God's Lamb - January 20, 2008

John 1:29-42

Can you see what I’m holding in my hand?

Yes, that’s right, a surgeon’s scalpel.

Not the most pleasant looking device, but an essential tool for health … as the expression puts it: we need to go under the knife now and then.

Some years ago, through routine testing, abnormal calcium levels in my blood were detected … further testing by an endocrinologist and a few sleepless nights, revealed a misbehaving parathyroid gland.

Solution: surgery!
It has to come out.
I had to have some knife time.

So, the early morning trip to the hospital … prep for surgery, onto a gurney … a couple of happy drugs later, I was ready … Donna gave me a kiss and I was wheeled down the hall to a bright room seriously cold.

The anesthesiologist put something into my intravenous, had me count backwards … ten … nine … eight … lights out.

Three and a half hours later, eyes open – bright lights again … cold … recovery room … a blood sample taken … the doc comes by – “Calcium levels back to normal, Tom, just like that.”

Thank God for the scalpel and the folks who know how to use them!

“Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.”

The scalpel of grace …

“The Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).

To take away the sin of the world!

What is sin?

Must be mighty important for the Son of God to be so utterly involved in its removal …

Must be something big … evidently we need lots of help on this one!

Nothing less than divine surgery … no one less than Jesus.

What’s sin?

Ever hear the term “original sin”?

The first one, the biggie … the source, the center … the one and only … original sin.

We associate “the big one” with the image of Eve plucking the fruit and Adam right with her.

But that’s not the “original sin.”

The “original sin” occurred prior to the fruit-picking … the “original sin” – believing a lie.

The Snake in the Grass suggested to Eve that she wasn’t quite up to snuff, suggested that God might have left a few things out of the equation, and further suggested that she misunderstood God’s plan … and it would be just fine to pluck the fruit – because the Tree offers what’s missing from your life.

She believed it … and so did Adam.

Though Eve is the principal actor here, the text is clear: it says pointedly, “Adam was with her” – cheering her on; “you go, girl!”

She believed the lie, and so did Adam – something is wrong with us, something is missing, and you can’t even count on God for it.

That’s the original sin … that’s original lie.

And if you know anything about lies, you know that once started, lies take on a life of their own … compounding themselves until a whole world has been created with lies …

But a lie is still a lie … without truth, without love, without hope and without peace … lies never work … though we often believe them with all our heart … because the first lies are always told to us … they come from people of the lie … parents who were lied to, teachers who were lied to, politicians and neighbors who were lied to, spouses and children who were lied to … the lies are passed on, and every permutation, they grow a little larger, a little stronger … until they have us in their grip.

Think of it …

You’re not up to snuff …
Something is wrong with you …
You’re not fit for the fight …
You’re a flub, you’re a flop, you’re a failure …
You’re a lousy Mom …
You’re a crummy Father …
You’re a terrible student …
You’re stupid, you’re dumb, you’re ugly …
You’re hair is all wrong …
You’re too fat … and too slow …
You’re clothes don’t fit …
Your teeth aren’t pretty …
Why can’t you look better?
Why do you have be so slow?
Why can’t cook better?
Why don’t you get better grades?
Why aren’t your prettier?
Why don’t you lose some weight?
I won’t love until you do!


Serious business!

“Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.”

To take away the original sin was the toughest thing God ever did …

Creation was a breeze … God said, “Let it be” and it was … but take away the original lie, to free the soul … that’s a horse of another color … it took everything God had, and then some.

Wherever Jesus went, whomever He met, He told them the truth … because “The truth sets us free.”

The first miracle – at the Wedding of Cana – ran out of wine they thought; and to the human eye, the jugs were empty – Jesus said, “No, you didn’t run out of wine. Let me show you.”

Jesus clears the Temple – here’s what a Temple should look like, here’s what a Temple should stand for … too many lies about power and prestige … too many lies about money and influence.

Nicodemus comes to Jesus and says, “This is too much for me. I’m too old. I’ve believed this all my life. I can’t change.”
Jesus says, “Not true. You CAN change; you can start all over again. Sort of like being born all over again. Not easy! But you can do it! Life is resilient. Nicodemus, you can do it!”

The Samaritan woman goes to the well at noon – in the heat of the day, when no one else is there, because she can’t stand the haughty glares and the whispered gossip – she’s tired of their self-righteousness, so she goes to the well alone.
Jesus meets her there … she’s trapped in lies: “There’s no hope for me. A good man will never love me. I’m stuck in a rut, and that’s where it’s going be for me. No way out.”
“Not true,” says Jesus.
“Let me help you.”

The son of a royal officer is ill and dying … and the man comes to Jesus, “Sir, help me before my son dies.”
“He will not die,” says Jesus.
The human eye can only see death. Jesus sees life.

At the pool of Siloam, a man crippled for 38 years … begging …
Jesus asks, “Do you wanna get well?”
“But there’s no one to help me get into the healing water. Every time I try, others push me outta the way, and by the time I get there, the water has stopped bubbling.”
Jesus probes, because Jesus knows that the man has accepted the lie – “There’s no hope for me, no way out – it’ll be this way forever.”
“No you won’t,” says Jesus.

At every turn, Jesus sees the possibility … hope for a new day … the door that no one else can see … because God not only opens doors for us, God creates doors where none previously existed.

“God gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do no exist” (Romans 4:17).

“Takes away” the sin of the world, says the text.

God doesn’t wait for us to come around; God goes after it, tackles it by Himself – God intrudes, breaks in, enters the human heart … like a thief in the night, a smash and grab ruffian … God TAKES away the sin of the world

No self-help here … no self-healing at this point … something radical is needed … surgery … the scalpel of grace, and a skilled surgeon.

The Lamb of God who TAKES away the sin of the world.

And it’s “sin” not sins, did you notice that? … singular, not plural.

God goes for the root cause, the beginning, the source, the origin.

And leaves much of the clean-up work to us … with the help of the Holy Spirit.

But the root cause is removed … the original lie undone.

The truth be told!

There is nothing wrong with you.
There is nothing defective in you.

You can handle it … you will make it through … you’re a gifted and capable human being … you already have what it takes …

The original lie has been dispelled in Christ … so we get on with the task of healing … the cause of the wound is removed, but the healing takes time … and we heal with one another … that’s why Christian fellowship is so important … we heal in the company of others.

And we become little Lambs of God for one another …

Every time we encourage someone.

Every time someone wants to give up and give in, we help them take a deep breath and stay the course, and if need be, start all over again – we’re a little Lamb of God who takes away the lie from someone else.

Now, suddenly, we can read self-help books with profit … therapists can really help here.

To build upon the work of Christ!

We don’t believe the lie anymore … well, maybe, just a little bit now and then, but the Spirit intervenes … “Not true” cries the Spirit when we’re discouraged and ready to give up.

You’re a terrific human being …
You have what it takes …
You can manage the challenge … you can climb the mountain, you can solve the case, you can ford the rushing river …

You’re not a victim; you’re a victor.
You’re not a loser; you’re a winner!

You have great reservoirs of love …
You have intelligence and good character …
You have faith, hope and love … even if it’s just the size of a mustard seed, it’s good enough to move mountains!

At the end of the text, Jesus gives Peter a nickname … from now on, you’ll be called Cephas, the Rock!

To all of us, Jesus gives a nickname:

You’re Tom Terrific and Wally Wonderful.
You Susie Stupendous and Marlene Marvelous.

You’re all Servants of the Most High God!

Remember that … that’s the truth!

Amen!

Strange - November 25, 2007

Luke 23:26-43

Happy New Year’s Eve …

New Year’s Eve? You say.

Yup … New Year’s Eve … at least for Christians … this is the last Sunday of the church year … the New Year begins next Sunday, the first Sunday of Advent … but today, we linger near the cross … we watch the strange ending of a strange man called Jesus …
Who would have thought?
We call Him King of kings and LORD of lords.
Who would have thought … such a strange ending would have such profound consequences for all the world!

Step back to Noah’s flood for a moment … the world was a mess; God regretted creating us … so let it rain …
Let the waters fall and let the waters rise … humankind failed the test, and they have to pay the price.
So pay we did … all but Noah and his family … and animals two-by-two.
When the waters finally recede, Noah gets right down to business … he plants a vineyard.
Makes wine, gets rip-roaring drunk … so drunk, he passes out in his tent … buck naked.
Ham stops by, sees the old man and laughs …
But Shem & Japheth take a garment and cover their father.
But the family is now divided.

It didn’t take long for things to get back to where they were and worse … and God said, “Now what?”

So God called Abraham and Sarah … “May I have a few moments of your time?”
A new family, a new nation, a new world …

But Abraham tells lies …
Lot lives in Sodom …
Sarah laughs at God …
Abraham fathers a child with a slave girl …
Jacob and Esau are enemies …
Slavery in Egypt …
Wandering in the wilderness …
Fighting for the Promised Land …
King Saul … a failure …
King David … a mighty man of valor, but hands covered in blood …
Solomon … ever-so wise, ever-so foolish; the kingdom collapses into warring factions – north and south – Civil War!
Death and mayhem everywhere …

And God said, “Now what?”

So God conceived a plan … “Mary, may I see you for a few moments?”
“Joseph, it’s all right … take Mary for your wife … she carries a holy child … He will set His people free” … and Joseph named Him Jesus.

30 years later … Jesus goes to the Jordan to be baptized … when John the Baptist sees Him, he cries out: “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.”

Takes them away … doesn’t wait for us to give them up, but takes them from us … takes them away … far away.

“As far as the east is from the west, so far does He remove our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:12).

“Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered” (Psalm 32:1).

“Blessed is the one against whom the LORD will not reckon sin” (Romans 4:8).

Why?

What’s the big deal?

The church has fussed and fumed too much about sin, that’s for sure … saw-dust trail preachers have frightened children with hellfire and brimstone … sin has been used and abused to fleece folks of their coins and intimidate the crowds.

But if some of the church made too much of sin, it does us no good to offer up a pablum of self-help – a “Christ without a cross in a world without sin.”

I don’t know what sin is precisely … some deep inability to love … an instinctive self-centeredness … hostility in our homes … the wars we fight around the globe … a mugger in a back alley … a white-shirted corporate officer cooking Enron’s books …

I don’t know what sin is precisely … the will to dominate and win … the fear we have of the new … closed neighborhoods and gated communities …

I don’t know what sin is precisely … 40 million Americans uninsured; too many children dying for want of medical care, right here, in America … 30,000 children a day around the world …

I don’t know what sin is precisely … the dark shadows of the soul … shame, guilt and anger … an average of 17 military personnel a day who take their own lives …

I don’t know what sin is precisely … the games we play with God … looking good on the outside and still king of our own little domain …

I don’t know what sin is precisely … the distance between us and God … the boundaries we draw between neighbors … the chasms we dig and the walls we build … the suspicions we hold; the tales we tell …

I don’t know what sin is precisely … hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, factions, envy, self-indulgence.

I don’t know what sin is precisely … but Paul’s words ring true:

“The good I want to do, I don’t do; the evil I despise, I keep on doing … wretched man that I am; who will rescue me from this impasse (see Romans 7:7-25)?

And then, these immortal words: “Thanks be to God – through Jesus Christ our LORD.”

Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

The movie, “Sister Act” … Whoopie Goldberg, working with a youth choir … they’re singing “O Happy Day … when Jesus washed my sin away” … at first, lackluster singing … then Whoopie lights a small fire, and it takes off … and they sing with heart and soul, “O Happy Day” and when they finish, the audience on their feet, cheering madly, Whoopie says to the youth, “Ladies and gentlemen, we are now a choir.”

That’s what God wants for this tired and trembling world … to sing a song, to be a choir … every voice represented … every style embraced … all together now, in one voice: “O Happy Day when Jesus washed my sins away.”

Simon of Cyrene … innocent bystander pressed into service … accidental disciple: “Here; you carry this cross and follow Jesus.”

What was Simon doing there?

Part of the Passover crowd … tens of thousands of pilgrims from the steppes of Russia to the shores of Tripoli … from India to the tip of Spain … the dream of every Jew … to see the fabled city and bring a sacrifice to the Temple.

Simon … immortalized in history … a bystander who carried the cross for our LORD.

And Jesus took away his sins.

The women who mourn and wail … not everyone in the crowd is eager for this man’s death … do they know Him? Were some of them healed by Him? Were their children blessed by Him?

And Jesus took away their sins.

The criminals on either side … not just back-alley thugs, but enemies of Rome … rebels, revolutionaries, terrorists … determined to overthrow Rome and rid their homeland of this hated enemy … violent men who lived by the sword.

That’s the charge brought against Jesus … sedition, treason, rabble-rousing - a threat to Roman rule … hence the public execution.
What better way to remind the people of their captivity – this exquisitely painful means of death – slow and agonizing …
And what better time - Passover Eve … let ‘em know who’s boss … Rome rules.

The soldiers throw dice for his garments – they mock Him – “Hey big guy, Mr. King of the Jews … you’re not so smart now, are ya’!” …
How else to break the boredom of a job done thousands of times … all over the empire, rebels, terrorists, instigators, crucified along busy highways; sometimes hundreds at a time … they’ve done this so many times, they can do it in their sleep. They know how to kill; they’re experts at it.
Just another day for these battled-hardened men.

And Jesus took away their sins.

The rulers are there, too … sneering; snide, enjoying their power … “What a fool you are Jesus of Nazareth … you had some good ideas, but you took ‘em too far … too radical … too much of a good thing … you didn’t play by the rules … you healed on the Sabbath; you disregarded our traditions … you forgive sins, but that’s our job, not yours.”
You spent too much time with the down-and-out, Jesus – you should’ve spent more time with us!”

And Jesus took away their sins.

The people were there, too … bystanders; tourists … in town for the Holiday … wondering … bewildered: “Who is this guy?”

“Where’s He from?”

“Nazareth, you say?”

“What did He do?”

And Jesus took away their sins.

Of the two crucified with Jesus, one was thoughtful … in the agony of his own death, he speaks kindly to Jesus … does he see something that everyone else missed?

“Jesus” … he knows the name.
Did someone tell him? … did he overhear it? Was he there at the Sermon on the Mount … did he witness a healing?
He knows the name, “Jesus” – remember me!

“Remember me” – I’m a nobody, and nobody cares about me … I die here alone … I’m a violent man, and I’m dying a violent death.

“Remember me.”

“Remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

“Kingdom?”

Out of this mess? This wretched end to our lives? A kingdom?

And Jesus took away his sins.

“Today, you’ll be with me in paradise.”

A strange ending to a strange life … a place called The Skull, three men dying … the one in the center speaks of paradise.

And He took away the sins of the world.

Amen!