Luke 23:33-43
When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified Jesus there with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. [[ Then Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.’]] And they cast lots to divide his clothing. And the people stood by, watching; but the leaders scoffed at him, saying, ‘He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah of God, his chosen one!’ The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine, and saying, ‘If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!’ There was also an inscription over him, ‘This is the King of the Jews.’
One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, ‘Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!’ But the other rebuked him, saying, ‘Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.’ Then he said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ He replied, ‘Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.’
Well... we made it... Today we retire another Church year. Year C of the three year cycle is complete, and next week we begin a new year... year A where the Gospel of Matthew will take centre stage.
Luke’s narrative for the long march towards Jerusalem comes to a head today... and for the next 7 days we wait for the coming of Advent. We wait for Advent so we can start waiting for Christmas... the coming of the light.
But today... we end the church year and strangely we find that our lectionary has us remembering that Good Friday event... the Crucifixion... and... it is good that we end with these words from Jesus... “Truly I tell you... Today you will be in Paradise with me...”
---
For 24 weeks we have lived in the Season After Pentecost and listened to this Journey to Jerusalem... all while staring at green vestments and alter furnishings....
We’ve heard: Discipleship notes... Parables... a story of a demoniac... taken long walks... heard of a few healings, mini-mission trips for the 70 followers... it’s been a wild ride.
And our own seasons have changed from beautiful summer days to rainy fall and now... there is no arguing that winter has gripped us... the long summer days are replaced with long, cold nights.
And so today... let us take a moment to think about where we are at... all of nature seems to have died in the icy grip of winter... and we know that the spring and new life is coming but... for now we do the work of complaining about the dark... and the cold...
Let us stop and breathe and think of where we have been and where we are going... lets take stock of where we think we might end up.
---
Christ the King Sunday... the last Sunday in the church year... is often the time when you’ll hear a sermon about how Jesus was a different kind of King. For those of us who for 24 Sundays travelled with Jesus through Luke’s Gospel narrative, we knew this day was coming. We could see in the shocking things that Jesus did and said that he was getting into trouble. The religious elite and those with political power were threatened by him and he just never backed down.
And now... Wearing the ironic crown of thorns... dying on a cross... not taking vengeance for what has been done to him but rather... praying for the forgiveness of those who persecute him... in fact... in this dishonerable state Jesus is shockingly making another promise...
… it’s the kind of promise that only the God King could make...
a ridiculous promises considering it comes from the lips of a dying man who is nailed to a piece of wood... he is is struggling just to breathe and there is nothing majestic to behold now.
But the words he breathes echo throughout time... and I wanna focus on these dying works from the God King. The word we translate as ‘today’ carries the sense of an event, but it also carries the sense of “always.” And sense of what has always been. So it could be read this way:
“Amen, I say to you, always you will be with me in paradise.”
Good words for the condemned to hear....
These are Grace filled words for the one who knows that he has no hope or right to demand anything of Jesus... just like that tax collector a few weeks ago who stood back and beat his breast and begged that God would have mercy on a sinner like him.
And I think we can assume that this crucified criminal believed Jesus... that the words spoken by Jesus are preserved over all these years and are so powerful because they can be trusted and they are believable. These are the promises of the one who died, rose, ascended... and will come again.
---
Advent is only 7 days away... it is the season of waiting but this year... I would challenge us to wait strategically. Waiting in a biblical sense does not mean to sit around bored... but to prepare... to wait is to watch... to wait is to get in position to see.
Long ago most of us learned that Christmas shopping... and Christmas baking needs a plan... it would be foolish to sit around until Dec. 23rd and then ask... “What should I get my spouse for Christmas...” or “I wonder what I should make for the Christmas feast...” or “I wonder who I can invite over for supper tomorrow...”
No...
These things require strategy. And at the break neck speed that our lives tend to run now a days, it’s good to have some strategy... to get on these things early and... maybe... just maybe... with a little luck... their might even be some time to enjoy the season that we are so urgently preparing for. Maybe if the important things are done early, we won’t be overwhelmed by the urgency to do and be all that the next 5 weeks are going to demand of us.
---
And so hear we are... Christ the King Sunday... the end of the long gospel retelling of the life of the Christ... a life of discipleship... And Jesus is just one phrase away from dying... and so the narrative takes on an end point here as does our church year. The promise of resurrection and new life is what Easter is all about... and each Sunday is a mini- Easter...
we stand on the precipice of a new year... of a new Advent... the time of waiting and hoping for God’s next move - not just in the story of God come in the form of a helpless baby... but in our lives now... in Edson... in year end taxes... in the choices we make for the new year.
Jesus words carry the sense of right now … as it has been … and as it will be... a full revelation of things seen only dimly.
And the promise made to that thief on the cross rings true for us as well... the things only hoped for now will be shown to have always been.
And in this good news revealed to us by the dying God King, let us fully know and believe these words to be true as well.
---
And I want you to hold onto those words... “Amen, I tell you, always you will be with me in paradise.” Don’t let go of these words because that is the promise made to us... even though we are as helpless and as undeserving as the criminal next to Jesus on the cross.. Hold onto this promise first and foremost because today... I want to challenge you to live deeper into these words.
New-years eve is the time of new years resolutions... for taking the time to look at what has been and what we think is coming... it’s all about strategy.
Before we talk strategy let us agree to forgive ourselves. New Years resolutions are hard... and we will fail in small and large ways the whole time... but that is why we hold this promise.
In the newsletter coming out this month I write about the tyranny of the urgent... that is... the ability of all the little urgent things in our lives to run our lives to the point where we are always working, scampering from one urgent thing to the next... but none of the important work is getting done as all the urgent things get in the way.
Sortof like getting a newsletter out... there is always something else that is more urgent for me than the newsletter, but if newsletters aren’t produced than the important work of drawing this community together in a common dialog is left undone.
So... with the truth that is held tightly in this hand... that always Jesus is with us, or we are with Jesus, and that Christ the King is reigning in Christ’s kingdom that is all around for those with the eyes to see... with this truth it’s time to strategically push back the urgent things of life, and make room for what is important.
Important things aren’t often urgent.
By letting the urgent rule our lives we will one day find space to look around and wonder how it is we got to where we are at...
Strategy is what we do based on what we know in an attempt to align ourselves with what we believe to be true. (x2?)
So since Christ has made promises and we are in this hand holding onto this promise that Jesus gives to the lowliest of criminals that there is a place at the table for us... that this paradise... this place of fulfillment known as salvation where the divide between us and the sacred is gone...
... then we have the opportunity to use some strategy to help us see what really is happening now. We can live more fully in the joy of the promise. We can be in good shape for the challenges of life to come.
Bishop Susan Johnson in the latest Canada Lutheran says it this way... and many of you are doing many of these things... and this is a challenge... not a command... the 6 things are:
And I have resources... I want to be like the trainer on the team... Jesus is the coach... and I want to be a trainer to help you out. The coach leads and guides... I want to tape your stick and sharpen your skates...
---
And that is what this sermon needs now... a really solid sports analogy so that it makes sense. I’m thinking... this is just like a minor hockey team that is playing in a competitive league but has a policy that everyone plays every game no matter what.
---
Of course God is drawing near... of course we know that it is Christ’s action alone that save us... of course... but it’s under these promises that we live and work and play and make mistakes and have good days and bad days... and we are assured that we can use our gifts and talents to live life secure in the promises made to us. In this security we strategieze what we will do and learn and be. That is our work for this new year. For this new Advent... watch... listen... think... strategize... become.
---
At the place of the skull... at the place where Christ is mocked and beaten and crucified we hear him say, “Father forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”
It’s the ultimate safety net really... for those who are abusing their power or abusing others, for those who try but still make mistakes and to those who have made all the wrong choices... the Christ forgives and seeks reconciliation and wholeness... Christ shows mercy... and more than mercy, Christ makes promises too. Promises of Grace and Paradise.
And surrounded by a great crowd of Witnesses, the Saints of the past and the living saints here... surrounded by signs in the church, bread and wine, water, crosses, banners, songs... let us have faith and live in the promise made to us by the Christ... let us live as a community reflecting the truth that has been revealed to us. Have faith... for truly I say to you, Amen, always we are with the Christ.
Luke’s narrative for the long march towards Jerusalem comes to a head today... and for the next 7 days we wait for the coming of Advent. We wait for Advent so we can start waiting for Christmas... the coming of the light.
But today... we end the church year and strangely we find that our lectionary has us remembering that Good Friday event... the Crucifixion... and... it is good that we end with these words from Jesus... “Truly I tell you... Today you will be in Paradise with me...”
---
For 24 weeks we have lived in the Season After Pentecost and listened to this Journey to Jerusalem... all while staring at green vestments and alter furnishings....
We’ve heard: Discipleship notes... Parables... a story of a demoniac... taken long walks... heard of a few healings, mini-mission trips for the 70 followers... it’s been a wild ride.
And our own seasons have changed from beautiful summer days to rainy fall and now... there is no arguing that winter has gripped us... the long summer days are replaced with long, cold nights.
And so today... let us take a moment to think about where we are at... all of nature seems to have died in the icy grip of winter... and we know that the spring and new life is coming but... for now we do the work of complaining about the dark... and the cold...
Let us stop and breathe and think of where we have been and where we are going... lets take stock of where we think we might end up.
---
Christ the King Sunday... the last Sunday in the church year... is often the time when you’ll hear a sermon about how Jesus was a different kind of King. For those of us who for 24 Sundays travelled with Jesus through Luke’s Gospel narrative, we knew this day was coming. We could see in the shocking things that Jesus did and said that he was getting into trouble. The religious elite and those with political power were threatened by him and he just never backed down.
And now... Wearing the ironic crown of thorns... dying on a cross... not taking vengeance for what has been done to him but rather... praying for the forgiveness of those who persecute him... in fact... in this dishonerable state Jesus is shockingly making another promise...
… it’s the kind of promise that only the God King could make...
a ridiculous promises considering it comes from the lips of a dying man who is nailed to a piece of wood... he is is struggling just to breathe and there is nothing majestic to behold now.
But the words he breathes echo throughout time... and I wanna focus on these dying works from the God King. The word we translate as ‘today’ carries the sense of an event, but it also carries the sense of “always.” And sense of what has always been. So it could be read this way:
“Amen, I say to you, always you will be with me in paradise.”
Good words for the condemned to hear....
On this day you will be in that place where there is no divide between the loving God and you...
Now... for the first time what you could not see will be made very clear.
And for us... Picture that day you felt closest to God, or felt love for the first time... and multiply by a million.
These are Grace filled words for the one who knows that he has no hope or right to demand anything of Jesus... just like that tax collector a few weeks ago who stood back and beat his breast and begged that God would have mercy on a sinner like him.
And I think we can assume that this crucified criminal believed Jesus... that the words spoken by Jesus are preserved over all these years and are so powerful because they can be trusted and they are believable. These are the promises of the one who died, rose, ascended... and will come again.
---
Advent is only 7 days away... it is the season of waiting but this year... I would challenge us to wait strategically. Waiting in a biblical sense does not mean to sit around bored... but to prepare... to wait is to watch... to wait is to get in position to see.
Long ago most of us learned that Christmas shopping... and Christmas baking needs a plan... it would be foolish to sit around until Dec. 23rd and then ask... “What should I get my spouse for Christmas...” or “I wonder what I should make for the Christmas feast...” or “I wonder who I can invite over for supper tomorrow...”
No...
These things require strategy. And at the break neck speed that our lives tend to run now a days, it’s good to have some strategy... to get on these things early and... maybe... just maybe... with a little luck... their might even be some time to enjoy the season that we are so urgently preparing for. Maybe if the important things are done early, we won’t be overwhelmed by the urgency to do and be all that the next 5 weeks are going to demand of us.
---
And so hear we are... Christ the King Sunday... the end of the long gospel retelling of the life of the Christ... a life of discipleship... And Jesus is just one phrase away from dying... and so the narrative takes on an end point here as does our church year. The promise of resurrection and new life is what Easter is all about... and each Sunday is a mini- Easter...
we stand on the precipice of a new year... of a new Advent... the time of waiting and hoping for God’s next move - not just in the story of God come in the form of a helpless baby... but in our lives now... in Edson... in year end taxes... in the choices we make for the new year.
Jesus words carry the sense of right now … as it has been … and as it will be... a full revelation of things seen only dimly.
And the promise made to that thief on the cross rings true for us as well... the things only hoped for now will be shown to have always been.
And in this good news revealed to us by the dying God King, let us fully know and believe these words to be true as well.
---
And I want you to hold onto those words... “Amen, I tell you, always you will be with me in paradise.” Don’t let go of these words because that is the promise made to us... even though we are as helpless and as undeserving as the criminal next to Jesus on the cross.. Hold onto this promise first and foremost because today... I want to challenge you to live deeper into these words.
New-years eve is the time of new years resolutions... for taking the time to look at what has been and what we think is coming... it’s all about strategy.
Before we talk strategy let us agree to forgive ourselves. New Years resolutions are hard... and we will fail in small and large ways the whole time... but that is why we hold this promise.
In the newsletter coming out this month I write about the tyranny of the urgent... that is... the ability of all the little urgent things in our lives to run our lives to the point where we are always working, scampering from one urgent thing to the next... but none of the important work is getting done as all the urgent things get in the way.
Sortof like getting a newsletter out... there is always something else that is more urgent for me than the newsletter, but if newsletters aren’t produced than the important work of drawing this community together in a common dialog is left undone.
So... with the truth that is held tightly in this hand... that always Jesus is with us, or we are with Jesus, and that Christ the King is reigning in Christ’s kingdom that is all around for those with the eyes to see... with this truth it’s time to strategically push back the urgent things of life, and make room for what is important.
Important things aren’t often urgent.
You can ignore the check engine light in your car for awhile before it really become urgent...
You can ignore healthy food and fitness for a long time before it becomes urgent.
You can put off learning about God and spiritual things... learning about the bible... learning about how we are called to live... these things aren’t urgent and can be neglected... but as I have seen at many funerals lately... people don’t have the depth to process what is happening... they are spiritually out of shape and have nothing to grab onto during the moment when it really counts.
By letting the urgent rule our lives we will one day find space to look around and wonder how it is we got to where we are at...
Strategy is what we do based on what we know in an attempt to align ourselves with what we believe to be true. (x2?)
So since Christ has made promises and we are in this hand holding onto this promise that Jesus gives to the lowliest of criminals that there is a place at the table for us... that this paradise... this place of fulfillment known as salvation where the divide between us and the sacred is gone...
... then we have the opportunity to use some strategy to help us see what really is happening now. We can live more fully in the joy of the promise. We can be in good shape for the challenges of life to come.
Bishop Susan Johnson in the latest Canada Lutheran says it this way... and many of you are doing many of these things... and this is a challenge... not a command... the 6 things are:
- Regular attendance at church.
- Daily Prayer and scripture reading.
- Yearly involvement in a program of study.
- Regular acts of service in the community.
- Regular and proportional giving.
- Commitment to sharing the good news we have.
And I have resources... I want to be like the trainer on the team... Jesus is the coach... and I want to be a trainer to help you out. The coach leads and guides... I want to tape your stick and sharpen your skates...
---
And that is what this sermon needs now... a really solid sports analogy so that it makes sense. I’m thinking... this is just like a minor hockey team that is playing in a competitive league but has a policy that everyone plays every game no matter what.
And there are no tryouts for our team but still... our coach Jesus has made the promise that no one gets benched or kicked off. No matter how good you are... no matter how much you’re paying attention in practice or in the dressing room... you’re going to play when it’s your turn.
And you can take this opportunity to play to go out and lie down on the ice and stare at the roof as the ice melts through your jersey, or you can spend your time chatting with the fans and ignoring what is going on...
or you can do more thinking about the game. You can listen to what Coach Jesus has said... try to play the game the way Jesus says and engage what with the team and the strategy on how to play the game... Jesus doesn’t want us all chasing the puck... you gotta think the game and position yourself strategically.
In the end... like all coaches, Jesus watches us play, he will probably say “Father forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” and... at the end of the game as Jesus takes us out for bottomless beverage and nachos, he will say “Today you are sitting here and are fully with me.”
---
Of course God is drawing near... of course we know that it is Christ’s action alone that save us... of course... but it’s under these promises that we live and work and play and make mistakes and have good days and bad days... and we are assured that we can use our gifts and talents to live life secure in the promises made to us. In this security we strategieze what we will do and learn and be. That is our work for this new year. For this new Advent... watch... listen... think... strategize... become.
---
At the place of the skull... at the place where Christ is mocked and beaten and crucified we hear him say, “Father forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”
It’s the ultimate safety net really... for those who are abusing their power or abusing others, for those who try but still make mistakes and to those who have made all the wrong choices... the Christ forgives and seeks reconciliation and wholeness... Christ shows mercy... and more than mercy, Christ makes promises too. Promises of Grace and Paradise.
And surrounded by a great crowd of Witnesses, the Saints of the past and the living saints here... surrounded by signs in the church, bread and wine, water, crosses, banners, songs... let us have faith and live in the promise made to us by the Christ... let us live as a community reflecting the truth that has been revealed to us. Have faith... for truly I say to you, Amen, always we are with the Christ.
1 comments:
Nice to see these sermons again.
Good words, trainer.
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