Holy Trinity Ankeny

In the opening passages of the Book of Revelation, God is proclaimed as “the one who is, who was, and the one coming.” It is a play on the divine name, given to Moses – I AM. It seems like we are pretty good about thinking of the God who was – safely tucked away in history. We also like to think of God as a future in some far-off heaven. The struggle is to see and hear God right in front of our faces; to apprehend that God is, right this moment, in this place. So was the struggle for the disciples, especially, Thomas. The resurrection is not just a future hope or a story from the past. It is a present reality.

Suffering is part of the human condition. It is unavoidable. That knowledge does not help us face it. Most of us search for answers – especially from God – for the reason we suffer. Most answers are unsatisfactory – just ask Job. The cross is God’s answer to suffering. No words or theological formulations. On the cross, Christ utters, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” In that moment we see a God who answers the suffering of the world by sharing it and making us forsaken no more.

Tonight Jesus gathers with his disciples for a meal. Jesus knows his time has come to leave this world and return to the Father, so on this night Jesus gives his love to his friends. I invite you to settle in, feel the emotion of the evening, put yourself at the table with Jesus, and use all your senses this evening as Jesus comes to you tonight.

Readings for the Passion of Our Lord.

Sometimes we think that we humans are so broken and incorrigible that we cannot possibly think about imitating Jesus. After all, we think, he was the Son of God! Yet, we too are created in the image of that same God. We bear the image of God within us. Christ shows us what being a human truly is supposed to look like. In the texts today, the apostle, Paul, and Mary (sister of Lazarus) emulate Christ. Judas, on the other hand, is stuck in his old self. What can we learn about renewing our lives by imitating Jesus Christ?

Today's family story is preceded by two other stories of lost and found. The first story is about 100 sheep where one is lost. The next story is about a woman who has 10 coins and loses one. Then we hear about a father who has two sons. This is a popular story from the Gospel of Luke, and so may be well known to you. Try to clear your mind and listen to it new. Ponder what it means to your life now in your family, in this faith community, and in the world situation.

We live in a world where everything has a price. Everything is a commodity to be marketed and sold. Our lives are accounted for in ways that keep track of debits and credits, what we pay and what we owe. This is so deeply woven into our ways of thinking that we treat God in the same way. Divine favor and blessing are to be earned. Bad things happen because we have not attended what we owe God. Into this transactional world, God speaks and says, “My ways are not your ways.” (Isaiah 55:8) Thank God, for that.

As he sat in a Roman prison awaiting his fate, Paul writes a letter to his brothers and sisters in Philippi that is full of hope and joy. How is this possible when you are locked in chains and facing death? It is a matter of citizenship. Paul is indeed a Roman citizen, which is why he has appealed to the emperor to judge his case. Yet, more than a citizen of Rome, he is a “citizen of heaven,” and that makes all the difference.

The temptation of Jesus in the wilderness is always a familiar but hard-to-understand story. It seems like an other-worldly struggle between “the devil” (all pointy tailed and horned) and the superhero of heaven, Jesus. That, however, makes the story of little use to us in our daily life. We don’t generally encounter “the Devil,” nor do we have divine superpowers. The truth of the story is that this devil is, in fact, all too familiar, part of our daily existences. The truth is that the trials and temptations we face are constant. The truth is that the way we are saved in the time of trial is readily available and close at hand.

Today the sign of the cross is made on your forehead.  The ashes tell us who we are.  "Remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return."  Dealing with the Covid-19 virus the last few years has reminded us that death is a part of life, and the transient nature of life is ever before us.  The ashes are a sign of our death and of our sorrow for sin.  Yet, God is calling us to life, to renew us.