Sermon on John 2:13-22 (Lent 3B)

The Passion of Jesus

I had the opportunity on Monday to go to Lamar High School and hear 4 of Nancy George’s debate students present speeches as a part of a Rotary Club contest. Each of these four students spoke on a unique topic and added their own perspective. It was apparent that they were reflecting on something they cared about. It was refreshing to hear these teens talk about topics that were beyond the thoughts of most high school juniors, but for me the most refreshing thing came after the results had been presented. One of the students didn’t do as well as she had wanted to and she was not happy to say the least. She had wanted to do better than last out of four, it wasn’t about winning, but she felt as though she had done better than last place. Her tears and raw emotions were unrivaled by all of the passion that had just been shared in 4 different speeches. She was angry. At what exactly I don’t know, the injustice, the unfairness, at herself and her preparations, or just the way the situation turned out.  I could only describe it with one word: passion.

Passion is where we dive into our gospel text for today. As I read it I wondered about a lot of things: Was Jesus just angry? Was he also hurt by what he saw? Was he crying? Did the disciples see this all happening in slow motion? Their teacher just going ballistic through the crowds of people directing the whip he had made in all directions, throwing things and flipping furniture over. Did some innocent people get caught in the cross fire? What did the poor dove sellers do that would cause Jesus to direct his words right at them? This is not our usual picture of Jesus. Why would he do such a thing? The writer tells us that the disciples remembered Psalm 69 “Zeal for your house will consume me.” Jesus’ example gives all new meaning to zeal and fervor huh? Before you pick up your whips and start trying to flip over your pews (Which you can’t by the way. They are bolted to the floor. I checked) let’s look at this text a little deeper.

Normally when you think of people being angry and passionate it’s in a rather unhealthy way. Lauren came home this week from work very upset by a phone conversation that she had with someone. As she was changing the marquee outside of Calvary someone stopped by and ask what their cross meant. Outside on the building they have a cross with a circle around the inside part of it. She didn’t know but said she would find out and call this person back. After consulting with the pastors she called this gentleman back and was bombarded with all sorts of opinions and thoughts about the cross as a symbol and how the church needed to rethink how it did things. 3 things were apparent: 1. This guy has way too much time on his hands 2. He wasn't looking for a conversation but rather just to berate someone with his thoughts and 3. He was very passionate about his convictions. All that came from it though was confusion and hurt for Lauren. It’s when our passions and our zeal and fervor become self-focused and self serving that we inflict a lot of pain. Usually when we react in this way after the feelings have passed we feel empty, worse than when we started. We are met with the question “What sign can you show us for doing this?” and we don’t know how to respond. People ask “Who do you think you are?” “Why would you do such a thing?” We can’t answer because let’s face it… we have passionate outbursts like this all the time and they usually happen because we are focused on us.

Does this mean we should be apathetic? Never have opinions about things? Not at all. We are called to follow Jesus’ example. Live the sort of passionate life that he lived. So that means we get to go randomly flip furniture over right? Sort of. The question I am most concerned with is: what is the motivation? Jesus doesn’t feel bad about his outburst, but instead answers back rather quickly when confronted about his credentials. It’s not about drawing attention to himself, but rather focusing the attention back on God. All of these things taking place in the temple courtyard were interfering with what coming to the temple and sacrifice were about: God. Jesus wasn’t merely flipping stuff over to make a point, but he was doing it to turn attention back to God and to God’s will. Jesus is showing his passion for God and God’s will by not allowing for these things to get in the way. Jesus was in the business of turning people back to God and there were a lot of other times that he did this during his ministry, in a much milder way, but there is one time in particular that we aren’t sure to forget: on the cross. Jesus showed his passion in the deepest of ways when he died on the cross to bring us all back to God. He didn’t do it to merely make a point but to draw our attention back to God. Jesus died on the cross so that things won’t get in the way of our relationship with God. Jesus used his passion for God to drive out those things that keep us where we are at and show us a new and different way of doing things.

Like the disciples we now remember. We remember the words of Jesus and his passionate outburst. We remember that he had zeal for his Father’s house. We remember the sacrifice that he gave so that we might be made free. We remember also that we are a passionate people created in the image of God. So here’s the question: What’s your motivation? What are you passionate about? How can you go back to work, to school, to your family, to your friends and be consumed by the passion for a new way of doing things? May we journey together and discover how to use our passions to turn people towards God. May we remember that Jesus has freed us for a new way of doing things. And may zeal for love, grace, and God ever consume us. Amen

Sermon on Mark 1:9-15 (Lent 1)

The Shaping Wilderness

Growing up I was involved in Boys Scouts which meant I spent quite a few perfectly good weekends out in the wilderness. I would also spend a week out of every summer going to Boy Scout camp. As we got older a few of my fellow troop mates and I began exploring High Adventure options that offered an even more challenging camping experience than the normal “working on merit badges in the safety and comfort of the camp” experience that everyone else had. I remember one experience in particular that shaped me out in West Texas at Buffalo Trails Scout Ranch.

                We had spent the first portion of our week on a fairly easy trail backpacking through the beautiful Davis Mountains seeing the sights and enjoying the fresh air. After about three days, we hiked back into base camp to restock on supplies and then prepare ourselves for the next challenge: the black trail. The black trail wound out of the back of camp and went up to the scenic overlook known as Whiskey Bottle Flat. Now you might be wondering: why such an ominous name for a trail? In the span of only 1.5 miles the black trail takes hikers up an elevation of 1,100 ft! Imagine doing that with a 50lb backpack on your back…you’re essentially crawling up the hill. This trail is not for the faint of heart. It took our group about 5 hours to make it up to the top and onto the flat. Then before we had a chance to set up camp it began to pour down rain on us. We had just enough time to set up some tarps and get ourselves and our gear underneath.

                As it continued to rain we quickly realized that our gear was still going to get drenched because of the water flowing across the ground. As we were desperately tried to block the water from coming underneath the tarp one of our adult leaders, who was an engineer by trade, quickly said “Boys! BOYS! Do not fight the water…you must guide the water.” He began digging a trench that we joined in constructing that moved the water away from our gear so it wouldn’t get completely soaked. As the rain continued and eventually subsided we checked on the trench, added to it and monitored it so that our group and our gear stayed as dry as possible. Don’t fight the water…guide the water.

                When it comes to the wilderness we tend to think of it in our terms. The wilderness is a nice place to visit, but I’d rather not stay there. The wilderness is all those pretty pictures of Yellowstone or some other national park. The wilderness is at camp! The wilderness is okay as long as it has a working bathroom and shower attached to it. I really like the wilderness especially when it includes four wheels, a bed and has my satellite dish attached to it. We have this uncanny ability to really take all of the power and punch out of the wilderness. We don’t fight the wilderness… we crush it utterly with our highly developed brains and technology. Are we really experiencing the wilderness in these times? How often do we let the wilderness guide us?

So maybe that just pertains to the physical wilderness…but what about the mental, emotional or spiritual wilderness? Is it really different? Do we really want to go there either? It’s painful to go there. It hurts. It’s scary. It’s uncomfortable. There’s a chance we might not find our way out or just like the black trail it can escalate quickly. Unlike the physical wilderness we have a harder time shaping these frontiers but they certainly shape us. Maybe you’re stuck in one of these wilderness areas right now wondering when you might get out of it. One course of action might be to simply to ignore it, push it down, act like it’s not happening, work hard to move on but what if you can’t? We’ve all wandered these wilderness areas at some point, how do we find our way out?

In our Gospel for today Jesus travels into the wilderness after receiving his identity in the baptism by John in the Jordan. We’re reminded of the familiar words “You are my Son, the one whom I love. With you I am very pleased.” Then it’s off to the wilderness.  Just so we are clear on this it’s not his love of camping that moves Jesus to go into the wilderness. Actually the text says that the Spirit drives him into the wilderness. The Greek word the Marken writer uses is ἐκβάλλω or literally “to throw”. The spirit picked up Jesus and threw him out into the wilderness. In the wilderness Jesus endures temptation or testing by Satan and even confronts the wild beasts. He’s not alone; we are told that angels waited on him. Jesus then emerges from his wilderness experience shaped and changed. He comes proclaiming a new message, the good news. “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.” The kingdom of God is here, close to us, right here and right now! Turn around! Believe in this good news!

                The story doesn’t end with the wilderness, but with a proclamation of the good news of God’s reign. The powers of the wilderness and the powers of the world do not have the final say. The same is true of our story. Though we may wander in a wilderness that is either physical, mental, emotional or spiritual the good news is that Jesus has wandered there first. We don’t have to fight the wilderness, Jesus has already done that. We are called to venture into the wilderness during this season of Lent. Not to crush it with our highly developed brain, but to sit in ashes and really experience the wilderness. To let the wilderness experience shape and change us so that we can look at and follow the one who is our guide. That’s how we get out of the wilderness. Jesus has been there before and will guide us through. Believe in this good news!

                How is the Spirit throwing you into the wilderness during this Lenten season? How will you respond? Will you fight it or guide it? May we turn around and believe in the good news. May we wander in the wilderness and let it shape us. And may we always remember that Jesus has gone before us into every wilderness place so that he can guide us through it. Amen

Calling

I don't know if anyone shares my feelings about this, but I have been walking around with the wrong sense of what it means to be called. For a long time I thought that once you figured out what your calling was you did it and the road was clear from there. Then I realized that at any given time we have multiple callings to be lots of different things. Recently I have reflected on the fact that we have a really interesting place in the world as humans.We make plans for the future that aren't guaranteed because at any moment that can all change. We expect to live for 80+ years, but that may not be the case (not being intentionally morbid just stating a fact). Also, the world changes as we have more technology, as the generation I am a part of becomes the ones taking control of things, as we learn more about the people that share this place we call home. So what are we called to?

I don't know.

What I have become sure of is that I am unsure about it all. I think that we can discern certain points about our personal callings. I think we can also learn things about how we are called into communal callings. For me the biggest answer has been to lean on the one who does the calling. To wake up every morning and say "Here I am. Speak for your servant is listening." To trust and have faith in the one who uses me despite my brokenness to do some crazy things. To listen more than I talk. I'm called to be here in this moment and to do with it what I can using the gifts and blessings that God has given me. Calling isn't a one shot deal, but a constant communication and relationship with God. What a beautiful place to be.

Of More

First off, this is going to sound like an introductory post because...well...it is essentially. Let's just say I was on a massive blogging drought. Perhaps I jumped on the blogging band-wagon without looking before I leapt. Perhaps I've just been really lazy. Perhaps blogging is just not for me. It could be that it's been a combination of all of these. For whatever reason I definitely didn't stick to the weekly update that I had originally intended (and possibly even voiced).

I think I had this strange thought that for some reason all of my blog postings had to be these well polished works of art that made sense and were constructed in a way that saved the net from the ramblings of yet another mad man. Whatever gave me that idea? (At this point you should probably see my other blog posts for confirmation or denial of this point)

So here is the deal. I didn't make any new years resolutions that are holding me to blogging because let's face it, resolutions don't usually survive the month of January. What I did do, however, is look at the start of the new year as a time to start fresh. Really, I should probably look at every day in this manner, but baby steps. I found that I really miss writing (and I don't mean sermons because that's a completely different medium) and blogging is one way I can fill that void.

Therefore, I'm going to write more reflections here no matter who reads them or how many people read it. This one's for me. I'm not sure what this all will look like. It might be reflections on youth ministry since that's what I spend a lot of time doing. It might be about the intersection of faith and life since that's what really interests me. It might just be random musings which if that's the case, look out! All I can promise is this...it will be more.

Different

I woke up this morning and spent a little time on Facebook, which seems to be a part of the normal routine. This morning was different though from all the other mornings. Some layout changes had been made to the normal and some things had been added in and people were not happy. It showed. Status after status post displaying people's anger at the new system, the new changes. Soon to follow the many status posts from folks essentially saying "Get over it." Now hours later it seems all of the initial zeal has calmed a bit...from both camps.

I must admit I was pretty zealous about the whole thing in the beginning as well, but for a different reason. For some reason when I read all of the anger and passion over a change to something that seems rather small it awakened a sadness for what we have become. It made me wonder: where is that zeal for other things? We're quick to stand up when a change happens to our social media platform, but slower when it concerns other things. I bet you can think of a slew of them. It was through talking with some of the other church staff that I calmed a bit. They reminded me that there is a lot going on and changing in people's lives and so even when the simple things, that could be stable, are changed it can be too much. Makes sense.

I also can't be quick to point fingers. I don't spend my time doing things and being zealous for things that I probably should be. Actually, I usually waste time on Facebook instead of doing things that I maybe should be doing. I'm well aware of the fact that "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" Romans 3:23. I'm really terrible about standing up for those folks that God tells me I should stand up for. I'm bad at helping the people God points to as needing help. It's not the end of the story though.

Romans 3:24 "and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Jesus Christ." This is what concerns me though. There are a lot of us walking around proclaiming this message, but I'm not entirely convinced we believe it. Mostly because I am confident of the fact that: whenever, however and wherever God changes things it's going to be a lot bigger than making changes to Facebook.

If we get bent out of shape because our Facebook layout changes, how are we going to handle it when God starts messing with things? And here's the thing: I am more than willing to bet God's going to change things to experiment, to be creative and to make things radically different. I hope there will be a purpose and a reasoning, but we probably won't get to see it all or won't realize/see right away. So how will we handle this change? "Pre recent Facebook changes" I thought we could handle them pretty well. "Post Facebook changes" worries me a bit. If we start to be honest with ourselves I don't think we're going to like the changes God makes.

Maybe when God goes to work God won't worry about messing with Facebook. God will be too busy making other things different.

Of Life

A couple of weeks ago I was catching up with a friend through text and when asked "how have things been?" I answered an all too familiar answer to us all. "It's been good, but busy." This time I didn't get away with it though. Her response was "Jon Lys! You always say that!" It caused me to stop and think. That is always my answer to that question. Not that it isn't true, but it tends to lose its effectiveness when it's always the answer. It's like the boy who cried wolf...I'm the boy who cried "busy" so when it is a valid feeling I end up getting carried off by the wolves.

It's like why I haven't blogged in a while. I could easily say "I've been busy" and that would be the end. How lame is that though? The real truth? Friday is typically a terrible day to blog because it's typically my day off. I have actually been trying to do stuff on my day off and so I'm not usually near a computer. Okay, so maybe still a lame excuse. I'm back on it now! That's all that matters.

I had to wonder...did Jesus ever answer with "I've been busy"? Like the time he went back to Nazareth...did he run into one of his mom's friends and they asked "How have you been Jesus?" and he was like "Ah, I've been busy..." My guess is probably not. An answer like that wouldn't have caused his message to not be heard in his hometown. His answer was probably "Here, let me show you." What about the disciples? After Jesus' death and resurrection what if their answer would have been "Ah, I've been busy..."?

I don't know about you, but I am hesitant about answering with "here let me show you." It's like answering "How are you doing?" You say "good" and move on because it's easier that way. I don't know if I want to take the easy road anymore. Granted its probably not a good idea to just gush everything that's been going on to everyone in my life and exactly how I am feeling to every person I interact with, but I need to use some more discretion with my canned answer. The truth is we are all busy. Get over it.

I have quite a few of those moments the past few weeks too. When said in love one of the most powerful things can be simply "Get over it." It's okay to not feel at the top of your game at some points, it's okay to be stressed at some points, it's okay to even be down at some points, but continually being in that state isn't okay. Let me be the first to say "Get over it." And if you feel like you can't just "get over it" I understand that too...but please, please, please get some help to overcome it. I don't believe that we are a people created to mope around wallowing in busyness and bad feelings. Rather I think we are called to be a "Here, let me show you" people.

So even despite busyness and stress, despite not feeling the greatest, despite making mistakes we handle life with a sense of grace, power, confidence and sheer joy so that when people ask, "How have things been?" we answer with "Here, let me show you." I hope you will join me in not letting the little things take what we have been given because I can honestly say after the last few weeks "I want some more of life."

More: Reflections on Scripture

As I have spent more and more time with scripture, I have had a thought that I'm not sure what to do with. I really don't think it's one of those earth shattering, faith changing revelations...I just think its something we don't often talk about. It seems to me that as massively complex as scripture is we as Christians seem to think that the whole thing always fits the bill in every situation. My thought? I think that much of what we read as believers really only makes sense to us (sometimes).

What got me thinking of this is our church's electronic sign. We have been posting people's favorite scripture on it I guess in an attempt to bring words of comfort, establish an easy way for scripture to be a part of everyone's day to day, highlight members of the congregation (a combination of all of the above...not really sure, it was Pastor John's idea). I see the benefit of it. Not a bad use of a church sign in addition to all the "normal" stuff it could be used for. What really got me thinking was the favorite verse posted from Romans 8:28 "We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose" Not a bad verse. I find some comfort and joy in it. But then again I love God. What about someone who isn't a believer? How would that sound?

If you were going to try and tell somebody about Christianity, try to show them a bit of scripture were would you start? In the Gospel of John which contains thoughts like " Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God"? In one of the letters of Paul? I would hope not Revelation or Leviticus...there is a lot in those books that I don't even understand and I grew up in the faith.

My point is: use caution and common sense when using scripture. Is it a beautiful message? Yes. One of the greatest stories ever told? Absolutely. Can people misunderstand it when its just thrown around, or taken out of context, or not explained? You betcha. Happens to me all the time. Don't misunderstand me...I'm not saying don't share it. We need to share it, but in a way that it won't lose or degrade the beautiful and powerful message.