Asbury Church

This is another story of Jesus reaching out to embrace people who were considered “beyond” salvation. Like the Samaritan woman at the well, Zacchaeus had flown past cultural values. He lined his pockets by helping finance the Roman occupation of Israel. He collected taxes (profit gouging) from his fellow Jews to bankroll the despised Roman oppressors. These Jews had no recourse against Zacchaeus. He could tell you to shut up and pay Rome and if you didn’t, he could turn you over to them for retribution. To say the Jews hated Zacchaeus and his fellow tax collectors is a classic understatement. Zacchaeus didn’t respect them, so they didn’t respect him, either. Jesus loves ALL people. He gave prostitutes, tax collectors and murderers an invitation to a new life. He even offered forgiveness to a thief dying with Him on the cross. The undeserved favor of Jesus is called “grace.” NOBODY is perfect. We are ALL sinners. We all miss the mark. We must not deny grace to anyone. Jesus respects all people because all people are created in the image of God. Jesus chose to give respect to Zacchaeus. The chief tax collector didn’t have to earn Jesus’ respect, but He responded to it. Zacchaeus was “up the tree” in more ways than one. He wanted something more from life than a successful business. It is amazing how Jesus could spot this guy who had come up so short in the community. It is so like Jesus. He always had an eye out for the outcast.

- Pastor Tom Harrison

They Marveled…

The “Woman at the Well” was an unbelievable story to people in the days of Jesus. It freaked out His disciples. In fact, they marveled that He would talk to this woman (but no one questioned Him about it). It was wrong on numerous levels. She is a Samaritan and the Jews hated Samaritans. “The Good Samaritan” is an oxymoron—the only “good” Samaritan would have been a dead Samaritan according to the conventional wisdom of the day. The Samaritans were Jews who fell away from following the true God and worshipped false gods when the Assyrians conquered and intermarried with several of their tribes (in 722 BC). Jews often refused to travel through Samaria (north of Jerusalem). Jesus was crossing another taboo when He spoke to a woman. To have a public conversation with a woman would have been improper then. Furthermore, she was a woman with a sexual history. That is why she was drawing water in the heat of the day—NOBODY would want to be seen with her. She was despised. Her reputation was loathsome. Jesus spoke to the “wrong” people. He ate and drank with them, too. He didn’t kiss up to the proper folks. He boldly took risks. He believed that every person had sacred worth and was worthy of being loved, accepted and forgiven. He never compromised His message. He said certain things were right and certain things were wrong. While Jesus used judgment, He didn’t condemn people. He told them the truth and invited them to follow Him, regardless of their past. He invited them to be freed from sin.

- Pastor Tom Harrison

Not So with You

Our passage from Mark 10 is stunning. The audacity of James and John (Matthew’s Gospel has their momma asking for this favor) to request being seated at the right and left hand in your (wink, wink) glory. They were after their OWN glory, not the glory of Jesus. We hear Jesus’ gentle rebuke, but I would have loved to have seen His expression (exasperation?) when they popped the question. It didn’t go over well when the other disciples heard of the request (“indignant,” is the word). They were probably upset because they hadn’t thought of it first. They all wanted to run their own play and call their own number. Jesus had to get His team back together. His punchline is that He didn’t come to be served but to give His life away. Our natural bias is to organize life so we can be comfortable. We like to come first. We prefer the kingdom of self. Jesus ushered in a new kingdom—the kingdom of God. Let’s not throw rocks: We are all building our own kingdoms until we turn to the kingdom of God. Jesus spoke more about the kingdom of God then he did about anything else (money was his second favorite topic). Some of us are more scripted into service and helping than others. Some of us are givers and some are takers. Regardless of our natural disposition, we are all called to serve and to do it in the spirit of Jesus. He served with confident humility.

- Pastor Tom Harrison

Turning the Tables Jesus was angry. He was furious when the religious leaders were ripping off worshipers. There IS a time to be angry. It has been called “righteous indignation.” Jesus didn’t sit on His emotions. He did not look the other way. He acted. Jesus didn’t make a big deal over trivial matters—this was a big deal. In turn, when the chief priests and scribes became indignant that Jesus was receiving praise, Jesus defended the actions of His worshipers. Once again, He referenced the truth of Scripture (verses 15-16, citing Psalm 8:2). Assertiveness is understood as behaving confidently and not being afraid to say what you want, need or believe. Jesus was (and is) His own man. He knew who He was, and He was comfortable asserting Himself when necessary. Ecclesiastes 3 tells us there is a time for everything, including “a time to keep silence and a time to speak.”

- Pastor Tom Harrison

Fruit, Gifts and Power The concept of God as Spirit makes sense. God the Father is Spirit, not flesh and blood. The New Testament is clear that God the Son became a human in Jesus. The Christmas message, God become Man, is inconceivable to me. Yet, that is what God the Son did. The third Person of the Trinity is the Holy Spirit. Of the three parts of the godhead, the Holy Spirit is the least understood for most of us. Jesus was led and empowered by the Holy Spirit. To follow Jesus, we must have His Spirit in us (else we attempt it on our own strength). Jesus tried to explain to His disciples that the Holy Spirit would be given to them after He left. It would be to their advantage that He go away so they would not be dependent upon His physical presence. By giving the Spirit to them, He could live within all disciples simultaneously. The Holy Spirit was given on the “Day of Pentecost” (Acts 2). The Day of Pentecost was the birth of the Church. All Christians have received the Holy Spirit (otherwise, you are not a Christian). There are at least three effects of the Holy Spirit on us. First, the Spirit is for individual believers (Galatians 5:22-23). Second, the Spirit imparts gifts for the church (1 Corinthians 12:4-11). Third, the Spirit empowers us for witness (Acts 1:8). Witness, empowerment and mission are the main topics of the Book of Acts. Our readings this week focus on Jesus’ teaching and the first two chapters in the Book of Acts.

- Pastor Tom Harrison

See, You are Well!

Genuine kindness is the third leg of Asbury’s staff core behaviors. Since Jesus called all His followers to serve, we think these core behaviors transcend employment. Asbury’s membership vows state: “I will be loyal to Jesus Christ expressed through Asbury and will uphold it by my prayers, presence, gifts, service and witness.” “Genuine” means “honest, open, sincere, unpretentious, real, authentic, true, valid and legitimate.” It is the opposite of fake, false and deceptive. “Genuine” is what Jesus spotted in Nathanael: “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” (John 1:47) Paul Coughlin’s book, “No More Christian Nice Guy,” has an interesting subtitle: “When Being Nice – Instead of Good – Hurts Men, Women and Children.” In reading the Gospel of John, I was struck by how often Jesus asked hard questions. He wasn’t always “nice.” He didn’t pat people on the head and say, “Stay the way you are, and you’ll go far.” Jesus was honest. He asked uncomfortable and awkward questions that put people on the spot. He was bold. He confronted. He was direct. He asked people to make decisions. “Nice” people tend to be pleasers. Nice people enable. “Kind” people don’t avoid conflict or skirt controversy. Being kind means being thoughtful, generous, considerate, concerned, sensitive and affectionate. Kindness cares about the well-being of the other person. Kindness cares enough to listen, to be interested and to pay attention. Sure, there’s a time to be nice, but there is also a time to ask the hard questions. Kindness tells the truth. The most religious people in the community were often the recipients of Jesus’ sharpest critique because their hearts were hardened to the Lord and to others (John 5:9b-17). Jesus was never mean, but love compelled Him to speak the truth to people.

- Pastor Tom Harrison

Come! Fish on my Team

Jesus recruited, trained and deployed a team of followers. Interestingly, Judas Iscariot was the only disciple with an impressive resume. Jesus was committed to His disciples. He spent time with them. He traveled, prayed, listened, taught and ate with them. He had a mission to accomplish, but it would become their mission to fulfill. Jesus asked them to make life-changing commitments. Following Jesus was meaningful and significant. They saw healings and miracles over nature. They heard messages of depth and power. They felt the excitement of being part of something bigger than themselves. Following Jesus was also hard. Martyrdom resulted. Yet, they thought following Jesus was worth their lives. Jesus introduced the kingdom of heaven to them. Heaven trumps anything materialism can offer. Asbury’s staff core behaviors are confident humility, committed team player and genuine kindness. To truly follow Jesus means we are committed to be on His team first (Matthew 6:33). This disrupts our routine. Following Jesus reorganizes our priorities. It affects our friendships and how we spend our time and money. Following Jesus means we must love God, our neighbor and our enemies.

- Pastor Tom Harrison

From Lofty Throne to Lowly Manger

The “incarnation” means God became human flesh in the Person of Jesus. I repeat: GOD BECAME HUMAN. This is such a startling truth that I have difficulty comprehending it. This is the same Christ at the center of the worship scene in Revelation 5. I love Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase in The Message: “The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood. We saw the glory with our own eyes, the one-of-a-kind glory, like Father, like Son, Generous inside and out, true from start to finish.” (John 1:14) God “moved into our neighborhood” because God loves us and wants us to have light, not darkness; and eternal life, not death. Jesus came to show who we can be and how we can live. Everything about Jesus’ life illustrates His confident humility. His birth narrative (Nazareth, Bethlehem, shepherds, farm animals, a manger, etc), His life (this King did not even have a home), His ministry (often to the outcasts of society) and His death (utter abuse and abandonment) all speak to confident humility. Followers of Jesus should exhibit this trait, too. Humility can bring out the best in others—and the worst. Humility repulses some people. Jesus won the hearts of some soldiers and one thief on the cross; but others crucified and reviled Him. Some wise men worshipped; but not King Herod. Eleven disciples were committed to His team; but not Judas. In his book, “Humilitas,” John Dickson defines humility as, “The noble choice to forgo your status, deploy your resources or use your influence for the good of others before yourself. More simply, you could say the humble person is marked by a willingness to hold power in service to others.” He notes that humility: 1. Assumes your dignity and strength 2. Is a choice you make (otherwise it is humiliation) 3. Is social. It is redirecting your power for the sake of others, not yourself. Confident humility is one of Asbury’s core staff behaviors.

- Pastor Tom Harrison