Shock and Awe

Preached at Hallam and Martell UMCs November 18, 2007.

I remember the first time I went to Devaney Sports Center. Now I had seen it on TV, I knew what it looked like, yet the size of the Building didn't really sink in until I went there for the State Wrestling tournament. Standing on the floor, looking up at that massive building, I was in a bit of a state of shock. Same way with Memorial Stadium—there is something to be said about the shock of seeing it for the first time.

Imagine how these country bumpkins from Galilee felt as they saw the massive stones—historians tell us the stones were the size of boxcars – 12 to 60 feet in length. You can almost sense their awe as they saw the gold and silver plated gates, the gold and silver plated grapevine clusters, and the Babylonian tapestries. But imagine their shock when Jesus told them that it would all be destroyed—not one stone upon another. I don't think they could really even picture it—it was beyond their ability to comprehend. To them it had to be a sign of the destruction of the entire world.

They weren't alone in this observation. Many have looked at this passage in the gospels as a way to predict the end-times, a topic of much fascination. Even today, there are books and television shows all dedicated to the predictions of the end-times. The “Left Behind” series, written by a proponent of only one viewpoint regarding end-times, has sold over 58 million copies, and 1 of every 9 Americans has read at least one of the 12 book series. There are kid's comic books, movies, audiotape readings (seems to me to be good marketing).

But I think the books miss the mark when it comes to what Jesus was telling us. In this passage, there are three statements Jesus makes that I believe applied to the disciples then, and to us now. Don't be Fooled, Don't be Afraid, and Tell about your Faith. The first of these three, “Don't be Fooled,” is found in vs. 8:

“Don't be fooled by those who will come and claim to be me. They will say, "I am Christ!" and "Now is the time!" But don't follow them.”

There are a lot of false messiahs in this world. Listen to this:
“His name is Jose Luis de Jesus Miranda; his followers call him everything from apostle to Dad, or simply Jesus Christ Man. De Jesus Miranda himself believes he's the living incarnation of "Jesus Christ Man," "the second coming of Christ."

A follower of his believes "he is God, he is God." She also lavishes him with money and gifts.

"I don't have one Rolex," de Jesus Miranda said, "I have 3 because they want to give it to me. It's like that woman that came to Jesus with the expensive perfume and put it on his feet. He didn't reject it, so when someone gives me a watch or a gift, I receive it. I like them too, they're nice."

This self-proclaimed Son of God is a 60 year old former heroin addict and convict. The divorced father of 4 was born in Puerto Rico and now lives in South Florida with his second wife.” (http://cbs4.com/topstories/jesus.Christ.Jesus.2.395540.html)

The people who follow this man have put their trust in something that is guaranteed to disappoint—but don't we do the same thing? We put our trust in technology, wonder drugs, our own strength and abilities. We are a people who are easily led astray by the latest fads, the comforts of our abundance, the power of our business community, the false sense that somehow through Lotto, or dog and race horse tracks, we can become rich, and then life will be secure. Are these false messiahs? They can be.

Augustine said it best: “Trust in yourself and you are doomed to disappointment. Trust in your friends and they will die and leave you. Trust in money and you may have it taken from you. Trust in reputation and some slanderous tongue may blast it. But trust in God and you will never be confounded in time or eternity. Trust the past to the mercy of God, the present to his love, and the future to his providence.”

The second statement, “Don't be afraid,” is found in vs. 9:

“9When you hear about wars and riots, don't be afraid. These things will have to happen first, but that isn't the end. 10Nations will go to war against one another, and kingdoms will attack each other. 11There will be great earthquakes, and in many places people will starve to death and suffer terrible diseases. All sorts of frightening things will be seen in the sky.”

There are many who believe that Christians will be snatched away from the difficult times—that if we simply trust in Jesus Christ we will have no struggles. But Jesus tells us just the opposite—when you see these things, do not fear—situation normal. We are a fallen, broken, sinful, prideful people, and we struggle for power and riches and territory—there is always struggle. Yet if our faith is in Christ we have the footing to make it through all of these struggles, including what Jesus describes next:

“...you will be arrested and punished. You will be tried in your meeting places and put in jail. Because of me you will be placed on trial before kings and governors.”

Now maybe you have never been “persecuted for your faith,” at least not in the sense of being put on trial or arrested. But persecution takes many different forms. Have you ever been ridiculed for your faith, or actions you've taken because of your faith? Think about recent suits intended to remove God from the Pledge of Allegiance, and from our currency. Think about Ernie Chambers' recent lawsuit filed because, in his words, God has made terroristic threats against him and his constituents, inspired fear and caused "widespread death, destruction and terrorization of millions upon millions of the Earth's inhabitants." . . . Chambers also says God has caused "fearsome floods ... horrendous hurricanes, terrifying tornadoes."

Jesus tells us persecution gives us the opportunity to “tell about our faith.” Maybe you don't take Ernie Chambers seriously, but what about your neighbor, or that woman who laughs at you bowing your head in a restaurant, or the guy who questions your intelligence or integrity because he applies the world's standard to matters of faith and calling? In these situations, you have an opportunity to tell about your faith. The words might seem to fall on deaf ears or they may alienate them completely, but you are called to maintain your faith in Christ alone, regardless of the consequences or cost.

These three statements, Don't be Fooled, Don't be Afraid, and Tell about your Faith, can equip you for anything the world has to offer. Put your trust in Christ alone, and tell the world what he has done in your life. Let that sense of awe that can be elicited by worldly buildings and powers be brought about only by God. Amen.

Jesus and Resurrection

Preached at Hallam and Martell UMCs, November 11, 2007.

My oldest brother is very smart. Every Christmas, and sometimes more often, he and I would play chess. I would study for weeks all the classic chess strategies, I'd run through practice games, I'd play against the computer. But Christmas would come, we'd open our presents, goof off while waiting for dinner, and after a nap, we would play a game of chess. I never beat him.

He also loves paradoxes—you know, puzzles that don't really have a solution, but make you think.
Let's say there is a bullet which can shoot through any barrier. Let's also say there is an absolutely bullet-proof armor which no object can penetrate. What will happen if such a bullet hits such an armor?
Can a man drown in the fountain of eternal life?
Your mission is not to accept the mission. Do you accept?
A girl goes into the past and kills her Grandmother. Since her Grandmother is dead, the girl was never born. If she were never born, she never killed her grandmother.
If the temperature this morning is 0 degrees and the Weather Channel says, "it will be twice as cold tomorrow", what will the temperature be?
Answer truthfully (yes or no) to the following question: Will the next word you say be 'no'?
What happens if you are in a car going the speed of light and you turn the headlights on?

But after I began to serve as a pastor, nearly every time I came home, he would ask me this silly question: Can God Almighty create a stone, which he can not pick up? (http://brainden.com/paradoxes.htm) No matter the answer, he would tease me about the limitations of God.

That's the kind of question the Sadducees were asking Jesus in Luke 20. “...if a man’s brother has a wife, and dies childless, his brother should take the wife and produce offspring for his brother. Now there were seven brothers. The first took a wife and died without children. Also the second and the third took her. In the same way, all seven died and left no children. Finally, the woman died too. Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife will the woman be? For all seven had married her.”

According to the levitical law, if a man married and died without having fathered a child, his brother must take his wife in order to give her children. Now to you and I this may seem repulsive. But in a time without life insurance or social security, it was a way to provide not only an heir to the man who died, it ensured the well-being of the widow as well.

Now the Saducees did not believe that there would be a resurrection of all people. After all, they would reason, it is not written in the law of Moses, therefore it does not exist. Jesus answered the question meant to prove that there was no resurrection by asserting that there would be no marriage in that time. Rather, those who have professed faith in Christ will not be married, but be more like angels , made new in the resurrection.

Now the romantics among you might be thinking, “That can't be true, marriage is a wonderful institution of love, Why wouldn't God want that?” The answer to that is found in a little stoy I read recently:

An elementary school teacher was about to marry. To celebrate the occasion another teacher asked her class to write about weddings. These little essays would be presented to the soon-to-be-married teacher as a wedding present. One of the children described the wedding and then moved on to the intimate details. “After the reception the happy couple go home to eat wedding cake.”

Obviously, this little girl knew something special happened after the reception, but did not undertand it. Similarly, it is hard for us to grasp what lies ahead of us. Heaven and the resurrection to follow have joys we cannot even conceive of.

One of the wonders of God's plan is that in the resurrection we will have an increased capacity for love. Couples will be many times more in love with each other than they ever were on earth. In comparison, their earthly love will seem as tame as a ‘romance’ between five-year-olds. And yet the astounding thing is that everyone else in heaven will thrill this former couple as utterly as they thrill each other. Everyone will be so head-over-heels in love with everyone else as to render unthinkable an exclusive relationship such as marriage.

It will be the place where dreams come true – where the honeymoon never ends and where people are more exciting and loving and perfect than we dare hope. And that’s just each other. The joy we will find in Jesus is indescribable.

Jesus pointed out the absurdity of the Saducees question by showing that what we understand about heaven and the resurrection is as limited as that of a 5 year old child. There is an old hymn that kind of sums it up:

I have found His grace is all complete
He supplieth ev'ry need
while I sit and learn at Jesus' feet
I am free, yes, free indeed
it is joy unspeakable and full of glory
full of glory, full of glory
it is joy unspeakable and full of glory
oh the half has never yet been told
I have found the pleasure I once craved
It is joy and peace within
What a wondrous blessing! I am saved
From the awful gulf of sin

I have found that hope so bright and clear
Living in the realm of grace
Oh the Savior's presence is so near
I can see His smiling face

I have found the joy no tongue can tell
How its waves of glory roll
It is like a great o'er flowing well
Springing up within my soul.

You can experience this Joy Unspeakable—give your life to Christ and confess him as Lord of your life.

Out on a Limb

Preached at Hallam and Martell UMCs November 4, 2007.

It amazes me to see how many ways Jesus met people. If you look through the Gospels, you see how Jesus traveled across Israel, simply meeting people, teaching, and sometimes, even asking them to follow. Jesus himself tells us in the last verse of today's reading that was the reason He came, “to seek and save the lost.” Jesus had a “go out and find them approach”, whereas the church today often has a “come to us approach.” And more often than not, people don't just wander in off the street, no matter how much we advertise about our “open hearts, open minds, and open doors.”

Now don't get me wrong, I think advertising is important, as is being welcoming in church. But that's not necessarily what Jesus did. Jesus went and developed relationships. Matthew was sitting at his tax collector's office, Peter was washing his nets down by the lake, a woman was out by the well, Paul was on a horse on his way to Damascus. On and on the story went. Wherever there was pain and suffering and searching and longing -- Jesus went. He was the light that pierced the darkness. And that same light, the disciples would take and light the whole world, doing the same thing—building and developing relationships.

That puts a new spin on what we see as worship. I used to think that worship was the most important thing the church could do, and I have not been alone in this belief. We spend our time and energy with planning and execution, we make it the focal point of the week, we build beautiful buildings in which to do it. But I think this focus is a bit selfish—making more of our efforts than the work of Jesus Christ in our lives, transforming us—forgiving of our sins and forming relationships.

Worship is preparation for what we are called to do. It is a place where we can be renewed and refreshed, celebrating what God has done and is doing in our lives. It is a place where we are reminded of what Christ has done for us, and once again we come close to God. But the real service doesn't begin until after we walk out the door.

In our Gospel passage today, we see that Zaccheus has gone out on a limb to see Jesus, and Jesus has come to him—notice that he didn't ask him to come to the Temple, he said, “let's go to your house.” Jesus stepped into his life to build a relationship.

The Good News is that Jesus still steps into peoples lives today! Regardless of how your life is going right now—good or bad--He comes to you today and stops and says, "Come to me. I want to join you in your living. I want to love you!"




At the beginning of Zacchaeus' day he saw Jesus at a distance. From a tree. He was, in the eyes of the people of Jericho, a sinner -- unacceptable, a hated person—chief of the tax collectors. He wanted to see this Jesus who reached out to people other teachers wouldn't bother with.

At the end of the day the view is up close and personal. This greedy, rich tax collector is about to open up his bank account to give to the poor and make restitution to those he had defrauded. Wholeness (salvation) brings healing to the household of Zacchaeus.

The Gospels don't tell us of the conversations that took place that day, but I know that they led Zaccheus to give his life to Christ, changing him forever. He more than made restitution, he changed the object of his pursuit—from money to the pursuit of a relationship with God.

Today, Christ calls you down from the limb you have gone out on. He invites you to share a meal—and although I do not know the conversations Christ has with you in your heart, I do know that His Grace can transform your life -–calling from deep within your heart the person God created you to be—a person in relationship with God. Christ will bring wholeness to your life.

Come down out of your tree, be renewed at a meal with Christ, and go forth into the world, to seek the lost and hurting, and bring them peace.