Wadhams United Church of Christ
2569 County Route 10, Wadhams, NY 12993
WadhamsUCC home Other sermons Order of Service
Earlier this week, I was listening to National Public Radio on my way home from work when I heard them do a story about an enterprising group that had begun harvesting whales from a whale farm they had created. It was an intriguing piece in which they interviewed a number of people working on the project. One of them talked about the way they used every part of the whale in one way or another, so they saw it as an expression of the sustainability that everyone is talking about these days. Another guy talked about using the whale bones to build a deck on his house. They even had a musicologist commenting on the fact that someone had trained the whales to sing in three part harmony, complete with a cut of the incredible singing whales.
The next day, the mail bag at NPR was filled with reactions to the piece. Predictably, the animal rights activists were expressing their horror that these majestic creatures were being raised only to be mercilessly slaughtered. Somewhat less predictably, some listeners had written to complain about the blasé, even glib tone of voice the narrators had adopted when reporting on the story. “How could you be so glib or indifferent about a horrible piece like this?” had been their outraged response. Then the commentators themselves began pointing out that there were some features about the story that should have told their listeners that there was something fishy about this piece.
“For instance,” one of them said in a rather glib tone of voice, “did you notice that the byline on the story came from Illinois? Did it occur to you that it might be difficult to build a salt-water whale farm in the Midwest?” The other one picked up the commentary with a bit of playfulness that could have been mistaken for ridicule. “We thought you might have taken note of the calendar date, since the piece played on the first day of April. Some of our producers were even taken in by this story.” So it turned out to be a whale of a tale foisted off on an unsuspecting public in the spirit of April Fools’ Day.
In a similar vein, we’ve spent the last five weeks looking at the responses of the people who were drawn into the drama surrounding the final days of Jesus’ mortal life on earth. We’ve pondered their shock, their horror, and even their outrage when the divine story they were part of began to unfold in unexpected ways. While the life and ministry of Jesus don’t belong in the same category as April Fools’ jokes, the reality is that many people reacted to Jesus as if his life and work had been a joke, and a cruel one at that. When I was serving as a campus minister and sitting in on one of the classes that Bob Harsh taught, for instance, I remember being quite taken aback by one of the students. It was his opinion that all Christians had been brainwashed, duped or coerced into believing a whale of a tale that was nothing more than a carefully concocted lie.
From my perspective, the gospels are far more compelling than anything else I have read or encountered in life. One of the most powerful features has to do with the humanity of the people depicted in the stories. While biographical or historic literature often tends to paint its heroes in the bold, broad strokes of a favorable interpretation of their actions, the gospels are unrelenting in capturing our heroes at their best and worst. In today’s gospel reading, for instance, Jesus is trying to orchestrate a sacred experience that will serve his followers for centuries to come. Rather than being caught up in that mystic sweet communion, however, our plodding disciples are still quarreling about which of them is the greatest.
In some ways, they were like a family, and when there was tension afoot, the kids would act out. They sensed that something unpleasant was about to happen, and managed to distract themselves by picking fights with each other. All along this Lenten pathway, I’ve attempted to humanize the disciples by pointing out that their failure to comprehend what Jesus what talking about did not make them dense or foolish. The comprehension growing inside of me tells me that I still have a hard time comprehending or accepting what Jesus was talking about. I’m coming to believe that our inability to understand God or figure God out is meant to be a challenge to keep pursuing God.
As a result, I have pursued God into the Upper Room, where Jesus unveils the concept of a suffering God whose suffering can be redemptive for people who are struggling with their suffering or the suffering of their loved ones. While the questions we pose have the potential to leave us unsatisfied, disturbed, or bitterly disappointed with God, they also have the capacity to bring us closer to God than we ever dreamed possible or imaginable.
The vigor of the disciples’ pursuit of God brought them into the garden with Jesus, but it failed them when their weariness overtook their zeal. The inspiration they found in the presence of Jesus forged their intent to follow Jesus to martyrdom, but fell short when they were confronted with a heavily armed cadre intent on capturing Jesus. Brash Peter was emboldened to proclaim his willingness to follow Jesus to the death, but he broke down in an inner courtyard when people started to link him directly to Jesus. Based on the responses that Jesus offered after these failures, I believe his message can be distilled to this: Let these things propel you into the presence of God, and ask God for help.
So when pain and suffering violate our sense of fairness and distort our understanding of who God is, can we allow our agony to propel us toward God? Can we allow it to reshape our understanding of the God who embraced suffering so that God could embrace those who are suffering? Can we find the grace to be able to ask God for help and support in order to learn and grow from the troubles of life? The bread that Jesus offered and continues to offer took on a very human shape, the kind of shape that tells us our God is still a very present help in times of trouble.
In those times when we can’t figure out why bad stuff happens, and we can’t seem to make sense out of the setbacks or the tragedies that life brings us, can we linger long enough with the pain to let it shape a faith that God is capable of bringing something good out of it? When we have a hard time forgiving the people who have hurt us, will our sense of betrayal propel us toward a cup of revenge, or toward the cup that is brimming over with the mercy of God? Having seen too much of myself in the faults and foibles of the very human disciples, I for one am grateful for the cup of mercy, and will ever be thankful for God’s patience with me.
When the monsters make themselves known, like the gunman in Binghamton this week, or any of the other four mass shooters who have killed 49 people in the past month and shattered the lives of hundreds of family members, friends, and co-workers, will their monstrous behavior reinforce our sense of hopelessness and helplessness? Or will it serve to remind us of the brokenness of humanity and our continuing need for transformation? Jesus offered his body to be broken so that he could walk with those whose lives have been shattered and disjointed by tragedy and trauma.
Is it conceivable to us that when we respond to the setbacks and disappointments of life with bitterness and cynicism, the very bitterness and cynicism become the call of God to find healing and hope for the pain within? Is it even imaginable that if we allow God to enter the walled off places of disappointment with God, that God is capable of turning those experiences into sacred hours of redemption and transformation? Jesus offered his body and blood for the privilege of that humble entry.
So when Jesus boldly calls upon us to pick up our crosses and follow him, will our awareness of the unfairness of this world serve to hinder us, or will its hindrances become more opportunities to serve the people experiencing its hindrances? Will the image of a bruised and battered Messiah make us chafe, because we want to believe in a God who rights all the wrongs of the world? Or will it shape us into servants who minister to those who have been wronged by the throngs of trouble we will encounter in life? Jesus offered his body to bear the scorn and shame of this world so that he could meet us in our times of scorn and shame to lead us beyond our deadly thinking to the true liberation of our souls.
So, like the disciples of old, I find myself pleading with God to teach me how to pick up my cross to follow Jesus. I want God to teach me how to pray, so that: my weariness will never extinguish my zeal; so that my inspiration will never be overwhelmed by the monstrous deeds of others; so that my willingness to follow Jesus to places where others fear to tread will never be weakened by the throngs of trouble that promise to pursue us to our graves.
Order of Service
April 5, 2009 Palm Sunday
A Prayer for Peace NC #591
Opening Prayer
Leader: Today we gather in joy and thanksgiving, in sorrow and grief, remembering Christ’s gift of extravagant love.
People: Today the Savior has come on the back of a donkey amid waving palms and cheers of praise.
Leader: By Friday, cheers will be jeers, and for the great love of God and the great love of God’s people, Jesus will die on a cross.
People: O holy God, enter our hearts as you once entered Jerusalem. Instill in each of us the Spirit of Christ, and let your presence with us center our thoughts and call us to worship.
Leader: The great love of God beckons us here and welcomes us here.
People: In joy and thanksgiving, in sorrow and grief, we celebrate God’s gift of extravagant love.
Hymn NC #216 All Glory, Laud and Honor
Responsive Prayer
Leader: God of Passion and Palms, even as Jesus entered Jerusalem full of passion and purpose,
People: Enter into our hearts, and help us to receive you with joy and thanksgiving.
Leader: God of extravagant love, we confess that there are times when we use the same voice to praise you and then use it to speak cruelly of another.
People: We lift our arms in grateful praise, and then use them to block the way for others who want a taste of the abundance we take for granted.
Leader: We proclaim our undying love for you, then grow angry with you when faced with hardships or setbacks.
People: God of Passion and Palms, thank you for the passion that liberates our minds from deadly thinking.
Leader: Thank you for the wounded palms that remind us of your undying love for us.
People: Strengthen our resolve when faced with fear and tragedy, setbacks and turmoil, so that others can see a real God providing real help in a real world.
Leader: Let your loved guide our feet, our arms, and our hands to embrace a hurting world.
Pastoral Prayer, Lord’s Prayer
Hymn NC #226 O Sacred Head, Now Wounded
Psalm 118:15-29, Isaiah 50:4-11, Luke 22:14-24
Sermon A Whale of a Tale?
Service of Holy Communion
Offering, Doxology, Dedication
Hymn NC #336 Here, O My Lord
Benediction
Leader: On the back of a donkey, in the midst of a procession of waving palms, Jesus came to bless us.
People: On a wooden cross, in the midst of a jeering crowd, Jesus died to set us free from all that keeps us from God.
Leader: May God lead us into Holy Week reflecting with a sense of peace, forgiveness, and hope.
People: May we experience anew the forgiveness of the Last Supper, the sacrifice of Good Friday, and the promise of the Easter Resurrection.
Leader: Be filled with the sustaining love of Christ until we gather again to celebrate New Life.
WadhamsUCC home Other sermons by Steve
Webmaster: Bob Carroll Hosted by Westport Marina Updated 19 Apr . 2009