03-29-20 Worship
MCMC Lent Series5: Jesus I Never Knew “In the Garden of Weeds” 3/29/20 Pastor Paul Johnson
Welcome good friends, to the fifth week of Lent. Remember Lent-the 40 days before Easter-a time of reflection, waiting and embracing renewal. For two thousand years, a time of prayer and reflection-but our culture doesn’t really observe Lent anymore. Humility and prayer are out of fashion lately. Seems we’ve wandered into a garden of weeks. Take heart. I’m blessed to be in a faith community-people giving without asking-planting hope without waiting for the harvest. You’re a hopeful prayer lead group! Thank you! Our forty day walk to Calvary this year will different-both prayerful and grace-filled in crisis-a journey out of the weeds.
Our sermon series, “The Jesus I Never Knew” is also the title of Phillip Yancey’s bestseller. He says the true Jesus of Gospel is unrecognizable from the person modern Christianity paints as Christ. So, I challenge you. This Lenten season, give up fantasies of the Americanized Jesus-time to give the true Jesus another chance! Let him walk you out of the weeds into a new garden. Several weeks ago, we met the Jesus we never knew in John v.4- embracing and loving the hated culture across the Jewish border. These half breed Samaritans were considered a virus on the planet-unclean and sinful, weeds to be pulled up by the roots -A good Jew like Jesus should “socially distance” from them. Instead, Jesus purposely marches into this forbidden, spiritual healthy village-talking to an outcast woman to make his point. He chooses to speak love across cultures-across invisible walls blocking our shared humanity. Christ asks her to for a drink from her “contaminated” cup-then offers her living water-eternal and renewing. It took guts to go against the grain of His peoples sheltered cultural bigotry. It took great courage for the Samaritan woman to even go near and talk to him. Today, that kind of courage takes on new meaning.
This Sunday, the Jesus we never knew is again human-alone in the midnight garden of weeds- weeds. A garden of human doubt and betrayal. This courageous, human Jesus won’t be saved from fear, suffering and torture. Mark 14:32-41 is an eyewitness account of Christ without cultural blinders. The context is life and death struggle with the virus of fear-testament of both Christ’s humanity and divinity. This prophetic drama fulfilled leaps out of Genesis-remember Adam and Eve-the first children of God-living in the garden of bliss? They sumbolize all humanity. They lost this paradise garden lusting for the only thing forbidden in all creation. What caused their fall? Disobeying their Maker-infecting humanity with the ego virus of willfulness. End of story? Well, no, not yet.
Ancient prophets said there’s a new Adam coming- who restores our garden by banishing the virus-curing our pain with obedience and love of God. So here we are-back in the garden. This one’s called Gethsemane-A garden of weeds. It’s been a historic place of refuge. “Gethsemane” in Hebrew literally means “place of the Olive Press”. A humble place across from glorious Jerusalem. Hidden in olive groves-Jesus went for protection and retreat from the growing virus of anger and fear around him. After the last supper-late at night, Jesus chooses to go for last prayers with his disciples. The human Jesus wants to run from the virus in the weeds. It’s here the story of Christ’s passion begins and His earthly ministry ends.
Mark 14:38 says, “Jesus told the disciples-wait while I pray. You keep awake, watch and pray-beware of coming evil”. Remember the story? The disciples betray him three times-allowing the virus of evil to lull them to sleep-forgetting to watch for Christ. And Jesus-abandoned and surrounded by the darkest part of humanity-begins to doubt. In anguish he calls out, “Abba, loving parent of all-with You all things are possible! Take this cup of virus poison from me-Lift me out of the weeds of fear!”
What do you make of this? Is Jesus really a fearful weakling-broken by the powers of darkness? Is He sinning by doubting Gods protection and salvation? Isn’t Jesus just like us, especially now-in moments of doubt and fear? Before answering those heavy questions-here’s a simple one. Ever experienced doubt and fear? Of course! It happens daily for me. And by the way, that’s not a sin. Let me repeat. Doubting God is not a sin! It’s part of our life journey-part of our humanity. What a relief! I was once taught that doubting God would send me straight to Hell. Haven’t you heard that?
Take a deep breath and relax here. Think about it. Jesus literally walks through heaven and hell during 40 days of Lent. I believe in Heaven and Hell. I believe in times of doubt the virus of fear in our lives literally creates our own hell on earth. It’s happening today. In verse 36, Christ shows us a path out-a way forward. Humbling himself before Creator God-creating a space of grace by admitting doubt and fear. We could follow Him here. But then He says, “God, it’s not what I want-but what You want” Right there-that’s redemption! At that moment, Jesus models navigating times of lonliness and fear.
Soften our hearts God-we admit our doubt, turning to you Eternal Creator of goodness. Doubt and fear are not sin- but our response to them may mutate into great pain-spreading the virus. The lesson of Gethsemane is simple. Beautiful Gardens can quickly be overrun by weeds. Your soul, a thing of beauty-is a garden of joy. But losing God and diving into life’s fears transforms our spring garden into tangles of autumn weeds. Our soul becomes clouded-fear becomes sin.
Let’s close with Jesus in the garden. It could have ended badly. I’ve heard people mock him for failing to save himself. A fool for allowing himself to be sickened by the virus of FEAR AND betrayal-then crucified for trusting the Almighty in the end. I disagree! Jesus left the garden of weeds by God’s grace. He’s captured AND sickened with the virus of betrayal so we re-inherit the Garden of paradise! You see, we need to rediscover a God of joy and love. In these times of confusion and darkness, God’s always good. God’s abundant- redeeming by grace, defeating fears deadly virus.
Remember friends-God rejoices not only in our successes in good times-but in our faith in hard times. We’ll always have doubts and fears in this world. We’ll always have failures. But loving Abba/God cares for us all the more. Scripture says “All we need is faith, hope and love.” Hold on to faith this week! In the midst of these daily doubts and fear-in times when we feel overwhelmed, “not my will Lord, but yours” says Christ. May it be so with you this week. Alleluia and Amen. Christs benediction: Peace to you, deny the panic. Faith forward, deny fear
03-22-20 Worship
MCMC Sermon Series Lent #4 The Jesus I never knew “Blinded by the Light”3/22/20 Pastor Paul Johnson
It’s the fourth week of Lent today! Welcome and thanks for joining the journey. We’re thinking about the hidden Christ in these 40 days before Easter. The Jesus we’ve forgotten in the 2000 years since he walked among us. The one who heals-the one we’ve lost in these times of Crisis. Don’t feel bad about misunderstanding Christ. Even his best friends never really got it. Our culture doesn’t teach us either. Author Phillip Yancy challenges us-dig deeper into Scripture to discover “the Jesus we never knew.” Here’s what it says. First, Jesus was a radical in his time. He believed in social justice, not social distancing. Today in John 9:1-41 we meet the Jesus who fought for human rights-healing a disabled blind man on the Sabbath that the culture threw away. He embraces a begger called “sinner” because of his handicap. Second, Jesus teaches compassion isn’t radical in times of trouble.
This month, as we travel through quarantines and fear-I hope we think about the difference between the American Jesus and the Jewish Jesus of the Mideast. Yancy’s book “The Jesus I never Knew” says these two different pictures make Christ unrecognizable today. Our American Jesus is mostly hanging on a cross-next to the stars and stripes. The American gospel forced into his mouth is about bootstraps and bravado. Pull yourself up by your bootstraps and use power to defend yourselves! We Americans have always had mixed feelings about Jesus, haven’t we? Some think He’s a wimp for letting himself get caught and killed. Others laugh at his stories of healing bodies and souls. Still others think he’s a bleeding-heart liberal for commanding us to love enemies-to forgive each other-have compassion in times of trouble. Besides, nobody from the Mideast can be trusted, right?
So who’s the real Jesus of Nazareth-the humble carpenter living in the desert and serving as a Rabbi teacher? Or the weaponized Christ we pray to as we ask him to bless our country? He’s a puzzle-not who you’d think. For sure he wasn’t a coward or a country bumpkin. He read scripture since he could talk. He memorized the entire Old Testament Bible-read it and implemented it daily. He was respected different cultures-speaking Aramaic, Hebrew,Latin- as well as passable Greek. He took a vow of poverty-lived homeless for three years-no roof over his head. And he healed those untouchables. Jesus dined in tax collector’s mansions and drank the best wine with ruling elites. Christ kept the practices of orthodox Jews-praying three times daily, observing high holidays and Shabbot-then mocking the religious elite as two-faced oppressors of the poor.
The Jesus I never knew in Sunday school was a fierce advocate for those in poverty-the dispossessed women in the streets and the beggars in the dust. He healed and loved them. He even said they’re blessed-they’d be the first in heaven. That brings us to John 9 today. Walking along, he gets a trick question from his 12 disciples. The Jesus I never knew understood cultural injustice-especially to the disadvantaged. Religious temple priests taught that poverty and disability came from sin. Jesus didn’t believe it. Here’s their trick question-This blind man in the dust has been begging all his life. Who committed his sin, Jesus-his parents or the blindman? You can see the hackles on Jesus rise. He contradicts. “No one has sinned by being born different.” In fact, this blind man is blessed-“Born so Gods works can be revealed through him!” Then, the only place in the Gospel-Jesus makes a medicine to cure blindness. The ancients called it a poultice-mud mixed with his saliva and a blessing. Have faith Christ says, “Go to the spring underneath Jerusalem called Sent and wash my medicine from your eyes. For you are sent to be a light to those blinded by power and wealth-those who oppressed you since birth.”
That’s not the end of the story. There’s really two stories here-the blind man who sees the light and the blinded people around him thinking they truly see. The blind man who sees is ridiculed for being healed-mocked as a disciple of Christ by his neighbors and the religious scholars who witnessed the miracle. “How were your eyes opened?” they shout at him. Only Jesus receives him as the one sent from God. Here’s both a parable and a warning for blind humanity. Listen as Jesus turns to speak to the crowd. “Work the works of the one who sent us while it is still light. For night is coming where no one can work.” Jesus adds “As long as I’m in the world, I am the light of the world. Later, you must be salt and light in the world.”
Let’s close with healing. We all need medicine in this crisis. We need healing for our blindness. Why was Jesus so concerned with humanities blindness? What does it mean to be blind? The dictionary says it’s something hindering sight or keeping out light, causing a lack of discernment or consciousness. Does this sound familiar right now? Jesus went on about blindness-the second part of this story. He said “I came into this world for judgement so that those who do not see may see and those who do see may become blind.” Have you ever been blinded by the light? Jesus uses the word judgement here-I don’t like to be judged. Only mean people judge- right? Wrong. We all do it. We blind ourselves by judging our circumstances. We blind ourselves by watching a world in crisis-but forgetting to watch for God. He calls for humility-admitting our blindness so we can truly see. It’s time to see the light. Jesus demands we look beyond the obvious-see people and events in a new way-with compassion. He says, look again. You may realize the world is blind-but with God, all things are possible. May it be so for you this week. Be well, be healed. Allelujah and Amen.