Category: Sermons

A preacher retired and moved to the country to enjoy a relaxed life practicing his favorite pastime: yard work. Needing a lawn mower, he rode his bicycle into town to shop for one. On the way he saw a sign advertising a mower for sale. He stopped at the house and a young boy came out to greet him.

The preacher asked about the lawn mower, and the kid said it was behind the house. In the backyard the mower was already running and the engine was sputtering along at idle speed. The preacher increased the speed and mowed a few strips. As he tinkered with the mower, the boy asked the preacher about the bicycle. He said he hadn’t ridden in a few years, but he really wanted a bike. Seeing each had something the other wanted, they decided to make a swap. The boy hopped on the bike and immediately tottered over. The boy looked nervous, but the preacher said, “Keep trying. It’ll all come back to you!”

Later in the day, the boy had gotten the hang of riding his new bike and was riding around town when he spied the preacher pulling on the engine starter rope. The kid stopped and watched for a couple of minutes. He asked, “What’s wrong?”

The reply came, “I can’t get this mower started. Do you know how?”

The kid said, “Yep.”

“Well, how do you do it? Tell me!”, the preacher yelled.

The kid replied, “You have to cuss it.”

The preacher rose up indignantly. “Now you listen here. I am a preacher and if I ever did cuss, not saying I have, I’ve forgotten how to do it after all these years.”

With a wise look on his face well beyond his years, the kid said, “Preacher, you keep on pulling that rope and it’ll all come back to ya.”

I think I was living in Dallas at the time, because I was in a very crowded place – a restaurant or a mall. I was walking along, minding my own business when I suddenly caught the scent of a woman’s perfume. I thought my knees were going to buckle. No, it wasn’t that the perfume was all that remarkable, probably just some dime store variety, but I had this girlfriend in high school and it was the only kind of perfume she wore. I looked around to see if I could spot her, knowing full well that more than one person had worn that brand of perfume. Yet, in that single smell, it all came back to me. All the fun of high school and thinking you were in love. All the memories of friends, hanging out, going to parties, and just being a stupid teenager. It all came back.

I’m weird when it comes to movies. Any movie will probably do, but when I find one I like, I don’t mind watching it again. There are however, some that I’ve watched many times and never seem to get tired of them: Harry Potter – especially 7.1, Lost in Translation, Station Agent, and the Swedish version of the Girl with Dragon Tattoo (I, as a priest would never really watch that, but I’ve heard it’s really good. It stars Noomi Rapace, not quite a Scarlett Johansson huba-huba, but close.) When it comes to these movies, the opening music begins and I’ll just settle in and smile. It all comes back. I know the entire story. I can quote the lines. Happiness.

On the night before He was crucified, we know that Jesus and his disciples shared the Last Supper. Following the meal, he taught them many things, and prayed for them, but just before he prayed he said to them, “You believe at last! But a time is coming, and has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home. You will leave me all alone.” We know that shortly following these events, he was arrested. At his arrest, we also know that Jesus statement was fulfilled, the disciples fled. One of them, probably Mark, was so afraid that he ran off naked.

These past few weeks we have been reading about the events following his resurrection: the women discovered the empty tomb and how He appeared to the disciples on two separate occasions while they were holed up in the upper room.

Soon afterwards, the disciples must have decided that it was safe to leave, and fulfilling what Jesus had said, they went home, returning to the Lake of Tiberias, also known as the Sea of Galilee. Why? Probably because they did not know what else to do. They knew that Jesus had risen from the dead, but they didn’t yet know what that meant.

So today, we find Peter and the gang sitting by the Sea of Tiberias. Since he didn’t know what to do, Peter decided to go back to what he knew – fishing. The rest of them said they would go, but in doing so, you can feel their disappointment. The last three years had been so amazing. They had walked with the Lord. Witnessed so much – lives changed, miracles, new ways of understanding God, and now… now it was back to the nets and the boats. Back to the way things were. And just to pour a little lemon juice in a paper cut, they fished all night and didn’t catch a thing.

As the sun was coming up, someone called to them, “Children, you have no fish, have you?” Our translations puts a question mark after the sentence, but knowing who said it, I wonder if it should have been a period. Anyhow, he asked if they had any fish, and you hear the answer, “No… does it look like we’ve caught any fish. Oy!” But then they are told to cast their nets on the other side of the boat and they caught so many fish they couldn’t haul them in.

It happened for the disciple whom Jesus loved, John, first: it all came back to him. The voice. The miracles. Purpose. Mission. Life. ”It is the Lord!” When John said this, it also all came back for Peter: “When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on some clothes, for he was naked, and jumped into the sea.” It all came back to them and they were restored to Jesus. They were renewed.

There are some, but I do not think there are many who intentionally walk away from God. For most who find themselves distant from the Lord, it has more to do with life, busyness, or simply out of the discipline of what a life with God entails. Whatever the case, there is an emptiness, a dryness that grows between us and our God, which is really unfortunate; but just as that perfume or movie or whatever the “trigger” may be has the potential to bring back memories and emotions, the same is true in our relationship with God, if only we will look up from all the distractions of the world, that busyness, and allow ourselves to once again catch a scent of the Jesus. If we will allow His voice spoken to us through prayer and His Holy Word to remind us of our true First Love. ”It is the Lord!” — Let it all come back to you.

St. Josemaría Escrivá writes, “What a strange capacity man has to forget even the most wonderful things, to become used to mystery! Let’s remind ourselves… that the Christian cannot be superficial. While being fully involved in his everyday work, among other men, his equals; busy, under stress, the Christian has to be at the same time totally involved with God, for he is a child of God.” (http://www.escrivaworks.org/book/christ_is_passing_by-point-65.htm)

Let it all come back to you and rediscover how near your God truly is. Rediscover what it is to be a child of God and renew your purpose in Him.

Let us pray: Glory to you, O Lord our God, Your love calls us to be your people. By sharing our many and diverse gifts we share in your mission. We ask you, Lord, to shape us into a community of faith. Nourish us by your word and sacraments that we may grow into the image of Jesus. Through the power of your Holy Spirit, heal us that we, in turn, may heal the wounded. Form us to be instruments of love, justice, and peace in our land, and send us to proclaim your saving work. Renew us, Lord, that we may renew the face of the earth. Amen.

There was a large group of people. On one side of the group stood a man, Jesus. On the other side of the group stood Satan. Separating them, running through the group, was a fence.

The scene set, both Jesus and Satan began calling to the people in the group and, one by one – each having made up his or her own mind – each went to either Jesus or Satan. This kept going. Soon enough, Jesus had gathered around him a group of people from the larger crowd, as did Satan. But one man joined neither group. He climbed the fence that was there and sat on it. Then Jesus and his people left and disappeared. So too did Satan and his people. And the man on the fence sat alone.

As this man sat, Satan came back, looking for something which he appeared to have lost. The man said, “Have you lost something?” Satan looked straight at him and replied, “No, there you are. Come with me.” “But”, said the man, “I sat on the fence. I chose neither you nor him.” “That’s okay,” said Satan. “I own the fence.”

On the first Sunday after Easter we always read the account of Doubting Thomas, and I still believe that Thomas gets a bad rap. Yes, he doubted, but it wasn’t long before this that Jesus said he was going to return to Judea and all the disciples were responding in fear, “You can’t do that! They just tried to kill you and you want to return?” Yet it was Thomas who said, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” That took a lot of courage, so instead of picking on him, I would like us to consider another aspect of our text today. You can actually see it.

Jesus appears to his disciples the second time. Thomas is present. Jesus says, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”

If you look at you insert, you will see Jesus’ words: “Do not doubt but believe,” then there is a period, followed by a closing quote mark, a space, and finally, the word “Thomas” begins the next sentence. Today, I would like us to not consider the words of the text, but instead, that one space. That small space between the time Jesus stopped speaking and Thomas responded, because that one space of time is the most critical moment in Thomas’ entire life. It is the time of decision.

For those of you who know the movie, The Matrix, it is red pill / blue pill time. For those of you who don’t know the movie, The Matrix, it is truly a decision between eternal life and eternal death.

Not all of our decisions are so vital. British prime minister Herbert Asquith once spent a weekend at the Waddesdon estate of the 19th-century Rothschild family. One day, as Asquith was being waited on at teatime by the butler, the following conversation ensued:

“Tea, coffee, or a peach from off the wall, sir?”

“Tea, please,” answered Asquith.

“China, India, or Ceylon, sir?” asked the butler.

“China, please.”

“Lemon, milk, or cream, sir?”

“Milk, please,” replied Asquith.

“Jersey, Hereford, or Shorthorn, sir?” asked the butler.

Life and death are not hanging in the balance with such decisions; however, the decision in that space – that space between the invitation of Jesus to believe and your response to that invitation is vital, and although sitting on the fence is an option, it is not advisable.

Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt and out of slavery. Following their forty year trek through the desert, they came to the Jordan River. However, due to his disobedience, it was not Moses that led the people into the Promise Land. That duty fell to their next leader, Joshua. At a certain point, Joshua summoned all of Israel and had them renew the covenant that they had made with God. In concluding, he said: “Now therefore revere the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness; put away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the River, and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. Now if you are unwilling to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”

Choose this day whom you will serve. That’s one of those verses you will find printed on coffee cups, cross stitched on pillows, and painted on door plaques, but it’s a bit weightier than a simple catch phrase. “Be decisive. Right or wrong, make a decision. The road of life is paved with flat squirrels who couldn’t make a decision.” The author of that is unknown, but since Leslie posted it on Facebook, it must have been somebody important who said it. Joshua said, Choose this day whom you will serve—either God or something else—but don’t be indecisive.

It is a bit lengthy for a sermon quote, but it is too good not to share. From C.S. Lewis’ Mere Christianity: When the author walks on to the stage the play is over. God is going to invade, all right: but what is the good of saying you are on His side then, when you see the whole natural universe melting away like a dream and something else—something it never entered your head to conceive—comes crashing in; something so beautiful to some of us and so terrible to others that none of us will have any choice left? For this time it will be God without disguise; something so overwhelming that it will strike either irresistible love or irresistible horror into every creature. It will be too late then to choose your side. There is no use saying you choose to lie down when it has become impossible to stand up. That will not be the time for choosing; it will be the time when we discover which side we really have chosen, whether we realized it before or not. Now, today, this moment, is our chance to choose the right side. God is holding back to give us that chance. It will not last forever. We must take it or leave it.

Yes, Thomas doubted, but in the space provided, he made a decision. The time is now. Make your’s.

Let us pray: Breathe into us Holy Spirit, that all our thoughts may be holy. Move in us, Holy Spirit, that our work, too, may be holy. Attract our hearts, Holy Spirit, that we may love only what is holy. Strengthen us, Holy Spirit, that we may defend all that is holy. Protect us, Holy Spirit, that we always may be holy. Amen.

As we read the various parts of the passion, we can see all the many sins of the people. It is a long list: pride, making false promises, selfishness, betrayal, fighting, lying, passing the buck, taunting, injustice, ridiculing, regretting. On and on. Each individual and group played their part and each individual and group committed their sin.

It is easy for us to point the finger at the apostles, the religious leaders, and the Romans and number their sins. It is simple to see how weak Peter was, how wretched Judas was, how petty the disciples could be. There is also no issue condemning the religious leaders – those Christ killers – or the Romans and their inhumanity. It is easy to look back on these individuals and groups and place blame for the events of that day. However, it is very difficult to look in a mirror and do the same.

A friend of mine once pointed out that the devil only has so many tricks. Unfortunately for us, we just keeping falling for the same ones time and time again. If we examine our lives, as we are called to do during the season of Lent, we will likely discover instances of pride, selfishness, betrayal, injustice, regret – all the same sins those individuals and groups committed in the events surrounding the death of Jesus.

If we examine our lives and are honest with ourselves, we know that David spoke for all of us when he wrote the words of Psalm 51:

I know my transgressions,
and my sin is ever before me.
Against you, you alone, have I sinned,
and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you are justified in your sentence
and blameless when you pass judgment.
Indeed, I was born guilty,
a sinner when my mother conceived me.

We know our transgressions. They are ever before us. With them before, we also know that we will be judged according to our actions. Near the end of the Book of Revelation, John writes, “I saw a great white throne and the one who sat on it… And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Also another book was opened, the book of life. And the dead were judged according to their works, as recorded in the books…. all were judged according to what they had done…. and anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.” It is only a fool who does not fear that day.

“Christ will come again” and we as his bride look with great joy and anticipation for the day of his return, yet, when it comes to standing in judgment before the throne of God… I’m not so sure. So, what will you say to God in your defense? How will you answer when God the Father says to you, “Explain yourself.”

Thomas à Kempis, in his work, On the Passion of Christ, provides us with what I think may be the perfect answer: “Most Holy Father, look upon the face of your Christ, hanging on the Cross for me, and in view of your only-begotten Son’s exceptional merits, his being pierced with nails and being covered with his own red blood, be merciful to me a sinner, bound and chained as I am to my many sins. He was wounded to wipe away my iniquities, and he will offer you satisfaction for all my sins and will answer to you in my stead. I offer him to you as a hostage; I choose him as my advocate; I assign him as my mediator; I designate him as defender of my cause. If acceptable to you, he, the blessed fruit of the Virgin’s womb, will make good all my omissions and rectify all my past commissions.”

Our sin will ever be before us, but on the day of judgment, with the Cross as His witness, our mediator, advocate, and the defender of our cause, Jesus the Christ, will stand in our place; and when God the Father says, “Explain yourself, “ Jesus will respond, “Forgiven,” and that long list of sins will be erased.

Ask Jesus to write your name in the book of life and to speak for you on the day of judgment. The means for Him to do so has already been accomplished, it is only your asking that is required.

Let us pray: Most loving Savior, may your last word from the Cross be also our final words in this life. When we are no longer able to utter another word, let this express our definitive desire: “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit. O Lord, God of Truth, you have redeemed me. Amen.”