Sermon 1 John 1:1-2:2 Touched with our Hands

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

First Presbyterian Church of Ocean City

Sermon 1 John 1:1-2:2 Touched with our Hands

April 19, 2015

Today I am beginning a series of sermons drawn from the book of 1 John. This letter was written to a group of people who had left the church after a disagreement about the meaning of scripture. The author, possibly their pastor, wanted them to come back. So he or she has written a pastoral letter trying to persuade them to return. We will get to the first chapter of this letter shortly. But first, let's pray.

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts be acceptable in your sight O Lord, our rock and redeemer.

When I want to communicate with a person at the church I have the ability to pick up a phone, or send an email or text, or sometimes a card or letter. In ancient times it wasn't that easy. Letters were written by hand with ink on parchment paper and delivered either on foot or on horseback to a recipient who could be many miles away. It could take weeks for a letter to get from one place to another. And even more weeks could pass getting a reply. This was the only way that pastors in the first century could communicate with people far away.

Today we are looking at one of these letters from a pastor to a group that has left the church. We don't know who the pastor was or where his church was located. Church tradition tells us that this letter was written by an aging Apostle John who had written the Gospel of John to witness to his church about his ministry with Jesus. This letter, 1 John, is his attempt to correct some false teaching about his gospel.

Churches at the end of the first century and the beginning of the second did not have the full New Testament as we do. They had only parts of it. And the community that received 1 John probably had the Gospel of John and was trying to live their lives in a way consistent with this gospel. In the Gospel of John we read this:

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

This is a most important verse because it tells us about our salvation. We receive eternal life only if we believe in God's son. But the church was divided over what it means to believe, and the identity of this Son of God. The people who had left the church believed that the Son of God was a divine being who was with God at creation. This idea came to them from the very first chapter of the Gospel of John.

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life,and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness,and the darkness has not overcome it.

They believed deeply in the divinity of the Word, the Son of God, but they doubted his humanity. How could a ordinary human, Jesus of Nazareth, have been with God at creation? And how could an ordinary body die and then come back to life and live in heaven? They said that all this was impossible. Instead, Christ, the Son of God, was a spirit. And this spirit was in them.

This had important implications. If the Son of God was within them he would purge their sins away. Therefore all believers would no longer be sinners. And since they were free from sin they no longer had to worry about their salvation. The Son of God would guarantee them eternal life.

The people who believed this were devout Christians who were trying to live their lives in accordance with John's Gospel, but the church was divided over these matters. And many people left. The ones who remained wrote a letter and sent it to the people who left. Here is part of what it said, the first chapter.

1 John 1:1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 2 The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We write this to make our joy complete.

So the people who remained in the church believed that it was Jesus of Nazareth who was the Christ the Son of God. They believed this because they were witnesses. They had seen it. They had heard it. They had touched his wounds and ate fish with the resurrected Jesus. Jesus had told them that he was the Son of God. And he proved it with his bodily resurrection from the dead. There was no question about it. Jesus Christ was no spirit. He was and is a flesh and blood human who lived, died, was resurrected and now lives with God in heaven. The implications of this are most important. We are not free from sin. Rather we are under the obligation to do what Jesus commanded us to do.

5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

To believe in the Son of God and receive eternal life means that we live our lives not hidden in darkness but revealed by the light God. We sin only when we think no one is looking. We think that darkness will hide us. But with Jesus, the Light of the World, everything we do is exposed to the light. Jesus sees everything. And we should always live our lives in a way that is pleasing to him.

So far we have seen that the people who left the church were wrong about the Son of God. Jesus of Nazareth, a flesh and blood human, is the Christ. He is the Son of God who was with God in the beginning and will continue to be with God in the end. Let's now explore the claim of the people who left that since they are filled with the spirit of Christ they are now free from sin. And John the Baptist said this very thing.

John 1: 29 “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

It was argued that since the Son of God takes away the sin of the world there must not be any sin left now. We must all be free from sin. Right? This was the position of the people who left the church. But the letter that John sent to them explains sin in this way.

8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.

So we still are subject to sin. Confession and repentance are still of the utmost importance. Any claim that we are not sinners runs directly against the teaching of Jesus Christ. Here is what he said.

John 8:24 I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am he, you will indeed die in your sins.”

So even as Christians we will continue to sin. Our sin cannot be hidden. It is exposed by the light of Christ. We must confess and repent. And Jesus Christ, the flesh and blood Son of God, with purify us by his blood bringing us forgiveness and transformation of life. John put it this way.

2 My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

And this is the good news we proclaim. We are all sinners. We have no hope of ever pleasing God. But by giving his life giving blood for us, the flesh and blood Son of God, Jesus Christ, assures us of salvation and promises us eternal life. All we need to do is confess our sins and amend our lives to please God. And then we can be assured of eternal life.

This is the message that the Apostle John sent to the people who had left his church. He hoped that this would be such good news that they would return when they heard it. We don't know what happened. But the church, filled with this good news, has flourished for two thousand years. Thanks be to God.

So how are we to live our lives in a way that pleases God? We will talk about this in futures weeks, but here are a few ideas for now. God wants us to walk in the light of Jesus Christ. This means that we are to be imitators of him. We must depend entirely on the cleansing power of Christ's blood to receive forgiveness. We must obey the commands of God especially to love God and love our neighbors, and we must avoid the lusts of the world and false teachings. We live in the light not by placing a check mark next to things we do or keep from doing. Rather we live in the light by understanding God's character as revealed to us in Jesus Christ and living in relationship with him. Let's pray.

Father in heaven we thanks you for the gift of your Son, Jesus Christ who was with you at creation and lived with us as a human. We thank you that by shedding his blood we receive forgiveness. We thank you for his resurrection as a foretaste of our own. We pledge to live in your light. This we pray in your son's name. Amen.

Sermon Acts 10:34-43 We are Witnesses

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

First Presbyterian Church of Ocean City

Sermon Acts 10:34-43 We are Witnesses

April 5, 2015

            Easter is a day for colorful baskets, new outfits and, my favorite, chocolate Easter bunnies.  But on the very first Easter there was none of that.  A group of women were scared to death by a mystery they couldn’t solve.  They had gone to anoint Jesus’ body in a tomb, but found the tomb to be empty.  We will attempt to solve this mystery today, but first let’s pray.

            May the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts be acceptable in your sight O Lord, our rock and redeemer.

            We are faced with a mystery.  In our first reading this morning from the Gospel of Mark we have a group of frightened women running away from an empty tomb, and we are not certain at this point what happened.  All we know is that the body of Jesus is not where it should be.  We need someone like Sherlock Holmes to assemble all the facts and deduce what it all means. 

            Let’s review what we know so far.  Jesus died on a cross.  That was last Friday.  Before sunset and the beginning of the Sabbath Joseph of Arimathea, who had been a secret follower of Jesus, asked the Roman Governor for Jesus’ body.  Pilate, the Roman Governor at the time, then ordered that Jesus’ death be confirmed.  After he was absolutely certain that Jesus was dead, Pilate released the body to Joseph.  Joseph then removed Jesus’ body from the cross, wrapped it in a linen cloth he had purchased, and placed it in a tomb he owned.  He then sealed the tomb with a large rock and went home to celebrate the Sabbath with his family.  So far, so good.

            While Joseph was doing all this there were two witnesses watching him.  One was his own mother.  The other was a woman from Magdala.  Both were named Mary.  The Sabbath began at sunset on Friday night.  It ended at sunset on Saturday.  Then early Sunday morning these two women plus another named Salome went back to the tomb.  They knew exactly where it was because they had been there Friday afternoon.  They went to Jesus’ tomb with the purpose of anointing his body as was the burial custom at the time.  So far, nothing unusual.  Their only concern was how they might roll the stone away.

            Their first hint that something happened was when they arrived at the tomb and saw that the stone had already been rolled away.  They proceeded with caution knowing that something was odd.  When they looked inside things got a little stranger.  There was a young man in a white robe sitting inside.  This was too much for the women.  They didn’t know who rolled away the stone.  And they had no idea who this man was.  They were just about to run home when he spoke to them.  And here is what he said:

6 “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’”

            That was it.  The women fled in terror.  Someone had rolled the stone away.  Jesus’ body was missing.  And some stranger was babbling nonsense about Jesus rising from the dead.  What’s going on here?  This is a very strange story.  And Mark gives us no explanation.  Like the women, we have no idea what all this means.  It’s a mystery.  Let’s try to solve it.

            We know from the man in the tomb that Jesus has gone back to Galilee where he expects to find his disciples and Peter.  Possibly Peter has some idea what this is all about.  Let’s see what he has to say.

           

            Acts 10:34 Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism 35 but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right. 36 You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, announcing the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.

            Peter is speaking to a Roman soldier living in a Gentile city in Judah built by Herod the Great on Mediterranean Sea. The soldier’s name is Cornelius.  Peter certainly remembers how angry Jesus got just days before he died when he saw Gentiles excluded from the temple and quoted Isaiah that it should be a “House of Prayer for All People.  And Peter must remember how the Gentiles started coming to Jesus triggering the end of Jesus’ ministry on earth when his hour had come.  So now Peter, at the urging of the Holy Spirit, has entered into a gentile house to witness to the good news.  And he is about to tell us what happened in that empty tomb. One clue we have already is that Peter speaks of Jesus in the present tense.  Jesus is Lord.  Could Jesus be alive?  Let’s go back as Peter continues his testimony.

Acts 10:37 You know what has happened throughout the province of Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached— 38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.  39 “We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a cross,

            Peter has told Cornelius about the historical Jesus he knew.  This Jesus came from Galilee, was baptized by John, healed the sick and cast out demons with the power of the Holy Spirit.   Lots of people knew about this Jesus from Nazareth.  And Peter knew him better than most.  But so far Peter hasn’t told us anything we didn’t already know.  We still have no idea of what happened in that tomb and why it is empty.  Let’s go back to Peter as see what else he has to say.

Acts10:40 but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. 41 He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen—by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.

            So now we know a little more.  It was God who raised Jesus from the dead, and brought him back to life.  And God had ensured that there would be reliable witnesses who not only saw Jesus, but had meals with him too after he was raised from the dead.  And so Jesus was no ghost.  His physical body came back to life after it had died.  This is interesting news, but not totally unexpected.  Jesus had brought several dead people back to life.  So it was certainly possible for him to come back as well.  We are uncovering some surprises.  Let’s keep going.

Acts 10:42 He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead.

            And now we know what the resurrection was all about.  Jesus came back to life in order to judge the living and the dead.   This should scare us to death.  Jesus came to earth to get to know us, who we really are.  And now he is alive, in heaven as our judge.  With all the stuff we have done in our lives we have no hope.  We are condemned.  We put Jesus on the cross and we deserve to be punished for it.  But Peter has one more thing to say.  And here it is.

            Act 10:43 All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

            Talk about some good news.  Yes, Jesus is our judge, and we certainly deserve punishment.  But Jesus is ready to judge all of us as forgiven if we just believe in him. This is the meaning of Easter.  Jesus was resurrected from the dead to new life to be able to judge us and to forgive us so that there is no punishment.

            Whatever you have done in your life to displease God will bring God’s wrath upon you.  All the little lies you have told, all the little things you have stolen, all the people you have hurt are all remembered by God and you will be punished.  God’s justice requires it.  But if you believe in Jesus Christ, you will receive a full, unconditional pardon.  God will forgive you.

            As an ordained Minister of the Word and Sacrament, I have been empowered by God to make you this offer.  Believe in Jesus Christ and all your sins will be forgiven.  You will be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit.  You will experience transformation to new life.  And you will be assured of eternal life in the resurrection.

            Cornelius heard this offer from Peter and to him it sounded really good.  He and his entire family accepted Jesus Christ that day and were baptized into the faith.   They were filled with the Holy Spirit and became disciples of Jesus Christ.  I urge you to do the same. 

            Our mystery is solved.  We now know why the tomb was empty on that Sunday morning.  God had raised Jesus from the dead to be the judge over all people those living and those who had died.  Everyone will receive this judgment.  But those who accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior will also receive forgiveness.  Believe in the risen Lord Jesus Christ. 

            And so we rejoice on this Resurrection Sunday.  Jesus Christ is risen from the dead to forgive you.  Celebrate with your families and friends.  Dress up, and eat those eggs and Easter Bunnies.  This is a glorious day.  Thanks be to God.  Let’s pray.

            “Glorious Lord of life, by the mighty resurrection of your Son you overcame the old order of sin and death to make all things new in him.  Grant that we who celebrate with joy Christ’s rising from the dead may be raised from the death of sin to the life of righteousness; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.” (Book of Common Worship p.323)

Sermon – Mark 11:1-11 Getting the Donkey

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

First Presbyterian Church of Ocean City

Sermon – Mark 11:1-11 Getting the Donkey

March 29, 2015

Today is Palm Sunday. This is the Sunday each year when we remember the day Jesus entered Jerusalem. It was Passover, the equivalent of July and August here in Ocean City. Jews and Gentile believers came to the city for a great feast and worship in the temple. The Roman authorities were on hand to ensure that nothing would happen to disturb the peace of Rome. But Jesus came this day to make a political statement. He would enter Jerusalem riding a donkey, in fulfillment of prophecy. He was coming to Jerusalem as the messiah, and the Son of God. And by the end of the week he would be dead.

This then is the beginning of Holy Week, the most sacred week of the church calendar. We will gather in this sanctuary this Thursday night a 7:00 pm to join Jesus in his last supper and death. On Friday we will join with other churches in Ocean City at noon to walk with Jesus, carrying his cross. And next Sunday we will gather again right here for brunch and then worship as we celebrate the surprising conclusion to all of this. Let’s pray.

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts be acceptable in your sight O Lord, our rock and redeemer.

We celebrate Palm Sunday thankful of our freedom to worship here in America. But in many places in the world Christians are not free to worship as they choose. One of these places is Syria. Listen to this true story.

“It was Palm Sunday 2010 in the Christian quarter of Homs, Syria, where thousands of inhabitants gathered in the area square to celebrate the holy event. People marched from their houses and churches toward the square. Parents were carrying their infants. Children, youth and young adults were wearing nice clothes and holding olive branches and candles. All were singing, “Hosanna in the highest.”

A year after, on Palm Sunday 2011, a different march with different people with different slogans took place in Homs. Thousands of Muslim men marched toward the city square, passing by the Christian quarter. That day, Christians celebrated Palm Sunday fearfully. They stayed at home or inside their churches. That same night, sounds of fighting, shooting and screaming “Allah Akbar” filled the city of Homs, announcing the beginning of a new era. Since then, Homs was never the same.

What was supposed to be peaceful demonstrations, turned out to be a cover for violence. Slogans of freedom, democracy and human rights were rapidly substituted with phrases of hatred, cursing and enmity accompanied with acts of violence. From the Palm Sunday on, violence, shooting and fighting happened every day in Homs. People from different sides or no side were shot and killed. Opposition fighters continued their violent actions against the police and some civilians, believing that aggression, assassinations and crimes in Homs — including the Christian quarter — would lead to the collapse of the ruling regime in Damascus 165 kilometers south. Days, weeks and months passed on while victims and destruction continued to increase.

In 2012, Homs could not have Palm Sunday of any kind. Rebels had occupied the old city of Homs, including the Christian quarter, evacuating the area of its inhabitants. On Sunday, Feb. 26, 2012, a major displacement of more than 60,000 civilians of Christian majority happened in Homs. People left their homes and could not come back again until today. As consequence of the rebels’ invasion, civilians were killed, houses were stolen and churches were destroyed. Violence has only led to more violence, more victims and more destruction.” ¹

The people of Homs cry out “Hosanna”, which means “God save us”. They need a savior. Let’s talk about the savior who entered Jerusalem two thousand years ago.

“As Jesus was about to descend the Mount of Olives to enter Jerusalem, Mark reports, he dispatched two of his disciples to fetch a colt. A seemingly minor matter of transportation it would seem, but surprisingly, over half of Mark’s story of Jesus’ entry into the city is occupied with mundane details about acquiring this animal -- where to go to find it, what kind of colt to seek, what to do, what to say.

Though no one knows what these two disciples were thinking, I am fairly confident that they had imagined for themselves a grander and nobler role on this day than being on donkey detail. Mark does not name these disciples, but maybe they were James and John, who only hours before had proposed to Jesus, "Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory." But it hardly matters which two they were. All of the disciples had been jockeying for advantage, angling for glory, arguing about who was the greatest. So it is deliciously ironic that on this very public and glorious day of Jesus’ ministry, a day when he will be welcomed into Jerusalem with joyous hosannas, they find themselves engaged in a most unromantic form of ministry, mucking around a stable, looking suspiciously like horse thieves, and trying to wrestle an untamed and no doubt balky animal toward the olive groves. For this they left their fishing nets?

Why does Mark allow this donkey-seeking scene to come across as a trivial matter of advance planning? In the Gospel of John, by contrast, Jesus begins his entry into Jerusalem on foot. The donkey enters the picture only afterward, when the crowd gets caught up in a palm-waving, nationalistic, king-admiring zeal. At that point Jesus finds the donkey on his own and sits on it, as if to say, "I’m not that kind of king." In John, then, acquiring the donkey is something that Jesus himself does as a dramatic gesture, and it is a beautiful symbol of his humility in the face of triumphalist misunderstanding. But in Mark, finding the donkey seems more like a delegated chore -- somewhat akin to the worship committee meeting to plan the a Maudy Thursday Service, one of those thousands of routine and inglorious details of church work that are necessary but not the real action.

In the ordination service of the Presbyterian Church, candidates for the ministry are asked, "Will you in your own life seek to follow the Lord Jesus Christ, love your neighbors and work for the reconciliation of the world? . . . Will you seek to serve the people with energy, intelligence, imagination and love?" These are bracing words, and the wind ruffles through your hair when you hear them. Such language implies that ministry is a brave white-water romp over the cultural rapids toward global transformation in the name of Christ. Never once is it mentioned that serving people with energy, imagination and love often boils down to stuff like ordering bulletin covers, changing light bulbs in the restrooms, visiting people in nursing homes who aren’t quite sure who you are, getting the brakes relined on the church van, making a breathless Saturday afternoon run to the florist because someone forgot to order the palm branches and, as two of Jesus’ disciples found out, finding a suitable donkey at the last minute.

It is right at this place, though, that Mark imparts some of his best theological wisdom. He begins his Gospel with the exhilarating trumpet call to "prepare the way of the Lord," but he makes it clear, by his description of the disciples’ activity in the rest of his Gospel, that the way to do so is not by becoming a member of the Knights Templar and gallantly defending Christendom, but rather by performing humble and routine tasks. The disciples in Mark get a boat ready for Jesus, find out how much food is on hand for the multitude, secure the room and prepare the table for the Last Supper and, of course, chase down a donkey that the Lord needs to enter Jerusalem.

Whatever they may have heard when Jesus beckoned, "Follow me," it has led them into a ministry of handling the gritty details of everyday life. Mark understands, as Markan scholar Joel Marcus notes, "the preparation of the Lord’s way in a rather prosaic manner as the arrangements people make for the ministry of Jesus."

The "arrangements people make for the ministry of Jesus" -- one could hardly find a more apt description of what we, as disciples, are called to do. This cuts two ways. On the one hand, we are called to prepare the way for Jesus’ ministry, and it is his ministry, not ours, that ultimately counts. We are but donkey fetchers. On the other hand, because we are -- in ways often hidden from our eyes – "preparing the way of the Lord," the routine, often exhausting, seemingly mundane donkey-fetching details of our service are gathered into the great arc of Jesus’ redemptive work in the world.

In Mark, the Twelve are sent out to proclaim the gospel, cast out demons, heal the sick and exercise authority. But Mark wants us to know that what this looks like is often a matter of speaking a quiet word in a committee meeting, spending time with someone who is incoherent and coming apart at the seams, emptying a bedpan at the hospital and scratching a few desperate, halting words in the computer when getting ready for Sunday’s sermon. In Mark’s world, "preparing the way of the Lord" usually looks like standing hip-deep in the mire of some stable trying to corral a donkey for Jesus.²

So what Jesus wants us do is to keep doing what we already do. Keep cooking breakfasts and lunches. Keep reading books and studying the Bible. Keep sending cards, visiting shut-ins and those in hospital and nursing homes. Keep maintaining the buildings, greeting visitors and inviting friends to church. And keep praying. And in your prayers pray for the Christians in the Middle East who have lost the freedom to worship and are now oppressed. Pray that the messiah will come to save them. Hosanna! Let’s pray.

Lord Jesus we pray for Christians, around the world, who are unable to worship you freely. We ask for a savior to come to save them. We pray for the Prince of Peace to come to end warfare and violence. We pray for your kingdom to come. Amen.

1Paul Seebeck http://www.pcusa.org/news/2014/4/9/three-different-palm-sundays/

2Thomas G. Long http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=3389