Sellersburg United Methodist Church Sermon Podcast

Luke 19:29-48  

Jesus rides into Jerusalem at the week leading up to Passover.  He rides in as a Messiah and the people love it.  Of course the religious leaders (Pharisees, Zealots, Sadducees, and scribes/scripture experts) do not want anything to do with what is happening: Jesus is doing everything wrong by their expectations.

Sadly--inevitably--most of the crowd shouting "Hosanna!" on Sunday will be shouting "Crucify him!" on Friday.

Why?

What happened over the few days in between to create such a swing of attitude?

What did they think would happen?

Who did they expect?

...perhaps it's time to consider, "Who do we expect?"

Luke 9:18-27

Throughout the first part of our third Gospel people have been asking, "Who is this man, Jesus?"  Finally, Jesus addresses his identity.  He then completely subverts the entire idea and expectation of his identity as Messiah.

Who is Jesus to you?

Who do you say Jesus is?

Luke 7:31-50

Jesus is wrestling with the expectations of many whom he encounters.  Even John the Baptist, his second cousin, is beginning to doubt about Jesus because his expectations are not being met.  Some religious leaders are skeptical because Jesus is not acting like a holy Messiah of their expectations.  It seems that only the "sinners" are open to Jesus.

A particular Pharisee, Simon, invites Jesus to his home for a meal.  An uninvited and unexpected guest disrupts the whole occasion which leads to a fascinating and challenging conversation between Jesus and Simon.  It's from this conversation that we confront our question, "Do you see this woman?"

Will we see?

Will we resist?

Will we let go of our expectation?

Will we accept the peace offered?

Matthew 14.22-33 & Luke 8.22-25

Rembrandt's "Jesus Calms the Storm" is a wonderful piece that illustrates our passage from Luke.  You can find it HERE.

The Church, as I often envision it, is like a boat.  The Gospel writers offer us stories for the church through a boat image as well.  Amidst the storms we can find ourselves lacking faith.  Jesus asked and Jesus asks, "Where is your faith?"

Let's walk through these stories and consider which side of the boat we reside on: the side of faith or the side of panic.

"Where is your faith?"

Luke 8.26-39

Jesus meets a man plagued by demons.  Everything about the man is wrong, in the eyes of a good Israelite, but Jesus looks beyond and asks him, "What is your name?"

Names are of great significance in the Bible...and in our day.

Names possess power, intimacy, connection, identity, understanding, and much more.

In our time of wrestling with the questions of Jesus, in the time of Lent where we evaluate our relationship with God, we must spend time considering our own identity.

What is your name?

John 1.35-51

We begin the Lenten Season by understanding that Jesus is not the great "Answer Man."  Rather, Jesus is the great "Questioner."  So...in the season of self-examination we will spend time with the questions from Jesus himself.  Faith is a journey and Lent points out this aspect of faith as good as anything could.  So let's journey together.

We begin with his question to the first disciples in the 4th Gospel we call "John."

"What are you looking for?"

If we are following after Jesus, have we wrestled with this question?

Where might the question take you?

Luke 9.28-43a

The Transfiguration of Jesus is more than a story on top of a mountain.  Every account of Jesus' transformation is coupled with his descent from the mountain into a chaotic scene.  The point is clear--Jesus came to offer freedom/liberation/freedom/good news.  The Gospel writer offers this truth in a parallel story of Jesus with Peter, James, and John on a mountain in prayer.  Jesus never intended to remain on the mountain because there was a mission to be lived.

We often find ourselves caught up in the temptation to remain on the mountain rather than SEE ALL THE PEOPLE.  The glory of God, while certainly seen on the mountain, was never the glory Jesus came to bring.  The crowd is ASTOUNDED by the glory of God Jesus reveals through the great exodus from slavery to sin and death.

Will we work hard to remain on the mountaintop experiences of our faith?

Or will we descend and engage the mission of bringing freedom to people in the way of the cross of Jesus?

 Luke 6.27-38

In our third week we come face to face with some serious invitation into a way of life that runs directly counter to our cultural instincts.  Our temptation is to water this teaching down and qualify it so that we are not faced with the actual choice to engage it as it is offered.  We all do this.

If we can begin from the proper place of relationship with God, the invitation makes more sense.  If we can understand our identity as a child of God first, then the teaching becomes more clearly a direct invitation into a better way of life that we should all strive for.

The crowd is faced with many questions.

Will we follow Jesus into this radical agape?

Have we become too comfortable with our world of reciprocal relationship?

Luke 6:17-26

In our second week we encounter Jesus coming down from the mountain with his disciples and, again, encountering the expectant crowd who were seeking healing/salvation from their afflictions.

Jesus raises His eyes to the disciples and proclaims a prophetic imagination about the new reality/Kingdom/Reign that is breaking into the world through Him.  This monumental great reversal upends the world as we know to bring it right-side-up and out of it's upside-down state.  

But not everyone is ready for this new reality.  Not everyone in the crowd will receive the justice/judgment of God.  Some are too hard-hearted to consider an alternative way.  After all, many people find the injustices of their world quite comfortable for themselves when they are on the side of benefit.  Not everyone welcomed the good news of Jesus.

Are we ready to welcome it now?

Do our own expectations threaten our ability to be conformed to the way of God's Kingdom reality?

Do we cling to money, status, full stomachs, and an unjust world?

Do we live among our community as a people who serve God alone in such a way that people see the truth of this rightside-up reality of Jesus Christ?