Jesus' Farewell Address

The message given in the Wednesday night Lent service on April 5, 2023 in the Gettysburg United Methodist church.  The Bible verses used are John 14-17.

            I’m not going to give the message tonight.  Instead, what I’m going to do is what we’ve done the last few years in this last Wednesday night Lent service.  I’m going let Jesus Christ Himself give the message.

            What I mean by that is that in John chapters fourteen through seventeen, Jesus gives what could be called His farewell address to His disciples.  We look at various parts of that at various times, and that’s good.  But when the disciples first heard this, they did not get it a bit at a time.  They did not get time in-between the parts to think about it and digest it.  They heard it all at once. 

So that’s how we’re going to hear it tonight.  We’re going to hear Jesus’ farewell address, and then I’ll make a couple of comments afterward.  I’m not going to use the screen—after all, Jesus did not have a screen.  What I want you to do is imagine you are in the story.  Imagine you are one of the disciples, listening to Jesus.

            This comes after the last supper.  It comes after Judas has left them to go and let the Jewish authorities know where Jesus was.  It comes after Jesus has told Simon Peter that, before morning, Simon Peter will three times deny knowing Jesus.

            The disciples don’t know what’s coming next.  But they know they’re in a dangerous situation.  They know something’s about to happen, even if they don’t know what it is.  So, Jesus starts talking to them.  Here’s what he says:

            “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me.  My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.  You know the way to the place where I am going.”

Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.  If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”

Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?  Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

“If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”

Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?”

Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.

“All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

“You heard me say, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe. I will not say much more to you, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold over me, but he comes so that the world may learn that I love the Father and do exactly what my Father has commanded me.

            “Come now; let us leave.

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. This is my command: Love each other.

“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also.  They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin. Whoever hates me hates my Father as well. If I had not done among them the works no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. As it is, they have seen, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason.’

“When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me. And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.

“All this I have told you so that you will not fall away. They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God. They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me. I have told you this, so that when their time comes you will remember that I warned you about them. I did not tell you this from the beginning because I was with you, but now I am going to him who sent me. None of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ Rather, you are filled with grief because I have said these things. But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: about sin, because people do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.

“I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.”

Jesus went on to say, “In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me.”

At this, some of his disciples said to one another, “What does he mean by saying, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me,’ and ‘Because I am going to the Father’?” They kept asking, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We don’t understand what he is saying.”

Jesus saw that they wanted to ask him about this, so he said to them, “Are you asking one another what I meant when I said, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me’? Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy. In that day you will no longer ask me anything. Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.

“Though I have been speaking figuratively, a time is coming when I will no longer use this kind of language but will tell you plainly about my Father. In that day you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.”

Then Jesus’ disciples said, “Now you are speaking clearly and without figures of speech. Now we can see that you know all things and that you do not even need to have anyone ask you questions. This makes us believe that you came from God.”

“Do you now believe?” Jesus replied. “A time is coming and in fact has come when you will be scattered, each to your own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me.

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed:

           “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.

“I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.

           “I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.

“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

“Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.

“Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”

That was the end of Jesus’ farewell address.  After that, he went out to the Garden of Gethsemane, where he would be arrested.

Did you put yourself into the story?  Did you imagine yourself as one of Jesus’ disciples, listening to all this?  How did you feel?  What did you think?

I doubt if the disciples really understood everything that Jesus was telling them.  After all, as we’ve seen before, the disciples hardly ever really understood what Jesus was telling them.  But they knew Jesus was leaving.  They did not know how that was going to happen, but they knew he was leaving.  And they knew the one thing they were supposed to do:  love each other.  That was it, really.  Obey Jesus’ teaching and love each other.  And don’t worry about the consequences.  Jesus said, people may hate you, but that’s okay.  People hate Me, too.  Don’t worry about it.  The Holy Spirit will be here to protect you.  You don’t know what the Holy Spirit is, but just know that the Holy Spirit is from God.  So you don’t have to be afraid. 

And that’s really the lesson for tonight.  So let’s do it.  Let’s obey Jesus' teaching, love each other, and not worry about the consequences.  The Holy Spirit is here, and the Holy Spirit is from God.  We don’t have to be afraid.

 

 

What Are We Celebrating

The message given in the Sunday night worship service in the Gettysburg United Methodist church.  The Bible verses used are Matthew 21:1-11.

            Today is Palm Sunday.  Over the next week, we’ll have Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday.  It’s a busy time, and quite possibly the most important time in the church calendar.

            We usually look at Palm Sunday as a celebration.  We have the kids come up with the palm branches.  Sometimes we have adults waving palm branches, too.  We sing the traditional Palm Sunday hymns, like “Hosanna, Loud Hosanna” and “Tell Me the Stories of Jesus”.  A lot of us look forward to celebrating Palm Sunday in this way.

            And in fact, the first Palm Sunday was a celebration.  You heard the description in the Bible.  Jesus is riding into Jerusalem in triumph.  People are spreading cloaks on the road in front of him.  They’re laying palm branches in front of him, too.  It’s sort of like laying out the red carpet today.  And of course, the crowd is cheering for Jesus at the top of their lungs.  They’re shouting “Hosanna to the Son of David!  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!  Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

            I always wonder how Jesus felt when all this was going on.  We’re not told.  Maybe he felt really good.  I would, probably.  I mean, it would be so cool if we could all have a day like this just once in our lives.  To be the head of parade, riding in triumph through town.  To have everyone in town cheering you on, singing your praises.  That would be one awesome day.  I’d probably remember it the rest of my life.

            But the thing is, we’re talking about Jesus.  The Messiah.  The divine Son of God who knew the future.  Who knew he was going to be killed and knew how and why he was going to be killed.

            Think about this.  Have you ever had someone in your life who pretended to like you?  Who pretended to be your best friend, who maybe even pretended to love you?  And then, eventually, you found out at some point that it was all meaningless?  That they never really cared about you at all, that none of the things they said or did actually meant anything?

            That’s a pretty lousy feeling, right?  It’s one of the worst feelings ever.  You feel betrayed.  You feel used.  You feel stupid, maybe, for ever having believed that person in the first place.  You feel angry and upset and sad and all kinds of other things all at once.  It’s a terrible feeling.

            Now, come back to Jesus.  Jesus hears the cheering of the crowd.  But Jesus knows that, less than a week later, he’s going to be betrayed.  He’s going to be arrested and beaten.  The Roman governor is going to try to set him free, but the crowd--some of this same crowd that’s cheering him on now--is not going to stand for it.  They’re not going to allow Jesus to be set free.  They’re not even going to allow Jesus to be held in jail.  They want, they demand, they will accept nothing less than to have Jesus be killed, slowly and painfully, on a cross.

            Jesus knows all of this while he’s riding into Jerusalem.  Jesus knows all of this while he’s hearing the cheers of the crowd, while he’s watching them throw cloaks and palm branches in front of him.  Jesus knows that everything he’s hearing and seeing is meaningless.  He knows that it’s all a lie.

            When you think about it that way, what is it that we’re actually celebrating on Palm Sunday?  The people who were waving those palm branches on the first Palm Sunday were a bunch of hypocrites, were they not?  If I was Jesus, seeing and hearing all this, knowing what was going to happen next, I think I’d want to call them out on it.  I’d want to stand up and yell, “You jerks!  You lying jerks!  You don’t care about me.  You don’t mean any of this.  You’re just a bunch of hypocrites.  Why should I die for you, you self-serving, spineless jerks?”

            But of course, Jesus did not say that.  Jesus did not say anything like that at all.  In fact, Jesus did not say anything at all, or if he did, Matthew does not record it.  And of course, Jesus did go ahead and die for us.  Even after the way he was treated, Jesus went ahead and died for us.

            And that, I think, is what we celebrate on Palm Sunday.  Not the waving of the palm branches.  Not the shouts of “Hosanna!”  Not the meaningless cheers of the crowd.  What we celebrate on Palm Sunday is the fact that, knowing everything that was going to happen, Jesus did not turn on us.  Jesus did not get angry with us.  Jesus went ahead and did what he was sent here to do.  Knowing exactly who we are and what we are, Jesus went through with it anyway.  Despite the way we treated him, Jesus went ahead and allowed himself to be arrested, and tortured, and killed, so that our sins would be forgiven.

            And I’m using that word “we” on purpose.  There’s no real reason to think that, if you or I had been in Jerusalem during the original Holy Week, we would not have acted exactly the way the people who were there did.  We’d like to think we would not have, but we probably would have.

            Because you see, those people in the crowd that day were ordinary people.  They were not people who were poorly thought of.  They were common, everyday people.  Some of them were travelers, in town for the Passover.  Some of them were people who lived in Jerusalem, who had jobs or owned businesses or grew crops or raised animals or did whatever they needed to do to make a living.  The people in the crowd were just people.  People like you and me.  And they behaved, in all likelihood, the way you and I would’ve behaved if we’d been there when Jesus came into Jerusalem.

            What we celebrate is not what the crowd did.  What we celebrate is what Jesus did.  What we celebrate is that Jesus knew these cheers were meaningless, and yet he did not get angry.  Jesus knew this was all a lie, and yet he did not get upset.  Jesus knew he would be betrayed, and yet he did not feel betrayed.  Jesus knew he was being used, and yet he did not feel used.  He may, perhaps, have felt sad, but not sad because of what was going to happen to him.  If Jesus felt sad, it was sadness because all these people simply did not understand.  They did not understand who he was or why he was there.  They did not know what they were doing or what they were going to do.  And Jesus knew he was not going to have time to make them understand.  If Jesus felt sadness, it was not for himself.  It was for us.

            What we celebrate is that, despite everything, Jesus did not feel any of the things you or I would probably have felt if we were in Jesus’ place.  Despite everything, Jesus continued to feel nothing but love for us.  Jesus felt so much love for us that, despite the way he was treated, he was willing to go ahead and die on a cross for us.  For you and for me.

            We’ll be going through the events of Holy Week in our special services this week.  We’ll have our Wednesday Lent service and our Maundy Thursday service in Gettysburg.  We’ll have our Good Friday service.  We’ll have our Easter Sunday service.  We’ll talk about all the events we commemorate during this coming week, events that may have made this the most important and most memorable week in human history.

            But Jesus knew all these events ahead of time.  He knew what was going to happen, how it was going to happen, when it was going to happen, and who was going to make it happen.  Jesus knew all that, and he went through with it anyway.  He did that for the forgiveness of our sins, yours and mine.

            The next time you ask God for forgiveness--and the next time I ask God for forgiveness--let’s think of how we got that forgiveness.  Let’s think of all that Jesus did for the forgiveness of our sins.  Let’s think about all he went through.  Let’s think not just about the physical pain, although it’s important that we think about that, too.  But let’s also think about all the emotional pain.  Let’s think about how Jesus was betrayed, not just by Judas, but by all of us.

            And then, let’s think about how amazing it is that, despite it all, Jesus still loves us.  Let’s think about how, despite it all, the Lord does forgive our sins.  Let’s think about how the Lord loves us so much that nothing we’ve done and nothing we ever will do can keep the Lord from loving us and from forgiving our sins, as long as we sincerely ask for that forgiveness.

            What we celebrate on Palm Sunday is Jesus’ love.  What we celebrate on Palm Sunday is the forgiveness of our sins.  We should never take that forgiveness for granted.  We should always be grateful for what Jesus did for us.

            Have a wonderful and blessed Palm Sunday.

 

The Time Is Coming

The message given in the United Methodist churches of the Wheatland Parish on Sunday morning, April 2, 2023.  The Bible verses used are Matthew 21:1-17.

            One of the things about reading the Bible is that most of it is written in a very matter-of-fact tone.  We’re told what people did, and we’re told what people said.  But we’re very rarely told what people thought or how they felt.

            And with Jesus, that’s especially true.  The Bible tells us what Jesus did.  It tells us what Jesus said.  It tells us where Jesus went.  But it does not ever tell us what Jesus thought or how Jesus felt.  He obviously had thoughts and feelings, but what they were, we’re not told.  All we can do is try to infer it from the context of what happens.

            Our reading for today is one of the traditional Palm Sunday readings.  Jesus riding into Jerusalem in triumph on a donkey.  People spreading cloaks and palm branches on the road in front of Jesus, rolling out the red carpet in front of him.  A reading that many of us have heard many times before.

            But the amazing thing about it is why Jesus did this.  Listen again to verses four and five of our reading:  “This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:  ‘Say to daughter Zion, See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”

            The prophet there is Zechariah, one of the Old Testament prophets.  This was part of the Jewish Bible.  Everyone would’ve known about it.  So, when Jesus told the disciples to get a donkey for Him to ride into Jerusalem on, Jesus was making the claim that He was the king.  Jesus knew that, and everyone in the crowd knew it, too.

            The reason I say that’s amazing is that most of the time, in the gospels, Jesus did not make the claim that He was the king or the Messiah.  He never denied it, obviously, because it was true.  But He never went out of His way to make the claim.  Jesus just did what He did and left it for other people to figure out that He was the Savior.  In fact, quite often, when someone said that about Jesus, He would tell them not to tell anyone else.  But now, on that first Palm Sunday, Jesus openly makes the claim.  He is the king.  He is the Messiah.  He is the Savior.  And He doesn’t care who knows it.

            It’s clear that Jesus had decided it was time.  He had told the disciples what was going to happen to Him–that He would be betrayed, He would be arrested, He would be killed, and He would rise again on the third day.  He had done as much as He could do to get the disciples ready for what was going to happen.  He had healed people.  He had given sight to the blind.  He had raised someone from the dead.  He had preached the good news.  He had done all the things the prophecies required Him to do.

            And people were choosing sides.  The crowds were flocking to Him.  The Pharisees and the other religious leaders were stepping up their efforts against Him.  They were meeting, plotting, trying to figure out how to stop Him.  People were going to have to decide, one way or another.  Either they were going to be with Jesus, or they were going to be with the Pharisees.  There was no longer a middle ground.

            And so, Jesus decides, it’s time.  It’s time for Me to actually show people who I am.  So He rides into Jerusalem on a donkey, openly claiming the titles of King and Messiah and Savior.

            But that’s not all Jesus did on that first Palm Sunday.  We tend to drop the story there, but Jesus did more than just claim the titles.  He acted on them.  Jesus acted like the King and Messiah would act.  He went into the temple courts, and He threw out all the moneychangers and all the people who were selling doves to be sacrificed.  Then He sat down in the temple court and healed the blind and the lame.  Children were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David.”  And when the Pharisees challenged Jesus about that, He quoted a psalm to again make His claim as Messiah and King.  He said, “Have you never read, ‘from the lips of children and infants, you, Lord, have called forth Your praise.’?”

            Jesus knew the time had come.  He could no longer leave any doubt about who He was.  It was time to proclaim it openly.  People would believe it or they would not, but Jesus was stating who He was in no uncertain terms.  He was the Messiah.  He was the King.  He was the Savior.  He was the Lord.

            Every year, we celebrate Palm Sunday.  We have the kids parade around.  We wave the palm branches.  We sing “Hosanna, Loud Hosanna”.  And that’s all fine.  There’s nothing at all wrong with it.  I’m not being critical of any of that in any way.

            But in that celebration, we need to remember how serious this really was.  This was the event that set in motion, finally and irretrievably, the events that we’ll commemorate later in the week.  The Last Supper.  Jesus’ betrayal by Judas.  Jesus’ arrest.  Jesus being beaten and whipped and mocked.  Jesus being hung on a cross to die.  And of course, Jesus rising from the tomb on the third day.

            When Jesus decided the time had come, He did not just decide that for Himself.  He decided it for all the people.  And He decided it for each one of us, too.  When Jesus decided to set these events in motion, on that first Palm Sunday, He did not just decide that the time was coming for Jesus to proclaim who He was.  He also decided that the time was coming for you and me to proclaim who Jesus is, too.

            Or not.  But the time is coming when we cannot hide what we believe about Jesus Christ.  The time is coming when we cannot be “sort of” Christians.  The time is coming when we will have to openly proclaim that Jesus Christ is the Savior, the Messiah, the Lord, the King.  Or, deny that He is.  But the time is coming when we will no longer be able to sit on the fence.  We will have to make a choice.  One way or the other.

            Now, you may think I’m talking about the country or the world with that statement, and it could certainly be interpreted that way.  Look at recent news headlines.  People have gotten into legal trouble by holding worship services that did not meet with the approval of the authorities.  A woman in London was arrested for praying silently in public.  Basic traditional Christian principles are sometimes deemed “hate speech” and censored on social media.  When we look at society, it’s not hard to see that the time is coming when we will either have to openly proclaim our belief in Jesus Christ as the Savior or deny that He is.  There will be no middle ground.

            But if you don’t have to look at the country or the world to see that the time is coming.  Because if it does not come that way, it will come for each of us in another way:  at our death.  Each of us is going to die, and each of us is going to be judged based on our faith in Jesus Christ.

            Jesus said, “Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when He comes in His glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.”  So, the question will be, are we ashamed of Jesus and His words?  Are we willing to proclaim openly our belief in Jesus Christ as the Savior?  Or are we going to try to hide our faith, or maybe deny it entirely, just to stay out of trouble on earth?

            Here’s the thing.  It’s easy–or at least easier–for us to openly proclaim our faith in Jesus here.  It’s easy to do it in church on Sunday morning.  The question is, do we proclaim it at other times, and in other places?  Do we openly proclaim our faith in Jesus at the convenience store?  Do we openly proclaim our faith in Jesus at the cafe?  Do we openly proclaim our faith in Jesus at the ball game?  Do we openly proclaim our faith in Jesus in the things we do as part of our everyday lives?

            Now, don’t get me wrong.  I’m not saying that we all have to talk about Jesus twenty-four/seven.  I’m not saying our every word in every place should be proclaiming Jesus Christ as the Savior.  I don’t do that, as you know.  I don’t expect you to do it.  I don’t think God expects us to do it, either.

            But I do think we need to talk about Jesus more than just in church on Sunday morning.  I do think we need to find ways to proclaim our faith in Jesus Christ at other times, and in other places.  We need to find ways to let people know we believe in Jesus Christ as the Savior.  We can do it in person, on social media, whatever.  But we need to do it.  And we need to do it openly, in a way that shows we are not ashamed of our faith.

            In the early part of His ministry, Jesus did not proclaim who He was openly.  But eventually, the time came when He had to.  The time is coming when we will have to proclaim our faith openly, too.  And there’s no reason we should not get started now.  What better time could there be than right before Easter to proclaim our faith in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior?  

            We have the divine Son of God as our Savior.  Let’s not be ashamed of that.  Let’s find ways to let people know that we believe that Jesus is Lord.

 

The Words of Eternal Life

The message given in the Sunday night worship service in the Gettysburg United Methodist church on March 26, 2023.  The Bible verses used are John 6:60-71.

            When Jesus was on earth, he said a lot of things.  He said a lot of things we like, but he said a lot of things we don’t like.  Sometimes they’re things we don’t understand.  Sometimes they’re things that seem, well, un-Jesus-like.  Sometimes they’re things we know are right, things we know we should do, but we just would rather not have to do them.  It’s not always easy to be a follower of Jesus.

            Just to give a few examples:  “Love your enemies”.  Do we do that?  Do we even want to?  I mean, seriously.  Think of someone you would consider to be your enemy.  If there’s no one in your personal life who you think of as an enemy, then think of terrorists or murderers or people bringing fentanyl across the border or whatever.  Do you love people like that?  Do we even want to love someone like that?

            “Do good to those who hate you.”  Do we do that?  Do we even want to?  I mean, there are times when I don’t even want to do good for people I like.  Now I’m supposed to good to people who hate me?  

            “If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also.”  Does that even make sense?  That if someone hits us once, we should invite them to hit us again?  I mean, I could kind of understand Jesus saying don’t fight back, but don’t even do anything to protect ourselves?  Not only allow them to hit us again, but give them a target?  Why would we do that?

            And we could go on and on and on.  We say we believe in Jesus, and we do, but it’s hard to put all these things into practice.  It’s hard to actually live by the things Jesus said.  These teachings of Jesus are hard teachings.  They’re hard for us to accept.

            The thing is, that’s always been the case.  It was the case when Jesus as alive.  In our reading for tonight, Jesus has just given the crowd some hard teachings.  The crowd had a hard time accepting them.  Some of them did not accept them.  And because they could not accept Jesus’ teachings, they could not accept Jesus.  And we’re told, “Many of His disciples turned back and no longer followed Him.”

            Jesus understood why.  He knew these were hard teachings.  He knew they were hard for people to accept.  So He turns to His best friends, the twelve disciples, and asks, “You do not want to leave, too, do you?”

            I wonder if, when Jesus asked the question, He knew the answer.  He could have–after all, Jesus is Jesus.  He’s the divine Son of God.  He may well have known what the disciples would say.

            But the way this is written, it sounds to me like Jesus did not know.  Like Jesus thought maybe the disciples would leave Him.  After all, He knew He was going to be betrayed at some point.  He knew that, at some point, they were all going to leave Him.  Maybe He wondered if it would happen now.  Maybe He thought, this could be it.  This could be the time when I’m left all alone.

            I wonder if the disciples, themselves, considered leaving.  After all, everyone else was.  It’s always tempting to join the crowd.  And not only was Jesus giving them hard teachings, following Him was a pretty hard life, really.  Some of the disciples had been making a pretty good living before they started following Jesus.  Maybe they were tempted to go back to that life.  

            But Simon Peter stepped up.  And he made the famous statement:  “Lord, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life.  We have come to believe and to know that You are the Holy One of God.”

            The decision the disciples had to make, the decision the crowd had to make, is the same decision you and I have to make.  Jesus gives us hard teachings.  Sometimes they’re hard for us to accept.  So, what are we going to do?  Are we going to leave?  Or are we going to stay with Jesus?

            Simon Peter asked “to whom shall we go?”  I wonder, to whom did the crowd go?  They left Jesus.  They had to go somewhere.  Where did they go?

            Some of them may have gone to the Pharisees, to the Rabbis, to the teachers of the law.  Some of them may have gone after false messiahs–they were some of those around back then.

            But I suspect most of them simply went back to their old lives.  They went back to what they had done before.  They went back home.  They went back to their jobs.  They went back to their families.  They did whatever they had done before they met Jesus.  

Basically, they went on with their lives as if nothing had happened.  And for them, nothing really had.  Maybe they thought about their time following Jesus once in a while.  Maybe they even had happy memories of it.  But it had not changed them in any way.  Following Jesus had made no impact on their lives whatsoever.

Essentially, those are the options we have, too.  We can find someone else to follow.  Or, we can just go about our business.  We can move along with our lives.  Maybe we think about Jesus once in a while.  Maybe we even come to church sometimes.  Maybe thinking of Jesus even gives us happy feelings.  But we don’t really allow Jesus to make any impact on our lives.

That’s a tempting choice.  It’s a choice a lot of people make.  But if we make that choice, we forget about the next thing Simon Peter said.  He said of Jesus, “You have the words of eternal life.”

Jesus has the words of eternal life.  No one else does.  We cannot find eternal life anywhere else.  We cannot find eternal life by following someone else.  We cannot find eternal life by just moving along with our lives.  We cannot find eternal life at home, or at our job.  We cannot find eternal life with our families.  That’s not to say that there’s anything wrong with doing our jobs or loving our families–we should do that.  But doing that is not going to give us eternal life.  We can only find eternal life through following Jesus.

The crowd made the easy choice.  Simon Peter and the other disciples made the hard choice.  How did they do it?  How did they manage to make the hard choice to follow Jesus, rather than the easy choice of just going back home?

Because they truly believed what Simon Peter said.  “We have come to believe and to know that You are the Holy One of God.”

If we truly believe that Jesus is the Holy One of God, then we can make the hard choice to follow Jesus.  Because we know that it’s really not that hard of a choice.  It may be a hard choice in the short term.  It may require us to do things we’d rather not do in the short term.  But ultimately, it’s going to all be worth it.  

If we truly believe that Jesus is the Holy One of God, then we know He has the words of eternal life.  And if we truly believe that Jesus has the words of eternal life, then there’s nothing more important that hearing those words and following those words.  If we truly want eternal life, there is nowhere else to go but to Jesus.

In turning away, the crowd gave up their chance for eternal life.  That’s a sad thing to think about.  The chance for eternal life was right there, in front of them.  And they turned away from it.

That’s why Jesus says, so many times, that we need to hold firm to our faith until the end.  The crowd was following Jesus.  They thought they had faith.  But when it got hard, they turned away.  Their faith was not strong enough to keep them following Jesus when the choice got hard.  They had some faith, but they could not hold firm to their faith to the end.

What will our choice be?  Will we follow the crowd?  Will we follow Jesus for a while, thinking we have faith, but turn away when things get hard?  Or will we be like the disciples?  Will we trust that Jesus has the words of eternal life?  Will we believe and know that Jesus is the Holy One of God?  Will we hold firm to our faith until the end?

Jesus wants us to follow.  But He will let us go, if we choose to leave.  I’m sure Jesus was very sad when He saw the crowds leaving, turning away.  After all, Jesus knew, better than anyone, what the crowds were giving up.  He knew they were turning down their chance for eternal life.  

I wonder if He was tempted to do something to try to bring them back.  He may have even been tempted to soften His message somehow, to make it easier to accept.  But He knew He could not.  It would not work, anyway.  If He changed His words in any way, they would no longer be the words of eternal life.  And there would be no reason for people to follow Him.

Following Jesus is often not easy.  But if we want eternal life, we have nowhere else to go.  Let’s hold firm to our faith until the end.  Let’s believe, and know, that Jesus is the Holy One of God.  And let’s listen to, and live by, His words of eternal life.

 

Love and Anger

The Sunday morning message in the United Methodist churches of the Wheatland Parish on March 26, 2023.  The Bible verses used are Mark 8:31-38.

            While Jesus was on earth, he was fully divine, but also fully human.  We say that, and we believe it, but I think sometimes we don’t think about all the implications of it.

            What I mean is that a lot of times, we seem to have this image of Jesus as this nice, calm, peaceful, easy-going guy.  Nothing ever got Him upset, nothing ever got Him angry.  He just accepted whatever happened and went about His business, healing people and spreading peace and love.

            But if we think about it, we know that image is not true.  After all, this is the guy who called the Pharisees “vipers” and “fools” and “blind guides”.  This is the guy who ran around the temple courts chasing the moneychangers with a whip.  The fully human Jesus had all the emotions that other humans have.  He could get upset.  He could get angry.  And we have another example of that in our Bible reading for today.

            Jesus is talking to the disciples.  He’s telling them what the future holds for Him on earth, what His fate is going to be.  Mark tells us Jesus “spoke plainly” about this.  In other words, this was not one of those times where Jesus was telling parables or using figures of speech.  Jesus was not being mysterious or enigmatic here.  Jesus was telling them right out.  I’m going to suffer, I’m going to be killed, and in three days I will rise again.

            The disciples did not want to hear that, of course.  And Peter, the leader of the disciples, challenges Jesus over it.  And Jesus says to him, “Get behind me, Satan!”

            When you think about it, “Satan” would be about the worst name Jesus could possibly call you, right?  I mean, Satan is the biggest enemy Jesus has.  Satan is the one Jesus has to defeat.  You’d rather have Jesus call you just about anything than to have Him call you “Satan”.  You’d rather have Jesus call you a stupid idiot.  You’d rather have Jesus call you a moron.  You’d rather have Jesus start calling you four-letter names!  Anything but to call you Satan.

            And the way this is written, Jesus did not say this in a nice way.  This was not something Jesus said in a kindly tone of voice.  This was said with an exclamation point.  Jesus was not happy with Peter.  He was angry with Peter, and He let Peter know it.

            Now, you can understand why.  These things Jesus is telling the disciples cannot have been easy things for Him to say.  Jesus knew what was going to happen to Him, and He knew it had to happen, but that does not mean He was looking forward to it.  Nobody would, would they?  Would you?  Jesus was going to be betrayed by one of His closest friends.  He was going to be tortured.  He was going to be humiliated.  And then He was going to die in an incredibly painful way.  Yes, He knew He would be resurrected, but He still had to go through all that other stuff first.

            Jesus was going to go through all this, but He knew it was not going to be easy.  He would need the support of His friends.  And instead of support, here’s one of His closest friends, the leader of all His friends, arguing with Him about it.  Telling Him no, it’s not going to happen this way.  As if Peter knew more about what was going to happen than He, Jesus, the divine Son of God, knew.  You can understand why Jesus got upset with Peter here.

            But at the same time, think of it from Peter’s point of view.  Again, he’s the leader of the disciples.  Jesus was the one who had made him the leader, really.  Jesus was the one who had changed his name from Simon to Peter.  Jesus was the one who had told him that he, Peter, would be the rock on which Jesus was going to build his church.

            And from Peter’s perspective, he was only trying to help Jesus.  He was trying to tell Jesus he did not have to be killed, that Peter and the other disciples would be there for him and protect him and help him.  He was trying to tell Jesus that he was on Jesus’ side.  And for his trouble, Jesus calls him the worst name Jesus can call him.  Jesus calls him “Satan”.

            Peter must have felt about this big when that happened.  He must have been really hurt by it.  And of course, this happened in the presence of all the other disciples.  How do you think they reacted?  I would think they’d have been shocked.  They all respected Peter.  They probably all agreed with Peter on this.  And then to hear Jesus call him “Satan”?  They must have been stunned.

            But here’s the thing.  Jesus may have been upset with Peter at that moment.  He may even have been mad at Peter at that moment.  But despite that, Jesus never stopped loving Peter.

            Does that sound strange to you?  That Jesus could be mad at Peter and still love him?  It should not.  Think about it.  Think about the people in your life whom you love the most.  Have you ever been mad at them?  I think you probably have.  And they’ve probably been mad at you, too.  Again, anger is a human emotion.  As human beings, we feel it sometimes.  But that does not mean we don’t still feel love for them.

            Eventually, the anger fades.  Maybe we apologize.  Maybe they apologize.  Maybe we both apologize.  Maybe we just don’t say anything about it, we just move past it and pretend it never happened.  But somehow, in some way, we find a way to resolve the situation and keep loving each other.  Because the love we feel is greater than the momentary anger we felt.

            We don’t know how Jesus and Peter resolved this.  Mark drops the story there.  Maybe Peter apologized.  Maybe Jesus apologized, or at least explained things to Peter.  Maybe they never talked about it again.  But somehow, they resolved it, and Jesus kept loving Peter.  We know Jesus kept loving Peter because the next thing Mark tells us is that six days later, Jesus took Peter, along with James and John, up to the mountain for the transfiguration.  He allowed Peter to see Him in His glory, along with Moses and Elijah, returned to earth.  Out of all the people Jesus knew, even out of all the twelve disciples, Jesus chose Peter to be one of the three to see that.  Clearly, Jesus did not truly believe Peter to be Satan, or he would not have given Peter that honor.

            But while Jesus did not believe Peter was Satan, he was trying to teach him some things.  And one of the things he was trying to teach Peter is that God was in control and Peter was not.  Peter might not have wanted these things to happen.  Jesus, himself, may have wished these things did not have to happen.  But he knew this was the way God had determined that these things had to happen.  God’s way was best, even if Peter did not understand why, and it was not for Peter to say otherwise.  God was in control, not Peter.

            So why have I gone through all this?  Well, have you ever had a time when it felt like God was mad at you?  I think a lot of people feel that way, at one time or another.  Maybe you have no idea why.  Maybe you feel like you’ve done the best you can to serve God, and it still feels like God must be mad at you.  Or, maybe you feel like God has every right to be mad at you.  Maybe you think of things you’ve said or done that you think would give God every right to be mad at you.

            If you’ve ever felt that, know this:  God loves you.  No matter how it may feel, God loves you.  God will never stop loving you.  Whatever you may have said, whatever you may have done, God still loves you.  Completely, totally, and unconditionally.

            Now, it may be that you’ve said or done some things you need to ask for forgiveness for.  We all have.  That’s part of being human, too.  You may need to repent of your sins and ask for God’s mercy.  We all do.  And I’d encourage all of us, including myself, to do that.

            And it also may be, as with Jesus and Peter, that God is trying to teach you some things.  And it may be, just as it was with Peter, that one of those things is that God is in control and we are not.  There may be things happening that we wish would not happen.  But sometimes, those things are out of our control.  We need to turn them over to God, and trust that God will take care of them.  We need to trust that, when we do that, things will go the way God wants them to go, even if that’s not the way we want them to go.  God’s way is best, even if we don’t understand why, and it’s not for us to say otherwise.  God is in control, not us.

            But through all of that, God still loves you.  And God will stay with you.  God will not abandon you.  And if we stay with God, God will show us His glory.  Maybe not the way Peter saw it, but in some way.  And if it does not happen on earth, it will surely happen in heaven.

            No matter what may happen at the moment, God loves you.  God will always love you.  No matter what you have said, and no matter what you have done, God will always love you.  Completely, totally, and unconditionally. 

 

The Way to Peace

The message given in the Wednesday night Lent service in the Gettysburg United Methodist church on March 22, 2023.  The Bible verses used are Romans 8:1-17.

            We’re all God’s children.  You believe that, right?  Everyone says that.  All of us, each and every one, is one of God’s children.  There’s even an old hymn, The Family of God, that starts out, “We’re all God’s children.”  It’s one of the most basic things to say, that we’re all God’s children.

            But it’s not what the Apostle Paul says in our reading for tonight.  Paul does not say “we’re all God’s children”.  Paul says, “Those who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.”

            Why would Paul say that?  Well, look at what Paul goes on to say.  Paul says that if we are children, then we are heirs.  Heirs of God.  Co-heirs with Christ.  If we are led by the Spirit of God, God elevates us to the same level as Jesus Christ Himself.  Jesus is the Son of God, but you are a Son or Daughter of God, too.  And I’m a Son of God, too.

            If.  If we are led by the Spirit of God.  By implication, then, those who are not led by the Spirit of God are not children of God.  Now, that does not mean God does not love them.  It does not mean God just ignores them.  But it does mean that they are not elevated to that same level as Jesus Christ.  The only way we get that status is to be children of God, and the only way we get to be children of God is if we are led by the Spirit of God.

            Now, maybe it sounds strange to some of us to say that there are human beings who are not children of God.  Maybe it even sounds hateful or offensive.  But I want to remind you that I’m not the one saying it.  The Apostle Paul is.  I’m just telling you what he said.  If anyone has a problem with it, that problem is with the Apostle Paul, not with me.

            But here’s the good news.  We may not all be children of God, but we all can be.  Each one of us has the chance to be a child of God.  All we need to do is allow ourselves to be led by the Spirit of God.  If we are, then we are, then we are children of God.  So, in effect, God allows us to choose whether to be His children or not.  

            Of course, making that choice is not as easy as saying the words.  We also have to live them.  That’s the hard part, of course.  But Paul tells us how to do that.

            Here’s what he says:  “Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.  The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.  The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God, nor can it do so…You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you.”

            So, it’s a choice.  We live according to the flesh, or we live in accordance with the Spirit.  Our minds are set on what the flesh desires, or our minds are set on what the Spirit desires.  On the one hand is death, on the other hand is life and peace.

            It sounds simple.  And, in a way, it is.  It is simple.  It’s just not always easy.

            Now, we need to go back and unpack a couple of things.  Saying that we should not live according to the flesh does not mean that we should ignore our basic human needs.  We have to eat to live, and I believe God wants us to live our lives on earth to their natural span.  Around here, we need to have a warm place to live if we’re going to survive, and again, I believe God wants us to do that.  God did put a basic survival instinct into human beings, and God did that for a reason.  Taking care of our basic human needs is not living according to the flesh.  It’s doing what we need to do to survive.

            Living according to the Spirit is not ignoring basic human needs.  What it is, is a mindset.  It’s an emphasis.  It’s putting God first, ahead of everything else.  Ahead of our own wants.  Ahead of our jobs.  Ahead even of our families.  It means making God the absolute number one thing in our lives.  Period.

            Now, again, that does not mean we should ignore our jobs or ignore our families.  Most of the time, there won’t be a conflict between those things.  In fact, I really cannot imagine a situation when God would ask me to choose between Wanda and Him.  But if it ever happened, I would need to choose God.  For a Christian, God needs to be first, above anything and everything else.  That’s what living in the realm of the Spirit is about.  That’s what having our minds governed by the Spirit means.

            So, what is your mind governed by?  What is my mind governed by?  Are our minds governed by the desires of the flesh?  Or are they governed by the desires of the Spirit?

            If we take this seriously, these are questions we need to think about.  And they’re not always easy to answer.  That’s true for a couple of reasons.  One is, as we’ve said before, human beings are great rationalizers.  We are really good at coming up with reasons why we should do the things we want to do, and just as good at coming up with reasons why we should not do the things we don’t want to do.  It can be really easy for us to convince ourselves that we’re being governed by the desires of the Spirit, when in fact we’re being governed by the desires of the flesh.

But another reason is that it’s not always easy to tell whether we’re being governed by the desires of the flesh or by the desires of the Spirit.  It’s not like we can make a list of activities and say, “These are the things that are desires of the flesh, and these are things that are desires of the Spirit.  Do the things in the second list, don’t do the things in the first, and you’ve got the golden ticket to heaven.”  It does not work like that.

            It would be easier if it did, right?  Well, probably not.  After all, that’s what all that Old Testament law was all about.  Do this, don’t do that, and you go to heaven.  And it was a burden.

            And that’s one of the best ways we can tell if we’re being governed by the desires of the Spirit.  When we do things for God, do they feel like a burden?  Are we doing them just because we feel like we have to, rather than because we want to serve God and please God?  Do we feel God working with us and through us as we do those things?  Or do we feel like it’s a slog, something we have to do, but something that we take no joy or pleasure or satisfaction in doing?

            Paul says that the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.  If we’re living in accordance with the desires of the Spirit, we’ll be at peace.

            And that’s true no matter what our circumstances are.  Now, that does not mean everything will go the way we want it to go.  It does not mean we’ll never have problems.  It does not mean we won’t have times of sadness or pain.  That’s not what peace is about.  

            Peace is about being able to handle those times.  And that’s what living in accordance with the desires of the Spirit does for us.  That’s what having our minds governed by the Spirit does.  It gives us the confidence that, whatever happens, God will be with us.  Whatever happens, God will help us through.  And whatever happens, no matter how bad it may seem, the promise God made in the Bible will eventually be kept–that God will work it for the good of those who love Him.

            A mind governed by the flesh cannot give us that kind of peace.  The things of the flesh may make us feel good, for a while.  They may make us happy, for a while.  But they cannot bring us peace.  Those good feelings eventually fade away.  And so we look for something else that will make us feel good.  And when that feeling fades, we look for something else.  And then something else.  We’re constantly looking for something that can give us that temporary good feeling, that temporary happiness.  But none of it ever brings us true peace.  True peace can only come from a life lived in accordance with the desires of the Spirit.  True peace can only come from God.

            I think all of us want to feel that peace.  And maybe you already do, I don’t know.  But if you don’t, then I encourage you to put your trust in God.  Trust God enough to make Him the number one thing in your life.  Trust God enough to let your mind be governed by the Spirit.  Put the desires of the flesh behind you, and trust God enough to live your life in accordance with the desires of the Spirit.

            It may not be easy.  But the peace we will get from trusting God will be more than worth it.

 

What We Want Most

The message given in the Sunday night worship service in the Gettysburg United Methodist church on March 19, 2023.  The Bible verses used are Philippians 4:4-9.

            What’s the one thing you’d like to have most in life?

            Well, there was a survey in Huffington Post a few years ago that asked about that.  The specific question was “If you could say in one word what you want more of in life, what would that be?”  And you know what?  What most of us want is not more material possessions.  You know what we do want?  The top ten answers to this question were things like happiness, freedom, joy, balance, things like that.  What they all amount to, really is peace.  All of us want to be at peace:  with ourselves, with others, with the world.  With God.  We want to be at peace with our lives.

            It’s understandable why we’d want that.  But the question is, why is it so hard for us to get it?  Why is it so hard for us to feel at peace in our lives?  

            Well, you know the answer to that as well as I do.  It’s hard for us to be at peace because we’re human beings living in a human world.  And anything that humans are involved with is less than perfect, sometimes a lot less than perfect.  And so, we have worries.  We worry about having enough money.  We worry about our health.  We worry about our loved ones--spouse, children, grandchildren, parents, grandparents, lots of others.  We worry about how things are going in the country.  We worry about how things are going in the church.  We worry, we worry, we worry, about these and a hundred other things.  And all those worries keep us from feeling at peace.

            If you think about all those worries I mentioned, plus any other worries you may have, what’s the one thing they have in common?  If you were to combine all these worries into one thing that we worry about, what would it be?

            The future, right?  The one thing that all the things we worry about have in common, the one thing that all the things that take away our peace have in common, is that we’re worried about the future.  

            Well, I guess that makes sense.  I mean, it would not make much sense to worry about the past.  That’s all over and done with.  We already know what’s happened, for good of for bad.  There’d be no point in worrying about that.  What we’re really worried about is the future.  What if I lose my job?  What if there’s a drought?  What if there’s a flood?  What if I get a serious illness?  What if something happens to my spouse or my kids?  What if something happens to my grandchildren or my parents?  What if, what if, what if?  We’re worried about all sorts of things that might happen, or may happen, or could happen.  And all those worries keep us from feeling at peace.

            Now, don’t get me wrong.  I do this, too.  But why?  Why are we so worried about the future?  And why do we let those worries keep us from feeling at peace?

We’re in the season of Lent, and a lot of people decide they’re going to give up something for Lent.  What if we could give up worrying?  That would really make us really happy, I think, if we could just do it.  In fact, according to that survey, it would give us the one thing we want most in life.  So, in this time of Lent, let’s think about that.  Let’s think about giving up worry and replacing it with peace.

            Why do we worry about the future?  Well, I suppose it’s because the future is unknown.  The past is known.  The present is known.  But the future is not.  Every day, when we get out of bed, we’re stepping into the unknown.  And that means anything could happen--that’s pretty much the definition of the unknown.  And because anything could happen, we start thinking about all the bad things that could happen.  And we worry.

            But again, why do we do that?  When we think about the fact that anything could happen, why do we immediately think about all the bad things that could happen?  After all, if anything could happen, that means there are all kinds of good things that could happen, right?  But too often, those are not the things we think about.  We think about all the bad things that could happen.  And we worry about them.

            Now, I want to make one thing clear.  There’s a difference between worrying about the future and preparing for the future.  I’m not saying that we should go around never giving a thought to what might happen next.  We should be prepared for things that could happen.  In fact, in a lot of ways, preparing for the future is the exact opposite of worrying about the future.  There’s no need to worry about what might happen if we’re prepared for it.  If we’re prepared, we know that when something happens, we’ll be able to handle it.  We’ll know what we’re going to do.  Even if it’s something really bad, we’ll know what we’re going to do about it.  We don’t have to worry about something when we’re prepared.

           But here’s the thing.  When we think about preparing for the future, what do we think about?  Usually, we think about things we can do, right?  If the subject is money, we think of things we can do to make more or to spend less, or both.  We try to get a better job, or to make better investments.  We think of things we could do without, or ways we could buy things cheaper.  If the subject is health, we try to eat better, or to get more exercise, or to get regular checkups at the doctor’s office.  If the subject is our loved ones, we try to do things to take care of them, to help them, to make sure they know they’re loved.

            Now, understand, there’s nothing wrong with any of those things.  Those are all good things to do.  But in all of our preparations, there are too many times we leave something out.  Or, rather, someone.  God.

           I assume that most of us here, maybe all of us here, would say we trust God.  But do we really?  Do we really trust God to take care the future?  Or do we think we have to do it all ourselves?  And here’s an even more important question:  do we truly live our lives as if we trust God to take care of the future?  Or do we live our lives as if we have to do it all ourselves?

            Again, we should do what we can to prepare for the future.  But if we’ve done all we can do, and we’re still worrying about the future, then it seems to me that we really don’t trust God as much as we should.  We don’t trust God to take care of the things that you and I cannot take care of.

            Now, again, I’m as guilty of this as anyone.  Maybe I say that too much, but I never want anyone to think I’m up here acting like I’m somehow better than you, that I have this all figured out and that you people need to shape up.  The reason I can understand these things is that I do them as much as anybody.  I worry about all kinds of things.  And I don’t trust God as much as I should.

            Trusting God is really the key to it.  Listen again to what Paul says in the letter to the Philippians:  “The Lord is near.  Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

            If we want to have peace in our lives, Paul tells us what to do.  Present your requests to God.  Ask God to take care of the situation, whatever the situation may be.  There’s no situation that’s too big for God to handle.  And there’s also no situation that’s too small for God to handle.  That’s one of the really cool things about God--we can go to God with the big, major issues, but we can also go to God with the little things, the things that might not seem important to anyone else, but they’re important to us.  Whatever you’re worried about, take it to God.  God will hear, and God will understand.

            How do we do that?  With prayer.  And when I say prayer, I’m not talking about a quick five or ten second prayer.  There’s nothing wrong with quick prayers, but they should not be all we do.  If we’ve got something that’s really worrying us, and we want to give it to God, we need to spend some time.  We need to tell God all about it.  Tell God everything about the situation and why we’re so worried about it.  Not because God does not know--God knows everything.  But if we want to be at peace, we need to tell it to God.  We need to give God all of it.  That’s the only way we’re going to get rid of the burden of worry.

            Remember what else Paul says:  “The Lord is near.”  God is near.  And we may know that in our heads.  But the only way we’ll feel God’s presence in our hearts is if we spend some time with God.  That’s why, again, we need to tell God all about the situation, whatever the situation is.  When we tell God all about it, when we spend some time with God, we can feel God’s presence in a way that we cannot feel it in a quick five or ten second prayer.  And it’s only by feeling God’s presence that we can truly turn our problems over to God.  And it’s only be turning our worries over to God that we can stop worrying about them and be at peace.

            So that’s our challenge.  Whatever we’re worried about, let’s take it to God.  Whether it’s a big thing or a small thing or something in-between, take it to God.  Spend some serious time in prayer.  And trust God with it.  Whatever “it” is, trust God with it.  Feel God’s presence with us, and trust God with it.  If we can do that, we’ll have the one thing that everyone wants.  We’ll have peace, the peace that comes from trusting in God.