Mark 2:23-3:6

June 2, 2024

The Rev. Todd R. Goddard, Pastor

Rush United Methodist Church

Mark 2:23-3:6 (http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=394599217)

One Sabbath he was going through the grain fields; and as they made their way his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?”And he said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need of food? He entered the house of God, when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and he gave some to his companions.” Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the Sabbath; so the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”

Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there who had a withered hand. They watched him to see whether he would cure him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him. And he said to the man who had the withered hand, “Come forward.” Then he said to them, “Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. He looked around at them with anger; he was grieved at their hardness of heart and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. The Pharisees went out and immediately conspired with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.

| Centering Prayer |

The interpretation of scripture

Is a time-honored tradition.

I do it nearly every day

And proclaim my results nearly every Sunday.

Every occasion when the Word of God is proclaimed

The preacher is charged with the revered responsibility

Of interpretation.

It’s a sacred responsibility I take seriously.

If only scripture was simple, straight forward, and required no interpretation.

Biblical interpretation implies an objective Truth served up in the Gospel,

Coupled with a subjective experience and influence of the Holy Spirit.

This is why two different preachers will have

Two different interpretations of the same scripture lesson.

Each has an unique point of view, background experience, culture, gender, economic status, Biblical and theological education.

Each is subjectively, personally moved by the Holy Spirit of God.

My father,

A tenured ordained elder in the United Methodist Church,

And I had a difference of interpretation of the third commandment

As found in Deuteronomy 5:12

“Observe the Sabbath day and keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you.”

For my father,

That meant no work on Sundays:

You don’t mow the lawn.

No house cleaning.

You don’t catch up on odd jobs around the house.

You don’t even go golfing.

Sundays were reserved for going to church,

Having a large family meal after church,

And lounging around the house for the rest of the day.

What a waste of the afternoon, I’d often thought as a child.

His Sabbath world view

Was about the prohibition of work

And keeping the day holy by going to church.

These values are deeply instilled within me,

For which, I am eternally grateful.

Yet, I have come to discover,

Or, it has been revealed to me,

There is much more here,

Highlighted in the Gospel

For us to interpret and apply.

The Spirit moves.

The Lord gives

Essential truths that challenge and change

The way I had always understand Sabbath.  

In the same tradition as my father

I draw different conclusions.

The Pharisees and Jesus came to completely different

Interpretations of the third commandment,

As recorded in two different locations:

In Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5.

The worldview of Pharisees in context of ancient Israel

Is very different from ours today.

Pharisees saw the world

In the context of Roman occupation,

A complex Temple economy,

With an upstart, potentially destabilizing, self-proclaimed Messiah

From the rural north country of Galilee coming to Jerusalem.

The Pharisees viewed the world in crisis and political turmoil.

On the one hand,

The world was a place of opportunity;

Privilege, wealth, and status.

On the other hand,

The world was in great jeopardy during a dangerous time.

Thank goodness the Pharisee didn’t have Facebook!

Pharisees saw the Ten Commandments,

The Law,

As a list of prohibitions

Given by God to God’s chosen people,

To keep community stability.

For the most part, I agree with their interpretation,

Just as my father did.

The Ten Commandments were finite, literally set in stone,

And needed another 613 commandments,

Called “mitzvoth”,

To fully interpret and expound upon these ten.

Jesus had a more expansive worldview.

Jesus was frying other fish.

He saw things differently.

His interpretation was so potentially destabilizing

The Pharisees and Herodians conspired against him,

“How to destroy him,” Mark recorded. (3:6)

Jesus didn’t see the third commandment

About observing the Sabbath day and keeping it holy

As a prohibition.

Unlike many of the other prohibitive commandments,

(Think “Thou shall not …”)

Jesus understands the Sabbath law as permissive.

Jesus sees Sabbath law as liberation,

A means of God’s mercy and grace,

Towards God’s chosen, adapted, and loved people.

Jesus interprets it differently

By reading the third commandment

In the context of God’s larger recorded words.

Let me explain.

Here is the whole third commandment in

Deuteronomy 5:12-15:

“Observe the Sabbath day and keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you.  Six days you shall labor and do all your work.  But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work—you, or your son or your daughter, or your male or female slave, or your ox or your donkey, or any of your livestock, or the resident alien in your towns, so that your male and female slave may rest as well as you. Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm; therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.”

Here is same commandment as recorded in Exodus 20:8-11.

The difference is important.

“Remember the Sabbath day, and keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work—you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and consecrated it.”

Here’s the context:

The Lord’s Sabbath commandment

From Deuteronomy

Was delivered to newly freed slaves.

God hates slavery,

Always has, always will.

God hates everything about slavery,

Where one oppresses another with intimidation and violence,

Where one works another person hard,

Every daylight hour,

Seven days a week.

Think about it:

Our Hebrew ancestors

Held in Egyptian slavery

Worked seven days a week

Under the hot African sun.

Now, God is giving the newly freed Hebrews

A day off.

God created the weekend!

This was the first labor law in God’s kingdom.

This was a law every freed Hebrew would enthusiastically keep!

This wasn’t prohibition;

This was permission!

Some have observed that western culture

Has improved the Sabbath law with the creation of the two-day weekend.

I’m not certain we can improve upon the Lord’s work, but …

I believe God must be pleased with two days of rest.

From Exodus and Deuteronomy

It is important to recognize

The Sabbath’s permission to rest

Extends to sons and daughters,

To slaves (why weren’t they freed, too?) and livestock, and

To resident aliens (AKA … immigrants, green card holders, migrant workers, undocumented foreigners, illegal aliens).

(Exodus 20:10b, Deuteronomy 5:14)

Rest!

Rest! The Lord commands.

Everyone needs to rest,

Because rest is liberation;

Salvation from slavery and captivity.

A characteristic signature of God’s kingdom from the Gospel of Mark

Is liberation, freedom, and salvation.

The command to rest for Jesus

Is first, and foremost,

A line in the sand advocating for justice.

Everyone deserves rest.

Jesus observes before the Pharisees

“The Sabbath was made for humankind,

And not humankind for the Sabbath.” (2:27)

Let’s look at Exodus,

As if we are looking from Jesus’ point of view.

Exodus expands the context:

The Lord’s Sabbath commandment

Was delivered to newly freed slaves who were children of Abraham,

Living in covenant with the God of creation.

Rest!

For in resting

We are mirroring the creative behavior

Of our God that created the heavens and the earth in six days

And rested on the seventh.

(Exodus 20:11)

Furthermore,

The command to rest for Jesus

Is about connecting God’s people

With the God who created us,

Our Heavenly Father.

The relationship we have with God

Defines the deep roots of our faith

That anchors us throughout life.

Sabbath.

Rest.

Freedom.

Creation.

Life.

Living in relationship with God.

Keeping the Sabbath day holy

Is permission to reflect upon the sacredness of life:

What it means to live

As God’s child,

Chosen,

Called,

Sent,

Redeemed, and

Saved.

The Sabbath was made for life!

“The Sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the Sabbath; so the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.” (2:27-28)

“The Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.” (2:28)

Game on, Pharisees.

Good news for the world.

Not so much good news for the Pharisees.

The stage is set for the remainder of the Gospel of Mark.

Jesus has never been afraid to lean into privilege,

To speak truth to power,

To bring liberation and freedom,

To draw a line in the sand for social justice.

Jesus always invites his chosen to

embrace creation,

Celebrate life, live in righteousness,

With the same faithfulness God has shown towards us.

Dearly beloved,

Sabbath yourselves.

Jesus, lord of the Sabbath,

Invites us to imagine what the world would look like

If it were transformed into the Kingdom that God is planning.

Let us dream of a world that is just and fair,

Where all may find rest,

Where all may fall into love and relationship

With the God who created them.

Let us learn from Jesus.

Let us boldly follow his example.

Let us be the hands of Jesus to bring Sabbath to the world.

Amen.

May 26, 2024

The Rev. Todd R. Goddard, Pastor

Rush United Methodist Church

John 3:1-17

Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. He came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.” Jesus answered him, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be astonished that I said to you, ‘You must be born from above.’ The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” Jesus answered him, “Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things? “Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our testimony. If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. “Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

| Centering Prayer |

Our Gospel for this morning is one

that dives to the core of John’s evangelical character.

The Gospel of John is one that is all about

the nature of Christ,

the kingdom of God,

and the power of the Holy Spirit.

It is deeply theological in nature,

– Lots of God talk –

weaving these common threads

(unlike the other three Gospels)

throughout the text.

It seems that wherever you open  the Gospel of John,

we see and experience Jesus,

his emerging kingdom,

and the power and presence of the Holy Spirit.

…

Nicodemus,

a leader, back in the day, of organized religion,

a Jew,

comes to Jesus under darkness of night.

Outwardly, Nicodemus is an antagonist of Jesus.

Yet our text for this morning reveals that this may be a false front,

a façade that hides a deeper motive.

Does he come to uncover evidence to use against Jesus?

Does he come to learn more about him?

Or, …. Perhaps he comes with a longing desire to draw close to Jesus.

We can only wonder.

We will never know.

From this encounter emerges

awkward dialogue

on the part of Nicodemus.

Jesus, using his best non-anxious  presence,

allows Nicodemus to stammer and stutter,

kick the dirt,

and begin to speak:

“Rabbi, we know what you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.” (John 3:2)

This isn’t a question.

This is a statement …

acknowledging the fact that Jesus has been doing signs,

signs that are completely impossible without the assistance of God.

His observation is followed by a statement of belief.

What a surprise –

a holy man from headquarters who has some sense of belief and faith!

It is an opening.

It is all the invitation Jesus needs to begin to speak.

Jesus lays the foundation, the groundwork, upon which he builds his ministry.

I am most drawn to three of his points,

As found in verses 3, 5, and 8.

1. “No one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” (John 3:3)

Jesus feels the great desire that Nicodemus has burning in his heart.

Nicodemus, like all the rest of us, has a great need to see God’s kingdom

– not in the hereafter, mind you,

rather, in the here and now.

Our motives are good.

We seek to work for the betterment of society,

and to do it in the name of the Lord, well, that’s all the better.

The faithful Jew heeds the Law, honors the Covenant, and listens to the prophets.

The faithful Christian follows the life and lifestyle of Jesus,

reaching out to the poor, the disadvantaged, the outcast, the widow and the orphaned.

We would like to think that what we do,

in some small way,

is making a difference,

is making headway,

in establishing God’s kingdom

on earth as it is in heaven.

But, Jesus tells us

that the only way to see the kingdom is by being born from above.

We can work all day and all night to improve our world,

but without being born from above,

all our work will be limited,

all our efforts will be temporal,

with a lifespan, with a natural cycle of birth, life, and death.

What makes our efforts a part of God’s eternal plan, however,

is when we work in the life and Spirit from above.

When the Spirit is in us,

our eyes are opened,

we are given sight unlike we’ve ever seen before.

The Spirit allows us to see God’s kingdom as it really is;

love and grace cascading from the throne,

from the Lamb,

flowing through the highways and pathways of life,

ebbing into every area of our world.

Through the Spirit’s insight

we become like metal filings oriented by God’s magnet,

directed towards all good works and ministry that is God’s will.

Being born from above allows

the blind to see, the deaf to hear, and the challenged to stand.

Being born from above allows

us to take that first step into God’s eternal, earthly kingdom.

2. Jesus tells the wondering Nicodemus,

“No one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit.” (John 3:5)

Birth is such a wonderful metaphor for entering life in the kingdom.

Birth is a water-born transition from the protection of the womb

into the big, bold, wonder-filled world.

It is an opportunity to step out of our former life,

molding our old skin and leaving it behind,

turning to the Light,

and making the first bold step into the kingdom.

Water marks the transition for Noah

from a world of sin to a world wiped cleaned and renewed.

Water became the sign and symbol of salvation

when the Red Sea parted and allowed Moses and our ancestors to pass.

The baptismal waters, of Jesus in the Jordan are the very same baptismal waters that touched you.

Our common baptism

welcomes each of us into the community of God’s chosen.

By your baptismal waters,

sealed by the same Spirit that descended upon Jesus,

you have already been given your entry into God’s kingdom.

You’ve already passed the bar,

done all that is necessary for living a life in the Spirit,

in a kingdom created and ruled by God,

a kingdom of grace and love.

Too many Christians spend far too much time

worrying over their final disposition.

“Are you saved?”

“Am I saved?”

“Say the name of Jesus and be saved.”

I’m sure you’ve heard it all before.

Salvation has become a tactic of fear,

instead of a means of grace – as it was meant to be.

Jesus tells us to stop planning for tomorrow.

Tomorrow has been accounted for. 

We’ve already been given the keys to the kingdom.

The inheritance is already ours to claim.

Instead of worrying about tomorrow,

Jesus wants us to be focused on doing his mission and ministry today.

3. “The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” (John 3:8)

To be honest, this is one of my favorite passages from the Gospel of John.

For me and

From my experience living a life of faith as a disciple of Jesus Christ,

this verse has opened to me great insight and meaning.

“The wind blows where it chooses,” I often abbreviate

when engaging in conversation

with people testing the water of spiritual life.

What lies behind this statement are the primary attributes of the Holy Spirit.

The Spirit is like the wind.

You don’t see it.

Evidence is only by indirect observation.

We see the trees wave.

We feel our hair being blown astray.

We know it is present.

It just is.

The Spirit, like the wind,

blows where it chooses.

It is absolutely impossible to anticipate or predict

The Spirit’s presence, action or direction.

There are times in my life

when the Spirit calls me to reevaluate

my direction,

my interactions,

my spiritual focus.

There are times in my experience that the Spirit supports and affirms my spiritual journey.

There are times in my experience when the Spirit calls me in a different direction.

There have been times in my past where I have felt that the Spirit was absent.

Intellectually, theologically, I don’t believe the Spirit has been absent;

for me, I experienced the perception that I was in a spiritual wilderness.

There are times when our motives are synchronized with the Spirit

and there are times when our motives butt heads.

Sometimes I find myself in conflict with the Spirit.

The goal, for me and from my experience,

is to wholly surrender –

– wholly surrender –

my will to the will of the Spirit,

to allow the Spirit to completely lead and guide me

through everything I think, say, and do.

You hear the sound of it.

What kind of noise does the Spirit make?

I hear the Spirit in many ways.

At annual conference, it may be through a great preacher, lively music, clapping and singing.

In a trout stream, it may come with the sound of the line being caste through the air.

When I walk through the church building

it may be the giggle of children,

running of water washing hands in the bathroom,

or the sound of singing coming from the adult class room or the choir rehearsing ….

– I hear the sound of the Spirit.

When someone shares with me a heartfelt concern

– either during prayers in worship or in the privacy of a confessional –

I hear the sound of the Spirit.

When seated at our family’s dinner table, we sing our grace,

hear the noise of sparks flying from knife and fork,

and talk about the day’s events,

that’s when I hear the sound of the Spirit.

“We do not know,” is a powerful statement.

Jesus tells us that being alive in the Spirit involves mystery.

If you’re not comfortable with living with mystery,

with living with the unknown,

then, well, until you become acclimated with the mystery of God,

you will experience a tension that sometimes can be uncomfortable.

Know this,

you are not alone in your discomfort.

In my life, it is all about process;

a continuum that gradually yields to greater ease,

greater comfort,

greater satisfaction living in harmony with God.

In today’s lesson we find ourselves in conversation with Jesus,

our Lord and Savior,

as he prepares his disciples for the time that would soon come,

when his Holy Spirit would descend upon them at Pentecost.

With God our heavenly Father,

we have all the constituent components for the Trinity,

Our doctrine we celebrate this Trinity Sunday.

Thanks be to God!

Amen!

Acts 2:1-4, 14, 16-21 and John 15:26-27 & John 16:4b-15

Pentecost

May 19, 2024

The Rev. Todd R. Goddard, Pastor

Rush United Methodist Church

Acts 2:1-4, 14, 16-21 (http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=393565860)

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.

But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, “Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel: ‘In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy. And I will show portents in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and smoky mist. The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day. Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’

John 15:26-27, 16:4b-15 (http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=393562159)

“When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, he will testify on my behalf. You also are to testify because you have been with me from the beginning. But I have said these things to you so that when their hour comes you may remember that I told you about them. “I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. But now I am going to him who sent me; yet none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your hearts.

Nevertheless I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will prove the world wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: about sin, because they do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will see me no longer; about judgment, because the ruler of this world has been condemned. 

“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

| Centering Prayer |

Exactly as Jesus taught

The Messianic Age ended!

He flew up into the air, hallelujah!

Jesus was the last, final messiah.

No need to wait for another.

Turn the page.

Exactly as Jesus promised

A new chapter in God’s unfolding salvation history began.

With Pentecostal fire

The Holy Spirit came upon and overwhelmed the obedient disciples,

Waiting in the Upper Room.

Thus began the age in which we continue to live to this day:

Welcome to the Holy Spirit Age.

The author of Acts reported what happened:

The Holy Spirit came with sound and heat,

Filling the entire house.

Sound filled the house:

“like the rush of a violent wind.” (Acts 2:2)

People who live in tornado alley would describe this

“like the sound of a freight train bearing down on them.”

Shelter in place, auntie Em! 

Heat filled the house:

“Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them.” (Acts 2:3)

Talk about running around with your hair on fire!

It’s like the house got blown down and set on fire.

As a result,

All “were filled with the Holy Spirit

And began to speak in other languages,

As the Spirit gave them ability.” (Acts 2:4)

No, they had not been drinking, as some speculated.

Peter set the record straight.

They were witnessing,

Just as Joel prophesized hundreds of years earlier.

Their multi-lingual witness

Revealed the coming of the Lord,

The presence of the Holy Spirit.

It was the dawn of a brand-new age.

As God came to earth as Son of God and Son of Man,

In the form of Jesus Christ,

God returned to the world as the Spirit,

The Advocate, the Paraclete, the Spirit of Truth.

The world had to know that God had returned to live among us;

Therefore, the message needed delivered in the languages of the world.

This explained what happened, on the day of Pentecost.

The question that begs to be asked is

“why?”

Why did Jesus leave his disciples and humanity behind?

Why did God return to humanity on Pentecost in the form of a Spirit?

Answering the “why?” question gives us insight

Into God’s motives;

God’s deep, longing desire

To love and save the world.

Scripture reveals three items that are essential for our understanding.

(It makes for a good three-point sermon, too!)

1. First, the Holy Spirit replaced Jesus

To transfer his power and authority to his Church.

“The Advocate will take what is mine and declare it to you,”

Jesus promises. (John 16:14)

The problem facing Jesus was

He was one man

Who could only be in one place

At one time.

His singularity

Limited his reach

And restricted his ability

To teach, heal, forgive and save

To only the individual directly before him.

God’s unfolding plan

Reveals the need for

The power and authority of Jesus Christ to scale

From the individual

To the global needs of humanity.

The transition from the Messianic Age to the Holy Spirit Age reveals

God’s deepest desire to spread his kingdom worldwide.

The power and authority of Jesus is available to all Spirit filled disciples.

When the Spirit fills us,

Starting with our baptism by water and Spirit,

We become the Body of Christ.

We assume the authority of Jesus.

And we are given the power of Jesus by the Holy Spirit,

With the responsibility to use it

According to God’s will.

2. Secondly, God’s work wasn’t completed in Jesus.

More needed done.

More needed taught.

Disciples need direction, guidance towards truth.

To this day

God’s will continues to be revealed,

Continues to adapt to the ground game,

Continues to adjust to the evolving needs of humanity.

As the world evolved, so too would God.

For scripture to be understood,

The Holy Spirit needs to flood the thoughts of the reader.

For the Gospel to be proclaimed,

The Holy Spirit needs to reveal its will to the preacher.

For the kingdom of God to be spread,

The Holy Spirit needs to empower advocates for

Justice,

Peacemaking,

And Social Holiness.

Jesus recognized the fact

That post-ascension apostles could not manage alone.

3. Lastly, in the final moments of Jesus’ instructions to his disciples,

He tells them that the Spirit must replace him,

To “prove the world wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment.” (John 16:8)

It would take the Spirit to do

That which Jesus was unable to do

In three key areas:

sin and belief,

righteousness in physical absence,

and judgment and condemnation.

For those who would be unmoved in believing or following Jesus,

Only the Holy Spirit would be able to bridge the gap,

And bring the unbeliever from the land of the lost

Into the kingdom of God.

For those who needed Christ’s physical presence

To prod their righteous behavior,

Only the Holy Spirit would be able to wheel them back into community.

Somehow, God still had to go after lost sheep.

For those whose self-judgment has opened the flood gates of self-condemnation,

Only the power of the Holy Spirit can save the condemned from drowning,

By extending forgiveness and the redemption of sins to the world.

…

Our Holy Spirit Age was a necessary transition

In our relationship with God,

And no one knew it,

Or could articulate it more accurately,

Than Jesus, himself.

The power and authority of Jesus

Had to be transferred to the Church

If Christianity was going to propagate the world.  

Disciples then, and every generation moving forward,

Depend upon the guidance and support of the Holy Spirit.

You and I; we couldn’t survive, let alone thrive, without the presence of the Spirit.

And the gift of the Holy Spirit of Truth,

Enlightens and brings to life the gifts of Jesus:

Forgiveness of sins,

Repentance,

And salvation.

Today we celebrate God’s gift of the Spirit,

A sign of his grace and overwhelming love

For you and me.

Thanks be to God!

Amen.

Luke 24:44-53

May 12, 2024 – Ascension of the Lord Sunday

The Rev. Todd R. Goddard, Pastor

Rush United Methodist Church

Luke 24:44-53 (http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=392965534)

Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised; so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and, lifting up his hands, he blessed them. While he was blessing them, he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven. And they worshiped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy; and they were continually in the temple blessing God.

| Centering Prayer |

Blessings to all mothers,

To all who had mothers,

Mothers who lived up to the best of their ability

All the qualities

And the highest ideals

of a loving and nurturing motherhood.

Thank you, God, for mothers.

My own mother cried throughout my entire pregnancy, I’m told.

She cried because her obstetrician warned her that

She had endured three c-sections, but

She would not survive a fourth.

Her decision to continue my pregnancy

And not terminate my life meant

That she was willing to give her life that I might live.

Sacrificing your life that others might live.

I know the source of that love.

Thank you, God for mothers, flaws and all.

Not every mother is perfect,

That would be asking too much.

For some, a relationship with mom is complicated.

Today is a gift,

An emotional and spiritual opportunity to be reconciled,

To let loose God’s forgiveness, and

To be healed by God’s grace. 

Be sure to thank God for your mother

Before the sun sets this day.

—-

I have an announcement!

The Messianic Age is ended!

Hallelujah!

It’s done. Over. Long since gone.

Hallelujah!

With Christ’s ascension into heaven

The chapter of Jewish messianic expectation has been closed.

It was done.

All his disciples are told to stay in Jerusalem and wait

For the dawning of God’s next age to begin.

Sit tight.

Wait.

The new age is going to be awesome!

Our Jewish ancestors had plenty of reasons to watch and wait

For the messiah, the savior of the world, to come.

The promise of prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah

Echo back to Moses (see Deuteronomy 18:15-22);

That God was sending a savior to the world,

To redeem the world,

To fix the world of its original sin.

From scriptural authority,

Our ancestors anticipated

A human leader,

A blood line descendent from King David,

Sent by God with a plan

To reunify and gather together the tribes of Israel,

To remove foreign occupation,

To forgive sins and save the redeemed,

And to usher in an age of universal peace and God’s dominion.

The annunciation of Jesus in the Jerusalem Temple

Revealed Jesus as the much anticipated messiah,

Son of God, and descendent of David.

Of course, not everyone bought it,

Many still don’t.

But those of us who were his disciples,

And by our baptismal heritage his disciples today,

We know differently.

Jesus was the long-anticipated messiah;

That’s why we call him “the Christ,”

Literally meaning, Jesus the messiah.

Now, he had flown away,

Right out of their sight.

The wait must have been interminable,

Filled with anxiety and uncertainty.

Yet, Jesus had just opened their minds to the scriptures,

“that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.” (24:46b-47)

They knew the mission.

They knew the will of Jesus:

Begin with proclamations

Of repentance and forgiveness of sins in the name of Jesus

Starting right there in Jerusalem.

But, what’s next?

“Stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high,” Jesus commanded. (24:49b)

Stay and wait.

Close one chapter.

Wait for the next chapter to begin.

Luke reports they passed the time

Worshipping Jesus and blessing God in the Temple.

He also tells us they chose a replacement disciple:

Matthias. (Acts 1:12-14)

Finally, Christ’s disciples understood.

No more secrets.

No more bumbling misunderstandings.

They knew what they had to do.

They just had to wait

To be clothed with God’s power.  

Our Lord’s band of brothers only had to sweat it out

Until Pentecost, for the coming of the Holy Spirit

(which we will celebrate next Sunday)

For the next chapter to begin.

The age of the Holy Spirit was about to begin.

Some might speculate that Jesus ascended to the Father

As some kind of reward for a job well done.

I see it differently.

I see the transition from one era to another

As a part of God’s unfolding, elegant plan

To love the world;

To set the table

For the Church to take root,

Experience explosive growth,

And spread throughout all nations.

When Christ dwelt among us,

He, and his small band of disciples, was the Church.

When Jesus became physically absent,

His body became the people who faithfully fulfilled his will

To witness to his death and resurrection.

His suffering and death had meaning;

Dying powerless,

At the same time, he took upon himself the sins of the world.

His resurrection had meaning;

Rising from the dead,

Eternal life given to all who believe.

Resurrection reveals cosmic power,

Divine power,

Power beyond human comprehension.

And now, in this new Holy Spirit age,

This divine power comes to all disciples.

We’ve become his body;

The Body of Christ,

Life drawn from the Holy Spirit,

Wielding God’s power and authority.

One of the first crisis to hit the early Church

Was the failure of Jesus to return as they believed he promised.

There are a few in every generation who believe they are exceptional.

That Christ will return in bodily form

During their lifetime.

Many still believe this today.

Many a street preacher

And many tall steeple pastors

Will preach this very narrow assumption

Of our Lord’s physical return.

What could be wrong with Jesus flying back to earth

In an Elijah-like fiery chariot,

Leading the faithful in a victorious final battle of Armageddon;

Armies of righteousness bringing defeat to the devil and his minions,

Of good winning out over evil?

Second coming apocryphal images

Keep the mojo flowing

And, in my humble opinion, instill an unnecessary fear among the faithful.

Allow me to make this challenge.

Faith that is based on fear

Is not faith in a graceful and loving God.

Fear is a lousy motivator.

After a while, fear drains out

Leaving behind

Tears of disappointment and

A feeling of unfulfilled expectations.

Many have died in the Lord disappointed

That Jesus didn’t physically return during their lifetime.

The ascension of Jesus may be asking us

To broaden our field of vision,

Challenge our narrow and deeply engrained assumptions.

Let us consider a new way to contemplate the second coming of Jesus

In light of his ascension.

Allow me to ask,

Hasn’t Christ already returned?

Isn’t Christ present in his Body,

The communion of Saints,

The members of the faithful today

Who live Holy Spirit filled and sustained lives today?

Isn’t the Holy Spirit in this house today?

I’m suggesting that

both may be true:

Christ has returned by the presence of the Holy Spirit, and,

Christ will also come again,

In bodily form and in glory.

Christ has come!

That’s my witness.

And Christ will come again!

Scripture and the Christian journey lead me to believe

Christ has returned in the form of the Holy Spirit

That is present, powerful, and sustaining.

It is by the Spirit’s power

That we are able to preach repentance and forgiveness of sins,

That we are able to witness to the world the resurrection of Jesus.

We remain children of the Heavenly Father,

But now, we are God’s children living in the Holy Spirit age.

We have been given the mission to witness,

To proclaim in the name of Jesus

The repentance and forgiveness of sins.

We’ve been given the Pentecostal power and the authority

To witness to the world.

For we now, are the Body of Christ,

Redeemed by his blood.

Yes, Christ will come again.

He will come to greet each and everyone of us

With an outstretched hand

Welcoming each of us home into eternal life.

Christ coming again is our Lord’s most elegant fulfillment

Of his promise of eternal life.

In many ways,

The message and meaning of Christ’s ascension into heaven

Is more about us than it is about Jesus.

The ascension means

The messianic age has ended.

Jesus is gone.

He left.

But he left an open door.

The Holy Spirit comes at Pentecost

Ushering in a new age.

It’s now all on us

It’s up to us.

Where we are now the Body of Christ.

God gives us the power and authority,

But with it comes the responsibility to use it according to God’s will.

Dearly beloved,

Accept the responsibility.

Receive it with joy and thanksgiving!

Live faithfully according to Jesus’s commands and God’s will.

For we are now his body,

The Body of Christ.

Christ has come,

And Christ will come again.

Amen.

John 15:9-17

May 5, 2024

The Rev. Todd R. Goddard, Pastor

Rush United Methodist Church

John 15:9-17

As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.

“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.

| Centering Prayer |

I’d like to express my sincere thanks to Pastor Paddy

For covering for me the last two Sundays.

Paddy has been a friend and colleague for many years

And I’m always delighted when we can work together for God’s greater kingdom.

Thank you, Paddy.

Thank you to everyone who have showered me with prayers, cards, rides, and kindness.

Rehabilitation teaches me humility and gratitude.

Dependence upon others teaches me about my relationship with God.

Every thought.

Every prayer.

Every act of kindness is so appreciated.

Thank you.

…

Our Gospel for this morning is a continuation

Of last Sunday’s passage from John:

“I am the vine, you are the branches.”

(John 15:5)

Jesus is the vine.

You and I are the branches.

And our Heavenly Father is the Divine,

vine-growing Gardner.

This is a straightforward metaphor

With deep seeded implications.

When we make our soulful home in Jesus Christ,

– when we “abide” in Christ –

And since we keep His commandments,

To Love God and Love Neighbors,

Then we have joy,

– complete joy –

In our life.

Live in Christ.

Love God and Love Neighbors.

Be flooded with love and live in joy.

It’s that simple.

…

In my childhood

I attended vacation Bible school every summer.

Held at the Camp Street United Methodist Church in Jamestown, NY,

I can recall a hot, packed sanctuary

Filled with sweaty kids singing with gusto:

I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy,

down in my heart, down in my heart, down in my heart.

I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy, down in my heart to stay.

R: And I’m so happy! I’m so very happy!

I’ve got the love of Jesus in my heart!

And I’m so happy! I’m so very happy!

I’ve got the love of Jesus in my heart!

I’ve got the peace that passes understanding,

down in my heart, down in my heart, down in my heart.

I’ve got the peace that passes understanding, down in my heart to stay.

R: And I’m so happy! I’m so very happy!

I’ve got the love of Jesus in my heart!

And I’m so happy! I’m so very happy!

I’ve got the love of Jesus in my heart!

I’ve got the love of Jesus, love of Jesus,  

down in my heart, down in my heart, down in my heart.

I’ve got the love of Jesus, love of Jesus, down in my heart to stay.

R: And I’m so happy! I’m so very happy!

I’ve got the love of Jesus in my heart!

And I’m so happy! I’m so very happy!

I’ve got the love of Jesus in my heart!

…

If the essence of John 15, “I am the vine, you are the branches,”

Can be summed up in this simple children’s song,

Then, certainly, we should understand

The concept of Christ’s love and joy today.

Or, do we?

Many people are searching for love and joy these days,

Both inside and outside the Church.

Over the years,

I’ve taken notice of three different groups of people.

These different groups are not all inclusive of everyone in society.

I’ve just taking a keen interest in these three:

1) those who search for love and joy without a foundation of faith,

2) those searching with a life of casual or waning faith, and

3) those searching for love and joy with abiding faith.

…

One.

Sadly, there are some people raised with no exposure to a life of faith, or

Worse, yet, a negative exposure to faith.

When I used to conduct psychiatric assessments

for Clifton Springs Hospital,

I grew convinced that,

From my observations and experience,

Four basic things make people crazy:

1. Bad genes,
2. Abuse or violence in the house,
3. Substance abuse,
4. A traumatic exposure to religion,

Or, some combination of these four events.

People without a foundation of faith

Or who have been driven away from faith

Never learn of the generous and benevolent

Covenants God has made with us.

They have never experience the elegant design

balancing law and grace.

They have never come to know

The promise and hope of redemption and salvation.

They have never felt the love of Christ and His Church.

Where then do people turn who’ve never learned the Biblical story,

Or who’ve had the Biblical story warped and misrepresented?

Sadly, many turn to self-reliance, to self-gratification, to self-promotion.

Others become cauldrons of pride, ego, and grandiose delusions.

When the self isn’t strong, it breaks.

When the self doesn’t get it’s own way, it angers.

When the self has no answers, it despairs.

When the self runs out of everything else, the self

Ceases to be.

Fatalism has no joy, no hope, no promise.

Fatalism may be sufficient for some,

But it is does not sustain me.

Love may be found with people without faith.

But it is transient and mortal.

It is elusive and fleeting.

Love that never becomes larger

than something shared between one or two

Can hardly be expected to become the source of joy that many seek.

…

Two.

If you are a child of American culture in the past six decades,

Then you, as have I,

Have been exposed to a tragic deflation of Christianity.

I recall my father serving local churches in the 1960s and 70s,

Coming out of his office in despair,

Complaining about how difficult it was trying to

Motivate a congregation full of less-than-willing, apathetic volunteers.

Casual Christians are those, I’ve noticed,

Who seek

The benefits of the love and joy of Christ

But on a part time basis,

According to their terms,

Not according to God’s terms.

“Church is okay, so long as it doesn’t interfere with my life.”

The stories of faith may have been taught as a child or youth

But faith development was abruptly stunted by

A bad preacher,

A church fight,

Or a divided family.

The attitude of “Oh well, not much I can do about it”

Grows and proliferates like a thistle in a lawn

And has led to declining worship attendance.

I’ve even noticed a

Dwindling numbers of Christmas and Easter Christians. 

Nothing closes churches as fast as apathy;

The attitude

Of “I don’t care,”

Or the believe that there is something more important than

A relationship with Jesus Christ and His Body.

Please do not give me excuses or justification.

I’ve heard them all, anyway.

None of us answer to clergy.

Each of us answers to God.

Rush,

You may feel that you are stronger than this,

That we can continue to go on

Without any attention to slowly declining worship attendance

Or shrinking membership.

Yet, as I scan the landscape of Christianity and culture

In Upstate New York right now,

You know as well as I

The land is filled with closed churches.

Two former church buildings in our hamlet

Have “For Sale” signs hanging in their front yards.

Closed, boarded up, and repurposed church buildings

Serve as an ominous symbol

Of a life of faith built on terms

Other than God’s terms.

I do not mean to frighten or judge anyone.

I do mean to shed light on riding this old horse into the ground.

The goal isn’t about keeping churches open and clergy employed.

The goal should be

About living in the love of Christ

And experiencing His joy.

…

Three.

I’ve noticed there are a group of people

Happier than mothers on Mother’s Day;

People who don’t have to search for the love and joy of Christ,

Because they are already abiding in it.

Some in this group are rich with money, others,

not so much.

Some are youth, some middle aged, others are elders.

Some are new Christians,

others have been walking this journey all their life.

Some speak Spanish, some speak English, others speak something I’ll never understand.

They are easy to pick out in a crowd.

They are the ones loving God

And loving their neighbors.

Indeed, they are known as Christians

Simply by their love.

Those who love God

Make praise and thanksgiving of God their highest priority.

Period.

Nothing is more important in this earthly life.

Praising and glorifying God is done in worship,

What we’re doing right now,

With the Word of God lifted up with one hand

And our Prayers and Sacraments with God lifted up with the other.

…

On this Cinco de Mayo Sunday,

I am led to give thanks to God for my five opportunities

To travel to Nicaragua and Guatemala

On short-term mission trips.

There

I found an environment of fear and despair,

Generations of poverty and malnutrition,

Crime, and violence,

People with disabilities and their families, forgotten and thrown away,

Single mothers struggling to survive one day at a time.

At the same time

I discovered Church,

Part of the same Body of Christ to which we belong,

That is vibrant,

anchored in love,

overflowing with joy.

I discovered Church,

The same capital “C” Church

That our own Erma is experiencing this morning in South Africa,

That so abides in Christ

That is transformed into Christ’s pure and abundant love.

O the joy!

Of abiding in Christ’s steadfast love!

…

Loving God is only half the equation.

Loving God on Sunday

Means serving God and God’s people

the other 6 days of the week.

It’s as simple as that.

How do you spot people in a crowd

Who are living John 15:

“I am the Vine and you are the Branches”?

These are the people

Who please God 7 days a week,

365 days a year;

Returning praise and thanks with love on Sunday

And who reach out with discipleship and love

Every other day of the week.

Love God.

Love neighbor.

People that abide in love

Stick out in today’s world like a sore thumb.

Let us be those people.

Let us be people who love

And who are known by our love.

When we abide in God’s love

Our joy will be complete.

Amen.