Sunday, 23 January 2011

The invitation

Epiphany 3 year A Sermon 
Hello…good people…of Wanaka… my name is Moshe But you can call me Sabah
which means grandfather in Hebrew…
Seems like everyone is younger than I am these days …so you can call me Sabah too.

I live in 1st century Alexandria in Egypt…the Jewish diaspora…If you were here last week… you will have met my grandson Amos

…such an excitable boy is my Amos…wants to learn everything… question everything…show off his vast knowledge of sacred scripture and he’s not even eleven

Lately…I’ve been reading him stories from a new scroll that’s turned up…it’s the life story of the rabbi Jesus of Nazareth…it’s teaching has split our synagogue…and some people now follow this rabbi Jesus…
even though he’s been dead for forty years.

They say he was God’s promised Messiah
who was to bring about God’s kingdom on earth…
they insist he rose from the dead…
and still teaches and strengthens them by his Spirit

they believe God’s covenant faithfulness was renewed through this Jesus… and that his teaching was for the salvation of the whole world

and that’s why they’ve been kicked out of the synagogue…for saying everyone’s a child of God…
and should be part of us now…even pagans…
even gentiles

You know I really shouldn’t be reading this
banned story to the boys…but since the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed by the Roman’s
it’s like a darkness has covered our people…
a fear that God has abandoned us…

and the story of this rabbi Jesus… is so full of hope …and fulfilled prophesy…and like all our children…
my grandson needs hope

To tell you the truth…I’m a little worried for Amos …such big dreams from such a small boy
he wants to be a great rabbi one day…
with disciples following him around
doing what he does…spreading his yoke…
teaching what he teaches…

but I try to tell him…for this he must be chosen by a great rabbi…to follow in his footsteps
and he’ll have to be among the most gifted…the very top …most perfect students…the cream of the crop

For now he’s only ten year’s old and doing well…
but by fourteen
orfifteen…onlythe bestofthebestofthebest…willstill be studying. And some just won’t make the grade…they have no choice but to leave synagogue school…to work in the family business.
And there’s more I worry about…

even if Amos is still achieving at fifteen
there’s no certainty a great rabbi will choose him…
to
becomehis tal-mi-dim… his disciple...

You see my friends in our Jewish way…
for my grandson Amos to be chosen as a great rabbi’s disciple… he’ll have to be more
thana student who knows the scriptures by heart and their various interpretations…Amos will have to impress a great rabbi he can do everything the rabbi does…
and teach everything he teaches to others…

But still Amos dreams of hearing that special invitation when a great rabbi decides…you’ve got just what it takes to be his disciple…Amos dreams of the words ‘come follow me’. He dreams of leaving his father
andmother…and yes… even me
to follow
his great teacherwhere ever he goes.



And you know something…the truth is I worry my grandson won’t be smart enough…clever enough…impressive enough…I’m anxious he’ll wind up disappointed
and making lamps in the family workshop

I know he loves God and the scriptures
and I’m sure he’s a good enough student
but good enough won’t be enough
in the eyes of a great rabbi…
And here I am reading him an illegal story
at least this rabbi Jesus… knew the sacred scriptures
and how to use them…in a tight situation…like the one in the wilderness with the devil…
A good example for my Amos…

Sabah? Who are you talking to?

Heh heh…no one my grandson…allow an old man his ruminations…I didn’t see you come in…
sometimes you can be quiet as a cat!  
Are you ready to hear what happens after Jesus’
testing in the wilderness…

now why can’t you be quiet like a cat while I’m reading

Now when Jesus heard his cousin John was arrested
he made his way back to Galilee…but he didn’t stay in Nazareth where his mother lived…he made his home in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali.

Again ‘so what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:
slide words
Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali, on the road by the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles

 …the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death… light has dawned.
From that time Jesus began to proclaim,

"Repent, turn back to God…
for the kingdom of heaven has come near."

One day as Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee,
he saw two brothers, Simon, who’s called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea…
for they were fishermen.

And Jesus said to them,

"Come follow me…
and I’ll make you fish for people."

Hang on a minute grandpa…my Amos interrupts…
what did Jesus just say to them…Come follow me?

That’s what I read…Amos…that’s what it says
right here

But grandpa…it sounds like he’s calling these fishermen to be his talmidim…his disciples...and that can’t be right

Well my grandson that’s what the story says
and it also says immediately they left their nets and followed him…and two other brothers too…James and John…who were mending nets in a boat with their father Zebedee

and they just got up and left their father…a
nd followed Jesus.

Grandpa… Amos asks me…
have you ever heard of a rabbi who calls ordinary people off the lake… to follow him?

No my grandson…I have not heard of such a thing…
but this writer…this story teller they call Matthew says …that’s exactly what Jesus did

And from that time on…Matthew says…
Jesus went throughout Galilee,,,teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom…curing every disease and every sickness among the people. [pause]

Grandpa… Amos says softly…as I roll up the scroll…

Grandpa…I think I could be a disciple of the rabbi Jesus of Nazareth…I could be his talmidi.

But Amos my grandson who I love…
you haven’t even heard the rest of the story yet…
you don’t even know what his yoke is…and without this
you can’t know what it would mean to follow Jesus…
[pause]

But we’re not cuddled up with grandpa…
in first century Alexandria…
in the dark years after the fall of Jerusalem...

We’re living beside another lake at the ends of the earth…and some of us are wondering if we’ll ever be called whether we’ll ever be good enough…

And we’ve heard whole the story haven’t we…
we know how it ends…we know what following Jesus meant for Peter and Andrew and James and John…
what he sent them out to do…and what happened to them in the end…don’t we? Well maybe we need to be reminded sometimes.

But what about us…what does it mean for us
when we discover in the gospel stories…you don’t have to be the cream of the crop… best of the best…
to be called by Jesus…

What does that mean for us…when we’ve given up on being needed…think we’re  not necessary for the kingdom… not clever enough…or brave enough…
or past our used-by date

Like young Amos…what can we 21st century Wanakarians learn… from the kind of people Jesus chose as his disciples? Imperfect people… quarrelling and jealous people… passionate and faithful one minute and betraying him the next

people who can’t understand what he’s talking about half the time… who make mistakes and get it wrong… yet people he trusted to carry on his work…to
gototheendsoftheearth…tomakemoredisciples.

As we follow Matthew’s story this year… we’ll see just how frustrated Jesus gets with
hisfirst disciples.Not because they’re incompetent…but because heknowstheir potential…he knows
they can do what he does and more… and he says so.

And we’ll discover that what aggravates Jesus…
isn’t
theirfailures…it’stheir potential.Theyjust don’trealizewhatthey’re capable of.[i]

And here we are… at the ends of the earth…

most of us have taught since childhood…
to believe in Jesus

but have we been told… he believes in us?

have we ever stayed quiet long enough…
to hear his invitation…

‘Come follow me.’ I believe in you.



[i] Rob Bell, Velvet Elvis, Repainting the Christian Faith, Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2005. Some of my inspiration for this sermon comes from this book.

Sunday, 16 January 2011

The test

Epiphany 2 year A Sermon 
Ok… it’s still the first century…
somewhere in the Roman Empire…
maybe the huge metropolis of Alexandria… in Egypt…

sometime after Paul’s letters have been written…

and my brother and I are sitting on the floor of our local Synagogue…listening to Matthew’s story about the life of the rabbi… Jesus of Nazareth…

Illegally


My name is Amos…like the prophet…
my saba…my grandpa… has smuggled in a copy of this new writing… because the followers of this so called Messiah… aren’t allowed in the synagogue anymore…
and neither are their writings

but my grandpa’s love of a good story…
got the better of him…
and he enjoys reading to us…

Besides here in Alexandria…us Jews are looking for any sign of hope…because bad news has arrived…
that the Temple in Jerusalem has been destroyed by the Roman’s… and thousands of our people killed…

we’re desperate for a sign
that God hasn’t abandoned his Covenant with us…

Only recently…members of a new sect
were ejected from the Synagoguefollowers of the rabbi Jesus of Nazareth…

until they got together…
we’d never heard of him before…

His followers claim God’s covenant is renewed through himthis time like the prophets said…this time…
for all people and all nations not just the Jews…even pagans.

And they’re constantly justifying…
the inclusion of unclean gentiles…by quoting the scroll of Isaiah…

especially the part where God says to his servant Israel…
It’s too easy that you should be my servant
to raise up the tribes of Jacob and restore the survivors of Israel

I’ll give you as a light to the nations,
that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth. [pause] I’ve just had to memorise that myself…

And now our family’s got a copy of the banned story
of this Jewish rabbi…who apparently claimed…
he was the light of the world…
My grandpa’s already read us… the part where Jesus was born…and how when he became a man…
he was baptised not at the Temple…but by his cousin John in the river…

And everything we’ve been hearing is giving us hope…  hinting of prophesy come true
God’s covenant faithfulness renewed again…
in this rabbi Jesus

And today I’m very keen to hear…
what happened after the shekinah of God came down like a dove…and the voice of God announced this Jesus to be God’s beloved son…like king David...

I’ve bet my brother in the very next chapter
Jesus will enter Jerusalem like a hero with his army
and take back the throne of David

And so our very very brave somewhat rebellious grandfather…sits down to read …the next chapter in the life story of Jesus of Nazareth…he clears his throat….

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit… into the wilderness… Why…to be tested by the devil.

Jesus tested himself first… and fasted forty days and forty nights…after this he was very hungry.

Ahhhh I whispered to my brother…just like the escape from slavery in Egypt…just like the Exodus…
maybe God will send him manna!

Shhhh says Grandpa…and keeps reading…

Suddenly…the devil came to him and said,
‘If you are the Son of God then…
tell these stones to become bread.’

And Jesus answered,
“It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone,
but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’

Holy moley I think…Jesus is starving…
and instead of grabbing those stones and turning into bread for himself…Jesus is quoting from the Torah…from the book of Deuteronomy…
I’ve just memorised it…

Shhhhhh says my grandpa again…
you should notice my grandson…
Jesus is refusing to use any power he has
for his own selfish ends
 
Then the devil took him to the Holy City
and had him stand on the highest point of the Temple.

“If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down.
For it is written: ‘He will command his angels concerning you…and they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’

Grandpa… I cry…Jesus used scripture to fend off the devil…and now the devil is quoting scripture back at him…you never told me the devil could do that!

Shhh Amos there’s a lot you don’t know already…remember Job?  Now hush and listen…

But Jesus replies…

“It is also written:
‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’

And again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world
and their splendour.

All this… I will give you,” the tempter promises Jesus,
“if you’ll just bow down and worship me.” [pause]

I had to interrupt…

But that’s a lie Grandpa…the world isn’t his to give

You’re right my grandson…the devil is the father of lies
but please be quiet and listen…

And Jesus said to him,
“Get away from me, Satan! For it is written:
‘Worship the Lord your God…and serve him only.’

Ohh ohh ohh I couldn’t help myself…I know that grandpa…that’s from Moses tablets of stone…on Mount Sinai in the wilderness…and now the devil’s taken Jesus to a high mountain…and offered him…
all the power and riches in the whole world…
if Jesus will just worship him…

Grandpa! It’s like Caesar asking us to worship him as a God…

Exactly my boy…grandpa says…but for this man Jesus …even the whole world is not enough to make him turn his back on God. Now listen…so

the devil knows when he’s defeated and leaves Jesus on his own…and this writing says that’s when God’s angels came to look after him.

But what happens next Grandpa…did they feed him manna…did they carry him back to the city

You’ll just have to wait and see…young Amos…
it is good for a boy to learn patience
…at least we know this…
faced with the greatest of temptations…
this young man Jesus who’s supposed to be God’s son …refuses to take a self-serving path when he’s tempted…

what he does next…we’ll just have to wait and see. [pause……]

But we’re not really sitting in a 1st century synagogue
are we…no… here we are at the ends of the earth…
in a 21st century church…on the edges of an ancient lake…

And most of us know the story…
of the one who took on human frailty
and so faced increasing temptation
to clothe himself with power

who chose instead… to wrap himself in love

And we still need to hear it don’t we…
the story of Jesus temptation
because the father of lies is still plugging away …appealing to our weakness…and pride…
promising bright lights …bigger profits…
greater status…more popularity…
forget sharing…he says…why not go for a monopoly…for total conquest

again and again and again…

just bend towards me…the tempter says…
just make a little bow… a nod in my direction…
a teeny tiny lie…to help you win
at someone else’s expense

You do this kiddo…and I'll help you all the way
to fame and fortune

We need to hear it don’t we…
we need to be reminded that Jesus faced it too
That the one we choose to follow… stayed strong
…even when we’re weak… [pause]

From the start of human history
the serpents offer to play King of the Hill
has been on the table…
And every age has had its takers…Pharaohs and Caesars, despots and dictators,

you and me sometimes

No matter how much damage is done taking the hill… too often we defend our scramble over others to the top…by keeping the lie alive…
that a certain amount of selfishness is necessary
given the realities of this world.

But the one we claim to follow
saw the offer of worldly dominance
as inconsequential…

saw that serving and saving himself
wasn’t going to contribute…to the salvation of the world
…something more self-giving was required
something… sacrificial

And that’s the question isn’t it?

Whether we’re first century Jews listening to Matthew’s story for the first time…or 21st Century kiwis whove heard it a thousand time…

Will we follow this Jesus…and take up his way…
or will we choose a different way…worship a different god...

it seems to me…our decision is important to the salvation of the world.

Sunday, 9 January 2011

Beloved Son


Epiphany 1 year A Sermon 

The Nazarene… comes down from Galilee…

The prophet…cries out in the wilderness…
preparing the way

The baptism…happens in the River Jordan
where the mantle of divine authority…
is passed from one prophet to another

The dove…that ancient symbol of God’s promise
and sign of God’s Spirit

The Voice… from heaven…

The words

my beloved…my son in whom I delight…

The echo… of Israel’s royal history

My beloved…my Daveed

דָּוִד …my David… memories of the anointed king…

prophesy realised… God’s covenant renewed…again
and all righteousness fulfilled  [pause]
As we listen to Matthew’s account…of Jesus’ baptism
the scroll of Isaiah… rolls through it like thunder

Here is my servant, whom I uphold…my chosen one… in whom I delight…I will put my Spirit on him…

and he will bring justice to the nations. [pause]

When no king would…when the nation of Israel refused …this one… this anointed one…this Christ…
would do it. Jesus would take on the mantle of Israel… as the Son of God…would take it on himself
and somehow…through him…because the Spirit of God was upon him…justice will be done in all the earth… [pause]

In Matthew’s gospel… as we move from birth to baptism…from Advent to Epiphany…we discover
that just as the story of Jesus’ birth…
is bound by blood and legend to Israel’s story…
So is his baptism

Like Jesus ancestor King David
whose name in Hebrew means beloved
Jesus becomes the beloved son in whom God delights
the servant king… who will fulfil the purposes of God.

Of course to understand all this… we have to hear Matthew’s story as first century Jews would hear it…
the way Matthew intended we hear it…

For we know the psalms and the prophets by heart
By the age of ten…we’ve memorised all five books of the Law of Moses…and by our mid-teens
we can all recite verbatim
the words of the psalms and the prophets

If we’ve never heard of Jesus…what Matthew the evangelist is suggesting… is blowing our minds

Hadn’t God said to King David in the Psalms
You’re my son;
  today I’ve become your father. Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, 
the ends of the earth your possession.

And hadn’t God also called the nation of Israel
his son…and his suffering servant?


Make no bones about it…Matthew the evangelist
has got our attention
even if we’ve never heard of this Jesus before…the one his followers claim to be the Messiah

we can understand without a doubt…
what Matthew is proposing
as we listen to his account of Jesus baptism

We know the prophet Daniel predicted…
the God of heaven would set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed...and here in Matthew’s story…
didn’t John the Baptist just say its arrived…
people get ready…turn back to God now...
for the kingdom of heaven has come near.
[i]

And we know the servant songs of Isaiah by heart
how God’s servant will winnow and cleanse…
with a spirit of judgement and a spirit of fire[ii]

and didn’t John the Baptist …in Matthew’s story…
just announce…
the one is coming now who’ll baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork[iii] is in his hand, and he’ll clear his threshing floor, gather his wheat into the barn and burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.’

Matthew’s meaning is clear to us…
in Jesus the kingdom of heaven has come near…
What God promised has happened…

And we notice that when Jesus cousin balks at baptising him…Jesus insists…he must submit
to everything required of him…
and gives one reason only…

to fulfil all righteousness…to do the will of God.

Yes by now in the first century…as we sit listening…
there is a so called Christian movement…
and we are Jews…but in Matthew’s story…
we hear clearly…this Jesus’ this Jew from Nazareth…well…his God is our God…


Everything we’re hearing… in Matthew’s story of Jesus baptism… hints of prophesy come true
God’s covenant renewed again…
all righteousness fulfilled…in this man.

And if we want to know how all this will come abouthow it will all unfold…well
we’ll just have to stay and hear the whole story.

And in our world where Caesar is still king and proclaims himself to be a son of god…
We can’t wait for to find out what happens next

If Matthew’s story is true
then God hasn’t abandoned his covenant…or us…at all
If the story is true…then God is faithful to his promises after all…the signs are all there… [pause]

and this is very good news indeed

And what’s more…if this man Jesus was the Messiah…
the anointed one of God…if this man Jesus…
has ushered in the Kingdom of God…if through this man Jesus…justice will be brought to all nations… well…then… we’d better get in on it…

You see… Matthew understands our hunger for connections between Jesus’ story and God’s
promises of old…a hunger no gentile pagan would have
for we weren’t we meant to be the suffering servant wasn’t it  to us…to Israel…
that God said through the prophet Isaiah
I am YHWH, I’ve called you in righteousness,
I’ve taken you by the hand and kept you; I’ve given you as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations,
to open the eyes that are blind,
to bring out from prison… those who sit in darkness.

I am the YHWH, that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to idols. See, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare;
before they spring forth, I tell you of them.

The signs are all there…and even though we haven’t heard the next chapter in Matthew’s story…
we’re beginning to have hope
we’re starting to understand
that even under the thumb of Roman oppression
God hasn’t abandoned us…or his covenant…
that God is faithful to his promises of old…

the signs are all there…this is good news indeed.

Just as God had renewed the covenant with Abraham in the story of Jacob…so it has been renewed in our time…
and Jesus’ followers will form a new covenant people of all nations…ministers of the covenant…
who will bear this good news of God’s faithfulness…
to the ends of the earth… [pause]
This year…year A… in the Biblical Cycle...
it’s our turn to hear Matthew’s account…
of that time in Israel’s story…in our story…
when Jesus of Nazareth fully reveals and embodies…
the covenant faithfulness of God…

This year we will be twenty first century
kiwi Christians… listening along with 1st century Jews…to the good news  intended for all nations…

and like them…we’ll be asking how we might…
in our turn…and in our time…
become ministers of God’s covenant…

That’s the whole point of hearing the story isn’t it…
week after week?
To become part of it…to become ministers of the covenant…as Paul would phrase it…
people who embody the righteousness of God…

A people who demonstrate…
by our own forgiven and forgiving lives…
how God always intended to reconcile the world to himself…and how this is accomplished in Jesus Christ. 

Like the nation of Israel…and like Paul
we are given the task… of ministering to others…
what we ourselves have received…grace and forgiveness

This is the covenant faithfulness of the one true God

[pause]
And as we explore the Gospel of Matthew…
we find just how as the story unfolds…
just how God’s covenant faithfulness
is dramatically revealed…
in the life death and resurrection of Jesus…

And we discover how this covenant faithfulness
is precisely the ground of the salvation of the world.

and as we go out from here today
this grace and forgiveness…
must be revealed through us…
as we reach out in Jesus’ name…
with the offer of reconciliation  to all who will hear…


[i] Dan 2:44 "In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever.
[ii] Isa 4:4 The Lord will wash away the filth of the women of Zion; he will cleanse the bloodstains from Jerusalem by a spirit of judgment and a spirit of fire.
[iii] Isa 41:16 You will winnow them, the wind will pick them up, and a gale will blow them away. But you will rejoice in the LORD and glory in the Holy One of Israel.