This morning I want to begin with the question of “Who is Jesus?” I expect many to answer with the traditional Christmas answers of Messiah, King of Kings, Lord, Savior, Holy Child....
This year at Centenary in the Christian Leadership Center, we have been studying an author by the name of Brian Mclaren. In his recently acclaimed book, A New Kind of Christianity, Mr. Mclaren explores the Jesus Question of “Who is Jesus and Why is He so Important?” He quotes a scene from the popular 2006 movie, Talladega Nights. The family is gathered around the table and the food is blessed. You know the scene. If not...here is the LINK.
Sadly enough, this satire, does nothing but line up with our church history and tradition. We believe “our” Jesus holds the “truth.” In turn this creates the “us” vs. “them” language, and my deepest convictions confirm that Jesus came to love all peoples holding truth for all peoples, not just some. Today some Christians might uphold the….white supremacist Jesus, nuclear bomb-dropping Jesus, anti-Semitic Jesus, the prosperity Gospel Jesus, "God hates fags" Jesus, Crusader Jesus and so on.
Jesus of Nazareth was born, lived, and died around 2000 years ago. That’s Fact. We don’t need the Bible to prove this. Theologian and Bishop Lesslie Newbigin once said, “The whole of Christian teachings would fall to the ground if it were the case that the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus were not events of real history, but stories that were used to illustrate truths which are valid apart from these happenings.”
Jesus was a living human being, who worked, taught, and died in a country that was no larger than the state of Delaware. He came as a child, born to a virgin in a humble, lowly stable as the “word made flesh.” Jesus of Nazareth worked as a carpenter for most of his life, He taught, and preached for 3 years according to the Gospel of John. We know that his ministry did not begin until he was about 30 years of age. It’s even fact that less people ever heard him speak than could fill Tiger stadium. That’s around 93,000 people. But He made his impact known to the few who actually heard him speak. We know that He was executed as a criminal; and by the end of His time on Earth he had very few followers, one betrayed Him and the rest either ran away or went into hiding behind locked doors because they feared for their own lives.
Since I have been at Centenary we have learned to look at the Bible from an analytical, historical perspective that is sure to raise questions. I have begun to question stories, parables, Gospels, letters, and sermons. We are taught to look and read between the lines and discover or re-discover for ourselves what we believe and why. This year, and especially in this season a striking question has arose for me. It happens to be my sermon title for today, “Jesus has come, now what?” We read the Gospels, which are the story of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection that pertains to a particular group of people for a particular time period. I can relate to most of it, and I also can acknowledge the differences in each Gospel. One item of contention that I cannot seem to gain relief on is our question of the day. We read the Gospels, and we find that the stories of old. We find the stories of Christmas that we have always read. The stories that lead us into the birth of Jesus the Christ child, who was born to a virgin, came to set the captives free. We then read about Jesus’ life (ministry), his betrayal, death, resurrection, and reign in heaven with God the Father. What I find myself questioning is Jesus’ life. We know that Jesus’ ministry began when he was around 30 years old. What we cannot find in the Gospels is the life of Jesus after his birth up to his ministry. Thirty years … missing. That is a question that I have been struggling with lately, and this is my motivation for today’s sermon.
For the past 30 days or so, we have been in a season on expectancy. We have lit the candles, said the prayers, sang the songs, decorated the tree, hung the greens, read the Scriptures, proclaimed his name, worshiped with an open heart, gave accordingly, and celebrated the coming of Christ the King. Excitement has been in the air everywhere you go! This season of Christmas changes people. I think when I came upon this puzzle in the Bible, I stumbled upon a set of deeper questions that pertains to us even today. Today is the day after Christmas, some of you will go home and take down your tree, put up the family Bible you dusted off and placed on the table for dinner, strip the house, and live your lives like nothing ever happened. Some of you might be offended that my sermon is a Christmas sermon. Some of you are ready to move on. Am I right? We see the same correlation in our lives today, and the life described in the Bible. What happened to the thirty years? People forgot, people moved on. Jesus came, and we walked away. Everything we were hoping for came true, salvation came to the world, and we ignored it. This is a problem we find even in our churches! In the United Methodist Church we begin preparing for Lent which concludes with Easter, a celebration of the resurrection of Christ. After today we will forget and leave behind the most important part! This season of Christmas is something spectacular, something we need to hold onto.
When I look back on the man named Jesus I see the humble servant. I see a man who was not popular. I see a man who was rejected. I see a man who was humble. I see a man who was preparing the way.
Job 8:7 “Your beginnings will seem humble,
so prosperous will your future be.”
I love what this church (Church for the Highlands Shreveport, La) is all about. I love the idea of a visional church. I love the partnership with Volunteers of America. I love the location. I love the serving aspect. How many people know what this church is doing? (Job 8:7) What do I think happened to those thirty years? You are participating in it right now! Its time as a Christian Church we grasp this new reality of Christmas, it is time that we make this Christmas season a permanent season in our lives.
A mentor and fellow pastor of mine, after hearing my sermon idea sent me this quote last night …
"Long after the angels disappears into the heavens, the shepherds return to their flocks, the magi journey home and the great star sets, Jesus remains. The Child in whom we rediscover God’s great love for humanity becomes the adult Redeemer who challenges us to imitate his selflessness and compassion in order that we might transform our world in love… May we allow the miracle of Christmas to continue long after the holiday trappings have been packed away; May we welcome the adult Messiah and his challenging Gospel to recreate our lives, making the peace, justice and hope of this holy season a reality in every season of the new year."
No comments:
Post a Comment