Have you ever wanted something really bad? Have you ever wanted something so much that you did not think you could live without it? Have you ever wanted something but not had the resources to get it? Or how about at Christmas or your birthday, have you made a list and checked about a billion times to make sure that everything you want is on there, and then you would go to everyone you know, and maybe a few people you did not know, to tell them your birthday was coming and here is a lit of items that they could get for you. These are the things you just can not live without. The things you have to have, and of course we are not let down when the gifts finally come in. We are built up with expectation and know that we will get just what we asked for, right?
Life is a gift. It is not always the gift we wanted, or the gift we expected. We might have asked for a really cool pair of jeans, oversized, low riders, with flames on the pockets, and everything that would make us be cool, and be a part of the in crowd. But instead we get a pair of sensible Khakis. Life is like this. Our time in this world is full of things we wish would never happen, with times we wish we did not have to go through, and things that happen out of no where. Life has a way of throwing us curve balls, and be what we did not expect, but still life is a gift. And all of life is not bad, there are a lot of times we get exactly what we want, and we can know that we are loved even in the bad times.
In our Gospel lesson for today, Jesus gives us 3 gifts. The first gift Jesus gives us is eternal life. In verse 3 Jesus says and this is eternal life that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. Eternal life is knowing God and Jesus. What does it mean to know God, and Jesus? We can read the bible, and know about God and Jesus, and the Holy Spirit can help us know God, but what does it mean to “know”? The word for know in Hebrew and also in Greek, has a connotation of intimacy. There is an intimate relationship here. So how do we know God? We know God like we know pain. Most of us can speak about physical pain from an intimate standpoint. We know what pain is, not because we have read about it, we know what pain is, because we have experienced it. Be that from surgery, or breaking a bone, scraping a knee, slamming a finger in a door, these are things we have experienced. This is a knowledge that is not intellectual, but it is personal. We have had a relationship with pain. We know pain, and we can know God, through a personal relationship, and this is eternal life, which is given to us, by God, through Jesus, as it says in verse 2 since you have given the son authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. The second gift that Jesus gives us is the word. Jesus is able to give us the word, because the father has given the word to him. Everything that Jesus gives to us is first given to him from the father. Everything is given to Jesus, specifically in our passage: people, authority, the work, everything, the word, and God’s name. It is by his receiving these things he is able to pass them along to us. He is in a way the middle man, and this is one middle man you do not want to go around. He allows the grace and love of God to be showered over us, he is the restorer of the relationship that is broken by sin, and allows us to “know” God, and be known by God. Jesus is the one who brings us into relationship with the father, through is brokerage of the gifts given to him to give to those whom are given to him. Jesus emulates his relationship with the father, who gives everything to him, by being the giving agent for the community of faith. He even asks for us to be one with the father, as Jesus and the father are one. There is one interesting phrase in all of this discussion of the gift of the word. It actually comes up four times in our gospel lesson in various ways. To all whom you have given him. Jesus is able to give the gift of eternal life and the word to those whom God has given him. We are a gift to Jesus. We are the gift given to him by the father. Our lives are a treasure that has been given to Jesus, so that his work and mission which is the fathers might be continued, through us, the agents of Jesus who has given us what has been given to him, so that we might continue to give it to others. If we can equate this with something all of us will know about, choosing teams. God has chosen us to be on Jesus’ team. God puts us on Jesus’ team. God must think that we are valuable assets for Jesus’ team. However we must be one, as Jesus and the father are one, so there is no one of greater value than anyone else, and the other team is really hurting, because it seems there maybe no one on it. So we are a gift to Jesus, and can see that all things come from God, through Jesus, just as our faith is a gift, based in the faithfulness of Christ to go to the cross, and give us eternal life, and the gift of the intimate knowledge of God in the relationship he secured for us there. God gives us to Jesus, because we were God’s and he can give us to Jesus, and in turn Jesus gives us the gifts of eternal life and the word, which are only two of the three gifts I said Jesus gives us.
The gifts of eternal life and the word are mentioned in our text, but the third gift, is one that our text is. This gospel reading is part of what is called the high priestly prayer of Jesus. In this prayer he prays for himself, his disciples, and for all those who are yet to believe. In our reading for today we see Jesus praying for himself, and the beginning or the section on the disciples. The disciples in this section are all those who believe, including you and I. This can be argued of course that it is only the 12 whom Jesus picked, but that is not what is important here, because you see the third gift Jesus gives us, is the fact that he prayed for us. He prayed for you and for me. He went before the father and brought up your name. The power of pray is a wonderful gift. Jesus prayed for us. This means, first of all, that we are all in need of prayer. We can’t do it by ourselves. Secondly, we are guaranteed help from God. How could God refuse the Son’s requests? However, we may not always want God’s help that Jesus has asked for. We may want to be part of the world, rather than hated by the world. We may not want to be sent into the world where God would have us go. We may not want the unity that becomes our witness to the world. Do we want Jesus praying for us? If so, we need to listen carefully to what he has requested from God. We need to prepare ourselves for God to answer. Prayer will get us an answer maybe not one we want, just like the gift of life. I remember a time when Krista and I prayed for something near and dear to our hearts. We had wanted this for sometime, and it was just not working out on our own. Then one night she asked me if I had ever prayed for this gift to be given, and I had not, and neither had she. So that night we prayed, and grace was given. It may not always be the gift we thought we were asking for, but God’s grace is shining on all of us, in the wonderful gifts of eternal life, the word of God, and Jesus intercession or prayer for us all.
χάρις is given. Accept this gift of grace with the abundant joy with which it is given, be constantly devoting yourselves to prayer, and know that the God of all grace, who has summoned you to his eternal glory in Jesus Christ, will himself restore, support, strengthen, and establish you, as you are his witness to each other and to all the world. χάρις is given. So let your light so shine, that others will see God, and be touched by his grace.
Amen.

Luke 24:13-35
Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, but their eyes were kept from recognizing him. And he said to them, “What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?” They stood still, looking sad. Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?” He asked them, “What things?” They replied, “The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took place. Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning, and when they did not find his body there, they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but they did not see him.” Then he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?” Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures. As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. But they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.” So he went in to stay with them. When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight. They said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?” That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together. They were saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!” Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.

Will the real Jesus please stand up? How many of you remember the game show To Tell the Truth? On this show three people would stand up and say they were somebody, for instance three people would stand up and say I am George Pisanick. And then a panel of contestants would ask questions of the three George Pisanicks, until they would then venture a guess as to which one was the real George Pisanick. Then the host would say will the real George Pisanick please stand up…
Now this text reminded me of this game show. Now there are only three main characters in this story, but all I could think as I was reading this was will the real Jesus please stand up…
As we look closer at our story we see three sections, one on the road to Emmaus, another at the table with the stranger, and then a quick return trip to Jerusalem. Let us look at each of these a little closer. Cleopas and the other disciple, meaning these were men who had been following Jesus, were walking to Emmaus from Jerusalem. They were probably sad, filled with hopelessness at the loss of Jesus and wondering what had happened. And as they walked a stranger joined them on the road. A stranger who was Jesus. But they did not recognize him. Why did they not recognize him? They word here for kept is passive in the Greek, meaning something or someone kept them from seeing who Jesus was. That could mean that it was their understanding of who Jesus was or is that was getting in the way of them seeing him, or could it be that God was keeping them from seeing who Jesus was so he would have a chance to explain the scriptures to them? Or could it possibly be a little of both, because our understandings are not what God has in mind, so the things that God does do not make sense to us, and so we do not think that it could be God… Have we ever let our own image of who Jesus is get in the way of us seeing Jesus? Have we ever thought that something God was doing could not be God, because it absolutely made no sense? Will the real Jesus please stand up?
So Cleopas asks the stranger if he is the only one who does not know what has Just happened in Jerusalem? And Jesus asks what things, and Cleopas gives Jesus the Readers Digest condensed version of the Gospels. He speaks of a great prophet in deed and word, how the ministry of this man led him before the high priests and the leaders who handed him over to death by crucifixion. He was the hoped for Messiah the one to restore Israel, and now it has been three days, and the women reported he is not in the tomb, and some other disciples reported the same that the tomb was empty, but no one has seen him. The one thing missing from this version is the experience of the risen Christ. There is still no hope in these men’s voices, or in their walk. They have understood who Jesus was from what they have seen, their perception of Jesus was one of what they wanted or expected, not of what he really was. They are able to witness or evangelize on the life of Jesus, but not on the true life of Jesus, the one that continues in them and all who are disciples, they can tell the story, but they do not understand the story, or who Jesus is. The resurrection that should have restored their hope and produced greater faith seemed to have no effect on them. Will the real Jesus please stand up? Jesus then takes over and says they are foolish and slow to believe, and then explains that it was necessary for the Messiah to suffer and enter into his glory, through his explanation of how the Old Testament pertained to him. He interpreted the word of God to them, so they might understand who he was and is, and how he has changed their lives. But even after his explanation of the scriptures they still do not know who he is… Will the real Jesus please stand up?
As they were preparing to stop for the evening, Jesus was going on ahead, and they asked him to stay, because it is late. They all sat down at the table, because 7 miles is a long walk, so they needed to refresh their bodies with rest and drink, and something to eat. Jesus the guest, took the bread, blessed it, broke it and gave it to his hosts. Then their eyes were opened and they knew who he was. Now were these two men at the other events in Luke where bread was broken and set before the people? They might have been and seeing Jesus break the bread might have been enough to jar them out of the hopeless depression they could have been in to recognize him. And then again they might not have been at these other two events, and were merely affected by the power of the sacramental meal to have their eyes opened. Either way this text tells of the power in the sacramental meal. As the bread was broken, they recognized Jesus and understood the story they had heard, the burning of the scripture in their hearts as Jesus unfolded the story for them. Jesus had fellowship with them through the sharing of a meal. The way in which you showed a bond with people in the first century, you ate with them. A meal at which Jesus was a guest, and yet the host. Even here when we celebrate communion, Jesus is the host, it is Jesus table, and the fellowship we have with him that is revealed to us in the true presence of our Lord as he comes to us in the Holy Eucharist. Cleopas and the other disciple did not have a clear understanding of who Jesus was, or the story they were expounding until the meal, the powerful meal that brings us closer to God. Will the real Jesus please stand up?
And then they run back to Jerusalem, the 7 mile trip that probably took them quite a while the first time, was a lot shorter with their new found happy feet. They ran to Jerusalem to tell who about Jesus appearance? The other disciples, but before they could tell about Jesus appearing to them, they first had to listen to the account of the appearing to Peter, and then they could tell their story. We need to know when to speak, and when to listen. They can tell the others what happened, but they could not bring Jesus with them, and they could not make Jesus appear before the disciples. Jesus reveals himself to us through many different means, but he only reveals to those who are ready to receive. He revealed himself to his disciples, not in the synagogues to scare people into believing, but to those who could see him, and would be strengthen by his appearance, but also remember from last week, that blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe. We have ways of seeing him with out seeing him. The Luke text gives us two, the word, and the sacramental meal. We can see Jesus through the reading of the scripture; the Bible reveals Jesus and God to us in new and exciting ways. And the Eucharist is the real presence of Jesus to us, he is in with and under the elements of Bread and Wine, and he comes to us and reveals himself to us as he hosts us at this time of fellowship where we are renewed in our baptism. Baptism is another way in which God is revealed to us, as Paul says in our Acts reading for today “Repent and be baptized everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” This is another way God is revealed to us, the Holy Spirit. We are constantly with Jesus and walk with him through this world. The hopelessness of the crucifixion was destroyed in the resurrection, hope was restored and our lives redeemed to a fellowship with God. 1 Peter says “Through him you have come to trust in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are set on God.” Will the real Jesus stand up? If we live our lives in the glory of the resurrection and allow Jesus to reveal himself to us, and we do as the mission statement says, to reveal Jesus Christ to each other and all the world, then living in the faith and hope that is set in God through the death of Jesus on the cross and his resurrection from the dead, we can all stand up when the call is given for the real Jesus. Live in your baptism, and the revelation of Jesus in the scripture, and his true and real presence in the Eucharist. Will the real Jesus Please stand up!!! Amen.

John 19:38-42
And after these things Joseph of Arimethia, who is a disciple of Jesus secretly because of the fear of the Jews, requested Pilate that he might take the body of Jesus, and Pilate permitted. Therefore he came and took his body. And Nicodemus came also, the one who came to him first by night, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes something like one hundred pounds then they took Jesus’ body and wrapped him in linen pieces with spices, according to the custom of Jewish burial. And there was in the place where he was crucified a garden, and in the garden a tomb in which no one had yet been placed therefore because it was the Jewish Preparation, since the tomb was near, they placed Jesus there.

This has been a very interesting series for the Lenten lunches. We have journeyed with Jesus from Gethsemane, to the denial of Peter, to Jesus before Pilate, with Simon of Cyrene, who probably had other things to do, to Jesus’ Crucifixion, and his death. Today, the day our savior died is the day we see him laid in the tomb. This is a dark day. As we celebrate Good Friday, many of us will use the color black, which brings a connotation of death, and will have bare alters and worships spaces where usually there would be ornaitment, flowers, and liturgical paraphernalia. We see this as a day devoid of hope. How can we hope when we have lost our leader, the messiah has died, is this what was suppose to happen.
Really think about how the disciples must have felt. They have given up three years of their life to follow Jesus. They left everything, their jobs, their families, their villages, their lives behind to follow Jesus and learn from him. Now their teacher has been crucified for high treason against the Roman’s. There is no hope. They can no longer continue the path they have followed for the past three years, at least in their minds they can’t, and they can not go back home. Can you image the ridicule they would receive from family members and neighbors? Their lives might as well be over too. There is no hope. Jesus is dead, where do we go, and what can we do.
Can we empathize with the disciples? Have there ever been situations in our lives that have left us feeling totally helpless, like there is no chance of life continuing? This is the end of it, there is no hope after this. I can think of a few situations. Have you ever not been able to have a child, it was medically proven that fertility was not there, there was not going to be any children born from this couple. Then a miracle of miracles happens, and the couple becomes pregnant. After a couple of months though there are complications, and the baby is no longer living. There has to be a DNC. The miracle has ended in no hope, the child that was to be will never be. What if you awake in the morning to go to the crib to get your 6 month old daughter? There is no movement and when you look in closer you see there is no more life in your daughter. No hope. How do you go on from this? Or what if there is a phone call late at night to your house. It is the State Police, there was an automobile accident and your 16 year old son has been killed. Where is the hope, where is the love that usually rains down on us? What if you are going into see your doctor because of the second miscarriage in less than a year, and there is nothing medically wrong to be causing these miscarriages. Where is the family you so long for, and how can you possibly continue in life in the face of hopelessness? Where do we turn when our savior is behind the rock, and wrapped in the linens of one who is dead? How can the messiah help us now?
Well we can see the hope even in this hopeless time in our text. Joseph of Arimathea was a secret disciple of Jesus. He was one of the ones possibly listed in John 12 Nevertheless many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, lest they should be put out of the synagogue: for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God. He could have been someone who followed the teaching of Jesus for some time and secretly held it to be truth, without wanting to jeopardize his place in the synagogue. But at the death of Jesus, Joseph lays it on the line. In the hopelessness of Jesus’ death he comes forward to request the body of Jesus be removed from the cross and allowed to be buried. Usually the Roman’s would leave the bodies on the cross for the vultures and other birds of prey, and as an example for those who would walk by to not push their luck, and stay within the bounds of the laws of the Romans. But Joseph puts everything on the line to make sure Jesus’ body is given the respect it deserves as a teacher of the truth, as the one who claimed to be the messiah. And there is another named in our text, which mixes darkness and light, hopelessness, and the bountiful hope. Nicodemus. Nicodemus is the Pharisee who first comes to Jesus under the cover of darkness in John chapter 3. We all know the story, of how Nicodemus questioned Jesus on how a person can be born again, how can some one go back into their mother’s womb? Nicodemus just did not get it then, but over time probably came to be one of those listed in John chapter 12 as the secret disciples of Jesus. We see in John 7:45-52 where the Jewish leaders and Pharisees want to arrest him, and Nicodemus stands up for Jesus. Albeit a lukewarm stand up, he is making a statement for Jesus. And here in our text, he is coming out with Joseph, shedding the shroud which they follow Jesus under. They are opening the door and walking into the light. Now in what seems like the darkest part of Jesus existence, Nicodemus steps into the light to prepare Jesus’ body for death. The darkness has been over come by the light and the fear of the Jews no longer has any effect on Nicodemus or Joseph. They are the hope in this hopeless time. They are the believers that are not in our radar screen, the ones who come to our aid when things happen in our lives and it seems like the world is shutting in on us. They are the ones who bring the hope, and love of the one who seems like he is far from us in those dark hopeless corners of our lives. They are living the love that Jesus portrayed to all who followed and listened, to all who happened on him, to all who were rejected by all others. Even in the darkest point of Jesus existence, when the 11 disciples are no where to be found, there are disciples, and there is the love, faith and hope that comes from our savior. And as Paul tells the Thessalonians so that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope, there is still hope. Even in the darkest time of Jesus existence, there is hope. The light comes through the disciples who came out of hiding, to proclaim their belief in the teachings of this man, who is the messiah and the savior of the world. So they laid Jesus in the tomb, and the message of his faith, hope and love continued in the faces of the unknown disciples, those hidden from the public before, but those who now lay claim to Faith, Hope, and Love abiding, the same faith hope and love given to us by our savior, so come out of the darkness and claim the hope that is there, and will never leave. Amen

John 13:1-17
And before the celebration of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to return from this world to the father. Having loved his own, the ones who are in the world into the end he loved them and having become dinner, the devil now had thrown into the heart of Judas Simon Iscariot that he should hand over him because he knew the father had given him all things into his hands and that from God he came and to God he is going He got up from dinner and took off his robes and he took a towel and tied it around his waist next pouring water into the basin and began to wash the feet of the disciples and to wipe them with the towel which was tied around his waist coming therefore to Simon Peter, he said to him, “Lord, you my feet are washing?” Answering Jesus also said to him, “What I am doing you do not understand at the present time, but you will come to understand with this.” Peter is saying to him, “No never can you wash my feet in this lifetime!” Answering Jesus said to him, “Unless I wash you, you are having no part of me.” Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet alone, but the hands and the head.” Jesus said to him, “The one who has washed does not have need except for the feet to wash, but is wholly clean, and you are clean, but not all of you.” For he had known the one who would hand him over, on account of this one he said that not all of you are clean. Then when he washed their feet and took up his robes and reclining again he said to them, “Do you know what I had done to you? You are calling me Teacher and Lord and you are saying correctly, for I am. Therefore if I, Teacher and Lord, washed your feet, also you ought to wash one another’s feet For I gave an example to you so that as I did to you, you should do. Truly, Truly I say to you, a slave is not greater then his lord neither is the one sent greater than the one who sent him. If you had known these things, blessed are you if you do them.”

A picture is worth a thousand words. On my desk are pictures of me and my girls. They speak of love, companionship, friendship, fun, and many other things. I can look at them and remember the story that goes with them. And here in our sanctuary we have pictures. These beautiful stain glass windows each have a picture, a story to tell. There is the star, and the birth, the questioning in the temple as a child, the triumphal entry. Jesus knocking on the door to seek entry be that the door to your heart, or some other door. We can see these pictures and remember the stories that go with them, and probably memories of others telling us the stories, and how that effected our live. Pictures are every where and we look at them and think we know the story. We think we understand things by seeing them, just as the disciples did.
We also carry mental images with us. I have images of the Charis, Carina and Krista I carry with me, in my heart and mind. We all have them, the picture of a boyfriend or girlfriend, spouse or children. It is a comfort for us to be able to see them when we are away from them.
We also have the mental images from our texts today. Exodus gives us the image of blood over the door way, a way of saying, God pass us over. We are a part of you. We have the image from Corinthians where Paul gives to us what he received. When you heard those words spoken did you see the bread being lifted, and the cup being lifted and given to you, by Christ himself. Images are very powerful and in our fast paced world we are bombarded by images, both pictures in billboards and advertisements, and the mental images that come from smells, and sounds, and other triggers.
We see the image you have to have the best of everything to have made it, to be some body. Many of us are watching the NCAA Basketball Tournament. Soon the winner will be crowned and all of the other teams will be forgotten, because they are not the best, they are the losers, and not what is to be strived for. We live in a society where you need to be an overachiever, some one who climbs the ladder of success quickly and gets that nice corner office with the nice view. We see status as something to be obtained and maintained at all times and all cost, we can not let ourselves demean ourselves to let our status fall once we have achieved it.
This is not the image we get from Jesus in our Gospel text for this evening. We see the master and teacher, humbling himself and taking on a role that he should not be doing. Foot washing was an act of hospitality performed in the ancient Near East when a guest entered a house. In the home of wealthy Jews, a slave would loosen the sandal straps of those who entered and wash their feet. Today, Maundy Thursday the day before Jesus’ crucifixion is observed, we read about foot washing in John 13. John does not record Jesus’ last supper. At the place where the supper occurs in the other Gospels, John offers this story with its commandment to love others as Christ has loved us, a humility and love demonstrated through foot washing. The Latin word for “commandment” is mandatum, which became “maundy” in latter-day English. Jesus gave the disciples a new commandment, to love one another as I have loved you. He took the world view they had and turned it upside down. He as their master and teacher, their lord, took upon himself the role of servant, and washed their feet. This is also counter cultural for us. Rick Warren in the purpose driven life says “We serve God by serving others. The world defines greatness in terms of power, possessions, prestige, and position. If you can demand service from others, you’ve arrived. In our self-serving culture with its me-first mentality, acting like a servant is not a popular concept.” But it is not only acting like a servant, but we have to look at the other side of the equation in foot washing. Not only did Jesus have to bend his knee and take the water and move to wash the feet, but the disciples had to be willing to be served. Foot washing is an unfamiliar intimacy. Being served by God through others is an unfamiliar intimacy. We have to open up selves up to show our vulnerabilities, show that part of us we only let those closest to us see. Who wants to let the pastor or anyone else touch these barges of human flesh? It’s an unfamiliar intimacy. And that is precisely the point. When Jesus washed his disciples’ feet, Peter refused this gift. Peter, like us, didn’t want to be served in this way. Nor did he want to change places with Jesus. Peter wanted Jesus to be the focus of his uninvolved adoration. He didn’t want Jesus to enter his world as a humble servant. For Jesus, however, this entry is at the heart of fellowship: “Unless I wash you, you have no share with me” (John 13:8). No foot washing, no communion. We can not be part of him if we can not let him serve us. We have to be open and let our vulnerabilities show and not have the attitude that I can do it on my own, a real man does not ask for help. We can not let the image of ourselves be degraded to let someone serve us. We need to embrace the unfamiliar intimacy. It is not about power or prestige or possession, or position. It does not matter if you are a winner or a loser, we are all children of God, and we are given a Maundy, a commandment that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.
Love one another, who is this? Does Jesus just mean we are to love the ones in our group, those present that night, those in this congregation? Or does me mean everyone? Let us look at who was present during the foot washing. The disciples were present, and this is pretty vague, does this mean just the 12, or others as well. The only thing we know for certain is Peter was there, and Judas. Judas does not leave until verse 30. Jesus served the one that was going to hand him over to be crucified… Does this mean we are also to serve those who may do us wrong? In Luke Jesus says “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return;” We are to love everyone, the least, the little, the lost, the ones that no one else will love. It’s easy to see how the church is to act in the world when you contemplate washing feet. It’s risky. It’s messy. You feel inept and silly. You have to roll up your sleeves and go to work. You have to kneel to perform the act. You get wet and so does the floor. You touch people in ways you would not touch them outside of washing their feet. This humble gesture of foot washing points us to the path of service, compassion and love. All of this silliness and risky ness are at the bottom of Christian action in the world. For precisely this reason, the image of Jesus washing our feet, serving us in the unfamiliar intimacy may be just what we need to jar us out of complacency and conformity into the risky ness of serving Christ. Foot washing is more than a gesture. It is a model for living the Christian way. One which we can only do through the strength and guidance we get from the table, as we come and receive our lord through the bread and the wine, let us improve our serve, and see him in everyone we meet, and let them know we are Christians through our love. Embrace the unfamiliar intimacy.
Amen.

Matthew 21:1-9
And when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Beth’phage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find an ass tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. If any one says anything to you, you shall say, The Lord has need of them,’ and he will send them immediately.” This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying, “Tell the daughter of Zion, Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on an ass, and on a colt, the foal of an ass.” The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; they brought the ass and the colt, and put their garments on them, and he sat thereon. Most of the crowd spread their garments on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. And the crowds that went before him and that followed him shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”

Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest! Today is the start of Holy Week. The time we celebrate the last supper, the washing of feet, the crucifixion, and resurrection of our lord and savior. And today is Palm Sunday. We all have our palm branches, and are shouting hosanna to the Son of David! Hosanna in the highest! Why are we doing this?
In our text today there is no mention of Palm branches. Matthew says they cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road, it does not say they were palm branches. Only John mentions branches of Palms. Mark talks about leaves from the field, and Luke does not even mention branches or leaves at all. Why do we wave the palms? What is the need for doing this, what do we need?
Well this was a sign of who Jesus really was. The fact the crowd was waving, or throwing down palms had a meaning to those present that day, just as the colt and ass had an image. First of all most people would have just walked into Jerusalem, and some may have thought it interesting that Jesus rode into the city. Others might have known the prophesy from Zechariah 9:9 that the messiah would ride into the city on an ass and her colt. Jesus humbled himself to ride into the city on the ass, but we also need to know the rest of the prophecy from Zechariah. The essential themes of Zechariah 9 are defeat and destruction for foreign nations and the return and restoration for Israel. Those who would have known this text would have seen in Jesus the coming warrior that would bring about God’s wrath on the foreigners in their city. Jesus would be the true messianic fulfillment of the freeing of the nation of Israel from the bondage of the Romans. They needed a hero, a great king to lead them into battle. This leads us to the need for the palms. The use of palms in Maccabees was related to military victories. Were those in the crowd expecting Jesus to lead them to a great military victory? Did they see his entry as the fulfillment of the prophecy of Zechariah and he would lead them to the restoration of Israel and the vacating of their land by the foreigners? Is that why they were shouting Hosanna? We use the word hosanna today in our worship service, but do we know what it means? Hosanna comes from the Hebrew words yasha which means save and na meaning request. Combined they make yashana which is O, save! It is a request for salvation. Did those shouting it as Jesus triumphantly entered the city know what they were saying? They were crying for Jesus to save them from the Romans, fulfill Zechariah, and rid our land of the foreigners in our midst. We need a king, we need a savior, we need a warrior to lead us into battle, save us messiah and rid our land of these people.
So today we reenact the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem and wave our palms, for the military victory, and shout Hosanna to the Son of David! Save us o son of David! Just what is it we need? A superman for a savior, one who never dies, would not think of doing something as silly as allowing himself to be handed over to be killed… What do we need? What do you need?
To look at this from a different angle and to lead us into Holy Week, what does Jesus need? There is only one thing in all of the writings of the New Testament that Jesus needs, and we see that today in our text. Then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find an ass tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. If any one says anything to you, you shall say, The Lord has need of them,’ and he will send them immediately.” The only thing in all of the worlds of heaven and earth that Jesus ever says he needs is an ass and a colt. He needed to fulfill the prophecies spoken about the messiah, and fulfill the plan of the Father. Remove this cup from me if possible, yet not my will but yours be done. I need an ass to ride into Jerusalem. What do you need?
What is Palm Sunday all about? The triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, yes that is what it is about… Is it about green palms, being waved as in the need of a military victory? I do not think so. The image today is the palm, but not in the sense of green vegetation. The palm and the whole hand figure prominently in this upcoming holy week. Today palms are used to obtain the ass and colt for Jesus to ride on. The disciples use their hands to place their garments over the ass and colt for Jesus to ride on. On Thursday palms are used to wash the feet of the disciples. Even when the disciples question his washing their feet, still Jesus bows in servant hood, and shows the disciples a way of life for those who want to have a part of him. There is the palm of the hand that blesses, breaks, and distributes the bread and offers the cup of the new covenant. At the table prepared by our savior with loving hands we receive strength and direction for our discipleship walk. The palms of prayer, pressed firmly together in Gethsemane. Jesus follows the will of the father, even when he may not want to go where it leads him. It is his will, the perfect one that needs to be done, not ours. On Friday we see the hands that are nail scared as Jesus is crucified. We see in Simon of Cyrene the need to take up our cross and follow him, the fact we may suffer for our faith. Palms are not green, and may lead us to do things we are not truly willing to do. If we can truly say Hosanna to the son of David, Jesus save us, we need to be ready to use our hands and bodies in service to him.
We see in Philippians that Christ emptied himself, and was obedient to a death even a death on the cross. So should we empty ourselves, and look at what we truly need. Jesus gave up the charge of his life, and maybe this is what we need. If we can empty ourselves of any notion we are in charge, and notion we can have an equal footing with God, and offer ourselves wholly to him and his service, then maybe we will see what we need in a king, a warrior to lead us to our salvation is something we have already been given in his triumphal entry. Hosanna to the Son of David.
What do you need?
Amen

As he passed by, he saw a man blind from his birth. And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be made manifest in him. We must work the works of him who sent me, while it is day; night comes, when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” As he said this, he spat on the ground and made clay of the spittle and anointed the man’s eyes with the clay, saying to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Silo’am” (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing. … “Do you believe in the Son of man?” He answered, “And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and it is he who speaks to you.” He said, “Lord, I believe”; and he worshiped him. Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind.” Some of the Pharisees near him heard this, and they said to him, “Are we also blind?” Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, We see,’ your guilt remains.

What do we have here? It is a sign, a miracle. Jesus takes some spit and clay and makes mud, puts it on a blind man’s eyes and tells him to go and wash in a pool, and he returns seeing. The setting free of this man’s eyes takes only 2 verses in this 41 verse story. The rest of the story is about this man and his sharing of his faith story, his healing. But what really do we have here?
This man was born blind our story says. So why did Jesus have to heal him on the Sabbath? What would a couple hours mean to some one who had been blind all of their lives? Did Jesus really have to heal him on the Sabbath? One could say it is not the healing that breaks the Sabbath laws, but the method Jesus uses. Jesus takes some of his spit and mixes it with dirt or clay, and kneads them together to make mud. Kneading is one of the forbidden tasks on the Sabbath. So why didn’t Jesus just touch him, or tell him to be healed? Was Jesus maybe pushing those who thought they could see to actually see what is important? The Pharisees say that he is a sinner and can not be from god for breaking the Sabbath laws, but the man replies “I don’t know if he is a sinner. One thing I know: though I was blind, now I see.”
This sets up the second part to how the man was set free from the blindness, the washing in the pool. He washed in the pool Siloam which John tells us means Sent. The significance of this is found through out the Gospel of John. Jesus is the one who is sent by God in the Gospel of John, Jesus is said to have been sent 51 times by God in the gospel. And in a sense the blind man is sent to the Pharisees to witness to who Jesus is. They want to know how he was healed, and while the blind man does not know, we can see that it is because of Jesus. It was not the spit, the dirt, the mud, or the water he washed in that gave him sight, the one sent by God, gave him sight. The washing in the water is reminiscent of our baptisms. Similarly, it is not water that makes baptism important, but the fact that Jesus, himself, is present in, with, and under the water.
So what do we really have here? John is full of passages that mean more than one thing; there is a first story or literal meaning, and a second story, or spiritual meaning. The literal meaning in our text is the man could not see the beauty all around him, he could not see the wonderful hues of the sunset, or the mystery in the rolling clouds. But what is the spiritual meaning, what do we really have here? Blindness is not about not being able to see, it is about not understanding, or comprehending the movement of God in our lives. Those who think they know it all, and are not open to experience things in a new way are blind according to Jesus in our text. The Pharisees know what is right, and good, while the blind man does not know. It is when we do things for the sake of the goodness of them and can not see the call of God in our midst, is when we need to stop acting so good and be Christian. Follow the call our Father in heaven has given us, to us the gifts we have been given for the purpose he has given them to us to us for. We need to understand that sight and blindness are not defined by one’s physical sight, but by one’s openness to the revelation of God in Jesus. We need to be open to new interpretations of scriptures that God might give us. In our text there was the interpretation that kneading on the Sabbath was forbidden by God. Jesus “breaks” that law to reveal something more important about doing the works of God.
In last weeks text after the woman asks for living water, Jesus tells her to go and invite and bring someone to him. Could witnessing and inviting and bringing people to Jesus be the way we receive living water? That idea is support by the fact that water that is still, or keeping it for ourselves, is not living water. Living water has to be moving and flowing, through us to other people. This is an important theme seen in our story today and our weekend together. We need to share our faith story, not because we want to convert people to God, but because we have been sent to do it. Maybe our approach to evangelism is wrong, we need to go and tell the story, not only so others will here that God loves them, but so our faith might grow through the sharing of the story. We need to make sure our water does not become stagnate – Dead. We need to understand that someone else may come to faith, but our faith will grow even more. The living water will flow through us and cause a cleansing flood to over take us. Mormon youth and Jehovah witnesses go on mission of evangelism where they knock on doors to tell people about their God, about their experiences, and their faith. And the real benefit of these missions is probably found in the growth the individuals who go on theses mission undergo. It was said that these missions do not convert many people, but there is hardly anyone who goes on one of these mission that drops out of the faith. The process of being and doing the work of God pulls them closer to God and allows their faith to grow.
So what do we have here? This man was healed of his blindness for what reason? Because he was blind and needed to see? Because he prayed for healing, or because he asked for healing? He did not ask to be able to see. He was healed, as Jesus tells the disciples in verse 3 neither this one sinned nor his parents but that the works of God might be made known in him. Jesus continues in verse 4 it is necessary for us to work the works of the one who sent me…. It is necessary for us to be doing the works of the father. For us to heal the sick, to baptize the believers, to tell the story of the love of God, pick up the trash, deliver the mail, teach kids how to write and read, stand as a judge on the courts of our county, country, to shepherd others to God, to repair medical equipment, to be doing the work that we are called to do. In order for any of the works of God to become manifest in our world, there needs to be a willing recipient of the work. This willing recipient needs to also recognize their total dependence on God, the one who called them and assists them in the work that they are doing. As we can see in the story of the blind man, we will not always be successful in the eyes of humanity in our sharing of our faith, or the work we have been called to, but in the eyes of God, we could say the blind man was successful, he came from calling the one who healed him Jesus to Prophet, to coming to an understanding he is from God, then to the spiritual truth of his being Son of Man. His faith grew, and his relationship with God grew. His sight, came from Jesus, just as ours does, just as our calls do. We are all a part of the priest hood of all believers, and called to do something that no one else can fulfill. A part of the plan set apart for us, as God told Jeremiah he tells all of us Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations. Jeremiah a prophet, Carol a pastor, we are all called to be a part of the body. And we can only perform the function we are called to, as Paul tells the Corinthian’s an eye can not be an ear, and a hand can not be a foot. Just as Jesus had a calling to fulfill in his mission to the cross, we can not let the forces of this world pull us from our part of God’s plan. We need to seek to make God’s work manifest in our lives. So go out into the world in peace, be of good courage; hold to what is good; return no one evil for evil; strengthen the faint-hearted; support the weak; help the suffering; honor all people; love and serve our God; rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit freely offer your self to the vocation God has called you to as a child of God in the world, as a member of the priesthood of all believers. Claim your sight, and go and make manifest the work of God.
Amen.

I have been reading a book by C. Peter Wagner called Your Spiritual Gifts Can Help Your Church Grow. It is an interesting book. The chapter I am on now is about 4 things Spiritual Gifts are not. They are not Natural Talents, Fruit of the Spirit, Christian Roles, and Conterfeit Gifts. So my talent to play the bass, or my pastor’s talent to play the guitar, or write new songs for litergical use are not gifts of the Spirit. At least according to Dr. Wagner. I believe these are gifts of the Spirit. Dr. Wagner also says that only Christians receive gifts from the Spirit. We as members of the body of Christ have been given a gift to use in the ministry of the church, but only members of the body have been given a gift. If you do not believe, then you could have a natural talent for something, but it is not a gift from God. And our gifts are only temporal, only the fruit of the spirit is eternal, as 1 Corinthians 13 tells us, all things will pass away but these three Faith, Hope, and Love will remain. Well Dr. Wagner also says that the fruit, being that it is singular is love and the other words listed are mearly attributes of love. So faith, or faithfullness as it is listed in Galatians 5:22-23, is a part of the Fruit of the Spirit. Yet according to 1 Corinthians 12 it is also a gift. So how can it be temporal and eternal? I guess one could ask the same thing for us, for we are temporal, yet we are eternal as the body of Christ. One other thing he comments on is how an atheist can have a natural talent, that God can transform into a Spiritual gift if the start to believe. Doesn’t this mean that everyone has been given a gift of the Spirit, and it just has not been discerned as that yet. And is not everything we have truly a gift of the Spirit. Luther said we all have a vocation, a call to do, a part of the plan of God that no one else can fulfill. We are all called upon to further the kingdom by doing our part. That means we all have a gift, all of us, and we need to use our gift to the furtherment of the kingdom, not for personal gain. Just remember we all have gift(s) of the Spirit, and we all have roles to play in this game of life, and if you are just a little fruity it will help sometimes.

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

“Beware of practicing your piety before men in order to be seen by them; for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. “Thus, when you give alms, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by men. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by men. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. “And when you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by men. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by men but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Grab your bucket. Get a mop, and bring a broom, and some towels, and cleaners. Today is going to be a day of exciting cleaning. Some of us may remember Spring cleaning, some of us might have heard about it, and others of us may have no idea what this is. Spring cleaning is a time to remove all of the dirt and dust built up over winter. To air out the house, remove the storm windows and clean them really good to store them away until next year, and put in the screens so the fresh air from outside can come in. We need to take out the rugs and beat out the dust, and straighten up our rooms, and closets. Spring cleaning is the time to remove the winter clothes and bring out the spring/summer attire. We need to straighten up the attic and the basements.

Now it may seem a little early for me to be talking about spring cleaning, I mean after all the gopher did just pop out of the hole last week, so we still have 5 more weeks until Spring is here, but today, Ash Wednesday, as we begin our Lenten trek, it is time for us to think about our personal spring cleaning. Also the word Lent comes from the Anglo-Saxon word Lenten which means spring. Most of the time spring cleaning is done in a day, or a weekend, and it may stretch out into a week, but we have 40 days to work on our spring cleaning, to get us started.

We can start the process of sweeping out our hearts and our minds. As the candidates for baptism in the early church would have done in this time, learning about the faith into which they were going to be baptized. Cleansed from the thoughts of the world, and drowned in the life giving words of the faith. A 40 day trek of catechetical training or for us a 40 day trek in looking more at our selves and cleaning out the cobwebs in our attics and basements, our minds and our hearts, our guts. We can see the biblical meaning behind the 40 days, in the 40 days of Jesus’ fast at the beginning of his ministry, Moses stayed on Mount Sinai 40 days, the 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, and Elijah’s 40 day fast on the way to the mountain of God.

And as in all spring cleanings, it is not good enough to dust around the things on the shelf, or push them to one side or the other to do the dusting. We need to remove all of the items and clean each on individually, and then the shelf. And before we think we are through and put the things back on the shelf, we need to also move the shelf and sweep and dust behind it. We need to make sure the dust and dirt of winter are gone, and the wonderful spring time smell can over take us. We can not just rearrange items in our houses when we do spring cleaning to keep from having to clean a part of the house, and in our personal spring cleaning we can not just rearrange our lives to suit our own needs. We need to allow the cleansing waters role over our lives and allow the one who made us new, and claimed us as his children, arrange our lives as he wants it to be arranged.

Jesus kind of gives us an outline for how our lives should be arranged through our gospel text for today. He discusses acts of righteousness, or piety as our text says. First off though. Jesus does not say these are things we should be doing, he does not spend any time saying that Alms giving, praying and fasting are necessary things for our faith. Why is that? Because he expects that as faithfully practicing Jews, these things are being done. And as faithfully practicing Christians, these are things that are happening. So we are to gives Alms, which is giving over and above the tithe that was expected in the worship practice of Jesus’ day. And we are to pray, this is more than just when you feel like praying, Jesus is referring here to the pray offices, or specified times of pray that were required in the Jewish faith practices, and we are to Fast, to go without something. All of these practices are meant to be done in piety towards God, and not so that others give you praise because of what you are doing. The question of having public verses private faith is not is what at stake here; rather it is where the heart truly lies. Are these acts being done out of righteousness, or piety the translators have chose to render the word, or are these acts being done so we individually receive the praise. Jesus never condemns these faith practices, but condemns the motives that are behind the faith practice. Are we in our lives storing up treasure where moth and rust and thieves can destroy what we are trying to save? Or are we storing our treasure in heaven, where nothing can destroy? Where are our hearts?

As we start this years Lenten journey. Let us sweep out our hearts, let’s clean out the cobwebs, let’s move everything out and let our lives be arranged by the one who created us. Remember the words to Jeremiah in Chapter 1 verse 5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” We are all named and claimed by God in our baptism, in our burial in the water, and our rising to new life. Lent is a time of reflection on our baptism, our dying to self, and allowing the one who knew us before we were born to claim us as his own.

As we receive the sign of the cross on our foreheads this evening, and here the words, “remember you are dust and to dust you shall return,” remember our mortality, and remember that ashes can suggest cleansing and renewal. Ashes can be used as a cleansing agent in the absence of soap, and tonight we can think of them as a reminder of our baptism. Water both stifles and refreshes, drowns and makes alive. So the ashes also remind us of our mortality, and of the renewal we have in cleaning out our lives and allowing God to have control.

As we go through our spring cleaning, let us remain faithful disciples of Jesus in the world. And go countercultural to our times, by being transformed through God’s claim on our lives, and our embracing the words “Remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” Society wants us to think we are worth it, and we should not think about our mortality. We need to live for the day, and reach for the golden ring. Yet if we can live in the understanding of our mortality, and the fact that we are worth it, we are worth the death of our savior, to the one who claimed us as his children, inheritors of his kingdom, then we truly have begun our spring cleaning. We can live in the understanding or mortality, knowing the cross of Christ puts sin to death, and live in the promise Christ will raise us out of the ashes of our death to eternal life with him.

So remember you are dust and to dust you shall return, and get you broom and let’s do some cleaning. Amen

Matthew 17:1 And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain apart. 17:2 And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his garments became white as light. 17:3 And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Eli’jah, talking with him. 17:4 And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is well that we are here; if you wish, I will make three booths here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Eli’jah.” 17:5 He was still speaking, when lo, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” 17:6 When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces, and were filled with awe. 17:7 But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and have no fear.” 17:8 And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only. 17:9 And as they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Tell no one the vision, until the Son of man is raised from the dead.”

What are you just sitting there for? Don’t just sit there, do something! This is a line I’m sure most of us have heard before. We need to be doing something. In our fast paced society, where we need easy mac, to speed up the time it takes to make macaroni and cheese, we need to be doing something. There is always something to do. That is what it seems Peter is doing here. He is needing to do something. Struck by the awe inspiring event that just took place. Can we imagine what Peter was thinking… There we were walking up the hill. Jesus asked me, and James and John to come with him up this mountain. So we walked up the side of this hill, and there right before us, Jesus turned form the guy in the dirty robe with dirty feet, to shining brilliantly white. And he was talking with two other people, could that be Moses, and Elijah? What in the world is going on here, I mean I just said he was the messiah, but I never expected this, we need to do something…

That is usually our first reaction to most things. Let’s do something. Let’s get busy and get this done, so we can move on to the next project. We need to stay busy. So Peter suggested they stay there and put up 3 tents, booths, or tabernacles, but what happened next. If we look at our text, we see that Peter is saying something in verse 17.4 and then verse 5 starts “While he was still speaking,” Peter was interrupted. Now this is probably something most of us can relate to. We are interrupted all the time by people. But has there been a time you can remember filling a little taken aback by an interruption. Maybe it was in a meeting when you were given a great idea you had and the boss interrupted you saying that is not a good idea. Or maybe in class you were talking with a friend or relating an idea to the class and the teacher interrupted you saying I am teaching the class, please listen to me. In moments like these we feel smaller, demeaned; our worth is taken away from us. Imagine how Peter felt, God interrupts Peter! If ever there was a time to feel about 2 inches tall, it might be when one is interrupted by God! Matthew presents the scene as if God were indicating to Peter, while he was still speaking, “Shut up and listen to me!”

We are so busy doing sometimes, we forget to stop and listen. Just like Peter we miss the point, we miss the word. Peter is one of the 3 inner circle disciples. He is the one disciple that truly gets it. He knows who Jesus is, we see this in Chapter 16 of Matthew, Jesus said to the disciples, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you Peter! Peter knew that Jesus was the Messiah, he understood who Jesus was. But he could not listen to what Jesus had to do, because after his confession Jesus told them he would have to go to Jerusalem and suffer and die, and Matthew continues the story that Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you.” But Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.” He could not hear what needed to be heard. He knew who Jesus was. He knew who God was, but that was not enough. Peter wanted to do something about the glorification of his Lord, but God wanted him to listen. And keep listening. The word in the Greek implies action that continues forever. This is my Son the beloved, listen to him now and keep on listening to him for ever. Just as Moses did when he went up onto the mountain and received the commandments and the laws from God, he was with God for forty days and forty nights, and he listened to God. God wants us to listen to Jesus. The silence in our service is meant to give us time to listen to God. Our prayers are times when we can listen to God. Jesus listened to God. He is the Beloved son of God because of his faithfulness to fulfill all righteousness, and he understands doing what God requires is more important than his own life, God requires him to be faithful to God’s righteousness.

And we are named beloved sons and daughters of God, if we stop and listen. Baptism is a connection of water and word. Luther says that baptism is water enclosed in God’s command and connected with God’s Word. And the sacrament of the Altar, Holy Communion is also connected with the word, the benefits of the Eucharist come to use according to Luther through the words given for you and shed for you. With out the word of God, our sacraments are nothing more than water being poured over some one, and bread and wine, but when we listen to the promise made through the word of God, these earthly elements become life changing, life transforming. We through these sacraments are transfigured into the likeness of Jesus. If we listen closely we can hear God claim us. In Baptism, God names us and claims us as his own. Just as he did to Jesus in his baptism, God names us his beloved, ones in whom he is well pleased.

Just like Peter it is not enough for us to know who Jesus is, but we must listen to what he has to say, and act accordingly. Jesus really did not want to hear what God had to tell him all the time, but he listened and acted in righteousness, to do what God required even when it required his own life. He tried to have the cross removed from him, if it is possible remove this cup from me, yet not my will but your will, be done. What you tell me to do, I am listening. Speak Lord, your servant is listening. We need to stop and listen, for that still small voice. Peter was lucky. He had the cloud role in the God boom in, “Peter, excuse me, but listen up!” We do not always get this, most times God comes to us in a still small voice, speaking ever so gently, but if we are listening, oh the wonderful things we can hear. To be called beloved by the creator of the cosmos. Peter James and John reacted correctly to the booming voice of God, to fall prostrate on the ground in fear. But when we feel the touch of God, and hear him say to us, “Get up and fear not my beloved child. I am with you, and will never leave you.” This can give us the strength to go on and do the work he has called us to do. To go into all the world, making disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them everything I have commanded you. We can do, because we take the time to listen.

Embrace Jesus, and listen to God. Do not be afraid to stop, and do nothing to sit in his presence and listen to him. He will be with us always even until the end of the age, and he has called us to do a part no one else can do. Listen, ever so closely and hear him say to you, you are my beloved. My daughter, my son, in whom I am well pleased. I love you and will never leave you, just listen. Listen.

Amen

Matthew 4:12 Now when he heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee; 4:13 and leaving Nazareth he went and dwelt in Caper’na-um by the sea, in the territory of Zeb’ulun and Naph’tali, 4:14 that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: 4:15 “The land of Zeb’ulun and the land of Naph’tali, toward the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles — 4:16 the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned.” 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 4:18 As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. 4:19 And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 4:20 Immediately they left their nets and followed him. 4:21 And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zeb’edee and John his brother, in the boat with Zeb’edee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. 4:22 Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him. 4:23 And he went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every infirmity among the people.

This is a gospel passage most of us are familiar with. Fishers of People. We hear about it in Mark, Luke and Matthew. John has a rendition of the calling of the first disciples which we heard last week. But Fishers of People is one we are all familiar with. But I admit I don’t know much about fishing, and really how does one go about fishing for people? What I do know about fishing is it requires a fishing pole, which could have a real of fishing line on it, unless of course one is fly fishing, then you just have a pole and a line, I think. But any how fishing requires a pole and some line and a hook. And bait. We need to have something for the fish to come after, to entice them to the hook. Well ok, if we are going to be fishing for people then I guess we need to find us the right pole, and the proper line to hold the weight of the people we are going for and we need the right kind of bait.

What kind of bait is right for people? What kind of worm would attract a person? Well a gummy worm may work for some people, but certainly everyone does not like gummy worms. If I was going to think about bait for Pastor Scott, I would get some chocolate covered nuts. And for Pastor Carol, one could set out a nice frosty mug of A&W root beer, of maybe some Swedish fish or Twizzlers. And what kind of hook should we use? I mean we do not want to hurt these people when we catch them. If we take a closer look at the passage from Matthew we can see that this is really not the kind of fishing we are talking about. There is no rod or reel, or fishing line or hook required. The fishing we are talking about is using a net. James and John were in the boat with their father and servants mending the nets after the catch from the morning. The fishing we are talking about is using nets, where the fish do not have the choice of bite or not bite, but the fish are dragged from life out of the water to their death.

Now this is not a very appealing thing to me to think about. Am I really suppose to go out and drag people into church. Jesus says come and follow me, and lets get people and drag them out of their old lives and have them die to that and bring them to a new life in the church. Are we really supposed to drag people into church? I wonder what acolytes think about being dragged into worship, or if they are dragged into worship? Pastor Carol and talked about this the other day on the way to a meeting. The word Acolyte comes from a Greek word which is used twice in our text today. The word comes in verse 20 and 22, and immediately they left their stuff and followed him. The word for acolyte comes from the word to follow. An acolyte is one who follows the presiding pastor around and helps them, one who serves. Isn’t that really what all of us are to Jesus? Are we all not called to be followers of the one who first sought us out? Jesus calls us to be followers and then we become disciples. A disciple is someone who learns from a teacher or master.

Now in Jesus time a person would seek out a rabbi, or a teacher to follow as a disciple. The rabbi would not lower himself to go looking for students to follow him, or learn his teachings, but that is just what Jesus does. Jesus called these four men, to follow him. He did not promise them anything in return to follow them; they did not follow because he said they would get anything. He said follow me and do this job, follow me and fish for people. Jesus called them from one type of fishing to another, not to get something, but in a sense to give something.

The call of Peter, Andrew, James and John is a foreshadow of all of our calls. As Douglas Hare says these 4 represent “all future believers whom Jesus irresistibly summons to follow him. It may not be necessary for all to leave professions and possessions behind, but all must leave their world behind and enter the new world into which Jesus invites them.” We might think these men and we chose to follow Jesus of our own free will, and in some sense we do. We chose to be present at this worship service, we chose to be present where the Word and Sacraments are presented. We chose to study scripture and ponder its meaning. However on a deeper level we know that we are all really just caught in God’s net. We were all dragged from life to death. We were all given the promise of being inheritors in the kingdom of god through are snare in the net of God’s love. Augustine said “I could not seek you, if you had not already found me.”

We are all sought by God, and called to come and follow him where he leads. We are called not because of what we get, but we are called to do something, called to evangelize, called to Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.

We are called to follow Jesus, but to be ourselves, the one who God has made, and sought for a particular part in his plan. A great illustration for the fishing and being dragged from life to death in a net is found in the movie Finding Nemo. Towards the end of the movie there is a scene where Nemo, his dad Marlin, and Dory are swimming in the fishing channels, and Dory is caught in a net with a bunch of other fish. As the net is pulled out of the water, Nemo says he can save Dory. Marlin exclaims he does not want to lose Nemo again, but he reiterates he can save Dory. So he swims in the net and tells all the fish to swim down. So as the boat’s winch is pulling the net up and out of the water and fish on the top are pulled out of the water and are dying the other fish start to swim down, pulling the net back into the water. Nemo saved Dory, by getting the fish united in a single task. As Paul wrote to the Corinthians “all of you agree and that there be no dissensions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.” The fish were united in the task of freeing themselves from the net, it is not our task to free ourselves from God’s Drag Net. It is this net that holds us in his love, as he first sought us. Our task is to be overjoyed to be in the net, and to help others see the wonders of dying to self and allowing the drag net of God’s love to pull us to him.

Help us to respond as these four men did, immediately, to the persona of our Lord who says “Come behind me, and I will make you fishers of people. Give us all the strength to set aside our fears and follow the authoritative nature of Jesus and his word which inspires us to total allegiance. Open our hearts and minds to total abandonment of self to your control, and relax in the drag net of your love. Our task is not to fight the net, or try to escape the net, as Douglas Hare says “Our task is to share a faith that is exciting enough to be contagious.” Remind us you sought us first by dragging your net, and hold us in the love of your drag net. Amen