I do? Have mercy on me!" To which Peter exclaims, "That's a thousand points!" The idea of this sermon is to show how Paul took his "resume", which was a very impressive one... (worth all of 96 points or so) and trashed it. "It's so much garbage," he says. Once he has given up on his resume, he gains three things: I.The resume of Christ... (The righteousness of Christ -- given by grace -- is the 1000 points), II. Knowledge of Christ (Intimacy with Christ), III. Power - the resurrection power of Christ at work within. One last, but critical issue. From this point, Paul is free from the struggle to "look good on paper". He freely confesses, "I haven't arrived." But his new aim is to press on and live the new life of discovering day by day who he is called to be in Christ! Call To Worship (Based on Psalm 126) Leader: Let us come before the Lord with open hearts, People: Let us bring our broken dreams, our conflicts and our griefs. Leader: For God is good and out of sorrow will comes new gladness. People: The Lord will fill us again with power to sing with joyful hearts! A Pastoral Prayer (Based on Isa. 43:16-21 - Consider scripture followed by prayer) O Lord of life, there are times when it seems as though there is nowhere to turn, no place to go and no one to trust. Even the sunshine can be like gloom and the midnight hour is as a clock without hands. O God come to us in the hour of our greatest trial as the One whose light the darkness can not overcome. Lead us from places where no mortal knows the way and no earthly power can help. Merciful Savior, You alone can flood the desert with rain, and bring life out of the barren fields. And You alone can bring gladness to the heart forsaken, the spirit lost and the soul extinguished. Come even now into this assembly, touch every heart with Your Spirit, lighten every burden with the power of Your touch. Call forth praise from our lips and the world shall know indeed that You are God and there is no other god before You. We are created to know and love You forever. You have made us for Yourself O Lord and our hearts are restless 'til they find their rest in Thee! Amen!
Use Your "Back" button to return to Resources Page |
|||||||||||||||||||||
