Texas Flowers
Sermon: Easter Sunday – “Listen”
Mark Twain wrote, โNo sinner is ever saved after the first twenty minutes of a sermon.โ Today weโre here to put that theory to the test. No. Not really. If I hit the twenty-minute mark, you can tell me to shut up and sit down, but this is the Super Bowl and the World Series and the Stanley cup and the Masterโs Golf Tournament of sermons all rolled into one. Itโs the one Iโm supposed to knock out at the park and wow everybody with. No pressure. None whatsoever.
In fretting over that, Iโve also thought about all the pessimism and skepticism in the world today and wondered how a few words of mine could make a difference. What can I say to you that will change anything? Not just that, but in order to be heard above the clamor of everything else, Iโm going to need something to grab your attention. What could it be?
Well, if I just wanted to get a lot of attention, then I could stand up here and tell you that as a priest and as a church we really donโt believe that Jesus rose from the dead. That would get some attention. That would even get my bishop’s attention! The Facebook post would go off the charts and Iโd probably even get a few โlove lettersโ from people threatening to send me to meet Jesus. Yes. I could say that Jesus never rose from the dead and everyone would be up in arms, but if I say, โJesus rose from the dead,โ no one really gets excited. There are no angry posts on Facebook, the Bishop is not called, we can all go back home to our lives, and nothing and no one is actually changed. So the question is this: what would it take for this messageโthe Gospel of Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the resurrection to eternal lifeโwhat would it take for this message to actually change your life? Todayโs Gospel reading helps us in the right direction.
Mary Magdalene went to the tomb. The stone was rolled away, so she runs and tells Peter and John who then get into a foot race to the tomb (John wins). They look inside and see that the tomb is empty and the cloth that Jesus had been wrapped in was set to one side. They saw all this, but they didnโt know what it meant, so what did they do? Our Gospel reading tells us, โThen the disciples returned to their homes.โ They were probably confused more so than they ever had been. They were probably wondering who stole the body. They were also wondering how they could continue after the death of Jesus and wondering where do we go now? Heโs dead. Heโs gone. Weโre here and everybody either hates us or thinks we’re freaks. The best thing we can do is just to go home. Go back to what weโre doing before we even knew the tomb was empty or even before we ever met him. For the most part thatโs you and I. We hear this message, we know it intellectually, we read it every year. I would wager that most everyone is very well aware of this basic Christian message: โChrist has died. Christ has risen. Christ will come again.โ Itโs a very simple proclamation but so many hear it and then they just go back home. The message hasnโt changed their lives, but then we have the second part of our Gospel reading today.
Mary Magdalene has experienced the exact same thing as the disciples. She had witnessed the miracles and the teachings. She had been there for the trial, the crucifixion, the death, and the burial, but the one difference between the disciples and Mary is that on that morning, Mary heard Jesus call her name. She had a very real and personal encounter with the Risen Lord. And now everyone says, โOh, Father John, youโre just preaching like an evangelical minister this morning! Going to tell me I need a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Yes, you do. It’s true. But if thatโs all I tell you then youโre just gonna go back home, not changed, so what is it you need to hear in order to believe this message of the Gospel so that you donโt just go back home unchanged?
If I was one of those really great passionate charismatic orators I might be able to tell you a story, give you an example, share my testimony about how God has changed my life or the life of so many others. I might even for a minute or for a day or season convince you to follow Jesus, but after doing this for almost twenty years I know that there isnโt anything I can preach that will ultimately turn a personโs heart. That was true even for Jesus. Judas heard every one of Jesusโ sermons and those sermons didnโt do him a lick of good. So what we do here on days like today is provide opportunities for souls to encounter God in hope that those souls wonโt simply go home, but will instead stop and listen for God to speak their name just as he did with Mary.
When you decided to come to church this morning this is not what you were expecting to hear. You were probably expecting to hear Jesus Christ is risen today. Hallelujah. You would hear it then maybe go out to brunch, an Easter egg hunt, take a nap, but in the end, you would just go home. Would your life be changed? Would you stop everything to follow Jesus? I donโt know. But today, I donโt believe I can convince you, so instead of trying, Iโm going to ask you to do something. I know, the preacher asking us to do something probably wants us to give money. Give Jesus $100 today and make a downpayment on that heavenly mansion. No. Itโs nothing like that. Instead, Iโm just asking that you go home and listen. Close yourself off in your room and sit quietly by yourself and say, โSpeak Lord, for your servant is listening.โ And then, listen. Listen for the voice of God. At first, youโll probably think youโre crazy, but then somewhere in that silence, you will hear God speak your name and you will know that on the third day Jesus Christ rose from the dead and that all who call on his name will be saved to eternal life. You will know and you will be changed eternally.
Let us pray:
For Your mercies’ sake, O Lord our God,
tell us what You are to us.
Say to our soul: โI am your salvation.โ
So speak that we may hear, O Lord;
our hearts are listening;
open our hearts that we may hear You,
and say to our soul: โI am your salvation.โ
After hearing this word,
may we come in haste to take hold of you.
Amen.
Sermon: Great Vigil of Easter – “This is the Night”
In her book, When God is Silent, author and Episcopal priest, Barbara Brown Taylor speaks to clergy about preaching. At one point she addresses how we should go about preaching on some of the more difficult passages, such as the one we read: the sacrifice of Isaac. Barbara says, that the Bible is full โof such raw and powerful stories. Maybe we should preach more of them and where they are obscure, troubling, or incomplete, perhaps we should leave them that way. Who are we, after all, to defend God?โฆ The discordโlike the silenceโis Godโs problem, not ours. When we try to solve it, we are no longer being courteous.โ (p.115-116)
When it comes to her advice and that passage of scripture of Abraham and Isaac, very few have taken Barbaraโs advice. They launch into long explanations of how this is only a myth and not an actual event or attempt to break down Abrahamโs thought process or the psychology of Isaac or anything else so as to avoid or distract us from what the story tells us. Iโm guilty of all of the above because when taken at face value, all that remains is God telling Abraham, โTake your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains that I shall show you.โ Abraham did not argue or weep or bargain. He was obedient. In the end, because of his obedience, Isaac was saved. In his letter to the Hebrews, Paul summarizes what took place and how it was viewed, โBy faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son.โ
We can finagle, whitewash, and analyze the incident all we want to make it easier to swallow, but the Scripture itself is clear: God tested Abraham by asking him to deliver his son up as a burnt offering so that God could determine whether or not Abraham was faithful.
I do not believe that there is a parent in the room who would even consider it. In fact, I believe that every single one of usโparent or notโwould fail that test. We would unapologetically tell God, likely in some rather colorful language, โNo! What you ask is impossible.โ If that were the end of it, we would all be lost, but Jesus refuses to lose us.
Jesus says, โWhat is impossible with man is possible with God.โ
Jesus says, โFather, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.โ
Jesus says, โFather, into your hands I commit my spirit!โ
Jesus says, โIt is finished.โ
โThis is the night, when Christ broke the bonds of death and hell, and rose victorious from the grave.โ
In order to prove our faith, we will never be called upon to sacrifice anyone or anything, for this is the night that the sacrifice that was made once and for all restores us to God.
Alleluia. Christ is Risen.
The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia.
Sermon: Holy Saturday – “The Ancient Homily”
In some places, the author is listed as unknown, but in others, it is attributed to St. Epiphanius, Bishop of Cyprus (403 A.D.).ย Whatever the case, it is an ancient sermon and speaks of the Harrowing of Hell, when Jesus descended into the dead following his death and prior to his resurrection.ย It is of Jesus speaking to Adam, the first human.
Something strange is happening – there is a great silence on earth today, a great silence and stillness. The whole earth keeps silence because the King is asleep. The earth trembled and is still because God has fallen asleep in the flesh and He has raised up all who have slept ever since the world began. God has died in the flesh and Hell trembles with fear.
He has gone to search for our first parent, as for a lost sheep. Greatly desiring to visit those who live in darkness and in the shadow of death, He has gone to free from sorrow the captives Adam and Eve, He who is both God and the Son of Eve. The Lord approached them bearing the Cross, the weapon that had won Him the victory. At the sight of Him Adam, the first man He had created, struck his breast in terror and cried out to everyone, โMy Lord be with you all.โย
Christ answered him, โAnd with your spirit.โ He took him by the hand and raised him up, saying, โAwake, O sleeper, and rise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.
โI am your God, who for your sake have become your son. Out of love for you and for your descendants I now by My own authority command all who are held in bondage to come forth, all who are in darkness to be enlightened, all who are sleeping to arise. I order you, O sleeper, to awake. I did not create you to be held a prisoner in Hell. Rise from the dead, for I am the Life of the dead. Rise up, work of My hands, you who were created in My image. Rise, let us leave this place, for you are in Me and I am in you; together we form only one person and we cannot be separated.
โFor your sake I, your God, became your son; I, the Lord, took the form of a slave; I, whose home is above the heavens, descended to the earth and beneath the earth. For your sake, for the sake of man, I became like a man without help, free among the dead. For the sake of you, who left a garden, I was betrayed to the Jews in a garden, and I was crucified in a garden.
โSee on my face the spittle I received in order to restore to you the life I once breathed into you. See there the marks of the blows I received in order to refashion your warped nature in My image. On My back see the marks of the scourging I endured to remove the burden of sin that weighs upon your back. See My hands, nailed firmly to a tree, for you who once wickedly stretched out your hand to a tree.
โI slept on the Cross and a sword pierced My side for you who slept in Paradise and brought forth Eve from your side. My side has healed the pain in yours. My sleep will rouse you from your sleep in Hell. The sword that pierced Me has sheathed the sword that was turned against you.
โRise, let us leave this place. The enemy led you out of the earthly Paradise. I will not restore you to that Paradise, but I will enthrone you in Heaven. I forbade you the tree that was only a symbol of life, but see, I who am Life itself am now one with you. I appointed cherubim to guard you as slaves are guarded, but now I make them worship you as God. The throne formed by cherubim awaits you, its bearers swift and eager. The Bridal Chamber is adorned, the banquet is ready, the eternal dwelling places are prepared, the treasure houses of all good things lie open. The Kingdom of Heaven has been prepared for you from all eternity.โ
Sermon: Good Friday – “Thief”
According to legend, his name is Dismas. He and his family lived in the barren land between Israel and Egypt and at a very young age he contracted leprosy. One day, a man and a woman with a baby boy were fleeing Israel and passed through that region. They were tired and hungry and in need of shelter and it was Dismasโ mother who took them in. She fed them and even provided water to bathe the baby. After the bath, Dismas also took a bath in the same water and by doing so, was cured of his leprosy.
Another legend, taking place in that same barren land between Egypt and Israel tells of how a mother and father with their young baby were fleeing Israel and encountered two thieves, Dismas and Gestas. At first, they both were determined to rob the family, but something turned in Dismasโ heart and he instead bribed Gestas not to rob them.
Either or possibly even both these events (or none of the above) had an effect on Dismas, but not enough of an effect for him to change his ways, so in the end, he and Gestas found themselves crucified on a hill outside of Jerusalem alongside a man whom many believed to be the Messiah, Jesus. Perhaps it was because of one of those earlier encounters with Jesus that caused Dismasโ heart to turn once more toward Jesus. Perhaps something in him, since he was a boy, had also been longing for a Messiah, whatever the case, at that moment, like so many others before him, Dismas understood that this Jesus was the only one who could save him, so he asked Jesus to remember him: โJesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom!โ
At the time, to be remembered was the best most could hope for. They had not heard about the Kingdom of God. They did not understand the resurrection. The only way to experience eternal life was to be remembered by others following your death, but who was going to remember a thief. No one. A thief was no more worth remembering than yesterdayโs garbage. Yet this thief with his death imminent, wanted just one person to remember him: โJesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom!โ But Jesus is not in the business of simply remembering people. Jesus redeems, atones, and makes all things new. Jesus gives eternal life to those who call on him, even if the time is 11:59 p.m., so Jesus said to Dismas, โTruly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.โ Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen commented, Dismas โwas a thief to the end and he even stole heaven!โ
St. Paul tells us in his letter to the Hebrews, โSince then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.โ (Hebrews 4:14-16)
Jesusโ throne on this earth was his cross, therefore, like Dismas, let us come boldly before that throne, but instead of asking Jesus to remember us, let us ask him to grant us entry into his paradise that we might have eternal life with him. Whether you are a saint or sinner, if you believe and call on him, he will not deny you entry.
Sermon: Maundy Thursday – “Two Gardens”
Tonight is the night of the foot washing and the institution of the Holy Eucharist. It is also the night of the Garden of Gethsemane. When we think of this garden, it should remind us of another: โThe Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.โ (Genesis 2:8-9) But we know how that all worked out: a snake, a lie, a piece of fruit, followed by exile. God โdrove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.โ (Genesis 3:24)
Tonight, following the foot washing and breaking of bread, Jesus taught and prayed for his disciples and for us, and then afterward, โWhen Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with his disciples across the brook Kidron, where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered.โ (John 18:1)
The Garden of Eden and the Garden of Gethsemane: Iโm not suggesting that the two are one and the same, but we are connected to them both. Archbishop Fulton Sheen also demonstrated that link when we wrote, โAs Adam lost the heritage of union with God in a garden, so now Our Blessed Lord ushered in its restoration in a garden. Eden and Gethsemane were the two gardens around which revolved the fate of humanity.โ (Source)
In that first garden, we became burdened by the sin of Adam and Eveโs rebellion and in that second garden, Jesus took that burden upon himself. In that first garden, we were sent into exile, an angel with a flaming sword preventing our reentry into Paradise, but in that second garden, Jesus accepted the cup of Godโs wrath on our behalf and by doing so, the angels rejoice at our return. (cf. Luke 15:10) In that first garden, there was no atonement for our sin yet in the second garden, there was, Jesus, and he submitted to the Fatherโs will.
In this world, there are many questions, choices, and options, but the most important question we are asked is which of these two gardens we will choose. Will we constantly fight against that angelโs flaming sword, seeking to enter a paradise of our creation by the fulfillment of our own will and desires, or will we, like Jesus, come to the other and kneel before the Father and seek his will and desires? My buddy, Stephen King simplifies the issue, he writes, โThereโs really no question. It always comes down to just two choices. Get busy living, or get busy dying.โ (Different Seasons, p.129)
Enter the Garden with Jesus and get busy living.
Let us pray: โFatherโฆ not my will, but yours, be done.โ Amen.
Sermon: Wednesday in Holy Week – “Cognitive Dissonance”
Psychology Today defines cognitive dissonance as โthe state of discomfort felt when two or more modes of thought contradict each other. The clashing cognitions may include ideas, beliefs, or the knowledge that one has behaved in a certain way.โ (Source) So, you believe A to be true but then through study or enlightenment, you come to believe the exact opposite, Z, to be true. However, youโve invested so much time and energy into A that regardless of how much you believe Z to be true, you wonโt give in, so you now have this tension/guilt between the two or maybe a deep sense of confusion. That said it seems I tell you this story during Holy Week at least every other year. It involves Bishop Jack Nicholls, the Bishop of Sheffield, who once asked a sixth-grade girl where she thought Jesus was between Good Friday and Easter.
As a church, we understand the answer to be related to the Harrowing of Hell. The Harrowing of Hell is understood from two passages of scripture: 1) Ephesians 4:7-9 โ โBut each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christโs gift. Therefore it is said, โWhen he ascended on high he made captivity itself a captive; he gave gifts to his people.โ (When it says, โHe ascended,โ what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower parts of the earth?โ and 2) 1 Peter 4:6 โ โFor the gospel has for this purpose been preached even to those who are dead, that though they are judged in the flesh as people, they may live in the spirit according to the will of God.โ Combined, we understand the Harrowing of Hell as Jesus descending into hell and proclaiming the Good News to those who had died before his first coming giving them the option to also accept him as Lord and Savior. Those who do are allowed to rise in glory. The iconography shows Jesus pulling people up out of the depths.
When Bishop Nicholls asked the child what Jesus was doing between his death and resurrection, the answer he was looking for was likely associated with this Harrowing of Hell, but instead of answering the question in general terms, the little girl answered it in very specific terms.ย After she had thought a little, she replied, โI think he was in deepest hell looking for his friend Judas.โ
For me, this is where the cognitive dissonance kicks in. We are told, โSatan entered Judas, the one called Iscariot.โ (Luke 22:3) In speaking to the Father about the twelve and referring to Judas, Jesus says, โI guarded them, and not one of them perished except the son of destruction.โ (John 17:12) He was a thief, traitor, betrayer, and more. Yes, he did try and return the silver, but by then it was too late. So, could the little girl have been right? Would Jesus have gone looking for his โfriendโ Judas? Answer: No! Absolutely not! Let him burn. Answer: Yes! โGod is love.โ (1 John 4:8) God โdesires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.โ (1 Timothy 2:4) Jesus said, โWhat man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the other ninety-nine in the open pasture and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it?โ (Luke 15:4)
Dante placed Judas in the lowest level of hell and I think that is where he belongs, butโฆ I also want Jesus to go looking for him and maybe even find him. Why? Because I want Jesus to come looking for and find me.
Cognitive dissonance.
Sermon: Palm Sunday RCL C – “Darkness”
Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, Varallo Sesia (VC), Italy.
The Gospels are not time-stamped so it is somewhat difficult to calculate the length of Jesusโ public ministry, but given the clues and festivals mentioned, it is estimated to have been three to three and a half years. With that understanding, we can say that the forty days Jesus spent in the wilderness and the temptation he experienced there took place about three years prior to the events we are reading today.
At the end of those forty days we are told, โWhen the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.โ Following this, Scripture tells us, โJesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and a report about him went out through all the surrounding country. And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.โ The public ministry begins.
Throughout that ministry, we know that there were many encounters with religious leaders, demons that he exorcised, teachings, feedings, miracles, and more. For three years Jesus poured out his life for the sake of the mission, fighting every battle that came along, so when he arrived in the Garden of Gethsemane on the night before he was crucifiedโknowing full well what was about to happenโnot only was he exhausted, he was also highly stressed. He sweated drops of blood. Hematidrosis. An exceptionally rare medical condition brought on by stress and anxiety that causes a person to sweat blood. Because of its rarity, the doctors arenโt entirely certain as to what brings it on, but it is postulated that it is related to the fight and/or flight response: โFather, if you are willing, remove this cup from me; yet, not my will but yours be done.โ And then they came to arrest him, Jesus said, โHave you come out with swords and clubs as if I were a bandit? When I was with you day after day in the temple, you did not lay hands on me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness!โ
โBut this is your hour, and the power of darkness!โ The word โpowerโ (exousia) in that sentence can be translated in several different ways: power, right, liberty, strength, jurisdiction, authority.
Following the forty days, the devil left Jesus โuntil an opportune timeโ. That opportune time arrived on the night of Jesusโ arrest when he was experiencing the greatest anxiety. That hour and the hours to come were handed over to the power of darknessโฆ to the jurisdiction / authority of darkness. This handing over to the darkness was not because Jesus had been defeated, instead, it occurred so that Jesus might be glorified. The darkness believed it had finally conquered God, but in being given authority for a short while, it was defeated.
What you and I experience of the darkness of this life is nothing more than the death throes of death itself.
โIn the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.โ
As we walk with Jesus during this Holy Week, darkness may seem to have conquered, but do not be afraid, it is only the hour before sunrise.
Candle in a Cave 